Hero of the Day: 'I Had the Privilege of Saving Children. 1,500 People Could Have Died There'

In the past day, a picture was circulated of a man standing above the 'Rashbi Hospitality Tent' trying to save as many people as possible during the disaster. Under the picture, it was written: "The man in the photo showed initiative, jumped over the fence, and pulled out another child and another young person. According to survivors, he saved many children and several adults during the peak moments of the disaster. He climbed, took a position, and lifted children sent up to him from below. He simultaneously shouted to the crowd behind to stop advancing. As soon as the gates were dismantled, this guy left the place and was no longer seen in footage. There was no time for taking credit! Recognize him? Know anything about him? Please send details privately."

The hero of the day is Yoeli Schlesinger, a resident of Beitar Illit. In an interview given to various media outlets, he humbly said: "I am not a hero, and I don't like going out and telling what happened. Anyone would have done what I did."

Schlesinger recounts the difficult moments: "Even if I wanted to save many children, I couldn't. You can see in the picture that I was at a height of three and a half meters, and below me, there were hardly any children at all. But what I could, I did. I constantly shouted from above: Guys, there's a terror attack here! Go back! Today some of those who heard my shouts called me, said they heard me and because of me, they stepped back and were saved. I don't know how they heard, because I didn't feel they were hearing me. I felt in the gas chambers; that's what I felt. I screamed at them to leave. I was above, in the room I was praying in, and saw what was going on. And below, they also asked me for water."

Schlesinger began pouring water from where he stood: "I was very careful. To the guys who were right in front of my face, I could help, those who did not die in the end. Those from the top part of the passage, I could help. And to those at the bottom part, I couldn't help anymore. Their backs were to me."

"Whoever extended their hand, I tossed a water bottle into their hand. With the help of Hashem, Hashem helped me 'target' the bottles straight into their hands. And I constantly screamed at them to leave, to leave. I had the privilege of saving one child, a 'chalaka’ child, from the Salomon family. Of course, they didn't throw him up to my window, because it wasn't possible to throw at all. People there couldn't move their hands, let alone throw me a child."

Schlesinger recounts how he managed to save lives amidst the chaos: "I put my leg into the room and locked it. The door was on my knee, and I have a very severe bruise there due to the pressure. I simply sent my whole body like a snake downwards. My head and hands were down."

"It started when the father threw me his shtreimel, and I couldn't reach it because of the height. I realized that if I couldn't reach the shtreimel, I certainly wouldn't be able to reach the child. So, in an instinctive second, knowing myself and knowing I could do it, and I really did, I strengthened my leg muscles at that time, threw myself downwards like a snake with my entire body.

"I caught the child. I didn’t reach under his hand, just managed to reach it, and simply tossed him into the room. I patted him a little, and he cried, and I said it's good that he's crying, he's alive. Another second, and he would have died because a meter earlier, the first person fell. He had already laid there for ten minutes, covered, and then they tried to revive him. The child was there, and another minute he would have died. I returned him, and he fell asleep."

After Schlesinger put the child in the room, he went back out to save more lives: "I see everyone on the ground, and nobody understands what's going on here at all, continuing to descend. So, I took small bottles and simply sprinkled them. It was so crowded that no one could raise a hand.

"People didn't understand what was happening and kept going down. It was so crowded that no one could raise a hand. I screamed at them: 'There's an attack. Go back'. That's how the flow of people walking to their death was stopped. "I'm not a hero nor an angel. Hashem blessed me with strength. And He gave me the power to help people. Those who were there understand it is a great miracle that only 45 people were killed. From what I learned from the rescue forces, if people hadn't turned back, it could have sadly ended in the death of 1,500 people."

"I shouted: Stop, life-saving." The chilling testimony of Yoel Schlesinger. Watch (courtesy of Kan News)

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