Two years ago, Mr. Y. was badly hurt in a terror attack outside the Emanuel settlement. , as he was returning home. Returning home in his private car, Mr. Y. was behind a public bus that was bombed and shot at by terrorists. Mr. Y.'s car flipped over several times from the bomb blast. His friend, the car's only passenger, was instantly killed on impact. Mr. Y. was badly hurt from several bullets, six of them in his chest, and bleeding profusely. A terrorist neared the vehicle to make sure no one in the car had survived. Mr. Y. begged the terrorist to spare his life for the sake of his nine children, but the terrorist's only response was a shot between Mr. Y.'s eyes.

Mr. Y. was pronounced clinically dead by the medical personnel who reached the scene and was placed into a body bag. Suddenly, one of the paramedics saw the bag move. Mr. Y. was immediately removed from the body bag and was resuscitated 7 times before he stabilized. He was hospitalized for many months and then transferred to rehabilitation. He suffers from chronic, excruciating headaches, and his right hand and arm remain paralyzed. This prevents him from working in his former occupation as a successful plumber. To avoid depression and as part of his therapy from the trauma, he is now "employed" in a sheltered workshop. He suffers from many fears, unable to erase from his mind the vicious eyes of the terrorist.

The Y. family recently celebrated their son's Bar Mitzvah in style, due to the efforts of two special boys from Toronto, Canada.

David Stern and Josh Himmel of Toronto recently celebrated their Bar Mitzvahs in Israel. The two share a birthday - 19 Teves - with Menachem Y., whose father was critically injured in the terror attack outside Emanuel two years ago. They decided to sponsor the Bar Mitzvah of this boy, and raised the money for the Bar Mitzvah by themselves. In addition, David and Josh requested that their friends and relatives donate money to Ezer Mizion's Terror Orphan Program in lieu of Bar Mitzvah gifts.

In recognition of the boys' tremendous efforts on behalf of the Terror Orphan Program and the Y. family, Ezer Mizion hosted a reception for the Stern, Himmel and Y. families at Oranit.

At the reception, Chananya Chollak awarded certificates to David and Josh, and presented Menachem with a beautiful gift. Mr. Y. then told the horrific story of his experience during the terror attack. Arthur Stern, David's father, who works tirelessly on behalf of the Terror Orphan Program, told those present that he sees this 3-way Bar Mitzvah celebration as a meaningful way of identifying and showing solidarity with the pain of his fellow Jews. "I feel that we are truly one big family," he said.