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7 Shevat 5761 - January 31, 2001 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Rabbi Akiva Pashkos, Hy"d, Murdered by Terrorists
by Betzalel Kahn

Rabbi Akiva Pashkos Hy"d, the 45-year-old gabbai of Jerusalem's Bayit Vegan Chassidim synagogue, was murdered in a terrorist attack on the night of 1 Shevat in the Jerusalem Atarot industrial area. He was brought to his eternal rest on Thursday night after midnight.

Rabbi Pashkos set out Thursday evening at about 6:30 from the factory in Atarot where he had been employed for the past few months as foreman. He brought his workers to the nearby Palestinian barricade, and then headed back into the industrial area on his way to Jerusalem. He was then shot from an ambush within an area under total Israeli jurisdiction.

Rabbi Pashkos was mortally injured. Guards in the industrial district, hearing the shots, alerted the security forces, who rapidly arrived on the scene. After making intensive efforts to resuscitate him, they had no choice but to declare his death.

The security forces believes that the terrorists arrived from the Palestinian village of Bir Nabbalah, located just tens of meters away from the Atarot industrial area. It has yet to be determined whether the terrorists hid in an abandoned structure or fired from a moving car. Terrorists also fired at the security forces arriving on the scene a few minutes after the attack. However, these terrorists fled into Bir Nabalah.

Rabbi Akiva Pashkos lived in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem, and was gabbai of the Chassidim synagogue there for the past few years. He was friendly to everyone, and his affability was well known.

After studying in yeshivos kedoshos, he married, and for many years engaged in earning a livelihood, and was kovei'a ittim leTorah. He was scrupulously honest in his dealings and was a well known ba'al chessed who helped the many who turned to him.

Reb Akiva recently starting working as a manager in a tissue factory in Atarot.

He was known as an outstanding baal chesed. He ran a gemach and lent large sums of money to those in need. Instead of putting his savings into the bank or investing them for monetary profit, he invested them in chessed.

He often called people to ask if they needed money. When he was told the news that a friend of his passed away, he immediately tore up the debt that his friend owed him, saying that the money was his donation to help the bereaved family.

Until recently he worked in Bnei Brak, returning daily to Bayit Vegan. He posted notices around the neighborhood saying that whoever wanted to come back from Bnei Brak at night is welcome to call him for a ride.

He is survived by his wife, Hila, and their six children, including his daughter who is married to Rav Yaakov Yakobovitz. He is also survived by his mother and a brother and two sisters. Hashem yikom domo, tehei nishmoso tzeruroh bitzror hachaim.

 

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