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'We're Shocked': Family in Synagogue Shooting Escaped Rockets in Israel Only to Become Terror Victims in America

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A lone gunman entered the Chabad of Poway Synagogue in San Diego Saturday and opened fire on Jews celebrating the last day of Passover.  He killed one woman and wounded several others.

For one family, this was not their first encounter with terrorism. The Dahan family left their neighborhood on Israel's Gaza border years ago in hopes of finding a safer life in America. But this time, instead of rockets raining down, it was bullets.

The Dahan family's eight-year-old daughter Noya and her uncle Almog Peretz were injured in Saturday's terror attack.



CNN reports that Noya was injured by shrapnel. Her uncle, who was visiting from Israel, was shot in the leg while trying to shield her. She was treated at a nearby hospital and released Sunday.

"We're shocked," Noya's dad, Israel Dahan, told CNN on Sunday.

The Dahan family thought they were safe after leaving Israel eight years ago. They lived in Sderot, a community near Israel's southern border that faces daily threats of Hamas rockets.

"(We were) under the impression that everything is good here. Today we noticed this is not even close to be regular life," Dahan said.

One of the congregants told Fox News how Peretz saved not only his niece, but several other children.

"He grabbed all the kids in his hands and was just running towards the exit [when]  he saw another kid over there," Danny Almon said. "He grabbed him and started running and [that's when]  the shooter shot him in the leg. He didn't care. He kept on running with the kids."

Almog Peretz told Israel's Channel 12 that he learned how to run away from terror by running away from Hamas rockets in his hometown of Sderot.

"I was wounded while I was running with the children," Peretz said. "I had picked up a girl and [the shooter]  aimed his weapons at me. The murderer was only five or 10 meters from me, not more."



Unfortunately, this isn't even the first time the family has experienced anti-Semitism in America. Five years ago, someone spray-painted a swastika on their home.

Israeli president Reuven Rivlin said the shooting attack in California is another painful reminder that anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews is still thriving.

"We are again telling the world, there's no community that can say it is clean from anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism destroys every good part, anti-Semitism, racism, the hatred of others and religious war, when we are all praying to God, who is one God to us all, creator of the universe and man," Rivlin said.

The attack happened a few days before Israel pauses to observe Holocaust Remembrance Day from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the international community isn't doing enough to combat anti-Semitism.

He is due to convene a special discussion this week on the upsurge in anti-Semitic attacks around the world. 

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About The Author

Emily
Jones

Emily Jones is a multi-media journalist for CBN News in Jerusalem. Before she moved to the Middle East in 2019, she spent years regularly traveling to the region to study the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meet with government officials, and raise awareness about Christian persecution. During her college years, Emily served as president of Regent University's Christians United for Israel chapter and spoke alongside world leaders at numerous conferences and events. She is an active member of the Philos Project, an organization that seeks to promote positive Christian engagement with the Middle