Kidnapping of Nachshon Wachsman

The kidnapping of Nachshon Wachsman was an incident in which Palestinian Hamas militants kidnapped the Israeli soldier Nachshon Wachsman from the Bnai Atarot junction in central Israel and held him hostage for 6 days. The incident ended in a failed Israeli rescue attempt during which Wachsman was killed by his captors. Three of his captors and an Israeli officer were also killed.

Background
Sergeant Nachshon Mordechai Wachsman (נחשון מרדכי וקסמן, born 3 April 1975, died 14 October 1994) was an IDF soldier who was kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas for a period of 6 days.

A dual citizen of Israel and the United States, Wachsman was raised in Jerusalem. He is the third of seven sons born to Yehuda and Esther Wachsman. His father was Israeli-born, while his mother was born in a German displaced persons camp and immigrated to Israel from Brooklyn. Wachsman volunteered for an elite commando unit of the Golani Brigade, serving in the Orev Golani.

Kidnapping
At home on a leave, Wachsman was instructed by the military to attend a one-day training course in northern Israel. He left Saturday night after the Shabbat and told his parents he would return Sunday night, 9 October 1994. He was last seen by a friend who reported that, after completing the training, Wachsman had been dropped off at the Bnai Atarot junction, a highly populated area in central Israel, where he could either catch a bus or hitchhike, a common practice by Israeli soldiers, to Jerusalem.

Israeli intelligence learned that Wachsman entered a car with Hamas militants wearing kippot, a Bible and siddur on the dashboard, and Chassidic music playing.

Mohammed Deif stated that he was the commander of the operation to abduct Wachsman.

Hostage tape
On 11 October 1994, a videotape was broadcast showing Wachsman, with hands and feet bound, before a keffiyeh-covered militant, displaying the soldier's identity card. After the militant recited the hostage's home address and identity number, Wachsman spoke with the armed militant behind him: "The group from Hamas kidnapped me. They are demanding the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and another 200 from Israeli prison. If their demands are not met, they will execute me on Friday at 8 P.M."

Nachshon's parents personally appealed to world leaders, including then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, then American President Bill Clinton, and Muslim religious leaders, each of whom urged Hamas to release the soldier.

On 14 October 1994, with 24 hours until the ultimatum, prayer vigils were held in many places. Over 100,000 people representing all religious, political, and social segments of the Israeli population gathered at the Western Wall. Responding to a request by Esther Wachsman, Nachshon’s mother, many women lit an extra Sabbath candle for her son.

Rescue attempt
In the meantime, the Israeli military had captured Jihad Yarmur, the driver of the car that had picked up Wachsman. After interrogating Yarmur, they learned that Wachsman was being held in a village called Bir Nabala, a location under Israeli control and only ten minutes away from his home in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Rabin authorized a military rescue attempt.

On Friday 14 October Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Yassar Arafat announced that they had won the Nobel Peace Prize. When asked his opinion on the "peace" that he had achieved in Oslo in light of Hamas' impending deadline, Peres responded that the peace process involves "calculated risks."

At 20:00 that night, at the hour of the ultimatum, the operation was to be carried out by Sayeret Matkal – an elite IDF commando unit. It was thought that Wachsman was being held behind an iron door, but in fact it was a solid steel door. As the commando team attempted to gain entry, it came under heavy fire by the group holding Wachsman hostage and the Sayeret Matkal team commander Nir Poraz was killed, and ten soldiers were wounded. The entry team returned fire and killed the three gunmen guarding Wachsman. Eventually the team was able to break through the door and enter the room, but they were too late, as Wachsman had already been killed. The Wachsman family was informed of his death personally by General Yoram Yair.

Funeral
Wachsman was buried on Saturday night 15 October 1994 in the Mount Herzl military cemetery.

Wachsman's Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Mordechai Elon, gave the eulogy. At the request of the bereaved father, the rabbi told the crowd of mourners that God did listen to their prayers and that just as a father would always like to say "yes" to all of his children's requests, sometimes he must say "no" though the child might not understand why. "So too our Father in Heaven heard our prayers, and though we don't understand why, His answer was 'no.'"

Beit Nachshon
Today "Beit Nachshon" at the Shalva Center in Jerusalem (Shalva Children's Center), an association for mentally and physically challenged children, is dedicated to Wachsman's memory.

Driver imprisoned
Jihad Yarmur was convicted of the murder of Nachshon Wachsman. He was released in October 2011 in exchange for the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.