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Obituaries from page 152

members of those killed, who
school principal, activist and author,
endure not only profound loss, but
who educated thousands of children
widespread and ongoing celebra-
to be kind and compassionate, Micah
tions of the killers who caused
Lakin Avni said that his father’s vio-
their pain — via television, the
lent death has inspired him to ensure
Daniel Eisenbud I Jerusalem Post
internet and Arab media.
that his legacy endures — despite
The son of murder victim
the malevolent geopolitical climate
ne of the cruelest realities of the Richard Lakin — a gentle and
threatening it.
so-called “knife intifada” — which celebrated 76-year-old American- Richard Lakin
Avni, a married 47-year-old father
first engulfed Jerusalem, then the
Israeli educator, who was shot in
of four who lives in Tel Aviv, spoke
remainder of the country one year ago — is
the head and repeatedly stabbed by one such about his late father, the incitement that led
that the Arab killers who have carried out
killer while aboard a public bus in Armon
to his death and the importance of address-
murders of innocent non-combatants have
Hanatziv last October — is doing something ing the deadly climate that encourages other
been deified as “martyrs” within their com-
about it, in his father’s name.
killers to take innocent lives.
munities.
Citing his father’s legacy as an elementary
“Any death of a family member is a dif-
This fact is most painful for the family
ficult and traumatic experience,” Avni said
by phone from Boston, where he is meeting
with victims of the 2013 bombing of the
city’s marathon and lecturing about the dan-
gers of radical Islamist incitement.
“You can focus that energy on positive
things, or you can focus the energy on nega-
tive things; and I have chosen to focus it on
positive things,” he said. “And the first thing
me and my family have focused on is the
building of my father’s image in the public
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decency, Avni emphasized that his image
must be actively promoted.
“Yesterday, I was at the elementary school
where he was principal for 15 years; and I
went to see a plaque they put up and I was
moved, not only because the plaque stated
how he devoted his life to promoting kind-
ness and compassion and understanding and
peace, but because they put a wall up next to
it where children post reports about acts of
kindness they have done,” he said.
“It’s imperative that terrorism victims
speak about the legacies of those killed, so
others can learn about it,” he said.
Lamenting that his father’s killer, who was
shot dead by police, has been elevated to
hero status in Palestinian society — which
has named schools, sporting events, book-
reading programs and summer camps after
him — Avni said the ongoing glorification
campaigns of terrorists promoted by the
Palestinian Authority must be addressed
through countermeasures.
Avni said he helped author the Lakin bill,
awaiting Knesset approval, which would
enact prohibitive fines against social media
companies for every instance of incitement
to terrorism on their sites, until they are
removed. “What we decided to do was cre-
ate a pressure system to bring Facebook,
YouTube and Twitter to a point where they
have no choice but to self-regulate,” he
said.

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154 September 29 • 2016

Obituaries