Assaf Rajwan, who was among the heroes who acted against the terrorist on the FlyDubai flight and saved the passengers from the crash, arrived at the synagogue today to say the 'Birkat HaGomel' blessing - and then something happened that made him shiver.
In the post he published, he returned to the dramatic moments on the plane and spoke about the insight he only came to after the event.
Assaf wrote: "Since the incident of preventing the terrorist from taking over a FlyDubai flight, there has been a lot of talk in the media and I have been asked many times what I think were the factors that led to the prevention of the terrible disaster that could have befallen our people if the despicable terrorist had succeeded in his plans.
So I think today I received a very special and interesting answer to this topic.
Of course, after the event ended and we arrived safely on the land of Israel, I felt the need to thank many people... the passengers who cooperated, my lioness wife and all the mothers and fathers who protected their loved ones, the children who behaved calmly, and every passenger on the plane who was Israeli.
Yesterday I was part of a group of passengers who were interviewed by an international channel, and during the conversation and details of each passenger's perception of the flight experience, we realized something very important, something that is only understood when things sink deeper and get down to the smallest details in our intimate conversations.
We understood that every passenger on the flight had a role.
One of the passengers was responsible for communication with Israel's security apparatus. It turned out that there was a passenger on the flight who provided a mobile hotspot and made sure to pass it on to other passengers. Another passenger sat and recited Psalms. A passenger made sure to pass on headphone wires to tie up the terrorist. Passengers made sure to update us on where we were landing according to a GPS map. An Australian passenger was the only one on the plane who could make calls to Israel in an enemy country (Saudi Arabia). The list goes on... and of course the amazing Yaniv, the charming Zvika and Tali, the idiot of the cannon, Or the man, and other good friends who lent a hand.
I had no doubt that after this great miracle, I would show up at the synagogue on Saturday morning for the blessing of redemption.
I'm not a religious person. I believe in God in my own way, and I don't usually look for signs in everything. But today something happened that managed to amaze me.
Completely randomly, today in synagogue I read Deuteronomy, chapter 33, verse 26: ”There is no one like the God of righteousness, who rides on the heavens by your help, and in his pride they are overthrown.”
I read the verse, stopped, and shuddered, along with all the other worshippers who knew the story and heard why I was there with them.
Assaf Rajwan at the height of the drama. Photo: Courtesy of the photographer. According to Section 27A
After everything that happened on the flight, after the fear, after the assault, and after realizing how thin the line between life and death was - finding myself in front of these words, "Rider of the sky with your help," was a moment that is hard for me to explain.
I don't know if this is providence, coincidence, or simply a moment that took on a particularly deep meaning for me.
But today, in the synagogue, during the blessing of the gomel, I felt mainly one thing: Thank you. Thank you for life. Thank you for the miracle. And thank you for the privilege of standing here and telling about it. 'The people of Israel are alive.'".
