JERUSALEM (Press Release) — Ori Hamo’s father, Kobi, was planning a big surprise. He flew from San Diego to Israel on February 5 to attend his lone-soldier son’s swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall hours later. Ori joined the army in December. Ori and a group of soldiers were heading to the event in Jerusalem’s Old City at two in the morning when a driver plowed the car into them. Ori was the first to understand what was about to happen but too late to warn his friends to dive out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.
Hadassah Medical Organization treated seven of the soldiers, five in Ein Kerem, including Ori, and two at Mount Scopus. The others were relatively lightly injured, with most sent home. Doctors described Ori’s injuries as “moderate.”
Kobi Hemo was in shock when he first saw his son’s swollen and badly bruised face, his eyes hardly open. However, it is the internal damage that requires greater medical attention.“He’s got fractures in his pelvis, ribs, face and broken teeth,” says Kobi. He is expected to remain in hospital for a few weeks.
“He’ll have to undergo several operations,” says Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Unit Director Dr. Miklosh Bala. “Unfortunately we’ve seen these types of injuries in previous hit and run attacks.” “I got the call at 3 am,” says Kobi. “From the time I arrived at five the team has been incredible, doctors, nurses, everyone. I’m amazed by the way everyone jumped in to help from the hospital and the army.”
Ori was a student at San Diego Jewish Academy before volunteering in the Israel Defense Forces. His parents are Israeli born but met and married in the U.S. Kobi and Hagit have two children at home, Yuval, 15, and Agam, who will celebrate her bat mitzvah in the summer. Despite the traumatic incident Ori immediately told his father he plans on completing his military service.
Growing up in San Diego, Ori Hamo insisted on returning to Israel to serve in the IDF. “Both of you proudly served the country,” he told his parents Hagit Cohen Hamo and Kobi Hamo, who were born in Israel. “You sent me to Zionist school and scouts. Now it’s my turn to serve.” 7, 600 miles away from home, he volunteered for combat duty, starting December 1. “It’s very hard as a mom to have your son so far away, but we’re so proud of him,” said his mother Cohen Hamo, a teacher in San Diego Jewish Academy.
In January, the Academy was celebrating Israel Week with Cohen Hamo’s fifth graders dressing up as characters from Israel’s past and present. To elaborate, Audrey Levine, Leadership Vice President of Hadassah Southern California and a colleague, volunteered to do a slide show about Henrietta Szold for the children. Levine’s son Micah is a close friend and classmate of Ori Hamo’s. “I was particularly moved by the images of the Chagall Windows at Hadassah Hospital,” said Cohen Hamo. “Little did I know that I would be seeing them in person very soon.”
On February 7, Ori was marching with his group of soldiers to the Old City for the traditional swearing in ceremony at the Western Wall. It was 2:15 AM and the Jerusalem streets were quiet. Suddenly, a terrorist from a Jerusalem neighborhood drove a passenger sedan into the soldiers. Ori, accompanying the officer with the communication device at the end of column, shouted the alarm in time for most of the soldiers to scatter. The officer was critically injured and Ori, whose jacket bears the tire marks, suffered multiple injuries. He is receiving treatment by the orthopedists, ophthalmologists and plastic surgeons at Hadassah Medical Organization Ein Kerem, hospitalized in the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower. Among his many visitors this week was Israeli musician Idan Amedi who serenaded him. Ori, a musician and singer, reached for the guitar and played one of Amedi’s songs despite his many injuries. “We see his survival as a miracle,” said Dad Kobi Hamo.
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Preceding provided by Hadassah Hospital