David Buhbut

Sept 18, 2002 - The charred body of David Buhbut, 67, of Ma'ale Adumim was found near el-Azzariya, a Palestinian village near Ma'ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, the victim of a terrorist killing.

Buhbut, a retired construction contractor, had gone on Tuesday to el-Azzariya with a Palestinian worker to buy materials for the renovation of his home. When he did not return that evening, his family reported him misssing. His body was found early Wednesday morning. He had apparently been tortured, before being killed by a shot to the head. His body was then burned and left in the rubbish dump. Three Palestinians who were arrested have confessed to the murder.

His son Avi said, "My father was a modest man who talked to everyone eye-to-eye - Jews, Arabs and Christians. He always treated his Arab workers well." Since Buhbut's retirement, he had been teaching construction at an engineering school in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood. In his spare time, he studied Kabbala and the writing of sacred texts at a yeshiva.

David Buhbut was buried in Jerusalem. He is survived by his wife, four children, and five grandchildren.