Chief Warrant Officer Yoel Bienenfeld

Dec 12, 2001 - Border Police Chief Warrant Officer Yoel Bienenfeld, 35, of Moshav Tel Shahar, was one of 10 people killed in a terrorist attack on an Israel and several passenger cars near the entrance to Emmanuel in Samaria.

At 18:00 PM, on the fourth night of Hanukkah, three terrorists attacked a No. 189 Dan bus traveling to the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Emmanuel from Bnei Brak, as well as several passenger cars, with a roadside bomb, anti-tank grenades, and light arms fire at 18:00 P.M. Ten people were killed and about 30 were injured.

Chief Warrant Officer Yoel Bienenfeld and three other Border Policemen had been accompanying a security prisoner when they heard about the terrorist attack. They immediately drove to the scene, and while attending to the wounded, they came under fire. Bienenfeld was killed in the ensuing exchange.

Yoel was born and raised in Moshav Tel Shahar, and recently lived in Petah Tikva. Yoel Bienenfeld had served in the Border Police since 1984, and was a squadron leader. He was considered to be an excellent policeman, and received a promotion in his rank a year before the minimum age.

Border Police Commander Ya'akov Ganot said, "Bienenfeld was among the first team to arrive on the scene, and he and his fellow officers performed courageously. Many owe their lives to them."

Border Police Chief Warrant Officer Yoel Bienenfeld was buried in Moshav Gimzo. Recently divorced and the father of a six-year-old boy, he is also survived by his parents and six siblings.