Rabbi Leo Dee, whose wife and two daughters were murdered in a Palestinian terrorist attack in April 2023, announced on Thursday his engagement to Aliza Teplitsky.
“With praise and gratitude, we are excited to share the joyful news: we are engaged—Aliza and Leo,” the rabbi, a resident of Efrat in Judea, wrote on Facebook.
“And for all of it, Lord our God, we thank You,” he added.
Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia and Rina were driving through the Jordan Valley for a family vacation in Tiberias during Passover, when terrorists in a vehicle rammed them off the road near the Hamra Junction. The terrorists approached the victims and opened fire at close range, then fled the scene.
The daughters, 20 and 15 at the time, were pronounced dead at the scene. The mother died from her wounds two days later.
Leo Dee and his daughters Keren and Tali and son Yehuda were driving in a separate car and did not witness the attack.
Israeli security forces killed the two terrorists in an operation in Nablus about a month after the incident.
The British-born Leo garnered national and international headlines for his message of unity in the wake of the attack. He was subsequently offered a position as an Israeli envoy to Jewish communities around the world.
In March, the Jerusalem District Court issued an unprecedented order to temporarily freeze 50 million shekels ($13.7 million) in funds allocated to the Palestinian Authority in a lawsuit filed by Leo.
Dee’s legal action challenges the P.A.’s “pay-for-slay” program, which provides monthly stipends to terrorist prisoners and the families of attackers. The suit argues that these payments incentivize terrorism and calls for financial accountability.
The case seeks compensation for victims of terrorism and aims to establish a legal precedent that could lead to more P.A. funds being frozen over support for terrorist attacks. Supporters of the lawsuit also see it as a way to disrupt P.A. financial channels that support terrorism.
Following the ruling, Dee urged other victims of terrorism to take similar legal action, arguing that economic pressure on the P.A. could deter future attacks.