An Israeli passenger who helped stop a terrorist co-pilot from crashing a Flydubai flight said a Bible verse left him shivering when he visited a synagogue days after returning home.
Asaf Rejuwan, an insurance agent aboard Flight FZ1073, described the experience in a Facebook post over the weekend. Noting that he was not particularly religious, he said he went to the synagogue to give thanks for surviving the attack.
“I had no doubt that after this great miracle, I would stand on Shabbat morning at the synagogue for the Gomel blessing. I’m not a religious person. I believe in God in my own way, and I generally don’t look for signs in everything. But today something happened that managed to amaze me,” Rejuwan wrote.
The Gomel blessing is a Jewish prayer of thanksgiving recited after surviving danger.
At the synagogue, Rejuwan said, he read a verse from Deuteronomy about God riding through the heavens to help His people. The passage, Deuteronomy 33:26, reads: “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to help you, and in His majesty rides the skies.”
“I read the verse, stopped, and shivered, and together with me, all the other worshippers who knew the story and heard why I am there with them,” Rejuwan said.
“After everything that happened on the flight, after the fear, after the rush, and after the realization of how thin the line was between life and death — finding myself right in front of these words, ‘a rider in the sky at your service,’ was a moment that was hard for me to explain. I don’t know if it’s providence, coincidence, or just a moment that took on a particularly deep meaning for me.”
Rejuwan said he and others who helped stop the attack had been asked repeatedly how they succeeded. Reflecting together afterward, he said, they realized how many passengers had taken on different roles during the emergency.
Some helped stabilize the aircraft, assist wounded captain Smit Machchhar, and subdue the attacker. Others shared a mobile hotspot, communicated with Israeli security officials, tracked the aircraft’s location, recited Psalms, or passed along earphones to bind the terrorist.
He also praised his wife, the parents who cared for their families, and the children who remained composed during the ordeal.
“I usually don’t write much online, but today I felt something burning inside me that I need to share with others,” Rejuwan wrote at the beginning of his post.
“Thank you. Thank you for life. Thank you for the miracle. And thank you for the opportunity to stand here and tell about it,” he concluded. “Am Yisrael Chai.”
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