Author: Kay Wilson

2011. 22 pages. Paperback.

Cost including post: Israel NIS 40; USA $10;

UK £8

Sadly we read every day in the newspapers of some horrible event, whether it be an accident, murder or terrorist attack. We read, turn the page and more often than not forget because the news reports give us just the bare facts, not graphic accounts of the actual horrors which would linger in the mind.

In this little book – not much more than a pamphlet – Kay Wilson records in every agonizing detail the dreadful events of December 18, 2010 when she and her friend Kristine Luken were hiking in the forests near Jerusalem and were stalked and held captive by Arab terrorists. Kay writes with total recall every terrifying twist and turn of this horrible experience which ended with Kristine's murder. Kay survived only because the terrorists thought she was already dead. With dreadful injuries, she was nevertheless able to come back almost from the dead and rehabilitate her life. This booklet was written as a kind of catharsis, probably an attempt to help herself cope with the unspeakable memories.

Kay Wilson has lived in Israel for many years and worked as a tourist guide mainly with Christian groups. She met Kristine, a committed Christian, on a study tour of Holocaust sites where Kristine had come to learn more about the behavior of the church in the Holocaust, and the two women became friends.

It was only on the second day of her visit that they fell prey to two murderous terrorists whose only aim was to kill Jews. In this they failed but they succeeded in killing a Christian whose only crime was to spend time in the Holy Land.

Kay describes the beauty of the day as they set out to explore the Mata forest, enjoying being in the heart of nature; how she saw the two men and recognized them instantly as Palestinian Arabs – she has lived in Israel most of her life – and how her instinctive feelings of apprehension turned to full-blown terror as they were accosted, attacked, robbed, beaten and stabbed. Her account is vivid, graphic and absolutely terrifying.

Left for dead, she managed to walk more than a kilometer to get back to where she knew there would be people and help. Two days later the police arrested 13 members of a Hamas terror cell, and her stolen belongings were returned to her.

The book has no price and is probably not something you can buy in a bookshop. As Kay wrote on the book jacket, "my recovery from those hours has required a thoughtful six-month reconstruction of the details. These are my memories of that terrible yet very sacred day."

For individual orders email Kay at kishkushkay@gmail.com