Jerusalem, 16 January, 2022 (TPS) — After Wikipedia editors voted on Tuesday to remove an entry in Hebrew on fallen IDF soldier Barel Hadarya Shmueli, who was killed by a Hamas terrorist in August, editors from around the world assisted the family and uploaded entries on him in English, Russian, Ukrainian and Chinese.
Shmueli, 21, a member of an elite undercover unit, was facing hundreds of rioters on August 21 when a Hamas terrorist shot him in the head at close range. He fought for his life for nine days, underwent several surgeries, and prayer gatherings for his recovery were held across the world, but he finally passed away.
The IDF launched an inquiry into the circumstances of his death, while Shmueli’s family accused the IDF of tying the troops’ hands and creating an unnecessary dangerous environment for the soldiers when facing the Hamas-led riots.
A majority of 47 editors voted in favor of deleting the entry, 57%, and 35 voted against deletion.
The identity of the contributors is unknown, but all of them speak Hebrew. Wikipedia’s deletion policy states that only registered users with 30 days of experience and 100 edits have the right to vote. Deleting an entry requires a majority of at least 55%.
To remove the entries in English, Russian, Ukrainian, and Chinese, editors opposing these entries would have to work hard to gain the required majority.
Hila Rahimi, Shamueli’s sister, wrote on Facebook after the new entries emerged that “Barel’s story will be told and remembered all over the world, Barel’s entry was written in Russian, Chinese, Ukrainian, and English. Thanks to editors from all over the world.”
