Last Tuesday evening, Yishay Montgomery was playing guitar for donations on Tel AViv-Yafo promenade when he heard screams. A terrorist was stabbing people. The 26 year old street performer ran towards the screams fell, got up and tried to neutralize the attacker by smashing his guitar over the man’s head. The terrorist ran, but Montgomery’s actions were noted.
Within hours, he appeared on Israeli media and was declared a hero. A crowdfunder set up a GoFundMe campaign to buy him a new guitar. Over 200 donors contributed. The Halilit music store in the Jaffa watctower gave him a new GUILD 12 string acoustic guitar. Aviv Geffen also gave Montgomery a new guitar. D’Angelico Guitars in New York City also reached out to send him all kinds of guitars.
Yishay’s grandfather and father are from Lubbock, Texas. Coincidentally, Taylor Force, 29, the tourist murdered by the terrorist also hailed from Lubbock. Force – a graduate of the USMA at West Point and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, and his wife were visiting Israel and its tech start-ups from Vanderbilt University’s business school when they were stabbed..
Martha Montgomery Huber near Lubbock received a called from Yishay Montgomery’s father, her cousin about the attack. Huber said Montgomery – a verteran of IDF Special Forces – is a young man who acted out of courage. She said his quick thinking may have saved the lives of many more. After she spoke with her cousin, she said she started seeing local news stories about Force and immediately realized it was the same situation, and they were devastated. “He was so brave,” Huber said.
