Continued Incitement creates continuation of terror

With continuing incitement by the Palestinian hierarchy, it should be no surprise that attacks on Israeli citizens are happening.

Here are just some examples of what is circulating in the Palestinian areas:-

Further, the video below makes it clear the depths of depravity in creating a culture of hate.

Losing Control of the News Following Terror Attack

This article courtesy of Honest Reporting http://honestreporting.com/losing-control-of-the-news/ describes the emotions of a parent as reports of a terror attack unfold with rumours and more rumours until the facts unfold.

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. I was outside walking my dog when I got the call from my daughter.

“Dad, there’s been a terrorist attack at my school. The teachers told us all to call home.” “Where are you now?” I asked.

“We’re at the school and the Army and police are everywhere, but I don’t know what happened yet.”

“O.K., call me again when you know more.”

From my phone, I checked out a few websites of Israeli media. There were stories about the stabbing in Tel Aviv earlier in the day, but no breaking news of a local terrorist attack yet.

My eldest daughter and my youngest son go to schools in an educational complex (referred to as the “Matnas”) near the community of Alon Shevut. The complex houses two girls high schools, an elementary school, a swimming pool, basketball court, and the regional municipal offices. A couple thousand kids go to school there (including two of mine) and in the afternoon, they often walk over to the bus stop on the corner and take either an Egged bus or catch a ride with someone. Right down the road is the regional police station and an army base. People pick their kids up from there after school all the time.

The bus stop across from the school entrance is very close from the one where the three teenagers were kidnapped and murdered at the beginning of the summer. Yet the kidnapping took place at night long after the schools were closed for the day. Usually, with school in session and armed guards right at the entrance, it is considered a safe enough place.

Five minutes after my daughter’s call, my other daughter called me. This year she started school on the Golan, a few hours away. But many of her friends still attend school at the Matnas.

“Dad, I heard a girl from the school was just killed. She was 14.” I could hear the panic in her voice. She is 14.

“How did you hear?” I asked. “People are putting this on ‘WhatsApp” (a texting app)

I told her to hold on, that nothing official had appeared in the media yet.

At this point, the kids in the schools started posting all sorts of rumors. At one time, two school girls were reported killed, a 14 year old and a 17 year old. Even though I had just spoken with both my daughters, they happen to be 14 and 17. I furiously started checking out every website for more information.

At this point, the media knew there was a story. But since only minutes had passed, there was little concrete information available. So what did they do? Not wanting to risk missing the story, they started reporting some of the rumors spreading on the internet as facts. The Times of Israel ran a headline referring to a murdered 14 year old. Other articles said that the terrorist had been killed by soldiers.

Now that it was in the media, many people started posting the news reports on social media. Facebook and Twitter fed the media which in turn fed the social networks. It was a huge cycle of disinformation caused by an immense desire to know everything instantly. Something that is just not possible.

It took about 45 minutes for the full details to come to light. That is actually amazingly fast.

But it seemed to take forever.

A terrorist had driven his car into the bus stop, missing the people there. He then jumped out of his car and stabbed to death 26 year old Dalia Lemkus. He then turned his knife on another man waiting at the stop. A passerby saw what was going on, stopped his car, and tried to wrestle the attacker to the ground. While this was happening, one of the high school girls who was at the scene ran to the school gate and yelled for the guard. He responded immediately and ran about 50 meters to where he could shoot the terrorist. The girl who had called for help gave her version of events to other girls there. Within seconds, the schools were locked down, and the news was flying from the students’ phones.

It is an important lesson in the way we get information today. Sometimes stories are written that report inaccuracies because of the bias of the journalist. We certainly have seen our share of those, and it’s what we spend most of our time at HonestReporting fighting.

But other times, the nature of how information spreads these days and our need to know what happened instantly is what allows false information to be published.

I was standing outside with my phone, going from one site to another trying to figure out what had happened. While I knew the first reports would most likely be wrong, with my daughter so close to the scene, I was desperate for information. I did not want to wait those 45 minutes — and I’m someone who works with the media every day.

The proliferation of smart phones and other mobile internet devices means that not only can one be a consumer of news at any time, but also that anyone can be a journalist within seconds. Anyone who happens to be be close to where a news event occurs becomes a reporter. And the media take those reports as seriously as those filled by professional correspondents.

It’s just something to keep in mind that unless you have actually seen something in person, it would be best not to post on social media before the facts come to light. I am sure I was not the only one using every source I could think of at the time to learn what happened. Reporting news is a huge responsibility, and what you put on social media can spread further than you could imagine.

Three al-Qaida recruits nabbed for planning terror in Israel

With security issues dominating the peace talks with the Palestinians and the on going institutionlised incitement within the Palestinian authority, what justification is there for complaints against the security barrier?

See rerport below of latest attempts at terror attacks within Israel

Jerusalem Post By YAAKOV LAPPIN 01/23/2014

Shin Bet arrests men recruited by Gaza operative working for al-Qaida chief; ‘They planned to bring foreign terrorists,’ says security official.

The Shin Bet announced Wednesday that it had arrested three Palestinians from east Jerusalem who were recruited online by an al-Qaida operative in Gaza. It said the three were in the midst of preparations to carry out a string of large-scale bombing and shooting attacks on multiple targets in Israel.

The intended targets included the Jerusalem International Convention Center, a bus traveling between the capital and Ma’aleh Adumim, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, and emergency responders who would have arrived at the scenes of attacks.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said an al-Qaida operative in Gaza, named as Ariv al-Sham, recruited the men separately as three independent terrorist cells. Senior Shin Bet sources said they believed Sham received his orders directly from the head of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Using Skype and Facebook, Sham was able to recruit Iyad Khalil Abu-Sara, 23, of Ras Hamis of east Jerusalem, who has an Israeli ID card. During questioning, Abu-Sara, who was arrested on December 25, admitted to volunteering to carry out a “sacrifice attack” on an Israeli bus traveling between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim. In the planned attack, terrorists would shoot out the bus’s tires, causing it to overturn, before gunning down passengers at close range and firing on emergency responders.

According to the Shin Bet’s investigation, Abu-Sara also volunteered to help orchestrate a simultaneous double suicide-bombing, involving the dispatching of two suicide bombers to the Jerusalem International Convention Center and the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. Subsequently, Abu- Sara planned to detonate a suicide truck bomb in the vicinity of emergency responders arriving at the convention center.

To that end, Sham and Abu- Sara plotted to bring a group of foreign terrorists to Israel using fake Russian passports and posing as tourists. Abu- Sara was meant to receive the terrorists and prepare their suicide bomb vests and a truck bomb. Abu-Sara was also supposed to travel to Syria for training in combat and explosives manufacturing. He had purchased a flight ticket to Turkey, a gateway to Syria.

Abu-Sara received computer files containing virtual training courses on bomb manufacturing from Sham in Gaza, the Shin Bet added.

Security forces monitored communications between Abu-Sara and Sham, observing how the latter asked his recruit which targets he had access to. After Abu-Sara suggested various targets, Sham would direct the conversation toward the operational aspects of attacks.

A second suspect, Rubin Abu-Nagma, confessed to plotting to kidnap a soldier from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, as well as bombing a residential building housing Israeli Jews in the Abu Tor neighborhood of Jerusalem. During questioning, he described how he learned to manufacture bombs online.

Al-Anam, a third suspect, from Jenin, also confessed to being in Internet communication with Sham, and plotting to set up a Salafi-jihadi cell in Samaria for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks.

Security sources noted with concern the swift process of recruitment and preparations that took place online in the space of a few months. They added that Abu-Sara’s father was opposed to his son’s activities and warned him repeatedly after seeing his son surfing radical Islamist websites.

“Abu-Sara and al-Sham coordinated a trip to Syria and money transfers. This all happened very quickly,” said a source. “All three terrorist channels formed at a fast rate,” he added.

The investigation underlines the fact that the Internet remains the main means of expansion for global jihadi elements, the source said. Terrorist operatives use the Internet to create operational cells, appoint local commanders, and transfer bomb-making know-how.

The relationship between recruits and their handlers online is similar to relations between a cow and a calf, the source said. “The calf wants to suckle, and the cow wants to give it milk,” he added.

The plots were disrupted at a relatively early stage, the source stated. They are evidence of the fact that the Gaza Strip is a terrorism base for al-Qaida-affiliated elements, in addition to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, he said.

Hundreds of Salafi-jihadis in Gaza have access to rockets and arms, and travel to Sinai to attack both Egypt and Israel, the source explained.

Hamas has reached an understanding with these elements, according to which they must not directly harm Hamas by provoking an Israeli response against the Islamist rulers of the Strip, but are otherwise free to act as they please. There have been no recent arrests by Hamas of Salafi jihadis in Gaza. Rather, Hamas engages with these groups by deploying its own forces to rocket-launching grounds to prevent attacks on Israel, and through dialogue with al-Qaida-affiliated elements.

Outside of Gaza, Hamas supports global jihadi activities in Syria and in the Sinai Peninsula, the source continued.

Hamas would prefer to avoid a confrontation with smaller terror groups in Gaza, while also avoiding a head-on clash with Egypt and Israel.

The episode also underlines the risk posed by al-Qaida’s attempt to recruit east Jerusalem Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians in the West Bank, the source said.

In November, three Salafi-jihadi terrorists who were in the middle of planning a terrorist attack were killed in a counter-terrorism mission in the Palestinian village of Yatta, near Hebron.

The suspects were in a car that contained explosives and firearms, when they were intercepted by the Israel Police’s Counter-terrorism Unit.

The unit opened fire at the car’s tires and the suspects fired back. Following an exchange of fire, the two suspects were killed. A little over an hour after the firefight, security forces engaged a third armed suspect, killing him as well.

Meanwhile, a US State Department official acknowledged Wednesday reports of an al-Qaida plot targeting the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, telling The Jerusalem Post that the US is “closely following the situation” and has been in touch with the Israeli government concerning the matter.

“The US Embassy routinely employs a range of measures to safeguard US citizens and all of our employees and their dependents,” the State Department official said. “We have a high degree of confidence in our own security staff and in the Israeli security forces.”

The official implied that the plot had been a matter of discussion between US and Israeli for some time.

“The US embassy was not just the target, but obviously other targets were involved as well in the threat,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said on Wednesday.

Harf said that the US has no plans to evacuate the embassy.

“We obviously don’t discuss all of our security measures,” Harf added.

Why do we need checkpoints?

From a report via the Emek Mediical Center

This morning, 19 year old newly enlisted IDF soldier Eden Atias boarded a bus heading to Afula from neighboring Nazareth.  Sitting next to him was 16 year old Hussein Jawadra, a Palestinian who had illegally entered Israel from nearby Jenin.  In the next moments, by the time the bus had entered Afula’s central bus station, the young Israeli lay mortally wounded after being stabbed in the neck in an unprovoked vicious attack by the Palestinian teenager. 

Eden died in Emek Medical Center before we could save his young life.  The young terrorist is currently being treated in another Israeli hospital after being injured during his apprehension. 

Another horrific example of life and death in the Valley of Armageddon, where Israel – committed to the sanctity of life - offers medical aid even to an enemy.  Even to a politically motivated deranged murderer. 

We stand proud as Israelis, while we share bitter tears with the Atias family and our people. 

And  many are still asking why we need the checkpoints!!      

IDF Uncover Terror tunnel

IDF forces discovered a kilometer-long tunnel that starts in the Gaza Strip and goes to the comprehensive fence around Kibbutz Ein ha-Shlosha. It is apparently intended to kidnap Israeli citizens or to activate explosive devises. According to one military official, “It was one of the most impressive and complex tunnels ever exposed.”

Oct 13, 2013, 02:00PM | Rachel Avraham

The IDF discovered last Tuesday a terror tunnel dug in the Southern Gaza Strip in the Palestinian Authority that led to the area of Kibbutz Ein Ha-Shlosha.  The security system in the tunnel is appraised as one of the most sophisticated and long tunnels located in recent years, intended to implement the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers or to use explosive devices. 

The IDF and the security establishment checked the tunnel, which turned out to go around three hundred meters inside Israel, in order to verify that the method it was established isn’t booby-trapped.   During the weekend, there were forces in place to destroy it.  The localization of the tunnel was made possible following IDF tracking sequences after Palestinian attempts to dig a tunnel to engage in smuggling into and out of Gaza.

"Identifying activities each day" Photo Credit: Reuters

In a conversation with Channel 2 News, a military source stated that this is not the only tunnel that was discovered recently and that terror organizations continue their efforts to try to infiltrate Israeli territory.   “The kilometer long tunnel is one of the most impressive and complex tunnels ever exposed,” he said.

“The tunnel was exposed in time to prevent a disaster,” Haim Yalin, head of the Eshkol Regional Council, within whose jurisdiction the tunnel was discovered, stated.  “The cooperation between the farmers that work the fields to the last furrow, and the IDF that defends us, has proven itself.  We trust completely the IDF and their prepared squads that permit us to continue our routine lives.”

Major-General of the Southern Command: “Identifying activities each day”

 “We identify that on the ground in Gaza itself, each day hundreds of people dig defensive and offensive tunnels,” Major General of the Southern Command Sammy Turgeman stated two weeks ago in an interview with Channel 2 News.  “Hamas is an organization that presently finds itself in a corner and it needs to decide what it is facing.  On the one hand, they suffered a severe blow in Operation Pillar of Defense, and on the other hand, they endured the disintegration of the radical axis between Iran, Hezbollah and Syria, and above all, the loss of strategic support with the fall of Morsi’s regime,” Major General Turgeman explained. 

 According to Turgeman, Israel is the main destination of the Gaza terror organizations’ operating under the umbrella of Hamas.  He stressed that this is highly important for the ability of Hamas to control the Gaza Strip.  “We need a mechanism that controls the security aspects inside Gaza.  Hamas knows this.  I don’t see an alternative to the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip,” Turgeman stated.    

Destroying the tunnels Photo Credit: Channel 2

Last week: Incident at the Security Fence

 Last week, the quiet along the Gaza border was broken.  The Golani Brigade forces killed a Palestinian man and arrested an additional one.  The two Palestinians were observed in the middle of the night by security forces when they approached the Security Barrier in Northern Gaza.  The Israeli soldiers opened fire on the two, after following the proper procedures for suspected infiltrators.

 The incident is being investigated by the Israeli Defense Ministry.  Examinations carried out show that the two weren’t armed, but tried to illegally infiltrate into Israel.  Following initial fears that the two attempted to harm Israeli soldiers, the local population was ordered to remain near bomb shelters.   

What might civilized people be thinking when sociopaths like Tamimi bask in adulation?

Frimet and Arnold Roth 21st August

The unrepentant, unjustly freed murderer Tamimi
with the unrepentant, unjustly freed murderer Tamimi
at their June 2012 wedding in Amman, Jordan

After receiving some offline comments on the Tamimi speech we publicized yesterday, we have a few further thoughts to share. The urge to do this is triggered by a sense that something deeply disturbing is going on; it's being ignored or willfully not noticed by people who ought to be noticing.

When a politician or public figure on our side of the fence makes an ignorant or dumb or smart or incisive statement, particularly when it's about the Arabs (you know the examples), his/her comments are greeted with near-instant analysis and frequently with condemnation from a global array of press and politicians. The Arab media focus obsessively on such things. Outside the Arab/Islamic world, we frequently see European, American, Australian and other critics drawing wide inferences about how those specific Israeli views are going to bring on the next Black Plague or an increase in pogroms in France. The claim, at minimum, is that irreparable harm is going to be caused to the souls and DNA of innocent Israeli children, to world peace and so on.


To illustrate: when a posse of Israeli delinquents (it happens to be a very current issue here) beat up an Arab youth in a street fight, the New York Times says the event has led to "a stark national conversation about racism, violence, and how Israeli society could have come to this point" That's an actual quote: check it out. We think the Times' journalist's conclusion is overwrought nonsense, but that's not the point. Israel is not, never has been and should never be, immune to criticism, or even object to it, and mostly doesn't.


Now think for a moment about how Ahlam Tamimi and her hundreds of published interviews and speeches are treated by global public opinion. Pay attention in particular to how Arabs view her, since they are her principal audience.


No one - certainly not the woman herself - denies the fact that she planned and carried out a premeditated killing on a large and vicious scale, which was the whole point of doing it. The law convicted her on the basis that she's a murderer; she says (more or less) that she did it for the freedom and honour of her nation. The fact that she planned to kill and succeeded mightily has never been in dispute. She does not miss an opportunity to say that it was children, and specifically Jewish children, and even more specifically orthodox Jewish children like ours, who were the target. She regrets that she did not kill more - it's there in yesterday's video and in numerous other speeches and earlier videos recorded in her Jordanian freedom.


She appears on television and in front of adoring crowds (ask us if you want to view the video files) and expresses the vilest kind of racist hatred of Jews, Israelis and Zionists. She has done this many times since she unjustly got her freedom in October and her message is hugely amplified by the social media. She is a star on YouTube, a hero on Facebook. She is globally broadcast via satellite television into every corner of the Arabic-speaking world. It's arguable that she has the largest footprint of any ordinary murderer (ignoring "celebrities" like Hitler, Mao, Stalin et al) in human history. If that seems like an overstatement then we urge you to concede that she is in the major leagues. The fact that most people don't know this is largely because most people don't speak Arabic.


She smiles warmly when she says she killed those Jews, and her god wanted her to do it. She points to how she has subsequently been rewarded with freedom, fame, a wedding that received live television coverage. The adoring crowds applaud and ululate. The encouragement (and probably the will) to emulate her actions is clear.


How many Arabic speakers are there in the world? A quick query on the web turns up these numbers: "280 million native speakers, and an extra 250 million non-native speakers" [source]. How many Arabic newspapers? Many.


Here's our point: We have searched and have not yet found a blog, article, published speech or op-ed in her language, Arabic, which criticizes the woman or her views. So far, not one. If our readers can point us to exceptions, please do.



This is deeply shocking. Tamimi's message resonates throughout the Arab and Islamic world. Her views don't even rise to the level of controversial. She's simply a hero, wall to wall. She and her vile deeds, opinions and intentions appear to represent some sort of global consensus in the Arab and Islamic world. There is no public debate, no expressions of outrage - not even concerning the passivity of the Kingdom of Jordan where she lives and from where a vibrant Tamimi-focused industry of online and broadcast videos sends its message of hatred and death out to the world.



Does the absence of criticism throughout the Arab world mean they support the deliberate killing of the innocent people among their enemy? Does their silence mean they support the murder of children as Tamimi certainly does, and they want to see it happen again and again as she certainly does?



What does this say about the discourse underway in the Arab world? What light does it throw on the global news media?



What can we learn from here about the chances of ever making peace?

Terror in Bulgaria

A terrorist attack on a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Burgas, Bulgaria Wednesday killed seven people on board and injured at least 20 more, several critically, according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry and Israeli Police.



The tourists had landed at Burgas’ Sarafovo Airport on a flight from Tel Aviv and had just boarded buses to travel to the city’s Globus Hotel. Bulgarian media said 44 people were on the vehicle at the time of the explosion, about 5:30 p.m. local time. All of the buses were still in the airport terminal.


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held security consultations following the terror attack in Bulgaria today (Wednesday 18 July 2012).


The Prime Minister said: “All signs point towards Iran. Over the last few months we have seen Iran’s attempts to attack Israelis in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and other countries. Exactly 18 years to the day after the horrendous attack on the Jewish Community Center in Argentina, deadly


Iranian terrorism continues to strike at innocent people. This is a global Iranian terror onslaught and Israel will react firmly to it.”


The Prime Minister sends his condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to the wounded.

What did Freed Female Palestinian Terrorist say to Gaza Children?

The freeing of terrorists and murderers in exchange for Gilad Shalit raises concerns amongst the Israeli public, that, as has happened on previous occasions, 25% will return to terror. In the case below, less than one day has elapsed and we are seeing the continuation of incitement by one of the freed terrorists.

From Reuters 10/19/11

A would-be Palestinian suicide bomber freed by Israel in the prisoner swap for soldier Gilad Shalit told cheering schoolchildren in the Gaza Strip the day after her release on Wednesday she hoped they would follow her example.

"I hope you will walk the same path we took and God willing, we will see some of you as martyrs," Wafa al-Biss told dozens of children who came to her home in the northern Gaza Strip.

Biss was travelling to Beersheba's Soroka hospital for medical treatment in 2005 when Israeli soldiers at the Erez border crossing noticed she was walking strangely. They found 10 kgs (22 lbs) of explosives had been sewn into her underwear.

A member of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party, Biss was sentenced to a 12-year term for planning to blow herself up.

After she spoke, the children cheered and waved Palestinian flags and chanted: "We will give souls and blood to redeem the prisoners. We will give souls and blood for you, Palestine."

Biss said she had planned to blow herself up at the checkpoint but her detonator malfunctioned. "Unfortunately, the button did not work at the last minute before I was to be martyred," Biss told Reuters. She said she had not yet adjusted to her freedom and arose early on Wednesday for prison roll call. "This morning I woke up in my room, wore my scarf and stood up awaiting the line-up time before I realised I was home and not in jail," she said.

Once she settles back to her routine, Biss said she plans to complete university psychology studies but added that she remained defiant in the face of Israeli warnings to act against those who return to militancy. "We will pursue our struggle and (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nentanyahu) knows that. Arrests will not deter us from our strong battles and confrontation in the face of Zionist arrogance in the land of Palestine," she said.

Biss was one of 477 Palestinians freed by Israel on Tuesday in the first stage of an exchange with Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers that ended Shalit's five years of captivity. Another 550 Palestinans will be freed in the second stage later this year.

So You Think You know the Terror Stats?

In August 2011, there were 178 terrorist attacks carried out against Israel - a significant increase from the 53 that occurred in July.

The data was published in a monthly report released by the Israel Security Agency.
134 of the terrorist events were rocket or mortar attacks.
The main source of the increase was from the Gaza Strip, from which 135 attacks originated in August, compared to 20 in July.

The most noteworthy terrorist attack that occurred last month took place on August 18 on the Israel-Egypt border north of Eilat. Eight Israelis (six civilians and two security forces members) were killed in that attack and 29 were wounded.

An increase in terrorist attacks also occurred in Judea and Samaria, where 30 attacks occurred in August, compared to 25 in July.

In Jerusalem, there was a slight decrease, with six attacks in August, compared to eight in July.

On August 29, a Palestinian seized control of a taxi cab in Tel Aviv and ran into a number of people. He also stabbed people before being arrested.
One Israeli was killed when a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in Be'er Sheva on August 20.

Overall, nine Israelis were killed and 55 wounded in terrorist attacks in August.

During August, 145 rockets and 46 mortars were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, compared to 20 rockets and two mortars in July.

After massacre, "settlers" help bring new Palestinian life into world

Israel Army forces (IDF) and local paramedics helped save the life of a Palestinian woman and her newly born infant Wednesday, at the settlement where Fogel relatives are sitting Shiva (the mourning period) for the five Israelis brutally murdered last week.

Just as IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz arrived in Neve Tzuf to offer his condolences, a Palestinian cab raced towards the community's entrance. In it, soldiers and paramedics discovered a Palestinian woman in her 20s in advanced stages of labor and facing a life-threatening situation: The umbilical cord was wrapped around the young baby girl's neck, endangering both her and her mother.

The quick action of settler paramedics and IDF troops deployed in the area saved the mother's and baby's life, prompting great excitement and emotions at the site where residents are still mourning the brutal death of five local family members.

An IDF paramedic, was the first medical team member at the scene and recounted the dramatic situation he faced. "When I arrived, I saw a woman covered by a blanket in a yellow Palestinian van. I moved closer and saw the baby's head and upper body," he told a reporter. "The umbilical cord was around the baby's neck; the baby was grey and didn't move." "I first removed the cord from the neck and at the same time asked paramedics to prepare the baby resuscitation kit. I pinched her to see if she's responding, and she started to cry," he said.

Paramedics also treated the mother, who was in good condition at that point. The paramedic said: "We treat everyone"

Meanwhile, the ambulance driver raced to the scene. "We joined the military paramedic and helped him cut off the umbilical cord…without the medical treatment, the fetus and woman faced genuine life danger," said the driver. "It was touching, but I couldn't help but think that a few meters from there, people were sitting Shiva for another baby, who was murdered, I was touched to see the face of the new baby, but I also thought about the face of the murdered baby." The head of the Magen David Adom team at Neve Tzuf, said this was not the first time settlers assist Palestinians in distress. "They know we have a skilled medical team here, and in any case of accident or injury they arrive and we help them," he said.

The paramedic noted that on the day of the Fogel massacre, settlers saw fireworks and celebrations in nearby Palestinian communities, but added that the local medical team is committed to assisting anyone in need. "Two years ago, we also made sure to treat a terrorist who attempted to place a bomb on the road and was shot by soldiers," he said.

Palestinians from the nearby village of Nabi Salah gathered around the paramedics along with the new grandmother and could not hide their joy. "They thanked us and told us they named the girl Jude," said the paramedic. "I volunteered for Magen David Adom since age 15 and it's the first time I witnessed childbirth. It was an amazing feeling, to hold the girl that was just born in my arms, and to know that in this complex place we did something good."

Potential Terrorists stopped by Israel's Security

There have been a lot of discussions about Israel's security methods, even the Harvard Business School got involved.

I just know that I feel comfortable with the security arrangements even though it is sometimes inconvenient. There are just too many attempts at terror attacks which fortunately are stopped before achieving the aim. Too many attenmpts that are not newsworthyy so they don't get reported.

It is now reported that last month, the Israel Police arrested two Israeli Arab citizens of East Jerusalem at the Beer Sheva Central Bus Station, who were suspected to have planned terror attacks on Israeli territory. During the search of their belongings, the police found a portable memory card with detailed plans for terror attacks in central Israeli targets, such as the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, the Tel Hashomer Medical Center, the tourist hotel area in Tel Aviv, the Malha Mall in Jerusalem and soldiers' bus stops in Jerusalem and Mevasseret Tzion.

Merad Namar (25) from Sur Baher and Merad Camal (25) from Wadi al-Joz, who both held Israeli IDs, were arrested after they had raised the suspicion of civilians at the Beer Sheva Central Bus Station. Investigations by the Israel Security Agency show that the suspects were recruited by Hamas commanders abroad to collect information on possible targets for terror attacks in Israel. The recruitment took place in Jordan and Dubai, where the two suspects had been staying in the months before their arrival in Israel.Throughout the past few months, Namar and Camal held additional meetings with foreign agents in Saudi-Arabia, Jordan and Turkey. In addition to that, they were scheduled to receive weaponry and explosive devices from their commanders.

Today, Monday (Feb. 1), an indictment was filed against the two suspects at the Jerusalem District Court, on the grounds of conspiracy with foreign agents, membership in a terror organization, aiding the enemy and espionage.

To Free or Not to Free - That is the Question

One of my readers sent me an e-mail “I read today in the Jerusalem Post that maybe some terrorists (in jail) might be released as "exiles" to the Gaza strip. Why would Israel let terrorists go to Gaza and be with Hamas and be able to continue terrorist attacks.?”

In reply I wrote - "This issue is so complex and is creating a conflict in our own hearts and in the hearts of everyone we talk to, it is a subject on every Israelis heart. It appears to be such a simple decision give "them" what they want and get Noam and Aviva's son back home but it isn't."

"This is a decision of Solomonic proportions; how many master terrorists can you release for one young lad? What are the risks? Where should the terrorists be deported to on their release knowing many of them fully intend fomenting hatred wherever they may be? How many Israelis will die as a result of their release?”

The simplistic approach does not work, the demand that they be released and the IDF, Mossad and Shabak be more alert is naive, they do a brilliant job already but the risks change. On the other hand we all need to see Gilad at home with his family since that is what we stand for and who we are.

And as if to give further food for thought we now know that a ballistic analysis of the weapons found in the house of the terrorist Annan Tzubach in Nablus, who was killed along with two other accomplices, the morning of December 26th were the ones used to murder Meir Avshalom Hai. Meir Avshalom Hai, a resident of Shavey Shomeron, was murdered by Palestinian gunfire while driving his vehicle in the area of the village on December 24th, 2009.

During the operation, IDF special forces killed three terrorists responsible for carrying out the shooting: Raed Surkajy, Assan Abu Sharach and Annan Tzubach. When he was killed, Annan Tzubach was armed with a handgun and hiding two M16 assault rifles, an additional handgun, and ammunition.

Nader/Raed A-Gabar Machmad Surkajy, a 40 year old resident of Nablus, is a Nablus Fatah Tanzim activist and has been imprisoned in Israel in the past. Prior to his arrest in 2002, Surkajy was a senior member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and was involved in multiple terror attacks. Surkajy was arrested in April 2002 and was released earlier this year in January 2009.

Assan Fatachi Naif Abu Sharach, a 40 year old Nablus resident, has also been previosly imprisoned in Israel. He is the brother of Naif Abu Sharach, the former head of the Fatah Tanzim in Nablus, who was responsible for planning multiple terror attacks until he was killed by IDF soldiers in 2004.

Annan Saliman Mustafa Tzubach, a 36 year old Nablus resident, a Shahad Al-Aqsa activist and was involved in widespread militant activity within the framework of the Nablus Fatah Tanzim. The group was led by Naif Abu Sharach until his death. Annan served as an arms dealer and supplier. During an attempt to arrest him tonight, Annan was killed after an exchange of fire with the IDF while he was found in a hiding place along with weapons and ammunition. Annan was included in an agreement in which wanted terror suspects were granted amnesty in exchange for ceasing and desisting in all terror involvement.

And that, my friends, is the problem!!!!

To Be or Not To Be - that is the question

The ongoing saga of negotiating for the release of cpatured soldier Gilad Shalit is taking up lots of media space here in Israel.

As a parent one can only sympathise with Gulad's parent who by this weekend will have suffered 1000 days since their son was captured on Israeli soil.

However, the price Hamas is demanding for his release is so high that to give in to these demands would mean the release of some of the most despicable Hamas terrorists who would offer absolutely no quarantee that their acts of terro would not be repeated. Once again the big unanswered question is; would we get him back alive?

And so we are in the middle of a media war once again, a war of the type Hamas knows very well to exploit.

It is all very well that 13 members of the UK parliament "calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in a cross-border terrorist attack inside Israel on 25 June 2006; welcomes Egyptian efforts to bring about the soldier's release; notes that 21 March 2009 will mark the soldier's 1,000th day in captivity; further notes that, despite repeated requests, the International Committee of the Red Cross continues to be denied access to the kidnapped soldier; recognises that the soldier's continued detention is an obstacle to peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians; condemns the kidnapping of Corporal Shalit by Hamas; and urges the Government to do all it can to bring about Corporal Shalit's release."

BUT one has to ask "where are the international demands for the Red Cross to visit Gilad?" Whilst in Israeli jails, the terrorists have full medical care, TV sets with access to Arabic stations, newspapers, food and even the opportunity to study for degrees. Plus the Red Cross can make unlimited visits. Are we crazy or not? Why not limit these conditions?

Yesterday the Israeli cabinet received a specific report on the identity of some of the prisoners on Hamas's list, some of whom Israel had refused to release, and some of whom it had agreed to release on the condition that they be barred from Judea and Samaria. The representative list that was presented underscored both Israel's willingness to show as much flexibility as possible and pay a heavy price on behalf of Gilad Shalit's release, as well as its red lines and its obligation to prevent severe harm to its security.

According to the security officials' assessments, if Israel had released all of the murderers that Hamas was demanding, this would have caused severe damage to national security, including regarding the rehabilitation of strategic terrorist infrastructures and the return of senior 'terrorist engineers', who had planned and put into operation the most murderous terrorist attacks that the State of Israel has ever known. This would have also dealt a mortal blow to pragmatic elements in the region whereas the extremists would have been significantly strengthened.

Just when are we going to stop behaving like good little boys. Hamas only understands tough actions and tough language, that is their culture.

It is time to stop pussyfooting with the Hamas terrorists in Israeli jails.

Sancho the Medical Clown

It was a day like any other for Emek Medical Center’s Sancho, the medical clown, the Dream Doctor, writes my friend from the hospital. He appeared at children’s bedsides, dressed in baggy patched up pants, a flowered shirt with multi-colored flowing scarves, oversized shoes, adorned with bells, whistles, plastic flowers, a fluffy orange feather duster, toy stethoscope and with balloons and chains hanging from his pockets. On his head he wore a red plastic bowler hat and a large red plastic nose was held in place by an elastic band. That’s how he looked when he accompanied his long-time oncology friend, M., an eighteen year old girl who had been treated for cancer and later returned with recurring pain. They walked together into the newly renovated lobby of the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic.

The colorful child-friendly lobby was filled with the buzz of kids and their parents as they waited for treatment while playing with toys, arts & crafts, computers and puzzles. It was a healthy mix of Jews and Arabs who were all there for the same reason … seeking medical assistance for their loved one. Sancho immediately began examining the children as well as the parents with a combination of feather dusting, plastic stethoscope and an invisible thermometer. He then accompanied M into the treatment room where her fate remained uncertain. After several minutes of teasing nurses and physicians while bringing endless smiles to the kids being treated, Sancho and M returned to the suddenly silent lobby.

Seated off to the side was an Arab wearing standard brown prison garb (Militant? Terrorist?) and whose wrists and ankles were securely restrained by locked steel. Standing on either side of him was a heavily armed uniformed security detail made up of two powerfully built men holding automatic weapons and two stern women with holstered hand guns. Tension and fear filled the lobby like smoke from an untamed fire. Children stood close to their parents who avoided making eye contact with the prisoner or the guards. Was he a terrorist? Had he intended to kill?

Sancho, in clear view of everyone, began rummaging through his flowered shirt pockets, spilling out balloons, whistles, plastic keys and flowers until he found what he was looking for. He straightened his small frame, assumed a serious expression in spite of his plastic red nose and slowly removed a tiny blue plastic water pistol. He mimicked the stern expressions on the faces of the guards and then began a mock security scanning of the largest guard using his feather duster as the electronic scanner. He made slow high squeaked beeping noises until the feather duster reached the guard’s machine gun. That set off a confused flurry of beeps that had everyone in the lobby suddenly alive with laughter. Even the shackled militant forgot for a moment his predicament and joined in the laughter. Sancho then continued with a series of security checks on the children and their parents.

Sancho, in his infinite wisdom, proved once again to everyone present that it was ok to smile in the face of fear and the unknown.

A Copy Cat Attack

Once again another Arab worker, again from East Jerusalem decided to use his vehicle – a conventional tractor-digger – to attempt to kill, maim and generally wreak havoc. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331056523&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Today's "copy cat" attack took place just a few metres away from the famous King David Hotel where British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was staying until yesterday and Barak Obama will stay from tomorrow.

The attacker, wearing the large white skullcap favoured by religious Moslems, is an Israeli citizen from East Jerusalem with a criminal record, and was shot and killed by a policeman who had to bring the murderous rampage to an end. In this incident 23 people were injured, one seriously but thankfully no-one was killed except the attacker.

Perhaps now the construction companies will favour bringing labour from Romania and the Far East rather than local workmen after this second attack. The residents of East Jerusalem have seen a huge improvement in their circumstances over the years which puts down the theory that if given economic security all terrorism will disappear. It has been said that "Poverty does not cause terrorism but terrorism surely brings poverty".

Is this a new phase of terror, who knows? The police have already announced their intentions to review policing in the capital.

Bulldozer Attack in Jerusalem

As is typical for the BBC, their headline on this news story reads

"Israel bulldozer driver shot dead" see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7485162.stm

No mention of 4 killed, 45 injured many seriously, a baby thrown out of a car just before its parents were crushed to death. This is just SICK, SICK, SICK. When will the British government call the BBC to task? Probably a forelorn hope. And the British taxpayers continue to fund this corrupt organisation

The following comments are not mine but those of another e-mail writer but I think they are worth distributing as far afield as possible.

FACT Driving a bulldozer against the traffic on Jerusalem's main artery (Jaffa Road, between the Central Bus Station and the Mahane Yehuda market), a terrorist plowed into two public buses carrying passengers, overturning one of them, as well as crushing a number of cars and pedestrians. Police shot and killed the terrorist.

The following points should be stressed in the wake of this attack:

a) Terror Purposely Targets Civilians – The terrorist operating the bulldozer chose his victims deliberately - even starting his attack by motioning for a woman driver to precede him, before crushing her vehicle with his shovel. He went on to run-down pedestrians, ram two buses, and crush a number of civilian cars.

Among his innocent victims is an infant, who was injured in the attack and taken to hospital. Eyewitnesses told police that the murdered mother saved her baby, by throwing the child out the car window, just before the bulldozer crushed her to death.

b) Hateful Extremism vs. Cooperative Pragmatism – The terrorists of the region are indoctrinated from the earliest age and driven by a blind hate for Israelis, Jews and all non-Moslems, denying them their most basic rights, even their right to life. The attack took place in Jerusalem, a city which serves as Israel’s capital, yet is shared by Jews and Arabs, with freedom of movement for all its residents. While the terrorist was an Arab resident of Jerusalem, so too was the driver of the first bus he attacked. This bus driver, who serves as an example of cooperation that can be achieved between Jews and Arabs, was able to swerve his bus and minimize the damage of the bulldozer’s blade.

c) Terrorism despite Peace Efforts – The attack today comes as Israel is actively pursuing peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas. It also comes as an Egyptian-brokered state of calm was just achieved regarding Gaza, in which Israel demonstrated its desire to exhaust all efforts to achieve a halt to terrorist rocket attacks against its citizens, without having to resort to the use of force. Israel will continue its efforts to achieve peace with its pragmatic Palestinian neighbors, despite the efforts of the extremists to torpedo the process.

d) International Action is Essential – The international community must weigh in on the side of pragmatism and peace. A clear and unequivocal condemnation of terrorism must be heard, and concrete actions against terror organizations and their supporters must be taken, so that the extremists know that there will be no tolerance for their barbaric acts.

When did Boxing Day Fall on Good Friday?

The old question is asked “When did Boxing Day fall on Good Friday?”. To those who maybe were not old enough when this question first came out and the e-mails have not caught up with such oldies --- yet!, the answer referred to a horse named “Boxing Day” that fell at a hurdle in a race meeting at Kempton Park in the UK held on Good Friday!

Well on that theme, we have had this year, the festival of Purim falling on Good Friday. Purim is that festival where people give each other mishloach manot http://jewishappleseed.org/apple/shalach.htm , gifts to friends and family and also to those less fortunate than you.

As has become traditional for us, we give such gifts to a home for battered women, here in Haifa. Although I am not familiar with (no that is a bad phrase!!) aware of the details of the women there, I do know that there are a number of women from the Arab community also housed there.

Traveling down to the area of the home, it was necessary to pass through the neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas http://www.tour-haifa.co.il/eng/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=8 . With all the talk of “ethnic cleansing”, “apartheid” etc, one sees the predominantly Christian community and Moslems going about their daily activities at ease in their surroundings. One feature on the journey on this particular day was the sound of hymns ringing in the streets throughout the neighborhood as the Christians citizens celebrated their Good Friday Easter festival.

On returning home, we began to prepare for our Purim celebrations. In the blog at the beginning of last week, I referred to the children dressing up in various costumes and traveling around the city, one saw fancy dress of many different types. Well it is not only the children!! At the reading on the Book of Ester in the synagogue, some of the “older” members also take the opportunity to “let it all hang out” – see pictures.



In spite of the potential for terror attacks, the citizens entertained and were entertained by a vast range of fun activities. Surely a day to let your hair down and enter into the spirit of the festival, forgetting briefly of the troubles surrounding us.

Terror on the Ground and on the Internet

From the New York Times today there is a report of a new poll shows that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians support the attack this month on a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem that killed eight young men, most of them teenagers, an indication of the alarming level of Israeli-Palestinian tension in recent weeks. Full report at

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/world/middleeast/19mideast.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The survey also shows unprecedented support for the shooting of rockets on Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip and for the end of the peace negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli leaders.

The pollster, Khalil Shikaki, said he was shocked because the survey, taken last week, showed greater support for violence than any other he had conducted over the past 15 years in the Palestinian areas. Never before, he said, had a majority favored an end to negotiations or the shooting of rockets at Israel.

“There is real reason to be concerned,” Mr. Shikaki said in an interview at his West Bank office. His Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, which conducts a survey every three months, is widely viewed as among the few independent and reliable gauges of Palestinian public opinion. According to the poll, of 1,270 Palestinians in face-to-face interviews, 84 percent supported the March 6 attack on the Mercaz Harav yeshiva.

This is the hard fact of life while our leaders are talking “peace”.

In addition to the terror warfare on the ground, there is an exponential increase in terrorism on the internet. A friend of mine recently published a book “Fighting Terror Online” in which he discusses the use of advanced technological methods in use by the global terror organizations. This is in turn creating a tension between our civil rights for freedom of speech and security needs.

He was interviewed recently on the local Academic channel and this can be seen at
http://actv.haifa.ac.il/programs/Item.aspx?it=1099

He summarises his book finally by saying that “Although the provisions of the law have changed rapidly since September 11th ……the evolution of technology, breakthroughs in scientific research and the relentless determination to fight the evil of terror must lead us, our children and their children to find the solutions necessary to protect the individual and society from harm, and at the same balance security and civil liberties.”

He concludes “it is a challenge that we must win and a fight that we must win”
(“Fighting Terror Online”, by Martin Charles Golombik, published by Springer)

Just where is all that money going?

With an average of 50 terror alerts daily, the security forces are kept on their toes to avoid these alerts becoming a reality. According to reports from the Herzliya center for terror information there were still over 2000 terror related incidents in 2006 but thankfully a considerable reduction in the number of fatalities and injuries

The amount of international aid going to the Palestinians is unbelievable:-

US aid to the Palestinians 2005: $400m 2006: increases to $468m
European Union aid to the Palestinians2005: $711m 2006: increases to $916m
International Monetary Fund and UN aid to the Palestinians2005: $1bn 2006: increases to $1.2bn.

The aid described above mostly went directly to individual Palestinians, or through UN agencies like the World Food Programme, rather than being transferred to the Palestinian Authority. Nevertheless, "these numbers are quite stunning" said Alexander Costy, assistant to Alvaro de Soto, UN Special Middle East Envoy. (Source: New York Times analysis published on 21 March 2007 by their lead Middle East reporter Steven Erlanger).

With all this money going in, just what is it really being used for. There may be shortaqges of food and nothing for building up the Palestinian infrastructure but there seems to be no shortage whatsoever for arms and ammunition

Yes Guys it is Terror in the UK

The new Prime Minister in the UK has finally said "It's terror". Quite right guys, that is exactly what it is. His new adviser said it will take 10-15 years to get to grips with the problem. Sorry to say it guys, you are wrong!!

Welcome to the reality club. Unless the political correctness and liberalism is changed as a feature of UK society, then it is going to take a lot longer. And as usual Jews are at the forefront of the new Battle of Britain

Labour MP John Mann initiated an inquiry and reported: 'It is clear that violence, desecration and intimidation directed towards Jews is on the rise. Jews have become more anxious and more vulnerable to attack than at any time for a generation or longer.'

Following a meeting of the trustees of the BBC, a friend who attended was approached after the
meeting by both the head of the trustees and the deputy-general of the BBC. The former was amazed that this friend had hinted at a connection between anti-Israel bias and growing anti-semitism in Britain, especially when she mentioned that many of her friends were considering leaving Britain as a result of the atmosphere.

Come on Britain "Wake up" - you are in the real world now