Early this morning, four Jews at morning prayers were murdered in a synagogue in Jerusalem after two Palestinian broke in and assaulted the worshipers with gunfire and meat cleavers.
Many others were wounded and four are in critical condition.
The terrorist attack took place in Har Hof a predominantly Orthodox neighborhood at the at the Kehilat Yaakov synagogue on Agasi Street.
The Murder victims were identified as Rabbi Moshe Twersky, the head of the Torat Moshe yeshiva, 59; 40-year-old Rabbi Aryeh Kupinsky; 50-year-old Rabbi Kalman Levine; and 68-year-old Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg(HY"D). Rabbi Kupinsky, Rabbi Levine and Rabbi Twersky were all American citizens, while Rabbi Goldberg was a British subject. A Druze policeman, 30-year-old Master Sergeant Zidan Sif subsequently died of his wounds as well, and all Israel will mourn and honor him.
The killers stormed the synagogue at 7 AM local time. There was no warning and no way for the victims to defend themselves.The rabbis were murdered during the sacred prayer of Shimoneh Esrei, with siddurim (prayer books) in their hands and their tefillum on.
Eye witness Ya'akov Amos said: 'The terrorist moved to within a metre of me then started shooting. One, two, three, bang, bang, bang. I immediately hit the ground and tried to protect myself with a prayer stand. He kept screaming 'Allah hu'Akbar'.
There was blood everywhere, so much that one of the medical workers slipped in it and broke his leg.
The international reaction was interesting. Even U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry seemed shocked, with his voice quavering. He even used the "T" word and called for an end to incitement against Jews.
Phillip Hammond, Britain's Foreign Secretary contented himself with a bloodless statement that 'both sides' should seek to 'reduce tension.' President Obama, of course, said much the same thing. Somehow, I doubt they would have merely talked about both sides reducing tension if four imams had been murdered by a Jew and Qu'rans profaned in this way.
Israel's economics minister Naftali Bennett was interviewed by the BBC today, and provides us with another indication of exactly how sick and depraved Britain has become when it comes to Israel and the Jews.
(just a hint - when Bennett mentions Abu Mazen, he is using Mahmoud Abbas's nom de guerre, the terrorist name he used as Arafat's second-in-command.)
Notice how the interviewer doesn't even address the issue of Abbas inciting terrorism, but pulls the case of an Arab bus driver who died yesterday, as though that made the savage murder of four Jews at prayer legitimate. That Arab driver, by the way, had a full investigation and an autopsy done on him and there is no doubt he committed suicide. Unlike the Palestinian Authority, Israel jails murderers no matter who they are.
I really felt like saying 'Kol Hakavod' when Bennett held up a picture of one of the victims, which the interviewer hastily told him to put down lest he upset the gentle sensibilities of her viewers. I think it is absolutely essential to do just that - to let the British public see what their government is funding and supporting. And I hope it upsets them to the point of utter shame.
At the end of the interview, Bennett says that Britain is going to have to make a choice of whether they support the Free World or not. As I'm sure Bennett knows, the British Government has already made that choice.Which is why, perhaps, they feel compelled to put up with soldiers being beheaded in broad daylight and no go areas for police and non-Muslims in London and other large British cities.
The murderers were both killed in a shootout with police at the scene. They were Ghassan and Oday Abu Jamal from the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Needless to say, they were acclaimed as heroes and martyrs by all the factions of the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians.
"We responded with shouts of joy when we received the news about their deaths," Ala'a Abu Jamal said of his cousins Ghassan and Uday Abu Jamal to Yedioth Aharonoth. "People here distributed candies to guests who visited us, and there was joy for the martyrs."
In a message published on its official new website Al-Resalah, Hamas said the attack was “a quality development in fighting the occupation. We highly value the heroism of its operatives.” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri praised the attack on Qatari news channel Al-Jazeera as “heroic,” calling for more attacks of the same kind.
Hamas MP Mushir Al-Masri happily wrote on Twitter that “Jerusalem has nothing but men who love martyrdom. The heroes of the knife are in Jerusalem. The heroes of the run-over [car attacks] are in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem men take revenge.”
And he posted this on his Facebook page:
And Fatah? Mahmoud Abbas, AKA Abu Mazen issued a 'condemnation' that wasn't one. In a statement (in English, not Arabic)it said that “The Palestinian presidency" condemns violence "from whatever source" and "demands an end to the invasions of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the provocations of the Settlers."
In other words, 'So sorry, but unless you surrender Jerusalem to us expect more of the same.'
This is the same Mahmoud Abbas who accused Jews of “contaminating” Al-Aqsa Mosque last week, who just a few days ago was telling his people, in Arabic, to 'defend Jerusalem' by any means necessary. This is the same Mahmoud Abbas who said nothing when Fatah published cartoons and Facebook posts encouraging terrorist attacks on Jews and “days of rage” to defend the 'threatened' Al-Aqsa.
Tawfik Tirawi, former chief of the Palestinian General Security in the West Bank and a member of Fatah’s Central Committee made it even plainer, and in Arabic. Today he told a radio station in Hebron that the attack was “nothing but a reaction to the recent crimes of the occupation and the settlers in occupied Jerusalem and across the nation. The threats of the occupation against our people and the Palestinian leadership, represented by the president, will only increase our efforts in safeguarding our rights.”
His remarks were reprinted on Fatah's official Facebook page.
I should make something clear here. This is not the fault of Abbas, or Hamas, or any of the Arabs who identify themselves as Palestinians.
It is the fault of the Israeli government.
A significant number of the Palestinians are simply acting as they have always acted since the 1920's, and these tendencies were unleashed even further once Arafat and the PLO were allowed in to take over after Oslo.
Israeli governments since Oslo have always allowed themselves to be pressured to ignore these instances of sheer horror...to release convicted murderers, to make concessions to the terrorist entities on Israel's borders, and most of all to avoid finishing them off entirely when their violence and bloodshed mandated a response. This has been especially true since Barack Obama, who styles himself as the Palestinian's very own community organizer entered the White House.
Is it any wonder that this sort of thing continues to happen? Is it really so puzzling that after allowing Hamas to continue in Gaza and maintaining any kind of relationship with Abbas and the PLO once they allied themselves openly with Hamas that they would resort back to Arafat's tactics?
Yasser Arafat himself outlined for his followers what this war was really about. On Jordanian TV, right after signing the Oslo Accords he was criticized for signing a peace agreement with the Jews. He responded by reminding his audience of the Peace of Hubidiyeh, a treaty Mohammed made with the Quraysh tribe that he violated as soon as he was strong enough to massacre them, a story every Muslim knows. And then he outlined exactly what this war was about, saying that "either the Jews will push us into the sea or we will push them into the sea."
Arafat, the leaders of Hamas and numerous members of Fatah have sung the same songs for years. Is it their fault that Israeli governments for years have refused to take them seriously?
It is time they did.
The violence in Jerusalem can be curtailed, not by more security patrols and not by putting guards in front of every synagogue and public building but by teaching the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians that there are real world consequences for their actions.
As you may have noticed, no matter how much innocent Jewish blood is spilled, it is always Israel who is advised to 'reduce tensions' and 'avoid provocation.' It is always Israel who is castigated for building homes for its people, in spite of over an estimated 40,000 illegal Arab-built structures in East Jerusalem, and an entire city being constructed from scratch with EU and US Aid money that encroaches on Israeli communities in Area C of Judea.
This is the first time I have ever heard John Kerry mention the constant hatred being spewed by the mosques, media and schools in both Gaza and in the PLO occupied areas of Judea and Samaria as something counterproductive to any real peace. And even his condemnation of this horror as well as the other ones from the UN and EU that will no doubt be voiced are maddeningly hollow..because they still fund and support this evil.
As Naftali Bennett said, they are going to have to choose sides, and that particularly applies to the United States.But Israel has some choices to make as well.
Are they going to settle for the status quo and a war of attrition that favors Israel's enemies? Or are they are they going to do what's necessary to end it and win the right to live peacefully?
I've always favored Israel simply delineating its own borders and annexing that land,along with a transfer of populations to the respective sides of those borders. But at the very least Israel should answer every terrorist attack with the outright annexation of more land in Judea and Samaria, showing the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians that they are there to stay, and that attacks on Israel cost them dearly. Build on the land, and call the EU's bluff. In the unlikely event that they follow through on their threats to indulge in sanctions,they have a lot more to lose than Israel does right now economically.
When there are violent riots, as there were in Jabal Mukaber today, simply arrest the perpetrators,take away their Israeli ID cards and expel them to Gaza or to Area A for Abbas to deal with.Aside from providing real world consequences, it will also separate those Arabs who like the good life in Israel and are willing to live in peace (and there are more of them them you think) from those whom want to poison the well with violence.
Make the disarmament of Hamas an iron clad condition for any further reconstruction aid, especially since Hamas is already diverting money and materials to remaking its terrorist infrastructure. Both the EU and Secretary of State Kerry have given lip service to the importance of disarming Hamas for peace. Hold them to it.
If the Muslim Waqf that is in charge of the al-Aqsa Mosque continues to incite riots and stone throwing on the Temple Mount and refuses to allow Jews to enjoy it peacefully, simply explain to them that the next time it happens the police will respond in force, the Waqf's control of al-Aqsa and the Mount will be ended, the members of the Waqf expelled from Israel and the mosque shut down.
And allow Israelis to sue the PLO and Hamas in Israelis courts for damages to property and person, taking the judgments out of the tax monies Israel collects for the PLO.
These are the sort of steps that are ultimately going to defeat the Third Intifada. It's long past time to treat Hamas/Fatah like the hostile entity it is. And if it becomes necessary to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, so be it.
I am tired of seeing headlines like I saw today, tired of seeing the Arabs whom identify themselves as Palestinians celebrating each new atrocity, tired of seeing world leaders being complicit with this evil.
And I am especially tired of Israel accepting this hypocrisy. I am sick to death of it. It is one thing to be the Jew among nations, but something else entirely to live on your knees and internalize it.
Selah.
Did you see the reporting on this atrocity by Megan Kelly on Fox last night with Ron Dermer?
ReplyDeleteDon't hold your breath for Netanyahu to take meaningful action against Abbas or against Israeli Arab MK's & Islamists, he's all empty speeches & empty gestures, he talks the talk, doesn't walk the walk.
Zeh mah yesh, Habibi.
ReplyDeleteI see some hopeful signs though:
1) The bodies of these rabid dogs aren't going to be returned to the Pals for the usual 'martyrdom' extravaganza. They'll be buried without a ceremony by Israel and hopefully a mouth full of pig or lard.
2) The wife of one of these creatures was living in Jerusalem because she got a permit being married to one of these scum. Her permit has been revoked and she's been expelled back to Area A. That sets a great precedent.
3) Bibi called on all the parties to form a unity government. Labor and Meretz turned him down, but the other ones - Shas and the religious parties - didn't. That could mean, a new, more Right coalition.
4) Livni's effort to block the bill declaring Israel the Nation State of the Jewish people and Ivrit the official language failed. It will pass the Knesset. Livni might very well be on her way out.It's doubtful Hatnua or the Arab parties will make the new threshold in the next election anyway.And Moabi is still suspended.
5) Israel just annexed another 1,000 dunams in Judea.Annexed..and the Arab squatters have been given orders to relocate.
6)Bennett and Beyt Yehudi's poll numbers are way up.
7) Aside from manufacturing its own Hellfire missiles instead of relying on Obama, Israel also cut its purchase of the J-35's in half, which is a good thing because it isn't that good an airplane and not really suited for Israel's needs. And Israel's defense companies have recently started losing their deference to U.S. companies and beating them out for foreign contracts, like the half billion dollar contract for anti-tank missiles for India.
In the old. pre-Obama days, they would have folded and let U.S. companies have it.
So overall, I think we're seeing a stronger stance and what happened today simply exacerbated it.
Chash Dam,
Rob
Heartbreaking.Just heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteYa Sahbi, you're more optimistic than I am. I agree, however, that moves towards armament independence are of great importance. The F-35 is a lemon, either a blunder by serial bungler Ehud Barak or possible corruption on his part.
ReplyDeleteBibi's call for a unity government was just a ploy, he knew the Leftist morons wouldn't accept. He'll use that refusal in the next electoral campaign to beat them over the head.
Livni is at the end of her miserable career, headed towards a well deserved political oblivion.
Shas is neither right nor left, Bibi might like them in a coalition because he can pay them off for support.
No one wants elections now despite all the BS in our crappy media. Only Bennett has something to gain.
If I hear ''status quo'' one more time, I'll tear out what's left of my hair.
By the way, that article in your post above by David Horowitz of the Times of Israel really sucked, just liberal whining, how the hell did it make the grade?
I do hope and pray the "hopeful signs" continue. In the mid to long term and probably the short term as well, such a situation would be a net benefit to both nations. As our most important ally, a strong Israel acting completely independent of the US is in the best interest of both countries. With the current situation a few well connected individuals and companies come out ahead in both situations, at least this is the situation in the US, but the citizens of both countries lose.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased to see Israel is manufacturing its own Hellfire missiles. Relying on the US for this is problematic on at least two levels. 1.)While I would hope and pray the US would always support Israel, this is by no means guaranteed. It's unwise to rely on a partner whose positions can shift with any election cycle for something so vital to one's national defense. 2.)Even if the US does always remain on friendly terms with Israel and is willing to supply the missiles, Russia and China can shut down all commerce into and out of the at any time they choose and the US lacks the capability to counter it. If they chose to do this, shipments of these missiles would be impossible.
"In the old pre-Obama days, they would have folded and let US companies have it." Very interesting. I don't think the other countries are simply going to fold and "let the US have it." After all they can buy better weapons probably for a better price than they can from American manufacturers. They'd simply go around the Americans and punish them in other ways if they tried to interfere. It's seemed strange for quite some time that anyone would buy overpriced and inferior military equipment from the US when superior products at a better price are available elsewhere.
In fact, the US itself should look at entering into contracts with other nations for much of its military supplies. After all less expensive and qualitatively superior military equipment can be purchased elsewhere. Such a move would make us more secure, cement relations with vital countries, and save the US taxpayer a great deal of money.
Boker Tov, Habibi.
ReplyDeleteNachon on the F-35. No pilot I've talked to who has flown one has much good to say about it, and I've written about that on this site several times.
It's heavy , lacks speed and maneuverability and simply wasn't built well ergonomically. And it was designed to do far too many things in one package and save money ( !!) rather than a few really well. As a fighter, the F-22 was far superior..I'm sure your familiar with how Israel, Japan and a few other countries took a screwing on that one after paying for its development.
I think that as Israel moves further to the right, so will the coalition. Lapid and Yesh Atid will be the next election's Kadima, losing many of their seats to Beit Yahudi, Israel Beiteinu and Likud. Lapid knows that, which is why he's kissing up to Bibi lately. Bibi's outreach for a unity government means that he has the means to boot Lapid and Yesh Atid out of government if he wants to, and Lapid knows it. As you know,Lapid and YA being in the coalition is a chief impediment to the haredi parties and Shas joining up.
The Horovitz article? I didn't pick it, Snoopy at Simply Jews did. But to be fair, Horovitz, my editor over at TOI is smart and a nice guy, even if he was maybe a little unrealistic in that last article in places..and that piece was written before the latest atrocity.He's changed his tune since then.
Even the Jerusalem Post now has its war paint on, a welcome change.
Amalek is still Amalek.Israel is waking up to that, Baruch Shmo.
B'Shalom,
Rob
With all due respect the F-35 seems emblematic of the US military as a whole. It was designed to do to many things and does non of them very well in order to save money. Kind of reminds me of the saying "jack of all trades master of none." Such a person is useless. No one wants to pay such a person or wants them in their company. Additionally in life when we undertake activities to "save money" we almost ALWAYS end up spending more because the tendency is to cut corners and try to do to much with too little as seems to have happened here.
ReplyDeleteMind boggling to me is why the Japanese and others would have invested money in US defense manufacturers to develop a next generation military aircraft. Japanese, Indian, and Western European scientists are far ahead of American scientists and engineers. A more sensible approach would have been for them to insist on the Americans investing funds in their companies to develop such aircraft. Then the US could negotiate a licensing agreement to build these aircraft in America under their supervision. Essentially in life when one makes dumb decisions as these people did one has no right to complain!!
"Designed to do far to many things in one package..." Again this is the US military as a whole. The US military is trying to do the following among other things: 1.)defend Japan from SOMETHING who knows what, 2.)defend South Korea presumably from a North Korean attack, 3.)Defend Western Europe from Russia, 4.)try and confront ISIS in Iraq, 5.)defend the Kurds, 6.)"pivot" to Asia to try and contain China, and 7.)a number of other commitments.
With regards to 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 such efforts are likely futile. Barring some type of divine miracle this would seem impossible. NK can easily take SK, Russia can easily overrun all of Europe, China can easily force the US out of the Pacific, and if China or Russia wish to overrun Japan the US lacks the capability to prevent it. I suspect the Russians and the Chinese rather enjoy watching their bitter enemy look foolish.
"Rather than a few really well..." The US military could very likely defend America really well. This should be the focus. As a start, end the deployments to Japan, Western Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific and redeploy those forces to positions that give us a fighting chance of defending our country. When doing this, we should fully understand that should Russia or China choose to invade us there's probably little we could do to stop it. The idea is to 1.)make it difficult enough that they would not choose to do so because the cost would outweigh any benefit, 2.) to largely stay out of their way, and 3.)try and determine if there is some way we can add value to the leadership of countries like Russia, China, and India.
With regards to point 2 we'd do well to study the policies of countries like Canada and Australia even engaging their military and civilian leaders in high level meetings trying to learn as much as we can. The citizens of these countries enjoy a higher standard of living than most Americans, they are more secure, they are generally healthier, are generally psychologically better adjusted than most Americans, and it is all accomplished with much less expense!! There's much we could learn. We can do this. We just need to get to it!!