Why Must Israel and Jerusalem Remain One?

 

The reasons are so basic and simple that they can be and often are expressed with singular thoughts with simple and easily understood words representing basic human understanding. Israel is the body, Jerusalem its heart. Jerusalem is the pearl and Israel its oyster. Israel is the glistening sands, Jerusalem the shining jewel completing the picture. Put in words of nationhood, Israel is the Jewish State and Jerusalem their longing and capital city. There are many prayers that when spoken outside of Jerusalem during the pilgrimage celebrations which say it clearly, “Next year in Jerusalem.” Often Jerusalem is called by a slightly different pronunciation, Yerushalayim.

 

Then there is in the Bible in Tehillim – Psalms – Chapter 137 – verses referred to often by the names, “Song of Babylon” and “By the Rivers of Babylon” with the latter being the first line of the verse. Jerusalem plays a special place in these verses where they state in verses 4 through 6,

4 “How shall we sing the song of the Lord on foreign soil?”
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its skill].
6 May my tongue cling to my palate, if I do not remember you, if I do not bring up Jerusalem at the beginning of my joy.

Hebrew – עִברִית
דאֵיךְ נָשִׁיר אֶת שִׁיר יְהֹוָה עַל אַדְמַת נֵכָר: 4
האִם אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי: 5
תִּדְבַּק לְשׁוֹנִי | לְחִכִּי אִם לֹא אֶזְכְּרֵכִי אִם לֹא אַעֲלֶה אֶת יְרוּשָׁלִַם עַל רֹאשׁ שִׂמְחָתִי: 6

The meaning is obvious, for Jews as for our Israelite brothers and sisters before us, who were exiled a second time in Babylon, as it was with the first exile in Egypt and the third exile which was the Roman dispersal which resulted with time and numerous expulsions, pogroms and other catastrophes culminating in the Shoah, where we were thrown to every corner of the globe and from which our return is in progress. Our greatest loss was our beloved Jerusalem with the Temple which was the central point in our religion as it was where the sacrifices were made and the Holy of the Holies which held the spirit of Hashem and where the High Priest would enter to make the case and receive the judgement for the entire nation every Yom Kippur.

 

Jerusalem is so much more than the Capital City of Israel, it is a necessity for Israel as are the Biblical heartlands and the Muslims know this which is what drives their demands for us to release any claim to these lands and simply hand them over and tear them from our midst. What they have not figured on is whether Hashem will allow them to do such a dastardly act and in doing so give to Hashem such an insult. Hashem will not let such an act remain standing long and the Arab Muslims who call themselves Palestinians will know their mistake on the day that Hashem chooses. Allah will not be of any assistance once Hashem decides that His lands and His Capital City are to be returned to their rightful owners by International laws far older than the Geneva Convention or anything else modern society is based. These sets of international laws were set down millennia ago and were decided before the Earth was formed as it was to be an integral part of the reason for the Earth and the eventual birth of human-kind. No mortal may challenge these laws and have such stand long. The only difficulty is what is long for Hashem has no relationship to our time-frame and can be eons or an instant; all depends on Hashem, as it has been and always will be. So, let them huff and puff but that will never be permitted to last and they will be returned to the Israelite people once they have returned and the time determined ready or necessitated, Hashem will have His will be done.

 

So the United Nations can debate, make speeches, pontificate, declare and whatever else they do in Turtle Bay, New York, New York; it is all just a puff of hot air lost on that autumn day, nothing more. We do not make that decision as it is reserved for Hashem to inform us in its proper time. When that blessed day arrives there will no longer be any doubt to Whom this planet, this world and every grain of sand from which it is fashioned belongs and Who makes every decision which has weight and real meaning, Hashem, and there is no substitute. So, go ahead and sound your fury like a thousand horns as your orchestra is barely a whisper in the realm of Hashem but the tiniest whimper crying out the Jewish love for Yerushalayim will reverberate in Heaven and will unavoidably be heard by Hashem which will start in motion the vengeance of Hashem to make straight what man has twisted, defiled and broken as Hashem restores all to its chosen path cutting through history as a geodesic through the rough-hewn stones of fate. The fate of man will always be returned to its proper place at crucial unchangeable points chosen at the time of creation by Hashem and nothing in Heaven or Earth will bend Hashem and His will as these points were set by He.

 

Meanwhile we heard a great speech we have read by Prime Minister Netanyahu (see video below), something we can always expect as his words are great but his actions do not always reflect what he promised and for good reason, Netanyahu may not be the chosen person to implant Hashem’s will on the future as the time might not yet be right and more preparations are required of man by Hashem. The words spoken by Prime Minister Netanyahu rang true but still we await the proper actions. Even the initial conquest of the lands which made up the original tribes did not proceed in a straight line and without struggle. Life and reality are always some form of struggle through which we are cut and hewn making us whatever our finished self will become and be prepared to stand before Hashem and receive our just and final judgement. That is the point where we fully understand that Hashem loves each and every one of us and we are all blessed in Hashem’s eyes. Still, now comes the difficult part for the Israeli Prime Minister and the rest of us while we make this land whole again. But once again, in plain and simple language we all understand the case for Israel was made and the sins accumulated against Hashem were partially enumerated once again as even the best mortal cannot begin to understand Hashem and His ultimate plan. But just as Hashem assisted Bibi in making the Prime Minister’s speech remarkable, Hashem will work making what many will believe was magical and completely miss the miracles within. That time is approaching fast yet we should be patient and wait the proper time, but is it not always that way? Hashem be blessed for returning many of us and raising the others as natives in their own lands. One need remember a single truth, Israel has been occupied by the Babylonians followed by the Persians followed by the Greeks followed by the Romans followed by the Caliphate followed by the Ottomans followed by the British leading finally on the mortal calendar as May 15, 1948 where the land of Israel, home to close to half of the world’s Jews and climbing. Yet we will wait the proper time which Hashem has chosen for our dreams to be realized. This is the story of the Valley of the Dry Bones from Ezekiel 37.

 

 

 

 

All of the above are meaningless if not for the will of Hashem, the singular truth in all creation. Pharaoh realized this truth even if only for a moment and Pharaoh reaped the reward for opposing Hashem, though there are those who claim that the Pharaoh had no choice in what he did as he had to be laid waste such that the nations in every corner of the world could witness the miracles and power of Hashem. Yet still men demand to play Pharaoh in this and every age opposing Hashem and believing their power even compares with the infinite power of Hashem. Hashem will make Israel whole and in the process Jerusalem becomes inseparable from that which is Israel. Even elsewhere mankind is destined to travel, Jerusalem and the Holy Temple will remain a central concept and the Jewish People will place their Holy Temple within an area designated as Jerusalem which will be where Hashem places them on the central hill which it turns out may not necessarily be the highest peak but will be the central of seven hills. It is the Temple which elevates the hill, not the hill elevating the Temple.

 

What does this mean for today? It means one has to have a fair degree of faith and the rest will work itself out and the truth will become reality. It means that anything which steals from the Israelis any of the Promised Land, and especially any part of Jerusalem, is a theft which Hashem will never countenance. The United Nations can make their decrees from the General Assembly and in time there will be a true Israeli leader who will follow Torah and the instructions of Hashem. By that date every nation which had forsaken Israel or oppressed and hated the Jews will have been dealt their just rewards for opposing the very desires of Hashem. That has never been a good idea as the justice for that transgression has almost invariably been quite harsh. Perhaps their final rewards will come from the hands of Israel as they defeat them even worse, they may very well be handing out the fury of Hashem and the final disposition. The decisions of the United Nations General Assembly are but suggestions and with Europe on the verge of falling before their Islamic surging refugee problem as these are not so much refugees as they are an Islamic foothold. By the turn of the next century Europe, with the exception of Switzerland, may all be Islamic states where the institutions which sought equality of the two genders will crushed as will gay rights and same sex couples will be arrested initially and likely sentenced to death by one or another barbaric means. Think what a Europe ruled by Imams dictating the laws and deciding the fates of millions as they retrain their lives to obey blindly and without complaint. Such a map might look like the one below showing Europe after an Islamic takeover.

 

 

Some have questioned as to why we often do not report of the United States as standing with Israel in the conflict which is approaching much faster than many believe. The truth be told about the United States is that they may not even play any role in the coming conflict. The coming election could result in an isolationist United States at best and an ally of Islam at its worst. Hillary Clinton blindly following the path set forth by Barack Obama will cause the United States such internal strife that as a nation they would be unable to look beyond their borders. Donald Trump, on the other hand, may continue to send arms though in a far more limited manner as he rebuilds the American economic engine, that which provides the means for such activities. Trump also is stressing a stay at home and mind our own business outlook with his emphasis on introspection above seeking out their place on the world stage. Trump appears to believe that by repairing the home-front that by that process the world will also take care of those matters which need addressing. Hillary will continue the Islamization of the American society. United States educational institutional systems, both private and especially public, have by-and-large have been slowly but inexorably altering the system from an education system to a reeducation, an indoctrinating center. This in-and-of-itself would have sufficed to change the landscape of the United States somewhere down the road but these leftists want the change and they want it now. That was the secret behind Bernie Sanders campaign and near success. One should not rule out the United States sliding leftward and becoming indistinguishable from France, Britain, or worse, Greece. Whatever the final result of the Europeanizing of the United States, they would be ill-prepared to fight any sustained war as they would have insufficient funds unless they simply went all in as in World War II.

 

The coming war will be either the culmination of the long war Islam has been fighting since around 625 CE (AD) and continued through to the modern age, currently being reengaged full force by the Islamists and on the way to drafting all Islam for what they hope will be their final victory and the completed conquest of the Earth. There can only be two endings to Islam’s war; either the complete surrender and subjugation of all planet Earth or the eradication of Islam, similarly as was Nazism, rendering it to cult status equal to one of the cult churches from the late 1960s and early 1970s mostly in San Francisco or possibly Greenwich Village in New York. Islam could also repair themselves through a reformation where the new Islam is based on the Mecca Quran instead of the later verses from Medina. It was this question we addressed a few years back in our article Which Quran, Mecca or Medina? This article has many additional links to further information from all sides and points of view entered within the commentaries by numerous readers and others passing through reading just this article making it also a resource tool. This war on our horizon will start in Europe, particularly one of the nations bordering the southern Balkans up through Germany and Poland and ending in Scandinavia, and from there spread to North America then through to South America and then remainder of Africa and ending striking India, China, Russia and the remainder of Asia. The question which is first and foremost, will the non-Islamic world band together or will they permit each area to be sectioned out and conquered slowly but inexorably eventually leaving Islam possess them each one-by-one.

 

That is the Islamic plan, inundate Europe and subsume their democracies electing their own and when they have sufficient power, declaring each to be the newest member of the final Caliphate. After the world has been brought to kneel before Allah one nation after the other, then comes the next question, which version of Islam will be permitted and this is important as it will define who are permitted as Imams and thus the just deciders of Sharia, Quranic Law. One could hope that the fighting would then be complete and finished but we have an aching feeling that will not be the case and further divisions will come to the fore and many will result in further fighting. Islam is not a religion which can be pacified as it has always been at conflict. As Islam has a deity that is separate from Judaism and Christianity it is no wonder that it has a completely different tenor. Judaism and Christianity follow Hashem, the deity of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob while Islam follows Allah, originally the name of a pagan moon god worshipped in the Arabian Peninsula and was the deity from Abram, Ishmael and Mohammad. Articles delving further into this can be read here and here. Look up the birth of Ishmael in the Old Testament Book in Genesis – Chapter 16 where it states:

1) Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne to him, and she had an Egyptian handmaid named Hagar.
2) And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing; please come to my handmaid; perhaps I will be built up from her.” And Abram hearkened to Sarai’s voice.
3) So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, at the end of ten years of Abram’s dwelling in the land of Canaan, and she gave her to Abram her husband for a wife.
4) And he came to Hagar, and she conceived, and she saw that she was pregnant, and her mistress became unimportant in her eyes.
5) And Sarai said to Abram, “May my injustice be upon you! I gave my handmaid into your bosom, and she saw that she had become pregnant, and I became unimportant in her eyes. May the Lord judge between me and you!”
6) And Abram said to Sarai, “Here is your handmaid in your hand; do to her that which is proper in your eyes.” And Sarai afflicted her, and she fled from before her.
7) And an angel of the Lord found her by a water fountain in the desert, by the fountain on the road to Shur.
8) And he said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where are you coming from, and where are you going to?” And she said, “From before Sarai my mistress, I am fleeing.
9) And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and allow yourself to be afflicted under her hands.”
10) And the angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your seed, and it will not be counted for abundance.”
11) And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you will conceive and bear a son, and you shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your affliction.
12) And he will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be upon all, and everyone’s hand upon him, and before all his brothers he will dwell.”
13) And she called the name of the Lord, Who had spoken to her, “You are the God of seeing,” because she said, “Have I seen [him] here also after I have seen?”
14) Therefore the well was called Be’er Lachai Ro’i; behold it is between Kadesh and between Bered.
15) And Hagar bore a son to Abram, and Abram named his son, whom Hagar had borne, Ishmael.
16) And Abram was eighty-six years old, when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Note in the final line that Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Abraham, or the rebirth of Abram into Abraham, came in the next chapter in Genesis Chapter 17 where it states:

1) And Abram was ninety-nine years old, and God appeared to Abram, and He said to him, “I am the Almighty God; walk before Me and be perfect.
2) And I will place My covenant between Me and between you, and I will multiply you very greatly.”
3) And Abram fell upon his face, and God spoke with him, saying,
4) “As for Me, behold My covenant is with you, and you shall become the father of a multitude of nations.
5) And your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
6) And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings will emerge from you.
7) And I will establish My covenant between Me and between you and between your seed after you throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant, to be to you for a God and to your seed after you.
8) And I will give you and your seed after you the land of your sojournings, the entire land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them for a God.”

 

Note verse 5 where Abram becomes Abraham and then receives the Covenant with Hashem for Abraham and his seed after him. Ishmael received his promise of a nation under Hagar meeting with an angel and while Abram has yet to receive the Covenant so the two are completely different Covenants and never have been equal. The question remains as will the world with almost no exception become under Islam and a form of idol worship? That is a question which may see an answer sooner than many believe, and it will end after the most serious bloodletting the planet will ever come to know and that is the curse for transgressions which we will leave for each to decide the why.

 

Beyond the Cusp 

 

Shoah and Anti-Semitism

 

Today was Yom HaShoah here in Israel where the nation comes to a halt at ten in the morning and the nation stands while the sirens blare. It is a moment of reflection and solemn meditation as well as remembrance both of those who perished and those who survived scarred for life and those who survived and partly due to that adversity not merely survived but thrived. There was one thing I noted from the limited numbers of Holocaust survivors that I was privileged to know or meet, the most successful were slim, fit individuals with great amounts of energy and others were more lethargic and usually heavier than most as if they were eating to make up for the near starvation they faced in the camps. It was as if the experience in both left them with a hunger, one group for the thing they hungered for in the camps, food, the others for life and engaging in everything they did with a ferocity that seemed to eat up every morsel of life as if it needed to be savored before heading to the next. Both were reacting to the same deprivations and horrors in very different ways and are significant as the same dichotomy exists in how most Jews face anti-Semitism even when it is staring them in the face.

 

The majority of Jews remaining in Europe and the United States are those whose first, second and even third reaction to increasing anti-Semitism is to dismiss it as either irrelevant or as happening to those other Jews, not to the kind of Jews I know who are comfortable and integrated and of course accepted as equals in the society and not seen as anything different. They keep sticking to an old Jewish belief when struck upside the head with anti-Semitic hatreds thinking that “It can’t happen here. Not to me or those I know. We are all assimilated and no different than anybody else. We are accepted. We are safe.” Others feel even more threatened than is warranted as they read a single article and they start using their dead-bolt, read a second article and keep their window shades drawn and the windows locked, another article and they get extra latches for the windows and a second dead-bolt in every door. Eventually they start seeing shadows behind every object and have paranoid feelings that they are being targeted and jump if touched out in public at the grocery store or the bank or wherever.

 

 

Wailing Wall with Soft Pale Blue Star of David Writ Large

 

The reality for both is somewhere inbetween as extra precautions are always a good idea these days even if one is not Jewish and a healthy awareness of surroundings is advised for all, but paranoia to the point of stark terror if outside at night is something beyond reasonable. Of course there are those places where the stark terrifying paranoia is warranted such as Sweden, Malmo in particular, and in France and soon to be areas in Britain and eventually throughout Europe. The answer for the growing anti-Semitic hatreds growing across Europe both emanating from the immigrant communities coming from countries where anti-Semitism is infused into the blood and Jews have become an extinct people or very close to so with perhaps a dozen or two very old Jews who refused to heed the signs and even the forced evictions, some even resorting to residing in their Synagogue where the authorities left them seeing them as harmless and a foil they could trot out as the happy Jews still living the good life, in the shadows trembling, in their fair and multi-cultural nation. Many of these same nations have a small and vulnerable Christian community which is an empty shell of its former self and equally endangered. When facing excessive threats, one is usually facing leaving; but the question is always where to flee. Should one flee to the United States where things are so different or to Israel where we will need to stand no matter the threat. Fleeing to Israel always has seemed like the place of last resort and if one is more an assimilated Jew, Israel becomes a threat in some manner as it is viewed as being too Jewish and is under threat more so than anywhere else; they are just more adapted and capable of minimizing most threats. The United States has always been the nation for those huddled masses yearning to be free, which these Jews honestly believe this includes freedom from anti-Semitism. Unfortunately they would be wrong as the ugly face of anti-Semitism has been lifting its head and snapping at the easiest targets. The latest was a graffiti spree where anti-Semitic phrases and references including swastikas were drawn on a pair of buildings, one being a school, in Rockville, Maryland about ten minutes outside of Washington D.C. on Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike. This is in the middle of a number of heavily Jewish neighborhoods and from what we have gathered has been hushed up in the Capital City area likely not to upset the Jewish communities or blemish the nation’s Capital with such events being publicized.

 

Europe, on the other hand, had had a rising and bordering on vicious wave after wave of ever increasing anti-Semitism with France, Britain, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and others growing more antagonistic each and every day. The current spate of Ministers, former Minister, former Mayors and the head of the Labor Party all coming under suspicions of anti-Semitic outbursts leading to the suspension of around a half dozen pending hearings could eject them from their positions as Ministers and possibly from membership in the Party itself. These have simply been the most flagrant episodes which lie just sufficiently under the radar to be ignored by the media. Still, many Jewish neighborhoods have become aware and sensitive to the threats being faced and have already had the initial emigrations with half heading across the Atlantic to the United States with the remainder heading straight to Israel. Those heading to the United States may have chosen well, but time will tell. Those moving to Israel are very likely more traditional orthodox or religious and secular Zionists. The secular Zionists are most likely to take up residence in one of the various communities in and around Tel Aviv most likely to choose one fairly close to their new employment or in a neighborhood where the majority speak their native language. Perhaps those choosing Israel were fully aware of the statistics which combines terrorism with normative criminal activities giving a complete view of the dangers of each society, those in Israel against those in the United States. The immediate result between the two which becomes obvious was that in either nation one can avoid criminal victimhood one need only avoid certain areas where criminal activity is the highest. What surprises many people is that even with the terror statistics included, an individual is measurably safer in Israel.

 

 

 

 

The growing levels of anti-Semitism are notable in two main streams. The first is the same type of hatreds as has been seen over the centuries. This is largely the type of anti-Semitism as found in the developing nations. The second type of anti-Semitism is evidenced in Europe and the rest of the modern world and has spread to the rest of the world due to its apparent acceptance in the modern industrial nations, and that is anti-Israelism and anti-Zionism. This style of anti-Semitism basically stated claims that the Jew does not need their own nation as they can be a Jew anywhere they choose just as they have for centuries. The claim is that only the Jew may not have a nation they may call their own. The argument often goes that no other religious groups have their own nation. This ignores all the Islamic nations, Christian nations, Buddhist nations and targets solely Israel. It also ignores that every other religion has at least one nation where they are the majority peoples of the main religions and even Shinto has the Japanese Isles. This demand that only the Jew be forced to reside throughout the world an accursed minority and be denied a nation of their own is simply anti-Semitism. The claim that only the Jew be seen as never having existed as having their own nation ignores the nation of Judea which was the last independent Jewish state, and many well point out that the Jews came exactly from Judea and that before the split into Israel and Judea there was no Jew goes that last step in realizing that the Jew is really a Judean with it shortened to one syllable for lazy convenience. Still, whether we wish to call anti-Semitism what it is because it denies Jews their own state as Israelites, of which the Judeans were but one tribe’s worth, or demands that any and all former Israelites be forced to live dispersed as they are the true people damned by Hashem to forever walk nationless accursed amongst the peoples of the earth, either way it is anti-Semitism and holds the Jew as separate and reserved for hatred, lack of acceptance and scorn.

 

Lastly, how does the Shoah, the Holocaust fit into anti-Semitism. The manner in which the Shoah fits into modern anti-Semitism is when it is claimed that the only reason the Jews received their state of Israel was because of the Shoah and due to the guilt felt by Europe who punished the Arabs, later becoming the Palestinians, for the evils in Europe. This claim also ignores that half of Israeli Jewish population are Arab Jews from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and arrived in Israel as a direct result of anti-Semitic pogroms. Then there are the classic anti-Semitic tropes where Israel is directly threatened in a manner of claiming that the Holocaust never existed and that there will be another Holocaust when Israel is to be wiped from the map. How you can have another Holocaust while denying the former Holocaust is beyond logic. These Holocaust deniers who promise another Holocaust are a truly frightening sort as they claim there is no break in their logic and at the same instance claim that if only the Nazis had completed the task and followed through on their promises to the Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Hussein there would be no need for another holocaust.

 

Those claiming to be the final hand against the Jew further demand that they are serving the same deity as do Christian and Jews despite their name of Allah. Their claim goes even further astray in that they claim they follow the god of Abraham, Ishmael and Mohammad and of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Where they claim to be an Abrahamic religion, which is undeniable, their matron was not Sarah making theirs a separate Abrahamic religion not of the same lineage of Christianity and Judaism. This places the Islamic anti-Semitism on a different track of all other forms of anti-Semitism in that it claims the branch of Abrahamic religions as impure to be those from the lineage from Sarah and that the chosen religion comes from Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s handmaiden. This would further make Christianity as false a religion as Judaism and we see that Islam does hold Christianity as a false religion just as it does Judaism. This should give pause to all the Christian groups who saddle up next to the Muslims as they see them as allies against the Jews but ignore their near equal hatred of Christianity. The one other note that both Christianity and Judaism need take of Islam is their current claims that Moses, Jesus and all the other main pillars and greats throughout the ages after Abraham as their prophets as well and their love of them is a matter of convenience and a method through which they hope to coopt both religions and take from them the weaker and less knowledgeable and plan that once they have eradicated the Jews and later the Christians they will drop these prophets of convenience and claim those believing in these as actual prophets of Islam to be heretics and apostates who need to be crushed and put to the sword and that will be their final treatment of the false Jews and Christians whose faith was so weak they gave up their rightful religions for the protection, temporary as it will be, of those who never wished their company but accepted it as a convenience when it was necessary. The Jews should recognize such as we have seen it time and time again be it the Hellenistic Jews to Jews for Jesus. But history has taught that there is no anti-Semite as hateful as the former Jew coopting Judaism in order to save their lives at the expense of their brethren Jews. That is truly the world’s worst and most persistent and second oldest form of anti-Semitism with the idolaters who served Ba’al amongst others who were the original anti-Semites as the Jews have witnessed many a varied sort of anti-Semite with the Jew turned against their own being the worst as it is their weakness and lack of faith and love of Hashem which has pained us the most throughout the ages. As the old adage claims, “Save me from my friends as my enemies I can take care of myself.” These are the wolves in sheep’s clothing which are the most scary as they attack from within our gates.

 

 

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

What Makes a Couple of Normal Days in Israel?

 

These are simply a few randomly chosen acts of hate filled violence spread across two days, five stories with three telling of attacks in Israel including one on the Temple Mount from an unexpected source; one story from Wellington, Florida in the United States; and then lastly the reality that Israelis make remarkable recoveries and the situation that was arranged probably from Above that all from the horrific scene and terror attack were together again and shared the joy for one family nearly a year later. All of these stories likely would never even reach the average Israeli, especially if they get all of their news from the standard mainstream media even here in Israel; so we obviously cannot fault the world for not reporting that which is ignored by much of our own media. Partly the blame goes to the fact that one could pick any day or so and find these same examples to choose from a number of other events as these were not by far the sole attacks.

 

There exist stretches of roadways and even secondary highways where those traveling know full well they need to be on guard to look for ambushes where rocks and bricks will be thrown at their vehicle and thus they must prepare to hit the gas and speed to safety on the other end once the rocks stop striking the vehicle and they can return to normal speed, breathe a sigh of relief that they survived the gauntlet once again and bless Hashem for their successful passage and surviving in relative safety only He can provide. The stories of woe are those which catch a motorist by surprise as they did not normally drive this heightened area full of perilous threats along this stretch of road and they mistakenly try to turn and escape and are set upon mercilessly and become sitting ducks stuck on the roadway. Then we have a tragedy which may or may not make the news depending on the news volume that day and maybe the next. This is especially true if there was no loss of life and either they escaped on their own with a valuable lesson learned or they were saved and the lesson imparted and hopefully heeded.

 

The unfortunate reality in Israel is that the daily onslaught has certain levels which have become so commonplace as to be considered acceptable as long as it remains within certain limits. It is as if we in Israel, at least as far as reporting on terrorist events, have adopted what then Senator John Kerry as the Democrat candidate running against George W. Bush for the Presidency where Kerry claimed, “We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they’re a nuisance.” President Bush criticized Senator Kerry stating, “Just this weekend, Senator Kerry talked of reducing terrorism to, quote – ‘nuisance’ – end quote, and compared it to prostitution and illegal gambling.” We could add to this point, Gentlemen, welcome to our reality, our world.

 

Our first story was related by twenty-six-year-old Yehuda who survived his attack and related his experience as he lie recovering in a hospital. These events occurred Monday morning and took place at the gas station on Highway 443 located northwest of Jerusalem. There exist points of travel along Highway 443 where attacks occur regularly and are usually barrages of rocks upon the passing cars. These attacks usually occur when traffic is lightest and thus the attackers consider themselves safe as they would easily outnumber the occupants of a single vehicle or even two vehicles. This event was different and far more dangerous as Yehuda was stabbed in the back and shoulder while filling up his car at the gas station. Yehuda related his harrowing terrorist assault which easily could have resulted in worse wounds or even have murdered him as, according to the recounting on Army Radio:

“I was on the way to Jerusalem from my home, and he (the terrorist) took advantage of the opportunity when I got out of the car and he stabbed me. He came at me from behind, I felt suddenly that I was stabbed, and I ran, I fled from him. I ran, I fell, and got up and ran again, and again I fell. He of course chased after me, and stabbed me again at every opportunity.” Yehuda recounted how he fled and the reaction of the few onlookers who were probably there to assist the terrorist in making an escape. Yehuda continued, “I shouted ‘help me, help me.’ I ran to my car while still bleeding and just drove off. They watched (a group of Arabs standing and viewing the events from a short distance obviously amused) and chuckled and didn’t come to help. Even after I was stabbed. He just didn’t stop until I managed to escape with the car.”

 

The terrorist was eventually neutralized, according to reports and whatever neutralized may mean. Was he arrested or killed as he continued his attacks possibly turning and attempting to strike the police? While the threat was still looming another almost victim managed to escape injury and took refuge in his vehicle locking the doors and then had the presence of mind to video-record the terrorist attacker lurking outside while brandishing the knife. You can play the Video while below is picture from the video clearly showing the knife in his hand.

 

 

Knife wielding terrorist was outside vehicle at petrol station threatening driver with a knife, circled. Terrorist had already stabbed one motorist multiple times before the victim was able to escape. This is getting to be a daily news event from somewhere, either in Judea or Samaria, often Jerusalem and has even struck in Tel Aviv and the Galilee.

 

 

Our next report concerns a married couple from the southern Mount Hevron area who were attacked Monday morning while out jogging by a large group of Arabs and European anarchists. The presence of European anarchists is not uncommon where there are possibilities that Israelis might actually defend themselves which will provide them with filmed shots of Israeli aggression and the futile attempt by the unfortunate wretch unable to ward off the unprovoked assault by the Israelis. The Europeans shot their film and got nothing to sell to media, usually television and cable news networks who pay handsomely for such films, especially if they have been edited to emphasize the desired line of out of control Israelis and poor defenseless Arabs trying in vain to escape unscathed from the incident. Never mind that this couple was set upon by the mob with rock throwing and beatings with long and sturdy sticks.

 

Miri Madan told news services of their ordeal stating, “We went on a morning jog toward the neighboring community of Maon. Before Maon, I felt bad. It was hot. We wanted to cut toward the main road.” This required the couple take a dirt road that bypasses a small Arab village. Once the couple was spotted by one villager he whistled and others relayed the call and before you knew it there was a small hoard ready to attack. Roughly twenty Arabs escorted by a group of European anarchists who were armed with cameras as the hoard encircled the couple. Miri Madan continued the recounting stating, “They approached us. I wanted to go back but they called an Arab vehicle that threatened us from behind, so that we couldn’t escape from them. We tried to talk to them and to explain that we are just on a morning jog, that we only want to reach the road, that we do not mean to pass through [their village] and that I don’t feel good, but it didn’t help and they continued to threaten us that they’d kill us and slaughter us and threw rocks at us. When we saw that we had nothing to do, we went in the direction of the rocks and luckily we emerged with injuries that are not serious. They did hit us though, and they kept throwing rocks and sticks at us from behind as we emerged.”

 

These types of attacks often are brought upon joggers as well as hikers. The story seldom changes much as it is often around twenty actual attackers setting upon two and rarely even three victims who are blocked from turning back or are set upon so quickly and ferociously that there is not opportunity to flee. Initially the only times Israelis ran into such ambushes was when the attackers were accompanied by Europeans to film the events looking for an Israeli defending themselves which allows them to turn the story around. After a while these attacks became more commonplace with an Arab filming the events with the same goal, getting a video or single pictures depicting Israeli on Arab violence to sell to the media. Now these ambushes occur almost daily somewhere where a gang of Arab youths can catch an unsuspecting Israeli or two and assault them. After the victim has escaped the attackers disperse before the police arrive, the timing of such they have down to a science in order to escape arrest. A report such as this one can be viewed daily on many of the small district news which covers such news events as they have proven so common as to no longer be newsworthy. There will be no reporting live at five with our intrepid a reporter standing with security and possibly IDF soldiers off camera telling of the dangers joggers and hikers face at this specific spot which the assault took place that morning. Now such reports are buried inside deep in the local news section or if there was somebody clinging doggedly to life, it might get bumped to lead the local news or, dare we say it, make it into section A. This couple barely made the news, which is another way of relaying that they will be just fine and survived their ordeal. That only leaves us with questions; Who will be next? Where will the next attack occur? Will it merit coverage? Where can we find actual video? And what made this attack coverable? Most of the answers to the questions will likely be in the negative as they gave no promises.

 

Our next story made the news as it was noteworthy to make a record of an official WAQF officer who assaulted Israeli Border Police and was arrested for his efforts. Here is the video of the events and the arrest of the perpetrator WAQF monitor being subdued. There were apparently a number of people who received a measure of the pepper-spray utilized by the security officers making the arrest. This was a form of man bites dog and the Islamic WAQF officials are assigned to enforce the rule of law for the Jordanian force left in place as an offer of friendship and tolerance which has backfired greatly. I doubt General Moshe Dayan would have done as he did in June of 1967 and permitted Jordan to continue their control over the Temple Mount knowing what that would bring in the future. Perhaps this event could be the perfect time to extradite the members of the WAQF who actually work for the Jordanian leadership as agents of a foreign power who have out-lived their usefulness and Israel will now take over providing security and order to the Temple Mount and assume responsibility for the holy sites upon the Temple Mount. Such a move is long overdue and the time is ripe for such a move. A member of the WAQF acting in such an unholy manner brings down shame on them, the WAQF and the Jordanian who are responsible for all the actions committed by these guardians. Recalling the WAQF to Jordan in order to save face is an offer that should be made and made now in response to this irreconcilable behavior. Access for all peoples and permission for all people of all faiths the freedom to pray as they please thus opening the Temple Mount a place holy to three major faiths and respected by many people of all faiths.

 

The fourth story comes from Wellington, Florida in the United States where we have mentioned a number of times have started to see increasing anti-Semitism. The attacks have mostly been random events of hatred committed by sole individuals but the undercurrent makes it appear to have more interconnectivity. We have suggested that when one has been arrested for an offense against a Jewish target or any hate crime, their computers should be searched and see what such material they have and check their activity logs and any videos linked to in their computers. A warrant should not be overtly difficult if the person has been arrested for actions which raise the suspicions for the basis of hate crimes having been perpetrated. The actions of the person caught on camera leave little doubt as to the hate-filled anger. The question is against whom as the perpetrator in addition to vandalizing Temple Beth Torah also vandalized seventeen vehicles on nearby streets which might tend to make one believe that perhaps the entire criminal action was truly random. Below are the captured video and a news report from Wellington.

 

 

 

Our final story is one of recovery and joy. First though we need go back to October 22 of last year and recall the terror attack on the Jerusalem light rail by a terrorist where he rammed his vehicle through the Givat Hatachmoshet (Ammunition Hill) Light Rail stop injuring eight people and murdering Chaya Zisel Braun who was merely three months old, far too short a life for her. Ziyad Dawiat, a veteran Magen David Adom paramedic and ambulance driver, remembered having transported little Chaya Zisel Braun that fateful night. That was then and this is now. Ziyad Dawiat, our intrepid veteran Magen David Adom paramedic and ambulance driver, received a call to assist a woman in labor and giving birth at home. He thought nothing about it and headed off to perform whatever duties were required. He had been on a number of such calls and was probably happy for bringing a life into the world which has to be the favorite call they need make as too often they meet people leaving this domain, not entering it. Shmuel Braun met Ziyad Dawiat, our fated veteran Magen David Adom paramedic and ambulance driver, and was immediately overcome with excitement and was exuberantly happy at seeing the number twelve Ambulance and began jumping and waving and pointing and repeating “twelve, number twelve” and continued his zealous happy dance.

 

According to Ziyad Dawiat, our fated, bemused veteran Magen David Adom paramedic and ambulance driver, described the event, “He was very emotional and I didn’t know why. Meanwhile I could see a woman who was about to give birth. I went into the house and helped her, and after helping her to recover, the story came out.” The Brauns recounted the account of the night of October 22, 2014 and how Ziyad Dawiat, our fated, bemused, astounded veteran Magen David Adom paramedic and ambulance driver, had been the one who had attempted to treat initially and transported little Chaya Zisel Braun to the hospital and they thanked him for all he had done then and now. After the retelling, Ziyad Dawiat, our fated, bemused, astounded, at a loss for words, veteran Magen David Adom paramedic and ambulance driver, recounted, “After the parents, with great emotion, told me the story, I remembered who they were. Shmuel told me that whenever he sees the number 12, he remembers his daughter, and prays that he will be spared further suffering. I didn’t know how to respond, to congratulate him on his new baby or commiserate with him for his loss.” After transporting mother and her baby daughter to the hospital for a quick routine checkup Ziyad Dawiat, our fated, bemused, astounded, at a loss for words, exhilarated thanking Hashem for completion of a hole now closed making him whole again, veteran Magen David Adom paramedic and ambulance driver, exclaimed, “I never dreamed that I would be able to close a circle in this manner with the Brauns. But it’s a small world. I intend to keep in touch with them.” So the Braun’s now have their new baby daughter. May she bring them much joy and, as it did for Ziyad Dawiat, by now simply our friend and ambulance driving hero, may it close much of the hole and make their family whole again; Baruch Hashem.

 

Beyond the Cusp