Israelis help Syrian refugees in Europe while Gaza
Children Aspire to Murder Jews as brainwashing continues-2
World Condemns Israel as Muslim Violence in
Jerusalem Ushers in Temple Mount Chaos
"Zion stretches out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her.
The Lord has decreed for Jacob that his neighbors become his foes;
Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them." (Lamentations
1:17)
Just in time for the Jewish holy holidays, Muslim
violence in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount has once again brought
condemnation to Israel. Jerusalem received 800 extra police officers to
monitor an expected Muslim "day of rage" on Friday after a week of
escalated attacks around Israel, including a fatal rock attack against a
Jerusalem motorist on the night of Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year). Overnight Thursday, two Palestinian men also attacked an
Israeli car near Nablus with a firebomb, with the female driver losing control
and flipping her car, but escaping unharmed. Nearby security forces
shot one of the two suspects and placed the other under arrest; medics took the
injured suspect to the hospital.
Alexander Levlovich
Last Sunday night, in a similar attack, an unnamed
criminal threw rocks at passing cars until he hit a windshield that belonged to
the car of 64-year-old Alexander Levlovich, who was driving home from a family
Rosh HaShanah dinner. Levlovich lost visibility and control of the car, crashed
into an electricity pole and died; his two passengers were lightly injured. Visiting
the crash site on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called
the act "murder," stating, "This stone is one too many.
We are declaring war on those who throw stones and bottles, and
rioters." Even so, stone-throwing and other violence continues.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Jerusalem after the
death
of Alexander Levlovich.
of Alexander Levlovich.
On
Monday, a pair of youth hurled stones injuring an Israeli police officer, and
along a street near the Old City, multiple Muslims attacked an Orthodox Jewish
teenager. Also Monday, rioters threw
rocks and flares at police forces working security on the Temple Mount. The
Muslim anarchists tried to use the al-Aqsa Mosque as a barricade, but police
corralled the rioters inside the mosque and locked the doors. "We’re changing the policy to a war on
stone-throwers, not just in Jerusalem and the roads leading to it, but also in
the Galilee and the Negev," Netanyahu announced. "The existing
situation is unacceptable and we intend to give the tools—to both soldiers and
policemen—to take very severe action against the rock throwers and the firebomb
throwers." According to Netanyahu, Israel will allow open-fire
orders in certain cases and increase the minimum sentence to 4–5 years in
prison for throwing rocks and 10 years for throwing firebombs, as well as a
sharp increase in fines against the parents of guilty minors, amounting to NIS
100,000 ($26,000). However, the Knesset
(parliament) must approve such measures.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu (middle) and Jerusalem Mayor Nir
Barkat (right).
Barkat (right).
US State Department spokesman John Kirby strongly
condemned “all acts of violence," adding that, "it is absolutely
critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions
and rhetoric and preserve unchanged the historic status quo on the Haram
al-Sharif/ Temple Mount." The “historic status quo” means that the
Jordanian Waqf, which has administered the site since 1967, oversees the
traditional ban on Jewish prayer. However, visitation by Jews and
Christians is officially allowed, even though rioters and paid harassment
groups make such visits humiliating and dangerous. “The status quo is upset
constantly by agitators and rioters who barricade themselves on the Temple
Mount and harass worshippers or, more precisely, the Jewish visitors,”
Netanyahu said. “This is also unacceptable to us. We are dealing
with this in cooperation and dialogue with Jordan, and not just with them.” On
Tuesday, as police escorted Jewish visitors through the Mount complex, another
riot erupted with Muslim anarchists throwing firebombs, rocks, iron bars, and
firecrackers at the pilgrims. The rioters sought to barricade themselves
in the mosque as they have done many times before, but police followed them in,
throwing tear gas and stun grenades. Over the three days on the Mount, news
reports cited 26 Palestinian protesters were arrested. As well, 14
Israeli police and 36 Palestinians were injured. The arrests continued as
Israeli police conducted a pre-dawn raid on Wednesday connected to Levlovich's
murder, arresting three Palestinians in Jerusalem's Tzur Baher neighborhood. "We
are facing a changing world and extremist Islam is shaking old conventions.
The ground around us is burning and we are experiencing historic
shocks," Netanyahu stated in a meeting Thursday.While skirmishes
connected to the Temple Mount and other attacks have been occurring for months,
even years, this week proved an escalation when, before Rosh HaShanah, police
found not only piles of rocks to attack Jewish pilgrims but also a number of
pipe bombs. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said finding the pipe
bombs "forces us to reconsider the arrangements for the Temple
Mount." "It is unacceptable that
Muslim rioters who barricaded themselves during the night on the Temple Mount
can, at will, turn this holy site into a battlefield, including throwing stones,
shooting firecrackers directly at security forces, and even bringing explosive
devices into the area of the Mount," he said.
Israeli police were forced to secure the Temple Mount after Muslim
rioters
barricaded themselves inside the al Aqsa mosque with pipe bombs, rocks
and fireworks.
barricaded themselves inside the al Aqsa mosque with pipe bombs, rocks
and fireworks.
Even with all of this incitement, the police
reactions during the week brought condemnation from Jordan (which administers
the site), Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Palestinian Authority, and other
regional leaders. "The Jordanian government condemns the
assault carried out by Special Forces of the Israeli occupation army against
the Al-Aqsa mosque compound," said the Kingdom's Information Minister
Mohammed Momani, calling Israel to stop "provocations." The
Palestinian Authority Ministry of Information also accused Israel of incitement
against Arabs living in Jerusalem, of terrorism and of declaring war "on
the Palestinians and their holy sites." Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abd alAziz
Al-Saud during the week phoned a number of world leaders, including United
States President Barack Obama, asking them to stop "the Israeli attacks,
including intervening with the U.N. Security Council to protect the Palestinian
people." According to the Saudi Press Agency, Salman's appeal to Obama
stated, "The Israeli attacks contribute to feeding extremism and violence
in the world.” “Any more provocations in
Jerusalem will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel, and Jordan
will have no choice but to take action, unfortunately,” Salman said
Monday.
The al-Aqsa Mosque as seen on the Temple Mount from the Kidron Valley
in Jerusalem
in Jerusalem
Netanyahu's warnings of increased repercussions to
criminals did not slow the violence. On Thursday, a bus operated by Egged was
targeted by stone-throwers in Jerusalem's Ras el-Amoud neighbourhood, causing
the Arab driver to flee and contact the police. The security entourage
that arrived on scene found the bus also had been set on fire. On the same
day, another bus driver was injured near the Hitzma settlement in a rock attack
that smashed his windshield. A guard tower in Jerusalem's Ofrit IDF base
also was set on fire with Molotov cocktails. In the midst of the violence,
a 20-person Likud Youth delegation toured the Temple Mount on Thursday morning
despite a call from top government officials who said the visit would bring
more harm than good. "Because of the events that
were on Rosh HaShanah, we wanted to strengthen our sovereignty at our holiest
site," said one Likud Youth leader, Dor Harlap, to The Jerusalem Post.
"We didn't come to cause provocations or make a mess; … we came to
show our presence." About 20 Muslim Waqf officials surrounded
the youth group as female Muslims yelled at them. The group continued to
walk the Mount while praying in their hearts, Harlap said. Due to Friday's
expected violence, Israeli security forces barred Muslims under the age of 40
from accessing the Mount.
Israeli police on the Temple Mount use their shields to deflect the rocks
that Palestinians are throwing.
that Palestinians are throwing.
Israelis Upgrade Wheelchairs to Tackle Real
Obstacles
"'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Yeshua, 'but this
happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as
it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when
no one can work.'" (John 9:3–4)
Two Israeli innovation teams have wheeled out a
pair of savvy wheelchairs this year, with one designed to sense and conquer
obstacles in its path and the other geared for mobility feats and rough
terrain. As a gift to his mother-in-law—and other wheelchair users—musician Ilan
Aviv designed a stair-stepping wheelchair with sensors that help the chair
avoid obstacles as it moves. As it rolls up to a curb or a step, the chair
stops and extends a pair of arch-shaped mechanisms with wheels on each end that
feels for the next surface and gently lowers the chair down to it, lowering its
back "legs" until the chair's main wheels touch ground again. Aviv's Step-Up device has been registered as a patent and
can be installed into electric wheelchairs. The gift to his
mother-in-law took one year to design and will cost consumers $2,000 to
purchase.
Step-Up wheelchair
Meanwhile, Israeli company SoftWheel has
designed a wheelchair with military veterans in mind, including Americans
who will be some of the first users of the device. SoftWheel CEO Daniel Barel
told ISRAEL21c that he contacted the United States Veterans
Administration (VA) to begin a working relationship. "We are in advanced
talks with the VA now; these things take time. Meanwhile, there are some
private funds in the United States that support veterans," Barel
said. "A few months ago, we contacted the Independence Fund, a $15
million fund that buys medical equipment for veterans. They were very
excited to provide vets with the SoftWheel Acrobat until the VA partners with
us officially." The company's Acrobat wheelchair is designed out of
lightweight carbon with a patented suspension mechanism that activates above an
impact threshold—sending jarring bumps and shocks into the wheels, not the
chair or the user. The Acrobat wheel gives wheelchair users "a more
comfortable, bump-free ride without performance compromises. It offers a
smooth and comfortable ride across everyday paths, including curbs and other
declines, and can virtually connect to any wheelchair frame," writes the
company website. Barel said that SoftWheel received a $1.4 million Binational
Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) grant to fund the project, which
will be in production by December.
Iceland Capital Boycotts Israeli Goods, Cites
Apartheid
"'I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism
but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is
right.'" (Acts 10:34–35)
In her final act on Iceland's capital city council,
Bjork Vilhelmsdóttur successfully pitched a measure to ban city purchases of
all Israeli goods. On the same day, she resigned, stating her
plans to volunteer in "Palestine" until January. Israel's Foreign
Ministry condemned the municipal ban on Israeli products and services in a
statement: "A volcano of hatred spews forth from the Reykjavik city
council building. For no reason or justification, except hatred for its
own sake, calls of boycotting the state of Israel are heard." Reykjavik
Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson said Saturday, however, that Reykjavik City Council's
controversial decision to boycott Israeli
products will be amended to a boycott of only those goods produced “in occupied
areas.”
Bjork Vilhelmsdóttur and her husband .
The September 15 vote at Reykjavík City Hall had
sought blanket sanctions "to press the Israeli authorities to abandon its
military operations and comply with international law," the Social
Democrat councilwoman told Icelandic media, connecting the ban of all Israeli
products "during the occupation of Israel in the Palestinian
territories." “We hope someone in Iceland will come to their senses and
end the one-sided blindness fielded against Israel, the only democracy in the
Middle East,” an Israel Foreign Ministry statement said. Objections from
inside of Iceland apparently helped turn the tide somewhat. Lawyer for the
Iceland Supreme Court Einar Gautur Steingrímsson stated that the Reykjavík
purchasing ban is illegal, discriminatory and
violates the Icelandic constitution. "This is as illegal as refusing to do
business with red-haired people and it makes no difference whether they
justify their decision with references to some alleged actions by the
Israelis," Steingrímsson said, rebuking the city for acting outside of its
role. In a statement to Icelandic media, Steingrímsson said, "Iceland has
a political agreement with this country, and it means nothing for the city to
contend that they are the only ones with the right opinion on as complicated a
subject as the Middle East." A report linked to Vilhelmsdóttur's boycott
measure stated support for a sovereign Palestinian state in the borders of
territories liberated by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War, including eastern
Jerusalem. The report said that a boycott amounts to peaceful resistance
to "countries where human rights are not respected and the international
conventions are ignored." While the measure found a majority vote, other
council members rejected the bid. Independence Party councilperson
Kjartan Magnússon identified its passage as hypocrisy of the ruling coalition,
stating that despite China's occupation of Tibet since 1950, there has been no
measure to boycott Chinese goods. (The Reykjavík Grapevine)
Reykjavik mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson
The passage of the ban resulted from the council
members’ condemnation of Israel's "policy of apartheid," which the
president of the African Christian Democratic Party in South Africa, Kenneth
Rasalabe Joseph Meshoe, said in August is an "inaccurate and malicious"
accusation— "an empty political statement that does not hold [any]
truth." In a weeklong visit to Israel in August, Meshoe told Israel's Channel
10, "Those who know what real apartheid is—as I know—know that there
is nothing in Israel that looks like apartheid." Meshoe observed that
"people of different colors, backgrounds and religions" interact
every day, while South African apartheid subjected all aspects of life to
legalized discrimination. "Skin colour determined where you were born and
lived, your job, your school, which bus, train, taxi and ambulance you used,
which park bench, lavatory and beach, whom you could marry, and in which
cemetery you were buried," writes South African-born journalist Benjamin
Pogrund on South African apartheid for The Guardian. "Israel is not
remotely like that. … for critics it’s not enough to denounce its ills and
errors: instead, they exaggerate and distort and present an ugly caricature far
distant from reality," he said.
The
multicultural streets of Jerusalem
Former Israeli ambassador to the United States
(2009–2013) and Knesset Member Michael Oren also writes that Israeli hospitals
employ and treat "thousands of Palestinians," as well as Jews,
Israeli Arabs, Druze and even Syrians wounded in the civil war. Non-Jews in
Israel have the right to vote and to serve in the Israeli parliament, and have
the option, not the requirement, to serve in the Israel military or in national
service. Schools are formed based on cultural preferences, thereby
categorized as religious, secular, Jewish, Muslim or Christian, but are not
discriminatory and show mixed attendance. Arabs, including non-Israelis,
drive on Israeli roads and study in Israeli universities. In fact, Tel
Aviv University's (TAU) valedictorian this year was an Egyptian-American,
Haisam Hassanein. He said he was "raised on anti-Israel hate"
but that his career as a student in Israel revealed his misconceptions for what
they were. "Growing up in Egypt the entire country had opinions about
Israel and none of them were positive. All we knew was that we had four
bloody wars and they were not like us," Hassanein said in his speech to
the student body, citing Egyptian music, television and movies that showed
Israelis depicted "as spies and thieves." "Instead of the fact
that the two countries struck a very famous peace accord in 1979, the Israelis,
I was told, were our eternal enemies." "The
diversity I found here was as surprising as the warmth of the people,"
Hassanein said. "On my very first day here at the university, I saw
many kippahs, women in headscarves and hijabs. I saw soldiers walking
peacefully among lively crowds of students. I learned there were people
of every kind in the university and the university had a place for all of
them—Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouins and even international
students."
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order
that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His
glorious inheritance in His holy people." (Ephesians 1:18)
Your
prayer support is essential to reach the Jewish People with the message of Forgiveness
of Sin through Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) during this end-times
High Holy Days season.
