Thursday, November 19, 2015

The 68 Congressional Representatives who refused to repudiate incitement

Palestinian incitement and glorification of violence is a huge obstacle to peaceful co-existence.
The Palestinian government, media and educational system are all complicit.





Recognizing this, earlier this month, 369 Members of Congress sent a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, stating

“Now is the time for the Palestinian Authority to take concrete steps to avoid further violence.  This starts with a sustained effort to publicly and officially repudiate these attacks, ending the unacceptable incitement to violence emanating from Palestinian Authority officials and institutions, continuing important security cooperation with Israel and agreeing to unconditionally renew direct talks with the Israelis.”

The 68 Representatives (listed below), however, did not sign. If your Representative did not sign this letter,  please call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, ask to be transferred to your Representative,and express your disappointment.

For your reference, the names in red were endorsed by J street


Rep.Justin Amash MI03
Rep. Joe Barton TX06
Rep. Xavier Becerra CA34
Rep. Earl Blumenauer OR03
Rep. Madeleine Z. Bordallo GU00
Rep. Michael C.Burgess TX26
Rep. G. K.Butterfield NC01
Rep. Lois Capps CA24
Rep. Michael E.Capuano MA07
Rep. André Carson IN07
Rep. James E. Clyburn SC06
Rep. John Conyers Jr. MI13
Rep. Danny K. Davis IL07
Rep. Peter A. DeFazio OR04
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier CA11
Rep. Debbie Dingell MI12
Rep. Lloyd Doggett TX35
Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. TN02
Rep.  Donna F. Edwards MD04
Rep. Keith Ellison MN05
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva AZ03
Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez IL04
Rep. Cresent Hardy NV04
Rep. Joseph J. Heck NV03
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa TX15
Rep. Michael M. Honda CA17
Rep. Tim Huelskamp KS01
Rep. Jared Huffman CA02
Rep. Will Hurd TX23
Rep. Henry C. “Hank”Johnson Jr. GA04
Rep  Eddie Bernice Johnson TX30
Rep. Walter B. Jones NC03
Rep. Steve King IA04
Rep. Barbara Lee CA13
Rep. John Lewis GA05
Rep. Frank D. Lucas OK03
Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer MO03
Rep. Stephen  F. Lynch MA08
Rep. Thomas Massie KY04
Rep. Betty McCollum MN04
Rep. Jim McDermott WA07
Rep.  Luke Messer IN06
Rep.  Gwen Moore WI04
Rep.  Richard M. Nolan MN08
Rep.  Richard B. Nugent FL11
Rep.  Beto O'Rourke TX16
Rep.  Donald M. Payne Jr. NJ10
Rep.  Pedro R. Pierluisi PR00
Rep.  Chellie Pingree ME01
Rep.  Stacey E. Plaskett VI00
Rep.  Mark Pocan WI02
Rep.  David E. Price NC04
Rep.  Amata Coleman Radewagen AS00
Rep.  Bobby L. Rush IL01
Rep. Gregorio Sablan MP-At Large
Rep.  F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. WI05
Rep.  John Shimkus IL15
Rep.  Louise McIntosh Slaughter NY25
Rep.  Jackie Speier CA14
Rep.  MikeThompson CA05
Rep.  Bennie G.Thompson MS02
Rep.  Peter J.Visclosky IN01
Rep.  Timothy J. Walz MN01
Rep.  MaxineWaters CA43
Rep.  Peter Welch VT00
Rep.  Ed Whitfield KY01
Rep.  John A.Yarmuth KY03
Rep.  David Young IA03

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Restaurants on the Rise in Gaza

More dispatches from Ghetto Gaza, the world's largest open air concentration camp. In spite of the homeless, poverty and despair we keep hearing about, since the beginning of 2015, 195 new restaurants have been licensed in Gaza. There are 73 additional restaurants still in the pipeline.

From Al-Monitor "Restaurants on the Rise in Gaza"

Al-Monitor noticed, during a tour of various restaurants in Gaza City, how they have reached a professional level of customer service. Rizk al-Helou, the director of the Department of Tourism at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, told Al-Monitor in this regard, “When foreigners visit the Gaza Strip, they are surprised by the modern and sophisticated entertainment venues, restaurants and cafes, and by the service provided to customers. There are many success stories and it is considered a great breakthrough in this industry.”

 Here's a glimpse at culinary Gaza.


The restaurant at Gaza's Blue Beach Resort, opened in the summer of 2015 has an extensive menu.
The Almat'haf Hotel & Cultural House in Gaza is known for its lavish buffets.  Where are these critical shortages  Chris Gunness keeps mentioning?



Nothing says "humanitarian crisis" like an "all you can eat buffet"

Gaza's Italian Crust restaurant features a wood burning pizza oven.  Tastes like...oppression


Date night in Gaza? Consider desert at the Bellini Gelato Lounge




How do they keep all that ice cream  from melting without electricity? Must be...magic.

"Modern and sophisticated entertainment venues, restaurants and cafes": Thats the Gaza you'll never see on the mainstream media


.  


Vile antisemitism at UC Santa Cruz

For all JVP's rhetoric about not conflating Judaism with Zionism, I don't see them running to defend this student.

Via StandWithUs

Alarming antisemitism on campus as a UC Santa Cruz Stevenson College Elected Representative, Daniel, was asked to "abstain" from voting on a BDS resolution because he is President of the Jewish Student Union and was "elected with a Jewish agenda." The original message is in the photo.
We call on the UC system to immediately take action against the unacceptable antisemitism running rampant on California college campuses.
Here is Daniel's statement:
"About two days ago, I received a Facebook message from someone I won't name, instructing me to abstain from the vote about the divestment issue because I am the Vice President of the Jewish Student Union. Furthermore, I was told that members from the Stevenson College Council were concerned that I would be biased because I was elected with a "Jewish agenda," as if my involvement in and passion for the wellbeing of the Jewish community, MY COMMUNITY, is something that I should be ashamed of, and something that will hold me back from representing my constituents fairly in the greater student assembly.
The implication that I, as a Jewish student and leader in the Jewish community, should not be allowed to vote on an issue that so deeply impacts the Jewish community, and that I should abstain because I cannot be trusted due to an alleged, “Jewish agenda,” echoes the racism Jews have faced all over the world throughout our history. I wish that me being subjected to anti-Semitism was a shocking new occurrence. But the truth is that I’m not shocked. I’m not shocked because this hatred and ignorance has followed me everywhere. I'm not shocked because Jewish students have been targeted with this vile racism all over the UC system for years, and especially since BDS became a major issue of discussion. Anti-Semitism today may not be the same as it was in the 1930s. But it has clearly evolved to become an inseparable part of campus politics right here at UC Santa Cruz and across the UC system.
This was evident when Rachel Beyda, at UCLA, was denied a position on the Judicial board because of her identity as a Jew, it was evident when my fellow AEPi brothers had swastikas painted on their house in Davis, and now I have had a firsthand experience that this volatile bile of racism is evident at UCSC.
The only "Jewish Agenda" I care about is keeping my community safe and making it so we can coexist peacefully among the other 15,000 students on our campus. I want my community to have a normal learning environment, free from hate speech and harassment, where we can enjoy college without being discriminated against. If people here see that as a legitimate reason to distrust me, to stop me from voting my conscience on issues that matter to the Jewish community, or even to remove me from positions of leadership, then so be it. But they should know that they will never silence me, and they will never stop my community from fighting for the rights and protections that we deserve on this campus.
I am calling on the leadership at UC Santa Cruz, from the student level on up to start taking concrete action to get the anti-Semitism at this campus under control. Student governments at UCLA, UCSB, and Berkeley addressed this issue last year, and the UC Regents are addressing it now. If we stand idly by in the face of this racism, we are sending a clear message that Jewish students cannot expect to be treated with a basic level of fairness and respect at this university. It’s time for the student leadership and the administration here to make a decision: are we going to ensure the fair and equal treatment of all students on this campus, or not? For the sake of future generations of Jewish students here, for the sake of the Jewish community as a whole, and for the sake of everyone on this campus, I hope that we make the right decision."

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

What Islamophobia? Most Religious Hate crimes in America directed towards Jews

The FBI's latest report on Hate Crimes in America is out.  Of crimes associated with a religious bias, nearly 57% were directed towards Jews.  
Of the 1,140 victims of anti-religious hate crimes:
  • 56.8 percent were victims of crimes motivated by their offenders’ anti-Jewish bias.
  • 16.1 percent were victims of anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias.
  • 6.2 percent were victims of bias against groups of individuals of varying religions (anti-multiple religions, group).
  • 6.1 percent were victims of anti-Catholic bias.
  • 2.5 percent were victims of anti-Protestant bias.
  • 1.2 percent were victims of anti-Atheist/Agnostic bias.
  • 11.0 percent were victims of bias against other religions (anti-other religion). 
Read the entire report  for 2014 here

Monday, November 16, 2015

OMG! Jews in Montana

You might have heard about the El Al jet forced to make an emergency landing in Montana, but you may not have heard the whole story.

Engine trouble forced the Boeing 777,  El Al flight 5 on its way from Tel Aviv to Los Angeles to make an emergency stop in Billings Montana 6 a.m. on Sunday morning.

The 300 passengers were stranded for hours, awaiting a new plane, flying in from New Jersey.


Word traveled fast among the 1300 member Jewish community of Montana, and they mobilized to help


From Chabad:
Hillel Fuld of Beit Shemesh, Israel, says that somehow, Rabbi Chaim and Chavie Bruk—co-directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Montana in Bozeman—got news of the situation and set about immediately to offer assistance. With her three young children in tow, Chavie Bruk drove a car full of kosher food 150 miles to Billings Logan International Airport, where passengers had been waiting for nearly 10 hours.
“She showed up and instantly put a smile on hundreds of faces. She did it with utter grace and never stopped smiling for a second,” says Fuld, 37, who works in technology. “Based on the constant smile on her face, she is happier to be here than we are to have her here. It was a tremendous kiddush Hashem—amazing and inspiring!”
Fuld, who is traveling with his wife and 11-year-old son to Los Angeles, enjoyed kosher bagels, cold cuts, chips and cake. Heaps of hummus, fresh fruit and other goods were also available.
The well fed passengers finally made it to Los Angeles by 4:45.

Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh. All of Israel is responsible for one another. 

Thank you, Billings for the hamish welcome.


Israel thwarts attempt to Smuggle Rocket fuel into Gaza

Yesterday 740 trucks delivered 26,067 tons of goods to ‪‎Gaza‬.  Last week, 132,405 tons of goods in 3,870 trucks entered ‪‎Gaza‬.  Terrorists  have repeatedly attempted to take advantage of this flow of aid. Today terrorists have been intercepted smuggling rocket fuel into Gaza in containers labeled "soybean oil"

From the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT)

Hamas makes another cynical attempt to exploit the entry of food for Gaza residents, trying to smuggle chemical materials for rocket fuel under the guise of “soybean oil”.
A joint operation between the David Unit of the Civil Administration and the Crossings Authority of the Ministry of Defense foiled an attempted smuggling of chemicals used for rocket manufacturing. Heading for Gaza, a Palestinian truck arrived at the Tarkumya crossing to transfer "soybean oil" from Hebron. The substance was sent for laboratory tests after arousing the suspicion of security guards and the David Unit inspectors. These further examinations revealed that the trucks contained a substance called TDI, which is a key component for rocket fuel used by Gaza-based terrorist organizations such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. The 450 liters of material were seized, and the individuals were brought in for questioning.
The David Unit of the Civil Administration works to prevent smuggling of all contrabands and pollutants, having confiscated around 280 trucks with life-threatening materials and substances since its 2014 foundation.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Luxury Alongside Poverty in the Palestinian Authority

A new  photographic essay from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs  profiles life in the Palestinian authority. Photos of luxury as well as  poverty are juxtapositioned with facts about the new reality on the ground- facts that many Westerns are not aware of.

Since the establishment of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza in the mid-1990s, the U.S. government has committed approximately $5 billion in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians, who are among the world’s largest per capita recipients of international foreign aid.

Overall, Palestinians receive approximately $2 billion in aid each year.

Palestinian economic analysts estimate that the PA has received a total of $25 billion in financial aid during the past two decades

The CIA World Factbook reported the poverty rate in the West Bank as 18% in 2011,20 in contrast to Israel’s poverty rate in 2012 of 21%.

In 2015, life expectancy in the West Bank was 76 years.  This was notably higher than the life expectancy in Arab states of 71 years (in 2012), and the average life expectancy around the world of 70 years.

In 2015, the infant mortality rate in the West Bank and Gaza was 13 per 1,000 live births,24 compared with 27 per 1,000 live births in the Arab states in 2013 and 36.58 per 1,000 live births in the world in 2014.

According to the 2012 Happy Planet Index – a survey conducted by the New Economics Forum to measure happiness around the world – the Palestinian Authority was the third happiest Arab country and the 30th happiest in the world, making the PA happier than many developed countries like the U.S., UK, Sweden, Australia and Canada.

From the essay-  unexpected photos from the West bank


The Nablus Mall

The Tuqan Building in Nablus

Sky Land Park in Ramallah

The Caesar Hotel, Ramallah

                                                 Jawwal cell phone company in el-Bireh

Read it all here

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Yasser Arafat's Gaza home to be made into a museum

Empty for 8 years, Yasser Arafat's house in Gaza has been turned over to the Fatah party, to be made into a museum.

From the Miami Herald:


The two parties have made symbolic gestures. Handing over of Arafat's house was one of them.
The house, located near a security compound under Hamas' control, is full of Arafat artifacts. Old computer screens and photocopy machines sit on desks on the first floor. Arafat's military uniforms are laid out on his bed. The walls are adorned with pictures of Arafat and his wife and daughter.
It was the first time the house was opened to the media. Jameel Al-Majdalawi, a board member of the Yasser Arafat Foundation, told The Associated Press that the establishment "will work on transforming this house to a national museum for all our people, where we will collect the heritage of this peerless leader."







aza

Daily Cal: Berkeley Human Welfare Commission wisely rejects inappropriate BDS resolution

On October 21, after hours of public comment, the Berkeley Human Welfare Commission voted down an Israel divestment resolution.  In an op-ed published  several days later in the Daily Cal, Carol Sanders of Jewish Voice for Peace wrote the inevitable "Even when we lose, we win" statement.

 Dr. Mike Harris responds:

Carol Sanders’ Oct. 29 op-ed, “Commission’s divest resolution, despite failing, breaks important ground” celebrates the fact that anti-Israel activists hijacked a Berkeley Human Welfare and Community Action Commission into holding a hearing on an anti-Israel resolution that the Berkeley city attorney deemed it had no business even considering. Such “victories” are standard fare for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement.

Sanders claims it was somehow remarkable that the issue of “Palestinian rights” was discussed. American policy for many years has been to support a just peace on the basis of two states for two peoples — the Jewish state of Israel and a future Arab state of Palestine. The real problem here is that BDS insists that human rights and justice for the Palestinians require limiting the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their homeland. The central demand of the BDS movement — the “right of return” for millions of descendants of Palestinian refugees who fled from 1947-49 during the war launched by the Arabs to destroy Israel at its birth — would turn the Jewish people into a minority in their own homeland. And as Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement states, “I am not for a two-state solution.”

Former commissioner Cheryl Davila, who was removed from her position after refusing to remove the divestment resolution, is not a heroic victim in this entire matter. Over the course of a year, she knowingly diverted the work of the commission, trying to fit the square peg of anti-Israel activism into the round hole of addressing poverty in Berkeley. As one example, she attended the recent Atlanta conference of the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation, where an award was given to Rasmea Odeh, a convicted terrorist involved in the death of two young Israelis.

The hearing at the Human Welfare Commission itself was far from an enlightening debate. Some anti-Israel speakers presented the usual canards and lies, such as the charge that the fate of the Palestinian population under Israel’s control is similar to the genocide of European Jewry in the Holocaust — factually wrong, as the Palestinian population has grown four times larger since 1967.

Letters sent to the commission in favor of the resolution bemoaned that Berkeley was “deeply influenced by the monied Jewish lobby” and tried to defend the diversion of the commission’s work as an issue of “free speech.” Jewish Voice for Peace claimed at the commission’s September meeting that it represented the Jewish community, but grassroots Jewish community members turned out to oppose the resolution. A letter to the commission opposing the resolution was signed by many Jewish community leaders and rabbis. By my count, in the end nearly two-thirds of the speakers, Jews and non-Jews, urged the commission to reject this deeply flawed and biased measure.

Read it all here

UPDATE:
Dr. Mike posts his "actual response to Carol Sanders of Jewish Voice for Peace" at Bluetruth.
Read the reply before it was sliced and diced by the the Daily Cal editors

Monday, November 9, 2015

Rolling Stone: StandWithUs Refutes Roger Waters' Comments on Israel

In an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this week, Roger Waters attacked the pro-Israel organization StandWithUs, accusing the organization of being "an arm" of the Israeli government.

The response from StandWithUs

StandWithUs is an independent non-profit organization founded and headquartered in the United States. It is not, as Roger Waters claimed in his recent interview by Rolling Stone, "an arm" of the Israeli government. It is run by American citizens who are concerned about the rise of misinformation, discrimination and bigotry against Israelis and Jews – a trend which Roger Waters unfortunately plays an active role in perpetuating.

Waters' history of racism includes projecting the Star of David (the universal symbol of the Jewish people) onto a pig during concerts, waxing conspiratorial about the "Jewish lobby" and making slanderous, dehumanizing statements about Israelis. Waters also wholly ignores violent racism against Israelis by Palestinian political and religious leaders, and whitewashes the murder of innocent civilians that follows this abhorrent incitement.

He may believe that he's doing this with the best of intentions, but it is up to the Jewish community, not Roger Waters, to decide whether or not he has engaged in anti-Semitism. In fact, his words and actions fit squarely within the U.S. State Department definition of anti-Semitism, which includes demonizing Israel (like when Waters compares Israelis to Nazis), delegitimizing Israel (like when he erases Jewish history, rights, and indigenous roots in the land of Israel by labelling them "colonizers") and applying a double-standard to Israel (like when he demands cultural boycotts against Israel, but not other nations with plainly far worse human rights records).

Furthermore, as a leading spokesperson for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, Waters promotes an agenda that undermines hopes for a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians. BDS actively discourages cultural exchanges between Israelis and Palestinians, effectively seeks to censor Israeli artists and has been overwhelmingly condemned for promoting violations of academic freedom. BDS's ultimate goal is the elimination of Israel and the violation of Jewish rights to self-determination – just ask their co-founder, who has said that "we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine." Indeed, the core of BDS is not reasoned criticism of Israeli policy, but rather the notion that Palestinians can't be free without turning the Jews back into a stateless people.

Those who oppose censorship, support academic freedom and want to see a just resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict have a moral obligation to oppose the bigoted movement known as BDS. People of conscience should support Israelis and Palestinians who understand the importance of mutual recognition, mutual respect, co-existence and self-determination for all peoples.

StandWithUs calls on Roger Waters to look more deeply into this age-old conflict, its root causes and the pain and suffering on both sides. We hope he will stop perpetuating a destructive agenda that singles out Israel and its supporters for vitriol, while hurting Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Boasting about Dead Jews on Social Media

Hamas is boasting about its missile range on social media:


No, its not just about "rocks' and "knives". Hamas and other  terror groups in both Gaza and in the West Bank are committed to acquiring new deadlier weapons to maximize the killing of Jews.




Palestinian Family Values

Meet baby Mohanned Halabi, named after the cold blooded murderer of Jews

Mohanned Halabi murdered Aharon Bennet and  Rabbi Nehemia Lavi, and attempted to murder Aharon's wife and child. For his deeds, the Palestinian Bar Association awarded him an honorary law degree, calling him a "martyred hero”
Meet a baby girl, born in Gaza, named "Knife of Jerusalem"

How can we make peace with these people?

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Save the Date: Northern California Festival of Lights

Save the date for the Northern California Festival of Lights. All of your favorite people will be there


Save the Date! -- "Festival of Lights" Channukah Celebration, a ‪‎StandWithUs‬ celebration in cooperation with IBSI - Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel !!
Saturday evening, Dec 5th  at 7:30, Congregation Netivot Shalom will host a "Festival of Lights"! a StandWithUs celebration in cooperation with The Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, with their Director, Dumisani Washington, as our keynote speaker. Dumisani is also the director of The Hebrew Project Artists (THP), who perform Hebrew-English gospel music. He is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and founder of The Zion Academy of Music in Stockton. This is a great opportunity to celebrate our community and the interfaith relationships we have built. The Hebrew Project Artists - THP will be a phenomenal addition to the evening, singing songs in Hebrew.


List of Palestinian Terror attacks in recent days

Via UN Watch: Palestinian terror attacks in recent days

November 2

Netanya (north of Tel Aviv): A 71-year-old man was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack. The assailant was shot.

Rishon Lezion (south of Tel Aviv): Three people were wounded, two seriously – including an 80-year-old woman – in a stabbing attack by a Palestinian from Hebron (19) at a bus stop in the center of the city. The assailant was apprehended.

Gilboa (Jalama) crossing, north of Jenin in the West Bank: Two Palestinians attempted to stab a soldier at a a gas station adjacent to the crossing point. One assailant shot, the second apprehended.

November 1

Hebron: Three Border Policemen wounded in car ramming attack. Earlier, attempted stabbing attack of IDF soldier during a violent riot. Assailant shot on site.

October 31

Gilboa (Jalama) crossing, north of Jenin in the West Bank: Palestinian (17) armed with a knife tried to stab Israeli guards and was killed on site.

October 30

Tapuach Junction (Samaria): Two terrorists, arriving on a motorbike armed with knives, attempted to stab Border Police officers. One killed, second apprehended.

Jerusalem (French Hill): One person moderately injured in stabbing attack near light rail. Terrorist shot at the scene.

October 29

Hebron: Terrorist stabs and lightly injures soldier near the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Terrorist was shot and killed. Later a Palestinian attempted to stab an IDF soldier in the Beit Hadassah neighborhood. Assailant was shot on site.
In the evening, shots were fired from a passing vehicle towards a bus stop near Jerusalem.

October 28

Gush Etzion Junction: A woman was stabbed in the back, moderately wounded, outside the Rami Levy supermarket. The assailant was apprehended.
Earlier, a Palestinian who attempted to stab an IDF soldier near the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron was shot and killed by security forces.

October 27

Gush Etzion Junction: IDF soldier moderately wounded in stabbing attack. Two assailants shot on site.

Jerusalem: Terror attack foiled – two Arabs (17 & 16) from eastern Jerusalem armed with an axe and a knife were arrested in the center of town (Kikar Tzahal).

October 26

Hebron: IDF soldier stabbed, seriously wounded in the morning north of Hebron. Assailant shot on site. A second attempted stabbing of an IDF soldier outside the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron in the afternoon was thwarted. The assailant (19) was shot.

October 25

Metzad (Gush Etzion bloc): Man (58) moderately wounded in stabbing attack after his car was stoned.

Hebron: Female Arab terrorist (17) attempted to stab border policeman with knife. Officer shot the terrorist, who later died of wounds.

Ariel junction (Samaria): Israeli man (25) waiting for a ride was stabbed by terrorist who fled the scene and was later apprehended.

October 24

Gilboa (Jalama) crossing, north of Jenin in the West Bank: A young Palestinian (16) posing as a sweets vendor tried to stab a security guard and was shot and killed.

October 23

Gush Etzion:  IDF soldier injured in stabbing attack. Assailant shot on site.

Beit El (north of Jerusalem): Israeli couple and their three young children wounded in a firebombing attack on their car.

October 22

Bet Shemesh: Yeshiva student (18) moderately injured in stabbing attack at bus stop near a synagogue. Two terrorists (21) from the Hebron area armed with knives tried to board a school bus full of children. They were shot and killed by police.

October 21

Yitzhar (Samaria): Attack foiled when security forces noticed a young woman (15) approaching the gate armed with a knife. The woman was shot and apprehended.

Ofra (north of Jerusalem): An Israeli policeman was mildly injured in an apparent car-ramming attack when the driver crashed into a checkpoint, ignoring police warnings to stop. The driver fled.

Adam junction (north of Jerusalem): Female soldier critically wounded in stabbing attack. Terrorist killed by IDF forces.

Maale Adumim (east of Jerusalem): Attack foiled when security forces found home-made explosive devices in a car. Two Palestinians were arrested.

Beit Ummar (north of Hebron): Five soldiers injured – after their vehicle was stoned, the soldiers got out to arrest the stone-throwers and were rammed by a Palestinian car. The attacking driver was shot and seriously wounded.


October 20

South of Hebron (Al Fawar junction): Avraham Hasno (54) of Kiryat Arba run over and killed by truck after his vehicle was stoned. Earlier, an IDF officer was lightly injured in stabbing attack in Hebron.

Gush Etzion junction: Two lightly wounded in car-ramming attack at bus stop at the Gush Etzion junction. The terrorist then drew his knife before he was shot and killed.

Car-ramming attack at Gush Etzion junction (Oct 20, 2015)
Copyright: Magen David Adom

October 18

Beer Sheva: IDF soldier Sgt. Omri Levy (19) killed and 10 civillians and police officers wounded when a terrorist armed with a knife and a pistol entered the central bus station, shot the soldier, grabbed his gun and started shooting. Police officers shot and killed the terrorist, an Israeli Arab (21) from the Bedouin town of Hura. An Eritrean asylum seeker, Habtom Zerhom (29), who was mistaken for a second terrorist and shot by a security guard, died of his wounds.

October 17

Jerusalem (Armon Hanatziv neighborhood): Terrorist (16, from Jabel Mukaber) tried to stab Border Police officers; one of the officers shot and killed him.

Knife used in terror attack in Jerusalem, Oct 17, 2015
Knife used in terror attack in Jerusalem
Copyright: Israel Police

Hebron: Three separate attacks: (1) Palestinian tried to stab a civilian walking back from morning prayers; the civilian shot and killed the terrorist with his personal firearm. (2) Palestinian woman (16) stabbed and lightly wounded a female Border Police officer, who shot and killed her. (3) Terrorist (18) from Hebron, stabbed and moderately wounded an IDF soldier at Police checkpoint. Second soldier shot and critically wounded attacker.

Kalandiya checkpoint (north of Jerualem): Terrorist tried to stab police officer, and was shot in lower body; then tried to stab a bomb squad officer. Another officer shot and killed him.

October 16

Nablus: Joseph’s tomb, a Jewish holy site, set on fire overnight by Palestinian rioters.

Palestinians set fire to Joseph's tomb in Nablus

Jerusalem: Border Policeman foiled possible terror attack after detecting explosive device at a checkpoint at east Jerusalem’s Issawiya neighborhood, near the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus.

Hebron (Zayit junction outside Kiryat Arba): Palestinian terrorist disguised as a photojournalist stabbed and moderately wounded an IDF soldier. A second soldier shot and killed him.


October 14

Jerusalem: Attack foiled by Border Police. Officers who boarded a bus full of passengers discovered a knife hidden under a seat. The owner of the knife had boarded the bus with a young child in his arms to allay suspicion.

Jerusalem, Damascus Gate at the Old City: Terrorist (19) from Hebron lightly injured two people before being shot and killed by the security forces.

Jerusalem: Woman (72) stabbed and injured while waiting for a bus at the Central Bus Station. Terrorist shot and killed.


October 13

Raanana (northeast of Tel Aviv): Two stabbing attacks in the morning, an hour apart: The first at a bus stop in the center of town, in which a man (32) suffered light wounds; the attacker (22, from eastern Jerusalem) was subdued by passers-by and held until the police arrived. The second attack resulted in one seriously wounded and three lightly wounded; the terrorist (a construction worker at nearby Beit Levinstein) was arrested.

Jerusalem: Two terrorists, both residents of the adjacent Jabel Mukaber neighborhood, boarded an Egged bus in East Talpiot in southern Jerusalem, one armed with a gun and the other with a knife. Chaim Haviv, 78, and Alon Govberg, 51, were killed, and 15 wounded, several seriously. One terrorist killed by police, second apprehended. Richard Lakin, 76, who was shot in the head and stabbed in the chest, succumbed to his wounds on October 27.


Makor Baruch, a religious neighborhood. Rabbi Yeshayahu Krishevsky, 59, of Jerusalem was killed and five wounded. The terrorist, who was apprehended, is a resident of the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood who holds Israeli citizenship, was an employee of Israeli phone company Bezeq, and was using a company car to commit the attack.

Hamas praised the attacks, saying they are “a message to anyone who harms our holy places.”


October 12

Jerusalem: Stabbing attack foiled at Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. Terrorist (18, from eastern Jerusalem) was shot and killed.

Jerusalem (Ammunition Hill, northern Jerusalem): Border policeman was stabbed and lightly  injured by a female terrorist (16). The officer managed to shoot and stop her, and she was evacuated to hospital.

Jerusalem (Pisgat Zeev in northern Jerusalem): Two terrorists (both teenagers) stabbed and seriously wounded a man (25) and a boy (13) riding his bicycle. Police shot and killed one terrorist and apprehended the second. The boy is in critical condition.

Scene of terror attack in Pisgat Zeev neighborhood of Jerusalem on Oct 12. 13-year-old boy riding his bike critically wounded.


Jerusalem (8:30 pm near entrance to city): Terrorist on bus stabbed a soldier (19) and tried to grab his gun. After a struggle, the terrorist was shot and killed by a police officer.


October 11

Maaleh Adumim-Jerusalem highway: Police officer lightly injured when he pulled over a driver acting suspiciously, and the (female) driver set off an explosive device. Gas canisters were later found in the vehicle.The terrorist was seriously wounded.


October 10

Jerusalem (Sabbath morning): Arab (16) stabbed two Jewish men in their 60s near Damascus Gate, leaving them moderately and lightly wounded, respectively. The terrorist then attacked Border Police officers, who shot and killed him.

Jerusalem (near Damascus Gate): Palestinian (19, from Shuafat) stabbed two police officers. Nearby police shot and killed him, and accidently wounded a third officer. Officers in serious-to-moderate condition.


October 9
Jerusalem (Shmuel HaNavi St.): Jewish boy (16) was beaten and stabbed and lightly injured. Attacker (18, from Hebron in West Bank) was later apprehended by police.
Kiryat Arba: Terrorist stabbed a police officer (47) and tried to grab his gun. Other officers shot him.

October 8
Tel Aviv: Female soldier and three others stabbed. Terrorist was shot and killed.
Jerusalem: A yeshiva student (25) was seriously injured and another man lightly injured in stabbing attack near the light rail. Terrorist (age 19) arrested.

Kiryat Arba (Jewish town near Hebron, south of Jerusalem): Man seriously wounded in stabbing attack. Victim evacuated to Jerusalem hospital. Terrorist escaped.
Afula (town in Galilee): A soldier was wounded in stabbing attack. The terrorist was apprehended soon after

October 7
Petach Tikva: Knife attack at shopping mall wounded one man. The knife broke, preventing further victims. Bystanders apprehended the terrorist.
Jerusalem: A Palestinian woman (18) stabbed a 36-year-old Jewish man at Lion’s Gate of the Old City. The victim, moderately wounded, shot and wounded the terrorist.
Kiryat Gat (southeast of Tel Aviv): A terrorist stabbed an IDF soldier and snatched his gun, then ran into a nearby apartment, where a woman was just returning home. She fought with him and managed to flee. The terrorist was killed by police.

October 4
Jerusalem: Moshe Malka (15) was stabbed and wounded on his way to prayers at the Western Wall. Terrorist was shot dead by security forces.
October 3

Jerusalem: Two killed in stabbing attack near Lion’s Gate. Aharon Banita-Bennet (22) was stabbed to death on the way to the Western Wall in the Old City on Saturday evening with his wife and two young children. His wife and two-year-old son were wounded. Rabbi Nehemia Lavi (father of seven), who came to the aid of the Banita-Bennett family, was attacked and stabbed to death. Police shot and killed the attacker.

October 1
Near Nablus in Samaria: Rabbi Eitam Henkin (31) and wife Naama (30) murdered in a drive-by shooting while traveling with their four young children (aged 9, 7, 4, and 9 months). Security forces arrested members of Hamas cell responsible.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Israel: Happy and Healthy

Palestinians and their enablers want soooomuch to make Israelis miserable, yet they consistently fail.



Not only is Israel one of the happiest nations in the world, it is also one of the healthiest.

Bloomberg  ranked countries with a population of 1 million or more with a health score and a health-risk score. Each country’s rank was calculated by subtracting their risk score from their health score.

The health score is based on factors such as life expectancy  while health-risk is based on factors including smoking and immunization rates

Israel is the 6th healthiest country in the world.



Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Palestinian Human Rights Activist: Media ‘Full of Antisemitism, Hatred for Israel’

A prominent Palestinian human rights activist lamented on Monday night what he called the media’s unfair treatment of the Jewish state.
At a pro-Israel gathering hosted by advocacy group StandWithUs in New York City, Bassem Eid, a Jerusalemite, said the press, which is “full of antisemitism” and “hatred,” is “much more interested in fighting against Israel” than discovering the truth. ..
Talking about the current wave of terrorism sweeping Israel, Eid said, “When I watch TV and see a Palestinian youth — 13, 14 or 15 years old — holding a knife in his hand, running in the street and wanting to stab and kill, I think it’s the most barbaric thing I’ve ever seen. Will stabbing Jews solve my problems? Will killing a Jew solve my problems? Look at Hamas — in the past nine years they’ve been shooting rockets. What have we, as Palestinians, achieved? Let us be a little bit realistic.”
He went on, “I [as a Palestinian] don’t want to be a victim anymore… I want to be considered as a human being who has full control of my own future and my children’s future.”
Read it all here

NBC Investigates: California Looks towards Israel to solve her water woes

An el Nino year isn’t going to be enough to rescue California from four years of drought. Its been estimated that California  will need more than 11 trillions of water just to catch up. That translates into an inch a day for 13 years.

NBC’s investigative unit has determined that the water shortage will not be solved by rain alone.
They have traveled to Israel looking for ways to quench California’s thirst.



What NBC has learned is that it took a dramatic policy change for Israel to achieve water security. By treating water as a national priority,  Israel now produces 20 % more water than its population can use.  An aggressive water management  strategy that includes advanced water recycling,  efficient irrigation techniques,  rain catchment systems at schools and other buildings, and desalination plants, coupled with conservation and advanced leak detection, created a system that now can withstand years of drought

Currently, California lags behind Israel in terms of water use efficiency. A wet winter will not be enough to solve California's water woes.
Read it all  here.

Monday, November 2, 2015

The Vampire's Kiss: Berkeley Style.

Via Emunah:

From the Jerusalem Post, written by our friends at Divest This.


Legend (or at least Bram Stoker) posits that a vampire can only enter someone's home if he or she is invited across the threshold.


There could be no metaphor more apt for the divest-from-Israel campaigns that have proliferated among schools, unions, cities and churches in the US and Europe over the last four years.


Either small, unrepresentative groups of activists invite BDS into their organization, or outside activists join only in order to infiltrate it. The key to the strategy, as he and others have pointed out, is the “halo effect,” which allows puny groups of extremists to “punch above their political weight.” The strident clamors of a fringe group, which would otherwise go unnoticed, acquire gravitas and urgency when issued under the auspices of a respected organization. By the time the majority of the membership wakes up and sees the carnage, it is too late. The organization is left wounded and debilitated, and the vampire moves on to its next victim.


We recently witnessed this phenomenon in Berkeley.  Over the course of a year, anti-Israel activists have lobbied, virtually unchallenged,  a Commission  mandated with administering federal block grants to alleviate poverty to adopt a divestment resolution targeting Israel. 


Originally appearing on the Human Welfare Commission’s agenda on September 17, 2014, the divestment resolution introduced by Cheryl Davila has reared its ugly head on nearly every Commission agenda since then.  The divestment resolution appears on the Human Welfare Commission agenda on November 11, 2014. January 28, 2015. February 9, 2015. February 28, 2015. April 15, 2015. May 20, 2015. June 17, 2015. September 16, 2015. October 21, 2015.


Its rather a remarkable achievement  for a group that still insists its voice has been "silenced'

In spite of the wording which co-opts the language of the civil rights movement, this divestment resolution and the whole tactic of BDS is not about peace with Israel. Its about peace- without Israel.   Cheryl Davila is no innocent. She knows the truth. She stood with her BDS colleagues at the Oct 14 “Day of action”  at UC Berkeley while SJP chanted  “From the river to the sea”  and “We support the Intifada”. And again, on October 15, she stood with them in front of the Israeli consulate on Montgomery Street when they chanted “We don’t want one state. We want 48"  She attended the Atlanta Conference of the US Campaign when an award was given to Rasmea Odeh- a convicted terrorist responsible for the death of 2 young Israelis.


Cheryl’s willingness to neglect the Human Welfare Commission’s core responsibility in pushing this resolution ultimately led to her dismissal from the commission.   


During the public comment period before the Commission's October 21 vote, 54 spoke against the resolution, and 36 spoke in favor. The resolution failed to pass. 


But like Bram Stoker’s vampire, (or Monty Python’s parrot) BDS in Berkeley may not be quite dead, yet. Commission Chair Praveen Sood  is pushing his own BDS-lite resolution. And local anti-Israel activists are attempting to groom Cheryl Davila to seek an elected office.


This time Berkeley is mobilized to fight back.  Tired of having community institutions hijacked, a local attorney has written to the city, urging them not to continue squandering public funds and community resources. 




Again from Divest this!

Divest-from-Israel campaigns are kind of like Count Dracula: no matter how many times a stake is driven through their heart, they keep trying to get up (albeit always a bit more decrepit and overwrought than the time before).