DUS IZ NIES

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Friends Of Ezra Schwartz Killed In Terror Attack Pay Respects Before Coffin Flown To US

Mourning services were held in Israel on Saturday for Ezra Schwartz, a US citizen who was killed in a shooting terrorist attack on Thursday in the West Bank along with two others, an Israeli and a Palestinian.

Friends paid their respects before his body was flown back to the US for burial.

Schwartz, 18, who was studying in Israel, was from Sharon, Massachusetts.

In the attack, near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, a Palestinian terrorist drove along the shoulder of the main road and shot at crawling traffic, killing the three and wounding others, a police commander said.

The attack brought to 18 the number of Israelis and others who have died, along with 80 Palestinians, in a wave of violence over the past seven weeks

Friends and family attend a ceremony in memory of Ezra Schwartz in Ben Gurion international airport on November 21, 2015. Ezra Schwartz, an 18-year old American on a gap year in an Israeli yeshiva was killed in a terrorist drive-by shooting in Gush Etzion Thursday, November 19. (Credit: Flash90)

Friends mourn during a ceremony for american citizen Ezra Schwartz who was killed during a Palestinian attack on Thursday in the West Bank, at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, before the coffin leaves for burial in the U.S November 21, 2015.

A woman stands next to the coffin of American citizen Ezra Schwartz who was killed during a Palestinian attack Thursday in the West Bank, during a ceremony at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv Israel, before the coffin leaves for burial in the U.S November 21, 2015.

Relatives and friends sing and dance together as they mourn during a ceremony for American citizen Ezra Schwartz who was killed during a Palestinian attack on Thursday in the West Bank, at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, before the coffin leaves for burial in the U.S November 21, 2015.

Relatives and friends mourn during a ceremony for American citizen Ezra Schwartz who was killed during a Palestinian attack on Thursday in the West Bank, at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, before the coffin leaves for burial in the U.S November 21, 2015.

A man kisses the coffin of American citizen Ezra Schwartz who was killed during a Palestinian attack on Thursday in the West Bank, during a ceremony at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, before the coffin leaves for burial in the U.S November 21, 2015.

Relatives and friends dance together as they mourn during a ceremony for American citizen Ezra Schwartz who was killed during a Palestinian attack on Thursday in the West Bank, at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, before the coffin leaves for burial in the U.S November 21, 2015.

A man cries next to the coffin of American citizen Ezra Schwartz who was killed during a Palestinian attack on Thursday in the West Bank, during a ceremony at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, before the coffin leaves for burial in the U.S November 21, 2015.

A woman kisses the coffin of American citizen Ezra Schwartz who was killed during a Palestinian attack on Thursday in the West Bank, during a ceremony at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, before the coffin leaves for burial in the U.S. November 21, 2015.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Jonathan Pollard Released but still has more restrictions than freed Murderers

Jonathan Pollard has been released from prison, culminating an extraordinary espionage case that occasionally complicated American-Israeli relations over nearly 30 years.

“The people of Israel welcome the release of Jonathan A. Pollard,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “As someone who raised Jonathan’s case for years with successive American presidents, I had long hoped this day would come,” he said.
President Reuven Rivlin’s released the following statement:
“Blessed is He who frees the imprisoned. We all offer blessings at the release of Jonathan Pollard after many long and difficult years of imprisonment. Throughout the years, we have felt Jonathan’s pain, and felt responsible and obliged to bring about his release.
“We congratulate Jonathan and his family today on their reunification, and pray they will have many years of happiness, health, and harmony.”
Pollard’s release from prison early Friday, culminating an extraordinary espionage case that complicated American-Israeli relations for 30 years and became a periodic bargaining chip between two allies.
pol

Within hours after his release, Pollard’s attorneys began a court challenge to terms of his parole that they called “onerous and oppressive,” including requiring him to wear an electronic GPS ankle bracelet and the monitoring of any computer that Pollard may use either personally or at a job.
Pollard was driven away from the federal prison at Butner, North Carolina, before dawn in heavy fog, and Larry Dub, a Pollard attorney, told Israel’s Army Radio that he was being driven to New York City. The prison is on a two-lane rural road lined with pine trees. Reporters and camera crews who waited outside didn’t get a glimpse of him.
The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Pollard was no longer in custody but provided no other details.
Pollard’s release came nearly 30 years to the day after his arrest for providing large amounts of classified U.S. government information to Israel.
“I have waited for this day for 30 long years, unbelievable,” Anne, his ex-wife, told Israel’s Army Radio. “It’s an amazing moment.”
Pollard had been granted parole this summer from a life sentence imposed in 1987. His lawyers have said that they have secured a job and housing for him in the New York area, without elaborating. The terms of his parole require him to remain in the United States for at least five years, though supporters — including Netanyahu and some members of Congress — are seeking permission for him to move to Israel immediately.
The saga involving Pollard for years divided public opinion in the United States and became both an irritant and a periodic bargaining chip between the U.S. and Israel.
His release caps one of the most high-profile spy sagas in modern American history, a case that over the years sharply divided public opinion and became a diplomatic sticking point. Supporters have long maintained that he was punished excessively for actions taken on behalf of an American ally while critics, including government officials, derided him as a traitor who sold out his country.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that the crime merited a life sentence, given the amount of damage that Mr. Pollard did to the United States government,” said Joseph diGenova, who prosecuted the case as U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. “I would have been perfectly pleased if he had spent the rest of his life in jail.”
Seymour Reich, a former president of B’nai Brith International who visited Pollard twice in prison, said that while he believed Pollard broke the law and deserved to be punished, his sentence was overly harsh. Like other supporters, he believes Pollard was “double-crossed” into thinking he’d be afforded leniency in exchange for a guilty plea.
“I hope that he settles down and lives the remaining years as best as he can,” Reich said.
Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst, was arrested on Nov. 21, 1985, after trying unsuccessfully to gain asylum at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. He had earlier drawn the suspicion of a supervisor for handling large amounts of classified materials unrelated to his official duties.
U.S. officials have said Pollard, over a series of months and for a salary, provided intelligence summaries and huge quantities of classified documents on the capabilities and programs of Israel’s enemies. He pleaded guilty in 1986 to conspiracy to commit espionage and was given a life sentence a year later.
Though he has said his guilty plea was coerced, he has also expressed regret, telling The Associated Press in a 1998 interview that he did not consider himself a hero.
“There is nothing good that came as a result of my actions,” he said. “I tried to serve two countries at the same time. That does not work.”
Under sentencing rules in place at the time of his crime, he became presumptively eligible for parole in November — 30 years after his arrest. The Justice Department agreed not to oppose parole at a July hearing that took into account his behavior in prison and likelihood to commit future crimes.
The parole decision was applauded in Israel, which after initially claiming that he was part of a rogue operation, acknowledged him in the 1990s as an agent and granted him citizenship. Israelis have long campaigned for his freedom, and Netanyahu said last summer that he had consistently raised the issue of his release with American officials.
Pollard’s lawyers also have sought permission for him to travel immediately to Israel, and two Democratic members of Congress — Eliot Engel and Jerrold Nadler, both of New York — have called on the Justice Department to grant the request so that Pollard can live with his family and “resume his life there.” The congressmen say Pollard accepts that such a move may bar him from ever re-entering the United States.
The White House has said that it has no intention of altering the conditions of Pollard’s parole, and even friends and supporters say they don’t know exactly what’s next for him.
President Barack Obama’s deputy national security adviser reiterated that stance on Friday, telling reporters traveling with Obama to Malaysia that “this is something that Prime Minister Netanyahu has regularly raised” in discussions with the United States.
“Obviously, the one thing at issue is the requirement that he remains in the United States,” Rhodes said. “But again, the president does not have any plans to alter the terms of his parole.”
Last year, the U.S. dangled the prospect of freeing Pollard early as part of a package of incentives to keep Israel at the negotiating table during talks with the Palestinians. But the talks fell apart, and Pollard remained in prison.
More details about his plans were expected to emerge after his release.
“It’s a very unusual situation … I’ve been working with Mr. Pollard for 20 years, and even I don’t know where he is going or what he will be doing,” said Farley Weiss, an Orthodox rabbi who has been lobbying on Pollard’s behalf for two decades.

Ya'akov Don laid to rest

Hundreds of people took part in the Friday morning funeral of Ya'akov Don, the 49-year-old educator from Alon Shevut who along with an 18-year-old American and an Arab bystander was murdered in a shooting attack in Gush Etzion on Thursday night.

Taking part in the funeral was Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud), and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat who is the chair of the Ohr Torah Stone chain of institutions, including the Derech Avot high school in Efrat where Don worked for many years as an educator and social education coordinator.
"You were murdered by animals because you're Israeli and because you're a Jew. Oy, what an Israeli you were, what a Jew you were," eulogized Ya'akov's grieving brother at the funeral.

Video Player

Ya'akov Stern, a staff member at the high school, said, "Don's presence in the school was so deeply felt. There isn't a student who didn't merit a smile from him, even if they didn't directly study in his class. He always found the straight path to one's heart. Students drew from him the most important path in life - to find the good and the beautiful in everything."
"In dealing with any problem, when we got off on the wrong foot and thought there's no solution - Ya'akov would come with his mischievous smile and his rolling laugh that filled the hallways, and would calm you and roll with you in hardships and in joy."

Yinon Ahiman, director of the Ohr Torah Stone chain, described Don as "a loving and beloved man with a warm and eternal smile, who always created a good atmosphere around him and gave strength to all those around him. We mourn the great loss."

Don leaves behind his wife Sarah and his children Aviad (21), Maor (19), Yedidya (17) and Racheli (13).

Ya'akov Don Courtesy of the family

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Ezra Schwartz murdered in Israel

The yeshiva student who was murdered by a terrorist Thursday in Gush Etzion is Ezra Yehiel Schwartz, 18, a US citizen and a student at the Ashreinu Yeshiva in Beit Shemesh. He was in Israel on his own.

He and the other students who were hurt in the attack had come to help build the Oz Vegaon site, which was established in memory of the three yeshiva students who were abducted and murdered last summer.

His funeral will be held in Boston on Sunday.

ZAKA emergency services have contacted his family in the US, as well as a relative in Israel who is to identify his body.

The Beit Shemesh Municipality announced that it is "shocked and grief-stricken by the murder of the yeshiva student, in the shooting attack at Guush Etzion."

Schwartz had come, together with five other students from abroad, to hand out food to soldiers in Gush Etzion.

The five other students were lightly wounded and are being treated at Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem.

The students are in Israel as part of a program in which youths volunteer for 9.5 months, studying at yeshiva during the day and volunteering in the evenings.

A Palestinian who drove from the direction of the Kfar Etzion junction, machined gunned the cars, with an automatic rifle, before hitting a vehicle. Security forces surrounded the terrorist and arrested him.

Magen David Adom paramedics pronounced Schwartz dead at the scene. His five friends were evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, three were treated for light injuries and two for shock. They were all released.

A second victim from the attack, Palestinian Shadi Arafeh, 24, of Hebron, was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Yaakov Don, 51, a teacher and father of four who lived in the nearby Alon Shvut settlement was evacuated to Hadassah Medical Center in serious condition and was pronounced dead upon his arrival at the hospital.

Two Israeli women, one lightly injured from the gunfire and another from the car accident, were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, where they will remain overnight.

The United States said it considered the attack to be an act of terrorism.

"We condemn these terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in the strongest possible terms," Edgar Vasquez, a spokesperson for the State Department, told The Jerusalem Post.

"As we’ve made clear, we remain deeply concerned about the situation," he said, "and continue to urge all sides to take affirmative steps to restore calm and prevent actions that would further escalate tensions.”

Within hours after the attack, friends posted messages about Schwartz on his Facebook page. The teen, from Sharon, Massachusetts was a graduate of Maimonides Day School.

His friend Adam Kingstein wrote, “I only knew Ezra Schwartz for a few months but he was always such a good friend. He was always so happy to see everyone and gave all his friends hugs whenever he saw them. After only knowing Ezra for a few weeks I asked him to room with me at Rutgers next year. We were so excited for it and spoke a lot about how college together would be. Even if we won't be roommates next year you'll always be with me college.”

Benjamin Edelman wrote, “Ezra was a great and kind friend to me on USY on wheels and never failed to brighten up my day. Wheels is short, but you feel like you've known a person forever after going on a trip like that with them. Some of my greatest memories on the trip were with Ezra. We, along with Dov and Henryck, would choose to room together every Shabbat and he always made me laugh and have a great time. Ezra's constant positivity and kindness made him an amazing human being, and I am shocked and deeply saddened by what happened today. Rest in peace my friend.”

Michael Wilner contributed to this report.

Still Room for some Jews to Join "The Maggid" in Europe's earth soaked in Jewish blood.

What is it with this Rabbi Pesach Krohn,"The Maggid," that is so attracted to places that murdered Jews?

Just yesterday the Polish Bastards burned a Chassidic Jew In Effigy!

"A Polish demonstration taking in Muslim refugees ended with the burning of an effigy of a haredi Orthodox Jew holding the flag of the European Union."

Can't he make trips to Israel? Isn't there enough history in Israel to tell his maasalich?

Is it such a big mitzvah to feed the descendants of the murderers and rapists of our ancestors ?
Is it so important to know in which bathroom in Baranovitz the students took a leak?

This "maggid" guy who calls himself a "history buff" hasn't learnt that Europe was and is a cesspool of Jewish hatred?

Doesn't he have eyes and ears? Hasn't he heard that the EU are now labeling Jewish products produced in the land that HKB"H gave us?
Does he even care?

I say take all the bodies of the late Gedoilim and transfer them to Israel! Finished!
That's what Yaakov Aveenu and all his children wanted, to have their "bones" transferred to Israel, even if it took hundreds of years!

Two Jews Killed In Terrorist Shooting In Samaria

Three people were killed and five others were wounded in a terrorist shooting attack near the Gush Etzion Junction in Samaria Thursday afternoon.

Initial reports suggest that the terrorist fired from his car at an Israeli minibus near the Gva’ot Junction. He then continued some 300 meters, slamming into another car near the Alon Shvut settlement. The terrorist exited his vehicle and attempted to fire off further shots, but he was shot and apprehended by security forces who were on the scene.

MDA paramedics pronounced an 18-year old man dead on the scene after efforts to resuscitate him failed. An approximately 50-year old man was critically wounded and taken to Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem where he was pronounced dead.

The third victim was a Palestinian bystander.

In addition, three others who were lightly wounded and two who suffered shock were evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which is also located in the capital.

The Gush Etzion area has been the scene of numerous terror attacks over the past two months.

The incident followed shortly after a fatal terrorist attack that occurred in Tel Aviv earlier in the day.

Chareidi animals use Concentration Camp Uniforms to protest "Other JEWS"

The Nazis are known as the most vile and loathsome evil of living memory. It is thus particularly appalling when, to make a point, Jews apply this imagery to other people, let alone to other Jews.

Protesting the IDF draft toward Yeshiva students is one thing, but using Nazi imagery to make the point is not only a violation of sensibilities, but, in all probability, a violation of halacha as well.

The fact that this was done a second time recently, and in front of the Toldos Aharon Rebbe yet a second time, makes it necessary to voice how appalling it is.
There are no less than three issues as to how very wrong this is.

HURTFUL TO SURVIVORS
When a holocaust survivor sees these horrible pictures of children in concentration camp uniforms, it is a very serious violation of Onaah. It causes the survivor pain and anguish. This is a violation of the verse in Vayikra, “velo sonu Ish es amiso – (VaYikra 25:17).”
The Mitzvah is generally called “Onaas Dvarim” or just plain “Onaah.”The Sfas Emes explains that the main reason behind this Mitzvah is so that we will all have a sense of complete oneness as a people. Causing another pain was prohibited because it causes division within us as a people. This is Onaah to the thousands of survivors.

DEBASES THE MEMORY OF THE MARTYRS
The second issue is the fact that it truly debases the memories of the Kedoshim killed al kidush Hashem in the concentration camps of the Nazis yimach sh’mam. It cheapens the deaths of those that have passed on in the holocaust – the shochenei afar.
Those who perished in the holocaust are considered kedoshim martyrs. They died al Kiddush Hashem – because they were part of Hashem’s nation. Debasing their memory is a horrific aveirah.
LABELING SOMEONE IMPROPERLY
The third issue is the fact that the use of such imagery essentially places the label of “Nazi” on fellow Jews. The Gemorah in Kiddushin (28a) discusses the vile nature of three things:
• Calling someone an “eved.”
• Labelling another with the term “Mamzer.”
• Someone who labels another with the term “Rasha.”
Here, with the labelling of fellow Jews as the most evil of Rashaim that there are – a new boundary has been crossed far beyond the discussion in the Gemorah.
Some explain this that for such a person it is permitted to a] hate him b] enter into competition with his business and c] reduce his income by 1/3rd (see Rashi).
Furthermore, one who applies to another a negative appellation is counted among those who go down to Gehenam and do not arise (See Bava Metziah 58b).
Everyone is entitled to their own views. But we must exercise extreme caution to make sure that when making a point, Torah violations should not be stepped upon. The use of this imagery is in horrible taste and underscores a terrible insensitivity both to halacha and to others.
Those who are responsible for this should apologize for these three violations and look to protest in some other way.
The author can be reached at yairhoffman2@gmail.com

Eyewitness Shimon Vaknin Describes the Tel Aviv Stabbing Attack Which Left Two Murdered

Eyewitness Shimon Vaknin was among the 15-20 people taking part in the mincha minyan in the Panorama Building in Tel Aviv when the stabbing attack occurred, shortly before 14:00 today.

He explains “I arrived in the building for a meeting. The person I was meeting with told me ‘we made it in time for mincha’ and I too davened.

“There were between 15-20 people. During Shmona Esrei a Jewish man stumbled, full of blood, falling on some of us”.

He was the first victim and then the others B”H realized quickly what was taking place and they tried to get the attacker, albeit without success.

Vaknin adds “I have a weapon and ran out after the terrorist who fled”. It appears he then ran to a lower floor and stabbed others.

Vaknin adds the mispallalim were working on stopping the bleeding from the victim, who was bleeding profusely and a tourniquet was applied in an effort to stop his bleeding.

Ichilov Hospital has since reported R”L a second victim has died of his injuries. A third victim of the attack is in Ichilov, listed in moderate condition.

The area of the first attack was a foyer to a small shul used for daily mincha minyan. One can see in the photo, the blood on the ground outside a small shul as crime scene technicians work the scene in an effort to piece together the order of events and gather evidence.

There is no explanation given at this time for what appears to be a black body bag since police reported the terrorist is alive, not killed. Zaka uses black bags for terrorists and white body bags with a Zaka logo for victims.

Stabbed as they prayed: Two killed in Tel Aviv terror attack

First Publish: 11/19/2015, 2:15 PM / Last Update: 11/19/2015, 1:07 PM

Scene of Tel Aviv stabbing

Yoni Kempinski

Two people have been killed and one other person was injured in a stabbing attack at a synagogue in south Tel Aviv.

Aharon Yisayev HY"D,(right) 32 from Holon and Reuven Viram HY"D, 51(left),

The injured victim, a man in his 50s, is in moderate condition. He was treated at the scene by Magen David Adom paramedics before being evacuated to Ichilov hospital.

The Arab terrorist who carried out the attack was tackled and held by a civilian until police arrived to arrest him. The terrorist sustained light injuries in the course of being captured.

The attack took place at a synagogue in the Panorama building along Ben Tzvi Street in southern Tel Aviv, as afternoon prayers were being conducted.

Security forces scrambled to the scene initially responded to reports of a possible second terrorist by conducting a sweep of the area, but have confirmed that at this point those claims appear to have been mistaken.

MDA paramedics Moshe Danenberg and Younis Niniv recounted the disturbing scene they encountered.
"The sight was difficult. At the entrance to one of the businesses in the building a 32-year-old man was lying (on the ground) unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, after suffering from stab wounds to his upper body.

"Close to him lay a 30-year-old man with stab wounds to his upper body, and a floor below we located an additional casualty, a man of about 50, fully conscious.

"We quickly provided them with first aid at the scene and immediately evacuated them to Ichilov hospital."

Pictures credit: Yoni Kempinski

Deputy Defense Minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan responded to the attack shortly afterwards, noting that it took place just a day after the first anniversary of the bloody terrorist attack at a Jerusalem synagogue which killed five people.

"Just yesterday we marked one year since the despicable massacre at a synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem, a year in which terror has hit us without mercy - and now another despicable attack has occurred, this time at a synagogue in Tel Aviv," Ben-Dahan said.

"Terror is terror, and it doesn't matter where it occurs," he continued, hinting at the recent terrorist attacks in Europe. In Israel's case "its roots are the incitement from the Palestinian leadership which encourages (violence).

Only by continuing to act with a firm hand against terrorists and their supporters could Israel hope to combat the ongoing wave of terrorism, he added.
"Only destroying the homes of the terrorists swiftly after an attack and expelling their families will deter the next perpetrator."

The Tel Aviv attack follows two other thwarted stabbings earlier Monday.

In Hevron, an Arab teen was arrested by soldiers close to the Cave of the Patriarchs, after he approached them with a concealed knife.

Earlier in Gush Etzion, just north of Hevron, three Arab women were detained after attempting to infiltrate an army base armed with knives.
No Israelis were injured in either of those incidents.