Kobi (May) Peleg Transgender Takes her Life

“May Peleg Friedman, the Jerusalem Open House’s first transgender Chairperson, put an end to her life this week at the age of 31. 

Born into a world of religious tradition and gender conformity, May tried to live as dutiful son, husband and father, while knowing, since age 4 that her soul belonged in another type of body. 

על אהבה וחושך: הטרנסג'נדרית שהקדישה את עצמה לקהילה שמה קץ לחייה

מאי פלג נולדה בשם קובי למשפחה חרדית בבירה. אמה התעללה בה, והיא עברה לגור ברחוב - שם נאנסה מדי לילה. בצבא הכירה את אהבת חייה, איתה הביאה שני ילדים לעולם. אלא שאז החליטה לעבור תהליך לשינוי מין ולהתגרש. ביום שבת נמצאה גופתה. "אפשר היה למנוע את זה"

פלג, שנולדה בשם קובי למשפחה חרדית, חשפה בסרטון שפרסמה באינטרנט את סיפורה. "אני זוכרת בגיל ארבע, כשישבתי בביתי ואמרתי שמשהו בגוף שלי לא בסדר", אמרה. בגיל 13 נשלחה לישיבה. "הייתי מבריזה מהפנימייה והולכת לספרייה שבגבעת רם. אמרתי לעצמי שאעשה את כל שביכולתי בשביל להימנע מלעשות את התהליך". כשהגיעה לגיל 17, ביקשה להתגייס לשירות קרבי עוד כשהגדירה את עצמה כגבר, אולם לא התקבלה "כי הייתי בן יחיד".

במהלך השירות הצבאי, הכירה בתור קובי את מי שלימים נישאה לה והביאה עמה שני ילדים. "חשבתי לעצמי שאם אני מאוהבת, אולי אשרוד כגבר. בהיריון השני שיתפתי את בת הזוג, כי הבנתי שלא אחזיק מעמד", סיפרה פלג והוסיפה כי "בהתחלה השמיים נפלו, אבל עם הזמן היא הבינה שהכל בסדר".

שימוש בסמים קשים וחיים ברחוב בגיל צעיר. פלג (צילום מתוך פייסבוק)

אלא שאז נוצרה בעיה חדשה - הקבלה שלה בקרב ילדיה. "בכיתי, נכנסתי לדיכאון ופיתחתי הפרעות אכילה. סביב גיל 27 ניסיתי להתאבד - וכשנכשלתי אמרתי לעצמי 'אני חייבת לעצור, לעשות שינוי ולהבין לאן אני הולכת וממשיכה בחיים'", אמרה פלג, תוך הכרזה שמדובר בנקודה שבה החליטה להתחיל את התהליך. בעקבות כך, בני הזוג התגרשו ושיתפו את הילדים על כך שיש להם אמא חדשה. פלג סיפרה לאביה על שינוי המין לפני מותו, עם אימה נותק הקשר שנים רבות קודם לכן.

שנים לאחר התהליך החלה פלג לחשוף את הסיפור הקשה שהוביל לנתק מאמה; ההתעללות שעברה בבית, שימוש בסמים קשים וחיים ברחוב בגיל צעיר. "האישה שילדה אותי התעללה בי בבית", כתבה והוסיפה: "בגיל 13 יצאתי מבחירה לפְּנִימִיָּה, שם התחלתי להסתובב ברחובות. 'כיכר החתולות' הפכה לבית עבורי, ועם הזמן התחלתי לצרוך סמים". בגיל 16, פלג, אז עדיין קובי, גרה רוב הזמן ברחוב; בהתחלה בחדרי מדרגות, על ספסלים ואפילו בתוך מגלשות.

 "הגעתי לגיהנום"

"אז הגעתי לגיהנום – הזולה ברחוב קינג ג'ורג'. שם 'אומצתי' על ידי בחור שגדול ממני בשנה, הוא 'הגן' עליי ולאט לאט נפלתי לתוך המלכודת שלו – ההרואין", שחזרה פלג, "תחילה הוא סיפק לי את הסם ללא תמורה, כעבור זמן מה החל הניצול המיני. לילה אחרי לילה נאנסתי במקום המקולל ההוא. בשנים שבהן גרתי ברחובות הגוף שלי חולל עשרות פעמים".

החרדה והקושי צפו בעיקר כשהשמש שקעה. "התעוררתי כל רגע מפחד מהאונס הבא, מסיוטים של הטראומות שעברתי, מרעשי הרחוב ותנאי מזג האוויר הקיצוניים". גם למצוא עבודה לא היה פשוט בעבורה: "ניסיתם פעם ללכת לעבודה כשאתם רעבים? ומי בכלל יעסיק חסרי בית?".

ניהלה את "המקווה". פלג בפאב (צילום מתוך פייסבוק)

סיפור החיים הקשה שלה הוביל את פלג לא אחת לאשפוז בבתי חולים פסיכיאטריים. באחת מהפעמים שבהן אושפזה הכירה את חברתה לחיים. כשהשתיים הכירו, גם נותק הקשר בין פלג לילדיה, אותם לא ראתה מאז. "היינו ביחד שנתיים וחצי, עד שלפני שישה חודשים נפרדו", סיפרה בת הזוג לשעבר, שהוסיפה כי הן נותרו קרובות.

"מאי הייתה אדם מקסים. היא עברה הרבה קשיים בחיים וניתקו אותה מילדיה, שהיא מאוד אהבה. היא הייתה פעילה גדולה בקהילה הלהט"בית, כזאת שנתנה את נשמתה למען כולם", סיפרה בת הזוג לשעבר. מסכת הייסורים לא פסקה שם, ולפני שמונה חודשים חלתה פלג בפיברומיאלגיה – מחלת שרירים נדירה – ונלחמה תקופה ארוכה על מנת שיכירו במחלתה.

פלג (צילום מתוך פייסבוק)

בת הזוג לשעבר שחזרה את התא המשפחתי שהשתיים הקימו. "חודש אחרי שהיא עברה לגור איתי, שלושת הילדים שלי כבר החלו לקרוא לה 'אמא'. הם התחברו אליה בצורה מטורפת. חלק מהזמן היא הייתה על כיסא גלגלים בגלל הכאבים, אולם למרות הקושי היינו יוצאות לטיולים והיא הייתה מסיעה את הילדים לבית הספר", סיפרה.

לדבריה, "היא ידעה המון דברים. היא נהגה לשבת שעות עם בני הגדול ולדון על פוליטיקה והיסטוריה, הייתה לה המון סבלנות. היא נהגה להגיע לכל המשחקים של הבן שלי ולהריע לו מהקהל – גם כשהייתה על קביים".

 "הפרידה הייתה מאוד קשה"

לדברי בת הזוג לשעבר, פלג העבירה את חייה עם המון צער וכאב. "היא סבלה מאנורקסיה, מהפרעת אישיות גבולית ומפוסט טראומה חריפה. בשלב מסוים ניסינו להשיג לה משמורת משותפת על הילדים, אולם העובדת הסוציאלית שהגיעה אלינו הביתה החליטה לבסוף להשאיר את המצב כפי שהיה".

"הפרידה הייתה מאוד קשה", סיפרה. "נפרדנו כי הגענו למצב שהורדנו אחת את השנייה, נכנסו לדיכאון מזה". לאחר שיחה בין השתיים הוחלט להיפרד, "אבל לא כי לא אהבנו", הדגישה.

 "מכה נוספת לקהילה הלהט"בית"

יו"ר הבית הפתוח בירושלים, דנה שרון, סיפרה לוואלה! NEWS כי "התחושות לא פשוטות. כבר מהרגע שהיה ברור שהיא נעדרת, האווירה בבית הפכה לקשה. זוהי מכה נוספת אחרי גל המכות שחטפנו לאחרונה בקהילה". לדבריה, "אנשים מגיעים למצבים אובדניים בגלל הדרה חברתית ובגלל שמערכות בריאות הנפש והרווחה לא ערוכות להתמודד עם מצבים מיוחדים. זה שילוב קטלני".

שרון סיפרה על פלג כי הייתה "אישה עם לב ענק, אנרגיות מדהימות ורצון אין סופי לתקן ולשנות. אישה שהייתה כולה לב ופשוט לא עמדה בזה. העולם לא היה מספיק טוב בשבילה".

פלג (צילום מתוך פייסבוק)

לבקשתה של פלג לא תתקיים הלוויה לזכרה, אולם יערך טקס זיכרון קטן וצנוע. היא השאירה אצל חברה הוראות איך להתמודד, ואפילו ביקשה שעמוד הפייסבוק שלה לא יהפוך לדף זיכרון אלא יישאר עמוד רגיל, כפי שהיה עד מותה.

 "בחורה סופר חכמה וסופר חזקה"

גיל נווה, אחד מחבריה, סיפר: "אנחנו הכרנו בעיקר סביב הפעילות של הבית הפתוח ובתקופה קצרה שבה הייתה הבעלים של בר 'המקווה' בעיר. היא הייתה בחורה סופר חכמה וסופר חזקה. הייתה בה יכולת לראות רגישויות של אנשים מבלי שהיו צריכים לדבר עליהן".

לדבריו, "יצא לנו לדבר פעם אחת על הילדים שלה והיה לה כזה אור בעיניים שזה היה מעורר השראה. בשנתיים האחרונות היא עברה עוד התפרצות של המחלה ולקח לה הרבה מאוד זמן עד שנפתחה שוב לעולם, אבל משהו נשבר שם. מההיכרות שלי איתה זה היה מתוכנן לפרטי פרטים, היא לא הייתה בן אדם שעושה משהו כזה בפרץ של רגע".

"הרחוב הפך לבית". פלג (צילום: מתוך פייסבוק)

עו"ד מיכל עדן, פעילה מרכזית בקרב הקהילה הלהט"בית, סיפרה שפלג התלוננה לא אחת באוזניה על יחס מפלה ומקפח בשל היותה טרנסג'נדרית. "הקושי הגדול היה מכיוון שהשינוי נעשה לאחר שהתחתנה והביאה ילדים, היא נזקקה לתמיכה רבה במהלך הגירושין. במקרה של מאי נוכחתי שוב לדעת שהמדינה אינה מעמידה משאבים ראויים לתמיכה באזרחים העוברים הליך לשינוי מגדרי".

Sruly Stein Grows Up to be a Beautiful Lady

A man descended from a Hasidic “dynasty” is transitioning into a woman — enraging members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community she left behind.

Srully Stein — who now goes by Abby — recently came out as a woman and said she’s finally living as her true self — something she said was impossible to do growing up in her restrictive household in Brooklyn.

“In the community that I was raised in, Trans did not exist, neither was it ever discussed,”the 24-year-old writes in her blog.

“I was therefore convinced that I have to be crazy, and that I have to get this ‘stupidity’ of feeling like a girl, out of my head.”

Modal Trigger

Stein posted these photos to her blog documenting her transition.Photo: thesecondtransition.blogspot.com

Stein — who some say has “royal blood” coursing through her veins because of her grandfather, the prominent Rabbi Mordechai Stein — began hormone replacement therapy Sept. 4.

The results have been “amazing,” she kvelled.

“The road is long, but with the support of some amazing friends and professionals, for the first time in my life I feel like I am getting to be my real self,” she wrote in a recent post, which received more than 20,000 hits in just a couple days.

Stein’s roots trace back to Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer, believed to be the founder of the Hasidic Judaism

Her grandfather, Mordechai, was born in Fălticeni, Romania, and her father was born in Israel.

Her ancestors are part of several Hasidic sects, her grandfather’s mother was part of the Twersky family, a “very famous” old dynasty from the Ukraine, she said.

Stein recently broke the news to her father — and hasn’t heard from him since.

“I think right now it’s shock more than anything,” Stein told The Post. “He doesn’t know what to do.”

Others took to social media to spew hate-filled messages about her transition.

Modal Trigger

Stein poses for a photograph on Nov. 17 in New York City.

Photo: Chad Rachman

“And family is nothing?” one member of the Lee Avenue WhatsApp group wrote. “The lowest scum of earth live with deficiencies with lifelong pain not to hurt their family. I saw your father today in synagogue, he is going to die of the shame you have caused him.”

The person continues: “No human in the world puts his pleasure in front of the pain of his loved ones. What kind of animal are you?”

Another added, “It’s all the devil, the evil inclination that says there is such a thing a man can be born in the wrong body.”

But Stein said she’s prepared for the backlash.

“My main goal is to get people to talk about it,” she said. “I don’t care how hateful the reaction might be within the Orthodox community.”

Stein added that many of the Orthodox people she’s heard from are in “denial” about transgender people.

“For most of them, they don’t even know what this is, they have no context for it,” she said.

Stein said she hopes that will change and that her story will reach other transgender Orthodox teens who’ve been battling similar conflicts.

“Since I’ve gone public, 17 people have reached out to me who still live within the community and struggle with similar things,” she said. “Most of them didn’t know there’s help.”

Stein said that while she felt like a woman for many years, she couldn’t even consider taking action until she left her Orthodox community.

Modal Trigger

Photo: Chad Rachman

Initially, she followed the traditional path of most in Hasidic Williamsburg. By 18, Stein was married, and soon had a son.

“I was raised in an extremely sheltered community,” she said. “No Internet, no TV and no movies — not even Jewish ones.”

“My family and community was so sheltered that up to around 14 I thought that most of the world is Jewish and most of the Jews are ultra-Orthodox,” she added.

With an intense desire to pursue a college education, Stein divorced, and ultimately left the Orthodox community about four years ago.

Being part of a famous Hasidic family made that split even more difficult, Stein said.

“My family had more restrictions than most families even in Williamsburg,” she explained. “Like men were expected to work only in Jewish scholarly jobs, not drive, and I was constantly told that we ought to be role models.”

Now Stein is a second year student at Columbia University’s School of General Studies, where she’s taking courses in political science and gender studies.

Adjusting to a secular scholar’s life wasn’t easy, but she said she’s found comfort in the campus’ strong Jewish community and trans support group.

“Culturally it took me quite a while to blend in, and until [now] there were so many basic references to popular culture that everyone ‘just knows’ and I had no idea what they are talking about,” she said.

Stein is interested in someday working in the nonprofit world, advocating for other transgender people from similar backgrounds and shaping public policy.

She’s currently raising money for her own transition on her blog.

“But my main goal is to raise awareness for trans people within the ultra-Orthodox community,” Stein said.

She added: “It’s been totally ignored until now.”

Obama is LATE for moment of silence as the rest of the G20 leaders hold somber observance to mourn Paris attacks

President Barack Obama arrived late to a 'moment of silence' in Belek, Turkey on Sunday as the rest of the world's most powerful leaders stood for a somber observance to honor Friday's terror-attack victims in France. 

The G20 leaders 'gathered around a large round table for their first working session,' a White House pool reporter wrote from the scene.

 'President Erdogan began the session with a one-minute moment of silence. The leaders stood to observe the moment.

 President Obama had not yet arrived and walked in at 4:34pm, after the moment of silence had begun.' 

Despite his late showing, Obama offered his thoughts on the coordinated attacks in Paris, tying the rise of the ISIS terror army to economic conditions in the Middle East. 

'There is a strong link between economy and security,' he told his peers.

CUNY Protest for "Free Tuition" turns into Anti-Semitic Rally at Hunter College

by David Green 

Friends, please listen up. I took this video on Thursday night November 12, 2015 at Hunter College, where I am a student. 

A rally was held to end the tuition hikes in CUNY schools and this is what I witnessed. 

As a Jewish student, I was harassed for wearing a yarmulke. People yelled at me "Go back to Poland!" and "terrorist" just for wearing a yarmulke. 

People were waving Palestinian flags and denouncing Israel as a terrorist state. What was supposed to be an anti tuition hike rally actually turned out to be an "anti-Semitism" rally that called for CUNY to fire it's "Zionist Funding administration". 

To put it into perspective, Hunter college is located on the Upper East Side - which is a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. 

Rallies like this one take place everyday all over the world in places where Jews have never even been. The hate needs to stop. 

This isn't a matter of religion against religion rather, a matter of hate. The only way to combat such hate is to educate and stand up for what is right. I ask all of my friends to please spread the peace, educate others and make sure that this hate stops.

 Learn about Israel, educate others and protest peacefully- please share this video with friends and show them the hate we are up against. 

I urge every student on every campus to speak up and not stand idly by. Israel is forever. עם ישראל חיי. Please share

Watch at 2:57 mark as it turns ugly!

Egyptians Discussing Obama!

Egyptians react to Obama’s speech at a military base declaring “Climate Change” as the greatest threat to national security

EU boycotting Israeli Products

Piers Morgan says Muslim Paris attackers weren’t ‘REALLY’ Muslim, gets obliterated in one tweet

We all stand horrified at the terror attack in Paris, but it takes a special kind of degenerate idiot to immediately claim that the guys screaming “Allahu Akbar” while killing infidels isn’t *really* Muslim.

Luckily for us, we have a world class degenerate idiot in Piers Morgan:

Piers MorganVerified account‏@piersmorgan

These murderers aren't refugees. Nor are they real Muslims. They're terrorists who've hijacked a religion for nefarious gain. #paris

• RETWEETS39,635
• LIKES26,169
• 

3:47 PM - 13 Nov 2015

Now see an answer from David Burge!

David Burge ‏@iowahawkblog  Nov 13
.@piersmorgan ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has a PhD in Islamic theology from Islamic U of Baghdad. What are your credentials?
1,985 retweets1,854 likes
 
 
 
1. View other replies

BOOM! That’s a direct hit, you sunk my scrabbleship!!

And that’s how you shoot down a Muslim apologist in one tweet…

Beautiful 1,700 year old ancient mosaic found in Lod

A breathtaking ancient mosaic in Lod - unearthed by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) while building a visitor center for another famous mosaic - will be opened to the public for the first time this week.

The find came during an excavation from June to November 2014, when IAA archaeologists worked in the Neve Yarak neighborhood of Lod where the previously discovered mosaic was found. That earlier mosaic was the living room floor of a villa some 1,700 years ago, and is being exhibited in museums around the world.

The new excavation was meant to prepare a visitor center to house the mosaic when it returns from its tour of world museums - but during the new excavation, another colorful mosaic 11 x 13 meters in dimension was found, which served as the courtyard pavement of the same villa.

"The villa we found was part of a neighborhood of affluent houses that stood here during the Roman and Byzantine periods," explained Dr. Amir Gorzalczany, excavation director on behalf of the IAA.

"At that time Lod was called Diospolis and was the district capital, until it was replaced by Ramla after the Muslim conquest. The building was used for a very long time."

The previously discovered mosaic in the northern part of the complex, where the “Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Center" will be constructed, was exposed when the IAA was inspecting development work being carried out in the early 1990s prior to the construction of Highway 90.

That mosaic, which was discovered and excavated in the 1990s by the late Miriam Avissar, is among the most beautiful in the country, and has been exhibited in recent years in some of the world’s leading museums, including the Metropolitan, the Louvre and the State Hermitage. It is currently on display at the Cini Gallery in Venice, Italy, and in the future it will be housed in the main building to be erected in Lod.

As for the southern part of the complex where the new mosaic was found, it includes a large magnificent courtyard that is paved with the mosaic and surrounded by porticos (stoas - covered galleries open to the courtyard) whose ceiling was supported by columns.

“The eastern part of the complex could not be completely exposed because it extends beneath modern buildings in the neighborhood," said Gorzalczany.

Scenes in the mosaic depict hunting as well as hunted animals, fish, flowers in baskets, vases and birds. Gorzalczany noted that, "the quality of the images portrayed in the mosaic indicates a highly developed artistic ability."

Numerous fragments of frescoes (wall paintings prepared on wet plaster) reflect the decoration and the meticulous and luxurious design, which are in the best tradition of the well-born of the period. In light of the new discoveries, this part of the villa will also be incorporated in the visitor center.

Archaeologists Hagit Torgë, Uzi ‘Ad, Eriola Jakoel and Yossi Elisha of the IAA participated in the excavation.

Assaf Peretz, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Will France show "Restraint" Now? Or do the French only want that Israel show "Restraint"

Israeli Father, Son Murdered in Terrorist Attack Were on Their Way to Family Wedding Celebration

The names of the victims of the erev Shabbos terror attack near Otniel are Rabbi Yaakov Litman HY”D, 44, and his son Netanel HY”D, 18. 

The Israeli father and son from Kiryat Arba, near Hebron, who were killed by terrorists early Friday morning were on their way to a family wedding celebration, Israeli news website Walla  reported.

At around 3:00 pm, the family was traveling southward on Route 60 when gunmen ambushed their car south of Mt. Hebron, near the Israeli settlement of Otniel, and opened fire on it. The father, 40 years old, and his 18-year-old son, were killed in the shooting attack. The man’s wife, 16-year-old son, and three daughters were lightly wounded and were transferred to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva for treatment.

They told reporters that the family was on its way to a Shabbat Kallah celebration — a traditional pre-wedding gathering for the bridal party — to be held in honor of one of the man’s daughters, who is expected to get married this week.

One of the groom’s relatives said, “now happiness and sadness are intertwined. I don’t blame the Arabs. After all, they just see our weakness and attack us because that’s what they know how to do.”

The gunmen managed to escape from the scene, and Israeli security forces are currently searching the area. A large number of Israeli security personnel, and search aircraft, have been sent to aid the initial force in the search. Reports also indicate that the Israeli army has surrounded the nearby villages of Yatta and Beit Aiwa.

Gaza based terror group Hamas issued a congratulatory statement on the attack, which it called a “heroic resistance operation.” It said the attack, “demonstrates the development of the capability of the Quds Intifada and that resistance can deter the occupation,” adding that “force is the only language that [Israel/The Occupation] understands.

How a Half-Hour of Muslim Horror Washes Paris in Blood

The attackers worked in three synchronized teams, wearing matching suicide vests and carrying the same weapons. In an excruciating half-hour, they unleashed their terror. One suicide bombing after another at the national stadium, sprays of gunfire in the crowded restaurants and streets of central Paris, and finally a hostage standoff that drenched a 19th century dance hall with the blood of dozens of young people out for a night of rock music. Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said three suicide attackers died near the stadium, three in the concert hall, and one further south on the same boulevard

Here is how it happened, based on accounts from French authorities and witnesses. 

9 p.m.

Kickoff of the France-Germany soccer match at the French national stadium and the beginning of the rock show at the Bataclan concert hall. Both packed with fans, the match includes French President Francois Hollande among spectators. In the audience at the Eagles of Death Metal show is the sister of French striker Antoine Griezmann, who started in Friday night’s game.

9:20 p.m.

A man with a Syrian passport and an explosives vest blows himself up at Gate D of the stadium, killing himself and a bystander. The match continues.

9:25 p.m.

Gunmen in a black rented Seat Leon open fire on a bar and a restaurant — Le Carillon and Petit Cambodge — killing 15 people and leaving more than 100 shell casings of different calibers, including 7.62 mm, strewn at the scene. When the shooting starts, Emilio Macchia, an Italian book designer visiting for a publishing fair, starts to run from the Carillon. “A girl opened the door to her building and let us in. We hid inside with 10 or 15 other people. I still remember one girl, she said she’d seen one huge man shooting. That’s when I realized it was a terror attack.”

9:30 p.m.

A second suicide bomber approaches Gate H of the stadium, blowing himself up but claiming no other victims.

9:32 p.m.

Gunmen in a rented Seat Leon open fire on a La Bonne Biere bar on La Fontaine au Roi street, just around the corner from the restaurant shootings. Five people are killed. About a hundred shells are left on the ground of different caliber, including again 7.62 mm.

9:36 p.m.

President Francois Hollande presses the cell phone to his ear inside the glass-lined booth overlooking the soccer field, absorbing the horror tearing into the French capital for the second time this year. The digital clock above him ticks away the seconds in red: 21:36:49

Just then, gunmen in a black Seat attack Charonne street, killing 19 people. Sebastien Jagreau, a witness who arrives shortly afterward, says the bodies of dead and wounded were sprawled on tables and the ground. “We saw a lady on the first table I thought she had bump and then we realized it was a bullet in her head and not a bump. She was stretched on the table with her beer next to her. Then I see a guy crying because his wife was dead then we go on and we realize we are in the middle of a pond of blood.” Again, about 100 shell casings are left on the ground, including 7.62 mm.

9:40 p.m.

A black Volkswagen Polo parks outside the Bataclan concert hall on Boulevard Voltaire, and three people emerge, opening fire as they enter the packed venue. Eagles of Death Metal is several songs into the show and playing to a full house. The attackers enter, apparently unnoticed over the loud music, armed with automatic weapons, their bodies wired with explosives.

Among the hostage takers is a Frenchman, one week shy of his 30th birthday, convicted eight times between 2004 and 2010 for minor crimes, and flagged for ties to Islamic radicals. In brief communication with security forces, the hostage-takers invoke Syria and Iraq. As shots ring out, people escape from side doors of the venue, some dragging bodies with them. One woman clings to a 2nd story window. Among those to escape is Griezmann’s sister.

At that moment, a suicide bomber detonates his vest further down Boulevard Voltaire. The bomber is the only victim.

9:53 p.m.

A suicide attacker about 400 meters (yards) from the stadium detonates his vest, identical to those of the others with TATP explosives. No one else is killed.

12:20 a.m.

Security forces storm the Bataclan. Two of the attackers detonate their suicide vests; a third is shot by law enforcement and the vest explodes. 

Eighty-nine people are killed, and many remain critically injured. 

Philippe Juvin, an emergency room doctor at the Georges Pompidou hospital, said he has never had to care for so many victims at once. “The majority were gunshot wounds inflicted with weapons of war, of high caliber, in the thorax, the abdomen, their legs and arms. 

Also, the psychological trauma, the people that witness these kinds of events are deeply affected, even if some may not be physically injured, it hurts their soul, that is why we had a psychiatrist with us.”

(AP)

Trump says tough gun control laws in Paris contributed to tragedy

Donald Trump says the tough gun control laws in Paris contributed to the high death toll during a series of terrorist attacks on Friday. The attacks, he added, also reveal the danger in allowing Syrian refugees into the country.

"You can say what you want, but if they had guns -- if our people had guns, if they were allowed to carry -- it would have been a much, much different situation," Trump said to cheers during a political rally at an arena in southeast Texas on Saturday afternoon. "I hear it all the time, you know. You look at certain cities that have the highest violence, the highest problem with guns and shootings and killings -- Chicago is an example, toughest gun laws in the United States, nothing but problems. So our country better get smart because we're not smart right now."

By making that comment, Trump doubled down on a message he tweeted in January, following a smaller-scale terrorist attack: "Isn't it interesting that the tragedy in Paris took place in one of the toughest gun control countries in the world?" As that dated tweet recirculated on Friday evening, the French ambassador to the United States, Gerard Araud, tweeted at Trump: "This message is repugnant in its lack of any human decency. Vulture."

Trump started the rally by leading the crowd of several thousand in a moment of silence in remembrance of the 129 people killed in the Paris attacks, which the Islamic State terrorist group has claimed to have organized. Then Trump launched right into the politics of the attacks.

"What is going on is terrible," Trump said. "And when you look at what happened in that case: It was just reported, one from Syria and our president wants to take in 250,000 from Syria."

The crowd booed Syrian refugees for several seconds, then Trump began again: "No, I mean, think of it: 250,000 people. And we all have heart, and we all want people taken care of and all of that, but with the problems our country has, to take in 250,000 people -- some of whom are going to have problems, big problems -- is just insane. You have to be insane. Terrible."

The Obama regime is moving to accelerate the number of Syrian refugees in response to Paris Attack

The Obama administration is moving to increase and accelerate the number of Syrian refugees who might be admitted into the United States by opening new screening outposts in Iraq and Lebanon, administration officials told Reuters on Friday.

The move comes after President Hussein Obama pledged in September to admit an additional 10,000 Syrian refugees in 2016, torn by four years of civil war and disorder.

The U.S. State Department confirmed the plans to open a refugee settlement processing centre in Erbil, Iraq, before the end of 2015, and to resume refugee processing in Lebanon in early 2016, said spokeswoman Danna Van Brandt.

The White House would not say how many additional refugees it may take in beyond the 10,000, but two senior administration officials said they are seeking ways to increase the number.

Suitable for resettlement

"We want to be in a place where we can push out really ambitious goals," said one of the officials, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

The State Department runs nine screening centres worldwide that serve as meeting points for refugees and U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees who have to decide who is suitable for resettlement in the United States.

The additional centres will double the number available to refugees in the Middle East.

Most Syrians are now screened for potential U.S. resettlement at centres in Istanbul and Amman, Jordan. The new centres are designed to "increase the channels" the United States has for reaching Syrian refugees, the official said.

Amid a tide of refugees in Europe, some congressional Democrats and refugee advocates say the United States should do more for Syrians who often make dangerous journeys to lands where they have no home or means of employment.

However, some Republicans have raised concerns that allowing more Syrians into the United States jeopardizes national security.

© The Associated Press, 2015 

Muslim Savages Murder 129 Muslim were "Syrian Refugees"!

Main target in Paris attack: Jewish concert hall

PARIS ATTACKER WAS SYRIAN “REFUGEE” WHO ARRIVED IN GREECE LAST MONTH

Stade de France suicide bomber identified as would-be asylum seeker by Greek government

Bataclan Theater, where 82 of the over 128 were murdered, was owned by Jews, and previously had been targeted by radical Islamic groups.

Bataclan Theater in Paris, the concert hall where most of the bloodshed was seen on Saturday as 82 out of a total of more than 128 people were murdered in six coordinated attacks claimed by Islamic State (ISIS), was owned by Jews.

In the attack, four terrorists armed with assault rifles shouting "Allahu akbar" (Allah is greater) stormed in during a concert by the US rock group Eagles of Death Metal. They executed hostages one by one.

Three of them blew up their explosive belts in suicide attacks as anti-terror police ended the siege at 12:30 a.m. local time, while a fourth was shot by police. Next to one of the attackers, a Syrian passport of a man who entered Europe via Greece as a "refugee" was found.

The French magazine Le Point reported on Saturday that a member of the radical group Army of Islam told French security services back in 2011 that "we had planned an attack against the Bataclan because its owners are Jewish."

Bataclan Theater was also targeted back in 2004 when the Israeli hip-hop duo of Subliminal and Hatzel performed there, despite threats by Islamists that nearly closed the performance. In a 2006 repeat, the venue gave in to the pressure and canceled the show in advance, forcing the Zionist rap stars to perform elsewhere.

"Anti-semitic motives"

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Saturday expressed its outrage at the attack while noting on the Jewish connection of the concert hall.

"We join with the international community in loudly condemning these barbaric and heinous terror attacks, which have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people going about their lives," said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO.

"Words cannot express our shock at these despicable attacks in Paris. This was an outrageous, cowardly and premeditated assault not just on the people of France, but on all freedom loving people around the world."

"While the investigation continues and the terrorists’ motivations are still unclear, we are deeply concerned at reports that the Bataclan Theater has long been a locus of anti-Zionist groups. We hope the French authorities will investigate the possibility that virulent anti-Semitism was a motive in the attack," added Greenblatt.

"Having been in Paris earlier this month, I can attest to the resolve and strength of the people of that great city, and know that they will emerge from this tragedy stronger and more united. We stand in solidarity with the French people during this terrible time, and support the efforts of the French government to locate and apprehend those behind the attacks and bring safety and security to all of France.  

"Earlier this year, Paris endured the brutality of the attack on Charlie Hebdo, an assault on free expression. We also saw the violent killing committed at Hyper Cacher, a heinous act of anti-Semitism directed squarely against the Jewish community, one of a series of murderous acts in recent years intended to terrorize French Jews. As happened after these incidents, we know that the City of Light will rise again from the darkness and prevail over those who would seek to use terror as a blunt instrument against freedom and democracy. In the aftermath of this attackwe must all rise up and say, 'JeSuisFrancais!'"