Israel Matzav

PRC definitely holding Eliyahu Asheri

The IDF may be in Gaza, but that's not even the lead story in the news here. The lead story is the kidnapping of 18-year old Eliyahu Asheri of Itamar by Palestinian terrorists.

I was convinced this morning; apparently a lot of other people weren't. But this afternoon, the 'Popular Resistance Committees' showed an Israeli identification card that has the date of birth, ID card number and the parents' name of Eliyahu Pinchas Asheri. The organization's spokesman, one 'Abu Abir,' even gave the youth's middle name, Pinchas, which as I noted this morning had not been published in the Israeli media. The group is threatening that the boy will be "butchered in front of TV cameras" if the IDF does not stop its invasion of Gaza. There is no doubt now that they are holding him.

Here's my take on this:

1. I hope that the IDF and the General Security Services are devoting resources to finding this boy, as busy as they are in Gaza. They certainly have a lot more intelligence resources in Judea and Samaria, where the IDF is still present, than in Gaza, which was surrendered to the 'Palestinians' last summer.

2. I have no doubt that the PRC will kill him if they want to kill him. They may have killed him already. The IDF should be demanding proof that he is still alive. If there is any, they should redouble their efforts to save him. But the only time I can recall the 'Palestinians' (or Hezbullah for that matter) giving proof that an Israeli kidnap victim was alive was when they released a video of IDF Corporal Nachshon Waxman in 1994. The IDF found Waxman, but he and one of his rescuers were killed in the rescue. I also doubt that the PRC will do an al-Qaeda type execution of Asheri in front of the TV cameras. He is still young enough that it would hurt their own cause.

3. The body that was found in Ramallah last night/this morning was not Asheri's. It was a 'Palestinian's.'

YNet adds:

Eliyahu Asheri is the son of Yitro Asheri, originally from Adelaide, who was converted by St Kilda’s Rabbi Philip Heilbrunn about 20 years ago. Rabbi Heilbrunn told the AJN that at the time of his conversion, Asheri was an electrician from Adelaide known by the name Cliff Harris.

...

Following news of the kidnapping, Rabbi Heilbrunn issued a statement in which he asked members of the community to pray for Eliyahu.

“A young boy, Eliyahu Pinchas Asheri, son of Yitro Asheri, is the child of a wonderful ger tzedek (convert) whom I converted over 20 years ago. Please ask everyone to say tehillim for him as well. His father is a most remarkable person who is a real tzaddik [righteous person. CiJ]," the statement said.

Rabbi Heilbrunn said Asheri had moved from the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg to the Jewish centre of North Adelaide at the time of his conversion. Asheri moved to Israel about six months after his conversion. He first settled in Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu where he learned some Hebrew and later moved to a yeshiva headed by Rabbi Haim Druckman, currently the Israeli prime minister’s special adviser for issues relating to conversion, near Ashkelon.

The Asheri family, one of the founding members of Itamar, has lived there for the last 15 years. “Every time something happened around Itamar we always feared for them, but this time its them themselves,” Rabbi Heilbrunn said.

All we can do is pray for this boy.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:45 PM