Breaking: Explosion at Jerusalem Central Bus Station; UPDATE: LIVEBLOG
I've just received word of a major explosion at the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. More (as updates to this post) when I have it.
UPDATE 3:30 PM
The explosion was next to a 74 bus next to Binyanei HaUma (the National Buildings) across from the Central Bus Station.
As of now, no one dead, 15 moderately to severely wounded, 10 lightly wounded.
Our 11.5 year-old son is on his way to a school competition and is supposed to pass through that area. Fortunately, we don't believe he would have been there by then (the explosion was at 3:06 pm), and he would not have been on the 74 bus.
Yes, unfortunately, this is the first thought that Israelis have when they hear of terror attacks.
It was apparently an explosive device next to a kiosk - not a suicide bomber.
An explosion took place on or near a bus in central Jerusalem Wednesday afternoon.
Police first received reports of an explosion outside the Binyanei Ha'uma building in central Jerusalem and Magen David Adom units reported casualties.
A large number of police and ambulances were on the scene.
Initial reports said that around 18 people were injured in the attack although the exact number was not known.
More when I have it.
Subject to work obligations, this is now a liveblog.
UPDATE 3:38 PM
You can watch live television coverage on Cable Channel 10 which is showing the evacuation of the terror attack site here.
UPDATE 3:41 PM
The explosive device was attached to a telephone poll and the explosion took place opposite Binyanei HaUma apparently on the side that is heading out of the city. But the television just said that the bus was headed for Maaleh Adumim, which is outside the city.
5 wounded have been brought to Hadassah Har HaTzofim and 10 to Hadassah Ein Karem (two hospitals on opposite ends of the city - Ein Karem always gets the most serious cases). One person is apparently critical.
UPDATE 3:47 PM
Looking at the pictures I was right regarding where the explosion took place - it's on the side heading out of the city toward the Jerusalem - Tel Aviv highway.
UPDATE 3:51 PM
Channel 10 reports that the terrorist probably came from Hebron - they believe a much better job has been done of cleaning up terror in Jenin and Shchem (Nablus) than was done in Hebron.
UPDATE 4:22 PM
6 wounded in Hadassah Har HaTzofim, 12 in Hadassah Ein Karem, 11 in Shaare Zedek and two in Terem (which is not a hospital, but which is much closer to where the explosion occurred).
There's only one person (in Ein Karem) whose life is in danger.
UPDATE 4:28 PM
Earlier I noted that the bus was headed for Maaleh Adumim, which was what the radio said. That sounded suspicious to me and in fact it's incorrect. The bus was headed to Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood. The 74 bus runs between Ramot and Har Nof.
I mentioned my 11.5 year old son at the top of this post. He might have been in the area (or he might not have been there yet), but he would not have been on the 74 bus since he left from our house. Had he left directly from school, he might have been on that bus (God forbid).
The bomb was 1-2 kilograms and it exploded when there were two buses nearby.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has delayed his departure to Russia which was supposed to be now.
As of now, the Jerusalem Marathon, which is scheduled for Friday, has not been canceled.
UPDATE 4:36 PM
I've added a screen shot at the top of this post of the right front section of the bus. All the windows on the right side were blown out.
Keep in mind that all this was from a 1-2 kilogram bomb - in the days of the suicide bombers they carried larger bombs on their persons.
UPDATE 4:40 PM
Fox News is live from the attack site here. But they have very little sound.
As I was writing this update, our son called. Thank God he is okay. He arrived in the area after the explosion and his bus was diverted and ended up in nearby Givat Shaul. He then walked for about half an hour until he found the second bus he was supposed to take. But he is okay. Thank God.
UPDATE 4:53 PM
YNet reports that a BBC reporter was shoved and called an anti-Semite by 'Haredim.' The 74 bus was headed for Har Nof, which is mostly a Haredi neighborhood.
No, I don't believe 'Haredim' did it because they believed he was an anti-Semite. More likely trying to keep him out of Zaka's way (Zaka are the people who scrape away all the blood and bury it).
UPDATE 4:57 PM
Israel Radio now confirming one dead. A woman. No further details. Probably the older woman we heard was being rushed into surgery at Ein Karem.
UPDATE 4:59 PM
Netanyahu leaving for Russia at 8:00. Israel Radio just ended open broadcast of updates from terror attack scene. That means things are going back to normal.
Glenn Beck deserved to be defended by the Jewish community from Day One when he was attacked by 400 reform rabbis for criticizing George Soros of all people. But after threesegments this past week in which Beck gave powerful support to the Jews of Itamar, he is even more worthy of the Jewish community's support. Some of that support was forthcoming in this comment.
Although one can possibly understand Soros’s behavior in Nazi-occupied, Jew-hunting Budapest, Soros himself has described those years as “the most exciting time of my life.”[i] He has also reported that, “The early stages of the Russian occupation were as exciting and interesting-in many ways even more interesting and adventurous-than the German occupation…”[ii] Can anyone imagine Elie Wiesel, a genuine Holocaust survivor, uttering such sentiments? One might also ask why 400 rabbis would offer even an implicit defense of Soros against Glenn Beck’s attack, given Soros’s lifelong hostility to Israel and his publicly stated disdain for the Jewish religion. A multi-billionaire financier, during one period, 1994 to 2000, Soros contributed no less than $2.4 billion to, among others, institutions and causes in China, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, the Czech Republic, and the Republic of Georgia. At the same time, his attitude toward the State of Israel has been consistently negative. He told New Yorker writer, Connie Bruck, “'I don't deny the Jews their right to a national existence -- but I don't want to be part of it." [iii] Clearly, Glenn Beck, Roger Ailes, and Rupert Murdoch, publisher of the Wall Street Journal, have given more support to Israel than Soros. Moreover, Soros recently accused Israel of being “the main stumbling block” to American attempts to foster Egypt’s “public demand for dignity and democracy” which he suggested was embodied in the partnership of Mohamad El-Baradei and the newly moderate Muslim Brotherhood.[iv].
As between Glenn Beck and the 'jew' George Soros, which do you think is more likely to sell out the Jewish community? The answer should be obvious.
Any Orthodox Jew who has worked in the wider world knows that often the gentiles are more understanding toward the needs of an Orthodox Jew in the workplace than are non-observant Jews.
As between Glenn Beck and George Soros, I'd rather be trapped alone with Glenn Beck any day.
I've done a few posts about Fatah's reaction to the massacre in Itamar this past Friday night. Here's Hamas' reaction:
Hamas in English:
harming children is not part of Hamas’ policy
Hamas in Arabic:
a Palestinian mujahid was able to break into the usurper (settlement) of “Itamar” south of Nablus in the occupied (West) Bank, and stabbed five Zionist usurpers.
There is very little domestic pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to reach an agreement with the 'Palestinians.' This is because much of Israel's Left has become Right. For example, Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens.
I write these words as one who has long entertained doubts about the wisdom and viability of much of the settlement enterprise, though I've never considered it the core issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—a point well borne out by the example of Gaza following Israel's withdrawal.
Now I find myself cheering Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for announcing, in the wake of the Fogel family massacre, the construction of hundreds of additional homes in the settlements. Israel's consistent mistake since the peace process began nearly 18 years ago was to suppose that conspicuous displays of reasonableness and moderation would beget likewise on the other side. The reality has been closer to the opposite.
For 60 years, no nation has been held to such stringent moral account, or such ceaseless international hectoring, as Israel. And no people has been held to so slight an account as the Palestinians. Redressing that imbalance is the essential first step in finding a solution to the conflict. The grotesque murders of the Fogels and their little children demands nothing less.
And you wonder why no one in Israel called for Prime Minister Netanyahu's ouster (other than the self-serving opposition leader) for refusing President Obama's demand for a 'settlement freeze'?
Who could make the Itamar terror attack look like it was Israel's fault? Why Stephen Walt, of course.
To say that I am appalled by the brutal murder of an Israeli family in the West Bank settlement of Itamar (near Nablus) is an understatement. Israel's occupation of the West Bank is universally recognized as a violation of international law and depends on force, intimidation, and violence, but there is no justification for anyone to take the lives of an entire family in this way. No good can possibly come from such a senseless act -- not for Palestinians, not for Israelis, and not for anyone else -- and it should be universally condemned.
But while we are at it, we should not spare the other parties who have helped create and perpetuate the circumstances where such crimes are likely to occur.
Let us therefore condemn every Israeli government since 1967, for actively promoting the illegal effort to colonize these lands.
Note that in the first sentence, he condemns the attack, in the second sentences, he says it's Israel's fault, and in the third sentence he says it's not good for the 'Palestinians' (not that it's wrong, but that it doesn't help the cause). In the next paragraph, he goes on to blame Israel.
By the way, 'international law' does not say the 'settlements' are illegal, for reasons I have shown many times, most recently here.
Later, he goes on to mouth baseless accusations about Israeli 'war crimes,' the 'occupation' (conveniently forgetting how we got to be in this situation), and 'squandering the opportunity of Oslo,' again conveniently forgetting who squandered it.
The name "Fogel" never appears in the article. They are dehumanized. They are just 'evil settlers' in Walt's book.
Stephen Walt is a rank anti-Semite and Harvard is to be condemned and ostracized for continuing to employ him.
Let's stop pretending there's no 'Palestinian' incitement
This should be forwarded to your Senator or Representative since they are far more likely to listen than is the State Department, the White House, 10 Downing Street or the European Union.
Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik review some of the incitement that has come out of the 'Palestinian Authority' over the last few months, much of which I reviewed in two previous posts. Then they ask the key questions, which someone in the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committees needs to ask Mrs. Clinton, and which someone in the European Parliament needs to ask Baroness Ashton.
Was the terrorist who committed those brutal killings dreaming about a future Palestinian summer camp in his name? Was he imagining Allah granting him everlasting rewards in paradise for fulfilling his command? Did he feel that he was fulfilling his national duty and would receive a financial reward?
And what about the international community which has accepted and naively believed PA leaders' assurances that incitement had stopped? It was the international community, represented by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which stipulated preconditions for the PA to enter into a renewed peace process: "We will only work with a Palestinian Authority government that unambiguously and explicitly accepts the Quartet's principles: A commitment to non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Road Map" (House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, April 23, 2009). The Road Map states that "all official Palestinian institutions end incitement against Israel."
The international community has completely failed because it never followed up to see if these preconditions had actually been met, but gladly satisfied itself with Abbas's promises, and continues to fund the PA.
Everyone involved in the peace process is making a tragic mistake by assuming the incitement is just another issue that has to be dealt with, like the issues of water, borders, and refugees. All of those are issues that must be negotiated as part of a peace process. But as long as the Palestinian Authority continues to teach these messages, clearly there is no peace process.
It is incumbent on the international community to inform the Palestinian Authority that a condition for "working" with it, as Clinton stated, is that it erases the messages of hate and replaces them with peace promotion.
And until that time the international community must ostracize and isolate the Palestinian Authority, just as they do Hamas, and stop pretending there is a peace process.
The 'Palestinian Authority' will control the next intifadeh too
During the Oslo war, it took nearly two years before the IDF raided Arafat's Mukhata compound in Ramallah and 'discovered' what everyone with a brain in their head assumed all along: That the issue wasn't Arafat's ability to control the terror (as Ehud Barak and the 'international community' claimed), but the fact that Arafat himself was orchestrating, paying for and controlling the terror just fine. Arafat was acting like a commander in chief.
For the last seven or eight years, we have been told how the 'Palestinian Authority' is weak without Arafat and therefore cannot fight terror. With the next 'Palestinian' war with Israel apparently just around the corner (that Facebook page now has over 140,000 "likes"), a 'senior Fatah official' has assured us that once again the 'Palestinian Authority' will be in control. Except that this time, our elected officials will have no excuse for fooling themselves (Hat Tip: David Hazony).
In a conversation with Ynet, a senior Fatah official denied the possibility that the Facebook campaign will lead to another Intifada.
"There is no organization from high ranks, which is why we are not worried about it," he said. "The situation in the West Bank is different than that in Egypt; if there isn't a political order to begin an intifada, there won't be an intifada."
The same official said that Fatah has the situation completely under control, but that senior Egyptian officials made similar claims in the early days of the uprising, before President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.
"We are certain there is nothing to it – at most, riots will go on for a day or two, but then the situation will calm down," he said.
He added that the authorities will prevent the rallies against the Hamas-Fatah dispute from turning into a call for another intifada. "We have control over these demonstrations," he said.
And when they want to start another war with Israel, they will start one.
I mentioned in earlier posts that Udi and Ruth Fogel were expelled from Netzarim in the Gaza Strip and ended up in Itamar. Here are more details.
Rabbi Udi and Ruth Fogel and three of their six children were expelled from Gush Katif in 2005 as part of then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to end the same terror that cruelly ended their lives in the brutal massacre Friday night in Samaria.
They were forced out of Netzarim in central Gaza, re-located to Ariel in Samaria along with other expellees. Two years ago, they moved to Itamar, where Rabbi Fogel, a former IDF tank unit officer, taught in the post-high school yeshiva there, in charge of students who had completed their IDF service and returned to Torah study.
It is important to know how the 'Palestinian' terrorists made it into Itamar on Friday night. From the very first report I heard on Saturday night (and mentioned on this blog), there was talk of an intelligence failure. Here's what happened and why (yes, that's Itamar's security fence and guard post at the top of this post).
One area in which the IDF is concentrating its investigations is whether there were any intelligence warnings of terrorist plans before the attack that might have alerted residents.
The community of Itamar has had no terrorist attacks since 2002, when an advanced protection and security system called the Special Security Area was installed. The electronic system, which includes varied methods of observation and a wired fence, is kept in repair by the regional authority rather than the IDF.
In addition to an electronic fence surrounding the community, there is an inner, coiled wire fence. The community is allotted six non-army security personnel from a recognized security firm who are on patrol all the time. All signals go automatically to a central operations room in the town staffed by two of these guards, and in addition there is a company of soldiers on the adjoining hill.
The IDF investigation of the attack has discovered that at 20:59, terrorists entered the community. They jumped over the fence and an alert sounded. The guard on duty went to the spot from which the warning was heard, but saw no evidence of infiltration and therefore, made the erroneous decision that an animal had activated the electronic fence’s warning signal. There are many false alarms of that nature in the winter, but cameras would have shown the terrorists. However, the IDF did not agree to fund a request to keep cameras working on the fence.
A security person who was in the vicinity said that since the fence was not cut, the guard thought there was no infiltration and did not inform the IDF unit that was less than a kilometer away.
The terrorists first entered one home, which was empty. They found a weapon there, which they do not seem to have used. A group of youngsters was having a Sabbath evening party at the Fogel house nearby, and at 22:20 they left, along with the Fogel’s 12-year-old daughter, for an activity at the local Bnei Akiva youth group.
Between 22:20 and 22:30 the terrorists entered the house through the living room picture window, did not notice the 6-year-old boy sleeping on the couch and continued on to the bedroom where they slashed the throats of the father and newborn baby who were sleeping there. The mother came out of the bathroom and was stabbed on its threshold. The evidence shows that she tried to fight the terrorists.
They then slashed the throat of the 11-year old-son who was reading in bed. They did not notice the 2-year old asleep in his bed, but murdered the 3-year old with two stabs to his heart. After that, they locked the door, exited through the window and escaped.
Exactly two hours after the infiltration, there was another warning signal from the same spot on the fence, as the terrorists left the way they had come. Once again, the patrol did not identify the source of the signal as infiltration.
So whose failure was it? First, it was clearly a failure of misguided IDFdefense ministry priorities. Instead of paying for cameras to protect Jews, the IDF is paying for plastic bullets to keep Jews from living in Judea and Samaria.
Should the IDF have been notified? Well, if hindsight is 20/20, then yes. But the entire point of the private security setup is to avoid having the IDF respond to animals and the like. Obviously, again, a cost saving measure whose cost was five Jewish lives.
About three or four years ago, I had the occasion to spend Shabbat in Elon Moreh, which is close to Itamar. If I am recalling correctly, at the time we were told that town did not have a physical fence around it, but had some sort of early warning system that notified the town's security if someone stepped on it (kind of an underground electronic fence). The locals claimed that since the system had been installed, no 'Palestinian' from nearby Shchem had attempted to enter the town. My guess is that all such systems will be reconsidered in light of what happened Friday night.
Of course, over the years, many towns in Judea and Samaria have refused security fences (which I believe Itamar did until the Shabu family massacre in 2002). Their point - which is correct - is that Jews should not have to cower in fear behind fences while the 'Palestinians' wander about freely. But unfortunately, unless and until the government is willing to react harshly to 'Palestinian' provocations, and do what ought to be done, all the refusal to live behind fences gets us is a lot of dead Jews (God forbid) and many fine dead Jews at that. I'd rather keep these people among us than lose them to demonstrate a principle.
Why was there a terror attack in Itamar on Friday night? Why were five innocent Jews - three of them children - murdered? Why now? This may have something to do with it:
In the period prior to the murders of Ruth and Udi Fogel and their three children in the Israeli town Itamar, the Palestinian Authority continued to encourage terror by glorifying terrorists as heroes and role models and through calls for violence. In addition, in an act that sent a clear message of support for terror, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas awarded $2000 to the family of a terrorist who attacked and tried to kill Israeli soldiers - just 2 months ago.
The following are some examples of terror promotion in the period leading up to the terror attack in Itamar on the West Bank two days ago in which terrorist(s) murdered five members of an Israeli family:
Abbas awards $2000 to family of terrorist In December, a Palestinian terrorist carrying two pipe bombs ran towards the soldiers at an Israeli checkpoint, screaming "Allahu Akbar" - "Allah is Greater". The soldiers shot him before he could detonate the bombs.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas granted "the relatives of the Shahid" $2000: "The governor of the Jenin district, Kadura Musa, has awarded a presidential grant to the family of the Shahid (Martyr), Khaldoun Najib Samoudy, during a visit that took place yesterday in the village of Al-Yamoun. The governor noted that the grant is financial aid in the amount of $2000 that the President [Mahmoud Abbas] is awarding to the relatives of the Shahid, who was recently killed as a Martyr at the Hamra checkpoint by the Israeli occupation forces."[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (Fatah) Jan. 25, 2011]
A day before the terror attack in Itamar: "Advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas... The weapons must be turned towards the main enemy [Israel]" "Advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas and under-secretary of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Sabri Saidam, delivered a speech... He emphasized that the weapons must be turned towards the main enemy [Israel] and that internal differences of opinion must be set aside. Saidam noted the awful living conditions of the families of Shahids [Martyrs], in the country and outside of it, and as proof he said that the allowance to the family of Shahida [Martyr] Dalal Mughrabi [leader of the bus hijacking in 1978 in which 37 civilians were murdered] is a mere $123. He demanded of the Palestinian people to treat the problems of the families of these Shahids seriously, and emphasized that the anniversary of Dalal's Martyrdom-seeking (i.e., her terror attack) should be amplified by inaugurating a square in her name in the city of El-Bireh." [Al-Ayyam, March 10, 2011]
During the week of the terror attack in Itamar: PA newspaper advertizes football tournament named after the first female suicide bomber"The administration of the Al-Amari youth center [in Ramallah] has announced its plans to launch a youth tournament (for 19-year-olds) to be named 'Shahida (Martyr) of Honor, Wafa Idris [tournament].' The Al-Am'ari administration is maintaining contacts with the Palestinian Football Association for permission." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 6, 2011, p. 1] [http://www.ammariclub.com/aboutClub.aspx http://www.amari.8m.net/center_in_english.htm] Note: Wafa Idris was the first Palestinian female suicide bomber. She blew herself up in Jerusalem, killing one and injuring more than 150 on Jan. 27, 2002. As a volunteer for the Palestinian Red Crescent, she was able to bypass Israeli security and enter Jerusalem in a Palestinian ambulance.
Robin Shepherd notes that the context of the terror attack - the incidents given above and others described in the linked article - are once again being given short shrift by Western media. Robin notes:
But so long as western media refuse to report on this incitement, the western audience is left in a state of unawareness about the Israeli position which looks either intransigent or overly obsessed with “security”.
[I]t is precisely the propensity of Palestinians to slaughter (and incite the slaughter of) innocent Jews that remains at the core of this conflict. It is a story that needs to be widely told.
Perhaps if it were told, drivel like this from Roger Waters would not find its way into Al-Guardian. After what happened this weekend, we see once again why the 'wall' ('security fence') is necessary. If we did not have it, Friday night's terror attack would have taken place in a neighborhood in Jerusalem. This is from Assaf Wohl at YNet.
Let's put ideology aside for a moment and only talk numbers. Before the fence was built, premeditated acts of horror were perpetrated within Israel regularly. In 2002 alone, some 189 Israelis were massacred in 53 terror attacks [Those numbers are way off - they are less than the month of March alone! In 2002 there were 60 suicide attacks, while in 2003 this number decreased by more than 50% to 26 suicide attacks. There was also a considerable decrease in the number of fatalities: from 452 Israelis killed in 2002 to 214 Israelis killed in 2003 CiJ]. As the fence kept expanding, hostilities declined, until in 2009 they stood at zero. So these are the numbers.
My conclusions, which are only premised on the data presented above, are simple: With a fence in place, there are no massacres. Without a fence, hundreds of civilians are massacred. Hence, those interested in removing the fence support the slaughter of Israelis. So why do you, dear leftist, endorse massacres in practice?
...
Ask yourself the following question: Why do you compare the premeditated slaughter of civilians to unintentional harm to civilians who serve as a human shield for rocket launchers and suicide bombers? There are two possible answers here.
The first answer, my leftist comrade, is that you're simply an idiot. Don't be insulted, my friend, you're not "just an idiot." You are an idiot of the type Lenin referred to as "useful idiot." What does that mean? You're simply being exploited.
...
The second and less flattering possibility is that you're not a "useful idiot," but rather, a mere anti-Semite. Is there another way for you to explain your obsession with Israel? Do you show the same determined disapproval towards China, Iran, Syria, Venezuela or North Korea?
I have decided not to attend the Fogel family funeral. It is going to be broadcast on Israel Radio Channel 2 and Israel Television Channel 1. I will be liveblogging right here beginning at 1:30 pm Israel time (7:30 am US Eastern daylight time).
I have received the following notice from David HaIvri, the spokesman of the Shomron (Samaria) Council:
At 1:30 PM eulogies will be said at the main center of Givat Shaul - Jerusalem.
Speakers:
Deputy Prime Minister MK Moshe Yalon
Knesset Chair MK Reuven Rivlin
Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv - Yafo Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau
Former Chief Rabbi of IDF Rabbi Avi Ronsky
Representative of the Fogel family
Representative of Ben Yishai family (of Ruth)
Shomron Regional Council Head Gershon Mesika
Israel Radio interviewed a neighbor named Roy Mendelevich, who said that when they entered the house, they found a 2.5 year old whose pajamas were covered with blood. He had tried to 'awaken' his father, who was already dead.... May God have mercy....
Please check back at this spot beginning at 1:30 pm Israel time, 7:30 AM US Eastern daylight time.
UPDATE 1:44 PM
The funeral has not started yet.
For those wondering the eldest daughter, who is 12, is apparently attending the funeral. The other children who survived are probably not going to be there.
UPDATE 1:54 PM
The funeral is starting now. I believe that I heard them say that all three surviving children are there. You can hear the crying over the radio. Horrible....
UPDATE 1:58 PM
First speaker is Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi and current Rabbi of Tel Aviv. Rabbi Lau is a Holocaust survivor, who arrived here as a 7-year old child with his older brother who also survived.
He compares our current situation to the friends of Eyov (Job). For seven days they could say nothing because the pain was so great. You feel pain, anger and the inability to do anything. We thought that 66 years ago the days of babies being murdered had ended. We have established a state, but we are in the same situation we were 66 years ago.
Several years ago, he saw the five biers of the Schijveschuuder family, and he goes on to name several other families which lost multiple members all at once to terror attacks.
And yet the friends of the family are the people who don't need to hear from us. They will not be stopped. Their faith will not be lessened. As Ezekiel said, "you will live with your blood."
On the evening of the Torah portion where we talk about sacrifices that are totally for God, that's the night they were murdered. They were in Gush Katif and they left and came to Itamar, where Udi was a rabbi in the yeshiva, and five members of the family were wiped out.
Rabbi Lau turns to the children and calls on the eldest daughter to be the mother to the two younger remaining surviving children, and promises that Rabbeinu HaKadosh (the Holy Rabbi Yehuda who wrote down the Mishna) will intervene on their behalf.
(I'm sorry - I'm crying. It's very hard to type this).
UPDATE 2:06 PM
A Rabbi from Itamar (I did not catch the name). Not one of the people listed above.
People who are capable of slaughtering an entire family after they returned from synagogue with the two angels of the Sabbath. They went to rest and the destructive angels came in. When you enter the house and see the 2.5 year-old Yishai trying to awaken his father.....
Rabbi AY Kook said that those who are killed without a judgment atone for the rest of the generation.
With whom is there to speak about peace?
If the incense is in a vessel, all of the incense is impure if someone impure touches the vessel. One spoon unites all of us. The land of Israel is the spoon that unites us all and those who hurt one family have hurt all of us.
Judea shall always be settled and God will avenge the blood of martyrs. What's the connection? Itamar should not be a village but a city in response to these murders. Another neighborhood. More construction. That's the answer. God will take care of the revenge.
UPDATE 2:13 PM
I think they just said 30,000 people are there.
Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin:
How did a house of self-sacrifice become a slaughterhouse?
They lived in Netzarim and when they had to leave there, they did not become depressed and they moved to Itamar and built a new home and led as pioneers.
Despite all the difficulties you continued to believe. Lately there are those among us who question our rights to the land. If we cannot explain to ourselves why we are here, how will we explain to the nations of the world? They are trying to use the same methods they used in 1929. For the enemy there is no green line - no difference between 1948 and 1967, between Itamar and Beit Hagai and Haifa and Tel Aviv.
We will continue to build with your blood in Itamar, Beit Hagai, Hebron and Jerusalem. Building in Israel is not an answer to terror - it's our right.
The Arab children are raised on a lie that we have no right to Israel and so they murder us and the 'Palestinian Authority' pays them a salary when they are caught and jailed. Against the education for love of the land and the Torah, our neighbors educate to murder a four-month old child. Any agreement we sign will not be worth the paper on which it is written and it will be violated to allow the murder of Jews.
But foreign governments are in partnership with the 'Palestinians' and this helps the murderers to act. But I hope that these murders will awaken those among us who are naive to see that this struggle is about our very existence. Therefore we can't just talk about security arrangements. The key is the Jews' right to their land, a right we have never given up.
We must raise ourselves out of the remains and find the strength to stand up to the international attacks against us. We must continue to build while holding the sword. And as the torture us, so we shall develop (a play on words from Exodus 1). These murderers will not cause us to change our values - these are the Fogels' values.
The 6th IDF Chief of Staff lost his parents and three siblings in Hebron in 1929. He and two of his siblings were saved. We will continue.
He speaks to the family. There is nothing that can be said to them. Tamar is left as the eldest person in the family. She saved the younger children and she must help her grandparents to raise those who are left.
The government will find the murderers. But the murderers will not weaken the family.
UPDATE 2:28 PM
Gershon Mesika (see above).
This is a national day of mourning.
In the Torah portion, the rabbis say that God wants sacrifices to come from among us and these families sacrificed their dearest thing.
These murders cannot be forgiven. Barak cannot say that he had no hand in these murders because he opened the roadblocks to satisfy the 'Palestinians,' reduced forces, prevented trees used for hiding from being uprooted. What brought these murders is the talking about a crazy withdrawal that could not be.
We must continue to plant and expand in Judea and Samaria. We have not lost our way. We are strengthened by belief in the redemption of Israel.
And you Mr. Prime Minister, as a member of a family who has lost a member, I call on you to come to Itamar and hug the residents and announce the establishment of five new neighborhoods named after these five holy sacrifices.
UPDATE 2:32 PM
Rabbi Avi Ronsky, a resident of Itamar and former chief rabbi of the IDF.
We came to settle on government lands in the Land of Israel. We are simple people who work the ground, engage in education and raise children and we will continue to do so.
Udi would have run away from here if he were alive. On the eve of the Sabbath, you sat with Yoav on your lap. I remember Yoav's eyes. Yoav's eyes stared at me as we discussed the secret of sacrifices, something humans cannot understand. It's something inside that connects us all, and Yoav's eyes stared at me and I cannot forget that stare.
Three hours later, I was awakened from my Sabbath sleep by the ringing of my cellphone and I heard screams. We have had many terror attacks - 15 others killed before these five, and I immediately understood what happened and ran to your house. At the entrance to the house, on the door, there was a yellow paper stuck on the door that said in handwriting Mazal Tov on the birth of your daughter. I didn't know what I would find there a few seconds later.
I entered the house and saw Udi flung across the bed. Udi who listened to the Torah words earlier was lying across the bed. The baby was next to him. And I said the words of Ezekiel that we will soon say in the Hagaddah of Pesach, you will live by your blood (b'damayech chayi).
And then I found Yoav. I have seen many difficult things in my life. I've seen soldiers who had crashed and had been killed in wars. But a family... children... babies....
Udi, I asked you to be responsible for the yeshiva's preparations for Purim, and this morning we awoke to a difficult week and Udi wasn't there. (Rabbi Ronsky is crying...). I wanted to hear what you have prepared for Purim and to talk to you about how we can have Purim in such a difficult week, but it's impossible. Our joy doesn't come from costumes and noisemakers but from the Torah that you studied. You had so many students....
Last night hundreds of the yeshiva's students and graduates came to the dining room and sat and sang. Everyone came to you. But....
Ruti Ben Yishai grew up in Elon Moreh and we have known her for five years since she came to the village. We got together with the youth in the village several times, and they talked about your kindness and your concern for everyone.
A week of preparations for Purim. We will manage it for sure. Your simplicity - no simplicity - not extremism like they try to pin on us. We work the land, educate and raise children. Lots of children. No one will break us.
After every attack there are more families and more children, and that will happen this time too. But please continue to expand so that we will be able to bring all the many families who want to move to our village
The Fogel family. Udi's parents. Among the founders of the Land of Israel. They live in Neve Tsuf. I remember when you helped establish our village.
Udi, in your merit there will be many yeshivas and towns that will be established. May the entire family's memory be blessed.
UPDATE 2:47 PM
Rabbi Ben Yishai - Ruti Fogel's father.
Pure souls.... Udi....
Ruti was born on the Sabbath and was taken on the Sabbath. Yoav was a scholar who finished orders of Mishna. Elad, you had so much life in you and you are taking it with you. Hadas was so cute and pretty, and attached to her mother.
The Nation of Israel: We have brought five sacrifices. Perfect sacrifices to God. Let the pure come and take care of the pure. Nation of Israel: Stand on your feet. Prime Minister: Come and bury them. God: Please bring an end to our suffering.
We must continue to build to bring the redemption. They went ahead of everyone, as usual pioneers who lead all of us. We will not leave you for you will visit us as angels. You passed the test - you gave us Tamar, Ro'i and Yishai who will stay with us. God, you know whom you took. What songs they are singing.
[Massive crying in the background].
Ruti's brother:
Yoav learned three orders of Mishna (sorry - I missed a bit here because I was looking for something...).
After the Sabbath, my son came and said that my wife said I should come home quickly and she told me about the deaths of Ruti and her family. My son is only 5-years old and he understood everything.
We are sacrificing five pure sacrifices. Today is the date of the death of Moses our leader. Ruti and Udi were always connected to Torah and good deeds.
Ruti is crying from Heaven for her three remaining children.
Another brother of Ruti Fogel:
He asks forgiveness for not being able to receive all of them.
A month ago we asked what the difference is between God's morality and people's morality and only God's morality and things that come from holiness and God are correct.
Our family was recently involved in something we didn't understand: Udi and Ruti and my brother planted a holy olive orchard in the land of Israel and the family that you thought had it the hardest in terms of time and money were the first to go ahead. We also ran but if only we had seen it as clearly as they did. Udi is delicate and for Ruti everything was clear.
UPDATE 3:07 PM
Udi Fogel's brother.
It's difficult for me to listen to the radio and it's difficult to see all these people here. I would get rid of them and talk to you privately about all these slogans, none of which will bring you back. A person is born to his parents and brothers and dies for his children and unfortunately sometimes for his parents and brothers.
You're not just a symbol - for anything. You slept next to me for years, and my whole life is with you. I never told you how jealous of you I was. I was jealous of your smile that always got you out of trouble. We grew apart and in the last year we came closer together and I am glad that we did. I will miss you.
UPDATE 3:10 PM
Udi Fogel's mother.
Your 4th grade teacher told me happy is the woman who gave birth to you and he was right. Your children were so wonderful. You were the most righteous. But to us you were mostly a child and that's what we're crying about. We will try to be strong and to strengthen the children. You are sacrifices of war who were murdered in cold blood, but you are not the first.
When will the nation rise up and answer? God will avenge the spilled blood.
They just said that the entire parking lot of the cemetery is full (it's a huge parking lot). They are now starting the procession. I guess Udi's father could not speak.
UPDATE 3:14 PM
In the background we heard the Chevra Kadisha burial society and the Kaddish. That's the end of the program.
I hope never to have to cover a funeral like this again. But unfortunately, our reality is that there will probably be more. Who is next in line and who is in the next line? God forbid we should find out.
With Interior Minister and Shas party leader Eli Yishai loudly proclaiming that we should build at least 1,000 new housing units for every victim of Friday night's terror attack, Israel's cabinet approved 'hundreds' of new housing units in Judea and Samaria.
The ministerial team for settlements approved hundreds of new apartments in the settlements of Ma'ale Adumim, Ariel, Kiryat Sefer and in Gush Etzion in a special meeting on Saturday.
...
Among the participants in the specially called meeting were Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Vice Premier Moshe Ya’alon, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Homeland Security Minister Matan Vilna'i. Sources in the Prime Minister's Office told Israel Radio that the plan deals with measured building inside existing settlement blocs.
And that's exactly the problem. Building within the 'settlement blocs' doesn't have any real consequences for the 'Palestinians.' After all, we've been saying all along that we would keep the 'settlement blocs.' What we should do is build 5,000 units in areas - like Itamar - that are outside the 'security fence' and not part of the 'settlement blocs.' That would be a real message to the 'Palestinians' that the rules have changed.
In the meantime, Israel Radio reports that the 'Palestinians' have condemned the new building and called on the quartet to put a stop to it. It's time that the 'Palestinians' be told to shut their mouths and go fight terror. This attack was perpetrated by the 'al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade,' a group that is affiliated with 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen's Fatah organization.
I am posting this video after hearing on Israel Radio that both YouTube and Facebook had taken it down within three hours of its being posted, at the insistence of 'Palestinian' groups. I am embedding it in my blog, and will try to post it elsewhere as well. This video is extremely difficult to watch, but I urge those of you who are abroad (especially) to please give it as much exposure as possible. Let the world see how much its favorite savages, the 'Palestinians' - may their name and memory be obliterated - really want peace.
In the event that Blogger forces me to take the video down, you can find it here. I also have it saved to my laptop and will try to post it elsewhere.
Let's go to the videotape.
May God have mercy on the surviving children and their grandparents.
Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman, a former Knesset member, blamed Leftist and 'Palestinian' delegitimization of the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria for Friday night's murder of five Israelis in the town of Itamar.
Nachman stated that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad calling for a boycott of goods manufactured in the settlements as well as Israeli newspapers "separating settlers from Israelis living on the other side of the Green Line" were responsible for inciting the terrorists to carry out the attack in Itamar.
National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau on Saturday said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was responsible for Friday's terror attack in Itamar because he allowed incitement to violence against Israel in the PA's educational system.
"Behind the murderer of the family in Itamar stands Abu Mazen [Abbas], the "peace partner," who founded the official educational system in the Palestinian Authority, which teaches hatred of Jews and presents child killers as role models," Landau said in a statement.
Landau called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to stop presenting Abbas as a peace partner and to demand from the PA and the US that peaceful education in the Palestinian Authority be a precondition to any peace process.
Netanyahu also demanded that the Palestinian Authority "halt the incitement in the mosques and via the Palestinian Authority-controlled media."
A statement from Netanyahu added that "a society that permits such wild incitement is one that eventually brings about the murder of children."
Landau told Israel Radio the same thing Sunday morning, adding that Abu Bluff is responsible for establishing the 'Palestinian education system' that teaches 'Palestinian' children to murder Jews and we should stop portraying him as a 'moderate' and as a 'peace partner.'
Even MK Haim Oron of the Leftist Meretz party has called for the 'Palestinian Authority' to unequivocally condemn Friday night's attack, although he claims that we have 'no choice' but to continue cooperation with the 'Palestinian Authority.'
Nachman isn't entirely correct. The reason why the 'Palestinians' strike in Samaria is because they are able to strike there. If they were able to commit murder within the 'green line' - in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other cities, they would do that too. They don't need the Left or anyone else to delegitimize Israel (and not just the 'settlements' but Israel as a whole) for them. None of us who live in Israel's major cities - or anywhere else in the country - should think that we are immune from 'Palestinian' terror.
Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon got a lot of things wrong toward the end of his career, but shortly before he went off the tracks he said one thing that was 100% correct. On April 23, 2002, Sharon said that the fate of Netzarim - a Jewish town in Gaza - is the fate of Tel Aviv. Netzarim is no more, thanks to Sharon's 2005 'disengagement' and expulsion of Gaza's Jews. If we don't get back on the track and stop trying to gut our country, Tel Aviv really will - God forbid - share Netzarim's fate.
Here's the original caption from the picture above:
A Palestinian man offers sweets to Hamas policemen in the streets of the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on March 12, 2011 to celebrate an attack which killed five Israeli settlers at the Itamar settlement near the West Bank city of Nablus. AFP PHOTO/SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)
The original photo (which is not the where I got it) may be found here.
And of course, let’s not forget the EU which has funded the PA -- and therefore its genocidal incitement against Jews and Israelis -- to the tune of millions of euros. But the promotion of this Nazi-style Jew-hatred and incitement through indoctrination in permanent genocidal warfare by the direct heirs of the Nazis’ Arab front – the actual reason for the Middle East conflict -- is the one thing that is ignored by the Obama administration, the EU and the British government, all of whom blame Israel instead for preventing a solution to that conflict.
What price now those British and European ‘liberals’ as they weep their crocodile tears over Libya and beat their chests over democracy and human rights, while actively endorsing and promoting the Arab neo-Nazi demonisation and dehumanisation of Israelis -- which results in the slaughter of a family which they then proceed to downplay or ignore?
She could have included Obama with the Europeans.
Be proud of the people you're supporting President Obama. You're supporting people who celebrate the cold-blooded murder of a 4-year old and a 3-month old.
I also received the following by email:
Dear colleagues,
These photos were released by the family. They have given full permission for their use and they to ask you to report on the horrific reality of murdering children and babies in their sleep, simply because they are Jewish.
https://picasaweb.google.com/picsyesha/Itamar
The photos are high resolution and can be reproduced in your website and newspaper.
For more information, pls contact Roni Arazi, spokesman of the Yesha Council, Israel; 972-54-566-5999.
From reports: On Friday night at 10:30 pm the terrorists entered the house through the living room picture window, did not notice the 6-year-old boy sleeping on the couch and continued on to the bedroom where they slashed the throats of the father and newborn baby who were sleeping there. The mother came out of the bathroom and was stabbed on its threshold. The evidence shows that she tried to fight the terrorists. They then slashed the throat of the 11-year old-son who was reading in bed. They did not notice the 2-year old asleep in his bed, but murdered the 3-year old with two stabs to his heart. After that, they locked the door, exited through the window and escaped. Exactly two hours after the infiltration, there was another warning signal from the same spot on the fence, as the terrorists left the way they had come. Once again, the patrol did not identify the source of the signal as infiltration.
The 12-year-old daughter returned home at 00:30 and found the door locked. She asked a neighbor, Rabbi Yaakov Cohen, of the Itamar Yeshiva, to help her. He brought a weapon with him once he noticed tracks and mud near the house. The two woke up the 6-year old sleeping in the living room by calling through the window and when he opened the door, the Rabbi returned to his home. When she entered the bedrooms, the young daughter saw the horrific bloodsoaked scene and ran out of the house screaming. The neighbor ran back and fired several shots in the air to alert security personnel. Within a short time, large police and IDF forces arrived and began intensive searches to see if the terrorists were still in the community. At 03:30 a.m., military trackers discovered footprints leading to the Arab village of Avrata.
With hopes for better days,
Children should not look at the pictures (the Picassa link) and I won't post them here.
Statement from the Shomron (Samaria) liasion office and pictures of the Itamar terror victims
I received the following statement from David HaIvri, spokesman for the Shomron (Samaria) regional council:
Five members of the Fogel family in Itamar Udi (father age 36) Ruth (mother age 35), Yoav (age 11), Elad (age 4) and Hadas (age 3 months) were murdered in their home in Itamar in Shomron by terrorists who infiltrated the Jewish community by jumping over the town's security fence. The five were stabbed to death. Their 12 year old daughter Tamar was first to find the bodies about an hour after the attack when she returned home from local youth movement activity. She found her two additional brothers sleeping in a room the terrorist had overlooked (thank G-d).
The funeral for the five family members will be held tomorrow, Sunday March 13, 2011 at Har Hamenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem.
As news [of the] tragedy reached residents of the Shomron spontaneous demonstration where held at many locations throughout the region
.
Shomron Regional Council Head Gershon Mesika said that Defense Minister Ehud Barak was to blame for removing check points in the areas between Palestinian Authority in Shechem (Nabulus) and the Jewish communities in the area.
David Ha'ivri director of the Shomron Liaison Office called on Defense Minister Barak to take responsibility for his g[r]ave mistake and to resign from his position. Nothing less would be accepted in a country with accountab[i]l[it]y in government. The Israel authorities must apprehend all those involved in this cowardly massacre and bring them to justice.
The pictures scattered through this post are the four of the five victims. The fifth one, Elad HY"D, was in the previous post.
And again: Abu Bluff's 'Palestinian' terrorists murder five members of one family in Itamar
'Palestinian' terrorists in the employ of 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen murdered five members of an Israeli family - parents and three children - in Itamar in Samaria.
Five family members were found murdered in their residence in the West Bank Itamar settlement Friday overnight, after a suspected terrorist broke and entered the house and stabbed the five to death. Two children managed to escape and survived the attack, Army Radio reported.
A Magen David Adom team that arrived at the scene at 1:00 a.m. announced a couple, their 11-year old child, 3-year-old toddler, and a one-month baby girl dead from stabbing wounds.
Palestinian media on Saturday reported that a faction of Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the stabbing incident.
Residents of the settlement reported that shots were heard in the area and that the terrorist succeeded in fleeing from the scene.
Police set out in search of the suspect in the Itamar settlement, which is near Nablus, as well as in the surrounding villages of Awarta, Beit Pouriq, and Beir Mouksaifa. Authorities requested that Itamar residents stay indoors.
The IDF arrested 20 people in the Nablus area in connection with the attack.
They murdered a one-month old baby! Anyone who believes that giving them a 'state' will stop these savages from murdering Jews is living in a dream world.
The IDF has declared Itamar a closed military zone. What they should do instead is destroy the 'Palestinian' village from which the murderers came (the IDF knows which village it is) and expel all the residents. That's the only language these 'people' understand. Let them go live in 'Free' Syria or southern Lebanon.
Do you have some time on Sunday? Are you in the New York City area? If so, please consider heading over to Herald Square and making a counter-demonstration against this (Hat Tip: Challah Hu Akhbar).
Join us January 9th to demand: End the Siege! No US Aid to Zionist Racism and Murder! Bring Zionist War Criminals to Justice! Free Palestine!
Sponsored by: Al-Awda NY -The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, US Palestinian Community Network-NY, International Action Center, Hunter Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine-NJ, American Muslims for Palestine-NY, Existence is Resistance, Palestinian Club – Brooklyn College, Columbia U. Students for Justice in Palestine, FiRE-Gabriela USA, Siege Busters Working Group, United National Antiwar Committee-NY, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, BAYAN USA, New York City Labor Against the War, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Labor for Palestine, International Socialist Organization, Socialist Action, ANSWER-NY, WESPAC
The demonstration's location is listed as 6th Avenue and 33rd Street. Sounds like a good project for Stern College if they're not on intersession.
Republicans in House to block aid to 'Palestinians'
On Thursday, in a retort to Israel's announcement of new construction in Jerusalem earlier in the week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a $150 million bailout to the 'Palestinian Authority' to close their 'budget gap' for the remainder of the year. But if Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen gets her way, the 'Palestinians' won't get that $150 million. And they won't get any other American aid money either until they clean up their act and start fighting terror and corruption.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican who stands to take over [the Chairmanship of the House Foreign Affairs Committee] in January after her party won the House of Representatives, said she was deeply concerned over what she called the bailout of the Palestinian leadership, which she claims has failed to live up to its commitment to dismantle the Palestinian terror infrastructure, eradicate corruption and recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.
“Sending US tax dollars to the Palestinian Authority to help them cover their budget shortfall is a bailout, plain and simple," she said.
“It is deeply disturbing that the Administration is continuing to bail out the Palestinian leadership when they continue to fail to meet their commitments, under international agreements and requirements outlined in US law, including dismantling the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure, combating corruption, stopping anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement, and recognizing Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-American from Florida, said that as long as the Palestinian leaders receive unconditional aid they have no reason to change their ways and be committed to peace.
“So long as Palestinian leaders keep being financially rewarded by the U.S. unconditionally, they will have zero reason to change their ways and truly commit to peace. It is long past time to hold Ramallah accountable,” she said.
She stressed that funds are continuing to flow into Ramallah despite reports indicating that corruption among the Palestinian leadership is increasing.
Let's hear it for the Republican controlled Congress!
Why do the 'Palestinians' stone ambulances that are treating 'Palestinians'?
On Saturday, a Magen David Adom ambulance that was evacuating a seriously injured 'Palestinian' was stoned in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, which is on the back side of Mt. Scopus, overlooking the Maaleh Adumim highway.
At the time, I did not blog it, because it seemed totally routine to me. For many years, IDF ambulances operating in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria have been bullet-proofed and equipped with shatterproof windows, and paramedics operating in Judea and Samaria (at least) routinely wear bulletproof vests. All of these measures were taken as a result of experience during the Oslo terror war (2000-03). That's the reality with which we live here.
But the story got picked up in the international media and by a number of bloggers. And a lot of people are asking why.
I guess people can't understand that the 'Palestinians' are anxious to die - or to have their own die - just to have the chance to try to kill Jews. They drink those suicidal impulses with their mothers' breast milk.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
I've just received word of a major explosion at the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. More (as updates to this post) when I have it.
