Always helpful US State Department says 'Avoid Europe'
Greetings from a plane somewhere over flyover country. I left San Francisco this morning and am now heading for an East Coast stop where I'll board a plane to Europe. The US State Department doesn't want me to do that. Now they tell me. Just got this notice a few moments ago from the always helpful US Consulate in Jerusalem.
Europe Travel Alert
Last Updated: March 22, 2016
The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to potential risks of travel to and throughout Europe following several terrorist attacks, including the March 22 attacks in Brussels claimed by ISIL. Terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks throughout Europe, targeting sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants, and transportation. This Travel Alert expires onJune 20, 2016.
U.S. citizens should exercise vigilance when in public places or using mass transportation. Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid crowded places. Exercise particular caution during religious holidays and at large festivals or events.
U.S. citizens should also:
Follow the instructions of local authorities, especially in an emergency.
Monitor media and local information sources and factor updated information into personal travel plans and activities.
Be prepared for additional security screening and unexpected disruptions.
Stay in touch with your family members and ensure they know how to reach you in the event of an emergency.
Register in our Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).
European governments continue to guard against terrorist attacks and conduct raids to disrupt plots. We work closely with our allies and will continue to share information with our European partners that will help identify and counter terrorist threats.
For further information:
Call1-888-407-4747toll-free in the United States and Canada or1-202-501-4444from other countries from8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.Eastern Standard Time,MondaythroughFriday(except U.S. federal holidays).
Now if only these idiots would get out of Fantasyland and start fighting Islamic terrorism....
So for now, I will only tell you in general terms where I am changing planes and I won't give names of cities until after I leave them. Yes, it's come to this. #ThanksObama #DankeMerkel.
And a freilichen (Happy) Purim to those of you for whom it's already begun. Fortunately, since I'm a Jerusalemite and I am heading home, my Purim is tomorrow night.
Today might yet be designated a Jewish holiday. It has not yet been confirmed but Ayatollah Ali Khameni is rumored to be dead.
Cairo-based journalist Gamal Sultan wrote on social media that Khamenei died
after suffering from a bout with prostate cancer, after surgery failed
to alter the course of his demise, according to Rassd News Network.
Daniel J. Levy of The Times Of Israel wrote
on Twitter late Saturday: “Hearing unconfirmed reports from a usually
very reliable source of Ayatollah Khamenei’s death today.”
On Friday, Iranian media confirmed that “The commander of the Islamic
Revolution, Ali Khamenei, his health deteriorated on Friday morning,
and was admitted to a Tehran hospital,” reported Al Bawaba News.
Reports on Thursday revealed that the “Supreme Leader” may have been
hospitalized and was said to be in critical condition, according to Israel Hayom. Khamenei, 75, was reportedly rushed to the hospital due to complications from his ongoing bout with cancer.
...
The rumors concerning Khamenei’s possible death come at the end of
the Jewish holiday of Purim, which commemorates the thwarting of a
Persian plot meant to destroy the empire’s Jews. The Book of Esther
states that Haman, who served as a minister to who is believed to be
King Xerxes I, planned to slaughter all of Persia’s Jews, but his plot
collapsed after Mordecai and Esther exposed it.
History has shown that a country’s power structure is most vulnerable
when its leadership appears to be in a state of transience. It remains
to be seen whether Iran’s dissidents will seize the moment of
uncertainty and rise up in an attempt to take their country back from
its Caliphatist despots.
Palestinian social media speaking about "The Car Intifada", with the motto:"Run over, and/or kidnap" pic.twitter.com/IC5heI7I04
— Mudar Zahran (@Mudar_Zahran) November 6, 2014
Five people were injured Friday morning in a car-ramming terror attack
near a Jerusalem Light Rail station in the north of the city. Four of
the wounded were young border policewomen, in their twenties, and the
seventh was a civilian bicycle rider in his fifties.
A Palestinian man in a private vehicle hit the
five as they stood on a sidewalk. According to initial reports, the man
then emerged from the vehicle with a butcher’s knife and attempted to
stab passersby, but was swiftly shot and incapacitated by a Border
Policeman and a Light Rail security guard at the scene.
The five victims suffered light-to-moderate
injuries. They were treated at the scene by paramedics before being
evacuated to the hospital. Two more border policewomen were treated at
the scene for shock.
The attacker was seriously injured. He, too,
was taken to the hospital. Police identified him as a Palestinian man in
his twenties from East Jerusalem.
The terrorist was from Ras al-Amud. Also known as the Mount of Olives. This place.
The attack took place near a Border Police base on Shimon Hatzadik Street, on the line separating West and East Jerusalem.
“A young man rammed his car (into
pedestrians), and then got out and tried to stab people” before being
shot and wounded, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.
We used to live right there - in a complex of apartments that is full of Anglos to this day.
Is history repeating itself? Let's have a look (Hat Tip: The Beguiling Avigayil) (Daughter #1 Child #1).
Once there was a King in Shushan, the most powerful ruler in the
world, who had a strong disdain, dislike or perhaps even hatred of
Jews.
Today there is a President in Washington, the most powerful ruler in
the world, who may not always be a friend of the Jews.
Once there was a Persian who wanted to kill all the Jews, but needed
the King's authorization to proceed with his plan.
Today there are Persians who want to kill all the Jews, but needs the
President's authorization to proceed with their plan.
The King didn't really care, as long as there was something in it for
him - lots of money.
The President doesn't really care, as long as there is something in it
for him - a deal with the Persians (Iran).
The Jewish Queen wanted to tell the King what was really happening,
but going in to talk to the King was dangerous.
The Jewish Prime Minister wants to tell the President and his Congress
what is really happening, but going to talk to them is dangerous.
Some people thought she shouldn't go, it would just anger the King and
make things worse.
Some people think he shouldn't go, it will just anger the President
and make things worse.
She asked the Jews to fast and pray for the success of her mission.
They did so, the King accepted her words and the plot to destroy them
was thwarted.
Will we fast and pray for the success of his mission? Will the
President and Congress accept his words? Will the plot to destroy us
be thwarted?
We commemorate the fasting prior to the Queen's plea to the King on
The fast of Esther.
The Prime Minister of Israel has been invited to address the United
States Congress on March 3rd. This year The fast of Esther begins on March 3rd.
Security forces foil plot to assassinate Lieberman, weapons shipment into Jerusalem
Late Thursday night, Israel Radio reported that the General Security Service had foiled a plot to assassinate Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman using rocket propelled grenades.
According to the indictment, the three were planning to buy RPG
missiles and then launch them at the foreign minister's car, in hopes
that the attack would stop Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
The terrorist cell was headed by Ibrahim Salim Mahmoud Zir, 37, a
senior member of Hamas who resides near Bethlehem and who served several
prison terms in Israel on charges of terrorism.
Zir enlisted his brother, Ziad Salim Mahmoud Zir, 35, and another
Hamas terrorist by the name Adnan Amin Mahmoud Tzabih, 31. They admitted
to being recruited to help carry out an attack against a senior Israeli
figure.
In addition, Zir turned to senior Hamas terrorist Ibrahim Yusuf
al-Sheikh, 50, a resident of Bethlehem who is known for his past
involvement in Hamas terrorist activities, and asked him to help him in
obtaining RPG missiles.
The three terrorists were caught while conducting surveillance on
Liberman's security guards near his home in Gush Etzion community of
Nokdim.
They were arrested in mid-August by security forces after one member of the squad was caught trying to buy the missiles.
Two containers intercepted by authorities at the southern port were
packed with 18,000 fireworks, 5,200 commando knives, 5,500 tasers, 4,300
tasers concealed in flashlights, 1,000 swords and several thousand
other "cold" weapons.
The lethal cargo was hidden under a layer of Christmas decorations, and had been shipped in all the way from China.
I wonder how many of those fireworks would have been bought by Jews for Purim. Maybe that practice ought to stop too.
Some of you might recall this video of IDF soldiers giving Haman, the villain in the Purim story, a rather loud greeting.
It seems that the soldiers were in an officers' course, and some of their commanding officers were not amused. The soldiers have been sentenced to up to 31 days in the brig.
Apparently, the video shows, the soldiers decided to take the
custom to the next level – using their IDF-issued machine guns to make
noise when Haman's name was read. The video, filmed on a cellphone,
shows the soldiers pulling the trigger, firing into the air in the
direction of an empty field. Observing the goings-on were the soldiers'
commanders.
For IDF brass, the video was embarrassing – and judgment was
quick to come. The commander was sentenced to 31 days in army jail for
allowing the incident to go on, and two of the candidates were thrown
out of the course. Other soldiers involved received lesser punishments.
Disagreeing with the sentences was MK Nissim Slomiansky (Jewish
Home), who called them “excessive,” even though there was no place for
such behavior. In a statement, the IDF said that the actions were “in
direct contradiction to the values of the Israeli army.”
Contradiction to the values of the Israeli army? Huh? It's not like they went out and shot at someone. There was an empty field in front of them.
Count me among those who think the IDF over-reacted.
I never knew that Jack W is an investment banker because only an investment banker could send out something like this. Oy.... (I am not an investment banker - I just hang around them too much).
El Al to serve cholent on Tel Aviv - New York flights
El Al must be having a hard time selling tickets on their Thursday and Saturday night Tel Aviv - New York flights (look at all those empty seats), because they're starting to serve cholent on that route.
Of the 32,564 people surveyed, fully 63 percent claimed that “chulent and gefillte fish” are missing.
Beginning on select flights on the JFK-Tel Aviv route, El Al has begun
introducing the “Ashkenazi menu.” One stewardess told the Post that she
was excited about the new policy. “Now I get to carry a large pot of
steaming cholent down the aisle. I love seeing the smiling faces of the
passengers as they put out their bowls to receive a ladle of beans and
other mysteries that chulent consists of.”
Kugel has also made an appearance in recent weeks.
Passenger Rachel Teperberg claims that “it feels just like home and
reminds me of those Shalom Aleichem stories about the shtetl.” Her eyes
tear up as she explains “this is what a Jewish airline should be; real
Jewish food. Tasteless slop in a bowl, next to hard, sweet pasta, it is
like bringing back the culture of Eastern Europe in its entirety. All
they need now is to have Cossacks on horseback on the plane.”
I'm sure that they won't be serving it on Sunday - Wednesday nights, because then it would just be leftovers....
Here's Shoshanas Yaakov (literally the Rose of Jacob) being sung in the main study hall of the Mirrer Yeshiva after reading the Megilla two years ago. 'The Mir' is probably the largest yeshiva in the world with more than 5,000 students.
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone, and a Freilichen (Happy) Purim to those of you who live in or adjacent to cities that were not walled in the time of Joshua the son of Nun (where Purim is celebrated tomorrow night).
Purim treat: A virtual tour of the grave of Mordechai and Esther in Hamedan, Iran
Every year around this time, a charity fund called Vaad HaRabbonim (Rabbinical Committee) puts up notices saying that if you contribute to their fund, they will pray for you at the grave of Mordechai and Esther - the heroes of the Purim story - in Hamedan, Iran.
Unlike most other places where they go to pray for you, I believe that they do not send people to Iran, but rather they have Iranian Jews on site who do the praying. Now, you can join them.
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
