Thursday, October 23, 2014
Father eulogizes infant killed in Jerusalem attack: 'You made us happy from the moment you arrived'
At midnight, in a small crowded funeral parlor in Jerusalem, Shmuel Elimelech Braun stood in front of the the small white shroud covered body of his three-month-old daughter Chaya Zissel, killed earlier that day in a terror attack.Grandfather of Slain Israeli Infant: ‘She Was Pure’, ‘Murdered for No Reason’ (VIDEO)
“Zissla, you were pure,” he said in a tear-choked voice. Earlier on Wednesday, he and his wife had taken her for her first trip to see the Western Wall.
“In the last hour, you were by the Kotel. You woke up.We shmoozed (talked) with each other,” the young father said.
“You looked at me and smiled,” Braun said.
“I told you, this is the Kotel, this is Har HaBayit (The Temple Mount),” he recalled.
Braun spoke with his young daughter about the cherubs that had been on the Ark of the Covenant when the Temple existed and described how their faces were like that of a pure child.
“Like you,” Braun had said. “You looked at me, with a twinkle in your eye, like you knew, like you understood me,” he said.
“You made us happy from the moment you [arrived],” he Braun said.
Three-month-old Chayah Zissel-Bron “was pure,” and “was murdered for no reason,” her grandfather Shimshon Halperin said in a tearful statement at a Jerusalem hospital where she succumbed to injuries from a terror attack earlier on Wednesday, Israel’s Ynet News reported.Richard Kemp: Israel's Security and Unintended Consequences
Bron was killed, and others were wounded when a Hamas terrorist drove a vehicle into people waiting at a Light Rail station close to the National Police headquarters on Wednesday evening.
“The pure girl was living with a holy soul that never did anything wrong to anyone,” Halperin told reporters. Hayah “was murdered for no reason. Unfortunately ‘Esau has hated Jacob’ for thousands of years. Arab hatred has no mercy,” Halperin said.
Bron arrived at the emergency room of Hadassah Mount Scopus in critical condition, and, despite attempts at resuscitation, she was too gravely hurt from cranial bleeding to pull though surgery, according to Pediatrics chief, Prof. Yehuda Barkan.
“The baby was brought in mortally wounded. She fought for her life, but she suffered severe head injuries,” according to Barkan.
Halperin is the son of the late Rabbi Rafael Halperin, a public figure and founder of a national eyewear chain.
“Her parents are traumatized; they heard about it five minutes ago,” Halperin said. “They just returned from the Western Wall, it was [Hayah's] first time – she lived to see the Wall. They were photographed holding her facing the Temple Mount. They told her, ‘it’s the Temple, and that is the Temple Mount.’
Would General Allen -- or any other general today -- recommend contracting out his country's defenses if it were his country at stake? Of course not.Listen to Hamas
The Iranian regime remains dedicated to undermining and ultimately destroying the State of Israel. The Islamic State also has Israel in its sights and would certainly use the West Bank as a point from which to attack, if it were open to them.
There can be no two-state solution and no sovereign Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan, however desirable those things might be. The stark military reality is that Israel cannot withdraw its forces from the West Bank.
Fatah leaders ally themselves with the terrorists of Hamas, and, like Hamas, they continue to reject the every existence of the State of Israel.
If Western leaders actually want to help, they should use all diplomatic and economic means to make it clear to the Palestinians that they will never achieve an independent and sovereign state while they remain set on the destruction of the State of Israel.
It isn't often that we can point to a simple phrase and decipher a world of truths. Today, though, we can, if we have the courage to listen - to Hamas.
According to Hamas, Wednesday's murder of an Israeli infant was, "a natural response to the crimes of the occupation and invasion of Jews in our land."
Note what they did not say. The attack was not a natural response against settlers, not even against Israelis - no, the murder of this tiny child was a natural response against Jews.
Listen to their words; it was not a gaffe, it was not a mistranslation. It was and is, the truest expression of their beliefs.
Two interesting phrases in this short sentence. Each deserves our attention. First, as noted above, we can glean from Hamas' celebration of Abed a-Rahman a-Shaludi's deliberate attack against innocent pedestrians waiting at a bus stop that the target is - Jews.
Baby killed in Jerusalem terror attack laid to rest
The three-month-old girl killed in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem was laid to rest early Thursday morning in the capital’s Har Hamenuchot cemetery.After terror attack, Netanyahu vows quiet will be restored to Jerusalem
President Reuven Rivlin and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat were among the hundreds in attendance, paying final respects to Chaya Zissel Braun, who was killed when Silwan resident Abdelrahman al-Shaludi drove his car into a crowd waiting at the Ammunition Hill light rail station.
“The incitement on the Arab street and in the streets of Jerusalem is growing,” Rivlin said during his eulogy, according to Israel National News. “The incitement that to our sorrow enjoys support from the leadership in the Arab world could cause a disaster in the fragile fabric of life in Jerusalem, and carry us all into a maelstrom of destruction and pain.”
“We are standing before a tiny, silent body, before a small grave, standing against haters and murderers whose hands slaughter without distinction, without mercy. An innocent baby was butchered by burning hatred and darkness.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ordered an additional Border Police company to Jerusalem as part of a number of new measures designed to bolster security in the city.Police Chief Praises Cop Who Shot Jerusalem Terrorist
“United Jerusalem was and will always remain the capital of Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said at a special consultation he held in his office a day after three-month-old Chaya Zissel Braun was killed and nine others wounded, in a terrorist attack in the capital. “Every attempt to harm its people will be met with a stronger response. We will return peace and security to Jerusalem.”
In addition to bringing in more Border Police, Netanyahu said that Israel will step up its intelligence and law enforcement efforts in the city. “This, and “additional measures” which he said he did not want to spell out, will restore quiet to the capital, he said.
According to a statement put out by Netanyahu's office, the Prime Minister gave instructions to “exercise Israeli sovereignty” in all parts of the city through the introduction of additional forces.
“We support the Israeli police, and will give it all the reinforcements necessary,” he said.
Danino praised the actions of the policeman who chased after the terrorist as he attempting to flee on foot, and shot him. Attacker Abdelrahman Shaludeh was injured and died several hours later in hospital.Chilling New Video Shows Terror Attack No 'Accident'
"The rapid and determined action of the Jerusalem District police officer, which led to quick conclusion of the event was admirable," Danino said, adding that he hoped others would follow his example.
The Commissioner added that "the increase of police and security forces in the Jerusalem region will continue as long as necessary in order to restore a sense of security to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem."
Yet more footage from the scene of last night's deadly terrorist attack in Jerusalem has emerged. It illustrates with chilling clarity how terrorist Abdelrahman Shaludi drove purposefully into a crowd of pedestrians shortly after they disembarked from a train on the Jerusalem Light Rail.Watch: Video Shows Moment Jerusalem Terrorist Captured
Shaludi's family had claimed to reporters that the incident was an "accident", despite Abdelrahman being a member of Hamas with a long record of terrorist activity.
But the latest footage shows with chilling clarity how he drove his car purposefully and seemingly with great control through a narrow stretch of pavement between the Light Rail stop and the tracks beside it.
A passerby caught the moment the terrorist responsible for last night's deadly attack in Jerusalem was captured by police.Defense minister pans Palestinian ‘culture of jihad’
20-year-old Abdelrahman Shaludeh of Shiloach (Silwan) killed a three-month-old baby and left several other people injured when he drove his car into a group of passengers as they disembarked at a Jerusalem Light Rail station on Ammunition Hill.
Shaludeh attempted to flee the scene but was shot and wounded by police. He died in hospital several hours later.
Echoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Wednesday lashed out at PA President Mahmoud Abbas over the attack, lawmakers from various parties called for urgent measures to contain the violence simmering in the capital.International community condemns Jerusalem terror attack
Writing on his official Facebook page, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon asserted Thursday that the attack was “clearly the outcome of those in the Palestinian Authority who educate the younger generation to hate Jews and expel them from their homeland.”
He added, “The Palestinian Authority does not, and never did, have a culture of peace, but rather a culture of incitement and jihad against Jews. It starts with Abbas’s lying statements against Israel from the UN podium, continues with persistent Palestinian attempts to delegitimize us in the international arena and ends with incitement in the Palestinian education system. These are the harsh consequences.”
Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the European Union’s ambassador to Israel, tweeted his condemnation of the attack, writing, “I strongly condemn terrorist attack in Jerusalem killing a baby and wounding several.”Palestinians pelt Jerusalem kindergarten with rocks
Australian Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma posted a message on Twitter expressing his shock at the incident.
“Shocked by terrorist attack in Jerusalem + condemn unreservedly,” Sharma wrote. “Esp saddened by death of 3-month-old baby girl. Deep condolences to family.”
Eight other people were injured in the incident, which took place in the early evening. Israeli police called it a “hit and run terror attack.”
Earlier, the US State Department denounced the attack.
“We express our deepest condolences to the family of the baby, reportedly an American citizen, who was killed in this despicable attack,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.
“We urge all sides to maintain calm and avoid escalating tensions in the wake of this incident.”
Less than a day after a terrorist attack on a light rail station in Jerusalem in which a three-month-old baby was killed, tensions flared in the capital.Arab Terrorist Broadcasts His Hate on Social Media
Early Thursday morning, a Jewish kindergarten in East Jerusalem was pelted with rocks. No casualties were reported in the incident, which took place in the Ma’ale Hazeitim neighborhood on the Mount of Olives, near Ras el-Amud.
Police were searching for the perpetrators, who fled the scene.
A report in Yediot Achronot Thursday quoted Twitter and Facebook posts of the 20-year-old Shaludeh, an Arab resident of Shiloach (Silwan) who was a legal Jerusalem resident. In his last post on a social media site frequented by Islamists, for example, he wrote “now is the time to defend your home, Muslims – go out on a crusade to protect the Al-Aqsa mosque” from Jews who sought to pray on the Temple Mount.Hamas, Islamic Jihad salute Jerusalem terror attack, threaten new 'Palestinian intifada' in capital
The day before the attack, he posted a link to a video published by the Al Aqsa Brigade terror group – closely associated with Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group. The clip displayed terrorists in training. Slodi's comment: “See how the Al Aqsa fighters train for suicide missions” to carry out against Israeli targets.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad hailed Wednesday’s terrorist act by an east Jerusalem resident who rammed his car into a crowd of commuters at a light rail station, killing a three-month old infant and injuring seven others.Killing Jewish babies: no sympathy, no condemnation, no news
“The attack in Jerusalem is an act of heroism and a natural response to the crimes of the occupation against our people and our holy places,” said Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas spokesperson.
“The attack in Jerusalem is a natural response to what is taking place in the city, given the harassment and overall attacks of Judaization affecting our holy places and Muslims,” said another Hamas official, Salah Baradwil.
Hamas warned that the latest developments may augur the next "Palestinian intifada in Jerusalem."
Islamic Jihad released an official statement on Thursday through its military wing, the Al-Quds Brigade, saying: “There is Zionist aggression against all of our people, and today the resistance responded to this attack. This is a natural right.”
Despite the seriousness of today's terrorist attack and the circumstances surrounding it, it has not been mentioned in a single non-Israeli/Jewish news outlet. Not a single mention on any of the 24-hour news channels (in fact there was an earlier terrorist attack today on Israelis near the Sinai border that has also not been reported outside Israel)Jerusalem Terror Attack: Headline Fails
Contrast this response to what happened in July when a Palestinian teenager 'of American descent' (Tariq Khdeir) who threw firebombs at Israeli policemen in Jerusalem received, in return, a black eye when resisting arrest. In response to this incident the Obama administration (via White House spokesman Jan Pseki) expressed its disgust at the Israelis saying it was "profoundly troubled ..and we are calling for a speedy, transparent and credible investigation and full accountability for any excessive use of force,”. The incident was headline news for two days on every western news channel/media.
Clearly in the eyes of the world a Palestinian thug who gets a black eye when resisting arrest after throwing a firebomb deserves far more sympathy than a Jewish baby deliberately killed by a Palestinian terrorist.
On Wednesday evening, a Palestinian deliberately drove his car into a crowd of people disembarking Jerusalem’s Light Rail, killing a three-month old baby and injuring several more, in what was clearly a terror attack.Ambiguous BBC reporting on Jerusalem terror attack
Initial reports produced some jarring headline fails. Take the Associated Press’s first headline, which has caused widespread outrage:
"Israeli police shoot man in east Jerusalem."
UPDATE
What about The Independent’s priorities? The Jerusalem terror attack warrants a couple of sentences included seven paragraphs into a story with this headline:
"Israeli soldiers filmed 'blindfolding and detaining disabled 11-year-old Palestinian boy accused of throwing stones'"
The Independent acknowledges that the Palestinian boy, who has learning difficulties, was held for 15 minutes before being turned over to his father.
It’s a sad indictment on The Independent’s lack of a moral compass that the newspaper views the 15 minute detention of a Palestinian boy as more important or newsworthy than the murder of a three-month old Jewish baby in a Palestinian terror attack.
Abd al Rahman Shaloudi from Silwan ploughed the car he was driving into a group of people waiting at the light rail station at Ammunition Hill, injuring nine of them, including three month-old Haya Zissel Braun who later died from the injuries she sustained. Shaloudi – a member of a known Hamas-linked family who had previously been imprisoned for throwing petrol bombs at motorists – tried to escape the scene on foot and was shot by a member of the security forces, later dying of his wounds. Rioting subsequently took place in the neighbourhoods of Silwan and Issawiya, with at least one motorist injured by stone-throwers.The Associated Press proves all its detractors right
So what were BBC audiences told about the incident? On the BBC News website’s homepage it was initially presented in language suggesting an accident: “A car hits a group of pedestrians at a Jerusalem railway station, injuring at least nine”.
Last night, after an Arab terrorist deliberately crashed into a crowd of people, maiming many and murdering a baby, the AP rushed into action with the following astonishing headline:#HowAPWouldReport World History
“Israeli police shoot man in east Jerusalem”
They had all the relevant details direct from the Israeli police in the first four paragraphs of the story. It was absolutely crystal clear right from their first report what had happened.
That headline has been rightly jumped on by social media and commentators. But it’s still on display on many sites who take an AP feed and just republish everything. Some sites may eventually change the headline (it’s settled on “Palestinian kills baby at Jerusalem station”) but many (especially some like the Lebanese Daily Star) never will. Many other places wrote atrociously slanted stories too, but the AP’s story is repeated ad nauseam across the world.
This is a major disaster for the AP. This is absolute proof that their reporting in Israel is not fit for widespread distribution. All over the web people are angrily condemning Yahoo! because that was the first place they saw this headline.
Within hours, Gidon Shaviv of CAMERA suggested an online game of Tweeting satirical news headlines, which Twitter user @JudgeDan48 got rolling with the hashtag: #HowAPWouldReport: how would AP report other news using the same distortive lens applied to Israel? As an example, he used the 2012 mass shooting at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado: “Aurora: Police arrest man in cinema”, he quipped.Top 11 AP headlines in history
Here are some of Twitter users’ best satirical AP headlines…
Well done, AP. The headline has since been changed. Too little, too late.JCPA: The Terrorism Threat to Canada
On that note, let’s take a look back at the top 11 AP headlines throughout history.
11. Titanic Assaults Iceberg
10. Princess Di Terrorizes Streets of Paris
9. Distant Moon Invaded by Colonizers
The choice of Canada as a terror target is part of the overall strategy of the Islamic State and the other radical Islamic organizations to weaken the West, dissuade it from a military campaign against radical Islam, and remove all Western presence from the Middle East and Muslim countries. The goal is to expand the Caliphate’s borders so as to enable an anti-Western jihad campaign that will bring about global Islamization. The success of the terror attacks in Canada will likely encourage terror groups in the United States, which is Islamic State’s supreme target, to carry out domestic attacks.Douglas Murray: Why would jihadi terrorists attack Canada? Better to ask: why not?
Analysis of the characteristics of the Canadian terrorists in recent years underlines the challenge facing Canada and other democratic countries, particularly regarding the issues of domestic terror and immigration, including from the Muslim and multicultural countries.
The Canadian attacks, for example, highlight the new prevalence of do-it-yourself (DIY) jihad attacks. That is partly the brainchild of the late al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki who realised that putting workable bombs together in most Western countries is tricky and inefficient. Much better for people to just seize a knife, a gun, or a car and do what they can on their own. Advocates of such attacks know that their success is potentially far higher than the mass-casualty attacks with which al Qaeda opened the last decade.Netanyahu Speaks to Canada's PM After Terrorist Attack
‘Lone Wolf’ or ‘DIY’ attacks could happen anytime, anywhere, against anyone. It happened in London with Lee Rigby, but it also happened when a young female student from Kings College London became radicalised from reading the Quran and watching Awlaki videos, and repeatedly stabbed and attempted to murder the Labour MP Stephen Timms. Canada is not inexplicable. It is part of a pattern, and one we are going to see a lot more of in the months ahead.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday evening with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and asked to convey the condolences of the Israeli people in wake of the terrorist attack in Ottawa.Glenn Greenwald Chose The Wrong Day To Blame Canada For Terrorism
Netanyahu expressed his full support for Canada's fight against terrorism, in which Israel and the international community are partners, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
U.S. President Barack Obama also spoke with Harper to express the American people’s solidarity with Canada in the wake of the attacks.
“President Obama condemned these outrageous attacks, and reaffirmed the close friendship and alliance between our people,” said a statement from the White House.
Liberal journalist Glenn Greenwald chose the wrong day to write a scathing article accusing the Canadian government of “fear-mongering” over terrorism, accusing Canada of being a war-loving country, and saying that terrorist attacks on it were “not the slightest bit surprising.”Harper cancels Malala citizenship ceremony
Less than an hour after Greenwald’s piece, “Canada, At War For 13 Years, Shocked That ‘A Terrorist’ Attacked Its Soldiers,” was posted on The Intercept, the Canadian Parliament and National War Memorial were attacked by gunmen, leaving at least one soldier dead. The piece was written in response to the murder of a Canadian soldier at the hands of a radical Muslim on Monday.
Greenwald mocks the Canadian “shock and bewilderment that someone would want to bring violence to such a good and innocent country.” Oh no, he points out, “Canada has spent the last 13 years proclaiming itself a nation at war… Regardless of one’s views on the justifiability of Canada’s lengthy military actions, it’s not the slightest bit surprising or difficult to understand why people who identify with those on the other end of Canadian bombs and bullets would decide to attack the military responsible for that violence.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office says two scheduled events today in Toronto with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai have been cancelled.Islamic State Sympathizers Cheer Canada Shooting
The last-minute announcement comes amid an ongoing emergency in Ottawa, where several shootings have occurred on or near Parliament Hill.
Harper was to moderate an afternoon question-and-answer session with Yousafzai at a Toronto high school.
He was then scheduled to head to a downtown hotel, where the 17-year-old from Pakistan was to receive honorary Canadian citizenship.
Prominent Islamic State (IS, ISIL, or ISIS) cheerleaders on Twitter celebrated the fatal shooting of a Canadian soldier Wednesday, hailing it as just retribution for the country’s decision to join the fight against the Middle Eastern terror group.Bulldozer Terrorist’s Family Sues Government for Damages [video]
While it remained unclear late Wednesday what the motivation of the gunman—identified as Canadian-born Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32—was, IS backers wasted no time in praising his murder of the soldier and subsequent shooting at Canada’s parliament.
Multiple Twitter users known for their pro-jihadist rhetoric celebrated the violent attack and warned that IS will wage war on any country that opposes it.
The family of a Jerusalem Arab tractor driver who was killed after he rammed a bus and killed one man August 4 is suing the government for $650,000 with a claim that it was just an accident caused by police who shot him dead out without reason.Jerusalem Bus Driver Wounded as 'Silent Intifada' Rages
Mohammed Jaabis was working with his family’s power shovel at a construction site when the tractor suddenly turned on a bus and overturned it on what until now has been termed a terrorist attack that killed 29-year-old Avraham Wallis.
Now the family claims Jaabis was victim and not an attacker.
A bus driver became the latest victim of the "silent intifada" as he drove near Gethsemane park at the foot of the Mount of Olives, adjacent to the Old City.Shocking Video: IDF Under Attack by Arab Mob in Jerusalem
There the unfortunate driver was targeted by Arab rioters who hurled rocks at his bus, damaging it and wounding him lightly in his leg. Another bus passing by was also damaged in the incident.
Police say their forces have arrived in the area and currently the violence has been quelled.
In parallel, masked Arab rioters launched a barrage of potentially lethal rocks on the Jewish neighborhood of East Talpiot, which is located in the south-east of the capital and to the south of the Old City, and which has Arab neighborhoods adjacent to it on several sides.
A video taped from inside an IDF position in eastern Jerusalem and uploaded by 0404 news Wednesday shows how frustrating being an IDF soldier is, these days.IDF: Fire on Egypt border was ‘violent drug-smuggling attempt’
The soldiers are caged in inside their fortified position, and do nothing but watch as Arab rioters hurl rocks and fireworks at them.
The person who is in radio contact with the soldier inside the position tells him not to worry because the attackers are unable to harm him.
The soldier inside the position says the event is being documented.
A shootout on the border with Egypt that left two Israelis soldiers wounded Wednesday was a confontation with drug smugglers, the IDF said Wednesday evening, correcting earlier reports that it had been an attack by Islamist militants.
A preliminary investigation into the cross-border incident, conducted in coordination with the Egyptian army, showed that the suspects opened fire at Israeli troops who had identified the suspicious figures approaching the border.
The army said in a statement it was a “violent drug-smuggling attempt,” foiled by the army unit commander.
