No Parallel, Similarity between Murders of Eyal, Naftali and Gil-Ad with that of Mohammed

It may make good politics and media op for Jerusalem Mayor's politically correct joint phone call with family members of both Jewish and Arab victims, but I find the act very offensive.

During his condolence call at Nof Ayalon, Barkat spoke with Naftali Frankel’s uncle, Yishai, and, by telephone, with Abu Khdeir’s father, Hussein.
Speaking “in the name of the citizens of Jerusalem,” Barkat expressed to Hussein his shock “over the horrible and barbaric slaying of his son,” a statement from his office said. (Algemeiner)

funeral of 3 Jewish teens

The arrest of Jews for the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir has everyone I know feeling physically ill and completely baffled, while there were great celebrations in Arab towns and villages all over the night the three Jewish teenagers were kidnapped and murdered.

Avishai Raviv

And we still don't know if the arrested Jews are really guilty. In the corner of my mind I keep hearing the name "Avishai Raviv," the Shabak agent who had a very long career egging on Right wing Jewish teens to further extremism culminating in the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, and I wonder what is really behind this murder if it was really by Jews.

The Jerusalem Post now reports that one Jew has confessed, and we are waiting for facts.

Before equating the murders we must hear the same sorts of condemnation from Arabs of all walks of life about the murder of Jews as we hear from Jews about the murder of an Arab. That would be a sign that they are getting closer, but words aren't enough. While Jews are sick at the idea that there could possibly be a Jew willing and capable of such a murder, we have not heard any equivalent reactions from Arabs. That's all further proof that we are very far from true peace. There is no equivalency between the murders!

Postmortem: Was The Israeli Government Wrong to Give The Impression The Kidnapped Teens Were Alive?

Writing another postmortem on the Arab terrorist kidnapping of the three Jewish teenagers, I feel it necessary to delve into the snowballing issue of whether or not the Israeli government was right to give the impression that the kidnapped boys were alive, even though they knew perfectly well that the boys had been murdered. Once they took the phone call seriously, they heard the sound of the shots. Also the sounds of hysterical partying and celebrations coming from Arab villages that night should have had raised suspicions. Many of us, far from any official security sources suspected that the boys had been murdered immediately after their capture. And we felt that the type of searches the IDF was doing showed that the army considered them dead.

Some people, like Noam Sheizaf in 972 consider the official line that the boys are still alive to have had been a manipulation of the families and public.

Details under gag order could have suggested early on that the abducted teens were murdered. The government-led campaign calling for their release helped the legitimacy of Israel’s military operation in the West Bank. Local and even international media played along.The following issue is not the heart of the kidnapping affair, the Israeli military operation or its aftermath — but it does carry an important lesson, especially for journalists. The bottom line is this: the Israeli public has been manipulated.

To be honest, I think that the government did the right thing.

From the beginning of the search and certainly after hearing the emergency call, it was pretty clear that there would not be a happy ending to the story. Even if the boys were "just wounded," the chance of any of them getting proper medical care and surviving was pretty slim. Thirty-one years ago, Aaron Gross, HaYa"D was stabbed in Hebron and left to bleed to death in an Arab hospital.

But of course, our Jewish and Israeli history is full of amazing unexpected survival and victories. Otherwise we'd be just a short postscript or footnote in massive volumes of ancient history. There wouldn't be a State of Israel today nor a Jewish People if our survival was dependent on the normal rules/laws of nature.

Was it a cruel manipulation of the families and public to keep up hope that these three rather ordinary teens, who liked sports, music and normal teen activities as their families described, were alive and waiting to be rescued?

I think it would have had been a gazillion times worse if the parents and public had been told they were dead and they were in fact fighting for life. How many times had "experts" predicted the end of the Jewish People and here we are thriving despite the terrorism and antisemitism in this world?

If the families had campaigned for their sons' dead bodies for proper burial, would that have been as effective and moving? Would the parents had preferred that? The rallying cry would have been "We want to bury our sons" instead of "We want to hug our sons." I can't speak for the families.

Bat-Galim and Ofir Sha'ar

Flash 90

I certainly sympathize with the anger of the families in the delayed search, because for whatever reason, the police didn't take the call seriously.

An angry Bat-Galim Sha'ar, mother of Gilad (16), who along with Eyal Yifrah (19) and Naftali Frenkel (16) was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists, on Wednesday leveled harsh criticism at top security officials.

Unfortunately, it seems that the boys were already dead before the earliest the police could have begun searching.

None of these arguments will bring back Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Frenkel HaYa"D. All the arguing and condemnation will do is to destroy the unity we achieved while searching and praying for the boys.

Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach

May You Have a Peaceful and Blessed Shabbat

The Funeral of the Three Murdered Israeli Jewish Teenagers, I Was There

There must have had been hundred of thousands of people who attended the funeral of the three murdered teenagers, because I was there and the mobs of people extended so far and wide, and the number of buses and private vehicles was larger than anyone could count. We had to walk miles, not just kilometers (which is a shorter distance) to go from where the bus dropped us off and then waited until we found it, until we got to a place where we could barely hear the loudspeakers amplifying what was happening around the graves.

So many people of all ages were there, even though it was a rough hike at times to just arrive near the cemetery.

It was a youth movement hike without the singing.

People made every effort, though the weather, even late afternoon was brutal.

We finally reached a point where we could hear the loudspeakers but couldn't see anything but crowds of people in all directions. That's where we stopped.

Many people felt ill from the heat, and although we had seen lots of ambulances and motorcycle first aid vehicles, help came from people nearby passing along water and juice.

The crowd was quiet, sad and emotionally exhausted after the long two and half weeks of searching, praying and hope. Everyone was in pain. You didn't need to know the boys or their families. The murderous attack was random though well-planned. It could have happened to anyone.

Walking back to find the buses afterwards, groups of men stopped and said the Mincha, afternoon prayer in minyan, quorums of the required ten or more. Our Shiloh bus took so long to fill that the men even called a Ma'ariv, Evening Prayer.

We arrived home very, very late.

HaMakom yinachem...
May G-d comfort the mourners...

And may G-d give wisdom to the politicians in government who are supposed to be leading us. May they make the right decisions. We must defeat Arab terrorism or these scenes will just keep on repeating themselves! We cannot make peace with terrorists who are out to destroy and murder us!!!

Destroy Arab Terrorism! No Mercy!!

Now the media is full of questions about not only what will the government do as a reaction to the brutal murder of the three teenagers  Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Frenkel and Gil-Ad Sha'ar, HaYa"D, but what is the best way to prevent more Arab terrorism.

My mind keeps going back to a time over thirty years ago, when my youngest was a baby and re-hospitalized due to a very serious infection that was also in his blood, Osteomyelitis, infection of the bone. At the time I had received the diagnosis, after taking my baby back to the hospital because his leg was red and swollen, he was just over two weeks old. The doctor explained that that my son would have to receive at least six weeks of IV (that's in the vein) antibiotics which would require hospitalization. I was warned that even after there were no superficial signs of infection or even when all tests came clean, we would have to continue the regime.
Apparently the sort of bacteria that was threatening his life was known to hide in the body without showing/causing symptoms. That was the most crucial time to destroy it, and that's why although he seemed, and probably was, perfectly healthy after only a couple of weeks of the powerful antibiotics, he needed to complete the full amount.
And thank the Good Lord and the tools He gave to the modern medical profession, my son fully recovered. 

Why is this story crowding all else from my mind today?

I have no doubt that if we don't do absolutely everything in our power to totally destroy the Arab terrorist structure, status etc., the Hamas and its ally the Fatah and ban and banish every single NGO, foreign emissary, volunteer, United Nations international organizations et al, the terrorists will keep on returning. The State of Israel must also re-sentence each and every convicted terrorist and give them the death penalty. Jail conditions must also change to minimal services and no more than that.

If we don't do everything in our power to destroy Arab terrorism we will suffer even more. Each attack will be more dangerous and audacious than the previous one.

Postmortem: After Finding the Bodies of the Three Murdered Teenagers, The Blame Game

Mako / Channel 2, Jewish Press
"The bodies of the three teenagers have been found."

Now, even before the bereaved and mourning families and friends of  have buried their beloved boys, Eyal Yifrah 19, from Elad; Gilad Sha'ar, 16, from Talmon; and Naftali Frenkel, also 16, from Nof Ayalon, HaYa"D, May G-d Avenge Their Blood, the blame game has begun.

The minute it had been announced less than three weeks ago, that three teenagers were missing and last seen at the main Gush Etzion bus stop/hitching post, the media and politicians began blaming the youths for daring to hitch/tremp a ride. Many of us who write, wrote reams in the cyber sense of things doing our best to refocus and remind everyone that Arab terrorists are obviously guilty, not tremping/hitchhiking.

I'm a pension age grandmother who frequently tremps, simply because it is the most efficient, direct and pleasant way to travel to a from work, study and visiting all over when Shiloh is my hometown. We don't own a car. Actually we never owned one. I'm impatient by nature and enjoy the interaction with friends and strangers.

The media and internet are now blaming a large variety of Israeli politicians for the kidnapping and murder of the three young teenagers.  Right now, I am focusing on one group and their supporters as the guilty party:

ARAB TERRORISTS!

Arab terrorists kidnapped and murdered the boys. Everyone who helped them are themselves also terrorists. All of those who continue to support the idea that Arab terrorists can and should have a state they are planning to call "Palestine" are among their supporters.

Bli neder, not a vow, I plan on elaborating in a later post.

We Should All Be Ripping Our Clothes in Mourning

When Gilad Schalit had been held captive by Arab terrorists, his father's campaign theme was that Gilad was "everybody's son" and we should do everything possible to free him, even release all those convicted terrorists.

I think that for many Israelis and Jews all over the world, the three Jewish teens who had been kidnapped by Arab terrorists two and a half weeks ago were also "our sons," and when a close family dies, the custom is to do kri'ah, rip part of the outer clothes. The mourner doesn't change to clean clothes daily, nor bathe except in honor of Shabbat. The three kidnapped teens, Eyal, Gil-Ad and Naftali became our sons, our responsibilities. Hearing that they had been murdered pretty much immediately after the kidnapping makes it very clear that this Arab terrorist act was for the violence and not for any political or diplomatic end.

The murderous kidnapping wasn't for negotiations, nor to show that they want a state. That is the message we must take from it. We are not dealing with rationale peace-loving people. We are not dealing with sophisticated lovers of arts and opera who just hate Jews and want to annihilate us. These Arab terrorists aren't like the German Nazis; they are worse.

There is nothing more I can say now. I'm sick to my stomach from the terrible news. I had been suspecting that we would find the dead bodies of the boys. I am not personally acquainted with the families. I hope they feel my hugs along with the support of so many others.

ברוך דיין האמת

Baruch Dayan Ha'Emet

Blessed is The True Judge

G-d Willing, We Will Soon Hear... בע"ה נשמע...

Nobody has to complete the sentence...

G-d Willing, We Will Soon Hear...

בע"ה נשמע....

Bi'ezrat Hashem nishma...

It seems like every meeting, greeting, parting includes these words, this mantra of sorts. Whether between friends, family members or total strangers. It doesn't matter where I am, what I'm doing, this is what we're all thinking about, the three kidnapped boys and their families. 

May G-d give them strength and health...

We all know who the "them/they" are. They are the people who were close to Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Frenkel before the terrible Arab terror attack, the kidnappings almost three weeks ago. Today, we all feel like we're part of the family. The campaign to wage an international public opinion campaign to force is encouraging people all over the world, in all sorts of occupations to post photographs holding signs demanding the boys' release.

Gush Shiloh Women, Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh:
#BringBackOurBoys!

So, of course the women from Shiloh and Eli who showed up yesterday to doven, pray at the site of the Ancient Biblical Tabernacle  in Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh, came prepared..We certainly would have preferred to have been celebrating the boys' return, but they are still imprisoned by Arab terrorists.

I couldn't be at the massive rally last night in Tel Aviv. I had to be at work.

Arutz 7

“The rally expresses concretely what everyone here in Israel feels,” Avi Fraenkel, father of Naftali, told Ynet.  Fraenkel remarked on the national “unity of fate and a very basic feeling of mutuality. Many people wanted to come here and we barely have time to see them, we barely have time for ourselves, and it’s an opportunity for us to do something with everybody. (Jewish Press)

In Yafiz, Sha'ar Binyamin, it was almost "business as usual," working with and selling to Arabs. However many of us did notice that the percentage of Arab customers has dropped ever since the kidnapping, even though Ramadan, which started yesterday is usually a time when they buy lots of new clothes.

The IDF is working hard searching Arab cities and towns for the boys. People are praying, specially learning, saying T'hillim (Psalms,) giving charity and more. And there are rallies of all sizes in all sorts of locations. All of this is to find the three young teenagers and G-d willing bring them safely home.

I wouldn't dare presume which of these methods will make the difference and end the personal and national nightmare G-d willing. I wouldn't dare tell someone that his or her idea is wrong. We must all do something, even more than one "something." For those who mock any of these methods, I counter by referring to how our Forefather Jacob prepared for his potentially dangerous meeting with his brother Esau who had pledged/threatened to kill him when they had last met. Bereishit, Genesis chapter 32 tells of how Jacob:

• sent Esau messengers
• sent Esau gifts
• prepared for battle
• divided his family, so there would be survivors if attacked
• prayed to G-d

The one thing he didn't do was to trust that others would save him. 

Dry Bones: Europe and anti-Jewish Terrorism

Our history is full of antisemitic attacks and wars, and in no case did any foreign power rescue us. We have only One G-d, and He must be the focus of our prayers. 

G-d Willing, We Will Soon Hear...

בע"ה נשמע....

Bi'ezrat Hashem nishma...

 Eyal Yifrach, Gil-ad Shaar, and Naftali Frenkel 

Did The Arab Terrorists Expect the Kidnapping to Escalate to War?

Gazan attack on Sderot Jerusalem Post Itsik Lev

A rocket launched from the Gaza Strip struck a factory in the industrial district of Israel's southern city of Sderot on Saturday evening. The structure broke into flames following the strike.
A group of employees manged to escape the blaze and no injuries were reported in the attack.

IMHO we're getting into war mode. We're not there yet, but it's getting closer.

I'm glad that Israel is doing everything to try to find the three kidnapped boys.

• I just hope we continue. 
• I also hope that the State of Israel will institute the death penalty for all convicted Arab terrorists. 
• I would have let the hunger-striking Arab terrorist convicts kill themselves.

I'm very concerned about the pro-Arab terrorist , pro-Palestine and anti-IDF demonstrations among Arab Israelis. 

A demonstration by Israeli Arabs against the IDF operation to locate three kidnapped Israeli teenagers turned violent on Friday afternoon, as five people were injured.
The protesters, who gathered in the Wadi Ara region in north-central Israel, waved Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags and blocked roads, while calling for the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers and for the release of all terrorists who are serving time in Israeli prisons.
Police officers who tried to disperse the demonstrators used tear gas, and the protesters responded by throwing rocks at the officers.
Two officers were among the five people who were injured in the demonstration, reported Channel 2 News. At least one protester was arrested.
Among those participating in the protest was MK Mohammed Barakeh of the far left Communist Hadash party.
"This demonstration is against the violence of the IDF and against the illegal arrests and illegal activities of the IDF in the territories," he declared. Arutz 7

It may be that it had to take such a serious act as the kidnapping of three teenage boys for the State of Israel to get out of the delusion that we can negotiate peace by being "nice." Many of us knew it a long time ago, but unfortunately the Israeli Government in trying to be Center is really far Left. This has pushed them further Right. I just hope that afterwards, when G-d wiling Eyal, Gil-Ad and Naftali will be safely home, the government won't forget the lesson.

Most important:

I hope and pray that the three teenagers, Eyal, Gil-Ad and Naftali will be found safe and sound and returned to the families and ordinary lives.