An assault on the heart of Zionism
By CALEV BEN-DAVID
Jerusalem Post, Mar 6, 2008 23:56 | Updated Mar 7, 2008 0:40
Rarely have terrorists chosen their target with so much malicious care as in Thursday night's attack on Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva.
In striking the flagship institution of the religious Zionist movement, a Jerusalem landmark whose history is linked with the founding and fulfillment of the Jewish national home in the Land of Israel, the gunman aimed his weapon at the heart of the Zionist enterprise.
If the goal was to outrage the general public and to inflame that particular segment of it most skeptical of the possibility of Israel one day coming to terms with its most immediate Arab neighbors, then the bullets struck home with deadly and accurate force.
Beyond that, as the first terrorist attack on this scale in nearly two years - since a Tel Aviv suicide bomber killed nine in April 2006 - the impact of this incident will be profound.
This will be a sharp blow for those Israelis, especially Jerusalemites, who have allowed themselves to let their psychological guard down since the second intifada petered out. That the gunman was able to carry out this operation in the heart of a crowded Jerusalem neighborhood, some distance away from the Arab neighborhoods of the capital, will raise serious questions about assumptions made since the construction of the West Bank security barrier.
The Olmert government, which until now has been able to contain political fallout from the rocket fire on Sderot and Ashkelon in part because of the absence of major attacks elsewhere in the country, will now find its margin of error - and survival - dramatically narrowed.
The efforts by both Jerusalem and Washington to renew the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, interrupted by the fighting in Gaza, will now be officially put on hold, and picking up the pieces in the wake of this outrage will not be easy.
The grief and fury in particular of the religious-Zionist sector will be beyond measure at this violent desecration of the cradle of their movement. The current efforts by the government to reach an accommodation with the settler leadership on the removal of outposts will have been in vain for the time being, as any spirit of compromise will be buried with the victims of this atrocity.
Israel's radical Islamic enemies - Hamas, Islamic Jihad or Hizbullah - have talked in the past month about dealing a blow to Israel that would go beyond any of those they have carried out before.
The death toll last night was nowhere near the worst of those attacks they have carried out in the past. But in bringing their war of terror right into the halls of Mercaz Harav, the institution founded by and embodied with the spirit of the Zionist's movement's most revered religious figure, the Yishuv's first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the terrorists struck with the most terribly precise accuracy they have demonstrated to date.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Blackening the Palestinian soul
Gil Troy, National Post, Saturday, March 08, 2008
Sometimes, for a brief moment, the clouds part and the moral issues surrounding the Middle East conflict become clear.
This week's shooting at a Jerusalem school shined a harsh spotlight on the nihilistic violence that lies at the core of Palestinian nationalism. Building an entire ideology -- eagerly fed by the rest of the Arab world -- that focuses so much on attacking the Jewish state is perverse and self-destructive. In the wake of this week's tragedy, the challenge now is for those forces able to trigger reforms within Palestinian society to recognize its self-destructive path, and demand change.
On Thursday, a Palestinian terrorist entered the library of a Jerusalem Yeshiva, Mercaz HaRav, and sprayed students with as many as 600 bullets. Moments later, eight students, ranging in age from 15 to 26, lay dead, and another 10 lay wounded. Although Palestinian President Mahmoud Ab-bas vaguely condemned "all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli," this bloodbath triggered celebrations in Gaza and the West Bank. Gazans proudly shot rifles into the air and threw candy in delight. The murderer's family claims his entire village is proud of him.
By contrast, earlier in the week, when Israel felt compelled to enter Gaza temporarily after over 7,000 rockets had rained down on the town of Sderot during seven trying years, and long-range rockets from Iran had ripped into the city of Ashkelon, Israel's soldiers tried hitting surgically. Most of the Gazan dead were terrorists -- and the civilian casualties that resulted triggered an anguished debate among Israelis. The bystanders' deaths were mourned not celebrated; the difficult dilemma of how to fight an enemy embedded among civilians was dissected endlessly.
Imagine that after the Dawson College shootings in Montreal last year, the gunman Kimveer Gill had become a pop star to young Americans, and no American leaders specifically condemned worshiping this murderer. How would Canadians react? Imagine that Mexicans toasted Steven Kazmierczak on the streets of Tijuana after he slaughtered five students at Northern Illinois University last month. Would Americans forgive Mexicans for the gesture? Would they consider making political concessions to Mexico as a result? The celebration of this sort of slaughter entails a dehumanization of the victims so intense as to dehumanize the apologist. Such hatred is all-consuming.
This addiction to violence has been the Palestinian national movement's central failing. The repeated embrace of violence over compromise, and the celebration of barbaric terrorist attacks, serve to blacken the soul, individually and collectively. Such mindless outward violence inevitably leads to a society that solves internal problems with similar brutality. The Fatah-Hamas blood feuds in the West Bank and Gaza reveal the legacy of decades of Jew-hatred. Former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir's insight rings truer than ever: As long as Palestinians hate Israeli children more than they love their own kids, peace is unattainable. As long as organizations such as Hamas invest more in trying to destroy Israeli society than building a Palestinian state, the violence will only fester.
Not surprisingly, the United Nations Security Council refused to condemn the Mercaz HaRav attack. As long as phrases such as "cycle of violence" are used to rationalize pathological behaviour, the most violent nihilists in the Palestinian national movement will feel emboldened. The equivocators enable the terror, and share the blame -- at least indirectly.
Another truism of unclear origin: If the Palestinians had produced a Gandhi, instead of a Yasser Arafat, if the Palestinians had relied on non-violence not terrorism, they would have had a strong, viable state long ago. To that insight, we must add a new truism: If so many people in the world did not equivocate in the face of Palestinian terror, let alone justify it, peace would have been achieved long ago, too.
The enablers and perpetrators of terror are both guilty, not only of crimes against Israel, but of crimes against humanity.
Gil Troy is Professor of History at McGill University.
Sometimes, for a brief moment, the clouds part and the moral issues surrounding the Middle East conflict become clear.
This week's shooting at a Jerusalem school shined a harsh spotlight on the nihilistic violence that lies at the core of Palestinian nationalism. Building an entire ideology -- eagerly fed by the rest of the Arab world -- that focuses so much on attacking the Jewish state is perverse and self-destructive. In the wake of this week's tragedy, the challenge now is for those forces able to trigger reforms within Palestinian society to recognize its self-destructive path, and demand change.
On Thursday, a Palestinian terrorist entered the library of a Jerusalem Yeshiva, Mercaz HaRav, and sprayed students with as many as 600 bullets. Moments later, eight students, ranging in age from 15 to 26, lay dead, and another 10 lay wounded. Although Palestinian President Mahmoud Ab-bas vaguely condemned "all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli," this bloodbath triggered celebrations in Gaza and the West Bank. Gazans proudly shot rifles into the air and threw candy in delight. The murderer's family claims his entire village is proud of him.
By contrast, earlier in the week, when Israel felt compelled to enter Gaza temporarily after over 7,000 rockets had rained down on the town of Sderot during seven trying years, and long-range rockets from Iran had ripped into the city of Ashkelon, Israel's soldiers tried hitting surgically. Most of the Gazan dead were terrorists -- and the civilian casualties that resulted triggered an anguished debate among Israelis. The bystanders' deaths were mourned not celebrated; the difficult dilemma of how to fight an enemy embedded among civilians was dissected endlessly.
Imagine that after the Dawson College shootings in Montreal last year, the gunman Kimveer Gill had become a pop star to young Americans, and no American leaders specifically condemned worshiping this murderer. How would Canadians react? Imagine that Mexicans toasted Steven Kazmierczak on the streets of Tijuana after he slaughtered five students at Northern Illinois University last month. Would Americans forgive Mexicans for the gesture? Would they consider making political concessions to Mexico as a result? The celebration of this sort of slaughter entails a dehumanization of the victims so intense as to dehumanize the apologist. Such hatred is all-consuming.
This addiction to violence has been the Palestinian national movement's central failing. The repeated embrace of violence over compromise, and the celebration of barbaric terrorist attacks, serve to blacken the soul, individually and collectively. Such mindless outward violence inevitably leads to a society that solves internal problems with similar brutality. The Fatah-Hamas blood feuds in the West Bank and Gaza reveal the legacy of decades of Jew-hatred. Former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir's insight rings truer than ever: As long as Palestinians hate Israeli children more than they love their own kids, peace is unattainable. As long as organizations such as Hamas invest more in trying to destroy Israeli society than building a Palestinian state, the violence will only fester.
Not surprisingly, the United Nations Security Council refused to condemn the Mercaz HaRav attack. As long as phrases such as "cycle of violence" are used to rationalize pathological behaviour, the most violent nihilists in the Palestinian national movement will feel emboldened. The equivocators enable the terror, and share the blame -- at least indirectly.
Another truism of unclear origin: If the Palestinians had produced a Gandhi, instead of a Yasser Arafat, if the Palestinians had relied on non-violence not terrorism, they would have had a strong, viable state long ago. To that insight, we must add a new truism: If so many people in the world did not equivocate in the face of Palestinian terror, let alone justify it, peace would have been achieved long ago, too.
The enablers and perpetrators of terror are both guilty, not only of crimes against Israel, but of crimes against humanity.
Gil Troy is Professor of History at McGill University.
Gil Troy on the Palestinian national movement's addiction to violence
By Gil Troy, National Post, March 07, 2008
Sometimes, for a brief moment, the clouds part and the moral issues surrounding the Middle East conflict become clear.
This week’s shooting at a Jerusalem school shined a harsh spotlight on the nihilistic violence that lies at the core of Palestinian nationalism. Building an entire ideology — eagerly fed by the rest of the Arab world — that focuses so much on attacking the Jewish state is perverse and self-destructive. In the wake of this week’s tragedy, the challenge now is for those forces able to trigger reforms within Palestinian society to recognize its self-destructive path, and demand change.
On Thursday, a Palestinian terrorist entered the library of a Jerusalem Yeshiva, Mercaz HaRav, and sprayed students with as many as 600 bullets. Moments later, eight students, ranging in age from 15 to 26, lay dead, and another 10 lay wounded. Although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vaguely condemned “all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli,” this bloodbath triggered celebrations in Gaza and the West Bank. Gazans proudly shot rifles into the air and threw candy in delight. The murderer’s family claims his entire village is proud of him.
By contrast, earlier in the week, when Israel felt compelled to enter Gaza temporarily after over 7,000 rockets had rained down on the town of Sderot during seven trying years, and long-range rockets from Iran had ripped into the city of Ashkelon, Israel’s soldiers tried hitting surgically. Most of the Gazan dead were terrorists — and the civilian casualties that resulted triggered an anguished debate among Israelis. The bystanders’ deaths were mourned not celebrated; the difficult dilemma of how to fight an enemy embedded among civilians was dissected endlessly.
Imagine that after the Dawson College shootings in Montreal last year, the gunman Kimveer Gill had become a pop star to young Americans, and no American leaders specifically condemned worshiping this murderer. How would Canadians react? Imagine that Mexicans toasted Steven Kazmierczak on the streets of Tijuana after he slaughtered five students at Northern Illinois University last month. Would Americans forgive Mexicans for the gesture? Would they consider making political concessions to Mexico as a result? The celebration of this sort of slaughter entails a dehumanization of the victims so intense as to dehumanize the apologist. Such hatred is all-consuming.
This addiction to violence has been the Palestinian national movement’s central failing. The repeated embrace of violence over compromise, and the celebration of barbaric terrorist attacks, serve to blacken the soul, individually and collectively. Such mindless outward violence inevitably leads to a society that solves internal problems with similar brutality. The Fatah-Hamas blood feuds in the West Bank and Gaza reveal the legacy of decades of Jew-hatred. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s insight rings truer than ever: As long as Palestinians hate Israeli children more than they love their own kids, peace is unattainable. As long as organizations such as Hamas invest more in trying to destroy Israeli society than building a Palestinian state, the violence will only fester.
Not surprisingly, the United Nations Security Council refused to condemn the Mercaz HaRav attack. As long as phrases such as “cycle of violence” are used to rationalize pathological behaviour, the most violent nihilists in the Palestinian national movement will feel emboldened. The equivocators enable the terror, and share the blame — at least indirectly.
Another truism of unclear origin: If the Palestinians had produced a Gandhi, instead of a Yasser Arafat, if the Palestinians had relied on non-violence not terrorism, they would have had a strong, viable state long ago. To that insight, we must add a new truism: that if so many people in the world did not equivocate in the face of Palestinian terror, let alone justify it, peace would have been achieved long ago, too.
The enablers and perpetrators of terror are both guilty, not only of crimes against Israel, but of crimes against humanity.
Gil Troy is Professor of History at McGill University.
Sometimes, for a brief moment, the clouds part and the moral issues surrounding the Middle East conflict become clear.
This week’s shooting at a Jerusalem school shined a harsh spotlight on the nihilistic violence that lies at the core of Palestinian nationalism. Building an entire ideology — eagerly fed by the rest of the Arab world — that focuses so much on attacking the Jewish state is perverse and self-destructive. In the wake of this week’s tragedy, the challenge now is for those forces able to trigger reforms within Palestinian society to recognize its self-destructive path, and demand change.
On Thursday, a Palestinian terrorist entered the library of a Jerusalem Yeshiva, Mercaz HaRav, and sprayed students with as many as 600 bullets. Moments later, eight students, ranging in age from 15 to 26, lay dead, and another 10 lay wounded. Although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vaguely condemned “all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli,” this bloodbath triggered celebrations in Gaza and the West Bank. Gazans proudly shot rifles into the air and threw candy in delight. The murderer’s family claims his entire village is proud of him.
By contrast, earlier in the week, when Israel felt compelled to enter Gaza temporarily after over 7,000 rockets had rained down on the town of Sderot during seven trying years, and long-range rockets from Iran had ripped into the city of Ashkelon, Israel’s soldiers tried hitting surgically. Most of the Gazan dead were terrorists — and the civilian casualties that resulted triggered an anguished debate among Israelis. The bystanders’ deaths were mourned not celebrated; the difficult dilemma of how to fight an enemy embedded among civilians was dissected endlessly.
Imagine that after the Dawson College shootings in Montreal last year, the gunman Kimveer Gill had become a pop star to young Americans, and no American leaders specifically condemned worshiping this murderer. How would Canadians react? Imagine that Mexicans toasted Steven Kazmierczak on the streets of Tijuana after he slaughtered five students at Northern Illinois University last month. Would Americans forgive Mexicans for the gesture? Would they consider making political concessions to Mexico as a result? The celebration of this sort of slaughter entails a dehumanization of the victims so intense as to dehumanize the apologist. Such hatred is all-consuming.
This addiction to violence has been the Palestinian national movement’s central failing. The repeated embrace of violence over compromise, and the celebration of barbaric terrorist attacks, serve to blacken the soul, individually and collectively. Such mindless outward violence inevitably leads to a society that solves internal problems with similar brutality. The Fatah-Hamas blood feuds in the West Bank and Gaza reveal the legacy of decades of Jew-hatred. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s insight rings truer than ever: As long as Palestinians hate Israeli children more than they love their own kids, peace is unattainable. As long as organizations such as Hamas invest more in trying to destroy Israeli society than building a Palestinian state, the violence will only fester.
Not surprisingly, the United Nations Security Council refused to condemn the Mercaz HaRav attack. As long as phrases such as “cycle of violence” are used to rationalize pathological behaviour, the most violent nihilists in the Palestinian national movement will feel emboldened. The equivocators enable the terror, and share the blame — at least indirectly.
Another truism of unclear origin: If the Palestinians had produced a Gandhi, instead of a Yasser Arafat, if the Palestinians had relied on non-violence not terrorism, they would have had a strong, viable state long ago. To that insight, we must add a new truism: that if so many people in the world did not equivocate in the face of Palestinian terror, let alone justify it, peace would have been achieved long ago, too.
The enablers and perpetrators of terror are both guilty, not only of crimes against Israel, but of crimes against humanity.
Gil Troy is Professor of History at McGill University.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Processions draw thousands
JTA, 03/07/2008
Thousands turned out for the the funeral processions for the eight students -- including the son of American immigrants -- killed in a terrorist attack on the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva.
Media reports identified the dead buried Friday as Yochai Lipschitz, 18; Yonatan Yitzchak Eldar, 16; Yonadav Chaim Hirschfeld; Neriah Cohen, 15; Roey Roth, 18; Segev Pniel Avihayil, 15; Avraham David Moses, 16; and Doron Meherete Trunoch, 26.
Moses, 16, was the son of two Americans who had moved to Israel several years ago, according to the New York Times.
His mother, Rivka Moriah, was originally from New England and his father, Naftali Moses, was from Long Island. He was buried in Gush Etzion, just inside the West Bank.
“He was a really good kid,” his stepmother, Leah Moses, who grew up in New Jersey, told the Times. “He was just an incredible blessing.”
The processions started at the yeshiva on Jerusalem's outskirts, where the yeshiva's director, Rabbi Ya'akov Shapira, delivered a eulogy charging the government with failing to deliver strong leadership and face down a deadly enemy.
He called for a "good leadership, a stronger leadership, a more believing leadership" and said: "The murderer did not want to kill these people in particular, but everyone living in the holy city of Jerusalem."
The yeshiva is identified with the settler movement and a number of the victims came from settlements. Processions continued to victims' hometowns.
The attacker, reportedly a former driver for the yeshiva, came from Jebel Mukaber, a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem. He walked into the cafeteria late Thursday evening and opened fire before being gunned down in retaliatory fire.
Thousands turned out for the the funeral processions for the eight students -- including the son of American immigrants -- killed in a terrorist attack on the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva.
Media reports identified the dead buried Friday as Yochai Lipschitz, 18; Yonatan Yitzchak Eldar, 16; Yonadav Chaim Hirschfeld; Neriah Cohen, 15; Roey Roth, 18; Segev Pniel Avihayil, 15; Avraham David Moses, 16; and Doron Meherete Trunoch, 26.
Moses, 16, was the son of two Americans who had moved to Israel several years ago, according to the New York Times.
His mother, Rivka Moriah, was originally from New England and his father, Naftali Moses, was from Long Island. He was buried in Gush Etzion, just inside the West Bank.
“He was a really good kid,” his stepmother, Leah Moses, who grew up in New Jersey, told the Times. “He was just an incredible blessing.”
The processions started at the yeshiva on Jerusalem's outskirts, where the yeshiva's director, Rabbi Ya'akov Shapira, delivered a eulogy charging the government with failing to deliver strong leadership and face down a deadly enemy.
He called for a "good leadership, a stronger leadership, a more believing leadership" and said: "The murderer did not want to kill these people in particular, but everyone living in the holy city of Jerusalem."
The yeshiva is identified with the settler movement and a number of the victims came from settlements. Processions continued to victims' hometowns.
The attacker, reportedly a former driver for the yeshiva, came from Jebel Mukaber, a Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem. He walked into the cafeteria late Thursday evening and opened fire before being gunned down in retaliatory fire.
Police chief: J'lem attack is not start of 3rd intifada
Mar 7, 2008 17:05 | Updated Mar 7, 2008 22:46
Police chief: J'lem attack is not start of 3rd intifada
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
Police Chief Insp.-Gen. Dudi Cohen on Friday said that Thursday's terror attack could not have been prevented even if there would have been a security guard at the entrance of the yeshiva.
"The terrorist was very decisive and well prepared with a big arsenal of weapons - a real war machine. No security guard could have prevented the attack," Cohen said.
During a press conference which he held Friday afternoon, Cohen said there was no reason to believe the event was the beginning of a third Intifada.
Also on Friday, Hamas backtracked on their claim of responsibility for the deadly attack in Jerusalem.
Ibrahim Daher, head of Hamas' al-Aqsa radio, said his station put out an earlier claim of responsibility prematurely, based on confused information.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, confirmed the group was not taking credit for the attack - at least yet.
"There may be a later announcement ... But we don't claim this honor yet," he said.
Earlier, a Hamas radio presenter said the group's military wing had "promised a jolting response" to this week's violence in the Gaza Strip in which more than 120 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military, many of them in the northern Gaza town Jebaliya.
The radio referred to the Jerusalem attack as "the fruits of what happened in Jebaliya" and called on believers to "celebrate this victory against the brutal enemy."
The announcement came as thousands of mourners marched in funeral processions for the dead students, a closure was imposed on the West Bank and an Israeli official indicated that fledgling peace talks with the Palestinians would go on despite the violence.
Israel will push ahead with talks "so as not to punish moderate Palestinians for actions by people who are not just our enemies but theirs as well," the Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the government had yet to make an official announcement.
Meanwhilem, Israel Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman on Friday blamed Thursday's terror attack in Jerusalem on Arab MKs in the Knesset.
"Whoever calls on IDF operations in Gaza which are aimed to protect southern residents 'war crimes' cannot escape from responsibility for the terror attack."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has condemned the Jerusalem attack, describing it as "an attempt to strike a blow at the very heart of the peace process".
Mr Brown said he had sent his condolences to Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Olmert.
Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter on Friday called for the expulsion to the West Bank of Arabs in east Jerusalem who have been involved in terrorist activity.
"We need to find a legal and legitimate way to kick those few Palestinian Arabs in east Jerusalem who make it their choice to aid and take part in terrorism back to Ramallah," Dichter told mourners, referring to the major West Bank city on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Police chief: J'lem attack is not start of 3rd intifada
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
Police Chief Insp.-Gen. Dudi Cohen on Friday said that Thursday's terror attack could not have been prevented even if there would have been a security guard at the entrance of the yeshiva.
"The terrorist was very decisive and well prepared with a big arsenal of weapons - a real war machine. No security guard could have prevented the attack," Cohen said.
During a press conference which he held Friday afternoon, Cohen said there was no reason to believe the event was the beginning of a third Intifada.
Also on Friday, Hamas backtracked on their claim of responsibility for the deadly attack in Jerusalem.
Ibrahim Daher, head of Hamas' al-Aqsa radio, said his station put out an earlier claim of responsibility prematurely, based on confused information.
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, confirmed the group was not taking credit for the attack - at least yet.
"There may be a later announcement ... But we don't claim this honor yet," he said.
Earlier, a Hamas radio presenter said the group's military wing had "promised a jolting response" to this week's violence in the Gaza Strip in which more than 120 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military, many of them in the northern Gaza town Jebaliya.
The radio referred to the Jerusalem attack as "the fruits of what happened in Jebaliya" and called on believers to "celebrate this victory against the brutal enemy."
The announcement came as thousands of mourners marched in funeral processions for the dead students, a closure was imposed on the West Bank and an Israeli official indicated that fledgling peace talks with the Palestinians would go on despite the violence.
Israel will push ahead with talks "so as not to punish moderate Palestinians for actions by people who are not just our enemies but theirs as well," the Israeli official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the government had yet to make an official announcement.
Meanwhilem, Israel Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman on Friday blamed Thursday's terror attack in Jerusalem on Arab MKs in the Knesset.
"Whoever calls on IDF operations in Gaza which are aimed to protect southern residents 'war crimes' cannot escape from responsibility for the terror attack."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has condemned the Jerusalem attack, describing it as "an attempt to strike a blow at the very heart of the peace process".
Mr Brown said he had sent his condolences to Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Olmert.
Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dichter on Friday called for the expulsion to the West Bank of Arabs in east Jerusalem who have been involved in terrorist activity.
"We need to find a legal and legitimate way to kick those few Palestinian Arabs in east Jerusalem who make it their choice to aid and take part in terrorism back to Ramallah," Dichter told mourners, referring to the major West Bank city on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Mercaz Harav hit by worst terror attack since April 2006
From the Jerusalem Post:
Mercaz Harav hit by worst terror attack since April 2006
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS, March 6, 2008
A Palestinian terrorist opened fire at a central Jerusalem yeshiva late Thursday night, killing eight students and wounding 10 others, police and rescue officials said.
The 8:45 p.m. shooting at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood broke a two-year lull in terror in the capital and sent students scurrying for cover from a hail of gunfire - a reported 500-600 bullets - that lasted for several minutes.
"There were horrendous screams of 'Help us! Help us!'" recounted Avrahami Sheinberger of the ZAKA emergency rescue service, one of the first to respond to the scene. "There were bodies strewn all over the floor, at the entrance to the yeshiva, in various rooms and in the library."
As security forces raced to the scene, the gunman fired round after round of ammunition into the library at the seminary, religious Zionism's flagship institution. About 80 students had gathered in the library to celebrate the Hebrew month of Adar II, which begins on Friday evening.
It was not immediately clear, late Thursday night, whether there was a security guard at the entrance to the yeshiva.
Channel 2 reported that the terrorist carried a blue Israeli identity card and came from east Jerusalem.
Initial reports of a second terrorist on the loose proved unfounded, police said.
"We heard shooting and knew that something had happened," recounted Yitzhak Dadon, 40, who studies at the yeshiva. Dadon said he cocked his handgun and went up to the roof of the yeshiva, where he saw the terrorist spraying gunfire indiscriminately at the crowd inside. Dadon said he fired two bullets at the terrorist, who began to stumble.
At the same time, police arrived at the scene and an intense gunfight erupted with the terrorist lasting several minutes, witnesses said. The scent of gunpowder wafted in the air as undercover police stormed the building.
Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco said the terrorist was killed by an IDF officer who lives near the yeshiva and raced to the scene.
Rescue workers recounted a grisly picture of students hiding under desks and locking themselves in classrooms to avoid being caught in the hail of bullets.
Yerach Toker, a paramedic for United Hatzola of Israel, said he saw several dead yeshiva students on the library's floor. "Some of them were still holding sacred Jewish books smeared with blood from which they were learning before they were murdered," he said.
"I heard an explosion and I quickly understood that this was gunfire," said Nuri Davidov, 21. "We hid in a room and, from a window, we could see the terrorist opening fire at other students."
"We had just finished evening prayers and suddenly we heard a burst of gunfire," said Dr. Yitzhak Luber, who was attending a class at the yeshiva. "We all immediately ducked on the floor."
Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said the dead gunman was wearing a vest that at first appeared to be an explosives vest but turned out to be a belt holding extra ammunition.
Outside the yeshiva after the attack, crowds of angry onlookers shouted "Death to Arabs!" as rescue workers rushed the wounded to city hospitals.
Franco said that there was no specific intelligence warning about such an impending attack, although there were general alerts for terrorist attacks in the city.
Police were on heightened alert ahead of Friday prayers on the Temple Mount after a major IDF operation in the Gaza Strip earlier in the week.
Hizbullah's Al-Manar satellite television station announced Thursday that a relatively unknown Israeli Arab group called the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza was responsible for the shooting attack. "Galilee Freedom Battalions - the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza claimed responsibility for the Jerusalem operation," read the message that flashed across Al-Manar's screen.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was informed of the attack after holding security meetings in Tel Aviv. He spoke immediately after the attack with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, and held consultations with his advisers and security officials.
Lupolianski told Channel 2, "It's very sad tonight in Jerusalem - many people were killed in the heart of Jerusalem."
The Foreign Ministry said the attack would not stop Israel's peace efforts. "Talks will continue," a spokesman said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. "The president condemns all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli," the PA said in a statement.
In Gaza City, residents went out into the streets and fired rifles in the air in celebration after hearing news of the attack on the yeshiva.
At Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which is only a few minutes' drive from the yeshiva, the most seriously wounded student - who had bullet holes in many parts of his body - was rushed to the operating room. Spokeswoman Shoham Ruvio said he looked about 18 years old. Two other wounded students were in moderate condition, while four were lightly wounded. The age of the wounded was estimated at 16 to 28.
At Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, three wounded were received. Two were in serious condition in the trauma room, while one was lightly wounded.
According to eyewitnesses, the students initially thought that the gunfire was fireworks - part of a party underway to celebrate the beginning of Adar II.
The Mercaz Harav Yeshiva is considered the leading national-religious yeshiva in Israel, with hundreds of elite students. Among its thousands of graduates are leading public figures including senior rabbis and IDF officers. It was founded in 1924 by mandatory Palestine's first chief rabbi, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook. Its longtime head, Rabbi Avraham Shapira, died in September 2007.
Rabbi David Stav, one of many prominent graduates of the yeshiva, which has produced the bulk of the spiritual leadership of religious Zionism in Israel, said that the attack had been directed at the heart of religious Zionism.
"Mercaz Harav is the flagship of the entire religious Zionist movement," said Stav. "The terrorist targeted a place that symbolizes love for the land of Israel, love for the people of Israel and love for the Torah. No Jewish soul can remain indifferent to the horrible thought that a despicable terrorist attacked a group of young men who were busy studying the holy Torah."
[A student wounded in the...]
A student wounded in the shooting attack in Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva is evacuated to Sha'arei Tzedek Hospital.
Photo: AP
Stav, who has been involved in interfaith dialogue with Israeli Muslim spiritual leaders via an organization called Kedem, said that Thursday night's attack underscores the cruelty and evil of Islamic-inspired terrorism. "Followers of Islam claim they respect the people of the book. But this horrific act proves the emptiness of their claims."
Rabbi David Simhon, the educational director of the yeshiva, said "the people of Israel will not be broken" by attacks such as this.
Matthew Wagner, Judy Siegel and Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
Mercaz Harav hit by worst terror attack since April 2006
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS, March 6, 2008
A Palestinian terrorist opened fire at a central Jerusalem yeshiva late Thursday night, killing eight students and wounding 10 others, police and rescue officials said.
The 8:45 p.m. shooting at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood broke a two-year lull in terror in the capital and sent students scurrying for cover from a hail of gunfire - a reported 500-600 bullets - that lasted for several minutes.
"There were horrendous screams of 'Help us! Help us!'" recounted Avrahami Sheinberger of the ZAKA emergency rescue service, one of the first to respond to the scene. "There were bodies strewn all over the floor, at the entrance to the yeshiva, in various rooms and in the library."
As security forces raced to the scene, the gunman fired round after round of ammunition into the library at the seminary, religious Zionism's flagship institution. About 80 students had gathered in the library to celebrate the Hebrew month of Adar II, which begins on Friday evening.
It was not immediately clear, late Thursday night, whether there was a security guard at the entrance to the yeshiva.
Channel 2 reported that the terrorist carried a blue Israeli identity card and came from east Jerusalem.
Initial reports of a second terrorist on the loose proved unfounded, police said.
"We heard shooting and knew that something had happened," recounted Yitzhak Dadon, 40, who studies at the yeshiva. Dadon said he cocked his handgun and went up to the roof of the yeshiva, where he saw the terrorist spraying gunfire indiscriminately at the crowd inside. Dadon said he fired two bullets at the terrorist, who began to stumble.
At the same time, police arrived at the scene and an intense gunfight erupted with the terrorist lasting several minutes, witnesses said. The scent of gunpowder wafted in the air as undercover police stormed the building.
Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco said the terrorist was killed by an IDF officer who lives near the yeshiva and raced to the scene.
Rescue workers recounted a grisly picture of students hiding under desks and locking themselves in classrooms to avoid being caught in the hail of bullets.
Yerach Toker, a paramedic for United Hatzola of Israel, said he saw several dead yeshiva students on the library's floor. "Some of them were still holding sacred Jewish books smeared with blood from which they were learning before they were murdered," he said.
"I heard an explosion and I quickly understood that this was gunfire," said Nuri Davidov, 21. "We hid in a room and, from a window, we could see the terrorist opening fire at other students."
"We had just finished evening prayers and suddenly we heard a burst of gunfire," said Dr. Yitzhak Luber, who was attending a class at the yeshiva. "We all immediately ducked on the floor."
Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben Ruby said the dead gunman was wearing a vest that at first appeared to be an explosives vest but turned out to be a belt holding extra ammunition.
Outside the yeshiva after the attack, crowds of angry onlookers shouted "Death to Arabs!" as rescue workers rushed the wounded to city hospitals.
Franco said that there was no specific intelligence warning about such an impending attack, although there were general alerts for terrorist attacks in the city.
Police were on heightened alert ahead of Friday prayers on the Temple Mount after a major IDF operation in the Gaza Strip earlier in the week.
Hizbullah's Al-Manar satellite television station announced Thursday that a relatively unknown Israeli Arab group called the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza was responsible for the shooting attack. "Galilee Freedom Battalions - the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh and Gaza claimed responsibility for the Jerusalem operation," read the message that flashed across Al-Manar's screen.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was informed of the attack after holding security meetings in Tel Aviv. He spoke immediately after the attack with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, and held consultations with his advisers and security officials.
Lupolianski told Channel 2, "It's very sad tonight in Jerusalem - many people were killed in the heart of Jerusalem."
The Foreign Ministry said the attack would not stop Israel's peace efforts. "Talks will continue," a spokesman said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. "The president condemns all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli," the PA said in a statement.
In Gaza City, residents went out into the streets and fired rifles in the air in celebration after hearing news of the attack on the yeshiva.
At Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which is only a few minutes' drive from the yeshiva, the most seriously wounded student - who had bullet holes in many parts of his body - was rushed to the operating room. Spokeswoman Shoham Ruvio said he looked about 18 years old. Two other wounded students were in moderate condition, while four were lightly wounded. The age of the wounded was estimated at 16 to 28.
At Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, three wounded were received. Two were in serious condition in the trauma room, while one was lightly wounded.
According to eyewitnesses, the students initially thought that the gunfire was fireworks - part of a party underway to celebrate the beginning of Adar II.
The Mercaz Harav Yeshiva is considered the leading national-religious yeshiva in Israel, with hundreds of elite students. Among its thousands of graduates are leading public figures including senior rabbis and IDF officers. It was founded in 1924 by mandatory Palestine's first chief rabbi, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook. Its longtime head, Rabbi Avraham Shapira, died in September 2007.
Rabbi David Stav, one of many prominent graduates of the yeshiva, which has produced the bulk of the spiritual leadership of religious Zionism in Israel, said that the attack had been directed at the heart of religious Zionism.
"Mercaz Harav is the flagship of the entire religious Zionist movement," said Stav. "The terrorist targeted a place that symbolizes love for the land of Israel, love for the people of Israel and love for the Torah. No Jewish soul can remain indifferent to the horrible thought that a despicable terrorist attacked a group of young men who were busy studying the holy Torah."
[A student wounded in the...]
A student wounded in the shooting attack in Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva is evacuated to Sha'arei Tzedek Hospital.
Photo: AP
Stav, who has been involved in interfaith dialogue with Israeli Muslim spiritual leaders via an organization called Kedem, said that Thursday night's attack underscores the cruelty and evil of Islamic-inspired terrorism. "Followers of Islam claim they respect the people of the book. But this horrific act proves the emptiness of their claims."
Rabbi David Simhon, the educational director of the yeshiva, said "the people of Israel will not be broken" by attacks such as this.
Matthew Wagner, Judy Siegel and Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Remember civilians' extraordinary morale
Center Field: Remember civilians' extraordinary morale
Posted by Gil Troy
Jerusalem Post, Wednesday Feb 06, 2008
In early January, a small ceremony that balanced out the drama of the recent Winograd Commission pronouncements took place in the Israeli Air Force personnel offices, at "HaKiryah," IDF headquarters in downtown Tel Aviv. An Air Force colonel awarded certificates of appreciation to seven civilians who crisscrossed the country boosting soldier's morale during the Second Lebanon War. (Full disclosure: I was one of those honored, having played a minor role in the initiative).
The main honoree was Haim Avraham. Haim's son Benny Avraham, z"l and two other Israeli soldiers were supposedly kidnapped but actually killed by Hizbullah along the Lebanese border in 2000. As soon as the fighting broke out six years later, Haim mobilized his wife Edna, their two daughters, Efrat and Dafna, two colleagues from the Ramat Gan Histadrut, and others of us who helped the family during the torturous years when the Avraham, Avitan, and Souad families traveled the world trying to ascertain their sons' fate. Haim and his family recognized their symbolic role in this new war, having lost Benny under eerily similar circumstances. Thirteen times over the next six weeks they visited the Northern border and military bases throughout Israel, dispensing 250,000 shekels worth of donated soda, cigarettes, books, candy, underwear, and aftershave to comfort soldiers. More important, they hugged the soldiers and cried with them, giving them the priceless gift of a morale boost from a family that understood exactly why Israel needed to fight.
Haim considers the war "an important success," rejecting the Winograd Commission's labeling the war a failure. As a veteran who served in Golani, Battalion 13, and in the Air Force's cargo plane division for a quarter of a century, Haim acknowledges "there were problems, there were personnel issues, there were tactical mistakes." Still, he sees three central accomplishments. First, "we pushed back at Hizbullah, destroying much of the group's infrastructure, leveling Hizbullah headquarters, and restoring some deterrence." Second, "we built a consensus in Europe against Hizbullah, and now Hamas." Haim is thrilled that the United Nations Security Council put an international force in Southern Lebanon . Finally, "the support for Hizbullah in Lebanon weakened." A realist, Haim confesses: "We couldn't have achieved all our war aims without destroying Lebanon , so we stopped. Still, we bought some quiet for a few years."
According to Haim, while every war has a military element and a political element, another, equally important, element is "the morale of the people and of the army." This dimension the Winograd commission overlooked. It is essential during wartime to tell both soldiers and civilians that "we care about them, we think about them," Haim explains. "I thought I could give of myself, pay attention to the little things," he says. "What did I bring them? Nothing - but soldiers reacted to the fact that someone from the home front was paying attention, especially seeing that someone who had already paid the ultimate price understood exactly what the soldiers were doing. The soldier is working hard, eating the dust, breathing in the smoke. We met many right after battle exiting from Lebanon ," Haim recalls. "And make no mistake about it, war is war. Friends were killed near them. They exited dirty with sweat and mud, the smell of battle still hanging on them, looking at you through eyes that hadn’t slept all night. And then, all of a sudden, when the soldier sees a civilian who hugs him, it raises his morale. It reminds him what the fight is all about."
Haim is right. During the extraordinary day I spent with Haim and his merry band of morale raisers, I saw what Israel 's "Dr. Hug" could do. I saw all these tough, gruff battle-scarred recruits melt right back into the extremely young - and quite frightened - boys they are, when Haim hugged each and every one of them, at each and every stop.
Haim's initiative was one of hundreds of volunteer efforts that flourished during the summer of 2006. We forget amid this nearly-two-year orgy of recriminations how magnificently the "home front" performed. Secular and religious kids streamed up north, working together to help the people who had nowhere to go, as Israelis in the center and the south opened their homes - and hearts - to friends, relatives, and strangers, displaced by Hizbullah's hellish hail of Katyusha rockets.
These stories fill out the picture of the war. They do not compensate for the shoddy preparation, the equipment shortages, the air-force-heavy strategy, the hesitance to commit ground troops. Haim's analysis, focusing on the importance of morale, in fact highlights one of the Winograd commissions' most scandalous findings - that it took almost a month before the army issued a general order to deal with the Katyushas. This fact alone would justify calls for Ehud Olmert's resignation. Generals are paid to be arrogant, to dismiss Katyushas as military insignificant annoyances that should not distract from their mission. But healthy democracies need civilians in charge, with enough empathy for the people and standing with the army to redirect the military when generals minimize civilian suffering.
A government's primary function is protecting its people. Sadly, in the summer of 2006, Israel failed to fulfill that task for half a million civilians. Remembering, nevertheless, Israel 's successes - and Israel 's marvelous morale, one walks away not sugarcoating the results, but appreciating a fuller picture. The people outperformed their military and political leaders.
The magnificent people of Israel should get the kind of leadership they not only merit but that they earned with their acts of heroism, large and small, both military and civilian, during the Second Lebanon War - and at so many other points during these last 60 years,
Gil Troy is Professor of History at McGill University . He is the author of Why I Am a Zionist: Israel , Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today. His next book Leading from the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents, will be published by Basic Books this spring.
Posted by Gil Troy
Jerusalem Post, Wednesday Feb 06, 2008
In early January, a small ceremony that balanced out the drama of the recent Winograd Commission pronouncements took place in the Israeli Air Force personnel offices, at "HaKiryah," IDF headquarters in downtown Tel Aviv. An Air Force colonel awarded certificates of appreciation to seven civilians who crisscrossed the country boosting soldier's morale during the Second Lebanon War. (Full disclosure: I was one of those honored, having played a minor role in the initiative).
The main honoree was Haim Avraham. Haim's son Benny Avraham, z"l and two other Israeli soldiers were supposedly kidnapped but actually killed by Hizbullah along the Lebanese border in 2000. As soon as the fighting broke out six years later, Haim mobilized his wife Edna, their two daughters, Efrat and Dafna, two colleagues from the Ramat Gan Histadrut, and others of us who helped the family during the torturous years when the Avraham, Avitan, and Souad families traveled the world trying to ascertain their sons' fate. Haim and his family recognized their symbolic role in this new war, having lost Benny under eerily similar circumstances. Thirteen times over the next six weeks they visited the Northern border and military bases throughout Israel, dispensing 250,000 shekels worth of donated soda, cigarettes, books, candy, underwear, and aftershave to comfort soldiers. More important, they hugged the soldiers and cried with them, giving them the priceless gift of a morale boost from a family that understood exactly why Israel needed to fight.
Haim considers the war "an important success," rejecting the Winograd Commission's labeling the war a failure. As a veteran who served in Golani, Battalion 13, and in the Air Force's cargo plane division for a quarter of a century, Haim acknowledges "there were problems, there were personnel issues, there were tactical mistakes." Still, he sees three central accomplishments. First, "we pushed back at Hizbullah, destroying much of the group's infrastructure, leveling Hizbullah headquarters, and restoring some deterrence." Second, "we built a consensus in Europe against Hizbullah, and now Hamas." Haim is thrilled that the United Nations Security Council put an international force in Southern Lebanon . Finally, "the support for Hizbullah in Lebanon weakened." A realist, Haim confesses: "We couldn't have achieved all our war aims without destroying Lebanon , so we stopped. Still, we bought some quiet for a few years."
According to Haim, while every war has a military element and a political element, another, equally important, element is "the morale of the people and of the army." This dimension the Winograd commission overlooked. It is essential during wartime to tell both soldiers and civilians that "we care about them, we think about them," Haim explains. "I thought I could give of myself, pay attention to the little things," he says. "What did I bring them? Nothing - but soldiers reacted to the fact that someone from the home front was paying attention, especially seeing that someone who had already paid the ultimate price understood exactly what the soldiers were doing. The soldier is working hard, eating the dust, breathing in the smoke. We met many right after battle exiting from Lebanon ," Haim recalls. "And make no mistake about it, war is war. Friends were killed near them. They exited dirty with sweat and mud, the smell of battle still hanging on them, looking at you through eyes that hadn’t slept all night. And then, all of a sudden, when the soldier sees a civilian who hugs him, it raises his morale. It reminds him what the fight is all about."
Haim is right. During the extraordinary day I spent with Haim and his merry band of morale raisers, I saw what Israel 's "Dr. Hug" could do. I saw all these tough, gruff battle-scarred recruits melt right back into the extremely young - and quite frightened - boys they are, when Haim hugged each and every one of them, at each and every stop.
Haim's initiative was one of hundreds of volunteer efforts that flourished during the summer of 2006. We forget amid this nearly-two-year orgy of recriminations how magnificently the "home front" performed. Secular and religious kids streamed up north, working together to help the people who had nowhere to go, as Israelis in the center and the south opened their homes - and hearts - to friends, relatives, and strangers, displaced by Hizbullah's hellish hail of Katyusha rockets.
These stories fill out the picture of the war. They do not compensate for the shoddy preparation, the equipment shortages, the air-force-heavy strategy, the hesitance to commit ground troops. Haim's analysis, focusing on the importance of morale, in fact highlights one of the Winograd commissions' most scandalous findings - that it took almost a month before the army issued a general order to deal with the Katyushas. This fact alone would justify calls for Ehud Olmert's resignation. Generals are paid to be arrogant, to dismiss Katyushas as military insignificant annoyances that should not distract from their mission. But healthy democracies need civilians in charge, with enough empathy for the people and standing with the army to redirect the military when generals minimize civilian suffering.
A government's primary function is protecting its people. Sadly, in the summer of 2006, Israel failed to fulfill that task for half a million civilians. Remembering, nevertheless, Israel 's successes - and Israel 's marvelous morale, one walks away not sugarcoating the results, but appreciating a fuller picture. The people outperformed their military and political leaders.
The magnificent people of Israel should get the kind of leadership they not only merit but that they earned with their acts of heroism, large and small, both military and civilian, during the Second Lebanon War - and at so many other points during these last 60 years,
Gil Troy is Professor of History at McGill University . He is the author of Why I Am a Zionist: Israel , Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today. His next book Leading from the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents, will be published by Basic Books this spring.
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