Tag Archive for: Ezra Schwartz

More Terror
This morning a Palestinian from Jenin rammed his car into soldiers at the Tapuach junction in the West Bank. Four soldiers were wounded, none seriously. A Border Policeman at the scene shot and wounded the terrorist.

Yesterday, two Israeli soldiers were waiting for some roadside assistance near a gas station on Highway 443, not far from Modiin, after a small accident. A Palestinian attacked and stabbed them.

Pvt. Ziv Mizrachi, 18, from Givat Ze’ev, was pronounced dead by paramedics on the scene who tried to resuscitate him. The female soldier he was with was also stabbed and lightly wounded. She was evacuated in stable condition. Another woman was lightly wounded from gunshots fired in the attempt to stop the terrorist. The terrorist, 16, was shot and killed by soldiers at the scene.

Mizrahi’s uncle, Alon, was killed in the terrorist bombing of the Cafe Hillel in Jerusalem in 2003. Alon was the security guard who blocked the suicide bomber from entering the cafe.

Mizrahi’s mother arrived at the scene shortly after and screamed, “They’ve taken Ziv from me.”

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Kerry Calls
US Secretary of State John Kerry called the family of Ezra Schwartz, the American teen killed in a terrorist attack last week in Israel, to offer condolences. The Schwartzes live in the Boston area.

Kerry, who had once been the US Senator from Massachusetts, was on a visit to Abu Dhabi when he made the call. Kerry told reporters there that there is no justification for Palestinian terror attacks against Israel.

He said, “Look at Ezra Schwartz, who got shot, and another young life cut short. It happens almost every day over there and it’s terrible, and too many Israelis have been killed and stabbed, and too many Palestinians. And there’s no excuse for any of the violence. There’s just no rationale. Even if you’re unhappy and you’re disappointed in the lack of whatever the political horizon is, whatever, violence is not the solution.”

Kerry arrived in Israel today to try and put an end to the violence, at least temporarily. He met with the PM and said that Israel has the right to defend herself against terror attacks on civilians and expressed “complete condemnation for any act of terror that takes innocent lives and disrupts the day-to-day life of a nation.”

Kerry added that, “It is very clear to us that the terrorism, these acts of terrorism which have been taking place, deserve the condemnation that they are receiving.”

Following his meeting with Netanyahu, he will meet President Reuven Rivlin and opposition leader Isaac Herzog. Then, he will head to Ramallah for a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Let’s hope for a miracle, because that’s probably what it will take to stop the violence at this point.

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Silence for Ezra
In a show of support and deep sadness for the murder of Ezra Schwartz last week, there was a moment of silence before the start of the Monday night football game between the Buffalo Bills and Schwartz’s favorite, the New England Patriots. The game was nationally televised. So regardless of whether or not government officials do or do not acknowledge Schwartz’s death at the hands of terrorists, the American people have spoken loud and clear.

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Chelsea Arrives
English soccer Premier League champions Chelsea are in Israel for their Champions League game with Maccabi Tel Aviv, which takes place today. Before their departure, the UK government published a warning regarding trips to Israel due to what they termed a “high threat of terrorism.”

When asked about the security situation, Chelsea defender Gary Cahill said, “I think you just have to rely on people who know a lot more than me about the whole situation to make sensible decisions.”

These days Israel seems a lot safer than Europe.

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Gaza Land Grab
Ever wonder what happened to all the land that Israel abandoned when it evacuated the Jewish settlements from Gaza in the 2005 disengagement?

Well, Hamas has announced that it’s giving the land as compensation to thousands of its government’s officials and employees who haven’t been paid by the Palestinian Authority Ramallah based government in well over a year.

The PA has refused to pay on the grounds that the appointments made by Hamas were illegal. They claim that Hamas should pay, but not from the land that they claim belongs to the Palestinian people — or more realistically, to the PA government.

In any case, PA officials say that Hamas employees will never really see any compensation from Hamas. But neither will the Palestinian people in the West Bank. The real question is which government’s leaders will boost their Swiss bank accounts with the real estate — the PA or Hamas.

This should be good.

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IDF Responds
Israeli warplanes struck a Hamas military compound in the center of the Gaza Strip on Monday night, after a rocket was fired from the Strip at Israel earlier in the day. The rocket landed in an empty area, and no warning sirens were sounded.

According to an IDF statement, the army considers Hamas to be the “sole responsible party for goings-on in the Gaza Strip, and will continue to act with severity to keep the calm in southern communities.

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Mother Complains
The mother of a female soldier who was drafted into the military police last week is complaining. While a complaining Jewish mother might not seem very newsworthy, the reason for her complaint is a bit over board. The mother is upset that her daughter participated in an IDF sponsored Challah separating ceremony in Kfar Chabad.

Wha?? According to Jewish law, when someone kneads a significant amount of dough, they are obligated to separate a piece of the dough to be given to a Cohen (these days the piece is burned). It’s called “separating or taking” Challah, and it’s one of a select number of commandments reserved specifically for women.

So yes, mom is upset that her baby girl broke off a piece of dough as part of her military service. Religious coercion at its best. Some mothers are just impossible to please. Go figure.

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