7 pm Israel time, Thursday, December 25 2014
81 Days Until The Election
Israelstreet wishes a “Merry Christmas” to those celebrating the holiday!
*In the last 15 minutes, Palestinian terrorists firebombed an Israeli car traveling near the Jewish community of El Matan in Samaria. One of the passengers, a small girl, was “seriously” burned as flames engulfed the car. Her father, the driver, was also badly burned. MADA paramedics are currently on the scene.
*The Bedouin soldier who was critically wounded on the Gaza border yesterday remains in critical but stable condition–and has shown “slight” improvement. His life was saved by two IDF doctors who performed surgery on the soldier at the site of the attack while Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists were engaged in a firefight. Their surgery managed to stop the soldier’s massive bleeding.
*Hamas terrorists fired more missiles into the Mediterranean this morning. The IDF has moved an Iron Dome battery out of the north and back to Netivot on the Gaza border.
*In an unbelievable expenditure of Israeli taxpayer money, our government is bringing 37 Palestinian orphans from Gaza on a week long tour of Israel and the Palestinian state in Areas A and B of Judea and Samaria. Equally unbelievable is the fact that they are being brought to Israel at Hamas’ request.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce that the orphans are the children of dead Hamas terrorists.
Where will they travel to? They will go to Kafr Kassem, Rahat, and to Bethlehem–where they will be the honored guests of Mahmoud Abbas. Then they will go to the Gaza communities that their fathers bombed and mortared: Nirim, Sha’ar Hanegev, and Kerem Shalom.
And what is the purpose of this madness? According to the organizer, Israel is planting “seeds of peace.”
Sheer, unadulterated, lunacy.
*You may remember, dear reader, that a vandal or vandals set fire to the front door of the monastery in Latrun last year. Amidst great fanfare, the Israeli police arrested a person they called “a right-wing activist”. That person, Moshe Auerbach, was subsequently charged with committing a “price-tag” hate crime.
Auerbach was held for nine days as he steadfastly maintained his innocence. Today, a year and a half later, the police have finally closed the investigation against him.
His attorney issued this statement this afternoon: “Following a fishing expedition by the irresponsible police, the truth has come to light. How many false arrests are made because of political and media pressure? We hope that the police have learned a lesson.” Of course, as evidenced by the recent police assault of LAHAVA, the police have learned nothing.
By, the way, Auerbach has immediately started the process of suing the police for false arrest.
TODAY’S BLOG:
From the israelstreet blog of December 25, 2013, one year ago:
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“On this Christmas, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has released statistics that show that:
*There are 161,000 Christians living in Israel. 128,478 of these are Arab Christians–the remainder are primarily Russian Christians who immigrated to Israel with a Jewish family member.
*The four cities in Israel with the greatest numbers of Christians are Nazareth (22,400), Haifa (14,600), Jerusalem (11,900), and Shafaram (9,600). The city with the largest number of non-Arab Christians is Haifa.
The number of Christians in Israel increases every year.
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However:
–From 1995 until 2000, following the turnover of Bethlehem to the PLO in the Oslo Accords, 300 Christians left the city every year.
–During the period from 2001 until today–a period that encompassed the 2nd intifada and the Hamas takeover of the municipal government in 2006–8000 more Christians have left.
–In 1946, 80% of Bethlehem’s population were Christians. Today, only 13% of its population of 25,266 people are.
In other words, there are only about 3,284 Christians left in Bethlehem.
And, by the way, no Jews–despite its historical importance as a Jewish city known as the place where Jacob’s wife Rachel died during childbirth (her son Benjamin lived), where Naomi and Ruth lived, and where Samuel anointed King David.
O little Muslim town of Bethlehem . . .”
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What has happened in the last year?
The number of Christians in Israel has continued to increase, and the number of Christians in Palestinian Areas A and B of Judea and Samaria has continued to decrease.
Bethlehem continues to be particularly hard hit. According to Mayor Vera Baboun (speaking earlier this week), “40 Christian families have left Bethlehem in the last few months alone.”
What your humble servant finds remarkable is how some Christian groups around the world rally continue for the “Palestinian cause” and excoriate Israel–even as Palestinians gradually decimate the Christians among them, and Israel provides Christians a safe haven.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.