UPDATES
9:00 am Israel time, Friday, August 28 2015
**The daily Palestinian terror report:
Just between 4:30 pm and 8:30 pm yesterday, Palestinian terrorists attacked IDF troops in Gush Talmonim with Molotov cocktails and “rocks” (4:31 pm); Palestinian terrorists assaulted Israeli motorists near Gilo with “rocks” (5:43 pm); Palestinian terrorists attacked vehicles near Khirbet Safa in Gush Etzion (6:13 pm); another “rock” attack took place at Talmonim (6:21 pm); motorists were assaulted at Aotboos (6:27 pm); and terrorists struck the Jerusalem Light Rail in Shuafat (8:24 pm).
In the above attacks, a number of Israelis were treated for trauma at Gilo, a young girl was hit by “rocks” at Talmonim and had to be hospitalized, and 14 year-old boy was wounded by “rocks” at Aotboos.
In addition to the attacks above, two other Molotov cocktail attacks deserve mention:
—Early in the evening, a mega-Molotov cocktail attack occurred when Palestinian terrorists apparently from Qalandiya threw 19 Molotov cocktails at the community barrier and fields around Kochav Yaakov starting fires but wounding no one.
—Just before midnight, an Israeli security vehicle was struck in a brazen attack involving multiple terrorists and multiple Molotov cocktails between Abu Dis and Jericho.
**And where were the police while all of the above was happening?
The utter frustration of Israel “security” forces in not being able to find a “Jewish right-wing activist” to confess to the Molotov cocktail attack on the Dawabsha home in Duma has become grossly apparent for all to see.
Arrest after arrest and detention after detention have produced nothing, but still the arrests and detentions continue.
And they continue despite the finding of Shin Bet yesterday that 5 out of 6 of the fires that have occurred at Dawabsha family residences and property in Duma in recent months were not perpetrated by “right-wing activists”. The only fire that remains under investigation is the one that resulted in the deaths of two members of the Saad Dawabsha family–and the only reason it remains under investigation is the poorly written Hebrew graffiti found at the scene of the fire.
Yesterday, police raided a meeting at Nof Ayalon and arrested 5 activists; they arrested 6 more in two separate incidents in the Old City of Jerusalem and in Balladim, Geulat Zion, and in Maoz Esther–where “security forces” also bulldozed a supposedly illegal synagogue.
Again, remember that none of these 11 people arrested yesterday were charged with a crime, indicted for anything, and all were merely chucked into prison “on suspicion of being involved in a terrorist organization.”
Who should be indicted are the government officials who have ordered the arrests and detentions to continue–people such as Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and “Defense” Minister Moshe Ya’alon.
**What’s the news from Gaza this morning?
Israelis were “treated” to multiple Hamas shows on television last night. In one show, Hamas took journalists on a tour of its new tunnels; in the other, Hamas released never before seen videotapes of Gilad Shalit in capitivity some years ago, and claimed that it has the body of one soldier from the war last summer.
In the meantime, Islamic State in Gaza (named Al-Maqdis Omar Hadid after an IS member killed in Fallujah, Iraq eleven years ago) continues to grow. Now numbering some 3000 Gazan fighters, IS is attracting large numbers of Hamas members by offering higher salaries of $800 to $1500 dollars per month. At the current rate of desertions and defections, it is estimated that IS will soon mount an offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
Imagine what that bloodbath will be like.
TODAY’S BLOG:
An Israeli family from Ethiopia.
What is amazing is that despite all of the violence swirling around us all the time in Israel, the country continues to be a wonderful place to live–and a great place to raise a family.
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The “Expat Insider” organization has just released its 2015 Family Life Index which evaluated countries on the basis of such factors as family well being, quality of education, and cost of child care.
Overall, Israel came in 4th in the world in “overall family life”, just after Austria, Finland, and Sweden. Some other countries down on list were: Singapore (6), Germany (7), France (8), Canada (16), Norway (17), the USA (25), and Brazil (40).
What is it about Israel that makes it so family-friendly?
Your humble servant is no sociologist, but here are six possibilities:
1. Children are of paramount importance in this society. The first mitzvah in the Torah is to “be fruitful and multiply.” People here take that commandment seriously. Take a walk around Jerusalem sometime; a very high percentage of married women that you see are pregnant.
2. Children are taught the importance of looking after their family from an early age. Take my next door neighbors here in Ashdod. Their constantly growing family now numbers eight children, ranging in age from 13 to 1. Who takes care of all of the children? Of course the parents do, but the children take care of the other children. Older kids take younger kids to the park, to school, to everywhere. Older kids (any child over the age of 7) babysit the younger kids all the time.
3. Israel is a religiously-driven, life-event centered, and holiday-centered culture. Families come together every Shabbat, Rosh Hashana, Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot. Imagining a holiday here without being surrounded by family is impossible.
A typical bar mitzvah party like this one in Jerusalem will have between 300 and 500 people–many of whom are family.
And what about all the brits, and the bat and bar mitzvahs, and the weddings? Family. Family. Family.
4. Israel is a country under constant threat of war and terror. Where is the first place you turn when you are under attack? To your family.
It’s easy to see how experiences like this in a bomb shelter make families closer.
And in a country where so many people have been killed and wounded, where do you first turn for comfort? To your family.
5. Israel is a dramatically multi-ethnic society with immigrant groups from all over the world. Obviously families tend to stay more tightly bound when faced with the newness of this country.
6. Israel is a country which is, in essence, one big family. With so many people living in such dense conditions, everyone knows everyone else. Your neighbors’ families are your family.
On that happy note, your humble servant will end today’s blog. Tonight is Shabbat, and guess what?
The whole family is coming over for dinner.
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.