Yom Shnee
Monday
4 Adar II 5782
March 7 2022
The Quote of the Day
“Jewish archeological sites in the West Bank must be preserved. A large part of the history of the Jewish people in this country is rooted in the hills and valleys of Judea and Samaria.
Here our fathers and mothers lived and were brought to rest. Here Joshua led the sons and daughters of Israel, the children of Israel, to the land; King David began his reign; our prophets spread their teachings, which we teach today, and every Sabbath; and the Jewish rebels – from Maccabees to Bar Kochba fought for what they believed in.
Beyond any political controversy, we must all agree to protect the integrity of Jewish historical and archeological sites throughout the Land of Israel, as well as the historical sites belonging to other religions and cultures that have left their mark on this area throughout the ages.
This is not just a Jewish or Israeli issue, but it is an issue of protecting the entire heritage of humanity in the Holy Land.”
President Herzog speaking at an event organized by the Yesha Council, My Israel and the Zionist Organization of America.
Considering President Herzog’s leftist inclinations, this was an astonishingly strong statement about how Judea and Samaria are the heart of Israel.
The Ugly Video of the Night
Click here to see Israeli police, with no provocation whatsoever, beating demonstrators for Amiram Ben Oliel. See more about this in Today’s Blog below.
The News on the Israeli Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
A Palestinian terrorist stabbed two policemen at the Cotton Gate to the Old City of Jerusalem at 5:30 pm. The policemen were “moderately” wounded. The terrorist was shot and killed. Click here to see the attack.
Two Palestinian terrorists who were attacking an IDF military post of the Benjamin Territorial Brigade near Abu Dis were shot; one died.
Palestinian terrorists attacked Israelis with “rocks” and Molotovs on Road 55 between Azzun and Ma’ale Shomron, at the Beit Dajan Junction near Elon Moreh, near Rechelim, Migdalot, near Curve 160 at Hevron, and at two dozen other locations.
Palestinian terrorists attacked Israeli buses at Givat Assaf and near Luban Aa-Sharqiya.
The daily Corona update . . .
7,704 new cases of Corona were confirmed yesterday bringing to 52,208 the total number of Israelis with an active case of Covid-19.
The positive test rate was 14.34%.
438 Israelis are in serious condition in hospitals with another 183 in critical condition on ventilators.
10,317 Israelis have died of Corona–41 since yesterday.
On the Ukrainian front . . .
It is reported today in the Odessa Journal that the first group of “Israeli special forces veterans” has arrived in the city to fight alongside the Ukrainians.
The information in the Journal came from the Telegram channel of Verkhovna Rada member Oleksiy Goncharenko.
On the northern front . .
Israeli commandos carried out a successful mission in southern Lebanon to destroy one of the secret hideouts of Hezbollah’s drone arsenal.
The attack was discovered by Hezbollah after the commandos had returned to Israel.
TODAY’S BLOG
The Israel Supreme Court Hears The Appeal of Amiram Ben-Oliel
Regular readers of OneIsrael know that the case of Amiram Ben-Oliel has long been a subject of blogs by your humble servant. Ben-Oliel was convicted of murdering three members of the Dawabshe family of Duma in July of 2015 (they died of burns after a fire ignited by a Molotov ignited their home), and sentenced to three life terms in prison.
We will not recount the facts of the case today or how abundant evidence pointed to Ben-Oliel’s innocence because that is not what the Israel Supreme Court is considering today.
What the Court has heard today is an appeal based on the fact, undisputed by the prosecution and lower court, that Ben-Oliel’s “confession” was obtained through the use of torture.
Yes, torture.
Carried out by Israel’s Shin Bet Security Service in coordination with the Police.
As afore stated, the District Court found that even though Ben-Oliel was tortured and the confession was the basis of finding him guilty, he was nonetheless guilty because of other evidence (notably the highly questionable “eyewitness” testimony of a Dawabshe relative).
The District Court also ruled that the torture–which had taken place over 30 days–came some 36 hours before Ben-Oliel signed his “confession.”
Ben Oliel’s current attorney, normally an attorney for leftist Israeli organizations, said this today: “I never thought I would be involved in such a case because I never thought I would see such torture done anywhere except in another country.”
We here at OneIsrael are under no illusion that the Supreme Court will overrule the District Court, but we sincerely hope it sets Ben-Oliel free and removes this dark stain on the Israel judicial system.
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.