This Shabbat, two Jews were killed in cold blood while running errands in an Arab town

21 Aug 2023, Samaria:  While writing this post, another Arab attack against a Jew is reported on the TV, an Israeli car was shot up near Hebron. A woman (39) has died, the driver, a man is wounded critically; unknown condition of a 1-yr old passenger and a 15-yr old hitchhiker.

Link

As for the attack two days ago, Silas Nigerker, 60, and his son Avia Nir, 28, went to the Muslim town of Huwara to do work on their car, and visit with friends.  Silas was well known and well-liked there and knew many Muslims personally. They were shot at point-blank range at a car wash on the afternoon of Shabbat.

Photo of article: "Right calls for military campaign to root out West Bank terrorism; IDF continues search for Huwara terrorist who killed two Israelis;" Jerusalem Post, 21 Aug 2023, pg 1.
“Right calls for military campaign to root out West Bank terrorism; IDF continues search for Huwara terrorist who killed two Israelis;” Jerusalem Post, 21 Aug 2023, pg 1.

 

Photo of article: "Everyone in Huwara knew him;" Jerusalem Post, 21 Aug 2023, pg 1.
“Everyone in Huwara knew him;” Jerusalem Post, 21 Aug 2023, pg 1.

 

Photo of "IDF searches for terrorist who killed father and son in Huwara; Security forces brace for revenge attacks from Jewish extremists;" Jerusalem Post, 20 Aug 2023 pg 1.
“IDF searches for terrorist who killed father and son in Huwara; Security forces brace for revenge attacks from Jewish extremists;” Jerusalem Post, 20 Aug 2023 pg 1.

 

 

Photo of grave site from article: "Right calls for military campaign to root out West Bank terrorism; IDF continues search for Huwara terrorist who killed two Israelis;" Jerusalem Post, 21 Aug 2023, pg 1.
“Right calls for military campaign to root out West Bank terrorism; IDF continues search for Huwara terrorist who killed two Israelis;” Jerusalem Post, 21 Aug 2023, pg 1.

 

 

Pray for us as we do our work in Samaria, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aliyah crisis – Some Ethiopian Israelis identify as Christian

18 Aug 2023, Samaria: A front-page article reveals that Ethiopians since 2020 were allowed to immigrate to Israel as a humanitarian act for reunification of families. And yet this created a crisis since 3,000 of the 5,000 people identify as Christian rather than as Jewish.

“Two-thirds of recent Ethiopian immigrants identify as Christian; Government appoints envoy for aliyah crisis;” Jerusalem Post, 18 Aug 2023 pg 1.

Image from "Two-thirds of recent Ethiopian immigrants identify as Christian; Government appoints envoy for aliyah crisis;" Jerusalem Post, 18 Aug 2023 pg 1.
“Two-thirds of recent Ethiopian immigrants identify as Christian; Government appoints envoy for aliyah crisis;” Jerusalem Post, 18 Aug 2023 pg 1.

Please Pray for Israel’s complicated demographic situation.

Pray for our ongoing work.

Israel-bashing headlines

16 Aug 2023, Tel Aviv:

Israel has been in turmoil for many months because of Parliament (Knesset) legislation (a proposed law) which seeks to bring some balance between the Judicial Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Legislative Branch of government.

Many of the same nations which have such balance have opposed Israel for attempting to create the same balance.  For 30+ years, the Judicial Branch in Israel has held veto power of the Legislative and the Executive branches.

As Israel attempts to come into the modern age and create such balance, condemnation has rained down against Israel – external attacks such as “that’s anti-democratic.”  That’s rich, coming from pro-democratic states which themselves have a better balance.

Israel has no Constitution, but it does have as set of Basic Laws which are meant to suffice meanwhile.

Five recent headlines regarding global antisemitism mentioned here in this excerpt from “The government’s gifts to Israel-bashers:”

Photo of “The government’s gift to Israel-bashers,” Jerusalem Post, 16 Aug 2023 pg 9.
Jerusalem Post, 16 Aug 2023 pg 9.

 

“Inquire for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love thee.” Ps 122:6

Inquire, and pray Israel in general, and pray for our work here. 

 

Middle East Update on Iran and the Abraham Accords

15 Aug 2023, Samaria:

Abraham Accords after 3 years; let’s have an update:

Article image from "Three years on, Abraham Accords changed the lexicon of the Middle East" Jerusalem Post, 14 Aug 2023, pg 1.
Article image from “Three years on, Abraham Accords changed the lexicon of the Middle East” Jerusalem Post, 14 Aug 2023, pg 1.

What is happening with the USA’s Biden Administration, the State Dept, with the proposed nuclear deal with Iran – and how does that affect Israel and the Middle East?

Article image from "US-Iran Deal will support terrorism, Israel warns," Jerusalem Post, 13 Aug 2023, pg 1.
Article image from “US-Iran Deal will support terrorism, Israel warns,” Jerusalem Post, 13 Aug 2023, pg 1.

Please Pray for our ongoing work in a troubled Land.

 

 

 

Israelis spoke Hebrew on the phone in Berlin and this happened

7 Aug 2023, Berlin, Germany:

Two Israeli teenagers, 18 and 19, probably a boy and a girl (I’m just guessing), spoke on a phone in Hebrew while on vacation in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Germany.

A car pulled up, 3 men got out, questioned the teens in German, and with no answer in German, they began beating the 19yr old (probably the boy).  The 18 year old was not beaten, which leads to my guess that it was probably a girl.

“Israeli tourist, 19, beaten in Germany,” Jerusalem Post article below:

Image of the article, "Israeli tourist, 19, beaten in Germany," Jerusalem Post, 7 Aug 2023 pg 2.
Jerusalem Post, 7 Aug 2023 pg 2.

 

 

Protests against judicial reform continue

23 July, 2023, Samaria, Israel:  The protests continue and have intensified.  Last night police estimate between 30,000 and 40,000 people were on the streets:

 

Image of the crowd, protesting, as shown on the front page of Jerusalem Post.
Jerusalem Post, 23 July 2023, pg 1.

 

The editors of the Jpost have shared an opinion column, which includes a reference to a prescient comedy tv show that described this “near civil war” situation in advance by several years:

Photo of the first half of the Jpost editor's column regarding the protests in Israel.
Jerusalem Post, 23 July 2023, pg 9.

 

New report: Prime Minister Netanyahu will undergo tonight a medical procedure to install a pacemaker. He will be released tomorrow just in time to get to the parliament for the vote on the judiciary reform legislation.

 

Please pray for peace and wisdom in all levels of Israeli society.

Pray for our work in this very complicated part of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related:

Israeli protests for 15 consecutive Sat nights

 

“Operation Home and Garden” has begun

10 July 2023 News update: The Jenin operation is done, (Operation Home and Garden) while setting a new world record: zero non-combatants killed.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/373909
Col. Richard Kemp on Jenin op: ‘Remarkable achievement unprecedented in modern warfare’
Former commander of British forces in Afghanistan lauds IDF for avoiding killing any civilians in Jenin operation.

4 July 2023, Samaria: While Operation Break the Wave (in Jenin, Samaria, aka West Bank) still continues for more than a year since March 2022, Operation Home and Garden is quite different and began just yesterday. And yet Op Home and Garden is also quite different from the routine raids and arrests the IDF conducts as well as those of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Border Police.
Image of article
Article “Jenin operation unlikely to end terrorism wave,” Jerusalem Post, 4 July 2023 pg 1.
Jerusalem Post, 4 July 2023 pg 1.
Jerusalem Post, 4 July 2023 pg 1.
Jerusalem Post, 4 July 2023 pg 1.
Jerusalem Post, 4 July 2023 pg 1.

2021 Missile War Review

28 June 2023, Samaria:  In May 2021, exactly 2 years before now, Israel suddenly came under Islamic missile attack from armed forces in Gaza, who are funded, supplied, and commanded by Iran.  Here’s a series of videos as a recap of Shavuot Season ‘21.

Before I share the first-hand accounts thru video, and news interviews, I quickly want to add:  That war in 2021 was unusual not only for the “overwhelm” strategy used by the Gazan rocketeers, but also that Israeli Arabs got into hand-to-hand combat against Israeli Jews in the streets of the mixed cities. What I mean is – Israeli citizens, who are Arabs, who pay taxes to Israel and vote for Parliament (Knesset) Members, and having Arab Israeli representatives occupying seats in the Knesset, and even at that moment in the Coalition not only the Opposition, Israeli Arabs who have lived side by side with Jews for generations, were suddenly, as soon as rockets were raining down from Gaza (Gazans are not citizens) these Arab Israelis went door to door marking the Jewish apartments with paint for the gangs to break in and violate the Jewish families. This had not really happened before, and it was a shock to society. Never before had the Israeli Arab citizens taken sides with the Gazans (who are non-Israelis) in such a blatant, violent, and cruel way.  Previously they had done other things such as using cars to mow down Jews standing at the bus stops, which is already cruel, but the street fights and the door-to-door combat among mixed Arab-Jewish neighbors was unprecedented, and used in addition to the car rammings and such.  It led to the downfall of the government which was historical in that the Arab Knesset members had joined the coalition for the first time.

To be clear:  There were no reports of Jewish neighbors attacking Arabs door-to-door.  There were gangs of Jewish young men joining together to defend fellow Jews.  I interviewed firsthand one Jewish young man who said that he joined with eighty friends every day (80) to form automobile convoys and drive to the mixed cities in order to fight and defend the Jewish residents of those cities.  The Jewish Israeli government of course rebuked such actions and called on Jews to calm themselves and trust in the Army and Police to defend them.  However, the only words from the Arab Muslim Knesset Members were to incite the Arab Israelis to continue the street violence.

My first-hand reports of the overhead missiles are below.  But first, Sky News Australia interviewed Colonel Richard Kemp, battlefield expert, on Gaza’s attacks and Israel’s responses, and a “fake out” move by which the IDF goaded the armies of Gaza into attacking Israel, which was a clever trap:

At first, the long-range missiles from Gaza were reaching the Jerusalem area, and that was quite a shock, since Iran has difficulty smuggling those into Gaza thru the tunnels in Egypt, and so Jerusalem doesn’t often come under fire for that reason:

Su

 

Suddenly, Tel Aviv and surrounding areas were also under missile fire, and I was caught out on the street when six of them exploded overhead:

What it felt like for me holed up in a bomb shelter with a cat in Bat Yam near Tel Aviv:

One Shabbat, I was caught outside walking when 23 missiles were simultaneously launched at Bat Yam, Rishon Lezion, Cholon and Tel Aviv. The Gazans were for the first time making a pointed effort to overwhelm the Iron Dome batteries that can only fire 20 anti-missile defenses at a time before reloading:

The day after that was Shavuot Pentecost 2021, and I retraced my steps where I had been under the 23 missiles the day before:

 

Thanks to all Partners and Intercessors who help me continue the work under difficult circumstances.  Pray about our Work. 

 

Other articles and posts:

My suffering contains its reward

Sudden barrage of rockets

Passover ’23: weekend of anti-Jewish violence

Rosh haAyin resident attacked by terrorist, UN calls it ‘a scuffle’

Purim Sameach as snail crosses road

 

Terrorist Attacks Jews for being Jewish in town of Eli

22 June 2023 Update: All 4 names released for publication:

Four victims of terrorism kost their lives in Eli on June 19, 2023.
Four victims of terrorism kost their lives in the Samaria town of Eli on June 19, 2023.

21 June 2023 Samaria & Judea: Below is the map of the attack in Eli * (pinpointed) in relation to my location in Rosh haAyin which is to the west:

The names of three of the four victims of Tuesday’s terrorist shooting attack near Eli have been cleared for publication.

One victim was identified as Harel Masoud, a 21-year-old resident of Yad Binyamin. Another was named as Elisha Antman, a 17-year-old resident of Eli. A third was identified as Ofer Fairman, a 60-year-old resident of Eli.

Dear Reader, please join me in Prayer:

Amen Abba, in Y’shua Messiah’s name, comfort the families in their sorrow as they most likely will be gathering to bury the bodies this morning or this afternoon. And bring Your Shalom to all Israel including Samaria and Judea.

Please Pray to help our work in the Land amidst dangers and persecutions.


Continue reading “Terrorist Attacks Jews for being Jewish in town of Eli”

Samaria in News

Image from front cover of Israel haYom
“Demands that the government launch an operation in Samaria,” Israel HaYom, 31 May 2023 front page.

Headline: “Demands that the government launch an operation in Samaria,” Israel HaYom, 31 May 2023 front page.

Subtitle:  “The hunt continues for the terrorists who murdered the resident of Hermesh – this is the second shooting attack in two days – Eliyahu Raviv, resident of Samaria: ‘Our lives are worth less than those of the residents of Tel Aviv.'”

Upper right corner of the photo:  Meir Tamri, resident of Hermesh, a civilian noncombatant, cut down in terror attack.

Please pray: we work in difficult areas of Samaria.

Donate to help.