15 Sept 2023, Samaria: Often, the former rains begin during Succot, which is in the third week of the seventh Biblical month, which usually corresponds loosely to September or October.
This time the rain came as a downpour in the end of the sixth Biblical month!
Jerusalem Post, 15 Sept 2023 pg 3.
This July, customs officials spotted explosives concealed in bags of concrete. Amid rumors of airstrikes, Israel continues to threaten Syria verbally to prevent nuclear weapons. Arabs dwelling in Samaria and Judea (West Bank of the Jordan River) will be excluded from crossing into Gaza and Israel for two days, during the Feast of Trumpets.
14 Sept, 2023, Tel Aviv: IAF struck a port in western Syria; Fifth reported attack in two months; Guards to be at all Jerusalem schuls for High Holy Days; A four-truck pileup on highway 6 yesterday resulted in the death of one driver; shockingly, passersby looted one of the trucks carrying shipments of candy.
Jerusalem Post, 14 Sept 2023 pg 1.Jerusalem Post, 14 Sept 2023 pg 1.Jerusalem Post, 14 Sept 2023 pg 1.
12 Sept, 2023, Samaria: Each year, a sizable number of Jewish Israelis enjoy traveling to Uman, Ukraine to pray at the grave site of a famous rabbi there.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the city of Uman does not have enough bomb shelters for its residents, nevermind the expected 50,000 Jewish pilgrims from Israel.
Jerusalem Post, 12 Sept 2023 pg 1.
The city is located on the north-south road between Kyiv and Odesa, both priority targets for Russia.
12 Sept, 2023: “Put differently, the land is Lebanese, the control is Iranian, the target is Israel,” said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Jerusalem Post, 12 Sept 2023 pg 1.
“Gallant added that Iran remains the greatest threat to Israel, though sometimes it uses Hezbollah and other proxies [such as Hamas] to fight its wars against the Jewish state.”
If Hezbollah “goes toward a conflict with us, they will pay a high price. We will not allow Iran to turn Syria into a Hezbollah 2.0 with powerful rockets.”
Pray for our work here to prosper in a danger zone
7 Sept, 2023, Jerusalem: An Arab Muslim from East Jerusalem stabbed two men near Jaffa gate, and a woman was treated for anxiety at the scene of the crime. The 17-yr old terrorist was caught at the scene, Palestinian media identified him, and soon after, his mother and sister were arrested from their home.Jerusalem Post, 7 Sept 2023, pg 1.
Note:In Israeli terminology, “moderately wounded” includes life threatening wounds and loss of limbs. “Lightly wounded” is quite a bit more serious than surface scratches.
3 Sept, 2023, Tel Aviv: Yesterday during Shabbat, which is a day off from work in Israel, thousands of illegal Eritreans got out of hand in a dispute among themselves regarding Eritrean politics.
There are between 25,000 to 30,000 Eritreans who crossed illegally into Israel via Egypt, in addition to others from Sudan.
The Eritrean Embassy in Israel has taken measures to promote its own government positions, and to repatriate what it sees as runaways back to their homeland.
Some Eritreans are in favor and some are opposed to the Eritrean government policies. A gang battle ensued between the two Eritrean factions, resulting in property damage, and injuries among Eritrean people. Around 50 Israeli police were injured while trying to keep the shalom.
The Israel government coalition, led by Netanyahu, says it will now consider deportation as a possible solution. The opposition (the parties which have not joined the coalition) counters that the current government coalition promised to build a solution but has not done anything thus far.
Such gang battles have already occurred during the past two months among Eritreans located in USA and in Europe. Evidently, some Eritreans warned Israeli officials, but seemingly went unheeded.
Jerusalem Post, 3 Sept 2023, pg 1.
“The Shabbat of Calamity,” Israel HaYom (Israel Today), 3 Sept 2023 pg 1.
31 Aug 2023, Modiin, Israel: A car-ramming terrorist has been apprehended after attacking pedestrians on the side of the highway in Modiin, which is considered part of Judea and Samaria, thus, “disputed territory” by the majority of nations at this time.
Associated Press, 31 Aug 2023.
Thus, the worst terrorist violence since the 2000-2005 timeframe continues with a new car ramming attack this morning.
“Tehran is pushing Hezbollah to launch attacks on Israel; Jerusalem worried Security Council will restrict UNIFIL’s activity along frontier;” Jerusalem Post, 30 Aug 2023 pg 1.
25 Aug 2023, Samaria: The city of Kfar Kassem is near me, and I often shop there.
Lod is a city near the airport. It’s a mixed Arab and Jewish city. Whereas Kfar Kassem is a pure Arab Muslim Israeli city. In both cities, all residents have Israeli citizenship, ID cards, voting rights and privileges.
Jerusalem Post, 25 Aug 2023 pg 1.
“Police arrest 4 Arab Israelis for Hezbollah ties;” Jerusalem Post, 25 Aug 2023 pg 1.
Hezbollah (aka Hez b’Allah, “party of god,”) is an Iran-backed terrorist organization with the parliamentary and governmental control of Lebanon.
24 Aug 2023, Jerusalem: Prime Minister Netanyahu, together with cabinet leaders, have issued an order to the Shin Bet, Israel’s Secret Service, to confront the spate of political killings among the Arab Israeli population. This is significant and the Shin Bet has jumped at the chance to fulfill this order.
“Shin Bet to join battle against rising Arab-Israeli murder rate; Agency instructed to target crime groups said to be behind onslaught;” Jerusalem Post, 24 Aug 2023, pg 1.
“Shin Bet to join battle against rising Arab-Israeli murder rate; Agency instructed to target crime groups said to be behind onslaught;” Jerusalem Post, 24 Aug 2023, pg 1.
