Yesterday's Terror in Jerusalem

 Nadene Goldfoot    

My friend from Modiin, Israel                                           

    Jerusalem's Western Wall,  or Wailing Wall;  also called Kotel in Hebrew, where Jews go to pray;  as they cannot pray on the Temple Mount.  Moshe Dayan had given the Muslims the right to rule religiously  there, and in return they will not let Jews pray on the Temple Mount where they believe that the 2nd Temple lie under or near one of the Mosques, for it was their custom to build over their enemy's temples.  The 2nd Temple was the central shrine of the tribe of Judah from which Jews come from.    The custom is to write a special prayer on a small piece of paper and put it in the wall-between stones.  I've left one there.                                     

Terror in Jerusalem: Yesterday morning, 42-year-old Fadi Abu Shkhaydam from Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem, a respected teacher at a high school  -- who was also a senior member of the Hamas political wing and who prayed at the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount every day -- opened fire on Jews on their way to and from the Western Wall. Eli David Kay, a 26 year old from Modiin, was killed and two other Jews, both rabbis, were wounded. One of the wounded remains in serious condition. Two of the policemen who managed to kill the terrorist were also wounded. The terrorist's wife and children left for Jordan 3 days before the attack, making it clear that they were aware of his murderous intentions. The attack took place on a street that is one of the primary way that locals and tourists walk through the Old City to visit the Western Wall.

Paratroopers at the Western Wall (Kotel) is an iconic photograph taken on June 7, 1967, by David Rubinger. Shot from a low angle, the photograph depicts three Israeli paratroopers framed against the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, shortly after its capture by Israeli forces in the Six-Day War. From left to right, the Israeli soldiers photographed are Zion Karasenti, Yitzhak Yifat, and Haim Oshri. The soldiers were reservists of the 66th Battalion, 55th Paratroopers Brigade.   Yesterday's victim was also a paratrooper wanting to pray.  

                                                

                            Called the Wailing Wall -We've had much to cry about

The western wall is part of the wall enclosing Herod's Temple (our 2nd Temple to replace the 1st built by King Solomon) that was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and rebuilt-starting in 538 to 515 BCE,  and it's still standing in the Old City of Jerusalem. Owing to the proximity to  the Holy of Holies area which was at the West end of the Temple, this part of the wall was regarded as sacred as far pack as the Talmudic Period; since at least the 10th century, regular services were held before it.                                                                

Eli David Kay, Z"L, immigrated to Israel from South Africa several years ago and served as a paratrooper in the IDF. He was currently working as a tour guide at the Western Wall and was on his way to morning prayers there when he was gunned down for no reason other than because he was an Israeli and a Jew.                                                  

Modiin where Eli lived.  It's an ancient Israelite town and is SE of Lydda.  It was the home of the eHeasmoneans and the scene of mattathias' 1st rebellion against the officials of antiochus Epiphanese.  His son, Simon, built there an impressive family mausoleum, remains of which still survive.  A burning torch is now carried to Jerusalem from Modiin each Hanukkah by relay runners.  Here we are in 2021 and our Modiin son is shot and killed before he gets to the Western Wall right in Jerusalem.  

His parents and younger sister immigrated to Israel a few months ago and live in Modiin [in the community that I am part of-the writer]. They just celebrated his older brother's marriage. Eli was engaged to be married in just a few months. He was laid to rest today in Jerusalem's Har Hamenuchot cemetery. Thousands attended his funeral. May his memory serve as a blessing for us all.

                                           

PM Bennett pledged to increase security in Jerusalem's Old City. The US State Department condemned the terror attack saying, "We strongly condemn the terrorist attack today by a Hamas gunman in Jerusalem’s Old City, which killed one person and injured others. We offer our condolences to the victims and their families."

                                             

Palestinian rioters clash with Israeli police at the entrance to Jerusalem's Shuafat Refugee Camp, November 21, 2021. (Screenshot: Twitter)

Hundreds of Palestinians in Shuafat rallied in support of the terrorist. The crowd set tires on fire and threw rocks at Border Police forces that arrived at the scene while chanting "the martyrs are going to Jerusalem in the millions". They also called for a general strike in the neighborhood today.                     

 The terrorist attended the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount daily, where he incited worshippers against Israel. Hamas praised the terrorist in an official statement, saying that "the Holy City continues to fight against the foreign occupier, and will not surrender to the occupation."

Note from my Modiin friend:            

Dear Friends, how can we go on living this way, allowing those who rejoice in murdering us to live within our holiest city, the capital of our state? How can we continue to let a mosque that preaches our destruction exist on our holiest place, the Temple Mount? At least in the Middle East, Islam is a religion of war and destruction against those who do not accept its primacy. It is a religion that propagates Jihad, holy war, and is bent on the destruction of the Jewish State in what they consider to be their domain.

On the other hand, the Jewish nation continues to bend over backwards to placate those who seek its destruction. Can you imagine the Moslems allowing a synagogue in the center of Mecca? Or perhaps a synagogue in St. Peter's Square in Rome? No, I don't think so. 

                                              

Is it because we fear the wrath of the Moslem world? They've already started several wars with us, and have been soundly defeated each time. And the moment they feel that they can prevail over us, will be the day the next war begins. But they don't have the power. Syria is barely functioning as a state. Same with Lebanon and Iraq. Egypt and Jordan have no interest in fighting us again -- and they don't have the military might to do so. And Iran? Aren't they already out to destroy us?

                                               

World opinion? Will the world consider us a pariah nation if we act in our own interest of survival? Much of the world already does, and always has, and yet they deal with us because of what they feel they can gain from us. Perhaps we should have done something permanent to defend ourselves during the last US administration. But times have changed.

                                              

The bottom line is that a situation where Jews must risk their lives to pray at the Western Wall in the sovereign State of Israel is simply absurd. We can't let it continue. No country or people would.

Resource:

israelAM

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-november-21-2021/

https://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-terror-attack-fatality-named-as-south-african-immigrant-eliyahu-david-kay/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paratroopers_at_the_Western_Wall