Israel News

The Jewish Home | MARCH 31, 2022 Ukraine Refugee Wins Jerusalem Marathon

A Ukrainian refugee, Valentyna Veretska, won the women’s race at the Jerusalem marathon on Friday after fleeing her home country together with her 11-year-old daughter.

A well-known Ukrainian athlete, Veretska, 32, completed the race with a time of 2:45:54, holding up Israeli and Ukrainian flags as she celebrated victory.

Her husband remains in Ukraine, fighting against Russia.

Israel Hayom reported that Veretska had been planning to run in the Jerusalem marathon before the war broke out and that she hoped her participation would help focus the world on the Ukrainians’ plight.

Israeli Olympic athlete Ageze Guadie won the men’s race, clocking in at 2:37:17.

Horrific Bnei Brak Terror Attack

Five people were murdered when a terrorist went on a shooting spree in Bnei Brak on Tuesday evening.

Officer Amir Khoury, 32, a Christian Arab, had served on the Bnei Brak’s police station motorcyclist responders team. He was part of a team that drove in to stop the murder spree and killed the gunman. Unfortunately, Khoury died of his wounds.

Two Ukrainian foreign workers were killed as they sat outside a grocery store talking to each other when the gunman shot them point-blank.

Residents Yaakov Shalom, 36, and Avishai Yehezkel, 29, two frum residents of the Bnei Brak community were murdered in the attack.

Yaakov Shalom was driving home when he was stopped by the gunman, who opened fire on his vehicle from a close range. Yaakov’s father was Rabbi Meir Shalom, a prominent leader of the Yemenite community in Bnei Brak, who died last year of COVID. Yaakov has four children.

Avishai Yehezkel was taking his twoyear-old son for a walk on Tuesday night when he was murdered. He died protecting his son. His wife, now a young widow, is eight months pregnant.

Ovadia Yehezkel, Avishai’s brother, mourned the loss at the levaya on Wednesday morning.

“Last night the world turned upside down. You called me and said, ‘I hear shots, be careful, stay inside the house.’ And that’s it. I heard no more from you. You cared for us more than you cared for yourself,” he said.

“You cared for your son, you did not give up, you took the bullets like an eagle. You said: ‘It would be better for him to hurt me than the child,’” Ovadia said, alluding to the allegory of the bird that protects its young.

Just hours later, the Bnei Brak community joined together in loss once again at Yaakov Shalom’s levaya.

Yaakov’s son, Uriel, told mourners his father was “wise, loving and caring.”

Yaakov’s brother-in-law described the exceptional middah of kibbud av v’eim Yaakov had for his parents.

The terrorist was identified by police as Diaa Hamarsheh, 26, a Palestinian from the town of Ya’bad near Jenin in the West Bank who was in Israel illegally. TV reports said there were celebrations outside his family home and in other Palestinian cities later Tuesday.

Hamarsheh arrived in Bnei Brak in a vehicle and disembarked on Jabotinsky Street at 7:56 p.m, according to Channel 13. While standing in front of a local store, he pulled out his weapon and tried to fire at passersby, barely missing a pedestrian and a man on his bicycle.

The attacker then continued to Bialik Street, but did not find anyone there, so he moved on to a nearby grocery store where he shot dead two people.

Hamarsheh continued to fire at passersby, but his gun jammed briefly. A car being driven by Shalom then passed by. Hamarsheh shouted “stop” as he pointed his rifle through the window and fired,

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The attack, the third deadly terror incident in a week, underlined concerns about an escalating wave of violence ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“Israel is facing a wave of murderous Arab terrorism,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett noted. “The security forces are at work. We will fight terrorism with persistence, diligence and an iron fist.”

Balloon Detects Missiles

The IDF last week received from the Defense Ministry a new balloon equipped with an advanced aircraft and missile detection system, the Times of Israel reported.

The system, named “Elevated Sensor” or “Sky Dew,” works on radar and is currently deployed in northern Israel. It is deployed at high altitudes in order to detect incoming missiles and drones.

Israel Air Force Commander Amikam Norkin said the new system will “enable [air traffic control] to build a more accurate and broader air surveillance picture.”

It will also help “make the air force more prepared and assist it in continuing its mission — maintaining security in the skies of Israel,” he added.

Moshe Patel, Director of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization, said, “The ‘Sky Dew’ system was a challenging task that we set for ourselves about a decade ago.

“This aerostat system will cruise at high altitudes and provide an exceptional multi-directional detection capability against advanced threats.”

The aerostat was developed jointly by Israel’s Missile Defense Organization and the United States’ Missile Defense Agency.

2 Killed in ISIS Terror Attack

attack in the northern Israeli city of Hadera. The terror group ISIS seems to be behind the attack.

Falah, from the Druze town of Kisra-Sumei, is survived by his parents, a brother, and a sister. Abukarat, a French immigrant and a resident of Netanya, is survived by her parents and a brother.

According to the Ynet news site, Aboukrat’s mother told friends that she had moved the family from France because she wanted them to live in safety. “We fled France to have security and here she died, in our country. It does not make sense. I wanted to give them a good life and security,” she reportedly told friends.

In addition to the two murdered officers, four other officers suffered light wounds during the shootout.

In a statement, Border Police Commander Amir Cohen said, “The fighters fought heroically. We send condolences and embrace the families of the heroes Yezan and Shirel who defended civilians with their bodies and thus saved many lives. A highly motivated young man and woman who gave their lives for the security of the citizens of Israel.”

There were no civilian casualties in the attack, police said.

Later, it became clear that 12 people were wounded in the attack. One is in serious condition, one is in moderate condition, three are in light condition, and the rest suffered shock.

A polices spokesperson said, “A short time ago a report was received regarding a shooting incident on Herbert Samuel Street in Hadera. As a result of the shooting, two officers were wounded. The shooters were neutralized, apparently by police forces. A large number of police forces in the area are making their way to the scene of the shooting.”

The two terrorists who committed the attack were believed to be supporters of the Islamic State group. The shooting came days after a deadly terror attack in the southern city of Beersheba, which was also committed by a man who attempted to join the jihadist group, raising concerns of further attacks inspired by the terrorist organization. Meanwhile, officials had been warning of a flare-up of violence before and during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins later this week.

Security camera footage from the scene showed the two gunmen, bearded and wearing white overalls, opening fire at passersby and police officers at a bus stop in the city, close to several restaurants.

The video showed one of the gunmen shooting several times at a victim lying on the ground, before snatching that person’s rifle. He also opened fire on a man seen riding past the scene on a bicycle.

The two terrorists were eliminated by two undercover officers who had been eating in a nearby restaurant.

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United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt, and the United States.

The summit focused on the possibility of a new nuclear deal with Iran, expected to be signed in the coming days.

At a press conference with Lapid, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that in U.S. opinion, a new deal is “the best way to put Iran back in the box.”

Blinken added, “When it comes to the most important element, we see eye-toeye. We are both committed, both determined that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon…. Our commitment to the core principle that Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon is unwavering. One way or another, we will continue to cooperate closely.

“Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is an important reminder.… With a nuclear weapon, Iran could become even more aggressive and act with a false sense of immunity.”

Blinken added, “The U.S. will continue to stand up to Iran when it threatens us or our allies and partners.

“A more stable, integrated region gives us a stronger foundation for addressing shared threats as these and achieving shared opportunities.”

Lapid said, “We have disagreements about the Iran deal and its ramifications, but an open and incisive dialogue is part of the power of our friendship. Israel and the U.S. will continue to work together to prevent Iran from going nuclear.

“Israel will do everything it thinks is right in order to stop the Iran nuclear program: everything.

“That is not a theoretical threat for us. The Iranians want to destroy Israel. They won’t succeed. We won’t let them.”

It’s not just Israel that is concerned about Iran. The other foreign ministers expressed their fear that Iran is hurtling toward nuclear proliferation.

Israel’s relationship with the U.S., Lapid said, “is the closest friendship and the strongest alliance that Israel has. We share values and vital interests. We share a vision of peace through strength.”

Aside from the issue of Iran, Israel attempted to weigh on in the war in Ukraine.

Shortly after he arrived in Israel, Blinken was brought to the Foreign Ministry’s situation room in Jerusalem for the Ukraine crisis, where Israel’s humanitarian aid to the country is coordinated. He was able to speak directly to Israeli officials and doctors at Israel’s Shining Star field hospital in Ukraine, underscoring that Israel’s government is doing much in the humanitarian realm, even as it avoids alienating Russia.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman on Tuesday to discuss concerns of spiraling violence amid the upcoming holy month of Ramadan. It was the third meeting between Abdullah and Gantz, with the first happening secretly in February 2021 and a second taking place publicly in January this year.

The meeting focused on local security and policy topics.

Gantz presented Abdullah with the steps that Israel intends to take in order to maintain freedom of worship for Palestinians in Jerusalem during Ramadan, as well as other moves intended to improve the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Israel recently increased the number of permits for Gazans to work in Israel by an additional 8,000, to a total of 20,000.

“The defense minister emphasized to him the importance of maintaining stability and calm, and the overall need to fight terror, and in particular the Islamic State organization, which is behind the recent terrorist attacks in Israel,” Gantz’s office said.

For his part, the King told Gantz that “provocative actions that lead to escalation” must be prevented, the Jordanian Royal Court said.

According to the court, Abdullah reiterated Jordan’s support for a two-state solution. The monarch also pushed for Israel to remove obstacles to Palestinian “freedom of worship” during Ramadan.

“His Majesty stressed that maintaining the comprehensive calm requires respecting the right of Muslims to perform their religious rites in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, removing any obstacles that stop them from performing prayers and preventing provocations that lead to escalation,” according to the court.

Before meeting the king, Gantz held a bilateral meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi.

Israeli security forces are on high alert after two deadly terrorist attacks — in Beersheba last Tuesday and Hadera on Sunday. But officials are particularly

28 concerned about Jerusalem on Ramadan, where religious tensions have often boiled over into violence. The Jewish Home | MARCH 31, 2022 Last spring saw events in Jerusalem surrounding the Temple Mount and looming evictions of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood snowball into an 11-day war between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip, as well as significant Jewish-Arab violence in mixed cities. Fearing a recurrence of that May 2021 violence, the Biden administration has urged Israel to take preemptive actions in order to prevent a similar eruption in April, which will see a confluence of the Jewish holiday of Passover, Ramadan, and the Christian holiday of Easter.

Students Lost and Found

It was a tense hour or two on Monday when dozens of students went missing on a hike in the area of the Dead Sea, prompting a search-and-rescue mission that eventually found them using drones. The group of 42 students from grades 5-8 was part of a larger group on a school hike through the Nahal Og canyon river when they become separated from the main body of participants.

When the person leading the trip realized they were missing, he alerted the police, who said its Megilot Dead Sea Rescue Unit had launched a search operation.

Rescuers used drones to search for the children, and, after about an hour, spotted some of them. The rest were found soon after that.

The search was made more complicated because the children who went astray did not stay together. Matan Murad, commander of the rescue unit, told media that some of the children had turned east along the streambed, while others headed west.

In total, 39 children were found using the drones while a police helicopter spotted the remaining three, Channel 12 news reported.

Numerous hikers have required rescue from Nahal Og over the years. The riverbed, which winds through steep, rocky canyon walls, is prone to flash floods. Though the end of last week saw stormy weather drench much of Israel, the forecast for this week has been dry and significantly warmer.

Jordan’s King Abdullah Visits Ramallah

Jordan’s King Abdullah II made a rare visit to Ramallah on Monday, meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

A video released by the Jordanian Royal Court showed Abbas as telling King Abdullah, “We and Jordan are one.”

He added, “Our interests, concerns, pain and hope are the same.”

King Abdullah told Abbas that Jordanians are there to “listen to you and hear from you what is demanded of the Jordanians.”

He added, “All unilateral measures, especially those in Jerusalem and the Noble Sanctuary [Temple Mount], must stop.”

This was the first visit of the king to the area in nearly five years and came on the heels of a terror attack that claimed the lives of two Israeli police officers in Hadera.

At the same time, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid held a historic summit in Israel’s southern Negev desert alongside foreign ministers from Morocco, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken also attended.

Although Jordanian officials were invited to the summit, Amman declined the invitation. Instead, the two meetings went forward at nearly the same time early on Monday afternoon.

Polio Vaccination Drive

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of Israel’s public health services, announced

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