You may view the 5 minute update this week via audio:
In this week’s 5 minute update, we focused on:
1) The current situation with the Israel / Palestinian peace process
Five people were killed when two terrorists brutally attacked worshippers in a synagogue and yeshiva in the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem on November 18. Seven people were wounded, including two police officers. At around 7am, the terrorists – wielding massive knives and a gun – entered the Kehilat Yaakov synagogue on Harav Shimon Agasi Street, which includes both a synagogue and yeshiva (rabbinical seminary), and carried out attacks in more than one location. Four Rabbis were killed in the attack — Rabbi Moshe Twersky, 59; Aryeh Kupinsky, 40; Rabbi Kalman Levine, 50; and Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg, 68 — who were immediately buried in Jerusalem.
“Two terrorists entered the synagogue in the neighborhood of Har Nof. They attacked with an axe, a knife and a gun. Five worshipers were killed. The police who arrived at the scene shot and killed the two terrorists,” said Israel Police spokeswoman Luba Samri.
Yaakov Amos was praying in the synagogue at the time of the attack. “During the prayers, I heard shots and saw a worshiper wearing tefillin lying on the floor. The bastard passed me from the right while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and firing indiscriminately. Three people fell immediately, and I saw him keep on massacring people.” Amos said that, “one of the terrorists did not waste bullets and aimed directly at people. He fired and then looked at me, and chose people closer to him, shooting them at point blank range.”
Yossi Barzani, one of the worshipers in the synagogue, recounted the scary ordeal. “In the middle of prayers, two terrorists entered shouting ‘Allahu akbar’. The synagogue was in panic, and I tried to flee. At a certain stage, one of the terrorists approached me with a knife, and there was a chair and a table between us. “I drew back and ran from him and fled outside. In those moments, I asked God to save me. My prayer shawl got caught. I left it there and escaped. On the way out, I saw terrible sights and bodies.”
Akiva, a Magen David Adom paramedic, said that he was greeted at the scene by the sight of a worshiper with stab wounds. “Inside there was someone singing. I ran into the synagogue, there was a gunshot victim lying on the floor. I tried to treat him, but the gunfire started in my direction and we fled. I pulled the wounded man along,” he said. “The police arrived and surrounded the entrance and then the terrorist ran out and they shot him. there was wild gunfire. People ran out of the synagogue.”
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the shocking terrorist attack on the Jerusalem synagogue by saying, “We are at the height of a terror campaign focused on Jerusalem. In the middle of shacharit (morning) prayers five innocent and pure Jews were murdered. We send condolences to the families and wishes of recovery to the wounded, among them heroic police officers who prevented a heavy tragedy.” Relating to the terrorists, Netanyahu said “The human animals who perpetrated this slaughter were full of hatred and incitement, deep hatred and terrible incitement against the Jewish People and its state.
Palestinian sources named the terrorists as cousins Ghassan and Uday Abu-Jamal, from the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The families of the two terrorists who killed five people hailed the two as heroes, as candies to celebrate the attack were handed out in the West Bank and Gaza. Alaa Abu Jamal, a cousin of the terrorists, said that Israeli policies were to blame for the attack at the synagogue, when the two entered the compound during morning prayers, armed with meat cleavers and a gun.
“This occurred because of the pressures of the occupying Israeli government on the Palestinian people and in Jerusalem generally, and the ongoing harm to the al-Aqsa mosque; this act is something normal for any person who is connected to his people, to courage and to Islam. We got the usual death notification and we shouted with joy, people here also handed out candies to guests who came to visit and were happy for the martyrs.”
Residents of Gaza Strip praised the brutal attack. Fireworks were set off in celebration and from the mosques were heard chants of “Allahu Akbar” (God is most great) in honor of the attack. Islamic Jihad also issued a statement, calling the attack “a natural response to the crimes of the occupier.” Loudspeakers at mosques in Gaza called out congratulations.
Fatah officials (the Palestinian sect of Mahmoud Abbas) made repeated statements in recent weeks praising deadly terror attacks on Israelis, and calling for “blood” to “purify” Jerusalem of Jews. According to Palestinian Media Watch, the head of the Media Department for Fatah in Lebanon Muhammad al-Biqa’i praised the Palestinians who carried out three recent terror attacks that killed four Israelis and left a rabbi in critical condition. Al-Biqa’i sent a blessing of “praise and esteem” to the killers saying, “They are the ones who heard the call of Yasser Arafat, while the Arab and Islamic nation ignored his call: ‘Millions of martyrs (shahids) are marching to Jerusalem,’” al-Biqa’i said. “They came out with their weapons, with their true belief that Jerusalem needs blood to purify itself of Jews.” Last week, a representative of the PA Ministry of Religious Affairs called on Palestinians to “rush to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices and blood.” Palestinian official Hassan al-Saifi said that “Jerusalem has no need of declarations or religious rulings, but rather needs the religious scholars in particular to fulfill their duty, rush to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices and blood.”
Palestinian radio reports described the attackers as “martyrs” and Hamas praised the attack.” Furthermore, Hamas said that terror attack at the Jerusalem synagogue saying the deadly incident was in response to the death of a Palestinian bus driver found hanged in his vehicle earlier in the week. Hamas called for additional attacks after two suspected Palestinian terrorists killed five people and wounded a number of others at the “Kehilat Yaakov” synagogue in Jerusalem. Amid an onslaught of unfounded claims in the Palestinian media that 32-year-old bus driver Yussuf al-Ramuni was murdered by Jewish settlers in Jerusalem, an autopsy report concluded the driver’s death was self-inflicted, resulting from hanging himself inside the vehicle. Hamas calls for the continuation of revenge operations and stresses that the Israeli occupation bears responsibility for tension in Jerusalem,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said. “The attack in Jerusalem is a reaction to the crime and execution of the martyr al-Ramouni and a reaction to the crimes of the occupation, the Hamas movement is calling for more revenge attacks,” Hamas said on its official Al-Aksa TV.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the deadly attack, and called for an end to what he said was Israeli provocation over the Temple Mount. “The presidency condemns the attack on Jewish worshippers in their place of prayer, and condemned the killing of civilians no matter who is responsible,” said a statement from Abbas’ office. “We condemn all acts of violence from all sources, and demand an end to the invasions of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the provocations of settlers and the incitement by some ministers in the Israeli government.” The statement said that, “It’s time to end the occupation and to put an end to everything that makes violence and tension.”
Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Abbas comments by saying, “Abbas may have condemned the attack but that isn’t enough, because at the end of the same sentence he connected the event to imaginary acts that have no basis that he claims Israel is conducting on the Temple Mount.”
Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) revealed that PA Supreme Sharia (Islamic law) Judge and Abbas’s adviser Mahmoud Al-Habbash appeared on official PA TV on November 5, after several attacks and hours before another one in Jerusalem that left two dead, where he clarified that Abbas is indeed inciting terrorism. “First of all, allow me to say that we kiss every forehead, every hand and even every foot that carries out ribat at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and in Jerusalem…We are behind them. The leadership is with them…we are with them in every movement, in every action and every deed, and we welcome what they are doing at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Al-Habbash said.
Referring to Abbas’s speech in mid October when he called to block Jews from “defiling” the Temple Mount by “all means necessary,” Al-Habbash noted “a few days ago, President (Abbas) greeted them, reinforced them and requested more ribat (religious war) from them. This statement may have angered the Israelis and the occupation, that the President is inciting the Palestinians from Jerusalem to religious war. Yes, we are inciting the people in Jerusalem to religious war. Religious war means to protect and to hold on to your ground,” said Al-Habbash in an admission of incitement. In his speech, Abbas said “we must all carry out religious war” so as to prevent Jews by “any means necessary” from entering the Temple Mount, because “they have no right to enter it.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for the gruesome terrorist attack on the Jerusalem synagogue and vowed to respond harshly. He said: “Hamas, the Islamic Movement and the Palestinian Authority are disseminating countless lies and falsehoods against the State of Israel. They are saying that the Jews are contaminating the Temple Mount. They are saying that we are planning to destroy the Holy Places, that we intend to change the order of prayer there – this is all lies. These lies have already claimed a very heavy price. This is the direct result of the incitement led by Hamas and Abu Mazen [Abbas], incitement that the international community irresponsibly ignores.” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will respond with a strong hand to the cruel murder of Jews who came to pray and were caught by dark murderous hands.”
Israel Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon also blamed the “incitement, lies and hate” circulated by the Palestinian Authority and Abbas. Ya’alon vowed that Israel will “chase down the perpetrators and those who sent them everywhere and in every way, within the borders of Israel and outside.”
Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman called on the international community to respond to what he said was Abbas’s anti-Semitic incitement, which he said caused the attack. “Abbas has turned the conflict into a religious conflict between Jews and Muslims and his systematic incitement that he leads against Jews — whom he defines as impure who are not allowed to enter the Temple Mount — is instructions to carry out nasty attacks like this,” said Liberman.
Israel Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, the leader of the Jewish Home politial party also blamed Abbas for the attack. “Mahmoud Abbas, one of the greatest terrorists to come from the Palestinian people, is directly responsible for the spilled blood of Jews wearing tallit and tefillin,” he said, referring to images of the killings showing slain worshipers still wearing prayer shawls and phylacteries. “While we were busy with our fantasies about of the diplomatic process, we created for ourselves an interwoven infrastructure of terrorism and incitement. Abbas declared war on Israel, and we must treat it accordingly,” he added.
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein echoed Bennett in blaming PA incitement for the attack and implied that Israel should cut ties with the Palestinians. “While we are making an effort and calling for calm, the brutal incitement by Palestinian Authority leaders continues and worsens,” Edelstein said. “Israel should not be dealing with those whose way is to slaughter innocents in our holy places,” he added.
As a result of the killing of the four rabbis of the Jerusalem synagogue, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the deployment of checkpoints at the entrance to East Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods. The prime minister also instructed security forces to carry out raids on the homes of suspected terrorists in the city. Under the new directives, police will conduct routine large-scale raids into problematic East Jerusalem neighborhoods. Police will be authorized to arrest those resisting the entry of law enforcers as well as demonstrators who verbally assault officers. Security forces will also be increased throughout the West Bank. Another plan under consideration is to order the positioning of security guards at public buildings, such as synagogues and places of entertainment.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on world leaders to denounce the attack in a Jerusalem synagogue that claimed the lives of five people. “I call on all the leaders of countries in the Western world: I want to see outrage over this massacre. I want to see denunciation,” he said.
US President Barack Obama condemned the attack by two Palestinians on a synagogue in Jerusalem that killed five people, including three Americans. “I strongly condemn today’s terrorist attack on worshipers at a synagogue in Jerusalem,” Obama said in a statement. “There is and can be no justification for such attacks against innocent civilians. At this sensitive moment in Jerusalem, it is all the more important for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence, and seek a path forward towards peace,” he said.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama said US Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attacks. “Tragically this is not the first loss of life that we have seen in recent months. Too many Israelis have died, too many Palestinians have died. And at this difficult time I think it’s important for both Palestinians and Israelis to try to work together to lower tensions,” he said.
US Secretary of State, John Kerry branded the deadly terror attack at a Jerusalem synagogue as “pure terror”, and demanded that Palestinian leaders condemn the attack. “People who had come to worship God in the sanctuary of the synagogue were hatcheted and hacked and murdered in their holy place in an act of pure terror and senseless brutality,” said Kerry. “To have this kind of act, which is a pure result of incitement, of calls for ‘days of rage,’ of just irresponsibility, is unacceptable,” he said. “The Palestinian leadership must condemn this and they must begin to take serious steps to restrain any kind of incitement … and exhibit the kind of leadership that is necessary to put this region on a different path. This simply has no place in human behavior and we need to hear from leaders who are going to lead their people to a different place.”
Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said on Tuesday that Canada deplored the “savage” terror attack. “Attacks on innocent worshipers, in what is supposed to be a place of peace and tranquility, are cowardly and must never be tolerated,” said Baird. “Those engaging in these despicable terrorist acts, and those financing or morally supporting their actions, are responsible for further aggravating an already fraught and dangerous situation,” Baird added. “Canada reiterates that any statements of incitement are completely irresponsible. Those leaders who regularly issue them cannot plead ignorance or look the other way when terrorist attacks like today’s occur,” Baird continued.
Several other foreign ministers condemned the attack. The French foreign ministry said that “President Hollande strongly denounces the awful attack carried out in a synagogue in Jerusalem and those who dared to commend this act. He shares the grief of the families and of the Israeli people.” The German foreign minister, Frank Walter Steinmeier, said he hoped the attack would serve as a wake-up call, and that the overlap of political and religious issues in the conflict added a new and dangerous dimension.
While international leaders condemned the terrorist attack on the Jerusalem synagogue, some of the international media continued to report on the events in Israel in an eyebrow-raising shocking bias against Israel. US media outlet,CNN ran a headline stating that four Israelis and two Palestinians were killed in the attack, failing to note that the two Palestinians were the terrorists. In addition, CNN superimposed their preliminary coverage of the terror attack with the headline: “Deadly attack on Jerusalem mosque.”
An agreement to divide Jerusalem and establish a PLO state is a tribulation event.
The link to these articles are as follows:
1) Four people killed in terror attack at Jerusalem synagogue
2) Seven minutes of terror: Haunting accounts of a bloody morning prayer
3) Families of terrorists celebrate their attack, hail martyrs and heroes
4) Fatah official calls for blood to ‘purify’ Jerusalem of Jews
5) Hamas: Jerusalem synagogue attack in response to death of Palestinian bus driver found hanged
6) Palestinians in Gaza celebrate terror attack at Jerusalem synagogue
7) PM blames Abbas, calls emergency meet in wake of attack
8) PA Clarifies: ‘Abbas is Inciting for Religious War’
9) Netanyahu: ‘We Are at the Height of a Terror Campaign’
10) Netanyahu okays checkpoints in East Jerusalem neighborhoods
11) Netanyahu to world leaders: I want to see outrage over this massacre
12) Obama condemns J’lem synagogue attack, calls to lower tensions
13) ‘Guardian’ deletes reference to Palestinians, CNN labels synagogue ‘mosque’
14) Video of Jerusalem Synagogue Terror Attack
From a Biblical prophetic perspective, the reason why the God of Israel would allow these events to happen is because it will result in the end of the exile of the house of Jacob and the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).
We will to be “watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem” and we will not rest until the God of Israel makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62).
Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,
Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l