Holocaust can happen again, say 40 percent of survivors in Israel
(JNS.org) Some 40 percent of Holocaust survivors in Israel are concerned that a second Holocaust could occur, according to the annual report of the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel, released on Wednesday, ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day next week.
The report found that 92 percent of Holocaust survivors feel the Israeli government does not budget enough money to help them, and 60 percent believe Israel should give them assistance on top of the assistance given to all elderly people in the country, according to Israel Hayom. Holocaust survivors often have special difficulties that stem from their traumatic experiences.
The foundation, which provides financial aid to needy survivors and raises awareness of their plight, obtains its funds from the Claims Conference, the Israeli government and private donations. The report released Wednesday was based on a survey conducted by the Rafi Smith Institute of 500 participants, and reviewed the financial and social circumstances of the 192,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel.
By 2017, the number of Holocaust survivors living is Israel will decrease to 152,000, the foundation projects. With the average Holocaust survivor in Israel now aged 84, the report found that about 37 Israeli Holocaust survivors die every day and more than 1,000 die every month. The report also found that 36 percent of Israeli Holocaust survivors live alone, and 40 percent say they feel lonely. Some 10,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel have no family at all.
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Israel Defense Forces responds to cross-border fire from Syria
(JNS.org) Israel was struck twice on Tuesday by cross-border fire from Syria. In the first incident, a mortal shell exploded in the Tel Fares area of the Golan Heights on Tuesday evening. Shortly afterward, Israeli soldiers near the Tel Hazeka military post came under fire from Syria. There were no injuries or damage in either incident, Israel Hayom reported.
The Israel Defense Forces responded with tank fire targeting the source. A direct hit on the target was confirmed, the IDF said.
The IDF informed United Nations forces stationed in the border area about the exchange of fire.
There have been several incidents of cross-border fire from Syria in recent weeks and the IDF has responded by targeting the sources on several occasions.
“After quiet during the holiday [Passover], there was mortar and machine gun fire toward a patrol along the border fence,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said on Wednesday. “In response, the IDF used precision tank fire to strike a building in the town of Beer Ajam and hit the shooting squad that had fired at the patrol.”
“Despite the fire, we don’t think there has been a significant change in the sector,” Mordechai said. “We are not a party to what is happening there [in Syria], but we must see that our interests are not harmed.”
Moshe Ya’alon, the defense minister of Israel, said on Wednesday that Israel would not permit cross-border fire from Syria, whether intentional or not, to become routine.
“The moment we identify the source of the fire, we’ll destroy it without hesitation, as we did last night and as happened in previous cases,” Ya’alon said. “From our perspective, the Syrian regime is responsible for what goes on in its territory and we won’t permit a situation in which there is fire into Israel that goes without a response.”
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Palestinian stone thrower convicted of murder in historic ruling
(JNS.org) The Ofer Base Military Court in Israel on Tuesday convicted a Palestinian man of the 2011 murders of 30-year-old Asher Palmer and his 1-year-old son Yonatan in a ruling that is expected to set a legal precedent.
“This is the first time a man has been convicted for murder over stone-throwing,” Attorney Adrian Agassi, a former military court judge who represents the Palmer family, told Israel’s Channel 2 News, according to Israel Hayom. “The court accepted the fact that this was not a kid throwing rocks at the road, but a systematic plan for [the defendant] to try and kill Jews.”
Waal al-Arja, of the town of Halhoul, 5 kilometers (3 miles) north of Hebron, a former officer in the Palestinian Authority’s security forces, was convicted of two counts of murder in the Palmer case, as well as 22 counts of attempted murder over a series of stone-throwing incidents on Route 60 in Judea and Samaria. His sentence is pending.
Palmer had been driving from Kiryat Arba to Jerusalem when he was attacked by Arja and another man, Ali Saada. The pair was stoning cars traveling on Route 60, near the Halhul Junction. They drove up to Palmer’s car and Arja threw a large rock at it, which shattered Palmer’s windshield and hit him in the face. He lost control of the vehicle, which swerved and overturned, landing on the side of the road. Palmer and his baby son were killed on impact.
The incident was initially thought to be an accident, but a police investigation later concluded that it was the result of a terror attack. The Israeli Defense Ministry subsequently stated that Palmer and his son would be recognized as terror victims.
A conviction of murder in cases involving the stoning of cars traveling across Judea and Samaria is rare. Military Judge Major Amir Dahan was quoted by Army Radio as saying that in Arja’s case, “the prosecution proved that he had the intent and means to kill.”
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Palestinian rockets and mortars hit southern Israel, terror targets struck in Gaza
(JNS.org) A tumultuous post-Passover period continued in Israel on Wednesday morning when Palestinian terrorists fired two rockets at the southern Israeli city of Sderot, following the Israel Air Force’s Tuesday night strike on two Gaza terror targets, Israel Hayom reported. The air force strike had come in response to mortar fire at Israel’s south on Tuesday afternoon.
“The IDF struck Gaza last night because we hold Hamas responsible for anything fired from Gaza at Israel. We will not abide a trickle of rocket fire on Israeli civilians or security forces … such incidents will meet a forceful response,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Wednesday. There were no injuries sustained from the Palestinian rockets or the Israeli strike. Tuesday marked the third time Gaza rockets hit Israel since the November ceasefire between Israel and Hamas following Operation Pillar of Defense, with the previous fire coming during President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel. The Israel Air Force strike was the air force’s first action in Gaza since November’s conflict.
“Hamas understands that there are new rules now,” IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said. “The past five months have been the quietest since the [2005] disengagement [from Gaza by Israel].”
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