JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
IRAN SAYS SOMEBODY IN IRAN SHOT A FEW ROCKETS AT US.COWARDS WON:T EVEN SAY ISRAEL SNUCK UP AND NAILED THEM.
Elam (IRAN IN THE BIBLE) passed into the hands of the Persians" (A.H. Sayce).
Jeremiah 49:35-39
35-Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
36-And
upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven,
and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no
nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37-For I will
cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that
seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, [even] my fierce
anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have
consumed them:
38-And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
39-But it shall come to pass in the latter days, [that] I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 32:24
24-There
[is] Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them
slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the
nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the
living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the
pit.
EZEK 38:4-13
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks
into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses
and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great
company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6
Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY) of
the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with
thee.(AFRICAN MUSLIMS,SUDAN,TUNESIA ETC)
7 Be thou prepared, and
prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto
thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be
visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is
brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against
the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is
brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of
them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a
cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with
thee.
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that
at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think
an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of
unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell
safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor
gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand
upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people
that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and
goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan, and
the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say
unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company
to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and
goods, to take a great spoil?(OIL IS IN SPOIL-I BELIEVE THATS WHY
RUSSIA,ARAB/MUSLIMS MARCH TO ISRAEL)
EZEK 39:11-21
11 And it
shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there
of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the
sea: (EAST OF THE DEAD SEA IN THE JORDAN VALLEY) and it shall stop the
noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his
multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog.(CEMETARY OF
THE HORDE)
12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
13
Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; (ALL AVAILABLE ISRAELS
WILL BURY THE RUSSIA,MUSLIM HORDE) and it shall be to them a renown the
day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
14 And they
shall sever out men of continual employment, (NUCLEAR PROFFESIONALS)
passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain
upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months
shall they search.(SO BY THE SOUNDS OF IT AFTER 7 MONTHS THE NUKED
RUSSIA,MUSLIM HOARDES BONES WILL STILL BE FULL OF RADIATION, SO VISITERS
TO ISRAEL WILL JUST PUT A SIGN BY THE BONES.NOT TOUCH THEM.OR THEY
WOULD STILL GET RADIATION POISONING FROM ISRAEL NUKING THEM 7 MONTHS
EARLIER.SO THE SIGN GOES BY THE BONES.THE NUCLEAR PROFFESIONALS WILL
PICK UP AND TAKE THE BONES TO THE JORDAN VALLEY BURIAL SITE.
15 And
the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone,
then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in
the valley of Hamongog.(VALLEY OF GOGS HORDES)
16 And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah.(MEANING CITY OF THE HOARDE) Thus shall they cleanse the land.
17
And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every
feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves,
and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do
sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel,
that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.(RUSSIA,ISLAMIC HORDE)
18 Ye
shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of
the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them
fatlings of Bashan.
19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
21
And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall
see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon
them.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague
wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against
Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their
feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in
their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume
away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN
USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And
it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD
shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of
his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his
neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
THIS
IS SO REDICULAS, ITS THE HAMAS MUSLIM COCKROACHES THAT CAPTURED, RAPED
BABIES IN FRONT OF PARENTS. THEN RAPED WIVES INFRONT OF HUSBANDS. THEN
THE DEATH CULT WORSHIPPERS SHOT OR CHOPPED THE HEADS OFF ALL THE FAMILY
MEMBERS. AND AROUND THE WORLD ALL THE COCKROACH MUSLIM SUPPORTERS (WHICH
ARE ALL DEMON POSSESSED), BLAME ISRAEL FOR THE HOSTAGES NOT BEING
RELEASED. WHEN ISRAEL IS KILLING ALL THE HAMAS MUSLIM PEDOPHILE DEATH
CULT WORSHIPPERS. BUT ISRAEL GETS THE BLAME FOR KILLING KIDS. THIS IS
JUST COMPLETELY BACKWARDS. HAMAS TORTURES AND GENOCIDES ISRAELIS. ISRAEL
TRYS TO GET RID OF THESE DEATH CULTISTS. AND THE WORLD SUCK HOLES UP TO
NOT ONLY THE HOSTAGE TAKERS MUSLIMS. BUT THEY SUCK UP FOR THE DEATH
CULTISTS THAT SAY DEATH TO THE BIG SATAN AMERICA. AND DEATH TO THE
LITTLE SATAN ISRAEL. AND THIS IS DEMON POSSESSED PROTESTERS IN AMERICAN
CITIES ESPECIALLY NEW YORK AND DEARBORN MICHIGAN. GOD OVIOUSLY LET THIS
ISRAELI SLAUGHTER ON OCT 7 HAPPEN. TO EXPOSE ALL THE ANTI-SEMITES AND
ISRAEL AND GOD HATERS AROUND THE WORLD.
Iran’s
Khamenei tells troops to ‘learn enemy’s tactics’ after tit-for-tat
attacks-Supreme leader says it’s not size or success of April 13 strike
that matters, but rather show of determination to act-By Agencies and
ToI Staff Today, 3:40 pm-APR 21,24
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali
Khamenei told the country’s armed forces to “learn the enemy’s tactics”
while praising them for launching hundreds of missiles and drones at
Israel, almost all of which failed to reach their targets.“How many
missiles were launched and how many of them hit their target is not the
primary question, what really matters is that Iran demonstrated its
will-power during that operation,” Khamenei said on Sunday during a
meeting with brass from Iran’s various armed forces, according to state
media.Tehran openly targeted Israel for the first time on April 13 with
more than 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and armed drones in
what it said was retaliation for Israel’s suspected deadly bombing of
its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1.The Israel Defense Forces
said 99 percent of the incoming munitions were intercepted by air
defense systems that operated in cooperation with the US, British,
French and Jordanian forces across the region. A handful of missiles
that made it through the defensive shield caused only minor damage on an
airbase. A young girl from Israel’s Bedouin community was seriously
injured by shrapnel from one intercepted missile.Khamenei thanked the
officers for carrying out the attack, saying they had raised Iran’s
profile in the international community.He also urged them to
“ceaselessly pursue military innovation and learn the enemy’s
tactics.”Israel’s retaliatory strike early Friday reportedly destroyed a
Russian-made S-300 air defense radar system meant to protect the covert
Natanz nuclear site in central Iran.Tehran has played down the
incident, describing it as a failed assault using three “toy”
quadcopters. It has said it had no plans for retaliation, a response
that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.An image aired by
an Iranian opposition news outlet Sunday appeared to show significant
damage to the radar system outside Isfahan.According to a report in The
New York Times, the strike used a high-tech munition able to elude
Iran’s air defenses, and had been used to send Tehran a message showing
Israel’s capabilities.Israel has not officially commented on the strike,
in line with its strategy of ambiguity regarding actions abroad, meant
to give those it attacks maneuverability to avoid pressure to
retaliate.The clash between Israel and Iran came against the background
of the ongoing war against the Palestinian terror group Hamas in the
Gaza Strip that began with its October 7 cross-border attack on Israel
that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.The next day, Iran-backed
Hezbollah began attacking along Israel’s northern border in what has
become near-daily rocket attacks on towns and communities in the
area.Israel has responded with strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in
Lebanon, and allegedly, related targets in Syria, which is also an ally
of Iran and Hezbollah and hosts their forces on its territory.
Sister
of Hamas chief indicted for praising Oct. 7 attack, ties to terror
group-Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh, one of three Israeli sisters of the exiled
Hamas politburo chief, faces nearly 20 years in prison-By Jeremy
Sharon-Today, 3:40 pm-APR 21,24
A sister of Hamas leader Ismail
Haniyeh was indicted in an Israeli court Sunday for supporting the
terror group and cheering on its October 7 attack on southern
Israel.Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh, 57, was charged in Beersheba’s
Magistrate’s Court with identifying with a proscribed terrorist
organization and incitement to terrorism, three weeks after she was
arrested during a raid on the Israeli town of Tel Sheva, where she
lives.Haniyeh stands accused of having sent two WhatsApp messages to
dozens of her contacts, including Haniyeh himself, “praising,
encouraging and supporting” Hamas’s actions on October 7 when it
slaughtered some 1,200 Israelis and perpetrated mass atrocities in
southern Israel.Three messages sent to WhatsApp groups on October 9 and
October 10 asked members to pass around a prayer that would help
“destroy the enemy.” The messages included a prayer beseeching God to ”
count them in number and kill them and do not leave any one of
them.”Haniyeh was hit with three counts of incitement to terrorism,
which carries a five-year prison sentence, and two counts of identifying
with a terrorist organization, which carries with it a three-year
prison sentence were she to be convicted.The State Attorney’s Office
requested that the court order Haniyeh to be held in detention until the
end of the legal proceedings against her.Haniyeh, the Hamas political
leader, lives in exile in Doha, Qatar. His three sisters live in Tel
Sheva and were married to Arab Israelis.Two are now widowed and have
fallen foul of Israeli authorities in the past by making illegal trips
into Gaza in 2013 via Egypt. They were both given eight-month suspended
sentences for the visits in 2015.Later that year, Israel denied
Haniyeh’s request that his sisters be permitted to attend his son’s
wedding in Gaza.The three sisters all have Israeli citizenship and
according to a 2006 report from the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, some
of their children have served in the Israeli Defense Forces.Police
arrested Sabah al-Salem Haniyeh on April 1 in a joint raid with the Shin
Bet that was dubbed “Early Dawn.”Police said that during a raid on the
suspect’s home officers found documents, media, telephones and other
evidence linking her to “serious security offenses.”Police also said
they found hundreds of thousands of shekels in cash at the
premises.Southern District commander Superintendent Amir Cohen vowed at
the time that his forces “will use all the means and tools at its
disposal, everywhere, in order to create deterrence at the same time as
thwarting terrorist attacks, with the aim of ensuring the safety and
security of the citizens of Israel,” according to the police’s
statement.Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.
Satellite
image appears to show damaged Iranian radar allegedly struck by
Israel-Surrounding Russian-made S-300 air defense missile launchers
largely unscathed in attack that reportedly targeted embattlements
guarding secret Natanz nuclear site-By ToI Staff Today, 12:54 pm-APR
21,24
An image aired by an Iranian opposition news outlet Sunday
appeared to show significant damage to a radar system near a secretive
Iranian nuclear site, after an alleged Israeli strike last week.The
destroyed remains of what was reported to be an anti-aircraft mobile
radar station could be seen in the satellite image published by Iran
International, with the ground around it charred black.Satellite images
of the site captured before the alleged attack early Friday showed the
same “flap-lid” radar intact and surrounded by an array of four
Russian-made S-300 mobile anti-aircraft missile launchers and other
vehicles related to the air defense system.Imagery taken Friday, hours
after the attack, showed the missile launchers removed from the air
defense system at the Eighth Shekari Air Base in Isfahan.In the photo
released Sunday, at least three of the missile launchers had apparently
been returned.Aside from the radar, all the other vehicles at the air
defense site appeared to be largely unscathed, showing the pinpoint
nature of the strike, which officials had indicated was intended as a
limited retaliation to Iran’s barrage of missiles and drones on Israel
days earlier.Analysis of satellite imagery obtained by Iran
International confirms media reports that a central part of the S-300
air defense system at an Iranian air base in Isfahan was hit by a
presumed Israeli attack early Friday.???? @FardadFarahzad via
@SkyWatchApps pic.twitter.com/s8ViDTqcFh — Iran International English
(@IranIntl_En) April 21, 2024-The New York Times reported on Saturday
that Israel used a high-tech missile that was able to evade Iran’s radar
systems to attack the site, in a move meant to send a message of
deterrence by displaying Israel’s offensive abilities.It cited two
Iranian officials as saying that the S-300 system was hit in the attack.
The air defense post was reported to be part of an array defending the
nearby top-secret Natanz nuclear site, some 100 kilometers away.The
Iranian officials told the newspaper that Iran had not detected
intrusions into its airspace from drones, missiles or aircraft.Umbra
synthetic aperture radar imagery acquired 0648Z 19APR2024 showed
evidence of damage to the Iranian S-300PMU2 strategic surface-to-air
missile battery in Isfahan since 15APR2024. A probable damaged 30N6E
target engagement radar was visible in imagery still on the radar…
pic.twitter.com/eqMFTanPOH— Chris Biggers (@CSBiggers) April 19,
2024-Two unnamed Western officials cited by the newspaper said the
missile aimed to show Tehran that Israel is able to dodge and neutralize
its defenses, in a move meant to force Iran to rethink launching
another direct attack on Israel.Despite the reports, Iran continued to
insist that only several small drones were launched and that they had
not caused any damage.Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian,
in New York to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting on the
Middle East, likened the strike on Friday to child’s play.Speaking to
NBC News through a translator, Amir-Abdollahian said the drones had
taken off from inside Iran and flew for a few hundred meters before
being downed.“What happened last night was no attack,” said
Amir-Abdollahian. “It was the flight of two or three quad-copters, which
are at the level of toys that our children use in Iran.”However, the
reports that Israel had fired at least one missile appear to correlate
with debris found in Iraq in the morning after residents of Baghdad
reported hearing sounds of explosions.Images showed what appeared to be
parts of a two-stage standoff air-to-surface missile near Latifiya,
southwest of Baghdad, which would have fallen away after the missile
launch, although this remained unconfirmed.???? ????????⚡: UN-EXPLODED
ISRAELI MISSILE IN IRAQ-The Popular Mobilization Forces found the
remains of an Israeli missile in the Latifiya area on the outskirts of
the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.#Iran #Israel #IranAttackIsrael
#Isfahanpic.twitter.com/wqfuUO9pbD— UnCover (@uncoovr) April 19,
2024-Israel has several types of these munitions available for its air
force, raising the possibility it was fired as part of the attack.Also,
around the time of the incident in Iran, Syria’s state-run SANA news
agency quoted a military statement saying Israel carried out a missile
strike targeting a southern air defense unit and causing damage. The
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war
monitor of unclear funding, said the strike hit a military radar for
government forces.That area of Syria is directly west of Isfahan, some
1,500 kilometers (932 miles) away and east of Israel, and could provide
an indication of the route taken by Israeli jets.The deeply fortified
underground Natanz enrichment site has been repeatedly targeted by
suspected Israeli sabotage attacks, but the reported strike on the S-300
radar would appear to be the first direct Israeli military attack in an
area thought to contain much of Iran’s nuclear production
capability.The alleged Israeli strike came after Jerusalem indicated it
would retaliate for Iran’s decision to launch over 300 missiles and
armed drones at Israel overnight April 13-14, an unprecedented volley
which itself came in reaction to an alleged Israeli strike on Iran’s
consulate compound in Damascus on April 1 that killed several members of
the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp, including a top officer.After an
international coalition helped Israel down nearly all of the
projectiles launched by Iran last week, Jerusalem was heavily pressured
to show restraint and avoid retaliatory measures that could further
escalate tensions and send the region hurtling toward all-out war.Iran’s
insistence that the strike was carried out by drones and caused no
damage appeared to be part of an effort to play down its severity, with a
senior Iranian official casting doubt on whether Israel had been behind
the attack and saying there were no plans to hit the country
back.Israel has not officially commented on the strike, in line with its
strategy of ambiguity regarding actions abroad, meant to give those it
attacks maneuverability to avoid pressure to retaliate.Agencies
contributed to this report.
Shin Bet denies telling British
tabloid only 40 hostages in Gaza still alive-Daily Mail claims intel
shows majority of captives dead, but security agency says numbers ‘based
on writer’s opinion’; Israel has said 34 of remaining 129 abductees no
longer alive-By ToI Staff Today, 2:55 pm-APR 21,24
The Shin Bet
security service denied a British report Sunday that claimed fewer than a
third of the hostages remaining in Gaza are still alive.The British
Daily Mail tabloid reported early Sunday that all but 40 of the 129
hostages taken from Israel on October 7 were dead, citing anonymous
sources and “intelligence gathered by Shin Bet.”“The publication in
question is not true and does not represent the opinion of the Shin
Bet,” the security agency responded later in the day. “The numbers
mentioned in the article are based on the writer’s opinion only and are
not based on information from the Shin Bet.”The report claimed that
Israel had been able to gather more information about the situation of
the hostages since entering Gaza.“‘[Intelligence] is much easier to
access than before October 7 when we had limited access to Gaza and we
didn’t have a lot of possibilities of sources,” it quoted an anonymous
source saying.The IDF has officially confirmed the deaths of 34 of those
kidnapped on October 7 and still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence
and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza. However, privately
Israeli and US officials have said the number of dead may be much
higher.Hamas-led terrorists kidnapped 253 people on October 7 during a
brutal onslaught into southern Israel in which 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, were killed.Israel responded with a military offensive to
topple the Hamas regime in Gaza, destroy the terror group and free the
hostages.
Freed Israeli hostages pictured in Egypt after their
release from Hamas captivity in Gaza, November 29, 2023 (Screenshot)-A
truce deal in November saw the release of 105 hostages, and a handful of
others were freed by the military or let go separately. The bodies of
12 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed
by the military.It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on
October 7 remain in Gaza, including those killed, along with two
civilians held since 2014 and 2015, and the remains of two soldiers
killed in the Strip almost a decade ago.Among those still held are
children who were as young as nine months when kidnapped, elderly men
and sick and infirm hostages.Several attempts at a hostage release deal
brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar have failed to reach any
breakthrough, with the sides at loggerheads over demands to end the war,
withdraw troops, and the identity and number of Palestinian prisoners
Hamas demands be released in exchange for the hostages’ freedom.Families
of the hostages and other advocates have pressed the government to do
more to reach a deal, warning that time is running out for those still
in captivity.Those who have been released have described “hellish”
conditions, with abductees dealing with the constant fear of rape,
torture or death at the hands of their captors, or by starvation or
Israeli bombing raids.Agencies contributed to this report.
Israel
to summon ambassadors of 6 countries that voted for Palestinian UN
membership-Foreign Ministry spokesperson says ‘a strong protest’ will be
lodged with envoys of France, Japan, South Korea, Malta, Slovenia and
Ecuador-By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 9:07 am-APR 21,24
Israel will
summon ambassadors of countries that voted for full Palestinian UN
membership at the Security Council on Thursday to lodge protests with
them, a foreign ministry spokesman said Saturday.Twelve countries backed
a resolution recommending full Palestinian membership at the world body
Thursday and two — Britain and Switzerland — abstained, with the US
wielding its veto to torpedo the measure.Israeli Foreign Ministry
spokesman Oren Marmorstein said the ministry would summon ambassadors of
France, Japan, South Korea, Malta, Slovenia, and Ecuador on Sunday,
“and a strong protest will be presented to them.”“An identical protest
will be presented to additional countries,” he said in a post on X.“The
unambiguous message that will be delivered to the ambassadors: A
political gesture to the Palestinians and a call to recognize a
Palestinian state – six months after the October 7 massacre – is a prize
for terrorism,” Marmorstein said, referring to the devastating attack
on Israel by the Palestinian terror group Hamas.Some 1,200 people were
killed and 253 were taken hostage during the onslaught, which touched
off an ongoing war to eliminate the terror group in Gaza.Foreign
countries involved in mediation efforts around the war have sought to
parlay the indirect talks into negotiations aimed at advancing a
two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“Israel will not
agree to the establishment of a terror state that will endanger its
citizens,” Marmorstein wrote. “It will also be clarified to the
ambassadors that instead of making political gestures that reward the
Hamas terrorist organization, the countries should apply pressure on
Hamas to immediately release the 133 women and men being held
hostage.”The draft resolution voted on Thursday called for recommending
to the General Assembly “that the State of Palestine be admitted to
membership of the United Nations” in place of its current “non-member
observer state” status, which it has held since 2012.The US had sought
to convince the Palestinian Authority to shelve the measure, and then
turned to other members to either oppose or abstain after Ramallah
rebuffed Washington’s request, a US official told The Times of
Israel.France, Japan, South Korea, and Slovenia all voted in favor of
the resolution submitted by Algeria, even though none of them have
individually recognized a Palestinian state.The US official speculated
that those countries voted the way they did even though they didn’t
practically support the measure because they knew there wouldn’t be any
consequences for doing so, given Washington’s pledged veto.Sierra Leone,
Russia, Mozambique, Malta, Guyana, Ecuador, China, and Algeria also
voted in favor of the resolution; each have already recognized a
Palestinian state.Following the US’s use of its veto, the Palestinian
Authority said it would “reconsider” its relationship with
Washington.The US has long opposed Palestinian efforts to unilaterally
secure statehood status at the UN, arguing that the goal should be
achieved through direct negotiations with Israel.
Hate was too
high before Oct. 7, and now it's even worse' What would New York’s
expanded definition of hate crimes mean for Jewish communities?-Gov.
Kathy Hochul aims to add 31 offenses to list of potential hate crimes,
including arson, but critics say small-scale offenders won’t be aware of
the change or deterred by it-By Luke Tress Today, 7:09 am-APR 21,24
New
York Jewish Week — Last month, antisemitic graffiti was found on
bathroom walls at Queens College, including the message “Hitler, please
come back.” In response, the NYPD alerted its Hate Crimes Task Force,
although graffiti and a range of other crimes are not among the 66
offenses that can be considered hate crimes.Gov. Kathy Hochul is trying
to change that.In January, during her State of the State address, Hochul
said she aimed to add another 31 offenses to the list of potential hate
crimes, citing increases in antisemitism and Islamophobia. On Monday,
the governor, a centrist Democrat, said passing the hate crimes
legislation was part of an agreement she had reached with legislative
leaders in negotiations over the state budget. The legislation passed
the State Assembly on Thursday and now heads to the State Senate.“The
rising tide of hate is abhorrent and unacceptable, and I’m committed to
doing everything in my power to keep New Yorkers safe,” Hochul said in
January. “We will never rest until all New Yorkers feel safe, regardless
of who they are, who they love or how they worship.”The expansion of
the hate crimes law comes as Jewish organizations and lawmakers have
demanded action amid a reported spike in antisemitism following the
October 7 massacres, in which thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded
southern Israel and brutally murdered 1,200 people and abducted 253 to
the Gaza Strip.While many Jewish groups applaud the proposed expanded
hate crime laws, some fear that they encourage sending even more people
to prison. And one criminal justice professor questioned whether adding
offenses to the list will actually deter some would-be perpetrators of
minor offenses.“Essentially for hate crimes, we’re making the penalties
more severe, and there’s been a whole lot of hate lately, so I think
this is a good thing,” said Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, a Jewish
Democrat who has pushed for the expansion. “The numbers were way too
high before October 7, but since October 7, the problem’s gotten so much
worse.”Law enforcement agencies and watchdogs have reported that since
the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, antisemitism has
spiked in New York and across the country. According to NYPD data,
between the start of October and April 1, there were 253 antisemitic
incidents reported to police, nearly double the number during the same
period last year. An Anti-Defamation League audit released on Tuesday
said antisemitic incidents more than doubled nationwide year over year,
also increasing in New York.In November, Dinowitz and a group of other
lawmakers sponsored bills in the State Senate and Assembly that would
have made severe criminal offenses like gang assault, rape and murder
prosecutable as hate crimes. They also included lesser offenses like
graffiti and “jostling,” a crime similar to pickpocketing.“Hate crimes
harm not just the victim, but the larger community. It is important that
this statute is amended to more effectively remediate such crimes’
pervasive harm,” the legislation says.Designating an offense as a hate
crime leads to a steeper punishment. Arson as a hate crime could result
in a 15-year imprisonment, as opposed to 10 years for regular arson,
according to Frank Pezzella, a professor at New York’s John Jay College
of Criminal Justice. Dinowitz said the legislation would “essentially
raise the crime one notch,” making a class D felony into a class C
felony, for example.The crimes are considered more serious, Pezzella
said, because they threaten a larger community beyond their immediate
targets. Whether something is a hate crime depends on proving the
perpetrator’s motivation, which can be “a very high bar” to prove in
court, Pezzella said.“It’s not just the primary victims we’re concerned
about, it’s a message to secondary victims and how it undermines the
ideals of society and inclusiveness,” he said. “That’s why hate crimes
are dealt with a lot more severely than their ordinary crime
counterparts.”Despite Hochul’s support of the bill in January, the bill
stalled, and did not come before the Senate or Assembly until Thursday’s
budget proceedings.But now a version of the legislation is due to pass
with the state budget, Dinowitz said. The $237 billion budget is more
than two weeks past its April 1 deadline and awaiting approval from the
legislature. Hochul’s office said the legislature would vote on the bill
in the coming days before coming to the governor for her
signature.According to the budget deal, 23 crimes will be added under
hate crimes, including gang assault, aggravated murder and sexual abuse —
though graffiti is still off the list. The budget also includes $35
million for the state’s Securing Communities Against Hate Grant, which
protects houses of worship and religious schools.Dinowitz said some
crimes, such as graffiti, had been dropped from the legislation in order
to secure a “broad consensus.”“I don’t think there’s any real
opposition. I think there are some people on principle who don’t want to
put more people in jail,” Dinowitz said.Among those people are some
progressive Jewish activists who say the bill will contribute to mass
incarceration. Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), a
progressive group based in New York City, said it was tracking the bill
along with allied non-Jewish groups. Sophie Ellman-Golan, a spokesperson
for JFREJ, said the offenses in the legislation are already crimes, and
feels that the bill would only enhance existing punishments in a
harmful way.“Something like this can be a way for politicians to put a
Band-Aid on and say, ‘Look how seriously we take hate violence,’”
Ellman-Golan said, arguing that education was a more effective
preventative measure. “A higher sentence is not materially going to
undue what has been done. It simply causes further harm.”But major
Jewish groups in the city, including the UJA-Federation, Anti-Defamation
League and Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), backed Hochul’s
January announcement. UJA’s CEO, Eric Goldstein, called the hate crimes
expansion “a critical tool for law enforcement and the courts.”JCRC-NY’s
CEO, Mark Treyger, said he supports the bill as a means to “hold bad
actors accountable.” He urged a “comprehensive approach” to reducing
hate crimes, that included legal penalties as well as other measures
such as mental health care.“When we say there’s no room for hate, we
have to mean it with more than just tweets and Facebook posts. We have
to see that language codified into law,” Treyger said.Richard Priem, the
interim CEO of the Community Security Service, which coordinates
security for synagogues and other Jewish institutions, said his group
was not involved in legislative advocacy and could not comment on the
specifics of the bill, but that the group generally supported cracking
down on antisemitic incidents. Because “not every antisemitic incident
is also a crime,” Priem said, it can be more difficult for law
enforcement to take action.“If legislation is passed that makes more
expressions that are perceived as antisemitic an offense, that is a good
thing,” he said. “There’s a stronger impetus for law enforcement to
respond to it, which is making us safer.”Manhattan District Attorney
Alvin Bragg, who has stepped up prosecution of hate crimes after coming
under fire for his handling of a 2021 attack on a Jewish man, also
vocally supported Hochul’s January announcement.“Hate and bias-motivated
crimes are continuing to infiltrate our communities, leaving New
Yorkers vulnerable and threatening public safety as a whole,” Bragg said
in January, adding that the legislation is part of “creating a more
robust legal framework and giving us the tools necessary to ensure the
safety and well-being of all New Yorkers.”Pezzella said he was
“surprised” that certain crimes, such as arson, are not already on the
hate crimes list. But he questioned whether the expanded definition
would actually dissuade those who would commit more minor hate offenses.
He said most hate crimes are done by “thrill seekers,” mainly young
people who may not understand the significance of tagging a synagogue
with graffiti, for example. Most offenders are not “looking at how the
law has changed,” he said.“Who’s doing graffiti?” he said. “It’s not
35-year-old adults, it’s probably kids. If they don’t know, then
essentially that type of intervention may or may not work.”He believes
hate incidents are vastly underreported, something Jewish organizations
have also said. Pezzella added that even minor incidents that don’t
amount to a crime, such as verbal harassment, should be reported to law
enforcement so officers can recognize patterns and keep an eye out
during patrols because “hate incidents are precursors to hate
crimes.”Pezzella said law enforcement had a central role to play in
combating hate crimes, but also called for more education and public
awareness campaigns.“We need to get at the would-be offenders, people
who think that it’s OK to tag a synagogue,” he said. “They need to know
that the vast majority of the public doesn’t tolerate this kind of
offense.”
IDF wraps up 50-hour operation inside West Bank’s Nur
Shams refugee camp-Military says 10 soldiers hurt, 14 Palestinian gunmen
killed in raid * WSJ: Biden, US officials had ‘mounting alarm’ as scale
of unprecedented Iranian assault on Israel became clear-By Emanuel
Fabian-APR 21,24
The IDF says it has wrapped up a 50-hour-long
operation in the West Bank’s Nur Shams refugee camp, adjacent to
Tulkarem.Amid the raid, troops killed 14 gunmen in clashes, detained 15
wanted Palestinians, discovered and destroyed dozens of explosives, and
captured weapons, according to the military.Nine soldiers and one Border
Police officer were hurt during the clashes. They were listed in good
and moderate condition.Palestinian media initially reported that the
commander of a local Palestinian Islamic Jihad wing in Tulkarem was
killed amid the raid, although reports now say that Muhammad Jaber,
known as Abu Shuja’a, did not actually die. He is purportedly seen in
footage at the funerals of other gunmen.
24min ago-Hamas in Lebanon claims responsibility for Upper Galilee rocket barrage-By Emanuel Fabian-APR 21,24
Hamas’s
Lebanon branch claims responsibility for a rocket barrage earlier today
on the Upper Galilee.In a statement, the terror group says it launched
20 Grad rockets from Lebanon at an Israeli army base near the town of
Shomera.There were no reports of injuries in the attack.
24min ago-Gantz: Those who harm Israel’s security should not sit in government-By Sam Sokol-APR 21,24
In
what appears to be a dig at several of his coalition colleagues,
National Unity Minister Benny Gantz states that “ministers who harm the
security of the state should not sit in the cabinet.”Speaking with
reporters in the Knesset ahead of the start of the Passover holiday
tomorrow evening, the war cabinet member and former IDF chief of staff
insists that “critical discussions to advance the goals of the war must
take place, even on Shabbat and holidays.”Just as soldiers do not get a
break on the battlefield, neither should the country’s leaders, he
states, calling on his fellow politicians to “set a personal example,
and certainly not engage in division or attempts to pass laws and
decisions that harm our security and political interests.”Israel’s focus
should be on partnership and not on “favoring a sector or a group,” he
continues, adding that “the freedom we gained as a people in the Exodus
was only lost during periods of division between us.”While Israel has
had achievements on the battlefield, both in the south and along the
Lebanon border, it is important to be honest with the public and admit
that “we have not yet completed our goals,” he says, adding that Israel
is approaching a “decision point” as to how to proceed militarily in the
north.“I appeal from here to the evacuees, who will also celebrate the
Seder night outside their homes, and I promise – we see you, we
recognize the enormous difficulty and your great courage. We will work
to bring you home safely, even before the start of the next school
year,” he states.In what appears to be a threat aimed at Hamas’s top
leadership in Qatar, Gantz states that “Hamas terrorists, brutal
murderers, should know that they are not immune anywhere — not in
tunnels, not in luxury hotels.”Turning to the day-after in Gaza, Gantz
asserts that “the regional coalition led by the United States that has
proven itself against Iran, must be part of our action plan for a
strategic reversal in the Middle East, and part of the day after in the
Gaza Strip.”
The outposts are home to some 25,000
Israelis-Smotrich said pushing to start legalization process for 68
illegal West Bank outposts-Far-right lawmaker who has authority within
Defense Ministry reportedly orders government bodies to lay groundwork
for hooking up wildcat ‘young settlements’ to water, power grids-By
Jeremy Sharon-Today, 1:33 am-APR 21,24
Finance Minister Bezalel
Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, is
pushing to begin the process of legalizing 68 illegal outposts in the
West Bank in what would be one of the most dramatic expansions for the
settlement movement in decades, Channel 12 News reported on Saturday
night.According to the report, Smotrich, who in his Defense Ministry
role has broad authority over civilian issues in the West Bank, has sent
instructions to several ministries telling them to begin preparations
for providing a variety of public services to such outposts after they
are legalized.Yesha, the umbrella organization for settlement municipal
authorities, welcomed the move, saying it would “right the injustice” of
the lack of such services for thousands of residents of these outposts.
Labor MK Gilad Kariv, by contrast, accused Smotrich of destroying
Israel’s international legitimacy with the reported step.The coalition
agreement between the far-right, staunchly pro-settlement Religious
Zionism party, which Smotrich heads, and the Likud party requires the
government to legalize the so-called young settlement outposts and to
hook them up to their own electricity and water supply.“Young
settlements” is a euphemism for some 70 illegal outposts in the West
Bank, now home to around 25,000 people, which were established in the
1990s and early 2000s with the assistance of different ministries but
without formal approval from the government, meaning they are illegal
under Israeli law.In February 2023, the government approved the
legalization of nine illegal outposts, which eventually became 10, and
at the same time made arrangements that Smotrich said at the time would
facilitate the legalization of the rest.Since illegal outposts cannot
legally benefit from the public services provided to legal population
centers, obtaining such services can be difficult for their residents,
who often need to route electricity and water supply from adjacent,
legal settlements.According to Channel 12, Smotrich has sent letters to
several ministries in recent weeks with instructions that would put
these outposts on the same legal footing as regular settlements.The
minister’s letter also instructs these ministries to initiate
preparations for educational institutions, paved roads, state-funded
medical clinics, and other services.Neither Smotrich’s office nor the
Prime Minister’s Office responded to a request for comment.The head of
the Yesha organization, Shlomo Neeman, described the step as a
“strategic process” for long-established outposts set up “at the
bidding” of the state.“This is important progress on the way to righting
the injustice for thousands of residents who have been living in these
settlements for years without proper infrastructure,” said
Neeman.“Especially these days, this is an important answer to those who
don’t want to see us here,” he added, thanking Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Smotrich “for leading the process.”Kariv condemned the
move, however, saying that Smotrich was “pouring his jerrycan of
gasoline on Israel’s international legitimacy at a time when [the US]
Congress is dealing with approving an unprecedented aid package for
Israel.”
IDF says unaware of US plans to sanction unit, insists
it follows international law-Opposition leaders dismayed at reported
unprecedented step against Netzah Yehuda Battalion, linked to previous
controversial incidents in West Bank-By Emanuel Fabian-and Sam
Sokol-Today, 4:59 pm-APR 21,24
The Israeli military said Sunday
that it was unaware of reports that the United States intended to
sanction its Netzah Yehuda Battalion, a unit previously involved in a
series of controversial and violent incidents in the West Bank.“If a
decision is made on the matter, it will be reviewed,” the IDF said, in
its first remarks on the issue.The IDF’s statement came a day after the
Axios website reported that, in an unprecedented step, the Biden
administration was to announce sanctions against the Netzah Yehuda
Battalion for alleged human rights abuses against Palestinians in the
West Bank.The battalion, which is part of the Kfir Brigade and largely
made up of ultra-Orthodox troops, is currently deployed to the Gaza
Strip front, following months in the north.Previously, it was stationed
permanently in the West Bank, where it was at the center of several
controversies connected to right-wing extremism and violence against
Palestinians, notably including the 2022 death of Omar As’ad, a
78-year-old Palestinian-American who had been detained, handcuffed,
blindfolded, and later abandoned in near-freezing conditions by soldiers
of the battalion.Israel moved the unit out of the West Bank in December
2022 — though it denied it did so due to soldiers’ behavior — and it
was stationed on the Syrian border until the outbreak of the ongoing war
against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Amid the war in Gaza, Netzah Yehuda
troops have participated in several pinpoint operations in northern
Gaza’s Beit Hanoun.The IDF said in its statement that the troops are
“now participating in the war in the Gaza Strip, with courage and
professionalism, while adhering to the values and spirit of the IDF
and the principles of international law.”“Over the past few years, the
battalion’s troops have been at the core of operational activities
around the clock, to safeguard the security of the citizens of the State
of Israel, alongside being a leading battalion in the integration of
ultra-Orthodox troops in the IDF,” the statement continued.Regarding the
controversial incidents, the army said that “the IDF is working and
will continue to work to investigate every unusual event in a focused
manner and in accordance with the law.”Netzah Yehuda was created so that
ultra-Orthodox and other religious soldiers could serve without feeling
they were compromising their beliefs. The soldiers do not interact with
female troops to the same extent as other servicemen and are given
additional time for prayer and religious study.Members of the unit have
been involved in multiple controversial and violent incidents and have
also been convicted in the past of torturing and abusing Palestinian
prisoners and detainees.Opposition leaders expressed dismay on Sunday at
the reported intention of the US to impose sanctions on Netzah
Yehuda.Opposition and Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid claimed that
“the source of the problem is not at the military level but at the
political level.”The world, he said in a post on the X social media
site, “knows and understands” that far-right National Security Minister
Itamar Ben Gvir, who is responsible for the Israel Police, “does not
want the police to enforce the law in the West Bank” and allied
far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich “is not opposed to Jewish
terrorism and extreme settler riots.”Centrist war cabinet minister and
former IDF chief Benny Gantz joined the criticism, saying the infantry
unit was “an integral part of the IDF” and was bound by military and
international law.Gadi Eisenkot, also a former IDF chief and a war
cabinet minister, said imposing sanctions on any army unit is
“fundamentally wrong.”“We will work together to prevent the decision,
because if there are complaints, they should be addressed to the
political and military leadership and not to the commanders on the
tactical level,” Eisenkot said.The reported decision to impose sanctions
also drew sharp condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
who called it “the height of absurdity and a moral low.”Describing the
Axios report as “extremely grave,” Ben Gvir said that he “expects
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant not to submit to American dictates” and
that the members of Netzah Yehuda “must be fully supported.”Ben Gvir
subsequently wrote to Netanyahu, demanding that the prime minister
respond to the American move by convening the security cabinet to
discuss imposing “immediate sanctions” on the Palestinian
Authority.Citing unnamed American sources, the Axios report said the
sanctions would bar the transfer of US weapons to the unit and prevent
its soldiers from training with US forces or taking part in any
activities with US funding, under the Leahy Laws.Authored by
then-senator Patrick Leahy in the late 1990s, the laws prohibit
providing military assistance to individuals or security force units
that commit gross violations of human rights and have not been brought
to justice.Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, the US has
issued three rounds of sanctions against settler individuals for
violence against Palestinians, prompting harsh pushback from Finance
Minister Smotrich, who has pledged to “fight with all our might” and not
“let up” until all Western sanctions are lifted.The latest round was
issued on Friday and included the leader of the far-right group Lehava,
Benzi Gopstein, who is a close ally of Ben Gvir.Times of Israel staff
contributed to this report.
How can we celebrate freedom as they
wait to be liberated?' For many Israelis this Passover, celebrating the
Festival of Freedom feels impossible-The first major holiday since the
devastating Oct. 7 massacre will be marked by some with an empty seat at
the seder table in honor of the many hostages still held in Gaza-By
Deborah Danan Today, 4:21 pm-APR 21,24
JTA — This year, Noam
Safir and her family will order takeout for the Passover seder because
her mother Moshit has no energy to cook a festive meal as she has done
in past years.Moshit is the daughter of the oldest Israeli hostage held
by Hamas — Shlomo Mansour, 86.Mansour was one of 253 people abducted to
the Gaza Strip on October 7 when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists
invaded southern Israel and butchered 1,200 people, the vast majority of
them civilians, amid horrifying acts of brutality. There remain 129
hostages in captivity, though not all are believed to be alive.“It’s
going to be less of a celebration and more of marking the holiday,”
Safir, 20, told reporters in a video call this week.It’s a sentiment
that is widely shared this year by families of the hostages and the
millions of Jews in Israel and around the world who have mounted a
sweeping advocacy campaign pressing for their release. The Passover
holiday begins on Monday, when Jews are traditionally read through the
Haggadah, which recounts the story of the Israelites’ freedom from
slavery and exodus from Egypt.“I don’t even want to be a part of it,”
Rachel Goldberg, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, remains a hostage
in Gaza, told The Times of Israel on Friday. “There’s something perverse
about even going through the motions of celebrating a holiday of
freedom from captivity when our only son is not free and is in the worst
form of captivity that any of us can imagine. It feels completely
inappropriate.”For Mai Albini-Peri, 29, from Jerusalem, whose
grandfather Chaim Peri was also kidnapped and taken to Gaza during the
October 7 massacre, the Passover rituals feel almost impossible to carry
out. “How can we celebrate such a holiday while [these] people are
still without their freedom, still waiting to be liberated?” he asked.On
October 7, Peri hid his wife in their safe room and went out to fight
the invading terrorists. “My grandpa sacrificed his freedom to save his
wife,” Albini-Peri said. He went on to note that his grandfather, who
marked his 80th birthday last week in captivity, was a peace activist
who drove sick children from Gaza to Israeli hospitals. “He dedicated
his life to liberating oppressed people wherever,” he said.Safir said
her family will leave an empty seat at the seder table for Mansour. Jews
in other parts of the world, including London and Los Angeles, have
been asked to do the same in honor of the hostages still in
captivity.New liturgy for a new era-Some families will be using a
Haggadah sold by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and produced by
the print shop at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 90 residents were murdered and
20 taken hostage on October 7. The Haggadah features an essay by
Goldberg-Polin and her husband, Jon, that adds a fifth question to the
holiday’s traditional four: “Why are our loved ones not sitting at the
table with us?”In Israel, the head of the Tzohar rabbinical
organization, Rabbi David Stav, said it was “impossible to celebrate
this holiday without calling out to the heavens that the captives should
be taken out from the darkness in which they are being held in and into
the light of freedom.”Stav added, “That empty chair should be used as a
teaching moment for our children to ask an additional ‘fifth question’
so that they can understand what makes this year different and what they
might be able to do to help bring the hostages home.” Tzohar also
recommended dedicating the symbolic fifth cup of wine at Seder,
traditionally known as Elijah’s Cup, to the hostages and to say an
additional prayer composed by the group in light of the war.Daily
reminders of freedom – and captivity-But not all of the hostage families
are incorporating a new ritual this year.“We don’t need physical
symbols because we’re living it every day,” said Talya Dancyg, 18, whose
grandfather Alex Dancyg was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. The elder
Dancyg was the one who would lead the seder every year. “Usually my
grandpa is the one who takes the show, telling the jokes and the
stories. This year it won’t be like that.”“It’s called [the seder night]
but it won’t have any seder,” she added, referencing the Hebrew word
for order. She did add, however, that her family would be taking time at
the seder to acknowledge how their own lives were saved on October 7.
“My family was saved from Nir Oz,” she said. “We get to say thank God
for giving our lives back.”Dancyg, who lived with her grandfather
growing up, spoke of the close bond she shared with him. “I talked with
him about everything. I talked with him about love and he would respond
like a 16-year-old boy.”It’s not only hostage families whose experience
of Passover has been altered. For Israelis, the festival is the first
major Jewish holiday since October 7, which was itself the festival of
Simchat Torah, and many Israelis are feeling unease, especially amid a
recent flare-up of tensions with Iran that included the launch of 300
drones and missiles at Israel.The first night of Passover, when much of
the country pauses for families to gather, has seen terror attacks in
the past, such as when a hotel hosting a seder in Netanya was bombed in
2002, killing 30, the deadliest single attack of the Second Intifada.
Israeli officials believe Hamas initially planned what became the
October 7 attack for Passover last year but delayed after security was
elevated.The Netanya bombing targeted extended families who had gathered
at the hotel, in keeping with Israeli tradition. But for many of the
roughly 118,000 Israelis who are evacuated from their homes because of
the war, this year a joint seder won’t be possible, with members of the
same family scattered in different hotels all over the country.In one of
the larger hotel chains along the Tel Aviv boardwalk, evacuees are
particularly disgruntled after being told that their seder will be held
in a separate room from the tourists from overseas. Evacuees were also
told they couldn’t use the hotel’s pool over the busy holiday period.
“It’s as if we’re outcasts,” one woman, Shula, who declined to give her
last name, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.‘The Empty Seder Table’
with 133 chairs and place settings representing the absence of hostages
kidnapped by Hamas militants from Israel and held in Celebrating
together-Among the organizations in Israel that are hoping to alleviate
the challenges posed by Passover for evacuees is Colel Chabad, which has
more than 25,000 people registered for its communal seders all over the
country. Another is the International Fellowship of Christians and
Jews, which is distributing close to 19,000 debit cards amounting to a
total of more than NIS 18 million ($4.8 million) for evacuated families
to use towards purchasing food items for the holiday.“’All who are
hungry, come and eat’ is something recited at every Passover seder
around the world,” IFCJ President Yael Eckstein told JTA. “With so many
evacuees not in their own homes, and so many suffering from loss or the
unknown fate of their loved ones, this will be a Passover like none
Israel has ever experienced before. Our commitment is to continue to
help feed and provide for those who need it, how and where they need
it.”Medical aid group Yad Sarah is assisting evacuees, the wounded and
the elderly holding non-traditional seders by providing at-home
hospitalization supplies and accessible transportation to seder
destinations on Passover eve.Other efforts are underway to ensure that
Israelis are able to observe and celebrate the holiday, wherever they
are. With a larger-than-normal number of soldiers on active duty, army
bases will be hosting more seders than usual. (Israel’s top court
rejected a request to allow soldiers to eat chametz, leavened food that
is barred on Passover, on their bases.) And in a particularly
heart-rending effort this week, a top government minister implored the
United Nations to ensure that Israeli hostages in Gaza can access the
ritual foods — grape juice and matzah — needed to fulfill the most basic
commandments on Passover.In Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, thousands
gathered this week for a “Unity and Freedom Rally” ahead of
Passover.-Eli Bibas, father of Yarden Bibas and grandfather to the
youngest hostages held by Hamas, 4-year-old Ariel and 1-year-old Kfir,
said that from his perspective, “Passover was not a holiday” this year.A
day earlier, new video footage emerged of a bloodied Yarden being taken
by his captors through the streets of Gaza on October 7 as an angry mob
surrounded him. The older Bibas said the footage was “devastating” to
watch, especially as the family’s hopes dimmed that a deal for the
release of additional hostages might be reached before Passover.Yet he
told JTA that he had made a painful calculation about the seder night,
one that Jews in dire circumstances have made many times throughout
history.“Nevertheless, because we have other grandchildren, we’ll sit at
the table and celebrate — that’s the wrong word — we’ll spend the
holiday together as a family, albeit a broken one,” he said.
