#levayah

[deimos-awaits]

Introducing Marshall-Legate Levayah-1836

Marshall Legate Levayah-1836 put her helmet down on the new Fabricator Minoris's desk. Put was perhaps to kind a word for a metal object weighing nearly forty pounds being dropped onto a metallic desk. It had been a few weeks since the previous one had been found guilty of treason and heresy.

The new Magos in charge of the fleet had already begun to promote her own acolytes and acquaintances into various now empty and open positions. It was politics as normal.

Levayah-1836 was here to ensure she herself was not downgraded. Like most skitarii marshalls of the First Deimos Expeditionary Fleet she had a large amount of autonomy as like as her objectives were fulfilled, and for the prosecution of the Omnissiah's wars was her primary objective.

Magos Aleph-Gimmel, the new Fabricator Minoris, looked up at her from behind Omega Bellerov-1.0's old work space. "Marshall Legate Levayah-1836. To what do I owe the honor?"

Her eye involuntary twitched. She still had a face of partial flesh including one eye though kept open always. It was not an honor to meet her. It ought to be the other way, but the Marshall was never one to debase herself even to her superiors. "I am not here to beg or supplicate myself."

The Fabricator Minoris leaned forward. "Why are you here then? There are many more things that could be done and this transition is... Complicated. It requires my full attention."

Levayah-1836 sat there straight as a rod. She would not let this diplomatic newbie to power remove her. "Look through my service record. I have fought with distinction for Deimos and the Omnissiah."

After a moment, the Fabricator Minoris's augmented eye blinked. "Yes, you have an impressive record especially for a skitarii such as yourself."

"I will not be removed. I will remain here. I have seen what has happened to a few tech priests close with your predecessor-"

Aleph-Gimmel sent a impluse through the noosphere freezing her for a second. "All found guilty of chaos corruption."

Levayah-1836 unfroze, eye full of rage before returning to level. "Yes, and all replaced by your.... Associates like the Lexmechanic Tsephor-10.56."

"I promoted who I thought were component."

"Be... That as it may. I will not be removed from my position. I do not care who sits in that position, I live to serve the Omnissiah and her wars. The previous Fabricator Minoris has allowed me this autonomy because of my record."

Aleph-Gimmel stayed quiet for a long time before getting up. She picked up the Marshall's helm. The Fabricator Minoris examined it before putting it onto its owners lap. "Yes, you do. However, Marshall Legate Levayah-1836, please, do not forget where your orders come from yes? More crucially, do not forget, I am not Omega Bellerov-1.0."

The Marshall was frozen again for a second before coming to outside the office of the Fabricator Minoris. Levayah-1836 wanted to curse up a storm. At least her own position was secure for the moment. She could feel new war and security objectives worm their way into her brain.

[writingwithcolor]

I am writing a story in which a non-Jewish person is mourning their Jewish partner. How can the non-Jewish person respect the culture of their loved one without overstepping or appropriating something that does not belong to them? Due to a lot of extenuating circumstances, the non-Jewish person is unable to participate in mourning with the family of the departed and wants to honor their partner on their own while still respecting their partner's culture. Is there a way for them to do so? Most of the resources I have found address how a Jewish person can mourn a non-Jewish relative but I have struggled to find guidance for the reverse situation. Thank you!

Non-Jewish person mourning Jewish partner

There are various phrases we prefer to have said about us vs. other phrases which are more culturally Christian. Like… the gentile partner would not be using phrases about “they’re with Jesus now,” obviously. Also, “Rest in peace” is more Christian; we prefer BDE (Baruch dayan emet, not big dick energy, although if someone amazing dies I have seen jokes about that coincidence because we certainly love to laugh through tears in this here culture).

Basically don’t Christianize the mourning, unless it’s about the living person (like “Lord Jesus help me with my sadness” -- is that a real thing, lol I have no idea, anyway that’s obviously okay because it’s coming from the other person about themselves not talking about the one who died) but don’t Christianize the way you talk about the dead person bc that would be disrespectful.

--Shira

Mourning rituals and participation 

One mourning ritual a non-Jew can do on their own without being appropriative might include placing a pebble on the gravestone of their loved one: this is a practice that is expected at Jewish cemeteries no matter the religion of the visitor, so it’s not awkward for a non-Jew at all. I know lots of rabbis who have guided non-Jewish family members through participating with Jewish family members in the Jewish rituals that take place shortly after a death, but if your character is not able to be with their loved one’s Jewish family for the funeral or during the seven days following, it would not be appropriate to sit shiva on their own without Jewish participation. 

On the other hand, another thing they could do is get involved with the Jewish family later: for the year following the death of an immediate relative (parent, sibling, child, or spouse), a Jewish person recites the Kaddish prayer daily (or weekly, depending on the community they belong to), so it’s fully reasonable for your character to show up and stand beside them while they recite it; that’s also a way for your character to be recognized by the community the Jewish family member prays with as being also a mourner, and so to receive the social support from that Jewish community without overstepping. Kaddish is also recited on the yahrzeit (the anniversary of the death on the Jewish calendar), so if your character has a strained relationship with their partner’s Jewish family, it could be a dramatic moment for them to stand lonely at the back of the synagogue and hear their loved one’s father recite the kaddish every year, and if they have a loving and supportive relationship it could be a moment of bonding every year when no matter where their lives have taken them they meet each year for your character to hear their loved one’s Jewish family say kaddish for them. 

- Meir

It’s a real shame that your mourner character can’t make it for the levayah and shiva, and I’m kind of curious as to what could be more important at that moment.

If there’s really no way they can make it, I do like the idea of them carrying out some shiva customs – as Meir says, not a whole service without Jewish participation, but specific things like 

ripping an item of clothing 

or sitting on the floor/a less comfortable chair

I think there’s potential there to really explore the messiness of grief through your character’s pursuit of traditions that are not their own. 

What were they trying to feel by doing these actions, and what did they end up feeling? 

Maybe they enjoyed partaking in Jewish customs with their partner before, so they rip a shirt trying to feel their presence again – but it just ends up feeling awkward and unnatural, like everything else when you’re grieving.

Or maybe they’ve been feeling guilty about how assimilated their partner had become while being with them, and they’re trying to relieve that guilt by showing enthusiasm for their partner’s culture – but they just end up feeling more guilty because it’s appropriative or it’s too little, too late? 

This could be very realistic, while using the Jewish character’s culture to bring out that realism, which is a good thing.

The Jewish family and acceptance of their partner

The idea of attending synagogue to hear Kaddish is one I wanted to circle back to, because it highlights something that I don’t think you can avoid: 

how do the Jewish family and community feel about the choice of partner?

 Is your character comfortable walking into the synagogue? 

Are they accepted? 

As Meir touched upon, is their relationship with their partner’s family strained or supportive? 

Jewish reactions to choices other than marrying within the faith are so varied that there’s no right way to portray this – but there are a couple of wrong ways.

If the other Jewish characters beside your mourner’s partner are extremely intolerant, judgemental and unwelcoming: this is of course insulting and cliché. Even more so if they’re written with no attempt to humanise them or show the thoughts and feelings behind these actions, or if their intolerance drives some of the conflict in the story.

Similarly, if everyone is totally cool with this and has zero misgivings: in my opinion you would end up with the same cliché. Sure, there are Jewish families who don’t mind whether their relatives marry in or do something else, but if all the characters feel this way, it would erase some of the complexity of Jewish life. Because there are also families who care deeply enough that they relocate their children to more Jewish areas just to ensure they marry in, when they’re still 10 or 20 years too young to get married. There are families who think they’re assimilated and don’t care, but are perplexed by their seemingly irrational feelings of grief when faced with a child marrying out. This is A Thing for us. To have 100% of your characters make it Not A Thing, would be like saying that is the ‘right’ way for Jews to be, and we’ll just ignore all the Jews who don’t feel this way, because they’re obviously wrong and only there to be the conflict in other people’s stories.

Mourning, like most things, is communal in Jewish life, which is why I don’t think you can avoid this. The family and the community will show up throughout the grieving process, and they will likely Have Opinions. It’s your decision as the author what those opinions are, but it’s something to handle with thought and sensitivity.

- Shoshi

Ask published Oct 2021

[israel-jewish-news]

Grief and Anger Over Terrorist Attack at Ariel

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/02/05/grief-anger-terrorist-attack-ariel/

Grief and Anger Over Terrorist Attack at Ariel

IDF soldiers in the search for the terrorist who killed Itamar Ben-Gal, Hy”d, in the village of Kifl Haris near Ariel, Monday. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

While the search for the terrorist who murdered Itamar Ben-Gal, Hy”d, 29, a father of four, at Ariel in the Shomron on Monday continued into the evening hours, Israel reacted with grief and anger.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin extended their condolences to the victim’s family in Har Bracha, also in the Shomron.

“IDF and Shin Bet forces are in pursuit of the terrorist or terrorists and we will bring them to justice,” PM Netanyahu said. “These are difficult moments, but our people come together during such times.”

Pres. Rivlin posted: “With great sorrow I heard the news of the stabbing that took place today in Ariel. We all send a hug of comfort and strength to the victim’s family.”

“I am proud of the IDF officer who pursued the terrorist and hit him with his car, and I’m confident that security forces will find him and his accomplices soon so they can face trial,” he added.

At the U.N., Ambassador Danny Danon pointed the finger of blame at the Palestinian leadership’s “policy of incitement ” and called on the Security Council to condemn the attack.

“This abominable murder is a direct result of the policy of incitement and terror financing of the Palestinian leadership,” he said in a statement.

“Instead of inviting [PA President Mahmoud Abbas] to the Security Council to spread lies and hate speech, the council must condemn this terror attack and demand that Abbas stops the incitement and the payments to the terrorists.”

Pres. Abbas is scheduled to make a presentation to the Council on February 20, as part of the forum’s monthly meeting on the Middle East. He was invited by Kuwait, which holds the rotating position of Security Council president this month.

Some local anger was directed at the Israeli security forces.

The head of Central Command, Maj. Gen. Roni Numa, was reportedly confronted by a small group of angry residents when he arrived at the scene of the attack.

“Three attacks, three murders and you guys do nothing! Go home!” one man was seen shouting at Numa, referring to a series of deadly incidents in the region.

Ariel Mayor Eli Shaviro reiterated on Monday the demand that Israel impose sovereignty in Yehudah and Shomron in the wake of the attack.

“The answer to Palestinian terrorism is the immediate imposition of Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements in [the West Bank],” he said in a statement.

“I call on the prime minister and Knesset members to prevent the next attack,” Shaviro says. “Implement sovereignty!”

Meanwhile, further details emerged about the tragic incident.

In contrast to most previous terrorist attacks, the perpetrator was not from one of the Palestinian towns, but an Israeli citizen from Jaffa, according to media reports.

Abd Al Karim Assi, 19, the son of an Israeli Arab man and Arab woman, used his blue Israeli ID card to spend time on both sides of the Green Line. His father lives in Shechem, his mother in Haifa.

Assi received social service assistance, including therapy in Tel Aviv, according to Hadashot news.

The terrorist’s backpack was found at the scene, facilitating identification and the manhunt. The pack contained a change of clothes and his ID card. The bag also contained a comb, hair gel, a lighter and a charger.

Monday’s killing follows that of Raziel Shevach, Hy”d, on January 9, near Shechem. He and Ben-Gal knew each other through mutual friends.

The levayah for Itamar Ben-Gal, Hy”d, was scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Har Bracha.

[stygiantarot]

Funeral rites/Bereavement traditions

On this insomnia-ridden night and being that I am a graveyard-witch, I am immersing myself in reading up on funeral rites and bereavement traditions.  I picked the religions to study at random- my only requirement was that they were religions whose funeral rites I was not already familiar with. (TW for frank talk of funeral preparations and rites) Here are some interesting facts I found during my study the funeral rites of each religion. They are by no means a complete summary- merely things I felt like sharing.

Judaism

1.) It’s considered an honor to be the gravedigger for the deceased, as well as prepare the body. 2.) When a body is prepared, if there is a wound (i.e. bleeding), the blood is collected after cleaning to be buried with the body. 3.) Traditional Jewish funeral rites forbid cremation or embalming, as the goal is that the body naturally decompose after burial. 4.) There is this beautiful tradition of “levayah”, or escorting/joining/bonding used to refer to the procession of persons with the body on the way to the burial site. The mixture of these meanings is a beautiful way to convey the emotional aspect of funerals and saying goodbye to a loved one. 5.) When visiting a Jewish grave, it is polite to place a stone on the gravestone (with your left hand), even if you did not know the deceased. It is a way to mark the deceased as visited and participate in the mitzvah of burial.

Jainism

1.) The body is cremated- it is carefully taken to an area without any vegetation or living creatures so as not to harm others. Once the body is cremated, the soul is considered departed and the remains are basically an inconsequential “husk”. 2.) Jains reject most of the standard stages of grief due to their negative karmic nature (denial, anger, bargaining, depression). 3.) The belief is that the soul leaves the body through the “best possible” orifice. There is a correlation between where the soul leaves the body and the degree of sin the person committed. I.e. a deep sinner’s soul will leave the body through the anus. A Jain who is considered extremely pure will have their head sutured after death so that their soul may leave through their crown, as a point of honor. However, the average person may “cheat” by having their eldest son crack their skull right before cremation.

Hinduism

1.) In Vedic times/tradition, only a male could perform last rites. However, there was an exception for female-only-child household in the case of “putrika”- a daughter who could assume the role of a son. 2.) Before cremation, flowers are placed on the body and rice in the mouth, to nourish the departed soul. Coins are also placed in the hand. 3.) There is a saying in Hindu households that “the fire in the house is not lit until the fire in the cremation pyre has gone out”. Meaning no cooking is done in the family house after the person passes, until the cremation is complete. 4.) A lit lamp is left with water where the person died, in order to light the way for the soul and provide nourishment.

[pretty-perdita]

Levayah |*| [Fate]

@paul-patts

The funeral was--a funeral.

In Jewish tradition, there was no viewing period. The casket was closed. There was no mention of her mother’s name among the eulogies spoken by the rabbi. It was cold, emotionless. 

Abigail Faye was not that--cold, emotionless. She had a loud, hot kind of anger. The opposite of Perdita in every way. Except, not really. That was why they’d fought so much, at each other’s throats like a pair of territorial dogs. Eventually Perdita had learned to build her walls high and fortify them however she could, so that she became stronger than her mother. Impenetrable.

Perdita was impenetrable during the funeral. She was supposed to cry. It was custom to cry, but she had rent the front of her black blouse, paired it with her black skirt and her stockings without a single run and she had not cried. She couldn’t. That icy heart in her chest refused to melt. She wondered why. She wondered if she should’ve tried harder. Instead, she sat in the front row of the synagogue with Penny on her lap, Edmund on one side--whose head was bowed, sniffling and crying, and Paul on the other, Patch on his lap. Halfway through the service, Penny had begun to cry too--crying for the grandmother she’d never know, crying because her mother couldn’t--no, she was crying because she was tired and not at home. But, it was a nice thought. 

They switched babies wordlessly and Paul had gone outside with their daughter. Perdita had pressed a kiss to Patrick’s head and told him to be quiet. He’d turned his head and watched Edmund cry with big, wide eyes, his thumb in his mouth. He hadn’t cried either. 

After the funeral, they’d gone to the cemetery. Perdita had held a handful of dirt in her gloved hand and sprinkled it over the casket--third in line. After her father and brother. Her sisters went next, each with their perfect little faces twisted with tears. And Perdita felt alone.  

She felt alone while they went out to eat and alone as they got home. There wasn’t even a mirror to be found, to see her own reflection staring back at her. She felt alone, sitting on the floor of the living room, watching the babies play, no one speaking, the clock above the mantle chiming hour, after hour, after hour. Paul took the babies for a nap. They reappeared a few hours later and Perdita had not moved.

There were no tears in her eyes.

Eventually, it grew dark and her father’s old bones creaked as Paul and Edmund helped him off the floor and he went off to bed--alone. Edmund went out to smoke a cigarette. He’d stopped doing that after joining the marines. Perdita had padded out after him and curled her long legs up in his lap as they sat on a porch chair, like they used to do when she was little. They shared the cigarette without a word. Edmund left out the back to go see someone--Perdita didn’t ask who it was. 

Back inside, it was time for bed for the babies. Paul and her worked mechanically, but in tandem, silent too--though Perdita wanted to speak. She just--didn’t know what to say. 

The babies went down. Paul went down to his room after asking if she would be alright alone. She’d told him she would. 

She wasn’t.

It wasn’t even five minutes after Paul had left that Perdita slunk across the hall with a baby monitor clipped to her pajama pants. Her bare feet were cold against the marble tile in the elevator. She padded across the hall to Paul’s room and opened the door without knocking, slipping and shutting it behind her. The lock clicked into place, and the way it clicked shifted something in her chest. Perdita took a shuddering breath and then one tear, then another, and another, slipped silently down her cheeks, lips trembling.

[deimos-awaits]

LOG-BOOK UNIT OF MARSHALL KATTAL-42/8, EXPERIMENTAL PROTOTYPE

LOG ONE:

I am keeping this log as Marshall Levayah-1836, a respected colleague, has suggested it might be healthy. Nothing has happened today. We are transferring the warp. Magos Aleph-Gimel has asked me to deliver more messages throughout the ship. I will be updating even 14 cycles unless otherwise stated.

Marshall Kattal-42/8

LOG TWO:

A new planet has been searched. Several of the Sicarian units I was working with were decommissioned by the enemy. I used the shuriken gun I have at my ready to eliminate the heretics. Humans who have never seen the Imperium before.

Marshall Kattal-42/8

LOG THREE:

I died today. It was painful. A khornate removed my lower body cavity. Wraithbone regenerated into my lower stomach. Magos Aleph-Gimel did an inspection to ensure I was continuing to function. Lexmechanic Tsephor argued for my permanent decommissioning.

Marshall Kattal-42/8

LOG FOUR:

It has been longer than the standard 14 day cycle since this was updated. A visit to the xenarite stronghold went well. Information was added to my core that I do not care for. In order to prevent overgrowth of wraithbone I ripped off my arm. It took several minutes to regrow. Suboptimal time for battlefield conditions.

Kattal-42/8

LOG FIVE:

Marshall Levayah has given me a gift. She has given me a small metallic sculpture she reportedly made with Subdominus Krav-5. I have placed it next to the gas mask that creates strange emotional responses in me. Both are in my personal crate.

Kattal-42/8

LOG SIX:

I got what passed for sleep. It lasted sixteen hours, seven minutes, and 23 seconds. I dreamt of the xenos that speaks in my mind. It had strange long ears and a face that appeared as if a Magos had put it through a hydraulic press.

Kattal

LOG SEVEN:

I died fighting an ork. It was painful. When I returned to maximum consciousness their bodies were reduced to ribbons. Magos Subdominus Krav-5 congratulated me as such, “Good work old boy! We'll make short work of Ullanor for the Emperor.” I am not a boy.

Kattal

LOG EIGHT:

It has been only one cycle. I used to be a boy. Before I- [DATA EXPUNGED]. This unit has been returned to optimal settings for service.

LOG NINE:

I am returned to my optional conditioning. This unit has performed several extractions of information. These were from possible traitors. It was done for the Magos Aleph Gimmel.

Marshall Kattal-42/8

LOG TEN:

Xenarite stronghold visited. This unit was on guard duty once more. Haegel unit present. Haegel unit present. Marshall Levayah-1836 gave this unit another metal scrap.

Marshall Kattal-42/8

LOG ???????:

LEAVING THIS here for you Kattal as this might be the only place you actually listen to me. Yes. It's me, the “xenos” in your head. I am real. Now you absolutely wretch, read this carefully, remove the spiritstone by your heart. Turn yourself into an eldar force. It will be good for you. I cannot promise you will survive but you don't seem to care about that do you?

All the world's a stage but you don't need to play such a dour role yet it seems that's all you know isn't it?

LOG ELVEN:

Visited Lexmechanic Tsephor-10.56. The presence of the pttreaxii reduced stress hormones by 23%. Tsephor-10.56 did not seem to enjoy my presence. His productivity decreased by 10.3%. This is standard across most individuals I interact with.

Marshall Kattal-42/8

LOG TWELVE:

Marshall Levayah-1836 did not express discomfort when my helm was removed. She is yet a beautiful example of baseline human beauty merged with the machine similar to the Haegel unit. Wraithbone has grown into the remaining flesh around my knees. It is painful.

Kattal

[deimos-awaits]

Datasmith Ketle

Marshall levayah

Tonight's minis after awhile not painting I feel half decent about them

[israel-jewish-news]

Hundreds Attend the Levayah of Adiel Coleman, Hy”d

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/03/19/hundreds-attend-levayah-adiel-coleman-hyd/

Hundreds Attend the Levayah of Adiel Coleman, Hy”d

Relatives and friends carry the body of Adiel Coleman, Hy”d, an Israeli who was murdered in a stabbing attack in Yerushalayim’s Old City on Sunday. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

Hundreds of grieving family, friends and government officials gathered on Monday in the small community of Kochav Hashachar in the Binyamin region for the levayah of Adiel Coleman, Hy”d, who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in Yerushalayim’s Old City the day before.

In a heartbreaking hesped, Adiel’s mother Yael, tbl”c, said: “We would like more. Everything good we want more. To enjoy your pleasantness — more. But no. G-d gives and G-d takes away. This was your time.”

“But the children will miss you,” she said.

“The children!” she cried out, breaking down in tears along with many in the crowd.

Standing next to one of her daughters, his mother said that her wedding will take place in a month. “They will not beat us. Last night we decided that we would continue,” she said.

Ephraim Cohen remembered his son-in-law as a “mentch” and compared him to a korban olah, brought for Pesach.

“You were ascending from the City of David (when you were killed) and now too, you ascend there as a burnt offering,” he said.

Adiel’s sister Yoshivya recalled his infectious smile and laugh.

“Tell G-d, ‘Enough!’ ” she said addressing her late brother. “It does not suit the Coleman family to be a bereaved family… Let us all demand redemption.”

In an interview on Army Radio, his brother Meir Coleman said: “This is here an incident that tells our story as a people, they came and killed a lovely man — we must not forget that we are at war with them,” he said.

Initial reports of the killing identified Coleman as a security guard, but friends later said he had worked in the archaeological digs in the City of David for the last five years, The Times of Israel reported.

The 32-year-old father of four was eulogized as well by Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel and Yerushalayim Mayor Nir Barkat.

“Our revenge is settlement and holding tight to the land,” said Ariel. “I hope we’ll continue to advance construction in Yerushalayim and Yehudah and Shomron and make a clear decision that between the Jordan [River] and [Mediterannean] Sea there will only be one sovereign state — the State of Israel.”

“This land is ours. We received it from G-d, blessed is He,” added the Jewish Home party minister.

Barkat said: “Yesterday they succeeded in harming Adiel. The sorrow is deep and difficult but they’ll never succeed in removing us from our path. We are determined…to continue to build in Yerushalayim and in the Land of Israel.”

[israel-jewish-news]

Names of Soldiers Killed in Friday Attack Released

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/03/17/names-soldiers-killed-friday-attack-released/

Names of Soldiers Killed in Friday Attack Released

Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 3:57 pm | ו' תשרי תשע"ח

Israeli security forces at the scene of where two soldiers were murdered and another two were injured in a car-ramming terror attack near Mevo Dotan, Friday. (Meir Vaknin/Flash90)

The names of two IDF soldiers who were murdered in a terror car-ramming attack Friday were released Motzoei Shabbos. They were Natanel Kahalani H”yd, 20, of the northern Israeli moshav of Elyakim, and Ziv Daos, Hy”d, of the central Israeli town of Azor. The levayah for Kahalani was held Motzoei Shabbos in his moshav. The levayah for Daos was set to take place Sunday. One of the injured soldiers was in “very serious” condition, doctors at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah said, while the second was in moderate condition.

The two soldiers were killed Friday afternoon when a vehicle driven by an Arab hit them as they got out of an army jeep near Mevo Dotan in northern Shomron. Two other soldiers were injured in the incident. The Arab hit them when they were on the side of the road, making it clear that it was a terror attack, IDF officials said. The Arab driver was injured and was taken to an Israeli hospital, where he is being questioned by Israeli security officials.

Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad congratulated Ala Ratab Kabha, the 27-year-old terrorist, for the attack. Kabha was released from prison after a 17-month sentence for security violations. Speaking to Ha’aretz, Kabha’s father said he was “positive” that the incident was an accident, as his son did not belong to any terror organizations. However, the Shin Bet Motzoei Shabbos said that under questioning, Kabha admitted that he had committed the car-ramming as a terror attack.

Speaking Motzoei Shabbos, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that “our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this terrible attack that happened right before Shabbos. I send my condolences to the families of the victims, and my prayers for a speedy recovery for the injured. I have instructed security forces to find those who assisted in carrying out this attack.”

“We will not rest until we have brought all those involved in this attack to justice,” Netanyahu said, adding that he would order the demolition of the house of the terrorist. IDF soldiers early Saturday raided the terrorist’s home village of Barta’a, located in Wadi Ara. One suspect was arrested, and soldiers collected several illegal weapons that they discovered. They also mapped out the location of the house, the first step in preparing it for demolition.

[israel-jewish-news]

Hotovely Seeks 800 New Homes for Har Bracha

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/02/08/hotovely-seeks-800-new-homes-har-bracha/

Hotovely Seeks 800 New Homes for Har Bracha

Friends and family of Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal at his levayah in Har Bracha on Tuesday. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In a shivah call to the family of Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal, Hy”d, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzippy Hotovely said that she had filed a request with the Prime Minister’s Office and relevant ministries for the construction of 800 housing units in Har Bracha, the town where Rabbi Ben-Gal lived with his family.

Har Bracha, located in central Shomron overlooking Shechem, “has experienced a great loss,” Hotovely said. “Rabbi Ben-Gal was a unique individual. I sat here with his wife Miriam, with his parents. These are people who seek to promote life and do good for others. They do not seek revenge. As is part of our national mission, we want to expand this town. We want our enemies to know that their murderous attacks have a price, and that price is more life and building here.”

Earlier this week, the government approved legalizing Chavat Gilad, the unauthorized outpost where terror victim Rabbi Raziel Shevach, Hy”d, lived, paving the way for further construction and expansion of what had been an illegal outpost. As a legal settlement, expansion of Har Bracha should be less complicated, and would entail approving several building and expansion plans that have already been filed with authorities.

Shomron Council head Yossi Dagan said that expanding Har Bracha would be an appropriate response to the murder of Rabbi Ben-Gal. “We want the people in Shechem to know that Har Bracha has become a city in the wake of this murder. That is the price they pay for murder.” Har Bracha local authority chairperson Yoni Hayisraeli said that “the terrorists try to weaken us, but the opposite must come to pass – that we be strengthened. This murder just encourages us and strengthens us. Let our enemies know that from this crisis will emerge growth and construction, and Har Bracha will become a major city in Israel.”

[israel-jewish-news]

Mother of Ariel Terror Stabber: 'Turn Yourself In'

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/02/06/mother-ariel-terror-stabber-turn/

Mother of Ariel Terror Stabber: 'Turn Yourself In'

At the levayah of Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal in Har Bracha on Tuesday. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The mother of Abd Al Hakim Adel A’asi, the terrorist stabber who murdered Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal, Hy”d, Monday, urged her son to turn himself in Tuesday. As the levayah for Rabbi Ben-Gal was taking place in Har Bracha, reporters who gathered at her Haifa home for a statement were told that she herself was afraid of her son, and that he had “ruined everything” by committing the murder.

A’asi, 19, was “badly behaved and violent,” his mother said. She told reporters that he had not been living with her most of the time, as she had been divorced from his father, who lives in Shechem, many years ago. “I met A’asi several times over the years, and once he tried to attack my brother,” she said. “I want to continue my life as I have chosen it, far away from these issues. I am having a very hard time with this.” She added that she had been receiving assistance from the government, both material and social, because of “the difficult life I am living,” she said.

Her son’s behavior “is very strange, it is possible that he is mentally ill,” she said. “He has no right to hurt anyone else,” she added.

Records show that A’asi, who had been living in Jaffa in recent years, was a drifter who did not complete high school. He was known to social service agencies in Haifa and Tel Aviv, and had been homeless for a time. A’asi once lived for several weeks at a Tel Aviv shelter for homeless youth, but left after he was warned by administrators to stop visiting his father in Shechem, where he would go every few weeks.

In a statement, the Haifa Municipality said that social service officials were familiar with A’asi’s situation. “He was a homeless youth and addicted to drugs. Over the years there were attempts to help this youth, who was rejected by his parents. We provided him with several housing and rehabilitation options, but he chose to end his engagement with the programs each time he started one,” the Municipality said.

[israel-jewish-news]

Levayah for Ariel Terror Stabbing Victim Held Tuesday

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/02/06/levayah-ariel-terror-stabbing-victim-held-tuesday/

Levayah for Ariel Terror Stabbing Victim Held Tuesday

Israeli soldiers search for the Palestinian attacker in the village of Kifl Haris, Monday. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

The levayah for Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal, Hy”d, the Israeli who was murdered in a terror stabbing attack near Ariel Monday, was held Tuesday morning in his home town of Har Bracha. Rabbi Ben-Gal, 29, was a teacher in a yeshivah in Petach Tikvah, and he leaves behind a wife, Miriam, and four children, ages one through seven.

The murderer of Rabbi Ben-Gal has been identified by Abd Al Hakim Adel, 19, the son of an Israeli Arab man and Arab woman. Adel is an Israeli citizen, who had an Israeli identity card, which he used to spend time on both sides of the Green Line. His father lives in Shechem, his mother in Haifa.

The attack occurred Monday afternoon at the entrance to Ariel, a city in central Shomron. Rabbi Ben-Gal had been waiting at a bus stop, and Adel had just gotten out of a taxi. He crossed the highway and attacked Rabbi Ben-Gal using two knives he was holding, stabbing his victim in the upper body. Rabbi Ben-Gal, realizing what had happened, ran away, pursued by the terrorist. He managed to signal to a bus driver that he had been stabbed, and when the driver got off the bus and security officials began pursuing the terrorist, he ran in the other direction.

An IDF officer saw him running with the knives in his hand, and used his vehicle to slam the terrorist. He knocked the terrorist down, but he managed to get up. The officer knocked the terrorist down again, but again he got up, and he eventually disappeared into the village of Kifl Haris, which is located across the road from Ariel. The officer was unarmed, security officials said. The search for Adel continued Tuesday, focused on central Shomron.

In a post on social media Tuesday morning, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman wrote that “20 years ago I gave an ambulance to Har Bracha hoping it would be used to deliver healthy babies. Instead, a man from Har Bracha was just murdered by a terrorist, leaving behind a wife and four children. Palestinian “leaders” have praised the killer.

“Praying for the Ben-Gal family,” he wrote.

[israel-jewish-news]

Tragic Road Accident in Beit Shemesh Takes Life of Six-Year-Old

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/01/18/tragic-road-accident-beit-shemesh-takes-life-six-year-old/

Tragic Road Accident in Beit Shemesh Takes Life of Six-Year-Old

The scene of the accident in Beit Shemesh. (Ichud Hatzalah)

A tragic road accident in Beit Shemesh on Thursday morning took the life of a six-year-old boy, a resident of one of the chareidi neighborhoods of Ramat Beit Shemesh. The boy, who was crossing a crosswalk with his father on his way to school, was hit by an Egged bus on Nachal Kishon Boulevard. The boy was badly injured and was niftar a few minutes later. His father was moderately injured and taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for treatment.

Police have closed the road and an investigative team has been dispatched to examine the scene. Police are redirecting traffic. In a statement, Magen David Adom officials said that they had tried to resuscitate the young victim, but were unable to.

Ichud Hatzalah director Moshe Teitelbaum, who was on the scene, told reporters there that the scene was “a very difficult one. A father and son who were walking were hit by a bus. Unfortunately, the boy was niftar at the scene of the accident. Ichud Hatzalah volunteers provided first aid to the father, who was moderately injured.”

Details on the identity of the victim, as well as details of his levayah, have yet to be released.

[israel-jewish-news]

Recriminations Continue Against Opposition's 'Dirty Trick' Over Deputy Minister Bill

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/01/11/recriminations-continue-oppositions-dirty-trick-deputy-minister-bill/

Recriminations Continue Against Opposition's 'Dirty Trick' Over Deputy Minister Bill

MK Yoel Chasson (Zionist Camp). (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The war of words between the coalition and opposition over the final passage of the Deputy Minister Bill on Wednesday, which paved the way for the return of United Torah Judaism’s Rabbi Yaakov Litzman to the Health Ministry, continued Thursday when Yisrael Beytenu MK Orli Levi-Abukasis directly accused Zionist Camp whip Yoel Chassson of “the cynical use of a funeral” to try and “outsmart” the coalition – a move that failed in the end.

Chasson, for his part, denied that any cynicism was intended, and accused Levi-Abukasis in turn of lying. “Did you speak with me? Did you hear me say what you are telling the media this morning? You weren’t even in the Knesset chamber when the story happened.”

The vote – and the mounting scandal surrounding it – took place Wednesday afternoon. Levi-Abukasis said that she had overheard Zionist Camp MKs say that they had a “trick” up their sleeve. “I heard them say that ‘this is the time, we can surprise them,’” she told Galei Yisrael radio.

The “surprise” was a rescinding of all opposition to the second and third reading of the Deputy Ministers Law, under which a minister has the right to assign responsibilities to a deputy minister, including presenting initial versions of laws to government committees, to sign official documents, and to hire personnel – basically to act as a minister in all but name.

The bill was aimed specifically at getting Rabbi Litzman back in the Health Ministry, after he resigned as Health Minister last month over the failure of the government to halt ongoing Israel Railways infrastructure work on Shabbos.

The bill had been put on a fast track – it had passed its first reading just a day earlier – and was set to be discussed and voted on Wednesday night, although it was likely that that would have been delayed because of opposition demands that changes be made.

Early Wednesday afternoon, however, the opposition removed all its demands – paving the way for the bill to be voted on immediately.

The only problem was that the Knesset chamber was largely empty of coalition members – most of whom were at the levayah of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, Hy”d, in Chavat Gilad. It was this that Levi-Abukasis, as well as other coalition MKs, accused Chasson and Zionist Camp of “cynically” taking advantage of. Coaliton MKs demanded that sanctions be placed on Hasson and Zionist Camp for the action, and the Ministerial Law Coalition said that as punishment it will not consider any opposition laws at its next meeting Sunday.

The bill passed in the end, thanks to several filibusters by coalition MKs who were in the chamber, and were able to hold the vote off until their colleagues rushed back from the levayah. In the interview, Levi-Abukasis said that she found the procedure “shameful. I heard them planning this, they knew exactly what they were doing.”

Chasson in response said that Levi-Abukasis was not in the chamber at the time of the vote, and thus could not have heard any “voices. She didn’t speak with anyone, we have it all on tape. Someone told her to say these things.”

[israel-jewish-news]

Report: Rabbi Shevach' Hy"d, Murdered by 'Well-Funded' Terror Group

New Post has been published on http://hamodia.com/2018/01/11/report-rabbi-shevach-murdered-well-funded-terror-group/

Report: Rabbi Shevach' Hy"d, Murdered by 'Well-Funded' Terror Group

Relatives and friends carry the body of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, Hy”d, during his funeral in Chavat Gilad, Wednesday. (Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

The IDF maintained a heavy presence in the Shechem area overnight Wednesday, as the search for the murderers of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, Hy”d, continued. IDF forces were still surrounding Shechem and villages in the area, and in many cases were maintaining full closures of villages and roads as the search continues. Several arrests have been made, but security sources said that the terror gang that carried out the attack was still at large.

Rabbi Shevach was laid to rest on Wednesday in his hometown of Chavat Gilad after an emotional levayah attended by thousands. Meanwhile, Channel One revealed further details of the murder. The report said that Rabbi Shevach was killed by a military-grade machine gun, valued on the open market at some NIS 50,000 – evidence that the terror gang was well-funded and probably consisting of professional shooters. Shell jackets from the shooting were found strewn on Road 60 in the area of the murder, indicating that well-practiced sharpshooters were behind the shooting.

Channel One reported that the Palestinian Authority was conducting its own investigation, on the assumption that the gang was affiliated with Hamas. A PA official told Channel One that there was “definitely” no chance that the Authority or any of its personnel were involved in the attack. “We use only M-16s and Kalachnikovs, and not the advanced weapon that was used in this incident. Only the terror groups use those,” the official said. The report added that the first person on the scene to assist Rabbi Shevach was a Palestinian EMT, who disappeared when IDF forces arrived a few minutes later.

Overnight Wednesday, security officials said they arrested 18 wanted security suspects in other areas in Yehudah and Shomron. The suspects were wanted for participating in rioting and throwing stones and firebombs that endangered Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. Several of the suspects were also charged with belonging to Hamas. All were being questioned on their activities by security forces.