Escalation in the West Bank, Israeli Forces In Another Military Operation Kill Four Palestinians: US administration and European Union officials condemned the last military operation of Israeli forces in two northern Palestinian cities in the West Bank: Jenin and Nablus. Americans warned Israel against pushing the reality on the ground towards a more broader scale military operation thereby inflaming the Palestinians on the ground, arguing that Israel has already killed at least 100 Palestinians since the beginning of the year and that this is the highest number killed in the last several years.
On Thursday evening a seven year old Palestinian boy was killed, according to Palestinian sources while an Israeli military unit was invading his family house. American officials are calling on Israel to investigate the event and the death of the boy.
Israel is trying to fill the void of the non-functioning Palestinian Authority which has lost it’s control on the ground vis-a-vis the gangs and combatants of the different political factions. Israel is afraid that the growing tension will escalate and drive individual Palestinians to execute terrorist attacks. This is extremely sensitive during the Jewish holiday month of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur and Succoth, in which orthodox observant Jews visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. These visits inflame the already tense reality and Palestinian gangs protest against the visits, which quickly escalate into clashes with local police and tear gas.
Israeli Citizen Arrested in Mexican Police Raid at the “Lev Tahor” Sect Compound. Other Members Escape Temporary Shelter: last weekend, the Mexican immigration police SWAT team raided the compound of the extremist Haredi sect “Lev Tahor” (Pure Heart) and arrested two members of the sect, suspected of human trafficking and sexual abuse crimes. Two other sect members, wanted by the police, left the compound two days before the raid. Five other members were transferred to an immigration facility and are likely to be deported from Mexico. The remaining members of the sect, who were at the compound, were transferred to a temporary welfare facility, where they were to remain for several days after they refused to be handed over to the Israeli consul. In a new twist in the plot, the media reported last night (Thursday) that the group overpowered the guards and escaped the temporary shelter in a vehicle that waited outside. According to the media, the vehicle made its way to the Guatemalan border.
One of the children, a three year-old boy, was reunited with his father, an Israeli citizen who left the sect. Father and son both returned to Israel, while the mother remains in Mexico.
“Lev Tahor” (Pure Heart) is an extremist Haredi sect, referred to as “the Jewish Taliban”, because of the strict modesty dress code, which requires female members to cover themselves from head to toe with black garments. The sect counts about 230 members and had to change its locations from North to South America, following allegations of mistreatment of its children, including abuse and child marriages.
Rosh Hashana 2022 – Holiday Greetings from World Leaders, Traffic Jams and Pilgrimage to Uman: Israeli Jews and Jewish people around the world celebrated the Jewish New Year, 5783. In Israel, the holiday is marked by the festive blow of the Shofar at the Western Wall, traditional festive dinners, family outings, and of course, traffic jams. Nearly 4 million Israelis travelled abroad during the month of September. And, despite the war in the Ukraine, some 23,000 Hassidic Jews from Israel and around the world congregated in the city of Uman in the Ukraine, for the Rosh Hashana celebration and pilgrimage to the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Breslav, a Jewish mystic who preached his vision of a joy-filled life across Ukrainian lands in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
World leaders such as US President Biden, UK Prime Minister Truss, India’s Modi, and Vladimir Putin published new year’s greetings to Jewish people in their countries and to Israel.
Several Wild Fires Broke Out in Israel, Threatening to Harm A Few Villages in the North and Near Jerusalem: Firefighters were struggling with the fires. This is the end of a very hot summer in Israel and many areas are very dry and full of wild growth and woods that can easily ignite.
Renowned Tennis Player, the Legendary Serbian Player Novak Djokovic Came to Israel To Participate in the ATP Tournament in Tel Aviv and to Pay Tribute to Israeli Player Yoni Erlich, Who is Retiring: This is not the first time Djokovic visits Israel, but this time it is in a local and international context. The Israeli tennis player, Yoni Erlich, who made it to the top 5 in doubles together with his colleague Andy Ram, was scheduled to play against Djokovic. The match was cancelled as Erlich was injured in a previous game, which happened to be his last before he retires from professional tennis.
We would like to wish our readers who observe Yom Kippur an easy fast, and G’mar Hatima Tova.
For Further reading:
Security Tension: Here, here, here, here