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| Week ending Shabbat, January 7, 2006 |
7 Tevet, 5766 |
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Hevron Jews Refuse Orders for Expulsion:
An Israeli news agency reported Tuesday that police exercised strong violence against civilians who had come to protest the expulsion of the Jews from the city of Hevron. The location of this newest expulsion was previously emptied of all Jews in 1929 during the Hevron massacre. Hevron, Judaism's second-holiest city, is home to the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are buried. For nearly four hundred years Jews lived on a large plot of land in Hevron, commonly known as the Jewish Quarter. Then in 1929 Arab residents massacred their Jewish neighbors (photo right), murdering sixty-seven Jews in their homes. Survivors were rushed from the area, putting an end to Jewish presence in the holy city for nearly four decades. Israelis reclaimed the community following the six-day war in 1967.
Hevron Jewish Community Spokesman David Wilder said, "They sent in the storm-troopers today. Dozens of police and soldiers came, and their goal was to hand out expulsion orders - and they failed. People refused to open the doors, and the forces were not even able to tape them to the doors. They got close to the doors, but they were pushed back, and they did not succeed in giving official notice of an impending evacuation. I heard that six to seven people were arrested. People are very upset at the government's intention, and it appears that this was just a little taste of what the reaction will be if the government continues to try to throw them out. They showed that Hevron is not Gush Katif, and we have no intention of hugging and kissing the forces who come to throw us out of our homes." Spokesman Noam Arnon said, "This government, unsurprisingly, is clearly capable of carrying out the desires of those who murdered the dozens of Jews in Hevron in 1929, and throwing out Jews from Jewish land. It was exactly in this area, among others, that the Jews were killed... We merited to see Jews return to their land, but now the government wants to throw them out once again."
The police said they were pelted with eggs and paint. One policeman and one resident were injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Sharon Suffers a Severe Stroke:
In our December 24 issue we reported on a rather minor stroke suffered by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He was scheduled for surgery Thursday for a hole in his heart felt to have contributed to the stroke (not to mention his age and weight), but never made it to the scheduled surgery. Late Wednesday evening, Sharon was rushed to Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital in Jerusalem and was taken in on a stretcher. At first it was thought that he had suffered another minor stroke, but soon became evident that was not the case. Mr. Sharon was taken to surgery to try to remove the blood pouring into his skull, but neurologists said it was a desperate move. Statistically, the
likelihood of death is greater than eighty percent. Prime ministerial powers were transferred to Vice-Premier Ehud Olmert during the surgery. According to Israeli law he can remain in power up to 100 days. The situation is complicated by elections planned for March 28. Just one day before Sharon's stroke it was reported that police had evidence that linked Sharon to a three million dollar bribe.
Thursday rumors ranging from assassination attempts to Sharon being dead had spread like wildfire. Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, Director-General of Hadassah Hospital, spoke to reporters in the afternoon in an effort to communicate to the public that the rumors of Sharon's death were not true. Everyone being interviewed is beginning with the statement, 'We are praying for the Prime Minister's recovery,' while Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he hoped Sharon dies.
Doctors performed a routine CAT scan Friday morning and rushed Sharon into the operating room for his third surgery this week. Hospital reports indicated that Sharon's brain stem was not affected, but that the left side of his body, as well as his ability to speak, may have been. Unofficially, senior Israeli doctors have somberly informed reporters that Sharon appears to have suffered extensive and irreversible brain damage. This damage could range from impaired physical and mental functioning to spending the rest of his life in a permanent vegetative state, that is, if he survives at all.
Later Friday Sharon showed "significant improvement" after the five hours of emergency brain surgery. His intracranial pressure returned to normal. Sharon remains in "stable, but serious" condition.
Pat Robertson, speaking on his Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club," said that Sharon's sudden illness was Divine punishment for having withdrawn Israeli forces and residents from Gaza and northern Samaria this past summer. Robertson told his audience, "I am sad to see him in this condition, but I think we need to look at the Bible and the Book of Joel. The prophet Joel makes it very clear that God has enmity against those who 'divide My land.' " The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement urging Christian leaders to refrain from such remarks. President of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, said Robertson's comments violated "simple human decency" and were "profoundly offensive." Many others, however, agreed with Robertson. The Katif.net site headlined its report on Robertson's remarks as follows: "A Christian preacher says what many Israelis are thinking." One resident still seeking a permanent place to live after being thrown out of his home in Gaza said on Israeli television, "I'm not happy about Sharon's condition, but we see Divine justice here: any leader who dares to touch the Land of Israel is stricken down."
Editor's note: The political picture in Israel and the whole world is about to change radically. Hold onto your seat (and your faith), and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
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Tzemach News Service [TNS] is a ministry of: Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies
This week's sources: Arutz Sheva, Israel Insider, IRIS, Israel Today, Jerusalem Prayer Team, Lekarev Report, The New York Times.
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