JERUSALEM ATTACK: 8-YEAR-OLD DIES DAY AFTER BROTHER KILLED, FATHER IN SERIOUS CONDITION: Two children and a young man were killed, and four others were injured in a terrorist ramming attack near the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem on Friday afternoon, February 10.
The 20-year-old victim was identified as Alter Shlomo Laderman, who got married just two months ago. The 6-year-old victim was identified as Yaakov Israel Pally, resident of the Ramot neighborhood in Jerusalem. Yaakov’s brother, Asher, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday evening. after extensive efforts to save his life at Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The terrorist attacked the crowd in a blue Mazda near the Tomb of Samuel (Nebi Samuel National Park) at roughly 1:30 p.m. “This is a very difficult scene, a terrorist who violently crashed into a bus station where there were many families,” said ZAKA member Dovi Weinstern. The terrorist, identified as Hossein Karaka, a 31-year-old resident of the Isawiya neighborhood of east Jerusalem, rammed into a bus stop at the entrance to the Ramot neighborhood. An off-duty police officer and other officers who arrived at the scene quickly after the attack, shot the terrorist. A Facebook account reportedly belonging to the terrorist featured a series of posts in recent months, glorifying Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists, including a post calling the terrorist who conducted a shooting attack at the Shuafat checkpoint last year a “hero.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded quickly after the attack: “I conducted a security situation assessment and ordered security forces reinforced, arrests made and to act immediately to seal the terrorist’s house and demolish it. Our answer to terrorism is to strike it with all our might and deepen our grip on our country even more.” (JPost / VFI News)
COUNTRIES IN EUROPE DENOUNCE ATTACK IN JERUSALEM: COWARDLY ACT OF TERRORISM: Several countries on Friday, February 10, condemned the deadly ramming terrorist attack in Jerusalem.
“Deeply shocked and saddened by the terror attack in East Jerusalem. Our thoughts and condolences go to the families of the innocent victims. We strongly condemn this senseless violence,” Italy’s Embassy in Israel said in a statement. Germany’s Foreign Office said it condemns the attack “in the strongest possible terms.” “Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and we wish those injured a swift recovery. To deprive terrorism of its breeding grounds, political dialogue and more cooperation are urgently needed,” it added. The French Embassy in Israel also issued a statement condemning the attack. “Another attack struck this afternoon in East Jerusalem. A ramming attack that killed at least two people and injured a number of people. From the bottom of our hearts, we stand by the relatives of the victims of this cowardly act of terrorism. The violence must stop,” it said.
Both the Italian and French embassies made the recurring mistake of calling any areas in Jerusalem in which a terrorist attack occurs “East Jerusalem.” In fact, Ramot is in northwestern Jerusalem. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also strongly condemned the deadly terrorist attack. “The deliberate targeting of innocent civilians is repugnant and unconscionable. The United States extends our deepest sympathies to the injured, and we stand firmly with them in the face of this attack,” said the Secretary of State. (INN / VFI News)
IDF RESCUERS IN TURKEY PULL 9-YEAR-OLD BOY FROM RUBBLE, 120 HOURS AFTER QUAKE: Israeli military search and rescue experts on Friday evening, February 10, pulled a 9-year-old boy from under a collapsed building in southeastern Turkey, more than 120 hours after the devastating earthquake struck the region.
The dramatic rescue from the rubble in Kahramanmaraş was the 19th Turkish civilian rescued by the Home Front Command teams, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF said the boy, Ridvan, was the brother of 14-year-old Romisa, a girl who had been rescued along with their father Mohammed by the Israeli search and rescue experts earlier in that week. Their mother was found dead after the earthquake. A pediatrician from a nearby IDF field hospital was called to the scene to treat the rescued boy. “We were called by the search and rescue teams to a very complex rescue they had been working on for several hours, since a day earlier they had been working to rescue this child,” said Maj. (res.) Eran Mashiah, the pediatrician. Mashiah said he had attached the IV to give the child fluids, and headed out when he saw the child had begun to recover, so that the search and rescue teams could continue the rescue. “But at one point he had recovered so much he pulled the IV out. So I went back in and reattached it, and eventually, he was rescued and we brought him to a local hospital,” he said. “An amazing and phenomenal story I had the privilege of taking part in,” Mashiah said. (TOI / VFI News)
IDF FIELD HOSPITAL IN TURKEY TREATS 180 INJURED IN QUAKE, INCLUDING SYRIAN REFUGEES: An Israeli military field hospital established near the Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş has so far treated around 180 people, including Syrian refugees living in the country, who were injured in the devastating earthquake that has struck the region. The death toll has currently surpassed 28,000.
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday, February 11, that at least 10 Syrian civilians who were in Turkey at the time of Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake and its aftershocks were treated at the field hospital, which was set up in an abandoned medical center building. On Friday, a four-year-old Syrian refugee whose parents were killed in the quake was brought to the field hospital. “This is an area with a lot of Syrian refugees. This boy was rescued three or four days ago, his whole family was killed, and he was brought by his uncle. We treated him and calmed him down. He came in a moderate to serious condition,” said Lt. Col. Aziz Ibrahim, a nurse and a commander in the IDF Medical Corps. “I found myself taking out halva from our combat rations and giving it to him, and he loved it,” Ibrahim said, referring to the popular sesame snack. “Of course, I also spoke to him in Arabic.” Ibrahim said the boy’s uncle came up to him and said, “You Israelis treat us better than our people.” Israel has deployed around 450 rescue specialists, doctors and nurses to Turkish towns and cities to assist in the relief effort. (TOI / VFI News)
ISRAEL WILL STRIKE ANY WEAPONS IRAN SENDS TO SYRIA UNDER GUISE OF AID – SAUDI INTERVIEW: Israel will not hesitate to strike any weapons Iran sends to Syria under the guise of humanitarian aid, amid rescue efforts after the devastating earthquake, an unnamed Israeli military official told a Saudi Arabian newspaper on Thursday, February 9.
The anonymous official added that there is intelligence indicating that Iran intends to take advantage of the crisis to send weapons and equipment to Hezbollah and Syria. A number of Iranian aircraft carrying humanitarian aid have landed in Syria in the days since the earthquake. Hezbollah and Iran-backed militias in Iraq have also joined humanitarian efforts in Syria since the disaster. The official additionally addressed claims that Israel was ready to provide humanitarian aid to Syria, saying that Israel had received no such requests and that the reports were seemingly published in order to push Israel into issues that “have nothing to do with it.” The official stressed that Israel is ready to provide aid wherever necessary if it is asked to do so. (JPost / VFI News)
IRAN EXHIBITS MISSILE WITH ‘DEATH TO ISRAEL’ WRITTEN DOWN THE SIDE: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp Aerospace Force unveiled a missile with the words “death to Israel” written down the side of it in Hebrew, on Wednesday, February 8, according to state-run Iranian news agency.
The news agency’s official Twitter account posted a video on its channel on Wednesday featuring photos of a series of weapons at a public exhibition in Isfahan. Aside from the “death to Israel” missile, the exhibit featured a collection of other missiles, drones and military vehicles. It is unclear if the missile is actually operational or if it was just for show. An unnamed official at the Foreign Ministry told Israeli media that “in case anyone has any doubt – the message is clear.” The exhibit featuring the missile comes a week after a drone attack targeted a military industry factory in Isfahan. Iranian media initially reported that the attack had not done any significant damage, but Western intelligence reports later in the day said the attack was a “phenomenal success.” (JPost / VFI News)
TICKETMASTER UNDER FIRE FOR SELLING TICKETS TO ANTI-SEMITIC NATION OF ISLAM EVENT: Ticketmaster came under fire on Friday, February 10, after it was revealed that it was selling tickets to the Nation of Islam’s annual “Saviors’ Day” event.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), upon learning of Ticketmaster’s involvement with the Nation of Islam event, penned a letter to the company’s CEO Michael Rapino expressing its misgivings, Jewish media reported. Greenblatt explained that the ADL wasn’t “requesting any particular action from your company as it relates to your commercial activities” but added that “we would like to make you aware of Farrakhan’s past behavior and statements in relation to multiple protected categories of individuals, including people of the Jewish faith.” The ADL has in the past detailed the anti-Semitic rhetoric in speeches given at the events. During the 2018 summit, speakers claimed the Jews controlled the media and called Jews the “Synagogue of Satan” and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan claimed he wasn’t “an antisemite, but rather a truth teller, adding that the ‘powerful’ Jews are my enemy.” According to the ADL, during the 2022 event, “Farrakhan again injected anti-Semitism into his address, claiming that Jews are the enemy of Jesus and promoting anti-Semitic tropes about Jewish control.” (INN / VFI News)
‘JERUSALEM OF GOLD’: VOLUNTEER UNEARTHS ARTIFACT OF ‘GREAT VALUE’ AT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE: An ancient 1,600-year-old bead made of pure gold was discovered during an archeological dig in the City of David in the core of Jerusalem, Wednesday, February 8, from dirt that was removed from a Roman structure in the Emek Tzurim National Park.
The unique bead was found when one volunteer, Hallel Feidman, 18, was working at a sifting station when she spotted the small object. The bead is believed to have been just one of a set of beads on a necklace or bracelet of an affluent individual – a theory that was additionally backed up by the location it was found in. The bead was uncovered where a “grandiose structure” once stood, more than 80 feet in length along the Pilgrimage Road in the City of David. The suspected affluence of the inhabitants of the building was also reportedly evidenced by additional findings like a mosaic floor and imported clay vessels. Dr. Amir Golani, an ancient jewelry expert with the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that while finding a gold bead was rare, the technique used in creating the bead is what made it a particularly special find. The expert explained that the technique used to create the bead came from outside of Israel and likely made its way to the City of David through the extensive trade relations it shared with other regions at the time. (FN / VFI News)
The suggestions, opinions and scripture references made by VFI writers and editors are based on the best information received.
Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff
