News Digest — 5/31/23
Shooting Victim Was Relative Of 2020 Terror Victim
Meir Tamari, who was killed Tuesday afternoon (5/30) in a shooting attack was a relative of terror-victim Esther Horgan, who was murdered in December 2020.
Horgan had been jogging in the forest near her home when terrorist Muhammad Maruh Kabh brutally murdered her by bludgeoning her head with a rock. She was survived by her husband and six children.
Tamari would have celebrated his 32nd birthday on Wednesday (1st). He is survived by his wife Tal and his two children, one and three.
Tamari moved to Hermesh four years ago , after marrying his wife, who grew up in the town. Just recently the couple finished building their home.
Initial investigations of the terror attack Tuesday afternoon (5/30), showed that a car with two terrorists inside, passed Tamari’s car while firing an estimated seven bullets at him with an M16.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the terror attack by saying, “My heart is horrified by the shocking murder of Meir Tamari, a dear Jew who was murdered for just being a Jew in the Land of Israel, by vile terrorists who deserve death.”
“We will continue to do everything to fight terrorism and bring the terrorists to justice, and I will do everything to pass the law for the death penalty so that terrorists will receive the only punishment they deserve. I would like to send my condolences to his dear family, the people of Israel are with you.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “I send my condolences from the bottom of my heart to the family of the late Meir Tamari, who was murdered today in a shooting attack near the village of Hermesh where he lived. God will avenge his death.”
“Our forces are now pursuing the terrorists to settle a score with them – and it will be settled soon. As we have reached every terrorist to date and settled our score with them – we will do the same this time.
(isnn.com)
Head Of US Central Command Participates In Annual IDF Drill
On Tuesday morning (5/30), the Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) General Michael E. Kurilla, landed in Israel for a visit as part of the IDF’s General Staff exercise “Firm Hand.”
Kurilla’s visit will take place over the course of three days and begin in Unit 504, the HUMINT (human intelligence) unit of the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate (12). During the visit, the general was presented with the unit’s latest activity, as well as with the charges and developments in the field of HUMINT and the plans for the unit’s continued activity.
Afterward, the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, led an operational panel during which the senior commanders discussed cooperation between the IDF and the US Armed Forces, the strengthening of joint operational capabilities, the continued design of professional plans and operational coordination.
Kurilla participated in a situational assessment that took place at the General Staff Operations Center, as part of the General Staff exercise “Firm Hand.” Among the matters presented in the situational assessment were the ways the exercise tests the IDF’s readiness for a campaign in multiple arenas simultaneously, innovative combat methods and adapted military capabilities with an emphasis on the operational partnership with the US Armed Forces.
Additionally, the IDF Chief of Staff and the Commander of US CENTCOM conducted a private professional meeting.
The US Armed Forces and the IDF will continue strengthening their operational relationship with a mutual commitment to maintaining regional security.
(isnn.com)
Iran Claims It Tested Hypersonic Missile That Can Breach All Defense Shields
Iran on Monday (5/29) announced that it had finished testing a new hypersonic missile capable of penetrating all defense systems and that it soon will be unveiled.
General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who commands the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ aerospace unit, said the development marked a “great leap in the field of missiles,” and that “the hypersonic missile has a high speed and can maneuver both in and out of the Earth’s atmosphere.”
Hajizadeh first revealed the development of the hypersonic missile in November.
“It will be able to breach all the systems of anti-missile defense,” said the general at the time, adding that he believed it would take decades before a system capable of intercepting it is developed.
Hypersonic missiles, like traditional ballistic missiles that can deliver nuclear weapons, can fly more than five times the speed of sound. A hypersonic missile is also maneuverable, making it harder to track and defend against.
While countries like the United States and Israel have developed systems designed to defend against cruise and ballistic missiles, the ability to track and take down a hypersonic missile remains a question.
Last week, Iran unveiled another version of a ballistic missile with a range of 1,242 miles, which could hit areas of Israel.
The Khaibar missile – the latest version of the Khorramshahr, which is Iran’s longest-range missile to date – was unveiled Thursday (5/25) alongside a replica of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City, in a live broadcast on state television.
Iran said the missile had been successfully test-launched, with State TV broadcasting a few seconds of footage of what it said was the launch.
(timesofisrael.com; ap.com)
Tree Of Life Shooter Facing Death Penalty In Pittsburgh Federal Trial
The man accused of killing 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue five years ago in the deadliest antisemitic act in US history could face the death penalty if found guilty in a federal trial that opened on Tuesday (5/30).
Robert Bowers, 50, is on trial on dozens of federal charges, including 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death, over the mass shooting that unfolded at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, on October 27, 2018. He has pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday morning (5/30) federal prosecutors and attorneys for Bowers were scheduled to deliver opening statements to jurors. The trial, at the US District Court in the western Pennsylvania city, is expected to take weeks to complete.
If jurors find Bowers guilty in the first phase of the trial, they will then determine whether he spends the rest of his life in prison or be executed by lethal injection.
In seeking the death penalty, federal prosecutors will try to show that aggravating factors were involved, making a case that Bowers carefully planned the attack and that he targeted vulnerable victims, most of them elderly.
In court filings, lawyers for Bowers have repeatedly tried to get the court to strike the death penalty as a sentencing option, calling it unconstitutional on the grounds that he suffers from major mental illness, including schizophrenia.
A one-time truck driver who frequently posted antisemitic slurs online, Bowers stormed the synagogue during Saturday services and yelled “All Jews must die,” according to prosecutors.
In addition to the deceased, two other worshipers were wounded, along with five police officers. Bowers surrendered and was taken into custody after he was wounded in a shootout with police.
Bowers was carrying multiple firearms when he entered the synagogue in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, where many residents are Jewish, federal authorities said.
Historians Begin 3-Year Review Of 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre
A panel of historians set up to review the 1972 attack on the Munich Olympics started its three-year mission to examine what happened before, during and after the massacre, Berlin said Tuesday (5/30)
In April, Germany’s Interior Ministry named the eight-member international commission of experts – most based in Israel and Germany – as part of an agreement last year with relatives of the 11 Israeli athletes who were killed by Palestinian terrorists.
As the panel met in Berlin, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser pledged that “the events surrounding this terrible attack will finally be examined thoroughly and transparently,” AP News reported.
“The research findings should deliver answers to the many unresolved questions, answers which the German government has owed the victims’ family members and the public for more than 50 years,” she said, adding that there would be “regular publications and events.”
On September 5, 1972, eight gunmen of the Palestinian terror group Black September stormed into the Israeli team’s flat at the Olympic village, shooting dead two and taking nine hostage. West German police responded with a bungled rescue operation in which all nine hostages were killed, along with five of the eight hostage-takers and a police officer.
Despite the devastation, the International Olympics Committee announced on the morning of September 6 that the Games would go on.
In September 2022, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized for multiple German failures before, during, and after the attack as he joined his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog and relatives of the slain athletes at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary. Germany also agreed to compensate the relatives with $30 million after they threatened to boycott the event.
Shifting Gears, Israel’s Aliyah Ministry To Focus Efforts On Western Jewry
Israel is changing course and refocusing aliyah efforts from the former Soviet Union countries to Western nations, such as France and the United States, Israel Hayom has learned.
Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer has recommended the redistribution of the budget, which will see funds meant to promote aliyah from the former Soviet bloc slashed almost in half, from 8 to 4.5 million dollars. The newly available funds will be directed to encourage aliyah first and foremost from France. A senior ministry official explained that there was simply no need to encourage aliyah from Eastern Europe, as the Ukraine war led to a mass immigration to Israel.
“Since the outbreak of the war, 100,000 people from Ukraine and Russia moved to Israel,” the official explained.
In contrast, he said, Israel has seen a steady decline of aliyah from Western nations, partially due to a lack of encouragement by the ministry.
“We have seen a consistent decrease both from France, where there are about 200,000 Jews, and from the US. There was no effort on Israel’s part from the Jewish Agency to promote immigration from these countries. Since the nations of the former Soviet Union already have seen mass immigration following the war, it is more correct to direct the state efforts where they are required,” the official said.
He stressed that the change will not impact those making aliyah from former Soviet Union countries, and that “the olim will continue to enjoy the benefits that immigrants from those nations receive today.”
