2 Killed, 6 Wounded in Hadera Terror Attack and Iranian Jews Bought Tomb of Queen Esther and Mordechai, Israel’s National Library Reveals By Hanan Greenwood and Unique Sites of Israel: Jerusalem’s Biblical Broad Wall By Nosson Shulman and Poland rebuilds abandoned rail tracks to Ukraine to help refugees fleeing the war and Blinken Attacks Settlers, No Mention of Pre-Ramadan Terror AttacksBy Hana Levi Julian -

View in browser Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement. Love Yehuda Lave Join my blog by sending me an email to YehudaLave@gmail.com 2 Killed, 6 Wounded in Hadera Terror Attack Pre-Ramadan terror attack in Hadera on Sunday evening leaves multiple dead and wounded. Two police officers, a male and a female, were murdered, according to the deputy commander of the Israel Police Coastal District. Four others — including three police officers — were wounded in a terror attack on Herbert Samuel Street, the main artery in the city of Hadera on Sunday night, according to police. The terrorists, Israeli Arabs from the city of Umm al-Fahm in the Wadi Ara region, used automatic weapons. They were eliminated by two undercover police officers who were eating in a nearby restaurant at the time. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett headed to the scene of the attack, according to spokesperson Matan Sidi. Israel Police Chief Kobi Shabtai and Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev had already arrived at the scene. Police helicopters scanned the area to rule out the possibility there were more terrorists connected to the attack. Two of the six who were wounded were listed in serious condition, two were in fair condition and two others sustained minor injuries, according to Magen David Adom. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Shlomo Skittel, one of the first responders at the scene, called it a "difficult scene" and said all of the injured were transported to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center for further care. The United Hatzalah Psychotrauma Unit was deployed to treat multiple shock victims. It appeared that the two armed terrorists waited for a bus to stop and then they began attacking. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto. The Three Musketeers at the Kotel The Three are Rabbi Yehuda Glick, famous temple mount activist, and former Israel Mk, and then Robert Weinger, the world's greatest shofar blower and seller of Shofars, and myself after we had gone to the 12 gates of the Temple Mount in 2020 to blow the shofar to ask G-d to heal the world from the Pandemic. It was a highlight to my experience in living in Israel and I put it on my blog each day to remember. The articles that I include each day are those that I find interesting, so I feel you will find them interesting as well. I don't always agree with all the points of each article but found them interesting or important to share with you, my readers, and friends. It is cathartic for me to share my thoughts and frustrations with you about life in general and in Israel. As a Rabbi, I try to teach and share the Torah of the G-d of Israel as a modern Orthodox Rabbi. I never intend to offend anyone but sometimes people are offended and I apologize in advance for any mistakes. The most important psychological principle I have learned is that once someone's mind is made up, they don't want to be bothered with the facts, so, like Rabbi Akiva, I drip water (Torah is compared to water) on their made-up minds and hope that some of what I have share sinks in. Love Rabbi Yehuda Lave. Poland rebuilds abandoned rail tracks to Ukraine to help refugees fleeing the war Poland rebuilds abandoned rail tracks to Ukraine to help fleeing war refugees : The Picture Show : NPR Iranian Jews Bought Tomb of Queen Esther and Mordechai, Israel's National Library Reveals By Hanan Greenwood Photo Credit: Adam Jones / Wikimedia Tomb of Queen Esther and Mordechai in Hamedan, Western Iran Ahead of the Purim holiday, Israel's National Library has revealed an exchange of historical letters proving that Iranian Jews purchased the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in the Iranian city of Hamadan in 1971. The purchase marked 2,500 years to Persian King Cyrus the Great's edict allowing Babylonians to worship the god of their choice. The letters reveal negotiations between Jewish representatives in the country and officials in Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's government regarding the purchase of the plot in which according to tradition, Mordechai and Esther, whose story is read in the Book of Esther on Purim, are buried. The extraordinary exchange was preserved by the ORT organization, maintained in the central archive in the National Library's Central Zionist Archives. There is no mention of their burial site in Jewish texts, but according to several local traditions dating back to the Middle Ages, the two are buried in Hamadan. According to one of the traditions, following the death of King Ahasuerus, supporters of Haman, who attempted to have all the Jews in the kingdom killed, sought to exact revenge, prompting Esther and Mordechai to flee to Hamadan. Initial evidence of the mausoleum's ties to the Jewish figures was provided by medieval Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela in the twelfth century, who estimated Hamadan to have around 50,000 Jewish residents and described the tomb as being situated in front of the synagogue. According to Dr. Samuel Thrope, the curator of the National Library's Middle East and Islam Collection, the letters are a testament to Iran's last shah having seen himself as Cyrus's successor and having sought to portray that image to his country's Jews. The 2,500-year anniversary to the Edict of Cyrus was precisely the event the shah had been looking for, said Thrope. In a 1968 letter to the Iranian Jewish community's representative in parliament, Lotfollah Hay, Iranian Archaeology and Public Education Department Director-General Abdolali Pourmand clarified that the country's Education Ministry would assist the Jewish community in Iran with purchasing the tomb and the surrounding lands from its owner at the time, the Bazargani Bank. The acquisition would be paid for through the sale of tickets to enter the tomb, they explained. In their exchange, the regime's sense of urgency is apparent. Pourmand specifically asks the Jewish community for its response to the proposed initiative as the government had yet to receive an answer on the matter. According to the letters, the lands were purchased on Jan. 18, 1970, after which ownership of the plot was transferred to the local Jewish community. Thrope explained: "This story sheds a unique light on the Jewish community's ties to authorities in Iran over the years and Cyrus's special status, both among Jews and the Persian public." This article first appeared in Israel Hayom. Unique Sites of Israel: Jerusalem's Biblical Broad Wall By Nosson Shulman Photo Credit: Pixabay "When Hezekiah saw that (the Assyrians)…were headed for battle against Jerusalem…He rebuilt all the broken sections of the wall… and erected (a new) wall outside of it (Chronicles 2: 32: 2-5)" This wall, built by the righteous King Hezekiah, is mentioned explicitly in the Bible. Photo Credit: Lior Golgher – CC BY-SA 2.5 Visiting the holy city of Jerusalem, and seeing its many sites where endless miracles took place, is an uplifting experience. Today, I will take you to an important example of a site mentioned in Tanach (Bible), where G-d saved the Jewish people through an open miracle. This Biblical treasure is located in the heart of the residential section of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Photo Credit: Ian Scott – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Advertisement This site, popularly called the "Broad Wall", is in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, a mere 20 second walk from the main square. If you have travelled to Israel, you probably passed this treasure countless times and failed to notice it. The wall was built by Hezekiah, the Righteous King of Yehuda (Judah) close to 2600 years ago, in order to prevent the mighty Assyrians, the world's super power of the time, from laying waste to Jerusalem, and exiling (or worse) its inhabitants. The original Jerusalem of King David lay further to the south of here. Over the years, the city grew from its core to include this area. The city grew exponentially during the reign of Hezekiah, because of the refugees who trickled in after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (after King Shlomo (Solomon), the Jewish kingdom had split into two: Israel in the north, and Judah in the south). Map of the divided kingdom. After Solomon's death, his Kingdom split into two: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (where Hezekiah reigned). Photo Credit: Oldtidens_Israel_&_Judea.svg: FinnWikiNo – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported The Assyrians, with their 185,000 troops, perhaps the largest army the world had ever known until then, conquered the fortified cities of Judah, and then set out for Jerusalem. Hezekiah had to act quickly, and he built this wall around the new parts of the city to protect its new inhabitants. The wall was 7 feet thick and 28 feet high. Because Jerusalem is a city of valleys and hills, the wall had to be built according to topography, leaving some unfortunate houses outside of the city wall. Attached to the outside of the wall, you can still see the remains of these houses, whose stones were needed in the wall's construction (see Isaiah 22:10). Remains of a home (right outside the wall) whose stones were used to build the city walls. Photo Credit: Nemo – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported The Assyrian army had never lost a battle in history, and Hezekiah knew only a miracle could save them. He and his future father-in-law Isaiah prayed for G-d to intervene. G-d promised Isaiah that no Assyrians would enter the city, and the people went to bed. G-d sent an angel that night, and burned the souls of the Assyrian soldiers, leaving 185,000 bodies around these walls, and removing the Assyrian threat. The people arose the next morning, and realized that G-d had saved them from destruction. Assyrian Empire. Notice how Judah (in yellow) Miraculously was the only place Assyria never managed to conquer. Photo Credit: Nigyou – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported For years, archaeologists of the biblical minimalist camp said that the story never happened, because no remains from the period had even been found this far away from the City of David, and the city did not extent this far. This changed after the 6 day war, when Jerusalem was liberated from Jordan. During the 19 years of Jordanian occupation, the Jewish quarter and its holy sites were destroyed to remove any evidence of Jewish connection to the land. Now, archaeologists were able to dig under the debris (without interference from the buildings) and find this wall mentioned in Tanach (Bible). The pottery found in the area date to the time of the biblical story, and so, this wall is a living witness to one of history's greatest miracles. Please visit the author's site: https://guidedtoursofisrael.com Blinken Attacks Settlers, No Mention of Pre-Ramadan Terror Attacks By Hana Levi Julian - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday at a joint briefing with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that he and the prime minister discussed ways to "prevent actions on all sides that could raise tensions." The statement came just a few hours before two Arab terrorists killed two Israeli police officers and critically wounded four more in a shooting attack that took place Sunday evening in Hadera, and 5 days after the terror attack in Be'er Sheva that left 4 Israelis dead and 2 more wounded. Advertisement "Israelis and Palestinians deserve to enjoy equal measures of freedom, security, opportunity, and dignity," Blinken told reporters in Jerusalem, adding that's "one of the principal reasons we support a negotiated two-state solution." The Secretary's definition of actions to be "prevented" that "raise tensions," included a list of no no's mostly for Israel, with two items tossed in for action by the Palestinian Authority, probably to maintain the guise of moral equivalency. Neither of those two items for the Palestinian Authority, however, was discussed or even mentioned publicly following Blinken's late-day meeting in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. In fact, Blinken issued no statement at all after leaving Ramallah, nor did he address reporters at a joint news conference. US Action List for Israel The action list handed to Bennett by Blinken, largely an attack on Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, came while the two men discussed "ways to foster a peaceful Passover, Ramadan and Easter across Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, particularly in Jerusalem," the Secretary said. That, he said, "means working to prevent actions on all sides that could raise tensions, including: settlement expansion, settler violence, incitement to violence, demolitions, payments to individuals convicted of terrorism, evictions of families from homes they've lived in for decades. Let's take the list item by item. Settlement Expansion? Really? The claim of "settlement expansion" is an absolute lie intended to whip up sympathy for Palestinian Authority Arabs who hope to seize territory in Area C – the area designated for total Israeli control, authority and security by the internationally-recognized Oslo Accords, which appear to have been largely forgotten by the world leaders who so lavishly praised the document when it was signed. There has been no real settlement "expansion" in years. As for construction within the municipal boundaries of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (Bennett's "West Bank"), building has been frozen by the Bennett-Lapid-Gantz government since last year. A construction freeze in Judea and Samaria includes the simple act of a Jewish family closing in one's porch, building a pergola over one's patio, or fixing one's private driveway – let alone building a new library or kindergarten to address the growing population of a community. Settler Violence, Leftist Mantra & Campaign So-called "settler violence" – a lie chanted ad nauseum as part of an organized delegitimization campaign by the Israeli left and funded by its foreign backers. Let's Talk About Violence, Then By contrast, there were 902 Arab terrorist attacks on Israelis in the short period between March 2021 and September 2021, not including the 4,500 rockets and mortar shells fired at Israeli civilians by Gaza's ruling Hamas terrorist organization during its war on Israel in May 2021, and not including subsequent attacks from Gaza. One person was killed and 10 more Israelis were wounded, including several with serious injuries, in that five month period. The above list does not include most of the daily cases of Palestinian Authority Arab riots, rock-throwing attacks – also designed and intended to kill – and Molotov cocktail / firebombing attacks on Israelis. During May 2021, a total of 15 people were killed in terror-related incidents, including 13 that were directly related to the rocket arracks from Gaza. In addition, there were 168 non-fatal injuries during the round of fighting and other terror incidents. Demolitions — of Jewish Housing? As regards "demolitions" – perhaps Secretary Blinken is referring to the repeated destruction of Jewish housing in Area C? Illegal Arab housing, part of the Fayyad Plan – including that funded and aided by the European Union – not only goes untouched but is often expanded within the space of a single night. Repeated calls by Israeli nongovernmental watchdog organizations for the Bennett-Lapid administration to enforce the laws already on the books are ignored until brought to a court of law – and then decisions are delayed and delayed again. The only "demolitions" of Arab housing carried out by the Israeli government are those of the living quarters belonging to convicted terrorist murderers. Those ARE demolished, after repeated struggles in court to issue the order, fight the terrorist family's appeal and issue the order again. And again. Which Evictions? As for "evictions of families from homes they've lived in for decades" surely the good Secretary could not be referring to the evictions of those Arab families in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood who have refused to pay rent to their Jewish owners for decades. Or perhaps he is referring to the legal eviction of Bedouin families from the illegally-built village of Khan Al Almar in a particularly dangerous – and strategic – location along a major highway outside of Jerusalem. That case has been back and forth in a courtroom for years, and finally even the court lost patience and ordered the state to enforce its own laws. This, after the residents of the illegal structures were offered newly built homes, complete with infrastructure they lack in their current location, just a bare few miles from the site. Jewish Israeli residents of demolished communities in Judea and Samaria are rarely, if ever, granted such privileges. This is "a message that I'll be underscoring in all of my meetings on this trip," Blinken promised. Did Blinken Discuss His List with Mahmoud Abbas? As for "incitement to violence" and "payments to individuals convicted of terrorism" – the Secretary must have been referring to the official Palestinian Authority policy of encouraging terrorism, and its official "pay to slay" policy, reinforced, praised, and promised forever by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. But he offered no specifics on whether or how he planned to deliver that list to Abbas, with whom he met in Ramallah following his meetings with Israeli officials in Jerusalem, or if he even planned to discuss any list of demands at all. Of more interest is the fact that following their meeting, Blinken issued no statement at all nor was there any statement from his department in Washington. He did, however, issue a brief statement lavishly praising the "partnerships between Palestinian and Israeli grassroots organizations, businesses, young people, other parts of society through a five-year $250 million Nita M. Lowey Middle East partnership for peace act," which kicked off at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. "Efforts like this will not only improve people's lives but build relationships that can help defuse tensions and violence and ultimately, lay a foundation for dialogue and for peace," he said. Terrorism Survives Nice Programs The fact that such programs have yet to prevent any terror attacks from being perpetrated by vicious murderers officially encouraged, egged on and rewarded by the very same government leaders with whom he was meeting in Ramallah appeared to escape Blinken's notice, not to mention that of the entire Biden administration. During his remarks with Bennett, the Secretary made no reference to last week's deadly attack in Be'er Sheva by a convicted terrorist that left four people dead – including a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi – and seriously wounded two others. Blinken left his sole one-sentence condemnation of that attack for delivery at a separate, later news briefing with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. Where Was Bennett? But one has to ask why Israel's prime minister remained silent, in the face of what he must have known were spurious accusations and lies. Could Bennett be hoping his silence would help persuade the US to ignore Iran's demand to remove Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list in exchange for signing the JCPOA nuclear deal? That's not likely, Prime Minister. See you tomorrow bli neder We need Moshiach now! Love Yehuda Lave Yehuda Lave, Spirtual Advisor and Counselor Jerusalem, Jerusalem  Israel 972-585043210 YehudaLave@gmail.com You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us. Unsubscribe