news – Keep Jerusalem

Security coordinators to remain in Jerusalem area until end of year

sami Benoliel — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 13:52:14 +0000

7 Israel National News Nov. 6 2022

Defense Min. decides to continue funding security coordinators in settlements surrounding Jerusalem until end of the year

The Defense Ministry will continue to pay for the employment of security coordinators in the settlements surrounding Jerusalem until the end of the year, with the aim of reaching by the end of this period a situation where the police will bear the security responsibility in these communities in accordance with the decision of the government and the National Security Council.

The conclusion was reached following a series of discussions held by Benjamin Regional Council Chairman Yisrael Gantz with the relevant government ministries. A few months ago, the Benjamin Regional Council also submitted a petition to the Supreme Court on the matter, and it was withdrawn only after the state’s commitment that the security responsibility would be transferred to the police and that this be done in a manner that is in accordance with the threats in the region.

Boy hospitalized his entire life brought to the Western Wall

sami Benoliel — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 13:43:20 +0000

7 Israel National News Nov.6, 2022

Western Wall Foundation, Herzog Hospital, and United Hatzalah team up to bring hospital-confined child to Western Wall

A 10-year-old boy who suffers from a birth defect that has kept him in hospital on a ventilator since birth was brought on Tuesday morning to the Western Wall in a moving birthday ceremony, which was made possible by United Hatzalah, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, and Herzog Hospital.

Herzog Hospital turned to United Hatzalah on behalf of the family of Yosef Yitzchak, from Jerusalem, in order to realize the family’s dream of bringing their son, who has been bedridden in the hospital since birth, to the Western Wall to pray. United Hatzalah contacted the Western Wall Foundation to check the feasibility of the request and make the necessary arrangements to transport the child with the ventilator and other medical devices that he requires to be with him at all times directly to the Western Wall plaza in an ambulance.

3 police officers wounded in Jerusalem stabbing; Palestinian attacker shot dead

sami Benoliel — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 13:45:44 +0000

Times of Israel Nov. 3 2022

Officers in good to moderate condition after attack by 20-year-old in Old City; one cop was hurt by so-called friendly fire

Three policemen were wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City Thursday morning, and the alleged Palestinian assailant was shot dead, officials said.

According to police, officers spotted the man acting suspiciously near the Iron Gate entrance to the Temple Mount and began to question him.

“During the examination of the suspect, he pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the officers in his upper body,” police said.

New British PM has called Jerusalem Israel’s ‘historic capital,’ vowed to fight BDS

sami Benoliel — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 13:06:49 +0000

Rishi Sunak has also hailed the Jewish state as a ‘shining beacon of hope,’ expressed determination to eliminate ‘scourge’ of antisemitism

Rishi Sunak, who will be the new British new prime minister after becoming Conservative party leader on Monday, is considered a strong supporter of Israel and a friend of the UK’s Jewish community.

At a Conservative Friends of Israel event in August, Sunak declared Jerusalem is “indisputably the historic capital” of Israel and that there was a “very strong case” for moving the UK embassy from its current location in Tel Aviv.

“It’s something I’d like to do,” he said.

Full article here

Bodycam footage shows police officer chasing, shooting suspected Palestinian stabber

sami Benoliel — Sun, 23 Oct 2022 13:13:18 +0000

Jerusalem District commander praises policeman for managing to take down attacker in soccer field as dozens of young children were playing

Police on Sunday published bodycam footage of an officer chasing and eventually shooting a Palestinian teen on Saturday after he allegedly stabbed and seriously hurt an Israeli man in East Jerusalem.

The footage showed the officer chasing after the suspect in a soccer field in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, as dozens of young Arab children were playing and holding soccer practice.

As the officer shouted at the suspect in Arabic to stop, the teenager is seen running off, leading the officer to set off in pursuit.

Full article here

Jonathan Pollard gets married in Jerusalem

sami Benoliel — Thu, 20 Oct 2022 13:09:26 +0000

Nine months after his wife Esther passed away, ex-spy Jonathan Pollard remarries Thursday night in Jerusalem.

Former Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard married his fiancé, Rivka Abrahams-Donin, in a ceremony held at the Heichal Ya’akov synagogue in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Moshe neighborhood Thursday evening.

The wedding was conducted by Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, at the synagogue of the late Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, whom Pollard consulted during his imprisonment from the 1980s until Rabbi Eliyahu’s death in 2010.

A limited number of guests, including close family and friends, attended the wedding.

Full article here

Jerusalem mayor: Israel’s capital is for both Jews and Arabs

sami Benoliel — Sun, 18 Sep 2022 14:42:24 +0000

Jerusalem is a mosaic of cultures, traditions and identities, mayor Moshe Lion told the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said the changes he is making in the city – from increasing recycling, reducing pollution and adding hi-tech office space, to investing in infrastructure – are intended to benefit both Jews and Arabs equally.

Speaking at The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York on Monday, Lion said that this is best evidenced by a 2,000 square-meter technology hub that the municipality is building in east Jerusalem, that, he predicted, would bring opportunity and investment from both Israeli and international firms.

In recent years, the capital has been transformed into a hi-tech center, said the mayor, with more than 600 hi-tech firms headquartered in the city that employ more than 20,000 people. To that end, Lion said the city is building 1.6 million square meters of hi-tech work and office space throughout the city, both in east and west Jerusalem, over the next three years.

Lion noted that Jerusalem is a mosaic of cultures, traditions and identities. He told conference attendees it is his responsibility to ensure that the disparate groups which make up the city’s population have the space and opportunity to build a shared future in the city.

Full article here

Old City shooting attack: Terrorist indicted after turning himself in

sami Benoliel — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 14:40:24 +0000

8 people were wounded when Al-Sidawi opened fire at a bus stop at close range.

The Jerusalem District Prosecution Service has issued an indictment against Amir Al-Sidawi, a 26-year-old Jerusalem Arab, who has admitted to committing a shooting attack last month in the Old City of Jerusalem. Eight people were wounded in the attack including two seriously – a 38-year-old woman who was pregnant at the time and whose baby was delivered at 26 weeks, and a man in his forties. The baby survived but needed emergency treatment including mechanical ventilation and will likely face health consequences in the future.

According to the terms of the indictment, in May of this year the terrorist acquired a gun and rounds of ammunition. Around a month ago, when he was still under house arrest under restrictive conditions, he headed to the Old City with the gun and ammunition as well as a knife, intending to commit a terrorist attack.

Full article here

Visits to Temple Mount will not be prohibited during holidays

sami Benoliel — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 14:42:46 +0000

Prime Minister holds situation assessment ahead of the Tishrei holidays, amid fears of security flare-up following the situation in Judea and Samaria.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday held an assessment of the security situation ahead of the Tishrei holidays, following the recent events in Judea and Samaria.

Channel 13 News reported that the tensions in Judea and Samaria were the focus of the discussion, along with the fear that these security incidents would spill over to the central cities. There is also a fear of an attempt to create security tensions in Jerusalem during the holidays.

Senior officials in the defense establishment said at the conclusion of the discussion that there is no intention to ban visitors from entering the Temple Mount and that this is not even on the agenda.

Full article here

Jewish, Arab activists issued restraining orders from Temple Mount – report

sami Benoliel — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 14:35:57 +0000

In light of recent IDF activity in the West Bank, Israel Police is preparing for the High Holy Days by issuing restraining orders to activists.

A number of restraining orders from Temple Mount were issued to Jewish and Arab activists ahead of the High Holy Days, KAN Reshet Bet reported on Tuesday. KAN reporter Suleiman Maswadeh added that the restraining orders were handed out based on concrete intelligence by authorities.

According to the report, this action was taken preemptively ahead of the High Holy Days and possible tensions in the area.

What is the context?

The restraining orders come amid nightly arrest raids, weapon confiscations and clashes across the West Bank involving Palestinians with connections to terrorism by Israeli security forces dubbed Break the Wave.

Full article here