The Gaza Flotilla and the Maritime Blockade of Gaza

The following was emailed to me by Eddie and Jackie Santoro of Zion's Glory a couple who minister in the Jerusalem area associated with Tikkun Ministries. They thought it was important to pass along and so do I. The email reads:

I woke up this morning to the horrible news of the tragic loss of life as Israel stopped the "humanitarian aid flotilla" as it attempted to break Israel's blockade on Gaza. The entire operation was a deliberate provocation against Israel and its primary goal was to cause the very events that occurred. The Israeli soldiers boarded the boats peacefully and acted in self defense when the "peaceful activists" attacked the soldiers as they came aboard.

Attached is the official Israeli Government justification, based on international law for this morning's action against the flotilla. We felt it is very important for those who love and support Israel to be aware of this legal justification as the resulting international attack and condemnation will be very strong. Please pass it on to as many as possible as there will be few voices supporting Israel at this time.

Although Israel was legally and morally justified in exercising its right of self defense against both the flotilla and against the precedent that allowing it would have established, this whole situation is at best a public relations nightmare for our nation and could be far worse. Please be in prayer that righteousness and justice would prevail.

We are living in a day in which we see the prophetic word of the Lord being fulfilled. The nations are turning against Israel and bad is being exalted as good and wrong as right.

Following is the official diplomatic release by the government of Israel giving the legal justification for this morning's action.

We send you our love from Zion,
Eddie and Jackie


The Gaza Flotilla and the Maritime Blockade of Gaza
Legal Background – 31 May 2010

1. A maritime blockade is in effect off the coast of Gaza. Such blockade has been imposed, as Israel is currently in a state of armed conflict with the Hamas regime that controls Gaza, which has repeatedly bombed civilian targets in Israel with weapons that have been smuggled into Gaza via the sea.

2. Maritime blockades are a legitimate and recognized measure under international law that may be implemented as part of an armed conflict at sea.

3. A blockade may be imposed at sea, including in international waters, so long as it does not bar access to the ports and coasts of neutral States.

4. The naval manuals of several western countries, including the US and England recognize the maritime blockade as an effective naval measure and set forth the various criteria that make a blockade valid, including the requirement of give due notice of the existence of the blockade.

5. In this vein, it should be noted that Israel publicized the existence of the blockade and the precise coordinates of such by means of the accepted international professional maritime channels. Israel also provided appropriate notification to the affected governments and to the organizers of the Gaza protest flotilla. Moreover, in real time, the ships participating in the protest flotilla were warned repeatedly that a maritime blockade is in effect.

6. Here, it should be noted that under customary law, knowledge of the blockade may be presumed once a blockade has been declared and appropriate notification has been granted, as above.

7. Under international maritime law, when a maritime blockade is in effect, no boats can enter the blockaded area. That includes both civilian and enemy vessels.

8. A State may take action to enforce a blockade. Any vessel that violates or attempts to violate a maritime blockade may be captured or even attacked under international law. The US Commander's Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations sets forth that a vessel is considered to be in attempt to breach a blockade from the time the vessel leaves its port with the intention of evading the blockade.

9. Here we should note that the protesters indicated their clear intention to violate the blockade by means of written and oral statements. Moreover, the route of these vessels indicated their clear intention to violate the blockade in violation of international law.

10. Given the protesters explicit intention to violate the naval blockade, Israel exercised its right under international law to enforce the blockade. It should be noted that prior to undertaking enforcement measures, explicit warnings were relayed directly to the captains of the vessels, expressing Israel's intent to exercise its right to enforce the blockade.

11. Israel had attempted to take control of the vessels participating in the flotilla by peaceful means and in an orderly fashion in order to enforce the blockade. Given the large number of vessels participating in the flotilla, an operational decision was made to undertake measures to enforce the blockade a certain distance from the area of the blockade.

12. Israeli personnel attempting to enforce the blockade were met with violence by the protesters and acted in self defense to fend off such attacks.

ACTION ALERT: A Purim Letter Writing Plea

A few days ago I received this informative bulletin and letter-writing action request from David and Leah Ortiz from Ariel. I would encourage you all to read the briefing on how the religious Jewish terrorist that almost took the life of their son on Purim 2008, has confessed to police that he was associated with the anti-missionary group Yad L'Achim. The Jerusalem Institute of Justice which defends the Messianic Jewish community in Israel has filed a request with the Israeli Attorney General to outlaw the Yad L'Achim group as an officially designated "terrorist organization." It sure is.

At the end of this brief, the Ortiz family asks for Messianics and Christians to join in the effort to make Israeli and government officials of other nations aware that we support the request for official acknowledgment that Yad L'Achim is conducting itself as a dangerous stalking and terrorist organization against believers in Yeshua/Jesus who just want the freedom to practice their faith without persecution.

You will find information on how you can be involved in letter writing to Israeli officials as well as other government agencies in several nations. This appeal was not timed to coincide with Purim - unless it is Divine timing we are witnessing - but in response to breaking developments in the Ami Ortiz bombing case. Like the story of Esther upon which the Purim holiday is based, we are challenged to rise up and take action with the government authorities to turn back the threat against our brothers and sisters in Israel. "...and who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Please read, pray and act now on behalf of all the Jewish believers in Israel, and for those who are also being spied on in nations as anti-missionaries seek to block Messianic believers from Israeli citizenship.

Thank you and God bless you as you stir yourself like queen Esther to "Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to destruction. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9

Donna Diorio,
Israelprayer.com

Romans 8
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Messiah who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Messiah? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

" For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.


Shalom to all! We are grateful to God who gives victory in the midst of every battle! We haven't written in a while, because we weren't at liberty to reveal some important information concerning our case until now.

YAKOV TEITEL - YAD L'ACHIM

Recently it has been revealed that in one of his interrogations, Yakov "Jack" Teitel, the perpetrator of the crime carried out in our home on March 20, 2008, worked for the anti freedom of religion organization called Yad L'Achim. This organization has a department which it calls itself the "counter-missionary" or "anti-missionary" department. They refer to Gentile Christians and Jews who believe that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah, as "missionary cults", and admit on their website that they are committed to rescuing Jews who fall into our "net". Here are some quotes from their website:

"COUNTER MISSIONARY DEPARTMENT

“Ironically, Jews who live in Israel are the most vulnerable to missionaries. That's because missionary groups see making inroads in the Jewish homeland as a special achievement and therefore invest tremendous energy and resources there. The missionary infrastructure in Israel is based mainly on a few large Christian cults and dozens of smaller ones.

“In our battle against the missionaries we are even more motivated. We see the saving of each and every Jewish soul from Christian cults as a sacred mission. This is what drives Yad L'Achim's relentless efforts against the mission and its members.

“HOW DOES THE DEPARTMENT WORK?

“We fight the missionaries in a variety of ways, some of which, due to their sensitive nature, can't be described in detail.

“One of our most important functions is to track the activities of missionaries and respond to them in appropriate ways. We are updated every time the missionaries schedule a conference, open a new center or schedule a baptism for Jews in the Kinneret and have a variety of means - all of them legal - to foil them. When we receive a report of a family that has gotten caught up in a cult we intervene with tried and tested methods.

“SCOPE OF MISSIONARY ACTIVITY IN ISRAEL

“There are more than 100 missionary congregations operating in Israel. Indeed, every city has a missionary congregation that runs programs and activities aimed at luring Jews.

“The annual budget of the missionaries in Israel is in the millions of dollars, often funded from foreign sources.

“Under the guise of assisting the public, they open community centers, as well as drug-treatment facilities, that serve to advance their cause.

“The missionaries have at their disposal kibbutzim, convention centers, youth hostels, coffee houses, publishing houses and much more to spread their poisonous message."

The head of the anti-missionary department of Yad L'Achim is a Chabad Rabbi, Alex Artovsky, Soviet Union born, who has been questioned by the police many times on charges of harassing and intimidating Messianic Jews. You can read about him on the Roshpina website - he is an example of the type of people who work for the organization.

RESPONSE AND MORE FACTS

With the revelation of the admission of Jack Teitel that he was active in Yad L'achim for five years, carrying out various missions for them, it became incumbent on us as a community to respond as there had been no mention of this in the newspapers or publicly by the police.

The information was given to a reporter from the Ha'aretz Newspaper, and an article was written that was scheduled to appear in Hebrew on the front page of the paper. The article appeared in English in the English edition of Haaretz, but the editors of the Hebrew edition kept on postponing the Hebrew article for a week, every day with a different reasonable sounding excuse, until they declared that the article was old news and had already been published in English anyway.

It was very suspicious - perhaps they received threats from Yad L'achim that they would sue if the article appeared in Hebrew? Could someone have been paid off, or was someone pulling strings? Was the paper afraid of being blacklisted or of backlash? For sure, it was not business as usual when it came to this news item.

When Teitel confessed to working for Yad L'achim, there were no further attempts to gain more detailed information by the police, and according to Yad L'achim's own statement, they weren't questioned by the police in connection with Teitel either.

At the same time, Caleb Myers of the Jerusalem Institute for Justice has drafted a petition to the Israeli Attorney General, requesting that Y'ad L'achim be dismantled, based on concrete proof of their illegal activities in connection with the harassment and persecution of Messianic Jews, and their connection with Jack Teitel. The petition can be viewed on his website.

We advise strongly that you read Caleb Myer's document. The research is extensive and he's been able to detail the organization's activities in a very detailed way.
Note: The incidents cited in this report are just a partial report of the activities of Yad L'achim against believers, because many of their attacks on the Messianic community go unreported as the believers are often afraid, or don't take the time and effort to notify the authorities. Unfortunately, they know that nothing will be done as a result which has been the case time and again.

Here is a link to an Israeli internet news service report about Caleb's petition.

Yad L'achim was founded in 1950 and at first it's purpose was to help Jews who were streaming into the re-established State to "find a suitable religious framework", according to their website. However, very quickly it turned into an organization that focuses on destroying Jews who believe in Yeshua, and to dismantle mixed marriages of Arabs and Jews.

Caleb Myers states in his petition to the Attorney General,

"According to the Organization's own publications, both on its website
http://yadleachim.co.il and on the Chabad site http://www.chabad.info/, it is
involved, among other things, openly and directly, in tracking, supervising and
collecting information about members of various religions and faiths, including
Messianic Jews, tourists, residents and citizens alike, who are perceived by its
activists as "dangerous missionaries".

"Yad L'achim are active world-wide to the point that they were invited by the Chinese government to participate in a conference on "how to help fight cults" - read the head and founder of Yad L'achim, Rabbi Dov Lipschitz shocking comments.

From 1999-2009 the State Department has been reporting on the undemocratic and often violent actions of Yad L'achim's activities in Israel.

Another shocking thing about Yad L'achim and it's associates, is that it receives tax-deductable status from democratic countries like the United States, that stand on the pillars of personal freedoms, one of which is the freedom of religion.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

So once again we are turning to you, for prayer and to exercise the power of the pen for this petition to succeed.

It is reasonable to assume that Yakov Teitel found out about our family through records in Yad L'achim's office during the five years that he worked for them. We don't want more Teitel's to harm believers in Israel, which will surely happen if we don't take action based on the facts that have been revealed to us.

As you pray for these matters, would you consider these following actions: (Isaiah 1:17; Prov. 31:8&9)

1. Write to the Israeli Attorney General, Yehuda Weinstein, to consider Caleb Myer's report and the request to disband Yad L'achim in Israel with the utmost seriousness. You can state that you are supporters of Israel and that you are seeking it's welfare and benefit. For example, "As people that support and believe in the State of Israel, in seeking it's benefit, we urge the attorney General to disband this organization so Israel can continue to be a light to the nations by it's example of freedom and democracy in the Middle East, which includes, especially, the freedom of religion."

In reality, especially for those of us who live in Israel, organizations like Yad L'achim and their associates dedicate themselves full-time to be predators, seeking every opportunity to hinder, harass, persecute and murder the Body of Messiah, as in the confession of one of their foot soldiers, Yakov Teitel. These predators shouldn't be allowed any longer to carry out their illegal activities without any fear of due process of law.

Letters can be sent only by fax - the number is- 011-972-2-6467001, or by post:
Mr. Yehuda Weinstein
Attorney General
Ministry of Legal Affairs
29 Salah A-Din St.
Jerusalem
Israel

2. Write to Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu with the same message, and to urge him to not let Teitel's connection with Yad L'achim to be swept under the rug, so that justice can truly prevail in Israel. bnetanyahu@knesset.gov.il

3. Write to your Senators, Congressmen, or government officialsin light of Caleb Myers petition to the Israeli Attorney General, and the harassment and intimidation of Yad L'Achim, and their connection with Yakov "Jack Teitel"who was responsible for the bombing and attempted murder of Ami Ortiz, to take away the tax deductable status of Yad L'achim in the U.S. and wherever they have chapters.

4. Write to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, to ask for Yad L'achim's offices to be closed in the U.S. and/or their tax deductible status taken away.
800 North Capitol Street NW
Suite 790
Washington, DC 20002

5. For those living outside of the United States, you could write to your Parliament members and representatives, and a possibility is to write to the World Evangelical Alliance to come on board to write to the Israeli government to stop the activities of these types of organizations that infringe on the freedom of religion of Messianic believers in Israel.

Caleb Myer's report can be sent to them as well.

Your letters don't have to be long, anything that you can manage will help.

Also to be noted - Yad L'Achim are not representative of the Orthodox Jews in Israel who are mostly law-abiding citizens.

Thank you for walking with us in rank, heart to heart, towards the mark. (1Chron. 12:33; Phil. 3:14)

Yours in the Messiah
Leah

PS. Please pray for Howard Bass' trial on March 9th - the head of the counter-missionary department of Yad L'Achim, Alex Artovsky, will be questioned on the stand as to his alleged involvement in the riot that took place in the congregation in Beer Sheva in 2005. Closing statements will also be given, please pray for Howards lawyers, Marvin Kramer and Kevork Nalbandian.

See the video of the attack here.

ex po se' Part 2 Threats Precede Violence

Week 2, Part II of my lengthy article, ex po se' The Terror Bombing of Israeli Messianic Teen Ami Ortiz was emailed to my Arrows from Zion mailing list. It is also online at my israelprayer.com website where the full version can be downloaded in a PDF or a partial version (less many pictures) is published on the web....

If you have contacts with other Christian and Messianic LEADERS outside of Israel - please send it to them.

Part 2 Threats Precede Violence

Threats to the Ortiz family had begun months before the bombing as fliers were distributed in the streets of Ariel with photographs of David Ortiz and other Messianic believers warning:

“Citizens of Ariel, Beware!
These people are Christian Missionaries
that masquerade as Jews
and belong to a cult called Messianic Judaism."

Like other Messianic Jews throughout Israel, the Ortiz family was used to being targeted by hate speech and also used to exercising prudent caution for the sake of personal security. Several congregation facilities and other properties of believers have been fire bombed over the past decade and threatening speech has almost always preceded the violence.

...continued at the website Israelprayer.com

Expose: The Terror Bombing of Israeli Messianic Teen Ami Ortiz

I have a new 5-part article posted on my web site, Israelprayer.com. Here is the introduction:

ex⋅po⋅sé

The Terror Bombing of
Israeli Messianic
Teen Ami Ortiz

by Donna Diorio
December 31, 2009 - January 1, 2010



Across Israel – for those who have heard the reports – there is shock and disbelief that a terror attack on a 15-year old Jewish boy in Ariel in March 2008 may have been a case of Jewish terrorism. It is a hard concept for Jews to accept – a horrific act of Jew-on-Jew terrorism.

Having been the victims of such acts throughout the annals of history, to believe that Jews could become exactly like their persecuting enemies is almost unthinkable to most Jews. The unthinkable is not softened by the cold insistence from some that the targeted family is “not really Jewish” because of their faith in Yeshua (Jesus).

Yaakov Teitel, an ultra-Orthodox settler, appeared for the first time in open court December 10th to stand trial for multiple murder and attempted murder charges including the Purim 2008 attack on a Messianic Jewish family which seriously wounded David and Leah Ortiz’ youngest child, Amiel.

The case places several sensitive and controversial issues in public view from the troubling rise of a new Jewish extremism within the settlements to the appalling state of civil and religious freedom protection for Messianic Jews in Israel. It is a case that Israeli authorities might be anxious to see quietly brought to a swift end with the conviction of a deranged “lone wolf” with no greater implications unpacked.

But that is not the truth of this case, as we have learned from 21 months of following the case via weekly input from the Ortiz family.

This article seeks to shed light on why the police theory that Teitel acted without accomplices cannot be correct. It contains details recorded in the real time of the unfolding of events from March 20, 2008 to the present. If the whole story is not told, the trial could actually circumvent justice bringing only one perpetrator to accountability. That would leave his compatriots free to continue their misguided religious mission to exact ‘God’s vengeance’ on those whom they consider detestable enemies.

Donna Diorio
December 9, 2009
the day Jack Teitel went on trial for the attempted murder of Ami Ortiz.

ex⋅po⋅sé noun
1. A public exposure or a revelation,
2. A formal exposition of facts.

Index: Full PDF version

Part I –Purim 2008: Haman Visits Ariel An act of religious extremism targets Israeli Jewish believers in Jesus on Purim. ‘Wicked Haman’ is finally busted in October 2009.
Part II – Threats Precede Violence Hate speech, harassment and violence lay the buildup to attempted murder against targets with the Messianic community of Israel who are stalked and spied on.
Part III – The Family Grapples with the Unthinkable That is, the Ortiz family, the family of indigenous believers in Israel, and the greater family of Israeli Jews – citizens and officials.
Part IV – Meanwhile in the Real World What must we do to safeguard innocent people from those willing to commit religious terrorism? Counter terrorism experts are telling, but is anyone listening?
Part V – Israeli Justice on Trial What is at stake in the trial of Yaakov Teitel is a hidden spiritual truth. It is one of those trials of God that we often don’t recognize as from Him until after our choices are made and the test is over. In this trial, Israel is also choosing in measure her own future – “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged.”

Gag Order Lifted: Ami’s Assailant Arrested

The gag order has finally been lifted and the arrest of the American born ultra-Orthodox man who placed the bomb-laden Purim package at the doorstep of the Ortiz home has also confessed to multiple terroristic murders and attempted murders.

Here are the news reports in the top three online English edition newspapers, with Haaretz giving far more coverage out of the gate than Jpost or Ynet - to the late breaking Sunday edition headlines out of Israel.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also weighed in to the breaking news.

These first reports are indicating that Yaacov Teitel acted alone without the knowledge of others. I am a little concerned that he has confessed to so many incidents and they are painting him as a lone wolf who had no contacts with other radical elements - especially that he confessed to the Tel Aviv gay attack and the police are saying they have nothing to tie him to it.

Also so many people are painting a picture of him as being mentally ill - which is kind of their classic response, isn't it? That was used on the guy who killed all those Palestinians at a historical/religious site and also of the guy who killed Rabin, if memory serves. Conveniently insane. Time will tell what holds up under more intense scrutiny, but for now we are happy for this matter to have surfaced in the public.

Please continue to pray for the Ortiz family as the media turns an eye to them once again, and for what will become the prosecution of these cases. --Donna Diorio www.israelprayer.com

Linked to the stories online

Alleged Jewish terrorist arrested for murder, series of bomb attacks
By Amos Harel Haaretz Correspondent 11-1-09

ALSO VIDEO: Ortiz family home security video of the Purim-bomb basket being place inside the gated entry way.

Yaakov "Jack" Teitel, 37, is suspected of killing two Palestinians, for rigging the package bomb which left the child of a Messianic Jew seriously wounded, for attempting to kill left-wing professor Ze'ev Sternhell, and for his alleged role in a series of warning attacks against Israel Police at the time of the Gay Pride Parades.

Jewish extremist arrested for alleged series of hate crimes
By Yaakov Katz Jerusalem Post Nov 1, 2009 16:44 | Updated Nov 1, 2009 19:03

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police have arrested an American-born Jewish settler who is allegedly behind an unprecedented series of deadly terror shootings and bombings spanning over a decade, in which two Palestinians were killed and Israel Prize Laureate Prof. Ze'ev Sternhell was injured. According to the Shin Bet, he also planted a bomb at the entrance to house of a messianic family in Ariel, seriously wounding their son, then-15-year-old Ami Ortiz.

Settler suspected of multiple hate crimes
Ynet reporters 11-1-09

Authorities believe Yaakov Teitel of Shvut Rachel murdered two Arabs, planted pipe bomb which injured Hebrew University's Prof. Ze'ev Sternhell, as well as multiple explosive devices in other incidents. Lawyer: He's mentally unstable

Netanyahu: ‘Minority’ of violent far-rightists must be stopped
By Haaretz Service 11-1-09

Following the arrest of a West Bank settler suspected of multiple murders and bomb attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel must fight the terror posed by violent extreme rightists, whom he termed a "marginal minority."

‘State must make an example of Teitel'
By Ben Hartman and JPost staff Nov 1, 2009 18:31 | Updated Nov 1, 2009 22:01

The Ortiz family of Ariel on Sunday urged authorities to "make an example" of Yaakov Teitel, a right-wing Jewish extremist arrested for allegedly sending the messianic Jewish family a bobby-trapped package in 2007 that left son Ami Ortiz critically wounded.

Who is suspected Jewish terrorist Yaakov Teitel?
By Chaim Levinson, Haaretz Correspondent 01/11/2009

Yaakov Teitel, who was arrested last month for suspected murder and a string of alleged murder attempts, was born in Florida in November 1972, the son of Mordehai (Mark) and Devorah (Dianne), American ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Relatives: Teitel wouldn’t destroy his family’s life
Roee Mandel Ynetnews 11-1-09

Friends, relatives describe Shvut Rachel resident who admitted to killing Palestinians and placing bomb outside Professor Sternhell's home as being reserved, moderate, but say he was deeply affected by injury of brother-in-law in terror attack

Shvut Rachel residents: We are not a community of terrorists
By Chaim Levinson Haaretz Correspondent 11-1-09

Residents of the West Bank outpost Shvut Rachel were shocked to learn that their neighbor Yaakov Teitel had been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a string of violent attacks against targets as disparate as Palestinians, the gay community, Messianic Jews and prominent left-wing figures.

Teitel’s lawyer: He is mentally unstable
By Yaakov Lappin JPost Nov 1, 2009 20:01 | Updated Nov 1, 2009 20:04

From the moment he arrived in Israel, Yaakov Teitel believed he was receiving a series of unmistakable signals and instructions from God to carry out his acts. Teitel told his investigators that he had dreams warning him that if he did not carry out the attacks, he would die. He viewed events like rocket attacks on Sderot as divine punishment for past transgressions by Israel. And he launched bomb attacks on police targets in order to persuade them to refrain from securing gay pride marches in Jerusalem.

More as information becomes available

Jew on Jew Terrorism - Police May Have a Confession in the Ami Ortiz Case

The following report is gleaned from open U.S. and Israeli news sources and from nationalist-religious settlers blogs – a source I don’t usually look to but these are the only sources leaking information in an arrest that Israeli Security Forces have placed a 21-day gag order on.

Since the right-wing religious activists are ramping up to pressure Israeli officials in this matter, I thought it wise to pass along those details for believers to begin to pray over. The arrest earlier this month of a religious-nationalist has been linked to the 2008 bombing of Ami Ortiz.

Here are the details we have been able to glean from sources readily available on the web – if one knows where to look. - Donna Diorio, October 25, 2009

On Wednesday October 7th, the Israeli Security Services arrested a Jewish American Israeli citizen in an apartment in the religious Har Nof community located on the western-most hill of Jerusalem.

When security forces broke down the barricaded apartment door to arrest “Y.T.” - (whose name we will keep out of this report for the sake of the on-going Israeli investigation) - officers found several explosives which they later detonated according to a report on israeljustice.com.

In his family home apartment in Shvut Rahel, police found 4 M16 rifles which undoubtedly will have undergone ballistics testing to shots fired in the August shooting spree on the Tel Aviv gay youth club attack.

The man who is described by nationalistic-religious sites as a 36-year old former marine with dual U.S. - Israeli citizenship, is a father of 4 who lives in the Shvut Rahel settlement in Samaria/West Bank some 28 miles north of Jerusalem.

The fact of “Y.T.’s” dual citizenship may be the reason the American Consulate in Jerusalem obtained information of the arrest and why they were able to make first notification to the Ortiz family of an arrest linked to their son’s case. The Ortiz family of Ariel also holds dual Israel-U.S. citizenship.

Ami pre-bomb photo

Israeli officials did not notify the Ortiz family of a break in the case, but it is a locked tight conclusion that if both the victim and the perpetrator hold dual citizenship, the American Consulate would be informed at least of the fact of the arrest.

“Y.T.’s” defense attorney Adi Kedar is reported in an Israeljustice.com article dated 10/14/09 as saying, “Everything is classified. I don’t know anything. The case has even been to the Supreme Court. The judges know but I don’t know anything” – apparently in reference to the evidence and charges against his client.

Early Israeli media reports indicated Security Services had a confession from “Y.T.” according to Shmuel Meidad, who is the head of the Honenu Legal Aid Organization which defends the religious nationalist settlers against charges.

According to reports on a Hareidi website, Hadrei Hareidim, (a source we take with a grain of salt), the judge in the first remand hearing in Petah Tikva told defense lawyer Adi Kedar,

“Don’t try to appeal because until now there hasn’t been a case with so much clear evidence that links the suspect to the serious acts that he committed.”

The early press reports that appeared online were redacted when a gag order was swiftly placed by authorities on details of the arrest. However, israeljustice.com reports that news correspondents had linked “Y.T.” to the pipe bomb that lightly wounded Professor Zeev Sternhell in September 2008, and to the shooting attack on a Tel Aviv gay youth bar that left 2 dead and 10 injured in August 2009.

One linkage the religious news sites have not mentioned is the attempted murder of the Ortiz family during the 2008 Purim season when 15-year old Ami Ortiz was gravely wounded by a bomb planted in a gift basket.

Ami lay dying on the family kitchen floor

Honenu head Meidad, however, is claiming, “They have accused him of every murder from Arlosorov (a murder in 1933) to the murder in the gay bar.”

The attempted murder of the Ortiz family is the ‘Most Likely to Be Suppressed’ charge against the religious activist, “Y.T.” This is something that must be monitored carefully as the charges against “Y.T.” and his co-conspirators are made public. The gag order is due to be lifted on Wednesday, October 28th.

One thing is for certain, if “Y.T.” is the person who actually carried out placing the bomb-laden Purim gift basket at the door of the Ortiz family home, Israeli officials have video security surveillance footage that shows the religious-garbed man placing it there. If “Y.T.” has confessed his involvement in these cases, the confession may have rested on the strength of the security tape from the Ortiz home and ministry.

“Y.T.’s” wife was reportedly arrested on October 21st two weeks after her husband’s arrest although it is not clear why she was arrested. The wife was en route to a hearing in Petah Tikvah where her husband was being held. Her temporary arrest is being painted as a political arrest and a “kidnapping” by the religious-nationalist settlers activists including Women in Green spokesperson Nadia Matar.

A Picture Emerging of Religious Right Wing Violence

The investigation of potential co-conspirators in the case is likely related to recent Israeli news reports on several right-wing activists who have been recently barred from reentering the West Bank for six months.

One report noted that the IDF Spokesman’s Office said “in light of information about the two settlers’ involvement in violent and illegal acts” – (Akiva HaCohen and Ariel Groner) – “and in light of the real danger posed by them to security and public order,” the two are banned from the territories for security reasons.

Both HaCohen and Groner, are young family men – aged 25 and 24 respectively. The fathers of four are also well known to security forces and judges as religious activists in the territories.

Fellow right wing advocates are stirring up protests on behalf of the men whose family homes are located in West Bank settlements near the family home of the arrested “Y.T.” Those areas are where the Shin Bet security service have been investigating the distribution of fliers a year ago on how to make bombs and weapons.

Women in Green, Land of Israel Faithful and other advocates of HaCohen and Groner have attempted to accuse authorities of a pre-emptive expulsion of their leaders before eviction and demolition of outposts, but news reports indicate the investigation really revolves around Jew on Jew violence by the activists.

This is an important point for believers outside of Israel to take note of.

Leaflets instructing in explosive and weapons making were found in the Adi Ad outpost near the home of “Y.T” in Shvut Rachel. A similar flier was distributed in 2006 prior to the Gay Pride Parade, according to a report in Haaretz.

The “Death to Sodomites” flier became big news in Israel, as it instructed how to make Molotov cocktails and other improvised weapons that could be used against lesbians and homosexuals. There was particular public outrage over a two-page pamphlet that offered a reward of 20,000 shekels to anyone who caused the death of “one of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Haaretz is asking "Will arrest of key rightist further inflame settler extremism?"

Reporter Chaim Levinson notes that Ariel Gruner - a key activist in Honenu - is a familiar person to the Shin Bet security service agents who deal with suspected right-wing extremists, and to the judges and lawyers involved in their cases:

"Anytime someone is brought to court for right-wing activity, Gruner is there too - to counsel the detainees on their rights, arrange money for bail, or find host families for those put under house arrest."

What do Israeli Jews who believe in Jesus have in common with gays, Leftist professors and the Palestinians? They are all targeted by hate crimes from the religious right wing nationalist zealots.

Some readers may be inclined to overlook right wing settler actions against gays or Palestinians because of empathy for religious Jewish groups or Zionist advocacy of settlement activism groups. Israelprayer hopes our readers will understand that the indigenous Israeli Body of Messiah are also included on the "enemies list" of these groups.

Even Israeli police and security are concerned with the threat of Jew on Jew crime according to this report: "Jewish underground may be emerging".

Officials have repeatedly attempted to dismiss media reports that the bombing of Ami Ortiz was tied to the violent acts against other groups targeted by religious threats. Israeli police officials have been trying to dodge that linkage that had been acknowledged in first reports to coming out of the bombing of Professor Sternhell.

A Jerusalem Post article sought to tamp down an earlier linkage to the bombing of Ami Ortiz at the time of the Sternhell bombing, reporting:

“According to the security officials, the investigation has also explored possibility that those who perpetuated the attack were also responsible for a series of bombings over the past two years, including one against a Messianic Jewish family in Ariel earlier this year, in which a boy was seriously wounded.

“However, Judea and Samaria police spokesman Danny Poleg on Sunday denied reports that a possible link existed between the Sternhell attack and the Ariel bombing. ‘I have no comment about it, except that as far as I know, it's not true,’ Poleg said.”

Professor Sternhell was reported in a Haaretz article to blame the attack on his life to apathy to settler violence. "Society does not respond," he said during the radio interview, adding that when someone does in fact respond it is "positively or with a wink."

I certainly believe it will pan out that these same key figures were intricately involved with the 2008 bomb-laden Purim basket that was left for the Messianic Jewish Ortiz family in Ariel.

But for the grace of God who orchestrated miracles of immediate medical intervention from a skilled medic who happened to be passing the residence, Ami Ortiz would have died on the floor of the ministry family home. His case deserves justice and for the facts to be made public.

Hopefully, believers around the world will not be guilty of the same thing Professor Sternhell accused Israeli society of – apathy, and a willingness to turn a blind eye to evil done by the religious-nationalist settlers.

Please keep these events in prayer. That the attempted murder of Ami Ortiz will not be buried or under-reported in light of the potential that one group has participated in violent acts against not only Jews who believe in Jesus, but also against gays, Peace Now activists and Palestinians. Pray for justice to prevail in the case of Ami Ortiz – as well as justice for all the other victims of religious violence.

This is a case that will try the wisdom of the soul of Israel, as a similar test tried the soul of the church in Nazi Germany. May Israelis remember and take to heart the poem made famous in post-Holocaust Germany by Pastor Niemoller:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out
—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out
—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out
—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me
—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Like we didn't see this one coming....

I'm going to make an educated guess that news stories filed at Haaretz about three right wing settlers - Akiva Hacohen, Ariel Groner and Eliav Eliyahu - are connected to the private news report we got that there was an arrest made in the terror bombing of the Israeli Messianic Jewish Ortiz family home that nearly killed their 15-yr old son, Ami.

The American Consulate in Jerusalem notified the Ortiz family of the arrest two weeks after the fact. The Ortiz' were in the dark due to a gag order that has been placed on the Israeli media. Obviously, the Israeli officials are not excited about making this news public. Understandable considering the strained relations Israel already has with the U.S., but attempting to hide this is not going to make it any better. Christians can be made to understand that the actions of religious extremists do not reflect the policies of the Israeli people or government - but will not understand an attempt to cover up the facts of the case.

These right wing activists have also made threats against gays and Palestinians in the West Bank. This is the problem of religious extremists who become a law unto themselves. Currently the worry is about violent incidents in the settlements during the Palestinian's olive harvest.

This group of right-wing, religious settler extremists seems to have a long "enemies list" they are actively working.

On October 13th, Haaretz reported Shin Bet hunting for Rightists who threatened to bomb gays saying:

The Shin Bet security service is investigating who has distributed leaflets containing instructions on how to make bombs and weapons; the flyers were circulated in various illegal outposts a year ago.

The article noted that a similar was passed our in November 2006 titled "Death to Sodomites" and included instructions on how to make Molotov cocktails. Some readers may remember the deadly attack in August of this year on an Israeli Youth Gay club in Tel Aviv.

Now I don't condone homosexuality, but this is exactly the slippery slope that Germans found themselves on according to the proverbial poem of Pastor Nienoller from post Nazi-Germany:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

There was also the attempt to murder an Israeli Leftist professor Zeev Sternhell at his home with a pipe bomb in September 2008.

Some readers may be inclined to overlook right wing settler actions against gays or Palestinians, but I hope you will understand that the indigenous Body of Messiah are also included on their "enemies list". Police were reported to say that a "Jewish underground may be emerging".

At that time Israeli police officials were trying to dodge the link that had been acknowledged in the first reports to come out of bombing of Professor Sternhell. The Jerusalem Post sought to tamp down the earlier linkage to the bombing of Ami Ortiz writing:

According to the security officials, the investigation has also explored possibility that those who perpetuated the attack were also responsible for a series of bombings over the past two years, including one against a Messianic Jewish family in Ariel earlier this year, in which a boy was seriously wounded.
However, Judea and Samaria police spokesman Danny Poleg on Sunday denied reports that a possible link existed between the Sternhell attack and the Ariel bombing.
"I have no comment about it, except that as far as I know, it's not true," Poleg said.

Professor Sternhell was reported in a Haaretz article to blame the attack on his life to apathy to settler violence. "Society does not respond," he said during the radio interview, adding that when someone does in fact respond it is "positively or with a wink."

Now Haaretz is asking "Will arrest of key rightist further inflame settler extremism?"

Reporter Chaim Levinson notes that Ariel Gruner - a key activist in Honenu - is a familiar person to the Shin Bet security service agents who deal with suspected right-wing extremists, and to the judges and lawyers involved in their cases:

"Anytime someone is brought to court for right-wing activity, Gruner is there too - to counsel the detainees on their rights, arrange money for bail, or find host families for those put under house arrest."

I certainly believe it will pan out that these same key figures were intricately involved with the 2008 bomb-laden Purim basket that was left for the Messianic Jewish Ortiz family in Ariel. But for the grace of God who orchestrated miracles of immediate medical intervention from a skilled medic who happened to be passing the residence, Ami Ortiz would have died on the floor of the ministry family home.

Obviously, because of the government sensitivities of Christian support of Israel, and also the desire to keep a lid on the truth of Israeli Jewish violence against the Israeli Messianic Jewish, the Israeli government has had a gag order placed on the Israeli media.

There may be an attempt to obfuscate the connection of these extremists to the attempted murder of Ami Ortiz, something that would be a tragedy on many levels.

It is not heartening to see that the three right wing, ultra_Orthodox settler extremists appear to have been released from jail already and only "banned" from entering the West Bank for six months.

Haaretz reported two weeks ago that the "IDF Spokesman's Office said the orders were issued 'in light of information about the two settlers' involvement in violent and illegal acts, and in light of the real danger posed by them to security and public order.'

Already the Haredi web sites and blogs are buzzing with indignation at police actions against Gruner and Hacohen.