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Terrorism Tag

Breaking news reports indicate a large truck ploughed through pedestrians celebrating Bastille Day in the southern beach town, Nice. American media reports as many as ten dead, but foreign outlets have reported as many as 73. Latest updates at bottom of the post; refresh for most recent coverage. What we know:

In April I wrote about Israeli tour guide Kay Wilson, originally from Britain, and American tourist Kristine Luken, Britain outraged by Palestinian payments to terrorists “who left this British woman for dead”:
I don’t know Kay Wilson. But I’ve seen her on social media, both Facebook and Twitter. She frequently makes reference to how she was carved up and butchered by Palestinians, but harbors no hatred of Palestinians. Israelly Cool has extensive archives on Kay Wilson. I never really knew her story, though. But that story is in the news in Britain as part of the British coming to terms with their role in supporting terrorism against Jews in Israel through financial aid to charities and the Palestinian Authority.... Kay Wilson is in the news because The Daily Mail has an extenstive write-up on her story, and how the terrorists who butchered her are being paid by the Palestinian Authority while in prison, a common benefit bestowed on those who murder or maim Jews.
Accompanying Wilson that day was Luken, exploring the Christian roots in the Holy Land. Luken did not survive.

On Tuesday morning July 12, 2016, the family of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, the 13-year-old Israeli girl who was brutally stabbed to death on June 30th as she lay asleep in her bed, was granted special permission to visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem—the most sacred site in Judaism. Hallel’s anguished parents, Rina and Amihai Ariel, had reportedly requested permission to ‘pray for the ascent of Hallel’s soul’ at the holy place that was dear to her and their hearts. [caption id="attachment_177363" align="alignnone" width="550"]Credit: The Times of Israel Credit: The Times of Israel[/caption] Rina Ariel had written directly to PM Netanyahu asking him to personally intercede. Via a YouTube video that went viral over the last few days, they also invited their fellow Israeli citizens to join them in the special prayer service:

Palestinian incitement to hate and attack Jews has been a frequent topic here lately. It is not just a key cause of the current so-called "Knife Intifada" (which also involves shooting and other forms of attack), but also an impediment to any chance of peace. It is a top-down (from the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, and Hamas) and bottom-up (social media) phenomenon that is particularly focused on young children and teens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBtEDMsl_SM Here is another example, from PalMedia Watch:

Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn and the former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency is reported to be on Trump's short list for the vice presidential slot. General Flynn was forced out of the DIA in 2014 amid rumors that his "management style" was "chaotic." The Washington Post reported at the time:
Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn is expected to end his tenure as DIA director this summer, about a year before he was scheduled to depart, according to officials who said Flynn faced pressure from Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. and others in recent months . . . . . . . . Flynn, who served as a top intelligence adviser to Gen. Stanley McChrystal in Iraq and Afghanistan, arrived at the DIA in July 2012 vowing to accelerate the agency’s overhaul. Asked after a public speech how he would treat employees reluctant to embrace his agenda, Flynn said he would “move them or fire them.” He drafted a blueprint that called for sending more employees overseas, being more responsive to regional U.S. military commanders, and turning analysts’ attention from the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan to a broader array of emerging national security threats.

I originally set out to write this post two weeks ago. June 25, to be precise, as part of my ongoing chronicling of the lives and deaths of Israeli victims of Palestinian terror. But then there were two high profile terror attacks, the stabbing death of 13-year old Hallel Yaffa Ariel as she slept in her bed; and the shooting attack on a family car, killing father-of-ten children Michael "Miki" Mark in front of his wife and some of his children. Writing about those attacks and others, and the fall out -- including how the mother of the murderer of the 13-year old said she was proud of her son -- kept me from finishing this post, the first draft of which was June 23. It's a sad sign of the times. I can't keep up with the number and pace of deadly Palestinian attacks, one more horrible than the next. This post is about victims of Palestinian terror Rabbi Eitam and Naama Henkin, who were shot to death in front of their children on October 1, 2015:

The 2016 Summer Olympics begin in Rio next month and everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. The police have told tourists they cannot protect them, scientists found a superbug in the water, and no one can find a missing Gitmo prisoner in Brazil. The police put out a "Welcome to Hell" sign outside of Rio's main airport. https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/750392561836097537

Over the last few weeks, hundreds of thousands of devout Muslims were guaranteed unfettered access to their holy spaces on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount—the most sacred site in Judaism. Throughout the holy month of Ramadan, which concludes on July 5, additional units of Israel’s National Police were mobilized to ensure that worshippers could safely pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site for Islam.

Protection of Muslim Worshippers

https://twitter.com/ambassadorlenk/status/747704636342149121

We reported recently on the murder of 13-year old Hallel Yaffa Ariel while she slept in her bed, 13-year old Israeli girl stabbed to death in bed by 17-year old Arab terrorist. Hallel Ariel 13 year old Israeli girl stabbed to death with family The funeral was heartbreaking. You don't need a translation as Hallel's mother spoke at her funeral:
Sobbing, Rena Ariel caressed the blue shroud-covered body of her daughter Hallel Yaffa, 13, before uttering her final parting words to the girl who had been a brilliant student and who loved to dance.

Today is the 4th of July and besides being the 240th birthday of America... (Mazal Tov! You've already doubled the usual wish of "until 120" ) ...it is also the 40th anniversary of an equally auspicious day - the miraculous rescue by IDF special forces of over 100 Jewish hostages held by German and Palestinian terrorists in Entebbe, after their Air France airplane was hijacked on its way from France to Tel Aviv.

The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for a massive bomb that killed over 120 in Baghdad, their third attack in three countries in a week. The bomb exploded after midnight in Karrada, a neighborhood filled with shops and restaurants filled with people making plans before the end of Ramadan. The dead included 25 children and 10 women. Officials have said many people are still missing.

Even though his official campaign for the presidency is over, Ted Cruz isn't taking a vacation. Last Tuesday Cruz began conducting a hearing:
...investigating...“Willful Blindness: Consequences of Agency Efforts To Deemphasize Radical Islam in Combating Terrorism.”... This hearing will likely focus on which figures within the federal government worked to squelch any research connecting the dots between local Muslim Brotherhood officials, these individual terrorists, and foreign terror networks. Senators on the committee now have an opportunity to expose the Muslim Brotherhood influence within DHS and the FBI, their invidious “Countering Violent Extremism” Agenda, and their hand in covering up counter-terrorism investigations. They can demonstrate how the federal government has hamstrung local law enforcement by refusing to cooperate and share information regarding jihadists living in their communities.
One question is whether anyone's listening except those already disposed to be concerned about how the Obama administration is handling the problem.

July 4th weekend is a perfect time to reflect on our freedoms and their importance. In that spirit, Remy of Reason, who's kind of the Libertairian version of Weird Al Yankovic, has produced a parody of Toby Keith's song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" which enjoyed popularity after the attacks of 9/11. You can make an argument, and many conservatives have, that things like the Patriot Act haven't directly impacted the civil liberties of average American citizens, but some things have obviously gotten out of control, as exemplified in Kemberlee's horrific post about the TSA yesterday.

A Palestinian shot and murdered Michael "Miki" Mark, an Israeli father of 10, as he drove near Hebron. His wife and two of their children sustained injuries in the attack. From The Jerusalem Post:
In Friday’s incident, the rain of bullets against the vehicle caused it to overturn. Paramedics who arrived at the scene found Mark in the upside down vehicle, while the other passengers had been managed to exit the car.

The core problem in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is not "the occupation" of Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank") or the lawful Israeli military blockade of Gaza to keep out Iranian armaments. The problem, to which the Western world is just waking up, is the pervasive top-down and bottom-up incitement against Jews and Israel in Palestinian society in which even the youngest children are taught to hate Jews and to kill Jews by whatever means possible, including stabbing, shooting and ramming with cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnLIzNGb9gI We have highlighted this problem for years, including these recent posts:

Turkish officials have said the three Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorists who attacked Atatürk Airport came from Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. They also identified the mastermind as Akhmed Chatayev from Chechnya. From Fox News:
Akhmed Chatayev was identified by the pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper as the organizer of the coordinated assault, which killed 44 and wounded more than 200 others at Turkey’s Ataturk Airport. Turkish officials did not immediately confirm he was involved in the attack, and it was unclear if Chatayev was one of the airport bombers, in custody or on the run.

You may have read Andrew McCarthy's excellent work at National Review, but you might not be aware that McCarthy is a former federal prosecutor and expert on Islamic terrorism. McCarthy offered some very enlightening and chilling testimony this week at a Senate hearing on Islamic terrorism which was led by Senator Ted Cruz. He described his testimony in vivid detail in a column at PJ Media:
Willful Blindness and Radical Islam: My Testimony On Tuesday, I was a panelist at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing on “Willful Blindness: Consequences of Agency Efforts to Deemphasize Radical Islam in Combating Terrorism.” The hearing was held by the Subcommittee on Oversight, Agency Action, Federal Rights and Federal Courts,” chaired by Senator Ted Cruz (R. Tex.).