23-Nov-22: In Jerusalem, twin bomb blasts put terror in the spotlight again

Screen grab from live TV news coverage of the Ramot Junction 

bus stop and the shrapnel-damaged commuter bus 

Today was a hard day here in Jerusalem.

Two bombs, evidently placed by a single terrorist group at two separate bus-stop locations in Jerusalem, exploded during the morning rush hour. The results were awful as they are when terror strikes.

A first explosion, around 7:10 am Wednesday morning, happened at a bustling hitchhike-and-bus stop at Jerusalem's main entrance/exit opposite the Givat Sha'ul quarter. 

The location is a very high visibility one on the main road, Highway 1, that leads to the coastal plain, Ben Gurion airport and Tel Aviv. 

The second, shortly after 7:30 am, happened at another bus stop a few minutes drive away at the bustling Ramot Junction.

Times of Israel reports that

A 16-year-old yeshiva student, Aryeh Schupak, was killed and 22 people were hurt in the two attacks, including one listed as critical and another three in serious-moderate condition, according to medical officials. Schupak, who was killed in the first bombing, was a Canadian national as well as an Israeli citizen, according to Canada’s ambassador to Israel.

The remotely detonated devices were packed with nails to maximize casualties, according to police officials.

Due to the nature of the attack with two near-identical bombs exploding within half an hour of each other at two bus stops, Deputy Commissioner Sigal Bar Zvi said police suspected an organized cell was behind it, rather than just one person...

She added that there were no specific warnings about Wednesday’s attack, but there had been intelligence pointing to planned attacks in general. Police also raised their level of alert following the attack, according to Bar Zvi... 

There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups hailed the attacks.

A poster near our home expressing condolences

in the name of the Jerusalem municipality

(The murdered youngster's surname appears in other media reports today as Shechopek and Shchupak. In Hebrew, שצ'ופק.)

The Jerusalem Post reports that hundreds of people attended Aryeh's funeral. The atmosphere was heart-breaking.

This evening in an interview with Calev Ben David on his daily i24NEWS current affairs program The Rundown, Arnold Roth was asked to comment from the perspective of families who have endured the loss of a child in similar terror attacks. 

They discussed what happened and how Jerusalemites might view the re-emergence of terrorist bombings in the city. 

(The video above is posted with the permission of i24NEWS.)

14-Apr-21: Israel's Memorial Day and a message of justice

Yom Hazikaron, Israel's official Memorial Day when Israel stops to honor the fallen of its several wars, underwent a significant redefinition when it was extended by government resolution passed on February 5, 1997 [see the Knesset's English language explanation] to become, in addition, the country's "Memorial Day for Victims of Hostile Acts".

In plain terms, the day on which the nation remembers the lives taken by terrorists who target civilians of, in and beyond Israel. 

Arnold Roth was interviewed on i24NEWS' new "Global Eye with Natasha Kirtchuk" show during the evening hours of Tuesday April 13, 2021. A video of the segment (hosted on YouTube) is below, posted here with the kind permission of i24NEWS.

From Wikipedia: i24 News is an Israeli international 24-hour news and current affairs television channel located in Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv, Israel.[1] It broadcasts in French, English, Spanish, and Arabic... The network's American version began airing on 13 February 2017. This network has live programming from New York City between 6 and 10 p.m. Eastern Time on weeknights, and otherwise simulcasts i24 from Israel.

01-Oct-20: Remembering the launch of a war twenty years ago

Arnold Roth was interviewed last night on the English-language TV channel operated by i24NEWS. 

Presenter Calev Ben David had a string of guests in the station's Jerusalem studio; their shows are normally produced in Jaffa. The occasion was the 20th anniversary of the terror war launched by the Palestinian Arabs.

The ten minute segment served as a brief, but welcome, opportunity to touch on what's been learned: the struggle for peace, the Shalit Deal, Ahlam Tamimi, the duplicity of Hashemite Jordan and the work of the Malki Foundation.

[We're preparing some more commentary to come]