Aftermath of massacre
Perhaps the most shocking detail of the massacre of students at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem is that police waited outside the building while the shooting was going on for 20 mins. They closed off the street and stopped people entering the building, but did nothing themselves. It took one hero, David Shapira, an IDF officer who lived nearby, who hearing the firing, took his gun, entered the yeshiva, followed the firing to the library and "neutralized" the shooter. Unfortunately, the time that he was given allowed the terrorist Dhaim to shoot each of the boys he had downed in the head. This inexcusable lack of action by armed police, when there was only one shooter, is unconscionable! What were they there for?
It is still not clear if there was a security guard at the Yeshiva. One former head of security said that of course there was a guard, and he denied the killer access, but that he entered the library via a different unguarded entrance. Many Yeshivas are not guarded, and they say they depend on God to protect them, but this doesn't seem to be dependable. It is more likely that they don't have the funds to maintain constant guards. At the moment the army and police are protecting Yeshivas, but this is only temporary during the current high security alert.
The Hamas and Hizbullah flags flying at the mourning tent for Dhaim in Jebel Mukaber were removed Sunday on police orders. It is unclear why it took nearly a day for them to issue this order. The killer Dhaim was not "known" to security forces, although there are reports that he had been detained 4 months ago by police. There will be a further analysis of who should be issued passes to enter and move freely in Jerusalem and Israel. The two men who carried out the shooting at the cafe in the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem 4 years ago both also had Israeli id cards. Some people think this means that we should divide Jerusalem, and cut ourselves off from these killers. Others think that dividing Jerusalem would only give them more opportunity to organize terror (as in Gaza) and we would have to go in again to reoccupy it.
The students and teachers (Rabbis) at the Yeshiva are hostile to the Olmert Government, because of its policies. The Rosh Yeshiva (head of the Yeshiva) issued a warning to PM Olmert not to attend the funeral, and today Education Minister Yuli Tamir, who visited after being warned not to, was jostled and insulted by the crowd there and had to be extricated and rescued.
Coincidentally, the PM's office issued an order to continue building at Givat Zeev, a haredi neighborhood in north Jerusalem. Commentators speculate that this is a bribe to the Shas Party to keep it in the Coalition. It may also be a message to the terrorists that any such attack will only result in losses for the Palestinians. Meanwhile the students at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva vow to strengthen their dedication to the Land of Israel and continue settling all of it!
It is still not clear if there was a security guard at the Yeshiva. One former head of security said that of course there was a guard, and he denied the killer access, but that he entered the library via a different unguarded entrance. Many Yeshivas are not guarded, and they say they depend on God to protect them, but this doesn't seem to be dependable. It is more likely that they don't have the funds to maintain constant guards. At the moment the army and police are protecting Yeshivas, but this is only temporary during the current high security alert.
The Hamas and Hizbullah flags flying at the mourning tent for Dhaim in Jebel Mukaber were removed Sunday on police orders. It is unclear why it took nearly a day for them to issue this order. The killer Dhaim was not "known" to security forces, although there are reports that he had been detained 4 months ago by police. There will be a further analysis of who should be issued passes to enter and move freely in Jerusalem and Israel. The two men who carried out the shooting at the cafe in the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem 4 years ago both also had Israeli id cards. Some people think this means that we should divide Jerusalem, and cut ourselves off from these killers. Others think that dividing Jerusalem would only give them more opportunity to organize terror (as in Gaza) and we would have to go in again to reoccupy it.
The students and teachers (Rabbis) at the Yeshiva are hostile to the Olmert Government, because of its policies. The Rosh Yeshiva (head of the Yeshiva) issued a warning to PM Olmert not to attend the funeral, and today Education Minister Yuli Tamir, who visited after being warned not to, was jostled and insulted by the crowd there and had to be extricated and rescued.
Coincidentally, the PM's office issued an order to continue building at Givat Zeev, a haredi neighborhood in north Jerusalem. Commentators speculate that this is a bribe to the Shas Party to keep it in the Coalition. It may also be a message to the terrorists that any such attack will only result in losses for the Palestinians. Meanwhile the students at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva vow to strengthen their dedication to the Land of Israel and continue settling all of it!
posted by Jack Cohen at 2:15 PM
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