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The Hamas terrorist group reportedly released from custody the Palestinian who in August shot in the head at point blank range Israel Border Police officer Barel Shmueli during clashes along the Gaza Strip border. Shmueli died nine days later.
The Israel Border Police said that Shmueli took part in “dozens of operations carried out to thwart terrorist attacks in the southern region of the country.”
According to reports, Hamas believes that Israel will attempt to assassinate Shmueli’s killer in the event of a future military escalation.
There have been conflicting reports about the terrorist who shot Shmueli being a member of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. He was transferred to a Hamas detention center in Gaza and held there for several weeks before being let go.
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A Syrian man who spent time in an Israeli prison for terrorist activities was reportedly killed in Syria at the end of last week. The man, identified as Madhat al-Salah, was apparently assassinated in the town of Ain el-Tineh near the village of Hadar on the Golan Heights along the border with Israel. A Syrian news agency reported that he was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper.
Salah lived in the Mas’ada village in the Golan before he was arrested for trying to kidnap an Israel Defense Forces soldier in 1985, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was released in 1998, crossed the border to Syria and was voted into the Syrian legilsature a few years later, where he dealt with Golan affairs. Reportedly, Salah was a Syrian intelligence officer who recruited sources in Israel.
The alleged assassination comes several days after Israel was accused of carrying out airstrikes in Syria as part of the IDF’s ongoing efforts to prevent Iranian troops and members of its proxy, the Hezbollah terrorist organization, from entrenching themselves on the Golan Heights.
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The largest and most advanced multi-national air combat exercise ever to be hosted by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) will take off on Sunday. Taking part in the Blue Flag 2021 exercise are seven air forces, from Germany, Italy, Britain, France, India, Greece and the United States.
“We are living in a very complicated region, and the threats to the State of Israel from the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran are only increasing,” said Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, Commander of the Israeli Air Force. He added: “Holding an international exercise in this current reality, while continuing our overt and covert operational activities on all fronts, is of utmost strategic importance and has extensive impact over the Israeli Air Force, the IDF, and the State of Israel.”
The international aerial exercise will last through October 28th. During the two-week drills, participating air forces will practice air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, defend against hypothetical advanced surface-to-air missiles threats, and mimic various operational scenarios in enemy territory.
The IAF holds the Blue Flag exercise every two years.
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Antisemitism Watch: An educator in Texas is being criticized after she was heard telling teachers with books on the Holocaust in their classrooms to offer “opposing” perspectives as well.
In a recording, Gina Peddy, executive director of curriculum and instruction for the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, about 30 miles northwest of Dallas, told a group of teachers, “We are in the middle of the political mess… make sure that if… you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has opposing, that has other perspectives.”
A teacher is heard in the background saying, “How do you oppose the Holocaust?”
Hey @gpeddy – why in the world are you instructing Carroll Independent School District teachers in to SPREAD lies about the Holocaust ??
This is pure insanity! https://t.co/rFYGaBff5D
— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) October 14, 2021
This is maddeningly ignorant.
I am the grandson of a Holocaust survivor.
He survived, but his friends and members of his family did not.
They were murdered – systematically.There is no “opposing view” to the Holocaust – none. https://t.co/soYNg4xN72
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) October 15, 2021
“In 2021, we live in an era when you are not only entitled to your own beliefs, but you can also create your own facts,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and director of global social action of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, in reference to the development.
Following backlash, Carroll Independent School District Superintendent Lane Ledbetter issued a statement: “I express my sincere apology regarding the online article and news story…. The comments made were in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history. Additionally, we recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust…. We once again apologize for any hurt or confusion this has caused.”
Recommended Reading
- UK Actor Faces ‘Relentless’ Abuse for Playing Jewish Character in BBC Series (Times of Israel)
- Does Big Tech Have an Antisemitism Problem? (Richard Goldberg, David May, Foundation for Defense of Democracies)
- Immigrants Making Waves in the Tech Ecosystem (David Brummer, NoCamels)
- Israeli Judoka Gefen Primo Wins Grand Slam Gold (Israel Hayom)
- ‘Sabbath for $400’: Cholent Stumps ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants in Question About Shabbat Restrictions (Shira Hanau, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
