Today’s Top Stories
1. In the last twenty-four hours, there have been five Palestinian terrorist attacks resulting in the death of an American tourist and dozens of injuries. The shooting, stabbing, and vehicle attacks occurred in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv/Jaffa, Petach Tikva, and Ramot. Coverage from the Times of Israel and Ynet.
The murder victim was Taylor Force, a student from Texas who had attended Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. Local coverage from the Tennessean:
Vanderbilt University graduate student Taylor Force was stabbed to death Tuesday during a school trip to Israel, and U.S. officials say he was the victim of a terrorist attack.
Ten other people were wounded in the attack in Jaffa, an ancient port city that is now part of Tel Aviv, according to an early account from Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld. The attacker, who was identified as a Palestinian, was shot and killed, Rosenfeld said.
2. The attacks occurred during an official visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Biden was meeting with former Israeli President Shimon Peres, and his family was reportedly near the scene of the largest of the day’s attacks in Jaffa/Tel Aviv. Biden issued a strong condemnation. Coverage from the Jerusalem Post:
Let me say in no uncertain terms the US condemns these acts and condemns the failure to condemn these acts. Such violence can not be accepted. This can not be viewed by civilized leaders as an appropriate way to behave. It is just not tolerable in the 21st century.
They are targeting innocent civilians, mothers, pregnant women, grandfathers [and] American citizens. There can be no justification for this violence. The US stands firmly behind Israel’s right to defend itself.
3. Iran — yet again — signaled its desire to destroy the State of Israel. The official Iranian news agency Fars provided pictures of new 2,000 kilometer-range missiles with the words “Israel must be wiped out” written on the sides in Hebrew. Coverage from the Times of Israel:
Phrases threatening Israel have been emblazoned on missiles fired before by Iran, but this test came after the country signed a nuclear deal with world powers, including America. Hard-liners in Iran’s military have fired rockets and missiles despite US objections since the deal, as well as shown underground missile bases on state television.
“The reason we have designed these missiles with such a range — 2,000 kilometers — is to be able to hit our remote enemies, the Zionist regime,” Tasnim news agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying, referring to Israel.
Could they make their intentions any clearer?
4. The Independent Claims Survey Reveals Israelis Support “Ethnic Cleansing”: A major Pew survey has generated much discussion, but the Independent gives it an extreme spin.
5. Newsweek Gives Platform For Anti-Israel Extremist: An obsessive anti-Israel extremist is given a widely read platform to bash Israel.
6. CNN Unsure About “Terrorist” “Murder”: CNN finally uses the word “terrorist” to describe an attack in Israel. Well, sort of….
7. Video: March 9 Terror Against Israelis: We go to the scene of one of five terror attacks in the last 24 hours. And we ask: why are the headlines disconnected from reality?
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
Israel and the Palestinians
• Israeli Hero #1: In one attack, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli man with a knife, leaving the blade in his victim’s neck. The wounded victim pulled the knife out and used it to kill his attacker and prevent further bloodshed.
• Israeli Hero #2: In a second attack, an Israeli was playing guitar on the beach in Jaffa when he heard the screams of a terrorist attack in progress. He grabbed his guitar, ran to the scene of the attack, and bashed the terrorist in the head with his guitar. (He has now raised money to replace the guitar.)
• No surprise. Hamas praised the attacks. No word of condemnation from Abbas so far.
Mideast Matters
• BDS motion fails at the U. of Minnesota
• Toronto’s York University accused of allowing anti-Semitism to spread
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Terror shouldn’t be rewarded
– Israeli envoy calls on UN Security Council to condemn Palestinian terror attacks
– The left’s problem with Jews has a long and miserable history
Featured image: CC BY Jon Sr;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
Before you comment on this article, please remind yourself of our Comments Policy. Any comments deemed to be in breach of the policy will be removed at the editor’s discretion.
