Your Daily Spiel is The CJN’s daily roundup of trending stories in the Jewish world. Sign up to receive it in your inbox by clicking here.
The occupation sat at Max Brenner before taking out its guns and fired indiscriminately. No… wait, that was the terrorists. Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai spoke to Army Radio following last night’s deadly attack at a popular commercial hub that left four dead. In response to a question on how Israel could make peace with the Palestinians after they celebrated the attack by handing out candy and chocolate, Huldai reportedly blamed the situation on the ‘occupation.’
“We might be the only country in the world where another nation is under occupation without civil rights,” Huldai said. “You can’t hold people in a situation of occupation and hope they’ll reach the conclusion everything is alright.”
Deputy defence minister Eli Ben-Dahan later responded to the mayor’s comments, calling them bizarre and unfounded. “I heard the Mayor of Tel Aviv saying the ‘occupation’ is to blame, or that it’s because we don’t have a peace treaty with the Palestinians, and that’s why we have terrorism,” he said. “I want to remind him that there was terrorism here 100 years ago, and in 1929 [in the Hebron massacre] Jews were murdered and there was no State of Israel. There wasn’t even an ‘occupation.’”
That could have ended much worse. Reports have emerged indicating that a Tel Aviv police officer invited one of the two gunmen into his home directly following last night’s attack after the man begged him for a glass of water. After leaving the man alone in his apartment – with his family, no less – the officer realized his error, made an arrest, and got shot in the process. He is currently in stable condition, and police are not pursuing an investigation against him.
I refer to my previous headline. One of the victims of last night’s attack was reportedly shot twice in the head, but miraculously survived. Asaf Bar was at Max Brenner having dinner with his girlfriend when the terrorists drew their weapons, shooting indiscriminately in their wake. Bar’s father called it a ‘miracle’ that he came out of it alive.
Terrorism is terrorism, plain and simple. It’s no secret that the media tends to paint terrorism in Israel with a fairly different brush as opposed to other countries. Greta Van Susteren of Fox News, however, took a more frank approach in her covering of the story. “Evil, evil people” did this act, she said, adding that Israel is often the first country to stand with others during periods of crisis. Israel always stands with other countries, and it’s our turn to stand with Israel, she said. Well put, Greta. Well put.
One day later, Max Brenner is selling out of chocolate. Not even a full 24 hours after the attack at Sarona Market, Israelis flocked to the popular centre to show their solidarity with the victims. One man, Australian Dovi Meyer, bought 1,000 chocolate bars from Max Brenner in response, and handed them out to strangers.
Others commented on how Sarona Market was packed today in a bid by Israelis to show that they will never be intimidated by terror. Several politicians stopped by Sarona as well.
Visit Sarona and buy a cup of coffee as #Israel‘s president did 2day. We will never surrender to terror! #IamTelAviv pic.twitter.com/YZQPZa9lbu
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) June 9, 2016
Independent Jewish Voices vs. B’nai Brith Canada. Earlier this week, B’nai Brith Canada uncovered Facebook posts by pro-BDS group IJV that lead to a website known for promoting Holocaust denial. In an interview with The CJN, IJV apologized for its ‘sloppy social media’ use, but not before accusing B’nai Brith of ‘slander.’
Israelis bid farewell to JDate. JDate has closed its offices in Israel, citing declining revenues over the last year. Some 25 employees of the company were laid off. JDate will continue in its bid to attract Israelis of course, but from its offices in New York. There are currently an estimated 350,000 JDate users across the land.
Sign up to receive Your Daily Spiel in your inbox every day by clicking here. Send ideas and news items to [email protected].
