Terror Hits Beitar and Bnei Brak
Terror has not let up in Israel and has caused us to live with constant tension. The sound of a siren causes everyone to jump; the sight of a low-flying helicopter instantly raises our heart rates. On Sunday, I arrived in the Knesset at about 12:00, after my learning seder, and I was immediately accosted by people who demanded, “How can you be simply walking around?” I didn’t understand what they wanted, but then someone told me the news: The police had issued a warning that a group of terrorists were loose in Yerushalayim, and people had been asked to remain in their homes while the police searched for the malefactors. Helicopters were employed in the search as well. The highway between Yerushalayim and Tel Aviv was closed to traffic, roadblocks were erected, and soldiers were stationed throughout the city, especially in areas where the terrorists’ car had been spotted. The model of the car and its license plate number were reported to the public, and fear held the city in its grip. At long last, the car was located and its occupants taken into custody. As it turned out, they weren’t terrorists; however, they were Palestinians who were illegally present in Israel.
In the religious community, fears are running higher these days because of two recent terror attacks that targeted chareidi Jews. Last weekend, there was a terror shooting on the Tunnels Road, the highway used by all the residents of Beitar. The terrorist opened fire at a bus from the Kavim company that was traveling the route between Beitar and Yerushalayim; twenty-two bullets were found in the bus after the incident. The gunshots fatally wounded a young boy, Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia Simcha, whose father is the rosh yeshiva of a chassidish yeshiva and one of the most prominent marbitzei Torah in the city of Beitar Illit. The young boy died of his wounds after being transported to the hospital. The family, residents of Yerushalayim, were returning home after attending the final sheva brachos of a daughter. Three other people were wounded in the shooting, and, of course, dozens of passengers suffered from trauma. It was painful to watch the footage of passengers fleeing from the bus. The terrorist later turned himself in.
This was not the only incident of terror that shook the chareidi community last week. On Tuesday night, a pedestrian was injured in a ramming attack in Bnei Brak and was taken to the hospital for treatment. The driver of the car, a resident of the north, was arrested a short time later in a nearby underground parking lot. Police believe that the driver deliberately steered his car onto the sidewalk for the purpose of harming pedestrians, and the incident has been classified as a terror attack. Magen David Adom reported, “At 5:40 p.m., a report was received about a young pedestrian injured by a car on Rechov Aharonovich in Bnei Brak. MDA first responders and paramedics administered medical treatment and transported the victim to Maayanei HaYeshuah Hospital. The victim is a 21-year-old man in light condition with injuries to the sides and back.” A large number of police officers on motorcycles from the Bnei Brak-Ramat Gan police force rushed to the scene and managed to apprehend the terrorist, an Israeli Arab, who was taken for questioning.
Rumors of a Hostage Deal on the Rise
Let’s turn our attention to the topic that is on the mind of every citizen of Israel: the hostages in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated at the beginning of this week, “The Hamas propaganda videos are a form of cruel, wicked psychological warfare. I am in constant contact with the hostages’ families, who are living through a terrible, ongoing nightmare. I have said it before, and I will repeat it: Anyone who harms our hostages will be signing his own death warrant. We will continue working tirelessly to bring all our hostages home, the living and the dead alike.”
Rumor has it that a deal is taking shape now, and that it is only a matter of a couple of weeks before it comes to fruition. This is probably due to the weakening of Hamas, the collapse of Hezbollah, and the fact that the president of Syria lost control of his country. Of course, there is also the matter of Trump’s vow to unleash a nightmare on Hamas if the terrorists are not released. The latest reports indicate that the deal will take place in stages and that it will begin during Biden’s presidency and will continue being implemented under President Trump. The first step will consist of humanitarian measures and will entail the release of hostages in exchange for a seven-week ceasefire. This deal is probably laying the groundwork for another agreement that will include the end of the war, as well as a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
I do not have details about the developments on this subject, since the arrangements are shrouded in secrecy, but I can tell you that many senior Israeli officials, including the chief of staff of the IDF and the directors of the Mossad and Shin Bet, have been flying out of the country to destinations such as Egypt and Qatar. There is a general sense that a hostage deal will take place soon, and there is a fierce debate within Israel over whether it is a good idea to accept a deal with multiple phases, in which only some of the hostages would be released immediately. The hostages’ families are deeply concerned about this possibility, and rightly so.
Trump’s Envoy Arrives
On a related note, Adam Boehler has arrived in Israel for what has been termed a “personal visit.” Boehler is Trump’s advisor on the subject of the hostages and is expected to discuss a hostage deal during his visit. Before leaving America for Israel, he was interviewed by Yisroel HaYom and told the correspondent, “The mission I received from the president was to secure the freedom of the American hostages. I feel very strongly that we are going to bring all of them back, both those who are still alive and those who are not. The president was insistent that it must happen before he takes office, and I think that that statement alone moved things forward significantly.”
Boehler emphasized that Trump’s future administration supports the efforts that are underway to bring about a deal. “We support any initiative on this subject,” he said. Boehler served in the first Trump administration as well and contributed to the historic breakthrough of the Abraham Accords. When he was asked what sort of practical measures Trump could use to force a deal on Hamas, Boehler said, “President Trump is a person whose words are backed up by his actions. He eliminated Qassem Soleimani, which many presidents before him did not do. That led the Iranians to understand that he means what he says, and that was also what ultimately gave rise to the Abraham Accords. Even though I can’t predict what he will do, he is very tough and they will respect that.”
Regarding the Biden administration’s general policies toward Israel, Boehler made one telling comment: “We will not be Israel’s babysitter, and we will not tell it what to do and what not to do. Unlike Biden, who prevented Israel from doing many things even when it would have been correct, we will work as partners with Israel.”
Protestors Link Unrelated Causes
I try to avoid writing too much about the draft law crisis and the bnei yeshivos, since I was advised many years ago by Rav Shach to avoid drawing attention to the subject. I report to you on the issue only when it is discussed in the media by others as well; when things are quiet, I do not call attention to this simmering controversy. But the subject is at the forefront of the public consciousness again, and there is some hope that progress will be made in the wake of the replacement of former defense minister Yoav Gallant with the new defense minister, Yisroel Katz. But as Chazal tell us, brachos come only to those things that remain hidden from the eye.
What is particularly galling is that the issue of the draft exemption for bnei yeshivos has become a weapon used by Netanyahu’s enemies in their battles against him, and in other conflicts as well. This issue always seems to yield positive publicity for them and bad press for him, even though there is no real sense in that. On my way to the Knesset this week, as usual, I passed the tent where protestors are advocating for the hostages. I have no objection to the idea of a protest tent, and I can tell you that the protestors do evoke sympathy, even though some of them tend to be brutal and vicious in their denouncements of Netanyahu and the right. This week, however, another tent appeared, this one dedicated to calls for the draft of chareidim. Someone should probably alert them that if they dance on chareidim’s blood, then the chareidim are likely to turn their backs on them (the protestors, not the hostages themselves). There is no sense in linking the two issues; the plight of the hostages in Gaza is completely unrelated to the draft of yeshiva bochurim, despite the fact that some agitators wish to take advantage of the draft issue to promote their cause.
Netanyahu on the Witness Stand
The Netanyahu trial deserves an entire article, but I will settle for making one small comment. The Israeli public is astounded by the fact that the prime minister is being forced to invest hours in talking about gifts that he accepted or favorable news coverage that he received, while the State of Israel is dealing with extraordinary tensions and is facing numerous burning issues. One political cartoon did an excellent job of capturing the madness: The cartoon shows Netanyahu sitting at the witness stand, while explosions can be heard through the courtroom window and a raging fire can be seen. But when Netanyahu looks through the window to see what is happening outdoors, the judge reprimands him, “Please focus on the things that are really important.” Based on the court’s attitude, one might think that what is “really important” is the question of whether he bribed the owners of the Walla web site to give him favorable news coverage. The multiple war fronts seem to mean nothing to them.
Someone observed wryly that Netanyahu is the man who is most heavily attacked and pilloried in the Israeli press, yet he, of all people, is being put on trial for receiving favorable coverage in the news. The accusation is absolutely mind-boggling. (In this particular case, Netanyahu has been accused of providing benefits for the Bezeq telecommunications company in exchange for favorable coverage on Walla, the news site owned by the same owner, Shaul Elovich.)
Netanyahu made a few comments on the witness stand that deserve to be quoted. First, regarding the gifts that he allegedly received, he said, “I do not lead a hedonistic lifestyle. I work around the clock. From time to time, I might indulge in a cigar, but I can never smoke the whole thing at once, because I am constantly involved in a series of meetings and briefings. And, by the way, I hate champagne. I cannot drink it.”
Regarding his wife, Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister said, “This is causing tremendous injustice to my wife. She is known as Sara the psychologist; the children do not know her as the wife of the prime minister. She treats children with cancer, lone soldiers, and bereaved families; she builds genuine bonds with them. The families of the hostages can attest to this as well.”
Regarding the media, Netanyahu said, “Two thirds of the Jewish population in Israel define themselves as somewhere between moderately right-wing to extremely right-wing, but 95 to 98 percent of the media is on the other side of the divide. Just imagine if the situation was reversed. Let’s say that you were a leftist, and you woke up in the morning, turned on the radio, and found that Channel 14 was broadcasting. Then you opened a newspaper, and it was Channel 14 again, and then the morning news came from Channel 14. It would create tremendous frustration. We do not want to control the media; we want to diversify it.”
He also addressed the subject of the United States and national security: “Kerry once invited me to come on a clandestine visit to Afghanistan, so that I could see how American troops were training the local troops. I said to him, ‘John, I want to promise you something. It might take hours and it might take days, but it certainly won’t be longer than that. As soon as you leave Afghanistan, the soldiers you trained will collapse under attack from the Islamists. We do not have the luxury of letting that happen to us. We are a small country, and we would be overwhelmed if that happened.”
Yes, Netanyahu also discussed the allegations that he had used underhanded tactics to receive favorable coverage in the media. “Did I actually receive positive coverage?” he asked rhetorically. “We will see that the coverage was terrible; it was the worst that it could possibly have been. I said to the interrogators, ‘Please forgive this expression, but have you fallen on your heads?’ Then they altered the charges, so that instead of accusing me of receiving favorable coverage, they said simply that I had received unusual compliance. You asked me if there was any change in Walla’s attitude toward me, but there was no change at all.”
Finally, Netanyahu addressed his refusal to grant interviews: “I tried to arrange press conferences, but they were generally not broadcast. The only time when I was able to receive a few minutes from the press was when I spoke in the UN and Congress; at those times, they listened to me for a few minutes. When I tried being interviewed here, they were more interested in their questions than in the answers. I saw that it didn’t help very much, so I gradually stopped giving interviews. You saw that yesterday as well; even the most minimal courtesy for an elected leader simply doesn’t exist here.”
A Press Conference Becomes a Battleground
When Netanyahu mentioned the events of the previous day, he was referring to a press conference that he held last Thursday. Young reporters bombarded him with brash, insolent questions, and the scene became the talk of the day in Israel. After the press conference, the reporeters tried to claim that they did not mean to be insolent and they were merely seeking answers to their questions, but the truth is that they did not accept Netanyahu’s responses; they simply hurled one question after another at him, which is considered highly improper in such a setting. One can only imagine how Trump would have responded to such behavior from the press.
All the television channels in the country, with the exception of Channel 14, are fiercely opposed to him. A lottery was held in advance, and the representative of Channel 14 was allowed to ask two questions after Netanyahu’s speech. When Moriah Asraf of Channel 13 asked for permission to exceed her limit of one question, the prime minister’s spokesman turned her down. When she tried to argue, Netanyahu told her that Channel 14 was given special privileges, since they won the first slot in the lottery. Asraf did not give up, but the prime minister held his own.
Another reporter present for the press conference was Michoel Shemesh of Kan, the government-run station. Shemesh is a young man originally from a chareidi home in Bnei Brak. As soon as he asked his question, Netanyahu shot back, “How much fake news can you invent? You are obviously working extra hours for it!” Shemesh tried to continue his exchange with the prime minister, but Netanyahu’s spokesman did not allow it. At this point, Netanyahu grew angry and said, “I have had enough of listening to your lies every day. Now you will hear the truth. You are constantly spreading lies, but this is my opportunity to tell the truth.”
The reporter from Channel 12 angered him even more. She asked a question, and after he answered her, Netanyahu said, “Now I want to ask you something; do not stop the cameras now. You are constantly spreading the lie that there was a hostage deal and I blocked it. This slander is being spread by my political rivals.” Netanyahu went on to remark that several senior figures in the United States—President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Jake Sullivan—had spoken not long before. Before he could finish his sentence, pointing out that they had confirmed that Netanyahu was correct and that it was Hamas, not the Israeli premier, that had torpedoed the hostage deals, the reporter interrupted him and demanded an answer to her question. The irate prime minister responded, “You listen to me! The people of Israel and the families are hearing your lies…. They [the Americans] have told the truth, but you spread these lies every day and harm the families.” The reporter continued trying to pursue the exchange, but Netanyahu’s spokesman cut her off and informed her that her time was up.
“It’s hard for you to hear the truth, but you will hear it,” Netanyahu said.
Herzog Noncommittal on Pardoning Prime Minister
President Yitzchok Herzog hasn’t discounted the possibility of granting a pardon to Prime Minister Netanyahu. When Netanyahu took the witness stand in his court case, Herzog was asked about the possibility and said, “I will consider all the relevant factors based on my conscience and the basic rules.” You are probably not aware of this, but Herzog himself once spent many days being interrogated by the police and barely managed to emerge unscathed. Some believe that he was spared from prosecution only because he aligns himself with the left. At the time, he was accused of violating election laws and accepting more donations than the law permitted. It was therefore somewhat amusing to hear Herzog speaking innocently about following the dictates of his conscience. But let us put that aside for now.
When the question was first posed to him, Herzog feigned reluctance to discuss the matter. Nevertheless, he agreed to answer the question: “There are certain rules, which I will not discuss in detail, about how it works. I will always follow my conscience and the basic rules in evaluating all the relevant factors. People need to request it [a pardon] and to be interested in it, but at this point, it is off the table. It hasn’t happened, and it hasn’t been requested. It is not proper for me to speak about it publicly while the trial is taking place.”
On another occasion, at an educational conference, Herzog responded to the same question. “That is a process that involves many entities,” he said. “At this time, a trial is taking place…. I believe in the obligation to respect the rule of law. No one is above the law. I didn’t feel that it was a happy day; it was not pleasant to see the prime minister in a courtroom. And no one should have been happy about it.”
There is another issue concerning the judiciary that I should really report about, but I think that we have had our fill of legal sagas and scandals this week. Perhaps I will write a separate article about it in the future. Just to give you a brief idea of what it is about, there is a record-breaking conflict taking place between Yariv Levin, the minister of justice, and Yitzchak Amit, a judge on the Supreme Court who is waiting to be appointed as the next chief justice. And that is not all; there is an initiative underway to have the attorney general dismissed from her position. As you can see, there is plenty of excitement here in Israel.
A Shocking Statement from a Former Prosecutor
Perhaps it can be said that former prosecutors become even more foolish as they age, at least in the sense that they can no longer control their tongues. Former state attorney Moshe Lador, who is now 80 years old, was interviewed at a so-called “cultural Shabbos” in Beer Sheva and made a statement that is probably prohibited for him to voice: “Pilots who have already completed their service and are now serving as volunteers are not only permitted, but actually obligated, to tell the state, ‘You are working to forcefully and brutally impose your designs on others and to become dictators; therefore, I will not enter the cockpit and pilot the plane.’” Lador was given the opportunity to explain himself and temper his statement, but he only climbed higher up the proverbial tree. “I am not calling for the pilots to meddle in political matters,” he said. “I am calling for them to put the brakes on a step that will cause destruction to the Zionist enterprise.”
Lador continued putting his foot in his mouth as he added, “I believe this is a perfectly legitimate tool when the question is whether someone is taking over the government and becoming a dictator by force, as has happened in other countries in history.” This appeared to be an oblique reference to Nazi Germany.
The former state attorney was asked if he was truly drawing a comparison between Israel today and other dictatorships in history, and he did not flinch. “I am saying that there were cases in history when a leader came to power through a democratic election, but his policies were later no longer democratic,” he averred.
Lador was widely condemned for his inflammatory words, but I am more interested in examining the Moshe Lador of the years 2007 through 2013. That was the period when he served as the state prosecutor, which is perhaps the highest-ranking position in the Israeli judiciary, just one step below the office of attorney general. The state prosecutor determines when an indictment will be served. During those years, Lador was responsible for the indictments of Avrohom Hirschson, the minister of finance from the Likud party, and the right-wing prime minister Ehud Olmert (that is, the man who identified with the right at the time). It has always been clear that Lador is not an angel by any means. He fought a bitter war against then-Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman, over the question of dividing the authorities of the attorney general, and ultimately filed an indictment against Neeman, who was later exonerated. Could this have been a product of his own left-wing views and the right-wing leanings of Neeman? It is unsettling to see that the judiciary was headed by ardent leftists who viewed the political right as the root of all evil.
Then again, has anything changed today?
An Unusual Speech in the Knesset
It was one of the most remarkable speeches I have ever heard in the Knesset. The speaker quoted a Zionist author by the name of Elchonon Leib Levinsky, who wrote in the city of Odessa in Ukraine, which produced many Zionist academics. “Without Yerushalayim, Eretz Yisroel is like a body without a soul,” Levinsky wrote in the excerpt that the speaker read aloud at the podium. The speaker emphasized the spiritual qualities of the Jewish people, Eretz Yisroel, and the capital city of Israel. “Moreover,” he added, “the spirituality that emerges from the capital city of Israel has always given us inspiration. In our communities, in our cities, and in conversations with others from my people, I always see the love for Israel…. First, there is deep-rooted religious awareness that recognizes the Divine will as a force guiding history, and that stresses the sanctity of life…. We share the fundamental religious roots that were planted so deep within the Jewish people … as Moshe led Bnei Yisroel to the promised land … like Gideon’s army in Tanach…. Israel is a small state from a geographical standpoint, but from a spiritual perspective, it is enormous.”
I found it very strange to hear those words, laced as they were with fervor and admiration for Judaism, spoken at the Knesset podium.
The speaker received an ovation from the Knesset members and government ministers, and then continued, “Allow me to conclude with a few of the most beautiful lines of poetry that were ever written. These lines were written thousands of years ago, here in the eternal city of Yerushalayim, by the great Dovid Hamelech. These are lines that I hope and pray will be in the heart of every citizen of Israel during these times and will lead Israel to a better future: ‘Hashem is my shepherd; I will not lack. He lays me down in green pastures; He leads me beside peaceful waters. He restores my soul; He guides me along righteous paths for the sake of His Name. Even when I walk in the valley of gloom, I will fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and your staff, they will comfort me. You set a table before me in the presence of my oppressors; you anointed my head with oil. My cup runs over. Let only goodness and kindness pursue me throughout the days of my life, and may I dwell in the house of Hashem for many long days.’”
Can you guess the identity of this speaker, who sounded like a good, believing Jew? You may be surprised, but it was Santiago Peña Palacios, the non-Jewish president of Paraguay, who was a guest of the Knesset last Wednesday. Incidentally, Netanyahu was permitted to move his testimony in court to Wednesday afternoon instead of the morning, so that he would be able to be present at the reception in the visiting president’s honor. For that reason, he remained in the court until 8:00 that night.
The Plight of Modiin Illit
Everyone has suddenly discovered the road leading to Modiin Illit. Better yet, I should say that everyone has discovered the terrible traffic congestion that is the bane of anyone who has the need to travel to the city. The minister of transportation toured the area last week and was appalled, and she promised to take action quickly and effectively. “It will be a difficult four months,” she said, “but then there will be a highway with two lanes in each direction, and then we will add another lane.” We all hope that she will make good on her promise, but many months have passed since the Knesset first promised to deal with the issue, and the highway still consists of a single lane in each direction, causing terrible suffering for the city’s residents.
The road from the Shilat junction to the entrance to Modiin Illit is always heavily congested. It doesn’t matter whether it is the morning or the evening, erev chag or motzoei Shabbos, or any other time in between. The road is also plagued by never ending construction. I am reminded of the old story about two municipal employees who were hard at work; one was digging a hole, and the other was filling it with the dirt that his companion removed. A passerby watched them in puzzlement for a few minutes and then approached them to ask about their seemingly pointless endeavor. They explained, “We are usually a team of three workers. One of us digs a hole, the second places a plant in it, and the third fills in the dirt. The third member of our team is sick today, so we have no one to put in the plant, but we are still doing our parts.”
I can reveal that the road to Kiryat Sefer—the only highway that provides access to the city, which is sometimes a nuisance and sometimes even life-threatening—was brought up in the Knesset by MK Avrohom Betzalel a year and a half ago. (Incidentally, Avrohom Betzalel was a yungerman in Yeshivas Mir before joining the government, and he still maintains a chavrusa in the yeshiva to this day.) The title of his motion says it all: “The residents of Modiin Illit, the only city with a single entrance, are frequently under siege or stuck for hours in traffic jams at the entrance to the city.” The Knesset session that day was chaired by Yisroel Eichler, and the government’s response was delivered by Uri Maklev, the deputy minister of transportation.
“Imagine the situation if there was only one entrance to Yerushalayim, with only one lane in each direction along most of the road,” Betzalel said. “This could never happen, because if it did happen, it would be changed immediately. To my chagrin, however, there is a city with exactly such a situation. Not only is anyone who wants to enter the city required to travel on this road, but it also serves people traveling to nearby settlements, such as Lapid, Chashmonaim, and several others. This city is known as Modiin Illit. The highway leading to it from the Shilat junction is Route 446. For most of its length, this road consists of one lane in each direction, which results in an intolerable situation. Even on a regular day, under ordinary circumstances, when there hasn’t been an unusual incident on the road, the traffic simply stands still during the morning hours. The morning, for your information, is the period from 6:30 until 10:00 at the earliest, and the same is true during the afternoon and evening. It should take only a few minutes to drive down this road to Modiin, but in practice, the trip can often take an hour or even longer. And it is certainly even more congested on erev Shabbos or before a chag. On motzoei Shabbos, if someone wants to leave Modiin Illit, then he knows that he has two options. He can either daven at the minyan that is ten minutes before the zman, make Havdalah, and then rush out of the city as soon as Shabbos is over, or he can wait until midnight to leave. Everyone knows that there are always a few hours when it is simply impossible to drive out of the city. And the situation is even worse when there is some mishap on the road, such as a car that has stalled; in that case, one must simply wait and wait for traffic to clear. The situation is utterly intolerable. This is a city with over 84,000 residents. Imagine a woman in labor who has to travel on this road….”
“I receive many messages from the public every day about this subject,” Betzalel said. “We cannot accept the fact that thousands, or even tens of thousands, of people from Modiin Illit and the vicinity are stuck in this traffic every day. I know that this issue has been raised several times, and I know that Mayor Yaakov Gutterman is working hard to resolve it. His dedication informs everything that he does to benefit the residents of his city, and this topic is included…. Therefore, I would like to make a request to the deputy minister of transportation: The time has come to put an end to the suffering and the awful plight of so many residents of the State of Israel. That is why I presented this as a regular motion. I would like to ask for the Knesset to discuss it as soon as possible.”
“Is this an issue of funding or planning?” Eichler asked.
“There is a need for funding, for proper planning, and for the will to solve the problem,” Betzalel responded.
In his response, Deputy Minister Maklev politely praised Betzalel for raising such an important issue. He remarked that he personally is often stuck in traffic on that road and does not take advantage of his privilege to drive on the side of the road. He then read aloud the response that had been prepared for him by the Transportation Ministry, which boiled down to a simple answer: They were working on the situation. The Knesset voted unanimously to transfer the issue to the Interior Committee for further discussion, and it has been waiting for the committee to handle it since Tammuz of 5783. This week, the media suddenly focused on the problem again, and a stream of official visitors came to Modiin Illit. We can only hope that this means that a solution is in the works.
Sifrei Torah in Distress
Let me make one last comment in closing. The Adas Yisroel shul in Melbourne, Australia, was recently targeted by arsonists. The shul’s sifrei Torah were damaged, and mispallelim were taken to the hospital after suffering from smoke inhalation. The local Jewish community was pained by the act of arson, and for good reason. The Australians condemned the attack, and Netanyahu linked it to the Australian representatives’ anti-Israel votes in the UN. And throughout the world, Jewish hearts were filled with pain at the sight of a shul going up in flames.
But is the situation any different in Israel? About ten months ago, the Ohev Tzedek shul in Kfar Saba was torched. Firefighting crews rescued eleven sifrei Torah from the aron kodesh and reported that the shul was heavily damaged, and the police launched an investigation. All of this gives rise to a few questions: Do we really need to wait for a display of anti-Semitism in faraway Melbourne to be appalled? Shouldn’t we be shocked by the anti-Semitic violence in Israel itself? And according to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who pinned the blame for the vandalism on the Australian government’s anti-Israel stance, what was the reason for the arson attacks in Israel itself? Finally, were the arsonists ever captured? Many shuls have been torched in recent years, and dozens of sifrei Torah have been damaged or stolen, but we have never heard of anyone being apprehended and brought to justice.