JERUSALEM—A 13-year-old boy was in critical condition and a 25-year-old seriously wounded on Monday afternoon in a terrorist knifing attack in the Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood in northern Jerusalem. The attack followed the stabbing of a border-police officer an hour earlier in nearby Ammunition Hill and an attack on a border policeman near the Lion’s Gate in the Old City.
On Monday evening, the main entrance to the city near the International Convention Center was temporarily closed after a terrorist was shot dead by police after stabbing and lightly wounding a passenger, and then attempting to take a gun from an Israel Defense Forces soldier on a bus entering Jerusalem. A second passenger helped the soldier fight off the attacker before a police officer boarded the bus and killed the terrorist. The passenger was lightly wounded. It was the fourth attack that day in the nation’s capital.
In the Pisgat Ze’ev attack, police said that two terrorists stabbed and seriously wounded the Jewish man before continuing up the street and attacking the young teenager, who was riding his bicycle. The boy was taken unconscious and on artificial respiration to emergency surgery at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. The names of the victims have not yet been released by authorities.
After being chased from the scene by passersby, one of the terrorists was shot and killed by a police officer. The other was hit by a car while escaping and taken to a local hospital in serious condition.
Less than an hour earlier, an 18-year-old female terrorist stabbed a border policeman in Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill, wounding him lightly. The assailant was shot and overcome by authorities coming from police headquarters nearby.
On Monday morning, a terrorist walked up to a border policeman near the Lion’s Gate in the Old City and stabbed him in his vest. The border policeman, who is 20, was not wounded, and security forces immediately opened fire on the terrorist, killing him.
On Sunday night, Ala Zwid, a 20-year-old Israeli Arab from the town of Umm al-Fahm, drove his car into a group of people on the side of the road on Highway 65 near Pardes Hanna, and then got out and started stabbing people before fleeing the scene.
A 19-year-old female soldier—identified by family as Orel bat Limor—was badly injured after she was hit by the car. She was taken to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, unconscious and hooked to a respirator.
The other victims include a 14-year-old boy lightly to moderately wounded after he was hit by the car, and a 45-year-old man and a 19-year-old man, both suffering from moderate stab wounds.
Continued Calls for Mitzvahs, Torah Study and Prayer
As the situation continues to escalate, Jews from around the world have been anxiously checking the news—and praying. For example, locals in Voorhees, N.J., including many Israeli expatriates, gathered on Sunday to pray, give tzedakah (charity) and study Torah for the merit of the people of Israel.
Each of the nearly 50 attendees was assigned a number of chapters of Psalms, as well as the Hebrew name of a specific victim of terror to keep in mind while praying. Speaking from Jerusalem, Rabbi Shmuel Weiss of Chabad of the Kotel (Western Wall) shared Torah thoughts emphasizing G‑d’s continued protection of Israel’s inhabitants. The event was capped off by singing various traditional songs that expressed the same theme.
“The Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] would often encourage us make sure that every gathering includes three primary components: Torah study, prayer and charity,” explains Rabbi Mendy Kaminker of the Chabad Israeli Center, which hosted the event. “Taking to heart his call to continued action, every participant went home with a card bearing the names of his or her person to pray for as well as the designated chapters of Psalms. That way, this prayer gathering wasn’t a one-time affair, but something that will continue until peace is restored and these victims will have recovered.”
The Chabad-Lubavitch Youth Organization in Israel launched an emergency campaign across the country, sending thousands of volunteers into the streets to urge men and boys over the age of 13 to put on tefillin. They encouraged Jews the world over to join in the effort of encouraging others to don tefillin for the sake of the safety of the Jewish people.
They are doing so, say officials of the group, known as Tzeirei Chabad, in light of instructions given by the Rebbe, who had issued a similar call during other dangerous times in Israel. Before the outbreak of the June 1967 war, for example, the Rebbe prompted an active campaign for Jewish males over the age of 13 to perform the mitzvah of tefillin.
Wrapping tefillin is part of the Rebbe’s 10 mitzvah campaigns introduced between the years of 1967 and 1976. Called mivtzoim (“campaigns”) in Hebrew, these 10 mitzvahs formed the platform upon which the Rebbe’s far-reaching program to revitalize Jewish life and observance throughout the world was built.
The laying of tefillin instills fear in the enemy, explained the Rebbe, quoting: “Then all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they will fear you.” (Deuteronomy 28:10)
The campaign launched this past Friday encourages Jews to “call your friends right now, and take a pair of tefillin with you and head out.”
There were also calls by rabbinic leaders around the country for increases in Torah study, prayer and other mitzvahs, in addition to donning tefillin.
Psalms and Other Assistance for the Wounded
The Chabad Terror Victims Project (ctvp.org), Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries and volunteers are continuing their work of encouraging and assisting the wounded in the recent attacks in Israel. They are lifting their morale and trying to cheer them up with gifts and encouragement, in addition to providing emergency financial aid for those who need it.
The public is asked to continue their prayers for the wounded.
Here is a list as of Monday afternoon. Names will be added as they become available.
Odel bat Miryam
Natan ben Odel
Moshe ben Orli
Meir Yitzchak ben Sarah Imeinu
Aharon Moshe Chaim ben Chaya Chana
Dvir ben Shoshana
Avraham ben Rut
Ron Shai bat Sigalit
Sahar bat Shoshana
Adi ben Rut
Niv ben Yardana
Moshe ben Daisy
Meor Ephraim ben Fortuna Daniella
Moshe ben Edgach
Liat bat Yael
Orel bat Limor
Yosef Chaim ben Zahava
Life in the shadow of terror Thank you for all of you who are doing extra mitzvas and davening for us. I have a know in my stomach as I take my kids out to school when within a few hours and within walking distance of my home in Jerusalem, so many were injured.