“Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land … Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.” (Numbers 35:33–34)
Israeli authorities are working to cool the red hot climate in Israel following the brutal murders of three Jewish teens, Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Shaar, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, and one Palestinian teen, Muhammad Abu Khdair, 17, whose body was found July 2.
Palestinian residents reported seeing Abu Khdair forced into a vehicle outside a supermarket in the Shuafat section of Jerusalem on Wednesday. His body was found just hours after his abduction in the Jerusalem Forest. It was charred and showed signs of violence. Post-mortem reports suggest the lad was burned alive.
Just one day before, the Jewish teens had been laid to rest; their deaths brought the nation to its knees in united grief and mourning.
The bodies of the three Israeli teens who were abducted and murdered on June 12, were discovered on Monday evening, June 30. Pictured above, from left to right, the boys are Naftali Frenkel, 16, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19.
The murders of the Jewish and Palestinian teens have been followed by violence and calls for revenge.
On Tuesday afternoon, just prior to the funeral held in Modiin for Frenkel, Shaar and Yifrach, anti-Arab mobs railed through the streets of Jerusalem, conflicting with Arabs on sight as well as with the Israeli police force standing guard.
When one teenage protester was asked why she was protesting, she answered, “We are very angry and we came here to protest the terrorists. We don’t want to live in fear and we don’t want war with the Arabs, but we want the terrorists to stop doing this because we are Jewish. This is our country!” (JPost)
On Wednesday, as news of the Palestinian boy’s death began to spread among Palestinian neighborhoods, Palestinian protests broke out and continued to expand. On Friday, before and after the Palestinian youth was laid to rest, violent protest once again erupted in Jerusalem as Palestinians clashed with Israeli police.
The clashes continued overnight in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and spread to Israeli-Arab towns in northern Israel. Protesters threw stones, burned tires, and attacked Jewish drivers and torched their cars.
A YouTube capture of a poster of Mohammed Abu-Khdair, who was burned alive on Wednesday in Jerusalem. While officials investigate his death, most assume that he was killed in revenge of the murder of Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach.
Although most people immediately concluded that the murder of the Palestinian teen was nationalistic revenge in response to the deaths of the Jewish teens, the motivation for the killing is still unknown, and some suspect that it may have been an honor killing. Officials are investigating all possibilities.
Israeli President Shimon Peres promised Sunday that Israel would get to the bottom of Abu Khdair’s killing and bring whoever is responsible to justice.
“If Jews are becoming killers, they will be put to court like any killer,” he told journalists. “Whoever was killed, for us was murdered; for us [he] is a victim.”
On Sunday six Jewish suspects were arrested in connection with the murder of Abu-Khdair and a Palestinian was arrested in connection with the murder of the Israeli teens.
On Sunday, while President Peres was meeting with with local residents of Sderot, who are enduring the ongoing rocket barrages from neighbouring Gaza, he told a gathering of foreign journalists that Israel would get to the bottom of Mohammed Abu Khudair’s killing and bring the murderers to justice.
In a statement Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the police to “swiftly investigate who was behind the loathsome murder [of Khdair] and its motive.”
“We have not yet been able to determine if the motive [for the killing] was nationalistic or criminal,” Yossi Parienti, Jerusalem’s police chief stated, urging the public to “exercise restraint, refrain from reaching conclusions and wait for new developments in the investigation.”
Israel was quick to condemn the murder, demands for revenge, and expressions of hatred among Israelis and Palestinians.
On Thursday, Netanyahu urged the country to be restrained in both actions and words.
“Our security forces continue to investigate the background to the shocking murder of the boy whose body was found in the Jerusalem Forest. Whatever the motive may be—this murder must be strongly condemned and we will bring those responsible for this crime to justice,” he said.
“I appeal to all the citizens of Israel and ask you: Please exercise restraint in your actions and words. Our hearts ache, our blood boils, but we must remember that we are, first and foremost, human beings and we are citizens of a law-abiding country. We are making decisions in a responsible, cool-headed and considered manner.”
President Peres also called for cooler heads and an end to incitement.
“We weren’t born to hate, we weren’t born to speak in a hateful language. A few days ago we all behaved as one with dignity, even during our sorrow but together we called for restraint, we called for investigation, we were careful with our words,” Peres said.
“It’s time to stop incitement, it’s time to be respectful and to respect the law. It’s in our hands. People who are engaged in incitement are not always aware where it can lead, to more sorrow, to more dangers. It’s time for all of us to show restraint, to show understanding and let us as human beings, all of us, be true to our morality, to our hope to live together in peace.”
Palestinians burn tires in protest of the gruesome murder of Mohammed Abu Khdair.
Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat also forcefully condemned the murder of the teen.
“This is a horrible and barbaric act which I strongly condemn. This is not our way and I am fully confident that our security forces will bring the perpetrators to justice. I call on everyone to exercise restraint,” Barkat stated.
The family of murdered Israeli teen Naftali Frenkel, almost immediately released a statement condemning revenge killing.
“We do not know exactly what happened overnight in east Jerusalem,” the statement emphasized. “The police are investigating the matter. But if it turns out that an Arab youngster was killed for nationalistic reasons, then that is terrifying and shocking. There is no difference between blood and blood. Murder is murder, no matter what the age or nationality is. There is no justification, forgiveness or atonement for such a murder.”
A few strong Palestinian and Arab Israeli voices have resounded for peace, including Abu Khdair’s father, Hussein, who stated, “I am against kidnapping and killing. Whether Jew or Arab, who would accept that his son or daughter would be kidnapped and killed? I call on both sides to stop the bloodshed.”
Palestinians protest the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdair. (YouTube capture)
Hundreds of Israelis rallied in downtown Jerusalem Wednesday evening to call for peace and non-violence.
“It’s time to raise a different voice—one which I believe is more common, even if more quiet—saying, ‘We don’t take revenge. We deal with things like a civilized country,'” Rabbi Uri Ayalon said at the peace rally.
Nadav Rothberg, 22, who came to Jerusalem from the southern Jordan valley to attend the demonstration, condemned the outpouring of hatred and violence, stating, “What’s happening goes against my conscience and is also wrong from a Jewish perspective. Violence is wrong, whether directed at us or at the Arabs.” (Times of Israel)
Other varied responses to the tragedies paint a sobering spectrum of regional and global moral agendas.
On Wednesday, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas quickly called Netanyahu demanding a severe response to Abu Khdair’s murder. It took him several days, however, to respond to the kidnapping of Yifrach, Shaar and Frenkel.
Mahmoud Abbas
Hamas claimed the kidnappings were a legitimate form of resistance, calling for “the third intifada,” as well as the exit of Palestinian Authority rule in the West Bank. Hamas also slammed Abbas for helping Israel search for the boys.
And as Israel mourned the kidnapping of their three sons three weeks ago, Palestinians celebrated in the streets of the West Bank and Hamas-ruled Gaza, handing out sweets and vocally rejoicing at the crime.
Director of the Hamas newspaper, Filistin (Arabic for Palestine), Iyad Al-Qara wrote, “The unique resistance operation carried out in the West Bank fills the Palestine public with joy and glee and enjoys [this public’s] support and encouragement.” (MEMRI)
Following the murder of Khdair, the editor of the Hamas-affiliated newspaper Al-Risala (Arabic for Message) took the opportunity to repeat the centuries-old false blood libel that Jews use Gentile blood to bake matzah for Passover.
“The settlers used the body of 17-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir, from Shuafat in northern Jerusalem, to carry out their sacred [act of] vengeance by torturing him and burning him to death, in a crime reminiscent of their holy matzahs that became part of their history of betrayal and murder—for the culture of violence and blood grew among the Jews to such an extent that it seeped into their sacred rites and prayers,” he wrote.
Despite the Jewish prohibition from eating blood, this ridiculous blood libel continues to be promoted.
As well, a comparison of the media coverage of the kidnappings and murder seems to confirm blatant anti-Israel bias in international media.
Meir Halevi Siegel, journalist for the Jewish Press criticized biased coverage of the two tragedies:
“For nearly three weeks, international media outlets found it tough to relate to the abduction and murder of Eyal Yifrah, Gil-Ad Sha’ar and Naftali Fraenkel,” Siegel wrote on July 2. “What a difference a day makes: As of this writing, Britain’s BBC and Guardian websites, and American CNN, USA Today and ABC websites feature the murder of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdair this morning, plus extensive footage of the rioting.”
“… and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land dries up, and all who live in it waste away.” (Hosea 4:2–3)
We ask all of our readers to pray fervently that God would heal the broken hearts of the parents who have lost their sons, as well as for peace and an end to hatred and the cycle of violence. May all Israelis—Arab and Jewish alike—as well as Palestinians unite in the search for justice for these teens and live with one another in peace and brotherhood.
