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Monday, Jan. 18 '16, Shevat 8, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. PREGNANT WOMAN STABBED BY ARAB TERRORIST IN GUSH ETZION
2. DAFNA'S HUSBAND: 'YOUR TRUTH WILL RISE UP FROM THE EARTH'
3. IDF CHIEF: HEZBOLLAH IS ISRAEL'S 'MOST SERIOUS THREAT'
4. DAFNA MEIR: 'ONE IN A MILLION'
5. MEGA SANDSTORM BRINGS WITH IT SUFFOCATING AIR POLLUTION
6. IDF BANS PALESTINIAN WORKERS FROM GUSH ETZION
7. DAFNA MEIR'S PERSONAL PRAYER
8. WATCH: AFTERNOON NEWS ROUNDUP
1. PREGNANT WOMAN STABBED BY ARAB TERRORIST IN GUSH ETZION
by Ari Soffer
A 30-year-old pregnant woman was moderately injured in a stabbing attack in Tekoa, south of Jerusalem.
The victim was given emergency treatment at the scene for multiple stab wounds to her upper body. Magen David Adom paramedics managed to stabilize her, and she was evacuated to Jerusalem's Shaarei Tzedek hospital in moderate condition.
She was later identified as Michal Froman, daughter-in-law of Rabbi Menachem Froman of Tekoa who passed away in 2013.
The pregnant woman was stabbed after a terrorist broke into a clothing store where she was working in Tekoa, located in the east of the Gush Etzion bloc in Judea.
An armed civilian shot the 17-year-old Arab terrorist at the scene, and he was later evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem in serious condition, suffering from a gunshot to his leg.
The hospital reported he was unconscious and on artificial respiration in the trauma unit.
The stabbing is the latest in a string of similar attacks in the area south of Jerusalem.
Yesteday (Sunday) another woman - 39-year-old mother-of-six Dafna Meir - was brutally murdered in front of her children by an Arab terrorist who broke into her home in Otniel, several miles south of Gush Etzion.
That attack itself followed by just minutes an attack foiled at the nearby Jewish town of Kiryat Arba, when security forces nabbed an Arab woman armed with a knife.
2. DAFNA'S HUSBAND: 'YOUR TRUTH WILL RISE UP FROM THE EARTH'
by Gil Ronen
Natan Meir, whose wife Dafna was murdered Sunday by a knife-wielding terrorist, was the last to eulogize her at her funeral Monday morning. It was a short, poetic, extremely touching tribute to a mother of six - including two adopted children - and a dedicated nurse.
"We met as soldiers, on the border with Lebanon," he said tearfully. "It took us a moment to fall in love. It took you a moment. I said to you then, 'Welcome.' I say to you now, 'Farewell.' We are only thankful for every moment we had with you. You left me six treasures, I will guard over them for you."
He recited his children's names – Renana (17), Akiva (15), Noa (11), Ahava (10), Yair (6) and Yaniv – and said that they were "Unique, and imprinted with your seal."
He turned to God, and assured Him that his faith has not been weakened by the murder. "Dear Father, I have no second thoughts about you at all, give us strength, be present at our home, let us feel your warm embrace, your love."
"My Dafna is one in a million," he went on. "One in a million, who grew up in a troubled home and managed to rebuild herself and give kindness back to the world."
"Dafna had a large crown: the crown of truth," Natan said. "She was very honest, as accurate as a razor. Not everyone liked that but everyone was able to appreciate it, and this truth has now been thrown to the ground, it has burst into smithereens.
"I request that everyone who came out here, pick up something from the light that was spilled on the ground, so that truth may spring from the earth [a reference to Psalms 85: 'Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.' – ed.].
"My dear Dafna'leh, thank you for every moment with you, and please forgive me for every moment in which I hurt you. Our love is too great to be a passing thing. Rest in peace and stand in eternity with all of the departed of Israel and we shall say amen."
3. IDF CHIEF: HEZBOLLAH IS ISRAEL'S 'MOST SERIOUS THREAT'
by Cynthia Blank
IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot said Monday at the Institute for National Security Studies conference in Tel Aviv that the Iran nuclear deal posed "many dangers" but also opportunities.
"Since the end of 2005, Israel's central threat was Iran," he stated. "The deal is a significant change in the vector Iran is going toward."
Eizenkot said the IDF was forming new assessments as a result of the deal, noting that in his estimation, "in the next five years, Iran will work to maintain the nuclear agreement, but in 15 years it will continue its vision to achieve a nuclear weapon."
The IDF Chief argued Iran's efforts to achieve nuclear weapons stemmed from its ambitions to become an even greater regional power.
"Iran is waging a war against Israel via proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon, who today poses the most serious threat to Israel."
"We also see an attempt attempt to influence Arabs in Israel and Gaza," Eizenkot continued. "The estimation is that as the economic situation in Iran continues to improve, within a year or two, it will direct greater resources to this campaign."
Eizenkot also addressed the crisis in Syria, noting that radicalization from Islamic State (ISIS) was seeping into Palestinian society.
"If there's a place where ISIS can be defeated within a year, it's Sinai. In Syria, it will take years," he asserted, adding, "there is a relatively high penetration of ISIS in Palestinian society, particularly Gaza."
"In the last two months we've seen a change in Syria and ISIS' success has been stopped, but the Sunni-Shiite struggle there will last for years. World powers are finding it difficult to achieve anything."
4. DAFNA MEIR: 'ONE IN A MILLION'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Atarah, the adoptive mother of Dafna Meir, explained part of Dafna's life that was not a simple life at all.
Dafna was up for adoption at a young age after her biological parents were unable to raise her. Despite the hardships, "she managed to build herself up, build a home and turn herself into a kind and giving woman."
"You came to us at the age of thirteen" said Atarah, "you were part of an institution in which each person had a family whom they could go to. But you didn't have any uncles or grandparents. Nor did you have parents who could take care of you. I thought we could try to take you in."
Their first meeting didn't go as well as she would have hoped. A neglected Dafna refused to give her new adopted mother a hug. But gradually, she opened up.
"You apparently didn't have a concept of what love was, of what a family was, a place where you can give and receive hugs. With time we got to know each other, you became our daughter and we were so happy that you were with us."
Atarah told the crowd at the funeral what Dafna's teenage years were like and about her decision to enlist in the IDF. She also told the crowd of her sudden decision to get married to Natan after knowing him for only a few weeks.
Atarah recounted how Dafna had made the decision to foster children at the same time that she decided to get married to Natan. "Dafna told us that when Natan had proposed she said she only had one condition, 'no matter how many children we have, we will also foster children in addition to our own.' And that is indeed what happened. They accepted Yaniv and Yair when they were three and the other was one and a half. It wasn't simply to find an adoptive family that would accept two brothers together. The invested so much in both of those children and in the children of their own."
"We lost little Dafna. Little Dafna from whom emerged a woman who knew how to give back to others."
Dafna's husband Natan also spoke at the eulogy and said "My Dafna, she was one in a million. One in a million who grew up in a home that wasn't a home and succeeded at growing and rehabilitating herself. Dafna was determined to return loving kindness to the world, and she did!"
5. MEGA SANDSTORM BRINGS WITH IT SUFFOCATING AIR POLLUTION
by Ari Yashar
The massive sandstorm due for Monday has already caused air contamination levels in the coastal region and south to spike, as dust particulates clog up the airways.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection announced Monday that the haze has cause air pollution throughout the country, with a particular rise in pollution measured in the afternoon in the coastal and central district.
In Modi'in the air pollution stands at nine times the average, in Rehovot and Be'er Sheva it is at eight times normal, and in Tel Aviv, Beit Shemesh and Ashdod it is seven times higher than normal. In Haifa the air pollution is at six times the average.
The Health Ministry has issued a warning to members of the public who are sensitive to air pollution, advising them to stay at home as much as possible and avoid physical exertion. The warning applies to those suffering from asthma, heart or lung diseases, the elderly, children, and pregnant women.
Construction contractors have likewise been warned by the Economics Ministry not to work at heights during the sandstorm, and likewise not to use cranes in the heavy wind or conduct work with explosives.
An intense spike in the concentration of dust particulates in the air has been in progress since the morning, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the air quality is to grow even worse following the afternoon hours, with high to very high air pollution in all regions of the country.
Over the course of Monday meteorologists anticipate that the strong wings will only build in force, bringing with them heavy clouds of dust primarily in the south and in the coastal region as well. The southeastern winds bring with them haze, dust and sand from Israel's deserts, leading to a dust storm in the Negev.
Later in the day rain is anticipated in the north, and overnight it will grow stronger and make its way to the coastal region.
Strong winds are expected to beat down on Israel on Tuesday, reaching highs of 85 kilometers per hours (53 miles per hour) and mostly focusing in on the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and the mountainous regions. Snow is to fall on Mount Hermon in the north, with rain in the north and coastal regions accompanied by possible flooding in the coastal cities.
Then on Wednesday the weather is to take a turn for the more pleasant, as the rains die down and stop in the afternoon hours. Thursday is expected to be partially cloudy with a rise in temperatures, although on Shabbat the rains are to make a repeat performance.
6. IDF BANS PALESTINIAN WORKERS FROM GUSH ETZION
by Shoshana Miskin
Etzion Brigade Commander Col. Roman Gofman issued an order Monday morning to remove immediately all Arab workers from the Gush Etzion communities, including from stores and businesses.
The order was made following a security assessment by the Etzion Brigade commander and the Judea and Samaria Division following a severe escalation in deadly Arab terror attacks on Jews in the region.
On Monday morning, a 30-year-old pregnant woman was stabbed by an Arab terrorist in the town of Tekoa, after he broke into a clothing store where she was working and stabbed her multiple times in her upper body.
The pregnant victim, identified as Michal Froman, was evacuated to Jerusalem's Shaarei Tzedek hospital in moderate condition.
Monday's attack came after an Arab construction worker on Sunday evening brutally murdered Dafna Meir in front of her children, after the terrorist broke into her home in Otniel, several miles south of Gush Etzion.
39-year-old Dafna Meir was laid to rest Monday morning in the Har HaMenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul neighborhood after a funeral that began in Otniel.
Security forces on Monday continued a widespread manhunt for the murderer of the mother of six.
"In light of a situational assessment and following recent terror attacks, security measures have been taken in the communities in the Etzion Bloc and all Palestinian workers have been instructed to leave the communities by the Etzion Regional Brigade commander Col. Roman Gofman," said an IDF spokesperson.
The duration of the order was not immediately known.
This is not the first time the IDF has imposed such measures on Arab workers in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
In July of 2015, the IDF issued a region-wide ban out of concern that some Arab employees might take revenge on their Jewish coworkers or employers over the arson attack on a family in the Arab village of Duma.
A similar temporary ban on Arab workers in the region was also ordered in November 2015, after 21-year-old Hadar Buchris was stabbed to death in an attack at the Gush Etzion junction.
7. DAFNA MEIR'S PERSONAL PRAYER
by Arutz Sheva Staff
On her blog "Women's Ways", Dafna Meir Hy"d posted a prayer she composed while studying for an exam on medicines in the Neurosurgery Department at Soroka Hospital where she worked.
It has been translated and is posted posthumously below.
"May it be Your Will, Creator of the world, He Who manages it with mercy and loving kindness, to grant me the ability to give medications to Your people in need of salvation, and also to the members of other nations who are in the devoted care of your faithful messengers, who continue their holy work day and night, on the Sabbath and holidays, without letup.
"Grant that I understand, remember and realize, that the medications are a gift from You, and their efficacy is Your message to us.
"Grant that I view and feel joy at their beneficial influence of the medications I, mercifully, can give those who are ill.
"Grant me the ability to concentrate when giving out these medicines, to understand the way each acts on disease.
"Grant that I notice in time any of my errors or those of my colleagues when handing out medications, and that I act quickly to correct the errors before the medication enters the body of the patient.
"Grant that I act with modesty, learn and teach others about the successes and failures in giving medication.
"Grant that I give medications to the sick from a position of good health and that I remember to be grateful that I myself do not have to take them.
"Grant that I learn to have empathy, although in good health, with the patient's suffering and help him with all my ability every day and every hour, using the tools that You have given me.
"Amen."
May her memory be as a blessing.
8. WATCH: AFTERNOON NEWS ROUNDUP
by ILTV/Arutz Sheva
[youtube:2011624]
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