The Yom Kippur Islamic Hostility Scoreboard

As unfortunately expected, there were several attempted terrorist attacks on Jews worshiping during Yom Kippur.

First, in Belleville Ontario, a courageous police police was shot while engaging a terrorist shooting at a synagogue.  The officer is critically injured but will hopefully make a full and complete recovery, but thanks to him and another responding officer, the attacker will not.

An attempted attack in Manchester, United Kingdon was foiled by counter-terrorist police who captured two men of undisclosed ethnicity who were plotting to attack a  synagogue there on Yom Kippur. This on the anniversary of last year's attack in Manchester.

The FBI interdicted an ISIS-backed terrorist attach on a Pittsburgh synagogue before it could take place, arresting the terrorist who had pledged himself to ISIS in a hotel room.

In Germany, a disaster was averted when a member of a synagogue in Wuppertal saw an Afghan national throw three firebombs at the synagogue lighting it on fire just before Yom Kippur.

This doesn't even count the multiple terrorist attacks that took place in Israel.

Yes, Islamics do like to attack people on their holy days and on Islamic holy days as well. Happily, authorities managed to stop quite a number of them.

 Expect more attempts on the anniversary of October 7, and during Christmas and Easter.

Yom Kippur And Extra Security

As Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar approaches, arriving tomorrow, The Detroit Free Press had this sub-headline on their front page today: 

Clicking on it however changes the headline:  The Detroit Free Press: After tense year, Michigan Jews mark holidays with resilience and faith.

Why the change? Perhaps because then they would need to explain right up front exactly why the extra security is required these days.

The article does eventually get around to explaining this in part:

On the same evening, a few miles away at the largest synagogue in Michigan, Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, about 1,000 people packed the sanctuary for their first services since a terrorist struck the house of worship six months ago, in March.

It only takes another 7 paragraphs down past that statement in the article to find out the terrorist attack was not in fact by the Amish, but was "Hezbollah-influenced" and the I-word doesn't appear even once. 

Meanwhile, we still have to have extra police presence at synagogues here due to the Muslim's habit of attacking people on their religious holidays or indeed on Islamic holidays.

How often does your house of worship require a police presence to have presence and hopefully deter a terrorist attack? 

In any case, and completely aside from the Detroit Free Press' obfuscation,  I wish my readers G’mar chatima tova, and that you be sealed in the Book of Life. 

Peaceful Inner Struggle Right On Schedule

Unfortunately, just as expected given Muslims respect for holy days, there was an attack on Jews by Muslims on Yom Kippur with two killed and multiple people wounded in Manchester, United Kingdom.

 AP:  Attacker who killed 2 people and injured 3 at British synagogue is dead, police say

The attacker did a car ramming attack followed by a stabbing attack and was wearing an explosive device that did not go off. 

The attacker's name?  Jihad Al Shamie

Apparently he was not in the British Prevent system, which is rather an impressive oversight.  One would think someone named Holy War The Syrian should be proactively enrolled and kept under observation as he's kind telegraphing things just a tad. 

Police response time was seven minutes, and on arrival they did manage to kill one and wound one member of the synagogue in question, but at least they killed the attacker, so they have that going for them - as well as needing remedial marksmanship training ASAP.

Hamas And Holy Days

While the UN passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza for Ramadan, they made no effort to have one imposed for Yom Kippur.

Not that Hamas would have honored it in any case, as they certainly have a lack of respect for anyone else holy days, much less their own. The latest conflict, as you may remember, kicked off on October 7 with Hamas committing a massacre and kidnapping during a Jewish Holiday of Simchat Torah.

Sure enough, Hamas just did rocket attack during Yom Kippur  today.

Arutz Sheva: Rocket fire disrupts Yom Kippur silence in Ashdod

Sirens were sounded in the city of Ashdod and the surrounding area on Wednesday evening, at around 8:50 p.m., as Israelis observed Yom Kippur - the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

Residents of the area reported hearing explosions.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit stated that five projectiles were fired by Hamas terrorists from the northern Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.

No urgent resolution nor condemnation from the UN for this latest attack during the holiest day for Jews. 

Funny, that.

Yom Kippur

Yesterday, I went to services for Yom Kippur.  The services were meaningful, as was the fast which I made through without issue or complaint.

After services at the mid-day I took a break and did a hike at Haven Hill in Highland Recreational Area.

The weather was absolutely perfect for a hike.

 Saw a swan on the pond there:

And then by the parking lot some Sandhill Cranes were wandering around the field.

Rather ungainly looking birds, and they seemed to be clowning around for the people watching them.

It was a nice couple mile hike under gorgeous conditions and rather meditative to be out in nature in between services.

Then had a very pleasant light break the fast meal.  It was a meaningful Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur

Today is the holiest day on the Jewish Calendar.

A day for introspection, fasting, atonement, and repentance towards both G_d and man.

גמר חתימה טובה
Gmar Chatimah Tova 

May all my friends and readers be sealed in the Book of Life for a happy and healthy New Year.

WGN TV Watchers, The Gell-Man Amnesia Effect On Line 1 For You

This post could also be titled "Really WGN, WTF?".

WGN TV ran a story about Yom Kippur with the following image in the background:

That's a pretty big gaffe right there, using a Nazi image to mark the Holiest Day in the Jewish year. It ranks highly on the WTF scale and has garnered national attention. WGN TV has apologized for the rather epic screw-up. Part of the apology was that they were too dumb to recognize that the symbol selected might be just a tad inappropriate.

Is it a Type 1 error, the typical error committed by journalists, where the image was chosen because the journalists/station crew involved really are that dumb and lack any historical understanding of what that image means or the subject they are addressing? That seems to be the basis of the apology.

Is it a Type 2 error where someone on staff decided to play a joke and no one removed it in time or figured it was a problem, reinforcing the stupidity of the Type 1?

Or is it a Type 3 intentional foul where some ass-hat decided to run it to be offensive and it slipped by everybody else, due to either the historical ignorance of a Type 1, or it really was quickly slipped past unbeknownst to everyone else?

In any case it hardly boosts confidence in the station to be accurate with any story they may carry if they can't get some very basic image issues right on what should be a complete puff-piece.

In any case, no worries dear watchers of WGN TV, you can be assured that all the other stories you may watch on the station are accurate, factual, and free of any bias, ignorance, or such blatant errors.

Not Quite Getting The Idea

Marketers mean well, but they do miss the point on occasion.

Take this advertisement for bagels as an example:

For those who may not know, Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement. The day is marked by Prayer and Fasting - and definitely not by eating bagels.

Bagels might come into play after sunset Wednesday after the fast is over, but you wouldn't want to buy them on Tuesday so they can sit around and get stale while you can't eat them until Wednesday night (not to mention how bagels add to the fun of fasting with one being able to look at them but not eat them) nor are they for Yom Kippur itself but for breaking the fast after Yom Kippur has ended.

I'd call the campaign close, but the phrasing was just off by enough to raise an eyebrow and a grin.