Stasis

I have been out of the loop for personal reasons but I see it doesn’t take much to get me up to speed. The Ynet News:

An Israeli man has been stabbed in the Old City of Jerusalem, Magen David Adom emergency services paramedics reported Tuesday. The man, 49, was stabbed in the neck and sustained light to moderate injuries. Nationalistic motives are believed to be behind the stabbing. According to an eyewitness, the man attacked is a rabbi at the Ateret Kohanim yeshiva in the Old City, who was accompanied by a security guard.

"An Arab stabbed him in the neck," spokesman for the United Hatzalah of Israel rescue organizationYerach Tucker told Ynet. "The guard chased him, but he managed to escape. MDA and United Hatzalah teams treated the rabbi before he was evacuated to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center."

MDA Paramedic Ilan Klein told Ynet: "We found a 50-year-old man bleeding from the neck after being stabbed, but fully conscious. He said he was stabbed from behind and didn't see his assailant. Immediately after he was stabbed he continued walking for a few meters until he encountered a police officer.

"The incident took place within the Old City walls, and police forces moved him outside to the Damascus Gate. We administered first aid, gave him IV and oxygen and evacuated him to the hospital."

And as odd as it seems, Toronto isn’t the only judicial community afflicted with judges who rule leniently and call it justice. Ynet News carries this account:

The Haifa District Court sentenced Monday three Arab residents of the Galilee to jail sentences ranging from two to three years for torturing a Hebron man. The three suspected that the Palestinian stole holy books from their community mosque and proceeded to kidnap and hang him, until he lost consciousness.

The judge characterized their actions as one of the gravest cases of violence he has ever encountered. Last September, 21-year-old Amar Asala and 19-year-old Mahmoud Yassin from Arrabe suspected a 24-year-old man from Hebron stole Korans and other Muslim artifacts from the mosque in their community. The two abducted their victim when they saw him hitchhiking at the entrance to the community. They drove him to a deserted olive grove, undressed him, tied him up, and beat him up cruelly using sticks and planks. They also threatened to electrocute him using cables connected to their vehicle.

Later, the two drove the victim, who was still naked and tied up, back to Arrabe, where they picked up another young man, 18-year-old Saud Yassin. They proceeded to beat up the victim and then placed a rope around his neck and demanded that he reveal the location of the stolen property. The man denied that he stole anything, and eventually the accused hung him until he lost consciousness. The three then removed the rope from the man's neck, dressed him up, and called the police with the intention of turning him in. Justice Ilan Schiff noted that the case in question marked a particularly serious offence.

Kidnapping, attempted hanging, and repeated torture buys you only 2-3 years. There are no words.

According to a new poll published in Ynet News - Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip is now more popular with Palestinians than Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

Yep, nothing much changes but wouldn't it be nice to come here and read just once - that peace really did break out?