Prayer for the Wounded

Eleven People Still in Hospital After Jerusalem Terror Attack

by Elad Benari

Wednesday’s terror attack in Jerusalem left as many as 50 people wounded from physical injuries as well as from trauma.

At present, eleven of them are still in the hospital and two
are in still listed in serious condition. On Thursday, the One Family Fund issued a call to pray for their quick and complete recovery:

• Odelia Nechama bat Michal suffered serious head  injuries and is in intensive care. Her life is still in danger.
• Natan Daniel ben Shulamit, a 17-year-old student, suffered massive internal injuries and has had a number of internal organs removed.
• Leah Bracha bat Shoshana, a 19-year-old seminary student, suffered burns to her legs and arms as well as serious shock.
• David Amoyal, the owner of the snack stand next to the bus stop who told the people who were in the area to run away and then called the police, and was on the phone with them when the bomb exploded.  Amoyal suffered injuries to his legs, feet and lower body and is listed in moderate condition.
• Sasson ben Shulamit suffered lower body injuries and serious post-traumatic symptoms.
• Ad Shapira, an 18-year-old who is about to complete high school, suffered light orthopedic injuries and is in good condition in hospital.
• Shilo ben Ofra, 15 years old, suffered burns and fractures to his legs and lower abdomen.  He is sedated in intensive care.
• Daniel ben Nurit, 13 years old, suffered lacerations and shrapnel injuries to his lower extremities, and is likely to be released from the hospital before Shabbat.
• Elchanan ben Alona, 14 years old, suffered serious injuries to his feet. One ankle and three of his toes were crushed. He has had one operation and will require more surgery. He will likely be in the hospital at least 2-3 weeks.
• Netanel ben Shlomit, an 18-year-old who works as a security guard at the bus station, was injured in the abdomen had surgery.  He is now recuperating in the hospital.

The four-pound bomb exploded across from Jerusalem's Central Bus Station on Wednesday afternoon and killed one person. The explosive charge was placed at a public telephone booth and was detonated as two packed buses passed by.
The terrorist or terrorists who planted the bomb fled the scene, but Palestinian Authority security forces have arrested tow members  of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in connection with the blast.
The two, Khaled Jaradat and Tarek Ka'adan, were picked up in Jenin on Wednesday night, and the Islamic Jihad claimed the PA forces had been working in coordination with Israeli security personnel.

Our Great Loss

Scottish Bible translator killed by Jerusalem bus stop bomb

A Scottish Bible translator was killed when a bomb exploded next to a bus stop in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

The bomb, left in a suitcase near a bus stop, killed a 60-year-old woman Photo: 

 

By Laura Roberts 3:03PM GMT 24 Mar 2011

 

Mary Jean Gardner, 55, was caught in the bomb blast at the central bus station in Jerusalem.

She was the only person to die in the attack which left up to 30 others wounded.

Miss Gardner, who was a well-regarded Bible translator, came to Israel at the beginning of the year to study Hebrew and took courses at Hebrew University.

She had come to Israel to hone her Hebrew skills before embarking on a translation of the Old Testament into Ife, one of the languages spoken in Togo, West Africa.

A spokesman for Wycliffe Bible Translators, said: “Wycliffe Bible Translators are sad to announce the death of their member Mary Gardner in a terrorist explosion in Jerusalem on 23 March 2011 where she was studying Hebrew at The Home for Bible Translators.”

Miss Gardner, who is thought to have been born in Africa and whose parents are from the Grampian area, had recently returned from a stint of more than ten years in Togo, West Africa. She had already translated the New Testament into Ife, finishing in 2009.
She had been staying and studying at the Homes for Bible Translators near Mevaseret Zion, close to Jerusalem, where she had been living with other students in a log cabin.
Miriam Ronning, a Finn who founded the centre with her husband in 1994, said the dead woman was quiet but popular among fellow students and dedicated to her task of translating the Bible for tribesmen in Togo.
"She was a very deep person, very motivated to study, very industrious," Mrs Ronning said. "You would often see her in the library. She was very much appreciated. Gentle, introverted and very kind, it is a real loss for the project in Togo and to our student body."
Mrs Ronning said students were taken from and to the Hebrew University by bus every day for their own security, but that Miss Gardner had a day off and had gone into town to meet an Irish friend who had just arrived in the city with a tour group. Miss Gardner was heading to a restaurant to meet her friend and happened to be passing the bus stop on foot when the bomb exploded.
"She was very excited to be seeing her friend from Ireland," said Mrs Ronning. "That friend is now broken hearted. She blames herself, saying if she had not come to Israel, she (Gardner) would still be alive."
"We are really, really reeling from all this," said Mrs Ronning. "We've had students coming here for 10 years and this is the first time anything like this has happened. The shock of the evil behid the killing of civilians for the sake of killing is hard to take."
Eddie Arthur, executive director of Wycliffe Bible Translators, said: “She was a very popular lady. She was a wonderful person and will be greatly missed. She was highly regarded as a translator and a linguist. People who spend more than ten years in an African village and devote their lives like that are hard to come by.”
The bomb was the first in more than six years. It came hours after militants vowed revenge for two deadly Israeli raids on Gaza. The bombing also came several hours after two Grad rockets fired by Gaza militants hit the southern city of Beersheva.
Following the attack, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said that Israel would act "aggressively, responsibly and wisely" in wake of a recent upsurge in violence.
Miss Gardner's death comes nine years after Glasgow-born teenager Yoni Jesner was killed in a Tel Aviv suicide bomb, carried out by Hamas.

Countdown to Purim!

Stand stand for a tale so grand
Shushan is the place where it all began
The hidden miracle

One man, second in command
Slay all the Jews was his wicked plan
A scheme so miserable

He chose a day for the disaster
It’s ironic what came after
He didn’t know a girl named Esther
Would turn it upside down

So raise your glass if you can see the hidden meaning
It's right in front of you
We will never be never be anything but proud to tell the story
V'nahafoch hu (it was turned upside down)
Won’t you come on and come on and raise your glass
just come on and come on and raise your glass

Esther became the queen
Cuz’ G-d was pulling strings from behind the scenes
She wore the royal crown
Three days the Jews just prayed,
Queen Esther risked her life went to save the day

She took Haman down
The streets were filled with celebration
Everyone ate Hamantashen
Jubilation for the nation
Ken tihiyeh lanu… (So should it be for us)

So raise your glass if you can see the hidden meaning
It's right in front of you
We will never be never be anything but proud to tell the story
V'nahafoch hu
Won’t you come on and come on and raise your glass
Just come on and come on and raise your glass

So get your costumes on
Make noise and drown out Haman
Don’t drink like a fool
And remember and remember
What the day’s about…

So raise your glass if you see G-d in hidden places,
He's right in front of you,
We will never be never be anything but proud to tell our story
V'nahafoch hu
So raise your glass if you can see the hidden meaning,
It's right in front of you,
We will never be never be anything but proud to tell the story
V'nahafoch hu
Won’t you come on and come on and raise your glass
just come on and come on and raise your glass…