Chaya Zissel Braun the three-month old baby girl killed by a terrorist using his car as a weapon, was laid to rest at midnight last night.  Her death came about after the terrorist’s car slammed into her stroller, sending her flying some ten meters into the air. She landed on her head, and fractured her skull; doctors could not save her because of internal hemorrhaging.

President Ruby Rivlin, who attended the funeral said (emphasis added):

“We are standing before a tiny, silent body, before a small grave, standing against haters and murderers whose hands slaughter without distinction, without mercy.  An innocent baby was butchered by burning hatred and darkness.”

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Her parents – who had waited years to have a child, and had just returned from bringing her to the Kotel (the Western Wall) for the first time – are traumatized and in shock.  This picture – courtesy of the family – was taken at the Kotel, shortly before she was killed.

At the funeral, her weeping father said, “You made us happy from the moment you [arrived]… You were pure. I want you to look down at me and smile. Tomorrow is your three-month birthday. It’s all now in God’s hands.”

Her maternal grandfather, Rabbi Shimshon Halpern, spoke of her holy soul.

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The Arab terrorist Abdel Rahman Al-Shaludi (Al Shaludi is an alternate spelling of his name) died at the hospital last night of wounds inflicted upon him by Israeli security at the site of the attack.

He possessed a Jerusalem residency card, and was a staunch Hamas supporter.  These two factors should, in the best of circumstances, be mutually exclusive; but of course this is not the case. We’ve got a whole lot of Hamas-associated Arabs with Jerusalem residency cards running around the city.  Not only did he support Hamas, his uncle – who was assassinated 14 years ago, reportedly in the course of inter-militia tensions – was a master bomb-maker for Hamas.  Hamas allegiance is very often a family affair.

Al-Shaludi was also into social media communication.  Less than two weeks ago, he posted on his Facebook page a picture of Al Aksa mosque on the Temple Mount, with a caption “Al Aksa is in danger.” Just two days ago, he posted: “now is the time to defend your home, Muslims – go out on a crusade to protect the Al-Aksa mosque.”

Yesterday I reported that he had been in Israeli prison.  I do not believe he was released in the course of a prisoner trade; rather, he was released after he completed a 16-month sentence.

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That Hamas would praise this despicable attack is a given.  But what we are seeing is the same from Fatah, the party of our “peace partner” Abbas:

As described and translated by the Palestinian Media Watch, Fatah posted on its official Facebook page an obituary for Al-Shaludi that used the words “heroic Martyr.” His death was portrayed as “’his wedding’ – a reference to the Islamic belief that Martyrs for Allah are wedded to 72 virgins in Paradise.”

”Rest in peace! We are loyal to you,” it said. (Emphasis added)

According to The Elder of Ziyon, the poster of Al-Shaludi that went up on the Fatah FB page is even more explicit (emphasis added):

“The martyr hero Abd al-Rahman al-Shaludi performs a sacred act of running over the settlers in occupied Jerusalem.”

Sultan Abu Al-Einein, Abbas advisor and a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, also posted praise for the terrorist on his FB page.

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Prime Minister Netanyahu pointed a finger directly at Abbas with regard to this terror attack.  And he is absolutely correct.  Just days ago Abbas called upon Arabs to protect the Temple Mount from Jews.

What is more, he expressed anger at the international community for its failure to criticize Abbas in this regard.  At a security briefing at police headquarters, he said:

“[Abbas] glorifies the murderers and also embraces the organization to which the terrorists belong, Hamas. And faced with these actions of the Authority chairman, we find only a flaccid [response] internationally. [World leaders] are unwilling to say two words, even one word of criticism of him [Abbas]. We do not share this weakness. We will stand firmly for our rights and obligations to defend our capitol.”

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Highly relevant to this issue is a piece by Michael Freund, “Mahmoud Abbas, enemy of Israel”:

”For the past decade, ever since Mahmoud Abbas took the reins of the Palestinian Authority in January 2005, the international community has gone out of its way to portray him as a moderate.” Ignoring his long record of anti-Israel incitement and Holocaust denial, American presidents, European prime ministers and even various Israeli leaders often spoke of Abbas in glowing terms, describing him as a man of peace and a visionary.

”Indeed, earlier this year, when Abbas visited the White House on March 17, US President Barack Obama told reporters, ‘I have to commend President Abbas. He has been somebody who has consistently renounced violence, has consistently sought a diplomatic and peaceful solution that allows for two states, side by side, in peace and security.’

“…Calling him a moderate is simply dishonest and deceptive. Abbas is not a friend of peace, he is an enemy of Israel, one who has refused to end the conflict and has incited to violence against the Jewish state.” He may not don the keffiyeh that was worn by Yasser Arafat, nor wave a gun in the halls of the United Nations. But even if the packaging is slightly different, the contents remain the same.

”Abbas, like his predecessor, stands in the way of peace and aims to do Israel harm.

”The time has come to treat him accordingly.”

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Today Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barakat called for a tightening of security in order to quell the violence Jerusalem is experiencing.

After the police security meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement indicating that Netanyahu had “instructed that sovereignty be enforced in all parts of the city by positioning additional forces throughout the capital…united Jerusalem was, and will remain, the capital of Israel forever … Every attempt to harm its residents will be met with the harshest of responses – we will restore quiet and security to Jerusalem.”  (Emphasis added)

A good and appropriate statement.  Particularly with regard to sovereignty being enforced.  There has been a horrifying tendency for police to let sovereignty slip in certain eastern areas of Jerusalem.  It is my distinct impression that our prime minister means it when he speaks about a united Jerusalem, Israel’s capital forever.

But…but…

I want to tell him, enough words. We’ve heard them before.  Don’t tell us. Show us.  I want to learn about arrests being made, with prosecutions following.  No more policy of containment. I want to know about the police out on the street in large numbers and a major reduction in the amount of Arab violence the city is enduring.  I want these Arab bums who are seeking to terrorize innocent Jews in Jerusalem to be genuinely afraid of the police.

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“A Border Patrol officer serving in eastern Jerusalem has for the first time revealed the police helplessness in dealing with the ‘silent intifada’ that has been gripping the capital in recent months…

“Speaking on Channel 2…TV Thursday…the officer admitted the Border Patrol warriors are forced to ‘stand like dolls’ against the Arab terror.

“We feel like our hands are tied,’ the combat officer revealed, placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of Interior Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich for the collapse of security.

“According to the officer, senior captains as well as Aharonovich are trying to calm things down and hush up the ‘silent intifada’ rather than fight Arab terror to the end.”

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In the last day or so, the terror attack that killed the baby girl, while the worst of the violence by far, has not been the only incident of violence. We’re seeing incidents of Arab harassment and violence in the neighborhoods of Armon Hanatziv, Har Homa, and Gilo in southern Jerusalem, through the Mount of Olives area, Issawiya and Silwan, northward to Shuafat and Beit Hanina.

In the Mount of Olives area, there is the small Jewish community of Ma’aleh HaZeitim. This morning, not for the first time, the nursery building was stoned.  Masked Arab men, pelting rocks, with the children huddled in one area of the building for safety.  What sort of scum are they, throwing stones at a nursery?

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Minister Naftali Bennett had severe words for the current situation. The anger he expressed was appropriate.  As was his called for an “iron fist.”

Then he called for additional construction in Jerusalem as a response to terror, to show that we are here to stay when they are trying to drive us out.  But linking terrorism and building always unsettles me.  It gives the wrong message.

What really enraged me was this statement by Jen Psaki, spokeswoman for the State Department:

“The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms today’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem. We express our deepest condolences to the family of the baby, reportedly an American citizen, who was killed in this despicable attack, and extend our prayers for a full recovery to those injured. We urge all sides to maintain calm and avoid escalating tensions in the wake of this incident.” (Emphasis added)

How morally obtuse can they be?  They sound like parents, speaking to two squabbling boys, “Now, now, play nice.”

This was a terror attack, as I made quite clear above, the worst incident of terror amidst a rash of terror incidents.  Escalation of Israeli police response is precisely what is needed.  If it makes Palestinian Arabs in eastern Jerusalem tense, that’s quite fine.

The US has no vision of justice or Israeli right in this matter at all.  American officials, by design, are morally blind.