Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog: After six months, some good news: Israel seeing “significant decline” in terror attacks.

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After six months, some good news: Israel seeing “significant decline” in terror attacks. Here’s the latest. by joelcrosenberg (Central Israel) -- After a six-month spate of stabbings, fire-bombing, shootings and other attacks by Palestinian terrorists, there is finally some good news to report. The latest data from Shin Bet, Israel's equivalent of the American FBI, show a "significant decline in the scope of terrorist attacks," Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu noted this week. So far in April, there have been “only” three significant terror attacks. In March, there were 20. Last October, there were 78, reported the Times of Israel. The downward trend is the result of a combination of more effective work by Israeli security services in arresting terror plotters before they strike, fast reaction operations to track down and capture terrorists after they strike, and efforts to convince Palestinian young people that there is no benefit to them by engaging in such violence. It should also be noted that the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces -- to their credit -- have been working hard to prevent terror attacks, as well. "The Shin Bet said it had foiled a number of attacks, including 25 kidnapping attacks and 15 suicide attacks," the Times reported. "It noted Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups has been trying to carry out such attacks. Alongside activities to stop Palestinian attacks the Shin Bet also focused on countering Jewish terror threats, it said. Over the weekend PA security forces said they foiled a major terror attack by arresting three Palestinians who were heading to Israel carrying grenades and a gun." Here's the latest data on Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces: March -- 123 February -- 155 January -- 169 December 2015 -- 246 "Most of the attacks in the tally were fire-bombings, but the data also covered stabbings, car-ramming attacks, gunfire, improvised bombs and grenades as well as projectile fire from the Gaza Strip," AFP reported. The Times of Israel reported this week that over the past six months, "29 Israelis, two Americans, and two others" have been killed. "Over the same time, at least 188 Palestinians have died by Israeli fire. Israel says most were attackers, and the rest died in clashes with security forces." Please continue to pray for the restoration of calm in Israel, and throughout the Palestinian-controlled territories. Pray for leaders on both sides to have wisdom in how best to restore -- and maintain -- calm. Please also continue praying for the victims and their families, as they continue to grieve and heal from their traumas. ————————– Order The First Hostage today — the new political thriller about ISIS plotting a chemical weapons attack against Israel, Jordan and the United States — is available in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. ——————- Subscribe (free) to the RSS feed (click here) and receive every new posting on this blog directly via email. Order THE THIRD TARGET today , the first in this new series — now out in paperback — the New York Times best-selling novel about ISIS capturing chemical weapons in Syria and plotting genocidal attacks. Make an investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net), our non-profit organization to help Christians care for Syrian refugees, educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and strengthen the Church in the epicenter. Read our latest Donor Report, and make a tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution before the end of the year. Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg

Three dead in Kansas Jewish center shootings

Three dead in Kansas Jewish center shootings Click here to watch: Three dead in Kansas Jewish center shootings Three people were reported dead on Sunday in a possible anti-Semitic shooting attack at two buildings serving the Jewish community near Kansas City. A gunman opened fired in the parking lot of the Overland Park Jewish Community Center and the nearby Village Shalom retirement home, both in the Kansas City suburb.  "At around 1 p.m. today, Overland Park police received multiple calls regarding a shooting on the campus of the Jewish Community Center, 5801 W. 115th Street. Additional calls were received by police of another shooting at the Village Shalom Retirement Community, 5500 W. 123rd," according to the Overland Park Police Department. "Three victims are confirmed deceased. A person of interest has been taken into custody at this time," the police spokesman said.  CNN reported that the deceased included a teenager and an elderly woman. During the initial developing story, a spokeswoman for Overland Park Regional Medical Center said the hospital was treating a 14-year-old male who suffered a gunshot wound and who was in critical condition. The gunman fired toward a total of five people, three of whom were confirmed dead, authorities investigating the incident said at a press briefing.  Overland Park Police Chief John Douglass said it was too early to label the attacks as anything other than "vicious acts of violence." He stated that two males were killed outside the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas and one female at the nearby Shalom Village retirement home. He confirmed that police had a white male in his 70s in custody for questioning. He added that the man was unknown to police until today. Watch Here The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City said on Facebook that no shooting had occurred inside its campus, and it had released home all the participants of its programming. Overland Park, the second biggest city in Kansas, is a short drive away from the state’s main Jewish concentration in Kansas City.  According to Kansas's KSHB 41 Action News, police were holding one suspect in custody, who was reported as yelling "heil Hitler" as he was being detained. The entire JCC campus was locked down. One witness was quoted by KSHB 41 Action News as saying that a man, presumably the shooter, had aimed a gun at him before shooting the windows of his vehicle. US Federal Bureau of Investigation officials were helping local authorities investigate the two shootings, CNN cited FBI spokesman Joel Sealer as saying.  The JCC of Greater Kansas City announced that it would be closed on Monday. "We will post more information following a debriefing at the Overland Park Police Command Center and a 5:00 pm press conference, which will be carried live," the JCC said on Facebook. The Jerusalem Post was unable to reach the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City for further comment.  The shooting comes only weeks after the Anti-Defamation League released a report describing an increase in physical assaults against Jews despite an overall 19 percent decrease of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States. In its Annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, the ADL reported that there 751 incidents in 41 states and Washington, DC — among the lowest number since 1979, when the ADL began collecting data. The number of incidents has been steadily declining for the past decade. Source: Jerusalem Post