Poway – www.israelhayom.com https://www.israelhayom.com israelhayom english website Mon, 01 Nov 2021 14:06:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://www.israelhayom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/cropped-G_rTskDu_400x400-32x32.jpg Poway – www.israelhayom.com https://www.israelhayom.com 32 32 City of Poway, CA, set to rename street after Chabad shooting victim https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/11/04/city-of-poway-ca-set-to-rename-street-after-chabad-shooting-victim/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/11/04/city-of-poway-ca-set-to-rename-street-after-chabad-shooting-victim/#respond Mon, 04 Nov 2019 12:51:36 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=431717 The city council in Poway, Calif., will consider a proposal on Nov. 5 to change the name of a short street in memory of Lori Lynn Gilbert-Kaye, the only fatality in the shooting earlier this year at Chabad of Poway. Under the proposal, Eva Drive would become Lori Lynn Lane. It is located near where […]

The post City of Poway, CA, set to rename street after Chabad shooting victim appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
The city council in Poway, Calif., will consider a proposal on Nov. 5 to change the name of a short street in memory of Lori Lynn Gilbert-Kaye, the only fatality in the shooting earlier this year at Chabad of Poway.

Under the proposal, Eva Drive would become Lori Lynn Lane. It is located near where the 60-year-old congregant lived with her husband, Dr. Howard Kaye, about a mile from the synagogue.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said that people associated with Chabad approached the city to propose the street-name change.

"They did all the groundwork, and our team got the obstacles out of the way," he said. "It should have unanimous and enthusiastic support."

Three people, including senior Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, were wounded on April 27 when lone gunman John Earnest shot at worshippers during Shabbat-morning services.

Earnest has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, including 113 federal hate crime-related counts.

If convicted of the murder charge, the 20-year-old could face the death penalty, though prosecutors haven't said what sentence they would seek.

He is scheduled to be back in court on Dec. 5 for a status hearing, at which time a trial date will likely be set.

The post City of Poway, CA, set to rename street after Chabad shooting victim appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/11/04/city-of-poway-ca-set-to-rename-street-after-chabad-shooting-victim/feed/
Jewish group planting 'trees of life' to honor synagogue shooting victims https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/10/17/jewish-group-planting-trees-of-life-to-honor-synagogue-shooting-victims/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/10/17/jewish-group-planting-trees-of-life-to-honor-synagogue-shooting-victims/#respond Thu, 17 Oct 2019 12:00:18 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=425649 The Jewish organization United With Israel is inviting people to sponsor the planting of more than 20 different fruit trees in Israel in memory of the 12 victims of the synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh and Poway, California. "Join us in planting 12,000 trees of life! Make the land even more beautiful in their memory," it […]

The post Jewish group planting 'trees of life' to honor synagogue shooting victims appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
The Jewish organization United With Israel is inviting people to sponsor the planting of more than 20 different fruit trees in Israel in memory of the 12 victims of the synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh and Poway, California.

"Join us in planting 12,000 trees of life! Make the land even more beautiful in their memory," it said on the project's event page.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

"[This is] a great opportunity to help Israeli farmers while paying tribute to the 12 holy victims of synagogue shootings, may their memories be for a blessing," continued the plea. "Show your love for Israel by joining in this wonderful mitzvah!"

A total of 11 Jewish worshippers were murdered on Oct. 27, 2018, when a lone gunman entered the Tree of Life*Or L'Simcha Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh during Shabbat-morning services.

Exactly six months later, on April 27, 2019, a similar shooting took place at Chabad of Poway in Southern California, where a 60-year-old Jewish woman was killed in the synagogue lobby and three others injured in the attack, also on Shabbat morning during services.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post Jewish group planting 'trees of life' to honor synagogue shooting victims appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/10/17/jewish-group-planting-trees-of-life-to-honor-synagogue-shooting-victims/feed/
Judge orders trial in Southern California synagogue shooting https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/22/judge-orders-trial-in-southern-california-synagogue-shooting/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/22/judge-orders-trial-in-southern-california-synagogue-shooting/#respond Sun, 22 Sep 2019 09:34:43 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=419435 A former college student will stand trial on charges he opened fire with an assault rifle inside a Southern California synagogue, killing one woman and injuring three people last April, a judge ruled Friday. John T. Earnest had no reaction when San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh ruled that a trial will proceed for […]

The post Judge orders trial in Southern California synagogue shooting appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
A former college student will stand trial on charges he opened fire with an assault rifle inside a Southern California synagogue, killing one woman and injuring three people last April, a judge ruled Friday.

John T. Earnest had no reaction when San Diego Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh ruled that a trial will proceed for Earnest on murder and attempted murder charges in the attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue during services on the last day of Passover.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Earnest, 20, will also be tried on an arson charge for a fire at a nearby mosque that happened before the synagogue shooting.

Prosecutors on Thursday played a 12-minute recording of the gunman calmly telling a 911 dispatcher that he had just shot up a synagogue to save white people from Jews.

Earnest could face the death penalty if he is convicted of murder as a hate crime, although prosecutors haven't said whether they will pursue capital punishment.

The 911 recording was heard publicly for the first time at Thursday's dramatic hearing, which included playing the surveillance video of the shooting and a congregant describing how he confronted the gunman and chased him away.

"I'm defending our nation against the Jewish people, who are trying to destroy all white people," said the caller on the 911 recording who identified himself as Earnest.

He provided details of where he was waiting for police and promised to leave his AR-15 assault rifle on the passenger seat. He said he would get out of the car with a supply of bullets hanging on the chest of his vest, as if his surrender had already been planned.

Also at the hearing, Oscar Stewart spoke publicly for the first time about confronting Earnest as shots rang out from the lobby.

"People were falling over each other. It was chaos," he said. "I screamed [to everyone]. 'Get down! Get out here.'"

Stewart, 51, was standing toward the back of the service when shots rang. He said he took three or four steps to flee and turned around for reasons he still can't explain.

"He was firing in front of me," Stewart said. "I was paying attention to the rifle."

As the gunman struggled to reload, Stewart said he relied on combat training to try to distract him from his plan of attack.

"I told him I was going to kill him," said Stewart, who served in both the Persian Gulf War in the 1990s and Iraq after the 9/11 attacks.

Stewart walked across the street after the suspect fled, as shown in the surveillance video, and banged on the side of his car. He said he worried the shooter might attack a church next door or a grocery store down the street.

Stewart got out of the way after an off-duty Border Patrol agent at the service said from behind that he had a gun. The agent fired about five shots as the gunman drove away erratically.

Earnest is also charged with trying to burn down a mosque weeks earlier in nearby Escondido, where seven people on a spiritual retreat were sleeping. They awoke to flames and managed to extinguish the fire.

Outside the mosque, authorities say, the suspect had scrawled the name of a man accused of shootings at two mosques in New Zealand that killed 51 people earlier last spring.

The post Judge orders trial in Southern California synagogue shooting appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/09/22/judge-orders-trial-in-southern-california-synagogue-shooting/feed/
Search warrant cites synagogue shooter's hatred of Judaism https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/19/search-warrant-cites-synagogue-shooters-hatred-of-judaism/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/19/search-warrant-cites-synagogue-shooters-hatred-of-judaism/#respond Wed, 19 Jun 2019 14:24:57 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=382073 The sole gunman in a southern California synagogue shooting in which a woman was killed told an investigator that he adopted his hatred of Judaism 18 months before the fatal attack, according to a federal search warrant. John T. Earnest, 19, also told a San Diego Sheriff's detective that he was inspired by Adolf Hitler […]

The post Search warrant cites synagogue shooter's hatred of Judaism appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
The sole gunman in a southern California synagogue shooting in which a woman was killed told an investigator that he adopted his hatred of Judaism 18 months before the fatal attack, according to a federal search warrant.

John T. Earnest, 19, also told a San Diego Sheriff's detective that he was inspired by Adolf Hitler and the suspected gunman in the New Zealand mosque shooting last March.

The search warrant, which was unsealed in a hate crimes case against Earnest, offered a few new details about the attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue on the last day of Passover, including when Earnest became drawn to anti-Semitism and hatred of Islam.

                                                Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

San Diego police found a helmet with a video camera on it in Earnest's car when the San Diego man was arrested almost immediately after the April 27 shooting, which killed 60-year-old Lori Kaye and injured three others. He had an AR-15 rifle in his vehicle. Earnest said on the 8chan website that he planned to stream the attack live on Facebook. He never did.

"At that time, Earnest did not appear to be under the influence of a controlled substance but did appear to have a 'flat affect' as though he was detached or unaffected by his actions," the warrant states in recounting an interview that he gave to a San Diego police detective immediately after being detained.

Earnest has pleaded not guilty to a 113-count federal indictment and faces charges of murder and attempted murder in state court, both of which may make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted. He also pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges of trying to burn a mosque in the nearby city of Escondido.

Court documents said Earnest dialed 911 after fleeing the synagogue in his car and said: "I just shot up a synagogue." He went on to tell the dispatcher that he did it "because Jewish people are destroying the white race," according to the affidavit.

The post Search warrant cites synagogue shooter's hatred of Judaism appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/19/search-warrant-cites-synagogue-shooters-hatred-of-judaism/feed/
California man indicted for plotting synagogue shooting https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/18/california-man-indicted-for-plotting-synagogue-shooting/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/18/california-man-indicted-for-plotting-synagogue-shooting/#respond Tue, 18 Jun 2019 08:13:22 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=381775 A California man who threatened to carry out a mass shooting at a synagogue was arrested on Sunday, local authorities said. Ross Anthony Farca, 23, of Concord, California, had made repeated threats on his account on Steam, a popular video game platform. Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter He said that he wanted to […]

The post California man indicted for plotting synagogue shooting appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
A California man who threatened to carry out a mass shooting at a synagogue was arrested on Sunday, local authorities said.

Ross Anthony Farca, 23, of Concord, California, had made repeated threats on his account on Steam, a popular video game platform.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

He said that he wanted to imitate the Poway synagogue shooter "except with a Nazi uniform on," The Mercury News reported.

Farca, 23, was charged with felony criminal threats and gun possession.

His screen name on Steam was "Adolf Hitler (((6 Million)))," a reference to the number of Jewish people killed during the Holocaust.

In his posts, Farca allegedly "expressed a desire to massacre Jewish people, livestream it to the Internet, and then murder as many police officers as he could" before they killed or captured him.

"I would probably get a body count of like 30 [Jews] and then like five police officers because I would also decide to fight to the death," he wrote, adding he would prefer to choose a "better target than some random synagogue."

In other posts on Steam, Farca also reportedly said he was inspired by two 2019 mass shootings: the March 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand, and the April shooting in the Poway synagogue in San Diego. He named both shooters and referred to the Christchurch shooter as a "hero," authorities said.

The post California man indicted for plotting synagogue shooting appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/18/california-man-indicted-for-plotting-synagogue-shooting/feed/
California synagogue shooter charged with federal hate crimes https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/05/10/accused-california-synagogue-shooter-charged-with-federal-hate-crimes/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/05/10/accused-california-synagogue-shooter-charged-with-federal-hate-crimes/#respond Fri, 10 May 2019 05:10:02 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=364911 A gunman who killed a woman and wounded three during services at a Southern California synagogue later told a 911 dispatcher he had done it because "the Jewish people are destroying the white race," prosecutors said Thursday in announcing 109 hate crime and other charges against the man. U.S. Attorney Robert S. Brewer Jr. said […]

The post California synagogue shooter charged with federal hate crimes appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
A gunman who killed a woman and wounded three during services at a Southern California synagogue later told a 911 dispatcher he had done it because "the Jewish people are destroying the white race," prosecutors said Thursday in announcing 109 hate crime and other charges against the man.

U.S. Attorney Robert S. Brewer Jr. said it's possible the suspect, John T. Earnest, could face the death penalty following last month's shooting at Chabad of Poway, in a suburb north of San Diego. A decision on that will be made at a later date, Brewer said.

The new charges against Earnest, 19, also include an earlier arson at a nearby mosque.

"We will not allow our community members to be hunted in their houses of worship, where they should feel free and safe to exercise their right to practice their religion," Brewer said at news conference.

The federal charges include murder for the killing of 60-year-old Lori Kaye, who was hit twice as she prayed in the foyer of the synagogue. It also includes charges for the attempted murder of 53 others.

Three people were wounded, including an 8-year-old girl, her uncle and Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was leading a service on the last day of Passover.

"As a society, we must surely focus on the preventive measure of instilling in our youth a sense of personal accountability to a Higher Being, in whose image every human being was created," Chabad of Poway said in a statement provided to The Associated Press.

In the most detailed account yet, a federal affidavit said Earnest legally bought a semiautomatic rifle from a licensed dealer in San Diego a day before the April 27 attack. He walked into the synagogue with the AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle that was fully loaded with a 10-round magazine. He wore a chest rig with five more magazines carrying a total of 50 bullets.

The shooter emptied his magazine and stopped as he struggled to reload it, according to the affidavit. That's when several members of the congregation, including an off-duty Border Patrol agent, chased Earnest from the synagogue.

After the gunman fled, he called 911 from his car and told a dispatcher what he had done, and said he thought he had killed some people because "I'm just trying to defend my nation from the Jewish people. … They're destroying our people," according to the affidavit.

He then told the dispatcher, "the Jewish people are destroying the white race."

In a court appearance last month, Earnest pleaded not guilty to state charges of murder and attempted murder. In a separate case, he has pleaded not guilty to burning a mosque in nearby Escondido.

Prosecutors say Earnest had expressed his "intent to harm Jews" in an online posting, a copy of which was also found on his laptop.

In the same posting, he also acknowledged using gasoline to spark a blaze that charred a wall of the mosque in Escondido, authorities said. The fire started at about 3:15 a.m. when seven people on a spiritual retreat were inside the building sleeping at the time, according to investigators. They saw flames coming through the crack of one of the doors, grabbed water and quickly extinguished it.

In the posting, a man identified as Earnest said he was inspired by the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last fall and the shooting at two mosques in New Zealand last month that killed 50 people, according to the affidavit. A copy of the web posting of the New Zealand suspect Brenton Tarrant was found on his laptop and the suspect said he wrote Tarrant's name on the parking lot of the mosque after the fire.

The suspect wrote that "it's so easy to … get away with burning a synagogue (or mosque)" or shoot up an immigration center or "traitorous" politicians.

Earnest was an accomplished student, athlete and musician whose embrace of white supremacy and anti-Semitism stunned his family and others closest to him. He lived with his parents and made the dean's list both semesters last year as a nursing student at California State University, San Marcos.

Authorities said Earnest frequented 8chan, a dark corner of the web where those disaffected by mainstream social media sites often post extremist, racist and violent views.

"I've only been lurking here for a year and half, yet what I've learned here is priceless. It's been an honor," he wrote.

Federal hate crime charges were also filed against the gunman who killed 11 worshippers at the Pittsburgh synagogue.

The post California synagogue shooter charged with federal hate crimes appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/05/10/accused-california-synagogue-shooter-charged-with-federal-hate-crimes/feed/
Greenblatt visits Chabad of Poway days after fatal shooting https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/05/02/greenblatt-visits-chabad-of-poway-days-after-fatal-shooting/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/05/02/greenblatt-visits-chabad-of-poway-days-after-fatal-shooting/#respond Thu, 02 May 2019 07:24:58 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=362531 U.S. Special Envoy for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt visited Chabad of Poway in Southern California on Wednesday in the aftermath of the shooting during Shabbat-morning services that left one woman dead and three injured. He is the most senior Trump administration official yet to visit the site. "We must continue to stamp out anti-Semitism & […]

The post Greenblatt visits Chabad of Poway days after fatal shooting appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
U.S. Special Envoy for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt visited Chabad of Poway in Southern California on Wednesday in the aftermath of the shooting during Shabbat-morning services that left one woman dead and three injured.

He is the most senior Trump administration official yet to visit the site.

"We must continue to stamp out anti-Semitism & all other forms of hate. Rabbi [Yisroel] Goldstein is a pillar of strength for his community/our nation. A very moving visit. He & others acted heroically. I shared the Administration's heartfelt sorrow for Poway's loss & thanked him for his message to turn a hateful act into a lesson on tolerance," he tweeted.

Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, was killed in the attack and three others injured, including the founding rabbi of the Chabad center and an 8-year-old girl.

An off-duty Border Patrol agent who was in the synagogue, which is located about a half-hour outside of San Diego, fired at the suspect, 19-year-old John Earnest, hitting his car. The gunman fled the scene but was soon apprehended without incident after he called 911 to admit to committing the crime, in addition to providing his location.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said Earnest was armed with an "AR-type assault weapon," and added that he was being interviewed by the FBI and detectives.

The attack occurred exactly six months after the deadliest shooting in American Jewish history, when a gunman killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life*Or L'Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Earnest pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to murder and hate-crime charges. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty, despite California's moratorium on capital punishment.

The post Greenblatt visits Chabad of Poway days after fatal shooting appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/05/02/greenblatt-visits-chabad-of-poway-days-after-fatal-shooting/feed/
Hundreds gather at vigil to honor synagogue attack victims https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/29/hundreds-gather-at-vigil-to-honor-synagogue-attack-victims/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/29/hundreds-gather-at-vigil-to-honor-synagogue-attack-victims/#respond Mon, 29 Apr 2019 05:12:28 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=361449 Hundreds of people gathered at a community park in Poway Sunday night for a vigil to honor the victims of an attack on a synagogue the day before. Leaders asked community members to perform acts of kindness in remembrance of Lori Kaye, 60, a longtime member of the synagogue who was killed in Saturday's attack. […]

The post Hundreds gather at vigil to honor synagogue attack victims appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
Hundreds of people gathered at a community park in Poway Sunday night for a vigil to honor the victims of an attack on a synagogue the day before.

Leaders asked community members to perform acts of kindness in remembrance of Lori Kaye, 60, a longtime member of the synagogue who was killed in Saturday's attack.

Mayor Steve Vaus said he would stand with the community, and Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was shot in the attack, said seeing the crowd come together provided consolation.

"What happened to us, happened to all of us," Goldstein said.

Goldstein told reporters Trump called him to share his condolences on behalf of the American people. He said Trump was comforting and spoke of his love of peace, Judaism and Israel.

Authorities say a 19-year-old man opened fire on the synagogue in Poway, California, during a service on Saturday, killing a woman and wounding three people, including Goldstein.

Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein says the gunman fled after his weapon jammed.

Speaking outside of the Chabad of Poway on Sunday, Goldstein described how he looked up on Saturday and seen a young man wearing sunglasses standing in front of him with a rifle. He said he lifted his hands and was shot, and had lost his index finger in the incident.

And then, Goldstein said, "miraculously, the gun jammed."

"Terrorism like this will not take us down," he said.

Goldstein remembered Kaye as a "pioneering, founding member" of the congregation and said he was "heartbroken" by her death.

A friend of the woman killed in the Southern California synagogue shooting says the victim's physician husband was called to tend to a wounded worshipper and fainted when he realized it was his wife.

Congregation member Roneet Lev related an account from Rabbi Goldstein of how Kaye threw herself in front of him, possibly saving his life. Goldstein is recovering from a gunshot wound to the hand.

Lev says Kaye had gone to the synagogue to say the Kaddish Jewish prayer for the dead for her mother, who had recently died. Lev says now the irony is people will be saying the prayer for her now.

Officials said the two other people wounded in the shooting had been discharged.

Next door to the Chabad of Poway synagogue, Father Alexander Federoff said his Orthodox Christian congregation was in the middle of a prayer service when the gunshots rang out and that his church welcomed Jewish congregants and tried to offer them comfort.

A 19-year-old arrested after the attack is expected to be arraigned this week on charges including murder and attempted murder.

 

The post Hundreds gather at vigil to honor synagogue attack victims appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/29/hundreds-gather-at-vigil-to-honor-synagogue-attack-victims/feed/
'He pointed the gun at me but I had to get my nieces out' https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/28/he-pointed-the-gun-at-me-but-i-had-to-get-my-nieces-out/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/28/he-pointed-the-gun-at-me-but-i-had-to-get-my-nieces-out/#respond Sun, 28 Apr 2019 09:53:05 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=361137 "I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if I wouldn't have saved the girls," Almog Peretz told Israel Hayom Sunday morning from his hospital bed in Poway, California, after helping his three nieces escape a shooting attack during Shabbat services on Saturday. "I had to do it, if I hadn't have done it – […]

The post 'He pointed the gun at me but I had to get my nieces out' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
"I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if I wouldn't have saved the girls," Almog Peretz told Israel Hayom Sunday morning from his hospital bed in Poway, California, after helping his three nieces escape a shooting attack during Shabbat services on Saturday.

"I had to do it, if I hadn't have done it – I'd have been a coward, I would have carried it on my conscience for the rest of my life," said Peretz, 34, who is in the United States visiting his sister, Eden Dahan, and her family, who moved there several years ago.

Peretz was sitting next to the emergency exit of the Chabad of San Diego County synagogue when the shooting began.

"I understood I had to get [the girls] out of the synagogue and run with them toward the houses [outside]. The emergency exit saved us; my luck was that I was right next to the door and he [suspected shooter John Earnest, 19, of San Diego] shot at me. He pointed the gun at me, I saw him do it. He saw me and didn't shout anything. He stood in the same spot the entire time, next to the entrance to the synagogue because he wanted to be close to the door – to get away. If I was losing my mind, imagine what the kids were going through; they didn't know where to run."

While in the midst of gathering his nieces, Peretz was shot in the leg. "While the shooting was going on I didn't feel a thing, just heat in the area I was hit; but in the moment I was full of adrenaline, I jumped from place to place. I didn't notice I was hit," he recounted.

Peretz was able to get the children outside to safety but when he reached the rabbi's home, he realized one of his nieces, Leanne, wasn't with him.

"When we got to the rabbi's house I suddenly saw I didn't have Leanne, my niece. I went back to the synagogue and the shooter had already fled; someone brought the girl to me. She had stayed in the bathroom and didn't come out."

About being labeled a hero, Peretz said: "If one of the girls had been wounded – it would have been on my conscience. I had to get them out of there alive. They didn't know where to run, if [the shooter] had moved closer he would have killed all the children. There have been some very touching conversations, everyone here has commended me and strengthened me, cared for me – and thanked me."

Aside from Peretz, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein and Noya Dahan, 8, were also wounded in the attack. Lori Kaye, 60, of Poway was killed, reportedly while trying to save Goldstein. Kaye is survived by her husband and 22-year-old daughter.

The post 'He pointed the gun at me but I had to get my nieces out' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/28/he-pointed-the-gun-at-me-but-i-had-to-get-my-nieces-out/feed/
First swastikas, then synagogue attack: US no safe haven for Israeli family https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/28/first-swastikas-then-synagogue-attack-us-no-safe-haven-for-israeli-family/ https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/28/first-swastikas-then-synagogue-attack-us-no-safe-haven-for-israeli-family/#respond Sun, 28 Apr 2019 09:29:43 +0000 https://www.israelhayom.com/?p=361111 For one family caught up in the California synagogue shooting, a move from Israel to the United States in search of a safer life has been a journey "from fire to fire." Israel Dahan and three of his five children were at Sabbath services at Congregation Chabad in Poway, near San Diego, on Saturday when […]

The post First swastikas, then synagogue attack: US no safe haven for Israeli family appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
For one family caught up in the California synagogue shooting, a move from Israel to the United States in search of a safer life has been a journey "from fire to fire."

Israel Dahan and three of his five children were at Sabbath services at Congregation Chabad in Poway, near San Diego, on Saturday when a gunman opened fire, killing a woman and wounding three others in what local authorities deemed a hate crime.

Dahan, speaking on Israel Radio on Sunday, said his family was no stranger to violence, having lived in Israel in Sderot, a town on the Gaza border that has been a frequent target of Palestinian rocket attacks.

"We came from fire to fire," he said. "We left Sderot because of the shelling. My house was hit several times. My mother's house, my mother-in-law's house were hit several times. I was also wounded several times. … We wanted to move far away."

Dahan's 8-year-old daughter, Noya, was wounded in the synagogue shooting, on the last day of Passover, as was his brother-in-law.

"I began to shout that people should flee," Dahan said about the initial moments of the attack. "Thank God his gun jammed."

Eden Dahan, Noya's mother, said her brother Almog saved the lives of her daughter and the other children in the synagogue. Eden said her neighbor's 5-year-old daughter Yuli began to run toward the shooter and Almog had been hit by a bullet when he ran over to her and picked her up.

"He grabbed her and ran toward my girls. He found Noya, my daughter, grabbed her hand with Yuli still in his arms and as soon as he grabbed Noya, he sustained shrapnel from the bullet. She sustained it near her eye and was wounded in the leg. With all of the mayhem and the blood, he ran with them toward the synagogue's emergency exit." She said Almog took all the children to the rabbi's house next door.

According to Eden, it was at this point that Almog realized his niece Leanne was missing and he risked his life to go back into the synagogue to look for her. Eden noted that Leanne had gotten locked inside a bathroom stall and had been unable to get out.

"Almog saved my daughters, he saved all the children. He just didn't think about anything except how to save the children. He's a hero. It's just crazy."

Authorities identified the alleged gunman as a 19-year-old San Diego resident and said his weapon apparently malfunctioned after the first rounds he fired.

Israel Dahan said his family had been living in Poway for the past three years,  and that it was not the first time they had been the victim of a hate crime.

In 2015, the Dahans were residing in Mira Mesa, about 10 miles from Poway, when swastikas were daubed on their house and vehicle during the Passover holiday.

A local news report at the time said the family moved to the United States in 2014 seeking a safer environment for their children.

"But that's life," Israel said, recalling the swastika incident and how he had briefly locked eyes with the synagogue assailant.

Asked whether he regretted their move from Israel, he said: "No. We love America. … It can happen anywhere – in any mall, and in any hospital and in any family gathering and in any place. We are strong. We were born to be strong."

 

The post First swastikas, then synagogue attack: US no safe haven for Israeli family appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

]]>
https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/04/28/first-swastikas-then-synagogue-attack-us-no-safe-haven-for-israeli-family/feed/