Hallel, like her parents, felt a deep attachment to Har Habayit, the Hebrew name for the Temple Mount.

By Atara Beck, JNS

This month marks the 10th anniversary of the murder of 13-year-old Hallel Ariel by a Palestinian terrorist on June 30, 2016.

A resident of Kiryat Arba, Hallel was asleep in her bed when the 17-year-old assailant broke into the Ariel home and stabbed her to death.

The terrorist, Muhammad Nasser Tarayra, was shot and killed at the scene by responding security personnel and Hallel’s father, Rabbi Amichai Ariel.

During the confrontation, Kiryat Arba’s volunteer security coordinator, Shuki Gilboa, was seriously wounded and later lost sight in one eye.

In the aftermath of the attack, Israeli authorities arrested members of the terrorist’s family for questioning and later demolished the family home in the nearby village of Bani Na’im.

The Hebrew date of the brutal murder was the 24th of Sivan, which this year corresponded to Tuesday, June 9.

Approximately 60 men and women joined the Ariel family that day in ascending the Temple Mount, where they prayed, sang, danced and discussed Torah topics relating to the holy site and Jewish destiny.

The circumstances at this year’s event differed significantly from the first memorial held for Hallel a month after the attack, when restrictions on non-Muslim visitors, especially Jews, were much tougher than they are today.

Rena Ariel, Hallel’s mother, and her three sisters are among a small group of women who founded Nashim Lema’an Hamikdash (“Women for the Holy Temple”) 26 years ago.

The organization is part of an umbrella of groups, including the Temple Mount Institute, advocating for Jewish sovereignty on the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, and preparing for the building of the Third Temple.

Although Israel liberated eastern Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War, the Jordanian Muslim religious trust (Waqf) was given authority over the site. Since then, many inequities have remained.

For example, there are 10 active entrances to the site, but only one is accessible to non-Muslims: the Mughrabi Gate.

Ariel recalled the humiliation endured until recently.

The prohibitions against Jews included praying, bowing, singing and drinking water from the fountains. Guards would follow closely and monitor conversations.

Dozens of women in burqas would scream “Allahu Akbar” at visitors, and young boys would throw stones at them.

Nevertheless, there have been many improvements over the past decade, likely as a result of the determination of Jewish activists who continued to visit despite the challenges.

Today, Jews pray and sing openly on the site and, for the most part, are treated with respect.

Hallel, like her parents, felt a deep attachment to Har Habayit, the Hebrew name for the Temple Mount. After her murder, the Mughrabi Gate was renamed Sha’ar Hallel in her memory.

Hallel Ariel, 13, with her mother, Rena Ariel. Credit: Courtesy.

The event on Tuesday was intense. Emotions ranged from grief over the loss of Hallel to celebration of the positive changes, inspiration, passion and faith.

Addressing the women, Ariel spoke about the bereaved parents mourning the deaths of their IDF soldier sons who fought selflessly for their country.

In many cases, she noted, it was only during the shiva period that the mourners learned so much more about their children and their heroic deeds.

“Hallel was still young; she didn’t fight, and she wasn’t a hero. She is no longer here with us; we will never see grandchildren from her,” Ariel lamented. “What we have is Sha’ar Hallel.”

“My message to you,” she continued, “is that if you have daughters, go and hug them because it’s amazing that they are with us. It’s amazing that they are following our path.

“And even if they aren’t exactly following that path, accept them. Take care of them. Love them and be thankful they are with us.”

The post Ten years later, Hallel Ariel’s memory endures on the Temple Mount appeared first on World Israel News.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda refuses to respond to letters from the family of  an Israeli-American teen murdered by a Palestinian terrorist.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

The International Criminal Court in the Hague is refusing to reply to repeated requests from the family of an Israeli-American teenager who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist, Israel Hayom reported Monday.

While ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda continues to pursue a Palestinian demand for criminal proceedings against Israel, the parents of Hallel Ariel, who was 13 when she was stabbed to death in 2016, are furious that Bensouda, whose term expires later this year, has failed to respond to their letters, the first of which was sent in January of 2020.

The International Court of Justice has also not responded to press inquires about the Ariel letters, Israel Hayom noted.

Fifteen months ago, Rina Ariel demanded that the ICC investigate the heads of the Palestinian Authority for their part in her daughter’s murder. A 17-year old Palestinian, Mohammed Tarayra, stabbed her repeatedly while she was taking an afternoon nap in her home in Kiryat Arba.

“The killer, only 17 years old, did not grow up in a vacuum,” Ariel wrote to Bensouda. “He was inspired by two residents of his village who carried out terrorist attacks in the months leading up to the murder of the late Hallel.”

Tarayra was shot and killed by security forces as he attacked other people. The PA classifies Tarayra as a “martyr” and his family receives a permanent monthly cash stipend in return for his “martyrdom.”

Ariel emphasized in her appeal that the payment of terrorist salaries by the Palestinian Authority to terrorists or their families was a major motive for the murder of her daughter.

“These salaries, which amount to four times the average salaries in the PA, are fixed in Palestinian Authority legislation and are anchored in PA decisions,” Ariel said, noting that the salaries for killers of Israelis have been estimated at up to 12,000 shekels per month, while the average PA salary is only about 3,000 shekels.

At the time, the murder of Ariel, a dual Israeli-U.S. citizen, finally prompted the United States to deduct the sums paid out to “martyrs” from the American aid money to the PA.

“I will add that the PA sent a senior representative on their behalf, the governor of Hebron, Kamal Hamid, to comfort Tarayra’s family … and even published a death announcement in their name,” Ariel noted.

Ariel presented the evidence she collected to the ICC through the Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, which represents Israeli victims of terrorism, demanding that an investigation be opened against senior Palestinian Authority officials.

“We are accustomed in the international arena to acts of hypocrisy and disregard for basic standards of morality, but this time there is no apparent pretense of justice or of any uniform standard, and this is outrageous,” Ariel said.

“It seems that you chose, in your lofty status, to serve the immoral, cruel, dictatorial, and murderous forces, and not use your power to do justice to the blood of a 13-year-old girl who was stabbed 17 times with a knife all over her body,” Ariel said of Bensouda. “It is a shame and a disgrace. And it is a great pity that you choose to put your name on the side of those who have been on the dark side of history and not on the side of morality and justice, humanity and compassion.”

Ariel repeated her demand for Bensouda to respond to her letters.

“The way to fight in court is to pull the rug out from under the ones who pushed for this investigation, the Palestinian Authority,” said Nitzana Darshan-Leitner, head of Shurat HaDin.

“The Hague-based tribunal has for some reason decided not to investigate the Palestinian Authority, even though it incites terrorism, pays rewards to murderers and supports their families,” Darshan-Leitner said.

“The Palestinian Authority cannot evade the law,” she stated. “We will pursue it and oblige the tribunal to open an investigation against the Palestinian Authority. Only if we turn the sword in its direction will the PA understand that it may be harmed itself by turning to The Hague.”

The post World court ignores repeated petitions from family of murdered Israeli girl appeared first on World Israel News.

The home of Mohammed Tarayra, 17, the Palestinian terrorist who stabbed 13 yr-old Hallel Ariel to death as she slept in her bed, was demolished on Monday, in accordance with a court order issued by the IDF.

The post WATCH: IDF destroys home of terrorist who killed a sleeping child appeared first on World Israel News.

A young girl who loved to dance and cherished life is dead, a victim of Palestinian terror. Is she a human being or just a statistic?

The post WATCH: A ‘Little Dancer’ is Dead – Victim of Palestinian Terror appeared first on World Israel News.