11:16 PM IL: At least two people are dead and 10 wounded in a shooting attack in a club located in the area of Nachmani and Achad HaAm Streets in Tel Aviv. It is being reported that the club is a club for males who lead a to’eva lifestyle, but at this time, police are not stating if the event was a terror attack or a criminal action.
MDA teams are operating on the scene. Additional details will be provided as information becomes available.
11:23PM IL: Police are now confirming two people have been killed and at least 10 injured, with four en route to hospitals in serious condition and others in moderate and light condition. It appears a person entered a to’eva nightclub and opened fire a short time ago. It is unclear if the shooter used a handgun or automatic weapon, but it appears he did change magazines and continued shooting. Police seem to feel the shooting is a criminal event not terror, but this is uncertain at present as emergency medical service teams continue operating on the scene.
11:37PM IL: MDA spokesman Zaki Heller confirms two people were killed in the Achad HaAm shooting attack and others were injured. Three victims are listed in serious condition and five moderate. Victims were transported to Ichilov, Tel Hashomer and Wolfson Hospitals.
A Channel 10 report states the shooter(s) used an M16 assault rifle. There are numerous reports the shooter, dressed in black, fled the scene. While there is no final determination from police at this time, it does appear likely the shooter was intentionally targeting the to’eva community.
11:44PM IL: Dr. Pinni Halprin, chief of emergency services in Ichilov Hospital reports four victims in serious condition are being treated with two in life-threatening condition. They are all suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and at least one is already undergoing emergency surgery.
Police report the shooting occurred in a to’eva club at 28 Nachmani Street, the corner of Achad HaAm. Tel Aviv Police Chief Shachar Ayalon in a statement to the media moments ago stated the club targeted is indeed part of the to’eva community, operating at the location for 15 years. Two people were killed, a male and female and 15 others were injured. The attacker fled the scene and a manhunt is underway involving 47 vehicles in the area. At present, police are treating this as a criminal attack, not terror. There were no threats or warnings made to the club ahead of the attack.
At present, police are unwilling to state what weapon was used as forensic officials are collecting shells from the crime scene.
11:50PM IL: It is now being reported the location of the shooting attack was not a club as reported by police, but an office representing the to’eva community. Police are fairly certain the shooter was intentionally targeting the to’eva community. The female who was killed was 17.
Two victims in Ichilov are in critical condition, one serious and one moderate. There appears to be a total of 11 injured taken to Ichilov, Tel Hashomer and Wolfson Hospitals.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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25 Responses
they’ll probably blame it on a chareidi!
פנחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן וכו’ יה”ר שיזכו למחות כל התואבה מארה”ק
This is not approriate news for YWN. Please take it down.
I cant believe 2 teens just died and this article is calling them an abomination. Its not our place to judge anyone. Dont be so cold. Typical bull headed mentality
NYT says 3 dead.
This was not a nightclub, it was a meeting place.
#6 – Nowhere in this article does YWN call the shooting victims an abomination. All it does is call that type of lifestyle an abomination, which I hope we all agree to.
I really hope the shooter wasn’t charaedi. The last thing we need right now is yet another chillul Hashem.
I absolutely agree with Anonymous in #6.
How can we not feel for the victims? Nobody deserves to be shot. Perhaps some of the writers here, such as #3, should ask their rabbonim what they think about shooting these people.
I don’t know of any rav who approves shooting anyone. (Unless, perhaps, that person is physically trying to kill you and it is absolute self-defense.)
I cant believe 2 teens just died and this article is calling them an abomination. Its not our place to judge anyone. Dont be so cold. Typical bull headed mentality
to Annonymous and azi (numbers 6 and 8)
It is indeed a heart rending tragedy, and the fact that you are so upset is a sign of a kind, Jewish heart. However, if we analyze the situation, it may look somewhat different. Please consider the following ideas:
1. It is not YWN or any other human being who labels such acts as Toeivah; this is right from Hashem, as stated in chumash. There is no way to whitewash the act, but that does not preclude sharing the pain of the loss of life involved, especially of such young people.
2. Just another thought to consider: Is the tragedy only their deaths now? Why do we not consider it a heart-rending tragedy that these young people are so alienated from their heritage that they were living this kind of life? What kind of future lay ahead for them? And for the society that they would build if chas vechalilah they carried on with such a life?
3. Perhaps you and those like you who ache together with Klal Yisrael over this tragedy could harness some of that pain into supporting kiruv in Israel. There do exist organizations such as Arachim who are successfully reaching out to young people. At a recent Seminar for single young women, many broke down in tears and said: “Where were you ten years ago, when we were 15,16, or 17, and you could have spared us so much heartache? Why didn’t we come to a Seminar then?”
Sad to say, Arachim and other such organizations are withering for lack of funds. Staffs have been halved, offices closed, key workers been forced to leave and look for other jobs because they could not wait for over 6 months to receive their pay checks.
Please, please, harness your wonderful feelings of empathy for these young people into constructive action, and you will be a blessing for all Klal Yisrael.
#6 and #8, this article doesn’t call them an abomination – the Tora does. the fact that they JUST died or just lived is irrelevant to their definition according to the Ribono Shel Olom and His Tora. If we were “loving” Christians or “loving” Liberals, I guess we would have to make up our own definition, but as long as we are on yeshiva world, we’ll have to use the real, true and “appropriate” term…
Thank you 6.
#11 and all those that agree with #6 – Please read comment number 10.
הקב”ה is alive and kicking
coltuv;
The Torah calls cheating in businees a Toeva and eating not kosher a toeva too. Why is it that every time there is a story about that lifestyle it automatically gets labeled as a toeva story. Why are the Madoff and other “cheating in business” stories labeled as a toeva story? It’s simply because people are not comfortable with what they dont understand, they CAN relate to cheating in business and eating something inappropriate so they dont look at it that severely yet it is called the same toeva by the torah.
Also; Don’t assume that these people are going through this just because they are not frum. Dont assume that if they were frum they wouldnt have these taavos.
Ask any frum therapist and they will tell you that they see many frum teens, adults and married adults that are attracted to the same gender.
Face it, while the torah says its assur it is as natural to some to be attracted to the same gender as it is to others being attracted to the opposite gender. Don’t judge what you don’t understand.
Gut gezugt, coltuv (12). גדול המחטיאו יותר מהרגו.
#13 No the torah does not. The act in it self is an abomination not the people. People who suffer from this Yetzer horah are usually products of some sort of dysfunction in their family life and need the proper resources to guide them and bring them back to what is proper. This is clearly a moment where you have to separate the act from the person. It is so easy to cast blame on these individuals when the “other” groups have spent years and millions of dollars trying to convince the would that this is correct. Yet we on the right shut the doors and don’t leave any hope of a return. While there are some think that this is not appropriate for YWN then I dare ask when is any yid who’s spiritual life or physical life is in danger not appropriate. By being hush hush and exclusive these individuals will not go away and their numbers will only increase due to the break down of family dynamics that make children more prone to this life style choice. There are resources for the individuals and families who suffer with this and it is important to get that information out to counter the negative ones that will tell the individuals that they are doing nothing wrong.
Now back to the article….the tragedy is that they died. The tragedy is that they never had the opportunity to see the other side of the issue or have the ability to work on their issues dealt with.
One last thought….I have to compliment YWN for the excellent way of wording and describing the situation. I read and reread the article and not once did they condem any individual or lessen the impact of the tragedy. May we all with the help of Hashem be able to reach these people and bring them back and give them the resources to lead a healthy, happy and appropriate lifestyle.
the torah does not say that someone with a yetzer horah is a toeva- the torah says that someone who acts based on his\ her taava is a toeva- only “ki yishkav mishkivei isha” is a toeva. if someone is a cleptomaniac but controls his taava to steal, does that make him guilty??? come on guys- right after tisha b’av lets be dan lkaf zchus and assume that all of these victims were innocent from this huge sin.
to # 17
as i said before
If you Have not Noticed. YWN does not mean they only print “YESHIVA WORLD NEWS.” rather any thing that is of interest or importance to people. only this is in a kosher way, where is the New York Times could have the same news but not in a very kosher way.
#18:
That is a disgusting comment. Go learn some more because clearly you are missing some piece of the puzzle.
#19:
Your post is insightful and the point is well-presented. Thanks.
#23:
Amen. People cry “dan l’kav zchus” time and again, except only when it suits them. Which is even more ironic when they then feel qualified to talk about how other “less frum” people pick and choose what to follow. Hypocrisy at its finest.
I actually found it unsettling that the word to’eiva was mentioned several times in this article.
Is this really necessary now, when reporting on the brutal murders of two of our fellow precious Yidden?
May Hashem avenge their holy blood.
May He comfort their families.
May He give a refua-shlaima to those injured.
Mayy He give us the clarity to call this attack the loathsome evil that it is and to create an environment in our homes, shuls, and yeshivos in which all Jews are welcomed and lovingly helped in facing and overcoming whatever nisyonos the Ribbono Shel Olam has given them.
I agree with the notion that we should assume all those unfortunately involved were not guilty of the sin with which their club is associated.
At the same time, I am hoping that all those being careful to be Dan L’kaf Zechus here did so as readily with the recent stories of Chilul Hashem. Those who are Dan L’Kaf Zechus with yidden who unfortunately were not Torah observant, yet who eagerly pounce on those who ARE Torah observant, display something that is not pretty.
Hopefully, there is no such phenomenon, and the dichotomy suggested above is just hypothetical.
This is my reply to number 28:
I don’t know if it is fair to assume that everyone involved was not “guilty of the sin” as you put it. But the bottom line is that thus far, the shomer torah unmitzvos community holds a double standard as to how we look at people who are attracted to the same gender. This article calls them part of the “toevah community.” It doesn’t call the protesting chareidim in yerushalayim who are blatantly guilty of increasing sinas chinam by harassing policemen etc, as part of the “toeivah community”.
Our leaders need to unequivocally say that we need to approach people who are attracted to the same gender first and foremost with unconditional love and respect as human beings and fellow Jews. All the rest is commentary.
#29:
Really? I must have missed the part where being dan l’kav zchus doesn’t apply here… As several people have pointed out, the aveirah is not the attraction, it is the actions. Thus, I’d like for you to provide a source for the proposition that one needs not be dan l’kav zchus here.
responding to #30
As far as I know, there are two kinds of dan l’kav zchus; the kind that reflects reality and the kind that doesn’t. We could say “these people probably never take the ‘actions'” (i.e. not reality) or we could say “these people take the actions, but we don’t understand the causes and events that brought them to do these things, and it is not fair for anyone other than Hashem to judge.” I think the latter is probably a much more worthwhile way to go here, because otherwise you are just blinding yourself, and not actually helping anyone.
My point is, that weather or not these people are “guilty of the sin”, we need to approach them with unconditional love and respect, and to try to help them. The status quo in the shomer torah umitzvos community has been to just not deal with it at all and pretend like it doesn’t exist. And many people who are attracted to the same gender who are from the shomer torah umitzvos community become suicidal. If we can’t help these people deal with it, if we continue to shove it under the rug in the guise of “dan l’kav zchus”, we are partially at fault for the pain these people suffer, and for suicides.