It's been 7 years since the unthinkable. The attempted murder of an innocent 15 year-old Messianic Jewish boy in Ariel, Israel. He and his family are followers of Yeshua (Jesus) the Jewish Messiah. After two and a half years of excruciating recovery and rehabilitation, 14 operations with more plastic surgeries ahead, and spiritual, mental and emotional recovery, Ami and his family received a miracle.

A suspect was arrested on Oct. 7, 2009! The suspect, Yakov “Jack” Teitel of Shvut Rachel in the Shomron in Israel was convicted not only the attempted murder of the Ortiz family, but of a string of murders and bombings which he allegedly carried out over a period of 12 years since 1997. The police tried to connect Teitel to other murders as well, including the murder of two policemen in the Jordan Valley. This caused much controversy in Israel over the failure of the security services to have apprehended this criminal sooner.

A lengthy and much publicized court battle ensued. Jack Teitel had 4 sets of lawyers throughout the process as he was uncooperative all the way through, claiming that the court had no power over him! He underwent psychological testing for 3 years and every hearing dealt only with his mental state. When all his lawyer's attempts to claim that he was not mentally fit to stand trial and then that he was not responsible for his actions in the past failed, a guilty plea was entered and the proceedings went straight to a verdict and sentencing. Thank God, the verdict that was handed down was guilty of 10 indictments, including two accounts of first degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, including the attempted murder of Ami Ortiz! However, there is much that still lies in darkness in this case, such as who his accomplices were and who sent him out on his missions.

The family is thankful that this dangerous terrorist will be off the streets, hopefully for the rest of his life, and that he will not be able to hurt anyone else. They also pray that the guilty verdict and resulting sentence will prevent others that worked with him, and are of the same spirit from similar acts of terror and violence against Messianic Jews.

Ami, however has continued to grow and recover in every way. In January 2011, his dream to go to college in the U.S. was realized and he was accepted into a believing college in NY State and made it onto their basketball team!! He is currently studying psychology and business, and it is yet to be seen what The Lord will do with his life.

Miracles and favor continue to surround Ami on every side. He will be having laser plastic surgery this summer for the scars that cover every part of his body from his neck down because of his multiple injuries. The surgery will take place in the US and will be done by a world renowned surgeon. It is very possible that he will be able to be part of a research study, and if that works out the surgery will be pro bono. If not, the charge will be very much reduced, as this surgeon has a passion to help burn survivors! Ami was able to visit her office over his last break from school, and a date was set for May 10th, 2013 for the first treatment. The family would appreciate your prayers.

Please stand continue to stand with Ami and his family in in prayer, for success in college and for the upcoming surgeries, and that Jack Teitel will come to repentance and know the Jewish Messiah. Please pray that others who worked with him will be revealed and dealt with as well.

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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." -Albert Einstein