We have good news to share! First of all, Ami was accepted into College in the U.S. and onto the school basketball team! I'm not going to mention the name or location of the college because of the scrutiny of anti-missionaries (anti-freedom of religion groups) but we are all very happy. He will be starting this Spring semester, and we are in a flurry of getting ready to let him go!! It will be hard for our family to be separated from him for long periods of time over the next four years, but it has been Ami's dream to study and play basketball in the States, and the Lord put it together as only He can. I will share more of this part of the journey when I can. Thank you for praying him through this process as well. (I'm sorry how this update's layout looks, I had a battle trying to get it out!)
COURT CASE
Today we received word that the panel of Judges presiding over the Jack Teitel case made their decision officially that he is mentally fit to stand trial! They said the trial will begin in the coming weeks. Teitel's lawyers tried to bring up an appeal, saying he wasn't responsible for his actions when he carried out his crimes, but the judges said that they will have to bring that up during the trial, not before. The decision was reported on widely in the news media. The English newspapers were, as always, the most troublesome in their reporting. In Ynet news, even though our family was mentioned as victims in the Hebrew article, the English article left us out completely. We sent out an emergency plea for believers in Israel and around the world to write in to protest this omission, and within an hour the article was changed to a translation of the Hebrew article which included us. We would like to say that even if emails arrived after the fact, they are still important to reaffirm to the editors that people are concerned.
In the Jerusalem Post, our family were called "American Christian missionaries". I liked very much the prompt response posted by Donna Diorio of www.israelprayer.com, a faithful and true friend of Messianic believers in Israel who tirelessly reports on the news and prayer needs of the Body here. Donna wrote: Jerusalem Post mentions Teitel's bombing of the Messianic Ortiz family only EIGHT paragraphs into the article! The most intense in terms of planning and device used in all of his murders and attempted murders, yet it is mentioned so low in the article. And the article misidentifies the family as "American Christian Missionaries". The reality is that the family holds dual American and Israeli citizenship. Leah, a Jew, married David, a Puerto Rican and their children are Israeli Jews. David and his sons have served in the Israeli IDF- several in elite units of the IDF. They deserve to be called what they are, Israeli Messianic Jews. Donna also is an investigative reporter. Her reports are accurate and comprehensive. We recommend her website for all who pray for our nation and the Israeli Messianic Body.
ARTICLES
THIS IS THE REVISED ARTICLE FROM YNET
Court: Jack Teitel fit to stand trial
Trial of 'Jewish terrorist' charged with murder of two Arabs set to resume in coming weeks
by Aviad Glickman
Published:
12.07.11, 16:38 / Israel News
The Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday ruled that the alleged "Jewish terrorist" Jack Teitel's fit to stand trial for the murder of two Arabs and a series of other serious offences. The court considered various opinions on the matter before reaching a decision. Teitel's trial is set to resume in the following weeks.
Attorney Michael Ironi, representing Teitel, motioned for a hearing on his client's criminal accountability. The panel ruled that there are no grounds for summoning expert witnesses again and that a hearing on the issue of accountability will be held during the trial.
Teitel was seen reading a book and paying little attention to what was going on during Wednesday's court hearing.
An indictment containing 14 counts was filed against Teitel in November 2009. Teitel, 37, a resident of the West Bank settlement of Shvut Rachel, was indicted for the murder of
Palestinian taxi driver, Samir Balbisi, in June 1997, and the murder of a Palestinian shepherd just a few months later. He was also charged with laying an explosive device
next to a Palestinian home near the West Bank settlement of Eli.
He was also indicted for attempting to murder the son of a Messianic family living in Ariel when he sent an explosive device disguised as a Purim gift to their home. In addition, he is charged with rigging a bomb next to Prof. Zeev Sternhell's home.
In May 2010, a professional psychiatric opinion deemed him unfit for trial. "I don't know if I'm sane. I don't recognize the jurisdiction of this court. I feel good," Teitel said at the time. Last August, a second psychiatric evaluation determined the opposite.
*Omri Efraim contributed to this report
This is the original article as it appeared on Ynet.
YNET
Court: Jack Teitel fit to stand trial
Trial of 'Jewish terrorist' charged with murder of two Arabs set to resume in coming weeks
The Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday ruled that "Jewish terrorist" Jack Teitel is fit to stand trial for the murder of two Arabs and other serious offences. The court considered various opinions on the matter before reaching a decision. Teitel's trial is set to resume in the following weeks.
Attorney Michael Ironi, representing Teitel, motioned for a hearing on his client's criminal accountability. The panel ruled that there are no grounds for summoning experts again and that a discussion on the issue of accountability will be held during the trial.
Teitel was seen reading a book and paying little attention to what was going on during Wednesday's court hearing.
An indictment containing 14 counts was filed against Teitel in November 2009. Teitel, 37, a resident of the West Bank settlement of Shvut Rachel, was indicted for the murder of Palestinian taxi driver, Samir Balbisi, in June 1997, and the murder of a Palestinian shepherd just a few months later. He was also charged with laying an explosive device next to a Palestinian home near the West Bank settlement of Eli. In May 2010, a professional psychiatric opinion deemed him unfit for trial. "I don't know if I'm sane.
I don't recognize the jurisdiction of this court. I feel good," Teitel said at the time. Last August, a second psychiatric evaluation determined the opposite.
Omri Efraim contributed to this report
This is the Jerusalem Post article:
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=248530
JERUSALEM POST
Court rules Yaakov 'Jack' Teitel fit to stand trial
By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
07/12/2011
American-born "Jewish Terrorist" indicted on 14 charges including two counts of murder and one of attempted murder
The Jerusalem District Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday that Ya'acov 'Jack' Teitel, the American- Israeli indicted on murder and attempted murder charges, is fit to stand trial. The panel of three judges, Zvi Segal, Moshe Hacohen and Moshe Yair Drori, said in Wednesday's hearing that Teitel's ability to conduct his defense was "beyond question" and therefore he is fit to stand trial.
For a court to rule that a defendant is not fit to stand trial, his attorneys must convince judges that he is suffering from a mental disorder such that he is unable to conduct his
defense or instruct an attorney to do so, because he cannot understand the charges against him, the nature of the criminal proceedings or communicate with his counsel.
Dubbed "the Jewish terrorist," Florida-born Teitel, 39, was indicted in 2009 on 14 separate charges including the 1997 murder of Palestinian taxi driver Samir Balbisi, who was found shot dead in his taxicab.
The indictment also charges Teitel with the murder of a second Palestinian man, Beduin shepherd Isaa Mousa'af Mahamada, who was shot dead near the West Bank settlement of Carmel, near Hebron, in August 1997.
Teitel is alleged to have committed both those murders while he was still a US citizen on vacation in Israel.
In 2000, Teitel immigrated to Israel and lived in Shvut Rachel, a West Bank settlement north of Jerusalem, where he married and had four children. That same year, he was
arrested by police on suspicion of carrying out both the 1997 murders, but later released for lack of evidence.
In March 2008, according to the indictment, Teitel attempted to murder 15-year-old Amiel Ortiz, the son of American Christian missionaries in Ariel.
Teitel allegedly sent a bomb in a Purim gift basket to the Ortiz's home, which exploded when Ortiz opened it.
Other charges include planting homemade explosives at the home of Prof. Ze'ev Sternhell, a left-wing scholar from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in September 2008 and attacking a police station in 2006 during a gay pride parade.
Teitel was arrested in Jerusalem in 2009, while distributing leaflets lauding a deadly shooting at a Tel Aviv gay youth center, although police do not believe he was involved
in that attack.
Teitel was remanded in custody in a secure psychiatric facility, and though an initial psychiatric assessment in 2010 deemed Teitel unfit to stand trial, later tests showed
that he was able to face prosecution.
"We conclude that [Teitel] is not detached from reality, he possesses an impressive verbal ability and is capable of maintaining a good connection with those talking to him,
that he is well aware of the legal process and its outcomes, he knows he is in court and is aware of the various functions of the legal process," Segal said.
PLEASE PRAY
Please continue to pray for the trial as it will commence in a few weeks, God willing. Please continue to pray that justice will prevail, and that whatever is in darkness will be brought out into the light. Please pray that the Name of Yeshua will be lifted up and honoured.
Please pray for Ami as he goes off to college, for easy adjustment to his surroundings, English studies, new friends, different mentalities, and all that goes with it.
Thank you for your fellowship and prayer for all these matters. Remember to check out www.amiortiz.com for updated information.
Blessings in the Messiah,
Leah