J. W. von Brunn, Accused Museum Gunman, Dies at 89

"Two security guards fired back, wounding Mr. von Brunn in the right ear."


January 7, 2010

New York Times

By LIZ ROBBINS

James W. von Brunn, who was accused of fatally shooting a security guard at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington in June, died on Wednesday at a hospital in North Carolina, near the federal prison where he was being held. He was 89.

His court-appointed lawyer, A. J. Kramer, said Mr. von Brunn had died of natural causes after having a history of chronic diseases. “He had been bedridden,” Mr. Kramer said. “He had never really recovered the use of his legs, and it was a continual deterioration of his health.”

Mr. von Brunn, who had been known to the authorities for anti-Semitic and white supremacist views before the museum shooting, was indicted in July on charges including first-degree murder in the death of a museum guard, Stephen T. Johns.

On June 10, after double-parking his car outside the museum, Mr. von Brunn walked up to the building carrying a rifle and shot Mr. Johns in the upper chest at close range as the guard was opening the door for him, the authorities said. Two security guards fired back, wounding Mr. von Brunn in the right ear.

Law enforcement officers said they found in Mr. von Brunn’s car a notebook in which he had written anti-Semitic statements. The F.B.I. said it had known that he had an “established Web site that expressed hatred of African-Americans and Jews.”

A federal court hearing in the case had been delayed while Mr. von Brunn was hospitalized. He was transferred to the medical center at the Butner Federal Correction complex, 30 miles from Raleigh, N.C., on Sept. 25.

At the time of the shooting, officials said, Mr. von Brunn had been living in an apartment in Annapolis, Md., with his son, Erik, and his son’s fiancée.

The Holocaust Museum did not comment directly on Mr. von Brunn’s death, but used the occasion to invoke the memory of Mr. Johns.

“The museum’s thoughts and prayers continue to be with Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns’s family at this time,” the museum said in a statement. “Officer Johns died heroically defending the museum, visitors and staff.”

Von Brunn, white supremacist Holocaust museum shooter, dies

Link

By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 7, 2010; B01

The elderly white supremacist charged with killing a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in June died Wednesday afternoon at a North Carolina hospital, authorities said.

James W. von Brunn, 89, who was wounded in the head during the assault, had been undergoing mental health evaluations at a federal prison in Butner, N.C., in recent months. He died at a hospital near the prison shortly before 1 p.m., a federal prison spokeswoman said.

Von Brunn's quiet death contrasts sharply with the brazen violence he unleashed June 10 in what prosecutors have described as a suicide mission, an attack that shocked the nation and sent tourists scattering for cover on a busy downtown street.

Prosecutors said that von Brunn, an admitted white supremacist who lived most recently in Annapolis, had been planning the assault for months and that he hoped "to send a message to the Jewish community" that the Holocaust was a hoax. "He wanted to be a martyr for his cause," a prosecutor said in court.

Before the shooting, von Brunn had finalized his funeral plans and gotten his finances in order for relatives. Then, shortly before 12:45 p.m., he double-parked his red Hyundai on 14th Street NW in front of the museum and walked toward the front doors, a rifle at his side, authorities have said.

As von Brunn neared the entrance, security guard Stephen T. Johns, 39, opened the door for him. The white supremacist fatally shot Johns at point-blank range, authorities have said.

Other guards quickly returned fire, wounding von Brunn in the head. He was treated at District hospitals but needed a wheelchair and had difficulty speaking during a court hearing several months ago.

Von Brunn was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of first-degree murder, committing a hate crime and gun violations. If convicted, he would have been eligible for the death penalty.

His guilt was never in serious doubt -- the shooting was witnessed by dozens of people, it was captured on surveillance video and the assailant was carted away in an ambulance -- but some had hoped to glean some insights into von Brunn's psyche during the court process. Many, including Johns's relatives, remain shocked that anyone could be filled with so much hatred that he would shoot a helpful security guard at a museum that serves as a memorial to the slaughter of millions of people.

Johns left behind a young son.

"I just hope he was ready to meet his God," said Nola Gorham, Johns's grandmother, of von Brunn. She said that she didn't wish him bad luck, even though he did "a terrible thing," but that "nothing can bring closure."

The museum issued a brief statement on its Web site Wednesday that didn't mention von Brunn by name and continued to hail Johns's heroism. "This tragedy is a powerful reminder that our cause of fighting hatred remains more urgent than ever," the statement said.

Von Brunn's son, Erik, told a reporter that he was aware of his father's death but declined to comment further. The son has said that he wished his father had died in the attack, not Johns.

During a September court hearing, von Brunn told U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton that he wanted a quick public trial, but the judge delayed the defendant's day in court pending mental health tests.

He had been held at the prison in North Carolina since Sept. 25. In addition to his wounds from the attack, he also suffered from congestive heart failure and sepsis, prison officials said.

It is not clear when he was taken to the hospital or how he died.

Von Brunn was known for decades as a loner and white supremacist who spun elaborate conspiracy theories about Jews and black people in leaflets, in books and on his Web site.

In December 1981, he walked into the Federal Reserve with a handgun and threatened to take the members of the Board of Governors hostage. He had hoped his actions would lead to the deportation of all Jews and black people from "the white nations" of the world.

He was convicted and served a little more than six years in federal prison.

Staff writer Michael E. Ruane and researcher Madonna Lebling contributed to this report.

9/11 Dad FD Chief Jim Riches- featured in IAFF video-Responds to Rudy Giuliani

http://www.rudy-urbanlegend.com/Media/Jim%20Riches.pdf

For immediate distribution: July 18, 2007

From: Deputy Chief Jim Riches FDNY 917-692-1199

Father of fallen fire fighter Jimmy Riches Jr., FDNY 9/11:-a true American hero

The Giuliani campaign’s website has issued a response to the IAFF video. In my opinion, the press should hold the Giuliani campaign accountable for its slipshod spin of the facts in the video. In the following response below, I will detail how Giuliani has tried to manipulate these facts. Giuliani is running his campaign on 9/11 as a hero, yet he ran like a coward on 9/11 even before the first tower fell.

The true facts of Rudy Giuliani and his response to the IAFF video: - In his press release he calls NYC "The Cadillac of Preparedness." How bad was the rest of the country? We had firefighters with radios that didn't work properly in 1993 and in 2001. He placed the city’s Emergency Command Center next to a terrorist target, the World Trade Center. On 9/11, his 7 years of inaction resulted in a non-unified command structure with separate command posts for FD (West St) and the Police Department (Church St). There was no NYPD representative at the FDNY command post to relay urgent messages (of potential collapse) - their police Commissioner, Bernie Kerik, was running north away from the WTC with Giuliani.

- Rudy states that he created Office of Emergency Management: Yet, he placed an incompetent person in charge on 9/11: Richard Shierer, a former FDNY dispatcher and longtime political crony. Shierer lacked the qualifications to run OEM and oversee emergency operations. Mr. Jerry Hauer, Shierer’s predecessor, had the qualities needed. Hauer had a strong personality and a take charge attitude at emergency scenes. He was highly regarded by both the NYPD and the FDNY, but got little assistance from Giuliani to make the Fire and Police Departments cooperate fully with each other. There were many skirmishes at emergency scenes (arrests of FDNY personnel, fights, angry words and feelings). Hauer pleaded with Giuliani to help him bridge the gap in the battle of the badges. Rudy did not assist and on 9/11 we had terrible losses due to the communication disconnect between the NYPD and FDNY.

- Months after 9/11, Fire Commissioner Tom Von Essen and other FDNY officials tried to blame the communications breakdown on malfunctioning repeaters. The 9/11 Commission confirmed that the repeaters worked that day. Giuliani tried another version of the argument later saying FDNY chiefs in the lobby decided repeaters weren't operable and couldn't be used. Every investigation that has examined 9/11 failings (the 9/11 Commission, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) WTC Investigation, and the McKinsey Report) did not agree with Giuliani's statements and said the repeaters were indeed working on 9/11. NIST said the hi-rise repeater was working properly, contradicting claims by the Giuliani
administration.

- Giuliani says Jerry Hauer insisted on placing the Emergency Command Center at 7 WTC. That is a blatant lie, according to Jerry Hauer (who has documentation to prove it.) It was Giuliani's personal insistence that it be located at 7 WTC - Jerry Hauer suggested Brooklyn. Rudy wanted it within walking distance of City Hall, complete with a cigar room for Rudy!

- Giuliani’s people have stated that NYC had terrorism exercises during his administration. While regular drills were held by Commissioner Hauer, the number of emergency drills plummeted under Sheirer's watch. Still, the FDNY and NYPD had trouble cooperating at these drills. Who was in charge? No interagency communications, including incompatible radios, is Rudy’s legacy of 9/11. Today, radios are now interoperable between the FDNY and NYPD under the Bloomberg administration.

- Giuliani was forced to secure bunker gear after 3 firefighters were killed as a result of fighting a fire on Watts Street – he did not do it out of the goodness of his heart. Ironically, a pilot program was put in place before the Watts St, fire to see which bunker gear was best for the FDNY, unlike the defective radios Giuliani and his FDNY Commissioner Tom Von Essen bought in 2001. Although Giuliani claims to have purchased “PASS” alarms for firefighters, it was the Dinkins Administration that first purchased the device. Radios, bunker gear, and PASS alarms are basic equipment that all firefighters in America need and are not innovative – Giuliani’s claims of buying such firefighting equipment is the equivalent of telling police officers that the bullets he purchased for their guns are truly innovative! The mayor's job is to protect the citizens of NY and the firefighters and other city workers. It is his obligation to get us the tools we need to do the job safely and correctly. He was only doing his job and nothing more. He wants to be praised for this??
.
- Tom Von Essen (a firefighter who never passed a promotional exam) was Giuliani’s top selection for Fire Commissioner who decimated the “staff chief” positions from 23 to 13, losing some of the most knowledgeable and most experienced men on the job. Von Essen refused to listen to input from his Chiefs because “he knew better.” He replaced the most brilliant man in the Department - Frank Cruthers - as Chief of Department because he didn't like him (a result of Von Essen's previous history as Union President).

- Giuliani was so “loving and caring” at firefighter funerals – baloney! These were photo ops for him. He insisted human remains be treated carefully and respectfully, but only if the remains were found before Nov .1, 2001. After Nov. 1, remains were more likely to recovered at the Staten Island Fresh Kills dump because the paltry 25 firefighters were not even close to the amount of personnel needed to search for remains at Ground Zero. I was at the site almost every day from 9/11 until May 30 2002. We were cut to 120 firefighters a day in November but there were 50 to a hundred firefighters who came on their own time to assist in the recovery effort every day and night (retired and active firefighters). 25 fireman and limited number of NYPD and PAPD personnel were not enough to do a proper search of the debris. Rudy wanted the firefighters out of there because we slowed up the operation. Rudy
essentially said: let’s scoop and dump quickly and open up lower Manhattan and make money. There are still human remains of our heroes at Ground Zero & Fresh Kills garbage dump. This is a disgrace.

- Was Giuliani was concerned about safety of firefighters? If so, why did Giuliani lie about the air quality at Ground Zero in late Sept 2001 when he was told by the Department of Environmental Protection that 27 of 38 tests of air quality showed high levels of asbestos? (NY Times). Firefighters were not given face-fitted respirators until November, 2001. The Department of Design and Construction (DDC) was Rudy's choice to run the operation (the first time they ever handled a disaster site) and did not enforce the respirator requirement as was done by the Federal Government at the Pentagon. This is another Giuliani mistake which will lead to his legacy of dying and sick first responders - 70% now have various ailments related to 9/11.

- Giuliani worried that the rubble pile would collapse on Nov 1,2001 after gold was removed the day before. Why wasn't Rudy worried about the collapse potential in September and October. Try another excuse, Rudy!

- I was at the Sheraton NY hotel when Rudy said he was closing the site. Medical Examiner Charles Hirsh told us all at a family meeting that the bodies had been pulverized ( "vaporized" was another term used) and there were no more remains. The family members and FDNY personnel called him a liar that night since we had recovered bodies one day prior to this meeting. They lied to the families as was evident in the following months during which hundreds of bodies were recovered.

- Giuliani people have disingenuously linked the victims’ families with conspiracy theorists. No family member or firefighter organization ever mentioned or condoned any conspiracy theory or government implication in the attacks. These are not in the video and to attach us to the conspiracy theorists is a total distortion. Rudy's people will stoop to anything. It is totally out of line, but Rudy's people don't mind telling blatant lies.

All the people in the media trashing the IAFF video are in the Giuliani campaign. Howard
Safir, a former NYPD Commissioner and FDNY Commissioner, took illegal trips to the Oscars while the city was in turmoil. Safir claims all firefighters are “Rudy's friends.” Well, Commissioner Safir, NYC firefighters despise Rudy. I am an active Deputy Chief in the FDNY and I know it for a FACT.

Lee Ielpi, a former firefighter, is a traitor to the union and every one of the fallen 343
heroes who were sent into the Towers without functioning radios. After the attacks, Lee
Ielpi went to Washington to hear the King Abdullah of Jordan (where they danced on the streets on 9/11 and blasted Israel for being the problem in the Middle East) and went to dinner with him. That is a disgrace. Mr. Ielpi then says the union is “Democratic.” The UFA backed Mr. Bush in 2004 as well as Mr. Pataki. The video is not Democratic or Republican - it only tells the TRUE story of one candidate, Rudy Giuliani. He is not presidential material however you spin it.

My wife tells me all the time: "Show me your company and I'll tell you what you are."
Let’s look at Rudy's company and friends. Judith Nathan, married two times - no, three times. Ex-Monsignor Placa, Giuliani Partners employee/best friend/accused child molester, covered up and protected child molesting priests in Rockville Center. Bernie Kerik -a lying and cheating thief with mob ties - Giuliani knew his troubled past before he appointed him NYPD Commissioner (and who shacked up with his girlfriend - while still married - at a Ground Zero apartment put aside for first responders at WTC). Giuliani had the gall to recommend him for head of our federal Department of Homeland Security. What arrogance!!!

Rudy was prancing his girlfriend around the neighborhood while his wife and children were in Gracie Mansion nearby. Rudy married his second cousin for 14 years. Let’s not forget Christine Lategano, named in his messy divorce from Donna Hanover.

Rudy, you have no morals or ethics or integrity. Your leadership stunk before, during and
after 9/11 and you refuse to take accountability. Watch out - if Rudy doesn't agree with you, you are his enemy. Ask former Manhattan. Borough President Virginia Fields and Comptroller Carl McCall whom he refused to speak to. Rudy released sealed records of the slain Haitian- American Patrick Dorismond. They are called sealed for a reason. God forbid Rudy gets the Patriot Act! Museum funding will be cut if he doesn't like the exhibit (DID THAT). He will do whatever he wants.

Hopefully, the truth will prevail and people will educate themselves about the candidates. Read the 9/11 Commission, National Institute and Technology's NIST report, and McKinsey reports concerning 9/11. You will see the shortcomings and errors of the Giuliani administration. His capacity to put people in his inner circle who lack the ability and qualifications to perform their tasks is a severe liability. Can we expect Judy sitting in on cabinet meetings? or Bernard Kerik being brought back from the netherworld to be appointed as Director of Homeland Security?

The IAFF video was made by the union after many requests by the 9/11 families who
were seeking to tell the truth about Rudy Giuliani & 9/11. We wanted to get our message out
that Rudy should not be running on his horrible 9/11 record. He talks for BLOOD MONEY about leadership despite the fact that he abandoned ship and ran north like a coward. He exemplified an egregious lack of true leadership before, during, and after 9/11. The video is the proof that will haunt Giuliani. His legacy will be numerous sick and dying first responders who did not get proper face-fitted respirators until November, 2001. I don't know how he can look at himself in the mirror.

The spirits of 9/11 will haunt him in the end. I know that terrorists initiated the actions that killed my son, but Rudy Giuliani gave him a radio that didn't work on 9/11 .Terrorists did not provide him with faulty equipment; terrorists did not tell us that the air quality was fine when it was gravely contaminated. America needs to know the real truth about Rudy Giuliani and not what he tells us: lies, distorted truth, and more lies. These are not qualifications for the next president of our beloved country. Doesn't America deserve better than Rudy Giuliani?

Deputy Chief Jim Riches FDNY 917-692-1199
Father of fallen firefighter Jimmy Riches FDNY 9/11-a true American hero

Chronology of the Scud Attacks in Israel and Saudi Arabia

From: Appendix, CASUALTIES AND DAMAGE FROM SCUD ATTACKS IN THE 1991 GULF WAR, by George N. Lewis, Steve Fetter, and Lisbeth Gronlund, March 1993


Chronology of the Scud Attacks

Many details about the attacks on both Israel and Saudi Arabia remain classified or otherwise unavailable. This chronology represents our best current assessment of events, and is constructed from a variety of often-contradictory public sources including U.S. and Israeli government announcements, newspaper and television news reports, and published articles as well as private communications from Israelis.108 All times given are local time in either Israel or Saudi Arabia.109

It appears that about 81 Scuds fell in or near Israel and Saudi Arabia and that somewhat less than 47 of these were engaged by Patriot.110 It has also been reported that an additional small number of Scuds (roughly 5 to 8) failed shortly after launch and thus did not reach either Israel or Saudi Arabia.111

108 The most important sources used in constructing this chronology were: U.S. military press conferences (a very useful compilation of these is contained in Hildreth, "Evaluation of U.S. Army Assessment"; Official Israeli and Saudi Arabian statements (contained in FBIS); the compilation of attack damage in Ma'ariv (March 29, 1991) and the Jerusalem Post (March 1, 1991, p. 2); Joseph S. Bermudez, "Iraqi Missile Operations During Desert Storm -
Update," Jane's Soviet Intelligence Review, May 1991, p. 225; Bleich et. al., "Psychiatric Implications"; daily reporting in the New York Times, Washington Post, London Times, and Jerusalem Post; and television reports from the ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, and NBC networks. Much of the information on the Scud attacks in Israel (in particular, on impact locations) is based on interviews conducted by Reuven Pedatzur in Israel).

A generally similar chronology (based in large part on reporting by the Los Angeles Times) appears in Gregory S. Jones, The Iraqi Ballistic Missile Program: The Gulf War and the Future of the Missile Threat (Marina del Rey, Calif.: American Institute for Strategic Cooperation, 1992).

109 During the war, the time in Israel and Saudi Arabia was respectively 7 and 8 hours ahead of the time in the eastern United States.
110 The figure of 47 engagements was released by the U.S. Army after the war, but the Army's current figures are somewhat lower. Conyers, "The Patriot Myth," note 3.
111 The U.S. Army reported that 88 Scuds were launched. Another source says 86 Scuds were launched, but that five of them broke up immediately after launch (Bermudez, "Iraqi Missile Operations - Update"). The Iraqis claim that they launched 93 Scuds during the Gulf War (5 of which were a longer-range Scud variant called the al-Hijara). "Iraqi Scud Missile Declarations," Arms Control Today, November, 1992, p. 28. 43


ISRAEL

It appears that about 39 Scuds fell into Israel or the adjoining Mediterranean Sea. Twelve
Scuds fell before Patriot was operational, and 27 afterwards, of which 17 were engaged. The
Scud attacks directly killed two people, seriously injured 11, and slightly injured another 220.

January 18, about 2 am - 8 Scuds towards Tel Aviv and Haifa (probably five or six to Tel Aviv). Patriot was not yet operational. One Scud hit in a poor and crowded neighborhood in the Ezra district of Tel Aviv, but hit "at the edge of the only empty lot for blocks." A second Scud exploded at or near a leather factory in the Tel Aviv suburb of Azor. Another Scud exploded at a shopping center under construction in Haifa. Twenty-two injuries were reported (apparently all due to the Scud in the Ezra district), but most or all were light injuries.

January 19, about 7:15 am - 4 Scuds towards Tel Aviv. Patriot was not yet operational. Three Scuds fell in Tel Aviv. One directly struck a multi-story building in downtown Tel Aviv but did not explode, and its warhead was recovered intact from a ground-floor jewelry store. One Scud hit directly next to a municipal center in Tel Aviv's Hatkiva district, blowing open a basement bomb shelter (it was unoccupied). The impact point was only about three hundred meters from the one in the Ezra district the previous day, and most of the injuries on January 19 occurred here. The third Scud fell in Yarkon Park, near the Tel Aviv exhibition center. The fourth Scud reportedly fell along the coast somewhere south of Tel Aviv. Thirty people were injured, apparently all lightly.

January 22, about 8:40 pm - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. This was the first Scud to be engaged by Patriot in Israel. The Scud warhead detonated in an alleyway between two apartment buildings on Abba Hillel street in the northwestern part of the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan. One building apparently collapsed, and many other buildings were damaged. A woman was killed and 84 other people were injured. 44

January 23, about 10:20 pm - 1 Scud towards Haifa. It was engaged by Patriot. No casualties occurred, but falling debris caused some damage. News media videos suggest that the Scud exploded in the Mediterranean.

January 25, about 6 pm - 7 Scuds (some sources say only six) towards Tel Aviv and Haifa. Most of these were towards Tel Aviv, and most or all were engaged by Patriot.112 No casualties or damage were reported in Haifa. At least two Scuds exploded in residential areas in the Tel Aviv area. In addition, at least three Patriots struck the ground in Tel Aviv on this night (as well as at least one in Haifa). One Scud impact site was in Ramat Hatayasim in southeastern Tel Aviv; the Scud other fell only several hundred meters away across the border in neighboring Ramat Gan. It is known that a missile struck a two-story house destroying it and damaging many nearby buildings, and another fell next to a school (for crippled children, according to one report) in a residential neighborhood, seriously damaging it; however we have not yet been able to correlate these explosions with specific impact points. One Patriot struck in or near Hamaccabia Stadium, just north of downtown Tel Aviv.113 The impact points of the other Patriots are not known to us at present. Falling debris also caused damage. One man was killed (in Ramat Gan), and 67 were injured.

January 26, about 10 pm - 5 Scuds (some sources say only three or four) towards Tel Aviv and Haifa. The Scuds were reportedly fired in two salvos separated by a short period of time. Most or all reportedly were engaged by Patriot. One Scud apparently fell on a deserted stretch of beach north of downtown Tel Aviv. No serious damage was caused, although two injuries occurred.
112 Most of the engagements in Israel took place in the two attacks on January 25 and 26. It appears that there were at least seven engagements on other days in Israel. If the figure of 17 total engagements in Israel is correct, then it appears that about 10 of the 12 Scuds on January 25 and 26 were engaged.
113 The photograph on page 296 of the short version of this paper published in Nature (Fetter, Lewis, and Gronlund, "Why Were Scud Casualties So Low?"), captioned "Scud launched from Iraq hits Tel Aviv at Night in January 1991," actually shows a smoke cloud rising from the impact point of this Patriot.45

January 28, about 9 pm - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. The Scud fell short and landed near the village of Dir Balut in the West Bank (about 25 km east of Tel Aviv). No casualties or serious damage were reported.

January 31, about 7 pm - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. Landed in the Samaria region, reportedly near an Arab village. The U.S. reported that it landed 15 miles southeast of Tel Aviv. No damage or casualties were reported.

February 2, about 8:30 pm - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. It fell short and came down in an
unsettled region of the West Bank. No damage or casualties.

February 3, about 1:40 am - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. It fell short and landed in the West Bank. No casualties, but it may have caused some minor damage.

February 9, about 2:40 am - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. It was engaged by Patriot. The warhead exploded in the middle of a street in the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, pulling down walls on a number of buildings on both sides of the street. Thirteen people were injured.

February 11, about 7 pm - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. It was engaged by Patriot. It was reported to have hit in an uninhabited area, and it probably fell in the Mediterranean north of Tel Aviv. No casualties or damage.

February 12, about 1:30 am - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. It was engaged by Patriot. The warhead detonated between two houses in a neighborhood of mostly private homes in or near the town of Savyon, about 10 km east of Tel Aviv. Both houses were demolished and a number of other houses were seriously damaged. One of the demolished houses was empty, and a man was dug out from the debris of the other (he was not seriously injured). Nine people were injured.

February 16, about 8:10 pm - 2 Scuds, 1 towards Haifa, 1 towards southern Israel (although an 46 IDF spokesperson has said there were four, 2 to Haifa and 2 to the Negev Desert). The one towards Haifa was probably engaged by Patriot and may have fallen into the Mediterranean. The one to southern Israel fell in an open area in the Negev desert and reportedly carried a concrete warhead. No casualties or serious damage were reported.114

February 19, about 7:50 pm - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. It was engaged by Patriot. The Scud landed in an uninhabited area about 7 to 11 km east of the municipal airport. The Scud's warhead did not explode and no damage or casualties resulted.

February 23, about 6:50 pm - 1 Scud towards Tel Aviv. It landed in an unpopulated area and there were no casualties or damage.

February 25, about 3:40 am and 5:40 am - 2 Scuds towards southern Israel. Both fell in unpopulated areas of the Negev region. No significant damage was done, although two injuries were reported.

114 In all, Iraq fired three Scuds into the Negev desert in the southern part of Israel, probably aimed at the Israeli nuclear facility at Dimona. The Iraqis claimed that they fired four Scuds at Israel on February 16, with three of them aimed at Dimona. Bradley Burston, "Iraq: We Fired New Missile at Dimona," Jerusalem Post, February 18, 1991,

234 and 231 respectively).
Many reports cite only one, rather than two, direct deaths. This discrepancy arises from the third attack on Israel, when a single Scud hit the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan on the evening of 22 January and three people died. Initial reports attributed all three deaths to heart attacks (and this is what was widely reported afterwards), but one of these
deaths was a direct result of the Scud attack: "It should be noted that heart attack was not the cause of death in all three cases, as reported earlier. The dead woman who was taken to Ichilov Hospital died of crushing wounds as a result of the explosion. The two other dead women suffered heart attacks as a result of the missile impact." Jerusalem Voice of Israel and IDF Radio Network, 4:20 am [Israel Time], 23 January 1991, in FBIS, Daily Report:
Near East and South Asia, 23 January 1991, p. 28.
The other death was a man killed (also in Ramat Gan) in the fifth attack, on the evening of Friday, 25 January, apparently from a head wound. "Brig. Gen. Yehuda Danon, chief medical officer of the Israeli Defense Forces, said one death resulted from a direct hit on a house Friday night and the other was a woman who was crushed by debris and cut by shattered glass." The latter is the death described in the preceding paragraph. William Claiborne and
Jackson Diehl, "Patriots Launched to Meet New Scud Attack Over Israel," Washington Post, 27 January 1991, p. A22

1991: Missiles & Miracles

1991: Missiles & Miracles

From chabad.org: The failed attempts of the SCUD missiles to destroy Jewish life was nothing less than miraculous. As the missiles—each loaded with 600 pounds of explosives—rained down upon Tel Aviv, the terrified citizens, huddled in shelters and sealed rooms, listened in disbelief to the newsflashes. Buildings crowded with people were hit, yet virtually not a soul was harmed. “G-d threw down mattresses to cushion our falls, pushed walls out of our way,” declared one survivor. On the day of Purim, traditionally a day of merry-making for the Jewish people, the war was officially declared over. “Adequate attention is not being paid to these miracles,” said the Rebbe in public addresses in the weeks to follow. “The popular media throughout the world took note of the miraculous occurrences, yet there is a tendency to offer rationales and explanations. We must publicize that these are miracles that were performed by G-d!”

Ezekiel 36:22
I do not do this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations, to which you came

www.simpletoremember.com: And similarly Isaiah 59 testifies that the generation that will gain redemption, transgresses and denies Hashem and departs from our Lord, speaks oppression and revolt, conceives and utters from the heart words of falsehood [verse 13]. And similarly of that generation it was said, that truth is absent and he that departs from evil gains the social status of a crazy man [verse 15].

Peretz: Show me a miracle.

Ephraim: In the magazine , Seedlink , issue number 21, some of the miracles of the Gulf War are listed. First let us take a look at the statistics:

• 39 Scud missiles were launched against Israel
• Altogether over ten tons of explosives fell on Israel
• In all 15,000 properties were damaged
  • 10,992 apartments
  • 235 houses
  • 3773 other buildings
• 13 people died. Two directly from a missile
• Eleven indirectly from heart attack or misuse of a gasmask

After the noise quieted down and the dust settled, the people who were frozen in shock began to look around. They were completely astonished when they realized that not even one of the 200 people were injured. The entire building had collapsed around them, even three walls of the shelter were gone and only the eastern wall remained standing [the shelter was also used as a shul (synagogue) so that even the racks which held siddurim (prayer books) and chumashim (the first five books of the Bible) were not damaged]. When the Prime Minister and the Mayor toured the site, the Prime Minister asked if there were people here? “Definitely, ” said the Mayor, “there were 200 people and they were all saved by a miracle!
[Mishpacha monthly magazine Feb. 2, 1991]

Shalom and Jaquelyn H., although non-observant, respected Torah scholars, and had recently been advised to have their mezuzot (parchments containing biblical verses that are placed on the doorpost) examined. Despite the expense involved, the young couple replaced the old mezuzot with kosher ones. When the Scud exploded in their neighborhood, the entire apartment was uprooted by the blast. Cupboards, windows, and furniture were utterly destroyed. doors flew, and door posts were jolted from their places. From the contents of the apartment, all that remained intact were the mezuzot. Despite the destruction all around H. family was physically unharmed.
[Yated Ne’eman Feb. 2,1991]

In a second a portion of Lai Street was turned into desolation. I was in a number of places which were hit by missiles , and each time I can't understand how people came out alive from such destruction. Someone up there is watching over them otherwise there is no explanation as to what took place here tonight.
[A Civil Defense officer-news magazine]

In one instance, an elderly woman was led from her apartment by her neighbor who had awakened her, just moments before the flat was hit by a missile...... A baker, preparing challot for Shabbat, left his bakery on Thursday night, after being unable to locate any flour, just moments before the bakery was crushed by a missile... In another case a bomb shelter which would have been filled with 50 people, had the population been preparing for the resultant conventional attack ( but was, empty as people were in sealed rooms, expecting the non-existent chemical attack) was completely destroyed by a missile.... And a missile which landed on a major Tel Aviv thoroughfare on Shabbat morning failed to detonate
[Yated Ne'eman Jan. 25, 1991]

SCUD 33 The missile landed in the middle of a residential street. The house on one side of the street crumbled entirely, but its elderly occupant was pulled from the debris unscathed. The house on the opposite side of the street was also destroyed completely , but no-one was home at the time of the blast. Another man was trapped beneath the rubble of his 4-room ranch house. As rescue crews sifted through the ruins of his home, they heard him pleading for help. only his head protruded from the rubble, yet he was virtually unharmed. His two dogs, standing on either side of him at the time of the attack, were killed instantly.
[Yated Ne’eman Feb. 22, 1991]

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Miracles During the First Gulf War

From www.benmelech.org :Israel came to within a hair of entering the war directly, but at the last second was pressured by the US to stay out of the conflict – no easy task for a country being shot at! (The reason was that several Arab allies with the US vowed they would never fight on the same side as Israel, and it was feared that Israel’s involvement would break up the coalition.)

• No missiles landed in the city of Jerusalem. Any hits in that area (besides threatening life) would have destroyed ancient archeological sites which could never be replaced. (It was reported afterward that the Iraqis had argued about this, and finally decided not to target Jerusalem for fear of hitting the Dome of the Rock.)
• The first night of the missile strikes against Israel, 27 missiles were fired at once. Patriot missiles knocked out all of them except two.
• During missile strikes in the West Bank, only injuries were suffered; no lives were lost.
• A missile landed in a garbage dump but didn’t explode. Another missile landed a few feet away from a gas station, but didn’t explode.
• One missile landed between two buildings, completely destroying them but not killing any people.
• Several missiles aimed at Israel fell into tile sea to the west.
• Another missile was blown off course by a strong wind.
• Two missiles aimed at the IDF base in the Negev desert landed without causing damage.
• One missile that fell was discovered to have concrete in place of an explosive warhead.
• Two missiles fired from Iraq suddenly disappeared.
• A missile hit a bank, but only one person was in the building at the time.
• A missile went down an airshaft of a 9-story apartment building with 20-30 apartments; it did not explode.
• Palestinians stood on their rooftops cheering for Iraq as a barrage of missiles hit Israel. (They were following the lead of Yassar Arafat, who openly supported Saddam’s war.) The next day, some missiles landed in their own villages. Israeli media filmed their panicked race to the nearest security station to demand gas masks for themselves. There were no more rooftop celebrations…
• A Tel Aviv man was in his house when a missile hit his garden. He walked out of the house with only minor injuries.
• An 84-year-old lady was in her house as it was hit by a missile. Not only was she unhurt, but as she looked at the devastation she only said, "Who’s going to help me clean this up?"
• A man walked into his bathroom just as a missile strike began. When he came out, the rest of his house had been destroyed.
• A lady was in bed during a missile attack. Her ceiling collapsed from a hit, causing the steel door frame to fall over her bed and lean on the wall. Because the frame kept the ceiling off her, she survived.
• A lady slept so soundly she didn’t hear the air raid siren. The exploding missile woke her up, whereupon she rushed to her sealed room. It was gone, blown away by the missile along with the whole side of her house.
• A man in his sealed room was leaning back against a closet when the force of an explosion knocked him into the closet. The room was heavily damaged, but he was unhurt. He reported, "The closet saved my life."
• A man was buried in rubble standing up. When he was finally dug out after an hour, he was found to need only a band-aid on his forehead.
• A mother with three small children spontaneously decided to go to the bomb shelter (contrary to government instructions) instead of their sealed room. During that attack, the door to that sealed room was blown open.
• A family with their 18 month old baby were in a sealed room when the wall collapsed on the baby, who had no protection over it except the plastic infant tent (issued for gas protection). The woman was filmed later in a hospital room holding the baby, who didn’t have a scratch on it.
• A 3-year-old child was seriously injured in the first attack. Although he needed 2 hours of surgery to remove all the glass and shrapnel from his body, he survived.
• A couple driving in the Negev (southern Israel) saw two missiles in the sky. Their explosions were close enough to make their car shake, but they were unhurt.
• A Tel Aviv man was driving his car when the air raid sirens sounded. He ran into a nearby home to take shelter. He came out to find that missile fragments had totally destroyed his car.
• One family had their entire flat sealed rather than one room (against civil defense instructions, as it cuts off ventilation). During the night, the mother collapsed and the children came close to asphyxiation. The cry of one child woke the father who got them all out just in time.
• Two families whose pets ran away in fright at the sounds of the sirens worried that they might be injured in the attacks. Both families saw their pets return a few hours later unharmed.
• A family had decided to run for their bomb shelter instead of the sealed room in time of attack (there was public debate as to which was safer). When the attack came, they couldn’t find the key to the shelter and were forced to take refuge in their sealed room after all. Their bomb shelter was hit and destroyed.
• Two families running for the community bomb shelters couldn’t find the key to the first one, so they ran to a second one. The first one was destroyed.
• Ramat Gan (just north of Tel Aviv) suffered the most in the war – 3 or 4 attacks – due. to the location of strategic military buildings there. None of the missiles hit a building directly, but always fell in the open. The only damage was to property.
• A couple in Ramat Gan were preparing for the Shabbat, when the wife suddenly got the urge to spend Shabbat elsewhere. The husband resisted at first but finally gave in. When they returned they found their house completely demolished by a missile. The husband (a religious Jew) recited the prayer of thanks for deliverance on the spot, and his neighbors came and danced around the rubble.
• The seasonal rains, which usually arrive in Israel in November, were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly they began in torrents, on January 17, the first day of the war. They continued almost without letup for the next 4-6 weeks, together with high winds. This weather was credited by US military sources as helping to convince the Iraqis that chemical weapons would not be smart (the prevailing winds were blowing from Israel directly toward Iraq…). The same phenomenon was observed in Kuwait (900 km to the east), where wind patterns had shifted from their normal direction for that season and were also blowing toward Iraq. (Jerusalem Post, 2/91)
• When believers in Yeshua were finally able to meet together alter the war, they discovered that no believers anywhere in Israel had been touched by the attacks.
• A national day of prayer was called for February 27. The main meeting, held at Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue, was attended by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, President Haim Herzog, Religious Affairs Minister Avner Shaki, and both Chief Rabbis. On February 28, Iraq agreed to a UN cease-fire plan. This was also the eve of Purim, the holiday which commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from their enemies through Esther.
• Neighboring Jordan was a de-facto ally of Iraq during the Gulf War, since their economy is heavily dependent on Iraq. But since relations with Israel had been unofficially warm for many years, they were unwilling to offend either side. Risking Iraqi anger, they went so far as to forbid Iraq to bring missile launchers onto Jordanian soil (using as an excuse Israel’s declaration that if Iraq did so, Israel would respond by "invading" Jordan to get them). This severely limited Iraq’s ability to strike at Israel, forcing them to shoot from the southwestern edge of Iraq behind Jordan, hundreds of kilometers away. (Jordanians went on record after the war as saying that the only winner in this war was Israel; and that the Arabs "would not live down the humiliation for a hundred years.")

Tracking smuggled Scud missiles not so simple: experts

By Dan De Luce (AFP) – Apr 22, 2010

WASHINGTON — As Syria faces charges it may have supplied Hezbollah with Scud missiles, experts say spotting the weapons is no easy task -- which US and British forces learned in the first Gulf war.

Smuggling missiles and mobile launchers into Lebanon without US or Israeli intelligence agencies noticing would be "possible, but difficult," one US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

Missiles and mobile launchers could be taken apart to avoid detection, analysts said.

"All you have to do is separate the tail from the missile, which is something you can do easily. And then move it to some other vehicle," said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

Israel has accused Syria of arming Hezbollah with the ballistic missiles, a charge Damascus vehemently denies. US officials meanwhile say they cannot confirm if the weapons have been delivered to the Lebanese Shiite militia.

In the 1990-91 Gulf war, allied aircraft -- along with US and British special forces on the ground -- struggled to track and take out Saddam Hussein's mobile Scuds, which were hidden in gullies and culverts and quickly shifted out of sight after any launch.

"We flew thousands of missions to try to destroy Saddam?s Scuds which he was firing at Israel and Saudi Arabia. After the war we discovered we had missed every single time," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Sensors and other military technology have improved since then, and Lebanon offers a smaller area to monitor than Iraq.

Moreover, Israel has "very good intelligence there," Riedel said, "so they would probably do better."

Once inside Lebanon, the missiles and launchers could be reassembled and hidden until Hezbollah was ready to use them.

"The missiles are most vulnerable when they are preparing to launch. Still it would be difficult to destroy every launcher before they fired," he said.

Scud-type missiles, originally designed and produced by the Soviets, are usually about 11 meters (yards) long and have a range of roughly 300 kilometers (186 miles), though some versions can strike beyond 500 kilometers.

Adding Scuds to Hezbollah's arsenal of rockets would strengthen the militia's position even though Israel would retain its military edge, analysts said.

"It does not dramatically change the equation but it means Hezbollah can fire at any target in Israel," Cordesman said.

A much bigger concern for Israel would be if the Scuds came with chemical warheads, experts said, but no one has made that allegation so far.

Whether or not Scuds have been delivered, the Obama administration is convinced that Syria is stepping up military support to Hezbollah, US officials said.

"There's a narrow question of Scuds but there is a much broader concern about advanced weaponry," a US official, who asked not to be named, told reporters.

"The cooperation between Syria and Hezbollah is escalating and we think that is potentially destabilizing and adds risks in a region that already has more risks than it knows what to do with."

It remained unclear why the accusation against Syria was leveled by the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, and not by military or intelligence officials who usually present such charges along with more details, analysts said.

Some lawmakers in the US Congress have seized on the allegations to argue against Washington's efforts to promote dialogue with Syria.

President Barack Obama in February appointed Robert Ford as the first US ambassador to Damascus in five years, although the Senate has yet to confirm him.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday in Estonia that "as of today" the United States sought to pursue deeper ties with Syria, suggesting Obama's policy could change if Damascus was found to be sending missiles.

Opting to supply Hezbollah with more powerful weaponry would fit in with a recent pattern in which Syria appears to have adopted a "triumphalist mindset," wrote Steven Heydemann at the US Institute of Peace.

US and European diplomacy has failed so far to persuade Syria to move away from Iran's orbit and forge stronger ties to the West, he wrote on the Foreign Policy website.

"Instead, Syria's leaders have pocketed their gains and raised the stakes, strengthening Hezbollah's arsenal and deepening its strategic ties with Iran," Heydemann wrote.

British diplomat shot dead in Athens Car

BBC, Thursday, 8 June, 2000, 14:58 GMT 15:58 UK
Link

The shooting took place close to the diplomatic quarter
A senior British diplomat has been shot dead in his car in the Greek capital, Athens.

Military attache Brigadier Stephen Saunders was rushed to a local hospital in a serious condition, but died later of his injuries.

Greek police are now virtually certain the killing, by two gunmen on a motorcycle, was carried out by left-wing guerilla group November 17.

Ballistic tests revealed that the gun used had been used by the group in past attacks.

November 17 has killed 23 people, including Brigadier Saunders, since it first appeared in 1975. None of its members have been caught.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair described the killing as an act of terrorism which was contemptible as well as senseless.

The act is not only condemned by the Greek Government but by all the Greek people

Greek FM George Papandreou:
"[Brigadier Saunders] was a consummate professional who had served his country with distinction both at home and overseas.

"His murder is a reminder of the risks that British military personnel face in many places around the world," he added.

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said he was "shocked" by the shooting.


Greek Police
Police gather evidence close to the scene of the shooting
"I am in touch with the Greek authorities and am offering them our full co-operation in making sure that whoever perpetrated this brutal attack is brought to justice," he said.

The two gunmen opened fire on Brigadier Saunders around 0800 (0500 GMT) as the British official drove a white Rover belonging to the embassy along Kifissias avenue in a northern suburb.

It appears that the car the Brigadier was driving was not bullet proofed.

Brigadier Saunders, 53, who was married with two children, suffered four gunshot wounds to the abdomen, the hospital said.

Guerrillas suspected

The gunmen fled and there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.


November 17 group
Founded in 1975
Roots in resistance to former junta
Anti-capitalist
Opposes Greek links with West
Has admitted to 21 killings
"The method used, the weapon used, lead us to believe that the assailants belong to November 17, that is the direction we are looking in," said Dimitris Efsthathiadis, a senior official in the Ministry for Public Order.

Police said they found four spent cartridges at the scene from a .45-calibre pistol, the weapon used by the November 17 group in about 20 assassinations attributed to the group since 1975.

Shadowy group
Brigadier Stephen Saunders
Born: Farnborough, Hants in 1947
Married to Heather
Daughters: Nicola, 15 and Catherine, 14
1965: Joined army
1967: Commissioned into Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment
1968-71: Read geography and economics at Bristol University
1986: Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, serving in N.Ireland, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Kuwait
1999: Promoted to Brigadier and appointed defence attache to the British Embassy in Athens

The November 17 group targets western officials and economic targets. Its first victim, in 1975, was the CIA station chief in Athens.

None of its members has ever been arrested and convicted.

The US State Department has recently criticised the Greek authorities for failing to stop terrorist attacks.

Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou has condemned the attack and pledged that his government would combat terrorism relentlessly.

"I want to condemn this terrorist act. The act is not only condemned by the Greek government but by all the Greek people," he said.


08 Jun 00 | Europe
November 17 group: Small but deadly
08 Jun 00 | UK
Diplomatic life behind bullet proof glass
Internet links:

British Foreign Office
Greek Government