Jerusalem police said Tuesday they have arrested five  Jerusalem boys, ages 14-17, for last week’s rock attack on a car, in which a two-year-old girl was seriously injured. Four of the boys confessed and said they attacks passing cars because they “hate Jews.”

Four other youth who had been arrested have been released after police concluded they were not involved in the incident, which occurred in the mostly Jewish neighborhood of Armon HaNatziv, adjacent to an Arab neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem.

The victim of the attack, Abigail Ben Zion, is recovering from head injuries from the rock, described as being very large.

Several rock-throwing attacks have resulted in serious accidents and sometimes in death, and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat told Channel 2 television that authorities should understand that rocks are weapons.

Winter in Israel is coming and rain is predicted for tomorrow – Yay! And the first rain always reminds me to… tune up my Subaru in preparation for the weather.

So this morning I headed out to Talpiot, Jerusalem, where the Subaru garage has always served me well. I like the service, I like the personnel, and, well, I like Subaru. My late father A”H had a Subaru when we lived in Israel, when I was a boy, and then as today, Subaru has remained a dependable car.

There is yet another reason to respect Subaru. From 1969 till the late 80′s, Subaru was the only Japanese car company that sold to Israel. (I even read that Subaru brand was actually created for the Israeli market). The other, bigger companies were kowtowing to the Arab boycott till they got wise. So if you’re wondering why there are so many Subarus in Israel, you got your answer.

Anyway, as I was saying, I drove into the garage to do the routine winter tuneup, but this year it was Chanukah. Now, I have a personal proclivity – I want to see some Chanukah paraphernalia when I come into an establishment. Maybe it’s my time in the U.S. and seeing how the gentiles do Christmas, but I want Chanukah to be big.

But as I looked around, I saw no secretaries eating Sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) and no mechanics spinning draidel. I pulled over Gabi, the head mechanic. “Gabi, where is Chanukah here?”  But Gabi is a proud Jew. He dragged me over to the waiting room and showed me this:

Wow! It turns out that Avi, a mechanic in the shop, has a penchant for making the coolest Chanukiahs (menorahs) ever, from old Subaru parts, and every evening, at the prescribed time, the whole garage lights the Subaru Sprocket Chanukiah.

Avi took out his phone and showed me the other Chanukiyot that he has made. He explained how he used a mechanical press and silicone glue to ensure that the various Chanukiah car parts are oil tight so that a wick can be placed directly and lit.

When I started taking pictures, all the mechanics were so happy to show their garage’s unique Chanukah contribution. I promised them that I would put up the photo in the Jewish Press as my contribution to the pirsumei nisa aspect, the publicizing of the miracle of Chanukah. But, really, the miracle of Chanukah is the miracle of Israel and the  love of good Jerusalem mechanics for the traditions of the Jewish people.

Well, Subaru, you have done it again. You stood up to tyranny in the past, and with this new Chanukiah you once again shine. Maybe one day I will be able to afford a new Forester…

Long live Subaru! Long live Chanukah!

Living on the Mount of Olives has its perks. Sure, we have crazy traffic every Monday and Thursday mornings because of Kotel Bar Mitzvas, and no, we don’t have any nearby grocery stores so we have to stock up on big weekly shopping trips.

But there is nothing like lighting the Chanukia right across from the Temple Mount.

When I prepare my oil candles, I look over to the place that the first and second Temples stood, and I remember the fight which the Maccabees fought against the Syrian Greeks, and the Hebrew military/cultural victory which was broadcast when the Menorah was lit in purity once again. I also remember how almost three-hundred years later the Romans would sack the Temple overcoming the Great Revolt. And I remember how Bar Kochba and Rabbi Akiva fomented yet another revolution against mighty Rome only 60 years later, and took back Jerusalem for three more years before the final destruction of the Second Commonwealth.

From my window, the jewel Temple Mount is adorned by a golden crown. To the west, I see the Beit Knesset HaChurva, twice destroyed by Arabs – the second time being blown up with dynamite by the Jordanians in 1948. Now, once again, the great dome of the Churva stands tall and glorious atop the Old City. Even more to the west, I see the walls of ancient Jerusalem as rebuilt by Suleiman the Magnificent about 500 years ago. I even see the Leonardo Plaza hotel reminding me that there is a modern western Jerusalem as well.

To the east of the Temple Mount I see the continuation of my mountain – the Mount of Olives – the mountain of Jewish History. The voices of the massive cemetery answer ‘Amen’ as I light the Chanukia. Voices like the Prophet Zecharia who foresaw the rebuilding of the Third Temple, voices like Israel’s youngest fallen soldier: ten year old, private Nissim Gini, who is buried in a mass grave along with 47 other defenders of the Old City as it fell to the Jordanian legion in 1948. Voices like Rav Kook, Rav Goren, and even Eliezer Ben Yehuda who dedicated their lives to the birth of the Third Jewish commonwealth in the Land of Israel. They all answer ‘Amen’ as I light the Chanukia with my wife and children in the construction site know as Jerusalem.

Yet there are other voices, loud voices, that I hear, or am forced to hear, as I light the oil candles. These are the voices of the Fatah club right underneath my balcony. “Allah HuAkbar” is not a friendly invitation to serve God in the Holy City. No, the meaning behind that call is that in the name of God, Jewish sovereignty is to be snuffed out, and if I and my children are in the way, then we are to be snuffed out as well. The chant is meant to energize the adherents and strike fear into victims. But as I look unto the Fatah club through the light of Chankiah, I am filled with the determination of the Maccabees that we shall prevail over these forces of darkness.

And then there is the Temple Mount itself. In the misty night, the well placed lights illuminate the Golden Dome. On the one hand I am happy that at least the Temple Mount is respected with a memorable edifice. On the other hand, that very structure appears in every anti-Israel Jihadist propaganda. Indeed, as my friend Alex pointed out to me, our holiest place is the seed of greatest hate against us. Ironic.

Tears come down as I ponder the history of the self-sacrifice that this place engenders in our people. But I am heartened that we are part of a long chain of history, and that long chain will eventually lead, as promised, to victory. That victory will not mean subjugation of people, or the abrogation of freedom. It will mean the subjugation of evil men, and the abrogation of tyranny. Isn’t that what Chanukah is all about?

A two year old girl was injured in the head by Arab rock throwers in Jerusalem.

The girl was in a car driving near the Armon HaNatziv neighborhood in Jerusalem.

The girl was taken to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital with serious head injuries.

There has been a series of stone throwing attacks in this area as of late.

On Thursday morning, there were over 17 stone throwing attacks against Jews throughout Judea and Samaria.

Palestinian Authority terrorists threw rocks and a firebomb at Jewish motorists in at least two locations in Judea and Samaria Tuesday, but they also widened their activities to include a PA official, whose empty car was riddled with bullets.

Abu Zaida, a senior official for Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, said that shortly after he parked his car and left it, gunmen shot sprayed it with gunfire, leaving approximately 20 holes in the car.

Attacks on Jews continued unabated and unreported by most media. Cars driven by Jews were damaged by rocks in the Binyamin region of Samaria, while a firebomb was hurled at a Jewish vehicle on Highway 60 between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem.

A Palestinian Authority escaped a checkpoint inspection and tried to run down a soldier and guards on the road from Maaleh Adumim to Jerusalem shortly after noon Tuesday

A soldier and policemen were slightly injured in the hit-and-run attack.

A soldier at the checkpoint fired and hit the fleeing car, but the driver escaped unhurt. Security officials are searching for the vehicle.

A new drama series to be aired on the NBC subsidiary USA Network will be the first American television series to be filmed  in Israel, and most of the scenes will be in eastern Jerusalem.

“Dig” will be filmed in the City of David national park located in the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem as well as the Old City. The series will be produced by Gideon Raff, screenwriter of the Israeli series “Hatufim,” which is aired in the United States as “Homeland” and co-written by “Heroes” writer Tim Kring, a co-creator of “Homeland.”

The first six episodes have been purchased without buying a pilot.

The series, which will feature Israeli and American actors, deals with an American FBI agent stationed in Jerusalem who uncovers a conspiracy while investigating the murder of an American archaeologist.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who worked to bring the project to Jerusalem, said, “The new series is a significant milestone on the road as Jerusalem becomes an attractive location for international productions. Jerusalem’s rich history attracts series and films with great stories to tell.”

The filing in Silwan will present challenge for security forces because it has been a source of hundreds of violent rock-throwing attacks on Jewish motorists and has caused several serious injuries to drivers and passengers who sometimes barely escape ambushes on narrow streets in the area.

European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s attempt to ban funding of projects in Judea and Samaria, the Golan Height and areas of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinian Authority is being challenged by 27 Members of the EU Parliament.

Aston’s guidelines are to go into effect January I, but Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has threatened to pull Israel out of the seven-year  EU Horizon 2020 project to which Israel is committed to contribute approximately $800 million.

In a letter addressed to Ashton, the MEPs, from across the political spectrum, urged the EU Commission, the EU’s executive arm, to reverse or at least soften the guidelines, the European Jewish Press reported.

Israel has taken part in EU research and development programs since 1996, including over the last seven years in which 1,584 Israeli researchers took part in more than 1,300 projects and received a total of more than $800 million in grant money.