Teen severely maimed, possibly by Orthodox Jews

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Messianic pastor's son injured by bomb in Israel
April 07, 2008
By Erin Roach

In one of the most serious attacks against the persecuted Messianic community in Israel, the 15-year-old son of a well-known Messianic pastor was severely injured March 20 when he opened a package delivered to the family's home that turned out to be a bomb.

Ami Ortiz, the youngest son of David and Leah Ortiz of Ariel, endured seven hours of surgery to remove shrapnel from his body. He suffered second- and third-degree burns, damage to his right eye and a collapsed lung, according to e-mail updates circulated by Messianic believers in the area.

Hannah Weiss, a close friend of the Ortiz family, described a conversation she had with the family's housekeeper a couple of days after the blast. The woman was distraught because she had retrieved the package from the doorstep and left the room only moments before Ami opened it.

The package looked like a traditional food gift exchanged among Jews for Purim, a festive holiday celebrating victory over oppression. A label on the package said "Happy Purim" in Hebrew, Weiss recounted, and was decorated with smiling faces and colorful letters. The top half was transparent cellophane with chocolates inside, she wrote in an e-mail released to Baptist Press.

Part of the family's apartment was destroyed in the blast, and Messianic believers are rallying to make repairs. Friends have said it is impossible to look at the apartment and believe that Ami survived the bombing, and doctors apparently have used the word "miracle" several times regarding his status.

David Ortiz, in an article by The Jerusalem Post March 23, gave an update on his son's condition.

"His neck had an eight-inch gash like someone slit his throat. He has a ruptured lung. Doctors had to operate on his tongue. He has second-degree burns to his chest and arms, and there is no flesh on the thighs," Ortiz said, adding that doctors amputated two of Ami's toes. "They're trying to continue to make sure that he won't lose his arms and legs. His whole body is full of fragments of shrapnel."

Police are investigating the crime, and the two groups under suspicion are Arab terrorists and anti-missionary Orthodox Jews, according to various reports. A Palestinian group called the Al Aksa Brigade claimed responsibility on Arab TV, but Weiss said the group has been known to make fictitious claims in order to boost their popularity.

Jim Sibley, a professor at Criswell College in Dallas and a former missionary to Israel, noted the paradox that exists in a region known for religious strife which largely rejects Jesus as Savior.

"Both Islam and Judaism, especially in their more orthodox expressions, really fear an open marketplace when it comes to religious ideas," Sibley, who knew Ortiz from his time in Israel, told Baptist Press. "This violence is born out of that fear. And yet it's this message of the Gospel that provides the only hope for people in the area."

The Jerusalem Post, in its coverage of the bombing, identified David Ortiz as "a prominent Christian pastor," "well-known in Ariel," where he has lived with his wife and six sons for more than a decade. The Post said Ortiz "works mainly with Palestinians in the West Bank, encouraging them to convert to Christianity."

Some Messianics may hope the bombing at the Ortiz home will turn public opinion regarding believers who have long been harassed in Israel. Howard Bass, head of a Messianic congregation in Beersheba, told The Jerusalem Post that in the past there has been "very little sympathy for our plight."

"We get the feeling that nobody in Israel is willing to take a strong stand against violent anti-missionary activity," Bass said in an article March 25.

Just before Christmas in 2005, Bass' congregation was attacked by hundreds of demonstrators who received the backing of the local rabbinic leadership, The Post said. Another Messianic believer, Edwin Beckford, is under house arrest. Last fall, arsonists set fire to Jerusalem's Narkis Street Baptist Church, which sustained minor damage.

I've prayed for him, and am going to personally send him a postcard.

the boy was throwing rocks at the tank and the tank responded by throwing a shell at him.

or maybe do something for the families who've lost children or had their kids maimed by israeli landmines left near palestinian school locations?

Orthodoxy is always evil, whether it appears in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or any other religion.

Could be either of the suspected groups. Some of the ultra-orthodox Jews are no better than the Taliban... harassing and beating women who take buses in Israel if the women are not dressed according to their idea of modesty.

a lot of violence against innocent palestinians bystanders isn't reported in the american media while there is an overabundance of details of israelis injured.

Uh... heh, heh, I'm sorry, but it's in fact exactly the reverse. (I just had to laugh at that switcheroo.) You're either gullible, or wilfully self-deceptive. Everyone knows that about 4 out of 5 U.S. media sources are liberal; there are studies every year showing that. And that, not only are Palestinian sufferings reported much more than Israeli sufferings, but they are often attributed to Israel, when the cause of the Palestinian sufferings is always its own elected leadership. (See "Hamas", i.e. U.S. classified "terrorist organization", whom the Palestinians voted overwhelmingly to lead and, in function, to oppress them.)

And you're quoting exclusively from a news agency which has repeatedly admitted to being biased against Israel. WTF? You're just dishonest.

Uh... heh, heh, I'm sorry, but it's in fact exactly the reverse. (I just had to laugh at that switcheroo.) You're either gullible, or wilfully self-deceptive. Everyone knows that about 4 out of 5 U.S. media sources are liberal; there are studies every year showing that, and liberals famously take the Palestinians' side. Not only are Palestinian sufferings reported much more than Israeli sufferings, but they are often attributed to being caused Israel, when in fact the cause of the Palestinian sufferings is always its own elected leadership: see "Hamas", i.e. U.S.-classified "terrorist organization", whom the Palestinians voted overwhelmingly to lead and, in function, to oppress them.)

And you're quoting exclusively from a news agency which has repeatedly admitted to being biased against Israel. WTF? You're just dishonest.

There is no such thing as a "liberal media" in the US.

Religion is evil and Orthodoxy is evil because it applies the main basics of an old religion without any evolution.

On the whole I think religion is a positive thing. But I have a problem when people take it to extremes and logic goes out the window.

Orthodoxy is always evil, whether it appears in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or any other religion.

Religion has brought a lot of good to this world, especially Christianity. You can be certain that it wasn't a Christian who mailed the package! Christians would never kill innocent people.