CNN and the international American news went ballistic on Saturday afternoon when an assassin critically shot U.S. Democratic Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, wounded twelve, plus killed six other people, including her Jewish aide, Gabe Zimmerman, U.S. District Judge John Roll and a nine year old girl outside a local Safeway Store in Tucson, Arizona. Judge John Roll, there to visit with Congresswoman, was once the State Judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division II in Pima County. He was nominated in 1991 by Senator John McCain, and then appointed to the federal bench in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush.
It later was initially revealed that U.S. Democratic Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot, pronounced dead, later was still in surgery for a gunshot wound, released to intensive care for a gunshot wound to the head in critical condition, and this morning is responsive and responding.
The national reaction quickly cascaded around the globe. President Obama on the air waves sent his personal and national condolences. The reaction at the Nation’s Capital to the shooting was swift as news rippled across the globe. Obama held a nationally televised news conference to express his condolences. The targeted shooting cast a pall over the entire Capital at Washington. Aware of the emotionally charged environment, the “wake-up-call” had now arrived as security was increased for all national political representatives. As the newly elected House Speaker John Boehner stated:
House Speaker John Boehner – “I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff. An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured, and their families. This is a sad day for our country."
The first question, what was the motive of the attempted assassination of an American elected official, who was meeting her own constituency called, “Congress on Your Corner” in the afternoon of the Jewish Shabbat, in what she Tweeted, “My 1st Congress on Your Corner starts now. Please stop by to let me know what’s on your mind or tweet me later”. Was the motivation anti-Semitism?
According to Pima County Sherriff Clarence Dupnik, “Yes, I believe she was the target” for the Congresswoman was proud of her role as Arizona’s first Jewish U.S. Representative and where USA’s “Faith and Reason” wrote that her reelection was recast amidst “rumors of anti-Semitic motives boiling to the surface.”
According to JTA, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Congresswoman Giffords was “deep in conversation with an older couple about health care -- the issue for which she was willing to risk her career -- a gunman strode up to the Arizona congresswoman and shot her point blank in the head.” They were located at a shopping center and were meeting outside a local Safeway grocery store. The lone 22 year old gunman, Jared Loughner, was identified by Sheriff Clarence Dupnik and cited as being “unstable but not insane”.
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords riding her Horse in the Rugged Southern Arizona Mountains
According to her self-biography as written in the Arizona Jewish Post, Congresswoman Giffords was born as a Jewess great granddaughter to a Jewish Lithuanian rabbi. Her Grandfather, Akiba Hornstein, changed his name to Gill Gifford, immigrated to the United States “for reasons of anti-Semitism. Now fifty years later, as she wrote, “like my grandmother, I am a lifetime member of Hadassah and now a member of Congregation Chaverim”, the Reformed Jewish synagogue where she worships in Tucson.
A native of Tucson, Arizona, Giffords was first elected in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2001-2003. She later won the election and served as Arizona State Senator from 2003-2005. Now in her third term since 2006, when Giffords won and became the first Jew to represent Arizona as a United States Congresswoman, Giffords became also noted for her fervent public support of the State of Israel. She was able to travel for the first time to the Land of Israel as representing the United State House of Representatives with the American Jewish Committee. There she wrote on her visit to Jerusalem, “It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life.” As the Jewish Telegraph Agency reported on her memory of visiting Jerusalem and Israel:
Jewish Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords – “It just cemented the fact that I wanted to spend more time with my own personal, spiritual growth. I felt very committed to Judaism. Religion means different things to different people. It provides me with grounding, a better understanding of who I came from."
Politically, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has supported “direct talks” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, thereby mirroring her political beliefs closely with that of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. As she wrote in 2006, I believe that “peace between Israel and her neighbors can only be achieved by direct talks between the parties. Until the Palestinian leadership and other hostile regimes are willing to accept Israel’s right to exist, it will be impossible to achieve peace.”
The Wedding of Arizona Congresswoman Giffords with American Astronaut Mark E. Kelly
An Avid Recycler and Environmentalist, Congresswoman Giffords wearing a “borrowed wedding gown - Photo by Norma Jean Gargasz for the New York Times
It was during a congressional trip to China in 2003, the former Arizona Senator Giffords worked together with American Astronaut Mark E. Kelly, the pilot of two space shuttles, the Endeavour and the Discovery. Both had been selected as achieving Young Leaders by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. A year later, they met again at the same committee meeting, except this time Astronaut Kelly was recently divorced. Instead of an aerial tour of the Grand Canyon, they both chose a hiking tour together to the Grand Canyon basin. There began a four year friendship that resulted in their marriage on November, 2007.
According to Sen. Bell Nelson, chairman of the Senate Commerce Space and Science Subcommittee, Astronaut Mark E. Kelly is currently training to be the next commander of the space shuttle mission scheduled for lift-off in April, 2010. As fellow space voyagers, Commander Kelly is planning to rendesvoux with his own brother, who is currently manning the International Space Station.
Politically, Giffords has been considered to be a “Blue Dog” Democrat for her “moderate political stance” on health care reform and illegal immigration. At the same time, Giffords described herself in the past as a “former Republican”. As such, her political stances have been targeted by political opponents of both left and right persuasions.
Of most recent, Congresswoman Gifford, known by her loyal constituents as “Gabby”, was criticized by the Republican right for her public stance supporting Obamacare. As Congresswoman Giffords was reported on Israel Haaretz News;
Israeli Haaretz News – “Giffords said she faced a deluge of threats for her support of the healthcare bill. "We've had hundreds and hundreds of protesters over the course of the last couple of months," Giffords told MSNBC. "Our office corner has really become an area where the Tea Party movement congregates and the rhetoric is really heated. Not just the calls but the e-mails, the slurs."
A Democrat with a centrist voting record who had just begun her third term, Giffords fended off a tough challenge last year from Republicans who hoped to win control of the politically competitive district. Her opponent in the November election urged followers to "Get on target for victory" and help "remove" Giffords from office at a June event in which participants could shoot an automatic rifle.”
A Salute with Crossed Sabers greeted the Newlyweds.
She became notorious for drawing the “wrath” of former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin over her support of Obama’s health care reform act. Only hours after her vote on that bill, the front door and window panes of her Tucson office was vandalized by either shooting or kicking in the glass of the door and windows. Giffords credited this vandalism to animosity by the conservatives in her district, for she was most noted as being one of the top targets by Sarah Pain of which she mused while in interview on MSNBC;
Gabriella Giffords - “For example, we’re on Sarah Palin’s targeted list, but the thing is, that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they have to realize that there are consequences to that action.”
Within hours after the shooting on Saturday, the graphics were removed from the Sarah Palin website and Sarah Palin issued a public statement on Facebook in which she expressed her "sincere condolences" to the family of Giffords and the other victims. What were the inwards motives of this tragedy to the American people, we do not know. According to theArizona Star, the lone gunman had a disturbed life and was possibly linked to an anti-Semitic group as reported on numerous news agencies;
- The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room – “Fox News reported Sunday morning that an internal Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by the network indicated that suspect Jared Lee Loughner, 22, is "possibly linked" to an anti-Semitic, white supremacist group. The DHS memo called the group American Renaissance "anti-government, anti-immigration, anti-ZOG (Zionist Occupational Government), anti-Semitic." The information reportedly came as Loughner's computer and personal effects were searched in the shooting investigation.
- Arizona Star – “In a MySpace profile, Loughner said "My favorite interest was reading, and I studied grammar...He lists among his favorite books "Mein Kampf" and "The Communist Manifesto". But he also includes a broad variety of other titles, including: "Animal Farm," "Brave New World," "To Kill a Mockingbird," and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".
- CBS News – “Additionally, sources tell CBS News that Loughner had made threats in the past and even interacted with Giffords in 2007. CBS News Justice and Homeland Security correspondent Bob Orr said on "Face the Nation" Sunday, "We do know from our sources and from our national security analyst Juan Zarate that Loughner had an interaction once before with Congresswoman Giffords back in 2007, where he apparently posed a question to her, kind of a benign question. "She answered the question; he didn't find it acceptable, he didn't like the answer," Orr said. "In the time since then, investigators believe perhaps he was tracking her and targeting her in a very loose way," Orr told CBS chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer.
- Israeli Haaretz News – “His exact motivation was not immediately clear. Federal law enforcement officials were poring over captured versions of a MySpace page that belonged to Jared Loughner and over Youtube video published to the Internet weeks ago under an account "Classitup10" and linked to him. The MySpace page, which was removed within minutes of the gunman being identified by U.S. officials, included a mysterious" Goodbye friends" message published hours before the shooting and exhorted his friends to "Please don't be mad at me."
- In one of several Youtube videos, which featured text against a dark background, Loughner described inventing a new U.S. currency and complained about the illiteracy rate among people living in Giffords' congressional district in Arizona. Two spellings of his last name were given in the aftermath of the shooting - Loughner and Laughner. "I know who's listening: Government Officials, and the People," Loughner wrote. "Nearly all the people, who don't know this accurate information of a new currency, aren't aware of mind control and brainwash methods. If I have my civil rights, then this message wouldn't have happen (sic)."
And so today, the Jewish and Christian friends and family all over Tucson were in prayer services and vigils. The “healing service” began at the Congregation Chaverim, theJewish Synagogue where Giffords worshiped. They prayed to the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, plus all the patriarchs and matriarchs of their faith to send the divine healing hand upon one of His chosen ones. There they said the Mi Sheberakh, the prayer for the sick as part of the Jewish healing services.
Listen to the Prayer of Mi Sheberakh, “May the One who Blessed” the Traditional Jewish Prayer for the Sick – Sung by Debbie Friedman, the Jewish Liturgist and Lyricist,
As the prayers ascended to HaShem, the G-d of Israel, all around America and Israel, may the life of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords give us pause of how the lives of the “chosen ones” are being used by the G-d of Israel in the reunification of All Israel and the final Guela, with the revealing of the Maschiah ben Dovid (Messiah son of David).
To understand more about the Return of the 10 Tribes of Israel to their Homeland in Israel, Jordan, and Syria, Contact “Kol Ha Tor”, the Voice of the Turtledove.
Here is a Reception from the Rabbanim of the House of Judah formed to welcome the returning Lost Tribes of Israel. For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor Ministries for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel.