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AMI UPDATE

October 19, 2009

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Dear lura_eddie@hotmail.com,

 We have incredible news and answer to prayer.  A suspect has been arrested in our case!  Actually he was arrested about 2 weeks ago, but there has been a continuing gag order placed on the story.  Therefore we cannot tell you all the details because we don't have them yet.  To be noted that we didn't hear the news from the police, but from our lawyer and media sources, and today the American Embassy called us to tell us that there was an arrest!  We are dual American and Israeli citizens, and I thanked them for having the consideration to inform us.

Concerning the suspect, we only know that he is an Orthodox Jew, originally from the U.S.  He was living in a settlement in our area, is married the father of four children, and is now being held by the secret services because the case is wider than we expected.  We know that weapons and explosive material were found in his home, and that there is a lot of hard evidence against him.  We also know that there are those in Ariel who are under intense investigation as well, but we're not sure if any other arrests have been made. We also know that his lawyer went before the judge to ask for the suspect to be released on bail, and he was refused because of the amount of evidence against him in his file. We expect that the gag order will be lifted maybe on Wednesday or Thursday, and then we will know more details and the press will be all over the story for a few days.

GREAT RELIEF

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 Our family has experienced great relief.  We are happy that we don't have to look over our shoulder, we don't have to check our car before we get into it, and we can open our front door with more confidence.  Before this we knew there was a murderer roaming free, perhaps standing in line with us in the post office, or continuing to keep surveillance on our house.  We also feel sorrow for the suspect who has so ruined his life, the lives of his family, and has brought a bad name on the people of Israel.  We can testify that the nation as a whole condemns this man's actions.  We have received telephone calls and communications from Israelis throughout this past year and a half, from every town, city, and village in Israel.  They have been secular, orthodox and ultra orthodox Jews, and the message has been the same - shock, grief and anger over the incident, and the need to let us know that they condemn this vicious act.  They all blessed Ami with wishes for a full recovery, and hopes that he would succeed in life and fulfil his dreams.

PRAY FOR WISDOM

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 Please pray for us as the media interviews begin, both domestic and international, for wisdom and for the name of Yeshua to be lifted up.  Please pray for Ami, as he goes back to the moment and shares it publically.  He took the news very coolly.  I don't think he wants to let his heart get involved in any way, which I understand.  Right now he is with all the 11th graders in his school in the northern Negev, in a pre-army type of experience called in Hebrew the "gadna" which means "youth battalions".  It's kind of a light basic training simulation with many lectures from the army about what they can expect, and what their possibilities are.