St. Sgt. Shlomi Cohen HY’D and his wife
Last night we heard the sad news that St.-Sgt. Maj. Shlomi Cohen was killed by Lebanese sniper fire on the Israel-Lebanon border.
An IDF soldier has been killed by cross-border gunfire from Lebanon while driving in an army vehicle on Sunday night. He has been named as 31-year-old St.-Sgt. Maj. Shlomi Cohen, from Afula.
Cohen, an officer from the Israel Navy, was carrying out an official mission near an IDF border post in the Rosh Hanikra region, and was driving some 50 meters away from the border, when six to seven shots struck him and the jeep, critically injuring him.
Paramedics rushed Cohen to the Nahariya Hospital for the Western Galillee, but he succumbed to his injuries soon afterwards.
After the shooting, IDF soldiers spotted suspicious figures on the Lebanese side of the border, and opened fire at them. An IDF source said it was not immediately clear if there were casualties on the Lebanese side of the border as a result.
The circumstances of the shooting are not clear. Sgt. Cohen should not have been in the area on his own. On the other hand what was the motivation of the Lebanese soldier who opened fire without provocation?
Lebanese sources said they had lost contact with the Lebanese soldier after the shooting.
[…]
UNIFIL’s force commander is in contact with counterparts in the Lebanese and Israeli army, urging restraint.”
Perhaps if UNIFIL were to do its job instead of simply urging restraint after the event, this might not have happened in the first place.
Cohen will be laid to rest at the Haifa military cemetery on Monday evening.
Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Israel Ziv, former head of the Operations Branch in the IDF, told Army Radio on Monday morning that the IDF will have to examine how Cohen was permitted to drive alone at night near the frontier.
“The chances of Hezbollah [being responsible] are very low. This does not fit in with their pattern, it’s not in their interest, and it didn’t occur in an area they are active in,” Ziv said.
“What was the motivation of the [Lebanese] soldier? All options could be true. The Lebanese army also does not have an interest in this happening,” Ziv added. He added that the Lebanese Armed Forces, which has limited capabilities but strong discipline and internal order, will investigate the shooting.
Yaakov Biton, a relative of Cohen, described him as a “modest, quiet guy, very dedicated to his wife and daughter.” Weeping quietly while speaking to Army Radio, Biton said Cohen leaves behind his wife, Ma’ayan and a daughter who will turn one next month.
The young family had bought an apartment and planned to move soon. “All of these plans are gone now,” Biton said.
Baruch Dayan Emet. יהי זכרו ברוך. May his memory be for a blessing.
Meanwhile, the Guardian, in full blame-Israel mode, turns the incident on its head, at least in its extremely misleading headline, thus:
According to the Guardian, Israel hits back first
While the text of the report itself is fairly neutral, the headline – beyond which many readers do not bother to read – is highly tendentious.
Shame on the Guardian (as always) for not matching its headlines to its reports, and for using tendentious and inflammatory language to smear Israel’s good name.
Anne's Opinions 
CBC do exactly the same thing as the Guardian http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israeli-army-shoots-2-lebanese-soldiers-on-border-1.2465511
You should collaborate with me and we can start a CBC-watch. Or join forces with CiFWatch.
I wonder how many other international news outlets there are who are reporting the incident thus. It’s outrageous and sickening, and in the long run it’s dangerous for Israel.
“hit back first”
what a contradictory set of words. How can anybody “hit back” and be the perpetrator that caused the problem? I’m glad the Guardian doesn’t work as a local policeman … they wouldn’t last a day on the job. good work on damage control, Anne. it’s a very sad thing for that young man’s wife … very sad. I’ll say a prayer for her.
Pete, USA
Well exactly. Now try telling that to the Guardian.
It is indeed a tragedy for the young widow. I am sure your prayers will be appreciated.
Unfortunately, such a discrepancy between headline (a gross twisting of the events) and the contents (because there’s really a limit on how much a serious news source can turn things upside down) is often seen even at Israeli web sites, such as Walla. I wouldn’t care if the whole world was against us, if Jews didn’t turn against Jews.
I agree with you about the Israeli websites. Some of them are worse than the foreign ones. Haaretz in particular is awful, practically antisemitic sometimes. At an Honest Reporting conference Haaretz was called “more dangerous than the Guardian” davka because it’s Israeli, and the foreign media quote from it and are able to back up their biases and say “well, an Israeli site said so.”.
Ynet too is sometimes guilty of this bias, and that’s probably more widely read by the foreign media than Walla.
I don’t know how much damage they do to Israelis themselves though. I think Israelis are too savvy and too cynical to be taken in by the local media.
Anyway, welcome to my blog. I hope to see you visit again. I had a look at your blog too and it looks very interesting.
“Perhaps if UNIFIL were to do its job instead of simply urging restraint after the event, this might not have happened in the first place.”
You’re absolutely right. This is the reason Netanyahu stated extremely sharply to the UN that any border with Jordan will be monitםred by Israel & we refuse to “rely” on international troops on our side of the border. As we have seen in Lebanon sadly yesterday -apart from the enormous stockpiling of weapons by Hezbollah, with whats going on in Syria , the UNIFIL troops are worse than useless.
May Shlomi Cohen z”l rest in peace.יהי זכרו ברוך
Pigs might be flying. The UN actually condemned the shooting. Mashiach zeit?.
Well spotted, Anne. I had the same reaction to the Guardian.
Not a single article that actually headlines “Lebanese troops kill Israel Soldier”
But …. a twice posted “Israeli troops shoot two Lebanese soldiers” and one reference to the Lebanese shooting as a “border shooting” (by unnamed shooter” …)
The Guardian really is amazing in its virulent perversion of the facts and issues.
Thanks AKUS. I was kind of half-expecting the Guardian to live down to my expectations, but still, it was a jolt to see that headline and my blood pressure nearly went off the charts when I saw it.
They’ve almost become a parody of themselves in their slanted reporting. It’s as if they have an automatic headline-generator which reverses cause and effect whenever it involves Israel.
They’re all quite insane at the Guardian, a sort of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest view on world affairs, leaning to the left of course, anti-Israel a prerequisite.
When Muslim terrorists murdered a British troop on the streets of London they went with the “Muslims fear backlash” blarney.
Which comes first, the terrorism or the backlash?
Suggested headline for the Guardian in future.
“Muslims fear backlash after tomorrow’s Islamic terrorist attack.”
I actually laughed out loud at your suggested headline but then the reality hit me that it is an entirely plausible scenario.
Agreed, they’re all loony left at the Guardian but their influence is widely felt. That’s why they’re so dangerous.
Indeed, but never give up against the loons, they hate satire in particular. The latest cognitive dissonance is that British Muslims are reacting – ye olde moral relativism. – to British troops in the ME, hence the murder of Lee Rigby by pre medieval savages.
But Muslim terrorists are murdering and terrorising Christians in Sudan and the Philippines – did you notice any Sudanese or Filipinos invading Iraq recently?
Keep up the good work.
Very true Roxy. Thanks for the encouragement.
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