Yom Yerushalayim and Part II: 31 Arrested For Diamond Heist

Today is Yom Yerushalayim/Jerusalem Day, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967! Here is a short video to share with your kids to celebrate this occasion. Discuss visiting Jerusalem (if you've been) and see if they recognize the words of the song in the video. (If I forget you Jerusalem...)


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Summary of Article: On February 20, 2013, we did a current event about a diamond heist in Belgium, in which robbers dressed as policemen broke into a parked plane at the airport and made off with over $50 million of diamonds. As of today, they have arrested 31 people in 3 countries (Belgium, France and Switzerland) in conjunction with that heist.

Discussion with Kids:

• Do you remember our current event about the diamond robbery at the Belgium airport? Recap. What did we think would happen to the diamonds? (Converted to cash or smuggled to India)
• As of today, police have recovered some of the diamonds in Switzerland and some cash in Belgium. They have arrested suspects in those two countries and in France. Remember we thought they may try to escape to India? Look on map. Why were they found in those countries in Europe instead of elsewhere in the world? (Geographically close together; perhaps couldn't escape onto plane to India). 
• If you were the police, how would you have done the investigation? (Talk about forensics, video surveillance techniques, etc.) 
• The suspects will appear before a court now. What rights do they have? (Right to a lawyer/representation.) Why do they have this right and not just find them guilty immediately?
• If you were their lawyer, what would you argue in their defense? (Innocence; duress; accomplice but not principal actor; fabricated/tampered DNA).
• We must wait for the facts to emerge as the trial progresses. This will be interesting....