Richard Branson came to Israel for investor meetings. Upon disembarking form the plane, he kissed the ground of the Holy Land and said "I would have nothing without Ha'Shem"

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What is less known is that in northern Israel the standard is not to recite Birkat Kohanim at all morning services, but only at Mussaf - meaning in most ashkenazic shuls, the weekday prayers usually wont have birkat kohanim, but only Shabbos Mussaf and Rosh Chodesh will.

Hamechadesh is reporting that the Admor of Tzanz went to Tiberias to inaugurate a new community building for the growing Tzanz community in Tiberias. At the time, the Rebbe met with the community rav (his son) and the community dayan to discuss this matter. The decision they came to, and the psak they issued, was that the Tzanz community in Tiberias will change from the current custom and start saying Birkat Kohanim during all morning services instead of just Mussaf services. 

The change was set to take place this past Shabbos.

No explanation was given but I am curious to hear why they decided to change their custom and especially in light of that being the prevailing custom for the entire area.

According to the NY Post, Chevra Hatzalah of New York has very aggressively sued Hatzalah of South Florida for using part of its name. They are even demanding that this fellow running the organization be placed under house arrest.

That sounds weird considering there are Hatzalah organizations all over the world, including multiple such organizations across New York itself, and Chevra Hatzalah is not suing any of them but only the one in Florida.

The guy running the outfit in South Florida claims that his organization, which he has since renamed to JVAC, is being targeted because he allows women to volunteer and serve as equals, which Chevra Hatzalah has refused to do and has fought against when other organizations tried to go that route.

Chevra Hatzalah has not responded to that claim or to any questions about the suit.

Whatever the reason may be, this is not the good type of Jewish news one looks for in the newspapers. I dont get why the outfit in New York has to be bothered by what is going on down in Florida, whether it is the women volunteers situation or if it is anything else. They arent even impinging on the chevra hatzalah market - they are about 1200 miles apart. How is whatever is going on down in Florida going to cause confusion up in New York? 

Just get back to the business of saving lives. I dare say it is this type of aggressive askanus where the askans start to think they run the world that make the community think poorly of askanim. Unfortunately this type of fighting has not been uncommon between first responder organizations, though in this case they are not even near each other and not stepping on each others toes making it more unusual..

Rav Yosef said that this minhag began 600 years ago in Ashkenaz, Germany, by the Maharil. From there it spread to other communities throughout the Jewish spectrum, including Hassidic and Sephardic communities. The Vilna Gaon famously opposed this custom as he considered it too similar to the custom of the goyim on their holiday bringing trees into their homes, presumably Christmas trees.

This year, with the complication of Shmitta, Rav Yosef says one would not be allowed to decorate the shul with actual fruit of shmitta, fruit that has kedushat shviis, but cutting branches off of trees to use in the shul as decoration is allowed, based on the psak of Rav Ovadia Yosef (who paskened this way based on the Chazon Ish).

So get those shuls all green. Shvuos is just a few days away!

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After it was decided that the Yom Yerushalayim parade/march would follow the original route, and that Jews would be allowed up on Har Habayit, and that Jews would be allowed to fully prostrate on Har Habayit and say some prayers, record number of Jews ascended and did full prostration.

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The affected restaurants and stores are:

Halo Teiman in Neimi Mall

Dagei Bet Shemesh

Pizza Meshulashim in Shaarei Ha'Ir Mall

Pizza Meshulashim in RBS on Kishon St

and without the rabanut hechsher it is likely they wont have the mehadrin hechshers either (as it is illegal, besides for whatever problems might have been discovered, and the mehadrin hechshers usually adhere to this law of requiring a base hechsher of the Rabbanut)

I dont know what happened, and my assumption is that it will be resolved quickly, but be aware of the situation and if you go to any of these (or other) places check the hechsher to see what is current, if that is important to you.

Meshulashim announced on its FB page the following:

All branches of Meshulashim have the hechsher of Rav Landau of Bnei Braq with a permanent mashgiach from the time it opens until closes. That is unconnected to the kashrut of the local council who request large sums of money that is not justified in exchange for their kashrut.

It is a shame that the religious council are "warning" the public without also saying the reason for removing the kashrut - which is only a demand for money that it does not deserve.

UPDATE 02/06/2022 - Meshulashim and Rabbanut Bet Shemesh have to an agreement on the dispute and the Rabbanut has re-issued its kashrut certification for both branches of meshulashim.

According to the report, Lieberman's plan would make the general education system run on a schedule more similar to the Haredi school system. That is, Lieberman's plan would have schools running as normal through July, going on vacation in August.  Working parents would no longer struggle to find solutions for their kids for the two month period, as vacation would only be August, part of which most parents take vacation anyway before the new school year starts. July school would have the teachers losing 21 days of vacation.

Then in the period of September - October, with all the holidays, there would be vacation for the holiday period with an addition of two weeks vacation either before or after the holidays, depending on the calendar. September-October holidays would give the teachers back 17 of the vacation days they lost in July. The teachers would then have a selection of 4 more vacation days that they can each choose to use whenever they want. 

Being that the teachers are not losing any vacation days, they are just being moved around differently, I am not sure what the extra pay is for. It seems to be a bribe to get them to agree to the plan, not compensation for working more. But then again, teachers deserve to earn more than they do anyway...

It seems though that they did not try to solve the Chanukah sechedule at the same time, and I dont get why. Chanukah always has the kids getting off of school (plus Lag B'Omer) for no particularly good reason, while the parents have to work. Some parents take vacation then, and some travel, but in general, once coordinating the schedules, this should have been taken into consideration as well. 

At the end of each flight, the captain announced over the PA system a request that people donate some of their spare change to a specific organization (which I am not naming). The announcement said there would be an envelope in the pouch in front of each seat, but there was no envelope - moments later a flight attendant walked up and down the aisles with a bag for passengers to dump their donations in.

As worthy as that organization is (and it is an organization I have donated to in the past), I was a bit surprised and rankled by the announcement. I really did not need or want El Al to be shnorring from me at that time, at the end of a long, tiring, uncomfortable flight. Even for a great organization. I can give to any organization whenever I want, I do not need El Al's help with that. A lot of money was already paid to El Al - I dont need El Al asking for more, even for just pennies or shekels/agurot. 

I know there is nothing wrong with it, and I know I can just choose not to give, and I know if some people give (and they did) it is a good deed done. But still, I dont like to be solicited to. If I were flying for free, and El Al had sponsorships to cover the cost (like free websites have advertising and whatnot), that would be one thing. But if they are not flying me for free, I don't need or want them to then also shnorr from me.

As they say, time and place.

As you can see there will be separate starting times for men and for women for the same events - 6:30pm for the 10km for men, and 6:40 for women. 6:45 start for the 5km mens race and 6:50 for the women's 5km race. then 7-7:15 for the family 2km races. And some other activities.

Srugim is reporting that somebody asked Rav Tzvi Tau, Rosh Yeshiva of Har HaMor, if it is ok to participate in this race/event.

Rav Tau responded paskening that it is a chilul hashem to participate in such an event of men and women running together, and with women running in front of men and it is prohibited to participate in such an event, even in the "kosher" parts of it (ie in gender-separate tracks).

Rav Tau added that when women run in front of Arabs it is even worse than running in front of Jewish men as it is also a chilul hashem.

They both are a chilul hashem in his opinion, so I am not sure why one is worse than the other (as is mentioned) and he does not seem to explain, at least not in the article. I also recently heard a shiur on tzniyus and it seems that women causing "improper thoughts" by not dressing modestly is worse when it is Jewish men and might not even be a halachic problem when it is not-Jewish men as they are not commanded in the idea of avoiding improper thoughts, so the woman is not even causing them to falter. 

Additionally, Rav Tau calls it a chilul hashem rather than a halachic breach of tzniyus, which makes me wonder why he uses a generic issue like that rather than the halachos of tzniyus, unless maybe he doesnt think they actually apply directly.

I have seen the occasional race that tries to address the tzniyus issue by having separate routes for men and for women in addition to the separate start times. I wonder if that would be more acceptable to Rav Tau. Even with the different start times, with a gap of just ten minutes it seems the slower men might still be running behind the faster women.....

If Rav Tau is your rav, you might want to adjust your plans for tomorrow evening....

I would note that I have yet to see any of this reported anywhere else at this point. So, I dont know if it is real, if it is fake and simply fear-mongering, or if it is fake and when it doesnt happen (because it was never going to) it will be to the praise of Maklev for thwarting it...

Anyways, as the report goes, the laws to be proposed and passed include; making it illegal to have gender-segregated events, making it illegal to protest against the Women of the Wall, and to require Haredi and Dati rabbis to officiate at the weddings of Reform couples.

I wait to see how they will define an event that cannot be gender segregated and what events can be gender-segregated. Is davening in shul an event that can or cant be segregated? Can a bar mitzva in a shul social hall be segregated or not? What about a wedding in a wedding hall? What about a private concert or a play? Will this be an end to women's retreats or will that be ok? shiurim for men and shiurim for women? This does not seem like it is going to be easy to define or enforce, except at maybe the "more obvious" extremes.

Next, making it illegal to protest against the Women of the Wall at the Kotel. How can this possibly go down in the democratic state of Israel? During the period of CoronaVirus lockdowns, while everyone was strictly locked in their homes, the one thing people were able to go out for - even before they allowed individual exercise and services in shul - was protests. The right to protest is sacrosanct. It has been upheld when all other rights were curtailed. People have the right to protest outside the homes of ministers and the Prime Minister, outside government buildings, outside schools and outside the homes of individuals with whom they disagree - but they wont be allowed to protest against the activities of the Women of the Wall? This does not make sense. I cant believe they would pass a law making protest illegal against this or against any specific group. The Left would participate in a law curtailing the right to protest, even if it is true that some in the Coalition might want such a law?

The last one is a bit confusing as well but more form a point of why is it necessary? Haredi and Dati rabbis would not be able to refuse to officiate at the wedding of a Reform couple. At first thought, Haredi and Dati rabbis should be officiating at the weddings of anyone who wants them. Rabbis, any rabbi of any stream, should be happy to be turned to by people who want him involved in their lives at some level. But, how often do Reform couples want a Haredi rabbi officiating their wedding that this is much of an issue? Further, I am a little confused because Israel has no civil marriage allowances and any such marriages are illegal, as are any marriages outside of the Rabbanut (except for Muslim and Christian marriages, though those require involvement of their official religious representatives). So if it is illegal for a Reform couple to be married by a civil servant or by their Reform rabbi (assuming the Reform rabbi is not certified for performing weddings by the Rabbanut), how can Dati or Haredi rabbis ever be allowed to turn people away - if they are the only allowed to perform Jewish weddings, they should never be allowed to reject anyone Jewish wanting to get married!

So, none of these really make sense, making me wonder if the report is even true and not just fear-mongering. But if it is true, I dont see how they can pass the first two laws, and I dont see how they cannot pass the third unless marriage is opened up to civil and other non-Rabbanut rabbis....

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  -- MK Betzalel Smotritch (Hatzionut Hadatit)

good for Smotritch, and other MKs from his party and from some others, for recognizing something good done by Bennett and his ministers even though normally Smotritch has been a bitter rival over the past year or so. It is nice to see him give credit when due, unlike the Likud MKs that recently showed themselves to be selfish and egotistical (like most politicians but worse) and being overheard saying that doing good for the people is less important than getting back a good government (Likud led by Netanyahu). 

that's a mighty big flag brought out at the Yom Yerushalayim celebrations at the Kotel last night... 

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It was actually effective (among the group of people who do these things anyway - not sure if anyone else thought about intentionally getting beaten by the police to earn a hundred dollars).

Well, sort of.

The day before Lag B'Omer required the police to clear everyone off Mt Meron so the entire area could be cleaned and barriers placed appropriately in advance of the big event. Obviously some people refused to follow police orders and hunkered down instead of leaving. Some people were arrested/detained, including a "young avreich". This fellow sat in the prison (in Tzalmon Prison, because Tiberias prison was already full) for 2 days before being taken before a judge. The judge issued an order that this fellow cant be in the area of Meron for 30 days, and additionally would be subject to full house arrest for 5 days.

Upon receiving the verdict this fellow requested that the 5 days house arrest be changed to 5 days of full arrest in actual prison. Strange request but this avreich explained that 5 days of arrest would give him $500 from the group paying $100 per day for being arrested. He explained that he doesnt earn a decent living and this would be significant for him and his family.

The judge actually supported him without sending him to prison. She said that he should submit his claim even without going to prison because house arrest is considered legally fully as a regular arrest - they give house arrest when there is no concern of escape or danger, but it is fully considered as having been arrested. Because of that she did not send him to prison but kept it as house arrest.

source: Hamechadesh

I would like to hear the end of the story - did he get paid or not?  I am not even sure the house arrest might be the deciding factor, as it might be included as a good excuse to not pay, but he was arrested before Lag B'Omer, not while fighting the police at the event itself. I would like to know if they paid up or if he was just a patsy.

That sounds funny and weird, but in Israel the Burger King chain of fast food restaurants has some branches that are kosher. The kosher branches also serve cheeseburgers using vegan cheese and kosher bacon, aka facon, made from turkey. This fellow went into what he thought was a kosher branch of the chain based on the sign in front of the shop broadcasting to the public that it is kosher.

This fellow enjoyed his cheeseburger, thinking it was kosher and was so impressed with the quality of the vegan cheese commenting to a server on the way out that it tasted just like the real thing. The server responded that it tasted like the real thing because it is the real thing. The branch is not actually kosher and that was a real cheeseburger made from real meat and real cheese.

It turns out this branch had once been kosher and had the word "kosher" on their sign, but then changed to being a not-kosher branch and just never bothered to change the sign. The fellow eating there clearly did not look for the kashrut certificate but figured the sign saying kosher was enough, not "enough" as in certification but he figured if it says kosher and he knew it as kosher from the past, he surely didnt think twice about it and just assumed it is still kosher.

I am not coming here to say they should have removed the word from the sign so he is right for suing them. Nor am I coming her to say it is his own fault for not checking so he should not be suing. I am sure they were not trying to be deceptive with the sign, but they should have removed it when they decided to go not kosher. He wasnt looking for an excuse when he ate in a restaurant without checking for a kashrut certificate, nor was he trying to set them up for a suit, but he should have checked - one should always check as things often change in the restaurant industry, though to be fair many of us most of the time do not check if we are already familiar with a place - we simply assume nothing has changed.

This was an easily preventable unpleasant incident in which both sides are probably equally at fault.

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The government, at least the rightwing parties in it, want the Likud to support the bill so it will pass. The law is one supporting the soldiers, so the Likud should support it, and many in the Likud want to. The Likud though has to play politics, and they dont want to be seen as supporting this government, but they also dont want to be seen as voting against the soldiers. 

What makes it more complicated is that UTJ and Shas heard the calls within the Likud to support the bill and got all nervous. They threatened the Likud that if the Likud supports the bill, they will stop being loyal in Opposition to the Likud.

UTJ and Shas are now being accused as being "anti-soldier", which maybe they are in some ways, but really it is just politics. UTJ and Shas could have gotten plenty of things form this government had they played this type of politics, but they chose to stay loyal to the Likud and the Opposition and oppose the government, even when it hurt themselves in the short term. They see it as a longer term goal of opposing the government and coming back to power with more sway because they backed the Likud all along and stayed loyal. The Likud is in a bind. They cant vote against the soldiers, but they also cant turn their backs on their own most loyal partners.

And this is why, or at least one of the reasons, so many were upset with the Likud - they are beholden to Shas and UTJ and have to do whatever UTJ wants, even against their own interests. To be fair, Bennett is sort of in a similar position now with RAAM and Mansour Abbas, but the Likud has been doing this far longer and is inherently a far more powerful party that should not be beholden to the demands of smaller parties.

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huh?

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I did see a lot of online complaining from both Haredi news media sites and on social media saying the State took it over and ruined the celebrations, causing few people to go, leaving the Mt Meron largely empty with a weak celebration of little or no music and no food, limiting how much time people could be there, etc. They were mostly complaining that instead of a celebration it is mostly a depressing event.

I think it was clear to most people that far fewer people would go this year. Not because they are afraid. I think most people are not afraid, especially with a lot of the irresponsible things being stopped. But because there is just a bit of a damper on it. The tragedy of last year with 45 celebrants being killed in the crowds and collapse along with many more injured, just put a damper on the whole thing. several hassidic groups told their people to not go. 

The police did not tell anyone not to go. They made thousands of tickets available to the public. Anyone who wanted to go was able to. Even if it was not perfect, and even if the police gave groups of tickets and priority to some hassidic groups over other people (as some reports have claimed), there was still plenty to go around. Anyone who wanted to go was able to. Anyone who wanted to daven by Kever Rashbi was able to. Anyone who wanted to participate in honoring Rashbi was able to. And anyone who did not want to chose not despite being able to.

It isnt a failure just because the event did not draw 500,000 people. The event was not a failure just because it was not a mad crush with a chaotic celebration, with every group making its own bonfire and tish, with the tens of thousands of people crushing together like sardines. It was not a failure just because there was not a crazy trance concert with free food being given out. 

We know that this year's celebration was not like last years or the years before. It was planned to not be, so just because it wasnt the type of party some want doesnt make it a failure. Some people just like to complain no matter what.

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the thing is, I thought they banned food and drink from being served up there... :-)

A young man on Kibbutz Tirat Tzvi, a religious kibbutz in northern Israel, named Nateh Eiger in 11th grade qualified for an international competition in chemistry. He traveled to Europe to participate in the event. 5 other young chemists went from Israel to participate along with Nateh. Eiger advanced through the first two rounds with excellence but had to bow out when he discovered the third round would take place on Shabbos.

While it seems organizers had promised Eiger that if relevant he would be able to do his presentation no either Friday or Saturday night, when push came to shove they did not allow him to and he decided to bow out of the competition rather than to be mechalel shabbos.

He left the event early and went home for Shabbos where his community prepared a grand welcome to celebrate his success and his decision that Shabbos has priority, despite having prepared 3 years for this.

That is an amazing story. This is a kiddush hashem. And Nateh Eiger is a direct descendant of the great and famous Rabbi Akiva Eiger. I am sure he is shepping nachas right now up there..

Kikar adds another twist. MK Uri Maklev (UTJ) has called upon the Ministry of Education to award Eiger with some sort of respectable compensation for this. Maklev says the system should stand behind Eiger, and as a Jewish state, keeping Shabbos is a central value held by the State. Eiger should not lose because of Shabbos. Minister of Education Yifat Shasha Biton said she would consider it, and would look into making official arrangements for future international competitions so things like this should not happen again.

Not exactly "pay for slay" but not that far off....

The sign is really a posting of a price list of sorts for fighting with the police in Meorn on Lag B'Omer.

Whoever is behind this says that they have achieved funding for people who will be harmed by the police, according to the following price list:

If you get arrested, up to 1 day: $200

if you get hit by the police (better with it being documented): $100

if you get a fine: double whatever the fine is

Qualified participants should leave a message on the various system lines (I guess the relevant people know them, as they aren't included in the sign)

Accompanying the lower picture of a police bus to hold detainees, they write that even 50 of these won't be enough.

Looks like it will be leibedige on Lag B'Omer, though I really think their bark is worse than their bite... there probably wont be too many of these whackos...

It isnt a bad price list for people who dont have any other regular income... I do wonder if they get $100 for every time a policeman hits them, for each klop on the head, or is it $100 overall for being hit but not for each punch or slap?

I wonder how much money they were able to raise for this incentive program - they could not even afford to print a real sign but printed it on a home printer using A4 paper....

They accuse the government of trying to take over Meron and take the treasures of Meron and the area for itself, and to that end have destroyed shuls and batei medrash and the tzniyus roads and paths (which the government built in previous years in the first place)...

The Badatz calls on its adherents to not follow the rules of the government and to go to Meron without cooperating and without needing any favors or goodwill from those evil people.

I am not sure what they are expecting to happen - are they buying tickets to get in and just dont plan to follow the rules once there? Are they going to go without buying tickets and plan to fight their way in? Are they just talk and bluster and really will play along very nicely? Very often their public fights get a lot of public Haredi support from young hotheads. The issue of Meron is unique. Because of what happened last year I am not sure people form the general Haredi community are going to support them in this approach.

The last thing we need in Meron right now is to see the Edia zealots going to Meron and fighting their way in, attacking policemen and policemen attacking them to keep them out, or even getting in and then messing up the logistics in place...

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It has always been said, at least since I have ever heard about Eurovision (never before I came to Israel), that Eurovision is always political. It might be a song/singing/music/weird costume  contest but the voting is always political.

With Ukraine having won, it seems in 20/20 hindsight (or even maybe in foresight among people who think about Eurovision more than I) that no other country ever had a chance, because of the war, so I feel even less bad for the Israeli contestant who failed because he never actually had a chance.

Ukraine has already beaten Russia on one battlefield. Let's see what happens on the other.

the big question is how Ukraine plans on hosting next year. Even if the war finishes before then, and even if the country Ukraine remains after the war, how will they rebuild fast enough to host the competition?

In light of last year's tragedy at Meron in which 45 people were killed on Lag B'Omer, among the changes for this year's festivities, entry will only be permitted to those carrying tickets. Tickets are meant to stagger the numbers of participants so there won't be too many at any one given time, with entry permitted for up to 4 hours. When purchasing a ticket, the ticket will be for a specific time. 

I guess it was bound to happen. With tickets limited, whether by number or by time, someone was going to forge them. I assume there will also be scalping at some point, if there isn't already. Some people probably bought large amounts of tickets, ostensibly for groups, and will resell them at a higher price.

Interestingly, one of the men arrested, a 19 year old Haredi from Jerusalem, is being defended by a lawyer who has claimed that he did not do it. His argument is that this young man has no knowledge of computers and only holds a kosher phone, so there is no way he could have done this. The phones confiscated during the arrest have no connection to the Internet and with his lack of knowledge in how to use a computer, it is an unreasonable suspicion to think that this young man is unreasonable for the forgery.

source: Behadrei

I dont know that any of this need necessarily be an impediment to forging documents and selling them (his partner could have done that part of it while he handled other aspects of the plan), but I obviously dont know that he did. The police will have to make their case.

999 Fun Facts goes through the USA, state by state, with about 20 or so fun facts about each state. This book is not particularly Jewish, until one considers the bonus. Each state also has a bonus fact after the initial 20. The bonus fact for each state is a Jewish fact - some quirky fact about some Jewish aspect of the state.

This book is a quick read. It is light and entertaining with facts like where the first female mayor was elected, , where the first potatoes in America were planted, and who invented the Frisbee and where (all three selected randomly).

There is not much to write about this book. It is a small book, but as I said, it is fun, it is quick and it was far more interesting and captivating than I originally expected. Read 999 Fun Facts aloud with your family or read it alone in a couple of sittings while you relax and relieve some tension. Either way it is a good fun read.

At the time the discussion was that this would be the first step with eventually the tax being expanded to include all shops, not just supermarkets.

MK Yorai Lahav-Hertzano (Yesh Atid) has proposed a law that would now expand the original tax to include medium and small businesses being required to charge the 10ag tax for plastic bags. Additionally the proposal would allow the Minister of the Environment to set the maximum tax at 1nis per bag instead of the maximum today of 60ag per bag.

According to Ynet, since 2016, when the tax first went into effect, there has been an 80% decrease in the use of plastic bags. In recent years though there has actually been a slight increase again, with 2020 being marked with a 9% increase over 2019, and both 2018 and 2019 seeing a 5.5% increase.

While Israelis initially did not want to pay the tax and largely stopped using the bags, it seems we got used to it little by little and also thought the 10ag charge was not significant enough to change our habits. Personally, I still use them much of the time. 

I think that as important as this tax, or its goal, might be, now might not be the best time for it, considering the general rise in cost of living we are going through right now. 

That being said, I do wonder why they only charge 10ag per bag if they have been allowed to charge up to 60, and now up to 1nis if the proposal passes. It is not like any government to charge less tax than allowed. And why expand the law to small business rather than first charge the maximum allowed?

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  -- MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ)

it is interesting to watch Gafni and Deri bickering. they are both sharp and can attack at the most hurtful spots. Deri has been attacking Gafni for recently inviting Yair Lapid to participate in his birthday celebrations. Gafni retorted attacking Deri for being responsible for the Oslo Accords. Deri didnt vote in favor of Oslo - he had Shas abstain at the time instead of vote against. Shas at the time was propping up Rabin's government. Voting against would have collapsed the government and put an end to Oslo Accords, but he abstained. Later in the votes of Oslo 2 Shas voted against. Deri has ever since tried to erase the claim of Shas having supported the Left and Oslo, and Gafni hit the most painful point by raising the issue again and accusing Deri of this.

At this rate they will bring down the Opposition before they bring down the Coalition

I do not begrudge anyone their personal preferences of what type of community they want to live in.

That being said, if I want to live in a specific type of community I will seek out such a community and try my best to move there and settle in. I do not think it is legitimate to move into a community that is not as preferred and then try to use discriminatory practices and bullying methods to keep others out so it will hopefully become the community I want.

While we saw the other day a call to residents in RBS D to continue building the community there as a heimishe community and not rent or sell to "others" that was a personal call made by an anonymous person. Someone like that can be marginalized or ignored. What is one person going to do? He might garner up support for his plan but at this point he is just one person. Reject him but he can basically be ignored.

RBS E/H/5/Hei - aka RBS Hei - was built as a more diverse community. The plans, prepared by then-Mayor Moshe Abutbol, was to plan and market Hei to 3 different sectors, 1/3 Haredi, 1/3 Dati and 1/3 Secular. Anyone buying or renting and moving to RBS Hei knows in advance that this neighborhood was designed to be a more diverse neighborhood. Over time market forces might lock that down in some way with some moving out and others moving in and it turning to develop some more specific character, but in the early stages it is meant to be a diverse community.

There is now a call by a group of Haredi rabbonim and activists to push out the non-Haredi sector and only allow Haredim to rent or buy apartments in Hei. They have put together a set of "takanos" for RBS Hei....

That is different than the guy in RBS D - that was an individual, a nobody. This is a call out, with a published letter signed, by a slew of local rabbonim. This is not a private individual stating his opinion, but it is community leadership, it is the "system", it is official.

They can do what they want, no matter how wrong it is. but if and when calls anywhere in the country get put out to not sell in a certain area to Haredim, they are the first to scream discrimination and call people anti-Haredi. And it used to happen in the earlier days of Bet Shemesh when the newer neighborhoods just started being built and Haredi communities started being developed here and some even started spreading out and buying in older areas that had a secular or dati atmosphere. There were calls to not let them buy in those areas, and they were rejected but they were also condemned, and the Haredi communities and leadership, even at the national level, screamed bloody murder at such calls. I would like to see a reporter take such a poster to Moshe Gafni or Yaakov Litzman or Aryeh Deri and ask them what they think about it. I would like to see them reject such behavior and use the Degel or Aguda or Shas resources to put an end to it.