1. Minister Benny Gantz recently gave Netanyahu an ultimatum saying he would leave the government by June 8th if Netanyahu does not do x, y and z before that.

his silence and emotion is more powerful than what his words would have conveyed

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The Haredi parties, especially UTJ, have not really threatened the government with any of the issues they consider red lines, despite saying they would. none of the passed deadlines or the various proposals for the Draft Law have caused the Haredi parties to bolt, despite them having said they would. Chilul shabbos of government officials and their offices have gone largely ignored, despite them being the impetus for crises in the past. They have always used the excuse that the Leftists just want to bring down the government and they wont be a part of it, or they would say this is the best government they can hope for so they wont bring it down to bring in a worse one. 

And now suddenly MK Moshe Gafni goes into Netanyahu's office and threatens that if money for Haredi educational institutions isnt cleared by Friday he will resign. In his wake have followed, so far, MKs Asher and Eichler, and Eichler said the others would follow along as well. 

This looks like a serious threat, though I am confident Netanyahu will solve it before they need to follow through.

The question in my head is why now. Is this really a bigger issue than all those other issues they havent been willing to turn into a crisis? Is it a matter of timing because Benny Gantz might be pulling out soon so they want to stay ahead of the curve or maybe they can take advantage of the instability?

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Halley's Comet appears once every 75 years or so. Haley's Rocket made an appearance today as Nikki Haley came to Israel and took some time to sign a rocket designated for Hamas

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Yarin Shriki, a survivor of the Nova massacre, won the gold medal today at the Ju Jitsu Grand Prix competition in Paris today. Congratulations! and he uses the opportunity to memorialize the victims of the October 7 massacre and specifically his friend

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  -- Minister Itamar Ben Gvir

oops. That's not what I meant. I told the I would back them up when they beat up protestors and are overly aggressive against people and crowds, but I didnt mean they should beat up old men and women...

They probably dont even understand why they have been suspended, considering the mixed messages he is sending...

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While many Haredim (some are calling them extremists from the various extreme communities) have spent the later part of the day flocking to Meron, despite the closure and the danger of missiles from Hezbollah, the police have been trying to keep them off. Some incidents of violence have been reported. Despite the danger and the breaking of the rules, I don't think violence like this is warranted - a Magav soldier shoving an elderly man who does not seem to be violent or a threat to the ground. The elderly man needed to be taken tot he hospital to have his wounds treated.

People are shocked and wondering how this can happen.

Violence breeds more violence. The police and Magav in Israel were always overly violent to begin with. Now they have a Minister in charge of them who encourages them to be even more violent than they were in many situations, and the violence just breeds more violence. They cant turn it on and off at a whim. 

The violent tendencies of the police need to be rooted out. You cant pick out one incident and judge it. They arent violent in a vacuum.

Yes, the police have a lot to deal with. Protestors, people who think the law doesn't apply to them, terrorism, danger. Today they were forced to be present in one of the most dangerous spots in Israel because some people think the law doesnt apply to them and maybe they were frustrated at the situation and at the people. None of that is a good recipe for calm enforcement, but with violence too often encouraged, the chances for explosive situations increases tenfold.. 

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Refuah shleima to Itamar Eitam and I hope he recovers quickly and gets back to killing terrorists.

When I saw the picture publicized of Eitam I immediately said to myself, hey that looks like the famous picture of Theodore Herzl on the hotel balcony in Basel overlooking the Rhine in contemplation. What's he doing in Gaza??!! is this one of those montages where they overlay a picture into a different background?

of course that would be, minus the river and Swiss atmosphere, plus the gun and Gaza atmosphere..

and here we go side by side:

what do you think?

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bshaa tova!

so why is the picture of a pregnant woman qualified for PotD? Because she isnt pregnant. This woman was arrested today, on Pesach Sheni, trying to smuggle a baby goat onto Har Habayit. She stuck the goat under her dress to make herself look pregnant and smuggle in the goat under the guise of pregnancy. 

A policeman noticed some strange movement and heard some unexpected noises, and checked her further, discovering the goat. The goat died of suffocation, without being slaughtered as a korban pesach.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted ceasefire proposals, only for them to be rejected by Hamas. Israel has changed its policy to allow humanitarian aid in to Gaza, and has regularly increased the amounts of aid being let in. Israel has warned Palestinians of upcoming attacks, thus waiving the element of surprise and increasing risk to Israeli soldiers. Israel has evacuated hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the danger zones and has created humanitarian corridors for safe passage. 

Yet somehow PM Netanyahu is equated with arch-terrorist Yehiya Sinwar who took civilians as hostages and had his people specifically target civilians in brutal rapes and murders of the most gruesome kind. Hamas operatives taken prisoner are treated humanely - they are fed and given medical treatment along with a bed to sleep on, the ability to shower and take care of their personal needs, while the Israelis held hostage by Hamas are getting none of that.

And Netanyahu is on equal footing with Sinwar??? How is this possible?

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Today, with The Hague issuing arrest orders for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Dfense Minister Yav Galant, alongside arch-terrorists Mohammed Def and Yehiya Sinwar, while representatives of Western countries are wishing Iran condolences on the death of the Butcher of Tehran Ebrahim Raisi, while the demands on and criticism of Israel's management of the war on Hamas increase including from the United States.. I think we can safely say we are pretty close to a nation that will dwell alone again, if we ever weren't....

The question was asked before the final confirmation that the Iranian president Raisi was dead, but was asked while he was presumed dead but the search was ongoing. The question posed was with the news that one of the greatest enemies who made a lot of trouble for the Jews has seemingly died. When we will find out that he definitely has died should one maker the bracha of Hatov VeHameitiv? On the one hgand it will be joyous news, on the other hand another enemy and hater of the Jews will be appointed in his place so maybe there is no place  to make a bracha?

Rav Zilbershtein paskened that one should buy a new fruit and say a conditional bracha saying that if I can make the shehecheyanu on the news, I am making the bracha on both the fruit and on the news of Raisi's death, but if not then the bracha is only on the watermelon but not on the death of the wicked one.

source: Hamechadesh

  -- Eliyahu Liebman, father of Elyakim, following the news that his son, presumed taken hostage, had actually been murdered by the Hamas terrorists

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took me a moment to understand, but wow

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1. Good riddance

2. I hope he survived the crash with horrible injuries and takes a lot of time to die of his injuries and infections waiting for someone to come save him. Maybe the other passengers will even eat him for lack of food. 

3. I would be happy to hear the Mossad was involved in this crash

4. If the Israelis did it, they should either say so outright or at least drop some strong hints so other enemies of Israel will know the long arm of Israel can reach them.

5. If Israel had nothing to do with it, that's also fine. Good job to whoever did it, even if it was purely an accident

6. Hamas reporting on the matter is surely saying there are 500 people on board that were all killed

Let's not forget that some people who are serving in the current government, even as senior members, regularly forget that fact - that they are senior members of the government - and go to protests against the government, hold press conferences against government policy and make statements criticizing the government they themselves serve in.

So Smotritch said we need to hit Lebanon hard, let them know we are serious, and take control of an area in Southern Lebanon and use it as a security strip to guarantee the security of the people of Israel.

The fact that we are in a war on the northern border but only playing a passive role in it is known to every Israeli and there seems to be a consensus to the fact that this needs to change. Israel cannot continue absorbing the attacks up north while tens of thousands of people remain evacuated from their homes with no end in sight. I wouldnt say war is necessary or war is imminent - we are already in a war, we just arent fighting our side of it yet.

The interesting thing about Smotritch's statement is that he wants to send us back to the 80s and 90s taking a security zone in south Lebanon to keep Israelis safe. I dont know if he thinks he can do things differently now but back then Lebanon, with the security zone, was a very dangerous place for Israelis, with soldiers killed far too frequently, and the northern border never quiet.  Israelis were so fed up of it that the consensus consistently grew that Israel needed to leave Lebanon, until it did (perhaps too hastily). Do we really want to go back to that situation?

Regardless of that though, once must really admire Smotritch's confidence and bravado. Back in the day we fought against 3 countries and defeated them in six days. The War of Independence against 6 countries took 7 months. The Yom Kippur War, which started off pretty lousy, took 3 weeks to beat two countries. And we are in a war now against a terrorist group from a pathetic little piece of land and while we have wreaked destruction on Gaza, none of the stated goals have yet to be accomplished. And Smotritch is itching to go to war (a necessary war that has been forced upon us) in Lebanon at the same time...

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members of the security forces, some of whom had to have their faces covered to keep their identities secret, lit one of the torches of the Yom Haatzmaut ceremony

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To misappropriate an expression from Rosh Hashana, 

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PM Netanyahu, in advance of Yom Hazikaron, donned tefillin, explainingthat the mother of a fallen soldier from the Tzuk Eitan operation gave him her son's tefillin. These tefillin had been with him the entire time in battle and it was the only item to survive the battle in which Moshiko Dwino fell. The tefillin covers are still coated in ash from the battle. Netanyahu said he promised her that he would lay them in memory of Moshiko and in memory of the other fallen soldiers.

Journalist Amit Segal surmises this is the first time Netanyahu has put on tefillin. Personally I doubt that, but maybe first time as Prime Minister.

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Israel needs to be proactive in this. If Hamas thinks hostages, dead or alive, are worth x number of Hamas prisoners, and soldiers worth y, plus humanitarian aid and cessation of hostilities and reconstruction of Gaza, Israel should take that calculation and run with it, even with some adjustments. Translate it into some equivalent calculation and start executing, ie give the death penalty which is on Israeli law, to captured Hamas terrorists. Try them in military court, sentence them (my assumption is that this should be a fairly easy and straightforward trial - there is not much of a defense for what they did), and start publicly executing them according to the calculations of the hostage deal "accepted" by Hamas. If Hamas gets upset, they can trade hostages to save their terrorists from the firing squad.

I would focus, or at least start, with members of the Nukhba force that have been captured, and if necessary move on to others. 

With the assumption/knowledge being that Hamas has been killing, or leaving to die, the Israeli hostages, and likely most are dead by now, they need to pay for that. It would be somewhat revenge but also perhaps, hopefully, a deterrent to get Hamas to keep the rest alive for as long as possible and to stop dilly dallying and to get moving on a realistic deal before too many of theirs are dead.

Besides for the fact that Israel is an ally of the USA and at war, there are American citizens being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

According to the report, the USA has been holding concrete information regarding Hamas tunnels that Israel is supposedly not aware of, including information as to the whereabouts, in the tunnels, of Hamas leaders, and where hostages are being held. Not only has it been withholding this information but now it is willing to horse-trade with Israel for it.

Maybe had Israel been made aware of this information earlier the Rafah  offensive would never have been necessary in the first place. Maybe this war could have been over months ago. 

How long has the USA had this information and been keeping it to themselves? Does the USA really not care about finishing this war, getting rid of Hamas leadership and getting the hostages back? It seems the US government is more concerned about protecting Hamas than of Israel winning the war or keeping the hostages safe and bringing them home.

How dare you! Shame! Shame! How can keeping Hamas safe be your ultimate priority??!!

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Boker Tov

Leading Reform Rabbi: What Did We Do Wrong?

Manhattan Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch says the Reform movement must explore why it has produced so many anti-Zionist Jews.

The solution: Instilling in our youth Ahavat Yisrael—love and concern for fellow Jews. pic.twitter.com/PKY9WBqUJU

— Shelley G (@ShelleyGldschmt) May 5, 2024

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the Gvura Forum held protests outside the Knesset against the government demanding to continue fighting in Gaza until full victory is achieved.... several ministers of the government itself joined and participated in the protests (I read somewhere that 10 ministers participated), pictured above are Ministers Betzalel Smotritch and Miki Zohar.

Government ministers protesting against the government that they themselves serve in....

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I am not sure if this should be counted as Tweet of the Day or as Troll of the Day. I am going with Tweet of the Day, but really not sure that is the correct decision...

Minister of Internal Security Itamar Ben Gvir tweeted:

1. Ben Gvir has called for the firing of Galant several times already. Maybe he needs to be more impactful if this is something he really wants - he is part of this government and if this is as serious a matter as he claims, he can threaten to bring down the government as he has done for other matters.

2. Ben Gvir has been Minister of Internal Security, in charge of the police. It seems he too was responsible for a large part of the failure of October 7. The police failed to protect the people of Israel along the border. The army failed as did the police. Ben Gvir should be fired, by his own logic, and should be prevented from making appointments.

3. PM Netanyahu was the leading person behind the Conception for many years, and holds ultimate responsibility. if he is not bringing them all to task, including the Prime Minister, how can he just try to bring one of them to task?

4. Should the army proceed to function short-handed? Until everyone responsible leaves their roles (ie after the end of the war), these changes cannot be made, so they have to be made now, like it or not. If the people responsible (ie pretty much the entire government and probably the entire leadership of the security forces) cant be fired or be forced to resign just yet, they still have to be able to continue to function.

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  -- Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, responding to the news that Meron will be closed and declared a closed military zone for the week leading up to Lag BaOmer and for Lag BaOmer itself, to prevent people form going there against instructions. 

Meron has been hit with rockets from Hezbollah several times (there is an important army base very close to Meron) and a party with a large amount of celebrants on Lag BaOmer could make this an easy target for Hezbollah and will be a potential disaster. Goldknopf obviously doesnt like the idea of Meron being closed on Lag BaOmer. 

What he said caused quite a stir, especially because Metulla is closed down. Goldknopf has since apologized, but specifically apologized for inaccurately bundling Tzfat and Meron together. It seems he still thinks the Meron celebration shouldnt be shut down, despite the war and danger, just he shouldnt have compared it to Metulla...

In the Torah reading in shul there is a word, KaElah, that is read in the cantillation with a rising sound and it has become popular, especially in recent years for the congregants to call it out in an exaggerated way. I have seen videos of people having a lot of fun with it, even singing it stretched out with musical accompaniment...

Recently I have seen several articles decrying this behavior, calling it inappropriate, a desecration and degradation of the Torah acting in this way during the Torah reading with the Torah laying open on the bima. Here is an exagerrated example or two...

כאלה
פארגאנגענע חוה"מ פסח pic.twitter.com/57TiPBNvTq

— Hasidic (@hasidic_1) May 1, 2024

המסורת השנתית: כמדי שנה מתפללי שטיבלא'ך קארו בביתר עילית בשירת "כאלה" בניצוחו של כוכב הרשת הירושלמי וולווה קירשנבוים. בתפקיד הבעל קורא: העיתונאי אריה ארליך pic.twitter.com/7El5Y3xxkd

— משה ויסברג (@moshe_nayes) April 24, 2024

Appropriate or not, it brings such joy to so many people..

All I will say is halevai this should be the most significant problems we have in Am Yisrael...

or in Hebrew, שכאלה יהיו הבעיות של עם ישראל....

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Fetterman for President!

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