what makes this a good deal?

I need you to explain something to me, about the current deal on the table, but the same really applies to all the deals that have been out there and that likely will be out there in the future.

When negotiating a deal, both sides have to be incentivized to agree to it - each side has to feel like it is gaining something, getting what it needs, to be able to agree.

President Trump announced a deal on the way and Israel went and negotiated with Trump to make sure certain clauses and terms would be included so Israel could live with it. PM Netanyahu has said he accepts it because Israel's concerns are taken care of in this arrangement and can live with Hamas being exiled or whatever specifics arent exactly what Israel wanted. Fair enough.

And now we wait for Hamas to "study the proposal" and return with a response.

What in this deal, or in any deal, is included that would make Hamas agree to it and feel they got something they want and need? 

From a negotiations perspective why should or would Hamas accept this deal, or any deal Israel agrees to? Any deal Israel agrees to basically does away with Hamas. Why would they ever agree to that? What has any of these deals offered Hamas as incentive to agree? All these deals have been win-lose from Hamas perspective. Technically it is a good deal (maybe) for the people of Gaza but Hamas doesn't care about that - what is there that would encourage Hamas to agree to this and that they can see as being beneficial to them?

Offering a deal that has no chance of being accepted by the other side because it offers them nothing beneficial is not really a solution. Maybe just saying we won't kill them all but will let them leave is enough for them, though we know that so far that has not been enough.

Please explain. I get why this is a good deal from our side, but why do we think would Hamas ever agree to that? Maybe it is enough that Qatar might pressure them to. Maybe not

Meaning, an Israeli I want us to win and not Hamas and come out of this on top. But if we are offering them a deal, what's the point if we are not offering them something they can point to as a win for them? They simply wont accept it.

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apologize and end it

People are upset PM Netanyahu apologized a short while ago to Qatar, and then even more upset when it became known shortly after that he also promised to not attack Hamas again on Qatar soil (or however they worded it) breaking Qatari sovereignty. And that he agreed to pay reparations to the family of the Qatari security guard.

I dont know about all that. The apology definitely does not bother me. That is diplomacy. Netanyahu is beholden to President Trump, Israel's last supporter, he has to do what Trump wants, and that is what Trump needs to have any chance of getting this deal underway. The apology does not bother me. This is a small price to pay to have any chance at all to get the deal underway.

Netanyahu tried to convince the Israeli people the operation in Qatar was not a failure saying Hamas now knows they can't hide and are not safe anywhere. And he said explicitly that he would strike again if and when the opportunity presents itself. I think today's apology and commitment to not attack again contravenes that.

I am good with Netanyahu making this deal. Israel is strong and can handle and deal with any and all of the points that will be finalized and agreed upon. I have thought this all along with other deals on the table at other times and think it now. Those attacking it from the Left are somewhat hypocritical, those attacking it from the Right are not hypocritical but those on the Right making and supporting the deal that is similar in many aspects to the deals they refused to consider all along for ending the war are hypocritical too. For many on the Left, whatever Bibi says is bad even if they supported it all along and it matches their own agenda. For many on the Right whatever Bibi says is great even if just yesterday they criticized the very thought of it and it was supposedly the polar opposite of their agenda. 

For those saying it will allow Hamas to perpetrate another October 7, that means they are planning to abandon Israel's borders again and leave them defenseless. Israel is strong enough to protect its borders if it wants to (of course with God's help). We are only at risk of another October 7 if we go back to the old policies of letting Hamas do whatever it wants in exchange for some sense of quiet. Make the deal that is reasonable, end this too-long-war and get back the remaining hostages,, and rehab the country.

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Qatar = Hamas?

I am finding it very interesting that Qatar is basically negotiating with President Trump right now on behalf of Hamas and has even said they can make Hamas accept the deal they come up with.

So Qatar is not just hosting Hamas but also representing Hamas now? What does that say about Qatar?

And, where have they been all along? Why have they not made Hamas accept deals until now? Why has pressure not been exerted on Qatar previously to bring any proposed deals to agreement?

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Halacha Headlines: 9/26/25 – Shiur 530 –Is Charlie Kirk in Gan Eden? Who really gets in? | How do we navigate the Issur of לא תחנם? (audio)

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EXCLUSIVE: Netanyahu addresses Trump's Gaza peace plan (video)

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Hey, Get Back Here! (video)

as soon as they walked out I cringed.. shouldnt they be in beis din? or at least just keep their fights off of tv and out of the public eye?

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order of the Yom Kippur avoda: war edition (video)

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Teshuva fado (song) 🇮🇱🇵🇹❤️ (video)

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LIVE: Netanyahu speech at UN General Assembly 2025 (video)

in case you have not yet seen PM Netanyahu's United Nations speech from Friday...

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Bardak - Kabbalos (in collaboration with Yomi) | Bardak - Kabbalos (video)

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K'sheim Shetzarich (One Must Believe) - Eitan Katz (video)

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send them home

From what I understand, the majority of Muslim refugees and migrants in the various European countries (among others) originate from Syria. They were understandably escaping a brutal Syrian civil war. Why they went to Western countries for refugee status rather than fellow Muslim countries is another question, but be that as it may, Sweden, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and others are hosting many Syrian and other refugees and their own societies are changing because of it.

Now Syria is being recognized by Western countries as stabilizing and with the ousting of the Assad regime it seems the civil war is basically over. Western leaders are recognizing Al-Sharaa as a legitimate leader they can work with and release sanctions.

So, why are the European countries (and others) not sending their refugee communities back to their homes? 

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Naftali Bennett at Quantum World Congress 2025 (video)

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First Time at a Kosher Restaurant (video)

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Akiva & Idan Raichel - AVINU MALKEINU (United Palace Theater 25) (video)

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guide to blowing shofar (video)

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Yonina & Leket Israel- Bashana Haba'a (video)

halevai, lu yehi

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waiting for netz

This morning I davened in a minyan that was early and around the sunrise time, but was not listed officially as a "netz minyan"

The fellow who led the services had tried to get people to go up and lead but nobody wanted to and eventually he himself went and led them.

He got to the shmoneh esrei several minutes before honetz (aka netz/vatikin) and one person was getting visibly nervous. He even went to the chazzan and tried to get him to wait until the official sunrise time, but the chazzan brushed him off. He went back to his seat and was visibly nervous and even started gesticulating to people to wait, it is too early, etc. The services went on despite his anxiety.

After the services were over he went over to the chazzan and told him off for being too early and it is a netz minyan and so close to netz he could have waited 3 or 4 minutes, etc. 

This is a minyan made up of mostly random people who happen to be there for whatever reason, along with a few regulars of people who work in the building or nearby. This chazzan is one of the regulars, and the anxious guy is not.

When Mr Anxious went over to complain, the chazzan responded that it is not a netz minyan but a "workers minyan" and it is perfectly fine to not wait. The anxious guy was arguing about that a bit. I was standing right behind them and joined in for a moment saying his complaining is inappropriate - what's done is done and he didnt violate anything even if netz is preferred. Also, the shulchan aruch when talking about davening at netz only says the "vatikin" would try to daven close to honetz. Today we have people who are concerned about getting the time right down to the millisecond by use of atomic clocks and whatnot, but there is no such requirement and people davening early were never so concerned about that level of accuracy until recent generations.

I heard a rav once say that davening before netz is just as bdieved as davening after netz.

What do you think - who was right in this situation - the chazzan or the anxious person? I get the idea that you are so close to netz anyway so why not wait a few minutes, but also people dont want to wait - they have places to go, things to do. They are just going to stand around for 3, 4 or 5 minutes doing nothing? Making them wait is the definition of tircha dtzibbura. I personally think his criticism and behavior was very out of place. He could have waited for honetz if he wanted to (and I think he did) but he should not have gesticulated and criticized and shown his anxiety.

By the way, as a I left I checked the sign that has the schedule of services and nowhere on the sign does it say it is a netz minyan.

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counting chicks before they are hatched

I think the Opposition parties are making a mistake right now talking about with which other parties they will or will not sit together in a coalition. Suddenly they are all making announcements, one saying I wont sit with Arabs or Haredim, another saying no Haredim and no Bibi but Arabs are welcome, another says yes Bibi but no Ben Gvir and another says no this but yes that.

First, they are counting their chicks before they are hatched.

Second, why deal with that now? It is irrelevant right now. There are no elections happening right now, so we already put your coalition together? They sound like they are already fighting among themselves who to include and who to exclude, as the venn diagram of who they each say will be included and who wont be will not leave them with much of a coalition. They should be presenting viable alternatives to the concerns of the day and not dealing with putting stakes in the ground that wont allow a viable government.

This is probably the most dysfunctional government either, but this Opposition is also the most dysfunctional Opposition ever. I wish we had better representatives and better alternatives.

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Tweet of the Day

הודעה מיוחדת לבעלי תפקידים בשירות הציבורי ולגורמי אכיפת החוק:

אינספור אנשים שאלו אותי האם בכלל יתקיימו הבחירות.

אהיה ברור:
לא נאפשר לאף אחד לדחות או לשבש את הבחירות. אנחנו על זה.

דחיית בחירות יכולה להתרחש רק ברוב של 80 חברי כנסת, ואין כאלה.
**
בהזדמנות זאת, אני פונה לכל…

— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) September 21, 2025

Translation (courtesy of X Translation services):

Special message to public service officials and law enforcement authorities: Countless people have asked me whether the elections will take place at all. I will be clear: We will not allow anyone to postpone or disrupt the elections. We are on it. Postponing elections can only happen with a majority of 80 Knesset members, and there are no such. ** On this occasion, I appeal to all heads of security systems, police officers, public employees, judges, and members of the Election Committee: Continue to uphold the law and the state. I am aware of the immense system of pressures being applied to you. It is not easy, but do not agree to break the law or bend the rules due to political pressure. You will not forgive yourselves for deviating from the law; you bear responsibility for your actions. There is a tomorrow. Do not be afraid. Soon the current government will be replaced. The bad norms that have infiltrated the public systems, such as allowing agents of an enemy state to operate from the Prime Minister's office, government ministers who receive bribes, or the intervention of political and criminal operatives in promoting military and police officers, will be uprooted from the root. Soon the state will return to a healthy track of professional management, renewal, and growth.

Very strange tweet. Until now this has been the discussion of conspiracy theorists on the Left, adding to the silly and mean conspiracy theories promulgated by both the left and the right since October 7 2023. I dont know if he has concrete information about this or not, but until now it has just been a wild and hopefully baseless accusation bandied about with no concrete information, at least not any told to the public. It is somewhat surprising Bennett is talking about this now, especially with the elections still over a year away.

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B’ein Meilitz Yosher – Shalom Jacobs ft. Yisroel Zev Gifter (video)

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Tateh Shomeiah - | R' Shloime Taussig & Yitzy Waldner (Official Music Video)

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Yonina- Abba (video)

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Zevi - Days Of Love (Official Music Video)

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what is Eurovision offering?

The Eurovision organization, under pressure form some European countries that think Israel should be banned from participating, has asked Israel to either pull out of Eurovision and stop competing, or continue to compete but under a neutral flag and not under the official flag of Israel and as representatives of Israel.

It seems several European countries are threatening to boycott Eurovision if a solution isnt found to keep Israel out.

I have not yet heard any indication of what Israel plans to do and how Israel plans to respond.

I would be perfectly fine with Israel being business as usual and refusing to pull out and make it Europe's problem. Let the countries boycott, and let Eurovision lose its stature and even possibly shut down as a result. I am not sure who they are threatening. If they want Israel to offer acceptance of these solutions, what are they offering in exchange to Israel? Why should Israel accept this? Israel would be helping solve Eurovision's problems with no gain or benefit to Israel.

They always claimed to be apolitical while being very political in the judging, and now they are being 100% political with this consideration of pushing Israel out. 

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Uber might be coming to Israel

Channel 12 News has reported today that Minister of Transportation has been working to get Uber operating in Israel. She gave the green light with official permits 3 months ago. Uber service is planned to be allowed to start operations in Israel in the first quarter of 2026.

I said "planned" and not "expected" because in reality it seems this has a long way to go, and will be a big fight.

According to the new, Regev has not yet involved the various regulatory services that need to be involved and to figure how they can legally operate, nor has she involved any other Ministries yet that need to be coordinated with. And beyond that, the taxi driver associations are promising to fight this as they have in the past.

It seems the big obstacle is that taxi drivers have all sorts of requirements such as insurance that is four times the price of a private vehicle, expensive licensing, regulations, purchase of a "number" that allows them to drive passengers for a fee, and more, and they consider it unreasonable they need to pay all that and comply with all the various regulations and then the State goes ahead and lets anybody who wants to to drive passengers for a fee without all the regulations, licensing, insurance, et al.

Another problem considered significant is that studies have shown Uber causes more traffic as people tend to abandon public transportation and use Uber, making more cars on the road. Additionally, they say it also causes more traffic because more cars are driving around empty until they get a fare or returning from a fare. Supposedly this is one of the big reasons it was turned down in the past when Yisrael Katz (today Defense Minister) when he was Transportation Minister.

In general I think this can be a big benefit. It will bring prices down and will also allow any average person with a car to make a little money on the side. Obviously all the regulatory stuff needs to be worked out. The argument of the taxi drivers is reasonable asking why they need to pay so much more and follow more rules if the State is then going to just allow anyone who wants to to drive passengers with no regulations and fees. I would not be surprised if this doesn't go through in the end because of that, but it would be a shame. I hope they find a reasonable way to work it out and compensate the taxi drivers and make it cheaper and easier for them to continue driving as well if they should choose to. If Uber does get final approval, I can imagine them all suing the State and then quitting their driving jobs and driving for Uber instead with less overhead.

Also, I am wondering, will this new allowance for Uber allow anyone to drive anyone for a fee similar to Uber or will the allowance be specific to Uber and private drivers not affiliated with Uber will still not be allowed to drive?

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Marco Rubio and Benjamin Netanyahu hold press conference (video)

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Shuki & Yanky Solomon - Shir Le'Malkenu (video)

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Avi Ganz | Dip The Apple In The Honey | TYH Live Sessions (video)

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Quote of the Day

Israel is in a sort of isolation.. We will increasingly need to adapt to an economy with autarkic characteristics [without foreign trade]. The word I most hate. I am a supporter of the free market, but we may find ourselves in a situation where our arms industries are blocked. We will need to develop arms industries here — not only research and development, but also the ability to produce what we need. We will need to be Athens and super Sparta. We have no choice. At least in the coming years, we will have to deal with these isolation attempts. What worked until now will not work from now on

-- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

wow

first, I admit I had to look up the word autarkic.

Is such a thing possible in today's world? PM Netanyahu is supposedly the financial world so let's hope he has a way this can be done. Manufacturing arms in Israel never seemed like a bad idea but going to full isolation in a global economy does not sound as much of a good idea. Is it the realistic situation and not just a direction he is taking us? Seemingly but it is also happening and being foisted on us due to the never-ending war he is leading with no diplomacy out there trying to mitigate the damage of such a long war, of attacks on civilians, churches and aid workers, let alone civilians, and all the other criticisms we have failed to deal with, focusing only on getting along with President Trump and letting the rest of the world (including much of the USA) fall by the wayside.

Good luck to us all

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Halacha Headlines: 9/13/25 – Shiur 528 – “The Voice of Awe” – Halachic Debates on Chazanus and the Yamim Noraim (audio)

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How To Make Money In Israel (video)

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KIBBUTZ ROSH HANIKRA. Located on The Border with Lebanon on The Mediterranean Coast (video)

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Zevi - Push a Little Harder (Official Music Video)

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Zionists strike again!

News reports are saying that the flotilla of boats led by Greta Thunberg to try to sail to Gaza has turned back to port in Spain due to strong winds (up to 56kmph) and stormy weather.

source: TOI

There you have it, the Zionists controlling the weather again..

Greta will just have to wait a little longer for her favorite pastrami sandwich..

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maybe Israel needs a civil rights movement to desegregate schools

Today, in honor of the first day of school, many politicians spent time visiting schools around the country.

MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ), spent the morning in Bet Shemesh at a ceremony for the opening of a new school building. Interestingly, despite the visit by Gafni, a lot of the schools (I think specifically seminaries) in Bet Shemesh did not open due to some tens of young women who were not being allowed to attend school. I dont know the exact story but it seems some of these young ladies were left out, as is unfortunately not uncommon. The municipality placed them all in varying existing schools, but those schools refuse to accept them due to ostensibly, overcrowding, and maybe other reasons. This is happening in Jerusalem as well with about 400 young ladies, and maybe in other places as well. Because of the situation, many of the seminaries are not opening as scheduled, or they are opening for all grades not including 9th grade.

MK Gafni commented calling on Shas to open more schools for the sefardi young ladies. Gafni said Shas should open more schools so your girls will have a place to study without needing to crowd into "our institutions" that are growing and do not have enough space for everyone.

Shas retorted back saying Shas's objective has always been  establish educational institutions for the glory of the Sefardi community, and thank you to Rav Gafni who clarified how important it is that Shas continue to be strong and independent and how they cannot rely on any other party to take care of them.

Besides for the general disgrace of politicized education due to educational institutions being party affiliated and controlled by political parties, this back and forth is describing clear and blatant segregation and institutionalized discrimination. 

In this exchange I think Gafni actually has the upper hand in his comments, sadly, because the exchange shows that Shas has not created enough institutions for its people, or they are creating the institutions but the people are still trying to send their kids to ashkenazi schools, so either Shas has done a poor job of it or the people just dont want to buy the segregation Shas is continuing to sell.

Shas and UTJ both need this as they both build themselves on the backs of segregation and differentation. While one can argue that today it makes no difference if one is sefardi or ashkenazi, we are all Israeli, they need that old distinction. Today there is no difference. The kids today did not grow up in Poland's shtetls or in Yemen or Algeria or in Germany or Lithuania. They all grew up in Israel learning more or less the same or very similar curriculums, living and playing together in mixed communities. Those distinctions perhaps made more sense two and three generations ago when when people were getting off the boats from different parts of the world.  Distinguishing today between people whose grandparents and great-grandparents were born in Lodz or Fez is simply blatant racism and segregation.

Perhaps we need a civil rights movement to desegregate schools like the USA in the '60s...  

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