Matnat Chaim, the organization that promotes and encourages altruistic kidney donation, wanted to put on an event in Jerusalem at which 2000 kidney donors would attend, thus making it the largest congregation of kidney donors in one place ever.
Matnat Chaim contacted Guiness to turn this into an official World Record.
Guiness responded that at this time they are not accepting records submitted from this region, neither from Israel or from the Palestinian ruled territories. They hope to be able to restart soon they say.
not sure what they are waiting for - the war has basically ended already. Even most of the airlines have returned to flying their Israel routes...
On a similar note, Eurovision announced recently that it will not ban Israel from participating in the 2026 competition. As a result of that announcement four European countries said they would not compete due to Israel being included - Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia.
I thought they wanted Israel to end the war. The protests just wanted Israel to end the genocide and then we could all go back to kumbaya. The war is over, the "genocide" that never happened is over, but they are still boycotting Israel.
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Yoeli Brim is reporting that in the fight of the Haredi community against the arrests of deserters and draft law proposals they find unacceptable, the rabbinic courts connected to the Haredi parties are talking about going nuclear. By going nuclear I mean they are considering announcing a boycott, or cherem, of the major companies such as Osem, Tnuva and Strauss, among others.
The idea of such a boycott would be to cause damage to the markets and bring the government to its knees needing to save the economy from collapse.
The anonymous sources in the Haredi community have been threatening such movements for a long time already. I dont know if they have the power they think they have or if they think they have more power than they do, but a boycott like that could definitely do at least some damage.
That being said, I see some problems with this..
If they boycott all the big companies, what are they going to eat? they need to continue eating just like everyone else does.
And, if they think they buy enough that stopping the purchases would have a major effect, what is their alternative? they still have to spend money on food so they will spend it via other companies? This might hurt specific companies like Tnuva, Osem and Strauss, but how will it hurt the economy if they are still spending the same money just on other products?
How much of an affect can they have on the big companies? If you go into Haredi stores, a lot of what is sold is off brand products and not products from the more expensive bigger companies. Obviously this is not 100% as Tnuva and Tara dairy products are sold in Haredi stores as are Osem cereals and bamba and pasta etc, but a lot of of the products are from smaller companies anyway. I dont know numbers and how to compare what they buy from the large companies vs what everyone else buys from them and what they buy from smaller companies, but it might be a consideration.
Is it ok to hurt companies that have nothing to do with the draft issue in any way to hurt the government? It is not like Tnuva or Osem can turn around and say ok forget it, we wont draft the Haredim. It is not up to them and they have nothing to do with this.
I am not even sure what bringing the government to its knees on this issue looks like in this scenario. Strauss, for example, starts to suffer from lack of sales. The government sees the quarterly earnings report of Strauss and Tnuva dropping badly and the related stocks start dipping badly. What does the government do - go to the Haredi leadership and say we wont draft your boys just dont crash the markets? I just dont see this playing out like that. Do you see it as a realistic maneuver?
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There is another thing I find fascinating about the unofficial boycott of Struss products over their pulling their advertising package from Channel 14 (in protest of what a 14 panelist said about releasing Yigal Amir).
It seems the Haredim have [unofficially] joined in. All over the place I see calls form Haredi leaders and activists to boycott Strauss over their boycott of Channel 14. According to Haredi news sites, now Haredi camps are boycotting Strauss products in addition to previous calls to join the boycott..
So what is so interesting and fascinating about this?
Well, I still remember the good old days when the Haredi community believed that television is prohibited. It eventually became so prohibited that it became a condition for acceptance to many yeshivas - that the family of the applicant not have a television in the home.
And now? Now the Haredi community is supporting a television station and boycotting companies that do not advertise with a specific station. I guess they now believe television is ok. I have thought for a while that the ban on television should be stopped. Since the Internet is so popular, and it can potentially be so much worse than television (it can also be so much better), what is the point of continuing the ban on tv? They mostly succeeded with the ban on tv but mostly failed with the ban on Internet, so the ban on tv seems pointless at this point in history. And now they are supporting television stations anyway.
As a matter of fact, now that I think of it, the Haredim boycott Channel 14, and the other stations, so maybe they should be boycotted, just like Strauss is being boycotted by some. Haredim who do not watch Channel 14 are upset that Strauss does not advertise on Channel 14 and are therefore boycotting Strauss. As I am writing this I am scratching my head.
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So Carrefour supposedly told the management of BIG in Bet Shemesh that it will not participate in the strike and will open as normal for business.
So do we like Carrefour now because they are not participating in the strike over the reasonability clause law or are we still boycotting them over the issue of them not opening in Judea and Samaria?
I'm torn on this
What say you?
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The local Bet Shemesh chain of the Carrefour supermarket is located in the BIG shopping center.
Carrefour recently announced that it will not open branches of the chain in communities of Judea and Samaria, communities over the "green line". This has led to many calling to boycott Carrefour.
The administration of the BIG malls announced that if the government will pass the law regarding the Reasonability Clause tomorrow as expected, the BIG chain will strike for the day joining the protests against the judicial coup. This has led to many calling to boycott BIG.
So I am wondering.... if we boycott BIG, in Bet Shemesh, are we automatically boycotting Carrefour too? If we boycott Carrefour are we automatically boycotting BIG? Are we able to somehow boycott one and not the other? Can we boycott one and get two for the same price? A bird in the bush and all that...
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Behadrei is reporting on an interesting psak issued by Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein, rav of Ramat Elchonon neighborhood of Bnei Braq.
We are all aware of the brouhaha over Angels Bakery goods in Israel. The Director of the board, Omer Bar Lev, participated in a protest, deemed as disrespectful to one of the gedolei yisrael Rav Gershon Edelstein and a grassroots movement started calling for a Haredi boycott of Angels. This caught on and spread quickly (anyone who thinks Haredim are not on the Internet have been proven wrong - no boycott could possibly spread this quickly and efficiently offline) and there was an unofficial boycott (unofficial because Rav Gershon Edelstein himself never called for it or expressed support for it)..
Since then Rav Edelstein has passed on, and Yaron Angel and Omer Bar Lev together went to pay a condolence call to the Edelstein family and apologized and presented letters of apology (as coordinated and concocted by President Yitzchak Herzog). The unofficial boycott was called off by the same people who initially called for it. Since then, possibly less known, Omer Bar Lev has given an interview in which he walked back his apology saying it was a clarification and not an apology - to which some people have responded saying to renew the boycott, though I havent seen any movement since one way or the other, so some are probably still boycotting and some are done with the boycott.
Some people turned to Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein for guidance after the apology asking if that was adequate and can/should they go back to buying products from Angels.
Rav Zilbershtein responded paskening that in his opinion the apology was not adequate and they must do an equitable level of tshuva. To make up for the shame brought upon the Torah community they have bring about more respect and honor for Torah. Rav Zilbershtein said Angels should open a kollel using its name and it should support those who learn Torah. This would be a kiddush hashem and would be forgiveness for what they did. (this psak was issued before Bar Lev denied his apology)
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Yaron Angel, CEO of Angels Bakery, and Omer Bar Lev, Director of the Board of Angels and the person whose participation in a protest near Rav Gershon Edelstein's home led to an ad hoc Haredi boycott of Angels Bakery, just went to pay a condolence call to the Edelstein mourners, and to apologize for what happened.
Here are the two apology letters presented to the Edelstein family, one by Yaron Angel and the other by Omer Bar Lev:
Angel's letter:
Bar Lev's letter (the date is incorrect):
to summarize each letter:
Angel apologized for a misunderstanding saying Angels had nothing to do with any protest and calculated that any statement made after the fact would appear to be them getting involved in political matters, which they always refused to do, and it turned out to be taken exactly the opposite way and their silence was taken as compliance instead.
Bar Lev apologized for the situation - his intent was not to protest against Torah study or against the rav. His intention was to make a personal statement of protest but not against the Torah or the gadol hador and had he been aware of the situation he would not have done so.
Ok, let's see what happens next. Will this relieve the situation and will all be forgiven and Angels goods allowed back into the camp, or will this be deemed too little too late (as Rav Kook from Tiberias said the other day that with the death of Rav Edelstein there is no choice but to continue the boycott of Angels until the coming of the Mashiach, even if they should apologize)?
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Omer BarLev, former Minister of Internal Security and now head of the board of Angels Bakery, participated in a protest today that was held outside the home of Rav Gershon Edelstein in Bnei Braq.
The Haredi community is upset and leading activists are calling for a boycott of Angels. They are saying the Eida Hachareidis hechsher should be pulled from Angels as well, as we should not give a prize to people who fight against us.
A ban on Angel's and pressuring the eida to pull the hechsher wont just hurt Angels. I am sure the Eida makes some big money off that contract... they are talking as if they do Angels a favor and it is time to stop helping Angels. This is a business, on both ends of it. Pull the hechsher and Angels business likely gets hurt, but the Eida also loses a massive contract. I am not saying they shouldnt. They have massive buying power and have leveraged it in the past. If they feel that is the right move, more power to them. Just realize nobody is doing Angels a favor with this arrangement. It is a business arrangement and ending it will hurt both partners to it, not just one.
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Despite my not supporting Itamar Ben Gvir and his party in the upcoming elections and think his rise in popularity (at least according to the polls) is similar to the rise of right wing fascist parties in other countries around the world, I am not going to participate in a boycott of Zara in Israel just because one of the franchise holders is a Ben Gvir supporter. Not that I go shopping in Zara frequently, but in principle...
This boycott of Zara, in my opinion, is taking the "ant Ben Gvir" movement too far to the extreme. First of all, it is one franchise holder, not owner of the chain - if anything just boycott that one franchise. Second, it is just too extreme for me. I think this cancel culture, this inability to talk, this inability to disagree respectfully, is probably the worst thing about today's culture. I also think a lot of this has been exacerbated by the incessant cycle of elections we have been stuck in - opponents are constantly campaigning against each other saying why the other is bad, and eventually that wears down and effects how we relate to those other people in other parts of our lives. We used to have elections on average once every 3 or 4 years, and after each elections cycle the nasty talk would mostly wear off. Now we are in election cycles all the time and the nasty talk is just there all the time.
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While there was some talk and a few calls for a boycott against Doritos due to the Doritos ad in support of same sex marriages, there was not actually anything organized and coordinated, or a concerted effort to actually boycott the brand. Maybe some people stopped buying, but there was no official boycoot and no mass protest.
To that end, the Eida Hachareidis has decided to officially boycott Doritos and other products produced by Strauss. The boycott would be temporary, just until after Pesach. This is being done, they say in a published letter, to express their pain and voice a protest. This is to show it is an important issue to us, and so that others will be wary of following suit.
I never really understood why businesses need to make such social statements in the first place. Besides for that, I am perfectly fine with the Eida putting their money where their mouth is. If it really bothers them so much. instead of just talking and complaining, good for them for actually trying to have some influence on the matter.
And on that note, I am wondering why they are only calling on the people to not buy Doritos (or other Strauss products) yet continue to give their hechsher. Perhaps they should withdraw the hechsher so that their name and logo will not be associated with such abomination..
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People now are talking about boycotting Osem due to their increase in prices. They are posting comparisons online showing other Israeli brands selling the exact same product for one price with Osem selling it at a significantly higher price.
I am all for boycotting Osem if that is what they want to do. And I hope it has the desired effect in pressuring Osem to knock down their prices a notch or three.
I am wondering though what has happened until now with no boycott. When people see two products almost exactly the same on the shelf and one is 20-45% higher in price - why were they buying Osem, the higher priced product, rather than the cheaper competition?
If they perceive Osem to be higher quality, then perhaps the higher price is justified. If they are not perceiving it as higher quality but the same, then why have they been buying the higher priced item?
Every time you go to the store you have the choice of what to by. You don't need to call for a boycott to buy the cheaper, or more reasonably priced, item. And if you choose to pay the higher price, you are clearly perceiving some sort of benefit making it worthwhile.
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An ad published by Doritos in honor of Family Day has stirred some controversy that might even lead to a boycott.
The Haredi community is upset about the Doritos ad and some are calling for a boycott. In the ad for Family Day, Doritos depicted several families, some of which are various types of LGBT families, saying who said there is only one type of family? and wishing all types of families a happy Family Day.
We know that many in the Haredi have already refused to donate blood via MDA after MDA changed forms from saying Father and Mother to Parent 1 and Parent 2, as per government instruction. They resumed donating through MDA after MDA changed the forms back for the specific yeshivas and communities.
Here is the Doritos ad:
Interestingly, a question was posed to Rav Baruch Efrati, head of Derech Emuna and a rav in Efrat, about this. The question posed was if one is halachically obligated to stop buying this company's products until the put an end to such advertisements?
Srugim reports that Rav Efrati has paskened one should definitely refrain from supporting "acts of Egyt", which is defined in halacha as lesbianism and definitely must avoid supporting male homosexuality which is prohibited in the Torah. Rav Efrati expands on this referring to the impurity of Egypt and that we left Egypt behind and the importance of separating ourselves from behavior associated with the Egyptians...
However, Rav Efrati adds, that even without the ad supporting homosexual lifestyles one should not eat Doritos as bnei and bnos torah should refrain from eating unhealthy foods such as these chips that are full of fats and oils and sugars and harm our health. A person should not everything his palette desires, like a dog or a donkey, but should eat foods that help him and are good for his body.
Ironically, the Haredi community might really need to see this Doritos ad as supportive instead of as combative. The Haredi community puts out very similar ads for all sorts of services, such as the following one for a health care clinic for the Haredi family depicting a family of two men with some children:
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Ben & Jerry's announced several months back that it would stop selling its ice cream in "occupied Palestinian territories" and would not renew the contract with the Israeli manufacturer of Ben & Jerry's due to their refusal to comply. The response while weird made some sort of sense. In Israel we should continue to buy Ben & Jerry's products because doing so was supporting the local manufacturer who put himself on the line against the global company, while Jews and Israel supporters abroad should stop buying the ice creams due to the decision of the parent company. Weird, but it makes sense.
A movement was then formed against the parent company of Ben & Jerry's, Unilever. They gave Ben & Jerry's independence to make such moves, though as the owners of the Ben & Jerry's brand they are exposed to the fallout.
To that end, several states in the USA over the past few months have decided to act on laws passed that prevent them from doing business with or having investments in companies that participate in boycotts of Israel. Several states have decided to stop working with Unilever, with Illinois set to join the group now, planning to divest pension funds invested in Unilever.
This too is a weird situation, but this one doesnt have the same logic to justify it. With ben & Jerry's it made sense to support the local company in standing up to a boycott being imposed. With Unilever, they sell tremendous amount of product in Israel and have a major presence here. States in the USA are ending relations with them while in Israel we continue to support them. I am not calling for a boycott but if I was in the leadership of any of those states I would ask why Israel continues to allow them to do business with nary a word and why we have to divest from them while Israel lets them continue operating as normal...
Are these States more Zionist than the Israelis?
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A prominent Palestinian human rights activist recently filed a complaint in New York state, charging that a Ben & Jerry’s boycott in the West Bank and occupied territories is contributing to “more hatred” in the strife-prone region.
Bassem Eid, 63, filed a complaint with New York state’s Division of Human Rights last month against Conopco Inc., the US division of Unilever that owns the popular ice cream brand.
Eid, a longtime activist who has been critical of abuses by both Israeli armed forces and the Palestinian Authority in the past, claimed the restriction on sales of ice cream in Israeli-occupied territories is “counterproductive to peace and creates only more hatred, enmity and polarization,” according to the complaint.
An award-winning human rights activist who was born in East Jerusalem and grew up in a United Nations-run refugee camp, Eid said the boycott will have an adverse effect on the people it is trying to help.
“I, as a Palestinian, as well as many of my friends, family and other Palestinians, are regular shoppers at Gush Etzion commercial center … where we also frequent to eat ice cream,”said Eid in the complaint. Eid is a resident of Jericho in the West Bank.
“This shopping area is the true realization of coexistence, as both Jews and Muslims from both Israel and the Palestinian-controlled territories … work and shop here,” he said.
Eid likened the boycott to the controversial Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which many Jews have criticized as anti-Semitic. The complaint was filed under New York state’s Lisa Law that prevents New York businesses from engaging in anti-Israel boycott activity, said David Abrams, the New York-based attorney who filed the complaint on Eid’s behalf.
That was unexpected, but the funny part of the story is actually the response of Ben & Jerry's.
A spokesman for Ben & Jerry’s refused comment, and referred a reporter to a page on the company’s website where it addresses the boycott. “Speaking and acting on our values is neither anti-Israel nor anti-Semitic,” the website says.
"speaking and acting on our values is neither anti-Israel nor anti-Semitic".
Second, speaking and acting on your values is only not anti-Israel and antisemitic if your values aren't antisemitic. if they are then acting on them also is.
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In light of the decision by Supersol to shut down its online mehadrin supermarket geared towards the Haredi market, there is now a trend starting of Haredim saying - bye Supersol, ie. they are no longer going to buy in Supersol because of Supersol's decision.
Besides for not being unexpected, I must say in most places most Haredim don't buy in Supersol anyway. Many of the products are not mehadrin, and people generally seem to prefer to shop in a supermarket they know they can shop in easily without triple checking each products for hechsher. Additionally, most Haredim dont want to pay the higher prices at Supersol.
so the trending "bye Supersol" is likely more talk than walk, unless they also ban Yesh and Yesh Chessed stores - the mehadrin chain under Supersol ownership.
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Just a couple of weeks ago Minister Baftali Bennett called for a reciprocal boycott of Palestinian produce in Israel. The Palestinians were boycotting Israeli cattle and livestock and were not relenting to pressure to give up the boycott. Bennett came along and threatened a reciprocal boycott, refusing to import Palestinian produce.
According to INN, the threat worked. The Palestinians have officially lifted the ban on Israeli cattle. In exchange, Bennett officially re-opened agricultural imports from the PA.
Way to go
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-- Rav Shalom Ber Sorotzkin, announcing tonight a Haredi boycott of El Al until El Al apologizes for their behavior in the recent fiasco....
Rabbi Sorotzkin canceled his flight scheduled for tonight and rebooked it on a different airline, and said this boycott will remain effective until El Al apologizes.. the othe roption is that it will stay in place until the other airline's Friday flight to Israel gets delayed and is not willing to detour to another country to let him off before Shabbos but continues on to Israel with Rabbi Sorotzkin, and/or others, no the plane landing on Shabbos.. With El Al the only airline willing to divert a plane to avoid a Shabbos landing, let's see how long this lasts.. or else they will learn to avoid scheduling a flight that will land shortly before Shabbos
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According to Reuters, Airbnb today announced that it will remove any listings of home on their system that are located in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Do with that information as you wish.
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The Pelephone store in Tiberias has run into some trouble it probably could not see was coming.
The store, in addition to cellphones, sells all sorts of other products of interest to its customers. Among the various items is a set of speakers made by Wonderboom.
Wonderboom speakers have a large + and - sign placed on the speakers, with the + above the - and it is their design. Together, with the + and - placed the way they are, somewhat resembles a cross.
This product placed in the store has upset some its customers. Specifically, the Haredi community of Rav Dov Kook. They have requested the product be either removed or the symbols be covered or distorted and they say the requests have been ignored.
Rav Kook has announced that if the issue is not dealt with the Haredi community will avoid and remove all products of Pelephone.
source: Kikar
Will the entire Haredi community boycott Pelephone over this? it seems unlikely. Maybe just the ones under Rav Kook in Tiberias? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, whether Pelephone acquiesces or not and whether the community actually boycotts them or not, some people need to be a little less sensitive about things. Of all the possible things to get upset about, this seems like one of the sillier ones...
And yes, I know that in the Haredi community a plus sign is not written as the full + but only a half cross, as depicted below:
but still...
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I am all for boycotting Osem if that is what they want to do. And I hope it has the desired effect in pressuring Osem to knock down their prices a notch or three.
