Mayor of Tel Aviv Ron Huldai announced to the world that he has eaten dog meat and it is delicious. He says that why should it be any different than eating chicken or shrimp? He did this when he was in Vietnam. And when he was in Africa he ate termites and locust.

And I think he is right. Why should it be any different. From one pet-eater to another, besides for the kashrut issue, I see nothing wrong with eating an animal that was or could be a pet.

Huldai definitely got the headlines today with that admission.

I don't know if this should be a big deal or not, though many people are making a big deal out of it - from both an animal rights perspective and from a religious and Jewish state perspective. Huldai is a big boy and I do not feel like I need to tell him what he can and cannot eat. The Torah gave us all free will to choose to follow the Torah or not. I do not think it is my job to force him to follow the rules of the Torah just because I adhere to them. I feel bad that he so chooses, but it is his choice to make. And I do not think the fact that he ate dog meat negatively impacts the character of the Jewish state.

the IDF needs to win wars, and is not meant to be advancing enlightened and liberal agendas, and for this it needs to allow its soldiers and the entire army to be faithful to its mission.... I am not excited about this campaign. At the end of the day there are roles and tasks for men and there are roles and tasks for women. That is how God created the world and that is how the world is good. Oy Vavoy if women will become men and men will become women. The world needs both male and female figures and anyone who tries to blur the clear differences is doing wrong for both him and for the world..

  -- MK Betzalel Smotrich (Habayit Hayehudi), regarding the appointment of the first female commander of the Air Force Pilots

if she was advanced and promoted solely to advance a feminist agenda yet is not actually qualified for the position and cannot fulfill her responsibilities to the fullest, I would agree with Smotrich. If she fulfills her responsibilities just fine and is fully capable of doing her job and was advanced and promoted because she was qualified and deserved it like anybody else, then I would disagree with Smotrich. Being that I do not know, I can't say anything definitive and can just hope the IDF promoted her based on professional considerations.

and here is the actual play... with 10 seconds to go and the Vikings down..

comments:
1. a guy ran into another guy - I love it!
2. he talks such strong faith and gives God so much credit for his successful play, while at the same time cussing
3. impressive faith

there have been some big changes in the kashrut supervision of Rabbanut Petach Tikva. This specific problem is one that is relevant all over Israel, and not just in the Rabbanut, but the Rabbanut of Petach Tikva is the first to deal with it...

Kikar has posted images from a secret underground "slick" in Jerusalem that is virtually unknown and its location is known to just a few people. This "slick", like the slicks used in the War of INdependence to manufacture and hide weapons and ammunition, is basically used for making thousands of kugels each week.

I am not sure what the purpose of the post is, but if you want to stop eating yerushalmi kugel, go over to the Kikar post to see the filthy slick that might just be making the kugel at your next kiddush.

And. the only reason I can think of to keep such a kugel factory so secret is to avoid taxes and supervision by the health ministry or other relevant authorities tasked with making sure nobody dies of food poisoning. If you can think of another reason, let me know.

I have more than a few problems with the Kotel.. we invented the Kotel 50 years ago and turned it into the holiest place for the Jewish people and chased Arab families away from there. Since then, the Jewish people gave up the place that was the holiest until 50 years ago - Har Habayit.

  -- MK Yehuda Glick (Likud), when asked on a panel about the Kotel arrangement with the Women of the Wall.

MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ) has gotten himself into a bit of a pickle over the minimarket law.

Haredi MKs and ministers, along with some from the Likud, have been trying to calm the public over the passage of the law by saying nothing will change and the law won't, or can't, be enforced. Gafni, on Shabbos, speaking at a Bnei Braq Ichud Hatzala event, basically told them the whole thing is a bluff and the law will be enforced and he described how. Gafni said that they have a secret agreement with the PM that will enable them to use hundreds of agents that have been tasked with dealing with the illegal migrants for enforcing the minimarket law on Shabbos.

It turns out that even though Gafni spoke on Shabbos, someone, I don't know if it was a goy or a Jew, recorded it and leaked it to the media.

Gafni obviously blew his top when questioned about it.

Personally, I am happy it will be enforced. What is the point of fighting over a law proposal that once passed won't even be enforced. If they insisted on passing it, they should ensure it is also enforced. The result of enforcement might even be the eventual overturning of the law, perhaps by a future government, but that is how the Israeli government works.

The more upsetting part of this is not the enforcement of the law but the lies and deception. They are all publicly saying it wont be enforced in order to keep everyone calm, while secretly planning to enforce it. And specifically Gafni as well - he worked out the enforcement plan but was only willing to talk about it on Shabbos with people he thought could be trusted to keep it quiet and support him. An unusually stupid move by a normally smart politician. Politicians must know that anything they say, especially if controversial, will get out to the public, sooner rather than later.

A group of Roshei Yeshiva have met to discuss a new seminar in Jerusalem for young women that is opening up. This is considered a seminary for "modern Haredi" women and they offer more diverse, and higher level, academic studies than your average Beis Yaakov.

The conclusion of the meeting was to warn people to stay away fro this seminary and to not send their daughters to it. They say the people running it are not compatible with the spirit of Beis Yaakov and sending one's daughters to it is putting them at educational risk.
source: Actualic

caveat: I don't personally know anything about this school, Bnos Chayil.

I don't understand what the rabbonim want - on the one hand, they will not accept girls from more modern families into the mainstream schools and instead they tell such epople to open a more modern school appropriate for them, while on the other hand they then come out in opposition to schools that are opened up for more modern students.

From the other perspective, maybe the people behind such schools should not call them Beis Yaakov. Start a different organization, a different chain of schools, and they will have no connection to the Beis Yaakov organization. Maybe then the rabbonim won't bother opposing them.

I understand everyone in the Haredi community wants to send their daughters to Beis Yaakov, as we tend to think that is the only kosher school for Haredi girls, and they do consider themselves Haredi, even if a bit more modern or more culturally Israeli. If they called the school something else, parents might hesitate before sending their daughters. Beis Yaakov has done a great job marketing itself as THE school for the frum girl (and in Israel specifically for the Haredi girl), and it will be difficult to supplant that with another chain of schools, but perhaps that is what needs to be done.

I didnt thinkI was going to post this, as what does a discussion about Meretz and its policies have to do with me or with this blog.. turns out there are some interesting points discussed relating to religion..