The head of Human Resources in the IDF, major general Elazar Stern, has been working towards finding a solution for the situation with the yeshiva boys and kollel members who currently have their army service deferred, but then they cannot go to work (even if they want to leave kollel and begin working) until they fulfill their army obligations, which because of societal pressures (and other reasons) is difficult for them to do.

Stern has been working towards a solution in which he would exempt completely any and every yeshiva student. Any yeshiva student or kollel member who wants to study in yeshiva would receive a full exemption from the army. That's right - an exemption - not a deferment. And if one day student x or y decides he does not want to continue in kollel but wants to go join the workforce, he would be able to do so without having to be concerned about any obligations to the army.

I am not sure how such a solution would work, as how would they justify exempting yeshiva boys and not others who want to do other things and not go to the army. And how would they ensure only those deserving would get the exemption rather than those who just ride along for the exemption and right away abuse it?

Regardless of my questions, I guess they would need to work out the details. In general, that is a solution Stern has been working on.

Stern approached the Minister of Communications Ariel Attias who is a member of the ultra-orthodox Shas party in an effort to get his and his parties support for his efforts.

One would think that the haredi parties would jump at such an offer. This is what they have always been looking for - a blanket exemption for their students from army service.

Surprisingly, Attias said he would recommend against supporting the proposal. Attias' reasoning was that the army is only looking to exempt these boys from the army in order to allow them to go out to work unhindered and unburdened by obligations to the army.

Attias said to Stern, "your concern is not really for the yeshiva boys. It is for the general workforce. This is really an attempt to allow more people into the workforce and weaken the ranks of those studying Torah (by making it easy for them to leave yeshiva, not just making it easy to stay in yeshiva). Of course the decision will be made by the gedolei yisrael, however we the representatives will recommend against this precedent to remove yeshiva boys from the world of Torah."

Stern said, so at least let's agree on the married avreichim, if not all yeshiva boys? For them it is more necessary as they have the burden of supporting a family and this will ease the transition of those who so wish to do so...

Attias' response was that someone who wants/needs to leave yeshiva and work to support his family, already finds a way to do so. This is not an attempt to help these men, but an attempt to weaken the ranks of those who study Torah.

One would think they would jump at such an offer, even if it really is being made with other intentions. They have always wanted exemptions from the army, and they always have to fight for deferments. I know plenty of people who have gotten exemptions by faking mental illnesses or whatnot, just so they do not need to be bothered with renewing deferments every year and with studying specifically in registered yeshivas and the like.

Moshe Feiglin is the head of Manhigut Yehudit, which is a faction within the Likud party.

Moshe Feiglin pulled in an impressive 23% or so of the vote for leadership of the Likud. His percentage has gone up each in primary he has participated in. Last time he pulled down about 13% and this time he is up to 23%. Feiglin knows the road is a long one and he will not overturn the Likud in just a few years. As long as he keeps improving his support base, eventually he will reach the point where he will be victorius.

Feiglin's acheivment of 23% of the vote equals about 9000 votes. Some people, especially the hard core Feiglin supporters, are declaring this to be a serious achievement and even a victory of sorts.

This is how I see it. I am not someone who can crunch numbers like an accountant, but this is what I think. Manhigut Yehudit claims to have 9000 members, the overwhelming majority of which it brought into the Likud from outside.

The 23% he achieved is equal to about 9000 votes.

Clearly not everyone who is a member of Manhigut voted for Feiglin. Sure, MY voters are very disciplined and come out to vote in high numbers. I did not see any, official or unofficial, numbers posted as to internal Manhigut numbers, but I think we can safely assume that they had a turnout much greater than the general Likud turnout of 40%. Sure some people are abroad, some could not vote for personal reasons, etc. so not all 9000 members actually voted.

I will be generous and assume 80% of Manhigut members turned out and voted Feiglin. That is very generous. Also, there are plenty of people even in the Likud, who just do not like Bibi Netanyahu and would not vote for him no matter what. These might be supporters of Silvan Shalom or just general Likudniks who do not like Bibi. Those people probably voted Feiglin, even if just as a protest vote against Bibi.

Alll this means that sure Feiglin pulled in 23%, which in percentages alone is a great achievement. However, I think the percentage is so high just because the general turnout was so low. Feiglin really only pulled in his own members plus a few more.

This election shows that Feiglin's time has not yet come. He is not being successful at pulling in support from the general public. Here and there he might find a sympathetic person or someone who supports him, but overall he is not getting any support from outside his own people.

Unless he finds a way to change that, he will never be successful in his goals.

It might simply be PR. He is painted as an extremist. He is not necessarily clear enough when he talks about teaching Jewish values and tradition rather than establishing a "Halachic state" (people have told me they heard him say many times his goal is to teach Jewish values, tradition, culture, history, etc. but not create a halachic state, yet they do not understand how he differentiates). He might just need to find a better way of getting out his message.

I know Feiglin goes to lots of meetings. As a matter of fact he has said he will never turn down a community meeting in which he is asked to speak and present his views. As far as I can tell, when he goes to these meetings, he is likely "preaching to the choir". It is a crowd made up mostly of his supporters, who want a chance to meet him and ask questions.

So sure he goes out to meet the people, but maybe he is only meeting his own people in different settings. Maybe he is not really meeting the general public.

Feiglin has succeeded in one thing. That is, he has brought the issues of Jewish values and education to the forefront of the discussion. He gets interviewed in mainstream media and writes articles in newspapers and these issues he raises get discussed. But that is not enough. If he really has the goal of winning this thing eventually, he has to look for more general support, and not just the people he brings in from the outside from other fringe parties.

As of right now, Moshe Feiglin, in my opinion, is not even close to achieving his goals. He is not even on the right path. This primaries was the outing of Moshe Feiglin's failure.

or is he?

As a result of the recent bankruptcy of a major construction company, Heftziba, many people who bought apartments in projects being built by Heftziba have moved into their partially built apartments as a form of squatting in an attempt to lay claim to their apartments and possibly have preference in the courts over other debtors.

Without discussing the whole Heftziba issue right now, I just want to get into one aspect of it.

The problem with these residents squatting is in many Heftziba projects, including Beitar Illit, Bet Shemesh, and Modiin Ilit. The Heftziba project of of Modiin Ilit has a unique problem though.

The project of Modiin Ilit is being built upon "disputed land". Peace Now petitioned the High Court to force Heftziba to stop building there becase, they claimed, the land being built upon is owned by Palestinians and the whole neighborhood is illegal.

After the bankruptcy broke and the squatters entered the apartments, the courts were asked to allow evacuation of the squatters. The courts decided there was no need to force an immediate evacuation and they preferred to wait it out and see how the bankruptcy proceeds. A decision will be made at a later time about the squatters, and about the squatters in all the various projects.

The State does not really want to get involved in evicting these squatters. On Monday the court ruled, due to a petition, that the State is allowed remove the squatters (of the Modiin Ilit project only). The State petitioned the court asking whether it is obligated to or whether they are allowed to.

It seems that State is against having another disengagement. They must have decided after Amona, Gush Katif, Homesh, Hebron's house, and others, that this is not the way to go.

Or is it only because the residents in question are haredim living in a haredi neighborhood that the State does not want to remove them from these houses built on Palestinian land? Because they don't want to start up with the Haredi parties that are much more organized and committed than the settler parties?

hmmmmmmm

I recently gave a small donation to a local charity for which I just received a thank you note. The charity in question is a sub-division of a larger charity in which I donate to fairly regularly.

I remember the specific donation. I had made a donation to the parent charity and the next day (I assume by chance - I think they were just going around the neighborhood) someone showed up at my door for this new charity. They explained to me it is specifically for dealing with giving clothing to the needy and they are a sub-division of local charity x.

I said I just gave them a donation yesterday so I will only give you something small. I had 20 shekel in my pocket and gave it to him.

I just received a very nice letter and I would never have expected it for a small 20 shekel donation, let alone one that I gave in cash.

What's funny about it though is not the fact that I got a letter thanking me for a 20 shekel donation. What is funny is the text of the letter.

"Dear Mr. Rafi G shlita,

On behalf of the hundreds of families who merited to benefit from your donation and received vouchers for basic clothing towards the yomim tovim and the summer.

Please accept our heartfelt thanks for your kind contribution of 20 shekels.

The donation was distributed 100% to the needy. etc. etc. etc.

(The letter was sponsored by company y)".

If my measly 20 nis donation helped hundreds of families buy basic clothing, they must have bought about a quarter of a sock, if that much, for each family. They really spread out the donations!!!

I will be hosting this week's edition of jpix #14... send in your submissions either to me by email - israeli.jew at gmail dot com or via the blogcarnival submission page....

intriguing title, isn't it?

It does not refer to the various "flower gardens" in front of the train stations that need to be watered, though I hope it includes that as well.

It was reported in the Mishpacha newspaper that officials from Rakevet Yisrael (the train authority) have agreed to coordinate their work and activities with Rabbonim and Poskei Halacha. Specifically the work being done on the light rail system in Jerusalem. Some people were concerned that the construction of the light rail system includes landscaping and digging of land. The concern is that this work be done in a way that violates the rules of shmitta.

They arranged a meeting between the heads of the train authority, the mayor and a group of Rabbonim led by Rav Efrati, one of the men considered THE expert on mitzvos of the land (in which shmitta is included).

They met and came to an agreement that all landscaping and digging would be done in coordination and consultation with this group of Rabbis who will bring all problematic issues for decision to rav Elyashiv.

So the train is now keeping shmitta la'mehadrin!

The courts have decided that the State of Israel owes millionaire Nissim Gaon hundreds of thousands of shekels for a breach of "contract" by former Minister of Housing Ariel Sharon.

In 1991 Ariel Sharon, as Housing Minister (before he became Prime Minister), promised his friend Nissim Gaon that they would be approving development of housing in an area in the Negev. They agreed that Gaon would build 3000 housing units for the State. They never signed a contract, but Sharon made it clear that Gaon would be given the contract and the work would be approved.

Gaon, based on Sharon's promises, went out and hired staff and equipment and made plans. The construction never received the necessary approval of the Finance Ministry and the plans were killed.

Gaon sued the State based on the promises of a minister for the losses he incurred. He claimed, and the courts found in his favor, that the promise of a government minister is as good as a contract, and therefore there was a breach of contract.

Justice Drori decided that the testimony finds that Sharon gave a "clear message to Gaon that he should begin working immediately and not wait for formalities such as signed contracts."

It was also found that Sharon commonly would simply not sign contracts for work he ordered on behalf of the ministry. That was his modus operandi. "Sharon would open his window and say to the contractor (in negotiations) "Why do I not hear the sounds of your tractors and bulldozers - we agreed you would build so what are you waiting for?!"

Another witness, who was a functionary in the Housing Ministry at the time, testified that Sharon would commonly stop working with contractors who did not begin working immediately but waited for contracts.

I wonder if the State of Israel can sue the estate of Sharon for acting in such a negligent and undisciplined manner. How is it acceptable for a minister to hire contractors without a tender and promise them work in a manner that obligates the State even when the job is not approved? The normal method in goverance is a minister proposes a new project and the cabinet/government votes on whether to approve it or not. The courts are saying that Sharons promise was basically at the level that it was more important than actual government approval. I do not know why Sharon, or any minister, has a right to promise work that is really dependent on government approval.

Tomorrow is the big day for the Likud. Tomorrow the Likud holds its primaries for leadership of the party. The candidates are front runner Bibi Netanyahu, Moshe Feiglin and Danny Danon.

I am supporting Moshe Feiglin for leadership of the Likud.

Why am I supporting Feiglin? Many of you might think of Moshe Feiglin as an extremist, a Kahanist, a right wing fanatic, someone who wants to impose religion in the State of Israel, a supporter of a halachic state, etc. You will say I am supporting extremism and right wing fanaticism.

That is not true. The above descriptions are given to him by a media that rejects, and wants the public to reject, Moshe Feiglin's legitimacy.

Moshe Feiglin has no intentions for creating a halachic state. He has no desire to impose Jewish religion upon the secular citizens of Israel. He is not an extremist. He might be more right wing than some people like, but that does not disqualify him from anything, any more or less than someone more left-wing on the political spectrum.

Moshe Feiglin's desire and goal is to make Israel into a Jewish State based on Jewish goals and Jewish tradition. Most issues have nothing to do with that, such as his plan to pen the media to free broadcasting, in other words, anybody who wants a license to operate a radio station will get it. Not just the state controlled stations and left-wing stations (right now only one religious/semi right wing station is operating with a license) as has been the case until now.

Israel was founded with the purpose of being a Jewish State. Not just a democratic country in the Middle East open to anybody who wants using no specific culture. The country should be run with Jewish tradition and Jewish values at the forefront of all its decisions.

That does not mean he will force people to keep shabbos. Au contraire - Feiglin is against the shabbat laws. People, individuals, have the right to decide for themselves such things. But as a state, Jewish tradition and values must be at the forefront. Jewish values and history should be taught in all the schools.

If Jewish values are not the basis for Israel, than for what do we need Israel? It would just be another microcosm of America. We can have a better life in the real thing and pack up and go to the real USA. Forget Israel.

Israel should be based on Judaism. Moshe Feiglin is the only candidate who wants Judaism in Israel.

So why not support a religious party? Isn't that what they want? Feiglin has no chance anyways!

The religious parties never have had it in their agenda to lead the country. They are all sectoral. They all look at for their own small slice of life in Israel and worry about getting budgets for their constituents. That is important for those groups, but that does not put the Judaism and the faith back into Israel. We have even seen that to be the cause of much increased animosity towards the religious and religion.

Only Moshe Feiglin wants to put the Judaism back into Israel. Only Moshe Feiglin wants to lead and not just look out for his own neighborhood.

It is time we had a faith based leadership. We have tried all the rest. They are all drek. Each one is worse than the previous leader. One is more corrupt than the next. Without faith, without Judaism, they have all been leading us to the society of corruption, despair, defeat, failure that we see today. It is time for a faith based, and a Jewish based, leadership.

That is what Moshe Feiglin offers us. That is why I support Moshe Feiglin for leadership of the Likud. It is time for change.

When Ariel Sharon formed the Kadima party, he did so with great fanfare. Eventually he had his stroke and the Kadima party was taken over by Ehud Olmert. He led Kadima into the elections. I asked some friends why they were supporting Kadima, at the time.

They each responded that the old way clearly did not work and it was time to try something new. It was time for change. Kadima promised them change. Kadima promised them a new way.

Kadima was just another party being run by the same politicians who left other parties. Were they really offering something new or just the same old stuff packaged in a new logo? Clearly, in hindsight, they were offering nothing new.

If you want something new, packaging the old in a new wrapper is not the answer. It is time for something new. it is time for change. The old has been proven to not work. It is time for new, and Moshe Feiglin offers something new.

On Friday there was a shooting attack in the Old City of Jerusalem. An Arab man attacked and grabbed the gun of a security gaurd. The security guard fought back and another security gaurd shot the terrorist.

At first the family of the terrorist claimed he was not involved and it was a mistake - ghe was not grabbing the gun, rather asking for a cigarette. The security gaurd attacked him for no reason. The police decided to release the video from security cameras. They clearly show the terrorist followuing the gaurds and attacking them. It was premeditated and clearly an attack. Now the family is claiming the videos are doctored to frame their kid and he had nothing to do with it.

Here is the video:

Were you ever addicted to playing minesweeper during your bored moments in computer class? Than you will really enjoy Minesweeper..The Movie... see trailer below..

Another interesting blog is "The Maggid of Bergenfield". He's always got interesting stories and somehow finds ways to connect them to the parsha....

If you are interested in the look and feel of modern day Jerusalem, check out this great blog called "Streets of Jerusalem" . He takes you on tours of different streets and neighborhoods of Jerusalem pointing out landmark buildings and the like. Worth taking a look.

We will be back up and running as normal any day now. I have a number of posts I am in the middle of. Some might be on events that you have already read about elsewhere - events that happened within the two weeks I was away, and then I will be back to current...

Be patient though, it might take a few days to gte back to normal - I have to get settled at work and home and get things back to schedule..

This blog is now going into vacation mode. I will post, but possibly not as consistently as usual. It will depend on availability of computer, internet and time... check back for new posts below this..

According to this article on Ynet, Conservative Rabbi Simcha Roth recommends against kissing mezuzas in public places (especially in hospitals). He deems it a danger (of contracting iruses and germs left by other people. I guess the rule of "sakanta chamira m'issura" - danger is worse than prohibition - would apply in such a case, according to Rabbi Roth.

Kissing a mezuza is only a tradition, not a mitzva, and therefore he recommends against it.

Another one bites the dust..

Yeah, it is kind of an inappropriate title.

Today, the members of government showed, once again, how classy they truly are.

There has been an ongoing crisis with the holocaust survivors. They want funding and the government has been offering pathetic solutions (no comment on that issue right now..). Recently PM Olmert came up with a new solution which would allow him to double the stipend per survivor.

The catch is that to do so he had to cut out half of the survivors from the funding. He is doing so (proposing it at least) by splitting survivors into different categories. Those who actually were in concentration camps and survived, and those who survived outside of camps.

According to Olmert's proposal, only survivors of actual camps would be eligible for the funding, while general survivors would not be.

MK Opher Pines-Paz said regarding that proposal, that had Anne Frank survived, she would not qualify for funding as a survivor under Olmert's proposal.

He was clearly trying to shock the system by suggesting that Olmert is not calling the second category survivors, as they did not spend their time in concentration camps.

In response to Pines-Paz's shocking statement, PM Olmert accused Pines-Paz of bestial behavior.

In response to that, Pines-Paz said Olmert is the beast.

Wow. What an argument. They sound like my children.