From Israel Unseen:

this video is a couple of years old, but I just came across it now... looks like a nice project

I met Jay Shultz last year at a conference.

this kumzitz was for a friend of my son who is very ill... a bunch of friends went over to his house one night this past week and they had this kumzitz..

The Abayudaya have been featured here before...

from Youtube:
The Abayudaya Jewish Community of Uganda and Israeli artist Irene Orleansky partnered to create "Shalom, Mirembe!" as part of a music collection from Israelites and Jews of Africa and Asia. For more information and to purchase the CD visit www.ireneorleansky.com The participating Jewish communities receive all proceeds from CD sales. 

Lead singers - Irene Orleansky, J.J. Keki, and Rachman Nagwere 
Dance - Hope Cultural Troupe 
Drums - Jerry Marotta 
Mix - Kirill Malahov at Music Brothers Records 
Mastering - Donal Whela

(some kol isha)

I have heard both Eli Cohen and Benny Rabinovitz (a haredi spokesman recently appointed as spokesman of Rav Shteinman) speak a lot recently on different radio shows.. Everything they say here, I have heard them say time and again in other interviews.

I sort of like this Rabinovitz fellow.He frames the issue here in an interesting way.. my two comments are:
1. I am impressed that he throws criticism at the haredi community, saying that they should stop acting like everything is elections of the shtieble.. even though it won't help (as far as becoming liked by the establishment)
2. he tries to minimize the seriousness. even while admitting there was illegal activity, he plays it down by saying it was not really forgery. forgery is only when a ballot box has 250 voters registered on it but pulls in 300 votes - not when it has the right number of votes but the wrong people were the ones who voted, and its not so bad to let someone else vote for you, though it is illegal....

Like it or not, new elections are upon us in Bet Shemesh. At least until an appeal to the Supreme Court is filed and decided upon.

Thinking about it briefly, it seems God has given us a do-over. The perfect opportunity for teshuva - get put into the same situation and the second time around act better, more appropriately - don't commit the same sin the second time.

Whatever your sin, if you sinned, might have been the first time around, whether it was talking badly about the other candidate, talking badly about his supporters, talking badly about other parties or their supporters, whether it was physical activities - tearing down signs defacing signs, or whatnot.. .We all have the opportunity to do this again in a better, more civil way. We should all, myself included, look at our behavior and figure out how do do it better this time, how to support our preferred candidate without getting nasty and being mean, without being hateful and spiteful. Support whichever candidate you want, but please let's not go through another mean-spirited campaign again like we had last time..

We have the chance for a do-over. Let's do it over properly. Let's elect a mayor peacefully this time.

1. Whisky Live comes to Israel

2. wages and attitudes in Lakewood

3. line-item lexicon libricide

4. Bethlehem: prohibited to Christians and Jews

5. the rebbes are coming

6. the strength of the convert

7. national holidays minyan schedule

8. I never thought to consider my foot fungus as a badge of honor..

9. Israel moment

Joseph Kaufman, the company that make fleece jackets, is running a contest on its Facebook page. They will give fleece jackets to an army unit, depending on which units photograph gets the most "Likes".

There are 11 units competing, and while I am sure they are all deserving and they all could make good use of the jackets, I am going to support the Nahal Haredi unit competing for the jackets.

Facebook page of the competition
Facebook page (photo) of the Nahal Haredi unit competing for the jackets

If you use Facebook, go support the soldiers of Nahal Haredi. Like their picture and help them stay warm when out on patrol. As of right now, Nahal Haredi is in 3rd place in the competition.

We know that MK Swaid had petitioned the Speaker of the Knesset, Yuli Edelstein, to have a Christmas tree placed in the Knesset, in order to commemorate the holiday with the Christian citizens and MKs (only one, Swaid himself).

Edelstein rejected the petition and said he would not put a Christmas tree in the Knesset. No explanationm was supplied at the time.

We now know that in fact no Christmas tree was placed in the Knesset for Christmas. And now Yuli Edelstein has explained why not.

Edelstein today explained that the symbol of the Christmas tree would evoke bitter memories for many Jews. There are other ways to wish local Christians a happy holiday. Furthermore, Edelstein said, the Arab MKs are regularly trying to push the envelope and see the limits of how they can change the status of the Jewishness of the State of Israel. Edelstein said that if he would allow the Christmas tree, the next day another request would come in to place a cross and a moon next to the Knesset menorah.

So:
1. Christian symbolism would be hurtful to many Jews
2. the Arab MKs are using this is a red herring to harm the Jewish character of the State.

Yuli Edelstein is a good and smart man.

Hey - maybe the Arab parties (or any that do work to undermine the jewishness of the state) should be banned under the new law, if it will be passed, to ban organizations that undermine the Jewish character of the state...

Just a couple of weeks ago the Knesset started the passage of a law that would grant the government the ability to heavily tax (45%) any donations from foreign governments to NGOs.. this law is an attempt to put an end to the foreign influence being exerted on Israel through local proxies. I don't think it will change much, as they will now just pay the taxes. I don't see them stopping to donate just because the government will be taking some of that money. I would suggest that all monies collected from these taxes be designated for projects in the areas of Judea and Samaria.

It seems now that that law was just the initial round.. MK Miri Regev (Likud Beyteynu) yesterday proposed a new law, that makes the previous one look like child's play. In Regev's new law, no organization seeking to harm the Jewish character of the State will be able to be registered. The law currently states that an organization can be rejected if it works to damage the democratic nature of the State - the new law says any organization that harms the Jewish nature of the State.

This would effect any organization trying to promote ideas such as one state for two peoples, or any other plan that detracts from Israel's Jewish nature.

Regev said that this law will put an end the extreme left-wing and anarchist organizations trying to take advantage of the democratic nature of the State in order to undermine the Jewish and Zionistic nature of the State.
(source: NRG)

Bechadrei points out that this law would also ban organizations that work towards the dissolution of the Jewish State and desire to replace it with a non-Jewish government. i.e. this would ban an organization like the Neturei Karta.

I've got no problem with that.

    

The court has announced its decision. There will be new elections in Bet Shemesh. For both city council and for mayor.

the news is fresh, and details are still  sketchy - date? appeal? reason? etc.. more to come later

Hahsem Yerachem

Yesterday the Knesset voted on and will be releasing a statement calling on US President Barak Obama to release Jonathan Pollard.

The call for Pollard's release was practically unanimous, even though only 106 Knesset members voted in favor.

There are actually two letter being sent to Obama, as the Arab MKs are releasing their own statement. They too support, and call on President Obama to release Pollard, but they wanted to say things in their own way.

The decision from the Knesset reads, "The Israeli Knesset is turning to the US President Barack Obama to request, on humanitarian and humanistic grounds, in light of his grave medical condition, to limit the sentence of Jonathan Pollard and order his immediate release. This humanitarian gesture is essential, and even necessary for Israel-US relations at this time."

The Arab MKs also are calling on Obama to release Pollard, but they don't want it connected in any way as a condition for the releasing of senior Palestinian terrorists (pre-Oslo) from Israeli jails.

The Israeli government is really getting behind Pollard nowadays..