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Jun 30, 2022

the 7th of Cheshvan

change of plans - I see they came to whatever agreements were necessary and finalized the Knesset dispersal,.

The date for new elections has been set for November 1, 2022 - the 7th of Cheshvan, 5782.

The 7th of Cheshvan is identified as a very important date by Har Habayit goers, as it is the date the Rambam writes he merited to go to Har Habayit. The first time I went up was also the 7th of Cheshvan (though I dont remember what year) as that is when the group from Bet Shemesh renewed its monthly ascent on 7th of the month after  the big mess with Ariel Sharon closed access for several years...

None of that is connected to electiosn. 

Or is it?


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call their bluff and put an end to this

This has gotten so silly. 

The Opposition, that has wanted the dissolution of the Knesset for so long, has been preventing it, holding up the final vote for a few days tryign to horse trade to get some other laws canceled or passed in exchange for support for this. The government has more or less given up and has given in on some things but not on others, yet - they seem to be capitulating on a little mroe every few hours, though it isnt good enough for the opposition that continues to hold out.

In my opinion the government should call their bluff and cancel the entire dissolution. Tell the Opposition - you dont want to support it, dont support it, we are back in business. Get back to the business of running the country and try again in a few weeks. Stop giving in on every demand to reverse decisions you guys made while in government. They dont want to cancel the dissolution, they just wan tto get as much out of you as possible before it happens - say you arent playing that game any more and see what happens.

I know, Judea and Samaria is on the line because the deadline is end of the month. So what? Call their bluff and let it happen.


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street survey in Shuk Ramle: what do you think of new elections (video)







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7 Unique Shops in the Old City of Jerusalem (and the AMAZING stories behind them) (video)







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AMAZING HAIFA. German Colony. Summer Walk (video)







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Aaron Razel Featuring David Deor • Shma Israel (video)







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Jun 29, 2022

Unilever caves in Israel

Big news. 

Unilever has decided to ignore the wish of Ben and Jerry's to divest from Israel and instead has decided to renew the contract for Israel production and distribution of Ben & Jerry's ice cream with Avi Zinger and he will be allowed to continue his operations as he always has, including selling the ice cream in Judea and Samaria, aka the West Bank. They also explicitly repudiated and disavowed the BDS movement


This is a big win. 

A lot of people put a lot of pressure on them for the entire past year over this. 

It is somewhat amazing how we will come together and stay focused on the goal for ice cream.

Now we need to celebrate with having Ben & Jerry's Israel come up with a new flavor, maybe based on Manischewitz's new fish dogs with a chrein swirl.

I do wonder if now I can stop buying the ice cream out of solidarity with Ben & Jerry's Israel, while those abroad can now start buying it again....






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Jun 28, 2022

Tractor vs Car

Today in a construction site in Neve Shamir - RBS Hei a fight broke out between a couple different construction crews. I have no idea what they were fighting about. Not really important. 

The important part of the incident was that we got treated to an episode of Tractor vs Car



Results:
Tractor: 1
Car: 0


very cool



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Elbit Systems Protects Israel and Portfolios

This is the first in a series of articles about Israel-based companies that appear to be a potential investment opportunity. People ask me my opinion when I speak to community and business groups how they can best help Israel and participate in the growth of the startup nation? Always consult your broker, lawyer, and accountant before making investments.

Disclaimer: Please be advised that neither the author or Life in Israel, its affiliates, its employees or agents accept liability for any errors, omissions or damages caused by this communication or its attachments, or which may otherwise arise as a result of this communication transmission. Dr. Harold Goldmeier, Business Teacher and Consultant  

 

  • Elbit Systems is a small but innovative cutting-edge designer of high technology military defense weapons and systems it sells worldwide.
  • It is consistently profitable, financially stable, covers its debt service, and shares are a potential opportunity at the current price for a 25% gain.
  • The stock gets short shrift from analysts and the media, but the stock is doing better than the defense ETF and the stock market.

 

Aigars Reinholds/iStock via Getty Images

 

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) is an overlooked, undervalued $8.77B defense contractor based in Israel. Our average price target over the next 12 months is in the $250 per share range; that's an upside of 25% from the current price.

Our bullish position extends back to my article about ESLT two years ago, when I characterized Elbit as firing on all cylinders.

Killer Weapons Innovation

Defense expenditures flew past the $2T mark in 2021. Military expenditures on average are 5.9% of world gross domestic product. Elbit is well-positioned to build revenue in the growing essential defense industry.

War is now a high-tech event, with ground soldiers hiding in forests using computerized mobile weapons to shoot down enemy aircraft. Nary a rifle was fired in 2021 between Israel and Gaza or since then. Guided missiles are the tactical weapons of choice, countered by the notable Iron Dome missile defense umbrella.

Elbit is a leader, developing the next defense technology, laser systems for military defense. The market is enormous, in part because it costs $50K for each Iron Dome Interception missile compared to the $2 per laser-fired defense beam.

Elbit Systems Ltd. develops airborne, land, and naval systems. On the commercial side, Elbit has products for homeland security and commercial aviation applications. The company is expanding its portfolio of innovative technologies in unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, signal intelligence systems, data links and communications systems, radios, cyber-based systems, munitions and equipment for cyber intelligence.

 

Financial Strength

In May '22, the company reported quarterly earnings for Q1. Its Non-GAAP EPS was $1.22 on a 21.6% increase in revenue Y/Y. Q1 Non-GAAP gross profit amounted to $333.3M, which is 24.6% of revenues compared to $286.2M (25.6% of revenues) in Q1 '21. Order backlogs near $14M. Management scheduled ~ 55% of the order backlog to be performed this year and next.

 

The financial outlook is good. The P/E is 24.84. There is virtually no short interest. The shares are not volatile, and we do not foresee any serious risks to the stock. Growth and profitability appear they will stay positive. Shares are undervalued. Interest and debt payments are covered. An Israel rating agency announced in June '22 that ESLT has "a stable outlook."

 

To read the full article including risks with investing in Elbit, see https://seekingalpha.com/article/4519782-elbit-systems-inc-will-march-along



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Quote of the Day

A Minister in the State of Israel cannot be a tyrant and will not rule over lifestyles. A Minister in Israel is not a master over anyone and will not force a way of life on anyone in Israel

  -- MK Uri Maklev (UTJ), in a fight in the Knesset Committee debating the law proposal (that passed last night in its first reading ) attempting to cancel Minister Hendel's cellular reform that does away with the "Koma Ksheira" cellphone monopoly of kosher phones


Maklev has to be careful with this argument, as it can come back to be used against him in future debates over businesses being opened on Shabbos and public transportation operating on Shabbos...






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Succos 2021 vs Succos 2030 (video)








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Drake - Falling Back (Extended Version) (video)

weird wedding. Drake is known for incorporating Jewish themes in his clips, because he is Jewish, but this is weird...






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TEL AVIV ISRAEL (not what you would expect) (video)







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Dovid Haziza - Bou Nirkod (Official Music Video)







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Jun 27, 2022

mmmm, farina

In the USA farina is mostly a winter food. In Israel daisa, farina, can be eaten all year round, even though it is mostly a winter food.. and Bibi is eating thee daisa he cooked now.

Sorry abotu that - it does not go over so well in English. In Hebrew there is an expression - הוא אוכל את הדייסה שהוא בישל or אכלת את הדייסה שבישלת - you eat the farina you cooked. Similar to you made your bed, you sleep in it. These are the consequences of your actions.

MK Yisrael Eichlet (UTJ) was just trying to persuade Minister of Defense Benny Gantz to join a Netanyahu -led government and avoid elections with Gantz serving as Prime Minister (first in rotation). Gantz's reply was - you only fool me once. I do not trust him.

That's it. Netanyahu's games have done him in. he is eating the farina he cooked. And in the summer no less! In the winter farina is ok, but in the summer???

Fool me once, shame on you. Gantz doesnt want to get to the "shame on me" part of that Anthony Weldon expression...




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Zionist party

And today Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that his party would support the establishment of a government with any and all Zionist parties, from Meretz to Yamina...

and there is always a but. Often a big but. An exception of one kind or another.

Lieberman said he would support the formation of a government with any and all Zionist parties, from Meretz to Yamina, except not with the Tzionut Hadatit party and not with Shas or UTJ. Lieberman said Tzionut Hadatit is an anti- Zionist party because their agenda is to turn Israel into a halachic state. Shas and UTJ he didnt give an explanation for but just stressed that there is no way he would sit with them - he has said before the Haredi activists are unacceptable (and he has said worse, much worse, about them too).

It would seem "Zionist" is not really the issue. Tzionut Hadatit represents communities that send their young men and women to the army, and to the elite units of the army, and serve the State in many ways, and are the most active and aggressive in settling the land, especially in Judea and Samaria. Shas and UTJ have, through their proxies, joined WZO, so they can also be considered Zionist parties, no matter how loudly they may deny it (UTJ, that is, not Shas). 

And, where does Raam fit into this? He just sat with them but they arent a Zionist party. Are they within the range of "from Meretz to Yamina" or are they out of that range but still ok?

I am not sure "Zionist party' is actually his criteria, so I dont know why he keeps using it.




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let's not go to that level

Former news anchor Gadi Sukenik said today that the Likud representatives are at a low level, much lower than the representatives of Yesh Atid. They are a low level of intelligence, of culture and of level of discourse.

Obviously this caused an outcry.

Putting aside the latent racism (or maybe not so latent), Sukenik is just wrong. The Likud representatives are [mostly, if not all] highly intelligent. They hold degrees and doctorates. People Like Benjamin Netanyahu, Yuval Steinitz, Gilad Erdan, Yisrael Katz, Avi Dichter, Ofir Akunis, among others. They are highly educated, along with having spent many years in service of the country. Even the MKs who are loudmouths, such as Dudi Amsalem, Shlomo Karhi an Miri Regev, among others, are highly educated and intelligent.

And one might say the Yesh Atid representatives are actually less educated than the Likud representatives. I am not as familiar with them as I am with the Likud reps, but just starting from the top, Yair Lapid did not even complete his matriculation exams. I looked up some random MKs and they all seem to hold degrees and even masters degrees, so it is generally wrong to say this about them as well, but the head of the party is not educated and he is the one who sets the tone and agenda for Yesh Atid. In his case one might say education is less important as he is accomplished and has shown himself to be a leader. So I would not say either are less intelligent or educated than the other.

Talking like this helps nobody. Just the opposite - it only hurts the people he is trying to help. But it also shows his own ignorance and bias. 

And on the other end of it, we have MK Miri Regev today trying to scare the public saying that if Yair Lapid becomes Prime Minister he will remove the words "nefesh yeshudi homiya" (A Jewish soul yearns) from Hatikva, the national anthem, as he will have to as a result of partnering with Raam.

Let's raise the level of discussion all around. 




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Quote of the Day

this is a double, as both are connected and needed for this...


The Haredim are making a massive mistake saying they will recommend Gantz. They are hurting their own chances to be in the next coalition. The Haredim have a maximum ceiling of 16 mandates, only the Likud can bring in the mandates to complete a government of 61... The Haredim will sit with as int he coalition as good children..

  -- MK Miki Zohar (Likud)


Actually I see that in the Likud they are all good children. Whoever speaks out of turn gets slapped down. What he said was not proper, not appropriate, and not friendly

  -- MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ), in response to MK Zohar







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is it immoral or not?

One of the main attacks on Naftali Bennett over the past year by the Opposition is that as leader of a party of 6 seats (which over the course of the year also got increasingly smaller) it is immoral for him to Prime Minister and it is opportunistic and taking advantage of the situation. 

I find it somewhat ironic that some in the Opposition, after spending a year screaming at Bennett for this, are willing to find an alternative government by offering either Gideon Saar or Benny Gantz the first round of a rotation arrangement as Prime Minister. And now UTJ is making some noises as well suggesting that if Netanyahu should fail to achieve the support of 61 Knesset members after the election, they would no longer remain loyal to him but would look for alternatives, including recommending Benny Gantz as Prime Minister.

So when Bennett did it, it was immoral, but when it is good for them it is perfectly legitimate. Maybe when Bennett did it they considered it immoral because it left them behind and it really isnt immoral...


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Olam Hafuch Raiti

The deal being worked on (or maybe arrived at by now) is strange and seems counter-intuitive. MK Netanyahu (Likud) decided to oppose the law proposal for the dispersal of the Knesset today due to being unsatisified with some of the legislation being pushed through at the last minute, including the law proposal to prevent someone indicted from running for Prime Minister.

The Coalition heads seem to have decided to make a deal to scrap the law proposal about someone indicted running for PM in exchange for support for the dispersal of the Knesset.

So, the coalition that should theoretically want to continue for longer is  fighting for dispersal, while the Opposition that should want the dispersal sooner is fighting for the government to stay on longer. The coalition that has wanted to pass a law to prevent someone indicted from running for PM is willing to give that up in exchange for faster dispersal of the Knesset.

As the Talmud says, Olam Hafuch Ra'iti - an upside down world I have seen...



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Jewish Money/ A Week in Poland for $2,000 Visiting the Holy Sites. Is it Worth it? (video)







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Armed & Orthodox - The Tactical Rabbi | Local Legends (video)







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Jewish or Goyish? Judy Gold & Eliot Glazer Decide on Bennifer, Branjelina & More - 2 Jews Choose (video)







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PROMISED LAND. A Walk from The Center of JERUSALEM to The Old City (video)







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Hanan Ben Ari: Hananya (video)







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Jun 26, 2022

Proposed Law: National Service for affirmative action

This past week has seen a slurry of law proposals trying to get in under the deadline of the government dispersing.

MK Nir Barkat (Likud) has proposed an interesting law.. Barkat's proposal is that affirmative action, such as regarding university acceptance and public sector hiring, will only apply to  people who have served the country, either via serving in the IDF or in Sherut Leumi, National Service.

Barkat explains that it makes no sense that people who did not serve the country and then wave the Palestinian flag and call out against the State of Israel should get priority acceptance to jobs and university. This is in light of the recent hullabaloo of Arabs waving the PLO flag, especially in Jerusalem and on Har Habayit.
source: INN

What makes this an especially interesting proposal is that it is sure to upset the Likud's natural partners, UTJ (and Shas but less so), who have stood by the Likud over the past few years through thick and thin.. I wait to see the reactions to this..






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Headlines Podcast: 6/25/22 – Shiur 376 – Mechitzas - When do we need one? + Music Part III (a supplement to the previous Shiurim) (audio)







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Palestinians: Are you willing to share the land with the Jews? (video)








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Bardak: Mr Goldblum's Return (video)








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Another DIVINE PLACE in ISRAEL. Kibbutz Bari (Be'eri) and surroundings (video)







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IDF Chief Cantor Shai Abramson - Avinu Shebashamayim, Yerushalayim Melody (video)









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Jun 23, 2022

Tweet of the Day

yum


is the carrot slice included?

their social media marketing guy or team did a great job with this [I think] joke...


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Y-Studs: Lean On Me/Ani Ma'amin (Official Music Video)







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Jun 22, 2022

Quote of the Day

There is no actuality of "Haredi Public Schools" (editors note: in Hebrew, Mama"ch - Mamlachti Charedi), it is a self-contradiction. Even if there is a little bit of it today, it will be stopped.
I suggest you dont try to force your way on the secular public whose chidlren are today not learning gemara and Tanakch as they learned up until 20 years ago in all schools.  And then come to us and try to force secular stuies on the Haredi community. Do not try to change us as you will not succeed.

  --MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ)

The Mamach schools exist. I would be surprised if he thinks he can shut them down. He might be able to fight against funding new ones, if UTJ ends up in the next coalition, but even when he was in the previous coalition and actively fought against it Mamach schoosl opened, even with all the difficulties he threw their way. And nobody forced anyone into the Mamach system. The parebnts who fought to open it did so because they wanted that type of education for their children.

Gafni is at least consistent. He has always opposed them and has always promised to fight against them. 


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Facebook Status of the Day

couldnt embed, so took a screenshot..






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Inside Israel's Closed Off Ultra-Orthodox Communities | Foreign Correspondent (video)







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Jewish or Goyish? Abbi Jacobson & Eliot Glazer Decide on the Steelers, MMA, & More - 2 Jews Choose (video)







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Be Heard Episode 2 - Yonatan Kaye - Nissim Black and Rabbi Benzion Klatzko (video)







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JERUSALEM. IDF Soldiers Prepare to Take the Oath at The Wailing Wall (video)







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Barry Sacharoff and Evyatar Banai - Va'Afilu B'Hastara (video)







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Jun 21, 2022

Gantz continues to refuse

It seems Opposition parties are scrambling to try to form an alternative government before the dispersal of the Knesset so as to avoid elections. There are reports that the Likud has now offered Benny Gantz and Kachol Lavan a deal by which they would form a government in which Gantz would be Prime Minister first in a rotation arrangement, starting off as temporary PM of the caretaker government (which should be a very short post theoretically) and then continue for the first year, before transferring the premiership to Netanyahu.

Reportedly Gantz refused.

I understand that until now he has refused such advances so as not to bring down the government to bring back Netanyahu, but at this point the government is already brought down (though technically it will only be brought down in a few more days), so I am not sure who he is remaining loyal to. Unless he really does not trust Netanyahu even at this point - he has already been burned by Netanyahu, but at this point he doesnt have much to lose anyway. Also he might be taking an extremely moral and principled stand (even if only in his opinion) to not be the one effecting an indicted person and someone he considers not trustworthy, dishonest and immoral to return to power.

Or maybe it is just negotiating for a better deal, more than 1 year at the helm, or maybe some other conditions.

I wonder. At this point I am not sure what is happening




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paying for damages

Hamechadesh is reporting that a young boy, a lad of 11 years old, was riding his bike in Bet Shemesh, near his house when he hit a pothole of some sort in the sidewalk caused by city construction meant to prepare the area for the planting of trees. The area has not been closed off as a safety precaution, and the kid went flying when his bike hit the pothole. The child sustained damage to his face, especially in the mouth area, including losing a tooth. I hope he was wearing a helmet and did not also sustain any head damage.

The kid was taken for medical care and referred to the hospital for emergency care to save the tooth. He has had to undergo several procedures for both his tooth and for other damage done to the mouth and jaws.

The family went to a lawyer who filed suit, and they came to an agreement with the City of Bet Shemesh. The City will pay the family 200,000nis in damages that include payment for procedures the child must undergo, or has undergone, along with for their pain and discomfort and other damages. They immediately went to the area and closed it off to the public and fixed what needed to be fixed...

Be safe out there, but if not, don't hesitate to sue the city for damages caused by their negligence. That might include the many potholes int eh roads around town causing damage to cars, and many other common problems left open by the "it will be ok" attitude prevalent here. Besides for the money, that really seems to be the only way to get them to actually move on these things.




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who can claim kashrut?

Haredim10 has an interesting story that raises a common debate in kashrut today.

Rav Yitzchak Levy, the Chief Rabbi of Nesher and member of the Chief Rabbinate Rabbinic Council, recently hosted a catered event. Mazel tov, whatever the event was celebrating.

The issue raised is that the caterer hired for the event bears no kashrut certification. The situation is exacerbated a bit by the fact that Rabbi Levy was one of the main opponents fighting the recent kashrut reforms proposed by Matan Kahane - Rabbi Levy believed and fought that the Rabbanut should retain all the power and control in kashrut.

And then Rabbi Levy himself goes and hires a caterer that claims to be kosher but does not have kashrut certification.

it at least looks weird, if not bad.

When asked, the caterer responded that he hires a local avreich to supervise the kashrut but he has no formal certification. Let's not forget, Rav Levy fought bitterly against the kashrut reforms that would have made what Rav Levy did for his personal event perfectly ok. Rav Levy's main opposition is that without the Rabbanut, the law will not obligate any private rabbi to express his decision that food being supervised is problematic or not kosher, and only with the Rabbanut system can the rabbis retain the power to declare something not kosher.

Rav Levy himself responded to questions saying this was a private event, a family dinner, a family event, even though there were other people invited, and and family dinners do not need supervision. Rav Levy mentioned that he just had another similar event on Shabbos and made a similar catered meal.

So according to Rabbi Levy, personal events, like wedding meals, bar mitzvahs and the like, do not need official kashrut supervision. So what does need kashrut supervision? Obviously restaurants do, but no event halls? Is every private affair a personal matter, a family dinner, no matter how many non-family members are invited so they do not need supervision? I agree that a family dinner, cooked by me or my wife, with guests, family members or other, and that dinner will not need supervision. If I invite you to dinner, or you invite me to dinner, neither of us need to hire a mashgiach. But when you hire a caterer and are not doing the cooking yourselves, does the caterer not need supervision?

Halachically, the entire kashrut requirements are based on trust. There is no real halachic need for kashrut organizations. They became a thing when restaurants and caterers basically became a common thing, so we started eating in places where we did not know the proprietor and could not just trust him - so the kashrut agencies became a thing and in place of trusting the owner, who we often do not know, we trust the reputable kashrut agency supervising. Technically Rav Levy did nothing wrong - he trusts the caterer either because he knows the fellow and trusts him or because a private mashgiach was hired. But wouldn't it behoove Rabbi Levy to adhere to the rules he pushes on society where caterers are required to get [at least] Rabbanut hechshers to be considered kosher?


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Be Heard Episode 1 - Mendy Brull - Nissim Black and Rabbi Benzion Klatzko (video)


Nissim Black, Tali Yess, and an audience full of musical enthusiasts gave 23 performers a chance to shine for the first time at the Benzion Z Klatzko home in Monsey, NY, while receiving feedback from some of the top musical entertainers in the industry!








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Josh Peck & Eliot Glazer Decide if Elon Musk, Piercings, & More Are Jewish or Goyish - 2 Jews Choose (video)








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Morocco hosts Israel for historic women’s basketball game (video)







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HAIFA. In Search of Wild Boars. Descending the Lotem River from Mount Carmel (video)







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Ari Hill - garesh et haazvut (video)






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Jun 20, 2022

Bennett's low risk move

Journalists are saying that part of what is behind Bennett's decision to move to new elections is a meeting he had last week with legal counsel regarding the Judea and Samaria law. It seems he went to the Attorney General's office to meet with the legal team to see if there is any way to avoid chaos if the Judea and Samaria law doesnt get passed. He was told in no uncertain terms there is no way around it and the situation will be legal chaos in the areas of Judea and Samaria. The report says that Bennett decided he didnt want that to happen and this is largely because of that. To remind you, the government collapse makes the law automatically renew itself without a vote.

I would have liked to see Bennett gamble on my proposal of last week, but I guess it wasnt meant to be..


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mazel tov

it looks like new elections are almost official. it aint over until the fat lady sings, and she is only scheduled to get on stage next week, but it looks as close to final as possible without yet being final.

I like elections. chaos. A day off. Campaigning. Promises nobody expects to keep. I dont like the violence and I suspect this campaign season will be a particularly violent one, but the rest is all good.

Mazel tov.

And as has been said in one way or another, (Thomas Jefferson, Joseph de Maistre, Alexis de Tocqueville), the people get the government they deserve - even in our dysfunctional electoral system

..


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Proposed law: electric water pumps on Shabbos

It seems a new feature in buildings today, though it does seem strange this is a new feature and not something that has been in use for a long time already, is an electric water pump system so the apartments on the higher floors will have good water pressure.

This new type of pump system causes a problem for religious residents in these buildings, as running the water on Shabbos causes the electric pump to activate. Being a direct result, it is possibly chilul shabbos to run the water in such an environment. I do not know if there is a range of opinions no this matter, nor do I know how these pumps work and maybe it is only a chumra to not use it on Shabbos or whatever, but it exists and at least some consider it a problem for Shabbos.

Hamechadesh is reporting that MK Yaakov Asher (UTJ) has proposed a new law that would make these pump systems similar to Shabbos elevators. 

The law allows any resident in a building to have a shabbos elevator installed without needing the permission of any of the other residents, if s/he is willing to pay for it.  The same is true for the building lighting systems. The law never included the water systems, so shomer shabbos residents in affected buildings are having a difficult time arranging this.

Asher's proposal, if passed into law, would allow a concerned resident to install such a system int he building if he is willing to pay out of pocket, without requiring him to obtain x number of signatures from the neighbors.




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missing young man

I dont know much about this case, but I hope he was not kidnapped or in some sort of danger but just decided to be independent and go traveling or whatever but is safe and sound.. even if so he is worrying his parents and family and should have at least left them a note of some sort to not worry, he is traveling, exploring, etc.

Moshe Kleinerman, 16 years old, has been missing since March 25, 2022. he was last seen in the area of Meron




A reward has been posted for information leading to the discovery of his whereabouts.

There are now rumors that he was seen a month ago in Kerestir in Hungary but that has not yet been confirmed. 

Maybe someone out there has seen this young man or can spread the picture around and bring word back. Hopefully he is safe.




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Behind the Bima: Saul Blinkoff (video)







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Israelis: Which is a bigger threat, Palestinians or Iran? (video)







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Israeli Innovations That Changed YOUR Life (video)







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HAIFA TODAY. Spectacular Views from The Carmel Center District. Virtual Walk (video)







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Ruli Dikman: Yesh Lee Tatteh (video)







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Jun 19, 2022

Tweet of the Day




Rav Aviad Gadot tweeted the following:
This past week I went to pay a condolence call in Jerusalem. Matan Kahane comes in and sits beside me. They passed a cup of water to give to him. I couldn't. Matan has crowned the Shura Council and has brought the New Israel Fund to power in an historic deception. I put the cup down on the table.
What do you think?

So, what do you think? I am sad about the extremism in our society in which we cannot disagree respectfully and still treat each other with respect and dignity...



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let's clean up our public speech

I think it is clear that with the government on the brink of collapse, likely leading to new elections, these considerations are behind the timing of the unfortunate words of Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchak Yosef (in my opinion, obviously, though he obviously does not need my stamp of approval). 

Rav Yosef in his shiur last night criticized MK Itamar Ben Gvir (Hatzionut Hadatit) for going up to Har Habayit.

Perhaps most egregiously Rav Yosef called him an idiot. I think it behooves a respectable position like the Chief Rabbi, any rabbi really but especially the Chief Rabbi, to speak with respect and dignity, even with those with which he disagrees. I know it is nothing new, but I truly wish he would not sink to the level of name calling and the like.

Besides for that, Ben Gvir has been going up to Har Habayit for a long time, and he has been causing provocations (on Har Habayit and elsewhere) for a long time. All of the sudden Rav Yosef needed to speak out against him?

With the nation on the brink of dispersing for elections, whether the collapse will be this week, next week or next month, it seems clear Shas is feeling the pressure of Ben Gvir's party skyrocketing on the polls with many Shas [and UTJ] voters moving to support Ben Gvir due to his more extreme and provocative approach. It seems likely to me that at least one of his goals in speaking out in this fashion at this time is to stem the tide of supporters moving to Ben Gvir's camp. 

One might say dont involve the rabbi in politics, but when the rabbi involves himself in politics there is no reason to not consider him involved.

And yes, I am sure the halachic aspect alone was also a concern of Rav Yosef's. I do not accuse him of being purely political (though I dont see why that is necessarily a bad thing, considering the position is basically a political appointment with the politicians deciding who the Chief Rabbi will be and making deals for support), but it is a strong motivation.




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Headlines Podcast: 6/18/22 – Shiur 375 – “Off MY Derech” (but still “On THE Derech”) – When children turn out more observant - or less observant - than their parents had hoped (audio)







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The Broad Wall (Episode 27) - City of David: Bringing the Bible to Life (video)







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Meni Hollander starts the summer on the beach, but what is he wearing? (video)







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Lenny Solomon Live (video)









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Ani Ma'amina- Chaya Kogan- Kol Isha- For woman and girls (video)







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Jun 16, 2022

Quote of the Day

You are in the most racist place in the world..

  -- MK Ahmed Tibi (Joint Arab List), to 6 foreign Arab  "pro Israel" journalists he saw walking around in the Knesset.. Tibi refused to explain and ran off supposedly to vote on something in the plenum. The journalists later expressed regret at Tibi's words saying he should have explained and questioning how it can be the most racist place yet he serves in the Knesset..

I can think of some more racist places, even if the Knesset, and Israeli society, is far from perfect on this issue.



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Fmr. ambassador David Friedman ahead of Biden visit and special interview (video)




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The Broad Wall (Episode 27) - City of David: Bringing the Bible to Life (video)




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TEL AZEKAH טל אזקה - Season 1 - Episodes 1 & 2 - THE SECRET SITDOWN and The Wake Up Call (video)

hmmmm




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IDF Chief Cantor Shai Abramson - Avinu Shebashamayim and Yerushalayim Melody (video)




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Jun 15, 2022

Book Review: Internment in Britain in 1940

Dr. Harold Goldmeier is an award-winning entrepreneur receiving the Governor's Award (Illinois) for family investment programs in the workplace from the Commission on the Status of Women. He was a Research and Teaching Fellow at Harvard, worked for four Governors, and recently sold his business in Chicago. Harold is Managing Partner of an investment firm, a business management consultant, public speaker on business, social and public policy issues, and taught international university students in Tel Aviv.

 

80 million refugees roam the world today. We view all of them through a political lens, and the language used to label runaways reveals our biases and defines their treatment.

There are 5 million (good) refugees from the Ukraine. (Bad) illegals flood America’s southern border. British officers are deporting (bothersome) displaced persons to Rwanda. 3 million (ignored) Venezuelans seek political asylum in Columbia. (Pathetic) African Blacks and Middle East Muslims drown and others enslaved trekking from Africa and Syria. (Dismissed) Afghanis on the run are just dying.

My father was a German-Jewish (enemy alien) refugee. The Nazis freed him from Buchenwald around 1940. His mother bought him a visa to Panama. Hitler expected refugees to be a burden to destination countries. Dad traveled from Fulda to Hamburg, boarding a boat sailing to Panama. The ship refueled and resupplied in England. Dad jumped off.



The British interned him in a camp for enemy aliens, Jews and non-Jews, Orthodox and secular, working men and intellectuals. Interns had to convince Colonel May that they were not spies. From concentration camp to internment camp like a summer fling. We visited a cousin who spent her teen years in a concentration camp. My young son piped up, “I’m going to camp this summer.” We busted out laughing until my cousin wished he did not go to the same one she survived.  

Now there is a book that tells the rest of the story. Internment in Britain in 1940: Life and Art Behind the Wire by Ines Newman with Charmain Brinson & Rachel Dickson (Vallentine Mitchell 2021) fills in the details about the missing time. They built the book around a diary kept by Newman’s grandfather, Wilhelm Hollitscher.

Holitscher’s story mirrors that of my father. Neither spoke much about life in Buchenwald or the British internment camps until the Hollitscher diary was found. Newman too “knew very little about our grandparents.”

The diary somehow found its way into London’s Weiner Library. It is a first-hand, invaluable account for understanding how a nation at war protected civilian refugees. I can hear my father’s voice and imagine life through Hollitscher’s words and pictures; the days and nights in a refugee camp.

Newman and co-authors wrote Internment after years of extensive research. The effort let Newman get to know her grandparents she missed growing up. The book is 126 pages of relatively small font and single-spaced lines. There are eleven pages of notes and a detailed index. Internment in Britain in 1940: Life and Art Behind the Wire contributes importantly to the history of German Jews. The book is in the best traditions of social anthropology. Meade and Benedict might have praised it. The 20 illustrations about camp life and its colour plates reproductions add valuable memories.

 

America closed its borders, refusing asylum to European Jews long before war broke out. The British were at war and yet gave refuge to German Jews, Aryans, and Italians. Foreign nationals, that is suspected enemy aliens, were under arrest until cleared of being spies. They held 25,000 men and 4,000 women at anyone time.

The interns were “called to appear in front of Aliens’ Tribunals throughout Britain.” The Tribunals graded each person according to a perceived level of security risk. Many avoided arrest and internment. America arrested and moved 120,000 citizens of Japanese ancestry, whether US citizens. My friend Smitherton was one of them, but that is another story. The White Americans running the war did not have relocation camps for Whites of German ancestry.   

Hollitscher describes British camps as livable. Others were vermin-ridden tents where “British soldiers—and even their officers—helped themselves in plain sight to the inmates’ possessions.” Conditions were tough in the country. Britain was at war. Supplies rationed. The country fell into a depression after Russia collaborated with the Nazis, and the Polish and French militaries collapsed.

The book offers significant background details, and the diary is descriptive. Overall, its tone reflects my father’s attitude toward the British. Some interned Jews believed conditions might be better if certain guards, officers, and officials were not antisemitic, but it was better for Jews in Britain than Japanese in the deserts and mountains of America.

The Hollitscher diary describes the daily privations, tedium, brooding and “wrestling with their loss of identity.” But they were imaginative. When art supplies were in short supply, camp artists burnt twigs “to create sticks of charcoal; short beard hairs were plucked to use for brushes;” they made paints from brick dust or vegetable juice ground with linseed oil or olive oil from sardine cans.

In the diary’s Epilogue, there are ruminations by the Hollitscher whether the war-time atmosphere resulted from government panic or the fault of the “military machine” responsible for refugees. Newman believes “Fascism reaches up into the highest circles…there exists an antisemitic alternative government, supported by members of the governing classes, which has its own views and is active and sabotages members of the government with a different view.”

This infection weaved its way through the Foreign Office and upper society. It manifested in the British official collaboration with the Arab world. The goal was to forefend a homeland for the Jews despite Prime Ministers Churchill’s wartime and post-war position that “My heart is full of sympathy for Zionism.” The book makes an important contribution to restructuring attitudes and services to refugees and fills in gaps in modern Jewish history.

 





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Liberty of Restrictions

Aryeh Deri has Shas, via MK Arbel, proposing a law called "The Law for the Protection of the Liberty of Telephones". Without knowing the details of the proposal, I am guessing this would give the Haredi community the ability to bring back the "koma ksheira" that controlled the kosher phone industry.

Besides for the weirdness and humor in the name - protection of the liberty of telephones - I do find it funny and ironic that the protection of the liberty of telephones is being created to restrict people form using phones the way they might want to. Again, if people want kosher phones, they can get them. Kosher phones were not banned. The system controlling the phones not allowing competition and restricting access to things you might or might not want is what was stopped but the law to protect liberty of telephones would be used to bring back those systems specifically meant to add restrictions to large sectors of Israeli society (that he says in the proposal he is trying to protect).




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Are Beer and TikTok Jewish or Goyish? Rachel Antonoff & Eliot Glazer Decide (video)








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Synagogues of the Past 5 (video)








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Very Relaxing Walk and Nice Atmosphere. The City of BAT YAM (video)







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SIMCHA LEINER | SHUVI | (Official Music Video)







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