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Free The Hostages! Bring Them Home!

(this is a featured post and will stay at the top for the foreseeable future.. scroll down for new posts) -------------------------------...

Sep 30, 2022

Sruli with Dovid Asher: Ahavti (video)







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Sep 29, 2022

the myth busters of Lev Tahor cult

I admit I am disappointed. 

it seems that the authorities in Mexico recently arrested a bunch of members of the Lev Tahor cult. After a few days of sitting in jail it seems they all escaped last night.

I grew up on television and movies that depicted Mexican prisons as cruel, dirty, and extremely harsh places that were practically impossible to break out of, and it always seemed like a non-violent person might not even survive such a prison.

If these cult members of Lev Tahor, not exactly the type of hardened violent criminal imagined as standard in a Mexican prison (though they are rapists and whatever else they do wrong) could break out of a Mexican prison so easily, what does that say abut all those depictions of Mexican prisons in Hollywood?

Very disappointing.


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MK Porush and the Ukranian Traffic Jam

the pilgrimage to Uman this year for Rosh Hashana was supposed to be a logistical nightmare. Because of the war there are no flights in and out of Ukraine (besides for the air force jets of Russia and Ukraine). Pilgrims trying to go to Uman would have to fly in from wherever to a neighboring or nearby country, possibly take another domestic flight closer to the border with Ukraine, and then travel by land (buses, shuttles and cars) for 13+ hours to get to Uman.

According to reports, 20-25 thousand pilgrims were not deterred by all that and went anyway.

And dont forget, the way out is basically the same story but in reverse. And actually a bit worse - while coming in everyone went on staggered schedules, each traveling on his own timeline, leaving Uman happened for almost all 25 thousand people at once.

While I am not 100% clear on why, there is a major gridlock for the pilgrims leaving, and many have been sitting on the road for hours and by now even days, trying to get out of Ukraine. It is a massive traffic jam leading to the borders and probably some bureaucracy as well.

The news today reported that MK Meir Porush (UTJ) has gotten involved and has been pushing the Foreign Ministry and Defense officials to intervene assist with finding solutions to help the people trying to leave who are stuck at the borders.

With knowing just that sparse information, I must say that this is a big difference between the Haredi MKs form Shas and UTJ and most of the other MKs. Most MKs are, as the job role seems to require, working on the more macro level, setting policy, passing laws, and the like. In addition to all that, the Haredi MKs spend a lot of time actually helping individuals (and I am sure other MKs do as well, but the Haredi MKs see it as an integral part of their job - let me know if I am wrong) and dealing with micro issues. An MK dealing with a traffic jam in another country getting involved because Israeli citizens are there? I am not sure how many MKs would care enough or feel responsible enough t bother with it. this might be a good thing, and maybe some see it as a bad thing - so focused on assisting individuals makes them deficient perhaps in assisting on the greater levels, but I think that is part of why their communities love them so much.


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Unilever threatens Israelis lifeblood

Unilever is one of the leading companies in Israel, or maybe the leading company in Israel, for selling consumer products. They are also largely behind a lot of the recent price hikes - they sell the most, so when they raise the prices, it affects the most, and then other companies follow suit. Whether it is justified or not but rising costs of raw materials is a different issue, but Unilever is behind a  lot of the consumer price increases in Israel.

Several supermarket chains have already stopped selling Unilever products because of the price hikes. They have refused to raise their prices on so many products and told Unilever so, but Unilever hasnt backed down. So some supermarkets have stopped selling their products.

Now Unilever is threatening Israel itself. They are threatening the lifeblood of Israelis. 


According to ICE, they are not impressed by the supermarkets threats to stop selling Unilever products and are now threatening back - if price increases do not get approved and accepted by the supermarkets they will simply refuse to manufacture products, including the Crembo.

The Crembo of Strauss, marketed by Unilever, is one of the greatest selling products in Israel. Not only is it one of Unilever's biggest products but it is also the most beloved product of Israelis, especially come winter time. And Unilever is threatening to simply stop making it, if the stores don't let them raise the price.

Israelis might have to make do with the Crembos of Rio and Feldman, and that might just be too much to ask for. Let's see who blinks first.

Something ironic I noticed is that when Ben & Jerry's recently scuffled with Israel, Jews around the world "boycotted" Ben & Jerry's, and waged a financial campaign against Unilever, while in Israel we continued to buy Ben & Jerry's as a way of supporting the local manufacturer who was fighting against the mothership. Now with Israelis fighting the price hikes, in Israel we are going to ban Unilever and Ben & Jerry's while around the world they are now satisfied that Israel won the scuffle and have gone back to investing in Unilever and consuming Ben & Jerry's...

 






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#102: Behind the Bima - Judge Dan Butler (video)







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A Chat With David Herskowitz On Miami Boys Choir Viral Tiktok Trend (video)







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Lenny Solomon Live (video)










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JERUSALEM TODAY. From Machaneh Yehudah Market to the Wailing Wall (video)







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Rogers Park - Yaaleh [OFFICIAL VIDEO]







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Sep 28, 2022

Headlines Podcast: 9/24/22 – Shiur 389 – The Kashrus scandal in the Chinese Restaurant | The New York State Board of Regents vote regarding Yeshivos (audio)







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Palestinians: Is an Israeli killed also a martyr? (video)







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Texas Red Heifers' Arrival Stirs Prophetic Excitement (video)







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Jerusalem, Old City. ALL GATES OF THE TEMPLE MOUNT (video)







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Motty Feldman - Min Hameitzar (video)







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Sep 25, 2022

Shana Tova

Shana Tova!
Ksiva Vachasima Tova!

Wishing you all a good and healthy new year


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Yehuda Green Selichot - 2022 - (Official Full Video)







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Sep 23, 2022

Ishay Ribo - Lekha Eli - Live, Elul in Caesarea (video)







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Roshklahoma! (video)






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Sep 22, 2022

the drinking with a straw begins

Several elections ago I stopped posting the compilations of election campaign ads of the varius parties. I am making an exception for this ad from the Likud, specifically Benjamin Netanyahu, because I like it, though not much as a campaign ad. It doesnt talk about policy or anything like that...



Besides for being a nice video, here is how I see this form the perspective of a campaign ad.

Just this morning Netanyahu caught heat from the Haredi parties. He arranged a campaign stop in Bnei Braq. UTJ always throws a fit when any other party tries to campaign in their backyard - they think they own the Haredi vote and nobody else has a right to campaign to their voters. Sometimes they can throw a fit but not actually do anything about it, but with Netanyahu they have the ability to stop him - they are loyal enough to him that he often does what they say, he doesnt want to upset them. So Netanyahu canceled his visit to Bnei Braq. I heard he moved it to Ramat Gan, just over the border, but that is beside the point. He canceled his Bnei Braq visit.

Netanyahu canceled his campaign to the potential Haredi voters, and turned around and started his campaign to the Dati Leumi voters instead. They always talk about how Netanyahu "drank the DL voters with a straw", meaning he campaigned to them and drew away many of those voters to his party away from their "natural" political home. This video is the start of that "drinking their votes with a straw". This video is for the DL voter. The Haredim dont care about this sentiment, and the secular, and the masorati, dont care about this sentiment - not manifested via this tefila (f course they care for the safety of the soldiers). This tefila, this song,  is for the DL crowd. This video, without saying anything political, without making promises, just singing a tefila, is the start of Bibi's campaign to draw away Dati Leumi voters and keep Ayelet Shaked from passing the minimum threshold (and in his opinion hopefully dropping out of the race)




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10 minutes that make no difference

Back in the day, Netanyahu, then Prime Minister, was set to give a speech at the United Nations, and it was an election season (when is it not?). The Electoral Board decided (because someone appealed to them) to instruct the local broadcasting stations to broadcast Netanyahu's speech but not live - it had to have a 10 minute delay so anything Netanyahu might say in the speech that might be construed as electioneering could be cut from the broadcast.

Fair is fair and now Yair Lapid is set to give a speech at the United Nations during an election season (again, when is it not an election season here?) and now Netanyahu has appealed to the electoral board to prevent the broadcasting stations from broadcasting Lapid's speech live, but with a 10 minute delay.

Fair is fair, and if that's the rule, so be it. But really, these types of rules are anachronistic and useless and should be done away with.

Does it matter of Channels 11, 13, 14 and the other local broadcasts delay 10 minutes when most people are anyway watching it on the Internet live? And even if they are not, they could if they wanted to. Do we really need these delays in 2022 to protect the people from electioneering when anyone can see it live online from a multitude of other media organizations broadcasting it? These types of rules should all be done away with.







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Nichsifa: Selichot Medley (video)







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AutoToker with Yaakov Shwekey (video)







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Young Israel Chicagoland (video)






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JERUSALEM. All Quarters of Old City. Walking Tour (video)







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Project Focus Presents: 8th Day - "Look Up" (video)







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Sep 21, 2022

Lapid and the Two State Solution

There is big news right now about PM Yair Lapid supposedly planning to announce in his United Nations speech his support for a Palestinian State, saying it is time we separate ourselves from the Palestinians.

I dont know the exact details of what he is planning to say or what his plan is, but the news is saying at least that much.

We can be outraged by this - how dare he! etc. but let us not forget that Benjamin Netanyahu as Prime Minister in 2009 went ahead of gave a famous speech in Bar Ilan in which he expressed support for a Palestinian State, so Lapid isnt really doing anything new now that Netanyahu himself did not already do. The real question in my mind is what Lapid is going to offer, what he thinks he can put into his plan for a Palestinian State that would satisfy the Palestinians and get them to accept it. Several Prime Ministers have already made generous offers to the Palestinians and they have rejected it each time, so what does PM Lapid plan to do differently, or is this just for the sake of the speech itself (and the effect it will have on elections)?


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Tweet of the Day




I always get a kick out of the scary "Talmudic rituals"....



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Quote of the Day

They want to wipe out every spark of Judaism. Merav Michaeli is acting feral regarding public transportation on Shabbos, not caring about the laws of the State of Israel with just her campaign in front of her eyes. Lapid goes to eat in a restaurant of lobster and shrimp, and Liberman tries to hurt us in any possible way. There is still someone who thinks we will run with these crazy people?

  -- MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ) at a campaign event

two things in that statement jump out at me. 

The obvious one is that Netanyahu also eats in treif restaurants, places that serve lobster and shrimp, yet it never bothered him or prevented him from supporting Netanyahu.

The more interesting one, to me, is that he criticized Lapid for eating treif (shrimp and lobster) rather than for being anti-haredi. Until now they always opposed Lapid because they claimed he is anti-haredi and has worked to hurt the Haredi community in many ways. That is now reserved for Liberman while Lapid is simply someone who eats treif. I dont know if it means anything, but it stands out to me.




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is the British Mandate still in effect?

I dont want to say this is reminiscent of the British during the Mandate period, but it sort of is.

Har Habayit activist Yehuda Glick and buddies were arrested for blowing shofar outside the walls of Har Habayit. Glick went to court and the court supported him saying there is nothing wrong with him blowing the shofar there.

Shortly after Glick went back with his buddies and again blew shofar outside the walls of the Old City and Temple Mount on the Eastern side, and despite the court ruling, the police again put a stop to it and arrested them.





In that second video, Robert Weinger is blowing the shofar to the tune of Hatikva. I never heard of this fellow, but the Jewish Press says he is one of the best shofar blowers in the world. I have no idea how that is rated and who tested the various candidates. 

Israel Police needs to stop getting involved in these heavy handed activities when no law is being broken. I could understand if this was happening on Har Habayit, they need to keep the peace, it is at least debatable. But outside the city walls?

 


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The Holidays in Tel Aviv

The City of Tel Aviv published on its municipal website instructions, guidelines and relevant information for the upcoming holiday season in Tel Aviv. Some of it is informative, some generous, and some cute and quirky and not necessarily traditional.

For example:

they will allow, once again, expansion of some shuls into public areas for the holidays. This has to be done in coordination with the city's Religious Council.

announced details of the times and location of the sukkos fair selling lulav and esrog and sukka materials.

The city will distribute schach (presumably palm fronds, for free!) at several locations around the city (as long as supply lasts). All Israeli cities should do this. Instead, they let people trim city trees and then sell the branches.


Information about when the beaches will be supervised with lifeguards - on Yom Kippur there will be no lifeguards on the beaches, and swimming without lifeguards present is both dangerous and illegal.

Information about city services over Sukkos and Chol Hamoed (mostly none), but street cleaning and garbage removal will be increased.

And I saved the most interesting for last - kapparos. The City of Tel Aviv has announced that the slaughtering of chickens on Yom Kippur for kapparos will not be allowed. 
That seems to be a mistake, as we dont do kapparos or slaughter the chickens on Yom Kippur - we do it on erev Yom Kippur, and some do it earlier in the week leading up to Yom Kippur. But I do wonder what would happen legally if on Erev Yom Kippur someone did kapparos in the street, set up a booth or whatever, and maybe even shechted the chickens right there. The city would definitely try to put a stop to it, but would the person have a legal defense because it is not Yom Kippur?


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Episode 1: Out of the Shadows - A Jewish Approach to Mental Health (video)







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Athletes Against Antisemitism Panel Discussion (video)







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MEET A BLACK HASIDIC JEWISH RAPPER (a day in the life of NISSIM BLACK) (video)







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MY BELOVED TEL AVIV. Fantastic Walk in Sarona TLV (neighborhood) (video)







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Nissim Saal - Aneinu Live - Conducted by Rafi Biton (video)








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Sep 20, 2022

Book Review: Questioning the Answers


NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.

Book Review: Questioning the Answers, by Kayla Haber Goldstein, FFB-BT 


This book, Questioning the Answers, by Kayla Haber Goldstein, is an interesting book, but the story behind it is even more interesting, more fascinating. 

Usually when people put acronyms and initials after their names it indicates soe professional accomplishment such as being a doctor, a phd, or some sort of professional accomplishment conveyed via the official acronyms.

Kayla Haber Goldstein included FFB-BT after her name, and that actually points to the story behind the book.


FFB, as most of you probably know, stands for Frum From Birth. She was born into a frum Jewish household, and was raised frum. BT stands for Baal Teshuva - usually someone who was raised in a not religious Jewish home but at some later stage chose on their own to become religious. Kayla using the acronym FFB-BT points to her story as someone who was raised frum from birth but is also a baal teshuva, because at a later stage she left religious Judaism, stopped believing, but later came back to religious Judaism after her search for answers to her questions. Basically somewhat of a contradiction, but one that happens often enough, though I have never seen anyone describe themselves in that manner. Even more interesting than the acronym is that she chose to use it at all, which itself is very unusual.

Basically, briefly, Goldstein's story is that after a near death experience she stopped believing and left religion. She was married to a rabbi, and they stayed together despite her lack of observance and set some red lines and worked it all out. When someone pushed her to not just have questions, but to search for answers, that is when things started turning around. She still doesnt seem like your typical Rebbetzin in a Haredi house but she has found her path and it works for her, and it is incredibly empowering and a fascinating story to hear her tell in detail. I heard an interview with her on the 1840 podcast, and it is definitely worth listening to. 

This book though is not her biography and it is not her story, though in the introduction she does tell her story, albeit in less detail than in the interview linked above. Just for the introduction it would be worth reading this book.

Many people have questions. Sometimes we are discouraged from actually asking them (the author describes this as part of her experience growing up, which ended up getting her labeled as a troublemaker of sorts), and sometimes we only put a small amount of effort into looking for the answers, satisfied to make do with our anger, our frustration, our questions. Kalya Goldstein went on a search for answers to her questions, and the answers are this book, Questioning the Answers. Most frum people grow up without discussing these types of issues, without researching and investigating these matters. She did not just take basic answers at face value but worked to get to the root of the matter, to understand what was bothering her and how it really works. 

These are answers that worked for her, that helped her understand, that helped her find her way. They are not anything she is trying to push on you. It is part of her story, not a kiruv book, even though much of it is discussion of questions of faith and how to resolve them. Questioning the Answers is really part of Kayla Haber Goldstein's story, as it helped her find her way and to arrive at a place where she is happy and satisfied with herself and with her lifestyle.

This would be a great book to take into Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur (and maybe even to take to shul to read during the "downtime")..



NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.


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Shas opposing fish reforms

Avigdor Lieberman raised the tax on disposable utensils along with on sugary drinks. Those were taxes that were designed to encourage certain behavior - more environment awareness and using less disposables that are bad for the environment, and consuming less sugary drinks. This is similar to the taxes that were added on to cigarettes (by Yaakov Litzman among others) and to the tax on plastic bags added by Netanyahu several years ago. One can argue with the goal or the medium, or one can think it is a worthy goal. One can accuse him of having ulterior motives with it designed to target a specific sector that consumes both more (whether true or not). Either way, it was not just another tax and Avigdor Lieberman did not just raise taxes in general.

So that was a different kind of tax. I dont consider something like that "raising taxes". It was on something specific for a specific purpose - to dissuade people from buying those items.

In general Lieberman has lowered taxes. He lowered the tax on gasoline, along with lowering taxes over the past year on a variety of imported goods. The purpose of these is to fight inflation, to open the market to more competition by cheaper imports, which will improve quality and lower prices. I still think corporate and personal taxes should be lowered, along with taxes on automobiles and many other items, but what Lieberman has done, in this regard, has been a good start.

Funnily enough, this post so far sounds like it is a post supporting Avigdor Lieberman, but it is not meant to be. I have never voted for Avigdor Lieberman and do not intend to. I think he could have opposed the Haredi parties without being as nasty as he has been, and in general he is not my cup of tea, though the truth is that if he is the only one lowering taxes perhaps that should be reconsidered.

Shas, on the other hand, is a party that claims to be concerned about social matters, caring for the weak and poor of Israeli society. One example of that is their plan to distribute food vouchers to poor families. That will cost Israeli society some good money but it isnt a bad program and a society, capitalist as it might be, should have some social concerns as well for the weaker sector. Their concern for the weaker sectors never seems to translate into lowering taxes but to increasing handouts. I guess that makes sense, as if you lower taxes there wont be, or there will be less, money for the handouts. 

Shas though has also opposed many reforms that were meant to help the people. I am not referring to reforms that involved religious issues, such as those of Matan Kahane - it is understandable that they opposed those. They have opposed many reforms that were meant to help the people financially, such as in the agriculture field (pun intended), such as the quotas of egg production, such as increasing allowance of imports of vegetables, such as lowering taxes on various imports especially in the agriculture imports. They oppose these reforms under the guise of protecting the farmers, protecting the chicken coop and egg people, etc. They oppose these reforms protecting some farmers at the expense of millions of Israelis. When I put it like that I just realized some juxtaposition with the hetter mechira which was meant to protect the farmers, but Shas (and others) oppose hetter mechira to help the local farmers, and many of those who support hetter mechira to help the farmers might support the reforms which would hurt the local farmers. Interesting point to think about.

The latest is Avigdor Lieberman, Minister of Finance, just announced the cutting of taxes on imports of fish before the holidays. This should cause the price of fish to drop just at a point where so many people are buying so much fish. That sounds like a good reform, a good plan, a helpful plan.


MK Yaakov Margi (Shas) on the other hand is opposing the reform. Margi claims that canceling the taxes on the fish imports will only help the monopolies get eve richer - he says prices will not be lowered but the monopolies will keep the extra money for themselves keeping the prices high and pocketing the difference.

That is a perfect example. The monopolies on fish are held by the local growers. The purpose of cutting the taxes on the imports is to force the local fish farmers to lower their prices to stay competitive. Increasing imports does not help the monopolies, it hurts them. He seems to imply that there is only one fish importer in Israel and this will help that monopoly, but if taxes are cut and it becomes profitable to import fish, others will join that market as well.

If Shas wants to help fight inflation and the increasing cost of living, they would not just give out handouts but would also work to lower prices.





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Quote of the Day

I believe that if the Right should rise to power Ayala Hasson will have to present her broadcast with a head covering

  -- MK Ram Ben Barak (Yesh Atid)

I have avoided posting most of the political trolling, from both the Right and the Left (and Center), despite it being really good, witty, funny, and ironic, at times. This is interesting though. Ayala Hasson is one of the most popular journalists in Israel, broadcasting among the most popular news shows, especially on Shabbos. So Ben Barak is worried that Hasson will have to cover her hair but wont have to stop broadcasting on Shabbos? If anything, the concern should be the opposite. Nobody has ever made an issue of women covering their hair, but most of the parties on the Right do have public Shabbos observance as a significant issue. But that isnt going to happen either, at least not so fat. Regardless of that, the entire thing is silly and is more populism than reality, just trying to scare people. To be fair, it is happening on both sides, I just have not been quoting most of it. 








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Bruce Pearl Speaks on Antisemitism (video)







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Panel Commentary - Where the race stands (video)







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King Charles To UK Chief Rabbi Mirvis: “Leave Now, You Have To Get Home For The Sabbath” (video)






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Lenny Solomon Live (video)









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Shir Harefuah I Shlomi Shabat & Shuki Salomon (video)







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Sep 19, 2022

Book Review: Gangsters vs Nazis

BY PROTECTING JEWS, AMERICA’S DEMOCRACY THRIVED

Dr. Harold Goldmeier, the writer manages an investment company and writes for financial companies about business, social, and political issues. He is a free public speaker for community groups and consults on matters of commerce and industry.

 Dr. Harold Goldmeier   harold.goldmeier@gmail.com  22/3 Nachal Dolev, Bet Shemesh, 9962127.  phone: 050 2619116

         

 Waking Just in Time

There was a time in America when Jews hit back at anti-Semites. Jews hit them with bats and boards, shovels, and fists. The media today shows Jews taking it, a rabbi on a New York street or subway is a punching bag for a tough. Synagogue members cower under their seats. College students whimper about anti-Semitism on campus; the boys wear baseball caps to avoid identification. We pride ourselves on being civilized, not taking revenge. The most we do is cooperate with the police and sue somebody.

Where has all this gotten us? Anti-Jewish hate speech is on the rise, as are physical attacks and murders. Across the political spectrum, American democracy feels threatened. Academics and pundits forewarn of another civil war. Official pleas to Diaspora Jews employ visuals and headlines of attacks on Jews in America, France, Belgium, and Britain to encourage their aliya.

Similar but more vociferous conditions predominated politics in the 1930s. It is a little-known side-story of the Holocaust. A camarilla of German-Americans, supported by White Christian cohorts, wanted to kill off democracy, oust Roosevelt, keep America from joining the Allies and install a fascist regime in Washington, D.C. A few Jewish leaders recognized the duo-threat to the Jewish People and to America’s principles. The Jews tried everything to raise public awareness and concerns in the capital and media with minimal success.  

Several Jewish leaders took matters into their own hands setting aside political correctness. They didn’t hesitate to stifle the free speech of Hitler’s American acolytes and propagandists while Europe’s Jews were being readied for slaughter. They turned to Jewish American tough guys.

It does not happen today because Jewish guilt for everything that happens to us is the presiding emotion. If only we were better, harrumph. But in the 30s, there were Jewish gangsters the community could rely on. Now, mobsters are vicious and scary. Gangsters are swashbuckling and cool. Jewish gangsters, like the infamous Meyer Lansky, nourish a quizzical smile to the corners of one’s lips, even today. In truth, Jewish gangsters were no less vicious and scary than mobsters of any ethnic group. They all resort to violence and prey on the weak. Everybody around them is a victim.

 Wellsprings of Identity

But there was one time, hidden in a pocket of Holocaust history when Jewish gangsters contributed outstandingly to ensuring the safety of the Jewish People and American democracy. Author Michael Benson tells the rest of the story in his rollicking, new, and highly recommended book, Gangsters vs Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in Wartime America (Citadel Press, 2022). Here is the rest of the story.

Hitler stirred the American stewpot looking for admirers. The German-American immigrants constituted the most significant White ethnic minority. In concert with Christian anti-Semites, Hitler’s secret agents knit the America First Committee, the German American Bund, and the Silver Legion into Hitler's American army.

 


 

By 1939, the America First Committee sported 800,000 members in 450 chapters. Charles Lindbergh and other spokespeople tagged the British, the President, and the Jews as anti-American warmongers. Many German Americans reveled in awe of Germany’s rise from the ashes of the First World War and the West’s devastating sanctions against the German people.

German influence on American culture and politics has been enormous. Today, they are the largest ethnic group in the U. S. German immigrants settled in American colonies. More than 1.2 million were born in Germany, 5 million had two native-German parents, and 6 million had one native-German parent by Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. 12 million lived in a “German belt” across the U.S. The Dank House served as the gathering place for Chicago’s German Christians, not German Jews when I was young.

Bund members declared it the duty of every German American to rid the country of Jews, scupper American democracy, and replace the government to at least keep America out of the war. Novelist Philip Roth called the chilling mission, A Plot Against America (Vintage, 2005). The only way to stop American Nazis in wartime was to launch a war against them.  

Tales from the Street

The hero in these times is former congressperson, Judge Nathan D. Perlman. Perlman approaches the notorious gangster Meyer Lansky. He tells about the rising threats to Jews and the nation. “Powerful men are openly making anti-Semitic remarks. Some of the newspapers and magazines are backing them up. Nazism is flourishing in the United States… You got some boys who might want to punch a Nazi?”

Lansky confirms offering to do more than throw a punch. “No killing” warns Perlman. The dead become martyrs. “But broken bones, I would think, are to be encouraged. They should know that being a Nazi is dangerous,” Perlman tells Lansky.

Tales of Jews in organized crime intrigue me like enigmatic mirages. Some of the best swirl around the notorious Lansky, who another author, Robert Lacey, calls, “The Thinking Man’s Gangster.” Lansky and “Lucky” Luciano built the Five Family crime syndicate that lasted some say through today.

The Jewish gangsters more prominent in the anti-Nazi fights were Eddie, “Monk” Osterman with fists of lightening, Hymie “The Weasel” Kugel, “Ice Pick Willie” Alderman, Mendy Weiss, Abe “Kid Twist” Reles, Marty “Buggsy” Goldstein, Harry Strauss, Al “Tic Toc” Tannenbaum, Charlie “Bug” Workman, Jake Drucker, and Lansky’s more exotic and lethal childhood buddy, Lepke “Little Louis” Buchalter. Not one Jewish leader in the 21st century has a nickname.

All About Principles 

The gangsters were fearless. They disrupted Nazi gatherings and punished the Jew-haters, sometimes with 2x4s. They never took a penny or killed an American Nazi. It was all about principles “beating up krautheads for a cause.” The cause took on personal importance, as Jewish escapees and travelers reported about Hitler’s destruction of Europe’s Jews, accounts that were usually suppressed by the media.

Benson describes a birthday party for Hitler in a ballroom. The stage “was decorated with pictures of Hitler (and) large swastikas hung…” The gall enraged Lansky. His minions burst through all the doors. They blocked fire escape exits. Jewish gangsters worked over the Nazis real good. Buggsy hit one Nazi so hard in the jaw he sagged and fell. Buggsy kicked him in the ear. Benson quotes Mickey Cohen proudly proclaiming in 1938, “Nobody could pay me for this work. It was my patriotic duty.”

No Shame in Jew-Hating

The Nazis found brotherly love among White Christian anti-Semites. Pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic Radio Priest, Father Charles Coughlin, of the Church of the Little Flower, spewed anti-Jewish vitriol across America’s radio waves for over a decade on a station licensed by the Federal government. The station never lost its license nor was Coughlin censured by the Church.

Countering Coughlin and never holding back was broadcaster Walter Winchell. Winchell was the most recognized and feared influencer at the time. He used the radio and his syndicated newspaper column to ruthlessly excoriate Hitler, American Nazis, and anti-Semites. Winchell excoriated Charles Lindbergh and other celebrity sympathizers. He had the power to ruin careers and Winchell hammered it home.

Other pro-fascist Jew-hating influencers of the time included O Henry Award-winning writer, William D. Pelley, and Ellis Jones. Jones went on to edit Life Magazine and Ladies Home Journal. Robert Noble was so vociferous against America fighting Hitler, that the federal government indicted and jailed Noble for his plot to “incite mutiny in the armed forces, unseat the government, and set up a Nazi regime.”       

Politics, Race, Bravery, and Self-Defense

I got four takeaways from Benson’s exciting book and the subsequent research it inspired.  

First, the German American Bund, pro-fascist and anti-Semitic collaborators were building a fifth column in America. Hitler’s stated plan was, “We will undermine the morale of the people of America. This will be the German-American group, and we will help them assume power.”

Second, though millions of Americans embraced the nefarious scum, we can relish how the vast majority of Americans rejected them. There is hope for our future.  They chose patriotism over nationalism, commitment to principles, ideals, and values over love and devotion to national existence. Maybe it is in the nation’s DNA?  

Third, language communicates the message, and the constant din of social media exacerbates political divisiveness. Studies claim there is a neural basis to partisan biases. Gangsters are dashing and mobsters scary. National socialists are patriots but really fascists. Warmongers are capitalists while isolationists are human rights activists. Today, woke progressives are privileged pansies facing-off conservatives who are big business protectionists. Anti-Zionists are all anti-Semites.  

Fourth, and the most unsettling lesson, is the extent of my own admiration for the gangsters who took matters into their own hands. By protecting Jews, America’s democracy thrived. It is not politically correct. They didn’t wait on the police, FBI, and other authorities like they would be cautioned today. They launched what Benson calls a “gangster campaign of pain.” Per linguistics, targeted assassinations are a perfectly acceptable means of revenge for national governments.   

I heard Jackie Mason tell a joke in the Catskills. No one fears a briefcase-carrying, Jewish, accountant walking down a dark street in a suit and tie at eleven o’clock at night. Put him in an IDF uniform and Jew haters run for cover. Today, we all are accountants. But Jews need a hero. That’s why Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is ridiculously popular and Friends of the IDF are wildly popular.

On a final note, we need to remember the remarkable and brave Judge Perlman. Perlman launched a mission to stop the raging anti-Semites and anti-democracy villains as they grew bolder. They might have prevailed, especially if America had not entered the war. Perlman gets short shrift in American Jewish history and Holocaust studies. His story is notable for splashing light on the effect of the power of one.

---END---

.buy Gangsters vs Nazis on Amazon.com

 



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show Hadar Muchtar some respect

Hadar Muchtar.

Hadar Muchtar has become a disruptor. While initially she made a lot of noise but went by mostly unnoticed, she built up a following using social media with non-stop posting on all the platforms and built a following, so is now disrupting the elections. She is young, she knows social media, she uses it natively, and has a big following. Whether or not that will translate into a successful campaign with entry into the Knesset (for her party, not for her) remains to be seen, but there is no denying that she has drawn a lot of attention to her campaign.

And I think it is getting harder for her as she draws more attention, not easier.


I like that Hadar Muchtar is young and running for Knesset, trying to make change, trying to improve society for the future of the youth. I get why politicians attack her, as they are campaigning for votes that she might be taking away, or at least trying to, but I dont understand why general people are attacking her. Even if people dont want to vote for her, if they dont trust her, if they dont relate to the issues she raises, if they dont care for her style, if they are sworn followers of this or that other politician - whatever reason you might have for not liking or supporting Hadar Muchtar, I think you should be happy that she is trying to do something normally done by older stodgy people, mostly men, while the younger crowd are mostly ignored or treated like kids who should be seen and not heard. She founded a startup. She could be, and maybe she should be, focused on that, leaving politics to the career politicians who do nothing but fight and make promises they likely wont keep. But she is putting herself in the middle of a campaign, for the goal of improving society for the future of the youth of Israel, and she herself cant even run for Knesset because she is too young. . Again, you dont have to identify with her campaign, but doesnt she deserve a little respect for what she is trying to do? It would be the easiest thing in the world for her to build her startup and rake in the money (hopefully) until she sells the company, and she could be doing whatever else normal 20 years olds do - go to the army, date, work, study, whatever.

I think she made some mistakes in her campaign - that thing with the signs attacking her that it turned out she printed herself, the issue with the apartment in her name, the mistaken identity when people discovered she is the daughter of a billionaire (she supposedly isnt) or that she has a Mercedes (she doesnt but got a ride from someone in one) and some others. She is who she is and she has what she has. Is it a crime to be rich (whether she is or isnt doesnt matter) - does anyone attack Bibi, Deri, Lapid, or any of the other 160 or so MKs and ministers and deputy ministers just because they are wealthy (I do always wonder how career politicians become wealthy, though some people go into politics after amassing some wealth, such as Bennett and Nir Barkat and I am sure some others) and have nice homes (often several of them) and cars? Why should she be attacked for these things, even if they were true?

That being said, she does need to be more transparent. If she is going to keep everything about herself secret, she needs to react better and more earnestly when things are discovered. She put herself into the public sphere - people are looking into her background. She needs to be aware of that. She should be aware of that, expert social media user that she is she should know people will find out almost everything about her.

Hadar Muchtar needs to clean things up but in my opinion, like her or not, I respect her for running. And if she gets her party into the Knesset, and maybe herself into a government position, I think the next government of Israel could be a lot of fun and very interesting, and obviously chaotic.


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Rabbis oppose musical slichot

A group of leading rabbis form Bnei Braq have published a letter against the trend of "musical slichot" - those slichot events with a performer/singer leading the services, people bring guitars and maybe other instruments, and they become a big event like a kumzitz or concert.



The say these events are a break from our tradition, in addition to turning a tefilla session in which we work to get prepare as we approach the Judgement Day into a concert. They call on the people organizing these events and to the people leading them  and the singers to stop... The letter is signed by Rabbis Yehuda Silman, Sariel Rosenberg, Tvi Webber, and Yitzchak Mordechai Rubin.

nice

Now I have an excuse (as if I needed one) to not go to them. Instead I will continue saying uninspired slichot that mean very little to me other than the nussach itself that I actually enjoy and find nostalgic. God forbid people should be inspired, for those that find the musical slichot inspiring.

That being said, I happen to not enjoy the musical slichot. As little as I understand of the slichot, and as little I find it inspiring, I do like the traditional nussach and I dont like turning these things into parties, and I want to finish as quickly as possible.

And that's the beauty of life. Different strokes for different folks.

The musical slichot aren't for me. I wasnt even looking for an excuse to not participate, but it fell in my lap. But other people want o say the slichot and to say it in a way that excites and energizes them rather than just saying it in an uninspired way.

I know, some will say the opposite of uninspired slichot done the traditional way does not have to be musical slichot - it can be inspired slichot done the traditional way, and if you want to be inspired by slichot and brought to teshuva you have to prepare, read the words in advance, get familiar, learn the translation and meaning, etc.. Well, for someone who is going to do that, great.

And one more point, I happen to think that it is a bit weird to turn a prayer of requesting forgiveness, talking about having sinned, and all that, into an exciting, invigorating, joyful celebration. 

but that's just me. I find it weird, but if that is what floats your boat, go ahead - unless the above letter deters you....



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#101: Behind the Bima - Shlomo Katz (video)






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Israelis: If there was peace with Lebanon, what would change? (video)







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JERUSALEM. From Morasha Neighborhood to The City Center (video)







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Shana Tova | Boys Town Jerusalem Choir | Rosh Hashanah Song (video)







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Sep 18, 2022

Quote of the Day

Whoever wants to send his children to the Mamach controlled by the Ministry of Education where Judaism is not taught - they can go there. The Mamach was established by Shai Piron who wanted to destroy the Haredi education system. The gedolei yisrael are against it.

  -- MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ)

1. this is a bit of a change of tune. Until now Gafni has always said he is opposed to Mamach and will work against them and try to get them all shut down. Now he is saying the gedolim are against it but whoever wants to send his kids there, go ahead.
Interesting

2. The Mamachs are all staffed by Haredi educators and staff. Yes, they are under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, but Judaism is not taught there? What are those Haredi rebbis and teachers teaching, if not Torah and Judaism? Gafni does not hold the monopoly on Judaism.



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doing nothing for 70 years

In an interview  (behind a paywall but the relevant quote is int he headline) with the financial news site The Marker, Rav Yitzchak Goldknopf, head of UTJ and candidate for Knesset, said, among other things, that "you guys have been fooling around doing nothing for 70 years. Let the Haredim run the State now and you'll see what will be here.." 

Goldknopf was talking about his claim on the Finance Ministry, should Netanyahu form the next government. He is dreaming if he thinks Netanyahu will give it to him but he is saying he is going to ask for it. 

I dont think it is unfair or unreasonable for him to ask for it. he is no less qualified for that position than most ministers are for the positions they take. These are all political positions filled by appointments for political expediency, and they are the furthest thing possible from professional appointments. Some people do better in those positions, some do worse, but most have no specific experience in the field they are given authority over. So, I think it is fair for him to ask for the Finance Ministry, just as any candidate can ask for any other ministry they want to control, and I see nothing wrong with a public debate about whether or not that would be a good and worthy appointment.

That being said, saying something like "you all have been fooling around for 70 years and you have accomplished nothing" is just stupid and ignorant and foolish. They freaking founded a state and built it up into a world powerhouse of agriculture, medicine, technology, militarily, economically and in many other realms as well including Torah study in yeshivas and kollels. Sure the political system is dysfunctional, sure there are problems and nothing is absolutely perfect (in what country is everything perfect?), but for 70 years they have been tinkering and fooling around and have accomplished nothing? 

And no, I dont know what the State would look like if "you just let the Haredim run the country now". I can imagine and talk about how it might look, but I dont see a need to criticize Goldknopf for his imagination - what he said about reality was stupid enough.

A little humility goes a long way.




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5 Para Adumas make aliya


Arnon Segal, Har Habayit activist and possibly future MK or minister as candidate for Hatzionut Hadatit, and brother of leading journalist Amit Segal and son of legendary journalist Chagai Segal, posted the following update from The Temple Institute, Machon Hamikdash,, though I dont know where they posted the original - it looks like it was Facebook and/or Twitter but the post has since been removed.


that is, 5 red heifers were imported to Israel. Via these red heifers will will purify ourselves and fulfill all the service of the Temple properly and very soon. Further updates will be publicized.

I dont know why but I have always been intrigued by the search for a kosher red heifer. If you search the archives of this blog you will see I have posted several times over the years about different attempts to raise a kosher para aduma. I find this exciting and fascinating, even if just to see what they will do with it. And if they lost their kosher status, they will probably make for some good steaks...

While there is no word here from where these cows have made aliya, or what type of aliya benefits they got, they, at least theoretically, could be bringing  with them an exciting and unknown future...



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Picture of the Day


This sinkhole opened in the middle of the Ayalon Highway..

With the way these sinkholes have been opening up around the country recently I am worried about this happening at the worst possible times and in the worst possible places..





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Headlines Podcast: 9/17/22 – Quick Retirements – Should it be our goal to retire as quickly as possible? Is retirement a good idea? (audio)







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First Night of Selichot with Yitzchak Meir - 2022 (video)







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Bardak: Shuki Akitzos (video)

cute, not amazingly funny, but cute, considering how prevalent investment scams are in that cammunity





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Incredible Night JERUSALEM. Walking from Machaneh Yehudah Market to King David St (video)







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DOVID PEARLMAN - ACHSHAV (Official Music Video)







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Sep 15, 2022

Interesting Psak: apple in honey or sugar

Rav Benzion Mutzafi was asked about the custom of eating apple dipped in honey on Rosh Hashana. Specifically for Sefardim. He was asked if Sefardim have the custom of eating the apple dipped in honey on Rosh Hashana, as the questioners grandfather had told him that they do not?

RavMutzafi responded not to eat apple dipped in honey on Rosh Hashana. Honey, he said, is symbolic of the midat hadin, the attribute of judgment, which we do not wish to trigger on Rosh Hashana. Rav Mutzafi said - your grandfather is right, Sefardim do not eat apple in honey on Rosh Hashana but we cook different fruits and vegetables with sugar and eat them like that.

As an aside, I have had several Rosh Hashana meals in Sefardi homes and they did not have apple and honey that I can remember, but did dip the challa in sugar.

Rav Mutzafi added another reason that I did not understand as it involved gematria and combining letters, and comparing honey to the shofar that sweetens the judgement...

source: Kikar




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gevalt!

UTJ always runs some sort of a "gevalt" campaign before the elections, saying how Judaism is being threatened and/or already destroyed and for one reason or another the party itself is under threat of shrinking and not being strong enough to protect the Jewishness of the country or even our own Jewish lives of the frum community. It usually seems to work in some capacity and while the party electorally only grows very slowly and in small bits form election to election, they at least have been pretty stable and held their power.

In this election cycle the campaigning has not yet even begun for most parties (Shas has been running perhaps the most focused campaign so far and seem to already be in high gear), or only in a very small way, but the UTJ gevalt campaign seems to already be starting early. They have to rile up their base and get them motivated to vote, and to vote specifically for UTJ.

According to Kikar, senior UTJ people are concerned about the party possibly shrinking due to recent friction between the factions. Even though that was concluded amicably, they are supposedly worried the process itself has turned off a lot of people (and especially Belzers might not feel like voting), along with some of the younger  crowd being attracted to Itamar Ben Gvir... all this adds up to a possible drop to 6 seats.

True or not I have no way of knowing, but this looks like what is the start of a gevalt campaign.





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