Life in Israel: November 2022

Nov 30, 2022

Quote of the Day

First of all, [Ben Gvir's] eligibility to be a coalition member and a minister was determined by none other than the Supreme Court, and they gave him complete clearance. That has to be understood. If they didn't, he wouldn't be here. That's the first point. The second point is the policy. The main policy or the overriding policy of the government is determined by the Likud and frankly, by me. I think I have more than a modest influence on it. I've been prime minister for 15 years, the longest serving prime minister of Israel. I’ve often heard these doom projections, but none of them materialized. I maintained Israel's democratic nature. I maintained Israel's traditions. This Israel is not going to be governed by Talmudic law. We're not going to ban LGBT forums. As you know, my view on that is sharply different, to put it mildly. We're going to remain a country of laws. I govern through the principles that I believe in.

-- Prime Minister Elect Benjamin Netanyahu, in an interview with journalist Bari Weiss

wait - what happened to his "full right government" with "full right wing policy"? All those full right wing coalition members are just arm candy because he is going to set the policies of the government far more moderate than what they would like?

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antisemitism aint cheap in 2022

It seems antisemitism is expensive.

Lufthansa banned a bunch of Jews from flying their not so friendly airlines last year (ostensibly for not wearing masks, but some were and they were also prevented form flying, and the airline didnt care about plenty of other people who ignored the mask mandate) and now they are paying each bumped passenger upwards of $21,000 as severance and to cover expenses.
source: The Forward

antisemitism doesnt come cheap nowadays.

That being said, if they dont want Jews flying their airline they could just not offer a kosher food option and find other ways to make the environment not Jew-friendly (arrest people for taking out tefillin to be confused with bomb wires and spy communication devices, ban minyanim and arrest them for public disturbances, etc). They can also raise the prices of the flights, but that might hurt the gentile passengers as well and keep them on other airlines. It may not be immediate but within a short amount of time Jews will find other airlines to fly. Most noticeably Jewish people will naturally fly a different airline because of that. Much cheaper than paying Jews 21k each to not fly.

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time to convene the Elders!

ResumbeBuilder.com took a survey of hiring practices among hiring managers across the United States and discovered some shocking information about antisemitism in the workplace.

Without going into all the details and getting caught up in the weeds, to excerpt:

Key findings include:
26% of hiring managers say they are less likely to move forward with Jewish applicants; top reason for negative bias is belief Jews have too much power and control
26% make assumptions about whether a candidate is Jewish based on their appearance
23% say they want fewer Jews in their industry
17% say leadership has told them to not hire Jews
33% say antisemitism is common in their workplace; 29% say antisemitism is acceptable in their company

Wow. Truly shocking that this is happening in the USA.

That being said, it is somewhat difficult to understand - they think Jews control the world, the media, the wealth, Hollywood, the stock market, the weather, and the space lasers but they dont want to hire Jews? Do we control everything or not? if we control everything we can make them hire us and treat us well, but even more - if we control everything we would be hiring them, not the other way around!

30%, give or take, antisemitism in the workplace and we let them get away with this? I am going to have to convene a meeting of the Elders!

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HOW HATZALAH WORKS (A Day In The Life Of Eli Beer) (video)

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The Two Types of Learner Husbands / All in the Mishpacha (video)

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Koolulam With Shlomi Shabbat - Al Kol eleh | Reaction (Wow Beautiful!) (video)

I wont be posting these too regularly anymore, but who doesn't love Shlomi Shabbat?

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HAPPY RESIDENTS OF TEL AVIV. Summer City Walk (video)

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Veyiten Lecha - Rebuilding from the Ashes - Benzion and Luzy Klatzko (video)

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Nov 29, 2022

Interesting Psak: dont take the job

A question was posed to Rav Yehuda HaLevi Amichai, a rav in Kiryat Arba and a dayan on the conversion court of the Rabbanut, about parnassa and cheating, but not cheating like on a test.

The question posed, as reported by Kipa, was, by a husband presenting a situation in which he and his wife (married ten years, with 4 children), had a marital crisis some years ago. During that period of time she met someone at work she had a romance with that lasted for about a year. He had discovered it at the time and they put an end to the romance. Husband and Wife went to a therapist and their marriage is in a much better place now.

She left that job but recently was offered a better position in that same company, a job and position she always had dreamed of that would be a nice step in her career. She currently is working in a job somewhere else that she is not happy with and has been looking to leave, and now an offer for her dream job has come along. The problem is her former lover still works at that company. Husband says this is a red line but she is considering it as from a professional perspective this is exactly what she has been looking for for several years already, and she assuages his concerns saying their marriage is good now so there is nothing to be concerned about with the former romance.

Husband asks what to do as he doesn't want to put his marriage to the test in that situation, and it would possibly be like putting a stumbling block before a blind person.

Rav Amichai responded saying that a nazir is warned to not go near a vineyard, lest he give in to temptation. Someone who has already stumbled in the issue of "arayos" needs to stay away from that "vineyard", lest he stumble again.

So, Rav Amicha said, even though you now have a good marital relationship, there are no guarantees or guardians regarding arayos, so she should not go back to that same place. The decision has to be made jointly, and maybe upon consultation with the therapist they are seeing, but it would be a shame to ruin everything they have been working on and throw it all out just for a job or some additional parnassa. Better to live a happy serene life in a hovel rather than cause strife between spouses.

Considering the laws of these matters, he is lucky the rabbi didnt tell him they have to get divorced....

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a tallis by another name

I had no idea my tallis is really just an "Elegant Sunscreen Scarves Sun Block Shawl Scarf Beach Shawl Towel Clothing Accessories for Women Judaism (Blue)"

Walmart is selling this item for $40.99, and it seems to even include the tcheiles!

A women's Judaica beach sunscreen shawl sounds much cooler than tallis.

I wonder if it is kosher.

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Quote of the Day

I call upon Ben Gvir to leave the IDF out of the political discourse. We cannot allow in any way for a solider in uniform to express himself in favor of any political party. The soldiers and fighters of the IDF must be at least one level higher than the political activists

-- MK Moshe Arbel (Shas)

In Israel soldiers are not allowed to express political opinions or go to protests, can't get involved in election campaigning, or do anything else political. The soldier referred to expressed an opinion in favor of Ben Gvir and then was sentenced to 10 days in the brig. Ben Gvir criticized that, and Arbel is criticizing Ben Gvir for politicizing the IDF and its soldiers. When I first heard Arbel say this to Ben Gvir I had a funny thought. Shas and UTJ have used this recent election season and government forming period to equate the avreichim and yeshiva boys with the IDF soldiers, specifically regarding budgets and subsidies, but also in the public discourse regarding their level of importance. So if the avreichim and yeshiva students are "equal" to IDF soldiers, maybe the avreichim and yeshiva boys should also be left out of the political discourse, and they should be not allowed to get involved publicly in politics....

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giving gifts (video)

and as a result of that, we have his Jewish Money version...

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What Hasidic Jews can Teach you, and the Shabbos dinner | Reaction (video)

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British Royal Guard Play MBD song “Moshiach” During Parade outside Buckingham palace (video)

in honor of Chief Rabbi Mirvis's participation..

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ISRAEL. The City of PETAH TIKVA after the Rain. From The Old Area to The New (video)

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Chanale: Just One (video)

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Nov 28, 2022

freezing mortgage rates

MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ), head of the Knesset Finance Committee, announced his plan to look into the possibility of passing a law that would freeze the interest rates on mortgages - if the Bank of Israel will raise interest rates, it would raise them for the general market but the rates on mortgages would stay the same.

I am not a big maven in economics so correct me if I am wrong, but I see a few problems with this. It seems to be a populist statement that will win him some points with his constituents, but in reality wont actually help and might actually hurt.

The purpose of raising the interest rates is to curb inflation. That is what the Bank of Israel has been doing the past several months. Higher interest rates means less lending and borrowing, less spending, forcing prices to go down. If interest rates on mortgages are frozen, the increase in interest rates will be almost meaningless (at least in the housing market) and prices will keep rising.

Additionally, freezing the interest rates means banks wont be able to make money (or, as much money) on their loans. They are going to just sit by and let that happen - they will change their lending terms. They will simply stop lending with variable rates. Instead of offering variable rates that won't be able to be adjusted with the interest rates because of Gafni's law, they will offer only fixed rate loans at higher rates to cover themselves, and inflation-linked loans. People wont benefit from variable rate mortgages because banks will stop offering them, or will only offer them in a limited way.

What do you think? will such a law freezing mortgage interest rates help people buy homes and pay off their mortgages or will it hurt the buyers and the general market?

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Proposed Law: arrest for anti-IDF activities

MK Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) has proposed the first new law of the new Knesset session.

Ben Gvir proposed a law that any person getting in the way of a soldier while performing his military duties will be liable for up to three years in prison.

I havent yet been able to find details of the proposal beyond the general headline. If this is as generic as it sounds, it would equally apply to Palestinians, Leftists protesting against military activities, and Hilltop Youth and other "settlers" such as some of the residents of Yitzhar that attack IDF soldiers at times. I wonder if he will come to regret this or maybe lock it down to only include Palestinians and/or Leftists. Or if maybe he is perfectly fine with arresting even those on the Right for these anti-IDF activities.

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his name should be Otto

A fisherman in England caught a famous 67 pound goldfish named The Carrot.

For more details, see CNN

The Carrot is only a good name had they caught a gefilte fish, though maybe being a carp it is close enough. Really they should have named it Otto.

So why here?

Well, kids in school often get from schools and parties a goldfish to take home. Just saying, that goldfish has potential... :-)

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#107: Behind the Bima - Yishai Fleisher (video)

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Palestinians: Does Israel exist in international law? (video)

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Amnon Levi with Rav Amnon Yitzchak (video)

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JERUSALEM AT NIGHT. A Fascinating Walk Through the OLD CITY (video)

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Hillel Meir - Avodat HaSimcha (Official Music Video)

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Nov 27, 2022

Israeli journalists discovered America

In Israel there is an idiom in Israel that goes "גילה את אמריקה" - he discovered America. The expression is used when someone discovers or realizes something that is obvious and known to everyone else. He discovered America.

Israeli journalists are writing articles all over the place about their lousy experiences in Qatar covering the World Cup. They talk about how they are mistreated, about how the Arabs, along with fans from other countries, hate them and treat them as lower class and are hostile to them.

The Israeli journalists seem to have just discovered America. Did they really think we are beloved throughout the world, and throughout the Arab world, just because we have a normalization agreement with Dubai? We have peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan and they still mostly hate us in those countries, does anyone really expect us to be beloved in other countries that are officially still hostile to us?

It makes me wonder what reality these journalists are living in.

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Headlines Podcast: 11/26/22 – Shiur 396 – Taking One’s Life in Halacha (audio)

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Israelis: What are some simple Hebrew slang words? (video)

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What Orthodox Jewish Women Are Wearing In New York - Modest Style | Reaction (video)

he's doing a whole bunch of reaction videos now on Jewish videos that are not music videos...

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JERUSALEM. TEMPLE MOUNT. Real Situation. Walking Tour (video)

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“Give Us Strength” | Dobby Baum | (Official Music Video) (Chazkeinu)

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Nov 25, 2022

Shai Abramson Piut Project: Baruch E-l Elyon (video)

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Nov 24, 2022

Shouldabeen Tweet of the Day

Had I not already granted the ToTD award for today, this would have gotten it:

Every year at Thanksgiving, I think of my Israeli professor, who had never celebrated US Thanksgiving before his first year teaching at a US university. A colleague invited him to dinner at 6pm on Thanksgiving evening. He arrived at 6 on Wednesday evening with a bottle of wine.
— Joel S. (@jh_swanson) November 23, 2022

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Quote of the Day

David Bitan hasn't spoken with me for two weeks already because I didn't join his group in the Likud. But he is a warm person, I know him for 40 years, it will pass. I will bring him some kebabs that I made and all will be good.

-- MK Nissim Vaturi (Likud)

wow, talk about patronizing (no, I dont know anything about Vaturi nor anything about his relationship with Bitan)

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Tweet of the Day

With reporting like this, it’s not surprising you shared a building with Hamas.
— Eli Lebowicz (@EliLebowicz) November 23, 2022

in response to this tweet by the Associated Press:

An explosion went off Wednesday near a bus stop on the edge of Jerusalem, police said, and hospitals reported that at least 12 people were injured, two of them critically. https://t.co/FLM8hDs0VH
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 23, 2022

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double or nothing

There is a debate going on about Aryeh Deri and taking ministerial roles.

I am not referring to the debate around the legal issue because of his past indiscretions. I will let the legal people worry about that.

I am also not referring to the debate about which ministries and other appointments Shas should take. I will leave that to the strengths and weaknesses of the negotiating teams involved.

The debate I am referring to is the chatter about how many ministries of a certain size can Deri handle. Negotiations with Shas have progressed faster and farther than with any of the other parties, with Shas pulling in a nice haul of ministries and appointments. While nothing is finalized yet because of the stalemate with UTJ and Smotritch/Ben Gvir, whatever Shas ends up pulling in, it seems clear that Aryeh Deri will take the top two ministerial appointments for himself - likely a combination of two of Interior, Transportation, Health, and maybe Finance. Depending which of these Shas ends up getting, two of these are destined for Deri himself - in addition to other ministries for other Shas reps, like Religious Affairs, maybe Agriculture, and some other possibilities.

The public debate over this has developed into whether Deri can handle two major ministries that each are so massive to need a lot of dedicated time and attention. Can any one person devote enough time to both the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health, for example, that both will be developed properly and not neglected? Some are saying yes, some no, blah blah blah.

My question is why Deri feels the need to handle two major ministries himself rather than take one for himself and appoint a different Shas rep to the other? He might be 100% capable (maybe) of running both, but why? Why take both and not appoint someone else to the other? All the Shas reps are loyal to him, and he would be overseeing them all anyway as head of Shas, so he cant be worried about that. So why take both major appointments for himself?

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UTJ appointing a Likud minister

According to a report on Channel 2 news, UTJ has requested Yariv Levin of the Likud be appointed as Minister of Justice, and if he would be they would be willing to not insist on certain reforms in the judicial system which would make the coalition negotiations with them smoother and quicker. UTJ supposedly trusts Yariv Levin and is willing to rely on him to do what is necessary in the Justice Ministry, so they would not require commitments in advance as part of the negotiations.

Whether it is true or spin, I have no idea. I am also not commenting on the idea of Yariv Levin being appointed as Minister of Justice. Perhaps he is deserving of the post and qualified for it, perhaps not. I dont know if he would be any better or worse than anyone else in that role, so I am not commenting on it.

I do find it interesting that UTJ is requesting a specific person from another party appointed to run a specific ministry. If UTJ would put together their appointments and Netanyahu would put himself in the middle of that saying I want you to appoint Porush as Minister of Culture, or Maklev as Minister of Whatever, as deserving, or not, of the appointment that person might be, UTJ would tell Netanyahu to butt out of their business and let them worry about their own appointments. It is interesting to me that UTJ is telling Likud who to appoint where.

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Jewish Money is Back!!! Who's Richer: Jeff Bezos or Me? (video)

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Hasidic Jewish Community | Reactions (video)

This reactions guy has really gone deep into the Jewish online world, moved into things other than music...

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Benny Baderech | City of Jerusalem (video)

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JAFFA TODAY. Relaxing Walk from The Market to The Ancient Port (video)

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Lech lecha - mendel roth (video)

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Nov 23, 2022

Deri took them all

Remember how after the elections reporters from all the media kept asking Deri about what positions he would be demanding/requesting and all that, while Deri responded to all of them that he is not worried or thinking about jobs and just wants to get the government set up and established as quickly as possible and jobs will come later and he isnt worried about it.

Well, it turns out he was just telling everyone else to think that. All the other parties are frustrated because Deri took all the positions they want. The issues with Smotritch, UTJ and Ben Gvir are all shlepping out because Netanyahu gave all the positions and ministries they want authority over to Deri (according to the reports of what is holding up each of the negotiations). Deri was just being disingenuous knowing he doesnt have to worry about the positions because he got them all, while in the meantime everyone else looks like they are just looking out for comfy jobs.

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full right NOW

Lots of anger and calls to immediately set up a full right wing government and not worry about jobs and appointments. They are using this morning's terror attack to pressure Smotritch to stop his negotiating and just agree to join the government and work out the details later.

Smotritch knows there is no such thing as work out the details later. If they dont work out the details in advance as part of the agreement, he will no longer have any power to demand authority over various realms he wants to be able to to influence and then he will just be a puppet Minister with no real sway on government decisions. So then he can leave the government! Well, not really. He should plan in advance to be the person who breaks up the full right wing government? Netanyahu will destroy him over that in the next elections that would happen as a result.

It is far more responsible and reliable to work out the details now and come to an agreement and then form the government. Let's see if Smotritch can withstand the pressure. And let's not forget, while publicly it seems to be Smotritch holding things up, no agreement has been arrived at yet with either UTJ or Ben Gvir. Shas is the only party Netanyahu is willing to give pretty much everything they demand - to the demise and frustration of all the other parties.

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What Orthodox Jewish Women Are Wearing In New York | Modest Style (video)

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The Grand Rabbi's Bagleiten Ceremony | HIGH HOLIDAYS in the streets of JEWISH BROOKLYN ep 6 (video)

For my last video in this series, I attend a Bagleiten. A Bagleiten is a special tradition of the Satmar sect, and it takes place at the end of three major holidays: Sukkos, Shavuos and Passover. The entire congregation accompanies the grand rabbi home at the end of each of these holidays, and the Rabbi steps out on the balcony to address the congregation. Hasidic Rabbis are in a way royalty, and this ceremony is a royal procession with the presence of the New York police force and lively crowds. Due to the split in the Satmar sect, the Bagleiten is not as big as it used to be.

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Exhibition explores origins of famed New York Jewish delis (video)

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Lenny Solomon Live (video)

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moshe klein - Today (Music Video)

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Nov 22, 2022

#106: Behind the Bima - Special Guest: Allison Josephs (video)

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the "not-Jewish Nanny" has gone viral recently and her online accounts have exploded with popularity in the Jewish community. She just did an interview with the Mislaibeled podcast and this bit was after the interview to see what she thinks of Jewish cuisine..

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Israel: The Dream (video)

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JERUSALEM. Walk from The City Center to The Mount of Olives (video)

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Yonina- One Day- Live at the GA (video)

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Nov 21, 2022

Tweet of the Day

Shalom : )
— ye (@kanyewest) November 20, 2022

I dont know if Kanye/Ye is trolling everyone with this tweet back from his Twitter ban or if he is reformed or just a funny guy but this is cute

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Biden vs Dermer

it is a chutzpa and wholly inappropriate for the US government to mix into Israel's coalition forming efforts. Israel is a sovereign state and the USA must respect that.

It was somewhat understandable when they commented on the potential appointments of Ben Gvir to a ministerial position, and specifically warning against the appointment of Smotritch to the Defense Ministry. They see it as, right or wrong, the rise of a fascist element, a far right element that is anti-Arab and they expressed their opposition to that, just as governments and citizens all around the world have expressed opposition to the rise of far right and fascist movement sin many countries around the world in recent years and specifically commented against their inclusion in government. That was wrong but at least somewhat understandable.

Now reports have the Biden administration warning Netanyahu against the possible appointment of former Ambassador Ron Dermer to the Foreign Ministry. This is different

Dermer is not representative of the far right or of extremist or fascist groups or thought. Dermer has served for Netanyahu and is representative more of Netanyahu's positions than of anything else. Sure, the Biden administration might not like him because of his more partisan approach being close to Republicans and his efforts against Barak Obama, but that is for Netanyahu to consider when making his appointments, not for the US administration to pressure Israel on.

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no, there is no crisis just yet

There is a lot of noise in the coalition negotiations, and it seems some think the tactic of creating the appearance of a crisis will help them in their negotiations. Today the Likud has even been talking about not capitulating to Smotritch's demands even at the price of going to new elections.

Let's not forget, Netanyahu was given the mandate to form a coalition just 9 days ago. He has a month to form a coalition, and then gets a nearly automatic extension of two weeks should it be necessary. Not even 9 days have passed. They have plenty of time to do this dance ad still come to an agreement.

As I said before the election, it seems to me that the Ben Gvir and Smotritch side of this coalition is what is likely to eventually bring it down, either with a provocative visit to Har Habayit that upsets UTJ and the rest of the world or their demands for full right policies in Judea and Samaria that Netanyahu wont follow through on or some defense policy that they want to be more extreme on but Netanyahu wants to be less extreme on or something like that. But that is eventually, not now. I do believe that at some point they will finish negotiations with agreements of some sort and form a government. Just right now it works for both sides to make it look like a crisis.

That being said, while it isnt really a crisis - neither side can make a go of it without the other - they both need each other, so they will eventually work it out - it isnt a crisis but it isnt good. Ben Gvir and Smotritch are discovering what they already knew - that Netanyahu cannot be trusted. The claim repeated over and over about forming a full right government was just to trick the voters into voting for him but he prefers not to, as he refuses to commit to "full right" policies they are requesting. Additionally, they are seeing Netanyahu back out of promises made in earlier negotiation days (specifically to Ben Gvir). They knew it already, but now they are living it and have to figure out how to deal with it without letting Netanyahu dump all the blame on them.

We shall see who blinks first.

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Nov 20, 2022

what the people want

The news is reporting that UTJ has demanded from Netanyahu as part of the coalition negotiations that a law will be passed that will allow gender-segregated events in Haredi areas (I dont know the exact wording). The justification is that there are many cultural events that Haredi women will not attend if they are mixed (ie the women will stay home from the concert, or whatever, while the men go to what will essentially be a mens only event).

Personally I think that is reasonable and decent. It might have to be worked out exactly when it can happen and when it can't - can the kupat cholim also be segregated? buses? or just concerts? If that is their cultural behavior and what they want, I think the State has to figure out how to provide the needs of each type of community according to their cultures.

The thing is, with everyone on that side of the coin now saying this is what tens of thousands of religious and Haredi women want, this is what tens of thousands of religious people want and we can't force our lifestyle on them, what about the other way - doesn't the fact that tens of thousands of people want, for example, public transportation on Shabbos (in their areas) also mean we should give it to them? Why does the State have to supply the needs of only some of the people and not the needs of all of the people? Each one would be supplying the needs/wants of many people against what many other people think is right. How can you justify one by saying that is what the people want while denying the other?

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the split that cut Smotritch's legs out from under him

So it is official. While Noam split off from Hatizonut Hadatit a few days ago to serve as their own independent party in Knesset, Otzma Yehudit just officially split off today.

That means, Betzalel Smotritch is now really just the head of a 7 mandate party (I think 7, but maybe 6), not a 14 mandate party. That significantly cuts down his negotiating powers in coalition negotiations. Even though Ben Gvir is saying he will only join the coalition if Smotritch does and wont join alone, Smotritch is still the head of a small party now.

He can try to punch above his weight (as in the past Netanyahu did give small parties major ministries to control), but he did just get his legs cut out from under him. He can still try to squeeze Netanyahu, but that just became more difficult, and now Netanyahu can legitimately show Smotritch as holding things up rather than as he himself being the obstacle to a "full right" government.

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Headlines Podcast: 11/19/22 – Shiur 395 – Life Before Divorce – How do we stop the upward trend of divorce in our communities? (audio)

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Religious Israelis: Would you enter a mosque or a church? (video)

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10 FREE Things To Do Do in Jerusalem (video)

I wouldnt do the church stuff but the rest of it is great

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JERUSALEM. FRIDAY. When you missed the last tram... (video)

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Shmuel - Give Me One Prayer (video)

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Nov 17, 2022

Quote of the Day

If Netanyahu were to respond positively to all the demands of our partners there would be nothing left for the Likud. A little bit of proportions - let's not forget which is the largest party int he bloc..

-- MK Danny Danon (Likud)

Danon is 100% right, but that is coalition politics for you. He needs them to form a coalition, so they can hold him over the coals. But they also need him, so he can hold them over the coals a bit. But it has to work equally for all the partners. Netanyahu cannot be overly generous with some of the parties and then tell one party (the largest of the smaller parties) to not worry about jobs and positions and influence. He cant just hold one party over the coals. he used to be able to but so far Smotritch is saying that isnt going to work any more.

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Netanyahu's games

It looks like Netanyahu is up to his old games and tricks with the games he is pulling with Smotritch and Ben Gvir and even UTJ at a less intense level. It has before, and he will have no one to kick but himself if it blows up in his face again. He will have no one to kick but he will surely try to lay the blame at Smotritch's door, blaming him for whatever happens, and his most loyal followers will of course believe it and blame Smotritch for preventing a right wing government.

Surprisingly right now an unnamed senior person in Agudat Israel is saying Netanyahu is fooling around with them as well and they wont join any coalition without Smotritch and gang, to prevent what happened way back when when Netanyahu tried to cut Bennett out and Bennett went to Lapid instead and Netanyahu formed a government with them instead of with the Haredi parties. If push comes to shove I do not believe they will keep to this unofficial statement and would enter a government without Smotritch - they owe him nothing and have no real commitment to each other but it is possibly a strong negotiating tactic to pressure Netanyahu.

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Jon Stewart On Dave Chappelle, Kyrie Irving, And Kanye West (video)

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Zusha and Joey Newcomb - PortuguesePai Reactions (video)

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German Reacts to Yiddish! | Feli from Germany (video)

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Moshe Tischler - Achdus (Official Music Video)

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Nov 16, 2022

St Patty's Milk

I saw this new weird flavor of milk in the store and could not resist, so I bought it.

Right when I saw it I wondered if St Patrick's Day is right around the corner, but that is only in March so it is a real flavor they are trying out, not just something celebratory.

It was worth the `10 shekels just to buy it for scaring my kids with, even if we all actually taste it and hate it. So far I am 1 for 1, with 1 kid looking at it and getting fully disgusted by it. We shall see how the others react.

I do wonder if Bibi is a fan, considering pistachio is his favorite flavor of ice cream...

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Reactions - Hanan Ben Ari and Dirshu (video)

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MK Yitzchak Goldknopf answering all the tough questions (video)

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Ambassadors program - Daniel Shore (video)

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Lenny Solomon Live (video)

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Beauty and the Beast Beautiful Wedding Harp and Violin Ariella Zeitlin x Rivka Amar x King David (video)

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Nov 15, 2022

Tweet of the Day

הטרנספר התחיל: עוצמה יהודית קיבלה את חדר הסיעות של הרשימה המשותפת בכנסת. pic.twitter.com/TgE89QDqG5
— סולימאן מסוודה سليمان مسودة (@SuleimanMas1) November 15, 2022

Tranlation:

Kan reporter Suleiman Maswada tweeted:

The 'transfer' has begun; Otzma Yehudit was granted the room from the last knesset of The United Arab List for their faction in the new Knesset

haha

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flipping on the right

I am finding it very interesting to see how the members of the "Netanyahu bloc" were all so buddy buddy and one big happy family over the past year and a half and especially during the election season. It looked like they were all on the same page and supportive of each other and Netanyahu would put together his government in minutes from when he would get the mandate.

They were supportive of each other and especially of Ben Gvir who was attacked as a radical and unworthy of serving in government and they defended him all over the place. People were saying Netanyahu has changed, this time he wants to form his government as a full right wing government, not like previous times, this time he has come to terms with Ben Gvir and Smotritch being in his government, etc.

Yet, now that they have the mandate to form a government, Netanyahu, Gafni and their cronies seem to still hate Ben Gvir and Smotritch and are trying as much as possible to make his demands in government not legitimate and even making him far less legitimate and less of a partner. They are starting to put out statements creating a narrative of blaming Smotritch for not being able to form a right wing government, as if his demands as head of a 14 seat party are less legitimate than the demands of any other coalition member.

I find it interesting to see it all play out, but am not surprised. Most people shouldn't be. I dont know if we are going to see Benny Gantz save Netanyahu's neck this time and be willing to join his government or if he will let them destroy each other once again.. My predilection for political chaos would like to see Gantz refuse to join Netanyahu's coalition, and I dont see anyone else who might. If it doesnt work out with Smotritch and Ben Gvir, I can see Lapid getting the mandate though I dont see how he can form a government. What might happen is a unity government of Netanyahu (likud), Lapid (Yesh Atid), and Benny Gantz (Hamachaneh Hamamlachti), and maybe Aryeh Deri (Shas) as well. Lieberman might join as well, but then it will be either Lieberman or Deri, probably not both and then I think it would come down to Lieberman as Shas would have a problem with both Lieberman and Lapid along with Matan Kahane of Gantz's party. This seems a bit far fetched, but if this fighting continues in the Netanyahu bloc, I can see this constellation forming.

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