Feb 28, 2023

the great white hope


Whoa. The news is reporting that Minister Meir Porush just resigned from his position as minister responsible for the Meron celebration on Lag B'Omer.

It seems Porush got fed up with appointments being forced on him and both the Likud and Shas have been mixing their hands into his pot. Porush has had enough and cannot take responsibility for Meron under these conditions.

According to news reports, Porush is considering full resignation form the government, being that responsibility for Meron was the main reason he took the ministerial position in the first place. 

That would make it two days in a row of resignations from the government (unless Porush waits until tomorrow)

I dont think this is a sign that the government is at risk. Not at this point. Both Maoz and Porush will still support the government from the Knesset, and Porush is still beholden as part of UTJ (as much/little as Porush is ever beholden to anything), so while it is not actual dissent and doesnt make Netanyahu's government shaky the way Idit Silman's resignation made Bennett's government unstable, it is a sign of general problems in the coalition.

But more than concern about the government, I am concerned about the upcoming Lag B'Omer celebrations in Meron. Lag B'Omer is less than 3 months away. Porush was the great white hope for getting the Meron celebrations back on track in a way that would be both safe and celebratory. Can anyone else take over at this point and make a successful event? Possibly but there is not much time left. 



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Yaya Nono

I generally like Yaya Fink but I think what he did now is too much. 

Yaya Fink, former MK, currently a lobbyist (I think) and a Labor activist, decided he could not just let the recent attacks on innocent people in Huwara go leaving the world with such a bad impression of Israel, so he created a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the innocent victims in Huwara who had their possessions and properties destroyed by the attacks of the rogue settlers.

I get what he is trying to do and I even sympathize with the campaign in some way. Had it just been a random attack by Jews/Israelis coming basically out of nowhere, I would have nothing to say about this campaign, and maybe I would even make a small donation. In this instance though the attack on Huwara was a direct response to the terror attacks by people from Huwara on Jews in which Jews/Israelis were killed and injured. The people he is raising money for might have been innocent and unfairly attacked but he did not start a campaign for the unfairly attacked innocent civilians on the Israeli side this was in response to, and no Palestinian equivalent created such a campaign either. 

I think in this instance, under these circumstances, raising money for the Palestinian victims was too much, and I am disappointed in Fink





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I Brought Peter Santenello Back To Brooklyn!!! (video)







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The Top Five Richest Jews in the World 🤑🤑• Jewish Money (video)







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Amazing Walk from The Desert to The Red Sea Through the Whole City. Eilat (video)







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Ricka Razel and Din Din Aviv: Tell me Father (video) (women singing for women only)







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First time on stage together: Ishay Ribo and Rav Shlomo Katz (video)







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Feb 27, 2023

Quote of the Day

To my astonishment I discovered that there was never any serious intention to fulfill the coalition agreements in regards to the Jewish National Identity Authority..

  -- Deputy Minister Avi Maoz as he submitted his resignation from the government due to the above

So he signed agreements with Netanyahu and now realizes Netanyahu never had any intention of following through. Degel Hatorah is equally upset about this lack of fulfillment regarding their budget demands, as is Itamar Ben Gvir over security promises. We shall see where all that leads....


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family or bust

Kikar is reporting that Rav Dovid Yosef, son of Rav Ovadia, brother of Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchak Yosef, and rav of Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem, has announced his candidacy for the position of Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel that will become available in about six months.

The other expected candidate will be Rav Yehuda Deri, Chief Rabbi of Beer Sheva and brother of MK Aryeh Deri.

According to Kikar, Shas will soon decide which candidate to support for this position, and the other will likely be offered the position of Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem.

Not to detract from the greatness of each of these two rabbis, as they are both surely qualified and well respected, but this is pure nepotism and favoritism. Sure, these are two great rabbis (I assume, only knowing a little bit about each), but aren't there any other great and accomplished rabbis that might also be worthy of consideration besides for the family members of the two leaders of Shas?




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more chaos than harmony

When 40 MKs sign a petition, they can force a session in Knesset in which the Prime Minister must be present. It seems such a session was put on the agenda for today, after the Opposition garnered 40 signatures to debate the judicial reforms.

Earlier today Minister Ben Gvir said his party, Otzma Yehudit, would not participate in the session today. They are upset that Netanyahu has ignored their demands, even demands that were agreed to in coalition agreements, and has basically gone it alone ignoring them. A delegation was sent to some conference yesterday in Jordan to discuss regional peace and calming of the high tension, and Ben Gvir only heard about it from the news. Additionally, Netanyahu's representative at this conference agreed to freeze settlement construction to lower the tensions, and Ben Gvir does not agree tot hat. He feels if Netanyahu will not treat them like the senior coalition partners they are, he will not fulfill his obligations in return.

And now, in a further interesting development, UTJ has announced they too will not participate in the session. UTJ is upset over coalition agreements that have not been fulfilled by Netanyahu to them. They are specifically upset about various budget promises that so far Netanyahu has not allowed them to cash in on, even while preparing and voting on the upcoming budget.

For what was meant to be the most homogenous government coalition ever that was supposedly going to work in harmony, this is getting pretty chaotic pretty quickly.



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resign for chaos

Interestingly, The Times of Israel is reporting on a scheme under consideration by the Opposition parties led by Yesh Atid.

In an effort to create a constitutional crisis (reminder, Israel has no constitution so this would only sort of create a sort of constitutional crisis even if it works) the Opposition parties led by Yesh Atid and Yair Lapid are considering having all their members resign from Knesset. They think that if they do this it will take away any legitimacy from the current government.

The report further says that Lapid is undecided about this at this time because he isnt sure he can trust the rest of the involved parties to follow through on it after he and his people will resign. Which is funny, but that is besides the point.

Personally I would like to see this happen just out of curiosity. I would like to see how such a move would play out. I would be curious to see if it works, how the laws would fall into place to secure a Knesset of 120 seats, to see what chaos would develop in its wake.

I say go for it!



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deterrence achieved?

Interestingly (as per previous post), several MKs from Otzma Yehudit spoke up last night and this morning expressing satisfaction with the work of the enraged civilians and said that deterrence has been achieved and that burning down Hawara will teach them and let them know to not mess with the Israelis. MK Fogel even called this the greatest act of deterrence since Operation Defensive Shield which was over 20 years ago.

That is a pretty bold statement, considering a day has not even passed yet, and Ramadan is approaching. We will only know the deterrence effect if we see it actually effects a decrease in terror attacks. It is a nice theory, now hopefully it will play out as Fogel (et al) expects.

Go ahead and encourage acts of deterrence, but let's not be so bold as to declare success before the bodies are even cold. 



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out of options so stuck with crazy

Thoughts about yesterday's terror attack on reprisals by Israelis in Hawara.

We all look back nostalgically at the days of the infamous Unit 101 founded by Ariel Sharon in the 1950s that operated to retaliate for attacks by the fedayeen. Unit 101 would basically wipe out Arab villages in retaliation for attacks on Jews. 

Those were the days.

There was response. There was an attempt at deterrence. There was an attitude of we wont be sheep to the slaughter. There was a sense of taking our destiny in our own hands. 

And while the actions of the "settlers" last night attacking and burning parts of Hawara, where the terrorist came from, might remind us of the olden days, Unit 101 was part of the IDF. It wasn't a bunch of civilians doing what they felt best and necessary.

That being said, one of the ramifications of their actions last night is that instead of across the board condemnation of the act of terror of a Palestinian and criticism of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, it is now mingled and tempered with criticism of violence by the settlers and indiscriminate attacks against some who perhaps deserved it but many who were innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. So instead of world condemnation of Palestinian terror, we now have tempered condemnation of violence on both sides.

On another note, this government is chaotic.

MKs from parties in the government are criticizing the weak response by the government, the one they are members of, and some are even calling for, and praising, violence by private citizens and saying things like their actions were necessary, good, created deterrence, etc. Others, including Ministers, supported such statements, and then some, seemingly begrudgingly, stated that people should not take the law into their own hands but the security forces will handle it. 

Forget about the Opposition trying to make trouble for the government, this is all from within the government itself. 

And then there are those who still don't know how to take responsibility and were issuing statements blaming the Left. 

I believe that if Netanyahu had any other option, other than new elections, he would dismantle this government coalition and form another. He is stuck with this one, for now, so we are going to keep seeing more of this craziness for the near future.









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#117: Behind the Bima: Special Guest - Bernie Marcus, Founder of Home Depot (video)







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meet the new Haredi: laser treatments, fancy restaurants and stylish clothes (video)







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which soldier will win the guesses? (video)

I wouldnt get any of these





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Lenny Solomon Live (video)









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Hold On Tight l Devorah Schwartz & Bracha Jaffe l For Women and Girls only (video)







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Feb 26, 2023

Headlines Podcast: 2/25/23 – Shiur 409 – Is there any reason to wear a HAT for davening anymore? Does a YARMULKE suffice? Why are only chasidim wearing GARTELS? (audio)







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Israelis: If Palestinians were more secular, would they be more open to peace? (video)







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Wonderful neighborhoods of Jerusalem: Kiryat HaLeom, Nachlaot, Mahane Yehuda, Ruhama and others (video)







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Devorah Schwartz l Write My Own Story l For Women Only (video)







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Feb 22, 2023

Power Politics Episode 7- A Mishpacha Podcast (video)








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Compilation video: Jews and Muslims on the Messiah (video)








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Watch What One Kind Action Can Do (video)








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SUNNY JERUSALEM. An Exciting Walk to Cheer Up. City Ambience (video)







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Yehudi I Kobi Brummer (video)








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Feb 21, 2023

The Jewish Trend of DJ Weddings • All in the Mishpacha (video)







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Nosson Shulman’s Tour of Biblical Kedesh (video)





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Lenny Solomon Live (video)









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Picture of the Day




The carcass of a 12meter long whale (is that a blue whale?), about 40 feet long, washed up on the beach of Zikim (near Ashkelon) today. People from the Nature Reserves Authority took samples to test for cause of death.

I did not know we had whales in the little Mediterranean of ours..



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Lechtige Kinder - Duvid Feder (video)







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living in a free society

Kikar has a report about how Mayor of Bet Shemesh Dr Aliza Bloch failed a mission when the municipal Comptroller Miki Gastwirth ruled against her in a dispute between her and Degel Hatorah. I dont have any information beyond what is in this article, as I no longer pay such close attention to local news, so my comments are based purely on this report.

According to the article, Gastwirth ruled that the Mayor did not go through the proper processes in her efforts to change the name of the neighborhood Ramat Avraham, a Haredi neighborhood named after MK Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, in addition to her attempts to change the building zoning of the area to push for building taller buildings to attract fewer Haredim and more Dati Leumi and others to the area.

As far as the issue itself, if she wants to make these types of changes, she has to cross her t's and dot her i's. The locals arent going to let her do these things without a fight, and she has to go through the proper processes to succeed in these fights. She will always lose if she rams these decisions through without due process. The local Haredi community is very strong and has strong representation and they wont let these things slide.

That being said, I always find it ironic when the Haredi community fights to prevent others from moving into their areas but when other communities fight to prevent Haredim from moving in to their areas the Haredi community fights them vociferously about the right to live everywhere.

That being said, I do believe everyone has the right to live anywhere. It is a free market, and market forces will determine who lives where. That is true for Haredim moving into non-Haredi areas and equally true for non-Haredim moving into Haredi areas. This has been a debate in Israel for a long time and even if realities on the ground have shown it to be a bad idea that doesnt work for coexistence in most such places, in a free society this is how it works. The question really is how free of a society it is in Israel.

And honestly, she probably wouldnt have attracted non-Haredim to that specific area. It is a pretty chassidic area with some extreme people and most others wouldnt be interested in living there.




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Quote of the Day

The whites established the State, they serve in the army, they are the engineers and technicians and they are afraid that the politicians of "Second Israel" want to take over the country.

  -- Dov Halbertal, Haredi legalist and commentator explaining his support for the protests against the judicial reforms

Halbertal has always been provocative and racist but this is way out there



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Feb 20, 2023

Shir Habitachon I Shuki Salomon & Amiran Dvir (video)








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Lay's Israel

Elite, a premier Israeli food (really candy, chocolate and snacks)company under the Strauss brand, sells some of its products abroad. I hsve seen stuff before sold under the Elite name.

Today in Monsey I saw, for the first time, Elite potato chips sold under the brand name of Lay's. It even bears the Israeli hechsher of the Badatz Eida Hachareidis, rather than the OU or another American hechsher, as what appears on other Lay's chips.






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Feb 19, 2023

Tweet of the Day

this also gets Troll of the Day..




I dont know what happened in East Palestine Ohio, nor do I care all that much, but whatever it was, this tweet is pretty funny and trollish

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Feb 15, 2023

Quote of the Day

We joined this government on the basis of the Prime Minister's promise that this would be a full right wing government, and it turns out that this is "not the child we prayed for"... a right wing government is not meant to not evacuate Khan Al Ahmar because of all sorts of diplomatic causes, and to not touch the houses in Eat Jerusalem because of all sorts of considerations. A full right wing government can not be a government that is a hero only the backs of Jews.

  -- Minister Of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir

Either Ben Gvir is going to soon have to find a way to force Netanyahu's hand to implement policy that Ben Gvir wants, or this is going to end badly. Ben Gvir cannot let this continue, or his party will disappear and be replaced by a different new promising right wing party....




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who dismantled the vineyard?

Pursuant to my previous post about the proposed law that could be used against the people proposing it, I find it ironic to see coalition members of the Likud, Hatzionut Hadatit and Otzma Yehudit parties protesting and criticizing the destruction of the illegaly planted vineyard this morning.

I do not know if they have internalized it yet or realized it, but they are the government. They signed off on the dismantling of the vineyard, their parties approved it, they are they ones doing it, but they then go criticizing the action as if it is their political opponents, the leftists, who are razing the vineyard and they are defending it.




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Otzma Yehudit law would have had Otzma supporters arrested

Remember the law being proposed by Minister Itamar Be Gvir that would make interference with an IDF soldier and preventing a soldier from carrying out a task a crime punishable by up to 3 years in prison?

Had this law pass already, all those Otzma people (including an Otzma MK) and others who were out this morning interfering with the IDF razing of an illegal settlement would be arrested and in jail for 3 years.

#justsaying




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Super Soul Party 2023 (video)








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The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo - A Nature Lover’s Paradise! (video)







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Sruli ft. Moshe amran - 16 (video)







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Feb 14, 2023

Picture of the Day



That is Yesh Atid MK Yonai Lahav-Hertzano jumping up on the table in the hullabaloo at the Legislative Committee session the other day debating the judicial reforms. We already saw the balagan, so this isnt potd because of that but because of his awesome socks.






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Quote of the Day

When I saw the hafgana last night I couldn't understand what was sparkling, and eventually I realized it was the Rolex watches being worn by the protestors. Have you seen how many Mercedes cars are here today? How are you not ashamed of yourselves?

  -- Minister-Designate Dudi Amsalem, speaking deridingly about the protestors, as if they are all wealthy leftist elitists, and they dont have the right to protest

Perhaps some were, but plenty arent. 

What really makes this interesting is that it was noticed and pointed out that Amsalem himself wears a Cartier watch worth 25,000nis, in addition to having a nice cushy job as MK and soon as a minister making a really nice high salary. 




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The Zichru Gemara Retention Program / The Neccessity of Seminary • All in the Mishpacha (video)







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Israelis: Do you know the Dead Sea is drying up? (video)







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For A Dollar - Jewish Edition (video)







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Ari Gold - Hizukim (Official Music Video)








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Feb 13, 2023

getting crazy out there

This behavior in the legislative committee session today in Knesset is wild.

Right, wrong, compromise, don't compromise, I dont have the solutions, but this is getting interesting. I am somewhat impressed that the left wing is, so far, still sustaining the protests at a very high level. People always think the leftists dont really care and are too busy traveling and caring about their money and comfort to protest, etc





Insane and wild


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Quote of the Day

Countries can go from a democracy to a dictatorship, as is happening by us. A country that is a dictatorship can only become a democracy via spilling of blood. That is the history of the world.

  -- Mayor of Tel Aviv Ron Huldai today at the protest against the judicial reforms.

Huldai later explained that he is not calling for the spilling of blood but was talking historically how it happens and that once we become a dictatorship there is no going back, and therefore the legislation being advanced that will turn our country into a dictatorship should be stopped now

An MK filed a police complaint against Huldai for incitement, and others called for him to be investigated.

Wild. This is really heating up.


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#116: Behind the Bima: Special Guest - Mort Klein, President of the ZOA (video)







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Living in Israel's future: Mayor Dr Aliza Bloch's apparatus (video)







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NSN Kosher Halftime Show 2023 featuring Yerachmiel Begun and the Miami Boys Choir (video)







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BNEI BRAK Is the Largest ULTRA ORTHODOX CITY in Central Israel. Incredible Walk (video)







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Nashim Tzidkaniyot | Bracha Jaffe | TYH Nation | For Women & Girls (video)







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Feb 12, 2023

Remember that terrorist attack on Friday that injured a group of people at a bus stop and killed a couple of kids?

Thank you CNN for clearing it up..




Turns out that it was just an antisemitic car behind the entire thing!

We have to do much better at screening the cars we let into the country.

Autonomous cars are not even legal in Israel!






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Proposed Law: resettling the land

Now this here is finally a serious act and law proposal by a full right wing government.

MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) and Minister of Settlement Orit Struk have proposed a law that would cancel the Disengagement Law of the Northern Shomron region.

Back in 2005, then prime Minister Ariel Sharon effected the Disengagement form Gaza and shortly after from the Northern Shomron, evacuating the Jewish communities from Gaza and from several communities in Northern Samaria.

Since then there has been a concerted effort to revoke that law, with pressure by lobbyists on the lawmakers sympathetic to the cause. That day might soon arrive. The first hurdle has finally been passed.

This law proposal, which has been approved by the legislative committee to move forward for voting, would make it legal (or it would stop making it illegal) for Jews to go back and resettle those evacuated communities (eg Chomesh, Sa-Nur and others) in Northern Samaria. Even without resettling, it is currently illegal for Jews to even go there, and that would change.

Northern Samaria is one thing but I am not sure we want to take back Gaza as a next step, but maybe giving ourselves the option might be worthwhile.




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killing tourism

Journalist Amit Segal reported earlier today that the Ministry of Finance is considering making up for the cancellation of the tax on sugary drinks by starting to charge VAT to tourists.

This would both make up the shortfall from the lost sugary drink tax and also lessen to the damage to the environment as planes cause a lot of pollution.

The only way it will lessen the damage to the environment is if fewer planes fly to Israel. 

That mean fewer tourists to Israel

The Israeli economy is extremely reliant on tourism, so this would be a big blow to the economy. All that foreign currency coming in to the country will be lessened.

Additionally, it might make up for the shortfall of the lost tax on sugary drinks (maybe, we don't know the numbers), but again, make it more expensive for tourists, and tourists will just go elsewhere. It wont kill tourism completely, of course, but it could make a nice dent in the numbers.

And even if tourists continue to come, and many will, they will likely spend less.

I can't imagine them putting this plan in place.

.




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Picture of the Day (sort of)

Today's Picture of the Day post is censored and will have to be left to your imagination.

A 35 year old woman went to the Kotel and stripped to her undergarments in protest of the proposed law of adhering to tzniyus rules at the Kotel (I think that's what she was protesting).

The lady was detained for questioning by the police.

I hope she at least listened to her mother and put on clean underwear this morning


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The buck doesn't stop here

So MK Tali Gottlieb (Likud) blamed Supreme Court President Esther Hayut for the most recent terror attack in Jerusalem. Somehow her opposition to PM Netanyahu's judicial reforms makes her responsible for Arab terror.

PM Netanyahu put her down fairly quickly saying nobody is at fault for the terror attack other than the terrorist himself.

Deputy Minister Uri Maklev also weighed in blaming Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for the terror attack saying that his going up to Har Habayit enflames the region and results in increased terror. 

I didnt hear anybody put him in his place, as was done with Gottlieb (maybe I missed it).

Minister Itamar Ben Gvir blamed the Attorney General somehow for the terror.

President Harry S Truman said "the buck stops here". That doesn't seem to be the motto of this government.

And more rocket fire on the southern communities has gone unanswered.


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Facebook Status of the Day







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Headlines Podcast: 2/11/23 – Shiur 407 – Kashrus in home establishments | How do you now if you’re really eating Kosher? (audio)







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Tourists in Israel: What surprised you about Israel? (video)








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Elon Gold Stand-Up (video)







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Lenny Solomon Live (video)







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Yidden In America - | Hershy Weinberger, feat. Lipa Schmeltzer & Dovy Meisels (video)







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Feb 9, 2023

Proposed Law that is Troll of the Day

This is amazing. An amazing troll. An amazing law proposal to troll the government. And watch, it will probably end up getting supported byt he government and passing into law.

Kobi Bornshtein, a reporter for Mishpacha, tweeted today the MK Merav Michaeli (Labor) proposed a new law today.

In light of the various Netanyahu and Shas attempts to devise laws to allow Deri to circumvent the Supreme Court and be appointed minister, Michaeli has proposed a new law that would solve the problem.

Michaeli's proposed law, and this would be an amendment to one of the basic laws, is that Aryeh Deri will be declared above the law and can be appointed to any position he may desire.

lol. I love it.

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thank you for saving us

I am not sure what to call this or how to describe it. Maybe it is trolling, but not sure who they are trolling, other than perhaps the nation.

Shas released a statement, in light of PM Netanyahu's statement about the Kotel tzniyus law not being advanced, along with the official killing of the bill - they said, "we bless PM Netanyahu for his message that the status quo at the Kotel will be kept. We were pushed to propose this law due to the Supreme Court not allowing further delays in the debate of the subject. There was never any intention to place criminal sanctions on clothing or musical instruments at the Kotel. This was cheap demagoguery."

So they were "forced" to propose a law that they didnt want to propose, and they wrote it in a way that said there would be criminal repercussions, but they didnt mean it and everyone should have known that, and the public that went crazy over it was just cheap demagoguery. It's their fault, not ours! And thank you Mr Netanyahu for confirming that the law we proposed is worthless and bad and things will simply stay the same instead of being changed the way we requested.

I guess they are thanking Netanyahu for saving them from themselves.






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Quote of the Day

[Omar] apologizing for talking about 'It’s all about the Benjamins', which is just about money - she’s talking about money. She shouldn’t have apologized. I mean, I’ll go ahead and say it. That’s not an antisemitic statement, I don’t think that is. Benjamins are money. The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza, it’s f*cking stupid. It’s f*cking stupid.

  --popular podcaster and media personality Joe Rogan

ok, buddy. that's a great argument. its not antisemitic because it's true.



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calm down

Good news




PM Netanyahu is already now putting an end to this ridiculous attempt at legislating behavior at the Kotel. He says it wont happen. I doubt it will cause a coalition crisis at this point, as this isnt something crucial to the Haredi parties, just something they would have liked. If Netanyahu doesnt let them do it, this is one they can let slide. for now.



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tzniyus at the Kotel

Today's big hullabaloo is that MK Aryeh Deri (Shas) is pushing forward the law proposal to mandate modesty at the Kotel, along with regulating prayer services. According to Deri's law proposal, anyone at the Kotel not dressed modestly will be arrested with the punishment of up to 6 months in prison. Same for wearing tefillin or tallis in the womens section and for taking a Torah scroll into the women's section or conducting mixed services in the area. Additionally, no speeches, signs, musical instruments or playng music at the Kotel, all punishable by up to 6 months in prison.

I had my say about this two weeks ago when the idea was just floated, but now MK Deri has decided to advance this law and supposedly, according to news reports, has agreement for support among all coalition members, even ones who spoke out against it, at least to pass its first reading. 

It is going to be laws like this that will at some point bring down the government. the extreme right or extreme religious members of the coalition are going to keep pushing crazy laws like this. At some point Netanyahu will say no. He'll probably freeze this one as well after the first passing. The Likud doesn't want it, Likud voters don't want it, and Netanyahu doesn't want it, but he is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Right now he has to give Deri this little victory, but at some point he wont be able to continue advancing these types of laws and at some point that will cause a coalition crisis.

The unofficial tzniyus police of Mea Shearim never worked out well for anyone. I wonder if this can turn out any differently even though it will be official. I would be curious what type of reaction this law, if it will pass, will cause among the people. Will there be some form of protest with so many choosing to stay away from the Kotel? Will we see the annual slichos during Elul with much smaller crowds of people with much less participation of the traditional and non-religious? Will we see a form of protest of thousands going tot he Kotel in attire that does not meet the laws of tzniyus -women wearing pants and short sleeves and the like and daring the police to arrest thousands of women? or will the people just accept it and behave accordingly? If someone does get arrested, say a woman for wearing slacks at the Kotel, will she be able to defend herself in court with her lawyer claiming that her rabbi says these pants are allowed for women, even if other rabbis say they cant be? Are we going to have secular judges deciding what Jewish law should and shouldn't include?

Is this entirely to be directed at women or will this be enforced against men as well - no shorts perhaps? shirts with no sleeves will get you arrested? Will this cause an uprising of the women, having a law passed just against them?








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Book Review: Inside Jewish Day Schools


Israel Won’t Save the Jewish People: Day Schools Will

Dr. Harold Goldmeier is a free public speaker for community groups and consults businesses and NGOs on management and marketing. He manages an investment company and writes about business, social, and political issues. He can be reached a harold.goldmeier@gmail.com

 

Jewish community leaders obsess over the rampant assimilation of Diaspora Jews. Assimilation is not just about breaking free of the straitjacket rules of Judaism like keeping the Sabbath, kosher, and marching in Israel Day parades. It manifests as the crumbling of psychological kinship with the Jewish collective, and the inexorable diminution of affinity for Israel.

NGOs and the government of Israel are investing billions of dollars in programs to stem the tide. The somber fact is they are failing. Diaspora Jewry champions diversity, racial and gender equity, and ensuring human rights through class and economic equality at the expense of organized religion and identity politics. Walter Benn Michaels wrote, "Our identity is the least important thing about us.”  



The phenom is so noteworthy that my alma mater, Harvard University, is addressing Jewish assimilation in The Pluralism Project. The Project attributes Jewish assimilation to the unprecedented opportunity Jews have for economic advancement and social inclusion; these spur the “ever-diminishing numbers and the fear of extinction as an identifiable group.”

Young assimilated Jews don’t remember the Borscht Belt. They cannot name a Jewish comedian. Lox and bagels are passe. So is synagogue attendance. Who knows a knish from a kreplach? They know sushi, poutine, and kombucha. But they also do not know Shema Yisroel or Friday night kiddish. Diaspora is not the defining criterion. I watched an on-duty Israeli soldier take a lulav and esrog in hand for the first time in his 20 years. The putative trophic cascades are not limited by geography.

We know Jewish day school education builds Jewish self-identification and attachment to Israel. We have to increase access to Jewish day schools supplemented with summer camps, trips to Israel, and youth groups. Spend more money on the daily grind of outreach.

Yet, these tools are the poor sisters and do not expect a change in priorities from funding sources. The bulk of dollars will continue flowing to arcane, creaky, old-line establishment groups where the average age of leaders (among the six most influential Jewish organizations) is 76 years. Each man has been in office for decades. But there is a whisper of hope.  

On taking office in January 2023, Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Amichai Chikli, declared his agency would spend nis60M (nearly $20M) to make Jewish education affordable. “It is our duty to act so that every Jewish community is interested in Jewish education… many Jewish families are unable to pay for private Jewish schools.”

Chikli is right on the mark. A few years ago, 73 North American Jewish Federations out of 146 invested $52M in day schools; that was out of $3 billion raised annually or a mere, on average, 16% of the Federations’ budgeted funds. 301 schools out of 906 got something like $173.33 per student per year. Concomitantly, K-12 tuitions were $7,000 to $30K per child per year. MK Chikli will need to muster all the gravitas of his new position to influence change.

Perhaps a new book will inspire the old guard to get behind Chikli’s initiatives. Inside Jewish Day Schools: Leadership, Learning, & Community (Brandeis University Press 2022) makes the case for “rejewvinating” Diaspora. Day schools succeed regardless of denomination, whether Israel-centric, focusing on STEAMM, Torah knowledge, and faith, or in any combination. Alex Pomson and Professor Jack Wertheimer of Rosov Consulting Israel and The Jewish Theological Seminary, respectively, studied nine American-based day schools “to identify important challenges facing these schools—and how they respond to those challenges.”

Schools “cultivate Jewish cultural virtuosos… (despite) ongoing struggles to ensure their financial sustainability and to recruit quality personnel.” The Introduction is appropriately sub-titled The Black Box. A black box is commonly thought of as a recording device. In other fields, the black box details the characteristics of a system’s internal workings. That’s what the reader gets from Pomson and Wertheimer. They report “on what happens inside Jewish day schools,” asserting “every school we studied has a profound impact on the lives of people it touches.”

The book is a more social anthropology tome. It is not an academic read in the style of narrative nonfiction. Their case is persuasive. Their descriptions of schools and school leaders are expository. On the critical side, the font of the 281 pages is small with a lot on each page. The Glossary and Index are convenient tools. Inside Jewish Day Schools is akin to a travelogue, the scenes, the settings, the missions, the amenities, and the challenges.  Names, job descriptions, and stories are true. Style of leadership and quality of communication seems to determine success.

The book offers 27 pages of conclusions. Foremost, “Day schools possess the special potential to nurture young people with the ability to contribute to Jewish culture; they cultivate Jewish cultural virtuosos.” Students internalize the Jewish values the schools promote, “becoming expert in complex endeavors and were growing in responsibility.”

Then there is the bandwagon effect. Students bring home their values and knowledge that touch and sometimes change the less intensively Jewish lives of families increasing their Jewishness. My doctoral thesis concluded the same from my studies of parent education programs in three Hebrew schools.

The more diverse the parent body, the more crucial is Israel in the mission and curricula. In community and pluralistic schools, students celebrate Jewish holidays; most have prayer services and extol Israel. “Israel serves as an important glue holding such schools together because it is a common denominator in an otherwise diverse parent body.” The schools, it seems, need Israel to nourish their raison d'etre. 

MK Chikli is meeting in Israel this week with the presidents of major Jewish American NGOs. We hope the Minister and later the Prime Minister will tout the value of Jewish day school education and embolden the presidents to dramatically increasing financial aid to their local day schools.

The book, however, offers no clarion call for more money. None of the nine schools is in danger of financial collapse but school leaders agree they need to increase salaries to attract and keep good staff and pay for better programs and facilities. Pomson and Wertheimer sidestep the issues created when American day schools recruit Israelis to teach and their pay packages are more lucrative than locals’.  

BTW, one year, our day school tuition costs were more than the income my wife and I earned during the first six years of marriage. For us, it was worth every penny in terms of outcomes. Like the Jewish fruit vendor in Cabaret sang, money, money, money makes the world go ‘round.  

 

Dr. Harold Goldmeier

22/3 Nachal Dolev, Bet Shemesh  050 2619116

Teacher, Business Consultant, Public Speaker, Financial Writer 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-harold-goldmeier-37b6a618/?originalSubdomain=il

 


     





 



 

 


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Interesting Psak: Saving Lives

Chief Rabni Rav Dovid Lau today issued a psak for the delegations that went to Turkey, or Turkiye, to help with the rescue efforts.

Srugim is reporting that Rav Lau issued a psak for the delegations that their efforts should continue in the same manner on Shabbos - they should continue their efforts to save lives and provide relief and search for survivors and to provide medical care.

With the engineering corps it is especially interesting, as Rav Lau said as long as there is a chance of survivors, efforts to find and rescue people form the rubble should continue. This isnt a new question and has been debated in other tragedies around the world - at what point do they decide there can be no more survivors? For now it is still too early for that, but if we approach another Shabbos, that question might become relevant. Let's hope the question will never come up and everyone will be rescued before that happens.





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All in the Mishpacha • Shul with a View: The Rabbi with a Personality (video)







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Palestinians: Why do you reject all peace offers? (video)







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Israel’s Haifa Port Goes To Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani (video)







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Winter Storm "BARBARA" Hits Israel. Real Situation. Walk Around Jaffa (video)







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SIMCHA LEINER & AMUDIM | Eyes of Glass | (Official Music Video)







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Feb 8, 2023

Jewish Money • The Financial Aspect to the Shidduch Crisis (video)







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Tourists: What surprised you in Palestine? (video)







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Rachel Freier believed to be first Hasidic woman to be New York State Supreme Court judge (video)

believed to be? who are the other options?





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