It was only a matter of time. 

One of the things done differently, in my perception, with this war on Hamas/Gaza than what was done in other wars/operations and day to day dealings is that Israel was proactive. Yes, Israel went to war as a reaction to the Hamas massacre, but since then Israel has been proactive in destroying Gaza and Hamas and seeking out the tunnels and the terrorists and doing what it determines is needed to do to defeat Hamas/Gaza. Israel quickly took control of the situation and for the most part managed it well (not including PR and the expanding antisemitism around the world with global support largely for Hamas).

The story of Yahya Sinwar was already insane enough, but now it got more insane.

One of the local news media groups on Whatsapp posted the following image..

this picture went viral this morning..

and Douglas Murray's response...

Some people dont like how a company reacts, they submit a complaint, they contact a manager, the person responsible for that department, etc. And then some people take it right to the top, no matter how small and insignificant the problem is...

With the release of a couple dozen hostages over the past two days a lot of people can say the bracha of matir asurim, release of the captives. Thomas Hand, if he were Jewish, would possibly also be able to say the bracha of Mechaye Meisim, bring the dead back to life. 

The Eida Hachareidis has put out an announcement about dairy donuts for Chnukah in light of the fact that nowadays there is a proliferation of dairy sufganiyot, relative to what used to be mostly pareve sufganiyot.

I dont know if this is a clarification of the original psak that was referenced a few days ago about burying the cars destroyed in the October 7 massacre due to the presence of human remains that were too difficult or if it is a change of policy and approach. With the initial announcement no details were really publicized, so it is unclear.

With this hostage deal ceasefire issue being debated in the various levels of government to soon be voted on, the news reported that MK Aryeh Deri updated the Shas Council of Sages and they have instructed Shas to vote in favor of the deal.

We don' know too many details about the coming ceasefire that is set to be approved tonight. I am sure there are plenty of details that have not been made public.

Finance Minister Betzalel Smotritch was upset by the announcement the other day that some fuel would be let in to Gaza. The decision was made despite statements made by all the relevant politicians and leaders and despite the decisions by the security cabinet against letting fuel into Gaza. PM Netanyahu decided it was necessary and pushed it through the War Cabinet.

Because of that, Smotritch is demanding to be added to the War Cabinet so he can stand on principle on matters that others will not. The War Cabinet needs to hear  his opinion, as he is a significant politician representing a significant part of the population, and we cant just have people who say yes to Bibi in the War Cabinet and go against all other decisions.

Some yeshiva students from Mexico have not returned to their yeshivas in Israel after the Sukkos break because of the war that broke out. Because the war and potential danger, they were unsure whether to return to Israel or not and sent the question to Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein looking for guidance.

Rav Moshe Londinski, one of the three Roshei Yeshiva of the Chofetz Chaim’s Yeshiva in Radin, inquired of the Chofetz Chaim, “What will be the fate of our brethren in Germany and in Poland?” Rav Londinski pointed out that Hitler y”s had been talking about destroying the entirety of Klal Yisroel for years. 

 The Chofetz Chaim responded that it is impossible for someone to succeed in wiping out Klal Yisroel in all the lands of the exile and he cited the pasuk (Bereishis 32:4-9) “’If Esav comes to the one camp and attacks it, the other camp will escape.” 

At that point, Rav Moshe Londinski zt”l realized that the danger was quite grave. He asked further, “If Heaven forbid, he succeeds in wiping out European Jewry, who and where is the other camp that will survive?” 

 The Chofetz Chaim answered, “This too is a pasuk, it is in the beginning of the Navi Ovadiah (1:17), “And on Mount Zion there shall be a remnant, and it shall be holy..” Rav Londinski left the Chofetz Chaim’s presence with his hands shaking on the future destruction of European Jewry, but he was assured that the Holy Land will be spared and no sword of the Nazi menace would pass before it.   

The debate (happening today in the Knesset) over the death penalty for terrorists law is difficult.

To the chagrin of many local residents, Neo-Nazis marched in Madison, Wisconsin yesterday.

Since the war began on October 7, Simchat Torah, a lot of industries in Israel have been negatively impacted due to the lockout of Palestinian workers. Among the hardest hit industries is the construction industry. Almost all construction workers were Arabs, especially Palestinian Arabs with work permits.

oy BBC... 

The BBC has apologised after it misquoted a Reuters report and incorrectly accused the IDF of targeting medical personnel and Arabic speakers pic.twitter.com/kbnC8irxeb

— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) November 15, 2023

Back in April the divisiveness was so bad that I suggested the only way to fix the country would be to go to war. Not to toot my own horn.. I think over the months of the fighting over judicial reform similar was probably said by plenty of people.