The terms of the deal as made public that is on the table now is very difficult. As I have said before, I am happy it is not my decision to make. The main overriding principle in my mind is that the war can always continue later after a break, while the longer we postpone getting the hostages out the fewer will remain alive, the fewer will remain retrievable, so we probably should get them out now if a serious deal arises, even with bad terms, though the terms we were made aware of were really bad.

But Netanyahu is stuck. If he makes the deal, he likely loses his government (if Ben Gvir and Smotritch follow through with their threats). if he doesnt make the deal, the quagmire likely gets worse (nobody likes a long war so people will get more and more upset about it as time goes on, plus the hostage situation) until one day when he finally declares we have won the war. While extending the war seems to help him stay in power, that may not work much longer, as people wont put up with it at some point, and a long war is just bad - people dont really have the staying power en masse.

After thinking about it for a bit, I think Netanyahu should make this his stand, if there is truth to the reports right now that a deal is being imminently decided on. I think Netanyahu's best move, if his decision is to go to a deal, or maybe that his decision should be to go to the deal, and immediately take it to elections. Instead of waiting for Smotritch or Ben Gvir, Netanyahu should announce the hostage deal and that he is dismantling the government and going to elections. Then he can run on his concern for the hostages along with having put together a popular and successful war that still needs to be finished (of course he will say only he can finish it, etc).

  -- Minister Itamar Ben Gvir

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🚨 Breaking: @UNRWA employees reveal what they really do in Gaza 👇

Speaker on 🔊
pic.twitter.com/PHyWV3TR38

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) January 30, 2024

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With less than a month to go until election day we are seeing some activity in the ranks of the candidates.

Today had Gur signing a deal of support for Moshe Abutbol as mayor of Bet Shemesh. While we don't know what they get in return, Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf and his team signed with Abutbol and will campaign on his behalf. 

That means Agudat Israel is split, with Gur and Vizhnitz supporting Abutbol, and Shlomei Emunim and Belz (and some small groups) supporting Degel Hatorah's candidate Shmuel Greenberg for mayor.

I dont think any parties [yet] have signed support for Aliza Bloch, the current mayor up for re-election. 

Several other parties have still not [yet] announced which candidate they support for mayor.

Besides for getting support from at least some of the remaining parties, Bloch's best hope seems to be to benefit from a Haredi split - which has now actually happened. 

With elections scheduled for the end of February, there is still plenty of time for a lot to happen.

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  -- MK Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beyteynu)

Netanyahu said in response to a journalist asking a question about Likud MK Tali Gotliv spouting crazy conspiracy theories that "Again, while I am fighting Hamas, you are fighting against me" and refused to answer the actual question. The journalist himself is one who had spent over 100 days in miluim fighting in Gaza and had just recently been released. 

I normally avoid quoting Lieberman (and Lapid) because of hateful things he (they) have said in the past, but recently Avigdor Lieberman has been very right and logical about so many things...

That is besides for the raison d'etre of UNRWA being to keep the conflict going, to keep the Palestinians depressed. No other people in the world get the same level of refugee status the way UNRWA grants this status to the Palestinians. 

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I personally have no problem with the idea of resettling Gush Katif - I participated in the big protests of the day in Kfar Maimon and the human chain form Gush Katif to the Kotel, among others - but I do think it is not smart or practical to have this conference and agenda right now.

From a practical perspective, we are now at war and running a massive deficit, facing budget cuts and higher taxes. We have a lot ahead of us that will include (but not be limited to) rebuilding destroyed communities, paying for damage and soldiers time off of work for war, all sorts of compensations, paying to restock military armaments, increase the size of the army (which seems to be the plan), healthcare costs for physical injuries and mental health care for those affected (civilians and soldiers), and much more.

Practically, with all that looming and draining the coffers, will we really have the money to build new communities and administer Gush Katif in the near future? If they do push this agenda now and force the government to comply, what will the money for this come at the expense of?

Additionally, with the ICJ case ongoing against Israel for genocide, this will make Israel's case much more difficult. PM Netanyahu already told his ministers to stop talking about resettlement right now. I am surprised, knowing the intention of several ministers and MKs, including some from the Likud, to participate in the conference, that PM Netanyahu did not ban them from participating. 

First let's work on resettling the displaced communities in the north and south from the massacre and war. In a few years we can worry about Gush Katif

  -- United Nations Relief and Works Agency Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, to the news of several countries deciding to stop funding UNRWA considering its activities on behalf of Hamas and some of its employees actually being active members of Hamas who also participated in the October 7 massacre and holding hostages since

Lazzarini thinks saying their assistance coming to an end is a threat or a dire warning, but it is actually a blessed development considering their functioning as an arm/tool of Hamas

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  -- Minister of Housing and Construction Yitzchak Goldknopf

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amazing how they dont even know the basics of what they are protesting for and about...

אני: חושב פעמיים אם לדבר בציבור על נושא שעליו כתבתי דוקטורט וחקרתי באופן מקצועי כבר שנים
ג'ן זי במערב:pic.twitter.com/5gdXcsBN6m

— Neil Bar (@NeilMegas) January 23, 2024

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if the Palestinians dont want a two-state solution and dont agree to it, why is anyone pushing for it? Just to have it rejected again by the Palestinians? How many times must they reject it? how far down their throats must we push it for them to decide to accept it?

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This is "Palestine University" in Gaza. Hamas turned it into one of its headquarters solely dedicated to weapons research and production.

It is no more 💥

pic.twitter.com/4jC83DJh9D

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) January 18, 2024

1. Harvard - that this as a warning... :-)

2. Haredim were right - it is dangerous to go to university!

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אברי שכחת משהו.. איזו תודה קטנה.

ותודה למתנדבי זק"א שיצאו כל אחד בנפרד ונכנסו לשטחי הלחימה (מעטים) כדי להוציא את הג|פות כדי שלא יחטפו אותן לעזה.

תודה למתנדבי זק"א שחתמו אחרי 96 ימי לחימה על ניקיון קיבוצים והבאת כל טיפת דם לקבורה.

ותודה למתנדבי זק"א שמעל ל-100 לילות לא ישנים… pic.twitter.com/BIwzlF8O1B

— ינון בן חמו - inon - إينون (@inonbh6) January 16, 2024

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how did they get all that equipment and ingredients?

What's the hechsher?

Do they deliver - to Bet Shemesh?

  -- MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) in a session of the security and defense committee in Knesset.

If Israel achieves its stated goals there wont be an UNRWA because there wont be Hamas, and we already have seen how UNRWA is an arm of Hamas....

To paraphrase what we say about campaign promises, they promised to let the medicines in and give them to the hostages but they didnt promise to keep the promise.

It would be a big deal if we knew the hostages would get them but Hamas probably wont dispense the medications appropriately and will probably use them as needed for themselves and their own people.

That's why this big deal right now with everyone blaming each other about the inspections, or lack of inspections, of the medications isnt really a big deal. Does anyone really think the hostages are going to get them? If the packages arent inspected they might sneak other stuff in? We are already letting in tons of aid daily and I am sure they are sneaking plenty of stuff in. A few more boxes isnt a big difference. This entire situation is a farce 

tweeted by Ayala Ben Gvir, wife of Minister Itamar Ben Gvir:

on the Arabic media they are spreading rumors that I was murdered in the recent terror attack in Adora but to their frustration last time I check I am Baruch Hashem alive. And here is a picture from today for proof.

(picture is of her on Har Habayit)

great tweet and great troll

my son, somewhere near Gaza, took this picture of the rocket attack on Netivot this morning. The Iron Dome is art, in addition to technology and science and miracle and blessing

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  -- Walla News

that's what they call a pilot? haven't we been allowing Palestinian workers in for decades already? The pilot of tens of years failed. Were only 44 years olds (and down) involved in terror? 

Enquiring minds want to know... why was this plane not blown out of the air or shot down? And if they flew commercial, why was their airplane food not poisoned? 

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The question posed was that they think if people would not be strict to only marry within their own sect and group, it might solve the growing issue of older singles. For example, there are older Chassidishe men who have not yet found their match, and their are older Litvish or Sefardic women also not yet having found their match. If they could be set up to date each other, many of them might find their match and get married, but when a shidduch is presented from different communities and eidot, they are often rejected immediately. 

Because mixing and matching can lead to halachic questions, such as dealing with different minhagim, nusach of prayers, and the like, is this an issue to avoid as has been mostly done until now with people generally marrying only within their groups, or should an initiative be promoted to encourage people to date and marry people form other groups and eidot?

Rav Zilbershtein responded that the different minhagim and forms of service among different groups did not just form naturally over time but are related to the idea of the 12 tribes each with their own minhagim and mentality and style. Despite those differences in the tribes, Chazal say Tu Bshvat is a happy day because that is the day the tribes were allowed to marry into one another.

Ergo, nowadays as well - despite the differences, this is something we can overcome and halacha knows how to resolve all those questions that might come up. We have so much in common that it is a shame to focus on the minor differences and allow them to prevent people from building klal yisrael. It is a great mitzva to encourage this.

Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai also had differences yet they did not allow those differences to prevent them from marrying into each others families.

Interestingly, Rav Zilbershtein points out, that despite the differences and how different communities lived separately and in different places, the calendar year stayed the same among all the communities, with the holidays on the same days and shabbos and rosh chdesh, etc. Despite all the differences and developments, that all stayed the same. Rav Zilbershtein said that such a change would really have prevented people form marrying from other communities but Hashem helped us as a sign that he wants us all to be together and the differences we do have are minor.

source: Hamechadesh

I still think a better tactic would have been a countersuit against the Palestinians for genocide, with the October 7 massacre as the primary piece of evidence. Israel is not a member of the ICJ so would likely have needed one of our friends to file, the same way South Africa filed for the Palestinians...

the soldiers on the various fronts have been getting food and bbq and all sorts of treats... now the dogs of the Oketz unit (like a K9 unit in the army) finished a mission in Gaza and were treated to a special meal of their own.... well deserved.

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this video is part of a fundraising campaign. This is not an endorsement of the campaign - I have no knowledge of the yeshiva raising the money and have never even heard of it before, but it is a cute video and funny song.

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נותרנו בלי מילים

קצין ביחידה מיוחדת שנלחם בעזה מצא הבוקר השלט של הבית שלנו בנצרים, השלט שהצטערנו ששכחנו מאחור, ונבזז אחרי הגירוש נמצא אחרי 19 שנה בלב עזה. pic.twitter.com/EDreTGRikS

— עמיאל ירחי (@amiel_y) January 9, 2024

We are speechless

An officer in a special unit fighting in Gaza found this morning the nameplate of our house in Netzarim, the nameplate that we regretted leaving behind, that was ransacked after the Disengagement 19 years ago, in the heart of Gaza.

Rav Yaakov Medan, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, 73 years old, takes shifts doing dishes in the yeshiva as many of the students and staff have been called up for reserve duty in the war.

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The site was shut down due to danger because of structural integrity concerns. They brought in cement truck to repair walls and seal the tunnel and the students there went berserk and caused damage to walls of the neighboring structures and fought with the police, leading to several arrests.

According to the Chabad Director of Media, Motti Seligson, "efforts were disrupted by the extremists who broke through the wall to the synagogue, vandalizing the sanctuary, in an effort to preserve their unauthorized access"

Why do they need to preserve their unauthorized access? Did Chabad ban them from the beis medrash? Is this like a modern day restoration of the picture of Hillel who couldnt afford entry to the beis medrash so went to the skylight on the roof to hear the shiur? Does the Chabad yeshiva not let some boys come to the beis medrash to learn? Can they not just walk through the front door if they want to go to the yeshiva? Even if the tunnel was dug during Covid for unauthorized access back then because of the lockdowns (which was denied), why today do they not allow the tunnel to be closed up?

This story just gets weirder and weirder..

Some time ago, a group of extremist students, broke through a few walls in adjacent properties to the synagogue at 784-788 Eastern Parkway, to provide them unauthorized access. Earlier today, a cement truck was brought in to repair those walls. Those efforts were disrupted by the…

— Motti Seligson (@mottiseligson) January 9, 2024

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Walla News is reporting that PM Netanyahu asked the UAE to pay wages, sort of unemployment, to Palestinian workers in the West Bank who cannot now come in to Israel for work. Netanyahu is concerned that not working, which means no wages, no income, will turn them desperate and radicalize them. Netanyahu cant send them money, even money that is theirs, because if he does his coalition collapses as Smotritch and Ben Gvir will possibly collapse the government (they likely would as this is the one thing they have stood firm on).

So Netanyahu requested the UAE pay them unemployment.

The UAE just got back to Israel saying they will not pay for what Israel has done. This is Israel's mess and Israel shouldnt expect UAE to pay to clean it up. It seems it is now expected the response for rebuilding Gaza will be the same when the time comes.

Funnily enough the UAE said Israel should ask Zelenkiyy to pay the Palestinians off as he has been raising a lot of money around the world and maybe he can help. Nice troll. Zelenskiyy obviously has his own war to fund and is not about to start using that money on other things not connected to Ukraine. 

I think asking UAE and Saudi Arabia to rebuild Gaza is more legitimate than asking to pay unemployment wages when a big part of the government policy is to not transfer funds to the Palestinians. I think it shows how big of a bind Netanyahu is in with his coalition partners. Also, they talk a lot of being stuck in the same conception as before October 7 - paying the Palestinians to not get involved in terror, all they want is a decent income to buy food and stuff for their families - is continuing to be stuck in the same "conceptzia".

As long as they keep talking about displacing the Palestinians and encouraging their migration to other countries, the case about to be heard in the ICJ in the Hague is going to become increasingly more difficult to win.

From what I understand, the ICJ cannot do anything to Israel but if they decide Israel is guilty of genocide or attempted genocide, they can make it difficult for Israel to function in the international arena. Other countries may choose to not sell arms to Israel and have other treaties and arrangements if Israel is determined to be guilty. Senior ministers talking about ethnic cleansing and encouraging migration is indicative of intent and guilt. If they are not smart enough to keep quiet on their own at this time with the trial about to start, Netanyahu has to get them in line. As it says in Kohelet, there is a time for silence and a time to speak. For them right now it is a time for silence.

Residents of Bet Shemesh have been complaining ever since and have petitioned Mayor Aliza Bloch  and the Minister to get the city included in the list of cities and towns with the new guidelines. Bloch has requested this on behalf of the residents several times from the Minister.

It was announced a short while ago Minister Ben Gvir has approved the Mayor's appeals and has instructed that residents of some streets in the neighborhoods of RBA C,D, and Neve Shamir (Gimmel, Daled and Hei), will be able to apply for gun licenses under the new guidelines.

They are breaking it down by street and an applicant must live on any of the following streets in these neighborhoods to apply under the new rules:

If you want a gun, now is your chance, if you live on one of those streets. Good luck and be safe.

To paraphrase Oprah, "You get a gun! You get a gun! You get a gun!"...