-- Khalil El Hayya, a senior Hamas official

yep. He was out in the open. In Tehran. In the bedroom of his totally unsecure house. With Israelis moving freely throughout Tehran.

Sure. Convince yourself of that. hey, if that helps you save face and get through the day, more power to you

Also, Tikkun Chatzos should not be said today.

source: Arutz7

Skipping tomorrow, on Thursday, would be a more significant statement. Or, in a real Jewish state they would have delayed the strike until Wednesday night.. (just joking, relax)

Hamas terrorist Ismail Haniyeh has reportedly been killed in Iran tonight. Thoughts and prayers to Harvard University and all its mourning students pic.twitter.com/HyKXdWL29d

— Shabbos Kestenbaum (@ShabbosK) July 31, 2024

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Maybe they are right and this is the "Jewish way" and we need more of the Jewish way and less of the old democratic way, but I am not convinced.

The reasons I have heard are usually in favor of standing due to the status of the chosson and kalla as a king and queen. Another common reason I have heard is standing int he presence of the shchina due to a mitzva being performed. The reason I have heard against standing is that it is not a real custom but absorbed from the goyim.

I must say, this is far more common in the USA (and other countries?) - many chairs are put out. Most people sit, until the chosson and kalla come out and then many stand while some continue sitting. In Israel, very few chairs are usually put out, usually just for elderly grandparents (or others who cant really stand long enough for the chuppa) and most people stand for the entire duration of the chuppa.

Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein, rav of Ramat Elchonon neighborhood of Bnei Braq, was recently asked about this. The petitioner mentioned that they had made aliya from abroad after they married and now they are marrying off a daughter who was born in Israel. The chosson was born abroad and doesn't live in Israel but is here learning in yeshiva and has been for a few years. Most of the family who will attend the wedding will be from abroad where the minhag is to sit at the chuppa. Because of that they had planned to arrange the chuppa with enough seating for the crowd, but perhaps that would be inappropriately changing the local minhag. What is the correct thing to do regarding the seating at the chuppa of this wedding?

Rav Zilbershetin responded paskening that the minhag is to stand at the chuppa and this was always done in Eretz Yisrael and in other countries, with only some communities in the USA changing from this custom, and not for good halachic reasons, so for this wedding in Israel they should stand for the chuppa even though the family will be coming from the USA. It is bad enough that they do not keep the proper minhag there, they shouldnt change it here as well, and the communities abroad should be influenced to adhere to the original custom and stand.

source: Hamechadesh

I found this interesting. I thought the reason so few chairs, if any, were set out at chuppas in Israel was just practical or just the way halls here do it due to there being not as much as space or not having enough chairs with them all being set in the hall for the meal and other reasons like that. I did not realize it was an actual minhag dictating this...

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If you look at the events of today, I think it no longer is so difficult to understand. Some people were upset about perhaps an egregious investigation in the army, and a couple hundred people, supported by some members of government, overran an army base and facility.

The IDF can't even protect itself and its facilities from a couple hundred people and we expected it to keep the border safe form thousands of armed Hama terrorists? It seems pretty understandable now

Maybe more later

How does NATO allow Turkey to continue as a member, with the way it is being belligerent - especially against an ally country?

And how does that even if work - if Turkey invades Israel or attacks in some way, and Israel responds with an attack on Turkey, does NATO have to respond and come to Turkey's aid?

And where is the United Nations and its President, Mr Guiterez, that is always worried about escalations after Israel gets hit - has he said anything condemning Hezbollah for the attack on a soccer field killed 12 Druze children? has he said he is worried about an escalation and called on Turkey to de-escalate?

What is this nonsense with Turkey trying to weasel its way in to this?

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good riddance to Nurali Emomali from Tajikistan, eliminated from the Olympics after being defeated by a Japanese competitor in Judo. After Emomali defeated his Israeli competitor, Baruch Shmailov, Emomali refused to shake his hand and instead said Allahu Akhbar. The Japanese guy didn't just defeat him, but also sent him on his way in  tears and pain injuring his shoulder in a fall. One never wishes an injury upon anybody, including a rival athlete, but I have no problem wishing injury upon a vile antisemite who also displays poor sportsmanship.

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  -- IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagri

We didn't know. We didn't have intelligence.

Wow. That is some major work. Much of Northern Israel has been evacuated for ten months because Hezbollah has been shooting missiles at civilian communities, but we thought they had morals and wouldnt shoot at kids in Majdel Shams?

Such a statement is an insult to the intelligence of all Israelis. He is right that they didnt have intelligence. Maybe they should get some, or get some people that do have intelligence.

Sometimes I hear claims like "there is nobody else - we should instead elect Yair Lapid? Netanyahu is much better than Lapid!"

While that may be debatable - under Netanyahu besides for all the terror attacks, 1400 Israelis were brutally massacred in one day, along with another 240 taken hostage, a war that is going for 10 months with no end in sight, and a PM regularly playing politics to keep his government in power. What exactly makes him better a better option than Lapid?

But ok, let's say, for argument's sake that he is.

Why is Lapid the other option? He isnt the next largest party, not even in any polls for the future. Why is the assumption that Lapid will be the next PM if Netanyahu is pushed out? And anyone else on the "Left" (including Benny Gantz, even though he isnt really Left) also doesnt really have the votes to become Prime Minister and push out Netanyahu, without forming a government with some right wing parties.

The Right Wing should not be protecting Netanyahu. The Right Wing should push Netanyahu out and support a different Right Winger for PM. I dont know who that should be - but I imagine it might be Nir Barkat, Yuli Edelstein, Itamar Ben Gvir, Naftali Bennett or Avigdor Lieberman or whoever the people on the Right choose, but the Right should be angriest at Netanyahu and pushing him out in favor of someone else on the Right, not protecting him.

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Free Palestine? I went to see ‘Palestine’… and almost didn’t make it out alive.

After asking questions on the streets of Ramallah for less than an hour, a group of Palestinian men threatened to kill us if we didn’t delete our footage. This is what we were able to recover…… pic.twitter.com/D2rzmE6HBb

— Zach Sage Fox (@zachsagefox) July 23, 2024

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Surely Oslo (perpetrated by Labor with the support of Shas) and the Disengagement (perpetrated by the Likud under Sharon with the support of Netanyahu) can be seen as the sources of many of the problems we are dealing with today. I find it amusing as they try to rewrite history and blame everything on the Left when the Right bears as much responsibility as the Left for those events (and so many people seem to buy it). And let's not forget the Wye agreements in which Netanyahu gave control over most of Hebron to Arafat.

However, the world did not stop at Oslo or at the Disengagement. Nor did time.

At the time of those agreements/events, the leaders (Rabin, Sharon, Netanyahu and others) all said, they all justified it by saying, that if the Palestinians attack or shoot rockets or commit acts of terror against Israelis, Israel would respond harshly. Israel would break their bones. Israel would destroy Gaza over even a single rocket. etc. Many more statements like that.

I would say that as much as the problems are sourced in Oslo and in the Disengagement, they are also sourced in the 20 years since the Disengagement and in the 30 years since Oslo in which Israel, led by several different Prime Ministers, did not actually hit the Palestinians harshly as had been promised when they engaged in terror. Instead Israel allowed Hamas to formulate and grow and become a formidable terror organization. Israel let the terrorists become emboldened in their fight against Israel. 

While it is easy to blame Oslo and the Disengagement, and it makes for nice soundbites, the real problem is that Israeli leadership since those two events did not do what they were supposed and what had been promised. 

But now he took a position I strongly agree with and have said the same in the past.

Amsalem referred to the issue of appointing dayanim and said the Likud needs to be a part of any arrangement for appointing dayanim, or the Likud will not allow it to be passed. Amsalem said, "the days of dividing up the available positions between Shas, UTJ, and Mafdal are over. There is also the Likud! If the Likud is not part of the deal, there will not be any appointments of any dayanim!"

I have complained in the past about the Likud and other parties that they do not care about the issues that matter to religion and to the religious sectors and outsource issues of Judaism to the Haredi and DL parties. In my opinion, they should all have positions regarding the office of the Chief Rabbinate, in the appointment of dayanim, in the Ministry of Religious Affairs and in the various religious laws that get passed, and should not just be doing whatever UTJ/Shas/DL want like a rubber stamp for them.

I like that the Likud is finally starting to get involved. We'll see if this turns into one big nothing, just a way for Amsalem to make some noise, and maybe he wants something else and is using this to horse-trade, or if the Likud will really be pushing itself in on these issues. The Likud represents a sizeable, and growing, religious public.

“They are flying the Israeli flag in Rafah! We went to free Al-Aqsa, but we only ended up destroying Gaza and losing Rafah...”

It's beginning to sink in for them. pic.twitter.com/zIJCiNkrdO

— 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗴 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) July 19, 2024

Here is the original tweet in Arabic...

The Google Translate of the tweet reads:

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בחור ישיבה, פעיל שלום וחייל נכנסו לחדר.
זו לא התחלה של בדיחה, זו המשפחה שלי. pic.twitter.com/9qOfNhVWle

— איתמר גרינברג Itamar Greenberg (@itamar_green) July 21, 2024

Translation:

Yeshiva bachur, Peace activist, and a soldier entered a room. 

This is not the beginning of a joke but this is my family...

nice. hopefully they all get along and dont let their political stances get between them...

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Hezbollah has destroyed the northern region of Israel over the past nearly ten months, and while Israel has responded with targeted strikes, many times Hezbollah strikes on Israel go without response. The Houthis have shot missiles and drones at Israel and at Israeli shipping interests for the past ten months and until now they have all gone without response. The Houthis sent a suicide drone to Tel Aviv that gets through the defense systems and kills one and injures others (and also causes damage), and Israel responds by attacking and destroying a port and infrastructure.

Some are upset at the government saying that when it was just the peripheral communities being affected, Israel basically allows itself to absorb the damage with little to no response, but when it is Tel Aviv that is hit Israel responds big time. They understandably don't like being made to feel like second class citizens not worth defending. The government denies this type of attitude.

While the government denies this attitude of only taking it seriously when it is Tel Aviv under attack, the fact is the response only came when it was Tel Aviv that was hit, not when the Houthis from Yemen shot missiles at ships or at Eilat, and often not when Hezbollah sends drones in or destroys homes and kills people in the Upper Galilee or in the Golan Heights. 

So is the government treating them like second class citizens or is it not? In actions it looks like Israel takes it more seriously when Tel Aviv is hit than when Metulla or Manara or Eilat are hit.

On the other hand, this government hates Tel Aviv and what it represents (at least it seems that way), while much of the peripheral towns are this government's natural supporters. If they are only taking it more seriously because it was Tel Aviv that was hit, that makes little sense. Why would the Israeli government get more outraged when the Tel Aviv leftists are hit than when it is the residents of the peripheral communities being hit?

Israel's response in Hodeida (Yemen) to the drone in Tel Aviv puts everyone on warning...

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the clip is from last year but it bears repeating..

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It would take up to 15 years to clear around 40 million tons of war rubble in #Gaza says @UNEP. The effort would need 100+ trucks and cost over $500 million.

Debris poses a deadly threat for people in the #GazaStrip as it can contain unexploded ordnance and harmful substances. pic.twitter.com/KNyvXlZ0hC

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 15, 2024

I say good. The longer the better. They will be so busy clearing rubble maybe they wont get so involved in terrorism. 

from what I am told, this video is published by Hamas calling for their supporters around the world to target and attack Chabad, as they are part of the Israeli army

be careful out there...

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@losttribe Is sabas advice valid 🤔 @Gishmak Herring #jewishcheck #jewishthings #manonthestreet #manonthestreetinterview #jewish #dating #datingjewish #datingadvice #romance #romantic #couple #couples #redflag #redflags #greenflag #greenflags ♬ original sound - Lost Tribe

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this will be the actual PotD connected to Israel.. the site of the hit on Mohammed Deif yesterday in Khan Younis, Gaza. There has not yet been confirmation that Deif was taken out, and unless he makes an appearance we might never know if he was successfully killed or not, but Israel thinks with strong indication that Deif is no longer a threat.

May the rest of the Hamas leadership meet a similar demise soon..

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My response to the survey of El Al in the previous post.

But they flew

When all other airlines, and most of all the airlines that fly to North America, disappeared during the war at the slightest appearance of anything concerning, El Al continued to fly.

Expensive? Yes, but that is the free market law of supply and demand. All the other airlines stopped flying, El Al had a limited number of seats available with many more people than available seats vying for them. Naturally the prices go up accordingly. As someone who had to fly during that period and had to pay the high prices of El Al, I still say this.

And mostly....

But they flew. When nobody else did.

A SURVEY OF EL AL AIRLINES IN WAR TIMES

 

By

Dr. Harold Goldmeier with assistance from Leora Cohen, Bella Katz, and Moriah Rosenthal.

Dr. Harold teaches at Touro College Jerusalem. He is an award-winning entrepreneur receiving the Governor's Award for family investment programs in the workplace from the Commission on the Status of Women. He was a Research and Teaching Fellow at Harvard.  Harold is a Managing Partner of an investment firm, a business management consultant, a free public speaker on business, social, and public policy issues, and taught international university students in Tel Aviv.

 

 

El Al is Israel’s flag-carrying national airline. It is prospering from the Hamas war recording its best first financial quarter of the fiscal year in the firm’s history. That is not as cringe-worthy as it seems at first glance. The company’s revenue in the first quarter of 2024 was 48% higher than the first quarter of 2023. Profit topped $80M.

 

When other major carriers erratically canceled flights and ultimately ghosted Israel after Hamas invaded, El Al swiftly added routes. Planes were packed with passengers and cargo. Ticket prices doubled and tripled, as weeks turned into months. The company CEO unashamedly told the press, to paraphrase, that is what happens when the competition folds under pressure.

My students in our Entrepreneurship class at Touro College Jerusalem surveyed a small sample of the English-speaking public at random in May to gain insights into the public persona of

El Al is under stress. 

 

Over decades of Middle East conflict, commercial airlines kept flying into Israel. They dealt with threats from terrorists’ missiles and anti-aircraft weapons. Flight crews operated in the liminal state between life and death. Open Skies sent a political message in addition to underpinning the nation’s commercial development.

In October 2023, alerts were issued warning pilots that a commercial plane might be mistaken for an enemy aircraft. There were warnings of debris in the sky from missile intercepts; manipulation of Internet location services to fool invaders; and GPS spoofing potentially affecting flight patterns. Pilots faced uncertainties about where to land in emergencies. In wartime, insurance premiums skyrocket. Planes had to carry extra fuel in case of diversions to other airports. Delays in take-offs and landings add to costs and money lost.

 

El Al is a cultural icon as well as a commercial venture. A blue and white Jewish star is the El Al symbol on every plane’s tail; the airline is woven into the fabric of the nation. Hostages in Entebbe? Divert El Al jumbo jets to extract them. Refugees fleeing Ethiopia? Build clandestine runways in the Sudan desert, rip out the seats in El Al jets, and pack men, women, and children on the floor for flights to their Biblical homeland. Rescue plans have sobriquets like Operation Solomon, Operation Magic Carpet, and Operation Ezra and Nechemia. El Al sent a plane to bring captured Nazi mass murderer Eichmann from Argentina to Israel for trial.   

 

It is the only airline equipped with onboard missile defense systems. Its airplanes did not fly Friday night until sundown Saturday night for 40 years until the state’s rabbis permitted Sabbath flights to bring home soldiers and military cargo from overseas after the invasion of Israel by Hamas.

   

The company is under relatively new management; kudos to them for keeping Israel's skies open to the public, essential cargo flowing into Israel, and turning a profit. There are problems they need to fix.  Here are highlights and lowlights from our findings.

  

El Al profited despite offering discounts to passengers rushing to Israel to rejoin military service units and a flurry of diplomats flying to foreign capitals. El Al became a lifeline for supplies when Red Sea ships became Houthi targets carrying cargo for the war effort and commercial goods for the public. Despite fewer tourists, El Al upped its market share to 80% in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to 22%, previous to Black Sabbath, October 7th.

 

In the end, record revenue and profits come down to supply and demand; i.e., ticket prices soared because El Al safely flew when other airlines canceled Tel Aviv service, citing safety concerns and sky-high insurance premiums. Perhaps competitors who cancel their flights and ghost Israel will be enticed to return to Israeli skies. That might lower ticket prices, increase tourism, and speed up deliveries of essential cargo.

 

My students each asked travelers between 21 and 55 years of age 12 questions about flying to Israel and El Al, specifically. Students describe the undertaking this way: “We raised questions about El Al that collected constructive criticism, identified competitors, quantified customer loyalty, and more. By receiving this feedback, opportunities to improve business success and business strategies can be identified.”

 

They found El Al is the most popular airline among Israeli respondents when buying tickets, with an average favorability rating of 7.5 out of 10. This coincides with other studies, for instance, as reported by Flight-report, that claim El Al gets an average 8 out of 10 rating by frequent fliers in peacetime. Students ranked respondents’ suggestions that the airline improves seating comfort, in-flight entertainment, and customer service. Americans believe competitors have “better frequent flier programs, more comfortable seating, and superior customer service…. The respondents’ dream flight experiences include easy booking, first-rate customer support, cozy seats, and reasonable costs.”

 

El Al’s support services rate poorly (5.5/10) by American fliers. The sky-high ticket prices that jumped since last October, dramatically contribute to the poor perception of El Al more frequently than it does of other carriers. Perhaps travelers see this as gouging in tough times; rightly or wrongly, we must see the long-term impact on El Al’s reputation.

 

“Younger respondents,” writes one student, particularly those in their early twenties, often prioritize affordability and comfort, while older customers in their forties and sixties focus on service quality and loyalty perks.” The breakdown applies to female respondents and male respondents, respectively. Long wait times for check-in service and misinformation from staff are particularly annoying to customers. “Despite these mixed reviews, many customers are willing to buy from El Al again, primarily due to the airline’s reliability and loyalty, especially in challenging times.”

 

Random comments from respondents point to other areas for improvement. Bathrooms on El Al can be filthy, needing regular cleaning; staff ignored complaints about a dog roaming the aisles on one flight; “teaching crew politeness and cross-cultural training would be an improvement… because El Al services globally to a large array of varying cultures.”

 

Notable comments include fliers’ appreciation for upholding Jewish values, particularly not flying on Jewish holidays and providing kosher meals. Elisheva got special attention from the flight crew when she was pregnant. Others take note that “El Al brought free bags to Israel for soldiers in the current Gaza war, and “they value the sense of security they experience on El Al’s flights because, for example, each flight has sky marshals with concealed arms.”

 

Finally, the students suggest El Al’s marketing ought to focus on people loyal to Israel and stop wasting marketing money on the general population. “Even in wartime, supporters of Israel have proven to be loyal and active consumers.” El Al is like an 18th-century poet’s lonely bird from “haunted places of sadness.” Israel is under siege. Our children are dying. Hostages are captive. But the national airline is “soaring in a flood of gladness” bringing hope with every Magen David landing and take-off on the tail of those lonely birds. 

 

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the image has nothing to do with Israel but how can it not be the PotD?

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headed by Rav Dovid Leibel.

Looks interesting. I wonder how they deal with the army issue...

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Yes, I have heard and read all the statistics of divorce rates always going up and reaching new highs, and even the divorce rates in the religious and Haredi communities climbing. 

It is different to see it yourself, with your own eyes.

The place is hopping, all the time, during business hours, with couples breaking up and going through the process. the days I have been there the crowd was even mostly Haredi (all types, Hassidic, Litvishe, modern, sefardi, etc). The couples were mixed between those only married for short times and others who were clearly married for longer periods. All types of people and couples deciding to get divorced. I am sure each has their story and i no way am I saying that any given case is not justified. I dont know their stories.

But it is sad/disappointing/upsetting/depressing to see.

And on that note, I was surprised to see that among all these couple going in for their hearing, and sometimes with the voices behind closed doors getting raised and becoming screaming matches, young 16 year old women are also sitting their waiting to declare themselves  as religious before a beis din to qualify for an army exemption. Must these young ladies really sit there among all these divorcing couples, have to listen to their arguments and even screaming while they wait for their turn?

The beis din should separate these young women and have them do their declarations in a different part of the building.

And there should be more discretion in the lobby of the discussion halls - divorcing couples and their families have to sit there waiting while the other side to the dispute is sitting just a few chairs away and they both have to sit there uncomfortably. And that's if they aren't screaming at each other. And everyone has to hear everyone else talking to the lawyer or talking to the soon to be ex or families talking amongst themselves... At what is surely a private and sensitive, and emotional, moment, the people should be given more privacy.

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