You tell 'em!

As MK Taleb A-Sana was calling settlers a cancerous growth for the Palestinian nation, MK David Rotem responded "If the settlers are a cancerous growth for the Palestinian nation, I hope the growth keeps on growing until the Palestinian nation dies from it."

I remember during the Gulf War - the first one, when Scud missiles were falling fairly regularly on Ramat Gan, that Rav Chaim Kanievsky was asked at the time whther one should cut off his beard in order to put on the gas mask.

Rav Kanievsky was quoted as saying that in Bnei Brak there is no need to cut off one's beard, as there is no need for putting on the gas mask. Rav Kanievsky saud, I think, if I remember correctly, in the name of his father The Steipler, that missiles and rockets will never fall in Bnei Brak. They are in no danger in Bnei brak, because they are protected by the large amount of Torah learned there.

Now, not only do missiles not fall in Bnei Brak - I wonder if they will be protected from nuclear attack when/if Iran gets Da Bomb, chas v'shalom - but ayin ha'ra also has no affect in Bnei Brak.

An avreich from Gateshead came to Rav Chaim Kanievsky and asked how he can remove the ayin ha'ra that is on him and his family (based on the fact that he was told he has such serious ayin ha'ra by Rav Yaakov Galinsky).

Rav Kanievsky asked where the fellow lived and when he heard the answer, he responded that he should immediately move with his whole family to Bnei Brak, as in Bnei brak the ayin ha'ra has no control.

(source of story: Bechadrei)

Here is a speech well worth listening to: Steve Jobs at the Stanford University graduation...

IDF dogs are trained to pounce and attack any Arab who shouts Allah Hu Akbar, as a Pavlovian reaction, So here I say: Allah Hu Akbar. Are there any dogs here to attack me?

--- MK Ahmed Tibi

Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman went yesterday to get vaccinated against the Swine Flu. The guy in the background of the picture (the guy getting vaccinated is an assistant of Litzman) looks like he probably regrets coming to work so tired yesterday, as his yawning has now been recorded for posterity.


(photo source: Kikar)

1. Tzvee thinks the shabbaton in Gaza this past week was essentially a good idea...

2. Lion of Zion has an interesting historical document about treif meat in Detroit.

3. Haveil Havalim #250 at Tzedek-Tzedek

4. ProfK says In God We Trust

5. Shomer Shkalim says there is no "I" in money

The courts are really getting serious with Egged. After a few decisions forcing Egged to compensate passengers for serious delays, a court has now fined Egged 30,000 NIS for a 13 minute delay! And, if they don't stand by commitments (on that specific line) for the duration of a year, the directors of Egged might have to go to jail for up to 30 days!

There is a clear priority that people should use public transportation rather than their own cars, the court says, and regular delays only stop people from being able to refrain from using it.

According to my calculation, the delay yesterday of the trains, by about an hour, should make me eligible for a 120,000 NIS settlement. Unless they call it an "act of God" (a tractor had accidentally cut the communication cables) and get out of paying...

Rumor has it that the Bet Shemesh Opposition has submitted an appeal against the recent court decision regarding the construction in RBS C. The appeal was submitted to the Supreme Court, and asks for a restraining order against closing the tenders, that was due to happen tomorrow.

Will this story ever end? I have no idea why they think they have more of a chance with the Supreme Court than with the District Court that decided completely against them...

With the combination of Torah and work, that Bnei Akiva has engraved on its banner, that is the future of the State. if we don't know how to protect it, we are going to have trouble...

---- Minister of Education Gideon Saar
(at an event commemorating 80 years of Bnei Akiva)

I like seeing how many MKs have come out against the plan to increase certain municipal allowances, specifically to allow municipalities above a certain size to add two salaried Deputy mayor positions.

These MKs are crying about how expensive it is and that money can be used for helping the poor, the lower end of the economy, the medicine basket which can always use more budget allowances, etc.

I don't see them crying about the need to limit the number of "Minister without portfolio" positions the government can appoint. I don't see them crying about how MKs are granted too much money, with too much spending leeway, for their fictitious expenses that all get dumped under the category of "Kesher im HaTzibbur", for their number of assistants and office expenses.

Everybody in government spends too much, but they only cry when it is someone else. Nobody would volunteer to have his budget sliced, for the good of the poor (except for maybe Michael Eitan who might actually do so)

I write this post with great trepidation and caution. I have no proof for what I am going to say, but my source is a very good one. I kept thinking to myself that this is not something I want to get involved in, it is not the job of a blogger to produce scoops, especially scoops with no proof.

There are some bloggers who have taken such responsibility upon themselves. they find the stories and expose them. It is easier to do when anonymous, as the personal ramifications are curbed to an extent, but even non-anonymously, it is easier to expose a scoop when you have the proof - the Tropper tapes made that story possible for being exposed by a blogger, for example.

I kept telling myself not to do it. But I kept seeing and hearing myself reading in the newspaper about the stories form over Shabbos about the guy on Shmuel HaNavi who killed his kid, and the 2 brothers from Bnei Ayish who killed a young boy, along with past cases such as the Burqa lady. People knew there was something wrong, in almost all the recent cases. They kept quiet because they didn't want to mix in and get involved. In the end it led, in some cases, to murder, in other cases it allowed serious abuse to continue for much longer after it could have been stopped. And then there are, inevitably, the calls blaming the community who knew but did nothing to stop it.

I kept saying to myself that I would not publish this information, but kept saying that if it leads to putting one of the other kids in danger or worse, how can I live with myself having withheld the information.

So here is the scoop. Again, I have no proof. The only thing I have is very reliable sources that have always been correct before with the information they gave me, and one of them has the information practically firsthand.

The Munchhausen Mom - she was accused of having put her child in Hadassah Ein Kerem in danger, turning off machines, not feeding the sick child, etc. Supposedly there is video of her in the act and is being used against her in the trial. The Munchhausen Mom gave birth to a preemie a short while ago - about 2 months if I am not mistaken. The child is in neonatal care in the Bikur Cholim Hospital.

It has come to my attention that the mother has been distanced from the hospital and is not allowed to see the baby. The hospital people (doctors? nurse? administrator?) have seen the mother, and have it on video, fiddling with the instruments that the baby is hooked up to. Adjusting the controls and the like. They consider her a danger, and will not allow her to see the kid.

They are not publicizing it because there main clientele is the Mea She'arim, Eida Haredis, community, and they are worried about the repercussions of making this information public. I am worried about keeping it secret, assuming it is true.

Take it with a grain of salt or not. I don't have any more information on this and I have no answers to any questions you might ask. I wrote everything I know on the subject. If one of the readers has information that can verify the above, or conclusively contradict it, please put it in the comments or contact me offline.

1. The Rebbetzin's Husband on the kinder-grind..

2. North of Brooklyn asks how the kollel guys can be paid for certain things...like actually showing up

3. The Way to No-Thing has an interesting perspective on the Neturei Karta, and on the recent homosexuality issue in Orthodoxy

4. Chaviva has officially finished the process and become a Member of the Tribe. She immediately went out for a bagel... Mazel tov!

5. Yeranen Yaakov translates a Hebrew article about Rav Mordechai Eliyahu suffering to bring mashiach..

6. Torat Yisrael brings a video about how the Americans occupied Florida

At the end, amidst all the screaming, MK Zahlake screams out this Tel Aviv, where they are located, is a Palestinian village called Sheikh Munis.

In the acceptable codes of the Middle East, concepts such as 'national pride' have a very important value. You don't have to provoke or incite, but there must not be an attitude of groveling or self disparagement...
I have seen some ambassadors who identify with the place in which they serve so much that they keep trying to explain the other side. This is the wrong approach. The time of groveling is over, we will not look for pretexts for conflict or friction, but we will not turn the other cheek...every thing have a response, this is the policy I demand of you ambassadors. The ambassadors must have good relations and respect the hosting party, and should not look for provocations, but we will not tolerate insults and abuse.


--- Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman

Bechadrei Charedim got hold of some video of the big anti-Internet kennes that the Yated had arranged for educators... Yated had reported that 300 educators had taken part in the kennes...
The truth comes to light in the video, and perhaps this is precisely why the Yated is fighting so strongly against the websites - so their distortions and lies should not be so easily exposed...