The State is losing its Jewish character, it is a tragedy on a national level and it has happened under your watch and under your responsibility

  -- MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ), to Minister of Transportation Betzalel Smotritch, after the City of Tel Aviv just announced the other day that it is jumping on the bandwagon and will soon begin operating a free bus service on Shabbos.

To be fair, Smotritch only just became Minister of Transportation several few weeks ago. Yes, Tel Aviv and a few others joined the fray now, but the movement began over the past couple of years with over a dozen municipalities already operating such bus lines or in the process of beginning them. This did not happen under Smotritch's watch, though he is in the position now responsible for dealing with it. Smotritch's response is that these cities are taking advantage of a loophole in the law and there is nothing directly that he can do about that.

Behadrei reported yesterday about Rav Meir Kessler, Chief Rabbi of Modiin Ilit, stating his opinion, published in a letter to city residents, that opposes courses in secular studies for children int he Haredi school system.

Since the "cheiders" in Modiin Ilit do not teach secular studies, he is referring to private classes taken after school hours, chugim, that are meant to give the children some basic tools for the future and possible future work skills. Rav Kessler wrote very harshly against it and encourages parents to only raise interest and encouragement for more Torah studies in their children, and not secular studies, so that in the future they will grow to be God-fearing Torah scholars.

This letter from Rav Kessler caused a bit of a stir. Many are criticizing him for opposing secular studies and concerned parents giving the kids a chance in the future, and even MK Yair Lapid (Kachol Lavan) commented on what Rav Kessler said.

In my opinion, Rav Kessler has done nothing wrong beyond stating his opinion. He is a rabbi in the extreme mainstream Litvishe community, and he is a rabbi of an extreme Litvish city. What do people expect him to say or his opinion to be? The mainstream Litvishe (and maybe others as well) believes children should only be learning Torah with no secular studies, so Rav Kessler has not said or supported anything he, along with hundreds of other rabbis, does not already support. I am not sure what people expected his opinion to be that this shocked and upset them

After Uriah Elkayam reported about the Rabbanut policy of checking the Jewishness of Ethiopians working in the food industry in Kiryat Gat, a lawsuit was filed with the Supreme Court against the Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Gat for being responsible for this policy.

Just prior to the case being heard in the Supreme Court today, the Rabbanut issued a new policy directive. The Rabbanut has decided that they will no longer investigate the jewishness of any person just because they are members of a certain sect or community - they won't look into someone just because he is Ethiopian or Russian. It will be prohibited form now on. The only time it will be acceptable to investigate someone's Jewishness will be if there is cause for suspicion about a specific person, such as practicing tenets of another faith or religion, but not because of his connection to a group. And even then, when a suspicion arises about a specific person, they would have to investigate the Jewishness of all the workers of the factory and not just of that one person, so as not to target him and single him out. The will apply to workers in the food industry in a factory using a mehadrin hechsher.

sources: Uriah Elkayam Twitter, Kipa and Srugim

This makes a lot of sense, especially considering their Jewishness has already been checked and confirmed when they immigrated to Israel and when they married (if they are married), and there is no need for such wholesale investigations, except for perhaps in individual cases. There is no reason to operate on a racist policy that is not even necessary. It is far better to treat people with respect, and in cases where a question is raised, they will be able to check into it if deemed necessary.

The residents of Sderot have set up 120 chairs with the names of every Knesset member on them with an invitation to come to talk with them about how they have to live with Hamas rocket fire.

I dont know who gets credit for the photo, but I took it from Rabbi Dov Lipman's FB page

Last Jews in Afghanistan argued so much the Taliban kicked them out of prison

  -- Times of Israel

this is pretty funny

Today Bet Shemesh inaugurated the IDF Prep School, the Mechina Kdam tzvait, that was slated to be opened and allocated a location a few months back. The opening happened despite the protests of the nearby Haredi community that was hoping to get the land for a school for their needs.

Interestingly, one Haredi News source considered it a victory, while a second Haredi news source considered it a loss. One considered it a victory saying that because of the Haredi protests the Mechina opened but in a different location (it does not say if the original plot was allocated to the Haredi community or not - but the fact that the Mechina itself was moved is a victory). The second source considers it a loss because the Mechina opened, despite Haredi protests.

To the Haredi community, life is black or white. Things are either a victory or a defeat. A success or a failure. Someone who says something regarding the haredim either loves Haredim or hates Haredim. There is no middle ground. There is no grey. Nothing in between.

In my opinion, life is complex, people are complex, society is complex. Things can be good, anywhere along the spectrum, without being perfect, and they can be bad without being horrible. Things can be a little better or a lot better, a little worse or a lot worse. Just because something was not resolved exactly the way you want does not mean it is a loss or a terrible thing. Not everything needs to be a victory or a loss. It is society trying to find way to work together with different priorities, sometimes even conflicting priorities, and sometimes compromise works and each side benefits a little and each side gives up a little.

In a case like this, if let's say the news report is accurate that an alternate location is the site of the Mechina, the city opened the Mechina, so the people who support that can be happy, and it was moved to a location that would not bother, or bother less, the Haredi "Bar Ilan" community. It does not have to be a victory or a defeat for either side, but a way to work together even if things are not exactly the way either side would have preferred it.

If there will be a third round of elections, the Right will collapse at historic proportions. We will find ourselves with a full-full Left-wing government. I am prepared to release Netanyahu from any obligations he has to me in order so that a government can be established....  the State of Israeel is in a state of paralysis. I am in constant contact with the Prime Minister, and I am also talking with Gantz. The ball is in the court of both of them. Everyone needs to come down from their trees and compromise. I am also ready to, if I am found to be an obstacle for establishing a government, I exempt Netanyahu from any obligation and commitment to me and to the New Right... the State is in an emergency situation..

  -- MK Naftali Bennett (Hayemin Hechadash)

some think Bennett is laying the groundwork for Yamina splitting off from the Right-wing bloc and going into a Gantz-led government. Others think he is speaking with integrity and is being altruistic (from a political perspective)

new show by Menachem Toker