Today I said to Tibi what every reasonable Israeli feels about him - and especially after his false outburst during the speech of a guest in the Knesset - the Prime Minister of Canada. When I will be Prime Minister, with God's help, the assistant to the murderer Arafat will sit in jail, not in the Knesset.

  -- Mk Moshe Feiglin (Likud Beyteynu)

Canadian PM Steven Harper went to visit the Kotel, and had planned to also visit Temple Mount. At the last minute, Harper's Temple Mount visit was canceled, as the Waqf representatives refused to let him on because they discovered some of his bodyguards were Jewish..

The Knesset is always exciting..

here is Eitan Cabel talking about a law proposal to call "price tag" people "Jewish terrorists, and the Habayit Hayehudi people get all upset at what they think is an accusation..



and here are some other scenes, including one in which Moshe Feiglin calls Ahmed Tibi a liar, due to his false outburst during Steven Hrper's speech, and Tibi has him removed from the plenum...

looks like somebody took the original "be a mentsch" video from about a year ago (a bit less) and mashed it up with some new footage to make this, more Bet Shemesh specific..

this beautiful course is just 15 or so minutes from my house.. it makes me want to go buy a bike and start riding

Park Canada - Single Track from lemon photography on Vimeo.

nothing specifically Jewish or Israeli about this, but I know so many people who get excited about "March Madness" that I felt it important to give them this opportunity to make some money off it...

Billionaire Warren Buffet, with Quicken Loans, is offering a prize of $1,000,000,000 - that's 1 billion dollars - to the person who fills out the entire bracket of March Madness perfectly. And if there is no perfect bracket submitted and no winner of the billion dollar prize, then 2 million dollars will be split among the top 20 brackets filled out - each will get $100,00, but only for use in buying, remodeling or refinancing a home.

Forbes says the odds of winning are 1 in 4,294,967,296, while Business Insider says the odds are 1 in 9.2 quintillian. You can check out the Forbes article for all the tax details of such a windfall. It is going to be free to enter the contest, so despite the bad odds there is no risk in trying - worse odds than playing the lottery but less risk.

Only one entry per household will be allowed, and entry will be possible from March 3rd. See the Quicken Facebook page for more details..

Start studying up now on the teams so you will be ready when March comes rolling around...

The job of mashgiach kashrut has always been conflicted - on the one hand, everyone is trusting the mashgiach to get the kashrut right. On the other hand, they get criticized for the way the system works.

Currently, the mashgiach is almost always employed by the restaurant he is certifying and not by the Rabbanut. The Rabbanut tells the restaurant owner how much hashgacha he will need and how much it will cost, and the restaurant hires the mashgiach directly.

The problem some people have with this arrangement is that, they say, the mashgiach is not truly independent and cannot possibly do his job correctly. He might not be willing to take a stand against the restaurant owner out of fear of losing his job.

How can a mashgiach get the trust he requires for his job?

Deputy Minister of Religious services Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan has the answer. Ben Dahan wants to form a kashrut authority that will employ the mashgichim. The restaurants will pay a kashrut fee to the kashrut authority , and the authority will pay the mashgichim. A set of ethics and policies will be formed for the mashgichim, and they will be supervised by the kashrut authority.

Ben Dahan says this will strengthen the Rabbanut kosher label.
source: Kikar

Back in August the Rabbanut of Jerusalem announced that it was forming a new hechsher called Rabbanut Mehuderet. It would be "less" than Mehadrin, but more than regular Rabbanut. It would be mostly mehadrin, but some of the restrictions would be loosened from the mehadrin level.

The Jewish Press has an update on that situation that I thought is worth sharing (organized kashrut is an interest of mine).. it turns out that the Mehuderet solution has become very popular among restaurants in Jerusalem.

From The Jewish Press:

The certification, called “Mehuderet”, is designed for Jerusalem restaurants who are interested in providing Badatz and Mehadrin level certified foods and Kashrut to their clients, but aren’t interested in the politics and prices that the private Badatz certifications bring along with them.

Typically, the private certifications have high monthly fees and lock the restaurants into specific suppliers, especially in the case of meat, even if the other Badatz and Mehadrin products are considered just as kosher.

The “Mehuderet” certification requires that all the products used in the restaurant be at the Badatz and Mehadrin level, but don’t require an additional private Badatz certificate or purchase of products from only specific Badatz certifications.

In addition, unlike the standard Jerusalem Mehadrin certificate, meat that is certified as Mehadrin by the Rabbinate from other cities and not just Jerusalem may be used, which can sometimes result in major cost savings.

One Jerusalem restaurant who made the switch told JewishPress.com, “I pay for the Jerusalem ‘Mehuderet’ certification less per year than I was paying the Badatz each month, and that fee was above the cost of the Mashgiach! After I switched to the Jerusalem Rabbinate’s ‘Mehuderet’ certification I kept my same exact Mashgiach, but I now have flexibility in choosing my Mehadrin and Badatz suppliers and products. My clients care about Mehadrin and they are definitely OK with this new certification.”

In recent years, due to the high certification costs, some Jerusalem restaurants began to forgo the Badatz/Mehadrin certifications completely, trading them in for the minimal Jerusalem Kashrut, while still only using Mehadrin and Badatz products. But that cost saving measure also resulted in a loss of customers.

This new certificate may reverse that tide, by assuring customers that the food they’re eating is Mehadrin and prepared according to the Mehadrin levels they want, while significantly lowering prices.

If this new Jerusalem certificate continues to grow in popularity, we may see other other local Rabbinates in Israel begin to copy the model, creating a revolution in Israel’s tightly controlled Badatz/Mehadrin Kashrut certification industry.

A solution that makes good kashrut more affordable for people, and they find it to be an acceptable level - I like it. Good job, Rabbanut Jerusalem.

Note: this is not an endorsement for any specific hechsher, including mehuderet. Eat the food of whatever hechsher you find acceptable, and don't eat from hechshers you dont find to be acceptable.

This winter has been a bit strange. It started off with a dry spell, and eventually led for a call for saying the prayer (Aneinu) for rain. Shortly after that, we have a freak storm with record levels of rain, cold and even snow. And since that freak storm it has been dry and warm again with January set to become the driest winter month in Israel's history...

In light of the recent dry spell, the Badatz has renewed calls for people to say the aneinu prayer for rain. In their call, they point to 40 days of no rain and it being a dangerous situation for the produce..
source: Ladaat

The Attorney General, Yehuda Weinstein has called for new elections.

Wait. that is old news, isn't it?

In Bet Shemesh it is old news, but now Weinstein has called for new elections in Nazereth.

In Nazareth they have been fighting over the election results as well, similarly to Bet Shemesh. The incumbent mayor, Ramiz Jaraisi, was voted out in favor of challenger Ali Salam, according to initial election results. The vote deferential was 22 votes. Pretty tight race.

Then Jaraisi appealed to the election board claiming fraud. Jarasai requested that 47 envelopes be opened. After that happened, Jaraisi was declared the winner, by 9 votes (or 7 according to the Misrad Hapnim). Even tighter race. Then Salam appealed, claiming fraud.

Whatever the exact details were, stuff happened, and the Attorney General has now appealed to the court for new elections in Nazareth.
source: NRG

There goes the claim that this only happened in Bet Shemesh because it was haredim involved... Weinstein is against electoral fraud, and nothing more than that.

And in other reelection news, MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ) has proposed a law by which funding would be given to relevant political parties in the case of new elections being ordered by the court.

The way it works now, if I understand it correctly, is the parties spend money on their campaigns, and then the State reimburses the parties based on the results. Parties that get in, get money based on how many seats they won.

With new elections on the horizon, it turns out that the law only allows for this once. In the case of reelections, the parties spend money on their campaigns the second time around, but will not get reimbursed for the second campaign expenses. This has the parties in Bet Shemesh worried, as they might not be able to afford the costs of what they consider the necessary campaign to be successful. Mk Aryeh Deri even told party activists in Bet Shemesh a couple of weeks ago that they have no money to fund an expensive campaign again, and activists would have to bring their own sandwiches to campaign headquarters this time around.

 Gafni's proposal would give parties the funding the second time around as well.

Gafni explains in his proposal that this situation of  the court calling for new elections for both city council and mayor is entirely new, and the lack of government funding would create a situation in which political parties campaigning would either have to steal the money for the campaign or accept illegal donations. It is not possible that there should be general elections but no funding.

The proposal comes to the Knesset later today for its initial voting, and is expected to pass, considering MKs from all the parties are supporting it.
source: Kikar

Technically, this is changing the law in the middle of the "game". This should really only apply to the next time it happens (assuming it passes) and not to this elections. However, I assume that since it is being proposed specifically because of the current election situation in Bet Shemesh that it will be implemented immediately (assuming it passes).

MK Tibi was the host of an outburst of heckling during the Knesset speech of Canadian PM Steven Harper. It was really inappropriate to act like that during the speech of the head of a foreign country. Worse than that is that it turns out Tibi was not even telling the truth with the content of his outburst.

Tibi was screaming about Israel being racist and treating the Arab citizens poorly. Tibi pointed to his peer, MK Taleb Abu Arar and screamed in his village there is no electricity, no water.

Going out to check that, Tibi's lie was discovered. the village of Arara in the south, where Abu Arar lives, is a nice village, with running water, clean streets, and electricity. Abu Arar himself lives in a nice three-story home with electricity, water, a satellite dish and probably most other necessary amenities for a decent lifestyle.

Surely there are Arab villages that are not as nice as Arara, and maybe some don't have great services and there is what can be improved, so this should not detract from those issues, but Tibi picked the wrong thing to scream when he decided to act like a child.

World Mizrachi has gone on a Yiddish campaign to encourage aliyah among hassidim, especially Satmar, to Eretz Yisrael.. They have put out this video in Yiddish as part of the program..



It's a beautiful video, but I do think it is a bit strange.. Instead of scenes of Zionism, the land, soldiers, not frum people at the Kotel, etc., I would think that it would be far more effective, considering the target audience, to show images of hassidic life in Eretz Yisrael..

from the Jerusalem Post:

While the insular ultra-Orthodox community is notoriously anti-Zionist, Gimpel believes that now is the perfect time to target its members with a pro-immigration message.
While admitting that his target demographic is “insular and impenetrable,” Gimpel told The Jerusalem Post that the increasing threat of modernity posed by the penetration of smartphones and the Internet among hassidic groups has created a more receptive audience than may have existed previously.
Many senior Ultra-Orthodox rabbis have banned the use of smartphones and the Internet, which they have deemed “impure” and a threat to their way of life.
The new campaign, Gimpel explained, will bypass “traditional obstacles to engagement” with the ultra-Orthodox.
“Smartphones and You- Tube allow us to reach communities at large that would never otherwise invite us to speak at their synagogues.
Using the Internet properly has the potential to change world Jewry.”
The clip was slated to be posted to several Yiddish language websites by Tuesday evening as well, he added.
“My hope for the Yiddish speaking hassidim is that they begin to see living in Israel as a part of their religious responsibly and, ultimately, a part of Jewish destiny,” Gimpel said.
A reference in the video to the “land we have fought and sacrificed for,” accompanied by a clip of an IDF combat soldier, may turn off members of the ultra-Orthodox community, who are actively opposed to government measures to induct yeshiva students.
Gimpel, quoting an unnamed Yiddish-speaking journalist with whom he said he spoke, said that now may be the “right time to reach out to the Satmar hassidim and other hassidic sects.
“Western culture is infiltrating our communities and people are starting to consider [the land of Israel] as a real option to raising their families in an uncorrupted Jewish environment.
The State of Israel that was once seen as a threat to a Torah-based life is being seen as a potential safe haven for people who want to live a Torah-based life.”
Satmar’s opposition to Zionism is well known. Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, one of the sect’s two competing grand rabbis, told a rally of thousands in Mea She’arim last year that voting in Knesset elections was forbidden according to Jewish law.
A Satmar spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
MK Dov Lipman, an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, said that he was “in shock” that Mizrahi was targeting the Yiddish speaking sector.
“Of course we welcome all Jews to Israel but to place resources and effort to motivate this specific population to move to Israel is beyond comprehension,” he told the Post.
“The haredi [ultra-Orthodox] community in Beit Shemesh lived in harmony with the rest of the population until the Yiddish- speaking, anti-Zionist, extremist population arrived.
“Efforts should be placed on inspiring Jews who are moderate, tolerant and seek to be part of the broader population – including the mainstream American haredi population – to [come to] Israel and not this shocking and startling new initiative.”
Asked about the new campaign, the Nefesh B’Nefesh aliya organization said that it is in touch with “a great number” of ultra-Orthodox Jews and that the organization is “in close daily contact in order to tailor their aliya plans to suit their religious and social needs.”
“I wish them well,” Agudath Israel of America spokesman Rabbi Avi Shafran told the Post when informed of the campaign.
“But Israel would be a more welcoming place for such Jews if, instead of embarking on a social engineering program to try to change the Israeli haredi way of life, it recommitted itself to supporting the full-time Torah-study that helps protect all its citizens.”
While the idea of bringing anti-Zionist Jews to Israel through such a campaign may seem like a long shot to some, sociologist Dr. Steven Cohen believes that the concept may have some success.
American ultra-Orthodox Jews “have counterparts in Israel,” he told the Post. “Haredi identity is somewhat fluid.
So, if you want people to make aliya, they’re a reasonable group to target.”

The responses quoted are interesting..
 - MK Lipman says we should not spend resources, that are limited, on bringing anti-zionists, though if they come we welcome them as we welcome all Jews to Israel. He references the experience of Bet Shemesh with the anti-Zionist extremists as an example of why we should make effort to bring moderate and tolerant Jews rather than spend resources to bring extremist anti-Zionists.

I disagree with him on this point. Aliyah resources should be used to bring any and every jew possible on aliyah. Even the Satmar anti-Zionists. They should be encouraged to come and maybe they should be encouraged to live in a Satmar neighborhood rather than in a mixed neighborhood, but they should be encouraged to come. They could even be a moderating force and influence their Israeli brethren to be more moderate. They might not be more moderate in their anti-zionism (I have no idea), but the hassidim from the USA, even Satmar, are far more moderate in many aspects of daily life than the Israeli edition - work, education, etc. I see nothing wrong with spending resources on this.

 - Rabbi Avi Shafran says Israel should recmmit to supporting full-time Torah study and would then be a more welcoming place for such Jews.

Does Rabbi Shafran mean - like the way the USA supports full-time Torah study? Why would Israel be more welcoming by supporting full-time Torah study? The US government does not support full-time study, yet it is extremely welcomin and the hassidic and haredi community has done just fine there despite the government not paying for full-time study. I think Rabbi Shafran's comment is irrelevant to aliyah. I don't think American hassidim will consider that issue, as they are already not getting that financial support from the government.they currently live under.

 - Nefesh bNefesh said they are in touch with ultra-orthodox Jews and work to tailor aliyah plans to suit religious and social needs.
As they should. Great job.

Personally, while I find the great video a bit off-target, I think the idea behind it is great and hope it is successful.

Canadian PM Steven Harper doesn't just speak well...

By the way, the mens choir supporting Helfgot is from RBS...

The rabbinic organization Tzohar has now formed its own rabbinical council.

Some see it as an alternative to the Rabbanuts rabbinic council, but Tzohar people say they have no power, and they know it, and are basically just a group of talmidei chachomim who meet to discuss the issues and whoever wants to act in a specific way base don the discussions and conclusions is able to, and those who don't, don't need to. The example is a recent council meeting discussing prenuptial agreements. Any rabbi that wants to promote it to those he marries off, can, and any that don't, don't need to. No decision is obligating. And, they aren't going to deal with Rabbanut issues - such as kashrut and importing food..

Wait - I thought the entire purpose of Tzohar was to be an alternative to the Rabbanut.. They were a rabbinic alternative prior to the council being formed, and remain an alternative after it has been formed. Even though the council has no power.

I am not even sure what it means, especially knowing that they have no actual implementation power. I mean - before they formed this "rabbinical council", what did they do to make decisions in halacha or to discuss issues. Isn't a rabbinical council really just a forum of rabbis discussing an issue and investigating the various halachic approaches and possibilities? Until now, when they were deciding a policy or stance in halacha, did they not have a group of rabbis discuss the issues and come to conclusions? Is that not in essence a rabbinical council? I would expect a rabbinic organization to have its rabbis meet to discuss the issues. So, this formation of a council seems to be only natural to the nature of the organization, and makes me wonder why only now.

The truth is, I originally planned on ignoring the announcement. It is an interesting tidbit, but not really all that comment-worthy.

That is, until the opposition to the new council spoke up. According to Kikar, haredi rabbis are opposed to the formation of this council due to its being an alternative to the Rabbanut.

I am not quite sure what that means? Why should this bother the haredi rabbis?  The haredi rabbis and public do not follow the Rabbanut at all anyway. The haredi community has a number of rabbinic councils that are alternatives to the Rabbanut - the Litvishe rabbinic council, the chassidishe rabbinic council, the sephardi rabbinic council, the Eida rabbinic council, and you can probably find half a dozen other groups that each have their own rabbinic council. So all these people can have rabbinic councils that are alternatives to the Rabbanut but Tzohar cannot?

Rav Neventzahl is quoted with different opposition - he has a problem with them because he thinks they are planning to pasken against halacha and look for leniencies, whether halachic-based or not. Rav Neventzahl considers the organization to be a danger to Judaism, and just like he, and others, oppose Tzohar in general, he also opposes the rabbinic council and says they will make the country less Jewish, more assimilated.

The haredi opinion on Tzohar is well-known, and I am not going to get involved in that. It came out in all its glory recently when Rabbi Stav ran for the position of Chief Rabbi. No need to rehash it all now. But, as a rabbinical organization, whether I follow them or not, whether I hold by them or not, I would expect of them nothing less than having a forum in which the rabbis can meet and discuss the issues.