Rebbes fighting to get largest Onion brings tears to the eyes

World's Largest Onion

"Eiyer mit Tzvibal" just made history! 

This onion was found weighing 18lb and smashes the world record. Some say that's a "gilgul" of a deceased Tomato.

 DIN just learned  but it's not confirmed that the two Satmar Rebbes are trying to get a hold of it, so they can feed their flock  "eiyer mit Tzvibel" l'ekoved Shabbos!

The little "Rebbelich" with only a 25- 100 Chassidim are not interested into getting into this "crying" bawl, since they can do just fine with 3 eggs and a small onion..... and some will even add "gehakta leberlach"

But the bigger the chassidisus, the bigger the eggs, and the bigger eggs require a huge onion!

DIN contacted various Litvishe Geonim, and they declined to comment, some didn't even know that it's a mitzva to eat "eiyar mit Tzvibel" on Shabbos ...those that did speak to our reporters said that eating "Tzsunt" (Cholent) provides enough gas!

Video Footage Of Jerusalem Supermarket Stabbing Released

New video footage of the stabbing attack that occurred in a Jerusalem supermarket on Wednesday has emerged.

The video shows the terrorist stabbing two shoppers, then fleeing the scene as men follow him toward the door.

News outlets previously reported  that a 16-year-old Palestinian entered the supermarket in Mishor Adumim, east of Jerusalem, and stabbed two Israeli shoppers. The shoppers, in their 50s, were moderately wounded and taken to a hospital in Jerusalem.

An off-duty security guard shot the attacker in the legs and police later arrested him.

Security arrested two other Palestinians suspected of assisting the attacker, and also arrested a relative in al-Azariya.

The security guard who took down the attacker received a congratulatory call from the prime minister, and said, “I did my duty. I thank those who kept a cool head and helped neutralize the terrorist.”

The store reopened two hours after the attack.

Chicago Beis Din Allows Accreditation on Meisels Seminaries

POSTED by FRUMFOLLIES

The four Jerusalem-based, post-high school girls seminaries (Pninim, Chedvas, Binas, and Keser Chaya) once controlled by disgraced sex abuser Rabbi (sic) Elimelech Meisels are finally having their accreditation restored, allowing for US financial aid and transferable college credit. This ends a half-year impasse that started with a July 10th ruling by the Chicago Special Beis Din for sex abuse (aka CBD) ruling that the Meisels seminaries were not safe for students because of Meisels misconduct. That Beis Din consisted of Rabbis Gedalia Dov Schwartz, Shmuel Feurst and Zev Cohen. In a later ruling they also accused other staff of enabling or covering up abuse. On that basis they convinced Touro College and Hebrew Theological College to deny them accreditation. This in turn prevented students from getting US government aid and college credits.

In contrast, the Israeli Beis Din (IBD) of Rabbis Mendel Shafran, Chaim Malinowitz and Tzvi Gartner claimed that with Meisels departure there were no problems and that additional safeguards had been installed.

The Chicago Beis Din insisted they could not clear the seminaries until accused staff agreed to be interrogated. They also reported, that contrary to IBD claims, Meisels retained control.

The impasse was resolved through a joint Beis Din whose members included the dayanim of both battei din and a seventh member, R. Eliyahu Brudny (Rosh Yeshiva of Mirer Yeshiva in Brooklyn). They met in the Manhattan building of Agudath Israel of America on Thursday, November 6th from about 3 p.m. till past midnight and had subsequent interactions culminating in their Dec 1 ruling.

The Beis Din made heavy use of video- and tele-conferencing.

Rabbi Meir Kahane, Principal Chedvas Bais Yaakov

Two of the rabbis (Schwartz and Gartner) participated from Chicago and Israel. Witnesses of abuse and enabling participated either in person or by phone. In an incredible breach of judicial procedure, the accused were all in the same room able to hear and echo each others claims. Meisel’s guilt was taken as a given and he was not part of the session. They also did not allow any rabbinic pleaders (toanim). This prevented Mrs. Hindy Ullman from using her father, famous toen, Shmuel Fried. While both of the original battei dinhad rules allowing witnesses without the presence of the accused (as is now established halacha for sex abuse cases) they forced the witnesses to give testimony in front of the accused staff, who interrupted, screamed and heaped abuse in a desperate attempt to intimidate the witnesses. Some the dayanim conducted a number of other interviews with the staff.

Mrs. Hindy Ullman

A number of the dayanim were convinced that the scandal at these seminaries involved some of the worst staff enabling of abuse they had ever encountered, both in ignoring the obvious signs and in rebuffing reports. Seminary principals Rabbi Meir Kahane and Mrs Hindy Ullman are being demoted but this will not be stated officially. Formal control of the organization which was previously in the hands of Elimelech Meisels and Mr Yaakov Yarmush will fully pass to a new party. Mr Yarmush is now convinced of the severity of Meisels misconduct and wishes no part of an arrangement that still involves Meisels. Supposedly, the terms for transferring control are settled but the legalities are not completed. New protocols are being installed at the initiative of the Beis Din. A new training was conducted at Peninim by Mrs. Debbie Gross of the Israeli organization, Tahel. Rabbi Moshe Krupka of Touro College was also in Israel to meet with all the seminaries they accredit to advise them on new standards and requirements for avoiding abuse and dealing with it. I also expect to see a shift in seminaries away from male staff and administrators (as advocated by Rabbi Zucker at the recent convention of Agudath Israel of America).

So, now at the end of this process, the seminaries are allowed to live on though they are likely to decline in size. Insiders say five new seminaries are recruiting for the 2015 year both because of growth in this market and the expectation that the seminaries that Meisels used to control will never be as large as they used to be. It does not matter that they have now been proclaimed kosher. The stench of scandalous misdeeds hangs over them. Kosher is not good enough and many parents are not willing to believe they are mehadrin.

I am disappointed that some truly outrageous staff misconduct did not lead to anyone being fired. However, no one should mistake this joint ruling for an innocent verdict on staff. Daniel Eidensohn’s Daas Torah blog leaked the last page of the ruling restoring the accreditation and assuming new controls will make the seminaries safe. He used the misleading headline: “It is official!: Chicago Beis Din and Israeli Beis Din agree 4 seminaries are o.k.

He makes it sound as if there was never a problem. However, he only posted the final page of a longer statement which condemns misconduct in the seminaries by Meisels and other staff. I have heard some of the content and will post it when I get a copy within the next day or two.

The Beis Din is relying on new training. I think the previous conduct of staff suggests they are too indifferent or too stupid to recognize ugly realities being played out in front of them. I for one don’t think these staff should be trusted. Stupidity and indifference cannot be cured by retraining.

It is good that there is a new consciousness about the need to train staff and confront abuse. It is especially good that seminaries realize such scandals can cost them accreditation. But once again the frum world has shown that protecting institutions is more important than protecting victims and punishing culprits. We all know about the problem of financial institutions that can be reckless with our money because they are “too big to fail.” The Haredi world suffers from institutions “too frum to be shut down.”

The biggest problem with this resolution is that many staff of the seminaries are still claiming that the allegations against Meisels are either false or grossly exaggerated. Unfortunately, the Beis Din, has done nothing to correct that falsehood. They have not let the public know that they heard clear evidence that Meisels sexually assaulted girls.

However, no one should mistake this joint ruling for an innocent verdict on staff. Daniel Eidensohn’s Daas Torah blog leaked the last page of the ruling restoring the accreditation and assuming new controls will make the seminaries safe. He used the misleading headline: “It is official!: Chicago Beis Din and Israeli Beis Din agree 4 seminaries are o.k.

He makes it sound as if there was never a problem. However, he only posted the final page of a longer statement which condemns misconduct in the seminaries by Meisels and other staff. I have heard some of the content and will post it when I get a copy within the next day or two.

Three Prior Arrests For Driver In Fatal Boro Park Crash

Bilal Ghuman driver

The minivan driver that killed a Boro Park girl and sent her pregnant mother to the hospital last night had an open, active warrant and was driving the vehicle without permission of the owner.

22 year old Bilal Ghumman, who lives at 2008 West 22nd Street in Brooklyn, was making a left turn onto 60th Street at the corner of 18th Avenue when he struck 33 year old Chaya Sara Friedman and her 10 year old daughter Blima in the intersection.  

Ghumman, who has an outstanding warrant for possession of marijuana dating back to October, also had two prior arrests, for fare evasion at a subway station and for occupying more than one seat on a train, a violation of a local MTA laws.

Police said that both victims were lying in the roadway when they arrived on scene, with the mother pinned under the rear passenger-side tire.  Mrs. Friedman, who suffered internal injuries, was taken to Lutheran Hospital where she delivered a full term baby by Caesarean section.  Blima Friedman was pronounced dead on arrival at Maimonides Hospital, as previously reported on VIN News.

Ghumman, who was driving a grey 2015 Honda Odyssey, remained on scene. Police said that neither drugs nor alcohol were a factor in the crash and that the ongoing investigation will indicate whether or not Ghumman was speeding at the time of the accident.  Ghumman has been charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and violation of local law because of the open warrant and police said that they expect the charges to be upgraded in light of Blima Friedman’s death.

Eyewitnesses said that Hatzolah extricated Mrs. Friedman from under the minivan and that several Hatzolah members were attending to Blima Friedman who was lying face down on a sewer grating, bleeding profusely from her face.

“There was a lady on the floor and a child on the street,” said a second eyewitness. “She was holding her stomach.  The guy came out of the car, he was pacing, asked her if she was okay. He didn’t want to get too close because he was mad nervous.”

The eyewitness said that the driver appeared to be driving at excessive speed at the time of impact, given last night’s rainy weather.

Last night’s accident marks the second time that the Friedman family, who lives on 58th Street, just two blocks away from the scene of the accident, has found themselves in the media spotlight.  

A Chanukah fire, which began after an oil menorah tipped over five years ago took place at the Friedman family home. Tzivia Friedman, who was three years old at the time, was rescued by firefighters and hospitalized after suffering serious burns to her hands and feet.

Chaya Sara Friedman And Daughter Blima Struck By Vehicle On 18 Ave And 60 St...Child Killed....Mother gives birth..

A mother and child were struck and pinned under a vehicle Tuesday night, with the child R”L dead after arriving at the hospital. The accident happened just before 9:00PM at the intersection of 18th Avenue and 60th Street. Boro Park and Flatbush Hatzolah were on the scene in moments, and along with the FDNY and NYPD were able to extricate the victims.

The child, reportedly a 10-year-old girl, was rushed to Maimonides Hospital in traumatic arrest. Doctors tried to save her life, but she was R”L Niftar a short while later from her massive injuries.

The mother, who is 9 months pregnant, was taken to Lutheran Trauma Center. She is in serious but stable condition.

The NYPD was on the scene investigating the cause of the accident. The streets were wet at the time of the accident.

No name for Tehillim was available for the mother at this time.

The name of the child has not been released.

The Actual UN vote taken 67 years ago to recreate a Jewish State in the land of Israel!

Minutes of Jewish Agency Executive Meeting , Jerusalem, May 25, 1944, Proves Rav Weissmandle Wrong!

A substantial part of the  Satmar SHIT"ah really stands on one "fact" ...that the Zionist Jewish Agency had no interest in saving Jews!

To support this accusation, the Satmar Rebbe, R' Yoel Teitelbaum, would quote  Rav Weissmandel's assertion that he saw a letter from  a Mr. Gruenbaum of the Jewish Agency, that said 
"Rak B'dam Tiyeh Lonu Haaretz" 
which translates as 
"Only with blood will we have a Land" 
in other words, "let the Jews die, so that the Nations of the world will have some sympathy and give us a State." 

This twisted thinking, gave birth to their belief that the Zionists had no interest in saving Jewish lives from the claws of the murderous Nazis! And not only didn't they do anything, but they impeded efforts on behalf of the doomed European Jews!

There is only one part of the puzzle missing ......
 The letter! 
In 70 years, no one can produce this letter....
Despite copious and detailed record keeping of The Jewish Agency, "the letter" has never been found!
And Rav Weissmandle himself never produced the letter!

To play the devil's advocate, maybe there was a letter but the Jewish Agency destroyed it ...
If that were in fact true, then we would find some evidence somewhere else that Mr. Gruenbaum's policy was not to help any Jews!
Also, where is the recipient of this letter? Why, in 70 years hasn't anyone come forward and say that they saw or that they were the recipient of that letter?

The truth is...that there is no letter, and there was no letter, and no one will ever in the future produce this letter.

The Jewish Agency, as I said above, kept meticulous notes of all meetings, even minutes of meetings that made The Jewish Agency look bad. There are thousands of documents recorded, yet there is no indication that they weren't going to do whatever was needed to help the Jews! There is no documentation anywhere in the thousands of Jewish Agency documents referring to that alleged notorious statement of Mr Guenbaum!

In fact just the opposite is true ..... read minutes of a meeting attended by Mr. Gruenbaum in May 25, 1944, and see All and I mean All who attended were trying to figure out ways how to save the Jews...
 Read what Mr. Gruenbaum actually said, referring to a proposal by Mr. Pomerantz, that Brand  keep negotiations open with Eichmann to stall him and actually offer him cash, since the US and the UK would never agree to supply the Wermacht with Trucks!

"We have to keep this game going as long as possible, although there is no doubt that nothing can possibly come of it. I consider it a satanic provocation meant to give them an opportunity to slaughter the Jews of Hungary. For this reason, we have to pretend that we are doing everything in this direction.

I believe Mr. Shertok should leave for Turkey at once and spend several days there; we should also state that one of our people is going to the United States. However, we must present one condition: the deportations have to stop immediately. And another: the first thousand Jews should be from Poland and not from Hungary.

They should also be allowed to negotiate for money and not for goods. I am sure the United States will not agree to this “trade,” but we must send someone to Turkey immediately, because that way we buy time."

This meeting was actually about the efforts of Julius Brand  to try to negotiate the lives of the Hungarian Jews!

It is also interesting to note at this time, that it was the Zionists who begged Jews from Hungary and Poland to run for their lives, and it was the Rabbis like Satmar and Belz, that told the doomed Jews to remain...
I'm not saying that the Rabbis had any bad intentions, but History now proves that the Rabbis were actually wrong.. and the Zionists were right!


Minutes of the crucial Jewish Agency Meeting that proves Rav Weissmandle and the Satmar Rebbe wrong!

Zionists Debate Rescue of Hungarian Jews (May 25, 1944) Draft Confidential No. 48 Minutes of Meeting of the Jewish Agency Executive, Jerusalem, May 25, 1944 In attendance: Mr. Ben-Gurion, Chairman Mr. Gruenbaum Mr. Kaplan Dr. Shmurak Mr. Shertok Dr. Joseph Mr. Shapira Mr. Dobkin Mr. Eisenberg On the agenda: Rescue of Hungarian Jews (Mr. Zeev Pomerantz, who had previously come from Turkey, entered.) Mr. Pomerantz: The matter on which I am about to report is extremely grave and extremely sensational. On March 19, 1944—the day the Germans entered Hungary, with no Hungarian resistance whatsoever (they talk about one shooting only)—persecution of the Jews began. The first to be interned were leaders of the leftist party and Polish and Hungarian Jews. Within the first three weeks, about 6,000 persons were removed from Hungary. Today, 300,000 Jews have been concentrated in Carpathian Ruthenia and Transylvania. The concentration camps are run by the Germans and the Hungarians. Eight thousand Jews have been deported to Poland to date, and starting next week another 12,000 will be deported every day. Several Hungarian Jews have been in contact with the German authorities. As we know, these contacts also took place in Slovakia and the deportations from that country were occasionally delayed because of them. Now, three weeks ago, two of our comrades in Hungary, Mr. Joel Brand and Mr. R.Kastner, were summoned for a talk with the commander of the Gestapo, the well-known Eichmann. Krumi (Scherzer) Schreber, and Willi, whom we know from Slovakia, took part in this talk for the Gestapo. Eichmann bragged that he had executed three and a half million Jews. If the Jews wanted, he would now be willing to make a “deal” with them: goods instead of blood. Churchill, he said, wants to save the Jews. Roosevelt argues that the Jews are his. So, he said, the Gestapo is willing to give them the Jews, on the condition that they head for Portugal or Spain and not be routed to Palestine. In return, they want ten thousand trucks, to be used exclusively on the eastern front; eighty tons of coffee, twenty tons of tea, twenty tons of cocoa, and two million bars of soap. They are also willing to exchange Jews for German POWs. This talk was followed by another three or four talks. They are willing to deliver the Jews to the border of Spain or Portugal. One of them blurted that they would also want a little money. They would release one hundred Jews for each truck delivered to them. On Wednesday, we received a cable from Constantinople signed by Joel Brand, in which he advised that he would reach Constantinople on Friday. He asked to be provided with entrance visas. Indeed, on Friday afternoon, Joel Brand came to Constantinople with a German passport in the name of Eugen Band. From Budapest they took him to Vienna, where he slept in the Gestapo building. By Friday evening he had come to Constantinople, where he gave us the details. They also told him that, for the purpose of this offer, he would be allowed to visit Lisbon, Switzerland, and—by special permit—Palestine, too. We asked him how he knew for sure that the proposal had come from the army. Eichmann, for example, said he was willing to be the first and to release ten thousand Jews, with payment to follow. Mr. Brand also reported that they had obtained a permit for six hundred Jews, who would be taken away as if for deportation but would be removed to Palestine en route . The unanswered question is whether Brand can come to Palestine with permission from the British authorities, on the condition that he can exit again. We made inquiries in Constantinople and reached the conclusion that we must first hand the matter over to the Executive, which will decide what to do next. Brand cabled Budapest this past Saturday, advising that he is coming to Ankara and that the negotiations are continuing. In the meantime, the deportations from Hungary are proceeding. We decided to send one of our people to Palestine to report the matter to the Executive and to ask a member of the Executive to come to Turkey at once. We asked whether they would allow one of us to visit Hungary, and they replied that it was not out of the question. Brand was accompanied to Constantinople by a Hungarian who had been in our service and, with him, a group of important Hungarians. He also worked for the Germans and took part in the talks with Eichmann. The Germans told this Hungarian that a financial ransom might also be relevant, and when Brand asked about the price, he was told $500 per person. He—the Hungarian—offered $100. They forbade him to tell this to Brand. On Sunday, they were about to make inquiries with the comrades in Budapest about the state of the deportations and concentrations. We also asked if it were possible to arrange to have the Swiss consul supervise the transports out of the country. There was also talk of a delegation of Gestapo people—Schroeder (this is not evidently his real name)—to continue the negotiations. It is not clear whether all the talks were conducted at the instructions of the high German authorities. The Hungarian, for example, advised that they had been authorized to conduct the talks at the highest echelons. Mr. Brand explained that it was important to keep the negotiations going, because this would buy us time. And since it is important to play for time, it is essential for someone to travel to Ankara and for a member of the Executive to go to Turkey at once, because important things are happening there. Mr. Brand will return to Budapest over the next few days. If we advise him by cable that he should stay on for another few days, they will certainly let him do so. The comrades in Constantinople are demanding that Mr. Shertok go there at once. Mr. Gruenbaum: We have to keep this game going as long as possible, although there is no doubt that nothing can possibly come of it. I consider it a satanic provocation meant to give them an opportunity to slaughter the Jews of Hungary. For this reason, we have to pretend that we are doing everything in this direction. I believe Mr. Shertok should leave for Turkey at once and spend several days there; we should also state that one of our people is going to the United States. However, we must present one condition: the deportations have to stop immediately. And another: the first thousand Jews should be from Poland and not from Hungary. They should also be allowed to negotiate for money and not for goods. I am sure the United States will not agree to this “trade,” but we must send someone to Turkey immediately, because that way we buy time. Mr. Shertok: The matter should be treated with the greatest urgency and boldness. The goal is not to buy time but to rescue Jews from Europe. We must also buy time, but that should not be the goal. Even though the scheme seems chimerical, there is no doubt that many Jews may be saved if we respond in the affirmative. Say hundreds of thousands of Jews reach Portugal—what will they do with them? With what will they feed them? But we have no choice; we are duty-bound to do everything to rescue the surviving remnant in Europe. We have nothing more to lose. If the last million is not saved, it will be annihilated. None of us should go to Turkey at once; neither should our man meet in Constantinople directly with the Germans but rather through the mediation of the Red Cross. We should immediately report the matter to our comrades in London and Washington. Maybe somebody should go to London right now. Mr. Ben-Gurion: I accept Mr. Pomerantzs characterization of the whole matter as fantastic, but we should not belittle its seriousness. Nor should anyone speak now about satanic plots. The Nazis have one plot—to destroy Jews. If there is a hope of one in a million, we should cling to it. I regret that action was not taken immediately and that they did not cable that a member of the Executive would set out for Turkey then and there, because it is essential to talk with the British and American envoys. [Ben-Gurion favors sending Mr. Shertok to Turkey.] We should also inform our friends in London and report the matter to the High Commissioner, because without assistance from the government we cannot move. We should ask the Commissioner to bring the matter to the knowledge of the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office immediately. Mr. Dobkin: First of all, we should announce that the negotiations are continuing. [I] Second Ben-Gurions view on a mission by Mr. Shertok to Turkey. We should try to turn the negotiations into a matter of money, not of goods. We should also strive to send our envoy to Budapest at once. [I] doubt that we should turn the matter over to the British. For the time being, we should negotiate with the Americans, and afterwards with the British. Dr. Shmurak: I concur with Mr. Ben-Gurion and Mr. Shertok. The comrades in Constantinople should be instructed to insist on a halt to the deportations. There is no point in dealing with the matter behind the authorities backs. Mr. Gruenbaum: I consider this a plot and nothing more. I fear that if we hand the matter to the British and the Americans, we shall fail altogether. I support Mr. Dobkins proposal—not to send a cable and not to tell anyone about this matter until Mr. Shertok returns from Turkey. I agree, for lack of choice, that it should be reported to the High Commissioner in total confidentiality. Mr. Kaplan: The whole thing is puzzling, but we should debate the action we are about to take, because it is our duty to spare no effort to rescue the Jews of Hungary. In the meantime, we should bring the matter to the knowledge of the comrades in England and the government. If there is even one straw to grasp, we must not let it slip away. There is no hope of buying time by concealing the matter. I suggest that the government be advised at once and that our comrades be informed by cable that Mr. Shertok is setting out for Turkey. Mr. Ben-Gurion: I object to Mr. Dobkins proposal—to report first to the Americans and then to the British. We have to report this to the authorities at once. Of course, we will have to ask them to report it to the central government and to treat it confidentially. Summation: All of us favor sending Mr. Shertok to Turkey. The motion passes. It is proposed to report these affairs to the High Commissioner, to ask him to forward the information to the central government and to Dr. Weizmann, and to add that Mr. Shertok is about to leave for Turkey. The vote: three in favor (Messrs. Kaplan, Shertok, and Shmurak); One opposed (Mr. Gruenbaum). The motion passes. Mr. Ben-Gurion: We ask the comrades, especially Mr. Pomerantz, to keep these matters in total confidence and reveal them to no one. Meeting adjourned.

British Royals Refuse to Visit Israel

by Daniel Halper

You won't find the British royals in the holy land. 

Elliott Abrams calls it, "The bizarre story of the refusal of British royals to visit Israel, while they are constantly in the Arab world, continues."

"The Queen has never set foot in Israel and Prince Charles set foot there briefly only once, for the Rabin funeral," Abrams, a former deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration, observes.

"By contrast, in just the month of November 2014 we found Prince Andrew and Prince Harry at what the Foreign Office must have considered a diplomatic necessity: the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Prince Andrew also visited Saudi Arabia (at the request of the Foreign Office, it was announced).

"And Prince Harry also visited Oman. Now with all due respect, Oman is a country of 3.6 million people with a GDP of $80 billion. Israel is a country of 8 million people with a GDP of about $300 billion. No point in laboring the comparison, but one might add that Prince Charles visited Oman in 2013 and the Queen herself visited there in 2010."

According to Abrams, there are 3 reasons to explain why the British royals refuse to visit Israel. 

"There are really only three logical explanations. 

The first is that the British royals only like to visit royals, and try to stay away from republics. But Prince Charles has visited Egypt time after time, so there goes that theory. 

The second possible explanation is fear–fear that any kind of royal visit to Israel would harm the UK, for example if Arab lands retaliated by cutting trade with Britain. This is silly. Prince Charles visited Jordan last year and could easily have helicoptered over for a day in Israel. Princes Andrew or Harry could have stopped by while in the Middle East as well. Given the current tacit alliance of Israel and the Gulf monarchies against Iran and ISIS, the likelihood that such visits would have harmed the UK is impossibly small. 

The third possible explanation for the continuing refusal of the British royals to set foot in Israel is that either they or the Foreign Office harbor deep and undying enmity toward the Jewish state."

I Came to Israel and Saw a Great but Ungrateful Country

Giulio Meotti

The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter. His writing has appeared in publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He has just prblished a book about the Vatican and Israel titled "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published by Mantua Books.

I was just in Israel for a week and travelled all over: Tel Aviv, Ashkelon, Hevron, Samaria, Jerusalem, Haifa, the Carmel...

I hadn't been there for three years and was pleased to see that the country is in a great state: you see large and young families, start up companies, foreign investors, overbooked hotels, traffic jams, religious devotion, new buildings everywhere. 

A country that began with 600.000 people and is now more than 7 million strong. 

I went to see the Har Nof synagogue where four rabbis were massacred by terrorists last week. It was full of people even in the middle of the night. It means the Jews are winning. 

Tel Aviv is like Manhattan, a kind of secluded peninsula which sucks the entire Israeli nation in as a black hole. It seems everybody wants to live there. And this is not good. It creates the conscience and the reality of a ghetto. 

In Ashkelon, which was bombed day and night by Hamas last summer, I saw new houses at every corner. Like nothing bad could happen to them in the next war. This seemingly absurd feeling is everywhere in Israel. 

A main problem is Yad Vashem: I don't understand why the state brings all the foreign visitors there. Is it to feed the sense of guilt? Is it to compensate for the Arabs false portrayal of the "Nakba"? 

Then I went to see Judea and Samaria with two great friends of mine, Hillel and Tamar. It was not on the official itinerary of my tour. I understood that it is the terra incognita for the Israeli mainstream. And that without these regions, Israel would not exist today.

What happened between 1948 and 1973, when there weren't any Jews between the Jezreel Valley and Beersheba, just proves that. It was only after the Yom Kippur War that Jews realized that settling the land meant protection. 

It is all there, the Jewish fate, cradle, meaning and future: the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem road, Joseph's Tomb in Shechem (Nablus), Hevron's Cave of the Patriarchs . To not to mention the biblical mountains around Shechem. 

I wanted to see the borders of the "settlements", so I visited the families living in Tel Rumeida's Hevron and those living in Elon Moreh near Nablus but also everything in the middle, including Itamar, a wonderful religious agricultural (organic) utopia marked by a horrible night of killings and martyrdom. 

It is impossible, even for those who want to destroy Israel, to deny that the Jewish people would be obliterated without these barren highlands, the mountains overlooking Ashdod, Tel Aviv, Hadera, Petah Tikva. Even the blind, from these terraces, can see the danger over the Dan area. 

From a hilltop community near Kedumim, I saw the Azrieli Towers of Tel Aviv. Israel would be destroyed if a "Palestinian State" would take control of these region. To not to mention how the Hevron Jews protect the entire State of Israel from the Hamas and the Salafi terrorists based in the south.

Only heroes can live in those conditions. 

I didn't see any "occupation": the Palestinian Arabs use all the roads that serve the "settlements", they can even enter them. I saw very few soldiers to protect the Jews in Judea and Samaria. Their life is not in the army's hands. You have instead the feeling of an immense wilderness, with much empty space, where Jews and Arabs race to control and settle. The winner will decide the fate of the entire area. 

The Israelis from the coast, the south and the north don't set foot there. I know people who haven't been in Judea and Samaria for two decades and avoid even Kfar Saba because it is close to Qalqilya. They are paralyzed by the idea of driving in Samaria. 

But they also don't know that without this irrational miracle, which includes everything that has been settled and built after the 1967's line, their comfortable and politically correct life along the coast would vanish in a minute.

This is what I saw last week in Israel. A growing and strong besieged country. But one that is ungrateful towards its heroes.

Der Blatt Headline: Rabbis throughout Israel and the Diaspora cry about the Destruction and Spilling of Blood by the Zionists!

This weeks headline of, Der Blatt, the Yiddish weekly published by the Aroinie faction of the anti-Jewish Satmar, blamed the deaths of the 4 holy Rabbis that were brutally murdered by Hamas, on the Zionists! If you were in Mars and just landed and picked up this rag you would actually think that the Zionists murdered the 4 Rabbonim!

Der Blatt's disgusting anti-Semitic headline proudly joined the rest of the Jew-hating secular media...

CNN: "Deadly Attack on Jerusalem Mosque" (they changed it a full day after a public outcry.)

CBS: The two Palestinian attackers died in a shootout with police, it happened at a contested religious site in Jerusalem"

Reuters: "Tragedy & hatred abound in Holy land: last week, torched Qurans in West Bank. Today, blood-smeared Torah in Jerusalem." (then they put a picture of a Quran and a Torah side by side)

On the same front page of Der Blatt, they feature Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, covered in a Talis   (mocking the murdered victims that were murdered with their Talisim on) ranting that the Zionists are at fault for all Jewish troubles.

In a time like this, when Jews around the world are mourning the deaths of 4 innocent Rabbonim murdered by blood thirsty Arabs, "al Kidush Hashem," in a shul in Har Nof, this Jew Hater rants like a poisoned banshee, on the front page of his "hate newspaper," against his fellow brothers and sisters!
Last week, like shvartzas in Ferguson, he tore down his brother's shul in Monroe ..
What will he do next??