Justice Antonin Scalia's Had a Legacy of Connection to Jews and Israel

Conservative US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died on Saturday in a Texas ranch at age 79. Even as tributes were being paid to honor his service, a political struggle began to see who would replace him. Scalia was known to often be a friend to the Jews in some of his decisions on the bench.

In a 1998 Supreme Court decision, National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley, Justice Scalia, a Roman-Catholic judge from an Italian-American background, was the first judge to use the Yiddish word chutzpah and apparently felt no need to explain the word in his written comments.When the Supreme Court ruled that Jerusalem should continue to be listed without a comma followed by Israel on the passports of Americans born in Jerusalem, Scalia was also one of three dissenters who believed that Israel should be on the passport. The 2015 case of Zivotofsky v. Kerry involved Menachem Zivotofsky, an American born in Jerusalem, had petitioned to have his passport reflect his place of birth as “Israel” instead.

Scalia criticized his fellow justices saying that their reasoning was a “leap worthy of the Mad Hatter”, and emphasized his belief that “Israel” should be listed as place of birth on those passports.

In 1989 a prominent US attorney Nathan Lewin, an Orthodox Jew who has defended Jewish rights before the Court and was an old Harvard Law classmate and sparring partner of Justice Scalia, brought the case of County of Allegheny v. ACLU to the Supreme Court in which Scalia was part of a majority that ruled that in favor of a menorah having the right to stand on public property.

Surprisingly, Justice Scalia was actually very good friends with liberal Jewish Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. They took their families on vacations together, regularly went out together, and met up each New Year’s Eve. “Call us the odd couple,” Scalia recently said. “She likes opera, and she’s a very nice person. What’s not to like?,” then quipped, “except her views on the law”.

The two justices made a series of joint appearances together promoting the opera while at the same time advocating for unity and respect across the political divide in increasingly bitter partisan times.

Though Justice Scalia was strong in his Catholic faith, he learned about other legal traditions – including Jewish law. He met with Adjunct Law Professor and Rabbi Noson Gurary when visiting the University at Buffalo Law School in 2002. “Knowledge of another legal system helped him to understand [the U.S. legal] system” better,” Gurary said about Scalia’s correspondence.

Later that year, Scalia was one of only three Supreme Court Justices (along with two Jewish Justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer) who attended and spoke at inaugural meeting for the National Institute for Judaic Law. Scalia’s old law school colleague Nathan Lewin and his daughter Alyza founded the organization that provided regular classes and events to educate people about Jewish legal issues. The event to announce the opening of the organization, attended by 200 people, was the first kosher dinner served in the Supreme Court.

Six Dead, 15 wounded In Crash Involving Egged Bus Full Of Chareidim On Highway 1

At least six  people have R”L been killed in a serious crash on Sunday evening. 

Dozens of emergency personnel responded to scene of the crash which involved an Egged bus and a tractor-trailer.

The bus is the Egged #402 line from Jerusalem to Bnei Brak, and was full of Chareidim.

According to the latest reports there are at least four victims pronounced dead on the scene, and at least 15 others injured – many of them critical and in serious condition.

 According to the Egged Bus Company, the truck had stopped on the side of the road, but was sticking out onto the main road, and the bus collided with the side that was sticking out.

Sources said that at least three of the fatalities were children.

The stopped truck had been hauling stone when it experienced mechanical failure, according to the driver’s brother.  The driver of the truck,  Gilo resident Rizk Zerina has been employed as a truck driver for 15 years and has been with his current employer, an Israeli firm, for the last four years. Zerina was waiting for a tow truck in the cab of his vehicle at the time of the deadly accident.

Responders who arrived on scene found bodies strewn on the ground, with others trapped inside the mangled bus.

“The place looked like a battlefield,” ZAKA spokesperson Moti Bochkin told Arutz Sheva.  “Some of them flew from the bus. Some of them were crushed to death.”

Bochkin said that the scene was shrouded in a deathly silence, similar to the aftermath of a terror attack.  The veteran ZAKA member described the accident as “one of the most serious incidents that will be engraved on my memory.”

Prime Minister Benjanim Netanyahu spoke briefly about the collision in his remarks tonight at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

“The people of Israel feel the grief of stricken families, whether by terror or as we’ve had today, a horrific accident, road accident and we send our condolences to the families of those killed, and of course our hopes for the speedy recovery of the wounded.”

לפחות חמישה הרוגים וכ-20 פצועים 

בתאונה בין אוטובוס למשאית בכביש 1

לפחות 6 בני אדם נהרגו וכ-15 בני אדם נפצעו היום (ראשון) בדרגות שונות בתאונת דרכים שאירעה
 בין משאית לאוטובוס סמוך למחלף ענבה שמחבר בין כביש 1 לכביש 431 - כך עולה מדיווח ראשוני שהתקבל במד"א. מגן דוד אדום הכריז על אירוע רב-נפגעים ויש ככל הנראה לכודים בשני כלי הרכב.

חמישה צוותי כיבוי הוזעקו לתאונת הדרכים שאירעה בין מחלף לטרון למחלף ענבה. כוחות משטרה והצלה הגיעו למקום. בעקבות התאונה נחסם כביש 1 לכיוון מערב, ממחלף לטרון למחלף ענבה. עומסי תנועה כבדים מורגשים באזור. ובאגף התנועה ממליצים לנהגים לפנות לדרכים חלופיות.

יחיאל מילר, מתנדב באיחוד הצלה שהיה בסמוך לזירה כשאירעה התאונה, סיפר: "מדובר בזירה קשה עם מעורבות אוטובוס שכככל הנראה התנגש במשאית בצד הדרך. למרבה הצער כשהגעתי לזירה נתקלתי בילד ושתי ילדות ללא הכרה וללא דופק ונשימה. כמו כן מספר מבוגרים שאיבדו את ההכרה ומספר רב של נוסעים שהיו בהכרה וסבלו מחבלות ופציעות". לדבריו, יחד עם מתנדבים נוספים מיחידת האופנועים של איחוד הצלה שהגיעו לזירה, הוענק טיפול רפואי ראשוני לנפגעים

Chareidei Animals vandalize Charedi man's car for enlisting in IDF

The haredi soldier's vehicle after ultra-Orthodox extremists vandalized it on Saturday.  |  Photo credit: Courtesy of ultra-Orthodox website B'hadrei Haredim Police arrive at the scene and use crowd control measures to stop riot by ultra-Orthodox mob against recruit  • Attacks against individuals in charge of ultra-Orthodox integration into the IDF are believed to be led by the extremist animals "Jerusalem faction." Extremists Animals on Saturday vandalized and smashed the windows of a vehicle belonging to an ultra-Orthodox man serving in the IDF Military Rabbinate.  Police forces arrived at the scene and used crowd control measures to disperse the crowd and stop the rioting. Charedi men have, for years, evaded the mandatory military draft in Israel. In recent years, government efforts have been made to integrate the ultra-Orthodox into the military in various ways.  However, many within the Charedi community view this as an attack on their way of life and ostracize anyone from within the community who goes along with these efforts. Last week, a mob of ultra-Orthodox rioters pelted a military police car with stones and flipped it over in Ashdod as military police officers tried to apprehend a draft evader in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood.

Der Blatt Viciously Attacks R' Zalman Leib the Willamsburg Satmar Rebbe in an Editorial!

Just last Sunday, the Zalonie "Rabbonim"  headed by "Motorcade" Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, attacked the Litvisher Gadol, R' Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlitah in a Kol Korah and called him a "maises u'madich" and called for the burning of all R' Shteinman's Seforim! 
The Kol Korah was signed by no less than 40 Satmar "Rabbonim"

So this week, Der Bluteh, the Aroinie yiddish weekly,wrote an editorial attacking the Kol Korah, stating, that attacking any "Gadol" by name (it's apparently Ok to curse Gedoilim by only hinting who they are)
is not the tradition  "we accepted from our Rabbis"

So now it's all out war between the dueling brothers, one of whom is the "Rabbi of the entire Jewish people!"  

Here is a translation of part of the editorial (loose translation):

"Last week, in the Chariedishe streets, there appeared a Kol Korah under the heading 
"Daas Torah from the Rabbonim Geoinim, students of our Holy Rabbi, R' Yoel Teitelbaum z"l"
 that personally attacked the elderly Litvisher leader of Degel Ha'torah party, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlitah. 

The Kol Korah started with a verse from the Torah that called a renegade Rabbi  a "meises u'madiach" and ended with asking the Chareidie community to ostracize him and to burn his seforim!

We don't have to explain to anyone, that the difference between the Haskafois of the above mentioned leader (R' Shteinman)  and the Hashkafois of the Jewish Chareidie world that doesn't kow tow to the Zionists, is as far as east to west. 
But 
to falsify and to shame the shita'h  of  our Rabbi, the Baal Divrei Yoel z"l and other Gedoilei Yisroel that fought against the Zionist plague and all the religious parties, is also as far as east to west. 

To dress up the Kol Korah under the heading of "The students of our Holy Rabbi R' Yoel Teitelbaum" as if this personal attack was how the Rebbi previously acted and was his modus operandi , is  a chutzpeh and an insult to his memory...

The history of our war against Zionism and her parties was never to attack anyone personally in writing. As long as an Agudist Leader or a Rebbe who belonged to the Agudah behaved ok, we only attacked their respective policies but never attacked them personally , except of course if they attacked the holy SHIT'a,  then we  went on the  defense ...

For example, Reb Itche Meir Levin a"h (they wouldn't write z"l)
was the biggest instigator to recruit the post WW2 Jews to the Aguda and then had the Aguda join the first Zionist government.

Our parents told the story that when R' Itche Meir came to a visit to the USA, some people who shall remain anonymous, placed posters erev Shabbos, in the old Satmar Shul on Bedford and Ross Streets, attacking him personally.

When the Rebbe heard about it, he said that he wouldn't step into shul until those posters were removed (thru a gentile, since it was already shabbos).

In 1949, no one thought of attacking the Techbiner Rav personally, even though he had paskened that people should vote in the elections of the Zionist heretic government.

In 1982, when Rav Ovadia Yosef z"l founded the Shas party and brought the entire Sefardic population into the political kitchen of the Zionists, no one even thought to attack him personally ... as a side note, the halachic rulings of Rav Yoisef are brought down in a lot of Teshuvois even in the Heimishe Tshuvois, so the danger of  his  influence is far far greater than a 102 elderly leader that is not a poisek and his seforim are not as famous and so he isn't even a danger and students of R' Yoel z"l have nothing to fear since there is minimal chance that they would even come across his works.  

In 1989, the Ponivitzer Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Menachem Man Shach z"l founded the Degel Hatorah party and shlepped in the entire Litvisher world into Election Kitchen.  
Until he did that and as long as the litvishe were associated with the Aguda party, they were considered (by Aguda) second class citizens and when election time came, they stayed in Yeshiva learning. 
But since 1989, they got caught in the election fever under the leadership of Rav Shach and no one posted a Kol Korah against him personally! 

I will skip to the following Paragraph:

How many battles did we fight against the last Lubavitcher Rebbe z"l over his "Miracle-campaign" during the 6 day war, when he praised the Education Minister Zalman Shazar  stating:
"Kol HaOileh Le'gedulah Moichlim Kol Avanoisef"  (All sins are forgiven to those who are raised to a leadership position)
By the Yom Kippur war, he (Lubavitcher Rebbe) advised the government to march directly to Damascus! 
During the parsha of Entebbe  he was advocating a broader Israel. The fear should have been much greater than today's Litvisher Leader, since Williamsburg borders Crown Heights  yet no one even taught of attacking him by name!

The Editorial keeps going on and on, basically attacking the "motorcade" brother without mentioning his name of course!

The interesting point that I took from this editorial, is that the Shitah of R' Yoel z"l was that as long as you don't mention any names, you can attack anybody even if the attacked is a Rebbe or a leader of thousands of Jewish people!
It's ok to mock Gedoilei Yisroel that don't follow the SHIT'ah as long as you don't mention any names! 

Very nice!

And what's really interesting is, and I gleaned this from the editorial... that it seems that all  Gedoilie Yisroel were for the Medinah, 

Chabad protecting Satmar 

R' Zalman Leib Teitelbaum Williamsburg Satmar Rebbi is "Rabban Shel Yisroel" The Rabbi of all the Jewish People

The headline of "Der Goy", the Yiddish weekly newspaper associated with the Zalonie Satmar faction states:

(Loose Translation)

"Days of High Spiritual and Holy Awareness by Jewish Chareidim in London , Upon the Visit of the RABBI OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE, The Holy Rabbi of Satmar"

I wonder what the followers of his brother R' Aron think about this headline, that calls his younger brother R' Zalman Leib  ....
"RABBI OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE"

What sheer chutzpah to call a guy, who nobody even heard or learned one single  Halacha from (except to ban the Iphone, and Loshon Hara against Jews living in Israel), "Rabbi of the Jewish people"
Is he even a poisek? 
Who is he?
Isn't he the guy that's in secular court with his brother, fighting about real estate?

How do we measure who the Rabbi of Klall Yisroel is?
Do we measure the "Rabbi of Klall Yisroel" by how many cars he had in his motorcade, and how many traffic lights his motorcade went thru? Putting innocent lives in danger so he can get his derriere to the airport?
Do we measure the "Rabbi of Klall Yisroel" by the private jet that whisked him to London?

Or do we measure the "Rabbi of the Jewish people" by the filthy hate he spews against Eretz Yisroel and its inhabitants? 

A Message to the Anti-Zionist Frummies

Our Aliyah Chronicle

By Shmuel Katz

I overheard a comment in a conversation last week that really riled me. 

The person said that the occurrence of unnecessary deaths like that of Dafna Meir (the woman who was murdered in her home by a teen terrorist a few weeks ago) “are
part of the reason I am anti-Zionist. 

You pretend to honor her sacrifice, but really you revel in her death. I would prefer she were still alive, and I’d sacrifice some piece of dirt for her life any day.”

In the ensuing conversation, the person said that “the Holocaust was caused by Zionism”; that the State of Israel may very well be the cause of the “next Holocaust”; and that “the safest thing for Jews to do is to live inconspicuously among the nations and to focus their lives around service of G‑d,” adding, “Galus is the life support of Klal Yisrael until Mashiach. Zionism is like prematurely taking the patient off life support. There is this momentary flailing around that seems like the patient is vibrant and alive, but that’s really just a bit of adrenaline rushing through the veins of a body in its death throes.”

Every once in a while, I write an article about which all my connections who live in Israel shout “Right on!” or “Exactly!” while many of my “galus” connections call me out for being overly Zionistic and acting like a reformed smoker in a cigar shop.

I am astounded that a thinking human with even a rudimentary background in history would think this way. Zionism caused the Holocaust? How dare you!

We should live inconspicuously among the nations? Really? 

Our history for the last couple thousand years says otherwise!

 Massacre after massacre of Jewish communities doing exactly what you suggest. Greeks. Romans. Crusaders. Inquisitors. Cossacks. Arabs. The world has been wading in our blood for millennia—and most (if not all) of those massacred were simply living inconspicuously among their neighbors with lives focused on serving G‑d.

You think anti-Jewish sentiment (Arabs are also a Semitic people, so the term anti-Semitism is inaccurate) is a result of Zionism? 

Are you kidding me? 

Anti-Jewish sentiment has been around almost as long as we have been around as a people, not just the last 120 years since the beginning of Zionist thought, or even the 250 years since the advent of the Haskalah movement.

Galus is the life support of Klal Yisrael until Mashiach? 

So our many ancestors who wrote about and personally strove to make aliyah and live in EretzYisrael were simply wrong?

Rishonim and Acharonim who wrote about the importance of living here, several of whom sacrificed everything for the chance to come to Israel and have the z’chus of living here, were wrong?

There is no special holiness to the land itself? 

There is no reason to do your utmost to follow their example and endure hardship in an effort to attain the merit of YishuvHaAretz?

I have said this before, but it bears repeating. 

The State of Israel is the single largest sponsor of Torah education in all of Jewish history, outside of G‑d Himself. Not only that, but there are currently more people “focusing their lives on service of G‑d” in Israel than at any other time since the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Think about that for a second.

And back to the original thought that brought up the entire discussion: 

the assertion that Dafna Meir’s murder is something that we “revel in” and that you would trade her life for any piece of “dirt.” 

Where is your emunah? 

Where is your understanding that we have to do our best and put our fate in the hand of G‑d?

Almost 10 years ago, I wrote about the fears I had in bringing my family to Israel. I wrote about my concerns for their welfare and safety. And I wrote about how the death of my friend Jay (an attorney who was tragically killed in a one-car crash on his way home from work, leaving his wife and children behind) helped me overcome those fears, fears which I still carry with me to this day.

My friend Jay died a tragic death. Why? 

Because G‑d decided it was Jay’s time to go. We are all destined to die. And while we must do everything in our power to limit risk to ourselves and secure our safety, it is ultimately in G‑d’s hands whether or not we make it through the day and year. It is one of the main themes of the Yamim Nora’im, the fact that G‑d determines what will happen to us.

Dafna Meir was not killed by Zionism. 

She was not killed because our existence in a neighborhood where all our neighbors despise us incited murderous plots. 

She was killed because those who hate us will always hate us and seek our blood. Period.

And you, the person, living in the Five Towns, who prompted my ire, you are a self-deriding, self-justifying, apologetic “Diaspora Jew” who must criticize those who strive to achieve the Kedushah of EretzYisrael rather than face the truth in the mirror. 

And that truth is simply this: 

You revel in hating the State of Israel and the people who are Zionists because you are comfortable in your little cocoon of galus there in America.

While I understand that aliyah is not a practical possibility for everyone, I also know that it is a dream that we should all have. It should be painful for those who are in galus to celebrate the second day of chag on the yamim tovim.

 It should be painful for those in galus to know that they are missing out on mitzvot of EretzYisrael (even if they are at this time not Torah obligations, but rabbinic). 

It should be painful for you to only have Birkat Kohanim on chagim. 

It should be painful not to be able to observe Shemittah, terumah, etc.

Your assertion that we have brought this upon ourselves is an affront to the memories of our ancestors and the thousands of people who volunteered to give their lives so that Jews could have a place where they could attempt to live free from persecution. 

We may still be short of that goal, but at least we are trying. And I would rather do that than be like you and bury my head in the sand.

Shmuel Katz is the executive director of Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah (www.migdalhatorah.org), a new gap-year yeshiva. Shmuel, his wife Goldie, and their six children made aliyah in July of 2006. Before making aliyah, he was the executive director of the Yeshiva of South Shore in Hewlett. You can contact him at shmu@migdalhatorah.org.

Tzipi Hotevely- Deputy Foreign Minister being interviewed by Al Jazeera International

Tzipi Hotovely is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Likud, and as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2015. Hotovely is a doctorate student at the Faculty of Law in Tel Aviv University, She frum.

Monsey: Wesley Hills couple killed in murder-suicide

It seems that the couple were not "me'shalunie" 
Looks like there are still some "goyim" left in Monsey .... Who knew?
The Developers will now be able to build another 50 units!

 A couple is dead after a murder-suicide at a home this morning,  Ramapo police said.

Ramapo Police Chief Brad Weidel said officers responded to a report of gunshots around 2 Deerwood Road at 7:11 a.m. Police said the man shot his wife while she was in bed then shot himself on the home's back porch.

The woman was dead at the scene and the man died while en route to a hospital, Weidel said.

Police have not released the couple's names because relatives were still being notified of the deaths.

Investigators from the Rockland County Bureau of Criminal Investigation are also on the scene.

Malcolm Hoenlein Meets With Turkish President Erdogan

  Delegation led by close Netanyahu associate Malcolm Hoenlein invited to meet with the Turkish president at the presidential palace in Ankara; Israeli, Turkish teams to meet in Geneva to discuss reconciliation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a rare meeting on Tuesday in Ankara with a delegation of 20 American Jewish leaders, an indication the normalization of ties with Israel is closer than ever before.

The delegation was led by chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, Malcolm Hoenlein, a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, the president of the Jewish community in Turkey, was also present at the meeting.

The meeting marked the first time the Turkish president met with American Jewish leaders since his confrontation in front of Shimon Peres at Davos in January of 2009, after Operation Cast Lead.

As part of Erdogan's campaign to prepare the Turkish public for reconcliation with Israel, his office reported on the meeting and released photographs and video footage of it.

Delegation leader Hoenlein was reportedly asked by senior Israeli officials to convey messages to Erdogan about reconciliation talks between the two countries.

"We discussed a variety of issues," he said after the meeting. "We talked about the opportunity for reconciliation. Erdogan raised specific issues, including the fight against extremists, the war on terrorism and the role of Turkey and Iran in the region. We were there as representatives of the American Jewish leadership. We consulted with Israel before the meeting but it is not true to say that we conveyed messages from Israel. We discussed the concerns of all parties, including Israel."

Erdogan meets with Jewish leaders

  

When asked about the meeting with Erdogan, Netanyahu said: "Malcolm met with many leaders. I'd love to hear what the Turks had to say to him. We aspire for normalization with all our neighbors, but it is always a two-way street."

The Israeli and Turkish negotiating teams were expected to hold another meeting in Geneva in an effort to complete talks on the reconciliation agreement between the two countries. So far, understandings were reached on most issues, although disagreements remained on conditions set by Turkey regarding the blockade of Gaza, and Israel's demands regarding Hamas activities on Turkish soil.

The negotiations on Israel's behalf are still led by new Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who was was still the national security advisor when talks began, and Netanyahu's envoy Joseph Ciechanover.  

Over the last few days, Israel has sent a message to Hamas via the Turks, warning them against terrorist attacks using tunnels. Israel also made it clear to the Turks that if Hamas does use its tunnels to launch attacks in Israel, the IDF will retaliate with great force. Israel is banking on the fact that the Turks do not want an escalation at this time, and could persuade Hamas to restrain itself.

Hillary loses New Hampshire by 22 % but gets 2 more delegates than Bernie ????

Do you know that Bernie Sanders is the first Jewish candidate to win a major presidential primary?  

You hadn't heard that? 

 Here's the point: 

Hillary Clinton tried to stop the first African-American from being elected president.  Now she's trying to stop the first Jewish-American from being elected president.  What a bigot! Doesn't Mrs. Clinton realize she should get out of the way and let these minorities finally have their shot at things? 

She tried to stop the first black president; he won.  Now she's trying to stop the first Jewish president, and he just mopped the floor with her. 

 Do you want to know how screwed up the Democrat primary is?  

Hillary lost in New Hampshire... I don't even know if Bernie knows this yet.  If he doesn't know, somebody's gonna have to tell him.  Hillary Clinton loses by 22 points and got two more delegates than Bernie Sanders did last night.  

I'm not kidding you. This is from The Daily Caller:

"Though Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary in a landslide over Hillary Clinton, he will likely receive fewer delegates than she will. Sanders won 60% of the vote, but thanks to the Democratic Party’s nominating system, [Bernie Sanders] leaves the Granite State with at least 13 delegates while [Hillary] leaves with at least 15 delegates." 

Now, what kind of system is that?  

You go in and you get skunked, you get schlonged, you get landslid'd out by 22 points -- and you leave the state with two more delegates than Bernie.  

Bernie's always talking about how this system's rigged and that system's rigged and everything else, the economy's rigged and Wall Street's rigged.  Wait 'til he finds out that New Hampshire was rigged.  

His reaction is gonna be, "Wait a minute! I got 60% of the vote; she got 38% of it. What do you mean, I got two fewer delegates?"  

New Hampshire has 24 pledged delegates which are allotted based on the popular vote.  Sanders has 13; Clinton has nine.  There are two currently allotted to neither, but under committee rules, DNC rules, New Hampshire has eight superdelegates, and Hillary owns them.   Don't you just love it?