New Roads Pave Way For Massive Growth Of Israeli Settlements

 

In the coming years, Israelis will be able to commute into Jerusalem and Tel Aviv from settlements deep inside the West Bank via highways, tunnels and overpasses that cut a wide berth around Palestinian towns.

Rights groups say the new roads will set the stage for explosive settlement growth, even if the incoming U.S. administration somehow convinces Israel to curb housing construction. The costly infrastructure projects signal that Israel intends to keep large swaths of the occupied territory in any peace deal and would make it even harder to establish a viable Palestinian state.

“This is not another hundred housing units there or here,” said Yehuda Shaul, an Israeli activist who has spent months researching and mapping out the new projects. “This is de facto annexation on steroids.”

Construction already is underway on a huge tunnel that Shaul says will one day allow settlers from Maale Adumim, a sprawling settlement east of Jerusalem, to drive into the city and onward to Tel Aviv without passing through a military checkpoint or even hitting a traffic light.

South of Jerusalem, work is underway to expand the main highway leading to the Gush Etzion settlement bloc and settlements farther south, with tunnels and overpasses designed to bypass Palestinian villages and refugee camps.

Palestinians will be allowed to drive on many of the new roads, but the infrastructure will be of limited use to them because they need permits to enter Israel or annexed east Jerusalem.

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Crispy Latkes In Time for Chanukah .....

Making crispy potato latkes is a skill every Jewish cook wants to master. It’s not a big secret — it just requires a few easy steps to ensure crispy, golden latkes every time. And we’ve got a short video to show you exactly how:

Classic Potato Latkes Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 large potatoes, peeled • 1 small onion • 2 eggs lightly beaten • ¼ cup bread crumbs, matzah meal or flour • 1½ tsp coarse salt (1 tsp if using kosher salt) • freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1) Grate potatoes coarsely or finely, according to your preference. Finely grate the onion.

2) Place grated potatoes and onion in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze tightly until all of the liquid is strained.

3) Place the strained potatoes and onion in a large bowl and add the eggs, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.

4) Heat the 1-inch of oil in a large pan and drop 6 to 8 spoonfuls of mixture into hot oil. Using the back of a spoon, pat down each latke to flatten it. Put as many as you can in the skillet without crowding. Putting them too close together will make them soggy.

5) Fry 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp around the edges; repeat procedure until finished with all the batter.

6) Blot excess oil with paper towels and serve warm with desired topping.

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Incredible 180-year-old photos reveal Rome's ancient treasures before hordes of selfie-snapping visitors ruined the historic views

 

A collection of photographs thought to be among the oldest ever taken of Rome have emerged for sale at auction for a jaw-dropping £120,000.

The group of 78 images date back to between 1840 and 1860 and were taken by some of the most pioneering photographers of the time.

They feature historic and ancient sites still instantly recognisable to tourists today, such as the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain.

The iconic locations have barely changed in the 180 years since they were taken, meaning the pictures look as though they could have been taken yesterday.

They have been amassed over a number of years by a European couple who collect antique photographs.

Now they are to go under the hammer with auctioneers Lempertz of Cologne in Germany.

Specialists there have given the set a combined estimate of around €130,000 (£118,000) and are expecting a huge level of interest.

Among the standout shots are several of the Colosseum taken from both inside and out.

The Roman Forum also features heavily as well as a number of churches, palaces and squares.

The pictures were taken by some of the earliest professional photographer, acting less than a decade after photography was invented.

They included Giacomo Caneva, Frédéric Flachéron, Eugène Constant, James Anderson and Robert Macpherson.

Many of them were already wealthy and visited Rome as part of their European grand tours.

They would have sold the prints of their photos to equally wealthy clients, ranging from travellers to art lovers.

Maren Klinge, a photography expert at the auction house, said: 'This collection is indeed something very special.

'The couple were very selective in their approach and only included material in their collection that met their high standards of quality.

'Because of the photographers represented in it and the different photographic techniques it offers a representative overview of the early period of Italian photography.

'The great rarity of the works should also be mentioned. The works date back to the early days of the medium, and most of the photographic production of these years has not been preserved.

'What also distinguishes this collection as a whole is the extraordinarily good condition of the prints.

'In general, prints from the early days of photography often show traces of usage or damages due to their age but in this respect the collection is truly remarkable.'

The sale takes place on December 7.  

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Isaac Newton's Notes on the Secrets of the Pyramids are Set to be Auctioned Off ... Newton Tried To Figure out the Dimensions of the Bais Ha'Mikdash

 

Recently uncovered notes reveal that Isaac Newton attempted to uncover the secrets of the pyramids in Egypt while proving his theory of gravity. 

The unpublished notes, thought to have been written in the 1680s and only discovered 200 years after Newton's death, are now being sold by Sotheby's and are expected to go for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Bidding closes on Tuesday. 

Newton, who studied the pyramids in the late 17th century while at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, believed that finding out how the pyramids were made would unlock other secrets about the world. 

He was desperately trying to work out the unit of measurement the ancient Egyptians used while making the pyramids. 

Newton believed the Egyptians had been able to measure the Earth and believed that if he found how they had measured the pyramids, he would also be able to measure the world's circumference.   

The notes appear burnt around the edges, which allegedly happened after his dog, Diamond, jumped on to a table and tipped over a candle. 

Sotheby's manuscript specialist, Gabriel Heaton, told the Observer: 'These are really fascinating papers because you can see Newton trying to work out the secrets of the pyramids.  

Newton also tried to uncover secrets in the Bible and hoped to be able to find the dimensions of the Temple of Solomon.

He was forced to keep his obsession with alchemy, turning and unorthodox religious beliefs a secret or he would risk losing his career. 

And even though his respected reputation relied on his mathematical discoveries, Newton was more interested in alchemy and theology. 

Manuscripts on these topics were found at Sotheby's in 1936 and some were bought by economist John Maynard Keynes, who described Newton as 'the last of the magicians'. 

Mr Heaton added: 'The idea of science being an alternative to religion is a modern set of thoughts. Newton would not have believed that his scientific work could undermine religious belief. 

'He was not trying to disprove Christianity - this is a man who spent a long time trying to establish the likely time period for the biblical apocalypse. That's why he was so interested in the pyramids.' 

The papers are expected to go to a private collector but libraries may also place bids. 

Mr Heaton added that scientific books and manuscripts have seen the biggest growth in sales.  

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Teachers in San Diego are forced to attend 'white privilege' training ... Are told they're racist and to accept the US is built on stolen land

 

DIN: I have to laugh... these same fools are for open borders, correct?

So if you are for "open borders' then why wasn't ok for the early white settlers to come to North America? I don't get it..

Open Borders is only ok for Mexican rapists and murderers? Open borderes for Arab Muslim refugees that want to reshape American and Western society?

So when whites decide to settle in land in the Americas that's not ok ..?

Hey ... and who did the Indians living in America steal the land from? 

They were "indigenous"? I don't think so... 

Teachers in San Diego are reportedly being required to attend a 'white privilege' training in which they are asked to commit to becoming 'anti racist' and acknowledge that they meet on stolen land taken from Indigenous peoples.

According to documents shared by journalist Christopher F. Rufo, the training is mandatory for all teachers within the San Diego Unified School District.

As part of the training, the teachers are told to discuss how they would feel if they were told: 'You are racist.'

Teachers were also asked to discuss how they'd feel if they were told: 'You are upholding racist ideas, structures, and policies.'

The documents, which were leaked by Rufo, show the outline of the discussion and the talking points, including how teachers must become 'anti racist' activists'. 

In order to do this, teachers have to 'confront and examine [their] white privilege,' acknowledge 'white fragility' and 'teach others to see their privilege'.

During the session, instructors inform teachers that they will experience 'guilt, anger, apathy [and] closed-mindedness' due to their 'white fragility'. 

In addition to the aforementioned, the seminar also included a section on 'land acknowledgement'.

'We acknowledge that we meet on stolen land, taken from Indigenous peoples. I am speaking to you from Kumeyaay land. We must acknowledge the hidden history of violence against Indigenous peoples in an effort to move towards justice,' one slide reads. 

The acknowledgement was referring to the Kumeyaay tribe of Indigenous peoples who were forced off their ancestral lands. They lived at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the US. 

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Rare, Engraved Menorah Discovered on Tomb Façade Could Date back to the Hasmonean Era

 

Still waiting for a drawing that depicts the Lubavitch/ Rambam Menorah ....

In the 1980s, during a survey initiated by the Staff Office for Archaeology in Judea and Samaria, a graffito of a seven-branched menorah at the entrance to a tomb on the outskirts of the Arab village of Mukhmas was discovered. The finding was archived at the Staff Office Archaeology Unit and has been brought to light by Dr. Dvir Raviv, of Bar-Ilan University's Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, most recently in a paper published in the archaeology and history journal In the Highland's Depth.

The menorah engraving found in Mukhmas dates back to the period between the Hasmonean era and the Bar-Kokhba revolt, and is considered a rare and unique find, as decorative use of the Temple menorah was rare during this period.

Drawing of the facade 

The most prominent examples found to date include depictions of the menorah on coins of the Hasmonean ruler Mattathias Antigonus, on objects and remnants from Jerusalem, on a stone table in Magdala north of Tiberias, and on the Arch of Titus in Rome.

The use of a menorah to decorate the façades of Jewish tombs was quite common in ancient times, but this is only the second time that a menorah has been discovered on a Jewish tomb from the period preceding the Bar-Kokhba revolt. A long-known example is Jason's Tomb in Jerusalem, from the Hasmonean period, with small, schematic carvings on the walls of the entrance vestibule, unlike the large, decorated menorah discovered on the façade of the Mukhmas tomb.

The menorah engraving in the village of Mukhmas resembles paintings of two seven-branched menorot documented in the al-'Aliliyat caves, a group of caves nearby that served as a hiding place and refuge during the Second Temple period and the days of the Jewish revolts against Rome.

Due to the rare use of the menorah as an artistic decoration from the Second Temple period until the Bar-Kokhba revolt, and based on the contexts in which the menorot of this period were discovered, it has been suggested that the menorah may have been a motif related to the Temple and the priesthood that served in it during this time.

The depictions of menorot found on the outskirts of Mukhmas and the mention of Mikhmas (currently the village of Mukhmas) in the Mishnah as the place from which selected semolina wheat was brought to the Temple (Mishnah Menahot 8:1) may indicate that a priestly population lived there during the Second Temple period. Additionally, Mikhmas is mentioned as the dwelling place of Jonathan the Hasmonean, where he began to establish his status in Judea after the death of his brother Judah Maccabee (1 Maccabees 9:73).

"Jonathan's choice of the town as the base from which to consolidate his control of Judea may have been linked to the location of Mikhmas in a densely-populated area of Jews who supported the Hasmoneans during the years of the revolt," says Dr. Raviv. "Due to the difficulty in determining the exact date of the menorah’s graffito and the scarcity of explicit references to priests in Mikhmas during the Second Temple period, it is possible that a group reached the site only after the destruction of the Temple and lived there during the period between the revolts," he concluded.

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Georgia CongressDreck Hank Johnson Who Called Jews "termites" Campaigns For DemocRAT Senate Candidates in Georgia

Two Democratic candidates for Senate seats in Georgia held a campaign event over the weekend with a congressman who sparked controversy for calling Israeli Jews “termites”.

On Saturday, Democratic Senate hopefuls Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock held a “drive-in” campaign event in Conyers, Georgia, according to a website used by the Georgia Democratic Party’s get out the vote operation.

Warnock and Ossoff were reportedly joined by Georgia Congressdreck Hank Johnson, who represents Georgia’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes Conyers.

In 2016, Johnson was accused of anti-Semitism, after he called Jews living in Judea and Samaria “termites”, and accused Israeli Jews of stealing Arab land.

“There has been a steady [stream], almost like termites can get into a residence and eat before you know that you’ve been eaten up and you fall in on yourself, there has been settlement activity that has marched forward with impunity and at an ever increasing rate to the point where it has become alarming,” Johnson said at an event for the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, an anti-Israel organization which tries to gather support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

“You see one home after another being appropriated by Jewish people who come in to claim that land just because somebody did not spend the night there,” Johnson said,“The home their [Palestinian] ancestors lived in for generations becomes an Israeli home and a flag goes up,” he said, adding, “the Palestinians are barred from flying flags in their own neighborhoods.”

Johnson later apologized for what he called a “poor choice of words”, but doubled down on his criticism of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, which he said “undermine two-state solution.”

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Top Soros Employee Will get Cabinet Position in Biden Administration

 The president of George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, Patrick Gaspard, will resign, opening the way for him to take a possible position in the Biden administration.

Gaspard, who has served on the Hungarian-born billionaire’s foundation for three years, announced Friday that he will step down at the end of the year, Open Society said.

“Fundamental social change doesn’t customarily occur in a revolutionary moment. Instead, what is needed is the partnership of activists, government, and the nonprofit sector, collaborating over time and space in unity and solidarity,” he said. “This is what I worked to do at Open Society. My commitment now will be to re-enter the world of politics and ideas, where I can continue the struggle against oppression everywhere.”

Soros, a left-wing megadonor, praised Gaspard as a “champion of all rights: whether for workers, for women, or for underserved groups.”

“His dedication to those challenging power is precisely why I invited Patrick to join Open Society,” he said. “I have great admiration for the way he led the Foundations in a world beset by illiberalism, and I applaud him.”

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Vaad of Five Towns Now Gives Hashgacha on "Turkey Tushies"

Hat Tip: YS

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Biala Rebbe: Israeli Government Using COVID To Make You Forget Torah

 

Yes this is the same Biala Rebbe that goes to modern USA neighborhoods to schnoor for his "moisdois" 

He loves Teaneck and the 5 Towns where he stays by shaven "geveerim" for shabbos and holds tisch to the naive modern orthodox shmeggegies... 

He does take money from the "medina" but now it suits him to deride them ...

The Biala Rebbe slammed the Israeli government for their gezeiros shutting down schools and yeshivos, comparing their actions to those of the Yevonim in the times of the Chanukah nissim.

Speaking at the pidyon haben of his grandson, the Rebbe stressed the necessity of having a seder kavuah for learning gemarah, especially in these trying times.

In translated remarks, the Rebbe called out the government’s edicts. “We find ourselves just days before Chanukah, and just like the Yevonim, they (the Israeli government) have made laws to make you forget the Torah… They have no concern at all for [taking care of] the body, they care only for [destroying] the neshama. And like the Yevonim, their edicts apply more to batei knesios and batei medrashos than it does to their parties.”

The Rebbe noted with pride that his four and half chasidim have continued their learning despite the hardships imposed on them.

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