History made as Arab Israeli Ra’am party joins Bennett-Lapid coalition

 

Ringed by flashing cameras in a luxury hotel in Ramat Gan, conservative Islamist Ra’am chief Mansour Abbas made history on Wednesday night as the first Arab Israeli party leader in half a century to sign a deal to sit in a coalition government.

“This is the first time that an Arab party is part of the process of forming a government. We of course hope that it works and that a government will rise after four rounds of elections,” Abbas said.

Even before Ra’am announced it was signing on, the nascent coalition was widely regarded as the widest in the country’s history, uniting parties from the left to the pro-settlement right aimed at deposing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud faction.

To make it happen, Yamina chief Naftali Bennett and centrist Yesh Atid leader Yair Atid agreed to a rotation scheme, with Bennett becoming Prime Minister for the first two years.

Despite the wide spectrum of views in the so-called “change government,” Abbas said that he had agreed on numerous plans and budgets in Arab Israeli society with his counterparts in the constellation of parties seeking to topple Netanyahu.

“We have reached a critical mass of agreements in various fields that serves the interest of Arab society and that provide solutions for the burning issues in Arab society — planning, the housing crisis, and of course, fighting violence and organized crime,” Abbas said.

Abbas promised that many of the benefits would flow to the Negev region in southern Israel. Ra’am’s base is among the traditional Bedouin communities in the Negev desert.

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Italian artist sells invisible statue for 15,000 euros

 

Forgedabout the seller .....Can I meet the buyer? 

Genius or scammer? Social networks are divided before a news that, although it seems incredible, has happened in Italy: an artist has sold an invisible statue for 15,000 euros. His name is Salvatore Garau and he has managed to auction his “work” for an amount that many consider crazy. However, he defends his creation tooth and nail.

The artist explained that “the success of the auction confirms an irrefutable fact: the void is nothing more than a space full of energy, even if we empty it and there is nothing left, according to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle that nothing has a weight. It therefore has an energy that is condensed and transformed into particles, that is to say, into us “. The ‘Io sono’ certificate of authenticity. (Art-Rite Auctions)

The supposed sculpture is titled ‘Io sono’ (‘I am’) and its new owner will be able to demonstrate his new possession by means of a certificate of guarantee, which attests to its authenticity. Afterwards, you can place it where you deem appropriate, although the artist points out that it needs a space free of obstructions to house its dimensions: 150 x 150 centimeters.

alvatore Garau has previously exhibited other intangible works. In February 2021 he placed a piece entitled ‘Buddha in contemplation’ in the Plaza Della Scala, in Milan. As in this case, you couldn’t see anything, since it was another invisible statue, although a marked box appeared on the ground where, apparently, his work of art was placed.

He plans to “place” seven invisible statues in as many cities around the world

The artist assures that “when I decide to ‘exhibit’ an immaterial sculpture in a given space, that place will concentrate a certain quantity and density of thoughts at a precise point, creating a sculpture that from my title will only take the most varied forms. After all, don’t we shape a God we’ve never seen? ”

Garau has more projects for the future, as he explained to the Art-Rite auction house who sold his work: 

“In May, the immaterial sculpture ‘Aphrodite cries’ will be ‘exhibited’ in the heart of New York, in front of Federal Hall (where G. Washington, the first president of the United States was elected) and a few steps from the Stock Exchange. It will be the third of the seven that I will place in as many cities of the world. Seven because it is the spiritual number par excellence and has a special value in all the great religions, Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Buddhist. Spirituality has always fascinated me, although in contemporary art it is a subject that does not seem to have great appeal, but to me, right now, it seems revolutionary “.

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Ohio football coach forces kosher player to eat pork as punishment

 

A member of an Ohio high school football team who keeps kosher was forced to eat pork as a punishment.

The father of a MicKinley Senior High School junior told News 5 Cleveland that his son, who is kosher, was forced by the team’s coach to eat a whole pepperoni pizza in front of the rest of the team as a punishment.

“The coach had a pork pizza as a penalty for this child not showing up for practice,” said the boy’s father’s attorney Edward Gilbert. “What’s interesting is everyone on the team knows this child will not eat pork.”

According to Gilbert the teen had missed the practice after a May 20 injury. When he returned to the team on May 24, the coach forced him to sit in the middle of the gym in a chair and eat a whole pepperoni pizza with the entire team watching. If he did not do so, his teammates would have to run extra drills and he would face the possibility of being kicked off the team.

According to CantonRep.com the player told the coach at least 10 times that he did not eat pork because his family keeps kosher.

The team should have realized that he didn’t eat pork because he participated in previous team meals.

The boy’s father said that the family has not consumed pork since they began to keep kosher in 2013.

News 5 was told by a Canton City School District that the team’s coach Marcus Wattley and seven assistant coaches have been placed on paid administrative leave.

Gilbert said that communications with the school and superintendent did not result in a satisfactory resolution. They plan to file a lawsuit against the district for violating the boy’s first amendment rights, reported CantonRep.com.

The Canton City School District released a statement on Facebook. 

“The incident calls into question whether appropriate team management, discipline, and player accountability infrastructures are in place,” they stated. 

They are nearing the completion of an investigation into the incident, at which point they will provide more information.

“Let us be clear, the Canton City School District holds all staff to the highest professional and ethical standards. Anything short of these standards is unacceptable,” they said. “As educators, we are united in the pursuit of creating an inclusive and safe learning environment for our students in the classroom and beyond.”

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Massive Fire at Iran's Oil Refinery

 

 A massive fire broke out Wednesday night at the oil refinery serving Iran’s capital, sending thick plumes of black smoke over Tehran. It wasn’t immediately clear if there were injuries.

The fire struck the state-owned Tondgooyan Petrochemical Co. to the south of Tehran, said Mansour Darajati, the director-general of the capital’s crisis management team.

Firefighters believe it struck a pipeline for liquefied petroleum gas at the facility, Darajati told Iranian state television. He did not elaborate.

Associated Press journalists in central Tehran, some 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) away, could see the black smoke rise in the distance. Another AP journalist saw flames shooting into the sky from the site.

Mojtaba Khaledi, the spokesman for Iran’s emergency department, told the semiofficial ISNA news agency that 10 ambulances and other equipment had been deployed at the scene of the fire. Hospitals in the area are on standby as well, he said.

It wasn’t immediately clear what started the blaze. Temperatures in Tehran reached nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. Hot summer weather in Iran has caused fires in the past.

The blaze came the same day a fire struck the largest warship in the Iranian navy, which later sank in the Gulf of Oman.

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America is over. I’m moving to Israel

 

by Rea Bochner

Last week, I watched John Oliver, one of America’s best-known comedy news hosts, take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I’ve watched him many times before (the Joe Exotic episode is a favorite) and I’m a fan. But his maligning of Israel as a perpetrator of war crimes or his distortion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict horrified me.

Because that was when I realized that everything I’d learned about Jewish History was true. 

I’m no expert on the subject, but after 15 years of self-study, I’ve drawn a few conclusions:

The 3,000-plus-year existence of the Jewish people is essentially a stretch of pogroms, expulsions, rapes, mutilations, public burnings, forced conversions, vandalization of property, demonization in the press, kangaroo courts, and the largest systematized genocide in the history of mankind. Sure, we’ve had our peaceful stretches, but they were commercial breaks, not the regularly scheduled program

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Did Gantz Sell Out Israel? Ganz made Deal with Biden for settlement freeze'

A senior settlement leader has accused Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz of cutting a deal with the Biden administration to block Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria.

In a statement released Wednesday morning, Gush Etzion Regional Council head Shlomo Ne’eman said Gantz had already begun to impose the de facto building freeze in Judea and Samaria.

“Benny Gantz has made a deal with the Biden administration to freeze construction in Judea and Samaria and is already implementing the move in practice," said Ne'eman.

“This move crosses one of the strongest red lines amongst the national camp.”

For the past five months the Council of Higher Planning has not met to discuss construction plans in Judea and Samaria. It is Defense Minister Benny Gantz who is preventing the committee from meeting.

“Over the past several weeks the authorities in Judea and Samaria along with the Yesha Council made a humble appeal to Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Gantz to hold a “small” committee meeting, not for major planning but in order to deal with small changes to existing master plans. However our request was completely rejected by Benny Gantz."

“The same Benny Gantz who frequently accuses Netanyahu of deceitful politics is pursuing an independent policy without the prime minister’s knowledge. It turns out that Gantz agreed to a construction freeze with the Biden Administration, even though the new government hasn’t even been formed.”

Ne’eman urged Yamina chief Naftali Bennett and New Hope chairman Gideon Sa’ar not to form a unity government, which Ne'eman argued would empower Gantz to pursue the settlement freeze.

“Naftali Bennett and Gideon Sa'ar, did you think you would run the country? You promised to adhere to ideological red lines of the national camp in the government that is currently being formed. Just know that your defense minister thinks differently and is acting differently. Benny Gantz claims - behind closed doors that he, and only he will be at the head of the political echelons when it comes to what happens in Judea and Samaria. Gantz has already made a deal with the administration in Washington behind the back of the prime minister to implement an Obama-style freeze, which at the time was unprecedented.”

“Neither Bennett nor anyone else will be the liaison with the Americans on construction in Judea and Samaria, only I will decide on policy there.”

“These are his words, and this is how Gantz has been acting for the last several months. To the parties on the right and to the New Hope Party you should know that this move crosses one of the strongest red lines amongst the national camp. You are forming a government that is slated to abuse the Judea and Samaria enterprise, including half a million Israelis living there! You were wrong! But it’s not too late to fix it. Stand at the head of your camp, the national camp. Stand by your principles for the next four and a half years. It is completely in your hands, if you still believe in those principles of course.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the Blue and White party signed a coalition deal with Yesh Atid.

Under the agreement, Benny Gantz will retain the Defense Ministry in the new government.

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How Bennett Flip Flops every Single Day

 You don't have to understand Hebrew to get it 

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Isaac Herzog elected as 11th President of Israel

 Isaac Herzog, the chairman of the Jewish Agency and former chief of Israel's Labor Party, was elected President of Israel Wednesday.

Israel's parliament voted in a secret ballot Wednesday, beginning at 11:00 a.m. and ending just after noon.

Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin formally opened the special session Wednesday morning, as the candidates made their way to the Knesset plenum.

Israel Prize laureate, bereaved mother, and educator Miriam Peretz faced off against Herzog, the son of Israel’s Sixth President, Chaim Herzog.

After the secret ballots are cast by the Knesset’s 120 MKs, Knesset officials counted the votes, while the plenum session reconvened.

Herzog bested Peretz by a wide margin, receiving 87 votes to Peretz's 26, the Knesset announced Wednesday afternoon. Six MKs abstained from the vote.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) congratulated Herzog in a statement shortly after the results were released.

"I congratulate my friend, Isaac 'Bougie' Herzog on his election as President of the State of Israel. A worthy and wonderful man who is always focused on the good of the country and the Jewish people. Good luck Mr. President!"

"I also congratulate Miriam Peretz, she will forever be president of the hearts of our people."

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Teenage girl fights off bear to rescue dogs

 

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US antisemitism far worse than reported, says Malcolm Hoenlein

 

Antisemitism in the United States is even more pervasive than it appears, Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said Monday.

“It’s worse because the majority of incidents are not reported,” Hoenlein told The Times of Israel at a meeting with staff in Jerusalem alongside the Conference’s chair Dianne Lob and CEO William Daroff.

“We get reports all the time of it. I see it not only in my own community but from rabbis who call me and others. And often the police will not classify it as a hate crime because then the FBI has to come in, and the FBI doesn’t necessarily want to because it’s a lot of paperwork et cetera… But they’re encountering more hostility and the vast majority of incidents don’t go reported even though the number of reports is increasing sharply.”

There has been a drastic spike in antisemitism across the US surrounding the recent conflict in Israel and Gaza.

In New York City, amid dueling pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian rallies earlier in May, Jews were assaulted in the street. In the days following, Jews across New York posted on social media about being threatened, harassed or otherwise attacked for being Jewish. Synagogues in Florida, Illinois and Arizona were targeted. Two antisemitic incidents were caught on video in Los Angeles.

The antisemitic incidents have led some to refrain from wearing Jewish symbols publicly out of fear of being attacked.

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is the umbrella body on international and national issues for 52 US Jewish organizations.

“Antisemitism has really shaken up our community,” Hoenlein emphasized. “The sense of insecurity is pretty widespread, even among sectors that felt that they were not vulnerable to what Orthodox Jews were subject to, in terms of attacks on them because they were visible. Now we’ve seen it everywhere, people being stopped and asked, ‘Are you a Jew?’”

Calling it “pervasive across the country,” Hoenlein said that he is seeing the effects of antisemitism and hatred of Israel in academia, in politics, and in the media.

“We have Jewish members of faculties who are finding themselves and their jobs being put in danger because of being identified as pro-Israel, or not joining the anti-Israel onslaught,” he said.

In the political realm, Hoenlein pointed to New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, who tweeted in support of Israel and condemned Hamas.

Under pressure from local pro-Palestinian activists and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Yang issued a retraction, saying that “my tweet was overly simplistic in my treatment of a conflict that has a long and complex history full of tragedies.” He added that he “failed to acknowledge the pain and suffering of both sides.”