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Thursday, June 17, 2021
Good! Finally! Ministers to vote Sunday on formation of state inquiry into Meron disaster
Chareidim are freaking out, because they fear that their fraudulent shenanigans will come to light. Years ago the crooked askanim got the gedoilim to sign off on a "Kol Korah" that basically bashed the government for trying to take control of the security of Har Meron...
Anything under control of the chareidim is unfortunately a colossal disaster; if they cared about safety, it would haver come to this and you would think that they would welcome an inquiry... all the families of the victims want an official government investigation... that says it all!
Chareidim are great and have great organizations that help victims, but that only kicks in after a disaster, they have nothing in place to prevent a disaster.
The government should take over the site and manage it as they do the Kotel, Mearas HaMachpila and Kever Rachel.
The cabinet on Sunday will vote on a proposal to establish a state commission of inquiry into the Lag B’Omer crush at the Mount Meron pilgrimage site in April, which killed 45 people in Israel’s deadliest peacetime disaster.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman submitted the proposal on Thursday. It’s expected to be adopted unanimously by ministers, as all the coalition parties have expressed support for the investigation.
“This is an important step, aimed at preventing similar tragedies in the future,” said Gantz in a tweet on Thursday. Liberman said the investigation will yield “justice for the families and prevent the next disaster in the State of Israel.”
The government will allocate NIS 6 million ($1.8 million) in the 2021 budget for the investigation, which in addition to pinpointing those responsible for the disaster will also offer broad recommendations on how to secure and organize mass religious festivals at Israel’s holy sites in the future, according to the text of the proposal. It will be run by a retired judge, appointed by the Supreme Court president, who will submit their conclusions to the government.
The state commission of inquiry can call witnesses and compel them to testify, though the report and testimony can’t be used as evidence in criminal proceedings, according to the Israel Democracy Institute think tank.
“The advantage of a State Commission of Inquiry is the breadth and depth of the inquiry it conducts, as well as the entrenched practice that the commission makes recommendations that can be both personal and systemic, and that governments not tend to ignore its recommendations, especially ones that are produced against individuals,” according to IDI.
The new government sworn in this week, led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, has vowed to make the Meron investigation its first order of its business, after Benjamin Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners held up the formation of such an inquiry.
The Israel Police is investigating the disaster and the Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department (PIID) is examining the police response at the festival. State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman has launched his own probe of the Meron incident, though it falls short of a state commission of inquiry.
Although police are investigating, no arrests have been made and few witnesses have been questioned.
The site, the second-most visited religious site in Israel after the Western Wall, appears to have become a kind of extraterritorial zone, with separate ultra-Orthodox sects organizing their own events and their own access arrangements, with no overall supervision, and with police routinely pressured by cabinet ministers and ultra-Orthodox politicians not to object.
Former police officials have said there had been fears for years that tragedy could strike as a result of the massive crowds and lack of supervision on Lag B’Omer.
New US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides is Married to a Senior CNN Executive .. a Shiksa
In 1992, Tom Nides, a Jew, married Virginia Carpenter Moseley in an Ecumenical ceremony, and has attended church with her; it is unclear if he still practices Judaism. Nides and Moseley are parents to two children: a son and a daughter.
President Biden selected the spouse of a top CNN executive as his nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel on Tuesday, raising ethical concerns as experts feel the selection poses a "potential conflict of interest" for the liberal network.
Thomas Nides, a Morgan Stanley executive and former senior State Department official, has been nominated for the post. His wife, CNN senior vice president of newsgathering Virginia Moseley, "oversees all of CNN's breaking news coverage and domestic newsgathering," according to CNN’s website. Moseley is also responsible for "all coverage plans for the network's White House, Congressional, Justice Department, Defense, National Security reporting teams and more."
DePauw University professor and media critic Jeffrey McCall feels the situation "does present a conflict of interest" for the network.
"Israel is often the subject of breaking news and it is hard to imagine that CNN can make measured news decisions in this context," McCall told Fox News. "CNN should step forward and transparently clarify how it plans to separate Moseley from any news decision-making regarding Israel, the Middle East, and when it comes right down to it, international diplomacy generally."
CNN did not immediately respond to a series of questions, including if the network will notify viewers of the relationship and whether Moseley will be involved with news-making decisions pertaining to Israel. Nides and Moseley married in 1992 when she was a producer for CBS News.
McCall noted it's an era "in which a spouse's career trajectory shouldn't be diminished by the career of the other spouse," but "when it comes to international relations and the reporting of such, all parties need to be transparent and careful of optics" and potential conflicts.
"To the average American news consumer, this sort of appointment just confirms the suspicions that the government bureaucracy is linked with establishment media, damaging the credibility of both entities in the process," McCall said.
Lois Boynton, who teaches ethics and public relations at University of North Carolina and is a fellow in the University’s Parr Center for Ethics, agreed the appointment was alarming for CNN.
"The situation does raise concerns about conflict of interest, which is something any network must address, regardless of their trust in their personnel to be fair in determining what they cover and how they cover it," Boynton told Fox News.
Boynton noted the Radio Television Digital News Association’s code of ethics says, "Independence from influences that conflict with public interest remains an essential ideal of journalism," and recommended that news outlets be open and clear about their decisions.
"Still, there’s no guarantee that all viewers and critics will trust good-faith efforts to disclose how a news outlet decided what is most newsworthy and what is not," Boynton said.
The White House declined comment when asked if a potential conflict has been considered.
Nides, who was one of Biden's biggest campaign bundlers during his presidential run, is not the first person close to the administration with ties to CNN. Press secretary Jen Psaki and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are both former CNN pundits who joined Biden’s administration.
"CNN needs to ensure that the Moseley-Nides relationship does not impact news coverage of the Biden administration's Israel policies. There should not be a repeat of the clear conflict in having Chris Cuomo covering and interviewing his brother Gov. Andrew Cuomo," Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson told Fox News.
All of Biden’s picks are subject to a confirmation vote in the Senate.
If confirmed, Nides would become the chief U.S. diplomat to Israel at a tumultuous time for the Jewish state. Israel formed a new government this month, ousting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been an outspoken critic of the Biden administration's policies toward Iran.
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IDF strikes Syrian army outpost in Bennett government's first action in north
According to the IDF, local Hezbollah officials were seen over the past month in the outpost located near the Syrian border town of Quneitra. The officials are among those who appear to be in charge of the terror group's expansion in the region as part of its so-called "Golan Case".
The strike came after Israel attacked in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday in retaliation for the launching of balloon bombs by terror groups in the Palestinian enclave throughout the day.
The balloon attacks from Gaza came in response to the controversial flag parade in Jerusalem on Tuesday that had drawn threats of action by Hamas.
The nighttime airstrikes gave way to calm by morning, and there were no reports of casualties on either side.
"Fighter jets attacked Hamas military complexes that served as camps and meeting places for terrorist operatives in the Khan Yunis and Gaza Brigades. Terrorist activity was clearly seen in the attacked compounds,” the IDF said in a statement.
According to the Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, no less than 26 fires broke out in the western Negev on Tuesday as a result of the incendiary balloon attacks, including 15 fires that broke out in a forest adjacent to Kibbutz Be’eri.
In addition, an explosive device attached to a balloon exploded mid-air above a kindergarten in Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council.
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Lod Imam Al-Baz arrested for incitement to violence
Following his rise to notoriety during the most recent war in Gaza (Operation Guardian of the Walls), the Imam of Lod, Yussuf Al-Baz, has continued to incite against Jews and the State of Israel, leading to his arrest on Thursday.
The arrest follows a complaint submitted against Al-Baz by MK Itamar Ben Gvir (Religious Zionism), prompted by a video that Al-Baz posted on his Facebook page in which he appeared to call for the perpetration of violent acts against Israeli police officers. The video shows a civilian viciously attacking two police officers and killing them – by setting the vehicle in which they are sitting on fire. Due to the graphic and brutal nature of the video, it is not being posted here.
Next to the video, Al-Baz wrote, “Be with me. The best way to deal with injustice.”
After learning of the post, MK Ben Gvir submitted a formal complaint to the State Prosecution, alleging incitement to violence and terrorist attacks on the part of the Imam.
“We’re not talking about a minor provocation, but rather incitement at the most serious level against police officers,” Ben Gvir stated. “Such incitement is liable to cause deaths and we have to stop it before it’s too late. Sheikh Al-Baz belongs in prison. Israel Police should open an investigation against him and bring him to justice.”
Indeed, on Thursday, Al-Baz was arrested and charged with media incitement, and police are expected to request the extension of his remand.
Responding to the news of his arrest, MK Itamar Ben Gvir said: “I am delighted that the police have responded to my request. This first step – the arrest of this ‘spiritual terrorist’ – is to be welcomed. Now we have to make sure that justice is done and he is put in prison – and also ensure that he does not continue with his incitement against Jews from behind the prison walls.
“I will continue to fight against incitement to terrorism and against terrorists who come in a spiritual guise,” Ben Gvir added. “They do not deserve a single moment of peace.”
Also responding to the news of the arrest was the “Ad Kan” (Up to here and no further) organization, which said in a statement: “We submitted a complaint against the Sheikh yesterday, to the Lod police department, and we welcome the fact that Israel Police has responded so swiftly … We will continue to monitor and issue warnings to police and other relevant parties of any terrorist activity we learn of, especially that aimed against police, soldiers, or Israeli citizens.”
Ad Kan also noted that they have already compiled an entire dossier of material related to the Al-Omri mosque where Al-Baz is imam – material that reveals the mosque as having been a base of incitement during the Guardian of the Walls campaign, encouraging Lod’s Arabs to commit violent acts and challenge the rule of law.
Meanwhile, the video posted by Al-Baz remains online for all to view – thus far, Facebook has not taken it down.
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No Surprise as Congressional Black Caucus backs Ilhan Omar
Blacks as a group do not have the characteristics of having "hakaras ha'tov". Jews were in the forefront of the "civil rights" movement, they marched with them, and died for the cause.They even marched for the corrupt BLM, but because of the benevolent nature of Jews, they did everything to advance the cause of Blacks.
What did they get in return? A swift kick in the ass! Jews never learn!
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Wednesday backed Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) following her controversial comments equating the US and Israel with Hamas and the Taliban, Politico reported.
“Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is a valued Member of the Congressional Black Caucus Family, she represents a strong voice on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,” said a CBC statement quoted by the website.
“Furthermore, we appreciate her clarification of her recent remarks and find that this is another example of Republicans taking it out of context to shift the real attention from the abhorrent, disrespectful, and intemperate remarks of members of their own Conference,” it added.
Omar, who is notorious for past anti-Israel statements, caused an uproar recently when she equated Israel to Hamas and the Taliban.
On June 7, she tweeted a video of her questioning Secretary of State Antony Blinken and saying, “We must have the same level of accountability and justice for all victims of crimes against humanity.”
“We have seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban,” Omar added. “I asked Secretary Blinken where people are supposed to go for justice.”
In response, 12 of the 25 Jewish Democrats in the US House of Representatives published a statement said the grouping of the United States and Israel with the Taliban and Hamas in remarks about pursuing war crimes prosecutions gives “cover to terrorist groups” and called on Omar to clarify her earlier statements.
Omar then fired back at her Jewish colleagues and said, “It’s shameful for colleagues who call me when they need my support to now put out a statement asking for ‘clarification’ and not just call.”
“The Islamophobic tropes in this statement are offensive. The constant harassment & silencing from the signers of this letter is unbearable,” added Omar.
She later issued another clarification and claimed she had been misunderstood.
Last month, Omar called Israel's retaliations for Gazan rocket fire on civilians an "act of terrorism," but failed to condemn the rockets themselves, or Hamas' use of Gazan civilians as human shields.
She also came under fire in 2019 after she suggested on Twitter that Republicans were attacking her at the behest of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.
Omar subsequently issued a half-hearted apology before ultimately deleting the controversial tweets.
In 2019, Israel announced it would bar entry to Omar and fellow Muslim congresswoman Rashida Tlaib over their support for BDS.
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Five takeaways from the Jerusalem Flag March
1. Don't allow prophecies of doom scare you into forfeiting your values
Ahead of the march, people in Israel and around the world were urging the Israeli government to cancel the march in light of the (empty) threats issued by Hamas.
While many of those advocating for the cancellation of the march did so out of a genuine concern for the well-being of Israel, their good intentions were not synonymous with good policy.
Prophecies of doom have been a recurring theme since the founding of the State of Israel, when David Ben-Gurion decided to declare independence despite dire warnings and immense pressure against the move.
The underlying message of these prophecies is that it's better to capitulate than to risk confrontation, even if it means forfeiting our values and rewarding evil.
The current iteration of these prophets are dreadfully afraid of having Jews exercise their basic right to visit, not to mention pray, on the Temple Mount, and of Israel exercising normative sovereignty by evicting illegal squatters in the community of Sheikh Jarrah (i.e. Shimon HaTzadik) or illegal Arab villages such as Khan al-Ahmar.
The march was a strong rebuke to this defeatist kind of thinking.
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Donald Trump: American Jews don't love Israel enough
Spot on, Donald....we can only thank G-d, that he doesn't know how many frum Jewish ingrates hate Israel too...
Donald Trump expressed his disappointment with the response of American Jewry to policies he spearheaded as President, policies widely regarded as extremely beneficial to Israel.
“I did the Heights, I did Jerusalem, and I did Iran … I believe we got 25% of the Jewish vote, and it doesn’t make sense,” Trump said. “It just seems strange to me.”
Trump was referring to his administration’s decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, long sought by successive Israeli governments; to the moving of the American embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv; and to America’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal that was seen as damaging to Israel’s security. These policies were hailed in Israel with Trump considered by many as the best President for Israel in decades. However, this did not, apparently, translate into votes in US ballot boxes.
Trump suggested, later in the same interview, that this was because, “Jewish people who live in the United States don’t love Israel enough." "Does that make sense to you?," he asked.
He also noted that, “I’m not talking about Orthodox Jews” – and indeed, the increasing support for the Republican Party among the US Orthodox population has long been noted. Among non-Orthodox and non-affiliated Jews, however, support for the Democratic Party remains strong.
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The Disastrous Biden-Putin Summit Made the US Seem Weak
President Joe Biden refused a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their first summit on Wednesday to avoid a PR disaster. Yet the Moscow strongman still won the day.
Indeed, Biden actually got angrier with an American journalist than with the dictator, who used his opportunity to deny, deflect and deceive — raising his own standing at Biden’s expense.
Just a day before, off the Hawaiian coast, Russia’s Navy conducted military exercises on a scale not seen since the Cold War. The provocation cost Putin nothing: The summit ended with Biden calling the meeting’s tone “positive” and Putin declaring, “There has been no hostility.”
Yes, Biden claimed he took Putin to task for the attempted murder of critic Alexei Navalny and the imprisonment of two Americans. If Navalny dies in prison, said Biden, “I made it clear to him that the consequences of that will be devastating for Russia” — though he didn’t detail any consequences. And he said he chided Putin for letting hackers disrupt US oil supplies from Russian soil. Yet Biden insisted he’d made “no threats.”
He handed Putin a list of 16 critical infrastructure elements that should be off-limits to cyberattacks — does he then mean he’s fine with Russia or criminals operating from there striking anything else? Russia’s interference in other countries’ elections, Biden also told Putin, “diminishes” its standing. Yet Russia isn’t going to change its bad behavior in the hopes of being liked.
Putin, meanwhile, took questions for nearly an hour, turning them against America. When a US reporter asked about his ban on Navalny’s group, he pointed to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and said that “we don’t want that to happen on our territory.” Biden called that “a ridiculous comparison,” but Putin is playing to his own audience.
Biden had kicked off his chat with reporters by admitting his staff as usual “gave me a list of who I’m going to call on.” Later, he lashed out at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when she called out, “Why are you so confident [Putin will] change his behavior?”
“I’m not confident he’ll change his behavior! What the hell? What do you do all of the time?” fumed Biden.
Let’s face it: The day was not a success for Biden or for America. Putin basically mocked his counterpart — and the United States — while Biden appeared weak and unfocused. America might’ve come out stronger if there’d been no summit at all.
Miranda Devine
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How Naftali Bennett’s Kippah Stays On His Bald Head
Naftali Bennett, who took office this week, is the first prime minister in the country’s history to regularly wear a kippah, or Jewish ritual head covering. Unlike his secular predecessors, he identifies as a religious Zionist and practices Modern Orthodox Judaism, which requires men to cover their heads.
He’s also bald. That makes it a challenge to keep the small crocheted disc on the back of his head, where it’s traditionally worn. The traditional methods of securing a kippah — bobby pins and metal hair clips — are of no use to Bennett.
Yet it stays on. No matter where Bennett is — in parliament, on the campaign trail, giving a news interview — the kippah is there, mounted on his scalp, or sometimes on the thin layer of buzzed hair that surrounds his bald spot.
Appearing on a comedy talk show in 2013, when he was a freshman lawmaker, Bennett said that he uses a mixture of tape and gravity to keep the kippah on his head.
But once, he recalled, he had to give a speech outdoors in the wind and discovered that he was out of tape. So he took a piece of chewing gum (presumably ABC) and used it to glue the kippah to his head.
“I had to improvise,” he said. “So we MacGyvered it.”
Bennett doesn’t use ordinary Scotch tape. His adhesive of choice is a product invented and sold beginning in 2013 by Haim Levin, a 65-year-old bus driver living in a largely Modern Orthodox suburb of Tel Aviv.
The product, called the Kipa Keeper, is made of reusable hypoallergenic double-sided medical tape, which allows the kippah to stick to heads with little to no hair. It’s sold in packs of 40 and costs 40 shekels, about $12.50, including delivery. Levin declined to say how many he sells each year.
“It was Yom Kippur, when everyone in synagogue bows down [to the ground] and prostrates themselves, and I saw that 20 to 30% of the worshippers had their kippah fall to the floor,” Levin, himself a bald kippah-wearer, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I realized I had to come up with an idea for the kippah to stay on the head.”
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