Raphael Yaacov Blugrond Killed While Getting a Lulav

 

Reb Raphael Yaacov Blugrond, z’l, 75, who lived in the frum community in Baltimore for many years, fell to his death on Sunday night in northern Israel after apparently climbing a palm tree to pick a lulav.

The niftar was found on Road 90 between Kfar Korazim and Kfar Nachum.

MDA paramedics confirmed his death and ZAKA Northern District volunteers were called to the scene and tended to kavod hameis.

Reb Blugrond, z’l, was born and grew up in Tzfat and as an adult moved to the United States, where he lived in Baltimore for many years. He later moved back to Israel and settled in his hometown of Tzfat, where he was dedicated to the Ari shul, serving as the gabbai.

A loving father and grandfather, he left behind four children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“A 75-year-old man apparently stopped at the side of the road to pick lulavim and fell from the tree,” said ZAKA volunteer Moti Cohen.

“When we arrived at the scene, we found that man lying lifeless next to a tree behind the guardrail with multi-system injuries. A MDA paramedic could do nothing but confirm his death.”

The circumstances of the incident are being investigated by the police.

White House livestream cuts Biden mid-sentence as he goes off script

 

An official White House livestream of President Joe Biden’s remarks was abruptly cut off mid-sentence on Monday — just days after a report revealed that some White House staffers have stopped listening to him speak in public for fear he’ll veer wildly off-message.

Biden was meeting with officials in Boise, Idaho, to discuss the wildfires raging across the western United States when he turned his attention to George Geissler of the National Association of State Foresters.

“Can I ask you a question?” Biden asked. 

“Of course,” Geissler answered.

“One of the things that I’ve been working on with some others is —” Biden said before the audio and video coverage stopped without warning.

The livestream — which also included translation by an American Sign Language interpreter — was then replaced by a message that said “THANK YOU FOR JOINING,” according to a clip posted on Twitter by the research arm of the Republican National Committee.

The incident marked the latest example of the White House cutting short its online coverage of Biden, 78, who’s publicly admitted being a “gaffe machine” throughout his long political career.

Official livestreams of the president were interrupted last month, as he was about to answer a reporter’s question on his decision to withdraw the US military from Afghanistan, and in March, when he said he’d be “happy to take questions” during a virtual meeting with Democratic lawmakers, according to Fox News.

Last week, Politico reported that “many” people who work in the White House will either mute Biden or turn off live coverage of his public appearances because they’re worried he’ll take questions from reporters.

“I know people who habitually don’t watch it live for that reason,” one unidentified official reportedly said.

Biden — who has a habit of responding, sometimes angrily, to shouted questions following his public appearances — has repeatedly acknowledged that his aides have told him to stick to his prepared remarks.

“I’m not supposed to be answering all these questions,” he told reporters during a White House news conference about the coronavirus in May.

Last week, he even worked the instruction into a post-Labor Day speech honoring labor unions.

“Now, I’m supposed to stop and walk out of the room here,” he said to laughter, according to an official transcript.

“I’m going to stop. But with your permission, I’m going to walk into the room because I want to say hello to all of you.”

In May, White House press secretary Jen Psaki admitted during a podcast interview that letting Biden field queries from reporters was “not something we recommend,” adding, “In fact, a lot of times we say, ‘Don’t take questions.”

But, she added, “He’s going to do what he wants to do because he’s the president of the United States.”

Dead Sea pool turns BLOOD RED puzzling experts where the Bible says God sent angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah

 A pool of water located close to the Dead Sea in the biblical region of Moab - modern day Jordan - has mysteriously turned blood red.

Water from the red lagoon just inside the Jordanian border is being sampled by workers from Jordan's Ministry of Water and Irrigation to determine the cause of the unsettling phenomenon which is as yet unexplained.

The images have sparked a furor on social media, with blood red waters carrying much significance in the Old Testament as one of the 10 plagues God cast upon the Pharaoh of Egypt to free the Jews from slavery. 

According to the biblical tale, God turned the waters of the River Nile into blood, which killed the fish and prevented the Egyptians from drinking the foul water, in the first of 10 plagues that came as the Pharaoh's punishment for refusing to free his Jewish slaves.

The eastern shores of the Dead Sea where the blood red pond is located also happens to be where the two legendary cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood before they were destroyed by God for their 'wickedness'.

The head of the Water and Agriculture Committee of the Al-Karak Council, Fathi Al-Huwaimel, said that the authorities have been contacted to work on identifying the source of the water.

But although the cause of the mysterious crimson waters remains unknown for now according to Jordan's ministry spokesperson Omar Salameh, a few theories have been posited as to why a lagoon isolated from fresh water could suddenly change color.   

Stabbing At Jerusalem Central Bus Terminal

 

A terrorist stabbed to what appears as two Yeshiva Bochrim at the Jerusalem Central Bus Terminal on Monday afternoon.

Both victims are in moderate condition and being treated by United Hatzalah and Magen David Adom.

The victims were rushed to the hospital.

Security forces neutralized the terrorist.

Due to the nature of the incident, United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit is on scene providing emotional stabilization to a number of people at the scene.

The stabbing attack which left two Israelis moderately injured outside Jerusalem's Central Bus Station Monday afternoon was stopped when a Border Police officer saw what was happening and shot the terrorist.

The officer told Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and Jerusalem District Commander Doron Turgeman, "We saw a lot of people coming out of the store and screaming, and we went in with our weapons drawn. Two policewomen entered from one entrance, I entered from another entrance, and I recognized the terrorist from where I was standing."

Two 25-year-old men were moderately wounded in the stabbing and evacuated to Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center. The terrorist, a 17-year-old Arab was taken to the same hospital in serious condition.

Public Security Minster Omer Bar-Lev praised the Border Police for quickly ending the attack. "Congratulations to the Border Police who successfully stopped the attack on the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. These are heroines who bravely sought contact with the terrorist and handled the situation professionally, quickly and efficiently."

"In addition to the neutralized terrorist, a 17-year-old resident of the Hebron area, the police arrested two people who assisted him. We are prepared for any scenario," Turgeman added.

Dogs Need "kaporos" also... they do a lot of Aveirois

Watch Premishlaner Rebbe perform "Darkei Amoirie" Pagen Ritual

 

Need to go to the post office in Israel? Bring your vaccination card

 

Israelis may soon need a vaccination card or proof of prior COVID infection in order to visit the post office, under a new plan being advanced by the government’s Communications Minister.

According to a report by Yediot Aharanot, Minister Yoaz Hendel (New Hope) is drawing up plans to limit access to the more than 500 post office branches across the country, imposing the Green Pass system for anyone looking to mail a package, receive registered mail items, use the post office bank, or use any other of the post office’s services.

Under the Green Pass system, entry is restricted to people who received a coronavirus shot less than six months ago, were verified as having recovered from COVID, or have a recent negative COVID test.

Minister Hendel has already consulted with the Health Ministry regarding his plan to impose the Green Pass system at all post office branches.

However, legal experts are warning Hendel that a comprehensive ban on the unvaccinated would likely be rejected by the courts, given the need for access to the post office to pay national insurance bills and other tax payments.

The minister is considering a compromise arrangement, whereby post offices will offer a limited number of hours for the unvaccinated.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told ministers that the government's patience for unvaccinated Israelis "has run out", and vowed to impose stricter measures for ensuring adherence to the Green Pass system and to prevent fraud.

'We didn't kidnap Eitan,' says boy's aunt. 'All we did was bring him home'

Eitan Biran, the sole survivor of the Italian cable car accident that claimed the lives of 14 people including both his parents and his younger brother, is now at the center of a custody dispute, with his relatives in Italy pitted against others in Israel. On Saturday, his Italian relatives reported that his grandfather had kidnapped Eitan after taking him out for a few hours; later, it emerged that Eitan had been flown back to Israel without the permission of his Italian relatives.

Gali Peleg, Eitan’s aunt, objected to the wording of accounts that accused her branch of the family of “kidnapping” her nephew.

Prominent Israeli anti-vaxxer dies of coronavirus

 

Hai Shaulian, one of the foremost anti-vaccine activists in Israel, died Monday morning of coronavirus.

Shaulian was hospitalized approximately one week ago in Holon's Wolfson Medical Center, after being diagnosed with coronavirus. His condition quickly deteriorated.

Two days ago, Shaulian published his last video clip on Facebook, but did not backtrack on his anti-vaccine beliefs.

"Dear friends, my condition is extremely critical," he said in the Facebook video. "I am in very serious condition, I'm not able to speak or respond to people. I have no oxygen and I'm not managing to stabilize. This morning I woke up, I was soaking wet as if with several buckets of water, with no oxygen. It took me about an hour to understand who I am, where I am, and what I'm doing here. A lack of oxygen is a horrible and terrible thing."

''I thank all those who are worried about me and supporting me. You can pray, that helps. I believe that I will make it through this, with G-d's help. In my estimation it will take another two weeks, maybe three. Keep fighting. The State is acting with criminal and self-interested coercion towards us. Don't give up. The Green Pass will not be implemented in Israel, it has no connection to coronavirus. It has no connection to vaccines. It has a connection to coercion."

Prior to contracting coronavirus, Shaulian organized demonstrations and protests against the coronavirus rules, including in protest of the Green Pass and the requirement to wear masks in open and enclosed spaces.

Get ready for the left’s climate-change ‘emergency’ lockdowns

 

President Biden claims recent hurricanes prove we’re in a “climate crisis” — “code red” for the world, he warns. White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy adds that climate is now a “health emergency.”

It’s convenient for politicians to treat every hurricane, tornado and flood as an apocalyptic sign from Gaia — and then blame political apostates for offending the goddess. But it’s an irrational way to think about the world. Because our situation is, in most ways, quantifiably better than before on nearly every front.

This reality is probably difficult to accept for a generation subjected to decades of fearmongering, but climate anomalies are nothing new. When a freak snowstorm hit Texas this year, the administration used it to push draconian policies. But the Texas storm was no different than the rare 1973 blizzard that hit the South. It happens. And there’s nothing we can do.

While victims of Ida will take no solace in this fact, historically speaking, hurricanes aren’t touching land at higher frequencies, either. Nor is there evidence that storms that make landfall do so with more intensity than in previous years.