“I don’t speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don’t have the power to remain silent.” Rav Kook z"l

Friday, September 24, 2021

"We're dedicated to elimination of Zionism" ...NOOOOO It's not a Statement of Satmar Rebbe It's the Iranian FM

 


I don't think that the FM of Iran heard the Satmar Rebbe's Shalosh Seuda Toreleh ... but it sure sounds like he did...
Both Satmar Rebbe brothers are against Zionism and daven three times a day for the "elimination of Zionism" and are against the "territories"

Iran’s new Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, spoke at the United Nations Durban IV conference, where he said his nation’s "willpower is dedicated" to the elimination of Zionism, Fox News reported.

"As the new foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I’m honored to announce that my nation’s willpower is dedicated to the total elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, including apartheid and Zionism," said Amir-Abdollahian, according to the report.

"These are crimes that constitute horrible atrocities such as child killing and the creeping occupation through settlements, which extends to the proximity of Al-Aqsa Mosque," he added

The Durban IV conference was boycotted by some 30 countries, including Israel, the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and New Zealand.

On Sunday, Human Rights Voices, Touro Institute on Human Rights and CAMERA hosted a conference opposing Durban IV.

Ahead of the event, pro-Israel groups and NGOs also launched social media campaigns calling on countries to refuse to attend.

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices who organized the counter-conference, told Fox News, "For the enemies of Israel who had high hopes that Durban IV would fast track Israel to political isolation and oblivion, the global gathering was instead a major setback. Not only did 34 states boycott, but they boycotted because the demonization of Israel was recognized as a form of modern antisemitism."

She noted that 75% of the countries speaking at the conference were deemed "not fully free" according to the definition by Freedom House that ranks countries based on freedom, and noted that "Durban IV proved to be an opportunity for the Iranian Foreign Minister to broadcast over UN WebTV around the world a call for the "elimination" of the Jewish state. In effect, backing another mass genocide for the one they claim never happened. And yet in the 21st century UN, it was just business as usual and nobody interrupted, cut the mic, or escorted him off the premises."


Ben & Jerry fired David Rosenbaum for taking off during Rosh Hashanah

 

That’s cold.

A Jewish man says he was fired from Unilever — the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s that was criticized for an ice cream sales ban in the West Bank — for taking days off from work during Rosh Hashanah, new court papers allege.

David Rosenbaum — a general manager at Unilever’s Englewood Cliffs, NJ headquarters — told boss Frank Alfano he planned to take days off for the Jewish high holy days in the fall of 2019, according to his Bergen County lawsuit from Thursday.

But, Alfano “told [Rosenbaum] that he could not take off for Rosh Hashanah and probably not for Yom Kippur as well,” the court papers allege.

A “distressed” Rosenbaum, 55, told Alfano that his religion required him to not work on those days. But, the boss wouldn’t budge, the filing claims.

Rosenbaum, of Washington Township, took the time off anyway and sent an email to the higher-ups on Sept. 30, 2019 — the first day of Rosh Hashanah — explaining what Alfano told him and how it was against the law. The Unilever lawyer merely replied saying she would speak with Human Resources, the suit claims.

The next day on Oct. 1, Rosenbaum was fired over the phone, “since he had not come into work on Rosh Hashanah,” the court documents allege.

In a prior incident, Alfano retaliated against Rosenbaum for an August 2019 complaint Rosenbaum made after Alfano allegedly touched him, propositioned him and asked Rosenbaum to lend him money,” the filing claims.

Rosenbaum — who also worked with Ben & Jerry’s marketing team to organize sales events — alleged his situation is “further evidence of Unilever’s anti-Semitism, which was demonstrated in July 2021, when Unilever’s subsidiary, Ben & Jerry’s, began an illegal boycott of Israel by refusing to sell its ice cream there,” the suit claims.

“This despite the fact that it continues to sell ice cream in some of the most repressive countries in the world,” the court papers allege.

In July, Ben & Jerry’s stopped selling ice cream in the West Bank saying in a statement: “We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).”

The move drew criticism and was called anti-Semitic by Israelis including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and ousted PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Since, a still-unemployed Rosenbaum has had a hard time finding a new job during the pandemic, his lawyer Cindy Salvo told The Post.

Salvo said it’s bad enough that Alfano didn’t let her client take the time off but it’s even worse that upper level management “didn’t try to do anything. They didn’t engage in any interactive process,” following Rosenbaum’s email.

He simply can’t work,” Salvo said. “It’s against the religion.”

“It’s not like they have no other people to handle things,” the lawyer said. “They didn’t give an explanation and if they had — it wouldn’t have been adequate anyway.”

Through his lawyer, Rosenbaum said, he is “Shocked, surprised and deeply saddened that this could happen in this day and age.”

Rosenbaum is suing for unspecified damages.

Unilever and Alfano did not immediately return requests for comment.

US House Overwhelmingly 420-9 Advances Iron Dome Funding, As Anti-Semite Tlaib Calls Israel “Apartheid State”

 Nine House members, including eight Democrats, voted against funding for the Israel Iron Dome missile defense system on Thursday.

The bill passed overwhelmingly 420-9.

The “no” votes were Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.; Cori Bush, D-Mo.; André Carson, D-Ind.; Marie Newman, D-Ill., Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz.; Chuy Garcia, D-Ill.; and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Hank Johnson, D-Ga., both voted present.

IN the video above, AOC appears to be crying on the House floor after she changed her vote from “no” to present, during voting on funding to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome Defense Systems.

Congressional Democrats initially wanted to pass the Iron Dome funding in a continuing resolution on Wednesday. But because the legislation contained a debt ceiling increase Republicans refused to vote for it. That left Democrats with just a three-vote margin for error. When a handful of progressive lawmakers objected to the Iron Dome funding, Democrats were forced to pull the provision from the bill in order to ensure its passage along party lines.


In a Blow to AG James.. Judge Throws Out Massive Case Against B&H Photo

 

A New York state court dismissed a $7.3 million tax whistleblower suit brought by the state attorney general against Manhattan-based B&H Foto, finding the photography retailer’s “instant savings” program transactions aren’t manufacturer coupons subject to sales tax.

James’ office accused the photo and video equipment retailer in 2019 of failing to pay at least $7.3 million in sales and use taxes on $67 million in so-called instant savings reimbursements from 2006 to July 2017.

In November 2019, James’ office said B&H “intentionally underpaid sales tax on millions of dollars in receipts from its sales of cameras” and other electronics since 2006 using an instant rebate program in which manufacturers reimbursed the retailer for sales — with B&H never paying tax on those reimbursements as it should have.



Thursday, September 23, 2021

US Jewish students feel unsafe on campus, half hide identity, survey finds

 

A new survey has found an alarming level of antisemitism experienced by Jewish students on college campuses, with students who claim a strong sense of Jewish identity and connection to Israel feeling unsafe and the need to actively hid their identity.

The survey, which polled 1,027 members of the predominately Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) and the leading Jewish sorority Alpha Epsilon Phi (AEPhi), found that nearly 70% of the students surveyed personally experienced or were familiar with an antisemitic attack in the past 120 days, with more than 65% of these students feeling unsafe on campus and one-in-10 fearing physical attack. Furthermore, 50% of students said they have felt the need to hide their Jewish identity.

Palestinians admit capture of Gilboa prisoners shows Israeli intel prowess

 

The recapture of the last two prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison on Saturday night shows that Israel has very good intelligence sources in the West Bank, residents of Jenin said Sunday.
The recapture of Ayham Kamamji and Munadel Enfayat is also a blow to the Fatah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) gunmen in the Jenin refugee camp who had over the past few days pledged to defend the fugitives and foil any attempt by the IDF to enter the camp or the city of Jenin, the residents said.

Iron Dome will be funded, but more ‘Squad’ trouble is on the way

 

The Iron Dome may ultimately receive the American funding it needs, after progressive pressure led Democratic Party leadership in the House of Representatives to remove it from a broader bill, and then vowed to propose the aid as its own bill within days. But that doesn’t mean that the drama surrounding it is over.
Tuesday’s events in the House should ring alarm bells in Jerusalem that more trouble with the “Squad” is on the way, even as public statements by Israeli officials tried to minimize the problem.

Full Utah bodycam video of when Police Pulled over Gabby Petito

 




Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Israeli housing prices show largest increase in the world

 



Israeli housing prices increased 345.7% over the last decade, recent research from the website Money.co.uk has found. The figure represents the largest increase of any country in the world.

Prices per square meter in Israel rose from $2,145 in 2010 to $9,560 in 2020. That's not just keeping up with inflation, which rose by only 0.92% during the same period. And it definitely isn't in keeping with the last decade's 17.5% rise in wages.

Israel's No. 1 position is more than double the closest runners up – Switzerland, which saw a 165% increase; Germany, where housing prices rose 162%; and the United States, which logged a 153% bump. Coming in 10th place was the United Kingdom, with a 75% increase in housing prices since 2010.

Greece experienced the biggest decrease in prices per square meter – a negative 17.9%. This was in keeping with the country's economic crisis, which also depressed wages by 16% annually during the same period.

Norway, the Czech Republic and Belgium also saw decreases in housing prices.

The research, cited by Israel21c, doesn't consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the average price of owner-occupied dwellings in Israel fell by 3.2%, the largest contraction since 2007. When adjusted for inflation, prices fell by 2.2%. The number of apartments bought during the second quarter of 2020 also plummeted by 27%.

However, by 2021, the figures were trending upward again, with housing prices in Israel rising by 5.6%, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics.

Real estate accounts for 19% of gross domestic product directly, another 13% indirectly [and] no less than 40% of the public's total wealth," says Elli Kraizberg, a professor of business administration at Bar-Ilan University.

Tel Aviv holds the distinction of having Israel's most expensive residential real estate, followed by the Tel Aviv suburbs of Kfar Saba and Ramat Gan, and then Jerusalem. Beersheva has the cheapest housing in Israel among the country's big cities.

More Verbal Abuse on Frum Community as Netflix renews ‘My Unorthodox Life’ for second season

 

Netflix is bringing back “My Unorthodox Life,” the reality series about a formerly Orthodox fashion mogul and her family, the streaming giant announced Monday.

No details about the content of season two or any approximate release date were disclosed.

The series follows Julia Haart, who left the Orthodox community she grew up in in Monsey, New York, to become CEO of the Elite World Group fashion model agency.

Over the course of nine episodes, she and her four children wrestle with how to adapt their varying levels of Jewish practice in secular New York City society.

The show sparked a wide array of debates in different Jewish communities and drew some criticism for its portrayal of Orthodox communities as harshly restrictive.

"Before you judge the show, maybe you might want to watch the show?” Haart told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after the series debuted in July. “Because they had the word ‘unorthodox’ in it, people have made a thousand assumptions without actually taking the time to listen to what I actually have to say.”