Nathan Sharansky's Interesting take on the Russian-Ukraine Conflict

 Natan Sharansky spoke at a Sheva Brachot gathering in honor of the wedding of Benaya and Neta Dickstein. Benaya's parents, Yossi and Chanah, were murdered in a terrorist attack when he was seven years old. It's too bad that only those in attendance heard Sharansky, the famous prisoner of Zion, speak as follows:

"When I was growing up in Ukraine, in Donetsk, there were many nations and nationalities. There were those with identity papers that read 'Russian,' 'Ukrainian,' 'Georgian,' or 'Kozak.' This was not so important since there was not much difference between them. The single designation that stood out was 'Jew.'  If that was written as your identity, it was as if you had a disease.

"We knew nothing about Judaism. There was nothing signficant about our Jewish identity other than the anti-Semitism, hatred, and discriminatory treatment we experienced because of it. When it came to a university application, for example, no one tried to change his designation from 'Russian' to 'Ukrainian' because it did not matter. However, if you could change your designation of 'Jew,' it substantially improved your chances of university admission.

"This week, I was reminded of those days when I saw thousands of people standing at the borders of Ukraine trying to escape. They are standing there day and night and there is only one word that can help them get out: 'Jew.' If you are a Jew, there are Jews outside who care about and are waiting for you. There is someone on the other side of the border who is searching for you. Your chances of leaving are excellent.

"The world has changed. When I was a child, 'Jew' was an unfortunate designation. No one envied us. But today on the Ukrainian border, identifying as a Jew is a most fortunate circumstance. It describes those who have a place to go, where their family, an entire nation, is waiting for them on the other side."

10K Seminary Women Block 100s WOW, Reform & Conservative at Rosh Chodesh Adar-B War on the Kotel

 Hundreds of members of the Reform and Conservative movements from Israel and the United States arrived on Friday morning at the Kotel plaza for the Rosh Chodesh Adar B prayer. They were met with enormous resistance from mostly Haredi Jews, including an estimated ten thousand seminary women who followed the instructions of two leaders of the Haredi Lithuanian public, Rabbis Chaim Kanievsky and Gershon Edelstein, to protest the Reform and Conservative presence. Large police forces separated the two parties of obviously God-loving Jews.

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The Reform prayer was held in the presence of the President of the Reform Movement in the United States, Rick Jacobs, who is on a visit to Israel.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with the leaders of the Reform movement in Israel and the Diaspora and stressed the need to allow the Reform members to enjoy equality in their prayer at the Kotel plaza, “the remains of our Temple.”

Just a reminder: the remains of our Temple are several yards up from the Kotel plaza, and Jews up there still have to struggle every day for their right to equality in prayer, but that’s not anything that seemed to bother Bennett or his Reform guests.

US Ambassador Throws Israel Under the Russian Bus

 

US Ambassador to Jerusalem Tom Nides was trying his best to get Israel deeper in trouble with its neighbor to the north, Vladimir Putin, by tweeting glowing praise giving it credit for its wonderful work against the nasty Russians: “Enormous thanks to Israel for helping rally more members to stand with Ukraine in today’s historic UN vote. Over 141 votes to hold Russia accountable. Diplomacy matters.

 

Enormous thanks to Israel for helping rally more members to stand with Ukraine in today’s historic @UN vote. Over 141 votes to hold Russia accountable. Diplomacy matters. pic.twitter.com/ZIsO8XYe0z

— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) March 2, 2022

 Gee, thanks, Tom.

Biden's Black Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is a "Heartless Calculating Political Opportunist"

 

While running for the Presidency in 2020 Joe Biden promised to appoint the first black, female Supreme Court justice. In January when a place opened up on the court, he repeated that pledge. To only murmurs of concern. Is this really how things have to work in America?

Last week the president announced that he was going to put forward Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the lifetime appointment. Democrats were thrilled. Most Republicans saw a trap and kept away. Almost no one dug any deeper. But they should.

Because if they did, they would find out a number of things. Not just that there are far better qualified candidates, including better qualified black female candidates. But that Jackson’s own career shows she is unsuitable for the role.

It is now eight years ago since Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 crashed into the sea, killing all 239 people on board. Among them was one American man, Philip Wood, a 50-year-old IBM executive from Texas.

In the traumatic months after the crash, Wood’s family sought to gain justice for their family in the courts. They imagined the American court system would help them. They were wrong.

Why are so many Idolizing Zelensky and Ukraine?

 

Chelmanetski Statue Still Standing in Kiev

The following article is from the Leonupsidedown Blog!

If my dear mother, a Holocaust survivor, was alive, she would have this to say about Ukraine: 'Loz em brennan' (let them burn).

To help understand her statement, you might recall one of the most terrible events in WWII, known as Babi Yar. It's a deep ravine in the main city, Kiev in Ukraine. In 1941 in the period of just 2 days, almost 34,000 Jews were murdered there! Think about that number. And it was all done by men shooting at innocent civilians. A very personal way to commit mass murder. 

That was nothing like carpet bombing a city from the air.  As far as we know, that extreme murder rate had never been achieved until then. Of course the Nazis organized the killing. But it was the Ukrainians who actually did the killing. You see, the Ukrainians had such a blood lust for killing Jews that even the Nazis had to stop them. The Germans were in love with organized killing and documenting every 'perfect' thing they did. So when the Ukrainians were running around trying to murder every Jew they saw, the Nazis intervened and instructed them on how to do it efficiently and more organized.

Since then the Germans have laws (serious laws) against joining any neo-Nazi party. They have also paid out millions of dollars to Holocaust survivors and their families. The Ukrainians have literally gotten away with murder. 

Today, decades after the war, Ukraine has more neo-Nazi groups than any other country in the world! (Yet another world record) And they are not forced underground in any way. The largest of these, Azov, is unofficially part of their parliament. Many fools consider them to just be nationalistic. Although some members might be, most are thugs. Their flag is similar to a swastika and they are antisemitic to the core, just like their grandfathers were.

Azov flag

When Putin says he wants to de-nazify Ukraine, he's not lying. I have no doubt that we will soon be hearing of stories leaked out of Ukraine, blaming it's small Jewish population for the trouble they are in now. I already have heard some.

Will the Real "Chief Rabbi" of Ukraine Stand Up?

 

The chief rabbi of Ukraine is a 57-year-old U.S.-born former member of Israel’s Karlin-Stoliner Hasidic sect who was once an executive member of the World Jewish Congress.

The chief rabbi of Ukraine is a 55-year-old Russian-born member of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement who is close to associates of former President Donald Trump and recently created “Anatevka,” a village for displaced Jewish families inspired by “Fiddler on the Roof.”

The two men – Rabbi Yaakov Bleich and Rabbi Moshe Azman – have since the Russian assault on Ukraine began a week ago each posted a series of dramatic videos about their efforts to evacuate Jews and raised millions of dollars to support them. Their dueling claims to be the country’s top Jewish leader date back two decades, a fraught history involving many questionable characters.

“Remember that he who does not care and he who agrees silently — that is an accomplice to a crime, a war crime, a crime against humanity!” Rabbi Azman declared in a video posted on Wednesday, of him holding a Torah scroll in front of the ark in a Kyiv synagogue.

Warning Russian Jews that their silence would be remembered and pledging to stay and care for those unable to flee, he added in Russian: “I never thought, even in my worst nightmare, that I might have to perish under the shells of Russia, where I was born, where I went to school, where I have many friends, who are silent.”

Meanwhile, Bleich has been publishing “live updates” via YouTube on a daily basis, using an Ukrainian flag as a backdrop.

“We already have evacuated some people,” he said when the assault began last Thursday. That evening, he released another video, pleading for help: “We are sheltering in place outside of Kyiv in our camp until tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. when we hope we will be able to hit the road,”

For viewers, it might seem as if Bleich is on the ground assisting his flock at a time of great need. In fact, he has been making the videos from his home in the Hasidic enclave of Monsey, New York, where he received a call from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this weekend and, as of Wednesday morning, had raised more than $1.4 million online for Kyiv’s Jewish community.

Bleich didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the Knesset today

 

Heroic Chief Rabbi of Odessa Rescues 250 Orphans by Traveling on Shabbos

 

Now! That's a real hero!

This past Shabbos, the Chief Rabbi of Odessa heroically rescued 250 orphan children from potential tragedy. Rabbi Shlomo Baksht determined that it was permissible to travel on Shabbos in order to flee the country.

The terrifying drama began Thursday evening, when heavy Russian bombings rocked the area near the orphanage.

“We just received an update that there were three terrible explosions near the orphanage. The girls were very anxious, sitting and crying. We are trying to move them to the city center next to us. The situation is becoming more dangerous from one moment to the next,” said Rabbi Baksht.

After speaking with senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Jewish community decided to flee westward.

On Friday morning, eight buses set off, with all of the orphans onboard, as well as the orphanage staff, Rabbi Baksht, his daughter Shira and his partner Rabbi Rafael Kruskal.

A few hours after they fled Odessa, Russian missiles landed near the Jewish community where they had been located hours earlier.

“We had a great miracle that we got out of there on time,” said Rabbi Baksht, “a really great miracle.”

The journey lasted through Friday night into Shabbos morning, and the Rabbi decided that the proper decision was to continue traveling for pikuach nefesh.

“I told them that we are here to fulfill God’s will, and on this Shabbat, His will is for us to escape to save lives,” he said

On Friday the Rabbi told community members, “We will continue to travel on Shabbos because it is a matter of mental supervision. Everyone will turn off their mobile phones, but on every bus there will be one mobile left open in case of an emergency.”

At one point they stopped in the dark and Rabbi Raphael Kruskal recited Kiddush, adding a taste of the Shabbos atmosphere during an unthinkably difficult time.

Rabbi Baksht described the superhuman effort of the staff.

“The babysitters on the baby bus held the toddlers in their arms for many hours. It was not easy.”

Monkey Eating Strawberries From Shmitah .. Where is R' Yair Hoffman's "psak?"

 

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Hamas Flag Flying Proudly in Meah Shearim