בחג המצות pic.twitter.com/eXIKAvYL9i
— Hasidic (@hasidic_1) October 13, 2022
“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
בחג המצות pic.twitter.com/eXIKAvYL9i
— Hasidic (@hasidic_1) October 13, 2022
Betraying the Family’s Mesorah For a Rabbinical Position in Jerusalem
US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Richard Nides, September 11, 2022. Ambassador Tom Nides told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an exclusive interview last Friday he was enamored with Prime Minister Yair Lapid for “his brave comments on the importance of the two-state solution” in Lapid’s recent speech before the United Nations General Assembly.
“We are under no illusions here that I will be standing in the Rose Garden receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for getting the two-state solution, but it’s important that we create the conditions on the ground for a two-state solution,” Nides said, adding: “And that includes helping the Palestinian people.”
And, naturally, while helping those nice “Palestinian people,” Nides reiterated the Biden administration’s policy on Jewish communities on the same lands, saying, “We do not support settlement growth. Period. I work every day behind the scenes, with the Israelis, to try and eliminate, slow down, or avoid that.”
He defended his right to meddle in Israel’s affairs, saying, “We can’t dictate to them what they can or can’t do, but I can put as much pressure as I can to make sure they understand our position.”
The ambassador also defended Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez’s right to warn Benjamin Netanyahu that should he include Ben-Gvir in his future government it would damage Israel’s relations with the US. Nides stressed that he “won’t get involved in the politics of Israel before an election,” but insisted that American politicians have the right to voice their opinions on anything and anyone.
“We are free to articulate our anxieties or concerns vis-a-vis making sure that the values that we state are played out here in Israel as well as we believe they should be,” Nides said.
Otzma Yehudit, MK Itamar Ben Gvir appeared on Channel 13 News and Ynet and accused Prime Minister Yair Lapid of enlisting US officials to prevent Ben Gvir’s inclusion in the next government. He insisted that this is a dangerous precedent when a prime minister invites the Americans to interfere in the elections in Israel. He also invited Lapid to file a defamation suit against him – Ben Gvir is ready to drop his Knesset immunity.
On Tuesday, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Ca), a pro-Israel good guy, urged Israeli politicians to “ostracize” Ben-Gvir, declaring that Ben-Gvir’s “outrageous views run contrary to Israel’s core principles of a democratic and Jewish state.” Sherman insisted that “these extremists undermine Israel’s interests and the US-Israel relationship, which I and my colleagues have worked to strengthen.”
Of course, I would be astonished if Menendez or Sherman were familiar with Ben Gvir’s political agenda before the calls from Lapid’s people.
Finally, another takeaway from Nide’s JTA interview, to set us straight both about the ambassador and the news outlet: “Nides, who grew up in Minnesota as a liberal Reform Jew and went to synagogue only during the High Holidays, is a firm believer in equality at the Western Wall in Jerusalem,” writes JTA’s Jotam Confino. He quotes the ambassador who declares: “I have no tolerance for anyone being hurt or attacked for doing what they believe is their religious belief at the Western Wall. Both on the Orthodox and Reform sides, and for women and men. I think everyone should use this religious site for their own spirituality.”
Go to the interview and plug in the words “Temple Mount.” I did, looking to see if Nides feels similarly about the religious rights of Jews, 20 meters or so above the Kotel. Nothing. Nada. Gurnisht. Crickets.
Folks, we once had a friend in the US embassy. We no longer do.
BLACK LIVES MATTER 🤷🏾♀️ pic.twitter.com/RkFXsgDGR1
— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) October 12, 2022
This is fire. I’ve been waiting for someone to call AOC out on blatant hypocrisy. No, I don’t want to date her. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eGGK7DUJkW
— heidi briones (@HeidiBriones) October 13, 2022
Kanye West isn’t letting it go.
Speaking to Page Six as he left the screening of Candace Owen’s new documentary on Wednesday night, West addressed all of the brands that have dropped him since his most recent social media rants, including Adidas and JP Morgan Chase.
“Hey, if you call somebody out for bad business, that means you’re being anti-Semitic. I feel happy to have crossed the line of that idea so we can speak openly about things like getting canceled by a bank,” he told our photographers, before calling himself “the richest black man in American history.”
West, 45, continued talking about JP Morgan Chase specifically but was interrupted when a truck drove by. He then decided to “speak at a different time.”
Earlier today, Owens herself revealed that JP Morgan Chase had given West until November to find a new bank institution to hold his multibillion-dollar company Yeezy.
“I was told there was no official reason given, but they sent this letter as well to confirm that he has until late November to find another place for the Yeezy empire to bank,” she tweeted along with a photo of the notice.
The letter read, “Dear Ye, We are sending this letter to confirm our recent discussion with [redacted name] that JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (The Bank) has decided to end its banking relation with Yeezy LLC and its affiliated entities.”
JP Morgan Chase dropping West comes after he made several anti-Semitic comments over the weekend.
On Instagram, he shared a screenshot of a text conversation with Diddy, where he told him, “This ain’t a game. Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”
He was locked out of his account shortly after.
West then moved on to Twitter where he proceeded to post, “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
He was locked out of that account as well.
Last week, Adidas announced that their partnership with West was “under review” following the rapper’s “White Lives Matter” shirt scandal.
“After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review,” the company announced in a statement Thursday, per CNBC.
“We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period.”
West, 45, replied to the statement on Instagram, writing, “F–K ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS.”
Back in August, West began to speak out against the brand regarding his frustrations with the company, who allegedly made decisions about their collaboration without his consent.
New York State’s commissioner of education has ordered the city to work with a yeshiva in Williamsburg on a plan for improving its secular education.
The decision, issued last week by commissioner Betty Rosa, is a response to a lawsuit brought by Beatrice Webber, a formerly Hasidic mother of 10 who now heads Yaffed, the leading advocacy group pressing for improvements in secular learning at haredi Orthodox private schools.
Rosa’s decision was first reported by the New York Times, which said the ruling represents “the first time that the state has taken action against a Hasidic boys’ school” and “could be a harbinger of significantly tougher oversight of Hasidic schools.”
There are some elections that one can at least make the argument “s/he is going to win anyway we may as well be on his/her good side.” This isn’t one of them. No matter how much support the frum community will give Hochul she won’t do anything in return anyway. She already has the track record to prove it.
Plus it isn’t so clear that Hochul is going to win. For the past few elections the polls have consistently heavily underestimated the support the Republican candidates actually have. No one dreamed that Pataki would win either. Some people ended up losing out big time for supporting Cuomo over him because they thought Cuomo would win anyway. When Pataki won he did not consider those people his natural allies he otherwise would have considered them
An open letter from a reader
If you are crazy enough to support Kathy Hochul, or you’re even on the fence about which candidate to support in the governor’s race, you have no right to complain about the assault against yeshivas in New York state.
By supporting leftist politicians who are out to harm the Jewish community, YOU are part of the problem .
If you are not fully invested in Lee Zeldin, or if you align with the Democrat party, you have no right to complain about the rash of brutal antisemitic hate crimes.
It’s time for Jews to wake up and realize that Democrats in New York do not represent our values. They have dangerous policies, they have destroyed what used to be a state that was relatively safe, and friendly to Jews.
Democrats are not friends of the Jewish community.