Likud cancels planned coalition talks with right-wing partners

 

The Likud cancelled meetings planned with its right-wing partners Wednesday, following a contentious meeting between Likud chief Benjamin Netanyahu and Religious Zionist Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich.

On Wednesday morning, the Likud announced that it nixed meetings planned with negotiating teams from the Religious Zionist Party and United Torah Judaism, as part of the ongoing efforts to form a new coalition government.

The announcement came after Netanyahu met with Smotrich Tuesday evening in a bid to iron out differences over the allocation of key ministerial portfolios – chief among them the defense and finance ministries.

Smotrich has demanded the defense ministry portfolio, but Netanyahu is under heavy pressure not to appoint the Religious Zionist Party leader to the position.

Netanyahu has also thus far refused to give Smotrich the finance ministry portfolio, Smotrich’s second choice, due to Shas chairman Aryeh Deri’s demand for the ministry.

According to Amit Segal of Channel 12, the no progress was made in the meeting between Netanyahu and Smotrich.

Netanyahu reportedly told Smotrich that due to the security situation, there is a need to act with moderation on diplomatic and security issues, at least until the end of President Joe Biden's time in office.

Oh Oh! Netanyahu in talks with Lapid, Gantz for unity government

 

While the Likud continues its efforts to secure coalition deals with its right-wing allies in order to establish a narrow rightist government, officials close to Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu are simultaneously negotiating with center-left leaders, eyeing a possible national unity government, Ma’ariv reported Wednesday.

According to the report, members of Netanyahu’s entourage are in the midst of quiet yet intensive talks with associates of Defense Minister Benny Gantz (National Unity) and Prime Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid).

The talks are centered around the possibility of forming a new government without the rightist Religious Zionist Party, Otzma Yehudit, and Noam factions, with Yesh Atid and at least part of the National Unity party joining in their place. It appears that the New Hope faction within National Unity is not inclined to join a government with Netanyahu, even if the Blue and White faction of Benny Gantz would.

The talks began as a result of pressure by the Biden administration on Netanyahu, Lapid, Gantz, and President Isaac Herzog to form a unity government and prevent the inclusion of rightist elements.

The report claimed that the Biden administration told Netanyahu and leaders on the center-left that Israel will pay a price in the international community if a narrow right-wing government is formed.

Representatives of Yesh Atid and National Unity denied any talks are underway with the Likud.

A spokesperson for the Likud called Wednesday’s report “fake news.”

“This is more fake news. Spin, it never happened.”

Chareidim Egged on by Rabbi Zvi Meir Zilberberg Now Destroy "Donation Devices" in Shuls in Beit Shemesh & Yerushalyim

 

קיצונים בערים בית שמש וירושלים פתחו בשבועות האחרונים במאבק חדש במסגרתו נופצו קרוב לעשרים מכשירי 'נדרים פלוס' בבתי כנסת רבים. pic.twitter.com/d4HTpLDuj8

— שימי שפר (@Shimishafer) November 9, 2022

Army... collect these sick "leideguyers" and send them to serve our country in the IDF! 

In other extremist action against technological devices, the Nedarim plus donation devices which are installed in hundreds of shuls in Israel have recently been targeted and broken by Chareidim. 

In a fiery speech at a rally against technology a few weeks ago, Rabbi Zvi Meir Zilberberg spoke out against the devices, claiming that they can easily be hacked and used for internet.

 In the wake of his speech some Chareidim went round a number of shuls and smashed the devices. 

Family Creates Mini-Meah Shearim in Hotel Lobby

 

A family celebrating a simcha at a hotel in the New York area turned the lobby of the venue into a full-on replica of Yerushalayim’s Meah Shearim neighborhood.

A video tour provided by an attendee shows the lobby decked out in signage, fake storefronts, and even workers dressed as Yerushalmis – all to create an atmosphere of being in the epicenter of Yerushalayim’s foremost charedi neighborhood.

As can be seen in the video below, the “stores” included Mefoar with tzitzis hanging outside of it, Falafel Geulah with non-Jewish servers dressed as Yerushalmim, and pashkevilin announcing a “kinnus neturei karta” hung on supporting pillars and walls.

Perhaps the only thing missing was having a group of chareidim yelling “Gevalt!” at guests as they arrived at the hotel.

DemonRats ask Corrupted FBI To Investigate Death Of Al Jazeera Shireen Abu Akleh

 

53 DemonRats asked the corrupted FBI to launch an investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May.

In September, the IDF concluded its own investigation into the death of Abu Akleh, who was killed during a firefight between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen in Jenin. The IDF stated at the time that “it appears that it is not possible to unequivocally determine the source of the gunfire which hit Ms. Abu Akleh. However, there is a high possibility that Ms. Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire that was fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen, during an exchange of fire in which life-risking, widespread and indiscriminate [fire was directed] toward IDF soldiers.”

The IDF had added that the possibility of Abu Akleh being hit by Palestinian fire “remains relevant.”

On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Israel would not cooperate with the FBI’s probe or any external investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh.

“The U.S. Justice Ministry’s decision to investigate the unfortunate death of Shireen Abu Akleh is a serious mistake,” Gantz said in a statement. 

The IDF had added that the possibility of Abu Akleh being hit by Palestinian fire “remains relevant.”

Second woman to testify about alleged rape by Rabbi Zvi Tau the Walder Defender

Nehama Te’ena speaks to Channel 12 news about allegations that Zvi Tau, a prominent ultra-conservative rabbi, sexually had abused her since she was a 10-year-old girl 

 

Screen capture from video of Dorit, one of two women who accuse Rabbi Zvi Tau of rape, November 13, 2022. (Channel 13. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Der Groiser Tzaddik Tau

Israel Police will take a statement from a second woman who claims that Rabbi Zvi Tau raped her decades ago, seeking to bolster allegations against the politically connected religious leader.

The second woman, who has been named in media only as Dorit, is expected to speak with investigators on Tuesday. Though the alleged incident happened too long ago to prosecute, her testimony may help support that of another woman who also accuses Tau of sexual assault.

Multiple women have accused Tau of sexual abuse and rape dating back decades, with two going public so far.

Tau, 85, is the head of the influential Har Hamor Yeshiva in Jerusalem, as well as the spiritual leader of the anti-LGBT Noam political party, which won a single seat in the next Knesset as part of the far-right Religious Zionism slate.

The police initially asked Dorit to come to the Hebron police station in the southern West Bank, which is handling the case. At her request, they agreed to meet with her at a station closer to her home in the northern West Bank,

The first woman, Nechama Te’ena, went public in August, but her allegations were largely ignored at the time by the police and the media. In recent weeks, she has staged small protests outside the Knesset, accusing Tau of raping her and others, and demanding to know why the Israel Police have refused to investigate.

Last week, Dorit also accused Tau of assaulting her in a video testimony recorded in her home. After viewing the video, several prominent rabbis called for Tau to be investigated. Police said Sunday that they will set up a special team to handle the case.

American Jews didn’t want Netanyahu. Now that they have him, they want him to govern in the opposite manner from which he pledged to govern.

 

American Jews have every right to complain about, lament, oppose and even support the policies of the Israeli government. 

What happens here affects Jews in the Diaspora and for many American Jews, their whole Jewish identity is subsumed by the Jewish state. Threats to divorce the State of Israel are heartfelt but hollow because, shorn of Torah and mitzvot, Israel remains for many their only link to Jewishness. Their right to attempt to influence policy is assumed, as is the right of Israelis to consider what they have to say or to ignore it because we are a sovereign country that makes its own decisions.

DIN Wishes Both Ukraine and Russia "Hatzlacha" in Their War

Let them wipe each other off soon, but like R' Yoelish Teitelbaum z"l wrote in his book "Al Hagilah" in reference to his wish that the State of Israel collapses," I pray that Jewish blood be spared." 

 Israel condemned Ukraine’s decision to vote in favor of an anti-Israel resolution at the United Nations last Friday, as Kyiv continues to pressure the Jewish state to provide it with advanced weaponry.

On Friday, Israeli ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, took Kyiv to task after the Ukrainian delegation to the United Nations voted in favor of a draft resolution in the General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee backed by the Palestinian Authority’s delegation.

Brodsky took to Twitter shortly after the vote, calling Ukraine out over its U.N. vote.

“Ukraine’s support of the UN resolution ‘Israeli Practices’, denying Jewish ties to Temple Mount and calling for ICJ advisory opinion is extremely disappointing. Supporting anti Israeli initiatives in the UN doesn’t help to build trust between Israel and Ukraine,” Brodsky tweeted.

The resolution, which passed the committee by a margin of 98 to 17 with 52 abstentions, accused Israel of denying Palestinian Arabs the right to self-determination, negated Israel’s historical connection to the Temple Mount, and urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to render an opinion against Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria.

The countries that voted with Israel in opposing the resolution were Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Liberia, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and the United States.

American Jews, get out now!

 

It’s not like me to be an alarmist, but I’ve been thinking about something for months, maybe years. As time passes, it’s become increasingly clear that the worst-case scenario is about to happen.

The Jewish people outside of Israel must step back and examine their reality.

Too many things are happening at once that point to the fact that the s**t is about to hit the fan.

This isn’t new. It’s been going on for years, escalation after escalation. But over the past few months, it’s reached the point of no return.

It’s just too much to ignore.

Time for Jews to Dump the ADL

 

Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets (L) and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt (R)

Which of these two individuals do you find more problematic?

Kyrie Irving, a kooky basketball player who believes that the Earth is flat, that JFK was shot by bankers, that the COVID vaccines were secretly a plot to connect all Black people to a supercomputer, and that Jews worship Satan and launched the slave trade?

Or Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, who accepted $500,000 from Irving last week without even meeting or even talking to the all-star—and who was then forced to give back the donation when Irving blatantly refused to apologize?

Let’s think about it for a minute. One of these guys is a weirdo with dumb opinions he may or may not actually believe. The other is running a soulless racket which just made it clear that you can say whatever you want about the Jews and buy your indulgences at a discount price.

Don’t get me wrong: I absolutely believe that Irving’s endorsement of a Black nationalist documentary based on an obscure Jew-hating book, to say nothing of Kanye West’s meltdown, will most likely contribute to a surge in antisemitism in America, particularly in the Black community.

 But we Jews don’t control Kyrie Irving; in theory, we do control the ADL, and we shouldn’t want our chief defense group to behave in a way that advances antisemitic conspiracy theories about shadowy Jews trafficking in money and influence for fun and profit.

All of this leads to one sorry conclusion: