Rav Shaul Alter of Ger Gets Massive Reception in Brooklyn

 

אנא עבדא. ברוקלין החרדית בסיום שבת עם ראש הישיבה הגר"ש אלתר pic.twitter.com/hcoUMytnzq

— משה ויסברג (@moshe_nayes) November 20, 2022

Rabbi Handler Turns On Satmar Rebbe because "He caused a Huge Chillul Hashem"

 

Letter from Rabbi Hillel Handler

Subject: Dear Reb Aron, I plead guilty to being a “Trumpist.”

כָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁיֵּשׁ חִלּוּל הַשֵׁם אֵין חוֹלְקִין כָּבוֹד לָרַב

Please forgive my effrontery in addressing you so bluntly, but you have made a terrible misjudgment that has caused a massive Chilul Hashem, and someone must speak up and make a protest.

ובִמְקוֹם שֶׁאֵין אֲנָשִׁים, הִשְׁתַּדֵּל לִהְיוֹת אִישׁ

You publicly attacked everyone who criticized your endorsement of Sodomite politicians, calling them “Trumpists,” as if anyone who dares to support the MAGA concept of fixing America’s problems is a meshugener.

Ezra Friedlander's Qatar bans kosher food, Jewish prayer at World Cup

 

In 2018, we posted Ezra Friedlander's relationship with the Jew-Hating Qatar. 

Authorities in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar are prohibiting Jewish visitors from purchasing cooked kosher food or organizing prayer groups during their stay in the country for the World Cup, leading Jewish groups to accuse Doha of reneging on its promise to protect the religious rights of sports fans during the World Cup.

Qatar has no diplomatic relations with Israel, but as a condition of its hosting the World Cup, FIFA mandated that Qatar not bar fans based on their nationality.

With thousands of Israelis expected to travel to Doha for the games, Qatar agreed to permit Israel to operate a temporary consular services office for the duration of the World Cup.

In addition, Jewish groups say they received a commitment from Doha that Jewish religious needs would not be interfered with during the World Cup, including the sale of kosher food and organizing of Jewish prayer services.

On Sunday, however, multiple Jewish organizations accused Qatar of breaking its promise, saying that local officials have banned the sale of cooked kosher food and organizing of Jewish prayer services in public.

“I am outraged by reports that Qatari authorities have banned the sale of cooked kosher food as well as prohibited Jews from congregating for public prayer, in connection with their presence at the World Cup,” said World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder.

“With tens of thousands of observant Jews expected to travel to the country in the coming weeks, this announcement effectively makes their attendance impossible.”

“The World Cup should serve as a unifying event for all sports fans, regardless of religious affiliation, who come together because of their love of sports.”

“The World Jewish Congress, whose Executive Committee will meet in the coming days at the Vatican, calls upon FIFA and the Qatari government to safeguard the ability of Jewish fans to openly practice their faith.”

According to sources cited by The Jerusalem Post, cold bagels are currently the only kosher food permitted for sale in Qatar, leading a number of American Jews to cancel their plans to attend the games.

Bnei Brak Tzaddik known as the 'Tinder Swindler' strikes again?

 

Ayelet Shaked to media: Stop scaremongering

 

As Prime Minister Lapid's cabinet gathered for its last weekly meeting on Sunday morning, outgoing Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked told reporters that she "wishes the new government the best of success."

Shaked added that "the media and parts of the general public should calm down and not get into a panic about either the Override Clause or separation between men and women at cultural events. All the Override Clause is going to do is alter somewhat the form of dialogue between the Knesset and the Courts. We've been trying to pass such a law for years, and I very much hope that now we will succeed."

Shaked added that she supports the demand of Religious Zionism party head MK Bezalel Smotrich, and the haredi parties, to pass a law specifically stating that gender-based separation at public events and in the provision of public services is not discriminatory. "On the question of separation, we're talking about events that are already being held with men and women separate. Haredi women deserve to enjoy cultural events too, and if such a law is passed, it comes not to change anything, but simply to stop attorneys-general from interfering, as has happened in the past. There's no reason to panic," she stressed.

"We did excellent work in the Interior Ministry," Shaked added. "We enacted dozens of reforms for the benefit of citizens - we did the absolute best we could. I don't understand why [members of the incoming government] aren't fighting over the Interior Ministry, the most amazing ministry of all."

Kevin McCarthy says he will remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from committee over ‘anti-Semitic’ remarks

 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said when he becomes Speaker of the House again he’ll boot “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar from her position on the House Foreign Affairs Committee over “anti-Semitic” remarks.

“We watch anti-Semitism grow, not just on our campuses, but we watched it grow In the halls of Congress,” McCarthy said at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s 2022 leadership meeting in Las Vegas on Saturday, Fox News reported.

“I promised you last year that as speaker she will no longer be on Foreign Affairs, and I’m keeping that promise,” he added, to cheers from the crowd, video posted to his Twitter shows.

After Republicans barely secured a majority in the House, the California lawmaker was given the nod by the party to be the next Speaker of the House in January following a congressional vote.

Omar (D-Minn.) has been outspoken in her criticism of Israel, comparing both the Jewish state and the US to terrorist organizations like Hamas and the Taliban. In 2019, she proposed a resolution supporting the right to boycott Israel, likening the previous boycotts of of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

Senior IRGC officer stabbed to death during Iran protests

 

Protesters stabbed to death a senior intelligence officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps during demonstrations in the Kurdish province of Kermanshah, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Friday.

“Col. Nader Bairami, the IRGC’s intelligence officer was killed by rioters while on duty in the city of Sahne in Kermanshah,” Tasnim said.

The report said Bairami tried to intervene to stop demonstrators from attacking a passerby when he was stabbed to death.

Officials said the perpetrators had been arrested.

Iranian protesters set Khomeini home on fire

 

The Khomeini house museum, which was originally the house of the father of the Islamic Republic’s founder, was set on fire on Thursday evening. pic.twitter.com/eRGhYhqn6b

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) November 18, 2022

William Zev Steen arrested for multiple alleged crimes dating back as far as 2008; also led company installing filtration software on ‘kosher’ phones

 

A teacher at a Jewish school in Baltimore, Maryland has been charged with a slew of sex crimes including rape, assault and possessing and distributing child pornography.

After his arrest, William Zev Steen was fired from his position as a high school science teacher at Bnos Yisroel of Baltimore, where at least one of his children had also studied.

Steen, 44, was also removed from his position as the director of a firm that installed filtration software on phones for observant Jews.

Law enforcement picked up on Steen while investigating a child pornography filesharing network in July. They tracked an IP address involved in the network to Steen’s home address and email account.

Police executed a search warrant at Steen’s home on November 3 and interviewed him, according to charging documents.

He admitted to using a filesharing network and acknowledged a Macbook connected to illegal files belonged to him. Officers located other evidence during the search, including a micro SD memory card containing child pornography that was in a bag with his work ID.

The files had been deleted from the SD card, but investigators were able to retrieve them. It wasn’t clear whether Steen used the card at work and there were no other known connections to the school or his work.

Steen was charged with 15 counts related to child pornography on November 5 and released on bond.

Last week, he was hit with 10 more charges including rape, sexual abuse of a minor, assault and child abuse, due to additional evidence recovered in the search. Those alleged incidents took place in 2008, according to the charging documents.

Steen remains in custody and is scheduled for his first trial appearance next month.

Bnos Yisroel, an all-girls school, informed parents and staff of the case in two emails after being notified by Baltimore City Police. The school said it had “immediately terminated” Steen’s employment, reached out to legal and mental health professionals for guidance and was working with police.

A social worker spoke with students and the school scheduled a meeting with parents to address the situation.

Steen was also the director of Technology Awareness Group (TAG) Baltimore, a nonprofit that supports religious families with “kosher” phones that have restricted internet access, including by installing filtration software.

TAG Baltimore announced that Steen was “no longer associated” with the firm, without providing a reason.

Steen said in a TAG Baltimore fundraising video released in June 2020 that the office had fielded over 600 requests since the pandemic started months earlier.

“TAG Baltimore has been working overtime to help keep more families safe than ever before,” he said.

The Baltimore firm is part of TAG’s international network, which includes offices across the US, in Israel and in other countries.

TAG Baltimore did not respond to a request for comment and the Baltimore Police Department said it could not discuss a pending case.

Mark Ostrowski, the head of engineering at the Check Point cybersecurity company, said in a case like Steen’s he would have had complete access to customers’ devices while installing software for them and could have installed remote access control software that would have given him continued access.

Ostrowski stressed that he did not know the specifics of the Steen case and could not make definitive comments on the details.

“Once you give access to a device to an individual, you’re really giving up the key to the front door of your house. Once they’re in your house they can go into your closets, they can go into your kitchen, they can go into your cabinets,” he said.

“You put trust in organizations to help you get through cyber issues, or in this particular case installing that filtration software, and if that person violates your trust that’s a big problem because you’re basically giving the key to the house to that individual,” he said.

Android devices are the most susceptible to malware, followed by iPhones, while flip phones are generally not sophisticated enough for malicious software, Ostrowski said.

He recommended anyone with concerns about their devices should factory reset their phone, or at least inventory all the applications that are installed.

Za’akah, a New York-based advocacy group for sexual assault survivors in the Orthodox Jewish community, first publicized details of Steen’s case.

According to Steen’s LinkedIn profile, he had worked at Bnos Yisroel for five years and at TAG for four years, and also operated a cybersecurity firm called MirageID. He said he had founded several technology startups before taking up those positions.

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