“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, June 2, 2023
Liberman: Vilna Gaon Studied Astronomy And Math, Lubavitcher Rebbe Earned Degrees And They Were Torah Giants
Yisrael Beytenu chairman MK Avigdor Liberman angered chareidi Knesset members on Wednesday, when he invoked the names of great rabbis who studied non-religious subjects in addition to Torah. Liberman spoke during a Knesset speech on a private bill to require core curriculum studies for all pupils and cancel exemptions for chareidi institutions.
“Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman, I don’t know if everyone knows him, the Vilna Gaon, studied astronomy and mathematics in his free time. When he was asked why he studied these topics, he replied that it helped him to understand our religious sources,” Liberman said.
“Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, studied at the University of Berlin and earned a doctorate, he mastered several languages and served in the US Navy as an electrical engineer and was a great rabbi. The degrees did not interfere with his spiritual education. Therefore, everything you [chareidi Knesset members] teach is a lie,” he charged.
MK Yinon Azoulay from Shas then came to the podium to speak and responded sharply to Liberman’s criticism, stating that , “The head of Yisrael Beytenu stood here earlier and talked about the Vilna Gaon. You ignoramus from Moldova, you have no right to talk about the Vilna Gaon. You don’t know who the Vilna Gaon is. You should be ashamed of yourself. When you become like Maimonides, you will be able to preach to us. Who are you? Who are you to preach to us? You stand here all day and incite.”
Yisrael Beytenu later responded to Azoulay and said, “The racism and hatred spread by Shas is intolerable. You have no ownership of Judaism.”
Journalist Yael Zin later said that even though Azoulay’s statements were unacceptable, Liberman himself has yet to apologize for stating during his tenure as Finance Minister that the “Chareidim should be taken by wheelbarrow to the garbage”.
News Anchor of Channel 14 , Breaks Down In Tears At Rav Gershon’s Passing
One of the high-profile Baal Teshuva families in Israel, Eden Harel and Oded Menashe, became religious after becoming acquainted and close to the Edelstein brothers, Rabbi Yaakov, who was the rabbi of Ramat Hasharon, and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the Ponovezh rosh yeshiva.
Harel, a former model, and Menashe, who were an iconic couple even before they became religious, both work in the media, performing popular shows together as well as hosting individual programs.
During the course of her morning news show on Israel’s channel 14, Harel received news of the passing of Rabbi Gershon Edelstein. Overcome with emotion, Harel said that “I can’t say this, I’m not capable of it” and then announced the news. She said that Rabbi Edelstein, who had assisted them during the course of their becoming Baalei Teshuva. Breaking down in tears, Harel said that the rabbi had died “at a very old age- one hundred years old” and recollected how close her family had been to the Rabbi.
“Many people speak of the great Tzadik, Rabbi Gershon,” she added later. “My heart doesn’t comprehend the terrible news we received this morning. People talk of his greatness in Torah and spirituality but I wish to focus on his softness and understanding for Baalei Teshuva, he knew how to listen to us. Maybe we didn’t speak the correct language, maybe we weren’t respectful of his stature, but he understood.”
Harel later said that “it was the most difficult broadcast of my entire life. I didn’t believe that in my life, as an anchor I would have to announce such terrible news. We were close to Rabbi Yaakov Edelstein z’l and received blessings from Rabbi Gershon. It is a sense of emptiness, sadness, it is so sad. May we learn from their good attributes.”
Thursday, June 1, 2023
US to Israel "SHUT the Hell Up on Iran" and we will help Israel-Saudi normalization
Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Head of the National Security Council Tzachi Hanegbi, few to the United States this week to meet with administration officials.
According to a report in Israel Hayom, the meetings will focus on two critical issues: The Biden administration's renewed push for a deal with Iran and the possibility of advancing the normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia. Behind the scenes, the Americans see the two issues as connected.
To overcome Israel's opposition to such a move, the Americans have raised the idea of advancing normalization between Israel and the Saudis in return for Israel's silence in the face of a deal with the Iranian regime.
Former diplomatic officials told Israel Hayom that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be inclined to accept such a deal, but there are those who say that it would show submission.
According to the former officials, "The fact that Israel has not made any public moves to oppose the deal shows that there are agreements behind the scenes. Otherwise, Netanyahu would have acted as he did in 2015."
Despite these claims, Israel denies that it is not working to oppose the deal. A source in Netanyahu's office responded to the report, "The state of Israel did not change its stance. Israel is working in every available way, through every channel, and through every rank to oppose any attempt to allow Iran to obtain nuclear capabilities and weapons," he explained.
Nides Teams Up with Germany to Pressure Netanyahu to Shelve Law that Would Limit NGO"s That Are Hostile to Jews !
US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week urging him not to move forward with the so-called “Nonprofits Law”, that would limit the ability of Israeli nongovernmental organizations to raise money from foreign governments, hostile to Israel, two Israeli and US officials told Axios’ Barak Ravid on Wednesday.
The bill, initiated by MK Ariel Kallner from Netanyahu’s Likud Party, stated that NGOs that receive money from foreign governments won’t be recognized as nonprofit organizations and will have to pay 65% tax.
The legislation was scheduled to be voted on last Sunday in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, but Netanyahu shelved it after the US and several European governments vocally opposed the bill.
The Israeli and US officials told Axios that Nides and other US diplomats privately worked for weeks to urge the Israeli government to back off from the bill.
Many other Western countries, including Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands, also privately and publicly lobbied the Israeli government against the bill, European diplomats told Axios.
Nides' letter to Netanyahu, which has not been previously disclosed, laid out the concerns the Biden administration has about the proposed bill, a US official told Axios.
"We didn’t threaten the Israelis or anything like that, but our message was that this bill is going to get Israel into an international crisis for something that isn’t worth it," a US official said.
The Prime Minister's Office confirmed Netanyahu received the letter.
Earlier this week, Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio) reported that members of the Biden administration had presented Netanyahu with an ultimatum and made clear to him that if he is interested in a meeting with President Biden and assistance in advancing normalization with Saudi Arabia, he would need to shelve the legislation.
Netanyahu, who has been working hard to score a meeting with the US President and is aware of the vitality of American assistance in normalizing ties with the Saudis, had no choice but to capitulate to the American demands.
Chana Nachenberg injured in Sbarro terrorist attack succumbs to injuries 22 Years After Attack
Chana Nachenberg, who was seriously injured in the suicide bombing attack at the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem in 2001 and had been in a coma ever since, has succumbed to her injuries.
She was pronounced dead at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening.
With that, the death toll in the attack now stands at 16.
Her father, Yitzhak, said after his daughter's death, "Our daughter, Chana Tova Feiner Nachenberg, died after almost 22 years of heroism. She was supposed to turn 53 years old in one month. 21 years and nine months have passed since the attack, with my daughter unconscious, in a coma, at Reut Hospital in Tel Aviv. About three weeks ago, she was transferred to Ichilov Hospital, where she died this evening."
Chana Nachenberg was 31 years old at the time of the attack and was dining at the restaurant with her only daughter who was three years old at the time, and who miraculously was not hurt.
The attack on the Sbarro restaurant on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem took place on August 9, 2001. The terrorist entered the restaurant during the lunch hour, when it was full of people, placed his hand into the bag he was carrying and set off a powerful bomb.
16 people were murdered in the attack, eight of them children, and another 140 were injured. Three of the terrorists who planned the attack were sentenced to lengthy prison terms but were released from prison as part of the Shalit deal.
The terrorist who put together the bomb, Abdullah Barghouti, is still imprisoned in Israel and is serving 67 life sentences. The woman who masterminded and aided in carrying out the attack, Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi, and then reported on it for Arab media, was released from prison in the Schalit exchange and is a broadcaster on Jordanian media.
Germans Sentence Lady Who Attacked Nazis to 5 Years in Jail
A court in eastern Germany has sentenced a 28-year-old woman to five years and three months in prison for taking part in a series of attacks on neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists over a period of two years.
German news agency dpa reported Wednesday that the Dresden regional court convicted Lina E., whose surname wasn’t released due to privacy rules, of membership in a criminal organization and serious bodily harm.
Prosecutors accused the student of “militant extreme-left ideology” and conceiving the idea of attacks on far-right individuals in Leipzig and nearby towns. Three men, Lennart A., Jannis R. and Jonathan M., are alleged to have joined up with her by the end of 2019. The men were sentenced to between 27 months and 39 months in prison.
Lina E. has been in custody since her Nov. 5, 2020, arrest. The others have remained free.
Among the attacks Lina E. was accused of helping orchestrate was a 2020 incident in which about 15 or 20 assailants beat a group of six people returning from a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the firebombing of Dresden. The event regularly attracts neo-Nazis and other far-right sympathizers. Prosecutors said several victims sustained serious injuries after being punched, kicked and hit with batons.
Defense lawyers had called for their clients to be acquitted, claiming the trial was politically motivated.
Far-left groups have announced plans to protest the verdict, prompting police to establish a large presence in Leipzig in anticipation of possible unrest.
Kosherfest No More!
Citing buying trends in the food business, Diversified Communications has pulled the plug on Kosherfest, which has been shining the spotlight on the latest trends in kosher for more than 30 years.
An email sent to exhibitors and attendees and posted on the Kosherfest.com website, said that Kosherfest has run its course, adding “there is no longer significant ROI to justify exhibiting at the show.” Kosher food has fallen under the general grocery category in recent years, often eliminating the role of kosher buyers entirely, and making supermarket buyers more likely to attend trade shows with a broader appeal.
“A certified kosher only food show such as Kosherfest is too niche for their attendance,” explained the email.
Deposits made by exhibitors for the 2023 show will be refunded in the next two to three weeks.
Lakewood Guy and AOC Embroiled in Twitter War
Someone is impersonating AOC on Twitter, and she is apparently quite perturbed. And by the way, the anonymous Ocasio-parody has quite a sense of humor.
One hilarious post, viewed nearly 400K times, took a shot at Ocasio’s climate agenda: “To make windmills more effective — when the wind doesn’t blow, we should have helicopters hover over each of them and keep them turning year-round.”
“This is like literally not funny,” the account said, imitating Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘sophisticated’ banter. A later tweet went further: “Like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, literally.”
Another tweet said, “If we don’t move to 100% green energy soon – car emissions will kill off the human race just like it did the Dinosaurs.”
“To conserve water and save the planet, I’m not going to bathe until 2027,” one popular tweet said.