Famous Kabbalist rushed to intensive care with bacterial infection

 

Madonna's condition was so serious that her relatives were 'preparing for the worst,' a family member has told DailyMail.com.

The 64-year-old was found unconscious in New York on Saturday, and rushed to the ICU where she was reportedly intubated overnight.

On Wednesday, her manager Guy Oseary announced that she was suffering from a 'serious bacterial infection', and needed time to recover so was postponing her tour, due to begin in Vancouver on July 15.

The Michigan-born singer's relative told DailyMail.com they spent several traumatic days unsure if she was going to pull through. 

The family member said the shocking collapse was a wake-up call for Madonna, who believes she is 'invincible' and has been pushing herself extremely hard to prepare for the tour.

'For the past couple of days, no one really knew which direction this was going to turn, and her family was preparing for the worst,' the relative said. 

'That is why it was kept a secret since Saturday. 

'Everyone believed that we may lose her and that has been the reality of the situation.'

Madonna is mother to six children: Lourdes, 26; Rocco, 22; David, 17; Mercy, 17; and 10-year-old twins Stella and Estere.

Lourdes was by her side throughout her hospitalization, The New York Post reported.

She posts frequent tributes to her 92-year-old father, Silvio Ciccone, and is close to several of her siblings.

Madonna has three sisters - Paula, Melanie and Jennifer - and four brothers: Anthony, Martin, Christopher and Mario.

Anthony died in February from throat cancer and respiratory failure, aged 66. 

The Ciccone siblings all keep a low profile, leaving the limelight to their megastar relation. 

Artificial sweetener found in Diet Coke will be declared as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans'

 

An artificial sweetener used in Diet Coke will be declared a potential cancer risk to humans, a bombshell report claimed today.

Aspartame will be officially listed as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans' in the World Health Organization's reclassification, according to insiders. 

Aspartame is also added to Mars' Extra chewing gum and some Snapple drinks.

The move will occur next month following a review by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the WHO's cancer research arm, sources told Reuters.

The IARC ruling, finalised earlier this month after a meeting of the group's external experts, is intended to assess whether something is a potential hazard or not, based on all the published evidence.

It does not take into account how much of a product a person can safely consume.

This advice for individuals comes from a separate WHO expert committee on food additives, known as the Joint WHO and Food and Agriculture Organization's Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), alongside determinations from national regulators.

However, similar IARC rulings in the past for different substances have raised concerns among consumers about their use, led to lawsuits, and pressured manufacturers to recreate recipes and swap to alternatives. 

That has led to criticism that the IARC's assessments can be confusing to the public.

JECFA, the WHO committee on additives, is also reviewing aspartame use this year.

The only way to convince the Palestinians to end the conflict is an Israeli victory.

 

With all of Israel’s recent challenges and controversy over judicial reform, the state of the economy and social divisions, we missed what should have been one of the biggest headlines in recent weeks.

On the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, the reputable Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that 66% of Palestinians believe that Israel will not celebrate its 100th anniversary. Only 27% think the Jewish state will still exist in 25 years.

These results would likely result in a mixture of astonishment and bemusement amongst Israelis, given that the idea that a fully functioning economically and militarily powerful state will not exist in just over a generation is, to say the least, implausible.

While the survey doesn’t teach us much about the future of the State of Israel, however, it does tell us that two-thirds of the Palestinian public believes we will soon be gone.

Clearly, the Palestinians see us as weak, transient and, above all, possible to defeat.

For 100 years, the primary goal of the Palestinian national movement was first to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state and then, after it was established, to destroy it.

Like most of the rest of the world, many Israelis believe the claims that this century-old conflict is about land, “occupation,” “settlements,” Jerusalem or refugees. In fact, it has only ever been about one thing: The violent rejection of Jewish sovereignty in the Jewish people’s ancestral and indigenous homeland.

That is how the conflict started in the early part of the 20th century and, it appears, a majority of Palestinians believe it will end in their ultimate victory.

This belief comes from two sources.

The first is the incessant incitement and brainwashing by official Palestinian religious figures and political officials, as well as Palestinian media and educational materials.

For example, according to Palestinian Media Watch, in 2021 the Palestinian Authority’s highest religious authority, Grand Mufti Muhammad Hussein, assured P.A. TV viewers that the destruction of Israel is only a matter of time, along with the “liberation” of Jerusalem and its “return to Islam.”

Well-made videos are regularly released for Palestinian children and young people on popular social media platforms that claim Israel’s end is inevitable and just as the Crusaders were eventually driven out, the Jews will be as well.

The second source is Israel itself.

Since the early 1990s, Israel has shown that it is desperate for peace. As a result, it has taken actions that actually harmed the safety of its citizens and showed that Israel is prepared to concede and compromise on its national security.

The Palestinian leadership has shown that, if it stands firm, it will receive more and more from Israel. The Oslo process, which we are still trapped in 30 years later, demonstrated to the Palestinians that we have given up trying to win the war against Palestinian rejectionism.

Palestinians see Israeli decisions to give away major parts of Judea and Samaria, disengage from Gaza, release thousands of terrorists, hand suitcases full of protection money to Hamas and promise to divide Jerusalem and give up control of the Temple Mount as proof of this.

They see that the “strongest military in the region” runs with indecent haste to Cairo every time Hamas or Islamic Jihad fires a volley of rockets at Israel’s south.

They see a Palestinian leader who says he will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state, embraces and financially rewards mass murderers, and compares Israel to Nazis with no response from Israel apart from the odd press release.

They see an Israel uninterested or unable to achieve victory in this long-standing conflict.

Thus, the Palestinians believe the Jewish state will soon cease to exist. This provides the motivation and incentive for ongoing terrorism.

Every Palestinian terrorist who picks up a knife or a gun, or launches a rocket, believes that their actions are hastening the end of Israel. Our response, or lack thereof, merely confirms this belief.

For Israel to stop the violence, it must show that it has the will to survive and achieve ultimate victory. It must show the Palestinian population in actions and deeds that Israel is strong, robust and enduring.

It must convince the Palestinians that Israel is permanent and break their will to carry on fighting by forcing them to accept that they cannot achieve their war aims.

Once the Palestinians have been disabused of their belief in Israel’s temporary nature, our leadership can take steps towards accommodation and peace, but not before.

The only way to do this is through an Israeli victory.

{Reposted from JNS}

AG James Accuses Ken Rosenberg (El Al) & Daryl Hagler of Stealing 83 Million

 

Kenneth Rozenberg (right) and Daryl Hagler allegedly stole $83 million in funding.

Operators of four New York nursing homes siphoned more than $83 million in Medicare and Medicaid funding to line their own pockets — all while allowing residents to live under horrific conditions, including letting them sit for hours in their own filth, state Attorney General Letitia James alleges in a new lawsuit.

Kenneth Rozenberg and Daryl Hagler, the co-owners of Centers Health Care, pilfered the government cash meant for the care of nursing home residents at four facilities in the Empire State, according to the AG’s suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court Wednesday.

Going back as early as 2013, Rozenberg and Hagler weaved a complex web involving networks of other corporations and fraudulent transactions to enrich themselves, their family members and other business associates, the filing claims.

The scheme left their facilities were chronically understaffed, resulting in the widespread neglect of elderly residents who were forced to remain in their own urine and feces for hours, were allowed to become dehydrated and malnourished and whose wounds were left to fester, the suit alleges.

SHIDDUCH CRISIS: US Roshei Yeshivos Ask HaRav Hirsch To Make Fateful Decisions ..Lakewood Roshei Yeshiva Refuse to Attend

 

A delegation of Roshei Yeshivos from the US landed in Eretz Yisrael on Wednesday in order to consult with Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, about the shidduch crisis in the US, Kikar H’Shabbat reported on Wednesday.

The report notes the fact that although there are shidduch issues in every country, including Israel, the US has the specific problem that bochurim start shidduchim at a later age than Israeli bochurim (who usually start around age 21) because most spend at least a year or two learning in an Israeli yeshivah. This results in the famous “age disparity” issue that places girls at a huge disadvantage.

The administrator of a US yeshivah told Kikar: “We have a real problem here and we have to solve it. Roshei Yeshivos held meetings a number of times in order to discuss the issue but nothing has really succeeded yet in solving the problem.”

“Roshei Yeshivos decided that the phenomenon of learning at a later age in Eretz Yisrael needs to end but they don’t want to take responsibility alone for such a fateful question. Therefore, a decision was made that a number of leading Roshei Yeshivos will travel to Eretz Yisrael for a few hours and consult with the one who leads the yeshivos in Eretz Yisrael, HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch [who is originally from the US], and whatever he decides is what will happen.”

Sources say that the Roshei Yeshivos also discussed the issue of eliminating one year of Beis Medrash in US yeshivos in order to allow bochurim to go to Eretz Yisrael at an earlier age.

The report noted that HaRav Hirsch is not only a native English speaker but is also very familiar with the Olam HaYeshivos in the US.

Four of the Rabbanim in the delegation are HaGaon HaRav Mordechai Dick, Rosh Yeshivas Heichel HaTorah in Monsey, HaGaon HaRav Mendel Slomowitz, Rosh Yeshivas Toras Chaim in Lakewood, HaRav Yehudah Svei, one of the Roshei Yeshivos of Talmudical Yeshiva Of Philadelphia, and the Novominsker Rebbe.

Lieberman: “I Believe Barak, Golan & Alsheich Joined Up Against Netanyahu”

 

Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman was a surprising voice in the chorus of condemnations against former Police Chief Roni Alsheich after he admitted on Wednesday morning that the judicial system expected Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to resign after criminal indictments were filed against him.

“I never believed in conspiracies but in the last few days I changed my mind when I hear Ehud Barak, Yair Golan and Roni Alsheich – I believe that they joined up against Netanyahu,” Lieberman said.

Lieberman then continued by condemning the calls by Barak and Golan for civil rebellion and even illegal acts. “The calls we’ve been hearing in recent days for civil unrest and breaking the law are outrageous and unacceptable. The protestors who take to the streets week after week are normative, law-abiding people who want the best for the country,” he claimed.

“Those people who take advantage of the protest in order to return to the stage and get a few moments in the media harm the protest and its legitimacy. These things were also reflected in the riots in front of Yariv Levin’s private home, something that harms more than Levin but also the neighbors around him, most of whom oppose the ‘legal coup’ but that type of protest, which impinged on their routine, precisely in the mornings when they need to drive their children and go to work, simply moves them to the other side.”

“I expect all those who claim to lead the protest to think about the protest and not about themselves and about their desire to stand out and earn a few minutes of fame. The dangerous calls they utter could drag Israeli society and the State of Israel into a difficult place that shouldn’t be reached.”

Abe Foxman Slams Biden

 

DIN: Just a reminder that it was Foxman who publicly criticized the new government’s right to make judicial changes after being democratically elected. It is voices like Foxman which help influence US policy, especially in the Biden White House

 Former ADL director Abe Foxman on Tuesday slammed U.S. President Joe Biden for his “boycott” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In comments to The Jerusalem Post, the American Jewish leader called the Biden administration’s policy of isolating Netanyahu since he took office at the start of the year for his sixth term “misguided” and “bordering on hypocrisy.”

Foxman explained that the White House refusing to extend an invitation to Netanyahu “also sends the wrong message [not only] to Israel’s enemies, but also to its friends and allies. When friends disagree, they need to, and should, meet, speak to each other. This lack of invitation has become a politicized issue.”

He questioned why the White House welcomes to Washington leaders of countries with less democracy than Israel, calling it hypocritical.

“If you will, the president of the United States just welcomed the prime minister of India, a certainly flawed democracy with serious religious and civil rights abuses. He just welcomed Jordan’s King Abdullah to the White House—not exactly the paradigm of a democratic country,” he said.

“If MBS [Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia] indicated that he would want to come to Washington, he would receive a warm welcome. This boycott… undermines the [U.S.-Israel] relationship,” he added.

Foxman called on Biden to invite Netanyahu to the White House to discuss their differences.

Netanyahu confirmed on Tuesday that he will be visiting China next month. Foxman said that the Israeli leader visiting Beijing before the U.S. was probably due to the lack of an invitation from the White House.

The Camp Took My Daughter’s Tips!

 

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

L’chvod Rabbi Hoffman,

My daughter was a counselor in camp last summer.  The camp collected her tips from the campers as they do from all campers.  It was pulled from their bank accounts.

Later, when the summer came to an end, my counselor daughter did not receive any of the tips that were clearly collected on her behalf.  The claim was that because she received Summer Youth Employment Program (“Youth Corp”), she wasn’t included in the staff tipping pool.

In other words, whatever was collected from the parents toward her, was, without her knowledge or consent redistributed to other camp staff. 

She obviously was very upset. So were others who found themselves uninformed of this until after tips were handed out, only to find themselves un-included. None of this was mentioned prior to the summer.  They could have worked at another camp, had they known.

Parents also have a right to know that the tips collected is going to other staff and not their child’s counselor.  Let’s keep in mind that, it isn’t as though the camp paid her. She was chosen by lottery from the NYSEP program and earned minimum wage from the government.  She worked many more hours that were unpaid as well.  Is this halachically correct? What can she do when complaining about the unfairness (to the parents who thought they were tipping their child’s counselor, not others and her being withheld her rightfully expected tipping income), has yielded nowhere.   Please advise.

A Parent.

Harav Eliyshiv's Son Meets His Sister For The FIRST Time in 11 Years

Rav Eliashiv zt”l had 12 children, 4 of which are alive. Last night, Rav Binyamin Eliashiv shlita met his sister Rabanit Israelson whom he had not seen in 11 years due to his hakpada not to leave Yerushalayim. They met at a family wedding in Bnei Brak.

Israel ambassador to UN Security Council : Building in Judea and Samaria will not stop

 

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Gilad Erdan on Tuesday spoke at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, urging the Council's members to condemn the indiscriminate violence against Israeli civilians.

Erdan began, "Last Tuesday, Elisha Anteman, a seventeen-year-old who had just finished high school, was nearing the end of his shift at a restaurant near the town of Eli. This was Elisha’s very last shift. You see, he had been working there for nine months, he had saved up some money and made plans to spend his summer hiking."

"Last Tuesday was in fact Elisha’s last shift, but tragically, Elisha will not be taking a trip this summer. He will not be hiking. He will not be spending time with his high school sweetheart Maayan, with whom he discussed building a life together. He will no longer pick up any of his eight younger siblings from school, who he loved like the caring older brother that he was.

"Elisha will be doing none of these things, because Elisha, along with three other innocent Israeli civilians were murdered by Palestinian terrorists whose sole goal was to slaughter Jews.

"This is the heartbreaking reality that Israelis face every single day."