Monday, November 27, 2023
The Odyssey of Attending a Rally
By Rabbi Ron Yitzchok Eisenman
Part One- To Go or Not To Go
I wanted to go.
I felt it was important.
Numbers count.
We live in a country where we are allowed and expected to express our feelings.
I wanted to go.
Yet, there were many reasons not to go.
A friend who is somewhat older and much wiser and also a Rebbe advised me not to go.
“You are not as young as you once were and are not in the greatest health. It will be a long, tedious day with lots of walking and many unknowns.
The Event is very critical, and you must encourage the Shul to go; however, you should not feel personally obligated. It’s a very long trip.”
That was on Thursday night, November 16.
I realized the person advising me had my best interests at heart.
I had already booked an airline ticket and a hotel room.
However, after my older friend’s advice, I promptly canceled my airline ticket and hotel reservation.
I could drive.
However, driving seemed to me to be out of the question.
I could never imagine driving four-plus hours (each way).
(Full discretion, “even” driving to Lakewood is challenging and strenuous for me, and over the last few years, I rarely attend Chasunahs there. Please forgive me if you are one of those whose Chasuna, Vort, or other Simcha I missed in Lakewood. I have no driver and tend to fall asleep while driving.)
With a heavy heart, I decided not to go to Washington.
Part Two- What Changed?
Biden apologized to Muslim-American leaders for questioning death toll from Hamas Organization
President Biden apologized to some prominent Muslim-American leaders for publicly questioning the Palestinian death toll being reported by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, a new report says.
Biden huddled with five Muslim American leaders the day after his Oct. 25 comments about reported Gaza deaths roiled the Islamic community, vowing to “do better.”
During the meeting, which was initially planned for 30 minutes but lasted more than twice as long, Biden heard the leaders describe individuals they knew who were personally affected by the conflict.
“I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in myself,” Biden told the group, the Washington Post reported.
A day before, during a press conference, the president openly questioned the accuracy of the casualty figures from Gaza, given Hamas’ terror track record.
“I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,” Biden said.
“I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s a price of waging war,” he added.
More than 14,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including many women and children, have been killed in the conflict, according to data from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
Israel has suffered more than 1,200 fatalities — mostly also civilians, who were killed when the terror group launched a sneak attack on Israel on Oct. 7, according to the Jewish state.
The Muslim-American leaders who met with Biden urged him to show more empathy to the Palestinians. Biden reportedly hugged one of the participants at the end of the meeting.
Biden has affirmed US support for Israel following the bloody Oct. 7 attack.
But he also has increasingly pushed for a pause in the fighting to allow humanitarian aid to flow into the beleaguered Gaza Strip and for hostages to get released.
“For weeks, I’ve been advocating to pause the fighting for two purposes: to increase the assistance getting into the Gaza civilians who need help and to facilitate [the] release of hostages,” Biden said Sunday.
“We know that innocent children in Gaza are suffering greatly as well,” the president said.
Dutch Freedom Party Leader Says ‘Jordan Is Palestine’ Period!
Dutch leader Geert Wilders elicited sharp reactions after he made a radical proposal on Saturday, suggesting that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be resolved by relocating Palestinians to Jordan, denying their right to an independent sovereign state.
Wilders, who is trying to form a government after his party won the election last week, tweeted that “Jordan is Palestine”, causing a firestorm of criticism and condemnation from Arab states and the international community. Wilders, a staunch Israel supporter who once spent time on a kibbutz, is known as the “Dutch Trump” both for his extravagant dyed hair and firebrand right-wing rhetoric, including a suggestion to prohibit Muslim citizens in Holland unless they reject Sharia law.
Wilders suggestion is in stark contrast to longstanding international consensus and United Nations resolutions that advocate for a two-state solution with east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, although former US government of Donald Trump had rejected the possibility of a Palestinian presence in Jerusalem.
Finally an "askan" Pushing Back Against Mayor Adams, Demands Arrests in School Riot
As reported on DIN News, a terrifying riot took place at a Queens public school, during which hundreds of crazed students “rampaged through the halls” for nearly two hours after they discovered that a teacher had participated in a pro-Israel event.
The teacher managed to barricade herself in a locked office, yet a mob of violent students stood outside, trying to break down the door.
Mayor Eric Adams shared the story on X, commenting: “The vile show of antisemitism at Hillcrest High School was motivated by ignorance-fueled hatred, plain and simple, and it will not be tolerated in any of our schools, let alone anywhere in our city,” adding, “We are better than this.” Adams said the city was conducting a full investigation, and that “teams will begin outreach with students at Hillcrest to ensure they understand why this behavior was unacceptable.”
However it is very unclear what consequences, if any, will be faced by the violent mob.
Chassidic commentator Yossi Gestetner pushed back on Adams, pointing out that when Jews commit acts that are far less dangerous against Muslims, they are arrested, and the punishment for antisemites should be comparable.
Gestetner tweeted “Last week, NYC charged someone with multiple counts after harassing a street vendor. There is video of this mass harassment and intimidation at the workplace. How many people will @NYPDnews arrest? Equal Justice Under the Law, sir.”
Brooklyn councilwoman InnaVernikov tweeted: “@NYCMayor we want to see CONSEQUENCES. Without that, this behavior will continue and will only get worse.”
Hillcrest High School in Jamaica is several blocks from a thriving Orthodox Jewish neighborhood. Antisemitic students created a group chat, according to a senior at the school. “Hundreds of kids” then “flooded into hallways,…chanting, jumping, shouting, and waving Palestinian flags or banners.”
The rioting was partially caught on video, as the students themselves filmed these events, and posted them on TikTok.
The NYPD sent about 25 officers to the scene, who rushed the teacher into an office and locked the door, at which point students tried to break their way in. The “riot,” as students called it, lasted about two hours.
“They found where [the teacher] lives,” one student told the NY Post. “Her address, her phone number, her family and everything.”
Last week, NYC charged someone with multiple counts after harassing a street vendor. There is video of this mass harassment and intimidation at the workplace. How many people will @NYPDnews arrest?
— Yossi Gestetner (@YossiGestetner) November 26, 2023
Equal Justice Under the Law, sir.
Giving it to @NYCSchools is a downgrade.
How a Female IDF tank crew ran down dozens of Hamas terrorists on October 7
When a group of young Israeli women were woken up at 6:30 a.m. on October 7, they had no idea they would be making history as the first female armored crews in Israel, and perhaps the world, to participate in active battle.
In an interview with Channel 12 this week, the combat soldiers spoke of thundering along main roads to get to some of the 20 southern Israeli communities that came under massive assault that morning, running down terrorists, and securing breaches on the border with the Gaza Strip.
One of the officers in the unit, identified as Hagar, told Channel 12: “[My commander] comes into our room at 6:30 a.m., wakes me up and tells us that there’s a terrorist infiltration. We didn’t really understand the enormity of the event.”
Sunday, November 26, 2023
13 Israeli hostages have returned to Israel
The release of the third group of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity is underway.
The Prime Minister's office has confirmed that 13 Israeli citizens who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th have returned to Israel.
According to the IDF, Red Cross representatives transferred 12 hostages over to IDF special forces and ISA forces adjacent to the border fence in the central Gaza Strip. From there, they made their way to the Hatzerim Base.
An additional released hostage who returned to Israel, 84-year-old Elma Avraham, is in serious condition and was evacuated via a helicopter directly to a hospital.
In parallel, four released hostages were transferred over to Egypt through the Rafah Crossing, from which they will make their way to the meeting point with IDF soldiers in Israeli territory.
The families of the hostages are being updated by IDF representatives with the latest available information.
The hostages are:
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