US rabbi asked to remove kippah, delegation cuts Saudi Arabia visit short

 

A US delegation on religious freedom said on Monday it cut short its visit to Saudi Arabia after one of its members was asked to remove his kippah, AFP reported.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said its delegation was near Riyadh visiting Diriyah, a historic town that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, when the commission's chair, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, "refused their requests that he remove his religious head covering."

"No one should be denied access to a heritage site, especially one intended to highlight unity and progress, simply for existing as a Jew," Rabbi Cooper said in a statement.

The USCIRF said Rabbi Cooper and its vice chair, Reverend Frederick Davie, were invited to tour the site last Tuesday as part of their official visit when, after several delays to the tour, officials requested that Rabbi Cooper remove his kippah "while at the site and anytime he was to be in public, even though the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs had approved the site visit."

Rabbi Cooper said that Saudi Arabia "is in the midst of encouraging change under its 2030 Vision" but added, "However, especially in a time of raging antisemitism, being asked to remove my kippah made it impossible for us from USCIRF to continue our visit."

The USCIRF said it was particularly regrettable it happened to the representative of "an American government agency that promotes religious freedom."

The commission is a US government advisory body mandated by the US Congress.

The Saudi embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to AFP request for comment.

The incident comes against a backdrop of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Israel over the war in Gaza. While Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have ties, the US has been working on promoting a normalization agreement.

Israel and Saudi Arabia appeared to be on track towards normalization before Hamas’ October 7 attack against Israel and the war in Gaza which followed.

Shortly after the start of the war in Gaza, sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia is putting the US-backed plans to normalize ties with Israel on ice.

Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, later said that he believes talks on normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia will resume immediately after the conclusion of the war in Gaza.

Prince Faisal said in late February that normalization with Israel requires both an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip as well as the establishment of a Palestinian state.

On Sunday, Saudi King Salman called for halting what he described the “heinous crimes” in the Gaza Strip.

Exclusive to DIN: First of the Sfardim Leaving Israel .. Captured on Video!

 Following Rav Yosef's directive the first of the Sfardie families have left Israel and flying to Chutz Le'aarets. Ths exclusive video clip features the "chacham" family! 

Hamas Leaders Slowly but Surely Getting Their Virgins!

Sent from my Hamas office in Gaza:

In red - neutralized

In orange - survived an assassination attempt

In blue - fled outside the Strip. 

We hope soon all will be in red.

 

‘Hamas cowards’ hide behind Ramadan .....Fetterman

 

Of course. Hamas cowards hide in tunnels, hospitals, schools and refugee camps. Now, behind a holy time.

Hamas must be destroyed and Sinwar brought to justice or eliminated. I fully support Israel's campaign to achieve this. pic.twitter.com/K0nufeUAuk

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 10, 2024

Extremists in Ramat Beit Shemesh "daled" Testing New Mayor Implementing Segregation in Restaurants Etc

Chaim Yehuda Rubinstein Leader of Extremists 

Translation follows the Hebrew! 

 פרסום ראשון. הרב חיים יהודה רובינשטיין, מנהיג הקיצונים ברחוב ריש לקיש בבית שמש, החל לזמן אליו בעלי חנויות באזור *ודורש מהם להחמיר את הכללים בחנויות, כמו שעות פתיחה, מתחם ישיבה ולבוש המוכרות.* וזאת, שעות לאחר ניצחון המועמד החרדי לראשות העיר.

במקביל, רובינשטיין מפעיל לחץ על מערכות הכשרות ודורש מהם להתיישר עם התנאים שלו, ולהסיר את הכשרות מחנויות מסוימות, במידה ולא ייענו לדרישותיו.

רק אתמול, בעיצומו של יום הבחירות, *רובינשטיין דרש מראש העיר שמוליק גרינברג, שיתלווה אליו לקלפי על מנת שיוכל לדון איתו על פרטי ההסכם עם מפלגת 'דרך',* בראשות מוטי לייטנר. למערכת *'חדשות העיר'* נודע כי פניותיו לא נענו, וזאת לאחר שרובינשטיין גרם לאיבוד המנדט הרביעי של סיעת 'כח' בעקבות תסיסה בקהילות הצעירות על הזמנתו לאירוע חנוכת הבית של מטה 'כח'.

למערכת *'חדשות העיר'* נודע כי רובינשטיין מנהל כבר כמה שנים מאבק אישי נגד לייטנר, פעיל שכונתי שאחראי על מספר יוזמות לצעירים ברמת בית שמש, *וכעת הוא לחוץ בעיקר מהסעיף שמעניק ללייטנר את האחריות על השיטור העירוני, וזאת נוכח עבירות הבנייה בבית המדרש שלו ובדירתו ברחוב ריש לקיש.*

בתקופת בלוך, משטרת בית שמש עצרה גורמים מטעם רובינשטיין שאיימו על בעלי חנויות. *האם גם עכשיו, לאחר המהפך בעירייה, המשטרה בראשות אלון ויינשטיין תמשיך לפעול בעוצמה ותשים את ידה על רובינשטיין?* ימים יגידו.

*

 Hours after the Grinberg's Election as Mayor , the leader of the extremists summoned store owners and declared war on the 'Derach' party* 

" Rabbi" Chaim Yehuda Rubinstein, the leader of the extremists on Rish Lakish Street in Beit Shemesh Daled, began summoning shop owners in the area and demanding that they tighten the rules in the shops, such as opening hours, seating areas, and the clothing of the saleswomen. This is only hours after the victory of the ultra-orthodox candidate for mayor.

In addition, Rubinstein put pressure on the Hechsheirim agencies and will have his own, threatening to remove the hechsheirim from certain stores, if they do not meet his conditions 

Just yesterday, in the midst of election day, Rubinstein demanded that Mayor Shmulik Greenberg accompany him to the polls so that he could discuss with him the details of the agreement with the Derech party, led by Motti Leitner.

 His requests were nso not met,  after Rubinstein caused the 'Koiach' faction to lose its fourth mandate due to unrest in the young communities over his invitation to the Chanukas Habayis event of the 'Koiach' headquarters.

The "News of the City" system has learned that for several years Rubinstein has been actively fighting against Leitner, a neighbor who is responsible for a number of initiatives (Kiruv) for young people in Ramat Beit Shemesh, Rubinstein has it in for Leitner as Leitner reported Rubuinstein's building violations at his Beit Midrash and his apartment on Rish Lakish Street.*

During the Bloch era, the Beit Shemesh police arrested officials backing Rubinstein who threatened shop owners. 

*Will the new administration, with the new police director Alon Weinstein continue to act firmly control Rubinstein?* Time will tell.

India announces steps to implement a citizenship law that excludes Muslims

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Monday announced rules to implement a 2019 citizenship law that excludes Muslims, weeks before the Hindu nationalist leader seeks a third term in office.

The Citizenship Amendment Act provides a fast track to naturalization for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to Hindu-majority India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before Dec. 31, 2014. The law excludes Muslims, who are a majority in all three nations.

The law was approved by Indian Parliament in 2019, but Modi’s government had held off with its implementation after deadly protests broke out in the capital, New Delhi, and elsewhere. Scores were killed during days of clashes.

The nationwide protests in 2019 drew people of all faiths who said the law undermines India’s foundation as a secular nation. Muslims were particularly worried that the government could use the law, combined with a proposed national register of citizens, to marginalize them.

In Yiddish! Nitra Rav Beit Shemesh Debunks the "Three Oaths" Laughs at the Assertion that "the State is Holding Up Moshiach"

 Rav Amrom Gross Shlita ... 

Satmar Rebbe R' Aharon Meets With "treifineh" OU Rabonim Concerning Kashrus Of Mezuzos On The Market

 

Do they know something we don't? American Billionaires Jeff Bezos, Leon Black, Mark Zuckerberg, Jamie Dimon and Walmart's Walton family sell a staggering $11 BILLION in stock -

 

American billionaires are selling stocks by the boatload - sparking fears of an impending financial disaster.

Jeff Bezos - the third-richest man behind Louis Vuitton's Bernard Arnaut and Elon Musk - unloaded $8.5billion in Amazon shares this month alone.

Mark Zuckerberg - the fourth-richest - sold about 1.4 million Meta shares worth roughly $638million.

Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan, shilled $150 million this past week, in his first cash-out since taking the reins at the bank nearly two decades ago.

Within days, Apollo Global Management's Leon Black also enacted his first-ever sale, shedding $172.8million in his equity firm after 34 years. Walmart's Walton family sold $1.5billion in a week, bringing its total sale proceeds to $2.3billion since December.

The series of transactions were all made within weeks of each other, and have already sparked conversation amongst onlookers.

Experts this week theorized the sales could be the result of the looming election, and as the S&P 500 index - a decent measure of the larger economy - remains at an all-time high.

'If you're reading the tea leaves and looking at what may happen with our politics in the next year or so, things are pretty good right now - the markets are up,' finance firm consultant Alan Johnson told Fortune late last month.

The staffer at Manhattan-based Johnson Associates went on to suggest the sales could be the result of potentially volatile fall, to coincide with the upcoming general election.

'With our politics and everything else going on geopolitically, maybe it won't be as good a year from now or two years from now,' he conceded.

The expert then pointed to the S&P 500's recent, impressive performance, and how it has risen more than 27 percent in the past year.

This development added billions to the portfolios of the figures responsible for the recent sales within a year, Johnson reminded - adding that these execs are currently 'more in the money' than expected.

Liz Cheney’s January 6 Committee suppressed evidence" that the Trump administration pushed for 10,000 National Guard members to be on the streets

The Jan. 6 congressional committee allegedly falsely claimed it did not have evidence showing former President Donald Trump’s administration requested National Guard assistance, according to a report detailing a "hidden transcript" that was recently released. 

"The former J6 Select Committee apparently withheld Mr. Ornato’s critical witness testimony from the American people because it contradicted their pre-determined narrative. Mr. Ornato’s testimony proves what Mr. Meadows has said all along: President Trump did in fact offer 10,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. Capitol, which was turned down," Georgia Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk said in a statement on Friday. 

Loudermilk released a transcript of former White House deputy chief of staff Anthony Ornato’s interview with the congressional committee investigating Jan. 6 on Friday, following the Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway, also a Fox News contributor, reporting, "Former Rep. Liz Cheney’s January 6 Committee suppressed evidence" that the Trump administration pushed for 10,000 National Guard members to be on the streets. 

Ornato’s interview was conducted in January 2022, and attended by Cheney, among other members on the committee. In addition to serving as deputy chief of staff under Trump, Ornato served in the Secret Service for decades. 

The committee, which included seven Democrats and two now-former Republican Congress members, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, concluded that it found "no evidence" that the Trump administration called for 10,000 National Guard members to Washington, D.C., to protect the Capitol.