Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Thank you, Hashem for the State of Israel!
By Tzvi Fishman
For me, one of the most poignant events of Israel Memorial Day has been attending the memorial ceremony at my children’s and grandchildren’s religious kindergartens, grade schools and high schools, during which the students tell stories about brave Israeli soldiers who have fallen defending our cherished Homeland, the greatest sacrifice and sanctification of G-d that a Jew can make.
How proud it makes me feel to watch the youngsters act out the famous battle of Givat HaTachmoshet, one of the decisive battles of the Six Day War. After the long memorial siren that is sounded all over the country, the children parade with Israeli flags around the auditorium in tune to rousing Israeli melodies of patriotism and valor.
“Thank you, G-d,” I say quietly while I watch. “Thank you for making me realize that George Washington isn’t the founder of my country and that my children have never heard about Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. Thank You G-d for bringing me to the Land of the Jews and teaching me the true meaning of Torah, which isn’t just performing individual precepts like kashrut and Shabbos, but also helping to build the Holy Jewish Nation in its Holy Land, to serve in Tzahal and play a part in the exalted mitzvah of conquering the Land and defending it against enemies who rise against it.
Thank You for giving me healthy, wonderful children and grandchildren who are all growing up as Jews through and through, celebrating Israel’s Memorial and Independence Days, and not someone else’s, children who will grow up to become soldiers of Israel and defend Your inheritance of the Jews, and not do everything they can to dodge army service like young Jews do in other countries.”
Only an oleh who lives in Israel can appreciate the incredible difference between religious kids who grow up in Israel and their Diaspora counterparts. Kids in Israel are a different species of child, a totally different breed. Sure they like candy and Coke and playing basketball like all children, but their heads are in a completely different place. Even those who are not as close to the Torah as we would like, they are all ready to fight and die for their fellow Jews and to defend Hashem’s chosen Land.
The wars they learn about are Jewish wars.
Their war heroes are Israeli.
Their flag is the Star of David – not the Stars and Stripes of someone else’s country.
Their songs of patriotism are Israeli.
They celebrate Israel’s independence and not the Fourth of July or Bastille Day.
The history they learn is the history of Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and King David, Rabbi Akiva, the Maccabees, and the heroes of the Jewish Underground who fought against all odds to chase the British out from our Homeland so that Jews could live proudly in a country of our own.
Instead of growing up being American kids who are Jewish, they are Children of Israel, just as we are called in the Bible.
As Israeli jets roar over Jerusalem practicing for the air show on Yom Ha'Atzmaut, I thank G-d that my kids and JEWISH grandchildren are where they belong – in the Land that G-d gave them and where He wants them to be. As Israeli helicopters streak by outside my window, I thank G-d for opening my eyes to the fact that being Jewish means being absorbed in Jewish history, and celebrating JEWISH independence, and living in the Jewish Land and performing the mitzvot in the place they were meant to be performed.
Thank you G-d for having opened my ears and helping me to actualize the goal of our prayers in bringing me home to live a life of Torah in the Land you gave to my forefathers, as we pray every day, three times a day, in the Amidah prayer, “Sound the great shofar of our freedom; lift up the banner to bring our exiles together, and gather us from the four corners of the earth.”
How a bereaved wife responded when a high school principal tried to silence her
Sigal, the wife of Kibbutz Be'eri Security Coordinator Arik Kraunik, who fell during the October 7th Massacre, delivered a lecture on Monday to the students of the Hartman High School in Jerusalem.
In her lecture, Sigal discussed the loss of trust in her neighbors in Gaza. She quoted Avida Bachar, a survivor of the massacre who lost his wife Dana and son Carmel, and was himself wounded, who said that it was a good thing the massacre did not occur in Judea and Samaria because that way he understood how guilty the Gazans were.
In a post on social media, the bereaved wife described how her words upset the school's principal. "With a crowd of about 400 students in the auditorium, I began the lecture, which has already been given over 250 times. In the middle, the girl who invited me came over, motioned for me to stop, and whispered in my ear: 'The principal says that this is not the message the school wants to give, and if possible, skip this part and get straight to the personal story."
Kraunik recounts how, at that moment, she gathered strength from something that ex-IDF general Ofir Winter once said about humility. "I stopped, I took a breath, and then Ofir Winter's spirit stood before me and reminded me of the new meaning of humility that I learned from him. I told her: 'This is the lecture, this is my truth, and if the principal doesn't like it, I can get off the stage and go home.' I didn't even get to finish my sentence, and suddenly a fierce round of applause was heard throughout the auditorium. The students clapped loudly. I saw the principal look at the one who invited me and motioned to her to continue.
"That's how the victory of the spirit is born! Education needs to allow children a choice. Democracy grants a space for every opinion and free choice. I only continued the lecture for those pure faces and hands that expressed what the heart wanted," she concluded.
“TZIYONIM AREN’T YIDDEN!” Protests Erupt Outside Tel Hashomer as Charedim Rally Against IDF Enlistment
DIN: "Tziyonim Aren't Yidden!" "Nazis" "Sinwar".... this coming from Yidden learning Torah, learning Mussar !זו תורה וזו שכרה .... Where did I hear that "Torah refines you?"
The protestors weren't only Yeshiva Bochrim, but also married Kollel guys, all barking "Tziyonim Aren't Yidden" "Nazi Nazi!" Torah didn't refine any of those protestors! Not one!
This is why Yom Ha"shoah is so important! Only a Jew that is clueless of what happened to Jews in the Shoah can bark at another Jew "Nazi Nazi" "Sinwar"
There is a WhatsApp chat called "CBN UNFILTERED" that posted in reference to these very protestors: " just to clarify the gedoilim have told them to protest."
I would like to know who these "gedoilim" are?
How would one of these "gedoilim" feel if their own child enlisted (against their parents wishes) and someone barked ""Tziyonim Aren't Yidden" "Nazi Nazi?" "Sinwar"at their own child?
So it's ok to call someone else's child "Nazi!" It's ok to call someone else's child "You aren't a Yid" but what if its your own family member who decided to enlist?
Riots broke out today outside the IDF recruitment center in Tel Hashomer, as Charedim staged loud and aggressive protests against the enlistment of yeshivaleit into the army.
The protesters attempted to disrupt the recruitment of soldiers for the Chashmonaim Brigade — a unit specifically designed to accommodate charedi recruits who wish to uphold a Torah lifestyle while serving. Demonstrators blocked roads, shouted inflammatory slogans, and handed out anti-enlistment pamphlets.
As young soldiers entered the base, the protesters screamed insults such as, “Don’t kill yourself,” “This is Gehinnom,” and even went so far as to call them “Nazis” and say that “Tziyonim are not Jews.”
When Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot showed up to support the draftees, protestors shouted, “Sukkot is like [Yahya] Sinwar!”
Police and Border Guard forces were deployed in large numbers to secure the area and maintain order as the situation escalated. The police reported that at one point protesters laid down in the streets to block traffic, forcing officers to physically remove them to allow vehicles to pass. One individual was arrested amid the chaos.
Several main roads in the area were shut down, including Yaakov Dori Street in Kiryat Ono between Shaul HaMelech and Levi Eshkol, causing heavy backups along Route 461 from the Beit B’Park intersection all the way to Mesubim Junction. Motorists were urged to seek alternate routes.
Meanwhile, inside the recruitment center, around 70 active-duty soldiers and an additional 110 reservists who had volunteered to transition into combat roles were processed for enlistment into the Chashmonaim Brigade.
Hamas Captive Karina Ariev: ‘For 7 Days We Didn’t Touch Pita, Even Though We Were So Hungry’
Karina Ariev, the IDF observer who was freed from captivity in Gaza, recently shared her story at a special gathering organized by the “Kesher Yehudi” organization. She spoke of a journey filled with faith, inner strength, and a profound connection to G-d that became her anchor amid the horrors she endured. With deeply moving words and raw honesty, Karina described how faith alone managed to sustain her hope during her terrifying ordeal.
“I’m not angry at G-d, but I do cry out to Him, like one cries out to a father,” Karina shared during the emotional meeting. “I speak to Him as I would to a father, and sometimes I say, ‘Father, why such a painful slap?'”
She explained to those present that under unimaginable conditions of hunger, fear, and uncertainty, she found comfort in speaking directly to G-d, like a daughter turning to her father.
Karina also recounted a profound spiritual experience she shared with the other captives: “All the hostages in Gaza tangibly felt divine protection. It was impossible to survive such hell without complete faith in G-d, and impossible to come out of captivity without feeling with certainty that G-d personally protected and saved you.”
One of the most touching moments in Karina’s story was the collective decision she and her fellow captives made to observe Pesach even while in captivity. “We decided not to eat Chametz ,” she said. “For seven days, not one of us touched pita bread, even though we were terribly hungry.”
Rabbanit Tsili Schneider, chairwoman of “Kesher Yehudi,” said at the gathering: “This decision, which seems almost superhuman given the severe hunger they faced, illustrates the incredible strength of faith and the captives’ commitment to preserve their Jewish identity even in a state of helplessness. Hearing these powerful testimonies is chilling. Their strength of faith deeply strengthens the people of Israel.”
Monday, April 28, 2025
Despite Protests Chareidim (Ger, Slonim, Belz)Start Enlisting in the IDF!
Bus full of Charedie Recruits
Dramatic Watch moment DEA raids underground nightclub frequented by MS-13 in Colorado, arresting more than 100
BREAKING: Over 100 illegals arrested in a DEA sting operation targeting an illegal, underground nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO.
The DEA says there was drug trafficking, pr0stitution, crimes of violence, and weapons seized.
Over a dozen active duty military members were… pic.twitter.com/VBizzS2cTe
Dramatic footage captured the moment hundreds of DEA agents descended on a Colorado nightclub over the weekend, detaining more than 100 illegal immigrants in an early morning raid.
More than 300 law enforcement officers from federal and local agencies were involved in the operation, seizing drugs and weapons from the underground nightclub Sunday morning in Colorado Springs.
A total of 114 illegal migrants were detained in the raid on the underground club allegedly frequented by members of the MS-13 criminal organization, according to authorities.
Federal officers can be seen breaking a large front window of an unbranded building as people flee into the night — many wearing outfits suitable for a nightclub, according to video posted online by the DEA on Sunday morning.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 27, 2025
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