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Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Did R' Yoel Teitelbaum, 1st Satmar Rebbi perpetuate his anti-Zionist views because of his big mistake?

George Mandel-Mantello greets the Satmar Rebbe, Joel Teitelbaum, when he arrives in Switzerland on the Kasztner transport from Bergen-Belsen.(United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Enrico Mandel-Mantello)
By Menachem Keren-Kratz
From Tablet Magazine
[hat tip: mo]

The Satmar Rebbe and the Destruction of Hungarian Jewry: Part 1

The terrible cost of Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum’s life and actions during the Holocaust, and his later extremism

In her book Be-Seter Ha-Madrega (In the Covert of the Cliff), Haredi Holocaust historian Esther Farbstein writes, “Rabbi Yoel (Yoelish) of Satmar was unquestionably chief among leaders [of Haredi Jews in Hungary].” If Farbstein is correct in her claim, Rabbi Yoel’s conduct before, during, and after the Holocaust may explain, albeit only partially, the extraordinary devastation suffered by the Hungarian Orthodox community, which had regarded him as “chief among leaders.”

The first section of this article describes Rabbi Yoel’s life and actions during the Holocaust, both on personal and public levels, as reflected in his writings, the contemporary press, memoirs written by his Hasidim, and archival sources.

In many cases, researchers note that Rabbi Yoel’s position regarding the Holocaust was extreme and exceptional compared to views held by other rabbis and spokespeople of the Haredi community. Yet the worldview he cultivated, coupled with his theological explanations of the Holocaust and its mystical meaning, drew a growing number of followers, in whose eyes he was the last remnant of a dying ideology. His anti-Zionist worldview, representing as it did to them the Eastern European “Old Home,” expunged his failures during the Holocaust.
As his public stature grew, criticism from within diminished, while criticism from without was disregarded and dismissed as Zionist defamation.

As I argue in greater detail in the following, Rabbi Yoel’s life, activities, and decisions during the Holocaust and his pressing need to explain and justify them thereafter offer a possible explanation for the extremism of his later views.

Any fair examination of the historical record shows that Rabbi Yoel’s contribution to assisting Jewish refugees and to the rescue of Transylvanian Haredi Jews was negligible.

Prior to the Holocaust, he ignored the dangers threatening the Jews of Transylvania and failed to engage in the preparation of rescue and aid plans.
Although he became privy to reports on the extermination of the Jewish communities in Poland, given his position as a member of the Central Bureau and through his connections with the authorities, he refrained from calling on his followers to save or prepare themselves.
On the contrary, he warned any would-be immigrants to Palestine or other countries that they were in danger of severely harming their Haredi way of life.

Moreover, he refrained from cooperating with the Zionist—and even with the Haredi—leadership in addressing current issues or preparing for the impending threat and even opposed measures of a religious nature, such as prayer and fast days, which he feared would be perceived as a protest against the authorities.

When the danger of war became real and immediate, Rabbi Yoel did his best to equip himself and his closest circle with certificates or visas that would facilitate their escape to Palestine or the United States. At the same time, he thwarted all attempts at cooperation between the heads of the Orthodox communities and the Zionist organizations, which could have helped to rescue them. He failed to set a personal example and rejected his associates’ advice to prepare a hiding place or attempt to cross the border to Romania. Had he done so, some of his Hasidim may have done the same and thus survived.

When put to the test, he chose to save himself clandestinely after his own congregation had already been incarcerated in ghettos and to abandon his followers in the time of their harshest adversity. His conduct stands in stark contrast to that of other rabbis in his vicinity, many of whom rejected pleas to save themselves and accompanied their congregations to the transport trains, the extermination camps, and in some cases even into the gas chambers.
***

Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum (1887–1979) was the youngest son of Rabbi Hananya Yom-Tov Lipa Teitelbaum (1836–1904), chief rabbi of Sighet (Sighetul Marmaţiei, Máramarossziget), the seat of Maramures county in Hungary and rebbe of a large Hasidic court.

 From a young age, he became known for his intellectual capacity, but the child Yoel was not destined to succeed his father as leader of the Hasidic movement, head of the yeshiva (rabbinical seminary), and chief rabbi of Sighet because these posts were designated for his elder brother.

Shortly after Rabbi Yoel’s marriage at the age of 17, his father died. In order to ensure that he would not interfere with the smooth transfer of power to his older brother, the destitute Rabbi Yoel was obliged to leave Sighet, settling in the nearby town of Satmar (Satu Mare). From then on, he worked persistently and determinedly to carve out a place for himself as a leader in the Hasidic community. Over the years, he became known for his relentlessly ambitious personality and his ultra-conservative, anti-modern and anti-Zionist views, which led him to fiercely oppose even the activities of the pan-Haredi Agudath Israel movement.

In 1934, Rabbi Yoel was appointed chief rabbi of Satmar, Romania. This appointment was preceded by six years of bitter public wrangling with adversaries who sought to prevent the appointment of the zealous rabbi.

In 1937, following numerous failed attempts, Rabbi Yoel achieved his ultimate goal and was appointed to the executive committee of the Central Bureau of the Orthodox Communities in Transylvania, the body that managed and oversaw the lives of some 150,000 observant and Haredi Jews. With this appointment, Rabbi Yoel fulfilled his lifelong ambition to become the chief rabbi of a major community, head of a yeshiva, and a rebbe of a Hasidic dynasty, thus becoming a key figure with considerable influence over the Haredi Jewry of Transylvania. These achievements, however, were overshadowed by news of the growing power of the Nazi regime in Germany.

The year 1933 witnessed restrictive measures that curtailed the ability of Romanian Jews to engage in the economy, government, and public education systems. In Satmar, these measures were reflected in anti-Semitic announcements published in the local press. By December, the numerus clausus was put into effect, and the entire Jewish press was placed under censorship. In 1937, the anti-Semitic propaganda intensified, and the Jewish public was subjected to additional restrictive measures, including restrictions on Zionist activity, a reduction of funds allocated to religious needs, and a curtailment of lawyers’ professional activities.

New anti-Semitic parties took part in the elections held that year, while the Jewish party failed to win even a single seat in parliament. The elected government, headed by Octavian Goga (1881–1938), was blatantly anti-Semitic, and during its 40 days in power, which ended in February 1938, it managed to pass a large number of anti-Jewish decrees and measures.

The most drastic of those was the requirement to review citizenship documents of Jews in the regions annexed to Romania after World War I, thus putting anyone who failed to prove the authenticity of said documents under threat of deportation.

These measures, which violated the treaties protecting the rights of minorities, triggered an incensed international reaction and drove King Carol II of Romania to overthrow the government and proclaim himself ruler of Romania. Yet despite the king’s declarations, most of the restrictive measures against Jews remained in place.

In spite of the numerous reports of anti-Semitic occurrences in Germany and Poland, the Central Bureau, of which Rabbi Yoel was a prominent leader, took no actions to prepare for the imminent threat to Romanian Jewry. Moreover, the Bureau did nothing to try to revoke the requirement to prove Romanian citizenship, nor did it offer aid and relief to the Polish refugees. The same passive policy was adopted by several other organizations, such as the Jewish Party and the Union of Romanian Jews (Uniunea Evreilor Români).

Other organizations, by contrast, undertook initiatives such as the formation of Jewish Self-Defense Brigades and a relief network for refugees, established by the Bureau of the Neolog Communities. (The Reform Movement in Hungary was called Neology.) Despite the prohibition and the risk involved, the Zionist youth movements maintained their activities, prepared for underground action, and at the same time trained pioneers for emigration to Palestine.

When the Goga government came to power in the late 1937, Rabbi Yoel decided to travel to Czechoslovakia. Fearing he may try to escape, leaders of his own community begged him not to abandon them at a time of crisis.
In response, he argued that a tzadik could only perform his work in safety and, ignoring their pleas, departed as scheduled.
A few weeks later, when the king dissolved the government, Rabbi Yoel returned to Satmar, and in his next sermon he justified having left his community. Although aware of the gravity of the situation, in his speech he offered no practical solutions and merely called upon his followers to put their trust in divine deliverance.

Through his involvement in rescue efforts and his connections with the Jewish leadership in Budapest, Rabbi Yoel was well aware of the danger to European Jewry in general and to the Hungarian Jews in particular. Nevertheless, he held that any initiative to revoke the anti-Jewish measures or protest against them was doomed to fail and could even exacerbate the situation. Thus, for instance, although aware of the violent activities initiated by the Romanian student organizations, some of which he experienced firsthand, he objected to the formation of the Jewish defense brigades.

Following the forming of Goga’s government and the harsh measures it passed, Rabbi Yoel rejected the suggestion of Rabbi Ya’akov Elimelech Panet (1899–1944) from Dès that the two rabbis consult with each other and collaborate on a joint response. He also rejected the Central Bureau’s initiative to set a Ta’anit (a day of fast), on Rosh Hodesh (the beginning of the new Hebrew month) of Adar Aleph (February 1939) to pray for the lifting of the harsh measures. He decreed that in Satmar, the fast day would be held two weeks later, on Ta’anit Esther Haqatan (the little Fast of Esther), so as not to be perceived as a protest against the authorities.

By the eve of the Jewish New Year (October 1939), the situation had become graver, and numerous refugees had arrived in the town. In his holiday sermon, Rabbi Yoel mentioned the dire circumstances of the Jewish communities in Poland, but offered his audience no practical solutions other than strict observance of the mitzvot. His own yeshiva was not spared the ravages of the worsening anti-Semitism and was attacked by Romanian soldiers.

In his January 1940 sermon, Rabbi Yoel once again addressed the severity of the circumstances, although there, too, he merely reiterated his calls for prayer and repentance. In August of the same year, the northern part of Transylvania was annexed to Hungary. Although at first, the Jews welcomed the return to the fold of the “Old Homeland,” it soon became apparent that the anti-Jewish measures in Hungary were even harsher than those in Romania.

Later that year Rabbi Yoel helped prevent the deportation of a number of rabbis who did not possess the required citizenship documents. He approved the Central Bureau’s collaboration with the Hungarian Jewish Aid Bureau (Magyar Izraeliták Pártfogó Irodája), which provided aid to Jewish war refugees, and encouraged fundraising in Satmar. He furthermore permitted the use of the funds of the Transylvanian branch of Kolel Shomrei Ha-Homot (the charity fund for Hungarian Orthodox settlers in Palestine), which he headed, as due to the war they could not be transferred to Palestine.

Since its establishment in the early twentieth century, the Central Bureau of Hungary avoided joining Agudath Israel. Following Transylvania’s annexation to Hungary, Agudath Israel exerted increasing pressure on the Bureau to join it, claiming that the joint movement would find it easier to raise funds for Hungarian Jews in the United States. Some of the rabbis in the Bureau, which now included representatives of the regions annexed to Hungary during the war, among them Rabbi Yoel, opposed any change to the historical ban. Several branches of the movement, which were established despite the objections of these rabbis, subsequently engaged in the rescue of many Haredi Jews, including Rabbi Yoel himself.

When the danger became graver, Rabbi Yoel consented to cooperate with some of the Agudah’s officials, and in particular with the head of the Orthodox congregation in Budapest, Philipp (also known as Fülöp or Pinchas) Von Freudiger (1900–1976). The cooperation between the organizations in aiding the refugees drew the Ha-Mizrahi (religious-Zionist) movement and the Haredi leadership in Budapest closer.

Ha-Mizrahi leaders suggested that Haredi Jews participate in the activities of the Zionist national funds and in return agreed that the religious organizations would coordinate their activities, increase the quota of certificates allocated to religious Jews, and facilitate their escape from the imminent threat of war. Following two meetings in late 1941, Rabbi Yoel ultimately decided to reject the proposed cooperation.

Rabbi Yoel helped raise funds to rescue the Jews of the Austrian region of Burgenland, who had been deported in 1943 to the Slovakian periphery. He also joined the attempts to rescue Rabbi Elhanan (Hone) Halberstam (1884–1942) of Koloshitz and Rabbi Yesh’aya Halberstam (1864–1943) of Czchów, who had been incarcerated in the Bochnia ghetto together with some 20 of their relatives. These efforts were jointly initiated by Haim Israel Eiss (1876–1943) and Ya’akov Griffel (1901–1961), representatives of the Rescue Committee (Vaad Ha-Hatsala) formed by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (henceforth, “the Rescue Committee”) in Zurich and Istanbul, respectively.

That same year, Rabbi Yoel traveled to Budapest to attend a rabbinical gathering held to raise funds for an Orthodox aid organization for refugees. Since all the funds entrusted to Rabbi Yoel reached their destination, Eiss suggested that Rabbi Yoel establish an independent rescue organization. Griffel, too, gave his blessing and recommended that the newly formed organization also serve to transfer Jewish Agency funds to its activists throughout Hungary. Although the Jewish Agency accepted the proposal, it made its approval conditional on a signed contract with Rabbi Yoel. The rabbi’s refusal put an end to the scheme.

It was during this period that some 40 rabbis signed a memorandum by which Haredi Jews would be integrated into the Zionist organizations operating networks assisting in the escape and concealment of Jews.
When Rabbi Yoel found out about this, he appealed to the Central Bureau in Budapest, which demanded a nullification of the agreement.
***
During the war years Rabbi Yoel made several attempts to flee from danger. In September 1939, he applied for a tourist visa to visit Palestine for a few months, but his application was rejected. Rumors of his impending trip persisted during the following years.

In 1942, Rabbi Yoel was offered a spot on a list of Zionist rabbis for whom Ha-Mizrahi would obtain certificates that would enable them to immigrate to Palestine, yet he refused. In late 1943, he sent his daughter Royze to Budapest to obtain certificates for himself and his family, but her mission failed. A short while later he traveled to Budapest to try and obtain certificates by himself. Having failed, he sought the help of Joseph Eiss, son of Haim Israel Eiss from Switzerland. Eiss approached Griffel, and the certificate was delivered to the offices of the Jewish Agency in Budapest.

Although issued by the British authorities, these certificates required the approval of the Zionist organizations, which were reluctant to provide them to anti-Zionist rabbis. Therefore, approval of Rabbi Yoel’s certificate was made conditional on his signing a document that recognized the authority of the Zionist organizations in Palestine and renounced the activity of Ha-Edah Ha-Haredit (the ultra-Orthodox community) in Jerusalem, which he refused to do.

Having failed in this attempt, he requested the help of Gyula Weiss, a Zionist and one of the leaders of the Neolog congregation in Cluj (Cluj-Napoca, Kolozsvár, Klausenburg). Weiss replied that in view of Rabbi Yoel’s recent anti-Zionist sermon in Oradea, he was unable to provide him with a certificate. He did, however, provide certificates for Rabbi Yoel’s daughter and son-in-law, who confirmed their repudiation of the rabbi’s anti-Zionist stance.

At the same time, his followers failed to obtain a visa for him to enter the United States. Rabbi Yoel’s attempts to leave Hungary were part of a broader general phenomenon, which attracted criticism, even then, of rabbis and other public figures fleeing the country.

On the other hand, there were many other rabbis, among them Rabbi Yoel’s own relatives, who refused to save themselves and to abandon their congregations to fate.

Rumors of the fate of Poland’s Jewry reached Satmar in 1943, and many Jews began to prepare by building concealed hideouts and locating people who would agree to hide them in return for payment. Offered these alternatives, Rabbi Yoel rejected both.

 The principal route of escape for the Jews in northern Transylvania, then under Hungarian rule, was by crossing the border into Romania. The Zionist movements made preparations in advance to use this route and were thus able to save the lives of more than 10,000 Jews. In March 1944, a group of Hasidim from Oradea dispatched a vehicle to collect Rabbi Yoel so that he could join them in crossing the border. When he refused, the plan was aborted, dooming the entire group.

On March 19, 1944, the Nazis occupied Hungary, and shortly thereafter Adolf Eichmann began implementing the Final Solution plan for Hungary’s hundreds of thousands of Jews.

On April 27, the Jews of Satmar were given three days to move into a ghetto. Subsequently, the son of Rabbi Eliezer Fisch (1880–1944) from Bixad, a close friend of Rabbi Yoel’s, offered to smuggle Rabbi Yoel to Cluj, the place of residence of businessman Yirmiyahu Tessler, one of the leaders of the Hasidic congregation. Joseph Meir Glick, Tessler’s brother-in-law and a resident of Satmar, was also made privy to the scheme. As travel on intercity roads was forbidden to Jews, it was suggested that they travel by train using forged documents and gentiles’ clothing. Joseph Meir’s brother, sent as a vanguard, arrived safely in Cluj, thus proving that the plan was feasible. Refusing to shave off his beard and pass himself off as a gentile, Rabbi Yoel rejected this option as well.

As the date set for the move to the ghetto drew nearer, Rabbi Yoel’s closest associates sought a safer way to smuggle him out. Joseph Meir bribed two junior officers, drivers of a Red Cross ambulance, who agreed to drive Jews to Cluj in return for a handsome sum. Upon receiving the news that the first group of passengers had arrived safely at its destination and was about to cross the border, Rabbi Yoel consented to the escape plan.

The travelers included Rabbi Yoel, his wife, his personal assistant Joseph Dov Ashkenazi, his friend Rabbi Eliezer Fisch and his family, and several wealthy families who paid most of the costs.
On the appointed night, May 3, 1944, Rabbi Yoel, Rabbi Fisch and their families boarded the ambulance followed by other passengers, some of whom were not on the original list. The vehicle set out for Cluj, where the passengers were to be smuggled under cover of darkness to the town of Turda, on the Romanian side of the border.

Amid the chaos of the departure, Joseph Meir, the only person who knew the way to Tessler’s house, was left behind. When his absence was noticed, it was too late to turn back, and when they arrived in Cluj in the middle of the night, the passengers were unable to locate Tessler’s home. At dawn, the drivers ordered the passengers to disembark and left them to wander the streets, trying to locate Jewish homes. Suspected of being local Jews attempting to escape before incarceration in the ghetto, they were soon arrested by the police. When Tessler found out about their arrest he hired a lawyer, but to no avail, as the next day Rabbi Yoel and his entourage were sent to the ghetto.

Conditions in the Cluj ghetto, which was located in the courtyard of a brick factory, were harsh.

Despite the kosher kitchen, Rabbi Yoel asked that his food be prepared in separate vessels. He prayed in a separate minyan and refused to serve as cantor in the makeshift synagogue. He took care not to be seen in public and only conversed with a close circle of followers from the local Hasidic congregation.

During his stay in the ghetto, few of its residents were made aware of his presence, and it seems that he never approached any other rabbis, not even Rabbi Akiva Glasner (1886–1956), Cluj’s chief rabbi.

In view of the harsh living conditions, Rabbi Yoel asked his followers to try to transfer him to Budapest or back to the ghetto of Satmar, where Jews were housed in residential buildings, but they were unable to fulfill his requests.

Upon learning of his incarceration, his close associates managed to obtain a certificate for him, but by then it could no longer be used. The first transports to Auschwitz left on May 25, 1944, a few weeks after the rabbi’s incarceration in the ghetto.

The ghetto’s inmates included several Cluj residents who had been leaders of the Jewish community in Transylvania, among them Dr. Theodor Fischer, a Jewish Party representative in the Romanian Parliament; Dr. Joseph Fischer (unrelated), head of the Neolog congregation and president of the Jewish Party in Transylvania; and Hilel Danzig, son of the rabbi of the modern congregation in Sighet. Another member of this circle was Israel (also known as Rudolf or Rezső) Kasztner, a leader of the Zionist movement and a member of the Budapest Relief and Rescue Committee (Budapesti Segélyező és Mentőbizottság). Kasztner, Dr. Joseph Fischer’s son-in-law, a resident of Budapest, and a member of the Jewish Council, was negotiating a deal with German officials whereby a group of Jews would be put on a special train and taken to a country beyond the boundaries of Nazi occupation in exchange for a hefty bribe.

Toward the finalization of the deal, a list of the passengers, including some 300 inmates of the Cluj ghetto, was compiled, and Rabbi Yoel was offered a spot on the train together with his wife and his assistant, Joseph Ashkenazi. Overcoming his misgivings about the plan and the fact that the train would be under the supervision of Zionists, Rabbi Yoel decided to embark on the journey. He reached this decision with the knowledge that no other rabbis, including his friend Rabbi Eliezer Fisch, would be considered for the list, nor would the rest of his Satmar entourage.
On Friday, June 9, 1944, after the ghetto’s entire population had been transported to Poland, a train carrying 388 Jews left Cluj and arrived at its first stop, in Budapest.
***
Arriving in Budapest on Friday evening, the passengers were taken to a nearby compound, where over 1,000 other people were already waiting to board the train. Although observant passengers received food prepared in the kitchen of one of Budapest’s kosher hotels, Rabbi Yoel’s meals were delivered from the kitchen of Haim Roth, a wealthy member of the Orthodox congregation. During the waiting period, fearing what was in store, Rabbi Yoel slept with his shoes on, ready to flee at a moment’s notice. He was still deliberating about whether to board the train or remain in Budapest, but Freudiger and Roth, leaders of the Orthodox community, convinced him to travel on. They also made sure that several rabbis who were his colleagues at the Central Bureau, such as Jonathan Steiff (1877–1958), rabbi of the Orthodox congregation in Budapest, and Rabbi Shlomo Zvi Strasser (1863–1953) of Debrecen, were also added to the list of passengers.

On Friday, June 30, 1944, once negotiations with the Germans had been concluded, the passengers boarded a freight train that did not leave Budapest until the following day. The plan was for the train to cross the border; continue on its way to Hanover, Germany; and then proceed to Spain via Western Europe. The first mishap occurred within a few hours, at a stop in the border town of Mosonmagyaróvár. The transport’s directors were informed that by order of the Gestapo, the train was to be diverted to Poland. Realizing the significance of the change, the anxious passengers dispatched two men to Budapest to seek help. When told of the change, Freudiger and Roth approached Kasztner, who met with Eichmann. The latter explained that this was a mistake and demanded more money. After several days of negotiations and following the payment of additional funds, some of which were raised specifically for the rescue of Rabbi Yoel, the train continued on its journey.

At the next stop, Bratislava in Slovakia, the town rabbi, Michael Dov Weissmandel (1903–1957), bribed the station workers to delay trains carrying Jews, so that food and drink could be provided for them. He also wrote to the United States and other countries requesting international supervision to ensure the train’s safe arrival.

On Thursday, July 6, 1944, the train left Bratislava for Vienna and then on to Linz. The passengers were able to disembark in Linz, where they bathed and washed their clothes. Throughout the journey, Rabbi Yoel dressed plainly, covered his bearded face with a kerchief and sat in a corner of the last car, hidden from view behind cloth sheets that hung from the ceiling. He shunned the company of the other passengers, including rabbis, and some of the passengers who knew him were impressed by his humility.

On Sunday, July 9, 1944, about a month after its departure from Cluj, the transport arrived at Bergen-Belsen, then a transit camp for Jewish and non-Jewish foreign nationals. Conditions in the camp were relatively comfortable because the detainees were to be exchanged for Germans from other countries or for collaborators and spies.

The “Hungarian Group” was held in a special section, in better conditions than those of other groups. Its members were allowed to keep their personal belongings and enjoyed relative freedom. Although the group included quite a number of notable figures, Rabbi Yoel was given special consideration. The group’s physician exempted him from roll calls, and volunteers performed the tasks imposed on him.

Rabbi Yoel refrained from associating with the other rabbis and spoke only to Rabbi Jonathan Steiff, with whom he studied Torah and Talmud. He did not pray in the camp’s makeshift synagogue, and only on the Sabbath did he join a minyan to hear the Torah reading. During his stay in the camp, he never shaved and refused to consume products such as medicines, tinned sardines, and condensed milk, fearing they may not be in adherence to Jewish dietary laws. Despite the difficult circumstances, he remained as strict as ever and even confronted one of the rabbis and accused him of being overly lenient in his rulings.

Negotiations regarding the release of the detainees dragged on, as fundraising efforts in Hungary were stalled due to the war, inner conflicts among the rescue organizations, particularly in Switzerland, and delays in approving the transfer of funds raised in the United States to Germany. Such approval was required under the regulations of the British and American treasuries, which prohibited the transfer of funds to countries with which they were at war.

About two months after the train’s arrival at Bergen-Belsen, a group of 318 passengers was released. When it was discovered that Rabbi Yoel was not among them, rescue activists in Switzerland asked Kasztner to make sure that he be included in the second group to be released.

At the same time, another unusable certificate was obtained for him, and rescue organizations in Switzerland appealed to Orthodox organizations in the United States on his behalf. George Mantello (1901–1992), the consul of El Salvador in Geneva, used his connections with Nazi officer Kurt Trumpi to send Rabbi Yoel medicine and other necessities.ation of the Jewish defense brigades.

On Dec. 3, 1944, the remaining passengers were released and transported by train to Bregenz, on the Swiss border. With the help of Kasztner and SS officer Herman Krumey, the final arrangements were made, and the passengers were transferred to another train, which crossed the Swiss border. Ultimately, the Swiss authorities agreed to accept the survivors and grant them refugee status, while restricting their place of residence and length of stay. The train stopped first at St. Gallen, where it was met by representatives of the various rescue organizations operating in Switzerland, who immediately recognized Rabbi Yoel’s bearded visage.

The chief rabbi of the Orthodox congregation in Zurich, Rabbi Mordechai Ya’akov Breisch (1895–1976), himself a Holocaust survivor, was the first to shake his hand and present him with a note (Kvitel in Yiddish) containing a request for a blessing, thereby symbolically restoring his status as a Hasidic rebbe.

News of the group’s release reached Jerusalem, where the rabbi’s daughter and son-in-law had settled after escaping Hungary across the Romanian border. The event was likewise publicized in the American Jewish press, where Rabbi Yoel’s name figured prominently. During the ensuing weeks, the story of his rescue spread to liberated Europe, and in Bucharest local rabbis held a thanksgiving meal in honor of the occasion.

Upon his arrival in Switzerland, Rabbi Yoel was accorded preferential treatment by the authorities. Since the train arrived in St. Gallen on a Friday, he was permitted to spend the Sabbath with a Jewish family, where he was provided with kosher food and elegant clothing while the rest of the group traveled on to the town of Caux.

That Sunday, Rabbi Yoel traveled to Caux, but when he reached Montreux, he asked to stop there so that he could light the Hanukkah candles at the appointed time and receive students from the local yeshiva who came to meet him.

The following day Rabbi Yoel rejoined the other passengers, but Mantello and Fischer intervened on his behalf, and he was permitted to stay with Moshe Gross in Geneva. By Passover, Rabbi Yoel had already rented his own apartment in Geneva, paid for with money raised by his followers in the United States. By then, he was answering queries on halakha, attending family events, and had visited the Montreux yeshiva and given a lesson to its students. On the festival of Shavu’ot, his last holiday in Switzerland, several dozens of guests attended the holiday service Rabbi Yoel led in his apartment.

Montello arranged for the publication of the rescue train affair in the Swiss press, with Rabbi Yoel’s name featured prominently. The rabbi subsequently met with the Swiss officials processing the refugees and became acquainted with the heads of local government. As he could speak neither any of the languages spoken in Switzerland nor English, a Jewish student assisted him, serving as his interpreter and conducting phone calls for him. Rabbi Yoel also met with other refugee rabbis, including Rabbi Michael Dov Weissmandel, who complained bitterly about the ineffectiveness of the various Jewish rescue organizations, as well as with American government representatives, to whom he testified about conditions in the Bergen-Belsen camp.

Rabbi Yoel’s rescue efforts in Switzerland focused on tracking down Jewish children placed for adoption with Christian families and reclaiming them so they could be brought up as Haredim. To this end, he appealed to the Rescue Committee in the United States for help and tried to convince Swiss Haredi families to adopt these children.

He later joined Rabbi Tuvia Lewinstein (1863–1953), chief rabbi of the Adas Jeschurun congregation in Zurich, in raising funds for the establishment of a children’s home. Impressed by this vigorous activity, representatives of Agudath Israel in Switzerland suggested that he travel to the United States to promote fundraising for the Agudah. I

t soon became apparent, however, that Rabbi Yoel’s distaste for non-Haredi organizations impeded his participation in the rescue operations. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s representative was dismayed by his intention to bring up the children as Haredim, while Agudath Israel’s representatives were displeased by his unwillingness to cooperate with them. Consequently, Rabbi Yoel’s main rescue goal, the establishment of an independent home for Haredi children, came to nothing.
Rabbi Yoel tried to provide aid to adult refugees and to his Hasidim in the Displaced Persons (DP) camps in Germany as well, yet there too his problematic relations with the other organizations hampered his efforts to help even his own relatives and acquaintances. He also participated in fundraising efforts to supply aid to the Romanian Jews, and on this occasion he cooperated, remarkably, with the Zionist activists he had met on the Kasztner train.

When the war ended and the full scale of the destruction of Eastern European Jewry and the Jewish orthodox world, its rabbis, and institutions was revealed, doubt was cast on the entire future of the Haredi way of life.

Like other rabbis, Rabbi Yoel believed that Zionism was bound to grow stronger and restrict Haredi Jewry, especially after the establishment of the state of Israel, which now seemed closer than ever. On the other hand, he deemed life in the United States, or any of the other Diaspora communities, unsuitable for Haredi Jews.

At the end of the war, northern Transylvania had been returned to Romanian rule, and survivors left the DP camps and hiding places and returned to their former homes.

Among the returnees were rabbis such as Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum (1914–2006), Rabbi Yoel’s nephew, who sought to return to his congregation in Zenta, Yugoslavia. However, upon learning that his brother Rabbi Zalman Leib (1912–1944), former Rabbi of Sighet, had died in the Holocaust, he decided to take his place and restore religious life in that town.

Other rabbis re-established the Agudath Israel movement in Romania and founded the Orthodox Central Bureau in Cluj. Numerous survivors settled in Satmar, and in just a short period their numbers reached several thousands. Within a few months several synagogues re-opened, and the orphanage, the Jewish hospital, Hevra Kadisha (Jewish burial society), and the rabbinical court were reinstated. Simultaneously, a Hasidic congregation was established, and many of its members expected Rabbi Yoel to return and revive Hasidic life in the town.

Thus, although Rabbi Yoel may well have concluded that Romania was the only place in which the traditional Haredi way of life could be revived, he chose to remain in the safety of Switzerland until it was time to leave Europe.
His assertion that he was unable to return to Romania is unconvincing. He was, after all, a well-known public figure and a citizen of Romania. In fact, he had used his position and connections to request an extension of his stay in Switzerland. Presumably, had he wished to do so, he could have returned to Satmar, founded a Hasidic community, and re-established his Hasidic court.

Likewise, Rabbi Yoel refrained from joining rescue efforts in the DP camps, where other rabbis were engaged in restoring survivors’ religious life and reinforcing their faith in the aftermath of the Holocaust.

When his sojourn in Switzerland came to an end, Rabbi Yoel considered emigrating to the United States or to Palestine. Eventually, he decided to settle in Jerusalem, where he attempted to establish a Hasidic court.

 Due to his extremist views and failure to understand post-Holocaust intra-Haredi politics, his entire venture came to naught, and he and his institutions became bankrupt.

Within a year, Rabbi Yoel packed his meager belongings and sailed, humiliated and penniless, to the United States.
The publication of this two-part article is taking place 70 years after the arrival of the Kasztner train at Bergen-Belsen on July 9, 1944.
Read part two of ‘The Satmar Rebbe’ tomorrow.
Menachem Keren-Kratz, a researcher of Hungarian Orthodoxy and of contemporary Haredi society in the State of Israel, is the author of Maramaros-Sziget: Extreme Orthodoxy and Secular Jewish Culture at the Foothills of the Carpathian Mountains.
 
 

Crazed Jewish American boy, for Palestine .....

Why is his political position different than Satmar?


The Blogger "The Partial View" attacks other Bloggers?


There is a blogger that calls himself "The Partial View"

In a July 14 post, he attacks other bloggers, who voice their opinion on Jewish matters. He only wants his opinon heard.
So I decided to copy and paste his article; my response is in red!

The interlopers- Churban of the internet part II
(DIN: "Churban of the Internet?" Aren't you on the Internet?)
 
A blogger from Chicago, a Rabbi out in the west coast, a open orthodoxy activist, would have never stuck their nose in matters and issues that are not local to them.
(DIN: Excuse me, haven't you ever heard of "Letters to the editor?" Jews always, from when Newspapers were invented wrote letters to the editor, with their own opinions, way before the Internet. They also wrote articles in The Jewish Press, The Jewish Observer, The Yated, the Hamodia etc etc
With your logic, why is it ok for R' Chaim Kanievsky and R' Shteinman to meddle in issues that "are not local to them?")
 
The Internet has deleted the word "local" out of the dictionary. Prior to the web, it was not found that an outsider would give his deah or say opinion on a matter or a minhag that does not pertain to him.
(DIN: What about the Ramah, who wrote the "Hagah" on the mechaber of the Shulchan Aruch.... didn't he give his opinion on a "minhag that didn't pertain to him?")
 
If one had a sichsuch with someone or if there was a community split over an issue, the parties involved were familiar with each other. You always knew who you were dealing with.
(DIN: I guess you never read Shaaleh U'Tshuvois" they were always dealing with "parties" that they were not involved with.)
 
That has changed with the interloping bloggers and clueless activists patrolling the world wide web for any issue they hashkaficaly oppose. Its long reached a point where you do not have to read their posts to know what type of silliness they are going to write they are so predictable.
(DIN: What exactly is "silly?"
That they wrote about a sexual molester who molested countless children in Lakewood, and then the Roshei Yeshivas of BMG threw out the father of the victim
Or, that Bloggers commented on the Satmar Rebbe's cruel words about the parents of the murdered teens?
Maybe, they shouldn't have commented about Yisrael Weingaten who raped his own daughter, maybe they shouldn't have commented on Weberman who raped countless girls?
Or are you opposed to the "clueless activists" that are writing about the ungratefulness of the Yeshivas to their benefactors, the State of Israel?
Is reporting that Yeshivah boys are beating up frum soldiers an issue that you oppose "hashkafically"?)
 

  Churban o the Internet part I
The tzaros caused by these outsiders meddling on issues they know nothing about is beyond comprehension. 
(DIN: What are the "tzaros" that these "outsiders" are causing?
 Exposing the truth?) 
A recent example, a Chovevei Torah activist penned a essay about the current situation with East Ramapo school district. His piece was riddled with factual errors and misrepresentations, he has been proven to know absolutely nothing about the goings on. He was ripped apart on the air by the current school Board members of the district. Yet the damage was done. All it did was fan the flames and make more tzaros for those looking to fix a broken system.

Same with the frum bloggers who look for any news article about yidden which in their small mind they cant understand and they put in their two cents.
(DIN:I want to ask you a dumb question? So who are the people that have large minds, that understand and would make you  happy when they "put their two cents in?"
The Yated, The Hamodia, Ami magazine, Mishpacha? Der Yid, Der Blatt, Der Zeitung?
Aren't the people who write the articles, just people who write their own opinions? What makes their opinion more truthful than the bloggers?)
 
What gives a Modern orthodox blogger from Chicago or Rabbi with a small shul on the beach, the right to butt in on an issue that does not pertain to their own kehilla.
(DIN: Why not?
Didn't you learn in you Yeshivishe Yeshivah, "Kol Yisroel Areivim Zeh L'zeh"?
Every Jew is responsible for an other Jew even if he lives in Timbaktoo, certainly from Chicago!
And what's your problem with the "modern?" They wern't by Har Sinai? Only guys with 5" inch Brims, fancy eyeglass frames, sideburns and pleated pants stood there?
What do you mean "that does not pertain to their own kehilla?
 With that twisted logic, we dont need the Rambam, and the Shulchan Aruch that were written for the Sefardim!
What gives people a right to question the minhagim and derech of Satmar or Lakewood or any chasidus that only pertains to these kehillos who follow their leaders.
(DIN:  What gives Satmar the right to mussar the parents of the murdered teens, while they were sitting shiva? They were not from his "Kehillah!"
Every single Jew has a right to question, yes, the minhagim and the Derech of any one they wish.
I cannot question Satmar's derech of torturing the Kloizenberger Rebbe when the latter lived in williamsburg?
I cannot question the derech of Satmar beating up innocent Lubavitchers that came to Williamsburg to be samaich the souls of the Holocaust survivors, on Yom Tov?
I cannot question Lakewood, that started a false Chassidus that has  a flase derech of not working for a living?)
 
The churban of these interlopers and yentas has created a huge chilul hashem by feeding their stories to the national media who in turn take the opportunity to make light or make fun of Frum yidden make fun of the Torah. Its time for these ignorant interlopers to go back to their natural habitat.
(DIN:If that's the case, what are you doing on the internet?)

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Meisels removed from his Seminaries! UPDATED



by Harry Marylis
Rabbi Elimelech Meisels is a tremendous Talmid Chochom, a co-author of Hashkafic works, and stemming from a distinguished family. He is an incredible Mechanech. Thousands of girls can testify to that. He has the respect and admiration of many thousands of former students and their parents for being there for their daughters. He has helped girls get through many things and actually saved lives. Where would they be today if not for him? He is a special man who helped Klal Yisroel in countless ways.

This is the problem with a serial sex offender like Meisels. They are often very accomplished and successful individuals that inspire many followers with their charisma. And yet he is a sexual predator who preys on the vulnerable. He knows how to ‘groom’ his victims. Most of whom are in their late teens. How talented this individual is. And how sick. Yes, it is unfortunately possible to be a talented Mechanech who has saved many lives and at the same time be a callous sexual predator that can ruin many others lives – all for his own personal sexual gratification.

It is difficult to understand how it is possible for someone like this to have been preying on the vulnerable for so long. At the same time, it’s easy to see how he can get away with it. The accolades in the first paragraph are based on comments many of his former students made defending him on Yerachmiel Lopin’s blog. He is a beloved figure. For the many he helped –which is no doubt the majority, he is an icon. It is therefore impossible to believe someone like this could ever do anything so egregiously wrong. Not only is he a great Mechanech - he is also a happily married man. How could anyone dare say anything so negative about him?

It is this kind of thinking that a motivates the defenders of people like Nechemya Weberman… or Baruch Lanner. It is also the kind of thinking that causes rabbis of good will to say that abuse must be first reported to them before going to the police. The thinking is that people with such great reputations and so many accomplishments cannot possibly have done what they have been accused of doing. They must be given the benefit of the doubt. Allowing the police to get involved would instantly ruin the man’s reputation. So of course the rabbis must be consulted… God forbid that this man, his wife, and children suffer needlessly at the hands of a false accuser. That’s what good reputations will do for the predator. Which of course allows them to continue their clandestine behavior while continuing to behave in an exemplary manner in public.

But at least in this case, justice seems to have prevailed so far. Victims of this guy have come forward and the rabbis believed them. A letter was published by the special Beis Din in Chicago created for exactly this purpose. Here it is their statement in its entirety:
The Special Beis Din of Chicago has convened to address allegations of improper conduct, including unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature, between Elimelech Meisels and students of the following seminaries with which he is affiliated: Pnimim, Binas Beis Yaakov, Chedvas Beis Yaakov, and Keser Chaya.
Based on the testimony and documents received by the Beis Din, including testimony by the claimants and by Elimelech Meiels, the Beis Din believes that students in these seminaries are at risk of harm and it does not recommend that prospective students attend these seminaries at this time.
Because these seminaries and Mr. Meisels are located in Israel and not in the United States, a distinguished Israeli Beis Din consisting of Rabbis Menachem Mendel Shafran, Chaim Malinowitz, and Tzvi Gartner has assumed for this matter.
Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz
Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst
Rabbi Zev Cohen
There are many people who have suggested that this letter is fake and the signatures are a forgery. I personally spoke to Rabbi Fuerst, one of the signatories. He told me it is real and that he signed it as did the others.

For those who don’t know, Rabbi Shmuel Fuerst is the Dayan for Agudath Israel of Illinois. A Posek that was mentored by Rav Moshe Feinstein, he is the ‘go to’ Rav for many people in here in Chicago (and beyond) for just about any Shaila in Halacha one might have. He is also the Posek for NCSY Midwest.

Rabbi Gedalia Schwartz is the Av Bet Din (chief judge) of the Rabbinical Council of America (Bet Din of America) and Rosh Bet Din (Emeritus chief judge) of the Chicago Rabbinical Council Bet Din.

Rabbi Zev Cohen is the Rav of Congregation Adas Yeshurun, a Dayan, Rosh Kollel of the Choshen Mishpat Kollel and one of the most trusted rabbis in Chicago.

These three people do not usually cross paths. But they have come together here as one to warn the community about this guy. They do not even refer to him as rabbi, refusing to give him the title he earned (and now dishonored). Which is pretty amazing since Rabbi Fuerst’s mentor, Rav Moshe Feinstein used the title ‘rabbi’ in his Teshuvos when referring to Reform rabbis. Imagine how undeserving this fellow is of that title.

On his blog, Yerachmiel said that people close to that Beis Din told him that among his pickup lines were “my wife is boring….”. Imagine your daughter hearing things like that from her charismatic seminary head. I’m told that many seminary girls will develop a crush on their seminary heads. That makes it easy for a dirtbag like Meisels to take advantage of them.

Yerachmiel was also told that the abuse involved many young women and was severe.

While this situation may or may not involved abuse of minors, there is no question in my mind that it involves some form of molestation or worse. If the students he abused were minors (usually defined in this country as under 18 if I understand correctly), he could be prosecuted for statutory rape if he had sex with any of them. I have no clue what the laws of the State of Israel are with respect to that. But my hope is that the distinguished rabbis in Israel who have accepted the task pursue that avenue if it is available to them.

The bottom line here is the following. If you have a daughter that will be studying in a seminary in Israel, stay far away from this man and any seminary with which he is connected.

Update
Elimelech Meisels has been removed as head of the above mentioned seminaries. For details, see
here.
 
UPDATED Sunday July 20
 

Just to update readers, there have been several newer posts about the situation. to be absolutely clear, Meisels says he will not teach in the seminaries this coming year but he still owns them and other enabling staff have not been removed, or even, to the best of my knowledge reprimanded. That is why the Chicago Beis Din stands by its psak advising against sending students to those seminaries. Hebrew Theological College (HTC) and Touro College have suspended accreditation, pending a more substantial set of changes, thereby preventing students from getting US Government assistance with grants and loans.

All posts on Frum Follies about meisels can be found with the search URL: http://frumfollies.wordpress.com/?s=Elimelech+Meisels

Rabbi Yosef Blau, Mashgiach Ruchani of YU's RIETS wrote a comment to my most recent post worth passing along to students and alumni of the Meisels seminaries:

"This analysis correctly demonstrates that the Israeli Beis Din has no
interest in investigating Meisels and interviewing victims to find out
the role of others working for him in Pninim and the other seminaries.
However there is a great need for the graduates of these programs,
whether they were abused, or saw inappropriate behavior, or are
convinced that there was no abuse to speak with both therapists and
rabbinic figures who understand rabbinic abuse. Many of them are
traumatized and are profoundly shaken by these reports about a major
influence on their lives. In earlier cases this was at least partially
done for young men attending Yeshivot after they had been in an
environment where there was a teacher or rabbi who was an abuser. This
will be particularly difficult in this case because the women are
unlikely to be in educational settings where they can find people who
are qualified to meet with them."



Fast Day Tomorrow, Lucky your not a Muslim,

ISIS strung him up in the hot sun for breaking fast for Ramadan.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Muslim Cleric: Israel Defends Us from Hamas Missiles


The Mukhtar (Islamic religious leader) of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Baher on Monday praised Israel for defending the city – and particularly the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount – from Hamas rockets.

Just days after wide-scale riots by Jerusalem Arabs over the murder of Arab youth Mohammed Al-Khder, Zuheir Hamadan said that Hamas, which claimed to be “defending” the Arabs of Jerusalem, was doing quite the opposite.

“Israel is the one defending Al-Aqsa from the missiles of Hamas,” Hamadan said. Speaking to Israel Radio's Arabic service, Hamadan said that Hamas' seemingly careless firing of missiles endangered Muslim holy places, as well as Arabs, who live and work in all parts of the country.

Red Color alert sirens have sounded several times over the past few days in Jerusalem and Gush Etzion. According to several reports, rockets have fallen in both Hevron and Ramallah.
Security officials confirmed that at least one rocket that was fired at Jerusalem missed and fell in a neighborhood in Arab-controlled Hevron. No one was reported killed, but several buildings were damaged, residents said. The Iron Dome system was not activated against that missile.

Bride In Tel Aviv Takes Cover During Red Alert Earlier This Evening


Meshugana Arabs knock out their own electric power

A rocket fired from Gaza knocked out a power line in Israel that supplied electricity to 70,000 Gazans from Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah, according to the IDF Spokesman’s Office on Sunday night.
 
It’s not clear when Israel Electric Company workers will be able to repair the system, but they are apparently in no rush to do so.

According to Arutz 7 Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has asked the IEC not to risk the lives of its employees in trying to restore power to the affected sector in Gaza, an operation that could take hours.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Ami Editorial tells its readers to continue battle with the Israeli Government, all this while rockets are flying

Yitzy Frankfurter, the editor of Ami, a pro-Satmar, anti-Zionist English weekly magazine, doesn't care that hundreds of rockets are raining down on over 8 million Jewish people.

The Frankfurter,consumed with his hatred of Eretz Yisroel, doesn't care that over half of Israel's population will be sleeping in shelters tonight.

The Frank doesn't care that all Chareidim and their Gedoilim have now decided to stay quiet, while the IDF is in danger and needs all the prayers we have, to be successful and be safe.

Frankfurter rambles on and on, like an "alte bobbeh" in his editorial something about Pinchos, about not having "peace at any price," (isn't that what Hamas is now saying?) trying to compare himself to him and quotes Rav Shamshon Refhael Hirsch ....

The Frank, sitting on his plush sofa in Boro-Park, writes in his sick and perverted editorial
"while we all extol unity, that adulation should not be misconstrued as a suspension of our battle with the forces of evil,"
So this menuval wants the yeshiva students to continue to do battle while they are cowering in their shelters?'

And who is this lying animal, calling evil?
The soldiers protecting our yeshivos?
He tries to answer:
"particularly those who seek to undermine Torah study in the Holy Land"

Frank ..... arn't those the same ones who give Kollel guys money to learn? Arn't they the ones,even with the massive cuts, contributing millions of shekels to Torah institutions?

 The well fed Yitzy quotes some un-named "Gedolie Yisroel"
"every yeshiva student must be ready to sacrifice his life in order to preserve the purity of Torah study without any manner of dilution "

Wasn't it Rav Shamshon Rafhael Hirsch who said "Torah Im Derech Eretz"?
That one needs to work for a living? The nerve of this crazed fanatic to quote RSFH ....to bolster his sick way of thinking!

Mr. Frank, you sound like Hamas, just substitute the words Torah and put in the words Koran!
Why don't you sacrifice your children? wiseguy?
I have children in Israel, learning Torah, I'm not ready for my child to sacrifice his life for some "Godol" who said so.

Jet Blue boots Jewish Doctor from plane, because a Palestinian "wasn't comfortable flying with her!"

A Jewish woman doctor from New York is claiming “hate crime” after an eavesdropping Palestinian woman had her booted from her flight home from Palm Beach.

Dr. Lisa Rosenberg
PALMBEACHPOST.com  reports that New York physician Dr. Lisa Rosenberg said that, just prior to departure, she concluded a private phone conversation with a friend over the current events in Israel when the fellow passenger identified herself as a Palestinian and initiated an “ugly, racially driven altercation.”
“A woman comes up to me and says to me ‘I’m a Palestinian,’ and she starts cursing at me. ‘Zionist pig. This is just the beginning,’” Rosenberg told WPBF.com .

Rosenberg, whose daughter plans to study in Israel next year, claims she said nothing disparaging about Palestinians during her phone conversation with friend, Obstetrician Myles Kobren, but was instead complimenting Israeli authorities over the way they have handled recent arrests in connection with the murder of a Palestinian teenager.
 
“I was saying how it was good Israel found the students that killed the Palestinian teenager and how it was exemplary not making them into heroes, but seeking to publicly try them. I said any other country would have made these students out to be martyrs and celebrating them,”
.
Rosenberg said she was told by Jet Blue staff shortly thereafter that she must de-board the plane because the Palestinian passenger did not feel comfortable flying with her.
“I can’t believe it. I said, ‘Why would you do that?’ I said, ‘Why don’t you have her leave the plane?’” Rosenberg said. “I said, ‘The passenger, the Palestinian passenger, didn’t feel comfortable with me, the Jewish doctor being on the plane?’”

Reps for Jet Blue refused comment other than to say that Rosenberg’s account of the story “in no way reflects the report that we have.”
Rosenberg said she believes she is victim of a hate crime and has been in contact with the Anti-Defamation League who has promised to investigate the matter.

Infant Pulled From Swimming Pool In Lawrence NY

Please be Mispallel for
Nosson Tzvi ben Sarah Rivkah Kashtiya
, a 1-year-old child who was pulled from a swimming pool in Lawrence, NY. Sources tell YWN that Hatzolah was called to the scene on Harberview on Sunday around noon. Upon arrival they found the infant in cardiac arrest, and Paramedics attempted to revive and stabilize the child.


He was transported to St. John’s Hospital, where he is listed in critical condition.

Nassau County police is investigating.

"Thank you Netanyahu and may God give us more people like you to destroy Hamas!" Wrote Azza Sami, who works at the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram.

Amany el-Kahayat

Several Arab leaders publicly thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for striking the Hamas terror organization, the Tazpit News Agency reported.
The Arab world officially rallies around Hamas against Israel, on any issue.

Muslim countries in conflict, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as other Muslim countries came together last week at the U.N., in attempt to have Israel condemned for the so-called aggression in Gaza.

However, in wake of the ever evolving geopolitical reality in the Middle East, this seems to be only lip service, and the Arab World is actually interested in the IDF seriously hindering Hamas' terror activities.

They see the atrocities and massacres committed by Islamists on a daily basis in Iraq and Syria, and are beginning to ask themselves if they serve the interests of the Arabs and Muslims. A growing number of Arabs and Muslims, are fed up with the Islamist terrorists who are imposing a reign of terror and intimidation in the Arab world.

Senior journalist Khaled Abu-Toameh, writing for Gatestone, reported that over the past week, there are voices coming out of Egypt and some Arab countries that publicly support the Israeli military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Isolated and under attack, Hamas now realizes that it has lost the sympathy of many Egyptians and Arabs. Egypt's Prime Minister announced this morning that Israel is insistent on continuing what he defined as aggression, and is waiting for Israel's willingness for a cease fire.

However, President Abdel Fattah Sisi has thus far turned down appeals from Palestinians and other Arabs to work toward achieving a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called Sisi and urged him to intervene to achieve an "immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas. Abbas later admitted that his appeal to Sisi and other Arab leaders, had fallen on deaf ears.

Sisi's decision not to intervene in the current crisis did not come as a surprise. In fact, Sisi and many Egyptians seem to be delighted that Hamas is being badly hurt.

Some Egyptians are even openly expressing hope that Israel will completely destroy Hamas, which they regard as the "armed branch of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organization."

"Thank you Netanyahu and may God give us more people like you to destroy Hamas!" Wrote Azza Sami, who works at the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram.

Egypt has not forgiven Hamas for its alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood, and its involvement in terrorist attacks against Egyptian civilians and soldiers over the past year.

The Egyptians today understand that Hamas and other radical Islamist groups pose a serious threat to their national security. That is why the Egyptian authorities have over the past year, been taking tough security measures not only against Hamas, but also the entire population of the Gaza Strip.

These measures include the destruction of dozens of smuggling tunnels along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and the designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Sisi and other Arab leaders are now sitting on the fence and hoping that this time, Israel will complete the job and get rid of Hamas once and for all. Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah are certainly not going to shed a tear if Hamas is crushed and removed from power in the Gaza Strip, writes Abu-Toameh.

The reaction of some Egyptians to the Israeli military operation has shocked Hamas and other Palestinians. As one Hamas spokesman noted: "It's disgraceful to see that some Egyptians are publicly supporting the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip while Westerners are expressing solidarity with the Palestinians and condemning Israel."

Addressing the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, Egyptian actor Amr Mustafa said that they should not expect any help from the Egyptians.

"You must get rid of Hamas and we will help you," he said. He also called on Hamas to stop meddling in the internal affairs of Arab countries. "Pull your men out of Egypt, Syria and Libya," Mustafa demanded. "In Egypt, we are fighting poverty that was caused by wars. We have enough of our own problems. Don't expect the Egyptians to give more than what they have already given. We've had enough of what you did to our country."

In response to Egyptian Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi's decision to dispatch 500 tons of food and medical aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian newspaper El-Bashayer remarked: "The standard of living for a Gazan citizen is much higher than that of an Egyptian citizen. The poor in Egypt are more in need than the poor in the Gaza Strip. Let Qatar spend as much as it wants on the Gaza Strip. We should not send anything that Egyptians are in need of."

Famous Egyptian TV presenter and journalist Amr Adeeb has been told by many Egyptians to "shut up" after his criticism of Sisi's "silence" toward the war in the Gaza Strip. One Egyptian reminded Adeeb that "Hamas is responsible for the killing of Egyptian soldiers."

Egyptian ex-general Hamdi Bakhit was quoted as expressing hope that Israel would re-occupy the Gaza Strip. "This would be better than the Hamas rule," he said.

Egyptian TV presenter Amany al-Khayat launched a scathing attack on Hamas. She pointed out that Hamas agreed to the reconciliation pact with Fatah only in order to get salaries for its employees in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Khayat said that Hamas was seeking to depict itself as a victim of an Israeli attack only in order to get the Egyptian authorities to reopen the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip. "They just want us to open the Rafah border crossing," she said on her show. "Hamas is prepared to make all the residents of the Gaza Strip pay a heavy price in order to rid itself of its crisis. We must not forget that Hamas is the armed branch of the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist movement."

Isolated and under attack, Hamas now realizes that it has lost the sympathy of many Egyptians and Arabs, said Abu-Toameh. Some Hamas leaders are now talking about the "betrayal" and "collusion" of their Arab brethren, especially Egypt.

When the Egyptian authorities reluctantly and briefly re-opened the Rafah border crossing a few days ago, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum rushed to declare: "The Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border crossing only to receive bodies. Egypt is imposing a blockade on the Gaza Strip and has destroyed the tunnels."

Former Palestinian Authority security commander Mohamed Dahlan, predicted that the Egyptians will not do anything to save Hamas. "Egypt won't intervene to stop the war on the Gaza Strip, because Hamas was conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood against Egypt," he said. "Hamas was working with the Muslim Brotherhood against the Egyptian army."

Hamas is paying a heavy price for meddling in the internal affairs of Egypt and some other Arab countries. The Palestinians living under Hamas in the Gaza Strip, are paying a heavier price, largely due to their failure to rise up against the Islamist movement and demand the right to live better lives, concluded Abu-Toameh.

i24 News anchor Lucy Aharish, an Israeli Arab, lashed out against a Gazan journalist who was a guest on her show last week, telling him that Hamas were to blame for the crisis in Gaza.

The journalist, Alaa al-Mashehrwi, was asked about the current situation in Gaza. He began lamenting about the reality there, accusing Israel of war crimes, of occupying Gaza and of generating a humanitarian crisis, which he defined as “very bad, very strong and very dangerous.”

Lucy Aharish did not sit silent and allow the lies to be aired, and cut him off, saying that Hamas leaders use civilians as human shields, hide weapons caches and launchers in civilians homes, and therefore they are responsible for the civilian casualties.

She called on al-Mashehrwi to go out together with other journalists and civilians, face Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, and demonstrate against their use of the civilian population. She urged them to demand from Hamas that they stop firing into Israel.

Der Blatt Continues to back Satmar Rabbi who said that it was the "parents fault" that the boys got murdered!

The Yiddish Satmar  Newspaper, Der Blatt, a yiddish version of Al Jazeera, refuses to apologise for Aron Teitelbaum, the Clown of Monroe, who castigated the parents of the three Jewish martyrs, while the parents were still sitting shiva.
Not only do they refuse to see the light, they are going out of their way and responding to the huge Chillul Hashem with a 4 page commentary backing the fool!
 
I will loosely translate, my comments in red:
Headline:
A Deluge of False Ideas, Sympathy to "Hisgarois Be'umois" (Antagonizing the Gentiles,) and Feelings of Revenge by the Chareidie World Halted, after spreading  the Holy words of Current Events from the Satmar Rebbi
 
BYLINE
 
Unprecendent attacks against Satmar, by Religious Zionists and Chassidic-Zionists because of the Rebbe's sin of revealing the true Daas Torah!
 
Article
 
The Fiery, short & sharp words of the Satmar Rebbe last week, wednesday, in the auditorium of the Yeshiva Gedoile of Satmar in Kiryas Yoel, had an unbelievable reaction.
This was the main topic in the kitchens of Jews from all denominations.
 
There wasn't a shul or Chareidishe house throughout the entire world that didn't discuss, review and analyze on the holy Shabbos, the Rebbe's holy words about the grave danger of the pursuit of land conquests of the
 of the Zioinists Mehadrin min Ha'Mehadrin, and what that can result, G-D Protect Us!
(that wasn't what the Jews were discussing in the "kitchens" on shabbos. What the Jews in the "kitchens" were discussing was the Clown's foolish and hurtful words to the parents of the murdered teens)
This (being critical of the speech) all started with the reporting of the Rebbi's words by the Non-Religious Zionists Press and then  spread to the New York Media and then to  the Social Media and to the bungalows and finally to the shuls.
(that's not exactly how it happened! Satmar's propaganda machine had his hateful speech translated into English, and had Vos Iz Naies report it. From there, DIN printed it, and then the Social media and then the general media and then the bungalows!)
 
The reaction from the Rebbi's holy words, from child to adult was unprecedented, that even Torah Jews with no connection to Zionism, wanted revenge!
 
What the holy speech did accomplish was that the Satmar Shita was now discussed vis - a - vis the prohibition of voting in Zionist elections, the prohibition of going to the Kosel until Mashiach comes, the prohibition of speaking the profane Hebrew language, Hisgarois B'umois the antagonizing the Nations, the rebellion against G-D, the prohibition of going against the 3 Shuvois" and the great danger of having Religious parties in the Knesset.
 
(a)Prohibition of voting?
So why are you complaining when the Zionists do something you don't like? If you don't vote, Shut the Hell up!
 
(b) Prohibition of going to the Kosel?
When in Jewish history did a Jewish sect prohibit Jews from going to the Kosel?
I'll tell you when, those who learned the Daf this week, Mesactas Taanis daf 30, will know that the Jewish evil king, Yerovom ben Navot went one step further than the Satmar Rebbe, he put guards at the border to prohibit Jews from going to the kosel....and being "Olie Regel."
 
(c)Prohibition of the Hebrew profane language?
Doesn't the Clown's  naive Israeli  wife speak to her sisters every week in that "profane" language?
 
(d) the rebellion against G-D?
 How about Satmar  rebeling against G-D, by speaking against the Holy Jews that live in Israel, and by prohibiting Jews from going to the Kosel and prohibiting all his Chassidim except for his wife, to speak the language of G-D?
 
(e)Hisgarous B'Umois (Antagonizing the nations)?
So why are you, Mr Clown, allowed to antagonize your Goyishe neighbors, by annexing land to Kiryas Yoel. Why isn't that Hisgarous B'Umois?
 
(f) prohibition of the 3 Shevuois (oaths)?
We spoke about this many times, the 3 Shevuois are null and void,
1) The Nations of the world gave us permission to populate the land. The League of Nations and later The United Nations gave the Jewish people a homeland. Instead of reading the hatefull "Al Hagilah" open a history book.
2) The nations themselves violated the oath of not excessively torturing us in exile.
3) It seems that Ezra Hasofer wasn't concerned about the 3 oaths since he advocated Aliyah and then went ahead and built the 2nd Bais Hamikdash? Why wasn't he concerned about the 3 oaths?
 
 What's interesting was, that the Zionists media reported the Rabbi's holy words with respect and even nodded half ways as if they agreed with the Rabbi.
(this article is talking about the leftist commie Israeli Newspaper Haaretz.  Haaretz, Satmar and the Arabs  all agree that  The State of Israel should be, G-D Forbid, turned over to the Arabs, so they "half nodded" to the holy foolish words of the Clown in Monroe.)
 
However, the hate that came from the Chareidie media against the Rebbe was so antagonistic, that we hadn't had such venom since 1967, when our great Holy Rabbi, the Divrei Yoel, the V'Yoel Moshe, z"l,  warned that Daas Torah prohibits Jews from going to the Kosel until Moshiach comes.
(Now, I'm confused! "Daas Torah prohibits a Jew from going to the Kosel? Then why are there countless pictures of the Gerrer Rebbe, the Kloizenberger Rebbe, R' Chaim Kanievsky, R' Shteinman etc, at the Kosel?
Why aren't they listening to "Daas Torah"?
Oh! This is only Satmar "Daas Torah"! So, let me understand .... everyone has a different "Daas Torah"?
 
Ok... My Daas Torah tells me that Satmar doesn't belong to the Jewish people, in fact Satmar  ideology, is alot closer to the Muslims than to Judaism....
so there!
 
The article continues, but you guys get the gist of this venomous words from the Clown's followers.
 

 




Friday, July 11, 2014

Elimelech Meisels owner of 3 Girl Seminaries in Israel a Sexual Pervert

From Frum Follies
The special beis din (rabbinical court) of Chicago exists to address allegations of sexual abuse which cannot be, or will not be, directed to the criminal justice system. It is led by Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, the Av Beis Din (court head) for both the Chicago Rabbinical Council (CRC) and the Beth Din of America (BDA).

Rabbi Elimelech Meisels owns and operates several Israeli “seminaries” for post-high school, year-in-Israel religious education of young women, mostly from Yeshivish ultra-orthodox backgrounds. These include: Pninim, Binas Bais Yaakov, Chedvas Bais Yaakov and Keser Chaya. Meisels is associated with Ohr Somayach and is second author with Rabbi Dovid Kaplan of The Kiruv Files (2008)

In a ruling issued on Thursday July 10, 2014, the Beis Din reported that they believe “that students in these seminaries are at risk of harm and it does not recommend that students attend these seminaries at this time.
The ruling was signed by Rabbis Schwartz, Shmuel Feurst (Dayan of Agudath Israel of Illinois) and Zev Cohen (Congregation Adas Yeshurun).
While Meisels used the title of Rabbi until now the Schwartz Bais Din pointedly referred to him as Mr. Meisels.

Meisels is, I am told, a grandson of Michael (Mike/Elimelech) Tress. If so, his mother is Henie (nee Tress) Meisels.

A beit din is being convened in Israel to deal with this matter. I am told they will force Meisels to give up control of the seminaries. I do not know if they have succeeded to date. I suspect the Chicago Beit Din issued its ruling precisely because he refused to give up control. The Israeli Beit din is comprised of Rabbis Menachem Mendel Shafran, Chaim Malinowitz and Tzvi Gartner.

Remarks by PM Netanyahu, DM Yaalon, IDF Chief-of-Staff Gantz and GOC Air Force Eshel after the Security Cabinet Meeting

Prime Minister Netanyahu:
“We are in the third day of Operation Protective Edge. While the campaign has gone as planned further stages yet await us. We have struck hard at Hamas and the terrorists and as long as the campaign continues we will strike at them harder. I would like to thank the IDF, ISA, and the security services for their professional, dedicated and precise actions, and express the appreciation of all Israelis. They are making every effort to avoid hitting civilians and innocents are hit it is because Hamas is maliciously hiding behind Palestinian civilians.

As of now, the IDF, ISA and other security services have successfully foiled many attempted attacks against Israeli citizens but a tough, complex and complicated campaign yet awaits us. Therefore, I call on all Israelis to continue to show the strength that you have shown in these days and hours. This civilian fortitude is a main component of our ability to continue operations until we finish the work of restoring quiet and security to Israel’s cities. The most important thing for us, for all of us, is to guard the lives of all Israelis and we are all working together to this end.”

Defense Minister Yaalon:

“We are in the midst of Operation Protective Edge. As of now, we have hit Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip very hard. Hundreds of targets have been destroyed including the homes of militants, government institutions, launchers, rockets and other war materiel. Dozens of terrorists have been killed and we are continuing to strike at Hamas and make it pay a heavy price for everything it has done in recent days.

This is an opportunity to express appreciation to the IDF; the IDF has been active on land, sea and air, in both offensive and defensive efforts. The IDF has impressively succeeded in intercepting the rockets being launched at the State of Israel and in thwarting the terrorist organizations’ malicious intentions to perpetrate attacks, both by sea and in other ways.

But this is also the opportunity to express appreciation to the residents of Israel. I have visited several local councils and, indeed, the stamina of the public is an important component in our ability to continue the operation. But the public must also act properly; this is part of our ability to avoid casualties. The public must listen to instructions from the IDF Home Front Command. We will continue with this operation until we reach the desired result – the cessation of firing and the lifting of the threat to Israeli citizens and soldiers.”

IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Gantz:

“The IDF is monitoring what is happening in all sectors – in the north, center and south. After the conclusion of Operation Brother’s Keeper, we moved on to Operation Protective Edge in the south and this time we are dealing with Hamas and the other terrorist organizations that are trying to attack deep into Israeli territory by land, sea and air.

We will continue to follow the directives of the political echelon. We will continue to monitor the intelligence reality. We will continue to act patiently and with sagacity. We will attack wherever it is necessary to attack, we will defend wherever it is necessary to defend, and we will attack and defend on land, sea and air. We will use all of our intelligence, command and control, and logistical capabilities. All in all, we are operating well in all sectors. Southern Command, Home Front Command and the Air Force are making maximum efforts. We will continue to act. We will rely on the patience of the public and must ask that it follow the instructions of IDF Home Front Command in order to minimize damage as much as possible. We will continue to take determined action until we reach our goals. At this stage, I would like to commend our citizens and the actions of our forces.”

GOC Air Force Maj.-Gen. Eshel:

“The Air Force is taking both offensive and defensive action: Offensively, with the praiseworthy cooperation of Southern Command, the Intelligence Branch and the ISA. The intelligence agencies are providing excellent intelligence for the Air Force’s operational activity. We have dropped hundreds of tons of ordnance and bombs on terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip, in a very complicated environment in which civilians are being used as human shields and we are trying to avoid hitting civilians as much as possible. Until now the results have been very good and we are continuing the effort.

Defensively, Air Force personnel in Iron Dome and other capabilities are making great efforts in the fight against the rockets being launched in all directions. Until now the results have been good, most rockets are being intercepted and are not causing damage; a minority of them are hitting in settled areas. Nothing is 100% but these soldiers are professionals and are doing their work in a level-headed and determined manner, in short timeframes. Making the necessary decisions is very, very complicated and as of now there has been great success.

We will continue both offensive and defensive efforts until we reach the goals set by the political leadership. The entire Air Force is involved in this effort, both offensively and defensively, and we will succeed.”

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Will Satmar rule that one is prohibited to daven for the success of the IDF?

Previously, when the 3 boys were kidnapped, the Satmar Taliban paskened that one is prohibited to be mispallel for the success of the IDF, who were at that awful time  searching for the boys.


Will the clown, Ari Teitelbaum, Satmar Rav, rule that one is prohibited to daven for the safety and success of our Yiddishe Neshamos in uniform, that are protecting the Satmar Batei Midrashim in Bnei Brak and Yerushalyim?

I wonder what his minions are thinking when the sirens go off? Are they hoping that the Chilonim, that are up all night, don't fall asleep while they are manning the Iron Domes?

Do they want that the IDF to sit idle, while the rockets are raining down all over Israel? Or are they defying, their foolish leader, and are secretly being mispallel for the success and the safety of our Jewish Boys in Uniform? Hmmmmmmm?

I guess just  like there are no atheists in the foxhole, there are no Satmar Chassidim when the missles start unfortunately falling!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

ISIS destroyes grave of Yonah Ha'Novie, after blindfolding 50 Iraqis and executing them!

Shocking moment ISIS militants take sledgehammers to Mosul tomb of Prophet Jonah as more than 50 blindfolded bodies are found massacred south of Baghdad

  • ISIS militants filmed taking sledgehammers to tombstones in Mosul, Iraq
  • Donning balaclavas and black clothing, they swung weapons into tombs
  • One grave belonged to Prophet Jonah, revered by Muslims and Christians
  • Rebels believe special veneration of tombs is against teachings of Islam
  • Comes as more than 50 bodies have been found in city south of Baghdad
  • Most of the bodies were blindfolded with gunshot wounds, said authorities
  • Investigation is underway to establish the circumstances of the killings

 

Stunned by Israel's fierce response, Hamas sends distress signals

Despite fiery statements issued by Hamas spokesmen over the past 48 hours, it was obvious Tuesday night that the Islamist movement was searching for ways to rid itself of the current escalation
ANALYSIS
Hamas feels that it has been forced into a confrontation with Israel – one that it did not want at this stage because of its increased isolation and financial crisis.

The massive Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours have surprised Hamas and other Palestinian groups. Hamas apparently expected a limited response to the recent rocket attacks on Israeli cities and towns. But as the IDF intensified its strikes against Hamas targets – including the homes of some of its top commanders – it became clear to the movement’s leaders that Israel means business

On Tuesday night, Hamas spokesmen were sending distress signals to various parties. The organization is concerned that if the IDF operation continues for another few days, the movement will pay a very heavy price – one that could even bring about an end to Hamas’s rule over the Gaza Strip.
Hamas accused Israel of “crossing all the redlines” by bombing the homes of its military commanders.

This shows that Hamas did not expect Israel to take such a drastic move. Less than 24 hours after the beginning of the IDF offensive, Hamas talked about the need to return to the truce that was reached with Israel in 2012.

A spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, Izzadin Kassam, listed this demand as part of his movement’s effort to end the current confrontation. The spokesman called for an end to the IDF crackdown on Hamas members in the West Bank, which began after the abduction and murder of three Israeli youths last month.

On Tuesday night, Hamas and other Palestinian groups appealed to Egypt and Arab countries to intervene to stop the IDF operation. Given Hamas’s bad relations with the Egyptian authorities, it’s unlikely that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would rush to save the movement that is openly aligned with his enemy, the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Palestinian Authority, which has condemned the Israeli “aggression,” is also unlikely to make a big effort to save Hamas from destruction. In fact, President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction would be happy to see Hamas severely defeated.

Hamas is beginning to feel the heat and that’s why its leaders, who have gone into hiding, are seeking an “honorable” way out of the confrontation, which, they say, they didn’t want to begin with.

IAF destroys homes of all Hamas commanders, kills senior members

In recent air strikes on Gaza, all of the homes of Hamas brigade commanders have been destroyed, Israel Radio reported early on Wednesday.

According to a report by the Palestinian news agency Ma'an, one of the homes targeted was that of senior Islamic Jihad terrorist Hafiz Mohammed Hamad. In the strike early on Tuesday, Hamad and five of his family members were reportedly killed.
In a separate incident, a joint IDF-Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) operation struck a vehicle containing a commander of Hamas's naval commando unit, Muhammad Sa'aban, aged 24, on Tuesday.
Palestinian media reported that four Hamas people in total were killed in the targeted strike on the vehicle.
Sa'aban's commando unit operated in northern Gaza, security forces said. He was immediately killed in the strike. Sa'aban was a resident of Jabalia in Gaza.
The strike came hours after the IDF launched Operation Protective Edge in an effort to quell increased rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel in recent weeks.
Later on Tuesday, the air force struck three homes in Gaza used by Hamas as command and control centers for enabling rocket fire against Israel.
The homes belonged to Muhammad Sba'at, a senior member of Hamas's rocket launching formations in Beit Hanount, who was involved in several recent rocket attacks against Israel, Amin Ibrahim Al-Alba'an, a Hamas member, and Abu Jarad, a Hamas member from northern Gaza who has been engaged in terrorism against Israel.
Palestinians said six people were killed and about 25 wounded in one of the houses attacked.
Some 100 targets in Gaza have been struck by the IAF since the operation began, including homes used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad members, underground rocket launchers, underground attack tunnels, remote rocket launch infrastructure, training camps, and additional centers of terrorist activities.
Since midnight Tuesday, some 30 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have exploded in Israel.
The Iron Dome anti-rocket system has intercepted six rockets.
Palestinians say that a total of 24 people have been

Video of Hamas Cell Taken Out By IDF Helicopter Strike

Earlier Tuesday, five Hamas “naval commandos” came ashore in Israel north of the Gaza border, where they were promptly eliminated in an IDF helicopter strike. The IDF spokesperson’s unit released dramatic footage of the strike.
The introduction text says in Hebrew, “Prevention of an infiltration attack from the sea by a group of terrorists in the Zikim area.” Zikim is a kibbutz north of Gaza.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

New Olim not delaying their move to Eretz Yisroel despite war!


Nefesh B'Nefesh Co-Founder and Executive Director Rabbi Yehoshua Fass said he was inspired by the determination of the new arrivals, who did not delay their move in spite of the challenging security situation.

"The Olim who’ve chosen to make Aliya to Israel during these challenging days are real heroes, and each one of them fills our heart with pride and great inspiration," he said.

Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah Issues An Urgent Call to Prayer

Events currently unfolding in Eretz Yisroel demand our tefillos on behalf of all our fellow Jews who are privileged to live on holy soil.

Our rabbinic leadership has asked us to convey that simple, stark but urgent message to all of our constituents and supporters, indeed to all caring Jews.

As has been the practice in many shuls over past years, in response to the call of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, the recitation of Tehillim (Psalms) 83, 130 and 142 after Shacharis, followed by the tefila of Acheinu, is recommended.
Indeed, our every prayer should include entreaties on behalf of our fellow Jews in Eretz Yisroel.

May our tefillos be received in mercy by Hakodosh Boroch Hu, and help usher in days of peace and security.

Yeshivishe and Chassidishe Yeshivos abandon Ashdod but Hesder Yeshivah will stay!

The Rabbis of Ger and Belz asked their chassidim to abandon the Yeshivos in Ashdod, because of rocket attacks, according to the report from Be'Chadrei Chadorim.

Following  the Psak of the Litvisher Gedolim, Yeshivas Grodno also vacated the Yeshivah in Ashdod.

The Hesdor Yeshivot will not abandon their brethern. They will remain to support their brethern.
May G-D and their Torah protect them.

Iron Dome intercepts rocket over central Israel, sirens sound in Tel Aviv

Air raid siren sounds in central Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, Petah Tikva, Lod and Givatayim for first time amid recent Gaza escalations; no injuries or damage reported.

The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted a projectile over the metropolitan Tel Aviv area, in the city of Rishon Lezion, on Tuesday evening, as air raid sirens sounded in central Israeli cities for the first time amid recent escalations. No injuries or damage were reported.


Israeli television showed a double-burst of smoke in skies above Tel Aviv after air raid sirens sounded, sending residents running for shelter.
 
Air raid sirens sounded in all of Gush Dan, including Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Lod and Givatayim.
It was the first Gaza rocket that reached Tel Aviv since Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Tel Aviv Municipality was instructed to inspect and open public bomb shelters in the city in order to "provide an optimal response for residents if necessary" in the event that escalations in the South reach the Center.
The Home Front Command also instructed Tel Aviv residents to prepare for utilizing protected rooms and shelters in their private homes.
Under the same instruction, the division responsible for civil security ordered for bomb shelters in Tel Aviv schools to be opened.
The IDF launched Operation Protective Edge in the early hours of Tuesday morning in order to quell the ongoing barrage of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. Later in the day, the IDF begun actively calling up 40,000 reserves approved to it by the cabinet.
Since midnight Tuesday, more than 30 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have exploded in Israel.
Terrorists in Gaza have launched more than 250 projectiles at Israel in recent weeks.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Israelis kill 7 terrorists and the Satmar Blog VIN publishes the picture of the crying mothers! UPDATED

The IDF finally responds to the constant missile attacks from Gaza, and kills 7 terrorists who were about to launch more missiles, so what does VIN do?

They show the picture of the crying mothers of these dead terrorists from Reuters!

How sick can you get?
Did VIN just copy and paste the picture and the article from Reuters? or did they do this on purpose?
G-D only knows!

UPDATED
Turns out, that the 7 terrorists weren't killed by the IDF, but they were killed in a tunnel when they accidentaly triggered it off. Makes this picture more despicable!