Eretz Yisroel ..... Explaining the Different Views ..... by DIN

I am approaching my second year living in the promised land, and I am thankful to the Creator that He gave me this opportunity! 

הודו לה' כי טוב כי  לעולם חסדו

For years I said three times a day

המחזיר שכינתו לציון

"Blessed are You, Hashem, Who restores His presence to Zion"

Did I know what I was talking about ?

The Midrash says that when the Jews were exiled to Bavel, the Shecheene was exiled with them.....

When the Jews were exiled to Edom the Shecheene was exiled with them...

Because according to the Midrash the  Schcheene goes where the Jewish people go.

 Now that I live in Israel and am witnessing the return of the Jewish people to its inheritance I now understand the true meaning of 

המחזיר שכינתו לציון

Blessed are You Hashem.... who restores the Shecheene (where it belongs) in Zion!

The Schecheene doesn't come to a deserted land ... the Shecheene returns when the Jewish people return...

I  always asked Hashem 

ותחזינה עינינו בשובך לציון ברחמים

"May our eyes behold Your return to Zion"

and now I am witnessing it!

 I have been approached by many people who still live in Chutz Le'aaretz and who visit Eretz Yisroel from time to time and who ask me 

"What was your motivation for making Aliyah?'"

Some of those asking, were huge Talmeidei Chahchamim (Torah Scholars),  who were seriously asking me to prove to them that 

"Yishuv Eretz Yisroel" (settling in Israel) is a Mitzvah......
they explained that they were really seeking the truth..

 If it is a Mitzvah .... they questioned..

is it a "Mitzvah Medeoriisah" (Biblical)

or is it a "Mitzvah MeDrabbanan (rabbinical)?"

And if it is either one.... is it applicable now...?
or is it applicable only when there is a Bais Hamikdash?

Is it even a Mitzvah at all.... maybe it's just a "nice thing."

So I decided, that I will for the next couple of weeks אי''ה, discuss the Mitzvah of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael in depth and bring down all the different "shitos" that either hold that it is a Mitzvah De'Oriisah, or hold that it is a "Mitzvah De'rabbanan." 

And, again, if it is either one ...is it applicable in the here and now!

I will do this in a respectful manner and will argue and debate this solely on its merits...

I will bring the view of the Rishonim such as the  Rambam, the Ramban, the Megilas Esther (commentary on the Rambam), Meeri, Ritvah, Rosh, Baal Haturim, Ran, and Terumas Hadeshen and others...with its sources...

I will bring the views of the Achronim such as Shiltei H'giborim, Radvaz, Mabit, Alshich, Mahrshal, Hachareidim, Maharal, Ramah, Drisha, Maharsha, Shlah, Yaavitz, Gra, Chidah, Haflah, Chayeh Adam, Yismach Moshe, Chasam Sofer, Aruch Lener, Yetev Lev, Netziv, Bais Haleivi, Reb Zadok HaChen, Aruch Hashilchan, Sdei Chemed, Ben Ish Chai, Chafetz Chayim, Ohr Samach, R Yosef Chaim Zonnenfeld, Rav Kook, Chazon Ish, Avnei Nezer and others .. with its sources ..

I will bring the views of the contemporary rabbanim and poiskim such as the Satmar Rav, and Reb Moshe Feinstein, Rav Henkin. etc..
and I will also discuss the view of the Minchas Eluzer whose views are even more radical than the views of the Satmar Rebbe.

I will discuss the Shalosh Shevuoit... "The Three Oaths!"
and of course I will discuss how Zionism plays into all of this...

Once its posted ... I will place it on the side of the blog so that everyone can reference it when needed..
Read below for Part 1

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Judge Orders Hillary Clinton to testify about her secret email server

Good luck deposing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She’s as slippery as an eel and twice as devious. She’ll figure out a way to circumvent the truth. It’s her greatest skill set.

Clinton and her lawyers have spent months inventing one excuse after another for why she shouldn’t have to answer questions in a deposition about her unauthorized and unsecured computer system. She used a clandestine server to handle all of her electronic communications as secretary of state, including the transfer and dissemination of thousands of classified and top-secret documents.

There is no doubt that Clinton’s unprotected email apparatus jeopardized America’s national security. The State Department eventually divulged that there had been, at minimum, thirty separate security breaches. Chinese intelligence reportedly gained access to her server housing classified documents. Did the Russians penetrate the same system? You can bet on it.

Thus, Clinton almost certainly committed a myriad of felonies under the Espionage Act and other criminal statutes. Instead of pastel pantsuits, Clinton should be wearing an orange jumpsuit. But the Obama administration protected her, allowing former FBI Director James Comey to clear her by twisting the facts and contorting the law.

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30% of the Votes Counted .... Likud Has Large Lead..... Final Results Tomorrow

The counting of the votes in the 2020 election continues. As of 6:40 a.m. Tuesday morning, approximately 31.2% of the votes were counted.

The Likud party is leading with 29.61% of the votes. Blue and White comes in second with 23.55%, followed by the Joint List with 10.2%.

United Torah Judaism - 9.14%, Shas - 9.05%, Yamina - 6.47%, Labor-Gesher-Meretz - 5.72%, Yisrael Beytenu - 5.38%, and Otzma Yehudit has just 0.53%.

The counting of the votes is being done very slowly after the Central Elections Committee added control measures aimed at ensuring accurate results before they are made public.

As such, the results from the regular polling stations without the so-called “double envelopes” – which contain the votes of diplomats and IDF soldiers – are only expected on Tuesday afternoon or evening.

The full results will be announced at the earliest on Wednesday evening or on Thursday.

Bernie Sanders would be the most ‘godless’ president since Jefferson

by RICH LOWRY

Once upon a time, Bernie Sanders would have had another political vulnerability besides his socialism — namely, his atheism.

In 2016, a Democratic National Committee staffer had to apologize after the WikiLeaks hack exposed an email he wrote that suggested using Bernie’s atheism against him in the primary.

This year, Bernie’s religion — or lack of it — has barely made a ripple or even occasioned any comment. It used to be expected that serious presidential candidates would have religious faith and discuss it, in keeping with the religious coloration of the country they sought to govern. Just as the taboo against openly socialist candidates has given way, so has the old norm about religiosity eroded nearly to the vanishing point.

Sanders, a secular Jew, doesn’t call himself an atheist. The way he puts it is that he isn’t “actively ­involved in organized religion,” and that he believes in God, just not in a traditional matter. “To me,” he has said of his religion, “it means that all of us are connected, all of life is connected and that we are all tied together.”

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R' Feldman Retracts His Opposition for WZO Elections ... R' Malkiel Kotler Remains Isolated ...

In a major development Monday morning, VIN news has confirmed that in a conversation with well-known news editor Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger, Rabbi Feldman has retracted his position, and has stated that he is “Mevatel his Da’as to Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky on the matter,” effectively declaring that he no longer opposes the position of Rabbi Brudny and Rabbi Kamenetsky.

This stunning development leaves Rabbi Malkiel Kotler the lone voice who still opposes the nearly unanimous view of Gedolei Hador that it is permitted to vote in the WZO elections.
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Netanyahu Wins Big! So far 37% of the Vote...... Right Has 60 for sure

With polls closing across Israel, exit polls published by Channel 12 News show that the Likud party has won 37 Knesset seats while the Blue and White party has won 33 seats.

The Joint Arab List won 14 seats, 

Shas nine seats, 

United Torah Judaism seven seats, 

Yamina seven, 

Labor-Gesher-Meretz seven, and 

Yisrael Beyteinu six seats.

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Too Many Cooks "Do Not" Spoil the Broth ..... No ... Not This Time

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Vatican opens archives on highly controversial Holocaust-era pope

The Vatican unseals the archives of history’s most contentious pope on Monday, potentially shedding light on why Pius XII stayed silent during the extermination of six million Jews during the Holocaust.

Two hundred researchers have already requested access to the mountain of documents, made available after an inventory that took more than 14 years for Holy See archivists to complete.

Award-winning German religious historian Hubert Wolf will be in Rome on Monday, armed with six assistants and two years of funding, to start exploring documents from the “private secretariat” of the late pope.

Wolf, a specialist on the relationship of Pius XII with the Nazis, is anxious to discover the notes of his 70 ambassadors — the pontiff’s eyes and ears during his time as head of the Catholic Church between 1939 and his death in 1958.

There should also be records of urgent appeals for help from Jewish organizations, as well as his communications with the late US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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Mendel Krafchik 23 Killed in Car Accident in Pennsylvania

Menachem Mendel Krafchik, son of Chabad Shluchim in Leeds, UK, passed away on Motzei Shabbos, 5 Adar, 5780.

He was 23.

Mendel was in a car accident in Pennsylvania and tragically passed away from his injuries.

He sadly lost his father as a young child.

Mendel learned in the JETS school in Los Angeles and the “RAP” Yeshiva in Jerusalem, following which he served in the Givati Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Most recently, he lived in New York.

Mendel was a very kind-hearted boy who was admired and loved by his friends, family and community. He will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his mother, Sorah, and siblings.

The levaya will take place in London.

A fund has been set up to help the family during this difficult time. Click here to help now.

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Hashem's Sense of Humor .... Oprah While Talking about "Balance" ....Falls Hard to the Floor

Oprah Winfrey is currently on her 2020 Vision speaking tour, stopping by the Forum arena in Los Angeles Saturday to discuss wellness and living a balanced life. Unfortunately for the media mogul, she quite literally lost her own balance while onstage, slipping and taking a pretty hard fall in front of hundreds of attendees.

Footage obtained by The Los Angeles Times shows the television icon taking a few steps to her right before tumbling in front of her shocked audience. After gathering herself on the floor, she called out “wrong shoes!” into the microphone, letting fans know exactly what caused the unexpected crash.

Fans of Winfrey immediately took to social media, with many in attendance saying she took the fall like a champ and actually walked around barefoot onstage for a bit before switching to more sensible footwear.
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Sanders is a liar !... Dannon Israel UN Ambassador

Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon spoke Sunday at the AIPAC conference amid the backdrop of election campaigns in Israel and the US.

In his speech, Danon addressed the words of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who asserted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a "racist" and also had announced that he would not attend the AIPAC conference because it provides a platform for "leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights."

"We don't want Sanders at AIPAC. We don't want him in Israel. Anyone who calls our prime minister a 'racist' is either a liar, an ignorant fool, or both,”Danon said.

Danon revealed that the U.S. administration is likely to take action against those who cooperate with the UN Black List recently published by the "Human Rights Council". 

"This is further proof of the solidity of the U.S.-Israel relationship and the peoples' alliance," Danon said.

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The Tragedy of Not Accepting All Your Children..... by DIN

The latest tragedy of the poor young Satmar girl taking her own life got me thinking.

I am not suggesting in any way that I know the details, I don't, I know what I read in the various Israeli Hebrew papers .and I heard the interview that she gave to channel 12..and of course there is  a lot more to this story that we will never ever know...

There isn't a week that goes by where another Jewish child or teenager is so despondent, so miserable, that they don't see another way out but to take their very own lives....

These children will never be parents, they will never be grandparents... they will no longer contribute to society....

and will always be the cause of broken hearts to their families.....

Parents will never forget that awful tragic day that their own flesh and blood was torn from them....

As we approach Purim a day of celebration I found an interesting and fascinating "Akeidas Yitzchok"... that I feel is relevant to our times....and would like to share it with you .

The very last verse of the megillah reads :

כי  מרדכי היהודי משנה למלך אחשורוש וגדול ליהודים ורצוי לרוב אחיו דרש טוב לעמו ודבר שלום לכל- זרעו

"For Mordechai the Jew was viceroy to King Ahasuerus, he was a great man among the Jews, and found favor with the multitude of his brethren; he sought the good of his people; and spoke peace for the welfare of all his seed (children)"

Rashi says ... that the pasuk praises Mordechai's lifetime achievements ...

and the ones mentioned last, are his greatest...

in other words, his being appointed viceroy was his least accomplishment....

while his "speaking in peace with his children" was his finest.

Question:

Can it be possible that the last accolade of Mordechai that he spoke in peace with his children" was a greater achievement than being viceroy?

Is this pasuk trying  to say that the fact that  Mordechai "was a great man among the Jews" a tzaddik, was not his best accomplishment?

Answers the "Akeidas Yitzchok" 

that yes, a Jew becoming a viceroy in Persia was in fact a great accomplishment, 

and yes, the fact that "he was great amongst the Jews" a tzaddik, was even a greater achievement..

a greater accomplishment than being a"great man" was the fact that almost all Jews accepted him as their leader, 

and a even greater achievement of being accepted by his fellow Jews was the fact that he only wanted the best for the Jewish people...

But you know what was his finest and probably the most difficult task?

It was speaking with all his children in peace!

It could be that not all his children followed in his ways ... and it could even be that he had children that were rebellious.... 

could be he had a child that refused to dress in a shtrimal and vaaseh zokin...that he chose to wear a colored shirt on Shabbos...

Yet Mordechai chose to speak  ודבר שלום לכל- זרעו

to all his children equally in peace!

And that my friends is the most difficult thing to do ......
and if one can achieve that, he has achieved the very best and finest accomplishment in life!

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Trump supporter Paul Singer buys stake in Twitter and plans to oust Jack Dorsey

A Republican mega-donor and converted Trump supporter has bought a large stake in Twitter and is planning to oust Jack Dorsey from his role as CEO, according to sources close to the matter.  

Paul Singer, founder of investment management firm Elliott Management, has reportedly taken a hefty stake in the social media company and is planning to use his newfound influence to push for many changes, starting at the top.

One of the first things on his list is to force out CEO Jack Dorsey, sources told Bloomberg. 

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RT' Malkiel Koter & R Feldman Openly Defy R' Chaim Kanievsky's Ruling That One Must Vote for the WZO.... Video

When you have Litvishe Roshei Yeshivah openly defy their gadol, then what do we want from the regular Joe Shmoe?

 Rabbi Aron Feldman and Rabbi Malkiel Kotler threatened to quit the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Agudas Israel of America of which they are both members, even after  Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, the leading Posek of Lithuanian Jewry had issued a bombshell ruling.

Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky wrote Rabbi Kanievsky a two page handwritten in depth letter, presenting the question of whether one should vote in the WZO elections. Rabbi Kanievsky responded that it was 100% permitted according to Halacha, giving the strongest backing possible to Rabbi Kamenetsky and Rabbi Elya Brudny who had both ruled it was permitted before coming under attack for their opinion.

Meanwhile, a Moetzes meeting was held on the phone where the issue was discussed. Rabbi Kotler and Rabbi Feldman once again questioned Rabbi Kamenetsky who responded by reading his in depth letter and response from Rabbi Kanievsky. The meeting was immediately adjourned.

Rabbi Kamenetsky then held an hour-long phone conversation with Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponevezh in Bnei Brak, who reiterated the position of Rabbi Kanievsky. He also added his own strong backing to encourage the public to vote.

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New Survey Indicates that deranged Jewish Americans Will Vote For Any Democrat — Including Sanders — Over Trump

No matter who is running on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2020, he or she is likely to get the Jewish vote by a wide margin, according to a new survey.

The survey, released Friday by the Jewish Electoral Institute, found that two-thirds of clueless Jewish voters said they would choose any Democratic candidate over President Donald Trump.

The survey was conducted Feb. 18 to 24, a period that included Sanders’ announcement that he would not attend AIPAC’s annual conference next week. After the announcement, some pundits suggested that nominating Sanders would result in Jews preferring the Republican candidate for the first time in contemporary American history. (Four years ago, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton received 70% of the Jewish vote.)

But the survey found that even though Jewish voters view Sanders more unfavorably than they his Democratic rivals, they disapprove of Trump far more. While 45% of Jewish voters said they had an unfavorable view of Sanders, who has tied or won the Democratic primary’s first three nominating contests, 61% said they strongly disapprove of Trump (down from a high of 71% in the survey group’s 2018 survey) and 65% would vote for him over the president in an election.

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Chaya Weller 22 Satmar Girl Commits Sucide After Her Parents Had Her Drugged Up To Keep Her Frum

A former member of the extremist Satmar Hasidic sect who publicly exposed the traumatic experience of being drugged by her parents to prevent her from leaving the group and questioning her religious beliefs, took her life at the age of 22.

 Satmar askanim buried her alone with no friends... telling her friends that the funeral would be another day!

Only three months earlier, Chaya Weller (Haya Valer) had alleged that she was given anti-psychotic drugs not prescribed by a medical professional or psychiatrist, and was interviewed on television about her experiences.

Weller recounted in the interview the trauma she felt at the hands of her family, which she says originated when she questioned her religious beliefs in a conversation with her mother, and some time later escaping from her home.

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Mesechtas Bibi

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Rabbi Turnheim Predicts That Bibi Will Win Based on Parshat Tezaveh

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Zera Shimshon ... Parshas Terumah

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Zionist Scientists Say ..... “We’ll Have A Coronavirus Vaccine Within Weeks”

Israeli researchers are weeks away from developing a vaccine against COVID-19, Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis stated, adding that the vaccine could be ready within three weeks and enter the marketplace 90 days later.

“Congratulations to MIGAL [The Galilee Research Institute] on this exciting breakthrough,” Akunis said. “I’m confident that there will be further rapid progress, enabling us to provide a needed response to the grave global COVID-19 threat.”

Scientists at the MIGAL Galilee Research Institute have been developing a vaccine for four years against a coronavirus in poultry called infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and recently proved its effectiveness in clinical trials.

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Buttigieg "Mamash" Taking Obama's Speech Word for Word

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Watch Donald Trump Catch Chuck Todd Lying and Tell Him Off

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I enjoyed the Belgian carnival that featured anti-Semitic floats. ...... but Then I searched for homes in Israel.

BY CNAAN LIPHSHIZ 

 I probably spend an unhealthy amount of time thinking about the Holocaust.

Partly as a consequence of covering Jewish news in Europe at a time of rising anti-Semitism, Holocaust associations often come to mind in my daily life — on crowded trains, for example.

But I never thought I’d have a conversation end with these words:

 “I have to hang up now, the Gestapo is coming.”

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In unprecedented move, Israelis advised to avoid all travel abroad over virus

In a dramatic statement Wednesday, Israel’s Health Ministry urged Israelis to seriously consider refraining from traveling abroad, as the country looked to isolate itself from the novel coronavirus outbreak rapidly spreading across the globe.

“If you don’t genuinely have to fly — don’t do so,” the ministry said in a travel warning.In making the announcement, Israel became the first country to urge its citizens to refrain from international travel entirely because of the outbreak, which started in China in December and has since infected over 80,000 worldwide and claimed well over 2,000 lives, almost all of them in China.The move comes after a series of additional countries announced they had identified cases of the virus on their soil over the past two days, including Brazil’s announcement of the first confirmed case in Latin America and uncontained outbreaks in Germany, Italy and other European countries.

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R' Mordcha Gross, Av Bais Din of Bnei Brak Davens that Berland should be freed .... at Kever Yoisef Hatzaddik

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Kretchiver Rebbe of Yerushalyim Kicks His Sister Out of An Inherited Home ......

Above is the last will and testimony of the late Kretchniver Rebbe of Yerushalayim, clearly stating that he is giving giving his Dira to his daughter ....

and for those who say that a daughter cannot inherit...this will clearly states that he is giving it to her in his lifetime ...

Anyone can give anything he owns away to anyone in his lifetime even daughters...

This didn't stop the present Kretchiver Rebbe from throwing his sister the hell out of the apartment..

Pass the popcorn because this is going to be a long adventure.

Here below see Hatzalah that was called to treat the Holy Rebbe's sister...that he threw out on the street!

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Rabbi Elya Brudny Branded a "Zionist" Because He Supports Voting in the WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS

First of all what's so bad being called a "Zionist" Chas Ve'Shalom?

So let's start from the beginning.....

As we previously discussed, Rav Malkiel Kotler is a supporter of the late R' Shmuel Auerbach's fanatical position that it is a mitzvah to disrupt the lives of people going to work, going to school, going to a shiur, visiting the sick, by tying up traffic in the Chareidie areas like Bnei-Brak and Yerushalayim.

Over the last few months many frum news outlets have asked frum people to vote in the next World Jewish Congress elections.

 One must first register as a member which is $7.50, and that makes one eligible to vote .

The reason why Rabbanim want us to become members and vote has absolutely nothing to do with Zionism.

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Uh Oh! 83 people in Long Island being monitored for possible coronavirus exposure

Dozens of Long Island residents are being monitored for potential exposure to the deadly coronavirus, health officials announced Wednesday.

Eighty-three Nassau County residents have been asked to undergo a two-week voluntary quarantine from the date that they traveled to China or had contact with someone infected with the virus, news station WPVI reported.

“We’re monitoring this situation in Nassau very, very closely and have been right from the beginning to respond to any cases should they emerge in our county,” Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said at a press conference.

The group is required to report their temperature and any symptoms every day to local health officials, WPVI reported.

No one has been diagnosed with the virus, but tests for one resident are pending, officials said.

“Should someone need medical care, we’ll evaluate it and we have protocols in place to safely get them medical care,” Nassau County Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lawrence Eisenstein said.

News of Nassau’s quarantine comes a day after federal officials warned that it’s only a matter of time before the infection spreads through local communities.

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Mubarak: "What does the Lubavitcher Rebbe Want From Me?"

Yisrael Katzover, a senior journalist who covered the IDF for several decades for numerous Israeli newspapers and media channels was interviewed by Chabad many years ago about his many encounters throughout the years with the Lubavitcher Rebbe to receive advice and instructions about his work. One of the stories he told was a fascinating encounter with former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who passed away on Tuesday.

“I visited Egypt 11 times and I had meetings with Hosni Mubarak many times during these visits. During my first visits – before Mubarak became ill – when we would come to Egypt with the [Israeli] prime minister, the defense minister, with others, he would take the journalists to a side room, sit with them and engage us in very interesting, open and personal conversations.”

“I remember one of these conversations. We were fix, six journalists and he hurried through the conversation that day for some reason. At the end of the meeting, he called me aside and asked me to go with him to another room.”

“We went into a room and he said to me: ‘I know what you’re writing, I know what your opinion is – I hear you at meetings. I have a special question for you. Can you explain to me what the Lubavitcher Rebbe wants from me?'”

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