Geraldo Rivera calls Dan Bongino a ‘son of a bitch’ in fiery on-air fight

 

Geraldo Rivera exploded on Dan Bongino on Fox News Wednesday night as the two continued to clash about policing in America following the death of Daunte Wright.

The veteran newsman, 77, lost his cool about 8 minutes into the already tense back-and-forth, when Bongino, a conservative radio host, accused him of pumping out “a race narrative.”

“You just want to see the country burn,” Bongino sniped on “Hannity,” according to a clip on Mediaite.

“I want to see the country burn? You son of a bitch!” Rivera erupted. “I want to see the country? You punk! You’re nothing but a punk!”

The commentators talked over each other during the chaotic segment, trading barbs along the way.

“I know more than you! What do you know?” Rivera said, as he noted his thousands of hours covering policing issues. “What, did you have a 10-minute career as a cop? You’ve been running for office for the last 20 years.”

Bongino, who served in both the NYPD and Secret Service before several failed attempts at running for Congress as a Republican, shot back, “Geraldo, take a Valium. You really got to pipe down. My gosh, you’re a 70-year-old man!”

The fiery back-and-forth was a continuation of Monday night, when the two were at each other’s throats after Rivera called Wright’s killing “an act of grotesque negligence.”

“There’s a situation in this country now where, I swear to God and I’m speaking with deep experience, too many black mothers are more fearful of the police that they are of crooks when their sons go out,” Rivera said Monday. “A 20-year-old should not end up dead because of an expired registration.”

Bongino said Rivera, who hosted his popular talk show “Geraldo” from 1987 to 1998, was basing his experience on going to dinner with a police captain — prompting the longtime reporter to shout back, “Don’t start minimizing my experience!”

On Wednesday night, Bongino told Rivera he should eat a “little bit of humble pie.”

“You just know what you’ve reported on,” he said. “I don’t pretend to be a journalist, I’m an opinion-maker. Stop pretending to be a cop.”

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Ben & Jerry’s Lies and more Lies by CNN

 

Ben & Jerry’s says: The murder of #DaunteWright is rooted in white supremacy and results from the intentional criminalization of Black and Brown communities.

That tweet from Ben & Jerry’s proves one thing: The Vermont-based company should stick to making ice cream. There isn’t a chocolate chip’s worth of evidence that white supremacy had anything to do with the tragic shooting of Daunte Wright by a police officer who mistook her gun for a Taser. Nor is there any truth in the rest of that tweet: No one is “intentionally criminalizing” black and brown communities. In America, people are arrested and prosecuted when they commit crimes — no matter their race. Ben & Jerry’s should stop spreading malicious, divisive myths and chill out on some Cherry Garcia.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE!

 Note how CNN treated Trump’s plan to withdraw troops in November and Biden’s plan this week.  

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What Is It With J Street And Anti-Semites?

 

Why does J Street keep honoring and defending individuals who have made anti-Semitic remarks?

The latest is former President Jimmy Carter, who will receive an award from J Street at its upcoming convention on April 18. I’m not saying that Carter’s numerous attacks on Israel—as ugly and unfair as they were—constituted anti-Semitism. Not even his accusation that Israel’s treatment of Palestinian Arabs is worse than the Rwandan genocide in which 800,000 people were massacred.

No, I am referring to what Professor Deborah Lipstadt wrote in her essay, “Jimmy Carter’s Jewish Problem,” in The Washington Post, on Jan. 20, 2007. She wrote that in his responses to criticism of his anti-Israel book, Carter “has relied on anti-Semitic stereotypes in defense.”

Lipstadt continued: “Carter has repeatedly fallen back—possibly unconsciously—on traditional anti-Semitic canards. … Carter reflexively fell back on this kind of innuendo about Jewish control of the media and government. Even if unconscious, such stereotyping from a man of his stature is noteworthy. When David Duke spouts it, I yawn. When Jimmy Carter does, I shudder.”

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Thieves Tie Up Rav With Tallis Strips in south Africa

 

A disturbing incident took place on Thursday morning in a shul that houses a kollel in South Africa when thieves ripped a tallis into strips to tie up the Rav and two avreichim, leaving them on the floor of the Ezras Nashim as they stole their belongings and ran off, B’Chadrei Chareidim reported.

There were only three men left in the Kollel in Kehillas Shomrei Emunin in Johannesburg on Thursday morning when the armed thieves entered. After they tied up the men, they stole the men’s phones, the kollel’s laptops, and a car belonging to one of the avreichim.

The building is guarded by a private security company whose guards regularly patrol the area but for some reason, the guards somehow missed the incident.

While the men were trying to free themselves from their restraints, the non-Jewish cook who prepares the food for the Kiddush on Shabbos discovered them on the floor and called for help.

Only two days before the incident, a Jew who lived close by to the shul was murdered during a robbery, so despite the traumatic incident, the men were fortunate to have escaped with their lives.

“What happened only strengthens the belief that the Torah protects us,” one of the mispallelim told B’Chadrei. “The thieves could have shot them – it was mamash a neis.”

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Israel Stops Giving Entry Permits To Students, Thanks To A Few Who ENGAGED IN FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY

 

Chaim V’Chessed has learned that, effective immediately, entry permits to Israel will no longer be issued to student visa holders.

This sudden decision by the Israeli authorities is due to the discovery of fraudulent activity involving entry permits. Several non-students have been caught in recent days entering Israel under the guise of students. Authorities have learned that unscrupulous individuals charged large sums of money for these illegitimate permits.

An immediate ramification is that student visa holders currently in Israel are advised not to leave Israel at this point, if they desire to return to Israel in the near future. It is unknown how long the permit moratorium will last.

Contrary to some rumors circulating, it is believed that permits which have already been issued will be honored.

This is another unfortunate example of a small group of scofflaws ruin an ongoing program for the entire, law-abiding community.

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Israeli, 23, Dies From Reaction To Milchig Dessert At Fleishig Restaurant

A 23-year-old Israeli woman died overnight Wednesday of an allergic reaction to dairy whipped cream she was served at a kosher meat restaurant in the northern Israeli town of Rosh Pina.

The nifteres, Osher Deri, a’h, of Chatzor Haglilit, had ordered dessert at the restaurant on Wednesday night, assuming it was pareve of course since she was dining in a fleishig kosher restaurant.

Apparently, the 19-year-old chef had noticed the restaurant was out of whipped cream and had told a co-worker to purchase some at a nearby store. The employee mistakenly purchased dairy whipped cream.

Deri, z’l, began feeling unwell after eating the dessert and was rushed to Ziv Medical Center in Tzfas, where doctors attempted to save her life, performing resuscitation techniques for almost an hour, but ultimately were forced to declare her death.

Israel Police opened an investigation and has shut down the restaurant and detained five employees, including the owner and chef, of suspected negligent homicide.

The suspects were released to house arrest after the police clarified that they did not act intentionally.

Osher’s mother, Galit Deri, told Kan News that Osher had worked at the restaurant in the past and the employees there were aware of her allergy, adding that her daughter’s allergy was severe, and if she tasted anything dairy, she needed to receive life-saving treatment at the hospital within five minutes.

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Satmar Chassidim Will Say Hallel and won't say "Tachnun" On "Hei Iyar" This Year

 

No! Moshiach didn't come yet... 

Yom Hatzmo'ot is normally celebrated on the 5th day Iyar .."Hei Iyar,"but this year since the 5th day of Iyar falls on Shabbos, Israel pushed it back to Thursday.

Satmar disregards what the Israeli do...and considers Yom Hatz'moet to be on the 5th of Iyar, for the simple reason that Ben Gurion and the rest of the Zionists  established that day as Yom Hatz'moet.

In other words, Satmar will recognise Yom Hatzmo'et on Shabbos because that's when the 5th of Iyar will fall; with this understanding they are on the same page as the Zionist founding fathers!

Mucho Problemo!

Firstly, since Yom Hatzmoet  is according to Satmar on Shabbos they won't be able to say Tachnun... but no-one not even the Iranians, say Tachnun on Shabbos!

Secondly, in Satmar they have a custom to read 5 Chapters of Tehillim every day according to their  own schedule ...and each day they have particular  5 Chapters designated to that particular day..

Well, if you look into the Satmar Tehillim Schedule ... the five chapters designated for the 5th of Iyar this year are Chapters 113-119 which happen to include Hallel..

Well the Satmar "askanim" ran like poisoned mice to the rebbe asking him "Lmaan Hashem" to do something, but the rebbe sticking to the minhag that probably goes back to the Satmar contingency that stood at Har Sinai, refused, but added that the "askanim" should add more awareness to the sheep about the danger of Zionism..

In the above poster, which I don't think is from this year, they warn their chassidim to say Tachnun, even if there should be a bris, when Tachnun is normally not said...because as the Vayoel Moshe said that if Satmar would not say Tachnun on a day where there was a bris, people that are not aware there was a bris would say that in "the Satmar Bais Medrish they didn't say Tachnun because of Yom Hatzmoeot, chas ve'sholom!

In the above poster they give a reason why "Tachnun" should be said, because as they write "On this day our enemies and the ones who hate Hashem, came,  profaned our Holy Land by establishing a Tumedike government, G-d save us, and rebelled against G-d and His Torah"

What that has to do with saying Tachnun, no one knows...but presumably,  since there are  Jews who are grateful for this day, and they skip saying Tachnun because they consider this day a Yom Tov, (on Yom Tov we skip this prayer) a day to thank our Creator for giving us back our home, for giving us a Land that even Satmar Chassidim run to when in trouble, therefore Satmar says Tachnun to point out that the establishment of the Jewish state is not a Holiday but as the Arabs put so nicely..a catastrophe ... the Arabs, though, will not say Tachnun, I am not sure about Hallel.

And so as they say,  Hashem has a sense of humour,  and He made sure that Satmar should not say Tachnun and actually add Hallel on this holy day, like all good religious Zionists.

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‘Six knocks,’ Plus One .. Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik's Theological Case For the State of Israel

On Yom Hatzma'ot, 1956, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, “the Rav,” wrote Kol Dodi Dofek (“Listen – My Beloved Knocks”) in which he sought to place the Jews’ return to their homeland into perspective; it could not have been, he concluded, the result of coincidence or luck.

The Rav referred to a tragic parable in the Song of Songs in which a lover knocks on his beloved’s door one night, but she tells him she is tired and he should come back the next day. When he does not return, she searches for him but realizes that he is gone forever and that she has missed her chance for love. Today, when Jews in Israel are threatened by many enemies throughout the world, even assisted by some Jews, the Rav urges us to ignore their message of despair, self-doubt and defeatism.

When published, the Rav’s essay ran to 60 pages. I have highlighted its main points, added a few contemporary details, and included an additional “knock” to make the sound clearer.

1. The first knock of the Beloved (God) was when, despite the antagonism between the West and the Soviet Union, both recognized the legitimacy of a Jewish state. The United Nations came into being solely in order to facilitate that right, on November 29, 1947, and confirmed it by recognizing the State of Israel in May, 1948. A year later, Israel was accepted as a member of the United Nations.

2. Following the establishment of the State of Israel, the second knock was on the battlefield, when the small IDF defeated the mighty armies of five Arab countries.

Using the analogy of the Exodus from Egypt – when Pharaoh hardened his heart and ended up with a worse deal than was originally offered to him – the Rav considers the Arab attack a blessing in disguise. Had the Arabs accepted the UN partition plan and not attacked, Israel would have had to settle for a state which excluded Jerusalem, half of the Galilee and part of the Negev including Beersheba. It could not have survived.

3. The third knock was on the theological tent. Christian theologians claim that God deprived the Jewish People of its rights in the Land of Israel, and that all the biblical promises regarding Zion and Jerusalem refer, allegorically, to Christianity and the Christian Church; this is refuted by the establishment of the State of Israel.

Christianity declared that the Jewish covenant with God ended with Jesus – that is the real meaning of the term “Old Testament” – and declared themselves to be the “new” Israel. The powerlessness of Jews throughout the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern period reinforced this impression.

4. The fourth knock was in the hearts of perplexed and assimilated youths. The era of self-concealment (during the Holocaust) resulted in great confusion among Jews, particularly among young Jews, and produced widespread assimilation. The almost mystical ability of even a brief visit to the State of Israel to restore the Jewish identities of even the most alienated Jewish youth is the stuff of which legends are made.

5. The fifth knock, perhaps the most important of all, is that for the first time in the history of our exile, divine providence has surprised our enemies with the sensational discovery that Jewish blood is not free for the taking, is not hefker! 

The raid on Entebbe, on July 4, 1976, serves as the most visible and potent reminder of the consequences of treating Jewish lives with callous disregard. In this context, the Rav also cautions against substituting the promises of “the three great powers” (i.e., the US, USSR and Great Britain) for vigilance and self-defense. “A people that cannot ensure its own freedom and security is not truly independent.”

6. The sixth knock was when the gates of the Land of Israel were opened. A Jew fleeing from a hostile country knows that he can find a secure refuge in the Israel. And Jews who leave their comfortable, convenient environments to make aliya share in the redemptive power of Eretz Yisrael.

As Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal wrote in his book Eim HaBanim Smeicha, while hiding from the Nazis in Hungary: “The Land of Israel will become a universal center for the entire Jewish nation ... Even those Jews who remain in the Diaspora ... will be bound and connected with all their souls to the universal center which will be established in Eretz Yisrael ... and they will no longer be considered dispersed....”

This is a reference to the building of the Third Jewish Commonwealth in Eretz Yisrael.

7. The revival and flourishing of Torah learning throughout the world, and especially in Israel, the military victories of 1967 and 1973, the unification of Jerusalem, the flourishing of the Golan, and building Jewish communities throughout Yehuda and Shomron (Judea and Samaria) are among many “knocks” that resound around us. We have so much for which to be proud and thankful.

The art of listening is knowing what is worthwhile and what is not. “Shema Yisrael” – let our ears be open to hear, our eyes to see, and our hearts to appreciate with gratitude.

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Hatikvah.... Tell Your Rabbis, Askanim & Family.. "Enough is Enough"and Come Home!

 Hatikvah

US & Israeli Military Bands Surprise Holocaust Survivor (HaTikva)

Holocaust Survivor Never Thought She’d See This

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Yurzeit of R' Yeshaya Kerestir

 

"Reb Shayele" was known for his extraordinary Ahavas Yisrael, tzedaka, chessed as well as for his miraculous work for those in need of yeshuos.

היינט אין קרעסטיר pic.twitter.com/7Qc93pI1n2

— Hasidic2 (@hasidic_1) April 14, 2021

CNN Admits their entire operating is to be political hitmen for the Democrat Party..

So @CNN is a Super PAC that libels & defames on behalf of the Democrat Party but is operating under the guise of ‘Press’ which is a constitutionally protected institution.

The CNN staffer who was secretly recorded admitting the network used “propaganda” to help get Joe Biden elected president also said they played up the COVID-19 death toll for ratings — and that the order came down directly from top brass.

Charlie Chester, a technical Director at the cable network, was filmed by Project Veritas during a series of fake Tinder dates as he explained how “Fear really drives numbers.”

“COVID? Gangbusters with ratings,” Chester told the unidentified PV staffer.

“Which is why we constantly have the death toll on the side,” he continued, making reference to the coronavirus death tracker that would appear on the screen. “It would make our point better if [the COVID death toll] was higher.”

The Project Veritas employee, who was not identified and claimed to be a nurse, went on five dates with the CNN staffer, including the final one at a coffee shop in Chester’s neighborhood. It’s unclear when the dates took place.

On one of the meet-ups, Chester explained to the PV employee why the network went so heavy on COVID coverage, saying, “Fear is the thing that really keeps you tuned in.”

Going on to reference the death toll, Chester then said he had “a major problem with how we’re tallying how many people die every day, because I’ve even looked at it and been like, look at it and be like, ‘Let’s make it higher.’ Like, why isn’t high enough, you know, today?”

“And I’m like, what am I f–king rallying for? That’s a problem that we’re doing that,” he conceded.

Chester claimed there was a “red phone” that network president Jeff Zucker would use to call the control room to order producers to play up the Covid death count on screen.

“Like, this special red phone rings and they pick it up and it’s, like, the head of the network being like, ‘There’s nothing that you’re doing right now that makes me want to stick. Put the numbers back up. Because that’s the most enticing thing that we have.’ So things like that are constantly talked about,” the staffer said.

He also told his date that there is “no such thing as unbiased news,” and explained how that manifests at CNN. 

“Any reporter on CNN, what they’re actually doing is they’re telling the person what to say. It’s always, like, leading them in a direction before they even open their mouths,” he said. 

“And the only people we let on air, for the most part, are people that have a proven track record of taking the bait.”

A CNN spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on the second part of the Project Veritas report.

In part one of the PV series, Chester was seen revealing that his network produced “propaganda” to oust former President Donald Trump during the 2020 presidential election

“Look what we did, we [CNN] got Trump out. I am 100​ percent going to say it, and I 100​ percent believe that if it wasn’t for CNN, I don’t know that Trump would have got voted out,” Chester said, adding that he came to work at CNN because he ​​”wanted to be a part of that.”

“Our focus was to get Trump out of office, right? Without saying it, that’s what it was.” 

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Getting vaccinated is how we beat Fauci and other lockdown-forever loons

 

The best kept secret of the pandemic — kept secret especially by our perma-doom-saying public-health authorities — is that the COVID-19 vaccines work. They work very, very well. Yes, even the Johnson & Johnson product just put on pause because of a one-in-a-million side effect.

The vaccines have shown incredible results in fighting off serious cases of COVID-19. These shots are scientific miracles — and you should take one at the first opportunity.

Take the vaccine, wait two weeks after the final dose, and then return to your 2019 life. Or better yet, make up for the last miserable year by taking your 2021 life to the next level.

Take off your mask as much as you can. You will still have to wear it in shops that require it, or on the short but deadly walk to your table at restaurants (eye roll). But you don’t need it anymore to walk your dog, push your child on a swing, hug a friend. Outdoor masking was always more about virtue-signaling. But your going mask-less now signals something else: You’ve gotten the jab, you trust in the science and you are moving on.

Make plans. So many of us have been in a holding pattern for more than a year. See friends, and not just the ones you’ve bubbled with for the last year. Fill your weekends. Have brunch, lunch and dinner out. Go to a museum. Lounge in the park. Go on adventures. Fall in love with someone new or with your spouse all over again.

Remember why you love your city. Change out of your leggings. Get dressed up. Find somewhere to go dancing. Go laugh your face off at a comedy show. You have taken the vaccine, and the pandemic is effectively over for you. Celebrate that — hard.

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Democrats planning to unveil bill that would add 4 justices to Supreme Court

 

Democrats are preparing to unveil legislation that would add four seats to the US Supreme Court. 

The bill, first reported by The Intercept, is expected to be introduced in both the House and Senate on Thursday.

It would up the number of seats on the high court to 13 from the current nine.

Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, a co-sponsor of the bill, told The Wall Street Journal that adding justices “will shore up the public’s confidence in the court and its legitimacy in the public’s eyes.”

Also backing the measure are House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler (NY-10th District) Subcommittee Chair Hank Johnson (GA-4th District), and freshman New York Rep. Mondaire Jones.

The sponsors will announce the proposal at a press conference Thursday morning on the steps of the court, where they will be joined by activists from liberal groups including Take Back The Court, which has advocated for increasing the number of justices. 

“Our democracy is under assault, and the Supreme Court has dealt the sharpest blows. To restore power to the people, we must #ExpandTheCourt,” Jones wrote on Twitter.

Conservatives currently hold the majority on the bench after former President Donald Trump’s appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon.

It is believed Barrett — Trump’s third nomination to the court —  will cement the conservative tilt for decades, prompting calls from Democrats to increase the number of justices, who have lifetime appointments.

President Biden on Friday signed an executive order creating a commission that would study the “pros and cons” of expanding the court.

But Markey said that, “We need more than a commission to restore integrity to the court.”

Republicans and legal purists decry the idea as “court-packing” and say it will undo the court’s historical insulation from politics.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican, blasted the Dems’ proposal, saying that “Packing the Supreme Court would destroy the Supreme Court.” 

“The Democrats will do anything for power,” he wrote on Twitter.

“The moderate left is gone,” said President Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows. 

“This is who they are now. Open borders. Outlawing voter ID. Free healthcare for illegal migrants. And now court packing. This should be roundly rejected.”

Biden previously opposed adding seats.

Congress altered the number of justices on the court several times over the 19th Century from a low of five to a high of 10. The number was fixed at nine shortly after the Civil War.

In the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt unsuccessfully sought to expand the court after conservative justices ruled against some of his New Deal policies.

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Yom Hazikaron: Remembering My Brother Keeps Him Alive

 

Hillel Schwartz by the grave of his brother, Ezra Schwartz, who was killed in a Palestinian terror attack in Israel on Nov. 19, 2015

 For me, every day is Yom Hazikaron. Since I lost my older brother, Ezra, to a terrorist attack on Nov. 19, 2015, not a day has gone by that I do not think about him.

I remember Ezra every time my little brothers and I watch a Patriots or Yankees game, his most beloved teams. I see his infectious smile every time I step out of my comfort zone to reach out to someone new. And I laugh at his antics every Friday night when my family reads from the letters we received after his death, and we learn about how he choked down hot peppers on the camp bus or made ridiculous music videos in his bunkhouse at two in the morning.

His tragedy resonates with almost all who hear it. A Palestinian terrorist opened fire from inside a vehicle near the Etzion Junction in the West Bank, killing Ezra, along with an Israeli teacher and a Palestinian bystander. Ezra was studying as part of a gap-year program at a yeshivah in Beit Shemesh, and that day was on his way to deliver snacks to Israeli soldiers stationed near Efrat when he was shot. He was just 18 and preparing to attend Rutgers University after his year in the Jewish state.

When Ezra was killed, the entire Jewish community supported my family. There was so much sadness around the world. Everyone wanted to help us. We received condolence cards and letters from Ezra’s friends and acquaintances describing their interactions with him. Our friends carried us through those first few months. Strangers sent Hanukkah gifts. We felt honored to be Ezra’s family. In the midst of my tragedy, I felt so loved.

But for most Jews outside of our community of Sharon, Mass., south of Boston, Ezra’s impact has faded with time. Yom Hazikaron is a day for these Jews to remember their loss and rekindle the closeness the nation felt in the aftermath of his death. It’s a day to perpetuate the memory of my brother and everyone else who died for Israel.

But more than that, Yom Hazikaron is a day for my family and those like ours to realize that our loved ones have not been forgotten by world Jewry. Every mention of Ezra’s name brings us a bit of healing. It lets us know that we are not alone, that people still care. It even goes a little way towards bringing Ezra back to us. Every time someone does something in his memory, it shows us that even though he’s not here with us on earth, he is not totally gone; he is still with us, affecting our lives.

I have participated in communal Yom Hazikaron ceremonies ever since my brother’s death. But this year’s Masa Israel Journey ceremony was a new experience. For the first time, I was helping Ezra be remembered not by people who knew and loved him, but by thousands around the world who had never met him or even heard of him.

Ezra on far right with his siblings

Once in a while, I wonder whether Ezra’s repeated mention really makes a difference. But then I see the impact his story has on each new person who hears it—and I realize that if Ezra can change even one more life, it is all worth it. At the filming of this year’s Masa Israel Journey ceremony, I was sitting next to a man and a woman from another Masa program. This may have been their first time in Israel. I looked a little different than most of the wreath-holders, so they asked about my story. I told them about Ezra—and I could see their faces change. One of them started crying. Most of the people I encounter already know about my family’s experience, so I seldom have the chance to see how my brother’s story can move those hearing it for the first time. Each reading of Ezra’s name gives new people the opportunity to look him up, read about him and be inspired by something he did.

I am now nearing the completion of my year in Israel, an opportunity my brother never had. He will never attend Rutgers, start a career or build his own family. But as long as people remember him, Ezra will never truly be gone. He will live on in our stories, in our actions and in the children who bear his name.

This Yom Hazikaron, please take a minute to think of my brother. Read a story about him and maybe even do something in his merit. Ezra excelled at enjoying life and helping those around him. My family and I also encourage you to share your stories in Ezra’s memory with us, if you feel compelled to. In acts of kindness, you will be returning to him a bit of the life that was ripped from him, from my family and from the Jewish people.

Hillel Schwartz is the brother of Ezra Schwartz, an American victim of Palestinian terror in Israel in 2015.

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Inran Admits “1,000s Of Centrifuges Destroyed At Natanz,”

 

Thousands of centrifuges used to enrich uranium has been damaged or completely destroyed at the Natanz nuclear site, a senior Iranian official stated on Tuesday.

Alireza Zakani, the head of the Iranian parliament’s research center, detailed the damage incurred in the attack in an interview on state TV.

Zakani’s statement seems to confirm remarks by Channel 13 News analyst Alon Ben-David, who said that Iran’s provocative announcement that it will begin increasing uranium enrichment to up to 60% is “not a significant threat.”

Ben-David explained that due to the extensive damage at Natanz, Iran will not be able to reach 60% enrichment there and although it maintains about 1,000 additional centrifuges at its Fordo plant, those centrifuges can only enrich uranium up to 60% in very small quantities.

An increase of up to 60% uranium enrichment is significant since it is a short step away from weapons-grade uranium.

Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall, an expert on strategic issues with a focus on Iran, terrorism and the Middle East, and a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, told JNS on Monday that the attack caused years of work to “go down the drain.”

“This isn’t the first time that centrifuges in Natanz have crashed in one way or another,” Segall said. “I’m not sure how many cascades [a group of centrifuges working together to enrich uranium more quickly] were destroyed there, and it is not clear what happened, but when a cascade breaks, this represents years of work that go down the drain.”

Segall also spoke about the political repercussions of the multiple attacks [attributed to Israel] on Iran’s “top-secret” sites, with Iranians mocking the regime on social media for being unable to protect its most critical assets.

“The regime has been exposed,” he said. “As it continues to absorb attacks, there is a growing erosion in its perception by the Iranian people, and certainly, by the Iranian diaspora.”

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