Friday, November 5, 2021
The NYTimes' comical account of what it means to be Israeli
A New York Times reporter and photographer go into a car. They travel across one of the world’s happiest countries—and find only anger, alienation, and regret. Israelis find that really funny
New York Times coverage of Israel—its efforts to curate, conceal, and contrive the faraway land for its American readers—has descended into hilarity. Indeed, a recent front-page story by Jerusalem bureau chief Patrick Kingsley, which promises to help readers “discover what it means to be Israeli today,” is a comical caricature of the paper’s own biases, exposing much more about the New York Times than about the country it is supposedly covering.
To understand why, it helps to first understand a couple of facts about that country: Israel has consistently ranked at the top of measures of global happiness. The 2021 World Happiness Report, for example, found Israelis to be among the happiest in the world, and ranked their country as 12th happiest out of 149 countries over the past three years.
In other words, if you were to ask random Israelis to “think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0,” then ask them to “rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale,” chances are you’d find them saying that they are living close to the best possible life. That’s what pollsters found.
Israel’s place in the World Happiness Report’s index is marked by a red arrow.
According to other polling, by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, over 88 percent of Israelis, including 76 percent of the country’s Arab citizens, were satisfied with their lives.
Berland's Chusid Confessed to the Murder of Nissim Shitrit 35 years ago and Incriminates 3 others
One of the main suspects in the murder of 17-year-old Nissim Shitrit 36 years ago confessed to the murder on Wednesday and incriminated three others, Channel 13 News revealed on Wednesday night.
On Wednesday morning, disgraced Shuvu Banim leader Eliezer Berland told Meir Shitrit, the brother of murder victim Nissim Shitrit, 17, that he can sit Shiva and say Kaddish. Berland also urged one of the main suspects of the murder to tell the investigators what happened.
The report revealed the transcript of the meeting between Berland and the suspect, during which Berland urged him to confess. “We need to say what happened,” Berland said. “I’m instructing you to say what happened.”
The suspect, who until then had refused to talk, broke down and confessed his role in the murder of Shitrit, and incriminated three others. He described what transpired that day to the investigators, saying that they didn’t actually intend to kill Shitrit.
“We went to scare Shitrit and beat him up,” he said. “G., Z. and B. beat him and he died from their blows. I didn’t beat him, but [it happened] in front of me. Afterward, we dug a kever and buried him. It wasn’t planned. We decided we won’t tell anyone what happened.”
The suspect was taken by the police to the murder site in a Jerusalem area forest in an attempt to locate the remains but he could not identify the exact spot. According to his lawyer, the suspect doesn’t remember the exact location of the kever.
A female suspect involved in the murder cooperated with the police and confessed her role of calling Shitrit and telling him to go to a certain apartment, from where he was kidnapped. She also provided other details regarding the case to the police and confronted other suspects. On Wednesday, the police released her to house arrest for a week.
Also on Wednesday, Jerusalem’s Magistrate Court extended the detention of four other suspects for eight days.
During the hearing, the police said they are now also aware of the identities of those who murdered Avi Edri, 41, in 1990, and what role each suspect played in the murder.
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Artscroll's CEO Gedalya Zlotowitz's Reaction when asked why all the Bios of the Gedoilim Make them into Malachim or Angels
If you want to read the biographies of Gedoilei Yisrael, all you have to do is buy one book of one random Gadol from Artscroll, the rest will read the same.
The Gadol portrayed in Artscroll books was born a genius, knew the entire Shas by the time he was six years old, never got angry, was never wrong, and was the biggest baal chesed and the most caring person in the world.
The truth is that this is not true at all, some went to public schools, some never opened a sefer until after the bar-mitzvah and some had parents that weren't frum. Some were fervent Zionists (Chas Ve' Sholom) and some like Rav Eliyashiv and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach had Rav Avraham Yitzchok Kook z"l as their Mesader Kiddushin. One great Gadol had severe Shalom Bayis issues. Many had children that went off the derech. One particular Gadol that comes to mind had a son that converted to Christianity. Many were wrong in their predictions and in their Halachic rulings, but you will not get any of this from their bios.
You see Artscroll is holier than the Tanach. In the Tanach all Gedoilim are presented with their flaws and blemishes, and not one frum Jew would think of them any less. But the gedoilim of the present century, according to the Artscroll bios, were absolute melachim who never did anything wrong in their entire lives.
In the interview, R' Gedalye Zlotowitz says that he is not "re-writing" history, he is only "omitting" certain information, and that the bio is meant to "inspire."
R' Gedalye is being disingenuous when he says that this was "his father's idea"
His father's first Bio was of the Netziv, it was called "My Uncle the Netziv" and was translated from the Hebrew version of "The Netziv" which was written by Rabbi Baruch Halevie Epstein, who was the author of the famous commentary the "Torah Temimah.: Rabbi Epstein was the nephew of the Netziv. In his biography of his uncle he nonchalantly mentioned that the Netziv read secular newspapers. When Artscroll originally released the book, they included this tidbit. But after tremendous pressure of the Yeshivishe Roshei Yeshivos, Artscroll recalled the book and reprinted it without the "newspaper" story. So when Gedalye says that Artscroll is omitting information that would put the protagonist in a bad light and make him sound normal, he is lying, it was omitted because of pressure.
Omitting uncomfortable truths is akin to rewriting history. Presenting a glorified and sterilized version of history isn't "inspiring" in fact it's incredibly harmful. It presents an impossible model of how a great person is supposed to look like, void of humanity and weaknesses, and lying by omission is still lying.!
‘You’re aware that the academic world mocks Artscroll...’ Candid, insightful conversation with @artscroll president Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz on our newest Take 2 https://t.co/ob6320PMeg pic.twitter.com/SphyxUtyBR
— Mishpacha Magazine (@themishpacha) November 3, 2021
Inna Vernikov a Republican Wins Big in Flatbush A Smack in the Face to Askanim
Dov Hikind did endorse Inna while the Flatbush "gedoilim" endorsed her opponent the fake DemocRAT Saperstein. It seems that the voters were giving a clear message to the "kockers" I mean the "machers" that they don't need their unsolicited advice.
The same thing happened in Fakewood, where the "kockers" were pushing the "murf" but the voters voted for his opponent the Republican Candidate Ciattarelli. Ciattarelii lost by a tiny margin embarrasing the DemocRATS in New Jersey where Murphy was expecting to win by a landslide.
My advice to the sheep in Brooklyn .... Baaaaaa Baaaa
Stop listening to "Kocker-Machers" and vote Republican all the time, you may lose some but in the long run this is the best strategy for the benefit of the Jewish people...
Republican Inna Vernikov won the New York City Council’s 48th District seat on Tuesday, flipping the seat to the GOP in one of the city’s few conservative districts.
“This victory sends a loud message that this district is fed up with the progressive policies that have been destroying our city and our district,” Vernikov told Hamodia Tuesday night. “I think this will open up a lot of doors for Republicans, and will also restore the faith of the people in our election process.”
With 96% of the vote tallied early Wednesday morning, Vernikov, who also ran on the Conservative line, led her Democratic opponent, Steven Saperstein, 64% to 36%, a margin that shocked political observers.
Red Wave: 12 Republican Nationwide Wins in Tuesday’s Election
Republicans won big Tuesday around the nation with 12 significant accomplishments that bode well heading into the 2022 midterms.
1. Pennsylvania’s Judicial Victories
Republican Kevin Brobson defeated Democrat Maria McLaughlin for a position on Pennsylvania’s highest court with about 52 percent of the vote.
The win will maintain the composition of the states’ court. The victory is important because in 2022, the court will weigh cases on election integrity, state redistricting, and abortion.
Former Pennsylvania deputy attorney general Megan Sullivan also defeat Democrat Timika Lane for a spot on the appellate court, which hears cases on civil and criminal appeals.
Attorney Stacy Wallace won her race for the Commonwealth Court, where suits involving state agencies are heard.
Secrets of the Me'aras Ha'Macpeilah in Chevron
Beit Shemesh Widow of Murdered Chareidie Claims that her son the murderer "is the victim"
Last week we posted the tragic story of a 17 year-old Beit Shemesh boy who stabbed his father to death during the Shabbos Seuda.
During the shiva she spoke to reporters and told them that her husband, a father of ten, had severe emotional problems but refused to get help. She said that the last ten years was "a life of hell" for her and her children. Police were called many times and they were very familiar with the abuse that was going on over the years.
She added that her son was "the victim here."
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Yanki Kanievski Buys 3 Level Luxury Home in Bnei Brak... No Mortgage... How did he do it?
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| Yanki "in the middle" |
Yanki has never held a job, his parents are poor like church mice, so how did he manage to buy this home?
A few weeks ago the Hebrew Blog "Bechadrei Chadorim" claimed that 98% of all monies collected in some "high-profile" tzedakkah campaigns do not go to intended but to the pockets of those running these "tzadaka" organizations. Very scary!
Read the article below to get a feeling what is really going on?
This from the Rationalist Judaism Blog
Yanky Kanievsky, grandson and manager of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, just bought a new home. It's a stunningly decorated, three-floor home, very different from the standard apartments in Bnei Brak. He paid the entire sum outright, without taking out any mortgage. He didn't even have to sell his previous home in order to buy it. After all, he didn't need his own money for it.
He had mine.
I'm still not clear as to exactly how it happened. True, I don't check my credit card statements as carefully as I should. There are several standing monthly payments to various charities. Back in 2018, I received a receipt from one such charity, called Beit David, but I was suddenly suspicious, because I hadn't remembered ever donating to it. Looking into it further, I saw that it was based in the Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet - the extremists' neighborhood, which I couldn't imagine housing a charity that I would give to. The receipt was for a standing monthly payment that was taking place over two years! I immediately stopped the payments.
I vaguely remember calling them and asking how they had started processing donations from me, and not receiving any satisfactory answer. Meanwhile, on the local Beit Shemesh email list, it turned out that there were others in the same position. Beit David had taken thousands of shekels from their bank account, over a prolonged period, without their knowledge or consent.
I had forgotten all about this until a few days ago, when I learned about Yanky Kanievsky's extraordinary new home. How did a thirty-year-old kollel student afford such a property?
One friend of mine told me that many people simply give him gifts. They are so enthralled to have someone as special as Rav Chaim in the world, that they gladly give money to him. Of course, the physical act of giving is done via his family manager. Who uses it to buy a luxury home.
That in itself is distasteful, but it seems that there are much, much worse things taking place.
Who Remembers Cafe Feenjon?
The most important table in stand-up comedy can be found in the back corner of the Olive Tree Cafe, a dark Greenwich Village restaurant. The two slate tables pushed together serve as a makeshift green room for comedians who perform downstairs at the legendary New York club, the Comedy Cellar. Both “The Cellar” and the Israeli café are owned by Noam Dworman. They share a kitchen and a bathroom and are connected by a narrow stairway lined with signed photos of famous comics who got their start at the club, which opened in 1981.
After their sets, comedians make their way up to the “comedy table” for free hummus and banter, joining other Cellar performers, including major stars who may have dropped in. The table reserved for the club’s comedians began in the late 1990s when it was first implemented by the previous owner, Manny Dworman, who also happens to be Noam’s father.
This table is so sacrosanct that in 2016 when the table was moved 10 inches, a New Yorker article recorded the complaints of a who’s-who of stand-ups. “This is not the table where Robin Williams sat, this is not where Ray Romano sat, this is not where Jon Stewart sat,” Chris Rock protested.
"Trick or Treat" Guy in Halloween mask randomly attacks pedestrian with ax in NYC
A creep in a Halloween mask attacked a random pedestrian with an ax on the Upper West Side this week, cops said Tuesday.
The 51-year-old victim was on Broadway near West 61st Street just after 10 p.m. Monday when the suspect — shown in one photo wearing the toothy mask over his face — threatened to kill him and struck his arm with the ax without provocation, cops said.
The suspect then bolted into the 59th Street/Columbus Circle subway station.
He is shown in another photo sans the getup and wearing a blue surgical mask. He also wore a dark-colored coat, blue jeans and black boots.
The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside in stable condition, cops said.
Fired Park East Rabbi holding rival services blocks from his old synagogue
It looks like the Chassidim don't hold the license for break ups. The feuds and civil wars in Satmar, Bobov, Ger, Viznitz and Sadugere has now spread to the Modern Orthodox. Reminds me of the joke about a Jew landing on the moon looking for a shul to daven in and he finally finds one and asks him where the shul is, the moon guy answers him "we have two" so the visitor asks "how many Jews here on the moon" he answers "one" ...so the visitor asks "why do you need two shuls for only one guy?" He answers "just in case I have a fight with myself"
The rift at Park East Synagogue may widen, as Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt, who was fired as assistant rabbi last month, has starte!d his own Shabbat service three blocks away from his former synagogue.
This will be at least the second service hosted by Goldschmidt since he was fired from the wealthy Orthodox congregation on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Oct. 15. Last week, according to multiple sources, he hosted Shabbat services in his apartment with dozens of attendees.
Teacher Who Won ‘Teacher of the Year’ Award Beats the crap out of her student who dared question the award
Good Way to prove your critics wrong.
An educator was arrested and charged for child abuse just two days after being named “Teacher of the Year.” The abuse? Hitting a student who criticized her receiving the award.
Caroline Melanie Lee, 60, a Florida educator, was labeled “Teacher of the Year” by the Duval County Public Schools last Wednesday and then arrested Friday for punching a student in the nose.
The student reportedly made the egregious error of reading a comments thread that questioned Lee being given the award and accused her of using the N-word in class.
According to a complaint filed by the girl, the teacher ordered her into a vacant classroom and then began slapping, punching, kicking and verbally abusing the offending student who dared question how wonderful she really is.
The school said that “Teacher of the Year” Lee has been removed from classrooms, “and will not return,” pending judicial and internal school procedures.
MK Abbas offers Chareidim 100 million Shekel
Mansour Abbas, the chairman of the Islamist Ra’am party which is part of Bennett’s coalition, requested to transfer NIS 100 million of the funds he received in coalition agreements to the Chareidi sector, Kan News reported on Monday.
Abbas explained to coalition officials that he feels an alliance with the Chareidim since, like the Arab sector, it is considered a disadvantaged sector of Israeli society.
Of course, Abbas may also be interested in maintaining political ties with the Chareidi parties and some think he is trying to divert attention from a recent incriminating report about his party.
Abbas’s move follows a speech by UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni last week during a Knesset session chaired by Abbas. Gafni took the opportunity to compare the struggles of Chareidi society to Arab society and warned Abbas that based on his own experience in the past regarding funds promised to the Chareidi sector he may not see a shekel of the money promised to him by the coalition
“The Israeli culture only recognizes mainstream Israeli culture,” Gafni said. “No one has any desire to assist anyone who is a bit different, to help them, their children, their neighborhoods, their cities. They promise you money and say; ‘True, there’s great injustice in the Arab sector, we promise you NIS 53 billion. I’m not sure you’ll receive one shekel.”
Following Gafni’s speech, he and Abbas spoke privately for an extended period of time. Abbas later told other Chareidi MKs that “Gafni’s speech touched my heart.”
In response to Abbas’s offer, UTJ MK Yaakov Asher turned it down and slammed the members of the coalition in a speech from the Knesset plenum on Monday night, saying: “Something drastic happened in Israel today. On this day, Yamina members need to put on masks – not just over their noses and mouths but over their whole faces – if today, Ra’am chairman Abbas, your partner in the government, says that his compassion was kindled due to what you’re doing to your Jewish brothers – those with the kipos and payos – and he issues a press release, like a philanthropist, swearing to ‘donate’ NIS 100 million to the Chareidim from his coaliton funds.”
“How is it that Abbas feels what you don’t feel over these past months when children and working mothers are being stomped on just because they’re religious and davka Abbas is the one that requests to take care of them?”
“So first of all, I’ll tell him ‘No thanks.’ But if he wants to donate to some organization, I suggest that instead of the Assistance 48 Association, he donate to Kupas HaIr – they also take care of widows and orphans.”
“Abbas told me: ‘I’m sensitive to disadvantaged societies,'” Asher continued. “He’s sensitive to the disadvantaged and you’re sensitive to Lieberman. You can’t manage to take yourselves in hand and do what’s necessary!”
“What abyss have we reached that Mansour Abbas requests to donate to us? I’m not saying this as a joke, my heart bleeds – how did we fall to this? My Jewish brothers – definitely the ones with kippos on your heads – shame on you that you’ve descended to this.”
Lakewood Community defy the "vaad" and Vote in a landslide for Jack Ciattarelly
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As the vote between incumbent New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelly comes down to a razor-thin margin, the numbers from the overwhelmingly frum city of Lakewood were released, showing that Ciattarelli won it by a landslide.
Despite endorsements from the Lakewood Vaad and numerous askanim, Governor Murphy was unable to gain the support of the majority of Lakewood’s voters, who lean conservative and in general feel that Murphy’s policies do not align with their values.
Ciattarelli won 61.6% of the Lakewood vote, with a total of 11,644 votes.
Lakewood has over 50,000 registered voters, but saw less than a third of them turn out to vote in Tuesday’s election.
MASSIVE BLOW TO BIDEN AND DEMS: Republican Glen Youngkin Wins Gubernatorial Race In Virginia
In a crushing blow to President Joe Biden and Democrats across the country, Trump-backed Republican Glen Youngkin is projected to win the Virginia gubernatorial race, beating incumbent Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
Youngkin was the target of numerous attacks in recent weeks, including a political stunt by the anti-Trump Lincoln Project that aimed to paint him as a candidate with numerous white supremacist supporters.
The race in Virginia is believed to have boiled down to issues parents have with the state’s public school curriculum, with Youngkin decrying the teaching of Critical Race Theory and Democrats accusing the Republican of being a racist for opposing it.
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
At Least 9 Former Nazis Died In The U.S. While Awaiting Deportation. 3 House Democrats Want To Know Why.
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| Jack Reimer, a Ukrainian immigrant accused of being a Nazi war criminal, enters Federal District Court in Manhattan on Aug. 17, 1998. He was later stripped of his U.S. citizenship and ordered deported, but died at his home in Fort Lee, New Jersey. |
In 1992, the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations learned that before moving to the United States, a Brooklyn potato chip salesman had participated in the liquidation of Jewish ghettos in Poland, including those in Warsaw, Lublin and Czestochowa. And there was evidence that he helped other SS men execute 50 to 60 Jews in a ravine near Trawniki.
Jack Reimer was tried in 1998 and denaturalized, or stripped of his U.S. citizenship, in 2002. An appeals court upheld the decision in 2004, and the following year the U.S. sought to deport him. He agreed to leave for Germany but died in August 2005 before that could happen. He was living in Fort Lee, New Jersey, at the time and died surrounded by his family.
Sixteen years later, three New York House Democrats are asking the State Department to conduct a review of their records to learn why Reimer and eight other Nazi war criminals who were found living in the U.S. after the war were prosecuted, convicted and ordered deported but then allowed to die “comfortably in the United States.”
“Some of these men were stationed at Nazi concentration camps,” they wrote. “Others participated in the horrific liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto. The Department of Justice established beyond a reasonable doubt that each of them contributed to the atrocities of the Holocaust.…
Spectacular ancient gold ring unearthed in Yavne
In an enormous excavation conducted at Yavne by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), as part of the Israel Land Authority's initiative to expand the city, a spectacular gold ring with an inlay of a purple stone was recently uncovered.
An examination of the ring by Dr. Yotam Asher at the analytical laboratory of the Israel Antiquities Authority, showed that the stone is mostly made of silica, a material from which many gemstones are composed. This examination ruled out the possibility that the purple inlay is made simply of glass. The ring weighs 5.11 grams.
Monday, November 1, 2021
70 Men Women and Children from the Helbrans Cult Caught in Kurdisan Escaping Guatamala ...
70 men, women and children of the crazed and sick Helbrans cult, managed to escape Guatamala in the middle of the night and flew to Kurdistan where they were detained by the Kurdistan army.
They told the army that they didn't intend to enter Iran and just wanted to escape to take a break from Guatamala. Of course they were barking up the wrong tree as the army didn't believe them.
So now the escapees are sitting at the airport hoping that they can get a chartered flight out, to who knows where.
Question: Who is funding these sickos?
Jerusalem Consulate: A Nail in the Coffin of Peace
Only a few months ago, US President Joe Biden betrayed a US ally by withdrawing forces from Afghanistan, bringing down the government in Kabul and consigning the country to the bitter depredations of Taliban terrorists. Now he is winding up to betray another, much closer ally — Israel.
Biden plans to open a consulate in Jerusalem. This may seem like just another diplomatic facility to issue visas, promote trade and take care of US citizens, with no greater consequence than the US consulate in Edinburgh, UK. But it is far more than a mere office for paper-shuffling diplomats. It amounts to a de facto US embassy to the Palestinians on Israeli territory. Its true purpose is to undermine Israeli sovereignty in its own capital city and will jeopardise future prospects for peace between Israel and Palestinian Arabs.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, understands the implications only too well. In a recent interview, he triumphantly predicted that the new consulate would re-divide Jerusalem.
After the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel’s capital in 2018, it subsumed the existing consulate in the city to form a single diplomatic mission. This was achieved under the administration of President Donald J. Trump and that, together with a profound misunderstanding of the dynamics of peace, explains Biden’s determination to re-open the consulate. He has devoted much of his presidency so far to undoing everything he could of Trump’s work, with the exception of the Afghanistan debacle, over which he uniquely claims to have been bound by Trump’s previous plans.
The new consulate, exclusively to manage diplomatic relations with Palestinians, is designed to give hope that one day Jerusalem will be the capital of a putative Palestinian state. Israel can and rightly should never allow that. As well as betraying Israel, Biden’s irresponsible diplomatic signalling — which also appeases his hard-left supporters — is a betrayal of the Palestinian people. They have suffered too long and too hard under the hostility of their leadership, which has consistently refused to entertain all proposals for peace with Israel that could lead to the establishment of their own state.
Successive Palestinian leaders have been encouraged in their intransigence by the US and Europe, who have for decades extracted concession after concession from Israel while Palestinians make none. The impossible aspirations of the PA leadership — who intend to see not a two-state solution but the destruction of the Jewish state — were dealt a severe blow by the 2020 Abraham Accords between Israel and several Arab nations, and by the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 with the opening of an embassy there the following year.
Man married to divorcee discovers he's a kohen - what next?
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| Shalavim Bais Din |
A young man from Bnei Brak recently paid a visit to the Religious Council in Tel Aviv in order to verify the name of his grandfather – and to his shock, discovered that his father and grandfather had apparently both been kohanim (of Priestly lineage).
Ordinarily, this would have been relevant but untroubling information – in this particular case, however, the young man was already married to a divorcee, and according to Jewish law, kohanim are forbidden to marry divorcees.
The discrepancy had apparently occurred because the father of the young man had originally recorded on his marriage certificate that he was a “Yisrael” (and not a kohen), but at some later stage, the entry had been crossed out and replaced with “Kohen.”
The young man and his wife then turned to the renowned expert in Jewish law, Rabbi Yitzhak Zilberstein, who told them to separate for the meantime, until their status could be ascertained.
The story then found its way to the ears of Rabbi Noam Amram, head of the Sha’alvim Beit Din (rabbinical court), which deals primarily with marriage-related issues. Rabbi Amram immediately realized how important it was to find a way to permit the couple (who have six children) to remain married, and he researched the issue and formulated a solution.
What Rabbi Amram discovered was that the young man’s father, who had been completely secular, had not bothered to clarify his own lineage either for his own edification or for the purpose of informing his children that they might be kohanim.
He also investigated the question according to the halachic conclusions of four main poskim (decisors): Rashi, Rabbeinu Tam, Rambam, and Ramban.
Based on the above, Rabbi Amram ruled in accordance with three of the four above mentioned poskim that the government document did not constitute halachic evidence and that it could not be used to prove that the man, or his father or grandfather, were definitely kohanim.
Rabbi Amram also noted that even in the opinion of the fourth posek, the document did not constitute evidence as it had been written and then crossed out and rewritten. In addition, there was only one signature attesting to the “Kohen” status, not the two required by Jewish law. He also noted that there exists some doubt as to whether people generally considered to be kohanim today really are kohanim, as definitive records have often not been kept.
Vizhnitz bans single young men from weddings
Single young men from the Vizhnitz hasidic sect may no longer participate in community weddings, their rebbe (hasidic leader) said, according to Kikar Hashabbat.
According to Kikar Hashabbat, the instruction follows a speech by the Vizhnitzer Rebbe on Shabbat (Saturday), in which he said that, "Everyone is familiar with the history of Vizhnitz over the past seventy years, when during the time that the Vizhnitz neighborhood was built in Bnei Brak, a situation was created in which everyone knew everyone else, and therefore everyone participated in the weddings as one family."
He also said that when his father, the "Yeshuot Moshe," Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Hager, became rebbe, he instructed that single young men not participate in weddings, since there are enough people who come to make the couple happy.
Instead of Confronting the "self-hating" Jew Blinkin on his opposition of Jews Building in their own Land .. Agudah Calls for a "Yom Tefillah" Against the Israeli Government
Am I the only one that sees this as crazy? Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending the Israeli Government which now for the first time has an Arab party as part of the coalition. I believe and hope that the government will soon collapse.
But I don't get the Agudah... They are sitting on leather chairs in the comfort of their conference room in the Unites States in lower Manhattan and calling for a "Yom Tefilah" for Jews living in Eretz Yisrael?
We don't have Gedoilim?
We now need the Chutzlinikers?
The Agudah has its headquarters in the USA and just last week we heard that the USA's Secretary of State, the self hating Jew Blinkin, wants to open the American Consulate for the cursed Palestinians in Yerushalayim and is putting enormous pressure on Israel to halt the building of Jewish homes in Israel. And yet "Ein Koil, Ve'in Onah"
Where is the Agudah? Where is the "Moetzes Gedoilei Hatorah?"
"How Dare You" Iraqi Beauty Queen Scolds Mandela’s Grandson Over BDS
By Pesach Benson, United With Israel
Glitz and glamor are coming to Israel in December as Eilat hosts the 2021 Miss Universe pageant. Women from around the world will vie for the crown in a contest expected to draw 600 million viewers. It’s the first time the competition is being held in the Middle East.
Of course, no international event can happen in Israel without criticism from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. But a call from Nelson Mandela’s grandson to boycott the pageant was met with a fierce scolding from — of all people — a former Iraqi beauty queen. And Miss South Africa was curiously silent.
On October 19, Inkosi Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela, the 47-year-old grandson of Nelson Mandela, took to Instagram to urge countries to boycott the Israel-hosted pageant. Mandela inherited the position of tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council and is a member of the South African parliament.
In a statement, he praised announcements by Miss Indonesia and Miss Malaysia to boycott the tournament and then denounced Israel as an “apartheid state.”
“Daily Apartheid Israel violates the fundamental human rights of the Palestinian people and commits crimes against humanity,” Mandela wrote.
“Israel is an apartheid State and persists in its heinous occupation and expansion of its illegal settlements in violation of international law. We must persist in isolating Apartheid Israel in the same way that we isolated Apartheid South Africa.”
While South Africans overwhelmingly support the Palestinians, some key activists, such as Kenneth Meshoe, bristle at the apartheid analogy. The comparison, they say, is dishonest and cheapens the suffering of blacks who lived under strict racial segregation.
According to South African media reports, organizers of the Miss South Africa tournament are distancing themselves from Mandela’s statement. A terse statement by the organizers said, “The Miss South Africa organisation is not getting involved in a political war of words and has no further comment to make.”
Reports also note that Lalela Mswane, who was crowned Miss South Africa last week, is facing heavy pressure not to attend. A 24-year-old former ballerina, Mswane has not indicated whether she plans to compete in Eilat. Her views on the Mideast conflict are not known.
Miss Iraq Speaks Out
Former Miss Iraq Sarah Idan called out Mandela in a video posted on Twitter. During the 2017 pageant, Idan made headlines by posting a selfie with her new friend, Miss Israel — Adar Gandelsman. For that, she was labelled a traitor by many Iraqis.
Idan has since visited Israel and spoken out at the United Nations about Jewish refugees from Arab countries. A musician, she also has U.S. citizenship and currently lives in Los Angeles.
“All I can say is, how dare you? How dare you as a man try to tell an organization for women and women empowerment what to do? This is an opportunity that millions of women dream of having — to go on world stage and represent their people, their nation, their culture. Not governments, not politics, and definitely not your political agenda,” Idan said in her rebuke to Mandela.
“The term you used to attack Israel, in calling it apartheid, is a term only being used by radical Islamists, terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, Taliban and the Iranian regime — all of them who hate women and women’s rights. Please allow Miss South Africa to go and experience Israel up close on the ground and let her be the judge for herself.”
“And I’m positive, just like me, she will be shocked to see that the Israeli government consists of Muslims, Jews, Arabs, Christians. And those people, not only they get to vote on policies to shape their future, but they’re also part of the Knesset and they also have political parties — and some of them are even Israeli ambassadors to the world.”
“Last but not least, I would like to congratulate the new Miss South Africa, and I hope that she will enjoy her trip and learn not only about Israel but about all these beautiful other countries. This is what the Miss Universe pageant is all about. And I hope to see you there soon.”
Idan’s video has more than 63,000 views.
Why Israel is Hosting the Pageant
This year’s competition comes on the heels of the 2020 pageant, which was delayed by COVID-19 restrictions and held instead in May 2021. That contest, held in Miami, was won by Andrea Meza of Mexico.
Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, told the Jerusalem Post that Israel’s response to the coronavirus pandemic was the main reason it was selected to host the event.
Crediting Israel’s vaccination campaign, Shugart said, “We decided if we were going to hold the competition outside of the US, it would be in a country that has handled the virus well.”
So far, 3.9 million Israelis have received three vaccinations against COVID-19 and another 5.7 million have received two. With the number of active cases down to 8,526, Health Ministry officials are cautiously optimistic.
Sixty countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Morocco, have already confirmed their participation. The UAE has never participated in the pageant, while Morocco will be competing for the first time in 43 years. Organizers expect women from 90 countries will participate.
Israel will be represented in the competition by Noa Cochva, a 22-year-old former IDF medics commander and aspiring pediatrician.
Lev Tahor leaders Will be Extradited to US from Guatemala
A court in Guatemala has approved the extradition to the US of two senior leaders of the Lev Tahor ultra-Orthodox cult – brothers Yaakov Weingarten and Shmuel “Shmiel” Weingarten – where they face child exploitation offenses.
The Third Criminal Sentencing Court in Guatemala authorized the extradition of the two men on Thursday and Friday, after they were charged in April this year by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York for the kidnap of a 14-year old girl and for smuggling her across the US-Mexico border to reunite her with her adult husband.
According to media in Guatemala where the Lev Tahor cult is currently located, the court has verified that there are currently no legal proceedings against the Weingarten brothers and that the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry is therefore authorized to begin extradition proceedings.
Suspect Turns State Witness: Major Development In Shuvu Banim Murder Cases – Berland To Be Questioned
A dramatic development in the cases of two murders that occurred in Jerusalem over 30 years ago occurred last week when one of the suspects signed a state witness agreement.
The agreement, according to which the suspect will incriminate the others involved in the case, is expected to significantly expedite the pace of the investigation.
The suspect who signed the agreement played a part in both murder cases.
At least two of the suspects detained by police are cooperating with the police and have volunteered details about the cases to investigators. Kan News reported that the female suspect who admitted her role in the murder plot of Nissim Shitrit was brought by the police to the apartment where she claimed she told Shitrit to go to prior to his disappearance.
The detention of five suspects arrested by the police in the past several weeks was extended again by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Thursday for another seven days.
Disgraced Shuvu Banim leader Rabbi Eliezer Berland, who is currently serving a prison sentence for fraud, exploitation, attempted intimidation, tax offenses, and money laundering, is expected to be questioned on the murder cases as well.
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