Rabbi Yair Hoffman's Disingenuous Argument Against Going Up to Har Habyit

 

Rabbi Yair Hoffman is a very nice guy, but he has an agenda. He wants to make nice to his Yeshivishe followers, most of whom have been brainwashed in their agenda driven yeshivois, by agenda driven Roshei Yeshivas. 

In his halachic analysis of whether it is permitted to go up to the Har Habayis, he leaves out a very pertinent part of the puzzle. He purposely leaves out the fact that the Rambam himself actually went up to the Har Habayis with his father and brother accompanied by the then Chief Rabbi of Akko. Not only that, but every year on the anniversary of the date that he went up on the Har Habyis, he celebrated a personal Yomtov with a Seuda. The Rambam mentions his Har Habayis experience in many other letters as well. The one below is in the Rambam's own handwriting.

To those who may want to say that only the Rambam knew exactly where to go, I have two answers. A) The Rambam may hold that one can actually go on the Makon Ha'mikdash as the  Rambam adds that "I went into the Great Holy Building and I prayed there" so he must have gone into the mosque itself. B) Today we have greater knowledge where exactly the Bais Ha'Mikdash stood because of the Archaeological digs of Charles Warren in 1867, and so we know the areas on the Har Habayis that are permitted. Moreover, we have records that Jews went up to the Har Habyis after the destruction of the Second Bais Hamikdash. According to Rabbi Wein, Jews  went up to the Har Habyis during the times of the Rishonim, and not one Gadol at the time said that it was prohibited. 

The gedoilim that prohibit going on the Har Habayis may have not known of the existence of these letters. The Poiskim alive today totally ignore the Rambam's experience because none of them is brave enough to come out and discuss this. Many of these poiskim that prohibit are only prohibiting because they are afraid to antagonize the Arabs. This argument has been proven false more times than you can count. If Jews would stop going up to the Har Habayis, the Arabs would find other excuses to kill Jews. Why were they killing Jews when the Jordanians had the Har Habyis from 1948-1967, when not one Jew entered anywhere close to the Har Habyis?

Arabs don't need excuses to kill Jews, they murdered Jews before we had the Kotel, Mearas Ha'machpeilah, Kever Rachel. 

My "taaneh" to Rabbi Hoffman is that he was disingenuous in his analysis, omitting the above important ideas that directly oppose his Yeshivishe agenda to satisfy the tiger nipping at his heals. He is a coward!

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

Recently, it was widely reported that Ben Shapiro and others travelled to and entered he Temple Mount. While the sentiment that lies behind his action is certainly admirable in that he wishes to ensure Jewish sovereignty over har habayis, the action itself lies in stark contrast to the position of the great poskim of the generation, Rav Edelstein shlita, Rav Elyashiv zatzal, Rav Chaim zatzal, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l, and so many others. What follows is a halachic analysis of why we should not, at this point, be praying on the Har Habayis. The author feels bad because Ben Shapiro is someone that the author admires greatly.

Anti-Smartphone Gedoilim Continue to Take Contributions from Smartphone Owners! Yiddish!

Bears visit a Bungalow Colony

 

 

In London Chassidim don't like the Eiruv so they rip it down just like Arabs

 This is what happens when you don't work, there is plenty of time to be busy with "sheigatz shtick"

In Yerushalyim a 50-year-old Father Arrested for molesting 4 of his children

 

No Achdus Between Degel HaTorah & Agudat Yisrael..They Will Probably Split

 

With less than 100 days to go to elections, disputes have broken out in the UTJ party between its current head, MK Moshe Gafni of the Degel HaTorah Lithuanian faction, and the Chassidic Agudat Yisrael faction.

According to years-old agreements, the two factions rotate leadership of the party over election cycles, which should mean that Agudat Yisrael takes the lead in the run-up to elections this winter. However, now that veteran Knesset member Yaakov Litzman has resigned, the leadership of the Agudat Yisrael faction has passed into the hands of Yitzhak Goldknopf, the representative of the Gur Chassidic group, the largest within Agudat Yisrael, leading MK Gafni to protest that a man with no political experience whatsoever should not be leading the party into elections.

Gafni would therefore like to see his own tenure at the head of the party extended for the meantime; furthermore, he wants the 50:50 arrangement between the two factions of UTJ altered to 60:40 in Degel HaTorah's favor, arguing that changes in haredi demographics justify this.

Meanwhile, another dispute is continuing to simmer between Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, the spiritual head of the Degel HaTorah faction, and the Belz Chassidic group (represented by MK Yisrael Eichler of Agudat Yisrael) regarding changes made to boys' schools within the Belz Chassidic group, increasing the hours spent studying mathematics and introducing English into the curriculum.

The two factions have run together in elections for years to ensure that both pass the electoral threshold, but disputes are nothing new, and this year haredi politicians have also expressed the concern that votes may "leak" to the Otzma Yehudit party of MK Itamar Ben Gvir, possibly even losing UTJ a seat to the Religious Zionism party with which Ben Gvir is allied.

Spectacular rare coin from the time of Emperor Antoninus & Rabbi Yehuda Ha'Nasie

 An exceptionally well-preserved spectacular rare bronze coin was recently recovered from the sea bed during an underwater archaeological survey conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority off the Carmel coast at Haifa.

The coin was minted under the emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161 CE) in Alexandria, Egypt. The reverse depicts the zodiac sign Cancer beneath a portrait of the moon goddess Luna. The coin bears the date ‘Year eight,’ the eighth year of Antoninus Pius’s rule, or 144/145 CE. It belongs to a series of thirteen coins, twelve depicting the different signs of the zodiac and another the complete zodiac wheel.

According to Israel Antiquities Authority Maritime Archaeology Unit director Jacob Sharvit, “This is the first time such a coin has been discovered off Israel’s coast and it is a rare addition to the National Treasures collection. Israel’s Mediterranean shores and waters have yielded many archaeological sites and finds that attest to connections in antiquity between Mediterranean ports and the countries along it.”

“These finds, which were lost at sea and disappeared from sight for hundreds and thousands of years, have been remarkably well preserved; some are extremely rare and their discovery completes parts of the historical puzzle of the country’s past.”

The coin was discovered during a survey conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority to locate, document, research, and preserve antiquities sites and ancient finds — cultural assets that are being endangered by accelerated marine development.

According to Israel Antiquities Authority’s Director, Eli Eskosido, “In the last decade, the State of Israel has changed its perception of the sea. Rather than marking the country’s border, the sea is now recognized as an integral part of it in terms of its cultural heritage, in addition to security considerations and strategic and economic concerns. Israel’s territorial waters contain natural resources and cultural assets that must be explored and protected in light of different interests and potential development. The maritime survey off Haifa is part of this process. The rare coin recovered during the survey is a vivid reminder of the importance of the survey.”

Interestingly, the ruler who minted the coin, Antoninus Pius, was a Roman emperor who ruled between 138 and 161 CE. Unlike his predecessors, he was not a military man and never participated in battle. His reign was the quietest during the whole of the Roman Empire and marked the height of the period of “Roman peace” (Pax Romana) throughout the empire. Antoninus had a different approach to running the Roman Empire, preferring to deal with any foreign crises through provincial governors; in fact, he never left Rome himself. He encouraged and initiated the construction of temples, theaters, and magnificent mausoleums, and promoted science and philosophy.

During his rule, the empire’s relations with the Jews were greatly improved, the decrees of Hadrian were revoked, and Jews were allowed to practice circumcision. These steps led to amicable relations between the emperor and Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi.

Convicted Rosh Yeshiva GREER Trying to claw himself out of Jail

 

Very bizarre, Avi Hack testified in open court that he was the "mistress" of the Rosh Yeshiva Greer, and now Greer gets him, his mistress, to testify that the boy (Eliyahu Mirlis) that Greer raped was over 16? What is fascinating though, is that, I believe, that this is the very first time that the holy Rosh Yeshiva admits that he raped young boys, he is only arguing that Eli Mirlis was not 14 or 15, but he was over16!

Incarcerated sex offender Rabbi Daniel Greer left his prison cell Wednesday to come to a New Haven courtroom — where one of his alleged victims testified that Greer had indeed had sex with a former student … but waited until the boy was over the age of 16 years.

Greer was the one who arranged to have the witness come say that, in the hopes of obtaining a new trial.

That was the focus of a four-hour hearing held in Room 6C in New Haven’s Church Street state courthouse. 

Greer is petitioning the court for a new trial based on what he claims is ​“new evidence” provided by Aviad ​“Avi” Hack. Greer is arguing that the 2019 criminal case in which he was convicted on four counts of risk of injury to a minor was based on an incorrect assessment of the victim’s age.

He is currently serving 20 years in prison for the attack on a former student at his Elm Street yeshiva, Eliyahu Mirlis, who was supposedly between 14 and 15 years old at the time. 

Since then, on Oct. 29, 2021, Hack — a former student and then a former employee at the yeshiva who has also described having had a sexual relationship with Greer — signed an affidavit stating that, to his knowledge, Greer did not have sex with Mirlis until Mirlis was 16 years old.

The statute defines a minor as being under 16.

Hack, now 47, testified in court on Wednesday, and asserted that based on his close relationship with Greer, he believed the ​“truth” was that Greer did not have sex with Mirlis until the boy turned 16. Just as Hack said he himself did not have sex with Greer until he was 16.

After hearing the testimony, state Judge Jon Blue continued the proceedings until Sept. 23, when Greer may choose to testify.

The Netziv's View Of Gedoilei Yisrael that called other Gedoilim "Apikosim & Tzadokim"

 

"חשדו את מי שראו שנוהג שלא כדעתם ביראת ה' שהוא צדוקי ואפיקורס"

, "הקדוש ברוך הוא ישר הוא ואינו סובל צדיקים כאֵלו

"They accused those (Gedoilim)  that according to their opinion  did not conform to their views of fear of G-d that they were  Tzadokim and Epicureans," Know that  The Holy One, blessed be He, is honest and does not tolerate such righteous people"

We all knew "gedoiei yisrael" who authored many sefarim and called out other gedoilim that did not conform to their views "apikorsin & meenim." 

The Netziv z"l held that Hashem does "not tolerate such tzaddikim" 

Enough said!

Bahrain Dismisses Its Minister For Refusal To Shake Hands With Israeli Envoy

 A senior Bahraini official and member of the ruling family was dismissed from her position by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa after she refused to shake hands with the Israeli ambassador in Manama, Arab media outlets reported last week.

Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, who was serving as the government’s Cultural Minister, also opposed plans focused on the “Judaization” of Old Manama neighborhoods.

The handshaking refusal occurred on June 16, at a memorial service held by US Ambassador Stephen Bundy to Bahrain for his father. During the event, Shaikha Mai refused Na’eh’s outstretched hand while the service was being filmed. She then left the ambassador’s house after requesting that the US embassy refrain from publishing any photos of her at the event.

Shaikha Mai has served in various government positions for over years and has been described as a “controversial figure,” according to an Al-Mayadeen report.

A 2014 Forbes report listed her as number six on the Middle East list of the most powerful Arab women.

WATCH: Turks Bust Another Iranian Attempt To Murder Israelis

 

Turkish forces thwarted another attempt by Iranian agents to murder Israelis in Istanbul, local media reported over the weekend

According to reports, the police arrested four Iranian agents last week. Some agents tried to escape from the police by escaping out of a window of their hotel room but the police caught them close to the hotel.

According to a report by The Daily Sabah, the agents were paid $35,000 by their Iranian handlers to murder three female Israeli tourists in their hotel room in Taksim Square, a popular tourist hotspot. The police found a rifle, two pistols with silencers, and ammunition in the men’s possession.

The Sabah published a video showing an Iranian agent photographing the tourists’ hotel room.

Last month, Israel and Turkey thwarted three Iranian attempts to kidnap and murder Israeli citizens in Istanbul.

Ben Shapiro visits the Har Habayit

 

Prominent personality Ben Shapiro and his father, currently in Israel, visited the Temple Mount on Sunday and prayed Minchah (the afternoon prayer) there.

It was the first time the elder Shapiro had ascended to the Mount. His mother passed away recently.

Ben Shapiro himself has visited the Temple Mount before but was removed by security guards during his visit, which he made with his wife. Guards ordered the entire group of Jews to leave after several members of the group (the Shapiros apparently not included) began to sing while on the Mount.

On this visit, Shapiro expressed his satisfaction with the positive atmosphere and improvements in the conditions for Jews visiting the holy site.

"You can't come to Israel and not visit the Temple Mount," he said.

Accompanying the Shapiros on Sunday was Rabbi Yehuda Levi from the temple Mount Yeshiva and Rabbi Shimshon Elbaum, the head of the Temple Mount administration.

Rabbi Elbaum lauded the visitors for prioritizing the Mount during their visit. He also blessed that they merit to see the rebuilt Temple in their lifetimes.

Oh the sweet smell of immediate justice

 

I can watch this a thousand times. And I have. Just this morning. There is nothing more beautiful than the smell of justice. pic.twitter.com/ZxFvs8WiTM

— 🇺🇸Lionel🇺🇸 (@LionelMedia) July 14, 2022

Goyim that live in Sadigere in Europe Worried About the Psak from Bais Din that only the"little" rebbe can use the name

 

Last week we told you about the psak from a Bnei Brak Bais Din that only the "little rebbe" can use the name "sadiger" 

Turns out that "Sadigura" is named after a city in Bukovina, Austria, now Ukraine. The town's goyim are going ballistic worried sick that this psak will affect them and they will not be able to use the name that they had for the city for hundreds of years, it seems that the Bais Din forgot about the city which presently has zero Jews living there. The goyim are thinking of naming the "little rebbe' their "chief rabbi" to enable them to keep the name. They really preferred the older brother from Yerushalyim, but if he cannot call himself "Sadigere Rebbe" it won't help them.

The "Sadigere Goyim" say that none of the Sadigere Rebbes going back 100 years ever stepped into the city! 

Meanwhile in the town of Bobov in Poland, the Bobover Goyim still haven't decided whether to call themselves Bobov 48 or Bobov 45. 

Both Bobover Rebbes were born in the USA.

No word yet if the Bobover and Sadigere Goyim will unite to fight both Bais Dins to have them stop using their "tumedike" names!

Found in bunker of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising leader: Tefillin, Talmud pages

 

בחפירות ארכיאולוגיות המתקיימות בוורשה, על חורבות הבונקר ברחוב מילא 18, נמצא ביום שישי האחרון זוג תפילין pic.twitter.com/pxksoH5HvN

— ינון עידן ⁦ (@yinon_idan) July 18, 2022

 Polish archaeologists succeeded in locating and excavating the bunker of Mordechai Anielewicz, the commander of the Jewish Fighting Organization which fought in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, who was killed in 1943 in a battle against the Nazis.

Among the items found at the site: many personal items used by the leaders of the rebellion and its fighters, including tefillin, torn pages from the Talmud, handwashing cups, Shabbat candlesticks, glasses, dinnerware and an iron.

Yediot Ahronot journalist Itamar Eichner reported that due to the fact that the entire Jewish quarter was completely destroyed by the Germans, it was difficult to find the exact site of the bunker. The bunker was finally found by comparing pre-war and post-war maps and with the help of advanced GPS techniques. Today it is known with certainty that this is the basement where Anielewicz's bunker was located and archaeologists are examining if it will be possible to present the findings at the site itself.

The excavations were carried out in a bunker that was part of the building at 18 Mila Street in the ghetto area. Anielewicz, his girlfriend Mira Fuchrer and many of the men under his command were killed in the bunker on May 8, 1943.

The headquarters of the Jewish Fighting Organization in the ghetto was captured by the Nazis in one of the last battles of the uprising. Some of the fighters committed suicide in order not to be captured by the Germans.

First US case of polio in nearly a decade is a Frum Man recently got married and is now suffering from paralysis; He was not vaccinated;

 

The first case of polio in the United States in a decade has been diagnosed in an Orthodox Jewish man in Rockland County, just north of New York City.

Local health officials announced the case Thursday and said they would begin a drive to increase vaccination against the potentially deadly virus. They said the victim was experiencing paralysis, a hallmark of the disease, and that he had not been vaccinated against it.

Multiple sources told the New York Jewish Week that the man is part of Rockland County’s substantial Jewish community. A local elected official said the same thing in a now-deleted statement condemning those who do not vaccinate, which drew fierce criticism on Twitter from many in the local Jewish community.

“He was released from the hospital,” one source told the Jewish Week on condition of anonymity. “He’s a young adult, now in a wheelchair. He got married recently.”

Beit Shemesh Resident Stabs His Daughter to Death then Kills Himself

Liana Savenok

Alexander Savenok, suspected of murder his daughter and then killing himself, in an undated photo

A 43-year-old man is suspected of stabbing his 21-year-old daughter to death before killing himself in a Beit Shemesh apartment on Saturday in an apparent murder-suicide.

The woman was later named as Liana Savenok and her father was Alexander Savenok.

The Magen David Adom emergency service said the two were found with stab wounds and medics were unable to revive them. Police said they have opened an investigation.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, it was suspected that Alexander stabbed Liana to death before killing himself.

The Ynet news site said he had been issued with a restraining order and was not supposed to be in close proximity to either his daughter or her 17-year-old brother. Channel 12 said he had a history of mental health problems.

Liana Savenok was killed at her mother’s home — the mother was on vacation in the north of the country and asked her son to go and check on his sister because she wasn’t answering her phone after their father had said he was going to the apartment.

The son went to the apartment, where he found the bodies of his sister and father.

Activists have long complained that not enough is done to prevent violence against women in Israel, particularly in cases known to the authorities.

Israeli couple arrested after man dies in pool sinkhole

 

sraeli police said Friday they placed a couple under house arrest, a day after a man attending a party at their villa died after being sucked into a sinkhole that formed at the bottom of their swimming pool.

The man and woman, both in their sixties, are suspected of causing death by negligence, police said. They were arrested on Thursday night and a court decided to release them Friday under “restrictive conditions of house arrest” for five days.

The incident happened during a private party the couple hosted at their house in the town of Karmi Yosef, 25 miles southeast of the city of Tel Aviv.

Mobile phone video from the scene shows floaties and water being sucked to the bottom, at the center of the pool, as people sitting by the poolside shout in Hebrew. A man is seen approaching the sinkhole, slips and is almost pulled in before he backs away.\The police said the deceased 30-year-old was found following a search mission in which Israeli police, emergency crews and the army took part.

Israeli media cited witnesses as saying the party was attended by nearly 50 people, of whom six were in the pool, and also reported that the homeowner had built the pool without proper licensing.

Rep. Zeldin attacker Released Because of Crazy Liberal NY Laws re-arrested by FBI

 The Army veteran who attacked gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin during a campaign stop near Rochester was slapped with a federal assault charge Saturday, authorities revealed.  

David Jakubonis “wilfully” assaulted the congressman “with a dangerous weapon” in Perinton on Thursday evening, an FBI agent alleged in a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court. 

The 43-year-old suspect is set to make a court appearance in front of US Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson later Saturday, according to the complaint. 

Zera Shimshom Parshas Mattos/Masai

 

Did Jews Buy Land in Transjordan as EARLY as the 1870s?

 

{Reposted from the EoZ site}

Jamil Youssef Al-Shaboul, writing in Sawaleif, tells a story about a brief episode of Jewish settlement in Transjordan.

Palestine was not alone as a destination for the Jews and the Zionist movement. With the intention of establishing the slandered national homeland, the eastern part of the river was also targeted.

When the Zionist Montefiore built the first neighborhood for the Jews outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem in 1862, after he purchased a plot of land specifically for that, the first two agricultural settlements for the Jews were built in both Jerash / on the Zarqa River and Salt, and through bribes received by some Ottoman officials to facilitate their entry into the country and their ownership for the land.

The Jordanian clans sensed the seriousness of the matter early on, especially after the Jews tried to buy other lands adjacent to the Zarqa River in order to bring in another group of immigrants. The northern and Bani Hassan clans came together and held a meeting in the guesthouse of Sheikh Mustafa al-Ayasra headed by Sheikh Mufleh al-Obaidat, the father of the martyr Kayed al-Obaidat, and they unanimously agreed to expel these Jews. With all the simple light weapons they had, they burned the settlement of Rachel in Jerash and expelled the Jews from it. They headed towards Al-Balqa and burned the settlement of Kfar Ehud near Salt. The presence of these bastards from East Jordan ended.

The Jordanian clans were able to save Jordan from the clutches of the Zionist movement, which was announced at the Basel Conference in Switzerland in 1891, and this confirms that the choice of force in the time of lies and hypocrisy is the one who restores things to their rightful place and that the thief will not escape punishment.

Notice that they admit that the land was purchased by Jews but the author still considers the land “stolen.”

Mossad Interrogates a Second IRGC Official in Iran

 

Another official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been interrogated in Iran by Israel’s international Mossad intelligence organization, Iran International reported Thursday.

During the hours-long interrogation, Yadullah Khedmati – who serves as deputy chief of the IRGC Logistics Division — provided information about the transfer of weapons to Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen, the Saudi-backed news outlet reported.

In a video recorded during the interrogation, Khedmati confirmed his role in the IRGC and spoke about Brigadier General Ali Asghar Nowrozi, the commander of the department, Iran International said in the group’s Farsi-language website.

Khedmati allegedly said In the video, which was published in Iranian media, “My name is Yadollah Khedmati and I work for the logistics department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps under the command of Norowzi.

“Norowzi is the man behind all the transfers of missiles, weapons and drones from the logistics department of the IRGC to neighboring countries and Hezbollah, and I work in Norowzi’s office and very much regret what I’m doing.

“I shouldn’t have done that, and I recommend all my coworkers to stop as well,” he concluded.

One of the operations under Nowrozi’s command involved the 2019 transfer of arms from Iran to Hezbollah via Syrian airports including the “T4, Shayrat, Hamat and Damascus International Airports.”

Khedmati was subsequently “released safely” and returned to his home by those who captured him, Iran International reported.

This past May, Mansour Rasouli, a member of the IRGC’s Quds Force Unit 840 was also captured and interrogated by Mossad agents in Iran.

Rasouli, who was tasked with killing an Israeli diplomat in Turkey, an American general in Germany, and a French journalist, confessed to his assigned mission and the payment he was promised, in a recording of the interrogation. He reportedly was released following the interrogation and currently resides in Europe, Ynet reported.

The information provided by the interrogations led to the seizure by Argentine authorities of a plane owned by Emtrasor Company, a subsidiary of Konoyasa State Transportation Company in Venezuela, which is sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.

The plane was piloted by an IRGC officer, arrested by Argentine authorities along with his crew. The officer turned out to be Gholamreza Ghasemi, one of the managers of Qeshm Fars Air. Qeshm Fars Air is one of the airlines used by Nowrozi to send arms to Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies.

“The pilot’s mobile phone contains photos of combat equipment such as missiles and warplanes and the tools to carry out such operations,” said Gerardo Milman, a member of Argentina’s parliament and a former deputy minister of the country’s internal security ministry.

The Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires subsequently announced in a statement that one of the Iranians aboard the Venezuelan plane seized in Argentina was a member of the IRGC Quds Force. In its statement, the Israeli embassy expressed concern over the continued cooperation of the Mahan Air and Qeshm Fars Air with the IRGC’s Quds Force in arms transfer operations.

New York Senator Blames Jews after polio case discovered in Monsey

 

A New York Senator caused an uproar on Thursday after he singled out Jews for criticism in the wake of a case of polio that was diagnosed in in an Orthodox Jewish man in Rockland County, just north of New York City, reports the New York Jewish Week.

The case is the first case of polio in the United States in a decade.

Local health officials announced the case Thursday and said they would begin a drive to increase vaccination against the potentially deadly virus. They said the victim was experiencing paralysis, a hallmark of the disease, and that he had not been vaccinated against it.

Sources told the New York Jewish Week that the man is part of Rockland County’s substantial Jewish community.

State Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat whose district includes part of Rockland County, released a statement in a since deleted tweet in which he called to “bring the full force of the law down on those who have skirted these requirements.”

Skoufis singled out Ramapo Yeshivas as having “a history of non-compliance with the state’s vaccine laws.” Ramapo is one of the Five Towns of Rockland County, in which the source said there are over 120 Yeshivas.

“Additional enforcement is required in light of today’s news,” Skoufis said in his statement.

Skoufis’ statement drew criticism from within the Jewish community. Yossi Gestetner, a Rockland County resident whose Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council worked to combat negative publicity stemming from the measles outbreak in 2019, tweeted that Skoufis’ statement was “hateful and inflammatory.”

“I missed your tweet calling out LGBTQ+ by name and as a community for Monkeypox,” Gestetner wrote, referring to the outbreak of a different virus that is underway. “So why treat visibly Jewish people this way? Every elected Dem should condemn you.”

Gestetner told the New York Jewish Week that he recognized that there is vaccine hesitancy within the Orthodox community, but rejected the notion that vaccine hesitancy “is just an Orthodox community issue.”

Skoufis later walked back his initial statement and said on Twitter that he met with members of the Rockland County Jewish community to discuss the situation.

“Earlier tonight, I reached out to leaders in the Rockland Jewish community to discuss their thoughts on the situation as well as some of the concerns with proposed ways forward,” he wrote.

“I truly appreciate the sensitivity on the ground and the need to make sure the language used like that in my statement from today better reflects that sensitivity.”

“No community should be singled out on an issue we are all concerned with and I committed to continuing the dialogue to ensure next steps are appropriate, relevant, and in the best interests of all,” stressed Skoufis.

WATCH: New York Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Rep. Lee Zeldin Attacked With Knife

 It's at the 57:54 Mark 

U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for New York governor, was attacked by man with knife at an upstate event Thursday but was uninjured, his campaign said.

Zeldin was giving a speech when a man climbed onstage and appeared to begin wrestling with the congressman, said Katie Vincentz, a spokesperson for Zeldin’s campaign.

A video of the event in Perinton posted on Twitter showed the man appearing to grab Zeldin’s arm and the two fell to the ground as other people tried to intervene.

“Thanks to the swift action of several brave eventgoers, the perpetrator was subdued,” New York GOP Chair Nick Langworthy said in a statement.

Zeldin, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel who has represented eastern Long Island in Congress since 2015, is a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and was among the Republicans in Congress who voted against certifying the 2020 election results.

He is challenging incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul this November.

(Attack occurs at minute 57:50)

Beis Din Confiscated Cell Phone Of Get Refuser – And He Immediately Agreed To Give A Get

 

The sharp eyes of the Av Beis Din in the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court noted that a get refuser who appeared in his court was engrossed all the time in his cell phone. In a brilliant move, the Av Beis Din succeeded in persuading the man to grant a get on the same day – by confiscating his phone.

The complex divorce procedure was dragging out due to the husband’s steadfast refusal to grant his wife a get. The hearings were taking place behind closed doors to protect the identity of the couple, but the Av Beis Din, Rabbi Meir Freeman, noticed that the husband was recording the hearing. Rabbi Freeman told him that it is forbidden to record any hearings but the Beis Din saw that he was apparently violating the regulation and continuing to record the hearings. A quick check of the man’s phone revealed that he had indeed been recording the hearing.

Rabbi Freeman as well as the other dayanim Rabbi David Berdugo and Rabbi Yitzchak Rabinowitz told the man that he could receive a fine and also decided to confiscate his phone for seven days to see what else had been recorded.

In consultation with the legal department, the Beis Din concluded that based on clause 3 of the Religious Courts Law, the court could demand any document enabling the clarification of the legal issue and a cell phone could be considered an electronic document which can clarify issues and could therefore be confiscated.

However the moment the husband was ordered to give up his phone for seven days, he immediately agreed to give a get to his wife and receive his phone back. In this case the sanction of confiscating a phone proved more effective than other sanctions against get refusers.

JStreet the Jew Hating Organization that backed Anti-Semite Donna Edwards for Congress Loses

 

Donna Edwards

After the nation’s largest pro-Israel lobbying group spent an unprecedented amount to boost her opponent, progressive politician Donna Edwards lost her Maryland Democratic primary effort to return to the U.S. House on Tuesday.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its super PAC, United Democracy Project, spent nearly $6 million in its efforts to keep Edwards out of Congress — a new record in political spending for the group, which only created a political action committee to financially support candidates earlier this year. Another pro-Israel group, Democratic Majority for Israel, spent an additional $426,000.

The candidate backed by those groups, former state attorney Glenn Ivey, beat Edwards to win the primary for Maryland’s 4th Congressional district, which covers the heavily African-American Washington, D.C. suburb of Prince George’s County and is strongly favored to go Democratic in November. Ivey handily beat Edwards by 16 percentage points, with around 68% of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press.

It was the largest yet demonstration of the powerful role pro-Israel lobbying money is playing in national political campaigns, particularly Democratic primaries. AIPAC’s PAC has spent a total of $21 million this campaign cycle, solely on Democratic primary candidates. The attack ads funded by that money do not focus on Israel issues, Haaretz reported.

Edwards’s voting record on Israel during her previous Congressional terms from 2008-2017 was worrisome enough for AIPAC to justify its record spending levels (though a spokesperson for the group told Haaretz the amount of money mostly reflected the cost of purchasing ads in the expensive D.C. market). Edwards repeatedly voted “present” on legislation and congressional resolutions involving Israel that passed easily, including one that backed Israel’s right to defend itself from Gaza rocket attacks in 2009, and a law that increased security cooperation between the United States and Israel in 2012.

She has also participated in trips to Israel and the West Bank led by J Street, 

Edwards was backed by J Street and was also defended by leading Democrats such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Adam Schiff. J Street spent around $720,000 in Ivey attack ads, mostly going after him for accepting AIPAC’s money. Edwards also criticized Ivey on the campaign trail for courting support from “his dark-money super PAC.”

AIPAC congratulated Ivey on his victory in a statement Wednesday. “Pro-Israel activists mobilized in this race because there was a clear and unambiguous choice between a candidate who will strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance and one who would weaken it,” the group said. AIPAC also obliquely referenced its spending in the race, saying, “Our involvement in the democratic process will continue throughout this election cycle.”

It was a repeat of previous “proxy wars” that Israel lobbying groups have fought in the same district. Ivey previously explored running against Edwards in 2009. Even then, when Edwards had little in the way of an Israel voting record, AIPAC was eyeing a way to back a more staunchly pro-Israel challenger.

Boro Park Pilot Shmuel Judkovitz Who keeps Crashing his planes Survives Latest Crash

 Boro Park pilot Shmuel Judkovitz was on the runway in Linden, NJ when his plane caught fire, and before escaping he said a prayer. He miraculously escaped before his plane burned to a crisp.

He survived a plane crash in Illinois last July in which an experimental plane was totaled. 

Cryi'n Schumer Fighting to Pass Same Gender Marriages

 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said today that he is working to build support for a House-passed bill recognizing same-gender marriage on the federal level so that it can be approved by the Senate, The Hill reports. The legislation would need 10 GOP votes to overcome a filibuster assuming all of the Senate’s 50 Democrats back it, but hopes for passage have been lifted after 47 Republicans in the House backed the bill.

“The legislation is so important,” said Schumer, who has spoken with Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), a sponsor of the Senate companion bill, to see if it has enough GOP support to pass the Senate. “She is talking to Republicans to see where the support is. I want to bring this bill to the floor, and we’re working to get the necessary Senate Republican support to ensure it would pass,” Schumer said.