Palestinians have right to kill Israeli soldiers ..... UN Special Reporter

 United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese claimed that Palestinian Arabs have a right to kill Israeli soldiers in an interview with podcast Makdisi Street, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

In the interview, Albanese said that when terrorist groups that "target civilian objects" commit war crimes, but "if they target military objects, they do not commit war crimes—they are in line with acts of resistance."

"The killing of soldiers, it's, I mean, frankly, it's a tragedy, but it's not a crime," Albanese said. "Instead, very often, when Palestinians manage to attack soldiers, they are portrayed as terrorists. And this is a misunderstanding that needs to be addressed."

She slammed "Western powers" and "Western media" for portraying attacks on Israelis as terrorism, and said that while the Hamas massacre of October 7 must be condemned, "an illegal act of the resistance doesn't delegitimize the resistance itself."

Albanese has been involved in numerous antisemitism scandals since being appointed to her position as Special Rapporteur, including engaging in the antisemitic trope about a nefarious "Jewish lobby." Since the massacre of over 1,200 people on October 7, she has condemned Israel for defending itself and gone as far as to claim that Israel has no right to defend itself.

Less than two months after the massacre, Albanese published a book blaming Israel for the current conflict in which she co-opted the title 'J'Accuse,' the phrase used to call out the antisemitism of the trial of Alfred Dreyfus in 1898,

She has even called a demand that Hamas release the hostages it captured on October 7, which include many civilians and even children and babies, "unacceptable."

While Albanese claimed that Palestinian Arabs have the right to attack Israeli soldiers as long as they do not attack civilians, attacks on Israeli civilians are frequent, and the goal of Hamas and other terrorist organizations is to kill all Jews, regardless of whether they are civilians or soldiers.

.Hostage Gadi Haggai’s gruesome death shows horror won’t stop until Hamas is destroyed

Gadi on right 

 It’s another horror at the hands of Hamas: Gadi Haggai, a 73-year-old American Israeli, has died while being held hostage by the terrorists, reports the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, a group representing the families.

And it’s clear Hamas let the grandfather of seven die of grotesque wounds that it inflicted.

Before the terrorists dragged them both off to captivity during the Oct. 7 atrocities, his wife, Judi Weinstein, got out a call for help to another member of their kibbutz, saying she’d been shot in the arm and her husband in the head.

Their daughter, Iris Weinstein Haggai, says paramedics tried to send help, but a rocket took out the ambulance.

Hamas goons took the elderly, bleeding couple as hostages anyway.

And then, plainly, failed to get the helpless, dying man proper medical care.

No humanitarian releases (except for calculated propaganda purposes) from these fanatics.

He’s the first American hostage to die; his wife, 70, is believed to still be a hostage.

Since the terrorists’ leaders vow to mount more Oct. 7-style atrocities if they can, this nightmare is more proof that, while Jerusalem might accept another cease-fire if it frees more hostages, Israel must finish this war by destroying Hamas.

‘Gaslighting’ is the most Googled word in America — are you using it correctly?

 

Gaslighting has become one of the most popular words in the English language — if only most of us using it actually knew what the hell it meant.

According to a new study by Crossword Solver, the trendy term was the one Googled the most this year, typically in search of a definition. The news follows Merriam-Webster honoring it as 2022’s Word of The Year, after an 1,740% increase in search.

The esteemed dictionary lists gaslighting’s full definition as the “psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.”

But that’s not how many people are using the word, experts warn — in modern times it has instead been weaponized as a way of shutting down discussion, in hopes of silencing those who disagree with you.

“Gaslighting is often used in an accusatory way when somebody may just be insistent on something, or somebody may be trying to influence you,” Dr. Robin Stern, co-founder of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and author of “The Gaslight Effect,” told Well and Good. “That’s not what gaslighting is.” 

According to Dr. Stern, gaslighting is “the act of undermining another person’s reality by denying facts, the environment around them, or their feelings,” specifically with the intent to cause confusion.

“The gaslighter intends to sow seeds of doubt in the person they are gaslighting, hoping to make them question their memory, their sanity, their perception, their reality,” she added.

The expert warns that misusing the word will make it more difficult for people who are being gaslit to understand when it’s happening — and will diminish people’s understanding of the severity of the abusive tactic.

Fully understood or no, the experts at Merriam-Webster noted the word’s addition to the country’s lexicon made perfect sense, given the social climate.

“In this age of misinformation — of ‘fake news,’ conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls, and deepfakes — gaslighting has emerged as a word for our time,” Merriam-Webster said in announcing the word last year.

Peter Sokolowski, the dictionary’s editor at large, said the word was looked up every day in 2022.

But it wasn’t left behind last year, the new study showed.

Drone Fired Directly from Iran Hits Israeli-Linked Tanker Off India’s Coast

 

A combat drone believed to have been fired directly from Iran struck the Merchant Vessel Chem Pluto, an Israeli-linked chemical/oil products tanker off the coast of India on Saturday, according to a report broadcast on Israel’s Channel 12 News.

The tanker is owned by Rio Brillante SA, based in Panama, and operated by Fleet Management Ltd., based in Wilton, Connecticut.

The Israeli connection is not clear.

The attack, which started a fire on the vessel, took place some 200 nautical miles southwest of Veraval, India, according to Reuters, quoting the British Ambrey maritime security firm. Some “structural damage was also reported and some water was taken onboard” the firm said.

“Merchant vessels are advised these types of attacks are typically targeted at Israel-affiliated shipping, but have in the past mistakenly hit previously Israel-affiliated vessels,” Ambrey said. “This event fell within Ambrey’s Iranian UAV heightened threat area.”

This is the first such known attack so far away from the Red Sea since the start of the war against Israel launched by Iranian-backed Hamas on October 7th.

The vessel was reportedly carrying crude oil from a port in Saudi Arabia, and was sailing towards Mangalore in southern India at the time of the attack. It was rescued by the Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vikram, which will escort the vessel, expected to reach Mumbai by Monday (Dec. 25).

The fire was extinguished but affected the functioning of the tanker, which was sailing under the flag of Liberia, according to The Economic Times.

All crew members, including about 20 people from India, were said to be safe, according to the report.

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have been attacking Israeli-linked vessels — and others — sailing in the Red Sea since the start of the war on October 7th. At least seven major shipping firms have suspended Red Sea transit operations over the past several weeks due to the attacks.

Israel can destroy Hamas, but Biden’s handlers are getting in the way, the end result being Israeli boys getting killed

 

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Israel is losing young soldiers in this war because, among other reasons, they are trying to follow the direction of the Biden administration.

Israel is in a fierce, costly war with Hamas in Gaza and Joe Biden is in the midst of a stealth-like campaign to win re-election to a second term, even though his administration is the closest thing to a lame duck presidency, with constantly falling poll numbers.

In the last few weeks, during what has been a politically important time for Biden, both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were in Israel trying to instruct the Israeli military on how to fight a war against the terrorists in a way that helps the Biden administration gain international prestige and future popularity at the polls.

Israel can destroy Hamas, but it seems that Joe Biden’s handlers are getting in the way, with the end result being that Israeli boys are getting killed.

SHOCK VIDEO: College Students offer Money Toward Killing Jews

 

 A video has been published showing real college students showing support — and offering money — for killing Jews. The chilling footage exposes the depth of Jew hatred among “ordinary” campus members.

The video, released by Jewish filmmaker Ami Horowitz, shows Horowitz approaching students on campus and asking if they want to donate “money for arms and weapons against the Jews”.

“We want to fund operations against soft targets, schools, hospitals, Jewish cafes,” he tells a group of students. At one point he says: “All we have is rockets and suicide bombers, that kind of thing.”

Multiple students, unaware they were being filmed, agreed to Horowitz’s requests.

“I would totally be down,” one student said.

“I like what you’re saying,” another student says

“I think their behavior and the actions are evil,” one student says.

The “social experiment” was conducted at San Francisco State University (SFSU).

“Not a single person I came across — not one — said, ‘This is insane. I need to call the authorities,’” Horowitz told the Jewish Journal, adding that “they had their reasons: Money, power, religion, all those things. They know exactly what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.”

Horowitz said that one of his cameramen — who is center-left and not Jewish — was dumbfounded, even asking Horowitz if the students who expressed support for killing Jews were paid actors. “He could not understand what he was seeing in real time,” Horowitz said.

According to the Journal, Horowitz is calling on the school to expel all students who expressed support for killing Jews, but he isn’t holding his breath.

He concluded the video by saying: “The rhetoric in demonizing Jews we have seen globally has led to this. Twenty-eight out of 35 people I engaged in conversation with expressed support for what I was doing. And 17 out of 35 — nearly 50% of the people I spoke with — offered me money to kill Jews.”

Residents Of Central Israeli Town Report Sounds Of Digging Under Their Homes

Most Israelis have been on edge since October 7th, with images of the horrific atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists not far from anyone’s mind. Thousands of residents of southern and northern Israel were evacuated from their homes due to safety concerns. But are the residents of central Israel any safer? The residents of Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal, who have been hearing the sounds of digging under their homes, don’t think so.

Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal is a town of about 9,000 residents in central Israel which is very close to a number of Palestinian areas, including Qalqiliya, which is only about 300 meters away from the edge of the town, and Tulkarem.

Walla reported that in recent weeks, the residents of the town have reported that they have been hearing the sounds of digging near their homes, raising fear that Palestinians are digging tunnels into their town. The Green Line touches the eastern edge of the town and the separation fence – which in this area is a simple mesh fence – is only about 500 meters from the outermost houses.

A possibility, chas v’chalilah, of infiltration by a Palestinian mob from Qalqiliya and nearby villages that until October 6th, would have sounded extreme and far-fetched, is now real and terrifying.

The chairman of the local council, Yuval Arad, who published the article in Walla about the concerns of the residents, wrote that as an initial response, the local council set up several observation positions near the town that are manned by armed soldiers and volunteers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Residents of Bat Hefer, near Netanya, not only report hearing digging underneath their homes but say that residents of Tulkarem fire at the yishuv on a daily basis. A resident of the yishuv told Radio 103FM on Thursday that residents find shells in their yards and wake up at night from explosions. He added that the residents don’t feel that security officials are providing an adequate response and are living in a constant state of fear.

“We need to understand that what our enemies did to us on October 7th is a model for what they plan to do,” he said ominously. “We are no less at risk. We can’t be caught by surprise. Once they cross the fence of Bat Hefer and nearby yishuvim, Kfar Saba, Ra’anana, Hadera, Netanya, and the entire line will come under fire, up to the sea.”

 

Wow! Red Cross Facilitating Palestinian Terror Payouts

 

Since Oct. 7, the International Red Cross has been helping imprisoned Palestinian terrorists receive controversial stipends from the Palestinian Authority, according to Israeli NGO Palestinian Media Watch.

According to PMW, incarcerated Palestinians fill out forms to receive the stipends, and the Red Cross delivers the paperwork to Ramallah.

“The role of the International Red Cross in this process is central,” explained PMW director Itamar Marcus. “The international health organization is involved in this because as they visit prisoners, they’re able to bring in forms. Israeli security is not looking at the forms or preventing the terrorist prisoner access to the forms they need to sign.”

The prisoners’ paperwork needs to be completed by the end of 2023 in order to receive stipends in 2024. Terrorists imprisoned before Oct. 7 are also sending renewal forms via the Red Cross to Ramallah, according to PMW.

A Fatah directive dated Dec. 4 and translated by PMW instructs Palestinians to “please produce a [Red] Cross document for those who have no sentence whose names appear below; a [Red] Cross document accompanied by a new administrative [detention] order for the administrative detainees; and a [Red] Cross document accompanied by a verdict for the sentenced prisoners.”

Lists of prisoners from Bethlehem and Hebron districts were circulated on social media to encourage prisoners and their families to claim the payouts. Other Palestinian organizations, such as the PLO’s Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, joined the publicity campaign.

Since Oct. 7, around 2,400 Palestinian terror suspects have been arrested throughout Judea and Samaria, of whom about half are associated with Hamas.

Moshe Feiglin leaves the Likud: Netanyahu brought a strategic disaster

 

Former MK Moshe Feiglin on Thursday sent a letter to the CEO of the Likud Party, in which he demanded an immediate termination of his Likud membership, in response to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's announcement that the IDF may return the residents of Gaza to their homes.

In his letter, which is in essence a sharp condemnation of the path taken by Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, Feiglin details the dangerous implications of returning the residents of Gaza to their homes. He points out that the announcement of the Defense Minister, who also serves on behalf of the Likud, receives full backing from the Prime Minister.

Feiglin wrote, inter alia, "The significance is that the State of Israel has decided to transform the most just and shocking of Israel's wars into a terrible defeat, and also that the horrors of the Simchat Torah massacre have developed into one of the most lucrative crimes in history."

Shtreimel of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky sold for $1.8 million

 A haredi businessman has purchased the shtreimel of the late sage Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky for a whopping $1.8 million.

The businessman made the purchase at an auction house that was selling items that belonged to Rabbi Kanievsky, after bids from other prospective buyers drove up the price significantly.

The shtreimel has a deeper history, as Rabbi Kanievsky inherited it from his father-in-law Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the former leader of the Lithuanian-haredi community in Israel. Rabbi Elyashiv gave him his old shtreimel after buying a new one for himself.

Rabbi Kanievsky would wear the shtreimel while reciting the kiddush and blessing after meals on Jewish holidays.

The price of a new shtreimel, which is often worn by hasidic haredi men after they get married, ranges from NIS 5,000 (about $1,400) to NIS 20,000 (about $5,500), with an average price of NIS 12,000 (about $3,300).

Zera Shimshon Parshas Va'Yigash

 

Letter to Editor of FJJ Wants "people to stop the hostage posters"

 PLEASE STOP THE HOSTAGE POSTERS!!! 

Whoever is going around Flatbush hanging pictures of all the hostages on every pole, construction site, mailbox and anywhere else they can, needs to please stop. Nothing productive is, or will, come from this, but a lot of negative things are. These posters are bringing the haters and anti-Israel people into our community to tear them down. These posters do not make our community look like a pleasant place to live. Everywhere you turn these posters are highly visible. Our young children should not be living in fear, asking questions about hostages or thinking they live in a dangerous area. When the posters are taken down, they are left torn up all over the place creating a mess. There are no positives to these signs. They don’t make any one of us more connected or more concerned than we all already are. If they do, then it's sad one needs this to be their motivation. These pictures don't heighten our already heightened sense of responsibility to do everything we are doing for Klal Yisroel. Let's be safe. Let's be smart. Let's keep davening. 

Flatbush resident

DIN: Of course, this writer probably lives in a million-dollar home in Flatbush and consumes yaptcha, herring and fatty meat from the meat boards and drowns it all in Glenlivet, every shabbos. 

Did he stop to think, if he had his wife or daughter, chas vesholom, raped and taken hostage if he would have felt the same way? 

This Yeshiva way of thinking is dangerous and is exactly how the Jews in the US felt when their brothers and sisters were being tortured and gassed in Auschwitz! "don't boycott Germany" "Don't protest in the streets" ...A lot of good it did to my own grandparents and extended family. Maybe if there were photos on every corner, the US government would have gotten involved! 

Jews the real Jews who have "rachmonas" who have empathy want to do their part, histadlis, in making sure that the Americans, don't forget the hostages. 

"Nothing productive?" So tell us all what have you done that is productive? Did you send one letter to Congress asking them to support the only Jewish state that is now the home of the majority of the Jewish people? 

He scribbles further: 

" These posters are bringing the haters and anti-Israel people into our community to tear them down" 

No that's a lie what it is doing is exposing your neighbors as a bunch of antisemites that want you dead! Oh! you want to walk the streets of the Galut Flatbush free of fear, while Jewish blood is being spilled on the streets on a daily basis? You selfish ungrateful narcissist!  

He writes: 

"Our young children should not be living in fear, asking questions about hostages or thinking they live in a dangerous area."

No they shouldn't be living in fear, but neither should Jewish children in Israel who are running for their lives into shelters 10-12 times a day!. By the way, did you teach your children about the Churban Bais Hamikdash? Aren't you scaring them? Oh, you say that happened far away and happened a long time ago. So you do not want your children safe in FAT'Bush to think about children their age who are dead in a country far away?

Those posters are a teachable moment to teach your children that not all Jews have it so good, and believe me it's coming to you very soon. You think Hamas will let you and your children live because they are in FAT"bush?

He scribbles:

"There are no positives to these signs. They don’t make any one of us more connected or more concerned than we all already are. If they do, then it's sad one needs this to be their motivation."

If after looking at those signs and you "are not connected or more concerned" then check if you are Me'zera Avraham. ....Whose heart has not broken after glancing at those photos?  And it's "sad that one needs this to be their motivation?" 

What a perverted and sick thought!!!

Someone is broken and is in pain because they have empathy for another Jew, so they hang posters of the hostages to make everyone aware that they will not be forgotten but this arrogant self-righteous tzaddik thinks that this is "sad" 

How low have we sunk?? How low?

Hasbara .... Listen to the facts

 

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Rav Asher Weiss Strongly Disagrees With Rav Shternbuch ... Yeshiva Guys MUST Daven for the Soldiers ... "Roshei Yeshiva who disagree should go home and pass the mantel to others"

 

DIN: So there we have it, a Gadol who strongly disagrees with the likes of Rav Shernbuch, though he doesn't mention him by name and says that Rabbanim like him should quit their jobs and let others with more brains take over! Gut Gezugt... 

Rav Asher Weiss shlit”a, one of the Gedolei Eretz Yisrael, spoke in Passaic on Monday. One fundamental and timely topic he addressed was Charedi yeshivos and others in the yeshiva community davening for soldiers. The Rav, not surprisingly, was extremely in favor, and seemed to feel that it’s not even a question, as it is a basic expression of Ahavas Yisrael.

In regards to the fact that Rabbi Weiss’ own Kollel prays for the names of soldiers, he was asked about certain Roshei Yeshiva who are worried that bochurim will think they are “glorifying” Israeli soldiers and be motivated the join the army.

Rabbi Weiss was steadfast and firmly against that mindset, and completely dismissed it.

He said, “That is a very sad state of affairs, if we are afraid that if boys daven for soldiers, they may join the army.”

He continued, “{If that is the case], the Roshei Yeshiva should go home and pass mantel to others. I totally disagree [with it].

Rabbi Weiss went further. “Rav Chaim Shmulevitz and Rav Chatzkel Levenstein were yeshivishe guys…I was very close with Rav Shach. Officers used to come on a steady basis to visit Ponevezh, Rav Shach used to always invite them to his office. Every time, he said ‘We have hakaras hatov, you are safeguarding the country and we are learning Torah in your merit.

When asked about another concern of believing the army is all-powerful, he replied, “We are not glorifying “kochi v’otzem yadi” – the army today is not [about that]. It’s davening and caring for yiddishe kindelach.

“Even the soldiers who are not frum, so many [soldiers] are real Bnei Torah, but even the others, they are all Yidden, we are supposed to love every Jew.”

“I think this reflects such a lack of self confidence…We are davening for yiddishe kinder who are dying every day. These are not our brothers?”

The Rav also addressed a possible concern that people are diverting financial support away from Yeshivas to support other causes.

Audio Playe keys to increase or decrease 

Watch how Hamas built tunnels wide enough for a car to go thru

 

IDF Soldier in Gaza Gives a Name to his newborn daughter

 

Settler Violence Against Palestinians??? What Lies!!

 

Legal Aid union approves pro-Hamas, antisemitic resolution calling for boycott of ‘apartheid’ Jewish State

 The union representing Legal Aid lawyers approved a controversial anti-Israel resolution Tuesday that calls for an economic boycott of the “apartheid” Jewish State and immediate cease-fire in Gaza — which critics condemned as pro-Hamas and antisemitic.

The resolution from the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/Local 2325 of United Auto Workers passed with 1067 votes to 570 opposed.

It passed despite the move defying the policy of its employer — the Legal Aid Society — of steering clear of taking stands on international political conflicts. 

The organization’s mission statement declares it is built on “one simple but powerful belief: that no New Yorker should be denied the right to equal justice.” 

“We seek to be a beacon of hope for New Yorkers who feel neglected -regardless of who they are, where they come from, or how they identify,” it states.

The divisive resolution calls for “an end to Israeli apartheid and the occupation and blockade of Palestinian land, sea, and air by Israeli military forces.”

The statement opposes all existing and future US military aid to Israel and endorses the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against the Jewish state.

It also backs legislation forbidding not-for-profits in New York from supporting “illegal Israeli settlements” on disputed land.

“We support the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland,” the resolution said.

The resolution never mentions or blames the terrorist group Hamas for starting the war with Israel and only refers to the Oct. 7 attack as a “violent tragedy” without mentioning the number of people Hamas killed.

It only mentions the number of people killed in Israel’s retaliatory attacks against Hamas-controlled Gaza.

The vote on the resolution was temporarily suspended after other pro-Israel union members filed a lawsuit to stop it.

A judge recently lifted a restraining order after ruling that the union had the right to proceed.

“We reject all attempts to intimidate workers for their political speech,” the union said.

Opponents within the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys union blasted the resolution as pro-Hamas.

“ALAA’s implicit justification of the barbaric acts of terrorism committed by Hamas — an internationally recognized terrorist organization — erodes any claims of advocating for justice or human rights,” Legal Aid attorney and union member Ariella Goldstein told The Post.

“The resolution appallingly condones the dehumanizing rapes, kidnapping, beheading, and murders that Hamas committed, and recorded themselves committing, on October 7,” she added.

Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the NY Board of Rabbis, called the resolution antisemitic.

When you treat the Jewish State of Israel differently than everyone else, that’s antisemitic,” Potasnik, said, referring to the Legal Aid lawyers union backing the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

“I don’t see this group or others supporting a boycott against China or Iran?” 

The Legal Aid Society, the employer of the anti-Israel lawyers, declined comment on Tuesday.

But last month the group, which relies on millions of dollars in public funding to provide legal services to the needy, slammed the resolution as “laden with coded antisemitic language and thinly veiled calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.”

“At a time when our attorneys and staff should be united in support of the people we serve, the resolution does not advance the legal interests of our clients, does not comport with our mission and values, and is divisive and hurtful,” the statement continued.

NYPD Insist Pro-Israel Demonstrator Remove Israeli Flag During Pro-Hamas Protest

 

In a tense moment amidst a pro-Palestinian demonstration at New York City’s Penn Station, Elisha Wiesel, the son of the late writer and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, was urged by NYPD officers to put away an Israeli flag as he attempted to stage a counterprotest against the hundreds-strong demonstration.

The protest, led by pro-Hamas activist group Within Our Lifetime, has been part of a series of near-daily protests that began on October 7.

Within Our Lifetime has publicly supported the attack, advocating for “whatever means necessary” to achieve their goals, without exceptions or limitations – including the murder of innocent civilians. The group has also been active in other demonstrations, including a protest against the lighting of the holiday tree at Rockefeller Center in New York. That protest, titled “Flood the tree lighting for Gaza,” references the name Hamas used for the October 7 attack, “Operation al-Aqsa Flood.”

Wiesel, in his account of the incident, said, “NYPD insisted I remove the flag, as [the] situation was getting dangerous.” He shared a video showing him draped in an Israeli flag and engaged in a confrontation with a masked demonstrator.

The NYPD made several arrests during the protest, which started at Grand Central Station and proceeded to Penn Station, including a stop at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

Participants in the demonstration marched behind a banner proclaiming, “From Gaza to Jenin: Revolution until victory.”

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Many Former Charedim Fell In Oct. 7th Battles, Families Decide How To Mourn Them

 For the nearly 20 charedi families who lost family members in battle or in the Nova music festival massacre, a new challenge has arisen: How do they perpetuate their loved ones in a way that both respects them but also respects the way of life which their parents follow and which was diametrically opposed to their own.

Journalist Yair Ettinger, a member of the Israel Democracy Institute and the Shalom Hartman Institute who focuses on the charedi community, visited several parents of former charedim to see how they are perpetuating their children’s legacy.

Tzivya Krasnitzky, whose son Yaakov died a hero’s death fending off terrorists in Nahal Oz, says that she is proud of her son despite his leaving the charedi mode of life. Yaakov joined a commando unit of the Border Police and studied for university entry, even after he had been described by his teachers as “The next Gadol Hador.”

She describes her son in glowing terms, says she loved him even more after his death, says she had prayed that he would sanctify G-d’s name but never dreamed it would happen in this way and has no regrets about her support for him. Tzivya says she is comforted by the thought that, even after leaving the chareidi way of life, her son reached a place which is “so high I could never have dreamed of it for him.”

Members of the Yotzim LeShinui organization for former charedim consider themselves a community and maintain strong social contacts. Nadav Rosenblatt, the head of the organization, says that the complex situation with the fallen member’s families can vary from acceptance to total rejection and exclusion, especially in light of the choice made by some to do army service, considered anathema in charedi circles.

David Mittleman, a Golani machine gun expert, was adopted by a foster family after leaving his charedi background. David fell in battle while stopping the terrorists from entering kibbutz Kissufim on October 7th. His parents requested that he be buried in a regular civilian burial with no military honors or mention. The foster family from Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim said that they understand and respect the parents’ decision to call him “murdered” on his grave, although stating that he was killed in battle with terrorists.

The second reason the parents did a civilian burial was to prevent Halanas Hameis (leaving the dead unburied) as the IDF was too busy with funerals to perform a ceremony for two days afterwards. The foster family prepared a special pendant with Kriyas Shma and David’s name to be worn by IDF soldiers and distributed 13,000 of these pendants in his memory.