Monday, March 4, 2024
Most Jews Didn't Live in Jerusalem
My family and I live in Ramat Bet Shemesh, a burgeoning city in the middle of biblical Israel’s Shfelah region. The Shfelah is the rolling hills and fertile valleys west of the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, and is part of the tribe of Yehuda’s (Judah) homeland.
When the Jewish nation originally entered Israel, some 3300 years ago, most of the Shfelah was occupied by the Philistines, an ancient sea-faring people. Even after most of Canaan became Israel, the Philistines (who weren’t exactly Canaanites) continued to live in the Shfelah - not as friendly neighbors, but using the area as a base to raid and harass Jewish cities and towns.
Finally, around 2900 years ago, a young boy named David knocked down their giant warrior Goliath with a little stone he pulled out of the Elah Stream right over the hill from our home. The Philistines retreated to their coastal enclaves (like Gaza), opening the Shfelah to Israel.
From that day onward, although King David and his dynasty ruled from nearby Jerusalem, most of his large tribe of Yehuda (Judah) lived and farmed in the Shfelah. For most of both Temple Periods, this was the center of Jewish life in ancient Israel, where regular people worked, married, raised children, studied, prayed, and squabbled over the price of eggs.
Perhaps that’s why I feel so comfortable hiking and camping in this area. The land here is beautiful - but less dramatic than the desolate Negev desert, the sloping peaks of the Galil, and the stunning canyons and streams of the Golan. People drank here from plain old wells.
The Shfelah feels like home.
The Shfelah feels like home.
Several weeks ago, as war raged in Gaza right down the road, I hopped off a bus right outside the modern incarnation of the Shfela’s Roman-era town of Bet Guvrin, and hopped on the trail as the last rays of daylight fell away.
Israel's War For Wellness!
Our enemies want us to stop living, caring, and connecting. They want us to see Israel as the "land that eats its inhabitants."
So even if you're not fighting Israel's wars of bodies (with tanks and guns) or minds (online and social media), you're a soldier in Israel's war for wellness.
Will you let them get you with fear, anxiety, and stress, and negative drama?
To help our people find wellness during wartime, I published this week "Land of Health: Israel's War for Wellness."
In this book (available now on Amazon, link below, and soon in bookshops in Israel), you'll discover how Israel the Land is the healthy body of the Jewish people, and join Yehoshua and Calev's response to the failed spies: "The Land is very, very good."
You'll also learn practical strategies for healthy living during times of crisis.
All with dozens of stunning color pictures of healthy living in Israel's natural world.
Vicious Antisemitism in Sheepshead HS "The School from Hell" as DOE Lies And Says “currently no evidence that these claims are true.”
Jewish advocates called on the city’s education chancellor and a Sheepshead Bay principal to be removed following shocking allegations of antisemitism at a public high school.
The call came for the removal of chancellor David Banks and Origins High School interim principal Dara Kammerman during a Sunday press conference after multiple staffers outlined a series of alarming incidents, including a claim that dozens of teens had marched through the hallways chanting “Death to Israel” and “Kill all the Jews” after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
“This is a school where there are things happening every day and this has become a culture where this behavior is tolerated and accepted and the [Department of Education] is OK with it. This is now a pattern, a systemic problem,” said Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, a Republican, who demanded the ouster of interim principal Dara Kammerman.
The fiery claims, previously outlined by The Post, included one teacher lamenting that she was “scared to come to work every day” after she was called a “a dirty Jew” by a student who said he wished “she was killed” in the Holocaust.
In another alleged incident, a student donning a Hitler moustache was caught on security footage going from class to class doing the Sieg Heil salute, according to employees.
“This is a place where swastikas are painted on teachers’ offices, on walls, in classrooms, on boards, on students’ laptop,” she alleged. “This has become the norm at this school. The complaints fall on deaf ears. There’s been no discipline, which is why this behavior’s been encouraged.”
Dov Hikind, who served in the Assembly for decades as a Democrat before retiring in 2018 and switching his political affiliation to Republican last year, called it the “school from hell.”
Hilkind blasted students who allegedly distributed flyers last week for a “Vigil of the Martyrs of Palestine” at Brooklyn College
“Are those martyrs also the Hamas terrorist Nazis that butchered 1,200 Jews on Oct.7?” he asked. “I assume so.
“When a teacher says ‘I live in fear going to work everyday,’ should anyone live in fear of going to work?” Hilkind added. “Especially in a public school, a public high school where are tax dollars pay for everything.”
Advocates claim that no serious discipline has been doled out by interim principal Kammerman, who Hikind said issued a letter to parents allegedly telling them “not to worry” because she herself is Jewish.
The Jewish advocates called for her removal as well as the firing of Banks as the DOE chancellor
“Banks does nothing and he will do nothing,” said Hikind, as he citied a DOE statement from the front page article of Sunday’s Post.
Kammerman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
The DOE said it will investigate the antisemitic allegations, adding there is “currently no evidence that these claims are true.”
In response to the statement, speakers at the rally accused the nation’s largest school district of “gaslighting” the Jewish community.
Massive boulders rush down Peruvian mountainside, crush trucks in shocking video
NATURE:
— Orbital News (@orbital_news) March 3, 2024
Boulders falling onto a traveled road in San Mateo, Peru. pic.twitter.com/BxveowElCF
An avalanche of massive boulders tumbling down a Peruvian mountainside smashed a pair of trucks Saturday in a jaw-dropping moment that miraculously didn’t kill anyone.
The giant, fast-moving rocks tossed one of the trucks like a bowling pin — sending it into the air and flipping it on its side in shocking video footage.
The drivers of the two commercial trucks survived, but their cargo was crushed and a stretch of Central Highway in the San Mateo district of Huanchor was destroyed, CNN Chile reported.
Dashcam footage that captured the destruction shows one boulder the size of a car fly down the mountainside directly into a truck, tossing it in the air after it strikes it.
A steady stream of tumbling rocks followed and another large boulder rushing down the mountain crashed into the roadway directly in front of a second truck, leaving a huge hole in the roadway, according to the clip.
Photos of the aftermath show dozens of stones in varying sizes littered across the roadway, along with the wreckage from the two trucks, including one on its side.
It took about four hours to clear the road, Peruvian outlet La Republica reported.
Authorities were investigating the cause of the incident. Officials believe heavy rainfall in the area might have destabilized the ground, CNN Chile and La Republica reported.
More than a year ago, the country faced tragedy when dozens of people were killed from landslides due to steady rain.
Nikki Haley wins the District of Columbia’s Republican primary, gets her first 2024 victory
Nikki Haley won the Republican primary in Washington, DC Sunday — cinching her very first 2024 primary victory against frontrunner Donald Trump.
Haley, 52, was declared the winner by the Associated Press after taking all 19 delegates at stake in a GOP primary that took place in one of the most heavily Democratic jurisdictions in the country.
DC counts just 23,000 registered Republicans.
“Who says there’s no Republicans in DC, come on,” she joked with supporters during a campaign event in the nation’s capital on Friday. “We’re trying to make sure that we touch every hand that we can and speak to every person.”
Haley’s spokesperson noted that her victory makes her the first woman to win a Republican presidential primary contest in US history.
It also marks Trump’s first 2024 primary loss — though he’s expected to sweep this week’s Super Tuesday contests.
Despite her losses up until this point, Haley, the only remaining Republican challenger to the former president, has vowed to stay in the running at least through the 15 Super Tuesday races.
Meanwhile, Trump, 77, seemed unbothered by his very first loss.
He sarcastically congratulated the former South Carolina governor on being named “Queen of the Swamp by the lobbyists and DC insiders that want to protect the failed status quo” in a statement Sunday night.
Trump won his last DC primary when he ran uncontested in 2020 but lost at a distant third four years earlier behind Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Haley has repeatedly argued during her campaign that she is the only Republican between her and Trump who can beat President Joe Biden during the general election.
But Trump has won over Republicans time after time, causing all other GOP presidential candidates to drop out and endorse him. He recently dominated Haley in caucuses in Missouri, Idaho and Michigan and is expected to easily sail to become the party’s pick to run against Biden.
DemonRat Carville "It will be Benjamin Netanyahu’s fault if Biden loses the election in November"
In an appearance this week on MSNBC, veteran Democratic political strategist James Carville made a stunning statement. Speaking of the uncommitted vote in Michigan, Carville said that it will be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fault if Biden loses the election in November.
‘We are all one battle team. Whoever isn’t learning, someone should put a hand on their shoulder and tell them to go do something good for the IDF.’
Brigadier General (res.) Yehuda Duvdevani, founder of the Nahal Haredi and Netzah Yehuda Battalions, says that currently, it is impossible to give in any longer and that recruitment by the Charedi public must be increased.
In an interview with Benny Teitelbaum at Kan Moreshet, Duvdevani told how the first Charedi battalion was established in the IDF.
"Twenty-five years ago, when I served as head of youth, Nahal and National Missions Division in the Ministry of Defense, I recruited thirty-one haredi youngsters to become fighters in the IDF. They were the 'pioneers.’ We encountered great difficulties and many did not believe that the project would succeed. They told me, 'Ben-Gurion didn't succeed, Rabin didn't succeed.' But with help and a partnership, together with a group of rabbis and with the blessing of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi Shteinman, Rabbi Ovadia gave me his famous slap, and that was his approval to recruit the Haredim into the IDF."
"We acted with tremendous dedication and true faith in bringing haredi youth into the IDF. Today the battalion is the bridge between secular and haredi Jews in the IDF and in Israeli society, in general," added Duvdevani.
When asked what he says to rabbis who oppose the draft today, Duvdevani replied:
"To all those who say that we should only be studying, I say that we are in a state of war and we must sanctify Heaven every day in-depth, in unity, with a mighty spirit. It is inconceivable that the haredi population does not take part. The IDF opened its ranks. Over 15,000 haredi youth have served in the Netzah Yehuda Battalion. Even now, the Netzah Yehuda Battalion has been serving in Gaza for two weeks. The Arrow Paratroopers and Tomer Battalions in Givati have been in Gaza since the beginning of the war. These are amazing guys who give us all a boost of faith."
Duvdevani also responded to the claim that many of the soldiers currently serving in the battalion are not haredi at all: "At the time I decided that one-third of the recruits would not be haredi, in order to bring all kinds of courses into the battalion, into the army. I have to meet the challenge I set for myself – I took them out of their homes, I will guard them, and return them to their homes at the end of their service."
Duvdevani believes that with a little flexibility, it will be possible to find compromises that will be acceptable to the haredi sector. He explained, "We need to sit down and talk. If you want to mix politics and business, that's something else.
It is inconceivable that such a large and growing public will not take part. Look at the Religious Zionist sector and see their contribution. Aren’t they learning and aren’t they serving in faith? Everything can be done through dialogue, and whoever is really studying eighteen hours a day, should sit and study, and strengthen us through Torah. But the thousands who come and sign up for two hours a month and the rabbis approve it – this is very serious. They need to come and contribute, and not only in the IDF. There are many options today. We need to talk about how to do it in good spirits, how they can share the responsibilities with us."
"The people of Israel these days need unity, an agreement, to share the responsibilities between us all – a knitted kippah (skullcap), a black kippah, no kippah. We are all one battle team. Whoever isn’t studying - someone should put a hand on their shoulder and tell them to go do something good for the IDF," he concluded.
Dozens of Breslov Chasidim enter Shechem under Fire From Terrorists
Dozens of Breslov Chasidim arrived Sunday night in Shechem (Nablus), illegally and without coordinating with the IDF.
The group arrived in Shechem for the purpose of praying at Joseph's Tomb, via minibus and private cars. Some of the vehicles were stopped by security forces at the entrance to Shechem, while others reached Joseph's Tomb.
Terrorists fired at the minibus, in which around 20 Breslov Chasidim were traveling. No one was injured. Large numbers of forces from the Samaria Brigade were called to the scene and rescued the Chasidim, who were transferred to the police.
"During the night, a number of Israeli civilians attempted, without permission, to enter the Joseph's Tomb compound. All of the civilians were evacuated from the area, and no one was injured," an IDF statement read.
"We emphasize that entering Area A without [security] coordination is forbidden and dangerous to Israelis."
Uh Oh!! ..Lieberman Looking to Strip Draft Dodgers of Daycare Subsidies
MK Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beytenu party, will propose a bill under which yeshiva students who did not serve in the IDF not be allowed to leave Israel.
According to Liberman, the bill would "regulate in law the obligation for military or civilian service for every youth upon reaching the age of 18: Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze, and Circassian."
Under such a law, an 18-year-old who has not enlisted in military or civilian service will be subject to a number of sanctions: He will not be allowed to leave Israel; he will not receive the standard citizen's tax credit; he will not be eligible for benefits deriving from residence in an area of national priority; and he will not be eligible for property tax discounts.
Such an individual's children would also not be eligible for government daycare subsidies, nor would he be eligible for academic support in institutions of higher education, eligible to work at a government or local government job, or eligible for the "Mechir Lemishktaken" discounted housing program.
This is not the first time Liberman has attempted to cut daycare subsides for haredim.
In July 2021, then-Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) announced that his office would changing the eligibility criteria for daycare subsidies, allocating government funding only to families in which the mother's partner works at least 24 hours (half time) each week, instead of allocating subsidies based only on the mother's work hours. Though yeshiva students would no longer be eligible for subsidies, higher education students would be.
The matter sparked outrage among citizens and lawmakers alike, and in January 2022, Israel's Supreme Court ordered that the planned cut to daycare stipends for certain religious families be delayed until the next school year.
Discovered: Rare coin from Bar Kohba Revolt engraved with the name of “Eleazar the Priest”
A rare coin from the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, bearing the name of “Eleazar the Priest,” and dated to the first year of the revolt (132 CE), was discovered in the Mazuq Ha-he'teqim Nature Reserve.
The coin was discovered together with three other coins from the time of the Revolt, bearing the name “Simeon.” It was discovered in the course of the Judean Desert Cave Survey carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority in cooperation with the Ministry of Heritage and the Archaeological Office for the Military Administration of Judea and Samaria, with the aim of retrieving the ancient treasures before they are stolen by antiquity looters.
There are a few possibilities regarding the identity of Eleazar the Priest, whose name appears on the coin. One is Rabbi Eleazar Hamod‘ai, a Tannaic rabbi from the time of Rabbi Akiva, a pupil of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakai. It seems that Rabbi Eleazar Hamod‘ai played a significant religious role at the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, and he was living in the town of Beitar— the location of the revolt headquarters. The Talmud accounts that he died in Beitar, probably during the Revolt (Jerusalem Talmud Ta‘anit 4:5).
On the obverse face of the coin, a date palm is engraved, with the inscription “Eleazar the Priest” inscribed in ancient Hebrew script. On the reverse, a bunch of grapes is surrounded by the text, “Year One of the Redemption of Israel,” again in ancient Hebrew script.
Since 2017, a team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority Prevention of Archaeological Theft Unit, have been systematically surveying the Judean Desert, with the aim of reaching the valuable finds before the antiquity looters. Among the finds discovered in the desert in the course of the survey, were a scroll with fragments of the Twelve Minor Prophets, Roman iron swords —one still in its sheath —and the earliest complete basket in the world, and more.
“We invite the public to join us in the seventh excavation season in the desert, to help save the Judean Desert archaeological finds, endangered by antiquities theft," says Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “The public is invited to a taste of Zionism, and a touch of ‘escapism’, volunteering on a dig, together with the Israel Antiquities Authority archaeological team, in the Murabba‘at Caves along Nahal Darga. The Judean Desert excavations do not cease to amaze us, and we hope that in this season we will also be able to report important finds.”
The excavation will begin on 11th March 2024, and will last for ten days. The volunteers will lodge in a camp set up in the desert by the Israel Antiquities Authority, and there will be lectures and other activities. Registration and details are available on the Israel Antiquities Authority Website.
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