Total Lunar Eclipse this Friday Night in Israel

While news from the sky may have been eclipsed by political developments, Israelis should be over the moon to learn that on Friday, from 8:14 PM in the evening until 2:28 a.m. on Shabbat morning, they will be able to view a total lunar eclipse.

ABC News reported on Monday that this will be the lengthiest total lunar eclipse during this century, and it will make the moon appear to be red-orange in color – a “blood moon.”
It will be visible from the Middle East, various areas in Asia and Africa, and India, but will not be seen from the United States.

In a total lunar eclipse, the Earth casts a shadow over the entire moon.

Another total lunar eclipse was visible from Israel this past January.

Time and Date AS, a Norwegian company that runs a popular website listing time zones and time-related events, wrote that the total eclipse – where the moon is “completely red” – will begin in Jerusalem at 10:30 p.m., and the maximum eclipse, where “[the] moon is closest to the center of the shadow [cast by the Earth]” begins at 11:21 p.m.

Some groups are using the cosmic event to run programming billed as being out-of-this-world.

Bateva, a guiding center based in Mitzpe Ramon near the Ramon Crater, is hosting “The Moon in Love” event, which ties the blood moon to the romantic Jewish holiday of Tu B’Av (15th of Av), which takes place the previous evening. The event will feature observatories, live music, and camping areas.

In a statement on Bateva’s website, tour guide and observatory owner Nadav Silbert said: “No child or adult should miss this rare sight, taking place just once every few decades, at this perfect ideal place… This is a wonderful opportunity to experience the desert around Mitzpe Ramon in all its glory, view the wonders of creation and understand why the Machtesh [crater] was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

The fact that the eclipse is viewable from Israel didn’t escape the orbit of the astrology-minded on Twitter.

A search for ‘eclipse Israel’ on Twitter shows that while some are simply treating the event as a sky-high experience, others think it portends tension and trouble for Israel.

“The longest ‘blood moon’ lunar #eclipse of the century will be on Friday and directly visible over Israel the entire time."

Let them walk out of Birthright and say Kaddish for Arab terrorists

Others may be sitting shiva (mourning) over the eight Jewish self-haters who recently walked out of Birthright programs in Israel to offer support and comfort for those in the Arab Muslim world who oppose Israel. But I am fine with it.

It is long overdue for Israelis and the rest of American Jews to wake up to the calamity that Reform Judaism brought about in America.  

They abandoned Torah. They abandoned Jewish tradition. They made a new religion out of the Democrat Party liberal platform with Bernie Sanders as one of their Chief Rabbis. And they have reaped exactly what they have sown.  The non-Orthodox Jews (Reform Jews, Conservative Jews) now have a 72 percent intermarriage rate. Most intermarriages are between a Jewish male and a non-Jewish female, so most of their grandchildren are not Jewish.  

To be sure, the Reform grandparents are Jewish.  The Reform halves of the intermarriage are Jewish. They always will be Jewish.  But the grandchildren are not Jewish.

232 Olim arrive in Israel 🇮🇱

232 North Americans are arriving in Israel on Wednesday morning on a special Aliyah flight chartered by Nefesh B’Nefesh in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel and JNF-USA.

The passengers include 127 children under age 17, representing more than half of the flight’s Olim. 

This diverse group of newcomers to Israel also includes people from 20 U.S. states and one Canadian province, individuals ranging in age from 6 months to 80 years old, 34 families, 18 singles, three sets of twins, six future IDF soldiers, and 12 medical professionals.

Pedophile Chupah Witness Ruled Halachically Invalid, Greenlighting Annulment Of Aguna’s Marriage By Private Beis Din

An independent, Orthodox rabbinical court has voided the marriage of a woman whose husband refused to grant her a divorce for nine years. This is the second such case in the court in two months – of releasing women from long-term divorce refusers.

In this latest incident, Oshrat Ben-Haim had sought to divorce her husband for nine years, despite the marriage being over for all intents and purposes, and her estranged husband now living in the US.

An independent, Orthodox rabbinical court has voided the marriage of a woman whose husband refused to grant her a divorce for nine years. This is the second such case in the court in two months – of releasing women from long-term divorce refusers.

The "Off the Derech" Teenagers Are Finally Giving the Chareidie Fanatics a Taste of their own Medicine!

The OTD teenagers of Ramat Bet Shemesh are finally taking sweet revenge on the fanatical crazed Chareidim and the fanatics and the sympathetic residents don't like it one bit! 

The teenagers are doing the same thing the fanatics did:  

Harassing innocent children, pulling of head coverings from the heads of innocent married women, throwing stones and beating of Yeshiva bochurim – these are just some of the incidents described in "Bechadrei Chareidim" by chareidi residents who live near Rival Street in Ramat Bet Shemesh.

The extremist fanatical Chareidim,  have decided to take matters into their own hands in the battle against the teenagers, referred to as ‘shabavnikim.’    But they have met their match!

A video documenting a 16-year-old girl who ran for her life in Beit Shemesh was released a week ago and caused a great uproar in the Israeli media. 

The documentation led to many condemnations, and Mayor Moshe Abutbul explained that the girl’s pursuers belonged to a small and radical chareidi extremists referred to as ‘Sikrikim’ that was embittering lives of residents. 

In a conversation with Bechadrei, the residents accuse Mayor Abutbul of evading responsibility, and accuse him of favoring the teenagers, the residents interviewed, all sympathize with the crazed fanatical Chareidim. 

Relating to the Sikirikim, the fanatical uncivilized barbarians, Abutbul said 

“This is an extremist group whose actions even the police cannot anticipate and cannot control,” Abutbul said in an interview with Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) after the video of the chase after the girl was published. They mayor intensified his position, adding, “I do not need such residents.”

In an interview with Ayala Hasson on Radio 103, Abutbul reiterated, “It is the same faction that makes life difficult for us. This is a small, noisy group with whom we have no direct connection. The rabbis are also fighting this group because they are also causing them embarrassment – this is not the way of Torah.”

According to other residents, the city’s rabbis, Rabbi Nosson Kupshitz and Rabbi Rotenberg were in contact with the police, and last Thursday they reached an agreement that no more fanatic demonstrations would be held. 

At the same time, they received a commitment from police to increase their presence to maintain order in the community. They add that last Wednesday, a planned protest was not held in keeping with their commitment to police.

It seems that the OTD teenagers did not get that memo.

And on Tisha B’Av, the youths gathered in the square. 

Some 50 youths gathered on Rival and according to reports began throwing stones and chasing after passersby. People ran into the nearby shul for cover. They phoned police, but the police did not arrive for some time.

“An avreich from the Cheftziba neighborhood happened to pass by and was attacked and beaten badly. 

DIN: There is no police report of that incident and I doubt that happened.

Another community resident, Moshe G. is quoted explaining “we have been abandoned despite keeping up our promise to police. The disturbances continue, and they have even gotten worse. I fear sending my daughter outside to the grocery store. I don’t know who will be waiting for her downstairs”.

DIN: When you start your fanatical demonstrations  ... you get crap thrown back into your face, and you are not the ones to decide when the opposition will stop. Too bad .... when you sleep with fleas you get bitten. 

Toronto Killer Was A Muslim Who Followed and Supported ISIS But Fake News Media Ignores Facts

Investigators said Tuesday there was no national security risk following the mass shooting that killed two people and wounded 13, as they continued to probe the life of the 29-year-old gunman for clues to what prompted the deadly rampage in a popular Toronto neighborhood.

The assailant, Faisal Hussain, died after an exchange of gunfire with police. His lying Muslim family said he suffered from lifelong “severe mental health challenges” but they never imagined he would do such a thing. 

DIN:The Toronto Shooter's Neighbors are unaware of his mental illness

It was not immediately clear whether he took his own life or was killed by police during the attack Sunday night.

DIN: Who cares?

“At this stage, based on the state of the investigation, which is led by the Toronto police service, there is no connection between that individual and national security,” Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said.

DIN: If my grandmother had wheels she would be an Egged Bus!

Police Chief Mark Saunders said he would not speculate on the motive for Sunday’s attack. “We do not know why this has happened yet,” he said. “It’s going to take some time.”

DIN: How come I found out within minutes just by looking at his Facebook page and seeing his posts?

Rav Reuven Feinstein Released From Hospital Following Crash, Rebbitzen Underwent Successful Surgery

HaRav Reuven Feinstein and his Rebbitzen were injured in a car accident on Tuesday.

The Rebbitzen sustained internal bleeding and underwent surgery. Bechasdei Hashem, the procedure appears successful, and she remains hospitalized in Staten Island. The Rosh Yeshiva was badly bruised but x-rays came back negative. The Rosh Yeshiva was discharged from the hospital late Tuesday night.

Rav Reuven is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva of Staten Island, and the youngest son of Hagaon HaRav Moshe Feinstein ZATZAL. His older brother is Hagaon HaRav David Feinstein Shlita, the Rosh Yeshiva of Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim.

Their names for Tehillim are Shalom Reuven ben Shima and Chava Sarah bas Ita Devorah.

Poll: Israel not an important partner for US Democrats

A recent Pew Research poll indicates an overwhelming divide between American Republicans and Democrats over perceptions of the importance of the US-Israel relationship.

The poll primarily dealt with comparing American and German perceptions of one another, but also touched tangentially on American perceptions of other countries.

According to the poll, 12% of Americans said that Israel was the “first or second most important partner for American foreign policy.” Israel tied in third place with Germany, also at 12%, coming behind China at 24% and chart topper Great Britain at 33%.

Dividing responses to the same question along party lines, the poll found that 24% of Republicans found Israel to be a top foreign policy partner out of eight countries listed, in second place behind Great Britain at 42% and ahead of China at 18%. Russia closed the list for Republicans, at 5%.

On the other hand, Israel did not make the eight-country list for Democrats, for whom Great Britain topped the list at 32%, China came in second at 26%, and Canada closed the list at 6%.

צפייה בתמונה בטוויטר

A Pew poll published at the beginning of the year indicated that 79% of Republicans defined themselves as pro-Israel while 6% said they were pro-Palestinian. In contrast, 27% of Democrats said they were pro-Israel and 25% pro-Palestinia

Next stop: Jerusalem

As part of the run-up to the opening of the express railroad between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, a full train (locomotive and train) arrived for the first time on Monday to the nation's capital..

On its way to the city, the train passed on the new bridges built for it until it reached Ha'uma Station in Jerusalem, which is about 90 meters underground.

צילום: באדיבות דף הפייסבוק "שבתשתיות"

Chareidie Mother of 10 held for injecting 5 kids with insulin to get welfare benefits

A Chareidie mother of 10 was arrested on suspicion that for years she regularly injected some of her children with insulin so that they appeared to have diabetes in order to fraudulently claim hundreds of thousands of shekels in welfare benefits, police said Thursday.

Details of the case were cleared for publication following a months-long police investigation and the arrest earlier this month of the woman and her husband, both in their 30s, who live in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem.

They were receiving some NIS 15,000 ($4,100) each month in payments  from the National Insurance Institute for five of their children who authorities believed were suffering from diabetes. They received some NIS 800,000 ($220,000) in total.

“I’ve been in the police force for 30 years. I have seen many difficult, serious things. This is one of the most shocking and difficult cases that I have seen,” said Doron Ben Amo, the investigation officer.

Lakewood Yeshivois Refuse To Accept Chabad Child In Their Schools

Letter from the Chabad parent:

Here Is What I Am Thinking About This Tisha Bav

It was two and a half years ago when Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz addressed a dinner in Lakewood and gave a speech that no one was expecting.

“L’tzaareynu harav, we have a machala in Lakewood,” said Rechnitz. “No other out of town community would ever allow a child to be left without a school. In LA if a child wouldn’t have a school , the first day the whole community would be all over it. The same thing would happen in Baltimore, Chicago, Toronto or anywhere else. This is basically a Lakewood machala. Yes, there a few kids in Monsey, more than a few kids in Brooklyn, but nowhere else and at no other time in history was this problem close to the magnitude it is in Lakewood.”

Rechnitz ultimately retracted his words and the firestorm that shook Lakewood to its core slowly settled down with everyone saying that, Baruch Hashem, the situation had changed.

"International Presence" Guy Slashes Tires of Chevron Settler ... Caught on Video

Israel has summoned Brigadier General Einar Johnsen, who heads the Temporary International Presence in Hebron. to the Foreign Ministry over the publication of a video allegedly showing one of his staff members slashing the tire of a Jewish owned vehicle in the city.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Foreign Ministry to act after the incident, which occurred a year ago, was published on Channel 2.

It follows the release earlier this month of a video of TIPH’s legal counsel slapping a 10-year Jewish child in Hebron.

TIPH could not be reached for comment. It’s 64 member observer force has operated in Hebron since 1997, when the Hebron agreement split the city. It placed 80% of the city of over 200,000 residents under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority, and the remaining 20% under IDF rule. Hebron’s Jewish community of some 1,000 people, lives solely in the part of the city under IDF control. 

Watch the Grand Opening Of the Lincoln Tunnel In 1938

Shelly Silver Says He Fears Death in Prison, Says He’s Sorry

Too bad that Shelly didn't wear  a shtreimel and have a beard. If he had, he would have had more sympathy  from the heimishe public .... now nobody gives a damn! 

Sheldon Silver, fearing he will spend the rest of his days behind bars, said he’s sorry for what he did in one of NY State government’s most powerful jobs – and said he’s worried about his well-being.

“I worry about my own age and health. I pray I will not die in prison,” the 74-year-old former Assembly speaker wrote in the July 19th letter to Manhattan federal Judge Valerie Caproni, according to a New York Daily News report.

Caproni is expected to sentence Silver to prison on corruption charges next Friday.

“The only confidence I have left is thanks to the strength and support of my wife, who is my rock,” Silver wrote. “[B]ut we are both crumbling. I worry about my grandchildren and how they will be treated because of me. I worry that my wife will be destitute. I worry about her trying to visit me while continuing to be a full-time helper for her 93 year old mother.”

He later writes, “Everything I ever accomplished has become a joke and a spectacle.”

Chareidi Visitors To Davos Creating A Major Chilul Hashem

Thousands of chareidi families are currently and will be visiting throughout Europe during bein hazmanim, mainly in region of the Alps in Switzerland or France, as well as Austria and Italy. Unfortunately, some are leaving a bad taste with their local hosts.

One of the most prestigious resorts in the country is Davos, Switzerland, where admorim, rabbonim and public figures visit, along with ‘amcha’ – regular Israelis. According to vacationers staying in the area, the streets of Davos during bein hazmanim appear similar to Meah Shearim and Bnei Brak due to the large presence of chareidim.

Anti-Trump "New York Daily News" Going Down the Drain

The New York Daily News – which has become infamous for over-the-top covers mocking the president – laid off half of its newsroom staff on Monday 

Employees received an email on Monday explaining that the Tronc-owned paper is “fundamentally restructuring” to focus on its digital audience.

“We are reducing today the size of the editorial team by approximately 50 percent and re-focusing much of our talent on breaking news – especially in areas of crime, civil justice and public responsibility,” the memo, which was obtained by Fox News, stated.

“I know this is difficult news to hear and want to assure you we are working hard to treat each employee with respect and to make the transition as smooth as possible,” the memo stated.

The tabloid’s human resources department promised to reach out to all affected employees by the end of the day on Monday and layoffs are effective immediately, but exiting staffers will be paid for the next 90 days.

“The decisions being announced today reflect the realities of our business and the need to adapt an ever-changing media environment,” the memo continued. “They are not a reflection on the significant talent that is leaving today.

The paper’s now-former editor in chief Jim Rich and managing editor Kristen Lee were among the cuts, with Robert York taking over as the tabloid’s top editor. Rich returned to the role earlier this year after first splitting with the paper in 2016. He has now removed all mention of the Daily News from his Twitter bio, replacing it with “Just a guy sitting at home watching journalism being choked into extinction.”

The Daily News has become known for its outlandish, anti-Trump cover images. The paper recently featured an illustration depicting Trump as a Supreme Court justice with the headline, "We Are F*#%’d.” The paper has also depicted Trump as numerous variations of a clown, a racist, “nuts,” the “anti-Christ” and even the poop emoji.  

The tabloid called Trump voters “mindless zombies” and categorized Trump a “Dead Clown Walking” when he failed to win the Iowa caucus in 2016.

The Daily News was criticized for referring to Ivanka Trump as “Daddy’s Little Ghoul,” mocking the first daughter. Political commentator Britt McHenry told Fox News that the cover was “reprehensible” and lacked “any sort of decency.”

Politico reported in 2017 that some members of management felt the anti-Trump direction of the paper was having a negative impact on the paper’s bottom line by “costing the News subscriptions in places like Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.”

Tronc acquired the paper from Mort Zuckerman in 2017 for only $1, assuming liabilities and debt in the process.

IDF Soldier Killed With Armor-Piercing Rifle Made in Iran

Sgt Aviv Levi

The Palestinian sniper who shot and killed IDF Sgt. Aviv Levi on Friday used an Iranian gun with the ability to penetrate ceramic bulletproof vests, an initial investigation by the military concluded.

The armor-piercing gun was said to be an Iranian replica of an Austrian Steyr rifle, a report by Israel’s Channel 2 said.

Despite the fact that the IDF was aware that Hamas is in possession of such weapons, the soldier was wearing the standard ceramic vest when shot and not the heavier vest that could have protected against the sniper’s bullets. The reason for that was the low chances of such a rifle being used.

Hundreds attended the funeral of Levi, 21, an infantry soldier in the Givati Brigade, who was laid to rest in Petah Tikva.

The hypocrisy in opposing Israel's Nationality Law

In May 2004 Salim Joubran, an Arab-Israeli, was appointed permanent judge of the Supreme Court. 

The independence of which Joubran enjoys in Israel as an Arab judge was demonstrated in March 2012 at the ceremony of inauguration of the president of the Supreme Court, when Joubran chose not to sing the Israeli national anthem, the Hatikvah.

This is an image unthinkable in any other country from Morocco to Iran. Perhaps even in many Western democracies. 

Israel has just approved the law on the “state of the Jewish nation”. 

Critics in global circles and the media have been spouting forth on the “attack on pluralism and democracy”.

After 70 years, Israel lacks a constitution. It is a quite a unique anomaly among Western countries, because constitutions are the cornerstone of democracies, they define their identity and purpose.

Israel has “basic laws” on individual rights (in that sense, Israel is as liberal as New Jersey) and the separation of powers, but not a fundamental law that defines the identity and purpose of the state. The new law is approved in order to fill the void. 

Without a Nationality Law, the “law of return” (a tenet of Zionism which guarantees automatic immigration rights to Jews, for example to the French Jews now under Islamist attack) could one day be overthrown as “discriminatory”, as well as the anthem of Israel (which expresses the faithfulness of two millennia of Jews to their land), the flag (another Jewish symbol with the Star of David) could be challenged in court for ignoring the rights of the Arab minority and the Menorah (the Knesset symbol also engraved on the Arch of Titus in Rome) could be considered “racist”. 

The law protects all these.

Opponents argue that declaring Hebrew to be the official language of Israel, while guaranteeing a “special status” to Arabic, is detrimental and racist toward the Arab minority. 

But even the Constitution of France states that “the language of the Republic is French” (article 2) while recognizing the “regional languages” as part of the “French heritage” (article 75). 

Has anyone ever attacked France for this, despite its having a large Arab minority from its former colonies? 

Every road sign and recorded announcement in israel is in both Hebrew and Arabic (English as well, and sometimes recordings have a Russian option)

The Arabs in Israel have equal voting rights. Not only that, but Israel is one of the few places in the Middle East where Arab women have always been able to vote. The Arabs hold numerous seats in the Knesset and the only party ever banned by Israel is a Jewish one (Kach). Israeli Arabs have also held various government po‎sitions.

At the time of the foundation of Israel, only one Arab high school was open, today there are hundreds of Arab schools.

The only legal distinction between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel is that they are not required to serve in the Israeli army. 

In 1999, Abdel Rahman Zuabi was the first Arab-Israeli to enter the Israeli Supreme Court.

 Israel is the “freest Arab nation” in the world, the only country where an Arab spring really succeeded, and without bloodshed..

The law approved by the Knesset puts a bank on the thundering, satanic campaign of international delegitimization that, even after 70 years, calls into question the right of Israel to define itself as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

The Irish Senate just approved an anti-Semitic law banning the selling of Israeli goods produced beyond the 1967 line. 

Those who today are shouting at the “attack on Israeli democracy”  - where are they when in European squares “death to the Jews” is heard, when Iran calls for the destruction of Israel, when a UN agency is born to bring the grandchildren of the 1948 refugees to Israel to destroy it demographically, when Unesco cancels the Jewish history of Jerusalem and when the world does not recognize Israel's right to have its capital in Jerusalem?

Hypocrites, all.

Entire Kotel Wall a ‘danger zone’, archaeologist says

After a large stone fell from the Western Wall on Monday, an Israeli archaeologist declared the holy site’s entire plaza a “danger zone.”

Other stones “could immediately fall” and hurt people, Zachi Dvira told The Times of Israel. He is completing a Ph.D. on the archaeology of the Temple Mount.

The boulder that fell Monday morning at one of the sight’s areas designated for egalitarian mixed prayer weighed about 220 pounds, according to Israel Radio. It missed all onlookers but landed close to a female worshiper.

“I didn’t hear or feel anything until it landed right at my feet,” Daniella Goldberg, 79, told Hadashot TV news. She said that they “tried not to let the incident distract me from my prayers.”

Israel “doesn’t do proper preservation [of the site] because of politics,” Dvira said, arguing that the controversy surrounding the egalitarian prayer area has prevented the proper upkeep.

While the egalitarian section has been closed after the incident, he believes visitors should stand a few feet back from the wall in all of its sections, for safety reasons. He noted that several rocks from the Temple Mount’s other three supporting walls have fallen in recent years. The rock that fell Monday was broken in two from moisture created by the plants in the wall.

“It’s a matter of life or death,” he said.

In 2004, large pieces of Western Wall stone fell during Yom Kippur, injuring one worshiper.

The Western Wall’s official rabbi weighed in on Monday’s event.

“This is an unusual and most rare incident that has not occurred for decades,” said Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch. “The fact that this powerful incident happened a day after the 9th of Av fast, in which we mourned the destruction of our temples, raises questions which the human soul is too small to contain, and requires soul-searching.”

After the fast!

 R' Yoel Teitelbaum at the Kotel Prior to the Establishment of the State

Challenges, difficulties and even tragedies in personal and national life are, to a very great extent, unavoidable and in many cases not even preventable. 

Because of this, the test in life becomes not only how did one deal with the problem but rather how did one recover after the problem proved so devastating. The key to recovery from sad occurrences is therefore resilience – the ability to bounce back even after loss and defeat.

King Solomon in Proverbs defines the righteous person as someone who, even though he or she has fallen seven times, is still capable of rising again. In a sense he is describing evil and bad behavior in terms of an addiction from which one is unable to free one's self and remains hopelessly mired in the pit of one's misery and evil.