Don’t believe NY Times about anonymous White House snitch

I smell a rat, as would anyone who’s spent years in one newsroom or another, where every reporter has a half-finished novel hidden in the bottom drawer.
This feels like fiction, the preposterous notion that an unnamed White House official has spilled the beans on Trump “to thwart the president’s misguided impulses.”

He’s been published “anonymously” and, we are told, is part of a resistance movement within the White House to surreptitiously stop the president from ruining the country.

That’s the gist of the op-ed topping The New York Times Wednesday edition…a story swiftly picked up in bold print everywhere else and taken to be true…true that this tattling columnist is really a White House official. 

In fact…amazing… that I’ve heard no one else wonder about another possibility; that this snitch came from outside the White House.

He was someone from inside The New York Times itself, a staffer…which is my guess. Can the Times prove otherwise?
If so. Hello? I’m here.
Unleash, unbind that imposter, and for once tell the truth.
I cannot be the only writer who sees through this stunt. We’re talking about the Times, fake news central.

Even Fox News, while properly ripping the Times, believes the “White House Official” gambit. So does everyone.
Or with so much garbage-for-news being sloshed our way, from everywhere, perhaps it is understandable that we have become entirely cynical, or gullible to a fault.

I know news. I know newsrooms. I’ve written two thrillers on the subject and you are welcome to open your eyes here and here. I know the business.
I know a slow day in the newsroom until someone says, “Hey, I’ve got an idea.”
The only question is – who got the assignment? I can think of 10 columnists over there who would love to use their untested novelistic skills for such a plumb.
Keep the novel in the drawer, but try your hand at fiction passing as fact, Charlie.

We all know the Times, which will say anything to destroy Trump. Anything and everything – and this doozy is being presented as Sui Generis, the final word, the ultimate expose’.
Beat that, says the Times.
Strangely, no byline. I cannot say that this is a first. But I cannot remember any story, anywhere, a story intended to be so damaging, running as Anonymous.

I do not know what we call it today. They used to call it Yellow Journalism.
That’s how smut tabloids still operate, but I doubt that even the National Enquirer would run such a hoax.

I’m calling it a hoax because the tag-team effect is plain obvious, from last week’s anti-Trump “bombshells” being dropped through Bob Woodward’s book on Trump, which delighted CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS, until it got old. You can stretch a story only so far. Even for Liberals there’s a limit to Trump bashing. Got to be.
I take that back.
No, it’s never enough…and when one story gets old…here comes another one…even juicier.
What’s for next week? They’ll think of something. On that you can trust The New York Times.

New York-based bestselling American novelist Jack Engelhard writes regularly for Arutz Sheva.
He is the author of the international book-to-movie bestseller “Indecent Proposal” and most recently the noir novel “Slot Attendant,” plus the two inside journalism thrillers “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “News Anchor Sweetheart, Hollywood Edition.” Engelhard is the recipient of the Ben Hecht Award for Literary Excellence. Website: www.jackengelhard.com

Mossad op to retrieve Iran's nuclear files took a surprising turn

The Mossad agents who appropriated Iran’s nuclear secrets from a warehouse in Tehran in January knew they would be taking a large number of folders, but did not realize there would be a large volume of disks, Yediot Ahronot’s Ronen Bergman reported on Wednesday.

Cohen’s ad hoc call mid-operation ended up having important repercussions as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to break with precedent and publicly present the intelligence materials in a major press conference on April 30.

Many say that Netanyahu’s presentation moved US President Donald Trump the final mile toward deciding to exit the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Further, the report said that information contained on the disks proved a variety of additional points about Iran’s nuclear activities to a much greater degree than what was merely contained in the files.

According to his report, the Mossad agents involved were so surprised that they checked in with Mossad chief Yossi Cohen who was observing the mission from Israel.
Cohen quickly gave the order to take as many of the disks as they could get as well.

The report said that earlier on in preparing the operation there had even been a debate about whether to merely take photos of the files or to physically bring the files themselves – a more complex operation.

At all stages, including mid-operation, Cohen pressed for bringing back as much physical original evidence as possible in order to deflate any objections from Iran that the evidence was doctored.
 

Cuomo dodges questions about endorsement deal with Satmar Rebbe

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday did not refute reports that he assured a prominent rabbi he would keep his hands off yeshivas in exchange for an endorsement — instead pointing to his lack of control over the state Education Department.

The department is currently reviewing a long-delayed city Department of Education probe of whether 30 yeshivas have been meeting minimum requirements for secular education, a 3-year effort in which officials were blocked from visiting half the schools.

Asked about reports  that he had essentially told Satmar Rebbe Zalman Tietelbaum not to worry about the matter last week, Cuomo wouldn’t address the question head on.

“The State Education Department will enforce the law, but it’s not the governor’s responsibility. I have no control of the state Education Department,” he told reporters following a press conference at the Tappan Zee Bridge, which has been renamed for the governor’s father, Mario Cuomo.

City officials punted their probe to the state because the state Education Department has ultimate oversight over what’s taught in non-public schools.
Advocates had complained in 2015 that many yeshivas were violating the state requirement that they provide a secular education equivalent to what students get in public schools.
The advocates accused Mayor Bill de Blasio of purposely dragging out the probe to appease the Hasidic Jewish community, which is a powerful political voting block.

Roseanne Barr coming to Israel

Fresh off a racism controversy that got her fired from her award-winning television show, comedian Roseanne Barr says that she will travel to Israel in order to study with a Rabbi.
'I have an opportunity to go to Israel for a few months and study with my favorite teachers over there, and that's where I'm going to go and probably move somewhere there and study with my favorite teachers,' Roseanne, 65, said on a recent podcast with celebrity Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.

"I have saved a few pennies and I'm so lucky I can go ... and study with any rabbi that I can ask to teach me, and it's my great joy and privilege to be a Jewish woman."

ABC canceled her show in June over a tweet mocking Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to President Barack Obama and an African-American. The tweet said the “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.”

The reboot of Barr’s immensely popular late 20th-century sitcom had drawn high ratings.
Barr later deleted the tweet about Jarrett, which drew widespread criticism, and issued an apology, saying she had made “a bad joke about her politics and her looks.”

Barr, who is Jewish, and Boteach, a rabbi to several stars, have been friends for 20 years. She has not given any in-depth interviews on the tweets and her firing.

Barr has been an increasingly vocal supporter of Israel, saying in April that she hopes to one day make aliyah and maybe even run for prime minister of Israel. “I want to move to Israel and run for prime minister. I do have that fantasy. If God calls me, I’ll go,” she said at the Jerusalem Postconference.

“I want to make aliyah, I do…I still have this fantasy of being an old Jewish lady living in the Jewish homeland... I want to buy a farm there and maybe bring my family,” added Barr.

Barr has consistently lambasted BDS in recent years. Speaking at a conference in 2016, she said, “BDS is right-wing and fascist….BDS [members] do not want peace, nor do they want peace negotiations.”

More recently she blasted 21-year-old New Zealand pop star Lorde after she decided to cancel a show in Israel.
“Boycott this bigot: Lorde caves to BDS pressure, cancels Israel concert,” Barr said at the time.

89% of Israelis satisfied with their lives

Some 8,907,000 residents live in Israel, of which 74.4% are Jews, 20.9% are Arab, and 4.9% are other minorities, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics published today, Tuesday, ahead of Rosh Hashanah 5769.

The average life expectancy in Israel continues to rise: the average for men is 80.7 years and remains the same as last year, but the average age of women has risen to 84.6 compared with 84.2 last year.

89% are satisfied or very satisfied with their lives in Israel, while 6% - about 340,000 people - often feel lonely. 37% of Israelis, who constitute 2 million people, are not satisfied with their financial situation and 31% have difficulty covering their monthly expenses.

In the past year, 52,809 couples married and established a home in Israel, while 14,819 came to the rabbinate to divorce.

The average number of persons in the Israeli household as of the past year is 3.32, while Israel has about 2,057,000 nuclear families.

Regarding the level of religiosity, 44.3% define themselves as not religious or secular, 21.4% define themselves as traditional, not so religious, 12.3% define themselves as traditional-religious, 11.5% define themselves as religious, and 10.2% haredim.

As of 2017, 175,000 teaching staff members are employed in the education system, compared with 170,000 in 2016. The rate of recruitment of new teaching staff is on the rise: from an average of 7,500 between 2008-2010 to 11,700 on average in 2017-2018. In 2015, 6,471 teaching staff members left the education system, compared to 5,059 in 2008.

The average gross monthly wage is NIS 10,109 for Israeli workers and 5,928 for foreign workers, and the average weekly hours are 36.2 hours. The largest sector for employed persons is the education system, with 471,000 workers, followed by 431,000 workers in wholesale and retail fields and vehicle repairs and 690,000 sales and service workers.

Ponivitz One Week Before Rosh Hashana .....

Watch Monica Lewinsky Storm Off the Stage When Asked About Bill Clinton

Potato Knish Lekoveid Yom Tov

Ingredients (18)

Dough I

3 cups flour

4 ounces margarine 

1 teaspoon salt

1 medium potato, cooked, peeled and mashed

1 cup lukewarm water

 Matzo Meal, for sprinkling

Dough II

4 cups flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces margarine

1 cup lukewarm water

2 teaspoons  Baking Powder

3 egg yolks

Filling

3 large onions, diced and sautéed

8 large potatoes, cooked, peeled and mashed

3 eggs

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Prepare the Dough

Combine ingredients for desired dough and knead until smooth.

Divide into three parts.

Using well floured surface, roll out each part.

For Dough I, sprinkle lightly with matzo meal.

Cut each part into two- by three-inch rectangles.

Prepare the Knish

To prepare potato filling, combine all ingredients, mixing well.

Place one tablespoon of the filling onto each piece of dough. Roll up.

Brush with beaten egg. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

The Chasidisheh Rebbe Who Left Judaism, Became a Businessman, a Psychologist and then Returned to Yissishkeit

Yabloner Rebbe Sitting next to Achad Ha'om and Lord Balfour 

Yabloner Rebbe Sitting Next to Harav Kook z"l

The Chasidishe Rebbe you never heard of who was a ardent Zionist, later left Judaism but eventually returned. The fascinating and little known tale of the Yabloner Rebbe, Rabbi Yechezkel Taub.

Giving the lecture is Rabbi Pini Dunner. He is the person who did all the research on this fascinating story.

Cryn' Chuck Schumer's Constant Lies

Sudden Death Of Mrs. Kreisel Goldstein of Monsey

 

Mrs. Kreisel Goldstein (Rottenberg)  52, wife of R’ Chaim Yankel Goldstein. suffered a massive heart attack on Thursday morning, at her home in Monsey.

They have six unmarried children at home, and a one married child.

Just last night, Mrs. Goldstein danced at the wedding of her niece (her sister’s daughter) in Monsey.

The Levaya will be held today in Monsey at 4:00PM on Nesher Court.

Friend of Chosson Carries Measels to a Wedding in Beit Shemesh – Hundreds at Risk of Contagious Infection

Question: When will Israel deport those who refuse to vaccinate their children, to Gaza?

How many innocent people will have to die until we wake up and stand up to these dangerous savages that keep saying that vaccinations cause disease?

What about the deadly diseases that not vaccinating is causing and spreading??

Hundreds of Charedim who attended a wedding on Wednesday night in Beit Shemesh, have received phone calls alerting them that they may have contracted the Measles at the wedding.

According toKikar Shabbos, the guests who attended the Lindenfeld and Frierman wedding in the Astriker Hall may have come in contact with someone who was diagnosed with the disease.

According to the alert spread among the guests, a 20-year-old friend of the Chosson, was diagnosed with the Measles after one of the tests that he took at his own medical check-up  came back showing that he was infected with the disease and that he was infectious. He received the tests on thursday, the day after the wedding.

The boy told the relevant authorities and family of the Chosson that he attended the wedding and that he had come into contact with a lot of the people there. The health ministry mandates that all children who are born after 1977 received inoculations against the disease. But the Ministry issued a directive that all attendees born between 1958 and 1977 need to rush urgently to their health care providers and get inoculated.

Parshat Ki Tavo ...

by Rabbi Shmuel Knopfler

The Parsha begins when you come to The Land which Hashem gives you ...

The Ohr HaChayim starts off saying that there is a special innate Simcha in settling the Land of Eretz Yisrael.

The Mishna in Bikkurim magnificently describes the drama of the bringing of these first fruits, the massive march to Jerusalem of farmers from all over Israel with the choicest fruit and grain of their labors in their hands, the decorated marketplaces of our Holy City crowned by the magnificent fruits, and the speech-song of each individual farmer as he stood in front of the Temple altar with the offering he handed to the priest. What an impressive demonstration of fealty to the Master of the Universe, who is hereby recognized as the Provider of all produce and the Sustainer of all sustenance.

But Hashem's bounty was not the purpose of bringing the first fruits. The clear emphasis here is the arrival of the Israelites to the Land of Israel – after having been enslaved and afflicted by the Egyptians, and after the Almighty heard their prayers and took them from Egypt to Israel with great miracles and wonders. Eating the fruits of our own land emphasizes the evils of slavery when we could not produce our own food and the inalienable rights of Jews (as well as all humans) to freedom and the independence to provide for their own needs.

Levi Aron, slayer of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky, attacked female prison officer

A Brooklyn man who butchered an 8-year-old boy attacked a female prison officer in an upstate prison over the weekend.

Levi Aron, 42, tried to yank the jailer into his cell inside the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg on Saturday at around 8:45 a.m., according to the union representing prison officers.

In 2012, Aron pleaded guilty to kidnapping and cutting up Leiby Kletzky after the boy got lost as he wandered on 18^th Ave. in Borough Park.

Before the murder, Aron kept the boy in his nearby apartment and brought the youngster to a wedding in Rockland County.

The hardware clerk freaked out when the community launched a major manhunt to find the youngster. So he drugged him, smothered him with a towel and then chopped up his body. The majority of his remains were found in dumpster about a mile away from the apartment.

Leiby’s feet were discovered in Aron’s freezer.

As for the prison assault, the union representing prison officers says Aron suddenly snapped after the officer asked him to clean up his cell. Aron yanked her arm but she was able to escape.

The officer suffered a cut to her left eye and bruising on her arm and knees. She was taken to a local hospital.

Aron, who is serving 37 years to life in prison, may be hit with added criminal charges.

He was moved out of the general population “to undergo the internal disciplinary process while the state police conducts an investigation for possible criminal charges,” said Patrick Bailey, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

Michael Mazzella, president of the New York State Corrections Officers and Police Benevolent Association, urged Fallsburg authorities to take action against Aron.

“We need our local district attorneys to prosecute inmates that attack and injure staff so a firm message is sent that if you attack staff, you will be held accountable,” he said in a statement.

Eating Black Peas For Rosh Hashana .... I don't think so

Man allegedly beheaded girlfriend ‘because she didn't’ Do Teshuvah"!

A man from Washington state beheaded his girlfriend in front of their 3-year-old daughter — later telling cops he “had spoken with God” and been ordered to “strike down” the woman “because she did not repent,” reports say.

Moments after the gruesome killing, Timothy Hernandez, 32, allegedly instructed his little one to “go say goodbye to mommy.”

He quoted two different Bible verses while speaking to cops about what happened on Sunday, and insisted he was carrying out God’s will.

“Each of the verses that were quoted had passages in them that spoke about women who did not follow God’s word, so God stuck them down,” investigators wrote in charging documents, which were obtained by local outlets.

Hernandez allegedly gave his girlfriend, Vanessa Cons, a chance “to repent,” but he claimed she refused.

Israeli Travel Agent Defrauds Thousands Out Of Tickets To Uman For Rosh Hashanah

Thousands of Breslov Chassidim will nebech have to spend time this Yom Tov with families, after they purchased  airline tickets to Uman for Rosh Hashanah and left out in the cold following the closure of travel agency Europanim. 

The closure resulted in the money paid for the tickets being completely lost by the customers. The travel agent who had been supposedly arranging the flights with various airlines, disappeared with all of the money that was supposed to pay for tickets that never existed.

Europanim, provides travel service to various destinations in Europe, one of which is Uman. The travel agency announced a series of subsidized flights to Uman ahead of the Rosh Hashanah holiday and pilgrimage. The travel agency announced today that the agent they dealt with as a middle-man between their agency and the airlines had disappeared with all of their money and hence, the travel agency would be ceasing its operations.

According to Kikar Shabbat news service, sme 2,000 travelers purchased their tickets through the travel agency and currently are now left without a ticket or their money refunded.

Now for some good advice.....

Next time use the internet ...... yes the internet...

Ponivetz Bochrim Beat the Hell Out of Each Other Le'Koveid the New Zman

Happy New Year!

Students hurled tables and book holders on Wednesday at Bnei Brak's flagship Lithuanian-haredi Ponevezh Yeshiva as part of a long-running feud between two rival factions.

The brawl raged on throughout the morning and only ended when police detained the main instigators after being called to the scene. Three students were injured after being sprayed by tear gas

The quarrel was part of a longstanding dispute between the two factions over control of the yeshiva and the division of its territory. The supporters of Rabbi Shmuel Markovitz on the one hand, nicknamed the "haters," and Rabbi Eliezer Kahaneman's rival camp, called the "terrorists" have long been at loggerheads and tensions frequently lead to violence.

The flagship Yeshiva of Lithuanian haredi Judaism has been roiled by the power struggle between the two for over twenty years, and both sides observe an uneasy status quo, in which campus space in Bnei Brak is evenly divided between the two factions.

Ponovezh head Rabbi Berel Povarsky pleaded for calm after the violence and said that the students should concentrate on studying Torah. "The evil inclination wants to interrupt our learning of Torah during the month of Elul in the most important yeshiva in the world, our yeshiva," he said.

A similar brawl took place a year ago after one faction 

appropriated a new classroom for themselves, upsetting the delicate status quo. Students from the other faction subsequently defaced the classroom with derogatory graffiti.

The brawl broke out in the Yeshiva dining hall soon after, when a student from the "haters" faction shoved a supporter of the "terrorist" faction. The fight quickly spread to other parts of the campus, as students hurled furniture, deployed tear gas, and set off fire extinguishers.

Ponovezh is one of the top institutions in the haredi world, and the ongoing internal strife has been a black eye for the community.

Uman Drunks Cause 3 Hour Delay After Blowing Shofar and Guzzlng Arak on Plane

A flight from Israel to Ukraine was delayed on Tuesday, 17 Elul, as a group of eight people heading to Uman were removed from the flight after creating a significant disturbance before boarding.

The Ukraine International Airlines flight to was scheduled to take off from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv at 3:00PM, enroute to Kiev, but was delayed for three hours.

The group of eight arrived at the entrance to the plane, and two of them were apparently drunk. According to reports, one of them complained of feeling ill, prompting the flight crew to refuse to permit them to board. Another member of the group began cursing and confronting the crew.

According to reports, the group had created a scene at the airport; playing, singing, shouting wildly and blowing shofars, while holding a bottle of Arak whiskey.

An airport manager summoned police, and the disorderly bunch physically assaulted police too. The plane’s crew, including the pilots who left their positions when they heard the uproar, asked the police to take the passenger and his friends off the plane.

Compounding the problem, due to the fact that these passengers were removed from the plane, their suitcases also needed to be be removed. The unloading process took a long time, causing the flight to take off about three hours later.

“Every year there are many incidents with passengers traveling to Uman,” a senior official at Ben-Gurion Airport told Ynet. He said there are many people who want to go to Uman for Rosh Hashana and come to the airport without tickets, asking for ‘handouts’ from other passengers. Quite a few of them arrive at the flight at the last minute as if “they were on the bus.”

The official added “there are passengers who arrive to the plane drunk, or even drugged; and there are those who arrive with plastic bags instead of suitcases.”

It is important to note that for Rosh Hashana, tens of thousands of people arrive at Uman, most of whom behave in a proper manner, but naturally the few cases attract attention and cause an unfortunate Chilul Hashem.

Yeshivois in Israel Will not Admit Rapper's children becauae the are "black"

Chasidic rap singer Nissim Black visited HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky on Monday.

In an interview with Menachem Toker on Radio Kol Chai, Black explained the cause of his visit is because his children have not yet been accepted to schools due to the dark color of his skin.

“It was an amazing opportunity,” says the rapper. “I went to Rav Chaim and asked him for advice on what to do, they do not accept us to school because of the color of my children, they tell me that explicitly.”

Black declined to elaborate on the full conversation, and only said Rav Chaim’s eyes said everything, and that the first sentence Rav Chaim told him is “being ‘Black’ is your Mayla (Virtue) not a Chesaron (Lacking)”- “להיות כהה עור זה יתרון ומעלה, ולא חיסרון”.

Black added that “for a second it felt like the whole world stood still”.

An eyewitness reported that Rav Chaim gave Black a warm bracha.

“People know me as a rapper, but I’m on the road all the time for Klal Yisrael,” said Black. “I heard from many people before that it would be a problem because I was dark, but I responded that I was strengthening people precisely because of my skin color.”

Black’s said his children do not know that their skin color is the reason why they have not yet started school.

“My children were at home and not at school because there was no school that received them … We tried to get our 10-year-old into a school that fits our Hashkafa and they rejected us because of our skin color. They can ask my Rav about me, or even say it’s because of my profession. But to reject us for our skin color, is unacceptable.”

“God forbid, the children will know,” adds the rapper. “We do not tell our children and in the meantime they think we are still looking for the best school for them.”

Just before Rosh Hashanah and at the end of the month of Elul, the rapper said that he is not angry at the school principals and those who do not accept his children, and he promises that he will continue to look for the best school in terms of Hashkafa and those who will not see him and his children only in their color, but rather as human beings.