Friday, November 5, 2021
The NYTimes' comical account of what it means to be Israeli
A New York Times reporter and photographer go into a car. They travel across one of the world’s happiest countries—and find only anger, alienation, and regret. Israelis find that really funny
New York Times coverage of Israel—its efforts to curate, conceal, and contrive the faraway land for its American readers—has descended into hilarity. Indeed, a recent front-page story by Jerusalem bureau chief Patrick Kingsley, which promises to help readers “discover what it means to be Israeli today,” is a comical caricature of the paper’s own biases, exposing much more about the New York Times than about the country it is supposedly covering.
To understand why, it helps to first understand a couple of facts about that country: Israel has consistently ranked at the top of measures of global happiness. The 2021 World Happiness Report, for example, found Israelis to be among the happiest in the world, and ranked their country as 12th happiest out of 149 countries over the past three years.
In other words, if you were to ask random Israelis to “think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0,” then ask them to “rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale,” chances are you’d find them saying that they are living close to the best possible life. That’s what pollsters found.
Israel’s place in the World Happiness Report’s index is marked by a red arrow.
According to other polling, by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, over 88 percent of Israelis, including 76 percent of the country’s Arab citizens, were satisfied with their lives.
Berland's Chusid Confessed to the Murder of Nissim Shitrit 35 years ago and Incriminates 3 others
One of the main suspects in the murder of 17-year-old Nissim Shitrit 36 years ago confessed to the murder on Wednesday and incriminated three others, Channel 13 News revealed on Wednesday night.
On Wednesday morning, disgraced Shuvu Banim leader Eliezer Berland told Meir Shitrit, the brother of murder victim Nissim Shitrit, 17, that he can sit Shiva and say Kaddish. Berland also urged one of the main suspects of the murder to tell the investigators what happened.
The report revealed the transcript of the meeting between Berland and the suspect, during which Berland urged him to confess. “We need to say what happened,” Berland said. “I’m instructing you to say what happened.”
The suspect, who until then had refused to talk, broke down and confessed his role in the murder of Shitrit, and incriminated three others. He described what transpired that day to the investigators, saying that they didn’t actually intend to kill Shitrit.
“We went to scare Shitrit and beat him up,” he said. “G., Z. and B. beat him and he died from their blows. I didn’t beat him, but [it happened] in front of me. Afterward, we dug a kever and buried him. It wasn’t planned. We decided we won’t tell anyone what happened.”
The suspect was taken by the police to the murder site in a Jerusalem area forest in an attempt to locate the remains but he could not identify the exact spot. According to his lawyer, the suspect doesn’t remember the exact location of the kever.
A female suspect involved in the murder cooperated with the police and confessed her role of calling Shitrit and telling him to go to a certain apartment, from where he was kidnapped. She also provided other details regarding the case to the police and confronted other suspects. On Wednesday, the police released her to house arrest for a week.
Also on Wednesday, Jerusalem’s Magistrate Court extended the detention of four other suspects for eight days.
During the hearing, the police said they are now also aware of the identities of those who murdered Avi Edri, 41, in 1990, and what role each suspect played in the murder.
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Artscroll's CEO Gedalya Zlotowitz's Reaction when asked why all the Bios of the Gedoilim Make them into Malachim or Angels
If you want to read the biographies of Gedoilei Yisrael, all you have to do is buy one book of one random Gadol from Artscroll, the rest will read the same.
The Gadol portrayed in Artscroll books was born a genius, knew the entire Shas by the time he was six years old, never got angry, was never wrong, and was the biggest baal chesed and the most caring person in the world.
The truth is that this is not true at all, some went to public schools, some never opened a sefer until after the bar-mitzvah and some had parents that weren't frum. Some were fervent Zionists (Chas Ve' Sholom) and some like Rav Eliyashiv and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach had Rav Avraham Yitzchok Kook z"l as their Mesader Kiddushin. One great Gadol had severe Shalom Bayis issues. Many had children that went off the derech. One particular Gadol that comes to mind had a son that converted to Christianity. Many were wrong in their predictions and in their Halachic rulings, but you will not get any of this from their bios.
You see Artscroll is holier than the Tanach. In the Tanach all Gedoilim are presented with their flaws and blemishes, and not one frum Jew would think of them any less. But the gedoilim of the present century, according to the Artscroll bios, were absolute melachim who never did anything wrong in their entire lives.
In the interview, R' Gedalye Zlotowitz says that he is not "re-writing" history, he is only "omitting" certain information, and that the bio is meant to "inspire."
R' Gedalye is being disingenuous when he says that this was "his father's idea"
His father's first Bio was of the Netziv, it was called "My Uncle the Netziv" and was translated from the Hebrew version of "The Netziv" which was written by Rabbi Baruch Halevie Epstein, who was the author of the famous commentary the "Torah Temimah.: Rabbi Epstein was the nephew of the Netziv. In his biography of his uncle he nonchalantly mentioned that the Netziv read secular newspapers. When Artscroll originally released the book, they included this tidbit. But after tremendous pressure of the Yeshivishe Roshei Yeshivos, Artscroll recalled the book and reprinted it without the "newspaper" story. So when Gedalye says that Artscroll is omitting information that would put the protagonist in a bad light and make him sound normal, he is lying, it was omitted because of pressure.
Omitting uncomfortable truths is akin to rewriting history. Presenting a glorified and sterilized version of history isn't "inspiring" in fact it's incredibly harmful. It presents an impossible model of how a great person is supposed to look like, void of humanity and weaknesses, and lying by omission is still lying.!
‘You’re aware that the academic world mocks Artscroll...’ Candid, insightful conversation with @artscroll president Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz on our newest Take 2 https://t.co/ob6320PMeg pic.twitter.com/SphyxUtyBR
— Mishpacha Magazine (@themishpacha) November 3, 2021
Inna Vernikov a Republican Wins Big in Flatbush A Smack in the Face to Askanim
Dov Hikind did endorse Inna while the Flatbush "gedoilim" endorsed her opponent the fake DemocRAT Saperstein. It seems that the voters were giving a clear message to the "kockers" I mean the "machers" that they don't need their unsolicited advice.
The same thing happened in Fakewood, where the "kockers" were pushing the "murf" but the voters voted for his opponent the Republican Candidate Ciattarelli. Ciattarelii lost by a tiny margin embarrasing the DemocRATS in New Jersey where Murphy was expecting to win by a landslide.
My advice to the sheep in Brooklyn .... Baaaaaa Baaaa
Stop listening to "Kocker-Machers" and vote Republican all the time, you may lose some but in the long run this is the best strategy for the benefit of the Jewish people...
Republican Inna Vernikov won the New York City Council’s 48th District seat on Tuesday, flipping the seat to the GOP in one of the city’s few conservative districts.
“This victory sends a loud message that this district is fed up with the progressive policies that have been destroying our city and our district,” Vernikov told Hamodia Tuesday night. “I think this will open up a lot of doors for Republicans, and will also restore the faith of the people in our election process.”
With 96% of the vote tallied early Wednesday morning, Vernikov, who also ran on the Conservative line, led her Democratic opponent, Steven Saperstein, 64% to 36%, a margin that shocked political observers.
Red Wave: 12 Republican Nationwide Wins in Tuesday’s Election
Republicans won big Tuesday around the nation with 12 significant accomplishments that bode well heading into the 2022 midterms.
1. Pennsylvania’s Judicial Victories
Republican Kevin Brobson defeated Democrat Maria McLaughlin for a position on Pennsylvania’s highest court with about 52 percent of the vote.
The win will maintain the composition of the states’ court. The victory is important because in 2022, the court will weigh cases on election integrity, state redistricting, and abortion.
Former Pennsylvania deputy attorney general Megan Sullivan also defeat Democrat Timika Lane for a spot on the appellate court, which hears cases on civil and criminal appeals.
Attorney Stacy Wallace won her race for the Commonwealth Court, where suits involving state agencies are heard.
Secrets of the Me'aras Ha'Macpeilah in Chevron
Beit Shemesh Widow of Murdered Chareidie Claims that her son the murderer "is the victim"
Last week we posted the tragic story of a 17 year-old Beit Shemesh boy who stabbed his father to death during the Shabbos Seuda.
During the shiva she spoke to reporters and told them that her husband, a father of ten, had severe emotional problems but refused to get help. She said that the last ten years was "a life of hell" for her and her children. Police were called many times and they were very familiar with the abuse that was going on over the years.
She added that her son was "the victim here."
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Yanki Kanievski Buys 3 Level Luxury Home in Bnei Brak... No Mortgage... How did he do it?
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| Yanki "in the middle" |
Yanki has never held a job, his parents are poor like church mice, so how did he manage to buy this home?
A few weeks ago the Hebrew Blog "Bechadrei Chadorim" claimed that 98% of all monies collected in some "high-profile" tzedakkah campaigns do not go to intended but to the pockets of those running these "tzadaka" organizations. Very scary!
Read the article below to get a feeling what is really going on?
This from the Rationalist Judaism Blog
Yanky Kanievsky, grandson and manager of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, just bought a new home. It's a stunningly decorated, three-floor home, very different from the standard apartments in Bnei Brak. He paid the entire sum outright, without taking out any mortgage. He didn't even have to sell his previous home in order to buy it. After all, he didn't need his own money for it.
He had mine.
I'm still not clear as to exactly how it happened. True, I don't check my credit card statements as carefully as I should. There are several standing monthly payments to various charities. Back in 2018, I received a receipt from one such charity, called Beit David, but I was suddenly suspicious, because I hadn't remembered ever donating to it. Looking into it further, I saw that it was based in the Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet - the extremists' neighborhood, which I couldn't imagine housing a charity that I would give to. The receipt was for a standing monthly payment that was taking place over two years! I immediately stopped the payments.
I vaguely remember calling them and asking how they had started processing donations from me, and not receiving any satisfactory answer. Meanwhile, on the local Beit Shemesh email list, it turned out that there were others in the same position. Beit David had taken thousands of shekels from their bank account, over a prolonged period, without their knowledge or consent.
I had forgotten all about this until a few days ago, when I learned about Yanky Kanievsky's extraordinary new home. How did a thirty-year-old kollel student afford such a property?
One friend of mine told me that many people simply give him gifts. They are so enthralled to have someone as special as Rav Chaim in the world, that they gladly give money to him. Of course, the physical act of giving is done via his family manager. Who uses it to buy a luxury home.
That in itself is distasteful, but it seems that there are much, much worse things taking place.
Who Remembers Cafe Feenjon?
The most important table in stand-up comedy can be found in the back corner of the Olive Tree Cafe, a dark Greenwich Village restaurant. The two slate tables pushed together serve as a makeshift green room for comedians who perform downstairs at the legendary New York club, the Comedy Cellar. Both “The Cellar” and the Israeli café are owned by Noam Dworman. They share a kitchen and a bathroom and are connected by a narrow stairway lined with signed photos of famous comics who got their start at the club, which opened in 1981.
After their sets, comedians make their way up to the “comedy table” for free hummus and banter, joining other Cellar performers, including major stars who may have dropped in. The table reserved for the club’s comedians began in the late 1990s when it was first implemented by the previous owner, Manny Dworman, who also happens to be Noam’s father.
This table is so sacrosanct that in 2016 when the table was moved 10 inches, a New Yorker article recorded the complaints of a who’s-who of stand-ups. “This is not the table where Robin Williams sat, this is not where Ray Romano sat, this is not where Jon Stewart sat,” Chris Rock protested.
"Trick or Treat" Guy in Halloween mask randomly attacks pedestrian with ax in NYC
A creep in a Halloween mask attacked a random pedestrian with an ax on the Upper West Side this week, cops said Tuesday.
The 51-year-old victim was on Broadway near West 61st Street just after 10 p.m. Monday when the suspect — shown in one photo wearing the toothy mask over his face — threatened to kill him and struck his arm with the ax without provocation, cops said.
The suspect then bolted into the 59th Street/Columbus Circle subway station.
He is shown in another photo sans the getup and wearing a blue surgical mask. He also wore a dark-colored coat, blue jeans and black boots.
The victim was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside in stable condition, cops said.
Fired Park East Rabbi holding rival services blocks from his old synagogue
It looks like the Chassidim don't hold the license for break ups. The feuds and civil wars in Satmar, Bobov, Ger, Viznitz and Sadugere has now spread to the Modern Orthodox. Reminds me of the joke about a Jew landing on the moon looking for a shul to daven in and he finally finds one and asks him where the shul is, the moon guy answers him "we have two" so the visitor asks "how many Jews here on the moon" he answers "one" ...so the visitor asks "why do you need two shuls for only one guy?" He answers "just in case I have a fight with myself"
The rift at Park East Synagogue may widen, as Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt, who was fired as assistant rabbi last month, has starte!d his own Shabbat service three blocks away from his former synagogue.
This will be at least the second service hosted by Goldschmidt since he was fired from the wealthy Orthodox congregation on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Oct. 15. Last week, according to multiple sources, he hosted Shabbat services in his apartment with dozens of attendees.
Teacher Who Won ‘Teacher of the Year’ Award Beats the crap out of her student who dared question the award
Good Way to prove your critics wrong.
An educator was arrested and charged for child abuse just two days after being named “Teacher of the Year.” The abuse? Hitting a student who criticized her receiving the award.
Caroline Melanie Lee, 60, a Florida educator, was labeled “Teacher of the Year” by the Duval County Public Schools last Wednesday and then arrested Friday for punching a student in the nose.
The student reportedly made the egregious error of reading a comments thread that questioned Lee being given the award and accused her of using the N-word in class.
According to a complaint filed by the girl, the teacher ordered her into a vacant classroom and then began slapping, punching, kicking and verbally abusing the offending student who dared question how wonderful she really is.
The school said that “Teacher of the Year” Lee has been removed from classrooms, “and will not return,” pending judicial and internal school procedures.
MK Abbas offers Chareidim 100 million Shekel
Mansour Abbas, the chairman of the Islamist Ra’am party which is part of Bennett’s coalition, requested to transfer NIS 100 million of the funds he received in coalition agreements to the Chareidi sector, Kan News reported on Monday.
Abbas explained to coalition officials that he feels an alliance with the Chareidim since, like the Arab sector, it is considered a disadvantaged sector of Israeli society.
Of course, Abbas may also be interested in maintaining political ties with the Chareidi parties and some think he is trying to divert attention from a recent incriminating report about his party.
Abbas’s move follows a speech by UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni last week during a Knesset session chaired by Abbas. Gafni took the opportunity to compare the struggles of Chareidi society to Arab society and warned Abbas that based on his own experience in the past regarding funds promised to the Chareidi sector he may not see a shekel of the money promised to him by the coalition
“The Israeli culture only recognizes mainstream Israeli culture,” Gafni said. “No one has any desire to assist anyone who is a bit different, to help them, their children, their neighborhoods, their cities. They promise you money and say; ‘True, there’s great injustice in the Arab sector, we promise you NIS 53 billion. I’m not sure you’ll receive one shekel.”
Following Gafni’s speech, he and Abbas spoke privately for an extended period of time. Abbas later told other Chareidi MKs that “Gafni’s speech touched my heart.”
In response to Abbas’s offer, UTJ MK Yaakov Asher turned it down and slammed the members of the coalition in a speech from the Knesset plenum on Monday night, saying: “Something drastic happened in Israel today. On this day, Yamina members need to put on masks – not just over their noses and mouths but over their whole faces – if today, Ra’am chairman Abbas, your partner in the government, says that his compassion was kindled due to what you’re doing to your Jewish brothers – those with the kipos and payos – and he issues a press release, like a philanthropist, swearing to ‘donate’ NIS 100 million to the Chareidim from his coaliton funds.”
“How is it that Abbas feels what you don’t feel over these past months when children and working mothers are being stomped on just because they’re religious and davka Abbas is the one that requests to take care of them?”
“So first of all, I’ll tell him ‘No thanks.’ But if he wants to donate to some organization, I suggest that instead of the Assistance 48 Association, he donate to Kupas HaIr – they also take care of widows and orphans.”
“Abbas told me: ‘I’m sensitive to disadvantaged societies,'” Asher continued. “He’s sensitive to the disadvantaged and you’re sensitive to Lieberman. You can’t manage to take yourselves in hand and do what’s necessary!”
“What abyss have we reached that Mansour Abbas requests to donate to us? I’m not saying this as a joke, my heart bleeds – how did we fall to this? My Jewish brothers – definitely the ones with kippos on your heads – shame on you that you’ve descended to this.”
Lakewood Community defy the "vaad" and Vote in a landslide for Jack Ciattarelly
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As the vote between incumbent New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelly comes down to a razor-thin margin, the numbers from the overwhelmingly frum city of Lakewood were released, showing that Ciattarelli won it by a landslide.
Despite endorsements from the Lakewood Vaad and numerous askanim, Governor Murphy was unable to gain the support of the majority of Lakewood’s voters, who lean conservative and in general feel that Murphy’s policies do not align with their values.
Ciattarelli won 61.6% of the Lakewood vote, with a total of 11,644 votes.
Lakewood has over 50,000 registered voters, but saw less than a third of them turn out to vote in Tuesday’s election.
MASSIVE BLOW TO BIDEN AND DEMS: Republican Glen Youngkin Wins Gubernatorial Race In Virginia
In a crushing blow to President Joe Biden and Democrats across the country, Trump-backed Republican Glen Youngkin is projected to win the Virginia gubernatorial race, beating incumbent Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
Youngkin was the target of numerous attacks in recent weeks, including a political stunt by the anti-Trump Lincoln Project that aimed to paint him as a candidate with numerous white supremacist supporters.
The race in Virginia is believed to have boiled down to issues parents have with the state’s public school curriculum, with Youngkin decrying the teaching of Critical Race Theory and Democrats accusing the Republican of being a racist for opposing it.
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
At Least 9 Former Nazis Died In The U.S. While Awaiting Deportation. 3 House Democrats Want To Know Why.
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| Jack Reimer, a Ukrainian immigrant accused of being a Nazi war criminal, enters Federal District Court in Manhattan on Aug. 17, 1998. He was later stripped of his U.S. citizenship and ordered deported, but died at his home in Fort Lee, New Jersey. |
In 1992, the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations learned that before moving to the United States, a Brooklyn potato chip salesman had participated in the liquidation of Jewish ghettos in Poland, including those in Warsaw, Lublin and Czestochowa. And there was evidence that he helped other SS men execute 50 to 60 Jews in a ravine near Trawniki.
Jack Reimer was tried in 1998 and denaturalized, or stripped of his U.S. citizenship, in 2002. An appeals court upheld the decision in 2004, and the following year the U.S. sought to deport him. He agreed to leave for Germany but died in August 2005 before that could happen. He was living in Fort Lee, New Jersey, at the time and died surrounded by his family.
Sixteen years later, three New York House Democrats are asking the State Department to conduct a review of their records to learn why Reimer and eight other Nazi war criminals who were found living in the U.S. after the war were prosecuted, convicted and ordered deported but then allowed to die “comfortably in the United States.”
“Some of these men were stationed at Nazi concentration camps,” they wrote. “Others participated in the horrific liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto. The Department of Justice established beyond a reasonable doubt that each of them contributed to the atrocities of the Holocaust.…
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