Powered By Blogger

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

'Ben Shapiro, you've spun your last dreidel,' says armed far-right activist in video

 

"Alright, Ben Shapiro, you've spun your last dreidel," said an extreme far-right activist in a video, before he fired three shots from a revolver at a gun range in a video posted by The Informant's Nick Martin on Monday.

Aidan Duncan, who also goes by the pseudonym Smiley the Fren, joked about shooting American Conservative Jewish political commentator Shapiro in a now-deleted Instagram video of Duncan at a gun range in Nevada, Martin reported.

Monsey Women Under Attack by Goyim shooting them with BB-Guns & Eggs



Bill de Blasio Ends his Campaign for Representative .. Bobov upset

 

Yitzchok Fleisher of Bobov was pushing this commie anti-Semite, G-d only knows why, and now he is upset. Rumor has it that he is looking for another German to endorse. 

 Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that he is ending his campaign for a U.S. House seat in New York, dropping out after two months by saying it’s clear “people are looking for another option.”


The Democrat was running in a crowded primary for a deep-blue congressional district that includes his Brooklyn home and parts of southern Manhattan.

“I’ve listened really carefully to people and it’s clear to me that when it comes to this congressional district, people are looking for another option. And I respect that,” de Blasio said in a video posted online Tuesday.

His campaign was launched months after his tenure as mayor ended and was the latest attempt by de Blasio to further his national political ambitions.

He considered running for governor of New York but opted not to challenge incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul. He also had a short-lived run for president in 2019, which lasted two months longer than this year’s congressional campaign.

De Blasio became the city’s first Democratic mayor in two decades when he won election in 2013. His early achievements included expanding public prekindergarten to every 4-year-old in the city and later including more 3-year-olds. He also curtailed the police stop-and-frisk tactic and helped push through a $15 an hour minimum wage.

But by the time his second term ended on Dec. 31, 2021, his tenure was also marked by a series of gaffes, high-profile conflicts and strained relationships with progressives and the city’s police.

The former mayor seemed to acknowledge that in his video announcing he was ending his campaign, saying, “I’ve made mistakes. I want to do better in the future.”

De Blasio also said he wants to keep serving the public: “I’m going to find a different way to serve,” he said.

Recent polling had placed de Blasio near the bottom of the field of 13 Democrats seeking to represent New York’s 10th Congressional District. Other candidates in running in the Aug. 23 primary include U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, who currently represents a Hudson Valley seat but decided to make a 2022 campaign further south in the metropolis, along with New York City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman, who last served in Congress in 1981, and Daniel Goldman, the former federal prosecutor who served as counsel to House Democrats in the first impeachment inquiry against former president Donald Trump.

Rep. Jerry Nadler represents New York’s 10th district now but will no longer live in it after redistricting.

Pregnant Jewish Woman Falls 50 Feet at Niagara Falls, Only Suffers Minor Injuries

 

A pregnant Lubavitcher woman is lucky to be alive after she miraculously survived a 50-foot fall off a sheer cliff while on a hike with her family near the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

“I was ahead with one of the kids when suddenly my daughter comes screaming to me ‘Mommy fell off the cliff,’ the husband related to CrownHeights.info. “If you would see this cliff, you would think that’s it, it’s finished.”

The cliff is located on an elevated portion of the trail, has rocks protruding from it top to bottom, and ends near the water’s edge – a combination of deadly features that threatens the life of anyone who falls off it.

The husband said he was shocked when he shouted down to his wife, who responded saying that was okay. Several men nearby went to help the woman – the husband was unable to reach her from his vantage point – as emergency personnel were called in to rescue her.

Some 15 firefighters rappelled down the cliff to assist the injured woman and evacuated her by boat before transferring her to a hospital for treatment, where doctors concluded that she and her unborn baby had suffered only minor, non-life-threatening injuries.

“When the police officer called me later on and was told that my wife and the baby were fine, he was basically crying,” the husband said.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

This Monday you can help free the Aguna Lonna Kin from her "rasha" Meir

 

**CALL TO ACTION**

A agunah of 18 years, reduced to begging the Israeli government to stop the burial of her in laws so she can be free.

                          This Monday July 25- Jerusalem

If you are in Israel, please join us as we demand that the Israeli Supreme Court force Rav Yitzchak Yosef to uphold the cherem placed on Meir Kin's family for his refusal to grant Lonna a divorce for 18 years.

Lonna (Kin) Ralbag, is an Aguna of over 18 years, whose "husband" Meir Kin refuses to give her a Get despite being married to another woman on a heter 100 Rabbanim by a sham rabbinic court. 

The Rabbinical Council of California has excommunicated Meir Kin and his family for their support of his actions- this includes Jewish burial.

Lonna has a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court to prevent the burial of Meir or his relatives in Israel (his father is in his nineties) until Meir gives the Get.

Rav. Yitzchak Yosef - the Sephardi Chief Rabbi is the only impediment to this ban going into affect.

Lonna's case will be heard this Monday, July 25th at 9:00 at the Supreme Court, Room 3.  We are asking as many people as possible to come and show the court that we want agunot to be heard and recognized and supported by any means possible.

Please let us know if you can join us  https://forms.gle/vRiTJvoeF2XUfmST

US Ambassador To Israel :President Biden Impressed By Dayan’s Singing- And Loyalty To Her Faith


US ambassador to Israel Thomas Richard Nides responded to the uproar caused over Israeli singer Yuval Dayan’s refusal to shake hands with President Biden last week

In a video clip, Nides said that Biden was very impressed with Dayan’s performance and with the fact that she is loyal to her faith and to her own personal beliefs.

Nides said that “I want to send a message to you Yuval, who performed a special rendition of “Let It Be”. The president was so appreciative of what you did on behalf of the Israeli people and the American president as well as your being true to your religious values. Thank you in the name of the American people for your beautiful singing.”

After Miss Dayan sang last Thursday, the visibly moved president came towards her and offered his hand. Dayan, who is Shomer Negiah, bowed to him but did not offer her hand. Numerous publicists in Israel debated her behavior, either legitimizing it or deeming it a lack of etiquette.

Previously the president had a similar experience when Rivka Ravitz visited the White House as aide to former president Rivlin. Ravitz also refused the proffered hand of the president, but later he bowed to her after hearing that she was a mother of 11 children.


The Chusid that invites Leftists and Anti-Israel Candidates to his Home in Boro-Park to Shmooze

 

When Yeruchim Silber, the director of New York Government Relations at Agudath Israel of America, briefly posted a photo last night of Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, holding up a freshly baked challah as if to take a big bite, many Yidden on Twitter wondered what was going on.

Just days ago, Niou, who is polling second in the Congressional race to represent District 10: the most Jewish district in the country, had announced to the Jewish Insider her support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement.

Weeks ago, however, she had been invited to the home of Alexander Rapaport, who for years, has been inviting candidates who want to represent Chassidism in Boro Park, not as part of his work in which he feeds thousands through Masbia, but to provide a calm, heimishe environment for neighborhood people to meet the candidates who want to represent them.

Call it the anti-Twitter.

Belzer Rebbe says that he is on the same page as Mizrachi

Mizrachi as well as the gemaarah hold that before mashiach comes, Israel will have to built up. 

Most of the Chareidie World doesn't hold from this gemarrah and that explains the preposterous violent protests against the Light Rail. This is also the reason the Yeshivishe world had to discredit Harav Kook z"l, because he stood for building Eretz Yisrael, and he was a threat and stood in the way of their  archaic views on Eretz Yisrael. 

The brave Belzer rebbe who recently mocked the Litvishe world by agreeing to introduce Math, English etc. into the curriculum, disregarding the vicious attack by the Litvishe run Yated, now stabbed them in their cold hearts by introducing the gemmarrah!

Are people waking up and taking back our true mesorah from the ones that kidnapped it?



האדמו"ר מבעלז: קודם בנין הארץ - אחר כך משיח

במהלך דברי תורה שנשא האדמו"ר מבעלז במסגרת מעמד 'לחיים' לרגל סיום צום י"ז בתמוז, ציטט האדמו"ר מבעלז את דברי דודו, רבי אהרן רוקח זצ"ל האדמו"ר הקודם מבעלז, שצידד בעד בניין הארץ לצד הציפיה היהודית לביאת למשיח.

"לאחר הקמת המדינה בשנת תש"ח, הקונסול הפולני אמר לדודי ז"ל שיש מנהיגים חרדים שמתנגדים לעניין של מדינה יהודית, ואומרים שזה נגד דעת תורה ושמשיח יבוא קודם, ורק לאחר מכן הארץ תהיה ליהודים", סיפר האדמו"ר.

"הוא שאל את דודי ז"ל מה הוא אומר על כך. דודי ז"ל ענה כי 'זה לא כך. בעל ה'אור החיים' הקדוש אומר שארץ ישראל תיבנה לפני ביאת המשיח, ולאחר מכן משיח יבוא. הוא הבטיח שנזכה שנהיה על פי תורה'".

האדמו"ר אף סיפר בבית בנו רבי אהרן מרדכי רוקח נמצאת קערה אותה כינה "קערת משיח".

בהמשך גולל את הסיפור מאחורי הקערה הייחודית. "אצל הרבי מלובלין זי"ע היה פעם שיהודי שהביא לו קערה במתנה. קערה חשובה.

"לקראת שבת הגיעו אל הרבי תלמידים, וכן יהודים פשוטים. בסעודת שבת לאחר שהרבי מלובלין אכל את המרק מאותה קערה, שלח את הקערה ליהודי מסוים שהיה נראה כיהודי פשוט. לאחר מכן אמר הרבי כי אותו יהודי היה משיח".

"במרוצת השנים קערה זו איכשהו הגיעה לבעלזא, וקראו לה בבעלזא 'משיח'ס שיסעלע' (קערת משיח). אצל דודי ז"ל הייתה לו קערה מכסף שקיבל במתנה והשתמש בה בפסח. קערה זו הגיעה אליי וכיום היא נמצאת אצל בני אהרן מרדכי. שם נמצאת קערת משיח".





This is the quintessential teacher Watch & Learn

 

Kurt Rothschild, president of World Mizrachi passed away at the age of 101.

 


Israel National News spoke to attendees at the funeral of Kurt Rothschild, the president of the World Mizrachi Movement, who passed away at the age of 101 on Sunday.

“Kurt Rothschild was a general. He wasn’t a civilian. He was the general of the nation of Israel and all the big donors were like his soldiers,” said Col. (Res.) Geva Rapp, Director of Panim El Panim.

“I worked with Kurt from my first day at Mizrachi, that’s almost 30 years,” said Solly Sacks, former Director-General of World Mizrachi. “He was a giant of Israel, he helped everybody. He didn’t have the word ‘no’ in his vocabulary. Anybody who approached him, whether he knew them or not, he wanted to help them. He was an outstanding Jewish personality. He really cared for the people of Israel, for the Land of Israel, for the Torah of Israel.”

Harvey Blitz, Chairman of World Mizrachi, told Israel National News, “Kurt was really a most unique person. He was President of World Mizrachi, but he loved all Jews and he helped all Jews. He worked incessantly, raising money for all kinds of causes and for people individually.”

“I first met him when he was already 80 and he was going in a way that was like somebody who was 30 years younger. It was the most beautiful thing to see. God blessed him with a long life, but I actually believe that by doing God’s work, he earned that life,” added Blitz.

“Kurt was a mentor for me,” said Zeev Schwartz, Executive Director of Torah Mitzion. “He’s a mentor of kindness, and I try to cherish every moment. During coronavirus, I asked him what is the message of life, and he said, ‘Ride the waves. Ride the waves.’ And that’s Kurt.”

Monday, July 18, 2022

Teacher Gets Fired from Queens Yeshiva Because She Reported the Sexual Abuse of a Child

 


Queens Yeshiva Teacher Witnesses Sexual Abuse of Kindergarten Boy; Fired for Reporting Incident

Edited by: TJVNews.com

As the issue of child sexual abuse at the hands of educators continues to dominate the headlines, it was recently reported by the New York Post that a lawsuit indicates that a teacher at a Queens yeshiva allegedly caught a substitute teacher groping a boy of kindergarten age.

The teacher, Roza Tachalov, who teaches Hebrew at Yeshiva Sha’arei Zion Elementary School in Forest Hills, said in the suit that she was condemned for “making up stories” when she reported the abuse to school authorities.

Having taught at the Queens yeshiva for nine years, in January 2021, Tachalov witnessed the alleged abuse, according to her Brooklyn Federal Court filing against the school, as was reported by the Post.

In the litigation that she filed, Tachalov said that when she witnessed the incident, students were watching a movie when she saw the substitute with “a kindergarten student sitting on his lap and … touching the child in an inappropriate manner, “ according to the Post report.

As Tachalov fled the classroom on that January day in 2021, the Post reported that the substitute put the child down. Later, Tachalov confirmed what she witnessed through a review of video surveillance. The Post reported that Rabbi Ephraim ben Mordechai refused to watch the video footage and accused Tachalov of mendacious claims and said she was attempting to “destroy” his position with the school board.

Tachalov was later terminated from her teaching position at the yeshiva, according to the Post report. Leaders at the yeshiva in Forest Hills has vowed to inform the parents of the boy in question but did not do so, the report indicated.

The NYPD said it has no reports of the incident, as was reported by the Post.

“We’ll let the courts decide the baseless nature of these charges,” Michael Miranda, a lawyer for the yeshiva, told the Post.


Biden's Secret Service Beat the Hell out of HaRav Ovadia Yosef’s Great-Grandaughter

 

Tamar Ben-Chaim, the great-granddaughter of HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef, z’tl, was the young woman who was attacked by a drunk US secret service agent last week.

Tamar, a resident of Jerusalem, spoke to Channel 13 News about the disturbing incident. She was walking in the Nachlaot neighborhood after midnight, on the way home from visiting a friend.

As she was walking, she looked up for a minute and saw two armed men walking toward her. One of them suddenly punched her hard in the face.

“He grabbed me hard, and hit me and slapped me, took out my earring and earphones and threw everything on the ground. I saw my life flash before my eyes – I thought he was going to kill me. I was screaming ‘Help!’ but there was no one around.”

“His friend stood by. He was the one who released me [from the man’s grip].”

Tamar called the police and filed a complaint. The suspect, who was revealed to be a US secret service agent who had traveled to Israel ahead of US President Joe Biden’s visit, was detained for several hours and interrogated.

The police transferred him to the US consulate and from there he was put on the first plane back to the US. He was suspended from his post, pending further investigation into his case.

“I feel like I’ve been done an injustice,” Tamar said. “He didn’t apologize. He caused me severe emotional harm. I’ve been in bed, my body aches. I couldn’t even tell anyone what happened because it’s been too hard to talk about. It will take me time to recover.”

Sunday, July 17, 2022

A New York House candidate who endorsed BDS attempted damage control by posing for a photo a loaf of Challah and Siddurim

 

A New York House candidate under fire for endorsing the anti-Israel boycott movement attempted damage control by posing for a photo surrounded by Jewish foods on Thursday.

Democratic candidate “I believe in the right to protest as a fundamental tenet of western democracy, so I do support BDS,” she told Jewish Insider in an email.

Niou’s position was slammed by her House opponent and former mayor Bill de Blasio, who called the BDS movement “unacceptable,” and by New York Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs, who said it was “offensive” and “shows a lack of understanding of the region.” retweeted, and then later deleted, a snap of her holding a loaf of Challah bread while sitting next to bottles of Israeli Coca-Cola, an Israeli-made SodaStream, and stacks of Jewish prayer books.

Niou praised the bread effusively in a Twitter post, saying it was the “[b]est challah I’ve had in a long long time.”

“Heated in the oven just a bit to make it like fresh. Double butter is right!!!” she wrote. “Best challah I’ve had in a long long time. I couldn’t even put into words how perfect the inside was. Perfect crust. Soft with just a little density. Miriam also put some toppings on. Dreams.”

Political leaders and members of the Jewish community objected to the photo and described it as an attempt by Niou to “challah-wash” her anti-Israel position. The post came just days after Niou expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which seeks to wage economic and political warfare on Israel.

“Here I am spending hours upon hours fighting Anti-Semitism, Anti-Semites, and BDS. While our ‘leadership’ is busy promoting them. Shame!” wrote New York City councilwoman Inna Vernikov.

“Well that picture is ridiculous. It looks like a grotesque parody of an anti-Semite demonstrating her love of the Jews. It’s like ‘jewwashing,’” said Seth Barron, managing editor of the American Mind.

Niou did not respond to a request for comment.

The photo was originally posted by Yeruchim Silber, the government affairs director for Agudath Israel of America, a leading umbrella group for Haredi Orthodox Jews, who said he met with Niou to urge her to reconsider her position on BDS.

Niou’s support for the BDS movement drew sharp criticism from the pro-Israel community and political leaders in her own party.

“I believe in the right to protest as a fundamental tenet of western democracy, so I do support BDS,” she told Jewish Insider in an email.

Niou’s position was slammed by her House opponent and former mayor Bill de Blasio, who called the BDS movement “unacceptable,” and by New York Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs, who said it was “offensive” and “shows a lack of understanding of the region.”

Will American Jews continue to follow Democrats as they abandon Israel?

 

Support of Israel by all rights should be  – and has for decades been – non-partisan. But evidence shows Democrats increasingly are abandoning Israel's cause – outright opposing Israel and openly supporting the Palestinian war on the Jewish state.

This trend poses a tough, soul-searching question for pro-Israel Democrats: Will the party's decision to abandon Israel exact a political cost by driving Israel-supporting Democrats – especially Jews – to abandon it?

Just a few weeks ago, the North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) adopted two anti-Israel resolutions, which are slated to become part of the party's platform coming into the November midterm elections.

Global Tanach Study Conference Goes Hybrid

 

This year’s Herzog College Yemei Iyun B’Tanakh will offer local and global audiences a hybrid combination of live, live-streamed and pre-recorded lectures, online museum tours and live tours around Israel.

The annual Tanakh study conference (oversubscribed every year) was expanded during the pandemic to become a live global event. This summer, top international lecturers will give 100 live shiurim over four days on different Biblical themes, with 40 live-streamed lectures in Hebrew and 10 online shiurim in English, plus a day of Tanakh-themed tiyulim around Israel. For the first time this year there will be online museum tours in English and online evening programs in Hebrew, plus bonus shiurim for Tisha B’Av.

You can see the full program here

Among the lecturers speaking in English are Rabbi Dr. J.J. Schacter of Yeshiva University; HaRav Mosheh Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion; Rabbi Dr. Katriel (Kenneth) Brander, President of Ohr Torah Stone; Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom from Los Angeles; Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin from the Museum of Biblical Natural History; Rabbi Moshe Shulman from St. Louis; Rabbi David Fohrman of Aleph Beta; Herzog College faculty members Dr. Yael Ziegler and Dr. Yosefa (Fogel) Wruble; Rabbanit Esti Rosenberg of Midreshet Migdal Oz; Rabbanit Shani Taragin; Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, and other favorite Rabbonim from Yeshivat Har Etzion and Herzog College.

“We are providing as much top-quality Tanakh content as possible, using platforms and formats that allow people to experience the excitement of the ‘live’ annual event, and also to watch the lectures at their convenience,” explains Rabbi Dr. Shalom Berger, who coordinates the English-language program.

Click here to see the English program

“Herzog College is respected around the globe as the foremost source of Tanakh teaching,” adds Berger. “We provide pedagogy training Judaic Studies teachers in Israel and in the Diaspora, and we know that they also enjoy hearing Tanakh shiurim from our top lecturers. It was important to us that we offer lectures in English that they can watch at their leisure!”

Israel’s leading Tanakh conference traditionally takes place during the Nine Days of Mourning for the destruction of the Temples, and all participants will receive access to shiurim designed for viewing on Tisha B’Av.

The live event will take place on the Herzog College campus in Alon Shvut, with transportation provided from Jerusalem. The Yemei Iyun B’Tanakh in Gush Etzion traditionally attracts Tanakh teachers and afficionados from around the globe, with a book sale and craft stalls in the town’s main square. Berger says: “Following two years of restrictions, we are excited to reconvene in person and share the buzz of learning Torah and Navi together again.”

For the full program and to register visit

Yisrael Yehuda Cohen, 22 Missing From Hospital ..Updated:

 


UPDATE:
According to an email I just received, he was b"h found this morning!

Yisrael Yehuda Cohen, a 22-year-old Charedi youth, has been missing for two days and Israel Police is requesting the public's aid in locating him.

According to police, Cohen was last seen on Thursday evening, leaving Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center.

Cohen is described as 1.80 meters (5 feet, 10.87 inches) tall, slender, with light hair and a blond, medium-length beard. He has green eyes and short sidelocks.

As far as is known, Cohen was wearing a button-down white shirt and long black pants.

Anyone with information on Cohen's whereabouts or who knows information that may lead to locating him is asked to call Israel Police's hotline, 100, or the Lev Habira police station, at 972-2-539-1550.

This guy upset that the "rebbelich" all go on vacation to Switzerland then come back to tell him how to behave on Chodesh Elull

He will have none of that ... in Yiddish!


 

Neturei Karta Guy Goes Up on the Har Habyis (he is not the only one)

 

Biden Tweet About Israel Trip Mysteriously Deleted

 

ollowing President Biden’s trip to Israel this week, his official @POTUS Twitter account posted a tweet, affirming his support for Israel’s security.

Strangely, that tweet has been deleted, for no apparent reason.

The deleted tweet included a video (seen below) with clips from Biden’s trip, including his meeting with Palestinian terror leader Mahmoud Abbas.



Saturday, July 16, 2022

Israeli singer defends refusal to shake Biden’s hand on religious grounds

 

An Israeli pop star who caused an outcry in Israel when she refused to shake hands with visiting US President Joe Biden due to her religious beliefs, has defended her actions and called on her critics to apologize.

“Respect and human dignity are values that I was raised on and which I will raise my children on in the future,” Yuval Dayan wrote in a Facebook post on Friday after her actions drew widespread criticism.

“I ask all those who claimed that I have no respect to take back their words and apologize — not to me — but to my parents,” she wrote.

On Thursday,  Dayan and another singer Ran Danker performed at a ceremony marking Biden’s receipt of Israel’s highest civilian honor. Afterward, Biden and Israeli president Isaac Herzog approached the artists to thank them.

Danker took Biden’s outstretched hand, but Dayan bowed instead, clasping her hands together and smiling.

Dayan said she did so because she has committed to refrain from touching members of the opposite sex for reasons of modesty. She is famous in Israel in part for becoming more religiously observant, embracing the principle of shomer negiah, a prohibition on opposite-sex touching that some Orthodox Jews believe is required, as well as not performing on Shabbat or Jewish holidays.

The prohibition is rooted in the idea that any touch can lead to sexual impropriety.

But many said she should have made an exception to avoid embarrassing the US president, pointing to the example of Tzipi Hotovely, currently Israel’s ambassador to the UK.

When Hotovely, who is Orthodox, became deputy Foreign Ministry in 2015 while serving as a Likud lawmaker, she said she would shake hands with men who offered her theirs despite ordinarily refraining from touching. She noted that traditional Jewish law makes allowances for honoring dignitaries.

“It’s not a problem at all,” Hotovely told Israeli media at the time. “When someone meets foreign representatives the Jewish halacha [law] recognizes respect, etiquette and politeness.”

The incident with Biden went viral in Israel Thursday. Dayan, who came to fame as a contestant on Israel’s version of “The Voice,” said she had sought to avoid appearing to slight Biden and had communicated her needs to Herzog’s staff.

“I made sure to notify everyone in the president’s office that I am shomeret negiah,” she said, according to Israeli media. “God forbid, I did not mean to offend.”

She reiterated the claim in her Friday Facebook post, saying she had repeatedly informed multiple officials at Herzog’s residence. “They were joking that even the olive trees at the president’s residence knew that Yuval Dayan was shomeret negiah.

“Anyone who knows me, from age zero, knows that I did not do this maliciously and that I don’t like being involved in public hysteria,” she wrote.

Biden, himself, had raised handshake etiquette issues on his trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, preferring to fist bump some. The White House indicated it was for COVID protection reasons, while others speculated it was designed to avoid having to shake hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.