TV icon Barbara Walters dies at 93

 

Television news broadcaster and longtime ABC News anchor and correspondent Barbara Walters died on Friday at the age of 93.

Walters joined ABC News in 1976, and was the first female anchor on an evening news program.

“Barbara was a true legend, a pioneer not just for women in journalism but for journalism itself." Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company the parent company of ABC News wrote. "She was a one-of-a-kind reporter who landed many of the most important interviews of our time, from heads of state to the biggest celebrities and sports icons. I had the pleasure of calling Barbara a colleague for more than three decades, but more importantly, I was able to call her a dear friend. She will be missed by all of us at The Walt Disney Company, and we send our deepest condolences to her daughter, Jacqueline.”

During 50 years of her TV career, Walters won 12 Emmy awards.

Walters made her final appearance as a co-host of "The View" in 2014 on ABC News and she remained an executive producer of the show and did some interviews and specials for ABC News.

According to ABC News, Walters said then: "I do not want to appear on another program or climb another mountain. I want instead to sit on a sunny field and admire the very gifted women -- and OK, some men too -- who will be taking my place."

One of Walter's famous interviews was a first joint interview with Egypt's leader Sadat and Israel's Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

In Shabbat vote, General Assembly votes to have The Hague issue decision on 'occupation' of Judea and Samaria.

 

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday approved a resolution calling on the International Court of Justice in The Hague to give an opinion regarding the legal consequences of the Israeli "occupation" of the territories of Judea and Samaria that were liberated from Jordan in the Six Day War in 1967.

The resolution was passed by a majority of 87 to 26, with all the Arab countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel supporting the measure, as well as Russia and China.

The resolution prejudged the status of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, stating that Israel's presence in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria is illegal and asks the Court to recommend the steps that the UN and countries around the world should take against Israel which, according to the proposal, constitutes "annexation" of the territories.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said ahead of Friday’s vote, "The outrageous resolution calling for the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice is a moral stain on the UN and every country that supports it. No international body can decide that the Jewish people are ‘occupiers’ in their own homeland. Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicized UN is completely illegitimate.”

 Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said ahead of Friday’s vote, "The outrageous resolution calling for the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice is a moral stain on the UN and every country that supports it. No international body can decide that the Jewish people are ‘occupiers’ in their own homeland. Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicized UN is completely illegitimate.” “The Palestinians have rejected every peace initiative, while supporting and inciting terror. Instead of pushing the Palestinians to change, the UN is doing the opposite: helping them to harm the only vibrant democracy in the Middle East which recently signed 4 peace agreements with Arab countries. We will not take part in this disgraceful show of lies," he added.

Ambassador Erdan continued, "The decision to hold a vote that deals with Israel on Shabbat is another example of the moral decay of the UN, which prevents Israel's position from being heard in a vote whose results are predetermined."

In light of the voting time taking place on Shabbat, Ambassador Erdan announced that he would not speak at the meeting and that the United States Mission to the UN would vote against the proposed resolution on behalf of the State of Israel.

The office of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas said following the vote: "This vote is a testament to the support of the entire world for our people and their indisputable historical rights. President Mahmoud Abbas thanks all the countries that stood by the Palestinian and their rights, and all the parties that worked to bring about this decision."

Beutiful Aron Koidesh of Forest Hills Jewish Center Is Yours if You can get it Out of the Building

 

They don’t want it to become a lost ark.

The Forest Hills Jewish Center is searching for a new home for its monumental Aron Koidesh — that holds its Torah scrolls — as it prepares to move to smaller quarters.

The gold leaf, bronze, and plaster Aron stands 32 feet tall and 19 feet wide.

“Finding a place or building with a 32-foot ceiling to accommodate the ark isn’t likely to happen,” said Deborah Gregor, the Jewish center’s executive director.

The Aron Koidesh.  sits at the front of the synagogue’s sanctuary and holds the sacred scrolls behind bronze doors.

Designed in 1949 by Polish-born artist Arthur Szyk, the ark is decorated in a Baroque style with symbols of the Jewish faith, including the tablets with the Esares HaDibrois , a shofar, a candlestick, and a challah.

Alanna Cooper, chair of Jewish studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said the design was in contrast to the more typically mid-century minimalistic style.

“It was very innovative and bold,” said Cooper, who wrote about the Aron Koidesh for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Szyk kind of bucked the trend and just said ‘I’m doing my own thing.'”

There is No Heaven For You, Mrs. Harband

 Herman Harband made it his mission to make sure the whole world knew what his first wife put him through even after he was gone from this world. True to his word, he bought the plot ahead of time and even commissioned his tombstone while he was still alive. Notice They didn't engrave the date of his death.

We hope Mr. Herman got the justice he deserved because his wife did horrible things to him. Luckily for him, he won’t have to see her ever again, and he made sure to tell her that on his tombstone. Indeed, heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned.

Zera Shimshon Parshas VaYigash

 

Lapid refuses to shake Netanyahu's hand at swearing-in

 

The 37th government of the State of Israel, the sixth led by Benjamin Netanyahu, was officially sworn-in in the Knesset plenum on Thursday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first to take the oath of office. Most of the heads of the opposition parties were present out of respect for the ceremony, but opposition leader Yair Lapid left the plenary hall even before Netanyahu was sworn-in without shaking his hand as is customary.

When National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was sworn-in, Labor MK Gilad Kariv, a Reform rabbi, shouted: "Shame: an idol is in the temple!"

The government will have 30 ministers and 5 deputy ministers - two more ministers than the outgoing government led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

A meeting between outgoing Prime Minister Lapid and Netanyahu is expected to take place after the swearing-in ceremony is completed.

Likud MK Amir Ohana was elected to the position of Speaker of the Knesset prior to the swearing-in ceremony, receiving the support of 63 MKs compared to five who voted against him and one who abstained. Ohana is the first openly gay Speaker of the Knesset in Israel's history.

Iranian writer sentenced to death after giving interview to Israeli TV

 Iranian writer and painter Mehdi Bahman was reportedly sentenced to death in Iran on Thursday after taking part in the anti-government protests which erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini.

Bahman was arrested in October, days after he gave an interview to Israel’s Channel 12 News in which he described the goings on in Iran during the protests.

Some reports said that he had been taken to the notorious Evin Prison, which is known for holding political prisoners, after his arrest.

Thursday’s reports indicated that Bahman was charged with and convicted of espionage over the interview with Israeli television.

Protests have gripped Iran following the September 16 death of 22-year-old Amini after she was arrested by the morality police.

Hundreds of protesters have been killed in more than two months of nationwide unrest, including dozens of minors.

Only Hours after govt. sworn-in Security forces raid Settler Binyamin outpost, tell families they will be arrested they do not leave their homes within minutes.

 

the order given to the residents

Security forces raided the community of Ramat Migron in the Binyamin region Thursday night and declared the outpost a closed military zone on the orders of Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig. Gen. Avi Blot.

In addition, the policemen knocked on the houses of the families in the outpost and threatened the residents that if they did not vacate their homes within minutes, they would be arrested and taken to the police station.

The police raid this evening follows a series of raids that took place last week on the nearby outpost of Oz Zion, during which police officers broke into the homes of the families and forcibly evicted the women and children from the community.

Three families currently live in each community, along with a core of youths who are involved in the development of the area and raise flocks of sheep for the purpose of maintaining the surrounding areas.

Why we all should follow Libs of TikTok’s founder and make our voices heard

 

The hardest part of changing the world around you is making the decision to attempt it in the first place. It’s even more difficult when you hear stories of people from different walks of life losing their economic means to provide for simply expressing a counter-viewpoint.

Even in anonymity, there’s the fear your secret will be uncovered — and that secret becomes the main weapon your opposition will threaten to bludgeon you with.

Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik decided to disarm her opponents by revealing her identity this week on Fox Nation’s “Tucker Carlson Today.”

The real-estate agent from Brooklyn built a huge following on Twitter and other social-media platforms by anonymously spotlighting progressives’ own voices — especially teachers bragging about bringing sex and gender-identity talk/indoctrination into their classrooms.

After she “stumbled upon this whole platform” of disturbing videos, she told Tucker, she thought, “I just need to disseminate this. It’s just so bizarre and dangerous. I just need as many people to see this as possible.”

Her efforts infuriated liberals like Washington Post writer Taylor Lorenz, who revealed Raichik’s name, though not her picture.

In the past 14 weeks, NY Times dedicated 14 articles to attack the Hasidic Jewish community

 

Over the past 14 weeks, NY Times has dedicated 14 articles to attack the Hasidic Jewish community, by a team of reporters solely focused on a mission to present a one-sided view of Jews.

The #1 target of violent hate crimes in NY should remember who put the target on their backs https://t.co/x7hqrvOxr3 pic.twitter.com/lVVVzPRyJu

— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) December 29, 2022

This is anti-Semitism, pure and simple.

Yeshivas generally do their best with limited resources to support their students.

I can’t wait for the NYT exposé on the special education public school students neglected by 18 months of school closures. https://t.co/pnaUroJV5f

— Justin Spiro, LCSW (@Jusrangers) December 29, 2022

Ancient Shiloah Pool in Jerusalem Fully Excavated and Open to the Public

 

The Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel National Parks Authority, and the City of David Foundation have begun the excavation of the historic Pool of Shiloah in Jerusalem. Located in the southern portion of the City of David and within the area of the Jerusalem Walls National Park, it is an archaeological and historical site of national and international significance. The Pool was first constructed some 2,700 years ago, as part of Jerusalem’s water system in the 8th Century BCE, during the reign of King Hezekiah, as described in II Kings, 20:20:

“Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made the pool, and the conduit, and brought water into the city, are written in the Book of Chronicles of the kings of Judah.”

The Pool of Shiloah served as the reservoir for the waters of the Gihon Spring, which were diverted through an underground tunnel, and was already considered one of the most important areas in Jerusalem in the First Temple period. The Pool of Shiloah was renovated and expanded some 2,000 years ago at the end of the Second Temple period. It is believed that the Pool was used as a ritual bath (mikvah) by Jewish pilgrims as part of their purification ritual before entering the Temple (which included being sprinkled with the ashes of a red heifer).

Palestinian Authority Paved Illegal Highway in Gush Etzion with Foreign Funding

 

The Gush Etzion Regional Council and local residents recently discovered the construction of a highway starting at Za’atara village, 11 km southeast of Bethlehem in Gush Etzion, north of the Herodion site, and reaching into the Judean Desert. At the start of the new road stands a sign in Arabic saying it was paved with foreign funding and assistance from the Palestinian Authority.

Mind you, the new highway is built in an agreed upon safeguarded reserve area, where roads and buildings are not allowed to be constructed per the Oslo Accords.

According to the Gush Etzion Regional Council, the road is another part of the ongoing effort to damage the contiguous Jewish territory in Gush Etzion. It provides access to new, illegal Arab neighborhoods in the Gush Etzion area, facilitating faster development.

The new road provides access to new, illegal Arab neighborhoods in the Gush Etzion area, facilitating faster development, December 2022. / Gush Etzion Regional Council 

British killer Jack the Ripper's face was found carved on a wooden cane owned by a police officer.

 

The suspected face of notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper has finally been revealed after police made a chilling discovery while trawling through old archives.

While the true identity of the infamous murderer has never been discovered, the only known facial composite of the killer has now been shared.

Among dozens of artifacts, the face was found etched into the handle of a wooden walking stick, which was owned by the police officer who spent years attempting to catch him.

Scotland Yard Detective Frederick Abberline was removed from the case in 1889 after failing to find Jack the Ripper, who terrorized the streets of London’s East End.

The chilling image is the only reported facial composite of the killer, whose identity remains a mystery more than a century later.

An engraving of “Jack the Ripper.”

Getty Images

The anti-Bibi resistance is playing with fire

 Like the Democrats who went into the streets in their millions the weekend Donald Trump was inaugurated president in January 2017, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s foes clearly intend to act as a “resistance,” rather than a loyal opposition.

Netanyahu and his right-wing and religious coalition partners won a clear majority in the 120-seat Knesset, with 64 seats over the collection of left-wing, formerly right-wing and Arab political parties that ran Israel for the last 18 months. Yet, as is the case in the United States, politics in Israel has become a tribal culture war.

But even if everyone has become inured to a situation in which two sides view each other as not merely wrong, but enemies of decency and democracy, with Netanyahu’s new government set to be sworn in on Thursday, his opponents are playing with fire.

Ever since their defeat became apparent, the “anybody but Bibi” opposition led by interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid has been doing its best to label his successors as “dangerous, extremist and irresponsible.” Taking a page out of the Democrats’ playbook, his camp is claiming that the victors of the country’s democratic elections are intent on "destroying democracy".

New government to be sworn into office today

 

The new government is to be sworn into office today, the first official day of its term, almost two months after elections were held.

Prior to the official swearing-in ceremony, the Knesset will open its session at eleven o'clock on Thursday morning with a speech by Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, who will present the basic outlines of his government and list the appointments he will be making to ministerial positions. President Isaac Herzog will participate in this special session, along with Supreme Court President Justice Esther Hayut.

Following the session, the head of the Opposition, Yair Lapid, will make a speech, followed by the heads of other parties, each of whom will receive fifteen minutes to speak from the podium.

After all the speeches are concluded, a vote will be held for the position of Knesset Speaker; Likud MK Amir Ohana is expected to be appointed to this position.

Only at this point will the new government be sworn into office, with each government member swearing to serve the State of Israel. This marks the end of the special Knesset session, following which there will be a toast to the incoming Knesset Speaker in the Jerusalem Hall, with the participation of the new Prime Minister, the Knesset Speaker, ministers, Knesset members, family members, and select others who have received an invitation to this event.

The official transfer of power between premiers will take place in the Prime Minister's Office, and is expected to be a brief, business-like affair with outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid handing over power to Benjamin Netanyahu.

The festive day will conclude this evening at the President's Residence, with the traditional photograph of all members of the new government together with the President.

Noted Chicago Philanthropist Rabbi Morris Esformes Passes Away

 

 Rabbi Morris Esformes, a noted philanthropist from the Chicago Jewish community passed away.

Rabbi Esformes had a strong connection to the Telshe Yeshiva in Chicago, as well as numerous local institutions who relied on him for his friendship and support.

Rabbi Esformes passed away suddenly on Wednesday from a heart attack. He will be remembered for his incredible acts of Chesed and heart of gold.

He is survived by his children and grandchildren.

He Knew That R' Nachman of Breslev Will Pull Him Out of Hell.. But So Quick?

 

The guy on the left tells the story of a Belzer Chusid who went to Uman, when he returned to Belz, they kicked him out of all the Belzer Moisdois, so he said that he knew "that R' Nachman would pull him out of hell, but he was amazed how quickly it happened

Libs of Tiktok’s Chaya Raichik Goes Public on Fox with Tucker Carlson

 

Israel To Promote ‘Jordan Is Palestine’ Solution At UN To Foil Palestinian Diplomatic Efforts

 

In a move intended to promote a Saudi initiative which would foil Palestinian attempts for UN recognition, Israel is readying to submit a plan for a Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine at the UN, according to a report by the Jordan Is Palestine Committee, a group aiming to promote a territorial division between Israel and Jordan which would facilitate peace in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

The plan, issued in June 2022 on the Al-Arabiya television channel, calls for an end to the failed two-state solution being touted over the last two decades in international diplomacy. Instead, the Saudi plan, developed by Ali Shihabi, an advisor to the Saudi King-designate Mohammed Bin Salman, sees Amman as the capital of a Palestinian entity which would merge Jordan, Gaza and part of Judea and Samaria.

Terrorist behind deadly Jerusalem bombings studied at Azrieli College of Engineering was employed at Israeli factory.

 

His Victims

The ISIS-aligned terrorist behind a pair of deadly bombings in Jerusalem last month studied in an Israeli college and was employed by an Israeli factory at the time of the attacks.

Eslam Froukh, the 26-year-old suspect arrested on November 29th in connection with a pair of bombings at Jerusalem bus stops six days earlier, is a graduate of the Azrieli College of Engineering in Jerusalem, where he earned a B.Sc. in mechanical engineering.

A resident of the Arab village of Kafr Aqab, which lies inside of Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, Froukh has permanent residency status and carries an Israeli identification card, though he has also resided in the Palestinian Authority-administered city of Ramallah, the Shin Bet said Tuesday morning.

Azrieli College distanced itself from Froukh in a statement to students Tuesday, and condemned last month’s attack.

“Unfortunately, one of the suspects is an alumnus of the college, who completed his studies in the mechanical engineering department a few years ago. The college strongly condemns and rejects any action or verbal violence, or behavior that is against the law, and supports security forces for their quick detection of those responsible for the attack.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Israel’s security censors cleared Froukh’s arrest for publication.

The Shin Ben internal security agency said Tuesday that Froukh is a Salafist radical and supporter of the ISIS terror organization.

Froukh is believed to have acted alone, building the bombs used in last month’s attack based on video instructions found on the internet.

Authorities apprehended Froukh at the factory in Mishor Adumim where he is currently employed.

Aryeh Schupak, a 15-year-old Canadian yeshiva student, and Tadessa Tshuma, a father of six from Pisgat Ze’ev, were both killed in the Givat Shaul bombing. More than a dozen others were injured in the attacks.