“I don’t speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don’t have the power to remain silent.” Rav Kook z"l
Friday, January 13, 2023
Knesset committee Schools US ambassador: Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria must and will continue
The chair of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee told U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides that settlement expansion would continue, despite Washington’s objections.
Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the former Knesset speaker who now heads the pivotal committee, held an introductory meeting with Nides on Wednesday.
“I expressed to the ambassador my clear position regarding the need for construction in the areas of settlement in Judea and Samaria,” said Edelstein, a longtime resident of Gush Etzion. “The families there are developing and it’s impossible to put their lives on hold. Construction should continue.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently laid out the new government’s guiding principles, including a statement that the Jewish people have “an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel.”
Coalition agreements include a pledge to expand Jewish building in Judea and Samaria and to apply Israeli sovereignty over substantial portions of the territory, though the language of the provision gives Netanyahu wiggle room to avoid taking such steps if necessary.
On Tuesday, Nides told the Kan public broadcaster that Netanyahu understands Washington’s position of maintaining the possibility of a two-state solution, in addition to its opposition to “legalizing outposts and massive settlement expansion.”
Edelstein and Nides discussed a number of issues related to bilateral ties between their countries, and the need to strengthen the relationship despite “the possibility of differences of opinion between friends,” according to a Knesset statement.
Among the topics of discussion were regional status and threats, further Israeli-Arab normalization potential and cooperation at the United Nations. Additionally, Edelstein and Nides spoke about Israel’s relationship with the Palestinian Authority.
“We both agreed that the most important issue is the Iranian one, and we expressed our mutual commitment to handling and managing this acute crisis,” Edelstein said.
He also told Nides that Israel is committed to upholding the status quo at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Nides was critical of a visit to Judaism’s holiest site last week by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying in a statement that he had “been very clear in conversations with the Israeli government on the issue of preserving the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites” and that “actions that prevent [the preservation of the status quo] are unacceptable.”
Nides said earlier this week that he takes Netanyahu’s pledge to maintain the status quo at face value. Ben-Gvir’s visit, though controversial based on his advocacy for increased Jewish rights at the Temple Mount, was within the bounds of the status quo, as he visited within the limited time allowed for Jews, quietly walked along an approved route and did not pray.
Washington, Ramallah, Amman and other capitals were nevertheless critical, with some claiming the visit as a provocation, and others exaggerating the circumstances—including accusations that Ben-Gvir “stormed” the compound, which also serves as home to the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock.
Edelstein called for the P.A. to be reprimanded for claiming Ben-Gvir’s visit violated the status quo. The P.A. has been accused by Israel in the past of inflaming tensions and inciting violence with claims of Israeli incursions into Al Aqsa.
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Eli Ostreicher Killed in Motorcycle Accident in Thailand
Eli Ostreicher, a self-taught serial entrepreneur who hailed from London’s Hasidic community and lived in the Borough Park area for years, passed away in a motorcycle accident in Thailand at the age of 39.
Ostreicher was the owner of five different companies when his Borough Park based Regal Wings earned the number one spot on Inc. Magazine’s 500 List in the Travel and Hospitality category in 2013. A luxury and corporate services travel provider, Regal Wings was one of several travel-related companies that Ostreicher founded and its client roster included giants such as Walmart, Rolex, the United Nations and Berkshire Hathaway.
Ostreicher supplemented his Hasidic education with computer courses, combining that knowledge with his love of geography, his obsession with travel, his willingness to work long hours and his innate people skills to launch multiple profitable endeavors that employed several dozen employees in the United States and tens more overseas.
He maintained close ties with the Hasidic community, both in London and in Brooklyn, and in addition to having his door was open at the end of business each day to those soliciting donations.
A $500,000 donation to Bonei Olam as he and his business partner were honored at the organization’s 2013 dinner was initially intended to be given under the radar. A YouTube video of the dinner shows Bonei Olam founder Rabbi Schlomo Bochner explaining that he convinced Ostreicher to go public with his pledge, given in conjunction with Regal Wings, in order to inspire others to contribute as well.
Reading an email from Ostreicher aloud, Rabbi Bochner told the audience, “I decided to pledge $500,000 an amount that I am sure will put a smile on the faces of many couples who are living in pain.”
The circumstances of Ostreicher’s passing have yet to be confirmed and details regarding his levaya have not been set as of this writing.
Ostreicher was the nephew of Jacob Ostreicher, who was incarcerated in Bolivia for 30 months on bogus money laundering charges and was rescued from prison by actor Sean Penn after lobbying efforts by federal elected officials failed to secure his release.
The Associated Press reported that over a dozen government officials, including prosecutors and judges, were ultimately jailed for extorting the Brooklyn businessman.
Nadler the "Insane DemonRat" Outraged at Bill Requiring Medical Care for Babies Who Survive Abortion
It is not satire, sadly. This is not from the Babylon Bee.
Democrat Congress members Jerry Nadler and Jan Schakowsky ranted against a GOP piece of legislation, the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act”, requiring medical care for babies who are lucky enough to survive an abortion.
Nadler on the bill to ban killing babies born alive: "The problem with this bill is that it endangers some infants [born alive] by stating that that infant must immediately be brought to the hospital." pic.twitter.com/1XysI40udv
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 11, 2023
Israeli Police Investigate "Jewish Scum" After Meeting With Terrorists
The faces of Pure Evil |
Police are investigating three members of the radical extremist Neturei Karta group who visited the village of Jenin earlier this week, a terrorist-hotbed, and met with Palestinian terror groups.
The men stayed in the home of Islamic Jihad leader Bassam al-Saadi and declared their support for the Palestinian Jihad. They also met with Fatah secretary general Ata Abu Ramila.
A member of the delegation said: “We are Palestinian Jews, we want to live under the Palestinian flag and not the Israeli flag, in one country which is the Palestinian state.”
He added, “Hundreds of years ago and before the occupation began, we lived together in the Old City of Jerusalem and there was no difference between Jews and Muslims. We all came from one father, Abraham, and we lived happily together. Later, the Zionists came and created pressure to separate us, but we rejected it. We want peace and not the racist Israeli law, which is a threat to the lives of Jews and Muslims…”
Some of the Palestinian residents nearby during the meeting referred to the men as “settlers” and called for them to be kidnapped.
In 2020, a Neturei Karta delegation attended the funeral of Iranian terror leader Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated by President Trump.
And not just online, even calling to kidnap them live right in front of their faces
— Adam Albilya - אדם אלביליה (@AdamAlbilya) January 9, 2023
e.g. in the following clip pic.twitter.com/JRZQdoS5wB
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Garland Named Special Counsel to Investigate Trump, when he knew full well Two Weeks Before that Biden Had Classified Docs in his home for years!
Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel to investigate former President Donald Trump, not President Joe Biden, two weeks after Biden’s classified briefings and documents were discovered at the Penn Biden Center.
On November 18, Garland named former federal prosecutor Jack Smith special counsel for two probes by the Department of Justice of Trump. About two weeks prior, on November 2, Biden’s classified documents were reportedly unearthed at Biden’s so-called “think tank,” the Penn Biden Center, by the president’s attorney.
The timeline suggests Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Biden’s 2024 presidential political opponent for allegedly mishandling classified documents while knowing Biden had allegedly committed the same violation.
Garland knew about Biden’s mishandling of documents just six days before the midterm elections. Critics say Garland’s decision to not disclose to revelations before January was a political calculation to benefit Democrats in the midterms.
Israel-Hating "New Israel Fund " is Financing the Anti-Netanyahu Government Protests in an attempt to bring down the Government
The New Israel Fund, a U.S.-based NGO that provides financial support to progressive and anti-Israel groups, sent an email to supporters on Tuesday taking credit for recent protests against the government.
“The New Israel Fund assisted with a special grant to the many civil society organizations that took part in the production of the huge demonstration on Saturday night in Tel Aviv,” the email quoted by Channel 14 stated, referring to a protest in the city’s Habima Square attended by more than 10,000 persons.
“Shatil from the New Israel Fund took part in coordinating and synchronizing the various parties that participated in the show of force,” it continued.
Shatil is the operations arm of the New Israel Fund in Israel. According to Shatil’s website, “We support organizations and activists working to strengthen democratic society, offering cutting-edge capacity building, training, and guidance.”
Channel 14 described the admission email as “precedent-setting,” as the New Israel Fund generally keeps a low profile and “works behind the scenes.”
The New Israel Fund also took responsibility for helping the group that organized “the demonstration in front of the Knesset on the day the new government was sworn in and also for holding the LGBT demonstration that took place on that very day.”
The organization also announced an emergency grant to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) to conduct a digital campaign including the production of short films to explain the meaning of the policies the new Netanyahu-led government intends to institute.
PLO flags and Nazi symbols were seen among the protesters.
Bravo Smotrich: Illegal Arab Villa in Area C Coming Down
It appears that Finance Minister and Adjunct Minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria Bezalel Smotrich has hit the ground running in the new government’s first full week in office. Smotrich and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening (7:30 PM), will hold a press conference to present their plan for dealing with the rampant price increases. And under his other hat, Smotrich is bulldozing illegal Arab construction in Area C.
On December 12, 2022, on Hanukkah, a group calling itself Our Place IL posted the above picture, depicting an illegal villa that lit up the gloomy night. It was a magnificent sight, unless one considered the fact that this villa had been under a court-issued demolition order, and that it was being erected––practically finished––at the heart of a nature preserve.
Biden took secret documents for his book — doubling his hypocrisy
“How that could possibly happen, how anyone could be that irresponsible,” President Biden, struggling to find words to express his revulsion at the very idea of moving classified material to Mar-a-Lago in a “60 Minutes” interview.
“And I thought what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods.”
So how does Biden explain the roughly dozen documents found sitting in a closet at a private office supplied by the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement? For the moment, he is not saying anything at all. It is easy to understand why.
According to reports, the clearly marked classified documents include those at the highly classified “Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information” (TS/SCI) level. The documents reportedly include material related to Iran, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Kevin McCarthy boots House panel for Lying Schiff, Spy Sleeper Swalwell and Vicious Omar
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy confirmed late Monday that he will make good on his pre-midterm pledge to remove three high-profile Democrats — Reps. Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell and Ilhan Omar — from their House committees.
McCarthy (R-Calif.) told the Associated Press that he would move to strip the trio of their assignments, following through on a vow of payback for Democrats ousting Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from their panels during the last Congress.
Schiff and Swalwell, both from California, would be removed from the House Intelligence Committee while Minnesota’s Omar would be kicked off the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
McCarthy vowed almost exactly a year ago that he would remove the three Democrats if Republicans won back the House in the 2022 midterm elections and repeated that promise last November after his prediction was realized.
“The Democrats have created a new thing where they’re picking and choosing who could be on committee,” McCarthy said last January. “Never in the history [of Congress] have you had the majority tell the minority who could be on committee, but this new standard, which these Democrats have voted for — if Eric Swalwell cannot get a security clearance in the private sector, there’s no reason why he should be given one to be on Intel or Homeland Security.”
McCarthy has said he fears that Swalwell may be compromised after reports emerged in 2020 that a suspected Chinese spy infiltrated his campaign and got close to the congressman.
“Eric Swalwell cannot get a security clearance in the public sector. Why would we ever give him a security clearance in the secrets to America? So, I will not allow him to be on Intel,” McCarthy told Fox News in November. “You have Adam Schiff, who had lied to the American public time and again. We will not allow him to be on the Intel Committee either.”
Schiff drew Republicans’ ire after he headed up the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump and was a member of the House select committee that examined Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
McCarthy has said he would boot Omar, a member of the progressive “Squad” along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), from the Foreign Affairs Committee because of her anti-Semitic remarks.
“I promised you last year that as speaker she will no longer be on Foreign Affairs, and I’m keeping that promise,” he told a crowd at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s 2022 leadership meeting last November.
Charlie Hebdo doubles down on Khamenei cartoons
French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo doubled down on its ridicule of Iran's religious rulers on Tuesday, with fresh cartoons of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei despite protests from Iran and its allies, AFP reported.
"The mullahs aren't happy. The caricatures of their supreme leader... do not seem to have made them laugh," the paper's editor, known as "Riss", writes in the latest edition, which officially hits newsstands on Wednesday.
"Laughing at themselves has never been a strong point of tyrants," he added.
The newspaper was criticized last week after it published caricatures of Khamenei, in support of the months-long protests in Iran, sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code.
Iran blasted France over the "insulting and indecent" cartoons, which appeared in a special edition to mark the anniversary of the deadly 2015 attack on the magazine's Paris offices.
Iran later shut down the Tehran-based French research institute in an act of protest against the cartoons.
The paper was also hit by a cyber attack after publishing cartoons of Khamenei in last week's special edition, which marked the anniversary of the 2015 attack on its Paris offices that left 12 dead.
On Sunday, dozens of Iranians gathered outside the French embassy in Tehran to protest against the cartoons.
The protesters set fire to French flags and chanted, "France, be ashamed!".
American rabbis boycotting Israeli ministers are from extremist left-wing groups
Morton Klein |
During the holiday of Chanukkah, a little over 300 far-left American Jewish clergy who refuse to accept Israeli democracy trampled on the meaning of the holiday by signing a “call to action” pledging to ban, boycott and protest against the members and democratically-elected officials of Israel’s Religious Zionist parties.
The “call to action” signers also pledged to prevent Religious Zionists from speaking at or participating in events at their congregations and organizations, and to encourage others to also ban the democratically elected members of the Religious Zionists Party.
The “call to action” misstates Religious Zionist parties’ positions, in a misleading effort to portray Religious Zionists as extremists. For instance, the “call to action” falsely states that the Religious Zionist parties support “expelling Arab Israeli citizens who are seen as opposing the government, challenging the democratic Right to freedom of speech.” In fact, Religious Zionists merely supported expelling convicted murderer terrorists!
Murdering Jews is not “freedom of speech.”
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Beit Shemesh Rabbanim Warn the residents against riding the Buses Without Paying
Will there be a "Pidyan Shvyum" Campaign for the two Chareidim that Shoved a Flaming Garbage Bin into a mother of 11?
The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office on Monday submitted an indictment against a 22-year-old Chareidie man and a Yeshiva Bochur of about 16 years old, residents of Elad and Jerusalem, for their alleged involvement in seriously injuring Mirel Duzlovosky, a mother of 11, at a protest, almost four weeks ago.
According to the indictment, the defendant and others decided to set fire to a garbage dumpster and block the street with it. After setting it on fire, they began pushing it in order to move from its place toward the center of the road.
However, the burning dumpster slipped from their grasp, rolled down the road and the corner of it struck Duzlovosky, who was passing by, on her chest with great force She collapsed on the sidewalk and the defendants fled the scene.
Duzlovoksy was evacuated to Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in serious condition and admitted to the intensive care unit, sedated and ventilated. She is still hospitalized but b’chasdei Hashem, she has been released from the ICU to a general ward.
The indictment charged the defendants with the crimes of causing serious injury under aggravating circumstances, arson, endangering roads and obstructing a police officer in the performance of his duties.
Classified Documents Found by Biden ... Are the DemonRats about to dump him?
I guess the the DemonRats don’t want Biden to run for a second term.
They are sacrificing him before he gets a chance to start..
The Justice Department is reviewing a batch of potentially classified documents found in the Washington office space of President Joe Biden’s former institute, the White House said Monday.
Special counsel to the president Richard Sauber said “a small number of documents with classified markings” were discovered as Biden’s personal attorneys were clearing out the offices of the Penn Biden Center, where the president kept an office after he left the vice presidency in 2017 until shortly before he launched his 2020 presidential campaign in 2019. The documents were found on Nov. 2, 2022.
Sauber said the attorneys immediately alerted the White House Counsel’s office, who notified the National Archives and Records Administration — which took custody of the documents the next day.
“Since that discovery, the President’s personal attorneys have cooperated with the Archives and the Department of Justice in a process to ensure that any Obama-Biden Administration records are appropriately in the possession of the Archives,” Sauber said.
A person who is familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it publicly said Attorney General Merrick Garland asked U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois John Lausch to review the matter after the Archives referred the issue to the department. John Lausch was appointed to his post by former President Donald Trump.
Monday, January 9, 2023
Why Alan Dershowitz the "Defender of Jeffrey Epstein" Is Unhappy
Alan Dershowitz with a Justice Minister he could appreciate Tzipi Livni |
Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s reform, which he announced last Thursday and threw about 40% of Israelis (give or take) into a panic, is now being broken down into detailed moves that, little by little, are designed to rearrange the powers of the Supreme Court, Amit Segal reported Sunday night on News 12.
Needless to say, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut is unhappy. And Prof. Alan Dershowitz, that great defender of Israel, is also irate. More on that after we do the numbers.
Let’s start with the most explosive item, for now, the selection of new judges:
- The committee for selecting judges will be increased from nine to 11 members
- It will have 3 ministers––one more than today, 2 coalition MKs, one opposition MK, 3 judges, and 2 representatives of the public, appointed by the government
- There will be no representation for the Lawyers’ guild
- The MKs will be the chairs of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committees (coalition), and the State Audit Committee (opposition)
Do the math: appointing a new justice of the Supreme Court will require 7 votes – exactly the number of votes controlled by the government: 5 elected officials and 2 government-picked representatives of the public.
The new process effectively removes the justices’ virtual veto power they enjoyed with the support of the lawyers’ association. It means the government should be able to choose its candidates – assuming that the public representatives would play along.
As Israel’s demographics continue to favor the right, it stands to reason that even within the current Netanyahu government the balance between activist- and conservative justices could be restored, and, come the next term, the court would be majority-conservative.
On its face, at least. Because Supreme Court judges are not one-dimensional individuals and could surprise us every once in a while.
Bet Shemesh Chareidim with Palestinian Flags Visit "Jenin" to give the Murderers of Jews "chizuk"
‘Disturbing and irresponsible’: Lapid enlisting US Jewish groups to sabotage Netanyahu
Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid is planning to travel to the U.S. to enlist the help of Diaspora Jewish organizations to hamstring the new right-wing government, Hebrew language media outlets reported on Thursday.
Lapid, who has close ties to Democratic party veterans including former Rep. Ted Deutch, is reportedly gearing up to mobilize liberal Jewish groups to torpedo reforms to the judicial system and possible annexation of Judea and Samaria, which have been stated as priorities for the new government.
The outgoing premier has made a number of dramatic public statements about the new government, including apologizing to Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, while speaking at a commemoration for the late statesman.
During a blistering speech in late November at Ben-Gurion’s grave, Lapid charged that the incoming government would destroy the founding principles on which the state of Israel was built.
Lapid has made similar statements to international media outlets, claiming that Netanyahu is planning to destroy Israel’s constitutional basis and that Israeli democracy is teetering on the brink of being lost forever
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli slammed Lapid on Thursday while speaking at a World Beitar Conference in Jerusalem, saying the former premier’s actions are “disturbing and irresponsible.”
Chikli said that the former premier’s comments about Netanyahu’s right-wing government besmirched Israel’s international reputation and that his behavior was strengthening the anti-Israel (BDS Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement.
Lapid “doesn’t understand that when he tells the whole world that Israel has a dark government, the world doesn’t differentiate between the government and the state. No former prime minister has ever acted this way,” Chikli was quoted as saying in a Jerusalem Post report.
Chikli is now a member of the Likud party, but in 2021 he was the sole member of former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party who voted against the formation of the “change government” due to its partnership with the Islamist United Arab List (Ra’am).