They might be on opposite sides, but they shake hands and show only respect.
Notice: Only Kipas Going Up
“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
They might be on opposite sides, but they shake hands and show only respect.
Notice: Only Kipas Going Up
Over 200 thousand supporters of the government's judicial reform legislation are gathering on Kaplan St. in Tel Aviv for a rally parallel to the expected passing of the bill to reduce the reasonableness standard in its second and third readings in the Knesset.
The demonstrators' message to the coalition members in the Knesset: "The nation is with you, complete the legislation. 64 seats are not second-class citizens."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addressed the crowd at the right-wing rally in Tel Aviv, stating, "I want to address our brothers and sisters who gathered in Kaplan for many weeks and some of whom are now in Jerusalem - those who oppose the reform - and those pilots and soldiers who called for not reporting for reserve service. At this moment, it is important for me to say to you: I know how you feel.
There are a lot of important things that need to be done, but I know that such complex moves need to be done slowly and with negotiation, so we were also willing to give up and compromise on some of the steps in our reform," he added.
"I am telling you even now about the future so that we can continue to live together here in the State of Israel, we will be ready for real dialogue with an open heart and a willing mind with a willingness to make concessions and compromises on all sides, so that in the end we can calm the spirits, continue the Zionist enterprise and together protect our country that we all love and care for so much," Smotritz concluded.
Before Tony Bennett launched his seven decades-long career in show business, the late legendary jazz singer served his country in the European theater during the last stages of World War II.
Bennett, who died on Friday at the age of 96, was drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 18 in 1944 and began his service a year later when he was sent to fight on the front lines following heavy casualties suffered by the Allied Forces at the Battle of the Bulge.
The 20-time Grammy Award winner later recounted his harrowing wartime experiences in his 1998 autobiography "The Good Life," in which he described how serving in WWII had shaped the rest of his life.
"The main thing I got out of my military experience was the realization that I am completely opposed to war," Bennett wrote, per Military.com. "Although I understand why this war was fought, it was a terrifying, demoralizing experience for me... life can never be the same once you've been through combat."
After being drafted in November 1944, Bennett — born Anthony Dominick Benedetto — was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey where he completed his basic training. Bennett became an infantry rifleman at Fort Robinson, Arkansas before he was shipped to Le Havre, France at the end of 1944.
The future crooner was assigned to 255th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division, which was known as the "Blood and Fire" division. He was a part of replacement troops who were sent to refill the ranks of units who perished during the Battle of the Bulge.
Marc Myers, a contributor for the Wall Street Journal and author of the book "Anatomy of a Song," interviewed Bennett five times about his life, including his time in the military. He told Fox News Digital, "Tony was certain he was going to die."
Myers continued, "He was certain when he got that draft notice in '44, he was certain he was going to die. He just knew it. He just felt it. And he went."
In "The Good Life," Bennett recalled that many of the troops had little or no training prior to being sent to the front lines.
"Snow covered the ground and the front was a front-row seat in hell," Bennett wrote, per Military.com. "It was an absolutely terrifying spectacle."
If you’re a progressive, you can’t complain. What did you think would happen, based on your anti-fossil-fuel, big-spending, anti-business agenda?
On Thursday, the state’s Public Service Commission OK’d hikes of 9.1% for electricity and 8.4% for gas, starting in August, along with additional jumps though 2025. At that point, typical bills will have doubled, from about $70 a month to $140 — or an extra $840 a year.
A whining letter from the City Council demanded that Gov. Kathy Hochul use her executive powers to stop the pain.
The letter called out an “already dire affordability crisis” and included specious worries about poor New Yorkers.
That “affordability crisis,” notably, is also of the left’s own making, thanks to its anti-housing, inflation-fueling polices.
Why is Con Ed hiking rates?
An Orthodox rabbi in the Cleveland area was sentenced to 10 days in jail and 18 months of probation for stealing a pro-Palestinian banner from a student group at a local university.
The sentence, delivered on Wednesday, caps a charged saga in which students had alleged that the rabbi and pro-Israel activist, Alexander Popivker, had harassed them.
Popivker, a handyman and resident of the suburb of Cleveland Heights, was charged with theft in January for taking the banner from Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, a student group at Cleveland State University.
Popivker’s jail time will be suspended, which generally means he won’t have to serve it until after his probationary period is over, and may see it removed with good behavior. He is also required to attend anger management classes. The university has also barred him from campus for his behavior.
by FRIEDA VIZEL |
The previously unnamed Internal Revenue Service “Whistleblower X” revealed himself during public testimony before three GOP-led House committees Wednesday, saying he is a “gay Democrat married to a man” and wrongfully slandered as a partisan operative or a “traitor” to his party.
“In coming forward, I am risking my career, my reputation, and my casework outside of this investigation,”
Joe Ziegler, with the IRS for 13 years, said in his opening statement.
Ziegler testified with a 10-minute statement alongside his supervisor Greg Shapley, the second whistleblower, who previously came forward publicly. “I’m no more credible than this man sitting next to me due to my sexual orientation or my political beliefs,”
Ziegler continued.
“I was raised and have always strived to do what is right. “I have heard from some that I am a traitor to the Democratic Party and that I am causing more division in our society. I implore you, that if you were put in my position with the facts as I have stated them, that you would be doing the exact same thing.”
Ziegler and Shapley, career IRS criminal investigators, allege the Justice Department obstructed with their yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden. “In early August 2022, federal prosecutors from the Department of Justice Tax Division drafted a 99-page memorandum,”
Ziegler continued in his opening statement.
“In so they were recommending for approval felony and misdemeanor charges for the 2017, ’18, and ’19 tax years. “That did not happen here, and I am not sure why. “And, as the special agent on this case, I thought the felony charges were well supported.”
Kosher meat prices in the US are expected to skyrocket beginning next week. One of the reasons for the price hike appears to be increasing cattle prices in the US. According to a Feeder Cattle price chart, the price per pound of cattle meat was just around $125 in 2005 and again in 2020 as opposed to the $248/pound selling today.
Springfield Wholesale Meat, the biggest kosher meat distributor in the northeastern US, is increasing its prices accordingly.
In a message addressed to kosher foods chains, the meat distributor wrote: “Regretably, we have been informed by Solomon’s of a drastic price increase on domestic beef that will be implemented beginning this week.”
This price increase is expected to go into effect on Monday, July 24.
The Jerusalem Ministry will operate free transportation from central Jerusalem to the Kotel every night, Kikar Hashabbat reported.
The route will operate between 1:30a.m. and 4:30a.m. each night, from Saturday night until Friday, and it will be funded by the Jerusalem Ministry, through the Company for the Development of East Jerusalem.
Trips leaving from the Kotel will depart at 1:30a.m., 2:30a.m., and 3:30a.m., and the route will pass by Zachs, Eretz Hefetz/ Havivat Harel, Bar Ilan/Shmuel Hanavi, Yirmiyahu/Minhat Yitzhak, Sarei Israel/Torah Mizion, and Binyanei Ha'uma.
Trips leaving to the Kotel will depart at 2:00a.m., 3:00a.m., and 4:00a.m., and will leave from Binyanei Ha'uma, passing by the bus stops Sarei Israel/Hashmona'im, Yirmiyahu/Minhat Yitzhak, Bar Ilan/Zefania, Shmuel Hanavi/Fishel, and Zachs/Shmuel Hanavi, before arriving at the Western Wall.
Kikar Hashabbat quoted Jerusalem Minister Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) as saying, "The Kotel, the remnant of our Holy Temple, is a focal point for visits during all hours of the day, and it is a merit for us to allow the public to comfortably visit the site even at night. This is another blessed activity of the Jerusalem and Israel Traditions Ministry, as part of the plan to bolster the area of the Old City."
The Ministry added that the plan is currently being piloted, and if demand increases, the Ministry plans to expand operations in order to meet demand.
A New Jersey man who was twice convicted of defrauding investors out of $230 million and whose lengthy prison sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump is once again facing fraud charges, federal prosecutors in New Jersey announced Wednesday.
Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, 48, of Lakewood, who is also known as Mike Konig, is among five men accused of defrauding dozens of investors out of $35 million, according to an arrest complaint unsealed in federal court in Trenton. The five are charged with wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to obstruct justice, and each could face up to 25 years in prison.
Philip Sellinger, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, said Weinstein used a fake name and falsely promised access to deals involving scarce medical supplies, baby formula and first-aid kits supposedly destined for wartime Ukraine.
“These were brazen and sophisticated crimes that involved multiple conspirators and drew right from Weinstein’s playbook of fraud,” Sellinger said.
The 75th anniversary of the strong, historically unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel is being celebrated this year.
Unfortunately, the occasion is marred by President Joe Biden’s personal animus towards Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is weakening our relationship with the only democracy in the Middle East.
Biden snubbed Netanyahu by instead inviting President Isaac Herzog, Israel’s head of state, who lacks executive power, to an official state visit.
Almost invariably in the modern era, state visits are held with the head of government, not the head of state.
The last time the exception happened was 2007, when President George W. Bush hosted Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
Unlike in 2007, this decision was not out of reverence but politics.
Biden despises Israel’s conservative government.
The bereaved mother of an IDF soldier killed in the line of duty expressed outrage that she is currently being prosecuted for pasting stickers on a building, while not a single indictment has been filed against anti-judicial reform protesters who have illegally blocked Ayalon Highway and engaged in massive demonstrations that have crippled the country.
Meirav Hajaj’s daughter Shir was murdered in a 2017 Jerusalem terror attack, at the age of 22.
Since the slaying, Hajaj has been an outspoken advocate against international aid to Palestinian terror groups and critical of the Israeli government’s policies around fighting terror.
In 2020, Hajaj participated in a protest against the European Union’s funding of Palestinian NGOs that serve as fronts for terror. As part of the demonstration, she glued stickers expressing opposition to the financing onto the EU’s consulate in Tel Aviv.
Hajaj was immediately arrested and has been subject to a criminal trial that’s now stretched more than three years, according to a Channel 14 report.
Speaking to the news outlet, Hajaj compared the vigor of the prosecution targeting her with what she described as the state’s soft touch towards left-wing protesters.
“I see the damage they’re doing to Ayalon, to Kaplan [Street in Tel Aviv] and it’s simply crazy,” Hajaj told Channel 14. “They’re damaging every place where they’re demonstrating. But there’s no prosecutions against anyone.
“Meanwhile, I’ve already been to court dozens of times… the judge asked me to prove that there wasn’t irreparable damage done to the EU building. I feel like now I shouldn’t have to prove anything, since the anarchists are free to create chaos in the streets for weeks on end.”
Hajaj acknowledged that during the protest in which she participated, one demonstrator did graffiti the words “German money kills Jews” on the building.
Notably, in recent months, the Brothers in Arms organization has repeatedly engaged in vandalism such as damaging the offices of the Kohelet Forum, using barbed wire, sandbags, and stickers to deface the space.
Additionally, left-wing protests have seen tires set aflame and fires started outside on Ayalon Highway, in major intersections and outside government buildings and lawmakers’ homes.
“They’re intentionally dragging out the trial, when the damage to the EU building was estimated at 200 shekels ($55) to repair. On the other hand, we’re talking about damages to the Kohelet Forum and Ayalon that are just insane. But nobody is prosecuting them, nobody is taking them to court, there’s no indictments. Nothing,” Hajaj said.
In May 2021, Joseph Borgen was violently assaulted by a Muslim mob while walking down the street in midtown Manhattan in the vicinity of an anti-Israel rally. The Jewish man was kicked, punched, pepper sprayed, beaten with a metal object, and ended up in the hospital.
Borgen was taunted as a “dirty Jew” and the assault was caught on video. “They were kicking me in my ribs, my stomach,” he described.
Waseem Awawdeh, the best known of the attackers, was out two days later. Even after Awawdeh reportedly told prison guards, “If I could do it again, I would do it again”, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg offered him a plea deal of only six months in prison. After public outrage, including protests and condemnations by elected officials, it was raised to eighteen months.
Faisal Elezzi, another of the attackers, got off with probation and an obligation to complete “anti-bias programming”.