I have been despairing about how to respond to Abu Mazen’s profoundly anti-Semitic diatribe. How could someone who has treated me as a personal friend for three decades at the same time harbor such hateful views of my people? https://t.co/ExG0mvlzJZ
— Martin Indyk (@Martin_Indyk) September 11, 2023
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| Yehonatan Indursky |
Yehonatan Indursky co-wrote the international hit show “Shtisel,” one of TV’s most sensitive portrayals of haredi Orthodox life, as a secular Jew. After growing up the youngest of five in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul neighborhood, in a haredi family, and studying in a yeshiva in Bnei Brak, he left the haredi world at age 19.
Last week, he said that he identifies as haredi once again.
“For many years, I fought the fact that I was haredi. I worked hard at being secular,” he told the Israeli publication Ynet in an interview about his life and his work. “Until suddenly I stopped.”
That kind of identity switch, from haredi to secular and then back to haredi, is very rare. Yet some would argue that through his work, Indursky never strayed too far from the haredi world of his youth.
In “Shtisel,” along with his show “Autonomies” and his debut play “Babchik” — which tells the story of a haredi restaurant owner trying to combat a deadly family curse — he has found ways to continue “live” in the haredi Jewish world.
The US cleared the way for $6 billion in oil proceeds to be returned to Iran and agreed to release five Iranians as part of a secretly negotiated deal that will clear the way for five American citizens detained in Iran to return home.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken notified Congress on Monday of a waiver that will let German, Irish, Qatari, South Korean and Swiss banks transfer the $6 billion from South Korea without fear of running afoul of US sanctions. He said the $6 billion would be held in restricted accounts in Qatar, where it will be “available only for humanitarian trade,” according to a copy of the notification. Iran stated unequivocally that it will use the funds as it sees fit.
Over the years, Graucher collaborated with other prominent Hasidic singers, including Mordechai Ben David and Abraham Fried, with whom he held a concert in 1996 in Yarkon Park considered to be the largest outdoor concert in Israel's history.
His son Natan wrote: "Blessed is the True Judge, Oded David ben Tzipora. Father, I will miss you."
Haredi radio broadcaster Menachem Toker eulogized the legendary singer: "Dedi, my friend, a singer of rare talent, an amazing person, who was always helping everyone, who, even in the most difficult moments had a joke and a smile, the biggest heart I've ever seen in my life, I just can't believe it. Go make the angels happy up there, sing to them from your sacred songs."
Graucher was diagnosed with cancer about five years ago and has been hospitalized several times since then. He stopped performing following the diagnosis.
Thomas L. Friedman on Sunday published an op-ed he titled, “The Thread Connecting Trump, Putin and Netanyahu,” which was so outlandish and chock full of unabashed antisemitism, he couldn’t run it in his own paper, The NY Times, but ran it instead in Israel’s Pravda wannabe, Haaretz.
Arguing that “The Israel We Knew Is Gone,” Friedman recalls telling his fellow Upper-West Siders following the November 1, 2022 victory of Israel’s right over a bizarre coalition of anti-Arab, anti-Haredi, leftist, and Muslim Brotherhood parties: “You did not go to Camp Ramah with these people. Your family did not vacation in the Catskills with these people. Your parents did not meet these people on their last UJA tour to Israel. They are to the right of the far right. But now they have positions of real and central power.”
Turns out, Friedman’s livid hatred for us, the folks on the right, is identical to the hate we receive from the violent crypto-fascists and anarchists on Israel’s highways, in its airport terminals, trains, public institutions, and in front of coalition members’ homes at five in the morning: We are not like them.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to travel to the United States next Sunday (Sept. 17) for the first time since his reelection last November.
He has a busy schedule but so far, there is no meeting has been planned with President Joe Biden.
The Biden Administration appears to be continuing its boycott of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, who is now in his sixth term.
Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive in San Francisco on Monday, where he is expected to meet with high-tech billionaire Elon Musk, who owns X (formerly called Twitter), as well as SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, and other companies.
Musk, who recently “liked” posts with the hashtag #BanTheADL, was accused of allowing antisemitic tweets to run rampant on his social media platform. He threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League, accusing the organization of falsely accusing him and X of being antisemitic.
The prime minister is scheduled to travel Monday evening to New York, where he will address the United Nations General Assembly that Thursday (Sept. 21), according to Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan.
Thus far, there are no published plans to meet with America’s president.
More than 3,500 Israeli cultural and academic “elite” signed a letter urging Biden not to meet with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is expected to return to the Jewish State the following Sunday.
Advocates for Jewish women who say their estranged husbands are abusing them by refusing to assent to a religious divorce are cheering after a New Jersey appellate court overturned a ruling against a woman in that state who used social media to advocate for her divorce.
A lower court ruled in 2021 that the woman’s social media posts constituted harassment and incitement. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey got involved in the case then, joining several Orthodox women’s rights groups who had already been working on her behalf.
The woman, who was identified only by her initials, LBB, in Wednesday’s 39-page court ruling, has been separated from her husband since 2019. She says that he has refused to give her a get, or ritual divorce document.
In 2021, the man received a temporary, and later a final, restraining order that barred his estranged wife from contacting him and ordered her to remove social media posts calling for the get. The court that issued the restraining order ruled that the social media posts constituted harassment, an invasion of privacy and incitement, and were thus not protected under the First Amendment’s free speech provisions.
The appellate court’s three-judge panel rejected that reasoning, saying that her social media activism did count as protected speech.
“In sum, the judge’s finding that the Jewish community was prone to violence against get refusers — and the implicit holding that defendant was aware of and intentionally availed herself of such violent tendencies — is not supported by the record,” the decision says. “The video was intended to get a get. The video did not threaten or menace plaintiff, and nothing in the record suggests that plaintiff’s safety or security was put at risk by the video.”
DIN: I don't understand what the big deal is. Didn't the late Satmar Rebbi z'l say something similar during the 6 day war?
In his "al hagilah" the rebbe wrote that Hashem had nothing to do with the victory of the 6 day war, he attributed the success of the war to the great IDF and of course the "samach mem." the "devil."
Interesting that when the IDF then took credit for the victory, the rebbe yelled "oy vey, they are saying "koichi ve'etzem yadi" but he himself agreed that they victory was because of the strength of the IDF which is basically saying the same thing, he never saw the irony in his own reasoning!
During a cabinet meeting on Sunday regarding the pilgrimage to the Uman for Rosh Hashana, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized the danger of traveling to the wartorn country and called on the pilgrims to be responsible.
“Israeli citizens who are traveling to Ukraine need to bear personal responsibility at this time,” Netanyahu stated and then added the following: “G-d did not always protect us, not on European land and not on Ukrainian land.” Netanyahu’s controversial statement apparently referred to the question that has been asked over the last 80 years: “Where was G-d during the Holocaust.”
Netanyahu’s remark however was seen as blasphemy by charedi leaders. The editor-in-chief of the haredi news site B’Chadrei Charedim, Moshe Weisberg, wondered if the charedi MKs would respond to the remark in silence. “Will the charedi MKs swallow Netanyahu’s contemptuous remarks as well?” he wondered.
Haredi journalist Michael Shemesh also responded: “It’s hard to believe that the charedi ministers will let this statement pass silently.”
Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri announced Sunday evening to members of his party that Deputy Minister of Agriculture and former failed Mayor of Beit Shemesh, Moshe Abutbul, will be the party's candidate for mayor of Beit Shemesh, after serving in the position for ten years and losing five years ago to incumbent Mayor Aliza Bloch.
Abutbul will also compete for the position against Degel HaTorah candidate Shmuel Greenberg.
The Shas statement said:
"During the faction meeting held today in the presence of the movement's ministers and MKs, Shas announced that after the blessing and support of the Council of Torah Sages and all the rabbis of the communities in Beit Shemesh, Deputy Minister Moshe Abutbul will be the candidate for mayor of Beit Shemesh."
The party explained: "Abutbul is the most authentic and experienced Haredi representative of the city of Beit Shemesh, who served for a decade as a successful mayor who signed the huge construction boom in the city and the flourishing of Torah institutions, and enjoys wide sympathy from all circles and communities in the city.".
The decision to run Abutbul for the position is because of the hate that Shas has with Degel; Deri Wants to split the Beit Shemesh vote between the Chareidie candidates, Shmuel Greenberg and Abutbul, to ensure Greenberg's loss; this move will only enhance Aliza Bloch's election as Mayor. Deri, of course doesn't care about Beit Shemesh, or Aliza Bloch, he just wants Degel to lose.
Happy New Year, guys !
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), 83, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than 35 years, announced on Friday she will run for reelection in California’s Eleventh Congressional District.
Pelosi made the announcement in a midday post on X, contending that San Francisco’s values need to be advanced.
“Now more than ever our City needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery,” Pelosi tweeted. “Our country needs America to show the world that our flag is still there, with liberty and justice for ALL. That is why I am running for reelection — and respectfully ask for your vote.”
Assembly Bill 957, known as the Transgender, Gender-Diverse, and Intersex Youth Empowerment Act, passed the California Assembly by a party-line 57-16 vote Friday.
The state senate passed the bill on Wednesday by a 30-9 vote.
The bill would “include a parent’s affirmation of the child’s gender identity as part of the health, safety, and welfare of the child.”If Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs the bill, it would require custody judges to consider a parent’s “affirmation” of their child’s gender, as judges consider the “health, safety, and welfare of the child” when making decisions.
DIN: Typical Biden, nominates an Israel Hater to be ambassador to Israel!
President Joe Biden has nominated former Treasury secretary Jacob Lew to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, the White House announced Tuesday.
Lew, who served as White House chief of staff and director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Obama administration, would succeed Ambassador Tom Nides.,who left the post in July. Lew also served as OMB director during the Clinton administration.
Lew is currently a managing partner at Lindsay Goldberg, a private equity firm, and a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York.
He also currently serves as chairman of the board of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, co-president of the board of the National Library of Israel USA and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Lew has also previously served as managing director and chief operating officer for two Citigroup business units. He was executive vice president and the chief operating officer of New York University and a professor of public administration in the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU.
Columnist Jake Turx has posted a tweet mocking President Biden’s economic, border, and crime policies.
Turx, the renowned White House correspondent and political satirist for Ami Magazine, was responding to a tweet from the president (or whoever writes his tweets), bragging about the fact that he was canceling “all remaining oil and gas leases issued under the last administration in the Arctic Refuge.
In response, Turx wrote:
“Thinks canceling drilling will lower gas prices
Thinks printing more money will curb inflation
Thinks removing border walls will make us more secure
Thinks bailing out criminals will reduce crime
Thinks persecuting political rivals will heal the soul of this nation
Sounds like Bidenomics”
by Yaakov of VIN
If my child were attending camp hundreds of miles away, and he called and asked me to pick him up…I would be out the door before pressing “End”.
And I’m not ashamed to admit it.
Several weeks ago, Rabbi Efrem Goldberg wrote an article in Mishpacha about what he called “well-meaning parents” who “swoop in and rescue” their kids, rather than teaching them responsibility.
Rabbi Goldberg wrote: “Earlier this summer, after receiving a call from his daughter in tears complaining about mean counselors and other issues, a concerned Jewish father in the UK flew 360 miles by helicopter to pick her up and bring her home. But he isn’t the only one guilty of helicopter parenting. More and more, loving parents who mean well and are eager to help, protect, and support their children are swooping in to rescue them, rather than teaching them responsibility.”
We do not know the circumstances and context of that specific anecdote. Perhaps the girl was being abused and bullied? Maybe she was suffering panic attacks and needed professional attention? It is impossible to judge the father without knowing the facts.
That said, whatever the scenario, including ‘mere’ homesickness, I have no issue with a father who rescues a child in despair. He is doing what any loving parent would. If your child is suffering, and they ask you for help, you help. Period.
A Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party official who once vowed to “dismantle” the Minneapolis Police Department is now calling for tougher crime laws after she was beaten and bloodied in a carjacking outside her home this week.
Shivanthi Sathanandan, the second vice chairwoman for the DFL, shared news of her attack in a Wednesday Facebook post, where she fumed that the four young suspects need to be brought to justice.
“I have a broken leg, deep lacerations on my head, bruising, and cuts all over my body. And I have rage,” wrote Sathanandan, who said the beating occurred in front of her 4-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Six Day War veteran Yosef Hagoel was accosted by Charedim in the Me'ah Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem after he arrived at the scene with a camera crew.
Hagoel, along with a group of younger soldiers and a camera crew from Channel 13 News, visited the neighborhood to recount the moments when he was wounded in action during the battle for Me'ah Shearim.
As he told the younger soldiers his story, several Charedi youths began shouting at them. ''This is a Charedi neighborhood, please leave! Get out of here, nobody wants you here. Nazis, get out of here! Zionist terrorists!" and many similar epithets.
Hagoel answered those shouting: "My blood is here, in the ground. You get out of here!"
He explained to the soldiers who were with him: "I was wounded twice, in two locations.'' At the second location, he recalled: ''I was lying here. Medic Shlomo Epstein was treating me. A shell fell a meter and a half from us. When they came to rescue me, I said, 'There is someone else here,' so they told me, 'There is no one, only you.' He was killed on the spot. It was impossible to recognize him at all."
According to Troboloni, who spoke with The Sun, the situation was “very scary,” with thoughts racing through his mind that he might never see his mother again.
Once the attacker tried to open a door in the middle of the flight, passengers immediately responded. Troboloni took charge and wrestled the unidentified assailant to the ground, where other travelers joined in to assist. Flight crew members promptly secured the individual using zip ties to prevent further disruptions.
Wizz Air issued a statement regarding the incident: “The company is dealing with the onward flight of all customers to London. The safety and security of passengers and crew are the company’s top priority. The company regrets the inconvenience caused by this unexpected incident.”
Cellphone footage obtained by The Sun captured the intense moments following the security breach. In the video, the attacker could be seen yelling while Troboloni held him in a headlock. Troboloni later explained that the assailant had attempted to open a fire exit, a relatively straightforward task, prompting him to take swift action.
“I got the guy down. He was very heavyweight… I headlocked him, and the stewardesses tied his hands with plastic cable ties… I had to do it,” Troboloni recounted.
Troboloni, with the help of fellow passengers, maintained control over the assailant until a flight attendant could locate cable ties to further restrain him. The ordeal lasted for approximately 45 minutes to an hour before the plane safely landed in Belgrade, Eastern Europe.
During the incident, the assailant repeatedly shouted “Allahu Akbar,” the Arabic phrase for “God is most great.” Authorities have yet to determine a motive for the attack or establish any connections to terrorist groups.
Before attempting to open the door, the suspect was observed moving between the pilot’s cabin and the rear emergency exit, raising concerns among passengers. A plane engineer who was onboard noted the suspect’s unusual behavior and emphasized the gravity of the situation: “It was a very scary situation… you’ve got no escape.”
"Anyone that goes against Hatzolah is causing problems from their point. Don't get me wrong, Hatzolah is great but they cannot handle some competition and make it sound like life is at stake. No body is forced to call anyone so if someone decides to call the new EMS so be it. For the Rabonim behind it, they are afraid of Hatzolah and therefore ask that their name not be publicized. From the FDNY EMS standpoint, Hatzolah is an adult boys club. Its all about Ego of the leaders in Hatzolah."
Recently, a news story appeared, harshly criticizing the recently launched “Jewish Volunteer Ambulance Service” in Jackson, near Lakewood (JJVAS). The article said, “Contrary to its altruistic-sounding name, the terrible facts are that the kehilla it ostensibly serves will pay for it in yiddishe blood.”
It added that “When the rabbanim of Jackson, NJ, gathered in June of 2022 to discuss whether a new Hatzolah-esque organization should be opened to service the burgeoning kehillos that call Jackson home, the result was unequivocal opposition to the launch of a new emergency service.”
It continued, “The JJVAS paid no heed to the call of the rabbanim of Jackson, instead relying on the approbations of unnamed and unknown “rabbanim” whose identities are still a mystery.”
This is clearly a very important topic, as Jewish lives are at stake. The work of Hatzolah and all first responders is the loftiest avodah imaginable. And VIN News has no personal knowledge of this situation.
With that said, we felt that it is important to share the various sides of this life-and-death discussion. JJVAS Founder Yitzchak (Iaaac) Birnhack, says that there have been concerns about response times in Jackson. However others completely deny that claim.
Mr. Birnhack says that he decided to launch a separate volunteer ambulance service under a different name, not connected to Hatzolah.
However it appears that there are multiple community leaders who do not agree with his decision to launch at all. Mr. Birhack confirmed that a meeting of Jackson Rabbanim took place to discuss the matter, and the consensus of those present was that his service would not be a good idea for the community.
Mr. Birnhack says that there is no concern about his service leading to problems. However there are prominent people who believe that his service could put lives at risk.
Birnhack says that since the article was published several weeks ago, he has received calls from Jackson residents in support of his endeavor, and a surge in applications from responders. In addition, he is offering a free EMT course.
Several days ago, VIN News reached out to Hatzolah of Central Jersey about this important matter, and we were informed that they are in the process of sending their response.
One thing is clear — the ADL is heavily embedded within the radical-left, and its policies are a threat to Jewish values. It helps promote BDS supporters, at least indirectly. It is a secular group, helping to erode and decay the moral fabric of society.
