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Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Frum News Blogs Are Antagonizing Chilonim With Their Disgusting War Reports

 


The article below was posted by VIN, but VIN isn't the only Frum News Site to write about the fact that two Moshavim that keep Shabbos and kept their gates locked were not harmed. 

Entire Jewish families were butchered like cows, our boys and girls in uniform were mowed down like dominos, yet frum people gleefully write about the two moshavim that were not B"H harmed. 
I copied and pasted some of the sane comments on the VIN News Site!  

aaron menche
 7 hours ago

whether you believe these people were saved due to their keeping of shabbat or not, can you not see how inappropriate and insensitive this article is. This is still unfolding. The war hasn’t started yet. Many people will die whether they keep shabbat or not. for those of us living through this, try to be a bit more sensitive

Mehaso
Mehaso
 9 hours ago

And what will you say about the 45 frums who died in Meiron, what was their sin? Any star gazer please? Any “Meivin” in Hashem’s ways?
Stop judging Tinokos Shenishbu, their “mistakes” are Shogegin and less.
They have a tremendous Zechus for choosing to live in the border and block the enemy with their presence. They died Al kidush Hashem.
Dislike my post all you want, these yidden are the best, if not them, Hamas would have attacked Bnei Brak r”l


Phineas
 7 hours ago

Lets not divide up Jews this way. It’s great these people were safe and it would be wonderful if everyone kept Shabbos but the dead have people who loved them and don’t need to hear that someone thinks their loved ones died because they didn’t keep Shabbos, whether true or not.


Avi
 9 hours ago

Is this article for real?? we are dealing with Yidden being slaughtered. Holy neshamos being killed. Whether they are shomer shabbos or not they are yidden and they have holy neshamos. Are you seriously reporting that the kibbutz who kept shabbos have been saved?! are you implying that the reason these neshamos have been murdered was because they were not neccessarily shomer shabbos. This is such an unsophisticated article and to see these comments about how beautiful it is, is just nauseating. Now is not the time to get frum.

 (VINnews) — 21 communities were overrun by Hamas during its barbaric attacks on Israel on Simchas Torah. In each of these communities there were unfortunately casualties, some of them suffering very heavy casualties. However there were two communities which remarkably remained unconquered by Hamas, as their gate was shut for Shabbos and the terrorists simply couldn’t get in.

In an amazing video clip, apparently from one of the Hamas terrorists who was later killed or captured, the terrorists can be seen arriving at the gate of Kibbutz Saad, a religious kibbutz which close its gates on Shabbat.

Arriving on their motorcycles, the terrorists first tried to find a way to climb into the community but then realized that they would be exposed and eliminated. After shots were fired they ran away. This occurred in Kibbutz Saad. In Kibbutz Alumim the terrorists fired at the local forces which consisted of a platoon of civilian defenders and  soldiers. Once again the gate proved invaluable and the defenders were able time and again to fend off the attacks by tens of Hamas terrorists and to save their kibbutz.

Sunday, October 8, 2023

2 Israeli tourists murdered by Egyptian policeman in Alexandria


 Two Israeli tourists have reportedly been murdered in a shooting committed by an Egyptian policeman in the city of Alexandria, state media reported Sunday.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that "this morning, during a tourist visit by a group of Israelis in Alexandria, Egypt, a local opened fire on them, as a result of which two Israeli citizens and the local Egyptian guide were murdered. In addition, there was an injured Israeli lying there in moderate condition."

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Embassy in Cairo are working together with the National Security Council, the Prime Minister's Office, and the IDF with the authorities in Egypt in order to return the Israeli citizens to Israel as soon as possible," according to the Ministry's statement.

Local media reported that an Egyptian policeman shot at a bus in which a group of Israeli tourists were traveling and at least two of them were injured.

According to one of the reports, the shooter was neutralized. An Israeli who was on the bus called her relative and shouted on the phone: "They are shooting at our bus. There are dead and wounded."

The shooting comes a day after the Hamas terrorist organization launched an unprecedented attack against the State of Israel, killing over 350 Israelis and taking dozens more hostage.

Democrats cheer murder and kidnapping of Israelis at hands of Hamas terrorists

 


Hamas terrorists fired rockets into towns, shot at civilians from paragliders, and kidnapped women and children from their homes. Grandmothers at gunpoint, loaded onto golf carts, to be held hostage or killed by twisted, depraved thugs — supported by soulless New York City progressives.

Yes, in Times Square on Sunday, the Democratic Socialists of America will host an “All Out for Palestine” rally. Wear a mask so you’re not recognized, the organizers say. Best to just let the swastikas do the talking. 

“Never mind the hundreds of Israeli civilians and children who have been murdered, wounded, abducted, and terrorized. Their lives mean nothing to the DSA. Nothing,” Congressman Ritchie Torres rightly wrote Saturday. “The NYC-DSA is revealing itself for what it truly is: an antisemitic stain on the soul of America’s largest city.”

The DSA is the party of Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, Rashida Talib — and oh yes, New York’s very own Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal “Fire Alarm” Bowman. They are quick to lecture about “extremism” in America. What do they say about this?

Well, already Omar has called for a “descalation and ceasefire,” meaning that Israel should just accept that 300 — and likely more — of their people were brutally murdered. War crimes should be accepted, because hey, they’re Palestinians.

“Such senseless violence will only repeat the back and forth cycle we’ve seen, which we cannot allow to continue,” Omar wrote.

But this ISN’T a “cycle” of violence. This is one group of people — Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah — intent on Israel’s destruction.

Israel would like nothing more than to live peacefully within its borders, to see Gaza and the West Bank flourish as neighbors. But the Palestinians, stirred up by propaganda, hate and money from Iran, can never accept that.

Consider what this unlawful invasion was in response to: a historic detente between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The “peace” the Squad claims to want. 

The attack “sends a message to the Arab and Islamic world, and the international community as a whole, especially those seeking normalization with this enemy, that the Palestinian cause is an everlasting one, alive until victory and liberation,” said Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Normalization” is their enemy. Anything that stops them from turning Palestinian children into killers, and Israelis into their targets.

The Biden administration is bending over backward to reward Iran in hopes that it returns to a toothless nuclear treaty. A country that foments terror across the region, and fuels this destruction.

This is a clarifying moment for America, which needs to stand as Israel’s unwavering ally. These are monsters, and the people who support them are despicable. To President Biden: Stop playing footsie with the Ayatollah and stand up against Iran’s warmongering. To Democrats: Denounce the representatives giving aid and comfort to murderers and kidnappers.

And to New Yorkers: Come to Times Square on Sunday at 1 p.m. Hold up Israeli flags. Shout down the DSA. Show that hate will not be tolerated.  

IDF Suffers Humiliating Failure in Face of 1,000 Hamas Invaders

 


By
 David Israel

Watch the tweet below. It shows IAF warplanes being towed out of their base for fear that invading Hamas terrorists would destroy them. It is perhaps the most poignant image of the Israeli Army’s total failure to anticipate, block, and repel the Hamas invasion of much of southern Israel on Shabbat Simchat Torah. These warplanes were supposed to be in the air, striking fire and fear against the enemy. Instead, they crawled sheepishly away from their base that was being overtaken.

Reprehensible: Black Congresswoman calls on US to stop funding Israel amid Hamas attack



 US Representative Cori Bush (D-MO-01) released a statement on Sunday regarding the severe unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel, which has so far left over 500 Israelis dead and approximately 100, including civilians in Hamas captivity in which she equated the lives of terrorists to those of murdered Israeli civilians and called on the US to stop supporting Israel.

"I am heartbroken by the ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel, and I mourn the over 250 Israeli and 230 Palestinian lives that have been lost today, and the thousands injured, following attacks by Hamas militants on Israeli border towns and Israeli military bombardment of Gaza. I strongly condemn the targeting of civilians, and I urge an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation to prevent further loss of life," she opened.

"Our immediate focus must be saving lives, but our ultimate focus must be on a just and lasting peace that ensures safety for everyone in the region. Violations of human rights do not justify more violations of human rights, and a military response will only exacerbate the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis alike," she continued.

The congresswoman concluded: "As part of achieving a just and lasting peace, we must do our part to stop this violence and trauma by ending US government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid. I am continuing to closely monitor the situation, and my Office is ready to support residents of the First District with family members and loved ones in the region."

America’s Betrayal of Israel....A decade of perverse U.S. policy sets the stage for mass murder

 

 by Liel Liebowitz 

 

I am writing this as news outlets report hundreds of Israeli dead, and dozens, if not hundreds, of soldiers and civilians kidnapped by Hamas terrorists and taken into Gaza.
 

It is never a good idea to write anything as events are still rapidly unfolding, especially as neither I nor anyone else can answer the only question that ultimately matters—namely, “what happens now?” But we can answer another, much more rudimentary and no less urgent question: Who’s at fault?

 

There will be plenty of time to pore over how a cataclysmic disaster of this magnitude could happen, and who—from Bibi down to the IDF Chief of Staff, head of intelligence, et al.—failed to protect the lives of Israelis. A lot of it will have to do with people who should have known better—including former prime ministers and former and current high level security officials—abandoning the core commitment of defending Israel and instead entertaining themselves by cosplaying some game of Demokratia, complete with donning handmaid outfits and ululating about fascism. Hysterics about your political opponents being the enemies of democracy may be fun in Kalorama; in Sderot and Ofakim, and even in Tel Aviv, there’s a price to pay for abandoning the real world and indulging in fetish play.

 

But the bigger mistake on the part of the Israelis is that over the past few years they have gotten the power equation that governs their lives backwards: Instead of understanding themselves to be citizens of a strong but beleaguered country whose first responsibility is to protect itself, they luxuriated in the fantasy that the United States was and always would be their protector—when in fact the ruling party in America has decided that Israel is a liability.

 

Watch this video. That’s a Hamas drone taking down an Israeli Merkava tank. A drone operated by an organization sponsored and trained by Iran applying both Iranian tactics and, most likely, Iranian hardware to attack Israel. This happened weeks after America sent Iran six billion dollars, and one week after we learned that the American government had over the past years ceded whole parts of its own intelligence units to Iranian spies.

 

The stage for this attack was not set in or by Israel. It was set by the United States.

Shocking Footage Of Arab Terrorists Conquering Erez Checkpoint

 

In shocking footage emerging from the Hamas attack on the Erez checkpoint, the terrorists can be seen taking control of the checkpoint after killing or capturing its occupants and then removing Israeli flags from the scene. In other footage terrorists can be seen taking captives to Gaza.

During the course of the premeditated attacks, 20 Israeli communities were attacked and periodically controlled by Hamas until Israeli forces arrived and confronted the terrorists. Some of the terrorists crossed the border in paragliders and drones.

In many places, the terrorists murdered and captured Israeli civilians and soldiers. Hamas currently claims to have 163 captured Israelis in Gaza. Over 250 Israelis were murdered during the attacks, including the head of the Shaar Hanegev regional council and the head of the Sderot fire station.


Shocking moment Israeli student, 25, is kidnapped by Hamas militants as her family share footage of her being held in Gaza

 


Sitting on the back of a terrorist's motorcycle, her outstretched arms pointing towards her helpless boyfriend, student Noa Argamani pleads for her life.

She screams 'Don't kill me! No, no, no' – but the gunman speeds off. Noa hasn't been seen since.

Her boyfriend, Avi Nathan, distraught and helpless, is left behind in the desert. He too is missing.

Widely shared on social media, the footage of Noa's kidnapping is almost too distressing to bear. 'Imagine what it is like for her family,' said her university roommate, Amir Moadi. They found out she had been snatched only when they chanced upon the footage online.

Along with hundreds of other young Israelis, Noa and Avi had been enjoying a peace festival in the desert when they were forced to flee for their lives from Hamas terrorists.

Revellers had gathered for an all-night trance music rave near Kibbutz Re'im, close to the Gaza Strip, to celebrate the end of the Sukkot religious holiday.

But the festivities turned to chaos yesterday morning after Palestinian terrorists began firing rockets and gunshots into the crowd.

A sudden invasion by the Hamas group has already left at least 482 people dead and another 3,200 injured - in less than one day. Dozens more are said to have been kidnapped and driven across the border into the Gaza Strip. 

Footage circulated on social media showed hundreds of people screaming and crying as they fled the rave site on foot, pursued by the sound of gunfire.

'I was supposed to go to the desert party but decided at the last minute not to,' said Amir. 'We last heard from her around 10am or 11am this morning when she texted us all to say that terrorists had opened fire and were chasing everyone but that they were both safe in hiding.

'We haven't heard from them since but then, unfortunately, we saw the disturbing videos of her abduction online. One of her on the back of a bike with terrorists.

'The family is OK with us posting this because they want her released and are hoping someone can help.

'Her parents are in shock and can't even speak. She's an only child.

'She is such a lovely, positive woman, always kind and loves to travel. She just got back from Sri Lanka. We can't believe something like this would happen at home.'

Last night, Avi's brother Moshe said: 'My brother just wanted to party with his girlfriend and look what happened.'

The shocking story came as families across Israel woke up yesterday expecting to celebrate one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar together.

Instead, the festival of Simchat Torah became a day of terror and bloodshed for residents living near the Gaza Strip.

The peace of the holy Sabbath was shattered in the early morning as marauding Hamas gunmen invaded the streets in places such as Sderot, a city less than a mile from the border.


Saudi Arabia blames Israel for ‘unprecedented’ Hamas terror attack

 



Saudi Arabia accused Israel of provoking Palestinian hostility after a lethal Hamas attack from Gaza that claimed scores of Israeli lives.

“The kingdom calls for an immediate halt to the escalation between the two sides, the protection of civilians, and restraint,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said Saturday, as Israeli Defense Forces engage in “gun battles” with Hamas terrorists. “The Kingdom recalls its repeated warnings of the dangers of the explosion of the situations as a result of the continued occupations, the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights, and the repeating of systematic provocation against its sanctities.”

That statement stirred frustration and disappointment in American observers of the Saudi-Israeli relationship. United States officials have nurtured in recent months closed-door negotiations over a potential normalization of diplomatic relations between the Gulf Arab monarchy and the Jewish democracy. That diplomatic effort has been galvanized by a shared sense of threats from Iran, whose leaders celebrated the carnage on Saturday.

"We will stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Al-Quds,” a military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday, according to Fars News. “Our brave and hard-working Palestinian people, those freeing the world, the Palestinian resistance, in these historical moments are engaged in a heroic fight for Al-Aqsa Mosque, our sacred sites, and our prisoners.”

IDF officials claimed "to have killed hundreds of Palestinian terrorists in southern Israel,” according to the Times of Israel, as Israeli officials and society grappled with the ramifications of an attack that began with “more than 5,000 rockets” fired in a 20-minute period, according to Hamas boasts.

“Citizens of Israel, we are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday. “I am initiating an extensive mobilization of the reserves to fight back on a scale and intensity that the enemy has so far not experienced. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.”

Israeli opposition leaders echoed that assessment and offered to set aside the bitter political disputes that have convulsed Israeli civil society in recent months in favor of a unity government to confront a severe crisis.

“The State of Israel is at war. It won’t be easy and it won’t be short. It has strategic consequences which we haven’t seen for many years. There is a serious risk that it will become a multi-front war,” center-left Israeli leader Yair Lapid, who orchestrated the coalition government that briefly displaced Netanyahu from the prime minister’s office in 2021 and 2022, said Saturday. “Forming an emergency professional government will make clear to our enemies that the vast majority of Israeli citizens stand behind the IDF and security forces. It will make clear to the world, in the international community, that the people of Israel stand united against this threat.”

Disgusting: US Office for Palestinian Affairs called for Israelis to stand down — then deleted post

Lourdes Lamela, acting chief of the US Office of Palestinian Affairs, and her team called on Israelis to “refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks” and then deleted the message, according to reports.


The United States Office for Palestinian Affairs called on Israelis to “refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks” in response to Hamas attacking Israel — then deleted the message.

“We unequivocally condemn the attack of Hamas terrorists and the loss of life that has incurred. We urge all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks. Terror and violence solve nothing,” the office posted Saturday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Why is @JoeBiden administration telling Israel not to respond to the horrific evil being perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists?” Etan Fischberger asked on X.

After deleting the message, the office wrote it was “monitoring” the situation.

“The U.S. Embassy is closely monitoring the security situation as a result of rockets fired from Gaza across southern and central Israel. U.S. citizens are reminded to remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness,” according to the subsequent post on X.

Later, the account reposted a statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemning the attack.


700 Dead, 2,050 Injured, 50 Kidnapped as Hamas Invades Southern Israel

 


 Israelis from the Gaza Strip to Ra’anana were awakened by sirens at 6:29 am on Shabbat morning, Simchat Torah, as Hamas fired an unprecedented number of rockets at dozens of targets, including Rishon L’Tzion and Tel Aviv. It is estimated that at least 3,000 rockets were fired in a span of a few hours, and thousands more throughout the day and into the evening.

As of 10 pm Saturday night, Israel’s Health Ministry announced that at least 2.050 Israelis were injured, including 18 in critical condition and 267 in moderate-to-serious condition. Tragically, at least 600 Israelis were confirmed dead, including 20 Israeli police officers who were killed inside the Sderot Police Station held by Hamas terrorists. Israeli media reported late Saturday night that instructions were given to blow up the police station where Hamas terrorists were holed up.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant extended the “emergency security situation” status to the entire State of Israel on Saturday night, which enables the Home Front Command to restrict gatherings across the country.

New Rockets from Hamas
Hamas was using new, short-distance rockets that carry up to 200 kg of explosives, and fired them in dense waves that overwhelmed the Iron Dome systems. Soon enough, buildings and cars across Israel’s south, including Ashkelon, Ashdod, Beit Dagan, Ramle and elsewhere, caught fire, as did many parked cars.

As of 10 pm Saturday night, Israel’s Health Ministry announced that at least 1,452 Israelis were injured, including 18 in critical condition and 267 in moderate-to-serious condition. Tragically, at least 300 Israelis were confirmed dead, including 20 Israeli police officers who were killed inside the Sderot Police Station held by Hamas terrorists. Israeli media reported late Saturday night that instructions were given to blow up the police station where Hamas terrorists were holed up.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant extended the “emergency security situation” status to the entire State of Israel on Saturday night, which enables the Home Front Command to restrict gatherings across the country.

This was phase one in a well-planned Hamas attack. Under the cover of the rockets, an estimated 200 Hamas terrorists broke through the border fence and rode into Israel on Toyota pickup trucks armed with machine guns, and on motorcycles with one terrorist riding and another shooting bursts of automatic fire.

22 Jewish Communities Invaded
The terrorists invaded and in some cases occupied 22 settlements in the Gaza envelope, where they walked from one home to another, knocked on doors, and killed whole families.

In cases where the residents hid in their hermetically sealed bomb shelters, the terrorists set those homes on fire.

For many hours, the residents of several kibbutzim were on the phone with media outlets, begging for the security forces to save them, but it took the army more than four hours to organize a response. As of Saturday night, Israeli forces are engaged in battle at 22 settlements.

By 10:30 pm Saturday night, the IDF had announced that it had restored control over most of the settlements invaded by the terrorists, including Sufa, Kerem Shalom, Nirim, Netiv Ha’Asara, Nir Oz, Nachal Oz, Holit, Nir Am, Nir Yitzhak and others.

Hamas War Crimes
The terrorists surrounded a nature party in the woods in the south and began firing at the hundreds of young people who at first couldn’t hear the fire over the music. A panic quickly ensued and the frightened and disoriented youth began fleeing for their lives, and many were cut down by the terrorists’ fire.

The terrorists began to kidnap Israeli citizens, including children, women, men, and many soldiers who were captured, including the crew of a tank that was set on fire.

The social networks were swarming with horrid videos of terrorists pulling the bodies of dead Israeli motorists from their cars.

The terrorists even kidnapped two elderly women who appeared to be in a state of dementia and rode with them on the streets of Gaza.

Israeli planes started hammering Gaza around 8 am, and by noon time had dumped a reported 16 tons of explosives. This time, it appears that the IAF has abandoned its humane “knock on the roof” policy and just took down buildings, including two skyscrapers with Hamas offices.

By Saturday night, IDF warplanes had destroyed two major Hamas commander centers in Gaza City skyscrapers used by senior terrorist operatives. Among the command centers that were destroyed was the Hamas intelligence headquarters, weapons production offices and those used by the Hamas General Security Apparatus.

Friday, October 6, 2023

Far-Frumte American Smashes Roman Statues At Israel Museum For “Violating The Torah”

 

DIN: I'll tell you what "violates the Torah!" 

B"H I had the opportunity to celebrate the wedding of a grandchild in the USA, may Hashem grant me years and health to celebrate simchos ! During my stay some of my readers and followers who knew that I would be in the US, invited me to spend shabbosim with their families. 

One of those shabbosim was very memorable as it was up in the mountains. My hosts asked me to accommodate him to a nearby bungalow colony where his Chassidishe friend was making a Bar-Mitzvah for his son. 

 As I entered the shul, I noticed a small kitchen where I saw 5 goyitis, slicing meats that I didn't recognize, and placing them on gigantic boards. Oh! Did I tell you that outside there were 3 chefs preparing fresh sushi. In addition, I noticed two more ladies thinly slicing, smoked and other assorted baked and cooked fish and placing them on gigantic boards. Trays of different types of prepared chicken were constantly being refilled and brought out to the supposedly half-starved guests. 

I entered the shul and saw a few hundred Chassidim with shtrimlich sitting with their talisim still on, munching on 8 different variations of "greevin" or "griviis" (Kosher pork rinds) and slurping from an assortment of at least 15 different flavors of herring. Each table had at least 20 different of the finest most expensive scotch, bourbons and vodkas; I am not going to tell you about the 50 different of the finest imported wines. 

All what I just described is not even a smidgen what was being served there constantly, and I'm not even going to go into what the women were having, but I did observe many Ladies walking out of the building and none of them looked anorexic, all looked well fed.

When I naively suggested to my host that I estimated that this Bar Mitzvah Kiddush was $5,000 (nisht Shabbos ge'redt) he stared at me as if I was an alien that dropped from the sky and said, in all earnestly, that the cost (of course, nisht shabbos geredt) was not a penny less than $50,000. 

I must tell you that after this gluttony, most of the families went back to their bungalows to eat a full seuda with their families. 

So my friends, is a statue of a dead avoda zara, not worshipped for over 2,000 years, in a Zionist Museum that no frum person ever sets foot in, is a "violation of the Torah?'

 Or is what I just described a "violation of our holy Torah." 

A 40-year-old American tourist was detained on Thursday evening for allegedly vandalizing ancient sculptures inside the Israel Museum’s archaeology wing.

Police were alerted to the museum after reports came in of a visitor intentionally damaging several statues. Images shared by law enforcement depicted two sculptures knocked off pedestals and shattered into multiple fragments. Identified artifacts include the 2nd century CE head of Athena, discovered in 1978 near Beit She’an, and a representation of the Roman god Nemesis as a griffin holding a wheel of fate, dated 210-211 CE, found in 1957 in northern Negev.

Museum officials confirmed the damaged artifacts were “ancient Roman statues from the 2nd century CE” and prominently displayed in the archaeology section.

Before police arrived, a museum security guard detained the man, and authorities later released a photo of a stick, suggesting the individual might have used it during the incident. Subsequent police questioning indicated the man vandalized the statues due to his belief that they are “against the Torah.”

The damaged artifacts are now with the museum’s conservation lab, where experts will attempt restoration. While the museum deemed the event “severe” and “disturbing”, it announced that there would be no disruption to its regular operating hours.

Belzer Rebbe Invites OTD Former Members Of Chassidus To His Sukkah

 

 A few months ago the Belzer Rebbe, realizing that a significant number of Chasidim have left the fold and gone OTD but still want some connection to their families, established the Ahavas Kedumim organization. 

The new organization does not attempt to bring the erstwhile chassidim back to their former customs but it does try to give them some of the warmth and joy which characterize the chassidim and to demonstrate that they are still loved wherever they are and however they behave.

The response to the rebbe’s initiative has been gratifying, as many former chassidim attended events sponsored by the chassidus and relive their longing for the songs, atmosphere and spirit which they grew up with.

In the following clip a former chassid describes in glowing terms how Ahavas Kedumim helped merely by recognizing the existence of those who have left the chassidus and attempting to give them a sense of community.

The organization conducts trips to Kivrei Tzadikim, meetings and other activities for the OTD members, and the response has been positive from the former chassidim.

On Sukkos the rebbe invited the former chassidim to his Sukkah and even gave them front-row seats, demonstrating that he wishes to maintain the connection with them despite the differences in approach.