Luzer Duvid Steimetz ... “Free Your Wife Mrs. Steinmetz The Aguna Now!!!”

 

A Hasidic woman who has spent several years fighting for a religious divorce from her husband upped the ante this week, making her prolonged plight public by taking it to the skies above Brooklyn.

A plane circled Williamsburg for three hours on Monday, dragging a banner behind it that read, “Free Aguna Mrs. Steinmetz Now!!!”

“Aguna” is Hebrew for “chained woman.”

The plane was hired by members of the Hasidic community who support Yenta Reisa Pollack and her ongoing campaign for independence from husband Eliezer Duvid Steinmetz.

The 26-year-old mother of one has been trying for seven years to split from her husband, who refuses to grant her a religious divorce known as a “get.”

“The objective [of the campaign] is to both mount awareness for this current case, apply pressure to the ‘get’ abuse family, and to try to systemically change the cultural norm,” explained Pollack’s advocate, Adina Miles-Sash, known online as FlatbushGirl.

“In this situation the abuse exists in a family dynamic,” Miles-Sash said. “It’s not an isolated perpetrator and husband — but someone protected by his father and brothers.”

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Adina Miles-Sash handed out fliers and led Friday’s pre-Shabbat protest.J.C. Rice

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A mobile billboard truck also urged the Steinmetz’s give up the get.J.C. Rice

Pollack married Steinmetz when she was just 18. She asked for a divorce a year into the marriage.

“He was never home, he was always abandoning her — he was missing,” said Miles-Sash. “And for seven years, he’s been trying to convince her to give it another try.”

The shame plane is owned by New Jersey-based High Exposure Aerial Advertising, according to online flight records. Miles-Sash said the banner ad cost “thousands.”

Pollack’s campaign continued Friday, with a mobile billboard truck cruising through their neighborhood admonishing her husband and in-laws.

There was also a small protest outside the Foodoo Kosher Supermarket, attended by supporters with bullhorns, who handed out fliers calling on the family to acquiesce.

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The get has been held up the last seven year.J.C. Rice

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Miles-Sash hopes applying pressure to the family leads to the granting of the get.J.C. Rice

They also planned to crash a Steinmetz family wedding Sunday.

“They don’t understand that we are ready to go nuclear,” Miles-Sash said, adding many in the Hasidic community support Pollack’s bid for freedom. “They’re holding [the get] in limbo like this, as an abuse tool. He’s demanding she return to the marriage, and she has said, ‘No.'”

Miles-Sash said the couple entered legally binding arbitration, taking their case to a “beth din,” a rabbinical court panel established to resolve disputes.

Steinmetz, Miles-Sash said, was instructed by the tribunal in December to give Pollack a “get” within 10 days, or be excommunicated.

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The truck circled the neighborhood for hours before Shabbat.J.C. Rice

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The truck was hard to miss on Friday.J.C. Rice

But Steinmetz has faced no repercussions for violating the order, due to his parents’ high standing in the community, Miles-Sash said. His parents are Eizek Steinmetz and Shifra Eizek.

“This isn’t just about freeing this particular woman, but sounding the alarm on this abuse — everywhere where there are Orthodox women, this abuse is taking place.”

Incredible! Yale psychiatrist urges MSNBC viewers to shun and cut ties with Trump-voting family members over the holidays

 

A Yale-affiliated psychiatrist encouraged LGBTQ+ people whose family members voted for Donald Trump to cut ties and shun their relatives over the upcoming holidays — as fallout from the election reached hysteria on left-leaning MSNBC.

Yale University child psychiatry fellow Dr. Amanda Calhoun dug into the issue of the post-election crises in the LGBTQ+ community with MSNBC’s Joy Reid on Friday night.

“There is a societal push that, if somebody is your family, they are entitled to your time. And I think the answer is absolutely not,” Calhoun said in a clip shared online.

“So, if you are going through a situation where you have family members or you have close friends who you know have voted in ways that are against you, that are against your livelihood, then it’s completely fine to not be around those people, and to tell them why,” she continued.

Bnei-Brak Liars!

 

The article below appeared in a Hebrew Magazine called "Matzav Haruach" which I translated loosely into English! 

I have written before that Chareidim do not really believe that Torah is מגנא ומצלא (protects), not they nor their spiritual leaders! 

They actually laugh and mock that idea as we saw during Bein Hazmanim when they slammed their Gemarrahs shut to spend time with their families while their frum brothers in uniform were dying by the hour! If they really believed it they would have cut the Bein Hazmanim altogether. Some serious Yeshivos actually either cut it short or extended the zman by two days (Mir) which in itself mocks the entire premise. The R"Y of the Institutions that did "extend the learning for a couple of days" admitted that it had nothing to do with the belief that "Torah Protects" it was only for show to fool the masses!

This is really one of many different articles that appeared in hundreds of different Dati-Leumi weekly magazines this week, who are getting angrier and angrier and fed up at Chareidim for not enlisting, but since I believe this one captured all what even Heimishe Yidden are feeling I decided to post it!

by Menachem Rahat

 

שערי תירוצים לא ננעלו

 This week, in an official ceremony, the Bnei Brak Municipality inaugurated the innovative and upgraded security system to protect all the city's educational institutions from terrorists

What can we say and how will we talk? מה נאמר ומה נדבר

According to the municipality:

 "Bnei Brak now has an innovative and advanced security system! Dedicated security teams that will move around the streets of the city of "Torah and Chasidus" with armed patrols mounted on the streets of the city, as part of a professional system that, as the municipality testifies, provides effective security to all educational institutions and neighborhoods in real time."

How beautiful! And extremely important in these difficult times.

But, I asked myself, 

Why did the municipality waste millions on an innovative and advanced security system? 

After all, there is no dispute that Torah is מגנא ומצלא (protects)! No?

. So why would you  waste millions protecting the Tinokas shel Beis Rabban, when the Torah itself is מגנא ומצלא? Why waste public funds? Mr. Mayor Hanoch Seibert, where is your frumkeit?

This is further proof that even the municipality of the City of Torah & Chasidus thinks that Torah alone can not possibly be מגנא ומצלא (protect), and that "an additional layer  of professional security teams and policing teams, "is needed!

It turns out that this false, world-wide claim that the Bnei Brak rabbis, brandish," that there is no need to enlist them in the IDF because their Torah מגנא ומצלא (protects)," is also how the  municipality holds, and they both actually hold from the narrow interpretation of the Vilna Gaon, that the dictum of that Torah מגנא ומצלא (protects) only from sin and only personal basis, and does not alone defend against the Palestinian murderers.

Republicans on brink of clinching US House control

 

Republicans on Saturday appeared close to clinching control of the U.S. House of Representatives, a critical element for President-elect Donald Trump to advance his agenda when he returns to the White House in January.

With votes still being counted from the Nov. 5 general election, Republicans had won 212 seats in the 435-member House, according to projections by Edison Research, which projected on Friday night that Republican Jeff Hurd had enough votes to keep Republican control of Colorado's 3rd congressional district.

Republicans now need to win six more seats to keep control of the House and they already have enough victories to wrest control of the U.S. Senate from Democrats, though Edison Research projected late on Friday that Democratic U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen won reelection in Nevada.

With Trump's victory in the presidential election and Republican control of the Senate already decided, keeping hold of the House would give Republicans sweeping powers to potentially ram through a broad agenda of tax and spending cuts, energy deregulation and border security controls.

Results of 19 House races remain unclear, mostly in competitive districts in Western states where the pace of vote counting is typically slower than in the rest of the country.

Ten of the seats are currently held by Republicans and nine by Democrats. Fourteen of seats were widely seen as competitive ahead of the election.

The Ugly Face of Younes Qavali the Terrorist Behind the Amsterdam Pogrom

Younes Qavali, a Migrant Living in the Netherlands, Allegedly Behind the Pogrom Planning

Younes, don’t worry – Mossad just wanted to make sure your address is up to date…

Sick! Upper West Side synagogue, Jews gather to ‘sit shiva’ following Trump’s win

 

Congregants at the Upper West Side synagogue B’nai Jeshurun had gathered for a post-election prayer service on Wednesday night, but the congregation’s senior rabbi, Roly Matalon, understood that they had really come together for a different kind of Jewish gathering.

“We’re sitting shiva,” Matalon said to a crowd of about 100, including both members and guests. “Sitting shiva with a sense of loss, of grief.”

It was less than 24 hours after polls had closed in the year’s presidential election and just over 12 since Donald Trump, the Republican former president, had been declared the winner. For a significant majority of Jews across the country who opposed Trump, and especially in liberal bastions like the Upper West Side, the result shocked and stung.

As attendees trickled in, many greeted each other with looks of disbelief or shakes of their heads — but not with words.

“I feel a deep, physical sadness,” said congregant Joel Soffin, 79. Referring to a Jewish mourning tradition, Soffin added that mourners customarily don’t greet others or respond to greetings “during the first three days [of mourning] — and I’m in that place.”

“As a child of Holocaust survivors — it’s a very sad statement — but I see a fascist rise to power,” said Nina Horak, also a B’nai Jeshurun member. 

The event — titled “A Time of Prayer for the Neshamah [Soul] of Our Nation” — had been planned before the election to take place no matter its results, or whether they were fully known. The intention was to give the community a space to not only pray together, but also process together and share their experiences, said Rabbi Shuli Passow, the synagogue’s chief program and engagement officer.

After it became clear that Trump had handed Democrat Kamala Harris, the current vice president, a stinging loss, the event transformed in tone. 

Rabbi Felicia Sol led the brief evening service, and upon its conclusion read the Langston Hughes poem “Let America be America Again,” which talks about an American dream that never existed for many Americans. Matalon spoke about the feelings of shock and grief shared by many in the audience. 

“Are we the country we thought we are?” Sol asked. “I think that’s something many of us are holding.”

In the crowd was Rep. Jerry Nadler, who was reelected Tuesday to represent New York’s 12th Congressional District, which includes the Upper West Side. Nadler had received a congratulatory message from Matalon during what was an otherwise solemn night. 

Even on the Upper West Side, where most voters supported Harris, Trump’s support rose compared to 2020, when he lost to President Joe Biden. In one precinct, according to preliminary data, Harris’ share of the vote was below 85% — a result unseen in 2020.

In an interview, Nadler quoted scripture. “‘By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. How shall we sing a song to the Lord in a strange land?’” he said, quoting Psalm 137 and a spiritual frequently sung in American synagogues. “This seems like a strange land now.” 

Then the rabbis split the attendees into over a dozen intimate discussion groups, and the sanctuary buzzed with the noise of people candidly sharing their own thoughts. 

“It’s very helpful to be in community, to hear each other’s stories and just to feel a presence,” Soffin said. 

After his shock in seeing Trump’s strong performance, Soffin said he realized he should ultimately meet more people with whom he disagrees in order to understand where they’re coming from. “But [for] now, while we’re sitting shiva, I need to be in the silo,” he said. “I need to have people around who are wrestling with the same things.”

Meryl, a congregant who normally joins via Zoom, commuted from New Jersey for the event. “I needed it,” she said. “I needed it.”

Said Horak about the evening, “It gives my soul a break. It’s a chance to be in community with likeminded people.” She added, motioning to the sanctuary’s elaborate, Moorish Revival-style mosaic wall, “And it’s a nice synagogue, you know, nice to look at.”

After about 20 minutes, the small discussion groups coalesced, and a few volunteers shared their stories with everyone. One speaker said he regretted not doing more as a canvasser to drum up votes for Harris. 

A congregant named Debra, 71, shared her fear that decades of work advocating for reproductive rights will be undone under the Trump administration. 

But Debra also struck a hopeful note for the future when talking about her 8-year-old granddaughter, who took it upon herself to write a petition to make Harris president.

Matalon, too, hinted at the future in his comments to the crowd, even as he gave them permission to wallow in the present.

“There will be a time after shiva to strategize, to organize, to analyze and to see what can be,” he said. “But now it’s just time to sit with one another, with our grief.”

Dutch Authorities Received Multiple Warnings Before Pogrom ...Latest Updates!

 

The Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism reported that Dutch authorities ignored three warnings about a planned attack on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam.

 Despite alerts about potential violence, local forces failed to protect Israeli citizens, resulting in injuries and missing individuals.

“Uber drivers were at the center of organizing the attacks against Jews in Amsterdam”

The Jews are on their way to Israel on the rescue flights.

 ‘The Police Abandoned Us To Thugs’

Israeli fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer club described the chaos and the violence they suffered immediately after the end of the soccer game between their club and Ajax, the local team. The fans told of organized groups of Muslim thugs who were out on the streets searching for Israelis and attacking them without provocation. The fans said the streets were empty of police, who did nothing to protect the fans.

One fan told Ynet that “They rammed into me and brandished a knife. I’m lightly injured but I’m not willing to get treatment here, only in Israel. They ambushed us, I’m in total shock. I saw with my own eyes kids getting nasty blows. They are everywhere and there’s no police, its chaos. They were organized beforehand, and the police abandoned us. Every fourth guy in the streets is a Muslim intent on attacking us. I and hundreds of others are stuck inside our hotel, police won’t let us go out. We just want to fly home.”

Another fan said that “Nobody offered us help, there’s no chance we’ll go to the hospital, I don’t rely on anyone here. The police themselves hit us with truncheons because they were afraid of the pro-Palestinians. We are now in the hotel, people are constantly photographing us. It feels like a pogrom.”

Another fan described seeing a police van and asking for help. “The policeman laughted and said: Yes,yes, bye bye. They didn’t want to deal with them at all. We are in danger here, we’ll only get out if Israel security guys come. The whole of Amsterdam is full of groups of Muslims waiting to attack Israelis. We won’t leave until we see Israeli officials.”

Currently there are five injured Israelis in hospitals and several others who have not yet made contact with their families. There are an estimated 10-20 injured and Israeli authorities are working to rescue the 2751 Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in Amsterdam and to secure them in their hotels prior to bringing them back.

President Herzog called the Dutch king to complain about the horrific anti-Semitic attacks on Israelis. The king sharply condemned the attacks and said that “We failed you (the Jews) in the 1940s and we failed you once again yesterday.” The leaders noted the date which is just before the anniversary of the 1938 Kristallnacht pogroms.

In the wake of the harsh attacks in Amsterdam, Minister of Culture and Sport Miki Zohar sent officials to Amsterdam to help evacuate fans from the city. The Shin Bet has increased security measures for Israel’s representatives in Holland- the ambassador and the military attached who is normally in Belgium but currently assisting in Holland.

United Torah Judaism head Yitzchak Goldknopf spoke with local Chabad emissary Akiva Kamissar, who is operating an emergency room to help Israelis in the Dutch capital. Goldknopf thanked the emissary for his help and offered Israel’s assistance where required.

Days After Trump Election Qatar removes Hamas officials from its territory

 

Qatar will no longer serve as a diplomatic mediator between Israel and Hamas, a diplomatic source told AFP on Saturday.

According to the source, Qatar has declared that "as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith," they cannot continue acting as mediator.

The source added that, "as a consequence, the Hamas political office no longer serves its purpose."

Another source told Reuters that Qatar will not serve as mediator until both sides show "sincere willingness" to return to the negotiating table.

US and Qatari sources told CNN that in recent weeks Qatar agreed to remove Hamas from its territory, following a US request. The move aims to pressure the terror group to agree to a ceasefire-prisoner swap deal which will end the war in Gaza.

According to the report, about two weeks ago US officials told their Qatari counterparts that they must stop providing Hamas terrorists with refuge, and Qatar gave Hamas notice approximately one week ago.

However, a senior Hamas official claimed that the reports were "baseless" and intended only as a "pressure tactic." A Hamas source confirmed to AFP: "We have not been asked to leave Qatar."

Zera Shimshon Parshas Lech Lecha