Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Republican Women Are in Crisis

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/opinion/republican-party-women.html

Acknowledging the party’s mistakes with female voters, the G.O.P. fielded female candidates in the 2014 midterms who could appeal more broadly. These candidates downplayed their social conservatism and leaned in to their biographies as glass-breaking female leaders. In 2014, Martha McSally, the nation’s first female fighter pilot to serve in combat, won the Republican primary in a swing district in Arizona. Elise Stefanik, then the youngest congresswoman ever elected, was chosen to be co-chairwoman of the party’s moderate caucus

With the exception of her endorsement of Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, Ms. Palin played a minor role in the 2014 midterm victories. Her days as queen-maker seemed over. Most signs suggested that Republican pragmatism would prevail going forward.
The rise of Donald Trump eliminated any chance of that. The signs of women’s disillusionment with the party were immediate. One day after President Trump’s inauguration, an estimated four million people, mostly women, participated in hundreds of women’s marches throughout the United States. In the months that followed, women mobilized to defeat Republicans at the federal, state and local levels.

In the 2018 midterms, every Republican congresswoman from the 2014 class except for Ms. Stefanik lost. Martha McSally was defeated, though she was appointed by Arizona’s Republican governor to fill John McCain’s Senate seat after Mr. McCain died. She faces a tough election battle in 2020.
Despite winning three governors’ races and one open Senate seat in 2018, Republican women will end the decade with their governors and senators outnumbered two to one by their Democratic counterparts. Three of the four current female Republican senators running in 2020 face highly competitive elections in 2020. There are more than six times as many Democratic women as Republican women in the House.

AMI MAGAZINE marriage annulment


the recent Ami magazine had a cover story about marriage annulment - did anyone  who read the article  like to summarize the article?

 https://www.amimagazine.org/2019/12/25/preserving-the-sanctity-of-jewish-marriage-and-the-integrity-of-our-immutable-mesorah/<












 

Monday, December 30, 2019

President Trump Retweets Post Naming Alleged Ukraine Whistleblower


https://time.com/5756414/president-trump-retweets-ukraine-whistleblower/
 
President Donald Trump retweeted a post that included the alleged name of the anonymous whistleblower whose complaint ultimately led to his impeachment by the House.

Just before midnight Friday, Trump retweeted a message from Twitter user @Surfermom77, an account that claims to be a woman named Sophia who lives in California. The account shows some indications of automation, including an unusually high amount of activity and profile pictures featuring stock images from the internet.

Nancy Pelosi delays Trump Senate impeachment trial to her credit — and her peril

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/12/23/trump-impeachment-trial-pelosi-mcconnell-constitutional-crisis-column/2714983001/

Among other matters, the 1986 rules provided that “the Senate shall have power to compel the attendance of witnesses.” When disagreement broke out about whether to call witnesses, the senators deliberated in private, and then publicly voted to depose witnesses. The senators heard videotaped deposition testimony from three witnesses. The trial lasted more than a month.

The 1986 rules are still in force. Yet Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declared his intent to ignore them and to run the trial according to whatever procedures the White House wants. Apparently, McConnell sees no conflict between swearing an oath to do justice according to law and then confessing that “Everything I do during this, I'm coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president's position and our position.”

Cyprus court finds British woman guilty of falsely accusing Israelis of gang rape


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/273838


A British woman who accused Israeli teens of gang-raping her earlier this year has been found guilty of fabricated the claims.

A court in Paralimni, Cyprus convicted the woman, who was 19 when she filed the false police report this summer, of public mischief Monday, finding that the British tourist had falsely accused 12 Israelis of gang-raping her in a hotel in the resort town of Ayia Napa on July 17th.

Judge Michalis Papathanasiou said the defendant did not tell the truth during her trial, and accused her of trying to deceive the court of “convenient” and “evasive” statements.

"The statements you have given were false," Papathanasiou said.

"He already made his decision! I thought we were asking for a fine," the defendant said to her lawyer.

More than a dozen female protesters were in court Monday, wearing white scarves with an image of lips sewn shut, AFP reported.

The woman, whose identity has not been released, could face up to one year in prison and a fine of 1,700 euros ($1,900).

The court set the date for sentencing for January 7th.

The “Genesis” of Chanuka By Rabbi Yehuda Levin



With the advent of Chanuka I find myself questioning how in our professional lives we always upgrade our knowledge in order to remain pertinent. Yet, too many of us are satisfied to make do with the same superficial understanding in the areas of Tefilah/Prayer, Yomim Tovim/Holidays, etc. that we acquired early in life.
Too many of us apply too much time, effort, and money towards enhancing the externalities of the holiday, such as, ‘presents’ and gourmet donuts. We should be endeavoring to enrich and increase our connection to Hashem through the spiritual opportunity provided to us by these the eight Holy Days.
In a prior Chanuka column I emphasized how Chanuka was also the celebration of the victorious civil war against our fellow Jewish Misyavnim/Hellenists. It was far more than a revolutionary war against our Syrian Greek interlocutors.
Let us now dig a little deeper. Reading Parshas Vayishlach we question how Esav’s spiritual agent managed to wound Yaaqov Avinu, the “B’chir ShebeAvos” (outstanding Patriarch), replacement value of Adam HaRishon, whose very visage is carved into the Mercavah/Throne of G-d Himself. To answer this, let’s go back to the creation of Chava.
The Medrash Rabbah posits that the limb from which Hashem crafted Chava was from Adam’s inner thigh bone/sinew. This is because the inner legs are usually together and covered connoting tznius/modesty. As Hashem constructed every limb, He enjoined it to be tzniuah/modest. One may suggest this yerech/thigh bone was actually the Gid Hanasheh or adjacent to it. Thus, as the Zohar teaches, when Chava betrayed Adam by having an intimate relationship with the snake and then coercing Adam to eat from the forbidden fruit, she turned her greatest asset into a cosmic liability. For Chava was supposed to be the “legs”/support system of her husband, who was to be the Prince of the Torah and spirituality. Instead, she virtually cut him off at the “legs”, betraying him and causing his spiritual collapse. She thus implanted into the very Creation a weakness relating to the Gid Hanasheh/thigh bone. Thus, Yaaqov, as the spiritual replacement of Adam inherited an intrinsic weakness in that area of his physicality and the Angel capitalized on it.
The nachash/snake represents all of the various stages of Golus/Exile including Eisav/Edom and yes, Yavan/Greece. We find in Sefer Daniel that Yavan is associated with nechoshesh/copper. Thus, what the snake did to Chava was an example of the horrific decree that whomever marries must first be intimate with the local hegman/governor. This precisely describes the relationship between the snake/Yavan and the first crossover Hellenist/ Misyavani, Chava, who then utilized her newfound “misyvaneekeit” to betray her husband and cause his downfall.
The Yavanim intended to physically contaminate the sanctity of the Jewish woman while also injecting anti-holiness into the very essence of the spiritual genetic code of Klal Yisroel. They largely succeeded in diminishing the amount of truly holy and loyal Jews. Thus, Rashi informs us in Parshas Vzos Habracha, that a super minority of Matisyahu and a handful of his progeny triggered the Hashmonaic Revolution and by extension the civil war against the Helenists.
Now, let us explore the Gid Hanasheh-Chanuka connection. The Shach Al HaTorah informs us that the reason Yaaqov went back for the pachim ketanim/small flasks was because the pach contained the miraculous shemen/olive oil with which Yaaqov anointed the Matzaiva/Monument, the location of the future Bais Hamikdash, when he left to travel to Lavan.
This miraculous oil was the same oil which would consecreate/anoint priests and kings, and would be a miracle source throughout the ages. Thus, the Shach(not the one who wrote a gloss on the Shulchan Aruch) says that this is the mysterious correlation of the caf of Yaaqov’s thigh and the pach/flask of oil; both are the letters chof/peh.
The healing of Yaaqov as the sun rose indicates and prognosticates that the antidote to the choshech/darkness of Yavan during that Golus/Exile will be by the sun/light and the flask of shemen representing the shining of the Oral Law/Mishnaic period. This was the spiritual spoils of war, the intellectual wisdom surrendered by the Greek antagonists co-opted by Shimon Hazadik and subsequent generations. This metamorphosized into the Chochmas HaTorah Shebaal Peh.
We now understand more deeply the reason for not eating the Gid Hanasheh. It’s because Chava, the very product of Adam’s Gid Hanasheh/thigh bone betrayed Adam by causing him to EAT the forbidden fruit. So, the Gid Hanasheh is forever associated with forbidden EATING. To elaborate further regarding the Chanuka connection and Chava’s creation from the Gid Hanasheh/thigh. Kabalistically, the two legs are Netzach/victory and Hod/glory. Chava was surely created from the leg of Hod and maybe from both legs. This is related to the attribute of Hodaah/thanking and viduy/confessing to Hashem that we don’t deserve all the largesse that He constantly bestows upon us.
This aforementioned approach answers a question Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita asked his father, the Steipler ZT"L. Why according to the Zohar is Gid Hanasheh the commandment, which corresponds to Tisha B’Av? The Chidushei Harim also raises this issue. He responded, “the 365 laavin/negative commandments each correspond to one day of the solar year and thus the Zohar says one who eats from that sinew is as if he ate on Tisha B’Av”.
I humbly suggest that the Bais Hamikdash symbolizes Hashem residing amongst us collectively and individually. It is utopia and harkens back partially to Gan Eden before Adam’s sin. The Churban of the Bais Hamikdash, like the sin of the Golden Calf and every other transgression is ultimately sourced in the original sin of the Gid Hanasheh/Chava’s betrayal of Hashem and of her husband.
There is much more to convey and I urge you to see my other articles. I hope to expand on other Chanuka takeaways. Let us conclude with the following for now: Chanuka is a time to recharge our spiritual batteries during our prayers, particularly, Hallel and Al Hanisim. We should petition Hashem to enlighten us so that we may fully perceive and combat the outside and inside forces of Hellenism, secularism, materialism, and reading material, etc. We must fully realize that all that is touted as orthodox isn’t necessarily so.
On Chanuka, unlike the rest of the year, Hashem descends to below asara tefachim (ten handbreadths) to be with us and enlighten us in the midst of the darkness of the Diaspora in manifold ways including helping to perceive and identify the Misyavnim in our own camp.
Let us be inspired by the Nashim Tzidkunious throughout history. The Bnei Yisoscher says, every redemption was triggered by righteous women such as Yocheved, Miriam, Rus, Esther, and Yehudis. Thus, we see that the righteous women of the Chanuka epic led the men in instituting the Hashmonaic rebellion, that began with Yehudis, the daughter of Matisyahu the quintessential Jewish heroine named with Hod/Hodaah as an antidote to that which Chava cast asunder. She challenged her father and brothers to rebel against the Syrian Greek decrees, particularly in opposing the violation of the brides. Recall the Jewish women who circumcised their sons when it was punishable by death and then threw themselves off the ramparts of Yerushalayim (see Rav Eliyahu Kitov).
So too, the women of today, particularly during Chanuka can in some modest measure emulate their spiritual antecedents helping them eschew the aforementioned impediments to timeless holiness and to inspire their menfolk to an unsullied (shemen tohor) relationship with Hashem.
As we peer at the candles recall Chazal’s adage: “He who seeks wisdom should turn in the direction of the Menorah (Yadrim)”. Remember the famous Ramban, which states that the Menorah’s light is a virtual throwback to Aharon’s menorah. And therefore, we should pray for enlightenment, wisdom, and uncompromising Torah values for ourselves and our families.
Although it may seem difficult, Chanuka is a time of Hodaah/Viduy, expressing gratitude and confessing our shortcomings. It is an auspicious time when it is made easier to effectuate Teshuva/repentance. Just as the Jews returned to Hashem because of the miracles, Bayomim Hahaim/in those days, may we merit to do so B’zman Hazeh. He will then truly light up our lives.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin has entered his 5th decade of Torah activism, as he continues to represent his various mentors, the Gedolei Torah of yesteryear. He can be heard weekly on 620 AM Radio Thursday evenings at 11:00. He can be reached at rabbilevin@gmail.com. You can join his provocative chat by ‘what’s aping’ (718)469-6999.
Anyone wishing to coordinate a weekly free shiur for men or women, kindly contact Rabbi Levin.



Armed Parishioners Killed the Gunman in a Texas Church Shooting. Here’s What to Know

https://time.com/5756485/white-settlement-church-texas-shooting/

The armed parishioners were members of the church’s volunteer security team, which is comprised of church members who are licensed to carry firearms, according to the Associated Press.
Local media reports that a livestream of the church service—which appears to have been removed online—shows at least one churchgoer firing back at the shooter while dozens seek shelter under pews.
On Sunday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared condolences to the families of the victims.
“Places of worship are meant to be sacred, and I am grateful for the church members who acted quickly to take down the shooter and help prevent further loss of life,” Abbott said in a public statement. “Cecilia and I ask all Texans to join us in praying for the White Settlement community and for all those affected by this horrible tragedy.”

Man Arrested After Five People Stabbed at Hanukkah Celebration in New York. Here's What to Know

https://time.com/5756441/hanukkah-stabbing-new-york/

Police captured the suspect, who they have identified as 37-year-old Grafton E. Thomas, in New York City hours after the attack. He has been charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary, according to the Town of Ramapo Police Department, which is investigating the case.
The incident unfolded next to the rabbi’s synagogue in Monsey, a small town in Rockland County about 20 miles outside of New York City. Rockland County has the largest Jewish population per capita of any county in the United States, according to New York State. About 31.4% of the county’s residents are Jewish.
The attack comes amid growing concern about anti-Semitic hate crimes in New York and the surrounding region. In the most violent incident, four people were shot and killed in nearby Jersey City in an anti-Semitic attack that targeted a kosher deli on Dec. 10.
 

fake news Ivanka Trump: National media ignoring anti-Semitic violence

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/273799

Anti-Semitic violence in the New York area has been largely ignored by the national media, President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka claimed Sunday, hours after an attack on a Monsey synagogue left five Hasidic Jews wounded.
In a tweet Sunday, Ivanka Trump condemned the attack on a Monsey synagogue during the Hanukkah festival as “pure evil”.
“The vicious attack of a rabbi in Monsey, NY last night was an act of pure evil. As we pray for the victims, may the candles of Chanukah burn bright through this darkness.”
Trump added that the attack capped off a string of violent assaults on Jews in the greater New York City area, and accused the national media outlets – as well as local government officials – of largely ignoring the trend.
“Attacks on Jewish New Yorkers were reported almost every single day this past week. The increasing frequency of anti-Semitic violence in New York (and around the country) receives far too little local governmental action and national press attention.”
 

See the moment when two NYPD officers arrested a Hanukkah stabbing suspect in New York City

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/29/us/nypd-officers-hanukkah-stabbing-suspect-arrest/index.html

 As their night tour began, the two young New York City police officers pulled their SUV in front of the car driven by a man suspected of stabbing several people at a Hanukkah celebration. They blocked his path at an intersection in Harlem.
Russell Mattera and David Radziwon drew their guns and calmly walked to the car. With his hands raised, Grafton Thomas stepped out and the officers handcuffed him after midnight Sunday. Thomas had blood on his clothes and smelled of bleach, a prosecutor said.
 

Hanukkah Stabbing at Rabbi's House in New York Leaves 5 Injured, Hate Crime Police Task Force Investigates

https://www.newsweek.com/hannukah-stabbing-rabbis-house-new-york-5-injured-hate-crime-investigation-1479517

According to the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (OJPAC), reports of a mass stabbing were made at around 9.50 p.m. on December 28, 2019 at a house in Monsey, Rockland County—approximately 30 miles north of New York City.
Local and state police attended the scene where five members of the Hasidic community were stabbed during Hanukkah festivities. All five stab victims have been taken to a local hospital. Two have been declared critical.
The suspected perpetrator, who was later identified by authorities as Grafton Thomas, 37, of Greenwood Lake, reportedly made an escape in a Nissan Sentra after the attack. He was later apprehended in Manhattan. In a Facebook post, the Ramapo Police Department said Thomas was arraigned in court late Sunday morning on five counts of attempted murder and one count of burglary. According to The Associated Press, Thomas pleaded not guilty, and bail was set at $5 million.

Sunday, December 29, 2019

New York machete stabbings at Hanukkah event in rabbi's home result in 5 wounded: reports


https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-york-synagogue-stabbing-attack-results-in-several-injuries-reports
A frightening attack at a Hanukkah celebration in the home of a rabbi in a suburb north of New York City on Saturday night placed the entire New York region on edge and had public officials vowing to stop the violence.

The assault in Monsey, N.Y. -- by a machete-wielding suspect who drove away but whom authorities believe was the man they apprehended later -- continued a string of incidents in recent weeks that have included beatings of Jewish people on the streets of New York City and a massacre at a kosher grocery store in nearby Jersey City, N.J.

Jerusalem rabbi sentenced to 4 years for sexual abuse of children

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/ryoONLJJ8

A Jerusalem rabbi was sentenced to four years in prison for sexually abusing at least four children at his synagogue.
Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter
The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday sentenced Shalom Hazan, a community rabbi in the capital, for committing indecent acts with children under 16.
Hazan was convicted for abusing two boys and two girls, aged 6-12, whom he met at his synagogue where they assisted him with chores and studied Torah. He was ordered to compensate the victims with a sum of NIS 40,000.

Kurdish Commander Calls on Trump to Prevent ‘Ethnic Cleansing’

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/12/16/kurdish-commander-mazloum-abdi-trump-prevent-ethnic-cleansing-kurds-turkey/


Since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s army and proxy forces swept into northeastern Syria in October, the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army—a loose group of Syrian rebels founded by defectors from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army—has terrorized the local population. Although a series of cease-fire agreements have halted the large-scale assault, there are regular reports of atrocities at the hands of the force, including regular arrests, looting, and executions. Abdi recently met with a group of local residents who said the Turkish-backed fighters seized their property and forced them to flee.
 

The Jews should not keep quiet anymore

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/273621

 His newest book "The Jews Should Keep Quiet" explores the relationship between FDR and Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, American Jewry’s leader at the time.
He explains to Eve Harow that new research and declassified information have led to shocking revelations and the inescapable conclusion that the US president was a racist and anti-Semite whose personal attitudes led to Jews getting caught by the Nazis instead of finding refuge in the US.
 

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Politics Editor at Evangelical Publication The Christian Post Resigns Over Pro-Trump Editorial

Nazworth, who had worked at The Christian Post for eight and a half years, says he would have been fine publishing the pro-Trump piece as an op-ed.

“As the politics editor of The Christian Post I have always welcomed diverse voices. I’ve published many op-eds I disagreed with,” he tells TIME. It was only once he learned the paper planned to publish the piece as an editorial, making it the position of the newspaper as a whole, versus that of an individual writer, that he felt he had to resign.

Christianity Today‘s editorial kicked off a firestorm of a debate both among and beyond the evangelical community. President Trump hit back at the publication on Twitter, writing “I guess the magazine, Christianity Today, is looking for Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, or those of the socialist/communist bent, to guard their religion.”
In an open letter addressed to the paper, nearly 200 evangelical leaders condemned the op-ed. Meanwhile, Christianity Today has reported its subscriptions increased after the op-ed was published, and defended its position in a subsequent editorial on Sunday.
“Of course, we appreciate the support and listen humbly to the criticisms,” the second editorial titled “The Flag in the Whirlwind: An Update from CT’s President” said. “But at the end of the day, we write for a readership of One. God is our Tower. Let the whirlwind come.”
“I was actually kind of shocked that [the Christianity Today editorial] got so much attention. In 2016 they had a similar editorial,” Nazworth says. He adds that The Christian Post also published an anti-Trump editorial in 2016, titled “Donald Trump Is a Scam. Evangelical Voters Should Back Away.”
“People don’t realize there is a pretty big contingent [of evangelicals] that don’t support [Trump] as well,” he tells TIME.

Make your mind up, Rudy! Giuliani attends midnight mass at St Patrick's in NYC one day after saying he was 'more Jewish' than Holocaust-survivor George Soros, as Mayor de Blasio calls the Trump attorney an 'anti-Semitic disgrace'

Rudy Giuliani attended midnight mass at the Catholic St. Patrick's Cathedral for Christmas after an interview revealed how he slammed liberal financier George Soros by questioning his Judaism - even though the Hungarian-born billionaire is a Holocaust survivor.

The former New York City mayor posted a photo on his Instagram page of Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, blessing the alter.

'Cardinal Egan blesses the altar at midnight to begin the sacrifice of the Midnight Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. His homily on the meaning of midnight was a beautiful description of the significance of the birth of the son of God,' Giuliani wrote.

Giuliani was blasted for his comments in the interview with NY Magazine, which he gave while drinking Bloody Marys at the posh Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side of New York City.

Modern Day " Yehudis" Heroism


BS"D

Third Day of Chanuka, 5780, Parshas Mikaitz, 5780

Modern Day "Yehudis" Heroism

by Binyomin Feinberg


Nowadays, we are witness to many individuals who exhibit exemplary courage in standing up to the female military draft in Israel. In various ways, they exemplify the very type of mesiras nefesh which we celebrate on Chanukah. The following articles provide a mere sampling of the immense self-sacrifice employed by girls throughout Israeli society today.

Here we cite selected, recently circulated reports on the crisis of conscription of girls & women into the Israeli military: 

{The first two links below appeared in the weekly email of the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV) in the week of Parshas Vayishlach, on  Dec. 12,'19. Most of the remaining links listed below appeared therein in preceding weeks.}

~~~

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/12/facilitating-suicide_51.html

http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/12/crime-wave-strikes-israeli-girls.html

~~~
https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/11/breaking-heartbreaking-news-army.html

(Thu, Nov 7, '19)
~~~
Breaking the Very Laws They Make:

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/11/breaking-very-laws-they-make.html

(Wed., Nov 6, '19)
~~~

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/10/racial-profiling-or-pure-antireligious.html

(Wed., Oct 30, '19)
~~~
https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/10/making-racism-great-again.html

(Tue., Oct 8, 2019)
~~~
Violating the Vineyard:

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/08/alh-report-2-28-augviolating-vineyard.html

(28 Aug.,'19)
~~~
[Update]
 
https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/09/violating-vineyard-update.html

(4 Ellul, '79; see Jewish Press, Sept.13,'19)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chanukah Update:

This week, on Chanukah, we were informed, by a reliable source close to the case, about a girl, A. S., who claims the following: 

She was ordered to enlist on July 14, '19.  When she arrived that day, she witnessed what was going on there. She realized that she cannot possibly enlist. She left, and three weeks later she gave herself up, and was incarcerated for six days, starting on Sun. Aug. 4. After her release on that Friday, Aug. 9, she was ordered to enlist in the Army the day after Tisha B'Av, Aug. 12. B"H, she refused, and has been officially absent-without-leave since then. She is currently being assisted by activists.

In addition to the Torah prohibition against females serving in the military, even from a secular perspective, one can understand why no girl should ever be forced into a military environment. Thus, the problem Israel has here isn't the secular element as much as the anti-religious element, which avidly promotes morally and socially subversive policies that even many secularly oriented people are not necessarily pushing for. These policies include forcibly enlisting girls into the promiscuous military.

~~~

On June 30, '19, Noa M., a religious girl, underwent a Rayon Dat (a religiosity-interrogation, apparently unaware of the Halachic objections to such procedures). She expected to receive a religious exemption, but was subsequently told by the Army that her religious exemption was being denied, reportedly. Her draft date was set for Dec. 22, '19. Reportedly, she is now being summoned to another interview, which is unusual after the draft date passed. What types of games is the military playing with people's lives?  Is this another ploy to pressure religious girls into enlisting?

May we merit the Ultimate Redemption speedily, in the merit of assisting these heroic souls.

Gateshead's Orthodox community bucks declining trend to double in decade


https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Gatesheads-Orthodox-community-bucks-declining-trend-to-double-in-decade-612081


The Orthodox Jewish community of Gateshead, England, is thriving in sharp contrast to many British communities, thanks to outstanding Jewish education, a dynamic New York rabbi and cheap housing.
Like most northern English cities, Gateshead, located on the River Tyne, has struggled since the 1980s with the loss of the manufacturing industries that once made the region Britain's economic powerhouse.

Brooklyn Rabbi and Sons Accused of Sexually Abusing Daughters

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/ny-rabbi-and-sons-accused-of-sexually-abusing-daughters/1904517/


 A Brooklyn Hasidic rabbi and three of his sons are suspected of sexually abusing at least four of the rabbi's daughters after the eldest victim confided in a co-worker at a Jewish school, police said Friday.
The 58-year-old father and his 21-year-old son fled to Israel two days ago and are wanted for questioning in the case, police said. They were apparently driven there by the mother.


while this is an old item 
I was told last night that apparently they are still in Israel after escaping with the aid of prominent Brooklyn rabbis

37% of immigrants in last eight years not Jewish, updated data show


https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/37-percent-of-immigrants-in-last-eight-years-not-Jewish-updated-data-show-612008


 Following the disclosure of erroneous figures on the identity of immigrants to Israel, the Interior Ministry has released new data demonstrating that 37% of immigrants over the last eight years have not been Jewish.
Of those, the overwhelming majority – some 85% of all non-Jewish immigrants – came from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Was George Soros an SS Officer or Nazi Collaborator During World War II?


https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/george-soros-ss-nazi-germany/
That Soros was only nine years old (born in 1930) when the war broke out and all of 14 when Nazi Germany surrendered in May 1945 hasn’t dampened his detractors’ enthusiasm for spreading these rumors, including the absurd claim, which first surfaced in November 2016, that Soros literally served as an officer of the paramilitary Schutzstaffel (SS) in Germany.

 https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17405784/george-soros-not-a-nazi-trump


So yes, George Soros is a billionaire with ties to progressive causes. But he is not a Nazi. Or a Nazi sympathizer. At all. Despite what one might see on Twitter (or Reddit or Facebook) — or even hear from members of Congress. When one Republican Congress member suggested to Vice News that Soros had funded the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VIrginia, last summer in an effort to discredit the right, he made sure to add that Soros ”turned in his own people to the Nazis.”

 https://apnews.com/afs:Content:2336951905

CLAIM: Democratic philanthropist George Soros was a Nazi soldier
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. A photo said to be George Soros as a Nazi soldier is actually a photo of Oskar Groening, a former SS sergeant at Auschwitz Birkenau, the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, operated from 1940-1945 in Poland.
THE FACTS: A photo circulating widely on Facebook is not Soros, but a young Oskar Groening, a former SS sergeant who became known as the “Accountant of Auschwitz.,” according to information provided to The Associated Press by the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland.
Soros, who was just 9-years-old when Hitler’s army invaded Poland, was not a member of the Nazi party, despite what the photo said. Soros, who is Jewish and Hungarian, was 15 during the Nazi occupation of Hungary. He would have been too young to join the Hitler Youth, an organization that recruited and trained 16- and 17-year-old boys to fight.
According to false information with the photo, Soros was an SS in the National Socialist German workers party and served under Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. The information also claimed,”He said it was the best time of his life. The destruction and agony around him was euphoric to him.”
Soros did not say that the destruction and agony was “euphoric” to him. This quote derives from Groening’s testimony in 2015, when he said his enthusiasm for the Nazi objective had evolved into “euphoria.”

הותר לפרסום: רב שתקף 4 ילדים בבית כנסת נשלח לכלא

https://www.kikar.co.il/341435.html


שלום חזן, אב לילדים וסב לנכדים, המשמש כרב בית כנסת בירושלים, ניצל את ההערצה אליו - וביקש מכמה ילדים וילדות שיעזרו לו, תוך שהוא תוקף אותם באופן חמור • גזר דינו: ארבע שנות מאסר

Nearly 180 Evangelical Leaders, Including Billy Graham's Granddaughter, Condemn Anti-Trump Editorial in Letter to Christianity Today


https://www.newsweek.com/evangelical-leaders-letter-condemn-christianity-today-anti-trump-op-ed-1478742

"The editorial you published, without any meaningful and immediate regard for dissenting points of view, not only supported the entirely-partisan, legally-dubious, and politically-motivated impeachment," the letter read, "but went even further, calling for Donald Trump not to be elected again in 2020 when he certainly survives impeachment."

"Your editorial offensively questioned the spiritual integrity and Christian witness of tens-of-millions of believers who take seriously their civic and moral obligations," it continued.

The group, who called themselves "Bible-believing Christians and patriotic Americans," went on to say that they are grateful that Trump has "sought our advice" to advance policies that "protect the unborn, promote religious freedom [and] reform our criminal justice system."

Rudy Giuliani: I'm more of a Jew than George Soros

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/273589

Speaking with New York Magazine’s Olivia Nuzzi in an interview released Monday, Giuliani accused Soros of effectively orchestrating the ongoing Democratic effort to impeach President Trump.

“He put all four ambassadors there,” said Giuliani, “and he’s employing the FBI agents.”

The former mayor then accused Soros defenders of deflecting criticism of the billionaire’s influence in politics and his political positions with allegations of anti-Semitism.

“Don’t tell me I’m anti-Semitic if I oppose him,” said Giuliani, saying Soros is ‘hardly’ Jewish, an ‘enemy of Israel’, and a ‘horrible’ person.

“Soros is hardly a Jew. I’m more of a Jew than Soros is. I probably know more about — he doesn’t go to church, he doesn’t go to religion — synagogue. He doesn’t belong to a synagogue, he doesn’t support Israel, he’s an enemy of Israel. He’s elected eight anarchist DA’s in the United States. He’s a horrible human being.”

Population Authority dismisses claim 85% of immigrants to Israel aren’t Jewish


https://www.timesofisrael.com/population-authority-dismisses-claim-85-of-immigrants-to-israel-arent-jewish

Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) on Monday rejected claims that the overwhelming majority of new immigrants to Israel are non-Jews.

The information, published earlier in a report by an Israeli group based on documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request, asserted that only one out of seven immigrants over the past eight years had moved to Israel as a Jew.

Speak Truth to Trump

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/october-web-only/speak-truth-to-trump.html

 
Most Christians who support Trump have done so with reluctant strategic calculation, largely based on the president’s power to appoint members of the Supreme Court. Important issues are indeed at stake, including the right of Christians and adherents of other religions to uphold their vision of sexual integrity and marriage even if they are in the cultural minority.

But there is a point at which strategy becomes its own form of idolatry—an attempt to manipulate the levers of history in favor of the causes we support. Strategy becomes idolatry, for ancient Israel and for us today, when we make alliances with those who seem to offer strength—the chariots of Egypt, the vassal kings of Rome—at the expense of our dependence on God who judges all nations, and in defiance of God’s manifest concern for the stranger, the widow, the orphan, and the oppressed. Strategy becomes idolatry when we betray our deepest values in pursuit of earthly influence. And because such strategy requires capitulating to idols and princes and denying the true God, it ultimately always fails.

Christianity Today made a moral case that Trump needs to go. He responded by proving its point.

https://www.vox.com/2019/12/20/21031611/christianity-today-trump-removal-editorial-response-mark-galli

Trump began by falsely describing Christianity Today, which has a mainstream audience, as “far left” and “very ‘progressive.’” (Although it’s true the publication has been critical of Trump for years, that’s very different from being far left.) He claimed, without evidence, that the magazine “has been doing poorly.” He took gratuitous shots at the Democratic presidential candidates, comparing their faith unfavorably with his own — and ignoring the fact that if the Senate removes him from office, Vice President Mike Pence, not a Democrat, will take his place.
Christianity Today “knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call and would rather have a Radical Left nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President,” Trump tweeted. “No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close. You’ll not get anything from those Dems on stage.”
 

רבני ב"ב נגד ההפגנות בשבת: "הדבר מוסיף חילול שבת לכוחות הביטחון"

https://www.jdn.co.il/j_world/1246512/

 גדולי רבני בני ברק יוצאים במכתב נגד ההפגנות המתקיימות לאחרונה בשבתות בפאתי העיר כנגד חילולי השבת המתרבים באזור גוש דן: ''אך דא עקא שבמחאות אלו כרוכה סכנה של פיקוח נפש, כי הדרך מובילה לכמה וכמה בתי חולים ראשיים"
 

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Orthodox Jews Raise $1.5 Million For Family That Owned Jersey City Grocery Store

https://forward.com/news/national/436927/hasidic-fundraising-jersey-city-shooting/


The shooting last Tuesday devastated this growing Hasidic community of about 100 families. Two gunmen, a man and a women, fueled by anti-Semitic beliefs, charged into the JC Kosher Supermarket on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Jersey City. Though a quick police response may have saved the lives of the dozens of children in the Jewish school next door, it took hours — and hundreds of bullets — before the assailants were killed and the stand-off ended. Five people, including the assailants, lost their lives. A police officer also died in an earlier confrontation with the shooters.

Paris appeals court agrees: Killer of Jewish woman 'too high' to be guilty


https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/Paris-appeals-court-agrees-Killer-of-Jewish-woman-too-high-to-be-guilty-611546



The Paris Appeals Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that a Muslim man who killed his Jewish neighbor will not face trial because he was too high on marijuana to control his actions.

Friday, December 20, 2019

American Jewry and the Trump impeachment


https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/American-Jewry-and-the-Trump-impeachment-611504
 Many were the Jews in America who certainly applauded the decision to impeach Trump on Wednesday. Many, as well, are the Jews concerned – as Jews have been throughout history in times of crisis and change – about how this will impact on antisemitism and on the Jewish community.

And, as the Ami poll showed, there are also Jews in the US – an integral part of the fabric of the American Jewish community – who think differently. American and Israeli Jews are not the only ones divided on Trump. There is a split – though by no means an equal one – on the matter within the US Jewish community as well.

Israeli-American backpacker loses appeal in Russian drug smuggling case


https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-american-backpacker-loses-appeal-in-russian-drug-smuggling-case/

 A Russian court on Thursday rejected the appeal of Naama Issachar, a US-Israeli woman who was sentenced to over seven years in prison in the country for a minor drug offense.

Issachar, who has been held in Russia since April, was arrested after a small quantity of marijuana, some 9 grams, was found in her luggage during a layover in Moscow.

The judges discussed the decision for roughly 20 minutes and ruled against the appeal in a one-sentence statement, Channel 12 reported. The rejected appeal means her years-long punishment will be upheld.

URGENT: danger of govt sponsored service - for both genders - Last Call: Submit a Public Comment by December 31

Kislev 5780 /  December '19

URGENT: Danger of gov't mandated "national service" etc. - for both genders - potentially becoming obligatory, that too for boys and girls.  

° Imagine the leftist influence over what types of policies volunteers will need abide by.... even hospital volunteers could eventually be compelled to somehow participate in assisted killing, for example. 


° Imagine the LGBTQ Tolerant Tyranny regime at work within National Service...


See below: Last Call: Submit a Public Comment by December 31.


THANK YOU all,

Follow Up Alert Re National Service


BS"D

21 Kislev, 5780


[Follow-Up] Alert: 

Public comments are urgently needed by Dec. 31, addressing, among other things, "Should all Americans be required to serve?"

The "National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service" is taking public comments addressing questions about whether America should encourage or even require various types of public service, including Military, National, and Public Service.


The moral hazards are formidable, see a previous post:  https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/12/urgent-danger-of-govt-sponsored-service.html


This is from their email of  about a month ago:

"One month left to share your thoughts on the following:

Does service have inherent value?

If so, what is it?

How does the U.S. increase the desire for Americans, particularly young Americans, to serve?

What are the barriers to participation in military, national or public service?

How can the U.S. increase participation in military, national, and public service by individuals with critical skills to address national security and other public service needs of the nation?

Is the military draft or draft contingency still a necessary component of U.S. national security?

Are modifications to the selective service system needed?

Is a mandatory service requirement for all Americans necessary, valuable, and feasible?

Submit a public comment by the December 31, 2019 deadline via:


mail your comment or any material you see fit to 2530 Crystal Drive, Suite 1000, Box #63, Arlington, Virginia 22202, 

or email your response to:



The national conversation on these important issues begins with you. ..."

It's important our voices be heard. We're all for serving the country, but only in a manner consistent with serving G-d.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Man who refused wife divorce demands embryo in return for annulment

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Man-who-refused-divorce-demands-embryo-in-return-for-annulment-611484

But the husband, knowing he can not father any more children, demanded, in return for granting a divorce, his wife either undergo fertility treatment herself to have the last remaining embryo implanted, or to give him ownership over the embryo so he could have another child through a surrogate mother.

The judges of the rabbinical court, rabbis Avraham Shemen, Avraham Avidar, and David Grozman issued a ruling that the embryo did not belong to either parent and the husband’s demand his wife get pregnant from the embryo was not reasonable.

The unique life story of Rabbi Berel Wein, a scholar of the past

https://www.jpost.com/judaism/The-unique-life-story-of-Rabbi-Berel-Wein-a-scholar-of-the-past-611432


Throughout his stories and lectures, Wein attempts to impart one basic message. “In my opinion, Jewish history is the key to faith and to belief, and to explain what we’re doing here in Israel. If you have no idea of where you are coming from, you have no idea where you are going.”

‘Jew coup’: The anti-Semitic conspiracy theories surrounding Trump’s impeachment


https://www.timesofisrael.com/jew-coup-the-anti-semitic-conspiracy-theories-surrounding-trumps-impeachment/


While the president himself has never suggested that a Jewish conspiracy is the root cause of the impeachment process, experts on anti-Semitism and the relationship between hate and violence say that he has fostered an environment in which that type of discourse has been deemed acceptable.

Righteous Women Saving Klal Yisroel


BS"D


Righteous Women Saving The Jewish People:

The Ongoing War Against the Anti-religious Israeli Draft of Women and Girls


Parshas Vayaishev, 21 Kislev, 5780 °° Dec.19, '19


By Binyomin Feinberg, Contributor to The Jewish Press*

FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com

* The perspectives and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of The Jewish Press.

~~~~~~~~~~~

To check for updates throughout the week please visit ("Updates for Kislev" at: )

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_UDTjX9fB6CORv5KjwI04HP4qMI5ZgRdKNcsp4YHohg
~~~~~~~~~~

Introduction:

° The Yalkut Shimoni (606, end) on Megilas Rus (4:11) quotes the Medrash Rus, stating that throughout the generations, Jews are redeemed through the merits of the righteous women of that time. See Talmud tractate Sotah 11b, quoting Rav Avira, that we were redeemed from Egypt (similarly) in the merit of the righteous women of that time (cf. Kav HaYashar).

° In another post, we briefly address the antireligious nature of the Israeli female draft policy, see
https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/12/making-jew-hatred-great-again.html. There we discuss, by way of example, the plight of a recently religious girl (now learning in a religious seminary in Jerusalem) who is being mistreated by the Army, which already set her draft date for April 1. Please daven and/or learn be'retzifus for Dinah bas Galit. ("Dana" was recently changed to "Dinah.")


° B"H, many girls, and others, are fighting this antireligious draft policy. Moreover, we're witness to many monumental acts of mesiras nefesh ("self-sacrifice"), by Israeli girls - of all backgrounds - refusing to submit to this anti-Torah edict. Some of these girls are newly observant. Their mesiras nefesh is truly remarkable. Clearly, the Soton too is well aware of the immense spiritual potential of Jewish women. Perhaps for that very reason, religious girls specifically have been increasing targeted for the military draft, especially over the past year or two. Of course, nothing happens without Divine Province every step of the way. These epic nisyonos ("tests") undoubtedly will play a major role in the Ultimate Redemption.

° The caseload of religious girls in distress is growing, and more assistance is clearly needed. Even just clarifying the facts of each case, and dissemination thereof, is not a simple matter, in light of the sheer volume of work involved.

~~~


1. We begin here with a brief response to a reader's query regarding last week's post about the attempted-suicide of an Israeli girl incarcerated in Military Prison Four, Shir (https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/12/facilitating-suicide_51.html (Dec. 12), titled "Facilitating Suicide?," with a question mark).

Q: Do we claim that the Israeli Army intentionally tries to facilitate suicide in the military prisons?

A: No. The Army (presumably) does NOT want girls incarcerated in Military Prison actually committing suicide.

2. What the Army does in fact do is subject many incarcerated girls to unbearable psychological - and sometimes physical - abuse, abuse which could predictably trigger suicide attempts in the more susceptible girls. [Realize that we're not addressing intent, as much as actual acts and policies.] According to multiple, unrelenting, independent accounts, the government is persecuting girls refusing to serve in the military to the point that some break and enlist, some physically collapse, and, in the case of Shir, some even attempt suicide. [It must be emphasized that, B"H, others do prevail.]

3. As our Sages teach, the pain of (prolonged) torment can actually be more unbearable than death itself (see Talmud tractate Kesubos 33b, top). The management and staff of the Israeli military prison system apparently understand that principle all too well, and, unfortunately, perform accordingly. This trend of subjecting incarcerated objectors (religious girls and others) to terrible abuse has reportedly manifested, in various ways, in the cases of Shir, Donna bas Hadas, Hila bas Adina (Military Prison 4), and of Miri N., Adina, and others (in Military Prison 6), to cite some current or recent examples. It's important to mention that our latest information about Shir is that she's STILL being mistreated, rather than being released from prison for medical treatment.

4. What benefit would breaking resistant girls provide the Army brass? Enforcement of compliance, or, at the very least, as we explained last week, deterrent to others considering resisting the military draft.

5. However, girls insistent on refusing to enlist need not suffer so terribly, or cower in fear. Help is available, often at no cost. It is critical to seek guidance from those with experience, and most capable and willing to fight for your rights. While no promises as to results can be made, proper publicization of the plight of a girl suffering incarceration, or facing a threat thereof, generally helps alleviate her plight significantly.

6. Free information is available by calling the volunteer ladies at "Chomosaich" 03-545-6770 (24/6). They provide information and advice to girls in danger of Army enlistment, harassment or persecution. Girls are urged to call before even considering stepping foot into the Draft Office. In fact, it's advisable to contact Chomosaich even before problems arise, to prevent many costly errors made out of sheer ignorance.

7. This approach also helps one avoid running into other people at the Draft Offices, or Military Court, individuals who may (even with the best of intentions) refer girls to assistance that may prove disappointing, or even considerably worse. We've received multiple reports of girls who have needlessly suffered from neglect or mismanagement of their cases. One erroneous referral can inadvertently wreak havoc.

a) One indicator of a problem is an overzealous recommendation to obtain a "quick" Petur Nafshi (PN), rather than fight on principle for a religious exemption. The PN, according to a recent article in Maariv, is coming under increasing scrutiny. Many of those who obtained a PN may be shocked to hear that their PN is being revoked or reexamined, and needs to be redone.

b) Another danger is the increasingly common phenomenon of frum ladies sending girls into the Draft Office, or even actually recommending submitting to a "Rayon Das" (a religiosity interrogation). This occurs in cases of girls newly observant or studying in a non-religious school for any reason. Entering the Draft Office is assur, and quite dangerous, especially for the newly observant and those who've studied in a non-religious school.

c) A third indicator may be a seemingly inexplicable aversion to engaging in proper pirsum in English, even when that can be done without divulging the name of the girl.

If girls encounter these red-flags, they should politely leave and call Chomosaich immediately, before being harassed into a potentially hazardous, and hard-to-reverse situation.

8. Chomosaich provides information and guidance to girls from across the spectrum, independent of their level of religious observance. Thousands have benefited from their painstaking work. (For more details, see http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/12/crime-wave-strikes-israeli-girls.html .)

9. In these situations, it's often accurate to say that the only thing girl need fear is fear itself. Armed with an unwavering Emunah and commitment to the Torah prohibition against enlistment in the military as Yai'horaig Ve'al Ya'avor, and assisted by legal help and the employment of intelligent pirsum (PR), a girl can often transform her status from being a victim to a victor.

10. Girls resisting military service, their families, and their advocates should take inspiration from the many girls and families standing strong against the antireligious, often coercive conscription campaign of the IDF Draft Offices, (as well as resisting the misguided efforts of some others to help them).

11. One of many examples is the family of Avigail Leah H., a 17 y/o Chabad girl harassed by the Army since February '19.

12. In fact, in February, her mother, Dr. Rus Ester Leemor bas Tzipora (a Ba'alas Teshuva, and previously an Israeli Air Force captain, who also needs our tefillos for a speedy recovery), was told explicitly by Keren Levy, now heading the Jerusalem Draft Office, that she (Ms. Levy) will "decide" if Avigail is religious. Moreover, with almost unbelievable temerity, Levy (now promoted to Colonel) added:

"I will profane (or "violate") "The Vineyard" ("acha'lail et ha'Kerem") - and I'll start with your daughter(!)"


13. In the face of this unmitigated anti-Jewish antipathy, Avigail's family remained steadfast in her demand for a religious exemption. They braved months of Army threats of arrest (despite Avigail being below 18, the Army technically could have arrested her, albeit just to force her down to the Draft Office for a religious interrogation). She remained unwavering not only in her refusal to enlist in the IDF, but also in her refusal make any Halachic compromises in the process, including submitting to a "Rayon Dat."

14. And in her persistence, BE"H she prevailed, recently receiving written notice of her Religious Exemption. (See http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/12/crime-wave-strikes-israeli-girls.html for more details and links to her story.)

15. Their fortitude to battle against what appears to be an overtly antireligious vendetta, where many others failed to help, stands as an example for all Jews to emulate. Over 21 centuries ago, the spiritual progenitors of the modern day Hellenists similarly sought to draw Jews away from their fidelity to the Torah. And it was in the merit of righteous women, along with the saintly men who fought for them, that the Jewish People were saved from the terrible, antireligious edicts of those endarkened days.

16. It's interesting that the spiritual heirs of the ancient Hellenists, in what may be seen as an effort to establish their historical claim to the Land of Israel by emulating the policies of their earliest known forebears, similarly strike incessantly at the purity of Jewish women (as if channeling the spirits of depraved Greek "Hegmon" rulers).

17. However, as the saintly Chazon Ish warned Israeli PM Ben Gurion, our strength is greater than all of his governmental power and military might, because our strength lies in the unrelenting fortitude of righteous Jewish women, who remain intent on giving up their lives - if need be - rather than submitting to the draft.

°°° May we all merit, through our undeterred support for these brave souls, the Final Redemption very soon.