An Embassy in Jerusalem? Trump Promises, but So Did Predecessors

NY Times

America’s top diplomat in Jerusalem lives in an elegant three-story stone house first built by a German Lutheran missionary in 1868, a short walk from the historic Old City. But he is not an ambassador and the mission is a consulate, not an embassy.

For decades, those distinctions have rankled many Israeli Jews. The United States, along with the rest of the world, has kept its primary diplomatic footprint not in Israel’s self-declared capital, Jerusalem, but in the commercial and cultural hub of Tel Aviv to avoid seeming to take sides in the fraught and never-ending argument over who really has the right to control this ancient city.

Until now. Maybe.

President-elect Donald J. Trump vowed during his campaign that he would relocate the mission “fairly quickly” after taking office. That in itself is nothing new: For years, candidates running for president have promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem, and for years, candidates who actually became president have opted against doing so.

But just as Mr. Trump broke all the rules of campaigning, some of his supporters say no amount of hand-wringing by the State Department will change his mind. Jason Greenblatt, an Orthodox lawyer who is advising Mr. Trump on Israel, told Army Radio after the election that the president-elect was “going to do it” because he was “a man who keeps his word.”

Already, many Israelis and Palestinians are buzzing about the prospect. Where would the embassy go? Would it straddle the line between West Jerusalem, which is predominantly Jewish, and East Jerusalem, which is predominantly Arab? Would it touch off street protests in Palestinian cities or a backlash among Arab allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia?

“Jerusalem is a symbolic, emotional and real issue,” said Itamar Rabinovich, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States and president of the Israel Institute. “It matters to many Israeli Jews because it would indicate that the United States actually recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which now it effectively does not.”

Which is why Arabs object so strenuously to such a move. “This is a sign that he’s going to side with Israel,” said Mustafa Alani, a scholar at the Gulf Research Center, a research organization with offices in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. “If he does it, it’s going to be a wrong start for his relationship with the Arab world.”

The status of Jerusalem has always been one of the thorniest issues dividing Jews and Arabs. In 1947, the United Nations recommended that the city be declared a “corpus separatum,” meaning an international city, rather than incorporated into either the Arab or the Jewish states then being contemplated on the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. But in the war that followed its declaration of statehood in 1948, Israel captured the western portion of the city while Jordan seized the east.

Israel took control of East Jerusalem in its 1967 war with its Arab neighbors and annexed it, declaring that the city would remain whole and unified as its eternal capital (and later building many settlements there that most of the world considers illegal). The United States and most other countries refused to recognize the annexation and kept their embassies in or near Tel Aviv. The last two countries with embassies in Jerusalem, Costa Rica and El Salvador, moved out a decade ago.

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both promised during their presidential campaigns to move the embassy to Jerusalem. Both later backed away from those promises, convinced by Middle East experts that doing so would prejudge negotiations for a final settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.

In 1995, Congress passed a law declaring Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital and requiring the embassy be moved there by 1999 — or else the State Department building budget would be cut in half. But the law included a provision allowing presidents to waive its requirement for six months if they determined it was in the national interest. So every six months, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Bush and eventually President Obama signed such waivers, fearing a violent response in the Arab world if the embassy moved.[...]

Shlomo Carlebach - the enigma within a paradox - the tzadik who was a sexual molester

One of the larger than life figures in recent history is Shlomo Carlebach. A man who promoted and lived a life of love of one's fellow man. A man who was responsible for bringing many to observance or at least strong positive feelings about Judaism. A talented performer, a composer of beloved songs and teller of inspirational tales. A man who inspired the widespread phenomenon of the Carlebach Minyan. A man who molested some of the women who idolized him - including young teenage girls. 

There is a teshuva in the Igros Moshe regarding whether his songs are appropriate since there are allegations that has committed the sin of singing before mixed audiences. I confronted Carlebach with the teshuva and his response was that he had a very good relationship with Rav Moshe Feinstein.

שו"ת אגרות משה אבן העזר חלק א סימן צו

בדבר ניגונים שעשה אדם כשר שאחר זמן נתקלקל וסני שומעניה אם יש לנגנם על חתונות כ"ב אייר תשי"ט. מע"כ ידידי מהר"ר שמואל דישון שליט"א.

בדבר אחד שהיה בן תורה בחזקת כשרות כמה שנים והוא מנגן שעשה ניגונים על שירי קדש ולשיר לחתונות והורגלו כמה בני תורה לזמר אותם בשמחות של מצוה ועתה אין שמועתו טובה שמכנס בחורים ובתולות יחד ומזמר לפניהם, ושואל כתר"ה אם מותר עתה לזמר בניגוניו שעשה תחלה כשהיה בחזקת כשרות. לע"ד איני רואה בזה שום איסור מכיון שהם ממה שעשה בכשרותו. וראיה שהרי מצינו בתקנות יוחנן כהן גדול שנקראו על שמו במתני' סוף מע"ש ובפ' עגלה ערופה בסוטה ויש שסוברין שהוא זה ששימש שמנים שנה בכהונה גדולה ולבסוף נעשה צדוקי עיין במלאכת שלמה במע"ש שם, ואף ששם לא היה אפשר לבטל התקנות הגדולות שתיקן ונתקבלו בישראל ונעשו הלכות קבועות, מ"מ לא הי"ל לקרא אותם על שמו אלמא דכיון שתיקן אותם בכשרותו יש לקרא על שמו אף שעתה הוא רשע ומין כיון שנקרא על השעה שהיה כשר.

איברא שהרמב"ם רפ"ט ממעשר כתב שהוא יוחנן כהן גדול שהיה אחר שמעון הצדיק וכתב הכ"מ לאפוקי שלא נאמר שהוא אותו יוחנן כ"ג שנעשה צדוקי לבסוף, מ"מ מסתבר שאינו משום שסובר הרמב"ם שהיה אסור לקרא על שמו אם היה אותו יוחנן כ"ג שנעשה צדוקי לבסוף, שאין לנו לעשות מחלוקת בחנם וא"כ מדידהו נשמע שגם הרמב"ם יודה שמותר לקרא על שמו מה שתיקן בכשרותו, אלא שיודע מאיזה מקור שהיה זה יוחנן כ"ג הקודם לזה שנעשה צדוקי. וגם הא מצינו מאמר באבות פ"ד מ"כ מאלישע בן אבויה אף שהוא לו זכרון גדול והוא משום דאמר זה בכשרותו.

ולבד זה הא מוכרח כן דהא כל המקור לאסור הוא לטעם הרמב"ם בס"ת שכתבו מין שישרף שהוא כדי שלא להניח שם לאפיקורסים ולא למעשיהם, והא זה ברור שבנעשה מומר אחר שכתב הס"ת היא כשרה ממש אף לקרות בו עיין בפ"ת יו"ד סימן רפ"א סק"ב אלמא דכיון שכתב כשהיה בכשרותו הוי הנחת השם לזמן כשרותו שלזה ליכא קפידא. ואין לדחות דבכתב בכשרותו הרי קידש את השמות שהיה אסור לשרוף אף בכתבו מין כדמשמע שם ברמב"ם, דמ"מ היה לן לפסול ולהצריך גניזה, אלא צריך לומר דכיון שהנחת השם הוא לזמן כשרותו ליכא קפידא גם להרמב"ם. ולכן גם בעובדא זו הניגונים שעשה כשהיה בכשרותו שאף אם נימא שיש בזה ענין הנחת השם לעושה הניגונים אין לאסור דהרי הוא הנחת השם על זמן כשרותו שליכא קפידא בזה ומותר. ואף לבני תורה ובעלי נפש אין מקום להחמיר.

ובעצם מסופקני אף בהניגונים שעשה אחר שסני שומעניה, אם הם ניגונים כשרים שאין בהם קלות שראוין לנגנם, אם יש לזה ענין הנחת שם למעשה רשעים, דמסתבר דרק בעניני קדושה ככתיבת ס"ת שהוא חשיבות הנחת שמם בדבר קדושה הוא אסור להרמב"ם אבל בעניני חול אין בזה שום חשיבות במה שיהיה שמם עליהם ואין לאסור. וכמו שפשוט שמותר להשתמש וגם לקרא שמם על עניני חדוש ברפואות ומאשינעס /ומכונות/ וכדומה אלמא דרק בעניני קדושה הוא גנאי להניח שם לאפיקורסים ולא בעניני חול. וא"כ גם הניגונים הם עניני חול דאין להם שום קדושה ולכן אף שעשו לנגן בניגונים אלו דברי קדושה אפשר אין להחשיב שהוא הנחת שם להרשע בדברי קדושה כיון שבעצם הניגונים שחידש אין בהם קדושה. וא"כ אף ניגונים אלו שעשה אחר שסני שומעניה נמי יותר נוטה שאין לאסור לנגן בהם. אך באלו יש לבני תורה ובע"נ להחמיר כיון שיש גם טעם לאסור אף שהוא טעם קלוש.

והנה בעובדא זו שהסני שומעניה אינו בעניני כפירה אלא בעניני קלות ראש לנגן בפני בחורים ובתולות יחד שודאי אין להחשיבו כמין ואפיקורס ואף לא כמומר לתיאבון דהא רק לדבר אחד דקלות ראש ופריצות הוא עבריין לתיאבון מסתבר שעל אדם כזה אין למילף שיהיה דין וחיוב שלא להניח שם לו ולמעשיו. ואדרבה הא ברור שהס"ת שיכתוב איש כזה יהיה כשר, ומפורש ברדב"ז סימן תשע"ד הובא בקיצור בפ"ת שם שס"ת שכתב אחד מהקראים אסור לשרוף ובעצם היה מותר גם לקרות בו רק משום שאפשר שלא נעשה כתקון חז"ל עיין שם והא במין ואפיקורס שכתבו ס"ת אף בהיה ידוע בעדים שכתבו כדין היה אסור לקרות בו להרמב"ם כדי שלא להניח שם להאפיקורסים, מטעם שחלק הרדב"ז שאף שהם בכלל הכופרים כיון שעכ"פ מאמינים בקדושת השם ובקדושת התורה אין קפידא בהנחת שמם בקדושה שמחזיקין. א"כ כ"ש שמומר לתיאבון כשמאמין בקדושת התורה שכשר לקרות בו. וכ"ש בעבריין רק לדבר אחד לתיאבון דכשר הס"ת שיכתוב. וא"כ כ"ש הניגונים שעושה שרשאין לנגן בהם ואין להחמיר אף לבני תורה ובעלי נפש. ואם סני שומעניה גם לעניני כפירה אז הוא כדכתבתי לעיל שאלו שעשה מתחלה אין מקום להחמיר כלל ואף אלו שעשה אח"כ מסתבר יותר שאין לאסור כיון שאינם ענין קדושה אבל לבני תורה ובע"נ ראוי להחמיר, ידידו מוקירו, משה פיינשטיין

Shlomo Carlebach - Rabbi of Love or Undercover Agent of Orthodox Judaism?

He was larger than life, and since his death, Jews running the full religious and political spectrum have continued debating the true nature and beliefs of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach; a new memoir places him among the hippies, but in truth he didn’t fully belong to anyone. [...]

Lilith Magazine

In 1989 the feminist group Women of the Wall defied the Orthodox Jewish establishment and read from their own Torah scroll at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Shlomo Carlebach, steeped in hasidic tradition but committed to the spiritual rights of women, was the only male rabbi present.

An Orthodox rabbi by training, Rabbi Carlebach took down the separation between women and men in his own synagogue, encouraged women to study and to teach the Jewish texts, and gave private ordination to women before most mainstream Jewish institutions would. Described as a musical genius. Rabbi Carlebach’s melodies—including Adir Hu, Am Yisrael Chai and Esa Einar are sung throughout the world in hasidic shteibels and Reform temples alike; they have sunk so deeply into Jewish consciousness that many don’t realize these are not age-old tunes. And Rabbi Carlebach encouraged women to sing out loud—a challenge to the Orthodox teaching that women’s voices should not be heard publicly lest they arouse men.

Shlomo Carlebach also abandoned the Orthodox injunction that men and women not touch publicly. Indeed, he was known for his frequent hugs of men and women alike, and often said his hope was to hug every Jew—perhaps every person—on earth.

It is an alarming paradox, then, that the man who did so much on behalf of women may also have done some of them harm. In the three years since Rabbi Carlebach’s death, at age 69, ceremonies honoring his life and work have been interrupted by women who claim the rabbi sexually harassed or abused them. In dozens of recent interviews, Lilith has attempted to untangle and to explain Rabbi Carlebach’s complex legacy.

“He was the first person to ordain women, to take down the mechitza, and I think he thought all boundaries were off,” says Abigail Grafton, a psychotherapist whose Jewish Renewal congregation in Berkeley, California, has spent the last six months trying to cope with the allegations.[...]

Among the many people Lilith spoke with, nearly all had heard stories of Rabbi Carlebach’s sexual indiscretions during his more than four decade rabbinic career. Spiritual leaders, psychotherapists and others report numerous incidents, from playful propositions to actual sexual contact. Most of the allegations include middle-of-the-night, sexually charged phone calls and unwanted attention or propositions. Others, which have been slower to emerge, relate to sexual molestation.[...]

However, he was a special rabbi, and those she had looked up to had looked up to him. Rachel, today an artist and martial arts teacher in New Mexico, told almost no one what had happened. Those she did tell said he was “just a dirty old man.” Thirty-five years later she was jogging with Rabbi Gottlieb, both her friend and her congregational rabbi, when they began talking about Rabbi Carlebach. Hearing that others were claiming experiences similar to hers, Rachel broke down in tears. Only then, she recalls, did she get very angry. “I felt acknowledged. It wasn’t a dream, it really happened.”[...]

Other stories have begun to emerge, suggesting that Rachel’s experience was not unique. Robin Goldberg, today a teacher of women’s studies and a research psychoanalyst on women’s issues in California, was 12 years old when Shlomo visited her Orthodox Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, community to lead a singing and dancing concert. He invited all the young people for a preconcert preparation. And it was during the dancing that he started touching her. He kept coming back to her, she reports, whispering in her ear, saying “holy maidele,” and fondling her breast. Twelve years old and Orthodox, she says she didn’t know what to think. Her mother, that afternoon, told her she must have been mistaken and that she must not have understood what was going on. But when she was taken to a dance event led by Rabbi Carlebach years later, while she was in college, she reports that the same thing—dancing, whispering, fondling—happened to her again. [...]

This Fall, Spiegel summarized the stories she had heard regarding Rabbi Carlebach in a letter to Yaakov Ariel, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who is studying Rabbi Carlebach’s spiritually innovative California synagogue, the House of Love and Prayer. In the letter, which Spiegel made available to Lilith, she states that in the last few years, a number of women in their 40s have approached her “in private and often with deep seated pain” about experiences they had when they were in their teens. “Shlomo came to their camp, their center, their synagogue,” she wrote. “He singled them out with some excuse . . . . [G]etting them alone, he fondled their breasts and vagina, sometimes thrusting himself against them, and muttering something which they now believe was Yiddish.”[...]

Hareiani Blog - Carlebach and the abuse he committed

Two years ago, following a “Carlebach Shabbos” at my former shul, I wrote an article in which I described the conflict I felt hearing Carlebach being praised for his selflessness and kindness, while simultaneously aware of allegations that he had molested women. I left the article open ended, simply giving my two sides, and left it open for my readers to responded. And boy, did they. The responses flooded in; comments, emails, Facebook messages, even some in-person responses. They came in heavy, heated, and varied. It’s been two years, and I’ve had time to reflect more on the subject, discuss it with more people, and gain some perspective on the issue. Furthermore, since then I’ve spoken to quite a number of his victims, three of whom left comments on my original post. I’d like to address a few things.

Right off the bat, people challenged me on the ethics of sharing an article alleging that someone who is dead and cannot defend himself committed abuse that has never been proven in court. Many people have claimed it’s simply lashon hara, and therefore refuse to even listen. Setting aside whether or not those same people are as careful about the laws of lashon hara when the person under discussion is not one of the spiritual idols, I’ll take it at face value.

It is lashon hara. But one of the exceptions to the prohibitions against speaking lashon hara is when there’s a to’eles, a purpose. Most notably, if there’s a general purpose in the community knowing, if it will prevent some harm, then it is permitted to speak lashon hara. The benefits of discussing Carlebach’s crimes are twofold. First, it sends a message to the community that abusers will have to pay, in one way or another for their crimes, that death is not an escape from the damage caused by sexual abusers. It’s a powerful message to send because there are so many victims out there whose stories are kept hidden by coercion and fear, because the people who keep those secrets are terrified of what their families, their communities might say or do to them if they dare come forward. The more stories are made public, the more people come forward, the more victims will feel safe and secure in coming forward and telling their stories, exposing their abusers, and pursuing justice against them.

Second, for decades Carlebach’s crimes were covered up. For decades, all his victims heard about him was constant praise bordering on deification, any criticism quashed, any attempt at bringing his crimes to light hushed and suppressed. It wasn’t just his followers either who were complicit. Perhaps they can be forgiven because they were blinded by his charisma and façade, but his right-hand men, his gabba’im were aware of the allegations, and actively suppressed the accusers. And for years all his victims heard were stories of Carlebach’s greatness, the constant praise of a man who could do no wrong, simultaneously invalidating their experiences and exalting the man who hurt them. They deserve to have their stories told, to have their experiences validated, and there are enough of them to constitute a to’eles harabim.[...]

This past weekend, after sharing my article again this year in “honor” of Carlebach’s yahrtzeit, two women posted their stories as comments on the article. I’d like to share them below, because it leads me to my final point. The first is by a poster who used the name Shula.

“I was a 15 year old Bais Yaakov girl, enthralled with his music. I was in seventh heaven when he offered me a ride home from a concert. The driver and another person sat in the front, and he sat with me in the back. When he put his arm around my shoulder I was stunned but delighted; and then his hand started massaging my breast. I was 15 and completely naive, had no idea what was happening, but somehow felt embarrassed and ashamed. I just continued to sit silently without moving. This continued until I was dropped off at my house. He told me to come to his hotel room the next morning, and I did! He hugged me very tightly, and I stood frozen, not really understanding what was happening. Then the car came to pick him up, and again I went with him in the car and he dropped me off at school. And I never said a word to anyone, never! I’m a grandmother today, and can still recall that feeling in the pit of my stomach, the confusion and feeling ashamed. I never spoke about this, ever. But all of these comments of denial make me feel I have to confirm that these things happened. He was 40 years old, I was 15. He was an experienced 40 year old man and I was a very naive 15 year old Bais Yaakov girl. In those days we never talked about sex. I had never even spoken to a boy! I didn’t associate him with ‘a boy’ – he was like a parent figure, he was old. But I felt it was something to be ashamed of.

Your article is extremely important – these are conflicts that we have to deal with in life, but if no one ever brings them up, then each person, in each generation, has to over and over again re-invent the wheel of faith. The struggle for faith is hard enough; when these issues are so wrapped in secrecy (and I’m one of those that kept the secret for 53 years!).”[...]

But as to why they didn’t come forward sooner? They did. Or rather, they tried. Many of them tried to confront Carlebach about what he did, but when his gabba’im found out about why they wanted to talk to him, they made sure to keep them away. When his followers found out that someone was harboring such an accusation, they made sure to shut them out, and make it plain that they were no longer welcome. The legend they’d built in their minds and their hearts was too big and too fragile to fail. And the truth is it’s not unexpected. Carlebach, to so many, represents the very essence of their Judaism. For many he’s the very reason they have any connection at all, whether spiritual, cultural, or religious, to Judaism. For many, his message of love and acceptance, of connection to God rather than strict observance of a set of laws, of following the spirit to transcend the letter. Without him that message is lost, and without that message they lose their connection.

I feel for such people. I do. And that’s how we return to the original question: Is it possible to separate the art from the artist; the message from the man. Two years ago, when I wrote the article, I didn’t know the answer. But now, to me, the answer is clear. I’ve decided to let it all go. I no longer listen to or sing his music. I don’t feel personally that it’s appropriate to listen to the music and stories of a man whose art gave him the power and status he needed to get away with abusing so many women. I can’t honestly stand at the Amud and sing L’cha Dodi to any of Carlebach’s tunes and feel anything but dirty. I can’t tell myself that God wants my prayers when they come packaged in such poisoned melodies. [...]

Wireless Brain Implant Allows “Locked-In” Woman to Communicate

Scientific American

A wireless device that decodes brain waves has enabled a woman paralyzed by locked-in syndrome to communicate from the comfort of her home, researchers announced this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

The 59-year-old patient, who prefers to remain anonymous but goes by the initials HB, is “trapped” inside her own body, with full mental acuity but completely paralyzed by a disease that struck in 2008 and attacked the neurons that make her muscles move. Unable to breathe on her own, a tube in her neck pumps air into her lungs and she requires round-the-clock assistance from caretakers. Thanks to the latest advance in brain–computer interfaces, however, HB has at least regained some ability to communicate.

The new wireless device enables her to select letters on a computer screen using her mind alone, spelling out words at a rate of one letter every 56 seconds, to share her thoughts. “This is a significant achievement. Other attempts on such an advanced case have failed,” says neuroscientist Andrew Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh, who was not involved in the study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

HB’s mind is intact and the part of her brain that controls her bodily movements operates perfectly, but the signals from her brain no longer reach her muscles because the motor neurons that relay them have been damaged by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), says neuroscientist Erick Aarnoutse, who designed the new device and was responsible for the technical aspects of the research. He is part of a team of physicians and scientists led by neuroscientist Nick Ramsey at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Previously, the only way HB could communicate was via a system that uses an infrared camera to track her eye movements. But the device is awkward to set up and use for someone who cannot move, and it does not function well in many situations, such as in bright sunlight.[....]

The technology is not without controversy, however. Some experts believe that only noninvasive methods should be used to help people with locked-in syndrome communicate, for example by recording brain waves from scalp electrodes. “Implantations like the one reported here may carry an unknown risk for advanced ALS patients,” says Niels Birbaumer, an expert in brain–computer interfaces at Tübingen University in Germany who was not involved in the study.[...]

Still, some experts say the wireless new device may not justify the risks. “One to two letters per minute is not justifiable [for doing a craniotomy] unless they can improve it,” Kennedy says.

Indeed, when HB was first learning to use the device, she told Aarnoutse, “Trying to communicate like this is like tacking a sailboat.” But many patients with locked-in syndrome choose not to use ventilators to breathe when their disease reaches an advanced stage because they cannot communicate and they feel they are a burden on their loved ones, according Schwartz. Studies suggest that locked-in people can lead meaningful and productive lives if they can communicate in some way. “We need to do anything we can to help these people,” he says. “We are talking about life and death.”

Now, more than a year after the device was implanted, HB lives at home with her husband and one of her children, and she has gotten much faster at typing out her thoughts. Also, the device works outdoors in the sunshine where her eye tracker fails. “She’s happy,” Aarnoutse says. “The ability to communicate has given her more freedom and made her more independent.”

Steve Bannon on Politics as War

Wall Street Journal

It’s hard to think of Steve Bannon as a low-profile guy. He has garnered about as many headlines over the past week as Donald Trump—no small feat. He is the executive chairman of the hard-right Breitbart News, among the most aggressive voices online, its website an attack machine against Democrats and “establishment” conservatives. President-elect Trump chose Mr. Bannon this week as his chief strategist and senior counselor, a slot usually filed by someone eager to play a presidential surrogate on TV.

Yet Mr. Bannon—who joined the Trump campaign in mid-August to propel its thunderbolt victory—professes no interest in being the story. “It’s not important to be known,” he says in a telephone interview Thursday night, among his first public comments since the election. “It was Lao Tzu who said that with the best leaders, when the work is accomplished, the people will say ‘We have done this ourselves.’ That’s how I’ve led.”

Nor does he profess to care that Democrats and the media are portraying him as a “cloven-hoofed devil,” as he puts it. “I pride myself in doing things that matter. What mattered in the campaign was winning. We did. What matters now is pulling together the single best team we can to implement President-elect Trump’s vision.

He continues: “How can you take anything seriously from a media apparatus—paid the amount of money you people are paid—that systematically missed something that was so obvious, that missed Brexit, that missed the Trump revolution? You’d have thought they’d have learned their lesson on November 8.”

Slight pause. “They clearly haven’t.”

Here are a few things you’ve likely read about Steve Bannon this week: He’s a white supremacist, a bigot and anti-Semite. He’s a self-described Leninist who wants to “destroy the state.” He’s associated with the “alt-right,” a movement that, according to the New York Times, delights in “harassing Jews, Muslims and other vulnerable groups by spewing shocking insults on social media.”

You’ll have seen some of Breitbart’s more offensive headlines, which refer to “renegade” Jews and the “dangerous faggot tour.” You maybe heard that Breitbart is gearing up to be a Pravda-like state organ for the Trump administration.

Mr. Bannon is an aggressive political scrapper, unabashed in his views, but he says those views bear no relation to the media’s description. Over 70 minutes, he describes himself as a “conservative,” a “populist” and an “economic nationalist.” He’s a talker, but unexcitable, speaking in measured tones. A former naval officer, he thinks in military terms and likes to quote philosophers and generals. He’s contemptuous of the media, proud of Breitbart, protective of the “deplorables,” and—at least at the moment—eager to work with everyone from soon-to-be White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to House Speaker Paul Ryan.

At first Mr. Bannon insists that he has no interest in “wasting time” addressing the accusations against him. Yet he’s soon ticking off the reasons they are “just nonsense.”

Anti-Semitic? “Breitbart is the most pro-Israel site in the United States of America. I have Breitbart Jerusalem, which I have Aaron Klein run with about 10 reporters there. We’ve been leaders in stopping this BDS movement”—meaning boycott, divestment and sanctions—“in the United States; we’re a leader in the reporting of young Jewish students being harassed on American campuses; we’ve been a leader on reporting on the terrible plight of the Jews in Europe.” He adds that given his many Jewish partners and writers, “guys like Joel Pollak, these claims of anti-Semitism just aren’t serious. It’s a joke.”

He blames the attacks on a lazy media, noting for instance that the “renegade Jew” line wasn’t Breitbart’s. Conservative activist David Horowitz (also Jewish) has taken responsibility for writing the headline himself, in a piece about Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol.[...]

150 divorced father die each year leaving 400 orphans a year - is this the result of the feminist persecution of divorced men?

BHOL

הנה נתון: 150 אבות גרושים מאבדים את חייהם בשנה.

האם ייתכן שהסיבה היא פשוטה וברורה למדי? רדיפת אבות על-ידי רשויות המדינה (רווחה, בתי משפט, משטרה) מרגע הפרידה או הגירושים מאם ילדיהם שמנצלת את העובדה שהמדינה, בעניינים האלו, תמיד תהיה לטובתה, שחברי הכנסת והשרים חוששים מהג'יאהד הפמיניסטי בכנסת, ולכן שותקים ומאפשרים שואה של ממש לאבות שאתרע מזלם להתגרש מאישה חסרת לבב - כפי שלאחרונה עלתה וצפה התופעה מפרסום מכתבים אחר מותם של כמה מהם. או שאולי כפי שקובעים המחקרים, רק אנשים עם בעיות נפשיות בוחרים ב"פתרון" הזה כמוצא.

י. גבר חרדי בן 34 מירושלים, מספר: "לאחר שאשתי החליטה וטעמיה אתה, שהיא רוצה לחזור בשאלה, התגרשנו בהסכמה. אלו היו גרושים רגועים לחלוטין, בלי דיונים ובלי ויכוחים. סיכמנו על הסדרי ראיה כמו שצריך. הילדים היו אמורים להישאר בתלמודי התורה שלהם, ולמשך ארבעה חודשים התברכתי בלבבי שהכל עבר בשלום יחסי. ואז, התארסתי, והכל התהפך.

"ביום שנודע לה על האירוסין שלי היא הלכה למשטרה והמציאה סיפורים על כך שנהגתי כלפיה באלימות. למעשה זו הייתה הפעם הראשונה שראיתי מה זה משטרה. הייתי בחור ישיבה רגיל. תמים. אני וכל משפחתי, לא היה לי ועדיין אין לי מושג איך מהלכים איתם, ומסתבר שזה גם לא היה עוזר לי, ניסיון. כי כשמדובר בילדים להורים גרושים, האישה מקבלת את מלוא תמיכת החוק. עצרו אותי לכמה ימים, חקרו אותי שתי וערב, ואז שחררו אותי. נאלצתי לדחות את האירוסין לשבוע שלאחר מכן..

"לדעתי היא פנתה לעמותה שעוזרת לחוזרים בשאלה, והם הציבו לה סוללה של עורכי דין. אחרת אי אפשר להסביר את הייעוץ המשפטי המשובח שהיה לה. פתאום היא טענה, שתמיד הייתי אלים כלפיה וכלפי הילדים, וזאת, אחרי תשע שנים שהייתי אבא מצוין גם לדעתה. הרווחה התערבה, לקחו אותה לאיזה מקלט כי אני לכאורה יכול לתקוף אותה. שנתיים לאחר מכן, לא ראיתי אותם. שילמתי מזונות שהלכו וגדלו עם הזמן, למרות שבהסכם שלנו בבית הדין היה חתום שלא תהיה תביעת מזונות, בית המשפט שאליו פנתה לאחר מכן הוסיף עוד ועוד סעיפים לרעתי.

"הרווחה כבר קלטה שאני בסדר גמור. למעשה גם בית משפט, כל התיקים שהיא פתחה נגדי נסגרו מחוסר ראיות, ואולם עדיין יש עינוי דין נוראי, עוד חצי שנה נעשה תזכיר, עוד כמה חודשים נעשה דיון נוסף. הכל מזדחל ומייגע מאד. מאז חלפו שלש שנים. בשנה האחרונה ראיתי את הילדים שלש פעמים בלבד".

מדוע רק שלש פעמים?

"מה שקורה הוא, שהרווחה קובעת פגישות עם הילדים, ואז, ברגע האחרון אני מקבל ביטול עם משפטים כמו 'הילדים מסרבים. זה לא קל לילדים, אי אפשר היום'. אסור לי לבוא לבקרם, לשוחח איתם בטלפון. כלום. אני מיואש מאד, משהו בתוכי כבה. גם כשאתה רואה את הילדים הם לא מחבקים אותך אלא מטיחים טענות על החרדים בלי קשר שהאביסו אותם בבית, ואין אהבה".

וויתרת? אתה לא תובע יותר?

"למעשה כן. גם מבחינה כלכלית זה קשה באופן שלא ייאמן. כבר כרגע אני עומד על מאה אלף שח חובות לעורכי דין, ואין לי כסף לכל התביעות האלו.. אני מרוויח שבע וחצי נטו, מתוך זה ארבע אלף ש"ח הולך למזונות, וזה חוץ מהוצאות לא צפויות כמו חוגים, בנוסף על זה אני משכיר דירה בירושלים ומתמודד כמו כולנו עם החיים והפרנסה היומיומית. זה קשה מאד.

"שלחתי מאות מכתבים ואימיילים לכל מיני גורמים ברשויות. זה כמו להיתקל שוב ושוב בחומת בטון. החוק אבסולוטי נגד דברים, וכשמדובר באישה שחזרה בשאלה נוסף הממד של נטיית הרשויות והגורמים הממלכתיים להאמין ולתמוך באישה שנמלטה מהחיים החרדיים החשוכים ומבעלה החרדי ה'שחור והפנאט'".

"אנחנו מקבלים מקרים נוגעים ללב", אומרת רונית סמדר דרור, מנהלת עמותת לצדכם שמטרתה לסייע משפטית ופסיכולוגית לגברים הסובלים מבעיה זו, ולמניעת מקרים נוספים.

בראשית היה העולם שוביניסטי לחלוטין, גברים נישאו לכמה נשים שרצו, ילדו ילדים וצאצאיהם מילאו את הארץ, נשאו את שמם בלבד, והיו חשובים בעיקר אם היו זכרים... לנשים לא היו כל זכויות, ולא היה פוצה פה ומצפצף.

היום, הגלגל התהפך לפחות בעניין הזה, נשים הן הבעלות הבלעדיות של הילדים. הרשויות תמיד לטובתן, תמיד יאמינו להן ותמיד יעצרו כל אבא שתלונה הוגשה נגדו. יהיו נשים שיגידו שזוהי חוויה מתקנת. הבעיה שהחוויה המתקנת הזו עולה במותם של 150 גברים בשנה. 400 יתומים שמאבדים אבא!

"כאשר מדובר בגירושין בקונפליקט גבוה ומלחמה על גבם של הילדים, ברוב המכריע של המקרים, האימא מקבלת בלעדיות על הילדים תוך כדי פגיעה אנושה באב. מרגע הפרידה או הגירושים מתחיל מרוץ מטורף נגד האב שמתחיל בדרך כלל בתלונות שווא, הרחקות מהבית, ניתוק מהילדים וניכור מהאבא, ממשיך עם תשלומי מזונות שהרבה מאד אבות לא מסוגלים להתמודד עמם ואז יש עיקולים, הוצאה לפועל ושוב מעצרים שלא מאפשרים לאבא הזה לעמוד על הרגליים ולהתפרנס... כך שהוא לא מצליח לצאת מהמלכוד אליו הוא נכנס ולפעמים פשוט מתייאש". אומרת רונית סמדר דרור.

"ניתוק של ילדים מאבות כליל או התעקשות שיראה אותם במרכזי קשר (חדר סגור בו האב משחק עם ילדיו תוך כדי שפקידות סעד צופות בהם) לשעה בשבוע... וככה אלפי ילדים גדלים ללא אבא, ללא דמות אב שתחזק ותהווה משענת מהותית בהתפתחות שלהם. לפעמים במצבים הטובים יש הסדרי ראייה (האב הופך לבייביסיטר לילדיו) של שלוש שעות פעמיים בשבוע, וכל זאת בגלל תלונות של האם שלפעמים לוקח שנים לבדוק. במקביל האבות נשלחים למכוני בדיקה לבדיקת כשירותם ומסוגלותם ההורית שעולים אלפי שקלים ששוב מרבית האבות נדרשים לשלם.

"במרבית התלונות, המשטרה והרשויות מאמינים מידית לאם בשל הפחד האוטומטי שיש במערכת מפגיעה באישה. אבל אנחנו חושבים שצריכים להישאל שאלות כמו, איך ייתכן שחמש עשרה שנה כשהיה נשוי לך היה בסדר גמור בתור אב, ופתאום, עם הגירושין, הוא הופך לבעל אלים? חסר מסוגלות? מתעלל? אלו דברים שצריך לבדוק".

הכאב והעוול של הגברים הגרושים, גרמו לסמדר-דרור ולעוד אנשי מקצוע עובדים סוציאלים ופסיכולוגים להקים את עמותת 'לצדכם' - מערך חדש הכולל יועצים מכל סוג- פסיכולוגי וסוציאלי.

Donald Trump demands apology from what he mistakenly claims was a "very rude" "Hamilton" cast

CBS News

President-elect Donald Trump is demanding an apology from the “very rude” cast of “Hamilton,” the hit Broadway musical, after Vice President-elect Mike Pence was addressed directly by the performers following a Friday night show.

Mr. Trump sent tweets Saturday morning saying the vice president-elect was “harassed” when he attended the musical:

Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump

Our wonderful future V.P. Mike Pence was harassed last night at the theater by the cast of Hamilton, cameras blazing.This should not happen!

But while the vice president-elect received some boos from the audience (others cheered) before the start of the show, the cast itself concluded their performance with a heartfelt plea for the Trump administration to “work on behalf of all of us.”

Brandon Victor Dixon, the actor who plays Vice President Aaron Burr, thanked Pence for his attendance and urged the audience to be respectful.

“There’s nothing to boo here, ladies and gentlemen, there’s nothing to boo here,” Dixon said. “We’re all here sharing a story of love.”

He then delivered this statement on behalf of the show: “We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us,” Dixon said. “We truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and work on behalf of all of us.”

According to New York Times theater critic Patrick Healy, the statement was written by the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Watch it in full here:

Trump agrees to $25 million settlement in Trump University fraud cases

Washington Post

President-elect Donald Trump, who has repeatedly bragged that he never settles lawsuits despite a long history of doing so, has agreed to a $25 million settlement to end the fraud cases pending against his defunct real estate seminar program, Trump University.

The settlement eliminates the possibility that Trump will be called to testify in court in the midst of his presidential transition. It ends three separate lawsuits that made claims against Trump University, including a California class action case that was scheduled to go to trial later this month, as well as a second suit in that state and an action filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

In a statement, Trump Organization General Counsel Alan Garten said he thought Trump would have prevailed at trial but settled so Trump could “devote his full attention to the important issues facing our great nation” during his presidential transition.

Schneiderman, a Democrat who had faced harsh attacks from Trump since filing the 2013 suit, said in a statement that his office had sued Trump for “swindling thousands of innocent Americans out of millions of dollars” and that the settlement had come despite significant resistance from Trump for years.

“Today, that all changes,” Schneiderman said. “Today’s $25 million settlement agreement is a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university.”

Schneiderman said the settlement includes a $1 million penalty paid to New York state for violating the state’s education laws by calling the program a “university” despite offering no degrees or traditional education. Trump did not, however, admit fault regarding the claims that customers were cheated.

A lawyer representing former customers in the two California cases also confirmed the settlement at a hearing in San Diego.

Eliezar Berland sentenced to 18 months in prison for sex abuse

Arutz 7   Eliezer Berland, who fled Israel after allegations of sexual misconduct against female followers came to light in 2012, will serve 18 months in prison for sexual abuse.

Berland, 79, is the founder of the Shuvu Banim yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem and was a prominent figure within the Breslov community. He managed to evade Israeli authorities until his capture in South Africa in late 2015. Rabbi Berland was finally returned to Israel in July, 2016.

According to a plea bargain agreement signed on Thursday, Berland will plead guilty to two charges of sexual assault against two of his female followers, and will be sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

The nearly four months Berland has already served will be counted towards his jail term.

While many of Rabbi Berland’s followers have decried the allegations as a witch-hunt and proclaimed his innocence, prominent Breslov leaders have condemned Berland, while his own son, Nahman, described him as a “criminal”.

“[H]e pretends to be a great saint,” the younger Berland said. “My father has no shame….when people know about his crimes they won’t come near him; my father is such a criminal – either he’s totally wicked or he’s mentally ill, and I don’t care which.”

Donald Trump’s Plan to Purge the Nation: Reality Check

NY Times

President-elect Donald Trump says he will move immediately to deport or imprison two million, maybe three million, unauthorized-immigrant criminals. “What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers,” he said on Sunday on “60 Minutes.”

Like many of his proposals, this one sounds tough and straightforward, but makes no sense under scrutiny and is frightening to think about.

Start with the fact that the target number is made up. There simply aren’t as many criminal immigrants as he imagines. According to rough estimates by the Migration Policy Institute, of the country’s 11 million unauthorized immigrants, about 820,000 have criminal records. About 300,000 of those have felony convictions and are presumably the bad people Mr. Trump is talking about. If he deports those and only those, it will be a remarkable display of law-enforcement discretion, since he said that there were lots of “terrific people” among the unauthorized who might be allowed to stay, “after the border is secured and after everything gets normalized.”

And yet he also said that two million to three million would go, a population about the size of Chicago’s. He would have to haul away a lot of terrific people, and terrorize many more, to hit that mark. This would require a vast conscription of state and local law enforcement against people who pose no threat. It would mean a surge in home and workplace raids, investigations and traffic stops.

It took the Obama administration eight years to deport 2.5 million immigrants. The threat of Mr. Trump chasing that number right off the bat is the reason immigrant communities are so terrified. But the damage won’t be immediate: He can’t just load two million people onto buses and planes and ship them out. He’ll first have to stuff them into the bottleneck of the immigration courts, where there are too few judges and lawyers for a swollen caseload, and fill detention cells to bursting. Mr. Trump may be unaware of due process, or in denial about it, but it exists.

All the while he would be snatching workers from their jobs, workers who keep the economy humming. Then there is the policing problem — indiscriminate roundups in immigrant communities cause crime victims to fear and avoid the police, and crime to fester.

We’ve been down this ugly path before. Arizona followed it for years under Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, a Trump ally who broke the law, abused civil rights and neglected other law-enforcement duties. It took years of struggle by human rights advocates, in the streets and the courts, but voters finally ousted Sheriff Arpaio in this month’s election.

How can the country resist if Mr. Trump tries to nationalize the Arizona model with mass deportation?

Much of the response will have to be local. The list of cities where leaders and police officials have vowed not to participate in a Trump dragnet is long and growing. Immigration is a federal responsibility, they say, and they will not waste policing resources, money or time on a destructive plan that won’t work. “That is not our job, nor will I make it our job,” said the Los Angeles police chief, Charlie Beck. Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York struck the right note: “We are not going to sacrifice a half-million people who live amongst us, who are part of our communities.”

[...]

Mr. Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have threatened to cut off federal funding to immigrant-friendly “sanctuary cities” like San Francisco, Chicago and New York. It’s unclear what budgetary pain they can cause. But we can only hope that these places stand firm at a time when cherished American ideals are under siege.

Rabbinic Supreme Court meets to invalidate controversial get from husband in vegetative state

Times of Israel

Entire rabbinical court to rule on comatose husband divorce caseIn historic first, complete bench of Supreme Rabbinical Court will decide whether lower court was right to grant ‘get’

For the first time in its history, the Supreme Rabbinical Court will hold a hearing shortly with all of its members to judge whether a rabbi in northern Israel was correct in granting a Jewish bill of divorce to a woman whose husband is in a coma.

In the case in question, the woman was an agunah, or “chained woman,” after her husband was left comatose nine years ago. In a precedent-setting ruling in 2014, Safed’s rabbinical court said the woman can consider herself divorced even without receiving a get from her husband, and can thus remarry.[...]

The Supreme Rabbinical Court is convening in order to rule on whether a rabbinical court can grant a divorce in place of a husband if the husband is not able to do so.

The Supreme Rabbinical Court is headed by Yitzhak Yosef, Israel’s Sephardi chief rabbi, who gave the order to reexamine the case, and convened all the members of the court to hear it.

While it is not clear how the court will rule, the late Ovadia Yosef, the leading Sephardi rabbinic figure of his time until his death in 2013, and the father of the current chief rabbi, wrote his own precedent-setting ruling when faced with a similar situation following the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

The older Yosef decreed that soldiers who went missing during the war, without any evidence as to whether they were alive or dead, could be presumed dead for the purposes of freeing their agunot wives, allowing the wives to move on with their lives and remarry.

Kikar HaShabbat

צעד חסר תקדים: בית הדין הגדול יתכנס כדי לפסול את הגט

לראשונה: כלל חברי בית הדין הרבני הגדול יתכנסו בהוראת הראשל"צ הגר"י יוסף - בכדי להפוך את פסק הדין של הדיין הרב אוריאל לביא מצפת שהתיר אישה עגונה שבעלה צמח.

חשיפה • החלטה חסרת תקדים של נשיא בית הדין הרבני הגדול: לראשונה מאז היווסדו, מתכנס בית הדין הרבני הגדול לדיון בהרכב שיכלול את כלל חברי בית הדין הגדול. ל"כיכר השבת" נודע כי נשיא בית הדין הגדול הראשל"צ הרב הראשי לישראל הגאון רבי יצחק יוסף הורה על כינוס הרכב מורחב של כלל חברי בית הדין הגדול, זאת כחלק מדיון בשאלת זיכוי גט לבעל צמח.

כזכור, בזמנו קיבל הרכב בית הדין הרבני בצפת בראשות האב"ד הרב אוריאל לביא החלטה לפיה אישה.שבעלה שרוי בתרדמת - רשאית להינשא לאחר שיינתן לה גט על ידי בית הדין ולא על ידי בעלה.

בעקבות ההחלטה התקדימית שעוררה מחלוקת וביקורת רבה בעולם הדיינות, הוגש ערעור על ההחלטה ובהמשך לערעור החליט כעת נשיא בית הדין הגר"י יוסף לקיים דיון מורחב שיכלול את כלל חברי בית הדין הגדול לראשונה מאז היווסדו. אולם, היות וכלל החברים מונים מספר זוגי, קבע נשיא בית הדין הגדול כי צעיר הדיינים לא יקח חלק בדיון ובכך ניתן יהיה לכנס הרכב אי זוגי על פי ההלכה.

עוד נקבע, כי בניגוד לתיקי ערעור אחרים, יתכן ויוזמנו חברי בית הדין בצפת הדיינים הרב לביא הרב בזק והרב ויגודה על מנת לנמק את עמדתם בפני נשיא וחברי בית הדין הגדול, זאת על מנת להכריע סופית בשאלה הקשה ולאחר שנשמעו הנימוקים של כל מי שיש לו יד בעניין.

ל"כיכר השבת" נודע כי חברי בית הדין האיזורי בצפת שקיבלו את ההחלטה הראשונית המתירה את האישה

להינשא התחייבו כי במידה ונשיא וחברי בית הדין הרבני הגדול לא יקבלו את עמדתם - יקבלו הם את הכרעת הרוב.

הכרעת בית הרבני הגדול בנושא המורכב צפויה לשים קץ לדיון בשאלה מעוררת המחלוקת, האם בית הדין יכול להיכנס לנעלי הבעל הצמח ולתת גט במקומו.

כזכור, מאז ניתנה החלטת בית הדין הרבני בצפת תקפו גדולי ישראל מכל החוגים את פסק ההלכה מעורר המחלוקת וקבעו כי מדובר בפסק מוטעה מיסודו. אב בית הדין הרבני בצפת הרב אוריאל לביא שעמד בראש ההרכב, זכה לביקורת נוקבת, ויש הטוענים שבשל כך אף נמנע קידומו לבית הדין הגדול על אף ההערכה הרבה לה זכה בעבר.

גורמים במערכת בתי הדין אומרים כי עד כה, לא ניתן היה לכנס הרכב מורחב של בית הדין מאחר ובבית הדין הרבני הגדול לא כיהנו דיינים, עם מינוי הדיינים לבית הגדול החלה ההיערכות לקבלת החלטה בנושא

Post-Truth at the Aguda Convention: The Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter and viewing R Shmuel Kaminetsky as a leader

It is truly touching that this assembly is concerned with Jews going off the derech. But at the same time it is truly tragic that the hypocrisy of R Shmuel Kaminetsky's promotion of adultery is ignored. After all he only engineered the heter - it is R Greenblatt's fault for giving it. He has stated he has no responsibility to stop this adultery - even though it is clear to all that if he has the ability to stop it. It is truly tragic that this assembly doesn't see a relationship between Jews going off the derech and the blatant hypocrisy of their leaders who know - but do and say nothing.

Hamodia

Addressing the theme “Understanding, Recognizing and Appreciating Who We Are,” the 94th annual convention of Agudath Israel of America commenced Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stamford, CT. Laymen and businessmen came together with Gedolim and Rabbanim at the much-anticipated annual event.. [...]

Harav Shmuel Kamenetsky, shlita, delivered greetings on behalf of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of America.

Harav Kamenetsky noted that in terms of the convention theme, we are all children of Avraham Avinu and strive to follow the path that the Avos forged for us. He cited the Chasam Sofer who explained that although Avraham could have sat and learned Torah his entire life, he saw it as his duty to bring people closer to Hashem. After he reached out to the entire world and influenced them, as a result he grew much more than he would have had he used that time exclusively for himself. In our times the Rosh Yeshivah lamented, Yidden are, R”l, going lost and it should behoove us to endeavor to bring them back. We are all children of Avraham Avinu and therefore this is our avodah, said the Rosh Yeshivah.[...]

Post-Truth: Facebook fake news creator claims he put Trump in White House

CBS News

Paul Horner — the 38-year-old self-made titan of a fake news empire on Facebook — is claiming responsibility for pushing Donald Trump to the White House, and says he has no plans to stop publishing fake news.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Horner attributed his success to Trumps’ particular base of supporters. He is the man behind such viral headlines as “The Amish in America Commit their Vote to Donald Trump” and “President Obama Signs Executive Order Banning the National Anthem at all Sporting Events Nationwide” — neither of which were true.

“My sites were picked up by Trump supporters all the time. I think Trump is in the White House because of me. His followers don’t fact-check anything — they’ll post everything, believe anything. His campaign manager posted my story about a protester getting paid $3,500 as fact. Like, I made that up. I posted a fake ad on Craigslist,” he told The Washington Post.

Horner’s fake news articles — published on sites designed to mimic the look and feel of well-known, legitimate news outlets — had enormous impact this election cycle. Even members of Donald Trump’s inner circle, including Trump’s son Eric and then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, shared links to Horner’s content. Horner’s stories also made their way to Google News, known to feature stories from reputable news sources.

“Honestly, people are definitely dumber,” Horner told The Post to explain the popularity of his content, which he suggested he sees as satire akin to The Onion. “Nobody fact-checks anything anymore — I mean, that’s how Trump got elected. He just said whatever he wanted, and people believed everything, and when the things he said turned out not to be true, people didn’t care because they’d already accepted it. It’s real scary.”

He said he didn’t do it for ideological reasons. “I hate Trump,” he told The Post. “I thought I was messing with the campaign, maybe I wasn’t messing them up as much as I wanted — but I never thought he’d actually get elected.”

In a new analysis of the last three months of campaign coverage, BuzzFeed News concluded that top fake election news stories generated more engagement on Facebook than top election stories from 19 major news outlets combined, including the New York Times, Fox News and CBS News

According to BuzzFeed, among the top 20 fake election-related articles on Facebook, most had a political bent that favored the Trump campaign; all but three were anti-Clinton or pro-Trump. Facebook users engaged with them more than 8.7 million times.

White nationalists see advocate in Steve Bannon who will hold Trump to his campaign promises

CNN

White nationalist leaders are praising Donald Trump's decision to name former Breitbart executive Steve Bannon as his chief strategist, telling CNN in interviews they view Bannon as an advocate in the White House for policies they favor.

The leaders of the white nationalist and so-called "alt-right" movement — all of whom vehemently oppose multiculturalism and share the belief in the supremacy of the white race and Western civilization — publicly backed Trump during his campaign for his hardline positions on Mexican immigration, Muslims, and refugee resettlement. Trump has at times disavowed their support. Bannon's hiring, they say, is a signal that Trump will follow through on some of his more controversial policy positions.

"I think that's excellent," former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke told CNN's KFile. "I think that anyone that helps complete the program and the policies that President-elect Trump has developed during the campaign is a very good thing, obviously. So it's good to see that he's sticking to the issues and the ideas that he proposed as a candidate. Now he's president-elect and he's sticking to it and he's reaffirming those issues."

Duke, who last week lost his longshot bid for the US Senate seat from Louisiana, said he plans on expanding his radio show and is hoping to launch a 24 hour online news show with a similar approach to Comedy Central's Daily Show. He argued Bannon's position was among the most important in the White House.

"You have an individual, Mr. Bannon, who's basically creating the ideological aspects of where we're going," added Duke. "And ideology ultimately is the most important aspect of any government."

Bannon, who was a Navy officer and Goldman Sachs investment banker years before taking over Breitbart, has called the site "the platform for the alt-right." Under Bannon, Breitbart has taken an increasingly hardline tone on issues such as terrorism and immigration, running a headline after the Paris attacks of November 2015 saying, "Paris Streets Turned Into Warzone By Violent Migrants." It also ran a headline in May 2016 calling anti-Trump, neoconservative commentator Bill Kristol a "Renegade Jew."[...]

Peter Brimelow, who runs the white nationalist site VDARE, praised Bannon's hiring, saying it gives Trump a connection to the alt-right movement online.

"I think it's amazing," Brimelow said of Trump's decision to tap Bannon. "Can you imagine Mitt Romney doing this? It's almost like Trump cares about ideas! Especially amazing because I would bet Trump doesn't read online. Few plutocrats do, they have efficient secretaries."

Brimelow added his site would continue to focus solely on their hardline position on immigration, saying he expects American whites to vote their interests similar to other minority groups.

"To the extent that the 'alt-right' articulates that interest, it will continue to grow," Brimelow said.

Brad Griffin, a blogger who runs the white nationalist website Occidental Dissent using the pseudonym "Hunter Wallace," said he thought Bannon's hiring showed Trump would be held to his campaign promises.

"It makes sense to me," he said. "Reince [Priebus] can certainly get more done on Capitol Hill. He will be an instrument of Trump's will, not the other way around. Bannon is better suited as chief strategist and looking at the big picture. I think he will hold Trump to the promises he has already made during the campaign. We endorse many of those promises like building the wall, deportations, ending refugee resettlement, preserving the Second Amendment, etc. There's a lot of stuff in there on which almost everyone on the right agrees."

Griffin added, "We're most excited though about the foreign policy implications of Bannon in the White House. We want to see our counterparts in Europe — starting in Austria and France — win their upcoming elections. We're hearing reports that Breitbart is expanding its operations in continental Europe and that is where our focus will be in 2017."

Jared Taylor, who runs the site American Renaissance, echoed those comments, saying Bannon would help hold Trump to his campaign rhetoric.[...]

European rabbis fear 'Trump effect' inspiring anti-Semites

YNET

In discussions of the Conference of European Rabbis in Minsk, Belarus, rabbis expressed concern at the reduction of American involvement in the foreign affairs of various countries as well as "tailwind" ring-wing parties that hold anti-Semitic views.

While many in Israel are celebrating the election of Donald Trump, thinking that his administration will be more responsive regarding policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many in European Jewish communities are concerned.

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the President of the Conference of European Rabbis and Chief Rabbi of Moscow, points out that one of the first to congratulate Trump was Marine Le Pen, of the National Front—a far right French party—who is known for calling to outlaw the skullcap and cut funding for municipal Kosher meals for students.

"Trump's rise has helped push right-wing forces in Europe," said Goldschmidt. "They are against foreigners and they are intolerant of minorities. Even though Trump has Jewish family members, I don't see the same thing in France, Germany or Austria. They repeatedly express anti-Semitic attitudes and have maintained ties to the Nazi traditions."

According to Goldschmidt, new American foreign policy by Trump could adversely affect Jews in Europe. "I'm not referring to election speeches, but 'the day after,'" said Goldschmidt. "Trump has mentioned that under him, the United States will no longer be the 'police of the world.'"

Goldschmidt also discussed the turnaround in foreign policy of the superpower, noting that the US provides security for allies and protection for minorities.

"Removing the American umbrella will cause every community to be completely dependent upon the local government, which is not always pro-minority without a powerful external actor, which protects minority rights. With Britain leaving the European Union and Trump's victory, Jews are at a significant crossroads. We don't know what the changes will be, but we must be prepared."