After 16 years, 'chained' woman finally gets divorce

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/307741

A 16-year struggle to obtain a get reached its end today in a precedent setting case opened in the rabbinical courts of Tel Aviv which ended in the Beit Din (court of Jewish law) in Brooklyn, NY. The case had gained considerable media and public attention over the years due to the influential nature of the get-refuser’s father and the lengths the rabbinical court was willing to go in order to achieve this result.

The story began 16 years ago, when having been married for just several years, D traveled to Israel with their two young children to visit her parents. Shortly after her arrival, D suffered a serious stroke, leaving her in the hospital and diagnosed with neurological damage that would affect her mobility and overall function. Hearing the diagnosis, her husband made the decision to abandon the family, yet refusing to grant her a divorce.

 For well over a decade, D was left to fend for herself and her children all while struggling with her own health and rehabilitation. Her requests for a get (Jewish writ of divorce) were repeatedly denied.

Haredi newspaper: 'Decrees of destruction by hostile gov't'

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/307694

 Haredi newspapers have warned that the new government will "harm the status quo" on religious issues.

The announcement follows the publication of the coalition agreements between the parties forming the new government.

 Yated Ne'eman described the coalition agreements as a "ram of iron which gores at the walls of religion," while a subtitle claimed that "the wheels have evil have begun to move."

Hamodia claimed that "the basic principles threaten what is holy to Israel," and in a subtitle called the Draft Law, requirement to teach the core curriculum, public transportation on Shabbat (the Sabbath), the Western Wall Plan, and other issues "part of the decrees of destruction by a hostile government."

 That paper claimed that Yamina chief MK Naftali Bennett's declarations "as if he will promise not to harm the haredim or the religion of Israel are melting and dissolving as if they never were, in face of the papers and documents which are being exposed."

'Joints for Jabs': Washington state turns to marijuana giveaways to encourage residents to get vaccinated

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/06/08/washington-state-allows-free-marijuana-covid-vaccine/7598398002/

"Joints for Jabs" is officially a thing in Washington state.  

The state's Liquor and Cannabis Board said this week that it would allow state-licensed cannabis retailers to "provide one joint to adult consumers who receive COVID-19 vaccination at an in-store vaccination clinic."

The program is the latest vaccination incentive in a state that just days ago reached its goal of at least vaccinating 70% of state adults. Gov. Jay Inslee has said reaching that mark will allow elimination of most remaining coronavirus-driven restrictions across the state.

The board said it received multiple requests from cannabis retail licensees to help promote the state vaccination efforts. The approval for what the board called "Joints for Jabs" is effective immediately and will expire July 12. Others are calling the plan "poke and toke."

Kellogs's anti gender Pride cereal

 http://www.christianitydaily.com/articles/11984/20210526/madness-wokeness-now-indoctrinating-your-kids-through-kelloggs-breakfast-cereal.htm

The purple-themed breakfast cereal box comes with the tagline, "boxes are for cereal, not people," which encourages kids and kids at heart to explore one's identity. But not all people are happy with this new initiative.

 

Sex offender rabbi who defrauded followers gets 18 months in plea deal

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/sex-offender-rabbi-who-defrauded-followers-gets-18-months-in-plea-deal-report/

 Sentence to include time served, meaning Eliezer Berland may walk free in less than a year after he allegedly sold fake cures and ‘wonder drugs’ to desperate members of community.

‘Nobody Wants White Kids to Feel Bad About Their Race’

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/06/anastasia-higginbotham-not-my-idea-children-police-killings/619087/ 

She argues that, at the earliest possible age, white kids should be taught to identify whiteness as the root of racial injustice so that they can reject the pervasive racism that they would otherwise embody. I think her account of what causes police killings is too monocausal and that her zeal for uprooting racism sometimes strays into overgeneralization based in racial stereotyping. Regardless, her message that kids can choose to reject racism is laudable, and many school districts find it valuable. What follows is an edited and condensed version of our discussion.

Debunking the myth of the Lost Cause: A lie embedded in American history - Karen L. Cox

Was the Civil War About Slavery?

Donald Trump is getting worse

 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/03/politics/donald-trump-2020-election-fraud/index.html

That follows on reporting from The New York Times and The Washington Post that Trump is convinced that he will, at some point this summer, be reinstated as president once a variety of kooky and non-credible audits come to, uh, fruition.

 

Rabbi Yisroel Knopfler אב בית דין בד'ץ לייקווד

Yadin Yadin Chabura - Rabbi Bleich

 https://yeshiva-university.zoom.us/rec/play/DyozGrsx4SxtRhpebUb0paCloB-iBFII48XmEcRmnJuV1D4uprVzgLjMxGSxYo5n57JyEDaOQSlkP3e_.dNdIOpJQDsntzrYc?startTime=1622747149000&_x_zm_rtaid=NtIzVug1TI-URaypZvBlQw.1622760246280.4e7a80a8ba5d7d83e7a48e1aebb61d70&_x_zm_rhtaid=657The 

Rav Bleich rules that demonstrations can cause a גט מעושה.

Jerusalem Pride march sets out for first time in 2 years

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/jerusalem-pride-march-sets-out-for-first-time-in-2-years-670022

Heavy police barriers were set up in Bloomfield Park near Liberty Bell Park in preparation for a counter-protest by the far-right Lehava organization. Officers will work to prevent clashes and protect participants, while preserving freedom of expression and the right to protest.

An ad reportedly by Lehava on behalf of the counter-protest referred to the march as a “disgrace of Jerusalem,” “the dissolving of the natural family” and a “trampling of traditional Judaism.”

 

Gafni: Abbas is the most religious person in this government

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/307389

MK Moshe Gafni commented on the formation of the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government during a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee on Wednesday.

Gafni said, "I was really worried. I heard that they were going to form a coalition and do things against the Torah there. For example, [Meretz chairman] Nitzan Horowitz will demand rights for LGBT people, as he calls it. The State of Israel going against the Torah? Inconceivable."

Gafni went on to say what ultimately reassured him. "Then [Ra’am chairman] Mansour Abbas came and lifted my spirits. He does not give LGBT rights. I did not trust Bennett. I thought he would concede. But there is Abbas. Abbas is the most religious person in this government.

Meretz says coalition deal includes push for LGBT rights; Ra’am vows to oppose

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/meretz-says-coalition-deal-includes-push-for-lgbt-rights-raam-vows-to-oppose/

 Later, Army Radio spoke to Ra’am leader MK Mansour Abbas, who said he was not aware of any coalition commitment to advance LGBT rights.

“I don’t know about that, I didn’t see it in the basic guidelines [for the coalition] nor in the agreements,” Abbas said.

Asked if he would oppose the measures that Horowitz had raised, Abbas responded: “Without a doubt. We are a party with a religious background, all of our positions on the matter are drawn from the faith itself.”