Jonathan Karl’s ‘Betrayal’ unearths new details about Trump’s attack on democracy

 https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2021-11-16/jonathan-karls-betrayal-unearths-new-details-about-trumps-attack-on-democracy

It’s no secret that Trump indulged a startling array of falsehoods about the last election as part of his effort to cling to power. However, Karl finds new examples of how conspiracy theories were transmitted through Trump’s inner circle.

The president’s allies seemed to think they had a kindred spirit in Ezra Cohen, a Pentagon official who had previously worked for Michael Flynn, and they often sought his assistance. After the election, Flynn called Cohen to say that ballots needed to be seized, then yelled at him when Cohen said “it’s time to move on.”

Sidney Powell, Flynn’s lawyer who also advised Trump, later called Cohen to unspool a bizarre theory that Gina Haspel, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, was trying to cover up election fraud and had been detained in Germany. “You need to launch a special operations mission to get her,” Powell reportedly told Cohen. (None of Powell’s wild claims were true.) 

New York State vows to update rules governing secular education in yeshivas

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-york-state-says-it-will-update-rules-governing-secular-education-in-yeshivas/

 The New York State Education Department on Monday announced a plan to update regulations governing education in non-public schools in the coming year, which could have major implications for the state’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious schools.

Critics of the religious schools, or yeshivas, applauded the announcement, while supporters condemned it.

New York State mandates that all children in non-public schools receive instruction that is “substantially equivalent” to education at nearby public schools. The definition of the term, and the law’s enforcement, have been the source of ongoing controversy surrounding the yeshivas.

Author Chaim Walder's books removed from Brooklyn store

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/317078 

"Dear customers,

It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that we will no longer carry the books of Chaim Walder in our stores due to shocking allegations recently revealed.

This decision was not made lightly and will no doubt come at a heavy financial cost, as these books were bestsellers— but as a business that cares about our community, we cannot ignore the pleas we have received on behalf of the alleged victims.

Given that the access to alleged victims was largely by way of the author’s books and work, we believe that this decision is an essential step in protecting our children and building a safer, healthier community.

Our heart goes out to all who had to, and those who still have to, suffer in silence and it is our hope that this statement serves as an encouragement to them to come forward knowing that we care about them and will have their back and help them heal.

צדק צדק תרדוף

Sincerely,

Mordy Getz

Eichlers Judaica

Chaim Walder's books removed from Eichler's over rape allegations

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/chaim-walders-books-removed-from-eichlers-over-rape-allegations-685188

Popular Jewish retailer Eichler's will no longer carry the books of Israeli haredi (ultra-Orthodox) author Chaim Walder following accusations made against him of rape and sexual assault of minors, its CEO Mordy Getz announced over Twitter.

Walder's books will no longer be available in their store, or online at Shopeichlers.com. 

"This decision was not made lightly, and will no doubt come at a heavy financial cost, as these books were bestsellers," Getz wrote, "but as a business that cares deeply about our community, we cannot ignore the pleas we have received on behalf of the alleged victims."

Statement on Child Abuse Allegations Made Against Rabbi Chaim Walder

Anti-vaxxer addresses Knesset video conference — apparently invited by mistake

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/anti-vaxxer-addresses-knesset-video-conference-apparently-invited-by-mistake/

 An anti-vaccine activist claimed to lawmakers on a Knesset committee Tuesday that a top Health Ministry official cannot be trusted to give an objective opinion on vaccinations for children, falsely asserting that the official works for the company that produces the shots.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at the Health Ministry,  has become the focus of anti-vaccination activism, receiving threats so severe that she has been provided with a bodyguard and a panic button.

Activist Valentina Nalin, an attorney, was apparently invited to participate in the Knesset Health Committee meeting by mistake.

Israelis should avoid Turkey until couple is released - analysis

 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/israelis-should-avoid-turkey-until-couple-is-released-analysis-684984

Don't go to Turkey.

That should be the government’s message to all Israelis if the Turkish authorities do not immediately release the Israeli couple Natali and Mordy Oaknin from custody for allegedly spying because they took a photo of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s palace from a tower across the street.

And if that is not enough to get the Turks to release the couple, then other, more strident actions should be considered.

Kyle Rittenhouse trial: When can you shoot as self-defence?

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59138213

 In the US, people can justify their use of deadly force against another when it reasonably appears necessary.

Wisconsinites may not be prosecuted if their methods of self-defence were "necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm". The legal standard comes with a two-part test.

Jurors must decide whether or not the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under the circumstances.

How American Shoppers Broke the Supply Chain

 https://time.com/6112491/supply-chain-shopping/

 But the supply chain is also broken because of the sheer volume of stuff that Americans are buying, especially online. To keep up with demand for two-day shipping, companies like Amazon and Walmart have built warehouses around the country, and are importing even more containers of goods to fill them. These warehouses are getting a lot more action now that even the most reluctant online shopper was pushed to embrace e-commerce during the pandemic to comply with shelter in place orders.

Michael Flynn calls for the US to have ‘one religion,’ sparking outrage from Jewish groups

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/316992

 The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Congress have joined numerous groups and individuals in condemning the call by Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, for the United States to have one religion.

“If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion,” Flynn said Saturday at a rally in Texas for ReAwaken America, a Christian-themed speaking tour backed by the Christian news network America Faith. “One nation under God, and one religion under God.”

The ADL’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, and the American Jewish Congress both took to Twitter to call Flynn’s statement “anti-American.”

The voluntary dying debate - not so easy

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/317001

 Rav Moshe Feinstein holds that when a patient is gripped by unbearable pain and suffering, nature should be allowed to take its course. Thus when a patient is on a respirator and the machine is temporarily removed for servicing, if the patient shows no signs of life the machine need not be restored.

Greenblatt-KainetskyHeter II

 https://www.kikar.co.il/405496.html

מרן שר התורה הגר"ח קנייבסקי והגר"ג אדלשטיין יצאו היום במכתב נגד שלושה דיינים מתל אביב, שהתירו אש איש; "וישמרו שלא למנותם דיינים", נכתב • הדיינים חזרו בהם מהפסק המסעיר

Sandy Hook: Alex Jones loses case over 'hoax' remarks

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58771927

 US radio host and prominent conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has lost another legal case after falsely calling a mass school shooting a "hoax".

Twenty children and six adults were shot dead at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut in 2012.

But Mr Jones claimed the event had been made up by supporters of gun controls and the mainstream media.

He will now have to pay legal costs to the parents of two six-year-old boys killed in the attack.

Mr Jones has long claimed on his radio show and right-wing Infowars website that the attack at Sandy Hook was "completely fake" and a "giant hoax".

The Kashrut of Fake Pork

 https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/food/articles/is-it-kosher-to-eat-fake-pork

The Orthodox Union took a different stance, deciding not to grant kosher certification to Impossible Pork as long as it had the word “pork” in the product name. (The organization’s seal does appear on other products that mimic treyf foods, including mock crab.) Rabbi Menachem Genack, who is CEO of the OU’s kosher division, said the decision was made to avoid consumer confusion and provocation. “We still get deluged with calls,” he said in a recent JTA article about the OU’s decision to certify a “bacon” that was meat, but not pork-based.