COVENANT & CONVERSATION

 https://www.rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/ki-teitse/to-the-third-and-fourth-generations/

In general the Sages rejected the idea that children could be punished, even at the hands of heaven, for the sins of their parents. As a result, they systematically re-interpreted every passage that gave the opposite impression, that children were indeed being punished for their parents’ sins. Their general position was this:

Are not children then to be put to death for the sins committed by their parents? Is it not written, “Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children?” – There the reference is to children who follow in their parents footsteps (literally “seize their parents’ deeds in their hands,” i.e. commit the same sins themselves).[2]

Can Ukraine have a ‘Nazi problem’ with a Jewish president?

 https://jewishunpacked.com/can-ukraine-have-a-nazi-problem-with-a-jewish-president/

Last week, Ukraine’s parliament passed a law criminalizing antisemitism as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

IHRA defines antisemitism, in part, as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” and “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” by “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”

This definition has been adopted by 35 countries, at least a dozen American states, the European Union Parliament and more than 1,000 organizations and universities worldwide. It was formally endorsed by the government of Israel in 2017.

In Ukraine, the offense of antisemitism is now punishable by a fine or a prison sentence of up to five years.

Despite this, antisemitism is not a thing of the past in Ukraine.

The country has been historically reluctant to reckon with its role in the Holocaust, during which more than one million Jews were killed by the Nazis and local Ukrainian collaborators. 

Smear and Loathing: A Close Look at Accusations of Ukrainian Anti‐​Semitism

 https://www.cato.org/commentary/smear-loathing-close-look-accusations-ukrainian-anti-semitism

Given this cast of characters, it’s unsurprising that—as Shekhovtsov reported on the Open Democracy website in May 2014—the Kremlin propaganda narrative depicting post‐​Euromaidan Ukraine as a nest of neo‐​Nazis would coexist with frequent, virulent anti‐​Semitic rhetoric in the separatist movement in Eastern Ukraine. Shekhovtsov mentions street posters, leaflets, internet posts, and even speeches at rallies attacking the new government in Kyiv as a Jewish clique out to use Ukrainians to defend the interests of rich Jews, or depicting the Euromaidan revolution as a “Zionist coup.”

The Kremlin itself has sometimes resorted to subtler forms of Jew‐​baiting in its psychological warfare against Ukraine. Last October, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former Putin‐​puppet president and currently deputy chairman of the security council, published a repulsive ad hominem tirade arguing that negotiations with the current Ukrainian government were pointless because its members, in addition to being weak, greedy, and corrupt, were damaged people without stable national and ethnic roots. The longest and nastiest portion of the article attacked Zelensky as a man with “particular ethnic roots” who had “essentially rejected his identity” for political and pragmatic reasons and compared him to a Jew in Nazi Germany seeking a post in the SS.

Sins of Fathers and Sons

 https://ohr.edu/explore_judaism/ask_the_rabbi/ask_the_rabbi/5321

From: Jonathan

Dear Rabbi,

I read that G-d remembers good deeds for thousands of generations. However, the bad deeds of the current generation are carried onward for three or four generations. This infliction on those who are yet unborn or on those who are not directly responsible for the bad deeds does not seem right to me. Perhaps you could provide some positive thoughts. Thank you and best regards.

Dear Jonathan,

I agree with you that punishing innocents for crimes that others have committed doesn't seem fair. The Talmud in Tractate Brachot (7a) discusses this issue and resolves it in the following way:

Behold one verse says: 'He delivers the sins of the fathers upon the children' (Ex. 34:7) and yet another says: 'And the children shall not die on account of their fathers' (Deut. 24:16). These verses apparently contradict one another, but they can be reconciled by saying that there is no difficulty: one verse is talking about when the children are continuing the evil ways of their parents and the other is referring to when they are not maintaining the evil ways of their parents.

So, according to the Talmud, the verse that is troubling you is referring specifically to a scenario where the children or grandchildren are continuing in their parents' evil ways. In the Book of Samuel II (21:1-11) there is an example of this, which, at first glance, seems very troubling.

Ukraine envoy ‘disappointed’ by Israel detaining refuge-seekers, wants defensive aid

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraine-envoy-disappointed-by-israel-detaining-refuge-seekers-wants-defensive-aid/

Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said Tuesday he was “disappointed” that some Ukranian refuge-seekers were being detained upon arrival in Israel, and expressed dismay that Israel continues to refuse to provide much-needed helmets and military vests for military and civil protection.

He also brought up Ukrainians who assisted Jews during the Holocaust, saying Israel should now be helping his countrymen too.

“We were disappointed yesterday with a decision of the interior minister [Ayelet Shaked] that explained that [Israel] will not allow Ukrainian refugees to come to Israel,” Korniychuk said at a press conference in Tel Aviv.

Explaining why he believes Israel has a moral imperative to admit Ukrainian refuge-seekers, Korniychuk recalled Ukrainians who helped save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

“You will remember the times of the Second World War when the Ukrainians were saving massively the Jewish lives during the Holocaust,” said Korniychuk.

He mentioned the fact that Ukraine has the fourth-most Righteous Among the Nations — non-Jews who saved Jewish lives during the war.

“We saved the Jewish lives at that time, we are [asking] you to help the Ukrainians to overcome this strategy [of monetary deposits] now. This is why the issue of the bail of NIS 10,000 or NIS 20,000 is not acceptable. This is a humanitarian catastrophe and I want you to consider that seriously.”

 https://helpbeth.org/lauder-chabad-statement-on-facebook-1st-march-2022/

CHABAD DENY CULPABILITY

Posted on March 1, 2022 by Beth

Chabad Rabbi Biderman of the Lauder Chabad school

On the 1st March 2022 the following statement was published by the Lauder Chabad school on their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/LauderChabadCampus/posts/257909923127020

Lauder Chabad Campus
Unfortunately, and unjustly, Jewish institutions in Vienna are being attacked on social media due to a personal divorce dispute.
Lauder Chabad Campus and its staff are proud to provide quality education to all interested families of the Jewish community of Vienna.
We are entirely impartial and wholly uninvolved in these personal family affairs. These issues are dealt solely by the legal authorities over whom we have no influence.
Due to data protection issues and ethical reasons, we cannot discuss individual cases via social media.

Biderman and the Lauder Chabad school claim to be impartial, yet they have done the following:

• Submitted a statement to the court. Read here
• Covered up the abuse of Sammy and Benjy Schlesinger. Read here
• Forwarded private emails to judge Konstanze Thau who is not legally allowed to be involved in the case. Read here.
• Lauder Chabad school did not allow Beth to attend the twins’ birthday party at the kindergarten. Read here.
• Lauder Chabad have blocked Beth from attending every parents’ evening, concerts, birthday parties or a single event at the school. They have not provided Beth with any school reports so she has no idea what progress, if any, the twins are making or even what they may be learning.
• Blatantly told Chief Rabbi Mirvis, and the late Lord Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks that Beth was mentally ill despite knowing this was a lie.

• Impartial: Dictionary definition: not partial or biased; fair; just

Shocking Lessons U.S. Military Leaders Learned by Watching Putin's Invasion

 https://www.newsweek.com/shocking-lessons-us-military-leaders-learned-watching-putins-invasion-1683625

For Washington, this display of Russian military weakness should be comforting in terms of Moscow's true military threat to Europe. At the same time though, it exposes the need for a different national security strategy, one that doesn't imagine Russia as a military equal, and one that doesn't push Vladimir Putin's back against a wall.

Candace Owens -lies

 https://www.politifact.com/personalities/candace-owens/

Candace Owens is a conservative commentator, author and host on the Daily Wire. She formerly worked as a spokeswoman for Turning Point USA. She started Blexit, an effort to get black voters to leave the Democratic Party. She previously co-founded the website Degree180.

Candace Owens Says U.S., NATO to Blame for Russia's Ukraine Invasion

 https://www.newsweek.com/candace-owens-says-us-nato-blame-russias-ukraine-invasion-1681589?utm_source=spotim&utm_medium=spotim_recirculation&spot_im_redirect_source=pitc&spot_im_comment_id=sp_vNTS7w0J_article-1681589_c_25UktSIKZKbVbFAAqjD0tpzs0J6&spot_im_highlight_immediate=true

"If you think America has never been the aggressor in war— you are not "pro-American" you are pro-ignorance," Owens wrote. "And your ignorance costs American lives. Stop listening to mainstream media. Start studying energy policy. Read transcripts from ALL world leaders to discern truth."

This past weekend Owens received backlash once again for suggesting the U.S. should "STOP talking about Russia" and "send American troops to Canada to deal with the tyrannical reign of Justin Trudeau."

"He has fundamentally declared himself dictator and is waging war on innocent Canadian protesters and those who have supported them financially," she continued.

Owens' suggestion of sending troops to Canada contradicts her statement of the U.S. as an "aggressor" for sending aid to Ukraine.

How much is Vladimir Putin worth? Almost no one knows for sure

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/28/business/vladimir-putin-wealth-sanctions/index.html

Browder testified before the US Senate in 2017 that he estimates the Russian leader's wealth to hover around $200 billion in assets, which would make him among the wealthiest people on the planet.

Chris Christie Says What We’re All Thinking Of Trump Calling Putin ‘Savvy’

 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/chris-christie-trump-putin-russia-ukraine_n_621d6cefe4b03d0c803d5bec

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) lambasted Donald Trump’s praise of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week, saying history was watching despite the former president’s repeated comments about Vladimir Putin being a “genius” who had been “smart” about the ruthless assault.

“How can anyone with any understanding of the world call Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine ‘genius’ and ‘very savvy’ as we watch him unite the rest of the world against Russia in nearly an instant?” Christie asked Monday on Twitter. He went on to say that Putin has two choices now: an “unwinnable occupation of Ukraine” or a “humiliating retreat.”

Russian invasion a 'solution to Ukrainian question' - Russian state news

 https://www.jpost.com/international/article-698890

Russia is "restoring its unity" and providing a "solution to the Ukrainian question" in its invasion of Ukraine, reads an opinion piece that was seemingly published by accident by Russian news agency RIA Novosti before being quickly taken down. The article was recorded by the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine before it was taken offline.

"A new world is being born before our eyes," wrote Petr Akopov in the article. "Russia's military operation in Ukraine has ushered in a new era — and in three dimensions at once. And of course, in the fourth, domestically. Here begins a new period both in ideology and in the very model of our socio-economic system."

Echoing similar statements made recently by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Akopov referred to the 1991 declarations of independence by Belarus and Ukraine as a "terrible catastrophe" and an "unnatural dislocation."

Man convicted after refusing a Jewish divorce in landmark English court case

 https://www.thejc.com/news/news/man-convicted-after-refusing-a-jewish-divorce-in-landmark-english-court-case-Sucf46KVLnGfpLmXpvRiq

For the first time a man has been convicted in an English court of controlling behaviour for denying his wife a get.

Alan Moher, 57,  from Manchester, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Monday in a private prosecution brought by his former wife Caroline, from whom he was civilly divorced in 2019

Health workers’ vaccine mandate undone by religious exemptions

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/28/covid-vaccine-exemption-hospital-00011951

While the federal government doesn’t track the number of religious exemptions, anecdotal evidence indicates they are widespread in health care settings. Several hospital executives told POLITICO their prevalence has helped keep the hospital from laying off dozens of employees, which would threaten their ability to provide patient care. But public health experts and patient advocates fear that widespread use of the exemptions risks infecting patients with the virus, even as Covid-19 cases decline rapidly from their January peak. Last month, as Omicron surged, more patients than at any time of the pandemic caught Covid in U.S. hospitals, likely due to insufficient control measures, POLITICO found in an analysis of federal data.

Studies show that unvaccinated individuals are more likely to contract and transmit the virus.