Monday, December 19, 2022

Police release video of woman injured during haredi riots

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-725192

Dozens of protestors rioted on Thursday night and blocked roads in central Jerusalem, demonstrating against the arrest of a man suspected of burning a store that sold phones which in his eyes were "not kosher."

Donald Trump brings new meaning to ‘guilt by association’

 https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3779131-donald-trump-brings-new-meaning-to-guilt-by-association/

That said, although it no longer plays a role in establishing criminal or civil liability, “guilt by association” remains an extraordinarily effective way to judge the character of acquaintances, friends, and political leaders. Donald Trump (who refuses to relinquish fawning “love letters” North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un sent to him) is a 21st-century incarnation of tyrants who, according to Aristotle, “are always fond of bad men, because they love to be flattered. And no man who has the spirit of a freeman will demean himself by flattery.”

Trump’s modus operandi — feign ignorance when pressed about praise by an odious person; if absolutely necessary, issue a vague or self-evidently insincere condemnation and change the subject — brings new meaning to “guilt by association.”

Donald Trump Jr. Complains That Left Boosts Right-Wing 'Lunatics'

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-jr-complains-that-left-boosts-right-wing-lunatics-1768008

He continued: "We all have our lunatics. They'll boost that to make it seem like that's the fight, between the one rational leftist and the lunatic rights. They've been doing this forever. Now we see it. But what's perhaps the best is watching the reaction of the insane leftists right now, when they're now on at least a seemingly level playing field for the first time in history. Now, now they don't want free speech anymore because they can't compete on the issues. They never could."

Fox News Host Confronts GOP Congressman on Border Criticism of Joe Biden

 https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-host-confronts-gop-congressman-border-criticism-joe-biden-1767987

On Sunday, Bream continued to press Roy during his interview on criticism that Republicans are impeding the process at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"You guys know, when Republicans were in charge of the White House, the House and the Senate nothing got fixed, so how do you answer these accusations?" Bream asked.

NY Times editorial: Netanyahu government a ‘significant threat to future of Israel’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/ny-times-editorial-netanyahu-government-a-significant-threat-to-future-of-israel/

The New York Times published an editorial on Saturday warning that Benjamin Netanyahu’s presumed incoming hard-right, ultra-religious government represents a danger to Israel’s democracy.

The piece, titled “The Ideal of Democracy in a Jewish State Is in Jeopardy,” argued that while Netanyahu won the election fairly, the far-reaching power he is offering his far-right and ultra-Orthodox partners creates a real threat to democratic values.

The Times board said it has been a “strong supporter of Israel and a two-state solution” and would remain so, but Netanyahu’s incoming government “is a significant threat to the future of Israel — its direction, its security and even the idea of a Jewish homeland.”

Netanyahu accuses NY Times of ‘demonizing Israel for decades’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-accuses-ny-times-of-demonizing-israel-for-decades/

Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue ignoring “the ill-founded advice” of the New York Times after the paper published an editorial on Saturday warning that his presumed incoming hardline government represents a danger to Israel’s democracy.

The piece, titled “The Ideal of Democracy in a Jewish State Is in Jeopardy,” argued that while Netanyahu won the election fairly, the far-reaching power he is offering his far-right and ultra-Orthodox partners creates a real threat to democratic values.

In a short Twitter thread on Sunday, Netanyahu accused the publication of “burying the Holocaust for years on its back pages and demonizing Israel for decades,” and charged that it now “shamefully calls for undermining Israel’s elected incoming government.”

Sunday, December 18, 2022

The Hidden Story of Chanukah | Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Autistic IDF soldiers breaking through glass ceiling

 Autistic IDF soldiers breaking through glass ceiling

Corporal N. is young, captivating and unstoppable, mature and full of words just waiting to get out.  He told the Chief of Staff across the table: “I feel that the very fact that I chose to enlist for the IDF sends out a clear social message – I’m just like everyone else. The IDF needs me just like it needs any 18-year-old civilian. Maybe more. I’ve been given a wonderful opportunity and I’ve completely taken it on. I see myself becoming an officer and even signing on as a career soldier.”

France slams Israel for deporting Palestinian over alleged terror: ‘Against the law’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/france-slams-israel-for-deporting-palestinian-over-alleged-terror-against-the-law/

Previously, Hamouri spent seven years in prison after being convicted in a 2005 plot to kill Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former chief rabbi and the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.

Antisemitic Goyim TV relocating to Florida

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/364566

 The functional headquarters and nerve center of the nation’s most prolific antisemitic propaganda group have moved from California’s Bay Area to Florida.

Jon Minadeo Jr., the leader of Goyim TV, announced the move in videos and social media posts this week, explaining that he had grown increasingly isolated in his hometown of Petaluma and saw Florida as fertile ground for the hate group’s activities.

Police officer accused of sexually assaulting woman who filed complaint at station

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/cop-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-woman-who-filed-complaint-at-station/

Hagit Pe’er, chair of the women’s rights organization Na’amat, said in a statement it was “a shocking case that increases distrust in the systems.”

“For years we have been calling on women to be courageous and complain to the police,” yet the person who was supposed to be protecting a woman “allegedly attacked her and even threatened her not to complain [about him].”

Pe’er said that incident illustrated why women feared going to the police, and lamented, “There are still those who dare to attack women who air their accusations on social media rather than going to the police.”

Many House Republicans 'Too Dimwitted' to Wield Power: Wall Street Journal

 https://www.newsweek.com/many-house-republicans-too-dimwitted-wield-power-wall-street-journal-1767932

A new editorial from The Wall Street Journal on Saturday decried the leadership conflicts in the House GOP and called some Republican representatives "too dimwitted" to effectively wield political power.

Known as one of the preeminent financial news publications in the United States, the newspaper is also owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, the mass media outfit known for prominent conservative outlets like Fox News and the New York Post. As such, the output of its editorial board is often seen as reflecting the feelings of high-level Republican donors and voting base members.

DeSantis' dangerous war on vaccines

 https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/desantis-dangerous-war-vaccines-rcna61711

Surely DeSantis, who graduated from Yale undergrad and Harvard Law School, knows this. In fact, when the vaccines were first introduced, he promoted their use. But as anti-vaccine attitudes increased among Republicans, he cynically changed course. As New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait points out, DeSantis’ defenders claim that he is merely questioning the efficacy of vaccine mandates — and that his opposition to forced vaccines is consistent with his “free state of Florida” ideology. But DeSantis’ recent actions show something quite different and far more disturbing — that he has fully embraced the language of vaccine opponents. By suggesting that vaccines produce side effects potentially more dangerous than Covid, he is providing aid and comfort to the one-third of Americans who stubbornly refuse to get vaccinated. 

DeSantis tacks further right amid 2024 speculation

 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3777139-desantis-tacks-further-right-amid-2024-speculation/

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is tacking further to the right as he weighs a 2024 presidential bid, a strategy that could endear him to the GOP’s conservative base and help him outflank rivals — including former President Trump.