Living outside of Israel is considered idolatry

 Drashos Haran (04) That sin which is cause for apprehension on the Blessed One's part as potentially resulting in the destruction of the Jews is idol worship, to which the sin of the golden calf was similar in character. For the other transgressions do not arouse the Blessed One's wrath to such a great extent; idol worship is to be much more feared in this regard. And there is more reason for apprehension of this sin in the desert than in the land of Israel. For the Jews knew that the other lands were under the ordinance of stars and constellations, as our sages state (Kethuboth 110b): "All who live in the land of Israel, it is as if they have a G-d; all who live outside the land of Israel, it is as if they do not have a G-d." This is because the other, gentile lands are under the ordinance of heavenly plenipotentiaries, an ordinance which cannot be changed except through miraculous, Heavenly intervention (this being the intent of "for he will not forgive your sins"). Therefore, if one lives outside the land of Israel, because he is under the ordinance of a star or of a constellation, his prayer is not so readily accepted as it would be if he lived in the land of Israel, which is not under the dominion of a chief, an officer, or a ruler, but of the Blessed One Himself,

Kesubos (110b) One should always live in the Land of Israel, even in a town most of whose inhabitants are idolaters, but let no one live outside the Land, even in a town most of whose inhabitants are Israelites; for whoever lives in the Land of Israel may be considered to have a God, but whoever lives outside the Land may be regarded as one who has no Godץ Has he, then, who does not live in the Land, no God?56 But [this is what the text intended] to tell you, that whoever lives outside the Land may be regarded as one who worships idols.

Rambam (Melachim 5:12) At all times, a person should dwell in Eretz Yisrael even in a city whose population is primarily gentile, rather than dwell in the Diaspora, even in a city whose population is primarily Jewish. This applies because whoever leaves Eretz Yisrael for the Diaspora is considered as if he worships idols as I Samuel 26:19 states 'They have driven me out today from dwelling in the heritage of God, saying 'Go, serve other gods.

Ramban (Bereishis 24:03) THE G-D OF THE HEAVEN, AND THE G-D OF THE LAND. The Holy One, blessed be He, is called the G-d of the Land of Israel, as it is written, They know not the manner of the G-d of the land. and it is further written, And they spoke of the G-d of Jerusalem, as of the gods of the people of the earth. So also the Rabbis have said:. “He who lives outside the land of Israel is as if he had no G-d, as it said, For they have driven me out this day that I should not cleave unto the inheritance of the Eternal, saying, Go, serve other gods

Sinning for the sake of good

Berachos (63a) Bar Kappara expounded: What short text is there upon which all the essential principles of the Torah depend? In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths. Raba remarked: Even for a matter of transgression.

Nazir (23a) Rabbah b. Bar Hana, quoting R. Johanan, said: The verse, For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just do walk in them,’ but transgressors do stumble therein, may be illustrated by the following example. . Resh Lakish remarked Rather should it be illustrated by two men, each of whom had his wife and his sister staying with him. One chances upon his wife and the other chances upon his sister. To the one who chances upon his wife applies, ‘And the just do walk in them’, and to the one who chances upon his sister applies, ‘but transgressors do stumble therein’.

Nazir (23a) Rather is it illustrated by Lot when his two daughters were with him. To the daughters, whose intention it was to do right, applies, ‘the just do walk in them’, whereas to Lot whose intention it was to commit the transgression applies, ‘but transgressors do stumble therein’.

Nazir (23b) R. Nahman b. Isaac said: A transgression performed with good intention is better than a precept performed with evil intention. Read then: A transgression performed with good intention is as good as a precept performed for an ulterior motive, as it is written, Blessed above women shall Jael be, the wife of Heber the Kenite. Above women in the tent shall she be blessed, and by ‘women in the tent’, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah are meant.

Nazir (23b) ‘Ulla said: Both Tamar and Zimri committed adultery. Tamar committed adultery and gave birth to kings and prophets. Zimri committed adultery and on his account many tens of thousands of Israel perished.

Donald Trump Spends Christmas Raging on Truth Social

 https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-christmas-posts-truth-social-1769596

Trump ended his Christmas Day Truth Social posts by once more falsely suggesting that Pence, his former vice president, had the power to reject the electoral votes on January 6, 2021 and keep Trump in power despite his purely ceremonial role as president officer of the Senate.

"The Vice President did indeed have the power to send Electoral Votes back to State Legislatures for reapproval despite the constant drum from Democrats and RINOS that he 'ABSOLUTELY DID NOT,'" wrote Trump. "BUT, they just put CLARIFYING language in the disgraceful 'OMINOUS' BILL, making sure that A V.P. DOESN'T DO WHAT THEY ALL SAID COULD NOT BE DONE. So why the new language? Because it was just another political Con Job!"

Trump was referring to the House approving efforts to change the wording of the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to clarify that a vice president's role in certifying the election results is merely ceremonial, and that they do not have the power to determine who actually won an election.

Likud, RZP agree to not join int'l convention to fight violence against women

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-725814

In April, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked sent a letter to Sa'ar, detailing many reservations to the convention. Shaked claimed, among other things, that the clauses of the treaty concerning persecution based on gender-based violence open "a door for a population unprecedented in scope to be able to claim refugee status or, unfortunately, for protection against deportation."

Her letter stated, "With all due regret, granting political asylum is not intended and cannot be a solution to any type of difficulty or distress that exists in less developed countries of origin, certainly when it comes to cross-cultural phenomena. Such a reality is of course not desirable from a practical point of view as it is an opening to countless asylum requests on grounds that are difficult to almost impossible to refute, leading to the abuse of the Israeli asylum system."

Chanukah - The Rest of the Story

 https://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/455235/jewish/The-Rest-of-the-Story.htm

This, then, is the lesson which should be gleaned from Chanukah. No display of might can ever banish that spark of hope and courage from man's heart. Tanks and battleships cannot vanquish the fortitude and determination for one's convictions. Brutality and aggressiveness will not overcome the passion which an individual feels for his beliefs. In the face of terror and discrimination, the deepest wells of mankind's gallant capabilities are exposed, enabling a handful of resisters to repel those that harass them. It happened over two thousand years ago, has occurred since, and will continue to take place: because that inner reserve of resilience and valor has never been diminished.

Hanukkah, or Why We Celebrate a Civil War

 https://www.haaretz.com/haaretz-labels/laitman/2016-12-22/ty-article-labels/hanukkah-or-why-we-celebrate-a-civil-war/00000180-8db5-d5fa-a9c2-cdb7e8680000

For this reason, the Hasmoneans had no choice but to destroy those Jews who wished to prevent their brethren from fulfilling their task—to be a light unto nations and to show the way to unity. The victory we celebrate on Hanukkah is not over the land we reclaimed from the Seleucids. We celebrate our victory over those among us who wished to deny the world of a shot at unity, a shot at lasting happiness and peace

Four Contemporary Interpretations of Hanukkah Candles and Ethical Traits: Zionist, Classical Reform, Hassidic, and Jewish Renewal

 https://www.hartman.org.il/Fck_Uploads/file/Hanukkah.Noam.Zion.pdf

The Pluralist Manifesto of Hanukkah and its Mission

Rav Abraham HaKohen Kook

Everyone must know and understand that within burns a candle/lamp. There is no one's candle is like his/her fellow's and no one lacks their own candle. Everyone must know and understand that it is their task to work to reveal the light of that candle in the public realm. And to ignite it until it is a great flame, and to illuminate the whole world 

Doctors should be allowed to refuse care to LGBTQ+ people - RZP MK

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-725759

Struck was commenting on the fact that both RZP and United Torah Judaism’s coalition agreements with the Likud included an amendment that would enable private businesses to refuse to provide a product or service due to religious belief if the same product or service could be obtained in near proximity at a similar price.

How Demographic Shifts Fueled by Covid Delivered Midterm Wins for Democrats

 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/08/republicans-2022-election-results-coronavirus-00072565

According to his own pollsters, the former president’s misguided and unreliable management of the public health crisis cost him the 2020 election.

Now there is evidence that the demographic change spurred by Republicans’ and Democrats’ divergent responses to the pandemic likely cost Republicans a number of key seats in the 2022 midterms. And the fallout, fueled by cross-country migration and even the Covid death toll, could linger into 2024 and beyond.

False claim COVID-19 vaccines caused 1.1 million deaths

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/12/23/fact-check-false-claim-covid-19-vaccines-caused-1-1-million-deaths/10929679002/

One such claim comes from a Nov. 24 article from The Expose, a website that has published multiple pieces of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.

“Secret CDC Report reveals at least 1.1 Million Americans have 'Died Suddenly' since the COVID Vaccine roll-out & another Government Report proves the COVID Vaccines are to blame,” reads the article's headline.

The piece was shared more than 700 times on Facebook in a month, according to the social media analytics tool CrowdTangle.

But the article is incorrect. The data source it cites does not list any cause for reported excess deaths in the U.S. Experts say COVID-19 infections make up most of those deaths.

Study led by FDA researchers didn’t find that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine caused blood clots, contrary to viral claims on social media

 https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/study-fda-researchers-didnt-find-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-caused-blood-clots-contrary-viral-claims-epoch-times/

These findings suggest that the initially detected associations, obtained by comparisons with historical pre-COVID data, were the result of confounding factors—such as differences in healthcare-seeking behavior and monthly variations in the baseline rates of such adverse events—rather than true associations with the Pfizer vaccine. Confounding factors are variables that affect the outcome of an experiment, but aren’t the variables being studied in the experiment.

Yazan Abou-Ismail, a hematologist at the University of Utah Health who specializes in blood clotting disorders, also pointed out in a Twitter thread that the claim is inaccurate and the study “cannot be used to claim causality”.

George Santos may be Congress’ Talented Mr. Ripley. Some of his voters just don’t care.

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/23/george-santos-congress-resume-fake-00075324

 Republican Rep.-elect George Santos stands accused of fabricating major portions of his biography, from his Jewish ancestry to what companies he worked for.

But disgust for Democrats is so strong among some voters in the district whose seat he flipped, they’d rather have a fabulist representing them in Congress.

Trump Put on Blast for ‘Lying’ About Tax Audits That Supposedly Prevented Records Release

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-put-on-blast-for-lying-about-tax-audits-that-supposedly-prevented-records-release

Critics, congressmen, and members of the House Ways and Means Committee that released a six-year snapshot of Trump’s taxes slammed the former president on Wednesday for “lying” about a faux IRS audit throughout his presidency. The lie began in 2016 during his presidential campaign, when the Republican candidate claimed he couldn’t share his financial details due to an ongoing IRS audit, and grew to claims of multiple audits throughout his presidency as a basis for continued concealment of the documents. In actuality, the agency failed to audit Trump for the first two years of his presidency—despite the fact that annual audits of the president are required by law. Trump’s failure to provide his tax returns broke tradition with every president since Nixon and many vice presidents, who voluntarily offered records of their annual tax returns to the public for transparency. “Tonight we learned the IRS failed to follow the law and did not audit donald trump for years,” said one of the committee members, Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), on Twitter. “Oh yeah and trump was lying when he said he was under audit.”

Far Right Turns on ‘Faker’ & ‘Liar’ Marjorie Taylor Greene

 https://news.yahoo.com/far-turns-faker-liar-marjorie-022507205.html

The far right is out to destroy one of their own.

Over the past week, far-right pundits have begun lining up to take shots at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) as the congresswoman reportedly vacationed in Costa Rica.

As for why fellow extremists are upset? That’s three-fold—and it involves Greene’s vocal support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy to be the next Speaker of the House, her public spat with onetime friend Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and the finalization of her divorce.