Wall Street Journal: Only Bibi can achieve compromise, but the A-G won't let him

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/368644

Despite the growing chaos on the streets, the article continues, "Most Israelis accept today that the judicial system needs to be reformed, which is a great achievement by the right-wing. But the Netanyahu government has not convinced Israelis that their reform plan is the right one." Furthermore, the way in which they have responded to the challenges of the opposition have hardened the positions of all involved and made it far harder for them to approach the negotiation table.

Origin of Oral Law - Malbim

 Malbim (Introduction Toras Cohanim): There has been much confusion and concern of scholars throughout the generations about the origin of what we call the Oral Torah. It is clear to all who are familiar with the Jewish texts that the Oral Torah is constantly connected with verses and interpretation from verses. This is the obvious pattern that is found in such works as the Sifre, Sifra and Mechilta as well as the Babylonian Talmud and the Yerushalmi Talmud. However when the meaning of the verses are examined and compared to the lessons that are drawn from them it often seems as if there is no clear and necessary connection between the two. In fact we find in most cases that not only is there no obvious justification for the halachic interpretation which is learned from the verse but that there are times when the verse actually contradicts and opposes the halachic conclusion. In addition in most cases we find strong and sweeping conclusions built upon minor and far-fetched justification. Thus we find major halachic concepts which are established because of a single word or even a single letter – which despite great effort and thorough analysis no necessary justification for these conclusions can be found. And even if you accept that the word or letter is the basis for the halachic understanding, the question arises why other instances of the word or letter are not viewed as having the same significance for other Halachos? In addition we find at times that a particular analysis of a verse is done in one place but in other places that the word is interpreted to imply just the opposite. Thus it seems to be that the interpretations are totally dependent on the whim of the moment and that matters of substance are justified by trivialities. When we ask how this issue was understood by the scholars of the ancient times we see that they said that the words of the verse which are brought as proof for the halacha are simply arbitrary signs and mnemonic devices which were selected in order to aid recall of the halacha. In fact these ancient Torah scholars claimed that halacha was not learned from textual analyses but were known from oral tradition. However this answer seems very far-fetched because we see that Chazal were always asking where a particular halacha was learned from and they always answered with specific Torah verses. And there often was a dispute with one saying that verse was incorrect and a different one was the source. The typical interchange involved attempts by all parties to justify their verse and to show that the verse and proofs chosen by others was wrong. It makes no sense that Chazal would engage in such intensive arguments concerning something which was merely an allusion or mnemonic device!.. It is clear therefore that the verses are in fact the sources of the halacha and are not mere mnemonic devices. In fact the Rambam (Introduction to Mishna) distinguishes between those Halachos which are not derived from verses which he calls Halacha LeMoshe and between those halacha which are derived from verses. These two categories are different from each other for a number of reasons… The Rambam counts the halachos which are Halacha LeMoshe and shows that they are few. The vast majority of Halachos are in fact learned from Torah verses and grounded in them. Thus these two explanations of halacha being learned from Tradition and being learned from verses are simply incompatible. This matter is not only astonishing to the masses but Jewish heretics utilize this contradiction to cause difficulties and to undermine the validity of our Tradition. However even amongst scholars it causes severe difficulties because they end up with two opposing paradigms which they are constantly switching between. Sometimes they focus on the language of the verses and the interpretation of drash is viewed as external and artificial. But other times they are drawn after the drash and Tradition and argue with those who focus on the rules of syntax and understanding of the verses. Thus there is a constant fight of the brothers - the meaning of the verse and the drash. Both sides murmur in their tents and there is no reconciliation….

Israelis fighting Israelis on how to kill Palestinians

 https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/482668/Israelis-fighting-Israelis-on-how-to-kill-Palestinians

The "Israeli Supreme Court" that Netanyahu is going after has been portrayed by all the pro-Zionist supporters as some kind of democratic institution. 

But this is the same "Supreme Court" that legitimized all the crimes against humanity that have been taking place against Palestinians since Netanyahu's cabinet took power in January 2023 and long before Netanyahu's new cabinet.

Over the decades, the shoot-to-kill policy, collective punishment, detention of minors, the so-called administrative detention and all the other crimes that are considered illegal under international laws, were authorized and legitimatized by the Israeli judiciary at the highest level.

From a Palestinian perspective, this is a wide-scale protest movement within the Zionist entity. The Israelis, including settlers, don’t want to be governed by a Netanyahu dictatorship.

Israel’s Long-awaited Secular Uprising Is Finally Here

 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-03-10/ty-article/.premium/israels-long-awaited-secular-uprising-is-finally-here/00000186-c710-d739-a9cf-d77ab49f0000

For decades, many Israelis have been waiting for the secular uprising. The moment when the majority of Israelis who are not ultra-Orthodox, who serve and send their children to serve in the army, and who are opposed to the state funding Torah students who neither serve nor work, rise up. That moment is now here – though no one is calling it that.

Netanyahu: Opposition is interested in anarchy not democracy

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-734070

“There is no conditional Zionism."

In a democracy, the elected government is responsible for the army, the policy and the security agencies, Netanyahu explained.

This principle is not just “anchored in law, it is anchored in common sense,’ he added. No one else should “determine who will command these bodies, who will lead them, and how they will be led,” Netanyahu said.

“This is the basis of every democracy and every reformed society, and if you undermine it, you undermine the very existence of democracy,” Netanyahu added.

Blessings of tzadikkim

 Ruth Rabbah (06:02) One should never keep back from going to an elder to be blessed. Boaz was eighty years of age, and had not been vouchsafed children. But when that righteous woman prayed for him, he was immediately vouchsafed, as it is said, And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law: Blessed be he of the Lord  . Resh Lakish said: Ruth was forty years of age and had not yet been vouchsafed children as long as she was married to Mahlon. But as soon as that righteous man prayed for her, she was vouchsafed, as it is said, BLESSED BE THOU OF THE LORD, MY DAUGHTER. The Rabbis, however, say: Both of them were vouchsafed children only as a result of the blessings of righteous people

Rupert Murdoch appears to confirm that Kimberly Guilfoyle left Fox News due to 'inappropriate' behavior,

 https://news.yahoo.com/rupert-murdoch-appears-confirm-kimberly-150728881.html

In 2020, both Huffpost and The New Yorker reported that Guilfoyle, who worked for Fox from 2006 to 2018, was forced out after she faced a sexual harassment accusation from a female assistant

'History will hold Donald Trump accountable' for Jan. 6, Pence says

 https://news.yahoo.com/history-hold-donald-trump-accountable-032802018.html

"What happened that day was a disgrace," he said. "And it mocks decency to portray it any other way. For as long as I live, I will never, ever diminish the injuries sustained, the lives lost, or the heroism of law enforcement on that tragic day."

Florida Surgeon General Joe Ladapo investigated for allegedly falsifying Covid report

 https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/22/florida-joe-ladapo-investigated-covid-report-00084075

The Florida Department of Health’s inspector general last fall investigated Joseph Ladapo, the state’s surgeon general, after the agency received an anonymous complaint alleging he falsified a report focusing on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines for young men.

Among other things, the complainant alleged Ladapo committed “scientific fraud” and “manipulated data” in a report that Ladapo later used to claim that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines could increase the risk of cardiac death among young men, according to the complaint. Both brands use mRNA technology, which Ladapo contends was rushed to the market by the urgency of the pandemic without the proper testing.

Probe into Conservative Jewish youth group finds ‘hypersexualized culture’

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/probe-into-conservative-jewish-youth-group-finds-hypersexualized-culture/

An investigation commissioned by an umbrella group for Conservative Judaism to investigate the handling of alleged mistreatment of minors by the movement’s flagship youth organization in the US found it harbored an “overly sexualized culture,” after collecting dozens of accounts of abuse, misconduct, or boundary crossing behaviors.

However, the inquiry into the United Synagogue Youth (USY) movement also concluded that there was no systemic wrongdoing and that just a handful of people were responsible for almost all cases of misconduc

Think your breakup was bad? Check out the Museum of Broken Relationships

 https://expmag.com/2023/02/think-your-breakup-was-bad-check-out-the-museum-of-broken-relationships/

People often long for closure at the termination of a relationship. Some psychologists say that’s because the brain needs a narrative to make sense of what happened and prevent us from repeating the same faulty relationship patterns in the future. Therein lies the premise of the museum: In addition to curating romantic pasts, it also wants to help us reckon with them emotionally.

Nikki Haley just handed Joe Biden a major gift

 https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/09/opinions/nikki-haley-medicare-social-security-biden-gift-zelizer/index.html

As Republicans continue to wade into this issue, they are poised to hand Biden and the Democrats a big win. Biden understands this, as he demonstrated during his State of the Union address, when he backed Republicans into a corner on Social Security and Medicare. It is for this reason that he is forcing Republicans to have a conversation, with specifics, about what they mean when they attack the government and federal spending.

For it is one thing to tell Americans that Washington is broken and another to say they will slash the federal benefits upon which so many of them have come to depend on.

Inside the Horrific (Contested) Abuse Story That Ignited the Satanic Panic

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/satan-wants-you-sxsw-doc-abuse-story-that-ignited-the-satanic-panic?ref=home

Beyond the immediate ramifications of the satanic panic, which sent dozens to prison on later debunked accusations, Satan Wants You explores the parallels between that conspiracy theory and more modern bouts of paranoia, like QAnon and Pizzagate. Many of the parallels, laid out in multiple pieces in the past few years, are somewhat obvious: both involve a moral panic centered around the supposed corruption of American youth by a cabal of secretive, terribly powerful cultists, and both proliferated thanks to a dearth of official information debunking their foundational claims.

TIME FOR DIALOGUE

 https://mishpacha.com/time-for-dialogue/

It’s no secret that the State of Israel is in crisis.

Israel is on the verge of a societal breakdown, and we should all be losing sleep over the possibility of bloodshed — especially as there is no small number of people thirsting for violence, going so far as to write or speak publicly along those lines.

The demonstrators in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem may shout “democracy,” but the true cry emerging from their throats is actually “demography.” They are watching the demographic trends in the State of Israel with fear. They see the chareidi sector growing steadily, and the “chardali” (chareidi dati-leumi) gaining numbers and strength as well. In 1980, chareidim were just four percent of the population in Israel; today that number is more than 13 percent, and it continues to rise.