On social media, far-right fearmongers offer nonsensical conspiracy theories about the eclipse signaling an attack on American cities by undocumented migrants. But the fact that most of us now understand that a sign in the sky as dramatic as an eclipse doesn’t dictate events on Earth is an important reminder of immutable scientific truths in an age of conspiracy theories.
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Jewish woman serving 20 years in Bangladeshi prison receives divorce papers
In a complicated operation, Rabbinical Court emissary arrives at guarded prison in Bangladesh to hand inmate her get - a Jewish writ of divorce - through her cell bars
Charges pressed against Jerusalem man who built and distributed pipe bombs
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-796052
According to the charges, filed by attorney Pua Ben-Tov from the Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office (Criminal), Mahisan manufactured and stored pipe bombs and incendiary bottles at his home, and was in contact with an entity from which he received flags of the Islamic Jihad and fireworks for use in demonstrations.
Monday, April 8, 2024
Ambassador Erdan: 'If Hitler were alive today, he would sing the UN's praises'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/388145
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan spoke today in the General Assembly at a meeting on the war in Gaza. At the beginning of his remarks, Ambassador Erdan referred to the historical connection between the Palestinians and Hitler and presented a photo from the meeting of Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husseini with Hitler on the UN Stage.
“From well before the establishment of the UN – or the State of Israel – the Palestinians’ goal has been clear: the annihilation of the Jews. Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, and one of the founding fathers of Palestinian nationalism, worked hand-in-hand with Hitler to achieve this. And from then until today, the root of this conflict has not changed. It is not a political conflict or about partitioning land. It is solely about the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews.”
Jews had to be forced to accept G-d
Netziv (Shemos 13:9): Don’t be surprised that G d requires us to do so many mitzvos and techniques to acquire bitachon and emuna in G d’s Providence. The fact is that it is known that the Jews do not readily accept authority until they are forced as we see by the plagues. That is why G d took us out of Egypt with a strong hand because it was not easy for us to accept His dominance. This is seen in the medrash which discusses, “The Jews did not listen to Moshe because of their irritability and stress of their enslavement.” The medrash explains that they didn’t want to listen because they were immersed in idol worship. In other words, the medrash means that in fact they did not want to be redeemed.
Israelis pursue happiness through family and community, by feeling rooted and having a sense of purpose. My son Yoni got married in Jerusalem midwar, while serving in the military reserves. He notes that “Israelis grow up with many outside influences, many adult role models, not just their parents. It starts with our large weddings, when you’re blessed to ‘build a faithful home in Israel.’ ”
That dance between the individual and the collective begins long before birth. It spawns Israelis’ high levels of “trust, benevolence, and social connections,” which, as the 2023 happiness report emphasized, nurture “well-being,” even “in times of crisis.” Alexis de Tocqueville called families the backbone of healthy democracies. Family inculcates loyalty, commitment and self-sacrifice. Belonging to communities—extended families—teaches citizens to care about and cooperate with others.
Some Sages are like G-d -Zohar
Zohar (1:9b - 10a): R’ Shimon replied: Your deduction that some Jewish sages are comparable to G‑d is in fact true. Only G‑d can resurrect the dead - yet we find that Eliyahu and Elisha resurrected the dead. Only G‑d can make it rain - yet Eliyahu controlled the rain through his prayer. G‑d made heaven and earth - yet they were firmly established for the sake of Avraham. G‑d determines the course of the sun - yet Yehoshua made it stand still. G‑d makes decrees but so did Moshe and they were fulfilled. Furthermore G‑d makes decrees which are nullified by the tzadikim as we learn from Shmuel 2 23:3). In addition G‑d commanded them to literally follow in His ways and to be like Him in every way.
Trump’s $175 Million Bond Is Even Shadier Than It Looks
Trump’s $175 Million Bond Is Even Shadier Than It Looks
The little-known insurance company that rescued Donald Trump by providing a last-minute $175 million bank fraud bond isn’t just unlicensed in New York; it hasn’t even been vetted by a voluntary state entity that would verify it meets minimum “eligibility standards” to prove financial stability.
Perhaps even more troubling, the legal document from Knight Specialty Insurance Company doesn’t actually promise it will pay the money if the former president loses his $464 million bank fraud case on appeal. Instead, it says Trump will pay, negating the whole point of an insurance company guarantee, according to three legal and bond experts who reviewed the contract for The Daily Beast.
“This is not common… the only reason this would be done is to limit the liability to the surety,” said N. Alex Hanley, an expert in how companies appeal enormous judgments.
Koheles can be Misunderstood
Rabbeinu Bachya (Kad HaKemach Avel): Among the verses in Koheles which seem to be contrary to the faith is this one (Koheles 9:11) which says that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the might … but rather it is determined by the stars. … Nevertheless in fact this statement is the very essence of faith. It is to be understood as saying that one’s talents alone do not bring about success but rather it is a result of merit which is earned. It is only because of their merit that they are provided with the opportunity and other factors which lead to success. Thus every successful endeavor for peace and prosperity in this world is determined by the person’s merit. Similarly failure is the result of deserved punishment. The proper Torah attitude is to ascribe the peace and prosperity that comes to others as being the result of their merit or that of their ancestors. The peace and prosperity of the person himself is to be viewed as the result of G d’s mercy. He is not to view ascribe his success either to the stars or his own merit because one should consider himself to be wicked or a sinner even if he is in fact righteous. It is correct to ascribe all bad happenings - whether to himself or to others - as being the result of sin and not accident.
Amazon faces backlash for selling Sinwar's jihadist bildungsroman
https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/bkcu44ygc
International booksellers including Amazon incurred outrage on Friday when it emerged that their catalogues include a novel by one Yahya Al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader regarded as the mastermind behind the October 7 massacre.
CRISIS ON ALL FRONTS
https://mishpacha.com/crisis-on-all-fronts/
Looking forward, with the Rafah operation yet to begin and the northern front heating up, Israel finds itself in a difficult situation. With fragile American support and sweeping international condemnation, it’s hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel — both in Gaza and in Washington. Can we say that this week, Israel lost the support of the United States, at least at the UN?
“Absolutely not. This is a friendly administration headed by a pro-Israel president with a résumé of 40 years of support for Israel, in every political role he’s played, and we’ve seen this in almost every way since October 7. There are a set of considerations here that led to a wrong and damaging decision. But I hope it will stop there, because our relationship with the United States is Israel’s most important diplomatic asset, certainly in the UN, and it’s important to maintain that.”
Details Emerge of Trump’s ‘Secret’ Plan to End Ukraine War
https://www.thedailybeast.com/details-emerge-of-trumps-secret-plan-to-end-ukraine-war?ref=home
Donald Trump’s mystery plan that he has boasted would end the war in Ukraine in one day is to pressure that country to give up its territory to Russia, people familiar with the plan told the Washington Post. That move would be catastrophic, foreign policy experts warned, because it would effectively reward Russia for violating international law by invading Ukraine and forcefully seizing its land. “Trump’s comments encouraging Russia to do whatever it wants with our European allies are among the most unsettling and dangerous statements made by a major party candidate for president,” Tom Donilon, an Obama-era national security adviser, told the Post. “His position represents a clear and present danger to U.S. and European security.” Trump, a notorious Putin admirer, has gone out of his way not to criticize the Russian leader for the death of political opponent Alexei Navalny or the detention on bogus charges of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and has also pushed alarming pro-Russian propaganda like the claim that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 election.
Top Republican warns pro-Russia messages are echoed ‘on the House floor’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/07/russian-propaganda-republicans-congress/
Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said Sunday that it was “absolutely true” that some Republican members of Congress were repeating Russian propaganda about the invasion of Ukraine instigated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Turner did not specify which members he was referring to, but he said he agreed with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), who said in an interview with Puck News last week that Russian propaganda had “infected a good chunk of my party’s base” and suggested that conservative media was to blame.
Sunday, April 7, 2024
In Six Months, Everything Has Changed for Israel
In six months, the world has turned upside down for this small nation. On Oct. 7—or Black Sabbath, as Israelis now call it—the Jewish state experienced a fundamental shock that upended its sense of security and belief in the strength of its military. It responded with a heavy-handed invasion of Gaza that in much of the world’s eyes left it the aggressor and its attackers the victims. The resulting isolation could be more of a threat to its future than the attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7.
“Israel’s longevity is in question for the first time since its birth,” said Benny Morris, an Israeli historian. The only time Israel faced a similar existential threat, he said, was in its war for independence in 1948, when it battled five Arab countries and local Palestinian militias.
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