Bodies of 6 hostages, murdered by Hamas just days ago, found in Rafah – IDF

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/bodies-of-6-hostages-murdered-by-hamas-just-days-earlier-found-in-rafah-idf/

US President Joe Biden said he was “devastated and outraged” by the deaths of the hostages, in particular that of dual Israeli-US citizen Goldberg-Polin, whose parents, Jon and Rachel, he and other Americans had kept in their prayers.

“I have worked tirelessly to bring their beloved Hersh safely to them and am heartbroken by the news of his death,” Biden said.

“It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” he said.

Failed Pastry Chef Mrs. Eric Trump Calls Harris Unqualified

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/failed-pastry-chef-mrs-eric-trump-aka-lara-trump-calls-kamala-harris-unqualified?ref=home

I was talking about you, silly! While you lost your Woman Card, you still have your Trump card. That’s how you earned your leadership position—by marrying Eric back in 2014. You are clearly lacking in qualifications to be co-chair—these aren’t my words, they’re the words of West Virginia GOP committeewoman Beth Bloch, who nominated you and, according to the Washington Post “warned her fellow RNC members against overvaluing titles and experience. ‘God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called… Lara Trump is the embodiment of this truth.’”

IDF retrieves six bodies of Gaza hostages from Rafah

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-817184

The hostages were likely killed after Kaid Farhan al-Alkadi was found last week.

Bodies of Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin and Ori Danino retrieved from Gaza

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/395470

Families of hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi and Ori Danino announce that they have died.

Why Trump’s Arlington Debacle Is So Serious

 https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/08/trump-arlington-cemetery/679659/

Trump was unsurprisingly not telling the truth; 11 soldiers were killed in Afghanistan in his last year in office, and his administration had itself negotiated the withdrawal. But such fabrications are incidental sins compared with what came next. A top Trump adviser, Chris LaCivita, and campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung talked to reporters and savaged the employee who had tried to stop the entourage. Cheung referred to her as “an unnamed individual, clearly suffering a mental-health episode.” LaCivita declared her a “despicable individual” who ought to be fired.

Stolen Valor

Pro-lifers blast Trump 'betrayal' with shifting abortion stance, answer on Florida Amendment 4

 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pro-lifers-blast-trump-betrayal-shifting-abortion-stance-answer-florida-amendment-4

Former President Trump's recent comments on abortion, including remarks that sparked some initial confusion about where Trump stood on an amendment that would upend Florida's ban on abortions after six weeks' gestation, have sparked backlash from pro-life advocates on social media.

Trump's latest – and clearest – comments about Florida's Amendment 4, which would enshrine a constitutional right to abortion in the state, may blunt some of the criticism. After Trump made remarks on Thursday that appeared to indicate he might back the amendment, the former president told Fox News Channel's Bryan Llenas on Friday afternoon: "I'll be voting 'no.'"

Still, the comment confusion, coupled with some other recent statements, have rankled the pro-life community.

"Trump has destroyed both the conservative movement and the pro-life movement. He’s done what even Barack Obama couldn’t do," one user on X said.

Don’t yawn at Trump’s dishonorable use of Arlington National Cemetery

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/29/trump-arlington-cemetery/

Also for the record, it was Trump who negotiated the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and forced the Afghan government to release thousands of jailed Taliban fighters in a prisoner swap. Those decisions helped make possible the Taliban’s swift return to power.

I’m a combat veteran. Here’s why Trump’s Arlington stunt was so insulting

 https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-arlington-national-cemetery-grave-photo-rcna168767

Trump was so eager to use Arlington’s Section 60 as a backdrop for a campaign event this week that he may have broken federal laws against politicizing the burial ground to do it. Trump’s staff also shoved aside a cemetery official trying to stop them. He even posed for a photograph over a U.S. Marine’s gravesite, grinning and giving a thumbs-up. The moment was jaw-droppingly crass and vulgar, as all of Trump’s are. It defiled sacred ground.

These are not one-off statements by a rhetorically reckless buffoon. This man harbors deep resentment toward the military and those who’ve sacrificed in service. Even when he poses with a family — as he did at Arlington this week — he only does so to enhance his campaign or his political prospects. Trump’s use for the military and our dead extends only as far as it suits him.

Poor are Source of Torah Scholars

 Nedarim (81a) Be on guard against scabs; take good care to study in company and be heedful not to neglect the children of the poor, for from them Torah goes forth, as it is written, The water shall flow out of his buckets meaning, from the poor amongst them goes forth Torah. And why is it not usual for scholars to give birth to sons who are scholars? — Said R. Joseph, That it might not be maintained, The Torah is their legacy. R. Shisha, the son of R. Idi, said: That they should not be arrogant towards the community. Mar Zutra said: Because they act high-handedly against the community. R. Ashi said: Because they call people asses. Rabina said: Because they do not first utter a blessing over the Torah.

Poverty and Righteousness

 Eruvin (41b) Three matters cause a person to act against his own will and the will of his Maker, and they are: Gentiles, and an evil spirit, and the depths of extreme poverty. What is the practical halakhic difference that emerges from this statement? It is significant as it teaches one to request mercy for people who suffer from those…

Winning Arguments

 Ramban (Introduction to Milchemes HaShem): For those who look at my sefer, don’t say in your heart that all my responses to the Baal HaMeor are in my eyes absolutely correct and obviously true and would therefore force everyone to acknowledge them. For everyone who studies our Talmud is well aware that concerning disputes between the commentaries that there are no absolute proofs or absolutely unanswerable questions. In fact, in this area of wisdom, things are not clear and unambiguous as we find in mathematical proofs. The main effort is to show that one position is more likely and more reasonable than the alternatives - rather than to show that one is entirely correct and the other is entirely wrong.

US Army rebukes Trump campaign for incident at Arlington National Cemetery

 https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/29/politics/us-army-rebukes-trump-campaign-arlington-incident/index.html?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc

The US Army issued a stark rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign over the incident on Monday at Arlington National Cemetery, saying in a statement on Thursday that participants in the ceremony “were made aware of federal laws” regarding political activity at the cemetery, and “abruptly pushed aside” an employee of the cemetery.

5 Palestinian gunmen, including top commander, killed by IDF at West Bank mosque

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/5-palestinian-gunmen-including-top-commander-killed-by-idf-at-west-bank-mosque/

Islamic Jihad chief in Tulkarem area among dead; another operative detained; two soldiers hurt; Palestinian death toll since start of operation rises to 17