Sunday, July 13, 2025
Bannon warns GOP could lose 40 House seats over Epstein files
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5398104-steve-bannon-donald-trump-epstein-files-2026-midterms/
Former White House aide Steve Bannon suggested Friday that the GOP could lose dozens of House seats in the 2026 midterms over the Trump administration’s handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“You’re going to lose 10 percent of the MAGA movement. If we lose 10 percent of the MAGA movement right now, we ain’t gonna … we’re gonna lose 40 seats in ’26,” he told a live audience during his “War Room” podcast. “We’re gonna lose the president.”
The 'Manosphere' Starts to Turn on Trump
The 'Manosphere' Starts to Turn on Trump
It was once hard to imagine Joe Rogan, Tim Dillon and Andrew Schulz—three of the loudest voices in the right's online culture—openly criticizing Donald Trump. They were cornerstones of his appeal among young, anti-establishment male voters, whom he rode to a decisive election victory in November.
Now, however, they're questioning whether the man who promised to drain the "deep state" has instead become part of it, while flirting with the very elites he once vowed to expose — and leaving some of his loudest supporters openly entertaining the idea that "America First" might now belong to the socialists and a younger generation of Democrats.
"The only party right now, that to me seems 'America First,' is the Democrat Socialist party," the influencer said Schulz on his Flagrant podcast on July 10.
Rogan, arguably the most prominent among them, and whose endorsement some analysts credit with boosting Trump's re-election, has repeatedly slammed Trump's immigration agenda. He called the administration's ICE raids "insane," saying they targeted "construction workers and gardeners" instead of criminals.
"The Trump administration—if they're running and they say, 'We're going to go to Home Depot and arrest all the people at Home Depot, we're going to construction sites and just tackle people at construction sites'—I don't think anybody would have signed up for that," Rogan said on his show on June 18.
17th of Tammuz: Who Fasts and who is Exempt
https://en.yhb.org.il/17th-of-tammuz-who-fasts-and-who-is-exempt/
In the intermediate situation – when the Temple is destroyed, but we are not plagued with harsh decrees, as was the case during Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi’s lifetime – the status of these fasts depends on the will of the Jewish people: “If they want to fast, they do so; if they do not want to fast, they do not fast.” This is the law regarding the tenth of Tevet, the seventeenth of Tammuz, and the Fast of Gedaliah. Regarding Tish’a B’Av, however, the matter does not depend on the nation’s will, and everyone is obligated to fast, even in the intermediate situation, because both Temples were destroyed on that day (Rosh HaShanah 18b).
In practice, the Jewish people are accustomed to observing all the fasts, even in the intermediate situation. Therefore all Jews are obligated to fast on these days. This is the halakha until the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt, speedily in our days, when the fast days will become joyous festivals.
17th of Tammuz: History, Laws and Customs
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/479885/jewish/The-17th-of-Tammuz.htm
The fast of the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, known as Shivah Asar B’Tammuz, is the start of a three-week mourning period for the destruction of Jerusalem and the two Holy Temples.
The fast actually commemorates five tragic events that occurred on this date:
Moses broke the tablets when he saw the Jewish people worshipping the Golden Calf.
During the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, the Jews were forced to cease offering the daily sacrifices due to the lack of sheep.
Apostomos burned the holy Torah.1
An idol was placed in the Holy Temple.2
The walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans, in 69 CE, after a lengthy siege. (Three weeks later, after the Jews put up a valiant struggle, the Romans destroyed the second Holy Temple on the 9th of Av.)
The Jerusalem Talmud maintains that this is also the date when the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem on their way to destroying the first Temple.
Sex abuse case rocks Israel's ultra-Orthodox community
A sexual assault case has shaken Israel's ultra-Orthodox community, after the suspect was named and revealed to have volunteered alongside the police in a predominantly religious Jewish city.
According to Israeli media, at least six people have filed complaints against him. A rabbinical court headed by the chief rabbi of the northern city of Safed called on the victims to testify. "It is a religious obligation to testify, there is no shame in doing so," Shmuel Eliyahu wrote in a letter released by his office on Friday. "These crimes are as serious as murder in the eyes of the Torah."
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Antisemitsm is the result of jealousy
Bamidbar (22:3) Moab was alarmed because that people was so numerous. Moab dreaded the Israelites,
According to this understanding thr recent project to combat antisemitism by publicing the good deeds of Jews is bound to fail.
FBI's Dan Bongino clashes with AG Bondi over handling of Epstein files
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/11/epstein-files-dan-bongino-pam-bondi-trump
FBI deputy director Dan Bongino took a day off from work Friday after clashing at the White House with Attorney General Pam Bondi over their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, four sources familiar with the conflict told Axios.
The blowup involving Trump's senior law enforcement officials showed just how much the administration has been rocked by its handling of the Epstein case.
X ordered its Grok chatbot to ‘tell like it is.’ Then the Nazi tirade began.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/07/11/grok-ai-elon-musk-antisemitism/
A tech company employee who went on an antisemitic tirade like X’s Grok chatbot did this week would soon be out of a job. Spewing hate speech to millions of people and invoking Adolf Hitler is not something a CEO can brush aside as a worker’s bad day at the office.
But after the chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s start-up xAI ranted for hours about a second Holocaust and spread conspiracy theories about Jewish people, the company responded by deleting some of the troubling posts and sharing a statement suggesting the chatbot just needed some algorithmic tweaks.
But after the chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s start-up xAI ranted for hours about a second Holocaust and spread conspiracy theories about Jewish people, the company responded by deleting some of the troubling posts and sharing a statement suggesting the chatbot just needed some algorithmic tweaks.
The incident, which was horrifying even by the standards of a platform that has become a haven for extreme speech, has raised uncomfortable questions about accountability when AI chatbots go rogue. When an automated system breaks the rules, who bears the blame, and what should the consequences be?
Trump Isn’t Rebuilding the U.S. Military
The President’s 2026 budget, like Biden’s, is an after-inflation cut in defense.
Silence is beneficial to abusers
Excerpts translated from current Hebrew Mishpacha - an interview with Dayan \Tzvi Braverman of Beitar by Aryeh Erlich pages 82-84
"I spoke this week at a rabbinic convention. There are some mitzvos that apply specifically to men while some are specifally applicable to women Some apply specifically to cohanim. Some are especially relevant to rabbis. One such mitzva is "do not be afraid of any man" Lo saguru Mipnei Ish. Any rabbi who has a problem with this mitzva is like a cohen gadol who refuses to offer all the required sacrifices but only wants to burn incense and some sacrifices. We say to him "Why don't you want to fulfill your duty?" We remove him from his position and replace him with a cohen who will fulfill all his duties. The same is true with community leaders. This is an absolute mimimal requirement that no leader can avoid. We are talking here of actual spilling of blood that is occurring in our streets near our homes. Literally under our noses. Turning a blind eye is not an option in any form"
He was asked if it is appropriate to bring this topic up in newspapers? He answered actually the opposite is true. This is like a shofar in your hand with which you can save by arousing and awakening the public and thus help many. Everyday that passes without dealing with this topic it gets worse and claims more victims. It is another day of destruction of life. Another generation will grow up paying the heavy price. More families will be totally destroyed. Thus it is an obligation for every newspaper columist and writer to bring up this topic. They should not write sensationalism to frighten nor shall they remain silent. The primary focus should be to get the community leaders to take responsibilty for the problem and not to continue supporting the perpetrators. Rav Braverman continued by admitting he was speaking harshly but noted it that the present situation must be described. These problems are coming to community leaders but instead of dealing seriously with the problem they simply ignore them. They don't remember that mercy shown to the perperators is cruelty to the victims. It is important to note that rarely will the perpetrators be satisfied with only one or two victims. These cases rarely involve only a single incident. There are some perpetrators who succeed in harming tens and even hundreds of victims. These disgusting serious attacks continue because of the silence and mercy being shown to them. The result is destruction of the victims psychologically, physically and even spiritually. . A large per centage of those who have left religion in our time have done so because of the scars resulting from harsh .abuse in childhood.
Friday, July 11, 2025
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu on Haim Rotter scandal: 'He's like a murderer'
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/411514
Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, and head of the Sexual Assault Court, on Friday published a letter of support for the victims of Haim Rotter, Chairman of the "Shomrim" organization, who was recently arrested following testimonies of serious sexual offenses he committed over many years.
In light of inquiries received by the special court for sexual offenses and the pressures being exerted on some of the victims not to testify, Rabbi Eliyahu unequivocally urged: "It is a mitzvah (Torah commandment) and obligation to report Haim Rotter to the police - this is not a sin, but the fulfillment of a Torah commandment."
In his letter, Rabbi Eliyahu expressed deep shock at the testimonies: "I was horrified to hear about the great cruelty of Haim Rotter. These are acts that the Torah compares to bloodshed."
Rabbi Eliyahu clarified that silence in the face of further harm falls under the prohibition, "You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor," and that it is the religious community's duty to protect the victims and prevent further harm to the children of Israel.
The Moment Has Arrived
https://mishpacha.com/the-moment-has-arrived/
An interview with Rabbi Zev Cohen of Chicago’s Special Beis Din dealing with issues of abuse
Before we talk about how the Special Beis Din works, can I just ask: Why don’t you just tell victims to go to the police?
If a victim tells us that she wants to go to the police, she receives our encouragement. But frequently, victims are too traumatized to testify to the police, and find it easier to speak to rabbanim. In addition, it is important to remember, one cannot just go to the police and have someone thrown in jail. We had one case where the victim wanted to go to the police. The accused immediately posted bail and was soon back on the streets. But at that point, we could no longer impose our own restrictions on the perpetrator, because the police were already involved.
Kav L'Noar Child Abuse Conference 2012
https://torahdownloads.com/player.html?ShiurID=1010679
Rav Zev Leff as the halachic adviser to Kav L'Noar is clearly aware of the issues. He focused on the various conflicts involved - without offering a nice neat resolution. He addressed briefly the need for calling the police and mandated reporting and clearly and forcefully acknowledged that abuse is not the area of competence for rabbis. He ended up suggesting the need for a group involving rabbis, social workers, therapists and secular authorities such as is done in Los Angeles and Bnei Brak. Dr. David Pelcovitz is a consultant to Kav L'Noar. He presented a sensitive and informative presentation which gave clear practical advice as to how to protect children and shared his extensive experience regarding specific problems. He also stated that rabbis are not the total solution to the problem since they have often focused on what is best for the abuser rather than the victim.
listen at 5:50 minutes