Zohar(Shemos 20b) As thorns are scattered among the lilies, so does G-d permit in His world the wicked to be found among the righteous, for, as without the thorns the lilies could not exist, so would the righteous go unrecognized in the world were it not for the wicked, as R. Judah said: “How are the righteous recognized? By contrast with the wicked I If it were not for the one, the other would not be known.
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Tzadikim are different
Zohar(Shemos 12a) The souls of the righteous emanate from an upper region, as we have already stated. But there is also an esoteric lesson connected with it, namely, that the soul has a father and a mother, as the body has a father and a mother in this world. In fact, all things above and below proceed from Male and Female, as we have already derived from the words Let the earth bring forth a living soul. The earth” symbolizes the community of Israel; a living sou-the soul of the first, the supernal Man, as already explained. Then came R. Abba to him, kissed him, and said: Verily, thou hast spoken well! It is so indeed. Blessed is Moses, the faithful Shepherd, more faithful than all the other prophets of the world
Zohar(Shemos 14a) R. Hiya opened his mouth and said: My eyes now see something they have not seen before. I have reached a height that I did not dream of. It is good to die in the fire kindled by the good gold, at the place where sparks fly on every side, each one ascending to three hundred and seventy-five rows of angels, and each of which spreads itself to thousands and myriads, until they reach the Ancient of Days, who sits upon the Throne. The Throne trembles, and the trembling thereof penetrates through a hundred and sixty worlds until it reaches a place which is called the delight of the righteous, and it is heard throughout all the firmaments. Then all they that are above and all that are below are greatly amazed, and cry as with one voice: This is R. Simeon ben Yohai, the world-shaker; who can stand before him? When he opens his lips to expound the Torah, all the thrones, all the firmaments, all the angelic hosts, all who praise their Lord, do listen to his voice. No mouth is opened: all are silent, and not a sound is heard until his words break through all the firmaments above and below. But when he ends, then the song and the rejoicing of them who praise their Lord is such as was never before heard; it echoes through all the firmaments of Heaven-and all this on account of R. Simeon and his wisdom! They bow before their Master, the perfume of the spices from Eden ascends in sweetness to the Throne of the Ancient of Days-and all this on account of R. Simeon and his wisdom!.
Zohar(Shemos 15a) R. Simeon ben Yohai is indeed a lion and his son likewise. He is different from all others of his kind. Of him it is written: “The lion hath roared, who will not fear?. And if even the upper worlds do tremble before him, how much more then we? A man who has no need of fasting to proclaim his desires to the Almighty, and to have them fulfilled, since he decides and G-d confirms his decision; or the Holy One deciding, he revokes the decision and it is annulled! As it is said: There shall be one that ruleth over man, a righteous one ruling in the fear of the Lord. The Holy One rules over man, but who rules over the Holy One? Surely, the Righteous! For it may even be from time to time that the Holy One proposes and the righteous disposes!
Judge Leon Educates Pete Hegseth
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/judge-leon-educates-pete-hegseth-df8a66a5?mod=hp_opin_pos_1
President Trump’s lawfare campaign against his opponents isn’t working any better than it did for Joe Biden, Jack Smith and Letitia James against Mr. Trump. The latest example is the legal rebuke against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempt to punish Sen. Mark Kelly.
Mr. Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, has been pointed in criticizing various Trump Administration policies, notably its bombing campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. The former Navy captain joined several other Members of Congress in taping a video advising current officers they “can refuse illegal orders.”
Trump Denies He’s Behind Renaming Penn Station After Himself Amid Backlash
President Donald Trump denied in a Truth Social post on Monday that he sought to rename New York City’s Penn Station after himself, asserting that “certain politicians and construction union heads” raised the idea instead.
Multiple outlets reported the administration sought to rename New York’s Penn Station as well as Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump in exchange for releasing Gateway funds, a proposal Schumer’s office rejected and said was beyond the senator's authority.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said that “it is something the President floated in his conversation with Chuck Schumer,” contradicting Trump’s earlier denial that he initiated the idea.
Even far-right foreign leaders are getting sick of Trump’s meddling
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/02/16/trump-canada-europe-politics/
Naturally, the leaders Trump likes best are those who flatter him and imitate him the most: He has referred to Bolsonaro as the “Tropical Trump” and Johnson as the “Britain Trump.” But just because Trump likes certain leaders doesn’t mean that their rule is in the U.S. interest. Orban, for example, is not just an authoritarian leader; he is also close to both Russia and China and hostile to Ukraine. The Western alliance would benefit from his defeat in April. The problem is that Trump is pursuing his personal political agenda, not the agenda of the United States as traditionally understood by presidents of both parties.
By aligning the U.S. with individual leaders, Trump also risks making an enemy of the political opposition in their countries — and thereby inviting a backlash. This has already happened in Canada. Last year, Trump all but endorsed Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre in a bizarre social media post implying that Poilievre (whom he did not mention by name) would help to make Canada the 51st state and thereby see a lifting of U.S. tariffs. An appalled Poilievre told Trump to “stay out of our election,” but the damage was done: Liberal Party leader Mark Carney won in a landslide.
A president who zealously guards America’s sovereignty should show more respect for the sovereignty of other countries. Trump should stop treating foreign elections as if they were Republican Party primaries, where he can dictate the outcome (often to the detriment of the party’s general election prospects). Instead, he would do well to heed Lord Palmerston’s timeless dictum: “We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”
Judge orders slavery exhibit to be restored after Trump administration removal
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/16/philadelphia-trump-judge-slavery-history/
A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Monday ordered the Trump administration to restore displays discussing slavery at a site in Philadelphia where George Washington lived as president.
“The government claims it alone has the power to erase, alter, remove and hide historical accounts on taxpayer and local government-funded monuments within its control. Its claims in this regard echo Big Brother’s domain in Orwell’s 1984,” Rufe wrote.
The removal was connected to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14253 — “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” — which calls for eliminating “divisive narratives” from national sites. Many museums and historic locations have responded by removing exhibits that discuss slavery and the challenges overcome by minorities and marginalized groups.
US ambassador demands that Belgium drop ‘ridiculous and antisemitic’ investigation of mohels
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-886864
In Belgium, the law requires all circumcisions to be performed by licensed medical professionals. The country has a track record of limiting religious exemptions in laws: In 2024, Europe’s top court upheld a ban in most of the country against kosher slaughter, which its critics contend is inhumane to animals.
Belgian media reported that the Antwerp raids stemmed from a complaint made by a member of the Jewish community. In 2024, Moshe Friedman, a local rabbi, filed a police complaint against six mohels who practice metzitzah b’peh, a custom in which the circumciser cleans the circumcision wound with oral suction.
The mohel raids in Antwerp follow the arrest in 2024 in Ireland of a British rabbi suspected of performing circumcisions illegally. There, the law requiring a medical license to perform circumcisions includes an exemption for circumcisions performed for religious reasons - but the rabbi was alleged to have circumcised babies who were not Jewish. The prosecution in that case is reportedly ongoing
Belgium summons US ambassador over antisemitism claims
https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-summons-us-ambassador-bill-white-antisemitism-accusations/
Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot has summoned Bill White, the U.S. ambassador to the country, over his comments accusing Belgium of antisemitism and lashing out against its health minister.
“Any suggestion that Belgium is antisemitic is false, offensive, and unacceptable. Belgium condemns antisemitism with the greatest firmness,” Prévot wrote Monday evening in a long post on X, calling White’s statements “unacceptable.”
After Prévot expressed his disapproval on social media, White responded with another long post.
“In NO way, shape or form have we ever suggested that a political person in the Gov’t should interfere in a judicial case. That said, the case should be immediately dropped,” White wrote, adding that “it is ABSOLUTELY an issue of antisemitism.”
“You either have to make a change to the procedural accreditation or you have to call prosecution of these three beautiful religiously qualified and wonderful men anti-semeitc,” he continued, misspelling the last word
Khitan (circumcision)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khitan_(circumcision)
Khitan (Arabic: ختان) or Khatna (Arabic: ختنة) is the Arabic term for circumcision,[1][2] and the Islamic term for the practice of religious male circumcision in Islamic culture.[3] Male circumcision is widespread in the Muslim world,[3] and accepted as an established practice by all Islamic schools of jurisprudence.[2][4][5] It is considered a sign of belonging to the wider Muslim community (Ummah).[6]
The Quran itself does not mention circumcision explicitly in any verse.[1][4][2][7] In the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, both male and female circumcision were carried out by Pagan Arabian tribes,[1][2][7] and male circumcision was performed by the Jewish tribes of Arabia for religious reasons.[2][10][page needed] This has also been attested by the classical Muslim scholar al-Jāḥiẓ,[7][11] as well as by the Roman-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus.[2][7][12]
Circumcisions are usually carried out in health facilities or hospitals, and performed by trained medical practitioners.[3] The circumciser can be either male or female,[3] and is not required to be a Muslim but must be medically trained.[6] There is no fixed age for circumcision in Islam,[2][3][4][7] and the age when boys get circumcised, and the procedures used, tends to change across countries, cultures, families, and time.[3] In some Muslim-majority countries, circumcision is performed on Muslim boys after they have learned to recite the whole Quran from start to finish.[6]
Monday, February 16, 2026
US ambassador to Belgium urges nation to drop charges over illegal circumcisions
US Ambassador to Belgium Bill White has called on the country to drop all investigations against three mohels (individuals who perform circumcision) arrested last summer in a raid, calling the case antisemitic in a sharply worded post on X.
In May, police in Antwerp rounded up mohels suspected of illegally conducting the ritual Jewish circumcisions. Officials conducted early morning raids on three locations in Antwerp’s Jewish Quarter and nearby Green Quarter seeking knives and other equipment used in circumcisions, according to reports at the time.
Three mohels have been charged for performing a medical intervention without a medical license, and prosecutors now believe they have enough evidence to get a conviction, Belgian MP Michael Freilich, the country’s only Orthodox Jewish lawmaker, told The Times of Israel. A trial date has not yet been set, he said, noting it may take several months to do so.
Carrie Prejean Boller Calls Out JD Vance After Religious Board Removal
Catholic activist Carrie Prejean Boller has called on JD Vance to speak out after she was removed from Donald Trump's Religious Liberty Commission, saying the vice president is a Catholic "who wants to be president in 2028."
The hearing turned into a debate about Israel and Zionism, which Boller said she does not embrace because she is a Catholic.
On Sunday, Boller said in a post on X: "Let’s see if JD Vance, Marco Rubio and Ron DeSantis speak out in defense of my Catholic religious beliefs. after all these are Catholics who want to be president in 2028. Their silence speaks volumes. Are they Israel first or America first?"
Debunked election claims behind Fulton County search spark new questions for Gabbard
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5738302-democrats-question-gabbard-fbi-search/
Democrats are asking new questions about Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s presence at the FBI’s search of a Georgia voting center after an affidavit showed the federal case relies on widely debunked claims about the 2020 election.
“The newly unsealed affidavit shows this search originated from the frivolous claims of Kurt Olsen, an attorney who traffics in debunked falsehoods about the 2020 election. It also makes clear there was no foreign intelligence nexus. So why was the Director of National Intelligence there?” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said in a statement.
“When the nation’s top intelligence official inserts herself into a matter with no connection to a foreign threat, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the objective was political – namely, getting back into Donald Trump’s good graces – and that her presence was meant to lay the groundwork for baseless claims of foreign interference. Americans should be deeply concerned about what someone with sweeping authority over the country’s intelligence apparatus might do to achieve that.”
Brad Raffensperger (R), Georgia’s secretary of state who resisted pressure from Trump to “find” more votes in the 2020 election, criticized the merits of the claims underlying the search.
Suffering is determined by Mazel
Zohar (Bereishis 180b) Where is the cheerful spirit in the righteous man who is broken in body, seeing that he is tormented by his sufferings? And further, do we not know of many righteous men, beloved by the Almighty, who were never a prey to acute suffering or physical weakness? Why this discrimination? Why should these be physical wrecks and the others hale and hearty? One explanation given is that the latter were born of righteous parents, whereas the former, although themselves righteous, were not children of righteous parents. But the facts are against this, since we see many righteous men who are the sons of righteous parents, and who nevertheless are afflicted with bodily ills and are lifelong sufferers. But there is a deep mystery involved here, inasmuch as all the ways of God are based on truth and righteousness. In connection with this verse I have found in the books of the ancients a mystical doctrine, and next to it another mystical doctrine, both being in essence one and the same. It amounts to the following. There is a period when the moon is defective, judgement being visited upon her, and the sun being concealed from her. Now it is the moon that at all times and seasons releases souls to enter the sons of men-she having previously gathered them for the purpose. Of those souls, then, which she releases during the period that she is under sentence, every one will always be the victim of degradation and poverty and suffer other chastisements, irrespective of whether he be sinful or righteous. (Prayer, however, can avert any sentence of punishment.) But those souls which the moon sends forth when she is in the grade of completeness, and the perennially flowing stream plays about her, are destined to enjoy abundance of all good things-of riches, children, and bodily health-and all on account of the mazzal that flowed forth and joined itself to that grade in order to be perfected and blessed by it. We see thus that all things are dependent on mazzal, according to the dictum: Children, life, and livelihood do not depend on a man's merits, but on mazzal. Hence all those who are sorely afflicted in this world in spite of being truly righteous suffer through the mischance of their soul; but in compensation G-d has compassion on them in the world to come.’
Suffering importance
Zohar (Bereishis 180b) Is not a man often punished by God undeservedly? The answer is, as has been affirmed, that when suffering befalls a righteous man, it is on account of the love which God bears to him. He crushes his body in order to give more power to his soul, so that He may draw him nearer in love. For it is needful that the body should be weak and the soul strong, that so a man may be beloved of God, as the Companions have affirmed, that the Holy One inflicts suffering on the righteous in this world in order that they may merit the world to come. But he who is weak of soul and strong of body is hated of God. It is because God has no pleasure in him that He inflicts no pain upon him in this world, but permits his life to flow smoothly along with ease and comfort, in that for any virtuous act he may perform he receives his reward in this world, so that no portion should be left him in the next world. This is in accordance with Onkelos's paraphrase of the text: “And he repayeth them that hate him to their face which reads: “And he repayeth them that hate him in this world.” The righteous man, then, who is continually broken in body is the beloved of G-d.
Disenchantment with Zionism? Leon Roth and Yeshayahu Leibowitz on the Qibyā Raid
The infamous Qibyā reprisal raid (peʿulat tagmul), led by Major Ariel Sharon, later to become Israel’s Prime Minister, was the first military operation for which the young State of Israel was severely condemned by the UN, major nations, and the world Jewish community. It was carried out on the night of October 14, 1953, in response to many terror attacks by Arab fidāʾiyūn who had infiltrated Israel from Jordan, from the vicinity of the village of Qibyā. In particular, the raid was carried out in response to an attack on the town of Yehud, in which Sultana (Suzanne) Kanias, her three-year-old daughter Shoshana, and her one-and-a-half-year-old son Benny were murdered. Her thirteen-year-old son, Yitzhak, was seriously wounded, and died three years later. The raid was officially named “Operation Shoshana.”
In his response to the raid, Roth asked two main questions: (1) Do we as Jews today have an obligation to traditional Jewish values? (2) What manner of human beings could have carried out the Qibyā raid? In his response to the raid, Leibowitz, in effect, engaged with Roth’s two questions, and gave thought-provoking replies. Although Leibowitz did not mention Roth, it seems clear that he had read his response and was in conversation with it – at least with regard to the second installment (January 15), if not also with regard to the first one (December 15).
G-d and Tzadik called Living One
Zohar (Bereishis 164a) The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation. This verse, he said, has a recondite meaning We know that God is called the living one. But this verse indicates that the perfectly righteous man also is called living one, so that there is a righteous living one on high, and correspondingly a righteous living one here on earth. On high it is God who is called living one, and here below it is the righteous man who is called living one, as it is written: And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a living man. He was so called because he was a righteous man, and the righteous man is called living one.
Rabbis Lando and Hirsch condemn riots in Bnei Brak
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/422462
Two prominent haredi leaders condemned the riots today, writing that they were forbidden both as a danger and a sacrilege.
A leader of the haredi community, Rabbi Dov Lando, on Sunday night urged the public to stay away from riots and demonstrations following the incidents today in Bnei Brak and the subsequent clashes with police.
He urged the broader public not to judge the entire haredi community based on the actions of what he described as a small group. “This behavior disgraces those who observe Torah and commandments," he said. “We ask for forgiveness for having reached such a situation and pray for unity and brotherhood among our people."
“Beyond the physical danger, this constitutes a grave desecration of God’s name," he wrote, warning against any participation in such incidents. According to the statement, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch also joined the call.
Despite Qatar’s moderate image, its textbooks are filled with antisemitism, study finds
School textbooks in Qatar teach antisemitic content, portray Christians and other non-Muslims as infidels and idolators, and legitimize the call for violent jihad, according to a report released last week by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se).
Despite Qatar’s efforts to present itself as a modern state working for peace in the Middle East, problematic content remained unchanged for the fourth straight year, showing that reforms have effectively “plateaued,” IMPACT-se said. This is despite public condemnation of the curriculum by the US State Department in 2024, it added.
Textbooks portray Jews as “materialistic, arrogant, deceitful, and hostile to Islam.” Jews are associated with traits such as lying, scheming, and breaching agreements.
Female soldiers attacked in Bnei Brak, rescued by police
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/422446
The incident involved two commanders from the Education Corps serving at the Havat HaShomer base who had arrived for a home visit to one of their soldiers. The crowd believed they were Military Police servicemembers who had come to distribute draft orders.
During the incident, a group of haredi bystanders gathered, shouting “Nazis," and tried to approach the soldiers. According to reports, there were attempts to physically attack them. In addition, a police motorbike was set on fire, and the mob overturned a police vehicle.
Police forces were called to the scene and safely extracted the servicewomen. At least three officers were injured in the riots. So far, 23 arrests have been made.
Sunday, February 15, 2026
WH fires member who hijacked antisemitism hearing to condemn Israel
https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/02/12/white-house-fires-commissioner-antisemitic-outburst-hearing/
A hearing at the White House Religious Freedom Commission, held Monday and focused on antisemitism in the United States, devolved into an extraordinary confrontation after committee member Carrie Prejean Boller chose to redirect the discussion toward Israel and Gaza while incorporating antisemitic statements, leading to her removal from the commission. One of the central witnesses in the discussion was Shabbos Kestenbaum, a American-Jewish activist, who said he was surprised not only by the questions asked but by the disregard for the actual topic.
Noem boasts of Trump administration ensuring ‘we have the right people voting’ ahead of midterms
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5739328-noem-voting-midterm-elections/
“I would say that many people believe that it may be one of the most important things that we need to make sure we trust, is reliable, and that when it gets to Election Day, that we’ve been proactive to make sure that we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country through the days that we have, knowing that people can trust it,” she said.
“This is Trump’s idea of democracy: leaders get to select their voters instead of the other way around,” Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on the social platform X.
Trump has so far defended Noem and resisted bipartisan pressure for her resignation or firing. Former Obama adviser David Axelrod suggested in a post on X that Noem’s comments on election security could help explain why.
“THIS is why @KristiNoem will remain in place, despite her flagrant, corrupt mismanagement of the @DHS, at least through the midterm elections,” he wrote. “@POTUS wants a loyal apparatchik in place who will do whatever is necessary to ensure ‘the right leaders’ win.”
U.K. ‘Grooming Gang’ Leader Sentenced to 35 Years for Rape
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/world/europe/uk-grooming-gang-sentencing.html
Seven men in all were sentenced on Wednesday over their roles in a decades-old national scandal in Britain involving child sexual abuse.
Britain’s Rape Scandal Returns to the Front Pages
https://www.commentary.org/articles/stephen-pollard/britains-rape-scandal-persists/
Jess Phillips, a member of the Labour Party’s huge majority in the British House of Commons, was first elected to
Parliament in 2015 and has made a name for herself as a champion of female victims of male violence. Every year since her arrival, she has read out a running list of the names of women killed by a man. After Labour’s election victory last year, Phillips was, appropriately enough, appointed as—to provide her full title, including parentheses—parliamentary under-secretary of state (minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls).
Given the extent of the national scandal, which Phillips herself campaigned on while in opposition, one might have expected the answer to Oldham Council’s request to be an obvious yes—and for the inquiry to be nationwide in scope rather than limited to Oldham. But Phillips said no. This had, she said, nothing to do with her or the government. It was a local matter for the council to deal with. And so the “grooming gang” scandal is back in the news, where it should al-ways have been.
To understand that, you need to add the key element to the story I have so far omitted. The victims of the rape gangs were almost all young white girls and the rapists almost all adult Pakistani men. The main reason the gangs were allowed to operate with impunity was the widespread view among the police and the authorities responsible for the welfare of the girls that it would damage “community relations” if the crimes were investigated, let alone prosecuted—and that on no account should the ethnic background of anyone involved ever be discussed.
White House religion committee declares Jews killed Jesus
https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/02/10/white-house-commissioner-antisemitic-remarks-hearing/
The first hearing of the White House Religious Freedom Commission, which focused on antisemitism in the United States, turned into an extraordinary confrontation over Israel on Monday following sharp statements by one of the committee members, Carrie Prejean Boller.
As first reported by Jewish Insider, Boller, who serves as a committee member appointed by President Donald Trump and is tasked with formulating policy recommendations on religious freedom issues, declared during the debate that she believes "Jews killed Jesus" and that due to her Catholic faith, "she does not support Zionists." During the hearing, she also asked panel participants, "Does my opposition to the State of Israel make me antisemitic, yes or no?" and received boos from some of those present in the room.
Two men jailed for life over plot to attack Greater Manchester’s Jewish community
Two men have been jailed for life after attempting to stage one of the UK’s deadliest terrorist attacks before it was thwarted by an undercover operative.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, who had sworn allegiance to Islamic State (IS), planned a marauding firearms attack targeting Greater Manchester’s Jewish community.
On Friday, the pair were sentenced at Preston crown court after being found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024.
The prime mover in the plot, Tunisian-born Saadaoui, of Abram, Wigan, was ordered to serve a minimum of 37 years.
Hussein, of no fixed address, was ordered to serve at least 26 years.
Saadaoui’s younger brother, Bilel Saadaoui, 37, of Hindley, Wigan, was sentenced to six years in prison for failing to disclose information about the plan.
Two jailed over plot to attack Jewish community
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq8gv2327y7o
Two men who planned to target the Jewish community in Manchester in what police said could have been "the UK's most deadly terror attack" have been jailed for life.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, arranged for guns to be smuggled into the UK as part of an "Isis-inspired plot", Preston Crown Court heard.
They were caught by an undercover operative who played a "crucial role" in foiling their plans, Greater Manchester Police said.
Saadaoui and Hussein were given minimum prison terms of 37 and 26 years respectively.
Two men jailed in UK for Islamic State-inspired plot to kill hundreds of Jews
Two men were jailed on Friday for plotting to kill hundreds in an Islamic State-inspired attack on the Jewish community in England, a plan prosecutors said could have been deadlier than December’s mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, were both convicted after a trial at Preston Crown Court, which began a week after an unrelated deadly attack on a synagogue in the city of Manchester, in northwest England.
Prosecutors said the pair were Islamist extremists who wanted to use automatic firearms to kill as many Jews as they could in an attack in Manchester.
Barack Obama Breaks Silence on Apes Video Shared by Trump Account
https://www.newsweek.com/obama-breaks-silence-on-apes-video-11499257
Senator Pete Ricketts, a Nebraska Republican, posted on X last week: "Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this. The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize."
During an interview with journalist Brian Tyler Cohen that was published on Saturday, former President Barack Obama responded to a video that featured him and former first lady Michelle Obama portrayed as apes that was posted on President Donald Trump's Truth Social account last week.
Obama responded: "The majority of the American people find this behavior deeply troubling. It's true that it gets attention. It’s true that it’s a distraction. As I’m traveling around the country, as you’re traveling around the country, you meet people. They still believe in decency, courtesy, kindness."
He added: "There's this sort of clown show that's happening in social media and on television, and what is true is that there doesn't seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office. So that's been lost."
Friday, February 13, 2026
Where to find evidence-based adult vaccine recommendations
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/02/12/vaccine-recommendations-adults-acp-medical/
Many readers praised the American Academy of Pediatrics for issuing its own childhood immunization guidance after federal health officials stopped broadly recommending key vaccines for children. Bruce, a family physician from Ohio, wrote that the AAP’s guidance, now endorsed by 12 other major medical organizations, gives him the professional backing he needs to continue advocating the shots.
That’s no longer the case, said ACP President Jason M. Goldman. An internist in private practice in Florida, he called what is happening with the CDC “absolutely horrifying.”
“I never thought in my lifetime [that] I have to say we can’t trust the recommendations coming out of the CDC, which was always the gold standard for the world,” he said.
Terror ban on Palestine Action ruled unlawful by UK High Court
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/13/uk/uk-palestine-action-ban-gbr-uk-intl
The UK High Court has ruled that the government’s decision to ban activist group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization last summer was unlawful.
It follows one of the largest campaigns of nonviolent civil disobedience in recent history, with nearly 3,000 people – many of them pensioners or the elderly – arrested at solidarity protests nationwide since July.
Most of those arrests were for holding signs that read: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” at the demonstrations, according to Defend Our Juries – which has been instrumental in organizing the protests.
Tzadikim Die early to save them from sin
Zohar (Bereishis 56b) There is a vanity which is done upon the earth, that there be righteous men unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked, etc.. How there are righteous men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked we have just explained, viz. that because their deeds are good, God removes them from the world before their time and before they become liable to punishment. The rest of the verse, there be wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous, means that God gives them a respite and is long-suffering with them. Thus the good die early in order that they may not degenerate, and the wicked live on in order that they may have a chance to repent, or in order that a virtuous progeny may issue from them. See now, Enoch was virtuous, but God saw that he would degenerate, and therefore gathered him in in time, as one gathers lilies because of their good scent. And he was not, for God had taken him. This means that he did not live to a great age like his contemporaries, because God took him before his time. R. Eleazar said: God removed Enoch from the earth, and took him up to the highest heavens, and there presented to him wonderful treasures, including forty-five mystical key-combinations of graven letters which are used by the highest ranks of angels, as has been explained elsewhere.
Magic Origin
Zohar (Bereishis 56a) In the time of Enosh, men were skilled in magic and divination, and in the art of controlling the heavenly forces. Adam had brought with him from the Garden of Eden the knowledge of “the leaves of the tree”, but he and his wife and their children did not practise it. When Enosh came, however, he saw the advantage of these arts and how the heavenly courses could be altered by them, and he and his contemporaries studied them and practised magic and divination. From them these arts descended to the generation of the Flood and were practised for evil purposes by all the men of that time. Relying upon these arts, they defied Noah, saying that divine justice could never be executed upon them, since they knew a way to avert it. The practice of these arts commenced with Enosh, and hence it is said of his time, THEN WAS THE NAME OF THE LORD CALLED UPON PROFANELY. R. Isaac said: All the righteous men that were among them sought to restrain them, such as Jered, Methuselah, and Enoch, but without success, and the world became full of sinners who rebelled against their Master saying, “What is the Almighty that we should serve him?. This is not so foolish as it sounds, for they knew all the arts we have mentioned and all the ruling chieftains in charge of the world, and on this knowledge they relied, until at length God disabused them by restoring the earth to its primitive state
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