The conservative commentator on the antisemitism in MAGA media and why he condemns President Trump as corrupt yet sticks with him.
Monday, April 20, 2026
‘Whether people like Israel or not’: What six words in a Trump post reveal
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-893539
Israel has just fought shoulder to shoulder with the US, yet Trump's choice of words suggests that Israel has shifted from a broadly accepted ally to a debated one.
Just days before Independence Day, US President Donald Trump on Sunday posted a message on his social media platform praising Israel and extolling it as an exemplary ally.
“Whether people like Israel or not, they have proven to be a GREAT Ally of the United States of America. They are Courageous, Bold, Loyal, and Smart, and, unlike others that have shown their true colors in a moment of conflict and stress, Israel fights hard and knows how to WIN!”
Those words should put a smile on the lips of every Israeli. They should, but it is the opening six words that linger: “Whether people like Israel or not.”
The emphasis is not on what Israel represents or how that aligns with American values, but rather on what it delivers. This is a subtle yet significant shift – a more transactional framing: Israel moving from a natural partner to a useful one. This framing reflects a broader and troubling reality: Israel has become a dividing line within American politics, part of the culture-war terrain rather than, as it once was, a rare point of consensus.
Trump says talks to take place Tuesday, as Iran says it has ‘no plans’ to attend
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that talks with Iran on extending the ceasefire would resume on Tuesday, while the Islamic Republic indicated it was not planning to send a delegation and was pessimistic about the prospects of the talks.
Trump told Fox News that White House envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff would be heading to the Pakistani capital Islamabad for the negotiations, and if Tehran does not agree to a deal, the whole of Iran would be “blown up.”
He told the outlet that bridges and power plants in Iran would be targeted, repeating his threat to target civilian infrastructure — plans that appeared to have been halted after the ceasefire was reached nearly two weeks ago. The break in the fighting is set to expire on Wednesday if an extension is not agreed upon.
Sunday, April 19, 2026
Antisemites supporting Israel is weird. Jewish support of them is even weirder
Perhaps the most bizarre spectacle of the past month has been watching some of the world’s most wretched antisemites lining up to give their unalloyed support to Israel. Even more jarring has been their embrace by those who are supposed to advocate for Jewish safety.
In the US, there is Donald Trump, whose election was heralded by antisemites’ biggest public rally in the US in a generation, the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Yet because Trump was also demonstrably pro-Israel in his foreign policy stances, notably moving the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, he receives ongoing support and endorsements from many pro-Israel pressure groups. Some of them were nervous when he criticised Israel’s lack of military preparedness for the Hamas attacks, but he’s now back in the fold, adding “#IStandWithBibi”to his Truth Social posts.
The rationale behind these reactions is twisted and wrong: Israel is supposed to be a homeland for Jews from the horrors of the pogroms, the Holocaust and antisemitism. Yet we are now reaching an illogical conclusion where organisations supposed to protect Jewish rights turn a blind eye to antipathy towards Jews as long as proponents support Israel.
Netanyahu fails the 'no' test
https://www.israelhayom.com/2026/04/19/netanyahu-fails-the-no-test/
The ceasefire imposed on Israel in Lebanon, following the ceasefire imposed on it in Iran, following the ceasefire imposed on it in Gaza, has left Israel in a troubling position in which it is once again failing to convert the many operational achievements of the IDF into a strategic outcome.
In fact, after 925 days of fighting since October 7, Israel has failed to achieve a decisive result on any front. Hamas remains standing and is engaged in rapid reconstruction. Hezbollah survived a severe campaign and hollow threats of destruction. Iran may emerge from the confrontation stronger than before. Israel did inflict heavy damage on all three, as well as on the Houthis in Yemen, but by the end of the campaign it is seen as a country whose affairs are decided not in Jerusalem, but in Washington.
In a speech he delivered in the Knesset while in opposition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued that an Israeli prime minister is judged by one thing alone: his ability to say "no" to the president of the United States. In practice, against Donald Trump, Netanyahu failed. The US president's post on Friday, in which he said in large letters that he was forbidding Israel from attacking in Lebanon, was not only an operational directive. It was a public humiliation and a severe blow to Israeli power and deterrence.
Trump, it seems, is tired of wars. He is looking for a quick and elegant exit before being dragged back into them. In Iran, there is indeed a gap between his optimistic posts and the reality on the ground, in which the Strait of Hormuz was closed again, one day after reopening. But even Israeli officials involved in the talks believe that, at the moment, the space for agreement between the sides is greater than the space for disagreement.
The Pro-Israel Right Is Shifting the Definition of Anti-Semitism
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/08/anti-israel-anti-semitism/683765/
Extraordinary claims—such as the charge that the Jewish senator from Vermont is anti-Semitic to the point of spreading ancient slanders against his own people—require extraordinary evidence. Yet large segments of the conservative and even centrist wings of the American pro-Israel movement have whipped themselves into such a frenzy of paranoia that they are making accusations like this without much effort at justification.
Conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism is not new, but it has exploded in the post–October 7 era, in which the rising menace of genuine Jew-hatred on the left and right alike has been accompanied by a growing chorus of hyperbolic, bad-faith accusations. This dynamic might seem paradoxical, but the two phenomena exist in a natural symbiosis. Anti-Semites often insist they are being targeted merely for criticizing Israel; their defense becomes more effective when many people are, in fact, being called anti-Semitic merely for criticizing Israel.
Zionist antisemitism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionist_antisemitism
Zionist antisemitism or antisemitic Zionism refers to a phenomenon in which antisemites express support for Zionism and the State of Israel. In some cases, this support may be promoted for explicitly antisemitic reasons. Historically, this type of antisemitism has been most notable among Christian Zionists, who may perpetrate religious antisemitism while being outspoken in their support for Jewish sovereignty in Israel due to their interpretation of Christian eschatology. Similarly, people who identify with the far right, particularly in Europe and the United States, may support the Zionist movement because they seek to expel Jews from their countries and see Zionism as the least complicated method (in comparison to ethnic cleansing or genocide) of achieving this goal and satisfying their racial antisemitism.[a]
No rockets but no relief: Nahariya residents see no end to war despite Lebanon ceasefire
After six weeks of relentless Hezbollah attacks, residents of northern Israeli city feel bewildered and betrayed by the government’s seemingly sudden decision to stop fighting
“We’re not naïve,” said Guetta, whose parents immigrated to Israel from Libya. “This isn’t the end of this war or the end of the wars. As long as we’re here, there will be war.”
“The government capitulated to Iran and the United States,” Attias said glumly. “The Iranians say, ‘Yes, yes,’ but they do what they want.”
As Trump claims ‘no sticking points’ and that deal possible in days, Iran insists he’s lying
President says US will remove Iran’s enriched uranium ‘at leisurely pace,’ but Iran denies it; also claims Iran will stop backing Hamas, Hezbollah; US and Iranian officials say significant gaps remain
US President Donald Trump signaled growing optimism Friday about a potential deal with Iran to end the war amid a temporary ceasefire, saying negotiators could meet as soon as this weekend and that an agreement may be reached within days. He boldly claimed there were “no sticking points,” even as US and Iranian officials cautioned that major key issues remain unresolved.
The US leader spoke with several news outlets Friday and issued a long series of posts on his Truth Social network, following the Iranian announcement that it had opened the Strait of Hormuz as a response to the Israeli-Hezbollah ceasefire in Lebanon, with Trump predicting a deal to permanently end the war in a matter of days and saying that the US would remove Iran’s enriched uranium at a “leisurely pace.”
Iran swiftly denied any readiness to relinquish its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and it did not confirm another Trump claim, that it was ready to halt its support for proxy terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah — issues that have hitherto prevented an agreement.
IDF soldiers face threat from IEDs as Lebanon ceasefire terms prove weaker than previous deal
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bkb1ik11azl
Two days after the ceasefire in Lebanon took effect, it is already clear that its terms are less favorable than those agreed following Operation Northern Arrows at the end of 2024. Now, the main concern in the IDF is improvised explosive devices planted before the ceasefire in areas under Israeli control.
One such device in the village of Jabin, about 3.5 kilometers from the border, killed reservist paratrooper Barak Kalfon, 48, from the community of Adi in the Jezreel Valley on Saturday. Three other soldiers were wounded in the incident, two moderately and one lightly. Kalfon was among the first to enter the structure alongside the company commander. During the search, the explosive device planted by Hezbollah detonated. The initial assessment is that it was not remotely triggered.
Similar incidents have occurred during ceasefires in the Gaza Strip, and the IDF is placing particular emphasis on the threat. Defense Minister Israel Katz paid tribute to Kalfon, saying: “Barak was a brave and dedicated fighter and a devoted family man. In his civilian work as an engineer at Rafael, he made a significant contribution to Israel’s security, combining the highest level of professional commitment with many years of meaningful reserve service in defense of the state.”
Trump declares war in Lebanon over
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/423124
Updated US intelligence assessments indicate that Iran still holds a significant arsenal, amounting to roughly half of the capabilities it had before the outbreak of the conflict with the United States and Israel.
According to the data cited by The New York Times, Iran currently possesses 60% of its missile launchers and 40% of its UAV (drone) capabilities.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have once again reached a peak following a decision by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to once again close the Strait of Hormuz-less than a day after announcing its reopening following the ceasefire in Lebanon.
On Saturday, the IDF said that since the ceasefire came into effect, IDF soldiers south of the "yellow line" in southern Lebanon have identified in several incidents in which terrorists violated the ceasefire understandings by approaching from north of the yellow line toward IDF soldiers, posing an immediate threat.
Following their identification, and in order to remove the threat, the Israeli Air Force, together with ground forces, conducted precise strikes against the terrorists.
Artillery fire was carried out in support of the ground troops operating in the area, and terrorist infrastructure sites used to facilitate attacks were struck in response to the threats.
Earlier on Saturday, IDF soldiers identified a terrorist cell that violated the ceasefire understandings and approached IDF soldiers operating south of the ''yellow line" in southern Lebanon, a defense line dedicated to preventing an imminent threat to Israel’s northern communities.
Iran's Revolutionalry Guards 'mosquito fleet' is a serious threat in the Strait of Hormuz
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjxpoi11a11x
Despite U.S. claims of crippling Iran’s navy, the Revolutionary Guards’ fast-boat fleet continues to enforce a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, using guerrilla tactics and hidden bases to disrupt global oil shipping routes; they have been a nuisance in the Persian Gulf for decades
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly boasted that Iran’s navy was almost entirely destroyed in the war, but he has largely ignored the fact that another Iranian naval force — that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), rather than the regular Iranian navy — remains operational and continues to pose a significant threat to ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC /navy relies on small, fast boats that are hidden in fortified bases along Iran’s coastline or on islands in the strategic waterway. Although the U.S. military has sought to destroy them as well, it has acknowledged that only about half have been sunk so far, without providing exact figures.
Using these boats, which are sometimes armed with missiles or drones, along with concealed launch sites near the strait’s shores, Iran has continued to enforce its blockade of the strategic passage through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply normally flows.
Netanyahu shocked Trump 'prohibited' strikes on Lebanon, believes it inconsistent with ceasefire
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-893414
Trump’s public remarks appeared to exceed the text of the US-backed truce, prompting Israeli officials to seek clarification while clashes on the ground continued.
Israel was surprised by US President Donald Trump’s announcement that the IDF is “prohibited” from continuing strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to a Saturday Axios report.
The report noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “personally stunned and alarmed” by the post, and that Israeli officials sought clarification from the White House.
This comes after Trump posted on Truth Social that Israel was prohibited from “bombing Lebanon any longer,” and that the US will work with Lebanon separately and “deal with the Hezbollah situation in an appropriate manner.”
FBI Director Kash Patel bashes media over Atlantic story, threatens lawsuit
FBI Director Kash Patel has threatened to sue The Atlantic after the magazine reported that his colleagues have grown alarmed by what it described as episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.
The magazine published a story on Friday titled “The FBI Director Is MIA,” citing conversations with more than two dozen people, including current and former FBI officials, members of Congress, hospitality-industry workers and others.
“Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information and private conversations, they described Patel’s tenure as a management failure and his personal behavior as a national-security vulnerability,” reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick wrote.
The report stated that Patel has been known “to drink to the point of obvious intoxication” in front of White House and other Trump administration staff and that on multiple occasions within the past year, “members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated.”
Saturday, April 18, 2026
IDF confirms strikes on Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, in first since ceasefire
Army says it acted in accordance with deal, which allows Israel to strike in ‘self-defense’; Hezbollah official says terror group ‘not concerned’ by Israel-Lebanon talks
The Israeli military on Saturday confirmed carrying out several strikes in southern Lebanon over the previous day against Hezbollah operatives who “violated the ceasefire understandings,” in the first such action since the truce took effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday.
The announcement of the strikes came a day after US President Donald Trump said that Israel was “prohibited” from bombing Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, though a US official later clarified to The Times of Israel that while IDF can not carry out any offensive military operations, the terms of the truce allow it to carry out defensive strikes against “planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”
This is the scariest question about Putin — and Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin, always paranoid about enemies, may be feeling cornered this spring. His army is at a standstill in Ukraine, despite suffering enormous casualties. He appears powerless to help Iran, one of his few allies. And his best friend in Europe, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, just got dumped.
Here’s Rumer’s stark warning: “Having invaded Ukraine under the false pretext of needing to secure its western flank, Russia is poised to emerge from the war less secure, more resentful, and more threatening to Europe than before the war. Its threat perceptions will cast a long shadow over Europe.”
Putin is a risk taker, as his invasion of Ukraine showed. What if he decides that his window of opportunity to challenge NATO and impose a new order is closing? In the most ominous passage of his report, Rumer writes: “If Putin is truly intent on imposing his vision of European security on the continent, he may decide that time is not on his side, as Europe is racing to rearm, and launch an attack against a Baltic neighbor to demonstrate that NATO’s Article 5 is essentially a dead letter.”
What would Trump do if Putin struck a European country? For me, that’s the scariest question. Trump spends so much time bad-mouthing NATO that Europeans already doubt the credibility of American security guarantees. His latest anti-NATO tirades have focused on its refusal to aid the United States and Israel in the Iran war. Before Rutte visited Washington this month, Trump called NATO a “paper tiger” that “Putin’s not afraid of.”
Iran restores ‘strict management’ of Hormuz Strait as US blockade persists
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5837564-iran-strict-control-strait-of-hormuz-us-blockade/
The Iranian regime said early Saturday that it is resuming “strict” control over the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.’s naval blockade in the critical trading corridor and as the fragile two-week ceasefire nears its end.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that the strait would return to its “previous state” and will be “under the strict management and control” of their military forces.
The IRGC confirmed Saturday that it fired at two vessels in the waterway that “tried to bypass Iran’s authority.” This comes a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that the strait was “completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire” for all commercial ships.
Iran reimposes Hormuz closure after US maintains blockade; IRGC gunboats fire at ships
Tehran warns it will continue to block strait as long as Trump blockades Iran-linked shipping; US president says blockade ‘in full force’ until regime reaches a deal, including on its nuclear program
Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping.
Iran’s announcement came after Trump said Friday that even though Tehran announced the strait’s reopening, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear program.
Iran defies Trump: Our uranium is sacred and not going anywhere
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/425672
Trump told CBS News in an interview earlier on Friday that Iran has "agreed to everything" and will cooperate with the United States to remove its enriched uranium from the country.
Iran firmly rejects Trump’s claim that it agreed to hand over its enriched uranium stockpile, declaring it “as sacred as the soil of Iran" and will not be transferred “anywhere."
Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday stressed the country's stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred "anywhere", after US President Donald Trump said that the Islamic Republic had agreed to hand it over.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Iranian state media that "the transfer of uranium to the US has not been presented as an option."
Friday, April 17, 2026
Trump rails against court decision that once again stalls his White House ballroom project
President Donald Trump railed against a federal judge's decision on Thursday that continues to block above-ground construction of a $400 million White House ballroom, allowing only below-ground work on a bunker and other "national security facilities" at the site.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's latest ruling comes in response to an appeals court's instruction to clarify an earlier decision on the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom planned for the site where it demolished the East Wing of the White House.
Trump on social media called Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, a "Trump Hating" judge who "has gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, or doesn't get built."
Hegseth shares air rescue group’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ prayer at Pentagon service
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5834822-hegseth-pulp-fiction-bible-reference/
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday repeated an air rescue group’s prayer that borrows from a scene in Quentin Tarantino’s film “Pulp Fiction.”
During a Pentagon service, Hegseth said the prayer — called CSAR 25:17, an apparent reference to Ezekiel 25:17 in the Bible — was recited during a mission to recover the pilot of a U.S. F-15E fighter jet shot down in Iran earlier this month.
On Thursday, videos of Hegseth reading the prayer circulated online, with some users and media outlets assuming Hegseth believed he was reading actual scripture.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon on Thursday advised Hegseth to tone down religious references in briefings on the conflict with Iran, arguing they distract from the operational details outlined by military leaders.
Hegseth channels his inner Tarantino with fake Bible verse from Pulp Fiction
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/hegseth-pulp-fiction-ezekiel-prayer
It was perhaps inevitable that a braggadocious Christian nationalist defense secretary elevated from his role as a weekend Fox News television host would pluck a fake Bible verse from a violent Hollywood blockbuster and present it at a Pentagon prayer session to rally the troops for the “holy war” in Iran.
On Wednesday, at the latest of his new series of worship services at the Pentagon to bless the Iran war effort, Hegseth stood at a podium and delivered a prayer for search-and-rescue crews he said was based on a Bible passage in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel.
Yet, as so often happens in the upside-down world that is Donald Trump’s second term of office, all was not as it seemed. The prayer Hegseth used appeared instead to be a bastardized version of a speech by actor Samuel L Jackson in the movie Pulp Fiction.
In its own helpful analysis of the situation, Newsweek presented all three passages of text: Ezekiel 25:17; Jackson’s dialogue from Tarantino’s 1994 cult black comedy; and the words spoken by Hegseth on Wednesday, which he stated were from so-called prayer CSAR 2517 (combat search and rescue), were commonplace in military circles, and were read to crews that rescued an air force colonel from an Iranian mountain this month after his fighter jet was shot down.
LevinAt11- Identifying Dangerous Misleadership
בס"ד
30 Nissan, 5786
Linked below is this week's LevinAt11 radio broadcast Apr. 16, '26, Parshas Tazria-Metzora 5786/ Rosh Chodesh Iyyar.
תכנית ראדיו של רב יהודה לעוין שליט"א, תזריע-מצורע תשפו, טו לעומר
Tonight's program was hosted by Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter.
Topic Highlights:
1). 1-11 minutes, approx.:
Lessons from Current Events: letter in this week's MonseyMevaser.com page 12, an expansion of which was posted here:
2). 11-19, approx: Seeking Common-Ground within the Orthodox communities is easier than it seems, because it's hiding in plain sight.
3). 20-39, approx.: What's wrong with the banned Szmerla book, "Alternative Medicine In Halacha" (sic)? - simplified -- "For-Dummies" (for the benefit of the readers, an initial version of this work-in-progress is copied below).
4). 40-54, approx.: Sholom Kamenetsky, undermining the Shlosha Chamuros, the three foundational Torah commandments, along with his family's legacy: His intensive involvement in said banned Szmerla book adds Avoda Zorah, Kefirah, and Kishuf (and a good measure of Shefichus Domim and Arayos) to his standing accomplishments in advancing Aishes-Ish (Epstein scandal) and Doctor-Facilitated-Murder... rounding out his "Holistic" imprint on the frum world.
5). 50-54, approx.: Aguda Alert: Vigilance is now required so that Aguda's oncoming Women's Conference should not yet again serve as another venue for Sholom (or others) to yet again evangelize to more naïve, trusting frum women. It's incumbent on those in the know to sound the alarm to protect righteous women from falling under the influence of a suave missionary self-promoter, who's perhaps unprecedented track record categorizes him as a one-man crime-wave.
6). 53-end, approx.: Crucial work quietly being done to save girls from Giyus Banos (the female military draft) in Israel, including by the ladies organization "Chomosaich."
בזכות נשים צדקניות עתידים ליגאל -
עיין ספר קב הישר, ראש פרק פב
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If you value this type of work, please call/text 771.215.8892 today, to learn how you can do your fair share.
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Good Chodesh and Good Shabbos.
Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,
Executive Director,
Help Rescue Our Children
845.642.1679
Direct: 771.215.8892
Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337
Tomim Tih'yeh [countering "New-Age" infiltration]:
Presentations on New-Age dangers: 605-313-6831 ext. 2
Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, co-hosting the renowned Levin At Eleven program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (ET).
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Broadcast weekly over:
davidzonradio.com 718) 303-8000
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בס"ד
30 Nissan, 5786, Tazria/ Metzorah
(version 8B)
"What's Wrong w/ the Szmerla Book"* - "for Dummies"
* Alternative (sic) Medicine (
כשיש עבודה זרה בעולם, יש חרון אף בעולם.
Here a some useful "one-liners," for those without the ability, time, or patience to delve into more than that. Page citations are from the first edition (2017CE), and may differ slightly in the second variant (2020CE).
The main purpose of this presentation is to:
1. encapsulate some (not all) of the primary objections to the book - and its author(s);
2. provide short "talking-points" to those who need or want that type of encapsulation, either because
(a) they need a synopsis of an objection that they can understand on their own, without reliance on additional info, or delving more into the issues, or because
(b) they simply seek to identify the basic motivations of opponents of the book/ author(s), even if they themselves don't personally seek to understand the details enough to formulate a view on the matter.
It should be emphasized here that many - if not all - of the objections enumerated below apply even if one takes the (erroneous) position that some or all of the practices/ techniques the book purports to permit could somehow be performed in a manner avoiding transgression.
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Rephoel Szmerla also goes by an alternative spelling: Raphael Szmarla (all A's,) online, as he does here, on Psychedelics in Halacha, something revealingly close to his heart:
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1). His writings have been banned by prominent Rabbis.
The book - and all subsequent writings of the author - were banned -- by over a dozen prominent Rabbonim soon after publication in 2017 -- due to its heretical content.
The ban against New-Age advocate Rephoel Szmerla, author of "Alternative Medicine In Halacha", כי אני ד' רופאך, is posted here:
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2). Szmerla & Co. are evangelizing for foreign religions - including both Avoda-Zorah and Kefirah - among Orthodox Jews.
More specifically, the book "Alternative Medicine In Halacha" ("AMIH",) openly prom
For one prominent example, the foreign doctrine that he promotes includes the foundational notion of Q-i/ Ch-i, which is a heretical (and Avoda-Zorah) term, as we demonstrated in our 5768 Kuntrus "Mishmeres HaKodesh;" see the beginning of part 3.
Specifically, on page 39, Szmerla dramatically fails to refute this primary objection to his attempt to incorporate Ch-i into Judaism. This fundamental objection undermines his entire New-Age theology, and much of his book along with it.
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3). The book is a fraud.
AMIH consistently misrepresent
Also see objection 6.
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4). The book is simply unhinged.
AMIH is full of ludicrous statements and ridiculous arguments. See objection 5 for two telling examples, of many. See also objection 18.
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Magical Thinking:
5a). Szmerla promotes even long-distance energy-healing/ energy-work as natural, beneficial, and permitted in Jewish Law (p. 40-43).
5b). He similarly whitewashes NewAge long- distance diagnostic techniques, called Remote Testing (p. 86-88).*
(* There he seems to be referring specifically to muscle testing on one person to determine information about another person far away. However, there are other NewAge techniques of long distance testing/ "diagnosis.")
Such long-distance methods clearly do not work naturally (על פי דרכו של עולם). Thus, they are at best unreliable nonsense -- and, alternatively, Avoda Zorah/ heretically-attributed Kishuf/ Kosaim techniques.
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Hide-and-Run Heteirim:
6). Szmerla fails to even describe the actual techniques involved in energy-healing, one of the primary New-Age practices he purports to permit (p. 25-26).
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7). Ju-Budu: He whitewashes Buddhism (p. 46, par. 1).
8). Rooted in Antiquity... "Back to tradition..."
מתחילה עובדי ע"ז היו אבותינו...
Szmerla downplays the severity of Hinduism (p. 135).
9). He whitewashes even the most overt Avoda Zorah in Health Kinesiology - asking "Energetic Permission" of the Ch-i if it's "willing" to work with the practitioner (e.g. in allowing additional muscle-testing), afar le'piv (p. 75-78). (Also see http://daattorah.blogspot.
10). With similar recklessness, he whitewashes Yoga (p. 132-136).
11). He whitewashes Reik-i (p. 43-47).
"...רק הוא - מכם."
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12). Szmerla infiltrates both (a) anti-Torah missionaries and (b) their heretical missionary propaganda into the Orthodox Jewish community, and, by extension, throughout the Jewish world.
The book AMIH serves as a water-carrier for some of the most virulently anti-Torah New-Age missionaries, e.g. Theosophy-devotee Richard Gerber, y.s. (e.g. p. 2, 11, 39).
Gerber, in the Acknowledgements to his Vibrational Medicine, identified a "Who's Who" list of Theosophy devotees who had tremendous influence on his approach. The Theosophical Society was cofounded in 1875CE in NYC, by Russian occultist Madame Helena Petrovina Blavatsky y.s. (and Col. Olcott). She's considered the Grandmother of the "New Age" movement. Blavatsky was virulently anti-Torah, as was one of her leading followers, Alice A. Bailey, y.s., founder of Lucifer Trust (now Lucis Trust) in NYC.
Bailey openly denied the divinity of HaShem (Esoteric Healing, p. 393). She also identified (in Externalization of the Hierarchy, p. 544, 551) one of their major goals as "the gradual dissolution ... of the Orthodox Jewish faith..."
It's G-d-haters such as these that Richard Gerber is an apostle of.
To allow any Theosophy devotee any entrance into the Jewish community is an abomination. How much more so one as suave as Gerber.
And Szmerla & Co. perpetrates all of this - and in the name of Torah as well.
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13). The Szmerla book literally endangers lives.
Despite the perfunctory disclaimer at the outset, the entire warp and woof of the book is an ongoing performance, perpetrating a deceptive rejection of sound medical theory and practice, under the guise of Halacha. By misrepresenting the realia, metziyus, according to far-Eastern/ NewAge missionary doctrine, the naïve readers are led to imagine that actually medical science has it all wrong - is totally missing the boat. Ideas, both true and false, have consequences.
The readers well understand the implications of the heretical, anti-scientific ideology presented, as well as they understand the legal need for a perfunctory disclaimer. Thus, the latter does not render the former less than lethal.
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14). Szmerla deceptively misrepresents/ dismisses objections of Rav Yisroel Belsky ZT"L, among other opponents of his, e.g. p. 29, note 8; p. 75-76, note 76).
Rav Belsky, who had communicated with Szmerla & Co., has choice words for more than one of those parties involved in the book. For them to seek revenge posthumously is what you'd expect from those who struggle to make a straight argument.
And we are to believe that they honestly accept the authority of Torah sages...
15). Szmerla deceptively dismisses the objection of the Steipler Gaon, who identified what appears to be a common form of hands-on energy-healing as Kishuf (Orchos Rabbeinu 1, p. 290).
16). Ziyuf HaTorah:
The author(s) commit(s) these distortions in the name of Torah. They even drag in holy sources of Kabbalah to "sanction" these distortions.
Their unbridled temerity knows no bounds.
Rav Aharon Kotler, ZT"L, identified distortion of the Torah - Ziyuf HaTorah - as the gravest threat to Judaism (Mishnas Reb Aharon, 1:2:3:6).
17). The authors built their campaign on deception of Rabbis, including Rabbis who don't read English, or can't research the facts to evaluate if they're being taken in.
Their well-masked disrespect for authentic Torah authority also manifests itself in seeking to deceive prominent Rabbis with their suave tactics, including those tactics identified in 3 and 6 above. For details on how, see notes to 3.
18). Laitzonus and Kallus:
One observer noted the astounding level of kallus, absolute laxity, with which the authors relate to the Cardinal-Sins of Avoda Zorah and kefirah, as well as the serious sins of Kishuf, sorcery, at stake here. This in part is demonstrated by the ludicrousness of the statements and arguments made throughout the book, as note above (4).
19). Their pronounced inability to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
There were those in Jewish History who possessed the ability to separate the good from the bad in extraction of elements of truth from otherwise heretical sources. In general, we've lacked such authorities since at least the time of the Schach, one of the premier commentators on Shulchan Aruch, who lived at the time of the Chimilnetzki pogroms in Ukraine (1648-49CE).
The recklessness of the authors of AMIH demonstrates that even if such people do exist nowadays, the authors certainly do not qualify by any stretch.
20). The book's author requires investigation into any association with dope-dealers trafficking in a dangerous, proliferating hallucinogenic drug called Ayahuasca, a controlled-substance. In light of the above, these multiple accusations must be looked into very seriously: see Sefer Chofetz Chaim, Lashon Harah, 8:5, and BM"C 9, citing ibid. 7:5.
In addition to many more objections.
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Notes:
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3) Callers to our hotline should be aware that, in general, whatever materials we send out to illustrate objections to various NewAge techniques may prove necessary, but - on their own - are not *sufficient* to properly present the Shailah in full. To do so generally requires our direct interaction with the Rov/ Moreh Hora'ah being approached.
This is because those with a desire to permit the multitude of New-Age practices have more than enough experience in providing excuses and diversionary arguments, whose flaws may be overlooked by Rabbonim not "Ligging" (being sufficiently versed) in these arcane matters.
Thus, what seems to the average uninformed Rov as a reasonable "natural explanation" usually, on examination by those in the know, is exposed to be false, and, worse, yet another sample of NewAge techniques based on NewAge ideology. Thus, such heteirim are as worthless as the myths on which they're based.
This is a pervasive example of an "explanation" potentially being even more objectionable than the technique they purport to permit, as per the Rambam in Hilchos Avoda Zorah 2:2-3. Most of the so called "heterim" for these NewAge practices fall into this category.
One of the Torah sages of the previous generation exhorted:
It's Assur to be a Tipish!"
(It's prohibited to be a fool.)
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Please call/text 771.215.8892 if you would be agreeably to sharing in this work. Neshamos are being lost to heretical theology masquerading as Torah daily because otherwise good people continue to do nothing.
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"מאריך אפיה - וגביה דיליה."
נתן שמואל לייטער
Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,
Executive Director,
Tomim Tih'yeh - countering New-Age influences for over 25 years
845.642.1679
Direct: 771.215.8892
Israeli Helpline: 03.721.3337 עזרה בארץ ישראל
Presentations on New-Age dangers: 605-313-6831 ext. 2 לשיעורים
Tomim Tih'yeh: tomim1679@gmail.com
Heard weekly on New Jersey's WSNR Radio 620AM, on the renowned LevinAt11 program, every Thursday evening, 11pm to midnight (Eastern Time).
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'It's Not Working': Diplomats Fear Trump's Iran Envoys Are Making Things Worse
https://time.com/article/2026/04/15/diplomats-fear-trump-iran-envoys-kushner-witkoff-nuclear/
Former diplomats tell TIME that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who led the Iran negotiations with Vice President JD Vance, lack the expertise and diplomatic experience needed to secure an agreement. That, they warn, risks prolonging the war and further destabilizing the global economy.
“There is a discussion in which the president's advisors talk truth to power and basically say to him…‘You've got the ultimate control. But if you're going to do this, this is exactly what is likely to happen. And in my judgment…if you do this, you might fail,’” Miller said.
Such frank internal debate, he argued, depends on advisers willing to risk the consequences.
“Trump had four secretaries of defense in his first term. He had six national security advisors [during his two terms]. They know what happens if they embarrass the president or they become a problem.”
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Term "Pharisee" as a pejorative is anti semitic AI
In April 2026, Pete Hegseth, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, drew criticism for comparing the American press to the Pharisees. Critics, including journalist Gretchen Carlson, argued that Hegseth used this religious comparison to shame reporters for asking questions and to accuse them of political bias.
The Context of the Term "Pharisee"
The term "Pharisee" is often used in Christian contexts as a synonym for "hypocrite" or "legalist," based on New Testament descriptions of religious leaders who opposed Jesus. However, its use as an insult is frequently criticized as antisemitic for several reasons:
Erasure of Modern Judaism: Modern Rabbinic Judaism is the direct descendant of the Pharisaic tradition. Using the term pejoratively can be seen as an attack on the foundational history of Jewish people today.
Harmful Stereotypes: The pejorative usage reinforces "anti-Jewish invective" and the "myth of a Jesus totally divorced from Judaism". It often characterizes Jews as being obsessed with "stodgy laws" rather than spiritual "spirit".
Historical Persecution: This negative framing has historically fueled sentiments of Jews as "opponents of Jesus' message," which contributed to centuries of persecution and oppression.
Recent Similar Controversies
Hegseth is not the first political figure to face backlash for this term. In 2019, Pete Buttigieg stopped using the word after Jewish organizations educated his campaign on why it was considered offensive and insensitive. Similarly, religious figures like Pope Francis have urged against the pejorative use of the term, noting that it often lacks a concrete basis in the Gospel accounts and fosters negative images of the Jewish faith.
Hegseth compares media to Jewish biblical group that clashed with Jesus
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5834226-hegseth-media-iran-war-criticism/?tbref=hp
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday complained about an “endless stream of garbage” from the media in its coverage of the Iran war, comparing the Pentagon press corps to the Pharisees, the biblical Jewish group that often clashed with Jesus.
“The Pharisees — the so-called and self-appointed elites of their time — they were there to witness, to write everything down, to report,” the Defense chief continued. “But … even though they witnessed a literal miracle, it didn’t matter. They were only there to explain away the goodness in pursuit of their agenda.”
He added that reporters “are just like these Pharisees,” as “politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors.”
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Trump’s war with Iran has left prospects for North Korea talks on life support -Will Trump bomb North Korea?
Over a month into the U.S. war with Iran, the repercussions for North Korea are coming into focus, and they aren’t good.
The U.S. decision to attack an adversary in the middle of nuclear talks — going so far as to take out its leadership — will be raising alarm bells in Pyongyang.
For one, the developments in Iran once again confirm what North Korean decision-makers have believed for decades: Nuclear deterrence is the only reliable guarantee of both national survival and regime security.
One can argue that the attack itself was triggered by Iran’s pursuit of such a deterrent. But from Pyongyang’s perspective, Iran has now joined the long list of states that were attacked and devastated because they failed to go nuclear while they still had the chance.
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