Michael Steele: Trump's Reality Show State Of The Union A 'Warm Up' To 2020 | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

Acosta: A state of the base speech, not a State of the Union speech

A dozen soldiers wounded in Jerusalem terror attack, 1 critical

https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Three-injured-in-Jerusalem-ramming-attack-report-616681

  At least 12 Golani Brigade soldiers were wounded overnight in what Israel Police are investigating as a terror attack. 

Preliminary reports said that the soldiers were returning from their IDF inauguration when a car rammed into them on David Remez St. near Jerusalem's First Station and then drove away. Security forces found the suspect's vehicle parked in a driveway in Beit Jala, near Bethlehem.

Pelosi Says She Tore Up Trump's 'Manifesto of Mistruths' as Dems Label His Speech a 'Right-Wing Reality Show'

https://www.newsweek.com/manifesto-mistruths-pelosi-trump-spotlight-right-wing-reality-show-1485776

In a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday morning, Pelosi received a standing ovation, according to a Democratic aide in the room.

"I tried to find one page I could spare that didn't have a lie on it," she said, according to the aide. "About a quarter through it, I thought, 'You know, he's selling a bill of goods like a snake oil salesman. We cannot let this stand.' So, somewhere along the way, realizing what was coming, I started to stack my papers in a way that were tear-able."

 

Susan Collins' beyond-laughable explanation for her impeachment vote

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/05/politics/susan-collins-trump-impeachment/index.html

Had Collins left it there, she would have been fine. But she didn't leave it there. In an interview with CBS' Norah O'Donnell, Collins said "I believe that the President has learned from this case" and that Trump "will be much more cautious in the future."

 

All of which makes Collins' feeble attempt to defend her vote for acquittal frankly laughable. She has every right to say that she doesn't think that Trump committed impeachable crimes. And that convicting him would set a dangerous precedent for future presidents.

But attempting to suggest that this whole impeachment investigation has been some sort of teachable moment for Trump and that he "has learned from this case"? Give me a break. No one -- including Collins -- believes that.

Religious Exemption Without Religious Capitulation

BS"D

Encouraging News for Religious Girls in Israel: Another Religious Exemption Without Religious Capitulation

10 Shvat, 5780 °° Wed., Feb. 5, '20

By Binyomin Feinberg

feinbergbinyomin@gmail.com

~~~~~~~~~~~

1. B"H, this Sunday, sources involved in the case of a female Refusenik seeking to avoid the Israeli military draft received notification of the approval of her religious exemption. This success occurred despite - rather, probably precisely because of - her refusal to submit to a Rayon Dat, despite complications of her case. (Details of her identity are not being published at this time, to protect her privacy.)

2. One organization that had been involved in discussions about the case initially suggested that, in her specific situation - in which her previous religious certification was disqualified - she may need to opt to submit to a Rayon Dat. However, another organization, Irgun Shomrei Torah, was insistent that a Rayon Dat is not an option. As per the advice of the latter organization, this young lady, from a Chareidi family, persued her religious exemption without submitting to a Rayon Dat. BE"H, she prevailed.

3. She is just one of many female Refuseniks who, despite clearly disadvantaged situations, persist in fighting for their exemptions without sacrificing Halacha by submitting to a Rayon Dat.

~~~

Rayon Dat Interviews:

4. Religious girls who learn in nonreligious schools are generally told by the Army, and even by some Chareidi askonim - that they must (or should) submit to a Rayon Dat. A Rayon Dat is an interview, or interrogation, to determine eligibility for a religious exemption.

5. However, in reality, even if a girls studied in a non-religious school, she not only need not do so - a clear understanding of what's involved leads to the inescapable conclusion that a girl definitely should not submit to any such meeting - or even enter the Draft Offices.

6. Merely entering the Draft Office is prohibited on more than one basis. Firstly, most people don't grasp the extent to which the entire setup in those offices is geared towards drafting the girls into the military (see further, and Talmud Avoda Zorah 17a, 27b).

7. Secondly, the girls enter into a serious Yichud situation there, another reality which similarly evades public scrutiny (for some odd reason).

8. Practically speaking, entering the Draft Offices is downright dangerous. Professional, seasoned draft officers confine the girls or women in intimidating isolation (sometimes disabling even phone communication), sometimes for hours on end. They meticulously analyze each religious girl. They seek out and identify any susceptibilities to pressure, threats, deception, or incentives. The draft officials then exploit those weaknesses to their fullest, often employing a blended "Carrot-and-Stick" strategy. Their aim is to ensure that no (targeted) girl is "left out" of the Army, the societal melting pot.

9. In addition, the draft officers possess both the authority and the ability to have the girls on premises arrested on the spot, almost at whim. These officers also have ample opportunity to exploit their positions to pressure these females (often teenagers) into illicit conduct. For that reason alone, there is a formidable "Yichud" (seclusion between the genders, prohibited by Jewish Law) objection to merely entering the premises.

~~~

"New Halacha:" (sic)

"Going where no man dare go..."

10. Somewhat surprisingly, there are some activists who actually encourage ostensibly "weaker" girls to enter the Draft Offices. They argue that if the girls don't cooperate with Army directives to submit to a Rayon Dat, then the Army will play "hardball," denying the girl the legal right to apply for a religious exemption. Then the girl will need to employ diligent resistance, perhaps even civil disobedience in ignoring Army directives to enlist. These activists express the pronounced, perhaps hyperinflated fear that girls whom they somehow deem to be "weaker" will be unable to withstand the challenge over time, and may eventually succumb to enlist in the military.

11. To avoid the possibility (clearly not a certainty) of a few girls eventually breaking and enlisting, these activists propose waiving the long-standing prohibition against entering the Draft Offices, a prohibition stridently articulated by world renowned Torah Sages of the previous and current generations, and articulated without the aforementioned suggested exceptions of "weaker girls." And some activists advocate doing so en masse, for many girls, all ostensibly to save to the individual girls who may not withstand the standoff with the Draft Office, "Maitav."

12. Moreover, some activists have been known to ACTIVELY DIRECT girls into the Draft Offices, and to submit to a Rayon Dat, or even to submit to worse procedures, e.g. military draft "Hearings" and promiscuous military "medical exams" "supervised" by male "staff*."

13. (*Note: In many countries, the latter immodest "medical procedures" would be criminal offences punishable by law, on account of illicit and unnecessary exposure of females to male spectators. However, in the secularist-run Israeli Army, unfortunately, the hedonistic "Mizron Tzahali" male-female military paradigm appears to prevail over basic human decency. Yes, "Equality" is indeed invoked by the Army - but that's to integrate women collectively - while simultaneously denigrating and mistreating women as individuals, individuals who truly deserve protection, privacy, dignity and respect.)

~~~

A Partial Response:

There are multiple arguments against the aforementioned novel Halachic "innovation." Suffice it to present a few points for now.

14. In reality, the LAST girls to send into the Draft Offices are girls that may be susceptible to their deception, pressure, and other conscription techniques, as explained above (#8). Said weaknesses of girls should militate towards strengthening them, over time, enabling them to resist Army intimidation and harassment - not submitting them to those trained and empowered to most efficiently exploit the girls and their weaknesses.

15. Moreover, Gedolim and poskim of the stature to override the decisions of Torah giants like Rav Bengis, the Brisker Rov, the Chazon Ish, Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, OB"M, etc. are hard to find nowadays, to grandly understate. (Furthermore, we are not aware of one single Gadol or posaik who has posited such a Halachic dispensation for sending girls into the Draft Offices, or to any such military interviews, and by all indications there are none.)

16. There are other arguments against allowing girls into Draft Offices, even "le'shitosom" of those who argue it should be permitted when there is ostensibly "no alternative." One argument was exemplified by Lital bas Miriam, now imprisoned over three weeks in Military Prison Four. In her case, as reported here, she was directed to submit to a Rayon Dat, years ago. Apparently, due to the pervasive ignorance about the prohibition and danger of such interviews, she agreed. This provided the interviewing draft officer an opportunity to trip Lital up on something she had no obligation to know, as we reported last week. Thereby, draft officers fraudulently manufactured a "legal" basis to rob Lital of her entitlement to a Religious Exemption, something they would have been unable to legally perpetrate without subjecting her to a Rayon Dat.

In the wake of succumbing to that Army subterfuge many years ago, she's been languishing in jail for about three weeks now.

17. Speaking of Equality:

A Tale of Two Tyrannies:

As reported last week, a religious girl from France, Rivka Noa bas Yehudis (note correction of name) has been incarcerated for over TWO MONTHS in Military Prison Six, all for a technicality -- allegedly submitting her religiosity cerification late.

But the Draft Office has no such concern over their OWN responsibility to comply with the law, specifically their obligation to RESPOND to girls about their draft exemption status, in wake of their filling for religious exemptions.

~~~~

Recent Posts:

(Parshas Bo)

http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/01/righteous-outrage-goes-international.html

~~~

http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/01/from-behind-israeli-iron-curtain.html *

* correction: Rivka No'ah bas Yehudis is the name of the religious girl who came from France, imprisoned over two MONTHS in Military Prison Six, in the North.

~~~

https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2020/01/spiritual-auschwitz.html

Demo Photos:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nTJT9255QwfrfYLMJ3_NaE8woQPF70MC

Pentagon officials stunned by White House decision to block Ukraine aid, new emails show

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/05/politics/emails-pentagon-alarm-ukraine-aid/index.html

The new information underscores how the July 18th decision to hold the military aid stunned officials, who had already assessed Ukraine deserved to receive it and were preparing a Javelin missile order as well. The decision reverberated across the government for weeks. Officials grew so concerned over the deferrals by the Office of Management and Budget that they noted the aid was at "serious risk," and questioned if the move was illegal.

Rep. Tim Ryan Walks Out Of State Of The Union: ‘Give Me A Break!’ | The Last Word | MSNBC

Steven Rattner: Job Growth Under Trump Slower Than It Was Under Obama | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Joe: How Do You Call It A Good Speech If It's Fed By Lies? | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Pelosi HUMILIATES Trump during his State of the Union speech

Dershowitz cited this professor for his defense. The professor says he's wrong

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-supreme-court-tax-returns-new-york-1485676

 Siding with President Donald Trump in his quest to prevent New York prosecutors from obtaining his tax return, the Justice Department filed a new brief with the Supreme Court on Monday arguing in favor of presidential immunity. The department defended the broad notion of immunity from cumbersome judicial proceedings by noting that the president can be held accountable in other ways, such as through impeachment, scrutiny from the press, and his desire to maintain a positive reputation.

After noting the broad scope of immunity the Justice Department has previously determined applies to the president on questions of arrest and indictment, the filing observes "a wide range of 'alternative remedies and deterrents' to presidential wrongdoing" that fall outside strict judicial action.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is seeking Trump's personal tax returns by way of the president's accounting firm, Mazars USA, as part of a state criminal investigation into potential violations of New York record-keeping laws.

Jewish Protester Removed From Donald Trump Jr Iowa Speech After Shouting: 'More Jews Are Being Gunned Down Every Year'

https://www.newsweek.com/jewish-activist-removed-trump-rally-iowa-1485531

As Donald Jr. was mocking 2020 Democratic hopeful Mike Bloomberg, Glickman stood and began shouting, "I'm an American Jew and ever since your father was elected president, more and more Jews are being gunned down every year."

Here Are the Facts Behind President Trump's 2020 State of the Union Claims

https://time.com/5777914/fact-check-state-of-the-union-2020/

 During his speech, President Trump credited his administration’s “bold regulatory reduction campaign” with turning the United States into “the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far.”

But it isn’t clear that Trump can claim sole credit for increasing the country’s energy output.

Much of the United States’ recent increase in energy production is due to technological innovation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Higher-producing horizontal wells are becoming more common, for instance. While the number of natural gas- and oil-producing wells declined from 1,035,000 in 2014 to 982,000 in 2018, oil and gas production continued to increase.

Moreover, Trump’s policies have been a “mixed bag” for the industry, Kyle Isakower, vice president for regulatory and economic policy at the American Petroleum Institute, told NPR in August. He noted that Trump’s steel tariffs have driven up costs, for instance.

הפרשה שהסעירה: בית הדין דחה את טענות הבעל

https://www.bhol.co.il/news/1075552

 בית הדין הרבני הגדול לערעורים דחה היום את טענותיו של מי שמכונה 'הגביר המעגן' באחת מפרשיות העיגון הקשות עמה מתמודדים במערכת בתי הדין הרבניים

 

Joe: Slow GDP Growth Undermines What Trump Says About His Success | Morning Joe | MSNBC

The art of no deal: Who’s subverting Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan?

https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-art-of-no-deal-whos-subverting-trumps-israeli-palestinian-peace-plan/

 The document published by the White House last Tuesday broke ground in taking seriously many Israeli concerns that were marginalized, if not ignored, in previous peace efforts. Critically, it was predicated on the imperative that the rise of a Palestinian state in no way undermine or threaten Israel’s security, and that the US would only ask Israel to consider compromises that would make the country and its people “more secure in the short and long term.” It also included innumerable elements guaranteed to infuriate the Palestinians — radically constraining their future sovereign rights, denying them significant status in Jerusalem, refusing their demand for a “right of return” for refugees, and plenty more.

 

What happened that caused Netanyahu's annexation blunder

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/What-happened-that-caused-the-Netanyahus-annexation-blunder-616408

 Both were in for a surprise. Their visits to Washington did not go as planned. Netanyahu’s annexation promise came crashing down and Gantz’s visit was tainted by its own mishaps and power plays.

Republican Senator Warns Trump Impeachment 'Opened' Door for GOP to Impeach Biden Over Ukraine If He Becomes President

https://www.newsweek.com/republican-senator-warns-trump-impeachment-opened-door-gop-impeach-biden-over-ukraine-if-he-1485321

 

In an interview with Bloomberg News, Ernst cautioned Biden to be "careful," before revealing that Republicans may immediately move to impeach the former vice president if he wins the 2020 election.

"I think this door of impeachable whatever has been opened," the senator said. "Joe Biden should be very careful what he's asking for because, you know, we can have a situation where if it should ever be President Biden, that immediately, people, right the day after he would be elected would be saying, 'Well, we're going to impeach him.'"

Biden can be impeached "for being assigned to take on Ukrainian corruption yet turning a blind eye to Burisma because his son was on the board making over a million dollars a year," Ernst explained.

Half of Israelis: Trump plan intended to help Netanyahu win

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Half-of-Israelis-Trump-plan-intended-to-help-Netanyahu-win-616299

  US President Donald Trump introduced his "Deal of the Century" plan last week in order to interfere in the March 2 Israeli election and help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerge victorious, about half the respondents said in a new poll of the Israel Democracy Institute published on Monday.

Justice Department acknowledges 24 emails showing details of Trump’s thinking on Ukraine aid hold

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-02-01/justice-dept-acknowledges-24-emails-showing-trumps-thinking-on-ukraine-aid-hold

 

The Trump administration says in a court filing that two dozen emails revealing details of President Trump’s decision-making regarding withholding military assistance to Ukraine, which goes to the heart of his impeachment, are protected from a lawsuit under “presidential privilege.”

 

Half of U.S. Voters Support Removing Trump From Office, New Poll Finds

 https://www.newsweek.com/poll-impeachment-trump-removal-senate-morning-consult-politico-1485249

A new poll from Morning Consult and Politico, conducted January 29-30, found that, while a substantial portion of the nation supports conviction and removal, just 43 percent of voters want the Senate to acquit. Eight percent of respondents had no opinion.

Fox News judge: Senators who vote to suppress "the truth" are not "faithful to the Constitution"

https://www.salon.com/2020/01/31/fox-news-judge-senators-who-vote-to-suppress-the-truth-are-not-faithful-to-the-constitution/

 Judge Andrew Napolitano, a Fox News contributor and frequent critic of President Donald Trump, wrote an editorial Thursday, which asked Republican senators who refuse to call witnesses for Trump's impeachment trial the following: "How can the Senate be faithful to the Constitution if it suppresses the truth?"

After reviewing the history of the separation of powers established in the U.S. Constitution, Napolitano wrote that "in the case of impeachment of the president, the Constitution gives 'sole power' to the House of Representatives. In the case of an impeachment trial, the Constitution gives exclusivity to the Senate. There is no place for presidential resistance or judicial interference, so long as the House and Senate arguably follow the Constitution."

 

New Ad From Conservative Group Criticizes Sen. Martha McSally | Morning Joe | MSNBC

jews who died in plague of darkness refused to believe that redemption had arrived so soon

אמת ליעקב שמות פרק י פסוק כב
פירש"י וז"ל: ולמה הביא עליהם חשך שהיו בישראל באותו הדור רשעים ולא היו רוצים לצאת ומתו בשלשת ימי אפלה וכו'. הנה אף שבאמת כל בני הדור ההוא לא היו נחשבים כצדיקים, שהרי מצינו שטענו מלאכי השרת הללו עובדי עבודה זרה והללו עבודה זרה, הרי שהמלאכים לא היו יכולים לראות שום הבדל בין ישראל למצרים, וא"כ מדוע מתו דוקא רשעים אלו ולא כל הרשעים. ונראה משום שאלו היו רוצים לעכב בידיהם של האחרים מלצאת, דהם סברו שמכיון שקבלה בידם שישתעבדו ד' מאות שנה א"כ עדיין לא הגיע זמן הקץ, ופחדו שאם יצאו קודם הזמן אז יארע להם כמו שיארע לבני אפרים שיצאו קודם הזמן, ולא האמינו לדברי משה והזקנים שחישב ה' את הקץ בזכות האבות, ולכן המיתן הקדוש ברוך הוא. אבל הכלל כולו, אף שבעיני המלאכים היו בגדר עובדי עבודה זרה, אבל רק הקדוש ברוך הוא יש לו את הראייה למרחוק להבין שאומה זו שעכשיו הם עובדי עבודה זרה יהיו בעוד שבעה שבועות מוכנים לעמוד בהר סיני ולומר "נעשה ונשמע", ופנימיות כזו גם המלאכים אין מרגישים בה, עד שהוצרך הקדוש ברוך הוא להוכיח את זה למדת הדין על ידי מה שהראה להם ארונו של יוסף [בראשית רבה פרשה פ"ז אות ח'], והיינו שהוכיח להם שאומה זו תוך תוכם ממקור אחר נחצב, וביארתי זה היטב להלן בדברינו ריש פרשת בשלח [י"ג פי"ט], עיין שם.
ונצייר נא לעצמנו מה היתה הרגשתם של בני ישראל במשך ימי מכת חושך, שהרי רואים הם שישראל לוקין יותר מן המצרים, שבמשך ג' ימים מתו יותר מב' מליונים גברים לבד מטף וזקנים ונשים, והלא לא ידעו טעם מכה זו, ובודאי שהיו ישראל תמהין ואומרין מה זה עשה ד' לנו. וזוהי נחמתנו במצב זה2 שאנו מתרעמין כביכול על הנהגת השי"ת בנוגע לכלל ישראל, אבל לפ"ז משמע שאנו קרובין לגאולה..

Laurence Tribe: Dershowitz Defense Of Trump ‘Extreme’ And ‘Dangerous’ | The Last Word | MSNBC

Sen. Lamar Alexander Makes 'Preposterous' Statement About Impeachment | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Chris Cuomo: You should be mad as hell

Trump's Impeachment Trial Could Be in Its Final Hours After Key Republican Falls in Line to Block Witnesses - a Pyrrhic victory!

https://time.com/5775031/trumps-impeachment-trial-could-be-in-its-final-hours-after-key-republican-falls-in-line-to-block-witnesses/

President Donald Trump could be headed for a speedy acquittal in his Senate impeachment trial after Republicans secured assurances from a key lawmaker late Thursday night that he would not break with the party to request additional evidence and testimony.

A Pyrrhic victory (/ˈpɪrɪk/ (listen) PIRR-ik) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Someone who wins a Pyrrhic victory has also taken a heavy toll that negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress.

How Trump has destroyed the Republican party

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/21/us/politics/trump-impeachment-republicans.ht

Just under four years after he began his takeover of a party to which he had little connection, Mr. Trump enters 2020 burdened with the ignominy of being the first sitting president to seek re-election after being impeached.

But he does so wearing a political coat of armor built on total loyalty from G.O.P. activists and their representatives in Congress. If he does not enjoy the broad admiration Republicans afforded Ronald Reagan, he is more feared by his party’s lawmakers than any occupant of the Oval Office since at least Lyndon Johnson.

“Trump is emotionally, intellectually and psychologically unfit for office, and I’m sure a lot of Republicans feel the same way,” Mr. Trott said. “But if they say that, the social media barrage will be overwhelming.” He added that he would be open to the presidential candidacy of former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York.

If the Senate Doesn't Hold Trump Accountable, the Damage Will Go Far Beyond This Presidency

https://time.com/5773796/donald-trump-impeachment-accountability/

 From the beginning, candidate Trump got away with behavior that was unimaginable for others. He got a pass for making fun of a reporter with a disability. He got away with calling Mexicans rapists and criminals. He was excused for attacking a Gold Star family because they were Muslim. His supporters even found a way to defend him when a videotape where he boasted about sexual assaults became public. But this conduct happened within the realm of politics­—it was up to voters to decide whether to countenance Trump’s behavior. They chose, at that point, to accept it.

Should the President emerge from impeachment, secure in the belief he has unlimited Article II powers of the presidency, we are headed for an unfortunate lesson about the absence of executive-branch accountability. What will Trump feel emboldened to do after an impeachment acquittal? What won’t he do to win the next election? Without accountability there is no reason to believe this President or future ones will conform their behavior to the restraints imposed by the Constitution. And this moment, where the Senate has the chance the Founding Fathers provides them with in the Constitution to restore the balance of power, will be lost.

Erekat: The plan of the Netanyahu and the settlers

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/275330

 Senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official Saeb Erekat on Wednesday blasted US President Donald Trump's “Deal of the Century”, calling it "a plan of Netanyahu and the council of the settlers."

Speaking in an interview with Oded Ben Ami on Channel 12 News, Erekat claimed, "What you heard last night from Trump is what I heard from Netanyahu and his negotiating team in 2011-2012.”

 

Will He or Won't He? John Bolton's Potential Testimony Hangs Over First Day of Questions in Trump's Impeachment Trial

https://time.com/5774160/bolton-testimony-trump-impeachment-trial/

Democrats drove at that point in their very first question, putting the focus squarely on Trump’s former National Security Advisor. “John R. Bolton’s forthcoming book states that the President wanted to continue withholding $391 million in military aid to Ukraine until Ukraine announced investigations into his top political rival and the debunked conspiracy theory about the 2016 election,” read the question by Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and posed to the House managers. “Is there any way for the Senate to render a fully informed verdict in this case without hearing the testimony of Bolton, Mulvaney and the other key eyewitnesses or without seeing the relevant documentary evidence?”

 

'GAME OVER,' Trump declares, as old Bolton, Schiff videos surface amid Senate impeachment trial

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schiff-bolton-lack-credibility-senate-impeachment-trial

A string of newly resurfaced video clips of former national security adviser John Bolton spurred President Trump and his supporters Wednesday to highlight what they described as serious credibility questions -- raised by both Democrats and Republicans -- amid the Senate impeachment trial, as the president tweeted, "GAME OVER!"

 

Trump Reignites Claim Mexico Will Be Paying For His Border Wall: 'Soon You Will Find Out

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-reignites-claims-mexico-will-pay-border-wall-1484585

Speaking to supporters at a campaign rally at the Wildwoods Convention Center Oceanfront in Wildwood, New Jersey, on Tuesday, the president celebrated a recent court victory allowing him to push forward with plans to use $3.6 billion in military construction funds for the development of his border wall.

"The money is won," Trump said. "And we are now building that beautiful wall."

The wall, the president said, "is going up at record speed," with the project having just surpassed 100 miles.

 

While Trump fell short of reiterating his 450-mile goal, he did reignite another promise from the past: to make Mexico pay for his wall.

From Behind The Israeli Iron Curtain

BS"D

Breaking News from Behind the Israeli Iron Curtain

(http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/01/from-behind-israeli-iron-curtain.html)

4 Shvat, 5780 °° Jan. 30, '20 (v.2)


By Binyomin Feinberg,

FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com

~~~~~~~~~~~

To check for updates, on first view of this article, as well as throughout the week,  please visit https://saveHischildren.blogspot.com -


or/and see updates for month of Teves '80:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LDLjvECWQExYoGjqIrbZtWALp6MpkHq22ihNz2BLuYM/edit?usp=sharing

~~~~~

### Breaking News:  ###

1.  Lital bas Miriam (https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2020/01/when-criminal-justice-is-truly-crimina.html), now languishing in Israeli Military Prison Four for about 17 days (since her arrest on Jan.13), had her hearing scheduled for yesterday (Wed., Jan. 29) delayed yet again, until next Tuesday, Feb. 4. That is essentially one more way a keeping an innocent religious young lady in military jail, under often brutal conditions (see above link) - without Due Process.

2.  Moreover, the government is reportedly seeking to hit her with an outrageous 81 day prison sentence.

3.  One would think the government would want to dispatch with this courageous Refusenik quickly. However, that will apparently only occur if concerned people continue to pressure the Israeli government, by exposing their ongoing abuse of this and other Refusenik girls (like Tal-Yah bas Rus and Yehudis Noah, see below).

4.  To remind the readers, Lital's abuse by the Army was triggered by her agreement to submit to a Religiosity Interview (apparently in absence of any warning about the prohibition and dangers involved) -  NINE years ago.

5.  In the wake of that meeting, the Army refused to honor her legal entitlement to an automatic religious exemption, on the pretext that she didn't answer a particular question pertaining to "Kriyas HaTorah," the ritual reading of the Torah (in the synagogue, with a quorum of ten adult males).

6. "Kriyas HaTorah" is an obligation incumbent on men, from which women are exempt, under Jewish Law (perhaps Maitav is more stringent that our Sages on this matter).

7.  Thus, a girl seeking to secure her religious exemption should not be asked questions on that topic, period. Moreover, failure to answer such questions means precisely nothing, especially when it comes to questioning her religiosity.

8.  The rank absurdity of this charade is somewhat ironic - in light of the fact that the primary exception to the exemption of women from the ritual reading of the Torah is the obligation to hear "Parshas Zachor" (D'varim 25:17-19, at the end of Kee-Saitzai). That brief section exhorts us about the obligation incumbent on all Jews to safeguard our timeless emnity towards Amalek, the embodiment of Evil for the sake of Evil, the ageless paradigm of Rebellion against G-d Himself. To be fair, the Draft Office (Maitav) should mandate asking questions about one of the most foundational texts on the subject of Amalek, being Rav Elchonon Wasserman, in his "Kovetz He'Oros" on Yevamos, Aggadah section, ch. 10, #1-6.  A perusal of that essay will clarify precisely why Maitav would opt to recuse themselves from that "uncomfortable" topic, out of conflict of interest.

9.  Recently, information on other  incarcerated girls has trickled out, out of what has assumed the contours of the Iron Curtain, i.e. the Israeli military prison system, from which information is often very difficult to extract.

Yehudis Noah, a religious immigrant from France, has just recently been discovered to have been languishing in Prison Six, in the North -- for over TWO MONTHS! There, prisoners often suffer exposure to the cold over the winter months. Our current information is that, for some reason, her religious exemption was denied, and she was compelled to enlist. Within days, she was struck with the realization  that it's impossible to remain faithful to Judaism in the Army, and therefore fled. Subsequently, she was apparently imprisoned for abandoning the very environment that compelled her to flee for her [spiritual] life.

10.  Additionally, Tal-Yah bas Rus continues to be held in Prison Four, apparently for fleeing the Army. Reportedly, she's already been held for over a month and a half, and about 15 days ago she was sentenced to 35 days in military prison.

11. Outrages like this may, G-d forbid, continue - unless even more concerned Jews increase the pressure against the government (e.g., http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/01/righteous-outrage-goes-international.html). Specifically, female demonstrations against the Israeli government drafting, harassment, incarceration, and persecution of female Refuseniks must be held at Israeli offices and events internationally, emphasizing the immoral nature of the female military draft.  Their anti-exploitation message would resonate globally.

Please stay tuned for updates.