Teshuvos Vhanhagos 02:412) Question: Is it permitted to look at a clock on a Church for the correct time? Answer: It would appear that there is no problem with this since is was not made for the sake of idolatry but because many people pass by and it is on a high place so that it is easily seen. And therefore it was placed there as a public service and thus it would not be considered as serving idolatry or even drawing attention to idolatry. Though the Minchas Eliezar is lenient in such cases he nonetheless says it is best to be strict in practice. However it really should be prohibited according to halacha since it draws attention to idolatry as it is referred to as the Church clock. Our Sages learn from the verse, Do not to mention the name of other gods that it is prohibited to say “Wait for me next to a certain avoda zara.”as that gives it significance so surely one should not use something attached to idolatry. But perhaps in modern times when a clock is very common and everyone wears a watch, a clock on a church provides no attention to idolatry. However since it is still associated with idolatry it should still be prohibited. In addition if the clock is viewed as useful than that means that people want to preserve the church in order to be able to see the clock which is a separate prohibition Perhaps that doesn’t make it associated with idolatry but is merely a desire to have a clock in a high structure> Nevertheless there is a clear requirement to destroy idolatry and that which serves it but perhaps that only applies to |Israel where it is a mitzva to active search and destroy idolatry. In conclusion it is best to prohibit the use of a church clock since it is a separate mitzva to despise idolatry and when one benefits it is harder to despise
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Rabbis Mamdani invited to City Hall tell him his Israel rhetoric is ‘causing harm’
https://forward.com/news/844343/mamdani-rabbis-new-york-jews-israel/
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani heard a clear message Monday from rabbis with widely different views on Israel: His public statements denouncing Israel and its prime minister are hurting Jewish New Yorkers and making it harder for them to work with him on shared priorities.
The message came during an hour-long, closed-door roundtable at City Hall that included 10 rabbis from Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Modern Orthodox congregations invited by Mamdani to share their perspectives on how to combat antisemitism.
Many of the rabbis, she noted, are themselves “highly critical of Israel,” but approach that criticism from a connection to the country. They urged Mamdani to highlight Israelis and Palestinians working together, acknowledge greater complexity in the situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, and consider moving the public conversation toward issues where City Hall and Jewish leaders can work together.
Trump redoubles effort to shrink recommended vaccines ahead of midterm elections
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/10/trump-childhood-vaccine-executive-order-01031314
The move comes months ahead of the midterm elections on an issue that Trump’s own pollsters have warned is unpopular, but that the president has long shown a personal interest in. The president’s endeavors have been thrown into high gear by his allegiance with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has questioned vaccine safety for decades.
Kennedy’s January overhaul to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s schedule — which mirrored the changes in Monday’s executive order — was quickly blocked by a federal district judge in Boston, who said the administration didn’t follow proper procedure when Kennedy replaced an independent panel of vaccine experts with his own picks.
Though many in the Trump administration believe there is a connection between vaccines and autism, decades of scientific research has found no such link. Last year, a nation-wide cohort study of more than a million children in Denmark found no link between aluminum-adsorbed vaccines and a host of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder.
As he signed the order, Trump described the combination MMR vaccine as “quite lethal.” Asked by a reporter whether he had any evidence to back up his claim, Trump said no.
Trump order calls for fewer childhood vaccines
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6021147-trump-executive-order-mmr-vaccine/
Without evidence, Trump also claimed that the MMR vaccine could be “quite lethal” in its combined form, despite decades of evidence showing otherwise. Trump said the three vaccines are very effective when separate.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician who voted to confirm Kennedy last year despite his uneasiness over Kennedy’s history as an anti-vaccine activist, immediately criticized the order.
“This executive order is wrong. The President does not have the expertise to make these changes. Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism,” Cassidy wrote on X. “Breaking up vaccines will mean children have to get more shots to get the same protection, not fewer shots. It will increase hesitancy and make children less safe.”
Trump demands major changes to childhood vaccine recommendations
President Donald Trump on Monday made his most significant attempt yet to reshape how Americans vaccinate their children, signing an executive order that called for cutting the number of recommended childhood vaccines, spacing out those shots and making other changes that would upend decades of federal guidance.
Speaking in the Oval Office, the president reiterated his long-held claim that childhood vaccines have led to a rise in U.S. autism cases, an idea that outside researchers have largely debunked. Trump also mused on the current number of childhood vaccines and said reducing their frequency was “common sense.”
“Large amounts — like vats — of vaccine are currently pumped into your child’s body,” Trump said in the Oval Office, flanked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other administration officials.
The president’s plan was immediately criticized by scientists, physicians, Democrats and some congressional Republicans, who said the order was dangerous and warned that it could lead to fewer children receiving vaccines against preventable diseases.
Monday, August 10, 2026
Basketball in Church Hall
Igros Moshe (OC4:40:26) Question: Is it permissible for children to play basketball in a hall which is part of a church? Answer. It is certainly prohibited even if it doesn’t have images since we are to distance far from anything connected to idolatry. It is important to teach our children to stay away from such a disgusting place. Even if this is needed for a Jewish school even if it requires spending more money for another place
Trump Claim That Muslims Don't Assimilate Is 'False,' PolitiFact Finds
Hannity said that Muslims have different religious and cultural practices than many Americans. He asked Trump, “If you grow up (as a Muslim overseas) and you want to come to America, how do we vet somebody's heart and ascertain if they're coming here for freedom or if they want to proselytize, indoctrinate and bring their theocracy with them?”
Trump responded, “Assimilation has been very hard. It's almost — I won't say nonexistent, but it gets to be pretty close. And I'm talking about second and third generation. They come — they don't — for some reason, tWe concluded that the implication of what Trump said — that Muslims want to isolate themselves from the mainstream American culture — is flat wrong. However, we also learned that the question involves some important nuance. In particular, the task of “assimilation” facing post-1960s immigrants to America is more complicated than, and thus distinct from, what it was for white, Christian, European immigrants who came to the United States in prior generations.
We concluded that the implication of what Trump said — that Muslims want to isolate themselves from the mainstream American culture — is flat wrong. However, we also learned that the question involves some important nuance. In particular, the task of “assimilation” facing post-1960s immigrants to America is more complicated than, and thus distinct from, what it was for white, Christian, European immigrants who came to the United States in prior generations.
The data and the experts agree that Trump is wrong. Substantial evidence confirms that Muslim Americans want to have an American identity and think that doing so is achievable. In fact, their preferences for self-identification mirror those of Christian Americans.
The data and the experts agree that Trump is wrong. Substantial evidence confirms that Muslim Americans want to have an American identity and think that doing so is achievable. In fact, their preferences for self-identification mirror those of Christian Americans.
The immigrants you fear are just like your ancestors. Don’t fall for political scare tactics.
https://thehill.com/opinion/4882760-immigrant-assimilation-america/
Growing up in New Jersey as an Indian-American kid during the 1980s and 1990s, I dealt with bigotry and prejudice. But the person who understood most what I was going through was my 80-year-old Italian American piano teacher, Mrs. Baldino.
Talking to her, I realized that what I endured was remarkably similar to what she had gone through through growing up in the 1920s and 1930s. It was confusing to me, however, because some of the kids who gave me a hard time were Italian Americans. Mrs. Baldino explained to me, “They always forget what their grandparents went through.”
15 Myths About Immigration Debunked
https://carnegie.org/article/15-myths-about-immigration-debunked/
Garnel IronheartAugust 9, 2026 at 8:21 PM
But whereas 100 years ago people washed up on America's shores and said "I want to be American!", they now say "I want to change America into the hellhole I just left!"
MYTH #6: “Today’s immigrants don’t assimilate as immigrants from previous eras did.”
FACT: Immigrants to the United States — including Mexicans — are assimilating as well as or better than immigrant groups from Europe over a hundred years ago.
Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s 15-Point Peace Plan for Gaza
https://time.com/article/2026/08/09/netanyahu-says-israel-to-reject-trumps-plan-for-gaza/
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that his country rejects U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest peace plan for Gaza.
The 15-point plan, issued by Trump’s Board of Peace, envisioned a phased peace process. Through it, Hamas would gradually cede its weapons and power to a new Palestinian administration, while Israel would withdraw its troops to the “yellow line” established in the ceasefire deal both sides signed in October 2025.
When it was released by the Board of Peace on July 31, Netanyahu remained silent for multiple days and then acknowledged that the Trump Administration had “sent us a draft.”
Sunday, August 9, 2026
Weak jobs report clouds economy as Trump barrels toward midterms
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6017947-trump-economy-jobs-report-inflation/
New clouds darkened the economic landscape on Friday, as the latest employment report showed the nation shedding 23,000 jobs in July.
The number came as an unpleasant surprise to most economists. The consensus prediction from experts canvassed by Dow Jones had been that more than 80,000 jobs would be created.
Democrats pounced on the number to reinforce their case that President Trump is mismanaging the economy.
Blanche set to lead a Justice Department shaped to serve Trump
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/08/08/politics/senate-todd-blanche-attorney-general
Since Trump re-entered the Oval Office, Blanche has been instrumental in reshaping the department in the president’s image, effectively switching from being the face of Trump’s defense to the face of his far-reaching retribution campaign.
Senate narrowly approves Todd Blanche as AG, capping tough confirmation fight
The Senate narrowly voted to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general early Saturday morning, cementing President Donald Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer as the head of the Justice Department despite rare pushback from Republicans that had left his nomination in doubt.
Explaining his decision, Cassidy described it as a choice between Blanche — who before his time as Trump’s personal lawyer had spent years as a federal prosecutor and a partner at a prestigious Manhattan law firm — and the possibility that Trump might pick someone worse.
Since returning to the White House last year, the president has eroded the Justice Department’s long tradition of independence, demanding it pursue prosecutions of his political enemies and directing resources toward rewarding his allies.