Thursday, March 31, 2022

Russian Host Says Biden Should Be Ousted for Moscow 'Partner' Donald Trump

 https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-putin-popov-partner-donald-trump-1693210

A Russian state TV host has said that President Joe Biden should be removed from office and replaced by his predecessor Donald Trump, whom he described as a "partner" for Moscow.

Cawthorn’s orgies-and-drugs comment stirs trouble within Freedom Caucus

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/29/cawthorn-orgies-freedom-caucus-00021548

Kevin McCarthy isn’t the only senior Republican who wants to have a talk with Rep. Madison Cawthorn about his claim that some of his colleagues invited him to orgies and used cocaine.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who chairs the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus to which Cawthorn belongs, said he plans to speak to the North Carolina Republican one-on-one about the incendiary comment. Perry further indicated that Cawthorn should identify the individuals he alleges engaged in that behavior.

COVID-19 booster essential, even among individuals previously infected

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/324752

A long-term, cohort study led by researchers at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University and Ziv Medical Center in Safed has produced further insight regarding the interplay between COVID-19 infection and vaccination in providing protection over time.

Seven to nine months after the second dose of the vaccine, antibody levels throughout the cohort dropped and were comparable in all groups including among young people and those infected before vaccination. The booster, however, led to antibody levels ten times higher than after the second dose in all groups within the cohort.

The study, recently published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, further showed that all individuals, including those with hybrid immunity (infected and vaccinated) require subsequent boosters beyond the two initial COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Shulchan Aruch is the default view only when Achronim are deadlocked

from Daas Torah - translation is copyrighted

Chazon Ish (C.M. 1:1 Likutim):
Concerning the matter of the dispute over semicha in post-Talmudic times, the deciding factor in halachic matters is always according to which side has proofs which are stronger and more reasonable. Even though we normally follow the Shulchan Aruch – nevertheless were are accustomed to deviate from the Shulchan Aruch because the Achronim deviate from its rulings with correct proofs according to the understanding of the gedolim in each generation. So therefore for each halacha we are forced to study the analysis of the Achronim because intellectual reasoning is the decisive factor. However when the matter is deadlocked because the sides are equal – then we follow the disputant who is greater and that is why we accept the rulings of the Beis Yosef and Rema. So therefore in the dispute concerning semicha – according to our understanding those who rejected the new semicha are more cogent and understandable. Those who supported it are not understandable. 

Majority rule of halacha is not relevant in most cases

from Daas Torah - translation copyrigthed

Chazon Ish (Beginning of Kelayim):
It is well known that the requirement to follow the majority applies only to a beis din which is in session, but regarding scholars holding different views who lived at different times or in different places, the question of majority or minority is not relevant. In a particular area where most of the Torah derives from a particular rabbi and his disciples, and the disciples' disciples, it is correct to follow their rabbi even in a matter in which the majority (of authorities) holds a different opinion. In recent generations most of our Torah has come to us through the specific sefarim in our own teachers like Rif, Rosh, Rambam, Ramban, Rashba, Ritva, Ran, Maggid Mishne, Mordechai, and the commentaries of Rashi and Tosfos, and whenever there is a difference of opinion (and as mentioned above, majority ruling does not enter) it is in the hands of every individual Torah scholar to decide whether to take a strict view or to select particular authorities to follow; likewise, in the case where no decision has been taken and the question is still open (sofek). In addition to the fact that majority rule does not apply in the above situations, we do not even know what the majority view is, since many scholars did not put their views in writing, and many written views did not reach us. (Therefore Jewish law does not change when new manuscripts are printed which convert a minority into a majority. Despite this, the courage and insight needed to decide on a logical basis are sometimes lacking, and decisions are taken on the basis of numerical majority; but it would be better to rely on those authorities whose views have reached us in all branches of Torah. Even though we do not presume to decide between different Rishonim by conclusive logical arguments, nevertheless, the study of their arguments is a major factor in reaching a decision, and many times our master z"l (Rabbi Yosef Karo) decides in favor of one authority because his argument is convincing and removes difficulties. Our Rabbis have taught us not to abandon the use of our own intellect, and we must place great weight on intellectual comparison which is the connecting link between Creator and created.

Chazon Ish said he can disagree with Rishonim except in psak halacha

ר' אליעזר פלצינסקי (בשלום יהודה של חלק מועד, בעירובין או סוכה): יש כמה ויכוחים ארוכים עם החזו"א ובא' המכתבים כותב החזו"א : "כי אומנם לקחת חבל בתורה הוא ענין קשה ובעל גוונים רבים, לקחתי לי לחפש לעיין בג"מ עד כמה שאפשר, אף שיהיה נגד הראשונים ז"ל, ולהסתפק בידיעה לחוד שדברי רבותינו עיקר ואנחנו יתמי דיתמי, ומ"מ לא נפרוש מלברר וללבן מה שאפשר לנו לקטנותינו, וגם לקובע כן להלכה במקום שאין מפורש להיפך לענין פסק הלכה, ואם לא כן היה חסר לי עסק התורה, ואומנם זה נוגע לי לעצמי, אבל כמובן אחרים אין להם זיקה לדברי וחובתם לבחור דברי הראשונים ז"ל שהמה עיקר".

Majoririty rule in halacha

 Rosh(6:7): When a community agrees on some matter an individual has  no right to protest. Concerning this the Torah  states that one  must  follow  the majority. If you don’t agree to this principle than the community would never  have the ability to make binding  rules because you will never get unanimity on an issue.

 Shabbos (60b)       R. Mattenah — others state, R. Ahadboi b. Mattenah in R. Mattenah's name — said: The halachah is not as R. Eleazar son of R. Simeon. But that is obvious: [where] one disagrees with many, the halachah is as the majority? — You might argue, R. Eleazar son of R. Simeon's view is logical here; hence we are informed [that we do not follow him].

 Chazon Ish(150.8): In this letter he takes issue with the idea that in deciding what the halakha is poskim are bound to follow the majority opinion of previous poskim. The idea of a majority rule, he says, has no place outside of a beis din, and therefore the only place where a majority rule can determine the general psak halakha is in the Sanhedrin of 71. He points out that such a method is not found among any of the prior great poskim. Rather, he writes that in absence of a complete consensus on an issue among the early significant rishonim each posek is entitled to adopt any interpretation of the halakha that is supportable by the gemara and that has not been eliminated by a total consensus of prior poskim.

 Chazon Ish Kelayim – beginning):It is well known that the requirement to follow the majority applies only to a beis din which is in session, but regarding scholars holding different views who lived at different times or in different places, the question of majority or minority is not relevant. In a particular area where most of the Torah derives from a particular rabbi and his disciples, and the disciples' disciples, it is correct to follow their rabbi even in a matter in which the majority (of authorities) hold a different opinion. In recent generations most of our Torah has come ot us through the specific sefarim in our own teachers like Rif, Rosh, Rambam, Ramban, Rashba, Ritva, Ran, Maggid Mishne, Mordechai, and the commentaries of Rashi and Tosfos, and however there is a difference of opinion (and as mentioned above, majority ruling does not enter) it is in the hands of every individual Torah scholar to decide whether to take a strict view or to select particular authorities to follow; likewise, in the case where no decision has been taken and the question is still open (safek). In addition to the fact that majority rule does not apply in the above situations, we do not even know what the majority view is, since many scholars did not put their views in writing, and many written views did not reach us. (Therefore Jewish law does not change when new manuscripts are printed which convert a minority into a majority. Despite this, the courage and insight needed to decide on a logical basis are sometimes lacking, and decisions are taken on the basis of numerical majority; but it would be better to rely on those authorities whose views have reached us in all branches of Torah. Even though we do not presume to decide between different Rishonim by conclusive logical arguments, nevertheless,the study of their arguments is a major factor in reaching a decision, and many times our master z"l (Rabbi Yosef Karo) decides in favor of one authroity because his argument is convincing and removes difficulties. Our Rabbis have taught us not to abandon the use of our own intellect, and we must place great weight on intellectual comparison which is the connecting link between Creator and created.

 Chazon Ish (Choshen Mishpat Likutim #1 or Maaseros #13): halacha follow intellect and one must examine the decision of the achronim. If it is not clear what to do than it is accepted to follow the Shulchan Aruch/Rema

 Rambam[1](Introduction to Mishna Torah)



[1]

רמב"ם יד החזקה - הקדמה לספר יד החזקה

 נמצא, רבינא ורב אשי וחבריהם, סוף גדולי חכמי ישראל, המעתיקים תורה שבעל פה, ושגזרו גזירות, והתקינו התקנות, והנהיגו מנהגות, ופשטה גזירתם ותקנתם ומנהגותם בכל ישראל, בכל מקומות מושבותם. ואחר בית דין של רב אשי, שחיבר הגמרא, וגמרו בימי בנו, נתפזרו ישראל בכל הארצות פיזור יתר, והגיעו לקצוות ואיים הרחוקים, ורבתה קטטה בעולם, ונשתבשו הדרכים בגייסות, ונתמעט תלמוד תורה, ולא נכנסו ישראל ללמוד בישיבותיהם אלפים ורבבות, כמו שהיו מקודם, אלא מתקבצים יחידים השרידים, אשר ה' קורא, בכל עיר ועיר, ובכל מדינה ומדינה, ועוסקין בתורה, ומבינים בחיבורי החכמים כולם, ויודעים מהם דרך המשפט היאך הוא. וכל בית דין שעמד אחר הגמרא, בכל מדינה ומדינה, וגזר או התקין או הנהיג, לבני מדינתו, או לבני מדינות רבות, לא פשטו מעשיו בכל ישראל, מפני ריחוק מושבותיהם ושבוש הדרכים. והיות בית דין של אותה המדינה יחידים, ובית דין הגדול של שבעים ואחד בטל, מכמה שנים קודם חיבור הגמרא, לפיכך אין כופין אנשי מדינה זו לנהוג כמנהג מדינה האחרת, ואין אומרים לבית דין זה לגזור גזירה, שגזרה בית דין אחר במדינתו. וכן אם למד אחד מהגאונים, שדרך המשפט כך הוא, ונתבאר לבית דין אחר, שעמד אחריו, שאין זה דרך המשפט הכתוב בגמרא, אין שומעין לראשון, אלא למי שהדעת נוטה לדבריו, בין ראשון בין אחרון:

ודברים הללו, בדינים גזירות ותקנות ומנהגות, שנתחדשו אחר חיבור הגמרא. אבל כל הדברים שבגמרא הבבלי, חייבין כל ישראל ללכת בהם, וכופין כל עיר ועיר, וכל מדינה ומדינה, לנהוג בכל המנהגות, שנהגו חכמי הגמרא, ולגזור גזירותם, וללכת בתקנותם. הואיל וכל אותם הדברים שבגמרא, הסכימו עליהם כל ישראל. ואותם החכמים שהתקינו, או שגזרו, או שהנהיגו, או שדנו דין, ולמדו שהמשפט כך הוא, הם כל חכמי ישראל, או רובם, והם ששמעו הקבלה בעיקרי התורה כולה, דור אחר דור, עד משה רבינו עליו השלום:

 
In this age, with afflictions mightily intensified, the pressure of the hour weighing heavily upon everybody, when the wisdom of our wise did perish and the prudence of our prudent was hid, all commentaries, treatises, and responsa which the Gaonim compiled and considered by them as clear text are preplexities in our day and only a select few comprehend the subject matter thereof, not to speak of the Talmud itself, both the Babylonian and the Jerusalemean, the Sifra, Sifre and Tosefta, which require a broad understanding, a soul endowed with wisdom and lengthy reflection whenafter one may find the right path therein, to ascertain the things which are forbidden and the things which are permitted, or to fathom the how and why of the other laws of the Torah.

Chazon Ish: Ruach Hakodesh is intellect joined with the Divine

from Daas Torah - translation copyrighted

Chazon Ish (Letters 1:15):.. It is at the roots of our faith that all that is said in the gemora whether it is in the Mishna or gemora whether it is halacha or agada - all these things were revealed to us through the medium of prophetic power ... There is in fact a major distinction between the power of prophecy and ruach hakodesh. Prophecy transcends the human intellect entirely. Therefore, someone who has reached the level of prophecy is able to acquire wisdom directly without any intellectual effort or involvement. In contrast, ruach hakodesh requires tremendous thought and analysis until he is given additional supernatural understanding. Without this effort, this special understanding is never achieved. One of the fully accepted foundations of faith is that ruach hakodesh is critical to properly understanding the truth in the Torah that was given through prophecy. That is because Torah is not just probably true but is absolutely true. Consequently we are greatly distressed to hear any aspersions cast on the words of Chazal whether it is Halacha or agada. It is equivalent to hearing blasphemy. A person who deviates in this way is according to our tradition as one who denies the words of Chazal and his shechita is invalid and he is unfit to serve as a legal witness and other issues.

A Taste of the Chazon Ish Torah Study Method

 https://www.hyehudi.org/a-taste-of-the-chazon-ish-torah-study-method/

Broadly speaking, two “Batei Midrash”, or common learning methods are prevalent today; ‘Brisk’ and ‘Chazon Ish’. The respective approaches clearly preceded these individuals, thus Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz and Rabbi Chaim Solevechik are not the ‘Founding Fathers’ of the methods that bear their names.

Nevertheless, their powers of exposition and persuasion, their commanding scholarship, and the unique devotion displayed by each toward their own school of thought effectively turned them into the “mascots”. By now, their very names are synonymous with the various approaches (Reverse Eponym).

Sizing up Shiurim: Modern-Day Measuring—Up or Down?

 https://www.halacha2go.com/php/h2go/home2.php?number=724

Another contemporary posek, Rav Chaim Na’eh (early 20th century), extensively researched the matter, and among other calculations, based his measurements on the weight of a certain dirham (mid-Eastern coin)—a tradition going back in time to the Rambam (12th century early halachic authority). He reached an opposite conclusion: we should downsize our shiurim based on the current physical reality. Rav Chaim Na’eh’s revi’is measures 86.4 ml. At that time in Yerushalayim (where Rav Chaim was rav), this shiur was universally accepted. Today it is the common shiur in most of the world, and the Chazon Ish shiur is categorized as an extra chumrah (stringency).

The Real Shiurim – They’re Smaller Than You Think

 https://www.jewishpress.com/judaism/jewish-columns/the-real-shiurim-theyre-smaller-than-you-think/2018/03/22/

Today, many charts outline exactly how much matzah, maror, and wine must be eaten at he Seder. These shiurim, however, are significantly larger than what longstanding minhag requires.



Rav Shurkin told me that a group of Bachorim had their seder with the Steipler. He gave them matzoh which they hid and asked for more. In other words they disagreed with his view of the amount of matza needed

68 US senators press Blinken to quash open-ended UN probe into Israel

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/68-us-senators-press-blinken-to-quash-open-ended-un-probe-into-israel/

The initiative, which was led by Democrat Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland and Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, was backed by 31 Democrats and 37 Republicans.

The Biden administration rejoined the UNHCR earlier this year, after former president Donald Trump withdrew the US from the council over its alleged anti-Israel bias. Seeking to justify the reversal, the current White House has argued it was unable to influence the international dialogue on human rights without a seat at the table.

Biden administration officials have insisted they will use the renewed US membership to oppose one-sided measures targeting Israel and speak out against the 125-8-34 vote to launch the open-ended probe into Israel following last May’s war against the Hamas terror group.

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Why do Putin, Trump, Tucker Carlson and the Republican party sound so alike?

 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/29/putin-trump-tucker-carlson-republican-party

Reduced to basics, today’s oligarchs and strongmen (along with their mouthpieces and lackeys) are trying to justify their wealth and power by attacking liberal values that have shaped the west, beginning with the enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries – the values of tolerance, openness, democracy, self-government, equal rights, and the rule of law. These values are incompatible with a society of oligarchs and strongmen.

'Treachery'—Donald Trump Faces Backlash for Asking Vladimir Putin a Favor

 https://www.newsweek.com/trump-putin-hunter-biden-business-russia-1693198

Speaking to Newsweek, Thomas Gift, founding director of University College London's Centre on U.S. Politics, added: "As the rest of the world looks on at Russia's aggression in horror, Trump, in typical Trumpian fashion, sees a golden opportunity to keep his name in the headlines—and it's working.

'He was our backbone:' Relatives eulogize police officer killed in Bnei Brak attack

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-702682

Relatives and friends of Amir Houry, the police officer killed in the terrorist attack in Bnei Brak on Tuesday, eulogized him on Wednesday.

Houry, 32, an Arab-Israeli from Nof HaGalil, served in Israel Police's motorcycle unit. He was killed while attempting to neutralize the terrorist. He leaves behind his parents and two sisters.

Among victims of Bnei Brak terror attack: two fathers and a police officer

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/among-victims-of-bnei-brak-terror-attack-two-fathers-and-a-police-officer/

Authorities early Wednesday identified three of the five victims of a deadly terror shooting spree in Bnei Brak the previous night, including two young fathers and a police officer who helped kill the gunman.

The victims were named as officer Amir Khoury, 32; Yaakov Shalom, 36, and Avishai Yehezkel, 29.

Reports said the two other victims were foreign workers who had not been identified by Wednesday morning.

Khoury, an Arab Israeli from the northern town of Nof Hagalil, served on the Bnei Brak police station’s motorcyclist responders team.

Trump brazenly asks Putin to release dirt about Biden's family

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/29/politics/trump-putin-hunter-biden/index.html

In a new interview published Tuesday, former President Donald Trump called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release any damaging information he has about the Biden family, in a brazen request for domestic political assistance from America's top adversary.
It's the latest example of Trump's willingness to solicit and embrace domestic political help from foreign powers -- even from Putin, who is currently overseeing a bloody war against Ukraine.

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Five killed in Bnei Brak shooting

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-702649

The shooting was first reported around 8:00 p.m. on HaShnaim Street. One person was found killed in a car and two other people were killed on a sidewalk nearby.

Another person was found dead on Herzl Street, perpendicular to HaShnaim Street. A fifth victim, a police officer, was evacuated to the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in critical condition and died from his wounds soon after.

The shooter's body was found on Jabotinsky Street after he was shot by a police officer who arrived at the scene on a motorcycle.

Occupation you like - only?

It seems from the following we are attracted to jobs we like and that is what you should do for earning a living. Does it mean we should only have an occupation we like? Does anyone else say such a thing?


Chovas HaLevavos (4:3) Similarly you will find among human beings character traits and body structures suited for certain businesses or activity. One who finds his nature and personality attracted to a certain occupation, and his body is suited for it, that he will be able to bear its demands - he should pursue it, and make it his means of earning a livelihood, and he should bear its pleasures and pains, and not be upset when sometimes his income is withheld, rather let him trust in G-d that He will support him all of his days. And he should have intention when his mind and body is occupied with one of the means of earning a living to fulfill the commandment of the Creator to pursue the means of the world, such as working the land, plowing and sowing it, as written "And G-d took the man and placed him in Gan Eden to work it and to guard it" (Bereishis 2:15), and also to use other living creatures for his benefit and sustenance, and for building cities and preparing food, and to marry a woman and have relations to populate the world.

Fox News' Lara Logan says Rothschilds paid Darwin to invent evolution theory

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-702599

Fox Nation presenter Lara Logan suggested that Charles Darwin was paid by the Jewish Rothschild family to invent the theory of evolution during an episode of the right-wing podcast And We Know on Monday.

"Does anyone know who employed Darwin? Where does Darwinism come from?" Logan asked. "Look it up. The Rothschilds."

"I'm just saying Darwin was hired by someone to come up with a theory based on evidence," she added before saying that evolution is a chicken or egg debate and cannot be answered scientifically.

Monday, March 28, 2022

Trump likely committed felony obstruction, federal judge rules

 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/28/trump-judge-felony-obstruction-insurrection-00020918

A federal judge ruled Monday that President Donald Trump “more likely than not” attempted to illegally obstruct Congress as part of a criminal conspiracy when he tried to subvert the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021,” U.S. District Court Judge David Carter wrote.

Carter’s sweeping and historic ruling came as he ordered the release to the House’s Jan. 6 committee of 101 emails from Trump ally John Eastman, rejecting Eastman’s effort to shield them via attorney-client privilege.

Large-Scale Study Reveals Strange Link Between Antibiotics And Cognitive Decline

 https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-discover-a-strange-new-link-between-antibiotics-and-cognitive-decline

A study involving a total of 14,542 women has found an as-yet-unexplained link between taking antibiotics for at least two months in midlife, and a dip in cognitive score assessments taken several years later.

The team behind the research, led by epidemiologists from Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts, says it shows how important it is to carefully monitor antibiotic use – and also how important it is that we understand the link between what's going on in our guts (which antibiotics can affect) and what's happening in our brains.

Plenty of previous studies have highlighted the link between the gut microbiome and the brain, but it's not clear exactly what the relationship might be. This new research adds more data points in a much-needed field of study.

Making of a godol - mesorah versus gadol --- the authority of Chazon ish

The official view of Orthodox Judaism. There was the revelation of Torah to the Jewish people at Sinai through Moshe Rabbeinu. Torah is no longer in Heaven. Additional elements came from Prophets and the Talmudic Sages (Chazal). This is all filtered to us by Rishonim and Achronim. In other words halacha is a process that took many people many years to develop. Along the way there have been collections such as the Rif, Rosh Tur, and Shulchan Aruch. Basically Halacha is validated by widespread acceptance of the extensive analysis of these sources by contemporary poskim. The above should not be seen as a chidush.

A person who issues rulings based primarily on his personal beliefs or social norms without relying heavily on this Mesorah will generally be ignored or denounced. This has changed in recent years.

When I was a young yeshiva bachor, Rabbi Friefeld once said to me. "People think the Chazon Ish is strange but he liked me." Later the rulings of the Chazon Ish were viewed as chumrahs. Now they are not only main stream - but are considered the only valid view. All this in spite of the fact that Chazon Ish often ignores Mesorah and the widely accepted views of predecessor. He also did not like debating his views with others. His success seems to be the result of having talmidim who are very influential.

My point is that halacha also is dependent on successful PR

Rav Heinemam told me that his rebbe Rav Aharon used to carry a Mishna Berura with him to give greater authority to the Mishna Berura which was not so important prior to WWII.

Similarly Rav Diskin, son in law of Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky told me that Rav Hutner had once said to him "Your shver will have to give a din v'cheshbon for making Rav Moshe the gadol.

The father of a friend of mine was a Rav in California. His aguna cases all went to Rav Moshe. After Rav Moshe was niftar he had a new case but similar to previous cases that he took to Rav Eliyashiv. The response he got was different, "While Rav Moshe was big enough to rely on for his heter but I disagree with him." Rabbi Riskin also claimed he was poskening like Rav Moshe but he wasn't accepted because he is not a gadol.

In recent years there has been cultivated the idea of a gadol whose rulings transcend Mesorah.

Times seem to be changing. I recently asked two of my grandchildren who are very successful members of the yeshiva world. If a beis din of three rabbis from Lakewood or Bnei Brak disagreed with the gadol hador concerning something like vaccination - who do you listen to? Both responded if it is a field that they are familiar then it is three against one.

So on the one hand Chazon Ish is becoming the final authority because he is a gadol but at the same time the concept of gadol seems to be disappearing.

Clapper: Biden’s Putin comments may have been intended for a specific audience

Biden's declaration that Putin 'cannot remain in power' was not a gaffe

 https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/27/opinions/biden-putin-democracy-power-obeidallah/index.html

    Putin -- whom Biden has rightfully called a "war criminal" -- should not remain in power given his horrific attack on Ukraine, his role in slaughtering civilians in Syria and his efforts to undermine Western democracies, including during the 2016 US presidential campaign.

    Two Border Police officers killed, 6 seriously wounded in Hadera terror attack

     https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/324732

    Border Police officers Yezan Falah and Shirel Abukarat were murdered in Sunday’s terrorist attack in the city of Hadera.

    Falah, 19, from the Druze town of Kisra-Sumei, enlisted in the Border Police about a year ago. He is survived by his parents, a brother and a sister.

    Abukarat, 19, a resident of Netanya, enlisted in the Border Police about six months ago. She is survived by her parents and a brother.

    Four other fighters were lightly wounded during the shootout between the Border Police fighters and the armed terrorists and were evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Hospital.

    Chris Wallace Says 'No Longer Felt Comfortable With the Programming at Fox'

     https://www.newsweek.com/chris-wallace-says-no-longer-felt-comfortable-programming-fox-1692239

    "I'm fine with opinion: conservative opinion, liberal opinion," Wallace told the Times. "But when people start to question the truth—Who won the 2020 election? Was January 6 an insurrection?—I found that unsustainable. I spent a lot of 2021 looking to see if there was a different place for me to do my job."

    Sunday, March 27, 2022

    Fourth vaccine reduces COVID-19 deaths by 78% - study

     https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/coronavirus/article-702441

    The fourth coronavirus vaccine resulted in a 78% decrease in COVID-19 related deaths in adults aged 60-100, according to a new study by Clalit Health Services.

    The study, conducted by Clalit, Sapir College and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, examined the effect the second booster shot had on mortality rates of the population eligible to receive it in Israel. The research was led by Dr. Ronen Arbel, a health outcomes researcher at Clalit Health Services and Sapir College. The paper is currently awaiting peer review.

    At the time of its introduction, the fourth vaccine was controversial due to a lack of epidemiological and large-scale clinical evidence on the efficacy of a second booster shot. As a result, uptake of it among eligible populations was significantly lower than it had been at the start of the first booster distribution.

    Can Clarence Thomas Be Impeached Over Wife's Trump Texts? A Senate Veteran Explains

    Trump's Lawsuit Against Clinton, DNC Slammed by Legal Experts: 'Garbage'

     https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-lawsuit-against-clinton-dnc-slammed-legal-experts-garbage-1691814

    Legal experts quickly knocked former President Donald Trump's lawsuit filed Thursday targeting former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and a number of others—calling it "absurd" and "garbage."

    Trump's attorneys filed the lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida, claiming that Clinton and other members of the DNC "orchestrated an unthinkable plot—one that shocks the conscience and is an affront to this nation's democracy." The alleged plot in question involved falsifying records and manipulating data in an attempt to "cripple Trump's bid for presidency" during the 2016 election, they contend.

    Researchers decipher oldest known Hebrew inscription on 'cursed' tablet

     https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-702271

    Researchers say they have deciphered a 3,000-year-old formulaic curse inscription recovered on a small, folded lead amulet found on Mount Ebal, making it the oldest proto-Hebrew text ever found in Israel.

    In the 23-word English translation of the inscription, the word “curse” appears 10 times and the word “YHWH,” the biblical spelling of God’s name, appears twice, the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR) said in a press conference on Thursday night.

    Saturday, March 26, 2022

    Orthodox petition urging people to report child abuse reopens for more signatures

     https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-702098

    A kol koreh (declaration) that was originally opened in 2015 to prevent abused children from having their situation be ignored within the orthodox community was reopened for a limited time to allow for more people to sign it.

    When it first opened in 2015, it was signed by over 100 rabbis around the world.

    The declaration states that "any individual with firsthand knowledge or reasonable basis to suspect child abuse has the religious obligation to promptly notify the secular law enforcement of that information."

    Friday, March 25, 2022

    Anti-missionaries cry foul as Messianic Jews aid Ukraine refugees, Bibles in hand

     https://www.timesofisrael.com/anti-missionaries-cry-foul-as-messianic-jews-aid-ukraine-refugees-bibles-in-hand/

    Jews for Jesus and other Messianic groups are helping Ukrainian refugees in Europe and in Israel, and are combining religious outreach with their relief efforts, drawing fire from anti-missionary activists.

    The Messianic groups see their religious message as beneficial to those in distress, and say they offer it unconditionally, apart from essential aid, while critics say the groups are exploiting vulnerable people in a compromised situation.

    “We give people food and medicine and Bibles and gas for their cars to get them moving. We see the Bible as just as practical as all these other things,” said Susan Perlman, one of the founders of Jews for Jesus.


    Rabbi Tovia Singer, the head of the counter-missionary organization Outreach Judaism, said Messianic groups were “weaponizing humanitarian aid in order to share the gospel.”

    Wednesday, March 23, 2022

    In spat over pistol, police threaten to arrest man who shot Beersheba terrorist

     https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-spat-over-pistol-police-threaten-to-arrest-man-who-shot-beersheba-attacker/\


    Police confiscated pistols from two civilians who shot a terrorist attacker in Beersheba on Tuesday, leading to an altercation between one of the men and an officer at a police station.

    Police threatened to arrest one of the men after he refused to leave the police station without his pistol, and a crowd gathered outside the station to demonstrate in support of the men.

    An Arab Israeli knifeman killed four people in the southern city of Beersheba before the two civilians confronted him with pistols, urged him to lower his knife, then shot him when he lunged at one of them.

    Police said they took the pistols for ballistics tests after the incident as part of standard investigation protocol, and will return the weapons to the men after the tests are complete.

    URGENT: ABORTION BILL IN CT: Debate THIS Friday

    • BS"D

    • 20 Adar II, 5782 / Parshas Shemini (Lev. 10:19 ) / 23 March, '22




    • Leaders,




    • ALERT: Please alert the public to urge CT Legislators: Vote NO on SJR 30 {Abortion-license legislation}.




    • This is state level legislation. That means we have much more of ability to actually make a real difference.




    • For our Jewish audience, just imagine the impact on Jewish babies alone. Additionally, we all know that millions of dollars are expended on ostensibly "combating antisemitism," while the actual goals of Jew-hatred - I.e. physical and spiritual decimation of the Jewish People - are being quietly advanced - with support of anti-Torah-values "Jews" in office -, via abortionist, homosexualist, and transgender legislation - all without much of a peep from most of those pompously raising money to ostensibly defend Jews against our enemies. It's not so much that they raise money to grandstand, it's that they then abandon the most important work that their own self-adulatory mission statements mandate.




    • Let's leverage the Heavenly Assistance with which we may be graced in this Adar Sheini" (second month of Adar), and rally against those who rebel against G-d by drawing His People and others away from Him, by providing state sanction of evil.

    • ~~

    • »»» To register for the Zoom meeting, to be able to speak, by tommorow 3pm:




    • https://conta.cc/3588ReK)




    • The bill:




    • https://www.cga.ct.gov/2022/TOB/S/PDF/2022SJ-00030-R00-SB.PDF




    • Please post/ share ASAP. Thank you all,




    • Rabbi Noson Shmuel Leiter,


    • Executive Director,

    • Help Rescue Our Children

    • NathanAdvisors@gmail.com / personal account

    • USA: 845-642-1679* «»

    • * for calls and texts, but not WhatsApp

    • Israeli Helpline: 03-721-3337

    Tuesday, March 22, 2022

    Prime Minister's Office has dismissed Rav Druckman

    Conversion Authority head Rabbi Haim Druckman has received a letter from the Prime Minister's Office notifying him of his dismissal due to the fact that he has turned 75 and thus passed the age of retirement.

    The dismissal comes at a particularly sensitive time, after a panel of rabbinical judges wrote a halachic ruling overturning a conversion by Druckman, and implied that all his conversions should be annulled.

    The ruling, while not automatically revoking the hundreds of conversions Druckman performed, has still alarmed many converts who had gone through the process under Druckman's tutelage.

    Chairman of the Knesset's Constitution, Legislation, and Law Committee, Menahem Ben Sasson (Kadima), asked the Prime Minister's Office Thursday to find a way to extend Druckman's position. According to Ben Sasson, Druckman's remaining in office is important "especially in these hard times, when there is a crisis regarding conversions."

    During an emergency meeting of the committee, all MKs present expressed full confidence in Druckman.

    According to Likud MK Yuri Edelstein, removing Druckman from office would seriously harm the little faith left with immigrants considering conversion.

    "This will be seen as the government's surrender in face of a haredi attack against the conversion authority and the converts. This is another one of the government's poor attempts at survival by pleasing extreme orthodox circles, which anyway do not recognize the state's authority to convert. [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert should take an exceptional step and cancel [Druckman's] dismissal forthwith."

    [...]

    "Am I still Jewish?!" - personal consequences of mass rejection of conversions

    Posted by: Treifalicious | May 03, 2008 at 02:10 AM Done. This decision ensures that I will NEVER return to Israel to live. They probably will revoke my citizenship anyway. As someone who converted through the Beit Din L'Giur in 1999 I am one of those people whose conversion stands to be revoked.(how else could I have converted in Israel? I asked how I can convert to Judaism, they pointed me in the direction of Ulpan Giur. Something like 2000 - 3000 people converted in these Rabbinate-sponsored conversion classes every year. . That's between 18,000 and 27,000 people - marriages annulled, children suddenly not Jewish, people then also losing citizenship and having to leave the country. 18-27,000 lives turned completely upside down) It hasn't really sunk in yet. As someone who sat through these classes in some ways they were a joke - many people were NOT sincere at all. One couple with a guy from South America converting actually put up a CHRISTMAS TREE and drove regularly on Shabbat. I would see women in my class during the day in shorts and tank tops and then later that same day see them in class with long skirts and long sleeved shirts. And these were not people like many of the Russians who treated the whole thing with naked, utter and total contempt. I felt like such a frier for actually overhauling my wardrobe and wearing the long skirts all day every day, keeping kosher and keeping Shabbat. Later on, when asked about conversion by others, I would say, "If you really want to be Jewish you will wear the long skirts and at least try to keep kashrut and Shabbat." I encouraged Orthodox conversion, discouraged Reform conversion and still do to this day. But afterwards, you cannot police people for the rest of their lives. To do so would turn the State of Israel into a fascist police state. Sure, first they have religious police to look after converts, but then they will start policing the general public, making Israel like Saudi Arabia and Iran which DO have religious police (for an idea of how people deal with religious police, see the movie Persopolis and see what happens after the Ayatollah Khomeini takes over. Basically, everyone starts leading double lives. The whole thing becomes a pointless cat-and-mouse-game). In the Jerusalem Post in one of the talkbacks there was one guy who said he would gladly go back to Christianity and wants his foreskin back. I cannot say the same. I can never go back to being a Christian. I had lived as a Jew for some SIX YEARS before I had even started the conversion class. I did not need the class in order to pass the oral exam before the Beit Din. What about the people, like my roommate, myself and others who really were sincere? What if someone was no so into it at first but then became very observant afterwards? Jewish religious observance is fluid over the course of one's life. The only real way to do this would be to go back over every single conversion, all 18-27,000 of them and do some sort of KGB like detective work to try to figure out if they were sincere at the time. But they don't want to do that because they are ultimately a bunch of lazy bureaucrats and prefer to just invalidate every conversion done in Israel over the past 9 years, upending thousands of lives. These rabbis will find themselves in the dustbin of history like the Sadducees in the not so distant future. But in the meantime, if I am not Jewish anymore, who am I?

    High Court of Justice says rabbinical court can annul conversions retroactively

    JPost     The High Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that a rabbinical court was within its rights to retroactively annul a conversion because the convert in question had deceived the court when she said she undertook to observe Jewish law.

    The ruling could reopen the wounds of the conversion crisis in 2008 when the Supreme Rabbinical Court upheld a decision of a lower court that invalidated a woman’s conversion because it said she never intended to observe Jewish law when she converted. The ruling endangered the 40,000 conversions conducted under the state-conversion system.

    On Thursday, Deputy President of the Supreme Court Justice Miriam Naor, with Justices Esther Hayut and Neal Hendel ruled on a case concerning a woman born in Romania to a Christian family who converted in Israel in the state conversion system. Two years later, the rabbinical court annulled her conversion because, according to the court, doubts had been raised as to the sincerity of the convert when she converted.

    She petitioned the High Court saying the rabbinical court did not have the authority to retroactively invalidate her conversion and that its decision violated the principles of natural justice.
    [...]

    The Hiddush religious freedom lobbying group criticized the decision saying it opened up “a Pandora’s box,” the results of which could be calamitous.

    Hiddush director and Reform rabbi Uri Regev said it would require “extreme detachment from reality not to know that the majority of converts from the immigrant community from the former Soviet Union do this [conversion] without true intent to accept Torah and commandments upon themselves and are forced to promise false promises that they will observe the religious commandments.” [...]

    Conversion crisis - Zionist ideolgy and Halacha II

    As mentioned in a previous post - the current dispute is not so much political as ideological. In other words it is not simply the result of people seeking out power over others for the sake of power. It is also not a conflict between those who are modern, moderate and involved in the world versus those who are reactionary and out of touch with reality. It is not even a dispute about halacha per se. The Religious Zionism poskim are fully aware of the halachic views and sources that concern the Chareidi poskim. [I am not concerning myself with the ignorant masses and politicians who have a distorted or no knowledge or interest in the halachic issues.]

    The prime dispute is whether the halacha should be used to advance the goals of Zionism or not. I will be publishing a number of posts which illustrate these points by citing recognized Religious Zionist rabbis.

    What follows is the conclusion of an article published in the mainstream Religious Zionist journal Techumin which is published by Tzomet. It appeared originally in Hebrew in Techumin #12 pp 81-97 (5751/1991). This is an English translation which was published by Tzomet in a compilation of Techumin articles known as "Crossroads"

    ============================================

    Conversion of Russian Immigrants

    by Rav Yigal Ariel

    Conversion as a Catalyst of Spiritual Renewal

    The problem of conversion of women intermarried with Jews was seen in previous generations as one of the battlefronts in the war against assimilation. The feeling that any concession in this area would be equivalent to surrender in the war underlies the sharp and bitter tone of those who disallowed these conversions. These responsa do not relate to the special problems of the present aliya.

    We are not engaged here in a “war”, but in an attempt to redeem an entire community captured by the enemy. The question applies chiefly to the second generation, the children of intermarriage, where suspicions concerning their motivation evaporates and instead the major consideration is helping Jews to return to Judaism. The problem of free-willed assimilation in the western world is not comparable to the situation in the former Soviet Union, where Jews were faced with ignorance and duress. In any event, assimilation today has become a tidal wave, where refusal to accept converts has no deterrent value. There is no difficulty in today’s secular and permissive society to live with a non-Jew without Jewish marriage. This is surely true outside of Israel, and to a great extent in Israel as well.

    Conversion is not a self-contained problem, but should be seen as part of the general spiritual problem of Russian aliya. The struggle over their spiritual absorption is the heart of the problem, and it will ultimately determine the character of Israeli society in the future. The immigrants, because of their spiritual estrangement, are not rushing to convert. They find that they can manage very well without the approval of the Rabbinate.

    Conversion therefore, is not the problem of the immigrants, but the interest of the Rabbinate, desiring to prevent a calamity to Israeli society. In this situation, the initiative of those who desire to convert should be seen as more sincere. The motivation is “for the sake of heaven” and nothing else. Under these circumstances, it is incumbent on the bet din to help them, even if this would be a case of “sin, in order to benefit your fellow” (Git. 38; Tosafot 4lb, s.v. ‘kofin”; Shab. 4a, s.v. “v’chi”; cf. Melamed LeHoeal 2,83).

    In these circumstances, it may turn out that conversion, rather than causing injury can be the instrument of spiritual renewal not only for the convert, but for the Jewish spouse as well. In cases where the family comes of its own initiative to convert, conversion can precede the initial state of absorption. The lack of prior education is not a problem, even if it will transpire that they will not fully fulfill the requirement to study Judaism subsequently. The conversion should, however, be conditional on their being sponsored and adopted by a religious community. That kind of bond can inspire a genuine dedication to Torah and Judaism, for the convert and his entire extended family

    Vaad HaRabbonim LeInyonei Giyur supports Supreme Rabbinical Court ruling against Rav Druckman

    Recipients and Publicity has left a new comment on your post "Judaism as a missionary religion?":
    Vaad HaRabbonim LeInyonei Giyur reveals ITS agenda (while most of what it says is valid and true, it is sad that the Vaad feels that it must go to war against the Religious Zionist and Modern Orthodox rabbis in these "Geirus Wars" because that will only inspire the other side to fight back even harder, as is the nature of these kinds of struggles:
    See Dei'ah Vedibur of 3 Iyar 5768 - May 8, 2008 at http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/EMR68avaad.htm
    Vaad HaRabbonim LeInyonei Giyur Backs Beis Din Annulment of Conversion By Yechiel Sever Following a precedent-setting decision at the Ashdod District Beis Din, headed by Dayan HaRav Avraham Attia, which was certified by the High Rabbinical Court (Beis Din Godol) in Jerusalem, the Vaad HaRabbonim Haolami LeInyonei Giyur founded by HaRav Chaim Kreiswirth zt"l clarified several points related to the matter, to dispel misleading information intended to undermine halachic boundaries set by leading poskim from the previous and present generations. The beis din in Ashdod ruled that conversions performed 15 years ago by Rabbi Chaim Druckman were not done according to halacha since the conversion candidates were not observant in any way. According to Vaad HaRabbonim, the following points need to be made in order to gain a proper understanding of the issue. A. Not agreeing — at the time of the conversion — to observe all the mitzvas renders the conversion invalid under all circumstances. B. The Beis Din determined that presumably the conversion candidate never accepted ol mitzvos, which means the conversion was not annulled — but rather the original conversion was never valid. C. The Vaad is deeply shocked by various individuals, officials and rabbis associated with the National-Religious camp who claim to cite various sources indicating that prominent dayanim supposedly ruled against the Rambam and the Shulchan Oruch. These individuals muddle the halachic tradition passed down since Har Sinai without demonstrating a minimal understanding of the Rambam and the Shulchan Oruch. Their status is stated explicitly in the Mishneh Torah (Hilchos Talmud Torah, Chap. 6). D. According to directives from gedolei Yisroel in 5744 (1984), every conversion, whether performed in Eretz Yisroel or abroad, must be checked to ascertain whether the applicant did in fact accept Torah and mitzvas at the time of the conversion. This directive is aimed primarily at city rabbis and marriage registrars, since it is strictly forbidden to list the word "convert" on marriage applications before verifying the validity of the conversion. E. According to both halacha and the law, every rabbi has the right to reject a conversion that appears dubious and to return the case to the district beis din. [click the link for the full article]

    Conversion crisis is conflict between Zionism and Halacha I

    The following is an excerpt from an article which claims that the conversion controversy is really about whether the prime value is to proselytize as many non-Jews who identify with Israel as possible or to follow the halacha as traditionally understood. See the original for the full article. [Also See Rabbi Cardozo]

    Conversion controversy boils down to bout over Zionism by Matthew Wagner

    Jerusalem Post May 6, 2008 page 3

    A nasty legalistic brawl that casts in doubt the Jewishness of hundreds of converts to Judaism is really a clash of political ideologies vis-à-vis Zionism, rabbis on both sides of the fray said Monday. The clash between rabbis who see the creation of the State of Israel as a positive sign from God signaling a step closer to final redemption and those who reject any religious implication resulting from the renewal of Jewish sovereignty comes as Israelis prepare to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their independence on Thursday.

    […]

    Rabbi Avraham Sherman, the haredi rabbinic judge who wrote the decision, accused Druckman of forging documents to make it seem as if he were present at dozens of conversions when, in actuality, he was represented by proxy. But Sherman’s main thrust was an attack on Druckman and other judges in the Conversion Authority, the vast majority of whom are religious Zionists, who saw the endeavor of mass conversion as a “national goal.”

    “All these rabbis have one thing in common,” Sherman wrote, referring to rabbis serving on state-run conversion courts. “They all see in conversion a sacred commandment as part of their national responsibility .., in other words, the conversion is not primarily the spiritual and religious need of the individual convert who wishes to join the Jewish people and accept upon himself all the commandments. Rather, conversion is a means of improving the spiritual situation of the entire Jewish nation living in Israel. It is a way of bringing Jews closer to their Judaism. “But, in reality, for dozens of years now the vast majority of converts via the Conversion Authority remain gentile in their behavior, . except for the performance of rituals, which remain for these converts empty of spirit. These converts see themselves as belonging to the Jewish people solely in a patriotic, nationalistic way, without any religiously significant feelings of belonging. Therefore, these [conversion court] rabbis should be seen as intentional transgressors of Jewish law.”

    […]

    A senior member of the Conversion Authority, who preferred to remain anonymous, said conversions serve the national interest and are therefore, a mitzvah. “We are talking about a group of people who ended up in Israel because they have some sort of connection with the Jewish people,” the source said. “Their mother may not be Jewish, which makes them gentile according to Halacha. But their father is Jewish, or one of their grandparents is Jewish or they are married to a Jew. as a result, they are considered “of the seed of Israe1.” “In addition, they totally identify as Jews. They do not all see themselves as gentiles. They serve in the IDF, they are patriotic, they are Zionistic. We have a duty to bring them closer to the Jewish people.” The source also pointed out that if the approximately, 300,000 non-Jews who, immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return are not converted, there will be intermarriage and assimilation. “The haredim are not part of any of Israel’s national endeavors because they do not see any religious value in the creation of the State of Israel. That’s why they don’t serve in the IDF. And they a don’t identify with Zionism. They also don’t think their children, who are brought up in isolated communities, will ever marry non-Jewish immigrants or their offspring. But I think they are wrong. […]

    Conversion crisis - Victory for the Haredim

    Haaretz June 1, 2008 by Avraham Poraz (served as interior minister in the years 2003-2004.)
    The state's decision to stop employing Rabbi Haim Druckman, who has for several years headed the special conversion administration designed to expedite and alleviate the conversion process, followed a ruling by the Supreme Rabbinic Court. This court nullified a conversion Rabbi Druckman performed 15 years ago, and its ruling applies in effect to all the conversions performed through Rabbi Druckman's conversion administration, as well as to conversions within the Israel Defense Forces. These sad developments are part of the struggle raging between Orthodox Zionism - whose approach was reflected in Rabbi Druckman's conversion administration and the one that operated in the IDF - and the ultra-Orthodox. Remember that we are talking about nullifying Orthodox conversions, which are the most strict to begin with. Israel has more than 300,000 citizens who came to the country under the Law of Return, largely from the Commonwealth of Independent States, but are not considered Jewish according to Orthodox halakha, or Jewish religious law. In keeping with a Supreme Court ruling long ago, anyone who converted overseas in a recognized Jewish congregation, whether Reform or Conservative, is Jewish and is entitled to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return. Since Israel recognizes only Orthodox conversions performed by the rabbinic establishment (and not even those now), the Reform and Conservative movements began conducting "pop-over conversions" - conversions were performed in Israel, but in converts were sent in the final phase to Reform and Conservative congregations overseas to complete the process. This maneuver was prompted by the failure of the Neeman Committee's recommendations, accepted by the government back in 1997, to set up conversion institutes in which Conservative and Reform rabbis will officiate alongside Orthodox rabbis, and where the conversion itself will be performed in the final phase at a bet din, or religious court, recognized by the Chief Rabbinate, in other words, Orthodox. However, because of the strict requirements at Orthodox establishment courts, the number of conversions performed on the basis of the Neeman Committee's recommendations and through Rabbi Druckman's conversion administration was very small. After the Interior Ministry refused to register "pop-over" converts as Jews, those individuals petitioned the High Court of Justice in 1999. When I became interior minister in March 2003, I thought that the Interior Ministry ought to recognize conversions performed by the Conservative and Reform movements in Israel itself, without resorting to the "pop-over" trick. However, my position on this was not included in the state's reply to the High Court. Only after I exerted pressure, in October 2003, on then-attorney general Elyakim Rubinstein, did he agree to present my position to the court as a "personal opinion." [...] The government should therefore change the decision it made back when the recommendations of the Neeman Committee were adopted, and stipulate that the Interior Ministry register as Jews also people who underwent Reform or Conservative conversion. The appropriate solution of course is civil marriage and divorce, but if that is not possible yet, then the Conservative and Reform movements should be allowed to marry people and end marriages, by means of religious courts to be established by them and recognized by the state. Granting legal recognition to both of these important streams would put an end to the Orthodox monopoly, and to the sense of alienation and disaffection of hundreds of thousands of Israel's citizens. We cannot rely on conversion administrations of Rabbi Druckman's sort, particularly since the battle over conversion between Orthodox Zionism, as reflected by Rabbi Druckman, and the ultra-Orthodox will end in my opinion with a victory for the Haredim.

    Attorney General Scolded Rabbi Druckman, But No Charges Brought

    De'ah veDibur reports: [helpfully referred by Recipients and Publicity]

    The State Prosecutor's Officer has been ill at ease. An investigation conducted by reporter Eliezer Levine showed that efforts have been made to cover up Rabbi Druckman's acts because publicity could embarrass Attorney General Meni Mazuz, who decided to forego an investigation of the affair without offering any rational explanation. The State Prosecutor's Office is cooperating by keeping the extent of the affair under wraps and a series of potentially explosive documents that have been lying for weeks in the offices of the Chief Rabbinate, State Prosecutor Eran Shender and his assistant for criminal affairs, Shuki Lemberger.

    The conduct of the judicial system and figures who identify with Rabbi Druckman, such as Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, who once served as head of the Conversion Authority, is highly suspect. In his letter the Attorney General lists numerous faults in Rabbi Druckman's conduct. Similarly letters by Rabbi Rosen indicate he viewed the matter in a very serious light and was debating whether Rabbi Druckman is worthy of sitting on the panel of a conversion beis din.

    Yet surprisingly they recently chose to refer to the incriminating facts as a matter of little consequence. In an inexplicable move, various figures decided to back Rabbi Druckman and point a finger at the dayanim who stood up to him, merely doing their job by gathering the facts, particularly Rabbi Druckman's testimony, in order to issue a ruling.

    From a legal angle the Attorney General views Rabbi Druckman's acts with great severity. Quoting a letter the Attorney General sent to Rabbi Druckman several months ago under the heading "Complaints Regarding Failures and Defects in Your Conduct," Mazuz writes, "I cannot accept your explanation as sufficient reason to sign an official document that does not properly reflect what is written in it. We are dealing with a conversion certificate, which according to the law in Israel has ramifications in terms of how the individual is registered and his or her status. As such those who sign these documents must list every detail meticulously."

    Mazuz goes on to reproach Rabbi Druckman for his conduct. "Conversion dayanim representing the State should avoid performing conversions outside of Israel. The dayanim are supposed to perform conversions within the framework of the government system, which has guidelines and limitations on accepting conversion candidates, in part based on the legal situation in Israel which grants converts citizenship. In accordance with Interior Ministry directives, converts are not to undergo government conversion unless they are present in Israel." Mazuz cites a High Court ruling (Guzman vs. the State), which determined, "The beis din decision to stipulate the conversion conditions are only provided while the candidate is in Israel is a proper one."

    Atty. Mazuz also discusses Rabbi Druckman's conflicting roles, i.e. serving as a government conversion dayan and at the same time as a private dayan. "A conversion dayan," writes Mazuz, "who in addition to his public work is involved in performing conversions outside of the government system, creates a conflict of interests and is liable to convert somebody who does not meet Interior Ministry guidelines."

    Mazuz speculates that the case in question that he was referring to, in which Rabbi Druckman signed a certificate for a conversion that took place in Europe and falsely represented himself as having been present, may not be an isolated incident. "Material provided to me for review included additional complaints regarding conversions performed long ago and which allegedly included your signature on the conversion certificates relating to conversion cases in which you did not participate. It was also claimed that your beis din converted two tourists, in violation of the practice coordinated with the Interior Ministry."

    Despite the serious flaws the Attorney General pointed to regarding Rabbi Druckman's conduct, Mazuz fails to reach any firm conclusion. The police have not received instructions to open a criminal investigation against him and the Civil Service Commissioner has not even been asked to hold a hearing for disciplinary infractions. In fact there has not even been a recommendation that Rabbi Druckman, who is directly subordinate to the Prime Minister's Office, resign from his post. "I've reached the conclusion that the combination of circumstances is not enough to justify opening either a criminal or disciplinary investigation," writes Mazuz. The Attorney General does acknowledge he found improprieties, saying therefore he chose to send the letter "to call his attention" to the matter.

    It seems in this case that the Attorney General decided to switch from jurist to chastiser. Instead of doing his job and taking concrete measures he is acting like a retired judge, sending the unruly converter a lecture on proper conduct. Mazuz has not offered a single word of explanation why he opted not to launch a criminal investigation, leaving his motives shrouded in mystery.[...]