https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5642311,00.html
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Friday, December 13, 2019
Shul holding a shiur in the Fleischer home
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With a shul in Philadelphia hosting a program for a visiting rav in
the home of Tamar and Adam, it seems pretty absurd to pretend that the Philadelphia rabbonim, especially Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, oppose the annulment and remarriage.
Young Israel of the Mainline
Rabbi Avraham Steinberg
...
Upcoming YIML Events Scholars-In-Residence Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb—Next
Shabbos, Parshas Vayishlach, December 13th & 14th Between Kabbalas
Shabbos & Maariv Welcome and Introduction 8:00 PM Oneg—Hosted By Adam & Tamar Fleischer “Talking to the Shepherd" - What Does Being “Frum"Really Mean?
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Washington Watch: Why do some cheer Trump’s Jewish tropes?
https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Washington-Watch-Why-do-some-cheer-Trumps-Jewish-tropes-610658
More disturbing than Trump’s usual antisemitic slurs was the cheering response of the Jewish audience, including those he’d just called “brutal killers.” Not only did they seem unbothered, but many actually cheered his bigotry. One has to wonder how they’d have responded if a Democrat said the same thing. (Note to readers: all references to laughter and applause come from the White House transcript.)
Facilitating Suicide?
The Army's Life-Threatening Persecution of (yet another) Israeli Girl Struggling to Protect Herself
14 Kislev, 5780 °° Dec. 12, '19
Parshas Vayishlach, ver. 3
By Binyomin Feinberg, Contributor to The Jewish Press*
FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com
* The perspectives and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of The Jewish Press.
~~~~~~~~~~~
To check for updates throughout the week please visit ("Updates for Kislev" at: )
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_UDTjX9fB6CORv5KjwI04HP4qMI5ZgRdKNcsp4YHohg
~~~~~~~~~~
What happens when the Army takes in a girl with pre-existing emotional health challenges, neglects her confirmable medical needs - to the extent of essentially compelling her to flee, then (of course) arrests her for "deserting," incarcerates her in Military Prison -- and then proceeds to illegally deny her the ability to seek a bonafide mental health exemption - all the while submitting her to a regimen of unrelenting psychological abuse and tormet in prison, at the hands of a coterie of irreverent 18-19 year-old professional bullies employed by the prison?
They've created a suicide threat.
And they're essentially enabling suicidal acts on her part.
Reportedly, in a case now at hand, that is precisely what happened, according to a reliable source who has been in direct contact with the Israeli girl in question, Shir. Moreover, if that tragic saga wasn't all one massive, unintentional series of concatenated goofs, then we can declare "Mission Accomplished:" That's because, as was recently learned, Shir was recently found in her cell, in Military Prison number Four (in Rishon LeTzion area), unconscious, apparently suffering from the effects of what was described as an "attempted suicide." If that's what it was, then, to be technically correct, it would be more accurately identified as a "Facilitated Suicide" attempt. But, first, some background is in order.
°°°°
1. A female IDF conscript, Shir, has been languishing in an Israeli military prison (#4) for almost four weeks, for leaving the Army without permission.
2. Shir clarifies that she was actually compelled to flee the Army -- by the Army itself - in the wake of acute and unbearable mistreatment. Although military life is incompatible with women in general, in Shir's case, the incompatibility was crystal clear. The Army reportedly refused to pay heed to her documented medical needs. Consequently, Shir had no choice but to escape that toxic military environment, simply to protect her health ("Chaye'hah kod'min").
3. However, for the Army, self-preservation is apparently not a sufficient excuse. After a period of time seeking refuge at home, on Nov.15, Shira was arrested and incarcerated.
4. Shir had her first hearing on Nov.17. At the hearing itself, she suffered an attack and collapsed, requiring hospitalization for about 10 hours.
5. Despite her manifestly weak condition, she was subsequently transferred to Military Prison #4 on Nov. 18.
6. Shir seeks a bonafide "petur nafshi," exemption for emotional health reasons - to which she is fully and clearly entitled.
7. However, in order to obtain such an exemption, she needs an appointment with a psychologist. The Judge has heretofore refused to enable her to see one. (Initially, Shir even had to rely on a government public defender, although now B"H she has a private attorney.)
8. The Justice system keeps stalling, forcing Shir to indefinitely endure ongoing emotional abuse in prison from prison staff, which is composed of 18-19 year olds, unfortunately inclined towards ruthlessness to Shir and other incarcerated conscripts.
9. Additionally, Shir has no recourse to complain about mistreatment. Whenever she does, the offending officer exacts vengeance by consigning her to solitary confinement (for "disobedience," etc.). Shir was also threatened that no one will take care of her if she collapses in Solitary.
10. Furthermore, solitary confinement is excruciatingly difficult, even for girls in perfect health, how much more so for the health-compromised.
11. And it's not clear when this will end. It appears that the proverbially open-ended "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied" treatment is aimed at breaking her will to secure her legal and human rights in obtaining the military exemption which she needs, and to which she is unambiguously entitled.
~~~
12. Thus, the aforementioned attempted "suicide" didn't just happen by accident. It was foreseeable, if not predictable.
13. Further confirmation of that observation is that even now, well over a week later, she's still being held in the same purgatory that almost killed her. It's almost as if the military's "punishment" for mental health challenges is Instigated Suicide (a.k.a. "Surrogate Homicide").
14. Any lucid system of Justice would have not only allowed but ordered Shir to see a psychologist, provide her a psychological exemption without further delay, and get her out of the toxic military and prison environment as quickly as possible.
15. But no... it's not done that way. Why not? Is it perhaps because then other girls might flee the overstaffed Army, where they are vitally needed to watch videos, and to provide unspecified services to elements of the male sector?
16. Clearly, the military has absolutely no need for such emotionally encumbered conscripts, and has every basis and means to end this case without fanfare or futher delay. So why prolong her torment?
17. This obstinate attitude on the part of the military leadership may "make sense" if the intent here may be to showcase another Facilitated Suicide attempt to any other girls who would consider fleeing mistreatment within the military.
18. Given all of the immorality rampant throughout the secularist- dominated Army, and the consequent, pervasive exploitation of females therein, that option may be seen by elements of the military brass as a much needed expedient.
19. What we do know is that women in the Army are considered - by Army officers - as "miz'ron Tzahali." (We will not translate that here. But we will state that whatever that is, it stands in diametric opposition to the Torah and what the Jewish People have stood for, for four thousand years. One girl, who successfully escaped alleged mistreatment within the Army, reported that the Army simultaneously (1) denied the occurrence of the mistreatment, (2) encouraged her to participate in it, and (3) described it as part and parcel of Army protocol: "Ha'banos ba'Tzava hain miz'ron Tzahali...")
20. Thus, to impede a literal Exodus of mistreated women and girls from the notoriously exploitive Army, deterrence (in the form of instilling terror in the female conscripts) is "needed." This provides insight into the pattern of persecution of girls who were compelled to flee the Army - by the Army itself - in the wake of unbearable abuse.
21. One case in point is Rinat bat Chedva. She enlisted in Dec. '17, was badly mistreated in the IAF, fled home Aug. 29, '18, was dragged out of her home 2:30 in the morning on about Jan.22, '19. She was incarcerated in Military Prison Four until her final release on Mar. 1, '19, after repeated demonstrations and extensive reportage in The Jewish Press (Winter-Spring '19) and elsewhere online. Rinat endured about two weeks of her incarceration in solitary confinement, in an obvious attempt to break her and deter others. B"H, she persevered and broke free, getting her formal exemption mailed to her home Erev Pesach, having braved all odds.
°°°
22. Shir describes her conditions, and those of other jailed conscripts, as brutal and intolerable. But she is not the only one. Her depiction of persecution - often by the ruthless college-age "kids" staffing the jail - echoes those of numerous female survivors of Military Prison, e.g.: Yuval bas Tamar (2018), Rinat bat Chedva (Jan.-Feb.'19, reported on in the Jewish Press about five times); Orah Chaya and Moriah Leah bas Bruria, and Lidar Shira Levy (JP June 28 '19, p.70 (cf. Aug.9, p.66)), and Miriam Natan (JP Dec.6, p.18).
23. Unless there's an elaborate, "vast rightwing conspiracy" to badmouth IDF military jails - Israelis are - without a trace of exaggeration - contending with a systemic human rights crisis, pervasive throughout the military prison system, including Prison Four, Six, and Tel HaShomer.
24. Whether the particular abuse is a denial of religious, civil, or human rights - and whether the victim is National Religious, Chareidi, Mesorati, Secular, or not Jewish altogether - it's intolerable for any government, how much more so for a government so loudly claiming to represent the Jewish People.
25. As believing Jews we know that ultimately, no one gets away with anything. As our Sages exhort us, Ma'arich Apei ve'Govei Di'Lei ("He (G-d) extends His Wrath -- (but ultimately) He collects His Dues.").
~~~
26. Shir must be acutely disillusioned. When she enlisted in the IDF, she hoped the experience would enable her to strengthen herself in overcoming her emotional challenges. However, not only did the Army neglect her health needs, they're now actively taking advantage of her emotional health issues in persecuting her while in prison.
27. However, Shir should not feel alone, because other girls have endured particularly trying tribulations due to health issues of their own, or of their parents. In fact, this writer knows of about a half a dozen cases of girls who've been hounded by the Draft Offices despite - or perhaps precisely because - they had a parent in very poor health.
28. Such a girl tends to be far more subject to government pressure. Where her parents have a very serious condition, she's thrust into an apparently impossible dilemma: compromise on Halacha and her own personal purity and security - and her very future as a Jewish mother - or risk the life of her parent, with all that spectre entails. Such terrible choices raise up memories of the worst periods of our history.
29. Unfortunately, the Draft Office has demonstrated a pattern of persecution of seriously ill parents, via an irrational vendetta against their draft-age [religious] children, or, vice versa.
Examples include: Yuval bas Tamar (a sefardi baalas Teshuva), Avigaiyil bas R.Ester (Chabad), Orah Chaya & Moriah Leah bas Bruria (Chareidi), Moriah bas Leah (national religious), Ziva bas Mazal (Ethiopian). All share a common denominator: a pursuit of indisputably religious girls by the IDF Draft Office, clearly endangering the health and even lives of their seriously ill parents.
30. How likely is it that this apparent pattern of targeting the most vulnerable is coincidental? If indeed it's not, what does that say about how the justice system and the Army treats Israeli citizens?
31. Most importantly, how many of us can honestly claim that (as the Elders are to declare in the process of bringing an Eglah Arufah) "our hands have not spilled this innocent blood, nor have our eyes overlooked it..."? Have we done our fair share in considering how we may be of some humble assistance in the epic war on behalf of innocent Bnos Yisroel?
32. Ultimately, the wicked conduct of the Army/Government towards innocent girls and women is our responsibility. It would not continue like it is if even a small minority would vibrantly, intelligently, and sufficiently protest these atrocities internationally.
33. How much more so when they're clearly endangering the life of a girl who already suffered so much in the military.
34. During the Destruction of the Bayis Shani, Chazal inform us, the pirchei Kehunah (junior Kohanim) gathered and threw up the keys of the Bais HaMikdash heavenward, recognizing their failure as faithful custodians of the keys to His House. The Gemara relates that, miraculously, an image of a heavenly hand appeared to extend to grasp those keys (G-d has no physicality whatsoever; the image was representative, apparently of His Hanhagah/ Actions in this world).
Have we considered that when HaShem will soon restore His Holy House in Jerusalem (Shel-Mattah) (independent of the location of the US Embassy...) - He may restore those very keys to those worthy thereof? Perhaps HaShem is similarly "extending" His figurative "Hand" to each of us - every day - by offering even average and unworthy Jews monumental opportunities to accumulate untold merit, prior to the advent of Moshiach, opportunities we dare not miss?
PP Payback& Kyrgyzstan Pushback
BS"D
Culture Wars Update Online:
Parshas Vayishlach, 10 Kislev, 5780 °° Dec. 12, '19
By Binyomin Feinberg, Contributor to The Jewish Press*
FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com
* The perspectives and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of The Jewish Press.
~~~~~~~~~~~
To check for updates throughout the week please visit ("Updates for Kislev" at: )
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_UDTjX9fB6CORv5KjwI04HP4qMI5ZgRdKNcsp4YHohg
~~~~~~~~~~
Apparent Planned Parenthood Payback in NJ:
The NJ Senate is expected to vote on two morally objectionable measures this coming Monday, Dec. 16, both of which passed through the Assembly in MarCheshvan. One bill, A5802 (s4301), is a special appropriations funding measure, gifting Planned Parenthood 9.5 million dollars. It unfortunately passed the Assembly, but very narrowly. That narrow margin is surprisingly encouraging. That fact obliges us to leverage any influence Orthodox communities have with State Senators to actively oppose this bill.
It should be emphasized that we would oppose this funding even if it were part of a broader budget package. In this case, it's not. Thankfully, that fact removes an argument some legislators may have used to support it. Now they have no such excuse. Please contact your state senator before Monday urging them to actively speak out against and vote NO on giving Planned Parenthood any funding whatsoever.
If your legislator doesn't care about morality, consider asking him how a fiscally faltering state like NJ can afford to provide another entitlement program for a multi-billion dollar company, especially with taxdollars of the morally opposed.
Greg Quinlan, a long time profamily NJ activist with the Center for Garden State Families (who has also worked with grassroots Orthodox askonim for years) observed the timing of this appropriations bill. It immediately follows the November election, in which the Planned Parenthood Political Action Committee funded multiple proabortion candidates, as always. It appears to be a "quid pro quo," "payback," in the vernacular. The appropriations money doesn't go directly back to the PP PAC, but would ensure that the PAC election money was well spent, from their perspective. It may not be illegal, "but it's by no means kosher," Mr. Quinlan explained.
Another objectionable bill expected in the Senate Monday is the Senate version of Assembly bill A5508 (which passed the Assembly). It would require even religious employers to pay for abortion inducing drugs in health care plans, regardless of their religious beliefs. It's important for those who represent us to both vote and speak up against these measures.
NJ Legislative Info For Senate & Assembly:
v: 609.847.3905 or (800) 792-8630
w: www.NJLeg.state.nj.us
or email: LegInfo@NJLeg.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyrgyzstan Standing Against Moral Evils
Ozonnia Ojielo, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kyrgyzstan, recently made some statements seen as morally subversive by many local residents of that former Russian Republic.
These are excerpts from a recent UN statement:
"The UN encourages Kyrgyzstan to foster public debate on gender equality {a primary form of moral turpitude - BF}
and womens human rights, free of intolerance and hatred. {These latter terms are often employed as euphemisms for moral subversion as well.}
The United Nations in the Kyrgyz Republic takes note of current debates on gender equality in the country, coinciding with the worldwide 16-days campaign calling for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence against women. Under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General and supported by all UN Member States, the campaign raises awareness about gender equality and gender-based violence as a core human rights issue.
Against this backdrop, the United Nations expresses concern about alarming incidents of intolerance, hate speech and calls to violence, in the wake of the Bishkek-based art exhibition Feminnale. The art event sparked polarizing discussions, which regrettably descended into numerous instances of deplorable verbal abuse and death threats against artists, women activists and rights defenders."
"... States carry an overriding obligation to ensure that such debate is free from incitement to hatred and violence against women and all groups in society, said Ozonnia Ojielo, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kyrgyzstan..."
°°°
In reality, that aforementioned "art" (sic) exhibit was an extremely obscene performance too indecent to even describe here. Thankfully, the decadence of the performance evoked vocal opposition from local residents. That opposition is referred to above as "polarizing discussions," discussion which definitely should be polarizing - in the constructive sense of "those who love G-D shall despise evil" (Ps. 97)
Apparently, the aforementioned UN official seeks to whitewash moral subversion of a country retaining a pro-morality orientation despite the western surge into the immorality milieu.
To this UN interference, there was a vibrant local protest by a profamily activist, from Bolotbek Batilov, Chairman of Public Association "WORLD LEAGUE OF CITIZENS AND CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS."
He responded to Ozonnia Ojielo, UN Resident Coordinator in Kyrgyzstan, stating:
"Your statement on issues related to public processes in the Kyrgyz Republic goes beyond the scope of the declared and defined by the protocol of your legal, legal and political status!"
He argues that it's unacceptable to make statements that would be regarded as "lobbying for unlawful claims and interests of certain groups of dubious direction! It offends the feelings and unshakable values of the people of Kyrgyzstan!"
He added: "We do not want to qualify this as interference in the internal affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic!
"But we want to ask you to show due respect for our People and the State and continue to refrain from unreasoned statements that may be misunderstood and cause social destabilization and adversely affect the image of a country (member of the UN) in the international arena!"
"To infringe upon the rights of a multinational and multiconfessional people, in favor of satisfying unlawful, radical claims and unreasonably expanding their rights to be above the generally accepted legal relations, above the legal norms, above the laws and above the principles of legal relations laid down in the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic ... is unacceptable and unacceptable according to the same UN standards, the observance of which is your direct responsibility!" (ie., le'shito'soh he's inconsistent, BF)
It's about time we in the western world put our foot down, and stop apologizing for Torah morality. If non-Jews in Kyrgyzstan can speak up, unapologetically, then Jews in America, England, and Israel should do so with all the more vibrancy, irrespective of how few we number relative to the broader population.
Trump Signs Order Aimed at Anti-Semitism on College Campuses
https://time.com/5748668/trump-order-anti-semitism-college/The order comes as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the Israeli government for its treatment of Palestinians becomes more prominent on some college campuses.
The Israeli government has urged allies to rein in the boycott movement, while its backers deny anti-Semitism charges and describe themselves as critical of Israeli decision-making, not Jews.
“My administration will not stand for these malicious attacks upon the state of Israel,” Trump said in describing the boycott movement.
The Anti-Defamation League, which has been critical of Trump in the past for comments the group has described as echoing “racist talking points” welcomed the executive order. The group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, said it would give law enforcement and campus officials an important tool in fighting anti-Semitism.
But critics said the order is based on stalled legislation and is designed less to combat anti-Semitism than to have a chilling effect on free speech and to crack down on campus critics of Israel.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Are female mohels halachically okay?
https://www.jta.org/2006/01/17/lifestyle/are-female-mohels-halachically-okay
Jewish law does not forbid a woman from serving as mohel, although it seems to be discouraged. Rabbi Daniel Korobkin of Kehillat Yavneh in Los Angeles points to Yoreh De’ah 264:1 in the Shulchan Aruch. “Two opinions are brought,” he says, one that says a bris done by a woman is kosher, and one that says it’s not. “But both agree that whenever a Jewish male is available, a woman should not be used,” he concludes. That preference for a male has, over time, become custom that assumed the force of law. It’s the way things are done: In Orthodox circles, a brit milah takes place in the presence of a minyan, or group of 10 Jewish men. Women often stay in a separate room during the ceremony, or in a part of the main room separated by a mechitzah, and join the men afterwards. Throughout history, however, when a male mohel was not available women have stepped in. One prominent Orthodox rabbi, who declined to be named, spoke of an Orthodox woman physician who circumcised boys while visiting the former Soviet Union, and of a nurse who performed ritual circumcisions in post-World War II Europe. There are many other such cases, he added. Mohels are accepted by popular acclaim of the community, not by admission into any professional organization.
LIVE UPDATES AS IG MICHAEL HOROWITZ TESTIFIES ON ALLEGED FISA ABUSE IN TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE
https://www.newsweek.com/horowitz-live-updates-trump-russia-fisa-hearing-1476743480
The 480-page report, released Monday, had the following takeaways:
- The FBI's Russia probe was justified and not biased.
- There was no evidence of "political bias or improper motivation" when a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant was obtained to surveil Trump campaign aide Carter Page, or when investigating campaign chairman Paul Manafort, campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos and national security adviser Michael Flynn.
- However, the FBI's surveillance program, and how it obtains FISA warrants, is peppered with errors, the report stated, including "17 significant errors or omissions in the Carter Page FISA applications."
- The controversial "Steele dossier" was not used to open the FBI's probe into several former Trump campaign officials.
- Christopher Steele, the dossier's author and a former British intelligence officer, had a personal relationship with a Trump family member, reportedly Ivanka Trump.
Democrats and Republicans were both quick to declare the report a victory for their respective positions on the matter. Democrats asserted that the report debunked theories touted by Trump and Republicans that the FBI probe was an attempt to undermine his candidacy—or an attempted "coup," as Trump has characterized it.
Monday, December 9, 2019
IDF FAKING CHAREI BOYS, while denying dati religious girls
Charedim in the IDF? An Insider's Perspective
Don't let the IDF's spin fool you. The talk of "mistakes", of "an unfortunate mishap", it's all false.
I know. I served for three years in Netzach Yehuda/ Nahal Haredi and can testify that what we have here is nothing less than a systematic campaign by the military to fool the government and the public.
In August 2013, I transferred from the Border Police to Netzach Yehuda. The August draft cycle was the first since then-Finance Minister Yair Lapid passed the Draft Law, and everyone involved had an interest in showing that haredi enlistment was on the rise.
As part of this propaganda effort, Netzach drafted two companies. As IDF veterans know, every combat battalion only drafts one company per tri-yearly draft cycle. But officially, so many haredim were begging to wear army green that they had to establish a second company, probably the first time this happened in the military's history.
The reality, of course, was considerably different. In fact, there were barely enough haredim for one company. So what did they do to maintain the fiction?
They simply went to the IDF's recruitment center in Tel Hashomer, found everyone who refused to serve in non-glamorous units such as tanks and artillery, conscripted them into Netzach, and sold them to the public as 'haredim'.
This brings me to the ultimate policy of dishonesty that was only exposed this morning. The IDF officially counts anyone serving in its ultra-Orthodox units as haredi.
This includes foreign soldiers trying to evade a mandatory three month Hebrew course ("I'm haredi and can't have female teachers"), married Religious Zionist troops who wanted more time at home with their wives, Chabadnikim, and Religious Zionists who didn't want to serve with women.
All of these people were counted in the official statistics. And when we were told that haredi enlistment is on the rise, it didn't mean that more haredim chose to fight for God and country, but that these units simply accepted more people.
Yet even the haredim themselves were not actually haredi. During my service, I saw people in my unit visiting brothels and eating bread on Passover. Shabbat desecration was rampant, daily minyanim were not a thing, and even officers were completely secular. When serving as a commander in the training base, I would often be forced to visit other companies to find a minyan for Mincha because I knew there was no chance I would find it with Netzach guys.
This wasn't a secret. Everyone knew, both in the IDF and out. Yet the official story went on. Journalists would arrive on base, speak to the three actual haredim, and then file a story about "the Ultra Orthodox combat battalions". I even remember how the soldiers selected to visit Defense Minister Bogie Ya'alon in his Sukkah were ordered to replace their knitted kipa with a black velvet one. As the old Canon ad went, "Image is Everything".
You can't fool all of the people all of the time, and the fact that the IDF was exposed cooking the books means we need to do some real thinking. The myth that haredim are running to the military is now demonstrably false, and the stats about their integration in the workforce are also problematic.
This means that the two fastest growing populations in Israel, the haredim and the Arabs, are not serving in the military, live in poverty, are not highly educated, and do not identify with the state.
These two populations already comprise 35% of Israel's total population. What will happen in 2040? Who will work, serve in the IDF, pay taxes, and be doctors?
As the saying goes, a third of the country pays taxes, a third works, and a third serves in the army. The problem is, is that it's always the same third.
If nothing changes, Israel could very well deteriorate into a failed state that cannot take care of its citizenry.
2 comments:
- This post seems like a hasty patch to cover up the fundamental error of the previous post, in which you cited and linked to the Jerusalem Post to breathlessly trumpet that the IDF has been "deliberately falsifying" (your words) the number of charedi recruits. It said nothing of the sort. At most, there is a rethinking or difference of opinion in how to define "charedi." That doesn't even mean the previous designation was wrong, let alone "deliberately false" - its just a different method. Everyone knows these things are impossible to define. That your "friend" here thinks otherwise is meaningless. As a Friend of the Show, I hope you are more careful of your words. In other contexts that could be actionable. And in all events it doesn't help your credibility.
As for your closing comment, that Israel could deteriorate into a failed state - in 2019, I thought everyone had learned to stay away from predictions.
(Having said all this, yes, I agree with central point. It would be nice if more Charedim served.)
2. In your update you fret about the
Reply - Well, if Nahal Haredi is so full of chilul shabbos, treif, and brothels, and they don't have a minchah, then I guess it's a good thing so many Haredim don't go.
I know everyone will say that it's that way *because* the Hare
Friday, December 6, 2019
New Haven Rabbi Daniel Greer Sentenced In Sex Abuse Case
https://www.wnpr.org/post/new-haven-rabbi-daniel-greer-sentenced-sex-abuse-case
Thursday, December 5, 2019
THE HELLENIZATION OF TORAH EDUCATION
BS"D
By Binyomin Feinberg, Contributor to The Jewish Press*
FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com
* The perspectives and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of The Jewish Press.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com
* The perspectives and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of The Jewish Press.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A GUEST POST, by the Conference For Child Protection (edited):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE HELLENIZATION OF TORAH EDUCATION
7 Kislev, 5780
Why are there so often imposter firemen blocking the real firefighters from saving a town during a raging fire? We’ve all heard that there are concerns over the impending Board of Regents vote on the Educational Equivalency Regulations - potentially as early their next meeting on Dec. 9-10. We are told that we can relax because organizations like PEARLS are dealing with the threat.
But how many people truly understand the issue and where the real threat lies? “YAFFED” is not the true threat; it merely serves as an excuse for the GOVERNMENT to introduce the LGBT program to our yeshivos. (For the yeshivish reader, that's the abbreviation for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender.")
How Are We Being Misled Here?
In the year 2010 CE, the “DASA/Dignity of All Students” law was passed. DASA specifically requires schools to “tolerate and respect LGBT" behavior. It is currently in force in public schools as part of the curriculum, and in their books (incidentally affecting many Jewish kids there).
Cleverly, the new Regulations don't mention the section of the N.Y. State Education Law that REQUIRES LGBT INDOCTRINATION, specifically 801A. Instead, they showcase other sections of the law, thereby reducing public resistance - and GIVING THE REGULATORS A BLANK CHECK, TO FILL IN AT WHIM, AFTER THE REGULATIONS WOULD PASS. If they do pass, NYS is free to require LGBT indoctrination. WE LOSE OUR LEGAL RIGHTS. All we can do is sue, at the mercy of the liberal democratic judges beholden to the same Gay Mafia that is pushing this agenda on us.
WHO Is Being Misled?
If most of this is news to you, there’s a reason for that. It is because organizations such as Aguda, PEARLS and Satmar tranquilize the Roshei Yeshiva, Menhalim and the public by withholding vital information (perhaps for the sake of funding or political gain).
Anyone who knew either Rav Ahron Kotler or the Satmar Rov, Rav Yoel ZT"L, or understands what they stood for, would realize that if they’d be alive, none of this would even be a discussion. It’s not up for discussion now either, because we may not violate the Aseres HaDibros, nor the laws of Sefer VaYikra (18:22 and 20:13).
Some frum organizations dupe us and mislead us into believing that the solution lies in appeasing the legislators with compromises. They claim that as long as we show goodwill and are “ready to improve,” the authorities will be satisfied and leave us alone. True, compromises can often avert catstrophies. However, in this case, it is naïve to assume so, because their true goal has absolutely nothing to do with "improving the quality of education." Rather, this transparent pretext is merely the official line, behind which stands a relentless crusade to crush the Torah value system, in exchange for our incrementally accepting LGBT values -- starting with indoctrination of "respect" for LGBT behavior.
And how do we respond? We politely and helpfully capitulate by opening the door for them to enter and implement their plans, step by step! Isn’t that wonderful?!
Let us form a united front and remain resolute in completely opposing these abominable laws and regulations. If we fail to protest, we are culpable for aiding the government in accomplishing its clear aim: to slowly but surely and progressively infiltrate and destroy our Chinuch.
=====
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To check for updates throughout the week please visit:
https://docs.google.com/
To check for updates throughout the week please visit:
https://docs.google.com/
Crime Wave Strikes Israeli Girls
Israelis are Suffering a Spike in Incarcerations of Religious Girls Who Refuse to Capitulate to the Military Draft
By Binyomin Feinberg, Contributor to The Jewish Press*
FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com
* The perspectives and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of The Jewish Press.
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To check for updates throughout the week please visit:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11EUa2a_8OwXs7T1vMfek3MehHfC2Rd9mWt6NetNxLm0/edit?usp=sharing
~~~~~~~~~~
FeinbergBinyomin@gmail.com
* The perspectives and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of The Jewish Press.
~~~~~~~~~~~
To check for updates throughout the week please visit:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11EUa2a_8OwXs7T1vMfek3MehHfC2Rd9mWt6NetNxLm0/edit?usp=sharing
~~~~~~~~~~
Just recently, we've learned of quite a number of recent incarcerations of religious girls, over their refusal to enlist in the IDF. According to Jewish Law, it is absolutely prohibited for girls to enlist in the military, according to leading authorities from across the Orthodox spectrum. Not to mention forcing girls or women to enlist being absolutely prohibited. Nonetheless, the government - despite all of the unrelenting dysfunctionality - manages to pursue religious girls for the military draft. THAT is what they are assiduously addressing with increased efficiency while the country is facing unprecedented threats and instability.
In that context, it's all the more crucial for girls to obtain quality guidance to help avoid complications, and to deal with them properly when unavoidable.
°°°
Contacting Chomosaich:
Free information is available by calling the volunteer ladies at "Chomosaich" 03-545-6770 (24/6). They provide information and advice to girls in danger of Army enlistment, harassment or persecution. Girls are urged to call before even considering stepping foot into the Draft Office. In fact, it's advisable to contact Chomosaich even before problems arise, to prevent many costly errors made out of sheer ignorance. Chomosaich provides information and guidance to girls from across the spectrum, independent of their level of religious observance. Thousands have benefited from their painstaking work.
°°°
About Chomosaich:
Chomosaich provides an approach to obtaining military service exemptions, one that differs from the modus operandi of some of the ladies whom girls may possibly bump into outside the Draft Offices:
1. Chomosaich ladies generally encourage religious girls to fight for their Religious Exemption, and provide information on how to do so effectively, including properly taking advantage of the game-changing strategy of PR (pirsum)
2. They generally do NOT encourage girls to avail themselves of the "Petur Nafshi" (PN), the (psychological) exemption. This approach provides an additional benefit of avoiding being overcome by a wave of mass disqualification of Petur Nafshi exemptions, a specter possibly alluded to in a recent Maariv article about a crackdown on spiking PN exemptions.
3. Additionally, Chomosaich discourages interviews - e.g. a Rayon Dat, or a plain Rayon - with those seeking to trip up, terrorize, or convince girls to enlist.
4. Chomosaich focuses on strengthening the individual girl, providing her - on an ongoing basis - the chizuk she needs to be inspired to stand strong against government harassment, and even threats of arrest and incarceration.
5. Chomosaich does acknowledge the importance of legal intervention, but generally only as an adjunct to the chizuk of the girl herself.
~~~
Recent Refuseniks:
Examples of recent incarcerations of Refusenik girls follow. There.are others who were recently released, including an 18 y/o religious Ethiopian girl, Simcha S., from Kiryat Malachi, and Udel H., a 19 y/o from Eilat, learning in a Chareidi Seminary in Yerushalayim.
The Israelis were at an advantage in some of these cases, because the advocates who obtained the cases aren't as adept at employing modern PR methods and documentation protocols as are organizations like Shalhevet.
1) In an interview early this week with a volunteer from the volunteer ladies network "Chomosaich", Miriam Natan, a 19-1/2 y/o baalas teshuva, claims that she recently endured six harrowing days in military prison 6, for failure to send in her religious exemption certification, losing about 5 Kg (over 10 lbs.). Due to kashrus concerns she had, she barely ate for most of her incarceration. Initially, she sought a medical exemption due to a medical condition, but was rebuffed with what she deemed insufficient Army accommodations. When she persisted, and asked to meet a mental health officer, she was placed in solitary confinement. She claims she was initially denied her basic rights to medical care and pain relief medication, as well as denied proper access to necessary hygiene. She reports she was subjected to intolerable emotional abuse as well, and suffered terribly from exposure to the cold. (Keleh 6 is in Northern Israel, where it.can get very cold in the winter.) She reports being treated in a humiliating, even subhuman fashion.
B"H, now Miriam is free, with her petur. She felt that the experience strengthened her closeness to HaShem. Seeing the injustice around her actually strengthened her resolve to shun Army service; why would she want to be part of such an institution, one that could maintain such an abusive, inhumane facility.
2,3) Miriam also reports that there are two additional religious girls remaining in military prison 6, including one (Adina from Be'er Sheva) who has been languishing for over six weeks(!). Apparently, Adina is from the Ukraine.
4) According to Bnos Melech, (a ladies' network to provide assistance to girls in trouble with the IDF, which branched off of Chomosaich around last Pesach), another girl, Shir, is currently in solitary confinement in Military Prison 4. She is considered to be in a predicament that's literally pikuach nefesh. Solitary confinement is excruciatingly difficult, especially for girls, and can exacerbate an already very difficult situation. In the case of Rinat bat Chedva, solitary confinement had clearly been employed as a means of psychological abuse to break the girls (see Jewish Press Dispatch columns of Febuary and March). Solitary confinement was similarly employed against the Bnos Beruria and Lidar Shira bas Yaffa in mid-late June, when arrests and abuse of frum girls spiked similarly (in the wake of Netanyahu appointing the openly practicing homosexual Amir Ohana as Justice Minister).
5) Bnos Melech reports another girl, Hilah bas Adinah, 19 y/o, of a National Religious school, languishing in military prison 4. She has apparently been in dire straights for almost four weeks. At this time, she remains without a private attorney, even though there are those who sponsor legal representation for just such girls.
4) According to Bnos Melech, (a ladies' network to provide assistance to girls in trouble with the IDF, which branched off of Chomosaich around last Pesach), another girl, Shir, is currently in solitary confinement in Military Prison 4. She is considered to be in a predicament that's literally pikuach nefesh. Solitary confinement is excruciatingly difficult, especially for girls, and can exacerbate an already very difficult situation. In the case of Rinat bat Chedva, solitary confinement had clearly been employed as a means of psychological abuse to break the girls (see Jewish Press Dispatch columns of Febuary and March). Solitary confinement was similarly employed against the Bnos Beruria and Lidar Shira bas Yaffa in mid-late June, when arrests and abuse of frum girls spiked similarly (in the wake of Netanyahu appointing the openly practicing homosexual Amir Ohana as Justice Minister).
5) Bnos Melech reports another girl, Hilah bas Adinah, 19 y/o, of a National Religious school, languishing in military prison 4. She has apparently been in dire straights for almost four weeks. At this time, she remains without a private attorney, even though there are those who sponsor legal representation for just such girls.
Reportedly, she was first "offered" to appear before a Vaadah Das ("Religiosity meeting,") ostensibly to help her try to secure the religious exemption to which she should be entitled. That offer was subsequently denied by the government prosecution. Perhaps the government feels that they can persecute her with impunity because she, like many of those girls targeted by the Army, are from disadvantaged backgrounds, with little visible assistance, thus easy targets.
6) It was reported that another girl, Donna bas Haddas, 20 y/o, has been in military prison number 4 for over three weeks. However, reportedly, she has a decent attorney.
~~~~~
A MAJOR VICTORY FOR REFUSAL OF RAYON DAT:
B"H, in a landmark development, on Nov. 26, Maitav (the military draft offices) sent a letter of notification of religious exemption from military service to the attorney of Avigail Leah H.. Miss H. is a 17y/o Chabad girl learning in an elite, non-religious, but religious-sensitive environment, suited to her needs. Due to that, the Army insisted she undergo a Rayon Dat (a "Religiosity Interview"), even though there's no question about her religiosity. Miss H. has been steadfast, braving months of Army threats of arrest, in her refusal to enlist in the IDF - or make any Halachic compromises in the process, including submitting to a Rayon Dat. Often, the Rayon is a hazard-laden interrogation process, geared to trip up girls, done without benefit of legal representation or even an accompanying party.
Her attorney bypassed the Draft Office, and got a favorable result from a direct approach to the IDF legal authorities themselves. The attorney argued that the IDF has no basis to require a Rayon Dat, inasmuch her religiosity in not in question. The Draft Offices subsequently acquiesced to the family's request, while specifically avoiding conceding defeat on the broader legal issues at stake. Nevertheless, practically speaking, this win should inspire thousands of girls, and their advocates, to insist on fighting on principle.
Avigail's persistence in refusing to compromise on Halacha wasn't easy, but it certainly paid off. As the Vilna Gaon is quoted: "The persistent prevail."
For Background on this case see:
Violating the Vineyard:
<28 aug.="">
https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/08/alh-report-2-28-augviolating-vineyard.html
https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/09/violating-vineyard-update.html
<28 aug.="">
https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/08/alh-report-2-28-augviolating-vineyard.html
https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2019/09/violating-vineyard-update.html
####
About a fifth of American 15-year-olds scored so low on the PISA test that it appeared they had not mastered reading skills expected of a 10-year-old"
"About a fifth of American 15-year-olds scored so low on the PISA test that it appeared they had not mastered reading skills expected of a 10-year-old"
American 15-year-olds scored so low on the PISA test that it appeared they had not mastered reading skills expected of a 10-year-old"
Sunday, December 1, 2019
CNN: Worry rises in military over Trump's decision-making.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/27/politics/pentagon-concern-trump-decision-making/index.html
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