Health minister to pre-Purim revelers: You are to blame for the coming dead

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/health-minister-to-pre-purim-revelers-you-are-to-blame-for-the-coming-dead/

 Health Minister Yuli Edelstein berated Tel Aviv party-goers Thursday morning, saying that those who had taken part in mass gatherings the night before, a day ahead of a nationwide nightly curfew over Purim, were responsible for future coronavirus infections and deaths in Israel.

With Purim parties banned this year due to severe limits on public gatherings and a curfew between 8:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, revelers reportedly took part in a number of large parties Wednesday night.

Bernie Sanders slams Israel for not sending COVID vaccines to Palestinians

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/bernie-sanders-slams-israel-for-not-sending-covid-vaccines-to-palestinians-660136

 As Israel began its vaccine rollout late last year, some activists and foreign media outlets criticized Israel for not including the Palestinians, arguing that under international law, Israel is the “occupying power” and must vaccinate them.

Israel, has pointed out that the internationally recognized Oslo Accords state that the PA is responsible for its population’s healthcare, including vaccinations.

Regardless of legal matters, the government has already sent thousands of doses of coronavirus vaccines to the PA and facilitated the entry of Russian donations of the Sputnik V vaccines.

NBC pulls episode of show which smeared religious Jews

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297474

NBC on Wednesday pulled an episode of the show Nurses from its digital platforms amid criticism over a scene that has been widely condemned as anti-Semitic for the way it portrayed a Hasidic patient who refused a bone graft from non-Jews, an Arab or a woman, Fox News reports.

The scene in question appeared on a February 9 episode of Nurses and featured a Hasidic Jewish patient who needed a bone graft from a deceased donor in order to treat a serious leg injury. The patient’s father then chimes in, "A goyim leg. From anyone. An Arab, a woman?"

 

SNL libel gone wrong? 2/3 of Israeli Arabs already vaccinated

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297361

 

After spat over Trump support, Young Israel council replaces entire board

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/after-spat-over-trump-support-young-israel-council-replaces-entire-board/

 The National Council of Young Israel replaces its entire executive board, a stark move away from its vocally pro-Donald Trump leadership, whose statements have led to controversy in the Orthodox synagogue association.

Inside a 'Patriot Party' rally where Trump loyalists search for a path forward

 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/23/politics/patriot-party-trump/index.html

The "Patriot Party" is somewhere between a meme and a movement of Trump loyalists.

 In the last days of his presidency, Donald Trump floated the idea of starting a new party, CNN has reported. The Wall Street Journal reported he wanted to call it the Patriot Party. Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller then told CNN that Trump is not currently considering launching a third party.

But some of his followers are trying to do it themselves. The Trump campaign had to file a notice with the Federal Election Commission that it had "no affiliation" with a Patriot Party that had claimed in its own filing to be working with Trump's campaign.

Fox News Lies About the Texas Blackouts as GOP Lies About the Election: A Closer Look

CPAC chairman explains why they're giving Trump a platform

A chasid is similar to a maniac -Rosh HaGivah by talmid of Gra https://hebrewbooks.org/21346

Rosh hagivah by yadmoshe on Scribd

https://hebrewbooks.org/21346

Donald Trump's other, tragic big lie

 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/22/opinions/trump-covid-big-lie-reiner/index.html

 The January 6 attack on the United States Capitol was a vivid demonstration of the havoc that can result when a really big lie is repeatedly injected into the body politic.

 But there was another big lie in 2020, also propagated by former President Donald Trump, involving the coronavirus pandemic. It was a lie that systematically downplayed the severity of Covid-19 and the utility of face masks. It very likely resulted in the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Response to Michael Che's SNL joke is unreasonable

 https://www.jpost.com/opinion/response-to-michael-ches-snl-joke-is-unreasonable-659839

On the most recent episode of NBC’s popular American television show Saturday Night Live, comedian Michael Che dropped a stupid joke about Israel and the coronavirus vaccine: “Israel is reporting that they’ve vaccinated half of their population,” Che said. “I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half.”

It was a bad joke, an insensitive joke, a joke that not only distorted reality but played into all the ugly antisemitic stereotypes about selfish Jews caring only about themselves. It’s a joke that would have been better off left unspoken. It was also completely wrong. All Israelis over 16 are eligible to receive the vaccine, and that includes seven million Jewish citizens and two million Arab citizens.

 

But still, a little proportion is in order.

Did the American Jewish Committee really have to issue a statement, organize a petition, and demand an apology?

Supreme Court allows release of Trump tax returns to NY prosecutor

 https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/22/politics/supreme-court-trump-taxes-vance/index.html

 The Supreme Court cleared the way for a New York prosecutor to obtain former President Donald Trump's tax returns, dealing a massive loss to Trump who has fiercely fought to shield his financial papers from prosecutors.

The documents will be subject to grand jury secrecy rules that restrict their public release.

The ruling is a bitter loss for Trump, even if the tax records are shielded from public disclosure, after he consistently argued that the subpoena issued by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance was overbroad and issued in bad faith.

Trump to tell CPAC he is Republican 'presumptive 2024 nominee' – report

 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/22/trump-cpac-republican-presumptive-2024-nominee

 Donald Trump will reportedly tell the Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida this week he is Republicans’ “presumptive 2024 nominee” for president.

 Trump will address CPAC on Sunday, his subject the future of the party he took over in the 2016 primary then led from the White House through four tumultuous years. On Monday, citing anonymous sources, the news site Axios reported his plan to assume the mantle of challenger to Joe Biden – or another Democrat, should the 78-year-old president decide not to run for a second term.

Saturday Night Live under fire for anti-Israel joke

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/297243

The popular comedy show “Saturday Night Live” is under fire for a joke that suggested Israel is vaccinating only its Jewish citizens against COVID-19.

“Israel is reporting that they’ve vaccinated half of their population, and I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half,” said Michael Che on this past Saturday night’s show.

The joke sparked outrage by Jewish groups which have demanded that the show apologize.

Former New York State assemblyman and head of Americans Against Antisemitism tweeted, “Unsurprising coming from SNL as they have a long record of antisemitism.”