Chaim Walder's books removed from Eichler's over rape allegations

 https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/chaim-walders-books-removed-from-eichlers-over-rape-allegations-685188

Popular Jewish retailer Eichler's will no longer carry the books of Israeli haredi (ultra-Orthodox) author Chaim Walder following accusations made against him of rape and sexual assault of minors, its CEO Mordy Getz announced over Twitter.

Walder's books will no longer be available in their store, or online at Shopeichlers.com. 

"This decision was not made lightly, and will no doubt come at a heavy financial cost, as these books were bestsellers," Getz wrote, "but as a business that cares deeply about our community, we cannot ignore the pleas we have received on behalf of the alleged victims."

Statement on Child Abuse Allegations Made Against Rabbi Chaim Walder

Anti-vaxxer addresses Knesset video conference — apparently invited by mistake

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/anti-vaxxer-addresses-knesset-video-conference-apparently-invited-by-mistake/

 An anti-vaccine activist claimed to lawmakers on a Knesset committee Tuesday that a top Health Ministry official cannot be trusted to give an objective opinion on vaccinations for children, falsely asserting that the official works for the company that produces the shots.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at the Health Ministry,  has become the focus of anti-vaccination activism, receiving threats so severe that she has been provided with a bodyguard and a panic button.

Activist Valentina Nalin, an attorney, was apparently invited to participate in the Knesset Health Committee meeting by mistake.

Israelis should avoid Turkey until couple is released - analysis

 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/israelis-should-avoid-turkey-until-couple-is-released-analysis-684984

Don't go to Turkey.

That should be the government’s message to all Israelis if the Turkish authorities do not immediately release the Israeli couple Natali and Mordy Oaknin from custody for allegedly spying because they took a photo of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s palace from a tower across the street.

And if that is not enough to get the Turks to release the couple, then other, more strident actions should be considered.

Kyle Rittenhouse trial: When can you shoot as self-defence?

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59138213

 In the US, people can justify their use of deadly force against another when it reasonably appears necessary.

Wisconsinites may not be prosecuted if their methods of self-defence were "necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm". The legal standard comes with a two-part test.

Jurors must decide whether or not the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under the circumstances.

How American Shoppers Broke the Supply Chain

 https://time.com/6112491/supply-chain-shopping/

 But the supply chain is also broken because of the sheer volume of stuff that Americans are buying, especially online. To keep up with demand for two-day shipping, companies like Amazon and Walmart have built warehouses around the country, and are importing even more containers of goods to fill them. These warehouses are getting a lot more action now that even the most reluctant online shopper was pushed to embrace e-commerce during the pandemic to comply with shelter in place orders.

Michael Flynn calls for the US to have ‘one religion,’ sparking outrage from Jewish groups

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/316992

 The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Congress have joined numerous groups and individuals in condemning the call by Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, for the United States to have one religion.

“If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion,” Flynn said Saturday at a rally in Texas for ReAwaken America, a Christian-themed speaking tour backed by the Christian news network America Faith. “One nation under God, and one religion under God.”

The ADL’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, and the American Jewish Congress both took to Twitter to call Flynn’s statement “anti-American.”

The voluntary dying debate - not so easy

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/317001

 Rav Moshe Feinstein holds that when a patient is gripped by unbearable pain and suffering, nature should be allowed to take its course. Thus when a patient is on a respirator and the machine is temporarily removed for servicing, if the patient shows no signs of life the machine need not be restored.

Greenblatt-KainetskyHeter II

 https://www.kikar.co.il/405496.html

מרן שר התורה הגר"ח קנייבסקי והגר"ג אדלשטיין יצאו היום במכתב נגד שלושה דיינים מתל אביב, שהתירו אש איש; "וישמרו שלא למנותם דיינים", נכתב • הדיינים חזרו בהם מהפסק המסעיר

Sandy Hook: Alex Jones loses case over 'hoax' remarks

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58771927

 US radio host and prominent conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has lost another legal case after falsely calling a mass school shooting a "hoax".

Twenty children and six adults were shot dead at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut in 2012.

But Mr Jones claimed the event had been made up by supporters of gun controls and the mainstream media.

He will now have to pay legal costs to the parents of two six-year-old boys killed in the attack.

Mr Jones has long claimed on his radio show and right-wing Infowars website that the attack at Sandy Hook was "completely fake" and a "giant hoax".

The Kashrut of Fake Pork

 https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/food/articles/is-it-kosher-to-eat-fake-pork

The Orthodox Union took a different stance, deciding not to grant kosher certification to Impossible Pork as long as it had the word “pork” in the product name. (The organization’s seal does appear on other products that mimic treyf foods, including mock crab.) Rabbi Menachem Genack, who is CEO of the OU’s kosher division, said the decision was made to avoid consumer confusion and provocation. “We still get deluged with calls,” he said in a recent JTA article about the OU’s decision to certify a “bacon” that was meat, but not pork-based.

With swastikas and yellow star, anti-vaxxers protest New York Jewish politician

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-swastikas-and-yellow-star-anti-vaxxers-protest-new-york-jewish-politician/

Analogies to the Holocaust have become commonplace at anti-vaccine protests around the US and the world.

But protesters displaying swastikas and a yellow star especially stung on Sunday, when they deployed the symbols outside the office of a Jewish politician, Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, whose district includes the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Riverdale.

The crowd, including a Republican candidate for governor, was demonstrating against vaccine mandates in New York.

Kyle Rittenhouse: Jury to decide fate of US teen gunman

 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59295723

 Lead prosecutor Thomas Binger told the court on Monday in his closing statement: "You cannot claim self-defence against a danger that you create."

Mr Binger - the assistant district attorney for Kenosha - questioned why Mr Rittenhouse broke curfew in a city he did not live in and "pretended to guard" people and property he was not familiar with.

"Consider whether or not it's reasonable for a criminal to be able to shoot himself out of a crime scene," he said. "If someone comes up to that person and tries to disarm them, do they forfeit their life?"

"He ran around with an AR-15 all night and lied about being an EMT [emergency responder]. Does that suggest to you that he is genuinely there to help?" asked the prosecutor.

Greenblatt-Kaminetsky heter II

 https://www.bhol.co.il/news/1300333

 לאחר שגדולי הדיינים והפוסקים וכן רבני לונדון יצאו במחאה נגד פסק דין תקדימי של דייני בית הדין הרבני בתל אביב שקבע על ביטול קידושין במקרה סבוך במיוחד כעת מתפרסם מכתבם של הגר"ח קנייבסקי והגרי"ג אדלשטיין נגד פריצת גדרי ההלכה להתיר אשת איש לעלמא שלא כדין