With hostage deal, Netanyahu is going all in on Trump

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-hostage-deal-netanyahu-is-going-all-in-on-trump/?utm_source=The+Weekend+Edition&utm_campaign=weekend-edition-2025-01-19&utm_medium=email

Israel can do what it takes to win, but Trump, it appears, wants it to show it is willing to try a ceasefire, publicly and clearly. When Hamas inevitably tries to rearm or launch a rocket, Israel will have its excuse to return to fighting, perhaps better prepared and with better intelligence penetration of the Hamas ranks than on October 8, 2023.

And in the meantime, it will have handed Trump his political win in the form of a ceasefire, and won his backing for a more intensive fight against Hamas.

If that’s the basic dynamic, it explains much of Netanyahu’s and Hamas’s actions over the past two weeks.

Rabbi marry couple who don't keep Mitzvos

 Igros Moshe (IV #87.01) Is there a problem of Lifnai Ivair in marrying a couple that are prohibited to each other or a woman who cannot be purified from Nidah or people who don’t observe laws of Nidah? What I have written previously about the view of Tosfos that in a case where they are prohibited by the Torah that is in regards to intercourse but there is also a rabbinic prohibition to marry them because it might lead to intercourse. This reasoning applies also where Nida is not observed or she can’t become purified and thus a rabbi should not marry them nor should there be witnesses. However if the marriage is done for an alternative need such as their need to have the status of being married and not to facilitate sin then technically it is not viewed as lifnai ivair. Nevertheless to perform the ceremony or witnessing it for those not keeping Nida it is still prohibited since it might lead to transgression. The Netziv poskened that if matchmaking it is done for parnossa then is permitted to match also couples that will not keep the mitzvos or nidah. Thus to be a witness or performing the marriage for pay would be allowed. Others such as the Shach view that lifnai ivair does not apply to the irreligious who deliberately sin. The standard practice of rabbis in America is to be lenient in this matter because otherwise they could not get hired anywhere as a rabbi or they would be fired for refusing. Nevertheless I have ruled not to say a beracha at the marriage of those couples that are prohibited or Niddah because there is no mitzva of Kiddushin in these prohibited marriages. 

Melania Trump Just Defeated Donald Trump Ahead Of US President Swearing-In — Coin-cidence?

 https://news.abplive.com/business/crypto/trump-coin-melania-coin-price-buy-sell-cryptocurrency-how-to-purchase-1745392

US First Lady-to-be Melania Trump has just defeated her husband Donald Trump ahead of his US Presidential inauguration ceremony tonight. But it's not how you might think. The cryptocurrency market witnessed a stir as two new meme coins, $TRUMP and $MELANIA, grabbed headlines on January 20. These digital assets, named after former US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, are built on the Solana blockchain and have sparked intrigue among traders. Interestingly, after $MELANIA became official, $TRUMP took a massive tumble almost immediately. Let's take a closer look.

Conversion Subversion

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/flashes/649694

Recently, articles and an interview regarding a relatively new conversion project – the Project Ruth Orthodox Conversion Program – were published and circulated. The program’s website states that the conversion is “recognized globally”, yet the fact is that this conversion program is not accepted by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate or by any other authoritative rabbinic organization, so that makes one wonder what is going on.

The Project Ruth Orthodox Conversion Program is headed by Rabbi Adam Mintz, whose Orthodox credentials include RIETS semicha (ordination at Yeshiva University’s affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary) and membership in the RCA (Rabbinical Council of America). Rabbi Mintz also led Lincoln Square Synagogue from 1996-2004 and currently serves as the founding rabbi of Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim in Manhattan.

Apparently having shifted gears to a certain extent, Rabbi Mintz is a now member of the Talmud faculty at Maharat, a women’s rabbinical school in Riverdale, not accepted by the RCA or Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and is the founder and director of 929 English, a nondenominational and pluralistic Tanach (Bible) study program.

Female Mind Superior to that of Godol Hador?

Sotah (12a)  “And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took for a wife a daughter of Levi” (Exodus 2:1).  To where did he go? Rav Yehuda bar Zevina says: He went according to the advice of his daughter Miriam, Amram, the father of Moses, was the great man of his generation. Once he saw that the wicked Pharaoh said: “Every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive” (Exodus 1:22), he said: We are laboring for nothing by bringing children into the world to be killed. Therefore, he arose and divorced his wife. All others who saw this followed his example and arose and divorced their wives. His daughter, Miriam, said to him: Father, your decree is more harsh for the Jewish people than that of Pharaoh, as Pharaoh decreed only with regard to the males, but you decreed both on the males and on the females. And now no children will be born. Additionally, Pharaoh decreed to kill them only in this world, but you decreed in this world and in the World-to-Come, as those not born will not enter the World-to-Come.Miriam continued: Additionally, concerning Pharaoh the wicked, it is uncertain whether his decree will be fulfilled, and it is uncertain if his decree will not be fulfilled. You are a righteous person, and as such, your decrees will certainly be fulfilled, as it is stated with regard to the righteous: “You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto you” (Job 22:28). Amram accepted his daughter’s words and arose and brought back, i.e., remarried, his wife, and all others who saw this followed his example and arose and brought back their wives.

Emes LYakov (Shemos 02:01) It seems from  later in the gemora that Miriam knew by prophesy that her mother would give birth to a son who would save the Jewish people however at this point she argued with her father the godol hador  entirely on logical arguments. How is it conceivable that the gadol hador should make such an elementary error and be corrected by a woman?!. The answer is that she as a woman had more binah than he as a man. This is not rational reasoning but emotional intuition. It transcends rational thought. 

For many Israelis, prospect of hostage release is tempered by concerns about freeing terrorists

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-many-israelis-prospect-of-hostage-release-is-tempered-by-concerns-about-freeing-terrorists/

The uneasiness around releasing convicted terrorists, including those who have killed Israelis, extends even to the deal’s most fervent supporters. At a press briefing on Thursday, Udi Goren, a cousin of hostage Tal Haimi, whose body is being held by Hamas, called the agreement a “really bad deal” and said he recognized the dangerous nature of the prisoners Israel was to release. But he still supports the agreement.

She waited decades to report her abuse. At 81, police say, he confessed.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/01/19/fairfax-virginia-child-sexual-abuse-case-edward-shelton/

In recent decades, studies have revealed children are often assaulted by adults close to them, improving society’s understanding of grooming and transforming the way adults should speak to children about sexual abuse, Jeglic says. While children have long been warned about “stranger danger,” past generations of youth were not equipped to recognize or report abuse at the hands of adults they knew and trusted. As a result, Jeglic says, only about a third of survivors report child sexual abuse before adulthood.

John Bolton's Predictions for New Trump Term Ahead of Inauguration Day

 https://www.newsweek.com/john-boltons-predictions-new-trump-term-ahead-inauguration-day-2017368

"I think it will be just as chaotic; that's just the way Trump is. One day he is talking about imposing 60 percent tariffs of China, the next day he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico, now he is forcing the Israeli government to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza that Joe Biden has been working on for seven months because he wants the conflict out of the way...So I think it will be a very wild ride. I think it will be duplicated in many respects in domestic policy as well because Trump is just not disciplined by what the job requires," Bolton said.

He added: "What he is seeking in senior officials in his second term are yes men and yes women. If you look at the range in nominees he's already made public...the theme that runs through all of them is that they will unhesitatingly say 'yes sir' and ironically that will not serve Trump well over the long term and certainly won't serve the country well."

Shin Bet chief: This is a 'no-choice' deal

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/402498

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar says at Cabinet meeting that the hostage release deal is difficult and that he himself arrested some of the terrorists who will be released, but justifies implementation of the deal by the momentum created.

Otzma Yehudit to quit coalition Sunday; Religious Zionism condemns deal but remains

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/otzma-yehudit-to-quit-coalition-sunday-religious-zionism-condemns-deal-but-remains/

“In light of the approval of the reckless agreement with the terrorist organization Hamas… the Otzma Yehudit party will submit letters of resignation from the government and the coalition tomorrow morning, and ministers Ben Gvir, [Yitzhak] Wasserlauf and [Amichay] Eliyahu, as well as committee chairs MKs [Zvika] Fogel and [Limor Son] Har-Melech and MK [Yitzhak] Kroizer, will leave their positions,” the party said in a statement.

'There could have been a deal with no terrorists released'

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/402493

Caroline Glick writes how the USA could have pushed mediating countries for a deal with no terrorists released, but did not.

Gabbard tries to explain Snowden support to skeptical intel leaders

 https://thehill.com/regulation/national-security/5092295-gabbard-defends-snowden-position/

Tulsi Gabbard is trying to explain her past support for Edward Snowden, including her push to pardon the national security leaker, to a tough crowd: members of the Senate Intelligence Committee considering her confirmation. 

When she was still in the House, Gabbard introduced a resolution calling for all charges to be dropped against Snowden. And she urged President-elect Trump at the end of his first term to pardon people who “exposed the deception and criminality of those in the deep state,” in commenting on another post specifically mentioning Snowden.

The Momentous, "Horrific" Hamas-Israel Deal

 https://www.danielpipes.org/22451/the-momentous-horrific-hamas-israel-deal?utm_source=Middle+East+Forum&utm_campaign=5ac73295c6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_01_17_05_38&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_086cfd423c-5ac73295c6-34088309&goal=0_086cfd423c-5ac73295c6-34088309&mc_cid=5ac73295c6&mc_eid=6e83738f25

In brief, as Israel Hayom's senior diplomatic and White House correspondent Ariel Kahana puts it, "Israel is, with its own hands, helping its enemy to prepare to wage war." Netanyahu obviously knows this, if only because prior exchanges have led to disaster, so why did he agree to an agreement that his own coalition partner Itamar Ben-Gvir called "horrific"?

Because he fears Donald Trump.

The president-elect stated on Jan. 7 that "all hell will break out" in the Middle East if Hamas did not release the captives it held. That seemed to mean, as vice president-elect J.D. Vance interpreted it, pressure on Hamas: "It's very clear that President Trump threatening Hamas and making it clear that there is going to be hell to pay."

But no.

Trump dispatched private citizen and future presidential envoy Steven Witcoff to read Netanyahu the riot act. A report in Ha'aretz tells how Witcoff compelled Netanyahu to break the Sabbath for a meeting in which he was forced "to accept a plan that [he] had repeatedly rejected over the past half year."

How historic Gaza deal was sealed with 10 minutes to spare

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2pp3y68w5o

But sources familiar with the discussions agreed the dynamics of the talks shifted decisively in mid-December and the pace changed.

Hamas, already reeling from Israel's killing of its leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza two months earlier, had become increasingly isolated. Its Lebanon-based ally Hezbollah had been decimated and had agreed to a truce with Israel. Bashar al-Assad's Iran-backed government in Syria had also been swept away.

The view in Washington is that Hamas was forced to abandon the idea that "the cavalry was coming to save it", as one US official put it.

"It is hard to overstate how fundamentally the equation changed and what that [did] for Hamas's calculus," says a senior Biden administration official familiar with the talks.