Thursday, February 6, 2020
A dozen soldiers wounded in Jerusalem terror attack, 1 critical
https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Three-injured-in-Jerusalem-ramming-attack-report-616681
At least 12 Golani Brigade soldiers were wounded overnight in what Israel Police are investigating as a terror attack.
Preliminary
reports said that the soldiers were returning from their
IDF inauguration when a car rammed into them on David Remez St. near Jerusalem's
First Station and then drove away. Security forces found the suspect's
vehicle parked in a driveway in Beit Jala, near Bethlehem.
Pelosi Says She Tore Up Trump's 'Manifesto of Mistruths' as Dems Label His Speech a 'Right-Wing Reality Show'
https://www.newsweek.com/manifesto-mistruths-pelosi-trump-spotlight-right-wing-reality-show-1485776
In a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday morning, Pelosi received a
standing ovation, according to a Democratic aide in the room.
"I
tried to find one page I could spare that didn't have a lie on it," she
said, according to the aide. "About a quarter through it, I thought,
'You know, he's selling a bill of goods like a snake oil salesman. We
cannot let this stand.' So, somewhere along the way, realizing what was
coming, I started to stack my papers in a way that were tear-able."
Susan Collins' beyond-laughable explanation for her impeachment vote
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/05/politics/susan-collins-trump-impeachment/index.html
Had Collins left it there, she would have been fine. But she didn't leave it there. In an interview with CBS' Norah O'Donnell,
Collins said "I believe that the President has learned from this case"
and that Trump "will be much more cautious in the future."
All of which makes Collins' feeble
attempt to defend her vote for acquittal frankly laughable. She has
every right to say that she doesn't think that Trump committed
impeachable crimes. And that convicting him would set a dangerous
precedent for future presidents.
But
attempting to suggest that this whole impeachment investigation has
been some sort of teachable moment for Trump and that he "has learned
from this case"? Give me a break. No one -- including Collins --
believes that.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Religious Exemption Without Religious Capitulation
BS"D
Encouraging News for Religious Girls in Israel: Another Religious Exemption Without Religious Capitulation
10 Shvat, 5780 °° Wed., Feb. 5, '20
By Binyomin Feinberg
feinbergbinyomin@gmail.com
~~~~~~~~~~~
1. B"H, this Sunday, sources involved in the case of a female Refusenik seeking to avoid the Israeli military draft received notification of the approval of her religious exemption. This success occurred despite - rather, probably precisely because of - her refusal to submit to a Rayon Dat, despite complications of her case. (Details of her identity are not being published at this time, to protect her privacy.)
2. One organization that had been involved in discussions about the case initially suggested that, in her specific situation - in which her previous religious certification was disqualified - she may need to opt to submit to a Rayon Dat. However, another organization, Irgun Shomrei Torah, was insistent that a Rayon Dat is not an option. As per the advice of the latter organization, this young lady, from a Chareidi family, persued her religious exemption without submitting to a Rayon Dat. BE"H, she prevailed.
3. She is just one of many female Refuseniks who, despite clearly disadvantaged situations, persist in fighting for their exemptions without sacrificing Halacha by submitting to a Rayon Dat.
~~~
Rayon Dat Interviews:
4. Religious girls who learn in nonreligious schools are generally told by the Army, and even by some Chareidi askonim - that they must (or should) submit to a Rayon Dat. A Rayon Dat is an interview, or interrogation, to determine eligibility for a religious exemption.
5. However, in reality, even if a girls studied in a non-religious school, she not only need not do so - a clear understanding of what's involved leads to the inescapable conclusion that a girl definitely should not submit to any such meeting - or even enter the Draft Offices.
6. Merely entering the Draft Office is prohibited on more than one basis. Firstly, most people don't grasp the extent to which the entire setup in those offices is geared towards drafting the girls into the military (see further, and Talmud Avoda Zorah 17a, 27b).
7. Secondly, the girls enter into a serious Yichud situation there, another reality which similarly evades public scrutiny (for some odd reason).
8. Practically speaking, entering the Draft Offices is downright dangerous. Professional, seasoned draft officers confine the girls or women in intimidating isolation (sometimes disabling even phone communication), sometimes for hours on end. They meticulously analyze each religious girl. They seek out and identify any susceptibilities to pressure, threats, deception, or incentives. The draft officials then exploit those weaknesses to their fullest, often employing a blended "Carrot-and-Stick" strategy. Their aim is to ensure that no (targeted) girl is "left out" of the Army, the societal melting pot.
9. In addition, the draft officers possess both the authority and the ability to have the girls on premises arrested on the spot, almost at whim. These officers also have ample opportunity to exploit their positions to pressure these females (often teenagers) into illicit conduct. For that reason alone, there is a formidable "Yichud" (seclusion between the genders, prohibited by Jewish Law) objection to merely entering the premises.
~~~
"New Halacha:" (sic)
"Going where no man dare go..."
10. Somewhat surprisingly, there are some activists who actually encourage ostensibly "weaker" girls to enter the Draft Offices. They argue that if the girls don't cooperate with Army directives to submit to a Rayon Dat, then the Army will play "hardball," denying the girl the legal right to apply for a religious exemption. Then the girl will need to employ diligent resistance, perhaps even civil disobedience in ignoring Army directives to enlist. These activists express the pronounced, perhaps hyperinflated fear that girls whom they somehow deem to be "weaker" will be unable to withstand the challenge over time, and may eventually succumb to enlist in the military.
11. To avoid the possibility (clearly not a certainty) of a few girls eventually breaking and enlisting, these activists propose waiving the long-standing prohibition against entering the Draft Offices, a prohibition stridently articulated by world renowned Torah Sages of the previous and current generations, and articulated without the aforementioned suggested exceptions of "weaker girls." And some activists advocate doing so en masse, for many girls, all ostensibly to save to the individual girls who may not withstand the standoff with the Draft Office, "Maitav."
12. Moreover, some activists have been known to ACTIVELY DIRECT girls into the Draft Offices, and to submit to a Rayon Dat, or even to submit to worse procedures, e.g. military draft "Hearings" and promiscuous military "medical exams" "supervised" by male "staff*."
13. (*Note: In many countries, the latter immodest "medical procedures" would be criminal offences punishable by law, on account of illicit and unnecessary exposure of females to male spectators. However, in the secularist-run Israeli Army, unfortunately, the hedonistic "Mizron Tzahali" male-female military paradigm appears to prevail over basic human decency. Yes, "Equality" is indeed invoked by the Army - but that's to integrate women collectively - while simultaneously denigrating and mistreating women as individuals, individuals who truly deserve protection, privacy, dignity and respect.)
~~~
A Partial Response:
There are multiple arguments against the aforementioned novel Halachic "innovation." Suffice it to present a few points for now.
14. In reality, the LAST girls to send into the Draft Offices are girls that may be susceptible to their deception, pressure, and other conscription techniques, as explained above (#8). Said weaknesses of girls should militate towards strengthening them, over time, enabling them to resist Army intimidation and harassment - not submitting them to those trained and empowered to most efficiently exploit the girls and their weaknesses.
15. Moreover, Gedolim and poskim of the stature to override the decisions of Torah giants like Rav Bengis, the Brisker Rov, the Chazon Ish, Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank, OB"M, etc. are hard to find nowadays, to grandly understate. (Furthermore, we are not aware of one single Gadol or posaik who has posited such a Halachic dispensation for sending girls into the Draft Offices, or to any such military interviews, and by all indications there are none.)
16. There are other arguments against allowing girls into Draft Offices, even "le'shitosom" of those who argue it should be permitted when there is ostensibly "no alternative." One argument was exemplified by Lital bas Miriam, now imprisoned over three weeks in Military Prison Four. In her case, as reported here, she was directed to submit to a Rayon Dat, years ago. Apparently, due to the pervasive ignorance about the prohibition and danger of such interviews, she agreed. This provided the interviewing draft officer an opportunity to trip Lital up on something she had no obligation to know, as we reported last week. Thereby, draft officers fraudulently manufactured a "legal" basis to rob Lital of her entitlement to a Religious Exemption, something they would have been unable to legally perpetrate without subjecting her to a Rayon Dat.
In the wake of succumbing to that Army subterfuge many years ago, she's been languishing in jail for about three weeks now.
17. Speaking of Equality:
A Tale of Two Tyrannies:
As reported last week, a religious girl from France, Rivka Noa bas Yehudis (note correction of name) has been incarcerated for over TWO MONTHS in Military Prison Six, all for a technicality -- allegedly submitting her religiosity cerification late.
But the Draft Office has no such concern over their OWN responsibility to comply with the law, specifically their obligation to RESPOND to girls about their draft exemption status, in wake of their filling for religious exemptions.
~~~~
Recent Posts:
(Parshas Bo)
http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/01/righteous-outrage-goes-international.html
~~~
http://firstamendmentactivist.blogspot.com/2020/01/from-behind-israeli-iron-curtain.html *
* correction: Rivka No'ah bas Yehudis is the name of the religious girl who came from France, imprisoned over two MONTHS in Military Prison Six, in the North.
~~~
https://daattorah.blogspot.com/2020/01/spiritual-auschwitz.html
Demo Photos:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1nTJT9255QwfrfYLMJ3_NaE8woQPF70MC
Pentagon officials stunned by White House decision to block Ukraine aid, new emails show
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/05/politics/emails-pentagon-alarm-ukraine-aid/index.html
The new information underscores how the July 18th decision to hold the military aid stunned officials, who had already assessed Ukraine deserved to receive it and were preparing a Javelin missile order as well. The decision reverberated across the government for weeks. Officials grew so concerned over the deferrals by the Office of Management and Budget that they noted the aid was at "serious risk," and questioned if the move was illegal.
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-supreme-court-tax-returns-new-york-1485676
Siding with President Donald Trump in his quest to prevent New York
prosecutors from obtaining his tax return, the Justice Department filed a
new brief with the Supreme Court on Monday arguing in favor of
presidential immunity. The department defended the broad notion of
immunity from cumbersome judicial proceedings by noting that the
president can be held accountable in other ways, such as through
impeachment, scrutiny from the press, and his desire to maintain a
positive reputation.
After noting the broad scope of immunity the
Justice Department has previously determined applies to the president on
questions of arrest and indictment, the filing observes "a wide range
of 'alternative remedies and deterrents' to presidential wrongdoing"
that fall outside strict judicial action.
Manhattan District
Attorney Cyrus Vance is seeking Trump's personal tax returns by way of
the president's accounting firm, Mazars USA, as part of a state criminal
investigation into potential violations of New York record-keeping
laws.
Jewish Protester Removed From Donald Trump Jr Iowa Speech After Shouting: 'More Jews Are Being Gunned Down Every Year'
https://www.newsweek.com/jewish-activist-removed-trump-rally-iowa-1485531
As Donald Jr. was mocking 2020 Democratic hopeful Mike Bloomberg,
Glickman stood and began shouting, "I'm an American Jew and ever since
your father was elected president, more and more Jews are being gunned
down every year."
Here Are the Facts Behind President Trump's 2020 State of the Union Claims
https://time.com/5777914/fact-check-state-of-the-union-2020/
During his speech, President Trump credited his administration’s
“bold regulatory reduction campaign” with turning the United States into
“the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far.”
But it isn’t clear that Trump can claim sole credit for increasing the country’s energy output.
Much of the United States’ recent increase in energy production is due to technological innovation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Higher-producing horizontal wells are becoming more common, for
instance. While the number of natural gas- and oil-producing wells
declined from 1,035,000 in 2014 to 982,000 in 2018, oil and gas
production continued to increase.
Moreover, Trump’s policies have been a “mixed bag”
for the industry, Kyle Isakower, vice president for regulatory and
economic policy at the American Petroleum Institute, told NPR in August. He noted that Trump’s steel tariffs have driven up costs, for instance.
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