Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Plurality of QAnon followers think Jews plotting to rule the world

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rylUb6u2O 

A recent survey reveals that almost half of all supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory believe that Jews around the world are using liberalism to undermine institutions and gain world domination.
The fringe theory is centered on the belief that former U.S. president Donald Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the “deep state” and a devil-worshiping child sex trafficking ring.

ליצמן: בנט שיקר לי, לא אלחץ לו יד - הוא רפורמי כמו קריב

 https://www.kikar.co.il/395449.html

 טעיתי, טעיתי בזה שבנט נתן לי יד שעוד פעם הוא יעשה את הטעות הזאת שילך עם לפיד, כך הוא אמר לי, אני הראשון שהלכתי איתו בזמן שאחרים לא. אני חושב שזו בושה וחרפה לשבת בקואליציה שכזו.

"אני לא חושב שמה שאסור לחטוא בפומבי - מותר לחטוא בסוד, מה שאסור לחטוא אסור לחוט, לא בפומבי ולא בשקט".

Police, Palestinians clash as Israel demolishes East Jerusalem shop

 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/B1n5d9d300

 Israel demolished a Palestinian shop in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on Tuesday, triggering scuffles between police and protesters who accused authorities of discriminatory enforcement of building permits in the holy city.

The shop was razed to make way for a national park to connect the City of David to Jewish heritage sites in Silwan. 
 
The municipality had given Palestinians until June 28 to dismantle the structures themselves.

Israel’s COVID vaccination rate soars again as teens flock to shot centers

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-covid-vaccination-rate-soars-again-as-teens-flock-to-shot-centers/ 

 The number of adolescent getting vaccinated against the coronavirus has risen sharply in recent days, raising hopes that a large portion of the country’s minors eligible for shots will be protected against COVID-19 in coming weeks.

As of Tuesday morning, nearly 32 percent of Israelis in the 10-19 age bracket had received at least one dose of the vaccine, up from around 23% a week earlier, Health Ministry data showed.

Authorities launched a renewed drive to vaccinate teens aged 12 to 15 last week, responding to mounting numbers of new cases, many of them attributed to the fast-spreading Delta variant of the virus.

Daycare assistant reported abuse - and got a criminal record

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/308992

 Or Yahya, the daycare assistant who exposed the abuse by daycare operator Carmel Mauda, worked for over two weeks with Mauda at the "Baby Love" center in Rosh Ha'ayin. During that time, she was exposed to severe instances of child abuse, and she recorded Mauda, went to the police, told the investigators what was happening, and even reported that the daycare had closed-circuit cameras which recorded the events.

The investigators found the horrific footage, and Yahya testified in Mauda's trial, helping the judges convict her. She also testified in the trial of daycare assistant Liraz Natan, who was also convicted.

Israel Hayom discovered that despite her report of the abuse at the daycare center and her testimonies in court, the Prosecutor's Office ordered the police to interrogate Yahya under warning, on suspicion that she was guilty of not reporting. Recently, the case against her was closed, but not due to lack of guilt, which would have allowed her to request its erasure. Instead, the case against Yahya was closed due to lack of public interest, leaving her with a criminal record which may influence her job prospects in the future, certainly if she wishes to work with children

Israel digs in heels on Gaza, demands captives' release

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/rivlin-gaza-rehabilitation-must-be-linked-to-israeli-captive-release-672344

In three high-level meetings this week, Israel has insisted on linking the rehabilitation of Gaza with the return by Hamas of the remains of two soldiers and the release of two captives.
President Reuven Rivlin raised the matter with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday in New York and with US President Joe Biden on Monday in Washington.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett raised the matter during his first phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi since taking office earlier this month.

 

Chief Rabbi Yosef: Science, math are nonsense, study in yeshiva instead

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/chief-rabbi-yosef-science-math-are-nonsense-study-in-yeshiva-instead-672378

Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef described Israel’s school core curriculum studies program as “nonsense” and said pupils should study in yeshivas instead where only religious studies are taught.

Yosef’s comments sparked criticism toward the Sephardi chief rabbi, who was accused of promoting dependence on government handouts and charitable donations instead of advancing self-reliance.
“There is nothing like the holy Torah, the Torah is above everything,” said Yosef in a recent synagogue address, first reported by the Kikar Shabbat news website.
“If a pupil is asked where do you want to go, a yeshiva high school [where religious studies are taught together with the core curriculum] or a holy yeshiva, there is no doubt, a holy yeshiva, there is no doubt,” declared the chief rabbi.

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Pfizer, Moderna COVID vaccines produce ‘long-lasting’ immune response — study

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/pfizer-moderna-covid-vaccines-produce-long-lasting-immune-response-study/

The Pfizer-BioNtech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines produce a continuing immune response, a study has found, indicating that they offer long-lasting protection against COVID-19.

 The study, published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, found that the vaccines “induce persistent” production of antibodies “enabling the generation of robust humoral immunity.”

In addition, the vaccines were found to produce high levels of antibodies against three known variants of the coronavirus, including the Beta variant first detected in South Africa. There was an even stronger antibody response to the variants among those who were vaccinated after already previously being infected with COVID-19.


Supreme Court Declines to Hear School Bathroom Policy Case in Win for Transgender Man

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2021-06-28/supreme-court-declines-to-hear-school-bathroom-policy-case-in-win-for-transgender-man

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case over the right of a transgender man to use the school bathroom that aligned with his gender identity, handing a win to Gavin Grimm, the man at the center of the case, and ending his yearslong legal fight over the issue.

Grimm sued Virginia's Gloucester County School Board in 2015 after it enacted a policy barring him from using the men's restroom at the high school he attended and instead offered only the option of using a single-stall bathroom. Last August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled 2-1 that the school board had engaged in sex-based discrimination and violated the 14th Amendment.

 

Ultra-Orthodox rabbinic leadership: 12-year-olds must get vaccinated

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/ultra-orthodox-rabbinic-leadership-12-year-olds-must-get-vaccinated-672341

Two of the most senior rabbis in the ultra-Orthodox world, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, have called for all children 12-years-old and over to be vaccinated against COVID-19.


 

Yeshiva teacher suspected of sexually blackmailing his teenage students

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/yeshiva-teacher-suspected-of-sexually-blackmailing-his-teenage-students

Police say they have arrested a teacher at a Chabad yeshiva in central Israel on suspicion that he sexually blackmailed male students aged 14-15 using the Hangouts messaging app.

The teacher allegedly contacted the boys, presented himself as a fellow teenager, and after a while asked them for nude photos and sexually explicit videos, sometimes in exchange for money. He then threatened to publish the footage if they didn’t send him more material.

The suspect was arrested on June 16 and has been in custody ever since. He is accused of molesting a minor, blackmail and possession of obscene material.

 

Monday, June 28, 2021

At Home With... Rabbi Bulka

The WHO did not reverse its position on kids and COVID-19 vaccines

 https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jun/24/facebook-posts/who-did-not-reverse-its-position-kids-and-covid-19/

 If Your Time is short

  • Social media posts falsely claimed that the World Health Organization recently reversed its policy and said children shouldn’t be vaccinated against COVID-19.
  • The posts were referencing an actual WHO webpage, but the guidance was originally posted on April 8 and reflected the organization's stance that vaccine supply is limited in some countries and children shouldn’t be prioritized over other high-risk groups because COVID-19 disease is milder in kids.
  • The WHO updated the guidance for children on its webpage on June 23 based on a recent scientific advisory meeting in which the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be safe for those ages 12 and up.

COVID: Was Israel wrong not to vaccinate children ages 12-15 right away?

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/covid-did-israel-screw-up-not-vaccinating-children-ages-12-15-right-away-672203

 Also on Sunday, the Israeli Pediatric Society published a new position paper reiterating their support for the vaccine, and addressing the issue of possible side effects.

Prof. Tzachi Grossman, the head of the organization, and its colleagues wrote that the risk for a child to develop a severe form of COVID if infected – which stands at 1:3000 – outweighs that of developing a myocarditis – which according to US data for ages 12-17 stands at 1:16,000 (according to Israeli data for the age group 16-19, the occurrence was 1:6,000).