BLM Goes Hollywood By Daniel Greenfield AND I saw more people smiling in 15 minutes than I saw in an entire year and True National Debt for the US Exceeds $123 Trillion, or Nearly $800,000 per Taxpayer: Report BY MARK TAPSCOTT and The Portion of Bechukotai

View in browser Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement. Love Yehuda Lave Join my blog by sending me an email to YehudaLave@gmail.com The Three Musketeers at the Kotel True National Debt Exceeds $123 Trillion, or Nearly $800,000 per Taxpayer: Report BY MARK TAPSCOTT POLITICS America's national debt now exceeds $123 trillion, according to a new report, or more than four times the official figure of $28 trillion, as calculated by the U.S. Treasury Department at the end of March. Federal spending related to the CCP virus pandemic and economic lockdown added nearly $10 trillion to the total in 2020, according to the latest edition of the "Financial State of the Union 2021" report, compiled and published annually by Chicago-based nonprofit Truth in Accounting (TIA). But spending amid the pandemic represents only a small portion of the total difference between the official government figure and TIA's calculation. "Our measure of the government's financial condition includes reported federal assets and liabilities, as well as promised, but not funded, Social Security and Medicare benefits," the report stated. "Elected and non-elected officials have made repeated financial decisions that have left the federal government with a debt burden of $123.11 trillion, including unfunded Social Security and Medicare promises." The TIA report includes in its total debt calculation $55.12 trillion in unfunded Medicare benefits and $41.20 trillion in unfunded Social Security benefits. Treasury officials don't include unfunded benefits because they claim recipients have no right to future payments, only to those under current entitlement laws. The total debt, according to the report, "equates to a $796,000 burden for every federal taxpayer. Because the federal government would need such a vast amount of money from taxpayers to cover this debt, it received an 'F' grade for its financial condition." Unlike many state governments, the federal government doesn't maintain a cash reserve to deal with spending necessitated by unexpected crises such as a virus pandemic. "The coronavirus pandemic and related stimulus packages have caused some of the deterioration because the government had to borrow money to weather the pandemic. If the federal government was properly prepared for a crisis with a true rainy-day fund, it would not have had to borrow money," TIA stated. Defense and veterans' benefits accounted for the largest share of federal spending in 2020 at 23 percent, followed by health and human services with 19 percent, Social Security with 16 percent, interest on the debt at 5 percent, and 2 percent on education. Fully a third (35 percent) of the spending went to what TIA described as "Other." Responses Spokesmen for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), respectively the chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Budget Committee, didn't respond to The Epoch Times request for comment. Similarly, a spokesman for House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), didn't respond. Mondays are typically "travel days" for senators returning from their states and representatives from the districts. A spokesman for Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the budget panel's ranking minority member, referred to a March 31 statement in which Smith criticized news spending proposals from President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats. "Washington Democrats are embracing an historically disturbing appetite for spending. They just passed a nearly $2 Trillion bailout bill. President Biden is now proposing they turn right back around and cut a check for another $2 trillion to spend on a massive grab bag of policies all tied together with talking points," Smith wrote. "All the while, the President reportedly has yet another $2 trillion spending proposal in his back pocket awaiting its own news cycle." Consultants Agree Campaign strategists and nonprofit activists interviewed by The Epoch Times about the TIA report expressed agreement that debt requires serious attention to get it under control. Jim Manley, former communications director to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said "at some point, both parties are going to have to have a serious negotiation regarding the need to get our fiscal house in better order, and that includes both taxes and spending, but I don't see that happening anytime soon because our politics are just too toxic." But, Manley said, "in the meantime interest rates are low and the economy is digging itself out of the hole the pandemic caused, but there is no reason for Democrats to be at all concerned about the Republicans' new-found focus on cutting spending after everything the last administration did." He was referring, he said, to 2017 tax reform legislation enacted by Republican majorities in the House and Senate and signed into law by President Donald Trump. Another Democratic campaign strategist, Kevin B. Chavous, told The Epoch Times: "This has been an issue that both parties have simply failed to address. It will not be fixed, though, by doing the same things." Chavous said he expects "the infrastructure bill will create jobs and grow the economy by investing in modern technology and cleaner energy sources. Things like a nationalized electric grid and expanded broadband access will make Americans more productive and more competitive in the years to come. It is an expense we have to make sooner than later." Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) President David Williams pointed to the need to cut federal spending. "A debt of $123 trillion should be a wake-up call for the country. The bill is coming due very soon, which could have dire consequences for taxpayers and the country." Williams said Biden and congressional leaders "are seemingly oblivious to the stark fiscal crisis happening right under their noses. Worse yet, if they are aware of the deep financial issues, they are clearly not doing anything to fix the problem. Instead of finding ways to spend more money, Congress and the president need to find ways to cut spending." Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) President Tom Schatz noted that President Thomas Jefferson said the nation's representatives shouldn't accumulate debts that can't be paid in their own time, and while this has been problematic for years, it has never been this significant. Schatz said he believes "members of Congress have an obligation to attempt to bring spending under control and ensure that present and future taxpayers are not forced to fund any federal program that is duplicative, wasteful, and inefficient." When The Epoch Times asked TIA President Sheila Weinberg if it's reasonable to depend upon future economic growth to solve the debt problem, she said no, and noted that the Treasury Department agrees. "The authors of the Financial Report of the U.S. Government have deemed that under current law and policy, a massive implied increase in the ratio of reported debt to GDP—e.g. future debt will be growing faster than GDP—is simply unsustainable," she said. "In other words, under current law and policy, we can't grow our way out of this, especially considering Medicare grows faster than inflation." I saw more people smiling in 15 minutes than I saw in an entire year With masks now off, I feel gratitude....big enough to contain the misery and the terror and the boredom and the loneliness of this past year APR 19, 2021, 12:47 AM ‎When I walked out the door today, I did something I haven't done in over a year. I took off my mask. I wasn't alone. Israelis are now allowed to be outside without a mask. It felt strange. Almost…. scandalous. But I am both COVID recovered and COVID vaccinated, and I, like millions of other Israelis, am waking up from a very long, grey nightmare into a technicolor world that is brighter and sweeter than I could ever have imagined it. I went to the Shuk and for the first time in too long, I could smell cardamom and clementines and ripe strawberries and Starfruit. I could smell fresh bread and cinnamon and garlic and mint and zatar. I felt the sun bake down on my skin and as I walked through the offerings and around the people, I felt a little baffled, a little dazzled… like stepping out into the sun after being lost in a maze beneath the earth for a very long time. And I also felt defiant – to HELL with you COVID. I'm still here. I saw more people smiling in 15 minutes than I saw in an entire year. There is a lot wrong with the way things work around here in Israel – we have more than our share of problems. Some are emphatically not our fault… and some are. We are a work in progress. But today, as we take off our masks and see each other's faces, as we feel the sun and smell the earth's sumptuous offerings, I feel gratitude welling in me — swelling me — my heart has doubled — no, TRIPLED!! — in size and it's growing still… big enough to contain the misery and the terror and the boredom and the loneliness of this past year…. and big enough to contain each little piece of hope that found a way to take root. And gratitude is the greatest feeling and that's what fills me up right now – I imagine this is on that continuum of what our parents and grandparents felt when the allies won the war, and everyone took to the streets in one long sigh of relief. I know Covid didn't disappear. I know we are still mourning our dead and many of us are living with symptoms of this terrible disease long after we've "recovered." And yes, I'm still carrying my mask, and probably always will – and I will wear it in crowded places and indoor spaces and whenever asked (or if I have a particularly nasty zit on my chin). But we have turned a corner and eased into a new normal – and right now THIS MINUTE our numbers are beautifully reassuring, and we feel safe enough to lower our masks – if not our guard completely – and smile at each other in public. So: Thank you to our health care workers. Our supply chain workers. Our garbage and utility workers. Our scientists, our teachers, our defense officials, our police, our protestors, our artists and our dreamers… and thank you – yes – to our Prime Minister and our government for getting us to this moment in time. The future stretches out now – unwritten, still… uncertain, absolutely …. but it sure feels a lot brighter from where I'm standing. The Portion of Bechukotai The entrance into the Land of Israel is preceded by specific instructions. The people of Israel are commanded to observe the laws of the Torah in order to survive in the land. The laws of nature in Israel are directly intertwined with the level of observance of the commandments. "If you follow my commandments…" (Leviticus 26;3), then "I will give rain in its appropriate time" (26;4). The rain that falls is conditioned upon the observance of the commandments. In the event that the people of Israel do not observe the commandments they will suffer the Almighty's punishments. G-d's wrath will stop the rain and bring terrible plagues upon the people. Despite the fact that the expression "charon af" (wrath) is not found in these verses, it is alluded to in the unique letters found in the verse "even I will do this" (Leviticus 26;17) which begins with the word "af". (Remazei Yoel) In addition, the entire section of the curses is full of these specially curved letters "pei". BLM Goes Hollywood By Daniel Greenfield A few years ago, CAA announced that it had signed on to represent Patrisse Cullors. The powerful Hollywood talent agency is considered the biggest firm of its kind and doesn't usually represent activists. But the Black Lives Matter co-founder isn't a typical activist either. By the time that Cullors was being represented by the talent agency, the self-proclaimed "trained Marxist" was going from award dinners to studio events. Most speaking fees aren't made public, but last year, Cullors, along with the other two co-founders of the racist BLM hate group, charged the University of Florida $10,000 each to address students online. When she isn't charging thousands to video chat, Cullors curated ComplexCon, a BLM global art show, and worked on an ad campaign for Adidas with Pharell Williams, claims to be a "dancer, choreographer, designer, stylist, producer, and director." Cullors got to consult for Good Trouble, a lefty Disney TV series, about two girls, one white and one Latino, who move to Los Angeles and fight racial injustice. Another way of saying that is, she gave a show run by a white lady who used to act on The Bold and the Beautiful street cred. "You only have to spend about five minutes with Patrisse to be blown away by her as an activist, artist, intellectual and force of life energy, love, joy and humanity," Good Trouble showrunner Joanna Johnson raved. "She has such a wealth of knowledge and life experience. I'm always looking for that in writers because truth is not only stranger but more nuanced and rich than fiction can ever be." Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Just ask the Black Lives Matter founder who went from a year in which the hate group's race rioters burned buildings and terrorized communities to buying a $1.4 million home in the mostly white Topanga Canyon through a corporate entity. Like every proper trained Marxist should. As an amateur Marxist, Cullors had to settle for the San Fernando Valley, but as a fully trained Marxist she got "vaulted ceilings clad in knotty pine" and "whitewashed hearth fireplaces." Whiteness and whitewashing isn't all bad. Especially when white studios are paying for it. The Topanga Canyon home has "soaring ceilings", "skylights", and is ideal for "quietly contemplating cross-canyon vistas framed by mature trees" or the next town your hate group is going to burn. There's even an art studio and politically incorrect "maids quarters". The house is down the road from one of the homes involved in the Manson murders which seems only appropriate since Manson wanted to start a race war. And Black Lives Matter is carrying on Manson's work. This was reportedly Cullors' fourth home purchase after buying a ranch on three acres in Atlanta with a private airplane hangar and shopping around for a luxury home in the Bahamas. Last year, Cullors signed a deal with Warner Brothers to "develop scripted dramas and comedies, docuseries and animated programming for children, young adults and families". Cullors also has her own anti-police organization, Dignity and Power Now, run by Lamia Al-Sadek, the former county director of Islamic Relief Worldwide, and two white people, near USC. And she also has her own consulting firm with her lover, Janaya And Patrisse Consulting. It's unclear if either of these were the entities that Cullors used to buy her $1.4 million home, or if she has other organizations in her portfolio that have yet to be exposed and revealed. While Cullors went with CAA, Alicia Garza, the second BLM co-founder, went with ICM, and her book, Purpose Of Power, came out last year. Garza is also due to appear in the HBO adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates' racist rant, Between the World and Me. ICM's previous coup was boasting about the role of "client Josh Hartnett" in the HBO "documentary" Exterminate All the Brutes which "shifts perspectives by highlighting America's founding as inherently genocidal". It's no wonder that the entire roster of BLM's founders have found a comfortable home in an entertainment industry that hates America as much as they do. Opal Tometi, the third BLM co-founder, got on board with WME, the rival CAA Hollywood talent agency, which Hollywood Reporter noted had signed stars like,"Elton John, Eva Longoria, Shakira, Tessa Thompson, Sarah Cooper, and Opal Tometi." You can read about all this in Opal's official press releases, in between telling a newspaper, "I do this because we deserve to live." And deserve to live very well too. WME used Opal Tometi to launch its Social Justice Now Film Festival through Film Life Foundation, a non-profit founded by Opal and Marvel star, Michael B. Jordan. Sponsored by Sony, Amazon, Heineken, J.P. Morgan, and other great outposts of social justice, the festival's message is "translate art into change" and features movies like, Who Will Survive America. It's hard surviving America while being sponsored by a Japanese electronics firm, a Dutch beer conglomerate, and a banking firm whose predecessors had used slaves as collateral. Opal also has her own production company, Blue Opal Productions. Unlike Cullors and Garza, both of whom came out of Los Angeles, Opal came from Arizona, but Hollywood is the common denominator of the founders of Black Lives Matter. The founders of BLM have gone to work acting, writing, consulting, and promoting for Hollywood because their racist hate movement was always an entertainment industry production. BLM's race riots destroyed communities and small businesses, but its brands and buzzwords were a corporate marketing campaign backed by industry talent. Like Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio broadcast, it was a production, even if the physical destruction of the riots was all too real. Why shouldn't Cullors get a house in the area where Quentin Tarantino filmed a scene in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and where movie stars house their pets at the Topanga Pet Resort? It's all made in Hollywood anyway. Truth is stranger than fiction. But Hollywood also specializes in turning fiction into truth. Why not set the country on fire, elect some Democrats, and get some new content in the pipeline? Hollywood had been stagnating. Every piece of IP or intellectual property had been locked down by giants like Disney, and the staggering cost of Silicon Valley streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime sinking billions into developing original content to keep subscription viewers on their plantation had made it impossible for much of the old industry to compete on its own turf. Now there are books to adapt into movies, TV series to launch, and countless entertainment industry products to sell to guilty liberal suburban moms who joyfully grapple with the depths of their own racism by binge watching black pain. And there are the BLM co-founders to help Hollywood get all the political cred that it needs to make a killing out of racism on a budget. Forget Hearst's "You furnish the pictures. I'll furnish the war." The war is easy to furnish. It's the pictures that are expensive. The damage from the BLM race riots surpassed $2 billion. That sounds like a lot of money, and individually it wiped out countless businesses, crushed neighborhoods and communities, and took more lives and dreams than will ever be accounted for, but that's nothing compared to the $17 billion that Netflix blew on programming in just one year. And the best part is that $2 billion was entirely paid for by ordinary Americans, insurance companies, and non-industry types. Peasants. Think of the Kenosha riots as the Atlanta burning scene in Gone With the Wind. But no Hollywood studio had to sacrifice its own sets to produce all that footage. Race rioters were happy to burn down American cities as publicity for Hollywood social justice projects. Some consulting and acting gigs for the marketable founders of the racist hate group is a small price to pay for Warner Brothers to use HBO Max to compete with Netflix. It's been a long time since Warner Brothers meant the conservative Warner brothers, Jewish immigrants and Republicans who appeared before HUAC, and declared, "We are willing to establish such a fund to ship to Russia the people who don't like our American system of government." Warner Brothers and HBO Max, like CNN, are cultural death rays of the AT&T death star. Or, as a CNN reporter described the riots, "fiery, but mostly peaceful" death rays. If only there were a fund to ship AT&T, Netflix, and Disney to Russia. After BLM fades, there will be new productions, spectacles, and extravaganzas to excite, humiliate, and distract the attention of Americans from the havoc being wreaked on their country as a handful of entangled companies fight for supreme dominance in the oligarchy. And BLM's co-founders have found a good exit strategy with production companies, organizations, and homes in an industry that knows the value of a good show. Somewhere, Captain David Dorn's widow is mourning her husband. And the other victims of BLM are immersed in their own private griefs for lost children, spouses, and parents. But in Hollywood, the mansions only get bigger and the party never ends. See you Sunday Bli neder, Shabbat Shalom Sunday night starts Yom Yershalim We need Moshiach now! Love Yehuda Lave Yehuda Lave, Spirtiual Advisor and Counselor Jerusalem, Jerusalem  Israel 972-585043210 YehudaLave@gmail.com You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us. Unsubscribe

Breaking news: Green Pass extended until December 31, 2021 without any more shots and How Did Susan Rice Make As Much As $149 Million? by Daniel Greenfield and terrified for NYC’s Future by Ronn Torossian and Moving to Israel and Giving Birth Helped Me Better Understand the Passover Story by Yael Eckstein and A Moses Montefiore – David Roberts Connection By Saul Jay Singer and Israeli man visiting Baltimore for a wedding is shot dead in apparent robbery

View in browser Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement. Love Yehuda Lave Join my blog by sending me an email to YehudaLave@gmail.com Breaking news: Green Pass extended until December 31, 2021 without any more shots Decision comes with easing of many COVID-19 restrictions in Israel including limits on public gatherings The Israeli Health Ministry announced Wednesday that the validity of the Green Pass, a certificate granted upon full vaccination, will be extended until the end of 2021. The validity of the passes was initially for six months from the second vaccination dose, or until the end of June for recovering patients. The Three Musketeers at the Kotel Moving to Israel and Giving Birth Helped Me Better Understand the Passover Story by Yael Eckstein The story of Passover and the miraculous escape from Egypt always captivated me as a child. Yet it was after some critical moments in my adult life that the vivid imagery from Passover truly came alive. When my husband and I moved from America to Israel, we believed with all our hearts that Israel is where we are meant to be. We fully appreciated the blessing of a Jewish homeland knowing that generations of Jews had suffered nearly 2,000 years of oppression in the Diaspora, and we felt God tugging at our heartstrings, telling us that Israel is our true home. Yet, despite these reassuring thoughts, it was hard to say goodbye to everything and everyone we had always known and step into the unknown. It took a huge leap of faith to board a plane on a one-way ticket to Israel for a life we could never have imagined. Choosing change over comfort, and the unfamiliar over what is known, has never been easy. When the Israelites left Egypt in the Exodus story, after Pharaoh finally sent them away, Jewish sages have explained that when it finally came time for the Israelites to leave, they were hesitant to go. Pharaoh had to push them out the door! They needed an extra nudge because in spite of the bitter slavery in Egypt, the people were afraid to step into unfamiliar territory. As human beings, it's natural for us to fear the unknown, just as the ancient Israelites did. So we stay in jobs that we don't like, relationships that hurt us, or in places that no longer suit us. But do you know what is even worse than the unknown? It's staying with something that we know is bad for us. Passover is a time for stepping out in faith. It's a time for leaving old habits and situations behind in order to make way for something new and better. It's a time for change even if it makes us uncomfortable. In fact, In Judaism, the Exodus from Egypt is often compared to the birthing process (what I now consider the pinnacle of discomfort) It was only after I had gone through that experience myself that I truly appreciated what it meant. The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim, derived from a word that means "narrow straits" or "constriction." Egypt was seen as a narrow place, similar to the birth canal. The children of Israel were stressed, oppressed, and compressed; literally caught in a narrow place where they found themselves sandwiched between the Egyptians and the Red Sea. But just like the birthing process, the stress and confinement were all part of the plan. When the Israelites couldn't stand it any longer, they threw up their hands and said, "We are powerless God and only You can help!" At that point, the sea split, the Israelites left Egypt for good, and a new nation was formed. One of the key lessons from Passover is that change and enormous pressure can lead to rebirth and renewal. We also need to remember that God is hard at work in all of those defining moments we encounter. He is always up to something grand on the other side of our pain and the unknown - as he has been throughout all of history. When we follow God, we may not always know where we are going, and we are often in discomfort along the way. But we can be sure that we will end up exactly where we are meant to be. Yael Eckstein is the president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. In this role, she also holds the rare distinction of being a woman leading one of the world's largest, religious not-for-profit organizations, having raised $1.8 billion — mostly from Christians — to assist Israel and the Jewish people. She is the author of the book "Generation to Generation: Passing on a Legacy of Faith to our Children. Israeli man visiting Baltimore for a wedding is shot dead in apparent robbery An Israeli man visiting Baltimore to attend a wedding was shot dead in a robbery outside the house where he was staying. Video surveillance from homes in the heavily Jewish area on Fords Lane in the northwest part of the city shows three youths approaching Efraim Gordon as he leaves a car and enters his aunt and uncle's house. One then shoots Gordon. Police arrived after midnight, early Monday, and took Gordon to a hospital, where he died. Gordon was affiliated with Chabad-Lubavitch, according to the movement's newsletter, Chabad Online, which identified him as a Jerusalem tech entrepreneur. He was 31. Chabad Online said he was attending a cousin's wedding. The area's city councilman, Yitzy Schleifer, noted the gun violence plaguing Baltimore in a statement to Chabad Online. "The community has now suffered the ultimate loss from the horrific violence plaguing this City," he said. "Our efforts to ensure the safety of our constituents will not only continue but will increase." There were at least 92 homicides in 2021 in Baltimore by Monday, compared with 105 in the same period last year. Schleifer through local media urged residents to share any video surveillance they had to apprehend the killers. Gordon will be buried in Israel. An online effort to raise money for his return and for the funeral raised three times the requested amount of $15,000 by midday Tuesday. BY RON KAMPEAS Terrified for NYC's Future I have lived in New York City my whole life - and I fear it will never recover.  Ronn Torossian This year has been a tremendously difficult year. Covid-19 was – and remains – scary and awful. For so many New Yorkers, what has also been awful over the last year has been watching the destruction of New York City – undoubtedly in large part because of a pair of egomaniac buffoons: Mayor Bill De Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo. New York City is a fragment of itself – abandoned stores and empty streets. The city that used to never sleep is in a slumber. After a year in which the city permitted looting and rioting, in which kids remain largely out of school, in which crime is rising rapidly and so many of us are afraid to walk in the streets, the city is largely shuttered and in disarray. Streets are filled with crime, the homeless are everywhere -- and so many New Yorkers have left. "If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere" now seems to be a punishment of how many extra barriers one needs to encounter in NYC to succeed. Contrast that with Florida which is wide open, where the Mayor tweets asking people what help they need to succeed, and it's easy to understand why so many of New York's finest have moved in the past year. One doesn't need to sit on Wall Street or Park Avenue in order to work – Miami Beach and the sun works just fine for so many professionals. I have a running list of 50 friends and acquaintances who have moved to Florida, all of whom never previously thought of leaving NYC. Spending the last week in Miami after a year in New York, I am amazed how many people I run into in Miami who have moved -- like my friend Mitch Modell (of Modell's sporting goods) who had tears in his eyes over dinner at Carbone (a NYC restaurant which opened in Miami) as he said he cannot believe he no longer has a home in New York. He said he simply didn't feel safe anymore in the city, and couldn't remain in an unsafe city. Like many, we have more friends in Miami now, and as those of us who live in Manhattan know the streets, don't feel safe right now. Another friend of mine for 30 years who works in real estate left once his teenage son was robbed at gunpoint in front of his home on the Upper East Side. He also left because his kid's private school (for which he paid $55K annually) had his son write essays apologizing for privilege and wealth. Another friend, a nightlife impresario, left after his wife was harassed daily while walking the kids around in a stroller. These stories don't make the news and all of us who live in Manhattan have similar ones. People outside of Manhattan have no idea how bad Gotham truly is, how depressed and isolated the residents of the city are and feel. So many of us are shell-shocked – even more so when we come to Florida and see life passing us by. Florida is wide open – and the COVID numbers aren't worse in Florida. We are more angered when we realize teachers' unions control the fate of our children, even more angered when even though NY got billions in bail-out money, taxes will still rise there – surely a punitive move. As a close friend of mine told me when leaving, "NYC ain't gonna get its groove back. What has happened in NYC has made it impossible for me. It's not being a conservative in a lefty city. I've always been fine with that – there was a place for me, the resistance. But now, it's not just that the city has jerked left. It's that it despises any form of success or ambition. It's not just the GOP that is disgusting. It's any form of trying to succeed in business or school or art. The culture of NYC used to adore its big dreamers and big ambitions. Now, it hates them. That's why ordinary diners are attacked by "peaceful protestors". It has nothing to do with any issue or justice. It's simply about wealth redistribution – diner has money, protestor doesn't, therefore protestor has the right to disrupt the diner and the restaurant. It sickens me. I can live in a place where I am a tiny minority. I can't live in a place that wants to rob me." So many of us feel this way. We feel hated for succeeding, we feel attacked. I grew up in the Bronx, the product of a single-mother household, and attended NYC public schools, yet Mayor De Blasio attacked people like me who went to the Hamptons during the pandemic for fresh air and space, calling us "fair-weather friends." I've paid tens of millions of dollars in taxes in NYC and employ hundreds of people. I am not evil because I succeed, not a "fair-weather" friend because I have a home in the Hamptons. I'm proud of what I have accomplished and apologize to absolutely no one for it. De Blasio got what he wanted – many of those "fair-weather friends" haven't returned. Many of my hedge fund friends moved quietly to Palm Beach and won't return. Perhaps that's the strategy of these progressives all along – to destroy business and commerce. Sitting in wide-open Florida, it is hard to think this isn't part of some sinister plan. For the first time ever, I have proactively made it my mission to meet the front-runners running for Mayor in the upcoming November election. In a race in which accepting donations from real estate developers is considered controversial, perhaps it's unsurprising the business community has been overwhelmingly silent surrounding the upcoming election, and the candidates are largely people who haven't accomplished much. There are no big names and certainly no sure-fire candidate who can turn this mess around. On the Democratic side, there is Eric Adams, the current Brooklyn Borough President. He appears to be the best of the worst. He's a former NYPD captain who touts law and order. He has stated that "business is needed in NYC." He claims to be a moderate – although he also wants to raise taxes, not the brightest move when NY's best and brightest are fleeing. Andrew Yang, the current front-runner, is an open "progressive" touting universal basic income – a socialist endeavor. Yang, who portrays himself as an uber-successful entrepreneur, has a net worth of $600K according to his financial filings. Not exactly super successful when it comes to NYC cost of living – so what makes him qualified to solve NY's huge issues? Most of the Democratic candidates identify as "progressives" – the prescription which led us into this situation. On the Republican side is Fernando Mateo, a long-time advocate for livery cabs. In a city where Republicans are outnumbered seven to one, it seems like a lost cause. I write this from Miami where I've been out daily for dinner at restaurants, after days packed with Zoom calls, where real estate is booming, where the sun is shining, and where the energy is what New York City used to have. Offices won't reopen full-time, and if they don't do that then why must I live in the city? Many more have left NYC than realized, and when that happens and progressives seek to continue to tax, tax, and tax, then what happens to those who make money who remain? I'm sad and pessimistic that New York City will ever recover. I have lived there my whole life, and I am terrified about the future of our once-great city. Ronn Torossian is a Public Relations executive. How Did Susan Rice Make As Much As $149 Million? by Daniel Greenfield Democrats fight for the people. And by the people, they mean the oppressed and downtrodden working classes of the swamp. Themselves. Rice, who is among the wealthiest members of the Biden White House team, dramatically increased her wealth since her previous White House job during the Obama administration, reporting between $36 million and $149 million in various assets in her new disclosure filing released Saturday morning. That's nearly three to four times the amount she reported back in 2009, when she joined the Obama administration as the ambassador to the United Nations. Back then she reported total wealth between $13.6 million and $40.4 million, and the figure didn't increase dramatically when she served as President Barack Obama's national security advisor during his second term. Where did all that money come from? ABC News' explanation only covers so much ground. Rice, who served as the president of her author and speaking business SERice LLC, earned roughly $620,000 from various corporate and academic speaking engagements in the past year, and $250,000 from book royalties, with her total income from the past year amounting to between $2 million and $6.7 million. It goes without saying that no one is inviting Susan Rice to speak because of her deep insights into how to get ahead by using your political connections. No more than they were paying Hillary millions because they wanted to listen to her shriek from a teleprompter. And the speaking tour has died down, for the same reason that Rice kept cashing in. Companies invest in people who are going to be power players in the government. Everyone knows it. Except the Biden White House which wants to treat the public like idiots with its baldfaced chutzpah. That or it's trying its hand at unintentional comedy. "These White House officials are experienced government leaders whose past private sector experience is part of a broad and diverse skill set they bring to government service," a White House spokesperson told ABC News in a statement. "They have returned to government because of their deep commitment to public service, their desire to help bring our nation out of this time of crisis, and their strong belief that government can work for the American people." Warren Buffett, Donald Trump, or hell, even Ray Tillerson, joining the government is bringing private sector experience to public service. Government employees who take a break in between administrations to make millions are not bringing private sector experience to public service. They're bringing government contacts into the private sector. Klain, a longtime adviser to Biden, has also tripled his wealth since 2009, a comparison of his past and new disclosures shows. When he joined the Obama administration in 2009 as Biden's chief of staff, Klain reported owning between $1.4 million and $3.5 million in assets, and he now enters the Biden administration with between $4.4 million and $12.2 million in various assets. Zients reported owning between $89.3 million and $442.8 million in assets, including various investment funds, real estate properties and cash shares. He has divested his shares in his private investment firm, Cranemere Group, as well as $1 million worth of shares in Facebook, where he has served as a board member. Deese's wealth has also multiplied dramatically since 2009, when he took his first White House job as Obama's special assistant for economic policy. In 2015, just a few months into his role as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, Deese reported owning between $81,000 and $215,000 in assets -- but now, as a member of the Biden administration, he's reported between $2 million and $7.2 million in assets. Prior to joining the Biden administration, Deese made $2.3 million in salary from the investment firm BlackRock as the Global Head of Sustainable Investing, compared to the $175,000 in salary he received during his last year as Obama's deputy OMB director. Public service, folks. It's all about the public service. Democrats are masters of graft. Pure and simple. A Moses Montefiore – David Roberts Connection By Saul Jay Singer When Moses Montefiore (1784-1885) was yet a young man, he became one of only 12 licensed Jewish members of the London Stock Exchange and, in short order, accumulated great wealth, became a member of the London aristocracy, and became recognized as the most famous Anglo-Jew of the 19th century. He devoted his later life to philanthropy, spending most his fortune on a broad sweep of Jewish causes across the world, particularly in Eretz Yisrael, but he was also a towering figure in the non-Jewish world, funding schools, hospitals, and other institutions. In England, for example, he not only actively campaigned to abolish slavery but used his own money to back a 20-million-pound government loan to compensate plantation owners for their losses arising out of a new anti-slavery law (1835). Montefiore became strictly observant only after the first of his seven visits to Eretz Yisraelin 1827. An unapologetic Jew, he was obedient to his faith's religious leaders and humble and kind in character. He maintained his own synagogue at his estate at Ramsgate from 1833, where he also built a replica of the biblical Rachel's tomb, and he became a determined opponent of the reform Jewish movement in England. He maintained his position as an honored and respected figure in contemporary secular society while never compromising on his strict fidelity to authentic Judaism. Extreme rarity: Montefiore half-length portrait, published by J.E. Mayall of London, and originally signed by him. For example, when he was appointed as Sheriff of London (1837-38), Montefiore specifically included a contractual provision relieving him of having to work on Shabbos and Yom Tov. He always traveled with a group of at least 10 Jews so that he could be assured a minyan at all times, and he brought his own dishes and kosher food to banquets. Montefiore was elected president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the representative body of British Jewry, and held the position for 44 years. He became the first knighted English Jew (1837), and when Queen Victoria awarded him a baronetcy (1846), she noted Sir Moses' "unceasing exertions on behalf of his injured and persecuted brethren." To Montefiore, an essential part of Orthodox Judaism was not only a belief in the messianic restoration of a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael but also the duty to take affirmative steps to facilitate it. Accordingly, he acquired land to enable Jews to become self-supporting through agriculture, and he later tried to bring industry to Eretz Yisrael through the introduction of a textile factory and printing press. While emphasizing self-reliance and self-sufficiency for Jewish settlers in Eretz Yisrael, he simultaneously continued to fund them and to meet their every need. Furthermore, Montefiore commenced the development of modern Jerusalem by building Mishkenot Shaananim, the first modern Jewish housing project outside the walls of the Old City, and he obtained a permit from the Turkish sultan to rebuild the Hurvah, Jerusalem's central Ashkenazic synagogue. He also inspired the founding of several colonies in Eretz Yisrael, including the Yemin Moshe quarter (named for him) overlooking the Old City walls, where one can still find his famous windmill, which he built to provide cheap flour to the poor. He is credited with laying important groundwork for the establishment of Jewish settlements in Eretz Yisrael and for developing early Zionism. Beautiful etching of Montefiore on the front page of Harper's Weekly, October 20, 1883. Described as the last of the shtadlanim (intercessor/negotiator on behalf of Jewish communities), Montefiore uniquely combined strategic pragmatism and spiritual fervor to further the cause of oppressed Jews everywhere. He famously visited Russia, where he persuaded Tsar Nicholas I to ease the forced assimilation of Jews and to rescind his decree expelling them (1846); traveled to the Vatican, where he tried, but failed, to convince the Pope Pius IX to free Edgar Mortara, a Jewish youth who had been baptized by his Catholic nurse and kidnapped by church officials (1858); and engaged in diplomatic interventions on behalf of Jewish communities in Morocco (1863) and Rumania (1867). Perhaps the greatest of his shtadlan activities, however, was his intervention in the Damascus Affair (1840), an infamous blood libel which drew wide international attention as accusations of ritual murder were brought against members of the Jewish community of Damascus. Eight notable Jews, falsely accused of murdering Father Thomas, a Christian monk, were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered, and the Muslim populace of Damascus fell upon the Jewish synagogue in the suburb of Jobar, pillaged it, and destroyed its Sifrei Torah. Montefiore led a delegation to Mohammed Ali, the ruler of Syria and Egypt, and his now-legendary successful negotiations in Alexandria (August 4-28) secured the unconditional release of the remaining prisoners and recognition of their innocence. Moreover, he persuaded the Sultan to end the provisions of the infamous Pact of Umar, in effect since medieval times, pursuant to which dhimmis (non-Muslims) received Islamic protection on condition that they accept inferior citizenship and agree to subject themselves to institutionalized humiliation. Public celebration of Montefiore's 100th birthday at the Bevis Marks synagogue. Montefiore's 100th birthday, which was declared a public holiday, was celebrated not only throughout the Jewish world but also internationally in the secular world. Exhibited here is a page from the November 1, 1884, Illustrated London News, which was accompanied by a description of the service at the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London commemorating the special birthday (not shown). The illustrations show the procession bringing in a new Sefer Torah (left), the Minchah service; and Chief Rabbi Hermann Adler delivering a sermon. * * * * * One of the most highly acclaimed landscape painters of the 19th century, David Roberts (1796-1894) was recognized as one of the great Victorian artist-travelers and topographical painters whose work was characterized by a distinctly exotic, atmospheric, and ethereal style. In his time, the Christian passion for the Holy Land became an important aspect of Victorian life, and the public's broad fascination with the Near East and the biblical sites they had learned about, but never seen, motivated and stimulated Roberts and set him on the course that would assure his immortality. Roberts became best known for his adventurous journey in 1838-39 across the Sinai Peninsula to Petra, Jerusalem, through Eretz Yisrael, and along the Lebanese and Syrian coasts, during which he recorded Biblical sites, including Jerusalem, Mt. Sinai, Gaza, Ashkelon, Jericho, Jaffa, Tiberius, and Bethlehem, as well as mosques, monasteries, bazaars, and bustling street life. Two paintings of Jerusalem by Roberts. Two paintings of Jerusalem by Roberts. The unique artistic and ingenious sketches he executed during this remarkable exploration further awakened the long-dormant imagination of the common people in the Holy Land and its environs. Correspondence between two famous personalities are particularly valued by collectors, particularly when it establishes a heretofore unknown connection between the individuals involved. The correspondence exhibited here may do just that. I could find no evidence that Montefiore and Roberts knew each other, but this correspondence confirms that they did. In this undated handwritten letter to Roberts, Montefiore, who had apparently loaned a sketch or painting to him, thanks him for its return and offers to make it available to him in the future if needed: Montefiore letter to Roberts. Governor Gate Park Lane, Saturday Night: Sir Moses Montefiore presents his complements to Mr. Roberts and begs to thank him for the return of the Lebanon View of [ ] which Sir Moses [assures?] Mr. Roberts will be much at his service at any time Mr. R[oberts] may want to make drawings from it. As this correspondence suggests, Roberts did not produce his finished Eretz Yisrael paintings in the Holy Land but, rather, brought back sketches and studies which he used as the basis for studio work in the traditional manner. Although his intent was only to produce drawings, paintings, and lithographs that he could sell to the public, his prolific and faithful final works from his Eretz Yisrael trip became immensely popular to the point that they entered the public consciousness as the definitive view of these biblical sites. He described his journeys in a journal, which he later published and which remains available today. Where his predecessors had been concerned primarily with the appearance of architectural remains in Eretz Yisrael, Roberts became captivated by their dramatic impact against the desert setting and by the relationship of the contemporary native people to their heritage. As a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, he ingratiated himself to the local Turkish governor, who granted him unfettered access to the tombs, temples, monuments, and ruins of Egypt, Syria, and Eretz Yisrael. Although he had no formal artistic training, Roberts exhibited his first easel paintings in the Fine Arts Institution in Edinburgh (1822), held his first London exhibition at the Society of British Artists (1824), and held his first exhibition at the Royal Academy and British Institution (1826). His visits to France (1824), Spain and Algeria (1832-33), the Holy Land (1838-39), and Italy (1851, 1853), provided the raw material for many magnificent books illustrated in chromolithography, a newly-developed technique, including Picturesque Sketches in Spain (1837). His magnum opus, however, was Views in the Holy Land (six volumes 1842-1849), which took him eight years of intense work to complete. It was considered at the time the most ambitious work ever published in England with lithographic plates, and one of his greatest admirers was Queen Victoria, who purchased a complete set of his works, which is still part of the British Royal Collection. In this rare June 6, 1847 correspondence, Roberts writes: First page of Roberts letter. As you have often asked, who the painter of the beautiful little [William] Heath scene was – now in your possession – I send you the wind up of his back history which, if you like, you may fit on the back of the picture, as his works, like himself, are little known to collectors generally… Heath (1794-1840) was a British artist who, though originally known for his military scenes, later became an illustrator of color bookplates and some panoramas, which is almost certainly the type of "scene" that Roberts is discussing in this letter. Interestingly, many of his very brief biographies note that little is known about him, confirming Roberts' statement to that effect in this letter. For Jews devoted to Eretz Yisrael, particularly Orthodox Zionists, Roberts' renderings are achingly beautiful and, although done less than 200 years ago, they exhibit an antique quality that evokes images of bygone eras and suggest how the landscapes of the Holy Land may have appeared during ancient times. Israeli Post Office sheetlet issued for the 1987 National Stamp Exhibition in Haifa featuring Roberts' painting of Haifa (1839). Sample of Montefiore stamps and labels from the author's collection. The rare triangular label at the bottom was issued for the 1879 Orthodox Fair, which marked Montefiore's 95th birthday. At the end of the day, the true Montefiore-Roberts connection is that each, in his unique way, shared a common love for Eretz Yisrael based upon his faith and the Bible. However, where Roberts largely devoted his efforts to preserving images of the past, Montefiore devoted his life to protecting the Jewish people and to building the future Jewish homeland. See you tomorrow bli neder We need Moshiach now! Love Yehuda Lave Yehuda Lave, Spirtiual Advisor and Counselor Jerusalem, Jerusalem  Israel 972-585043210 YehudaLave@gmail.com You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us. Unsubscribe