Breaking news: 500 New COVID-19 Cases Per Day Expected by Next Week By Hana Levi Julian and Jews are the only minority that tolerates the intolerable by Shmuley Boteach and Turning the Other Cheek By Shalom Pollack and What's My Line? - Lucille Ball (1954) and The passing of Lucille Ball, April 26, 1989 by Dan Rather and Jews don’t owe the world an explanation on Israel by Emily Schraeder and Bennett: It is a crime not to get vaccinated now and The Portion of Pinchas The Inheritance of Daughters
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.
In conjunction with the census that is being taken in preparation for the division of the Land of Israel amongst the tribes we see that only sons will be able to inherit their father's parcel of land. And what if a man had no sons>
This is the question that the daughters of Tzlafchad brought to Moses. Moses, in turn, asked the Almighty how to respond.
G-d's answer: "yes, the daughters of Tzlafchad speak correctly…and you shall transfer their father's land to them" (Numbers 27;7). If there are no sons, the inheritance goes to the daughters.
An allusion to this law is found in the form of the reversed final "nun". And the final letter "nun" alludes to the "nin"(great-grandson) who also is in line to inherit. (Remazei Rabbenu Yoel)
The Three Musketeers at the Kotel
Jews are the only minority that tolerates the intolerable by Shmuley Boteach
There are times when we need kosher hate – that is, the kind of revulsion for wickedness that causes us to say "Enough."
The world will never become a better place until we resolve to fight and resist evil. The globe will never be peaceful until we are inspired to neutralize those who disturb the peace. And social cohesion will never be fully realized until those who tear us apart are stopped. There are times when we need kosher love – that is, the kind of love that brings us all together. And there are times when we need kosher hate – that is, the kind of revulsion for wickedness that causes us to say "Enough."
This could not be more true than of the world's oldest hatred, antisemitism, which is out of control and getting worse by the day, including and especially in the United States. Jews are being beaten in the streets of New York, assaulted in Toronto, and terrorized in Los Angeles. Sadly, for me, none of this is particularly new. I spent 11 years as rabbi to the students of Oxford University. I traveled all over Europe, where Jews are becoming a secret society, afraid to display their Jewishness in the open. We just never believed that it could happen here in the United States. Is that going to happen in America? Will the most powerful country in the world succumb to thuggery? Will the Jewish community surrender to antisemitism? Will we teach our kids to cower in fear? Not if we learn to practice kosher hate, a firm and moral determination to stop antisemitism, racism, and every other form of bigotry. There are, in essence, two forms of hate, just as there are two forms of love.
There is moral love, like that between a mother and child and husband and wife, and there is immoral love, like that between a man and his mistress. Or, infinitely more odious, like that between the German people and their fuhrer. Likewise, there is unkosher and kosher hate. The former is practiced by Hamas against the Jews, the Klan against blacks, and terrorists against democracies. It is an irrational loathing of evil against good. But then there is kosher hate, the desire on the part of the good to stop evil from harming the righteous. Kosher hate never allows us to be indifferent in the face of evil. It removes from us the possibility of ever being neutral bystanders.It speaks volumes that when our African-American brothers and sisters watched a man being killed by a bad cop – even as most cops are heroes –in Minnesota, they marched in their millions through the streets of our nation, with so many emboldened by their refusal to put up with discrimination any more. That's kosher hate, against racism, in action.And the Jews? Oh yes, we rallied as well. After all the recent attacks in New York, our mainstream organizations got together at the end of May and staged an online rally.Such timid displays of resistance to antisemitism will never defeat the problem. And unless we begin to show kosher hate to the perpetrators, we risk America, in terms of antisemitism, becoming like Europe. In the summer of 2017 I took my kids on a journey to the major Holocaust annihilation and concentration sites of Europe: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy France, and more. I chronicled that journey in my book Holocaust Holiday: One Family's Descent into Genocide Memory Hell. The journey started in Berlin where, as we arrived in Tegel Airport, a security guard walked over to me to plead that I remove my young sons' yarmulkes so that they would not get hurt.Yes,we had arrived to commemorate the martyrdom of the six million only to be told that in Europe the unkosher hatred had not abated.ButAmerica is different. It was always different. The pilgrims came here to escape Europe's religious persecution and intolerance. Enshrined in our Constitution is the freedom to worship as we are and to express ourselves as we please. We dishonor our Jewishness and commitment to freedom by suppressing it, and we dishonor America by hiding it. Now is the time for a fierce generation of Americans who determine that they will no longer tolerate the intolerable or accept the unacceptable. We will determine to resist all those whose irrational hatred is tearing the fabric of America apart, beginning with those, from Left to Right, who are infected with the disease of antisemitism, the world's oldest and most malignant prejudice.HATRED OF Jews has taken different forms: as the "other," the "killers of Christ," and the "descendants of apes and pigs." This bigotry has been one of the few historical constants of the last 2,500 years. The degree of antisemitism ebbs and flows, often according to local conditions and the need for a scapegoat.The establishment of Israel allowed antisemitism to reach new heights, even as it hid behind the ridiculous claim that hating the Jewish state is not motivated by hatred of Jews. Since the invasion by five Arab armies in 1948, Israel has been under attack by nations and terrorists seeking its destruction. While Israel was for a time viewed as David fighting the whole Arab world, it is now seen as Goliath trampling on the rights of the Palestinians. Israel alone among the nations is not allowed to defend itself when attacked. It is accused of perpetuating a cycle of violence; and then if, God forbid, a civilian should be killed in a counterterrorism operation, it is pilloried for "war crimes."The the world has settled into a comfortable routine whereby terrorists attack Israel, the Israelis respond, and an outburst of antisemitism follows. As others have noted, the terrorists are like arsonists and Israelis firefighters, but it is the latter who are condemned.No country would tolerate a rocket attack on its capital, but Israel was vilified when it responded to just such an attack on Jerusalem. Over the next 10 days, more than 4,000 rockets were fired at Tel Aviv, Sderot, Ashkelon and other communities within their range.The Arabs have been conditioned by the international community to engage in"no-fault" wars where they are not blamed for setting the fire and then demand a return to the status quo ante after the firefighters put out the flames.And we American Jews? We have allowed this. We have allowed it by failing to publicly and forcefully support Israel, especially in its recent war, and allowing Israel to become toxic, especially on campus. We have allowed it through our timidity and lack of resolve. We have allowed it because we are afraid of what the repercussions of a robust defense of Israel would be for us. But we cannot hide, we cannot fear, we cannot surrender. Antisemitism in America is entering a new chapter, and the only question is whether we will fight it to make it better before it gets worse.
The writer, "America's Rabbi," has just published his newest book, Holocaust Holiday: One Family's Descent into Genocide Memory Hell. Follow him on Instagram and Twitter @RabbiShmuley.
Bennett: It is a crime not to get vaccinated now
PM says vaccine supply will begin to expire on July 9, making it impossible to get both shots afterwards.
Naftali BennettYonatan Sindel/Flash90
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett today (Monday) had a conversation with the heads of local authorities in which he said that "it is a crime to not get vaccinated in this window" of time, Channel 12 News reported.
"To complete the second shot on July 30, you need the first shot to be by July 9," Bennett explained. "It will be possible to continue to be vaccinated even after July 9, but then we will only get one shot, which is infinitely less effective in relation to the Delta strain. Therefore, in simple Hebrew - it is simply a crime not to get vaccinated in this window."
"We want the local authorities to help lead the system of cutting off the contagion chains and to pass on to you what you need. You are much better at it and the goal is to do our best to maintain the health of the citizens of Israel.
The prime minister addressed the youth, most of whom had not yet gone to get vaccinated. "I ask you to go out today and get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The vaccine will also keep you healthy, and also prevent you from missing out on all the pleasures of the great freedom."
Bennett warned that some vaccines may expire soon: "There are enough vaccines right now for everyone. But there is a catch - their validity is about to expire soon and then we will no longer have enough vaccines available for everyone. That is, there is a short window of 11 days and we are racing against time The last date when it will be possible to get vaccinated with the first vaccine is July 9, and three weeks later you will will receive the second vaccine and then the vaccines we have in stock will expire."
So what if a "Palestinian" girl smacks an Israeli soldier across his cheek and the soldier sheepishly walks away.
Turning the other cheek is a Jewish ideal, isn't it?
Oh, excuse me it isn't a Jewish ideal, just something that Jews have perfected.
So what if she spits in his face? Maybe it was really raining and we should not jump to conclusions.
So what if she kicked him and hit him repeatedly? Perhaps he was standing exactly in the path of her limbs as she merely exercised them. Besides, it was occupied territory, wasn't it?
Anything is possible in the quest for "quiet" and favor in the eyes of the world.
Hasn't decades of restraint already won us endless friends and admirers?
So what if she repeatedly cursed the soldier?
"Sticks and stones can break my bones…" We are bigger and better than that.
Or maybe her exact words were lost in the translation and the whole thing is a mistake?
Maybe "Jihad" really means "peaceful introspection".
Nuance is important.
So what if an Israeli soldier (someone's son or father) quietly absorbed the humiliation as the cameras recorded his (our) shame for the world to see?
Israel is debating this latest "incident", and as can be expected, the well-known voices of "reason and temperance" praise the "restraint" of the soldier.
These would be the same sane voices that brought us Arafat and the Oslo blood baths , the hysteric abandonment of our allies in South Lebanon into which the Hizballah immediately entered and butchered our betrayed SLA allies and then showered Israel with rockets.
These are the same voices who expelled thousands of Jews from Gush Katif and northern Samaria and helped create "Gazastan" with its torrent of rockets and death tunnels.
The same voices urged Israel to give the Golan Heights to Assad (Rabin, Peres, and Barak, Netanyahu) in return for the dream of "eating hummus with our neighbors in Damascus".
All of the above actions would make the world love us assuredly.
There was a time when the humiliation of an Israeli soldier was not something that would dare enter the mind of our enemies.
Something has changed.
Some of us have become tired; before our enemy did.
They do not have the required spirit to endure.
Ehud Olmert, former PM said "we are tired of fighting, we want a country that is fun to live in."
The enemy is not tired, He is just getting started.
I have seen and felt this change in the forty years that I live in Israel.
Apparently, I came just as the winds began to turn.
I arrived just after the historic visit of the president of Egypt, Sadat to Jerusalem where our ex-Nazi neighbor was accepted as Messiah by large portions of Israel.
An Arab leader finally smiled at us! Hallelujah! (He had the audacity to wear a tie of interlacing swastikas – probably knowing just how blinded we would be by his smile and not notice)
Nothing he said; none of his arrogant demands, could remove the smile from the faces of the mesmerized Jews.
An Arab leader is actually talking to us!
It doesn't matter what he says.
As soon as it was possible, Israelis made a mass "return Exodus" to Egypt. It lasted until Israelis began being gunned down by the people we so wanted to accept us.
Alas.
The same happened with the initial mad rush into Jordan after our peace treaty with them.
It stopped when Israelis were forced to hide anything that identifies them as Jewish for fear of their safety. In return for the King talking to us we assured them access to our precious water, agriculture assistance and the very stability of the king's throne.
We only sought their smile but were rejected again.
What were we doing wrong?
Why are we so love starved?
Two thousand years of being spurned, humiliated and scorned may have something to do with it.
Having our own country – a strong, wealthy, free country was supposed to finally change this.
For many, it still has not.
Many frets; we do not live alone in this world…
After all, to whom can we look for our salvation…?
(It is interesting that amongst the more religious in Israel this is less of a concern and perhaps the key to the entire phenomenon).
The "Palestinian" teen slapper is a hero and an example for millions like her who view the viral u tube clip.
How much more sympathy will it win for Israel?
It has been said, "you can take the Jew from Exile but you can not remove the Exile from him."
What's My Line? - Lucille Ball (1954)
Lucille Ball is the mystery guest for this episode of What's My Line?
The passing of Lucille Ball, April 26, 1989.
I couldn't get the You tube with Dan Rather on the death of Lucille to work so I included another one below. If you use this tag and go right to Youtube you can watch it.
Antisemitism doesn't seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon. In fact, what we've seen is the normalization of antisemitism at an unprecedented level in the name of "anti-Zionism."
Much has already been written about the impact of online antisemitism and how it's manifested in a massive campaign of violence and harassment against Jews around the world. Many thought that as the violence in Israel subsided, the antisemitism would calm down as well for the Diaspora. Unfortunately, antisemitism doesn't seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon. In fact, what we've seen is the normalization of antisemitism at an unprecedented level in the name of "anti-Zionism." Somehow, it's not only become socially acceptable to be an antisemite, but it's also, become a part of "cancel culture" to attack Jews and pro-Israel voices who dare to stand up for themselves. Merely opposing calls to "free Palestine" is enough to get one canceled, threatened, or worse. The result of the normalization of antisemitism has been the bullying of Jews around the world who are faced with outrageous litmus tests of either condemning and bashing the State of Israel and the Jewish right to self-determination, or suffering brutal (sometimes even physical) attacks and harassment for being "Zionist." Ona public level, a Jewish designer at Zara, Vanessa Perilman, got into an argument with a Palestinian model at Zara, Qaher Harhash, who had made incorrect statements about Israel's actions against Palestinians. Perilman sent an emotionally charged private message to Harhash, who then publicly shared it. An online mob began pressuring Zara to condemn the designer, which Zara eventually did. But they did not condemn the comments of the Palestinian model who was sharing disinformation, the nature of which we have seen contributing to antisemitism around the world. Once again, it's socially acceptable to spread antisemitism, but when Jews fight back, they get condemned. The false dichotomy of being "the oppressed" or the "oppressor" is creating a dangerous environment in which Jews are being backed into a corner. In order to be "good Jews" and to be accepted in the progressive camp, you must bash Israel, Zionism, and even fellow Jews who speak out in defense of their country. Look no further than the recent petty comments of comedian Seth Rogan, or the fawning tweets this week from Sarah Silverman, supporting Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, two congresswomen who played an essential role in the recent rise of antisemitism in America. Instead of using her platform to correctly condemn the libelous accusations made by "The Squad" on the House floor while Israelis were being bombarded with rockets, Silverman actually legitimized them. By stating she wished a "progressive Jewess" was in the squad, she gave credence to the antisemitic views of folks like Omar and Tlaib that the 95% of Jews who are Zionists do not have a home in the progressive camp – and that to be progressive you must oppose Israel. Ona personal level, I've had numerous friends who were previously uninvolved, or in some cases even pro-Israel, suddenly take a sharp anti-Israel turn, becoming the biggest critics of Israeli military policy and the very existence of the State of Israel.
On the other side, I have numerous friends who have been isolated and bullied for refusing to condemn Israel or jump on the bandwagon of inflammatory toxic rhetoric and wildly untrue accusations of "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide" supposedly being committed by Israel. WHAT CHANGED? Is Israeli policy so much worse? Has the occupation intensified? Are more Palestinians dying? In fact the opposite. The only change is that the illegitimate and obsessive criticism of Israel has morphed into old school Jew-hatred more than ever before.This is unacceptable and the entire Jewish community and all its supporters must unite to speak out against this vile bigotry Jews around the world are experiencing. But there is one more aspect to this wave of Jew-hatred that must be stated unequivocally: Jews do not owe anyone an explanation on Israel.Whether you are a Jew, an Israeli, or simply a Zionist, unless you are the spokesperson of the IDF or the prime minister of the State of Israel, you don't owe anyone an explanation about Israeli policy or Israeli military actions. You don't need to condemn Israel, or state that you "support Palestinians and also Israelis." You don't need to argue about whether Israel is moral or not, or talk about Islamophobia because of anything which occurs in Israel. You don't need to answer to anyone, or to prove yourself, ever, simply because you are a Jew. Being a proud Jew who supports the Jewish right to self-determination in the Land of Israel doesn't necessitate that you explain how you don't "hate" Palestinians or demand that you explain how you support a Palestinian state too. The Palestinian state is a political question, not an ideological belief about fundamental rights of a people, as is Zionism. A Jew (or anyone) can support Zionism without needing to explain themselves about Palestinians because Zionism doesn't negate anyone else's right to self-determination. A Palestinian state has nothing to do with believing that Jews have a right to live in their ancient homeland, and anyone who assumes otherwise holds prejudiced views about Jews.The demand that Jews (or Israelis) "condemn" Israel's actions in and of itself reeks of antisemitism and must be called out. No Jew should ever be pressured or expected to explain the policies of Israel, the same way that an Arab in New York has no obligation to answer for the actions of the Palestinian government. The woke campaign to cancel proud Jews must be stopped, because there is nothing "woke" about smearing and bullying one of the most historically oppressed groups in the history of mankind. The writer is the CEO of Social Lite Creative LLC and a research fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute.
500 New COVID-19 Cases Per Day Expected by Next Week
Israel's Health Ministry said Wednesday that it is expecting to see at least 500 new cases of COVID-19 per day by next week, if not more, multiple media outlets reported.
By Wednesday, health officials reported the daily new case count had reached around 300, due mostly to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant identified first in India.
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The Health Ministry reported that 283 new cases of the virus were diagnosed on Tuesday; by Wednesday evening, another 224 new cases were reported, with several more hours in the day left to go.
Just two weeks ago, the ministry reported 26 new cases diagnosed per day – ten times less than the current morbidity. One week ago, the ministry reported 138 new cases in one day – more than five times the rate than the previous week. This week, the rate was double.
Of more concern is the fact that about half of the adults who became infected were already fully vaccinated. The Health Ministry said that some 90 percent of the new infections are being caused by the Delta variant.
No Increase in Serious Cases – Yet The good news is the number of infected Israelis reported in serious to critical condition has remained low and in fact is still dropping, with just 24 patients reported on Wednesday – down two from Sunday. Of those, sixteen are on respirators. In January 2021, almost 1,200 coronavirus patients were listed in serious/critical condition.
At the request of the Ministry, the Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical response service has again begun to vaccinate Israeli citizens.
MDA said it plans to establish vaccination complexes throughout Israel in cooperation with local authorities and the Ministry of Health to inoculate Israeli teens ages 12 to 15.
A campaign to vaccinate all of Israel's teenagers in as short a period as possible was kicked off this past Tuesday by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett as he toured a vaccination center together with Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and incoming Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash, who has served as Coronavirus Commissioner up to this point.
Bennett told reporters, "We can beat the current coronavirus wave without restrictions. Vaccinations instead of lockdowns, masks instead of restrictions."
Travel Restrictions Return Some restrictions appear inevitable, however. The government has prohibited flights abroad to "maximum risk" countries, listed as "red" on the Health Ministry's "traffic light" system of coding.
The move that was confirmed by the Knesset Law and Constitution Committee, albeit with a warning from the committee chair, Labor MK Gilad Kariv, that such a measure should not be decided unilaterally by government ministers without Knesset oversight. He threatened to cancel any further sanction imposed in that manner.
The list of "red" countries includes Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa. Those who violate the restriction will be hit with a NIS 5,000 fine.
In addition, incoming flights from "red" countries have been moved to Terminal 1 to segregate those passengers from travelers in Terminal 3 who are entering the country from safer countries.
BGI Airport May Close If Morbidity Continues to Rise Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said Wednesday the Israel may be forced to close Ben Gurion International Airport again, if the number of new daily cases of the virus continues to rise.
"The reality today is different from what it was a few months ago, and we do try to keep flights open to citizens," Shaked said during a visit to BGI Airport.
"It is possible that in the future – if the morbidity increases – flights will be stopped. We are currently trying to protect normal daily life.
But she added: "If there is a significant outbreak, closing the airport is the solution."
Bennett Appeals to Teens to 'Get Vaccinated' "Our strategy is the maximum protection of Israeli citizens with the minimum violation of routine," Bennett had said on Sunday at the start of the weekly government cabinet meeting.
"I am appealing directly to young people: I know how much you want to enjoy the summer and you will be able to. We do not want to impose any limits – not on parties or trips or on anything. But precisely because of this, if you do not want to have limitations, go out … and get vaccinated," Bennett said. "Talk to your parents and get vaccinated."
To the parents, he said, "The Delta disease can harm those who are not vaccinated, and that is the children."
Bennett urged parents to get their children vaccinated, adding that he has set a goal of inoculating 30,000 teens each day until July 9 – the final date on which it is possible for Israelis to get the first shot of the two-dose vaccination series.
There will be enough vaccine doses for the second shot, to be administered 21 days later; but by the end of this month, the viability date of all those vaccine doses currently in Israel's possession will expire.
"Thus we have 10 days in which we can still administer the first vaccination," Bennett said Tuesday.
"We invite parents to come with their children to get vaccinated, in order to get back to routine and for the health of us all," MDA Director-General Eli Bin said Wednesday in a statement sent to media.
"The plague is not yet behind us and it is very important that the youth get vaccinated, so we will defeat the coronavirus."
At present, there are four communities rated as "red" by the ministry under its "traffic light" system: Binyamina, Kfar Saba, Kochav Yair and Tzufim. Just one is rated at "orange" at present: Modi'in. Four more cities were rated at "yellow" – Herzliya, Pardes Hanna, Ramle and Tel Aviv.
