Baltimore, MD, Nov. 28, 2022 — Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing 2,000 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in American public policy, today called upon former President Donald Trump to repudiate the antisemitic rhetoric of two leading purveyors of antisemitism, Kanye West and Nick Fuentes, after Trump met with them at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Endorsing comments made by the Hon. David Friedman, former United States ambassador to Israel, CJV urged Mr. Trump to recognize "You are better than this." “A former President does not enjoy the luxury of meeting over dinner with any oddball," said CJV Vice President Rabbi Dov Fischer, "especially when that fool is a self-declared hater. It was wrong for former President Obama to affiliate with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Louis Farr...
As part of its coalition negotiations, the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party is working to find solutions for the Charedi community's housing crisis. According to haredi businessman Rabbi Zvi Rabinsky, who serves as a member of the Degel Hatorah faction's Housing Committee, all the solutions proposed thus far "put the couples in a coma": For a Charedi couple wishing to purchase an apartment at a reasonable price, there is no option other than integrating into existing Charedi communities to mixed cities in the periphery. "The solutions we are speaking about now are things that will be relevant in another seven years," he explained in an interview with Kol Hai Radio. "This puts people in a coma." "A couple getting married now is going to rent an apartment for seven or eight...
Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran will try to avenge the elimination of its senior officer in Syria, which Iran has blamed on Israel. According to a report on Kan 11 News on Sunday, the fear is that Iran intends to take revenge on whoever is responsible for the assassination of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards officer, Daoud Jaafari. The heads of the Revolutionary Guards participated in Jaafari's funeral, which indicates his status and role in the organization. Last Thursday, Kan 11 News reported that Israel increased the security detail for senior security officials staying abroad, with an emphasis on former senior Mossad officials. This move came into effect a few weeks ago, according to sources familiar with the matter. Jaafari, an office...
The main sticking point in the coalition negotiations between the Likud party and Religious Zionism is responsibility for the Civil Administration and the creation of a policy for settlement and destruction, Israel Hayom reported. According to the report, Religious Zionism has noted that the Civil Administration ignores illegal construction by Arabs while dealing harshly with the same actions by Jews. The party's chairman, MK Bezalel Smotrich, wishes his party to take responsibility for the Civil Administration, with the intention of "ending the takeover of Area C" and making it easier for Jews to build in the area. Under the Oslo Accords, Judea and Samaria was divided into three areas. Area C is under Israeli military and civilian control. Area A refers to parts of the re...
Baltimore, MD – Nov. 27, 2022 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Yisroel Meir & Dena Raskin on the birth of a daughter. יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בתם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!
The head of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, announced that if he wins the elections for Prime Minister, he will move the Canadian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Poilievre, who is serving as the head of the opposition in Canada, made the remarks at a meeting that was held in the Canadian Parliament in the capital city of Ottawa. Among those present at the meeting were Chaim Silberstein and Ran Ishay, two members of the “Keep Jerusalem” organization, which aims to promote research and policy regarding the preservation of Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel. Pierre Poilievre said during the briefing that "during the election campaign I said that I recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and today as the leader of the opposition, the...
Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and MK Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday evening held a meeting, which lasted approximately three hours, together with the negotiating teams of the Likud Party and the Religious Zionist Party. “The meeting was held in a good atmosphere and progress was made on all topics. The parties will meet again tomorrow with the goal of establishing a right-wing government as soon as possible,” the Likud said in a statement published after the meeting. Earlier on Sunday, Smotrich expressed optimism that a right-wing government would be formed in the coming days. "We are, God willing, after a clear victory for the right in the election campaign and in the midst of coalition negotiations, and I can tell you with full confidence: With God's help, a...
Since the Gemara notes that a source in this week’s parsha teaches that Yaakov introduced the Maariv prayers…  May I Eat before I Daven?  Question #1: Reuven calls me: I have not been well, and I need to eat something shortly after awaking. On weekdays, I go to shul to daven when I wake up and I can wait to eat until after davening, but I do not have this option on Shabbos. What should I do? Question #2: Ahuva asks: It is difficult for me to wait for Kiddush until my husband returns from shul. May I eat something before he arrives home? Question #3: Someone told me that a woman may not eat in the morning before she davens, but I remember being taught in Beis Yaakov that we may eat once we say the morning berachos. Is my memory faulty? Answer: The Gemara (Berac...
Fire officials are on scene for a crash that left two people dead on Sunday afternoon. The crash occurred on West Northern Parkway and Greenhaven Drive.
A 62-year old man who was seriously injured in the Wednesday, November 23rd bombings in Jerusalem reported to his doctors and guests at Shaare Zedek Medical Center that his life had been saved in part due to the Tehillim (Psalms) book which was in his pocket when the explosion occurred. On Wednesday morning, the man was travelling from his Jerusalem home to Meron in northern Israel, when he was struck by the force of the explosion. While he was injured by the blast and several fragments of shrapnel from the bomb, he later discovered that one potentially lethal fragment had penetrated the rear cover of the book of Tehilim he was carrying. The fragment made its way all the way through the pages of the book before coming to a full stop at verse 7 of Chapter 124. The verse reads Nafshe...
Ya'akov barely escapes his homicidal brother, fleeing from his family, penniless and alone. Traveling at night to a faraway sanctuary, he is uncertain about his future and uncomfortable about his past. Though his mother supported him and promoted his interests, his father always favored his violent older brother. Even though Ya'akov secured his father’s blessings, he never received his father’s explicit endorsement.  As Yaakov departed for the unknown, he was still unsure whether his father endorsed his behavior. Carrying all that pain, uncertainty, and feelings of abandonment, Ya’akov flees to a safe refuge, hiding from his angry and vengeful brother. His nighttime journey is probably the loneliest scene in the entire book of Bereishit. Lost and bewildere...
The Noam party signed a coalition agreement with the Likud Sunday night, giving Opposition Leader and Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu his second coalition deal. As part of the agreement, the one-member Knesset faction, represented by party chief MK Avi Maoz, will receive control over a new authority which will be established in the next government. Maoz will be appointed deputy minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, with control over a Jewish-National Identity Authority which will be created within the Prime Minister’s Office. Furthermore, Maoz will be given control over the Nativ bureau, which is charged with managing relations between the State of Israel and Jews living in Eastern Europe. On Friday, Otzma Yehudit signed a coalition agreement with the Likud, ...
Iran has blamed foreign countries, including Israel, for a cyber attack on its semi-official Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, AFP reported on Saturday. Fars said in a statement posted to Telegram that its website was disrupted on Friday by a “complex hacking and cyberattack operation, and that “removing possible bugs… may cause problems for some agency services for a few days,” according to the report. Cyber attacks are carried out against Fars “almost daily” by various countries, “including the occupied territories [i.e. Israel],” the statement continued. Iran International reported on Saturday that a group called Black Reward claimed...
'What we are talking about now is an artificial pancreas made of real human cells' The world's largest diabetes awareness campaign has put the disease into focus again. In the central Israeli town of Ness Ziona, a breakthrough diabetes treatment — although still in its pre-clinical phase — looks promising. "What we are talking about now is an artificial pancreas made of real human cells," says Prof. Ariel Revel, medical director at Kadimastem. The professor says he is working on a cure, not a treatment, using human cells that act exactly like the original human pancreas. It is sitting in the pre-clinical phase as it awaits an investigation of a new drug application. "We are able in our new company to produce those cells which originated from stem cell...
'I hope that Israeli and Palestinian authorities take the search for dialogue to heart in a greater way' Pope Francis on Sunday condemned recent bombing attacks in Jerusalem that took the lives of two people and left another 18 wounded, urging Israeli and Palestinian authorities to seek dialogue.  Speaking during the Sunday blessing ceremony in St. Peter’s Square Vatican City the pontiff said that violence was “killing the future” for both sides of the conflict. He called the Jerusalem attacks “vile” and shared his concerns about the increase of violence in the region, including recent clashes in the West Bank city of Nablus.  "Violence kills the future, interrupting the lives of the youngest and weakening the hopes for...
Multiple Israelis claim to have been met by an atmosphere of hostility and hatred at the World Cup in Qatar, with fans refusing to speak to Israeli journalists, waving Palestinian flags in the background of their videos and yelling at them. Moav Vardy, KAN's foreign affairs reporter, was yelled at by a Saudi fan, who told him that "You are not welcome here, this is Qatar, this is our country, there is only Palestine, no Israel." Other videos from Qatar show people immediately walking away when they find out the person interviewing them is Israeli. In one particular video, N12's Ohad Hemo begins to interview a group of Lebanese men who walk away when Hemo tells them he's Israeli. One of them then turns back and asks Hemo what he's doing there and then tells h...
Half of Twitter's top 100 advertisers appear to no longer be advertising on the website. A report from Media Matters for America states that these 50 advertisers have spent almost $2 billion on Twitter ads since 2020 and more than $750 million just in 2022. Seven additional advertisers have slowed their advertising to almost nothing, according to the report, which was published on Tuesday. These companies have paid Twitter more than $255 million since 2020. Chevrolet, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Ford, Jeep, Kyndryl, Merck & Co. and Novartis AG all issued statements about halting Twitter ads or were reported and confirmed as doing so. The others ceased advertising on the platform for a "significant period of time following direct outreach, controversies, and warnings ...
רַבִּי אוֹמֵר...    וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בְּמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְּבַחֲמוּרָה, שֶׁאֵין אַתָּה יוֹדֵעַ מַתַּן שְׂכָרָן שֶׁל מִצְוֹת.                    וֶהֱוֵי מְחַשֵּׁב הֶפְסֵד מִצְוָה כְּנֶגֶד שְׂכָרָהּ, ושְׂכַר עֲבֵרָה כְּנֶגֶד הֶפְסֵדָהּ (אבות ב:א): בֶּן עַזַּאי אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי רָץ לְמִצְוָה קַלָּה כְּבַחֲמוּרָה, וּבוֹרֵחַ מִן הָעֲבֵרָה. שֶׁמִּצְוָה גּוֹרֶרֶת מִצְוָה, וַעֲבֵרָה גוֹרֶרֶת עֲבֵ�...
Spirits at your Simcha Part 2 At simchas and events, a well-stocked bar is often a prime attraction. Are there any kashrus concerns with the beverages served in such venues? In this installment of Let’s Talk Kashrus, Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger is joined by Rabbi Tzvi Haber, Director of Community Kashrus at the COR Kashrus Council of Canada, to discuss this fascinating topic. Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger: Thank you, Rabbi Haber, for joining us. Rabbi Tzvi Haber: It’s a great pleasure. Rabbi Hisiger: There are a number of other issues regarding bars. Let’s talk about those. Rabbi Haber: One serious issue with bars that people may not be aware of is that the bartender, who is provided by the venue, is usually accustomed to going into the non-kosher kitchen where his lemons...
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