Aliyah?

 

dealing with abusive people

 

Three ingrates

 Three are ingrates: The earth, the woman, and the soul. The earth, as it is stated: “The earth is not sated with water” (Proverbs 30:16). The woman, from where is it derived? “[So is the way of an adulterous woman:] She eats, and wipes her mouth, and says: I did not do wrong” (Proverbs 30:20). The soul, from where is it derived? “But his soul is also not filled” (Ecclesiastes 6:7). Three take abundantly and give abundantly: the earth, the sea, and the government. 

Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: “Soul” is written here six times corresponding to the six days of Creation. The Holy One blessed be He said to the soul: ‘Everything that I created during the six days of Creation, I created only for your sake, and you emerge and sin? “When a person will sin.”’

שְׁלשָׁה נוֹטְלִין בְּשׁוֹפַע וְנוֹתְנִין בְּשׁוֹפַע: הָאָרֶץ, וְהַיָּם, וְהַמַּלְכוּת. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ דְּסִכְנִין בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי לֵוִי, שִׁשָּׁה פְּעָמִים כְּתִיב כָּאן נֶפֶשׁ, כְּנֶגֶד שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְרֵאשִׁית, אָמַר לָהּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לַנֶּפֶשׁ, כָּל מַה שֶּׁבָּרָאתִי בְּשֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְרֵאשִׁית לֹא בָרָאתִי אֶלָּא בִּזְכוּתֵךְ וְאַתְּ יוֹצֵאת וְחוֹטֵאת, נֶפֶשׁ כִּי תֶחֱטָא.

Vayikra Rabba 4:2

teshuvah

 teshuvah

Understanding Cults: The Basics Steven A Hassan PhD Freedom of Mind

 

IDENTITY

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To help others, it is important to understand mind control and undue influence.

KEY POINTS

• No one joins a cult; they are recruited by systematic social influence processes.
• Destructive individuals and cults use deception and undue influence to make people dependent and obedient.
• Not all influence is bad. There is a difference between due and undue influence.
• Cult leaders are typically malignant narcissists and want people who will be obedient to them. 

Ever had an experience with a cult or controlling relationship? Have a friend or family member caught up in a black-and-white, all-or-nothing conspiracy cult, multi-level marketing, religious or political group?

To help them or yourself, you need to learn how the mind works and how people can be programmed into a destructive authoritarian cult. Not all are destructive, some are benign. There are specific strategies, patterns, and behaviors used by cultic groups to recruit new members and manipulate and control them.

continue 

Understanding Cults: The Basics | Psychology Today

Nefesh b'Nefesh - The Dark Side

So what is the bright side of NBN? It's the ubiquitous ads which I would image comprise a large part of their budget. Live the dream and all that nonsense.

In other words, the bright side doesn't exist. It's a marketing campaign.

I can't say that I hoped for much help from NBN when I got to Israel because they weren't that helpful in America either. They have a website. It contains some information. That's it really.

They don't have counselors, not real ones, ones that counsel. They have these spoiled ladies from Teaneck that don't even pretend to care about you. You meet for half an hour and any questions after that result in your being directed to the web site. It's always the web site.

NBN certainly doesn't tell you about the downside of aliyah or the dangers. They paint a rosy fantasy because they make a living from you making aliyah.

They don't tell you about the young people going off the derech. That's a big omission. Criminal.

flexibility

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TK_mWS-CPS0?feature=share

equivalent to all the other mitzvos

 

וְאָמַר רַב אַסִּי שְׁקוּלָה צְדָקָה כְּנֶגֶד כׇּל הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְהֶעֱמַדְנוּ עָלֵינוּ מִצְוֹת וְגוֹ׳ מִצְוָה אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא מִצְוֹת

And Rav Asi says: tzedakah  is equivalent to all the other mitzvos combined, as it is stated in that verse: “We also established mitzvos upon ourselves.” A mitzva is not written here but rather mitzvos. (Baba Basra 9a)

The Schar Syllogism

The Schar Syllogism

 

Schar is divine reward. According to the Oxford dictionary, a syllogism is “an instance of a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn (whether validly or not) from two given or assumed propositions (premises), each of which shares a term with the conclusion, and shares a common or middle term not present in the conclusion (e.g., all dogs are animals; all animals have four legs; therefore all dogs have four legs ).” 

The Jewish world has syllogisms of its own, including invalid ones. One of the latter goes like this: This purpose of this fleeting world is only to earn some unspecified reward in the world of eternal bliss via collection of mitzvah points. Gemara study, specifically   contemporary pilpul, or Brisker lomdus on yeshivishe mesechtas, produces more mitzvah points than all your mitzvos combined, so we should spend all our time, if possible, on that. 

One result of this formula is that mitzvos get pushed aside as do one’s interests and talents. Those don’t produce the greatest schar, so why waste time on them? But that contradicts Koheles which tells us that “The end of the matter is to fear Hashem and keep His commandments. That is the purpose of man.”[1] 

Why would Koheles contradict the schar syllogism if the latter is Torah truth? After all, you hear it all the time so it must be true. That’s because the schar syllogism is a fallacy and a perversion of basic Torah principles. Maimonides lists knowledge of God first in his list of mitzvos[2] and the first of his Thirteen Principles. As Rabbi Assaf Bednarsh writes, “Rambam, however, views knowledge of God as a ‘mitzvah’ itself, as an end and not a means, as an ennobling spiritual experience and a connection to the Divine. It is no wonder, then, that Rambam counts the first words of God’s revelation not only as the first of his thirteen principles, but as the first and most glorious of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah.”[3]

We see this in the posuk from Koheles because, as Rabbi Avigdor Miller explains, fear of God means awareness of God.

 

The awareness of Hakodosh Baruch Hu, to be aware of God, is the prime purpose of our existence in life. We are in this world chiefly to attain a clarity of perception of Hakodosh Baruch Hu. Reishis chochmah yiras Hashem. The highest of all wisdom is to be aware of Hashem. We call it yiras Hashem, but that’s a form of awareness of Hashem. [4]

 

Torah study is a fundamental tool for acquiring knowledge of God for if the goal is knowledge, study will play a major role in it. That’s obvious. But you need to perform mitzvos too for our observance of them helps us attain the humility to acquire knowledge, and observance of mitzvos brings knowledge into our ruach and neshamah so that we enrich our daas, or experiential knowledge. True knowledge consists of chochmah, binah, and daas. You see this again in Koheles, as we are told to fear God (have awareness of Him) and keep His commandments. They go together. Full knowledge of God requires observance of commandments. As Rabbi Chaim Navon writes, “the Rambam maintains that perfection of the soul cannot be achieved without perfection of the body.”[7]  So, we can’t spend all our time on pilpul. However, the schar syllogism encourages us to do exactly that.

Additionally, knowledge of God requires study of nature. As Maimonides wrote in the Mishneh Torah:

 

And what is the way that will lead to the love of Him and the fear of Him? When a person contemplates His great and wondrous works and creatures and from them obtains a glimpse of His wisdom, which is incomparable and infinite, he will straightway love Him, praise Him, glorify Him, and long with an exceeding longing to know His great name; even as David said, ‘My soul thirsts for God, for the living God’ (Psalm 42:3).

 

And when he ponders these matters, he will recoil frightened, and realize that he is a small creature, lowly and obscure, endowed with slight and slender intelligence, standing in the presence of Him who is perfect in knowledge. And so David said: ‘When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers–what is man that You are mindful of him?’ (Psalm 8:4-5).[8]

 

That’s not Brisker lomdus.

You also are not going to acquire knowledge of God by squashing your talents after entering a profession only based on how lucrative it may be, being miserable after marrying person only for the support she’ll provide for Torah study or the Torah that he will study, feeling uninspired by living in a place whose only merit is that it is near a yeshiva, wallowing in the cynical outlook that “nothing else matters” but the daf, or living in ignorance about the world because all knowledge outside of the daf is branded flippantly as “nonsense.” Your talents engage you in the experience of God. If you operate from where you are weak, you’ll develop a weak connection. Passion for living connects you to God. Moreover, a major part of knowledge of God comes from experiencing gratitude to Him. The word Jew comes from the name Yehuda, which is the noun form of the verb “to thank” or “to praise.” A Jew gives thanks to God. You won’t do that if you are miserable. And one shouldn’t make people miserable and then make them more miserable by demanding that they pretend to be happy or make them feel guilty for being unhappy. That’s not a realistic approach.

So, this idea of shutting out secular studies, choosing a profession only to grab the most money, marrying a person only so that she will help you to engage in more Brisker lomdus -- all of that is not Maimonidean. Yet, he is the sage that Briskers in particular look to as the ultimate authority for how to conduct oneself in this world. (I’m not saying that Briskers proffer the syllogism, but that it is often proffered in their name.)

There’s another problem with the schar syllogism. The idea that Torah studying produces the greatest schar is based on an interpretation of the Mishnah: “Talmud Torah k’neged kulam” as Torah study produces a reward greater than all the other mitzvos combined. (Actually, at most it would be equal to all those others combined, not greater than them as is commonly stated.) However, there are numerous other k’neged kulam statements of Chazal such those concerning tzitzis,[9] bris milah,[10] Shabbos,[11] tzedukah,[12] and yishuv ha’aretz.[13] All of these are described as being k’neged kulam. Even lashon hara is described as being k’neged kulam.[14] So obviously, you can’t take the phrase literally because each is included in the others. Not only that but the word used is k’neged which does not mean greater than and doesn’t even mean equal to. It means connected to, against, or adjacent to as in eizer k’negdo (helpmate).[15] It is possible that the phrase means that the mitzvah is adjacent to all the others, ie. it is connected to them. For example, tzitzis remind us of all the other mitzvos. Torah study brings us to do all the mitzvos. It is k’neged them. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik was asked by a student, “What do we mean by תלמוד תורה כנגד כולם?” He answered, “It is not that this mitzvah is equal to all the mitzvos, but rather that it brings the person to do all the other mitzvos. The whole purpose of the limud is that it comes to asiah and asiah is the ikur.”[16] His words likely are based on the Mishnah, “Study is not the most important thing, but actions (are).”[17] Meanwhile, Rabbi Soloveitchik was a once-in-a-generation scholar. Rabbi Elchonon Wasserman said about him, “I was there in Boston and I never saw someone eat, sleep, and dream Torah as he did.”[18]

Additionally, Brisker lomdus is only one type of study of the Gemara, a recently invented type. It’s a wonderful discipline; although it faced criticism when it was originally introduced in the 19^th century. Traditional Talmud study was more concerned with halacha and understandings within the context of the page and less concerned with the abstract categories across Shas that are the hallmark of Brisker lomdus. I am not disparaging this form of Torah study but rather the use of it as a wrecking ball to smash other forms of Avodas Hashem.

Even study of Gemara is only one type of study. The Gemara itself tells the story of the sages Levi and Shimon, the son of Rebbi, who were learning the meaning of certain verses of Tanach from Rebbi. After they were done, Levi wanted to study Mishlei and Shimon wanted to study Psalms. Levi was overruled, and they studied Tehillim. When they reached the verse, “But his desire is in the Torah of G-d,” Rebbe said, “A person learns Torah only from a place that his heart desires.” Upon hearing this, Levi said, “Rebbi, with this teaching you have permitted me to stand up (from studying Psalms, and to learn Proverbs instead, as I desire).”[19]

 The Ramchal says you need kabbalah to teach about God:

 

The need for this wisdom is very great. First of all, we have an obligation to know it since it is a mitzva as it states (Devarim 4:39) “You should know this day and place it in your heart that the L-rd is G-d in Heaven above and the earth below – there is no other.” The verse says that it is not enough to have faith, but we are obligated also to have knowledge about G-d to the degree that is placed on the heart. We are obligated to know “the L-rd is G-d in the Heavens above and on the earth below – there is no other.” 

 

....We need to find a way of achieving this knowledge. The sole answer is that it is only obtained by this true wisdom which reveals and teaches the true nature of Providence and everything which is connected to it. It teaches the true nature of G-d’s unity from all aspects that are possible to comprehend. This is the essence of kabbalah to teach the true meaning of G-d’s unity and to inform that everything that was and will be is supervised by Him to the smallest detail. It teaches the nature of G-d’s conduct and His deeds from the beginning of creation to the end of the world.[20]

 

The schar syllogism reduces life to a mathematical formula that works against the earning of Olam Haba because it pushes away mitzvos, talents, interests, happiness, and the many avenues of study -- all of which are necessary for gaining knowledge of God which is a prime purpose of this life.

It is no coincidence that the schar syllogism suits those who try to extract money from baalei batim who are told that they can get a share in lomdus by giving money to those who engage in it. Maimonides said that taking money for Torah study extinguishes the light of faith from the world. “Anyone who believes in his heart that one ought occupy oneself with Torah and not work, but support oneself with charity, behold, this one desecrates the Divine name, dishonors the Torah, extinguishes the light of faith, brings evil to oneself and forfeits life in the world to come, because it is forbidden to benefit from the words of Torah in this world.”[21] We can see how because an over-the-top emphasis on one type of Torah study at all costs at the expense of all other parts of  Jewish life pulls people away from mitzvos and other activities all of which generate knowledge of God and faith, which are the most essential mitzvos and which bring a person to Olam Haba.

 

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[1] Koheles 12:13

[2] Sefer Hamitvos 1.

[3] Rabbi Assaf Bednarsh, “Is Belief in God a Miztvah? Maimonides on the First Commandment,” Orthodox Union, Torah Initiatives, https://www.ou.org/chag/files/2020/05/R-Bednarsh-article.pdf.

[4] Rabbi Avigdor Miller, Tape, 047- Reliance on Hashem, 8:12

[5] Maimonides, Hilchos Teshuva 8:2. Translation from Asher Buchman,  “Israel’s Inheritance: Olam Haba,” Hakirah 10, 2010.

[6] Rambam, Morech Nevuchim 21. See Rav Chaim Navon, “Intro to the Guide of the Perplexed-Lesson 21: The Purpose of the Torah and the Reasons for the Mitzvot, Etzion.org, https://www.etzion.org.il/en/ philosophy /great- thinkers/rambam/purpose-torah-and-reasons-mitzvot. Nevertheless, Olam Haba is not just for philosophers. As Asher Buchman writes, “Based on this statement and other statements in the Moreh and Perush HaMishnah that equate Olam haba with attained knowledge, some claim that Rambam would deprive all but the greatest philosophers of the World to Come. Such a conclusion, however, would render meaningless the principle that all of Israel has a portion in the World to Come. Rambam’s meaning is more complex than some philosophers would have us believe.” Asher Buchman,  “Israel’s Inheritance: Olam Haba,” Hakirah 10, 2010.

[7] Rabbi Chaim Navon, “The Purpose of the Torah and the Reasons for the Mitzvot,”   https://etzion.org.il/en/philosophy/great-thinkers/rambam/purpose-torah-and-reasons-mitzvot

[8] Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Yesodei haTorah, 2:2.

[9]Nedarim 25a, Menachot 43b)

[10] Yerushalmi, Nedarim 12b.

[11] Yerushalmi, Berachot 9a.

[12] Yerushalmi, Pe’ah 3a.

[13] Tosefta, Avodah Zarah 5.

[14] Yerushalmi, Peah 4a; Tosefta, Pe’ah 1:2.

[15] Genesis 2:18.

[16] David Holtzer, The Rav Thinking Aloud, p. 69. The student paraphrased Rabbi Soloveitchik’s answer.

[17] Pirkei Avos 1:18.

[18] Henoch Cohen, “Learning with the Rav: The Early Years in Yeshiva,” Mentor of Generations (Jersey City: Ktav, 2008), p. 3. Edited by Zev Eleff.

[19] Avodah Zara 19a. See Rabbi Moshe Newman, “Whatever Your Heart Desires,” https://ohr.edu/this_week/talmud_tips/7741.

[20] Ramchal, Klali Mileches Moshe, in Eidensohn, Daas Torah, p. 217.

[21] Maimonides, Hilchos Talmud Torah 3:10,

Shmuel Maybruch - What Do You See In the Window? LInked post

Do you have talents waiting to be discovered?

Maybe you have notice that you have a certain skill, but have an inkling that you do not fully appreciate it?

Is it possible that you are completely unaware of some of your own capabilities and strengths? 

Hashem had that concern about the Jewish people in the wilderness. As the time came for them to build the Mishkan, the people had stifled, hidden abilities. Hashem exhorted Moshe Rabbeinu to help the individuals discover these masked treasures.  

What Do You See In the Window? – Rabbi Shmuel Maybruch's Blog

Cliches

 Cliches are a problem in the frum world. Jargon. We relish our jargon to the point where it all becomes meaningless. Talmid chochom, gadol, bitachon. Over and over again until the words mean nothing and clowns like xxxx and xxxxx can steal the title of talmid chochom because people have no idea what is really involved. People have vague ideas of the meaning of these terms and hold them up as vague goals but have no idea how to proceed, no sense of the details or complexity involved. 

blessings recited over Torah Sages and non-Jewish scholars.

 3a. Talmud Bavli, Berachot 58a – There are different blessings recited over Torah Sages and non-Jewish scholars.

הרואה חכמי ישראל אומר ברוך שחלק מחכמתו ליראיו.

חכמי עובדי כוכבים אומר ברוך שנתן מחכמתו לבריותיו [לבשר ודם]

One who sees an outstanding scholar of Torah wisdom recites, “Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who separated from His wisdom to those who fear Him.”

One who sees a scholar of worldly wisdom recites, “Blessed are You, our God, King of the universe, Who gave from His wisdom to man.”

Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 60:9

Kitzur Shulchan Arukh 60:9

(9) When you see an outstanding Torah scholar in Israel, you should say: Baruch ata Adonoy Elokeinu melech ha'olam shechalak meichochmaso lirei'av,9According to the poskim, you should also say Shehecheyanu if you have not seen him for thirty days. (Mishnah Berurah 225: 1)[Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe Who has apportioned of His knowledge to those who fear him]. (Because Israel is God's portion and clings to Him, the term "apportioned" is used.) When you see an outstanding scholar, renowned for secular knowledge,10Excluding gentile theologians. (Mishnah Berurah 224: 10) who is a gentile, you say: Baruch ata Adonoy Elokeinu melech ha'olam shenasan meichochmaso levasar vadam, [Who has given of his wisdom to human beings].

Dishonest politicians

On 3/21/21, Israeli politician Naftali Bennett appeared on national Israeli television during the election campaign and stated, “I won’t allow Yair Lapid to be prime minister, including in a rotation (agreement.)” and “I will not establish a government based on the support of Mansour Abbas from the Islamic Movement.” He signed a document affirming those words and held it up to the camera.  In the first weeks of June of 2021, after the election, Bennett entered a rotation agreement with Lapid and established a government with the support of Mansour Abbas. 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/bennett-signs-pledge-not-to-join-government-with-yair-lapid-as-prime-minister/

We see once again that Israel does not have a democracy. A guy with 5% of the vote (6 of 120 seats) should not be able to become head of a country, particularly when he breaks WRITTEN promises to do it. [Note, in the German election of 1924, the Nazi party won 6% of the vote.] As Mark Levin noted, "Naftali Bennett is the man that is set to replace Bibi as prime minister. How did this come to pass?Among other things, he ran TO THE RIGHT of Netanyahu in the election. Even still, he and his party received less than FIVE PERCENT of the popular vote. How does a politician who barely registers among the voters become a prime minister in a democracy? To my knowledge, it has never happened, certainly not in Israel."

The whole system in Israel is riddled with problems. New parties can't emerge because there's a 4 seat threshold. So you get the same politicians decade after decade. You don't vote for people, you vote for parties. The parties make crazy deals that can, as we see here, totally violate their promises. Bennett leads a party called Yamina, which means Right, as in Right wing. And he has abandoned the right wing and joined the left, after promising during the campaign on television, signing a document, that he would never join with Lapid of the left. 

Anybody who thinks this is a vibrant democracy is so drunk on Zionism that they can't walk a straight line. 

Update: excellent editorial on the Bennett betrayal

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/308122

Rabbi Prof. Dov Fischer: "The Israeli Left has an obsessive compulsion to shriek constantly about the sanctity of “Israeli Democracy.” And yet no institution has done more to shame, tarnish, and cheapen Israeli democracy than Israel’s left, including its latest deceit. A party that literally — literally — called itself “Right Wing” (“Yamina”) now has formed a government dominated by left parties: (i) Yesh Atid, (ii) even more left-wing socialist Labor, (iii) even more extreme-left Meretz, and (iv) off-the-wall Islamist and anti-Zionist Ra’am."

teacher

 It is a sacred duty for a teacher who wants to succeed, to acquire two qualities. 1) He must be competent in the subject he teaches, possess pedagogical skills, and 2) he must sincerely like the pupil. Failing these preconditions, he is not likely to succeed in his task.

Akeidat Yitzchak

70:1

Akeydat Yitzchak translated by Eliyahu Munk

Stun grenades on nice Jewish ladies

 As you may know, the Israeli 'police', raided the shul on Ein Yaakov St in Meah Shaarim and managed to fire a stun grenade at some women who happened to be walking by.

The raid was because men came to pray there in violation of the over recent top health ordinances. No country in the world has imposed the draconian restrictions of Israel. In Sweden, a country of similar population size, they are ignoring the virus and their incidence rate is the same as Israel's. Japan, a country of 126 million people, is ignoring the virus and has less infections and deaths than Israel.
One sees that Israel is capable of becoming a police state without blinking, such is not only its size but its militaristic mentality. Meanwhile, 800 people in Israel die each year from second-hand smoking (8,000 from smoking), but not much is being done about that. People get killed every year living in the territories, but the government continues to build there even though there's plenty of land behind the Green Line.
I haven't been more than 100 meters from my house in a month. The rules change every day and the government doesn't communicate them very well. There are no posters or fliers in my neighborhood describing the restrictions and nobody comes around telling us. So, if you don't have the Internet, you'll have no idea what's going on.
This week the government decreed that all people must wear masks when outside their homes even as many experts say masks don't help. As Fox News reported:
“Surgical masks will not prevent your acquiring diseases. Rather, surgical masks are typically used by surgeons to protect their patients from their mouth-borne germs —  but those masks don't work to prevent inhaling diseases,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, and the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases told Fox News.
Thus, the masks give a false sense of security and actually endanger people, particularly as they touch their faces to adjust the masks.
But in Israel, the government, really the security cabinet, just does what it wants. There are no checks and balances, no lawyers to consult. There's no feeling out the public, getting a sense of what people want. Just decrees from people who learn to be very bossy during their army years.
The Jerusalem Compost Heap (Post) in reporting on this placed all the blame on stun grenade incident on the Charedim of course, claimed 3 police were injured (doubtful) and 2 by-standers had only "light wounds." Their article was called, "Haredi rioters clash with police in Mea She’arim over lockdown."
A 60 second altercation that starts with a police raid on a shul is not a riot. Israelis have no clue what a riot is. They just throw around the term to justify police violence. Riots involve property damage, smashed windows, overturned cars. I have seen protests in Jerusalem, none of them were riots. It is nearly entirely passive people standing around as some of them yell the equivalent of "shame on you." Sometimes, somebody lights a garbage can on fire. That's not a riot and does not justify riot control. The proof of how non-violent Charedim are is that the police stand inches away from them. They don't do this with other groups. Most of these guys appear as if they wouldn't know how to throw a punch. They are utterly non-athletic.
What happens in Meah Sha'rim in particular is the police come storming down the street in groups of a dozen or more, armed and armored. Oftentimes, it's late at night, or in the early morning, Gestapo style. Here the raid was at midnight. They shove, shout, swing their batons. Do everything they can to intimidate. (I suspect they learn these techniques on Arab communities.) This is not the police in Iowa, USA or Manchester, England saying "excuse me sir, we have reports of code violations here. Can we talk to you for a minute?"
They smash down doors. They arrest violently. Then if neighbors attempt to thwart the arrest in any way, the 'police,' as some like to call them, really go berserk.
In response, some of the locals toss things at the police. I’m not condoning it; although I understand their desire to fight back a little bit.
Next day, the Israeli press reports a riot and tells us how the poor besieged police used all the proper methods to control it. As the Times of Israel reported on this stun grenade incident, "The police commander for northern Jerusalem, Brig. Gen. Ofer Shomer, told the Kan public broadcaster that officers had used 'reasonable' force."
The Jersualem Post backed them up:  "According to live reports from the riot, several people, including a nine-year-old girl, sustained light wounds from stun grenades used by Israel Police’s Special Patrol Unit."
Well it turns out of course that the injuries to the by-standers weren't minor at all.
What really happened:

WATCH: Chareidi Girl Hit by Stun Grenade: ‘It felt like my head was burning’
Zissy Margaliot, the 9-year-old girl who suffered injuries on Thursday when she was hit by a stun grenade, spoke about the incident, describing her experiences.
Speaking to Ynet, Margaliot said that her head felt like it was “burning” and that when the stun grenade hit her, she began searching for someone who could help her.
“They put creams on her,” her father, Dov, said. “She was in pain and couldn’t sleep all night, she’s traumatized. She was in shock at first.”
“She went to buy groceries for Shabbat and didn’t know about anything. Suddenly police appeared and as she walked innocently, they threw a stun grenade. Suddenly she had no more glasses, and she was in the middle of the smoke running as if from death” her father added.
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If you watch the video, you'll see the women weren't even close to the altercation and quite obviously just stumbled upon it. When I say 'altercation,' really it was an arrest. Sometime earlier, other men attempted to thwart the arrest, some by tossing objects toward the police, but that also does not constitute a riot. It seems the women didn’t even see that.
So, the riot as they call it at that point consisted of police dragging some men down the street. It's hard to even explain why anything was fired at the women other than the incompetency and violence of the Israeli police and the intense bigotry against Charedim of the Israeli police.
Here are some pictures:
Police are at the top of the picture walking out of the frame. Women are on bottom right, just quietly watching what they walked into.


Police fire at the women.


Police fire again at the women, hitting the 9 year old.

Light wounds? Where are the photos of the injured police?

A police statement said the police "did not notice the presence of the mother and child in the eye of the storm” while dispersing the rioters.
Eye of the storm? Storm? There's a phalanx of police dragging a few men away. The women were 50 meters behind the police with nobody in between them. That's why the police didn't see them. They don't have eyes in the backs of their heads. And who created the storm? Storm troopers! The lies of the police and the press are just stunning.
You see the bigotry in the press as I just cited. You see it also all over social media coming from Zionist Jews if you can call them Jews. I have read many comments calling this a riot. Police raid a shul and that's somehow a riot. That these women brought their children to a riot. One wrote, “Charge the mother with child endangerment and for violating the Stay at Home orders and I bet this will be long forgotten.” Yes, a person, a Jewish person most seemingly, actually wrote that. He also wrote, “The photo of the girl comes right out of the movies. Who would wrap up her head like that. She had virtually no injuries.” Another said that the incident is "entirely the fault of the Charedim." Just stupid comments that stun the mind.
This along with endless encouragement to call police on Charedim who daven outdoors in minyanim, constant condemnations of Charedim for having higher virus infection rates that have as much to do with living in poverty and crowded conditions (mostly because of the draft and rules against working) as anything else. In New York City, the infection rate is the same in Jewish Williamsburg as East New York, where there are no Jews. Both are crowded and poor, that's what they have in common.
The selective policing and reporting are everywhere. Somehow only Charedi violators of the rules get attention. But what about these Chilonim in Ramat Gan? The one frum person there is 2 meters away and wearing a mask. Seems he can't pass by because the Chilonim are blocking the path.


This was reported by Yeshiva World News not in the Israel press. HYPOCRISY: Chareidi MK In Ramat Gan Stunned by Flagrant Violation Of Rules As Mayor Besmirches Chareidi Public
And this party on a military base?

These soldiers have joined hands to dance together - mixed dancing by the way in the so-called 'Jewish' state.  This is during the peak of rules about social distancing.
Interestingly, on this article you don’t find comments. You see that 0 next to the author’s name? That means no comments.


Apparently, it’s not anger about rules violation that produces comments, it’s hatred of Charedim, which really is anti-Semitism.

And what about these soldiers?

That's a lot closer than 2 meters. No outrage over this. No fines. No arrests. No stun grenades. Notice how the busiest street in Jerusalem is empty, except for soldiers? This is during the peak of the martial law rules about social distancing and being locked in your house. Doesn't apply to soldiers.
The Jerusalem Compost reported this one:
"Three tickets were given to people partying on beaches in Rishon Lezion, one ticket was given to a bakery that remained open despite being asked to close and another ticket was given to a man who transformed his car into a 'mobile bar.'
However, the article was a side piece and has no photos. If these were Charedim, you'd see big photos. It doesn't say that these were Chilonim, just people. When a Charedi person violates the rules by going to shul (a bit more of a necessity than the beach) he's called a Charedi. Also, the article will repeat all the incidents involving Charedim that it can list. The article on Chilonim doesn’t reference all the other violations by Chilonim. And note also here, no arrests, no beatings, no leaking the story to CNN, the NY Daily News, or other gentile press outlets as Israeli writers (perhaps with government sponsorship) have been doing about Charedim.

Top story on CNN last week, written by Oren Lieberman, a correspondent based in Israel. Where's the story about Chiloni beachgoers?

As bad as the bigotry has appeared to me over the last number of years, I have never seen anything like what has emerged throughout this health situation. This is like the hatred that John Steinbeck reported seeing in the faces of American Southerners against blacks in his book Travels with Charley in 1960.
For years, I wondered what European anti-Semitism was like in the 19th century. I wondered who were the reformers that Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch battled in Frankfurt. Were these really non-religious and semi-religious (as if there's such a thing) Jews who were doing everything to attack religious Jews? Who were the apostate Jews of the NKVD and the Yevsektsia in the USSR? Were they really arresting and torturing religious Jews? I couldn't picture it.
Now I can picture it. And the worst are the Dati Leumi. I can tell you now, Dati Leumi are not religious Jews. As R Yeshuha Leib Diskin said, you should excommunicate the Zionists and not count them in your minyanim, not drink their wine, not marry them. They are the enemy. They are not the enemy because of their religious laxity. They are not necessarily even the enemy because of their defiance of the Gemara and their worship of the state. They are the enemy because of their venom for Charedi Jewry. It's hard to find even gentiles who hate Charedi Jews as much as Dati Leumi do.
If you are considering moving to Eretz Yisroel, reconsider. If you are non-religious, which includes being 'Dati' Leumi, you'll only be sinning on the land. If you are Charedi, you are walking into a hate fest. Don't let any Zionist tell you that you are coming home to your brothers. You are walking into a snake pit.