B"H
BET HAROEH BYTES
**For inquiries, requests and assistance contact info@honeylight.com.au Website : http://www.betharoeh.org.
Shabbat Devarim Av 6 comm 5.15 Havdalah 6.15 Next Shabbat Vaetchanan comm 5.20 Latest Shema 9.52
Nine Av comm 5.35, ends Tue 6.18
For full listing of all activities, shiurim and functions at Mizrachi, please refer to the Mizrachi website / Newsletter.
Observing Yahrzeit this week are Tirzah Broh & Yedidah Lewis , Ada Gurgiel and Aviva Greenberger in memory of their late parents resp., A”H We wish them arichat yamim
We wish refuah shlema to all injured chayaleynu and cholim.
We wish hazlacha rabbah to chayaleynu for a successful mission and safe return.
**** Minyan Bet Haroeh AGM is this Sunday 3rd August at 8pm in Bet Haroeh. The AGM is your chance to have your say, and be heard..
- - - SHIURIUM- - - - Shabbat 9.00 am in Bet Haroeh
- - - 9 AV - -
Times for Tisha B’Av at Mizrachi
Monday:
4:30pm: Early Minchah
5:25pm: Minchah
5:35pm: Fast Begins
6:10pm: Ma’ariv
7:05pm: Shiur with Rabbi Yaakov Sprung ‘Bringing the Churban Home’
8:00pm: DVD in the Goldberger Hall
Tuesday:
6:20am: First Shacharit (in Beit Yehuda)
7:15am: Second Shacharit (in Beit HaRoeh)
12:26pm: Chatzot
4:00pm: DVD in the Goldberger Hall
5:10pm: Minchah
6:05pm: Ma’ariv
6:18pm: Fast Concludes
- - - BEV’S BYTES - -
Dear Beth Haroeh Friends
Did you know that “Beth Haroeh” stands for "House of Visionaries". And this week is Shabbat Chazon, the "Shabbat of Vision", where every Jew is shown a Vision of the future Bet Hamikdash from a distance. To see this vision we just need to open our eyes, and daven a little more. Please G-d may we all unite in prayer to be worthy of the moshiach before Tisha Ba’av. Let’s all pray together that our vision of hope is brought to reality.
Tzedakah fund: Thank you to all the generous people who gave to our Tzedakah fund for Magen David Adom, monies have been transferred again today to MDA for our second instalment, which has now purchased an ambulance ipad for emergency purposes to save lives and on our way to buying a mobile emergency ventilating machine . The President of MDA said she is coming to our Shule this Shabbat to thank us. Please continue to give generously this week through our dedicated account: Beth Haroeh Minyan, Bendigo Bank, BSB 633-000, Account number 149577728, by EFT marked with MDA. Every bit helps.
Letters of encouragement: One of our members’ sons who is fighting in the Israeli Air force has specifically asked us to send emails of support and appreciation to the brave chayalim/chayalot who are keeping our country safe, and said it gives them a lot of strength knowing that people are thinking of them. Emails can be sent through to mgelber@012.net.il
Kiddush: this week sponsored by a group of anonymous Kiddush visionaries for a good reason….
AGM This Sunday night: Beth Haroeh’s AGM this Sunday 3rd August at 8.30pm at Beth Haroeh. Thanks to those who have agreed to join the executive, please nominate yourself or others via the attached form. There will be light refreshments
Monday night: Fast well on Tisha Ba’av. Join us at Beth Haroeh for Aicha reading Monday Night 4th August, Mincha at 5.25pm.
Shalom U’Brachah
Beverley Honig
President
Beth Haroeh
- - - PARSHA RIDDLE - - DVARIM
When the father fled he went there
After the "command" is removed – it belongs to his sons
What is this?
Answer for last week, Massei (The first and the fifth have no name, the twelfth has a name but it has a different meaning):
The first month (Nissan): "And they journeyed from Raamses in the first month, on the fifteenth of the month, the day after the Pesach Sacrifice" [Bamidbar 33:3].
The fifth month (Av): "And Aharon the Priest ascended to Hor Hahar as instructed by G-d and died there... in the fifth month on the first of the month" [35:38].
The last month (Adar): This is mentioned as part of the boundaries of the land – "And the border will go around from the Negev to Maaleh Akrabim... And it will go from Chatzar Adar and pass over to Atzmona" [34:4].
- - - PARSHA MESSAGE - -
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22)
There are two important issues which must be studied when approaching this week’s Torah portion, the first theological and the second textual.
The theological question strikes us from the moment we open this fifth Book of the Bible: Moses is speaking with his voice to the people of Israel. Each of the other four Biblical books are written in the third person, in God’s voice, as it were, recording the history, narrating the drama and commanding the laws. This fifth book is written in the first person. Does this mean that the first four books are God’s Bible and the fifth Moses’ Bible?
The fifteenth Century Spanish Biblical interpreter and faithful disciple of Maimonides, Don Isaac Abarbanel, queries “whether Deuteronomy was given by God from heaven, containing words from the mouth of the Divine as the rest of the Torah, or whether Moses spoke this book by himself… what he himself understood to be the intent of the Divine in his elucidation of the commandments, as the Biblical text states, ‘And Moses began to elucidate this Torah’. (Deut 1:5).”
Abarbanel concludes that whereas the first four Books of the Bible are God’s words written down by Moses, this fifth Book of the Bible contains Moses’ words, which God commanded the prophet to write down. In this manner, Deuteronomy has equal sanctity with the rest of the five Books.
Perhaps Abarbanel is agreeing with a provocative interpretation of the verse, “Moses will speak, and the Lord will answer him with a voice” (Ex. 19:19), which I once heard in the name of the Kotzker Rebbe, who asked: “What is the difference whether God speaks and Moses answers Amen, or Moses speaks and God answers Amen?”
The second issue is textual in nature. The Book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ long farewell speech. Moses feels compelled to provide personal reflections on the significance of the commandments as well as his personal spin on many of the most tragic desert events.
From the very beginning of Moses’ monologue, he cites God’s invitation to the Israelites to conquer the land of Israel. This would be the perfect introduction to a re-telling of the sin of the scouts whose evil report dissuaded the Israelites from attempting the conquest. Indeed, he does begin to recount, “But you all drew near to me and said, ‘Let us send out men before us, and let them scout out the land and report to us on the matter…” (Deut. 1:22). But this retelling comes fourteen verses after God’s initial invitation and these intervening fourteen verses are filled with what appears to be recriminations against a nation which Moses “cannot carry (bear) alone” (ibid 1:9). Only after this excursus from the topic at hand does Moses discuss the failed reconnaissance mission. Why the excursus? How does it explain the failed mission?
From God’s initial approach to Moses at the burning bush, Moses was a reluctant leader. The reason was clear: Moses called himself “heavy of speech.” I have previously explained this on the basis of an interpretation of the Ralbag, to mean that Moses was not given to “light banter”. He was so immersed in the “heavy” issues, that he had neither the patience nor the interest to convince an ungrateful and stiff-necked people to trust in God and conquer the Promised Land. Moses spent so much time in the companionship of the Divine that he lost the will – and ability – to consort with regular humanity.
Moses knew himself. The verses leading up to the sin of the scouts are hardly an excuse. They explain his failure to give proper direction to the delegation of tribal princes, his inability to censure their report, his unwillingness to convince them of the critical significance of the conquest of the land. He could not bear the burden, the grumblings, of a nation which was too removed from God to be able to follow Him blindly.
Back to theology. Maimonides explains that even at Mount Sinai, the entire nation only heard a sound emanating from the Divine, a kol; each individual understood that sound in accordance with his specific and individual spiritual standing, while Moses was the only one able to “divine” the precise will of God within that sound – the words of the 10 commandments (Guide to the Perplexed, II: 32). Moses internalized the will of God and thereby produced the words of the four Books of the Bible, which constitute God’s words internalized and written by Moses, the greatest prophet of all. Moses communicated with God. Moses may not always have spoken successfully to his own generation; but he did write, for us and for Jewish eternity.
But Moses also had a legacy to leave and an interpretation to give – In the book of Deuteronomy, he spoke to his people, telling them not God’s words but his own and God commanded him to write down the words of this Book as well for all eternity, God was granting the Divine imprimatur of Torah to Moses’ Book of Deuteronomy – and making it His (God’s) Book as well. Moses spoke and God answered Amen.
Shabbat Shalom
= = = SELECTED NEWS ITEMS = = = =
1. NETANYAHU VOWS: WE WON'T STOP UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened a special security cabinet session Thursday morning to address the IDF's ongoing Operation Protective Edge.
"The IDF will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip with full strength" until the job is done, the Prime Minister said - and not before.
In particular, Netanyahu said that IDF forces had succeeded in destroying dozens of "terror tunnels" dug by Hamas into Israel, noting that the terrorist group was likely planning to kidnap Israeli soldiers and civilians.
He said that he was confident that the IDF could shut down Hamas's tunnel network and emphasized that even were a ceasefire to be reached Israel would continue to destroy the tunnels.
"Until now, we have destroyed dozens of terror tunnels and we are determined to complete the mission with or without a ceasefire. I will not agree to any proposal that does not allow for this."
The prime minister claimed Hamas had suffered serious damage in the fighting, with hundreds of fighters killed and hundreds more military positions, rocket launchers and weapons stockpiles destroyed. Several senior Hamas commanders have also been killed or captured.
The current military operation is "only the first phase in the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu added, saying that he had communicated that message clearly to American, European and other international leaders.
He also praised the soldiers of the IDF, as well as Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon for their "extraordinary" efforts during the operation, and assured the Israeli public that the government was working "day and night" to secure the citizens of Israel.
"We have a plan and we are working in accordance with it," he said.
For its part, Netanyahu appealed to the Israeli public to maintain national unity. That unity, he said "allows us to conduct the campaign in a balanced and responsible way. Unity gives our soldiers strength," warning extremists "on both sides" not to sabotage it.
He went on to criticize ministers who had attacked the government's conduct of the operation, saying that "government ministers should be setting a personal example to the entire nation" by unconditionally standing behind the war effort.
"The more united we are, the stronger we are."
ALSO
AT LEAST 80 ROCKETS FIRED INTO ISRAEL
Palestinians have fired more than 80 rockets into Israel in the last 24 hours - including last night's firing to Jerusalem, Gush Dan and Beer Sheva. No one was hurt and no damage was caused. Most of the rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome.
2. IDF CALLS ANOTHER 16,000 RESERVE SOLDIERS TO SERVICE
by Yaakov Levi
An additional 16,000 reserve soldiers are being called up for duty, joining some 70,000 reservist who had already been called for service, the IDF announced Thursday. With the call-up, a total of some 86,000 reservists will be on active duty.
The call-up indicates that the IDF may expand its operation, expanding its mission beyond the destruction of terror tunnels constructed by Hamas. IDF spokesmen over the past day have said that the army needs between two and three days to destroy all the Hamas tunnels that could be used to attack Israel.
Meanwhile, the air force continued attacking terror targets in Gaza, hitting 110 buildings and structures used by terrorists to fire rockets at Israel and to launch tunnel attacks. So far, the IDF has hit 4,200 such targets in Gaza. In a statement, the army said that it had destroyed several homes of Hamas commanders and buildings used to coordinate attacks on Israel. Four terror tunnels were destroyed as well, the army said,
IDF troops overnight Wednesday eliminated a Hamas terrorist who tried to fire an anti-tank missile at IDF soldiers in southern Gaza. On Wednesday, three soldiers were killed when an explosive went off in a booby-trapped house "while soldiers were uncovering an offensive tunnel shaft in a residence in the southern Gaza Strip. The house and the tunnel were booby trapped with two explosive devices that were detonated against the soldiers," the IDF said in a statement."
Meanwhile, Hamas continued firing rockets at Israeli cities and towns. Early Thursday, residents of Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi, and other towns in the south-central plain between Ashdod and Ashkelon were forced to run to shelters when Red Color siren warnings went off. No injuries were reported in those attacks.
3. KNESSET PASSES LAW TO CLOSE IBA, ESTABLISH NEW PUBLIC BROADCASTER
The Knesset plenum has passed second and third readings of the law to close down the Israel Broadcasting Authority and establish a new public broadcaster. In the vote, 45 MKS voted in favor, 11 against, and one abstained. Under the law the IBA will shut down and the license fee will be abolished by March 31, 2015.
4. TURKISH 'HUMANITARIAN AID' TO GAZA: BALL-BEARINGS, CEMENT MIXERS
by Ari Soffer
Customs officials at southern Israel's Ashdod port discovered hundreds of ball-bearings and cement mixers in a Turkish shipment of "humanitarian aid" to Gaza on Wednesday, raising fears the cargo could have been used by Hamas to support its ongoing war against Israel, according to Channel Two.
While both items have civilian uses, both have played a central role building Hamas's rocket arsenal and its vast network of "terror tunnels" into Israel.
Terrorists in Gaza regularly use ball-bearings to maximize the lethality of locally-made, short-range Qassam rockets. Unlike other, more powerful long-range rockets and military-grade mortar shells smuggled into Gaza from state-sponsors such as Iran, Qassam rockets have a relatively small warhead. But while the explosion itself may be relatively "small", the rockets are also packed with shrapnel - including nails, razors and, most commonly, ball-bearings - which are scattered throughout a relatively wide radius upon impact, maiming or killing anyone in the vicinity.
The co-opting of hundreds of tons of concrete supplies by Hamas to build its underground tunnel network, used to store and transport weapons as well as carry out attacks inside Israel, has also been well-documented.
The timing of those specific items of "humanitarian aid" is particularly suspicious; Gaza's civilian population are hardly appealing for fresh supplies of ball-bearings, and rebuilding targets struck by the Israeli Air Force while it is still operating over Gaza's skies seems a rather unfruitful endeavor.
The suspicious cargo had been handed over to security services for inspection. Authorities are currently withholding the problematic cargo, fearing it could be easily used by Hamas authorities to help replenish dwindling rocket supplies and rebuild the network of "terror tunnels" which has largely been destroyed by Israeli forces.
For their part, the owners of the seized container claim that the mixers were not specifically meant for making cement, but for other, unspecified, uses. They added that the ball-bearings were meant for use in the mixers.
Turkey's Islamist leadership is one of Hamas's main backers, along with Qatar, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has modeled himself as a champion of the "Palestinian cause", upping his already hostile rhetoric towards Israel since the start of Operation Protective Edge, comparing the Jewish state to Nazi Germany.
Erdogan's government has form when it comes to funding armed Islamist groups apart from Hamas. Kurdish fighters in northern Syria have long accused the Turkish government of backing Islamist rebels - including Al Qaeda-linked factions - to fight against them.
Last December the Turkish foreign ministry admitted its government had given 47 tons of arms to Islamist rebels in Syria, even as it attempted to pass them off as "non-lethal" cargo.
Amusingly, the weaponry in question had been filed as "guns without military uses" - despite being shipped into a country gripped by a bloody civil war.
5. AS WAR RAGES, NINE YEARS SINCE GUSH KATIF EXPULSION TO BE MARKED
by Hillel Fendel
With war raging, soldiers dying, and new tunnels appearing, most Israelis are not now in the mood to play the blame-game. It is ironic, however, that the Disengagement/Expulsion from Gush Katif that enabled Hamas to build up its missiles arsenal and tunnels network marks its ninth anniversary this very week.
To commemorate the occasion, a public event will be held at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem this coming Sunday evening. It will also commemorate the 10th anniversary of the famous "Human Orange Chain" that stretched from Gush Katif in Gaza all the way to the Western Wall Jerusalem, 90 kilometers away. (Orange was the official color of the popular struggle against the Disengagement.)
The Chain featured at least 130,000 people, according to police estimates. They stood in a nearly unbroken, hand-to-hand line-up, sending a message of "No to disengagement and expulsion, Yes to the Land of Israel and Gush Katif."
That their message was not accepted by the Ariel Sharon-headed government is a source of great frustration today – not only for the nearly 9,000 uprooted residents, but for many others in Israel, as the nation fights a costly war to destroy the terrorist network that has since arisen in Gaza.
The Sunday evening event will feature talks by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Interior Minister Gideon Saar. Following the screening of a new film on the Human Chain by Mordy Kershner, a panel discussion will take place entitled, "Does the Chain Yet Continue?" MK Zevulun Kalfa, the only current Knesset Member who lived in Gush Katif, will take part.
The event will be MC'd by popular broadcaster Sivan Rahav-Meir, known for her ability to bring out the ambience of religiously-oriented events to the secular public.
6. CALLS TO STOP DESTRUCTION OF COMMUNITY HONORING MURDERED TEENS
by Moshe Cohen
The High Court is set to consider whether or not to order the removal of caravans near the Gush Etzion town of Tekoa that had been set up to honor the memories of murdered Israeli teens Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel, and Gilad Sha'ar.
Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Ze'ev Elkin appealed on Thursday to Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon not to order the demolition of the caravans.
"I demand that the Defense Minister immediately put a halt to the process of demolition of these caravans," said Elkin, himself a resident of Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem. "Especially now, when so many residents are on the front lines fighting in Gaza, demolishing homes in Tekoa that were build on state land – and were built in memory of the three teens who were murdered by Hamas terrorists not far from the site – is a perversion of justice and common sense," he said.
Orders to demolish the caravans, which the government considers an "illegal outpost," were issued last week. The caravans were set up several weeks ago in response to the murder by Hamas terrorists of the three Israeli teens. Residents and legal groups are set to file a petition with the High Court to prevent the demolitions, at least temporarily. It should be noted that there are no pending cases by Palestinians claiming ownership of the site.
Police and army units arrived at the site Wednesday night to clear out the five families living in the caravans.
"I recommend that the security establishment invest its time and efforts in fighting Hamas in Gaza, and not against residents of Tekoa," Elkin added.
Besides attempting to remove families from the Tekoa site, soldiers and police on Wednesday destroyed several structures and a stone house on a hilltop next to the central Samaria town of Kfar Tapuach – at the same time as the residents of those homes were serving in the IDF, with at least one fighting in Gaza. The hilltop in question is on state land and is not owned by Arabs, but is considered an "unauthorized outpost" by the government.
In a statement, legal rights organization Honenu said that "It is sad that during a period when Israelis are unified in backing the IDF against terrorism from Gaza and other parts of the country, the army and police would use precious resources to act against residents. The absurdity is even greater when the houses being destroyed belong to soldiers who are fighting Israel's enemies. This is not the treatment they deserve," the group said.
7. THOUSANDS RALLY IN ROME: 'ISRAELI FLAG IS THE PLEDGE OF FREEDOM'
by Giulio Meotti, Rome
Last night, it was a great night in Rome. My newspaper, Il Foglio, rallied for Israel, its right to exist and to defend itself.
More than 1,000 people came to the demonstration. We met along the Tiber river.
In a Europe where barbarians are burning the flags with the star of David again and are calling to "kill the Jews", some of the river's lights were for us.
There was lots of security, but courage ultimately prevailed and there was not one incident.
We invited the heads of many Jewish organizations and Israel’s ambassador in Rome, Naor Gilon, to speak. Ordinary citizens came to pay homage to Israel.
We chose the Hatikva anthem as our soundtrack.
This is what I said in my speech at this dramatic time - a non-Jewish Zionist's words for the sake and future of the Jewish people.
"In these days of slogans such as 'Death to the Jews', perhaps Western public opinion would be satisfied if Israel would count more casualties, if Israel’s defense system would not intercept hundreds of missiles launched by Hamas.
"Perhaps, then, the hypocritical request of 'proportionality' and the absurd moral equivalence between Jews and terrorists would be satisfied.
"I say this because it is as if 160 missiles fired every day against Israel during the last twenty days are not enough.
"I say this because it is as if more than 50 Israeli soldiers killed are not enough.
"I say this because it is as if Hamas had never killed 1,500 Israeli civilians in the Second Intifada - as if that were not enough.
"The Israeli victims are always declassified as footnotes on the pages of the conflict. As if they never existed. This is how anti-Semitism and Western hypocrisy have reversed the roles of the two sides, overshadowing everything, and turning Israel into the executioner and depicting the terrorists as the resisters.
"In short, they have made terrorism a human right.
"Meanwhile, violent and hateful anti-Israeli demonstrations are held in all the cities of Europe, where we are witnessing attacks on Jewish centers, parliamentary questions, titles and images on the front page of newspapers and news programs. It is a campaign to isolate the Jews and Israel, to denigrate them, to abandon them to their fate. Anti-Semitism is rampant.
"The truth is that in Gaza there have been a thousand deaths, tragic deaths, in a war begun by Gazans. Many kibbutzim along the border have become ghost towns. For a day, international flights to Tel Aviv were discontinued. It is the first time since the Gulf War, that time when Israel was targeted by the rockets of Saddam Hussein and the Jews wore gas masks.
"It has been almost a taste of what Hamas and Islamists mean when they evoke the throwing of Jews into the sea. Their threat of extermination is now a promise.
"The truth is that Israel, a country large as New Jersey and whose inhabitants amount to one-thousandth of the world’s population, is the only democracy in the world under a permanent terrorist siege.
"The truth is that Israel’s army is the only in the world which warns its enemies before hitting a target.
"But this has yet to find a place in the media. Because the purpose of media disinformation is to give the impression that Israel is unjust, immoral, cruel.
"A few days ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu, receiving English ministers, rightly said that Israel is like England in 1940, when the German V2s destroyed large areas of London and the population went into the Underground to hide. Israel, like England then, is forced to defend itself. No other country would tolerate a terrorist entity, with such a racist ideology, which launches rockets every day on its civilian population.
"A movement that has promised not to leave "one Jew in Palestine". A movement that shoots missiles from UN schools, hospitals, mosques, cemeteries, kindergartens. A movement that uses the cement donated by Israel not to build schools, but to fortify the tunnels of death.
"Israel’s greatest success in seventy years of independence is survival, just being on the map. The Western world should be concerned about the fate of the little Israel, the most endangered member of our civilization.
"The flag with the Star of David is the pledge of our freedom.
"I hope, tonight, that the Jews no longer feel so alone.
"Viva Israel!"
[album
The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter. His writing has appeared in publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He has just prblished a book about the Vatican and Israel titled "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published by Mantua Books. He can be seen in the right hand photo above.
8. IDF SOLDIERS WERE KILLED IN BOOBY-TRAPPED UN BUILDING
by Elad Benari
The three IDF soldiers who were killed on Wednesday in Gaza, were killed when explosives detonated within a booby-trapped UN building in Khan Younis, Breitbart reports.
An elite IDF tunnel unit was in the process of uncovering an opening to a Hamas tunnel located at an UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) health clinic when all of a sudden the explosives detonated, causing the entirety of the building to fall on top of the soldiers.
Neither the UN nor UNRWA have commented on the incident that resulted in the deaths of three Israeli soldiers, according to Breitbart.
The IDF has previously provided video evidence that Hamas fires rockets from inside schools and it is also known that Hamas has also been using UNRWA schools as storage sites for its rockets. For the third time in recent days, such a stockpile was discovered in a UN school Tuesday.
After the first finding of rockets at an UNRWA school, it was reported that rather than destroying the rockets, UNRWA workers called Hamas to come remove them.
While it would not comment on the deaths of the three soldiers, UNRWA was quick to place blame on Israel for a rocket strike on one of their schools in Gaza.
The UN agency also immediately blamed Israel for a strike on Gaza’s Shifa hospital, resulting in the deaths of over a dozen Gazans. It was later revealed that in all likelihood, a misfired Hamas Fajr-5 Iranian-made 100kg warhead destined for Israel had struck the hospital.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzahi Hanegbi said Wednesday that UNRWA has continued to hand the missiles back to Hamas, "endangering and jeopardizing Israeli lives."
"Instead of blaming and condemning Israel, UNRWA should make a real effort to stop being manipulated and used by the terrorist organizations," he said, according to Breitbart.
9. FUMIO CLOSES AFTER LOSING LOCAL HECHSHER
A large red “For Sale” sign adorns the front window of Fumio Grill and Sushi. The Livingston restaurant closed its doors on July 27, almost two months after losing its kosher certification from the local Va’ad HaKashrut of MetroWest.
“We feel we’ve been blackballed,” said Abie Bilgoray, who managed the restaurant, owned by Kevin Lipka.
After the Va’ad HaKashrut of MetroWest withdrew its hechsher, or kosher certification, on May 30, the restaurant closed its doors temporarily, and reopened under the supervision of the Passaic–based KOA Kosher on June 15.
But customers did not come. “The business just started crumbling,” said Bilgoray in a telephone interview. “No one came.” He also pointed out that the restaurant “used to do a ton of catering at the area shuls. But we couldn’t do it anymore.” The synagogues weren’t calling.
The Vaad does not comment on or discuss its relationships with vendors that have or have had its certification.
Originally opened as a non-kosher Asian restaurant and named for its chef, Fumio’s went through several incarnations before becoming a kosher restaurant in 2008, then owned by entrepreneur Ben Paniri. In 2012, current owner Kevin Lipka took over.
The restaurant is now for sale.
10. LAUDER URGES 5 LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES TO RETURN THEIR AMBASSADORS TO ISRAEL
Written by EJP
Thursday, 31 July 2014 19:15
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[Ronald Lauder: 'Those governments “are disregarding Israel’s right of self-defense and blaming the victim instead putting the responsibility for the violence where it belongs – on the terrorism of Hamas.” ]
Ronald Lauder: 'Those governments “are disregarding Israel’s right of self-defense and blaming the victim instead putting the responsibility for the violence where it belongs – on the terrorism of Hamas.”
NEW YORK (EJP)---World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder has urged the five Latin American nations that have withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel in protest of its Gaza incursion to return their envoys.
El Salvador, Chile, Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador have withdrawn their diplomats in the weeks since the fighting started.
According to Lauder, those governments “are disregarding Israel’s right of self-defense and blaming the victim instead putting the responsibility for the violence where it belongs – on the terrorism of Hamas.”
“We believe that Latin American governments could be of great help in combating terrorist organizations, ending the military capability of Hamas, facilitating dialogue, and promoting understanding in the Middle East, all of which would strengthen the safety and security of all nations – including their own,” he added Thursday.
“Diplomacy is an essential tool for defusing military confrontation, and dialogue between governments promotes peace,” he stressed.
Lauder thanked the government of Paraguay for refusing this week to sign an unbalanced resolution offered by the Mercosur, a trade group of five South American nations.
“President Cartes of Paraguay took a brave stand by refusing to sign the harmful and unbalanced resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict offered by the other Mercosur nations,” said the WJC President. “We thank him for insisting on fairness, which this declaration lacked.”
During a summit in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday, the Mercosur -- comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela – four of the bloc issued a statement condemning Israel for “disproportionate” use of force in Gaza. The text did not even mention Hamas, according to press reports.
Paraguay’s decision not to join them prevented the statement from becoming a more formal resolution.
Lauder said that WJC “regrets all the deaths in the conflict and fervently hope that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace, which is why we seek the support of the international community for disarming Hamas, which is cruelly using the Palestinian population as human shields for its war machine.”
11. MEMORIAL GATHERING HELD IN JERUSALEM FOR KIDNAPPED, MURDERED TEENS
A memorial gathering was held Tuesday night at Jerusalem Great Synagogue, for Israeli teens Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah, who were kidnapped and murdered in the West Bank. Among those present was President Reuven Rivlin, who said there is a clear connection between Hamas in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.
12. WORLD JEWS DONATE 160 PORTABLE SHELTERS TO GAZA VICINITY TOWNS
KKL raises some NIS 13.7 million from Diaspora Jewry in recent days; NIS 9 million used to help fortify southern Jewish and Bedouin communities against rocket fire.
Ynet
Published: 07.29.14, 12:56 / Israel Jewish Scene
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KKL-JNF (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund) has raised some NIS 13.7 million ($4 million) from world Jews in recent days. According to the organization, about NIS 9 million ($2.6 million) were used to fund 160 portable shelters for Bedouin and Jewish communities in the Gaza vicinity against the ongoing rocket fire.
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The town of Ofakim will receive a donation of 20 portable shelters, Bnei Shimon will get eight, Gan Yavne – 10, Sderot – 14, Naveh – 24, Bnei Netzarim – 15, Sdot Negev – eight, Eshkol – eight, Hof Ashkelon – eight, Merhavim – 10, Sha'ar Hanegev – eight, Netivot – 15, and the Bedouin sector communities (Lakiya, Segev Shalom, Rahat and Hura) will receive 12.
"While Israel is under attack around the world, the world Jewry is organization solidarity rallies and showing unprecedented support for Israel through the KKL offices," said KKL-JNF World Chairman Efi Stenzler.
Ofakim Mayor Yitzhak Danino said, "We have a neighborhood which built in the 1990s for new immigrants, where the houses are made out of carton without an apartment protected space and without any safe areas one can enter.
"We are talking about 1,280 housing units built in this method, and the immigrants who inhabited the neighborhood are now people over the age of 70 who find it difficult to move and are completely helpless.
"The portable shelters stationed in the area will partially solve the problem. The residents there are living with a sense of complete insecurity. Placing the portable shelters is a dramatic and very important thing for them, and I am very happy and would like to thank KKL and the donor.
"There is a lot of need for aid in many areas, but the residents' personal safety comes first. We are witnessing an amazing move which will provide a sense of calm for dozens of families."
Sigal Moran, head of the Bnei Shimon Council, said that the portable shelters "could literally save lives and will contribute to every resident's feeling of security."
Segev Shalom Council head Aamer Abu Mu'amar thanked KKL on behalf of the council residents, workers and members. "I hope that the calm will return to our region and that peace will prevail for all our citizens."
13. GAL GADOT UNVEILS THE NEW WONDER WOMAN
'I'm ready… are you?' Israeli actress asks Facebook followers as she posts first picture of herself from upcoming film 'Batman v Superman.'
Ran Boker
Published: 07.28.14, 00:40 / Israel Culture
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We have been waiting so long to see her as Wonder Woman, and now it's finally happening: Israeli actress Gal Gadot on Saturday unveiled a picture of herself in the superhero's outfit from the upcoming film "Batman v Superman."
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Gadot posted the photo on her Facebook page, adding the caption: "I'm ready… are you?"
Less than two years before the expected release of "Batman v Superman," the intended sequel of "Man of Steel," director Zack Snyder is beginning to build the momentum with his film's stars who are posing for photos in their characters' outfits.
After Ben Affleck shared a picture of himself as Batman, it was Gadot's turn to provide a first look at the new Wonder Woman, a picture which many in the world have been waiting to see due to the debate sparked by the former supermodel's very slim body.
Over the weekend, Gadot came under fire over a Facebook post praising the IDF soldiers, condemning Hamas and calling for coexistence, which drew many anti-Israel comment
14. REP. NADLER, ROSKAM INTRODUCE RESOLUTION CONDEMNING GROWING ANTI-SEMITISM ABROAD
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(Thursday, July 31st, 2014)
nadlerToday, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL) introduced a Congressional resolution condemning growing anti-Semitism abroad.
“We must unequivocally condemn all forms of anti-Semitism and reject attempts to justify anti-Semitic hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of frustration with political events in the Middle East or anywhere else,” said Congressman Nadler. “Already in 2014 alone, in Jewish communities across the world, we have seen increased incidents of murder at Jewish sites, violent attacks and death threats against Jews, as well as gun violence, arson, graffiti, and other property desecration at Jewish places of worship. We must condemn these acts in the strongest possible terms and do all that we can to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism.”
“With clear evidence of increasing incidents and expressions of anti-Semitism throughout the world, it is important that we speak out against this hatred. The United States must continue to play an essential role in shining a spotlight on the ugly resurgence of anti-Semitism, as well as all forms of religious discrimination,” said Congressman Roskam.
“I commend Representatives Nadler and Roskam and their colleagues in the House for amplifying a call we hope the world will hear: that Jews should be able to live securely and with dignity, regardless of what happens in the Middle East. Parliamentarians around the world should follow their important lead and demonstrate the will to ensure anti-Semitism has no place in their country and that Jews have the right to live free of harassment and the fear of violence solely because they are Jewish,” said Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
15. QUEENS: NYPD LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPREHENDING BURGLAR OF SHUL PUSHKA
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(Thursday, July 31st, 2014)
nypd2The New York City Police Department is asking the public’s assistance identifying an individual wanted for burglary of a Shul in Queens, within the confines of the 102nd Precinct.
Police tell YWN that on Friday, July 25, 2014 at 12:25PM, the suspect entered Congregation Adas Yerem located at 122-31 Metropolitan Avenue, and removed approximately $75 dollars from the Pushka (donation box). The suspect gained entry from unknown entrance and then fled in unknown direction.
The suspect is described as white male, approximately 5’10″ in height, 185 pounds and last seen wearing a multi-colored striped short sleeve shirt, beige slacks and beige shoes.
Anyone with information in regards to this burglary is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
16. AGUDATH ISRAEL YESHIVA SERVICES DIVISION HOLDS INAUGURAL WEBINAR
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(Thursday, July 31st, 2014)
agudahOn Tuesday, over 100 administrators and principals from Yeshivos, Bais Yaakovs and day schools participated in Agudath Israel of America Yeshiva Services Division’s inaugural webinar. Participants hailed from throughout the northeast, as well as Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Scranton, Seattle, and other locations.
The 90 minute webinar focused on steps that nonpublic educational institutions can take to comply with the myriad of new rules and regulations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the sweeping healthcare reform legislation enacted in 2010. Its rules are being phased in over many years, and will eventually impact almost every employer and individual throughout the country, including most yeshivos and their employees. For example, under rules set to take effect in 2015, educational institutions that employ on average 50 or more full-time employees or their equivalent are generally subject to the employer mandate and related penalties. While there are some transition rules that provide relief, they are limited in scope and generally expire at the end of 2015.
The webinar was offered at no cost, and featured four noted experts on this complex set of laws: Mr. Reuven Bauman, Esq., Vice President and Senior Legal Counsel, ERISA/Benefits and Compensation, for HSBC- North America; Mr. Carey S. Gruenbaum, President, Preferred Services Group, Cedarhurst, NY; Mr. Yisrael Miller, Navigator for the New York Marketplace, health insurance enrollment, Achiezer Community Resource Center, Far Rockaway, NY; and Mr. Adam Okun, ASA, MAAA, Senior Vice President, Frenkel Benefits LLC.
Webinar participants were offered crucial information about the ACA’s requirements. Topics discussed included the individual mandate; the exchanges/marketplaces and subsidies; the employer mandate; individual marketplace options; and key reporting and disclosure obligations. The experts particularly stressed the steps that the institutions can take now in order to comply with rules taking effect for 2015, and avoid unnecessary stress and costs down the line. An extensive question-and-answer session followed, where individual administrators and principals interacted with the panel of speakers. An archive of the full webinar is being made available to participants, enabling them to review any information in the future.
Mrs. Deborah Zachai, director of education affairs of Agudath Israel of America, says the webinar marks a crucial step in the Yeshiva Services Division’s efforts to help our community’s educational institutions. “Yeshiva administrators are very busy people. It takes them time they don’t have to travel back and forth from our workshops. Today we brought the workshop to them. The convenience of viewing the entire presentation from their desk computer made it much easier for them to participate and also enabled out-of-state administrators to participate as well. We will be adding computer-based webinars to our current mix of live workshops and e-mail communications in order to better serve the yeshivos.”
17. CHIEF RABBINATE OF ISRAEL ISSUES RULING THAT SOLDIERS FIGHTING ARE EXEMPTED FROM TISHA B'AV FAST
Chief Rabbinate of Israel Issues Ruling That Soldiers Fighting Are Exempted From Tisha B'Av Fast The Chief Rabbinate of Israel released a psak halacha that all soldiers in the fighting are exempt from fasting on Tisha B’Av and all the customs and halachos of aveilus. The Rabbinate psak mentions the mesirus nefesh of the soldiers.
18. BILL CLINTON ON SEPT. 10, 2001: ‘I COULD HAVE KILLED’ BIN LADEN
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(Thursday, July 31st, 2014)
Ten hours before the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, Bill Clinton allegedly told a group of businessmen in Australia that he had a chance to kill Osama Bin Laden, but passed because it would have meant killing hundreds of innocent civilians. That’s according to never-before-released audio of remarks made public by Australian media on Wednesday.
On September 10, 2001, Clinton was speaking to a group of about 30 businessmen in Melbourne, including Michael Kroger, the former head of the Liberal Party in the Australian state of Victoria. The event was recorded with the former president’s permission, according to Kroger, but the audio never released — until Wednesday night, when Kroger appeared on Sky News with host Paul Murray to unveil it. Kroger said he had forgotten about the recording until last week.
At the event in Melbourne, which took place not long after the end of Clinton’s term in office, the former president was asked about international terrorism.
“And I’m just saying, you know, if I were Osama bin Laden — he’s very smart guy, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about him — and I nearly got him once,” Clinton is heard saying. “I nearly got him. And I could have killed him, but I would have to destroy a little town called Kandahar in Afghanistan and kill 300 innocent women and children, and then I would have been no better than him. And so I didn’t do it.”
19. METAL MARBLES FOUND IN TURKISH HUMANITARIAN AID SHIPMENT TO GAZA
Marbles could be used in explosive devices; owner of container says marbles meant for chocolate-making machine.
Itay Blumental
Published: 07.31.14, 14:45 / Israel News
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A shipment of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip that arrived from Turkey to the Ashdod Port on Wednesday included hundreds of small metal marbles that could be added to an explosive device to increase the range of its blast and make it much deadlier.
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Security at the port found the marbles inside one of the shipping containers, among medicine, clothing and food. Security officials have yet to decide whether to confiscate the marbles or not.
Sources at the port said the owner of the container claimed the marbles were meant for a chocolate machine that was also in the container.
The government of Turkey has been sending aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge.
A Turkish Airlines plane with food and medicine for Gaza landed at Ben Gurion on Wednesday. Sources in Israel denied reports that claimed the plane's cargo hall contained a large shipment of IDF uniforms.
The Customs Authority said in response: "The owner of a food container that arrived at the Ashdod Port and was meant for the Gaza Strip declared, among other things, that his container includes a chocolate-making machine. Small metal marbles were found inside the machine, that the importer claims are used for the production of chocolate. The issue is being carefully examined by the Customs Authority and we will issue an update when we've made a decision."
Meanwhile, the IHH, that was behind the Mavi Marmara flotilla, said it intends to send another aid ship to Gaza in order to break the naval blockade on the Strip.
20. IDF LAUNCHES NEW OFFENSIVE INTO NORTH, CENTRAL GAZA
by Gil Ronen
The Israel Defense Force began to advance toward "new targets" in the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning, ignoring US President Barack Obama's reported attempt to strongarm Israel into an immediate ceasefire.
IDF Radio, which reports the military advance, said that "it can be estimated that the IDF received permission from the political echelon to advance forward in various sectors in northern and southern Gaza."
The advance is into more densely populated areas, it said, and the movement is being accompanied by fire, and receiving close air support from aircraft. Two soldiers have been lightly injured, so far, from antitank fire, and a explosive charge was also activated against a tank. No one was hurt.
The IAF struck dozens of terror targets in north and central Gaza overnight.
The IDF struck over 80 targets in Gaza overnight. These included two mosques that served senior Hamas terrorists for observation and other terror-related purposes.
21. ITALIAN REPORTER REVEALS HAMAS COVER-UP OVER MISFIRED ROCKETS
by Ari Soffer
An Italian journalist who until Tuesday was embedded in Gaza has backed the IDF's account of a rocket strike on a school playground in central Gaza's Shati refugee camp on Monday.
At least 10 people were killed in the attack - most of them children - and some sources claimed the death toll was as high as 30. Palestinian sources were quick to blame Israel, claiming that an Israeli fighter jet fired missiles directly at the playground and nearby hospital. Israel denied the accusations, saying that Hamas rockets aimed at Israel from the area misfired, and struck both the school and the hospital:
IDF Tweet illustrating the path of misfired Hamas rockets:
Verifying facts on the ground in Gaza is notoriously difficult for foreign reporters, and even for Palestinian journalists seen as aligned with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, as journalists are closely watched by Hamas security forces and can face interrogation and a permanent ban from Gaza for publishing material deemed unfavorable to the territory's Islamist rulers. As such, little information has emerged on what exactly happened that day in Shati.
But returning from a stint in Gaza, and safe from what he ominously referred to as potential "Hamas retaliation", Italian journalist Gabriele Barbati broke the media silence by tweeting the following message, confirming that Hamas terrorists rushed to cover up evidence of what was indeed errant rocket fire aimed at Israel:
During the 23 days of Operation Protective Edge a handful of journalists have defied, purposefully or inadvertently, Hamas's restrictions on reporting negative information from Gaza - only to backtrack soon after.
Two cases in particular were highlighted earlier this week. In one, Wall Street Journal reported Nick Casey tweeted evidence - and veiled criticism - over Hamas's leadership's use of Shifa Hospital in Gaza as a command center, shedding more light on the group's use of human shields. Hamas reacted furiously, and a Hamas-affiliated twitter account blacklisted him as a journalist "who lies for Israel" - a potentially deadly accusation for anyone in Gaza, let alone a foreigner. Shortly afterwards, the tweet was promptly removed by Casey.
Hamas
Numerous foreign journalists have admitted to interviewing Hamas leaders inside the hospital, but their reports are notable for the lack of emphasis placed on such a flagrant violation of international law.
In the second case, another WSJ journalist tweeted evidence of a Hamas rocket misfire which damaged Gaza's main hospital. Again, shortly after tweeting it, Tamer El-Ghobashi removed the evidence.
Deleted tweets:
The use of human shields by Gazan terrorist groups during the current conflict has been repeatedly documented. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have stored and fired rockets from within densely-populated civilian areas, making Israeli attempts to stop them without causing collateral damage near to impossible. To compound the problem, Hamas has openly encouraged civilians to act as human shields, glorifying their actions as heroism.
Terrorists have also used hospitals and schools as command centers and military bases.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Work and Relief Agency (UNWRA) admitted that it had discovered rockets stored in one of its schools for the third time.
Hamas has not issued a response to Barbari's claims, and it is unclear whether he will face a ban from reporting from the Strip in the future. But whatever happens to him, his claims raise some uncomfortable questions about the objectivity of reports coming from Gaza - in particular the accuracy of the much-touted civilian death toll, and who may be responsible for it.
22. EX-MK ALLEGES GOVERNMENT COVER-UP OVER 'TERROR TUNNELS'
by Shimon Cohen, Gil Ronen
Shai Hermesh, a resident of the Gaza Belt and a former MK for Kadima, said Wednesday that local residents have been hearing digging sounds from the ground for years, as Hamas terrorists dug their tunnels into Israel, but authorities preferred to hush up the matter.
Hermesh, who is a member of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, told Arutz Sheva in an exclusive interview that only the men remain in the kibbutz for the moment, after the women and children evacuated northward to greater safety. The kibbutz is located just 1.5 kilometers (one mile) from the Hamas stronghold of Sejaiya, in Gaza.
Seventeen kibbutzim – as the communal agricultural settlements are called – are within the range of Hamas's tunnels, he explained. Life in the communities at present is an unpleasant mix of "Kassam fire, rocket alerts, IDF artillery fire, alerts about infiltrations, the Nahal Oz incident not far from us, the Nir Am incident which is also not far from us," and more.
"The most problematic thing is what is happening underground," said Hermesh, whose party carried out the Disengagement in 2005, which brought Gaza under full control of genocidal terrorists.
Hermesh said that while members of his kibbutz did not hear digging sounds from underground over the years, members of neighboring kibbutzim did. "Sounds like that rose up [from the ground] and they were even recorded, but someone made sure this was forgotten and kept out of public discussion. Maybe they did not want to create panic, but on the other hand, hiding information like that from the public is like not telling the residents around the Dimona nuclear plant that it is leaking radiation."
"The existential danger from the tunnels is several times worse than that of artillery fire. To counter artillery fire, we have safe rooms. A break-in by terrorists under one's home is a reality that even a military outpost would not stand for, not for a single day."
"We had a feeling that, perhaps, there are one or two problems [with regard to tunnels] and that they will deal with it, but no one thought that there were dozens of networking tunnels here, with openings pointing straight at the kibbutzim of the 'tunnel line'. This is a new reality for us," he explained.
"The thought that under your home, there is such bustling activity that no one controls or locates," he added, "is a very problematic one for the state of Israel. The first thing that can be deduced from this is that a solution or arrangement needs to be found to remove this threat – either by brawn or by brain."
23. BRUSSELS: SUSPECT IN JEWISH MUSEUM SHOOTING CHARGED WITH MURDER
by AFP
A Frenchman suspected of carrying out a fatal shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels was charged Wednesday with "murder in a terrorist context", the Belgian prosecutor's office said.
Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, who spent more than a year fighting with Islamist extremists in Syria, was extradited from France to Belgium the previous day to be questioned over the May 24 shooting which left four people dead.
"Since his arrival he has been interrogated by the counter-terrorist unit of the federal judiciary police of Brussels, as well as by the investigating judge," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The Frenchman of Algerian descent was questioned by Belgian officers over the deaths of a Jewish couple, a Frenchwoman and a Belgian man by a gunman who opened fire at the downtown museum in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon.
Belgian media said Nemmouche had remained largely silent during his interrogation.
His lawyer told journalists that he was annoyed over the leaking to the press of statements he made during police questioning in Paris in the two months since his May 30 arrest.
"He doesn't want to read his statements the next day in the press," said lawyer Sebastien Courtoy. "That is the reason, and the only reason, why he's refusing to answer questions."
The shooting - the first such attack in Brussels in three decades - raised fears of a resurgence of anti-Semitic violence in Europe and of terror attacks from foreign fighters returning from Syria.
Nemmouche was arrested in the southern French city of Marseille after being spotted on a bus from Brussels.
A revolver and Kalashnikov rifle were found in his luggage, resembling weapons caught on a museum video-camera, as was a portable camera.
24. SYNAGOGUE VANDALIZED IN MIAMI BEACH
by AFP and Arutz Sheva Staff
Nazi swastikas and the name of the Islamist movement Hamas were spray-painted in red on the entrance to a Jewish synagogue in Miami Beach, local media reported Monday.
The vandalism, which authorities were investigating as a probable "hate crime," was discovered by a neighborhood watch patrol where the Torah V'Emunah synagogue is located.
Yona Lunger, a volunteer patrol member, said she did a double-take when she came upon the graffiti.
"I saw this and then I stopped and I said, 'Wait a minute. What am I seeing here?' and then I backed up again and I looked again and I immediately sent a text to the two supervisors," she told Miami's Channel 7 news.
Television images showed swastikas and the name "Hamas" spray-painted on the synagogue's columns.
The incident followed another on Saturday in which a Miami Beach family found their cars covered in eggs and the words "Hamas" and "Jew" written on the windows.
"I mean, honestly, it makes you question if it's safe to walk around wearing your yarmulke, like how safe you really are in America," said Josh Rosenberg, one of the family's neighbors.
Anti-Semitism in the US and worldwide has skyrocketed since Operation Protective Edge, Israel's self-defense operation in Gaza, began 21 days ago.
News of an increase in anti-Semitic violence follows a shocking Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report earlier this year, whereby more than 25% of the world's population was shown to hold anti-Semitic views.
25. ONLINE CAMPAIGN AIMS TO BUILD THIRD TEMPLE
by Tova Dvorin
The Temple Institute, an organization in Jerusalem which works toward the rebuilding of the Third Temple, began a revolutionary campaign on Sunday to literally rebuild the Third Temple - through the power of crowdfunding.
Headlined under the title, "Don't make history. Make the future. Build the Third Temple," the indiegogo campaign promises that this generation of children is "ready" to see the center of Jewish worship rebuilt, once and for all.
[youtube:195099]
Several parallels have already been drawn, if informally, between Israel's current campaign to eliminate Hamas terror - and the international community's slow, but climbing, understanding of Israel's right to self-defense - and events described in the Torah regarding the completion of the Third Temple.
While acknowledgement of this has been somewhat informal - including a widely popular Facebook event advertising "the Last Tisha B'av," a hint to the traditional teaching that the day will become a day of celebration instead of mourning - at least one leading Rabbi has also stated that this campaign is the "God's war" and that "Israel will win."
However, the Temple Institute's campaign aims to bring these speculations to their practical fruition.
"Now is time for one of its most ambitious projects yet: completing architectural plans for the actual construction, fusing ancient texts and modern technology," the campaign's description states. "While strictly adhering to the religious requirements set forth in Biblical texts, the Third Temple will also be equipped with every modern amenity: full computerization, underground parking, temperature control, elevators, docks for public transportation, wheelchair access, and much more."
"The Temple Institute has engaged an architect to map out as practically as possible the modern Third Temple's construction," it continues. "Your contribution will go towards completing this ambitious project and the continued research and development which will make the Third Temple a reality."
"It is not enough to wait and pray for the Third Temple," it concludes. "It is a Biblical obligation to build it."
The Temple Institute's campaign will run for sixty days, ending on September 25 - during the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashana.
The campaign aims to raise $100,000 toward a building fund for the Third Temple, as part of its wider campaigns to train kohen-priests for Temple duties and rebuild the instruments in the priestly services.
26. FIFTEEN KILLED IN GAZA SCHOOL, HAMAS ROCKETS FOUND NEXT TO CLASSROOMS
By Daniel Easterman, July 30, 2014
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Palestinians inside the grounds of a UNRWA school after fleeing their homes from an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, the southern part of the Gaza Strip (Photo: Flash90/Abed Rahmin)
Palestinians inside the grounds of a UNRWA school after fleeing their homes from an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, the southern part of the Gaza Strip (Photo: Flash90/Abed Rahmin)
A UN school in Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp was shelled by the Israeli military early on Tuesday morning, killing 15 and leaving a further 90 wounded, according to Gaza health officials.
The school was being used by hundreds of Palestinians as a shelter to escape the fighting, said Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the UN aid agency, UNRWA.
The number of dead on the Palestinian side now stands at 1,250 while 56 Israelis have also been killed since the conflict began 23 days ago.
UNRWA also admitted in a press release that it had found Hamas rockets stored in one of its schools – the third such occasion in three weeks.
UNRWA Spokesman Chris Gunness said: “This is yet another flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises. We call on all the warring parties to respect the inviolability of UN property.”
“We condemn the group or groups who endangered civilians by placing these munitions in our school,” he said.
This latest UN school shelling follows one of the most violent periods of the conflict. According to reports, 100 people have been killed in air strikes on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
27. HUNGARIAN 'RAGING ANTISEMITE' ENVOY QUITS AFTER DAYS ON JOB
By Valentina Jovanovski, July 31, 2014
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The man nominated to be Hungary's ambassador to Italy, who has expressed strongly antisemitic views and written for a far-right publication, has left his job under two weeks after the news of his appointment went public.
Péter Szentmihályi Szabó notified the Foreign Ministry that he did not want the position following heavy criticism from opposition parties and Jewish groups.
Szentmihályi Szabó wrote an article for far-right paper Magyar Fórum in 2000 entitled "Agents of Satan". The piece included antisemitic stereotypes and slurs directed at Jews, according to a translation posted on the web by the politics blog Hungarian Spectrum.
Without mentioning the word "Jew", he wrote: "They have no God, no nation, no people, no homeland, no Weltanschauung [world view], only bank accounts."
After the nomination was made public last week, András Heisler, president of Mazsihisz, the leading Hungarian Jewish organisation, told the JC that Szentmihályi Szabó's posting "rankled".
"Many of his former manifestations made him unacceptable to represent a democratic country," said Mr Heisler.
The World Jewish Congress urged Hungary to withdraw the nomination, calling it "clearly an affront to Jews".
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the criticisms of Szentmihályi Szabó "political attacks" and said: "The Hungarian government [has] been very clear about condemning every form of antisemitism."
The US-based blogger Eva Balogh - who voices regular criticism of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban - described Szentmihályi Szabó as a "raging" and "inveterate" antisemite.
28. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SAID THAT MILITARY ACTION WAS LIKELY TO BE “PROLONGED”.
Obama picks rabbi as faith ambassador
By Simon Rocker, July 31, 2014
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American President Barack Obama has turned to one of the world's leading Reform rabbis to be his advocate for religious freedom across the world.
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Centre, the American Reform movement's social action and justice arm, was nominated this week as an ambassador-at-large.
Mr Obama said that he was grateful that Rabbi Saperstein "has chosen to dedicate his talent to serving the American people at this important time for our country".
He is the first non-Christian to serve in the role, which was created in 1998. One senior figure in the Southern Baptist Convention, Russell Moore, described him as "a respected thinker and leader who brings gravity to this important role".
Rabbi Saperstein has led the RAC for more than 30 years and his latest book was Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time.
In 2009, he was named by Newsweek magazine as America's most influential rabbi.
29. MK ZOABI BARRED FROM PLENUM, COMMITTEES FOR 6 MONTHS
by Gil Ronen
The Knesset's Ethics Committee decided Tuesday to bar MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) from the Knesset committees and plenum for six months. This is the most severe punishment that the Ethics Committee can mete out to a Knesset Member, according to the Rules of the Knesset.
The Knesset is about to disperse for its summer recess anyway, and will not reconvene until mid-October. Zoabi will not be allowed to participate in discussions until February 1, 2015.
The decision follows complaints filed against Zoabi by several MKs, including Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud), following her statement that the murderers of the three Jewish yeshiva boys are not terrorists and even sought to justify the act.
She also faces police investigation over allegations that she incited to violence and insulted a public official.
Those charges surround remarks she made against police earlier this month at the entrance to the Nazareth Magistrate's Court. The MK responded through representatives, who claim she has "no time" to sit for the police investigation.
Another potential criminal investigation against Zoabi, which related to her comments about the kidnapping of Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha'ar and Naftali Frenkel, was nixed Monday after Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri told the Knesset Committee for Interior Affairs that her comments did not amount to incitement.
"On the one hand, she did not see the abductors [of murdered teens Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha'ar, and Eyal Yifrah, hy"d - ed.] as terrorists; on the other, she always disapproved of the abduction [itself]," Nizri said.
Zoabi is infamous for her provocative, anti-Israel speeches, including one in which she said that Israel has "no right to a normal life" and a later address claiming that "the Israeli occupation" was behind the murder of Israelis in Bulgaria. Recently, she declared that Israel should "thank her" for allowing Jews to live in the Jewish State.
The anti-Israel MK was thrust back into the spotlight last month, after making her infamous remarks defending Hamas's abduction of the three Israeli yeshiva high school students, who were fond murdered several weeks after going missing.
Earlier this month, she made headlines again, after she published an article on Hamas's official website encouraging an Islamist uprising against Israel.
30. HOME FRONT COMMAND CALL CENTER SAVES LIVES BY PHONE
by Yoni Kempinski, Tova Dvorin
The Home Front Command (HFC) call center handles hundreds of calls every day, helping citizens cope with the constant threat of rocket fire on their cities.
Arutz Sheva visited the HFC call center to get a glimpse of how the center's staff help thousands of Israelis through the Hamas rocket fire.
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"This center is operated by soldiers at 100 working stations," Captain Lenny Mamman, Commander of the HFC call center, stated to Arutz Sheva. 'It is in service 24/7, 365 days per year."
"The center operates in seven main languages; these are the most spoken languages in Israel, which are Hebrew, English, Arabic, Amharic [for the Ethiopian community], Russian, French, and Spanish," she continued.
"We contact specialists and work with people speaking other languages so in case someone calls and has a question in Japanese, Dutch, German, or any other language, we work with each case individually."
The call center is always abuzz with calls, according to Captain Mamman.
"There are 300 soldiers who work here on shifts around the clock," she said, noting that each shift is between 8-10 hours. "Most of the calls regard sirens in different geographical areas, or [questions like] 'was there a hit in my area?', 'what are the specific instructions in case of a siren?', and where public shelters are."
Mamman added that the call center employs a mix of soldiers - from new recruits to reservists, from enlisted soldiers to specialists. Psychological staff, for example, give support to distressed callers.
Mamman also elucidated a few different electronic systems the HFC uses for their work.
"The first is the REDWEB system, which monitors each and every siren," she noted. "Soldiers are immediately updated about a certain siren in a specific area."
"Another system is the CRM, the Customer Relation Manager," she continued. "Each resident is identified by his ID calling number and we have their full call history [. . .] in order to give the best and most specific information to the caller."
A third system, she pointed out, is on a set of television screens which show the number of calls coming in at any given moment to the center.
31. - 5 IDF DOGS KILLED SINCE START OF MILITARY CAMPAIGN
Five dogs of the IDF's Oketz canine unit have been killed in the Gaza Strip during the course of Operation Protective Edge.
The dogs were involved in various operations, including uncovering explosives in booby-trapped buildings.
32. POLICE SHOOT JEWISH WOMAN AT WESTERN WALL
July 31, 2014 10:02am
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Jewish woman who police said was dressed in blankets was shot in the leg by an officer at the entrance to the Western Wall area.
The woman did not stop at the security checkpoint at the holy site’s entrance on Wednesday evening when asked to by security guards, according to the Israel Police.
Police fired a warning shot into the air and, when she continued walking, fired at her legs.
She was later identified as being a member of a fringe haredi Orthodox Jewish sect often referred to as the “Jewish Taliban,” which is known for its extreme women’s modesty rules.
In keeping with the sect’s rules, the woman, 35, reportedly was dressed in layers of clothes and blankets, sometimes referred to as a “haredi burqa.”
She was treated on the scene by Magen David Adom and then taken to the hospital for further treatment.
33. ISRAELI TOURISTS EVACUATED FROM MALDIVES
July 31, 2014 4:46pm
(JTA) — Israeli tourists in the Maldives had to be evacuated from the island nation after an Israeli surfer removed an anti-Israel sign placed outside a guest house.
The tourists were evacuated earlier this week from Kaafu Thulusdhoo Island by security services after protesters on the island called for their removal and protesters from other places began converging on the island, according to minivannews.com.
The sign, outside a guest house owned by Mohamed Hashim, featured a swastika next to an Israeli flag. The tourist ripped it in half, according to the report. Hashim told the news service that about 60 percent of the bookings in his guest house are Israelis.
Following the evacuation of the tourists, a protest was held in the Maldives capital of Male, during which an Israeli flag was burned. The protest follows a pro-Palestinian protest held earlier this month in Male, attended by about 13,000 people.
Maldives, which resumed diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009, last week annulled all cooperation agreements signed with Israel and announced a boycott of Israeli products.
- - - LONDON NEWS - - -
34. TOWER HAMLETS MAYOR TOLD TO REMOVE PALESTINIAN FLAG
July 31, 2014
The Muslim mayor who flew the Palestinian flag over the east London borough’s town hall has been told to remove it by the police.
2
Mayor Rahman flew the Palestinian flag in a “humanitarian gesture” to the people of Gaza
Lutfur Rahman (pictured), who heads the First Party, said it was a “humanitarian gesture” to the people of Gaza, and that his decision was backed by all Labour opposition councillors.
However staff at the town hall were reported as being worried about their safety as a result of the stunt, saying that they were anxious the flag could become a target for attack.
The flag was ordered down after complaints from Jewish groups, including YadbYadUK, which tracks anti-Semitism.
Jonathan Arkush, vice president of the Board of Deputies, said: “[He] should remember that he is flying a flag from a British town hall in support of an organisation that is regarded across Europe and the world as terrorist.”
He added: “It is totally inappropriate. It is also destructive of relations between the communities that make up our capital city.”
Tory party chairman Grant Shapps also waded in, telling MailOnline: “This is an administration that cannot even organise their own election count, let alone intervene on foreign affairs in the Middle East… What we need is an immediate ceasefire and continued humanitarian aid, rather than empty, flag-waving gesture politics.”
But in a statement, Mr Rahman said the flag was a “humanitarian gesture of our solidarity with the people of Gaza… In addition to the current military onslaught, the blockade of Gaza is causing a humanitarian catastrophe. Over 1,000 people have been killed, most of them women and children”.
35. JUDGE DELAYS SENTENCING OF RIVKA HOLDEN’S KILLER
July 30, 2014
Nicolae Patraucean
Nicolae Patraucean
A judge at the Old Bailey has delayed sentencing a “sadistic” Romanian man who murdered a 55-year old Israeli prostitute in London so that he can consider all the evidence.
Judge Timothy Pontius adjourned until 24 October after hearing how Nicolae Patraucean, 21, strangled and mutilated Rivka Holden with a two-and-a-half inch Stanley knife blade in March this year.
“We would say it’s particularly serious on the grounds of sadism,” said prosecutor Timothy Cray, after describing how Holden suffered horrific wounds during the attack at her home in Colindale.
In his defence, Patraucean’s lawyer suggested “an excessive intake of drink and drugs” was a contributing factor.
Julian Mann, of Kingsbury Synagogue, said: “She was very warm and would sometimes drop in for a chat. She talked in Hebrew with my son and asked which Rabbis she could go to for a blessing for her health.”
36. PROTESTORS RALLY AGAINST ISRAEL-BACKED EDINBURGH FRINGE SHOW
July 31, 2014
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The Fringe Festival takes over Edinburgh each August
Dozens of protesters have held a demonstration against an Edinburgh Festival show supported by the Israeli government.
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) has vowed to continue action until Incubator Theatre production The City is cancelled.
The show, described as a “hip-hop opera”, is due to run at the Underbelly Cow Barn venue in the city’s Bristo Square until August 25.
Mick Napier, secretary of the SPSC, said: “The massacre in Gaza is now well into four figures and overwhelmingly that is civilians and a huge number of children.
“Hospitals and schools are being shelled, some repeatedly, and we find that it’s unacceptable that an Israeli state-sponsored cultural event should go ahead at the Edinburgh Fringe”.
“If the artists were unconnected with the Israeli state we would have no issue with them”.
“Our plan is to protest every day and also to use non-violent direct action to prevent it going ahead.”
An earlier statement from John Stalker Productions, which is promoting the show, said the Jerusalem theatre company receives an element of arts funding from Israel’s Ministry of Culture, among others.
It said: “Incubator Theatre exists to be an agent of significant cultural change in Jerusalem, working in both east and west Jerusalem, and an active force in developing an urban climate of pluralism and openness that accommodates a wide spectrum of opinions and world views.
“This work is of great significance to furthering cross-community dialogue and debate in the region.”
Police Scotland said they were aware of the protest.
A force spokesman said: “We respect individuals’ right to protest peacefully and our officers will facilitate any demonstration with a proportionate and appropriate deployment.
“This will be balanced against the needs and rights of those impacted by the event and the public can be sure that criminal activity will not be tolerated.
“Police Scotland’s priority is to keep people safe and, alongside our partners at the City of Edinburgh Council, we will do our utmost to ensure that performers, spectators, residents and visitors alike are all able to enjoy the Edinburgh Festival to the full.”
37. PROTESTERS THREATEN BRITISH COSMETICS STORE THAT SELLS ISRAELI PRODUCTS
July 31, 2014 4:55pm
(JTA) — A cosmetics store in Manchester, England, that sells Israeli cosmetics has been victimized by callers threatening to kill the staff and burn down the store.
Local police are investigating the ongoing threats, the Jewish Chronicle reported. The store, called Kedem, has been the scene of daily anti-Israel protests since the start of Israel’s operation in Gaza. Six anti-Israel protesters have been arrested.
Pro-Palestinian protesters also have posted threatening messages on the store’s Facebook page.
Meanwhile, also in Manchester, two 13-year-olds were charged this week with criminal damaging for vandalizing gravestones last month at a Jewish cemetery. The gravestones at the Rochdale Road cemetery were painted with swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti, and about 40 were toppled.
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FEATURE ARTICLES
38. - 32 nations back Yom Kippur as UN holiday
In letter to assembly's Committee on Conferences, ambassadors say United Nations 'recognizes the major festivals of many of the world's main religions, yet Judaism is not represented.'
Associated Press
Published: 07.31.14, 11:05 / Israel Jewish Scene
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Thirty-two countries have written to a UN General Assembly committee asking the United Nations to recognize Judaism's holiest day, Yom Kippur, as an official holiday.
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The letter to the assembly's Committee on Conferences, circulated on Wednesday, says the UN "recognizes the major festivals of many of the world's main religions, yet Judaism is not represented."
"We believe that the United Nations calendar should reflect the organization's founding principles of coexistence, justice and mutual respect," the 32 countries said. "We urge the United Nations to correct this inequity and recognize the holiest day of the Jewish faith."
Israel launched a campaign in May to make Yom Kippur a UN holiday.
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in May that a report from the Committee on Conferences would go to the assembly's budget committee and then to the General Assembly's 193 member states for a final decision.
Israel has had an often difficult relationship with the United Nations and is attacked regularly over its dealings with the Palestinians and the failure to reach a peace deal that would create an independent Palestinian state.
The letter to the committee was dated June 30, before the current Israeli-Hamas war began. But it was circulated on a particularly tense day between Israel and the UN.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned an attack on a UN school in Gaza that killed at least 16 people early Wednesday as "outrageous," adding that "nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children." He said "all available evidence points to Israeli artillery as the cause."
Ban, the US, and many other nations are demanding an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
The 32 ambassadors who signed the letters were from the US, Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, Nigeria, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, South Sudan, Suriname, Togo, Uruguay and Vanuatu.
There are currently 10 official UN holidays including the Christian holidays Christmas and Good Friday and the Muslim holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The six others are major US holidays – New Year's Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving.
The letter said that on Yom Kippur, "The Day of Atonement," the Jewish people "reflect on the events of the past year and pray that all peoples will enjoy a year of good health, peace and prosperity."
Jews believe that on Yom Kippur "every person's deeds are weighed on the heavenly scales of justice and the blessings of the coming year are determined by the good deeds performed in the service of others," the letter said. "In the days leading up to Yom Kippur, Jews throughout the world seek forgiveness and reconciliation."
The 32 ambassadors said "the messages of Yom Kippur are universal and as such, we the representatives of the delegations listed below are writing to request that Yom Kippur be included as an official holiday of the United Nations as from 2015."
- - -
Shabbat Shalom
ZB
BET HAROEH BYTES
**For inquiries, requests and assistance contact info@honeylight.com.au Website : http://www.betharoeh.org.
Shabbat Devarim Av 6 comm 5.15 Havdalah 6.15 Next Shabbat Vaetchanan comm 5.20 Latest Shema 9.52
Nine Av comm 5.35, ends Tue 6.18
For full listing of all activities, shiurim and functions at Mizrachi, please refer to the Mizrachi website / Newsletter.
Observing Yahrzeit this week are Tirzah Broh & Yedidah Lewis , Ada Gurgiel and Aviva Greenberger in memory of their late parents resp., A”H We wish them arichat yamim
We wish refuah shlema to all injured chayaleynu and cholim.
We wish hazlacha rabbah to chayaleynu for a successful mission and safe return.
**** Minyan Bet Haroeh AGM is this Sunday 3rd August at 8pm in Bet Haroeh. The AGM is your chance to have your say, and be heard..
- - - SHIURIUM- - - - Shabbat 9.00 am in Bet Haroeh
- - - 9 AV - -
Times for Tisha B’Av at Mizrachi
Monday:
4:30pm: Early Minchah
5:25pm: Minchah
5:35pm: Fast Begins
6:10pm: Ma’ariv
7:05pm: Shiur with Rabbi Yaakov Sprung ‘Bringing the Churban Home’
8:00pm: DVD in the Goldberger Hall
Tuesday:
6:20am: First Shacharit (in Beit Yehuda)
7:15am: Second Shacharit (in Beit HaRoeh)
12:26pm: Chatzot
4:00pm: DVD in the Goldberger Hall
5:10pm: Minchah
6:05pm: Ma’ariv
6:18pm: Fast Concludes
- - - BEV’S BYTES - -
Dear Beth Haroeh Friends
Did you know that “Beth Haroeh” stands for "House of Visionaries". And this week is Shabbat Chazon, the "Shabbat of Vision", where every Jew is shown a Vision of the future Bet Hamikdash from a distance. To see this vision we just need to open our eyes, and daven a little more. Please G-d may we all unite in prayer to be worthy of the moshiach before Tisha Ba’av. Let’s all pray together that our vision of hope is brought to reality.
Tzedakah fund: Thank you to all the generous people who gave to our Tzedakah fund for Magen David Adom, monies have been transferred again today to MDA for our second instalment, which has now purchased an ambulance ipad for emergency purposes to save lives and on our way to buying a mobile emergency ventilating machine . The President of MDA said she is coming to our Shule this Shabbat to thank us. Please continue to give generously this week through our dedicated account: Beth Haroeh Minyan, Bendigo Bank, BSB 633-000, Account number 149577728, by EFT marked with MDA. Every bit helps.
Letters of encouragement: One of our members’ sons who is fighting in the Israeli Air force has specifically asked us to send emails of support and appreciation to the brave chayalim/chayalot who are keeping our country safe, and said it gives them a lot of strength knowing that people are thinking of them. Emails can be sent through to mgelber@012.net.il
Kiddush: this week sponsored by a group of anonymous Kiddush visionaries for a good reason….
AGM This Sunday night: Beth Haroeh’s AGM this Sunday 3rd August at 8.30pm at Beth Haroeh. Thanks to those who have agreed to join the executive, please nominate yourself or others via the attached form. There will be light refreshments
Monday night: Fast well on Tisha Ba’av. Join us at Beth Haroeh for Aicha reading Monday Night 4th August, Mincha at 5.25pm.
Shalom U’Brachah
Beverley Honig
President
Beth Haroeh
- - - PARSHA RIDDLE - - DVARIM
When the father fled he went there
After the "command" is removed – it belongs to his sons
What is this?
Answer for last week, Massei (The first and the fifth have no name, the twelfth has a name but it has a different meaning):
The first month (Nissan): "And they journeyed from Raamses in the first month, on the fifteenth of the month, the day after the Pesach Sacrifice" [Bamidbar 33:3].
The fifth month (Av): "And Aharon the Priest ascended to Hor Hahar as instructed by G-d and died there... in the fifth month on the first of the month" [35:38].
The last month (Adar): This is mentioned as part of the boundaries of the land – "And the border will go around from the Negev to Maaleh Akrabim... And it will go from Chatzar Adar and pass over to Atzmona" [34:4].
- - - PARSHA MESSAGE - -
Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22)
There are two important issues which must be studied when approaching this week’s Torah portion, the first theological and the second textual.
The theological question strikes us from the moment we open this fifth Book of the Bible: Moses is speaking with his voice to the people of Israel. Each of the other four Biblical books are written in the third person, in God’s voice, as it were, recording the history, narrating the drama and commanding the laws. This fifth book is written in the first person. Does this mean that the first four books are God’s Bible and the fifth Moses’ Bible?
The fifteenth Century Spanish Biblical interpreter and faithful disciple of Maimonides, Don Isaac Abarbanel, queries “whether Deuteronomy was given by God from heaven, containing words from the mouth of the Divine as the rest of the Torah, or whether Moses spoke this book by himself… what he himself understood to be the intent of the Divine in his elucidation of the commandments, as the Biblical text states, ‘And Moses began to elucidate this Torah’. (Deut 1:5).”
Abarbanel concludes that whereas the first four Books of the Bible are God’s words written down by Moses, this fifth Book of the Bible contains Moses’ words, which God commanded the prophet to write down. In this manner, Deuteronomy has equal sanctity with the rest of the five Books.
Perhaps Abarbanel is agreeing with a provocative interpretation of the verse, “Moses will speak, and the Lord will answer him with a voice” (Ex. 19:19), which I once heard in the name of the Kotzker Rebbe, who asked: “What is the difference whether God speaks and Moses answers Amen, or Moses speaks and God answers Amen?”
The second issue is textual in nature. The Book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ long farewell speech. Moses feels compelled to provide personal reflections on the significance of the commandments as well as his personal spin on many of the most tragic desert events.
From the very beginning of Moses’ monologue, he cites God’s invitation to the Israelites to conquer the land of Israel. This would be the perfect introduction to a re-telling of the sin of the scouts whose evil report dissuaded the Israelites from attempting the conquest. Indeed, he does begin to recount, “But you all drew near to me and said, ‘Let us send out men before us, and let them scout out the land and report to us on the matter…” (Deut. 1:22). But this retelling comes fourteen verses after God’s initial invitation and these intervening fourteen verses are filled with what appears to be recriminations against a nation which Moses “cannot carry (bear) alone” (ibid 1:9). Only after this excursus from the topic at hand does Moses discuss the failed reconnaissance mission. Why the excursus? How does it explain the failed mission?
From God’s initial approach to Moses at the burning bush, Moses was a reluctant leader. The reason was clear: Moses called himself “heavy of speech.” I have previously explained this on the basis of an interpretation of the Ralbag, to mean that Moses was not given to “light banter”. He was so immersed in the “heavy” issues, that he had neither the patience nor the interest to convince an ungrateful and stiff-necked people to trust in God and conquer the Promised Land. Moses spent so much time in the companionship of the Divine that he lost the will – and ability – to consort with regular humanity.
Moses knew himself. The verses leading up to the sin of the scouts are hardly an excuse. They explain his failure to give proper direction to the delegation of tribal princes, his inability to censure their report, his unwillingness to convince them of the critical significance of the conquest of the land. He could not bear the burden, the grumblings, of a nation which was too removed from God to be able to follow Him blindly.
Back to theology. Maimonides explains that even at Mount Sinai, the entire nation only heard a sound emanating from the Divine, a kol; each individual understood that sound in accordance with his specific and individual spiritual standing, while Moses was the only one able to “divine” the precise will of God within that sound – the words of the 10 commandments (Guide to the Perplexed, II: 32). Moses internalized the will of God and thereby produced the words of the four Books of the Bible, which constitute God’s words internalized and written by Moses, the greatest prophet of all. Moses communicated with God. Moses may not always have spoken successfully to his own generation; but he did write, for us and for Jewish eternity.
But Moses also had a legacy to leave and an interpretation to give – In the book of Deuteronomy, he spoke to his people, telling them not God’s words but his own and God commanded him to write down the words of this Book as well for all eternity, God was granting the Divine imprimatur of Torah to Moses’ Book of Deuteronomy – and making it His (God’s) Book as well. Moses spoke and God answered Amen.
Shabbat Shalom
= = = SELECTED NEWS ITEMS = = = =
1. NETANYAHU VOWS: WE WON'T STOP UNTIL THE JOB IS DONE
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened a special security cabinet session Thursday morning to address the IDF's ongoing Operation Protective Edge.
"The IDF will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip with full strength" until the job is done, the Prime Minister said - and not before.
In particular, Netanyahu said that IDF forces had succeeded in destroying dozens of "terror tunnels" dug by Hamas into Israel, noting that the terrorist group was likely planning to kidnap Israeli soldiers and civilians.
He said that he was confident that the IDF could shut down Hamas's tunnel network and emphasized that even were a ceasefire to be reached Israel would continue to destroy the tunnels.
"Until now, we have destroyed dozens of terror tunnels and we are determined to complete the mission with or without a ceasefire. I will not agree to any proposal that does not allow for this."
The prime minister claimed Hamas had suffered serious damage in the fighting, with hundreds of fighters killed and hundreds more military positions, rocket launchers and weapons stockpiles destroyed. Several senior Hamas commanders have also been killed or captured.
The current military operation is "only the first phase in the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu added, saying that he had communicated that message clearly to American, European and other international leaders.
He also praised the soldiers of the IDF, as well as Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon for their "extraordinary" efforts during the operation, and assured the Israeli public that the government was working "day and night" to secure the citizens of Israel.
"We have a plan and we are working in accordance with it," he said.
For its part, Netanyahu appealed to the Israeli public to maintain national unity. That unity, he said "allows us to conduct the campaign in a balanced and responsible way. Unity gives our soldiers strength," warning extremists "on both sides" not to sabotage it.
He went on to criticize ministers who had attacked the government's conduct of the operation, saying that "government ministers should be setting a personal example to the entire nation" by unconditionally standing behind the war effort.
"The more united we are, the stronger we are."
ALSO
AT LEAST 80 ROCKETS FIRED INTO ISRAEL
Palestinians have fired more than 80 rockets into Israel in the last 24 hours - including last night's firing to Jerusalem, Gush Dan and Beer Sheva. No one was hurt and no damage was caused. Most of the rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome.
2. IDF CALLS ANOTHER 16,000 RESERVE SOLDIERS TO SERVICE
by Yaakov Levi
An additional 16,000 reserve soldiers are being called up for duty, joining some 70,000 reservist who had already been called for service, the IDF announced Thursday. With the call-up, a total of some 86,000 reservists will be on active duty.
The call-up indicates that the IDF may expand its operation, expanding its mission beyond the destruction of terror tunnels constructed by Hamas. IDF spokesmen over the past day have said that the army needs between two and three days to destroy all the Hamas tunnels that could be used to attack Israel.
Meanwhile, the air force continued attacking terror targets in Gaza, hitting 110 buildings and structures used by terrorists to fire rockets at Israel and to launch tunnel attacks. So far, the IDF has hit 4,200 such targets in Gaza. In a statement, the army said that it had destroyed several homes of Hamas commanders and buildings used to coordinate attacks on Israel. Four terror tunnels were destroyed as well, the army said,
IDF troops overnight Wednesday eliminated a Hamas terrorist who tried to fire an anti-tank missile at IDF soldiers in southern Gaza. On Wednesday, three soldiers were killed when an explosive went off in a booby-trapped house "while soldiers were uncovering an offensive tunnel shaft in a residence in the southern Gaza Strip. The house and the tunnel were booby trapped with two explosive devices that were detonated against the soldiers," the IDF said in a statement."
Meanwhile, Hamas continued firing rockets at Israeli cities and towns. Early Thursday, residents of Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi, and other towns in the south-central plain between Ashdod and Ashkelon were forced to run to shelters when Red Color siren warnings went off. No injuries were reported in those attacks.
3. KNESSET PASSES LAW TO CLOSE IBA, ESTABLISH NEW PUBLIC BROADCASTER
The Knesset plenum has passed second and third readings of the law to close down the Israel Broadcasting Authority and establish a new public broadcaster. In the vote, 45 MKS voted in favor, 11 against, and one abstained. Under the law the IBA will shut down and the license fee will be abolished by March 31, 2015.
4. TURKISH 'HUMANITARIAN AID' TO GAZA: BALL-BEARINGS, CEMENT MIXERS
by Ari Soffer
Customs officials at southern Israel's Ashdod port discovered hundreds of ball-bearings and cement mixers in a Turkish shipment of "humanitarian aid" to Gaza on Wednesday, raising fears the cargo could have been used by Hamas to support its ongoing war against Israel, according to Channel Two.
While both items have civilian uses, both have played a central role building Hamas's rocket arsenal and its vast network of "terror tunnels" into Israel.
Terrorists in Gaza regularly use ball-bearings to maximize the lethality of locally-made, short-range Qassam rockets. Unlike other, more powerful long-range rockets and military-grade mortar shells smuggled into Gaza from state-sponsors such as Iran, Qassam rockets have a relatively small warhead. But while the explosion itself may be relatively "small", the rockets are also packed with shrapnel - including nails, razors and, most commonly, ball-bearings - which are scattered throughout a relatively wide radius upon impact, maiming or killing anyone in the vicinity.
The co-opting of hundreds of tons of concrete supplies by Hamas to build its underground tunnel network, used to store and transport weapons as well as carry out attacks inside Israel, has also been well-documented.
The timing of those specific items of "humanitarian aid" is particularly suspicious; Gaza's civilian population are hardly appealing for fresh supplies of ball-bearings, and rebuilding targets struck by the Israeli Air Force while it is still operating over Gaza's skies seems a rather unfruitful endeavor.
The suspicious cargo had been handed over to security services for inspection. Authorities are currently withholding the problematic cargo, fearing it could be easily used by Hamas authorities to help replenish dwindling rocket supplies and rebuild the network of "terror tunnels" which has largely been destroyed by Israeli forces.
For their part, the owners of the seized container claim that the mixers were not specifically meant for making cement, but for other, unspecified, uses. They added that the ball-bearings were meant for use in the mixers.
Turkey's Islamist leadership is one of Hamas's main backers, along with Qatar, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has modeled himself as a champion of the "Palestinian cause", upping his already hostile rhetoric towards Israel since the start of Operation Protective Edge, comparing the Jewish state to Nazi Germany.
Erdogan's government has form when it comes to funding armed Islamist groups apart from Hamas. Kurdish fighters in northern Syria have long accused the Turkish government of backing Islamist rebels - including Al Qaeda-linked factions - to fight against them.
Last December the Turkish foreign ministry admitted its government had given 47 tons of arms to Islamist rebels in Syria, even as it attempted to pass them off as "non-lethal" cargo.
Amusingly, the weaponry in question had been filed as "guns without military uses" - despite being shipped into a country gripped by a bloody civil war.
5. AS WAR RAGES, NINE YEARS SINCE GUSH KATIF EXPULSION TO BE MARKED
by Hillel Fendel
With war raging, soldiers dying, and new tunnels appearing, most Israelis are not now in the mood to play the blame-game. It is ironic, however, that the Disengagement/Expulsion from Gush Katif that enabled Hamas to build up its missiles arsenal and tunnels network marks its ninth anniversary this very week.
To commemorate the occasion, a public event will be held at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem this coming Sunday evening. It will also commemorate the 10th anniversary of the famous "Human Orange Chain" that stretched from Gush Katif in Gaza all the way to the Western Wall Jerusalem, 90 kilometers away. (Orange was the official color of the popular struggle against the Disengagement.)
The Chain featured at least 130,000 people, according to police estimates. They stood in a nearly unbroken, hand-to-hand line-up, sending a message of "No to disengagement and expulsion, Yes to the Land of Israel and Gush Katif."
That their message was not accepted by the Ariel Sharon-headed government is a source of great frustration today – not only for the nearly 9,000 uprooted residents, but for many others in Israel, as the nation fights a costly war to destroy the terrorist network that has since arisen in Gaza.
The Sunday evening event will feature talks by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Interior Minister Gideon Saar. Following the screening of a new film on the Human Chain by Mordy Kershner, a panel discussion will take place entitled, "Does the Chain Yet Continue?" MK Zevulun Kalfa, the only current Knesset Member who lived in Gush Katif, will take part.
The event will be MC'd by popular broadcaster Sivan Rahav-Meir, known for her ability to bring out the ambience of religiously-oriented events to the secular public.
6. CALLS TO STOP DESTRUCTION OF COMMUNITY HONORING MURDERED TEENS
by Moshe Cohen
The High Court is set to consider whether or not to order the removal of caravans near the Gush Etzion town of Tekoa that had been set up to honor the memories of murdered Israeli teens Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel, and Gilad Sha'ar.
Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Ze'ev Elkin appealed on Thursday to Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon not to order the demolition of the caravans.
"I demand that the Defense Minister immediately put a halt to the process of demolition of these caravans," said Elkin, himself a resident of Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem. "Especially now, when so many residents are on the front lines fighting in Gaza, demolishing homes in Tekoa that were build on state land – and were built in memory of the three teens who were murdered by Hamas terrorists not far from the site – is a perversion of justice and common sense," he said.
Orders to demolish the caravans, which the government considers an "illegal outpost," were issued last week. The caravans were set up several weeks ago in response to the murder by Hamas terrorists of the three Israeli teens. Residents and legal groups are set to file a petition with the High Court to prevent the demolitions, at least temporarily. It should be noted that there are no pending cases by Palestinians claiming ownership of the site.
Police and army units arrived at the site Wednesday night to clear out the five families living in the caravans.
"I recommend that the security establishment invest its time and efforts in fighting Hamas in Gaza, and not against residents of Tekoa," Elkin added.
Besides attempting to remove families from the Tekoa site, soldiers and police on Wednesday destroyed several structures and a stone house on a hilltop next to the central Samaria town of Kfar Tapuach – at the same time as the residents of those homes were serving in the IDF, with at least one fighting in Gaza. The hilltop in question is on state land and is not owned by Arabs, but is considered an "unauthorized outpost" by the government.
In a statement, legal rights organization Honenu said that "It is sad that during a period when Israelis are unified in backing the IDF against terrorism from Gaza and other parts of the country, the army and police would use precious resources to act against residents. The absurdity is even greater when the houses being destroyed belong to soldiers who are fighting Israel's enemies. This is not the treatment they deserve," the group said.
7. THOUSANDS RALLY IN ROME: 'ISRAELI FLAG IS THE PLEDGE OF FREEDOM'
by Giulio Meotti, Rome
Last night, it was a great night in Rome. My newspaper, Il Foglio, rallied for Israel, its right to exist and to defend itself.
More than 1,000 people came to the demonstration. We met along the Tiber river.
In a Europe where barbarians are burning the flags with the star of David again and are calling to "kill the Jews", some of the river's lights were for us.
There was lots of security, but courage ultimately prevailed and there was not one incident.
We invited the heads of many Jewish organizations and Israel’s ambassador in Rome, Naor Gilon, to speak. Ordinary citizens came to pay homage to Israel.
We chose the Hatikva anthem as our soundtrack.
This is what I said in my speech at this dramatic time - a non-Jewish Zionist's words for the sake and future of the Jewish people.
"In these days of slogans such as 'Death to the Jews', perhaps Western public opinion would be satisfied if Israel would count more casualties, if Israel’s defense system would not intercept hundreds of missiles launched by Hamas.
"Perhaps, then, the hypocritical request of 'proportionality' and the absurd moral equivalence between Jews and terrorists would be satisfied.
"I say this because it is as if 160 missiles fired every day against Israel during the last twenty days are not enough.
"I say this because it is as if more than 50 Israeli soldiers killed are not enough.
"I say this because it is as if Hamas had never killed 1,500 Israeli civilians in the Second Intifada - as if that were not enough.
"The Israeli victims are always declassified as footnotes on the pages of the conflict. As if they never existed. This is how anti-Semitism and Western hypocrisy have reversed the roles of the two sides, overshadowing everything, and turning Israel into the executioner and depicting the terrorists as the resisters.
"In short, they have made terrorism a human right.
"Meanwhile, violent and hateful anti-Israeli demonstrations are held in all the cities of Europe, where we are witnessing attacks on Jewish centers, parliamentary questions, titles and images on the front page of newspapers and news programs. It is a campaign to isolate the Jews and Israel, to denigrate them, to abandon them to their fate. Anti-Semitism is rampant.
"The truth is that in Gaza there have been a thousand deaths, tragic deaths, in a war begun by Gazans. Many kibbutzim along the border have become ghost towns. For a day, international flights to Tel Aviv were discontinued. It is the first time since the Gulf War, that time when Israel was targeted by the rockets of Saddam Hussein and the Jews wore gas masks.
"It has been almost a taste of what Hamas and Islamists mean when they evoke the throwing of Jews into the sea. Their threat of extermination is now a promise.
"The truth is that Israel, a country large as New Jersey and whose inhabitants amount to one-thousandth of the world’s population, is the only democracy in the world under a permanent terrorist siege.
"The truth is that Israel’s army is the only in the world which warns its enemies before hitting a target.
"But this has yet to find a place in the media. Because the purpose of media disinformation is to give the impression that Israel is unjust, immoral, cruel.
"A few days ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu, receiving English ministers, rightly said that Israel is like England in 1940, when the German V2s destroyed large areas of London and the population went into the Underground to hide. Israel, like England then, is forced to defend itself. No other country would tolerate a terrorist entity, with such a racist ideology, which launches rockets every day on its civilian population.
"A movement that has promised not to leave "one Jew in Palestine". A movement that shoots missiles from UN schools, hospitals, mosques, cemeteries, kindergartens. A movement that uses the cement donated by Israel not to build schools, but to fortify the tunnels of death.
"Israel’s greatest success in seventy years of independence is survival, just being on the map. The Western world should be concerned about the fate of the little Israel, the most endangered member of our civilization.
"The flag with the Star of David is the pledge of our freedom.
"I hope, tonight, that the Jews no longer feel so alone.
"Viva Israel!"
[album
The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter. His writing has appeared in publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He has just prblished a book about the Vatican and Israel titled "J'Accuse: the Vatican Against Israel" published by Mantua Books. He can be seen in the right hand photo above.
8. IDF SOLDIERS WERE KILLED IN BOOBY-TRAPPED UN BUILDING
by Elad Benari
The three IDF soldiers who were killed on Wednesday in Gaza, were killed when explosives detonated within a booby-trapped UN building in Khan Younis, Breitbart reports.
An elite IDF tunnel unit was in the process of uncovering an opening to a Hamas tunnel located at an UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) health clinic when all of a sudden the explosives detonated, causing the entirety of the building to fall on top of the soldiers.
Neither the UN nor UNRWA have commented on the incident that resulted in the deaths of three Israeli soldiers, according to Breitbart.
The IDF has previously provided video evidence that Hamas fires rockets from inside schools and it is also known that Hamas has also been using UNRWA schools as storage sites for its rockets. For the third time in recent days, such a stockpile was discovered in a UN school Tuesday.
After the first finding of rockets at an UNRWA school, it was reported that rather than destroying the rockets, UNRWA workers called Hamas to come remove them.
While it would not comment on the deaths of the three soldiers, UNRWA was quick to place blame on Israel for a rocket strike on one of their schools in Gaza.
The UN agency also immediately blamed Israel for a strike on Gaza’s Shifa hospital, resulting in the deaths of over a dozen Gazans. It was later revealed that in all likelihood, a misfired Hamas Fajr-5 Iranian-made 100kg warhead destined for Israel had struck the hospital.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzahi Hanegbi said Wednesday that UNRWA has continued to hand the missiles back to Hamas, "endangering and jeopardizing Israeli lives."
"Instead of blaming and condemning Israel, UNRWA should make a real effort to stop being manipulated and used by the terrorist organizations," he said, according to Breitbart.
9. FUMIO CLOSES AFTER LOSING LOCAL HECHSHER
A large red “For Sale” sign adorns the front window of Fumio Grill and Sushi. The Livingston restaurant closed its doors on July 27, almost two months after losing its kosher certification from the local Va’ad HaKashrut of MetroWest.
“We feel we’ve been blackballed,” said Abie Bilgoray, who managed the restaurant, owned by Kevin Lipka.
After the Va’ad HaKashrut of MetroWest withdrew its hechsher, or kosher certification, on May 30, the restaurant closed its doors temporarily, and reopened under the supervision of the Passaic–based KOA Kosher on June 15.
But customers did not come. “The business just started crumbling,” said Bilgoray in a telephone interview. “No one came.” He also pointed out that the restaurant “used to do a ton of catering at the area shuls. But we couldn’t do it anymore.” The synagogues weren’t calling.
The Vaad does not comment on or discuss its relationships with vendors that have or have had its certification.
Originally opened as a non-kosher Asian restaurant and named for its chef, Fumio’s went through several incarnations before becoming a kosher restaurant in 2008, then owned by entrepreneur Ben Paniri. In 2012, current owner Kevin Lipka took over.
The restaurant is now for sale.
10. LAUDER URGES 5 LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES TO RETURN THEIR AMBASSADORS TO ISRAEL
Written by EJP
Thursday, 31 July 2014 19:15
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[Ronald Lauder: 'Those governments “are disregarding Israel’s right of self-defense and blaming the victim instead putting the responsibility for the violence where it belongs – on the terrorism of Hamas.” ]
Ronald Lauder: 'Those governments “are disregarding Israel’s right of self-defense and blaming the victim instead putting the responsibility for the violence where it belongs – on the terrorism of Hamas.”
NEW YORK (EJP)---World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder has urged the five Latin American nations that have withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel in protest of its Gaza incursion to return their envoys.
El Salvador, Chile, Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador have withdrawn their diplomats in the weeks since the fighting started.
According to Lauder, those governments “are disregarding Israel’s right of self-defense and blaming the victim instead putting the responsibility for the violence where it belongs – on the terrorism of Hamas.”
“We believe that Latin American governments could be of great help in combating terrorist organizations, ending the military capability of Hamas, facilitating dialogue, and promoting understanding in the Middle East, all of which would strengthen the safety and security of all nations – including their own,” he added Thursday.
“Diplomacy is an essential tool for defusing military confrontation, and dialogue between governments promotes peace,” he stressed.
Lauder thanked the government of Paraguay for refusing this week to sign an unbalanced resolution offered by the Mercosur, a trade group of five South American nations.
“President Cartes of Paraguay took a brave stand by refusing to sign the harmful and unbalanced resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict offered by the other Mercosur nations,” said the WJC President. “We thank him for insisting on fairness, which this declaration lacked.”
During a summit in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday, the Mercosur -- comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela – four of the bloc issued a statement condemning Israel for “disproportionate” use of force in Gaza. The text did not even mention Hamas, according to press reports.
Paraguay’s decision not to join them prevented the statement from becoming a more formal resolution.
Lauder said that WJC “regrets all the deaths in the conflict and fervently hope that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace, which is why we seek the support of the international community for disarming Hamas, which is cruelly using the Palestinian population as human shields for its war machine.”
11. MEMORIAL GATHERING HELD IN JERUSALEM FOR KIDNAPPED, MURDERED TEENS
A memorial gathering was held Tuesday night at Jerusalem Great Synagogue, for Israeli teens Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah, who were kidnapped and murdered in the West Bank. Among those present was President Reuven Rivlin, who said there is a clear connection between Hamas in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.
12. WORLD JEWS DONATE 160 PORTABLE SHELTERS TO GAZA VICINITY TOWNS
KKL raises some NIS 13.7 million from Diaspora Jewry in recent days; NIS 9 million used to help fortify southern Jewish and Bedouin communities against rocket fire.
Ynet
Published: 07.29.14, 12:56 / Israel Jewish Scene
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KKL-JNF (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund) has raised some NIS 13.7 million ($4 million) from world Jews in recent days. According to the organization, about NIS 9 million ($2.6 million) were used to fund 160 portable shelters for Bedouin and Jewish communities in the Gaza vicinity against the ongoing rocket fire.
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The town of Ofakim will receive a donation of 20 portable shelters, Bnei Shimon will get eight, Gan Yavne – 10, Sderot – 14, Naveh – 24, Bnei Netzarim – 15, Sdot Negev – eight, Eshkol – eight, Hof Ashkelon – eight, Merhavim – 10, Sha'ar Hanegev – eight, Netivot – 15, and the Bedouin sector communities (Lakiya, Segev Shalom, Rahat and Hura) will receive 12.
"While Israel is under attack around the world, the world Jewry is organization solidarity rallies and showing unprecedented support for Israel through the KKL offices," said KKL-JNF World Chairman Efi Stenzler.
Ofakim Mayor Yitzhak Danino said, "We have a neighborhood which built in the 1990s for new immigrants, where the houses are made out of carton without an apartment protected space and without any safe areas one can enter.
"We are talking about 1,280 housing units built in this method, and the immigrants who inhabited the neighborhood are now people over the age of 70 who find it difficult to move and are completely helpless.
"The portable shelters stationed in the area will partially solve the problem. The residents there are living with a sense of complete insecurity. Placing the portable shelters is a dramatic and very important thing for them, and I am very happy and would like to thank KKL and the donor.
"There is a lot of need for aid in many areas, but the residents' personal safety comes first. We are witnessing an amazing move which will provide a sense of calm for dozens of families."
Sigal Moran, head of the Bnei Shimon Council, said that the portable shelters "could literally save lives and will contribute to every resident's feeling of security."
Segev Shalom Council head Aamer Abu Mu'amar thanked KKL on behalf of the council residents, workers and members. "I hope that the calm will return to our region and that peace will prevail for all our citizens."
13. GAL GADOT UNVEILS THE NEW WONDER WOMAN
'I'm ready… are you?' Israeli actress asks Facebook followers as she posts first picture of herself from upcoming film 'Batman v Superman.'
Ran Boker
Published: 07.28.14, 00:40 / Israel Culture
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We have been waiting so long to see her as Wonder Woman, and now it's finally happening: Israeli actress Gal Gadot on Saturday unveiled a picture of herself in the superhero's outfit from the upcoming film "Batman v Superman."
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Gadot posted the photo on her Facebook page, adding the caption: "I'm ready… are you?"
Less than two years before the expected release of "Batman v Superman," the intended sequel of "Man of Steel," director Zack Snyder is beginning to build the momentum with his film's stars who are posing for photos in their characters' outfits.
After Ben Affleck shared a picture of himself as Batman, it was Gadot's turn to provide a first look at the new Wonder Woman, a picture which many in the world have been waiting to see due to the debate sparked by the former supermodel's very slim body.
Over the weekend, Gadot came under fire over a Facebook post praising the IDF soldiers, condemning Hamas and calling for coexistence, which drew many anti-Israel comment
14. REP. NADLER, ROSKAM INTRODUCE RESOLUTION CONDEMNING GROWING ANTI-SEMITISM ABROAD
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(Thursday, July 31st, 2014)
nadlerToday, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Congressman Peter Roskam (R-IL) introduced a Congressional resolution condemning growing anti-Semitism abroad.
“We must unequivocally condemn all forms of anti-Semitism and reject attempts to justify anti-Semitic hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of frustration with political events in the Middle East or anywhere else,” said Congressman Nadler. “Already in 2014 alone, in Jewish communities across the world, we have seen increased incidents of murder at Jewish sites, violent attacks and death threats against Jews, as well as gun violence, arson, graffiti, and other property desecration at Jewish places of worship. We must condemn these acts in the strongest possible terms and do all that we can to prevent the spread of anti-Semitism.”
“With clear evidence of increasing incidents and expressions of anti-Semitism throughout the world, it is important that we speak out against this hatred. The United States must continue to play an essential role in shining a spotlight on the ugly resurgence of anti-Semitism, as well as all forms of religious discrimination,” said Congressman Roskam.
“I commend Representatives Nadler and Roskam and their colleagues in the House for amplifying a call we hope the world will hear: that Jews should be able to live securely and with dignity, regardless of what happens in the Middle East. Parliamentarians around the world should follow their important lead and demonstrate the will to ensure anti-Semitism has no place in their country and that Jews have the right to live free of harassment and the fear of violence solely because they are Jewish,” said Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
15. QUEENS: NYPD LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPREHENDING BURGLAR OF SHUL PUSHKA
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(Thursday, July 31st, 2014)
nypd2The New York City Police Department is asking the public’s assistance identifying an individual wanted for burglary of a Shul in Queens, within the confines of the 102nd Precinct.
Police tell YWN that on Friday, July 25, 2014 at 12:25PM, the suspect entered Congregation Adas Yerem located at 122-31 Metropolitan Avenue, and removed approximately $75 dollars from the Pushka (donation box). The suspect gained entry from unknown entrance and then fled in unknown direction.
The suspect is described as white male, approximately 5’10″ in height, 185 pounds and last seen wearing a multi-colored striped short sleeve shirt, beige slacks and beige shoes.
Anyone with information in regards to this burglary is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
16. AGUDATH ISRAEL YESHIVA SERVICES DIVISION HOLDS INAUGURAL WEBINAR
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(Thursday, July 31st, 2014)
agudahOn Tuesday, over 100 administrators and principals from Yeshivos, Bais Yaakovs and day schools participated in Agudath Israel of America Yeshiva Services Division’s inaugural webinar. Participants hailed from throughout the northeast, as well as Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Scranton, Seattle, and other locations.
The 90 minute webinar focused on steps that nonpublic educational institutions can take to comply with the myriad of new rules and regulations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the sweeping healthcare reform legislation enacted in 2010. Its rules are being phased in over many years, and will eventually impact almost every employer and individual throughout the country, including most yeshivos and their employees. For example, under rules set to take effect in 2015, educational institutions that employ on average 50 or more full-time employees or their equivalent are generally subject to the employer mandate and related penalties. While there are some transition rules that provide relief, they are limited in scope and generally expire at the end of 2015.
The webinar was offered at no cost, and featured four noted experts on this complex set of laws: Mr. Reuven Bauman, Esq., Vice President and Senior Legal Counsel, ERISA/Benefits and Compensation, for HSBC- North America; Mr. Carey S. Gruenbaum, President, Preferred Services Group, Cedarhurst, NY; Mr. Yisrael Miller, Navigator for the New York Marketplace, health insurance enrollment, Achiezer Community Resource Center, Far Rockaway, NY; and Mr. Adam Okun, ASA, MAAA, Senior Vice President, Frenkel Benefits LLC.
Webinar participants were offered crucial information about the ACA’s requirements. Topics discussed included the individual mandate; the exchanges/marketplaces and subsidies; the employer mandate; individual marketplace options; and key reporting and disclosure obligations. The experts particularly stressed the steps that the institutions can take now in order to comply with rules taking effect for 2015, and avoid unnecessary stress and costs down the line. An extensive question-and-answer session followed, where individual administrators and principals interacted with the panel of speakers. An archive of the full webinar is being made available to participants, enabling them to review any information in the future.
Mrs. Deborah Zachai, director of education affairs of Agudath Israel of America, says the webinar marks a crucial step in the Yeshiva Services Division’s efforts to help our community’s educational institutions. “Yeshiva administrators are very busy people. It takes them time they don’t have to travel back and forth from our workshops. Today we brought the workshop to them. The convenience of viewing the entire presentation from their desk computer made it much easier for them to participate and also enabled out-of-state administrators to participate as well. We will be adding computer-based webinars to our current mix of live workshops and e-mail communications in order to better serve the yeshivos.”
17. CHIEF RABBINATE OF ISRAEL ISSUES RULING THAT SOLDIERS FIGHTING ARE EXEMPTED FROM TISHA B'AV FAST
Chief Rabbinate of Israel Issues Ruling That Soldiers Fighting Are Exempted From Tisha B'Av Fast The Chief Rabbinate of Israel released a psak halacha that all soldiers in the fighting are exempt from fasting on Tisha B’Av and all the customs and halachos of aveilus. The Rabbinate psak mentions the mesirus nefesh of the soldiers.
18. BILL CLINTON ON SEPT. 10, 2001: ‘I COULD HAVE KILLED’ BIN LADEN
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(Thursday, July 31st, 2014)
Ten hours before the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, Bill Clinton allegedly told a group of businessmen in Australia that he had a chance to kill Osama Bin Laden, but passed because it would have meant killing hundreds of innocent civilians. That’s according to never-before-released audio of remarks made public by Australian media on Wednesday.
On September 10, 2001, Clinton was speaking to a group of about 30 businessmen in Melbourne, including Michael Kroger, the former head of the Liberal Party in the Australian state of Victoria. The event was recorded with the former president’s permission, according to Kroger, but the audio never released — until Wednesday night, when Kroger appeared on Sky News with host Paul Murray to unveil it. Kroger said he had forgotten about the recording until last week.
At the event in Melbourne, which took place not long after the end of Clinton’s term in office, the former president was asked about international terrorism.
“And I’m just saying, you know, if I were Osama bin Laden — he’s very smart guy, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about him — and I nearly got him once,” Clinton is heard saying. “I nearly got him. And I could have killed him, but I would have to destroy a little town called Kandahar in Afghanistan and kill 300 innocent women and children, and then I would have been no better than him. And so I didn’t do it.”
19. METAL MARBLES FOUND IN TURKISH HUMANITARIAN AID SHIPMENT TO GAZA
Marbles could be used in explosive devices; owner of container says marbles meant for chocolate-making machine.
Itay Blumental
Published: 07.31.14, 14:45 / Israel News
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A shipment of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip that arrived from Turkey to the Ashdod Port on Wednesday included hundreds of small metal marbles that could be added to an explosive device to increase the range of its blast and make it much deadlier.
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Security at the port found the marbles inside one of the shipping containers, among medicine, clothing and food. Security officials have yet to decide whether to confiscate the marbles or not.
Sources at the port said the owner of the container claimed the marbles were meant for a chocolate machine that was also in the container.
The government of Turkey has been sending aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge.
A Turkish Airlines plane with food and medicine for Gaza landed at Ben Gurion on Wednesday. Sources in Israel denied reports that claimed the plane's cargo hall contained a large shipment of IDF uniforms.
The Customs Authority said in response: "The owner of a food container that arrived at the Ashdod Port and was meant for the Gaza Strip declared, among other things, that his container includes a chocolate-making machine. Small metal marbles were found inside the machine, that the importer claims are used for the production of chocolate. The issue is being carefully examined by the Customs Authority and we will issue an update when we've made a decision."
Meanwhile, the IHH, that was behind the Mavi Marmara flotilla, said it intends to send another aid ship to Gaza in order to break the naval blockade on the Strip.
20. IDF LAUNCHES NEW OFFENSIVE INTO NORTH, CENTRAL GAZA
by Gil Ronen
The Israel Defense Force began to advance toward "new targets" in the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning, ignoring US President Barack Obama's reported attempt to strongarm Israel into an immediate ceasefire.
IDF Radio, which reports the military advance, said that "it can be estimated that the IDF received permission from the political echelon to advance forward in various sectors in northern and southern Gaza."
The advance is into more densely populated areas, it said, and the movement is being accompanied by fire, and receiving close air support from aircraft. Two soldiers have been lightly injured, so far, from antitank fire, and a explosive charge was also activated against a tank. No one was hurt.
The IAF struck dozens of terror targets in north and central Gaza overnight.
The IDF struck over 80 targets in Gaza overnight. These included two mosques that served senior Hamas terrorists for observation and other terror-related purposes.
21. ITALIAN REPORTER REVEALS HAMAS COVER-UP OVER MISFIRED ROCKETS
by Ari Soffer
An Italian journalist who until Tuesday was embedded in Gaza has backed the IDF's account of a rocket strike on a school playground in central Gaza's Shati refugee camp on Monday.
At least 10 people were killed in the attack - most of them children - and some sources claimed the death toll was as high as 30. Palestinian sources were quick to blame Israel, claiming that an Israeli fighter jet fired missiles directly at the playground and nearby hospital. Israel denied the accusations, saying that Hamas rockets aimed at Israel from the area misfired, and struck both the school and the hospital:
IDF Tweet illustrating the path of misfired Hamas rockets:
Verifying facts on the ground in Gaza is notoriously difficult for foreign reporters, and even for Palestinian journalists seen as aligned with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, as journalists are closely watched by Hamas security forces and can face interrogation and a permanent ban from Gaza for publishing material deemed unfavorable to the territory's Islamist rulers. As such, little information has emerged on what exactly happened that day in Shati.
But returning from a stint in Gaza, and safe from what he ominously referred to as potential "Hamas retaliation", Italian journalist Gabriele Barbati broke the media silence by tweeting the following message, confirming that Hamas terrorists rushed to cover up evidence of what was indeed errant rocket fire aimed at Israel:
During the 23 days of Operation Protective Edge a handful of journalists have defied, purposefully or inadvertently, Hamas's restrictions on reporting negative information from Gaza - only to backtrack soon after.
Two cases in particular were highlighted earlier this week. In one, Wall Street Journal reported Nick Casey tweeted evidence - and veiled criticism - over Hamas's leadership's use of Shifa Hospital in Gaza as a command center, shedding more light on the group's use of human shields. Hamas reacted furiously, and a Hamas-affiliated twitter account blacklisted him as a journalist "who lies for Israel" - a potentially deadly accusation for anyone in Gaza, let alone a foreigner. Shortly afterwards, the tweet was promptly removed by Casey.
Hamas
Numerous foreign journalists have admitted to interviewing Hamas leaders inside the hospital, but their reports are notable for the lack of emphasis placed on such a flagrant violation of international law.
In the second case, another WSJ journalist tweeted evidence of a Hamas rocket misfire which damaged Gaza's main hospital. Again, shortly after tweeting it, Tamer El-Ghobashi removed the evidence.
Deleted tweets:
The use of human shields by Gazan terrorist groups during the current conflict has been repeatedly documented. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have stored and fired rockets from within densely-populated civilian areas, making Israeli attempts to stop them without causing collateral damage near to impossible. To compound the problem, Hamas has openly encouraged civilians to act as human shields, glorifying their actions as heroism.
Terrorists have also used hospitals and schools as command centers and military bases.
On Tuesday, the United Nations Work and Relief Agency (UNWRA) admitted that it had discovered rockets stored in one of its schools for the third time.
Hamas has not issued a response to Barbari's claims, and it is unclear whether he will face a ban from reporting from the Strip in the future. But whatever happens to him, his claims raise some uncomfortable questions about the objectivity of reports coming from Gaza - in particular the accuracy of the much-touted civilian death toll, and who may be responsible for it.
22. EX-MK ALLEGES GOVERNMENT COVER-UP OVER 'TERROR TUNNELS'
by Shimon Cohen, Gil Ronen
Shai Hermesh, a resident of the Gaza Belt and a former MK for Kadima, said Wednesday that local residents have been hearing digging sounds from the ground for years, as Hamas terrorists dug their tunnels into Israel, but authorities preferred to hush up the matter.
Hermesh, who is a member of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, told Arutz Sheva in an exclusive interview that only the men remain in the kibbutz for the moment, after the women and children evacuated northward to greater safety. The kibbutz is located just 1.5 kilometers (one mile) from the Hamas stronghold of Sejaiya, in Gaza.
Seventeen kibbutzim – as the communal agricultural settlements are called – are within the range of Hamas's tunnels, he explained. Life in the communities at present is an unpleasant mix of "Kassam fire, rocket alerts, IDF artillery fire, alerts about infiltrations, the Nahal Oz incident not far from us, the Nir Am incident which is also not far from us," and more.
"The most problematic thing is what is happening underground," said Hermesh, whose party carried out the Disengagement in 2005, which brought Gaza under full control of genocidal terrorists.
Hermesh said that while members of his kibbutz did not hear digging sounds from underground over the years, members of neighboring kibbutzim did. "Sounds like that rose up [from the ground] and they were even recorded, but someone made sure this was forgotten and kept out of public discussion. Maybe they did not want to create panic, but on the other hand, hiding information like that from the public is like not telling the residents around the Dimona nuclear plant that it is leaking radiation."
"The existential danger from the tunnels is several times worse than that of artillery fire. To counter artillery fire, we have safe rooms. A break-in by terrorists under one's home is a reality that even a military outpost would not stand for, not for a single day."
"We had a feeling that, perhaps, there are one or two problems [with regard to tunnels] and that they will deal with it, but no one thought that there were dozens of networking tunnels here, with openings pointing straight at the kibbutzim of the 'tunnel line'. This is a new reality for us," he explained.
"The thought that under your home, there is such bustling activity that no one controls or locates," he added, "is a very problematic one for the state of Israel. The first thing that can be deduced from this is that a solution or arrangement needs to be found to remove this threat – either by brawn or by brain."
23. BRUSSELS: SUSPECT IN JEWISH MUSEUM SHOOTING CHARGED WITH MURDER
by AFP
A Frenchman suspected of carrying out a fatal shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels was charged Wednesday with "murder in a terrorist context", the Belgian prosecutor's office said.
Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, who spent more than a year fighting with Islamist extremists in Syria, was extradited from France to Belgium the previous day to be questioned over the May 24 shooting which left four people dead.
"Since his arrival he has been interrogated by the counter-terrorist unit of the federal judiciary police of Brussels, as well as by the investigating judge," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The Frenchman of Algerian descent was questioned by Belgian officers over the deaths of a Jewish couple, a Frenchwoman and a Belgian man by a gunman who opened fire at the downtown museum in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon.
Belgian media said Nemmouche had remained largely silent during his interrogation.
His lawyer told journalists that he was annoyed over the leaking to the press of statements he made during police questioning in Paris in the two months since his May 30 arrest.
"He doesn't want to read his statements the next day in the press," said lawyer Sebastien Courtoy. "That is the reason, and the only reason, why he's refusing to answer questions."
The shooting - the first such attack in Brussels in three decades - raised fears of a resurgence of anti-Semitic violence in Europe and of terror attacks from foreign fighters returning from Syria.
Nemmouche was arrested in the southern French city of Marseille after being spotted on a bus from Brussels.
A revolver and Kalashnikov rifle were found in his luggage, resembling weapons caught on a museum video-camera, as was a portable camera.
24. SYNAGOGUE VANDALIZED IN MIAMI BEACH
by AFP and Arutz Sheva Staff
Nazi swastikas and the name of the Islamist movement Hamas were spray-painted in red on the entrance to a Jewish synagogue in Miami Beach, local media reported Monday.
The vandalism, which authorities were investigating as a probable "hate crime," was discovered by a neighborhood watch patrol where the Torah V'Emunah synagogue is located.
Yona Lunger, a volunteer patrol member, said she did a double-take when she came upon the graffiti.
"I saw this and then I stopped and I said, 'Wait a minute. What am I seeing here?' and then I backed up again and I looked again and I immediately sent a text to the two supervisors," she told Miami's Channel 7 news.
Television images showed swastikas and the name "Hamas" spray-painted on the synagogue's columns.
The incident followed another on Saturday in which a Miami Beach family found their cars covered in eggs and the words "Hamas" and "Jew" written on the windows.
"I mean, honestly, it makes you question if it's safe to walk around wearing your yarmulke, like how safe you really are in America," said Josh Rosenberg, one of the family's neighbors.
Anti-Semitism in the US and worldwide has skyrocketed since Operation Protective Edge, Israel's self-defense operation in Gaza, began 21 days ago.
News of an increase in anti-Semitic violence follows a shocking Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report earlier this year, whereby more than 25% of the world's population was shown to hold anti-Semitic views.
25. ONLINE CAMPAIGN AIMS TO BUILD THIRD TEMPLE
by Tova Dvorin
The Temple Institute, an organization in Jerusalem which works toward the rebuilding of the Third Temple, began a revolutionary campaign on Sunday to literally rebuild the Third Temple - through the power of crowdfunding.
Headlined under the title, "Don't make history. Make the future. Build the Third Temple," the indiegogo campaign promises that this generation of children is "ready" to see the center of Jewish worship rebuilt, once and for all.
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Several parallels have already been drawn, if informally, between Israel's current campaign to eliminate Hamas terror - and the international community's slow, but climbing, understanding of Israel's right to self-defense - and events described in the Torah regarding the completion of the Third Temple.
While acknowledgement of this has been somewhat informal - including a widely popular Facebook event advertising "the Last Tisha B'av," a hint to the traditional teaching that the day will become a day of celebration instead of mourning - at least one leading Rabbi has also stated that this campaign is the "God's war" and that "Israel will win."
However, the Temple Institute's campaign aims to bring these speculations to their practical fruition.
"Now is time for one of its most ambitious projects yet: completing architectural plans for the actual construction, fusing ancient texts and modern technology," the campaign's description states. "While strictly adhering to the religious requirements set forth in Biblical texts, the Third Temple will also be equipped with every modern amenity: full computerization, underground parking, temperature control, elevators, docks for public transportation, wheelchair access, and much more."
"The Temple Institute has engaged an architect to map out as practically as possible the modern Third Temple's construction," it continues. "Your contribution will go towards completing this ambitious project and the continued research and development which will make the Third Temple a reality."
"It is not enough to wait and pray for the Third Temple," it concludes. "It is a Biblical obligation to build it."
The Temple Institute's campaign will run for sixty days, ending on September 25 - during the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashana.
The campaign aims to raise $100,000 toward a building fund for the Third Temple, as part of its wider campaigns to train kohen-priests for Temple duties and rebuild the instruments in the priestly services.
26. FIFTEEN KILLED IN GAZA SCHOOL, HAMAS ROCKETS FOUND NEXT TO CLASSROOMS
By Daniel Easterman, July 30, 2014
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Palestinians inside the grounds of a UNRWA school after fleeing their homes from an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, the southern part of the Gaza Strip (Photo: Flash90/Abed Rahmin)
Palestinians inside the grounds of a UNRWA school after fleeing their homes from an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, the southern part of the Gaza Strip (Photo: Flash90/Abed Rahmin)
A UN school in Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp was shelled by the Israeli military early on Tuesday morning, killing 15 and leaving a further 90 wounded, according to Gaza health officials.
The school was being used by hundreds of Palestinians as a shelter to escape the fighting, said Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the UN aid agency, UNRWA.
The number of dead on the Palestinian side now stands at 1,250 while 56 Israelis have also been killed since the conflict began 23 days ago.
UNRWA also admitted in a press release that it had found Hamas rockets stored in one of its schools – the third such occasion in three weeks.
UNRWA Spokesman Chris Gunness said: “This is yet another flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises. We call on all the warring parties to respect the inviolability of UN property.”
“We condemn the group or groups who endangered civilians by placing these munitions in our school,” he said.
This latest UN school shelling follows one of the most violent periods of the conflict. According to reports, 100 people have been killed in air strikes on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
27. HUNGARIAN 'RAGING ANTISEMITE' ENVOY QUITS AFTER DAYS ON JOB
By Valentina Jovanovski, July 31, 2014
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The man nominated to be Hungary's ambassador to Italy, who has expressed strongly antisemitic views and written for a far-right publication, has left his job under two weeks after the news of his appointment went public.
Péter Szentmihályi Szabó notified the Foreign Ministry that he did not want the position following heavy criticism from opposition parties and Jewish groups.
Szentmihályi Szabó wrote an article for far-right paper Magyar Fórum in 2000 entitled "Agents of Satan". The piece included antisemitic stereotypes and slurs directed at Jews, according to a translation posted on the web by the politics blog Hungarian Spectrum.
Without mentioning the word "Jew", he wrote: "They have no God, no nation, no people, no homeland, no Weltanschauung [world view], only bank accounts."
After the nomination was made public last week, András Heisler, president of Mazsihisz, the leading Hungarian Jewish organisation, told the JC that Szentmihályi Szabó's posting "rankled".
"Many of his former manifestations made him unacceptable to represent a democratic country," said Mr Heisler.
The World Jewish Congress urged Hungary to withdraw the nomination, calling it "clearly an affront to Jews".
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the criticisms of Szentmihályi Szabó "political attacks" and said: "The Hungarian government [has] been very clear about condemning every form of antisemitism."
The US-based blogger Eva Balogh - who voices regular criticism of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban - described Szentmihályi Szabó as a "raging" and "inveterate" antisemite.
28. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SAID THAT MILITARY ACTION WAS LIKELY TO BE “PROLONGED”.
Obama picks rabbi as faith ambassador
By Simon Rocker, July 31, 2014
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American President Barack Obama has turned to one of the world's leading Reform rabbis to be his advocate for religious freedom across the world.
Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Centre, the American Reform movement's social action and justice arm, was nominated this week as an ambassador-at-large.
Mr Obama said that he was grateful that Rabbi Saperstein "has chosen to dedicate his talent to serving the American people at this important time for our country".
He is the first non-Christian to serve in the role, which was created in 1998. One senior figure in the Southern Baptist Convention, Russell Moore, described him as "a respected thinker and leader who brings gravity to this important role".
Rabbi Saperstein has led the RAC for more than 30 years and his latest book was Jewish Dimensions of Social Justice: Tough Moral Choices of Our Time.
In 2009, he was named by Newsweek magazine as America's most influential rabbi.
29. MK ZOABI BARRED FROM PLENUM, COMMITTEES FOR 6 MONTHS
by Gil Ronen
The Knesset's Ethics Committee decided Tuesday to bar MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) from the Knesset committees and plenum for six months. This is the most severe punishment that the Ethics Committee can mete out to a Knesset Member, according to the Rules of the Knesset.
The Knesset is about to disperse for its summer recess anyway, and will not reconvene until mid-October. Zoabi will not be allowed to participate in discussions until February 1, 2015.
The decision follows complaints filed against Zoabi by several MKs, including Knesset Speaker MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud), following her statement that the murderers of the three Jewish yeshiva boys are not terrorists and even sought to justify the act.
She also faces police investigation over allegations that she incited to violence and insulted a public official.
Those charges surround remarks she made against police earlier this month at the entrance to the Nazareth Magistrate's Court. The MK responded through representatives, who claim she has "no time" to sit for the police investigation.
Another potential criminal investigation against Zoabi, which related to her comments about the kidnapping of Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Sha'ar and Naftali Frenkel, was nixed Monday after Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri told the Knesset Committee for Interior Affairs that her comments did not amount to incitement.
"On the one hand, she did not see the abductors [of murdered teens Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Sha'ar, and Eyal Yifrah, hy"d - ed.] as terrorists; on the other, she always disapproved of the abduction [itself]," Nizri said.
Zoabi is infamous for her provocative, anti-Israel speeches, including one in which she said that Israel has "no right to a normal life" and a later address claiming that "the Israeli occupation" was behind the murder of Israelis in Bulgaria. Recently, she declared that Israel should "thank her" for allowing Jews to live in the Jewish State.
The anti-Israel MK was thrust back into the spotlight last month, after making her infamous remarks defending Hamas's abduction of the three Israeli yeshiva high school students, who were fond murdered several weeks after going missing.
Earlier this month, she made headlines again, after she published an article on Hamas's official website encouraging an Islamist uprising against Israel.
30. HOME FRONT COMMAND CALL CENTER SAVES LIVES BY PHONE
by Yoni Kempinski, Tova Dvorin
The Home Front Command (HFC) call center handles hundreds of calls every day, helping citizens cope with the constant threat of rocket fire on their cities.
Arutz Sheva visited the HFC call center to get a glimpse of how the center's staff help thousands of Israelis through the Hamas rocket fire.
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"This center is operated by soldiers at 100 working stations," Captain Lenny Mamman, Commander of the HFC call center, stated to Arutz Sheva. 'It is in service 24/7, 365 days per year."
"The center operates in seven main languages; these are the most spoken languages in Israel, which are Hebrew, English, Arabic, Amharic [for the Ethiopian community], Russian, French, and Spanish," she continued.
"We contact specialists and work with people speaking other languages so in case someone calls and has a question in Japanese, Dutch, German, or any other language, we work with each case individually."
The call center is always abuzz with calls, according to Captain Mamman.
"There are 300 soldiers who work here on shifts around the clock," she said, noting that each shift is between 8-10 hours. "Most of the calls regard sirens in different geographical areas, or [questions like] 'was there a hit in my area?', 'what are the specific instructions in case of a siren?', and where public shelters are."
Mamman added that the call center employs a mix of soldiers - from new recruits to reservists, from enlisted soldiers to specialists. Psychological staff, for example, give support to distressed callers.
Mamman also elucidated a few different electronic systems the HFC uses for their work.
"The first is the REDWEB system, which monitors each and every siren," she noted. "Soldiers are immediately updated about a certain siren in a specific area."
"Another system is the CRM, the Customer Relation Manager," she continued. "Each resident is identified by his ID calling number and we have their full call history [. . .] in order to give the best and most specific information to the caller."
A third system, she pointed out, is on a set of television screens which show the number of calls coming in at any given moment to the center.
31. - 5 IDF DOGS KILLED SINCE START OF MILITARY CAMPAIGN
Five dogs of the IDF's Oketz canine unit have been killed in the Gaza Strip during the course of Operation Protective Edge.
The dogs were involved in various operations, including uncovering explosives in booby-trapped buildings.
32. POLICE SHOOT JEWISH WOMAN AT WESTERN WALL
July 31, 2014 10:02am
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Jewish woman who police said was dressed in blankets was shot in the leg by an officer at the entrance to the Western Wall area.
The woman did not stop at the security checkpoint at the holy site’s entrance on Wednesday evening when asked to by security guards, according to the Israel Police.
Police fired a warning shot into the air and, when she continued walking, fired at her legs.
She was later identified as being a member of a fringe haredi Orthodox Jewish sect often referred to as the “Jewish Taliban,” which is known for its extreme women’s modesty rules.
In keeping with the sect’s rules, the woman, 35, reportedly was dressed in layers of clothes and blankets, sometimes referred to as a “haredi burqa.”
She was treated on the scene by Magen David Adom and then taken to the hospital for further treatment.
33. ISRAELI TOURISTS EVACUATED FROM MALDIVES
July 31, 2014 4:46pm
(JTA) — Israeli tourists in the Maldives had to be evacuated from the island nation after an Israeli surfer removed an anti-Israel sign placed outside a guest house.
The tourists were evacuated earlier this week from Kaafu Thulusdhoo Island by security services after protesters on the island called for their removal and protesters from other places began converging on the island, according to minivannews.com.
The sign, outside a guest house owned by Mohamed Hashim, featured a swastika next to an Israeli flag. The tourist ripped it in half, according to the report. Hashim told the news service that about 60 percent of the bookings in his guest house are Israelis.
Following the evacuation of the tourists, a protest was held in the Maldives capital of Male, during which an Israeli flag was burned. The protest follows a pro-Palestinian protest held earlier this month in Male, attended by about 13,000 people.
Maldives, which resumed diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009, last week annulled all cooperation agreements signed with Israel and announced a boycott of Israeli products.
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34. TOWER HAMLETS MAYOR TOLD TO REMOVE PALESTINIAN FLAG
July 31, 2014
The Muslim mayor who flew the Palestinian flag over the east London borough’s town hall has been told to remove it by the police.
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Mayor Rahman flew the Palestinian flag in a “humanitarian gesture” to the people of Gaza
Lutfur Rahman (pictured), who heads the First Party, said it was a “humanitarian gesture” to the people of Gaza, and that his decision was backed by all Labour opposition councillors.
However staff at the town hall were reported as being worried about their safety as a result of the stunt, saying that they were anxious the flag could become a target for attack.
The flag was ordered down after complaints from Jewish groups, including YadbYadUK, which tracks anti-Semitism.
Jonathan Arkush, vice president of the Board of Deputies, said: “[He] should remember that he is flying a flag from a British town hall in support of an organisation that is regarded across Europe and the world as terrorist.”
He added: “It is totally inappropriate. It is also destructive of relations between the communities that make up our capital city.”
Tory party chairman Grant Shapps also waded in, telling MailOnline: “This is an administration that cannot even organise their own election count, let alone intervene on foreign affairs in the Middle East… What we need is an immediate ceasefire and continued humanitarian aid, rather than empty, flag-waving gesture politics.”
But in a statement, Mr Rahman said the flag was a “humanitarian gesture of our solidarity with the people of Gaza… In addition to the current military onslaught, the blockade of Gaza is causing a humanitarian catastrophe. Over 1,000 people have been killed, most of them women and children”.
35. JUDGE DELAYS SENTENCING OF RIVKA HOLDEN’S KILLER
July 30, 2014
Nicolae Patraucean
Nicolae Patraucean
A judge at the Old Bailey has delayed sentencing a “sadistic” Romanian man who murdered a 55-year old Israeli prostitute in London so that he can consider all the evidence.
Judge Timothy Pontius adjourned until 24 October after hearing how Nicolae Patraucean, 21, strangled and mutilated Rivka Holden with a two-and-a-half inch Stanley knife blade in March this year.
“We would say it’s particularly serious on the grounds of sadism,” said prosecutor Timothy Cray, after describing how Holden suffered horrific wounds during the attack at her home in Colindale.
In his defence, Patraucean’s lawyer suggested “an excessive intake of drink and drugs” was a contributing factor.
Julian Mann, of Kingsbury Synagogue, said: “She was very warm and would sometimes drop in for a chat. She talked in Hebrew with my son and asked which Rabbis she could go to for a blessing for her health.”
36. PROTESTORS RALLY AGAINST ISRAEL-BACKED EDINBURGH FRINGE SHOW
July 31, 2014
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The Fringe Festival takes over Edinburgh each August
Dozens of protesters have held a demonstration against an Edinburgh Festival show supported by the Israeli government.
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) has vowed to continue action until Incubator Theatre production The City is cancelled.
The show, described as a “hip-hop opera”, is due to run at the Underbelly Cow Barn venue in the city’s Bristo Square until August 25.
Mick Napier, secretary of the SPSC, said: “The massacre in Gaza is now well into four figures and overwhelmingly that is civilians and a huge number of children.
“Hospitals and schools are being shelled, some repeatedly, and we find that it’s unacceptable that an Israeli state-sponsored cultural event should go ahead at the Edinburgh Fringe”.
“If the artists were unconnected with the Israeli state we would have no issue with them”.
“Our plan is to protest every day and also to use non-violent direct action to prevent it going ahead.”
An earlier statement from John Stalker Productions, which is promoting the show, said the Jerusalem theatre company receives an element of arts funding from Israel’s Ministry of Culture, among others.
It said: “Incubator Theatre exists to be an agent of significant cultural change in Jerusalem, working in both east and west Jerusalem, and an active force in developing an urban climate of pluralism and openness that accommodates a wide spectrum of opinions and world views.
“This work is of great significance to furthering cross-community dialogue and debate in the region.”
Police Scotland said they were aware of the protest.
A force spokesman said: “We respect individuals’ right to protest peacefully and our officers will facilitate any demonstration with a proportionate and appropriate deployment.
“This will be balanced against the needs and rights of those impacted by the event and the public can be sure that criminal activity will not be tolerated.
“Police Scotland’s priority is to keep people safe and, alongside our partners at the City of Edinburgh Council, we will do our utmost to ensure that performers, spectators, residents and visitors alike are all able to enjoy the Edinburgh Festival to the full.”
37. PROTESTERS THREATEN BRITISH COSMETICS STORE THAT SELLS ISRAELI PRODUCTS
July 31, 2014 4:55pm
(JTA) — A cosmetics store in Manchester, England, that sells Israeli cosmetics has been victimized by callers threatening to kill the staff and burn down the store.
Local police are investigating the ongoing threats, the Jewish Chronicle reported. The store, called Kedem, has been the scene of daily anti-Israel protests since the start of Israel’s operation in Gaza. Six anti-Israel protesters have been arrested.
Pro-Palestinian protesters also have posted threatening messages on the store’s Facebook page.
Meanwhile, also in Manchester, two 13-year-olds were charged this week with criminal damaging for vandalizing gravestones last month at a Jewish cemetery. The gravestones at the Rochdale Road cemetery were painted with swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti, and about 40 were toppled.
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FEATURE ARTICLES
38. - 32 nations back Yom Kippur as UN holiday
In letter to assembly's Committee on Conferences, ambassadors say United Nations 'recognizes the major festivals of many of the world's main religions, yet Judaism is not represented.'
Associated Press
Published: 07.31.14, 11:05 / Israel Jewish Scene
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Thirty-two countries have written to a UN General Assembly committee asking the United Nations to recognize Judaism's holiest day, Yom Kippur, as an official holiday.
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The letter to the assembly's Committee on Conferences, circulated on Wednesday, says the UN "recognizes the major festivals of many of the world's main religions, yet Judaism is not represented."
"We believe that the United Nations calendar should reflect the organization's founding principles of coexistence, justice and mutual respect," the 32 countries said. "We urge the United Nations to correct this inequity and recognize the holiest day of the Jewish faith."
Israel launched a campaign in May to make Yom Kippur a UN holiday.
UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in May that a report from the Committee on Conferences would go to the assembly's budget committee and then to the General Assembly's 193 member states for a final decision.
Israel has had an often difficult relationship with the United Nations and is attacked regularly over its dealings with the Palestinians and the failure to reach a peace deal that would create an independent Palestinian state.
The letter to the committee was dated June 30, before the current Israeli-Hamas war began. But it was circulated on a particularly tense day between Israel and the UN.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned an attack on a UN school in Gaza that killed at least 16 people early Wednesday as "outrageous," adding that "nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children." He said "all available evidence points to Israeli artillery as the cause."
Ban, the US, and many other nations are demanding an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
The 32 ambassadors who signed the letters were from the US, Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, Nigeria, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, South Sudan, Suriname, Togo, Uruguay and Vanuatu.
There are currently 10 official UN holidays including the Christian holidays Christmas and Good Friday and the Muslim holidays Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The six others are major US holidays – New Year's Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving.
The letter said that on Yom Kippur, "The Day of Atonement," the Jewish people "reflect on the events of the past year and pray that all peoples will enjoy a year of good health, peace and prosperity."
Jews believe that on Yom Kippur "every person's deeds are weighed on the heavenly scales of justice and the blessings of the coming year are determined by the good deeds performed in the service of others," the letter said. "In the days leading up to Yom Kippur, Jews throughout the world seek forgiveness and reconciliation."
The 32 ambassadors said "the messages of Yom Kippur are universal and as such, we the representatives of the delegations listed below are writing to request that Yom Kippur be included as an official holiday of the United Nations as from 2015."
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Shabbat Shalom
ZB
