The Root Cause

26,000. That’s the current number of Palestinians that have been killed in the Gaza war to date. 

Ever since Israel began its defensive mission to destroy Hamas- shortly after they committed the  worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust - there has been little else but death, destruction, homelessness, and starvation for the people of Gaza. 

Day after day – night after night the images broadcast from Gaza are heart rendering. It isn’t easy to watch people who until October 7^th were just living their lives - now suffering the loss or serious injury of parents, children, neighbors, and friends; the bombing of residential buildings, schools, and mosques; hospitals filled with the sick, elderly, and the disabled of war. Tears down bloody faces seem to be flowing continuously. There are body bags and mass graves all over the place. There are people that keep running from one area in Gaza to another to escape what seems like endless bombing. Hospitals and relief agencies do not have nearly enough personnel to help these people out.

To the typical compassionate observer, the call for a cease fire makes eminent sense. I would be demanding it too.

Demanding a cease fire seems to be an increasing phenomenon as the numbers of dead keep rising along with those images. How can it not be demanded when over 26,000 Palestinians have being killed by Israel’s military. Is that not genocide?

No it is not. And the call for a cease fire is an unjust call. 

First because Israel is responding Hamas’s October 7^th bloody massacre of 1200 innocent Jews and the taking of 240 hostages. Hamas promised to keep doing that until Jewish Israel is replaced by Islamic Palestine. More importantly is the fact that there is a root cause for all this devastation. And it is not the so-called ‘occupation’ that Palestinians and their sympathizers keep saying it is.  

The root cause is their initial rejection of the UN partition of mandated Palestine into a Jewish state and Arab state - the original ‘2 state solution’.(They did not call themselves Palestinians back then.) Instead all of Israel’s Arab neighbors attacked the fledgling Jewish state - trying to finish what Hitler started by driving the Jews into the sea. That is how Israel came into being. It won that war and declared independence. The Arabs that fled became refugees living on the West Bank which was then under the jurisdiction of Trans-Jordan (They have since dropped the Trans part of their name.)  Jordan governed that area until 1967 when in Israel won another victory over its neighbors and captured the West Bank. 

I am not going to participate in the blame game here. There is a lot of controversy about why those Arabs fled in 1948. I tend to believe that there are a variety of reasons for their hasty departure. Be that as it may, a lot of Arabs decided to stay and live in the new Jewish state. 

Guess what happened. Israeli Arabs are flourishing. Their standard of living is far better than Arabs living in other Arab countries. They have voting rights and representation in the Knesset. Asked whether they would move to a Palestinian state should that happen, the vast majority of them said no They would stay put in Israel. Had the Arabs that fled in 48 stayed in Israel they would have had the same fate. (Israel would have had a huge demographic problem now because of their high birth rate. But that is beyond the scope of this post.) 

Problem is that Palestinians are not educated that way. Their root cause starts with ‘the occupation’. That is the message they keep regurgitating. A message that keeps being repeated in the UN. Which is  what UN Secretary General António Guterres meant when he said the Hamas attack did not happen in a vacuum. That is what drives the Protestors to call for a cease fire. What about Hamas’s brutal attack? Well, remember, ‘this did not happen in a vacuum’.

Let me once again make clear that indiscriminate killing of Palestinians is evil. But that is not what Israel is doing despite the high number of Palestinian casualties. Israel had no intention of killing a single Palestinian in Gaza. They did not go to war with Hamas until they massacred 1200 innocent Israelis took over 240 hostages.  

Hamas’s goal is to eradicate Israel and replace it with Palestine. A goal supported by the vast majority of Palestinians. They are indoctrinated to blame the Israeli occupation for all their suffering. The  October 7^th bloody massacre and hostage taking  was fully supported by over 80% of them. In both Gaza and the West Bank.

It is because of all this that a cease fire cannot happen. If Israel stops now, it would threaten their very existence. 

(I do support a temporary cease fire in exchange for the hostages. Even though it would give Hamas the opportunity to regroup and rebuild. Getting the hostages back is worth the price. As long as Israel resumes the war after that and completes their mission.)

What about all that carnage? What about the over 26,000 Palestinians that have been killed amidst all of that devastation?

First of all among those 26,000 casualties (which could very easily be a Hamas inflated number) - as many as 10,000 of them were not innocent. They were Hamas terrorists wearing civilian clothing and hiding in plain sight among the civilian population. It is also well established that Hamas embedded themselves in densely populated areas of Gaza. Using residential buildings, schools, and mosques and hospitals as a shield for their terrorist bases of operations.

There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that if Palestinian leaders would really want peace with Israel we could have a cease fire in an instant. All they have to do is to stop trying to massacre us. But they have promised to do the opposite. 

There can be no clearer indication of their resolve than what was just revealed about UNRWA,  the UN relief agency. Which feeds and provides humanitarian aid to Gaza civilians in distress. The vast majority of them are Palestinians. Some 1200 of them are members of Hamas. And 12 or 13 of them actually participated in the October 7^th massacre.

It may not be their fault for having been indoctrinated to hate us for the wrong reasons. But Palestinians do hate us and see us as the source of all their problems and want us all out or dead. 

So as I have said in the past, having pity of such people is something I cannot bring myself to do. It would be like having pity on German citizens during the Holocaust who saluted Hitler with pride and sent their children to become a part of ‘Hitler Youth’. This doesn’t mean I think they deserve to be killed. But for me - it does mean not feeling all that sorry for them.

My sympathy is reserved for the families of the innocent Israelis that were slaughtered on that October day, those still being held hostage, and their families.

If all of the good people whose sympathy for the Palestinian suffering is legitimate and the reason they are demanding a cease fire would realize all of this, I don’t think they would be doing it. 

But they don’t. Which is why these protests are spreading and even finding their way into city council meetings. The Chicago City Council is now considering a resolution calling for a cease fire.

I would like nothing better than a cease fire. The problem of course is that it would only be Israel that would honor it in the long term. 

Israel cannot afford that kind of cease fire. I do not believe that (aside from Palestinians and the progressive left that hates any free market democracy that is successful) the vast majority of good people demanding it - truly understand why Israel cannot accept it.

The problem of course is how to get the message out. How can a public whose compassion for human suffering be educated to understand the real root cause? Not the Palestine version of it – bolstered by the daily images coming out of Gaza and the increasing number of protesters demanding a cease fire? 

That I can’t answer.

Charedim That Are Closet Centrists

Yakir Hexter and David Schwartz learned together and died together (Mishpacha)

One of my closest friends was Charedi. Although he passed away just over a year ago, I think of him often. His Hashkafa was decidedly Charedi and he sent his children to Charedi schools. Some of whom ended up in Lakewood. But he often privately described himself as a ‘reluctant’ Charedi’. I understood what he meant. Despite our Hashkafic differences which we often debated, we were kindred spirits in many ways. Which included having similar criticisms of the Charedi world. After reading Jonathan Rosenblum’s latest column in Mishpacha, I thought of him again.  

Now I’m sure Jonathan would not describe himself that way. But his recent column was far more Centrist in tone than it was Charedi. Here is an  excerpt from that column that demonstrates what I mean: 

Nearly 50 percent of the casualties to date are religious soldiers, many of them reservists with wives and children. On a recent segment of the Halacha Headlines radio show, Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon, rav of Gush Etzion, rosh yeshivah of Machon Lev, and the author of numerous halachic seforim, used the sh’eilos asked of him by soldiers in combat to convey his own awe at the quality of those serving in the IDF… These soldiers were not just religious, but serious lomdei Torah. 

First of all, how many of us even knew that 50% of the casualties were observant soldiers? That in and of itself is at one time admirable and tragic. Tragic because of their death and admirable because of what it says about a group  whose percentage of the population is a lot less than 50%.

With respect to the rest of Jonathan’s comment  - the idea of placing such high value on Hesder soldiers is not something you tend to hear in Charedi circles.  In fact the Charedi world pretty much dismisses them as - at best irrelevant or at worst as collaborating with the ‘enemy’. The ‘enemy’ being Zionism even in its religious form.

This is not to say that the Charedi leadership wouldn’t mourn the deaths of a Jewish soldier killed in action. I know for example that R’ Shach would be brought to tears upon hearing of the death of any soldier. Even if he was secular. But at the same time, I doubt that he ever talked in such glowing terms about the religious component or the high level of Torah study of Hesder students. 

Here is yet another excerpt that indicates Jonathan’s departure from the typical way the Charedi world looks at things: 

THE PRIDE I FEEL in being part of a very special people has only grown and grown since October 7, and I would guess that feeling is almost universal among identified Jews. Though I have focused until now primarily on religious Jews, that pride is not confined to them. Historian Michael Oren’s description of Israeli society as the strongest and most resilient in the world, upon the hundredth day of the war, strikes me as true. 

What other country could continue to function with hundreds of thousands of citizens uprooted from their homes on the northern and southern borders indefinitely, and hundreds of thousands more reservists away from their families and jobs for that entire time? One hundred percent of reservists answered their call-up notices, including tens of thousands who returned immediately from abroad. And in many units, 50 percent more than the number of those called up reported for duty, which they knew in advance would be dangerous and arduous. 

I feel the same way. And yet I would be shocked if  these words were ever uttered by any of the Charedi leadership or their representatives in the Knesset. It is far more likely to hear Charedi leaders saying that praising anything other than learning Torah full time as a the way to win is a Chilul HaShem. As one might hear them say about the following: 

The amount of private philanthropy and volunteerism needed to maintain some modicum of normalcy has been remarkable. One of my daughters-in-law shared with me yesterday the inspiration she had from preparing meals together with Mrs. Devorah Ebbing and Mrs. Laiky Lehrfeld, her neighbors from Ramat Beit Shemesh. Since just after Simchas Torah, their Mazon Campaign has been sending approximately 300 gourmet meals a week, made from whatever ingredients are on sale, to soldiers stationed on the northern and southern borders. Recently, their meals added to the joy of a siyum held by a unit in Gaza itself.

There is a lot more of this in Jonathan’s Mishpacha column. Which should be read in its entirety by everyone. 

If I didn’t know better, I would describe Jonathan as a Centrist. But he self identifies as Charedi and is a favored author of many ‘Gedolim biographies’ for ArtScroll. 

I wonder though how many other Charedim feel the way he does. Is he the exception that proves the rule whose outlier views are tolerated because of his literacy? Or are there a lot more like him?

I have a feeling that among the Charedi masses there are a lot more like him. What I refer to as  moderate mainstream Charedim. I just wish they would speak up more and demonstrate to the world that they do not subscribe to the extremism expressed by Charedi leadership. That would - in my view  bring unprecedented unity to the Jewish people. What better time to do that than now?

Is the US a Paper Tiger?

 The Houthi Rebels - Iran's proxies in Yemen (MDAA)

If there was ever an ‘I told you so’ moment, this is it. We are now reaping the fruits of one of the most disastrous deals in the history of the world: The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) better known as the Iran nuclear deal.

What was so terrible about that 2015 deal is not so much that it paved the way for Iran to build a nuclear weapon in just 10 short years after its implementation as  Prime Minister Netanyahu had warned us.  But the far worse consequences from which Israel, the US, and Palestinians are now suffering. That deal basically green-lighted the spread of terrorism by Iran by way of their proxies throughout the region. Which they have been doing with complete impunity since long before that deal was even contemplated. 

I believe it is an undisputed fact that it is mostly Iran that has supplied Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen with tens of thousands of rockets and/or missiles. Which all three have used to attack either Israel, the US or  maritime shipping in the Red Sea. Iran has also set up bases in Iraq, Syria… and who know where else. 

There is no doubt that Iran gave Hamas the means by which they carried out one of the most heinous and barbaric attacks on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. (Aided and abetted by UNRWA, the U.N. humanitarian agency that helps Palestinian refugees. Some of whom actually participated in the October 7^th attack. Thankfully the US and some of our allies have suspended aid to UNRWA) 

A defensive existential retaliation against Hamas by Israel has also resulted in devastation to Palestinians in Gaza. Which has sparked Houthi terrorists to attack US interests in that area over 160 times. The latest attack was in Jordan where a drone sent by Iranian proxies exploded over a US army base killing 3 US troops and seriously wounding over 30 more. The US has promised to retaliate.

It’s just too bad that it had to come to this. Had Iran been squeezed by their original sanctions and perhaps even adding additional ones, I’m not so sure we’d be in this predicament. Iran might just have been brought to its knees. Instead we and our allies ended sanctions and allowed them to flourish. Even after Trump tore up that deal and restored sanctions our allies continued to honor that deal while Iran decided to ignore it. This has resulted in our current circumstances .And they know we aren’t really going to do all that much about it.

Can anyone spell ‘paper tiger’?  

Iran is laughing at us and our vaunted superpower status. Iran’s fire and brimstone bloody threats if they are attacked has the US running scared. Iran has worked its magic upon the current administration. We keep saying we do not want to expand the conflict and that we do not want a war with Iran.

We might as well be Bolivia for all of our super power status. What good is it if we keep getting attacked and respond with mosquito bites?!

To be absolutely clear, I am not looking to declare war against Iran. Armchair hawks are a dime a dozen. As long as they don’t have to do any fighting themselves, its easy to say the US should go to war. I am not interested in a single America losing his life in a bloody battle with an Islamic extremist regime like Iran.

On the other hand how else do you deal with a two bit regional power like Iran who scoffs at our so-called military might?

There is a fine line between an all out war and sending a message to Iran big enough that they will reconsider their current view of US impotence. The repercussions to continuing to underestimate US power and our willingness to use it must be made clear. 

What that may be I leave to our military intelligence experts. But our response to Iran must be far more substantial than it has been. By a lot! What we have done till now isn’t working.

The one thing we cannot do is capitulate to demands like a permanent cease fire in Gaza.  That would give Hamas a victory to do what they did October 7^th all over again. And again. And again. As they have promised to do until Palestine is liberated from the river to the sea. Not only would the Jewish people suffer another genocide, the US would become an even greater laughing stock if they let that happen.

A lot of people would say that you can’t kill an ideology. That Islamism is here to stay. This is true. Claiming  there is no military solution that can end extremist Islamist ideology the left keeps on insisting upon a diplomatic solution. Adding that for every Islamist terrorist killed, ten will arise in his place. Which is also true.  

Them’s nice words. 

But meaningless to an ideology where the only solution as far as they are concerned is complete victory for their cause. Even if it includes genocide.

Thing is you can fight an ideology. Not to the point of destroying the ideology itself. But by eliminating their ability to execute their nefarious ends. To put it the way late Secretary of State Colin Powell did: the job of an army in war is to kill people and break things. And to do so with overwhelming force. 

The US has the capacity to do exactly that - should Iran test our resolve by increasing the frequency and ferocity of their attacks. Either directly or through their proxies. It behooves the Commander in Chief to consider any kind of attack approaching that as an act of war and attack Iran with everything we got (short of nuclear weapons).

Yes it would be bloody. But the alternative might be far worse if we let it pass with only minimal responses we have done so far.

If war with Iran is the unavoidable direction in which we are going than the Islamic Republic of Iran must be completely destroyed. Their fanatic Islamic leadership must be treated the same way Nazi war criminals were treated after WWII.  We destroyed Hitler’s 3^rd Reich and we have an even greater capacity to destroy Khamenei’s Islamic Republic of Iran now. And replace it with a democracy that I firmly believe most Iranians seek now - but fear for their lives if they try to do anything about.

I believe the potential to restore Iran to the pre Islamist days of 1979  is real if we only have the  determination to destroy Iran if they or their proxies decide to escalate to the point of the US needing to go to war with them.

Do not misunderstand. I want to re-emphasize that in no way do I think we should declare war without that kind of provocation. But Islamist extremist regimes like Iran and their proxies must be shown that the US is NOT a paper tiger. That our power is real and that we will use it to protect ourselves, our allies, and the free world. Even if it means war! The time is now. I hope the President rises to the occasion.

On Second Thought, Biden Will Win the Election.

E. Jean Carroll on Friday after being awarded an $83 million payout from Trump

$83 million. That might just be the value of the increased support the former president is getting by the verdict to pay that amount to a woman he defamed. In one of his many trials, Trump was convicted of defaming E. Jean Carroll. a women he was earlier convicted of sexually assaulting back in the 90s. Instead of burying him, his MAGA support has been strengthened immensely by that verdict.

How is that even remotely possible? Well, it’s because they see all of his legal troubles being either fake or overblown – generated by his political opponents.

Personally, I think there is some truth to that. Even if those indictments  are totally evidence based and legitimate, the prosecutors who indicted Trump are not MAGA Republicans. They are probably Democrats or Never Trumper Republicans who can’t stand him. 

MAGA Republicans therefore see every single one of those indictments as a political attack against a man they see as their savior. A man they will support because he will restore the policies he began in his first term.

To the extent that those indictments have any merit doesn’t matter. Even if he is convicted in all of them it won't matter. In their eyes it's all political. The more they throw at him the more MAGA Republicans are determined to stand behind him. 

That kind of loyalty and determination will clearly get  him the Republican nomination. The Republican party has largely become the MAGA party. Republicans running for re-election have no choice but to kiss his ring if he they want to get re-elected.  And they certainly do not want to get on Trump's bad side if he re-assumes the Oval Office. While this may not speak well of their ethics it is nevertheless a reality.

None of this is new. I have discussed it all before. Many times. But I have changed my mind about what I think the outcome of the election will be. Here’s why.

The one thing MAGA voters do not realize is that all of Trump’s legal troubles are not going unnoticed by the rest of the American electorate. Needless to say the majority of Democrats are not going to vote for him.  But I do not see Independents voting for him either. And certainly not the increasing numbers of Never Trumpers. The more times he will be found guilty of the crimes he has been indicted for the more likely he will be rejected by Independents.

So even though MAGA support gets stronger every time Trump is attacked, they are not the majority. I have now come to the conclusion that in a general election we are going to have a re-run of the last election with the same results. Which means that the inevitability of Trump being the Republican nominee will result in the opposite of what MAGA supporters want. 

The sad thing is that since  President  Biden is so unpopular - just about any other Republican running against him would probably win. With Nikky Haley topping that list. 

If not for Trump and his MAGA supporters, Haley would very likely be the Republican nominee and win in November. That MAGA voters don’t see that is a function of their blind support that sees all of Trump’s legal problems as ‘fake news’. 

It’s true that  recent pols have shown that Trump will win anyway. I recently predicted that based on those polls. I no longer feel that this is the case. Polls can change and are not always an accurate predicter of election results. The more Trump is found guilty of those crimes the less likely he will get votes outside of his MAGA loyalists. 

Other than his loyalists - who in their right mind would support a convicted felon many times over to be their leader? Who in their right mind would want a convicted felon to represent our country to the world? Who in their right mind wants a leader where revenge against political enemies or even former allies that have become disloyal  to him personally- to be his number one priority? Support Trump might have had from non MAGA voters will surely dry up.  So while MAGA Republicans (which I now believe is the vast majority of Republican party) are in control of who they will nominate  they are not the majority of the electorate who will not be voting for him. Leaving Biden to win a second term.

The irony is that MAGA Republicans could have had a conservative like Haley occupy the Oval Office. Her conservative credentials are real. Her polices will be as conservative as Trump’s. The difference being that she actually is a conservative while Trump only plays one on TV. Why not Haley then?

MAGA Republicans are not evil. They just love the conservative policies he Trump implemented. Like putting 3 conservative justices into the Supreme Court - changing it from a left leaning majority to a right leaning majority.  That Haley would do pretty much the same thing doesn't matter. Trump has proven himself by way of his first term. A proven commodity who has mesmerized his base. And they love his anti establishment approach to government 

To say that I am disappointed is an understatement.  I do not want to see ether Biden ot Trump in the Oval office for another 4 years, But one way or another that is what we are going to get. And if I’m right, we will continue to see a once centrist Democrat that - except for  his robust and unwavering support of Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas - is increasingly being influenced by the progressive left. A left whose values are far from my own.  

Extremism in Pursuit of Holiness

Gerrer Children (VIN)

I get it. Technology is dangerous when it is misused. In many more ways than one. Just to be clear, ‘technology’ refers the use of devices that can either access the internet or communicate via text messaging.

There are what seems to be an infinite number of ways in which technology can impact negatively on our religious values. Even to the point of violating Halacha. Texting on Shabbos being an unfortunate example of that. Social media and entertainment platforms are literally at our fingertips. That can easily distract from religious requirements like prayer. 

And then there is the ever present explicit sexual content that can ruin one's marriage and reputation. There is also the danger of exposure to ideologies that contradict the Torah.

Beyond the Orthodox Jewish community, technology has changed the way we interact with each other. Which applies as much to Orthodox Jews as it does to the rest of society. Face to face interactions are integral to our way life. And yet technology has the potential of leading to a sense of isolation. Which can induce clinical depression - which has in some cases led to suicide! The damage technology can inflict on society is recognized universally by all manner of civilized humankind.

One might conclude that with the dangers so obvious and so ubiquitous that it should be made illegal or even banned in its entirety. Because whatever good one may derive from technology, the downside is so severe that the upside isn’t worth it.

That was the thinking of Charedi religious leaders over a decade ago - expressed at an Asifa (gathering) attended by tens of thousands of mostly Charedi Jews.  

Obviously that is not what happened even in the Charedi world. It is used by virtually the entre civilized world. How can that be? 

Well it’s kind of like nuclear energy which can destroy humanity or can be used to benefit it. What is true about nuclear energy is true about technology in spades. Life has been unalterably changed by this technology. But not only in negative ways. The list of things that mankind benefits from technology is so huge, it would take multiple thick volumes to  describe them all. Benefits that seem to multiply exponentially with each passing day.  

Those of us that use technology already know this. The idea of going back  to a time where technology did not exist would be more ridiculous than going back to a time when indoor plumbing did not exist. It is becoming increasingly necessary to use technology just to live normal lives. Not to mention all of the time saving conveniences we have become accustomed to.

Which is why the Charedi world no longer talks about banning technology. They now advise using filters that will eliminate access to objectionable websites. 

But how about those facets of  technology that filters don't protect against? It does not for example solve online bullying. Or the mountains of wasted time consumed by its use.  

Does that means we need more than just filters? Of course we do. The question is what?

VIN recently reported that Ger decided the best way to do that is to revert to a total ban. At least for children: 

The Gerer chasidim issued a special pamphlet to the children in their chasidic group warning of the perils of technology… 

The pamphlet includes a list of regulations for the children as well as pictorial explanations of how children should eschew technological devices. The children are advised that this is not just a good attribute but rather a halachic requirement, as the Yetzer Hara is trying in many ways to make us sin including via advanced technology.

Technology is described as akin to a “biting dog and venomous snake” and children are warned not to touch screens in shops and clinics and even the donation tablets in shuls.

Even the Delta devices which Gur uses to filter should not be used by children and even Waze should not be employed by them. The children are told that if a person sits next to them on a bus with such a device they should move to another place.

Another regulation prohibits bringing to the Cheider any work done on a computer, as well as any information received from a computer. The children are advised not to use cellphones out of their house or to own MP3 players of their own. 

I wish I could say I’m surprised by this draconian approach. But Ger is not known for moderating its views. They have a very black and white - all or nothing approach to things that can hurt our spirituality. An example of which is their well known draconian rules regarding sexual intimacy with a spouse. That is the exact same approach they are taking to technology.

While they have a right to run things their own way, I can't believe it sits well with all their Chasidim. I have to wonder how many of them honor all these restrictions in the breach. I also have to wonder about the emotional health of children in families that adhere strictly to them.

I do not believe this is the Jewish way to handle issues that have both a good side and a bad. Especially when the good is so integral to the lives of the civilized world. The right approach is to interface with technology while preserving our values. Which is paramount in our digital age.

The idea of banning children from the use of technology to the extent Ger does is in my view counterproductive. 

What instead needs to be done is to ensure that parents have full control over what their children access and be able to see everything their children access or text - and to whom.. There are programs that enable parents to have that kind of control. And to not allow their children any access until an age where they have a certain level of maturity.  Regardless of what their friends do. Ger’s policies do little more than make a laughingstock out of them. Which in my view is anything but the Kiddush Hashem they seek in implementing these rules and treating them like Halacha.

Nazi Town, USA

It’s hard not to draw a parallel. PBS recently featured a documentary entitled Nazi Town, USA. Yes such a place actually existed in the 1930s. Here is how PBS describes that phenomenon:

In February 1939, more than 20,000 Americans filled Madison Square Garden for an event billed as a “Pro-American Rally.” Images of George Washington hung next to swastikas and speakers railed against the “Jewish controlled media” and called for a return to a racially “pure” America. The keynote speaker was Fritz Kuhn, head of the German American Bund. Nazi Town, USA tells the largely unknown story of the Bund, which had scores of chapters in suburbs and big cities across the country and represented what many believe was a real threat of fascist subversion in the United States. The Bund held joint rallies with the Ku Klux Klan and ran dozens of summer camps for children centered around Nazi ideology and imagery. Its melding of patriotic values with virulent anti-Semitism raised thorny issues that we continue to wrestle with today. 

Indeed we do. What Hitler did for Germany back then was to make it great again.  After World War I the Treaty of Versailles stripped Germany of its power, forced them to pay reparations, and set up a food blockade.  That was quickly followed by hyper-inflation that destroyed German currency. Making the value of the German mark worthless. The German people were demoralized. 

Along came Hitler and changed everything. He broke the treaty, built up the military, turned inflation around and restored pride and dignity to his people. Doing so by virtue of becoming a  dictator He also succeeded in creating a scapegoat and convincing the German public that the Jews were responsible for all of Germany’s woes.  

At that particular point in time - there was a German immigrant here that was an admirer of Hitler. Fritz Kuhn created the Bund, an association of German Americans. He held rallies attended by tens of thousands of such Americans convincing them that Hitler was right about the Jews. And that the American values would best be promoted by following Hitler's example. 

In essence he equated Americanism to Nazism. His rallies had  both American flags and swastikas. As well as many other symbols of America. Although Bund members were of German descent, they were otherwise as American as apple pie. 

The Bund set up summer camps all over the country that were wholesome - promoting  family values and good clean fun. All, while indoctrinating campers with Jew hatred. Other than that campers were typical American kids. Camp activities were the same as any other American camp. The Bund even built a town where Nazism was the hallmark of its existence. There were swastikas all over - on homes, on  public buildings and in parks. 

Please do not misunderstand. MAGA Republicans are not being indoctrinated to hate Jews. There are after all many Orthodox Jews that are MAGA Republicans! But comparisons to MAGA Republicans and Trump cannot be avoided. They see Trump fixing all of their problems. They would love to destroy the left.  Albeit not to the extremes of genocide. Obviously.

MAGA Republicans don't care how he does it. Democracy be damned.  Restoring family values is far more important. If it takes a dictator to do it, so what? This is how strongly they feel about  the moral abyss this country has fallen into. They love it when Trump says ‘We need to take our country back!’ By which he means taking it back from the leftists who are ruining it. 

Replace ‘leftists’ with  ‘Jews’ and you have Frtiz Kuhn and Hitler. They can put up with Trump’s flaws - considering them to be minor in comparison to Trump’s plan to make America great again.

The appeal of Hitler to Germans and of Fritz Kuhn to German Americans in the 30s is frighteningly similar to the appeal of Trump to MAGA Republicans.

Something to think about.

The Unmitigated Bias of the Jewish Press and Ha'aretz

Musk and Shapiro at Auschwitz

I can’t think of too many things that upset me more than extremism. Whether it is from the left or the right. And there are no better examples of that than the editorial  positions of the far right Jewish Press and the far left Ha’aretz.

A recent column by Jewish Press columnist, David Israel, heaped lavish praise upon right wing Israeli politician, Itamar Ben-Gvir while reveling in Ben-Gvir’s rising popularity since the October 7^th massacre:

If the elections were held today, Ben Gvir’s party would have won 9 Knesset seats, compared with its current 6…

His courage and leadership earned Ben Gvir some scathing attacks on the left…

It’s… gratifying to see one government minister who has retained his common sense…

In light of his decisive leadership this year, especially since October 7, 2023… he has grown to become so much more than that. These days, he is the one leader of the Zionist right who doesn’t waver, and doesn’t utter false notes.

I see no reason not to vote for him again should Bibi lose his mind and declare early elections.

What Mr. Israel fails to understand (or purposely ignores) is that Ben-Gvir’s hateful rhetoric and behavior is like pouring gasoline onto a raging fire. 

Not that generations of ‘cradle to grave’ indoctrination of Jew hatred instilled into the heart of every Palestinian isn’t enough to want us dead or gone. But Ben-Gvir only makes matters worse by exacerbating their anger and increasing their determination to commit  another October 7^th. 

It also provides ammunition to the anti Israel governments of the world like South Africa to accuse Israel of genocide.  

Then there is the far left Ha'aretz in which columnist Allison Kaplan Sommer smeared  Elon Musk along with popular conservative commentator and Orthodox Jew, Ben Shapiro: 

Escorted by far-right American Jewish pundit Ben Shapiro, the media was saturated Monday with images of the billionaire mogul and owner of the social media platform X touring the death camp with his young son propped up on his shoulders and holding his hand. A video showed Musk attending a Jewish religious service as a rabbi chanted the lament for the dead.  

Instead of giving Musk the benefit of the doubt and allowing for the possibility that he is sincere in his strong denial of being an antisemite, she doubles down on bashing him accusing him of using Auschwitz to whitewash his underlying antisemitism. Implying as well that it was his underlying anisemitism that motivated him to allow hate speech against Jews on his social media platform, X.  Bolstering that  claim is his participation in an antisemitic campaign on X targeting the Anti-Defamation League. 

What  Kaplan Sommer fails to mention is that Musk was praised by Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the ADL for his visit to the site of the October 7^th massacre accompanied by Prime minister Netanyahu. (whom she freely bashes) implying that Musk’s appearance there a  publicity stunt used to hide his antisemitism. Nor does she place any value on the fact that Shapiro, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, a leader of European Jewry, and Holocaust survivor Gidon Lev joined him. In what world would these three Jews be willing accessories to such a deception?

It does not occur to her that Musk may have been sincere in both his visit to the site of the massacre and to Auschwitz. That he may regret his original comment. But even if he a closet antisemite (which I highly doubt), to criticize a highly publicized visit to Auschwitz and his earlier visit to the site of the October 7^th massacre by one of the most prominent and successful entrepreneurs in the world  takes a tremendous amount gall and hatred of the right. Apparently Ms. Kaplan Sommer feels that it is more important to bash the right than to suggest the obvious.

For what it’s worth. I do not believe that Musk is an antisemite. I don’t think  Greenblatt, Shapiro, Marglolin, and Lev think so either. I think they believe that Musk's gesture of paying his respect to  the victims and survivors of both the Holocaust and October 7^th massacre is real. 

The problem seems to be that political ideologues are blinded by their ideology and cannot look at any counter event objectivity. Which I think the two rags where these opinions were published are guilty of. Whether they realize it or not. It is therefore incumbent upon us to take  anything published in a biased news source such as the Jewish press and Ha'aretz with a huge grain of salt 

No New Post Today

Due to circumstances beyond my control (having nothing to do with my health or well being) there will be no new post today.

Why Trump Will Win in November

Haley and Trump (NBC)

It’s a lost cause. Even now that her chief rival, Ron DeSantis has dropped out. Much as I would like to see her do well tomorrow in New Hampshire, Nikky Haley will ultimately not be the Republican nominee for President. Unless there is a miracle of epic proportion.

And that’s too bad for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is that polls show that in a head to head contest with Biden she has the best chance of winning compared to her now former Republican rivals and even Trump.  But more importantly for me, her views about Israel and the Arab world – honed during her service as the US ambassador to the UN – are the most positive of all her rivals including Donald Trump. All of whom are pretty strong supporters of Israel anyway.

That being said, that doesn’t mean Trump will necessarily lose. My guess is that unlike 2020 he will win handily  in 2024. 

Biden is not exactly the most popular president in US history. Voters will judge him by some very significant failures. Some real and some imagined. Frist at age 80 voters fear his mental capacity is compromised and will not be getting any better over the next four years of his presidency. 

There is also the inflation most Americans are feeling. True it has actually improved under his watch. But not where people spend their money most often - the grocery store. It seems like with every passing week prices keep skyrocketing! 

Then there is his foreign policy - beginning with the debacle in the US exist from Afghanistan. From my perspective - far worse is his policy of ignoring Iran’s spread of terror - and the means to  do it - all over the region. Instead trying to reach a stand alone nuclear deal. That is what enabled Hamas to commit  their barbaric massacre in Israel last October. And enables the Houthi rebels to attack cargo ships in the Red Sea. Biden has also lost the Muslim vote because of his support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Those are some or the reasons much of his natural constituency won’t vote for him.  

On the other hand Trump’s MAGA supporters can’t get enough of him. The obvious question is why? What is it they see in him? (Perhaps more importantly how is it possible that non MAGA voters will vote for him?) How is it possible that a proven liar many times over; a man whose personal immorality is an open book ; a man under 4 simultaneous criminal indictments; a man who incited the Capital riots of January 6^th; a man that dog whistles to racists and anitsemites; a man who alienates our allies... how can he be so popular with his MAGA supporters? Many of whom are Orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians?  

How is it possible that a man like Trump to be picking up support from more black people than he did in the past? How is a man that compared illegal Latino immigrants to rapists and murderers now have the support of most of the Latino community?

Things are not as black and white as they might seem. Trump haters on both the right and left consider him the worst thing to happen to the US in all of its history. They see another Trump presidency as the end of democracy as we know it. And they are pretty depressed about that.  

I do not support another Trump presidency. But I do see it as the end of the world. And neither do a lot of his supporters in congress. Not all of whom are MAGA Republicans. Many are respected members of congress. Like Senators Marco Rubio and Tim Scott - to name but two of many.

How can so many intelligent, moral, and ethical  people support someone with so much negative baggage?

First we must reject the notion that all MAGA voters are stupid and/or evil. On the contrary as noted - the more religious one is (as in Orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians) the more likely they will vote for Trump despite all of his serious flaws. That’s because none of the above matters to them. They do not see him as a criminal or insurrectionist. They believe all those indictments are politically motivated and at best exaggerated. 

They not only like his politics but they love his abrasive style. Saying out loud what they think. They do not see him as racist or antisemitic. 

Does this mean that all those who will be voting for him think the 2020 election was rigged or  stolen? True, a lot do. But many don’t. And that is not what motivates them anyway.  At the end of the day they actually do think that Trump’s conservative policies will make America great again. 

By great again - they mean an America that will stop going woke. An America that returns to honoring our founding fathers. Returns to a time where sexual mores were more in line with the values of the bible instead of the values of Hollywood.  This is what they saw in his choice of Supreme Court Justices during his first term They want that to resume.

They also like his ‘drain the swamp’ message. 

Another Trump presidency does not mean the US is about to go to Hell in a handbasket? Even as I know some very smart people are absolutely convinced that it will. It didn’t happen in his first term and it won’t happen in the next. What will happen is a continuation of the polices that his voters love. Polices they see will make America great again. 

They do nots see the term MAGA as a pejorative. They see it as a badge of honor whose goal is to restore America to a time where sexual immorality was not treated by western culture as a virtue.  

Those who might say that immorality has existed throughout history and is no worse now than it has always been - may be right. But it was never seen as a positive value until recent times. MAGA voters want to see that end. And I don’t blame them. Ironic as it may be, their view is that if it takes an immoral man to restore the values of earlier times to this country that is who they will enthusiastically support.

Satmar’s Act of Kindness to the IDF

R’ Yoel Teitelbaum (Wikipedia)

I have to admit I am surprised. In a totally good way.  From VIN: 

Satmar Rebbe Provides Food For IDF Units: ‘No Soldier Should Stay Hungry’

A group of soldiers who are guarding the northern border were stuck this week without food for Shabbos. The soldiers, who are members of a unit formed from graduates of the charedi Netzach Yehuda battalion, prepared to travel to Tzfat to buy some supplies for Shabbos, but before they managed to, they received a special shipment from a very unusual source – Satmar chasidim. 

I stand second to no one when it comes to condemning Satmar’s philosophy of demonizing Israel. A demonization articulated by R’ Yoel Teitelbaum, the original Satmar Rebbe. His rhetoric on that subject was so vile that he characterized a Gadol, R’ Avrohom Yitzchok Kook in terms used in the bible to describe Haman, the Hitler of that era. That was because of R’ Kook’s positive view of Zionism and becuase of his role as spiritual head  of Religious Zionism.

The Satmar Rebbe never lost an opportunity to bash Israel. Often in the harshest possible terms. In 1967 when Israel won a war with the Arabs against incredible odds in six short days, most of the religious world saw the hand of  God in that victory.  Many examples of such miracles surfaced after the war. To deny God’s hand in Israel’s amazing victory would even seem to be blasphemous.

And yet that is exactly the way the Satmar Rebbe put it when he was asked about that victory. He said it was a Maseh Satan – the work of the devil. So opposed was he to the state.

That legacy has been carried forward by his successors to this very day. It is in fact the Satmar Rebbe’s philosophy that is used by the vile Neturei Karta for joining Palestinians in protesting Israel.  

To be fair, Satmar has actually condemned Neturei Karta for doing this. But that does not mean they changed their had core rejection of Israel.

But this act of kindness makes me wonder if their position is softening. Maybe the unprecedented horrors of  October 7^th had an salutary effect on t least one of the 2 Satmar Rebbes. (Not sure which one.) Not that they will now accept the legitimacy of the state. There are 2 words that describe that likelihood: ‘pigs’ and ‘fly’.

The truth is that mainstream Charedim don’t accept the legitimacy of the state either. That is reflected in a number of ways. Such as never referring to this country as ‘Israel’ but as ‘Eretz Yisroel’. Never displaying an Israeli flag at any of their events. Refusing to recite any prayer authored by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. Including the one praying for the safety of IDF  soldiers. Which is especially significant now at a time the IDF is fighting for the very survival of - not only the state but the very lives of all of its 7 million Jewish residents. 

Please do not misunderstand. The Charedi world does care deeply about the safety of these soldiers. They recite Tehilim (Psalms) multiple times daily. I also know that it pains their rabbinic leaders greatly when even one soldier is killed. The Charedi world even participates in Israel’s governance by way of running for their legislature (the Knesset). Occasionally even joining the governing coalition. But they still refuse to say the special prayer for the IDF because they refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the State.

(It’s true that seems to be hypocritical. But debating that issue is beyond the scope of this post.) 

Which brings me back to Satmar. Is it possible that they have turned the page on vilifying the IDF the way their founding Rebbe did? Do they now hope for a victory over Hamas and will not call it ‘Maseh Satan’ the way their founder did about the miracle of 6 days war? This act of kindness certainly makes it seem that way. 

I have no way of knowing what their attitude will be going forward. But this act of kindness gives me hope that they are moving in the right direction.

The Two State Solution

Netanyahu and Secretary of State, Antony Blinken (JNS)

I wish I could agree with the Biden Administration. The idea of two states, one Jewish and one Palestinian living side by side in peace and harmony would be the ideal solution if it were possible. But as I have pointed out many times, it isn’t even remotely possible. That realization is now recognized not only by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it is also recognized by the majority of the Israeli people. As noted by JNS columnist, Caroline Glick: 

Israelis, of course, have engaged in the question of Palestinian statehood. After the atrocities that the Palestinians carried out against their people and state on Oct. 7—and as the full mobilization of Palestinian society in Gaza and Judea and Samaria on behalf of Hamas’s war of genocide against Israel has been revealed—Israeli support for Palestinian statehood dried up. As Direct Polls revealed last month, 81% of Israelis, including Arab Israelis, say there is no prospect for peace with the Palestinians, including 70% of left-wing voters. Some 88% of Israelis do not trust the Palestinian leadership. 

This poll should not go unnoticed by the rest of world Jewry. It reveals that until October 7^th, there was a sizable number of Israelis that supported a ‘two state solution’. Especially by Israelis that are left of center. Now much of the left recognizes the fallacy of that ‘solution’. How could they not, considering the huge numbers of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank  (and anywhere in the world they can be found) supported the bloody massacre by Hamas of 1200 Jews and the kidnapping of 300 mostly Jewish hostages from Israel. 

That the the Biden administration and even some of Israel’s left wing politicians (that include some retired generals) are ignoring that is mindboggling. How in heaven’s  name can you agree to the creation of a state bordering Israel that would in essence be run by Nazis that their public supports! 

Consider the following reasons not to support it (some of which I have noted myself) by Glick:

The P.A.’s U.S.-financed forces train for war against Israel and participate in terrorist attacks.The P.A. pays salaries to jailed terrorists, including the Hamas murderers and rapists who carried out the Oct. 7 atrocities.

The P.A. schools, universities and media indoctrinate Palestinian children and society as a whole to seek the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people through a genocidal jihad.

The P.A.’s official position since Oct. 7 is to seek the establishment of a unity government between Fatah and Hamas in Judea and Samaria, as well as Gaza. 

In other words, empowering the genocidal P.A. means maintaining Hamas’s grip on power. Neither P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas nor any P.A. or Fatah official has yet condemned the atrocities of Oct. 7. 

It is sheer madness to advocate for a Palestinian state led by people like this. That Netanyahu has rejected it makes eminent sense. The rejection of a Palestinian state is the far safer option than embracing what will surely be the biggest existential threat in Israel’s history. And yet this is exactly what the Biden Administration wants Israel to do.

I am convinced that Biden’s support for Israel is genuine and that he fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself. Support backed up with considerable substance. Which is something Jews worldwide should express profound gratitude for. Especially in light of the protests all over the world accusing Israel of genocide. But exposing Israel to the same thing all over again multiplied many times over if the West Bank were to be turned over to the Palestinians would actually undermine Israel’s ability to defend itself. Which could portend its demise! God forbid.

Netanyahu has been given the Israeli version of Sophie's Choice. By rejecting the two state solution he risks losing American support which in an of itself would constitute an existential threat. Israel would not be able to defend itself without the military hardware and munitions the US supplies. 

As much as I would love to see peace between Israel and the Palestinians... as much as I would be willing to give up land for peace... it cannot be at the risk of  Israel’s demise. Which a Palestinians pray for and why they support Hamas.  

Contrary to popular belief, I believe that Netanyahu could be convinced to support a two state solution if Palestinians would be deradicalized. He actually said as much with respect to giving them control over Gaza. But we will sooner see pigs fly. Especially now when Palestinians are surely eager for revenge on a major scale considering what Israel has done to them there as they pursue Hamas.

If they would only realize it is Hamas that is really responsible for their misery. Then there might be a chance for deradicalization. But 75 years of indoctrinated hatred of Israel is so deeply embedded into their national psyche, that blaming Israel is all they can see. Instead of blaming Hamas, they see them as their eventual liberators!

Why the Biden administration doesn’t factor these truths into his calculations I cannot understand. It would be one thing if Biden predicated his support for a Palestinian state on the deradicalization of the Palestinian people. Then I would support it too. But he has not said that and keeps insisting that Gaza should be handed over to the PA who would eventually also govern a Palestinian state! 

The president has to know all of these problems. Which turns his genuine support for Israel on its head! 

I just don’t get it.

A Problem with Solutions that Will Never Happen

Toras Chaim Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Mendel Slomovits (Matzav)

Yes, Virginia - there is a Shidduch crisis. And it isn’t limited to the Charedi world. It exists in the MO (Modern Orthodox) world too. The reasons for each are polar opposites. 

The Charedi obsession with the age gap as the cause may have some merit. (For reasons that are beyond the scope of this post).  But that isn’t the only reason. Which in my view is why their attempts to fix  it has thus far met with limited if any success. 

It seems that the way they are tackling this problem is by urging their young men to marry at a younger age.. The latest volley in that ‘war’ comes from one of the most prestigious post high school Yeshivos in Lakewood. As noted in Matzav:

Rav Mendel Slomovits, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Toras Chaim of Lakewood, announced in a shmuess given on Friday that he is implementing a new policy in the yeshiva that completely nixes the fourth-year bais medrash program starting this coming Elul zeman in light of the ongoing shidduch crisis.

Rav Slomovits and Rav Mordechai Dick met with Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Slabodka, in Eretz Yisroel several months ago to discuss various options to alleviate the Shidduch crisis. 

Never thought I’d see the day where a Charedi Rosh Yesshiva advocated less learning for any reason . A whole year’s worth no less!

Interestingly according to the article the extra year of Torah study in a post high school yeshiva is only an American phenomenon. Be that as it may, I doubt very much whether this will put a dent in that crisis.

I have said this before but it bears repeating. A better solution in my view would be to open up the dating process to more options than just a Shadchan. And who says you can't date while your learning in a Yeshiva? But the Charedi obsession with the separation of the sexes won’t allow young people to meet outside of a Shadchan of some sort. Whether paid, a family member, or friend. 

The idea of young people meeting on their own is so frowned upon, so foreign to the culture of the Charedi world, that if a young man tries to start up a conversation with a young girl at - say a wedding - he will  never be considered a serious prospect for marriage. Not by a Shadchan and not by any of the young women that hear about it. If a high school girl is caught talking to a boy that is not a family member or son of a family friend they are seen as a near slut. 

Ironically, I know plenty of Charedi couples that met that way and ended up getting married. One fellow I know who is a highly respected Talmid Chacham met his wife that way in high s school and carried out a clandestine relationship with her until they got married. Had he been caught, they might never have gotten married and his reputation ruined.

As I’ve said an ample number of times, there is nothing wrong with a boy meeting a girl on his own. the fear by Charedim that something untoward might happen is unwarranted.

Not that using a shadchan should discouraged but that its should just be one of many options available for young people to meet.

On the MO side, there seems to be a lot of young people that date for what seems like forever before they actually get engaged. And all too often those relationships do not end up with marriage at all. That the Achilles heel of the MO dating system.  Whcih in part can be explained by the infamous ‘commitment issue’. 

A lot of MO men simply prefer dating over marriage. And they will stay in that kid of relationship until the young woman ends it. Which can sometime take place years after the relaltionship began!Thus limting the number of young men she will meet over time. 

I believe that the reason for this is in part due to the fact that they have been unduly influenced by the secular western culture in which they partake. Where marriage is not necessarily an end goal. Most of the secular world has no issue at all with sex outside of marriage. So that particular incentive is no longer relevant.  Now I am not accusing Modern Orthodox Jews of having unmarried sex. I have no idea whether any of them do or not. The point is that the decline of marriage in the general culture affects how people date in the MO world. Which in my view is why some MO relationships seem to go on forever and do not end up in marriage.

I know a lot of people in both communities that have been unsuccessfully trying to  get married. In my view, the best way to attack the crisis is for each to take a page from the other. The Charedi world should open up the dating process and the MO community should consider dating only for the purpose of  marriage. They should and abandon the custom of endless relationships that go nowhere. And include the Shadchan as one of their options as well.

Not that either of these things will happen. But they should.

Giving the PA Gaza and the Two State Solution

PA President Mahmoud Abbas( Wikipedia)

Saw this quote today on Life in Israel: 

There is a discussion about what will be the day after [the war]. I will reveal a little bit of what will be the day after. On the day after the war there will not be a Palestinian entity that will educate its children to murder Jews. There will not be UNRWA any longer, not in Gaza, not in the PA and not in Jerusalem. The era of educating to violence is finished. 

  -- MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) in a session of the security and defense committee in Knesset. 

I am in favor of a 2 state solution. This should not shock anyone. I have been saying this ever since the idea was first brought up. What I am not in favor of is a two state solution where ‘Palestine’ will be genocidal. Where children  will be  raised  to hate Jews so much that they cheer when we are slaughtered raped, mutilated, beheaded. or kidnapped. 

That kind of  ‘Palestine’ is a non starter. We cannot have another Gaza on the West Bank. It would be a prescription for a genocide against the Jewish people that could surpass that of Nazi Germany. 

With respect to my support in theory of a two state solution, I realize that extreme right wing religious Zionist ideologues like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich would be vehemently opposed to giving away an inch of land to Palestinians under any circumstances. Even of it would bring peace.  

But I have to believe the vast majority of Israel would be happy to end the constant fear of  violence and bloodshed that permeates Israeli society now. By vast majority I include secular Israelis, moderate religious Zionists, and even Charedim. Pikuach Nefesh trumps all the other Mitzvos in the Torah except the prohibitions against murder, idol worship, and adultery. 

For the record my Rebbe, Rav Ahron Soloveichik, opposed giving up any land to Palestinians. Many years ago during ‘Oslo’,  asked him about land for peace as a matter of Pikuach Nefesh.He answered that giving them land would be the opposite of Pikuach Nefesh. He knew then what I know now. 

It isn’t just Hamas. They are just the military wing of a people - most of whom feel the same way. That should be obvious by the way Palestinians have been protesting Israel’s war with Hamas. Calling for a  ‘Free Palestine - from the river to the sea!’ It should be obvious from the fact that they call all their civilian casualties martyrs. It should be obvious from the fact that they openly say that their land has been occupied for 75 years. Which is when the UN partitioned Palestine into 2 states: One Jewish and the other Arab. They didn’t accept it then and they don’t accept it now. It is a religious principle for them worth dying for.

So as things stand now and for the foreseeable future, a 2 state solution is not possible. 

The problem is that this is exactly what the vast majority of the international community -  including the US advocates and expects Israel to do. In theory it seems like the only just solution that would end the conflict. But in practice it would be suicidal for Israel to do that now.

How can the civilized world not realize that?!  A two state solution is a prescription for terrorism against Israel on steroids!  Even if the PA (Palestinian Authority) takes over as their governing body - as the US has suggested. The idea that they will somehow rein in terrorism is laughable! 

Even if Israel succeeds in destroying Hamas there will be another version of this group of savage Islamist terrorists arising in their place. They will surely have the religious fervor and determination to  do to the PA  on the West Bank what Hamas did to the PA in Gaza. They got rid of them - to the cheers of Gaza civilians! 

When a religious principle is what motivates you nothing stops you. Taking back Palestine by any and all means available is a religious principle for them.  Means that include all the atrocities they committed on October 7^th  - while screaming, ‘Alahu Akhbar’ - God is great! 

Making all this possible is an Iran whose views about the destruction of Israel are identical to Hamas. It is Iran that supplies them with the means to carry out their mission. 

(The truth is that Iran is the real problem. Without them, there would be no Hamas that would be capable of doing what they did and promise to keep doing. And no Houthis that have been Iran is in fact attacking the US in the Red Sea. Get rid of Iran and it solves a lot of problems. How to do that is beyond the scope of this post.) 

So I agree with Yuli Edelstein. There cannot be a Palestinian entity that will educate its children to murder Jews. Educating their people to violence needs to be eradicated from their midst. 

I pray for peace in Israel every day. But peace will not come with a two state solution. As things stand now it will only bring more tragedy to our people. Even with a ‘reformed’ PA as their governing body (As was suggested by Secretary of State, Antony Blinken when he was asked about who should govern Gaza after the war.)  I wish they could be.  But the idea that the PA cans somehow be disabused of their hatred of us which has been indoctrinated multi-generationally - and suddenly stop teaching it to their children is about as likely as Iran’s Supreme leader converting to Judaism.   

I just wish the Biden administration realized all of this. If they did, their suggestion that the PA govern Gaza after the war would never have been made. Nor would they be promoting a two state solution. On the other hand if they do realize it ad still advocate the PA taking control of Gaza and creating a two sate solution - that would be both immoral and irresponsible.

A Paradigm Shift? Or One Man’s Opinion?

Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch (VIN)

Updated

It seems that there may actually be a crack in the iron wall of full time Torah study as the first and best (if not only) legitimate option of the Charedi world. This is espcailly true in Israel where learning full time is a way of life to the exclusion of everything else. The idea of working for a living is seen as B’Deived to be avoided as much as possible. Working Charedim are at best considered second class citizens. 

Although working for a living has increased over the past few years in this community, it seems to be incremental. Leaving out other considerations that have hampered Charedi men from joining the workforce (like Israel’s requirement to serve in the IDF before pursuing a career) this has been one of the primary issues that has caused friction between Charedim on the one hand and secular and Dati (MO) Jews on he other. The idea of sustaining a large and growing segment of the population that way is a burden that most Israelis will not accept. Nor should they.

But that seems to be changing. I’m not whether what Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, Co-Rosh HaYeshiva of Slabodka in Bnei Brak has said is based on the grass roots reality of an increased number of Charedim that are working or an actual Hashkafa. I suspect it’s the former. But either way I am happy to hear it. Not only are there more Charedim in Israel working, in many cases they are choosing careers that require a higher education. Or at least the Charedi equivalent of that. There are for example schools that have separate gender classes that teach accounting courses only - enabling graduates to be tested and get certified.

Rav Dov Landau (Rationalist Judaism)

This is in part what Rav Hirsch, said at a gathering in Israel recently as reported by R’ Yair Hoffman at VIN:

(Referencing R’ Aharon Kotler, R’ Hirsch said) the ideal situation is for all of klal yisroel to study Torah all their lives and not be involved in anything else but Torah study. However, since this is not attainable, since people need to earn a living and engage in worldly matters in order to sustain themselves…

(In) the past twenty years, it has become clear that it is no longer possible for all avreichim to learn for their entire lives even in Eretz Yisroel…

It is imperative, however, that our attitude toward them should not be that they are balei batim who merely have a connection to the Torah, rather, our attitude must be the exact opposite:

They are Bnei Torah who had to engage in earning a living.

This is both how they must view themselves, and this is how they must be viewed by all Bnei Torah. 

My own view is that full time Torah study should only be sought by people whose talents are best suited to the task and the rest should serve God in ways best suited to their own individual talents. However, the idea that it might be an ‘after the fact’ change in attitude should not be viewed negatively. It is in fact a sea change with the potential introduce huge numbers of Charedim to the working world of the rest of society. Choosing to do exactly what they should have been doing in the first place. which is – serve God in ways best suited to their own individual talents and ability. 

Better late than never.

It is somewhat ironic that 93 year old R’ Dov Landau is his Co-Rosh HaYeshiva at Slabodka agrees with him. He  condemned R’ Shai Graucher, a Charedi hero who raised millions of dollars to help with the war in all kind of ways: 

Rav Dov Landau didn’t just say something negative about R. Shai Graucher. He condemned him in the harshest terms. He described him as a mazzik gamur, a “totally destructive person.” And he declared that this should be publicized. 

Hard for me to imagine R’ Landau agreeing to respect working Charedim as much as learning Charedim. But surprisingly - he did. As noted by Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein at Cross-Currents:

With Rav Dov Landau (who is seen as the senior figure guiding the Litvish yeshiva world) sitting at his side, Rav Hirsch spoke via video to a gathering of working charedim in Yerushalayim. He told them that they were part of the charedi world, and should continue to see themselves as proud charedim, rather than outsiders.

R’ Hirsch and R’ Landau must be given credit for the courage to recognize the realities of the Charedi world and be willing to publicly endorse a change their paradigm. I wonder, though if he will now be considered a outlier... or whether he will be seen as a visionary that saw the events of our time as a Hora’as Shah that needs to be acted upon for the very existence and perpetuation of the Charedi world. 

I sure hope it’s the latter. If  other rabbinic leaders denounce it,  that may kill the initiative and cause yet another split in the Charedi world. Which unfortunately wouldn’t be the first time a recognized rabbinic leader who is a zealot torpedoed a common sense approach to reality. There is a relatively recent precedent like that. Recall the feud between  R’ Aharon Leib Steinman and R’ Shmuel Auerbach about the draft. Which sparked some pretty violent protests by R’ Auerbach’s followers.

Will this be another rift between factions? Who knows. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what develops as the reality in Israel continues to add more Charedim into working class. Seems like this is for real.

The Populism that is Donald Trump

The indicted former president at one of his many trials (The Hill)

There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that former President Trump is not qualified to be President again. His refusal to accept the results of last presidential election is all I needed to make that determination. That was bad enough. But it didn’t end there. 

What followed was a series of attempted manipulations and intimidations intended to reverse those results - culminating in  Trump’s call for a protest on the day the results were to be certified in congress. That protest turned so violent that members of congress hid in fear for their lives. Shouts of ‘Hang Pence’ were heard from the crowd that day. If Trump’s incitement of that riot doesn’to disqulify him, nothing does. 

Not that his governing style was all that great before that. His demeanor in office didn’t come anywhere near the decorum the office President should have. Nor did the insults he hurled at his political opponents.  

Even though his domestic policies were very popular with both social and fiscal conservatives as were his foreign polices with respect to Israel and Iran - that is more that outweighed by his behavior post election. And that should have ended any chance that Trump would ever see the Oval Office again. 

But the opposite has happened. As things stand now, Trump could very well be re-elected. In spite of all the legal trouble he’s in because of that day. Perhaps even because of it. How is it possible that someone with that much baggage is so popular that that at least half the country (it seems) will be voting for him in the next election?

I know a lot of people say that MAGA Republicans are all a bunch of racists or ignorant fools. Sure - some of them are. But to paint them all that way is elitist and simply not true.  It is a virtual impossibility to call 100s of millions of American citizens racist or ignorant. There are a lot of people from all walks of life that will be voting for him. From the college educated to the high school dropout. From fundamentalist Christians to Orthodox Jews. He has picked up a lot of support from the Latino community and has even picked up some black support.

Recent polls give him a 20 point lead over his nearest rival in the Iowa caucuses to be held later tonight. It can’t be just about his conservative polices. His Republican opponents are just as conservative. You would think that choosing one of them over a man with all the above mentioned baggage is a no brainer for conservative voters. But that is not happening. What gives?

Let us try and take a deeper dive into this question. First I believe that people will choose polices over style every time. They may not like his style but they do like his policies. Which until the pandemic were very beneficial to the average person’s pocket book. His emphasis on job creation, economic growth, and deregulation resonated with individuals who believed in a more business-friendly approach to governance. Especially the small ‘mom and pop’ type businesses that are the bedrock of private enterprise in this country

But COVID caused inflation to take hold and that directly affects the pocket book. That is what did him in. Trump would have easily had a second term if not for that. To the average consumer, inflation still exists even though the  rate of inflation has gone down and in some cases prices have actually dropped. The overall economy is in pretty good shape.  

But one area where it hasn’t improved is the grocery store. Sure, car prices have come down. But not everybody buys a new car. On the other hand everybody eats. The ordinary citizen that goes shopping for groceries every week sees prices that have not only stayed high but seem to steadily increasing. Inflation is still impacting the typical consumer.

Then there is the illegal immigration issue. Trump took a lot of heat from his political opponents on that issue. But what he wanted to do resonates more now with the public than it did then. Right now the flood gates on our southern border are wide open. Not only to people from South America. People from all over the world know that if they want easy entry into the US, this is the way they get in. How hard would it be for a Hamas terrorist to make his way into this country through our southern gate way?   

Traditional values have given way to a new morality. Which is seen by many as a threat. Trump's commitment to appointing conservative judges is seen as the antidote to that. .

A lot of people that felt disenfranchised  and ignored by the establishment love his anti-establishment approach to governance. They see traditional politicians being out of touch with their concerns and needs. Trump’s, ‘drain the swamp’ attitude is highly appealing to people that are sick and tired of business as usual in Washington.  

Ambassador Nikky Haley (The Hill)

Trump supporters love his direct and unfiltered style of sticking it to the establishment. They love his use of Twitter to directly communicate with them. Bypassing traditional media filters.  

None of this should be construed as support. I do not support him in the slightest. This is simply my explanation why so many others do. 

My preference is Nikky Haley. Has been even before she announced her candidacy. She will implement a social and fiscal conservative agenda. Her strong support for Israel is genuine - based on her invaluable experience dealing with anti Israel regimes as US ambassador to the UN. 

Her chances are better now than ever, but it would still take a miracle for her to get the nomination. Ironically polls show that in a head to head contest with Biden she has the best chance of all other candidates to win. And that includes Trump. By a wide margin!. Still a longshot? Yes. But stranger things have happened. She has momentum. I’m not counting my chickens yet. Let us see what happens in a few hours in Iowa.