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Showing posts from June, 2010

Germany vs England

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World Cup Score: Germany 4; England 1. AND, to add insult to injury, the referee didn't see England's goal. Consolation: "Indeed - but when is was REALLY important, the English did beat the Germans." England fan: "You mean in 1966?!"

Gush Katif: "The State of Israel has totally failed..."

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Special Report: The Final report of the   State Commission of Inquiry By Dror Vanunu The Gush Katif Committee ".. the Commission of Inquiry thinks that during the last years the State of Israel has totally failed in its duty to properly care for the rehabilitation of the evacuees from the Gaza Strip and North Shomron. The State has failed to fulfill its public promise that the issue should stand as a top national priority … (p.97 of the State Commission full report)" We cannot say that this statement is any news for the expellees who have been struggling for the last 5 years, but nevertheless the official recognition of the government's fiasco brings some hope that it will accelerate the processes for the restoration of their lifework. After more than a year of investigation, of public testimonies by government officials and hundreds of expellees as well, the Commission of Inquiry, headed by Judge Eliyahu Matza has presented its report to the Knesset. Among

Breaking News From Gaza!

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[Published on Tzedek-Tzedek with kind permission of Yocheved Golani] Breaking News: Police in  Gaza  just announced the discovery of an arms cache of 2000  semi automatic rifles with 250,000 rounds of ammunition, 10 anti-tank  missiles, 4 grenade launchers, 20 tonnes of heroin, £50 million in forged   SWISS and USD  banknotes and 25 trafficked Ukrainian prostitutes all in a semi-detached house behind the Public Library in GAZA .  Local residents were stunned.  A community spokesman said: "We're shocked. We never knew we had a Library!!"

The Three Terrors

By the same team who brought us the "We Con The World".. presenting..."The Three Terrors"!!

Joke of the Day

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[Courtesy of my son Yonatan, Yeshivat Bnei Tzvi, Bet El] Two litvaks were sitting in yeshiva shel maala (in Heaven), studying a difficult Rambam. They tried for "ages" to work out a seeming inconsistency and to learn out the Rambam. To no avail. Who should walk by, but the Rambam himself...! One of the litvaks asks the Rambam, "please can you explain this passage in the Mishne Torah?" The Rambam readily agrees, and astutely and clearly explains the meaning of the passage to the two litvaks, before carrying on his way. One litvak turns to the other and asks - "was that helpful?" The other litvak replies: "Huh - what does a Sephardi know about learning Rambam?!"

What, Oh What, To Riot About Today?!

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As if the Flotilla, the Iranian threat and the Dubai assassination are not enough to occupy the political decision makers in the State of Israel … There are now also three hot-and-steamy battles, involving Israel ’s Ultra-Orthodox sector, which together could just bring the government to its knees. And even distract the rest of us from the World Cup. The bones in Jaffa ; the Slonim School in Emmanuel; and the National Insurance Supplementary Benefits. The previous struggle, by ultra-orthodox extremists, was over some ancient bones found at the building site for an emergency war-proof facility at the Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon . That struggle was won about a month ago by the Government. The ancient (and probably non-Jewish) bones were deftly moved to a new site, and the building work on the hospital commenced. In the language of the World Cup: Government of Israel - 1; Extremists – Nil. Having failed to stop the Barzilai hospital expansion in Ashkelon, the same rioters

Educating Parents to Educate Children

This brief video presentation includes much of the information which Helise Pollack MSW presented at the recent "Magen" evening:

"Protecting Your Kids from Abuse"

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This is a brief review of the "Magen" evening, this past Wednesday evening, with Helise Pollack MSW,  "Protecting Your Kids from Abuse" .     80% of abused kids never tell. Kids don't tell, for many reasons, including being scared of being blamed, scared of 'consequences', feelings of guilt, embarrassment, confused moral issues (loshon hora, breaking secrets, etc) In order to encourage kids to tell (hopefully very early into a situation of potential abuse), any information your kids tell you during routine discourse, should be greeted with encouragement, "I'm glad you're telling me this" - rather than responding instantly with criticism. The worse the news your kid tells you, the more we need to fight down our critical response. "I cheated in school today, and I got caught." "I'm glad you're telling me this". If chas veshalom your kid tells you (or even hints - which is more likely) he/she was abuse

Bet Shemesh Weekly News

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Bet Shemesh Weekly News is published with kind permission of Rabbi Dov Lipman. (If you would like to contact Rabbi Lipman, please email to: ddlipman@aol.com). ARSON SUSPECTS ARRESTED, FIRES STILL CONTINUE This past Sunday, the fires in the area continued with the largest fire to date.  Across from RBS Aleph along Nahar Yarden a huge fire could only be stopped with the work of the entire fire department plus two airplanes.  Residents of RBS caught 4 suspicious youth and held them until police came.  The police found fire related materials on the boys and arrested them.  The boys are prime suspects and their parents were also brought to the police station for interrogation.  Despite this positive development, smaller fires continued during this past week.  MINISTER OF RELIGION UNHAPPY WITH MIKVA AGREEMENT The Minister of Religion, Yaakov Margi (Shas, pictured) met with the head of the local religious council, Yehuda Medizadeh, and Rav Spector, and voiced his objections to the re

"Protecting Our Children from Abuse

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You are invited to an important presentation on "Protecting Our Children from Abuse", in Ramat Bet Shemesh. Helise Pollak, social worker and expert on child abuse, will be giving a talk (in English) followed by a question and answer period. The workshop will take place at Gan-Nendy on Wednesday, June 9th, at 8:30 PM Address: Hayarkon 26/8  fourth floor. Light refreshments will be served. Cost: 20 NIS per person. This event is an initiative of  "Magen" - the new Bet Shemesh organization focused on prevention and treatment of child abuse. -- "Magen" - Creating a Safe Community for Kids MagenProtects@gmail.com Tel: 02 9997026 Cell: 050 8489001

The Mother-Of-All-Pashkevilim!

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A “Pashkevil” is a printed notice , particularly used in Orthodox Jewish communities, which is glued on walls and notice boards in public areas. Announcements can be that someone has died, or that a certain rabbi will be speaking, or, more controversially, derogatory announcements against this or that behaviour or particular individual. Usually these notices are anonymous, or are apparently signed by rabbinical leaders, but whose signatures are often not authentic. Here in Ramat Bet Shemesh, pashkevilim recently went up around town, denouncing the establishment of a yeshiva here which, alongside torah studies, also teaches secular studies. I recently wrote about Rav Soloveichik's sermon, in which he criticised another Pashkevil, which was rare or unique, in that the distasteful Pashkevil was apparently published by National Religious activists.   As a response to the phenomenon of pashkevilim, Rabbi Yaakov Haber, together with members of his Kehilat Shivtei Yeshurun community

Bet Shemesh Weekly News

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Rabbi Dov Lipman has kindly permitted Tzedek-Tzedek to publish "Bet Shemesh Weekly News" - an excellent weekly round-up of what's been happening in Bet Shemesh... (If you would like to contact Dov directly, please email to: ddlipman@aol.com). We are planning for "Bet Shemesh Weekly News" to be a weekly Friday feature in Tzedek-Tzedek. Please let me know what you think of this new service?   MK GAFNI PLEDGES TO HELP WITH 38 MK Moshe Gafni (Degel HaTorah, pictured) visited City Hall last Thursday.  He serves as the chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee and can help the city obtain the funding necessary to improve highway 38 which was the focus of his meeting with the Mayor and other city leaders.  Gafni acknowledged that no other city similar in size to Bet Shemesh has its only access road with one lane in each direction and pledged to work with the Transportation Ministry to allocate funding for improvements.  Degel Hatorah members of the City

Has the Third Intifada Started?

A quick review of history, by way of introduction. In 1987 the Palestinians launched a civil revolt or “Intifada” against Israel , which lasted until 1993. The outbreak appeared to be spontaneous and popular, linked to a traffic accident in which an Israeli driver killed 4 Palestinians, and initially exploded into violence in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Gaza . The First Intifada spread throughout Gaza , Judea and Samaria and was characterized tactically by Palestinian youth attacking Israeli troops using rocks and Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs). Televised images of youths with rocks defined the violence for many, but during the first four years of the uprising, more than 3,600 Molotov cocktail attacks, 100 hand grenade attacks and 600 assaults with guns or explosives were reported by the Israel Defense Forces. The violence was directed at Israeli soldiers and civilians alike: 16 Israeli civilians and 11 soldiers were killed by Palestinians in the territories; more than 1,400 Isr

New Proud Grandfather/Saba!

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I am thrilled to report the birth this week of my and Julie's first grandchild! Our daughter Shira and husband Daniel Gilad (ne Landsberg of Kireat Arba) gave birth to a healthy 3kg girl at Hadassah Ein Kerem on Wednesday. Any advice from more experienced grandparents??

What Happened When the Seals Landed?

We'll Con The World!

Flotilla Backgrounder from Fox News

You'll appreciate this 2-part series from Fox News, questioning the internationally distributed perception of the "peace" flotilla:- Watch the latest news video at video.foxnews.com Watch the latest news video at video.foxnews.com

4000 Year Summary!

The "Peacenik" Passengers Attacking IDF Soldiers