Tzedek-Tzedek

This sequence of videos purports to show the assassination by the IDF of two Gazan terrorists, Osama Has​sumi, 29, and Mohammad Fatzih, 24, in their vehicle on Friday 27th June. Note the accuracy of the targeted attack on the car, with almost zero collateral damage, such as to the pedestrians near the car, who went right-on-walking, and the buildings nearby which appear undamaged.

Rotating Prime Ministers, Shamir & Peres in 1984 When you think things look grim in Israel, take heart from how the State has progressed since 1984 * From 1984 through 2013 Israel's population grew from 4.1mn to 8.2mn. * annual inflation was reduced from 447% to 1.5%, * foreign exchange reserves expanded from $3.3bn to $90bn, * exports surged from $10bn to $90bn, * budget deficit/GDP ratio was reduced from 17% to 2.5%, * defense expenditures/GDP ratio was shrunk from 20% to 5.5%, * GDP increased from $26bn to almost $300bn * and GDP per capita catapulted from $7,000 to $39,000 (Sever Plocker, Yediot Achronot, via Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, "Second Thought: a US-Israel Initiative").

Uruguay and Liverpool star striker, Luis Suarez, caused a rumpus yesterday by biting Italian opponent Giorgio Chiellini. Take a look here at all three recorded bitings by Suarez. It looks like a clear pattern to me. This guy need professional help - off the pitch.

There have been two controversies in recent days where the tragic kidnapping of the three teenage boys has been given a causative relationship to (rationally) unrelated issues. The largest selling Hareidi newspaper Yated Neeman, in their lead editorial, blamed the kidnappings on the Government's attempts to enlist hareidim in the army. Yated explained the theory thus : “When the government tries to reduce the number of Torah students, when it passes draconian laws designed to reduce and criminalize those who sit on the benches of the study halls, it exposes the country to tragedies,” it went on, referring to the law for haredi conscription passed in March by the Knesset. “Statistically, every time they try to harm Torah students, something in the local harmony is disturbed,” the paper said. “When the government tries to carry out an organized abduction of Torah students from their place of learning, when it tries to kidnap soldiers from their bases and to reduce the ...

According to a report by Takepart  and The Jewish Channel, Yeshiva University (YU)  has lost some $1.3 Billion over the past years, due to a potent mix of corruption and incompetence - and is heading to insolvency in a matter of months. This is not just a story of Bernard Madoff - whose nefarious Ponzi scheme cost YU $110 million in 2008. Nor the potential civil liability in the cases of alleged child abuse by two rabbis, at $380 million - which has recently been dismissed by the judge, John G. Koeltl of United States District Court in Manhattan - due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. This is instead a story of befuddled financial management, at best, and corrupt practices at worst. According to Takepart, the story started with Rabbi Norman Lamm's appointment as President of YU in 1976. At that time YU was also facing financial disaster, and Rabbi Lamm appointed Gedale Bob Horowitz of Salomon, to serve on the school’s board and create an investmen...

Along with saying tehillim, davening, and showing solidarity with the three boys who have been kidnapped & their families, there is not much practical for regular Israelis to do during this appalling nightmare. Meantime, the media is stretching every angle for topics to discuss. Some of it is fluff. Others include analysis and commentary. One of the topics is hitch-hiking. After all, the three kidnapped boys were captured while thumbing a ride home from their yeshivas (in Kfar Etzion and Hebron) to their homes. Some of the discussions seem to even criticise the boys for hitch-hiking, and perhaps their parents for letting them, which is frankly in very bad taste; even if in other parts of Israel, hitch-hiking could be considered impractical or foolhardy - the fact is that, with almost no regular public transport services to and from these settlements & villages, hitching or "tremping" for those without their own cars, such as these teenagers, is a way of l...

When he was first elected an MK, Natan Sharansky quipped that he is unique in Israeli politics, in that Sharansky went to prison BEFORE he came to the Knesset.   Here we go again. The discovery of $600,000 cash in Presidential candidate Binyamin Faud Ben Eliezer's personal bank box, on top of the revelation that he received some $500,000 "loan" from billionaire Avraham Nanikashvil, has resulted in Ben Eliezer withdrawing his candidacy under a cloud. Scandal-battered Israelis are getting used to this. With the star-studded Holyland bribery scandal still in the headlines (ex-mayor of Jerusalem Uri Lupoliansky was facing sentencing today - postponed due to his ill health), memories of the imprisonment of previous President Moshe Katsav (for rape), and the resignation of another presidential candidate in this election Shilvan Shalom (allegations of sexual misdemeanors, which were beyond the statute of limitations) this adds up to a run of criminal and shameful beh...

The Israeli media is achatter about a 38 woman from Kiryat Gat  (a town between Jerusalem and Beersheva), who is alleged to have had sexual relations with minor boys and with many others. In the words of the woman's lawyer "with anyone willing". The media is talking about "hundreds" of male partners. The story was initially more dramatic, peppered with a rumour that the woman was carrying AIDS/HIV - and raising the specter of hundreds of boys and men (and their partners) who may also now be infected. The woman was subsequently checked and found not be a carrier. Much of the discussion is about the level of knowledge that the authorities had of the woman's activities, such as the police and social services, which apparently stretches back up to five years. The authorities are defending their role by saying that "there was nothing they could do" to prevent the ongoing situation, without the woman's cooperation. Other commentators are po...

By: "Magen" - The Beit Shemesh Child Protection Organization We live in a world where our Torah values are constantly being challenged by the Western culture surrounding us- yes even here in eretz yisrael hakdosha. Our children, whether we like it or not are being educated through various media they read and see, as well as from peers and we, as parents, are given the task of setting the record straight often after a lot of misinformation has already been transmitted. Educating our children about sexuality is often something we as Orthodox Jewish parents shy away from. However, our children live in the real world and eventually find out about sexuality from non Torah based sources. They may come to the conclusion that Judaism has nothing to say about the subject. If parents feel equipped to have conversations about intimacy and sexuality, our children will grow up with healthy Jewish attitudes toward sexuality and be better prepared to view critically, the non-Jewi...

This is a happy view of Beit Shemesh, using Pharell Williams' song Happy as a platform for local happy people to boogie. Enjoy!