The Elor Azaria Verdict

Any and every society has to have a judicial system. It is even one of the Seven Noahide Commandments. A nation without a strong judicial system and a strong government is in big trouble:

Rabbi Chanina, deputy to the kohanim, would say: Pray for the integrity of the government; for were it not for the fear of its authority, a man would swallow his neighbor alive.

Unfortunately, sometimes the judicial system can be corrupted. Here in Israel, one cannot help but feel that the verdict of "guilty" in Elor Azaria's manslaughter case was a miscarriage of justice. As Education Minister Naftali Bennett noted:

“We need to say the truth. The trial was corrupted from the outset,” continued Bennett. “The harsh comments by political leaders even before the opening of the army’s investigation, the removal of the soldier himself from the investigation process, the critical media coverage surrounding the case (including Army Radio) caused Elor irreparable harm.”

The verdict was based on fake morality, as one would expect from judges that lack the fear of God. Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu of Tzfat had this to say about the verdict:

Judge Maya Heller and her colleagues must console themselves by saying that they at least acted according to their consciousness and morality when they see the chaos they have brought to the IDF.

Well, you should know that their verdict is, first and foremost, immoral, even if the judge read it for two and a half hours.

There is no morality in having mercy on enemies who come to kill our soldiers. There is no morality in breaking the spirits of the soldiers who risk their lives to protect us. How is it moral to give strength to a cruel and merciless enemy when there is nothing between us and ISIS except the strength of the IDF alone?

The Sages of Israel, who were a little bit smarter than you, said about morality and the excesses of self-righteousness: 'The great humility of Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkolos destroyed our home, burned our Temple, and exiled us from our land. The great humility which a rabbinic authority took upon himself in the middle of a battle against a foreign enemy caused the destruction of the nation and an exile which lasted thousands of years, the crucifixion of hundreds of thousands of Jews by Rome and the rape of hundreds of thousands of women. The Jews became prey for other peoples, being killed and robbed, for generations. Our Sages were wise men and all raised their objections to Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkolos, asking him to see the big picture as one might expect from a man of his status.

On this matter is is possible to say to Judge Maya Heller that her morality has broken the spirit of the soldiers. The heads of our attackers have been raised and the spirit of our enemies has been strengthened. There is no morality in a judgment which gives impetus to those who send boys and girls with numbers and knives. There is no morality in strengthening the killers and terrorists. There is no morality or self-righteousness which rests on the backs of the soldiers. They is no morality in trying to beautify hate. In the eyes of Ra'ed Saleh and his followers we all bake matzot with the blood of Palestinian Arab children. All of us. Even you, Judge Heller.

I pray that Elor will be pardoned for his "crime". He and his family have suffered enough. And may God return our judges as in the days of yore.

David D'or Sings Avinu Malkeinu at Peres' Funeral

MK Yinon Magal Resigns From the Knesset

That was quick:

Jewish Home MK Yinon Magal handed in his resignation to step down from the Knesset on Monday, as the testimony of a third woman accusing him of sexual harassment was revealed.

Party chairman Naftali Bennett responded on Monday, saying, "I received Yinon's resignation announcement, this is a fitting action. I hope that the process he is in will end as quickly as possible and he will be able to devote himself to his family and to his path ahead."

I'd like to jot down a few notes about this:

1) "The God of these (the Jews) hates lewdness" (Sanhedrin 106A) - the acts attributed to Magal, some of which he admitted to, are totally unacceptable.

2) On the other hand, "Nothing can stand in the way of Teshuvah "(Laws of Teshuvah 3:14). Indeed, God's mercy is everlasting...the political system not so much.

3) Kudos for Magal for resigning and not "grabbing the horns of the altar".

4) It looks like Yinon Magal will be replaced by Avi Wortzman, who in my eyes proved to be a worthy representative in the previous Knesset.

5) It is interesting to note that the chain of events leading up to Yinon Magal's resignation was a post on Facebook, which gives us another example of the power of the Social Networking Sites.

The Yinon Magal Scandal

I heard about this scandal not too long after I put up a post with him giving a brilliant speech to the Knesset in Arabic.

In the meantime, Mr. Magal has stepped down as the head of the Jewish Home faction in the Knesset.

I must admit that I was upset that Naftali Bennett put Yinon Magal on the Jewish Home Knesset list. I had never heard of him, but I did know of so many other deserving people who had devoted their life to the community that were pushed down the list because of this appointment. However, his performance as an MK has been impressive. Now it looks like he has some legal trouble ahead of him in addtion to an uncertain political future.

Naftali Bennett's Victory

What seemed to be a lackluster election turned into an event that people are going to remember here for a long time. Netanyahu's victory, in spite of an incredibly hostile Israeli press and foreign intervention, was indeed remarkable.

As has widely been noted, this victory was at the expense of other right wing parties, particularly the Jewish Home party, which plummeted from 12 seats in the 19th Knesset to just 8 in the 20th. What has not been noted, is something much more important than the number of seats that a certain party holds. Bibi Netanyahu has adopted an important part of the Jewish Home platform, a very non-pc item which was unique only to the Jewish Home: an absolute "no" to an independent Arab State between the Jordan River and the Mediteranean Sea, what us known today as " a Palestinian State."

Indeed, much has changed since Netanyahu's speech at Bar Ilan University where he accepted the "two state solution." Netanyahu the pragmatist realizes that with militant Islam on the march and general instability here in the Middle East, combined with our sad experiences with the PA over the last 20 years, setting up a PA state would be an absolute folly.

There is no doubt in my mind that Naftali Bennett, by bravely stating his opposition to a Palestinian State for the past couple of years, in Israel and in television interviews abroad, paved the way for Netanyahu's change of heart. So in spite of the loss of Knessett seats, Bennett has chalked up a victory.

Minister Naftali Bennett at the AIPAC Conference

Well done!

Eli Ohana Resigns From the Jewish Home Party List!

According to the Srugim web site, soccer legend Eli Ohana has resigned from the Jewish Home list. Ohana wrote to Bennett that he did not expect the controversy that his candidacy would cause.

This is good news for the Jewish Home Party, in that it shows that the rabbis and the regular rank and file still have the ability to influence what happens in the party.

I hope that Bennett learned that although he is the leader, the Jewish Home is not a one man show, and that he still has to take counsel with others before making decisions.

The Jewish Home Primaries: You Get What You Pay For

The primaries will take place on the 23rd of Tevet (the 14th of January) from 3:00 PM until 10:00 PM. Some of the polling stations will be open at 10:00 AM.

How much will my vote count. Not as much as I would like, as much of the list has already been determined. This is the way the list will be formed.

1) The Party Chariman (99.99% chance that this will be Naftali Bennett)
2) Reserved for Tekuma (Uri Ariel)
3) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
4) Reserved for a female representative
5) OPEN
6) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
7) OPEN
8) Reserved for a female representative
9) Reserved for Tekuma
10) To be chosen by members of the party's Central Committee
11) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
12) Reserved for a female representative
13) OPEN
14) Reserved for Tekuma
15) Reserved for Tekuma
16) Reserved (party chairman's pick)
17) Reserved for a female representative
18) Reserved for Tekuma
19) OPEN
20) OPEN

Note: In the top 15 spots there are only three open slots. I guess you can't expect too much for 39 NIS!

Bennett Puts the Leftists in Their Place

Finally with English subtitles! Naftali Bennett's monumental address at the Ha'aretz's "Israel Conference for Peace"! Watch how Bennett puts the Israeli Left in their place:

Naftali Bennett's Amazing Speech at Ha'aretz's "Peace Conference"

Talk about walking into the lion's den! This is a truly amazing presentation, historic in my opinion. The leftists in the crowd that tried to shout him down shot themselves in the foot by showing their anti-democratic nature. Enjoy.

Autz 7 reports the following in regard to the aftermath of the speech:

At the end of the speech, as Bennett got down off the stage, a group of roughly 20 to 30 youths tried to physically attack him. One of them succeeded in reaching him and punching him in the back.

Independence 66

Today is Israeli Indepence Day. Happy 66th Israel!

In ten years people will look back and say that this is the year when things turned around, when the redemption wagon got back on track. What I mean to say that Israeli society and the region at large is in the middle of some major changes.

The Arab states in the region are in a state of turmoil, some on the brink of disintegration. The so called "Arab Spring" has not brought about the democratic revolution that many had hoped for. I think that it would be fair to say that these societies are just not ready for democracy. It seems that they are doomed to be ruled over by violent autocratic regimes for the near future.

It is becoming increasingly clear to an increasing amount of Israelis that giving up territory to Arabs will not bring peace. This was obvious to me, long before the failure of the Oslo Agreements, the "disengagement" and the latest Fatah-Hamas unity agreement. New ideas, such as Naftali Bennett's Stability Initiative, are seriously being considered:

Israel is becoming more religious:

More than half of Israelis define themselves as secular (53%), 26% as traditional and 21% as haredi or religious. Among young people aged up to 34, 30% define themselves as haredi or religious, while among adults over 50 only 15% define themselves as such. The high percentage of haredim and religious among those aged 34 and under is due to the greater number of children in religious and haredi families than in secular families.

Another important milestone will be the passing of a law defining Israel as a Jewish state:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has announced his intention to submit a new Basic Law to the Knesset, enshrining the State of Israel's status as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and attacking attempts to undermine the country's Jewish identity.

"The Declaration of Independence sets, as the cornerstone in the life of the state, the national Jewish identity of the State of Israel," the Prime Minister said.

However, he continued, "To my great regret, as we have seen recently, there are those who do not recognize this natural right. They seek to undermine the historic, moral and legal justification for the existence of the State of Israel as the national state of our people."

"One of my main missions as Prime Minister of Israel is to bolster the status of the State of Israel as the national state of our people. To this end, it is my intention to submit a basic law to the Knesset that would provide a constitutional anchor for Israel's status as the national state of the Jewish people."

Mark my words: this year is a pivotal one.

A Palestinian State Will Ruin the Israeli Economy

Well put:

Jerusalem Municipal Election Thoughts

His prayers were answered:

Nir Barkat was reelected. It was a tough race. Arye Deri and Avigdor Lieberman banded together to unseat Barkat. They thought that they found the man for the job: Moshe Lion. The idea was that all of the ultra-Orthodox community will unite behind the kippah-clad Lion. Many in the national religious camp would vote for him too, as he is "one of them". All that was needed was to convince enough seculars to desert Barkat, and the election would be in the bag.

The plan almost worked. However, the ultra-Orthodox public did not unite 100% for Lion. Some large Hasidic courts did not endorse him. The Bnei Torah faction even ran a candidate of their own for mayor. The final result is five more years of Barkat. Personally, I think that he has been a decent mayor and I hope that he will continue to be fair to all of the different sectors in Jerusalem.

In the council, it is interesting to note that the "United Jerusalem" faction got more mandates (2) than the Jewish Home (1). I hope that Naftali Bennett is paying attention: his attempt to force his cronies on the national religious public here was unsuccessful. I also have a feeling that many voted against the Jewish Home to protest the covenant on the national level with "Yesh Atid".

Rabbi Shmuel Orbach's Bnei Torah faction got a seat in the council which is no small feat. The Tov party, which is just a reincarnation of Po'alei Agudat Yisrael, did not get a seat. Too bad, I was rooting for them even thought I did not vote for them.

Our Unfortunate Situation

Yes, the situation is a mess. Relations between the National Religious public and the ultra-Orthodox are tense. The UOs are mad at the NRs for making a political pact with Yair Lapid. Although I understand that Naftali Bennett was really forced into this pact because of Netanyahu's desire to keep him and the Jewish Home party out of the government, I cannot say that I am happy about it. I wanted to see a different pact, and I warned what would happen if such a pact would not be formed:

The religious parties are now faced with a great task: to strive for unity! This unity must not be a unity of "lets grit our teeth and bear them". It must be a unity of mutual respect, founded on humbleness and the ability to see beyond one's own shteeble.

HaBayit HaYehudi went a long way on the road to unity before the elections, and it payed off in the polling booth. Now they, along with Shas and Yahadut HaTorah, must bury the hatchet, and find the way to sanctify God's name in the public sphere. The public will not forgive them if they fail.

Instead, we have this unfortunate situation. The man ultimately responsible is Prime Minister Netanyahu. He is the one who destroyed the natural Right/Religious/ultra-Orthodox block. In the previous elections he left the National Union out of the government, in spite of numerous promises to bring them in. In the current elections the Likud-Beiteinu campaign found nothing better to do than to besmirch the Jewish Home party. The Jewish Home party tried to form a block with Shas and UTJ. Since these efforts did not bear fruit, Bennett, like I wrote previously, had a choice between making a pact with Lapid or sitting in the opposition.

As far as the government that will be formed, they should know that any attempt to conscript Hareidim against their will is doomed to fail. Bennett will have to prove that he really is an "ach", a brother, to the ultra-Orthodox public who feels, justifiably or not, betrayed. The Jewish Home Party will have to stand like a fortified wall against the anti-Torah forces in the Yesh Atid party, as well as other anti-Torah MKs in the Knesset.

Naftali Bennett's Dvar Torah for the 7th of Adar

Naftali Bennett's First Speech in the Knesset

After the Elections: Pics From Election Day

On the border of Givat Shaul and Kiryat Moshe. The poster claims that voting for United Torah Judaism is like making a Yissachar-Zevulun agreement:

A strange way of advertising here in Israel is by throwing pamphlets on the sidewalk and the street. This pamphlet makes fun of those who forbid taking part in the elections by calling them "ingrates":

I don't have the patience to explain this poster. Sorry.

Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef Shlita was omnipresent:

Otzma LeYisrael. Too bad that they did not make it into the Knesset:

The Likud going after the national religious voters:

Outside a polling station in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood. These kids are working for the Jewish Home party. Notice who is featured on the posters: Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan and Uri Ariel:

I headed over to the more secular Beit HaKerem neighborhood. The Jewish Home felt that this is just the place for Ayelet Shaked. The sign says, "Sister, Come home!"

This picture was taken outside a polling station in Beit HaKerem. Along with advertisements for Tzippi Livni and the Jewish Home, there is an advertisement for the Israeli Communist Party:

Here is a very rare sign for Yair Lapid. They ran an unconventional and a surprisingly successful campaign:

All that is left now is to clean up all the mess and form a coalition!

Why I'm Voting For "The Jewish Home" Party

Thank God, there are many worthy parties and people running for the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. So why am I voting for "The Jewish Home" party? There are several reasons. I'll try to spell them out.

1) Achdut (Unity): The combination of "Tekuma" and the "HaBayit HaYehudi" was and is no simple matter. The fact that they were able to unite for the common good is a good sign.

2) Naftali Bennett: Is he the Messiah? I don't think so, but he is a breath of fresh air. He is a proven leader on the battlefield and in the office. He conducted a clean and positive campaign. He stood behind the people on his list when they came under attack. He is, like the campaign says, a brother (ach).

He realizes that there will not be peace with the so called "Palestinians". He knows how to speak to the English speaking press. He is such a contrast to all of those Israeli leaders who are always occupied with how to please Abu Mazen.

Check out this interview. It is incredible. Here Naftali does more for Sabbath observance than a thousand demonstrations:

He realizes that there will not be peace with the so called "Palestinians".

3) The rest of the list: The Jewish Home list is diverse, full of ideological people who have already served the public in many ways.

I hope I can read this post a year from now and be proud that I voted for "The Jewish Home" party.

Another Great Naftali Bennett Interview

This guy doesn't let the interviewer bully him around. Love it!

Naftali Bennett vs. Gideon Levi