Understanding Pnina Peri

Different copies of this clip have gone viral in Israel lately:

What's happening here?

An Israeli woman mocked a Chabad rabbi at Ben Gurion Airport as he helped another man don tefillin.

The woman, whose actions were captured on a cellphone video posted on Facebook, mocked the men, laughing and screeching on Monday morning as they practiced the religious rite. She yelled at them in Hebrew to “move because you are bothering me” and asked rhetorically, “Why are you doing this here? There are people here.”

Several people in the terminal ask her to tone down, but instead she became louder.

The video, which has had more than 300,000 views since Monday, was posted by Gad Kaufman, the businessman who put on the tefillin with the help of the Chabad rabbi manning a booth at the airport.

Kaufman, who was leaving Israel for a business trip, wrote a post in the Hebrew with the video.

“An amazing incident took place this morning at the airport, when I was politely asked by a Chabad man if I wanted to put on tefillin,” he wrote. “I said yes, and then a woman with a crazy look jumped up and started cursing, harassing and disturbing! It is really shameful that being a Jew in this country means being persecuted by leftist Bohemians. If I were a Muslim or a Christian, would it be more legitimate for her …?”

The woman was identified by the Israel National News website as Pnina Peri, the head of the Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies at the University of Maryland. Peri, who formerly taught at Israel’s Sapir Academic College, is an expert in multicultural theories. Her husband, Yoram Peri, served as president of the New Israel Fund, which supports left-wing causes, from 1999 to 2001.

Many of the responses to the video criticized the woman for her actions. Several also praised the Chabad rabbi, identified by Channel 20, a religious news station, as Rabbi Meir Herzl, the director of the Chabad House in the Jerusalem suburb of Pisgat Zeev, for his restraint in not responding to her.

The lady has been throughly criticized for her behavior on Israeli social media. I would like to offer my insight into her unseemly behavior.

This lady has a pure and holy Jewish soul. When she saw a Jew happily accept the opportunity of performing the mitzvah of tefilin, that Jewish soul was aroused. That made Ms. Peri feel very uncomfortable. It is something that she has probably been educated to suppress. This outburst was just her way of stamping out this arousement of her holy Jewish soul.

One can certainly learn a lesson from this embarrasing clip. As the Mishnah states,

"Contemplate three things, and you will not come to the hands of transgression: Know what is above from you: a seeing eye, a listening ear, and all your deeds being inscribed in a book."

What will be with me when my time comes, and the heavenly tribunal will show me all of the "clips" where I am the star?

What Happens When Nati Rom Joins a Tour of "Breaking the Silence" in Hebron?

This is just so good!

Talia Sasson Goes Shrill

Talia Sasson, the Board President of the notorious and nefarious the New Israel Fund, puts on a totally shrill performance in a debate with MK Anat Berko. Among the other crazy things that she articulated, Sasson thinks that a private citizen is more dangerous than a State, because a State is committed to values! Yes, she really did say that!:

The Truth About the Housing Protests III: Anarchists Set Fire to Nationalist Tent

From Arutz 7:

Anarchists attacked nationalists who joined the housing protest in Tel Aviv's Rothschild Ave. Thursday. The anarchists set fire to one of the tents pitched by the nationalists but the flames were quickly doused and no one was hurt. The tent was slightly damaged.
A photographer for Tatzpit who documented the arson was also attacked and his camera was damaged. He filed a complaint with the police.

The anarchists and other radical leftists have been harassing the nationalists since they arrived at the site Wednesday. They have torn nationalist signs and shouted "racists out."

Nationalists fought back and a melee resulted. The nationalists also taunted the leftists, saying, "We thought the protest was not political."

There is copious evidence that the protest is organized and financed by the New Israel Fund. However, the protesters insist that they represent an authentic apolitical grassroots movement.

And also from Ynetnews:

Two men in their 20s were detained on suspicion of torching a tent set up by rightist activists on Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard as part of the housing protest at the site.

Nobody was hurt in the incident.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the tent was torched by members of the Anarchists Against the Wall group.

"The tent was empty, but it could have been much worse," rightist activist Meir Bratler said. "The two little terrorists escaped but were captured on the camera of one of our friends, who handed the evidence over to police.

Bratler said he had run into the suspects earlier. "These guys have been picking on us from the moment we got here. Yesterday in the middle of the night they tried to hurt us but we chased them away," he said, adding that the suspects had arrived "drunk and violent."

Police believe one of the attackers who torched the tent also tried to deface signs and even threatened the protesters with violence.

However, the Anarchists Against the Wall movement rejected the leftists' claims.

"The idea of torching a tent with people inside is shocking," said a member of the movement. "The very idea of one of the activists belonging to Anarchists Against the Wall would do such a thing is preposterous. These are groundless, slanderous accusations aimed."

Bratler also lashed out at the police. "It is inconceivable that the police know how to maintain order in Judea and Samaria but here in central Tel Aviv lawlessness rules," he said.

But the activist stressed that he would not allow "a few hooligan anarchists to chase us out and shut us up."

"We believe in this protest and our just cause. We know most of the people support this protest and we also know the solution is investment in settlement in Judea and Samaria. We will continue to be here and voice this message," he said.

Police suspect that the arson followed a dispute between the suspects and several protestors at the site. Police officers from the downtown Tel Aviv station were able to nab the suspects, who fled the scene.

Tensions flared on Rothschild Wednesday after large groups of rightist activist arrived at the protest site to the great dismay of many protesters who do not agree with the rightists' views.

Extreme rightist Baruch Marzel visited "tent city" as well and told protesters that "when it comes to social issues, I'm more Left than the Left."

Right-wing groups such as Bnei Akiva, Im Tirtzu, and My Israel said they were also protesting in Tel Aviv for lower housing and staple product costs.

The Truth About the Housing Protests II

Ma'ariv reports that the New Israel Fund financed the purchase of 35,000 NIS worth of tents for the protesters. In the Jerusalem Post, Caroline Glick informs us who the protest leaders are:

At every opportunity, the protesters claim they are apolitical and the media go along with them. Yet as a handful of bloggers have shown, more than eighty percent of the protest leaders are professional far Left activists. For instance, Maariv bloggers Uri Redler and Rotem Sela researched the affiliation of all the speakers at the July 23rd rally in Tel Aviv. They found that out of 27 speakers, 21 are known leftist activists affiliated with Hadash, the communist party, with Meretz, with the New Israel Fund, with the Nationalist Left proto-party, and with the anarchists.

Redler and Sela also exposed that several “grassroots,” leaders are in fact professional political operatives affiliated with communist politicians and radical pressure groups. For instance, an activist named Tzika Bashour announced on Facebook that he would begin a general strike on August 1. Yediot Ahronot and Ynet covered his move as an authentic call of distress by an Average Joe.

The papers failed to mention that Bashour is a public relations executive who ran communist MK Dov Hanin’s campaign for the Tel Aviv mayoralty.

As a mentioned in a previous post. The housing problem is real. The protest movement is a largely artificial.

The Truth About the Housing Protests

Yes the cost of housing in Israel is high. The question is "why"? Well you do not have to be Stanley Fischer to know the answer: it is called supply and demand. There is a lot of demand for housing, while supply is lacking, hence high prices.

The expulsion of thousands of people from their homes in the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria six years ago did not help the housing shortage. Certainly the various building freezes that were imposed on Israel by the Obama administration did not provide the homeless with with a place to put their heads. The hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants living in Israel also play a part in the housing crisis. However, even without these factors, it seems to be that that the crisis would still be here, although to a lesser degree. Let's hope that the government takes steps that will help in the long term without harming Israel's surprisingly strong economy.

With regards to the tent protests, the Israeli public knows very well what is going on. They know who is funding it, and they know what their true objectives are. We are talking about the nefarious New Israel Fund. As Emily Amrousi wrote:

Furthermore, it is clear that the demonstrations were professionally organized and publicized. They're about as authentic as a bottle blonde. The same could be said for the media's blatant mobilization to the cause.

I also saw the following from Dror Eydar:

The demonstrations over housing and the cry of the middle class require fundamental treatment, and one gets the impression that the proposed plan is aimed in that direction. The government -- with its leaders, ministers and advisers -- has to continue repeating the principles of the economic plan, and start working in the field. That's the way the hypocrisy of the professional inciters will be revealed, and they will be left on their own with their anger.

In summary, we are talking about a genuine problem and a largely bogus protest movement.

Potpourri: Persecuting Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu,Tithing Wine, Censorship, Latest New Israel Fund Scandal, Etc.

Remember the awesome interview? Now the left wants to hit Rabbi Eliyahu in the pocket:

Minorities Affairs Minister Avishay Braverman on Wednesday called on Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman to immediately suspend Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu for his ruling banning the renting or sale of Jewish-owned apartments to Arabs in the northern city, Radio Israel reported.

Rabbi Eliyahu has abused his position to engage in a racist campaign against Arabs in contradiction of the peaceful spirit of Judaism, Braveman told Ne'eman in a letter he wrote. He added, the incitement against Arabs harms the social fabric in the Galilee region and Arab-Jewish relations in the area and does not advance the state interests that a municipal rabbi should serve.

LOL!!! Braverman thinks that he knows more about Judaism than Rabbi Eliyahu! How do you spell "hubris"?!

Rabbi Eliyahu replied to Minorities Affairs Minister by pointing out Braverman's hypocrisy:

Responding to Braverman’s letter – which had been in the works but was released after a front-page interview with Eliyahu on the subject was published Wednesday in one of the Hebrew dailies – Eliyahu slammed the minister, saying that as a member of the government, Braverman endorsed the same values, as far as land ownership.

“The Labor Party founded the State of Israel bearing two banners, redemption of the lands and Jewish labor,” Eliyahu wrote. “Braverman is putting the legacy of the party, whose depleted remains he represents, to shame.”

Eliyahu contended that “the Jewish National Fund (JNF), which deals in redeeming lands for the Jewish state, wouldn’t have existed, either, if the Labor party had endorsed Braverman’s ways.

“Braverman should be reminded that he, too, is bound to the government’s decision, which with the justice minister’s approval endorsed the JNF’s regulations that prohibit selling lands or homes to a non- Jew,” he went on.

“Braverman should further be reminded that as a minister in the government he is bound to its decisions, including that of ‘Judaizing the Galilee,’ a resolution aimed at preserving the Jewish character of that region, as required from the Declaration of Independence of the ‘democratic Jewish’ state,” he said.

“If I ought to be fired, thousands of other rabbis who ruled in the same manner should be fired as well,” declared Eliyahu. “If I should be fired for issuing a ruling to prohibit selling apartments to non-Jews – all the government’s ministers should be fired for being signatories to the exact same ruling. Enough of this hypocrisy!”

And now for something completely different:

Ladaat.net has pictures of the separations of tithes at the Hebron Winery. You can really see the happiness in the faces of the people performing this special mitzvah. Definitely worth seeing!

Next up:

The "Yad LeAchim" organization created a community service announcement that warns Israelis about missionary activity that takes place at various festivals. Israel Army Radio and the Voice of Israel refused to broadcast it. You can hear it here.

We'll finish this post with the latest scandal involving the nefarious New Israel Fund.

Lecturer That Exposed the Nefarious "New Israel Fund" Gets Fired By Hebrew U.

Arutz 7 reports:

Hebrew University lecturer Dr. Ran Baratz, a highly respected and very popular lecturer in the university's Department of Philosophy, was recently informed that he would not be employed at the institution in the next academic year. 150 students from all parts of the political spectrum have signed a petition calling on the university to reconsider its decision and keep Baratz on its staff, and 50 of them sent letters to the same effect.

The Knesset's Education Committee will convene a special session to discuss the Baratz affair. Committee Chairman MK Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) said that the university's decision was “strange” and said that a “dark cloud” hangs over the university.

Many of Dr. Baratz's supporters claim that the university's decision is motivated by the leftist establishment's desire for revenge against Baratz, who is a research fellow at the conservative Shalem Institute and co-authored a 2003 report on the New Israel Fund. The report served as the basis for Zionist student group Im Tirtzu's report on the Fund, which has created international uproar.

Baratz also contributed to a more recent Im Tirtzu report concerning the silencing of Zionist opinions by leftist academics. He teaches at the Jewish Statesmanship Center for Strategic Planning, and regularly writes in daily Yisrael HaYom, and in the internet magazine Maraah, which describes itself as “politically incorrect.”

Interestingly, however, a Facebook group formed in support of Baratz was created by Yoni Buchsbaum, a student who is described by lecturers as a Communist. In his comments he made on the group's homepage, Buchsbaum confirmed that he belongs to the political left and explained that the issue at hand is not political, but relates to the quality of instruction in the university.

The Department of Philosophy denied there were any political considerations behind the decision to discontinue Baratz's employment. It said that the university had issued a tender for a permanent position on the Department's staff and that based on purely academic criteria, three different committees preferred another candidate over Baratz.

A co-author of the report on the NIF, Dr. Moshe Ifargan, appeared on Channel 1 television Wednesday and said that even if another candidate was more suited for the permanent post, the university could have kept Baratz on its staff in his present status as a teaching fellow. Baratz's doctoral thesis was cited for “special excellence,” he noted, and the fact that so many students had come out in support of Baratz was testimony to his talent as a lecturer.

Ifargan said that a senior professor had told him that another excellent lecturer was denied a post in the Department of Philosophy last year only because he resided in a community within Judea and Samaria.

The "New Israel Fund Desert Seminar from Hell"

More on the nefarious New Israel Fund:

A new chapter in the New Israel Fund controversy was written this week, as a left-of-center activist related her harrowing experience in an NIF seminar that brought her to tears. The NIF, which purports to be a pro-Israel fund, has been fire since a damning report published in February by a Zionist student group exposed its aid to groups that slandered the IDF following the 'Cast Lead' Gaza counter-terror operation.

The letter from the activist to NIF CEO Daniel Sokatch was first published in Hebrew by journalist Ben-Dror Yemini in his blog on the Maariv-NRG website, and later translated into English.

The activist, who identified herself by the pseudonym Shlomit, told a story that appeared to corroborate Im Tirtzu's depiction of the NIF as a sinister radical group that hides behind a facade of pro-Israel Zionist morality.

Shlomit, 36 and a mother of three, described herself as “religious left-wing” and said she voted for dovish-religious Meimad in the last elections. A former spokesperson for an organization promoting women’s rights, she is currently employed in an organization that helps the disabled.

She described herself as “very connected” to Shatil, an organization that operates under the auspices of the New Israel Fund, mentoring NIF-supported groups and helping them apply for funding from other sources. “Within my professional framework, I have always been aided and assisted by the services of 'Shatil' from the outset,” she explained.

“The report of the 'Im Tirzu' movement created somewhat of a shockwave amongst me and my colleagues,” Shlomit elaborated. “On the one hand, we thought that if there was an element of truth in it then the Fund should do some soul-searching and we assumed they would. However, we were not prepared to cast aspersions on our loyalty to the Fund and to Shatil.”

She was offered a scholarship for “a week in the desert along with fellow activists, with professional guidance from America,” and saw it as “an opportunity for empowerment and growth.”

Other participants hailed from Amnesty International, Sikkuy (The Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality in Israel), AJEEC (Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation), Neve Shalom, Itach (Women Lawyers for Social Justice), Moussawa (Advocacy for Arab Citizens in Israel) and additional groups.

Feeling “so elated and grateful that they were willing to invest in me in such a way,” she accepted.

"That turned out to be a mistake,” she wrote Sokatch.

“It has now been two weeks since the program ended and I am still struggling to get back into routine both at home and at work. The level of the shake-up I experienced was so powerful that it led me to write this letter especially to you. I found myself in the desert under laboratory conditions, cut off from the world, cut off from Internet, with Palestinian and Jewish human rights activists who negated the State of Israel's existence. With people who want to annihilate the State without ruling out violent means, who believe that the State of Israel was born out of sin and who apologize for its existence, who loathe Israel and its symbols, who justify harming Israel, its soldiers and all its institutions, who devote their lives and efforts towards turning Israel into a bi or multi-national country. In fact the above is inaccurate. These people are fighting for one nationality alone – Palestinian. These same people oppose communal or civil national service for Arabs within the State. They also equate Israel's actions with those of Nazi Germany.”

Read the rest!

How the Nefariousness of the New Israel Fund Was Exposed

BeSheva has an interesting article detailing the Im Tirtzu organization's successful campaign in unmasking wickedness of the New Israel Fund.