Tel Aviv Social Activist May Golan Totally Destroys Radical Leftist Journalist Larry Derfner

You may remember Larry Derfner as the journalist who was fired from the Jerusalem Post for justifying terrorism. He made another big mistake recently trying to debate May Golan:

See #Israel #Haaretz writer act like evil bully #HarveyWeinstein - Arrogant, Elitist, Egotistical, Chauvenistic & Disgusting he Violently Threatens me - a woman - coz its OK in his twisted #altleft world BUT i Stood Strong! ( @i24NEWS_EN edited out him shouting “F*** You” to me!) pic.twitter.com/PbAPKGSD0w

— May Golan מאי גולן (@GolanMay) 6 בינואר 2018

Here's the full interview:

A Victory for the Sabbath in Tel Aviv?

I have to admit that the site of supermarkets in Tel Aviv that are open 7 days a week used to break my heart. We have merited to live in the era where the Nation of Israel is returning to the land of Israel. The land is giving its fruit, the army is victorious, and Hebrew, as a spoken language has been revived. Torah is being widely learned, perhaps on an unprecedented scale. In the midst of all this, to see stores that proudly proclaim that they desecrate the Sabbath is like hearing somebody singing off-key in the middle of our song of redemption.

In the light of all this you can imagine what I thought when I read the following:

The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality must enforce municipal bylaws which prohibit the operation of businesses on the Jewish Sabbath (Friday sunset through Saturday sunset), the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. The court ruled in favor of an appeal filed by food retailers in the city against a decision by Tel Aviv Administrative Court Judge Esther Covo from February 2012, who refused to order the closing of businesses on the Jewish Sabbath.

Supreme Court Judge Miriam Naor, Elyakim Rubinstein, and President Asher Grunis ruled that the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality must enforce municipal bylaws in order to uphold the law. "With its present conduct, the municipality in practice allows the ongoing violation of this law. There is also concern that it is convenient for the municipality not to uphold the law in view of its profits from the levying of fines."

Judge Rubinstein said that he hoped that "an enforcement solution would be found to uphold the law, honor the Sabbath, and the residents of Tel Aviv."

The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality said in response, "Tel Aviv-Jaffa will continue to be a free city. We will study the ruling and find a solution to balance the Sabbath day of rest and the freedom that the city allows, as it has done until now."

Dr. Aviad Hacohen offers some interesting analysis of the case:

One shouldn't assume that Tuesday's Supreme Court verdict will totally halt Sabbath commercial activity in the "city that never rests." But if enforced properly, using every tool in the city's arsenal, it could reduce the extent of commerce on Shabbat, thereby leveling the playing field between retail chain tycoons and the owners of mom-and-pop stores who can't or don't want to stay open 24/7.

As the Supreme Court's Deputy President Justice Miriam Naor said, this is not an attempt to coerce religion. Rather, there is an existing by-law that is not being properly or meaningfully enforced, thereby defeating its purpose. Those who travel the world know that larger metropolises than Tel Aviv preserve the character of their weekly day of rest. It affords city residents a respite from the noise and bustle of daily life.

The verdict brings justice to the appellants and their friends, small grocery owners, who wish to rest a bit from the Six days of Creation. For the sake of profits, large retail chains, with their vast money and resources, employ workers on the Sabbath. These workers are usually from the lower socioeconomic strata and toil for poverty wages. This phenomenon has been spreading throughout the first Hebrew city and gives small shop owners almost no chance of surviving. Not to mention their desire to spend a little time with their families and not be slaves to their work.

As Justice Elyakim Rubinstein said, the ludicrous fine imposed today on store owners who open on Shabbat makes a mockery of the law, turning it into an officially sanctioned lie. It deters no one and therefore foils the law's intent.

Some people are very upset about this ruling. After all, it interferes with their freedom. What will they do if all of a sudden they discover on the Sabbath that there is no milk in the refrigerator?

The solution is of course to do what the Jewish People have done for centuries: prepare for the Sabbath! Check your refrigerator on Friday morning and see what is missing. Make a list of what to buy and then head off to your local grocery store/supermarket. It's really simple: even secular leftists are capable of doing this!

I know, mistakes are made. Sometimes we just don't notice on Friday morning that milk is missing. In that case, knock on your neighbor's door, inquire about his health and the health of his parents and/or children, and then politely ask him to borrow some milk. You do not need a doctorate in international relations in order to do this!

While we are on the subject, check this out. It is an interview with the grocery store owner who initiated the court case against the Tel Aviv Municipality. He claims that the Hareidi and religious parties did not help them in their struggle. He also has some other very interesting claims (the interview is in Hebrew).

Here's an appropriate pic from the archives:

Tel Aviv the Beautiful III

This is also Tel Aviv (click on the pics to enlarge):

Tel Aviv the Beautiful II

Seen at Rabin Square (Kikar Rabin):

Tel Aviv the Beautiful

Dvar Torah for Parshat Shelach

(This was originally posted (over five years ago!) as Rejecting The Land Of Israel ) .

Two recent posts of mine brought back memories of a train ride that I took many years ago.

On the way home from my job in Newark, N.J., I met on the train a familiar figure from the Jewish community that I lived in. He had long side curls, was decked in black, and the fringes from his talit katan were out in the open (as we used to say in Yiddish, tzitzis aroys). The guy, who we shall call Shlomo, was not a Jew. He was however in the process of converting to Judaism. His seriousness about Torah and its commandments won him the admiration of many in the community.

I sat down to next to him and we began to chat. He told me that he had just returned from a visit in the land of Israel (Eretz Yisroel).

"How was it?", I asked.

"Let me tell you", he replied. "Tel Aviv is the dirtiest and most disgusting city that I have ever seen. Sabbath desecration is rampant. The Rabbanut gives a "Kosher For Passover" certification for canned corn! Can you believe it? The lone ray of light in the country is the Me'ah She'arim neighborhood in Jerusalem."


I was in shock. I had been in Israel a few years earlier, and had came back with totally different impressions. What did I remember of Tel Aviv? The beach, of course! Sand and the salty water of the Mediterranean Sea which was such a pleasure to bathe in on a humid day. The street and store signs were in Hebrew in a city that bustled with activity.

What about the Sabbath? I certainly felt the Sabbath in Israel more than I did in New Jersey. Commercial activity, especially in Jerusalem came to a standstill. This was a totally different Sabbath than those I experienced as a Jewish minority in the United states.

As for the "Kosher For Passover" corn, it is "Kosher For Passover" for all of those Jewish communities that did not accept upon themselves the Chumra of kitnyot. Thinking about that, it was really wonderful to meet Jews that came from all over the world to make their home in Israel, to see with my own eyes the (at least partial) fulfillment of the prophecy:

"For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land."

And yes Me'ah She'arim is a special place without a doubt.

How could I understand the difference in our impressions of Israel? Perhaps a person sees what he wants to see. Shlomo was connected with a Torah scholar who was very anti-State-of-Israel, and perhaps that affected his outlook. I, on the other hand, was raised in a very pro-Israel if not religious household.

Years later I would hear a very different, more mystical explanation. Rabbi Dov Begon explained that the land of Israel is like a shidduch. Sometimes a girl is set on a "blind date" with a guy that she knows and doesn't particularly care for. What does she do? She shows up for the date with dirty, smelly clothes, and disheveled hair. To top things off she eats a little bit of garlic before she meets the bachur. When this guy meets the girl he is of course totally repulsed. He informs the shadchanit that he is not interested in meetings this maidele any more. He thinks that he has rejected her when in fact the opposite is true.

So it is with the land of Israel. When someone is not fit to live in the land of Israel, when he visits the land he sees things that turn him off. He thinks that he has rejected the land of Israel, when it is in fact the land of Israel that has rejected him.

Tel Aviv Commute Is Over

A while back I blogged about commuting to Tel Aviv. Thank G-d, I don't commute anymore! My company transfered me to Jerusalem, after I cried, begged, threatened to quit, etc.

The Tel Aviv experience was an eye opener, I must admit. From the short time that I worked in the city, I truly feel that Tel Aviv is in the midst of a Teshuvah process. If you don't believe me, check this out. Tel Aviv is slowly but surely becoming a more observant city.

Here's a pic of Tel Aviv as seen from Yaffo:

Long Train Running

About the new Tel Aviv - Jerusalem train line:

The service on the line to Jerusalem, which opened in 1892, was suspended in 1998 due to the poor state of the track. However, it has recently been rebuilt and upgraded. The section of this line to Bet Shemesh re-opened in September 2003, while the remainder of the upgraded line to Jerusalem opened in April 2005 together with the opening of the new Jerusalem Malha Station in Southern Jerusalem. In October 2004, a new line from Tel Aviv to the new Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion International Airport was opened. From there this line will continue as a brand new high speed line currently being built to Jerusalem with a spur to Modi'in. This difficult to construct line will be electrified and make extensive use of long railway tunnels in order to make it possible for trains to achieve high speeds as they make their way from the coastal region to the mountainous Jerusalem area. In its first phase this line will terminate at a new underground station under construction underneath the Jerusalem Central Bus Station in Central Jerusalem. There are future plans to extend the line from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station so that it will connect with the (now upgraded) historic railroad that already reaches Southern Jerusalem. The ride on the new high-speed line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will take 28 minutes. The line is expected to be finished sometime around 2011.

Here are a couple of pics from the building site of the train station in Jerusalem:

Death To Capitalism!

I turned this group of light waves into bits and bytes while I was walking down Achad HaAm Street in Tel Aviv. As I approached the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange I saw that someone defaced the building across the street with the "inspiring" slogan, "Death To Capitalism" accompanied with a drawing of the hammer and sickle. In the foreground you can see one of TASE's garbage dumpsters.

I bet that graffiti really has the Stock Exchange members on the run.

Graffiti On The Left, Graffiti On The Right

Lame leftist stencil graffiti on Barzilai Street Tel Aviv. Meow to occupation:



I hate graffiti, but at least this rightist graffiti artist didn't use a stencil. What's more he is right. It is located in front of the Maimon Elementary School in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem. Kahane's way is the solution to the Arab problem:

The Military Solution To Kassams

On my way to Tel Aviv today I saw a lot of posters that were put up along the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway proclaiming, "There is no military solution to the Kassam". This is of course nonsense, the type of which the Israeli public has been force fed by left-wing politicians and their groupies in the MSM. The truth is that there is no diplomatic solution to the Kassam, just as there is no diplomatic solution to Nazism or Islamofascism. The only solution is a military one. The day that the Israeli government decides that the lives of Israeli civilians are more important than the lives of our enemy's civilians, the military solution to the firing of Kassam rockets against our civilian population will be forthcoming. VeHaMeivin Yavin!

I was wondering who was responsible for the signs. One possibility is Olmert and company, in a lame attempt to cover their absolute failure to provide security for the country. Another possibility is that this is just another silly utterance of the lunatic far-left fringe.

Israeli Hi-Tech Window Cleaning

I snapped this one on Rothschild Street:

What Do You Do With A Moldy Pita?

Someone in Tel Aviv decided that even though his moldy pita was unfit for human consumption, the local pigeons would be quite happy to dine on it:



I liked the color scheme of this pigeon in particular:

Motocycle Accident Near Tel Aviv

Last Wednesday I wrote about the abundance of motorcycles in Tel Aviv:

It seems that the Tel Aviv traffic jams have made motorcycle travel attractive for those that have to get where they are going fast...

A Jerusalemite should be very careful when walking the streets of Tel Aviv. Even though all of the cars on the street have stopped, a motorcycle is liable to pop out of nowhere in an attempt to circumvent a snarl-up.

The Jewish Blogmeister commented on the post saying, "I would love to own one but I value my life too much...."

Today ynetnews reports about an moped accident that happened
yesterday:

Moshe Hai Yisraeli, a 62-year-old driving instructor, was killed Monday in an accident when he tried to bypass a truck.

This accident could have become no more than another figure in the gloomy road-accident statistics in Israel. However, a video camera, located at the junction where the accident occurred, showed drivers bypassing the "obstacle," the dying man on the road, rather than stopping to offer assistance.

The truth is that if you look at the video a little over a minute after the accident people are arriving to try to offer help. When you think about the amount of time that one needs to park in a safe place, get out of the car and get to the scene of the accident, that is not such a big delay. Also take into account that some of the people who saw it were probably in shock, while others probably felt that the best thing that they could do was get out of the way and call the police.

By the way, I passed the scene of the accident about an hour after it happened. Moshe Hai Yisraeli z"l (already covered with a white sheet), his moped and helmet were still lying in the street. Apparently they were waiting for a traffic investigator of the police to arrive before moving anything. The cement mixer had stopped not to far from where the collision took place. An ambulance and MDA staff stood around helplessly. A Hareidi guy from ZAKA was also on the scene. Leave it to the nirganim of the Israeli MSM to speak badly of our people.

Links!

No time for a real post today. So here are a few links:

HH #115 at BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

Lag Be'Omer:

A Simple Jew


Life In Israel

Here is a gratuitous pic snapped on the way to the holy city of Tel Aviv:



P.S.

This is also nice.

Commuting To The Holy City Of Tel Aviv

Thank God that I have a job. Unfortunately, my job is in the holy city of Tel Aviv, which means that I have to commute every morning from my home in the holy city of Jerusalem. Commuting is a drag, but it is much better than being unemployed.

The daily trek to Tel Aviv has certainly changed my life, and not for the better. I come home from work totally exhausted. The job is not tiring, the traveling is! I certainly have no desire to go to the daf yomi lesson. I have less patience for my family. I pray that I will find work in Jerusalem soon.

I have learned to make the best of my time on the bus. Here is a list of commuting tips:

1) Books: At least some of the time on the bus can be utilized for learning. I take a chumash and some mishnayot along with me.

2) MP3 player: This device was invented for commuters. After you are tired of learning from the books, you can sit back, relax and listen to shiurim or music.

3) Munchies: Being hungry on the bus adds to the misery. Fruit, cookies and chewing gum are good to have around. I don't recommend drinking too much as having a full bladder without the possibility of of emptying it is not pleasant.

4) Cellular telephone: Don't leave home without it!

Even with all of the above, sometimes I get bored. Taking pictures is my last resort of keeping myself entertained:

The Holy City Of Tel Aviv: Motorcycles

One of the differences between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is the ubiquity of motorcycles in the latter. They are everywhere! It seems that the Tel Aviv traffic jams have made motorcycle travel attractive for those that have to get where they are going fast. Another factor is the fact that in a city where parking your car can be expensive, the bikers can usually find free parking on the sidewalk.

A Jerusalemite should be very careful when walking the streets of Tel Aviv. Even though all of the cars on the street have stopped, a motorcycle is liable to pop out of nowhere in an attempt to circumvent a snarl-up.

Here are some motorcycles enjoying free parking on Rothschild Blvd.:

The Holy City Of Tel Aviv: Sepahrdic Synagogue

Another Picture From The Holy City Of Tel Aviv

I saw this on Y.L. Peretz Street in Tel Aviv. A Sabbath keeping shopkeeper urges others to keep the Sabbath as well:

Keep The Sabbath And Say Psalms For The Soul!

I snapped this one the other day in Tel Aviv:



The upper sign reads, "Keep and remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it." Then in small letters, "For it is the source of blessing."

The lower sign reads, "Also in the new year we say Psalms for the soul."

Everybody knows that Jerusalem is holy. Did you know that Tel Aviv is also holy?