I recall growing up in the USA that when our community wanted to build a mikva, there was animosity towards the idea. Not from non-Jews mind you, but from the Reform Jewish community.The Kfar Vradim Council has unanimously approved the construction priorities recommendations drawn up by a special committee, which rated the construction of a mikveh at the bottom of the list.I understand why a mikva would be of little importance to those who wouldn't use it -- but to say it shouldn't be there at all, and intentionally offend those religious residents who would use it...that's simply secular coercion.At the top of the list were a community center, youth sports center and a junior high school auditorium. A synagogue and the mikveh were rated last. The residents also rated their priorities on the construction of a council hall, an arts and culture center, a school gymnasium, etc.
The proposal was met with some reservations on the part of the Ofek faction. "I will vote in favor, though I'm making a great compromise," faction member Yaakov Ziv said. "It's no secret I'd rather see the mikveh out of the list."
The religious residents, however were outraged over the decision. "This is unfounded hatred, even anti-Semitism," chairman of the synagogue committee Perry Shahaf said.The secular residents even started a petition against any mikva in their community:"What’s happening in Kfar Vradim is pure secular coercion, pure racism," he added and noted they intend to fight the decision. "We'll get a mikveh eventually, even if we wait light years for it. The council head will be replaced and we'll get our mikveh to which we are entitled by law."
"Kfar Vradim is a secular and pluralistic community, but pluralism doesn't mean changing its secular nature. Religious residents may live amongst us but must not enforce their lifestyles on us."
The religious residents are planning on building the mikva from their own money now, in an existing structure, so that "public land wont go to 'waste'", but it seems some of their neighbors object to that as well.
Can you figure out why we're being filtered?
But the Socialist contingent in the Knesset, Shelli Yachimovich (Labor) and Haim Katz (Likud) are threatening to tear all this progress down in one shot.
The title of the editorial is “Caps for the fat cats”, but it can just as easily be called “Punishing Success”.
Personally, I think the campaign on Naomi Chazan's head was a mistake [putting a "horn" on her head and saying she was directly responsible for NIF]. It was not my style or was it necessary. On the other hand, the debate itself is legitimate [about NIF's funded NGO's aligning themselves with Goldstone, etc.]. Maybe even important. But my friends on the radical left, those that support the right to criticize, and say very difficult things, they simply cannot accept any criticism. They are not used to being criticized. In the bubble they live in, they would simply "delete" any criticism that was directed towards them. No more.
There were no reports of injuries. The report was received by the Eilat Municipality from Jordanian sources.
Another rocket was fired, apparently a 107 mm one, and landed in the Red Sea. Jordan is on the look out for a third rocket. (YNET)
So...Who's Shooting at Eilat?
Egypt denies the shooting came from the Sinai:
"Security forces are patrolling the border with Israel, and the area is under Egyptian security control. This comes in addition to alertness of Bedouin residents of Sinai along the border that partake in the defense of the eastern border alongside Egypt's security forces. No extremist group can infiltrate the area in order to shake the security," an Egyptian source reported. (source)
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, denied that any rockets had been fired from Jordanian territory and said "we know of no rockets in Eilat." (source)
Cheryl will be speaking about her son Daniel who fell in the line of duty in the IDF. I heard her speak 3 years ago:
Daniel "a.k.a. Mendel the Platoon Commander” was killed in battle in Shechem (Nablus) on “Yod Gimel Nissan” at 5am as he led his elite IDF unit in an operation to capture three wanted Palestinian terrorists responsible for the deaths of at least thirty and the injury of over one hundred and forty Israelis.
Despite Mrs. Mandel's calm and quiet demeanor, her determination radiates to all.
"The terrorists won when they killed Daniel, but I won't give them the benefit of another "win" by getting to me as well", she said.
It saddened me to hear her say that, "When Daniel was killed in the line of duty as an IDF solider defending Israel, we were no longer olim chadashim...'new immigrants'...as we joined the ranks of Israelis as families of fallen soldiers."
I hope that everyone loses their oleh chadash status, without having to undergo such personal tragedy.
She summarized by saying that part of the training her son Daniel underwent, was the 110 kilometer "trek" that IDF soldiers in the Nachal Palsar unit have to run. While her son was not the strongest, he was given the task of carrying the "mag"...the machine gun, which weighs around 25 pounds. Daniel's commander told him, "Mandel, carry it," and he did. It was a very difficult task to run with a "mag"for 110 kilometers, yet he successfully finished the trek carrying it.
Cheryl Mandel likens that trek to her own; G-d, our commanding officer gave her the task of carrying the burden of her son's sacrifice on her trek through life.
Just as her son successfully completed his trek, she hopes to continue living her life (despite the unexpected task thrown her way) and moving forward optimistically, building the Land of Israel.
As this important day starts, please take a few minutes to view the following video (with English subtitles) about this one solider. While there are 22,500 other families and each one has their own story to tell, I would like to present this one tonight about Daniel Mandel.
Yet even if that were the case, I wouldn't have worried. While it would have been unfortunate to be away from my family for Shabbat, I'm sure I would have managed just fine. The "hacnasat orchim" (welcoming, taking in of guests) of London's Jewish community is truly heart warming. I recall a Shabbat weekend I spent there when strangers invited me for Shabbat meals as I walked from Hendon to Golders Green.Article Ant & Arutz Sheva report:
A team of teenagers from the Upper Galilee's Misgav High School has won the 17th annual Fire Fighting Home Robot competition in the United States for the second year in a row. They named their robot K.O.F. – "King of Falafel" -- to honor their favorite food in the contest held at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. (A7)
Misgav team, whose robot was called K.O.F. (King of Falafel – in honor of the students’ favorite food), competed in Sunday’s fire fighting contest in which its autonomous-controlled robot had to navigate a maze, extinguish a flame and return to the starting point in the fastest time. The coach of the team was Haim Driben and the students were Eyal Shifman, Ram Gerassy, Yuval Zach-Zlica and Zur Shental.
The K.O.F. team was one of six from Misgav High School, which has become a perennial contestant in the two-day event, which typically takes place in April, when the Oosting Gym is filled with large wooden mazes, posters, and multi-lingual students fiddling with their laptop computers and colorful, awe-inspiring robots.
This year, as was the case in 2009, the competition was spread over two days, with the RoboWaiter contest held Saturday and the fire fighting contest held Sunday. RobotWaiter, with its emphasis on socially assistive robotics, was co-sponsored by the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities. The lead sponsor of the entire weekend was Versa Products Company, Inc., whose president and CEO is Jan Larrson, ’77.
The degree of difficulty in the RoboWaiter contest was particularly high, as the robots had to circumvent a chair, grasp a plate of food from a shelf, go around a grandmotherly figure and deliver the food to an older man seated at a table. None of the dozen or so teams that entered the competition were successful, though several came close. Both the chair and the grandmother took a beating, and the plateful of Cocoa Krispies frequently ended up on the floor.
“In spite of the unfortunate incidents, the spirit of the students was unbelievable and they really bounced back,” said Frank Reed, vice chairman of the council on disabilities. “They weren’t discouraged at all. They believe in themselves.” (Article Ant)
From the British newspaper, "The Independent"...it's misleading to include a picture of the Kotel on a travel advertisement for Israel. (See actual offending ad on right).The Israeli tourist office has been criticised by the [British] Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for including images of the Palestinian-run West Bank in an advert for a holiday in Israel.
The advert for the Israeli government's Tourist Office stated that you could "travel the entire length of Israel in six hours".
Images shown included the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock – the oldest Islamic building in the world, built in the seventh century. The area in East Jerusalem is at the centre of a dispute between Palestinians and Jews, with more than 500,000 Jews living in the disputed territories.
A reader complained that the printed advert featured a photograph of East Jerusalem and said it misleadingly implied that it was part of the state of Israel. The ASA said that the advert featured various landmarks that were in East Jerusalem which were part of the Occupied Territories.
It ruled that the advert breached truthfulness guidelines and ordered that it not be used again, adding: "We told the Israeli Tourist Office not to imply that places in the Occupied Territories were part of the state of Israel."
It said: "The ASA noted the itinerary image of Jerusalem used in the ad featured the Western Wall of the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock, which were both in East Jerusalem, a part of the Occupied Territories of the West Bank.
"We noted the ad stated 'You can travel the entire length of Israel in six hours – imagine what you can experience in four days', and 'Visit now for more itineraries in Israel', and considered that readers were likely to understand that the places featured in the itinerary were all within the state of Israel.
"We understood, however, that the status of the occupied territory of the West Bank was the subject of much international dispute, and, because we considered that the ad implied that the part of East Jerusalem featured in the image was part of the state of Israel, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead." Read the rest of their drivel, here.
Globes reports today (translated by The Muqata)
