Only in Israel, Rosh Chodesh Adar edition

Only in Israel, Rosh Chodesh Adar edition

3 very cool stories from Israel that transpired over the past week...

1. Friends of our in Maaleh Adumim were supposed to host 2 yeshiva guys for Shabbat lunch in the framework of a "shabbaton" a local yeshiva was hosting. Lunchtime arrived and the guests didn't show up...

Apparently, the guests used a different entrance to the apartment building and found a family with the same family name...and assumed THEY were their hosts for Shabbat lunch.

The other family happily invited them in, not even realizing that the 2 guys were supposed to eat at the other family!

No one even felt out of place...

hat-tip: Devra

2. Called in for a meeting at Israel mas-hachnasa (IRS), this person was rather apprehensive, and had his own prejudices about what to expect. After getting the run-around from clerk to clerk, he found an available desk:

When I noticed an opening at a table I lunged ahead and gave my best Israeli greeting to catch the attention of the seated clerk.

No answer.

I 'ahem'ed and said hello. Silence. I used the opportunity to look around his office to hopefully find something that would be an icebreaker for our conversation. What would I have in common with this middle-aged, secular Israeli from a Kibbutz in the south who had a sign of his membership to the Israeli Art and Theater Association?

I gave up and cleared my throat again hoping to get his attention once more.

He looked up and said, "one moment more, I am just finishing up with something." I noticed he was binding some papers together and was very involved in this process. "I am just finishing binding my book", he stated.

His book? What would a clerk in the tax department write a book about? Tax law? How to penalize evaders of tax? Or perhaps a script in some drama he was writing in his spare time.
"What's your book about?", I ask.

"It is a commentary on Torah. I just finished the book of Bereishit (Genesis) and have begun Shemot. I bind it together and present it in my Torah discussion group on my kibbutz."

!!!

...

I collect myself and say to this man that I too am writing a book on Tanach.

"Really", his eyes light up. "What about?"

Tehillim, I respond. And then he proceeds to do something which amazed me until this very day. He pulls his hand back on the table and reaches for his trusty Tanach and says to me the following: "Funny you should say Tehillim, I was having difficulty with today's Mizmor, perhaps you could explain it to me?"

Read it all here
hat-tip: CG

3. Avital Revital (yes, that is her real name) is a teacher at the "Re'ali" school in Hafia, where she has been teaching for years. Unfortunately, Avital was recently diagnosed with a life-threatening kidney ailment for which there is no treatment in Israel. The only treatment available is outside of Israel, and costs NIS 550,000 ($147,000).

Her students decided to take the matter into their own hands, and orchestrated a fund-raising evening last week, including top Israeli performers such as Rami Kleinstein and Pablo Rosenberg. Kleinstein performed for free, as her girlfriend was a former student of Avital. Rosenberg also performed for free, as his wife is also an alumnae of the Re'ali school.

The students have raised 350,000 NIS so far, and are confident they will raise the other NIS 200,000 to pay for their teacher's operation. (source, mynet in Hebrew)

Happy Adar People!

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Zevulun Orlev: Fighting for us where it counts

by Lurker

MK Zevulun Orlev is a senior member of HaBayit HaYehudi, which is the latest incarnation of the party once known as Mizrahi, and later Mafdal (National Religious Party). The party is currently a partner in PM Netanyahu's government coalition.

For months now, close to nothing has been heard from Orlev or his party regarding controversial government policies like the building freeze, or the removal of roadblocks that help protect Jewish drivers from terrorists. Because of this silence, there have been some who have questioned Orlev's commitment to the interests of a major part of his own constituency.

I am posting this today to prove those people wrong: I am very heartened to see that MK Zevulun Orlev is in fact valiantly struggling to protect the vital interests of the dati leumi public:

Orlev: Religious public shouldn't pay for 'Eretz Nehederet'

Education committee chairman outraged about fee for watching popular comedy show after Shabbat.

Knesset Education and Culture Committee chairman Zevulun Orlev (Habayit Hayehudi) intends to send a letter to the Second Television Authority on Sunday protesting Keshet's decision to charge for watching the popular show Eretz Nehederet on Saturday nights.
...
Sabbath-observant viewers, who do not watch television on Friday nights, were able to watch the show online for free on Saturday nights after Shabbat ended. But religious viewers who went to Channel 2's site to watch the show this Saturday night found a disclaimer informing them that there was a charge to watch the show until Monday.

"I was very surprised by this improper decision," Orlev said.

"There is no reason why the religious public that doesn’t watch TV on Shabbat should have to pay a fine for their observance. I will work to get this scandalous decision canceled."

Kudos to MK Orlev for expressing his outrage over the kind of scandalous injustice that truly matters.

This ought to finally silence Orlev's critics, who for some reason like to claim that his priorities are skewed.

(For a very good illustration of the critical value underlying this cultural mainstay that prompted Orlev to champion the rights of religious people to watch it, see this recent news item.)


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Warning: Certain JTA stories about Israel may not be truthful

The following has been reprinted in its entirety, at behest of Mattot Arim, who sent it to me this morning.

Warning: Certain JTA stories about Israel may not be truthful

You will remember that last year, we all approached the JTA, a news agency serving the American Jewish press, and asked them to correct a story about Israeli settlers who purportedly "threw acid at soldiers". But the JTA, in extensive email correspondence with Mattot Arim, coldly refused to check up on the story adequately – such as, by simply asking a police or army spokesperson for the names and medical records of the "soldiers" purportedly hurt by the "acid."

The JTA was even impertinent enough to put out a special post entitled "We stand by our story"

Other media had written the same thing the JTA did, the JTA boasted, citing the Jerusalem Post, among other media.

The JTA's response gave Mattot Arim an interesting idea. Since the Jerusalem Post has a very good name, we contacted the Post about their "settlers throw acid" story, to see what a good news outfit does when challenged. Was the JTA's poor standard everyone's standard?

No. The Jerusalem Post was fair and professional, unlike the JTA. The Post DID look into our complaint about the seeming falsity of the report. The Post DID contact the Israel Police. And they DID manage to find out that the story was false. Instead of "standing by their story", the Jerusalem Post published a detailed correction, entitled "Claim settlers used acid against police in Hebron unsubstantiated"

Mattot Arim politely brought the Jerusalem Post's hard work and good findings to the attention of the JTA. Here is the JTA Editor's response:

From: Ami Eden

Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 10:53 PM

Subject: Re: attn Ami Eden – (…) inappropriate for you to continue standing by your acid story

I saw the JPost article and plan to write about it in some way.

Since the JTA editor gave that undertaking, many months have gone by. Has the original story been corrected by the JTA, and has the JTA's "stand by our story" post been pulled? No. The "settlers threw acid" allegation, which can by now only be termed a falsehood, still adorns the JTA website.

Conclusion: Please do not automatically believe press reports about "settlers".

And the JTA is not the only example of this problem. For example, a front-page New York Times report a few years ago said that 86% of the land of an Israeli city called Maale Adumim was built on private Palestinian land.

The New York Times was forced to grudgingly admit later, however, that "some differences" between the original story and "new data" did "complicate the picture… The earlier data showed Maale Adumim containing 86 percent private Palestinian land…. According to the new data, however, only 0.54 percent of the settlement is listed as private land." Aha. Not 86% - half a percent and even that, in a list which is not court-tested.

So, it cannot be said too often: Do NOT blindly believe JTA, NYT, and many other news media when they write about Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Sometimes news media's political beliefs may overcome their journalistic skills, making their stories unreliable fare for readers. Please pass this on.

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Wiesel on Goldstone: "Crime against the Jewish people"

1986 Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel is joining the growing ranks of Jews who are disgusted by the Goldstone report.

First, More than 40 Nobel Prize winners from various countries have added their signatures to a full-page ad denouncing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that is due to be published in The New York Times and International Herald Tribune in the next few days.

The ad, initiated by 1986 Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, condemns Iran's severe human rights violations and warns that Iran's nuclear program is a danger to humanity.

Speaking to a Haaretz reporter, Wiesel then blasted Richard Goldstone and his slanderous, agenda-driven, propaganda report against the IDF in the Cast Lead operation, calling the report "a crime against the Jewish people."

source: Haaretz.

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Memorial Service for Terror attack @ Merkaz HaRav/Yashlatz

Tonight (Thursday, Feb 11th) at the Yeshurun Shul in Jerusalem @ 8:30pm will be the annual memorial service marking 2 years since the Palestinian terror attack at the Merkaz HaRav / Yashlatz Yeshiva High school.

May G-d Avenge their deaths.

Click here to download a factsheet about the attack.

About the 8 Kedoshim Murdered in the terror attack

הקדוש נריה בן יצחק הכהן כהן הי"ד
Neriya (ben HaRav Yitzchak HaCohen) Cohen HY”D, 15, of Jerusalem, a 9th Grader at Yashlatz who was described as “full of boundless joy, enthusiastic about Torah and life, and forever asking questions, striving to understand a sugya to its depth “.

Click here to view a short memorial video of Neriya

הקדוש שגב פניאל בן אלישיב אביחיל הי"ד
Segev Peniel (ben HaRav Elyashiv) Avichail HY”D, 15, of Neve Daniel, a 10th Grader at Yashlatz who was described as “sensitive, serious and diligent, a real Talmid Chacham who was completely devoted to his family and friends”.

Click here to view a short memorial video of Segev

הקדוש יונתן יצחק בן דרור שמואל אלדר הי"ד
Yonatan Yitzchak (ben Dror) Eldar HY”D, 16, of Shilo, a 10th Grader at Yashlatz who was described as “having an incredible love for Torah and especially Halacha, and often the last person to leave the Bet Midrash“.

Click here to view a short memorial video of Yonatan

הקדוש אברהם דוד בן נפתלי מוזס הי"ד
Avraham David (ben Naftali) Moses HY”D, 16, of Efrat, a 10th Grader at Yashlatz who was described as “blessed with a pure neshama, totally honest and with an unparalleled level of scholarship and devotion to his Torah studies“.

Click here to view a short memorial video of Avraham David

הקדוש יוחאי בן טוביה ליפשיץ הי"ד
Yochai (ben HaRav Tuvya) Lifshitz HY”D, 18, of Jerusalem, a 12th Grader at Yashlatz who was described as “incredibly perseverant, diligent and organized who never wasted a second of his day”.

Click here to view a short memorial video of Yochai

הקדוש רועי אהרן בן יעקב רוט הי"ד
Roei Aharon (ben Yaakov) Roth HY”D, 18, of Elkana, in his first year at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav, who was described as “someone truly humble, whose prayer was so devout and genuine that it taught and inspired everyone”.

Click here to view a short memorial video of Roei

הקדוש יונדב חיים בן צמח יהודה הירשפלד הי"ד
Yonadav Chaim (ben Tzemach) Hirshfeld HY”D, 19 of Kochav Hashachar, an alumnus of Yashlatz and in his first year at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav, who was described as “always happy, a ball of energy, extremely intelligent and everyone’s best friend”.

Click here to view a short memorial video of Yonadav

הקדוש דורון בן מקוננט מהרטה הי"ד
Doron (ben Mekonent) Meherete HY”D, 26, of Ashdod, in his tenth year at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav, who was described as “having a tremendous desire to succeed in Torah, someone with a large heart who loved helping others, and who never got angry”.

Click here to view a short memorial video of Doron

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Yet another PA policeman attacks/kills an IDF soldier

An IDF soldier was killed today (Wednesday) in a knife attack in the Shomron/West Bank at the Tapuach junction. The terrorist (not surprisingly) is a high ranking officer in the Palestinian Authority "police force."

The terrorist Palestinian Authority Police Officer is Mahmoud al-Khatib, from the city of Ya'abed, south of Jenin -- and he was captured by the quick response of Yossi Margalit, a security officer from a nearby settlement who arrived at the scene and ran over the attacker, lightly wounding him.

How awful.

A settler taking the law into his own hands, and running over a respectable (and senior) Palestinian Authority Police Officer, wounding him, and allowing him to be taken into custody by the IDF?!

I'm sure Goldstone will have the indictment ready soon.

And we all know who will be supporting and funding the allegations against Margalit.

(source: Haaretz and other news sources)

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Rejected for Aliya, the "Marooned" Couple Leaves Israel

Rejected for Aliya by Nefesh bNefesh, the "marooned" couple, Jack and Suzan Baumann are on their way back home to Sunny Flordia.

On Monday, the Interior Ministry said it had never received an aliya request for either Jack or his second wife, Suzan. The couple say they were in contact with the Nefesh B’Nefesh aliya organization before arriving on January 7. On Sunday evening, the couple said they were notified by Nefesh B’Nefesh that their aliya application had been rejected.

Apparently, the JPost needed to follow-up on all the unanswered questions about this unfortunate couple and reported today that a Dutch financial analyst has paid the 9000 NIS debt so the Baumanns could leave Israel.

Responding to allegations that he was a con artist and had purchased heroin in the past, which appear on the anonymously authored “Exclusive Vending” Web page, Jack Baumann said, “When I started reading that it upset me so much. I just couldn’t believe what people were saying. I want people to know I’ve never touched heroin, and I am no con artist. That Web site really hurt.”

Baumann said his past “was far from being clean” and that he had made “many mistakes.” At the same time, he said, the Web site’s allegations had no relation to reality.

“I have made many mistakes,” Baumann said. “In 1999, I got into a fight with a group of people who were very rude to my first wife. I was convicted of assault, and received a probation sentence.”

In addition to the Exclusive Vending Web page, there are dozens of other websites with allegations against the Jack Baumann, including the Ripoff Report Consumer Advocacy website. All of this in addition to the 9000 NIS debt here in Israel.

I hope the Baumanns repay their Dutch benefactor quickly and that their Zionist fervor enables them to rebuild their lives, legally regain their fortunes, get accepted for Aliya by NbN and move to Israel without incurring any more debt (here or anywhere else).

There's a Red Bull on ice waiting for you here!


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Another Muqata Prediction Comes True

Only a few weeks ago, Muqata columnist JoeSettler wrote about what air-travel (and security) is going to be like in 2011.

2010 began with the afterglow of the underwear bomber. The government through the TSA implemented far more intrusive and tedious countermeasures in their ever failing effort to block terrorists from smuggling weapons and bombs onto the planes.

Far more passengers were randomly selected for questionings before boarding, extending the boarding time for all by an additional hour on average.

While new legislation required that the Full Body Scanner be deployed at all airports, implementation took time, and subsequently, full body pat downs and random selection strip searches ultimately reached a level of 10% of all passengers – adding an 2 hours for boarding at airports not up to legislative spec, and a certain amount of expected (but acceptable) annoyance from passengers.

But clearly the most intrusive and failed measure was the introduction of the Full Body Scanner at all airports.

The public was initially accepting of the scanner, understanding the need to trade a certain amount of privacy for security.

But even as the first “Celebrity Scans” were leaked onto the internet (understandably Angelina Jolie and ironically Arnold Schwarzenegger) the public took it in stride, meanwhile searches for “Celebrity Scans” became the number one search term on Bing and Google.

Little did Joe know that his prediction would come true in the second month of 2010 -- a whole year early!

Yesterday, the news emerged that despite promises by Heathrow airport security authorities in London, that naked body scanner images are immediately destroyed after passengers pass through new x-ray devices... naked images of Indian film star Shahrukh Khan were printed out and circulated by airport staff at Heathrow in London.

UK Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said last week that the images produced by the scanners were deleted “immediately” and airport staff carrying out the procedure are fully trained and supervised.

“It is very important to stress that the images which are captured by body scanners are immediately deleted after the passenger has gone through the body scanner,” Adonis told the London Evening Standard.

However, the Transport Secretary’s assurances were demolished after it was revealed on the BBC’s Jonathan Ross show Friday that Indian actor Shahrukh Khan had passed through a body scan and later had the image of his naked body printed out and circulated by Heathrow security staff. Read the rest of it here (there are no photos in the link!)

This is rather disturbing and raises a whole plethora of questions (no, we never believed the British authorities for a second).

Its painfully obvious how unprofessional the "security" analysts are at London's airports, and this is only a tiny step away from child pornography (and distribution).

Instead of perverts at London airports or dimwits in the TSA -- we need professional security analysts who focus on the psyche of the person and his profile.

Israel's profiling works.

We can take bottles of water on planes...and even board airplanes without being virtually strip searched (and our photos printed out) by perverts...and still have the best airplane security in the world.

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Couple Stranded at Ben Gurion Airport? I Doubt it.

In one of the more dubious stories I've seen on the JPost lately, the following one has to take the cake.

The JPost describes a couple that came to Israel for a visit...implying this was a pre-Aliya pilot trip. Things went south very quickly for them...or so it seems.

Let's read this article:

Miami couple marooned at Ben-Gurion; Wife miscarries in airport; husband claims debt result of mistaken identity.

BY YAAKOV LAPPIN 08/02/2010 02:03

Yow! This sounds like an awful story! How horrible! Can Israel possibly be such a cruel hearted country? Over 160 secondary news outlets picked up this story and ran with it as well...as fact.

After becoming stranded at Ben-Gurion Airport due to an alleged NIS 9,000 debt, an American couple’s journey to Israel has been transformed into a nightmare.

Jack and Suzan Baumann, from Miami, arrived on January 7 for a visit and hoped to soon make aliya, but unforeseen circumstances meant that their immigration process ground to a halt.

Unforeseen circumstances interrupted their visit or their immigration process?

With nowhere to go, the Baumanns were forced to stay in a number of hotels, using up their funds. Last Tuesday, the couple abandoned their plans for aliya, and decided to return to Florida.

Lets review what we know so far. The Baumann's visited Israel. They had some sort of unforeseen circumstances. They were forced to stay in a number of hotels using up their funds. So you would think their unforeseen circumstances meant that wherever they were planning on staying for free, didn't pan out...and they had to go to numerous hotels and pay in cash.

What does this have to do with abandoning their plans for aliya? Obviously, this must have been something rather traumatic; so they decided that their trip is ruined, they want to return to Florida, and they want to cancel their aliya plans.

A nasty surprise awaited them at Ben-Gurion Airport, however, when Jack, 49, discovered that a no-exit ban had been imposed on him by a Haifa court over a debt of NIS 9,000. He was told he could leave only if he paid the sum.

Efforts by Jack to trace the source of the debt failed, and he spent several hours trying to navigate complex bureaucracy on the phone, as his funds dwindled.

Several hours on the phone, and his funds dwindled? Was he using a Satellite phone at 10 dollars a minute? Theywere already in the airport...

He and Suzan were forced to live at the airport for five days, during which his newly pregnant wife suffered a miscarriage in a bathroom.

When the couple asked about medical assistance, a nurse at the airport told them that they would have to pay money they did not have for an ambulance, and, fearing another debt, they remained at Ben-Gurion.

Fearing another debt? They came here without travel insurance? The wife suffers a miscarriage and they decide its better to stay in the airport?

A second medical problem emerged when Jack began suffering from a bad infection of the root canal and sinuses, which began spreading up to his cheekbone and eye, causing severe pain and swelling.

This sounds extremely painful. He deserves our sympathy. I know, he didn't get it treated because medical treatment means...more debt.

“We have nowhere to go,” he said. “Unfortunately, my family is dysfunctional and unable to help me. We are desperate, and we fear the cold streets are our next stop,” Jack said. “I believe this is a case of mistaken or forged identity, because I was not in the country during the year the debt was incurred,” he said. “We have no access to shelter or food, let alone legal assistance, so we cannot track this debt down, and we cannot pay it.”

Who exactly is Jack Baumann? I would think the JPost would have at least used "google" to do a quick spot check on who he is...

Lets see what Google finds? Obviously, the Jack Baumann we're looking for needs to be connected to Israel (he's visited before, yet in his own words, he wasn't here during the year the debt was incurred.)

Jack, a chef by profession, lived in Israel in the past and helped design the menu of well-known Tel Aviv restaurants such as Planet Hollywood in Tel Aviv and Columbus in Herzliya.

Wow - a professional chef as well. Lets add that to our google search:

Google: "Jack Baumann" Israel chef

First result: No, no no! This can't possibly be true! A website dedicated to Jack Baumann, and how he deceived and swindled people out of money -- is involved in fraud, theft and heroin trafficking? It can't possibly be the same Jack...after all, our Jack is a professional chef who worked at Planet Hollywood and wants to make aliya (well, he wanted to before his current trip to Israel).

Low and behold Jack got fired from working in the kitchen at "Mike's Place" a restaurant in Jerusalem where he was working for five weeks at a meager salary. "Mike's Place" fired for incompetence and other workers demanding his removal. Jack got the kitchen job by claiming to have 33 years of kitchen experience, including being executive chef at TGI Fridays and Planet Hollywood.

OK, lets assume that's a case of mistaken identity.

In Israel, Jack Baumann is wanted for an outstanding debt. What would you expect Israel's legal system to do?

This story reads like a con-man's delight. Was the JPost reporter simply fooled by a con-man looking for a quick buck? Is this poor family still living in Ben-Gurion airport? The JPost comment section even had an email address posted "this is not a scam -- send wire transfers to help this family".

I wrote to the email address, offering cash -- but have not received a reply. I even offered to meet them at the airport... No reply.

I assume this far fetched story is possible, but so many details are missing from the JPost report, that its hard to take this seriously.

Of course, that didn't stop the story from getting carried around the world -- giving Israel a bad name.

The ending is the clincher:

The couple have not eaten properly or showered in days, have walked many kilometers in cold rain seeking help, and say that without outside help, their future looks grim.

“We have tried every emergency help available, including the US Embassy, but were told they could not pay the debt, but only the plane ticket home,” he said. “We have never been in a situation like this.”

Every emergency help available? They could have hitch-hiked to Beilinson hospital to help deal with the miscarriage! They could have written up a sign asking for help -- this is Israel; I can't imagine they wouldn't get help from people -- heck, why didn't they call Nefesh B'Nefesh and say that this could help save their chances for aliya.

Too many pieces of this story fail to make much sense. If you know otherwise, I'd love to know...and help this family out. Of course, if they are the swindlers that are posted all over the web, then I don't have much sympathy for them at all -- since the story sounds bogus.

And kudos to Israel's legal system -- for helping those who Jack owes money to.


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