Pesach 5782: A lesson from the past about choosing freedom over servitude

Posted on April 8, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

TABLET MAG
The Jews Who Didn’t Leave Egypt
Alana Newhouse
April 14, 2022

This weekend, millions of people will sit around Seder tables and memorialize the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Guided by the Haggadah, or Passover text—one of the most popular Jewish books ever written—Seder participants are led along in a series of prayers, texts, and activities. We talk and talk and talk about the miracle of liberation; we parse the details of its unfolding, enumerating the many miracles involved; we go over whether we are supposed to commemorate the blessing of freedom only in this life or also in the next one; we assert in words and song the gratitude we feel for being the lucky descendants of those who escaped from slavery. One thing we do not generally discuss, however, are the Jews who didn’t leave. READ MORE

NAOMI RAGEN BLOG Waving to the Angel of Death Ruminations on the 20th anniversary of the Park Hotel bombing on Seder night 20 years ago – and how the Haggadah helped me cope.

TIMES OF ISRAEL Despite the danger, Ukrainian Jews prepare to celebrate Passover in public seders The threat of violence, curfews and supply-chain disruptions are complicating the holiday efforts, but thousands still plan to partake in festivities

EMET EMET’s Sarah Stern: EMET’s Four Questions About the Jewish People As many of you know, the Seder opens with young children asking the Four Questions. As we get ready for the holiday, I would like to suggest my own version of the Four Questions…

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After massive manhunt, security forces find and kill suspected Tel Aviv terrorist

Posted on April 7, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

TIMES OF ISRAEL
2 killed as terrorist opens fire on Tel Aviv bar; security forces hunting for gunman
Emanuel Fabian, Carrie Keller-Lynn and Aaron Boxerman
April 7, 2022

Two people were killed and several were wounded as a gunman opened fire on a bar in central Tel Aviv Thursday evening in a deadly terror attack, the latest eruption of violence to strike Israel in recent weeks. The shooting took place on Dizengoff Street, turning an area crowded with people out for Thursday night at bars, restaurants and cafes lining the popular thoroughfare into a scene of chaos and panic. As the street filled with ambulances and rescuers, police carried out searches for the gunman, who witnesses said fled the scene and disappeared into nearby alleys, going door to door and telling people to stay inside and lock their doors. READ MORE

JERUSALEM POST Tel Aviv terror attack: Two dead, terrorist killed after chase The terrorist who killed two people and wounded twelve more in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff street on Thursday was captured and killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces, said the Shin Bet.

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“Netanyahu congratulated Silman on her decision, thanking her “in the name of many people in Israel who waited for this moment””

Posted on April 7, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

JPOST
Israel’s coalition loses majority as Yamina MK Silman quits government
Shira Silkoff
April 6, 2022

Israel’s government began to crumble on Wednesday after Yamina MK and coalition whip Idit Silman announced her resignation from the government. With this, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government loses its majority in the Knesset, leaving it neck-and-neck with the opposition at 60-60. If another MK were to leave the coalition, the government could be brought down in a law brought by the opposition that would disperse the Knesset.
Should the opposition have a majority, they would be able to attempt to form a government without even needing to go to elections. The more coalition members that defect, the easier this option becomes for them. READ MORE

TIMES OF ISRAEL Bennett’s coalition has lost its majority. Could Netanyahu’s Likud now regain power? The opposition has 2 main potential paths to unseat Bennett’s eight-party government. Neither is straightforward, but Idit Silman’s bombshell resignation makes them more plausible

JNS Alex Traiman: Breaking down Bennett’s coalition breakdown If it was not acceptable to the parliament for Netanyahu—the head of the nation’s largest political party with 30 seats—to lead a minority government, why is it acceptable for Bennett to do so with the backing of only five members of the 120-member parliament?

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“Israel’s broad unity government — which includes left-wing and right-wing members — has decided not to engage in any peace initiatives with the Palestinians because of internal divisions on that issue”

Posted on April 7, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

ALGEMEINER
Biden Admin Suggested High-Level Israeli, Palestinian Meeting at White House
April 7, 2022

The Biden administration has suggested a meeting at the White House between top Israeli and Palestinian officials, Axios reported Thursday, citing multiple American and Israeli sources…The proposal has faced some obstacles, including reservations from conservative Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The premier does not support the establishment of a Palestinian state, and went into office with a diverse coalition of right, centrist, left, and Islamist parties that agreed to maintain the status quo with the Palestinians due to their opposing views. READ MORE

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France has a grim recent history of deadly attacks on Jews. This looks like the latest.

Posted on April 7, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

GUARDIAN
French presidential rivals seize on death of Jewish man as ‘antisemitic attack’
Angelique Chrisafis
April 5, 2022

The death of a young Jewish man in Bobigny, north of Paris, has shocked France and sparked outrage among French presidential candidates, who seized on it to denounce criminality and a possible antisemitic attack. Jérémy Cohen, 31, was killed when he was hit by a tram in Bobigny in February, which was initially reported in local media as a traffic accident. But when his family leafleted the area to see if local people had more information on what had happened, a witness came forward with video footage, which circulated online this week. Cohen, who had a disability, was surrounded by a group of men and attacked. As he escaped, he was hit by the tram and died shortly afterwards in hospital. READ MORE

ALGEMEINER Mother of Jérémy Cohen, Killed While Fleeing From Gang Assault in Paris, Urges Caution on Claim of Antisemitism

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Zelensky said his country will emerge from the rubble a ‘big Israel.’ What did he mean?

Posted on April 1, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

COMMON SENSE WITH BARI WEISS
Ukraine Learns the Israel Lesson
Lahav Harkov
April 7, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky declared Tuesday that, when the war is finally over, Ukraine would emerge from the rubble a “big Israel.” He meant that the war would never really be over, that Ukraine would be on a permanent war footing, just as the Jewish state is. He meant that it would view its neighbors the way Israel has long viewed its own: As enemies waiting to pounce. Most importantly, he meant that Ukraine would never again rely on anyone else for its security: not the West, not the international community, not the so-called liberal order. It would be, like Israel, a nation apart, answering to no one but its people, in control of its own destiny. READ MORE

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“The nuclear agreement between the United States and Iran—which fuels and funds Islamic terror throughout the region and the world—will give Islamic terror a tremendous boost”

Posted on April 1, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

ARUTZ SHEVA
How Israel should respond to the Iranian nuclear deal. Simple enough: Expand Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley and apply sovereignty now
Dr. Mordechai Kedar
March 29, 2022

As these words are being written in late March 2022, the media are reporting that it is most likely that the United States will soon sign a new improved nuclear deal with Iran, one very much in Iran’s favor. This new deal would allow Iran to become a nuclear power within a few years, does not address the long-range missiles that Iran is developing, producing and using, and ignores the death and destruction that the Iranian Islamic Republic has sown throughout the Middle East. No doubt, Iran has come out the winner in Vienna. READ MORE

EMET EMET Wholeheartedly Applauds 18 Courageous Democrats for Standing Against Iran Deal Led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, they are Reps. Elaine Luria of Virgina, Donald Norcross of New Jersey, Juan Vargas of California, Vincent Gonzales of Texas, Dean Phillips of Minnesota, Haley Stevens of Michigan, Tom Suozzi of New York, Brendon Boyle of Pennsylvania, Darren Soto of Florida, Jim Costa of California, Susan Lee of Nevada, Jared Golden of Maine, Grace Meng of New York, Lois Frankel of Florida and Kathy Manning of North Carolina. Five were in attendance at a press conference Wednesday, alerting the media to their concerns about the deal. These included Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Elaine Luria, Donald Norcross, Dean Phillips and Juan Vargas. 

NATIONAL REVIEW Republicans and Democrats See the Iran Deal for What It Is Obama’s (already weak) Iran deal has always been a partisan issue — that is, until Biden botched it even further. Now even Democrats are speaking out.

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“At Negev Summit, US Secretary of State Blinken demonstrates what it currently means to be a Western progressive: supporting people who murder Israelis and empowering others who want to wipe out Israel”

Posted on April 1, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Blinken’s obscene Western ‘progressive’ agenda
Melanie Phillips
March 31, 2022

…Coming in the midst of the past week’s atrocities against Israelis, Blinken’s remarks were obscene. “Settlement expansion” only increases tensions because people like Blinken make this so by continuing to perpetuate the lie that Israelis have stolen “Palestinian” land in the disputed territories. The truth is that they are the only people with a legal and historical right to be there. “Settler violence,” although reprehensible, is minuscule compared with the countless, daily and never-ending attacks or attempted attacks on Israelis—the vast majority of which go entirely unreported in America and Britain. The Arab “evictions” from the Jerusalem neighborhood of Shimon HaTzadik (also known as Sheikh Jarrah) were nothing other than a dispute over non-payment of rent, grossly misrepresented by Blinken and his ilk as a form of ethnic cleansing. READ MORE

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Senior delegation of German Bundestag Defense Committee visited the Lebanese border, where members were briefed on threats posed by Hezbollah

Posted on April 1, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

JNS
Germany interested in possibility of buying Arrow 3, UAVs from Israel
Yaakov Lappin
April 1, 2022

Germany is interested in the possibility of purchasing air- and missile-defense systems, in addition to unmanned aerial vehicles, from the State of Israel, according to multiple sources. In recent days, a senior delegation of the German Bundestag Defense Committee visited the Israel Defense Forces as part of a wider trip to the country. The delegation’s visit was initiated and hosted by ELNET, an organization dedicated to strengthening ties between Europe and Israel. Delegation members expressed particular interest in the Arrow 3 aerial-defense system, which is made by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and intercepts ballistic missiles in space. READ MORE

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Preaching to the margins: Chicago synagogue adopts anti-Zionism as a ‘core value’

Posted on April 1, 2022 by ArchitectGuy

FORWARD
Chicago synagogue officially designates itself ‘anti-Zionist’
Arno Rosenfeld
March 31, 2022

Tzedek Chicago was founded seven years ago, in part, to create a Jewish community free from a strong attachment to Israel. The congregation went beyond its original “non-Zionism” this week to become what is likely the first synagogue in the country to be affirmatively “anti-Zionist”…The decision to add a statement decrying the creation of Israel as an “injustice against the Palestinian people – an injustice that continues to this day” was taken by a vote of the congregation’s 200 member families after the board unanimously endorsed it in December. Seventy-three percent of households voted in favor of the motion. READ MORE

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