"And They Turned the Holy into a Circus" - Torah does not need your clown car of chumras. Torah does not tremble in the face of cholent.

 

Yitzchok Zilberstein - BANNING CHOLENT ON WEEKDAYS!

WIKIPEDIA: Yitzchok Zilberstein (Hebrew: יצחק זילברשטיין, also spelled Silberstein) (born 1934) is a prominent Orthodox rabbi, posek (Jewish legal authority)^[1] and expert in medical ethics.^[2] He is the av beis din of the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood of Bnei Brak, the Rosh Kollel of Kollel Bais David in Holon,^[3] and the Rav of Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak.^[4] His opinion is frequently sought and quoted on all matters of halakha for the Israeli Litvak yeshiva community. 

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There was a time — not long ago — when the word of a rabbi stirred souls, not soup. When a psak halacha was a reflection of eternity, not a reflection of insecurity. When Torah leadership was defined by humility, by wisdom, by a deep trembling before the Divine — not by fear of being out-pioused by the next bearded bureaucrat in line.

But now… now, my friends, we live in a generation of rabbinic theater. Of halachic clown shows disguised as daas Torah. Of men who wear the garments of greatness but issue rulings that make a mockery of Mount Sinai.

They tell us not to taste the cholent before Shabbos — as if the gates of Gehinnom lie hidden in a spoonful of barley. They tell brides to wear oven mitts at their weddings lest the touch of joy violate some invented stringency. They publish handbooks banning birthday cakes because they resemble foreign cult rituals. They decree that children should not laugh too loudly on Shabbos — because the angels might mistake it for weekday joy.

And I ask you: Is this Torah? Is this Yiddishkeit?

No, my friends. This is not Torah. This is Torah-ainment.
This is not yirat shamayim. This is fear-based fanaticism masquerading as piety.

 Fear Disguised as Frumkeit

 Torah does not need your clown car of chumras. Torah does not tremble in the face of cholent.

Torah is eternal, majestic, deep. It is the song of Moses, the fire of the prophets, the tears of Rabbi Akiva, the logic of the Rambam. And when rabbis turn it into a tool for performative extremism — they do not protect it. They betray it.

Where Are the Sane?

Where are the voices of sanity?
Where are the rabbis who say: “Enough. Enough with the circus. Enough with the petty, the absurd, the desperate need to make headlines by inventing halachic handcuffs.”

The Jew is not a clown. The Shabbos table is not a joke. The Beit Midrash is not a stage.

We need leaders who can tell the difference between kedusha and comedy.

We need teachers who speak with heart and halacha, not with a press release in one hand and a list of new bans in the other.

My friends, the sacred is being buried beneath piles of pamphlets, policies, and proclamations that are as absurd as they are unnecessary. The world is burning, the Jewish people are fracturing — and some of our rabbis are busy banning orange juice with pulp because it might remind someone of a grating instrument on Yom Tov.

We must reclaim Torah from the hands of those who cheapen it with their need to be holier than logic. We must say — with love, but with strength:

The Torah belongs to all of us — not just to the clowns with big brainless mouths!

Former Camp Dora Golding Director Accused Of Sex Abuse - The "Light Unto The Nations" Keeps Getting Dimmer!

 

A well-known Jewish summer camp for boys in Pennsylvania and several members of its leadership are being sued by a former attendee who alleges he was sexually abused by a senior staff member for years at the camp.

 

The civil complaint, filed in Pennsylvania state court Monday, June 16, names Camp Dora Golding in East Stroudsburg, its executive director Alexander Gold, and former assistant director Binyamin Daiches. The plaintiff, identified anonymously as “John Doe,” is represented by attorneys from Stark & Stark, P.C.

According to the suit, the alleged abuse occurred over multiple summers from 2004 to 2009 while the plaintiff was a minor attending the camp.

The complaint claims that the then-assistant director “groomed and isolated John Doe by showing him excessive attention and excusing him from camp activities for private, one-on-one time in secluded areas of the camp, including Daiches’ office and residence.”

It goes on to allege that Daiches repeatedly sexually abused and raped the boy when the victim was 13 and “particularly vulnerable” following the death of his father.

“These alleged instances include Daiches raping Doe in his camp bungalow and again in his private office, and forcing oral sex on him during a golf cart ride after curfew,” the plaintiff’s attorney, Carin O’Donnell, said in a statement.

The lawsuit alleges that camp officials were negligent in their oversight and failed to implement safeguards that would have protected campers. The suit also claims that other campers and staff observed concerning behavior at the time but that it was not appropriately addressed.

“As we allege in the complaint, this tragic and preventable abuse was the direct result of Camp Dora Golding’s failure to supervise its staff and protect its campers,” said O’Donnell. “Despite clear warning signs and repeated opportunities to intervene, the camp’s leadership ignored Daiches’ blatant grooming behaviors and allowed him unfettered access to vulnerable children, including John Doe.”

The lawsuit outlines several legal claims, including assault and battery, false imprisonment, negligence, and emotional distress, against all three defendants.

Camp Dora Golding is a longstanding private summer camp that serves boys in the Orthodox Jewish community. Its administrative offices are based in Brooklyn, New York.

Gold provided Daily Voice with the following statement in response to the lawsuit: “While we are unable to comment on active litigation, we can assure you that nothing is more important to us than providing every child at Camp Dora Golding with a safe and welcoming environment.”

https://dailyvoice.com/pa/allentown/former-camp-dora-golding-director-accused-of-sex-abuse/

 * 

Lawsuit Filed Against Camp Dora Golding and Its Leadership Alleges Repeated Sexual Abuse of Minor Camper by Assistant Director

Stroudsburg, Pa. (June 17, 2025) – An anonymous former camper of Camp Dora Golding filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania state court yesterday against the camp, its Executive Director Alexander Gold, and former Assistant Director Binyamin Daiches. The suit alleges that Camp Dora Golding and its leadership were negligent in allowing Daiches to sexually abuse the camper when he was a minor over several years, and that they failed to protect Doe and other campers from unlawful sexual conduct by Daiches.

The complaint is captioned John Doe v. Camp Dora Golding, et al., docket number 003882-CV-2025 in the Monroe County, Pa., Court of Common Pleas. 

https://www.stark-stark.com/news/lawsuit-filed-against-camp-dora-golding-for-sexual-abuse/

 

https://www.stark-stark.com/

I write these words with both love and trepidation. Love, because Chabad has done incalculable good for Am Yisrael...

 

Deeply un-Jewish

 In every generation, we are tested. Not always by persecution or assimilation, but sometimes by something far more subtle: the recasting of our faith in the image of our emotions.

I write these words with both love and trepidation. Love, because Chabad has done incalculable good for Am Yisrael—bringing Torah and mitzvot to the ends of the earth, reaching Jews no one else could reach. But trepidation, because within the heart of that movement has grown something dangerous, something deeply un-Jewish, even as it wears the garments of Judaism: the theology of a dead messiah.

There is a segment within Chabad, and it is growing louder—not fading—who believe that the Lubavitcher Rebbe, zichrono livracha, is not just a tzaddik, not just a leader, but Mashiach himself.

They do not mean this metaphorically.

They sing it in synagogues, declare it on bumper stickers, and print it under every Chabad publication: “Yechi Adoneinu Moreinu v’Rabbeinu Melech HaMashiach…”

This is explicitly rejected in Torah and Rambam’s Yesodei HaTorah (Laws of the Foundations of Torah), where intermediaries are forbidden.

These are deeply theologically problematic within normative Judaism, which forbids any deification of man (Devarim 4:15-16, Isaiah 45:5).

Messianic ideology can easily become idolatrous—not by statues, but by deifying people, confusing agency with divinity, and promoting slogans that functionally replace God.

And when you remind them, gently or not, that the Rebbe passed away in 1994 without rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash, without gathering the exiles, without fulfilling a single messianic prophecy—they smile and say:  “He’s coming back.”

That’s Not Judaism. That’s Christianity.

Forgive the bluntness. I do not say this to offend, but to awaken.

To believe that a man can die, and still return to complete a messianic mission—that is not the Judaism of Moshe Rabbeinu, of Rashi, of the Rambam. That is the theology of another faith.

There is no cult of Moshe, no demand to wait for his return. In fact, the Torah goes out of its way to bury Moshe in secret (Deut. 34:6), perhaps to prevent exactly the kind of personality-centered religion that later messianism creates.

Contrast this with messianic groups today who print photos of dead leaders, chant their names in prayer, and await their second coming.

The Torah’s silence is thunderous. It was the Christians, not our sages, who invented the idea of a messiah who could die and come back. They too had a charismatic teacher. They too were devastated by his death. And rather than let go, they rewrote theology to match their pain.

That path led them away from Torah.

Are we prepared to walk that same road?

The Rambam Was Clear

    “If he dies or is killed, he is not the Messiah.” (Hilchot Melachim 11:4)

There is no asterisk. No footnote. No “unless his followers really believe he is.”The Rebbe himself never claimed to be Mashiach explicitly.  He knew halacha.

So why now do his followers make him into something he never claimed to be—something no Jew can be?

Portraits in Shuls, Prayers in His Name.

Walk into certain Chabad shuls, and you may find the Rebbe’s image above the ark. Ask a meshichist for a blessing, and he may say, “The Rebbe will bless you.” I have heard children say they "daven to the Rebbe." "Fax the Rebbe."

This is not just troubling—it’s tragic. Because these are Jews with fire in their hearts, who love Hashem. But they have been led astray by a theological drift that has crossed a red line.

And it is the job of rabbanim—not historians, not PR men—to say: This is not Torah. This is not Judaism.

We already know. Sabbatai Tzvi. Jacob Frank. Bar Kochba. 

Each time we failed to call madness by its name, the damage multiplied.

But this time the confusion is even more seductive, because it’s wrapped in mitzvot—in tefillin on street corners, in warm Shabbat invitations, in stunning acts of Ahavat Yisrael.

But mitzvot cannot justify heresy. Not even beautiful ones.

To the silent rabbanim in Chabad—where are you?

You know this isn't what the Rebbe wanted. You know the Rambam would never tolerate this. Say it. Stop it. Clean your house. The rest of Klal Yisrael cannot do it for you.

We are not your enemies. But we will not be enablers either.

The Torah does not ask us to wait for Mashiach as an excuse for inaction. It commands us to build a just society, study Torah, keep mitzvot, raise families, fight injustice, and serve Hashem—every day, with no delays.

The Mashiach will come when God wills. Not when we force the issue. Neon Signs on highways and freeways are not part of Hashem's plan! And he will be a man—not a memory.

Until then, let us sanctify the present—not romanticize the past.

 

REPUBLISHED

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/habad-has-done-incalculable-good-for-am-yisrael/ 

Chabad Plus - Jews Are A Religion Of Allegiance To The Torah - Not One Of Messianic Cults! No Need For Additional Crazies!

 

Anti-Zionist Haredi Group Prepares for Third Temple: Establishes Study Program for Third Temple

Herod's Temple as imagined in the Holyland Model of Jerusalem. It is currently situated adjacent to the Shrine of the Book exhibit at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem (wikipedia)

Israel Jerusalem Jewish Temple Mount

In a remarkable development that highlights the complex relationship between religious belief and political ideology within Orthodox Judaism, the Toldos Aharon chassidic movement has established a specialized study program for Jewish priests (kohanim) to prepare for Temple service, despite the group’s well-known anti-Zionist stance.

Toldos Aharon represents one of the most insular and conservative streams within Haredi Judaism. The chassidic group is characterized by its extreme conservatism and fervent opposition to Zionism, typically rejecting the legitimacy of the modern State of Israel and maintaining strict separation from Israeli society and institutions.

This ideological position makes their recent initiative all the more striking. Under the leadership of the Toldos Aharon Rebbe, Rav Dovid Kohn—himself a kohen—the movement has launched a kollel (study program) exclusively dedicated to learning the intricate laws governing Temple service.

The Rebbe’s decision stems from his belief that current world events signal the approaching arrival of the Moshiach (Messiah). “We clearly see that we’re at the time of Ikvesa d’Meshicha (the final stage of redemption) and the third Beis Hamikdash (Temple) will be built soon in our days,” the Rebbe recently declared, using the Hebrew term for the “footsteps of the Messiah.”

Ultra Orthodox Jews of the chassidic dynasty of ‘Toldos Aharon” take part in a ceremony in Meah Shearim, Jerusalem, on June 12, 2025. 

His reasoning reflects a practical theological concern: “What will the Moshiach think when he appears to redeem Am Yisrael and he won’t have a team of Kohanim ready for their service in the Beis Hamikdash?”

The program operates from 4:40 a.m. to 7:00 a.m., with participants receiving a monthly stipend of $500 to study the complex laws of Temple service until the arrival of the Messiah.

The Paradox of Anti-Zionist Temple Preparation

This initiative presents a fascinating paradox within Orthodox Jewish thought. While Toldos Aharon categorically rejects Zionism and the current State of Israel, they are actively preparing for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem—the very city that serves as Israel’s capital.

This apparent contradiction reflects a fundamental theological distinction within anti-Zionist Haredi thought: they oppose human efforts to establish Jewish sovereignty before the arrival of the Messiah, but they simultaneously prepare for the divine restoration that they believe will come through messianic intervention, not human political action.

Toldos Aharon’s kollel is not an isolated phenomenon. Several other organizations have launched similar initiatives in recent years, though typically from pro-Zionist or neutral perspectives:

The Temple Institute, founded in 1987, established both a school for kohanim in 2016 and a registry of qualified priests four months earlier. Their program requires participants to have clear priestly lineage, be born and raised in Israel, and maintain the laws of ritual purity incumbent upon priests.

Additionally, the Kehuna Academy, launched five years ago by Rabbis Amichai Cohen and Peretz Rivkin, offers online education for kohanim preparing for Temple service. This initiative echoes historical precedent: until his death in 1933, the renowned Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaKohen Kagan (the Chofetz Chaim) oversaw a similar learning program in Poland.

As part of the Temple Institute, Jewish priests prefrom a Passover Sacrifice ‘practice’ ceremony at Davidson Center in Jerusalem Old City, on March 26, 2018. The Temple Institute is dedicated to every aspect of the Biblical commandment to build the Temple on Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount) in Jerusalem.

Modern science has provided remarkable validation for the preservation of the priestly lineage. Over 98% of Jewish men who identify as kohanim share a specific genetic marker, providing scientific evidence for the integrity of the patrilineal priestly heritage that has been maintained over nearly 2,000 years since the destruction of the Second Temple.

This genetic continuity, combined with the careful preservation of priestly genealogies within Jewish communities, has led to speculation that modern kohanim could indeed serve in a rebuilt Temple, despite the nearly two-millennium gap in practical Temple service.

The Toldos Aharon initiative raises profound questions about the intersection of religious preparation and political ideology within Judaism. While the group maintains its opposition to the current State of Israel, their active preparation for Temple service suggests a complex theological framework that distinguishes between human political endeavors and divine messianic fulfillment.

This development may signal a shift in how some anti-Zionist groups approach the question of Jewish sovereignty and Temple restoration, maintaining their political opposition while simultaneously preparing for what they view as inevitable divine intervention.

The establishment of this kollel represents more than just religious study—it embodies the enduring tension between messianic hope and political reality that continues to shape Orthodox Jewish thought in the modern era.

https://israel365news.com/410099/anti-zionist-haredi-group-prepares-for-third-temple-establishes-study-program-for-third-temple/?

 

 

Here's a list of notable Jewish messiah claimants:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_messiah_claimants

HaRav Yitzchak Breitowitz - "The Tragedy, Sin & Destruction Caused By The Orthodox Rabbis Under Pressure Of Losing Their Jobs Or Worse" - "Converting" Gentiles With No Intentions Of Keeping The Mitzvos - "They Are Not Jews" - From 10 Minutes To 19 Minutes In!

AT JEFF BEZOS' WEDDING FRIDAY NIGHT VENICE ITALY

SHABBOS TUG SHPATZIR  NUCH DER CHOLENT

THIS $HEIGETZ WILL DO ANYTHING TO KEEP HIS JOB

"Satmarniks, Agudaniks, Yeshivaniks, lend me your hats; We came to bury Cuomo, not to praise him" - Enter Zohran Kwame Mamdani: If Cuomo tried to regulate your Purim party, Mamdani wants to cancel your homeland.

 

The Orthodox world thought they fought their battle with the state during COVID. They burned masks, blocked buses, rallied on 13th Avenue. But that was just about public health policy. This is about the erasure of their identity.

 

Remember when Orthodox Jews in New York thought Andrew Cuomo was the worst thing to hit their neighborhoods since Bloomberg’s soda ban? Back then, Cuomo was the overreaching tyrant who dared to shut down synagogues while keeping liquor stores open. He was the guy who sent inspectors to religious schools but let riots go unchecked. In Williamsburg and Boro Park, he became the face of state-sanctioned hypocrisy, the man who tried to teach Jews how to daven six feet apart while he packed his Emmy shelf and harassed half the women in Albany.

But Cuomo was just the warm-up act.

Enter Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist from Astoria — the one-man wrecking ball of everything Orthodox Jews hold dear. If Cuomo tried to regulate your Purim party, Mamdani wants to cancel your homeland. If Cuomo was a nuisance, Mamdani is an ideological crusader on a mission to “liberate” Palestinians by throwing Israel — and the Jews who support it — under your bus, separated by shower curtains.

Cuomo may have closed synagogues. Mamdani wants to close your voice, your values, and your Zionism.

Let’s be clear: Zohran Mamdani is not your typical New York liberal. He’s not just some progressive who wants bike lanes and rent control. No — he’s the poster boy for a new wave of anti-Zionist orthodoxy where Jews are tolerated only if they apologize for existing as a people with a state. He’s proud to back BDS, calls Israel apartheid, and has no problem standing with fringe Jewish groups who think the IDF is worse than Hamas.

And he’s not in a Tel Aviv café shouting into a megaphone — he’s in the New York State Assembly, shaping discourse, rallying young voters, and signaling to your kids that supporting Israel is a sin, but smashing capitalism is a mitzvah.

The Orthodox world thought they fought their battle with the state during COVID. They burned masks, blocked buses, rallied on 13th Avenue. But that was just about public health policy. This is about the erasure of their identity.

 

 

Mamdani doesn’t care how many Holocaust survivors live in Midwood. He doesn’t care about rockets on Sderot. To him, Israel is a settler-colonial project and Jewish safety is negotiable. The Jewish story, as far as he’s concerned, needs to be retold — minus the part where Jews fought for survival in their ancestral homeland.

What’s worse? He doesn’t need your vote. He doesn’t want your vote. And he’s not scared of your rabbis, your press releases, or your donor dinners.

Orthodox leaders thought they had seen hostility before. They’ve dealt with tone-deaf bureaucrats, smug liberals, and yes, even self-hating Jews. But Mamdani is a different breed: young, charismatic, and utterly indifferent to Jewish outrage. If anything, Orthodox opposition boosts his street cred.

So now what? You tried working within the system. You backed Eric Adams. You got photo ops with Hochul. But the Zohrans of the world aren’t running to make friends — they’re running to replace you.

If Cuomo was a battle, Mamdani is a war — not on religion, but on the legitimacy of your place in progressive America. A war where the line between anti-Zionism and antisemitism gets blurrier every day — and no one on the Left seems to care.

Orthodox Jews in New York once rallied against a governor who locked their doors.

 

 

Now they face a movement that wants to erase their voice.

And if they don’t wake up fast, Zohran Mamdani will be just the beginning.

Good Shabbos Comrades. 

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/satmars-agudaniks-yeshivaniks-lend-me-your-hats/

Germany to Israel: "You're doing what needs to be done, but we'd rather not be seen doing it ourselves."

 

In a recent and widely noted statement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that “Israel is doing the dirty work for all of us”—a phrase that instantly triggered debate across Europe and the Middle East. While intended as a form of solidarity with Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas and regional threats, Merz's language raises deep moral, political, and historical questions about Europe's role in the Middle East and the ethics of outsourcing war, responsibility, and justice.

Germany's relationship with Israel is unlike any other nation's, rooted in the unspeakable crimes of the Holocaust and the enduring moral debt Germany owes to the Jewish people. When a German leader speaks of Israel engaging in “dirty work,” it echoes uncomfortably with historical overtones. Merz may have meant that Israel is confronting terrorism and radicalism on behalf of the democratic world. But the phrasing risks portraying Israel as a subcontractor of Western interests—doing morally compromising or violent tasks while others look away.

The irony is striking: Germany, which once perpetrated genocide against Jews, now praises Jews for conducting brutal warfare that Germans feel too conflicted or politically paralyzed to endorse or undertake themselves. In the name of moral support, Merz inadvertently offloads moral ambiguity onto Israel—saying, in effect, "You're doing what needs to be done, but we'd rather not be seen doing it ourselves."

The term “dirty work” is morally loaded. It suggests violence, compromise, actions taken in shadow rather than daylight. In the context of Israel’s military campaign—particularly in Gaza, where thousands of civilians have died—calling it “dirty work” implicitly acknowledges the controversial, even unsavory, nature of the tactics used. If Israel is acting in ways that violate international norms, the West cannot simply applaud from the sidelines while absolving itself of complicity.

Merz’s framing shifts responsibility away from Europe. It allows European leaders to enjoy the strategic benefits of a weakened Hamas or a deterred Iran without confronting their own populations with the bloody consequences of such a campaign. It is a dangerous moral outsourcing: Israel takes the bullets, draws the protests, absorbs the UN resolutions—while Europe maintains a cleaner image.

From a purely realpolitik perspective, Merz’s statement isn’t entirely inaccurate. Israel is on the front lines of a broader struggle against Iran’s regional proxies, militant jihadism, and anti-Western extremism. Many European capitals prefer not to get directly entangled in the region’s chaos. But realpolitik does not excuse moral cowardice. If Europe truly sees Israel’s war as a defense of Western civilization, then it should stand beside Israel not just in words but in shared accountability, humanitarian concern, and post-conflict rebuilding. Instead, Merz’s words reflect a strategy of convenient distance. 

 Instead of framing Israel as the West’s attack dog, Europe should engage more directly in conflict resolution, support diplomatic solutions, and be willing to bear the moral and political costs of its own security doctrine.

Chancellor Merz’s comment was likely meant as praise. But in calling Israel’s actions “dirty work,” he unintentionally admitted what many Western leaders try to hide: they are comfortable letting Israel wage morally fraught wars so long as it keeps European capitals safe. It is a revealing moment of ethical evasion—a statement that tries to express solidarity, but instead exposes the deep imbalance in how the West views war, allies, and its own responsibility.

If the West believes the war is just, then it must also own it. If the war is unjust, it must not be silently condoned. Either way, the phrase “dirty work” is no compliment. It is a confession.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/germany-to-israel-thanks-for-doing-our-dirty-work/

"Thank You, Mr. Trump – A Note of Gratitude From a Jewish Never-Trumper

I never thought I’d say this, Mr. Trump — and please don’t let it go to your head — but today, I owe you thanks.

I didn’t vote for you. I protested you. I laughed at your spelling, cried at your cruelty, and screamed into the void when you “truth’d” about disinfectant cures. I watched you hug flags, butcher Bible verses and sell Trump bibles, and confuse Iran with Iraq with a map upside-down. I am, proudly, a card-carrying member of the “Never Trump” tribe — mezuzah on the door, and more than a dozen op-eds about why you were dangerous.

But today, I write with a rare and uncomfortable feeling: gratitude.

Because despite your vanity, your Twitter tantrums, your golf obsession, and your strange love letters to dictators — you bombed Iran.

And not for ratings (maybe). Not for oil (we hope). Not even because Mark Levin told you to (okay, maybe a little). But because, at the eleventh hour, with pressure from every direction, you did what needed to be done.

You saw a threat. You recognized the moment. You made the call.

You bombed the regime that funds terror from Damascus to Gaza, from Hezbollah tunnels to Houthi drones. You struck the architects of death who chant “Death to America” while building centrifuges and exporting explosives. You did what others only warned about. You sent a message — not in Hebrew, not in Arabic, but in the universal language of action: "Not on our watch."

And yes, I think about escalation. I fear what comes next. But for one surreal moment, I watched as the world’s most unpredictable man did the most predictable, necessary thing: he defended Israel, the West, and the principle that tyrants don’t get to act without consequence.

So thank you, Mr. Trump.

You’re still the man who cozied up to racists, sabotaged democracy, and made a mockery of decency. I still oppose almost everything you stand for. But even a bleached blonde broken clock — can be right once in a while.

And today, from one very stubborn Jewish never-Trumper: you were right.

Let the record show — in between the chaos and the narcissism — for one moment, you bombed the right bad guys.

Just… please don’t sing and do the ridiculous Trump dance about it at your next rally. Do me a personal favor (if you seek more praise from me), please make Tucker Carlson the US Ambassador to Tehran.

Thanks.

Paul Mendlowitz aka The Unorthodox, Orthodox Jew 

PS:
Now back to fighting you on everything else.

We have received your email.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts with President Donald J. Trump. The willingness of the American people to stay informed is essential to our enduring democracy.  Please know that President Trump will never stop fighting for the citizens of our great Nation! For additional information about President Trump’s policy initiatives or current events at the White House, please visit www.WhiteHouse.gov.

 

 

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FEATURED POST AT THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

 https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-note-of-gratitude-from-a-jewish-never-trumper/

Mazel Tov! Be Back Soon....

תּ֮וֹרַ֤ת יְהוָ֣ה תְּ֭מִימָה מְשִׁ֣יבַת נָ֑פֶשׁ עֵד֥וּת יְהוָ֥ה נֶ֝אֱמָנָ֗ה מַחְכִּ֥ימַת פֶּֽתִי: (תהלים פרק יט פסוק ח)

 אַחַת, שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת-יְהוָה--    אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ
שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית-יְהוָה,    כָּל-יְמֵי חַיַּי;
לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם-יְהוָה,    וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ. 

 

Why Trump Is Delaying Joining the Iran-Israel War

Because This War, Like Everything Else, Has to Be About Him

In the combustible theater of Middle East politics, where allies demand loyalty and enemies rarely wait their turn, Donald Trump is—unsurprisingly—taking his time. The Iran-Israel war is escalating, rockets are flying, and the world is anxiously watching. But Trump, ever the narcissistic maestro of timing and optics, is hesitating. Not because he’s weighing strategy, nor out of some newfound humility in foreign policy. He’s stalling because he didn’t script the opening act—and that, in Trump’s world, is an unforgivable breach.

This isn’t about Iran. It’s not about Israel. It’s certainly not about preventing another regional catastrophe.

 This is about Trump. As always.

Trump lives in a universe where appearances reign supreme and history is written in gold-plated Sharpie. His hesitation to “join” the Iran-Israel war—whether symbolically, militarily, or rhetorically—stems from one inescapable fact: he wasn’t asked. Prime Minister Netanyahu, with his own bruised ego and cornered leadership, made a bold move by launching or escalating hostilities without seeking Trump’s blessing. For Trump, that’s the geopolitical equivalent of skipping his name in the credits. Unacceptable.

Worse, Bibi has committed the cardinal sin in Trump’s book: making a move that might succeed without giving Trump a starring role. So now, Trump must reposition himself. Not as a latecomer, not as a backup dancer—but as the savior, the rescuer of Israel, the greatest winner of all time. He must rewrite the narrative, with himself as the alpha and omega of any solution.

Trump is not interested in aiding Israel unless Israel becomes the distressed damsel, desperate for a knight in a red tie. That way, when he steps in—be it through a dramatic press conference, a unilateral “deal,” or a surgical airstrike—he is seen as the indispensable stable genius who ended the war, saved the Jews, and brought peace to the region. All without a hair out of place.

Every moment of hesitation isn’t indecision—it’s orchestration. He is waiting for Israel to cry uncle. For Bibi to admit he needs help. For the media to turn to Trump with pleading eyes: “What would you do, Mr. President?” Only then will he lower himself from his self-built pedestal and offer salvation. Not a minute sooner.

Let’s be clear: Trump’s calculus is never ideological. He doesn’t care who fired first, what red lines were crossed, or how many lives hang in the balance. What he cares about is how it looks—on Fox News, on Truth Social, in Mar-a-Lago dining halls. He cannot risk being seen as reactive. He must be proactive, prophetic even. The man who knew how to handle Iran, who would have stopped this, who can end it if begged.

And if Israel suffers in the meantime? Collateral damage. Just more material for the eventual monologue.

Trump is delaying not out of caution, but out of craving—for the applause, the headlines, the worship. He must emerge as the man who saved Israel despite Israel’s own missteps.

This war will not be real to Trump until it’s also his show. Until then, he will posture, tweet, hint, and hover. But he will not commit—because commitment requires risk, and Trump doesn’t risk without a guarantee that he’ll come out the winner.

As always, it’s not about the war.  It’s about the spotlight.

 

REPUBLISHED IN THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-trump-is-delaying-joining-the-iran-israel-war/

Trump on the Israel-Iran War — “Nobody Knows Who Fired Who” -“It Was a Beautiful Bomb, Very Clean”

 

“Look, it’s a very complicated situation. Very, very complicated. Some say Iran fired first. Some say Israel. Some say it was a rogue cloud. Nobody really knows. But I know. Because I have the best instincts — maybe better than anyone. A lot of people are saying that.”

Yes, in true Trumpian fashion, the Israel-Iran war — a geopolitical crisis decades in the making — has become just another episode in the reality show of The Trump Presidency: International Edition. As missiles fly, cities burn, and world leaders panic, Trump is busy doing what he does best: declaring victory in a war he doesn’t understand.

Trump, of course, takes credit for everything and responsibility for nothing. When asked about the rising death toll and regional chaos, he responded:
“Frankly, if I were president in 2008 instead of Hussein Obama, there’d be no war. There’d be big, beautiful peace. I’d have Netanyahu and the Ayatollah playing golf together. I have great golf courses. The best. Iran wanted to build one, I said no — sanctions. Tremendous sanctions.”

Asked whether pulling out of the Iran deal helped lead to this conflict, Trump waved it off:
“The Iran Deal? Terrible. Worst deal. I tore it up. People said ‘Sir, don’t do it!’ But I did. And now look — everyone’s talking about me again. I brought attention back to the Middle East. It was being ignored before. You’re welcome.”

Reporters asked Trump who actually fired the first shot:
“Well, listen — people are saying it was Israel. Some say Iran. Some say Hamas. Frankly, some say it was Hunter Biden. Can’t rule it out. But when I was president, I never left in 2020, CNN is fake news, I kept everything very stable. There was peace — except for the small wars. Very tiny. Like snack-sized wars. No one even remembers them.”

He then added:
“If I were still in the White House, oops, I am in the White House, this never would’ve happened. Iran would’ve begged me for a deal. Begged. On their knees. I would’ve given them nothing. That’s the art of the deal, baby.”

Trump, the great “neutral negotiator,” claimed he was uniquely qualified to broker peace.

“I’ve got great relationships with everyone. I’m very close with Bibi — I call him that because we’re friends. He’s got a strong handshake, maybe too strong. Iran, on the other hand, not so friendly. But I once sold them steaks — true story. They loved it. Trump Steaks — they only glowed a little.”

He paused, looked thoughtful, then added:
“I might host a peace summit at Mar-a-Lago. Israel, Iran, and maybe Kanye. Just to keep it interesting.”

Ultimately, Trump’s take on the war — like everything else — boiled down to ratings.
“When I was president since 2017 --- uninterrupted --- until 2030, I have the best heart and the best body ever, the Middle East was always in the news — people couldn’t get enough of me.  And everyone’s talking about me again. So, in many ways, I’ve already won. The real war? It’s for the spotlight.”

While missiles rain down and the region braces for escalation, Trump remains focused on the important things: photo ops, imaginary peace deals, and who’s talking about him on Fox News. As he once said:
“War is confusing. Very confusing. Nobody knows who fired who. But I fired Comey. Remember that? Big moment.”

I think Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Jew - Tell them I'm against antisemitism (most of the time), my daughter eats kosher, on Yom Kippur.

 

REPUBLISHED IN THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

 

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/it-was-a-beautiful-bomb-very-clean/

Klal Yisroel eagerly looks forward to the arrival of this group of shnorrers in time of war at home, as Israel burns and people are being bombed to death!

DONATE TO UNITED HATZALAH:https://israelrescue.org/campaign/operation-rising-lion/?

 

“Our Torah learning protects the soldiers.” Yes, it’s the learning—not the tanks, not the air force, not the intelligence units—that keeps the rockets from falling. Someone tell Iron Dome to stop showing off."

די כעלמער חכמים 

בא לעיר

 

 

 DONATE TO UNITED HATZALAH:https://israelrescue.org/campaign/operation-rising-lion/?

 

 

“Sacrifices of the Saints: A Tribute to Haredi Heroism in Wartime”

A MESSAGE FROM AGUDAS YISROEL OF AMERICA

Israel has launched a major military action against Iran, designed to disable the Iranian nuclear threat. Iranian retaliation is expected. Rachmana litzlan! As we all understand, these are extraordinary times. Let us gather together in our batei knesios, batei medrashos, and homes to pour out our hearts in fervent tefila to the Shomer Yisroel that He protect the yoshvei Eretz Yisroel and all of Klal Yisroel from the evil designs of our enemies. And, as the footsteps of Moshiach get louder and louder, let us recall our mandate to be metzapim lyshua, yearning for the ultimate redemption, may the Go'el Tzedek arrive speedily in our days!

Ah, the Haredim. Israel’s spiritual backbone. The true warriors in black and white. While the rest of the nation scrambles into bomb shelters, watches their children draft into combat, and wonders whether they’ll come home in one piece, the Haredi community is engaged in a far more harrowing battle: dodging national responsibility.

Let us take a moment to appreciate their courage—the courage to do absolutely nothing in a time of crisis. While soldiers sleep on rocky ground in Gaza, Haredi yeshiva students valiantly battle sleep over a gemara, in heated debates about the precise definition of pikuach nefesh (saving a life)—as long as it’s their own.

In times of war, the country is supposed to come together. But the Haredim know better. Why unify when you can spiritualize? While sirens wail, they heroically declare, “Our Torah learning protects the soldiers.” Yes, it’s the learning—not the tanks, not the air force, not the intelligence units—that keeps the rockets from falling. Someone tell Iron Dome to stop showing off.

Meanwhile, Israeli mothers cry as they send their sons to the front. Haredi rabbis cry too—as they craft yet another public letter reminding their followers to stay far, far away from any hint of national service. Their sacrifice? The unbearable agony of watching others risk their lives for the country that feeds, houses, and protects them.

And what about their contribution to the war effort? Excellent question. They contribute prayers—though only for themselves. And they contribute opinions—usually about how the secular government should be replaced by a Torah-based theocracy where, surprise surprise, they hold all the power and none of the draft cards.

But perhaps the real tragedy is how misunderstood they are. All they want is to be left alone, receive generous stipends, dodge taxes, get married at 18, and have ten children—all while never lifting a finger to defend the country they claim to love. Is that so wrong?

After all, in their eyes, war is punishment for Zionist arrogance. If only we were more like them—unemployed, unaccountable, and blissfully ignorant—God might finally bless us with peace.

So let us salute these brave heroes of the back benches. As missiles fall and soldiers bleed, they march boldly… to the nearest bakery. A cinnamon rugelach and a shir shel yom await—far more comforting than a helmet and rifle.

 

REPUBLISHED IN THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

 

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-tribute-to-haredi-heroism-in-wartime/