Our current situation is looking bad in several different aspects. But before I look at our present concerns, I note that yesterday and today mark Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass”. Occurring 88 years ago in Germany and Austria, it was a significant escalation toward the loathsome terror and wholesale butchery of the Holocaust. Some 1,400 synagogues were either damaged or burned down. Windows on 7,500 Jewish businesses and stores were smashed (thus the “broken glass”).
With this, the Nazis sought to destroy not only the property of Jews, but the Jewish spirit.
Yad Vashem
Ah, but today we are a formidable people, certainly not broken in spirit. And we are blessed with the State of Israel and the IDF – collectively a game-changer if ever there was one.
And so, we must take a deep breath, remember our past, and then face our current difficulties. It is likely that we are in for some daunting and difficult days. But, calling upon our inner strength and holding fast to our resolve, we will move past them.
It has become a practice in recent years for synagogues in many places around the world to keep all of their lights on through the night of October 9th to mark Kristallnacht and demonstrate that the Jewish lights burn strong. Below we see Ohel Nechama Synagogue in Jerusalem.
Rav Yosef Ote wrote: “A continual fire shall burn on the altar; it shall not be extinguished.”
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Please be certain to read this post to the end: I share important and deeply moving words from Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s Ambassador to the US.
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I will discuss the on-going process of forming a new government only briefly here, for everything remains in flux – even factors that some already take for granted. I am mindful that what I write here may no longer be true by the time you read this. We are dealing with confusion, rumors and mixed messages.
President Herzog has tapped Gadi Eisenkot to form a coalition, and Eisenkot is behaving as if it’s a given that he will be able to do so. But that is not necessarily the case.
Arnon Bossani
It is ironic that Likud has more mandates than Eisenkot’s Yashar party (27/21), and Netanyahu’s bloc has more mandates than Eisenkot’s bloc (53/48), and yet Herzog chose Eisenkot. That is because with the Arab parties factored in, more parties chose Eisenkot.
But Eisenkot cannot form a government by bringing in those Arab parties, for then it is very likely that Lieberman (Yisrael Beitenu) would pull out, as he will not sit with the Arabs. Eisenkot, then, would be dependent upon support from the two ultra-Orthodox parties, UTJ and Shas – part of the Likud bloc.
At the moment it is only UTJ that is indicating a possible willingness to move over to Eisenkot. However, I have seen the list of very stringent demands UTJ is making – and it seems dubious that both Lieberman and Bennet (B’Yachad) would go along. But you cannot tell: if what is at stake is the chance to put together a governing coalition, significant compromises are often made. That, clearly, is what UTJ is counting on. Already, Lieberman, who insisted that he would never sit with the Hareidi parties, is indicating a willingness to compromise on this. But the points that Lieberman might be willing to compromise on do not necessarily correspond to the minimum UTJ might demand.
(You might conclude that if Lieberman is willing to compromise with the ultra-Orthodox, he might accept the Arabs as well. But I believe that he would not move on this issue. As we say: yesh g’vul – there is a limit.)
At the same time, what will happen with Shas – whose support Eisenkot would need – is unclear. Aryeh Deri, who had indicated intention of staying with Netanyahu, has just announced that he is giving up his seat in the Knesset but will remain chair of the party.
Ma’ariv - TMI
Netanyahu has also shifted his position: Prior to the election, when confident that he would succeed, he had been opposed to a unity government. Now he has proposed this as something important for the country. His expressed fear is that Eisenkot might factor in the Arab parties, which would be harmful to the country.
The new Knesset is being sworn in today, with 47 new members.
Eisenkot’s bloc is seeking to replace Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana with (Heaven help us) Yair Lapid but lacks the 61-vote majority needed to do so. Eisenkot called upon UTJ to vote with them . At this point UTJ has declined to participate, saying this vote should only be taken after there is a government in place. Otherwise legislation might be passed that would not comport well with the policies of the new government.
This is a victory for the Likud bloc, for Eisenkot had been planning to push through a number of legislative items would have been detrimental to the right wing. There are several ways in which Ohana (pictured), still functioning as speaker, can slow down the process.
Globes
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What I want to look at here is a goal of the Arab parties that is not frequently discussed but is of major significance.
Arabs who are Israeli citizens have the same rights as Jewish citizens in most regards. They have the same protections under the law, the same right to approach courts, the same opportunities to enter institutions of higher learning, the same eligibility for treatment in Israel’s hospitals, the same governmental benefits such as pensions, disability assistance and health care. They have a legal right to vote, and to sit in the Knesset if elected.
All of these rights accrue to an Arab as an individual – if he or she is a citizen, by right of that citizenship,.
But there is a legal difference with regard to peoplehood, as well there should be:
According to Basic Law (which serves as Israel’s constitution), Israel is the Nation-State of the Jewish People. The law defines the name of the state; the national flag; the anthem (Hatikvah); the symbol (the seven-branched menorah); the capital (Jerusalem, complete and united); the national language (Hebrew, with Arabic noted as a “special language”); the calendar; setting of Shabbat and Jewish holidays as days of rest; the setting of Independence Day and days of Memorial.
This law recognizes the State of Israel as the historical homeland of the Jewish People; it is where the Jewish People realizes its “natural, cultural, religious and historical right to self-determination.”
“The realization of the right to national self-determination in the State of Israel is exclusive to the Jewish People.”
According to this law, the State will be open to Jewish immigration and the ingathering of exiles. As an expression of this we see the Right of Return, which permits any Jew to come to Israel and receive citizenship, and allows Israeli citizens to bring relatives into the State.
https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/activity/documents/BasicLawsPDF/BasicLawNationState.pdf
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If you pay close attention to the demands of Arab leaders in Israel you may note at times a protest of inequality because they do not have the right of collective national self-determination. They claim this is an inequity that must be corrected. They would see Israel defined as the Nation-State of the Jewish People and the Arab People.
I doubt that it is necessary for me to spell out how disastrous this would be! All other matters aside, it is not difficult to imagine what would happen if all Arabs (including all of the Jihadists) had a right to enter Israel and acquire citizenship, and those who are already citizens were able to bring their relatives (many of whom we currently keep out because of concern about terrorist connections). They would swallow us up, imposing their identity upon the Jewish state and ultimately seeking to drive us out.
This is a plan for destroying Israel without firing a shot.
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Lastly here, I want to refer to the very deeply disturbing state of affairs in America with the mid-term elections. We are now looking at a left-wing Democratic Congress, both Houses, come January.
Shortly after that election, I was sent a video clip of Matt Walsh (pictured), who said that “I would certainly rather have a nuclear armed Iran than Communists running my country.” The Communists, he said, are certain to destroy the country, while he seems to think the harm a nuclear Iran might do to the US would be minimal to non-existent.
I am not a follower of Walsh, but I did have the impression that he was right-wing, and to hear someone who is ostensibly on the right advance such an isolationist position shocked me deeply. It’s as if everything outside of American’s borders is totally irrelevant and can be ignored. All that matters is what is going on inside.
Especially today, this is a terribly narrow position. It showed me that Walsh, along with others who think as he does, is ignorant of the dangers of the Iranian regime. He doesn’t get it – does not understand their ideology. If they acquired a nuclear weapon, they very well might use it, setting the world on fire. As it is, the Iranians are developing a ballistic missile that can make it to the US, and the Iranian proxy Hezbollah already has sleeper cells in the US. Could it be that Walsh is not aware of all this?
As to Communists taking over Congress. Hyperbole. The situation is terrible, no question. But a Congress filled with Communists? Democratic Socialists and progressives, yes. A horror in the form of Abdul El-Sayed, anti-Zionist, anti-Semite, who is now a senator-elect, indeed.
But there are also moderates who have been elected to the new Congress.
Most disturbing, perhaps, is Walsh’s charge that Trump lost the battle because he failed to Make America Great Again. It’s a question of what defines America’s greatness, isn’t it? Would America have more successfully achieved “greatness” if its butter and gas had not increased in price? Is that what matters? How about greatness defined by a willingness to sacrifice in the knowledge that the country is involved in a battle against evil? Has anyone with a broad following coherently explained to the American electorate precisely what risks the radical Jihadist Iran poses?
Trump agreed that the war in Iran brought up prices and that caused a loss in the election. But, he said, in spite of that, “We had to do it…If we had to do it again, I would do it again. Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7hQt6r-IS0
That, my friends, approaches greatness. The man makes me crazy time and again, but how I appreciated his statement.
For we also have Vice President Vance who is down on Israel because of the war. It’s the Jews’ fault, once again. The Jews of Israel pulled Trump into the war, causing all of America’s problems. It is terrifying to hear a man who may run for the presidency in two years lay it on us.
See: https://honestreporting.com/jd-vance-and-the-israel-blame-game/
Discussions have already begun here in Israel with regard how policy must change to accommodate what is happening.
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I qualified above, saying that Trump approached greatness. That is because he didn’t see the war through. He bowed to the protests being voiced in the US, in the hope that this would secure a Republican victory in the midterms. But that did not work.
Pesach Wolicki says Vance has it exactly backwards: “The Iran war did not fail because Israel pushed for it. It failed when Washington abandoned its objectives and gave Tehran time to survive.”
See the way in which he tracks the process gone awry; it is important that this be understood:
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-914184
Wikipedia
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There will be a great deal more to follow in my next postings, my friends.
We finish today with words of great wisdom from Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s Ambassador to the US. Yechiel lost his oldest son, Maj. Moshe Leiter, in battle in Gaza in 2023. A second son, Neria, was gravely injured in a car-ramming attack last September and is fighting for his life.
Just days ago, Yechiel spoke at a conference for over 5,000 Chabad emissaries. His words at the conference should be heard by every Jew:
Start at hour 2.5 and continue to the end of his powerful talk.
Yechiel says:
Know who you are. Know who your friends are. Know who your enemies are.
And when the burden of fighting for our people feels heavy, ADD MORE.
Avi Ohayon
Share this. These words should reach every Jew who cares about fighting anti-Semitism and about protecting the future of Israel.
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Please, do not stop praying!!
© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
