A small group of Palestinian Authority organizers converged on the Representative Office of Germany in Ramallah last week to protest against the German Bundestag’s recent condemnation of the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement as anti-Semitic.

According to a press release from Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry, the protest “was led by members of the BDS National Committee [an umbrella group of 28 BDS organizations] based in Ramallah, including the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces (PNIF), which includes members of the internationally recognized terrorist groups Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Islamic Jihad.”

PNIF member Salah Khawaja, who has spent time in an Israeli prison, said, “We consider this to be the start of protests, in all their forms, including diplomatic and political protest against German institutions around the world.”

On May 17, German lawmakers approved a resolution condemning BDS, the first such resolution in Europe. Though non-binding, the resolution stated that “the pattern of argument and methods of the BDS movement are anti-Semitic.”

“The campaign’s calls to boycott Israeli artists, along with stickers on Israeli goods that are meant to dissuade people from buying them, are also reminiscent of the most terrible phase of German history,” the resolution stated.

Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan published a report in February titled “Terrorists in Suits,” revealing the links between BDS organizations and known terrorists.

Erdan took to Twitter to praise the Bundestag for its decision.

“An historic day in the fight against the anti-Semitic #BDS campaign! Germany’s @Bundestag just passed a resolution condemning BDS & anti-Israel delegitimization, and calling on government offices not to support or fund BDS. The true face of BDS is being exposed!”

(JNS)

{Matzav.com}

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman on Monday stressed the country’s responsibility to ensure security for all Jews wearing yarmulkes anywhere in the country without having to fear an anti-Semitic attack.

“It’s the job of the state to ensure that anybody can move around securely with a skullcap in any place of our country,” Steffen Seibert said.

The comments came after the government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, said he wouldn’t advise Jews to wear the traditional Jewish head-covering in parts of the country.

Read more at Times of Israel.

{Matzav.com}

Former Israeli Knesset member Basel Ghattas, who was arrested in 2016 for smuggling cellular phones to convicted terrorist Walid Daka in Israel’s Ktzi’ot Prison and transferring encrypted messages between terrorist convicts, was released from jail on Monday after serving his two-year sentence.

Daka was convicted by a military tribunal of membership in the terrorist group that kidnapped and executed Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam in 1986.

Ghattas was convicted in March 2017 on several counts, including breach of trust and providing the means to carry out terrorist acts, and received a two-year sentence from the Beersheva Magistrate Court in April 2017 as part of a plea bargain.

Ghattas entered Gilboa Prison in July 2017, telling a throng of journalists that he was “entering prison with my head held high.”

“I will continue to protect the rights of prisoners and bring their cases to the public agenda,” he said.

Ghattas justified the smuggling of cell phones to prisoners as “humanitarian,” though didn’t elaborate on how the illegal phones would serve such purposes.

He was also fined NIS 120,000 and given 18 months of probation.

According to reports, a party will be held for Ghattas, who is a Christian, in a Greek Orthodox church in Ramallah.

(JNS)

{Matzav.com}

The Minister of Interior Aryeh Deri instructed the Population and Immigration Authority Director-General, Prof. Shlomo Mor Yosef, to allow residents whose homes were burned down in the recent wave of fires to receive new documents for free.

“Anyone whose house was burned and documents of the Interior Ministry were also burned, will have to report it and the documents will be issued free of charge for him,” Dewri said.

Between Thursday and Shabos, firefighting teams extinguished 1,023 fires, caused by electrical issues, Lag Ba’omer bonfires – and arson.

The fires destroyed at least fifty homes, as well as nearly 2,000 acres of forest. The fire in Mevo Modi’im, the community hit hardest by the flames, is believed to have been caused by arson.

{Matzav.com Israel News}

President Donald Trump said on Monday a deal with Iran on its nuclear program was possible, crediting economic sanctions for curbing activities Washington has said are behind a spate of attacks in the Middle East.

“I really believe that Iran would like to make a deal, and I think that’s very smart of them, and I think that’s a possibility to happen,” Trump said during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.

“It has a chance to be a great country with the same leadership,” Trump said. “We aren’t looking for regime change — I just want to make that clear. We are looking for no nuclear weapons.”

Tensions have risen between Iran and the United States after this month’s attack on oil tankers in the Gulf region.

Washington, a firm backer of Tehran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia, has blamed the attacks on Iran, which denies the accusations.

The United States has deployed a carrier strike group and bombers to the Mideast region and an extra 1,500 troops to the Gulf, prompting fears of a conflict.

Trump’s comments came after his National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Saturday that the United States had “deep and serious” intelligence on threats posed by Iran, without providing details.

Trump, on a four-day visit to Japan, welcomed Abe’s help in dealing with Iran after broadcaster NHK said Japan’s leader is considering a trip to Tehran as early as mid-June. Iran said a visit was unlikely in the near future.

“I know for a fact that the prime minister is very close with the leadership of Iran, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

During his joint news conference with Trump, Abe said Japan would do what it can on the Iran issue.

“Peace and stability of the Middle East is very important for Japan and the United States and the international community as a whole,” Abe said.

Trump last year withdrew the United States from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran, and is ratcheting up sanctions in an effort to end Iran‘s international sales of crude oil and strangle its economy.

Japan was a major buyer of Iranian oil for decades before the US sanctions — which Trump said were taking effect.

“They were fighting in many locations,” he said of Iran. “Now they are pulling back because they have serious economic problems.”

Bolton, who has spearheaded an increasingly hawkish US policy on Iran, described recent bomb attacks on tankers off the United Arab Emirates and a pipeline pumping station in Saudi Arabia, as well as a rocket attack in Baghdad’s Green Zone as “manifestations of concern” about Iran.

Iran has distanced itself from the bombings and on Sunday, its foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said his country will defend itself against any military or economic aggression.

Reuters and Algemeiner Staff

{Matzav.com}

President Trump’s tweets have less of an impact now than they did two years ago, AXIOS reports.

The president’s “interaction rate” has been on the decline since taking office. The interaction rate is a metric that is used to measure engagement among Twitter users and considers retweets and likes divided by the amount of Twitter followers to determine the overall impact of a given post.

In November 2017, Trump’s interaction rate sat at 0.55%, later dropping to 0.32% in June 2017. As of this month, that it has declined to a 0.16% interaction rate.

During that same period of time, Trump’s followers on Twitter skyrocketed from 16.4 million in November 2016 to more than 60 million, which might be one of the causes of the lower interaction rate.

Read more at Washington Examiner.

{Matzav.com}

A Jewish Amazon Prime member interrupted the company’s annual shareholders meeting last week and asked CEO Jeff Bezos to help her return a Haggadah to the online retail giant.

Bezos was conducted a Q&A session at the meeting in Seattle on Wednesday when Evie Schwerin asked, “Could you please return this for me?” proffering a Haggadah.

Schwerin had apparently ordered the Haggadah from Amazon and then realized that she already had a copy. According to tech news website GeekWire, she attempted to return the book four times, but was unsuccessful due to an incorrect email address, among other problems.

Bezos asked her to stay until the end of the meeting and said, “We’ll get that return taken care of.”

“My apologies that you had to use this unusual venue to accomplish what should be a much simpler task,” he added. “We’ll also look into the root cause of why that happened. Anybody else have anything they need to return?”

The Algemeiner   (c) 2019 .      

{Matzav.com}

Rav Moshe of Premishel, author of Mateh Moshe (1606)

Rav Chaim Menachem Heschel of Zhinkov (1837-1893). Succeeded his father, Rav Meshulam Zusya, and expanded the Chassidus throughout Russia, Ukraine, and Serbia. Some of his divrei Torah are found in the sefer Shemuos Tovos.
-Rav Yosef Friedman of Rimanov (1913)
-Rav Eliyahu Akiva Rabinowitz of Poltava (1861-1917). Born in Silale, Lithuania, he succeeded his father in 1888 as Rav of Pyantiza. In 1893 he was appointed Rav of Poltava, where he remained until his death. He became famous as a result of his attitude toward Zionism and the resulting controversy. Influenced by Rav Samuel Mohilewer, he attended the first Russian Zionist Conference in Warsaw in 1898 and was a delegate to the Second Zionist Congress in Basle in the same year. Uneasy about associating himself with Zionism, he urged that it confine itself to political and economic activity, and that if it did deal with religious matters it should at least be under rabbinic supervision. When his proposal was rejected, he launched a vehement attack against the Zionist Movement. Thereafter he became one of the leading opponents of Zionism. From 1901 to 1905 he edited Ha-Peles and from 1910 to 1914 Ha-Modi’a which were the main vehicles for his polemics. In 1912 Rav Rabinowitz participated in the founding conference of the Agudath Israel in Kattowice. Among his literary works were Hesed li-Meshiho, a commentary on the Book of Ruth.
-Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heshel Weinberg, the Slonimer Rebbe of Tel Aviv, (1898-1978.) Born to Rav Yissachar Leib of Slonim, Reb Avraham was raided in the court of his grandfather, the Divrei Shmuel. After his marriage, he settled in Warswa, but upon his father’s petira on 28 Nissan 1928, he was asked to return to Slonim and succeed him. However, he did not agree to become Rebbe until the petira of his father’s brother, Rav Avraham, who was Rebbe in Bialystock (and later Baranovich) on Rosh Chodesh Iyar 1933. Two years later, he moved to Tel Aviv and opened a Beis Midrash for Slonimer Chassidim there.He wrote an encyclopedic work, seven volumes of which have thusfar been published as Otzar Arachei HaTorah B’Ohalei Yissachar. (25 Nissan according to some)
-Rav Chaim Yitzchak Chaikin, rosh yeshiva of Aixs-les-Bains (1995). He worked closely with Rav Gershon Cahen (1923-2001), director of the Chachmei Tsorfat institutions in Aix-les-Bains. One of his talmidim, Rav Monsonego, left for Morocco to lead the talmud Torah in Casablanca for 1500 students in 1952. Another talmid, HaRav Yaakov Kohn, started a kolle in France under the instruction of the Steipler Gaon.

Today in History – 23 Iyar
· A fast-day was observed by the Jewish community of Cologne in commemoration of anti-Jewish violence during the Second Crusade, 1147.
· Portuguese Marranos who had reverted back to Judaism were burned to death in Ancona, Italy, 1556.
· A devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by destructive fires; estimates of the final death toll were more than 3600, 1906.
· Jews were killed by Arabs in Jaffa, 1921.
· Haganah captured the strategic village of Katamon near Yerushalayim, 1948.

{Yahrtzeits licensed to Matzav.com Newscenter by Manny Saltiel and Anshe.org}

-Communicated-

Bedford Center is known for its high end elder care encompassing all arenas. Celebrating yomim tovim in an uplifting manner is high on Bedford Center’s priority list.  Lag B’Omer was no different, as Bedford Center made every effort to provide its residents with a memorable and enriching experience.

Wednesday afternoon found residents seated in the beis medrash and family room watching the Boyaner Rebbe lead his yearly Lag B’Omer celebration in Miron.  The feedback was overwhelming as residents reminisced of Lag Baomers in the past years. The next afternoon, residents once again joined to enjoy a live hookup of the Toldos  Lag B’Omer in Bedford Center

Bedford Center is renowned for its high end elder care not only in the medical arena.  Celebrating yomim tovim in an uplifting, inspiring environment is high up on Bedford Center’s priority list.  No different was Lag B’Omer when Bedford Center went all out to provide its residents with a memorable and enriching experience.

Wednesday afternoon found the men and women respectively seated in the beis medrash and family room, watching the Bayaner Rebbe in Miron lead his congregation in celebration of Lag B’Omer, with rapt enthusiasm.  The next afternoon, the residents once again congregated to enjoy a live hookup of the Toldos Ahaaron hadlaka in Miron.

After mincha, Bedford Center hosted its own hadlakah.  The celebration opened with beautiful, singing led by R’ Shlome Roth accompanied by Chavraya choir.  Amongst those present were the illustrious Zidichoiver Rebbe and R’ Noach Sander, both daily magidei shiur of Bedford Center’s shul.

As the program progressed, Bedford Center had the honor to be inspired by R’ Leibish Rokach, the rav of the shul.  He lit the bonfire and led the crowd in singing traditional niggunim.

The heartwarming evening was concluded with a gourmet seudah in honor of R’ Shimon.  The inspiring words of the Rav and R’ Yona Landau left the residents with inspiration and memories of Lag Baomer in Bedford Center.

By Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss

One of the major goals of life is to achieve many victories against the Yeitzer Hara, the Evil Inclination.  The thinking Jew knows that one of his or her greatest ambitions is to successfully incite the Yeitzer Tov, the good inclination against the Yeitzer Hara and to come out ahead.  The first step, of course, is to be aware of the battle in the first place. If we live our life on cruise control, without being cognizant of this battle royale, then we are clueless about our mission on earth.

The Gemora tells us in Masechtas Berachos [3a], “L’olam yargiz adam yetzer tov al yeitzer hara – A person should always excite and engage the good inclination against their evil inclination.”  When the Gemora says l’olam, always, it means that it’s a constant battle.  Indeed the Gemora teaches us, “Yitzro shel adam misgaber alav b’kol yom – A person’s evil inclination prevails upon him every day.”  It’s a perennial battle that demands constant attention.  If we think that we have no spiritual challenges, then we can be assured that we’ve just missed the boat.  If we are not engaged in the struggle, then sadly it means we’ve already lost.  If, on the other hand, we are well aware of our daily tests, then we know how difficult these trials can be.

We succumb too often to temptations such as screaming at home, talking in shul, gossiping about our neighbor, and looking at things we shouldn’t.  The great Jewish philosopher, the Chovos HaLevovos, one of the major pillars of the Mussar movement, asks a seminal question.  “Why is it that we so often find our evil inclination seems to be so much stronger than our good inclination.”  Thus, why is it so hard to get out of bed in the morning?  Why is it so hard to pay correct attention in our prayers?  Why do we so easily fall prey to the temptation to be insensitive to our neighbor or colleague?  He give the following fundamental explanation.  The yeitzer tov is fueled by mitzvos and good deeds.  Sadly, too often, this fuel is flawed and deficient.  Our prayers are said without meaning, our good deeds are riddled with ulterior motives and pride colors many of our good practices.  On the other hand, the yeitzer hara is powered by materialistic fuels, like food, which we do to perfection.  As Memorial Day was upon us, many of us broke out our BBQ grills.  We didn’t just prepare our steak medium; it had to be medium-rare.  Our ribs needed to be accompanied by one of twelve different BBQ flavors. With such precision of materialism, the yeitzer hara is better fueled than the yeitzer tov and that’s why it gets the upper hand.

With this crucial knowledge, we can attempt to change the balance to our favor.  We can try to do more wholesome good deeds, such as doing kindness when people aren’t watching and people won’t know that we are the benefactor.  We can put on tefillin, not just like a blood pressure cup, but with a commitment to use our heads and hearts in the right way.  We can learn Torah to fulfill the commandment of v’dibarta bam, and not just as an excuse to get out of the house or spend time with the boys.

So too, when we engage in the materialistic, instead of making it all about the yeitzer hara, let’s make sure than when we eat the cholent and the kugel that it is in celebration of our belief that Hashem created the world.  When we have our morning coffee or latte, let’s enjoy it having in mind that we’ll daven better, or that we’ll be fairer with our spouse and more patient with our kids.  In that way, from both ends, we’ll be powering our yeitzer tov more and fueling our yeitzer hara less.  The end result will be that we will succeed more often in the most important battles of our life and in that merit may Hashem bless us with long life, good health, and everything wonderful.

Start the cycle of anytime Mishna Yomis with Rabbi Weiss by dialing 718.906.6471.  Listen to Rabbi Weiss’s daily Shiur on Orchos Chaim l’HaRosh by dialing 718.906.6400, then going to selection 4 for Mussar, and then to selection 4.   Both are FREE services.

Rabbi Weiss is currently stepping up his speaking engagements.  To bring him to your community, call 718.916.3100 or email RMMWSI@aol.com.

Rabbi Weiss’s Rebbetzin, Shoshy Weiss, LCSW-R is moving her therapy practice from Monroe and Monsey to Boro Park and Staten Island.  She will be in Boro Park on Mondays and Staten Island on Tuesdays.  She caters to women and girls only and specializes in the treatment of anxiety, low self-esteem issues, depression, trauma, and relationship enhancement.  She is a specialist in E.M.D.R. and I.F.S (Internal Family Systems) and D.B.T. (Dialectical Behavior Therapy).  She has been practicing for over two decades.  To get a slot, call or text 845.270.3699.

Sheldon Zeitlin takes dictation of, and edits, Rabbi Weiss’s articles.

To receive a weekly cassette tape or CD directly from Rabbi Weiss, please send a check to Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss, P.O. Box 140726, Staten Island, NY 10314 or contact him at RMMWSI@aol.com.

Joe Biden’s campaign on Tuesday issued a sharp response to President Trump’s criticism of the former vice president while on a state visit to Japan, calling the president’s attacks on his potential 2020 rival “beneath the dignity of the office.”

“To be on foreign soil, on Memorial Day, and to side repeatedly with a murderous dictator against a fellow American and former Vice President speaks for itself,” deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement. “And it’s part of a pattern of embracing autocrats at the expense of our institutions – whether taking Putin’s word at face value in Helsinki or exchanging ‘love letters’ with Kim Jong Un.”

While in Japan, Trump repeatedly criticized Biden on Twitter and during a press conference alongside Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The president said multiple times that he agreed with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s assessment that Biden was a “low IQ” individual.

The Trump campaign countered Biden’s statement by attacking his foreign policy record.

“That’s rich coming from Joe Biden, who bashed President Trump while standing on foreign soil earlier this year in Germany,” Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.

Read more at The Hill.

{Matzav.com}

As the Torah world readies itself for the 13th siyum hashas this upcoming January, a group of women are planing their own event to celebrate the end of the seven year cycle that covers the entire Shas, one Daf at a time.

The women’s event is scheduled for Sunday, January 5, 2020 at Binyanei Ha’uma in Yerushalayim. The event is being hosted by Daf Yomi 4 Women, an organization that offers daily Gemara shiurim for women.

For those who haven’t followed the full cycle, there will be a full completion of Shas at the event. Each participant will receive a page they will study, and together they will all jointly finish Shas term.

{Matzav.com}

MacKenzie Bezos, the ex-wife of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, has promised to give half her fortune to charity.

She joins billionaires such as investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates in the Giving Pledge. The pledge was started by Buffett and Gates and calls for the richest to give away half or more of their wealth.

Bezos is estimated to be worth almost $37 billion after she got half of her husband’s fortune in a divorce settlement earlier this year.

Read more at BBC.

{Matzav.com}

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday he intends to run for a fourth term in 2022.

Should he be reelected, Cuomo would be only the second governor in New York history to win a fourth, four-year term. His father, the late Gov. Mario Cuomo, served three terms and lost his bid for a fourth. New York has no gubernatorial term limits.

“I believe this state is doing great things at a time when a nation is floundering. I believe that. I believe we have the opportunity to set a standard for progressivity and normalcy. I know this job. I work seven days a week at it, and I think we have accomplishments,” he said.

Read more at The Hill.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President Pence on Tuesday applauded the Supreme Court for upholding an Indiana law on the disposal of fetal remains that he signed in 2014 and said he’s “hopeful” the court will in the future rule in favor of abortion restrictions.

Pence tweeted he was “proud” to have signed the law requiring that fetal remains be buried or cremated after abortions, calling the ruling that upheld the law “a victory for life.”

“Today, Justice Thomas wrote: SCOTUS has been zealous in the past in barring discrimination based on sex, race, & disability,” Pence tweeted. “Hopeful someday soon SCOTUS will recognize the same protections for the unborn when they rule on future appeals of pro-life legislation.”

Read more at The Hill.

{Matzav.com}

German Chancellor Angela Merkel lamented the rise of antisemitism in Germany in a CNN interview to be broadcast on Tuesday.

Germany, she said, had “always had a certain number of anti-Semites among us, unfortunately.”

Admitting to the severity of the situation, Merkel pointed out, “There is to this day not a single synagogue, not a single daycare center for Jewish children, not a single school for Jewish children that does not need to be guarded by German policemen.”

Merkel spoke of dark forces on the rise in Europe, saying, “In Germany, obviously, they always have to be seen in a certain context, in the context of our past, which means we have to be that much more vigilant than others.”

“We have to tell our young people what history has brought over us and others,” she said.

Addressing the rise of populist forces in Europe, Merkel asserted that it needed to be made clear “why we are for democracy, why we try to bring about solutions, why we always have to put ourselves into the other person’s shoes, why we stand-up against intolerance, why we show no tolerance towards violations of human rights.”

Last weekend, Felix Klein, Germany’s top official on fighting antisemitism, suggested that Jews should limit the wearing of kippahs in public.

The Algemeiner   (c) 2019 .         Benjamin Kerstein

{Matzav.com}

President Trump embraces Kim Jong Un’s insult of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden during a news conference in Japan; reaction from Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz.

WATCH: