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Jewish Journal

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January 21, 2019

Israel’s Election Handbook: Right Getting Closer to 60

Leave a Comment / Israel, News, Rosner's Domain /

We call this format a Timesaver Guide to Israel’s Coming Elections. This will be a usual feature on Rosner’s Domain until April 9. We hope to make it short, factual, devoid of election hype, and of he-said-she-said no news, unimportant inside baseball gossip.

Bottom Line

A relatively quiet election week. No splits, no mergers.

Main News

Northern front in the news: Israel bombing Iranian installations in Syria.

Netanyahu’s lawyers tried to convince the Attorney General not to publicize a decision on indictment before Election Day.

More details about the PM’s involvement in media manipulation was revealed.

Developments to Watch

Political: Benny Gantz launched a campaign that’s very much focused on him as a brave and combative soldier. Polls do not yet tell us if this campaign makes him more appealing to Israelis (see “focus on one party” at the bottom of this post).

Political: The Jewish Home is slated to decide on Thursday how to compose its next leader – by a committee of by party operatives.

Personal: Four MK’s (out of current 10) already left Kulanu. More to come.

Material: Security issues and the Syrian front creep into political campaigns. Netanyahu’s decision to take responsibility for Israeli attacks is criticized by opposition parties (the attacks themselves are supported by almost all parties).

What’s the Race About

Netanyahu’s legal troubles.

Possible Wild Cards:

Syria.

Dramatic damning information against Netanyahu.

Benny Gantz-Yair Lapid last-minute merger.

The Blocs and Their Meaning

We want to save you time. So here is all you need: the political blocs’ averages of the last year, and of the last week (last five polls). As usual, there are two options for counting the blocs, but the overall picture is clear. 1. There are few changes. 2. The left (Labor, Meretz, Arab parties) is slightly smaller. Right and center slightly gained. In fact, in the latest polls the right-religious bloc is getting close to a desired 61 bloc – a bloc that could give it the option of leaving all centrists outside the next government.

The blocs are:

Option 1:

  • Right: Likud, New Right, Jewish Home, Israel Beiteinu, UTJ, Shas
  • Left: Labor, Meretz, UAP, Taal
  • Center: Resilience, Yesh AtId, Hatnuah, Kulanu, Gesher

Option 2:

  • Right: Likud, New Right, Jewish Home, UTJ, Shas
  • Left: Labor, Meretz, UAP, Taal
  • Center: Resilience, Yesh AtId, Hatnuah, Kulanu, Gesher, Israel Beiteinu

Focus on One Party

How is General Gantz doing? Here is the graph of all polls in which he appeared as running with a separate party (that is to say: we did not include scenario polls of him running with Labor or Lapid). As you can see, his numbers slightly declined. His average of polls since new election were called on December 25 is more than 13 seats (13.2), but his average of the last five polls is almost a seat less (12.4). Does this mean he is losing steam? Not necessarily. Gantz just started his campaign, did not yet speak, did not yet reveal his list of candidates, did not yet merge with anyone.

Israel’s Election Handbook: Right Getting Closer to 60 Read More »

Women’s March Comes Out Against Anti-BDS Legislation in Platform

Leave a Comment / Online, United States /

The national Women’s March Inc. came out against anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) legislation in their platform.

Page 25 of the platform states, “One of the biggest threats to speech today are the attempts to silence social movements, including those advocating Palestinian rights.”

“Whether it’s the attempts to create federal or state laws banning political boycotts or criticism of Israel (including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions tactic), targeting environmental protest or preventing students and faculty on college campuses from expressing their views or engaging in peaceable assembly, the silencing of one side of the debate is precisely what our First Amendment protects against,” the platform states.

During the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Women’s March co-president Linda Sarsour said, “We will protect our constitutional right to Boycott, Divest and Sanctions in this country.”

StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein said in a statement that StandWithUs is “deeply disappointed” in the Women’s March Inc.’s opposition to the anti-BDS legislation.

“Anti-BDS legislation is about ensuring that states will not do business with companies that engage in discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin. Nothing more, nothing less,” Rothstein said. “It is hypocritical for BDS activists to claim the mantle of free speech, while they themselves frequently try to stop those they disagree with from speaking.”

Rothstein added, “It is telling that while this new document commits to opposing hatred against Jews, it makes no mention of anti-Semitism on the far left. Anyone who cares about supporting Jewish communities must acknowledge and fight this racism on both sides of the political spectrum.”

The Women’s March Inc. leaders have been plagued by accusations of anti-Semitism in a Tablet report and have been criticized for their associations with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Women’s March Inc. co-president Tamika Mallory recently said, “I don’t agree with Minister Farrakhan’s statements” when asked by Meghan McCain, a co-host of ABC’s “The View” on if she condemns Farrakhan. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) reportedly dropped its sponsorship to the Women’s March “over anti-Semitism concerns.”

Sarsour told CNN on the morning of the march, “We unequivocally have rejected the comments made by Minister Farrakhan on LGBTQ communities and on Jewish communities.”

Women’s March Comes Out Against Anti-BDS Legislation in Platform Read More »

What Did We Do In London? Part One The Rubens At The Palace

Leave a Comment / Blogs, Travel /

On my way to my first ILTM conference in Cannes, I decided to visit London. I was lucky that my friend, Julie, decided to join me.

Do you want flying to be fun again? My first stop was at The Private Suite at LAX. 
My bags were checked in for me, I went through security in their private area and I had my own suite to relax in. I ordered lunch, watched TV and even played outside.

There are drinks, sweets, and amenities galore. I highly recommend it if you want to feel like a V-VIP—a very very important person. There is a toy menu for kids of all ages so no matter your age you will be entertained. I loved traveling directly to the terminal by private car (2018 BMW 750). It is a truly luxurious experience.

The Private Suite was the perfect way to start my adventures in London!

VIDEO: Will You Love the Private Suite at LAX?

What did we do in London?

Thank you to The Rubens at the Palace for a fantastic stay. Our address was literally Buckingham Palace Road and we were steps from the Palace where the Queen was in residence. We saw the Palace at daytime and night time. We walked through Hyde Park and saw the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. We loved afternoon tea at Egerton House Hotel which is also part of Red Carnation Hotels. In the evening, we saw COMPANY at the Gielgud Theater. The show is a twist on the original with Bobbie as a female bachelor this time. I visited Harrods for the first time and loved all the holiday decorations in the store and around the town.

VIDEO: Do You Want To Explore London With Me?

We found a changing of the guard: 

“The Four ‘O’ Clock Parade, also known as the Dismounting Ceremony and Punishment Parade takes place at 16:00 hours in the courtyard in front of the Horse Guards building.(Facing Whitehall).

The guards are inspected by an Officer and then the mounted guards take the horses back to the stables for the night.

Two dismounted sentries will then guard the entrance until 20:00 when the gates to Horse Guards are closed and then one sentry will remain on duty until 07:00 when the gates re-open.

The 4 ‘o’ Clock Parade started in 1894 when Queen Victoria found the entire guard drinking and gambling while on duty.

As a punishment, she said they had to be inspected every day at 4pm by an officer for the next 100 years!

The 100 years finished in 1994. However, the reigning Queen wanted the parade to continue as a tradition.” 

VIDEO: Did You See The Punishment Inspection?

 

Lisa and Julie at The Rubens at the Palace
Lisa and Julie at The Rubens at the Palace
Lisa and Julie at High Tea at the Egerton House Hotel
Lisa and Julie at High Tea at the Egerton House Hotel
The Rubens at the Palace at night
The Rubens at the Palace at night

 

 

What Did We Do In London? Part One The Rubens At The Palace Read More »

A Moment in Time: The Ten Commandments of Etiquette

Leave a Comment / Blogs /

Dear all,

Sometimes the key to living a mindful life focuses on what I like to call “The Ten Commandments of Etiquette.” These commandments help us to live with civility and decency. Simply put, they prevent us from becoming a nuisance!

  1. Make sure your phone is on silent when you go to a show/ meeting/ conference.
  2. If someone calls you while in that show/ meeting/ conference do not answer it. Do not get up answer it while you are walking out. Either answer only after you have left the room, or just call them back later.
  3. If you are waiting for an elevator, stand to the side and allow people to exit before you get on.
  4. Use your blinkers when turning.
  5. If you arrive late to a small gathering, come in attuned to what is going on. Don’t distract the flow!
  6. Remember: Once you write something on a public internet forum, it is there FOREVER.
  7. RSVP. Early.
  8. Admit when you are wrong.
  9. Never ask: “Do you remember my name?” It just makes everyone feel bad if they don’t.
  10. Face the world with a broad smile.

Perhaps you have commandments 11-15. I would like to learn from you! Just remember, all it takes is a moment in time to turn on your radar and face the world with mindful purpose.

With love and Shalom,
Rabbi Zach Shapiro

A Moment in Time: The Ten Commandments of Etiquette Read More »

‘Mrs. Maisel’ Scores Again at PGA Awards

Leave a Comment / Entertainment /

The Producers Guild of America added two trophies to “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s” growing award collection on Saturday in Beverly Hills. The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series won the Danny Thomas Award for outstanding producer of episodic television for the second year in a row, and producer Amy Sherman-Palladino nabbed the Norman Lear Achievement Award.

“Dinner and a prize—a Jewish girl’s favorite Saturday night,” Sherman-Palladino exclaimed after accepting her award from Lauren Graham, her “Gilmore Girls” lead actress. Paying tribute to the award’s namesake, she said she hopes “that I took away from Mr. Lear the ability to take care of my troupe, make the women feel empowered, and not make the men feel like schmucks, to make sure that whatever we do, we do it in great love.”

Production on the third season of “Mrs. Maisel” begins in New York in mid-March.

‘Mrs. Maisel’ Scores Again at PGA Awards Read More »

I Have a Dream

Leave a Comment / Columnists /

I have a dream that one day soon we will live in a nation where all people “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

I have a dream that those touting “identity politics” and victimhood will soon understand that both are the exact opposite of everything Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for.

I have a dream that if a teacher forces my son to do a “privilege walk” because his olive skin is two tones lighter than another student, that he will have the courage to cite MLK and say “No.”

I have a dream that the “character” MLK referred to will begin to trend again, that uncivil discourse, hate, lies, and demonization will be seen as undermining good character, that the dignity and moral courage MLK stood for will prevail.

I have a dream that it will be understood once again that taking responsibility for one’s actions is a substantial part of the ‘character’ MLK stood for.

I have a dream that blacks and Jews will rekindle their long-standing bond as two communities forced out of our homelands and into diasporas of persecution, and that people like Linda Sarsour will stop trying to break that bond for the sake of their own agendas.

I have a dream that black leaders will courageously step forward to discuss the Jewish activists who helped to create the civil rights movement and have died fighting for the rights of all people to be treated equally.

I have a dream that black leaders will courageously step forward to renew MLK’s fierce Zionism and love for the state of Israel.

I have a dream that Jewish leaders will courageously step forward to state unequivocally that Jews are not and have never been “white”—that all Jews are Jews of color—and as such our responsibility to erase racism both in our own community and in society at large is even more acute.

I have a dream that blacks and Jews will again work together to stop others from defining who we are, where we came from, and what defines racism against us.

I have a dream that my son will continue to judge people by the content of their characters, not by the color of their skin.

I have a dream that my son will be able to teach his friends who have had the misfortune of being taught to hate that bigotry of any form goes against every moral precept of a just society.

I have a dream that we can again begin to nurture future leaders to be in the stature of MLK: morally unflinching, courageous, decent, honorable, kind.

I have a dream that blacks and Jews will stand together again to fight for every liberal principle that MLK stood for—truth, justice, freedom, equality, and peace.

I have a dream.

Karen Lehrman Bloch is an author and cultural critic living in New York City.

I Have a Dream Read More »