Compare and contrast

 Compare these bleachers in America to those of Karlin Stolin in Givat Ze'ev

See the cross beam supports? There are many of them. And the whole thing is permanent, bolted into a concrete slab. Compare to this:

The latter are the Karlin-Stolin bleachers that took the life of this sweet boy Meir Gloibermen z'l. 

and this young father:

Mordechai Binyamin Rubinstein, z’l, 23

The KS bleachers are temporary.  And unlike in America, where there is much more personal space between people, the KS bleachers get packed with people who are rocking up and down. Where are the cross beams? Is that what the wood and zip ties are supposed to accomplish?

Rav Avigdor Miller on Crossing at a Red Light

Q:

Should a person wait and not to cross at a red light when there is no traffic?

A:

No, he shouldn’t wait. Only that he has to check to make absolutely sure that there is no traffic. It’s common sense.

However, I must tell you that the matter of crossing the street when there is traffic is not a simple matter. Because people all think that nothing could ever happen to them. People are careless with their lives because they think that nothing could happen to them. It only happens to other people. You know, that this is an instinct in human beings. Just as they lived until now, and just like they’re alive right now, so they think it’s going to continue. And then suddenly it happens.

You have to make it a policy of yours to learn from experience. So whenever we hear of an accident, we should never let that opportunity go by. We should know that it’s מן השמים that the news came to us, in order to warn us. Whatever happens to anybody should not be repeated by us. It says in the פסוק the following: ככלב שב אל קיאו – “just like a dog returns to what he vomited out,” כן כסיל שב באולתו – “so is a fool who repeats his foolishness” (Mishlei 26:11). It means this: A dog ate something in the street. He shouldn’t have eaten it but he did. And after he ate it, he saw that he couldn’t keep it down. So he gave it forth again. Now, that dog should have understood that it’s not for him. But because he’s a foolish dog, so he goes back and he eats it again. Now I don’t even believe such a dog exists. But humans like that do exist. If some misfortune happened because of your carelessness, it should have been a lesson, and you should never forget it. But even smarter than that, is a man who doesn’t wait that it should happen to him. If it happens to somebody else, that’s enough of a lesson for the wise person. He learns from others, from other people’s misfortunes. And that’s the great wisdom of experience – that you don’t wait for it to happen on your own hide, but you make sure to learn from other people’s misfortunes.

And that’s a very important principle. Whatever news you get, whatever you hear – and you’re hearing all the time – it should enter your ears. Somebody crossing the street was hit by a car. A child drowned in a pool. A grandchild was visiting his grandparents and he fell out of the window because there were no safety guards. When you hear these things, it should enter your heart like an arrow. And make it a principle, “I’m going to watch out for that thing.”

TAPE # 405

Freedom of Religion and Press in state constitutions

Freedom of Religion and Press in state constitutions of some states that have violated their constitutions throughout the COVID hysteria It is the right as well as the duty of all men in society, publicly, and at stated seasons to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession or sentiments; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or obstruct others in their religious worship. Massachusetts Constitution Article XVI. The liberty of the press is essential to the security of freedom in a state: it ought not, therefore, to be restrained in this commonwealth. The right of free speech shall not be abridged. Massachusetts Constitution No person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshipping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; nor under any pretense whatever be compelled to attend any place of worship contrary to his faith and judgment; NEW JERSEY STATE CONSTITUTION Every person may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. No law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. NEW JERSEY STATE CONSTITUTION 1947 PREAMBLE: We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure and perpetuate its blessings, do establish this Constitution. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed in this State: and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of his opinions on matters of religious belief; but the liberty of conscience, hereby secured, shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions on indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted; and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact. CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

The cause of the latest violence

Is it because they just magically hate poor, wonderful us, the usual Zionist explanation? Is it because the country is allowing the police to get away with murdering 45 Jews in Meron? The only problems at all at Meron were in the one spot where police closed all four of the exit gates at the Toldos Aaron compound. The problem wasn't 100,000 visitors to the mountain. The problem was the police. And who is talking about that? It's old news. The police get away with it once again. So that could be an explanation on some spiritual level. But on a practical level, it starts with the crazy settlers starting up with the Arabs. Here's an article in the JPost that explains: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/east-jerusalem-land-ownership-different-rules-for-jews-arabs-667710 Around 300 Arabs, some of whom have lived in Sheikh Jarrah for over 70 years, could be evicted by the Nahalat Shimon Company, which seeks to expand Jewish housing in east Jerusalem, if the High Court does not step in and overturn lower court rulings in favor of eviction. According to the lower court, the cases are open and shut. Arabs may have lived in Sheikh Jarrah for 70 years, but the property was never transferred into their names, and Nahalat Shimon purchased the properties from the actual, listed landowners. Critics have said that this ignores the chaos that many Palestinian Arabs endured while under Jordanian rule from 1948-1967 and that Amman never expected to lose control of east Jerusalem to Israel. If it had foreseen what might transpire two decades later and that its land records could make a difference in Israeli court proceedings in 2021, maybe Jordan or the Palestinians would have been more careful. IN ANY case, critics can argue that this is no simple land records issue and also that in many cases, Nahalat Shimon paid such a minuscule amount of the actual value to the sellers, sometimes the state, that their purchases were not authentic. Critics also say that it cannot be that Jews can make such purchases to get Jewish lands “back,” while there is no comparable way for Arabs to get their lands “back” in Israel proper. read it all https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/east-jerusalem-land-ownership-different-rules-for-jews-arabs-667710 So the court is in a bind because the land was sold to the original owners who gave it away really. In some respects, this is a clash of European standards and the Arab way, the latter of which is more about who lives there rather than deeds. I believe there are Gemaras which talk about owners abandoning property and it going to whoever dwells there, so the Israeli law probably conflicts with Jewish law anyway. But all that is being pushed to a crisis by - guess who - radical Zionist settlers who insist of living in East Jerusalem, as if there's not reams of vacant land all over the country in which to live. In sum, our problem isn't the Arabs, it's Zionism. And Jews are getting hurt, Arab children are getting killed, policemen (not that we should have such sympathy for them) are getting hurt, and the government is spending a 100 million dollars on military operations. You could build a hospital with that money and the country is short on hospitals. Our problem is Zionism and most of all so-called religious Zionists who cause more trouble and are responsible for more deaths than we want to think about.

More on police blocking exists at Meron

"Instead of being 4 exits out of the Toldos Aharon complex as recommended by the Fire and Rescue Service, the police blocked all other exits out of the complex, so there was a single exit. Then at 12.30am, the police also blocked that exit without making any announcement that exit was blocked. Over the next 25 minutes more and more people exited the Toldos Aharon plaza via the metal ramp, without knowing the exit at the bottom of the stairs had been blocked by police. Shortly before 1am, people started to asphyxiate to death while the police looked on and refused to open the exit. Then shortly before 1am, police pulled the gates at the bottom of the stairs away - and instantly the crowd of people collapsed on top of each other. That's how 45 people were crushed and asphyxiated to death - and despite all this 'heroic police' spin, the nation knows the truth." "There is now video in the public doman clearly showing that the police blocked both the right-hand and left-hand exits of the 'Reb Dov Shvil' steps at exactly the same time on L'ag B'omer night - between 12:42 and 12:44 am. There was a gate on the right hand side, and at least 10 police on the left hand side, preventing the crowd from moving forward and 'waving them back' up the crushed ramp. Most fatalities occurred on the blocked right hand side - aka Area 42. But most of the video is coming from the left hand side - aka Area 41. The media have conspired with the police and the government to deliberately cover up premeditated mass murder of religious Jews in Israel." "Police Commissioner Shabtai has nothing whatever to worry about. The investigatory commission has now been appointed by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. The commission includes police officers, all of whom report indirectly to Mandelblit, and attorneys from the Ministry of Justice, all of whom report to Mandelblit directly. The commission will take quite a while to review the evidence and present a report, at l least long enough for the public to forget about the tragedy. The commission will then determine that the police are actually the heroes, not the villains, The true villains, as the commission will determine, are the politicians, especially Netanhyahu. The police failure to review exits and exit paths? That's OK. The police closing exists on the day of the tragedy, forcing the crowd into the one passage? Not a problem. The absence of a police backup plan, or additional police assets, or medical assets, or warning systems such as loudspeakers to calm the crowd? That's fine, too. The commission will not find the police guilty of anything. The court cases are something else. The state will likely pay tens of millions in compensation, but no police officer will be fired, demoted, suspended, reprimanded, docked pay, or harmed in any way." Larry M. Goldstein

[the-sentry]

Without a doubt, the Lag Baomer tragedy in Meron is a call for teshuva. And as Hagaon Rav Dovid Michael Shmidel shlita remarked; “Mourning for us means cheshbon hanefesh.” After much deliberation whether or not to write about the details, we would like to preface the following; if you are one who is not interested in the details, and will only become sidetracked from making a cheshbon hanefesh, then perhaps skip this article. A short preface is in order. The police have a longstanding struggle with chareidi Jewry over controlling public events. The Israeli police represent the secular government and enforce their laws versus the Torah. Thus throughout the years, levayahs, hachnasas Sefer Torahs etc. were run without police assistance. In recent years the police have taken to gaining control of public chareidi events. Additionally; the tziyun of Reb Shimon in Meron is one of the only remaining mekomos hakedoshim that is still under an entity called “Hekdeishos”, and not under the government’s jurisdiction. The government would like to gain control of Meron and turn it into a tourist site. Thus, in recent years they have begun to seize more and more control of the Lag Baomer activities. Obviously this year, with corona still a legal excuse, they could establish themselves even more. The opening leading to the hadlakah of Toldos Aharon serves as both an entrance and exit. At about one o’clock in the morning, the police decided to block anyone from entering the area, as they claimed it was too crowded, and they installed massive gates which blocked the opening. Following the hadlakah, a large segment of the crowd typically exits, and the opening is then mostly used as an exit. Unbeknownst to those exiting, the exit was hermetically sealed. Those who reached the exit were stopped, and being that the exit is by means of a winding path, the people exiting behind them could not see that there was a blockage. Thus hundreds continued pouring toward the exit, pressing against those trapped. The police told the trapped people; “Go the other way, this side is closed.” Obviously this was impossible, as there was a massive crowd coming up behind them. Many eyewitness survivors report that the trapped were crying out to the police officers standing a mere few feet away and said; “We can’t breath, open the gates”, “Please give us some water”. The officers just stood there and responded; “These are our orders.” When it become evident that a tremendous tragedy occurred, the police removed the bars. When a newspaper photographer began snapping pictures of the area, the police stopped assisting the victims, in order to beat him and prevent the truth from becoming known. The police then confiscated all private video cameras that were trained on the area. Of course when the Prime Minister arrived he thanked the police for their heroic work. And in the media calls began for the government to seize control of Meron, for the chareidim can’t manage themselves. Haratzachtah v’gam ya’rashtah?! Once again; the fact that such an awesome tragedy took place, is an undeniable call to teshuva. The details are only for the sake of providing a truthful report. [Much of this report is based on eyewitnesses.]