Tuesday, January 28, 2020

The Jeannie Gluck High School Academy for Girls Pays Homage to Legendary Teacher Tzippy Dobuler

By Dena Udren

Tzippy “Fern” Dobuler was a legendary gym teacher at the Jeannie Gluck High School Academy for Girls in Bet El. She started teaching gym classes there around 1992, two years after making aliyah with her young family, and she quickly touched the hearts (and helped improve the fitness) of countless girls in every grade at the school. At the end of November 2016, she passed away after a six-month battle with cancer, though she bravely fought and continued to teach right up to about a month before she died.

The Jeannie Gluck High School Academy for Girls built a new gym shortly before her passing and has since dedicated it in her memory. This week, Tzippy’s husband Avi, as well as all five children (Chaya Batya, Zev, Ilan, Arye, and Dovie), visited the gym and reminisced about how they could still feel her presence there.

Son Arye stands in front of painting of mother Tzippy, which hangs in the school's new gym
We spoke to Arye Dobuler, one of Tzippy’s sons, to find out more about who Tzippy was and how she touched the lives of so many girls at the high school, as well as the greater community of Bet El.

The Deal of the Century: Not All it's Trumped Up to Be

Article based on an interview with Israel Channel 13 TV, which can be seen here.
Translated by Hillel Fendel
Edited by Dena Udren


Dr. Guy Bechor, expert on Middle East affairs and editor of the Gplanet.co.il website, feels that US President Trump's Deal of the Century is not all it's "trumped" up to be. He says the Arab world actually somewhat favors it, that its rejection by the PA means that Jordan will assume control over the Arabs in Judea and Samaria, and that its greatest contribution is the tearing away of the masks of the PA leadership and Israel's peace camp.
Dr. Bechor spoke this morning on Israel Channel 13 TV about the Deal of the Century, saying as follows: 
Dr. Guy Bechor
Let's first put everything in proportions. This [Deal of the Century] doesn't really interest anyone in the world; for the Arab world it's ho-hum, and for the invented nation [the Palestinians] - they're simply not interested. Yes, their leadership in Ramallah announced a day of rage, but don't expect too much rage to actually be expressed. Of course, when they have a day of rage, it's a day of happiness for us. "Bring on the days of rage!" … 

Meeting of Minds and Hearts

Article originally appeared here
Edited by Dena Udren


It's now a full-fledged tradition: For the fourth year in a row, a gathering was held this month between hundreds of religious and secular high school students – leading to increased fraternity and unity in Israel.
Photo courtesy of Yesha Council
Tenth-grade students of Yeshivat Halichot Olam and of Bnei Akiva's Yeshivat HaShomron, both in Karnei Shomron, met with 190 students of the Kfar HaYarok (Green Village) High School in a spirit of friendship. The event took place in Karnei Shomron, a town in western Samaria, not far from Kfar Saba and Raanana, with a population approaching 9,000.

Meet Yehuda Zaks, Proud Graduate of Bet El Yeshiva

Interview by Dena Udren

Yehuda Zaks (fourth from left) with his wife and children
What can you tell us about your childhood? 

I was born in South Africa to a traditional (not religious), but very Zionistic family. In 10th grade I came on a 4-month learning tour with just over 100 friends from various Jewish day schools around South Africa. It was then that I decided that Israel would eventually be my home. A few months after returning to South Africa, I became religious through Bnei Akiva and was active there till I came on Aliyah 6 years later, after completing my engineering studies.

When did your connection with Bet El begin?

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

The Nationalist Camp Election Complications

By Hillel Fendel
Edited by Dena Udren



Smotrich, Bennett, and Shaked

The next election for the Knesset is set for this coming March 2nd, just seven weeks from now – less than a half-year after the last one, which itself was held only five months before that.
The previous two elections led to deadlocks between the rightwing-religious bloc and the leftwing -Arab sector – such that a new government was unable to be formed, and the Netanyahu government continued in office.

New Developments for the Bet El IDF Preparatory Academy

By Dena Udren

We spoke to Yaakov Harnik from the Bet El institutions development team to find out how the construction is progressing at the IDF Prepatory Academy.

In the photos below you can see two buildings, the one in the foreground is the beit midrash, and the larger building in the background houses the dormitory, dining hall, gym, and martial arts room. What remains now is to finish the upper story and build the roofs of both buildings, finish the outer walls, build support walls, and put the finishing touches on the outside of the buildings. We are excited to share these photos with you, and let you get a close look at what's literally happening on the ground in Bet El.

Click on the Video Above

View from above of the IDF Preparatory Academy

Not to Worry: Family Values will Ultimately Defeat Techno-Post-Genderism

By Hillel Fendel 
Edited by Dena Udren


Dr. Einat Ramon, a former Conservative "Rabbah" and spokesperson for Israel's Conservative Movement, now defines herself as Orthodox, together with her two children – in contrast with her husband: Reform Rabbi Arik Ascherman. She speaks of the existential obligation to publicly sharpen, both scientifically and educationally, the differences between men and women. She is optimistic that society will soon return to its formative family-based value system.
Speaking to Ro'i Aharoni of Olam Katan, Dr. Ramon explained that she grew up in a secular household, joined the Conservative movement, and is now Orthodox. "I guess I actually am a baalat t'shuvah, returnee to observant to Judaism." 
Dr. Einat Ramon
She said that she left the Conservative movement when it became "too liberal," and no longer uses her title of "Rabbah" – a term she herself helped found in 1993 to describe a female rabbi. 

Monday, January 13, 2020

Meet Michal Erlich, "House Mother" at Bnei Tzvi Yeshiva High School

Interview by Dena Udren
Translated by Hillel Fendel

Michal (third from left) and her family
Q. Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like?

A. I grew up in Or Akiva, between Tel Aviv and Haifa, not on the Mediterranean coast but just off it. I had a fun childhood. My parents immigrated to Israel from Libya, and I'm the youngest of eight children. My father was a public official – at different points he was the mayor of Or Akiva and the head of the Religious Council – and my mother supported him from behind. Our home was a true home of kindness, although I believe that the true greatness of my parents was that the kindness took place in the home as well.

My father's "thing" was to try to get families out of the poverty cycle. He would often identify a talent or ability in a child, and then send him to study in high school or college or wherever that would help him develop that skill. He would find him scholarships, and then the student would develop a profession, thus sweeping along with him the entire family. He tried hard to help people who "fell off" and get them honorable jobs so that they would not return to crime. He also focused his efforts on parents of large families.