Interview with Yishai Fleisher: On connecting to Hevron, the expulsion from Gaza, and creating tangible change

Yishai Fleisher is the International Spokesperson for the Jewish community of Hevron. He is also an Israeli broadcaster and a frequent columnist for major news websites, including a recent oped in the New York Times. He holds a J.D. from Cardozo Law and rabbinic ordination from Kollel Agudat Achim. Yishai is a paratrooper in the IDF reserves and lives with his family in the hills of Judea.

[Interview conducted by Sharona eshet-Kohen]

Israel News Analysis by Yaakov 'Ketzaleh' Katz: Another Victory of the Maccabees

[Based on an article that originally appeared in Hebrew in Besheva and translated by Hillel Fendel]

Every generation has its Maccabees. Consider the late Uri Avnery, one of the champions of the Arab cause in the Land of Israel over the past several decades. Shortly before serving in the Haganah 's "Foxes of Samson" Brigade during the War of Independence, he was witness to the Jewish leaders' consent to the partition of Eretz Yisrael. In his terrible disappointment at this development, he wrote and publicized a poem that would not have shamed the post-Yom Kippur War Gush Emunim movement. He wrote this:

We have sworn allegiance to you, our homeland / on the day of your bitter degradation. / You will arise from the dust great and united. / The cruel wound will fester in the heart of your sons / until your banners are borne aloft / from the sea to the desert. 

Following close in his ideological footsteps of that time was the radically left-wing Al HaMishmar newspaper, which also could not contain its instinctive nationalism. Commenting on the resignation of then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, the paper wrote, "He did not quit on his own; he was all but forced out in light of and as a result of the worsening crisis caused by his failed 'anti-nationalist' policy…" Note the word "anti-nationalist;" 60 years ago, even the radical left here was nationalist.

Israel News Analysis: Gaza-Israel Clashes - A Shortage of Plans

[Article originally appeared in Besheva (Hebrew) and translated by Hillel Fendel]

by Assaf Mishnayot
B'sheva, Nov. 15, '18

Deterrence vis-à-vis Hamas has not been achieved, and the present quiet is simply a lull, with no guarantee that it will last for any length of time. The intensive Hamas rocket barrage inflicted last week on Israel's northern Negev areas, all the way up to Ashkelon, proved that the country's political and military echelons have no real plan or program as to how to deal with Hamas. It is doubtful whether we will be able to attain true quiet along Israel's Gaza border for a significant period.

The ceasefire declared on Tuesday of last week, immediately following a 24-hour bombardment of more than 450 Hamas rockets on Israeli towns and cities, was met with fury in the Israeli public. This was true particularly in the south, where it is known and felt that the next round of hostilities is just around the corner. Though the Israel Air Force made some impressive strikes against terror infrastructures in Gaza, it was Hamas and not Israel that smelled the fragrance of victory. The basic sense is that the IDF simply is not providing military solutions to the Gaza problem – and this has been borne out even by statements of the Security Cabinet members.

Interview with Judy Simon: Host of Arutz Sheva's "Life Lessons" tells about marriage, motherhood, and Aliyah

Judy Simon has lived in Bet El for 18 years. For eight of those years she served as the Director of Bet El's Tourism Department, and for the past 11 years she has been hosting a show on Arutz Sheva called Life Lessons. One of Judy's son's recently graduated from the Bet El Boys Yeshiva High School and is now learning in hesder yeshiva. She discusses here her thoughts on Bet El's heritage, marriage and motherhood, and Aliyah.

[Interview conducted by Sharona eshet-Kohen]

Bet El Project Highlight: New High School Yeshiva Dormitory

Bet El Institutions Project Highlight: New High School Yeshiva Dormitory

For those who haven't yet heard, this past summer we completed construction of a new floor of the Bnei Tzvi Boys Yeshiva High School dormitory, adding 80 more beds, in response to the ever-expanding student body.