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‘Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump’

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Tevi Troy’s latest book is: Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump.

By: James Downing

Since President Donald Trump took office, the media have spilled oceans of ink on the conflicts coming from inside his White House. While his first year had notable ideological splits among staffers and a high turnover, such internecine conflict is far from new, as shown in Tevi Troy’s latest book Fight House: Rivalries in the White House from Truman to Trump.

The book traces infighting among staffers in the modern presidency, looking at administrations from Harry Truman to Trump. The modern White House staff started under Truman’s predecessor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, as the federal government expanded greatly under his New Deal policies. The Reorganization Act of 1939 created the Executive Office of the President, which, since then, has expanded to an operation of more than 1,600 staffers that has generated many prominent careers in the process.

Roosevelt’s White House was no stranger to conflict either. The new agencies and governmental authorities lent themselves to conflict and the president himself “designed his whole theory of management on conflict,” according to White House aide Stephen Hess.

Presidents Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower ran more tightly controlled operations and got much of their advice from cabinet members, which minimized rivalries.

But even Truman’s White House had plenty of conflict, with a notable example coming from the decision to recognize Israel. Secretary of State George Marshall, who came to that position with an already sterling résumé that included standing up the military to fight in World War II, was dead set against recognition—arguing it would only anger nearby Arabs who would likely destroy the new state in a war.

But counterarguments were put forward by special counsel Clark Clifford: He worried about the hotly contested Jewish vote in New York and the emerging Cold War with the Soviet Union in which Israel could be made an ally. Clifford won the day, but at a meeting just before recognition was announced, Marshall went so far as to say he would vote against Truman in the next election for that decision.

The role of the White House staff was cemented in the 1960s under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, who made policymaking a White House prerogative. The most famous staff battle from that time was between JFK’s brother—Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy—and Johnson himself.

While ostensibly outranking the attorney general as vice president, Johnson lacked the fraternal relationship and access enjoyed by Robert Kennedy. That pattern of personal relationships beating out professional ones crops up repeatedly in Troy’s accounting, whether it’s Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in the current administration, or adviser and close friend to the Obamas Valerie Jarret in the previous one.

RFK and Johnson clashed in the area where their authorities overlapped—especially civil rights. Their conflict included its share of colorful nicknames, with Johnson dismissing the Kennedy crowd as “the Harvards” and Bobby’s wife Ethel calling Johnson “Huckleberry Capone.”

Troy points to the shifting power dynamics between the two men as a major reason for their conflict. At the start of their relationship, RFK was a lowly Senate staffer while Johnson ran the place. In JFK’s White House, Bobby’s relationship with the president gave him the upper hand, but his brother’s assassination shifted the dynamic in LBJ’s favor.

Much of the conflict highlighted in the book centers on foreign policy, which is not an accident, Troy argues. “Compromising on domestic policy can mean splitting the dollars spent on a program or moderating the impact of a proposed rule or bill,” he writes. “But issues in the national security realm are often binary. There is no real compromise between ‘invade Iraq’ and ‘don’t invade Iraq.’”

Under President Richard Nixon, foreign policy was dominated by the national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, who overwhelmed Secretary of State William Rogers. However, Rogers had some advantages in the fight, such as a longstanding friendship going back to their days in the Eisenhower administration.

But Kissinger was very smart and ambitious, and he used his relative proximity to the president to win over his trust. Kissinger positioned himself as the lynchpin in Nixon’s foreign policy to the point where Rogers was largely cut out of one of Nixon’s biggest foreign policy moves—reopening relationships with China.

Kissinger, for instance, faked an illness while in Pakistan to secretly fly to China to discuss opening relations. When the event took place, Rogers was left out of a key meeting between Mao and Nixon that the White House adviser attended.

Foreign policy battles dominated the infighting during the administration in which Troy himself served as deputy assistant and then acting assistant for domestic policy—that of George W. Bush. The big split then was between Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on the one side and Secretary of State Colin Powell on the other.

Powell was much more wary of going to war with Iraq than Cheney and Rumsfeld. The dispute did not play out directly, but rather through a series of media leaks from Powell and questioning memos issued by Rumsfeld.

Yet some of the more entertaining parts of the book have less to do with grand policy disputes and more with the personal nature of the fighting. President Bill Clinton’s liberal adviser George Stephanopoulos called the triangulating Dick Morris “a small sausage of a man” as part of their dispute over the general direction of that presidency.

In George W. Bush’s White House, Deputy Attorney General James Comey was dismissively referred to as “Saint Jim” by opponents. President Barack Obama’s first chief of staff, Rahm Emmanuel, used to call foreign policy adviser Ben Rhodes “Hamas” for the latter’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Ultimately, some level of conflict can work well for a president. The amount in a specific administration often has to do with the president’s own preference, Troy writes. Conflict can help flesh out successful policies just as much as it can help to a sink a flailing administration.

(Washington Free Beacon)

Jerry Stiller, Comedian and ‘Seinfeld’ Actor, Dies at 92

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Comedy veteran Jerry Stiller, who launched his career opposite wife Anne Meara in the 1950s and reemerged four decades later as the hysterically high-strung Frank Costanza on the smash television show “Seinfeld,” died at 92, his son Ben Stiller announced Monday. Photo Credit: AP

By: AP

Comedy veteran Jerry Stiller, who launched his career opposite wife Anne Meara in the 1950s and reemerged four decades later as the hysterically high-strung Frank Costanza on the smash television show “Seinfeld,” died at 92, his son Ben Stiller announced Monday.

He died of natural causes, his son — a comedy star himself — said in a tweet.

Jerry Stiller was a multi-talented performer who appeared in an assortment of movies, playing Walter Matthau’s police sidekick in the thriller “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” and Divine’s husband Wilbur Turnblad in John Waters’ twisted comedy “Hairspray.”

He also wrote an autobiography, “Married to Laughter,” about his 50-plus year marriage to soul mate and comedic cohort Meara, who died in 2015. And his myriad television spots included everything from “Murder She Wrote” to “Law and Order” — along with 36 appearances alongside Meara on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

Stiller, although a supporting player on “Seinfeld,” created some of the Emmy-winning show’s most enduring moments: co-creator and model for the “bro,” a brassiere for men; a Korean War cook who inflicted food poisoning on his entire unit; an ever-simmering salesman controlling his explosive temper with the shouted mantra, “Serenity now!”

Stiller earned an 1997 Emmy nomination for his indelible “Seinfeld” performance. In a 2005 Esquire interview, Stiller recalled that he was out of work and not the first choice for the role of Frank Costanza, father to Jason Alexander’s neurotic George.

“My manager had retired,” he said. “I was close to 70 years old, and had nowhere to go.”

He was initially told to play the role as a milquetoast husband with an overbearing wife, Estelle, played by Estelle Harris. But the character wasn’t working — until Stiller suggested his reincarnation as an over-the-top crank who matched his wife scream for scream.

It jump-started the septuagenarian’s career, landing him a spot playing Vince Lombardi in a Nike commercial and the role of another over-the-top dad on the long-running sitcom “King of Queens.”

While he was known as a nut-job father on the small screen, Stiller and wife Meara raised two children in their longtime home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side: daughter Amy, who became an actress, and son Ben, who became a writer, director and actor in such films as “Dodgeball,” “There’s Something About Mary” and “Meet the Parents.”

He and Ben performed together in “Shoeshine,” which was nominated for a 1988 Academy Award in the short subject category.

Stiller was considerably quieter and reflective in person than in character — although just as funny. The son of a bus driver and a housewife, Stiller grew up in Depression-era Brooklyn. His inspiration to enter show business came at age 8, when his father took him to see the Marx Brothers in the comedy classic “A Night at the Opera.”

Years later, Stiller met Groucho Marx and thanked him.

Stiller earned a drama degree at Syracuse University after serving in World War II, and then headed to New York City to launch his career. There was a brief involvement in Shakespearean theater, including a $55 a week job with Jack Klugman in “Coriolanus.”

But his life and career took off after he met Meara in spring 1953. They were married that fall.

The couple went on to appear as a team in dozens of film, stage and television productions. One of them was “After-Play,” a 1995 off-Broadway show written by Meara. Stiller joined “Seinfeld” in 1993, and moved on to “King of Queens” when the other Jerry & co. went off the air in 1998. The following year, he appeared in Ben Stiller’s spoof on modeling, “Zoolander.”

 (AP)

The China Syndrome – Ghosts of Pandemics Past & Affinity for Despotism

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By: Howard Barbanel

There’s an old joke about eating Chinese food that says after you’ve had a big meal, you’re hungry again a half hour later. That may be true for us but probably also for them too because the foods they have an insatiable appetite for can literally kill you. Iguanas, koala bears, pelicans, dogs, cats and especially bats. Eating bats is literally batshit crazy and harvesting bat guano (excrement) to diddle around with the viruses in their feces is probably what has put us in the two-month Corona lockdown and corresponding economic meltdown we’ve been suffering from. Covid-19 is far from the first time we’ve taken a lethal hit from China.

The 20th Century saw three flu pandemics (aside from regular, seasonal flus) originating from China. Some suspect that the 1917-1918 pandemic originated here although this can’t be conclusively proven. However, origin of the 1957-58 pandemic was most definitely from East Asia. It killed as many as 116,000 in the US out of a population 174.9 million, or nearly half the size of the today’s US population of roughly 330 million, so the proportion of those who were made ill and who perished was higher compared to today’s Covid-19. The country did not shut down even though the mortality rate was 10-times that of the 2009 Swine Flu.

I vividly recall the 1968-69 Hong Kong Flu. It hit the US in the Fall of 1968 and circulated for nearly two years. The CDC says it was an “avian influenza A virus, (H3N2)” and that killed about 100,000 in the US and a million worldwide. The US population was then 200.7 million. I was 10 in 1968 and my whole family was down with it – both my parents, myself and my younger brother. Things were so bad at home that my maternal grandmother came out to care for us. Most of the fatalities, then as now with Covid-19 were comprised of people over 65. This flu is still around today and has never been cured, just contained. The country didn’t close down even though millions were infected and made sick by it.

In 2009 we had the Swine Flu which was projected to be enormously fatal but ended up burning out earlier than expected. A vaccine was only available after the disease had peaked. From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases, 274,304 hospitalizations and 12,469 deaths in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus. The country did not shut down even though nearly 61 million Americans got sick from it.

Even though none of the aforementioned Asian flu pandemics of the 20th Century killed millions in the US by any stretch of the imagination, US health professionals opted to latch on to hysterical computer models generated in England that estimated 2.2 million people would die here without a national quarantine and lockdown. It was somehow OK for 60 million to get sick from Swine Flu with no media hysterics but not OK for millions to contract Covid-19. Why was that?

Given decades of history on pulmonary and respiratory pandemics and how they were handled here, what was the model our medical, media and political class decided to adopt? Why the Chinese model, of course. Never mind that Chinese infection numbers and information couldn’t be verified and were lied about. Never mind that China, as a totalitarian Communist dictatorship (Communism is self-defined as the “Dictatorship of the Proletariat.”) can forcibly hermetically seal a city of 11 million (Wuhan) with nary a peep of opposition or information leakage from the people; never mind that China has an extensive history of self-serving deceit and boldfaced deception both at home and abroad, never mind that the Chinese Communist Party would be delighted to see the entire economy of The West crippled or destroyed.

Why use tried and true Western models of disease management when we can ape the bat-loving Chinese? Could it be about power? Power is intoxicating and there’s the old adage that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Who is power hungry? Let’s start with many scientists who have gotten drunk on being celebrated and venerated on television and online 24/7. Revenge of the nerds here? Then there are the politicians. No politician wants to be held responsible on election day for two million or even 100,000 deaths, so even though there wasn’t a shred of proof that locking down the country would kill the pandemic, they went that route anyway.

Then, once in place, it has morphed from “flattening the curve” of an anticipated spike in hospitalizations which might overwhelm the health system to becoming about stopping the virus altogether (for which there is no cure yet for this or the 1968 flu) and then penultimately, particularly among Democratic governors and mayors, implementation of their progressive agenda by executive fiat under the guise of emergency requirements. With people locked in their homes, this effectively squelches opposition. Finally, the Democratic obsession with defeating Trump and regaining control of The White House is so overwhelming that it’s worth any price – even by plunging the nation into a terrible depression, to create an environment where Trump can be turned out of office and stripped of his signature pre-Covid success of a roaring economy. That pleases the Chinese too because Trump had been pressuring them on trade issues.

Places with enough backbone to stick with Western norms have included Sweden, Hong Kong and South Korea. Millions haven’t died as restaurants, parks, schools and offices have remained open. Twelve states in the US didn’t lock down and they’ve been doing just fine. Interestingly, New York State just announced that in a survey of about 1,200 newly admitted patients at over 100 New York hospitals conducted during the first few days of May that fully 66 percent of new Covid patients had been staying at home, not working (only 17 percent) and not using mass transit. Meaning people have been indoors. So how is staying at home indefinitely helpful? Meanwhile Chinese cities are all open for business and millions aren’t dying.

From Forbes magazine: “In addition to [New Yorkers] mostly coming from their homes, surveyed patients were more likely to be over 51 years old, and either nonessential workers, retired or unemployed. 96 percent of the surveyed patients had co-morbidities, which means nearly all had another chronic medical condition prior to catching coronavirus.” We also know that about eight out of ten deaths associated with Covid-19 in the U.S. have occurred in adults ages 65 and older, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) so why are we locking down all the younger people and prohibiting folks to go to parks and beaches where the sunshine (Vitamin-D) and fresh air will do everyone some good if most hospitalizations come from older people who’ve been staying at home? Maybe it’s a form of China envy for the power grab reasons indicated above?

But taking a clear look at today’s China is helpful. Aside from being an incubator for pandemics, China is a country that just last year put one million of their own citizens in concentration camps just because they were Moslems. China is a country that has been brutally suppressing freedom advocates in Hong Kong. China is country that rattles its sabers, missiles, warships and jet fighters every week against democratic Taiwan, threatening to invade and conquer them militarily. China is the main backer of the nefarious regime in North Korea and helps support Venezuela and Cuba among other bad actors. China is a country that essentially relies on the slave labor of untold millions to produce goods at ridiculously low prices so that Western nations can’t compete and then turns Westerners into consumer vassals – making Western nations utterly dependent on them for essentials including medicines and medical supplies, vitamins, clothing, shoes, hardware, electronics, you name it.

To protect America against the evil depredations of despotic regimes such as China and to ensure peace, freedom and stability in the world we must wean ourselves off the teat of cheap (and often shoddily made) Chinese goods even if we have to pay more for them. Make things in America or in allied nations so that we retain our independence on all levels – and one sure way to put us on that path is to send our young people back to work and back to school now so that as a nation we are not bankrupted, enfeebled and ultimately dominated by malevolent dictators.

ADL Report: Anti-Semitic Incidents in US Hit Record High in 2019

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By: Michael Kunzelman

American Jews were targets of more anti-Semitic incidents in 2019 than any other year over the past four decades, a surge marked by deadly attacks on a California synagogue, a Jewish grocery store in New Jersey and a rabbi’s New York home, the Anti-Defamation League reported Tuesday.

The Jewish civil rights group counted 2,107 anti-Semitic incidents in 2019, finding 61 physical assault cases, 1,127 instances of harassment and 919 acts of vandalism. That’s the highest annual tally since the New York City-based group began tracking anti-Semitic incidents in 1979. It also marked a 12% increase over the 1,879 incidents it counted in 2018.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the group’s CEO, attributes last year’s record high to a “normalization of anti-Semitic tropes,” the “charged politics of the day” and social media. This year, he said, the COVID-19 pandemic is fueling anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

“Anti-Semitism is a virus. It is like a disease, and it persists,” Greenblatt said. “It’s sometimes known as the oldest hatred. It never seems to go away. There truly is no single antidote or cure.”

The ADL’s count of anti-Semitic assaults involved 95 victims. More than half of the assaults occurred in New York City, including 25 in Brooklyn. Eight of those Brooklyn assaults happened during a span of eight days in December, primarily in neighborhoods where many Orthodox Jews live.

“Objects were thrown at victims, antisemitic slurs were shouted, and at least three victims were hit or punched in their heads or faces,” says the report first given exclusively to The Associated Press.

The ADL defines an anti-Semitic assault as “an attempt to inflict physical harm on one or more people who are Jewish or perceived to be Jewish, accompanied by evidence of antisemitic animus.” Three of those 2019 assaults were deadly.

A 20-year-old former nursing student, John T. Earnest, awaits trial on charges he killed a woman and wounded three other people during an attack on Chabad of Poway synagogue near San Diego in April 2019. The gunman told a 911 dispatcher that he shot up the synagogue on the last day of Passover because Jews were trying to “destroy all white people,” according to prosecutors.

Attacks in Jersey City, New Jersey, killed a police detective in a cemetery and three people at a kosher market in December. Authorities said the attackers, David Anderson and Francine Graham, were motivated by a hatred of Jewish people and law enforcement.

A 37-year-old man, Grafton Thomas, was charged with stabbing five people with a machete at a Hanukkah celebration at a rabbi’s home in Monsey, an Orthodox Jewish community north of New York City. One of the five victims died three months after the Dec. 28 attack. Federal prosecutors said Thomas had handwritten journals containing anti-Semitic comments and a swastika.

The ADL’s report attributed 270 anti-Semitic incidents to extremist groups or individuals. A separate ADL report, released in February, found that 2019 was the sixth deadliest year for violence by all domestic extremists since 1970.

The ADL counted 919 vandalism incidents in 2019, a 19% increase from 774 incidents in 2018.

Two men described by authorities as members of a white supremacist group called The Base were charged with conspiring last year to vandalize synagogues, including Beth Israel Sinai Congregation in Racine, Wisconsin. Even before his synagogue was defaced with swastikas, Rabbi Martyn Adelberg sensed that anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. have been increasing as extremist rhetoric migrates from the internet’s fringes to mainstream platforms.

“It provokes something else, too: an undying outpouring of love,” he said, noting that a crowd of 150 people — at least five times the normal size and consisting mostly of gentiles — attended the first service at the temple after the vandalism. “The support was overwhelming.”

The ADL says it helped authorities identify a suspect accused of plastering white supremacist and anti-Semitic stickers on a display case at Chabad Jewish Center in Ocean City, Maryland. Rabbi Noam Cohen, the center’s director, said anti-Semitism has ebbed and flowed for centuries. He views the vandalism of his center as an isolated incident, not a sign of growing anti-Semitism.

“Maybe I’m naive, but I hope not,” he said.

The ADL tallied 1,127 harassment incidents last year, a 6% increase over 2018. The group defined these incidents as cases in which at least one Jewish person reported feeling harassed by the perceived anti-Semitic words or actions of another person or group.

The ADL report doesn’t try to fully assess online anti-Semitism, but it does include incidents in which individuals or groups received anti-Semitic content in direct messages, on listservs or in social media settings “where they would have the reasonable expectation to not be subjected to anti-Semitism.”

The ADL counted 171 anti-Semitic incidents last year referencing Israel or Zionism, including five instances in which members of a white supremacist group, Patriot Front, protested outside Israel-aligned organizations to oppose “Zionist influence” over the U.S. government.

“Although it is not antisemitic to protest Israeli policies, these protests must be considered within the context of this group’s well-documented antisemitic agenda,” the report says.

The ADL says it tries to avoid conflating general criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. “However, Israel-related harassment of groups or individuals may be included when the harassment incorporates established anti-Jewish references, accusations and/or conspiracy theories, or when they demonize American Jews for their support of Israel,” the report says.

   (AP)

Leona Helmsley, Faith Hope Consolo & Annetta Powell

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By: JV Staff

Will Rogers once famously advised a friend to “buy real estate – they ain’t makin’ any more.”

Sounds like a reasonably reliable formula for success — and it is.

So how come so many moguls, tycoons, wizards, magnates, nabobs, bigwigs, personages, captains of industry and just plain smart business people involved in real estate want more than that? At times, so much more that they run afoul of the law?

This is real estate’s Dark Side, the industry’s seamy underbelly comprised of shady deals, broken promises and unlimited amounts of greed and ambition – and which few casual observers even realize exists until it splashes across the pages of the scandal sheets.

The Jewish Voice wants to lay bare this too-often hidden side of the world of big-time real estate and the people who run it so that our readers know the full story — the lay of the land, and where the bodies are buried underneath it.  In this week’s installment, we present to you three women who made their dubious mark on the industry they represented and whose reputations were severely tarnished in the process.

 

Tales from “The Queen of Mean” – Leona Helmsley

They called her the “Queen of Mean.” The New York daughter of Polish Jewish immigrants, Leona Helmsley ended up becoming a billionaire- worth $8 Billion according to the BBC. She dominated NY headlines as a mean-spirited real estate mogul who famously said “We don’t pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes” during her infamous tax evasion trial.

Leona Mindy Rosenthal was born on July 4th, 1920 in Marbleton, NY to Ida, a homemaker, and Morris Rosenthal, a hatmaker, according to Moss Michael’ s book “Palace Coup”.  Her family moved to Brooklyn while she was still a girl and moved six more times before settling in Manhattan. After dropping out of Abraham Lincoln High School in the Brighton Beach section of the borough to seek her fortune, she changed her name several times over a short period – from Lee Roberts, Mindy Roberts, and Leni Roberts – before finally going by Leona Mindy Roberts and having her surname legally changed to Roberts, according to the NY Times.

In 1968, while Roberts was working as a condominium broker, she met and began her involvement with the then-married real estate entrepreneur Harry Helmsley, the Orlando Sentinel chronicled. Harry began a program of conversion of apartment buildings into condos. He later concentrated on the hotel industry, building the Helmsley Palace Hotel on Madison Avenue, according to Richard Hammer’s book “The Rise and Fall of Harry & Leona”. By the beginning of 1989, twenty-three hotels in the chain were directly controlled by Leona Helmsley.

On March 31, 1982, Helmsley’s only child, Jay Panzirer, died of a heart attack resulting from arrhythmia. In a cold-hearted move, which helped earn her the nickname “the queen of mean”, she evicted her son’s widow, who lived in a property that Helmsley owned. She went one step further, displaying her greed and wickedness as she successfully sued her son’s estate for money and property that she claimed he had borrowed, and she was ultimately awarded $146,092!!

The Helmsley Building. Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Although, she was known for her cruelty to employees, she was also known for her charitable contributions.  After the 9/11 attacks, Helmsley donated $5 million to help the families of New York City firefighters and police. Other contributions included $25 million to New York–Presbyterian Hospital for medical research, The NY Post reported.

However, her cruelty made the headlines.

The slightest mistake was usually grounds for firing, and Helmsley was known to shout insults and obscenities at targeted employees just before they were fired; and at the same time she was known as charitable.

Helmsley acquired the moniker “The Queen of Mean”, reportedly inspired after an advertising campaign promoting her as the “Queen of the Palace” of the Helmsley Palace Hotel, the NY Times explained. Helmsley became known by this nickname in the mainstream press. The NY Post recalled a story by world renowned trial lawyer Alan Dershowitz. While breakfasting with her at one of the Helmsley hotels, she received a cup of tea with a tiny bit of water spilled on the saucer. Helmsley grabbed the cup from the waiter and smashed it on the floor, then told him to beg for his job.

She was also famously known for not paying her bills. Contractors were hardly ever paid on time-if at all – and many people  filed lawsuits to recover even just a portion of what they were owed, History.com reported.

The trouble for the Helmseys began in 1983.  They bought a 21-room mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, to use as a weekend retreat. The property cost $11 million, but the Helmsleys wanted to make it even more luxurious. The work included a $1 million dance floor, a silver clock and a mahogany card table.  The remodeling bills came to $8 million, which the Helmsleys were refusing to pay. A group of contractors sued the Helmsleys for non-payment and the Helmsleys eventually paid off most of the debt owed to the contractor, according to an article entitled ‘Rich Bitch” which appeared in the New Yorker magazine.

During a 1985 court proceeding, the contractors defense team, revealed that most of their work was being illegally billed to the Helmsleys’  hotels as business expenses.

The contractors presented all their information to the N.Y Post. This media expose resulted in a federal criminal investigation.

The trial was delayed until the summer of 1989 due to numerous motions by the Helmsleys’ attorneys with most of them related to Harry’s health. “He had begun to appear enfeebled shortly after the beginning of his relationship with Leona years before and had recently suffered a stroke on top of a pre-existing heart condition” an old Court TV documentary recalled.

Leona had to face the charges alone in the now infamous trial. The most shocking memory of the trial was when the “Queen of Mean” stated: “We don’t pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes”

On August 30 of that year Helmsley was convicted on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, three counts of tax evasion, three counts of filing false personal tax returns. sixteen counts of assisting in the filing of false corporate and partnership tax returns, and ten counts of mail fraud, Wikipedia researched.  She was, however, acquitted of extortion—a charge that could potentially have sent her to prison for the rest of her life.

Helmsley was instead sentenced to sixteen years in prison, which was eventually reduced when all but eight of the convictions were dropped, Court TV recalled.  Her new attorney, former Harvard law school professor Alan Dershowitz. successfully appealed a reduced sentence and she was ordered to report to prison on Tax Day, April 15, 1992. She was released from custody on January 26, 1994, after serving nineteen months. Her husband died in 1997.

Leona Helmsley died of congestive heart failure at the age of 87, on August 20, 2007, at Dunnellen Hall, her summer home in Greenwich, Connecticut.

In death, she managed to shock the public and gave the media one more eccentric story.

Helmsley left the bulk of her estate—estimated at more than $4 billion—to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust., according to records.

The trust supports a wide range of organizations with a major focus on health and medical research, in addition to conservation, education, social services, and cultural access, according the trust’s website.

In addition to providing directly for her own dog in her will, she left separate instructions that the trust, now valued at $5 to $8 billion, be used to benefit dogs; going to organizations that focus on the wellbeing and care of dogs,  The court ruled the trust could not be changed to comply with her wishes. The trust had to abide by the original documented purpose of charity.

The media exploded when it was learned she left $12 million to her own dog; a Maltese named ‘Trouble.” The courts lowered the amount to $2 million, which went to Carl Lekic, the general manager of the Helmsley Sandcastle Hote who had formerly cared for her pet, which died in 2010.

Helmsley had four grandchildren. Two of them each received $5 million in trust and $5 million in cash and in typical “Queen of Mean” style, two grandchildren received nothing, according to the will.  She left $15 million for her brother, Alvin Rosenthal. Helmsley also left $100,000 to her chauffeur, Nicholas Celea.

And what about the other $10 million that Leona’s dog “Trouble” was supposed to receive? $4 million was awarded to the Charitable Trust, and $6 million was awarded to the two grandchildren who received nothing originally, after being disinherited in the will. The ruling required that both grandchildren keep silent about their dispute with their grandmother, as reported by NBC.

 

“Queen of Retail” – Faith Hope Consolo & Her Fake Pedigree

Many came to know Faith Hope Consolo by the moniker “Queen of Retail” while others came to know her as a hard driven business woman who would eat her competition alive without any mercy. Photo Credit: Facebook

Many came to know her by the moniker “Queen of Retail” while others came to know her as a hard driven business woman who would eat her competition alive without any mercy.

Who really was Faith Hope Consolo, the woman who chaired Douglas Elliman’s retail division until her death in 2018 and brought top global brands to the city’s real estate market?

The Real Deal reported that during the course of her 25-year career, Consolo has represented some of the city’s most high-profile landlords, names like Trump, Helmsley and Silverstein. Moreover, she played a pivotal role in the European retail invasion, billing herself as an ambassador of sorts for the city, and helping to find early local outposts for chichi names like Gianni Versace, Cartier and Fendi, as was reported by the Real Deal.

But Faith Hope Consolo remains as much of an enigma in death as she was in her colorful and controversial life.

According to a report in January that appeared on the Real Deal web site, Consolo was not particularly candid about her upbringing and her mendacity eventually became quite apparent.

She had told her friends and associates that she was born to a family of achievers and considered herself privileged; having attended the right schools and making the right connections that would further her career in the luxury New York City real estate scene.

Consolo with her longtime business partner at Elliman, Joseph Aquino. Photo Credit: RealDeal

Rather than being raised in opulence and finery, Consolo was brought up in a small house near Coney Island Avenue in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn. Her father was not a real estate executive and her mother was not a child psychiatrist as she had proffered to those in her orbit. Rather, the truth is her father did not die when she was a very young child, but lived to the ripe old age of 94. According to the Real Deal report, the elder Consolo had an extensive criminal background. The New York Times reported that her father did some hard time in a federal penitentiary in Kansas and at Alcatraz for gambling, armed robbery and dealing heroin.

Her mother was a hairdresser at a department store in downtown Brooklyn, despite Consolo’s fraudulent assertions.

The NY Times could also find nothing to corroborate Consolo’s claims that during the 1970s, she opened an interior design business and a modeling agency on the West Coast.

After graduating from NYU with a degree in art history, Consolo went to graduate school at the Parsons School of Design in New York City and Paris, then worked for a time as an interior designer at a New York City architectural firm, according to the Real Deal report. In between she got “married a couple times.” The marriages were “brief, not much to talk about,” she said.

The Southhampton home of Douglas Elliman owner Howard Lorber. Courtesy – Douglas Elliman

According to the Real Deal, Consolo’s business partner at Elliman, Joseph Aquino never really knew the truth about Consolo because of the fake pedigree that she was spewing forth.

In 2016, the Real Deal reported that Aquino & Consolo were tangled in a rancorous legal dispute over what he claimed was her profligate lifestyle and overly excessive spending habits. Competitors throughout her storied career in real estate have always contended that Consolo was an insatiable press hound; always vying for publicity and she often took credit for the deals that others had worked so hard to make.

The New York Times had called Consolo the “highest-profile practitioner of the art of matching stores and storefronts.” The New York Post said she’s the “queen of retail.”

The Real Deal reported that she also brokered deals for top international brands such as Cartier, Zara and Louis Vuitton.

“She really changed the retail marketplace,” Rudin Management’s Bill Rudin told the newspaper. “Her street smarts and entrepreneurial spirit and flair — even the way she dressed and communicated — attracted an amazing clientele, some of the great international brands, to New York.”

Consolo, however, generated a great deal of animus and mistrust amongst her colleagues and business associates in the highly competitive industry that she was a major player in. When queried about Consolo, several brokers swore like drunken sailors, according to the Real Deal.

One broker said: “I have a picture of the real Faith. She’s no Madonna.”

Consolo found herself in court with Mendelson over a Toys R Us lease near Times Square. Photo Credit – AP

As the Real Deal reported, broker C. Bradley Mendelson, of Cushman & Wakefield, echoed comments made by no less than eight other competitors, who complained that “either through actual lies, or innuendo, she takes credit for everyone else’s transactions.”

In the 1990s Mendelson landed up in court battles with Consolo, as was reported by the Real Deal, over a commission for the Toys “R” Us lease near Times Square. “You hear that she was singlehandedly responsible for bringing every tenant there ever was to New York City. She’s never been a force in the industry. She’s a legend in her own mind,” he said.

Jeffrey Winick of retail powerhouse Winick Realty Group told the Real Deal in their report that: “Faith is all hype; if she can tell me 10 deals she’s done in the last 10 months, it would be a miracle. She writes her own stories. That’s all she does — is write.”

Other contemporaries of Consolo have legitimately griped that she took too much credit for the retail transformation of a number of New York City neighborhoods, including Soho, the Flatiron District and Times Square.

The NY Times report indicated that Consolo took “credit for leases that had been negotiated by competing brokers, and she was caught making false claims based on nonexistent reports. Over the years, publications were forced to issue retractions, and she gained a reputation for exaggeration.”

 

Annetta Powell & Real Estate Fraud

Sometimes, a few of the malefactors who inhabit the real estate business are able to turn their lives around and actually become a force for good. Case in point: Annetta Powell. Photo Credit: Facebook

Sometimes, a few of the malefactors who inhabit the real estate business are able to turn their lives around and actually become a force for good.

Case in point: Annetta Powell.

Her story is impressive, having grown up just outside Detroit with two deaf parents and seven brothers and sisters. She was working a job as a materials coordinator for Johnson Controls when she decided to take control of her career. Powell bought her first real estate property for $18,000, eventually flipping it for $42,000. She estimates that over the past 18 years, she has bought, fixed up and flipped over 600 properties and notched sales in excess of $50 million.

“But the journey for Powell ain’t been no crystal stair,” reported blackenterprise.com. “She clawed her way to reach every step only to have her progress impeded repeatedly with adversities such as domestic violence and a brutal sexual assault. Forging ahead, she leveraged her industry knowledge, published her first real estate book, and started conducting training seminars in 2007.

The following year, however, she was investigated for real estate fraud and later indicted in 2011 for mortgage fraud assisting buyers with down payment money (funds) to purchase investment properties. Prior to the indictment, she completely flat-lined financially due to the housing market crash and inability to sell off investment homes. In 2014, Powell was sentenced to 24 months at Alderson Federal Prison in West Virginia, known as “Camp Cupcake” where Martha Stewart served her prison sentence.”

Out of money, she realized that she was at “a critical crossroad and the future was at stake,” the piece continues. “Yet, her entrepreneurial prowess was still in play even behind bars where she maintained an unwavering belief that nothing could keep her bound. Determined and optimistic, she knew, “all of my dreams could come true despite the hardships of my past.”

She was eventually release in 2016, and since then has dedicated herself to helping others achieve their portion of the American dream. As she proclaims on her web site, “Do you want to start a business but don’t know how or where to begin? … … Do you want to learn how to brand your company as well as yourself? Do you have a business and you are still struggling financially? Do you want to learn how to build wealth through multiple streams of income? If you said yes to any of the questions above you are definitely in the right place! I want to assure you that no matter what your current situation is you can achieve the success you dream of – just look at my life as an example.”

Realtor Mendel Drizin, z’l, 83, Helped Build Community & Organizations in Crown Heights

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Mendel Drizin leading a prayer service at 770 Eastern Parkway in the presence of the Rebbe. Photo Credit: Chabad.org

By: Motti Wilhelm

The Crown Heights Jewish community was in the middle of celebrating the strangest Passover in its history. Schools had long been locked, synagogues were shuttered and Seders had no guests. Yet the community shone bright with countless acts of caring, kindness and love. Much credit for helping to create that sense of community, say friends and family, goes to Mendel Drizin, who passed away on the third day of Passover, April 13, after battling the coronavirus. He was 83 years old.

In one of their many private audiences with the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, Drizin and his wife, Channy, requested a blessing for affluence, the Rebbe told them “indulge other Jews, and G d will indulge you.”

This statement became a life motto for Drizin. Whenever approached for support, whether the petitioner was the dean of an institution looking to expand, the head of a household not sure where his family’s next meal would come from, or a groom needing help to cover his wedding expenses, Drizin was always ready to help, giving generously with a smile and twinkle in his eye.

Self-sacrifice was embedded in Drizin from his childhood. When he was born in 1936 in the Tarasovka suburb of Moscow, his father, Rabbi Avrohom Drizin (commonly known as “Avrohom Mayorer” after the city he was born in), had just finished a five-year stint as head of the underground network of Lubavitcher yeshivahs in the Soviet Union. Educating youngsters in the spirit of Judaism was antithetical to everything the Soviet Union stood for, and the elder Drizin was so hated by the Soviets that he made it onto the list of most wanted criminals in the Moscow area. He was nearly caught on numerous occasions and only evaded arrest through a series of miraculous occurrences.

Even after Reb Avraham Mayorer stepped down from running the underground network, he was still wanted by the authorities. Knowing that arrests were most commonly made in the dead of night, he would spend most nights away from home, frequently sleeping in the local cemetery. This persecution continued until the family’s relocation to Soviet Uzbekistan, where they spent some time in Tashkent and Samarkand. In 1946, the family traveled to Lvov to attempt to cross the border into the West. That summer, the Drizins, false Polish passports in hand, successfully boarded one of the first trains carrying actual displaced Polish citizens returning home, and left the Soviet Union forever.

Drizin later recalled that when the train was pulling up to the Russian-Polish border, the Chassidic escapees were terrified of being discovered. After all, who would believe that they were native Poles if they didn’t speak a word of Polish, and hardly remembered the names printed on their new passports? But Drizin’s father had prepared for that possibility. Pulling out an expensive bottle of whisky, he offered a drink to the Soviet border guards who boarded the train. Never ones to refuse a drink, the officials couldn’t turn down a second or third toast either. Before long, the bottle was finished, and the officials let the train continue on its journey with nary a glance at the passports or passengers.

Arriving in a devastated Germany, the Drizin family spent two years in the Pocking displaced persons camps, where they were joined by thousands of other Chabad Chassidim who had followed a similar path to escape Soviet Russia. Drizin would recall his stay in post-war Germany as a pleasant one—the area was nice, he was surrounded by familiar faces, and his father was finally able to walk around freely.

From Germany, the family immigrated to Israel, where Avrohom Drizin quickly resumed his old profession: running a yeshivah. He stood at the helm of the Chabad yeshivah in Lod, where the family lived for the first few months. The Drizins then moved to the newly created village of Kfar Chabad. The village, still in its infancy, had limited running water and electricity, and the residents were mainly poor immigrants from the Soviet Union.

Although the years in Israel were marked by physical poverty, for the young Mendel Drizin, they were years of spiritual wealth. He was considered one of the top students in the yeshivah, spending hours each day studying Talmudical texts and works of Chassidus. He also was the head of the newly-founded Igud Talmidei Hayeshivos, an outreach organization who brought Judaisim to radically anti-religious Kibbutzim, a novel idea at the time. Throughout his life, Drizin remembered two things from the decade spent in Israel: the overwhelming poverty, and the tutelage he received from Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, one of the renowned Chassidic mentors of the previous generation.

Drizin later recalled that when the train was pulling up to the Russian-Polish border, the Chassidic escapees were terrified of being discovered. After all, who would believe that they were native Poles if they didn’t speak a word of Polish, and hardly remembered the names printed on their new passports? But Drizin’s father had prepared for that possibility. Pulling out an expensive bottle of whisky, he offered a drink to the Soviet border guards who boarded the train. Never ones to refuse a drink, the officials couldn’t turn down a second or third toast either. Before long, the bottle was finished, and the officials let the train continue on its journey with nary a glance at the passports or passengers.

Arriving in a devastated Germany, the Drizin family spent two years in the Pocking displaced persons camps, where they were joined by thousands of other Chabad Chassidim who had followed a similar path to escape Soviet Russia. Drizin would recall his stay in post-war Germany as a pleasant one—the area was nice, he was surrounded by familiar faces, and his father was finally able to walk around freely.

From Germany, the family immigrated to Israel, where Avrohom Drizin quickly resumed his old profession: running a yeshivah. He stood at the helm of the Chabad yeshivah in Lod, where the family lived for the first few months. The Drizins then moved to the newly created village of Kfar Chabad. The village, still in its infancy, had limited running water and electricity, and the residents were mainly poor immigrants from the Soviet Union.

Although the years in Israel were marked by physical poverty, for the young Mendel Drizin, they were years of spiritual wealth. He was considered one of the top students in the yeshivah, spending hours each day studying Talmudical texts and works of Chassidus. He also was the head of the newly-founded Igud Talmidei Hayeshivos, an outreach organization who brought Judaisim to radically anti-religious Kibbutzim, a novel idea at the time. Throughout his life, Drizin remembered two things from the decade spent in Israel: the overwhelming poverty, and the tutelage he received from Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman, one of the renowned Chassidic mentors of the previous generation.

 

A Career in Real Estate

Around the time he moved to Crown Heights, Drizin began investing in real estate. His first property led to second, and it was not long before he became successful at it. But Drizin never forgot his earlier years, nor the Rebbe’s advice that he “indulge other Jews, and G d will indulge you.” He became a major supporter of many projects and organizations, with his favorite being Crown Heights institutions. The local schools, yeshivahs and mikvahs knew that they could turn to him for full support.

Drizin also worked to build up the Crown Heights community physically. He took great pride in the Crown Condos complex he developed in the center of Crown Heights, which was built with large families in mind, considering it the “crown jewel” of his real estate investments.

“In terms of financial gain, there were many other projects that would have been less of a headache and brought in more money,” shared his son, Chaim Drizin. “Nevertheless, my father persevered with the project for two reason. Firstly, although my father had never before been involved in construction, the Rebbe once asked him why he didn’t build in Crown Heights. My father felt that this was fulfilling that request. He also took great pride in having a part in bringing an upscale development to the community.”

Notwithstanding his business responsibilities, Drizin always made sure to pray with a minyan and spend time each day learning. A familiar site in the synagogue at 770 Eastern Parkway was Drizin sitting for several hours each day praying and learning, interrupted only by a constant stream of supplicants, each of whom he’d hand a crisp $100 bill.

When interviewed once and asked for business advice, he commented, “People need to pray to G d and learn Torah. This sums up any advice that I can offer.”

He is survived by his wife and their children, Motty Drizin (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Chaim Drizin (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Dina Cohen (Toronto, Ontario); and Dovid Drizin (Los Angeles); in addition to grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

(Chabad.org)

Parshas Behar – The Sanctity of Shmitta

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The Torah states, “When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall observe a Sabbath rest for Hashem. For six years you may sow your field and for six years you may prune your vineyard; and you may gather in its crop. But the seventh year shall be a complete rest for the land, a Sabbath for Hashem; your field you shall not sow…” Photo Credit: Wikipedia

By: Rabbi Yosef Kalatsky

  1. The Hidden Meaning of Mitzvos

Regarding the mitzvah of Lulav, the four species taken on Sukkos, the Torah states, “U’lecachtem L’chem – you shall take them for yourself.” The Midrash Tanchuma cites a verse from Mishlei (Proverbs) “Listen my son and take for yourself My statements (mitzvos)…” The Midrash explains that when Hashem says, “take for yourself” it means, “I (Hashem) have commanded you in many instances to bring you merit.”

The Midrash continues that when the Torah commands the Jew to “take for himself” it is something that is for his own benefit. As it is stated, “You shall take for yourself the Red Heifer.” One may think that G-d wants the Jew to take the Red Heifer for His sake. To this Hashem commands the Jew to take the Red Heifer only so that through it he can be purified from the contamination of the dead. It is only in the best interest of the Jew that he is to “take the Red Heifer.” Also regarding the building of the Mishkan the Torah states, “Take for Me Terumah…Make for me a Sanctuary so that I may dwell in your midst.” Hashem commanded the Jewish people to build the Mikdash not for His own sake but rather so that He may be close to them- which is in their best interest.

The Torah states regarding the mitzvah of lighting the Menorah (candelabra), “And you shall take for yourself pure olive oil to kindle a continuous light.” It is not that Hashem needs your light but it is only to protect your neshama (soul). The soul is compared to the light- as it is stated, “The light of Hashem is the soul of man.”

The Torah states regarding the four species, “And you shall take for yourself …” Meaning, “It is not that I (Hashem) need your species but rather to bring merit to the Jewish people.” On the festival of Sukkos, the Jew is commanded to take four species (Esrog, Lulav, Hadas (myrtle), Aravah (willow)); only some of these produce fruit.

The “Esrog” (citron) symbolizes tzaddikim (righteous) who possess good deeds. The willow represents Jews who are in the middle of the road vis-à-vis their good deeds and Torah. Hashem says, “All of you together should bind yourself into one bond so that there should not be impurity (something of no value) among you. If you shall do this, I shall be elevated upon you.” When is Hashem elevated? When the Jews are united.

Holding the four species in one bond represents the unity of the Jewish People. When the Jewish people are united as one, there will be no individual who will be singled out as “non-essential or unworthy.” Thus, even those who are individually failing vis-à-vis their spirituality will not be distinguished as such because they are part of the Jewish people as a whole. Thus, Hashem’s people, being so special will cause Him to be elevated and exalted.

The mitzvos of the Torah are intended to enhance, protect, and develop the spirituality of the Jew. Taking the pure olive oil for the kindling of the Menorah, taking the many materials that were needed for the building of the Mishkan (taking Terumah), and taking the Red Heifer are only examples given by the Midrash of mitzvos that are beneficial and have positive consequences to the Jew. One may ask, “What is the significance of binding together four species of vegetation and fruit? What benefit could such an act have?” To this, the Midrash explains that the purpose of Creation is to give praise to Hashem – as it is stated, “I have created it (existence) for My Glory.” The symbolism of taking the lulav in its appropriate time represents the unification of the Jewish people, which elevates Hashem. Thus the taking the four species is in effect fulfilling the objective of creation, which is bringing Honor to Hashem. It is through this honor that a Jew develops and advances his own spirituality.

 

  1. Appreciating the Value of the Sabbatical Year

When the Jews were about to enter the Land of Israel, Moshe communicated the mitzvah of Shmitta (Sabbatical year- seventh year) to them. The Torah states, “When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall observe a Sabbath rest for Hashem. For six years you may sow your field and for six years you may prune your vineyard; and you may gather in its crop. But the seventh year shall be a complete rest for the land, a Sabbath for Hashem; your field you shall not sow…” Sforno explains that Moshe told them about Shmitta because he thought they were about to enter the land. However, because of the sin of the spies (who slandered the Land) they wandered the desert and were delayed for forty years. Why did Moshe communicate the laws of the Sabbatical Year (Shmitta) before they entered the land? The Sabbatical year was not meant to occur until the seventh year – which would have given Moshe six years to communicate the laws.

Sforno explains that Moshe communicated the mitzvah of Shmitta at this time because the Jews’ right to remain in the Land was contingent upon the adherence to its laws. If they were to transgress this mitzvah it would cause them to be exiled from the Land. Chazal tell us that the reason the Jewish people experienced a 70-year exile in Babylon was because they had violated 70 Sabbatical years. Thus, in order secure the Land, Moshe needed to communicate the laws of Shmitta at this particular moment.

The Torah tells us that the Jew is obligated to redeem the first male offspring of the donkey (pidyon chamor). The donkey is to be redeemed with a sheep that is given to the Kohen; however, if the owner chooses not to redeem it, then its neck is broken. It is interesting to note that the special status of the first-born is limited to Kosher species – with the exception of the donkey. Chazal explain that the donkey, although it is a non-Kosher species, has a special status regarding sanctity – thus requiring redemption. When the Jewish people left Egypt, the donkey was used as the pack animal (beast of burden) to transport all of the wealth that the Jews had borrowed out of Egypt.

Hashem had promised Avraham our Patriarch, at the time of the Covenant Between the Parts, that when the Jewish people would complete their exile they would leave with great wealth. Had it not been for the donkey, the Jewish people would not have been able to transport the wealth that had been promised to them. Thus, the donkey was integral for the fulfillment of G-d’s Promise. The donkey itself was a factor in bringing about this Kiddush Hashem (Sanctification of G-d’s Name). Therefore, the first-born donkey, although being a non-Kosher species, assumed a status of kiddusha (holiness).

The Midrash tells us that even the most ordinary Jew left Egypt with 40 pack animals laden with wealth. After the Jewish people left Egypt, they spent 40 years wandering the desert. Other than the material that was needed to build the Mishkan their material wealth had no value in the desert.

During the forty-year trek in the desert, Hashem provided the Jewish people with all their physical needs (Manna, the wellspring, and the Clouds of Glory for protection). Although the Jewish people possessed enormous wealth, they understood that their belongings had no relevance or value vis-à-vis their existence in the desert. They had been conditioned over this period with the fundamental principle of “it is not on bread alone that man lives, but it is rather through the Word of Hashem that man lives.” Material wealth is only the physical means and conduit through which beracha (blessing) is manifested. It is not in itself the source of blessing. Success only comes to an individual because it is the Will of G-d. This was the lesson that the Jews had learned in the desert.

Upon entering the Promised Land, each individual received his own tract of land. It was possible that over time one could forget the fundamental lesson learned during the desert period. One could come to believe (especially through his own successes) that he is the master of his own destiny. Thus, there would be no beholdeness to Hashem. Therefore, before entering into the Land, Moshe communicated to the Jewish people the mitzvah of Shmitta to establish the proper perspective regarding one’s rights vis-à-vis occupying the land. In essence, the Jewish people were the equivalent of tenant farmers. They had to adhere to the bylaws of the agreement, which was to leave the land fallow in the seventh year.

The Gemara in Tractate Rosh Hashanah cites a verse, “The Eyes of Hashem oversee the Land of Israel from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.” The Gemara explains that the Land of Israel is unlike any other land in that it does not give forth its bounty without the direct intervention of G-d. Hashem placed the Jewish people in a physical environment that makes the need of His Presence and involvement obvious. He provides the Jew all of the indicators to understand and appreciate that if he follows the path of Torah, he will then be blessed with bounty.

Ramban explains that from the time the Jews entered the land of Israel, only non-idolaters have been able to remain in the Land and draw from its bounty. As we see, only at the beginning of the 20th Century when the Jews returned to the Land did it again begin to give forth its blessing. Every other location on Earth produces bounty regardless of who occupies it. Why is it the case that the blessing in the Land of Israel is dependent on the worthiness of its occupants?

The Gemara tells us that Hashem provides the Jew with the solution before He brings the problem. Since the beracha (blessing) of the Land of Israel is dependent on the deservingness of the Jewish people, thus the success or failing of the Jew will indicate whether he is meeting the Torah standard that was prescribed to him. This reality will enable the Jew to make the necessary corrections.

Hashem gave the mitzvah of Shmitta in order to allow even the simple farmer to take the time to address and reflect upon his spirituality. As Sforno explains, for six years the farmer works his land but on the seventh (Shmitta) he is to devote his time to spirituality and the study of Torah. He is to contemplate the fact that Hashem is the Creator. It is only by observing the Shmitta in the seventh year that the preceding six years of labor will be blessed with bounty.

 

  1. The Difficulty of Dealing with One’s Ego

The Torah tells us regarding the mitzvah of Shmitta that the land is to be worked for six years, but must be left fallow on the seventh year (Sabbatical year). In the Sabbatical year, one is not permitted to engage in agricultural activities and must leave all the produce of the field ownerless. During the Shmitta year, any individual Jew and non-Jew alike are permitted to enter into the fields and vineyards and partake of their produce.

The Midrash Tanchuma cites a verse from Tehillim (Psalms), “Bless Hashem His angels mighty in strength (geborei koach) who do His bidding to obey the voice of His word.” The Midrash explains that the geborei koach (those of enormous strength) is referring to the Jewish people who had declared at Sinai “Naaseh V’nishma – we will do and we will listen.” Another opinion cited by the Midrash is that the geborei koach are those who observe the mitzvah of Shmitta (Sabbatical year).

     (Torah.org)

COVID-19 and the Coming of Moshiach

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“The wolf will dwell with the lamb; the leopard will lie down with the kid; the calf, the young lion, and the fatling together, will be led by a young child. The cow will graze with the bear; their young will lie down together; the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:6-7). Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

By: Sara Yoheved Rigler

The Covid-19 global crisis is a dark tunnel, and humanity is on a train passing through it. According to Judaism, unlike other ancient worldviews, that train does not move in an endless circle. Rather it moves in a line toward a definite destination: The Complete Redemption, also called the Messianic Era.

As Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan pointed out, the famous passage about concord in the animal kingdom is really an allegory for the end of human exploitation and violence. Photo Credit: Facebook

All of the Biblical prophets described that destination: A world of universal peace, where “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither will they practice war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4) That peace will prevail not only among nations, but also among individuals. People of different dispositions will live together in harmony. As Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan pointed out, the famous passage about concord in the animal kingdom is really an allegory for the end of human exploitation and violence. There will be no more predators and victims. “The wolf will dwell with the lamb; the leopard will lie down with the kid; the calf, the young lion, and the fatling together, will be led by a young child. The cow will graze with the bear; their young will lie down together; the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:6-7).

How will this state of utopia come about? Through the advent of universal God-consciousness. As Isaiah prophesized, “The earth will be full of the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea” (11:9). All human folly and frailty derive from a lack of God-consciousness. As Judaism has been insisting for three and a half millennia, God is one. This means not just that there is only one God rather than a pantheon of many gods, but also that the underlying Truth of reality is oneness. When God created the physical world, He permitted the illusion of multiplicity and separation to mask the spiritual reality of oneness. During the coming period of the Complete Redemption [Geula Shleima], this mask will fall. All human beings will become cognizant of God and of the essential Godliness of other human beings.

This quantum leap in human consciousness will be brought about through the agency of an exceedingly wise and righteous human being called Moshiach [messiah], who will be a descendent of King David. Religious Jews pray thrice daily, “May the shoot of David sprout.” One of the “Thirteen Principles of the Faith” delineated by Maimonides is, “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Moshiach, and even though he tarries, with all that, I await his coming every day.” According to the sages of the Talmud, one of the six questions that all Jews will be asked when their souls come to heavenly judgment is, “Did you anticipate the Redemption?”

 

Is the World Ready for the Messianic Era?

Will the Messianic Era come soon, or is it shrouded in the mists of a distant future? According to our sages, the Moshiach must reveal himself by the year 6000. We are currently in the year 5780 of the Jewish calendar. However, certain factors can cause Moshiach to come sooner.

Before discussing those factors and whether the current global crisis feeds into them, we must clarify a crucial issue: Most rabbis are reluctant to talk about Moshiach’s coming, and for good reason. There are historical and philosophical reasons for this aversion.

Historically, false messiahs have wrought calamity to the Jewish people. The best (actually, worst) example is Shabbetai Tzvi, who declared himself the Messiah in 1648. The Chmielnicki massacres of that year had decimated the Jewish population of Poland, leaving the Jews of Europe and the Ottoman Empire desperate for salvation. Over the next two decades, large masses of Jews became convinced that Shabbetai Tzvi was Moshiach. They sold all their property and started to journey to the land of Israel. (Return of the Jewish people to Israel is the first stage of the Messianic Era.)

No one knows when the final redemption will come, but the only way to be ready is to yearn for that period of peace, harmony, and universal God-consciousness.

But in 1666, when the Turkish Sultan offered him the choice of conversion to Islam or death, Shabbetai Tzvi became an apostate, crushing the hopes and spirits of all but his most die-hard followers. The resulting trauma left the Jewish people in a post-traumatic wary-of-Moshiach state that lingers to this day.

Rabbis throughout history have argued about whether it is permissible to calculate the date of the coming of Moshiach. The predominant view is that it is forbidden to calculate the date. Rabbi Pinchas Winston explains why. First of all, if one projects a specific date for Moshiach’s coming, then one will not expect him on all the days prior to that date. The Talmudic sages, however, established that Moshiach should be expected imminently. Additionally, those who project a specific date for Moshiach’s coming may be so deflated if he does not come that day that they will despair of his coming at all.

Nevertheless, the major rabbis of the last several decades have stated that humanity is in the general period of “the birthpangs of Moshiach.” Just as the birth of a baby is preceded by excruciating labor pains, so the wars and terrorism of this past century are the necessary prelude to Moshiach’s emergence.

The main controversy about when the world is ready for the Complete Redemption hinges on whether the pre-condition for Moshiach is that people will be exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. The Torah itself prophesizes a mass return to faith in God and adherence to the mitzvahs: “There will come a time when you will experience all the words of blessing and curse that I have presented to you…. And you will return to the Lord, your God, and obey Him. … Then the Lord your God will return your exiles” (Deut. 30:1-3).

According to the Talmudic sages, however, the period of the “birthpangs of Moshiach” will be a time of decadence and scorn of those who live by Torah. It will be characterized by a predominance of chutzpah. “In the final days before the advent of Moshiach, chutzpah will abound…. Children will shame the elderly, and the elderly will stand before youth; a son will abuse his father, a daughter will rebel against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. Those who fear sin will become repulsive, and truth will disappear. … The son of David [Moshiach] will not come … until slander proliferates” (Sanhedrin 97a).

Viewing the world through the Torah’s standards, one could say that the present age has hit a moral nadir. The “me-too” movement has revealed sexual assault and harassment of women as widespread as the coronavirus. Adultery rates in America indicate that 20 to 40% of married men and 20 to 25% of married women have engaged in marital infidelity. Close to 500,000 images of child pornography are posted on the internet every week. Anti-Semitism throughout the world has spiked. In such a world, how can the Complete Redemption occur?

The Chafetz Chaim, the great sage of the 20th century wrote in 1930 that “There will be two categories of Jews in the generation of redemption, and both are instrumental in bringing the redemption closer.…”

The Chafetz Chaim, the great sage of the 20th century, solved the contradiction by declaring in his little-known work written in 1930, “There will be two categories of Jews in the generation of redemption, and both are instrumental in bringing the redemption closer.… The first category of those who hasten the redemption consists of those who vigorously intensify their service of God and that of their children, with all their hearts and souls” (On Awaiting Moshiach1, p. 23). The Chafetz Chaim goes on to describe the “second category of Jews who hasten the redemption”:

This generation will be weak in its religious observance, and each person will do as he sees fit.… Nevertheless, this should not cause us anguish, for this itself is a sign of the redemption! … They rely on their own judgment, which contradicts that of all previous generations. They despise those sages, scholars, and holy men of earlier generations who sacrificed their lives for the sake of each and every law of the Torah. …

Thus, no benefit can result from the continuation of this long exile. Israel’s merits are no longer growing and flourishing, thereby increasing our reward. On the contrary, acceptance of our tradition and compliance therewith continues to decrease and has almost ceased, God forbid. …

Therefore, the Holy One, blessed is He, must hasten the redemption and “open the eyes of the blind” to the true light. The Holy One, blessed is He, will not abandon His dispersed children, God forbid.… This is the meaning of the verse, “Yet, even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not abhor them or spurn them so as to destroy them and annul My covenant with them, for I am the Lord, their God” (Lev. 26:44).

… Accordingly, in the final period before the coming of Moshiach, there will be two categories of Jews. Both will hasten the arrival of Moshiach – one through their good deeds and suffering, and the other through unworthy deeds. Obviously, it is preferable to be included in the first category of Jews rather than the second [pp. 26-30].

 

COVID-19 and the Messiah

When the coronavirus first hit Europe and America, closing down commerce, schools, universities, entertainment, sports, etc., the pundits referred to it as pressing the “pause button” on society. But as of this writing, with nearly two and a half million people infected and 170,883 dead, many commentators are opining that the “pause button” is really a “reset button,” and that the world will never return to its pre-Covid-19 state.

The Department for Strategic Planning within Israel’s Foreign Ministry on April 12, 2020 made public a document composed by twenty diplomats and Foreign Ministry experts. Among its dire predictions were an economic depression rivalling the Great Depression of the 1930s, global destabilization with China and the West locking horns, dwindling health supplies, and additional pandemics.

Rather than such predictions leading us to anxiety and despair, Judaism’s response is always hope, because we are assured that all roads, however rough, lead to the Complete Redemption. This resolute optimism, based on Biblical guarantees, has enabled the Jewish People to weather all the crises of our long and challenging history.

The current global crisis could be a likely scenario for the advent of Moshiach. Spiritual truth cannot sprout in ground crowded with the weeds of false beliefs and tenaciously-held fealty to false gods. The last few years have seen an unprecedented disillusionment with government. With the malls closed and the stock market in seizures, the bastions of materialism and economic security are crumbling. Confusion abounds. Might humanity now be open to hearing the voice of Moshiach?

Some Talmudic sages predicted that the Complete Redemption will come with miracles greater than the miracles of the Exodus from Egypt. Yet others declared that it will be a time of upheaval, of earthquakes and natural disasters, when no one will have any money in his pocket.

The coronavirus pandemic is accelerating the speed of humanity’s train. We, all of us, are barreling toward the Complete Redemption. Whether we will reach the destination next week, next month, next year, or in a decade, no one knows. But the only way to be ready is to yearn for that period of peace, harmony, and universal God-consciousness, so we will recognize it when it – when we – arrive.

(Aish.com)

Dedicated to psychiatrist and author Kenneth Porter, who asked me about Moshiach.

Photo Credit: Seth Aronstam, www.inspirationalisrael.com

  1. The Chofetz Chaim on Awaiting Moshiach rendered into English by Moshe Miller (Targum/Feldheim, 1993)

Bringing Shabbat to Medical Staffs and Communities Worldwide

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Challah and Shabbat candles care of Chabad of Mequon.

Preparing and delivering with social distancing and safety in mind

By: Karen Schwartz

Pediatric dental resident Dr. Mirissa Price has been working day and night in a Boston emergency room and dental clinic during the coronavirus pandemic, her family quarantined together on the other side of the country.

Last Friday, Price hurried across the river from the Boston-area hospital where she works to Cambridge, Mass., to make it in time to pick up a special package—a Shabbat box, courtesy of Chabad-Lubavitch at Harvard. The box held candle-holders and a Kiddush cup, homemade chicken soup, butternut squash pie, freshly baked challah and printed prayers. She promptly took it home, and had a healthy and much appreciated Shabbat dinner with her puppy, Joey.

“It was a great way to feel a part of that Jewish community again when we can’t all gather at a single table,” said Price, who first got involved with Chabad at Harvard in 2015, when she came to campus as a dental student. “Even just picking up the box and seeing the masked faces of my Harvard Jewish family brought warmth and belonging to my Shabbat.”

At Chabad centers around the world, Chabad emissaries, their children and local volunteers are busy cooking, preparing and delivering Shabbat essentials while strictly observing social-distancing and other safety measures established by local authorities.

In Boston, Rabbi Hirschy and Elkie Zarchi, directors of Chabad of Cambridge, serve not only students and faculty at Harvard University, which is closed at present, but also the broader Cambridge and Somerville communities. Last week, they distributed more than 100 boxes to Jewish residents and expect the program to grow substantially.

“Our center hosts more than 2,000 different students at our Shabbat programs annually,” said Rabbi Zarchi, adding that many are first introduced to a traditional Shabbat experience through Chabad.

That program, like so many others that bring people together, is on pause, but students and community members now have another rich opportunity—to take charge and own their Shabbat experience. It’s an empowering and educational moment, said Zarchi, even if it’s coming for some students earlier than it would have in the past, when they knew they could rely on their community to create Jewish life, at least until graduation. “Now they’re being asked to do it as students,” said Zarchi. “And it’s incredibly inspiring to see.”

Menachem Butler, who works as a program fellow at the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at Harvard Law School, signed up last week to receive a Shabbat box. It was a chance to do something as a community and to include new people in the warmth of Shabbat, which he’d experienced so many times over the past five years at the Zarchi dinner table, he said.

The Shabbat boxes enhanced the experience of each person who received one, affirmed Butler. “It was more than just a little food; it was also the feeling—the sense that ‘we’re thinking about you, we are a community, anything you need, we are always here.’ You don’t have to be present right there to experience that closeness.”

People walked and drove to pick up their bags from a safe distance away, and relished the chance to see each other, if only for a minute, he said. “To be a part of something bigger; really, a little thing can go a long way. We just picked it up for a minute, but we went back to our homes, and were able to do our Shabbat and were all able to do it together, even though we weren’t physically present.”

 

Mitzvah of the Week in Wisconsin

Rabbi Moshe Rapoport, program director at the Peltz Chabad Center for Jewish Life in Mequon, Wis., is running a campaign focused on making every home a sanctuary. Every week for the next six weeks, they’ll be delivering packages tied to a particular mitzvah that can strengthen the sanctity of the home. “Instead of being down that shuls are closed and places of Yiddishkeit are closed, make your home that place,” he said.

This week they focused on Shabbat, giving out candlesticks and candles, challahs and a guidebook. Kashrut is on the list, as are charity and holy books. “The goal is first of all to help people change their focus and to increase their Yiddishkeit,” he said. “There’s never been so many people baking challah, making Kiddush every Friday night.”

Fran Goldner, who with her husband, Mark, has been involved with Mequon’s Chabad since 1994, is usually busy going to services on Friday and Saturday morning, and taking numerous classes the Chabad offers. “Now we’re doing them on Zoom,” she said of her classes. “I still feel very connected to the community. All of my needs are being provided, I’m getting my classes, I’m still connected by phone, and we went for a walk and people were walking, so we got to see people outside.”

She and her husband heard the doorbell ring, and saw a friendly face from their Chabad. On their doorstep was the box that included challah, candlesticks and a booklet to help them celebrate Shabbat. Though she had her own challah already, Goldner noted that it was special to know that the Chabad was reaching out to community members and encouraging them to make their homes a sanctuary.

“It’s amazing, the outreach,” she said. “If you touch one person that one person can touch another, who knows what can happen.”

 

Shabbat Dropoff in Naples

Rabbi Fishel Zaklos, co-director of the Chabad Jewish Center of Naples, Fla., with his wife, Etti, has hosted a communal Kiddush every Shabbat since they got the program rolling in 2005. Last week, they had a Shabbat drop-off where 175 members drove by to pick up challah, chicken soup, candles and more. He’s moved classes, Hebrew school, preschool and other learning online, and set up a task force with volunteers to shop for those who can’t.

“We’re trying to cover all bases and work on all cylinders more than ever,” he said.

For their challah drive-by, they handed out bags to community members, many of them making their way outdoors for the first time since lockdowns began. “It was unbelievable, the response,” he said, adding that Chabad is also offering Shabbat kits—meals from beginning to end—for those who need it. It’s a service they provided before the pandemic that’s getting more requests as more people fall on hard times or can’t leave home.

“We want them to know that here at Chabad of Naples, we’re here for the community, we’re here always, especially during the challenging times,” he said. “It lifts people up, it gives people nourishment, physically, spiritually—we’ve always prided ourselves on the fact that Chabad is family. It’s really family.”

(Chabad.org)

8 Ways to Visit Israel from the Comfort of Your Home

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You can still enjoy a visit to Israel. Photo of Israel and the Mediterranean Sea by Shutterstock.

Climb Masada, tour the President’s Residence, explore the Western Wall tunnels, and much more, without getting out of your pajamas

By: Jessica Halfin

Unfortunately, flights to Israel will probably be cancelled for the foreseeable future. Which means your Israel trip, the one you’ve been planning for some time now, just went down the drain.

Hard to find a silver lining, unless you decide to take it easy and create a new virtual itinerary that lets you experience the best of Israel — without lifting a finger or moving an inch.

Get comfortable, and don’t bother changing out of those PJs. Here are eight ways you can experience the sights, sounds and culture of Israel without setting foot on a plane.

  1. Watch personal experience videos or serene aerial images of the Holy Land
Walkthroughs of Machane Yehuda market. Photo Credit: Machane Yehuda web site

These days, you can travel the world through Youtube. Try a real-time walking tour of Tel Aviv, aerial views of Haifa, and walkthroughs of Machane Yehuda market.

You can also experience some awesome stuff vicariously through the work of online personalities, like this virtual Tel Aviv food tour from travel blogger Mark Weins that will give you plenty of inspiration for your quarantine cooking projects, and this super high definition masterpiece from The Vine Studios that takes you all over the country in just nine and a half minutes.

Also on the list of must-sees is the webseries Sergio & Rhoda in Israel. This couple video diaries their adventures traveling and hiking in Israel in HD, while explaining the sites and their personal experiences from a spiritual Christian, but remarkably inclusive, perspective.

  1. Explore Jerusalem online in unexpected ways

Jerusalem is a must-hit spot on any Israel trip, real or virtual.

Imagine praying at your favorite site, having a Zoom-based culinary workshop, or joining an exclusive art gallery hopping event from an online platform. Jerusalem is Traveling 2U was launched by the Jerusalem municipality, Jerusalem Development Authority, East Jerusalem Development Company, and Israeli travel startup Bridgify to help tourists do just that, and a lot more.

The Tower of David Museum is known for virtual reality experiences of the city. The museum’s “The Holy City 360” provides an inside view of Old City sites, even ones that are off limits to everyday travelers.

Quirky insights come from the musings on the museum’s blog, which tell tales of other times the city has found itself in lockdown or facing shortages, such as during a 19th century cholera outbreak, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

  1. Visit museums and sites that are open online

Who needs Netflix when you can browse through Israel’s most exciting museums and sites at all hours of the day and night for free on the Internet?

Below are just a few such museums offering up super fun virtual experiences that shine an inspirational light through all darkness, at a time when cultural institutions have been forced to shut their doors to the public.

Tel Aviv Museum of Art

Doing an especially great job of providing virtual experiences for kids, including videos on how to create art like Van Gough and Monet and an English-language audio guide explaining 12 different works of art from the museum’s permanent collection geared especially for kids, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art knows how to make for the best during a global pandemic. Photo Credit: Pinterest

Doing an especially great job of providing virtual experiences for kids, including videos on how to create art like Van Gough and Monet and an English-language audio guide explaining 12 different works of art from the museum’s permanent collection geared especially for kids, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art knows how to make for the best during a global pandemic.

The Israel Museum

The Israel Museum’s website welcomes you with “The museum is closed, come on in!”

Content includes printable coloring pages of famous works of arts featured in the museum from artists like Reuven Rubin and Zeev Raban, instructional arts-and-crafts videos, behind-the-scenes looks into several exhibits with English subtitled explanations from those who curated them, a self-guided tour, and snippets of museum life, such as a time-lapse behind-the-scenes look at a day at the museum, from happier busier times.

City of David

Opened in May 2016, Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People, has re-envisioned the 40,000 square foot exhibition dedicated to the history, culture, and identity of the Jewish people.  Spread over 3 levels in its newly renovated building on Tel Aviv University campus, Beit Hatfutsot invites visitors to explore what it means to be Jewish, reflect on the rich history of Jews and look toward the future of Jewish Peoplehood. Photo Credit: gallagherdesign.com

“A Coronavirus inspired discovery in the City of David” on the site’s website shares virtual tours, discussions, stories and historically accurate and even humorous video explanations of ancient Jerusalem of the site through videos geared toward online learning during a global pandemic.

Some of the other possibilities for a virtual tour are Beit Hatfutsot: Museum of the Jewish People, Friends of Zion Museum and Bible Lands Museum.

  1. Check out Israel’s live webcams and real-time streams
The Wing for Jewish Art and Life at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem presents the religious and secular material culture of Jewish communities worldwide, spanning from the Middle Ages to the present day. Photo Credit: imj.org.il

The Western Wall live webcam stream, put into place long before the Covid-19 pandemic, is a game changer for those who like to check in any time of day or night for a little online spiritual break from the everyday drudgery of life.

Those who’d like to know what it feels like to be present at the Holy Fire ceremony, an Orthodox Christian Easter tradition at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, can watch it retroactively in its entirety on YouTube, where it previously livestreamed.

  1. Stay in and see the sights (or in this case sites!)
The Tower of David Museum is known for virtual reality experiences of the city. The museum’s “The Holy City 360” provides an inside view of Old City sites, even ones that are off limits to everyday travelers. Photo Credit: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Skip the dry dusty heat and travel to Masada right from your couch. Masada 360 is a complete 360-degree English-language virtual tour of the site complete with all the info you’d get if you went in person.

A refreshing after view would have to be this video compilation by Tourist Israel of Israel’s favorite national parks, which includes the waterfalls at Banias and Eilat’s Coral Beach nature reserve.

English-language Travel Trailer videos from Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority take you through guided tours of famous sites, like this one of Tel Megiddo. The smartphone app of the same name gives you full access to a variety of videos and planning tools for that future in-person trip.

  1. Explore the Western Wall Tunnels from your chair (Western Wall Tunnels 360 Live)

In the old days, the ancient Israelites would travel to Jerusalem to the Holy Temple to bring an offering for the Passover holiday. Think they ever daydreamed about journeying there virtually and saving the trip? My, how times have changed.

Not only now can you stand as close as any modern human has ever gotten to the “Holy of Holies” and pass next to a Hasmonean aqueduct when you visit the remarkable site in person, but in our even newer pandemic-driven reality, you can do so from your computer chair.

Including a fully guided tour of the Western Wall Tunnels in the language of your choosing from the site’s usual team of guides, this hour-long 360 Live experience also utilizes film clips and illustrations. It’s so like the real thing that a live question-and-answer session with the guide closes the experience.

  1. Visit Israel’s president at his official residence

One of the most lovable presidents in recent Israeli history, Reuven Rivlin makes inclusion his mission, connecting to Israel’s people on a more personal level than presidents of the past.

The man who broke out into a spontaneous round of “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem, to buck up spirits at a press conference after SpaceIL’s failed moon landing, Rivlin has spent this quarantine period reading bedtime stories and the Passover Haggadah to the nation’s children over livestream, as well as uploading new segments of a virtual President’s Residence tour each week.

You can view the house, gardens and ceremonial spaces, its displays of artwork and archaeology, while getting unique insights into the history of this once off-limits space. Hebrew with English subtitles.

            (Israel 21C)

Mt. Sinai Hospital Addresses COVID-19 Concerns with Respiratory Illness Patients

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If you worry about getting sick and not having enough steroids, talk with your doctor. However, do not use systemic corticosteroids to treat COVID-19.

Edited by: JV Staff

COVID-19 is a concern for everyone. But patients with respiratory illnesses are among those at highest risk of contracting this virus—or developing a bad case of it. Louis R. DePalo, MD, Clinical Director of the Mount Sinai-National Jewish Respiratory Institute, shares information that respiratory patients and their loved ones need to know about COVID-19.

 

How can patients and caregivers protect themselves?

To protect yourself, you should follow the guidelines recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes thorough handwashing, social distancing, avoiding groups of more than 10 people, and trying not to touch your hands to your face.

If you or a loved one has a chronic lung disease, here are some additional things you can do to keep safe:

Screen any visitors or health aides who come into your home. Ask them if they are sick or if they have a fever. Check whether they’ve traveled to one of the COVID-19 hotspots. And ask if they’ve had contact with a COVID-19 patient. If someone answers yes to these questions, you may want to limit their access to your home.

Make sure that you have a robust supply of all the medications and durable equipment that you need.

 

What should I do if I have symptoms of COVID-19?

Louis R. DePalo, MD, Clinical Director of the Mount Sinai-National Jewish Respiratory Institute, shares information that respiratory patients and their loved ones need to know about COVID-19.

The symptoms to worry about are cough, fever, chest congestion, and sore throat. If you or a loved one has these symptoms, you should contact your health care provider. This does not mean to go immediately to the hospital. Instead, take an inventory of your symptoms and contact your doctor. Telemedicine can be a good way to start the conversation. Together, you and your doctor can decide if you need to be tested for COVID-19.

 

If I need to be tested, what should I do?

Once you and your doctor have decided that you should be tested, your doctor can help you determine where to go. This may be a hospital or a doctor’s office. You want to minimize your travel to the testing facility and wear a face mask, if you have one, to expose as few people as possible. And you should let the facility know you are coming.

 

Should I keep antibiotics and other medications in the house in case I develop COVID-19?

COVID-19 is a viral disease. It does not respond to antibiotics. You do not need to have antibiotics around to treat COVID-19. But if you or a loved one is susceptible to developing infections for other reasons, that may be a different story. If you are in quarantine and worry that you might not be able to get out to obtain a needed antibiotic, you should discuss this with your primary care doctor.

The same thing could be true for someone with asthma. If you worry about getting sick and not having enough steroids, talk with your doctor. However, do not use systemic corticosteroids to treat COVID-19. Your doctor can advise you on the best approach.

 

What do I do if I have a doctor’s appointment scheduled?

You should not assume you have to go in for a scheduled doctor’s appointment. Contact your health care provider to find out if you should keep your appointment. For instance, if you are going in for a diagnostic test, it may not be available because of strains on health care facilities.

Your doctor will advise you what to do in this case.

If you have a routine medical appointment, there may be other ways to receive your care or consultation. Many health systems are moving toward telemedicine, to help patients and providers maintain social distance. Telemedicine means communicating remotely with your doctor by video conferencing, texting, or other means. For example, Mount Sinai offers a variety of telehealth services at Mount Sinai Now®.

If you need a critical therapeutic medical visit, it may be a different issue. You and your doctor should talk to weigh the pros and cons of a visit. If, for instance, you would be going in for a biological infusion, you want to weigh the risk of coming into contact with people against the risk of missing a medication that is considered therapeutic. Your doctor can advise you best.

Israeli Bio-Defense Lab Finds Antibody that ‘Neutralizes’ the Coronavirus

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The Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) said on Tuesday that it completed a “groundbreaking scientific development” toward a potential treatment for COVID-19 based on an antibody that neutralizes SARS-CoV2, the coronavirus that causes the disease. Photo Credit: sibat.mod.gov.il

By: No Camels Team

The Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) said last Tuesday that it completed a “groundbreaking scientific development” toward a potential treatment for COVID-19 based on an antibody that neutralizes SARS-CoV2, the coronavirus that causes the disease.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense speaking on behalf of the institute emphasized that this achievement could potentially develop into a treatment for COVID-19 patients but that the development was not a vaccine.

The IIBR is a governmental research center specializing in biology, chemistry and environmental sciences that falls under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister’s Office. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tapped the secretive institute in early February to begin development on producing a vaccine. In early April, the center reported “significant progress” and trials on animals.

The institute has also been involved in plasma collection from Israelis who have recovered from COVID-19 to research antibodies, proteins made by the immune system that can attack the virus.

“This is an important milestone, which will be followed by a series of complex tests and a process of regulatory approvals,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the process could take several months given “the nature of this breakthrough.”

The development has three key parameters, according to the IIBR: first, the antibody is monoclonal (lab-made identical immune cells that are all clones of a unique parent cell), and contains a low proportion of harmful proteins; second, the institute has “demonstrated the ability of the antibody to neutralize the coronavirus”; and third, the antibody was specifically tested on SARS CoV2.

“Based on comprehensive scientific publications from around the globe, it appears that the IIBR is the first institution to achieve a scientific breakthrough that meets all three of the aforementioned parameters simultaneously,” the ministry said on Tuesday.

The Ness Ziona-based institute is now pursuing a patent for its development, according to the announcement, after which it will approach international manufacturers.

Meanwhile, a study in the Netherlands published this week in Nature Communications also claimed that a human monoclonal antibody neutralized SARS-CoV-2, and SARS-CoV, in a lab setting.

“Monoclonal antibodies targeting vulnerable sites on viral surface proteins are increasingly recognized as a promising class of drugs against infectious diseases and have shown therapeutic efficacy for a number of viruses,” the scientists of this study wrote.

The antibody known as 47D11, targeted the spike protein that gives the coronavirus its name and shape, and “exhibited cross-neutralizing activity of SARS-S and SARS2-S,” according to the researchers.

These neutralizing antibodies “can alter the course of infection in the infected host supporting virus clearance or protect an uninfected host that is exposed to the virus,” and the 47D11 antibody can either alone or in combination with pharmaceuticals and therapies, offer potential prevention and/or treatment of COVID-19, according to the study.

A number of Israeli scientific teams and over 70 groups worldwide are currently working to develop a vaccine or a treatment for COVID-19.

On Monday, Netanyahu pledged $60 million from Israel toward global efforts to develop therapies, diagnostic kits, and a vaccine for COVID-19 as part of an international summit of world leaders looking to raise $11 billion.

The European Commission pledged $1.09 billion, Britain pledged $482 million, Canada pledged $850 million, Japan promised over $830 million, and Saudi Arabia said it would put forward $500 million toward the effort.

Last month, Israeli scientists at the Migal Galilee Research Institute formed a new company, MigVax, to further adapt a vaccine they developed for a deadly coronavirus affecting poultry for human use. The scientists had been working for four years to develop a vaccine for IBV (Infectious Bronchitis Virus) which affects the respiratory tract, gut, kidney and reproductive systems of domestic fowl.

MigVax raised $12 million in an investment round led by OurCrowd for further development of the vaccine and said it hopes to begin clinical trials this summer.

Also in April, an Israeli scientist was awarded a US patent for his innovative vaccine design for the corona family of viruses and indicated that he was on track to develop a vaccine for SARS CoV2.

Meanwhile, two Israeli bio-medical companies have developed COVID-19 treatments that are being tested as part of a compassionate use program, a treatment option that allows for the use of not-yet-authorized medicine for severely ill patients.

RedHill BioPharma‘s investigational drug opaganib was used to treat patients with COVID-19 in Israel and preliminary findings have demonstrated clinical improvement. And Pluristem Therapeutics received backing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) just last week for its PLX cell therapy that it says may potentially be used to treat COVID-19 patients with pneumonia and pneumonitis. The therapy has been tested in Israel and the US with preliminary results showing a 100 percent survival rate.

In the US, Massachusetts-based company Moderna has begun clinical trials on an experimental vaccine, and California-based biotech firm Gilead Sciences is currently in a Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its novel antiviral drug Remdesivir, developed originally for Ebola, in adults diagnosed with COVID-19. Initial results have shown promise.

These trials build on additional research including two clinical trials in China’s Hubei province led by the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, and a clinical trial in the US, led by NIAID.

    (NoCamels.com)

In Partnership with BioReference Labs, NYC Launches Antibody Survey at Community Testing Sites

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Through a partnership with BioReference labs, the City will conduct its own antibody survey at community testing sites in the five boroughs to better understand the spread of COVID-19.

Appointment-only antibody testing will be offered in Morrisania, East New York, Upper Manhattan, Concord, and Long Island City beginning next week

Edited by: JV Staff

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday announced expanded antibody testing for New Yorkers. Through a partnership with BioReference labs, the City will conduct its own antibody survey at community testing sites in the five boroughs to better understand the spread of COVID-19. The survey will test approximately 70,000 New Yorkers over an initial two-week period, with the capacity to administer up to 5,000 tests per day.

“So many New Yorkers are wondering whether they’ve had the virus, or if they’ve exposed their own families,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio “While antibody tests are not a fix-all solution, they will give our communities the knowledge they need to help us defeat this virus together.”

BioReference is supporting the city in its epidemiology studies of the presence of COVID-19 throughout large segments of the New York City population,” said Jon R. Cohen, M.D., Executive Chairman of BioReference Laboratories. “For New York, a city that has been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, this type of information will be of great value in helping healthcare professionals to analyze the presence and progression of the disease in order to identify at risk populations for possible early intervention.”Antibody Tests

Beginning next week, antibody testing will be offered on an appointment-only basis for approximately two weeks in the Morrisania, East New York, Upper Manhattan, Concord, and Long Island City. Scheduling will open this Friday by dedicated hotline, and individual test results will be available in 24-48 hours.

Through a partnership with the US Department of Health and Human Services and CDC, the City will also administer 140,000 antibody tests for healthcare workers and first responders across FDNY, DOC, NYPD, and hospitals citywide. Through a separate initiative, NYC Health + Hospitals has now tested over 8,000 healthcare workers for antibodies across its 11 hospitals.

 

Phone-a-Clinician Hotline at 844-NYC-4NYC

To expand access to care for New Yorkers who have symptoms or questions about COVID-19, NYC Health + Hospitals will continue to grow the capacity of its free Phone-a-Clinician Hotline at 844-NYC-4NYC to be able to handle 120,000 calls a month. With this expansion, Health + Hospitals will aim to provide 16,000 tele-visits to New Yorkers a week via the hotline, accounting for roughly 80 percent of the City’s ambulatory visits. NYC Health + Hospitals has also now completed 60,000 billable H+H Tele-health visits at more than 300 clinics citywide since beginning of crisis.

 

Support for Survivors of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence

The Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence (ENDGBV) will convene a COVID-19 response work group to prevent acts of domestic gender-based violence and support survivors during the pandemic.

The work group will engage a diverse group of 20 providers representing multi-disciplinary services for survivors across the City including shelter, legal services, counseling and mental health services. Providers from both small and large community-based organizations will have representation in the working group, with an emphasis on those serving diverse communities citywide.

Earlier last week, Mayor de Blasio announced local manufacturers are ramping up production of critical testing supplies to create 50,000 COVID-19 test kits per week for New York City.

“There’s no challenge too big for New Yorkers – and I’m proud to see our medical and manufacturing community join forces to make our city a self-sufficient source of the tests we’ll need to get through this crisis,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Rebuilding a fairer and better New York City starts with conducting a rigorous testing program in every borough, and they’ll help us ensure a safe and responsible recovery.”

Testing kits primarily consist of two main components: a nasopharyngeal swab to collect a sample and a tube of transport medium, a liquid that preserves the collected sample while it is transferred to a lab for testing.

In close coordination with NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H), the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is working with Manhattan-based Print Parts to produce swabs. EDC is also partnering with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx to produce transport medium. EDC will contract with a local company to assemble the two components into completed kits.

The City has also identified interim sources of transport medium and is in conversation with other local manufacturers to create testing supplies.

“Large-scale testing is absolutely critical for New York City’s reopening and recovery,” said James Patchett, president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. “Local production of these test kits is another example of how the City has tapped into the creativity and innovation of NYC businesses and institutions to solve what seemed to be an insurmountable challenge. Whether it is test kits, face shields, gowns or bridge ventilators, we’ve seen firsthand the extraordinary ability of New York City to adapt and rise above. At EDC we’re incredibly proud to be part of these efforts that exemplify the very best of our city.”

“These critical testing supplies will ensure that NYC Health + Hospitals can continue to prioritize testing to vulnerable and at-risk populations during our response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “We are grateful for this collaboration as it is a shining example of how the private sector has supported the public health system and our heroic healthcare workers.”

Print Parts, an additive manufacturing service, is producing 3D printed swabs based on a clinically validated design from EnvisionTec and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. It is expected to deliver 30,000 swabs at the end of this week and will ramp up to 50,000 a week in subsequent weeks.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is complimenting those efforts by following a CDC protocol to produce transport medium for the testing kits. Initial production will begin this week and will produce at scale after further testing and approval.

In only three weeks, EDC worked closely with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and H+H to create a local supply chain producing swabs, an essential testing component. EDC spoke with experts in 3D printing and consulted with medical, laboratory, and manufacturing experts across the country.

Using that knowledge, the EDC-led team built partnerships with leading manufacturers, assemblers and academic laboratories across the five boroughs to review swab designs and manufacturing plans, secure sterilization firms, bring an academic lab back online for sterile production of transport medium, and secure local distribution and packaging rights to better support our front line medical professionals.

“We are honored to support New York City during these difficult times,” said Robert Haleluk, founder and CEO of Print Parts. “We have been working closely with the city government and various industry partners to rapidly scale our production capabilities and begin providing these critical testing supplies that will be essential to getting our city back on its feet.”

Healthy Vitamin D Levels Could Be Linked to COVID-19 Survival

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There’s been much speculation about whether vitamin D might prevent or help survival with COVID-19, and two new studies appear to underscore the link.

By: Steven Reinberg

There’s been much speculation about whether vitamin D might prevent or help survival with COVID-19, and two new studies appear to underscore the link.

In the first study — published in the journal Aging Clinical and Experimental Research — British researchers found that COVID-19 infections and deaths were higher in countries where people had low vitamin D levels, such as Italy and Spain, compared to northern European countries where average vitamin D levels were higher.

The researchers explained that people in southern Europe may have darker pigmentation, which reduces vitamin D synthesis, while people in northern European countries consume more cod liver oil and vitamin D supplements.

The second study appeared in the online journal medRxiv, but has not been peer-reviewed. In it, a team from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., analyzed data from 10 countries, including the United States.

Led by postdoctoral researcher Ali Daneshkhah, the study’s conclusion was the same: Low vitamin D levels were linked to a hyperactive immune system.

The so-called “sunshine vitamin” bolsters immunity and prevents an overactive immune response, the Northwestern researchers said, adding that their finding could explain several mysteries, including why kids are unlikely to die from COVID-19.

But Dr. Mark Bolland, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Auckland in New Zealand who has investigated the effects of vitamin D on bone health, said neither study proves cause and effect.

“There are numerous examples where low vitamin D levels have been associated with a condition, but raising the levels does not improve it,” Bolland said.

He said the papers were both “very speculative” and based on the same fallacy.

“It is far too simplistic to say that because some countries have average lower vitamin D levels, that this is a likely reason for worse COVID statistics,” Bolland said.

But William Grant, director of the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center in San Francisco, had a different take.

To him, the findings add to results from other observational studies that found boosting vitamin D levels might help prevent COVID-19 or make it less severe.

Meanwhile, Dr. Frank Lau, an associate professor of clinical surgery at Louisiana State University, said his research clearly shows that vitamin D can make a difference.

Patients whose levels are low have a weaker immune response to the novel coronavirus, he said. Vitamin D strengthens it, allowing the body to develop antibodies to the virus and prevent it from spreading throughout the body, Lau said.

Clinical trials to see if vitamin D can help infected patients are getting started.

Lau’s own trial involves giving vitamin D to patients in the early stages of COVID-19 infection. Meanwhile, a trial in France is investigating whether vitamin D will benefit people with severe infection, he said.

While Lau suspects vitamin D won’t help once an infection is severe, he does believe boosting your vitamin D levels may help ward off COVID-19. But there’s a more effective way to do it than taking a supplement, he said.

“The easiest way to get your daily dose of vitamin D is just to spend 10 to 15 minutes a day in the sun,” Lau said. “It’s inexpensive, it’s free and you’ll get all the vitamin D you’ll need.”

Vitamin D is also found in such foods as fatty fish, fortified dairy products and cereals, beef liver, cheese and egg yolks.

(HealthDay News)

FDA Grants Approval for First At-Home Saliva Coronavirus Test

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The FDA made note that this would be the only saliva-based coronavirus testing kit on the market. Photo Credit: Rick Bowmer / AP

By: Tauren Dyson

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized emergency use for an at-home, saliva coronavirus test, according to the agency’s website.

The RUCDR Infinite Biologics lab at Rutgers University got an amended emergency authorization on Thursday for the test, which lets people send saliva samples to a lab.

The same lab was also granted emergency authorization in April for its saliva collection method, which New Jersey health care workers used to begin testing patients, according to The New York Times.

The FDA made note that this would be the only saliva-based coronavirus testing kit on the market. The only other coronavirus tests require people to gather nasal or throat samples and send them to a lab.

“What’s new and next is expanding access to testing for people,” chief operating officer and director of technology development at the RUCDR Infinite Biologics lab Andrew Brooks told CNN.

According to Brooks, users will have to spit into a tube and fasten it with a cap. When the entire preservation agent turns blue, the tube is placed into a biohazard bag and sent off to the lab.

“If people are committed to do self-collection and can facilitate that collection at home, certainly with a prescription under medical care, we can get to those that are quarantined, don’t have the means for transportation or are too scared to go outside,” Brooks said. “So they get the test in the mail or from a distribution center.”

FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen M. Hahn wrote in the agency’s press release: “The FDA has authorized more than 80 COVID-19 tests and adding more options for at-home sample collection is an important advancement in diagnostic testing during this public health emergency.”

     (Newsmax)

Hasidic Group in Williamsburg Attacked by Queens Couple in Social Distancing-Spat

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By Ilana Siyance

On Sunday night, the police arrested an anti-Semitic couple from Queens who allegedly attacked a
group of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn. As reported by the NY Post, Paulo Pinho, 35, and his wife, Clelia
Pinho, 46, were charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime after confronting a large group of
Hasidic Jews with anti-Semitic slurs and violence, even ripping off some masks from their victims. The
couple was driving by Bedford Ave & Ross St in Williamsburg when they saw a group of Hasidic Jews
gathered outside on Sunday evening. The Queens couple was apparently enraged about what they felt
was a lack of social distancing, Police said.

The couple came out of the car screaming hateful slurs blaming the Jewish Hasidic community for the
coronavirus. They said things to the effect of, “You’re the reason why we’re getting sick,” police
paraphrased. Paulo Pinho, called cops on the crowd and then approached three Hasidic men violently
trying to rip off their masks and setting off a fight. The crowd detained the pair until the police arrived
and took them into custody, police said. “They were at that corner, they encountered these three males
and made anti-Semitic remarks,” NYPD Lt. Thomas Antonetti told The Post. “After making the
statements, that’s when the masks were pulled off.”

As seen in a video released by The Belaaz, dozens of cops came to the scene to respond to the call,
following the 8:35 p.m. attack. The two suspected instigators were taken to a hospital, with Paulo
complaining of an injury to his arm, and Clelia sustaining cuts and minor injuries in the scuffle, police
said. The victims, at least one of whom was wearing traditional Hasidic garb, declined medical attention
at the scene, as per the Post.

On Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio, whose comments last month were criticized for potentially
igniting a spike in anti-Semitism, commented to reporters. He said the alleged attack was “absolutely
unacceptable” and warned others against committing such crimes. “We don’t accept bias in New York
City,” de Blasio said. “We don’t accept hate in any form.” The mayor confirmed that the incident is being
investigated by police as a hate crime. “We will not tolerate hate, we will act on it quickly,” de Blasio
added. “Anyone who engages in an act of hate will be suffering the consequences of their action.”