1.
There is no doubt that Education Minister Naftali Bennett did a good job of persuasion when he managed to convince his interviewers from a family newspaper with several interesting insights, any connection between them and reality is merely coincidental.
""Every director of an ultra-Orthodox institution will testify to you that he feels the change in the corridors of the Ministry of Education in the last term.".
So full disclosure: I myself have spoken with quite a few administrators who have poured a lot of mud on what is happening in the Ministry of Education, and on the "rule of the bureaucrats," which the Minister of Education has really failed to put an end to.
Anyone who knows reality also understands how delusional the following sentences are: "My relationship with Deputy Minister Farosh is excellent, I have only good words for him, he does a good job. There is no inherent tension between us and I give him full trust and a free hand.".
The testimonies from the field speak quite differently, and they lean more towards the word "flower pot.".
All of these statements are true, about as true as the following statement, about the alliance with Tekuma: "I am interested in preserving unity with Tekuma.".
Well, really.
2.
Precisely because Ted Ne'eman greatly respected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sent a distinguished delegation to the meeting with the Haredi media (director-general Zelig Orlansky, editor-in-chief Israel Friedman, and political correspondent Aryeh Zisman), I was surprised that in his political column Zisman released details that were said at the meeting, which was defined as 'off the record.'.
Here is the place to add as an interim comment the fact that his competitor in the leaked information (M. Carmeli - he is Menachem Gashid, who also showed up for the meeting - described how Netanyahu told him that he preached to Rabbi Litzman and Rabbi Gafni about the need to study different subjects, i.e., the Bible) - but this does not absolve him of responsibility.
""Since this is a briefing, it is naturally impossible to publish everything that was said in the closed room, but the feelings can also be written down (and a little more than that)" - writes Zisman. To his mind, the definition of the meeting was completely 'off the record'.
Here are some leaks that I managed to fish out from the political column 'Reliable Source':
• Regarding the aggressive and unusual response to the rocket barrage in the south, Zisman writes: "The person behind this change is Defense Minister Lieberman." But then he adds: "If Netanyahu is asked about this, he will rightly claim that the decision comes from the Prime Minister's Office building.".
• "When Netanyahu was asked this week whether he sees Katz as his successor, he replied unequivocally: 'I am not appointing a successor, the Likud will choose.'" Another sentence that was also said at the 'off-the-record' meeting. As well as the following sentences, attributed to the Prime Minister: "I do not eliminate political opponents and they cannot eliminate me either... Whoever wants to, let him run.".
• "The prime minister does not think, as stated, that he is eliminating his political opponents. For every minister who resigns, he provides an explanation. As stated, he wanted to appoint Ya'alon as foreign minister, after it was necessary to include Lieberman in the government, but Ya'alon refused.".
• "At the beginning of the meeting, he draws a cartoon on the board behind him, which proves that he is not a bad artist... The main motif in the cartoon: the long nose and the beads of sweat. 'This is how the media portrays me, a long nose - 'he is a liar', and sweats, sweats all the time...""
• Regarding the events of the opening of the Western Wall tunnels. "If you ask Netanyahu about this event, he knows how to talk about the then mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert, who urged him to open the tunnel, while estimating that everything would go smoothly. This also applies to the head of the Shin Bet at the time, Ami Ayalon, but after the events broke out, everyone shrugged off the talk and suddenly remembered that it was necessary to be careful of such and such developments.".
• "During the five hours with him, he mentioned his grandfather, Rabbi Milikowski, many times... The Prime Minister also told how he studies with his son (Avner) and it was clear that he is very proud of his son for his knowledge and expertise.".
• Regarding the issue of work on Shabbat - "Netanyahu admitted that he was not aware of the details and contacted the head of his office, Yoav Horwitz, to clarify the matter. Horwitz confirmed that he had indeed received a request from MK Rabbi Gafni about the expected desecration of Shabbat.".
• The entertaining story of 'The Banana Bird' recounts in detail...
""We will try to summarize... the things as much as possible within the framework of the briefing, and within the framework of the legitimate request to keep what was said in the room as an American 'off the record' that lasts for two years, and not an Israeli 'off the record' that comes out in two hours," Zisman wrote.
From Yated, I would have expected a little more.
3.
Of all the things I read about the meeting with Netanyahu, I especially liked the following sentence (Yaakov Rivlin, in 'Bakhilah'):
""As we got to know him in this meeting, with his sales skills he can even sign the chairman of the committee for the honor of our rabbis and Rabbi Motkah Blei as subscribers to the 'Hapeles' newspaper"...
It's interesting, by the way, to try it.
4.
I loved Aryeh Erlich's column on the family, and I especially liked his question: "Why do we want the yellow-haired gangster to be elected president of the United States?".
""It's not pleasant to talk about it out loud," states Ehrlich. "It's a subject that most of us prefer to suppress, to obscure its existence, to deny the fact of its existence. But when no one hears, somewhere deep in our hearts - most of us yearn to see Donald Trump, this yellow man with the rolling tongue who doesn't see anyone from a meter, the political thug who insults everyone without a second thought - win the elections in the United States in 2017, settle like King in the White House and embark on a four-year global show, in which he will spin the entire world on his little finger.
""We have to admit that the American gangster who decided to add a lot of color to the presidential election and run for the White House is not exactly the man we would want to meet in a dark alley, we wouldn't be happy to get stuck with in line for the trampoline or in the elevator to the IRS.".
""Most of us wouldn't even choose him as a cockroach exterminator or gutter cleaner - he's really not the man to mess with - but we would be happy, if we had American citizenship, of course, to choose him for the most important job in the world.".
So like that.
I have no idea, Arie, where you got the idea that "we want the yellow-haired gangster to be elected President of the United States." I didn't do a poll, but I personally have absolutely no interest in the man being elected, nor would I be happy if I had American citizenship to give him my vote.
The yellow-haired gangster is cute for hosting entertainment shows and making audiences laugh, but I really wouldn't give him, in a calm heart, the keys to controlling the world power.
Either way, an excellent column.
5.
There has never been a time when I agreed with Rabbi Yaakov B. Friedman's column in the community - like this week.
Friedman describes the gatherings in the holy yeshivas, and their peak - the panels, or in the language of the young men, the symposia.
He told how the attitude towards the press is becoming more and more emphasized, and how young men are interested in all matters today, not just the business of the Haredi parties.
""This means we are getting closer to becoming a majority member," he explains.
According to Friedman, "Even the 'spiritual critics' of the Haredi press will not be able to erase words like 'iPhone' for days. The mere mention of inappropriate electronic media does not give them kosher status, or encourage their existence; it only helps us stop being pathetic and believing that what we do not mention will disappear from the landscape.".
""This almost hypocritical ambivalence in which every Haredi teenager is aware of the existence of predatory devices, most Haredi journalists also use them - but their names are forbidden to be mentioned, makes us ridiculous and irrelevant... Ostrich-like policies prevent us from properly preparing for the challenges and spiritual struggles that await us as we become a member of the majority.".
6.
It's funny to compare the cover of the Shas party newspaper (not related to us, Shas says, and yet) with the cover of the Degel HaTorah magazine - Yated Ne'eman.
While Haar Yom Yom laments "the destruction in the magical resort town of Amatricia," allocating most of its front page to it ("It was one of the most beautiful towns in all of Italy, and now nothing remains of it"), Yated dedicates its front page headline to "a coalition storm against the expected trampling of Shabbat in four locations across the country and a blatant violation of the status quo," and in prominent letters on a red background: "The State of Israel against the Holy Sabbath.".
Just below, much less prominently, he writes about the "noise disaster in Italy.".
For your attention.
7.
On page 6 of 'Yom Liom' I found a painful and important topic: "Bill: Seminary directors will be required to accept female students before they go on vacation.".
It turns out that "a week before the start of the school year, several Spanish girls were still out of school... This is blatant discrimination that screams to the heavens, expressed not only in the failure to accept girls into seminaries but even into first grade and kindergarten.".
In Jerusalem, "Rabbi Zvika Cohen completed the placement of all the Sephardic and even Ashkenazi girls, except that there are 7-8 seminary directors who refuse to accept 20 girls!""
In Elad, Deputy Mayor Zuriel Crispal calls the claims of the girls who were not assigned as they wished, "background noise." I would replace the words with "a cry from the heart.".
Will the chairman of the Education Committee really carry out his threat to take a hard line on reluctant seminary directors? - Only a few days will tell.
What is clear is: a year and a half after Shas became part of Netanyahu's fourth government, scenes of crying over traffic signs must not be repeated at the beginning of next year.
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