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United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzchok Goldknopf sharply criticized the Likud after the party released an official statement during Shabbos, calling the move a serious affront to religious sensitivities.
The statement in question was issued Friday night by Likud spokesman Guy Levy, after the onset of Shabbos. The message reiterated accusations against Qatar Gate suspect Eli Feldstein, who previously served as military spokesman in the Prime Minister’s Office, while at the same time expressing support for another Qatar Gate suspect, Yonatan Urich, an adviser to Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.
Goldknopf said the decision to publish the announcement at that time was entirely unnecessary and should never have been done on Shabbos.
“Publishing an official political message at the height of Shabbos crosses a red line and constitutes severe harm to Shabbos’ sanctity and to the status quo, which are basic values of the State of Israel as a Jewish state,” he said.
He added that beyond the substance of the statement itself, the timing reflected a troubling disregard for the Shabbos-observant public. “In addition to the contents of the statement, the very decision to publish such a statement on Shabbos expresses contempt for the Shabbos-observant public and severe harm to the public. There is no justification, not political and not media-related, to violate Shabbos for the sake of managing denials and political spins.”
{Matzav.com}
The Peleg Yerushalmi announced that it will resume protests across Israel today, warning of widespread traffic congestion due to the protestors.
The demonstrations are being organized in response to the continued arrests of yeshiva students.
According to an announcement, the Peleg protests were ordered by the movement’s leadership, which instructed supporters to take to the streets in what it described as a firm and forceful stand against the arrests.
Demonstrations are scheduled to begin at approximately 4:30 p.m. Protest locations were not disclosed beforehand, a decision organizers said was made in order to prevent advance preparations by police.
Peleg has frequently demonstrated in the past along Road 4 near Bnei Brak, as well as in areas surrounding the main entrance to Yerushalayim. Authorities are bracing for significant traffic delays in those regions and possibly elsewhere as the protests unfold today.
{Matzav.com}
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has halted the planned demolition of the historic Kingsbrook Shul, formerly Congregation Chaim Albert, in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Built in 1950 on the grounds of the former Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, the shul was to be razed as part of a redevelopment of the larger site into affordable housing. The project, which is partly financed via the state’s housing and community renewal program, would include hundreds of residential units.
The governor’s decision came amid a lawsuit in the state’s supreme court in Kings County, in which Congregation Chaim Albert sued One Brooklyn Health System, the entity that owns the property.
In the June 13 complaint, the congregation alleged that the shul as always intended to remain a permanent house of worship and should not be treated as a disposable real estate asset.
According to the complaint, shul services were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic but were never allowed to resume, even after public-health restrictions ended. The congregation alleged that the prolonged closure was used to justify removing the Kingsbrook Shul as part of the redevelopment.
Hochul said she “led the effort to save the historic Kingsbrook Shul from its demolition” in a statement in which she encouraged “leadership from the hospital and synagogue to find a path forward where both sites can prosper and serve the community.”
Aron Wieder, a state assemblyman, said that “protecting institutions with deep community and cultural significance is important.”
Letitia James, the state attorney general, also said that “this synagogue has been meaningful to the community for decades, and I am grateful a treasured piece of Jewish history in New York will be preserved.” JNS
{Matzav.com}
