We did not think we would get 20 mandates in the first polls [since forming the new party], we are working towards double-digits of mandates.. The next prime minister will be Benjamin Netanyahu and we definitely want to be central partners in his government... I expect that this will be Netanyahu's last term as prime minister, he is not young anymore and he has many investigations open on him..

  -- Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked

Netanyahu and the Likud are setting up Aryeh Deri to be blamed in case the right wing loses in the upcoming elections. Netanyahu has been looking to lower the minimum threshold, and his initiatives have largely been stopped by Deri.

Why Netanyahu is so worried about this is beyond me. It seems he wants to ensure that Eli Yishai gets in to the Knesset, but I dont know why. Deri is opposed to lowering the threshold, seemingly because he wants to ensure that Yishai does not get in.

Now Netanyahu is saying, through his people, that we need to lower the threshold to ensure all the small right wing parties threatening to split the vote and waste a lot of votes get in and ensure that their votes wont be wasted. They are saying that if we do not lower the threshold and those parties do not get in, and those votes are all wasted, and the left comes to power because of it, it will be Aryeh Deri's fault.

In this case I agree with Deri. I actually think the threshold should be raised even higher, but that should not be done during an election period. Deri need not be the fall guy for Netanyahu. The way they play with the threshold to accomplish their goals is dirty - changing the rules to fit their needs. There should be a solid, iron-clad rule as to how elections work, and it should not be possible to change the rules every other election to fit the ruling party's needs. Perhaps an overwhelming majority should be required to change election rules. I am not sure, but perhaps the INstitute for Democracy should sit down and come up with a plan for the best election rules and the Knesset should set that in stone and make it not easy to change.

In the meantime, no it won't be Aryeh Deri's fault if this or that party does not get in because they could not muster enough votes. It will be their own fault and the will of the people.

It is too ealry to have an opinion about the new party formed by Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked and make assumptions as to how well they will do in the upcoming elections, but here are my initial thoughts.

As I have said before, considering Naftali Bennett has aspirations to be prime minister, leaving Habayit Hayehudi is the right move. He has no chance of becoming prime minister while in the Habayit Hayehudi party. It is too sectorial a party and cannot move into that position. They got upset at him when he brought Eli Ohana in to the party before the previous election. There is no way they can move themselves into being a national party rather than a sectorial one. Besides for that, Habayit Hayehudi just does not have the gravitas to get grow large enough to be in such a position - they always lose out to the Likud, as many of their supporters can go either way - and they don't make the effort to do so either. So, Bennett had no chance of fulfilling his aspirations as long as he stayed in Habayit Hayehudi.

Can he do it from this new party- HaYemin Hechadash - the New Right? I don't know. I don't know what it is or what they will be and what kind of support they will get, though my assumption is that he will not be able to and this will just be another small right wing splinter party.

What should he have done? Perhaps he should have rejoined the Likud and tried to take a leadership position there. What he really should have done is place Ayelet Shaked as #1 in the new party. She is far more popular than he. That does not really help him, but he already may never get there with his reputation, and with some other popular politicians moving into position , so helping his better-liked protege get there might be the best he can hope for.

I spoke with Bibi. I told Bibi, you know we give Israel 4.5 billion dollars a year. And they are doing very well at defending themselves. We are going to take great care of Israel. Israel is going to be good.

  -- President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, about how the US pullout from Syria will affect Israel

good job and he impressed the judges!

So "Isaac from Jerusalem" is on hold to talk about the Mets. I asked Yitzchok where he's learning. Would it be Loshon Harah if I said which yeshiva it was?

— Dov Kramer (@RabbiDMK) December 25, 2018

Benny Gantz is very popular right now as a politician. Polls, normally almost meaningless, are showing that Gantz on his own, should he actually register a party and run in the elections, would draw 15 or so mandates. If he would team up with another party and form a united party of some sort, depending on with whom, his popularity shoots up even to nearly 30 mandates.

Do any of you know anything about his political aspirations and his outlook about the various issues that need to be dealt with? What is his approach to dealing with cost of living issues? Education? Taxation? how does he plan to advance peace with the Palestinians? How would he deal with other regional threats? What would he do with the various Haredi-relevant issues, such as IDF draft, core curriculum requirements, conversion courts, "Reform Kotel", budgets, etc? size of government? Shabbos business and public transportation? and more.

How is he so popular when nobody knows his views on public issues - because he is not saying them? Are we so fickle that a tall, handsome, general can be rumored to join politics and we are all swooning over him not caring what he actually thinks?

I don't think so, but it is a phenomenon that is difficult to explain.

I suspect it is somewhat of a protest vote but also more than that. With Israelis always being so optimistic, we think we can do better, and hopefully we can. The problem is that everyone else has already shown themselves to be no better. People want another option, but the current options are not appealing to most people.

A recent poll showed 54% of the public do not want Netanyahu as Prime Minister, but the recent polls also show the Likud winning in almost a landslide (depending on what happens with Gantz). How is that possible? Partly because the Israeli government is based on parties and coalitions and is not representative of the people. People are voting for the Likud, not for any specific politician in the Likud. People are voting for Yesh Atid/Labor/Shas/UTJ/Meretz/Kulanu or whatever party, not for Netanyahu or Lapid or Deri or Litzman or Kahlon. Without a good alternative, people will continue to vote for the party they have supported until now, so even though they don't want Netanyahu, they also don't want Lapid or Bennett or Kahlon or Gabbay. So a majority of Israelis seem to not want Netanyahu as prime minister, but the Likud continues to win [in the polls].

Unless Benny Gantz runs.

Benny Gantz represents that optimism, and his status as an unknown only helps him - people don't have what not to like. As soon as he starts talking and discussing the issues people will become familiar with him and some will love him and some will hate him and expectations and support will become somewhat more realistic. But for now, Israelis are optimistic about their options for the future, knowing they don't want Bibi, and are willing to give him a shot. Benny Gantz will have to try to keep quiet and avoid talking about the issues for as long as possible.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman went to Rav Chaim Kanievsky and to Rav Gershon Edelstein to get brachas. Friedman described his work n behalf of  the people of Israel. Rav Kanievsky gave him a bracha and also told him to  make a kiddush hashem with his work. Rav Edelstein asked the ambassador if he could get involved in the issue of the education requirements in New York that are troubling. Friedman asked Rav Edelstein for a bracha for Trump to win a second term in the upcoming presidential elections in 2020.

UTJ has the potential of 10 mandates. I hope that what happened in Bet Shemesh won't happen in the Knesset. The votes of 500 fools that decided to not vote for Abutbol, or to vote for a different candidate, caused a day of crying for generations to come, irreparable damage..

  MK Yisroel Eichler

For Rick Rosenthal, an orthodox Jewish man from Atlanta, that means putting on the red suit to become the man in the sleigh all year round. He’s gone by “Santa Rick” for the last 50 years, which he says surprisingly isn’t a conflict for his religious beliefs.

MKs Haneen Zoabi and Jamal Zahlaka, both on the United Arab List representing Balad, have announced today that they will not be running for re-election and have finished their time in the Knesset.

After all the efforts to get rid of them, they are finally leaving on their own. Hopefully the Arab citizens won't replace them with two more terrorist supporters. Goodbye and good riddance.

Unfortunately there are political parties whose outlook one cannot keep track of. Last week we saw the "flik flak" of Yair Lapid. I will tell you what happened there. When the Defense Ministry's Draft Law proposal was presented, Yair, as usual, jumped on the wagon and claimed it was his, despite the fact that every child knows he was lying. After a few hours, with the help of his media advisers, he understood he had made the mistake of his life as he has nothing left to sell. He now won't have anything to incite about and to run his hatred campaign in order to reach the seat of Prime Minister..

  -- MK yaakov Asher (UTJ) criticizing Lapid for not supporting and passing the Draft Law proposal, leading to early elections.

interestingly, Lapid still continued to say the bill is his (whether he is lying or not I dont know) - meaning, it is practically the same bill he had proposed - and it is a good law. He did not support it because he claimed the prime minister had worked out a deal with the Haredi parties to circumvent the sanctions in the law and funnel money to them another way, if they should not meet the quotas as detailed in the law. So he did not backtrack, flik flak, on the issue, but had a different problem with it.

More interestingly, Asher is criticizing Lapid for not backing a bill that UTJ was not backing either. One could claim the same flik flak from UTJ - pushing and pushing for the bill to be passed but then abstaining and voting against in the actual vote.

Naftali Bennett's opposition to the bill made the most sense - Bennett said he would not vote for the bill because if UTJ is not, he will not, as this is for them, and if they don't want it, he won't force it on them, and he does not want them to blame him later for the draft law.

I apologize if Israeli elections does not interest you, but it looks as if that will be what the bulk of the interesting issues around here over the next few months will be related to...for better or for worse...

MK Tzippi Livni (Hamachane Hatzioni), like all the MKs, is starting to prepare for elections. With Livni it might involve deciding in which political party to run this time, as she has moved from party to party over the past few elections. For the meantime she is still holding her bloc with Labor as Hamachane Hatzioni, but that can change at any time.

While they prepare for elections, Livni yesterday evening called up all the leaders of the left and center to form greater blocs and alignments in order to win the upcoming elections. She specifically called upon Avi Gabbay, head of the Labor party, among others, to put his ego aside for the greater good of putting the party first and winning the elections.

I find "put your ego aside" to be very similar to calls for "achdut" - unity. When people call for achdut, they almost always mean do it my way for the sake of unity. Only rarely do they mean I will do it your way, and even less frequently do they mean let's find a way together that might not be perfect but would be beneficial to everyone.  "Put your ego aside" means move over and let me rule. It does not mean I will put my ego aside. Better you than me.

So, Mr Gabbay, put your ego aside for the greater good, or at least for Tzippi Livni's good.

Whenever I see a news item about representatives, city councilmen, of Degel Hatorah and/or Shas requesting or demanding changes or policy from the new mayor of Bet Shemesh, Aliza Bloch, it makes me take pause to wonder.

Before I say why and what about it makes me pause and wonder, I am not even suggesting that their requests or demands are necessarily bad or provocative  or an attempt to throw wrenches into Bloch's leadership and efficient running of the city. Perhaps sometimes it is, and perhaps other times they are worthy and legitimate issues that can really deserve a new perspective and approach and possibly a change of policy. Even then.

So, whenever they make demands, and they already have a few times from what I have seen, it makes me wonder - they were the leadership of the city for the past 10 years, and before that as well they were part of the leadership. If they really feel it is an important issue, and perhaps it really is, why did they not deal with it over the past 10-15 years the way they demand Bloch deal with it now. Even when the request or demand is justified, it makes me wonder if they are really make an honest effort or just looking to make trouble.

And I don't have an answer. But it bothers me - it bothers me that they do this and it bothers me that even on issues I think they might be right about I have to wonder if they are being honest, hard working, and truthful or just being opposition troublemakers.

On December 11th, 2018, Koolulam and Eshkol Regional Council invited 3,500 people to sing ״Me'alay Dmama" ("Stillness above me") by Ahuva Ozeri, in three-part vocal harmony, and play the tune of love in the Gaza Envelope and the south of Israel. Together, from all across the country, we lit the night with song, solidarity and hope. The event was produced in collaboration with the Ministry for the Development of the Periphery, the Negev and the Galilee. ~ Koolulam is a social-musical initiative aimed at strengthening the fabric of society. The project centers around mass singing events in which large groups of non-professionals come together to form a collaborative musical creation. Koolulam brings together people from all walks of life to do one thing: stop everything for a few hours and just sing – together.

Israel is going to elections. Is that good or bad? Do we have elections too often or not frequently enough? Are the elections for ulterior motives - to benefit this or that person?

Each and every person in Israel will have a different answer for that question, with a different explanation of why elections are happening now and what the real motives are.

All I know is that our neighbors we are trying to make peace with last had elections in 2005, and that was supposed to be a 4 year term. Mahmoud Abbas is now in the 14th year of that four year term. We are blessed that we get to choose our leaders anew every few years, even if the options are not optimal, let alone perfect. Elections are a responsibility but they are also a right, and a benefit. We get to choose our leaders - choose wisely, but more importantly, just choose.

Ever since the Shas party has been teetering on the edge of the minimum threshold, former Shas leader Eli Yishai has been the demon and has been running unsuccessfully directly against Shas.

Despite the lack of success in the previous national elections, and then again in the most recent municipal elections, Eli Yishai is talking about running again in the upcoming national elections. He is also talking about trying to merge with Shas, if the right arrangement can be reached, though Shas sounds like they aren't interested.

I am not quite sure what Eli Yishai is trying to accomplish. Running on his own has already proven futile, and he has not made any arrangements to run on a joint ticket with another party list... so I do not know why he is about to put himself through this again. It might be time for him to start looking for another career, outside of politics. Until now I thought he was hanging around waiting for Aryeh Deri to be indicted and convicted so he himself can take over Shas again - though at this point it looks like even if that happens Shas will not take Eli Yishai back (though it could happen).

At this point I suspect that Eli Yishai is really a plant working on behalf of Shas.. By Eli Yishai running, it gives Shas a demon to attack, a target. They can whip up their people in a frenzy against the threat posed by Eli Yishai against Rav Ovadia Yosef. With Shas on the brink of not getting into the Knesset, this gives them something to rally around and to be motivated about to go vote and support their party.

It sounds far-fetched, but I don't see any other reason for Eli Yishai to hang around and run again, and to directly target Shas as his opponent.

As reported by Kikar, A frum, Haredi, man found himself in a faraway land with no Jews. The beginning of this sounds like the start of a fairy tale.. Anyways, the traveler came across a local Jew - the local was happy to see another Jew and asked to borrow his tefillin and lay them each day the traveler was in town.

When it was time for traveler to leave and head back home, Mr Local Jew made a somewhat difficult request of his new Jewish friend - he asked if he would mind leaving his tefillin behind, for him to keep, and Mr Traveler would be able to replace them with a new pair when arriving back home in Israel. Mr Local Jew has no tefillin and has no way to get a pair, but Mr Traveler could easily get a new pair when he gets back home...

Mr Traveler thought about and happily decided to leave his tefillin for Mr Local Jew. When he got back home, he bought himself a new set.

After the fact, Mr Traveler asked a number of rabbonim if what he had done was correct and proper or if it was wrong - because he left his tefillin behind for Mr Local Jew he had to go a couple of days without laying tefillin until he could replace them! Maybe he was wrong for doing so.

The question was brought to Rav Chaim Kanievsky who said that what he did was proper, but he needs to make up for the days he did not lay tefillin by laying his tefillin twice per day, once at the morning Shacharis services and once at the afternoon Mincha services, to make up for the days he missed. Other rabbonim the question was presented to agreed with this response.

Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein disagreed and, based on a psak from Rav Elyashiv, said Mr Local Jew had the status of "oness" and was exempt from his obligation and responsibility because of it - he has no way to get tefillin, there is nothing he can do about it. While Mr Traveler is not an oness, he has no excuse to intentionally stop doing a positive mitzva.

The whole story ad discussion is interesting, but what is most interesting, to me, is the idea that because he missed a few days of laying tefillin he has to lay tefillin twice a day for a few days to make up for it. I don't think I ever heard that before.

So the government coalition heads meeting today decided that the IDF Draft Law impasse has no immediate resolution and there is no choice but to dissolve the government and move to early elections. The date of elections will seemingly be at the beginning of April, shortly before Pesach.

OK. It is always nice for the people to get an extra paid vacation day (though us freelancers don't really benefit from this)... Right before Pesach has an added benefit of people having a day off to vote and then deal with Pesach preparations.

The real question is that just a week or two ago Bibi avoided elections by telling the public how Israel is in the midst of an extremely serious, and secret, security situation and now is not the time for elections - too dangerous. So, was that security situation resolved quietly that now it is ok to go to elections?

"My Faith Gives Me The Strength To Win"

  -- Yedioth Aharonot, on Bracha "Beatie" Deutsch talking about being a Haredi woman who wins marathons and dreams to represent Israel in the Olympics...

You can follow Beatie's running and life experiences, and her inspiring messages of faith, via her Facebook and Instagram accounts (and maybe others)..

A 2000 year old bronze ring with a precious blue stone was found in the dirt of a structure that then housed a mikva adjacent to a path leading up to the Beis Hamikdash...

The ring was unearthed in the Emek Hatsurim sifting project. Archaeologists believe that the ring as lost when someone ascending to Har Habayit to visit the  mikdash stopped to purify himself in the mikve.

From The Times of Israel:

Yerushalmi Kugel can look pretty frightening to the uninitiated. It can take someone a nice amount of time to build up the courage to try it, though most people who try it once love it..

It is definitely frightening enough without having to deal with actual poison... According to Kikar, a kiddush in Beitar on Shabbos was tainted when it was discovered that the yerushalmi kugel was tainted..

for illustrative purposes only. this was NOT the poisoned kugel. as far as I know.

After davening, when the food was brought out for kiddush, they started eating the traditional yerushalmi kugel and noticed a weird sharp taste. Shortly after, it became a vomit-fest.

The gabbaim of the shul went looking for the cause and discovered on the kitchen floor an empty spray can of k300 - an insecticide against cockroaches and other bugs.

Refuah Shleima to all the poisoned members of that shul.

Can you imagine anything more frightening than poisoned yerushalmi kugel?

Here is a pretty funny, perhaps "ironic" is a better word, item...

President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud "Abu Mazen" Abbas has criticized Israel, specifically Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for transferring monies to Hamas in Gaza.

Abu Mazen said, "Ntanyahu personally transfers monies to Hamas in Gaza to commit acts of terror in the West Bank and we are the ones who pay the price!"
sources: Israel Hayom, Ynet, JPost

Abbas is referring to the recent transfer of cash from Qatar through Israel to Hamas to pay salaries and to distribute to others. According to Abu Mazen, money was sent by Hamas to the West Bank, much of which was taken by the PA but some of which was used to fund terror attacks.

He is not wrong, and somehow Abbas is more of an opposition to Netanyahu than Avi Gabbai, Yair Lapid, Avigdor Lieberman and Tzippi Livni!!!

Netanyahu has worked hard to pass laws allowing them to freeze Palestinian monies balanced against money spent on terror, but then Netanyahu himself lets the money in. He regularly criticizes the Palestinians for this behavior, but he facilitates it as well..

Maybe the Palestinians should pass their own version of the Taylor Swift act against Israel...

A Rosh Kollel sent a question to Rav Yitzchak Zilbershtein, saying that he runs a respected kolel with about 15 serious and God fearing avreichim who are studious and diligent in their learning. One of the avreichim had a troubled and difficult childhood that deeply affected him and baruch hashem he was able to overcome it and establish a beautiful family, with a wife from a similar background. Today they have 4 young children.

This avreich has special character traits and is God fearing, but because of issues and disturbances with his family, he misses learning sessions in kollel and sometimes when he comes he comes late, and often falls asleep during the learning sessions.

The rosh kollel says he spoke to the avreich about it and the avreich explained that he is mentally worn out and even going to sleep early at night has not helped and he is always tired - which is why he misses so often, comes late and falls asleep while learning. The family gets no financial help from their families and whenever the wife has to go out, he has to stay home to watch the children. He trusts the avreich completely and mentions that all the problems are due to this "oness" - extenuating circumstances.

The Rosh Kollel then asks Rav Zilbershtein what to do  on the one hand it is a small kollel and one avreich coming late, missing, sleeping, etc can have a detrimental effect on the others. As well, other avreichim are trying to get into the kollel but he cannot accept them due to funding, but this avreich is using up a spot that can be better used by others. On the other hand, this avreich is God fearing and likely won't be able to find another kollel to learn in. So, the Rosh Kollel asks, can I throw this avreich out of my kollel and send him to look for another place?

Rav Zilbershtein responded that he should definitely have the avreich leave the kollel, but the stipend should continue to be given to him, though not at the expense of the kollel. If an avreich comeslate or misses learning in kollel and it can cause a weakening in other members of the kollel, he must be removed from the kollel, but the rosh kollel should try to arrange a stipend for him.

I would guess that means if there is some extra money or if the rosh kollel can persuade a local tzedaka organization to sponsor a stipend or find funding from elsewhere outside the kollel's bank account...
source: Kikar

I wonder if he was sent to a doctor to be tested for Mono, or to a psychologist to see if he needs medication for depression - uppers or whatever. Maybe he has problems that need to be dealt with before they get much worse...

הריסת בתים - בג"צ מונע.
בגירוש משפחות - הוא כבר משתגע.

ואז באו הסינים ונראה שמצאו את המתווה המשפטי הנכון למאבק בטרור - שכן אני בטוח שאין שום אמנה, גם לא בז'נבה, שב-2018 מתנגדת לחינוך נכון.

אני בעד pic.twitter.com/VeX6uXtvo8

— אורן חזן (@oren_haz) December 21, 2018

very interesting..

There's an old joke that women are like computers.. there are actually several versions of this joke, and some of them are less "kosher" than others..

Anyways, as the jokes go, here are some of the ways in which computers are like women (I left a few out):

• They are expensive.
• They are never specific about problems.
• They are difficult to figure out and crash inexplicably about once a month.
• Try to shut down one part and the whole system shuts down.
• Extremely complex. Must learn a lot to work with it successfully, and you keep on learning.
• If you do not do the necessary maintenance, you have to wait a long time for it to open up.
• It actually works better when handled with care.
• Once you think you have figured out something, always surprised to find that there is something else.
• Never forget to save or it may be lost forever.
• Never give up on the first, second, third tries - you'll get it.
• And those help screens - you have to know something before they can really be of any help.
• It runs better when it is up-to-date.
• The more time you spend with it the more rewarding it is.
• Sometimes the system jams. Give it more space.
• No matter how it looks, it's what's inside that counts.
• Even your smallest mistake is stored immediately in memory, only to be a problems later on - when you're not expecting it. 
• Their internal language - that they use for communication between the two - NO ONE else is able to understand but themselves. 
• When you've finally decided to have one you'll know you spend lots of money on accessories for it. 
• Anyway... you have to admit the fact once you've had one you wouldn't like to live without it.

There is a new way in which women are like computers..

According to Kikar, some (at least one major one, for now) frum newspapers are now starting to blur/pixelate out computers from their images, just like they do with women..



The picture is from the city council meeting in Elad, and while Hamevasser (the Shlomei Emunim affiliated newspaper) printed the untouched photo, Hamodia (the Gur/ Agudas Yisrael affiliated newspaper) scrubbed out the computer..

A Guest Post by Dr. Harold Goldmeier

MK Rachel Azaria (Kulanu) has proposed a law that will make it illegal to publicize information and details about people who have been killed or injured before publication has been officially sanctioned. The law would be specifically relevant for security incidents and times of war. In recent events, information was spread over social media and at times immediate family members first heard about the loss of loved ones via social media rather than from official sources.

Violators of this, if it passes, will be subject to 50,000nis fine - even if no damages can be proven. If it can be shown there is intent to cause harm, the fine would be doubled to 100,000nis.

The proposal has passed its initial vote with 86 in favor 0 votes against.
source: Kipa

I started keeping kosher.. Rabbonim have allowed me to put in my mouth food that is mixed with meat and milk, but not to swallow, though not to do that with shrimp and pork..

  -- Michal Ansky, gastronomist and food journalist, and Master Chef judge

pretty cool.. though it is based on an assumption rather than knowledge...

also, I love the penguin romping around behind him..

Azrieli Group Revealed Tel Aviv's Next Icon: "The Spiral Tower" - the Tallest Tower in Israel -The new tower will be part of the Azrieli Center complex, joining the circle, triangle and square towers which have come to be the symbol of the city of Tel Aviv -This unique tower will rise 350 meters and span 91 stories, and will contain commercial, office, residential and hotel space; approximately 2.5 billion NIS will be invested in the tower's construction - The tower's planning was entrusted to the international firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), which is responsible for the design of five of the ten largest skyscrapers in the world - Danna Azrieli, chairperson of Azrieli Group: "The architecture of the Spiral Tower is a reflection of the boldness and creativity that embody the Azrieli Group, which redefines Tel Aviv's skyline with each new project. The exceptional financial investment in the project constitutes yet another testament to our great confidence in the Israeli economy and its growth, and a continuation of the strategy that has lead us in building the country for over three decades." TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 19, 2018 - This morning, the Azrieli Group headed by chairperson Danna Azrieli, revealed "The Spiral Tower", which will be built on the property where the mythological Beit Yediot Ahronot stood for decades. The tower will constitute part of the Azrieli Center Complex, which today includes three towers - a circle, a square and a triangle. The new tower will rise to a height of 350 meters spanning 91 stories and once completed, it will become the tallest building in Israel. Excavation and deep foundation work is already underway at the site, and construction is expected to be completed within six to seven years at an estimated investment of 2.5 billion NIS. The tower's planning was entrusted to the international firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF). The firm specializes in, among others, increasing the role of large buildings in the urban space, and are responsible for planning five of the world's ten tallest skyscrapers. In attendance at the celebratory reveal event, which took place today at the Azrieli Group offices, was architect James von Klemperer, President and Design Principal of KFP, and architect Moshe Tzur, owner of Moshe Tzur Architects Ltd., who serves as the project's Israeli architect. "The Spiral Tower" symbolizes a new urbanism that includes a wide mix of purposes (mixed use) in a tower with around 150,000 square meters which will contain, among others, commercial space, along with offices, residences, and a hotel. Six underground parking levels, covering an area of 45,000 square meters, will be built at the base of the structure, in addition to a commercial floor connected directly to the light rail. As part of the tower's construction, the Azrieli Tel Aviv Mall will receive a significant addition of 13,000 square meters, bringing its total area to 50,000 square meters. The tower was planned and developed in a unique geometric shape, never before seen in Israel, which captures the eye and the imagination. The main challenge for the initiators and architects was to create harmony between the three iconic towers that form Azrieli Center and the new tower, an impressive, one-of-a-kind structure which stands on its own. The tower's design takes inspiration from the twists of a snail's shell, attempting to imitate their natural form. The design also draws inspiration from ancient biblical scrolls and the way they unfurl upwards. All these led to choosing the spiral shape as the central motif in the tower's design, in a way that will resemble a scarf winding around the existing base and three towers, and continuing like a scroll ascending around the new tower. The tower's peak will include space for conferences and meetings, recreational space, and a 360-degree view of Tel Aviv and the surrounding area. The expanded Azrieli complex will create the only traffic artery connecting all the diverse means of transportation around it: from the bus lines that stop at the entrance, to the direct passage between the Hashalom Train Station and the Shaul Hamelech light rail station, which will be incorporated in the new build so that the light rail station will open directly into the expanded Center. Given the anticipated activity of the light rail's Red Line, it is predicted that approximately 100,000 people will pass through the center every day once the project is completed

The Economics Committee of the Knesset has approved the law proposal, to now move forward to the Knesset for final voting, regarding the advertising and marketing of cigarettes, and now including electronic cigarettes such as the now popular JUUL (and others).


The proposal moving through the system would only allow advertising cigarettes and e-cigs in printed newspapers and magazines, but not anywhere else. Additionally, the amount of nicotine in e-cigs would be limited, cigarettes and other smoking products would not be allowed to be on display openly. Additionally, the color for the packaging of cigarettes and electronic cigarettes would have to be uniform with the chosen color being Pantone 448 C - this color was voted, in 2016, as the ugliest color on the spectrum, and has thus been adopted by a number of countries as the color to be used for cigarette packaging in an attempt to make cigarettes less attractive to young potential consumers.

The proponents of the proposal, MKs Yehuda Glick (Likud) and Eitan Cabel (Hamachane Hatzioni) are proud of the accomplishment and are saying that the goal is to discourage young people from starting to smoke and to hopefully save the lives of thousands of people. Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman says that recent stats are showing that there has been a downturn in the level of smoking in Israel and hopes that with the passage that trend will strengthen and the numbers will drop even more.....
source: Globes

Israeli brewery, Alexander Beers, in conjunction with the farmers of the "Gaza envelope" region, have decided to produce beer from the wheat grown in the areas near the Gaza border that survived the recent terror attacks in which many fields were burnt to the ground.

There was so much destruction and the farmers were hurt so much by the destruction rent on their fields. The area produces almost all the wheat grown domestically - to the tune of about 175,000 ton per season on about 45,000 dunam of land. This year 7,000 dunam of land growing wheat went up in flames to the Gazan kite and balloon terror. Alexander Beers took the remaining wheat to produce the new line of beer.

The new line of beer produced form this wheat will be called "Bira Otef Aza" - Gaza Envelope Beer - and all the profits from the sales of the beer will go to the farmers of the area who have suffered so much from the terror.
source: Ynet and Kipa

I hope it will be sold locally so I can support these victims of terror by buying beer!

This is a wonderful initiative by the Alexander Beer people. Kol Hakavod!

החילונים יתערבו לאם השכולה שדורשת לא לערוך לבנה הלוויה צבאית, והחרדים יתערבו לאם ולרעיה השכולה שמבקשת לשרוף את גופתה. ככה נהיה בטוחים שמדובר באותו עם

— אלי ביתאן (@Eli_Bitan) December 19, 2018