18 Feb SPEAK YOUR VUES WITH THE VUES MASTER
SHAIMOS
Dear Vues Master,
Please be aware that in Rabbi Jonathan
Sacks zt”l’s article last week, titled “The
Custom that Refused to Die” on page
74, there was a picture that contained
Hashem’s name. Kindly inform your
readers to remove the page and treat it as
sheimos.
RS
Vues Master’s Note: Thanks for pointing it
out. We try our best.
PALESTINIAN PROTEST IN BORO PARK
Dear Vues Master,
News spread rapidly this past Monday morning that The
Getter Group, a prominent Israeli real estate company, had
canceled its highly anticipated Boro Park real estate expo
due to planned pro-Palestinian protests.
The original venue may have been changed, but the event
still took place at a new, undisclosed location. The decision
to move the expo was not about backing down or fearing
these protests, but out of genuine concern for the safety and
well-being of the Jewish schools and families in the area.
The potential for disruption and security risks was too great.
Activists openly called for demonstrations to “flood” the
area surrounding the original venue, raising serious con-
cerns about the safety of local Jewish residents. With
schools right nearby and a densely packed Jewish commu-
nity, organizers made the responsible choice to avoid any
unnecessary disruptions or danger by relocating the event.
And yet, despite the venue change, The Getter Group’s real
estate sale proceeded as planned. To ensure the safety of
everyone involved, the new location was kept confidential
and only shared with pre-registered attendees. A thorough
screening process was carried out to ensure that no one with
malicious intent could attend.
Captain Kenneth Herrarte of the NYPD’s 66th Precinct
confirmed that the precinct would maintain a strong pres-
ence in the area due to the planned pro-Palestinian protest.
It’s outrageous that a peaceful real estate event had to be so
carefully protected from the risk of violence.
RT
Vues Master’s Note: I’m glad they didn’t get scared off like
last year and cancel the Israel Real Estate show, as they did
in Flatbush.
GETTING RID OF MAYOR ADAMS
Dear Vues Master,
Governor Hochul should not remove Mayor Adams, even
if several members of his staff have left. Despite turn-
over, Adams remains the right person to lead New York
City through its ongoing challenges. His experience and
focus on issues like public safety, housing, and economic
recovery are crucial for the city’s future. While leadership
changes can be difficult, the Mayor’s commitment to ad-
dressing crime, homelessness, and workforce development
shows resilience and determination. Furthermore, Adams
has been a strong ally to the Jewish community, prioritizing
the safety and well-being of Jewish residents while foster-
ing interfaith relationships. Removing him now would dis-
rupt vital progress, leaving New York City without steady
leadership in a critical time. Stability is key, and Adams is
still the best fit for the job.
Vues Master’s Note: The way I see it, most politicians are
crooked, and Mayor Adams is no exception. However, he
has proven to be beneficial for New York City, particularly
for the Jewish community.
500 DAYS
Dear Vues Master,
The 500-day war in Israel has faced significant criticism
for its prolonged nature, as countless lives were lost while
a solution remained out of reach. Many argue that such a
conflict should not have lasted so long, especially when
diplomatic options were available. Had Donald Trump been
president on October 7th, his approach—characterized by a
focus on strong negotiations and the strategic use of mili-
tary power—might have potentially expedited a resolution.
Trump’s decisive action, some believe, could have prevent-
ed the war’s escalation, paving the way for a quicker peace
through direct involvement and targeted diplomacy.
Vues Master’s Note: It’s time to end this war and eliminate
Hamas once and for all. Trump will support anything Israel
does right now.
EXPOSING GOVERNMENT WASTE &
CORRUPTION
Dear Vues Master
Phantom Social Security numbers, government waste, and
federal employees failing to do their jobs should concern
all Americans. Yet, when these issues are ex-
posed by Elon Musk, the left and their me-
dia enablers blame the messenger: “Collu-
sion, interference, invasion of privacy!” they
cry. However, regardless of one’s opinion of
DOGE, Musk’s revelation of massive govern-
ment corruption and waste will lead to less
spending and more accountability in our gov-
ernment. The waste and corruption in Biden’s
White House—acts that would be criminal if
committed by someone in the private sector—
should not be allowed to stand. I don’t care if
Musk is cozying up to Trump or if his cryp-
tocurrency has access to government data.
What matters is the message: Our government
should Do Only Good Every Day.
Chaim Yehuda Meyer
Vues Master’s Note: Government account-
ability is vital, regardless of the messenger.
Corruption and waste must be addressed for
the good of all.
SHEARS HAPLATEUH
Dear Vues Master
Recently, the Boro Park Scoop reported a
story about a serial license plate thief who
was caught in the act by Shomrim volunteers.
After months of stealing hundreds of license
plates from parked cars, a suspect was finally
apprehended. He stole one plate from each
car. Unfortunately, I was one of the victims.
However, the aftermath left me quite annoyed.
I called 911 to report the crime, and the police
came to my address. The officer filled out a
report so that I could take it to the DMV to get
new license plates. Since the thief was caught
with the stolen plates, I asked if I could get my
plate back. The officer told me that the plates
would be used as evidence and that they had
been marked as stolen, so they couldn’t be
used anymore. Of course, just as they were
marked as stolen, they could be unmarked.
The real issue, though, arose when I looked
at the report. It stated that my plate had been
“lost.” I contacted the precinct for clarifica-
tion, and they explained that when only one
plate is stolen, it’s considered “lost.” Plates
are only marked as stolen when both plates
are taken. The difference is that if plates are
stolen, I get the new plates for free. If they are
lost, there is a fee.
I told the DMV representative the story, but
she just shrugged. The real illogical part is
that if the plates are stolen, I should get new
ones for free, but if they’re lost, I should be
able to get my old one back. Additionally, the
thief might get off without punishment be-
cause if all the plates are considered “lost,” no
crime would have been committed. I felt like
I was in Chelm.
DPF
Vues Master’s Note:It’s frustrating how bu-
reaucratic rules create unnecessary complica-
tions.
GETTING INVOLVED
Dear Vues Master,
It’s truly inspiring to see all the fundraisers
and pop-up endeavors supporting soldiers and
other army needs. However, I would like to
remind everyone that it is also a great mitz-
vah to support the army of Hashem— the
Torah learners! The Torah scholars in Israel
are mesiras nefesh (self-sacrificing) day and
night, delving into the intricate depths of the
Talmud. They live on extremely modest bud-
gets, rarely leave their homes, don’t own cars,
and eat the simplest meals. They truly practice
what they preach.
Over the past year, the Israeli government and
Supreme Court have become particularly hos-
tile toward them, with their main goal being
to shut down their studies permanently. Even
those who were exempted from military ser-
vice long ago are suddenly seeing their child
care subsidies cut, and many of their wives are
struggling to maintain employment.
Now more than ever, there is a significant
need to support the Avrechim (Torah schol-
ars). If your shul is partnered with an Adopt
A Kollel sponsorship, please consider getting
involved, even if it’s just a small contribution.
Every little bit helps when we all come togeth-
er. If your shul isn’t partnered with a Kollel,
speak to your Rav, who can direct you to a
genuine and worthy cause that needs support.
At the end of our lives, we will want to look
back and know that we invested in Torah, and
that we helped those who dedicate themselves
to it. In the next world, the question will not
be about how much money we made or what
we accumulated, but rather what we priori-
tized in life and who we chose to help.
This message is not meant to diminish giving
to chessed (kindness); it’s simply a reminder
to also support Torah. Whatever Torah they
learn with your support will be yours—there’s
no way to lose!
KLMY
Vues Master’s Note: The importance of sup-
porting those who learn Torah and acknowl-
edging their sacrifices and dedication should
encourage people to contribute to this noble
cause.
TRUE LOVE THROUGH 55 YEARS
Dear Vues Master My parents have been mar-
ried for 55 years. One morning, my mom
came downstairs to make dad breakfast, she
had a heart attack and fell. My father picked
her up and drove her to his car, taking her to
the hospital. At all speed, without respecting
the traffic lights. When he arrived, sadly she
was no longer with us. During the funeral, my
father did not speak; his gaze turned off and
he looked lost, but he almost cried. That night
his children joined him. In an atmosphere of
pain and nostalgia, we remembered beautiful
moments of all of us. My father listened very
well. And suddenly he turned to my brother
and asked us to take him to the cemetery. “Fa-
ther! “We answered,” it’s 11 pm, we can’t go to
the cemetery right now! “ He raised his voice
slightly, and with a glazed look said: “Don’t
argue with me, please don’t argue with a man
who has just lost his most beloved person for
55 years. “ There was a moment of respectful
silence, we didn’t argue anymore. We drove to
the cemetery. With a lantern we arrived at the
tomb. My father sat down, davened and said
to his children: “What if it were 55 years…
You know, no one can really talk about true
love if one has not spent a lifetime with a per-
son”. He stopped and wiped his face. “Your
mother and I, we were together through thick
and thin”. He kept on going. “When I changed
my workplace, we packed up everything, sold
the house and moved.” We shared the joy
and satisfaction when we saw you become
parents, together we mourned the passing of
our beloved parents, prayed together in the
waiting rooms of several hospitals, supported
each other in pain, hugged each other every
day, and forgave mistakes.” Then he stopped
and added, “My children, and now everything
is gone but I create the memory in my heart.
Tonight I’m not sad. Do you know why I’m
not sad? Because she left before me. That she
didn’t have to go through the agony and pain
of my burial, and that she didn’t stay alone af-
ter I left. I will be the one to get through it,
and I thank G-d I didn’t. I love her so much
that I wouldn’t want her to suffer… “ When
my father finished speaking, my brother and I
had tears running down our faces. We hugged
him and he comforted us, “It’s okay. We can
go home. That night I realized what real love
is. It’s more than just romance, it’s two people
standing next to each other, committed to each
other… In all the situations that life presents,
through all the good and the bad. This is true
love. Keep the family glue, even on difficult
days, even when it is hard to contain. Because
there’s nothing like long-lasting true love.
MOA
Vues Master’s Note: This letter beautifully
captures the depth of devotion, sacrifice, and
resilience in a lifelong partnership, leaving a
profound emotional impact.
DIVORCE RATE IN LAKEWOOD
Dear Vues Master A new statistic from Lake-
wood highlights an impressive 99% marriage
success rate among BMG Yeshiva students,
based on recent divorce data revealed in the
latest Shalom Bayis column in The Voice
of Lakewood magazine. Over the past three
years, 3,221 boys have gotten married, with
just 29 reported divorces—resulting in a di-
vorce rate of only 0.09% within the first three
years of marriage. This marks a significant
improvement compared to 12 years ago, when
the divorce rate was 1.8%. While divorce
cases may seem more prevalent today, this is
largely due to the significant increase in the
number of marriages, Boruch Hashem.
VOL
Vues Master’s Note: Focusing only on early
divorces doesn’t account for potential long-
term issues in marriages that might not end in
divorce but still experience significant strug-
gles or dissatisfaction.
EGGSPENSIVE
Dear Vues Master It’s outrageous how ex-
pensive eggs have become! Last week I spent
$7.50 for a dozen eggs in Flatbush. A basic
kitchen staple now costs an arm and a leg.
Gone are the days when a carton was afford-
able. Now, every trip to the store leaves me in
disbelief. It’s a frustrating, unnecessary bur-
den on everyone’s grocery budget!
Vues Master’s Note: I just hope it gets better
in time for Pesach.
GREAT RABBI TWERSKI STORY
Dear Vues Master, The Yahrtzeit of Rabbi
Abraham J. Twerski is this week, and in his
honor, I’d like to share this remarkable story.
A flight home to California took an unexpect-
ed turn for a 70-year-old Sacramento rabbi
following a brief encounter with a security of-
ficer at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Rabbi Ben-Tzion Welton, Chief Executive
Officer of Sunrise Ko-
sher – the Vaad of North-
ern California, had just
cleared airport security
on April 13th after an ex-
tended Pesach visit with
his children in Pittsburgh
when he sat down to
re-tie his shoes. That’s
when a security officer
approached him.
“I thought to myself,
‘Uh oh, what did I do
wrong?’” Rabbi Welton
told VIN News. “When
he asked if he could get
some information from
me, I thought I was really
in trouble.”
But the officer said just two words: “Abra-
ham Twerski.”
Unsure what to make of the exchange, but
noticing the officer’s weary expression,
Rabbi Welton assumed it had something to
do with Rabbi Twerski’s many years as the
founder and director of the Gateway Rehabil-
itation Center, which has multiple locations
in the Pittsburgh area.
Seeing the confusion in Rabbi Welton’s face,
the officer asked if Rabbi Twerski was still
alive.
“I told him that he had passed away recently,
and after discussing Rabbi Twerski’s age,
the officer walked away. I thought to myself
that I should have spoken with him more, but
things move quickly in the airport, and he
was already gone,” Rabbi Welton recalled.
A minute later, the officer returned, whis-
pered in Rabbi Welton’s ear, “He saved my
life,” and then moved on.
Stunned by the encounter, Rabbi Welton
pulled out his phone and shared the story in
his family’s WhatsApp group. His son, Rabbi
Yehuda Leib Welton, posted it on Facebook,
where a member of the Jewish Pittsburgh
Facebook group suggested he email the story
to the Twerski family so they could hear it
too.
“I shared the story because it inspired me,
and I thought others should be inspired as
well,” said Rabbi Yehuda Leib Welton.
Vues Master’s Note: Great story! Thanks for
sharing.
THE COST OF PESACH
PROGRAMS
Dear Vues Master,
Last week, my wife asked me to research the
cost of Pesach programs around the world.
I was shocked by what I discovered. Some
programs are charging as much as $10,000
per person for just ten days of Pesach. For
a family of eight, after factoring in airfare,
the total cost exceeds $100,000 for Yom Tov.
How do people afford this?
Vues Master’s Note: I’m trying to figure this
out myself. If you find out, please let me
know.
A COLORING BOOK FOR
FUTURE TERRORISTS
Dear Vues Master,
When is a coloring book not just a coloring
book? When its purpose is to incite children
to hate Jews and glorify violence.
The Israeli police this week arrested the pro-
prietors of an Arab bookstore in Jerusalem
that was selling books promoting hatred of
Jews and glamorizing terrorists. One was a
coloring book, a fact that prompted much
mockery on social media. Big, strong Israel
is afraid of a little children’s book!
The book is called From the River to the
Sea, an old Palestinian Arab slogan calling
for replacement of Israel with an Arab state
of Palestine. Intended for six to ten year-
olds, the book features color-by-number
pages that demonize Israel and honor terror-
ists and terror-supporters.
There’s Ghassan Kanafani, senior official of
the terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine, best known for its airplane hi-
jackings in the 1970s, its murder of an Israeli
cabinet minister in 2001, and its massacre of
rabbis in a Jerusalem synagogue in 2014.
There’s Refaat Alareer, the “poet” who
called the October 7 attack “legitimate and
moral,” denied the Hamas gang-rapes, and
joked on social media about whether bak-
ing powder was used in burning Israeli ba-
bies to death. In the coloring book, Alareer
is flanked by a large flaming kite, the kind
Hamas has used to torch countless acres of
Israeli farmland.
There’s Ahed Tamimi, the teenager who
rose to fame when she was arrested for as-
saulting Israelis, and then later arrested again
for writing on social media following Octo-
ber 7: “Come on settlers, we’ll slaugh-
ter you. What Hitler did to you was a
joke. We’ll drink your blood and eat
your skulls.”
The coloring book also features a page
devoted to the Intifadas, the waves of
mass Palestinian Arab violence in
which more than one thousand Israe-
lis were murdered and thousands more
were injured and maimed.
The text accompanying the coloring
pages teaches children that Israel has
no right to exist, since it is “a military
outpost of Western imperialism” that
“was created on the land of Palestine”;
that Israel is an evil, oppressive, geno-
cidal monster; and that those who give
their lives for the Palestinian Arab
cause are “martyrs—heroes who have
a special place in Palestinian society.”
The book’s author, Nathi Ngubane, ex-
plained in recent interviews and a Tiktok
promotional video that he wants to inspire
children to action. He hopes “to educate them
and let them know that they can also join the
fight for freedom…It is important for chil-
dren to get to the truth as much as possible in
order to lend a hand of solidarity.”
From the River to the Sea fits in perfectly
with the books that the Palestinian Authority
and Hamas have been using for decades to
educate Palestinian Arab children.
The PA textbook Mathematics, Vol. 1 teach-
es addition to third graders by counting the
number of “martyrs” and the number of
“prisoners in the Occupation prisons.” Fifth
graders study from Arabic Language, Vol.
2, which extols the “hero” Dalal Mughrabi,
leader of the Coastal Road massacre of 37
Israelis. “We are proud of them, sing their
praise, learn the history of their lives, name
our children after them, and name streets,
squares, and prominent cultural sites after
them,” the book says of Mughrabi and her
comrades.
Eighth graders learn from Arabic Text and
Reader that they need “to exterminate the Zi-
onist germ and thrust this evil out of the Arab
homeland” and that “the time has come for
jihad and martyrdom” against “the oppres-
sor.” In ninth grade, Islamic Ed-
ucation, Vol. 1 explains how Al-
lah offers believers opportunities
for “fighting against infidels” to
“honor them by martyrdom, to
forgive their sins and raise their
class in Paradise.”
In General Sciences for tenth
graders, Newton’s laws of phys-
ics are explained through the ex-
ample of “a young girl using a
slingshot towards a specific tar-
get,” with a photo of an Arab child whipping
a rock with a homemade sling. The calcula-
tion uses variations in the length of the sling
and the rock’s release speed to determine its
rate of acceleration.
In the twelfth grade, Islamic Education
teaches “the virtue of jihad in Islam,” es-
pecially “if the enemy occupied a Muslim
land.” It stresses the importance of jihad both
as “one of the gates to achieving martyrdom”
and as Allah’s way to achieve “rescue from
the fire of Hell and the attainment of pardon
and Paradise.”
When this schoolhouse incitement was first
documented by Palestinian Media Watch,
back in 2007, then-U.S. Senator Hillary
Clinton was alarmed. “These textbooks do
not give Palestinian children an education;
they give them an indoctrination,” she said
at a press conference. Palestinian Arab chil-
dren are “encouraged to see martyrdom and
armed struggle and the murder of innocent
people as ideals to strive for.” The PA “pro-
foundly poisons the minds of these children.
. . . [It is] a clear example of child abuse.”
Evoking the themes in her book It Takes a
Village, about the communal influences that
shape children’s lives, Sen. Clinton warned
that Palestinian Arab hate education would
have “dire consequences for prospects of
peace for generations to come.” She was
right. Sixteen years later, some of the chil-
dren raised on these teachings carried out the
October 7 atrocities.
Israelis are justifiably concerned about the
impact of the From the River to the Sea col-
oring book, just as the Allied authorities in
postwar Japan would not have tolerated a
coloring book praising the attack on Pearl
Harbor, and the authorities in postwar Ger-
many would not have allowed bookstores to
sell a coloring book extolling the glories of
Nazism. Raising children to be bigots and
terrorists is a recipe for catastrophe, as Octo-
ber 7 so horrifically demonstrated.
Dr. Rafael Medoff
Vues Master’s Note: Hate-filled education
warns of catastrophic consequences for fu-
ture generations.