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The ‘Higher Plan’ at Work
Ariana Hoblin, a Jewish public-school student from Florida, tells US President Donald Trump about being bullied in middle school for her religion. It took place during a ceremony in the Oval Office when Trump signed an executive order to better protect prayer in public schools and federal funds for religious organizations on Jan. 16, 2020. Photo: Screenshot.
JNS.org – Tell me the truth. Two days ago, would you have predicted a victory by former President Donald Trump in the race for the White House? Every political pundit and pollster said it was neck-and-neck and too close to call. And yet, here we have Trump elected as the 47th president of the United States.
So, once again, we see clearly that we don’t call the shots. There are always higher forces at play.
My congregants know that I often say how it never fails to impress me that the weekly Torah reading somehow always has a line or a phrase that alludes to current events happening that same week.
This week is no different.
In Lech Lecha, we read of the famous covenant where the Promised Land first became the land promised by God to our forefather Abraham and to his children for posterity.
“And He (God) said to Abram, ‘Know with certainty that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not their own … and they will be oppressed … and afterward they shall leave with great wealth.’
“On that day, God made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants have I given this land.’” (Genesis 15:13-18).
Later, God elaborates that He will make Ishmael a great nation, but the covenant with Abraham to the Promised Land will be maintained through Isaac and not Ishmael.
Now, cast your eye back to the first verse I quoted above. “Know with certainty that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not their own,” this is a reference to the long Egyptian bondage. The phrase “not their own” is considered by some commentaries to be redundant and is therefore interpreted somewhat mystically.
Why did the Jews have to go down to Egypt and be enslaved for hundreds of years? The reason was “not their own,” meaning that it was for a higher purpose: to refine the spiritual sparks found in Egypt and elevate them. The Egyptian experience was a spiritual odyssey. The Israelites may have thought that their Patriarch Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, went down to Egypt because of a famine in Canaan at the time, and then his descendants got stuck there and went into bondage. But the real reason was “not their own” making. It was part of an infinite Divine plan that was developing. It was to extract the dormant layers of Godly energy in Egypt and to build up the resilience of the Israelites.
So it has been throughout our history. We were wandering Jews. But whether it was to escape poverty or a pogrom in Poland, or the czar’s army in Russia or to find a better life for our children, there was always a higher plan for all our travels and travails. A deeper reason or a greater cause—one that was “not their own” making.
Starting nearly two centuries ago, Jews left Eastern Europe by the millions for a better future in the United States, South America, South Africa and Australia. This was God’s plan unfolding. Today, in all these regions, there are strong and thriving Jewish communities to one degree or another. The new Jewish foreign minister of Argentina, Gerardo Werthein, was just sworn in, holding the Jewish Bible, a Torah. And the non-Jewish president, Javier Milei, who appointed him, gave a little parshah shiur, Torah thought, at his induction!
Behind the mass migration of Jews across the world, we can assume that God wanted them in the specific areas that they thought they were choosing for their own reasons. But as always, there were reasons beyond what those Jews thought. Their personal circumstances and decisions were superficial, as there were deeper reasons that were “not their own.”
So it appears that God wanted Johannesburg, the “City of Gold,” to be transformed into the “City of God.” We are privileged here to be living in a community with, admittedly, smaller numbers than in the past but with a vibrant, pulsating Yiddishkeit with shuls, schools, yeshivahs, beautiful mikvahs, kosher supermarkets, restaurants and much more.
For reasons known only to Him, the Almighty decided that at the bottom of Africa, the Torah should be studied, and Jewish life should be so elevated and uplifted that it even inspired the whole world to keep Shabbat. You must know that next week’s internationally acclaimed “Shabbat Project,” which encourages Jews worldwide to celebrate Shabbat, came from our own small community in South Africa.
“The steps of man are established by God,” goes the verse in Psalm 37. We think we know where we are going, but there is always a higher plan taking us to where we need to be. I was born in New York, and for the first 26 years of my life, I never dreamed that I would make my home in South Africa. But it was meant to be, and I’ve never looked back.
How often have we all found ourselves somewhere, and it turned out that we experienced a fortuitous meeting that had important outcomes that we could never have anticipated?
Many years ago, I had a bout of double vision. I had to wear a black patch over one eye, just like former Israeli leader Moshe Dayan. I went into the hospital for tests, and my roommate was a Jewish doctor who had contracted meningitis and was also left with double vision. He, too, had a patch over one eye. I remember that when the respected Jewish medical professor came in to see us with his entourage of students, he quipped, “What is this, a Jewish status symbol?”
Thank God, my problem was a small one, and it quickly passed. But whereas I had thought that I had gone to the hospital for my medical issue, it turned out that I had a higher mission. When I prayed in the morning with my tallit and tefillin, I shared them with my roommate. It awakened within him memories of his beloved zayde, who did the same thing. I helped him, and slowly but surely, he became a fully observant Jew who went on to serve in important communal positions.
Jews are always going places for reasons “not their own.” We don’t have to become the president, but our job is to remember that there is always a higher purpose, and we have to find it and become ambassadors of our faith and our people.
The post The ‘Higher Plan’ at Work first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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UN Data: Nearly 90 Percent of Gaza Aid ‘Intercepted’ Before Reaching Intended Recipients
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The vast majority of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is intercepted before reaching its intended civilian recipients, newly released data from the United Nations shows, fueling growing concerns among Israeli officials and international observers about systemic aid diversion by armed groups in the enclave.
According to figures tracking humanitarian assistance for Gaza from May 19 to Aug. 1 of this year, out of the 2,010 UN trucks (carrying 27,434 tons of aid) collected from any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter, only 260 trucks (4,111 tons) reached their intended destination. That equates to a staggering 87 percent of all trucks and 85 percent of all tonnage of aid being stolen and not getting into the hands of civilians at the intended destination.
The UN’s own data, posted on the website of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) as part of the “UN2720 Monitoring & Tracking Dashboard,” reveals that almost all the aid — 1,753 trucks (23,353 tons) — has been “intercepted, either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors” while being transported inside Gaza over the past few months.
No breakdown is provided of how much aid has been seized by armed groups versus civilians.
The data also shows that much of the UN aid offloaded at any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter has not been collected to enter the war-torn enclave during this period. Out of 40,012 tons of aid (2,134 trucks) being delivered to the crossings, just 27,434 tons (2010 trucks) have been picked up. It’s unclear what exactly led to this discrepancy, with issues such as poor internal coordination and security concerns potentially delaying aid shipments.
The UN2720 mechanism, created earlier this year, was intended to boost transparency by verifying and tracking aid shipments via QR codes at key checkpoints. The system monitors each pallet from offloading to delivery and flags any discrepancies in a centralized database.
Israel has facilitated the entry of thousands of aid trucks into Gaza, with Israeli officials condemning the UN and other international aid agencies for their alleged failure to distribute supplies, noting much of the humanitarian assistance has been stalled at border crossings or stolen by the ruling Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
On Sunday, Israel announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Arab and European countries began airdropping supplies into the enclave.
However, the UN and several Western governments have increased pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, blaming the Jewish state for what they described as a hunger crisis and insufficient amounts of aid reaching civilians.
Israeli officials have said that claims of mass starvation in Gaza are false and being amplified by not only Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, but also international humanitarian organizations and media organizations to manipulate global opinion.
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Dutch Nurse Under Police Investigation for Alleged Threats Against Israeli Patients
Pro-Hamas demonstrators march in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Photo: Reuters/Romy Arroyo Fernandez
A Muslim nurse in the Netherlands is under police investigation after allegedly threatening to administer lethal injections to Israeli patients — an incident that has sparked public outrage and intensified fears over rising antisemitism and patient safety in Europe’s health-care systems.
The comments were widely circulated by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, who also exposed a recent case in Australia where two nurses were suspended for two years over antisemitic threats and remarks.
In a video shared on social media, Veifer denounced Dutch-Muslim nurse Batisma Chayat Sa’id’s remarks as a serious violation of medical ethics.
“Someone like that should be prosecuted and barred from treating patients. Imagine your grandparents being cared for by someone so hateful,” the Israeli influencer said.
Zorgwekkende dreiging op Instagram: Nederlandse verpleegkundige is bereid om “zionisten een extra spuitje te geven” en bereid “zionisten te laten sterven binnen de gezondheidszorg.” pic.twitter.com/xTnXNi1wH5
— CIDI
(@CIDI_nieuws) July 29, 2025
The incident was sparked when an Israeli-Dutch woman living in the Netherlands commented on a social media post by far-right politician Geert Wilders, who cautioned about what he called the country’s looming radical Islamization by 2050.
A social media account belonging to the Muslim nurse also commented on the post, claiming it would happen by 2027, to which the Israeli woman responded, “Your dream is our nightmare. But people wake up from nightmares. Our Netherlands, our Israel.”
“Nothing belongs to you! My grandparents built the Netherlands. I was born and raised here, and I will do everything in my power to help this country get rid of the Zionist cancer,” the nurse further replied.
“You know what I’m doing with Zionists — giving an extra injection as a nurse specialist. Letting them go to heaven!” Sa’id continued.
When the Israeli woman threatened to report her, Sa’id replied: “Haha, try your best! I don’t have a boss — I’m the boss! All Zionists can die, inside healthcare and beyond, and I’m happy to help with that!”
Shortly after her posts gained widespread attention, Sa’id deleted all her social media accounts, insisting that her identity had been stolen and that she was not responsible for such comments.
On Wednesday, local police detained Sa’id for questioning, but she denied the allegations, asserting that someone had impersonated her online.
“It seems someone is pretending to be me, posting false and defamatory statements,” the nurse said. “I want to make it clear — I hold no hatred toward Jews or any people, race, religion, or identity.”
Even after announcing plans to file an identity theft complaint, she faces skepticism from authorities, who have assigned a digital forensics expert to scrutinize her online accounts.
Last year, an account under her name also posted threatening messages aimed at Jewish people, including “Your time will come — don’t spare anyone,” and another in which she described the burial of Israelis in Gaza as “a dream come true.”
Earlier this year, two Australian nurses — Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh — gained international attention after they were seen in an online video posing as doctors and making inflammatory statements during a night-shift conversation with Veifer.
The widely circulated footage, which sparked international outrage and condemnation, showed Abu Lebdeh declaring she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them, while Nadir made a throat-slitting gesture and claimed he had already killed many.
Following the incident, New South Wales authorities in Australia suspended their nursing registrations and banned them from working as nurses nationwide.
They were also charged with federal offenses, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten, menace, and harass. If convicted, they face up to 22 years in prison.
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French Authorities Halt Gaza Evacuations After Palestinian Student Expelled Over Viral Antisemitic Posts
Anti-Israel demonstration supporting the BDS movement, Paris France, June 8, 2024. Photo: Claire Serie / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
French authorities have halted evacuations from Gaza after a Palestinian student was expelled from the prestigious Sciences Po Lille and placed under investigation, following the viral circulation of hundreds of antisemitic posts praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and calling for the murder of Jews.
The incident drew widespread condemnation and public outrage, prompting French ministers to demand answers and call for an investigation into how the Gazan student was allowed into the country in the first place.
On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that all further evacuations from Gaza would be suspended pending the completion of the investigation into the student’s background.
After receiving a scholarship, 25-year-old Nour Atalla, a Palestinian from Gaza, arrived in the country in early July to begin her master’s degree in law and communications this fall at the Institute of Political Science in Lille, northern France.
Barrot confirmed that discussions are ongoing about the student’s possible return to Gaza, making clear that she must leave the country pending the investigation’s outcome.
“She has no place at Sciences Po, nor in France,” the top French diplomat said.
On Thursday, local authorities reported that a criminal investigation is underway into Atalla, with the public prosecutor in Lille confirming the case was opened for “apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service.”
Barrot admitted lapses in the screening process that allowed her entry and has mandated a comprehensive review of everyone evacuated from Gaza to France.
“The security checks, carried out by the French services and Israeli authorities, did not detect the antisemitic content,” the French diplomat said.
Atalla is one of 292 Gazans admitted to the country following a court ruling that opened the door for Gazans to seek refugee status based on their nationality.
She was offered a place at Sciences Po Lille University based on “academic excellence” and following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, the university announced it had revoked Atalla’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral, sparking widespread condemnation from political leaders and members of the local Jewish community.
In several of these posts, she glorified Hitler, praised Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, called for the execution of Israeli hostages and the killing of Jews, and expressed support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
In one post, Atalla shared a video of Hitler giving a speech about Jews, writing, “Kill their young and their old. Show them no mercy … And kill them everywhere.”
In another post shared on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, she wrote, “We must do everything we can to match the bloodshed — as much as possible.”