United Nations – Syria says it targeted an Israeli vehicle that crossed a ceasefire line into its territory earlier this week because it was heading toward a village with a large rebel presence.In a letter to the U.N. Security Council circulated Friday, Syria’s U.N. Read More »
Jerusalem – Facing a public backlash from a media report that it had cancelled this Sunday’s swearing-in ceremony for new recruits of the Netzah Yehuda Battalion of Nahal’s Haredi unit, the IDF has, yet again, reversed its decision, and the ceremony will now take place as originally planned. YNETNews.com (http: //bit. Read More »
Jerusalem – A Haredi youth currently serving in the IDF filed a complaint with police Thursday claiming that a Hapeles editorial “condemning” Haredi “collaborators” has put his life in jeopardy.YNETnews.com (http: //bit. Read More »
Tel Aviv – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Israel’s government on Friday to prevent further settlement construction where possible to help revitalize Middle East peace hopes, but stressed that the Jewish state and Palestinians alike should remain focused on the larger goal of restarting direct negotiations. Read More »
Israel – Deputy Religious Services Minister Eli Ben-Dahan said that ritual baths, or mikvaot, could be used by Conservative and Reform groups for their conversion process, even though the Chief Rabbinate does not recognize conversions conducted by non-Orthodox Jewish denominations. Read More »
Washington – It’s almost a cliche. First, someone talking about blacks makes reference to fried chicken, watermelon, monkeys or dogs – or even uses the indefensible N-word. Then, along with the inevitable apology, comes the kicker: I’m not racist.The latest denial is from golfer Sergio Garcia. Read More »
Houston – A Houston man has been charged with calling in fake bomb threats to two synagogues.Federal prosecutors say a complaint unsealed Thursday names 32-year-old Dante Phearse. He faces an initial court appearance Friday in Houston. Prosecutors say bomb threats were called in to two Houston synagogues on April 30. Read More »
Los Angeles, CA – On the heels of the well-publicized scandal surrounding Doheny Glatt Kosher Meat’s use of unsupervised animal products, the President of the Rabbinical Council of California, Rabbi Meyer May, confirmed in a May 20th interview that Read More »
New York – In a TABLET Magazine (http: //bit.ly/10qBPZC) piece, Relgious Labor, Elliott Horowitz says that the in-fighting in the current Israeli government led him to research the history of Hasidic work history in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. Read More »
Jerusalem – Saying that it is “detached” from “reality” and meant to “crush” the Torah world, United Torah Judaism’s Yakov Litzman renounced the latest IDF draft proposal from the Peri Committee which recommends a “transitional” draft for young Haredis.YNETnews.com (http: //bit. Read More »
Jerusalem – An Israeli committee has handed the government its proposal for ending a system granting Jewish ultra-Orthodox seminary students automatic exemptions from military service.These exemptions have generated widespread resentment in a country where military service is compulsory for Jewish citizens. Read More »
Jerusalem – Israel’s prime minister says a new report by the U.N. atomic agency shows that international pressure is having no effect on halting Iran’s suspect nuclear program. Read More »
Moore, OK – Having been on the receiving end of disaster relief just a few short months ago, New York Assemblyman from Queens Phil Goldfeder wasted no time in flying out to Oklahoma City in order to provide relief and support to victims of Monday’s devastating tornado. Read More »
Tiberias, Israel – The massive circular structure appears to be an archaeologists dream: a recently discovered antiquity that could reveal secrets of ancient life in the Middle East and is just waiting to be excavated.It’s thousands of years old – a conical, manmade behemoth weighing hundreds of tons, practically begging to be explored. Read More »
Long Island, NY – Police are reopening a cold case regarding the death of a 15-year-old rabbinical student from Staten Island.Chaim Weiss, was found dead in his dormitory room at the Mesivta Yeshiva of Long Beach early on the morning of Nov. 1, 1986. Read More »
Detroit – A national Jewish civil rights group has criticized National of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan for making anti-Semitic statements at a Detroit church appearance and is calling on a congressman and other leaders in attendance to condemn the remarks.The Detroit Free Press (http: //on.freep. Read More »
Los Angeles, CA – The next mayor of Los Angeles was able to defeat a fellow Democrat by depicting her as a pawn of utility union bosses in the city long friendly to labor, an outcome expected to echo beyond California as unions nationwide face threats to their clout. Read More »
Jerusalem – As part of its ongoing expansion that, over the past 12 months has seen it become Poland’s number one airline, Dublin-based Ryanair has announced that it has had “exploratory” talks with several Israeli airports about the possibility of Read More »
Orlando, FL – The man shot dead by an FBI agent in Orlando, Florida early today was “about to sign a statement” admitting to a role, along with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, in an unsolved triple murder in Massachusetts in 2011, two people with direct knowledge of the case told ABC News. Read More »
Jerusalem – Tens of thousands of haredim from Israel and the world attended in Jerusalem Tuesday to witness the marriage of the grandson of the leader of the Hasidic dynasty Belz Rebbe. The amazing images below show the ceremony of 18-year-old Shalom Rokeach and his 19-year-old bride Hannah Batya Penet in Jerusalem, Israel. Read More »
Vienna – Iran has increased its capacity to refine uranium by installing hundreds more centrifuges, a U.N. nuclear agency report said on Wednesday, underlining Tehran’s defiance of Western demands to curb the activity. Read More »
Jerusalem – Saying that it is the “prevailing lawlessness” in those “distant” from the Torah that is responsible for the recent Beersheba Bank massacre that claimed four lives, Lithuanian Heredi newsapper ‘Hapeles’ released a scathing editorial blaming “secular values” for the carnage.YNETnews.com (http: //bit. Read More »
Brooklyn, NY – Acrobatics, art, music and building skills will be the name of the game as yeshiva students from all across Brooklyn will take part in a talent expo designed to showcase their abilities outside of a classroom setting.Kishroni will take place on June 2nd in Borough Park and is geared to boys ages nine through thirteen. Read More »
Lakewood, NJ – Some Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey want to block the state from helping to pay for construction at two religious schools.A Jewish yeshiva, Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, and the Christian Princeton Theological Seminary were both approved last month to receive building money as part of a $1.3 billion state bond issue. Read More »
Jerusalem – The Israeli military has jailed a young man for six months for refusing to serve because of his opposition to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, focusing attention on the longstanding conflict between the country’s universal military service and divided political beliefs. Read More »
Rockland County, NY – On the heels of an FBI raid last week in Ramapo in which agents seized records and computer files from the Town Hall, local residents throughout Rockland County have begun a guessing-game as to which of the many local controversies the raid was focused on.The NEW YORK TIMES (http: //nyti. Read More »
Los Angeles – Councilman Eric Garcetti elected Los Angeles mayor over city Controller Wendy Greuel. Read More »
Berlin – Germany says it supports adding the military wing of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah to the European Union’s list of terrorist groups. Read More »
New York – In the wake of yesterday’s devastating tornado in Oklahoma, a major kosher meat distributor is donating twelve pallets of meat products to disaster victims.Agri Star Meat and Poultry has 20,000 pounds of meat and poultry ready to be shipped to Oklahoma City. Read More »
St Paul, MN – Four years after he predicted a minimum of 10-15 kosher meat producing companies would be carrying its label by the end of 2010, the director of Magen Tzedek, Rabbi Morris Allen, says he has “learned” not to make such “bold” predictions.The JEWISH DAILY FORWARD (http: //bit. Read More »
New York – An upcoming business conference aimed at the Orthodox Jewish entrepreneurs and small business owners hopes to open new vistas to the Jewish business community by bringing in a panel of well known names in the business community to discuss vital business skills, strategies and concepts. Read More »
Jerusalem – Joy and elation are running high in Kiryat Belz as thousands are attending tonight’s historic wedding of the Belzer Rebbe’s oldest grandson. Read More »
Warsaw, Poland – Boruch Spiegel, one of the last remaining survivors of the 1943 Warsaw ghetto uprising by poorly armed Jewish insurgents against the powerful Nazi German force that occupied Poland, has died. He was 93. Read More »
Bnei Brak – A haredi man was killed in a road accident between his scooter and a car on Road 471 between Bnei Brak and Elad on Tuesday.ZAKA volunteers arrived on the scene minutes after the accident, to find the man lying dead on the road. Read More »
Israel – Israel’s chief peace negotiator with the Palestinians says the current stalemate is harmful for Israel.Tzipi Livni told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that resuming negotiations was “first and foremost an Israeli interest.” She spoke days before U.S. Read More »
Golan Heights – Syria said Tuesday it destroyed an Israeli vehicle that crossed the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights overnight, while the Israeli military said gunfire from Syria had hit an Israeli patrol, damaging a vehicle and prompting its troops to fire back. The two sides appeared to be referring to the same incident. Read More »
Jerusalem – Updating a story that was reported by VINNEWS (http: //bit.ly/18ZxHpY) on Sunday, the EU is denying reports that its plans to implement a “labeling” policy on goods imported from Israeli settlements have been temporarily “frozen” amid pressure from the United States.THE TIMES OF ISRAEL (http: //bit. Read More »
Jerusalem – In an unexpected turn today against charges that it deceived the public in its treatment of animals during slaughter, Israeli food giant Tnuva Food Industries admitted to causing great “suffering” to animals, calling it an unavoidable part of a process that is, by nature, brutal. HAARETZ (http: //bit. Read More »
New York – An exhibition opens Tuesday at a museum in Lower Manhattan about efforts by American Jews to bring refugees to the U.S. from Europe during the Nazi era. Read More »
Berlin, Germany – A German scholar says it was the “lament” that he felt over watching the faded signs and reminders of WWII disappear through gentrification that caused him to undertake the painstaking task of documenting the once thriving Jewish business community in pre-war Berlin. The TABLET (http: //bit. Read More »
Washington, DC – Lawyers for Northwest Airlines successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to consider “dismissing” a case filed against them by a rabbi who claims his frequent-flier membership was revoked because he “complained” too much.COURTHOUSENEWS.com (http: //bit.ly/12H0QCN) reports that Rabbi S. Read More »
Washington – The State Department has appointed a special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism as a new report documents a global increase in incidents of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Read More »
Madrid, Span – After announcing in November that significant changes would be made aimed at easing the process of naturalization for Sephardic Jews, the Spanish government has yet to implement the changes, leaving many Jewish applicants hanging in the balance. The NEW YORK TIMES (http: //bit. Read More »
New York, NY – Construction is slated to begin next month in Manhattan on a posh new “all-inclusive” community center aimed at luring single Sephardic Jews and young couples from Brooklyn. The NEW YORK POST (http: //bit. Read More »
Washington – The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a new case on the intersection of religion and government in a dispute over prayers used to open public meetings. Read More »
Jerusalem – Finance Minister Yair Lapid, whose new centrist party is the second largest in Israel’s government, said on Monday thousands of Jewish settlers would have to be removed from occupied land under any peace deal with the Palestinians. Read More »
Beersheba – A bank robbery in Israel on Monday ended with the deaths of five people, including one of the holdup men who apparently shot and killed himself when police launched a raid to free hostages. Read More »
Memphis, TN – A Jackson man is facing a federal civil rights charge after authorities said he defaced a Torah and religious prayer books.The U.S. attorney’s office for West Tennessee says 25-year-old Justin Shawn Baker has been indicted May 15 with violating the civil rights of students and faculty of the Margolin Hebrew Academy in Memphis. Read More »
Jerusalem – Israel has the highest poverty rate among OECD countries, according to a report released by the 33-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.The data revealed that Israel’s poverty rate stood at close to 21 percent of the population in 2011, compared to the 11.1% average among the rest of the members. Read More »
Jerusalem – In what some are calling an act aimed at “showing” it belongs to them, Arab vandals used Islamic colors to spray paint Arabic graffiti on the tomb of Shimon Ben Yaakov, believed by many to be the burial place one of the 12 tribes of Israel.ARUTZ SHEVA 7 (http: //bit. Read More »
Havana – An American imprisoned in Cuba settled a lawsuit Thursday against the company he was working for when arrested, a lawsuit that claimed he wasn’t properly warned about or prepared for the risks of working in the communist nation.Alan Gross and his wife filed the lawsuit in November against the U.S. Read More »
Jerusalem – Heroic efforts by firefighters and preventative security measures allowed a Chabad synagogue’s Torah scrolls to escape harm during a weekend fire that caused extensive damage to the building.ARUTZ SHEVA 7 (http: //bit.ly/14lkox4) is reporting that early reports point to a defective Shabbat timer as a possible cause for the fire. Read More »
Jerusalem – Dozens of haredim threw stones at two haredi IDF soldiers in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Mea She’arim neighborhood on Sunday night, police stated.The haredim lit trash cans on fire and fled the scene. Firefighters arrived to extinguish the blazes. No injuries were reported. Read More »
Jerusalem – The distributor of a set of anti-Zionist playing cards originally available only in the Neturei Karta sect in Jerusalem says they are growing in popularity and have now entered the Haredi mainstream. YNETnews.com (http: //bit. Read More »
Rockland County, NY – Organizers for the May 9th “Dangers of the Internet” rally at Provident Bank Park in Ramapo will be presented with a $7,500 bill from the Ramapo PD for security costs during the event. LOHUD.com (http: //lohud. Read More »
Israel – The answer to poverty is work, not government welfare support, Finance Minister Yair Lapid said.Responding to an OECD report that pegged Israel’s poverty level in 2010 as the highest among developed countries, Lapid told Israel Radio, “Allowances don’t take people out of poverty, they keep people in poverty. Read More »
Jerusalem – Israel has completed an investigation into a decade-old French TV report that claimed Israeli forces killed a Palestinian boy in a gunbattle with Palestinian militants, saying the video was misleading and unfairly blamed Israel.France 2 network’s images from Sept. Read More »
Jerusalem – Citing economic “needs” and the promise that the new devices will meet the “levels of kashrut” found in existing mobile phones, Rabbi David Zilbershlag, revealed that the new line of smartphones previously approved by the rabbinical committee will be available soon in Israel.GLOBES (http: //bit. Read More »
Brussels – In response to a request from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the European Union has agreed to a delay in implementing its plans to enforce the labeling of products originating in Israeli settlements until the end of June. HAARETZ (http: //bit. Read More »
