Oklahoma City - No one was injured when a roller coaster at an Oklahoma City amusement park stalled out and stranded eight people, including seven children. Oklahoma City Fire Department District Chief Benny Fulkerson says firefighters walked the stranded riders down a catwalk to safety Wednesday afternoon after the Frontier City ride became stuck. The riders, which included children ages 7 to 15, were stranded on the coaster for about an hour Wednesday. Fulkerson says the Silver Bullet roller coaster at Frontier City “just didn’t make it over a hill” and became stuck. Fulkerson says power to the ride was shut off and the cars were chained to the rail before the stranded riders were escorted down one at a time. An Oklahoma City firefighter walks down a roller ...
Albany, NY - New York’s comptroller has directed staff of the $178 billion pension fund for state and local government workers to identify and restrict investments in companies supporting a boycott of Israel. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the fund has $532 million in Israel-based investments and attempts to harm its economy put them at risk. Gov. Andrew Cuomo three weeks ago ordered state agencies to cease doing business with companies that boycott, divest or sanction the Israeli government. Critics of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians have accused the Democratic governor of violating the constitutionally protected free speech of business owners. Cuomo directed state officials to draw up a list of businesses involved, which civil rights groups called a blacklis...
Jerusalem - The security establishment, IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) are investigating how 19-year old terrorist Mohammad Tarairah, from the village of Bani Naim near Hebron, managed to climb the fence surrounding Kiryat Arba and enter the settlement. Tarairah had no obstructions when he the entered into the Ariel family’s house, and killed 13-year old Hallel Yaffe while she slept in her bed. It was not immediately clear how he entered the home. Initial inquiries have revealed that the terrorist was identified by security forces and members of the on-call team. Only a few minutes passed between security cameras identifying Tarairah and the guards arriving at the scene, but they could not stop him before he had already fatally stabbed the defenseless teenager m...
New York - New York City police have arrested an 80-year-old man who gained national fame by riding his horse around the country saying he was a cowboy who wanted to help hungry children. Police say Tod “Doc” Mishler was taken into custody Thursday, three days after riding his horse across the Outerbridge Crossing linking New Jersey with Staten Island. A police spokeswoman says charges are pending. The exact charges are unclear. But animal advocates say Mishler has abused the horses that took him on what he says is his God-sent mission. They say he didn’t feed them properly, exhausted them and gave them painful saddle sores. The two horses he brought to New York were seized Monday for examinations. Mishler was issued a court summons for blocking traffic and tre...
Netanya, Israel - Two Israelis were stabbed in an apparent terror attack near the market in Netanya on Thursday evening. One of the victims, an Israeli man approximately 30 years old, is in serious condition and is receiving medical treatment. The other, a woman, is in moderate condition. The stabber has been shot and killed. The attack took place simultaneously with the funeral of Hallel Ariel, a 13-year-old Israeli girl murdered earlier on Thursday after a Palestinian terrorist broke into her home in Kiryat Arba, near Hebron, and stabbed her to death while she slept. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Bnos Agudath Israel has a long proud history of innovation, starting many successful initiatives. One of these is the highly acclaimed Bnos One on One Big Sister Little Sister Program. Bnos One on One was founded in 2009 with the mission of building greater resiliency in young adolescents by providing them with a role model and mentor to offer emotional support and encouragement. 12th grade girls meet with their sixth or seventh grade counterpart once a week for fun activities or just to schmooze. The program which is operated by Bnos Agudath Israel of America and is funded by The Center for Jewish Family Life/Project YES has grown to include close to 1,000 girls in Atlanta, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Denver, Edison, Far Rockaway, Five Towns, Queens, Lakewood, Los Angeles, Miami, Monsey, and To...
The race to be Britain’s next prime minister was upended after Justice Secretary Michael Gove entered at the last minute with a savage attack on initial front-runner Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Theresa May cast herself as the Conservative Party’s unifying candidate. One week after Britain voted to leave the EU in a shock break with a half-century of postwar alignment, the country remains in a state of political limbo. Cameron resigned but is staying on until September, the Labour opposition is in disarray and “Leave” campaigners who won the referendum have yet to announce detailed policies beyond an intention to “take back control.” Read full story at Bloomberg.
The tables have turned in this week’s White House Watch. After trailing Hillary Clinton by five points for the prior two weeks, Donald Trump has now taken a four-point lead. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey of Likely US Voters finds Trump with 43% of the vote, while Clinton earns 39%. Twelve percent (12%) still like another candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) Read full story at Rasmussen Reports.
The drama unfolded quickly.  The spies returned from their reconnaissance mission to the Land of Israel and delivered a disastrous report.  They told him (Moshe) and said, "We came to the land to which you sent us, and it is flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.  However, the people who inhabit the land are mighty, and the cities are extremely huge and fortified, and there we saw even the offspring of the giant. The Amalekites dwell in the south land, while the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountainous region. The Canaanites dwell on the coast and alongside the Jordan …. We are unable to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we (Bamidbar 13:27-31)." With just a few words, a few short sentences the meraglim (spies...
Updated as of June 30, 10:52 AM - JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md.— A law enforcement official told the Associated Press officials found no active shooter at Joint Base Andrews Thursday. ### Joint Base Andrews in Maryland has been placed on lockdown following a report of an active shooter.   The base was placed on lockdown just after 9 a.m. Thursday, officials at the base told News4. All personnel have been directed to shelter in place. Joint Base Andrews said it had planned an active shooter exercise for 9 a.m., but around the same time, first responders received reports of an "real-world active shooter situation" at the medical facility. The base says it investigating the incident as an ongoing active shooter situation.
New york, NY - Several hundred people enjoyed kosher barbeque, scenic views of the East River and a chance to hobnob with Jewish movers and shakers from all across New York City at Mayor de Blasio’s annual Jewish Heritage Reception held Wednesday night at Gracie Mansion. Both Mayor de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray peppered their remarks to the crowd with Hebrew phrases, with the mayor intoning “tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” while his wife spoke about the importance of tikun olam. de Blasio was in high spirits, good naturedly repeating a joke he has shared on several occasion with two of his Israeli counterparts. “I like to do a thing where I talk to the mayor of Jerusalem, in this case Mayor Barkat, and the mayor of Tel Aviv, Mayor Huldai, and I like t...
London - Former London mayor Boris Johnson abruptly pulled out of the race to become Britain’s next prime minister on Thursday, in a shock move that upturned a political order shaken by last week’s vote to leave the European Union. Johnson, whose support for the campaign to leave the EU was widely considered one of the decisive factors in the campaign, had been bookmakers’ runaway favorite to succeed David Cameron, who quit last week after failing to persuade British voters to stay in the bloc. Johnson’s unexpected departure from the race, announced just minutes before the party unveiled the list of candidates, shows the speed with which the political landscape is being reshaped. “I must tell you, my friends, you who have waited faithfully for the ...
Helena -A grizzly bear attacked and killed a 38-year-old mountain biker as he was riding along a trail just outside Glacier National Park, Montana authorities said. Brad Treat and another rider were in the Halfmoon Lakes area of the Flathead National Forest Wednesday when they apparently surprised the bear, Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said. The bear knocked Treat off his bike, and the second rider left to look for help, Curry said. Authorities found Treat’s body at the scene, but not the bear. Wildlife and law-enforcement officials were searching for the grizzly Wednesday evening. Treat was a law-enforcement officer with the U.S. Forest Service. “Brad was an integral member of our area law enforcement team and a friend to us all,” Curry said. Treat g...
The leadership of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America issued the following statement: Today, we mourn the loss of Hallel Yaffa Ariel, a 13-year-old Israeli girl who was heinously attacked by a Palestinian terrorist in the bedroom of her family's home in Israel. The Orthodox Union extends its deepest condolences to the Ariel family and we pray that God and the nation of Israel will comfort them in this time of terrible tragedy. We commend the Israeli security forces that responded quickly and saved the lives of others. We also must say this: When violent attacks occur around the world, standard response is to state that the catalyst for the tragedy is inexplicable. Today, that is not the case at all. There is no doubt that the terrorist's action was a resu...
Yael Kabiliv, the aunt of the young girl murdered in Thursday morning’s vicious terror attack in Kiryat Arba, spoke with journalists in the Shaarei Tzedek hospital, following news that Hallel-Yaffa Ariel had succumbed to her injuries. "A truly wonderful girl was murdered today - Hallel-Yaffa bat Rina Devorah. Hallel, my niece, was the most amazing girl in the world.”"She had slept in late after having danced in a performance the night before. [Then], a disgusting terrorist came in and killed her while she slept in her bed.""We're all in mourning and in terrible pain. It's hard for us to grasp what happened.""They have the courage to just go into our homes - we have to have the courage to go into the Temple Mount, without fear, and say 'this is our ...
Father of Israeli girl murdered in her bed by Palestinian terrorist: 'An evil person killed my daughter.' The father of 13-year-old Hallel-Yaffa Ariel, who was murdered in her sleep by a Palestinian terrorist Thursday morning, has spoken of his gifted girl's dreams of becoming a dancer. "Last night she came back from a dance performance," Amichai Ariel recounted. "She was an amazing girl."  "She worked very hard for years to become a dancer. She put so much effort into everything she did. God gave her a great mind, lots of wisdom. She was so bright." As his wife wept beside him, Amichai said he and his daughter had planned to work together at his local winery. "This morning at 9:30 we were supposed to work together filling bottles with wine." "Hallel...
Istanbul - The three suicide bombers who attacked Istanbul airport were a Russian, an Uzbek and a Kyrgyz, a senior Turkish official said Thursday, hours after police carried out sweeping raids across the city looking for Islamic State suspects. Tuesday’s gunfire and suicide bombing attack at Ataturk Airport killed 43 people and wounded more than 230 others. The day opened with police conducting raids on 16 locations in Istanbul, rounding up 13 people suspected of having links to the Islamic State group, the most likely perpetrator of the attack at one of the world’s busiest airports. The manhunt spanned three neighbourhoods on the city’s Asian and European sides. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, did not na...
Ramallah - Five Palestinians, including two police officers, were killed in two overnight shootings in the West Bank, Palestinian police said Thursday. Police spokesman Loaie Izrekat said that 16 others were injured in the shootings. The incidents underscore the inability of Palestinian police to crack down on widespread illegal gun possession in the West Bank. In one incident, a Palestinian shot at the home of a police officer in the town of Nablus. When police arrived to investigate, they came under fire and two officers were killed, Izrekat said. Three more Palestinians were killed in a shootout between two clans that was sparked by an argument over a wedding hall in the town of Yaabad in the northern West Bank, according to Izrekat. He said the argument escalated into clas...
Maya Schulder, a 16-year-old from Arizona, in Israel with her congregational youth group, died of dehydration on a hike June 15. News reports stated that the group lacked adequate water. As is usually the case with such tragedies and near tragedies – e.g., the death of a new IDF recruit on an army tour shortly after induction, an African-American university student who collapsed and died climbing Masada, yeshivos and seminaries being forced to call for emergency evacuation while hiking in oppressive heat – the news came in the form of an email from Mark Newman of Great Neck, New York. My relationship with Mark and his wife Ellen began last June when Mark sent me an email out of the blue people relating how Mishpacha readers are always telling him that we look exactly alike. I...
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