An early-morning fire destroyed the home of an Orthodox Jewish family in Bayswater Queens – located near Far Rockaway. According to the FDNY, the fire started at around 5:00AM in the rear of the private home located on Dickens Street near Healy Avenue. By the time the fire was extinguished, the home was destroyed. FDNY EMS transported a child to the hospital with burns on both her arms. The rest of the family was able to get out of the house without injury. The cause of the fire is unknown.
Thirty-three weapons were stolen from an IDF base in southern Israel. Police and IDF authorities are involved in the investigation to locate the stolen weapons and the persons responsible. The IDF has assigned a special investigating team since this is not the first-time weapons have been stolen from this Negev base but the second time this year.
Live webcams trained on the White House spotted a peculiar scene on Sunday evening; strange red flashing lights coming from second story windows. The flashing ended after around 20 minutes, leaving viewers wondering it’s source. There was no official statement from the US Secret Service or the White House regarding the strange phenomenon.
Travelers on British Airways faced a third day of delays and cancellations Monday, though most long-haul services were resumed, after a colossal IT failure over the weekend caused chaos for thousands of passengers. BA chief executive Alex Cruz said the airline was running a “near-full operation” at London’s Gatwick Airport and planned to operate all scheduled long-haul services from Heathrow. But he said there would still be delays, as well as some canceled short-haul flights. Data from flight tracker FlightAware.com showed BA canceled another 27 flights and had 135 more delayed Monday, a bank holiday in the U.K. that sees a high level of air travel. Iberia and Air Nostrum, which like BA are part of the broader International Airlines Group and share some data, cancelle...
Security forces during the night of 4 Nissan (Sunday to Monday) arrested 12 suspects in Issawiya allegedly responsible for firebomb and rock attacks in the area, primarily on the Maale Adumim – Jerusalem Highway. They are also linked to disturbances with law enforcement agencies in the Jerusalem district. After gathering intelligence evidence and video footage against the suspects, police and border police during the night moved in and made the arrests. Police were attacked with stones as they left the Arab area. B’chasdei Hashem there were no reports of injuries. The suspects are being questioned and they will be arraigned.
Baltimore, MD - May 29, 2017 - With great sadness, and a broken heart, we regret to inform you that Coby Rosemore was niftar earlier this morning. The levaya will take place Tuesday, May 30, at 2:00 PM at Levinson's. Kevurah will be at Beth Tfiloh Cemetery, 5800 Windsor Mill Road. Please carpool to funeral if possible. Following the kevurah, the family will sit shiva for a few hours before the onset of Yom Tov. At this time, the family has asked for no visitation during the shortened shiva period.  The family requests their privacy during this difficult time. Please forward any messages to rabbisilber@suburbanorthodox.org to be shared with the family.
 Israel’s Knesset and the U.S. Congress will jointly commemorate 50 years since Jerusalem’s reunification in a special live video broadcast Tuesday. The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday that President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence may participate in the event, hosted by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and that the broadcast could be perceived as the White House’s tacit recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein will join the event from Israel’s Knesset. All members of the Knesset as well as the U.S. House and Senate were invited to participate in the event, which was organized by Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer. Official U.S. policy does not recog...
President Donald Trump berated Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting last week in Bethlehem over Abbas’s personal responsibility for incitement to terrorism, Israel’s Channel 2 reported Sunday. An unnamed American source reportedly told the Israeli broadcaster Trump was furious with Abbas and yelled at the PA leader for his direct involvement with incitement against Jews.  “You tricked me in D.C.! You talked there about your commitment to peace, but the Israelis showed me your involvement in incitement,” Trump reportedly screamed at Abbas, who was taken aback by the U.S. president’s forceful comments. The two leaders had met at the White House May 3. The report further stated that several minutes of silence f...
President Donald Trump’s hardline position on immigration is casting a long shadow over Virginia’s race for governor. Candidates in both parties are adjusting their focus to more closely match or oppose the president. Democrats Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello are promising fierce resistance to Trump’s immigration positions. They are embracing policies such as allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Traditionally, Democrats have been silent on the issue. GOP frontrunner Ed Gillespie has vowed to be “very strong” on immigration enforcement, promising greater cooperation between Virginia law enforcement officials and federal immigration officers. He’s also promised to undo state policy that allows children of undocumented immi...
President Donald Trump is preparing his first Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery. Trump is also set to lay a wreath Monday at the cemetery, the final resting place for many U.S. military members and others who have served the country. Trump previewed the address Saturday before he flew home from Italy, the final stop on his first trip abroad since taking office. He addressed U.S. service members stationed at a naval base in Sicily as “warriors of freedom” and the “patriots who keep the fires of liberty burning.” Trump also noted his desire to boost spending on the military, and as commander in chief pledged his “complete and unshakeable support” to the men and women in uniform. The event is scheduled to start around 11 a.m.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly is defending an alleged effort by top White House adviser Jared Kushner to create back-channel communications with Russia as a “good thing,” while the Trump administration sought to quell mounting questions over secret ties to the Kremlin. Speaking on Sunday’s news shows, Kelly said he didn’t know whether the reports by The Associated Press and other news outlets involving Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, were true. But Kelly said such back-channel communications don’t bother him and would not be harmful to U.S. security interests. “It’s both normal, in my opinion, and acceptable,” Kelly said. “Any way that you can communicate with people, particularly organizations that...
North Korea’s latest missile test Monday may have less to do with perfecting its weapons technology than with showing U.S. and South Korean forces in the region that it can strike them at will. South Korean and Japanese officials said the suspected Scud-type short-range missile flew about 450 kilometers (280 miles) on Monday morning before landing in Japan’s maritime economic zone, setting off the usual round of condemnation from Washington and the North’s neighbors. It’s the latest in a string of test launches by North Korea as it seeks to build nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland, a drive that puts North Korea high on the list of foreign policy worries for Japan, Washington and Seoul. North Korea already has an ar...
Jared Kushner has told friends he and Ivanka Trump do not have permanent plans to remain in Washington, saying they would review whether they want to stay in D.C every six months, The New York Times reported on Saturday. President Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law have been under intense scrutiny after accepting high profile positions within the administration. Ivanka serves as the President’s personal adviser while her husband Jared serves as Trump’s senior adviser. The Washington Post reported late Friday that Kushner is now a person of interest in the ongoing federal investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Kushner reportedly attempted to set up a “secret and secure” backchannel with the Kremlin, and suggested ...
Tragedy struck the Gerre tzibur in Eretz Yisrael on Monday morning 4 Sivan as the word spread of the untimely petira of 6-year-old Yochanan Rubinstein, z”l, who was niftar during the morning hours. The family explained in a pained voice how the child’s life over recent years consisted of hospital visits as he fought a difficult illness and despite the hardships, there was always a smile on his face. His parents are R’ Yisrael Rubinstein ben Rav Avraham Mordechai of Tel Aviv and his wife, of the Carmel family of Belgium. The levaya was held on Monday morning from their home, 16 Hissman Street in Rova 8 in Ashdod.
Baltimore, MD – May 29, 2017 - Yesterday, the Sunday before Shavuos, Yeshivas Ner Yisrael hosted a Yarchei Kallah for four local shuls: Khal Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tzedek (Rabbi Dovid Heber’s Shul), Kehillas Bnei Torah (Rabbi Yonason Aryeh Seidemann’s Shul), Kehillas Kol Torah (Rabbi Yosef Berger’s Shul) and Kehillas Derech Chaim (Rabbi Pinchas Gross’s Shul). This pre Shavuos Yarchei Kallah was started by Rabbi Dovid Heber for his Kehilla. It has expanded to include other Kehillos. There was a full day program of learning with shiurim from Rabbeim and Yungeleit. (Photo Credit: Reb Eli Greengart)
Baltimore, MD – May 29, 2017 – The community is advised to be aware of the Gateways ad on page 103 in the current issue of the Where What When that features luchos with the full name of Hashem. That portion of the ad should be treated with respect and disposed of properly with Shaimos.
In Part 1, we discussed various rationales explaining why in many communities shuls are festooned with foliage for Shavuos. The Magen Avraham, among other authorities, added that this minhag includes using trees in the decorating. Yet, the Vilna Gaon strongly opposed this practice altogether, citing concerns that this festooning might actually be classified as the forbidden Chukos HaGoyim, as gentiles decorate their houses of worship in a similar manner. But first, some background is in order. Chukos HaGoyim? In Parshas Acharei Mos,[1] we are exhorted not to follow in the ways of the local non-Jewish populace, “U’Vichukoseihem Lo Seleichu”. According to the Rambam and later codified by the Tur and Shulchan Aruch, this prohibition includes manners of dress, haircuts, a...
The old saying goes, “You are what you eat”.  All of us now know that the way we eat has a pronounced effect on our health, our weight, our ability to fight off disease and recently we even discovered that what we eat can have a marked effect on our mental health.  When we say “the way we eat”, we are referring to what kind of food we eat, when we eat, how often we eat, how fast or slow we eat and the balance between protein, carbohydrates, fats, fruits, vegetables and water.  Unfortunately, many people have put an emphasis only on what they don’t eat.  In other words, they might never drink colas or stay away from white, processed flour and not eat processed sugars.  This is all admirable, but when it comes to health, the other part o...
Last week in Berlin, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel hosted an international conference for religious leaders on the topic of “Responsibility of Religions for Peace,” bringing together Moslem, Christian and Jewish scholars, as well as representatives of various faith groups, traditions and movements. At the end of the Conference, Gabriel met personally with Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, Rabbi of the Jewish community of Berlin. During the meeting, Gabriel requested that Teichtal relay his personal message to German’s Jewish community: “A Conference of this sort manifests that, contrary to what people may believe, various faiths can coexist together in peace. Mutual respect and dialogue are the keys to peace.” The Conference, which took place on Monday, was at...
Minister-without-Portfolio Ayoub Kara has been appointed Minister of Communications, becoming the first Druse tapped for the post. The appointment must be approved by the cabinet, which is seen as a formality at this point. The appointment follows a petition to the High Court against PM Netanyahu serving as communications minister in light of one of the police investigations against him, Case 2000, citing there is a conflict of interests The appointment is sudden and a surprise to most, obviously the response to the court petition against the prime minister.
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