The annual Herzliya Conference was held this week, from Tuesday to Thursday, 26-28 Sivan. Each year the Herzliya Conference brings together senior personalities from Israel and abroad in the fields of government, security, business, and academia, to discuss the national, regional, and global issues on the agenda. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman addressed the conference on Thursday morning 28 Sivan, opting to direct his attention to efforts to renew diplomatic talks with the PA (Palestinian Authority). The crux of his message was clear, that there would be no preconditions and Israel will not agree to the return “of a single refugee to the pre-1967 borders”. He added that unlike former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, this administration is not going to make generous proposals to ...
Jared Kushner, advisor to US President Donald Trump, met on Wednesday with PA (Palestinian Authority) Chairman Abu Mazen for two hours in Ramallah, discussing how to revive the diplomatic talks with Israel. The international community is skeptical as to Kushner’s capabilities, for while he is a successful real estate developer, the son-in-law of the US President lacks diplomatic experience. Nonetheless, he is serving in the capacity as special advisor and he is entrusted with trying to bring Jerusalem and Ramallah back to the negotiating table after years during which there has been no dialogue. Kushner met in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu prior to heading to Ramallah. There was ample time for photos but no questions were taken from the media. The young adv...
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan announced that his ministry is about to release measures that will result in unprecedented security change in the area of Shar Shechem, which has been the site of many terrorist attacks against security forces. There was one such attack last Friday, which claimed the life of Border Policewoman Hadas Malka HY”D. According to Erdan’s statements on Thursday, 28 Sivan, new counter-terrorism measures will create a new reality in the Shar Shechem area, telling participants in the 17th Herzliya Conference that the terrorists understand the significance of Jerusalem and Israel’s sovereignty over the capital, and for them, Shar Shechem has become a symbol. Erdan explained there were no less than 32 terror attacks at or near Shar Shechem...
A lawyer for the owner of the house where Adolf Hitler was born is disputing the government’s right to take possession of the property in Austria’s highest court, saying authorities are using the measure “like a club” because his client refused purchase offers from authorities that were too low. The challenge is in response to a government bill to take the house after owner Gerlinde Pommer refused to sell it. Hitler was born in 1889 in the house in Braunau am Inn, a town on the German border. The government wants to remodel the property’s facade to reduce its draw as a shrine for admirers of the Nazi dictator and to offer it to an agency that runs workshops for disabled people. Ahead of the first day of Constitutional Court hearings Thursday, lawyer G...
New York - New York City police say a woman was slashed on the knee after a dispute with another passenger over a subway seat. The woman was taken to a hospital in stable condition. The slashing occurred around 6 a.m. Thursday at the Parkchester station in the Bronx. The attacker got off the train, and police were looking for her. It’s not clear what the weapon was. WCBS radio station (http://cbsloc.al/2rVq0nd  ) says police have received nearly 50 reports of subway riders attacked with blades or other sharp objects so far this year. That compares to 38 for the same period last year. ___ Information from: WCBS-AM, http://www.wcbs880.com
President Donald Trump doesn’t have recordings of his conversations with then-FBI Director James Comey, according to a person familiar with the matter, capping weeks of speculation about whether such tapes exist. Trump himself raised the question of whether he was taping his Oval Office conversations when, days after firing Comey on May 9, he blasted out a series of tweets suggesting the existence of tapes as a way to try to deter the ousted FBI chief from talking to reporters. “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” Trump wrote. He concluded with a tweet calling the investigation into Russian interference in the election and his campaign’s possible involvement a “w...
 Washington - The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday fired its highly regarded chief foreign affairs correspondent after evidence emerged of his involvement in prospective commercial deals — including one involving arms sales to foreign governments — with an international businessman who was one of his key sources. The reporter, Jay Solomon, was offered a 10 percent stake in a fledgling company, Denx LLC, by Farhad Azima, an Iranian-born aviation magnate who has ferried weapons for the CIA. It was not clear whether Solomon ever received money or formally accepted a stake in the company. “We are dismayed by the actions and poor judgment of Jay Solomon,” Wall Street Journal spokesman Steve Severinghaus wrote in a statement to The Associated Press. “While ou...
The Congressional Black Caucus turned down an invitation to meet with President Donald Trump, telling him Wednesday they believe their concerns are falling on “deaf ears” at the White House and his policies are devastating to the millions of Americans in the nation’s black communities. A White House spokeswoman said the development was “pretty disappointing” and pledged to arrange for individual members to meet one-on-one with Trump. Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond told Trump in a letter that his proposed budget, his efforts to dismantle Democrat Barack Obama’s health care law and actions by Attorney General Jeff Sessions are detrimental to many African-Americans. Richmond said the caucus had expressed its concern several times, including in eight lett...
Japanese authorities said Thursday they have obtained a data recording device from a container ship to help determine why it collided with a U.S. destroyer, killing seven American sailors. Japanese transport safety officials said they obtained the voyage data recorder, similar to an airplane’s “black box,” from the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal, which is currently docked in Yokohama near Tokyo. Investigators are examining the ship’s movements, including its location, direction, speed and other data to determine the cause of its collision with the USS Fitzgerald early Saturday off Izu Peninsula, west of Tokyo. “By analyzing the data, we should be able to determine the circumstances of how it crashed,” Transport Safety Board spokesman Katsunori Takahas...
Five people are recovering from injuries after a steam pipe explosion Tuesday night on Eutaw Street in downtown Baltimore. A 12-inch steam line burst through the pavement on Eutaw Street, sending a plume of steam and debris --including chunks of asphalt -- about 50 feet into the air. The upper-floor windows of the Marriott hotel looked drenched in dirt but not broken. Repair being handled by a private company that owns the steam pipe is slow. Cyril Bell is beyond frustrated. His vehicle is all covered in dirt, mud and who knows what else. He stood just feet away during the explosion, picking up his wife from work when it happened. "It just blew up, 'boom.' It hit the front of the car. We tried to back up to get out of the way because we thought the ground was going to ope...
Updated - Baltimore, MD - June 22, 2017 - Mrs. Shuly Ambush is sitting shiva for her mother, Esther Taubenfeld z"l. Schedule as follows:  A) 9 Rechov David, Alroi, Yerushalayim until Motzai Shabbos. B) 3402 Labyrinth Road, Baltimore, Sunday noon until 9:00 pm. C) 390 Daub Avenue, Hewlett, NY Monday, thru Tuesday morning, getting up Tuesday morning 6/27. ### Baltimore, MD – June 20, 2017- It is with sorrow that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Mrs. Esther Taubenfeld, Z’L, mother of Mrs. Shuly Ambush. The levayah took place this evening at 6:00 PM in Long Island. Shiva information is forthcoming Bila HaMaves LaNetzach...
A top Israeli minister has issued an impassioned plea to the leader of Saudi Arabia to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make an official trip to Riyadh. In a speech he delivered at the 2017 Herzliya Conference on Thursday, Yisrael Katz — the Jewish state’s intelligence and transportation minister and a member of the ruling Likud Party — said, “I call upon Salman, the king of Saudi Arabia, to invite the prime minister of Israel, Netanyahu, to visit Saudi Arabia.” Addressing Salman directly, Katz stated, “We saw what a wonderful host you can be…when President [Donald] Trump was there.” “You can also send your heir, the new one, Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” Katz continued in his remarks at the annual event...
The closely guarded Senate health care bill written entirely behind closed doors has finally been revealed, setting off a do-or-die moment for the Republican Party's winding efforts to repeal Obamacare. The unveiling of the legislation marks the first time that the majority of the Senate GOP conference gets a comprehensive look at the health care proposal. With Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pressing ahead for a vote next week, senators are likely to have only a handful of days to decide whether to support or vote against the bill. Read the full text of the legislation here.
The safety record at the U.S. laboratory that created the atomic bomb is facing intensifying criticism as work ramps up to produce a key component for the nation’s nuclear weapons cache. A series published this week by the Center for Public Integrity cites numerous internal reports and other documents outlining federal regulators’ concerns about safety lapses at Los Alamos National Laboratory over the years, including spilled plutonium and workers positioning plutonium rods in a way that could have been disastrous. In an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press, Los Alamos officials took aim at critics and reassured employees of the safety of the lab’s facility for making plutonium cores used to trigger the explosions in nuclear bombs. “As employees, you sh...
Egypt on Wednesday 27 Sivan delivered fuel to Gaza for its power plant after the PA (Palestinian Authority) has refused to continue pay Israel for electricity and Israel cut electricity to Gaza. Some view the Egyptian move as a sign that relations are improving between Egypt and Hamas as this is the first time that Cairo has permitted a fuel delivery to Gaza since the Hamas takeover in 2007. Tanker trucks flying Egyptian flags were seen driving into Gaza. It is reported that the Egyptians have permitted sufficient fuel to permit seven hours of electricity per day for three days, one million liters. While the Israel Electric Company has curtailed electricity to Gaza, Israeli government officials are signaling the matter in Gaza is an internal one to be worked out between Gaza and Ramallah...
There is a reason that it is men who charge to war. When is the passion that drives a man to rise up to fight informed by the will of God?  When is his rush to arms “righteous indignation” and when is it simply hubris, or worse?  Men all too often become consumed with their passions to right a perceived slight; all too often afire by their quest for power.  In that heat of passion, of indignation, of perceived righteousness a man’s ability to reason is often overwhelmed and his ability to coolly assess his best and most appropriate way forward is too often lost. He is awash in foolish pride. When that happens, when the fire of the moment consumes a man’s ability to reason, he is fortunate indeed if he has a good wife by his side.  And if he ha...
Struggling to advance his agenda in Washington, President Donald Trump traveled to the Midwest for a raucous rally with his loyal supporters — the kind of event he relished before winning the White House. Trump touched down Wednesday evening in rainy Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and headed to a local community college, where he got a look at agriculture technology innovations before leading a campaign-style rally. He reveled in Georgia Republican Karen Handel’s congressional victory in an election viewed as an early referendum on his presidency. “We’re 5-0 in special elections,” Trump said in front of a boisterous crowd that packed a downtown arena. “The truth is, people love us … they haven’t figured it out yet.” He also applauded Republic...
Democratic Party divisions were on glaring display Wednesday as a special election loss in a wildly expensive Georgia House race left bitter lawmakers turning their anger on their own leaders. “We as Democrats have to come to terms with the fact that we lost again,” said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass. “Personally I think it’s time for a new generation of leadership in the party.” The loss in Georgia followed similar disappointments in special House elections in Kansas and Montana, as well as in South Carolina Tuesday night. The Carolina outcome was closer than in Georgia but drew little national attention. In the well-to-do Atlanta suburbs, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California was the focus of torrents of negative advertising in a House race that co...
India’s population is expected to surpass China’s in about seven years and Nigeria is projected to overtake the United States and become the third most populous country in the world shortly before 2050, a U.N. report said Wednesday. The report by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ Population Division forecasts that the current world population of nearly 7.6 billion will increase to 8.6 billion by 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100. It said roughly 83 million people are added to the world’s population every year and the upward trend is expected to continue even with a continuing decline in fertility rates, which have fallen steadily since the 1960s. John Wilmoth, director of the Population Division, said at a news conference that the re...
Baltimore, MD - June 22, 2017 - On 06/21/17 between 12:00AM and 6:40AM the Pikesville Precinct experienced a total of nine thefts/ attempted thefts from motor vehicles on Western Winds Circle. Access to several of the vehicles was gained by breaking the windows with some sort of a tool and a few of the vehicles were left unlocked. Please remember to lock your vehicles, remove any spare or valet keys and remove any valuables at all times. Please be vigilant of suspicious subjects or vehicles roaming through the neighborhood.  If you notice any suspicious activity, safely get a good description of the subjects or vehicles (including license plates) and immediately contact 911.  We offer Free Home Security Surveys, where a uniformed officer will respond to your home and give you s...
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