One thing terrified me during the first months of living in Israel. I made aliyah in the midst of Second Lebanon War when missiles and rockets were falling. Bomb shelters and red alert warnings were taken in stride. However, the thought of having to go into an Israel bank was terrifying. Opening a back account, getting a first credit card (with a pathetically low credit line) felt like going from adulthood back to childhood. In order to register for a membership I wanted I was required to make a fifty-shekel payment in one specific bank in central Jerusalem and only that bank. Thankfully, an on-line option became available as I could not get the courage up to go to the bank. Now new (and not so new) olim have an advantage.  The book "Smarter Israeli Banking: The Ultimate Insider...
Tragedy struck the Chareidi community in Beit Shemesh on Sunday afternoon – close to the time for lighting Menroah. United Hatzalah and Magen David Adom emergency personnel rushed to the scene on Ben Ish Chai Street after receiving multiple reports of a child that fell from the 4th floor. Arriving first responders found the child in traumatic arrest. The child was rushed a local hospital and was R”L pronounced dead. It has not been confirmed if the child fell from a window or the balcony. The identity of the child or the Levaya information were not yet released. Police are investigating the incident.
Just in time for Chanukah comes the latest upbeat release from the Holocaust Survivor Band, a triumphant song of survival titled Let the Light Shine On. With music and lyrics by prolific songstress Cecelia Margules, Let the Light Shine On pairs Israeli superstar Gad Elbaz with concentration camp survivors Saul Dreier, Ruby Sosnowicz, and the newest member of the team, Morris Dan, as they take their uplifting message to the Brandenburg Gate, once a symbol of Nazi power. With footage shot at the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin-Grunewald railway station, the last stop for many on their way to Auschwitz and Theresienstadt, Let the Light Shine On captures the jubilant essence of the Holocaust Survivor Band whose members never dreamed that after living through unspeakable horrors, they would on...
If Israel were a normal country, having the United States place its embassy in its capital city would not be newsworthy. If Israel were a normal country, that its negotiating partner regularly threatens violence would stir up outrage. If Israel were a normal country, the fact that its enemies hijack international organizations in order to deny its history would offend any fair-minded individual. If Israel were a normal country, everyone would be offended that another country would tell its athletes to throw matches, so they wouldn’t have to face Israeli competitors. People would also be enraged that Israeli athletes could not identify their nation of origin in certain countries. That’s usually an arrangement for a country that violates norms of competition, not a country who...
The Cabinet approved a bill reserving 7% of civil service jobs for haredim Sunday morning. The proposal is intended to encourage haredi integration into the public sector and the labor market. According to statistics published by the Knesset, the percentage of haredim in the public sector is very low and does not correspond with their percentage of the Israeli population. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas) welcomed the plan's approval: "We have made a historic move in the government and we have approved a dramatic decision that will affect the lives of thousands of haredi academics who, to date, have found it difficult to integrate into the labor market." MK Uri Meklav (United Torah Judaism) said that this decision was adopted after extensive review and efforts by the initiator o...
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Muslims marched from the main mosque in Indonesia’s capital to a square in Jakarta on Sunday to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It was the biggest protest in Indonesia since Trump’s controversial move earlier this month to reverse decades of U.S. policy. Police estimated the number attending the rally, organized by various Muslim groups, at about 80,000. The protest was peaceful but rows of police behind coils of barbed wire held back the crowd outside the U.S. embassy in Jakarta. A police spokesman said 20,000 police and members of the military were deployed to ensure security.  “We urge all countries to reject the unilateral and illegal dec...
Turkey intends to open an embassy in East Jerusalem, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, days after leading calls at a summit of Muslim leaders for the world to recognize it as the capital of Palestine. It was not clear how he would carry out the move, as Israel controls all of Jerusalem and calls the city its indivisible capital. Palestinians want the capital of a future state they seek to be in East Jerusalem, which Israel took in a 1967 war and later annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Advertisement: The Muslim nation summit was a response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Dec. 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. His move broke with decades of U.S. policy and international consensus that the city’s status must be left...
Arab Bank Chairman held in Riyadh. Arab political sources cite attempt to ease pressure on Trump following declaration on Jerusalem. Sabih al-Masri, one of the most powerful businessmen in Jordan and head of the Arab Bank, was arrested for interrogation in Saudi Arabia, according to Yediot Aharonot. Al-Masri's arrest is stirring up the business world in Jordan and the PA, the two areas where most of the billionaire's investments are held. Al-Masri's arrest took place against the backdrop of the largest wave of arrests by Saudi authorities against the Saudi elite in recent decades. This morning, sources close to his family reported that Al-Masri had returned to his home in Riyadh and is expected to receive a permit to leave Saudi Arabia soon, but there ...
Arabs call for the destruction of Joseph's Tomb, Samaria Regional Council Head Dagan demands IDF protect the site. On Saturday, Arabs disturbed the peace near Joseph's Tomb in Shechem (Nablus), throwing burning tires at the site. Palestinian Authority Arabs published on social media calls to arrive at Joseph's Tomb and damage the site. Currently, rioters are parading towards Joseph's Tomb in order to desecrate it. Joseph's Tomb is located in the Palestinian Authority created in the 1993 Oslo Accords, but since it is holy to Jews as well as Muslims, the site remained under IDF guard. IN 2000, it was attacked, looted and vandalized by Palestinian Arab rioters and a Druze IDF soldier bled to death because rescue forces could not reach him in time. In 2002, recurr...
Last night, Arab terrorists attacked a vehicle belonging to Chabad emissaries on their way to a “Hanukkah Operation” in support of soldiers stationed along Route 60 in the Judea region south of Jerusalem. Miraculously, neither the car’s owner, Rabbi Daniel Ariel of Beitar Illit, nor his four children who were also in the car during the attack, were injured. The car’s front window, however, was smashed, and the large menorah placed on top of the car damaged. Rabbi Ariel, who carries out Hanukkah Operations every year in conjunction with the community of Efrat’s Chabad emissary, Rabbi Nissan Nachshon, explained, “Every year during Hanukkah, I go out with my children to bring happiness to soldiers at guard posts, to light Hanukkah candles with them and to...
New bill seeks to allow expulsion of a terrorist's family. 'If one knows his family will be expelled, he will think twice before attacking.' The Ministerial Committee on Legislation is to be presented today, Sunday, with MK Moti Yogev’s (Jewish Home) bill proposing to allow the expulsion of terrorists' families from Israel or within Israel in order to create additional deterrence against terrorism. The bill was submitted after the Supreme Court in the past forbade the state, on grounds of “disproportionality,” from deporting terrorists’ families from Israel. Yogev said this morning, "The bill, which seeks to allow the expulsion of families of murderers from their homes, was intended to correct a defect brought upon us by the Su...
The new Austrian government, headed by conservative Sebastian Kurtz, whose establishment was announced at the end of the week, includes in its platform a clear reference to the Jewish character of the State of Israel, reports Israel Hayom's Eldad Beck. This is the first time that an Austrian government has included such unequivocal recognition of Israel as a Jewish state alongside a commitment to continue efforts to reach a two-state political solution between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs that will provide Israel with long-term security borders alongside a viable Palestinian state. Among European countries, up to now, only the platform of the German government under Chancellor Angela Merkel has included a reference recognizing Israel's Jewish character. The platform o...
Border Police and Military Police officers stationed at the guard post at the entrance to the Samaria Military Court, under jurisdiction of the IDF Menashe Brigade, arrested a suspect this morning who had what appeared to be a bomb attached to his body..In addition, bomb squads who rushed to the scene and checked the suspect's coat found an additional pipe bomb. The squad is working to neutralize the explosives. The suspect, a PA resident of Jenin, was arrested In October, a PA resident arrived at the entrance to the same court with a pipe bomb on his body. Border Police and Military Police stationed there arrested the suspect and prevented the attack.The entrance to the courthouse was closed then for a time until the neutralization of the explosive device, and the terrori...
Policeman stabbed near Ramallah shows signs of improvement. Security guard stabbed at J'lem bus station remains in serious condition. The condition of the Border Policeman moderately wounded in a stabbing attack on Friday during Arab riots near the PA Arab city of Ramallah, north of Jerusalem, is improving, hospital officials said this morning. While Border Police are still investigating the circumstances of the incident on Friday, initial investigations indicate that the terrorist ran, holding a knife in his hand, towards Border Police who were dealing with riots along a road near Ramallah, and stabbed one of the policemen in the shoulder. The policemen shot the terrorist, neutralizing him. While footage of the terrorist shows that he had what appeared to be an explosi...
Workers gather in factory after demonstrating throughout J'lem, over pharmaceutical giant's plan to fire 1,700 Israeli workers. After blocking major roads in Jerusalem and other centers around the country, hundreds of Teva pharmaceutical workers barricaded themselves from Sunday afternoon in the company's plants in Jerusalem. Police reported that all roads in Jerusalem that were blocked during the morning and afternoon hours due to the protest are now open, except Har Hotsvim junction in Jreusalem, which was opened and then reclosed again. Meanwhile, at 12:00 noon, all workers in the country who were striking in solidarity with Teva workers returned to work. Among services that have resumed operation are Ben-Gurion Airport, the sea ports, the Israel Elect...
Three children, aged 9 to 14, were injured from shrapnel on Sunday when a weapon shell with which they were playing exploded in the Kula Forest near the city of Elad in central israel.One of them, aged 14, is in serious condition and is suffering from injuries to his upper body. The two other children, aged 9 and 11, were lightly injured.The three were evacuated by MDA teams to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva. MDA Paramedic Mickey Nemesh and MDA Emergency Medic Elad Yisrael Shemesh said: "When we got there, there was a lot of commotion. In the open area behind the bus terminal, we saw the three children who were fully conscious and suffered bloody injuries all over their bodies after being injured by an explosive device. A 14-year-old was lying on the ground, and near him were two child...
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked addressed the Supreme Court ruling on Israel holding terrorist's bodies. "I read the entire verdict on the bodies of terrorists; there's no doubt that the minority opinion is more logical and more solidly based," Shaked noted at the start of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. The Justice Minister added, "The government doesn't have to accept this ruling and will ask for another hearing. It must be clear, the bodies of terrorists will not be returned. There can be two tracks of going about it, as I said, either another discussion, which is the preferred route, or legislation," she said. Shaked's remarks were made following a Supreme Court ruling last Thursday that the State of Israel cannot hold terrorist bodies as bargainin...
When the brothers return home after their first confrontation with Yoseif, Yaakov refuses to let them bring Binyamin back down with them. Reuvein boldly declares (42:37) that both his sons shall be put to death if he does not bring Binyamin back. Despite this impressive expression of dedication, Yaakov refuses to let the brothers return with Binyamin. Later, as the famine grows stronger, the return to Egypt seems imminent. Yehudah proclaims (43:9) that he will take responsibility for Binyamin and that if he does not return him and stand him up in front of Yaakov, then he will have sinned to his father for all of days. Rashi comments that "all of days" refers to the world to come. Yehudah was declaring that if he fails to return Binyomin, his sin shall be everlasting. Yaakov subsequently se...
The following provides a bit of an insight of the impact the four-hour Histadrut strike on Sunday morning had on the airports and seaports. The strike shut down the entire nation, a solidarity strike with over 3,000 Teva Pharmaceuticals employees facing dismissal. Ben-Gurion Airport:8,800 passengers passed through during the night as some flights were moved up to avoid the strike. As a result of the strike, seven flights were canceled (14 take offs and seven landings) including Arkia to Larnaca, Aeroflot to Moscow, 4 flights from SwissAir and one flight from Turkish Airlines. In an effort to avoid as many delays as possible, 13 takeoffs took place between 5:00am-6:00am. From 6:00am-7:00mam, an additional 27 takeoffs and from 7:00am-8:00am, an additional 26 takeoffs for a total of 6...
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 14, 2017 - Students at Cheder Chabad of Baltimore have been eagerly awaiting Chanukah for months. Starting as early as October the students have been busy creating posters, menorahs and various other Chanukah-themed projects. On Tuesday, December 12 the Chanukah fervor culminated in a Chanukah Science and Math Fair organized by Mrs. Chani Tenenbaum. Cheder Chabad believes strongly in integrating their general studies with Torah and Yiddishkeit.  They therefore focus on connecting the materials they learnt with upcoming Yomim Tovim, Halachos they learn, and other Torah concepts.  One way in which this is exemplified is with the Chanukah math and science fair.  Mrs. Tenenbaum relates, "each class brainstormed and designed both a math project and a science...
More articles