Baltimore, MD - July 5, 2025 - A gutte vuch / shavua tov! Hope you had a wonderful Shabbos.
Late yesterday afternoon, soon before the arrival of Shabbos, President Donald Trump signed into law the first-ever national scholarship tax credit program, as part of the federal budget reconciliation package, aka The One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
For those of us following the growth and expansion of school choice in states across the country, this exciting achievement provides a new and unprecedented opportunity in addressing the challenges presented by the tuition burden. As projected, this new proposal can generate millions of dollars for Jewish day school tuition to families in our community, and hundreds of millions to Jewish communities across the country.
The work that resulted in thi...
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Jerusalem, Israel - July 1, 2025 - A rare investment and residential opportunity is now open in Jerusalem, New Katamon (Pat) and interested buyers are invited to an exclusive Zoom webinar, Wed., July 16 @730PM, to learn more.Located at 13 Berl Locker Street, on the border of Pat and Katamonim, this pre-sale urban renewal project is poised to benefit from growing demand, community-driven design, and future infrastructure improvements. Just a short walk from Ganei Tzion, the project offers early buyers strong value before prices climb.Webinar Highlights:Hear directly from the developer, a real estate attorney, and a mortgage broker discussing U.S.-based financingView sample floorplans, discuss pricing, and understand the 10/90 payment plan (10% now, 90% near delivery in early ...
Beitar Illit, Israel - July 6, 2025 - The levaya for Mr. Emil Braun, z’l, in Israel will be today, Sunday, July 6, 2025, at Eretz Hachaim in Beit Shemesh at 22:30 (3:30 PM EST).Click here to watch the livestream Shiva will be observed in Eretz Yisroel at 14 Rechov Koenig, Apartment 5, Beitar Illit through Tuesday afternoon.Minyanim:Shacharis: 8:00 AM
Mincha: 1:30 PM
Maariv: 9:45 Shiva will resume in Baltimore on Wednesday around Noon at 3201 Pinkney Road, Baltimore, MD 21215###Baltimore, MD – July 3, 2025 - BJL deeply regrets to inform the community of the petirah of Mr. Emil Braun, z’l, father of Mrs. Ilana (Rabbi Tzvi) Tuchman, Mrs. Maya (Rabbi Michael) Feder, Mrs. Ranya (Dovie) Greenberger, Rebetzin Atara (Rabbi Dovi...
As officials continue to confirm deaths and search for those missing after the Texas Hill Country floods on Friday, locals have started to share stories of incredible acts of bravery and heroism amid a weekend of anguish.
Julian Ryan and his fiancé Christina Wilson were at their home in Ingram, when water began rushing through the doors.
As the water was quickly rising, Ryan, 27, punched through a window to get Wilson, their children, and his mother out of the flooded house, according to Houston outlet KHOU-11.
People climb over debris on a bridge atop the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Wilson told the outlet the glass cut one of Ryan�...
A 34-year-old man was arrested and charged after setting fire to a centuries-old historic synagogue in East Melbourne, Australia’s Counter Terrorism Security Investigation Unit announced Saturday.
The man was allegedly seen entering the grounds of the synagogue, pouring a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and setting it on fire before fleeing.
The man was charged with reckless conduct, endangering life, criminal damage by fire, and possession of a controlled weapon. He is expected to appear before the Bail and Remand Court.
Detectives will continue to investigate the man’s intent and ideology to determine if the incident constitutes terrorism, Victoria Police announced.
At the time of the arson attack, 20 people were inside the East Melb...
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, is facing intense backlash after sharing a controversial video mocking the Jewish holiday of Chanukkah. the New York Post. The video, “Hey Hannukah,” was originally posted by the Geeta Brothers Duet Group in 2015, and depicts two Indian men in wigs dancing with a menorah and playing with dreidels in a comedic fashion to Punjabi-style music.
Mamdani shared the video on the third night of Hanukkah in 2024 in a post wishing Jews a happy Hanukkah.
The StopAntisemitism movement reported on the video shared by Mamdani yesterday (Saturday), writing: “Zohran Mamdani posts Indian men cosplaying Jews, spinning dreidels and lighting the menorah. Our holidays and traditions are sacred and not for your comedic ple...
The idea of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians has never seemed more futile than in the months since Oct. 7, 2023. But maybe that opens the door to a new way of achieving peace.
“We want cooperation with Israel,” says Sheikh Wadee’ al-Jaabari, also known as Abu Sanad, from his ceremonial tent in Hebron, the West Bank’s largest city located south of Jerusalem. “We want coexistence.” The leader of Hebron’s most influential clan has said such things before, as did his father. But this time is different. Sheikh Jaabari and four other leading Hebron sheikhs have signed a letter pledging peace and full recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Their plan is for Hebron to break out of the Palestinian Authority, establish an emirate of it...
July 4, 1976
Forty-nine years ago, on the eve of the US centennial, Palestinian terrorists held 106 Jews and Israelis hostage in Entebbe and demanded the release of 53 terrorists. At that time, Israel and the West still had a policy of not negotiating with terrorists. They realized that such negotiations were dangerous in the long term, as they would encourage more terrorism and abductions.
A different alternative was proposed and executed in place of caving to demands: Israeli commandos led by Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu carried out a daring, miraculous and historic raid and freed the hostages. After flying 2,500 miles from Israel to Uganda, the commandos killed all the terrorists, destroyed 25% of the Ugandan Air Force, and freed 102 of the hostages within thirty minutes. ...
Baltimore, MD - July 5, 2025 - A recent surge in carjackings across Baltimore has highlighted the growing involvement of juveniles in these crimes, prompting calls for stricter penalties.
In West Baltimore, four teenagers were involved in a carjacking.
The suspects were apprehended the following day, and a gun was found inside the stolen vehicle. According to the Baltimore Police Department, three of the four teens had previous arrests for robbery and auto theft.
In East Baltimore, another carjacking occurred, with three suspects described as "armed and dangerous."
The incidents are part of a troubling trend of increased carjackings citywide, with juveniles responsible for a significant number of cases.One local resident expressed frustration with the current legal consequenc...
Baltimore, MD - July 5, 2025 - A week before her wedding, imadi received a call from a bride. She said she’d always dreamed of dancing at her wedding - but after years of battling a significant medical condition, her lower body had weakened to the point that dancing felt impossible. The childhood dream of a little girl had faded, and she wanted to know if there was anything we could do.A small fleet of our most talented high school and young-adult volunteers, got to work. With only 7 days to create something revolutionary, the imadi boys stayed up night after night, sketching, testing, prototyping, 3D-printing. They even enlisted the support of community friend and local tailor Mr. Kim at Park Tailoring on Clarks Lane to help create a harness they designed. Within days, they cre...
Baltimore, MD - July 5, 2025 - The joy of Baltimore’s Agra D’Pirka participants and their wives was palpable on Sunday, June 29, at the gala siyum held at Khal Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tzedek (KAYTT) to celebrate the completion of Masechta Avodah Zarah after four years. Reb Ezra Klein, who founded the national learning program l’zecher nishmas his mother, Pesi Rochel, a”h, with the mission of spreading morning limud haTorah across the U.S., was the guest speaker.
Rabbi Yankel Herskovitz, Agra D’Pirka Baltimore’s Maggid Shiur, taught the Masechta in depth with meforshim, and reviewed it several times for comprehension. The group began learning this Masechta four years ago, immediately after its siyum on Masechta Sukkah, which it began learning at the incep...
Israel has deemed the changes Hamas attempted to make to the recent proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement “unacceptable,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement Saturday night.
“Following a situation assessment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed to respond positively to the invitation for proximity talks and to continue the negotiations for the return of our hostages based on the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to,” the PMO said.
Israel’s negotiation team will depart on Sunday to Qatar for negotiations
These “close talks” with Hamas would be an attempt to close the remaining gaps between the parties and conclude the details of the hostage and ceasefire deal.
Prime Minist...
Avi Piamenta, one of the leading figures in Jewish music in recent decades, passed away on Friday evening at the age of 69.
Piamenta, known for his skilled playing of the flute, died suddenly while in New York to mark the anniversary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's passing.
Born in 1956 in Jerusalem to a traditional family, Piamenta grew up in a secular environment. As a child, he began studying piano and flute, the instrument that became his musical trademark. At the age of 17, he joined his older brother Yossi, a pioneering guitarist, and the two began performing together in concerts.
After the Yom Kippur War, the brothers founded the "Piamenta Band," which achieved great success and brought Jewish-hasidic music to wider audiences. The band was considered a pioneer in modern Jewish mu...
President Trump on Friday signed a massive reconciliation package that will extend tax cuts and phase-in cuts to Medicaid, finalizing a significant legislative victory for his administration after months of difficult negotiations with Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Trump signed the one big, beautiful bill into law at a military family picnic at the White House for the Fourth of July. Trump and his aides had long pegged Independence Day as a deadline for when they hoped to see the legislation on his desk, a timeline that appeared in peril just days ago.
“We made promises, and it’s really promises made, promises kept, and we’ve kept them,” Trump said from the balcony overlooking the South Lawn of the White House. “This is a triumph of democracy on the birth...
Qatar's Al-Arabi channel reported Friday evening, citing its sources, that Hamas has responded positively to the proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.
According to the sources, Hamas returned its response expressing agreement with the core of the proposal, while requesting what were described as "minor amendments."
A senior Hamas official told the Reuters news agency that the terrorist organization delivered its response to the proposal, adding that it “is positive and could help reach an agreement.”
Earlier, a source from Palestinian Arab terrorist organizations told Al Arabiya that Hamas is expected to deliver its response to the ceasefire proposal on Friday evening and that there is broad support among t...
Baltimore, MD - July 4, 2025 - Happy Independence Day.
JWV 167 members of the Jewish War Veterans (JWV) from the local area participated in the Towson Independence Day Parade. "It literally seemed like thousands came out to cheer on the veterans, " said Dan Berkovitz, Commander of JWV Post 167.
It is especially important for those of us who serve or who have served our great country to show that Jewish servicemembers and veterans do serve in the military.
Thanks go to the Berkovitz family, the Goff family, Andrew Altman, Stanley Fishman, Mike Zippert, Seth Philips, Alan Cohen, Michael Denise and family, and most importantly Chaya Berkovitz. Thanks go to the community as well for your support.
The IDF has taken operational control of over 65% of the Gaza Strip, with over 100 terrorists killed in the last week, the IDF and Shin Bet announced Friday evening.
The terrorists killed in the Southern Command over the past week included the head of the Combat Support Staff in Hamas's military wing, Hakham Muhammad Issa al-Issa, a division head in the Khan Yunis Brigade operations department, Mohammed Al-Sheikh, a company commander in the Zaytoun Battalion, Issa Abbas, and a company commander in the Sabra Battalion, Mohammed Jarasha. They were killed by troops under the guidance of Shin Bet and military intelligence.
As part of the operation, Divisions 98 and 162 attacked Hamas’s Gaza Brigade terrorists in northern Gaza.
The Israeli air force struck over 100 terror ta...
Baltimore, MD – July 4, 2025 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Menachem Feldman (Baltimore) and Chayala Wasserman (Lakewood) on their engagement!
Mazel Tov to Mr. and Mrs. Avraham Feldman
יה"ר שיזכו לבנות בית נאמן בישראל. אמן!
Baltimore,, MD - July 4, 2025 - Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen looked like Santa in a business suit, as he marched to the offices of Baltimore Gas and Electric and the Maryland Public Service Commission on Thursday.
This bag wasn't filled with presents, but rather, petitions signed by 7,221 Baltimoreans who say they can't afford another rate hike.
"You do not typically see this many state city elected officials standing together. You do not always see religious leaders, faith leaders, consumer advocates, the labor leaders. You don't always see Baltimore standing together like this, but this is the defining issue," Cohen said at a news conference outside BGE's office in downtown Baltimore.
Cohen and the coalition of officials and leaders that j...
