IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has said the military is getting close to defeating Hamas’s Rafah Brigade.
“We have very significant achievements in the fighting in Rafah,” Halevi said during a visit to the city in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, in comments released now.
“This is reflected in the number of terrorists killed, as well as in the destroyed infrastructure [and] tunnels,” he said.
Halevi said the IDF’s control of the so-called Philadelphi Route on the Gaza-Egypt border is “very, very significant.” He said it closes Hamas’s “oxygen pipeline for future smuggling.”
“We are clearly approaching the point where we [can] say we dismantled the Rafah Brigade. It is defeated not in the sense that ther...
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Baltimore, MD – June 23, 2024 - (BJL) It is with regret that Baltimore Jewish Life (BJL) informs the community of the petira of Louis Lerner, z’l, father of Dr. Shaya (Brenda) Lerner.Highland Park:Shiva through Monday at 702 Abbott Street, Highland Park, NJ 08904.Monday:Shacharis: 7:10AM Visiting 9:30AM-12Noon, 2:00PM-6:30PM Mincha/Maariv: 8:20PMBaltimore:Shiva will be observed in Baltimore beginning Tuesday morning through Friday, June 28, at 6010 Baywood Ave., Baltimore, MD, 21209The family respectfully requests no visitors from 12:00 Noon-2:00PM, 6:30PM-7:30PM and not after 10:30PM.Minyanim (Baltimore):Shacharis: 8:00AMMincha/ Maariv: 8:30 PMMincha Erev Shabbos: 2:30PM - visitors until 3:00PMBila HaMaves LaNetzach…
Agudath Israel of America commends California Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders for providing a record $80 million per year to protect Jewish and other at risk nonprofits in the 2024-2025 budget bill that will be passed later this week.
Since its inception in 2015, the California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program has proven to be a crucial tool in securing hundreds of institutions and community organizations that face violent attacks and hate crimes due to their ideology, beliefs, or mission. The program was strengthened in 2023 through passage of AB 1185 (Gabriel), a bill strongly supported by Agudath Israel, which also allowed the grants to be used for community infrastructure, thus enabling multiple sites to be connected and equipped with critical public safety t...
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Baltimore, MD – June 19, 2024 - It is with regret that Baltimore Jewish Life (BJL) informs the community of the petira of Dr. Robert Cohen, z”l, husband of Mrs. Jan Cohen, and father of Rabbi Yaacov (Suri) Cohen, Aaron Cohen, Aliza Polstein, Dani Cohen, and Eliana Schechter.
Baltimore
Shiva will be observed through Tuesday morning, June 25, at 6600 Edenvale Road, Baltimore, MD, 21209.
Shacharis Sunday: 8:00AM Shacharis: Monday, and Tuesday: 7:00AM.
Mincha/Maariv Sunday and Monday: 8:20 PM
The family respectfully requests no visitors between 1-2 PM and 6-7 PM and after 10:00PMBila Hamaves LaNetzach...
US Air Force General Charles Brown, who serves as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned that the US will have a hard time aiding Israel in the event of a war against Hezbollah.
According to Brown, Iran will provide significantly more support to Hezbollah than it provided to Hamas, "particularly if they felt that Hezbollah was being significantly threatened."
He also warned that due to the type of weapons Hezbollah uses, the US will not be able to provide the same level of assistance to Israel during the war.
According to the Associated Press, Brown said that the US has warned Israeli officials "to think about the second order of effect of any type of operation into Lebanon."
He also urged them to consider how such a war "might play out and how it impacts not just t...
Baltimore, MD - June 24, 2024 - The Baltimore County Police Department is hosting a steering wheel lock pop-up event on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, to provide free steering wheel locks to Baltimore County residents who own a Hyundai with a standard "turn-key-to-start" ignition. The event will be held at Security Square (former Sears), 6901 Security Blvd., 21244. Steering wheel locks will be distributed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until supplies last.
Eight State Delegates have called upon the Maryland Supreme Court Chief Justice and Governor Wes Moore to impose a springing order on ICE detainers due to violent crimes at the hands of convicted, dangerous, violent illegal migrants known with ICE detainers in the state.
According to a letter sent Friday, June 21, the Delegates requested that judges be strongly encouraged to impose a springing order or take similar action to ensure that these dangerous criminals are not released into Maryland communities but are instead processed and deported by ICE.
The Delegates mention that the tragic and unnecessary death of Rachel Morin in Harford County has profoundly impacted Marylanders and the entire nation.
"This mother of five was brutally raped and murdered by an illegal alien from El Salvad...
Efrat, Israel - June 24, 2024 - I never thought, after sitting on Associated Federation Community Boards of Directors in Baltimore for 29 consecutive years, I would write this: The October 7 massacre changed me and it should change how our federations and Jewish communal organizations deal with tikkun olam.
Tikkun olam has always been part of my holistic Jewish being, my Jewish lens, and my essence. My parents were Holocaust survivors. Although my parents sent me to a yeshiva from kindergarten through 12th grade, they had to work on Shabbat and I grew up within their friend’s non-religious Holocaust survivor culture. My parents worked many hours in their corner grocery store; Mae Hedgpeth, a kind and gentle southern Black housekeeper, was there every day after school...
Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), today lamented the decision by Hebrew Union College (HUC), the flagship seminary of the Reform movement, to admit and ordain rabbinical candidates in interfaith relationships. This comes after the board of HUC dropped its ban prohibiting students from being in a relationship with a person of another faith.
“This is another step along the long, sad path towards oblivion for Reform, and all Jewish movements not guided by Torah and millennia of Jewish wisdom,” observed CJV Midwestern Regional Vice President Rabbi Ze’ev Smason. “They’ve proceeded from accepting patrilineal descent to officiating at same-[gender] unions, to ordaining rabbis in same-[gender] unions, to authorizing rabbis to conduct intermarriages. S...
Baltimore, MD – June 24, 2024 - It is with regret that Baltimore Jewish Life (BJL) informs the community of the petira of Jonathan Kaplowitz, z'l, brother of Dr. Yitzy Kaplowitz (917-842-7398).
The levaya will be graveside, Monday, June 24th at New Montefiore Cemetery 180 Wellwood Ave West Babylon, NY, 11704. The procession will begin at 2:45 from the main office.
Shiva will be observed at 290 Dolphin Dr. Woodmere, NY, 11598, through Sunday morning, June 30, 2024.
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach…
Baltimore, MD - June 24, 2024 - Average gasoline prices in Baltimore have fallen 12.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.49/g today, according to GasBuddy's survey of 663 stations in Baltimore. Prices in Baltimore are 17.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 5.7 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 2.4 cents in the last week and stands at $3.76 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Baltimore was priced at $3.20/g yesterday while the most expensive was $3.99/g, a difference of 79.0 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $3.09/g while the highest was $4.49/g, a difference of $1.40/g.
The national average price of gasoline has risen 0.3 cen...
Defense Yoav Gallant met today (Monday) with Senior Advisor to U.S. President Biden, Amos Hochstein. During the meeting, the two discussed the actions required to achieve a framework that enables the safe return of Israeli communities to their homes in the north. Minister Gallant reiterated his commitment to changing the security situation on the border.
Minister Gallant told Hochstein that the transition to “Phase C” in the war in Gaza will impact developments on all fronts, and that Israel is preparing for every scenario both militarily and diplomatically.
Gallant, who is in Washington, met yesterday (Sunday) with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “Great discussion with Senator Lindsey Graham about the importance of ongoing US support as we work to bring the hostages hom...
Baltimore, MD - June 24, 2024 - In consultation with the U.S. Coast Guard and out of an abundance of caution, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) is holding traffic temporarily at the Bay Bridge for approximately 15-30 minutes today between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon, as the M/V Dali passes beneath the bridge on its way to Norfolk. Four tugs are escorting the Dali to provide anchoring support along its entire Norfolk journey.
Travelers are advised to contact 1-877-BAYSPAN (229-7726) or follow us on X/Twitter at https://x.com/TheMDTA for real-time updates during this event.
Thailand will resume sending agricultural workers to Israel this week after an eight-month hiatus, the Thai labor ministry says, with a target of having more than 10,000 of its citizens working in the country by year’s end.
Around 30,000 Thai laborers had been working in the agriculture sector, comprising one of the largest migrant worker groups in Israel, before the conflict broke out last October.
Caught in the fighting when terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 39 Thais were killed and 32 were taken hostage, according to the Thai government.
Six of them are believed to remain in captivity.
“The government asked for the cooperation of the Israeli government to help emphasize to employers to take care of the safety of Thai workers,” the labor ministry says.
The f...
Baltimore, MD – June 24, 2024 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Mr. and Mrs. Baruch Gordon on the birth of daughter.
יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בתם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן
Anti-Israel protesters have gathered outside the Adas Torah Synagogue in the Pico-Robertson section of Los Angeles where an Israel real-estate fair is taking place.
According to reports from the scene, the protesters have surrounded the synagogue and are preventing Jews from entering.
In one video, protesters, their faces covered by "Palestinian" keffiyehs, are seen linking arms by the entrance of the house of worship.
Pro-Israel counterprotesters are also at the scene. A page on X named "Jews Fight Back" called on the community to protect the synagogue, stating: "We need to gather in overwhelming numbers to ensure our community is not left defenseless."
It added: "Bring your friends, your family, and your passion. Fly your Israel and American flags proudly. Let's unite and show o...
The Biden administration in recent months removed emergency procedures that were in place to fast-track weapons to Israel toward the beginning of the war, an American official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Sunday.
The revelation helps explain the claim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began making last week that the United States has been withholding weapons shipments to Israel. The US has denied the assertion, explaining that it has only withheld one shipment of heavy bombs it was concerned Israel would use in the densely populated southern Gaza city of Rafah.
All other shipments have continued at a normal pace, the White House explained.
The US official told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity that a “normal pace” does not mean the fast-tr...
Canada is preparing to evacuate 45,000 of its citizens from Lebanon should a full-scale war break out between Israel and Hezbollah, Hebrew media reported on Friday.
The Channel 12 report quoted what it said was a tense conversation held earlier in the day between Foreign Minister Israel Katz and his Canadian counterpart Mélanie Joly. The latter was said to have told Katz that Ottawa had already sent military forces to the region in preparation for “the largest evacuation we have ever undertaken,” amid fears of an escalation in violence between Israel and Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon.
It was unclear if similar plans were being made for the roughly 35,000 Canadian citizens living in Israel.
Katz reportedly urged Joly to put pressure on Hezbollah’s Irani...
US officials confirm that there has been a decline in the number of arms shipments from the US to Israel in recent months, Channel 12 News reported.
This includes one shipment of precision bombs that was delayed.
In the first part of the war, about 240 shipments of weapons were delivered to Israel. In recent months, only 120 shipments have been delivered; which is a decrease of about 50%.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again claimed at the cabinet meeting today (Sunday) that "there has been a dramatic decrease in the supply of munitions from the US."
"I greatly appreciate the support of President Biden and the US administration for Israel. Since the beginning of the war, the US has supported us both in spirit and in material means, with supplies for defense and attack," he...
Russia’s Investigative Committee says it has opened criminal probes over “acts of terror” after gunmen attacked a synagogue and two churches, killing a priest and six police officers in Russia’s Caucasus region of Dagestan.
The attacks took place in Dagestan’s largest city of Makhachkala and in the coastal city of Derbent.
“This evening in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala armed attacks were carried out on two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police check-point,” says the National Antiterrorism Committee in a statement to RIA Novosti news agency.
“As a result of the terrorist attacks, according to preliminary information, a priest from the Russian Orthodox Church and police officers were killed.”
In all, six police officers ...
