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March 19, 2017 at 11:47 am
IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot warned Sunday that the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon was preparing for its next major attack on Israel, and that war with the fundamentalist Shi’ite was only a matter of time.
“The coming war will have an address – the Lebanese government,” said Eizenkot. “Hezbollah is violating UN resolutions and is preparing for war.”
Eizenkot added that the IDF was working to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining heavy weapons, intercepting arms shipments to the Iranian-backed group.
“We will protect Israel’s interests and are working to prevent weapons transfers to Hezbollah.”
“In Lebanon, Hezbollah continues its efforts to arm itself with deadlier, more precise small arms for attacks targeting the Is...
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March 19, 2017 at 11:46 am
West Bank - The Palestinian president has awarded his people’s highest honor to a former U.N. official who was forced to resign last week after authoring a report that accused Israel of establishing an “apartheid regime.”
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said Sunday that President Mahmoud Abbas had spoken to Rima Khalaf by phone and given her Palestine’s Medal of the Highest Honor in recognition of her “courage and support” for the Palestinian people.
A statement said Abbas “stressed to Dr. Khalaf that our people appreciate her humanitarian and national position.”
Khalaf, a U.N. undersecretary-general, resigned Friday after refusing to withdraw her report for the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
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March 19, 2017 at 11:46 am
Gaza City - A Hamas military court has sentenced two Palestinians to death for drug dealing, in the first-such case since the militant group seized the Gaza Strip a decade ago.
The Interior Ministry says Sunday that one would be killed by a firing squad. The other defendant was sentenced in absentia.
The ministry said security forces seized $2 million in illicit drugs in January alone, which was equivalent to what was seized in all of 2016. Most of the seized drugs were narcotics and cannabis.
Hamas has issued and implemented capital punishment mostly against people found guilty of murder or of collaborating with Israel. These verdicts were the first against drug dealers.
The defendants were previously given lighter sentences, but the ministry says the dealers “were not deterred....
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March 19, 2017 at 11:40 am
Minister Yaakov Litzman and Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafne expressed anger and outrage over a reported meeting between cabinet minister and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Shabbos. They call the meeting a serious violation of the Shabbos status quo as well as an affront to Kedushas Shabbos as it is known official government activities are not carried out on Shabbos with the exception of emergency situations.
The two are demanding an explanation as to the reason for the meeting. Shas leader Aryeh Deri reported spoke with PM Netanyahu and expressed his anger over the chilul Shabbos as there was nothing in the category of pikuach nefesh.
Kol Berama Radio on Sunday morning reported officials in the Prime Minister’ s Office report “The ministers came to Mr. Netanyahu&...
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March 19, 2017 at 11:36 am
At the tender age of ten, Rabbi Nissen Mangel miraculously evaded the notorious ‘selection’ and the gas chambers to become Auschwitz’s youngest inmate to make it out alive.
Marking his bar-mitzvah by wearing tefillin, he miraculously survived the infamous Death March and went on to live a life of communal devotion and extraordinary scholarly achievement.
On Thursday, Reb Nissen returned to relive his experiences at the entrance of the death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The same place he stood 73 years ago as a small child.
“Dr. Mengele killed one and a half million Jewish children with the wave of his thumb. I do not know why, but by a miracle and a miracle only – I was not among them,” Said Reb Nissen Mangel.
Rabbi Mangel was escorted on the trip...
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March 19, 2017 at 11:29 am
Among the groups hardest hit by the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act is one that swung for Donald Trump during last year’s presidential race — older Americans who have not yet reached Medicare age.
Many of those who buy their own health insurance stand to pay a lot more for their coverage. That is especially true for the nearly 3.4 million older Americans who have enrolled through the government marketplaces, many of whom receive generous federal subsidies through the health care law enacted under former President Barack Obama.
Health care experts predict those older adults will end up buying skimpier plans with lower coverage and higher deductibles because that’s all they will be able to afford. The Republican plan replaces the subsidies in the Afford...
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March 19, 2017 at 10:09 am
Archaeologists discover 1,400-year-old ancient coins during excavations in preparation for Route 1 expansion.
Nine bronze coins from the Byzantine period were discovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority near Ein Hemed during excavations in preparation for the expansion of Route 1.
Last June, excavations revealed a two-story tower next to a complex wine press.
According to Israel Antiquities Authority Excavation Head Annette Landes-Nagar, "The treasure was found next to a building, in a pile of large stones. It seems that during a dangerous period, the owner placed the coins in a wallet inside a hidden niche in the wall, hoping to come back for it later. But today we know he never collected them."
On the coins are images of three Byzantine emperors: Justinian (483-565 CE), Mauric...
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March 19, 2017 at 10:07 am
Teenagers arrested for vandalizing menorah in family's front yard in Arizona.
JTA - Four people have been arrested on suspicion of twisting a large decorative menorah in the front yard of an Arizona family’s home into a swastika.
The arrests were reported Friday by the Arizona Republic newspaper.
One of the suspects was identified by Chandler police as 19-year-old Clive Jamar Wilson. The other three suspects are male juveniles, according to police.
The four suspects were arrested on suspicion of first-degree criminal trespass and aggravated criminal damage. They reportedly were released pending charges.
The Hanukkah candelabra damaged on Dec. 30, 2016, was made of gold spray-painted PVC pipes and solar-powered lights.
Parents Naomi and Seth Ellis said they bu...
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March 19, 2017 at 10:03 am
Flight chartered by Jewish pilgrims heading to tomb of Rabbi Elimelech Weisblum in Poland forced to make emergency landing in Amsterdam.
A charter flight for Jews taking part in the annual pilgrimage to an 18th century Hasidic rebbe’s grave in Eastern Europe was forced to make an emergency landing Sunday in Amsterdam.
The Boeing 767, carrying some 200 passengers, was forced down after the cabin suddenly depressurized. Witnesses say passengers were forced to breathe through masks tied to the plane’s emergency oxygen system while the plane diverted from its flight path to land.
Originating in London Stansted Airport, the charter flight was scheduled to fly to Ukraine, where passengers would disembark and continue on their way to the city of Lezajsk, just over the border in...
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March 19, 2017 at 9:58 am
President Trump has chosen the husband of White House advisor Kellyanne Conway to head the civil division of the Department of Justice, the Wall Street Journal reported.
George Conway was chosen to head the office that has responsibility for defending the administration's proposed travel ban and defending lawsuits filed against the administration, the newspaper reported.
He is a partner at the New York law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The law firm's website says Conway has extensive experience in litigation involving securities, mergers and acquisitions, contracts and antitrust cases. He graduated from Harvard and Yale Law School. He joined the law firm in 1988, soon after his graduation from law school.
He has been involved in numerous complex, high-profil...
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March 19, 2017 at 9:44 am
Washington (AFP) - The US Secret Service has bolstered security at the White House after a man was arrested making threats at one its checkpoints, a third such security scare in just over a week.
CNN reported that the man made a threat claiming he had a bomb in his car, and that he was immediately arrested and the car in which he was traveling seized.
President Donald Trump was away in Florida at the time
"On March 18, 2017 at approximately 11:05 pm, an individual drove a vehicle up to a Secret Service checkpoint located at 15th Street and E Street NW," a Secret Service spokesman said in the latest of a series of White House security concerns.
"Upon contact with the individual, US Secret Service Uniform Division Officers detained the individual and declared his vehicle suspicious. In a...
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March 19, 2017 at 9:36 am
There are no reports of advanced negotiations as a nationwide Egged strike is looming. Egged officials announce that baring any last-minute change, their nationwide strike will begin on Tuesday, 23 Adar as planned. This will bring the nation’s largest bus company to a halt.
The strike is set to begin on Tuesday morning and Histadrut National Labor Union Chief Avi Nissankoren is announcing that Israelis should prepare for this eventuality, which appears likely.
The strike threat surrounds the government’s unwillingness to continue subsidizing Egged as it has in the past, making it difficult for Egged to be competitive. As a result of holding back the sums of money, Egged insists it can no longer afford to pay all salaries and if the government does not take the necessary step,...
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March 19, 2017 at 9:36 am
President Donald Trump defiantly refused to back down from his explosive claim that Barack Obama wiretapped his phones, and sidestepped any blame for the White House decision to highlight an unverified report that Britain helped carry out the alleged surveillance.
In brushing off the diplomatic row with perhaps America’s closest ally, Trump also revived another: the Obama administration’s monitoring of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s calls.
“At least we have something in common, perhaps,” Trump quipped Friday during a joint news conference with Merkel.
Merkel, who was making her first visit to the White House since Trump took office, looked surprised by the president’s comment, which he appeared primed to deliver. The Obama administration’s sp...
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March 19, 2017 at 9:34 am
The House GOP health care bill has competition from other Republicans, a group of governors who’ve made their own proposal about how to overhaul Medicaid for low-income people. They’re hoping GOP senators will find their ideas more persuasive.
It’s a gradual approach, with additional options for states. It’s likely to involve more federal spending than the House bill, but also keep more people covered. In the end, though, the governors are still talking about fundamental change.
Four GOP governors are pushing the plan, saying they represent most of the 33 Republican state chief executives. There’s no inkling of any involvement by Democratic governors, and it’s hard to conceive of such major changes without them.
Medicaid is a federal-state program tha...
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March 19, 2017 at 9:29 am
Maryland Parents for Education (MPFE) praised Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk and Senator Roger Manno for introducing a new school security grant program bill (HB 1161).
The new bill will authorize the Maryland Center for School Safety to make grants for security related projects. Schools and childcare centers deemed at risk for hate crimes or ideological attacks will be eligible for the grants.
In the wake of increased threats and incidents, the Teach Advocacy Network (a Jewish national partner organization of MPFE) is urging legislatures across the U.S. to increase security funding for children in at-risk schools and childcare centers. In Maryland, the Rockville and Baltimore Jewish Community Centers, and the Charles E. Smith Day School in Rockville were recently targeted with bomb threa...
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March 19, 2017 at 9:21 am
Air raid Sirens sounded in the Eshkol Regional Council of southern Israel on Sunday morning; signaling a rocket attack from Gaza.
Thousands ran to nearby shelters as is protocol.
Thankfully, no rocketscience had been fired.
An IDF Spokesman unit informed the media moments later that the sirens were a false alarm.
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March 19, 2017 at 5:53 am
Jerusaelm, Israel - Mar. 18, 2017 - A group of Baltimore community members on a visit to Eretz Yisrael, led by Rabbi Shmuel Silber, had the zchus to participate in the 2017 Jerusalem Marathon as part of their trip.
The marathon provides multiple running options and included more than 30,000 participants from over 60 countries. The path goes in and around Yerushalayim, including the old city.
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March 19, 2017 at 5:51 am
Magen David Adom units are responding to a crane collapse at a Ramat Gan building site on N’vei Yehoshua Street.
Hatzalah responders are treating at least one person on the scene. More to follow.
11:36AM: MDA reports a 70-year-old male is being treated and appears to be in moderate condition, apparently, a passerby who is being transported to Kaplan Hospital.
A second victim, a 38-year-old male is also reported in moderate/stable condition with injuries to his head and extremities is also being transported to an unspecified hospital.
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March 18, 2017 at 10:44 pm
"Today, in our bitter exile, there are people who receive ruach hakodesh more easily than in the time of the prophets." [Noam Elimelech]
Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk was the student of Dov Ber of Mezerich, the brother of Meshulam Zushia of Anipoli. He was born in 1717, and died on 21 Adar in 1786 [21 Adar begins tonight: Thursday Feb 24]
During the lifetime of Dov Ber of Mezerich he traveled widely with his brother all over Poland to spread Hassidism. After Dov Ber's death, Rebbe Elimelech settled in Lizhensk and attained great fame, thanks to his lofty life. During his lifetime, Lizhensk was turned into a center of Polish-Galician Hassidism. There, many famous Tzadikim and Hassidic activists of Galicia were educated and obtained their inspiration during t...
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March 18, 2017 at 10:07 pm
Baltimore, MD - Mar. 18, 2017 - In response to the discovery, this week, of a swastika drawn on a sign next to their synagogue, the congregation of B'nai Israel Synagogue is holding a "Demonstration to Erase Hate" tomorrow morning. Led by Rabbi Etan Mintz, members of the local community and B'nai Israel will gather tomorrow, Sunday, March 19 at 9:30am to show that they will not stand silent in the face of hatred. Rabbi Etan Mintz told his congregation on Saturday morning during Sabbath services: "In the face of racism, bigotry, Islamophopbia, xenophobia, and anti-semitism we will continue to stand-up and speak out. Our tradition teaches us that we must not ignore hatred, we must confront in, struggle with it, so that we can ultimately persevere. In light of the numerous acts of ...
