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March 20, 2017 at 2:46 pm
Thirteen months after Antonin Scalia’s death created a vacancy on the Supreme Court, hearings get underway on President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace him.
Judge Neil Gorsuch, 49, is a respected, highly credentialed and conservative member of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. His nomination has been cheered by Republicans and praised by some left-leaning legal scholars, and Democrats head into the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Monday divided over how hard to fight him.
The nomination has been surprisingly low-key thus far in a Capitol distracted by Trump-driven controversies over wiretapping and Russian spying as well as attempts to pass a divisive health care bill. That will change this week as the hearings give Democratic senators a chance to ...
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March 20, 2017 at 2:39 pm
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff, Yoav Horowitz, is off to Washington, DC for talks addressing construction in Yehuda and Shomron. Together with Israel’s Ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer, they hope to reach understandings regarding construction in communities in Yehuda and Shomron.
In recent talks in Jerusalem between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Donald’s Trumps special advisor Jason Greenblatt, progress was reported but the sides did not reach agreement.
Settlements leaders and the Bayit Yehudi party are angry with PM Netanyahu, insisting Israel is a sovereign nation and it does not require third-party permission for construction, not even from the US. They blame Mr. Netanyahu for complicating the situation for they fee...
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March 20, 2017 at 1:38 pm
The FBI is warning about a frightening new scam, an elaborate plot that makes you think your child has been abducted.
Authorities say the ‘virtual kidnapping’ con is becoming more and more common.
In one example, a woman received a phone call from a con artist claiming to be a paramedic who is treating a young man.
She gave him all the information he said he needed to identify the victim as her brother, including his name, the kind of car he drove, and the name and number of her father.
Then he used that information to turn around and call their father, claiming to have kidnapped the young man, and demanding money.
The father called his son’s cell phone, and learned he was safe.
If you get that kind of call, ask detailed questions, authorities say.
Scammers also co...
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March 20, 2017 at 1:36 pm
The British government announced Monday that it will formally begin its exit from the European Union on March 29. Prime Minister Theresa May will invoke Article 50 of the key EU treaty, the official start of the two-year divorce process.
Then comes the hard part — the arguments, the lawyers, the squabbles over money.
Here’s a look at the main issues and what happens next:
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WHAT IS THE EU AND WHY IS BRITAIN LEAVING?
The EU is a bloc of 28 nations sharing relatively open borders, a single market in goods and services and — for 19 nations — a single currency, the euro.
Britain joined in 1973, but has long been a somewhat reluctant member, with a large contingent of euroskeptic politicians and journalists regularly railing against regulations ...
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March 20, 2017 at 12:12 pm
FBI Director James Comey confirmed Monday that the bureau is investigating possible links and coordination between Russia and associates of President Donald Trump as part of a broader probe of Russian interference in last year’s presidential election.
The extraordinary revelation, and the first public confirmation of an investigation that began last summer, came at the outset of Comey’s opening statement in a congressional hearing examining Russian meddling and possible connections between Moscow and Trump’s campaign.
He acknowledged that the FBI does not ordinarily discuss ongoing investigations, but said he’d been authorized to do so given the extreme public interest in this case.
“This work is very complex, and there is no way for me to give you a timeta...
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March 20, 2017 at 11:55 am
Baltimore, MD – Mar. 20, 2017 - It is with deep sorrow that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Beverly Edythe Sober, a’h, mother of Marvin Sober.
The levaya will be held on Tuesday at 3:00 pm at Levinsons.
Kevura to follow at Beth Jacob Cemetery in Finksburg.
Shiva will be observed at 2401 Shelleydale through Monday morning.
Minyanim: Shacharis Wednesday-Friday 7:00 AM Sunday 8:00 AM
Mincha/Maariv Tuesday-Thursday, and Sunday 7:05 Friday afternoon 5:00 PM
Maariv Motzei Shabbos 8:07
The family requests no visitors between 12-1, 5-6, and after 9:00 PM.
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach...
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March 20, 2017 at 11:41 am
Baltimore, MD – Mar. 19, 2017 - It is with deep regret that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Rabbi Benyamin Hauer, ZT’L, father of Rabbi Moshe Hauer.
Shiva will be observed in Yerushalayim at 23 Ahad Ha'Am, corner Jabotinsky.
Shacharis: 6:45 AM
Mincha/Maariv: 5:40 PM
Rabbi Hauer may be reached at 011.972.58.320.3898. Israel is currently 6 hours ahead of Baltimore, MD
Bila HaMaves LaNetzach...
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March 19, 2017 at 9:51 pm
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz expressed criticism against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, blaming him for bringing the coalition to an end in the ongoing dispute between him and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon over the new broadcast entity. The ongoing dispute between the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister is over the closure of Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), to be replaced by the new Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC). Katz told Walla News this is not the type of matter that one goes to elections over.
Katz stresses security matters are far more important and this must be remembered prior to running to early elections as the current administration has an additional two years to serve. Katz feels the current administration is “a dream” a...
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March 19, 2017 at 9:34 pm
The top two lawmakers on the House intelligence committee said Sunday that documents the Justice Department and FBI delivered late last week offered no evidence that the Obama administration had wiretapped Trump Tower, but the panel’s ranking Democrat says the material offers circumstantial evidence that American citizens colluded with Russians in Moscow’s efforts to interfere in the presidential election.
“There was circumstantial evidence of collusion; there is direct evidence, I think, of deception,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said. “There’s certainly enough for us to conduct an investigation.”
The House intelligence committee is to begin hearings Monday into Russia’s role in cybersecurity breaches at the Democratic National Committee, ...
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March 19, 2017 at 8:59 pm
The Knesset Finance Committee on Sunday morning 21 Adar approved a Ministry of the Economy request to permit grape juice imports from the USA into Israel without charging value added tax ahead of Pesach.
The lifting of VAT applies to 100,000 one liter bottles from the USA, doubling the annual amount imported.
Economics Minister Eli Cohen explains a great effort was made in a short period of time to permit the grape juice in time for Yomtov.
It is reported that over 10 million one-liter bottles of grape juice are sold annually in Israel. 230,000 bottles are imported tax free from the EU and 100,000 additional liters from the USA as per standing agreements. The import agreement from the US is only for one-liter bottles while from EU areas, some of the grape juice arrives in barrels and bo...
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March 19, 2017 at 8:57 pm
Syrian media reports that Israel attacked military positions and Hezbollah targets. Israel not commenting.
Syrian media reported Sunday night that Israel attacked Syrian military positions and Hezbollah targets in the Qalamoun Mountains, along the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Israel is not responding to the reports.
Earlier on Sunday, it was reported in Syria that an unmanned aerial vehicle operated by the Israeli Air Force opened fire on a car near Kuneitra, on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
According to the reports, the driver of the vehicle, who was not identified, was eliminated in the attack.
Israel did not comment on those reports either.
Meanwhile, Syria’s Ambassador to the UN, Bashar Al-Jaafari, on Sunday justified his country’s retaliation ...
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March 19, 2017 at 8:56 pm
Syria’s Ambassador to the UN, Bashar Al-Jaafari, said on Sunday that his country’s retaliation for Israel’s airstrikes overnight Thursday was appropriate.
"The Syrian response was appropriate and changed the rules of the game. Israel will think long before taking similar action in the future," Jaafari told Hezbollah’s Al-Manar network, according to a translation provided by Channel 10 News.
The ambassador further claimed that Israel intervened in the war in Syria because of the Syrian army's progress in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group.
Israel on Thursday night attacked targets in Syria, in what Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu later said was a shipment of weapons meant for Hezbollah.
Syria respon...
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March 19, 2017 at 7:08 pm
Different day, but the same tough times at Uber. Uber President Jeff Jones has quit, Recode reported Sunday. The decision to leave directly relates to Uber's last two months of PR hell, anonymous sources told Recode.
Uber PR provided this statement: “We want to thank Jeff for his six months at the company and wish him all the best.”
But the communications representative declined to elaborate more on the record about Jones's decision to leave. The departure was effective immediately, and it seems to be that Uber has yet to decide who will take on the responsibilities.
Not long after, what appears to be a company message from Kalanick to employees addressing the matter appeared on Twitter:
The straw that broke the camel's back, according to Rec...
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March 19, 2017 at 5:47 pm
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet in Washington next month, Egypt’s leading state-owned newspaper said on Sunday.
Al-Ahram said in a front-page report the two leaders will meet during the first week of April, in what will be el-Sissi’s first visit to Washington since taking office in 2014.
El-Sissi and Trump have already shown a bond when they met in September on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Trump, at the time the Republican presidential nominee, said there was “good chemistry” and el-Sissi, a general-turned-politician said Trump would “without a doubt” make a strong leader.
Cairo and Washington are expected to forge closer ties under Trump following years of tension over the Obama admini...
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March 19, 2017 at 5:46 pm
According to a recent poll, 48% of Israelis (Jews, not Arabs) do not want to see their children educated by Arabs while a smaller number, 42%, does not want to see their children education by chareidi teachers either.
The 48% opposes an Arab teacher as well as their children studying alongside Arab students. Among the 42%, which oppose a chareidi teacher, the remainder, 58%, is fine with such a situation.
Regarding Ethiopians, 86% are fine with an Ethiopian teacher and 83% are fine with a dati leumi teacher.
The survey, which was commissioned by the Kinneret College, polled 500 Israeli Jews. The poll was carried out by the Dialogue Institute ahead of the college’s annual conference on Israeli society this week.
34% of respondents do not want to see their children in a chareidi sc...
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March 19, 2017 at 5:45 pm
North Korea has conducted a ground test of a new type of high-thrust rocket engine that leader Kim Jong Un is calling a revolutionary breakthrough for the country’s space program, the North’s state media said Sunday.
Kim attended Saturday’s test at the Sohae launch site, according to the Korean Central News Agency, which said the test was intended to confirm the “new type” of engine’s thrust power and gauge the reliability of its control system and structural safety.
Kim called the test “a great event of historic significance” for the country’s indigenous rocket industry, the KCNA report said.
He also said the “whole world will soon witness what eventful significance the great victory won today carries” and claimed the te...
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March 19, 2017 at 5:40 pm
Police on Sunday morning 21 Adar report that a toddler was found walking on a sidewalk in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood of the capital on motzei Shabbos.
Police report that the 18-month-old was alone in the area and someone who detected him summoned police. The arriving unit immediately covered the child with warm clothing and brought him into the police car.
The parents were found within an hour, explaining they went out and the child was left in the care of a babysitter. Police notified social service who will be probing the matter.
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March 19, 2017 at 5:40 pm
Meetup.com is taking a leap into the Trump resistance.
The New York-based networking site will unveil plans in the coming days to partner with a labor group — under the guidance of a former Hillary Clinton aide — to coordinate protests among more than 120,000 activists already involved with anti-Trump Meetup groups.
It’s a risky move for a tech company that has helped millions come together to share interests of all kinds, from hiking to languages to President Donald Trump himself. But it reflects an increasing willingness of some major technology firms to push back against the Republican president.
Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman told The Associated Press that the new arrangement, to be known only as #Resist, gives the loosely organized protest movement the infrastructure ...
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March 19, 2017 at 5:39 pm
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, today on Thursday, 18 Adar, pursuant to his authority under Article 3 of the 2016 Fight Against Terrorism Law, declared the “Palestinian National Fund” (hereinafter “the fund”) to be a terrorist organization.
The decision to declare the fund a terrorist organization stems from its continuing and ongoing activity in providing massive support for elements responsible for committing severe acts of terrorism against Israel.
The fund serves – inter alia – as a significant financial pipeline for tens of millions of shekels that are transferred on a monthly basis to security prisoners held in Israel for committing acts of terrorism and to members of their families. In effect, the longer the sentence, the greater the payment...
