|
October 19, 2017 at 8:00 pm
In this week’s Parshah, Noach is forced to live in the Ark in order to survive The Great Flood. Rashi (6:16) quotes a dispute regarding what Noach used as his source of light to navigate within the Ark. One Sage states that he built windows in the Ark and it was those very windows that gave Noach the light that he required. Another Sage argues that the Ark did not possess windows for light. Rather, Noach used a magical stone which provided supernatural light.
The brother of the famous R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz asks a poignant question on the second Sage who states that Noach used a magical stone that provided light and not windows: the Torah states explicitly that Noach released the dove through the Arks’ WINDOW to investigate whether or not the flood had subsided (8:6). Clea...
|
October 19, 2017 at 6:43 pm
For the second time in a week, a south shore neighborhood on Staten Island has been hit with hate and targeted with racist graffiti.
But as CBS2’s Jessica Layton reported, the victims in the most recent case are responding in a way you might not expect.
In a neighborhood where American flags adorn the fronts of homes and Halloween decorations are on display, the message of hate stands out in a sickening way.
“It’s hard and very upsetting to know that someone could have that much hate for someone of a certain religion or a certain race,” said vandalism victim Halle Calabrese.
At 17 years old, Calabrese said she has never felt targeted for being Jewish – until her family woke up to the swastika and the anti-Semitic slur Tuesday morning.
“We are ...
|
October 19, 2017 at 6:42 pm
American Mideast Envoy Jason Greenblatt released a statement Thursday backing Israel’s position that Hamas recognize the State of Israel and disarm. This follows the recent agreement between Hamas and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ (Abu Mazen) Fatah party to end hostilities and work together.
From Israel’s perspective, all talks between Israel and the PA are off until such time Hamas disarms and changes its position to officially recognize the State of Israel as part of the PA Government. This was the decision reached by the Political Security Cabinet on Wednesday, 28 Tishrei, refusing all negotiations with the PA until Hamas meets its obligations and this is the minimum obligation to be included in the PA Government as far as Jerusalem is concerned.
“All partie...
|
October 19, 2017 at 6:10 pm
1) Miracles Versus Hishtadlus
Ramban asks a very obvious question opening about the Flood in Parshas Noach: If you have sulfur and acid that’s pouring down from the heaven, obviously a little wooden teivah, ark, is not going to save everybody? Also, how could the ark fit every species of plant and animal in its confined space? It was 300 amos long, which is about 600 feet, with 3 stories, but that still seems insufficient for all that must have been in there including man, animals, plants and food for one year?
Ramban makes clear that it certainly was a miracle that everything fit and it certainly was a miracle that it remained protected despite the sulfuric rain outside, but Hashem works with nature and He wants us to do our hishtadlus, minimal human effort, thus allowing Him to d...
|
October 19, 2017 at 5:00 pm
Brooklyn, NY - Williamsburg’s Jewish residents are heaving a sigh of relief after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced significant changes to local regulations that will alleviate the pre-Shabbos parking crunch.
de Blasio’s pledges came on Wednesday night at a Town Hall meeting at St. Francis College hosted by Councilman Stephen Levin of Brooklyn’s 33rd District.
According to a press release issued by Levin last week, the councilman had already petitioned city officials to suspend alternate side parking on Myrtle Avenue on Saturdays following Jewish holidays after numerous Orthodox residents were slapped with parking tickets because they were unable to move their cars during the three day yomim tovim.
Addressing a packed crowd in the St. Francis gym, de Blasio ...
|
October 19, 2017 at 4:31 pm
The head of a leading neo-Nazi website is encouraging people who are unable to attend white supremacist Richard Spencer’s talk at the University of Florida (UF) on Thursday afternoon to target local Jewish and other minority institutions in Gainesville.
Andrew Anglin, founder of the Daily Stormer, urged followers on Thursday morning to dress “normally” — “don’t look like an antifa (but don’t look too Nazi either)” — and stage flash demonstrations across the city to “protest Jews, black crime, Jewish media, Jewish coffee — whatever.”
He listed the addresses of the Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student Center at UF, the Institute of Black Culture, the Gainesville Sun, and a local Starbucks (one of th...
|
October 19, 2017 at 4:28 pm
Chaotic scenes broke out on Wednesday at the trial in France of the brother of an Islamist extremist who carried out a spree of terrorist attacks around the southern city of Toulouse in March 2012, including a gun assault on a Jewish school that resulted in the brutal murders of a rabbi along with three young children.
Shouts and jeers erupted from the gallery at the court in Paris during the testimony of Zoulika Aziri — the mother of 35-year-old Abdelkader Merah, who could face a life sentence if he is found guilty of having aided his brother, Mohammed, in carrying out three separate terror attacks between March 11-19, 2012. Mohammed Merah was shot and killed by French police on March 22 of that year at the culmination of a 30-hour siege after he was tracked do...
|
October 19, 2017 at 4:26 pm
Two storks struck an Israel Air Force F-35 fighter plane, known in Hebrew as the ‘Adir’, compelling the sophisticated fighter jet to halt training and return to base for maintenance and inspection in the Netafim base in the Negev.
According to the IDF spokesman unit report, the plane will be returning to service in a number of days, one of seven of the advanced fighter planes in Israel’s possession.
An agreement was signed in the summer for 17 more of the planes, adding to the order in progress which will ultimately bring 50 of the advanced stealth fighter planes to the IAF.
|
October 19, 2017 at 3:54 pm
he number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since Richard Nixon was president.
THE NUMBERS: The Labor Department said Thursday that claims for jobless aid dropped by 22,000 to 222,000, fewest since March 1973. The less volatile four-week average slid by 9,500 to 248,250, lowest since late August.
The overall number of Americans collecting unemployment checks dropped to 1.89 million, lowest since December 1973 and down nearly 9 percent from a year ago.
THE TAKEAWAY: Unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs. The low level suggests that employers are confident enough in the economy to hold onto workers.
The unemployment rate last month hit a 16-year low 4.2 percent. Employers cut...read more at Chicago Tribune
|
October 19, 2017 at 3:49 pm
NEW YORK — JetBlue will stop selling tickets on a dozen discount travel websites in hopes of driving customers to the airline’s site and reducing the company’s costs.
JetBlue Airways Corp. said Thursday that the change was the first step in revamping its system of selling tickets online.
The sites being dropped are mostly not well known, including SmartFares.com and MyFlightSearch.com.
A JetBlue spokesman says a small percentage of customers use the sites being dropped, but he declined to provide numbers. He says the change has been in the works for several months.
Southwest Airlines notably restricts most of its ticket sales to the airline’s own site. In recent years airlines have taken other steps to reduce distribution costs, including cutting commissions.
|
October 19, 2017 at 3:40 pm
John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, delivered an emotional, personal defense of President Trump’s call this week to the widow of a slain soldier, describing the trauma of learning about his own son’s death in Afghanistan and calling the criticism of Mr. Trump’s call unfair.
Mr. Kelly said that he was stunned to see the criticism, which came from a Democratic congresswoman, Representative Frederica S. Wilson of Florida, after the president delivered a similar message to the widow of one of the soldiers killed in Niger. He said afterward he had to collect his thoughts by going to Arlington National Cemetery for more than an hour.
In a remarkable, somber appearance in the White House briefing room, Mr. Kelly, a retired Marine general whose son was slain in battl...
|
October 19, 2017 at 3:31 pm
It’s known as some of the saddest ground in America, a 14-acre plot of Arlington National Cemetery called Section 60 where many U.S. personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are interred. On Memorial Day this year, President Donald Trump and the man who would be his chief of staff visited Grave 9480, the final resting place of Robert Kelly, a Marine killed Nov. 9, 2010, in Afghanistan.
“We grieve with you. We honor you. And we pledge to you that we will always remember Robert and what he did for all of us,” Trump said, singling out the Kelly family during his remarks to the nation that day. Turning to Robert’s father, then the secretary of homeland security, Trump added, “Thank you, John.”
The quiet tribute contrasts with Trump’s messy braw...
|
October 19, 2017 at 3:07 pm
A state panel on judicial discipline has recommended that Baltimore’s chief judge be removed from his position and not be permitted to serve as a judge in any jurisdiction in the state — the “strongest possible sanction” — according to a decision posted Wednesday.
The Commission on Judicial Disabilities, which held a multi-day hearing on allegations against Chief Judge Alfred Nance, found by unanimous vote that he had committed “sanctionable conduct” and referred their recommendations to the Court of Appeals, which has final say.
“In the commission’s view, the imposition of a public reprimand or suspension is not commensurate with the serious violation of misconduct in office committed by Judge Nance and does not reassure the...
|
October 19, 2017 at 3:05 pm
Migrating pelicans can once again stop by for a mouthful of fish in Israel.
The Agriculture Ministry says Wednesday it will keep funding a pet project to feed thousands of Great White Pelicans who fly annually over the country. The idea is to centralize their feeding ground at a central Israeli reservoir so the birds do not harm the livelihood of farmers by poaching fish from nearby breeding grounds.
The ministry had previously said it was going to stop the project, claiming it was not responsible for feeding migrating animals passing through from Europe to Africa. But under pressure from farmers and environmentalists, it reconsidered.
Israel’s nature reserves authority welcomed the decision and said it hoped funding would continue for the sake of both farmers and pelicans.
|
October 19, 2017 at 2:24 pm
A priest and a pastor from the nearby parishes stood along the side of the roadway, holding up a sign that reads, “The end is near! Turn around before it’s too late!”
They resolved to hold up the sign to each passing car in an attempt to save the driver and the passengers from the terrible fate that awaited them. However, the road had been unusually quiet that morning and they found themselves with little to do. Finally, they heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. Straightening up, then edged closer to the road, raising the sign high in the air.
“The end is near!” they cried out as the car raced toward them.
“Get lost, you religious fanatics!” the driver shouted at them through his open window as the car sped past.
&...
|
October 19, 2017 at 2:18 pm
President Donald Trump is proving to be an erratic negotiating partner as he punts policy issues to Congress and then sends conflicting signals about what he really wants.
His rapid backpedal this week on a short-term health care is the latest example, and it’s left Republicans and Democrats scratching their heads.
“The president has had six positions on our bill,” an exasperated Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Wednesday after Trump offered multiple reads on a bipartisan plan to keep health insurance markets in business. Trump ultimately ended with a thumbs-down.
Nine months into office, Trump has shown a preference for delegating to lawmakers on everything from health care and immigration to foreign policy. Sometimes he creates situations that demand a congress...
|
October 19, 2017 at 2:16 pm
President Donald Trump tells senators that “maybe someday you’ll see my taxes.”
The president made the evidently facetious comment in a White House meeting about tax legislation Wednesday with Republicans and Democrats on the Finance Committee.
It was a reference to Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns, as past presidents and presidential candidates have done.
The comment was confirmed by a Senate aide briefed on the exchange, who demanded anonymity to disclose details of a private meeting.
|
October 19, 2017 at 1:02 pm
Canadian province bans public workers from wearing full-face coverings, wearing niqabs and burqas on public transit.
The Canadian province of Quebec passed a sweeping ban on full-face coverings Wednesday. The legislation bans public workers from wearing the niqab or burqa and requires citizens to remove their face coverings when taking public transportation or receiving public services.
The bill, which passed by a majority of 66 to 51, is the first of its kind in North America. Several European nations ban face coverings, including Muslim veils such as the niqab. France became the first European nation to ban face coverings in 2010.
Human rights groups slammed the new law for targeting Muslim women specifically.
Philippe Couillard, the premier of Quebec, defended the law. "We are jus...
|
October 19, 2017 at 12:54 pm
IDF responds to rocket fire from Syria which hit Golan Heights, destroying Syrian army position.
A rocket fired from Syria hit the Israeli side of the Golan Heights Thursday afternoon.
The rocket landed in an open field, an IDF spokesperson said, and no injuries or damage were reported.
Army officials say the rocket fire was part of the ongoing Syrian civil war, and that the projectile strayed off course and landed in Israeli territory.
In keeping with Israel’s deterrence policy, the IDF said, Israeli army units returned fire, striking a Syrian army position.
“The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm the sovereignty of the State of Israel or the security of its citizens,” and IDF spokesperson said Thursday evening.
“The IDF holds the Syrian government...
