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December 17, 2017 at 9:32 pm
Putin calls Trump to thank him after U.S. provides Russia with intelligence that helped it thwart attack in St. Petersburg.
The United States provided intelligence to Russia that helped it thwart a potentially deadly bomb attack in St. Petersburg, U.S. and Russian officials said on Sunday, according to Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday to thank him for the tip-off, which the Kremlin said helped prevent a bomb attack on a cathedral in the Russian city, as well as other sites, the report said.
The White House did not disclose details about the plot itself, but did say in the statement the attack "could have killed large numbers of people."
“President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia called President Donald J. Trump toda...
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December 17, 2017 at 9:29 pm
IAF fighter jets attack military compound belonging to Hamas in northern Gaza following latest rocket attack.
IAF fighter jets attacked a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in northern Gaza on Sunday night, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.
Six different targets were attacked at the site, including buildings and terrorist infrastructures, according to the statement. The attack was in retaliation for the rocket fire on the Gaza Belton Sunday evening.
“The IDF views the firing of rockets at Israeli communities very seriously and will not allow any harm or attempt to harm the citizens of the State of Israel. Hamas is solely responsible for what is happening in the Gaza Strip,” the IDF statement said.
On Sunday evening, two rockets fro...
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December 17, 2017 at 9:27 pm
LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian state television broadcast on Sunday what it described as the confessions of an Iranian academic with Swedish residency who it said had provided information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists.
His wife, speaking by telephone from Stockholm, said he had been forced by his interrogators to read the confession.
Iran’s Supreme Court upheld last week a death sentence against Ahmadreza Djalali, a doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute, a Stockholm medical university.
Djalali was arrested in Iran in April 2016 and later convicted of espionage. He denied the charges.
In the television report, Djalali was linked to the assassination of four Iranian scientists between 2010 and 2012 that Tehran said was an Israeli attempt t...
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December 17, 2017 at 9:21 pm
Count commuters among the losers in the Republican tax bill that the House and Senate are expected to vote on next week.
The final bill agreed to by Republican negotiators and released late Friday eliminates the tax incentive for private employers that subsidize their employees’ transit, parking and bicycle commuting expenses.
Currently, companies can provide parking or transit passes worth up to $255 a month to employees as a benefit to help pay for their commuting expenses, and then deduct the costs from their corporate taxes. That amount was set to increase to $260 a month on Jan. 1.
The reasoning behind the elimination of the deduction is that since the tax bill substantially lowers the corporate tax rate, smaller tax breaks that complicate the tax code are no longer nec...
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December 17, 2017 at 8:55 pm
Former Yisrael Beitenu party Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov, who was convicted of fraud, entered prison on Sunday, 29 Kislev. He will be serving a 15-month prison term. The former minister also has a six month probation period and is required to pay a fine of NIS 70,000.
Dozens of suspects affiliated with the Yisrael Beitenu party headed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman were linked to law-breaking including money laundering, bribery and breach of trust. This includes former Deputy Minister of the Interior Fania Kirschenbaum. The investigation was made public by authorities in December 2014.
Misezhnikov was initially also charged with bribery, disruption of proceedings and possession and use of an illegal narcotic (cocaine). These charges were retracted of as part of the p...
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December 17, 2017 at 8:54 pm
The Director of SEO at Staples, the chain of office-supplies superstores, praised the Shabbos policy of a well-known Jewish-owned buisness.
B&H Photo Video in Manhattan has famously closed its doors on Friday afternoon and Saturdays and on all Jewish holidays for decades. The New York City photography and hi-tech megastore, owned and managed by Chassidic Jews, even shuts down its e-commerce operations by not accepting or processing any online orders.
Mr. Dargenio’s LinkedIn post states that he “truly admires” the company, and urged his followers to emulate B&H. “Don’t let the promise of money enslave you on the days you observe your truest freedoms,” he said.
Mi K’amcha Yisroel!
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December 17, 2017 at 7:48 pm
Following the shiva for Maran HaGaon HaRav Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman ZT”L, and during the month of the shloshim, there will be gatherings of chizuk and hespedim for the late Gadol Hador, as per the instructions of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky.
This coming Wednesday, one such event is scheduled at Yeshivas Orchos Torah with the participation of Gedolei Hador Shlita including Hagaon HaRav Kanievsky, Ponevezh Rosh Yeshiva Maran HaGaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein, HaGaon HaRav Dovid Landau, HaGaon HaRav Baruch Dov Povarsky, HaGaon HaRav Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi, HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch and a number of Admorim Shlita.
Kikar Shabbos reports that while making a shiva visit to the Shteinman aveilim, the Belzer Rebbe Shlita was invited to the event on Wednesday. The Rebbe is repor...
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December 17, 2017 at 7:46 pm
An Arab terrorist was taken into custody at the Shomron Military Court after he aroused the suspicion of sentries on duty. He had what appeared to be an explosives belt around his body. Bomb demolition technicians were summoned. B’chasdei Hashem there were no fatalities or injuries as they managed to restrain him before he could detonate the suspected bomb.
After bomb technicians arrived and probed the matter, they learned the terrorist was carrying two pipe bombs on his person. One of the explosives was strapped to his body and the second hidden inside his outer garment.
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December 17, 2017 at 7:46 pm
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday, 27 Kislev, was questioned by police in a number of cases against him, for a seventh time. He was questioned in the case dealing with allegedly accepting illegal gifts and the case dealing with his collaboration with Yoni Mozes of Yediot Achronot.
Upon completion of question, it was reported Mr. Netanyahu responded to all questions and he was cooperative. The questioning session was arranged in advance, with police coming to Mr. Netanyahu.
While it was believed that was going to be the last questioning session prior to police submitting their findings to the prosecution, it now appears another session may take place prior to police making its recommendations in the case.
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December 17, 2017 at 7:43 pm
A United Hatzalah volunteer was seriously injured as a result of his motorcycle was involved in an accident while responding to a call in Tel Aviv on motzei Shabbos. The accident occurred on Rokeach Street. The volunteer suffered multisystem trauma.
The family of the injured United Hatzalah responder urges the tzibur to be mispallel for אהליאב בן מרים bsoch cholei am yisrael.
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December 17, 2017 at 7:42 pm
Poised to bask in the triumph of his first major legislative victory, President Donald Trump’s team on Sunday was again forced to grapple with the growing Russia probe that has shadowed the White House for much of the president’s initial year in office.
Republicans in Congress planned to muscle through tax cut legislation this week but Washington was equally fixated on speculation about the next steps from Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing whether the president’s campaign coordinated with Russian officials during last year’s election. Mueller has gained access to thousands of emails sent and received by Trump officials before the start of his administration, yielding attacks from transition lawyers and renewing chatter that Trump may act to e...
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December 17, 2017 at 7:39 pm
In light of a High Court of Justice ruling that will oblige the state to return the bodies of terrorists, a bill proposed by MK (Bayit Yehudi) Moti Yogev for the purpose of allowing the expulsion of families of terrorists from Israel will be presented to the Ministerial Legislation Committee.
According to the bill, first-degree relatives of a terrorist who committed a murder would be deported from their homes within a week of the attack. Yogev detailed the reason for the hasty deportation by creating a large deterrent, contrary to the existing situation.
“With the immediate expulsion of the murderer’s family, there is deterrence and it saves lives,” the proposal states. “But when the legal process continues for weeks and months, deterrence is lost. Demolitio...
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December 17, 2017 at 5:17 pm
‘Tis the season for giving, and one Bitcoin investor claims to be giving away the majority of their cryptocurrency holdings after experiencing an incredible year. The unnamed donor has set up a fund to hand out $86 million worth of Bitcoin to various charities, and they’ve already started listing the donations and providing receipts. If this whole thing works out, you can just call this mystery person the Bitcoin Bill Gates.
So far, The Pineapple Fund claims to have distributed just over $6.5 million in Bitcoin between eight charities. Its website provides links to the blockchain transactions under the name of each charity. These transactions are in a public ledger, but the sender and recipient are only identified by a long string of digits. We contacted the Electron...
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December 17, 2017 at 4:42 pm
Firefighters in the UK are urging members of the Jewish community to take care with menorah candles to ensure thy have a safe and happy Chanukah.
It comes after Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) attended two fires this weekend caused by unattended menorah candles, which caused severe damage to the homes involved.
Watch Manager Simon Ryder, from Broughton Fire Station, said: “We’ve attended two house fires in close succession where severe damage has been caused by fire and smoke. The residents have left the menorah candles burning and left their homes only to return to serious damage.
“In both cases what has been used is a candle substitute that looks a bit like a plastic shot glass filled with olive oil which is then placed on the candle holder. ...
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December 17, 2017 at 4:35 pm
A complete power outage at the nation’s busiest airport, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, grounded flights Sunday afternoon, threatening to cause a holiday travel nightmare for fliers across the country just over a week before Christmas.
Airport officials said in a news release the power outage has forced the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend outgoing flights and implement a "ground stop" for incoming flights, which "means that flights headed to Atlanta are held on the ground at their departure airport."
International flights will be diverted to land at other airports, U.S. Customs and Border Protection tweeted.
According to reports to Fox News, the blackout was caused by a construction crew cutting a power line. Airport offic...
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December 17, 2017 at 4:25 pm
For anyone visiting the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, in the past, the Givati Parking lot was a landmark.
After years of archaeological research, a new sound and light show was opened recently in what was once a lot filled with cars.
In honor of Hanukkah, the introduction of the new Ir David Sound and Light show, reveals a bit of history from the Hasmonean Period of Jewish history. One level over the centuries, destroyed and rebuilt.
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December 17, 2017 at 4:17 pm
The Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berl Lazar made a very unusual visit today. He went to the Butirsky Prison in the center of Moscow in order to strengthen and encourage the Jewish prisoners who are serving time there amongst the three thousand prisoners of various degrees.
The prison warden greeted him respectfully and escorted him to the prison’s synagogue which has been active for more than ten years, with prayers, Torah classes, tefillin, Jewish holidays and public seders taking place there throughout the year.
After putting on Tefillin, and reading the Torah during the mincha prayers, the Chief Rabbi lit the Chanuka candles.
The Jewish prisoners were then treated to a Chanuka party during which Rabbi Lazar spoke about the Chanuka miracle. He also told them about Yosef Hatzadik...
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December 17, 2017 at 4:06 pm
One thing terrified me during the first months of living in Israel. I made aliyah in the midst of Second Lebanon War when missiles and rockets were falling. Bomb shelters and red alert warnings were taken in stride.
However, the thought of having to go into an Israel bank was terrifying. Opening a back account, getting a first credit card (with a pathetically low credit line) felt like going from adulthood back to childhood. In order to register for a membership I wanted I was required to make a fifty-shekel payment in one specific bank in central Jerusalem and only that bank. Thankfully, an on-line option became available as I could not get the courage up to go to the bank.
Now new (and not so new) olim have an advantage. The book "Smarter Israeli Banking: The Ultimate Insider...
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December 17, 2017 at 11:17 am
Tragedy struck the Chareidi community in Beit Shemesh on Sunday afternoon – close to the time for lighting Menroah.
United Hatzalah and Magen David Adom emergency personnel rushed to the scene on Ben Ish Chai Street after receiving multiple reports of a child that fell from the 4th floor.
Arriving first responders found the child in traumatic arrest. The child was rushed a local hospital and was R”L pronounced dead.
It has not been confirmed if the child fell from a window or the balcony.
The identity of the child or the Levaya information were not yet released.
Police are investigating the incident.
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December 17, 2017 at 10:31 am
Just in time for Chanukah comes the latest upbeat release from the Holocaust Survivor Band, a triumphant song of survival titled Let the Light Shine On. With music and lyrics by prolific songstress Cecelia Margules, Let the Light Shine On pairs Israeli superstar Gad Elbaz with concentration camp survivors Saul Dreier, Ruby Sosnowicz, and the newest member of the team, Morris Dan, as they take their uplifting message to the Brandenburg Gate, once a symbol of Nazi power.
With footage shot at the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin-Grunewald railway station, the last stop for many on their way to Auschwitz and Theresienstadt, Let the Light Shine On captures the jubilant essence of the Holocaust Survivor Band whose members never dreamed that after living through unspeakable horrors, they would on...
