|
January 21, 2018 at 9:04 am
Jerusalem - Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said he has banned Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef from IDF ceremonies after he expressed support for Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu’s call to fire the IDF chief of staff for advancing the integration of women into all branches of the army.
Eliyahu made his comments on Wednesday, following a ruling by prominent national-religious leader Rabbi Shlomo Aviner stating that yeshiva students should not enlist until they are able to guarantee they are not placed in a mixed gender unit.
Yosef called Eliyahu on Thursday to praise him for his “courageous stance in fulfilling the Chief Rabbinate’s instructions on enlisting girls” and said that Eliyahu’s father the late chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu “is happy with you in H...
|
January 21, 2018 at 8:56 am
Liberman defends himself after coming under attack for attending anti-Shabbat rally in Ashdod. 'I don't want a haredi state.'
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman remained defiant after the haredi parties unloaded on him for making a provocative visit to an Ashdod mall on Shabbat in order to decry what he said was the government's creeping religious coercion
"Unfortunately, someone here is trying to create a cultural war, I really think that with all the security threats, this is the last thing the country needs," Liberman said in an interview with Army Radio.
Liberman also blamed the haredi parties for changing the status quo on religious issues. "They are the ones who brought all of this legislation challenging the status quo," he continued. "From canceling the...
|
January 21, 2018 at 8:56 am
Jordanian King reportedly expresses 'worry' to VP Pence over Trump's J'lem declaration, warns it will lead to 'instability' in the region.
Jordanian leader King Abdullah expressed to US Vice President Mike Pence “worry” over President’s Trump’s historic recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, warning that it would lead to “instability” in the region, Channel 2 reported.
Pence is currently in Amman for discussions with the Jordanian King during the second leg of a three-country tour that began yesterday with a visit to Egypt and will continue tonight with a visit in Israel.
During his meeting with Pence, Abdullah said that he had "continuously voiced over the past year [his] concerns regarding the US...
|
January 20, 2018 at 10:34 pm
Rabbi David Lau condemns leftist protesters who interrupted Attorney General while he was reciting Kaddish in memory of his mother.
The Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, on Saturday night strongly condemned the leftist protesters who disrupted services at the Petah Tikva synagogue where Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was praying, disturbing his recital of the Mourner's Kaddish in memory of his mother, who passed away two weeks ago.
The Chief Rabbi noted that "throughout the generations, even people who did not attend the synagogue every day were mindful of the synagogue's sanctity. The act that took place this evening, where people demonstrated while disturbing the worshipers, is an act of desecration which causes harm to the synagogue. It must not be acc...
|
January 20, 2018 at 10:34 pm
Leftist protesters demonstrate at Petah Tikva synagogue, disturbing Attorney General Mandelblit's recital of the mourner's prayer.
Lefitst protesters on Saturday night disturbed services at the Petah Tikva synagogue where Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit was praying.
Shouting, the protesters disturbed Mandelblit's recital of the Mourner's Kaddish (mourner's prayer) in memory of his mother, who passed away two weeks ago. The prayer is said three times a day for amost a year after the loss of a parent.
Mandelblit was removed from the scene and escorted home by a security guard.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) said, "Unfortunately, I see it is necessary to explain, so here is a rule of thumb for those protesting in Petah Tikva: When you discover th...
|
January 20, 2018 at 10:30 pm
German lawmakers have voted to install a commissioner who would coordinate government activities against anti-Semitism.
The lower house approved by a wide majority Thursday a motion proposed by four of the six parliamentary groups to install the official, who would be chosen by independent experts. The center-left Social Democrats called for the commissioner to be installed at the chancellery.
The decision follows a recommendation by a panel of experts and comes amid concern over anti-Semitic incidents during recent pro-Palestinian protests.
Volker Kauder, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Union bloc, told lawmakers that far-right motives are behind the bulk of anti-Semitic crimes but there's been a rising number of acts by migrants. He sa...
|
January 20, 2018 at 10:29 pm
Two months after a jury failed to reach a verdict in the federal corruption case against Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez and co-defendant Salomon Melgen, the Justice Department on Friday said it wants to retry them — and soon.
“The United States files this notice of intent to retry the defendants and requests that the Court set the case for retrial at the earliest possible date,” reads the one-paragraph notice signed by AnnaLou Tirol, acting chief of the department's public integrity section. “Defendants Robert Menendez and Salomon Melgen have been indicted for bribery and corruption by two separate grand juries properly impaneled in the District of New Jersey. The first trial ended in a mistrial with a deadlocked jury. An early retrial date is in the b...
|
January 20, 2018 at 10:25 pm
Scientists are reporting progress on a blood test to detect many types of cancer at an early stage, including some of the most deadly ones that lack screening tools now.
Many groups are working on liquid biopsy tests, which look for DNA and other things that tumors shed into blood, to try to find cancer before it spreads, when chances of a cure are best.
In a study published Thursday in the journal Science, Johns Hopkins University scientists looked to see how well their experimental test detected cancer in people already known to have the disease. The blood tests found about 70 percent of eight common types of cancer in the 1,005 patients. The rates varied depending on the type -- lower for breast tumors but high for ovarian, liver and pancreatic ones.
In many cases, the test narrowed ...
|
January 20, 2018 at 10:23 pm
If the shutdown lasts just days or even a couple of weeks, the robust stock market that President Donald Trump has boasted about probably will emerge unscathed. A longer impasse, economists say, could rattle consumer and investor confidence, pulling stocks lower and dragging down the economy.
Economists and investment advisers interviewed by The Associated Press generally didn't foresee the shutdown that began Saturday lasting long enough to stifle the economy much. With pivotal elections in November, both parties would want to shield voters from any pain. Investors and consumers are feeling optimistic now based on the tax cut signed into law last month, and the economy is strong enough to power through a short shutdown.
But Randy Warren, CEO of Warren Financial Service, a Philadelp...
|
January 20, 2018 at 9:41 pm
Ashdod, Israel - An estimated 3,000 people demonstrated in Ashdod for the second consecutive Saturday evening against the southern city’s plan to prohibit businesses from opening on Shabbat.
Protesters who gathered outside city hall carried signs proclaiming “The city is putting my home up for sale,” “No to religious coercion” and “Each to his own faith.” They also called on Mayor Yehiel Lasri to resign.
Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid who attended the protest said “We’re here because the deplorable Supermarket Law has to go,” Lapid told protesters. “And if we win the next elections, we’ll cancel it because Haredi coercion cannot prevail. They set the tone for Israel’s majority.
“We don’t need Shabba...
|
January 20, 2018 at 9:38 pm
President Donald Trump and Congress failed to reach an agreement on a spending plan by midnight Friday, triggering a partial shutdown of the federal government. In the past quarter-century, the government has partially shut down three times -- and far more often in decades past.
U.S. troops will stay at their posts and mail will get delivered, but almost half of the 2 million civilian federal workers will be barred from doing their jobs if the shutdown extends into Monday.
The U.S. military will continue to fight wars and conduct missions around the world, including in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. And members of the military will report to work, although they won't get paid until Congress approves funding.
But Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned Friday that a shutdown will ha...
|
January 20, 2018 at 9:36 pm
WASHINGTON — A Senate showdown vote on a Republican plan for ending the federal shutdown is on track to occur by early Monday. Democrats say they have the votes to block it.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has proposed a measure financing the government through Feb. 8.
Senate Democrats derailed a House-passed measure early Saturday that would have run through Feb. 16.
They say they want to provide enough money to keep agency doors open only a few days. They say the shorter time frame puts more pressure on Republicans to cut deals on immigration and the budget.
The shutdown began at midnight Friday. The public won’t feel its full effects until the next workweek begins Monday.
The vote would occur by 1 a.m. EST Monday but could happen earlier.
Hours after shuttering ...
|
January 20, 2018 at 9:33 pm
In honor of the memory of Chayah Masya Bas Asher HaKohen who inspired the message within this Dvar Torah.
One of the more unusual aspects of the night of the exodus from Egypt was the need to place the blood of the Paschal lamb upon the door posts and lintel of the entrances to their homes. This would ward off the impending Plague of the Firstborns. There are several Tannaitic sources that concur that the blood of their recent circumcisions was also added to it as well. The Zohar more fascinatingly teaches that this blood didn’t merely stripe the lintel with its crimson brightness but they actually wrote out the entire Ineffable Name of G-d, י-ה-ו-ה, upon the lintel, in blood!
The remarkable Gaon, the Rav of Brisk and subsequently of Jerusalem, HaRav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, posed...
|
January 20, 2018 at 9:01 pm
There is much discussion regarding the exact methodology and pattern behind the ten plagues - what the plagues represented individually and as a whole and why they were in their specific order. I would like to focus on a specific subset of the ten plagues. In four out of the ten plagues, Egypt was invaded by animals. This animal invasion seems to have a theme of its own. Rashi (Bereishis 1:26) writes that man was created to rule over the fish, the birds and the animals. However, if man is not worthy, he will become subservient to the animals. This four-pronged attack from the animal kingdom served to prove that the Egyptians had reached that level of unworthiness and they needed to be shown that they were no longer in charge.
The first animal invasion was that of frogs. Although the frogs...
|
January 20, 2018 at 8:48 pm
Baltimore, MD – Jan. 15, 2018 – It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com (BJL) informs the community of the petirah of Mrs. Sara Rae Goldfeder, a'h, wife of Gerald Goldfeder, mother of Avi Goldfeder, (410.917.1903) Aviva Rosenberg, Chaim Goldfeder and Yael Taub.
The levaya and kevurah will be held Wednesday, Jan 17, 2018 at Har HaMenuchos at 12:00 PMThe entire family will sit Shiva at 6224 Turney Way, Dallas TX 75230Bila HaMaves LaNetzach…
|
January 19, 2018 at 12:00 pm
THE INTECHIGENCE PROJECT - COMMUNICATION #6
Using Technology Intelligently
January 18, 2018
The Verdict on a Shul Ban!
Dear Friends:
I hope this note finds you all well.
I want to thank the incredible number of people who wrote to us in response to our last Intechigence message that solicited your input on the question of banning cell phones inside the shul. Your input was instructive and valuable!
To review briefly, we had discussed how consistently our weekday davening, events and meetings are loudly interrupted by a cell phone ringing, most often with a ringtone full of character and noise. I mentioned that I keep my phone on vibrate at almost all times and, while I may miss the occasional call, it seems to me a far superior alternative to ha...
|
January 19, 2018 at 10:40 am
Parshas Bo / Baltimore Zmanim / Eruv is UP!
Baltimore, MD – Jan. 19, 2018
Parshas: Bo
Today: 3 Shevat
Chatzos: 12:18 PM
Hadlakas Nairos: 4:54 PM
Shkiah: 5:12:08 PM
Tzais HaKochavim: 6:03 PM
Kiddush Levanah: Friday, Jan. 19, 7:04 PM – Wednesday, Jan31, 1:26 PM Kiddush Levanah may only be said at night
|
January 19, 2018 at 9:51 am
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Drivers may have to pay to come into the busiest parts of Manhattan under a new plan due out on Friday.
The idea called "congestion pricing" involves using electronic tolling to charge drivers for entering parts of the city during peak times.If the proposal is approved, tolling would take effect from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. weekdays below 60th Street for a total of $11.52 a day, according to multiple reports. Taxi, Uber, and Lyft drivers would be subject to a separate surcharge per ride and truck drivers would be charged even more.Mayor de Blasio has long opposed this. He would rather raise taxes on the wealthy.Ten years ago, Mayor Bloomberg proposed a similar plan but it never gained traction in the New York legislature.What changed in the last decade? There has never b...
|
January 19, 2018 at 9:48 am
WASHINGTON -- Thousands of intelligence agency employees would be furloughed even as tension over North Korea's nuclear program remains high. Important biomedical and public health research would be interrupted and possibly damaged. Military veterans would watch helplessly as the processing of their disability claims came to a halt.
Although the government won't actually close if Congress can't pass a spending bill by Friday at midnight, there's plenty that won't get done should hundreds of thousands of federal employees be barred from working until dysfunctional Washington agrees on a plan.
J. David Cox, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said shutdowns can have dramatic impacts as jobs are left unattended. The longer a shutdo...
|
January 19, 2018 at 9:41 am
The United States will not provide $45 million in food aid for Palestinians that it pledged last month as part of the West Bank/Gaza Emergency Appeal led by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the State Department said on Thursday.
The State Department had said on Tuesday that Washington would withhold a separate $65 million it had planned to pay the UN agency that serves the Palestinians, saying UNRWA needed to make unspecified reforms.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert denied the withholding of the $65 million was to punish Palestinians, who have been sharply critical of Trump’s announcement last month that he would move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
In a Dec. 15 letter to UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl, State Departme...
