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February 19, 2018 at 2:06 pm
MK Yisroel Eichler sent a letter to the attorney general, prime minister and minister of religious affairs demanding they tell the Supreme Court that the Kosel extends south until the Old City wall. This was in anticipation of a fast-approaching deadline. The state must soon explain to the High Court why it is not honoring the original terms of an agreement to set up a pluralistic Kosel,
The court also wants to know why Kosel regulations instated in 1981 did not include a detailed map of the area included with former regulations dating from 1972.
Eichler said the state must insist that the borders of the Kosel plaza extend to the Old City’s wall as indicated in 1972 map. No new map was included with the 1981 regulations because this was obvious, h...
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February 19, 2018 at 1:41 pm
COGAT message to Hamas heads: 'Stop violent border disturbances. IDF will take harsher measures.'
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, published a video today in Almonsk, the Arabic COGAT Facebook page, calling on Gaza residents to stop the violent disturbances on the Gaza border.
Mordechai sent a threatening message to Hamas, stressing that "as of today, the IDF will take more severe measures against the rioters on the Gaza border. You should stop this now; go and demonstrate against Hamas in Gaza."
In the past few months, some 15 Arab rioters were killed and more than 400 injured in the dangerous Gaza riots. "We know the violent border confrontations serve as cover for terrorist activity, as happened last ...
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February 19, 2018 at 1:38 pm
A child in New Jersey has died after coming down with the flu, possibly making it the third pediatric flu-related death in the state.
Elizabeth Schools Superintendent Olga Hugelmeyer said in a note to parents on Sunday saying, “It is with great sadness that I must report to you that the Elizabeth School District has lost one of its own.”
Hugelmeyer says that while it has been confirmed that the student had been diagnosed with influenza, it “presently remains unclear whether or not the virus was the primary contributing factor to the child’s passing.”
The death is currently under investigation by the New Jersey Department of Health. The child’s name and age have not yet been released.
Just last week, 6-year-old Nevaeh Hernandez lost her life aft...
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February 19, 2018 at 1:37 pm
The Trump administration is once again calling for the complete elimination of a heating assistance program that helps to keep the homes of low-income families warm. And once again, program supporters are vowing to fight it.
The administration is using the same arguments from a year ago when it tried to abolish the program, saying it's rife with fraud and that no one would be left freezing if the program goes away.
"These arguments are very misleading and wrong," said Mark Wolfe, director of the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association in Washington, D.C.
The program, known as LIHEAP — Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program — helps families pay their heating bills primarily in the form of a grant that's sent directly to utility companies or heating...
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February 19, 2018 at 1:32 pm
Not long ago, I authored a column for The Boston Herald warning of yet another Middle East humanitarian crisis in the making. Sadly, that prediction appears well on its way to becoming reality.
Lebanon was once one of the most progressive and liberal countries in the Middle East. Beirut was a center of culture and finance and often referred to as the “Paris of the Middle East.”
Years of sectarian warfare and conflict resulted in weak, unstable governments that were held together by a delicate power-sharing arrangement among the various religious/political factions. One of those factions is Hezbollah, the radical Shia terrorist organization backed by Iran. Hezbollah has always held significant power in Lebanon, especially in the south along Israel’s nor...
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February 19, 2018 at 12:17 pm
Lisbon - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday he was worried about the possibility of a direct confrontation between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.
Guterres said the latest signals from Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah showed the will to not let this happen but “sometimes a spark is enough to unleash this kind of a conflict”.
Hezbollah said last week it could act against Israeli oil facilities if necessary in an Lebanon-Israel offshore energy dispute. U.S. diplomats have been mediating between the two countries after a rise in tensions also involving a dispute over a border wall and Hezbollah’s growing arsenal.
“I am deeply worried about hard-to-foresee escalations in the whole region,” Guterres told report...
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February 19, 2018 at 12:15 pm
Jerusalem - Israel says it has successfully tested the country’s advanced missile defense system capable of defending against ballistic missile threats outside the atmosphere.
The Defense Ministry says Monday’s successful mission test of the Arrow-3 interceptor is “a major milestone” in Israel’s ability to defend itself “against current and future threats in the region.” Two previous tests of the system were recently called off.
Arrow-3 is part of the multi-layered system Israel is developing to defend against both short- and mid-range rockets fired from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, as well as Iran’s long-range missiles. It includes Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow-2 systems.
It was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and ...
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February 19, 2018 at 12:13 pm
Dallas - Dallas police say a U.S. Postal Service worker has been found shot to death inside a mail truck along a busy highway.
Police released a statement Monday saying the case is being investigated as a homicide.
Police say officers found the worker’s body inside the government vehicle early Monday morning after responding to a reported shooting along Interstate 30 near downtown Dallas. The U.S. Postal Service operates a large complex nearby.
Investigators say no arrests have been made and that they’re still trying to determine a motive in the shooting.
The victim’s name hasn’t been released.
Messages left by The Associated Press for representatives of the U.S. Postal Service weren’t immediately returned on Monday, a federal holiday.
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February 19, 2018 at 12:11 pm
The warnings around Nikolas Cruz seemed to flash like neon signs: expelled from school, fighting with classmates, a fascination with weapons and hurting animals, disturbing images and comments posted to social media, previous mental health treatment.
In Florida, that wasn't enough for relatives, authorities or his schools to request a judicial order barring him from possessing guns.
Only five states have laws enabling family members, guardians or police to ask judges to temporarily strip gun rights from people who show warning signs of violence. Supporters of these measures, deemed "red flag laws" or gun-violence restraining orders, say they can save lives by stopping some shootings and suicides.
Florida, where Cruz is accused of using an AR-15 assault weapon to kill 17 people at h...
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February 19, 2018 at 12:05 pm
Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt is postponing a planned trip to Israel.
The decision comes as Pruitt is under pressure over the cost of his travel, including frequent first-class flights.
EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman confirmed the trip’s postponement in an email Sunday. She did not explain why the trip had been postponed or immediately respond to an email asking whether the decision was related to the recent reports about Pruitt’s travel.
Pruitt has said a “toxic environment politically” required first-class travel and protection from a 24-hour security detail.
According to travel vouchers obtained by an environmental organization, Pruitt and staffers billed taxpayers nearly $200,000 for his trips over six months last year.
The postpo...
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February 19, 2018 at 12:02 pm
IDF fighter jets attack underground infrastructure in retaliation for rocket fire on southern Israel.
IDF fighter jets overnight Sunday attacked an underground infrastructure in southern Gaza, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
According to the statement, the attack was carried out in response to Sunday evening’s rocket fire towards Israeli territory.
"The IDF will continue to act in order to ensure security for the citizens of Israel, by all means at its disposal. Hamas is responsible for everything happening inside and outside of the Gaza Strip, above and below the ground," the IDF Spokesman said.
At about 9:50 p.m., the “Color Red” siren was sounded in Sderot and several communities in the Shaar Hanegev area. The IDF later said that it ha...
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February 19, 2018 at 12:00 pm
Sgt. Shiloh Siman Tov, 23, an IDF soldier from the elite Sayeret Golani unit seriously injured in a vehicular accident last Tuesday on Highway 6 heading south near the Nitzanei Oz junction, has died of his injuries.In the accident, two IDF soldiers, Staff Sergeant Bar Yakubian and Sgt. Eshto Tepso were killed, and 10 other soldiers were injured, among them the soldier who died today, with others injured moderately and lightly.The accident occurred when a truck collided with three vehicles. Police detained the truck driver for questioning.The commander of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Yoel Strik, announced that he had established a team of experts headed by Colonel Yair Natans to examine the circumstances of the incident.At the same time, an investigation was opened by mili...
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February 19, 2018 at 11:24 am
Finance Committee approves proposal letting any worker refuse work on Shabbos with no need for religious affidavit.
The Knesset Finance Committee approved today in second reading a bill proposed by MK Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid) and MK Miki Zohar (Likud), according to which any person, also secular, may refuse to work on the weekly rest day without need for a religious affidavit and without risking dismissal.
In the present situation, the Hours of Work and Rest Law states that a person who fulfills religious precepts may refuse to work on the day of rest, subject to submission of an affidavit attesting to his religious observance, including keeping kashrut and Shabbos.
The amendment makes the need for such an affidavit unnecessary and allows every employee to refuse work on the weekly res...
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February 19, 2018 at 11:11 am
The Conference of Presidents (CoP) meeting in Jerusalem, Israel, this week is hearing from scores of experts in security, politics and a wide variety of current topics affecting Israel and Jews around the world.
On Monday afternoon, AMIT President Debbie Moed introduced Dr Yossi Vardi to head a presentation, "Incredible Insights into Israel Today and the Future."
Sandisk CEO Shahar Bar-Or was one of the featured speakers on the panel concerning innovation. Bar-Or has been involved with encouraging science, math and especially computer education in all sectors of Israeli society.
Dr. Jihad El-Sana, affiliated with the Department of Computer Science, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Computer Science from BGU. In 1995, he won a Fulbright Schola...
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February 19, 2018 at 11:10 am
Facebook will soon rely on centuries-old technology to try to prevent foreign meddling in U.S. elections: the post office.
Baffled in 2016 by Russian agents who bought ads to sway the U.S. presidential campaign, Facebook's global politics and government outreach director, Katie Harbath, told a meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State in Washington on Saturday that the company would send postcards to potential buyers of political ads to confirm they reside in the U.S.
The recipient would then have to enter a code in Facebook to continue buying the ad. The method will first apply to ads that name candidates ahead of the midterm elections in November, said Facebook spokesman Andy Stone.
The plan was unveiled a day after special counsel Robert Mueller charg...
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February 19, 2018 at 11:03 am
The driver of a vehicle for President Trump’s motorcade was detained Monday after security agents found a gun in his baggage.
The gun was discovered during a security screening of the vehicle in a parking lot across the street from Mar-a-Lago, the president’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida.
The man, who was not identified, told authorities that he forgot to leave the personal firearm in his personal vehicle before entering the van that was to be part of Mr. Trump’s motorcade, according to pool reporter Jordan Fabian of The Hill.
The driver was to be operating one of the press vans. Typically such drivers are volunteers, not government employees or members of the media.
“White House staff said all drivers were replaced after the incident,” th...
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February 19, 2018 at 11:02 am
The ministerial committee on the integration of Israeli citizens of Ethiopian origin chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Monday, 19 February 2018), in an historic step, approved a decision to – for the first time – provide for the status of the overall religious services for Israeli citizens of Ethiopian origin.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "At today's meeting we will finally provide for the status of the kesim who have led the Ethiopian Jewish community for hundreds of years. This arrangement should have been implemented a long time ago, and I am pleased that we have the opportunity to do so now. I think this is part of the same step, the same package of steps that we are enacting to aid our brothers and sisters in the Ethiopian Jewish community. The...
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February 19, 2018 at 11:00 am
The Kremlin has dismissed a U.S. indictment that charged 13 Russians with interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as lacking evidence.
The indictment handed Friday by a federal grand jury alleges that a wealthy entrepreneur with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin funneled money to a so-called "troll farm," which sent operatives to the United States, created fictitious social media accounts and used them to spread tendentious messages. The aim was either to influence voters or to undermine their faith in the U.S. political system.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that while the indictment focuses on "Russian nationals" it gives "no indication that the Russian government was involved in this in any way." Peskov insisted t...
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February 19, 2018 at 11:00 am
Ramat Gan, Israel – The Lookstein Center for Jewish Education of Bar-Ilan University, in collaboration with The AVI CHAI Foundation, is launching a new educational project to celebrate Israel's upcoming 70th anniversary.
Educational challenges will be emailed daily to all individuals and schools that sign up, seventy tasks in total. These games will be accessible online for the duration of the celebrations and beyond.
The 70 five-minute challenges about Israel, offered in four grade levels, will be in the form of puzzles, quizzes, memory games, word search, fill-in-the-blank, riddles and other styles. Schools and individuals will be able to compete with others worldwide, and win points.
Some quizzes will be in the form of true and false. For example, younger students wi...
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February 19, 2018 at 10:43 am
Baltimore, MD – Feb. 19, 2018 - It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com (BJL) informs the community of the petirah of Marvin Keyser, z’l; beloved husband of Betty Jacobs-Keyser (nee Kessler) and the late Phyllis C. Keyser (nee Greenberg); devoted father of Karen Keyser Schwartzman (Mark Schwartzman) and Aline (Moti) Chauin; dear step-father of Marc (Sandy) Jacobs and Dawn Jacobs Zimmerman (Richard Zimmerman); cherished brother of Sheldon (Ann) Keyser, Helen (Phillip) Fleischer and the late Phyllis E. Keyser and Doris Keyser; loving son of the late Isadore M. and Lena Keyser; adored grandfather of Rikki, Ettie and Tsahi Chauin; dear step-grandfather of Dana (Ki) Rummery, Chad Zimmerman, Allyson Jacobs, and Drew (Christine) Jacobs; dear great grandfather of Rukia Rummery,...
