|
April 23, 2018 at 12:41 pm
The controversy over Iceland’s proposed ban on bris milah has escalated, with prominent European rabbis and their supporters holding protest meetings in recent days in Reykjavik and Brussels.
According to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the Conference of European Rabbis succeeded in attracting the support and attendance of American congressmen, representatives of EU institutions, doctors, and academics who support the practice of circumcision and oppose the ban.
The proposed ban would impose a prison sentence on anyone who circumcises a child, regardless of their religious beliefs. It passed its first reading in the Icelandic parliament in February.
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, head of the Conference, said of the ban, “The Nazis made such a law in 1933 and we all know how that...
|
April 23, 2018 at 12:38 pm
The Conservative Rabbinical Assembly railed that a Kenyan Jewish leader has been denied entry to Israel twice despite his conversion by Conservative rabbis.
“Israel’s continued refusal to admit Yehuda Kimani in order to study at a Conservative movement yeshiva in Jerusalem represents an affront to both Kimani and non-Orthodox communities,” the body said.
Kimani was told that he can only apply for a three-month tourist visa, which would not cover the length of his academic program.
|
April 23, 2018 at 12:35 pm
The former chief of Israel Defense Forces intelligence believes the upcoming month of May could be the most dangerous Israel has faced since before the 1967 Six Day War.
“When I look at the month of May, I say there wasn’t a month of May so dangerous since 1967,” said Amos Yadlin in an interview with Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
In May 1967, the security situation in the Middle East began to deteriorate as Egypt expelled UN peacekeepers from Sinai and three Arab nations mobilized their forces along Israel’s borders.
Israel eventually launched a preemptive strike in early June and decisively defeated Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.
“In the last Independence Day ceremonies I was reminded of the independence ceremonies of ’67,” Yadlin said. “Th...
|
April 23, 2018 at 12:33 pm
Israel released details on Tuesday about an Iranian “air force” deployed in neighboring Syria, including civilian planes suspected of transferring arms, a signal that these could be attacked should tensions with Tehran escalate.
Iran, along with Damascus and its big-power backer Russia, blamed Israel for an April 9 air strike on a Syrian air base, T-4, that killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) members. Iranian officials have promised unspecified reprisals.
Israeli media ran satellite images and a map of five Syrian air bases allegedly used to field Iranian drones or cargo aircraft, as well as the names of three senior IRGC officers suspected of commanding related projects, such as missile units.
The information came from the Israeli military, according to a...
|
April 23, 2018 at 12:30 pm
The Jewish community was shocked to learn of a vicious attack on a 50-year-old Jewish man walking home from shul on Shabbos.
The incident occurred at around 1:30 p.m. on Rutland Road near Schenectady Avenue in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.
The victim – who has lived in the neighborhood for about 3 years – was taken to Kingsbrook Jewish Hospital, having suffered a cracked rib, as well as bruising and scratches across his body.
The assailant remains at large. He was described by the victim as tall and muscular, in his 40s, with a small beard.
After reading about this attack on Matzav.com, a noted philanthropist from Los Angeles has taken a keen interest in the case, offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the ...
|
April 23, 2018 at 12:26 pm
IDF retaliates after spillover from Syrian civil war strikes Golan Heights.
A mortar shell fired from Syria landed in the Golan Heights Monday.
In response, the IDF attacked the position from which the mortar was fired.
The IDF stated: "The IDF views the Syrian regime as responsible for everything in its territory and will not tolerate any attempt to harm the sovereignty of the State of Israel and the security of its residents."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel will not tolerate any spillover from the Syrian Civil War into Israel.
|
April 23, 2018 at 12:21 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Three New York congressional representatives are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports that scammers are posing as Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund staffers to get first responders' and survivors' personal information.
Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Peter King publicized their effort on Sunday. FTC representatives haven't immediately responded to an email inquiry.
The fund currently benefits people with health problems believed to be related to the 2001 terror attacks. An alert on the fund's website says unknown people are making calls claiming to be staffers and requesting information, supposedly to help with claims. The fund urges people to report such calls to the FTC.
King, Maloney and Nadler wan...
|
April 23, 2018 at 12:19 pm
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian police on Monday released images of two suspects in the killing of a Palestinian engineer and said they appeared to be European or Middle Eastern, fueling suspicion that the slaying was an Israeli assassination.
Gaza's ruling Hamas militant group has accused Israel of being behind Saturday's shooting of Fadi al-Batsh, an important member of Hamas. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.
Malaysian national police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the composite images were based on eyewitness descriptions. He said the suspects, clad in black jackets, were fair-skinned, well-built and had beards, and were likely European or Middle Eastern.
Fuzi said the images have been displayed at all exit points in the country but said it ...
|
April 23, 2018 at 12:15 pm
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Health Ministry in Gaza says two Palestinian youths have died of wounds they sustained in Israeli fire during protests near the Israel-Gaza border.
Monday's deaths raise to 34 the numbers of Palestinians killed in mass protests along the border since March 30.
The two were identified as an 18-year-old who was shot in the head earlier this month and a 20-year-old son of a senior Hamas commander killed in clashes with more radical extremists in 2009.
The Islamic militant group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and has organized the protests.
The demonstrations are set to climax with a massive march to the border on May 15, when Palestinians mark the "nakba," or catastrophe, of their uprooting during the war over Israel's creation in 1948.
|
April 23, 2018 at 12:14 pm
Gunshots have been reported near a church that police are using as a staging area in the hunt for a suspect in the shooting deaths of four people at a Waffle House in Tennessee.
Late Monday morning, The Tennessean reported multiple shots were fired near Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Nashville. It was unclear whether the shots were connected to the search for the 29-year-old suspect.
Burnette Chapel, five miles from the Waffle House, was the scene of a mass shooting during a Sunday morning worship service last September in which one person was killed and six others wounded.
Police believe Travis Reinking may be armed with one of the guns seized from him last year after he tried to enter the White House to see President Donald Trump.
|
April 23, 2018 at 11:54 am
DENVER (AP) — The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has fined a woman $500 for not declaring she was bringing a free apple into the U.S. that she received on her Delta Air Lines flight from Paris.
Crystal Tadlock tells KDVR-TV in Denver that flight attendants had passed out the apples and she placed it in her carry-on to save for her flight from Minneapolis to Denver. Her bag was randomly searched by Customs.
Tadlock says the agent asked her if her trip to France was expensive and when she said yes he told her it was about to get more expensive after charging her $500.
Delta says it recommends all passengers comply with Customs regulations.
Customs declaration forms ask passengers if they are bringing any fruits or vegetables into the country.
|
April 23, 2018 at 11:48 am
LONDON (AP) — A Scottish man who filmed a dog appearing to give Nazi salutes has been convicted of a hate crime and fined.
Mark Meechan filmed his girlfriend's pug responding to phrases such as "sieg heil" by raising its paw, and posted the footage on YouTube in 2016.
Meechan said the stunt was meant as a joke, but he was convicted last month of posting "grossly offensive" material.
On Monday, a judge ordered Meechan to pay an 800 pound ($1,200) fine. Sheriff Derek O'Carroll said the video "contained menacing, anti-Semitic and racist material." He said the dog was filmed responding to the phrase "gas the Jews," which was repeated 23 times in the video.
Meechan said his conviction set a "really dangerous precedent" for free speech and he would appeal.
|
April 23, 2018 at 11:44 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is facing serious opposition before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which may not have enough votes to recommend him for confirmation because all Democrats, and at least one Republican, have said they will oppose him.
The full Senate is still expected to consider Pompeo's nomination later this week. But the rare rebuke expected from the panel Monday, even after Pompeo's recent visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, would be the first time in years that a nominee for the high-level Cabinet position did not receive a favorable committee vote.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the committee, blamed partisan politics for opposition to Pompeo, now the CIA director,...
|
April 23, 2018 at 11:43 am
MONTOURSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — An elderly Pennsylvania man had no way of visiting his ill wife in the hospital, so he called police to help.
Montoursville Police Chief Jeff Gyurina says the 84-year-old man's same-aged wife had a medical emergency last Thursday and was taken from their home in an ambulance.
The frail man told Gyurina, who was at the scene, he had no family in the area to take him to the hospital, and he can't drive anymore.
Gyurina gave him the patrol car's cell number and told him to call whenever he was ready to go.
A few hours went by, and Deputy Chief Jason Bentley got the call. He picked up the man and escorted him into the hospital in Williamsport.
The chief says "it's a small town so you try to help out when you can."
|
April 23, 2018 at 8:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has so far had little to say about Donald Trump's time as president, even as the nation has moved from one Trump controversy to another. That's about to change.
The justices' first deep dive into a Trump administration policy comes in a dispute over the third and latest version of the administration's ban on travel from some countries with majority Muslim populations. Opponents of the policy and some lower courts have labeled it a "Muslim ban," harking back to Trump's campaign call to keep Muslims from entering the country.
The high-stakes arguments at the high court on Wednesday could offer some indication about how a court that runs on respect for traditions and precedent will deal with a president who regularly breaks ...
|
April 23, 2018 at 8:52 am
MIAMI (AP) — Authorities say an unruly American Airlines passenger was removed from a Miami to Chicago flight following a "disagreement" with another passenger.
Passenger videos show police using a stun gun on the man multiple times as they struggled to get him off the plane. He kept asking why they were removing him.
In a statement, American Airlines said flight 2446 was still at the gate at Miami International Airport on Sunday night when flight attendants asked the "instigating passenger" to get off the plane, but he refused.
According to the airline, the crew followed procedure and began deplaning. Then a physical altercation began between the same two passengers.
Passengers told WPLG the man was being combative with flight attendants and police officers.
The plane...
|
April 23, 2018 at 8:47 am
Jerusalem, Israel - April 23, 2018 - A festive ceremony took place yesterday (April 22) in Jerusalem to lay the cornerstone of the ZAKA World Headquarters, which will provide the volunteer search and rescue organization with a purpose-built headquarters that will serve as the nerve center for ZAKA’s humanitarian operations in Israel and around the world.
The ceremony was held with the participation of the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, the Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar, the Minister of Construction and Housing Maj.-Gen. (ret) Yoav Galant, Ministry of Construction and Housing Director-General Hagai Reznik, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Yosef Deutsch, members of the city council and ZAKA Chairman and Founder Yehuda Meshi-Zahav and rabbis and volunteers from th...
|
April 23, 2018 at 8:41 am
PARKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Baltimore County Police say four teenage girls attacked a pregnant teacher at an elementary school, stealing the teacher's purse and car.
The Baltimore Sun reports the girls showed up at a Parkville elementary school on Friday under the guise of enrolling a child, then approached the teacher in the parking lot.
Police say they knocked a cellphone out of her hand, and the teacher turned to run but fell. Police say two of the girls then stole her purse and took off in her car, which hasn't been found. The other two teens rode off in a different car.
Officers arrested a 14-year-old juvenile and 16-year-old Tyana Keyshawn Holmes, who was charged as an adult with carjacking and robbery. The other two remain at large.
|
April 23, 2018 at 8:25 am
Kensington Palace says the Duchess of Cambridge has given birth to her third child, a boy weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces (3.8 kilograms).
The palace says the child was born at 11:01 a.m. (1001 GMT), a few hours after Kate was admitted to London's St. Mary's Hospital in labor.
Prince William was present for the birth of his son, who is fifth in line to the throne.
The palace says "the queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news."
___
8:35 a.m.
Kensington Palace says Prince William's wife, the Duchess of Cambridge has entered a London hospital to give birth to the couple's third child.
The former Kate Middleton traveled by car on Monday morning ...
|
April 22, 2018 at 9:57 pm
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Will North Korea give up the bomb?
The answer may start becoming clear when South Korean President Moon Jae-in meets North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday.
While North Korea declared this past weekend it would stop nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests and shut down its nuclear test site, it did not indicate it will give up its nuclear arsenal or halt its production of missiles. Moon and later President Donald Trump are still likely to find it very difficult to persuade Kim to dismantle his entire arsenal, which includes purported thermonuclear weapons and developmental ICBMs.
But other countries that developed or tried to develop nuclear weapons have agreed to abandon them in exchange for sanctions relief and compensation. None of thes...
