The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that the parsonage allowance, an allowance provided for housing expenses to members of the clergy that is exempt from federal income taxes, is constitutional, overturning the lower district court decision that had ruled to the contrary.  The Court held that the parsonage allowance had a secular purpose, to treat religious employees similar to secular employees, who also receive tax exemptions for housing expenses that are work-related, and ruled that the parsonage allowance did not create an unconstitutional entanglement between government and religion. Agudath Israel of America had joined with a number of other national Orthodox Jewish organizations in an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief urging the US Cou...
Can you feel Purim just around the corner? Who isn’t eagerly anticipating this annual Yom Tov extravaganza, featuring joyous dancing, Mishloach Manos, colorful costumes, and of course, the Megillah reading? This timeless scroll describes in detail the incredible turnabout when the Jewish nation was saved from the scheming machinations of the wicked and contemptible, if not downright genocidal and megalomaniacal, Haman, by the self-sacrifice, quick thinking, and virtue of the noble and courageous Queen Esther and the brave and righteous Mordechai. Ashkenazic vs. Sefardic Megillos? Anyone who takes a quick gander around the shul at Krias HaMegillah will notice that there are many types and sizes of Megillos: “HaMelech” Megillos,[1] ...
NEW YORK (AP) — Special counsel Robert Mueller began investigating President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for fraud in his personal business dealings and for potentially acting as an unregistered foreign agent at least nine months before FBI agents in New York raided his home and office, according to documents released Tuesday. The series of heavily redacted search warrant applications and other documents revealed new details about the timing and depth of the probe into Cohen, who ultimately pleaded guilty to tax fraud, bank fraud, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. The records show the inquiry into Cohen had been going on since July 2017 — far longer than previously known— and that a big part of its focus was Cohen's taxi busin...
Jerusalem -  Israel’s exports of computer chips to China soared last year as Chinese companies bought more semiconductors made at Intel’s Kiryat Gat plant. An official at the Israel Export Institute told Reuters that new data showed semiconductor exports to China jumped 80 percent last year to $2.6 billion. An industry source told Reuters that Intel Israel accounted for at least 80 percent of those sales. The data will be welcome news for the Israeli government as it pushes for deeper ties with China and because semiconductors accounted for $3.9 billion of overall goods exports in 2018, according to the institute, a government agency. The two countries have started negotiating a trade deal and technology is expected to be a major part of the discussions. Overall exports...
A construction worker died today after he fell off the roof of a building at a construction site on Sapir Street in Harish.  This is the second instance of a construction worker dying at a construction site in Harish in three days.  United Hatzalah volunteers from the area rushed to the scene and began performing CPR on the worker. At the end of a lengthy resuscitation attempt, EMS personnel who had arrived were forced to pronounce the man's death.  United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Nirel Ayish who was one of the first responders at the scene said: "Together with other volunteers from United Hatzalah I performed CPR on a worker who fell from the roof of the building under construction and was suffering from full-system trauma. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at...
The Mishna Berurah in the beginning of Hilchos Megillah tells us of the four parshiyos we read during the weeks leading up to Purim and Pesach. The week before Purim, we read Parshas Zachor, the commandment to remember the evil of Amalek and their hideous attack on Klal Yisroel after they left Mitzrayim. Hashem tells us never to forget that incident, and that their memory must be forever erased from this world. In fact, Hashem reveals to us that “His throne” is incomplete as long as Amalek and their memory still exists. We read this Parsha the week preceding Purim, because the killing of Haman was somewhat of a fulfillment of this commandment, for Haman was a direct descendant of Amalek. This commandment though, has never been fully fulfilled. We came close in the days of Sha...
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this morning (Tuesday, 19 March 2019), toured ancient (Tel) Shilo together with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Binyamin Regional Council Chairman Yisrael Gantz. Prime Minister Netanyahu: "I am very excited to be here. I came here for the first time in 1967, right after the Six Day War, as a young soldier. I remember that during navigational exercises, I went to Tel Shilo to see ancient Shilo, the capital of Israel. Here, it has revived. Under the heritage plan, we established here a visitor center so that every Jew and every tourist in Israel can come and see our first capital. This is exciting. It attests to our link with the Land of Israel and to the great wonder of the revival of Israel." Prime Minister Netanyahu visited the museum at ...
Baltimore, MD – Mar. 18, 2019 - On the morning of Friday, March 8th, Rosh Chodesh Adar II, there was magic in the air at TA, as 850 grandparents, great-grandparents, and special friends came to TA for an unforgettable experience.  This was TA’s 4th Grandparents’ Day in recent years, and it proved to be an incredible experience to all those who attended.   Upon arriving in the TA parking lot or via shuttle bus from the MTA down the road, the campus was alive with student and volunteer ushers greeting guests, music playing, and welcome banners and signs. After checking in and receiving a “Proud TA Grandparent” mug along with a personalized schedule for the day, grandparents and special friends proceeded to the gym, where they were treated to a...
Baltimore, MD - Mar. 19, 2019 - In their own words: A candid look at what real-life couples have to say about The Shidduch Center of Baltimore and what the organization has done for them. You can help The Shidduch Center in its mission to assist Baltimore’s single men and women by donating on March 25 & 26, when the Shidduch Center will be conducting its 24 hour donor matching campaign. All donations will be QUADRUPLED! 
Lake Elsinore, CA - Like Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz,” the Southern California city of Lake Elsinore is being overwhelmed by the power of the poppies. About 150,000 people over the weekend flocked to see this year’s rain-fed flaming orange patches of poppies lighting up the hillsides near the city of about 60,000 residents, about a 90-minute drive from either San Diego or Los Angeles. Interstate 15 was a parking lot. People fainted in the heat; a dog romping through the fields was bitten by a rattlesnake. The lure of poppies was used in the “Wizard of Oz” when the wicked witch infuses them with poison knowing Dorothy cannot resist them. She falls asleep in a vibrant field and the good witch casts a spell to make it snow to break the spell after her friends...
Washington - President Donald Trump has tweeted a picture of a $100,000 check he recently wrote to the Department of Homeland Security, his latest donation to a federal agency. Trump pledged as a candidate in 2016 to not accept the $400,000 annual presidential salary he would be due if elected. Trump says the press doesn’t like writing about his donations “nor do I need them to.” He also claims if he didn’t make the donations, there would be “hell to pay from the FAKE NEWS MEDIA!” By law, he must be paid, so Trump has donated the quarterly payments to various federal departments and agencies.
Canberra - Australia’s prime minister has urged world leaders to crack down on social media companies that broadcast terrorist attacks in the aftermath of the New Zealand mosque shootings. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has written to G-20 chairman Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe calling for agreement on “clear consequences” for companies whose platforms are used to facilitate and normalize horrific acts. Australian Brenton Tarrant has been charged with murder over the attack on two mosques in Christchurch that killed 50 people and left another 50 injured. The attacks were live-streamed on Facebook. Morrison says: “Social media companies are international businesses and it’s up to the international community to force them to act.”
Los Angeles - Meghan McCain says President Donald Trump’s life is “pathetic” after his weekend Twitter attack against her father, the late Sen. John McCain. She fired back at Trump on ABC’s “The View” Monday after the president tweeted comments criticizing her father, who died last year after battling brain cancer. McCain says Trump “will never be a great man,” and is urging Trump to focus on his family instead of hers. Trump attacked John McCain for his role in the Russia investigation. The president also tweeted that the 2008 Republican presidential candidate was “last in his class” at the U.S. Naval Academy. Meghan McCain initially responded Sunday to Trump’s remarks on Twitter, then expounded on her words Monday on t...
Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot on Monday morning received a certificate of appreciation for his contribution to the State of Israel and its security, during which he discussed Hezbollah’s plans to attack Israel. “Hezbollah had grandiose plans to surprise Israel by bringing 5,000 !!! terrorists into Israel via underground tunnels, while firing at us,” he explained. “This plan was not implemented – it was identified by us four years ago, and we dealt with it two months ago, while at the same time continuing to harm their abilities to make exact calculations.” Hezbollah, he noted, is not the only one threatening Israel. “Today, Israel is facing four ‘circles’ of threats – three of them historical, and one of them new. The...
A two-day hackathon dedicated to the Eurovision song contest will take place at Microsoft’s Tel Aviv tech hub in early April, Tel Aviv-based company BLEE Hackathons, which organizes the event, announced Thursday. During the event, 150 participants will attempt to tackle issues of accessibility arising from the live broadcast of the contest and maximize viewer experience. Among the additional coordinators of the hackathon are Israel’s national broadcaster Kan, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is in charge of the contest, Israeli government innovation arm The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), and online genealogy company MyHeritage. Contestants from 41 countries will take part in the Eurovision contest that will be held for the 64th time in May at the Expo Tel Aviv...
Nine months after the Smart Schools Review Board formally corrected classification errors that deprived nonpublic schools in New York State of millions of dollars in technology funds, new, corrected allocations are about to be released. The Smart Schools Bond Act (SSBA), passed in 2014-15, provided a one-time, $2 billion infusion for technology and other spending to improve education in schools statewide, including a percentage of funds for certain technology items for nonpublic school long-term loan. Lower than expected allocations for nonpublic schools announced in 2016 had Agudath Israel of America chief of staff and associate director of education affairs Avrohom Weinstock digging through stacks of legal and technical proposed plans to figure out why. He ultimately penned a brief desc...
Baltimore, MD – Mar. 13, 2019 - It is with sadness that BaltimoreJewishLife.com informs the community of the petirah of Mr. Michael Merims, z’l, father of Laura Kurcfeld (Leventhal). Levaya graveside at Cedar Park Cemetery, 735 Forest Ave., Paramus, NJ 07652, on Thursday March 14 at 1:00 PM. Shiva will be observed at 26 Jones Valley Circle - off Rockland Hills Drive - 21209 (Townhouse development right past Rav Slanger’s Yeshiva) (Please park in guest spots)Visiting times: 8:30AM - 3:30 PM and 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. through Wednesday morning, Mar. 20 No minyanim. Bila HaMaves LaNetzach…
The news of the vicious murders in Shomron of IDF First Sergeant Gal Keidan and Rabbi Achiad Ettinger, H'yd, a civilian by-stander and father of 12, has left all caring people reeling. It is especially galling to read the statements of celebration emanating from the terrorist entity, Hamas, for this brutal attack. Acts of premeditated violence like that which occurred yesterday must be seen as part of their larger ongoing terror campaign. Agudath Israel extends its condolences to the families of the people killed and we are mispallel that those who were injured in this brutal attack have a refuah shlaimah. 
Incoming tourism reached an all-time high in Israel in 2018, the Central Bureau of Statistics said in a new report on Thursday. Some 4.1 million tourists visited Israel last year, marking a 14 percent increase compared to 2017, which was also a record year. Likewise, the number of foreign tourists who stayed overnight at a hotel increased by 10 percent compared to the previous year. “We can say that 2018 was a record-breaking year, with an unprecedented level of incoming tourists,” Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said in statement. “This accomplishment is a direct result of the laborious effort undertaken by my ministry, as well as the revolutionary way in which we have presented Israel abroad, the inauguration of new flights to Israel and the collaboration with the bigge...
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