|
September 5, 2019 at 9:54 pm
A House panel on Wednesday subpoenaed the Department of Homeland Security for all documents pertaining to any suggestion by President Donald Trump that he would pardon immigration officials who broke the law to follow his orders to close the border, the first in a series of investigative moves Democrats are promising on the pardon controversy.
The House Judiciary Committee served the compulsory measure for all communications related to a pair of meetings Trump had earlier this year in which he reportedly floated those pardons. The committee is also asking for documents pertaining to any pardon promises for immigration officials or others engaged in trying to build Trump’s barrier at the U.S.-Mexico.
“The dangling of pardons by the president to encourage government officials t...
|
September 5, 2019 at 9:53 pm
While many Israelis might already feel fatigued by the upcoming elections on Sept. 17, former justice minister Ayelet Shaked, who heads the newly formed right-wing Yamina Party, is both making history and surging in the polls.
“I am the first female to head a right-wing political party in Israel’s history,” she told JNS.
Heading a party that is polling consistently at 10 mandates, which would make it the fourth-largest party in the Knesset, Shaked has been very open about her nationalist vision for Israel, including her take on the situation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli judicial reform, and settlements in Judea and Samaria.
On Monday night, Shaked made headlines when she told an overflowing crowd of English speakers at a campaign event...
|
September 5, 2019 at 9:53 pm
Jo Johnson, the brother of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, resigned abruptly Thursday, citing “unresolvable tension” between family loyalty and the “national interest” as political turmoil surrounds Britain’s attempt to leave the European Union.
“It’s been an honour to represent Orpington for 9 years & to serve as a minister under three PMs,” Jo Johnson wrote on Twitter. “In recent weeks I’ve been torn between family loyalty and the national interest – it’s an unresolvable tension & time for others to take on my roles as MP & Minister. #overandout”
Johnson – a member of Britain’s Conservative Party, known informally as the Tories – served as a member of Parliament for Orpingt...
|
September 5, 2019 at 9:52 pm
President Trump’s special envoy for Middle East peace, Jason Greenblatt, will leave the administration, according to a senior Trump official, raising new questions about a long-delayed plan to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Trump had warm words for Greenblatt on Twitter. “Jason has been a loyal and great friend and fantastic lawyer,” Trump wrote, praising his “dedication to Israel.”
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to have worked in the White House for over two and a half years under the leadership of President Trump,” Greenblatt said in a statement. “I am incredibly grateful to have been part of a team that drafted a vision for peace. This vision has the potential to vastly improve the lives of millions of Israelis, Palestini...
|
September 5, 2019 at 9:52 pm
Former Texas representative and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump has turned the U.S.-Israel relationship into a partisan issue.
“Certainly the president is trying to [turn Israel into a partisan issue]; I don’t think he’ll be successful in that,” he told Haartez at the LGBTQ synagogue Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan. “Certainly Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has tried to do that [with] the lack of respect that he showed to President [Barack] Obama, the partisan politics in which he’s participated here in the United States.”
“But we don’t have to accept that, and I don’t,” he added.
O’Rourke, who in April called Netanyahu “racist&...
|
September 5, 2019 at 9:52 pm
Hundreds of Arabs, predominantly women, took to the streets in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas on Wednesday to demand action following the “honor killing” of a 21-year-old-woman near Bethlehem last month.
Israa Ghrayeb, a makeup artist, sustained serious spinal injuries after falling from the balcony of her family home in Beit Sahour as she tried to escape an attack by male relatives, including her father and brothers. P.A. media reports that the assault took place after a video posted on Instagram showed her meeting in public with her fiancé.
Ghrayeb was hospitalized, but the male relatives followed her and continued their assault at the hospital, according to reports in Arab media. Audio recordings of Ghrayeb’s screams were leaked by nurses at the hospit...
|
September 5, 2019 at 7:48 pm
Days after a major security escalation erupted between Hezbollah and Israel, and amid Israeli warnings over Hezbollah’s precision-missile program, the Israel Defense Forces exposed on Tuesday a new facility in eastern Lebanon for the production of guided missiles.
The site, located near Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley, is designed to “convert and manufacture precision guided missiles,” and “was established a few years ago by Iran and Hezbollah in order to manufacture weapons,” the IDF stated. Aerial photos of the facility, showing structures to create explosive warheads, engines and a “quality assurance” center were released by the IDF.
Arabic-language media outlets said Israel conducted an airstrike in the same area on Aug. 26. The alleged target ...
|
September 5, 2019 at 7:48 pm
A private Israeli company on Tuesday inaugurated the largest solar project in the country, reported the Israeli financial daily Globes.
Located in the Negev Desert, the Ashalim solar-energy project is the size of a small town, and is currently producing enough energy to power an estimated 70,000 households, according to the report.
Shikun u’Binui Holdings Ltd. chief shareholder Naty Saidoff announced the start of Ashalim’s commercial operations at ceremony attended by Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.
“Since I assumed office, I have used every possible means to increase the scope of renewable-energy production, and by doing so, I expect to meet the government goal of 10 percent by the end of 2020,” said Steinitz. “The breakthrough in this field enable...
|
September 5, 2019 at 7:47 pm
Ahead of the country’s general election set for September 17, the Israeli government has been boasting lower prices of goods and services, allegedly brought on by actively encouraging competition in the free market. However, while some products — mostly those targeting higher socio-economic classes — did become cheaper in recent years, Israel is still among the most expensive countries in the OECD.
In the past few weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party launched an online ad campaign targeting Israelis that have landed abroad on vacation. In the video ads, Netanyahu greets passengers, claiming the flight was cheap “thanks to the Likud’s Open Skies reform.”
What the ads fail to mention is how expensive day-to-day life in Israel real...
|
September 5, 2019 at 4:21 pm
The great Rebbe, Reb Zusha of Anipoli, upon observing one of his disciples tearfully inspired towards repentance, felt suddenly inadequate as he had yet to emote with similar fervor. In anguish he turned his eyes towards heaven expressing, “Oy Gutt, teshuva is such an elevated goal, yet it is so difficult to attain, please Hashem, let me at least offer to You each letter of this noble word תשובה .”
תמים תהיה עם ד' לאלקיך (דברים יח יג), You shall be wholehearted with Hashem, your G-d
שויתי ד' לנגדי תמיד (תהלים טז ח) , I have set Hashem before me; always because He is at my right hand
ואהבת לרעך כמו�...
|
September 5, 2019 at 4:18 pm
Mazel Tov Chaya Baer and Dovid Moshe Altman on their engagement!
|
September 5, 2019 at 3:47 pm
Mazel tov to Mr and Mrs Jonathan Klein on the birth of a granddaughter, Tzipora Faiga Stempel, born to Sabrina and Aaron Stempel of Chicago.
|
September 5, 2019 at 3:46 pm
You are warmly invited to join us at the Kvias Mezuza at our new Bais Medrash, Aish Kodesh, under the leadership of R' Nesanel Kostolitz, at 6207 Ivymount Rd between (Edenvale and Rogene), tomorrow, Sept 6, 2019!
Mincha at 3:45pm followed by the Kvias Mezuza and L’chaim. We anticipate finishing before 4:30pm, and hope you will join us!
Weeknight Seder HaLimud is from 8pm to 10pm, Sunday through Thursday, and the Rav shlita is available to receive walk in shailos and get to know you
Maariv will be at 9pm Sunday-Thursday night.
Gershon Seidel is organizing Shabbos Davening, please contact him on 443-629-4111 if you are interested.
Please tell your friends! If you have a friend who would like to be added to this list, kindly forward me the name, email and ph...
|
September 5, 2019 at 3:36 pm
In this week's parsha, the Torah commands us to adhere to our Sages' guidance and instructions (17:11). Rashi illustrates this concept with the following example: even if they tell you that your right is your left and your left is your right, you must listen to them.
How can we possibly accomplish this? How can an intellectually honest person accept guidance even if it appears that it is completely wrong? My right is definitely my right!
R' Ashear relates that there was a man by the name of Yosef. Yosef woke up one morning with a very important business meeting that day. However, his day did not go well. When he got to his car that morning, he saw a ticket on his windshield. He was very dismayed to see it, as he realized it was due to him park...
|
September 5, 2019 at 1:30 pm
Three World Bnei Akiva (WBA) emissaries who were just dispatched to the Jewish community in Hollywood, Florida were given 45 minutes to evacuate earlier this week as Hurricane Dorian was approaching. The emissaries, all of whom are just high school graduates landed in Hollywood just two weeks ago. "We began with news of the approaching storm, but the meteorological service does not actually know until the last minute about the hurricane’s level of severity or whether there is a need to prepare for absorption or evacuation," the emissaries said. "Automatic evacuation is usually not encouraged in the community. Instead, it is preferred to be prepared as much as possible and to remain as long as there is no real danger. We were therefore instructed to fill our home with water and other ...
|
September 5, 2019 at 11:45 am
MARYLAND — With two areas of the state under separate tropical storm warnings, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency ramped up efforts to prepare for Hurricane Dorian, raising its activation level to "partial." The move was made due to Hurricane Dorian's potential impact on the lower Eastern Shore in particular, according to officials.
The partial activation took effect at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5, and was one level below full activation, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) reported.
Hurricane Dorian is located about 140 miles south-southwest of Wilmington, North Carolina, as of 11 a.m. Thursday, and was moving north at 8 mph. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph.
"Hurricane Dorian remains a dangerous hurricane and is expected to move across or j...
|
September 5, 2019 at 11:23 am
1) “Chachamim” vs. “Pikchim”
Gra has a very famous and classical piece here which is just so relevant. Perek 17, pasuk 19. It says, “lo sateh mishpat”. Don’t pervert justice. “Lo sakir panim”. Don’t show favor to anyone. “lo sikach shochad”. Don’t take bribery. “ki hashochad ya’avir einei chachamim”. Because bribery will blind the eyes of the wise. “v’yisaleik divrei tzaddikim”, and it will pervert the words of righteous people. And, the Gra points out a very interesting thing. When it describes the bribery in this pasuk in Shoftim, it talks about how it blinds the eyes of chachamim. Whereas in parsh...
|
September 5, 2019 at 8:00 am
An annual $200 license to mark food as kosher in the heavily Jewish Broward County in Southeast Florida may change next week following complaints by business owners.
The annual county license does not guarantee that a business outlet’s food is safe or kosher, only that the owner has a reason for calling it kosher, according to the Florida Sun Sentinel.
Neighboring Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties do not have similar fees. Broward has been collecting the permit fees for nearly 40 years, but on Sept. 10, commissioners will vote on whether or not to repeal the kosher-license regulations.
Business owners are angered by the $200 fee, with Eric Rutner, who owns Diamond Kosher Caterers, saying, “To me, it functioned as a tax on being Jewish.”
He said to show his products a...
