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November 19, 2019 at 8:16 am
Security Alert: U.S. Embassy Jerusalem (November 18, 2019) Location: Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza The U.S. Embassy advises U.S. citizens in or considering travel to or through Jerusalem, the West Bank, or Gaza to maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness in light of the current environment. Individuals and groups opposed to the Secretary of State’s recent announcement may target U.S. government facilities, U.S. private interests, and U.S. citizens. Potential targets include public events, such as demonstrations, holiday events, and celebratory gatherings; hotels, clubs, and restaurants popular with U.S. citizens; places of worship; schools; shopping malls and markets; tourism infrastructure; public transportation ...
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November 19, 2019 at 8:15 am
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised the Trump administration Tuesday, hailing as a ‘great day for Israel’ the US State Department’s declaration that it does not view Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria as illegal under international law.
Speaking during a visit to Israeli towns in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Netanyahu called Secertary of State Mike Pompeo’s Monday announcement regarding Judea and Samaria a “great day for the State of Israel”.
“This is a very great day for the State of Israel, and an achievement that will last through the ages.”
“I admit that I am very moved,” Netanyahu continued. “We are here, in Gush Etzion, a place where we were expelled from during th...
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November 19, 2019 at 8:10 am
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Rebbetzin Gittel Kaplan a”h of Yerushalayim. She passed away a day before her 50th birthday.
Rebbetzin Kaplan was the wife of Rav Nissan Kaplan, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Daas Aharon and former longtime R”M at Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim.
She was a daughter of Rav Avrohom Gurwicz, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Bais Yosef of Gateshead.
The rebbetzin had battled illness and, at the advice of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, a name, Yente, was added to generate zechusim for her speedy recovery. She passed away Tuesday morning.
She is survived by her husband and 11 children, most of whom are not yet married. The levaya will begin on Tuesday night at 8:00PM from their home at 31 Agassi Street in H...
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November 18, 2019 at 7:34 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Donald Trump boarded Air Force One to fly to a Kentucky campaign rally two weeks ago, a plan was in place for him to give final approval to a plan to ban most flavored e-cigarettes.
By the time Trump landed back at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington a few hours later, the plan was off. And its future is unclear.
For nearly two months, momentum had been building inside the White House to try to halt a youth vaping epidemic that experts feared was hurting as many as 5 million teenagers.
Both first lady Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, pushed for the ban, which was also being championed internally by White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who has taken the lead on some public health issues.
But as...
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November 18, 2019 at 7:25 pm
In Bereishis (24:3) the posuk tells us that Avraham asked Eliezer to go find a wife for Yitzchok. We know that since Eliezer was a slave and was not paid for his efforts. The common practice is that shadchan in today’s day and age is paid for consummating a shiduch.
The makor for paying a shadchan is found in Bava Metziya (87b) where the gemara says that a person has to pay an agent when he brokers a deal. The gemara says if the measuring cup breaks in the process, the agent loses the money and he is stuck with the bill for these goods. Rashi explains the reason for the agent being left with the bill is because it is as if the agent buys it from person A and ...
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November 18, 2019 at 6:05 pm
Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee next month to testify on a forthcoming report on alleged surveillance abuse during the 2016 campaign.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who oversees the panel, announced on Monday that Horowitz will appear publicly on Dec. 11.
Graham’s decision to schedule the hearing is the latest sign that Horowitz’s report is nearing its release. The GOP senator said earlier this month that he expected it within weeks.
“I appreciate all the hard work by Mr. Horowitz and his team regarding the Carter Page FISA warrant application and the counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign,” Graham said in a statement.
He added that he expected...
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November 18, 2019 at 5:54 pm
Children made up 33% of the country’s total population, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday morning, with 2.960 million children currently residing in Israel.
A full 2.131 million of the children (72%) are Jews, while 731,000 were Arabs (24.7%) and another 98,000 (3.3%) were “other” – a label used to include non-Arab Christians and other groups not identified by religion.
Israel had an average of 2.43 children per household in 2018, and Beit Shemesh had the highest number of children per household, at 3.67. In second place was Bnei Brak, with 3.50 children per household, followed by Jerusalem with 2.99 children per household. Tel Aviv-Yafo came in last, with just 1.87 children per household.
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
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November 18, 2019 at 5:49 pm
Twenty-four British public figures signed an open letter refusing to vote for the Labour Party in the United Kingdom’s Dec. 12 general elections due to party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s multiple ties to anti-Semitism.
The letter to The Guardian said. “The coming election is momentous for every voter, but for British Jews it contains a particular anguish: the prospect of a prime minister steeped in association with anti-Semitism.”
“Anti-Semitism is central to a wider debate about the kind of country we want to be,” the letter continued. “To ignore it because Brexit looms larger is to declare that anti-Jewish prejudice is a price worth paying for a Labour government. Which other community’s concerns are disposable in this way? Who would be next?&r...
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November 18, 2019 at 5:48 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that the U.S. is softening its position on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the latest in a series of Trump administration moves that weaken Palestinian claims to statehood.
Pompeo’s announcement repudiates a 1978 State Department legal opinion that held that civilian settlements in the occupied territories are “inconsistent with international law.” The move will likely anger Palestinians and put the U.S. at odds with other nations working to end the conflict.
The Trump administration views the opinion, the basis for long-standing U.S. opposition to expanding the settlements, as a distraction and believes any legal questions about the issue should be addressed by Israeli courts, a...
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November 18, 2019 at 4:25 pm
The Chief Foreign Envoy of the Yesha Council, Oded Revivi: "The Time has come to use both Political and Legal Platforms to Apply Israeli Law in Yehuda & Shomron".
Following the expected announcement by the US Secretary of State this evening that the US does not view the settlements as operating in contravention of international law, the Chief Foreign Envoy of the Yesha Council, Oded Revivi, thanked the US for the move and urged the Israeli government to apply Israeli law immediately in Yehudaq & Shomron. "I congratulate President Trump and his government on the truly courageous recognition, settlements are not a crime and not a barrier to peace. Ambassador David Friedman clarified the reality of the situation and the legal status of Yehuda & Shomron. Now is the time to take ac...
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November 18, 2019 at 4:22 pm
A prominent Iranian political activist and journalist called on fellow activists Sunday to put pressure on micro-blogging giant Twitter to block the accounts of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei until internet access was restored within the country.
Masih Alinejad, well known for launching the My Stealthy Freedom movement promoting freedom for Iranian woman, said on Twitter, “I invite all activists to call on @Twitter to ban supreme leader of Islamic Republic @khamenei_ir until Internet access is restored. Without it we cannot monitor human rights violations.”
Alinejad cited major protests in Iran that began on Saturday, in which an unverified number have been killed and national internet access restricted. An Iranian prosecutor said on Sunday that 40 protesters ...
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November 18, 2019 at 4:18 pm
GATINEAU, Quebec (AP) — A union federation representing 45,000 teachers in Quebec is suing the Canadian province over its ban on the wearing of religious symbols by many public employees.
The lawsuit by the Fédération Autonome de l’Enseignement challenges a state secularism law passed this year that prohibits some civil servants from wearing symbols of religion, such as hijabs and crosses, while at work.
The most contentious rule is that any new police officers, judges, lawyers and teachers are banned completely from wearing any religious symbols while on duty. Existing employees get an exception.
A student studying to become a teacher and Montreal’s English school board are among those who have also filed lawsuits.
Nour Farhat, who wears a hijab and stu...
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November 18, 2019 at 4:16 pm
Stocks posted fresh records on Monday before closing little changed as investors digested mixed signals around U.S.-China trade talks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up just 31.33 points, or 0.1% at 28,036.22. The S&P 500 advanced 0.05% to 3,122.03 while the Nasdaq Composite closed 0.1% higher at 8,549.94. Disney was the best-performing Dow stock, rising 2%. Real estate and consumer staples both gained at least 0.6% to lead the S&P 500 higher.
However, the major averages failed to post significant gains after CNBC’s Eunice Yoon reported, citing a government source, that Chinese officials are pessimistic about the prospect of a U.S.-China trade deal. China is troubled by President Donald Trump saying recently...
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November 18, 2019 at 2:38 pm
The second Modzitzer Rebbe, Rabbi Shaul Yedidya Elazar Taub, (1886-1947) an outstanding Talmid Chochom, had tremendous love for Eretz Yisroel and prophesied that a Jewish State would come into being. Sadly he passed away on Shabbos, the 16th day of Kislev, Nov. 29, 1947, the day the UN voted for the Partition Plan of Palestine. A gifted composer of a thousand niggunim, the Rebbe was known as the Imrei Shaul after one of the Seforim consisting of a collection of his writings. He claimed that he had much more inspiration to compose when he was in the Holy Land. The first time he visited Eretz Yisroel was from Poland in 1925. He composed there many new melodies. one of which is especially popular, Koh Ribon Olam. It is believed to have been composed Shavuos night at the Kotel.
The Imrei Shau...
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November 18, 2019 at 2:32 pm
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, criticized Vermont Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Sunday, excoriating the senator’s proposal to ‘leverage’ US military aid to Israel.
Speaking at a gala event held by the Zionist Organization of America in New York City Sunday evening, Danon mocked Sanders references to his brief stint working on a kibbutz, and accusing the senator of ignorance on Middle East issues.
“Mr. Sanders, a few months on a kibbutz in 1963 can only teach you so much,” Danon said, according to the Jewish Insider.
“Perhaps Mr. Sanders didn’t hear about Israel leaving Gaza in 2005,” Danon continued. “Maybe he hasn’t had the chance to visit the Kerem Shalom crossing, where hun...
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November 18, 2019 at 2:30 pm
As rockets fell on southern and central Israel last week, a team of U.S. firefighters worked side by side with their Israeli counterparts to extinguish brush and building fires, and deal with other emergencies.
The U.S. firefighters are part of the Emergency Volunteer Project (EVP), which trains U.S. firefighters and medical personnel, and then deploys them to Israel in times of need.
However, according to EVP Emergency Deployment Director Eitan Charnoff, they were already in the country when the flare-up in hostilities between Israel and Gaza-based terrorist groups broke out.
“They were originally deployed because of anticipated high winds later in the week,” said Charnoff. ”We were fortunate to have them here given the unexpected rocket attacks.”Subscribe to Th...
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November 18, 2019 at 2:30 pm
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a surprise military drill in northern Israel on Monday, warning local residents to expect increased troop and vehicle movements in the area, as well as sirens and the sound of explosions.
According to the IDF, reserve forces have been called up for the drill, which will test “the Northern Command’s readiness and operational capabilities” by simulating an attack on Israel by Iran, Syria or Lebanon.
The drill occurs as Israel remains on high alert following an Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure with drones and cruise missiles in September. The incident caused IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi to warn of the possibility of a similar attack against Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sa...
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November 18, 2019 at 2:27 pm
An Orthodox Jewish man has announced that he will be running for Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s Parliament seat in the United Kingdom’s general elections on Dec. 12.
Yosef David, who grew up in Golders Green—a London suburb know for its Jewish population—is a social worker for a large Jewish charity. He recently registered as a candidate of the right-wing Brexit Party for the Islington North constituency in London.
In 2017, the district elected Corbyn with 73 percent of the vote. Labour has won in Islington North in every election since 1937, which poses a challenge for David.
“I am aware that overturning a 30,000-plus majority would be a miracle,” David told the Jewish News, explaining that his run “is about highlighting the impact of the ...
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November 18, 2019 at 2:27 pm
Two men and a woman were killed in a shooting outside a Walmart store in Oklahoma on Monday, according to officials.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol told Fox affiliate KOKH FOX 25 the shooting happened just before 10 a.m. in the parking lot of a Walmart in Duncan, located roughly 75 miles south of the state capital of Oklahoma City.
The Duncan Police Department said on Facebook that the woman and one of the men were found shot to death in a car, while the other man was found dead outside the car in the parking lot.
"A handgun was found on scene," police said. "We will update as more information comes in."
Duncan Police Chief Danny Ford told the Associated Press that authorities are looking for witnesses to the shooting. One of the peop...
