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December 3, 2019 at 4:57 pm
President Donald Trump is scheduled to give the keynote address at the Israeli-American Council’s annual conference next month, announced the organization on Monday. It would mark the president’s first appearance at a non-political Jewish organization.
The IAC conference will take place in Southern Florida from Dec. 5-8, with Trump slated to give remarks on Dec. 7. It is expected to bring together nearly 4,000 attendees from around the world for an event that shapes the Jewish communal conversation.
“It is an honor for us to host the president of the United States, who is addressing a non-political Jewish organization for the first time,” IAC co-founder and CEO Shoham Nicolet told JTA. “This is great news not only for our organization, but for the entire pro...
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December 3, 2019 at 4:52 pm
A Belgian town has decided to drop itself from the list of United Nations’ cultural heritage sites in order to keep a carnival that in March featured a float that depicted large-nosed religious Jews sitting on bags of money.
The decision came a week ahead of a U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) meeting in Colombia, where one of the topics was whether Aalst should stay on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
The European Union and the European Jewish Association have vocally criticized the carnival that has taken place since 2010.
Aalst Mayor Christoph D’Haese said that city officials were tired of the complaints that the event was anti-Semitic. He told Flemish broadcaster VTM that the officials “have had it a bit with the grotesque compla...
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December 3, 2019 at 4:48 pm
American political activist and former Women’s March, Inc. leader Linda Sarsour said during an American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) conference on Nov. 28 that Israel “is built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else.”
In her speech at the conference, Sarsour said that when she speaks on college campuses, she tells students to ask progressive Zionists: “How can you be against white supremacy in America and the idea of being in a state based on race and class, but then you support a state like Israel that is based on supremacy, that is built on the idea that Jews are supreme to everyone else?”
The Progressive Zionists of California said in a statement to the Jewish Journal that “as progressive Zionists, it is imperati...
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December 3, 2019 at 4:45 pm
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg is already having an impact in the Democratic primary for the White House just a week after launching his presidential bid, a new survey released Monday reveals.
Bloomberg came out in fifth place, ahead of California Sen. Kamala Harris in a new Hill-HarrisX national Democratic primary poll.
The survey found that Bloomberg’s support increased from 3 percent to 6 percent among likely Democratic voters and Democratic-leaning independents.
Read more at THE NY POST.
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December 3, 2019 at 4:43 pm
North Korea said on Tuesday that dialogue with the United States had been nothing but a “foolish trick” and warned Washington it could be on the receiving of an unwelcome Christmas gift.
The North Korean regime has given the United States until the end of the year to drop its “hostile policy,” come up with a new approach to talks and offer concessions in return for its decision to end nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in 2018.
But a recent decision by the United States to postpone a joint air drill with South Korea clearly hasn’t satisfied Pyongyang.
Ri Thae Song, vice foreign minister in charge of U.S. affairs, accused Washington of trying to buy time by calling for a “sustained and substantial dialogue,” but he reject...
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December 3, 2019 at 4:39 pm
Previously unreleased video from a botched Israel Defense Forces operation in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip last year was released by Al Jazeera TV on Sunday.
The operation last November led to the death of a senior Israeli intelligence officer in a firefight with Hamas operatives in Gaza, which broke out when his unit’s cover was blown.
According to the Al Jazeera report, 17 soldiers, including two women, entered the coastal enclave in two vehicles under the guise of an extended family.
The report showed fake Palestinian identification papers used by the IDF commando unit, as well as details of the Israelis’ true identities and even their seating arrangements in the vehicles, which were seized by Hamas, Ynet reported.
A recording of the Israeli team after the exchange of fi...
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December 3, 2019 at 4:37 pm
The nine young Iraqi Jewish men hanging in the center of Liberation Square in Baghdad in January 1969 after being accused by the Ba’athist regime of espionage were the subject of great interest that day, as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis came to view their corpses—not only causing a terrific traffic jam in Baghdad, but also sowing deep fear throughout the millennia-old Jewish community there. Seven months later, three more Jews were executed.
The horrific episode was part of the history of the estimated 900,000 Jews born in Iran and the Arab world who were forced to flee their ancient homes during the mid-20th century.
Few Jews remain in Arab countries and Iran; nevertheless, a new effort is underway to set a global day of commemoration to remember the Jewish communities thr...
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December 3, 2019 at 4:31 pm
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 3, 2019 - Maryland state school Superintendent Karen Salmon will not seek a new contract, 11 News has learned.
June 2020 will be the end her four-year contract as state school superintendent.
Salmon was appointed to the role in 2016 after having served as acting deputy state superintendent for school effectiveness.
Salmon spent more than 30 years as an educator on Maryland's Eastern Shore, beginning her career as a special education teacher in the Caroline County Public Schools. She later became a vocational coordinator and an assistant principal in the Caroline schools before moving to Talbot County as coordinator of services for exceptional children. Salmon became assistant superintendent of the Talbot County schools in 1997 and superintendent in 2003.
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December 3, 2019 at 4:28 pm
Stocks fell Tuesday, but closed well off the worst levels of the session, after President Trump said a U.S.-China trade deal may not happen until after the 2020 election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 280 points, clawing back from a 458 point deficit, before finishing lower by 1 percent. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.
"In some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal, but they want to make a deal now and we’ll see whether the deal’s gonna be right -- it's gotta be right," Trump told reporters in London where he is attending a NATO summit, adding that he has "no deadline" to complete an agreement.
He also blasted the European Un...
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December 3, 2019 at 4:21 pm
Remembering the “Miracle Rabbi” of Czenger, Rabbi Asher Anshel Halevi Jungreis זצוק"ל—The Menuchas Asher of Czenger—Yahrtzeit on Tuesday , ה' כסלו
This Tuesday , November 11, marks the 145th Yahrtzeit of the saintly miracle worker, the Menuchas Asher of Czenger. Known in his time throughout Hungary and even across Europe as a tzadik who was imbued with Divine powers, his memory continues to warm hearts in the service of Hashem today. He was particularly known for his segulos and blessings that healed the sick and aided the needy with a touch of the supernatural.
Born in Secze, Hungary in 1806 into a family of rabbinic aristocracy, Reb Asher Anshel quickly earned a name in his own right. He studied for two years under the saintly M...
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December 3, 2019 at 2:29 pm
Jerusalem, Israel - Dec. 3, 2019 - The Fourth Jerusalem Biennale for Contemporary Jewish Art, with For Heaven’s Sake! (LeShem Shamayim) its theme, ran from October 10- November 28. The 2019 Jerusalem Biennale, showcased the work of 200 professional Israeli and international artists in 30 exhibitions and projects exhibited in 14 venues around the city. Artists (Jewish and non-Jewish) from the USA, UK, Europe, Morocco, India, and Argentina participated, alongside artists from Israel.
On Wednesday evening November 27, at Van Leer Institute Jerusalem a special gallery talk was held featuring two of the Biennale's participating artists, Dorit Feldman and Rachel Rotenberg. Their works explored the intersection of contemporary art and the world of Jewish ...
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December 3, 2019 at 1:39 pm
Thirty-seven percent of American adults don't plan to get flu shots this season, according to a poll released Tuesday.
A survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago found those who don't plan to get shots have concerns about the side effects of the vaccine or think it doesn't work very well.
Others said they never get the flu, don't like needles or are concerned they will get the flu from the vaccine.
“Widespread misconceptions exist regarding the safety and efficacy of flu shots," said Caitlin Oppenheimer, senior vice president of Public Health Research at NORC at the University of Chicago.
“Because of the way the flu spreads in a community, failing to get a vaccination not only puts you at risk but also others for whom the cons...
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December 3, 2019 at 1:35 pm
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that Deutsche Bank and Capital One must comply with a congressional subpoena for President Trump, his children and his company's financial records.
The backdrop: Trump filed an appeal in August after a New York district judge declined to block the subpoenas, which were issued by the House Intelligence and Financial Services committees in April as part of an investigation into foreign influence. Deutsche Bank said in a letter in October that while it has some of the records sought by the House, it is not in possession of the president's tax returns.
The big picture: Trump is currently engaged in court battles with both House Democrats and the Manhattan district attorney over subp...
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December 3, 2019 at 1:24 pm
California Sen. Kamala Harris is suspending her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Fox News has learned. The Democratic senator informed her staff of the decision on Tuesday.
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December 3, 2019 at 12:28 pm
Inwood, Long Island -- A Brooklyn man convicted in connection with a 2018 crash on Long Island that killed a newly engaged couple was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years to life in prison.Rahmel Watkins was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide, assault, reckless endangerment and reckless driving in the deaths of 21-year-old Yisroel Levin and his 20-year-old fiance Elisheva Kaplan.Zakiyyah Steward, who along with Watkins was part of a group of cars traveling in the northbound lanes of the Nassau Expressway in Inwood from Far Rockaway to a Queens casino, was sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison.Watkins was driving a 2010 BMW GT recklessly and more than twice the speed limit when his vehicle crossed over the double yellow lines and struck the couple's 2017 Nissan A...
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December 3, 2019 at 12:27 pm
In Bereishis (28:22) the posuk tells us that Yaakov promised Hashem if he will come home peacefully, he will give “aser aasrenu” (will give maaser.)
The gemara in Kesubos (50a) says that a person should not spend more than a chomesh, a fifth, for a mitzvah, hence the double lashon of aser aasrenu. This is brought down lehalacha in Rema, Yoreh Deah (249:1).
Why does the Torah use a double lashon of maaser and not straight out use the language of chomesh? The Shita Mekubetzes in Kesubos (50a) answers that it is better to give the money in a staggered way rather than giving it all at once. It is preferable to give a dollar one...
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December 3, 2019 at 12:20 pm
We all love Shabbos. The day that the world keeps going, but we Jews step off and indulge in acts that bring a special kedushah to the day. There are many aspects of that kedusha including special davening, not engaging in melacha (39 categories of work prohibited on Shabbos), a day when we can spend quality time with our families and that we may not have during a busy week. One of the aspects of keeping Shabbos to keep it holy is to eat 3 festive meals. Aside from these obligatory meals, we know that food itself is a part of Oneg Shabbos (delight). The Rambam states in Hilchos Shabbos 30:10 that eating meat and drinking wine on Shabbos is considered Oneg Shabbos. In the very first chapter of Shulchan Aruch in Hilchos Shabbos the Mishna Brura states &ldq...
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December 3, 2019 at 12:05 pm
It is hard to describe the energy in the air at the Agudah Convention, which took place over the weekend of Shabbos Parashas Toldos in the Crowne Plaza Stamford. The theme of this year’s Convention was “Stories: Yours. Theirs. Ours.” But – to fully tell the story of the Convention; to list all the speakers and topics discussed; to describe the atmosphere at the beautiful Shabbos seudos; to even give justice to the topics discussed in the Yarchei Kallah shiurim, is all but impossible in the space allocated for this article. With no other choice, this will give a summary of the main keynote sessions of the Convention, which took place Thursday night, motzoei Shabbos, and Sunday, and end with a recommendation ...
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December 3, 2019 at 11:44 am
PARIS (AP) — France is threatening a “strong European riposte” if the Trump administration follows through on a proposal to hit French cheese, Champagne, handbags and other products with tariffs – of up to 100%.
The U.S. Trade Representative proposed the tariffs on $2.4 billion in goods Monday in retaliation for a French tax on global tech giants including Google, Amazon and Facebook.
“I’m not in love with those (tech) companies, but they’re our companies,” Trump said Tuesday ahead of a sure-to-be-tense meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in London.
The move is likely to increase trade tensions between the U.S. and Europe. Trump said the European Union should “shape up, otherwise things are going to get very tough.”
...
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December 3, 2019 at 11:42 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Stocks are opening sharply lower on Wall Street after President Donald Trump indicated he was in no hurry to make a trade deal with China.
Technology stocks and banks led the declines. Tech stocks are particularly vulnerable to swings in trade talks because they do so much business in China. Apple sank 2.3%.
Speaking in London where he’s attending a NATO summit, Trump said he had “no deadline” for making a deal, suggesting there may not be an agreement this year, as previously hoped.
The S&P 500 fell 32 points, or 1% to 3,081.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 400 points, or 1.1%, to 27,358. The Nasdaq lost 100 points, or 1.2%, to 8,467.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.76%.
