The enormous door at the entrance to the main synagogue in the central German city of Halle that withstood the neo-Nazi gunman who attempted to massacre worshipers on Yom Kippur this year is to be turned into a symbolic art object, the head of the Jewish community announced on Friday. More than 50 people were attending services on Oct. 9 to mark Judaism’s holiest day when the gunman — Stephan Balliet — tried to break into the building, in an attack that was livestreamed on the internet. Foiled by the heavy security door to the synagogue, Balliet subsequently murdered a 40-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man who were in the vicinity of the building. The transformation of the door into an art work was announced by the head of Halle’s Jewish community, Max Privoroz...
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ordered flags across the state to be flown at half-mast for a full week beginning on Friday, Dec. 13, in “recognition and mourning of the passing of the victims in Jersey City.” Jersey City Police Det. Joseph Seals was killed in the line of duty on Dec. 10 at the start of an afternoon of terror in the city. His two attackers then drove to the JC Kosher Supermarket in the Greenville section of the city. There, they killed two Chassidic Jews—store owner Leah Mindel Ferencz, 33, and customer Moshe Deutsch, 24—and Miguel Rodriguez, 49, a store employee who is being remembered as a hero for helping a customer escape out the back when the attack began. Ferencz’s husband, Moshe Dovid Ferencz, had left the store just moments before the a...
Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said on Friday that despite the results of Thursday election, challenges in combating bigotry and hatred in the United Kingdom continue. “The elections may be over, but concerns about the resurgence of anti-Semitism remain,” Mirvis said in a statement. “Islamophobia, racism and other forms of prejudice continue to afflict our communities and, as has been well publicized, even our political parties,” he said. “It is vital that we now bring the country together, ensuring that the voices of people from across our society are heard and respected. We must focus on our shared values and leave all hatred and prejudice far behind us,” Mirvis added. Read more at i24NEWS.
Airbnb has removed over 60 accounts belonging to individuals identified as neo-Nazis, the Daily Mail reported. The neo-Nazis were indentified during a data dump of the online neo-Nazi group “Iron March.” In a statement to the Daily Mail, Airbnb said banning Iron March members was “a no-brainer” because “anyone sympathetic to neo-Nazi ideology and violent extremism has absolutely no place.” “When we see people on our platform pursuing behavior antithetical to our Community Commitment, we take action to prioritize the safety of our community,” the spokesperson added. “Through our trust and safety systems, we are continuously seeking to proactively identify those who could put our hosts and guests at risk.” Read more at Arut...
 Beverly Hills police are investigating vandalism of Nessah Synagogue on Saturday morning after an employee arrived at the place of worship at 7 a.m. to discover an open door, overturned furniture and damage to several relics. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime but report that there is no evidence to suggest that the attack was anti-Semitic in nature. The synagogue’s main scrolls were locked up and undamaged. Damage inside the synagogue was “ugly,” according to one witness who had conversations with people who saw the damage first hand, and will require extensive cleanup. A place of worship for the Persian Jewish community in Southern California, the Nessah Synagogue occupies a respected place in Los Angeles’ Iranian community. It ...
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J., met with President Trump on Friday to discuss going across party lines and joining the Republican Party -- this after he has spent months criticizing fellow Democrats for their push to impeach Trump. A source confirmed to Fox News on Saturday that Van Drew met with Trump to discuss switching parties. Another source told Fox News that Van Drew may be seeking a Rose Garden ceremony if he were to switch. Van Drew is one of two Democrats who opposed the resolution codifying the impeachment probe. In addition, Van Drew indicated last week he would not support impeachment and thought impeachment would backfire on Democrats. The Washington Post first reported that Trump had personally urged Van Drew to jump ship and that ...
Usama al-Mazini, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, said that Hamas will not hesitate to force new rules if the "siege" on Gaza is not lifted. Though there is no siege on Gaza, Israel must for its own safety ensure that no weapons are brought into the terror-controlled enclave. Defying Israel's precautions, Gazan terrorists use fuel intended for cooking and heating to create explosive and incendiary balloons to send into Israel, as well as to create firebombs to throw at IDF soldiers and bases. At a central Gaza event marking 32 years from the beginning of the First Intifada, Mazini said that Hamas will never back down from its principles and that its firm stance in the wars with Israel have ensured the failure of attempts to harm the "Palestinian fight." Mazini a...
ORANGE, N.J. (AP) — Federal authorities have recovered a van that may be connected to the Jersey City shootings that killed four people and are now being investigated as domestic terrorism, the FBI said Saturday. The white van recovered Saturday morning in Orange, New Jersey, about 11 miles (17 kilometers) northwest of Jersey City, is being examined for any evidence related to the attack, the FBI said in a news release. A man and woman killed a police officer near a cemetery, three people in a kosher supermarket and then died in an hourslong gun battle with police Tuesday, authorities say. It was not clear how the van may be linked to the attack, and authorities did not release further details. Police in Ramapo, New York, close to New Jersey’s northern border, had earlier sa...
Starbucks has issued an apology after two uniformed county deputies in California were reportedly denied service Thursday night. The incident happened at a store location in Riverside, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department confirmed in a tweet Friday night. “We are aware of the ‘cop with no coffee’ incident that occurred in Riverside on 12/12/19, involving our @RSO deputies,” the tweet read. “We are in communication w/ Starbucks Corporate addressing the issue of deputies being denied service.” Sheriff Chad Bianco retweeted the statement writing: “Two of our deputies were refused service at Starbucks. The anti-police culture repeatedly displayed by Starbucks employees must end.” Starbucks confirmed that the l...
CNN sided with President Trump this week, agreeing in a fact check that two House Democrats, both from Texas, had misquoted the president's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky during a House Judiciary Committee impeachment markup session. In a Twitter message Thursday, Trump wrote that Reps. Veronica Escobar, who represents El Paso, and Sheila Jackson Lee, who represents Houston, “purposely misquoted my call.” “I said I want you to do us (our Country!) a favor, not me a favor. They know that but decided to LIE in order to make a fraudulent point! Very sad,” the president wrote. In the declassified transcript of the call, Trump tells Zelensky, “I would like you to do us a favor thoug...
Federal prosecutors on Tuesday recommended that former deputy Trump campaign chairman Rick Gates serve no prison time, citing his “extraordinary assistance” in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, according to a new court filing. Prosecutors did not oppose Gates’s request for probation, which could be conditioned on what the government said is his continuing cooperation in several matters that it did not make public. Gates and his longtime boss, Paul Manafort, were the first individuals publicly charged by Mueller in October 2017 as the special counsel sought to learn whether any Americans conspired with Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election. Manafort served as one of Donald Trump’s campaign chairmen in the 2016 race. Gates, 47, p...
New report says Israeli Mossad helped foil several terror attacks in Denmark, Keshet 12 reported. Nir Dvori, the site's army and security journalist, on Saturday night reported that the ones helping Danish police and intelligence services foil a long list of terror attacks was the Israeli Mossad. The terror attacks were planned out, but were foiled at the last moment by the Mossad, which was aiding its counterparts to end the threat of terror in Europe. In the operation, which was conducted in the past few days, Danish police and intelligence services arrested 21 terror activists in Copenhagen and several other cities around the country. These terror activists were caught in secret apartments prior to being able to carry out a wave of terror attacks.
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 13, 2019 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Dovi and Yonina Frenkel on the birth of a daughter. Mazel Tov grandparents Shimon & Tzirel Zylberminc יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בתם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 13, 2019 - 3 years ago today a Maryland State Police trooper walked into our house and told my father and I that my brother was killed in a car accident and my mother was fighting for her life at Medstar Washington Hospital. At that moment our lives changed forever. Of course it changed because our son/brother was just killed and we were "that" close to losing our mother, but it changed when we literally saw the entire world crying, praying and storming the gates of heaven for our mother and our family. We saw and still see the things that people do to make sure we are all ok. From what I understand, this accident, for whatever reason, touched so many people and changed so many people. So here I am exactly 3 years after I begged you all to pray for my mot...
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 12, 2019 - Sometimes, there are things in front of you that are so routine and normal that you forget to appreciate them. Yesterday, Dec. 11, I was reminded of how special our community is and how incredibly lucky we are to be part of this extraordinary group that is the Orthodox Jewish Community of Baltimore. At the invitation of Rabbi Ariel Sadwin, Executive Director of Agudath Israel of Maryland, representatives of nearly every single school and community service organization gathered at TA for a brief “meet and greet” to welcome and introduce themselves to Maryland’s newly elected Speaker of the House, Del. Adrienne Jones. Each representative was given less than one minute to introduce their organization and its mission in order to show Speaker Jo...
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 12, 2019 - My heart breaks for the four victims — Leah Minda Ferencz, Miguel Douglas Rodriguez, Moshe Deutsch and Det. Joseph Seals — who were killed during an attack on a kosher grocery store in Jersey City, N.J., Tuesday. Out of an abundance of caution, I worked in partnership with the Pikesville police precinct and Councilman Isaac Yitzy Schleifer to have police camera towers placed at the two kosher markets in Pikesville — Market Maven Baltimore and Seven Mile Market — to monitor for any suspicious activity and to ensure the safety of the employees and customers of both stores. No person should have to fear for their life at the grocery store, school, work, place of worship or anywhere in between. I want to thank the Baltimore County Police...
This is updated as of Dec. 13, 2019Yoshon season has officially started. Many people get confused about what the terms Yoshonand Chodosh are. Here we present a brief explanation of each, followed by some product information. For the STAR-K Yoshon Quick Reference Guide click here For a Yoshon/Pas Yisroel List of Local Establishments, click here The Torah (Vayikra 23:14) states that the new(i.e., Chodosh) crop of the five grains may not be eaten until after the second day of Passover (i.e., in Israel; in the Diaspora, not until after the thirdday). This means that the grain harvested this summer would not be allowed until after Passover of next year (i.e., 2020/5780). The term Yoshon (literally, old) refers to crops harvested last summer that became permitted after...
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A famous Belgian carnival was removed from the U.N.’s cultural heritage list on Friday following complaints that last year’s edition contained blatant displays of anti-Semitism. The Aalst carnival was taken off UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list during a meeting in Colombia’s capital city, becoming the first cultural tradition stricken from the U.N.’s global inventory of cultural practices. The carnival was criticized by anti-discrimination groups after this year’s edition included a float depicting Jews with sidecurls and oversized noses atop piles of money. A document filed by UNESCO’s committee for the safeguarding of cultural heritage said the event violates the organization’s principles. The Aalst...
As President Donald Trump faced a critical vote on his impeachment Thursday, his top political advisers said the process had already begun to reap benefits for his reelection campaign. “This lit up our base, lit up the people that are supporters of the president. They’re frustrated, they’re upset, and that motivates voters,” campaign manager Brad Parscale told reporters during a briefing Thursday. “They have ignited a flame underneath them.” Parscale – who prefaced his remarks by saying he did not believe Trump deserved to be impeached – said that “every metric” he tracks, from fundraising to voter sentiment to volunteer recruitment, shows a political benefit for the president. “That has put money in our bank, it has adde...
Israel Friday hailed the election defeat of Britain's Labour Party as a "milestone in the fight against hatred" after its leadership was accused of inaction against anti-Semitism in its ranks. "I congratulate British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the UK Conservative Party on a decisive victory," Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said. "This is not just a political victory, it is first and foremost a victory of values." "The specter of anti-Semitism loomed large over this campaign, and the British public overwhelmingly voted against it, in what is, in our opinion, a testament to British history and values." "It serves as an important milestone in the fight against hatred." A veteran left-winger, first elected to parliament in 1983, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has long been dogged b...
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