When Japanese centenarian Chitetsu Watanabe was born in 1907, Japan’s average life expectancy hovered around 40 years; more than a century later, that has more than doubled. Watanabe lived three decades beyond that. He died in his native Niigata in northern Japan on Sunday at 112, the Associated Press reports. Less than two weeks before his death, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Watanabe as the “World’s Oldest Man” at 112 years and 344 days old. At the Feb. 12 ceremony at which he was presented with a certificate from Guinness that read “the world’s number one,” Watanabe reportedly “clenched his fist in triumph,” according to The Mainchi, Japan’s nationally circulated newspaper. At the Guinness ceremony at the nurs...
A Feb. 21 op-ed in The Forward that alleges Jewish day schools encourage dual loyalty to Israel is “shocking,” according to Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. The op-ed’s anonymous author states that during their time working at six Jewish day schools in New York City, they saw these schools adorned with Israeli flags and heard the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah,” sung more frequently than “The Star Spangled Banner.” The students, the author claims, were being taught that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “our prime minister.” “Are we really to blame non-Jewish staff if they leave campuses thinking that American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the United States?” the wr...
Former Democratic presidential candidate and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio reacts to former Mayor Bloomberg’s controversial comments about stop-and-frisk, weighs in on the current 2020 Democratic field.
NEW YORK (AP) – Fear of the spreading coronavirus has led to a global run on sales of face masks despite medical experts’ advice that most people who aren’t sick don’t need to wear them. Many businesses are sold out, while others are limiting how many a customer can buy. Amazon is policing its site, trying to make sure sellers don’t gouge panicked buyers. In South Korea, hundreds lined up to buy masks from a discount store. Rumors that toilet paper and napkins could be used as masks have emptied store shelves in Asia of paper goods over the past few weeks. Both ordinary people trying to protect themselves from the outbreak and medical professionals are facing shortages. well. Some industry officials are attributing the shortages not just to high demand but...
Baltimore, MD  —While state authorities believe a possible coronavirus outbreak is a low-level risk, it's not stopping concerns from spreading from travelers to local businesses to even schools. Some travelers at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport are heeding the governor's warnings and taking precautions as the administration is taking steps to stop the possible spread of the coronavirus. "These are the kinds of things people should start planning for right now," Hogan said. "A month ago, at my direction, our administration initiated actions for the preparation and mobilization of all necessary resources in order to address the coronavirus." Precautions that are now geared toward local businesses, schools and airports like the BW...
'Settlements are illegal, settlements in E1 will cut contiguity,' European Union rep says. European Union (EU) High Representative Josep Borrell on Friday responded to Israel's plan to authorize the construction of 3,500 housing units in the E1 area of Samaria. "The Israeli authorities have announced construction plans for new building units in Area E1, located east of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank. This follows Israel’s announcement last week on the decision for settlement constructions in Giv’at Hamatos and Har Homa neighborhoods south of Jerusalem. Tenders for Giv’at Hamatos have been published this week," Borrell's statement read. "Settlement construction in these areas will cut the geographic and territorial contiguity betwe...
Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services sent more than a dozen workers to receive the first Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, without proper training for infection control or appropriate protective gear, according to a whistleblower complaint. The workers did not show symptoms of infection and were not tested for the virus, according to lawyers for the whistleblower, who is a senior HHS official based in Washington who oversees workers at the Administration for Children and Families, a unit within HHS. The whistleblower is seeking federal protection because she alleges she was unfairly and improperly reassigned after raising concerns about the safety of these workers to HHS officials, including those within the office of He...
The expansive universe is simply a physical expression of all that is embodied in the spiritual Mishkan. The Mishkan and all its elevated meaning and significance is merely a pale reflection of the powerful soul that is embodied in that remarkable entity called Man. (Zohar) The various natural elements employed in the construction of the Mishkan symbolized the profound intellectual strengths, emotional expressiveness, and character traits that comprise man, the essence of all creation in its magnificence. There was one item utilized in the fashioning of this microcosm that was associated with joy. Atop the Mishkan lay a multi-colored hide stripped from a mysterious creature known as the Tachash. We are taught that this ‘beast’ only existed, לשעה, at that time. Rashi enli...
The $150 three-course menu will be available during AIPAC's annual conference in DC Kosher dining options are few and far between in the Washington area. But for three days, the Trump hotel will be converting one of its banquet rooms into a fine-dining, certified-kosher restaurant offering a prix-fixe menu for $150 per person. The pop-up coincides with the annual conference for American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) from March 1 to 3, which brings 20,000 attendees to the convention center. The makeshift restaurant, located in the hotel’s Franklin Study, will offer a three-course menu from 6 to 10:30 PM. To start: a choice of salad or soup (wild mushroom or potato-leek). Main course options include Moroccan-style Cornish hen with green olives, pan-seared halibut, ri...
It’s important to keep things fresh.  After all, repetition and familiarity can lead to taking things for granted.  That’s why I thought it might be a good idea this year to shake things up a bit.  For starters, while there has been an expansion into “Green” in recent years, most Esrogim are still yellow.  The Torah actually never identifies an Esrog as the fruit which we are supposed to take on Succos, Rather, it says “Pri Eitz Hadar” (Emor 23:40)  So I’m thinking an Esrog – be it yellow or green, is way too flashy anyway. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to use a fruit with a more conservative appearance?  A date or a fig would do nicely.  Indeed, they are less loud in color and at least they are amon...
JERSEY CITY (VINnews) — It has been a long two months since the deadly shooting in Jersey City that claimed the lives of 4 people, including 2 Jews and a police officer. While the loss is still keenly felt, the Jersey City community has shown resilience in their determination to rebuild. As reported by VINnews, the JC Kosher Supermarket has just reopened in a new location. A few weeks after the shooting, the Jewish school located next to the JC Kosher Supermarket took the time to write a letter to President Trump to thank him for his support and assistance during their most difficult time of need. Just a few weeks later they received a letter back from the president. See both letters below.
[Ed. Note] Out of the respect and recognition of the impact made by longtime BJL friend and contributor, Reb Shaya Gross, z’l, we will maintain a living memoriam to Shaya through the sweet words and thoughtful insights of  his Divrei Torah. BJL readers will remember his weekly column on the Parsha and on various Torah ideas and concepts. These meaningful words will help us remember this special young man who will be sorely missed and for those who did not merit to know him, this will be the most appropriate way for them to become familiar with who he was. Parshas Terumah describes the various vessels that were used in the service of the Mishkan [Tabernacle]. One of them was the Menorah. The Gemara in Menachos tells us that Moshe had difficulty understanding how ...
Baltimore, MD – Feb. 2020 - Every Shabbos table offers every Jewish family an incredible opportunity by which they can share their joy for Shabbos, for Yiddishkeit and for HaShem with their children. Unfortunately, our schedules are hectic and many people don’t have the time to prepare themselves to utilize the Shabbos table to its fullest. Therefore, we at ACHIM created TableTalk as a pre-packaged talking points pamphlet which is attractive, fun and has something for everyone. Limited copies are distributed to many shuls on a weekly basis but they are snatched up very quickly. Get yours ASAP or click on the graphic below and print your own.What’s in it and what’s all the excitement about?TableTalk features:•    Weekly halachic dilemma creating l...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that 33 people in California have tested positive for coronavirus, with officials monitoring more than 8,400 people for the virus. Newsom said during a press conference that five people who tested positive have since moved out of the state as officials deal with the spreading virus. One of those people is from an unknown source, raising the concern that the virus is spreading among the general public for the first time in the U.S. “We knew this was inevitable,” Newsom said. Read more at The Hill.
El CEO Gonen Usishkin has asked the carrier's VP human resources to draw up a plan for layoffs as the coronavirus wreaks havoc with the airline industry. El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) CEO Gonen Usishkin has ordered the company's VPs to prepare an immediate plan for laying off 1,000 of the company's 6,300 employees. Usishkin sent a letter to El Al's VP human resources and the head of the planning department asking for such a plan, to include employees from all sectors of the company: both tenured and temporary workers. El Al earlier reported to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that damage from the coronavirus epidemic was liable to total $70 million in lost revenue in January-April. A 7.5% plummet in its share price today drove El Al's market cap do...
Two more Marylanders have met U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria to be tested for the novel coronavirus, Gov. Larry Hogan said Wednesday. Both patients had recently returned from China. Health officials are evaluating a third possible case. Hogan said $10 million in funding for response to a potential outbreak is part of a supplemental budget request to be submitted to lawmakers. "I want to assure Marylanders that our state is taking every precaution when it comes to the coronavirus because our highest priority is keeping our residents safe," Hogan said. "While we are hoping for the best, we are also actively planning for the worse/" In a news conference held at the Maryland Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Reisterstown, Hogan said he spoke Thursday afte...
A Jewish former law student at City University of New York told The Algemeiner this week about what she described as antisemitic and anti-Zionist harassment she faced due to her pro-Israel activism, which caused her to ultimately leave the school, saying that “no one helped me, no one came to my defense.” Rafaella Gunz — a journalist focusing on LGBT and feminist issues — was studying at the CUNY School of Law when she became a target of pro-Palestinian groups, particularly Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), as a result of her criticism of their attitudes toward Jews and Israel. Last month, she published an article in The Jewish Journal, titled “Campus Antisemitism Made Me a Zionist,” that detailed her struggle, saying that her Jew...
PARIS (AP) — Powerful wind in Paris sent a tree crashing down onto a car near the Eiffel Tower on Thursday, killing the driver. The man driving the car on the picturesque embankment of the Seine River was the only person hurt when the tree fell, fire department spokesman Florian Lointier told The Associated Press. He was declared dead moments after medics arrived. Police barricaded the area, in front of the Quai Branly Museum, as emergency workers spent hours trying to clear away debris. The Paris fire brigade said sudden gusts of wind and rain pummeling the French capital caused more than 100 storm-related accidents. In the Paris suburb of Montrouge, five people were injured when a brick balcony collapsed, Lointier said. Elsewhere winds knocked down power lines and damaged roofs...
WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the nation’s largest labor unions is unveiling plans to invest $150 million in a nationwide campaign to help defeat President Donald Trump, a sweeping effort focused on eight battleground states and voters of color who typically don’t vote. The investment marks the largest voter engagement and turnout operation in the history of the Service Employees International Union, which claims nearly 2 million members. The scope of the campaign, which quietly launched last month and will run through November’s general election, reflects the urgency of what union president Mary Kay Henry calls “a make-or-break” moment for working people in America under Trump’s leadership. “He’s systematically unwinding and attacking uni...
More articles