|
April 7, 2020 at 4:45 pm
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 7, 2020:
Dear Baltimore Community,We are living through very difficult times right now. Times like these present the opportunity to remind us that we should love one-another, and there is no room for hate. Unfortunately, there are those in the minority who use difficult times as an excuse to express their hatred. We have come across a photograph of a Maryland resident driving around with a hate-filled, anti-semitic sign. This has startled many of us who have seen it and reminded us, on Erev Pesach, that there is hate out there.
Upon coming across this photograph, I immediately brought it to the attention of the Maryland State Police, and they are taking it very seriously. I have already received a follow-up from them advising me that ...
|
April 7, 2020 at 4:30 pm
As schools lie empty, students still have to learn. But officials in New York City say schools are not permitted to use Zoom for remote teaching, citing security concerns with the video conferencing service.
“Providing a safe and secure remote learning experience for our students is essential, and upon further review of security concerns, schools should move away from using Zoom as soon as possible,” said Danielle Filson, a spokesperson for the New York City Dept. of Education. “There are many new components to remote learning, and we are making real-time decisions in the best interest of our staff and students.”
Instead, the city’s Dept. of Education is transitioning schools to Microsoft Teams, which the spokesperson said has the “same...
|
April 7, 2020 at 4:23 pm
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 7, 2020 - The Bikur Cholim Hospitality Rooms are open, stocked and ready for Pesach.
Sinai, Hopkins, University of MD and GBMC.
Bikur Cholim would like to thank the dedicated volunteers as well as many hospital employees who have spent hours of shopping and days of preparing and Kashering under strict sanitary rules to make this happen!!
We wish all of Baltimore a Chag Kosher V’Sameach and may klal Yisroel have health and Refuah!
May we only need these rooms for simchos!
Rabbi Pinchos RabinowitzExecutive Director. Bikur Cholim of Baltimore
|
April 7, 2020 at 4:20 pm
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 7, 2020 - Maryland's attorney general is warning the public to beware of scams and fraud related to coronavirus relief.
The federal government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act on March 27. The act aims to provide financial relief to individuals and businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Key provisions of the act include direct payments to some individuals, based on income, extended unemployment benefits, small business relief, no-cost testing for coronavirus, among other things.
The attorney general is warning of potential scams and fraud schemes aimed at taking advantage of people unfamiliar with how the benefits work.
"Scammers are hard at work trying to come up with ways to steal your personal information ...
|
April 7, 2020 at 4:13 pm
Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young said Tuesday the COVID-19 call center announced last week is coming online.
Calls are being routed to the center from 211. The center, formed as a public-private partnership between the city and area health providers, will have a number of its own by Friday.
Officials also announced plans for triage lines to have residents sickened with the coronavirus stay home rather than go to a hospital.
"We cannot stress this enough," Young said. "Avoiding hospitals and health care centers whenever possible can save lives."
The triage line will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Patients can stay home if they don't have pre-existing conditions, severe symptoms, good vital signs and can walk. They would receive daily follow-up calls.
Fire Chief Niles Ford s...
|
April 7, 2020 at 4:10 pm
Gov. Larry Hogan on Tuesday announced strike teams to support nursing homes struck by COVID-19 and penalties for essential businesses that are not adhering to social distancing.
Hogan spoke after a second tour of the field hospital at the Baltimore Convention Center, which will house up to 250 COVID-19 patients who no longer require hospitalization but still need care.
More than 4,300 Marylanders have tested positive for the disease and 103 have died.
Hogan said he has been "sounding the alarm" with federal officials about the region's needs. Maryland is home to more than 145,000 federal employees and a number of federal agencies and installations, including Fort Meade, Fort Detrick and the Social Security Administration.
"This virus continues to spread in very jurisdiction in our...
|
April 7, 2020 at 3:58 pm
Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly has offered to resign, a U.S. official told Fox News on Tuesday, one day after Modly apologized for suggesting the ousted commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt was "too naïve or too stupid" over his handling of the ship's coronavirus outbreak.
"Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Cozier is naive nor stupid," Modly had said. "I think, and always believed him to be the opposite. We pick our carrier commanding officers with great care. Captain Crozier is smart and passionate."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Caif., called on Modly to be removed from his post, saying in a statement that he showed “a serious lack of the sound judgment and strong leadership” in firing Crozier.
"Acting Secretary Modly’s actions and w...
|
April 7, 2020 at 3:55 pm
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 6, 2020 - As part of an initiative within their General Studies program, Mesivta Kesser Torah of Baltimore, in consultation with Machon Menoras Hachochmah: The Institute for Toras Based Curricula, is proud to present the community with a published collection of essays on the Haggadah Shel Pesach.
When MKT had to close the physical doors of its building three weeks ago, it was decided to have its students work remotely on a series of assignments that would teach them how to write a dvar Torah in the style of a persuasive essay. Using a variety of vital language arts and writing skills, students exceeded all expectations and compiled a beautifully designed booklet titled “קונטרס וחי בהם על הגדה של פסח”. This project, spea...
|
April 7, 2020 at 3:05 pm
Health Ministry orders citizens to wear facial masks outdoors.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel rose to 9,248 on Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported. The death toll from the virus rose to 65.
149 patients are hospitalized in serious condition and 117 are on ventilators. 770 patients have recovered from the virus.
Led by Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Defense tonight (Tuesday) signed an agreement with the company BGI to provide equipment and materials to carry at least 10,000 more coronavirus tests a day.
The devices will be placed in 6 laboratories of the health funds over the next few weeks and will be added to the lab activities that already exist in the health system.
Earlier, the Director General of the Ministry of...
|
April 7, 2020 at 3:02 pm
The Coronavirus pandemic has introduced new phrases to our vocabularies. “Flatten the curve,” “social distancing,” “exponential curve.” The basic idea behind the precautions is simple math: A person with the virus infects three people on average. If the world would continue moving freely about, those three would each infect three people, and so on. Repeat this for, let’s say, ten times and there would be 59,049 people sickened by the strength of that first individual. Exponential growth. To combat that scenario, the consensus is to stay home, limit the virus’ mobility, and keep the numbers down for as long as possible so the medical system is not overwhelmed with an onslaught of sick people. The unintended side-effect, however, is...
|
April 7, 2020 at 3:00 pm
Israel’s national airline El Al affirmed in a statement on Monday that the Israeli Finance Ministry had rejected its request for a $350 million loan to help it through the coronavirus pandemic, and said it was appealing the decision to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Israeli media reports, at a Sunday meeting between El Al, the CEO of Israel’s Discount Bank and the Finance Ministry, ministry representatives said that they do not believe it is not financially feasible for the airline to repay such a loan.
El Al said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that it has now turned to the Israeli government for assistance, and that “state support in the near term is essential to allow the company to cope with the consequences of the coronavirus ...
|
April 7, 2020 at 2:33 pm
OHEL Partners in Resilience is pleased to present a Pre-Pesach Concert with Aryeh Kunstler.
Connect with OHEL individuals and get ready for Pesach!
April 7th
5:00 pm
Zoom Meeting Id: 521 539 257
|
April 7, 2020 at 2:29 pm
As we bask in the afterglow of our Sedarim, where we retold the story of Yitzias Mitzrayim and we prepare for the last days of Pesach, when we mark Kriyas Yam Suf, it is easy to lose sight of the tumultuous days which occurred between these two amazing events. B’nei Yisroel leave Mitzrayim behind in the distance, only to realize that the Mitzrim have had a change of heart again and were in hot pursuit. Of course, we would assume that having just witnessed the Maccos and the Multiple Nissim that Hashem had done for them, that Bnei Yisroel would not be afraid – surely Hashem would protect them and punish the Mitzrim again. Yet, they were afraid, they were “very” afraid. The Torah tells us that they saw Mitzrayim chasing after them and the...
|
April 7, 2020 at 1:49 pm
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore city council introduced a bill requiring the city’s commissioner to report patients’ races and zip codes in order to address potential disparities in the city’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Baltimore City Council President Brandon Scott told The Baltimore Sun that the information is necessary to ensure resources are directed to communities that need them since the city remains highly segregated and life expectancy tends to vary by a person’s neighborhood.
Scott and the city’s council members join dozens of Maryland lawmakers that have requested a racial breakdown of coronavirus patients in recent days. Maryland State Del. Nick Mosby, a Democrat who is running to replace Scott as Baltimore City Coun...
|
April 7, 2020 at 1:49 pm
We cannot put paralyzing panic over practical precautions.
|
April 7, 2020 at 1:49 pm
The arguments for a prolonged national lockdown are starting to sound strained.
|
April 7, 2020 at 1:48 pm
The US State Department on Monday sanctioned a violent Russian neo-Nazi group as a terrorist organization — marking the first time that a white supremacist group has been designated in this manner.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and counterterrorism coordinator Nathan Sales announced the move against the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) and its leaders at a virtual press briefing.
As well as forbidding American citizens from interacting with RIM and freezing any assets the group has in the US, the move also placed sanctions on three of the group’s leaders — Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, Denis Valliullovich Gariev and Nikolay Nikolayevich Trushchalov.
“These designations are unprecedented,” Sales told the briefing. “This is the first time the Unit...
|
April 7, 2020 at 1:09 pm
Senator Ted Cruz, R-TX, weighs in on Joe Biden’s gaffes and the media’s portrayal of COVID-19.
|
April 7, 2020 at 12:59 pm
Baltimore, MD - Apr. 7, 2020 - A few photos from the Novominsker Rebbe's visits to Baltimore
The Baltimore contingent meeting with the Novominsker Rebbe, ZTL, at the Agudah convention
