New York State Senator Anna Kaplan called out the City University of New York (CUNY) faculty union for adopting a resolution condemning Israel, saying she stood with 50 professors who resigned from the body in protest. "The blatantly anti-Semitic resolution passed by the CUNY-PSC last month has left Jewish professors at CUNY facing the difficult decision of whether or not to continue being a member of an organization that has chosen to be openly hostile to their very existence,” Kaplan said. The June 10 resolution by the Professional Staff Congress (CUNY-PSC) accused Israel of “apartheid” and “condemns the massacre of Palestinians by the Israeli state.” It alleged that Israel was “established as a settler colonial state in 1948” and th...
To boost rollout, President Isaac Herzog will become the first over-60 Israeli to receive the third jab On Sunday, Israel will start offering a third dose of Covid-19 vaccinations to people aged over 60, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Thursday in a televised statement. Those eligible will be able to get the booster shot as long as they received their second dose more than five months ago. To boost rollout, Israel's President Isaac Herzog will become the first over-60 Israeli to receive the third vaccine jab, Bennett announced.   Israel's Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said that the country "made a clear strategic choice to keep the economy open."  “Lockdowns, unemployment, ruined businesses and compromised mental health all carry heavy ...
A preliminary report on the Pfizer vaccine indicates that its effectiveness at preventing infections -96% at its highest, some two months after the second dose - can fall by more than ten percent by the six-month mark. The study found a decline of roughly six percent per month, meaning that it could be less than 50% effective within two years. The report emphasizes that these findings are strictly regarding the levels of infection; serious symptoms and hospitalization are still reduced by over 90% even well after the vaccine. According to MSN, the manufacturers claim that a third "booster" shot of the vaccine would provide significantly increased protection, including against the new and more virulent Delta strain; antibody levels in those 18 to 55 after a booster shot were fou...
Man walking his dog in Midtown area was shoved into fence by passerby who yelled anti-Israel invective at him after he fell to the ground. According to B’nai Brith Canada, Sam Brody, who was wearing a kippah, was walking his dog in the Midtown area of Toronto. A man passing by in the opposite direction accosted Brody, pushing him into a wooden fence. He was knocked to the ground. The man yelled: {expletive deleted} you’ll never take Israel, free Palestine!” “Unfortunately, in this day and age there is a big problem with anti-Semitism and I experienced it firsthand this morning,” said Brody in a video he posted to Facebook. “I’m incredibly shook up from this incident. The reason I’m making this video is to show those who aren’t aware ...
Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo is escalating his attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci, telling National Review that the top NIH official should be removed from his post for refusing to acknowledge that the U.S. was funding dangerous virology research in China — and for continuing to defend such funding despite the events of the past year. During several tense exchanges with Senator Rand Paul, Fauci has argued that the research being conducted in Wuhan with American dollars does not qualify as “gain-of-function,” though previously published papers by Chinese scientists credit the U.S. with funding experiments designed to make bat coronaviruses more contagious, which fits the NIH’s own previously published definition of gain-of-function research. ...
Chesed Chesed
This week’s parshah discusses the mitzvah of bentching birchas hamazone after eating bread (8:10). Interestingly, we learn out the mitzvah of making all brachos before and after food, from here. The Sefer HaChinuch (mitzvah 430) points out that everyone is constantly looking for segulos for parnassah. People look high and low for a good one & are open to doing anything that may work. However, states the Sefer HaChinuch, nobody has to look further than the mitzvah of bentching. “Whoever is careful with bentching, his food will always be readily available to him and in an honorable fashion”. The Mishnah Berura (siman 165 s”k 1) quotes this Sefer HaChinuch as well and reiterates that bentching with kavanah is a tremendous segulah for parnassah*. Why is bentching,...
In the aftermath of the deadly Champlain Towers building collapse in Surfside, Florida, the Young Israel of Bal Harbour (YIBH) sprang into action and launched a comprehensive relief effort. In collaboration with an array of local rabbis and community leaders from The Shul, Skylake Synagogue, The Cadena Organization, Boca Raton Chabad, The Shul of Harbour Islands, Rabbi Citron’s Surfside Minyan and The Sunny Isles Chabad, and by working closely with organizations such as Surfside Community Center, The Kosher Food Bank, Yedidim, Reef Tech, World Resources, Food Rescue, FEMA and the Red Cross, the YIBH transformed its garage into a supply depot station with systems to receive inventory and distribute supplies at a moment’s notice depending on the need. Through the Young Israel ...
Baltimore, MD - July 29, 2021 - 4:39 PM - National Weather Service tornado warning in this area until 5:00 PM EDT take shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building if you are outdoors in a mobile home or in a vehicle move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris   
A tornado watch is in effect for 9 Maryland jurisdictions; the National Weather Service posted a severe thunderstorm watch for 11 counties. Nine jurisdictions in Maryland are under a tornado watch Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado watch is in effect until 9 p.m. Thursday, July 29 Officials noted these areas of interest during the watch: Aberdeen, Annapolis, Arnold, Ballenger Creek, Baltimore, Bel Air, Catonsville, Columbia, Dundalk, Edgewood, Eldersburg, Elkton, Ellicott City, Essex, Fallston, Frederick, Glen Burnie, Hagerstown, Havre de Grace, Joppatowne, Odenton, Parkville, Pikesville, Randallstown, Severn, Severna Park, South Gate, Towson and Westminster. Due to the chance of severe weather, Baltimore's Office of Emergency Management...
As the country reopens following more than a year of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, people are ready to hit the road… for a good cause. On Thursday, July 29, a record 600 cyclists will ride close to 60,000 miles to support children with serious illnesses as part of Bike4Chai. Now in its 12th year, the annual cycling event raises funds for Chai Lifeline, the international children’s health support network which provides social, practical, and financial assistance to children with life-threatening and lifelong illnesses and their families. 
Thunderstorms may be severe across Maryland Thursday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters say the storms could bring damaging winds and large hail through Thursday night. Tornadoes, flash flooding and lightning may also be in store between 2 p.m. and midnight, according to the National Weather Service. "Isolated tornadoes are possible this afternoon and this evening," the National Weather Service said in a hazardous weather outlook for much of the state. "Additionally, isolated occurrences of flash flooding are also possible." Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's and St. Mary's counties and Baltimore City are included in the hazardous weather outlook, which...
Baltimore, MD - July 29, 2021 -  How much wood does a woodchuck actually chuck? Find out the actual answer by tuning in to this week's Torah Sparks podcast. We learn a fascinating life lesson from woodchucks as well as from Steve Jobs and his epic story with the second yellow "o" in Google. And yes, all of this connects with the everlasting message of "Ekev". Click here to listen to the Torah Sparks Podcast powered by: TYA of Baltimore Check out the new Torah Sparks website at www.torahsparks.com Submit your inspirational spark by going to the Got Sparks tab in the website.
The founders of Ben & Jerry’s are defending their company’s decision to put the freeze on selling ice cream in the West Bank, calling it "the Occupied Palestinian Territory." Although Bennett Cohen and Jerry Greenfield no longer have control of their namesake company — British food giant Unilever owns it — they backed its decision on Thursday, despite the fact it has drawn fury from Israelis and New Yorkers alike. "We are the founders of Ben & Jerry’s. We are also proud Jews. It’s part of who we are and how we’ve identified ourselves for our whole lives," the founders wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times Thursday. "As our company began to expand internationally, Israel was one of our first overseas markets. We were then, and remain to...
A banner in a Connecticut town comparing the Democratic Party to the Nazis featuring swastikas has been denounced by local Democratic leaders, reported Fox 61. Leaders with Southbury’s Board of Selectmen, the town’s executive body, slammed the sign, which was put up Saturday at Playhouse Corner, an area popular for political rallies. The sign was captioned “The new logo for the Democratic Party” and featured two donkeys, the party’s symbol, with swastikas on them. The sign read: “Socialism/anti-America, anti-Jews/Israel, anti-2nd Amendment, pro-eugenics/pro-hate. Modern day Nazi Party.” A photo of the sign was posted to Twitter by Connecticut Dems. The sign was later removed from Playhouse Corner. "The Southbury Republicans’ us...
Following Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's instruction to supervise the implementation of the coronavirus laws and mask-wearing on public transportation, Israel's Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli (Labor) on Thursday came to an agreement with the Finance Ministry's Budget Department on the issue of funding for coronavirus supervisors. As part of the agreement, budgetary approval will be passed for the Transportation Ministry to hire 400 supervisors for public transportation. These supervisors will enforce the coronavirus laws, as they did during the previous waves of the pandemic. During the first stage, the budget will be approved for three months. It will be renewed on an as-needed basis, in accordance with future evaluations of the situation. Earlier this ...
Kidney exchange part of wider organ donor program established after Abraham Accords Israel and the United Arab Emirates this week participated in a three-way kidney swap in the first such medical exchange with an Arab state. Israeli Shani Markowitz, 39, underwent surgery on Wednesday at Tel Hashomer-Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan to remove her kidney. The organ was then flown to Abu Dhabi to be donated to the mother of a woman there who had her kidney removed and flown to Israel for a woman at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. The husband of the Rambam patient was set to give a kidney to Markowitz’s mother, via surgery at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. “This is very exciting. It’s the first time we have conducted such a process between Israel and an Arab stat...
Positive test rate up to 2.35% as outbreak fueled by delta variant continues into late July Israel on Thursday recorded 2,165 new daily COVID-19 infections as the total number of active coronavirus patients ticked above the 15,000 mark, according to Health Ministry data. A total of 159 patients were listed in serious or critical condition as of Thursday morning, with 33 critical and 26 on respirators. The positive test rate continued to steadily increase, standing at 2.35 percent out of 92,710 coronavirus tests administered on Wednesday. The outbreak that started in late June after the introduction into the country of the highly transmissible delta variant is continuing into late July, forcing the government to reimpose some restrictions despite more than 5.3 million people in Israel...
We read the farewell speech of Moshe Rabbeinu at the height of summer's heat. When millions of children are at home, the Torah portion of Eikev offers a few golden rules for life that are especially appropriate for summer vacation.* "You shall not bring an abomination into your home." Everything is available today; good and evil.  But not every kind of garbage needs to gain entry into our living rooms, into our digital devices, and into our hearts. How difficult but essential it is to filter, to supervise, to say "no."* "Because HaShem your God is bringing you to a good land . . . a land of wheat and barley and grapevines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey." For thousands of years, Jews read these words while looking out of windows in Yemen or Russia. T...
 Students, staff and visitors to Baltimore County Public Schools will be expected to mask up this fall. The board of education of Baltimore County will be holding a special meeting Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. to discuss universal masking and what it means for the district. The current federal order for masks to be worn on school buses will be upheld within BCPS. Charles Herndon, spokesperson for Baltimore County Public Schools, told Patch that with an Aug. 30 return to the classroom, officials will continue to monitor recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with those from local and state health partners. "Keep in mind that this pandemic is one where we've had to do a lot of twists and turns, sometimes daily, sometimes hourly. Considering the fa...
Israelis will be required to present vaccination certificate to participate in certain events The Israeli Health Ministry's "Green Passport" project, which was approved last week, went into effect Thursday morning. The measure provides that any citizen over 12 years old must present a vaccination certificate in order to take part in events welcoming 100 or more people in a closed space. This primarily concerns sporting events, hotels, tourist attractions, conference and prayer rooms, sports halls, concerts, plays, and restaurants and bars accommodating more than 100 people. Unvaccinated adults who have not been infected will be required to test negative to participate in these gatherings. The green passport was in effect for several months, before being abolished at t...
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