Bill would make it official US policy to refer to West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza as 'occupied territories' A liberal Jewish lawmaker on Thursday is set to introduce a bill that would make the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict official United States policy, Politico reports. Andy Levin, a Democratic representative from Michigan, will unveil the legislation on Capitol Hill that is adding to an already heated debate about the US approach to the Jewish state that has divided Democrats between the moderate and progressive wings of the party. That divide was clear this week when progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives blocked $1 billion in funding to replenish Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system that was depleted d...
The U.S. Senate aims to vote next week on raising Washington’s borrowing authority and keeping the government funded, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat said on Wednesday, but strong Republican opposition could lead to a historic default on the nation’s debt. Sen. Dick Durbin said the chamber sometime next week would take up the bill passed in a party-line House of Representatives vote. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has said his caucus will sink the emergency legislation to suspend the $28.4 trillion federal debt ceiling. Republicans have said Democrats should act alone to raise the debt ceiling, using a maneuver called “budget reconciliation.” Time is short as funding for federal agencies expires on Oct. 1 and the U.S. Treasury has warned it...
President Biden's Special Envoy for Haiti Ambassador Daniel Foote resigned Thursday, saying he will not take part in the United States’ "inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees," amid a surge in migrants from Haiti across the southern border.  In his resignation letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, first reported by PBS News Thursday, Foote said the Biden administration’s approach to Haiti "remains deeply flawed," and said his recommendations have been "ignored and dismissed."  "With deep disappointment and apologies to those seeking crucial changes, I resign from my position as Special Envoy for Haiti, effective immediately," Foote, a career member of the foreign service, wrote. "I will not be associated with the Un...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced that Dr. Joseph Ladapo would be the state’s new surgeon general and secretary of its health department. “Joe has had a remarkable academic and medical career,” DeSantis, a Republican, said of the Harvard-trained M.D. and Ph.D., according to the Florida news station WJHG7. Ladapo, who is awaiting the approval of the Florida Legislature, says that “we’re done with fear,” according to Real Clear Politics. “That’s something that’s been unfortunately a centerpiece of health policy in the United States ever since the beginning of the pandemic, and it’s over here. Expiration date, it’s done.” Ladapo said that the state will approach...
The number of Americans filing for first-time jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week. The Labor Department said Thursday that 351,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits in the week ended Sept. 18, an increase from the previous week’s upwardly revised 335,000 filings. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting 320,00 new filings.  "Despite the rise, claims are still near a pandemic-era low," said Chris Giamo, head of commercial banking at TD Bank.  Continuing claims for the week ended Sept. 11 jumped to 2.845 million, worse than the 2.65 million that analysts were expecting. The prior week’s reading was revised higher by 49,000 to 2.714 million filings.  The increase in continuing claims came a week after the expiratio...
A recent survey among Palestinians revealed around 78 percent want Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, to leave office. The poll was conducted by Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Survey and Policy Research, and asked 1,270 Palestinians throughout the West Bank and Gaza for their input. “This is the highest number we have seen calling for Abbas’s resignation since Abbas’s election,” Shikaki said, reported in The Times of Israel.
Here are a few words from Rabbi Professor Jonathan Sacks about the sukkah and about us:"The festival of Sukkot takes us back to the most elemental roots of our being: We are made keenly aware that we do not have to live in a palace to be surrounded by clouds of glory. It is precisely into our simple sukkah that the fathers of the nation enter as guests. On this festival, a little hut is revealed to be far more beautiful and meaningful than a luxurious home because it reminds us that we are only temporary residents in God's world. Joy, the overwhelming theme of the festival, is what we feel when we are reminded that it is a privilege simply to be alive, to breathe in the intoxicating beauty of this moment amidst the profusion of nature, and to connect to all of our brothers, to our his...
'A hate crime is a crime against all of us,' LA district attorney says in announcing charges Two men have been booked on hate crime and assault charges for an incident in May during Israel's conflict with Gaza when a group of Jewish diners in Los Angeles were subjected to antisemitic abuse before a fight broke out. Xavier Pabon, 31, and Samer Jayylusi, 36, were charged with one count each of assault with a hate crime enhancement, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. The two defendants allegedly participated in the brawl on May 18 outside of a sushi restaurant in the western section of the city when a caravan of cars waving Palestinian flags stopped near diners. People exited the vehicles and began throwing bott...
Baltimore, MD – Sept. 23, 2021 – Due to the petira of Mrs. Sylvia Hirsch, a’h, mother-in-law of Ronnie Rosenbluth and grandmother of Baruch Rosenbluth, Tov Pizza will be closed today, Thursday, and will reopen on Friday.
Jerusalem, Israel - Sept. 23, 2021 - In Yerushalayim, the large Birkat Cohanim at the Kotel with Israeli Chief Rabbis, for the first time on Sukkot was organized to be held twice, first on September 22, and again on September 23, 2021.  Last year for Pesach there was also a second service, due to the corona limitations to avoid the regular huge crowds of hundreds of thousands crowding into the Old City. The numbers allowed to attend were drastically reduced.  On the second day of Sukkot 5782, the first day of Chol Hamoed in Israel, the crowd was smaller than previous years before pandemic restrictions. Medical units were in place for emergencies as usual. But added were security units in purple vests positioned to hand out masks to those who did not have them before...
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 22, 2021  - Simchas Beis HaShoeiva at Baltimore's Machzikei Torah                                                            
Baltimore, MD - Sept. 20, 2021 - Due to the COVID-19 uptick, the Hatzalah Monoclonal Antibody infusion center is open again with 24/7 service.  With the expansion of the FDA protocols, most people who test positive or who are exposed and not yet positive will qualify for treatment.  Early treatment is essential for best outcome.  Call HOB MAB line 24/7 including shabbos and YT at 410-585-0054 option 2 for more info or visit BJLCovid for more information or to register.
The U.S. moved a step closer Wednesday to offering booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to senior citizens and others at high risk from the virus as the Food and Drug Administration signed off on the targeted use of extra shots. The FDA authorized booster doses for Americans who are 65 and older, younger adults with underlying health conditions and those in jobs that put them at high risk for COVID-19. The ruling represents a drastically scaled back version of the Biden administration’s sweeping plan to give third doses to nearly all American adults to shore up their protection amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. However, more regulatory hurdles lie ahead before the dispensing of boosters can begin. Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Pr...
Police on Wednesday arrested a Palestinian suspect over an apparent hit-and-run near the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Michmash, during which an Israeli woman was moderately wounded. According to the victim, the car passed her on the road between Ma’ale Michmash and Neve Erez, turned back, and then accelerated toward her. After she was hit, the driver fled from the scene. She was taken to hospital, and only reported the incident to the police some two hours later. Police located the vehicle at the Palestinian town of al-Eizariya near Jerusalem, and took the Palestinian man in for questioning. An organization representing local security officers claimed the ramming was an intentional terror attack, but police officials did not confirm it as such.
Former President Donald Trump filed suit against his niece, the New York Times, and three of its journalists over reporting based on private tax records alleging he engaged in “dubious” tax scheming and fraud. Trump’s complaint accuses his niece Mary Trump and reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow, and Russell Buettner of participating in the “insidious plot” to gain and “exploit” his tax information and seeks damages of no less than $100 million. The lawsuit, filed in a New York state court, takes particular aim at an October 2018 article by Barstow, Craig, and Buettner headlined “Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father,” one of a host of stories the paper ran on Trump’s tax...
Those recovered in last 3 months no longer required to prove negative PCR test prior to arrival Israelis who recently recovered from Covid-19 are now exempt from a requirement to take a test for the virus before flying back to the country, a government committee ruled.  The decision approved exempting those who have recovered from Covid in the past three months from a required PCR test before departing for Israel. The ruling was enacted and went into effect immediately. This measure was adopted by the Exemptions Committee, a group headed by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Health Ministry, and the Population and Immigration Authority in Israel. During a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, a sample is taken from a nasal swab and sent to a laboratory for analysis. This techniqu...
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett faced criticism from Caredi  opposition MKs for scheduling his flight home from New York after the UN General Assembly when Simhat Torah is over in Israel but continues for American Jews. The first religiously observant prime minister, Bennett also caused an uproar two weeks ago when he traveled on Shabbat to police headquarters to oversee efforts to find the six terrorists who had escaped from prison. As he did when he was defense minister, Bennett uses a special dispensation of pikuah nefesh to work on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush said that when Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, was abroad dealing with matters of state, he would always make a point of walking instead of driving on...
Abdullah II calls for Palestinian state on 1967 lines in pre-recorded video message to UN General Assembly In a pre-recorded speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Jordan's King Abdullah II said on Wednesday that fighting between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups based in Gaza last May underscored that "the current situation is simply unsustainable." "General security for both sides, indeed for the whole world, can only be ensured by a two-state solution," he said. He called for the creation of a Palestinian state established on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Jordanian king also called for continued support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Abdullah II widened the scope ...
Mild cases of COVID-19 among vaccinated individuals are becoming increasingly common as the highly contagious delta variant barrels through communities, but physicians and public health experts say that shouldn’t be a cause for significant concern. A breakthrough case of COVID-19 occurs when a person contracts COVID-19 at least two full weeks after the final dose of the vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks only breakthrough cases that result in hospitalization or death, as these incidences are both serious and very rare. COVID-19 cases are up to five times more common in unvaccinated individuals compared with the vaccinated, according to the CDC. But state-level data shows that milder breakthrough cases that do not result in hospitalization are on the ...
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