Chinese hackers have stolen tens of millions of dollars worth of US COVID relief benefits since 2020, the Secret Service said on Monday. The Secret Service declined to provide any additional details but confirmed a report by NBC News that said the Chinese hacking team that is reportedly responsible is known within the security research community as APT41 or Winnti. What is the hacker group APT41? APT41 is a prolific cybercriminal group that had conducted a mix of government-backed cyber intrusions and financially motivated data breaches, according to experts. Several members of the hacking group were indicted in 2019 and 2020 by the US Justice Department for spying on over 100 companies, including software development companies, telecommunications providers, ...
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 5, 2022 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Shulamis and Yosef Leder on the birth of a daughter. Mazel tov to grandparents, Sarah and Louis Leder יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בתם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 1, 2022 - It is with regret that Baltimore Jewish Life (BJL) informs the community of the petira of Sol Mogilensky, z’l, brother of Marsha (Avi) Grant and Judah (Lynne) Mogilensky. The Kevurah will take place in Eretz HaChaim cemetery in Beit Shemesh on Sunday. Shiva will be observed through Shacharis Sunday, Dec. 11 at 1902 Rookwood Rd., Silver Spring, MD, 20910. (Best parking is in the extra parking lot for Sniders’s grocery store.). All visitors should wear masks.Shiva following Shacharis until 12noon; 1:00-6:00p, then from 7:00-9:30p (Friday until 1:00PM)Shacharis: Tues/Wed/Fri: 7:00AM Motzaei Shabbos: Visiting 7Pm-10PMShacharis Thurs: 6:50AM (Sunday: 8:00AM) Mincha/Maariv: 4:30PM  Bila Hamaves Lanetzach...
Dear my brothers and sisters, Jewish people living in America, We have to clear some things up. I have recently been very vocal about antisemitism in America, and I have called for my brothers and sisters in America to come home, to come back to Israel. To say that I received a lot of heat from American Jews is a laughable understatement. They have responded in one of a few ways. Either they’ve said I am overreacting, and antisemitism in America isn’t really that bad. To them I respond, according to the FBI, 60% of all religious hate crimes in America are targeting Jews. Does that sound safe to you? Numbers don’t lie. Another response I get is that Israel is so hard to live in and it’s no better in Israel than it is in America. To them I respond, there has n...
Drivers in Maryland are getting a little relief at the gas pump during the holiday season. Gas prices have fallen in Baltimore by an average of 15.7 cents per gallon in the last week, according to an analysis by GasBuddy. The current cheapest gas station in Baltimore is priced at $2.96 per gallon, while the most expensive is $3.99 per gallon, according to GasBuddy. According to AAA, prices have fallen 34 cents since this time last month and are approaching prices seen last year. At this time last year, the average cost of a gallon of gas in Maryland was $3.34 per gallon. The national average has also fallen to 15.8 cents per gallon in the last week. The head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, Patrick De Haan, is expecting even further price reductions.
Residents of Maryland have an additional 24 months to obtain their REAL IDs, a document that will be necessary to board domestic flights and enter certain federal buildings, after the Department of Homeland Security on Monday extended the enforcement deadline to May 7, 2025. Officials said the extension is needed, in part, because of lingering problems from COVID-19 that caused backlogs in state agencies charged with issuing driver’s licenses. Precautions in many states included automatically extending expiration dates of driver’s licenses and identification cards, and shifting to appointment-only schedules. In Maryland, 88 percent of licensed drivers and identification card holders — about 4.3 million residents — are REAL ID compliant, well above ...
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 4, 2022 - It is with regret that Baltimore Jewish Life (BJL) informs the community of the petira of Shaina Devorah Kuritsky, a’h, daughter of Rabbi Dovid Kuritsky and Mrs. Chana Kuritsky, sister of Chana Esther Kleinman, Yaakov Kuritsky, Chashy Kuritsky, Avrohom Dovid Fried, Yechiel Kuritsky, Zecharia Kuritsky, and Elchonon Kuritsky. Shiva will be observed through Friday afternoon at 3923 Clarinth Road, Baltimore, MD , 21215. Minyanim: Shacharis: 7:00AM Mincha/Maariv: 4:25PM Bila Hamaves Lanetzach...
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 2, 2022 - It is with regret that Baltimore Jewish Life (BJL) informs the community of the petira of Mr. Avraham Dov Wolfish z’l, father of Chaim (Shani) Wolfish.Shiva through Wednesday morning, Dec. 7, is being observed at 3108 Hatton Rd, Baltimore, MD, 21208 Minyanim Monday through Wednesday AM 6:45am Shacharis Mincha/Maariv 4:30pm Bila Hamaves Lanetzach...
A Jewish man and his son were shot at with a BB gun while leaving a kosher supermarket in Staten Island, New York City on Sunday afternoon. The father and his 7-year old son were standing outside the Island Kosher grocery store when they were shot at by a passing Ford Mustang. The incident is being investigated by the NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Face, the New York Daily News reported. The visibly Jewish father and son were outside the store at around 4:20 p.m. when the driver of the Mustang fired several pellets from his gun at them. One of the pellets grazed the boy’s ear and hit the father in the chest. After firing at them, the Mustang fled west. According to police, it did not have any license plates. The two victims received minor injuries and were treated at the ...
The United Torah Judaism party signed a coalition agreement with the Likud Monday morning, Israel Hayom reported, bringing Opposition Leader and Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu closer to completing the formation of a new government. Negotiators for the two sides met for nearly 12 hours overnight in marathon talks to achieve a breakthrough, after negotiations hit an impasse last week. With the new agreement, the Likud has secured the backing of four of its five right-wing allies, leaving only the haredi Shas party to sign an agreement. Earlier Monday morning, the full coalition agreement between the Likud and the Religious Zionist Party was released, showing that MK Bezalel Smotrich will be appointed Interior Minister mid-way through the government’s term, aft...
Senior Israeli and Russian officials have been holding talks in recent days, Kan 11 News reported on Sunday. According to the report, the purpose of the conversations was, among other things, to make sure that Israel would not interfere with the transfer of air defense measures that Russia is taking out of Syrian territory to the Ukrainian area. Reshet Bet radio reported that a Russian official who is close to the Kremlin warned about a week ago that a Russian loss on the battlefield could lead to a wave of antisemitism against Jews. According to the report, the Russian official told an Israeli official, "The fact that Russia is losing the war in Ukraine will cause a search for scapegoats." The same official added that the common denominator between Ukrainian President Vo...
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 5, 2022 - Baltimore Jewish Council’s Legislative Affairs Committee held its annual pre-General Assembly session breakfast meeting this morning. Legislators including Delegates Jon Cardin, Dana Stein, Sandy Rosenberg and Senator Shelly Hettleman were in attendance and rolled out their legislative priorities. Community leaders, BJC Executive Director, Howard Libit, BJC President Elizabeth Green, Agudath Israel’s Rabbi Ariel Sadwin, Community advocate, Nathan Willner and others were in attendance as well.
How do we approach dangerous challenges? In this week's Torah portion, Yaakov Avinu returns to the Land of Israel and readies himself for a meeting with his brother Esav, who is also his enemy. Rashi tells us that Yaakov employs three tactics prior to this meeting: Yaakov prepares to give gifts, prepares to pray, and prepares for battle. Gifts: He sends his brother a prodigious tribute of goats, sheep, camels, cattle, and donkeys in order to appease him. When confronting danger, first of all, we need to assume a pleasant, generous, and optimistic attitude in a wholehearted attempt to make peace. Prayer: Yaakov Avinu knows physical self-exertion and tireless extra effort in this world are important, but not enough. We need to invest ourselves spiritually as well. Not everything ...
Monday, 5 December 2022 / 11 Kislev 5783 - President Isaac Herzog met today with the President of the United Arab Emirates HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at his private home in Abu Dhabi.  At the start of their meeting, the President said: "It is a great honor and pleasure to be here, to be your guest, and to meet with you. The UAE is a major linchpin in the movement towards peace in the region. The Abraham Accords are a national consensus in the State of Israel, for all parties and for all factions of Israeli politics.  "After two years of the Abraham Accords, when we took off so beautifully, now we need to reach cruising altitude, meaning upgrading the relationship even further, strengthening it and bringing more nations on board with the Abraham Accords. Thank you ve...
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 4, 2022 - It is with regret that Baltimore Jewish Life (BJL) informs the community of the petira of Janet Forsythe, a’h, wife of Larry Forsythe, and mother of Lauren Montillo. The levayah will take place at Levinson’s Monday, Dec. 5, 2022 @ 2:30PM Kevurah will be held at Beth El Memorial Psrk  Shiva details to follow. Bila Hamaves Lanetzach...
What does a Mashgiach look for when certifying an event? Let’s listen in to Rabbi Sholey Klein, Kashrus Administrator at Dallas Kosher as he discusses the job of a Mashgiach, with Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger.
Israeli Consul-General in Shanghai Eddie Shapira was held in a medical facility for 10 days, as part of China's zero-COVID policy, he wrote on Facebook over the weekend. Shapira said the "conditions are reminiscent of a prison," and that he experienced "the 10 most bizarre days that I could imagine." The diplomat caught COVID-19 with mild symptoms, he recounted. "The problem is that I caught it in the wrongest place on earth - in China," Shapira wrote. "Here, they take cases of morbidity as seriously as though three years haven't passed and they have not learned anything and are for total separation of anyone exposed to those who are sick. The sick people themselves are put in special hospitals."
Menachem Mendel Attel, a 25-year-old French citizen who serves as a rabbi and Chabad emissary in Grenoble, France, has been barred from leaving Israel for the past three months after being accused of “defection” from the IDF. He was detained when he asked to leave the country at the end of a vacation in August with his wife and daughter. The case was publicized by Kol Barama radio journalist Mendi Rizel. “Left with no choice, the woman and their toddler flew back to their home and community in France, when the woman was in an advanced stage of her high-risk pregnancy,” Rizel reported. According to Rizel, “all his requests to return to his family and receive an exemption were not answered.” About a week ago, according to Rizel, his wife ga...
The White House on Saturday blasted former President Donald Trump, after he suggested on his Truth Social platform that the Constitution be suspended due to what he called the “massive fraud” of the 2020 election. Trump’s posts came after Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, released information about Twitter's role in limiting access to a story about Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden. “So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION?" Trump wrote. "A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all ru...
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