US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that the US would “remain Israel’s closest friend in the world”.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, Austin said that six days after the Hamas attack on October 7, “I flew to Israel to underscore our solidarity and our resolve—and to make it crystal-clear that America’s commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad.”
“And so we have rushed US security assistance to Israel to help it defend its people and its territory—and to help ensure that Hamas can never again commit the atrocities that we saw on October 7th,” he added.
“US leadership has helped in the release of dozens of hostages. And we will continue to do everything that we can to help ...
Baltimore, MD – Nov. 30, 2023 - It is with regret that Baltimore Jewish Life (BJL) informs the community of the petira of Tamar (Weinberg) Brick, a’h, sister of Mrs. Shifra Shteierman.Shiva is being observed at 1139 East 14th Street, Brooklyn NY through Thursday morning, Dec. 7.
Mrs. Shifra Shteierman can be reached at 347-452-9394.Bila Hamaves LaNetzach...
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 2, 2023 -This past Tuesday night, a special session took place at Shearith Israel where Middle School boys had the zechus of enjoying pizza together with HaRav Yaakov Hopfer fostering a greater sense of connection with the Rav.
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 2, 2023 - 8:44PM - Just a few minutes ago, gunshots were reported in the vicinity of 6100 Park Heights. Multiple calls have been made to 911 and Shomrim has also been notified.
A huge rally took place in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, in front of the Kirya IDF base building. This event featured speeches from released hostages who survived Hamas's captivity. These survivors, along with their families, have urgently requested a meeting with the War Cabinet, advocating for the release of all hostages.
Hadas Calderon, whose children Sahar, 16, and Erez, 12, were recently released from captivity, expressed mixed emotions at the rally: "I am overwhelmed with joy and sadness. A miracle happened to me, and I pray the same for everyone else. I'm deeply moved to be here today, knowing that my beloved Ereziko and Saharki are safe at home. Their return has brought light and immense hope into my life. My very own superheroes have endured and made it back."
Calde...
President Isaac Herzog yesterday, Thursday, landed in Dubai and met with President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
At the center of the President’s meeting with the United Arab Emirates President was the necessity to act in any way possible to free the Israeli hostages held captive by the murderous terrorist organization Hamas.
President Herzog emphasized that the release of the hostages was a humanitarian duty for the whole family of nations and leaders of the region in particular, and provided a detailed overview of the current situation. The President appealed to his friend Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to employ his full political weight to promote and speed up the return home of the hostages.
The President of the United Arab ...
The reservists of the 551st Brigade Combat Team completed their task in the area surrounding Jabalya.
During the activity, which began before the operational pause, the soldiers located and destroyed operational tunnel shafts of the Hamas terrorist organization.
One tunnel shaft, located in the courtyard of a school complex, had a depth of dozens of meters. Another operational tunnel shaft was located in the home of an operative from Hamas’ naval force.
The soldiers, in cooperation with special forces, worked to neutralize the underground infrastructure and they secured and isolated the areas to the north of Jabalya.
As part of the activity, the soldiers neutralized terrorists, while cooperating with the IAF and the brigade’s intelligence and fire teams.
In addition, the s...
The US military says it intercepted an Iranian drone “operating in an unsafe and unprofessional manner” in the Persian Gulf.
In a tweet, the US Central Command says planes from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Air Wing, which was dispatched to the region to deter Israel’s adversaries, intercepted the drone during carrier flight operations.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday that a senior officer missing since October 7 was killed that day and his remains are being held by the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
Col. Asaf Hamami, 41, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, was recognized as a “fallen soldier held by a terror group,” the IDF announced. Hamami was from Kiryat Ono.
In the wake of the Hamas onslaught on October 7, in which the terror group killed at least 1,200 people and took some 240 hostages, Hamami was believed to have been kidnapped and was classified as such by the IDF.
No announcement regarding Hamami was made until Saturday, due to security concerns.
In recent days, the IDF has confirmed the deaths of several hostages held by Hamas, due to new intelligence ...
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert warns that if the Israeli government continues to refuse to tell the world what it envisages for Gaza in “the next stage,” after Hamas, it won’t be given time by the US and the international community to complete “this stage,” destroying Hamas.
The bluster and boasting of the current political leadership, “claiming that we have as much time as we need — months, till March, next year — is unfounded,” Olmert tells Channel 12. “We have very limited time.”
What could give Israel “some time and patience from the international community are, first, to make clear that “at end of the military operation, when Hamas is defeated,” Israel will withdraw from Gaza: “We have no op...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterates his position that Hamas is not a terror group and says they must be involved in any solution for Gaza after the war.
“I stand by my position. No matter what anybody says, I cannot accept Hamas is a terror group,” Erdogan tells reporters on his plane, according to Turkish media.
His comments came in response to a question about possible US sanctions that Turkey could face for supporting and funding Hamas.
The Turkish leader also says that Hamas must be involved in any post-war scenario for Gaza, saying the “exclusion and destruction of Hamas is not an option.”
In addition, Erdogan calls on the ICC to punish Israeli officials, whom he calls “the butchers of Gaza.” He singles out Prime Minister Benjamin ...
Wissam Farhat has a long history of orchestrating atrocities against Israelis
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Satuday eliminated Hamas terror mastermind Wissam Farhat, the military spokesman said.
“Farhat planned and sent the terrorists on October 7 to the Nahal Oz kibbutz and nearby army post, where a cruel massacre was carried out,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.
Farhat was the commander of Hamas’s Shejaiya battalion. He took command over the battalion in 2010 and led it during the 2014 Gaza war. He was behind an attack that resulted in the deaths of six IDF soldiers during that conflict.
Among the planners of the October 7th massacre, he directed terrorists from the Nukhba battalion to infiltrate the Nahal Oz Kibbutz and an adjacent I...
Here are two verses from this week’s Parshah - that can give us strength these days. This is how Yakov’s struggle with Esav is described:• And a man wrestled with him until dawn. Before the physical encounter with Esav, a spiritual struggle takes place: a battle at night with a mysterious figure that represents Esav, who forces Yakov our father to face his role in the world. Struggles like that - then and now - force us to go through a poignant internal investigation. We are tested and rebuild, connect to our identity, remembering who we are. In this battle Yakov receives the name that will accompany us to this day.• And he said: "Yakov will no longer be your name because he is Yisrael - because you have served with God and with men and have prevailed.” The myst...
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Saturday, 2 December 2023), at his press conference at the Kirya in Tel Aviv:"Citizens of Israel,This evening we received difficult news. It finally became clear that Col. Asaf Hamami, a hero of Israel, fell in battle on the 7th of October. Asaf was the commander of the Gaza Division Southern Brigade. Two weeks ago I met with his family. We prayed together for a different result, which to my regret, did not materialize. Asaf was a hero for all of us. May his memory be blessed.Citizens of Israel,'Whoever saves one life, it is as if he has saved the entire world.' Last week we rescued many worlds. We returned 110 souls to Israel. We freed 86 Israeli citizens – children, women, young people, mothers and grandmothers, as well as ...
Baltimore, MD – Dec. 1, 2023 - BJL wishes a hearty Mazel Tov to Mr. and Mrs. Yosef Engelsberg on the birth of a son.
Mazel Tov grandparents Rabbi and Mrs. Shaul Engelsberg and Rabbi & Mrs.Tzvi Pollack, and great-grandparents Mrs. Miriam Englesberg and Rabbi & Mrs. Meir Sher
יה"ר שיזכו לגדל בנם לתורה, לחופה, ולמעשים טובים. אמן!
The White House blamed Hamas on Friday for the failure to extend a humanitarian truce in Gaza, saying the Palestinian terrorist group had failed to produce a list of hostages that would have enabled the pause to be extended.
"It's because of Hamas that this pause ended," White House spokesman John Kirby said. "The onus is on Hamas." In a briefing, Kirby also corrected his previous tally of the number of American hostages released by Hamas so far from six to four.
A group of five senators have written to President Biden demanding he implement a travel ban on China due to an alarming spike in an unknown respiratory illness inside the communist nation.
The letter, penned Friday by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; JD Vance, R-Ohio; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.; and Mike Braun, R-Ind., calls for Biden to immediately restrict travel between the U.S. and China until more information is gathered about the dangers posed by the new illness.
China has seen a rise in unexplained childhood pneumonia cases and other respiratory illnesses.
Citing China’s "long history of lying about public health crises," the lawmakers called for swift action to be taken to protect the health of Americans and the economy.
"During the&nbs...
Products and Stores Affected (Expanded and Updated on 11/30/2023)
Recalled whole cantaloupe from the following brands:
Whole fresh cantaloupes with a label on the cantaloupe that says “Malichita” or “Rudy”, “4050”, and “Product of Mexico/produit du Mexique”.
Retailers and wholesalers would have received recalled whole melons from Crown Jewels Produce in boxes labeled “Malichita/Z Farms” or from Sofia Produce doing business as TruFresh in boxes labeled “Malichita” or “Rudy”, or from Pacific Trellis in corrugated cartons with certain lot codes.
Recalled pre-cut cantaloupe and products containing pre-cut cantaloupes (these products are made from recalled whole can...
Dear Friends, This week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer gave a Jewish speech in the Senate. Upon first hearing it, other words came to mind: Epic. Thorough. Thoughtful. Educational. Moving. Personal. But upon reflection, it really was plainly and simply a Jewish speech.
“I have noticed a significant disparity between how Jewish people regard the rise of antisemitism, and how many of my non-Jewish friends regard it. To us, the Jewish people, the rise of antisemitism is a crisis — a five-alarm fire that must be extinguished. For so many other people of goodwill, it is merely a problem, a matter of concern.”
What was Jewish about this speech was the span of its vision, what Minority Leader McConnell described as extraordinary, a Jewish history lesson for the ...
