Save Shanghai

Jpost: Survivors from among the 30,000 European Jews who found a haven in Shanghai from Nazi persecution are calling for their old refugee district to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "The Tilanqiao Area, our second hometown, has special significance for the survival of European Jewish refugees," states the proposal, signed on Thursday by about 120 former refugees and their descendants gathered in the city for a reunion. Parts of the text were reprinted in local newspapers on Friday. Shanghai was an open city in the 1930s under mixed Chinese and colonial governance, making it one of the last places to which European Jews could flee without a visa. Almost all departed after the end of World War II and the 1949 establishment of communist rule in China. Seeking to celebrate the city's unique contribution and attract tourists, Shanghai has recognized a 28 hectare (69-acre) former Jewish district in Tilanqiao, north of the city center, and raised a monument there to the now-extinct community. However, a spokesman for the Hongkou district government that includes the area said it had no plans to formally apply for UNESCO status. "Applying is a suggestion raised by our Jewish friends. We consider it as a good idea and we don't deny there may be a possibility to do so in the future," said the spokesman, speaking on routine condition of anonymity. While most UNESCO World Heritage Sites are hundreds of years old or older, the organization in 1979 granted that status on another key reminder of the Holocaust, the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. Shanghai in recent years has seen thousands of historic buildings fall to the wrecking ball as the city seeks to reclaim its status as an East Asian commercial center....

R' Moshe Shmuel Shapiro ***Niftar***

Yeshivaworld regrets to announce the passing of Horav Hagoen R' Moshe Shmuel Shapiro at the age of 88. [He was the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Be'er Yaakov.] The Levaya will I"H take place at 9:00 am at his Yeshiva in Bnei Brak; at 11:00 am from Bais Knesses Lederman (Rechov Rashbam / The Steiplers Shul), and from there to the Ponivez Cemetery. Boruch Dayan Emmes.....

Hillary visits Satmar brothers

NYPost: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton walking the line between two Satmar Hasidic factions yesterday as she paid her condolences to the family of Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum. "He was just an extraordinary person in every respect," Clinton said of Teitelbaum after visiting one of his former homes, now used by eldest son Aron. Earlier, Clinton had visited Moses Teitelbaum's last home, at Bedford Avenue and Ross Street, where Aaron's brother Zalman - who is vying for the Satmar leadership - now lives..........

Jewish Press building - Sold

BP: A developer has bought the Jewish Press building, an eyesore along Third Avenue, with hopes of turning it and adjacent properties he already owns into a village of mid-sized buildings and an esplanade along the still-filthy Gowanus Canal.This is actually an area where residential development should be encouraged. One block to the east is Fourth Avenue — the celebrated gateway to Park Slope — which is being transformed from a row of ugly car-repair shops and taxi parking lots into a real neighborhood. “Gowanus Village” development should be applauded if only because it will jumpstart long-failed city efforts to clean up the putrid corpse of water. Community activists and environmentalists will, in the future, fight City Hall with a powerful ally alongside them: the developer and the people who have invested in his apartments.This is not to say that the developer, Shaya Boymelgreen, should be given a free pass. The Brooklyn Papers has certainly quibbled with Boymelgreen before, and he will need to answer plenty of hard questions before being awarded a zoning variance to build housing on his newly acquired properties. But with proper public review, his vision of a canal zone that bridges Park Slope and Carroll Gardens could be a good one.The downside of the kind of frenetic real estate activity we’ve been witnessing is that people who have formed the texture of our communities are sometimes priced out. Creative efforts, including subsidies for affordable housing, must be made so that Park Slope’s prized diversity, even quirkiness, is maintained. If Boymelgreen participates in this effort, his Gowanus Village will be a project Brooklyn can cheer.

Satmar - Shabbos Update

NY1: The dueling sons of the late Satmar Hasidic leader managed to keep their battle at bay for the Sabbath, holding separate services in Brooklyn. Younger brother Zalman Teitelbaum held his service at the main Satmar synagogue in Williamsburg. His older brother, Aaron, lead a tent service at a baseball field just blocks away. Thousands of followers attended both services. Both sides say their leader is the true heir, though a rabbinical court named Zalman the successor to his father. "Rabbi Aaron is not accepting it,” said Zalman Teitelbaum’s spokesperson Martin Kaham. “By coming down, busing people from Upstate, you don't become a grand rabbi. You can call yourself a grand rabbi, we wish you very well with whatever you do, but this doesn't make, doesn't do anything." "It's just short-term. Everybody knows our rabbi, you'll see, he's actually going to be here a lot and he's going to lead the congregation here," said a support of Aaron Teitelbaum. Senator Hillary Clinton paid a Shiva call to the homes of both brothers Friday, visiting with Satmar followers and remembering Moses Teitelbaum......

Aron Titelbaum to "Feer Tish" in Willy

Since when is it permitted to specificly tell news reporters that they can take photographs on Shabbos? THIS IS CHILLUL SHABBOS. Politicker: WHO: Satmar community members from around the world WHAT: Attend Shabbos worship services led by Grand Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum WHEN: Friday, April 28 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 29 at 9:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. WHERE: Lee Avenue corner Taylor Street in Williamsburg (Look for the Huge - approx. 20,000 sq. ft. -Tent) SPECIAL NOTE: Please be respectful of the religious observances and practices. "Stills" and "Prints" Only. Contact if any question. Thank you. Grand Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum will lead many thousands of followers from around the world gathering under a huge tent (approximately 20,000 square feet) erected on Lee Avenue corner Taylor Street in Williamsburg for Shabbos (the Jewish Sabbath) starting this evening. Worship services will commence tonight (Friday, April 28) at 8:00 p.m., on Saturday morning (April 29) at 9:30 a.m. and Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. Grand Rabbi Aron, the oldest son of Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum obm, arrived in Williamsburg, Wednesday (April 26) and, as the new Grand Rabbi, plans to reside there. Grand Rabbi Aaron's highly skilled qualifications and credentials as a speaker and charismatic person and as a dean and a rabbi who served Satmar in many positions for so many years make him well-qualified to serve as Grand Rabbi. Grand Rabbi Aron presided as rabbi of Siget in Williamsburg until 1982, when he was promoted Chief Dean of Satmar College in Kiryas Joel; after three years he was promoted to be Rabbi of the (village) Shtetel Kiryas Joel where he has since lived. In 1999 the Satmar Congregation's lawful board selected him as Rabbi for the entire Satmar congregations and institutions around the world. that same lawful board selected Aron as Grand Rabbi. [Note: this is a copy of an email which was sent out to news reporters by Aron's PR Staff.]

Lakewood - Taxes goes higher?

APP: A tax revaluation and a series of tax appeals make it difficult to put this year's municipal budget in context. Still, nine days after the Board of Education spending plan was trounced at the polls, the Township Committee Thursday unveiled its 2006 municipal budget. A public hearing will be held next month. "We are having a tax increase," Mayor Meir Lichtenstein said before the meeting. "It's really hard to figure out."......Yehuda Shain, a Forest Avenue resident, said individuals will pay more under the new budget, a disturbing trend of rising taxes over the past two years. "It's definitely going to go up," Shain said. Township Manager Frank Edwards introduced the budget by announcing that it would spend $59,967,650. Lichtenstein said the tax levy is about $31 million. Edwards also said the tax rate is expected to be 41.2 cents per $100 of assessed property value. On a house assessed at $291,617, the township average, that would be a municipal tax bill of $1,201. The low rate is deceiving, though. Lakewood underwent a property revaluation last year. The township's ratable base jumped from $2.9 billion to $7.5 billion, according to tax records. The revaluation makes year-to-year tax comparisons difficult. "Are we going to spend more than last year?" Lichtenstein asked prior to the meeting. "Yes. But is it more taxes than last year? We don't know. We have to wait for everything to shake out." The lack of solid budget information is believed to be one reason the $108 million school budget was defeated by voters. Residents, however, do not get to vote on the municipal budget. They can speak at a public hearing on the budget, scheduled for May 25. The budget will likely be adopted that night.....Committeeman Robert W. Singer voted against the budget, although he did not say why. Lichtenstein cautioned residents not to get too upset at the budget until more details are resolved before the May 25 public hearing. Right now, he said, there are still questions about taxes he can't answer.

Comparing terrorists to Jews

TheAge: A group of accused terrorists will be able to pray in a special room during their court hearing in Melbourne.Thirteen Victorian men have been charged with various terrorism related offences as part of the two-year counter-terrorism investigation Operation Pendennis.Magistrate Paul Smith said he was sensitive to the fact that Muslim prayer times would fall during the committal hearing, scheduled for June. "I am mindful that at least one of the prayer times will fall during the court sitting hours," he said."I think that we have got to look at providing a room, that if the defendants wish to pray they can."This is not the first time defendants have been allowed to pray during court proceedings.Defence counsel Gerard Mullaly said orthodox Jews appearing in the County Court had been allowed to pray during proceedings. "I accept that the community understands that this is nothing special being provided to these men (the accused terrorists)."One of the accused, Bassam Raad, 24, of Brunswick, is charged with being a member of and providing funds and support to a terrorist organisation between July 2004 and November 2005........

Shas goes Kadima

Jpost: Shas and United Torah Judaism will not sign a coalition agreement with Kadima until next week, Kadima officials said Friday morning. Shas had seemed poised Thursday evening to immediately join the Kadima-led coalition. The new delay was caused by disagreement on what Shas chairman Eli Yishai's position would be in a future government. While Shas wants him to be Minister of Transportation, Industry and Employment as well as the managerial appointee for the Israeli Lands portfolio, Kadima said that they would give Yishai either the Transportation or Construction portfolios, but not managerial responsibility for the ministries. Shas had obtained a list of demands that included a reversal of cuts in child benefits, the Industry, Trade and Labor and Communications portfolios and control of religious services. Eli Yishai reached a tentative agreement with Ovad Yehezkiel, a member of Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's negotiating team which was presented to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef early Thursday evening. Yishai was slated to meet with Olmert late Thursday evening to finalize the agreement. A Shas spokesman said that Kadima agreed to stop future cuts of NIS 600 million to child benefits through 2009, and reverse about NIS 500m. in cuts already made. United Torah Judaism, which is still far from a coalition agreement, attacked Shas for caving in on civil marriages. "Eli Yishai [Shas Chairman] will be a pariah among both Lithuanian and Hassidic communities for destroying the status quo," said a source close to Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the preeminent spiritual leader of Lithuanian haredi Jewry represented in the Knesset by Degel Hatorah, one of two factions that make up UTJ. UTJ Chairman MK Yitzhak Litzman said that the Gerer Rebbe, Rabbi Ya'acov Aryeh Alter, the senior leader of Agudat Yisrael, the second faction making up UTJ, rejected outright entering any government with coalition guidelines that call for civil marriage. However, a Shas spokesman said his party would demand the approval of Rabbi Shlomo Amar before signing any civil marriage legislation.........

Rabbi arrested in Israel

Arutzsheva: Officials at the “Od Yoself Chai” yeshiva in Yitzhar said Rav Yitzhak Shapira was arrested at the entrance to Ariel early Friday morning and held for questioning for almost two hours, according to Yesha News. Rav Shapira is on the rabbinical board of the yeshiva. The arrest apparently came in the wake of articles written by Shapira. Yeshiva officials said they were deeply disturbed by the arrest which they claimed was carried out without a warrant as required by law....

Hate crime education

ROL: An education program for teenagers who vandalized an Orthodox Jewish bungalow colony has paid off.In September, Dominick DePrizio, Anthony Wingert and Raymond Surerus broke into the synagogue at White Rock, an Orthodox Jewish bungalow colony on Southwoods Drive. They spray-painted swastikas and Hitler's name on furnishings. They blotted out the faces of rabbis on old photos. Over the summer, their friend, Daniel Price, sprayed fire extinguishers around the grounds.All four teenagers were charged initially with hate crimes, which meant they faced mandatory prison sentences of at least 3½ years.District Attorney Steve Lungen hit upon the idea of sending the kids through a religious education program. White Rock's owners and the defense lawyers agreed, and Judge Frank LaBuda approved the program."I told them, if you want to get them out of (the hate crime), this is what they have to do," Lungen said. "You've sometimes got to try something a little different, a little novel."Three of the Monticello teenagers - Wingert and Surerus, both 18, and Price, 17 - took a week-long seminar with lectures and readings, led by a Sullivan County Community College professor. They met with a rabbi. They learned why swastikas are so repugnant to the Jewish people. They learned about persecution, and Hitler, and about how the Holocaust came to pass.Mark Sherman, Wingert's lawyer, said his client appreciates.......

Video of Pataki & Aron Titlebaum

This is a video of NY State Governor Pataki and other NYS politicians paying a Shiva call to Rabbi Aron Tietlebaum in Kiryas Joel NY. The person who took this video is CLEARLY a strong supporter of "Aron for Rebbe 2006".

Satmar Fire extinguisher commercial

ENJOY!

Aroni's vs Zali's

This is a video of Aron's gang who stormed the Rodney Street Shul this past Simchas Torah. Their point? To try and sieze the Shul away from Zalman Leib's crew. Will we be seeing some more of this violence this coming Shabbos?

Knesset becomes Un-pure

Jpost: First, Jews of the priestly class were instructed to veer left after a cave housing centuries-old ancient graves was uncovered underneath the city's main north-south road. Next, work on Jerusalem's Museum of Tolerance was abruptly stopped after an ancient Muslim cemetery was found on the site, and Islamic leaders petitioned the High Court of Justice against the construction. Now, the discovery of Second Temple period graves during a three-year expansion project at the Knesset has set off a ruckus among religious Kohanim MKs concerned with violating ancient Jewish law......After consulting with religious authorities, it was decided to build the new NIS 200 million complex around the burial cave and not on top of it in order not to desecrate the site. But then Shas MK Yitzhak Cohen - one of at least six parliamentarians who are cohenim - pointed out that the windows of the new building complex looked out on the burial cave, which, he averred, would contaminate the building every time someone opened a window due to the wind....In the meantime, the Knesset windows in the newly- built wing will be sealed to prevent any exposure to the impure winds from the adjacent burial cave.....

Way to support your family?

Totally Jewish: Community leaders this week stressed that a ‘rabbi’ in the UK who lives with seven so-called ‘wives’ had nothing to do with ‘contemporary Jewish custom and practice’. Philip Sharp’s extraordinary lifestyle was splashed all over the media in recent days as a BBC TV documentary exposed his bizarre family set-up. The 45-year-old who was once a DJ on the Jewish party circuit and who is variously described as a ‘rabbi’ and a ‘former rabbi’, claimed: “Six years ago I had an incredible visitation of God who began to speak to me in a way he’d never spoken to me before. I began to see things I knew hadn’t been seen for centuries. He added: “God would give me revelations and would talk to me about my role in the restoration of the true nation of Israel as a prophet.”Among the instructions Sharp was given was that he should live like a biblical king, taking several wives “This is about true biblical covenant”, he said, “and it’s very, very beautiful.”And while he didn’t sport a kippah, the programme showed Sharp wearing tsitsit, making Kiddush, blowing the shofar and quoting from the Torah. The various women in his life, meanwhile, who have names like Chava and Hannah, kept their hair covered and wore Stars of David around their necks. And though the documentary talks of Sharp preaching at synagogues and of his wives, who have distinctly Jewish names, ‘embracing Judaism’, it only mentions briefly that he was actually a ‘messianic rabbi’. According to the narrator: “He met his wives when they joined his congregation in Hove. When he became a king, the community were outraged and status as rabbi was revoked. ”Expressing their concern over the depiction of Sharp’s lifestyle, the Board of Deptuies issued a statement in which they said: “As far as The Board is aware Philip Sharp has no recognised rabbinical training or ordination, and therefore no right to be called rabbi. His lifestyle, with multiple female partners, is inconsistent with contemporary Jewish custom and practice. ”The British Jewish Community does not regard messianic groups, such as Jews for Jesus, and Sharp’s Shema Israel congregation as Jewish. They play no part in organised Jewish life in this country. Readers of the various articles should not mistakenly believe that the practices and lifestyle described are part of the Jewish religion.”

London Anti-semitism

IR: A Rabbi has slammed yobs who taunted residents heading to a synagogue, saying that the Jewish community will overcome the tormentors.Aryeh Sufrin spoke out after an Orthodox jew was subjected to racial abuse from a group of youngsters as he walked to the Chabad Centre, Gants Hill.Police will patrol the area on the Eastern Avenue at key times, but Rabbi Sufrin said while the incidents are serious, the Jewish community are rising above them.He said: "All incidents like this are a cause for concern, but we don't want to be scaremongers."If we continue to pursue the good relations that we have with the council, race relations board and police, then we can beat these people."We're fortunate to have peace and harmony here, but it may take some more work in schools for example, to make sure children have a better understanding of different faiths."

Satmar Shabbos Showdown

Dailynews: The Satmar religious community was on the brink of civil war yesterday as two sons of the late Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum staked claim to the spiritual leadership of the sect. The dispute was headed for a showdown at sundown tomorrow when followers of both brothers plan to flock to Brooklyn to celebrate the Sabbath in the streets of Williamsburg. Aron Teitelbaum, eldest son of the grand rebbe, claimed to have support of 75% of the 120,000 Satmar followers, including sect leaders from Israel, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. "A ceremony proclaiming Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum's appointment will be held in the coming weeks in Williamsburg, Brooklyn," said a statement from Aron Teitelbaum's congregation in Kiryas Joel, But on Tuesday, a rabbinical court deemed Zalmen the new grand rebbe in accordance with his father's will. Zalmen, appointed by his father to head the Williamsburg flock, accepted the mantle. With both brothers claiming to be the top rabbi, tension could reach a boiling point tomorrow when Satmar members begin to celebrate the Sabbath. The sides have battled physically before - most recently early Tuesday when fisticuffs erupted at the grand rebbe's funeral. Rabbi Moshe Indig, a Satmar community leader and follower of Aron Teitlebaum, said members of congregations from around the world are expected to "celebrate the first Shabbos with the new grand rebbe." Indig said a tent will be erected on Lee Ave. in Williamsburg for the celebration. He said the rabbinical court that selected Zalmen as grand rebbe is bogus, and the grand rebbe's will is "baloney." "We think it's false because there are other wills that he is suggesting to the board that we should accept his son Aron Tietlebaum," Indig said. But Zalmen Teitlebaum's spokesman, Bob Liff, said "the late grand rebbe could not have been clearer." "His intention was to have his son Zalmen as leader of the worldwide Satmar Hasidim," Liff said.....

Ethiopian Jews controversy

Haaretz: Religious courts are refusing to approve the conversions of young Ethiopians who want to enroll in secular education facilities. Last week a group of some 40 students who were registered for Jezreel Valley College were told they would not be converted because Shabbat is not observed at the dorms they would be living in. Absorption officials say the courts' policy is extremely offensive to these immigrants, who cannot obtain Israeli citizenship until they have conversion certificates. Haaretz has data showing that out of 181 young Ethiopians who have completed preparatory conversion courses since 2005, only one has received a conversion certificate....... Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar previously ruled that Ethiopian immigrants are "complete Jews, without any doubt," but noted that they need to undergo a process of "returning to Judaism.........

Swastika on Holocaust memorial

JTA: A Holocaust memorial in Odessa was smeared with black paint, large swastikas and an anti-Semitic slogan. The incident took place on the night of April 19-20. Local law enforcement agencies are investigating the case. Acts of anti-Semitic vandalism have been occurring in southern Ukraine almost every month for the past year, local Jews said. Rabbi Avraham Wolf, chief rabbi of Odessa and southern Ukraine, blamed authorities for not doing enough to stop the activity of anti-Semitic and xenophobic groups. According to Wolf, the Jewish community “is outraged and alarmed” by the most recent incident and was demanding a serious investigation. “Such incidents have become possible only because of the lack of serious response from the authorities” to previous acts of vandalism, Wolf said.

Flatbush Tradgedy

WCBSTV: Late Wednesday night the carpet the little girl had been laying upon bleeding, was rolled up and taken out of the home. The carpet will be buried with the 4-year-old's body as required by Orthodox Jewish tradition. Just after 6 p.m. Wednesday night........Police said the 4-year-old was crushed by a 27-inch television set. Her father was in the kitchen with the toddler's twin brother when he heard a loud boom.When the father ran into the living room he discovered the little girl bleeding profusely from the head. His 2-year-old daughter was unharmed.Police said the TV-DVD set was sitting on a large wooden board that was placed upon but not connected to a small television cart.Police said somehow the TV tipped over onto the child. She was rushed to Lutheran Hospital, but could not be saved....They look like wonderful parents and it's just a tragedy for the community."The NYPD is conducting an investigation, but they said the family has no record of domestic problems, and the death appears to be accidental.........

Pataki pays Satmar Shiva call

Yesterday, Gov. George Pataki paid respects to the late Satmar Rebbe by sitting shiva with his family. Ever the politician, he made sure to meet both with Aron and his followers in Kiryas Joel and then with Zalmen and his supporters in Brooklyn.

City Council vs Riverdale Jews

NYDN: A simmering feud over the proposed landmark designation for Fieldston is set to come to a head today with the City Council scheduled to take a final vote on the issue. The Council's Land Use Committee voted this month to approve the Landmarks Preservation Commission's January decision to designate Fieldston a historic district, clearing the way for today's full Council vote. Though the committee vote was nearly unanimous, the debate over the designation has divided the normally tranquil community of 250 pricey detached homes in Riverdale. There were even whispered hints of anti-Orthodox Jewish bias because the restrictions that come with landmarking would make it more difficult to expand homes to accommodate large families. Supporters of historic designation - including some Orthodox Jews - dismissed the suggestion. Land Use Committee member and Orthodox Jew Simcha Felder (D-Ditmas Park) remarked before voting for the designation that he had found no evidence of bias. Opponents have collected signatures from more than half of Fieldston homeowners on a petition asking the City Council to reject or at least postpone the plan, but Councilman Oliver Koppell, a Fieldston resident, has pushed for approval as a personal crusade. There was little opposition when the designation process began in 2003, but skepticism grew as homeowners learned more about requirements that could add significantly to the time and cost of repairs or additions. "I was very gratified by the committee vote," said Koppell (D-Riverdale), who predicted easy passage in the final City Council vote....

Afganistan Pesach Seder

The Canadian has an article about a Pesach Seder that took place in Afganistan this year. What struck me was the pictures that they had. One of them was a picture of "The Seder Wine". Um. Last I checked Jonney Walker was CHOMETZ.

Israelis are a pain...

Maybe navigating through the chaotic traffic has something to do with it- JTA: Israelis have a higher incidence of chronic pain than do people in other countries, a study found. According to Ben-Gurion University data released this week, 46 percent of Israelis report suffering from chronic pain, while such complaints occur in only 10 percent to 40 percent of foreign populations. Two-thirds of Israeli sufferers are women, and 40 percent fall between the ages of 25-50. The most common form of Israelis’ chronic pain is back pain — connected, perhaps, to training during mandatory military service. (My shoulder hurts posting all of this.)

Reform Head booed by Christians

JTA: The president of the Reform movement brought a message of tolerance for gays to the university founded by televangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell. Delivering the weekly convocation Wednesday at Liberty University, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, got a warm response when he said Reform Jews and evangelical Christians had much in common on Israel, on the “moral crisis in America” and on combating religious persecution abroad. However, he pointed out differences on issues such as abortion and gay rights. “Gay Americans pose no threat to their friends, neighbors or coworkers. When two people make a lifelong commitment to each other, we believe it is wrong to deny them the legal guarantees that protect them and their children and benefit the broader society,” he said to murmurs, hisses and scattered boos among several thousands students in attendance at the Lynchburg, Va., university. Falwell admonished the students afterward, saying, “Nobody ever booed me in a synagogue when I said things opposite to what they believed.” BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....

Antwerp - Stolen Sifrei Torah

DV: Another wave of sifrei Torah thefts has struck Antwerp....Two sifrei Torah stolen a few months ago were miraculously found in Russia, one at a border crossing and the other when an unknown figure tried to sell it to a rov in Grodno......at the beginning of this month another sefer Torah was stolen. After failing to break into the large aron kodesh at the Osten Beis Medrash the thief took two sifrei Torah from a side room. Afterwards he tried to break into the aron kodesh in the beis knesses, but again was unsuccessful. Lemaan Teida reports the thief made a phone call threatening to steal more sifrei Torah unless he was given money. In the meantime he broke into the Vishnitz Beis Medrash and ran off with the tzedokoh box after the watchman spotted him. According to the report the kehilloh has a picture of the thief, but does not want to involve police in the matter.

More Kosher cell phone options

DV: Orange-Partner Communications signed an agreement with Vaadas HaRabbonim LeInyonei Tikshores to supply an approved cell phone that will only carry telephone conversations with a block of dedicated phone numbers. Gedolei Yisroel set up the Vaadah over a year ago to develop cellular devices suited to the chareidi sector's needs and to counter the grave spiritual damage caused by various companies that provide undesirable content-services in stark contradiction to the spirit of a Torah-based life. Based on instructions by maranan verabonon, thousands of users switched in recent months to cell phones with Vaadas HaRabbonim approval. "The move, which was personally initiated and accompanied by gedolei Yisroel shlita, has enjoyed special siyata deShmaya from the start," the Vaadah says. After updating them on the signing of an agreement with Partner Communications gedolei Yisroel shlita told the rabbonim on the Vaadah that they were very pleased with the entire process, particularly the signing with Partner — the last of the four cellular companies in Israel to sign. The signing took place in the office of Attorney R' Yaakov Weinroth, who worked on the agreement pro bono, investing much time and effort. At the signing, Vaadas HaRabbonim member HaRav Tzvi Friedman said Maran HaRav Eliashiv shlita had asked him to extend his appreciation to Atty. Weinroth for his dedicated work on the matter.......

Yeshivaworld is famous!

Yidden on Motorcycles

Rabbi "Zigzag" seen putting on his Tefillin! CJN: The Yidden on Wheels Motorcycle Touring Company will be hitting the road once again to commemorate the Holocaust as part of the “Paper Clip Ride to Remember 2006” next week. About 350 Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance (JMA) members from Canada, the United States and Australia will ride to the Whitwell Middle School in Whitwell, Tenn. on May 5 to honour the staff and students who collected millions of paper clips to build a children’s Holocaust memorial at the school.... After the official presentation ceremony at the school on May 5, the bikers will ride back to Chattanooga for a Shabbat banquet at the Chattanooga Clarion. The trip will conclude with Saturday morning services on May 6 conducted by the the “official” JMA Rabbi Zachery Betesh, or Rabbi Zigzag, as he is affectionately called, from the Florida-based King David Biker gang. “We hope to let the world know that we remember the victims that perished in the Holocaust and to honour these wonderful people. We also hope to dispel stereotypes [of small-town people] and foster a sense of awareness among members of Jewish communities about what we’re doing......

Kosher Space Station??

Ynet: American Space Agency NASA is about to begin a series of consultations with rabbis as part of preparations for the stay of Jewish astronauts in its international space station. NASA is seeking to consult rabbis regarding the necessary arrangements and ways to uphold Torah commandments in space. Among other things, there is a need to determine at every stage in the space flight the position of Jerusalem in relation to the space station, so that astronauts know which was to turn when praying. Other issues include the keeping of kosher food and the keeping of Shabbat in space. The international space station is supposed to receive in the coming years guest experts from other countries, and an effort has been made to send Israeli scientists to the station. The question of upholding commandments in space came up before first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon was sent to space. Ramon was not religious, but he took with him kosher food and made sure to keep the Shabbat.....

R' Moshe Halberstam ***Niftar***

UPDATED 11:45 am Jpost: Rav Moshe Halberstam, a senior member of the Haredi Badatz (High Halachic Court) in Jerusalem, died at the age of 74 around noon Wednesday in the Bikur Holim hospital. He was hospitalized Wednesday morning with shortness of breath and chest pain. The funeral procession will leave Zufnuk Square, at 26 Strauss St., at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Rav Halberstam was head of the Jerusalem Hatzalah organization, a volunteer group that provides first-aid and ambulance services. My Israeli sources (currently at the Levaya) have informed me of a crowd of over 50,000 attending the Levaya. It started at Kikar Zupnick, then to Kikar Shabbos and has just left and is on the way to Har Hazeysim. All leading Rosh Yeshivas, Rabbonim, Admorim & Rebbes have attended. Boruch Dayan Emmes......

Satmar Funeral - Home Video!

Three minutes into the video, there is live footage from inside the Rodney Street Shul.

Satmar - Sitting Shiva in Willy or KY?

ROL: Another issue being debated yesterday was whether Aron would be allowed to sit shiva - the seven-day mourning period in Jewish tradition - at the house in Williamsburg where the rebbe had lived.Zalmen supporters were arguing that Aron had violated an unsigned agreement between the two sides by asking his son, Mendel, to deliver a eulogy at the end of the second funeral for Moses Teitelbaum in Kiryas Joel yesterday morning. They claim no grandchildren of the grand rebbe was supposed to speak at the two funerals.That dispute triggered a brief confrontation in the Kiryas Joel synagogue about 4:50 a.m., as Aron shouted and partisans packed tightly in the front of the synagogue threw punches. Shortly afterward, Zalmen supporters whisked the casket through the crowd and out the front door, with no speech from Mendel Teitelbaum............

Is a DNR permitted?

CJN: Whether or not to continue a patient’s treatment is one of a number of halachic issues related to end of life, says Rabbi Eliezer Breitowitz, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Darchei Torah. Speaking at a recent panel discussion sponsored by Useful Ideas, a firm of financial security advisers, Rabbi Breitowitz said that one of the factors to take into consideration is the definition and time of death. “Obviously, beyond this point there is no need to continue treatment, yet an issue arises when the person is still alive and the caregivers want to discontinue treatment. Halachah says we cannot actively do something to shorten life.” Halachah does not recognize the right to die, he said, “because a person is not considered a master of his own life. At best he is a trustee. It is not his prerogative to squander his life. “On what basis do we make our decision? If the patient cannot decide himself, we [could] concoct the scenario in which he is committed to Halachah, yet his caregivers are not.” Time of death, said Rabbi Breitowitz, is the cessation of breathing, “but with the development of technology that can take over respiration, a person can be dead but still breathe with a machine.” In hospitals, he said, there is tremendous pressure put on families to withdraw life support. “It frees up equipment and it facilitates organ donation. They consider it the moral choice.” The time is coming when OHIP will refuse to administer care to patients who are brain dead, “and that will put additional pressure on families because the cost will be too much,” he said. Halachah does not describe a certain course when we talk about withholding treatment, he said, but there are situations when it is best not to initiate treatment. This includes when a person is terminally ill and his life expectancy is less than one year, the underlying condition is irreversible, or else a person is in great pain and the only possible consequence of treating him would be to extend his life in a painful state, Rabbi Breitowitz said.........

Hashem is watching!!

Jpost: There have been 82 attempts by suicide bombers to enter Israel through the gaps in the separation barrier surrounding Jerusalem since the beginning of 2006, Orit Koren of the State Attorney's Office. told the High Court of Justice on Sunday.....

Rabbi Metzger appeals

Arutzsheva: Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against a recommendation by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz that the rabbi is unfit to serve in his position.Mazuz issued his opinion on the basis of conclusions concerning the management of the office of Chief Rabbi and suspicions surrounding the use of hotel rooms without payment. Rabbi Metzger argued Mazuz acted unilaterally without giving him the right to defend himself or explain his position...........

Kinneret water level - rising

Arutzsheva: The Kinneret, whose level usually is stable or even begins to decline in May, is expected to rise 8-15 inches in the next two weeks. The two-day late April storm dumped more than four inches of rain on the northern Galilee and brought most areas of the country close to the annual amount of rainfall....

Read and weep

TIMES: Zalmen Teitelbaum, seated in foreground, with mourners in his father's house yesterday. He was named the grand rabbi in his father's will. The dispute over which of Moses Teitelbaum's sons will succeed him as the grand rabbi of the Satmar sect of Hasidic Jews raged in and out of court for the last six years of his life. The casket of Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum was carried through a crush of followers Monday night in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Rabbi Teitelbaum's death last night appears unlikely to bring the controversy to a close. Less than two hours after the rabbi died, as tens of thousands of grieving Satmars thronged the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Kiryas Joel, N.Y., a judge in Orange County issued several orders. Rabbi Teitelbaum's third son, Zalmen, lives in Williamsburg; his eldest son, Aaron, lives in Kiryas Joel in Orange County. The orders were issued by Judge Stewart A. Rosenwasser at the request of Aaron Teitelbaum's supporters. They included measures to maintain order and decorum during the funeral and the mourning period to follow, and to make sure that neither Aaron's nor Zalmen's supporters were shut out. But Zalmen Teitelbaum's supporters say the orders also contain language intended to solidify the claim to power of Aaron's supporters. They appealed the orders this afternoon, and an appellate judge agreed to strike much of the ruling they objected to. Zalmen's supporters also said the Satmars' own rabbinical court formally declared Zalmen the sect's new grand rabbi last night. A spokesman for Aaron's supporters, Richard J. Schwartz, said that Judge Rosenwasser's rulings were meant to apply only to the funeral and related events, not to settle the overall dispute. And he added that it was the Satmar board of directors, not the grand rabbi or the rabbinical court, that would appoint the next grand rabbi. People who have been observing the battle for years do not expect a quick capitulation by either side. "Since 2001," said David M. Pollock, associate executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council in New York, "every facet of this disagreement has ended up in the civil courts. I would expect that the issue of succession will go there, too." The stakes are high both materially and spiritually. The Satmars, a fast-growing sect of some 100,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews, based in Williamsburg but spread around the world, run a vast private school system, real estate holdings worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a famed matzo factory and a network of social services. Like other Hasidim, the Satmars vest tremendous authority in their grand rabbi; he is the arbiter of every aspect of their spiritual lives as well as the guiding voice of the community. The Satmar grand rabbi, Moses Teitelbaum, who was 91 when he died on Monday, named Zalmen head of the sect's main synagogue in Williamsburg in 1999. Years before, he had named Aaron head of the congregation in Kiryas Joel, a Satmar enclave 55 miles northwest of New York City. The brothers are both in their mid-50's. Zalmen's supporters, most of whom live in Brooklyn, said the Williamsburg appointment made him the logical successor to the grand rabbi. Supporters of Aaron, most of whom live in Kiryas Joel, said the appointment of the younger son was fraudulent and filed the first of several suits. The dispute has occasionally erupted into violence. More than two dozen people were arrested in a fight in the Williamsburg synagogue last year after Judge Rosenwasser issued another ruling that supported Aaron's position. Despite the gathering and dispersing of huge crowds last night and today, there has been little unrest and no arrests. But the jockeying goes on as ever. One of Judge Rosenwasser's orders Monday night gave Zalmen Teitelbaum's faction until Wednesday morning to counter a holding that the head of the pro-Aaron faction, Berl Friedman, as the rightful president of the board of the Williamsburg congregation, was authorized to take action to ensure that the funeral proceeds peacefully. The order also instructed the police in New York City and in Kiryas Joel to assist Mr. Friedman. The wording was similar to parts of Judge Rosenwasser's decision in February, which held that Mr. Friedman is the head of the congregation's board. But that decision was immediately appealed, and in March, an appellate panel froze it from taking effect until various appeals are resolved. The lawyer for Zalmen's supporters, Scott E. Mollen, called Judge Rosenwasser's new order "an obvious effort to do an end run around the Appellate Division's order of March 2006." Late this afternoon, a judge in the Appellate Division, Joseph Covello, struck the parts of Judge Rosenwasser's order that granted powers to Mr. Friedman. Other parts of the order will be argued before Judge Rosenwasser on Wednesday morning. Mr. Schwartz said the order that Aaron's supporters sought, and that Judge Rosenwasser granted Monday, was intended simply to ensure civil behavior during the period of mourning. "Now that some of the controls have been removed from the initial ruling," he said, "we trust that all members of the community will continue to behave as orderly and peacefully as they have thus far." David Weber, one of the thousands of mourners who gathered outside the grand rabbi's residence on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg this morning, said that while the question of who succeeds Moses Teitelbaum was crucial, peace was paramount. "We hope whatever is going to be, will be very peaceful," he said. That, he added, would be "the best way to honor the rebbe." Related Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum Is Dead at 91 . NBC: The leader of an ultra-Orthodox sect who died of cancer this week arranged for an organized succession by naming one of his two sons as the next grand rabbi of the Satmar Hasidim, religious authorities announced Thursday. In his will, Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, who died Monday at the age of 91, recognized Zalmen Teitelbaum, the third of his four sons, as the next rebbe, or grand rabbi. "He shall occupy my position and succeed me without any shortfall, for effective immediately I have granted him the position," Moses Teitelbaum wrote in his will. But the decision, announced by the Satmars' Rabbinical Court, is unlikely to settle the divisive issue of succession that has pitted Zalmen Teitelbaum, 54, against the eldest brother, Rabbi Aron Teitelbaum of Kiryas Joel in upstate New York. That is because Aron Teitelbaum has thousands of his own followers who believe he is the rightful successor. The brothers have been feuding over the question for years. In 2004, a judge in Brooklyn refused to rule in the sons' dispute over the heir to the Satmar sect, saying the matter was for the grand rabbi to decide. In his will, Moses Teitelbaum also directed that "not one of my descendants or among the persons within the community shall challenge or commit any act to diminish the powers of the above-mentioned appointment." Moses Teitelbaum led the Satmar congregation in Brooklyn after the death of Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum in 1979. He helped guide the fast-growing Satmar Hassidim in Brooklyn, Israel and other spots around the world. The Satmar Hasidic sect has between 65,000 to 75,000 disciples in the United States, with almost all of them living in New York state. The biggest congregations are in Williamsburg and the town of Kiryas Joel, about 45 miles northwest of New York City. Moses Teitelbaum was buried in Kiryas Joel early Tuesday after a service in Williamsburg that drew thousands of followers. (Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum Dies Thousands Gather For Burial Leaders React To Rebbe's Death) . Washington Post: ...The Satmar community is the fastest-growing ultra-orthodox sect in the world, controlling a $1 billion real estate and social services enterprise. It claims more than 100,000 members -- in Brooklyn; Montreal; Antwerp, Belgium; and Jerusalem. An additional 19,000 live in Kiryas Joel, an entirely Hasidic town 25 miles north of New York City. But no one has devised a clear process for picking a new grand rebbe -- succession wars and angry splits are common among Hasidic sects. In theory, the grand rebbe anoints a successor, a rabbinical court agrees, and the choice meets with approval. In the case of the Satmar, Teitelbaum's eldest son, Aaron -- who is chief rabbi in Kiryas Joel -- expected to succeed his father. But in his later years, Moses Teitelbaum came to see Aaron as headstrong and, perhaps, not capable of leading the entire sect. So the father appointed a younger son, Zalmen, to run the Williamsburg congregation, splitting his empire. Aaron never fully accepted the decision. Save for a few brief words of commiseration Monday evening, the middle-aged brothers have not spoken to each other in more than seven years, say advisers to the two men. Most Satmar Hasidim have lined up behind one brother or the other -- the sides are known as the "Zalis" and "Aaronis" -- and the past decade has been punctuated by fistfights, broken legs and arms, torched cars and homes... Bloomberg: The battle over a $500 million religious empire, marked by beatings, break-ins and a street riot, likely will escalate with yesterday's death of Grand Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum, leader of the ultra-orthodox Satmar sect of Hasidic Jews.....Two of his sons, Aaron and Zalman, have waged a five-year legal battle seeking to control the main congregation's board, each working to succeed their father at the head of the largest Hasidic sect, based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. At stake is control of synagogues, real estate, businesses, religious schools and the jobs and social services that go with them.......This is a fight over power, prestige and patronage,'' said David Pollock, an official with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York who has worked with the Satmars for the past 20 years. Violence has broken out when the legal outcome is unclear, which it is now..........Life revolves around the temple and religious study. Satmar is also the corporation.This is a dispute between individuals who claim to be elected to the board of directors, over control of the board of directors and its assets -- Congregation Yetev D'Lev Satmar Inc.,'' Jeffrey Buss of Smith, Buss & Jacobs LLP, lead attorney for Aaron's camp, said in an interview. That religious corporation has approximately $500 million dollars worth of assets, at least.'' The troubles surfaced in 2001, when Moses Teitelbaum named his third son, Zalman, chief rabbi of the Williamsburg synagogue that is at the heart of the sect. About 40,000 Satmars live in Williamsburg and 5,000 in nearby Borough Park....Satmar affairs are governed by tradition and the bylaws, with the grand rabbi as final arbiter of everything, Mollen said. The conflict became violent in October 2004, after Zalman won a victory in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. Judge Melvin Barasch ruled that the competing boards' legitimacy rested on questions of Satmar membership that were religious, not civil, and declined to intervene, saying it was the grand rebbe's province to decide. He also wrote an addendum to his decision complaining of harassment and other possibly criminal behavior by Aaron's side. That left Zalman effectively in charge in Williamsburg. Backers of Rabbi Aaron entered the main temple before High Holy Day services and reportedly locked Rabbi Zalman in his adjacent apartment. They were then beaten by Zalman followers, with at least one victim saying he had broken bones.......

Scenes from Satmar Funeral

ROL: .........With police holding shut the front gates from inside the cemetery, the sea of black-coated men relented their great shove to get inside, retreating into informal groups along the cemetery wall. Many smoked cigarettes. It seemed every other man was dialing, gazing down at or speaking into a cell phone.Of the few who tried to scale the 7-foot wall, most were met with defeat and scraped palms from the rough cinderblock wall topped with barbed wire.Most were younger men in their late teens and early 20s. As one would try, older men would turn and watch. When failure ultimately struck, their elders would laugh or turn to their friends with a smirk.With all the shops closed in Kiryas Joel, food and water and cigarettes were hard to come by. Those with smokes were quickly descended on in the crowds. But soda and chips were more accessible. A small building just outside the cemetery wall held bathrooms and two vending machines. As the crowd at the cemetery dispersed soon after sun-up, the table inside the building was packed with empty chips bags and dozens of emptied Mayim Chaim Cola, a kosher soda brand.A group of Kiryas Joel teens milling about the cemetery before the funeral were like any gang of American adolescents. They snickered when men accidentally stepped in dung dropped by the police horses and they passionately spoke of their favorite singer, Lipa Schmeltzer, an irreverent Jewish crooner who just released a new album.“He is the best, the best. I love him,” said a 14-year-old boy who identified himself as Weiss. His friends mumbled in agreement......

Cure for Chulent??!!

MSNBC: Many bean recipes call for soaking beans in water overnight before baking. Soaked beans take less time to cook, but they also ferment a little. Fermentation breaks down the bean's nutrients so your gut doesn't have to work so hard and you produce less flatulence........ Scientists at Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela determined that adding Lactobacillus casei and L. plantarum to soaking beans improves the fermentation process by efficiently breaking down the fibrous nutrients that can lead to gassy outbursts......

NYC Yeshiva students rally

JTA: Students at a New York yeshiva rallied, demanding that two former concentration camp guards living in Queens be sent back to Ukraine. Jakiw Palij and Jaroslaw Bilaniuk, both 83 and born in Ukraine, remain in the United States despite their service as guards at the Trawniki labor camp in Poland. During the Tuesday afternoon protest in front of Ukraine’s U.N. mission in New York, students from the Rambam Mesivta school in Lawrence, N.Y., demanded that Ukraine accept the two men. “We see no reason why the Ukrainian government should drag their feet on this matter,” Rabbi Zev Friedman, the school’s dean, told JTA. Friedman said extradition is necessary since Palij, who has already been served with a deportation order and had his citizenship revoked, continues to “play the system” through legal maneuvers. Both men have been in the United States since 1949..........

Bnei Brak - Mall Protest

A large gathering took place yesterday in Bnei Brak to protest the opening of a large non religious mall in the center of Bnei Brak. The event was attended by numerous Rabbonim, Roshei Yeshivos & Rebbes. [Click HERE to read what Yeshivaworld had previously posted about the new "Kosher" mall that was opened in Bnei Brak.]

Holocust Memorial

Today marks 60 years since the Nazis YM"S killed 6,000,000 innocent Jews. HY"D.

Cemetery desecration in Lithuania

Baltictimes: Approximately 50 Orthodox Jews protested what they claimed was a desecration of a Jewish cemetery in Vilnius at the Lithuanian Embassy in Tel Aviv on April 24. "They held slogans and prayed,” said Saulius Jaskelivicius, charge d’affairs at the embassy. “Two participants of the rally were allowed to enter the embassy and hand a petition. We pledged to forward it to relevant institutions in Lithuania......

More on recent Russian jew attack

FJC has an in depth article regarding the recent attack on a Yeshiva Student in Russia. Click HERE to read it.

Haaretz on Charedi Education

Haaretz has a piece on the current Chareidi (Haredi) Education system. Click HERE to read it.

Satmar headlines

Which headline sounds better? 1) Satmar. If theres a will theres a way. 2) Is there a will in Willy? ------------------------------------------ Also as was reported on Yeshivaworld a few weeks ago, the NY State Police had the funeral plans called "Operation Sundown". I think it should have been changed to "Operation Night-Vision"!!

Pataki mourns Satmar Rebbe

NYGOV: STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR GEORGE E. PATAKI "Today I join the Congregation of Satmar Hasidim, and many other New Yorkers, in mourning the loss of Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum. A survivor of the Holocaust, Grand Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum carried on the legacy of his uncle and predecessor Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum in rebuilding a community that was devastated by the Nazis. Today, New York is home to a flourishing network of Satmar schools and religious institutions that will live on as a tribute to the Teitelbaums. The Rebbe Moses Teitelbaum touched and inspired the countless people who came into contact with him while shepherding his congregation to enormous growth over the past decades of his leadership. May his memory be a blessing for all of us."

Satmar Rebbe - Funeral UPDATED

(The Funeral - 'Play by Play') The funeral got underway at 11:00 pm. All sons and sons-in laws spoke except for the son in law from Montreal since he couldn't make it in time. When Reb Aron T. tried to enter the Rodney Street Shul he was prevented from doing so. There was alot of pushing and screaming at him. The NYPD had it under control pretty quickly. At 1:30 am the funeral procession left Williamsburg and proceeded to Kiryas Joel for the funeral and the burial. They stopped at the Sloatsburg Rest Area on the NYS Thruway for a few minutes so the the Viznitz Rebbe (Monsey Division) can be melava the niftar. The funeral arrived at Kiryas Joel at 3;30 am. The son-in law from Montreal spoke, then Dayen Friedman and then Dayen Berkowitz (Kiryas Joel) spoke. Then Dayen Tirnauer from Montreal spoke and that's when the problem started. It was originally made up that only one grandchild from Aron's and Zalmen Leib's families were supposed to speak but since Zalman Leibs son (Chaim Hirsh) was in Israel and not coming they felt that Aron's son (Mendle) should not speak either so that's when it turned into a ..FIGHT!!!..FIGHT!!!..FIGHT!!!.. It seems that the Rebbe's Gabbai (AKA: "Moshe Gabbai") was behind this. The crowd started getting very rowdy. Then someone grabbed the mike yelled "BREAK HIS BONES (Moshe Gabbai)...DON'T LET HIM OUT OF THE BUILDING ALIVE"!!!... Then heads started to roll. The cops were called in to break up the riot. They then proceeded to move towards the cemetery for the burial. 7 police horses blocked off the entrance to the cemetery, only allowing the family in for the burial..... Noone knows where they will be sitting the Shiva. (undisclosed location?) For related articles worlwide: WNBC: INN: SlIVE: Jpost: NYTimes: ROL: NY1: Newsday: Forbes: TGAM: WSJ: NYSun: NYPost: DailyNews: MN: Reuters: Chron: CD: WCBSTV: OregonLive: WHOTV: LATimes: ABCLocal: WCBS880: 1010WINS: Arutzsheva: WNYC: CNN: KFMB: PG: JTA: NBC6: Scotsman:

Satmar Rebbe passes away

The Satmar Rebbe has just passed away. His Levaya [Funeral] will take place tonight at 10:00 pm in Willy. (Bedford Avenue corner on Rodney Street). It will then proceed to Monroe NY (R' Aron Tietlebaum's Bais Hamedrash) to be followed by the Kevurah (burial) in Monroe. Boruch Dayan Emmes......

Jewish info on Egyptian blasts

My Israeli sources just informed me that b"h every yeshiva bochur is accounted for. Regrettably 3 Israelis were injured. We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.

Egypt Bombings worry Hatzolah Israel

At least three reported blasts were reported in the Sinai Peninsula. Reports of over 100 casualties. There are unconfirmed reports of Israelis among casualties; people are frantically trying to flee. My contact in Hatzolah Israel has just informed me that due to the fact that there are reportedly hundreds of Yeshiva Bochurim currently touring the Sinai, the Eilat Division of Hatzolah Israel are in close contact with the Egyptian authorities and will be heading across the border as soon as they are requested to do so. [FYI - there is a mutual aid agreement between Hatzolah Israel, the American's and the Egyptian Government]. -------------------------------------------------------- On a seprate note, Hatzolah Israel had one of it's Motorcycles stolen from the Rechovot district this morning. It was a fully equipt unit which costs in the area of $18,000. They are in dire need of a new one. Please contact Hatzolah Israel, or email zeligk@gmeil.com. (Click HERE to view a picture of a Hatzolah Israel motorcycle.)

Satmar Rebbe - Back on Respirator

The Satmar Rebbe Shlita is back in the I.C.U. and has been placed on a respirator. Please be Mispallel for Moshe Ben Brucha Sima.

Website calls Rabbis "Crazy"!!

The headline on this artile was titled "Crazy Rabbis Exonerate Killer of 3-Month Old Baby". CP: A public announcement issued before the weekend by rabbinical sages of the ultra-Orthodox community exonerates a yeshiva student, 19, charged with the killing of his three-months-old baby.Eight prominent rabbis in the Lithuanian faction of the ultra-Orhotdox community published an announcement entitled "Sacred Call," asking the public "to assist the Vales family and other rabbis who are doing their utmost to bring justice and truth to light, to prove that he is innocent and release him from gaol."Leader of the ultra-Orthodox Lithuanian community, Rabbi Shalom Elyashiv, headed the list of sages signed on the announcement. He was joined by seven other members of the grand torah council of the community, including rabbis Aharon Leib Steinman, Michl Lipkowitz, Shmuel Auerbach and Chaim Kniyevski.The announcement was delivered to Jerusalem Police Chief Maj. Gen. Ilan Franco on Friday.Vales is a member of the anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox community, and the announcement is an expression of support by the Lithuanian faction. Learn how to spell the names correctly....

Paris Rabbi tries to make piece

EJP: Rabbi Michel Serfaty has strengthened his battle for inter-religious dialogue with a first Jewish-Muslim friendship tour of the infamous inner-city suburbs of Paris. The friendship bus started its route on Friday in Corbeil-Essones and reached two other Paris suburbs in the afternoon. Rabbi Serfaty, and some Jewish and Muslim volunteers set up their big cardboard sign calling on passers-by to help them “build the Jewish-Muslim friendship” while handing out leaflets. “I was surprised when I read the sign, but it was a good surprise,” said Farihane Larabi, a young Muslim student, wearing a headscarf who came across the friendship bus in Corbeil. “I support the rabbi’s initiative, which I just discovered. I think this is exactly what we need today, when ‘Islamophobia’ and anti-Semitism are on a rise.” Although the initiative struck a chord with many people, several young Muslim men were seen criticising the friendship tour, saying Muslims shouldn’t collaborate with the ‘Zionists’. But Larabi disagreed. “The part that surprised me most,” she said, “is when I convinced some of the young men that dialogue with Jews was a good thing. I made a difference. I think that’s the best part of my day.......

USA Consul visits Russian Jews

FJC: USA Consul General in Russia’s Far East John Mark Pommersheim visited the ‘Freud’ Jewish Community of Birobidjan during his acquaintance tour of the Jewish Autonomous Region.The Consul confessed he knew about the existence of this Jewish Community when he worked in America, but he didn’t expect to see such a mature Jewish congregation. Mr. Pommersheim took interest in the constantly operating art exhibition featuring works by Vladislav Tsap, which highlights Torah themes. Initially, he thought he was looking at copies, but having realized these were original paintings, the Consul expressed his excitement about the work.Rabbi Mordechay Sheiner guided the guest through the Judaica Museum, which the rabbi had founded together with his wife Esther and which is a unique phenomenon for Russia........Later, the Consul General spoke with journalists about his meeting with the Community Chairman Lev Toitman. A conversation with this brave soldier of the World War Two and the founder of the ‘Freud’ Community made a strong impression on the American Consul......

Jewish Burial instruction manual

FJC: The Jewish community of S. Petersburg, through a joint initiative with the ‘Akademicheskiy Proekt’ Publishing House, has published a new edition of Ishaya Gisser’s book “Jewish burial, mourning and commemoration traditions”. Edited by Moshe Treskunov, this publication was approved by the Chief Rabbi of S. Petersburg, Menachem Mendel Pewzner, and contains an introductory address he has written.The book is designed to meet the educational and interest needs of Jews in S. Petersburg, as well as to satisfy the demand for a detailed reference book that, aside from citing Jewish laws and prayers, includes full information about arranging burials in accordance with Jewish laws.The book, whose cover design features a fragment of a painting by Mark Chagall, will be available for purchase in local bookstores and at the ‘Kosher’ Store operated out of the Great Choral Synagogue........

Non-Jews to attend Holocaust Memorial

MN: For this year's Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, Sukhdev Singh Bainiwal, a Sikh, will light a candle in remembrance of the millions killed. He will be joined by an American Indian, a Buddhist, an African-American and a rabbi.For the first time in its decadelong history, more than half of the sponsors of Santa Clara County's remembrance day are not Jewish. It's the result of a concerted effort to change perceptions that the Holocaust is ``a Jewish issue,'' said Bart Charlow, director of the Silicon Valley Conference for Community & Justice, one of the ceremony's organizers.It wasn't the Jews who committed the Holocaust; it was non-Jews,'' Charlow said. So who do you need to reach out to?''Across the country, people have been broadening the lessons of the Holocaust, using it as a platform to discuss everything from tolerance to Darfur, where the ethnic-based fighting has been labeled a genocide, said Jerry Fowler, staff director of the Committee on Conscience with the U.S. Holocaust Museum. What Santa Clara County is doing -- featuring non-Jews in the events -- is less common, he said. But organizers here say there are myriad reasons their approach makes sense, including similarities in how genocidal campaigns arise, the area's relatively small Jewish population, and the hope that groups working together now will probably stand up for each other later. It's a political tightrope, however, as organizers try to make the Holocaust universal but not generic........

Sorry....

I updated the blog early this morning, but blogger seems to be having technical problems.....

Israeli Airline News 4/24/06

Arutzsheva: El Al: El Al Airlines is installing self-service check-in counters at Ben Gurion Airport, to be operational beginning in May. The self-service counters will be operated using one’s credit card and passport. The goal is to eliminate the experience of waiting in line to be assigned a seat prior to boarding.According to El Al CEO Chaim Romano, the service will enable passengers to pick their own seats on the plane. Romano told Globes that more than 100 passengers a day already use El Al’s web-based Internet check-in, receiving promotional coupons for duty-free shops and vouchers for a cup of coffee. The coupons are intended to encourage the public to use the service, which reduces the number of passengers waiting in regular check-in lines. Fast lanes are provided for those passengers to quickly check their luggage, saving 10 to 30 minutes of time...... Israir: Israir will begin daily flights between Tel Aviv and New York on May 1. The airline will fly five days a week, but will rest on Friday and Saturday out of respect for the Sabbath.Israir will not use wide-bodied jets along the route until early 2007, due to ongoing contractual negotiations with Boeing and Airbus. According to Israir CEO Sabina Biran, a uniform fleet purchased from a single manufacturer is desirable, as it helps reduce maintenance costs and enhances the training of flight crews. Once wide-body planes are purchased, the narrow-body aircraft will be used for European routes........

David Yaasky for Congress

Pics courtesy of Politcker Councilman David Yaasky is campaigning for the 11th Congressional district. These flyers were placed in peoples mailboxes over Pesach in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, NY. His brainstorm of an idea why you should vote for him? He would like to place a nurse in every Yeshiva.

Yehoshua Bin Nun Yartzeit

Arutzsheva: The gravesites of Joshua Bin Nun and Kalev Ben Yefuneh, near Ariel in the Shomron, will be open to visitors next Sunday night, the 3,249th anniversary of his death..... The IDF will secure the area between Ariel and the gravesites, which are located just north of the Ariel Junction in the Shomron. Visitors will be able to walk, drive or travel by bus to the holy site from the Ariel Junction any time between 11PM Sunday night and 5:30 the next morning. An early-morning Shacharit prayer service will be held at the gravesite at 5:45. Yehuda Libman, of the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva formerly in Shechem, told Arutz-7, "We used to have some 5,000 people coming, but of late, because of the security problems, the numbers have dropped. We still expect well over 2,000 this time."The event will be organized by the Holy Sites Department............

More Russian Anti Jewish Harassment

USCJ: Visiting yeshiva students were harassed by local youths in Rybinsk, Russia (Yaroslavl region) during Passover celebrations, according to an April 18, 2006 report by the AEN news agency. The students were followed by youths who shouted antisemitic insults at them. At one point, a young man got right in the face of a yeshiva student and screamed “Heil Hitler!” Other yeshiva students were confronted outside their hotel by men who asked them if they knew about the Motherland party-a creation of Kremlin political strategists that has several representatives in the national parliament who regularly incite hatred against Jews.....

Holocaust Memorial Council Updated

Jpost: Elie Wiesel and Judy Yudof, former president of the Conservative Judaism movement, were among nine people named to the US Holocaust Memorial Council. The others named by President George Bush to serve until January 2011 are Debra Abrams, of Florida; Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, of New York; Norma Lerner, of Ohio; Marvin Pomerantz, of Iowa; Alan Neil Rechtshaffen, of New York; J. PHilip Rose, of New York; and Bradley David Wine, of Maryland. The council oversees the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.....

Lipa Schmeltzer - Clothing line?

Shirulo: Lipa Schmeltzer, singer and entertainer, turned into a fashion model in the Pesach edition of the newspaper "Bekehilla". The paper took out a special addition called "Shelo Shinu Et Levusham – They Did Not Change Their Clothing", representing the various garbs of the religious world. Lipa appears in the clothes of a Gur Chassid, Belzer, Vizshnitz, Chabad, Bobov, Skverrer, and Yemenite........

Benei Brak fire

A fire raced through the Heichal Malchus Hall in Benei Brak this evening. Boruch Hashem there were no injuries.

Leading Gedolim make statement:

Jpost: A 19-year old yeshiva student accused of the savage beating murder of his three-month-old son has won the moral support of a battery of eminent rabbis. Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the most respected halachic authority for haredi Lithuanian Jewry, headed a list of rabbinic heavyweights who called on their flock to give financial and emotional support to suspected murderer Israel Asher Valis and family. Other rabbis included Aharon Leib Steinman, Michel Lefkowitz, Shmuel Auerbach and Chaim Kanyevsky. However, the rabbis stopped short of commenting on Valis's culpability. Senior Justice Ministry officials met Sunday with a delegation of top haredi leaders ahead of a critical court decision Tuesday on the continued detention of Valis. Valis, who could be released on bail as early as Tuesday if probation officers determine that he does not pose a danger to the public, is facing manslaughter charges. An earlier meeting between the two sides was called off due to haredi violence. In a notice that was printed on the front page of the haredi daily Yated Ne'eman, the rabbis wrote: "Valis's rabbis are doing everything in their power to prove his innocence and free him from prison. We beseech our brothers everywhere to help. Everyone should do his utmost to aid the rabbis and provide Valis's family with support because expenses are high and the family is unable to pay them." Until now the ultra-Orthodox Edah Haredit, which accepts no money from Israel for its yeshivot and boycotts all elections or other ties with the Zionist state, has waged the offensive on Valis's behalf alone. The announcement made by Elyashiv and the other rabbis marks the involvement of more mainstream haredi figures. Since the baby's death from brain hemorrhaging and Valis's subsequent arrest two weeks ago, residents of Jerusalem's Mea She'arim neighborhood, an Edah Haredit stronghold, have grappled with police, torched trash bins and blocked roads in protest. On Pessah eve, Rabbi Yitzhak Weiss, halachic authority and spiritual leader for Jerusalem's anti-Zionist Edah Haredit community, said Valis's indictment was "identical to the blood libels concocted by the evil Europeans against Jews before Passover. Valis's uncle, David Eisenstein, said Sunday on Army Radio that his nephew was innocent and should be released from prison immediately. According to the police, Valis admitted that he hurled the baby against a wall. He is also suspected of repeatedly biting, beating, pinching and punching the infant. But Eisenstein said Valis's confession was obtained while the young man was distraught......

"Rabbi" helps Kadima

Rabbi Schneier speaking at the Razi School in Queens, NY JTA: A prominent U.S. rabbi was named to head the U.S. group that will promote Israel’s Kadima Party. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked Rabbi Marc Schneier to take the post heading Kadima USA during a meeting between the two men last Friday in Jerusalem. Schneier, of New York, is the founder and president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding........ Seems like a very "prominent" Rabbi!......I guess Olmert couldn't find anyone more prominent then "Rabbi" Schneier!

Rabbi has disaster response

IBA: After Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, Rabbi Jay Miller admired the faith-based disaster response, as government aid fell short. When the big earthquake strikes here and emergency services are compromised, he wondered, would congregations be ready to provide shelter, supplies and volunteers? As head of the Peninsula Clergy Network, a four-year-old affiliation of leaders from more than 300 Christian, Jewish and Muslim groups, Miller has decided to develop a disaster plan harnessing San Mateo Countys congregation buildings and members. Now they say people have to be on their own for a week, but theres no one that honestly feels that most individuals are going to be prepared to take care of themselves for that long, Miller said. Congregations can provide a bridge between an individual person and a disaster team showing up. Miller envisions dividing the Peninsula into clusters of neighborhoods around congregation buildings identified as shelter and supply centers, each with coordinators appointed to liaison with emergency responders. Other congregations would provide support, by getting volunteers trained and reaching out to their neighborhoods and members, he added. The concept expands on the Interfaith Hospitality Network, a nonprofit agency with 29 participating San Mateo County congregations: 14 take turns housing families throughout the year, the others provide funding, supplies and volunteers. Miller also hopes to build upon the capabilities of soup kitchens like the Padua Dining Room at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in unincorporated Menlo Park, which serves hundreds of free meals a day. In the wake of a long-term disaster like Katrina or a major earthquake, the Peninsula must be prepared to care for people fleeing San Francisco, not only its own residents. The countys plan to use schools as shelters would displace students and disrupt their studies, whereas congregation buildings are seldom used on weekdays, Miller said........

Rabbi Lau for Prez?

Arutzsheva: Former Chief Rabbi of Israel Yisrael Lau said Sunday that the people and not the Knesset should elect the President of Israel. He added that he is prepared to accept the position but is not campaigning for it. Rabbi Lau was one of the suggested candidates four years ago, when the Knesset elected Moshe Katzav as president.Rabbi Lau told the Hebrew Ma'ariv newspaper that he would accept the nomination if "there is a serious proposal" but added he is not promoting his candidacy. "I did not say a word and did not open up a campaign headquarters, nor did I turn to anyone" to be a candidate, he emphasized..........

Conservative Jews file lawsuit

JTA: The Israeli wing of Conservative Judaism filed a lawsuit against the Israeli government claiming discrimination in praying at the Western Wall. The lawsuit filed Sunday follows an agreement between the movement and the government that assured its members freedom of worship at the Robinson’s Arch area at the southern end of the Western Wall, which is separate from the nearby traditional site of Jewish prayer. During the past year, officials with the movement say, they have been told they have to pay an entrance fee of 30 shekels to the tourist center that runs the site in order to pray. “The present restrictions constitute a serious infringement upon religious freedom,” the Masorti movement said in a statement. The decision to hold public prayer services at Robinson’s Arch followed attacks by some Orthodox Jews on Masorti worshippers trying to pray next to the main Western Wall site. They opposed the sight of mixed groups of men and women praying together and women reading from the Torah............. See Ynet also.

Russian Skinheads stab Jew

Ynet: An emissary of the Union of Jewish Communities in Russia was the target of an attack by skinheads Saturday evening in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, Ynet has learned. The man, Haim Gorbov, who studies at a Safed yeshiva, returned to Ukraine as part of a Seder organized by the Union of Jewish Communities in Russia and the former Soviet Union. After Gorbov's condition improved he was released from hospital. It appears a gang of skinheads in the city sought to mark Hitler's birthday, April 20, by attacking a Jew. Dnepropetrovsk's Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kamintzky said that at first the skinheads tried to attack a group of yeshiva students in the city center, between the synagogue and the yeshiva in which they studied. They managed to escape, however, and the thugs then set upon the 20-year-old Gorbov...........