Jewish News

Did Obama Stiff Brooklyn For Disaster Aid Because Orthodox Jews Live There?

Brooklyn pols were apoplectic yesterday when FEMA’s list of counties eligible for disaster aid included every New York City borough but theirs. Borough President Marty Markowitz pronounced himself “dumbfounded.” City Council Finance Chairman Domenic Recchia asked, “Are they kidding?” Waterfront sections of the borough were flooded from end to end, part of the seawall facing the Atlantic Ocean collapsed, and ...

Dichter cancels Spain visit over arrest fears

An Israeli lawmaker canceled a trip to Spain over fears that he would be arrested.Avi Dichter, a Knesset member from the Kadima Party and the former head of Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency, was scheduled to attend an international peace summit in Spain. He changed his mind after Spain would not grant him immunity from arrest or prosecution during his ...

Dessert Queens Head to Far East

Driving, sailing and teamwork – participants in the Desert Queen challenge have many obstacles to overcome. But this time around they will have an extra challenge to deal with, and it isn’t simple – the challenge of Israel’s PR.In the 12 years that the challenge has been held, 4,000 women have joined in expeditions to a wide range of destinations ...

Despite ‘Fly In’, Quiet Night at Ben Gurion

Officials at Ben-Gurion International Airport reported few unusual incidents after a full night in which approximately 70 planes arrived in Israel. There had been concerns that a planned “fly-in” would lead to disturbances.The reports may indicate that the fly-in protest is on its way to fizzling out like its naval counterpart. A plan to bring a group of foreign citizens ...

Dershowitz: SC Should Hear Rubashkin Appeal

Professor Alan Dershowitz, one of the world’s most famous criminal defense lawyers, wrote the following op-ed in the prestigious National Law Journal together with his colleague Ronald Rotunda explaining why Sholom Rubashkin deserves to have his appeal heard before the United States Supreme Court. Dershowitz says an overzealous Department of Justice and a judge who was essentially on prosecution team ...

Deri: Haredim must develop better PR

Former Shas chairman Aryeh Deri said Thursday that the ultra-Orthodox sector needed better PR, in light of a secular campaign criticizing its small representation in the workforce. Responding to a secular attack on the haredi work ethic led by journalists Gabi Gazit and Yair Lapid, Deri recommended an ultra-Orthodox research facility be established in order to prove the claims wrong.Read More: @ ...

Dept. Of Agriculture Shuts Down Kosher Milk Plant

The Department Of Agriculture And Market has shut down and suspended the Milk dealing License for the producers of Emes Milk, Lev Milk, Morning select cheeses & Kahal cheeses etc.The reason given by the Department Of Agriculture was that after an inspection by the department they discovered that the company held and processed homegenized milk, skim milk,and chocolate milk that ...

Denmark Forms Probe into Legality of Non-Medical Circumcisions

Denmark’s government has commissioned an investigation into whether non-medical circumcision procedures violate its health code.Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt on Saturday told the Copenhagen-based Politiken daily: “We will examine the public health recommendations followed in this area.” The paper reported that the government has commissioned a study on this question.Last month, Politiken published an expose which said the National Board ...

Democracy, Disillusionment and Salvation

While the Jewish people certainly didn’t invent democracy, we should have.Democracy’s ethics of equality and freedom of religion have allowed us not only to survive as an otherwise often subjected minority, but to flourish dramatically and fully participate in society. Far beyond these clear gifts of the post-enlightenment world, democracy enabled the Jewish people to respond to God’s original call ...

Demjanjuk says he’s too sick for trial

John Demjanjuk says he’s in too much pain to follow his trial on charges he served as a guard at a Nazi death camp.The 90-year-old told the Munich state court in a rare statement Tuesday that he belongs “in the hospital and not the courtroom.”The retired Ohio autoworker originally from Ukraine is standing trial on 28,060 counts of accessory to ...

Demjanjuk Attorney: My Client Suffered Like the Jews

John Demjanjuk’s attorney has compared his client’s suffering at the hands of the Nazis to that of the Jews and insisted he should be acquitted on 28,060 counts of accessory to murder.Ulrich Busch said Thursday in his third day of closing arguments that Demjanjuk and other Ukrainian prisoners of war “were considered subhuman; Jews, Ukrainians or Gypsies did not count” ...

Delhi’s last ten Jewish families guard an ancient heritage

In the capital of one of the world’s most religiously-diverse countries, a Rabbi who has never been ordained bends ancient customs, ensuring New Delhi’s ten Jewish families a place to worship.Unlike traditional synagogues, there is no separation of men and women as Jewish-born worshipers, converts and followers of other faiths chant Psalms in perfect Hebrew, with doors thrown open to ...