Arab-Induced Riots Shatter Yom Kippur Calm in Northern Israel

Residents of the northern Israeli city of Akko remained on edge Friday after Arab provocation sparked interethnic riots over Yom Kippur that sent eight people seeking medical treatment. During the worst of the violence, some 50 people remained at the local Chabad-Lubavitch center after the holiday, reciting Psalms for their safety.

A Letter to the Community

Dear Community Members

I am writing to you today as a mother of a special needs child. The difficulties involved in raising a child with such special needs are many: Constant attention, supervision and medical care are required 24/7, with some days being more challenging then others.

A few years ago a new light began to shine in my daughters’ life. Thank G-d, a group of caring individuals came together to form an organization that helps families like mine. Since volunteers from The Friendship Circle have begun visiting my daughter, she is a different person. My daughter now has what she always dreamed of. A friend. They bring such joy to her day, it melts my heart.

Google Launches Hebrew Translation Service

Google Inc. has the followed the recent launch of the Hebrew version of its Gmail service with the launch of its new translation service Google Translate, which supports translations of texts to and from 30 languages including Hebrew. The program also aligns paragraphs to the left or right margins of the page depending on the direction of the language.

Op-Ed: Comments, Comments and more Comments!

CrownHeights.info comments crack me up. Or make me mad. Or sad. Or proud. Or embarrassed. Or happy. Usually makes me snort.

They all go something like this:

First you get a set of:
“Well said”
“Thanks for finally speaking up”

Then you get some:
“I disagree….”

Then comes the heat:
“It’s all because of those wacko flag wavers”

Panels reject Chabad plan

LA JOLLA, CA — A proposal by conservative Jewish group Chabad was roundly rejected by a second planning group committee Thursday.

The proposal calls for demolishing an existing single-family home at 2466 Hidden Valley road and replacing it with a two-story, 11,666-square-foot structure to include a synagogue, a rabbi’s residence, a social hall with attendant kitchen and a small preschool.

Op-Ed: The New Gangster

The era of the mob has come to a close. Once the fixtures of the back alley and in-your-face sudden attacks, the Capones and Gotiis have been relegated to movie screenings. The mafia still exists, but like bad Hollywood take-offs, they are generally try-hard copycats.

However, many would argue that a new brand of mobsters have become legitimate criminals. Drive-by shootings are replaced by character assassinations in the drive-by media. A refusal of their demands will welcome impossible ones. Their wars have become deadlier and dirtier. Although wrong and offensive, they are backed by legal authority.

A nation once united by a union force is now hostage to a fierce union movement that is more of a confederacy. The land of the free has been placed in shackles with the exception of the few resistant brave. These labor unions will twist their victims’ arms until they cry mercy, and finally yield. Claiming to protect workers’ rights, the union offends the freedoms granted them in the Bill of Rights. It is their way or the highway, and they are eager to take the low road to suit their interests.

Dear Rebbetzin Raichik and the entire Raichik Family,

I join the Khal Adas Chassidim worldwide in mourning the loss of your dear husband, father and brother. Indeed this is a great loss to you. However this is really a great loss to each and every one of us Chassidim. Not only because of the impact and the special position he had in Tzeirei Agudas Chabad enabling Hafotzas Hamayanos in Eretz Yisroel, which is a top priority by the Rebbe and therefore is a top priority by every single Chassid, but also because of the unique, special, different, and extraordinary Chassidishe traits that Yossi possessed.

He was the example of a true Chassid. He was real, genuine, and true. There was no facade, no impression. Everything with him was face value. What you saw, you got. What was on the in was on the out. This came across in all aspects of his life. He was true as a father, true as a friend, true as a Chassid, true as an employer and true as an employee. And in everything that went along with it.

Continued in the Extended Article.

Man Falls to Death After NYPD Stun Gun Shock

BED STUY, Brooklyn [AP] — An officer appears to have violated police department guidelines when he used a Taser stun gun on a naked, distraught man teetering on a building ledge, officials said Thursday.

Inman Morales, 35, fell nearly 10 feet to his death after he was shocked in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, in the confines of the 77th Precinct. He was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. An autopsy was being performed, but police said he suffered serious head trauma.

Shliach Has Strong Words on Hannity Show

This past Friday, Rabbi Chaim Mentz, Shliach in Bel Air, CA called in to the Sean Hannity Show and expressed how embarrassed he was that the Jews turned away any political speaker at the upcoming rally against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ym”s and that now, none of the press with give the protest more than five seconds of attention.

More in the Extended Article!

Thousands Attend NYC anti-Iran Rally

Efforts by the Jewish organizers of a New York City rally against Iran Monday to keep the event free of politics failed to stop protesters from voicing their avid support for the Republican presidential ticket of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Op-Ed: Open Letter to Parents of Chabad Teens

As we approach Tishrei – of a Shnas Hakhel – many families are considering sending their teenage sons and daughters (sometimes even younger) to Crown Heights for Yom Tov in order to draw from the deep well of Chabad richness – the Rebbe’s Shul, the Sukkah, the Ohel and the streets of the Schunah.

Undoubtedly, many parents feel that the time spent in Crown Heights is a time to charge or recharge the batteries of our children to help them tackle a year of learning, Mivtzoim and success.

There is no Kedushah in the world like Crown Heights in Tishrei, however, a cornerstone of Chabad philosophy is “Zeh LeUmas Zeh Asah Elokim” and therefore great caution is necessary.

Southeast Texas Emerges From Hurricane Ike With Costly Property Damage

For many Jewish residents of southeast Texas, Hurricane Ike amounted to several heart-pounding hours of blasting 100 mph winds and driving rain smack dab in the middle of Shabbat.

Jewish Family of Four Perishes in Russian Airline Disaster

A Jewish family of four was killed Sunday morning when a Boeing 737-500 airplane crashed during its final approach to Perm, Russia. All 88 people aboard Aeroflot Flight 821 are presumed dead, the Interfax news agency reported.

Terror Suspected in Aeroflot Crash which Killed all 88 People Aboard

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report from Moscow that three Jewish families, two Habad students and a Russian general were among the 88 passengers and crew killed in the Aeroflot Boeing 737 crash at Perm, Siberia, Saturday, Sept. 13. The plane was in flight from Moscow.