In Iowa, Rabbi Opens Home for Troubled Jewish Boys

Clayton County, IA – In a small Mississippi River town like Guttenberg, breaking news events are a rarity, so reporter M.J. Smith has been drawn to what she calls “faith in action stories.”

One of her recent columns in the Guttenberg Press (which did not produce the Bible, but is 110 years old) was about a methamphetamine producer in the Oakdale Correctional Complex who was trying to get his life on track. Another week, she covered a church that was negotiating for lower prescription drug prices.

One faith she never had seen in action was Judaism, as it is said that the only Jew in Clayton County is an older man who converted to Lutheranism a few years back. But that all changed this year, when a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi bought a plot of land in the hills between the Mississippi and Turkey Rivers in order to establish what he calls a “youth village” for Jewish youngsters who have gone astray.

Camp Gan Israel: A Model of Love

Yekatrinoslav, Ukraine — If your camp counselor rigged a watermelon with fireworks, your head counselor plunged from the sky on a zip line and your night activity director paraded through a flea market in a hot pink snowsuit, then you’re probably in Ukraine’s Camp Gan Israel Yekatrinoslav.

“We give the kids three weeks of insanity to keep them going for a whole year,” said Akiva Danzinger, a former head counselor. There’s a method to the madness, and the unusual formula behind Yeka’s success is eyed and emulated by Gan Israel camps around the world.

Matisyahu: An Orthodox Bob Marley

Some call him a phenomenon; others, a curiosity. Rolling Stone magazine described him as “the strangest thing to climb the Billboard charts this year.”

One thing is certain, however: Chassidic reggae superstar Matisyahu has arrived, and in a big way.

Despite his black suit, velvet kippah and tzitzit flying in every direction as he bopped around the stage at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre last month, the audience was dancing right along with him, mouthing lyrics such as “treif wine clouds the heart.”

Those singing along, however, were not Lubavitch – they were in their teens and early 20s, and were not necessarily Jewish.

Israel Marks 30th Anniversary of Entebbe

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel, awaiting word of the fate of a captured soldier, marked the 30th anniversary Tuesday of its dramatic rescue of dozens of hostages from hijacked plane in the African nation of Uganda.

In the Entebbe raid on July 4, 1976, Israeli commandos and paratroopers carried out the hastily planned military operation in 99 minutes, whisking more than 100 hostages out of a terminal at Uganda’s international airport and into waiting Hercules military aircraft.

Death bus lawsuit

The grieving parents of a Brooklyn girl killed by a runaway bus have notified the city they intend to file a multimillion-dollar wrongful death lawsuit, the Daily News has learned.

In a notice of claim filed late last week, Amber Sadiq’s parents said they will also seek damages for their son Umar, 10, who watched as his 8-year-old sister was crushed to death on May 22 by a school bus sent down a hill by a little boy.

Hachnosas Sefer Torah at FREE of Illinois

Amidst live music, singing & dancing the Russian Jewish Community of Chicago and Suburbs welcomed a newly restored Sefer Torah this past Sunday. The event that took place at FREE’s newest location in Riverwoods, IL saw large crowds many attending for the 1st time. Thanks to the generosity of Dr. & Mrs. Sergey Golber this Torah that has been unkosher for some time now needing extensive repairs was restored in memory of Alexander Golber, a long time member of FREE.

Kosher packing plant marks grand opening

‘Shalom’ in Hebrew means peace. In Gordon it also means Shalom Rubashkin, the boss of Local Pride, is coming to town. That is precisely what happened Thursday, June 29 when Rubashkin, Governor Dave Heineman, District 49 Senator LeRoy Louden, representatives of the Pine Ridge Reservation and over 500 townspeople were at the Gordon plant to celebrate nearly one year of operation with a kosher meal and ribbon cutting ceremony.

Local Pride, LLC is owned by the Rubashkin family, who also own AgriProcessors of Postville, Iowa. Opened in 1989, AgriProcessors has since become he nation’s largest kosher meat packing plant, employing approximately 800 people.

Yarchei Kallah in Monsey in Honor of Gimmel Tammuz

A beautiful Kiddush Shem Lubavitch was made by Anash in Monsey who gathered for a Yarchei Kallah learning program in honor of Gimmel Tammuz.

New Shluchim To Florida

Rabbi and Mrs. Mendy and Leah Rosenfeld of New Haven CT will IYH be moving on Shlichus to East Lake Worth, Florida where they will establish Chabad of Green Acres and Atlantis.

The Rosenfelds were appointed by Rabbi Avrohom Korf, head Shliach of Florida.

HATZLOCHA RABBA!

The new Shluchim can be reached at CSchochet@aol.com

New Chabad Representatives Reach Out Across California

LOS ANGELES, CA –The rapid growth of Chabad of California is continuing, highlighted by the addition of two new community centers in different parts of the state. Both Northern California’s

Napa Valley and Southern California’s West Hills area now host local Chabad Centers that will extend the reach of the organization’s educational and social services.

Rabbi and Mrs. Elchonon Tenenbaum have recently been appointed to serve in Napa Valley, and Rabbi and Mrs. Avi Rabin are already working in West Hills, located in the S. Fernando Valley. While these communities have their outward differences, both rabbis agree that the best way to approach their new assignments is to reach out and connect with residents one at a time.

Israir Airlines to provide transportation from JFK before Tishrei

Valley Stream, NY — Israir Airlines announced today that it will provide shuttle bus service from JFK International Airport to 770 Eastern Parkway following some of their pre-Rosh Hashana Flights.

“Israir is a proud and committed supporter of Chabad-Lubavitch,” said Stuart Katz, Managing Director of Israir Airlines. “We look forward to welcoming our many guests from throughout the state Israel, and hope that this added convenience will enhance their trip.”

Israir has been involved with Chabad initiatives in the past; among them the corporate sponsorship of the International Kinus Hashluchim in 2006.

My brother’s keeper

Chabad’s “kindness” project seeks to serve community

One of the natural characteristics of being a Jew is doing acts of kindness, says Rebbitzen Chani Ezagui of Chabad of Palm Beach, explaining the motivation behind the shul’s new outreach project, “The Inner Circle.” “Doing simple kindness to others is what we are all about, beginning with our forefather Abraham, whose whole being was chesed (kindness),” she says.

The Inner Circle project, launched recently with an orientation luncheon meeting at the shul for prospective volunteers, will comprise a number of community programs. One is its “Kosher Meals on Wheels,” which will distribute meals not only to the needy, but also to those who are ill or recovering from an operation or a death in the family. Volunteers will also deliver meals to women following childbirth, and to newcomers to the community.