A ‘warning’ from Israel that merits the worlds attention

As Israel’s planned pullout from the Gaza Strip draws near, three Israeli scholars have sounded an alarm about the potential dangers that could follow the withdrawal. In a message entitled “A Warning from Israel,” Uri Davis, Ilan Pappe and Tamar Yaron – all three of whom have extensive knowledge of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict – say they fear the Israeli evacuation of Gaza could be a prelude to disastrous war crimes against the Palestinian inhabitants of the territory. Based on their analysis of the “past behavior, ideological leanings and current media spin initiated by” Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government, they conclude that a primary motive for the Gaza withdrawal is to remove Jewish settlers so that they will be “out of harm’s way when the Israeli government and military possibly trigger an intensified mass attack on approximately one and a half million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

NY police begin random bag searches on subways

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York authorities began randomly searching bags of subway passengers on Friday in the aftermath of a second set of London bombings and planned to extend the practice to buses, airport trains and suburban commuter lines.

Riders on the nation’s largest subway system waited patiently while officers at various stations around the city combed through their briefcases and knapsacks on the first day of what Mayor Michael Bloomberg said would be a practice that would go on indefinitely.

“Clearly we’ll do it for a little while. It’s partially designed to make people feel comfortable … and keep the potential threat away,” Bloomberg said in his weekly radio show, adding that there were no new threats to New York.

In Washington, D.C., officials said they were not instituting a similar system of random searches on subways, but were still considering it.

Breaking Down Hate Crime

When a group of white men attacked three black men on the streets of Howard Beach, Queens, last month, severely beating one with a baseball bat, it was the 125th hate crime in New York this year, according to records collected by the Police Department.

The attack echoed an assault from nearly 20 years earlier when another group of white men armed with bats chased three black men through the same neighborhood, causing the death of one victim, who ran in front of a car while trying to escape.

In one notable difference, two suspects in the latest attack have been charged with first-degree assault as a hate crime — a provision that did not exist in New York until the Hate Crimes Act of 2000. That law, for the first time, allowed harsher sentences for criminals who single out victims because of personal traits like sexual orientation, race or religion. As a result, these suspects, if convicted, would face a minimum penalty of eight years in prison — compared with a five-year minimum for regular assault.

Sealed with a bris

Former Soviet Jews affirm their faith with late-life ritual

Valeriy Kozlov did the unthinkable: He went under the knife for religious reasons.

Kozlov, a Belarus native, followed the example of his friend Leonid Marder, a Russian emigre who was circumcised at age 66. Both resettled in Reisterstown, Md., a city near Baltimore that is home to many Jews from the former Soviet Union.

“As with any operation, a person is afraid of blood — of being cut,” Kozlov said. “But when a person becomes more spiritual, he understands that physical pain is less significant.”

Paul Steinberg, Longtime Dean and Rabbi, Is Dead at 79

Rabbi Paul M. Steinberg, a dean at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York for 50 years, died on July 8 at a hospice in Riverdale, the Bronx. He was 79.

Dr. Steinberg, whose home was in Scarsdale, N.Y., had been ill for some time but remained a presence on the campus in Greenwich Village until last month, the College-Institute said. In addition to his administrative duties, he was the Sinsheimer distinguished service professor of Jewish religious education and human relations at the institution.

Israel protests pope Papal silence on terror

Trying to change the Vatican’s habit of excluding Israel when condemning terrorist attacks, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican envoy Monday to protest Pope Benedict XVI’s failure to mention recent attacks in Israel during a condemnation of world terrorism.

In his noontime sermon on Sunday, the pope prayed for God to stop the “murderous hand” of terrorists, and referred to the recent “abhorrent terrorist attacks” in Egypt, Britain, Turkey and Iraq. He did not mention the July 12 suicide bombing that killed five people in Netanya.

The Silent Majority

The New York protest Tuesday against Israel’s plan to leave Gaza was surprisingly small. Yet the street voice of the reported Jewish majority has been even smaller.

The reasons are many, say dovish activists and establishment centrists who back Israel’s plan, why their camp has not staged any demonstrations here supporting Israel’s pullout while those opposed to it have now staged three; that includes a rally and concert after the Salute to Israel parade las month.

Young Jews mix pop culture and tradition to connect with their roots

At ChosenCouture.com, T-shirts that say “You had me at Shalom” are for sale, along with “He’Brew” pint beer glasses.

The Web site is among a growing number of nontraditional magazines, music and fashion developed by young Jews seeking new ways to appreciate their cultural and religious roots.

Shabbos Times For The Castkills Region And Brooklyn

The Orthodox spirit of Wall St. since 1929

The early 1960s was a time when the Wall Street Synagogue was lacking a minyan or quorum of Jewish men needed for a religious service to commence. To fulfill that solemn religious obligation I was one of a contingent of a few nice Jewish boys of bar mitzvah age to make up the minyan at the shul. On sabbath and on Jewish holidays we all walked from such streets as Grand and Clinton to make the Wall Street Synagogue a functional synagogue and to top it all off, we were paid $3 for our services. Among this group was Sheldon Silver, now the state Assembly speaker from Lower Manhattan, who tagged along with one of his friends, just to keep him company.

‘Warm, close family’ part of Chabad’s appeal

If there’s a key to the success of Chabad Lubavitch, it’s the combination of its emissaries’ strict adherence to Jewish law and their non-judgmental embrace of other Jews, says Sue Fishkoff, author of The Rebbe’s Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch.

Speaking last week at Chabad Lubavitch of Markham, the California-based JTA correspondent noted that in less than 40 years Chabad has become a billion-dollar outreach empire with more than 4,000 shluchim in more than 70 countries.

Raising Their Voice Against The Pullout

At Midtown rally with a major Lubavitch presence and protests worldwide, Jews express solidarity for settlers and displeasure with Israeli government.

Tzivos Hashem Joins World Wide Rally To Vanquish The Enemy

On Sunday morning the news hit Crown Heights that the Rebbe’s Shliach to Gush Katif, Rabbi Kirshenzaft, was seriously wounded in a terrorist attack. He was in a car together with a visitor from California when a bomb exploded close by. All the car windows were shattered, and both passengers suffered wounds from the flying debris. At first it was reported that Kirshenzaft had sustained life threatening wounds. A few hours later it was learned that the wounds were not as serious as first reported B”H.

The students of the Chabad Yeshiva that was recently established in Gush Katif heard the sound of the nearby explosion. Rather than going to see what happened, and possibly being on the scene during a follow up attack, the students said Tehillim for Rabbi Kirshenzaft for two hours straight. [In the afternoon when I called Rosh Yeshiva Tzvi Bogomilsky, he answered his phone just as the boys were singing “Utzu Aitza.” The singing was incredibly loud and enthusiastic. It is very encouraging to hear the words “Contrive a plot…but it will not materialize, for G-d is with us” coming straight from Gush Katif.]

Opponents of Gaza Pullout Admit Defeat

Opponents of Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip abandoned their efforts to stage a thousands-strong protest march in support of Jewish settlers late Wednesday. As the demonstrators headed home, the anti-pullout movement appeared increasingly chaotic with the withdrawal less than a month away.

Todays Daily News

Rabbi Moshe Binyomin Kaplan OBM

With sadness we inform you of the passing of Rabbi Moshe Binyomin Kaplan of Jerusalem and father of Rabbi Nochem Kaplan – Crown Heights, Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan – Shliach to Baltimore, MD and Mrs. Cherry Ulman – Jerusalem. He was 85.

The Levaya will take place Wednesday afternoon in Jerusalem.

R. Moshe Binyomin was a prominent member of the Crown Heights community and was a Baal T’filah at the Rebbes Shul 770 for Shacharis on Yomin Noraim, he moved to Yerushalayim a few years ago.

Thief Cought Red Handed In 1414 And Resisted Arrest

At about 3:00 AM when all the Bochurim were still at Farbrengens, a thief went around into rooms and took money.

Then some Bochurim noticed what was going on they tried to stop the guy but couldn’t control him so Shomrim were called and they couldn’t hold the man either so the cops were called and they managed to control him and arrest him.