Daily Archives: August 30, 2005

Oregon synagogue vandalized in hate crime

Two brothers and a third man have been charged with various crimes after rocks engraved with Nazi symbols were thrown through windows at a synagogue during a religious service.

Jacob Albert Laskey, 25, his brother, Gabriel Doyle Laskey, 20, and Gerald Anthony Poundstone, 27, all were charged with conspiracy to violate civil rights in federal grand jury indictments unsealed Tuesday.

Jacob Laskey also was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice relating to witness intimidation, three counts of solicitation relating to attempts to kill potential witnesses, solicitation to communicate a bomb threat intended to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.

Jews attack two Arab residents of Israel

A Jewish group attacked two Arab residents of Israel, from Ar’ara village, in the north of Israel, while the residents were working at a public park in Ramat Gan city.

The two residents, Mohammad Yasser, and Hazim Omar, were working at the public park when a group of over 40 Jews attacked and punched them.

One of the victims managed to escape, and ran towards Ramat Gan police station to report the attack.

RIVAL AMBULANCE CLASH

A “hot-headed” volunteer ambulance driver was detained by cops last night after refusing to yield to a city ambulance crew that had arrived first at the Lower East Side home of an Alzheimer’s patient, police said.

The driver, from the Jewish volunteer corps Hatzolah, was hauled off by cops. But he was later sprung after about two dozen supporters, as well as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, rushed to the Pitt Street station house.

“The outcome was totally in our favor,” a man who identified himself as the president of Hatzolah said as he jumped into his car.

Silver said he had rushed to the precinct simply to “help mediate the dispute.”

Musician turns to a different kind of horn

Southfield man hopes to be among five finalists competing on the Jewish shofar in New York City.

SOUTHFIELD — As a longtime musician, Rick May knows he’s not the best trumpet player around, but he’s hoping to become the nation’s best blower of the shofar — a wind instrument that will be heard by Jews around the world in synagogues during their upcoming high holidays.

May, 61, recently entered a contest in search of the best shofar blower in America. Sponsored by the National Jewish Outreach Program in New York, the contest will bring five finalists to New York in September for the first “Great Shofar Blast Off” and send the winner to Israel.

An ancient tradition in Jewish history, the shofar is a ram’s horn that is blown 100 times in synagogues on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which this year is Oct. 3. The shofar is also blown 10 days later at the end of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.

Chabad Shluchim Remain In The Storm

As Hurricane Katrina made landfall pounding New Orleans with dangerous 145 mph winds and blinding rains, not everyone managed to get out in time.

Chabad-Lubavitch representatives knew there’d be calls from those who were stuck, and for that reason, they stayed put. Lubavitch.com spoke with Rabbi Yosef Nemes, one of the Chabad representatives to New Orleans earlier today, who hunkered down in his home with people who had contacted him for assistance. “They were evacuated from local hotels and turned to us,” he said, observing that water was beginning to leak into his home as he was speaking.

While they wait for the hurricane to recede, locals can only guess at the damage they will find when the last winds die down and the rains stop. Forecasters predict between 15-20 feet of water flooding, and are calling this a “once-in-a-lifetime” hurricane for the Gulf Coast. “It’ll be a long time recovering” from the damage, said Rabbi Nemes.

Anti-Semitic Elements Out of Control: Statement by Rabbi Y. Krinsky

In response to yesterday’s vicious attack on two yeshiva students, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, Chairman of Lubavitch Educational and Social Services Divisions, issued a statement urging a swift and unequivocal response by the Ukrainian government.

Yesterday’s violent attack on two yeshiva students in Kiev, which leaves one fighting for his life, raises serious concerns about a climate that has allowed anti-Semitic elements to spiral out of control.

The vicious attack demands a swift and unequivocal response by Ukrainian authorities. I urge law enforcement agents to locate this evil at its root, and do everything in its power to eradicate it.

It is apparent that tolerance of any expression of anti-Semitism ultimately emboldens its proponents to act in criminal and insane ways such as was unleashed yesterday on innocent yeshiva students.

Chabad-Lubavitch has a significant number of representatives, women, men and children, who, with no small measure of sacrifice, have dedicated themselves to rebuilding Jewish life and Jewish communities in Ukraine. I am sanguine that the Ukrainian government will continue to extend its support and protection to help facilitate this remarkable revival.

Chabad-Lubavitch and the larger Jewish community anticipate that Ukrainian authorities will prosecute this crime under the full measure of the law, and take all action to ensure the safety of its Jewish population.