Video – Envoys Walk Out of UN Racism Conference

GENEVA, Switzerland [CNN] — Dozens of international envoys walked out during a speech by Iran’s president Monday as he accused Israel of having a “racist government” and committing genocide.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the West of making “an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering … in order to establish a totally racist government in occupied Palestine.”

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Center’s Mission is to Just Be There for Patients in Need

By Chana Kroll for Chabad.org

Championship cyclist Michelle Bono, right, befriended Rabbi Eliezer and Rochel Lazaroff during her first round of chemotherapy in Houston, Texas.

HOUSTON, TX — Championship cyclist Michelle Bono remembers being uncomfortable the first time she came to Friday night Shabbat services at Houston, Texas’ Aishel House.

“I was wearing pants, so I felt like I should just stand in the back,” says Bono, somewhat incredulous at her discomfort.

Survey: Sharp Rise in Anti-Semitism in 2009

JERUSALEM [JTA] — A new survey shows that anti-Semitism rose sharply in early 2009 after a decrease in 2008.

The survey, conducted by the Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University in cooperation with the European Jewish Congress, was released Monday on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day and at the start of the Durban II anti-racism conference.

At Pratt University, Students Design Chabad’s Jewish Center

by Dvora Lakein – lubavitch.com

BROOKLYN, NY — Construction is set to begin on a 2,000 square foot storefront which will serve the 5,000 Jewish students enrolled at five downtown Brooklyn colleges. The largest of those schools, the prestigious Pratt Institute, with 1,000 Jewish students, has the third highest percentage of Jewish students in the nation.

Reminding the Worlds Most Powerful Jew, He Is Jewish

By Matt Wagner the Jerusalem Post

Rahm Emanuel the White House Chief of Staff has Obama’s ear

ISRAEL — National Union chairman Ya’acov “Ketzele” Katz sent a letter to White House chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel last week admonishing him not to forget his Jewish and Israeli origins.

Katz’s missive came in response to a reported verbal exchange between Emanuel and an unidentified American Jewish leader.

Animal Rights Bill Can Endanger Shechita Practices

Brunei News

Illustration Photo – Rabbi Osdoba inspects a knife used to slaughter cows at a meat plant – 2006

EUROPEAN UNION — Rabbis and Jewish communities throughout Europe have been rallied to try to stop legislation that would ensure more humane treatment of animals being slaughtered.

A new EU bill aims to lessen the suffering of animals for the Jewish method of shechita, or ritual slaughter.

Reminder: Only Days Left to Make Birchas Hailanos

Illustration Photo – Beis Rivka girls making Birchas Hailanos, Nissan 5756

This Friday, the 30th of Nissan, April 24th will be the last day to make Birchas Hailanos, the blessing recited over blossoming fruit trees.

ברוך אתה ה אלוקינו מלך העולם שלא חיסר בעולמו כלום וברא בו בריות טובות ואילנות טובות ליהנות בהם בני אדם

Click here to learn more about this Mitzvah – Chabad.org

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Defiance – The Bielski Brothers Heroic Tale of Survival

By Deena Yellin for Chabad.org

As the film credits rolled, Jessica Bielski sat perfectly still in her chair and wept. Seeing the critically acclaimed film Defiance for the first time moved her to tears, but at the same time, it thrilled her. Finally, her grandfather’s amazing story would be told to the world.

Growing up, people had often told the New Jersey girl that her grandfather Zus had been a hero. But the full extent of his valor didn’t hit the teenager until she saw it for herself onscreen. Jessica first saw the picture in a special screening for all of the Bielski family at the Jewish Heritage Museum in Manhattan last September.

Nissan in Kharkov

A month full of special programs and Hakhel gatherings in Kharkov began with a short 48 hour trip by Rabbi Gershon Mendel Gorelik, head shliach in Italy. His trip was part of the Worldwide Hakhel program arranged by Agudas Chassidei Chabad. The visit was especially moving as Rabi Gorelik returned to his birthplace, Kharkov for the first time since his childhood. He told stories of the self sacrifice of his family and was impressed at the renewal of Yiddishkeit in a place that had been full of fear of KGB and police.

More pictures in the Extended Article!

Jets Change Schedule to Accommodate Jews

NEW YORK — As suggested by many a critic of the NFL schedule that put the New York Jets’ fans at a disadvantage if they wanted to be observant Jews, the league has pushed up the start-time for the team’s second home game.

The game will be played at 1 pm EDT rather than 4:15 pm on Sunday September 27th. Yom Kippur, the holiest of days in the Jewish calendar begins at sundown that day.

Man on a Mission: Baruch Weiss and the Search for Justice

By Richard Greenberg for the Washington Jewish Week

WASHINGTON — A federal prosecutor typically spends no more than half a dozen years with the government before graduating to private practice, where the prospect of serious money beckons.

Baruch Weiss did not follow that well-worn career path, and those who know him are not surprised.

Erev Pesach in Ulyanovsk Russia

There was a very excited crowd for Birchas Hachama, early on Erev Pesach morning, Men, women, and even children showed up for this special mitzvah! The program started with Beni Katz making a siyum for all the bichorim in the city, then fulfilled the mitzvah of Birchas Hachama which culminated in lively singing and dancing. Burning the chometz took place right after that, with everyone throwing their last pieces of Chometz into the flames. It ended with a warm meal to satisfy the hunger after so much action.