GENEVA, Switzerland [CHI] — As the UN’s controversial Durban Conference got underway, less the participation of a number of countries, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Pevzner the head Shliach in Geneva came up with the Chabad response.
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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.
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.
We would like to wish Mazal Tov to Alex and Raizel Heppenheimer (Crown Heights) on the birth of their son.
May the newborn be a source of Nachas to his parents, grandparents and Klal Yisroel.
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.
We would like to wish Mazal Tov to Simcha and Hinda (nee Abraham) Frenkel (Johannesburg, South Africa) on the birth of their firstborn daughter.
May the newborn be a source of Nachas to her parents, grandparents and Klal Yisroel.
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.
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.
This Friday, the 30th of Nissan, April 24th will be the last day to make Birchas Hailanos, the blessing recited over blossoming fruit trees.
Click here to learn more about this Mitzvah – Chabad.org
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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.
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.
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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.
We would like to wish Mazal Tov to Shmuel and Devorah Spielman (Crown Heights) on the birth of their daughter.
May the newborn be a source of Nachas to her parents, grandparents and Klal Yisroel.
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.
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