Koptsev confesses attack on synagogue, denies nationalism

Moscow, Russia — The Moscow City Court has opened hearings on the merits over the case of 22-year-old Alexander Koptsev, a resident of Moscow, accused of attacking praying worshipers at a Moscow synagogue early this year.

The defendant confessed the very instance of attacking parishioners, but denied any nationalist motive behind his actions.

“I do confess I caused injuries, but I do not recognize guilt under articles “attempted murder” and “incitement of inter-ethnic discord,” Koptsev said.

The prosecutor read out the bill of indictment. Victims began to be questioned afterwards.

Ex-convict: I killed granny

The ex-con who allegedly stabbed to death a Brooklyn great-grandmother was angry that her sister didn’t pay him enough for their sham marriage, police sources said.

Anderson Scrubb, 50, had married a sister of 69-year-old Gloria Boney so that the woman could get a green card, the sources said.

But Scrubb said the family had only paid him half of the $5,000 they promised for his bogus union with Jocelyn Ford. And when Boney refused to pay up and threatened to tell the authorities on Saturday, Scrubb snapped, the sources said.

Chabad of Northwest Corner Celebrates Decade of Growth

Litchfield, CT – Eleven years ago, Rabbi Joseph Eisenbach and his wife, Mina, followed their religious faith and passion to Litchfield. Young and newly married, he was 23 and she was 19, they assumed their roles as emissaries of the centuries-old Chabad-Lubavitch movement in a town where being Jewish was rare and practicing Chabad Hasidism was more so.

Six children later-one more is on the way-the Rabbi and Mrs. Eisenbach are celebrating the Chabad Lubavitch of The Northwest Corner’s 10th anniversary and a move to a larger and more prominent facility on West Street in Litchfield.

“It is a tremendous milestone,” said Rabbi Eisenbach. “We have been blessed that the community has supported us.”

A Remarkable Spirit is Laid to Rest

Ever since he was a teenager growing up in suburban Philadelphia, Staff Sgt. Michael Levin dreamt of moving to Israel and joining the Israel Defense Forces. He died on Aug. 1 fulfilling that dream, fighting in the service of the country he loved near the southern Lebanon village of Aita al-Shaab. He was 22.

In the days and weeks since his untimely passing, many have spoken and written about the American’s dedication to his elite paratrooper unit – he was vacationing with his family in Newtown, Pa., when the war with Hezbollah terrorists broke out in July, and he promptly boarded a plane to enter the fray. But those who knew Levin also attest to his passion for Judaism.

“Michael’s idealism was a total selflessness, a response from within to do the right thing,” said Rabbi Yehuda Shemtov, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Bucks County, where Levin was part of the inaugural teens’ group. “That’s very rare for a teenager.

New Shluchim To Merick New York

Rabbi & Mrs. Shimon Kramer of Kings Park, NY will IYH be moving on Shlichus to Merrick, NY where they will open a Chabad center to serve the Merrick, Bellmore and Wantagh communities and the southeast Nassau area.

They will also continue running the Gan Israel Day Camps of Suffolk County.

The Kramers were appointed by Rabbi Anschelle Perl.

HATZLOCHA RABBA!

If you are aware of any Jewish families in the area, please forward their contact info to: rabbik@gmail.com.

Thousands at Livaya of Chaya Mushka Etia

A huge crowd participated in the livaya of Chaya Mushka Etiya, a’h, daughter of Rabbi Victor Etiya, shliach to Kiryat Arba. She passed away tragically in a fire earlier today. Aside from the family members and locals, the crowd included Lubavitchers from around the country, headed by representative of the Chabad Court in Israel, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glucowsky, Chairman of Aguch, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov, representatives of Tzach and others.

More picture in the Extended Article.

Traffic ticket leads to altercation in Crown Heights

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Crown Heights — A parking ticket given to a woman Saturday night in Crown Heights led to an altercation with police.

Witnesses on Franklin Avenue say they saw 27-year-old Nicole Edite receive a ticket for double parking in front of a store. But they say after the Brooklyn woman cursed at the officer and snatched her ticket away, the officer turned violent and threw the woman to the ground. Witnesses are calling the incident police brutality.

Police say that Edite was in the wrong. Police told News 12 Brooklyn snatching the summons was considered “physical contact.” Edite faces several charges including resisting arrest and harassment. Her family says they plan to file a formal complaint against the officer.

Jewish rite of passage clips hair, welcomes son into age of intellect

Three-year-old Sholom Deitsch nibbled on a cookie as strangers pressed dollar bills into the plastic box he held in his other hand. Then they took turns clasping small scissors and snipping one curly lock from his head, then dropping it into a clear bag held by his mother.

When the long line of amateur barbers had finished giving Sholom his first haircut, the left side of his shaggy mane looked ravaged, but plenty more hair awaited a professional barber to finish the job later in the day.

Through it all, Sholom sometimes squirmed on his high, white throne, but showed restraint through the whispered injunctions from his mom.

Police Find Woman, 69, Strangled in Crown Heights

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A 69-year-old woman was found strangled and stabbed early yesterday in the bedroom of her apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the police said.

The victim, Gloria Boney, an immigrant from Trinidad who moved to New York in 1990, was found a few minutes after midnight after two of her daughters, accompanied by the police, unlocked the door of her apartment on Union Street [between New York Ave. & Nostrand Ave.], the police said.

Couple attacked on Eastern Parkway

Crown Heights — On Motzei Shabbos a Lubavitcher couple walking on Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights was attacked by a group of Black teenagers yelling anti-semitic epithets.

At around 12:30 am, the couple was walking home from escorting a Shabbos guest to her homeless shelter on Ralph Avenue by Eastern Pkwy, and were attacked by a group of Black teenagers on the promenade of Eastern Parkway between Rochester and Utica Avenues.