Shooting Right in the Heart of Our Shechuna

At 8:38 I got a call from a friend that was driving up Kingston Ave. and was at the Montgomery St. intersection and all of a sudden he hears about 12 gunshots and sees a black man running towards Kingston Ave. waiving a gun.

The occurrence took place further into Montgomery St. right in front of the “Bais Midrash – Bais Binyomin” Shul.

In what appeared to be a dispute over rent, the man got into a fight and pulled a gun and shot the 2 men (both black), one was hit in the arm and the other is unknown where he was hit. Both were taken to a nearby hospital and the place flooded with Police and Emergency Service Units which proceeded to block off the street and sidewalk and investigate the occurrence.

From eye witness accounts the police were able to get a description of the man and arrested him shortly after. On site a few young black kids went and cut the yellow “Police: Do Not Cross” tape and were arrested as well.

Carnival brightens survivors’ spirits

Assessing the needs of Hurricane Katrina evacuees in San Antonio, Rabbi Chaim Block found it in the faces of the children.

Block said a Jewish organization in Los Angeles called him and said, “You tell us what they need.”

“I went to the shelter and saw that their basic needs were being met, but what I thought they needed was something to lift their spirits,” said Block, the executive director of the Chabad Lubavitch of South Texas.

Thus, a carnival was born.

Car Thief Strikes Crown Heights Once More

While members of Crown Heights Shomrim Volunteer Patrol were making there usual checks in the neighborhood, one of the members spotted a suspicious person sneaking around in a car. as the member approached the man, he immediately recognized that this is the same perpetrator who had been caught (by Shomrim) and arrested for breaking into someone’s car just one month ago. The perp then noticed the Shomrim member, (the perp by now knows who’s who) and made a run for it.

20+ Shomrim members then followed him into Lefferts park on Lefferts Ave. between Albany and Troy. The members then guarded all corners of the park to make sure they don’t lose sight of him. Shomrim then climbed over the park fence to hold down the perp but they couldn’t find him. After looking around for about a minute or two, they caught sight of him up in a tree where he was pleasantly sitting on a thick branch high up. the perp then began yelling and slurring about how he hasn’t done anything, and Shomrim is always out to get him. “so then why are you all the way up there in the tree if you didn’t do anything”, yelled one passerby.

shomrim then awaited the police who made him come down eventually. After some questioning and investigating, the police had to let the perp go due to lack of substantial evidence. “The problem is,” said one of the officers, “that he doesn’t literally break into cars so there is no proof of ‘forced entry’. We are on your side, but we can’t lock him up just on your word without evidence “.

Shomrim then went to the police station on Empire and New York Ave. to speak with the heads of the department to see if there was anyway to get the perp off the streets and stop him from breaking into more people’s cars.

Until further notice, the perp is still out there thanks to our great friends at the police station. so remember to keep your car doors locked, and your windows closed.

If you see something, say something. Shomrim is available 24/7. Call us at: 718-774-3333

To see the story of the perp being nabbed for the car break in of August 11 click here: Crown Heights Community Blog / SHOMRIM CATCH THE CAR THIEF OF CROWN HEIGHTS

Will Israel join Red Cross?

Member countries of the international Red Cross movement Tuesday asked Switzerland to organize a diplomatic conference by year-end to revive an effort to give Israel full membership status that it has been denied for nearly six decades.

“Switzerland in its role as a depositary state of the Geneva Conventions plans to organize a diplomatic conference charged with adopting a protocol to establish an additional emblem to the existing red cross and red crescent emblems,” the Swiss government said.

U.S. Ambassador in Geneva Kevin Moley said the American delegation was pleased with the talks’ outcome.

Democratic Primaries – Now

Taking place now are the Primaries for the Democratic Nominee which will run against Mayor Bloomberg.

Here is a letter most of the shchunah received, as to who to vote for.

If you are interested in voting and don’t know where to go or what you need to do, the city set up 311 for all of those questions. So don’t hesitate to call.

Katrina’s ‘message’ to Jews

Even as much of New Orleans was still submerged, dead bodies floating on the putrid city-turned-lake, live ones waving from rooftops, the accusations flew fast and furious.

The loss of life and property during the Gulf Coast destruction was the fault of President Bush Louisiana officials city planners those who established a city where disaster was inevitable those who chose to live there racism the Department of Homeland Security FEMA. Choose your villain, or combination of rogues, and point fingers accordingly.

As it happens there is a Jewish concept, too, of finger-pointing at times of catastrophe. But it is of a decidedly different sort. Jewish tradition counsels Jews to point their fingers at themselves.

Crown Heights Hatzalah Gets a New Ambulance

Crown Heights Hatzalah currently has 3 ambulances, 2 that are always ready In front of 770, and another that is parked in the Hatzalah garage.

And now Hatzalah is getting a fourth ambulance, donated by Meir Eichler, Feitel Levin and Shmuel Stern and will be in memory of Meir’s Mother and Feitels Mother in Law Helen [Elka] Eichler.

Hatzalah will be receiving this ambulance in time for Rosh Hashana.

PA starts demolishing synagogues in Gaza

Palestinian security forces have started demolishing the Jewish synagogues left in the Gaza Strip after Israel completed its last withdrawal from the coastal area, security sources said Monday.

Witnesses said as bulldozers started demolishing the synagogue in the Nitsarim settlement in the eastern Gaza city, hundreds of Palestinians climbed to the roof of the synagogue and raised the Palestinian flags, calling “God is great.”

After that, they set fire to the synagogue, the witnesses added.

Islamic law could threaten Jewish courts

A proposal to let Ontario residents use Islamic law for settling family disputes has drawn protests in Canada and at some of its diplomatic sites in Europe, and has thrown into question the official sanctioning of Jewish religious courts in the Canadia province.

The demonstrations were peaceful and generally small, ranging from a couple dozen to a few hundred peope, but organizers said they reflected growing concern over the province’s stance on Islamic law, or sharia.

Ontario’s provincial government has been reviewing a report recommending that sharia be allowed to settle Muslim family disputes such as divorce, and said it will soon make a decision.

Anti-Sharon Rally Featuring Jailed Teenage Girl
Set For Thursday Opposite UN

There will be a large anti-Sharon rally in the large plaza near the United Nations when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visits there Thursday.

Chaya Belogorodsky one of the teenage girls held in prison for months for her anti-expulsion activism, and her father, Moshe, will be principal speakers at the demonstration. Chaya and her father travelled to America to raise awareness about civil rights abuses occurring in Israel and to raise funds for Honenu, the organization providing legal assistance for political prisoners.

Other Speakers include Helen Freedman of Americans for a Safe Israel, Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, Jewish Voice publisher Susan Rosenbluth and Shmuel Sackett of the Jewish Leadership movement, as well as activist members of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

For more information call: 212 828 2424

9/11/05 9:00PM Brooklyn – Manhattan Skyline

In memory of the great tragedy that happen on September the 11th the City of New York puts up 2 beams of light for the entire month of September commemorating the 2 towers that fell, and on the 11th the beams shine with greater intensity then the rest of the month.

This is how it looks from a rooftop in our neighborhood.

NEVER FORGET

Talabani: Iraq not ready for Israel ties

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani made clear on Friday that Iraq was not yet ready for diplomatic ties with Israel and that it would not follow the Pakistani model and begin negotiations with Israeli officials.

Speaking at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington, Talabani said Iraq would recognize Israel only after the Arab League resolutions concerning the Israeli–Palestinian conflict were implemented and after a Palestinian state was declared.

“We are committed to the decisions taken unanimously by the Arab summit in Beirut,” said Talabani in response to questions presented by Israeli reporters at the event. “Many Arab states are forming relations with Israel and if Israel will reach an agreement with the Palestinians, it will facilitate [having relations with Israel].”

Jewish Groups Oppose Rabbi’s Claim That Hurricane Was G-d’s Punishment

Jewish groups have strongly condemned remarks by a leading Israeli rabbi who said that Hurricane Katrina was God’s way of punishing the United States.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Sephardi chief rabbi and the influential spiritual leader of the Shas political party, made the claim during his weekly sermon on Tuesday (Sept. 6). He said that the devastation wrought by Katrina “was God’s retribution” for pressuring Israel to relinquish Gaza and the northern West Bank to the Palestinians.

Yosef, a Torah scholar who often mixes religion and politics, said that President Bush perpetrated the removal of Jewish settlers and Israeli troops from the territories, which are scheduled to be handed over to the Palestinians within weeks.

Head On Collision Rocks The Night

At 1:45 this morning a car headed down Empire Blvd. tried to make a turn up onto Troy Ave. but didn’t seem to notice an oncoming car and was to late for the other car to stop. They collided totaling both vehicles and both drivers were taken to nearby hospitals with minor injuries, just as a precautionary measure. Both drivers and passengers were not Jewish.

More Pictures in the extended article.

Campaign Day: September 8, 2005

Lurching toward the final weekend before their primary, the four major Democratic candidates for mayor filled their schedules with an eye toward a very possible runoff between Tuesday’s top two finishers.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, after voting in Congress on emergency flood funds, headed back from Washington by mid-afternoon for another televised debate among the Democratic candidates, his campaign reported.

Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields sought to solidify her base among black voters.

A Dismal Reality: It Wasn’t Supposed To Be This Way

I was traveling in China when pictures of the looters in New Orleans began to appear on CNN. They were black of course. Looting and raping and burning are what blacks do when the lid loosens. Yes, I could phrase this more cautiously: These things are what some blacks, etc. or, more cutely, not all blacks are looters, but all looters….blah blah.

Yet it happens time and again. There was Los Angeles, burned in 1992. There have been Cincinnati, Miami, Seattle, Washington DC, Chicago, Detroit, Crown Heights, Watts, Newark, on and on and on. When the law loses its grip, the looting begins.

We have come to expect it. Members of my tour group in China to whom I spoke assumed that the looters were black before watching. They had seen it before. I knew it before I saw the pictures. The looters are always black except when, occasionally, they are Latino. If they were looting for food it would be understandable. But that isn’t what is happening. Few of us eat television sets. Nike’s running shoes are not particularly digestible.