Monsey, NY +Working Fire+

Monsey, NY +Working Fire+ A working electrical fire on the 2nd floor of an occupied multiple dwelling at 110 Adar Court, M/A requested to the scene.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn +Fire At Multiple Family Housing+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Fire At Multiple Family Housing+ A fire Friday night that started from shabbos candles on the top floor of a 7 story 70x150 brick project multiple dwelling at 50 Division Avenue and Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, extra E&T's were needed due to window bars on the building, and the NYPD from the 90th Pct were requested for crowd control. Numerous Hatzolah units were respondimg but no serious injuries reported.

Brooklyn, NY +Car Into Tree+

Brooklyn, NY +Car Into Tree+ A motor vehicle accident with a car into a tree on Quentin Rd and East 3rd. Street, Hatzolah on the scene.

Borough Park, Brooklyn +2nd Alarm Fire+

Borough Park, Brooklyn +2nd Alarm Fire+ Fire on first floor of a 3 story 25x25 class 3, mixed occ, at 4626 New Utrecht Avenue and 47th Street Yanky's Take Out, some f/F are trapped, all hands.

U/D: 16:41
Fire on all 3 floors now, is D/W/H. Searches in prog. One 10-45 code-2.

U/D: 17:13
Fire now a 3 alarm, fire on the 1,2,3rd floors and into cookloft.
Requesting Transit to stop the "L" train.
Aviation above.

U/D: 17:41
Fire now placed under control, all other searches are negative.

Israel - Three People With Possible Avian Flu

Israel - Three people hospitalized for possible avian flu, the flu suspected of spreading as lab tests apparently confirm presence of deadly virus in Israel.

Israel halts all exports of unprocessed chicken and turkey meat.

Rise in Brooklyn Townhouse Prices In 2005

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Townhouse sales in Brooklyn surged during the second half of 2005 as a strong economy and low interest rates attracted buyers.

During the second half of 2005, townhouse prices in Greenpoint and Williamsburg rose fastest, with the average reaching $751,095, up 58% from a year earlier, partly because the average size of the homes grew. On a per-square-foot basis, prices were up 21%.

But researches say that the market may change as supply begins to catch up with demand. “The balance has shifted and buyers have more options,” the borough now has more than 200,000 townhouses. “Inventory has loosened and there are more apartments on the market, but the pace is slowing down from a record.
continued below advertisement.

Wolfeboro, NH - Court Sides With School Over Swastika Flap

Wolfeboro, NH - A federal judge has sided with education officials who suspended a high school student after he wore a patch depicting a crossed-out swastika.

The court says officials at Kingswood Regional High School did not violate Paul Hendrickson's free speech rights when they asked him to remove the patch.
Hendrickson was suspended after he refused to remove the patch. He says the crossed-out swastika was intended to express a message of tolerance.

Bird Flu Scare In Israel

Israel - Hundreds of poultry were found dead in southern Israel raising fears of the first outbreak of deadly bird flu in Israel.

"The initial tests indicated it was bird flu although these were not the final results and everything is still being tested in the laboratories", an official said.

Palisades Parkway +Motor Vehicle Accident+

Palisades Parkway +Motor Vehicle Accident+ A MVA on the Palisades Interstate Parkway near Spring Valley, NY. Monsey Hatzolah responding.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Village Trustee Solicited Campaign Cash For Someone Who Isn't In A Campaign

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Howard D. Mills, New York State's superintendent of insurance, accepted $15,000 in campaign contributions last year even though he is not running for office, campaign filings show.

The campaign filings show that on Aug. 24, Mr. Mills's campaign account received $2,500 donations from Abraham Rubin, Lipa Rubin and Malky Landau, all of Brooklyn. A month later it received a fourth $2,500 donation, from Joshua Steinberg, also of Brooklyn. None had contributed to his Assembly campaign before.

Mr. Mills, a former Republican state assemblyman from Orange County, continues to use his old Assembly campaign account to pay for meals, cellphone bills, flowers, and more, the filings show.
Mr. Mills left the Assembly in 2004 after mounting an unsuccessful campaign to unseat Senator Schumer. After Mr. Mills lost in a landslide, Gov. Pataki appointed him to the $127,000-a-year insurance post, where he is responsible for regulating about a thousand firms that hold more than $2 trillion in assets.

In an interview, Mr. Mills said that while he is not running for any office this year, and does not expect to seek office before 2008, he has kept his campaign account active because he plans on being a candidate again someday.

But such fund-raising by an appointed official would be illegal in New York City, where department heads are not allowed to solicit campaign contributions even if they are running for office.

Rabbi Jacob Freund, a village trustee from Kiryas Joel Monroe, NY, said in an interview that he solicited the donations for Mr. Mills. He said the Brooklyn donors all have ties to Kiryas Joel.
Rabbi Freund said that Mr. Mills had not asked him to solicit the funds, but that he had wanted to do so to thank him for his service as an assemblyman, and because he thinks Mr. Mills will be a rising political star. He said he would only solicit donors who do not have business before the Insurance Department.

"He's not 100 percent kosher, he has to be 110 percent," Rabbi Freund said.

White Plains, NY - Former Westchester D.A. Loses Her ID

White Plains, NY - Former Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro has lost her driver's license and district attorney's badge.

Pirro, who is now running for State Attorney General, might have someone posing as her. She reported the license and badge missing to White Plains police.
Pirro is.
This just before she was to have received a badge that said "District Attorney Retired" to reflect her current status, but she had to turn in her active duty badge, before getting that one.

Ellicott City, MD - Racist Graffiti Found

Ellicott City, MD - Howard County police are trying to find out who's responsible for the racist and obscene graffiti that's been showing up in Ellicott City.

Racist words, swastikas and obscene pictures were found written in chalk the in the driveways of homes along Governors Run Road and Governor Grayson Way.

Similar to the hate crimes that occurred in December in Elkridge, when swastikas were painted on at least 10 homes and cars.

New York State Thruway +Traffic Alert+

Orange County, Tuxedo, New York State Thruway +Traffic Alert+ A multi car motor vehicle accident with serious injuries involving an empty tanker trailer truck heading S/B vs a caravan heading N/B when the T/T crossed the median on the New York State Thruway northbound at MM 43.2, near exit 16, with one aided pinned in the auto, State Police on the scene requesting EMS BLS and ALS units to respond also FD/Rescue.
Center and right lanes in the northbound direction, and left lane in the southbound direction are blocked. Traffic delays through out the area.

U/D: 07:26
State Police reporting three fatalities at the scene, and one aided extricated in critical condition, 2 Medivacs to the scene L/Z on the Thruway.
All lanes Northbound and Southbound are shut down.

U/D: 07:41
Fatal Accident Investigation Team on the scene, Medivac Helo awaiting on the ground for transport.
3 DOA's, 3 ALS patients, 4 BLS patients. M/A Woodbury Heavy Rescue and Ambulance to the scene.

U/D: 07:58
Both Medivacs left the scene, Southbond one lane opened.

U/D: 08:04
State Police reporting a 4th DOA.

U/D: 08:17
Left lane opened northbound.

U/D: 11:49
Units still o/s of earlier fatal MVA, 6-8 miles backup on Thruway, delays on Rt 6 as well.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Serious MVA+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A serious motor vehicle accident at 59th Street and Fort Hamilton, Hatzolah on the scene

Williamsburg, Brooklyn +Fire In Factory+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Fire In Factory+ A 2nd Alarm fire with heavy heat and smoke on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a 4 story 125x50 commercial factory that's under construction at 111 N. 10th & 118 N. 11th Streets between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, building "U" shaped interconnected with other similar buildings, wood truss roof.

U/D: 16:38
Fire department is bringing out injured animals from the fire building.

They have one injured firefighter, and they calling now for a 3 alarm, fire on 2nd and 3rd floors with some extension to the roof, sprinklers operating, fire is DWH.

U/D: 17:09
DAC Spadafora reports, that main body of fire is K/D, 3 L/S/O/ Sprinklers have been shut down, primary searches are negative, secondary in progress.

U/D: 17:19
Companies overhauling, all searches are complete and negative.

Ultra-Orthodox Organization Approved To Endorse Military Chaplains

The Department of Defense approved the Aleph Institute, an organization linked to the Lubavitch movement, to endorse chaplains.
Endorsing agencies provide a required seal of approval for any religious leader who wants to join one of the three branches of the military.

The Miami-based Aleph Institute will join the Jewish Welfare Board's Jewish Chaplains Council, which, since 1918, has been the only body endorsing Jewish chaplains.

The approval of a Lubavitch body is particularly notable because Lubavitch rabbis are currently not able to become chaplains because of a military regulation banning beards. The new body will endorse rabbis from other corners of the Orthodox world, but it is also likely to lead any efforts to overturn the military's prohibition on chaplains having beards.

Dallas-Fort Worth - Groundbreaking For New Synagogue

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX - The tiny Ohr HaTorah congregation, made up of 20 families, is now more than 180 families, and Ohr HaTorah is the fastest growing of the nine Orthodox Jewish synagogues in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and in the next few weeks, construction will begin on a permanent home.
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Sunday at 6324 Churchill Way in Dallas, it will be the largest Orthodox synagogue in the area.

Rabbi Aryeh Feigenbaum calls the project a miracle. The sanctuary of the two-story 40,000-square-foot building will be traditional, with large windows, wood paneling, stonework and separate seating for men and women.

Tajikhistan - Authorities Suspend Demolition Of Country's Only Synagogue

Tajikhistan - Authorities have agreed to suspend the demolition of the ex-Soviet republic's only synagogue to clarify disputed issues.

They have postponed a final decision on the synagogue's fate until the second half of the year to allow more time to clarify ownership rights over the building. Officials in Tajikhistan confirmed the suspension but refused to provide more details.

In February, the authorities began demolishing the synagogue. The century-old synagogue on government land in the ex-Soviet republic's capital Dushanbe was to be razed off to clear a place for the construction of a new presidential palace.

Parts of the synagogue's terrace and an adjacent house have been torn down.

South Carolina - 13-Year-old Orthodox Jewish Girl Wins Spelling Bee

South Carolina - After nine rounds, the Academy student 13-year-old Hindy Naparstek, won the 18th annual Regional Spelling Bee held at Myrtle Beach High School.

Afterward she was nearly speechless about her win on Purim, a Jewish holiday.
"I was nervous. I didn't think I would win," said Hindy.
She correctly spelled Mediterranean to win after two final rounds, which were held because the finalists did not correctly spell their last words.

Hindy, who advances to the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee set for the end of May, competed against 53 other top spellers from Horry and Georgetown counties including last year's winner, Morgan Gilliam.

Hindy will represents the area at the national bee in Washington, D.C.

Sullivan County, NY - Verizon Wireless Expands Its Network

Sullivan County, Wurtsboro, NY - In a continuing effort to provide wireless service for local residents in Sullivan County, Verizon
Wireless, has expanded its network with a new cell site in Wurtsboro. The new site increases coverage and capacity along Route 17 between Monticello and Bloomingburg, and along Route 209 near Wurtsboro and the Basher Kill State Preserve.

Baghdad, Iraq - U.S. Launches Largest Air Assault

Baghdad, Iraq - The American military says U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched the largest air assault against insurgents since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Brooklyn, NY - Witness Testified About Mafia Cops Involvment In Killing Of Jewish Jeweler

Brooklyn, NY - Jurors sat riveted in Brooklyn Federal Court yesterday, as crime family associate Burton Kaplan delivered a full day of damaging testimony against Mafia cops Eppolito and Caracappa, who are accused of participating in eight murders and other racketeering acts during their decorated police careers.
Kaplan who was working for Mafia underboss Anthony Casso, said he first did business with his pal Santoro, when he told him that his cop cousin and his partner will do some business for them.
At that time in 1986, when underboss Casso decided that a jeweler named Israel Greenwald had become a liability, Santoro told Kaplan, that the two cops would do the "job" for them for a $25,000 contract.
Kaplan told him that he was involved in a racket with a Hasidic banker from Williamsburg named Joe Banda, who could help turn stolen Treasury bills provided by Casso into cash.
With the help of Greenwald, Banda laundered a bill in Europe that netted a quarter of a million dollars for Casso and Kaplan.
But Casso became convinced Greenwald was going to rat out the operation, Kaplan said. So Kaplan turned to Santoro, to tell his cop cousin and his partner to go ahead with the contract.
Kaplan said Santoro told him it would be easy "without any doubt."
"They would take him on the highway. They would pull him over with the flashing light, they would say he was wanted for a hit-and-run," and Kaplan said then they finally took Greenwald to a parking garage, where Santoro said he shot him.

A few years later, after Santoro was killed, Kaplan became close to the cops. One day they met in a cemetery, and recalled the Greenwald hit.
Kaplan said yesterday that Caracappa had one question. "Just off the top of my mind, what did you pay Santoro for that thing we did?" Kaplan said, quoting the cops.
Kaplan said he lied and told the detectives he paid $30,000.
"Frankie only told us $25,000," Caracappa allegedly responded.

Staten Island, NY - Boy, 12, Was Told Parents Died In Plane Crash

Staten Island, NY - Adam learned the tragic truth yesterday - that both of his parents died in the Sunday night plane crash that miraculously spared the lives of him and his elder sister Amber.

The 12-year-old was awake early yesterday in his hospital bed when doctors carefully removed his breathing tube so he could talk to a grief counselor.
"He knows. He's doing okay. He's sleeping now," said his heartbroken half-sister, who joined relatives yesterday for the funeral of her dad, 56. "The children still need everyone's prayers."
Adam still had a lacerated liver and fractured skull while Amber, 13, remained unconscious with swelling at the base of her brain.

The Staten Island family was returning from a Florida trip when their twin-engine plane clipped a tree and crashed amid heavy fog near Old Bridge Airport in New Jersey.

About 60 mourners gathered at the Menorah Chapels on Staten Island to eulogize the loving parents.

They were buried alongside their 3-year-old son, who died in a 1999 fire, at United Hebrew cemetery on Staten Island.

Monsey, NY +Unusual Fire+

Rockland County, Monsey, NY +Unusual Fire+ EMS on the scene on Monsey Blvd with a female that set her self on fire, EMS transporting the female, FD venting the building.

Manahattan, NY +F.D.R. Drive Traffic Alert+

Manahattan, NY +F.D.R. Drive Traffic Alert+ A MVA with an NYPD Highway motrocycle down on the northbound of the F.D.R. Drive at Delancy Street, MOS is injuried but concious, PD requesting EMS forwith, roadway being shut down, ESU on the scene.

U/D: 16:38
Escorting EMS ambulance #1816 with aided MOS to Bellevue Hospital.

U/D: 16:47
Roadway is back open.

Buchanan, NY - Today's Indian Point Test A Success

Buchanan, NY - A test of the emergency siren system for the Indian Point nuclear power plants went smoothly today, with none of the computer problems that swamped a test last week.

The owner of the plants and the Westchester County government reported that preliminary computer results showed that all 156 of the sirens sounded during the test.

"We're very pleased that the sirens worked this time," said Susan Tolchin, chief adviser to Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano.

New York - Food Stamp Sours Under Mayor Bloomberg

New York has an estimated 700,000 residents eligible for, but not signed up to receive, food stamps, a lack that costs the city millions in federal aid.
New York participation in the food stamp program dropped during the mayoralty of Rudy Giuliani, mainly, critics say, because he insisted on having applicants finger-printed.

While there has been a 30 percent increase in participation since Michael Bloomberg became mayor, thousands are still not getting food stamps.
If 500,000 additional eligible people received food stamps, New York grocers would realize $650 million in federal aid.

While many people are skipping applying for food stamps because of the levels of red tape, there has been a big increase in demand at privately run food pantries.

Salem, MA - Suspects Face Arraignment In Connection With Hate-Filled Graffiti

Salem, MA - Two suspects face arraignment today following a graffiti spree that marked several homes and buildings with swastikas and satanic markings on Boardman Street.

Chrystopher Clarke is charged in connection with the swastikas and 666's painted on buildings and monuments around Salem and will be arraigned sometime today.
A warrant has also been issued for another one connected with the vandalism, and one juvenile, will be arraigned in Salem juvenile court.
Residents were shocked and appalled at the hate-filled vandalism.

A holocaust survivor reportedly lives on the street. It is unclear if the markings were intended toward that individual.

New York - +State Thruway Shut Down At Tuxedo+

New York - +State Thruway Shut Down At Tuxedo+ The New York State Thruway South and North bound has been shut down shortly after noon at M/M 38.4 due to a fatal MVA with two vehicles that roledover, and two aided heavily pinned inside the vehicle and one 3-year-old child ejected and was DOA at the scene, one Medivac was launched and another one canceled.
The crash is on the southbound lanes between Harriman and Sloatsburg, New York State Police, FD and EMS are all on the scene.

U/D: 13:56
Traffic is now very slow on the northbound lanes due to rubbernecking, and Southbound traffic is just inching ahead in one lane that is was now opened.
A black SUV could be seen overturned on its roof, with thick black skid marks visible.

Staten Island , NY - Third Brush Fire In Five Days Is Now A 4th Alarm

Staten Island , NY - For the third time in five days firefighters are battling a large brush fire on Staten Island.

The fire erupted on the south shore of Staten Island this morning, and authorities feared high winds and dry conditions could quickly spread the flames.

The fourth-alarm fire erupted in Ocean Breeze Park, near homes on Quintard
Avenue and Olympia Blvd. Firefighters are battling the flames, while nearby homeowners are nervously watching, as fire is nearing their structures and closing in to the Staten Island North Hospital. Fire Department are now requesting the Bambi Bucket to respond for aerial water drops.

Firefighters say that multiple fires have broken out at the same time. It was the latest in a string of fires to hit the south shore of the island. Last night hours after officials met to discuss ways of controlling the brush fire problem, a blaze broke out in Great Kills Park.
Officials were discussing the five-alarm fire that devoured 75 acres on Saturday night. Both fires were under investigation and labeled suspicious.

New York City, NY - NYPD Arrest Volunteer EMT, For Possession Of Illegal Badge

New York City, NY - A volunteer EMT has been arrested by the NYPD of the Central
Park Precinct for possession of an EMT badge that had the NYS seal.

The president of Central Park Medical Unit advises, that the NYPD will arrest any EMT or Paramedic who is wearing or is in possession either on or off duty any EMT or Paramedic Badge which is not issued by the City of New York or the State of New York.

There may also be a related problem with the blue "excelsior" EMT patch which has the NYS seal.

New York City Central Park Medical Unit reports it has been told by the NYPD at the Central Park Precinct not to wear this badges. And the squad has instructed its personnel not to wear badges.

Jerusalem, Israel - Five Far-Right Jewish Activists Arrested

Jerusalem, Israel - Police have arrested five Israeli far-right religious teens, including two minors, suspected of puncturing the tires of police vehicles and stoning Arab-owned cars in the city over the last couple months.

The five, who were apprehended were brought to a Jerusalem court for a remand hearing.
A search of their homes uncovered canisters of orange spray paint and makeshift knives.

The five are also suspected of vandalizing the city's Sadigora Yeshiva, and physically assaulting the head of the yeshiva.

Separately, 49 religious Charedim teens were apprehended in Jerusalem for stoning passing vehicles over the Purim holiday, police said.

Moscow - Russian Hackers Attack Jewish Web Site

Moscow - Russian hackers have attacked the Web site of the World Congress of Russian-Speaking Jews and posted ads, accompanied by big red banners, invites site visitors to join the ’Russians against drugs’ rally.

No anti-Semitic slogans have been posted on the page.

Thompson, NY - Route 42 Widening Ahead

Thompson, NY - The DOT will begin on a $3.9 million road-widening project along Sullivan County’s main shopping strip, a busy stretch of Route 42 in the Town of Thompson. The project will be running past a strip mall, The Home Depot, ShopRite and Town Hall.

The DOT has pushed the project ahead because of the many accidents and bottlenecks. “Ask anybody who has driven down there in the summertime,” Thompson Councilman Bill Rieber said. “Just to continue any prosperity we have in the town we have to mitigate traffic problems in that section.”

The road will be widened by two 12-foot lanes, past the shopping mall and to the Town Hall intersection. Other features include sidewalks on both sides of the road; an extra turning lane on Anawana Lake Road to make it easier to get into Wal-Mart; a second lane to the Route 17 “Kiamesha” off ramp at Exit 105B; and various signal and signage improvements.

The project should be under construction in the fall and be completed in late 2007.

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on 21st Avenue and 60th Street, Hatzolah on the scene.

Missouri - Anti-Semitic Candidate Can't Get A Spot On Ticket

Missouri - Glenn Miller can't find a political party willing to accept his $100 filing fee - or his anti-Semitic views - so he can run for Congress, in the August primary. All three state parties turned away rejected Miller.

All state parties are rejecting Miller because of his outspoken statements against Jews and his former involvement in the White Patriot Party, a white supremacist group.
"They're making it virtually impossible to get my name on the ballot," said Miller, adding that he was considering a lawsuit.

Israel - Archaeologists Find Ancient Tunnels

Israel - Underground chambers and tunnels used during a Jewish revolt against the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago have been uncovered in northern Israel.

Staten Island, NY - Bomb Threats At Jewish Center With Start Of Purim Holiday

New Springville, Staten Island, NY - Anti-Semitic hatred may have been at the root of two bomb threats directed at a Jewish family counseling and social work center, with the start of Purim holiday, late yesterday.

Police evacuated the Richmond Avenue office of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, as well as a handful of adjoining stores and businesses, after the center received a note implying the building would blow up.
The Jewish Board received a similar note on Friday, police said, and also someone found a swastika written in crayon outside the center's men's room.

The NYPD's Hate Crimes Unit was investigating the threats, and detectives were questioning two people at the 122nd Precinct's Mid-Island stationhouse.

Flatbush, Brooklyn +Child Struck+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Child Struck+ A motor vehicle accidednt with a child that was struck in Flatbush at East 5th Street between Avenue "T" and Avenue "U", Hatzolah on the scene.

New York, NY - Chaplains Cost City Taxpayers $1M a Year

New York, NY - The case of New York's embattled jailhouse imam, Umar Abdul-Jalil, is causing some to call into question the existence and size of the city's prison chaplain program, which costs taxpayers more than $1 million a year.
The city's Department of Correction employs 21 full-time and 19 part-time chaplains from the Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faiths.
Critics have suggested that the city's employment of clergy is a misuse of taxpayer dollars when other major municipalities, including Los Angeles and Chicago, rely on volunteer chaplains to serve their inmates.

But the city, which has employed clergy in its jails for decades, says a volunteer-based program would not work for the around-the-clock needs of its jail system.

The city's reliance on paid chaplains is an indication that its program has grown too big, the Republican leader in the City Council, James Oddo, said. "It seems that the chaplain program has gone the way of any other government program. It keeps growing over time," Mr. Oddo said.

The paid chaplain division has drawn increased scrutiny after Abdul-Jalil was suspended last week while the city investigates whether his fiery comments warrant his dismissal.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ Hatzolah EMS on the scene in Boro-Park, Brooklyn with an MVA with a child that was struck on 50th Street between 18th and 19th Avenue's, requesting ALS with a rush.

Alabama - Mad Cow Disease Found

Alabama - A cow in Alabama has tested positive for mad cow disease, the Agriculture Department confirmed Monday, the third case in the U.S.

West Virginia - Israeli Hospitals Battle For Man's Estate

West Virginia - The death of a quiet menswear merchant in Appalachian coal country Max Lewin, a Holocaust survivor who made his way to southern West Virginia after World War II, is reverberating in Israel as two leading Israeli hospitals wage a legal battle in an American court over the man's estate of more than $5 million.

Lewin, who died in August 2002 at age 83, willed roughly half his life's savings to "Hadasa Hospital" in Tel Aviv. The problem: wrong spelling, wrong city.
The Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and the parent organization of Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital are both staking claims to the money, and claiming in court that Lewin meant them. And a West Virginia judge's ruling is expected soon.

New York, NY - Some Jewish Leaders Stood Alongside Jailhouse Imam

New York, NY - With his job as the Department of Correction's top Islamic chaplain Imam Umar Abdul-Jalil hanging in the balance, the imam who equated the Bush administration with terrorism and blamed the Jews as reported on VOS IZ NEIAS, had no apologies for his remarks.

Abdul-Jalil's statements have prompted sharp rebuke from officials at Jewish organizations and from the New York Tolerance Center, which questioned whether a figure with apparently extreme views should hold a leadership position in the city's jails.

But some Jewish leaders stood alongside the imam, and defending Abdul-Jalil's service to the city and asserting his First Amendment speech rights, like Jewish correctional leader, Rabbi Baruch Leibowitz of Brooklyn, who is also backing Abdul-Jalil. "Umar is my friend, and I support him," Rabbi Leibowitz said in brief remarks, adding that what was being said about the imam "defied the reality of who he is."

U/D: 03/15/06
Three of the six Jewish chaplains at the Correction Department -- Leib Glanz, Baruch Leibowitz and Herbert D. Richtman -- appeared at a news conference to support Mr. Abdul-Jalil. "The man has no, not even a fraction of, anti-Semitism in his bones," Rabbi Glanz said. He added that the other Jewish chaplains were busy with a Purim service but supported Mr. Abdul-Jalil as well.

Brooklyn, NY - Rabbis Train for Fertility Medicine

Brookly, New York. - A group of 20 rabbis all graduate students at Yeshiva University went to the Genesis Fertility Center to keep things in accordance with Jewish law.

Brooklyn, NY - +Power Outage Kings Plaza Mall+

Brooklyn, NY - +Power Outage Kings Plaza Mall+ A power outage for the entire Kings Plaza Shopping Mall on Flatbush Avenue and Avenue "U" NYPD on the scene requesting ESU for some people stuck in the elevators.

Alexandria, VA - Judge Unexpectedly Halts Moussaoui Trial

Alexandria, VA - An angry federal judge unexpectedly recessed the death penalty trial of confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui to consider whether government violations of rules against coaching witnesses should remove the death penalty as an option.

Moscow - Russian Court Convicts 3 Men Over Anti-Semitic Sign Rigged With Explosives

Moscow - A Russian court convicted three members of an extremist group who were accused of planting an anti-Semitic sign rigged with explosives that injured two men.

The Regional Court in the city of Tomsk in central Siberia, sentence two of them to 23 and 20 years in prison respectively, and a third member of the group, who had repented and helped the investigation, had received a six-year suspended sentence.
The men were convicted on charges of banditry, terrorism and instigating ethnic hatred.
They were accused of planting an anti-Semitic sign that exploded in July 2002, injuring two passers-by who tried to remove it from the side of a highway in the region.

The incident was one of a series of copycat crimes in which such signs were erected around Russia during that time.

New York - Babies Born Within Two Miles Of WTC Site, Feel Effects Of Terror Attacks

New York - A Columbia University study shows that pregnant women and their newborns were affected by toxins released into the air on and after September 11th.

Columbia's Center for Children's Environmental Health is following 300 non-smoking women who lived within two miles of the twin towers and were pregnant when the attacks happened.

The study says babies born to these women were smaller and had lower birth weights than babies born farther away. The DNA in at least half the babies in the study had significant levels of toxins that could increase their risk of cancer.

The study is still ongoing.

Mega Millions Lottery Ticket Was Sold In Rockland County, NY

Rockland, County, NY - The second-prize winning ticket in New York State Mega Millions lottery game for March, 7, was sold in New City, NY and the ticket holder is with $250,000 richer.
There were no winners in the $18 million game; however, the sole second prize winning ticket in New York was purchased at the Getty station at 40 North Main Street.

The winning numbers for the Mega Millions were 15, 27, 36, 38, and 42 with a Mega Ball number of 32.

Monsey, NY - +School Bus MVA+

Monsey, NY - +School Bus MVA+ A motor vehicle accident with a car into a school bus on West Central Avenue and Adar Ct, with one child injuried not seriously, Hatzolah on the scene, bus is smoking.

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - KJ Fire Dept Ready To Help Their Neighbor

Kiryas Joel, Monroe, NY - Kiryas Joel Fire Department joined the network of Mutual Aid this week, (in which neighboring departments help each other out). But how often they're called to help their neighbors remains to be seen, given lingering concerns about their inability to rush into burning buildings - a dangerous duty that demands the utmost trust among firefighters.

Kiryas Joel's firefighters aren't qualified to fight interior fires, because federal regulations dictate that their beards prevent oxygen masks from fitting properly.
In their village they worked around that problem by contracting with Monroe to respond to serious fires and answer calls on Shabbas and Jewish holidays. But some neighboring departments still worry about Kiryas Joel's limitations as it joins their firefighting brotherhood.
"They can't come over to stand by in Woodbury, because they're not qualified as interior firefighters," Woodbury Fire Chief said.

But in a memo sent last week to Orange County fire departments to welcome Kiryas Joel, David Hoffman, the county official who oversees those companies, stressed the other ways in which Kiryas Joel firefighters can help their comrades.
He wrote: "With the exception of not having interior firefighting capabilities and availability on religious holidays, they can provide Mutual Aid in all other aspects, such as but not limited to exterior firefighting capabilities, scene support operations, water supply, extrication, etc."

Brooklyn, NY - Two Police Officers Shot

Brooklyn, NY - Two New York City police officers were shot and wounded in Brooklyn early this morning, at 834 Halsey Street and Ralph Avenue in Bushwick.
One officer was shot in the chest and the other officer was hit in the back. Both officers were wearing bullet-proof vests and were taken to Kings County Hospital. Level 3 mobilization was called.
Both officers were taken by RMP to KCH and are doing well and one perp is in custody.

Brooklyn, NY +Motor Vehicle Accident+

Brooklyn, NY +Motor Vehicle Accident+ A MVA with a car into a pole but no pin, at East 18th Street and Avenue "T", while Hatzolah member RL-190 was responding he also got involved in the MVA at the same location, Hatzolah requesting additional units, num units are responding to the scene.

Canandaigua, NY - +President Bush To Visit New York+

Canandaigua, New York - +President Bush To Visit New York+ President Bush’s will visit this week upstate New York The city of Canandaigua.
The President will visit the 29th District at the invitation of, freshman Republican incumbent John R. Randy Kuhl, Jr. who has been described as vulnerable in a bid for his second term.

Staten Island, NY +Motor Vehicle Accident+

Staten Island, NY +Motor Vehicle Accident+ A MVA with injuries at Willow Avenue and Westbrook Avenue, Hatzolah on the scene.

New York City, NY - +DNA Match To Murdered Grad Student+

New York City, NY - +DNA Match To Murdered Grad Student+ DNA evidence from blood that was found on the plastic ties that were used to bind behind her back strangled student Imette St. Guillen has been matched to prime suspect Darryl Littlejohn, police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
The NYPD commissioner said authorities would be taking that match and other evidence to a grand jury to get an indictment against Littlejohn for the murder of the graduate student last month..

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - Has Some Of The Worst Maintained M.T.A. Properties

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - Many of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's outdoor properties are poorly lighted and rarely cleaned, making them magnets for "litterers, dumpers and graffiti vandals," according to a City Council report of outdoor train tracks, bridges and subway stations maintained by the agency.

According to the report, some of the worst-maintained properties were found in Borough Park, Brooklyn, near tracks for the D and M trains, where investigators photographed rusty air conditioners leaning against a cracked retaining wall plastered with graffiti.

The report, to be released by the Council's Policy and Investigations Division, calls the authority a "a bad neighbor" that would have already been punished for violating city health codes were it not a public agency.

Swedish Police Will Be Allowed To Wear Yarmulkes

Swedish police announced a change in a bid to attract ethnic minorities to the force, the police department will allow its members to wear yarmulkes and other religious headgear.
“An officer in religious headgear would also serve an important symbolic function,” the government ombudsman against ethnic discrimination, said. Any headgear will have to be of a “suitable shape and color,” they noted.

New Square, NY - Struggles To Fix Old Buildings That Pose Fire Risk

New Square, NY - A partial state survey estimated that more than 80 buildings failed to meet state fire and safety codes in the village of New Square, NY.
The village did not adopt the state codes - which are mandatory for all municipalities - until last year, and only after the New York state intervened and began inspecting and pressuring the village, the state's fastest growing community.

But the past remains, with older housing and apartments packed together, creating concerns for firefighters. Fire officials say building congestion prevents trucks and volunteers from getting to homes where numerous families live, and in many cases, with unmarked commercial businesses inside.

"It's a death trap," said Rockland Fire and Emergency Services Coordinator Gordon Wren Jr., a Hillcrest firefighter. "The houses are so close together, one fire could easily spread. You think you are going into a one-family house, you don't expect to find a commercial business.

"And the problems remain in more than a hundred buildings and for the thousands of people living in those conditions." For example, a large boys yeshiva at the rear of the village, next to the community's cemetery, has one entrance and exit, it has no fire lane, and the narrow, unpaved pathway that goes around the building would be unnavigable for a firetruck.
And a girls school that was being added onto. Construction trailers blocked any entrance for firetrucks. "How are you going to get in there? You got kids trapped in there," he said. "People are going to die."

Iraq - More Bombings and Killings

Baghdad, Iraq - Iraqi police say At least 40 people were killed and 95 wounded in car bombings and mortar attacks in Baghdad's Sadr City Shiite slum.

Sullivan County, NY - Crime Rate Out Of Control

Sullivan County, NY - Witnessed an outbreak in 2005 of shootings and stabbing's, drug busts, robberies and burglaries, with felonies committed from Roscoe to Summitville to Barryville and just about everywhere in between.

Chicago, IL - Governor Calls Jewish Rabbis For Meeting

Chicago, IL - Governor Blagojevich of IL will convene a meeting with over 200 Jewish Rabbis this week to solve the problem of an appointment he made of a Nation of Islam official to the Commission On Discrimination And Hate Crimes.

After five Jewish members of the commission had resigned in protest of the continued presence on the panel of the representative from the Nation of Islam.

Kerhonkson, NY - The Hudson Valley Resort To Be Developed

Kerhonkson, NY - The Hudson Valley Resort has been sold for $19 million to a New York City developer who intends to build 250 single-family homes on the 550-acre site while "retargeting" the resort's prospective clientele.

The new owner, Elliot Spitzer (not the attorney general), won't take over operation of the resort for at least another six months.
When that happens, plans call for a retargeting of its potential clientele and focusing "on the significant Jewish population that traditionally visits the area."

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY - City Bus Kills Woman, Holocaust Survivor

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY - An elderly 79-year-old woman trapped under the giant tire of the 16-ton B6 City Bus screamed in pain in Brooklyn yesterday Shabbos morning as onlookers and emergency workers urged her to hold on.

But the woman who was dragged several feet before she was pinned, was later pronounced dead at Brookdale University Hospital.

"This is unbelievable," said her son, "She's a Holocaust survivor. It's so surreal that my mother had to leave the Earth this way." Her parents and all but one of her eight siblings died in concentration camps.

She was on her way to the Arch Diner when she was struck at the corner of Glenwood Road and Ralph Ave. in East Flatbush about 8:10 a.m. The grandmother of four met her friends for breakfast at the diner every Saturday.
No summonses were issued in the accident and none of the 13 passengers aboard were hurt.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - Shooting In This Usually Quiet Section Of Brooklyn

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY - A 22-year-old man was in critical condition last night after an early morning shooting while driving his car in an Orthodox Jewish section of Brooklyn.

The man, whose identity was not released, was shot several times, It appears he may have been shot through an open window on the passenger side of his vehicle. He was rushed to nearby Lutheran Hospital.

The incident in front of an apartment building at 526 Dahill Ave., near 41st Street, shocked residents of the Borough Park neighborhood, usually very quiet on Saturdays, the Jewish Shabbas.
People who live near the shooting scene said they were awakened around 1:00 a.m to the sound of gunshots - and many were too scared to even look out their windows.

Paris - Elderly Jew Beaten

Paris - A 70-year-old Parisian Jew was struck in the head by a man who called her a “dirty Jew.” The woman, who runs a kosher soup kitchen, pressed charges against her attacker, who was described as a 30-year-old man of North African origin.

The president of the National Office of Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism, said that a wave of anti-Semitic attacks following the recent torture and murder of Ilan Halimi, a young Jewish man, has terrified the Jewish community. The situation “demands that we put our government officials on the alert so that the panic doesn’t get any worse,” he said.