San Diego, CA - Swastikas Hung From Freeway Overpasses

San Diego, CA - Police removed swastikas hung from two freeway overpasses Friday, the day that the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana begins.

One Nazi emblem was fond hanging over state Route 78 at Escondido Avenue in Vista. A California Highway Patrol officer took it down.
A second swastika was reported hanging from the Sea World Drive overpass on southbound Interstate 5 in San Diego, according to the CHP. When officers arrive, the banner had already been removed, authorities said.

Hanging a sign from a freeway overpass is illegal, the CHP said.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on Bedford Avenue and Ross Street, Hatzolah responding.

Rockleigh, NY - Stolen Fire Truck was Rushing to Fire

Rockland County, Rockleigh, NY - An intoxicated man stole a fire truck from a Rockland County firehouse and drove it to a mall fire on Piermont Road in Closter, N.J., to respond to the blaze. 

Investigators say when the suspect heard of the blaze, he stole a fire truck from a firehouse from the nearby Rockleigh Fire Station in Rockland County, and the man, Raymond Oprey of Palisades, drove the fire truck to the Closter fire.  
When he arrived, police say he was intoxicated and refused a breathalyzer test.

He was charged with driving under the influence.

Israel Goes on Alert and Imposes Closure Ahead of Rosh Hashana

Israel - The Israel military imposed a closure Friday on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel during Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year holiday).  Besides the closure, Israel's security forces also went on high alert to prevent terror attacks during the holiday.

The closure is due to remain in place at least until Sunday night, when the holiday ends.

Brooklyn, NY +Fall Victim+

Brooklyn, NY +Fall Victim+ Hatzolah BLS units requesting medics on a rush to 1971 East 1st Street and Avenue "S" for an aided that fell off a ladder from the 2nd floor.

New York, NY - Columbia University Scraps Plans for Speech by Iranian President

New York, NY - Columbia University has scrapped plans for an address by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad because of security and logistical problems.
The move came as a Jewish activist group expressed outrage that the hard-line leader had been invited to speak.

Boro Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Boro Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident at 11th Avenue and 52nd Street in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, NY with a pedestrian that was struck. Hatzolah requesting medics on a rush code-1 to the scene.
Vehicle fled the scene was a hit-and-run but BP Shomrim Patrol got the vehicle at 11th Avenue and 45th Street.

Monticello, NY - Rebuilding a Community Hurt by Hate

Monticello, NY - A year ago, local teenagers sprayed hateful graffiti on synagogue walls and defaced pictures of rabbis at the White Rock bungalow colony. They had painted swastikas on a cooler, on a table. They scrawled Hitler's name in lurid yellow across a cooler door.

A year later, on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, the White Rock bungalow colony is renewed.
Kids from the colony planted new shrubs at the entry. They created a rock garden and painted some of the rocks white. They put in a new play area. They planted flowers. They picked up trash along Southwoods Drive near the colony.
"Just to add some color and make things look pretty," said Shoshana Mermelstein, White Rock's owner. "And of course, we had a lot of painting and repair to do." "The kids joined together, and they planted, and they did a beautiful rock garden," she said. "Definitely, it should serve as a peace garden. Everybody should just be happy together as neighbors."

Uman, Ukraine - Thousands Flock to Rabbi Nachman's Grave

Uman, Ukraine - Thousands went to Uman for Rosh Hashanah to Rabbi Nachman's grave. El Al sent 18 special flights, plus several charters in which both the passengers and the flight attendants were all men. The in-flight service director asked passengers not to smoke in the bathroom so that "Heaven forbid, there will be no desecration of God's name." The food is strictly kosher. The in-flight movie: a new film about the pilgrimages to Rabbi Nachman's tomb, produced by the world committee of Bratslav Hasids. The plot: dancing praying, singing and more dancing.

Buses from the airports at Odessa and Kiev have been streaming to Uman for the past four days and nights. Organizers estimate that by Rosh Hashanah eve, there will be a record crowd of almost 20,000.
Off the buses there is a human wave. Some break out in spontaneous dancing to familiar hymns, others start looking for a place to sleep. Still others head straight for the "main course" - a visit to Rabbi Nachman's tomb.
Even at 4 A.M., the tomb is an island in a sea of penitents. One of the highlights will occur this afternoon, when the whole crowd will gather together at the tomb to recite a prayer by Rabbi Nachman.

Cochin, India - Death of Last Kohen Just Before Rosh HaShanah Deals Blow to Jewish Community

Cochin, India - The Jewish community of Cochin has witnessed a series of “ends of eras” during its 500-year history on India’s southwestern coast. Now another sad milestone was marked: Shalom Cohen, 87, the community’s last Kohen, died just before he would have blessed the dwindling congregation on Rosh Hashanah.

All the Jews of the Fort Cochin neighborhood of Mattancherry turned out for Cohen’s funeral - as did an equal number of Jews from the mainland Ernakulam side of greater Cochin - as well as neighbors and shopkeepers from Jew Town Road.
The funeral was held in the Sasson House, a former community center-turned-senior citizens' home across from the Paradesi Synagogue. The procession was short: The Jewish cemetery is around the corner from the synagogue, and everyone except for the very aged - who rode with the coffin - followed behind the slow-moving vehicle on foot. Though the monsoon season was virtually over, as soon as the cortege reached the gates of the cemetery, it began to drizzle.

Jews of Cochin do not have any tradition of rabbis serving the community: The religious leaders were called hachamim, or sages. Cohen came from the last family to have a member who could lay claim to being a hacham: His older brother, who died a few years ago, was the shochet for the community. Though he managed to pass the skill along to a younger man, the present shochet - who is not religiously observant and runs a flower shop on Shabbas out of one of the unused synagogues — has proven controversial.

Cohen is survived by a sister, and with Cohen’s passing, only 13 Jews remain in Jew Town, this section of Cochin is famous for the Paradesi Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in continuous operation in the world. The shul was built and dedicated in 1568.

New York, NY - Rabbis Meet Iran's President

New York, NY - Iran's firebrand president met face-to-face in Midtown with another group of Israel-bashers - about a dozen rabbis.

Holocaust-denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ripped into Israel at the Intercontinental Hotel, garnering praise from a group of Orthodox rabbis who believe Israel's creation violates God's will. "They have no respect for the lives and dignity of the Jews," Ahmadinejad said. "If they could, they would destroy 6 billion people in the world."

Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, made a chilling prediction about the country's future to the rabbis sitting across from him. "But their time is ending - God willing," he told the rabbis, who belong to a Brooklyn-based group called "Jews Against Zionism."

West Hartford, CT - Berlin Man Charged With Anti-Semitic Graffiti

West Hartford, CT - Police have charged a Berlin man with more than a dozen hate crimes against the local Jewish community while working as a security guard.

Police say Eric Milne was arrested at his home on charges that he wrote slurs aimed at the Jewish community each night as he made his security rounds.
Police say the 30-year-old Milne was employed to secure a West Hartford building that houses The Jewish Ledger, Israel Bonds and Hadassah, a women's organization.

Milne was arrested on charges of 17 counts of intimidation based on bigotry or bias, 17 counts of desecration of property, 17 counts of breach of peace and criminal mischief.
He was released on $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on September 28th.

Russia - Attackers Vandalize Two Synagogues Hours Before Rosh H'Shana

Russia - Unidentified attackers vandalized two synagogues in Russia on Friday, shattering windows at one and briefly setting a door ablaze at another in attacks that highlighted rising xenophobia and anti-Semitism in Russia. No one was reported injured. 

In one pre-dawn attack on the synagogue in Khabarovsk, a city of 580,000 on the border with China, attackers shattered windows in the building which was empty at that hour, the regional department of the Interior Ministry said. A criminal investigation was launched into the attack.
In another attack early Friday, unknown assailants threw a Molotov cocktail at a synagogue in the Volga River city of Astrakhan in southern Russia, setting its door ablaze. A guard at the building quickly put down the fire.

A spokesman for the city police confirmed that the synagogue had been vandalized, saying that no one was hurt and refusing to give further details.

Kew Gardens, Queens, NY - Man Admitted to Beating of Rabbi

Kew Gardens, Queens, NY - A Queens man has admitted to investigators to the beating and extorting of $60,000 from a Queens rabbi, whose secretary owed him money.

Matthew Gross, 40, was busted after investigators video-taped him threatening and slapping Rabbi Aryeh Sokoloff in his office in Kew Gardens Synagogue.

A K'siva V'chasima Tova!

We at VOS IZ NEIAS are wishing you.
12 months of Happiness.
52 weeks of Gezunt.
365 days of Brochas.
8760 hours of Mazel.
525600 minutes of Simcha.
31536000 seconds of Happiness.

And all the best wishes from the deepest of my heart, A Happy, Healthy, Sweet and Prosperous New Year, with the time to enjoy it as well.
Let us daven that it is blessed with peace!

L'shona Tovah,
Truly Yours,
Shloma Shamos

Ps. Thanks for your friendship and for all the help you've done throughout the entire year for us, and for our community!

Harriman, NY +NYS Thruway Traffic Alert+

Orange County, Harriman, NY +NYS Thruway Traffic Alert+ A motor vehicle accident with two tractor trailers on the southbound of the New York State Thruway between Exit's 16 to 17, units on the scene requesting Medevac, L/Z will be at the scene on the highway, expect heavy delays.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Push In Robbery+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Push In Robbery+ NYPD of the 66th Pct are calling for a level one mobilization at 1657 46th Street and 16th Avenue in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, NY, for a push in robbery at that location.
BP Shomrim Patrol are also on the scene.

United Nations +Palestinian Government to Recognize Israel+

United Nations - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. that the planned national unity government will recognize Israel.

U/D: 09/23/06 02:33
Hamas says there won't be a coalition government if it has to recognize Israel.

Brooklyn, NY - Rabbi Advises Not to Eat From New Kosher Style Restaurant

Brooklyn, NY - A restaurant just reopened on a new location on Clark Street in the Brooklyn Heights section of Brooklyn, NY with the owner Mikel Domgjoni claiming "it's all the same," "same matzo ball soup, same chopped liver, same hot dogs, same corned beef and pastrami. We're using the same company as always.

"The meat is kosher," he said as he pulled out a sheaf of receipts to show where his meats were bought from. But the kitchen is not under rabbinic supervision anymore, because Domgjoni said, I could no longer afford it, "Glatt kosher is expensive, and my rent is higher - $5,000 higher," also because I want to be open on Shabbas, as well as Jewish holidays.

But Rabbi Aaron Raskin, who oversaw the supervision of their previous restaurant, called the move "unfortunate."
Hundreds of restaurants have rabbinic supervision. If this one doesn't, I strongly advise those who follow the laws of kosher not to engage in any gastronomical delights," Rabbi Raskin said.

But Domgjoni says, "the people know me. They know my pastrami, where else can they get a good kosher meal?"

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - Hasidic and Spanish Communities Unit Against A Common Enemy

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY - The Hasidic and Spanish communities of south Williamsburg are often rivals over the neighborhood's housing stock, but they cooperate when it comes to keeping out a common enemy: on South 8th Street between Bedford and Berry.
In the middle of that residential block, developer Michael Zazza has plans to tear down two of the oldest buildings in Williamsburg and put up a 20-story luxury condo in their place. "This is not going to be Jewish," complained Ms. Cohen, who lives in an eight-story affordable apartment building down the block. "It's going to be a new trend: Yuppies. They're going to take over the neighborhood."
Cohen was joined by over a dozen other orthodox Jews, the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance (4BNA), Queens Councilman Tony Avella, and a few members of the local Spanish community to call on New York City to landmark 118 South 8th Street, an 1840s building which served as a social hall in the 19th century for Democrats, Republicans, Suffragettes, philosophers, healers, and teetotalers alike."This building represents the identity of this community," argued retired firefighter Serafin Flores. "This is an important symbol which might be destroyed."

When Flores was asked about the local rivalry between the two ethnic groups, he said, "We are competing for housing, let's be honest. But on this, yes, we are united."
Rabbi E. Katz quickly jumped in to agree to disagree and to just plain agree. "We have a problem," he explained. "Everybody needs housing, but now we are united."

Netanya, Israel - Synagogue Opens at IKEA Furniture

Netanya, Israel - IKEA is planning to open a synagogue inside their furniture store in Netanya. The purpose: To attract more shoppers from the religious sector.
The company's management said, IKEA has many religious employees as well as visitors, and it was built to give an answer to their needs.

This move is added to another move that the company has recently done for the religious sector. Nine months ago, the restaurant within the store was the first of their restaurants worldwide to receive a kosher stamp.
The religious link of the store is owner Matthew Bronfman's partner Shalom Fisher. When the Bronfman family acquired IKEA, they announced they will also cater to the religious crowd.

IKEA-Israel is one of the most profitable stores in the country. During the first half of 2006, sales at IKEA's store have totaled USD 45 million, an increase of 8.4 percent compared to 2005. The number of visitors to the store during that time totaled more than a million people.

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on Quentin Road and East 16th Street in Brooklyn, NY. Hatzolah responding.

Groton, MA - Pennies Stolen From Children's Holocaust Project

Groton, MA - A Massachusetts school janitor is accused of stealing $1,200 worth of pennies from an eighth-grade Holocaust project.

Groton-Dunstable Middle School has been working since February to collect 1.5 million pennies to represent the child victims of the Nazis. Now prosecutors that that a janitor has stolen about 120,000 of the 267,000-plus pennies collected by students. Police and school officials say the custodian allegedly pilfered pennies stored in coffee cans, plastic containers and 5-gallon water jugs.

The custodian, 28-year-old David L. Graves, pleaded not guilty in Ayer District Court to one count of larceny of more than $250.

Uman Ukraine - Thousands of Chasidic Jews Begin Arriving for Rosh Hashana

Uman Ukraine - Thousands of Chasidic Jews from around the world gathered Thursday in the central Ukrainian town of Uman to mark Rosh Hashana, at the tomb of their spiritual leader.

Some 12,000 Jews from the Bratslav Hasidic movement had gathered in the quiet town by Thursday to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, who died in 1810.
Bearded and wearing black hats, participants began setting up giant tents and a big cafeteria to feed the 20,000 organizers were expecting before Rosh Hashana begins at sundown Friday.
They prayed, danced and recited psalms throughout the town, which was peppered with Hebrew posters during this men-only event. "This is ... a chance to touch the living faith of our fathers," said Borys Varminshteyn, of Myrhorod in central Ukraine.

Washington, DC - Jewish Man Suing University for Being Assaulted While Protesting Palestine Conference

Washington, DC - An Orthodox Jewish man has filed an $8 million lawsuit against Georgetown University, claiming he was injured while attending the Palestine Solidarity Movement’s national conference held there.

The plaintiff, Bill Maniaci, a retired Nevada police officer, says that he was assaulted by Department of Public Safety officers while being removed from the conference.
In the lawsuit, Maniaci names as defendants President John DeGioia and Dave Morrell, the Vice President for Safety and Security. He has also named Darryl Harrison, Director of the Department of Public Safety, and Eric Smulson, Assistant Vice President for Communication.
Smulson, however, said that the University has yet to be served a complaint and offered no comment on the suit.
Maniaci is suing for one million dollars for each injury sustained and each civil right he said the University violated.

The conference brought together nearly 400 activists from across the country to discuss divestment from Israel. This tactic has been adopted by solidarity activists in order to help end what they view as an apartheid system in Palestine.
While protests held in opposition to the event were generally peaceful, DPS officers removed an unruly man from Gaston Hall for haranguing panel speakers. The man, presumably the plaintiff, resisted the officers so strongly that they “were forced to drag the older man from the room.”

Brooklyn, NY +Overturned Vehicle+

Brooklyn, NY +Overturned Vehicle+ A motor vehicle accident with one vehicle that overturned and aided reported pinned inside the vehicle on Quentin Road and East 8th Street in Brooklyn, NY.
Hatzolah BLS on the scene requesting medics and two ambulances, also requesting NYPD ESU to respond.

San Francisco, CA - Woman Hid Nazi Past from Jewish Husband

San Francisco, CA - A San Francisco woman who was deported to Germany after admitting she was a concentration camp guard - as was reported on VOS IZ NEIAS - was married for decades to a Jewish man who had fled Nazi Germany.

Elfriede Rinkel, 83, served as a guard at Ravensbruck in Germany from June 1944 until the camp was abandoned at the end of World War II, U.S. Justice Dept said.
They said Rinkel was one of the guards who used attack dogs to force female inmates to perform slave labor at the camp, where an estimated 90,000 people were exterminated.
After the war, Rinkel moved to the U.S., where she met and married Fred Rinkel, a German Jew who had fled Berlin as the Nazi regime began its persecutions.

Elfriede Rinkel never told her husband, who died in 2004, about her past. She gave to Jewish charities and planned to be buried next to her husband in a Jewish cemetery, her lawyer said. Attorney Alison Dixon said Rinkel regretted her wartime actions but added, "I was informed that it was not completely voluntary on her part."

Odessa, Ukraine - Man Assaulted in Bias Crime

Odessa, Ukraine - A Jewish man Chaim Weitzman, 24, was beaten by a group of young men in the Ukrainian city of Odessa.

According to some witnesses, Weitzman was hit several times on his head after one of the youths he was passing shouted, “I don’t like yids!” Weitzman, who received minor injuries and is recuperating at home, was wearing at the time traditional Orthodox Jewish garb.
When he first reported the incident to the local police they initially refused to accept his report, but later opened an investigation.

Local Jewish leaders said the incident was not an isolated case in Odessa; over the past year there have been several anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish individuals and institutions. Chief rabbi of Odessa and southern Ukraine, Rabbi Avraham Wolf said, “These incidents are possible because of lack of proper reaction from authorities and police on previous attacks - vandalism, graffiti, threats.”

Brooklyn, NY +Williamsburg Bridge Closed Down+

Brooklyn, NY +Williamsburg Bridge Closed Down+ NYPD Highway Unit 9079 were in pursuit on the westbound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway of a grey Infiniti vehicle that was refusing to stop in Queens on Queens Blvd, PD has the vehicle stopped on the Williamsburg Bridge Manhattan side with perp in custody, Bridge is closed at this time.

U/D: 07:25
NYPD Highway Units taking the perp to 114th Pct.

Chelsea, MA +Fire at Occupied Nursing Home+

Chelsea, MA +Fire at Occupied Nursing Home+ Fire Department on the scene at Lafayette Avenue for a fire on the 3rd floor of the occupied Chelsea Jewish Nursing Home, FD requesting M/A to work and for cover.

U/D: 21:39
Fire now a 2nd Alarm.

Freehold, NJ - Lawsuits Accuse Solomon Dwek of Forgery

Freehold, NJ - Real estate investor Solomon Dwek is facing additional accusations that he forged the signatures of close associates on millions of dollars in loans.

The widow of Jack Adjmi, Dwek's investment mentor, charges in a new lawsuit that Dwek forged Adjmi's signature on a document that purports to guarantee payment on two mortgages worth $2,152,849 from Sovereign Bank.  Sovereign says that in 1999, Adjmi guaranteed any loans from the bank to the Deal Yeshiva even after his death. Adjmi died in 2003; the two loans were made in 1998 and 2005.

And Dwek's aunt and uncle, Joseph and Terry Dwek, charge in new court papers that in 2001, Dwek forged their names on a $1.5 million mortgage on their Ocean Township summer home. That lawsuit alleges Solomon Dwek forged his uncle's name to a $130,000 loan guarantee for the Deal Yeshiva in 2000. Both of those loans are held by Sun National Bank of Vineland.

The lawsuits against Solomon Dwek and the banks, are the latest claims that Dwek forged signatures in order to obtain millions of dollars from lenders.

Jerusalem, Israel +Ongoing Car Pursuit+

Jerusalem, Israel +Ongoing Car Pursuit+ Near the Mir Yeshiva on Shmeil Hanuvi, police are pursuing perps that fled in a Mazda 626 vehicle they have stolen from in front of the Yshiva with the owner in site running after them, in the vehicle there were two Sifrei Torah's worth $150,000.00.
The car was headed towards East Jerusalem.

Jerusalem? Never Heard of That City

Jerusalem, Israel - Something always gets lost in translation, but usually not an entire city.
"Jerusalem. There is no such city!" the Jerusalem municipality said in the English-language version of a sightseeing brochure it had published originally in Hebrew.

The correct translation: "Jerusalem. There is no city like it!"

Tens of thousands of this flyers had been distributed before city hall realised its mistake.

Sverdlovsk, Ukrainian - Youths Charged With Beating Jew to Death

Sverdlovsk, Ukrainian - Five youths have been charged with murder motivated by ethnic hatred for allegedly beating a Jewish man to death with a metal cross.

The previously unreported killing took place on October 1, 2005. Fifteen youths reportedly attacked a 21 year old Jew identified as Andrey D. in a local cemetery. They beat him to the ground and then delivered the fatal blow with a metal cross they ripped from a tombstone.
Five of the attackers were singled out by investigators as the main culprits; the remaining 10 were released. Four are charged with murder, while one young woman is charged with aiding and abetting.

Washington, DC - Senator Compares Iran's President to Hitler

Washington, DC - A senator compared Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Hitler and made fun of his name on during a congressional hearing on the U.S. strategy to end Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program.

"Ahmadinejad -- I call him Ahmad-in-a-head -- I think he's a Hitler type of person," Ohio Republican Sen. George Voinovich said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
"He has made it clear that he wants to destroy Israel. He has made it clear he doesn't believe in the Holocaust. He's a, he's a -- we all know what he is," the senator added.

New York, NY - President Bush to Push for Palestinian State

New York, NY - American President George W. Bush said at end of his meeting with Palestinian leader, that he intends to continue promoting a resolution for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians that would lead to the establishment of two democratic countries living alongside each other in peace.

Queens, NY +Fall Victim+

Queens, NY +Fall Victim+ Hatzolah requesting medics and an ambulance on a rush to 73-28 136th Street in Queens, NY for an aided that fell off a scaffolding.

U/D: 13:07
Injuries not serious, being transported by Hatzolah.

Washington, DC - US Treasury Sets New 1-Day Tax Receipt Record

Washington, DC - The U.S. government recorded a record-high overall and corporate tax receipts on Sept. 15, which was a quarterly deadline for tax payments, the Treasury said.

Total tax receipts were $85.8 billion on Friday, compared with the previous one-day record of $71 billion on Sept. 15 of last year, the Treasury said. "In fact, Friday's gross receipts were the largest in a single day in the nation's history - 20% higher than receipts on the same quarterly tax payment date last year," they said in a statement.

Study: Exposure to Busy Roads, Health Risk

Woman who live within 160 feet of busy roads face a 70 percent higher risk of dying from a heart attack, stroke or other cardiopulmonary cause, according to a new study, just released.

Exposure to particles emitted by cars - especially diesel vehicles - is probably to blame, researchers say.

New York, NY - Neturei Karta Welcomes President Ahmadinejad from Iran

New York, NY - Neturei Karta an organization that opposes Zionism has officially extended her hand, to the Iranian President Ahmadinejad, upon his visit to the United States.

The display of friendship brings peace, harmony, respect and trust they said in a press release. "Despite media and Zionist hysteria to the contrary, the Iranian President has always been a dear friend of the Jewish people and has profound respect for the Jewish religion," "the Iranian President has actually helped lessen anti-Jewish sentiments throughout the Islamic world," they said. "His view is not only logically compelling, but it also coincides with the universal view of Torah teachers of the previous generation."

They say, Neturei Karta, will be staging a protest outside the United Nations, in order to refute the cruel lies being offered in place of facts, by some misguided organizations, in the Jewish community. Likewise, it will help to reaffirm the respect of the Jewish people for President Ahmadinejad and the mutual good feelings which they share.

Space +More Debris Floating Outside Shuttle+

Space +More Debris Floating Outside Shuttle+ Shuttle astronauts have spotted three more pieces of debris floating in space outside near shuttle Atlantis, one day after some unidentified objects delays its scheduled landing.

U/D: 11:59
NASA clears Atlantis for Thurs landing after inspections find no damage.

New York, NY - Lubavitch Assumes High Profile Meetings With Prospective Candidates for Secretary-General of U.N.

New York, NY - As the U.N. General Assembly opens, diplomats vying to be the world’s top peacekeeper are taking the time to consult with a group that has emerged as a critical constituency.

At least three of the favored candidates to replace Kofi Annan as U.N. secretary-general have met in recent months with leaders of the U.S. Jewish groups that routinely deal with the United Nations, organized by Lubavitch.
"It’s a recognition that we’re part of the equation and the political calculus," said David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, who acknowledged “several” meetings with prospective candidates. “It’s clear that no candidate can win without the support of the five permanent members, and there is thinking that American Jewry would have some impact on the thinking of the United States.”

The United States, Russia, France, China and Britain are the five permanent members wielding veto power on the U.N. Security Council, the body that recommends a candidate for secretary-general to the General Assembly for confirmation.
The casting call comes because Kofi Annan’s term lapses at the end of this year, and Jewish leaders are considering the disappointments of his term as well as its highlights.

Virginia - Senator Fumes Over Jewish Debate Question

Virginia - Senator George Allen confirmed his Jewish heritage, one day after refusing to answer that question during a debate.

A reporter asked Allen "could you please tell us if your forebearers include Jews and at what point your Jewish identity ended." The question was initially raised by other reporters that had previously wondered if Allen was attempting to hide his heritage so as not to alienate some Virginia voters.
Allen responded angrily, saying "to be getting into what religion my mother is. i don't think it's relevant."

Allen claims he is neither. In a statement, Allen said in part "I was raised as a Christian and my mother was raised as a Christian. And I embrace and take great pride in every aspect of my diverse heritage including my Lumbroso family line's Jewish heritage, which I learned about from a recent magazine article and my mother confirmed." He went onto say at the end of the day, Virginians will make judgements about candidates based on their race or religion.

Newark, NJ - Plane Wanders Into Restricted Airspace

Newark, NJ - Two Air Force fighter jets forced a small plane out of restricted airspace set up for President Bush's visit to the United Nations in New York. The airspace restrictions is in place until this afternoon and it prohibits small aircraft from flying within 20 miles of the New York region's three major airports, according to the FAA.

The plane, which had wandered into restricted airspace in Middlesex County, left after being buzzed by one of the Air Force fighters, said a spokesman for the aerospace command.  
The fighters were patrolling the airspace surrounding New York, part of the heightened security involving President Bush's visit to the U.N. General Assembly. The fighters were alerted to the plane's presence through Federal Aviation Administration radar.   

FAA spokeswoman Arlene Murray said it wasn't immediately clear whether any action would be taken against the pilot, whom authorities did not identify. Pilots who violate restricted airspace can be fined or face loss of their license.

Queens NY +Serious MVA+

Queens NY +Serious MVA+ A serious motor vehicle accident in front of 71-15 147th Street and 71st Road, Hatzolah responding to an unresponsive aided, requesting medics to back them up to the scene.

Lindenhurst, NY - Seven Alligators Found in Home

Lindenhurst, NY - Suffolk animal control agents uncovered what they likened to a "rain forest" in a Lindenhurst home, filled with alligators, a tortoise, a python and more.

Acting on an anonymous tip, officials from the Suffolk SPCA entered 117 East Santa Barbara Street in Lindenhurst and arrested the homeowner for animal cruelty. Suffolk SPCA Chief Roy Gross said that in a sub-level portion of the home, they discovered seven alligators in cages - including one suspended from the ceiling; a three-foot round tortoise crawling in its own feces in a bathtub; a five-foot long python; and an electric eel. 
There were also various lizards and birds, and three or four emus in the backyard.

"You can hear the animals and the birds, it's very damp in there, there are fleas jumping on some of my officers," Gross still on the scene said. "It's just absurd that anyone would have something like this in their home."

The owner of the house, Steve Weinkselbaum, was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. He could face additional charges once the SPCA concludes its investigation.

Gross said they still have not yet entered all the rooms in the home.

San Francisco, CA - Woman Who Served As Nazi Concentration Camp Guard Is Deported to Germany

San Francisco, CA - A San Francisco woman has been removed to Germany based on her participation in Nazi- sponsored acts of persecution while serving during World War II as a guard of female prisoners at the infamous Nazi-operated Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany.

A charging document filed in U.S. immigration court in San Francisco by the Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which investigated the case, and the Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) alleges that Elfriede Lina Rinkel, 83, a native and citizen of Germany, served as a guard at Ravensbruck from June 1944 until the camp was abandoned in the closing weeks of the war. In a settlement agreement reached with the government, Rinkel admitted that she served as a guard at Ravensbruck.

The charging document states that while serving at Ravensbruck, Rinkel used a trained attack dog to carry out her guard duties. At Ravensbruck, SS female guards armed with attack dogs forced malnourished women inmates to march to slave labor sites each day, guarded them while they performed manual labor, and then force-marched them back to the concentration camp, where they were held under notoriously inhumane conditions. The charging document alleges that Rinkel's activities at Ravensbruck assisted the Nazis in persecuting civilians on the basis of their race, religion, national origin or political opinion, and that her removal from the United States is required by federal law.

Oslo, Norway +Police Arrest Perps Over Shooting At Synagogue+

Oslo, Norway - Norwegian police on arrested four men suspected of firing shots at an Oslo synagogue last weekend, as was reported on VOS IZ NEIAS.

The four, aged between 20 and 30, were suspected of having fired at least 10 shots at the synagogue in central Oslo with an automatic weapon, or of having taken part in the incident. "The four men have different ethnic backgrounds," police Inspector Iver Stensrud said, but he declined to say where they were from, and there might be further arrests. "We have intelligence information that it will not necessarily stop with this," he said.

No one was injured in the shooting, which took place in the early hours of Sunday. It was the most serious of a series of attacks on the synagogue in recent months.


U/D: 09/21/06
Police said that the four men were charged under Norway's anti-terror law.

Jerusalem, Israel +Pedestrian Struck+

Jerusalem, Israel +Pedestrian Struck+ A serious motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian - a seminary girl from Montreal - that was struck by a vehicle on Rechov Minchas Yitzchak.
Hatzolah BLS, Medics and MDA were all on the scene for the aided that was unconscious, she was transported by Hatzolah with ALS on board to the Hadassah Ein Karem trauma center.

U/D:
At the hospital she regained consciousness.

New York, NY - Patent For Cancer Drug Belong to Israeli Scientists

New York, NY - A federal judge ruled that three scientists from Israel are the true inventors of a patent used for the blockbuster cancer drug Erbitux rather than seven people whose names are now on it.

U.S.District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said lawyers for the scientists had proved they were entitled to sole inventorship of the patent. Lawyers had predicted that the case could have significant effects on the future of Erbitux, a colon-cancer treatment drug made by ImClone.
In a 2003 lawsuit, Yeda Research and Development Co. of Israel sued ImClone, which has an exclusive license for the formula used in Erbitux to inhibit tumor cells, and its partner Aventis, claiming three of its researchers were the real inventors. "It is not the intent of Yeda to keep anybody off the market," a lawyer for the plaintiffs said in a hearing last summer. A lawyer for Aventis later noted that one trial witness had remarked that hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake for Yeda and Erbitux, which is distributed in the U.S. by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Tel Aviv, Israel +Car Explosion+

Tel Aviv, Israel +Car Explosion+ Police are reporting an explosian under a stolen vehicle was criminal related, no one injured.

Brooklyn, NY - Commission Considering Adding Crown Heights As A Landmarked City Neighborhoods

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY - The Landmark Preservation Commission will consider adding Crown Heights to the list of landmarked city neighborhoods, a list that includes much of the Upper East and West Sides, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Greenwich Village, and TriBeCa.

The proposed Crown Heights North historic district, which roughly includes the area around Dean Street between Bedford and Kingston Avenues. The proposed district contains more than 470 buildings - the largest historic district the commission has proposed in more than decade.
A local homeowner who helped to spearhead the Crown Heights preservation effort, Deborah Young, said that a surge of development is threatening the neighborhood's character. A few years ago, Ms. Young and a group of neighbors "dusted off" a 1978 architectural study produced by the Landmarks Commission of Brooklyn neighborhoods. "We believe we are just as worthy as Park Slope, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Stuyvesant Heights," Ms. Young said.

A homeowner, Earl Beecham, said that he supports designation, but he worries that some of the neighborhood's older residents, who are on fixed incomes, will oppose the plan because of the extra costs and time-consuming regulations that associated with making renovations in a historic district. "I had just better get some renovation done before it happens," Mr. Beecham said.

New York - Trooper-Brokered Deals on Speeding Tickets End

New York - Gov. George Pataki used his veto pen to end the practice of state troopers plea-bargaining speeding tickets with motorists.

Pataki overturned a bill passed by the Legislature that would have blocked the implementation of new rules state police adopted in last spring to end plea bargaining.
In his veto message, Pataki said, "The responsibility for prosecuting crimes, including (speeding) crimes, has always been a responsibility of local district attorneys," and should remain that way.

But Rockland County District Attorney Michael Bongiorno, who also is president of the state District Attorneys Association, said the result could be a "big mess." "Right now, we're just not geared to be doing this," he said.
The head of the state Association of Towns also criticized Pataki's veto. "This is going to have a financial impact on the towns in New York state," said Jeffrey Haber, the organization's executive director. "The towns are going to have to provide prosecutors and the cost of that has to be met."

Troopers wrote 873,000 traffic tickets last year, 354,000 of which were for speeding, according to the state police. That's 43 percent of all speeding tickets written in the state.
But the old system had serious problems, a lawyer for the state police said in a letter to district attorneys in March. "We believe there is an inherent outward appearance of unfairness and duress when a motorist is forced to plea-bargain his or her case with the arresting officer, the very same officer who stands as his or her accuser and is also the primary prosecution witness," wrote the lawyer, Glenn Valle.
Drivers typically have used the current system to avoid getting "points" on their licenses, which can result in loss of driving privileges and higher insurance rates. Prosecutors use the system to move cases quickly through the courts. The process also has been a source of overtime pay for state troopers.
The system took effect on Sept. 1, and results have been mixed, said Matthew Weiss, a Manhattan lawyer who works on traffic cases in the Lower Hudson Valley.

New York, NY - West Nile Striking People

New York, NY - The New York City Health Department says the West Nile virus has sickened ten New Yorkers this year, including a Staten Island man who died.

West Nile virus has been detected in all five boroughs, with the greatest activity in Staten Island. It's not known where the Staten Island man got the virus. He died while on a trip to Tennessee, but spent time in New York during the two weeks before symptoms occurred.

Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden is urging New Yorkers over the age of 50 to take precautions. That includes using bug repellent, wearing long clothing and making sure doors and windows are intact.

NASA +Inspection for Object Near Shuttle+

NASA is reviewing something odd possibly debris floating near the space shuttle Atlantis as it prepares to land, sensors in wings indicate shuttle was hit by an object, inspection may be needed, and landing for Wednesday is delayed.

Lawrence, NY - At Odds Over Schools

Lawrence, NY - The school district has been changing, house by house, as Orthodox Jewish families have flocked here over the last two decades, gradually at first and then in growing numbers.  While not yet a majority, the Orthodox have nonetheless emerged as the dominant force in a clash of cultures. And the front line in this battle is Lawrence’s once highly regarded public school system.

In each of the last four years, Orthodox voters mobilized to defeat the school budget. Then in July, they took charge of the school board, though few of the Orthodox send their children to public schools. Out of seven seats, the new majority consists of four Orthodox members and one ally. “We have the control here,” one Orthodox resident, David M. Hiller, said recently as he walked along Central Avenue, a retail hub featuring shops like SuperSol (“the ultimate Kosher supermarket”) and Jerusalem Pizza. 

Schools may seem to be a peculiar battlefield in this power struggle, since most Orthodox families here send their children to private Orthodox day schools. But many of this district’s Orthodox residents object to paying school taxes that average about $6,000 per home for a system they do not use. Their leaders also complain that more public money should be channeled to the Orthodox day schools, which by law are limited to tax-financed busing, books and special education services.  

Others who live in the Lawrence school district, however, including many assimilated Jews, voice outrage that people who do not use the system are deciding its fate. They complain that the budget defeats have starved the schools and deprived its students. Since the law allows some increases after budget defeats, spending in Lawrence since the last approved budget in 2002-3 has risen an average of about 3 percent a year. The current total is $92 million.  “We feel invaded,” said an Atlantic Beach delicatessen customer, a self-described non-Orthodox Jew and activist parent who declined to give her name. “We don't mind them being here, but taking over and shutting down the school system is not the right thing.” (Atlantic Beach is part of the Lawrence school district.)  

But one of the new Orthodox board members, Uri Kaufman, a developer, said: “We want to get along. I know nobody believes it, but we really want what’s best for the district.”  

Experts who track expanding Orthodox neighborhoods around the nation say the conflict in Lawrence has far-reaching implications. “Other communities are watching Lawrence very closely, for fear they may be next,” said Prof. William B. Helmreich, the director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Queens College. Orthodox adherents “are cohesive, they marshal forces and vote as a bloc,” he said. “It could happen anywhere.”   

It has already happened in Rockland County, where Orthodox residents control the East Ramapo school board. Similar strains have arisen over the schools and other services in Lakewood, N.J., home to a large Orthodox population.

La Jolla, CA - Council Approves Synagogue's Request for an Eruv

La Jolla, CA - After accusations and denials of anti-Semitism were thrown around at City Hall, a La Jolla synagogue will be allowed to create a symbolic boundary using city streets.

The San Diego City Council voted unanimously to support Congregation Adat Yeshurun, despite the concerns of opponents who said a religious symbol has no business in the public right of way and that it will encourage “resegregation” in a neighborhood with a history of discrimination against Jews.
Members of the Orthodox synagogue were overjoyed by the council decision. “I can tell you personally that the impact on our families will be tremendous,” said David Kupferberg. “This is something that is life-changing.”

Opponents were passionate about their many objections, including the argument that the boundary, or eruv, would be an eyesore that detracts from the enjoyment of living in La Jolla. “Why should a resident have to look out their windows and within 3 to 6 feet see eruv lines, adapters or reflectors that are only used by a specific religious group?” said Misti Coleman of La Jolla.

New York, NY - Architect and Floor Distributor Charged for Demanding Kickbacks

New York, NY - An architect, accused of demanding kickbacks from contractors and others in exchange for work, and a flooring distributor were arrested, for larceny and bribery charges.

Prosecutors said John Passaretti of the Kurland Passaretti Group (KPG) and a distributor from flooring company carried out the scheme on at least seven commercial projects in which KPG was the architect, collecting more than $300,000 in kickbacks. Almost all of the kickbacks providers gave the architects were paid by the clients in inflated bills.

Passaretti, 49, of Oradell, N.J., and the distributor 47, of Monroe, N.Y., surrendered to Morgenthau's office, and they are charged with second- and third-degree grand larceny, commercial bribe receiving, money laundering, restraint of trade and falsifying business records.

The Manhattan-based KPG used the distributor and his flooring company in Brooklyn on most of the architects' projects to facilitate the scheme, Morgenthau said. He said contractors were told to inflate purchase orders on Millennium's work and pay the inflated cost, or to issue checks to flooring company for work that was never done.

Morgenthau said neither flooring company nor the distributor had filed city state or federal taxes for the past six years.

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Police Arrest Killer+

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY - The NYPD have busted Gibson Winters, 20, a killer who was roaming the streets of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY and was on the run from them after a murder he did on Sept. 4th.
He is being charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in the shooting of Anrew Clennon, 27, after an argument he had with the man on President Street.

New York, NY - City Was Safest Between Big City's in 2005

New York, NY - New York remained the safest of the nation's 10 largest cities in 2005, with about one crime reported for every 37 people, according to FBI statistics.

The annual report "shows that our innovative efforts to reduce crime and increase New Yorkers' quality of life are working," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement after the agency released the figures.
The large city with the highest crime rate was Dallas, with about one crime reported for every 12 people. Los Angeles ranked eighth, with about one crime for every 26 people.

The number of reported crimes in New York fell 4.3 percent last year, while the number nationwide dropped 1.2 percent. Police statistics show crime in the city has continued to fall this year, down 5.04 percent by Sept. 10 compared with the same period in 2005.
The national figures showed that violent crime rose 2.3 percent last year, the first increase since 2001. But in New York City, violent crimes - which include murder, robbery and aggravated assault - fell 1.9 percent.

Baltimore, MD - Battle Between One Couple is Drawing Attention from the Jewish Community

Baltimore, MD - Cynthia Ohana recently got a divorce from her ex-husband Ephraim but in orthodox Jewish law, Ohana cannot get a Jewish divorce from her husband unless he agrees. But Ephraim Ohana has refused to grant his ex-wife a Jewish divorce, and now Cynthia Ohana is reaching out for help.

Demonstrators gathered outside the University of Baltimore School of Law to voice concerns about the bitter divorce.
Dr. Joshua Karlip of Baltimore Hebrew University says Jewish law clearly states a man must be the one to grant the woman a divorce. She cannot date, re-marry, or have children until the divorce is granted. "In the majority of cases the man gives the woman a divorce however in rare cases the man is recalcitrant," says Karlip, adding "he uses this technicality in the law, that he has to initiate the divorce, as a way to punish the woman."

This means wives like Cynthia who want a divorce are only left with the power of public persuasion, hoping she can embarass him into granting her a Jewish divorce.

Moscow - Elderly Man on Trial Charged With "Hooliganism"

Moscow - A 70-year old Jew is being charged with "hooliganism" after shooting an attacker in self-defense.

Anatoly Vaysman, a journalist, got out of his car near a Moscow store in January 2005 when he heard someone shouting at him "Stop, you kike!". He turned around to see a middle aged man charging at him. The man allegedly gave him a hard shove to the chest and then reached into his pocket, possibly for a weapon. Mr. Vaysman took out a gas-powered pistol (a non-lethal weapon commonly used in Russia for self-defense) and shot his assailant. The alleged assailant was lightly wounded in the neck and filed a complaint against Mr. Vaysman with the local police.

Moscow prosecutors are aggressively pursuing the case, according to Mr. Vaysman's lawyer, who said that his client had been placed on a watch list three times, even though he had no intention of leaving the city before his trial.

Brooklyn, NY - New Jewish School Building Ordered to Shut Down for Numerous Violations

Brooklyn, NY - Staff and volunteers at the new Satmar School for boys on Harrison Place in Brooklyn, NY worked feverishly over the past three months to prepare the building for the arrival of more than 600 students in grades 5 through 12.

But two week later, the Department of Buildings (DOB) ordered the building to be closed down due to numerous building safety and zoning violations.
"The School is working to fix the violations, we should be ready to go within a few days" Rabbi Leib Glantz said, we are just waiting for the inspectors to file their reports with the Building Commisioner, he said.

In the meantime, school is continuing, but children have been moved to temporary buildings, some of them will be placed at other local school buildings and some of them at a local wedding hall called Rose Castle, Glantz said.

New York, NY - Jewish Leaders Reject Offer To Meet Iran's Leader

New York, NY - Jewish leaders are spurning a request from the Council on Foreign Relations to meet with the president of Iran when he arrives for the U.N. General Assembly.

The vice president for communications at the Council on Foreign Relations, Lisa Shields, confirmed yesterday that President Ahmadinejad has been invited to address members of the council. "Our invitation to Ahmadinejad is no different than our invitation to other heads of states during the General Assembly," she said. "We have had an invitation out over the years to the Iranians as they come to the United Nations. This year they accepted."

Ms. Shields said the council has hosted other contentious foreign leaders, including Fidel Castro of Cuba, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. "It is the mission of the Council on Foreign Relations to create a direct dialogue with world leaders and others," she added. "It is never an endorsement of their positions or policies. The council holds no institutional position. In fact, a direct dialogue creates an opportunity for members of the council to air their views in an unfiltered way."

"I think this is outrageous," the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said. "Ahmadinejad has proven that dialogue serves no useful purpose except to give him legitimacy and recognition.

Southfield, MI - Federal Agents Raid Islamic Charity in Suburban Detroit

Southfield, MI - F.B.I. and Joint Terrorism Task Force officials executed search warrants at the Southfield headquarters of Life for Relief and Development.

An F.B.I. spokeswoman says the search warrants pertain to an ongoing criminal matter. Agents hauled away documents, letters and ledgers.
A spokesman for the charity says the organization raises money for humanitarian relief efforts. It was founded by Iraqi Americans in 1992.

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident on East 21st Street and Avenue "R" with a pedestrian that was struck, Hatzolah responding.

Middlesbrough, UK - Big Brother is Shouting At You

Middlesbrough, UK - Big Brother is not only watching you - now he's barking orders too. Britain's first 'talking' CCTV cameras have arrived, publicly berating bad behaviour and shaming offenders into acting more responsibly.
The system allows control room operators who spot any anti-social acts - from dropping litter to late-night brawls - to send out a verbal warning: 'We are watching you'.

Middlesbrough has fitted loudspeakers on seven of its 158 cameras in an experiment already being hailed as a success. Jack Bonner, who manages the system, said: 'It is one hell of a deterrent. It's one thing to know that there are CCTV cameras, but it's quite another when they loudly point out what you have just done wrong. Most people are so ashamed and embarrassed at being caught they quickly slink off without further trouble.
This isn't about keeping tabs on people, it's about making the streets safer for the law-abiding majority and helping to change the attitudes of those who cause trouble. It challenges unacceptable behaviour and makes people think twice.'

Law-abiding shopper Karen Margery, 40, was shocked to hear the speakers spring into action as she walked past them. 'It's quite scary to realise that your every move could be monitored - it really is like Big Brother, she said.
The scheme has been introduced by Middlesbrough mayor Ray Mallon, a former police superintendent who was dubbed Robocop for pioneering the zero-tolerance approach to crime. He believes the talking cameras will dramatically cut not just anti-social behaviour, but violent crime, too.
And if the city centre scheme proves a success, it will be extended into residential areas.
The control room operators have been given strict guidelines about what commands they can give. Yelling 'Oi you, stop that', is not permitted. Instead, their instructions make the following suggestions: 'Warning - you are being monitored by CCTV - Warning - you are in an alcohol-free zone, please refrain from drinking'; and Warning - your behaviour is being monitored by CCTV. It is being recorded and the police are attending.'

Mr Bonner said: 'We always make the requests polite, and if the offender obeys, the operator adds 'thank you'. We think that's a nice finishing touch.

Monsey, NY - Rabbis and Community Look for Elusive Answers

Monsey, NY - At meetings of rabbinic groups and certification agencies, a number of proposals were floated to protect kosher consumers from the type of scandal that rocked the community just a fortnight ago, as Shevach Meats, a popular glatt kosher butcher, was caught selling non-kosher poultry as kosher.

One rabbi suggested banning the sale of fresh meats in supermarkets and returning to the days of the local kosher butcher. Others promoted the idea of requiring a mashgiach temidi, permanent kosher supervisor, at such stores, while another proposal called for rabbis and agencies to have the keys, codes for alarms, and combinations to establishments selling fresh meat.
Meanwhile rabbis were busy quashing rumors that a popular Boro Park butcher was also involved in the scandal. One rabbi said that the store had actually been fingured by Mr. Shevach, but that a close inspection of the store showed that there was no basis for the accusation, and the rabbis interviewing Mr. Shevach found his story to be “less than credible” which was confirmed by a subsequent investigation of the Brooklyn store.

Residents of the community were still asking “how it could have happened” in their community. This past Sunday was declared a fast day in the community to atone for the unsuspecting violation of kashrus law by so many residents. Some residents are temporarily going vegetarian while others are eating only on paper and plastic plates and using plastic utensils, the scrubbing and cleansing of kitchens continues in many homes.

The question that many are asking these days is if this serious scandal in Monsey will at last prompt both rabbis and the community into action.

Virginia Declines Request for the President of the Free World

Virginia - The Secret Service asked Virginia to close key HOV lanes during rush hour to get U.S. President George Bush to a political fundraiser -- and was turned down.

The Secret Service asked state officials to close the center HOV lanes of I-395 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday for a fundraiser the president was heading too, this would have created a traffic jam for the average driver that would not have been cleared until 10 p.m.
Virginia officials were stunned by the request: If they had granted it, commuter buses normally using the high-speed lanes would have to be rerouted or canceled and the thousands of multi-passenger cars normally in the HOV lanes would be added to the already crowded lanes of I-95. "It would give a new meaning to political gridlock in D.C.," John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said. "You have to wonder, What were they thinking?"

Jerusalem, Israel - The Dog That Stirred Up Meah Shearim Neighborhood

Jerusalem, Israel - The 95-year-old Meah Shearim resident, Nahman David Dovinski passed away Shabbas and is said to have been “a righteous man, a worker of God, waiting every day, every minute, for redemption. He was really not of this world."

Upon returning from the funeral, which took place on Motzei Shabbas, Dovinski’s family found an unfamiliar dog sitting on their doorsteps, and all attempts to remove him failed.
Dovinski’s family took the dog out of the neighborhood, but it insisted and returned again to the same house. From the early hours of the morning, endless attempts were made to expel the dog, but the dog refused to leave the house.

During the attempts at convincing the dog to leave, a neighborhood rabbi arrived at the house and instructed that the dog be served a Shabbas meal, in hopes that this would convince the dog to leave. And only after the dog was told, “you are forgiven, you are forgiven, you are forgiven,” did it agree to taste the food it was served.
Residents and neighbors began wondering what the meaning of this strange event was, and turned to Rabbi Meir Brandsdorfer, who is considered one of the senior rabbis in the charedi congregation, for answers.
Rabbi Brandsdorfer recommended reciting Thiliem and Mishnas. The rabbi himself left the home of the deceased at around 5 a.m. Sunday and headed towards the Mount of Olives in order to say Kaddish on Dovinski’s grave.

Neighborhood residents and family members report that the dog willingly left the house during the Kaddish.
A crew from Jerusalem municipality’s veterinary services arrived at the scene and picked up the dog, as hundreds of residents from Meah Shearim and other neighborhoods watched and escorted the vehicle that evacuated the dog.

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Towing Requested Again by FDNY+

Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Towing Requested Again by FDNY+ Fire Department Engine 282 is stuck for about an half hour behind a double parked vehicle in front of 1361 43rd Street, FDNY issued a summons and now they are requesting PD and Tow to respond to location.

Jerusalem, Israel +Fatal Fall+

Jerusalem, Israel +Fatal Fall+ A woman was killed after a tragic fall.
At the new high-rise building in the Gush Shmonim neighborhood on Rechov Yakovszon 1 near Rechov Ezras Torah, a woman fell from her eight floor porch, onto a fifth floor porch where she died instantly.
PD on the scene dor the investigation.

Brooklyn, NY - Does Living Here Shorten Your Life?

Brooklyn, NY - The numbers from a new Harvard study seem to suggest that living in Brooklyn shortens your life.

New York City residents live an average of 77.4 years. In Brooklyn, life expectancy is 76.7 years. "It just amazes me. You would think that Manhattan or the Bronx would be the lowest, with all the pollution," said Elmo Singletary, 56, a Flatbush sign painter.
Within Brooklyn, the study found that life expectancy ranged from a low of 71.1 years for black men, while white men had the next lowest life expectancy, 74 years. Black women averaged 78.5 years, and white women averaged 80.2.

Here are the figures for the other boroughs:

State Island: 77 years.

The Bronx: 77.7 years.

Manhattan: 78 years.

Queens: 79 years.

Washington, DC +Breach in Security at U.S. Capitol+

Washington, DC +Breach in Security at U.S. Capitol+ The U.S. Capitol is on lockdown as Capitol Police investigate a suspicious vehicle that entered a construction area on the east front of the Capitol near the rotunda steps, with a perp that ran into the Capitol. Perp has been apprehended at this time by police.

Space +Smoke on International Space Station+

Space +Smoke on International Space Station+ NASA in Huston, TX are reporting, that there is light smoke on the international space station and the three astronauts aboard are donning protective gear as a precaution.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan - City's Only Synagogue Attacked

Dushanbe, Tajikistan - Vandals attacked the last remaining synagogue in the city of Dushanbe, capital of the Central Asian republic of Tajikistan, in what is believed to have been an attempt to set the building on fire.
Two youths approached the synagogue and hurled a Molotov cocktail into the courtyard, which burst into flames. Two elderly Jews who were inside at the time saw the youths and began to chase them, but they managed to get away, and local police were called but failed to intervene.

The incident marked the second time in the past month that the synagogue has come under attack.
On August 18, unidentified assailants started a fire in the building and fled the scene. The flames damaged some curtains before being extinguished. The perpetrators were never caught.
Authorities say that it is the Jewish community's responsibility to pay for security.

Manhattan, NY +F.D.R. Drive Closed+

Manhattan, NY +F.D.R. Drive Closed+ Due to an unauthorized missplaced tractor trailer at the southbound of the FDR Drive at 92th Street under Gracie Mansion, all lanes have been shut down by NYPD to remove the truck.

Buenos Aires, Argentina +Strong Earthquake+

Buenos Aires, Argentina - A strong earthquake sent panicked residents fleeing from their homes in Argentina, but it caused no injuries or damages.

The magnitude 6.1 quake was felt in the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and La Rioja. Its epicenter was in Pampa de las Salinas, about 745 miles northeast of Buenos Aires and it was the second in less than a week to shake the region.
A magnitude 5.7 quake struck the San Juan province on Tuesday but also caused no injuries or damage.

Wesley Hills, NY +Police Arrested Man That Tried to Lure Child, 6

Wesley Hills, NY - Ramapo police arrested a lifelong village man who police said tried to lure a 6-year-old girl into his car with candy last week, as was reported on VOS IZ NEIAS.
Jason Wade, 24, of 11 Village Green was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree stalking, both misdemeanors, after a weeklong investigation and surveillance, said Detective Lt. Brad Weidel. "It was just good old-fashioned gumshoe detective work," Weidel said. "It's been an extensive investigation."
Weidel said police interviewed neighbors, which led them to Wade, and they began watching him over the course of the week.
Wade was spotted driving a dark blue, four-door Honda sedan near a school bus stop at Rainbow Court and Skyline Terrace at the same time and place, Weidel said, where someone tried to abduct a young girl Sept. 8. The child attends a private school in Chestnut Ridge.

Police stopped Wade on the Palisades Interstate Parkway, and he was interviewed by Ramapo police and New York State police investigators in Thiells afterward, which led to the two charges.
Wade was arraigned and is expected to appear in village Justice Court, although a time, date and bail amount has not been set.

Weidel said after the suspect offered the girl candy, the child ran back to her house and told her mother, who called police. "It's not an unusual thing for someone to come back," Weidel said. "He doesn't live that far from the area."

Staten Island, NY - Plane Makes Emergency Landing

Staten Island, NY - A small airplane towing an advertising banner to Sports Stadium made an emergency landing at Seaview Avenue and Father Capodanino Blvd. in the South Beach section of Staten Island after the engine failed.

The pilot of the Piper PA-18, a single-engine utility aircraft, dumped the banner before landing the plane safely on Staten Island's South Beach.
The pilot was the only person on the plane, which had been on its way to the East Rutherford, N.J., stadium. The plane landed near a fishing pier, there was a minor fuel spill during the landing. No one was injured.
The cause of the incident was being investigated by FAA inspectors.

Hampstead, London - Jewish Community Planing Eruv

Hampstead, London - Plans are being drawn up to create an Orthodox Jewish boundary - an eruv - around Hampstead.

Local rabbis, led by a Jewish court the London Beth Din, want to build one around Hampstead Village and another in St John's Wood.
A spokeswoman for the London Beth Din said: "Religious experts are looking at the possibility. It is a complex thing and it takes time to set up."

The first introduced Eruv was in the UK in North West London around Golders Green, Hampstead Garden Suburb and Child's Hill. It went up in March 2003 after a 13-year battle between supporters and critics. Elizabeth Lawrence from Wentworth Road, Golders Green led the campaign to stop it.
She said: "It is totally unacceptable and offensive. If Jews want dispensation from rules they could go to the Rabbi and ask for them. The majority of the objectors were from the Jewish faith. "It is very offensive particularly for survivors from the holocaust who got away from poles and wires."

But Rabbi Dr Reuven Hammer from New London Synagogue, Abbey Road, said: "I would be very pleased to have one in this area. It makes life a lot simpler - this is not going to impose on anyone else in any way whatsoever.

Yonkers, NY - Midchester Jewish Center To Be Auctioned

Yonkers, NY - A closed synagogue that was to be sold to a Jewish school will instead be auctioned to the highest bidder.

The Midchester Jewish Center's congregation at 236 Grandview Blvd. merged with the Greenburgh Hebrew Center in Dobbs Ferry.
Bronx real estate developer Jacob Selechnik bought the building last year for $2.2 million, but was unable to sell it to his prospective client, a Brooklyn yeshiva, because the school could not raise the money to buy the property and that his recent efforts to sell the Jewish center were also unsuccessful, so he decided to try an auction, he said.

Moses Stein, a former Midchester congregant, opposed the center's closure and sued the Greenburgh Hebrew Center over Midchester's sale. The prospect that Midchester would be sold to a Jewish school gave Stein hope that he and others opposed to moving to Dobbs Ferry could still worship there. "It didn't seem objectionable because, as a Jewish institution, they would not operate on the Sabbath, and we could use it on the weekend," said Stein, who settled his lawsuit with the Greenburgh Hebrew Center. "I'm concerned about changing the whole tenor of the neighborhood. I don't know what's going to happen there."

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Another Bias Crime+

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Another Bias Crime+ Late Friday night early Shabbas morning two Bochurim walking on Eastern Parkway and Rochester Avenue were severely assaulted.

The two were walking when they heard someone behind them yell "You .... Jew", when they turned around one of the Bochurim was struck in the face with a baseball bat, after which a group of about 7 to 8 Black Males closed in on the Bochur, but they both managed to fend off their assailants.
Hatzalah responded immediately and treated the victim, who's injuries to his face were extremely severe, with a fracture to his Orbital Bone, and was bleeding profusely from his nose. The victim was transported to Kings County Hospital where doctors said that the Bochur is very lucky that the injuries were not worse.

NYPD of the 71st Pct. claim that the incident belongs to the 77th Pct. due to it happening at the park entrance thereby making it a case for the 77th precinct.

London - Police Arrest Youths Suspected of Anti-Semitic Attack Against Girl, 12

London - Six youths were arrested by Barnet police this week in connection with a vicious anti-Semitic attack on a 12-year-old girl, that left her unconscious with a fractured eye socket as was reported on VOS IZ NEIAS.

Police said that four 14-year-old girls, a 10-year-old girl and a boy aged 10, had been arrested and released on bail in connection with the attack, which shocked London’s Jewish community.
The girl was traveling with a friend on a number 303 bus between Colindale and Edgware when the pair were approached at Mill Hill Broadway by a group of girls and a boy. The 12-year-old said: “She started hitting me with a phone on my cheekbones to wind me up and she slapped me three times really hard. “I don’t remember what happened until I was on the floor screaming. My friend was in the corner screaming for help. I woke up with someone stamping on my face. “She got off me. Then she pulled my hair and screamed, ‘Get her phone, get her phone’. I think I slapped her and my friend pulled me down the steps to get to the door. “Everyone on the bus looked at us like we were mad. We were screaming for him to open the door.”
Despite her screams of terror, fellow passengers looked on and said nothing until eventually a boy forced the door open so they could make their escape.
 
Her father expressed gratitude to the police, who he said had been “very supportive and have taken this very seriously. They were willing to investigate every avenue to find them”.

Israel - Town in Shomron Attacked by Arabs

Israel - A large-scale fire in the Shomron community of Yitzhar, east of Shechem, broke out, and Arab vandals are suspected of the doing the arson. Also was a police van called to the scene of the fire targeted by an Arab-thrown explosive, but no damage was caused.
Several families from the neighborhood were evacuated for several hours, when the flames reached within feet of the flimsy caravan homes.
Among the families forced to flee was that of Yehuda and Racheli Libman - whose 8-day-old baby Menachem Yair is recovering from his bris milah, which took place in the neighborhood synagogue yesterday. Mother Racheli took the event in stride, saying that though no caravans caught fire, "the neighborhood water piping was burnt down, and now we don't have any water. But they're working on fixing it right now."

Scranton, PA - Hasidic Group Headed to City to Have Social, Cultural Impact

Scranton, PA - The Hasidic Nadvorna sect has announced plans to bring as many as 1,000 families to Scranton, an influx that promises to alter the city in numerous ways.

The sect is in many ways a mystery to the outside world, and it appears there are some among the group who would just as soon keep it that way - for now. Efforts to learn more about the sect, and its specific plans, for the most part have been fruitless. Rabbi Alter Rosenbaum and others identified as leaders of the sect have not responded to repeated requests for interviews.
The group, which has between 5,000 and 7,000 members in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, leads an insular lifestyle that is defined by their religion, with little interest in secular pursuits or interacting with others.

Its members avoid calling attention to themselves and shy away from publicity, said Teri Backus of Realtec Source One Realty, who submitted the group’s bid for East Intermediate. “I’m not bringing in aliens here,” Ms. Backus said. “They’re quiet. They keep to themselves.”
Ms. Backus said the group will use the Quincy Avenue building as a school for the children of 80 to 100 families who will move here initially, and there is a possibility it may establish a synagogue there. Members already have contracts to buy six homes in the Hill Section, she said.

But critics cite what has happened in places like Lakewood Township, N.J., and Orange County, N.Y., where growing ultra-Orthodox or Hasidic communities have caused strife.
Lakewood resident Bill Hobday said Scranton should proceed with caution. “If it’s a place they like, you’ll go from 100 to 1,000 families in a few years,” he said, “and the way of life you’ve always known will be gone.”
The problem, Mr. Hobday and other critics say, is when the religion and the politics mix, the result is preferential treatment for the Orthodox community.
“Whatever you have heard in that regard is very real. Let there be no doubt, that’s what happens,” said the Rev. Gary Stiegler, pastor of Immanuael Lutheran Church in Lakewood and president of the Lakewood Clergy Association. “There is no piece of land, if they have their eye on, they aren’t going to get. There is very little if they wanted, they could not get. They have literally taken over the town.”

Baltimore MD - Congressman Cardin Fires Campaign Staffer Over Racial Comments

Baltimore MD - Rep. Benjamin Cardin has fired a campaign staffer who wrote racially and anti-Semitic charged comments on an Internet blog against his opponent, Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, who is black.

The 10-term congressman Cardin also condemned the anti-Semitic comments written by the female staffer on her Internet blog. "I am deeply offended and disgusted by the blog's racial and anti-Semitic overtones," the 10-term congressman said in the statement. "The staff person responsible was promptly dismissed and will have nothing to do with my campaign."
A spokeswoman for Lt. Gov. Steele, sharply criticized the comments on the blog. "It is deeply disturbing to learn that a staff member of ten-term Congressman Ben Cardin would keep a blog chronicling racial prejudices toward Lt. Gov. Steele and others," Sellers said. "This is the kind of attitude and gutter politics that Marylanders are sick of and why they are ready for change."

Some of the comments on the blog she wrote was, that while she likes the candidate she is working for, "I do not, however, like some of my candidate's friends."
Cardin is Jewish.
"They are large men with strong, loud voices and Jewish noses," she wrote. "They are also overly friendly." "She continued: "Some of the guys who have been with my candidate for years are like that. They don't mean anything by it; it's just the way they are. I wish that made it less uncomfortable."

Israel +Serious MVA+

Israel +Serious MVA+ A serious motor vehicle accident happened on Friday involving a few American teenagers currently attending Yeshiva in Israel.
The accident which took place on the road between Tzafas & Tevereya injured the boys, with one of them in serious but stable condition, the other one has broken ribs, leg, and nose, and the 3rd with various broken bones.

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY - New Chemical Fear

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY - residents had their worst fears realized when new environmental tests revealed high concentrations of dangerous chemical vapors lurking beneath their soil.

Tests released by the state Department of Environmental Conservation showed elevated levels of the carcinogen benzene and the potentially combustible gas methane in the soil under stores and warehouses in the Brooklyn neighborhood.

At the request of the DEC, the tests were conducted by ExxonMobil, whose predecessor companies spilled 17 to 30 million gallons of oil in the area in 1950. The agency required the tests after Riverkeeper - which filed a federal suit against ExxonMobil in 2004 demanding a clean-up - did its own testing and found vapors.

A public meeting on the new findings will be held on Sept. 27.

Oslo, Norway +Shots Fired at Synagogue+

Oslo, Norway - Several gunshots were fired overnight at the synagogue of Jewish Community in the St. Hanshaugen section of the city of Oslo the capital of Norwy. No one was injured in the incident.

Witnesses reported seeing a man, who fired several shots, fleeing the scene in an automobile.
There are around 2,000 Jews in Norway.