Yonkers, NY - Yom Tov Mailing from City Hall Puzzles Some Residents

Yonkers, NY - A Jewish Yom Tov (holiday) card sent from the mayor's office to 4,200 city households left some recipients wondering when they converted to Judaism.

The city mailed the cards in observance of the Jewish holiday through a data company that regularly provides demographic information to the city. Some non-Jews who received the cards called City Hall to inquire why they were sent the greetings.
"I think they were a little curious as to why they would get something like that," said city spokesman David Simpson, adding that the half-dozen or so calls were not angry. "It took a simple explanation that far less than one percent went out to non-Jewish households, which is a pretty acceptable margin of error."

Jenks, OK +Rough Landing for Senator's Plane

Jenks, OK - Senator Jim Inhofe's plane made a rough landing at the Jones Riverside Airport in Jenks.

Spokesman Danny Finnerty says they flew in from Duncan just fine. But right after landing, the tail dropped and spun them around off the runway.
Finnerty says the Senator thinks there was a problem with the plane's rudder. Inhofe is an experienced pilot. No one was hurt.

Towson, MD - Students Protest In Support Of Jewish Officer

Towson, MD - A Towson University police officer gained support in his fight to save his job.

Officer David Brown, an orthodox Jew, had requested time off for Rosh Hashanah, Shabbas and the other Holidays, but he'd been told no, so Towson University students and members of the Jewish community who support Brown protested over the suspension and pending termination of Brown, a 10-year veteran of the university police force, claiming religious intolerance and demanding he remain on the job.
"Let David work. Let David work," several protesters chanted throughout the day.

London - Muslim Cop Refuses Israeli Embassy Duty

London - The Metropolitan Police force is conducting a policy review after a Muslim officer refused guard duty at the Israeli Embassy on moral grounds.

Constable Alexander Omar Basha of the force's Diplomatic Protection Group objected to being posted to protect Israel's embassy in central London because he disagreed with the country's bombing of Lebanon. Commissioner Ian Blair asked for "an urgent review of the situation and a full report."

Basha's refusal of the detail met with scorn from John O'Connor, a former commander of the force's elite Flying Squad. "This is the beginning of the end for British policing," O'Connor said. "If they can allow this, surely they'll have to accept a Jewish officer not wanting to work at an Islamic national embassy? Will Catholic cops be let off working at Protestant churches. Where will it end?"

Monsey, NY - Large Kosher Supermarket Shut Down in Middle of Holiday Season

Monsey, NY - The Rockland kosher supermarket on 27 Orchard Street in Monsey, NY had to shut down in the middle of a busy holiday season due to a fire in its meat kitchen, and due to the sprinkler system that spread some chemicals which destroyed some food. Health inspectors and Ramapo Police Department are investigating.

Menden-Barge, Germany - Nazi-Era Mass Grave Discovered in Cemetery

Menden-Barge, Germany - German authorities had unearthed the remains of 51 people, most of them children, in what may be a mass grave for murdered victims of Hitler's euthanasia program.
So far the skeletons of 22 children and 29 adults have been exhumed from the grave, located in a Catholic church cemetery of the village of Menden-Barge, the exhumation process is still under way.

State prosecutor Ulrich Maass said there were signs those buried in the grave met a violent end, especially the children. "We assume that these were victims of the Nazi regime," Maass said. Supporting this view is the fact that the children's tiny skeletons had been haphazardly tossed into the grave without coffins, he said, and three of the children showed signs of having physical handicaps, Maass said.

During Adolf Hitler's 12-year rule, which ended with the Nazi leader's suicide in 1945, he oversaw the mass slaughter of six million Jews and other minorities across Germany and Europe, and people with mental and physical handicaps were systematically put to death as part of a euthanasia program aimed at "cleansing" the German gene pool of those whom the Nazis deemed unfit for a master race of Aryan.

Apex, NC - Thousands Flee Toxic Cloud

Apex, NC - Half of the 32,000 residents of Apex, North Carolina, have been asked to evacuate after explosions and fire at a hazardous waste plant released noxious gases and flames 150 feet high over the town.

People "are putting themselves in very grave danger by being near or around this smoke. If you see smoke, get away from it." said Bruce Radford, manager of the Raleigh suburban town. "There are pesticides, oxides, chlorine gases, there are all grades of contaminated material in this fire and in this smoke," he said.
No deaths have been reported from the fire at the plant, called Environmental Quality Industrial Services, but more than 100 people have been hospitalized.

Officials said they didn't know what sparked the blaze, Mayor Keith Weatherly was quoted as saying flames jumped the plant site and appeared to have caused petroleum tanks, belonging to another company, to explode.

Cedarhurst, NY +Multiple Vehicle MVA+

Cedarhurst, NY +Multiple Vehicle MVA+ A motor vehicle accident involving multiple vehicles with some into a building near 199 Cedarhurst Avenue and Willow Avenue in front of the HSBC Bank, has Hatzolah on the scene requesting several ambulances forthwith.

Brooklyn, NY - Correctional Officer Sues for Right to Wear Knitted Hat

Brooklyn, NY - A Muslim correction officer from Brooklyn filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Correctional Services who bars him from wearing his headdress.

Officer Abdus Samad Haqq says the department won't let him wear his kufi -- or knitted hat -- on duty even though it carries religious significance for him, so he had the New York Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit.

The Department of Correctional Services had no comment on the lawsuit.

Sarasota, FL - Doctor That Diagnosed Cancer on Nearly Every Patient Who Came Into his Office Was Sentenced to 22 Years

Sarasota, FL - Former dermatologist Michael Rosin received a 22-year federal prison sentence for defrauding Medicare by performing unnecessary surgeries on elderly patients from the Sarasota area.

Judge William Castagna did not go easy on Rosin, lengthening the doctor's sentence with rulings that Rosin had lied on the stand and caused serious bodily injuries to his victims. So on the doctors 56th birthday, in front of his wife, six of his seven children and members of his Miami Orthodox Jewish community, Rosin was sentence to 22 years and was also ordered to pay $48,866 to patients and $3.6 million to the Medicare trust fund. He had to forfeit another $3.7 million to the government.
A total of 865 elderly patients from the Sarasota area went under Rosin's surgical knife even though biopsy slides seized from his office showed no sign of cancer or were in such poor shape they couldn't be read. A jury convicted Rosin of diagnosing cancer using slides with bubble gum or foam instead of a skin sample. He diagnosed cancer on nearly every patient who came into his office, and almost always removed four layers of skin during surgeries.

But Rosin continued to say he is innocent, even with the judge's ruling that the doctor testified falsely about six different topics. Rosin fought back tears as he apologized to his former patients "for all the things that went on in the office" and told the judge he ultimately had to take responsibility for what went on, and blamed his office workers for the unreadable slides and the slides with bubble gum and foam.

At the end, Rosin's attorney argued that his client -- who owns a $2.7 million home in Sarasota and a $1.5 million home in Miami Beach, has trust funds for his children and donated $650,000 to religious organizations -- lives with his family in "worse than Spartan conditions."

Airmont, NY - Yeshiva Project Delayed

Airmont, NY - The development of a yeshiva with student and faculty housing remains in limbo pending a court decision on the legality of the village's agreement to permit the construction.

Attorneys for the village and Congregation Mischknois Lavier Yakov said that they didn't know when a decision would be made.
The congregation proposes a yeshiva on 19 acres off Hillside Avenue, a narrow, twisting road that runs westward from Saddle River Road along the New Jersey border. But residents of the neighborhood, as well as those in the borough of Upper Saddle River, N.J., have opposed the project and are seeking the court to stop it.
Their concern is that building a 170-student dormitory and 30 apartments for faculty and married students would increase traffic on inadequate roads. Also residents have cited numerous overflows of sewage when storm water overburdens the system. That has been particularly alarming to those New Jersey residents who have watched sewage flow into the Saddle River.
While the judge said the planning process could continue pending his decision, the congregation has not reappeared before the board or presented its review of the environmental matters.

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY - Jewish Community Outraged on Attack They Claim was Bias

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY - The Jewish community gathered to protest attack on Mendel Chesney, which some have charged is a hate crime, though police have not classified it as such.

The 16-year-old Hasidic boy was walking home about 10 p.m. Yom Kippur (Sunday night) from a synagogue on Yom Kippur when he was jumped by a group of teens who called him a "....... Jew," witnesses and his family charged. Mendel Chesney was attacked by as many as eight young men on Carroll St. in Crown Heights, as was reported on VOS IZ NEIAS.
Police confirmed Mendel was beaten, but NYPD officials said investigators have determined the attack was a robbery - not a bias crime.

Upset that the NYPD of the 71st Pct. has not classified the attack as a hate crime, about 700 people rallied outside the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters on Eastern Parkway. "They say it was a mugging, but they didn't stick their hands in his pocket. This is the epitome of a hate crime, and he's not being charged as a hate crime," said Hanoch Hecht, 22, one of the rally organizers.
Mendel told his father, David Chesney, he heard footsteps, turned and was hit in the face with a fist or a rock. He said he fainted, and didn't hear any anti-Semitic taunts. When he regained consciousness, he heard someone ask for money. He suffered a broken nose and a gash on the back of his head.
Cops arrested three of the alleged attackers and have been looking for as many as five others. Charges were pending against the suspects. Their names were not available.

"What's going on in Crown Heights, we will not tolerate. And I'm not just talking about the Jewish community," said Sam Stern, 35, a real estate manager who attended Wednesday's rally. "The good people of Crown Heights will not tolerate our children being attacked in the street day after day after day. This is a rally from the heart."

Prague, Czech Republic - High Security Alert after Plot Foils to Murder Jews During Holidays

Prague, Czech Republic - A plot to take Jews hostage in a Prague synagogue sparked a terrorism alert in the Czech Republic.
Heavily armed police officers are patrolling the Jewish Quarter and other parts of the city since the government uncovered this plot, which Minister of Interior Ivan Langer called the country's "first concrete threat of a terrorist attack."

The attack was supposed to coincide with the Jewish holidays, when many Jewish tourists visit Prague and its seven major synagogues. "Arab terrorists wanted to abduct dozens of people, hold them hostage, and in the end massacre all of them," according to the secret services, the terrorists wanted to penetrate into a synagogue in Prague's centre during a Jewish religious holiday service and take all present believers hostage, and later to blast the building in which they would keep the hostages, and that they would have had explosives ready for use.

The alert led to tightened security at Prague's airport and train stations as well as areas around the synagogues.

Lawrence, NY +Suspicious Fire+

Nassau County, Lawrence, NY +Suspicious Fire+ Fire Department is on the scene for a suspicious gas fed fire in the rear of a private dwelling at 15 Washington Avenue and Broadway. Fire has been knoced down requesting Fire Marshals to respond to the scene.

U.S. - Unlikely Terrorists On No-Fly List

United States of America - Saddam Hussein and 14 of the 19 dead Sept. 11 hijackers are among the names on the U.S. no-fly list designed to stop terrorists boarding planes, on a secret U.S. government list of 44,000 people, used to screen airline passengers for potential terrorists.

Former FBI agent Jack Cloonan said, that the list was hastily assembled after the Sept. 11 attacks and was bungled. "When we heard the name list or no-fly list ... the eyes rolled back in my head, because we knew what was going to happen," he says.

While the list includes such unlikely would-be terrorists, the 11 British suspects recently charged with plotting to blow up airliners with liquid explosives were not on it, despite being under surveillance for more than a year.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security had no immediate comment.

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, NY on 43rd Street and 13th Avenue, Hatzolah responding.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA+ A motor vehicle accident with multiple injured on Surf Avenue and West 25th Street in Brooklyn, NY Hatzolah responding with a few ambulances.

Passaic, NJ +Synagogye Robbed+

Passaic, NJ +Synagogye Robbed+ Police are investigating a robbery in one of the largest synagogues in this New Jersey area.

The Ahavas Israel Synagogue the bigest shul in Passaic was robbed, and its safe that was holding all their important paper work was stolen, no money or other valuables was kept at this time in the safe just all their documents.
Detectives Squad are currently investigating the case.

Staten Island, NY - Nine Hate Crimes Reported This Year

Staten Island, NY - Since January, nine reported crimes in the borough have been designated as hate crimes by the police, NYPD Assistant Chief Albert Girimonte, the Staten Island borough commander, told roughly 25 members of the borough's Anti Bias Task Force during a meeting at Borough Hall.
All but one of the incidents were racially tinged graffiti, and no arrests have been made thus far, Giramonte said.

"How does it happen that you get it in your head that you want to go and beat somebody up and take their money?" District Attorney Daniel Donovan asked. "I don't believe in the argument that kids get bored and they go smash windows in the synagogue. It's not boredom. It's something else," Donovan said.

"On the surface it's an absolutely wonderful place to live, but on the inside it's a very fractious community," Dr. Ronald Sheppard, of Grymes Hill, said about Staten Island. "There's a lack of understanding and communication."
For every one of the bias crimes identified by police, hundreds more go unreported or unnoticed and create the tenor of life here, task force members agreed.
"These numbers we look at are not the true picture," said Salman Zafar of the Staten Island Muslim Association. "The true picture is out on the street, where small things are happening and we're not addressing them."

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on Empire Blvd and Albany Avenue. Hatzolah responding

Israel - Company Discovers Oil Near Dead Sea

Israel - An Israeli company has discovered a small amount of oil at a drilling site near the Dead Sea, raising hopes that the Israel could one day join its regional neighbors as a petroleum producer.

Initial tests have found that the site would yield between 100 to 150 barrels daily, said Eli Tannenbaum, geologist for the Ginko oil exploration company. While this is minuscule by global standards - No. 1 producer Saudi Arabia produces 9 million barrels a day - Tannenbaum said there are signs that larger amounts of crude are nearby.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Amputation+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Amputation+ Hatzolah on a rush for an aided with a serious amputation at a construction site at 178 Penn Street between Lee Avenue and Marcy Avenue, aided was transported to Bellevue Hospital.

Tel Aviv, Israel - Israeli Arrested for Vowing Attack at Muslim Shrine

Tel Aviv, Israel - An Israeli Jew has been arrested for threatening to carry out an attack at a major Muslim shrine in Jerusalem and could face criminal charges.

The suspect, described in reports as a rabbi in his early 50s, was been taken into custody on after making the threat about al-Aqsa mosque at a Tel Aviv hotel, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. "He was overheard at the hotel and, under interrogation, repeated his threat to carry out an attack at the Temple Mount," Rosenfeld said, using the Jewish term for the al-Aqsa plaza, which is known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif.
Rosenfeld said the suspect would appear at Tel Aviv magistrates' court on and police were seeking a criminal indictment against him.

The mosque, located in Arab East Jerusalem, has been a frequent flashpoint during decades of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is Islam's third holiest shrine. Jews revere the site as the last vestige of two ancient temples.

Roosevelt, NJ - Board Reviews Yeshiva's Use of Single-Family Home

Roosevelt, NJ - A Planning Board hearing regarding the local yeshiva's use of a North Rochdale Avenue residence began.

Prior to resigning from his position as the borough's zoning officer, Robert Francis had issued a violation to Paul Brottman, the owner of 53 N. Rochdale Ave. Francis said the current living situation in the home, which is located in a zone for single-family residences, does not constitute a single-family use.

Rabbi Yisroel Eisenberg, of Yeshiva Me'on Hatorah, is currently leasing the North Rochdale residence from Brottman. The yeshiva - an Orthodox high school for boys that operates out of the Homestead Lane synagogue, Congregation Anshei Roosevelt - is appealing Francis' decision. The yeshiva's lawyer, Edward J. Liston, is also representing Brottman in the hearing.

Planning Board Chairman Ralph Seligman was not present on Sept. 26, and Vice Chairwoman Jane Rothfuss therefore presided over the hearing. For various reasons, board members Michael Ticktin, Steve Yeger, Councilman Michael Hamilton and Mayor Elsbeth "Beth" Battel all recused themselves from the hearing.
Planning Board Attorney Michelle Donato said that the question before the board is whether or not the use of the North Rochdale residence constitutes a single-family use. "This is a difficult question," she said, "because court cases have expanded the horizon as to what constitutes a family - and they've done it over the years."

Iraq - Officials Test Dead Militant's DNA

Iraq - Iraqi officials are doing DNA tests on a militant killed during a US military raid to determine if he is al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir.

US military sources say it is probably not Muhajir, but they are awaiting confirmation from the tests. An Arabic media correspondent in Baghdad, quoting government sources, reported that Muhajir was killed in Haditha.

Muhajir took over as the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in June after the death of his predecessor Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

New Square, NY - Board of Elections Investigating Voting Irregularity

New Square, NY - The state Board of Elections is investigating a complaint from the Sept. 12 primary and from the 2005 election, after a poll watcher said he saw election workers give gift cards in the 2005 election to New Square voters.

Michael Castelluccio, a member of the Preserve Ramapo political party, made the initial complaint to the Rockland Board of Elections, and the county forwarded the information to the state soon after.
Castelluccio's complaint came after party poll watcher Alan Schwartz told him he was observing the voting process at a New Square polling location last year when he saw the cards being doled out by election workers. Schwartz was given one of the cards, written in Yiddish, by an election worker. It thanks residents for voting and instructs the children of the voter to redeem the card at school for a gift. The gift is not specified.

Schwartz and Castelluccio said they were prompted to go to the Board of Elections — even though nearly a year had passed — because of other, more recent, investigations into possible voter coercion and compensation.
The District Attorney's Office and the state Board of Elections are investigating an advertisement that promised free ice-cream machines to the first 2,000 Monsey residents who voted in the Sept. 12 primary.
Rabbi Michael Dick of the Monsey Jewish Center said he found the concerns over the ice-cream maker and gift cards to be exaggerated. "This is pretty minor stuff," he said. "It's not buying a vote here," he said. "They're just saying, 'Please come.' "
Dick said he realized election law forbade the compensation, but Jewish voters in Monsey and New Square were passionate about elections, supporting the candidate they believe are sympathetic to Israel and who support the voters' values.

The community has been the target of criticism for its longtime practice of forming a bloc vote to support one candidate in any particular race. But Dick likened the bloc vote to the organized support of unions or other cultural groups. The outside community, he said, should not use the recent elections investigations to target the entire bloc.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Children Molested+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Children Molested+ NYPD of the 90th Pct and Williamsburg Shomrim Patrol are canvasing the area for a black SUV with driver side damage to the vehicle, perp driving the vehicle is an Hispanic male 35-years-old and he is wanted for attempting to molest two girls ages 7 and 9 on Ross Street between Bedford and Lee Avenue's.
Vehicle was last seen on Lee Avenue and Williamsburg Street West.

Hatzolah on the scene.
NYPD Special Squad responding.

U/D: 10/05/06 19:06
The 90th Pct CO called a meeting wih the leaders of Hatzolah, Shomrim and all School Administrators, at 17:00 a sketch of the perp was distrubered and they were told to educate the children on this issue of safety especially now at the holiday season and for all year round.

U/D: 22:27
Police were questioning a suspect just for a short time, and let him go.

Manhattan, NY +GW Bridge Traffic Alert+

Manhattan, NY +GW Bridge Traffic Alert+ A motor vehicle accident involving a tractor trailer on the upper level of the George Washington Bridge Manhattan bound with a saddle fuel spill, PAPD and Fire Department are on the scene requesting Haz-Mat. Expect delays.

West Bank - Local Hamas Leader Shot Dead

West Bank - Three masked men have shot and killed a Hamas leader as he left a mosque in the West Bank, a day after a rival Palestinian faction threatened to kill senior Hamas members.

The shooting comes amid a growing power struggle between the ruling Hamas movement and the Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas. At least 12 people were killed and more than 100 wounded earlier this week in internal clashes.

Witnesses said the gunmen jumped out of a passing vehicle and shot Mohammed Odeh, 37, as he left a mosque in Hableh, a village near the town of Qalqilya, and then sped off.  They said the vehicle had Israeli licence plates but gave no other details. Vehicles with such plates are not uncommon in some major Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military denied involvement in the shooting in the village, which lies northwest of the main West Bank city of Ramallah.

Washington, DC - Synagogue Receives $5 Million Gift

Washington, DC - A former business reporter for Washington and Baltimore newspapers is giving $5 million to the D.C. synagogue where he has belonged for decades, money he says he accumulated by investing and saving.

Donald Saltz, 72, is donating the money to Adas Israel Congregation in memory of his late wife, Mozelle, who died last December. They had been married for 40 years.

Chaifa, Israel - Historic Shofar Found in Warehouse

Chaifa, Israel - A very old shofar believed to have been hidden in a German beer cellar during World War II was discovered in Haifa.

The 200-year-old shofar was recently found in the warehouse of Chaifa’s Gordon College, whose former deputy director had served as a Rabbi with Allied forces fighting the Nazis.
The rabbi, Yaacov Lifschitz-Gil, found the shofar during postwar searches of Munich beer cellars that had been frequented by Hitler.

Plzen, West Bohemia - Medieval Jewish Cemetery Clashes with Israeli Project

Plzen, West Bohemia - The recently launched project of a trade center Plaza, that is to cost billions, in the former exhibition grounds in Plzen is threatened due to the recently discovered former Jewish cemetery from the 15th century. 

Archaeologists say that according to their research, the cemetery is located in the site where the investor wants to build a multi-storey car park, a part of the project. "We cannot open the project without the car park," project manager Martin Kodrle said. According to the lease contract with the town hall, the construction must be completed by mid-November at the latest, Kodrle said.

The cemetery complicates the situation even more to the firm, due to some Israeli capital is invested in the project. "As there are Israeli Jews in Plaza's management, we will see whether they will observe Jewish religion that does not allow to move Jews' remains," Jiri Loewy, deputy chairman of the Plzen Jewish community, said.

Plaza has invited experts from the Western Bohemian Museum for further research.

Kiryas Sefer, Israel - Attempted Kidnapping

Kiryas Sefer, Israel - A group of Arabs have attempted to kidnap a Jewish man in Kiryas Sefer.
The man who was carrying his a weapon, started firing at them hitting one of the kidnappers, and scaring the rest to flee in the direction of PA-controlled territory in the region. Israeli military and Police are conducting a massive search for the men.

Police have found a trail of blood and several items that were dropped by the fleeing men such as a pistol and some plastic handcuffs.

Queens, NY +Kosciuszko Bridge Traffic Alert+

Queens, NY +Kosciuszko Bridge Traffic Alert+ A four car accident on the west bound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway before the Kosciuszko Bridge causing heavy traffic delays heading into Brooklyn, NY.

Israel - Satmar Hassidim, Who Are Not Visiting The Western Wall, Could Have Their Prayer Notes Placed in a Miniature Model

Israel - A recent innovation of a Mini Israel allows visitors to leave notes in the cracks of its miniature Western Wall.  
Mini Israel CEO Haim Rogatka said that since the opening of the park, hundreds of thousands of visitors had stood in awe before the miniature Western Wall. “It was as if they were standing before the true Western Wall in Jerusalem, in the capital city,” Rogatka said.

Rogatka spoke of Satmar hassidic visitors, who cannot visit the real wall, and said, “They come to Mini Israel, to visit and admire the exact replicate of the original Western Wall,” And the visiting public demanded replicating the Wall to it’s smallest detail, including leaving prayer notes between the wall’s stones, just like in Jerusalem.

Following much consultation, the park’s officials decided to complete a missing detail, and placed a box for prayer notes in the wall’s stone built square. “We didn't want it to feel like dropping an envelope into an ordinary box,” Rogatka explained, so Mini Israel employees promised that the notes will be transferred to the real Western Wall in Jerusalem once a week.

New York - Law Enforcement Agencies to Beware of Tiny Six-Shooter

New York - Police and other law enforcement agencies have been told to be on the lookout for two new gadgets, a tiny gun that looks like a key chain trinket and easily could be smuggled onto a plane, and a plastic handcuff key that looks like a pendant.

The 2 1/2-inch-long factory-produced gun can be tossed, along with keys and cell phone, for instance, into a plastic basket before passing through an airport metal detector. The gun has not been found in New York City yet, authorities said. "It looks like it could be used as part of a key chain," says Joe Green, spokesman for the New York office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The six-shot revolver is manufactured by a Switzerland company that bills the tiny gun as the smallest revolver and ammunition in the world, complete with 2.34-mm bullets.
The gun sells for about $5,000, but company chief executive Paul Erard has said most buyers choose the $30,000 model encrusted with gold and diamonds.

Howell, NJ - Two Teens Charged with Bias Crime

Howell, NJ - Two township teens were arrested and charged with a bias crime for painting a swastika and a profanity on a residence during Yom Kippur.

The boys, ages 14 and 15, are under house arrest pending a plea hearing after an initial appearance before Judge Eugene A. Iadanza. The teens, were arrested by township police after a resident reported finding a swastika and a profanity spray painted on a house. Interviews with the victim and other residents led authorities to the boys, who were charged with fourth-degree bias intimidation, fourth-degree conspiracy to commit bias intimidation, criminal mischief and harassment.

Toronto, Canada - Fund Set Up for Family of Missing Boater

Toronto, Canada - A volunteer committee has established a fund to help support the family of a Toronto man who is presumed to have drowned on Lake Nipissing.

It’s been more than a month since Eli Horowitz, 30, and his father-in-law Heine Mondrowitz, 56, went missing during a fishing trip near North Bay.
Although Mondrowitz’s body was found a week after their rented, 19-foot boat drifted ashore empty near the lakeside community, Horowitz’s body has yet to be found.

David Stein, a good friend of Horowitz and a fellow paramedic with Hatzolah, has been instrumental in keeping the search going. He and Hatzolah, a volunteer emergency medical service that Horowitz helped found in Toronto, have offered a reward of $10,000 for the recovery of his body.
Stein said the search by air, land and water is continuing and that he is still in touch with the Ontario Provincial Police.

Meanwhile, Horowitz’s wife and three children, all under age five, are relying on the community to help them through this difficult time.
Horowitz supported his family by running a small paint business, but because he had cystic fibrosis, a respiratory disease, he was not able to get life insurance. So a 20-person committee consisting of friend’s of the family and “concerned people in the community” was set up to try to provide Horowitz’s young family with a modest income.
Mark Rosenblatt, Horowitz’s friend and one of the volunteers who helped establish the Eli Horowitz Fund, said he wanted to make sure the family will be looked after. “We’re trying to put together a fund that will be administered by a group of trustees, and hopefully we’ll raise enough that they can live modestly on the income,” Rosenblatt said, adding that the goal is to raise a lump sum within the next two months and invest it.

Contact information can be found at www.ehfund.com and tax-deductible donations can be made by credit card on the site.

New York, NY - False Alarm Drama on Plane by Man Claiming to be an Off-Duty NYPD Officer

New York, NY - Seth Stein is used to jetting around the world to create stylish holiday homes for wealthy clients. This architect is familiar with the irritations of heightened airline security post-9/11. But not even he could have imagined being mistaken for an Islamist terrorist and physically pinned to his seat while aboard an American Airlines flight -- especially as he has Jewish origins.

The drama unfolded less than an hour into the flight, when one of the other passengers decided to take matters into his own hands.
As Stein settled down with a book and a ginger ale, the father-of-three was grabbed from behind and held in a head-lock. "This guy just told me his name was Michael Wilk, that he was with the New York Police Department, and that I have been acting suspiciously and should stay calm. I could barely find my voice and couldn't believe it was happening," said Mr Stein.
"He went into my pocket and took out my passport and my iPod. All the other passengers were looking concerned."
Eventually, cabin crew explained that the captain had run a security check on Mr Stein after being alerted by the policeman and that this had cleared him.
When the plane arrived in New York, Mr Stein was met by apologetic police officers who offered to fast-track him out of the airport.

In a twist to the story, Mr Stein has since discovered that there is only one Michael Wilk on the NYPD's official register of officers, but the man retired 25 years ago. Officials have told the architect that his assailant may work for another law enforcement agency but have refused to say which one.

Tver, Russia - Yom Kippur in Moscow: 80 Tombstones Smashed in Jewish Cemetery

Tver, Russia - Some tombstones in a Jewish cemetery were smashed this Yom Kippur by anonymous persons in the town of Tver, close to Moscow.
The local police launched an investigation following the appalling incident, but the Jewish community finds it hard to believe that the offenders would be caught.

Chaim Ben Yaakov, Head of the Jewish Agency Delegation in Moscow, said that recent weeks have seen an incline in Anti-Semitic acts. “Last weekend, windows were smashed at the Jewish Agency in Vladimir, also close to Moscow,” Ben Yaakov said.
Yaakov also spoke of an Anti-Semitic flier being circulated throughout the city, adorned in swastikas and caricatures of Jews. The flier proclaims things like ‘Russia is for Russians’ and ‘Russia must take its fate into its own hands’. “I don’t know if the increase in incidents is a coincidence, but it may also be due to the holidays,” Ben Yaakov speculated.

Tver’s Jewish community doubted that real efforts were being made to catch the offenders. “The Russian government is not Anti-Semitic. The authorities denounce these incidents and claim they will do everything they can to fight them, but in the meantime, they haven’t caught any of the culprits in any of the cases,” Ben Yaakov said. “We, as the Jewish Agency, will increase security in those places and help in any possible way,” Ben Yaakov concluded.

Woodbury, NY +NYS Thruway Traffic Alert+

Orange County, Woodbury, NY +NYS Thruway Traffic Alert+ A two car motor vehicle accident south bound of the New York State Thruway at M/M 44 with one vehicle that overturned, Woodbury Fire Department, EMS BLS and ALS are all enroute.

Washington, DC - Jewish Group's Buses Vandalized Over Yom Kippur

Washington, DC - Officials with a Jewish group in Montgomery County say they're troubled by the vandalism of their buses over the Yom Kippur holiday.

Officials with the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington in Rockville say a bus used to transport senior citizens was smashed.
Seven of the group's buses were also vandalized in January at the offsite, commercial lot the council leases. The group has spent $221,000 fixing the damaged buses and beefing up security.

Spokeswoman Jeanne Zepp says the timing of the latest case is troubling.

Newton, MA +Suspicious Device at Synagogue+

Newton, MA +Suspicious Device at Synagogue+ Police on the scene and requesting Bomb Squad to respond to 300 Hammond Pond Parkway for a suspicious package left at Mishkan Tefila Synagogue.

Antwerp, Belgium - Skinheads Attack Youths

Antwerp, Belgium - A group of skinheads attacked two young Jews in Antwerp, Belgium.
The two, students at the Etz Chaim Yeshiva of Wilrijk, the suburb where the attack took place, were at a bus stop when four skinheads attacked them. Police arrived at the scene quickly but the attackers had fled.

Kouky Frohman, chairman of the Forum of Jewish Organizations in Belgium, called the security situation for Antwerp’s Jews “very difficult.”

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+ A motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian that was struck on East 13th Street and Avenue "P" Hatzolah responding.

New York, NY - New Yorkers Using Less Water?

New York, NY - Are New Yorkers getting dirtier or maybe they're less thirsty? New York City says it's using less water than at any time since 1951.
Daily water consumption in New York City averaged just over 1 billion gallons in the year that ended on June
30.
The drop is due in part to a requirement that renovations and new construction include water-saving plumbing fixtures and devices.

Tampa, FL - Caffeine May Help Protect Against Alzheimer's

Tampa, FL - A new study, conducted by researchers at the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Fla., showes that caffeine may have a benefit beyond helping to keep you alert, it may actually protect you against Alzheimer's disease.

Long-term intake of caffeine - the chemical stimulant common to coffee and many teas and soft drinks - may help delay or reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer's, scientists now say. They found that mice genetically predisposed to the degenerative brain disease were protected against memory impairment if they consumed 500 mg of caffeine daily, the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day.

Elad, Israel - Palestinian Nabbed As A Suspect On His Way to Carry Out Attack

Elad, Israel - Dozens of policemen and security personnel raided the Charedi community of Elad, located south of Rosh Haayin, in search of a Palestinian suspected of planning to carry out a terror attack in Israel.

One of the residents recounted the events: "It was frightening to see special forces roaming the streets with their guns drawn and faces masked." According to the residents, security forces were notified that a terrorist has entered the community. They said that roads were blocked by security forces' vehicles, and that people were prevented from returning to their houses, they went door to door with their guns drawn in search of the suspect.

"We're not used to seeing such large numbers of security personnel in the community. This isn't the first time there are alerts, but this time the number is unprecedented, as well as the urgency and determination exercised by the forces. The people who saw the forces in the course of their intensive searches, got scared, ran to their houses and closed themselves up inside."

All this searches concentrated on the eastern part of the community, near the seam line area, and resulted in the arrest of one perp who is an illegal alien.

Liberty, NY - Bear Complaints Up in Catskills

Liberty, NY - Complaints of nuisance bears have increased by 100 this year in the Catskills, where the black bear population is on the rise.

According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, there have been more close encounters with black bears than normal.  The DEC's regional office in the Catskills region has logged 370 nuisance complaints, up by 100 complaints compared to last year.

Most of the complaints have come from areas on the edges of bear habitats, such as Monticello, Liberty and Fallsburg in Sullivan County.

Washington, DC - Supreme Court Rejects Plea for Citizenship by Ex-Nazi Camp Guard

Washington, DC - A former Nazi concentration camp guard lost a Supreme Court appeal over the government's decision to revoke his U.S. citizenship.  
Justices declined to review the case of John Hansl, a member of the SS Death's Head battalion that guarded concentration camps at Sachsenhausen near Berlin in 1943 and Natzweiler in France in 1944.   

Hansl, who lives in Des Moines, Iowa, sought to distinguish his case from those of other former Nazi camp guards when he asked for a visa to enter the United States in the mid-1950s by arguing that he did not personally assist in persecution or hide his wartime past.  
An appeals court, however, agreed with a lower court ruling that Hansl's work as an armed guard with orders to shoot escaping prisoners was sufficient evidence that he "personally assisted in persecution."   

In one instance, Hansl helped search for an escaped prisoner who was later shot to death, although Hansl did not pull the trigger, court records show.
The Supreme Court's action means that the government could begin proceedings to have Hansl deported.

North Hempstead, NY - Yom Kippur Recognizers Given Parking Tickets. "Yom Kippur is not a town holiday," Say Town Officials

North Hempstead, NY - Lysa Dyber thought that because of the Jewish holiday she would be exempt from getting a ticket yesterday when she parked near a "No Parking Except Sundays and Holidays" sign while attending a synagogue in Little Neck.
But traffic officers in the Town of North Hempstead apparently answer to a higher power of their own -- the Uniform Traffic Code of North Hempstead -- and wrote her up anyway.

Dyber, of Great Neck, found a $70 ticket on her windshield when she returned to her car after services for Yom Kippur, just over the city line in Queens. She said the cars of several others who were attending services also were ticketed -- she feels improperly -- along Sound View Drive. "It's Yom Kippur," said Dyber, who said she wants the town to tear up the tickets. "I've never gotten a ticket there, my parents have never gotten a ticket there. I think it was someone who didn't know it is a holiday, or this was overzealous ticketing."

Not so, say North Hempstead officials. To qualify as a parking holiday within the town, a holiday must be included in a list of "words and phrases used in this Traffic Code." "Yom Kippur is not a town holiday," said North Hempstead spokesman David Chauvin. He said the town issued six traffic tickets along Sound View Drive early yesterday, and all were to cars parked several blocks from the synagogue. He said the town had no plans to waive the tickets.

Greece +Plane Hijacked+

Athens, Greece - A Turkish commercial airliner has been hijacked in Greek airspace.

The plane had taken off from Tirana, Albania, and was destined for Istanbul. The plane has landed in the Italian city of Brindisi, a Turkish Airlines spokesman said.

U/D: 14:34
Brindisi, Italy - The two hijackers of a Turkish aircraft have surrendered to Italian police.

Bnei Brak, Israel +Serious MVA+

Bnei Brak, Israel - A serious accident on Rechov Zabotinsky in Bnei Brak with a 70 year old man that was struck by a vehicle (after crossing the street in middle of the block) and is in critical condition. Hatzolah on the scene took the aided to beilinson in critical condition.

U/D: 10/04/06
Aided of the accident passed away.

Namibia, South Africa - Fugitive Ex-CEO of Comverse Technology Granted Bail

Namibia, South Africa - The fugitive former CEO of software company Comverse Technology Inc. in Long Island, NY was granted bail by a Namibian court Tuesday while he awaits extradition to the United States to face charges for allegedly manipulating stock options.

Jacob "Kobi" Alexander was granted bail of about $1.3 million, his lawyer Richard Metcalfe said, on condition that he hands in his passport, is not allowed to leave the district of Namibia's capital Windhoek and has to report twice a week to an Interpol inspector. "We are extremely pleased," Metcalfe said.
Alexander was arrested Sept. 26 in Windhoek at the request of the FBI after a two-month manhunt.
The Namibian government opposed bail at the request of the United States, arguing he could flee the country before a U.S. extradition request reached Namibian authorities.

However, Metcalfe said: "Magistrate Uatjo Uanivi found that the evidence presented for denying him bail were not convincing at all. "There was no reason to believe he would not be willing to stay in Namibia pending extradition."

Iraq - Rabbi at Yom Kippur Service Prays: Next Year, Anywhere But in Grim Baghdad

Baghdad, Iraq - As the sun set on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar Monday night, the last rabbi in Baghdad sat down for his last Yom Kippur dinner in Iraq: a piece of cake and two glasses of milk.
Yom Kippur ends with a celebratory feast. But there was, Emad Levy confessed, very little to celebrate this year.

As Levy prepared to end his Yom Kippur prayers, he put special emphasis on the closing line of the service. It is supposed to be accompanied by the blow of the shofar, but Levy didn't have one.
Still, he chanted: "Next year may we be in Jerusalem!"
Levy said he'll settle for London or the Netherlands. Anywhere, really, as long as it's not Iraq.

Click on the heading for more...

Gaza Strip - Hamas Weighing Large-Scale Conflict Against Israel

Gaza Strip - Hamas has succeeded in smuggling "hundreds of tons" of weapons from Egypt into the Gaza Strip according to a report by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.

The report, drafted by Fatah's General Security Services, stated that Hamas has smuggled from the Egyptian Sinai desert between several hundred and 1,300 tons of advanced rockets; anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles; rocket propelled grenades; raw explosives; rifles; ammunition; and other heavy weaponry, all in preparation for the possibility of launching a large-scale conflict with Israel.

Williamsburg Bridge Traffic Alert

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +Traffic Alert+ A stuck tractor trailer on the Manhattan bound of the Williamsburg Bridge is causing traffic delays in to the Island of Manhattan, NY. NYPD of the 90th Pct is on the scene.

Use the Brooklyn or Manhattan Bridges to get into the city.

Ramapo, NY - Towns Denial of Tax Break for Synagogue Upheld in Court

Ramapo, NY - The town's denial of a property-tax exemption for a synagogue's congregation that appeared to gain income from a rabbi's apartment was upheld in state Supreme Court.

Justice Thomas Dickerson of White Plains found that Congregation Or Yosef wasn't entitled to an exemption - for reasons ranging from its violation of zoning codes to its "double-dipping" into taxpayer funds by having most of the rabbi's rent paid by a federal subsidy. "First, the congregation operates a synagogue, a mikvah, a shul, and provides a residence for its rabbi and his family," Dickerson wrote in the Sept. 27 decision, "and has never filed development site plans nor applied for or obtained building permits and a Certificate of Occupancy for anything other than a single-family dwelling with a finished basement."

Town Attorney Michael Klein said the violations were discovered during a routine review begun after the tax exemption was sought for the 32 College Road property. A violation notice was subsequently posted by the town.
Ramapo had also argued that the exemption was undeserved because the rabbi-tenant was employed only part-time by the synagogue.
But Joel Scheinert, a Nanuet attorney representing Rabbi Baruch Moscowitz, said the Rabbi spent at least 60 hours weekly on congregation business, there is no law requiring "that the rabbi must be in a full-time position in order for the congregation to receive an exemption on his residence."

The court decision did not dwell so much on whether the rabbi's work schedule entitled his congregation to a tax exemption. Instead, Dickerson noted that the federal Section 8 Housing Voucher Program was paying $1,617 monthly of Moscowitz's rent. "The congregation," Dickerson wrote, "cannot seek two governmental subsidies for the same property" by receiving federal funds for the rent while also requesting a tax exemption.
"In addition, the credible evidence demonstrates that the congregation is making a profit from this arrangement," Dickerson said.

During a one-day trial held in February, Moscowitz's wife, Baila Moscowitz, testified about numerous expenses, including a cleaning woman, snow removal, landscaping and utilities.

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +B.Q.E. Traffic Alert+

Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY +B.Q.E. Traffic Alert+ A disabled fully loaded dump truck on the west bound of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway at the Flushing Avenue entrance is causing heavy delays, NYPD of the 90th Pct are on the scene requesting heavy-duty tow.

Rego Park, Queens, NY +Pedestrian Struck on Way Home from Synagogue+

Rego Park, Queens, NY +Pedestrian Struck on Way Home from Synagogue+ A man walking home tonight after Marriv from Shul, has been run over on Queens Boulevard and 67th Avenue.

NYPD of the 112th Pct. said the man was hit by a silver SUV traveling west on the boulevard at 67th Avenue, the SUV fled the scene.
The 59-year-old victim was walking home from Yom Kippur holiday observances and was taken to Jamacia Hospital in critical condition.

Police are looking for the hit-and-run driver, the vehicle has damage to the passenger side windshield, they called for a level one mobilization.


U/D: 10/03/06 05:38
NYPD of the 73rd Pct have the Vehicle located in Brooklyn on McDonough Street and Saratoga, someone also set this vehicle on fire.

U/D: 10/03/06 10:56
The aided has just passed away.

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Boy Attacked on Yom Kippur+

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, NY +Boy Attacked on Yom Kippur+ Earlier today a gang of seven youths attacked and beat up a boy in front of 1559 Carroll Street between Schenectady and Troy Avenue, Hatzolah and Shomrim responded to the scene, the boy was taken by Crown Heights Hatzolah to Kings County Hospital with a cut in his skull and a broken nose.
Three perps were apprehended by Crown Heights Shomrim and handed over to the NYPD.

Silver Spring, MD +House Fire Yom Kippur Night+

Silver Spring, MD +House Fire Yom Kippur Night+ A house on Lamberton Drive in Silver Spring, MD caught on fire Yom Kippur night, from holiday candles that were placed on a windowsill and turned over.

The entire house burned down while everyone was in shul for Kol Nidrei.

Fire Department on the scene evacuate the surrounding houses, for fear of an explosion.

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Men Held at Gunpoint+

Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY +Men Held at Gunpoint+ Sunday Yom Kippur night, two men walking on Nostrand Avenue near East 29th Street between Avenue "L" and "M" after leaving R' Sherrer's Synagogue were held up by a perp at gunpoint.

Hatzolah and NYPD of 63rd and 70th Pct's responded to the scene and with there help the perp was caught a few blocks away.

Manhattan, NY +FDR Drive Closed+

Manhattan, NY +FDR Drive Closed+ Due to a motor vehicle accident on the north bound lanes of the FDR Drive, NYPD has the roadway shutdown from 42nd Street up to 80th Street.

Brighton, Boston - Rabbi Ruffles Wrong Feathers

Brighton, Boston - The city is cracking down on the rabbi who ruffled feathers in his Brighton neighborhood by slaughtering dozens of chickens Erev Yom Kippur as part of a religious ritual and later turned his driveway into a makeshift butcher shop.

The city plans to issue a nuisance notice today to the owner of 239 Chestnut Hill Ave., where yesterday dozens of squawking chickens were beheaded as part of a ritual preceding.     
Rabbi Pinchus Krinsky of the Lubavitcher Shul, started performing the slaughter at his home five years ago after his butcher shop closed, said next-door neighbor Larry Loew who says he complained to the city about the unsanitary conditions. “This is not a religious issue. This is a health issue,” Loew said. “You can’t butcher in the name of any God in your back yard without the proper drainage and meeting health codes. He’s putting everyone around him at risk.”     
Yesterday afternoon a man stood outside in the rain, hunched over a metal table where he methodically ripped out the birds’ innards with his bare hands and threw the discarded bloody bits into buckets. The chickens were put in a pile on a table, waiting to be packaged and eventually eaten.     

A city health inspector visited the home and discovered that the homeowner didn’t have a permit to keep the live birds, said Lisa Timberlake, spokeswoman for the Inspectional Services Department. An inspector went back, but did not enter because a religious service was going on and dead birds were not visible, she said. The notice, which carries no fine or sanctions, won’t be served until today when ISD verifies who owns the home, she said.     

The man gutting the chickens yesterday said they have been performing the ritual there for many years with no objections. “We plan to continue,” he said, declining to give his name.    
Krinsky, who has said in the past that his method is more humane than non-kosher slaughter, was unavailable. A woman who answered the phone said he could not come to the phone and hung up.     
Timberlake said the city can help the homeowner through the permit process and make them aware of applicable zoning or health laws. “We are mindful and respectful of various religious holidays and we’d like to help any and everyone through the process,” she said.

A Gmar Chasima Tova

A Gmar Chasima Tova un a Git Gebecht Yar!

Hashem shoul'd Accept all your Tefilos.

From all of us at http://vosizneias.blogspot.com

Israel - High Alert as Yom Kippur Begins

Israel - Security forces were on high alert at sundown the beginning of the holiest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

Defense officials reported 17 specific alerts about terrorist plans to carry out suicide bombings, shootings, rocket attacks and kidnappings during the holiday, which ends at sundown Monday.
Jerusalem police also boosted security around the Western Wall in advance of the arrival of thousands of worshippers. Police in Jerusalem kept vehicles from traveling to the western side of town from the eastern side until the end of the holiday.
Officials also sought to secure open markets and bus stations throughout Israel.

Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter called the terrorist warnings real and imminent.

Boston - Neighbor Calls Police after Waking Up This Morning and Seeing Caged Birds in Neighbor's Back Yard

Boston - A flock of 63 caged chickens that will be slaughtered in Erev Yom Kippur ritual sparked an unusual investigation by city inspectors and animal-control officers after a neighbor complained the fowls were being foully used.

The chickens, which are being kept in 12 yellow crates behind an Orthodox Jewish congregation on Chestnut Hill Avenue Brighton, will be slaughtered during Kapores.
“It’s much more humane than non-kosher slaughter,” said the rabbi keeping the birds, who gave his name as Pinchus. “In Jewish law, there are whole writings against animal cruelty.”
His neighbor, Gail Goldstein, sees the situation differently. “I woke up this morning to this horrible sight,” said Goldstein, an animal lover who called police after she saw the caged birds in her neighbor’s back yard. “It’s just torture.”

An animal-control officer said the chickens, who were being kept in the shade, were not in any immediate danger and would be given more water and food by their rabbi keeper.
The chickens were next to a slaughter machine and near a sign advertising Kapores for a $20 fee. The rabbi denied they were for sale. “He was most cooperative,” said Sgt. Charles Rudack, a Boston Animal Control hearing officer.

The rabbi told inspectors he did not have a permit to keep the livestock as required by a city ordinance, but that may not apply because of a state law that exempts livestock for ritual slaughter from regulation as long as the animals are not killed for financial profit. “They are not for sale,” said the rabbi, who said he gives the chickens to the poor.
Pinchus denied following another traditional custom of swinging a chicken three times over the head before slaughtering it.

Towson, MD - Police Officer Claims Religious Discrimination By University

Towson, MD - A Towson University police officer an Orthodox Jew has been suspended from his job, in the holiest time of year for Jews -- the week between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
David Brown became a police officer 10 years ago. Brown said he is committed to public service and has every intention of keeping his job.
"It's kind of like that small town police department where everybody gets to know you and you get to know everybody else," Brown said. But that friendly atmosphere became polarized when he made a request. "All I want is to have the Sabbas off so I can spend time with my family," he said. "So I'm not violating my religious beliefs."

Brown became an Orthodox Jew in 2000. He said his new religion didn't pose any problems at first, but two years after converting he asked the police department to change his schedule so that he could observe the Sabbas, requesting time off from sundown Friday through sundown Saturday. He said the university's response surprised him, especially since it claims to be committed to diversity.

"The original response was no," Brown said. "They couldn't do it." "I think they are trying to make me quit," he said.
Brown's lawyer said the department has conducted six internal investigations and charged Brown with neglect of duty, insubordination, being absent without leave and violating his oath of office.

Now, they suspended him with pay pending termination for failing to report for duty when scheduled to work Friday evenings.
Brown filed a complaint, saying he had proof the department broke its own policy claiming "another officer requested a scheduling accommodation for non-religious purposes, which was granted."

New Jersey - Pedestrian Face Increased Peril

New Jersey - In the state, 748 people died in traffic accidents last year, up 3.5 percent from the 723 who died in 2004, and Ocean County had 41 recorded motor vehicle fatalities, according to the New Jersey State Police.
Officials say many of these deaths easily could have been avoided. Across the state, many pedestrian deaths are caused by ignorance of signs and traffic lights, or recklessness, such as hopping the divider of a four-lane highway rather than crossing at a crosswalk, said Roberto Rodriguez, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway and Traffic Safety.

To combat this, Gov. Corzine announced the creation of a $74 million, five-year initiative to improve pedestrian safety across the state, most of this money will not be used for public works construction projects. Rather, the money will be doled out in the form of various grants to local police departments to help pay for pedestrian safety and "enforcement" - the cost of added patrols and police overtime.

Why Ocean county's roads are such a challenge to pedestrian safety? State and local officials cited a variety of reasons. Some are unique to the communities in which very active highways are located.
For example, in Lakewood, some pedestrian deaths and injuries have been the result of motorists accidentally striking members of the traditionally dark-clad Orthodox Jewish community at night. Police have the same problem with men and women in business attire trying to dart across the highway at night — for a motorist, it can be very difficult to spot a person crossing a road who is wearing dark clothing, they say.

Princeton Township, NJ - Board Responds Positively to Chabad Proposal

Princeton Township, NJ - The Princeton Regional Planning Board heard a presentation from the Orthodox Jewish Chabad Lubavitch sect of Greater Mercer County regarding its plans to build a center and adjacent home for its rabbi.

Chabad President Mort Cohen and Rabbi Dovid Dubov presented the board with a concept plan. Chabad wants to construct two buildings on 18.4 acres it purchased along the north side of State Road in the township. The first would be a 5,400-square-foot, single-family home for Dubov and his wife, who have lived in the area for 14 years. The house would include a two- car garage, "oversized" dining rooms and living quarters to "accommodate congregational activities," and a swimming pool.  
Adjacent to the rabbi's home, Chabad plans to build a center to serve its entire organization in Mercer County.
The 10,600-square-foot, hexagonal-shaped center would include an 80-seat sanctuary that could be expandable to 280 seats, four classrooms, a kitchen and a few offices.

Religious law dictates that the home be near the center, Dubov said. "According to Jewish law, you're not supposed to drive anywhere on the Sabbath," he said.
There was little negative feed back from planners or the public regarding Chabad's presentation. But Dubov said he was satisfied with the presentation. "We're moving forward," he said. "We feel very positive about it."

Nyack, NY +Tappan Zee Bridge Shut Down+

Nyack, NY +Tappan Zee Bridge Shut Down+ New York State Police are on the scene at the south bound of the New York State Thruway at the Tappan Zee Bridge with a fully involved car fire, they have traffic shut down at this time.

Gaza - Gunbattles Break Out Between Hamas and Fatah

Gaza - Three Palestinians were killed in Gaza gunbattles between militants from the ruling Hamas party and security personnel loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, hospital officials said.

Militiamen from Hamas used guns, antitank launchers and grenades to break up police protests over unpaid government salaries, touching off gunbattles.
Dozens of supporters from Abbas' Fatah Party retaliated by ransacking and torching the empty Cabinet building in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

At least 52 people were injured, including three schoolchildren and a cameraman for the Arab satellite TV station Al-Arabiya, hospital officials said. At least 15 of the wounded were civilians.

Cleveland Heights, OH - Jewish Voters Object to New Polling Place

Cleveland Heights, OH - Some Orthodox Jews are upset with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections for moving their voting place from a public school building to a Christian church.
Rabbi Sruly Wolf, 55, of Cleveland Heights, said the move will keep hundreds of Jewish voters from casting ballots because they are uncomfortable going into places of worship other than their own. "The biggest issue is that it was done without consulting anybody," said Wolf. "It's insensitivity, at best. At worst, it's anti-Semitic."

Elections Director Michael Vu said the board has polling places in 149 churches and one synagogue throughout the county. He said this is the first time he has heard concerns about voting in a religious place. "It's not in the sanctuary," he said. "It's in the fellowship hall."
The polling place, which included two precincts, was in the heart of a neighborhood that is heavily populated by Orthodox Jewish residents. The location was moved to the Euclid Avenue Christian Church on Mayfield Road, just outside the neighborhood.

Cleveland Heights Mayor Ed Kelley, a Catholic, is leading a fight to find another voting place for his Jewish constituents, but Vu said that the board's decision cannot be changed before the November election.
Kelley won't accept that. "This is getting close to anti-Semitism," he said, lashing out at Vu. "I wish [the board] would fire him. I'll pay for his plane ticket back to Salt Lake City" -- where Vu previously lived.
"I am very sensitive to religious issues," said Vu, a Catholic. "On the other side of this issue is our ability to conduct an election."

Toulouse, France - Teacher in Hiding After Criticism of Islam

Toulouse, France - A Toulouse, France, high school teacher who criticized Islam has gone into hiding after receiving death threats.

In his commentary Robert Redeker characterized Mohammed as "a merciless warlord, a looter, a mass-murderer of Jews and a polygamist." He said the Koran was "a book of incredible violence."
Redeker, 52, who teaches philosophy, and his family went into hiding under police protection after receiving death threats by phone, e-mail and online.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said the threats were not acceptable, saying a person "has the right to express his views freely, while respecting others, of course."

Midwood, Brooklyn, NY - Rabbi's Killer Gets 20 Years

Midwood, Brooklyn, NY - A Orthodox Jew with psychiatric problems, who greeted cops after killing an elderly Brooklyn rabbi was sentenced to 20 years in prison - a stretch he predicted he will not survive.
"I see this as a death sentence," Howard Goldstein, 49, told Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew D'Emic. "The Torah promises a man will live 72 years," he said, before launching into a hateful diatribe against black, Hispanic and Muslim prisoners. "I just don't see myself completing 20 years."

Goldstein has admitted stabbing and beating to death 75-year-old Rabbi Rahamin Sultan in November 2004, even though the man had given him refuge in his Midwood apartment.
Goldstein, who has a history of psychiatric problems, lived alongside the rabbi's decomposing body, wrapped in a blanket, for five days until cops knocked at the door.

In Court, the bearded killer, bespectacled and wearing a yamulke, apologized to Sultan's family, calling the slain rabbi "a gem" who only showed him kindness and generosity.
But Sultan's brother, Joseph, scolded him. "My brother lived each day doing good deeds for the community he lived in," he said. "You've taken away a good citizen from the community. You're never going to make it to the creator. You are a Jew...and we have the laws our creator told us. 'Thou shalt not kill!'"

Lakewood, NJ - Lawsuit Filed by. Feds Against Realty Company for Discriminating

Lakewood, NJ - The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against a Lakewood realty company, alleging it discriminated against non-Jewish, black and Hispanic tenants at the Cottage Manor Apartments.

The complaint, filed in federal district court, alleges that Triple H. Realty LLC, as well as a current employee and a former employee, marketed the complex to Orthodox Jews in the area beginning in 2002 by offering lower rents than current tenants paid for comparable apartments.
The suit seeks monetary damages to compensate victims, civil penalties, and a court order barring future discrimination. "It is bad news in . . . this day and age that a blatant case of discrimination happened right here in Lakewood," said Warren Sherard, the president of the Lakewood NAACP. "It is good to see the powers of government doing something about it."

According to the suit, non-Jewish black and Hispanic residents alleged they were pressured to move out of buildings that management reserved for incoming Jewish tenants and that were better maintained than other buildings at the 104-unit, six-building complex on Woehr Avenue.
The complaint also alleges that management provided Jewish residents more favorable living conditions, such as a fenced, landscaped yard. Tenants interviewed at Cottage Manor in July said almost all the Jewish families who were living at the apartment complex had moved out.

Shlomo Kanarek, listed on the property's 2003 mortgage filing as the managing member of Triple H. Realty, could not be reached. There were also no listed telephone numbers for Cottage Manor Apartments or Triple H. Realty LLC.
However, the company has denied to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development the allegations of discrimination.
The prepared release by the Justice Department announcing the suit does not identify the current and former employees who are named as defendants.

Brooklyn, NY +MVA with Entrapment+

Brooklyn, NY +MVA with Entrapment+ A motor vehicle accident with a confirmed aided that's trapped in a vehicle that's wrapped around an electrical pole on Ocean Parkway and Avenue "Y" Hatzolah BLS and ALS units on the scene are requesting medics back-up on a rush to respond, and a coordinator.
Fire Department and NYPD ESU are also responding.

U/D: 07:24
FD putting Hurst Tool to work.

U/D: 07:28
Aided has been extricated by FD and is conscious, numerous Hatzolah units on the scene.

U/D: 07:36
Aided has trauma injuries and is going to Luthern Hospital, notification has been made.