GET HOME DELIVERY! CLICK HERE »

Jewish Journal

Connect. Inform. Inspire.

Jewish Journal

March 15, 2013

8 Palestinians arrested for near-fatal stoning

Leave a Comment / Israel, Mobile, News / Jewish Journal

Israel arrested eight Palestinians suspected of causing a car accident that left an Israeli infant in critical condition.

The suspects, who were apprehended by Israeli soldiers, Shin Bet security agents and police, are suspected of causing several injuries to Israeli civilians by throwing rocks on Thursday at cars near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ariel.

One of the cars collided with a truck as it came under a volley of rocks. In the crash, 3-year-old Adelle Biton sustained head injuries, which doctors at Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petach Tikvah termed “extremely serious,” according to Army Radio. Her mother and two of her sisters from the settlement of Yakir received minor injuries and also were hospitalized.

The suspects were arrested in Haris and Kifl Haris near Qalqilya and were transferred to security forces for further questioning, according to the IDF Spokesperson.

8 Palestinians arrested for near-fatal stoning Read More »

Schachter, Y.U. dean, warns about reporting sex abuses cases

Leave a Comment / Mobile, News, United States / Jewish Journal

Rabbi Hershel Schachter, a dean at Yeshiva University, has warned against reporting uncorroborated sex abuse allegations to police.

Schachter was recorded at a rabbinical conference in February in London warning that false allegations could lead to arrests and imprisonment with a “shvartze” — a dergatory Yiddish term for a black person. The recording was posted on FailedMessiah.com and the voice was said to be Schachter's.

Schachter did not respond to inquiries from the Forward newspaper, which has been running stories since December about allegations of abuse by former faculty members at Y.U.'s high school for boys. The alleged incidents took place decades ago.

“Before you go to the police and before you got to family services, every community should have a board…to investigate whether there’s any raglayim la’davar [substance] or not,” Schachter says, according to the recording. He also says that reporting people who are guilty of sex offenses does not contstitute mesirah, or betrayal — the traditional Jewish prohibition against informing on a fellow Jew to the secular authorities.

In state prisons, “the warden in the prison can kill you. They can put you in a cell together with a shvartze, with a…black Muslim who wants to kill all the Jews,” he added.

Schachter, Y.U. dean, warns about reporting sex abuses cases Read More »

National Endowment for Democracy names Frost chairman

Leave a Comment / Mobile, News, United States / Jewish Journal

The National Endowment for Democracy named Martin Frost, a pioneering Jewish former congressman, its new chairman.

Frost, a Democrat who represented the Dallas-Fort Worth area from 1979-2005, was the first Jewish chairman of the campaign to elect Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1996, and was the first Jewish chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, from 1999-2003 — the third ranked position among Democrats in that chamber.

The National Endowment for Democracy board on March 12 named Frost to succeed Richard Gephardt, another Democrat who had been minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Among the factors recommending Frost to the post, the organization said in a statement, was his chairmanship of a special House task force to help European nations transition to democracy in the post-Soviet era.

Frost currently is a shareholder in Polsinelli Shughart, a legal and lobbying firm with offices in Texas and Washington D.C.

The National Endowment for Democracy is a private nonprofit funded by Congress that supports pro-democracy groups abroad.

National Endowment for Democracy names Frost chairman Read More »

Obama administration sanctions Greek magnate

Leave a Comment / Mobile, News, Worldwide / Jewish Journal

The Obama administration sanctioned a Greek shipping magnate, saying he had helped Iran defy sanctions by providing cover for its oil trade.

Dimitris Cambis, “president of Impire Shipping, helped the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) obtain eight tankers in late 2012,” said a statement issued Thursday by the State Department. “While these vessels were purchased and are controlled by Dr. Cambis and Impire Shipping, they are operated on behalf of NITC. U.S. law prohibits knowingly owning or controlling a vessel that operates in a manner that conceals the Iranian origin of crude oil by obscuring or concealing the ownership, operation, or control of the vessel by NITC.”

The sanctions ban U.S. businesses from dealing with Cambis and Impire Shipping. Additionally, the U.S. order bans visas for Impire's corporate officers.

Cambis told Bloomberg News that he was the victim of rumors started by competitors.

Also announced were bans on two Iranian insurance entities, Kish Protection and Indemnity and Bimeh Markazi-Central Insurance of Iran for providing insurance for NITC.

“Today’s sanctions action sends a clear message: the United States will act resolutely against attempts to circumvent U.S. sanctions,” said the statement by Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman. “Moreover, any business that continues to support Iran’s energy sector, enable the movement of its oil tankers or facilitate Iran’s efforts to evade U.S. sanctions could face serious consequences.” The sanctions are aimed at forcing Iran to make more transparent its suspected nuclear weapons program.

Obama administration sanctions Greek magnate Read More »

One Israeli Creation for the Weekend

Leave a Comment / Blogs / Noga Gur-Arieh

Charlie VaHetzi (Charlie and a Half) is a 1974 Israeli comedy and cult movie. The movie was directed by Boaz Davidson and stars Israeli comedians Yehuda Barkan and Ze'ev Revach. If you like Israeli culture, this iconic film is it. It belongs to the long list of “Israeli classics” from the 60's and 70's called “Bourekas Films”, which were defined by journalist Uri Klein as a “peculiarly Israeli genre of comic melodramas or tearjerkers… based on ethnic stereotypes.”

Charlie Va'Hetzi is one big comic relief which tells the story of the special relationship between Charlie, a professional street con man who passes himself off as a rich businessman, and Miko, a child who spends his time with Charlie instead of going to school. The plot follows Charlie's attempt to conquer the heart of Gila, a rich girl whose parents try to matchmake her to an American millionaire somewhat against her will.

Take a sneak peak