Dwek Sentenced To Six Years In Prison For Bank Fraud

Just in!

The government cooperator at the center of New Jersey’s biggest corruption sting has been sentenced to six years in prison for his own crimes.

A federal judge in Newark sentenced Solomon Dwek on Thursday to five years of supervised release after he is freed from prison. And he ordered him to pay $22 million in restitution.

Dwek pleaded guilty in 2009 to bank fraud and money laundering. He faced nine to 11 years under a plea agreement.

More than 40 politicians and members of Dwek’s own Orthodox Jewish community were arrested as a result of secret videotapes he made between 2006 and 2009. Most have pleaded guilty or been convicted

Girl, 15, lashed 60 times for ‘speaking to men in the street’

A teenaged girl received 60 lashes in Timbuktu after Islamist extremists convicted her of speaking to men on the street. 

The girl, believed to be 15 years old, was allegedly caught speaking with men by Ansar Dine, the militant Islamist group who control Timbuktu and much of northern Mali. 

One resident claimed the girl was warned repeatedly by the Islamists to stop what she was doing, but persisted in talking to men in public.

Ousmane Maiga, a Timbuktu resident, said: ‘The Islamists said that the girl was warned five times by Islamist police but she continued to speak to men in the street. 

‘After the hearing, the Islamists gave 60 lashes to the girl. The population did not turn out in large numbers to attend this flogging.’

The public whipping took place at around 11am local time in front of the new headquarters of the Islamic police in downtown Timbuktu, next to Independence Square.

Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) is the most prevalent of a number of Al-Qaeda-linked groups that have seized northern Mali after a power vacuum opened by a military coup in the south in March.

The groups have since been imposing Sharia law throughout the territory and intend on imposing the strict Islamic laws across Mali.

In an incident in July, a man was lashed 40 times by Ansar Dine after being accused of drinking alcohol.

'After the hearing, the Islamists gave 60 lashes to the girl. The population did not turn out in large numbers to attend this flogging'

- Ousmane Maiga, Timbuktu resident

'A young man has just been lashed 40 times for drinking alcohol. The whipping took place in the Timbuktu market,' a resident of Timbuktu told reporters.

The man was later treated in hospital for his injuries.

A man and woman accused of having a child out of wedlock were given 100 lashes each in Timbuktu on June 20.

Ansar Dine has also destroyed all the city's bars.

The group also demolished many of the ancient city’s shrines to Muslim saints, as the jihadists believe they should not be seen as idols.

Another Islamist group, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), has burnt cigarettes, whipped smokers and forbidden people to play football or watch television in territories under its control, provoking violent protests in May in the northern city of Gao.

The Islamist movement in the north of the country was recently found to be recruiting and paying up to 1,000 children from rural towns to fight in their militia.

Prominent Israeli Posek "no prohibition in using Iphone"

Prominent dati leumi posek Rabbi Shlomo Aviner Shlita was asked for a p’sak regarding smartphones; asked if one is compelled to use a kosher phone. The rav’s words were aired on Yeshivat Machon Meir’s internet shiurim broadcasts.

The rav explained that SMS text messages and internet connectivity are helpful to many people. He feels there is no prohibition in using either of these services.
“It is certainly preferable to have a kosher phone but this is a chumra and not obligatory. One who feels a non-kosher phone is a michshol must prohibit himself from using such a device” the rav stated.
Rabbi Avider continued by explaining there are things the Torah did not prohibit but if a person realizes such a device will cause him to stumble, such a person must set restrictions into place to avoid falling due to this michshol.

The man who fell to earth, 24 miles, 4 minutes, 834 MPH

Amnon Yitzchok uses IPhone despite Rabbinical Ban!

A prominent Israeli rabbi who urged his followers to destroy their smartphones has come out with a statement explaining how he himself was photographed using an iPhone last week.

by Sandy Eller

Pictures that have been circulating on Facebook and Whatsapp show Rabbi Amnon Yitzchak in a car on Chol Hamoed Succos holding the very device he banned, but a statement that was released  on R’ Yitzchak’s site, www.shofar.tv, explains that R’ Yitzchak received permission to use the device from R’ Aharon Leib Shteinman.

“HaRav Amnon Yitzchak shlita is against iPhones and similar devices,” reads the official statement on Shofar.  “The uneducated are asking how is it that R’ Amnon Yitzchak has an iPhone?  It should be known that the Gadol Hador HaGaon R’ Aharon Leib Shteinman gave a personal heter to the Rav and his staff, in response to a query posed in this matter by R’ Yehuda Leibowitz, to use iPhones for kiruv purposes.  Anyone who casts suspicions after his Rav is as if he is casting suspicion on the shechina.”

Police Brutally beat innocent Jewish man! Video

A shocking video was uploaded to the internet showing New York City police officers severely beating a Jewish man.
 Last week, police were called on a man who was sleeping in the living room of Aliyah Center on East New York Avenue. The caller may have mistakenly believed that the homeless man, Ehud H. Halevi, was lurking in the center of the property without permission. Aliyah is a synagogue and an outreach center for troubled youth in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. Two officers from the 71st precinct, one male and one female, came and woke the man. Confused as to why he was being harassed by the police, the man refused officers' attempts to escort him out, insisting he had permission to be there and asked the police to allow him to prove it. His request was rejected as they proceeded to arrest him. When he resisted arrest, the officer became enraged and began beating the defenseless man. As you can see in the video below, the officer assumed a boxing stance and then staggered to his victim, punching him everywhere. Over the next couple of minutes the man was also pepper-sprayed and beaten with a baton by the officer, while posing no danger to the welfare of officers. After about two minutes of the sadistic beating, the officers are joined by a squadron of officers, when he was finally handcuffed and arrested. It was confirmed that the man had permission to live at the center and it is unknown who called the police. The man was charged with assaulting a police officer, a felony which carries a sentence of five years in prison upon conviction. Other charges include, trespassing, resisting arrest and harassment. He has been released on bail.

Rebbitzen Pinto tries to commit sucide!

Popular rabbi to the rich Rabbi Yehoshua Pinto and his wife are in the hospital after the rabbi’s wife attempted to commit suicide earlier today, according to reports.

Deborah Pinto, wife of Rabbi Yehoshua Pinto, who are suspected of bribing a senior police officer, tried today to commit suicide by taking an overdose of pills. Both were arrested on Thursday for questioning and were released with restrictive conditions, she was taken to the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.

"We pray for the wellbeing of the Deborah along with her thousands of followers," the statement by Rabbi Pinto said. "The lawyers warned the authorities about the situation. Unfortunately they did not care. We are sure that she will soon recover and tell investigators her story, and then they will understand that she is completely innocent of any wrongdoing."

After hours of additional interrogation Rabbi Pinto was taken to the hospital and is staying with his wife. The rabbi, who is under house arrest, received special permission to stay with his wife. Many other associates and family members arrived at the hospital.

An investigation against Rabbi Pinto and his wife began a few weeks after the Pintos allegedly offered the police investigations division chief, Brigadier General, the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for his information about a police investigation. The officer reported that the head of the Investigations Department, General Yoav Segalovitch, responded to the offer in order to gather evidence against him. Police appointed a special unit on this case due to the

sensitive matter.

On Thursday, it was decided to move on to the investigation to the rabbi himself. The rabbi and his wife returned on Thursday from the U.S. and the moment they arrived they were taken for questioning in Ramle, where investigators arrested them on the bribe allegations. In addition, the police charged the rabbi and his wife, with money laundering. They have denied the allegations against them. At the end of the investigation they was a hearing before a judge, where police asked that they be released under restrictive conditions and subject to the deposit of a million dollars each and be forbidden to leave the country for six months.

Liberal Conservative Jews walk out on Rep Michelle Bachman on Yom Kippur

Rabbi Michael Siegel

Jews attending synagogue prayer services during Yom Kippur staged a walkout after Michele Bachmann suddenly appeared.

A week after the Representative Michele Bachmann made the controversial appearance in a Chicago synagogue on Yom Kippur, the chief rabbi of the congregation, and the man who introduced Bachmann during the service, spoke about appearance.

Rabbi Michael Siegel of Anshe Emet Synagogue in Lake View North Broadway saluted the politician, a standard measure for public officials attending the services. However, it did not take not long for the attacks to pour in, not only against Bachmann, but against Rabbi Siegel, too.

According to Siegel, he knew the political appearance might ruffle some feathers, but he hoped that the focus of the synagogue will remain on Yom Kippur.

 "I think you have to be living under a rock not to know that Congresswoman Bachmann is in the news quite frequently, and is considered by many to be a polarizing figure in the country," Siegel said. "For those who are concerned about LGBT issues, abortion rights, things of that nature, she certainly is in the radar screens of many people.

"So when I heard that she was coming, I knew it would be a topic of discussion on the Yom Kippur, the focus of the day should not have been on Michele Bachmann though."

"To see some of the comments regarding the visit of Congresswoman Bachmann, it hurts more than others were hurt by the visit."
Siegel said he has been reaching out to community members in person to have a face to face conversation about why the politician was recognized. He is also hoping to send a correspondence to the congregation in the future to address the issue.

CNN's view of the mid-east