Haredi Rabbi Blames Hurricane Sandy On Gay Marriage, Video

New documentary showing the beauty of Judea and Samaria

(Scroll down for video) The Jews living in Judea and Samaria and other settlements are seen as heroes by many Jewish people. These settlers are there to protect the Jewish land given to them by god. The media often refers to Judea and Samaria as the West Bank, while trying to paint these settlers as violent people.

Yet this is far from the truth, with one visit to the settlements you see the peace, unity and love that exists in these settlements. One man decided to change the view of the Jews about Judea and Samaria by recording a documentary about Jewish life in a settlement.

Ezra Ridgley visited Israel for the first time 10 years ago and was deeply moved by the dedication and commitment of Jews settling in these communities.
Previously, I had seen Israel "as a nation still struggling with dealing with the Arabs and still not as modern as the West. That changed immediately after my first visit.” Ridgley said: “I started traveling through dozens of cities and towns across the country and I was pleasantly surprised at how modern and beautiful Israeli cities are. This was the Israel I was never told about.”

Ridgley decided it was crucial to let others know what was really going on in the Jewish settlements. He took many photographs, did interviews and started a website. After returning many times and having visited over 100 settlements he wrote a book: Judea and Samaria - The land of God.

The book documents the optimism of Jewish settlements and how Jews are returning to the land that was written about in the Bible. It also proves that the West Bank land belong to the Jews historically, legally, religiously and morally.

One of his objectives is to combat negative stereotypes about people living in the settlements. “I found the people to be interesting, cultured and refined, not extreme or violent, as we hear in the media," he said.

Now Ridgley has taken the many hours of video recordings and made it into a 90-minute documentary called: “The Spring of Judea and Samaria." He hopes his documentary reaches many Jews so they can become educated on the truth about Israeli settlements. They will get a firsthand look into the life of Jews in these settlements.

All proceeds will go to Bnei Chayil Yeshiva Kedumim in the Samaria region and Girls High School in

Kochov Tzvia Ya'akov of the Binyamin region. Both schools help children who are struggling with emotional and/or learning problems.

"My goal with the book and the video is to create a new awakening to the land that is central to our identity and Jewish heritage. When we can all see the clearer picture, the Jewish world will focus more attention and realize that settling in this land is essential for our future and continued existence as a people.” Ridgley said.

New York City Shutting Down Subways Ahead of Storm

 New York City will suspend its train, subway and bus service Sunday night ahead of Hurricane Sandy, which is expected to bring strong winds and dangerous flooding to the East Coast, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference.

“If it turns and moves off, great. Really great. But if not then we will be prepared for it,” Cuomo said.

The service is expected to resume operations about 12 hours after the storm ends, officials said at the news conference.

New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority said service on subways will be curtailed beginning at 7 p.m. EDT. The bus network will begin shutting down within the next two hours.

Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad will start their finals trains by 7 p.m. from terminal locations. Stations will close once the last trains pass through.

Wind Feared More Than Rain In Upstate NY

The National Weather Service says high winds pose a greater threat than rain in upstate New York when Hurricane Sandy converges with other storm systems in the Northeast.

The agency has posted high wind warnings and flood watches across the state, effective Monday morning through Tuesday. Forecasters said widespread power outages are likely when wind gusts topple trees and power lines.

Forecasters predict one to two inches of rain in the Mohawk and Hudson valleys, one to three inches in the Southern Tier, and two to three inches in western New York. They expect two to four inches in the Adirondacks and as much as six inches in parts of the Catskills.

Sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts of 60 mph are expected starting Monday

Benghazi Cartoon

Forecasters Warn Of ‘Huge Weather Event’ On Track To Hit Area This Weekend

A potentially huge weather event could hit the Tri-State Area as early as Sunday night.

The storm system is forecast to linger in the area through Tuesday and could bring with it severe winds, rains and storm surges.

Forecasters are keeping a close eye on Hurricane Sandy as the storm spins near Jamaica.

Did Obama say Bayonets and Horses?

Police detain Jewish driver for displaying an Israeli flag

Yes folks, this is here in the United States:

A Jewish driver in Michigan was detained for causing a disturbance after displaying an Israeli flag on his car, according to reports.

Dearborn, Michigan is known as a hotbed for Muslim activity, but a Jewish resident was surprised when Muslim youths threw a bottle of liquid on his car which displays flags of Israel.

The incident has been confirmed and vandalism towards the driver can see at 2:25 in the video below.
The driver was passing in front of Dearborn Fordson High School as students were leaving school. He had two Israeli flags in the back of his truck. He was stopped in traffic, with a police car behind him.

Students began to approach his car,and a young man threw a bottle of liquid on the windshield. The driver rolled down the window to tell the students to stop.

The driver said that the principal called the police, who approached him and asked the driver why he caused a disturbance, while young Muslims hurled death threats against him.

Police said they did not hear the threats.

A Dearborn police car was behind me when this student threw a bottle at my windshield. The police did not arrest the student, but detained the driver for 30 minutes.

Both the principal and the driver, who graduated from the same high school, filed a police report about the incident.

Obama knew two hours after Beghazi that attack was not about movie: Reuters

Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after attackers assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11 that an Islamic militant group had claimed credit for the attack, official emails show.

Ambassador Steven being attacked in Benghazi

The emails, obtained by Reuters from government sources not connected with U.S. spy agencies or the State Department and who requested anonymity, specifically mention that the Libyan group called Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks.

The brief emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, even as it was still under way, to Washington.

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the Benghazi assault, which President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials ultimately acknowledged was a "terrorist" attack carried out by militants with suspected links to al Qaeda affiliates or sympathizers.

Administration spokesmen, including White House spokesman Jay Carney, citing an unclassified assessment prepared by the CIA, maintained for days that the attacks likely were a spontaneous protest against an anti-Muslim film.

While officials did mention the possible involvement of "extremists," they did not lay blame on any specific militant groups or possible links to al Qaeda or its affiliates until intelligence officials publicly alleged that on September 28.

There were indications that extremists with possible al Qaeda connections were involved, but also evidence that the attacks could have erupted spontaneously, they said, adding that government experts wanted to be cautious about pointing fingers prematurely.

U.S. intelligence officials have emphasized since shortly after the attack that early intelligence reporting about the attack was mixed.

Spokesmen for the White House and State Department had no immediate response to requests for comments on the emails.

MISSIVES FROM LIBYA

The records obtained by Reuters consist of three emails dispatched by the State Department's Operations Center to multiple government offices, including addresses at the White House, Pentagon, intelligence community and FBI, on the afternoon of September 11.

The first email, timed at 4:05 p.m. Washington time - or 10:05 p.m. Benghazi time, 20-30 minutes after the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission allegedly began - carried the subject line "U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi Under Attack" and the notation "SBU", meaning "Sensitive But Unclassified."

The text said the State Department's regional security office had reported that the diplomatic mission in Benghazi was "under attack. Embassy in Tripoli reports approximately 20 armed people fired shots; explosions have been heard as well."

The message continued: "Ambassador Stevens, who is currently in Benghazi, and four ... personnel are in the compound safe haven. The 17th of February militia is providing security support."

A second email, headed "Update 1: U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi" and timed 4:54 p.m. Washington time, said that the Embassy in Tripoli had reported that "the firing at the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi had stopped and the compound had been cleared." It said a "response team" was at the site attempting to locate missing personnel.

A third email, also marked SBU and sent at 6:07 p.m. Washington time, carried the subject line: "Update 2: Ansar al-Sharia Claims Responsibility for Benghazi Attack."

The message reported: "Embassy Tripoli reports the group claimed responsibility on Facebook and Twitter and has called for an attack on Embassy Tripoli."

While some information identifying recipients of this message was redacted from copies of the messages obtained by Reuters, a government source said that one of the addresses to which the message was sent was the White House Situation Room, the president's secure command post.

Other addressees included intelligence and military units as well as one used by the FBI command center, the source said.

It was not known what other messages were received by agencies in Washington from Libya that day about who might have been behind the attacks.

Intelligence experts caution that initial reports from the scene of any attack or disaster are often inaccurate.

By the morning of September 12, the day after the Benghazi attack, Reuters reported that there were indications that members of both Ansar al-Sharia, a militia based in the Benghazi area, and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the North African affiliate of al Qaeda's faltering central command, may have been involved in organizing the attacks.

One U.S. intelligence official said that during the first classified briefing about Benghazi given to members of Congress, officials "carefully laid out the full range of sparsely available information, relying on the best analysis available at the time."

The official added, however, that the initial analysis of the attack that was presented to legislators was mixed.

"Briefers said extremists were involved in attacks that appeared spontaneous, there may have been a variety of motivating factors, and possible links to groups such as (al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Ansar al-Sharia) were being looked at closely," the official said.

New Square:Van Jumps Curb, Hits 5 Children

Five children were injured, some seriously, when a van jumped the curb and crashed into them as they stood on a sidewalk Monday afternoon, officials said.
The crash occurred shortly before 4 p.m. on Bush Lane in the densely populated Ramapo village. The youngsters, said to be girls ranging in age from 7 to 9, were on the sidewalk.
Three children were taken by ambulance to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla and two others were taken to Nyack Hospital, according to Ramapo police.
Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence said each victim was believed to be in stable condition, and  praised the emergency responders from Hatzolah and Spring Hill ambulance units, the Hillcrest Fire and Ramapo Police departments for their quick action.
Authorities expect to release additional information regarding the incident at 7:30 p.m. this evening during a press conference at Ramapo police headquarters, St. Lawrence said.
The van, a white vehicle labeled Five Star Home Medical Supply, also crashed into an electrical transformer and brought down wires.