State Department okays use of expired US passports

 

The US State Department has announced that citizens with expired passports will be able to travel home to the US without renewing them.

In a statement, the Department said: "The welfare and safety of US citizens abroad is the highest priority of the Department of State."

"To alleviate travel difficulties and unprecedented appointment backlogs created by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security are working together to facilitate US citizens’ return to the United States.

"US citizens currently overseas whose passports expired on or after January 1, 2020, may be able to use their expired US passport for direct return travel to the United States until December 31, 2021."

The statement added that "certain criteria apply" and encouraged US citizens to confirm eligibility prior to finalizing travel arrangements.

"US Customs and Border Protection (DHS CBP) officers will accept for admission certain expired US passports, thereby assisting US citizens who have been affected by appointment backlogs at embassies and consulates overseas caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement explained.

However, it emphasized, "recently expired passports cannot be used to travel from the United States to an international destination or to travel to a foreign country for any length of stay longer than an airport connection en route to the United States or to a United States territory."

"The State Department continues to strongly recommend US citizens reconsider travel abroad and postpone their trips if possible. We also remind US citizens who wish to return to the United States that proof of a negative COVID-19 test result, taken within 72 hours of their flight’s departure, is required for air travel to the United States."

Processing times for those wishing to renew their passport upon their return to the United States can be found on the State Department's website, the statement concluded.

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Chareidie Missionary Guy Moving to Beit Shemesh? Changes his look .....

Then 

 

Now 

Michael Elk, who also goes by Michael Elkohen, is a non-Jew and a missionary for Messianic Judaism who is pretending to be an observant Jew and a kohen. His late wife Amanda was also not Jewish, also a Christian missionary for messianic Judaism, and obviously that means his 5 children are also not Jewish.

It appears that there is reason to suspect that he is trying to move to RBS Gimmel. Please alert your rav to keep him out of your shul, please alert your school to keep these children out of the school.

Curren photo above

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Jen Psaki States ‘A Number Of Officers’ Died On Jan. 6 ... Fact Check: ZERO!

 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki incorrectly claimed that “a number of officers” died on Jan. 6 during the Capitol riots, at a White House press briefing on Thursday.

“Obviously, the president’s view is that there were a number of officers who lost their lives, paid a tremendous sacrifice, on a day that will be a stain on our democracy for many years to come, and certainly, many who survived,” Psaki said. “This will be a long-lasting trauma. I’d have to check on the letter and the status of that.” 

Psaki made the comments while answering a question about an open letter sent by Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone earlier this month.

The Capitol riots occurred on January 6 and there were not any officers who died that day. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick died on January 7 after he engaged rioters who entered the building. The chief medical examiner of D.C. concluded that he suffered two strokes and died of natural causes. There was not any evidence of any internal or external injuries to Sicknick, the Washington Post reported.

Two Capitol Police officers, Jeffrey Smith and Howard Liebengood committed suicide several days after the riot. However, none of the officers died the day of the riot.

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Israel is Removing All Corona Restrictions Starting June 1st

 

For the first time since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, all restrictions in the State of Israel will be lifted. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced today that he will not extend the restrictions that will expire next Tuesday, June 1st.

During the next two weeks, restrictions on entry and exit to Israel will remain, and if necessary, tightened.

Minister Edelstein said “Israel is back to normal! Less than six months ago, we carried out the best vaccination campaign in the world. Today, we have been harvesting the fruits of vaccines with low and stable morbidity rates.”

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Jews Back on Har Habayit Despite Gafni’s Disapproval and Hamas’s Threats

After a month during which Muslims demonstrated their spirituality through violent rioting and throwing stones at police on the Temple Mount and inside their Al Aqsa mosque, on Sunday morning, despite additional threats by Hamas, the Jews were allowed to ascend to our most sacred place on the planet. Jews have been barred from the holy site for 19 days because Israeli Police were afraid of agitating the Muslim mobs even more. Turns out the role of the Jewish police is to appease gentile lawbreakers. Good to know.

Temple Mount Heritage Foundation CEO Tom Nissani issued a statement Sunday, saying “This is a very important morning that saves some of the national honor of the people of Israel. We did not give up the Temple Mount. Its opening is good news, but now that everyone has realized that without a profound change the next round is only a matter of time, we call on the Government of Israel:

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Auerbach Crazies Burn Down Downing Room in Ponivtz Where Their Opponents Eat

 

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'The judges don't understand the riots'... The police arrest suspects and the courts release them

 Israel's law enforcement agencies have criticized the courts for their management of the Arab riots which began last month, Israel Hayom reported.

"The police arrest suspects and the courts release them," a senior law enforcement official told Israel Hayom. 

The site added that police are fuming, due to the fact that since the beginning of the riots, 1,552 suspects have been arrested, and over 1,000 of them have been released - mostly by the courts.

"The courts do not yet understand the enormity of the event, and what has happened in cities across the country," the official said. "The police request an extension of the arrest for the purpose of investigation, and the judges release the suspects."

"The police's problem is the courts, which in a good scenario allow us to extend the suspects' arrest," he added, noting that the police are investing much effort in investigation of the riots. "Together with our efforts, there are enforcement bodies which have not internalized that there has to be much harsher punishment."

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Bogus lawsuits burden NY small businesses — and it may get worse

 

Even the pandemic didn’t slow the growth of “consumer” class-action suits in New York state, which have tripled over the last three years and are on track to set a new record in 2021 — yet another hurdle for businesses looking to recover from a year of hell.

That’s the takeaway from “Class Action Chaos: The Rise of Extortionate Consumer Class Action Lawsuits in New York,” a new report from the nonpartisan New York Civil Justice Institute. 

The complaints center on fuzzy issues like allegedly false advertising, and most are filed by a handful of lawyers who mainly seem to be looking to get paid to go away. In fact, one lawyer has filed more than 200 of the roughly 750 suits since 2015.

As the report notes, the claims “range from the absurd to the ridiculous. Do New Yorkers think a 200-tablet bottle of Advil will have more pills based on the size of the bottle? Are they concerned about the type of cocoa in their Cocoa Pebbles? Are they buying ‘Yumions’ snacks for the health benefits of onions?” 

As Tom Stebbins of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York notes, “You would be hard-pressed to find a reasonable person, as the courts often note, who hired an attorney to sue over vanilla flavoring or a bag of chips. New York is the new class-action hot spot because laws meant to protect consumers have become a cash cow for settlement-chasing law firms.”

At the current pace, the state will see 340 of these suits this year, smashing the previous record. And it could get worse if the Legislature passes the proposed Consumer and Small Business Protection Act, which (as the report notes) “would subject businesses of all sizes to a broader range” of these suits. 

Lawmakers should be looking to rein in this kind of legal blackmail, not encourage it. New York’s small businesses have enough troubles as it is.

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Five Towns Rabbanim accused of ‘Mafia-like’ methods in kosher turf battle

 

Call them La Kosher Nostra.

A clique of rabbis on Long Island are being accused of Mafia-like tactics to maintain what amounts to a monopoly over the local kosher certification process — sparking a twisted turf war that has outraged local residents and businesses alike, The Post has learned.

A lawsuit filed last month by Chimichurri Charcoal Chicken — located on the busy Rockaway Turnpike across from a McDonald’s — claims the rabbis behind the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway ordered observant residents to stop eating at the chicken joint last year after it started using a competing certification service. 

The Vaad — led by Rabbi Yosef Eisen, who is also named in the suit filed in Nassau County — even killed Chimichurri’s lucrative catering work in a retaliatory move, court papers claim.

“The existing Vaad does not want competition, is afraid of the competition, and is trying to use its power to drive them — or attempt to drive them — out of business,” the lawsuit says. 

The Vaad’s lawyer, Frank Snitow, told The Post the lawsuit “is entirely without merit,” adding that “Rabbis have an obligation and a right under the First Amendment to guide their communities with respect to religious issues and this does constitute a religious issue.”

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5 Israelis Among 14 Killed In Horrific Cable-Car Accident In Italy

A cable car taking visitors to a mountaintop view of some of northern Italy’s most picturesque lakes plummeted to the ground Sunday and then tumbled down the slope, killing 14 people. The lone survivor, a young child, was hospitalized in serious condition with broken bones, authorities said.

Five of the dead were Israeli citizens, including a family of four who lived in Italy, the Israeli foreign ministry said.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry, citing Italian authorities, said the victims appeared to include an Israeli couple living in Italy and their son. Another elderly couple, likely visiting from Israel, was also killed, the ministry said, adding that the information was still being verified.

The Foreign Ministry said it was not releasing the victims’ names until it could confirm that their families had been notified. But Israel’s ambassador in Rome, Dror Eydar, confirmed all five were members of one family.

The mayor of Stresa, where the incident occurred, said it appeared that a cable broke, sending the car careening until it hit a pylon and then fell to the ground. At that point, the car overturned “two or three times before hitting some trees,” said Mayor Marcella Severino. Some of those who died were thrown from the cabin.

The Italian government announced a commission to investigate the disaster, which is likely to renew questions about the quality and safety of Italy’s transport infrastructure.

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