Manhattan Diamond Dealer Charged in Scheme to Swap Real Diamonds for Fakes

 

A Manhattan diamond dealer with a history of gemstone fraud was indicted Thursday in what officials describe as a scheme to swindle his fellow merchants out of nearly half a million dollars by replacing their real diamonds with lab-grown imitations.

Prosecutors say Manashe Sezanayev invited reputable dealers to his store in New York’s diamond district earlier this year under the guise of purchasing true diamonds from them. But while inspecting their product, he allegedly pocketed three diamonds worth $460,000, covertly swapping them with duplicates cut and inscribed to look like originals.

“Diamonds are forever, but this alleged scheme was short-lived,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

Sezanayev, 41, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of grand larceny, a scheme to defraud and criminal possession of a forged instrument.

“My client is presumed innocent and he’s going to wait for his day in court,” his attorney, Boris Nektalov, said by phone.

Sezanayev was among a group of ten defendants arrested in 2017 on federal charges of defrauding diamond wholesalers out of $9 million. He was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty and was ordered to pay $510,030 in restitution to one of the victims.

The most recent charges stem from him targeting two diamond merchants who came to Sezanayev’s shop, Rachel’s Diamonds, in February and April of this year, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have accused him of substituting the fakes while pretending to weigh two diamonds worth $185,000 and $75,000 apiece. Each of the fakes featured forged laser inscriptions from the Gemological Institute of America, prosecutors said.

Sezanayev has also been accused of attempting to pull the same scheme against another merchant two months later. In that case, prosecutors said, the merchant soon discovered that his $200,000 diamond was replaced with a lab-grown fake.

Israeli Comedian Pulls Prank on Syrian Real-Estate Agent with Hezbollah Gag

 

Israeli comedian Orel Tsabari recently executed a prank that has left many in stitches and some in disbelief. Known for his edgy humor and boundary-pushing antics, Tsabari decided to target a Syrian real-estate agent in his latest stunt.

Tsabari, posing as a member of Hezbollah, contacted the agent with a peculiar request: he wanted to purchase a property that had a direct view of Israel. The reason? So he could allegedly launch rockets at Israel from the comfort of his home.

The prank, which was designed to highlight the absurdities and tensions in the region, took an unexpected turn when the real-estate agent showed no hesitation in accommodating the bizarre request. The agent’s nonchalant response to such a provocative inquiry added a layer of humor and irony to the situation, playing directly into Tsabari’s comedic style.

The prank has since gone viral, drawing a mix of reactions. Many fans of Tsabari applaud his daring approach to comedy.

Netanyahu's Motorcade Arrives at the White House

Prime Minister Netanyahu signed the guest book in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.

 

Love Triumphs Amid Tragedy: A Couple’s Unbreakable Bond

 In an extraordinary tale of resilience and love, Ben Binyamin and Gali Segal, both survivors of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks, were married this evening. The couple, who each lost a leg during the horrific events, exchanged vows in a ceremony filled with hope and strength.

The story of Ben and Gali is one of both terror and triumph. They were attending the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im when Hamas terrorists stormed across the Gaza border, unleashing a brutal massacre. Amid the chaos, the couple sought refuge in a Migunit, a protective shelter designed to withstand missile attacks.

However, their safe haven turned into a scene of horror when terrorists targeted the shelter, lobbing grenades inside. The explosions that followed resulted in both Ben and Gali losing their right legs. Despite the devastating injuries, they survived and were swiftly transported to a hospital.

In the hospital, Ben and Gali found solace and strength in each other’s company as they began the long road to recovery. Their shared experience of trauma and resilience forged an even deeper bond between them. Ben, a passionate soccer player, and Gali, whose determination never wavered, supported one another through every challenge they faced.

This evening, surrounded by friends and family, Ben and Gali celebrated their love and commitment to each other. Their wedding was not just a union of two hearts but a powerful testament to the human spirit’s ability to endure and flourish even in the face of unimaginable adversity.

Coverup Already in the Works: GovTrack Deletes Website Ranking Harris as 2019’s ‘Most Liberal Senator’

 

A 2019 GovTrack score that ranked Vice President Kamala Harris as the “most liberal senator” was recently deleted.

As Breitbart News reported, GovTrack published a list of 100 senators in 2019. Out of the senators, Harris was in the #100 spot and was viewed as being the most liberal senator.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) came in #99, right behind Harris.

This list has now been deleted, and when you attempt to go to the page, you find a “page not found” message.

GovTrack describes itself as publishing “the status of federal legislation” and “information” on representatives or senators who have been elected to Congress, “including voting records, and original research on legislation.”

“We’re one of the oldest government transparency websites in the world,” the website says.

‘Monumental’ 3,000-year-old discovery with Tanach origins found under Yerushlayim parking lot

 

Archeologists in Israel discovered a biblically significant moat that divided Jerusalem into two parts hidden beneath a parking lot in the City of David.

The manmade trench — researchers have sought answers on its existence for 150 years — was “one of the monumental fortifications that protected the kings of Jerusalem,” according to the Israel Antiquities Authority, the agency in charge of the dig at the Givati Parking lot.

It is a 3,500-square-foot site that, until about 15 years ago, was used for cars and visitors seeing the Western or “Wailing Wall” of Jerusalem. Other relics spotted at the location span 10 generations of ancient history, including the currency used by the Byzantine Empire of early Anno Domini years.

A pair of recovered, 70-meter sections of moat suggest it was carved to be deep and wide centuries ago, but there are still many mysteries surrounding the significant finding — one that helps put the city’s giant scale into perspective.

“It is not known when the moat was originally cut, but evidence suggests it was used during the centuries when Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah,” said Professor Yuval Gadot and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the University of Tel Aviv, who led the excavation.

That time period nearly 3,000 years ago began with King Josiah, who took the throne at 8 and ruled in the interest of reform into his early 30s, was believed to have been born around 648 BCE.

The moat — initially believed to be a natural depression when first spotted in the 1960s — is also affiliated with remnants of the ancient, Greek-built Acra Fortress, or Acropolis, previously discovered on the site.

“During those years, the moat separated the southern residential part of the city from the ruling Acropolis in the north — the upper city where the palace and the temple were located.”

A passage from the  Book of Kings depicts King Solomon describing its construction.

The 11:27 verse adds that he “closed up the breach in the wall” and referenced a nearby fortification he erected, called a “millo.”

Solomon, known for his wisdom,  ruled around 970 B.C.

“Once again, discoveries are being revealed that shed new and vivid light on the biblical literature,” said IAA director Eli Escusido.

When you stand at the bottom of this giant excavation, surrounded by enormous hewn walls, it is impossible not to be filled with wonder and appreciation for those ancient people who, about 3,800 years ago, literally moved mountains and hills.”

Obama doesn’t believe Kamala Harris can beat Trump, which is why he still hasn’t endorsed her

 

Former president Barack Obama hasn’t endorsed Kamala Harris’ presidential bid because he doesn’t think she can beat Donald Trump, according to a source close to the Biden family.

Following Joe Biden’s shock resignation from the race on Sunday, and his immediate endorsement of the vice president, most of the Democratic elite have been quick to rally behind Harris — but Obama is a notable exception.

“Obama’s very upset because he knows she can’t win,” the Biden family source told The Post.

“Obama knows she’s just incompetent — the border czar who never visited the border, saying that all migrants should have health insurance. She cannot navigate the landmines that are ahead of her.”

“When you are running for president there are things you can and can’t say.”

The turning point for Biden, 81, came after his disastrous performance against Trump in a televised debate in Atlanta last month which, The Post first revealed, was part of an “elaborate set-up” to remove him from the race.

But the source doesn’t have high hopes for a TV debate between Trump and Harris. When Biden was still in the race, a second debate was scheduled for September 10.

“Wait until the debate… She can’t debate. She’s going to put her foot in her mouth about Israel, Palestine, Ukraine. She’s going to say something really stupid,” the source said.

“Obama knew this was going to happen, Joe knew this was going to happen. Now she is going to have to answer real questions.” 

The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on this story.

According to the source, Obama’s hope was to get Biden out of the way and an article written by George Clooney in the New York Times asking him to step aside was a part of that plan.

However, the higher ups in the Democratic Party didn’t count on Biden endorsing Harris right away and “Obama was shocked” when Joe endorsed her, according to the insider.

After Biden’s ouster, Obama — who did not return a request for comment Wednesday — wanted Arizona Senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly “at the top of the ticket” when the Democratic National Convention is held next month, the source said.

Obama is “furious,” things haven’t gone his way, which is why he is not joining in the Democratic Party’s support of Harris,” the Biden source added.

Another well-placed Democrat source said, “Obama being surprised by a smart political decision actually makes sense when coupled with his personal inability to see politics beyond his singular, immediate interests.

“Obama always thinks he is the smartest and coolest guy in the room. He’s friends with George Clooney, after all.”

Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced former governor of Illinois who denounced Obama as a “threat to democracy” in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Tuesday, told The Post he believes “Obama was instrumental” to getting Biden out of the race.

Blagojevich, a former Democrat who is now supporting Trump, was governor of Illinois when Obama became a state senator in 2005.

“It [Biden’s departure from the race] couldn’t have happened without him [Obama],” Blagojevich told The Post.

“Without Obama, Biden is still the Democratic nominee. Obama was the conductor leading the orchestra that convinced Biden to step aside.”

Obama ended his role as Illinois senator when he was elected president in 2008, while Blagojevich was impeached in 2009 for attempting to sell Obama’s vacant senate seat, removed from office and convicted on corruption charges a year later.

Obama persuading Biden not to run for the presidency in 2016, in order to allow Hillary Clinton a shot at the White House, has also since been a sticking point between them, according to reports.

“He was not encouraging,” Biden later told the New York Times, referring to the former President, who believed at the time that the former Secretary of State had a better chance of beating Trump.

“He’s running the Democratic party like a Chicago ward boss from the shadows in the back room,” Blagojevich continued. “In this case it’s a big backroom because he has a lot of big houses.

A Time For New Thinking In The Charedi World

 

By

 Rabbi Yehuda L Oppenheimer

 -

 19 Tammuz 5784 – July 25, 2024

In Part One of this essay published in The Jewish Press a few months ago, I described the growing tension between the charedi and non-charedi (which includes the secular and dati-leumi – national-religious) public. I contended that the charedi community must acknowledge that the events of October 7 have dramatically transformed Israeli society and significantly affected the interactions between charedim and other societal groups, such that the status quo will no longer stand.

If you have been following the news, you know that all my predictions have come true. With mounting casualties, the army faces a large shortage of manpower. The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered the government to cut funding to all yeshivos and kollels whose students do not serve in the army. The battle lines have been sharply drawn: The overwhelming majority of the Israeli public is no longer willing to put up with the mass exemption of all charedi young men from the army. The endless rounds of reserve duty that miluimnikim are forced to serve severely impacts their businesses and families. The country also sees the massive growth of the charedi sector, which now numbers more than a million. Israelis are worried about future demographics in which a huge percentage of the population refuses to shoulder their national responsibilities.

Sadly, the charedi leadership sees it as a religious imperative of the highest order to resist any change regarding national service, even for those (estimated at 35%) who are not in yeshiva and not learning. Efforts to create collaborative systems with the army in which charedi standards of tznius, limud haTorah, tefillah, Mehadrin food, and other needs are met are rejected out of hand – although there are a few small successful programs, notably Yeshiva Derech Etz Chaim, the first charedi hesder yeshiva.

Instead, they are spreading the narrative that the government is set on destroying Torah and the charedi world in a fit of anti-religious hatred. Leading elderly rabbonim traveled to America attempting to raise vast amounts of money to replace the government largesse that has kept them afloat till now. Massive demonstrations are the religious call of the day in which the participants scream, “We will die rather than be drafted!” accompanied by calling police Nazis when they attempt to disperse them.

At the same time, we are moving closer and closer to a full-scale war with Hezbollah on the northern border, rachmana l’tzlan. It is a time for national unity, but unfortunately, the reverse is happening.

Innocent Palestinians in Ramallah Give Their Honest Opinions About Hamas

 

Jewish-American comedian Zach Sage Fox traveled to Ramallah to speak with Palestinians on the streets and find out their views on Hamas.

It should be noted that it is extremely dangerous and a violation of Israeli law for Israeli citizens or identifiably religious Jews to enter Ramallah. In fact, Fox wrote on his Instagram account that he was lucky he made it out of Ramallah alive [and that was without anyone knowing he was Jewish].

“Free Palestine?” he wrote. “I went to see ‘Palestine’… and almost didn’t make it out alive.”

“After asking questions on the streets of Ramallah for less than an hour, a group of Palestinian men threatened to kill us if we didn’t delete our footage. This is what we were able to recover…Welcome to the WILD WEST BANK.”

All the Palestinians he spoke to without exception said that they support Hamas. When he asked one “innocent” Palestinian civilian whether she saw the videos of the atrocities Hamas carried out on October 7th, she enthusiastically answered that she saw everything and “was okay with everything they did.”

Conversely, some denied that Hamas committed any atrocities on October 7th and at least one denied the existence of Israel altogether. Another one said that the Jews should go back “to Poland or Iraq.” Others may not have denied that Israel exists but expressed their desire for a “one-state solution” – for Israel to be wiped off the map.

And of course, every single one of them displayed complete ignorance about basic historical and political facts, just like their supporters on US campuses.

In an interview with the Jerusalem Post following his publication of the video, Fox said that “all of them hated Jews with every bone of their body.”

“Ramallah was a well-built-up city. Northface, designer clothes. Some of it didn’t look that different to Israel. And I thought to myself, peace could be so easy.”

“But their love and admiration for Hamas is so strong and, in the best case scenario, the most moderate people I spoke to still had tons of sympathy for Hamas. That was the range – sympathy to deep admiration. I never heard a negative thing about Hamas.”

“It was an eye-opening experience, a shock to the system to see such an ingrained level of hatred, particularly towards Jews.”

Fox added that the main difference between Palestinians in Ramallah and campus protesters in the US was the Palestinians’ “openness to say bad things about Jews specifically, not under the guise of Zionists.'”

“I couldn’t get one person out of a random sample to condemn Hamas.”

Antisemetic Bitch Rashida Tlaib holds up a sign that reads “War criminal” as Israel PM Netanyahu addresses Congress