.@beawebwriter spoke to @melmbr for @bbcwomanshour about her forced marriage. Chaya Spitz, CEO of Interlink, flatly denied that tenoim, the binding engagement agreement, are still used today. You can hear the tenoim document read. The bride in the video is 17 & her groom is 15. pic.twitter.com/mdUtTC3F48
— Frimet Goldberger (@FrimetG) March 17, 2021
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
Sixteen Chassidim, including a group of five from New York en route to Vienna, were detained in the airport in Frankfurt on their way to Vienna last week for no apparent reason and were held for over 10 hours.
The incident was publicized by the Jewish rights group Americans Against Antisemitism (AAA), founded by former state Assemblyman Dov Hikind.
“As soon as I gave my papers over to the officer, he looks at me, he says to me, ‘Are you all five together?’” one of the detained men said. “And I said, ‘Yes.’ And he said, ‘You need to step aside.’”
“Two more people who are on our flight arrive there,” he said. “They went over with their papers and immediately were told to stand next to us as well. So, we immediately saw that this is a Jewish thing.
“Nobody [else] was stopped for more than a minute,” he said. “Looked at the document, ‘Next.’ Seven Jews, Chasidic Jews, were told to stand aside.”
The Chassidim were offered no explanation on why they were detained. Their passports were confiscated and they were subjected to interrogation.
One of the men eventually called the U.S. Embassy and was told that the German authorities were investigating their paperwork as it may be fraudulent.
Calling the embassy seems to have done the trick and after over ten hours of harassment, the Chassidim were allowed to continue on their travels without any explanation for their detention. However, they were first forced to first sign disclaimers clearing the German authorities of any wrongdoing. Some of the Chassidim refused to do but were nevertheless eventually let go.
“Some of the Chassidim were pulled aside and harshly interrogated,” Hikind said in a statement.
“It’s unconscionable for something like this to happen to innocent people anywhere, but even more so to identifiable Jews in Germany, of all places.”
“They reached out to share their story with me,” he continued. “I can tell you the trauma and pain they suffered is scarring and traumatic, so we are calling on the German government to investigate this appalling treatment of [these] innocent people immediately.”
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
A man was arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of stabbing and killing his 14-year-old son in the southern city of Kiryat Gat, police said.
Magen David Adom medics who arrived at the family home found the boy in a critical condition and took him to the Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon, while trying to resuscitate him. However, he later died of his wounds.
The boy’s mother told police that the father, 37, had stabbed him and fled the home. After a brief manhunt, officers found and arrested the man in a nearby wooded area, police said.
According to the Ynet website, the mother told police that the father “had a psychotic attack,” picked up a knife and stabbed the boy without any reason.
Local social services workers were at the scene trying to assist the mother and several other children.
Magen David Adom medics called the incident “very difficult,” and said they found the boy lying unconscious, without a pulse and with several wounds to the body.
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THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
A terrible tragedy occurred in Israel on Wednesday with the news of the passing of Reb Meir Fein, z’l, at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem at the age of 23, less than a year after his wedding.
The niftar is the great-grandson of Rosh Yeshivas Torah V’Daas in New York, HaRav Reuven Fein, z’t, and HaRav Shlomo Zalman Sonnenfeld, z’tl.
The niftar was hospitalized in critical condition after being found unconscious on Friday night hours after drinking alcohol earlier in the day on Purim and a few weeks after recovering from the coronavirus.
However, according to a B’Chadrei Chareidim report, Meir drank only a moderate amount of alcohol on Purim 12 hours before he collapsed.
According to doctors, he may have suffered a post-coronavirus heart attack, exacerbated by his drinking. He had celebrated Purim on Friday in Bnei Brak, where he resided, and then traveled to his parents’ home in Ramot before Shabbos, where the incident occurred.
R’ Meir, z’l, was born and grew up in Ramot. His father, Rav Mordechai Fein, is a Mashgiach in Yeshivas Ziv Yisrael in Nachlaot, and his grandfather, Rav Shabtai Fein is a Rosh Mesivta in Yeshivas Tiferes HaTalmud.
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On Wednesday evening, a serious accident took place on Golda Meir Boulevard, where a minibus carrying a number of Charedim was involved in an accident with a private car.
First responders from United Hatzalah and Magen David Adom responded to the accident and provided medical care for eight people who were injured in the incident. A spokesperson from United Hatzalah said that a number of the injured people were children and infants.
Miraculously, all eight people who were injured are in light condition.
The police spokesperson’s department issued a statement about the accident: “Following the accident that took place on Highway 9 and Golda Meir Boulevard, Highway 9 has been closed and all traffic is being directed to enter and exit Jerusalem via Highway 1.”
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
לעילו נשמת יואלי קיש ע"ה pic.twitter.com/wayOSkqbk3
— Hasidic2 (@hasidic_1) March 17, 2021
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
Last June, the city of Portland, Oregon, hopped on the “defund the police” bandwagon. Now, it is flooded with gun violence, and the mayor is already backtracking from his support for the cuts.
Mayor Ted Wheeler has requested $2 million in emergency funding for the police department, pointing directly to the surge in gun violence. At this point last year, Portland had seen just one homicide. This year, that number is 20, with 208 shootings in the city so far.
Wheeler backed the Portland City Council’s decision to cut $15 million from the police budget last June, which included disbanding police units that investigate gun violence. Predictably, that move backfired in a city that saw 100 consecutive days of violent rioting last year.
Riots are back once again in the city, thanks to Wheeler’s spinelessness. Rioters have once again targeted a federal courthouse in the city, a reprise of the violent storming of the courthouse last July. In June, it was reported that the city lost around $24 million due to the riots. Damage to federal buildings totals roughly $2.3 million.
Portland, like Minneapolis, doesn’t have and never did have an overpolicing problem. The city has an underpolicing problem, compounded by cowardly city leaders who pander to anti-police activists. Portland city leaders, just liketheir Minneapolis counterparts, humored these leftist ideologues while turning a blind eye to riots. Now, they reap the whirlwind in the form of a surge in violent crime.
And this is Portland, so there is no Republican to blame for this issue. Wheeler is a Democrat. So are the city council members, with one independent who was endorsed by the council’s Democratic members. Gov. Kate Brown, who said that former President Donald Trump was “provoking confrontation for political purposes” by protecting the courthouse, is a Democrat. So is President Biden, who currently has federal agents trying to protect the courthouse.
Nor is there any plausible way to blame the availability of guns in Oregon or in neighboring states. Guns are exactly as available today as they were before this 2,000% surge in murders.
This is what happens when people who are tasked with actually running a city embrace ridiculous ideologies to please activists. I would say that Portland residents deserve better, but this is the leadership they chose for their city. Given the failures of Wheeler and the city council to this point, the voters are the only ones who can change course.
If the 2020 election is any indication, it won’t be happening any time soon.
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A new invasive species of mosquito known to carry viruses, including yellow fever, has been discovered in Florida, scientists have warned.
The Aedes scapularis mosquitoes have been confirmed in two South Florida counties — Miami-Dade and Broward — but are now at risk of spreading along Florida’s gulf and Atlantic coasts, according to a study co-authored by Lawrence Reeves, an entomologist and research scientist with the University of Florida.
Until now, the insects have primarily been found in the Caribbean and Latin America, NPR reported.
In Brazil, they’ve been found infected with “a range of diseases” such as Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and yellow fever virus, Reeves told the outlet.
It’s unclear whether the disease-ridden species actually spread the viruses they carry, but as outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases — most recently, dengue fever — have emerged in Florida, researchers say the discovery is important.
Lindsay Campbell, who co-authored the study with Reeves, said it is known that Aedes scapularis mosquitoes like to go indoors — and they feed on both wildlife and people.
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Nowhere is this clearer than the recent Grammy awards, whose viewership was down over 50% from last year’s ratings. The “song of the year” was “I Can’t Breathe” by H.E.R., a song about George Floyd, the convicted felon whose tragic death sparked so many riots.
A song that includes the lyrics about bringing a “gun to a peaceful fight for civil rights,” and an American pride in “justifying a homicide,” it is an anthem not for the equality that all Americans (black, white, and everyone) should have, but an attack on our nation while propping up a felon as if he were a saint.
It is true that music has always been a voice for political change. And it should always remain so. Even though this piece of propaganda is over the top, it carries an important voice into the national stream of consciousness.
But the inclusion and promotion of hate-monger Tamika Mallory in the Grammy awards is a great reason to never support the industry again.
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The Israeli Supreme Court struck down key government restrictions on air travel Wednesday, dealing a blow to the government’s airport policies.
A three-judge panel handed down the ruling Wednesday afternoon, excoriating the government over its handling of the issue of air travel during the COVID crisis.
In its ruling, the justices tossed out the limit imposed by the government on the total number of passengers allowed to enter Israel by air each day. The 3,000 passenger daily limit will end on Saturday.
In addition, the court ruled that the requirement for travelers who lack both vaccination certificates and certificates of recovery from COVID to received special permission to travel from a government committee is illegal, striking down the need to receive approval from the exceptions committee. Travelers looking to depart from Israel after this coming Saturday will not be required to receive permission from the exceptions committee.
The justices, led by chief justice Esther Hayut, blasted the government over the way it adopted the restrictions, saying the decisions were made without references to relevant data.
“In the future, any new restrictions on travel into or out of Israel need, in legal terms, a comprehensive, factual, data-based foundation.”
The court also slammed the restrictions themselves, writing in the ruling that the limits constitute an "assault on the very heart of the legal right to enter Israel and to leave it, and other rights that are at the heart of the fabric of life in democratic societies."
"It seems that instead of investing the effort and resources to enforce isolation, the violation of which is at the center of fears of outbreaks of [COVID] variants, the government preferred to impose a regime on entry and departure from Israel that is easier to do, but much more seriously harms basic rights."
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An Iranian woman who died of a heart attack shortly before her execution last week was hanged anyway to placate her alleged victim’s mother, her lawyer said.
Zahra Ismaili had been convicted of murder for killing her husband. Ismaili’s lawyer, Omid Moradi, said her husband was abusive and that she killed him out of self-defense, The Times reported.
Moradi said Ismaili was sent to be hanged in the Rajai Shahr Prison, in the town of Karaj, near Tehran.
She was forced to wait behind 16 men who were executed and watch. While in line, she collapsed, apparently from a heart attack, and died.
Her lifeless body was hanged anyway so her husband’s mother could kick the chair out from under her legs, which was considered her right.
Her cause of death was listed as “cardiac arrest,” according to Al-Arabiya.
The woman’s husband, Alireza Zamani was an official in the Iranian intelligence ministry, Moradi said. The couple had two children.
Iran draws harsh criticism from the international community for its executions, which include killings of dissidents, non-violent offenders and people convicted of committing crimes as minors.
Iran executes more people than any country besides China. The UN said Iran executed at least 233 people in 2020, including at least three who were minors at the time of their alleged offenses.
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THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the first-term congresswoman who expressed belief in the QAnon conspiracy theory and blamed California wildfires on Rothschild-funded space lasers, visited a number of Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Long Island on Monday.
The visit came at the invitation of Nachman Mostofsky, executive director of a politically right-wing Orthodox organization and the brother of Aaron Mostofsky, who was arrested by the FBI after participating in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol while dressed in fur pelts, the Forward reported.
Both Mostofsky brothers had attended the rally that preceded the riot that day, though Nachman did not participate in the riots, and were among a number of Orthodox Jews who headed to the rally on buses chartered and organized in WhatsApp groups for Orthodox Jews.
Greene, a Georgia Republican who made national headlines for her promotion of the QAnon theory during her campaign for Congress, has been a controversial presence since taking office in January.
In response to her comments, the Democrat-controlled House voted to strip Greene of her committee assignments just weeks later in February, with only 11 Republicans joining Democrats in the majority.
In a speech before that vote, Greene said her past comments “do not represent me.”
Mostofsky took Greene to a Brooklyn yeshiva, matzah bakery, kosher supermarket and restaurant. A photo that circulated on social media showed Greene sitting at a kosher restaurant.Mostofsky, apparently undeterred by Greene’s past incendiary comments, called the visit an opportunity to show Greene “authentic Judaism.”
“Knowing the congresswoman for a bit now, she has been nothing but a friend and ally for our community,” he told the Forward. “From government interference, education, religious freedom, we share what is commonly called Judeo-Christian values.”
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Charedi soldiers - most of them married with families - finish Home Front Command's special basic training and begin serving in reserves. Watch this clip from their end-of-training ceremony.
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THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
Rockland County resident Baruch Ungar, age 26, of Monsey, was arrested around 11:50 p.m., Sunday, March 14 in Clarkstown, following a pursuit on Palisades Parkway, said Trooper Steven Nevel.
According to Nevel, troopers from the Haverstraw barracks spotted a 2020 Honda Civic traveling on the Palisades Parkway in the town of Orangetown in excess of 100 mph.
When troopers attempted to stop the vehicle, Ungar attempted to elude the troopers and exited the parkway. Troopers were able to stop the vehicle on State Route 59 and Smith Street in the town of Clarkstown, Nevel said.
Ungar was taken into custody. While speaking to troopers it was determined that Ungar was impaired by alcohol and was charged with DWI.
Ungar was also issued nine tickets, including speeding 101 mph in a 55 mph zone.
He was released on an appearance ticket and scheduled to appear in court at a later date.
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It’s early, but not too early to give Politico the scoop of the year award for this: “The president so far has surprised some of his former colleagues and allies with a largely gaffe-free White House debut after a lifetime of verbal stumbles.”
The hoops you have to jump through — and with your eyes closed! — to reach a sweeping conclusion like that is what makes it award winning. First, you must, at least temporarily, steel your mind to reject any contrary facts, including that President Biden has not held a press conference, meaning the chance for gaffes and inanities are basically zero because he always gets to read from a TelePrompter.
You also have to overlook the fact that he is only slightly more willing to give interview requests, which also reduces his chance to screw up. Finally, you have to pretend that he didn’t commit the many gaffes he committed when he did venture to talk with the media.
Other than that, good job. That’s how you win the big prizes in Washington.
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A 4-year-old boy who was riding in an SUV with his mother died after a small plane struggling to return to a South Florida airport crashed into them on a residential street, officials said.
The boy, Taylor Bishop, and two people on the plane died in the Monday afternoon crash, which was recorded by a neighbor’s security camera, fire officials said. The boy’s mother, Megan Bishop, was also injured, but was released from the hospital later Monday, Pembroke Pines Fire Chief Marcel Rodriguez told news outlets.
Two people on the plane also died, Rodriguez said.
The Beechcraft Bonanza plane had just taken off from North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines and was returning just before 3 p.m., the fire chief said. He said it may have experienced mechanical issues after taking off.
“The car literally looks like it’s just in half,” neighbor Salah Elshaer, who called 911, told WSVN.
“We heard like a bomb, like a tremendous noise, and we went outside, and everything was on fire,” another neighbor, Annabel Fernandez, told the television station.
Megan Bishop was able to get out of the vehicle and was trying to free Taylor, officials said. Firefighters eventually freed the trapped child, and they were taken to the hospital, where the boy died.
A neighbor’s door camera recorded the crash, showing the plane nose-diving into the SUV as the woman was driving down a street. The plane’s wreckage then hurtles along the pavement, leaving a line of flames in its wake. The plane also took out a power line when it crashed, officials said.
The names of the two victims on the plane have not been released.
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