Chassidishe Draft Dodgers rip out Bus-stop Bench, so ladies won't be able to sit on them in Beit Shemesh!

I hope their  grandmother stands for hours waiting for a bus! 

BEN SHAPIRO CRASHES UCLA HEARING AND BRANDS THEM ALL "ANTI-SEMITES" Video

BEN SHAPIRO

WHAT A KIDDUSH HASHEM!

Tuesday night, the UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) considered a resolution calling for the university to divest from businesses that supposedly “profit from the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.”

Braving hundreds of anti-Israel speakers and protesters, Breitbart Senior Editor-at-Large Ben Shapiro, a UCLA alumnus, took the microphone and delivered a fiery lecture to the student council and the protesters, exposing the true motive of the so-called Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement: Jew-hatred.

Here is the transcript of his two-minute remarks:

My name is Ben Shapiro. I'm an alumnus of this university I'm also a local talk show host on 870 [AM] in the morning, and I got out of bed and left my one-month-old baby there when I saw what was going on here tonight. I've never been more ashamed to be a Bruin. I've never been more ashamed to be an alumnus of this university than to see this divestment petition being considered at this level.

To pretend this is about occupation, to pretend this is about peace, to pretend that this anything other than vile, spiteful Jew hatred is a lie!

There is only one reason we are discussing Israel and not discussing Saudi Arabia. There is only one reason we are discussing Israel and not discussing Iran. There is only one reason we are discussing Israel and not discussing Palestine. There is only one reason we are discussing Israel and not discussing the vast bevy of human rights violations that happen every day in the Middle East, exponentially worse that what happens in Israel.

Any gay or lesbian that is targeting Israel in this room seems to have forgotten how high they hang gays from cranes in Iran. Every person of liberal bent who suggests that Israel is the problem in the Middle East seems to have forgotten that there is only one country in the Middle East that actually has any sort of religious diversity in it. The countries that are apartheid countries are those that are Judenrein[free of Jews] – like, for example, Palestine.

So, for us to sit here and pretend that Israel is somehow on a lower moral plane is a direct manifestation of anti-Semitism. And to hold Jews to a different moral standard than any other country or group on the face of the earth represents nothing but an age-old and historic hatred for the Jewish people. All the folks here who are pretending that the B.D.S is about anything other than that – I would like to see a poll of those folks, and see how many of them actually believe in the existence of a Jewish state, qua-Jewish state, not as a state like any other, but as a Jewish state. They don't. They don't acknowledge that existence. They don't believe in that existence. They don't believe in peace. All this is about, pure and simple, is a desire to target the Jewish people.

Shapiro’s remarks earned a standing ovation from pro-Israel students and forced the student council leaders to tell anti-Israel protesters to allow dissenters to speak freely. After hours of debate, the student government finally voted on the resolution at 6:30 a.m. By a vote of 7-5, the resolution was rejected. All student government members voted anonymously and told the UCLADaily Bruin that they did so out of concern for their safety. The BDS movement’s defeat led at least some anti-Israel students to the verge of apoplexy.

Prices are going to drop for Apartments in Yerushalyim, Belzer Rebbe says there will be "Mass Emigration"

Can't wait for the "Mass Emigration" that the Belzer Rebbe is predicting, now I will be able to buy an apartment in Yerushalyim for a more reasonable price,
and I will command a better price for my home in Monsey! Win win situation. 

But I don't get it.!!! Isn't it a mitzvah to defend Eretz Yisrael and the lives of your loved ones against an enemy? 

Didn't Moshe dispatch an army to fight Amalek? 

And wasn't it the tzadikim who were usually selected to go out to battle in ancient times? 
Why are they so reluctant to fulfill their obligations of service in one capacity or another? 
How frum can they be if they're so concerned that serving in the army will corrupt their religious values?. 
It's the same battle that we all have to wage against the Yaitzer Harah every minute of our lives.

The “HaMachane HaChareidi” publication delivers the Holy words of the Belzer Rebbe Shlita. 

This week’s edition carries the headline “Prepare for mass emigration” as a result of the draft gezeiros.

 According to the report, a group of American students are committed to assisting chareidi families wishing to receive refugee status abroad. This undoubtedly reflects just how serious the rebbe is regarding threats to compel talmidim and avreichim yeshivos to leave beis medrash to serve in the IDF or a state-approved national service program.

The report states that efforts towards arranging for the first wave of people to leave Eretz HaKodesh have begun. The report speaks of “a wave of mass emigration to the Diaspora” to escape the gezeiros and permit bnei Torah to continue their lives of avodas Hashem.

Lawrence and Five Towns reeling with the firing of Rabbi Dovid Weinberger! UPDATED!

Lawrence is still in shock that Congregation Shaaray Tefila bounced Rabbi Dovid Weinberger from his prestigious position as Moro D'Asreh. 
Rabbi Weinberger is the author of the famous Artscroll sefer "The Traveler's Halachic Handbook! 

UPDATED!!!!

From the popular Blog FRUMFOLLIES

"The word is out that the Vaad of the 5 Towns and Far Rockaway has declared he should not be used as a rabbi. Individual rabbis posted flyers stating:

THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS BEING ANNOUNCED SIMULTANEIOUSLY THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY…

 It is with great sadness that the following announcement is being made to alert our community to a serious concern of which many of members might not be aware.

Recently, RDW [Rabbi Dovid Weinberger], a rabbi, resigned from his position as a rabbi of a congregation [Shaaray Tefila, Lawrence, NY], educator of young women in our community, and counselor to many who sought his advice.

Following that, we learned from professionals of a number of documented cases of his 

unfortunate and unacceptable behavior. It is the collective judgment of these professionals that this behavior may continue.We therefore feel obligated to inform our community of this concern and advise that there be no interaction with this rabbi in any rabbinic, educational, counseling or private setting."

 In 1998, the New York Times reported the following  story about the Rabbi, however, the story in not related to his sudden ouster! 

Mrs. Lightman, a nurse and the mother of four daughters, won a first-round victory on Nov. 18 when Justice David Goldstein of State Supreme Court in Queens handed down a summary judgment against a Long Island rabbi, David Weinberger of Temple Shaaray Tefila in Lawrence.

Mrs. Lightman had gone to Rabbi Weinberger for marital counseling, and complains in her suit that he violated clerical confidentiality by revealing secrets to her husband, Dr. Hylton Lightman, and his lawyer, information that then showed up in papers filed in a custody dispute.

As a result, she said, unfounded rumors began to circulate, including a rumor that she was failing to live by Jewish law and ''seeing a man in a social situation,'' stories that shook her community. Now, she said, she is largely ostracized there and attributes the loss of temporary custody of her daughters, ages 6 to 12, to the suspicions planted about her.

''I am portrayed as an irreligious woman not eligible to be the custodial parent to my children,'' she said.

Sandra Korn, a self-hating Jew, is upset that Harvard dismissed an anti-Islamist instructor! Wants to stop free speech!

What's with us Jews???
This naive Jewish girl, "a farikte breeyeh" (disturbed creature) hates her own background, and loves those who blow up our innocent children in pizza shops! She is advocating that the government take away free speech from conservatives and only liberals should be able to say and write what they want! 
Harvard is a nest of anti-Semites that produces these meshugoyim!
I would send her to Afganistan for a two week vacation!

Read this!

If Harvard senior Sandra Korn had her way, there would be no more free speech because it threatensliberalism, the Daily Caller reported Sunday.

According to Korn, academic freedom -- specifically, the freedom to express views contrary to those supported by liberals -- should be set aside for "justice."

"Let’s give up on academic freedom in favor of justice," was the subtitle of her column at the Harvard Crimson.

In her article, she suggested Harvard stop guaranteeing professors and students the right to hold and express controversial views and pursue research that challenges liberalism, Robby Soave said.

“If our university community opposes racism, sexism, and heterosexism, why should we put up with research that counters our goals?” she asked.

"Instead," she added, "I would like to propose a more rigorous standard: one of 'academic justice.' When an academic community observes research promoting or justifying oppression, it should ensure that this research does not continue."

Translation: Only speech and research that supports liberalism should be allowed.

Korn, Soave added, then cited examples of how her idea of "justice" should be pursued at Harvard.

"The firing of Subramanian Swamy, a Harvard summer school instructor who was dismissed for his anti-Islamic views, was one such triumph," he said.

She also addressed the academic boycott of Israel, something Soave said was condemned by Harvard President Drew Faust and numerous other university presidents.

"Opponents of the boycott claim that it restricts the freedom of Israeli academics or interrupts the 'free flow of ideas," Korn said. "Proponents of the boycott often argue that the boycott is intended to, in the end, increase, not restrict, academic freedom—the ASA points out that 'there is no effective or substantive academic freedom for Palestinian students and scholars under conditions of Israeli occupation.'”

She went on to accuse conservative opponents of the boycott of engaging in a “freedom” game, while saying only those on the left who oppose Israel and supposedly "care about justice" can "take the moral upper hand."

Korn's view, Soave said, appears to be growing on colleges across the country, citing the case of Swarthmore College sophomore Erin Ching, who criticized the school for allowing conservative Christian thinker Robert George to speak on campus.

“What really bothered me is, the whole idea is that at a liberal arts college, we need to be hearing a diversity of opinion,” she said. “I don’t think we should be tolerating [George’s] conservative views because that dominant culture embeds these deep inequalities in our society.”

Pro-life students at the University of Alabama were also told they could not express their views after the school secretly removed a poster some students found objectionable.

Korn, Soave said, "did not immediately respond to a request for comment."

Letter from Rav Shach z"l "Non-learning boys cannot be exempt from the army!"

אם הרב שך היה כותב היום מכתב כזה שמואל אויערבך ונתי גרוסמן היו רוגמים אותו באבנים

Today, the "Gedolim" would have taken Rav Shach by his ears and hung him up on the Bima of Ponivetz Yeshiva in Bnei Brak!

 They would have called him an Apikoras, a heretic, his seforim would have been publicly burned!
But this letter from Harav Schach z"l to all Roshei Yeshiva proves, what we all knew all along, that he was all for non-learning boys joining the IDF!

This letter says in effect that Yeshivas should not issue a "P'tur" (an exemption) to the IDF, to boys who are not learning!
There you have it.......
I challenge the Yated and Hamodia to print this letter!
and here is a translation to those holy tzaddikim who can only read hebrew! 
Show this letter to your children, and tell them what a real Rosh Yeshivah thought about boys not joining the Israeli Army!
מי היה מאמין אם מי היה כותב מכתב כזה מטעם 'ועד הישיבות' האם היה לו שעה אחת זכות קיום, היו רוגמים אותו באבנים זורקים אותו מכל המדרגות שמואל אויערבך היה צועק וצווח כי מדובר בכופר ואפיקורס וחרד"ק, ה'השקפה' של ימינו אומרת כי אסור ללכת לצבא ואין זה משנה אם 'תורתו אומנתו' לומדים או לא לומדים

תקראו טוב את הוראת הרב שך לכל ראשי הישיבות כי חלילה לתת אישור של 'תורתו אומנותו' למי שאינו לומד יומם ולילה, כל מי שמתעסק עם דברים חיצוניים אסור לתת לו אישור כזה, ואילו היום הוראה כזו אינה מקובלת עוד על הקנאים החדשים הצודרייטער משערי חסד החליט כי הרב שך לא הבין מספיק וההוכחה כי רצה לשתות ממי רגליו. כזכור הרב שך אמר כי הוא רוצה לזכות לשתות את מי רגליו של ראש המחבלים בשערי חסד, והוא אומר כי הרב שך עדיין לא הגיע לדרגת ההבנה ב'השקפה' נתי גרוסמן יש לו הרבה מה ללמד אותו, מפני שרק הוא מבין לשרשם של דברים, הרב שך רחוק מאוד מזה, וההוכחה שכתב מכתב כזה מטעם ועד הישיבות לראשי הישיבות ולא מסר נפשו ולא הורה על ייהרג ואל יעבור ואף הורה להתייצב לרישום בלשכת הגיוס ולא כדברי ההוא משערי חסד כי אסור להתייצב

Askanim blame the Ladies, again, for all troubles! Will have Men-Only Gathering to Discuss Ladies Clothing!

Only the ladies have to do Tesuvah for wearing immodest clothing, which is "causing all the tragedies."
Men have nothing to worry about, they can continue to steal, rob, sexually abuse anybody they choose and they can continue beating their wives. 
That's why ladies were not invited to this Men-Only Asifah! 
They don't want the ladies to know, G-D forbid,  that they are the cause of all the tragedies! So let's only invite the Holy Men for a boys only night, to discuss the bad ladies!

By the way, who are these Askanim? Why didn't they sign anything? I think that if their wives would find out about it they would beat the hell out of them!  Only perverts would dictate to the ladies what they should wear, aren't there enough Rebbitzins that can tell the ladies what to wear?

Don't get me wrong, I think that we should all contemplate and give thought to why G-D is punishing us, and why young people are suddenly dying and getting very sick. And I believe that everything happens for a reason. We should be concerned, we should ask ourselves, "What's going on?" We should do our utmost to adhere to the mitzvos and yes to respect our gedolim!

But to have a bunch of un-named "askanim" pushing an agenda that actually excludes their own gender  is asinine  ....


Read from the Hamodia! 
Our Comments in RED!

“…After a series of tragedies sent tremors through the community in the past few months, a group of 12 leading local Rabbanim and askanim

(who are they? I don't see the names? "12 Leading local Rabbanim?" Who are they talking about? Again No Names..
and only 12? You can get 12 Rebbelich on one block in Williamsburg? What happened to the hundreds of Rabbonim? ) 

gathered to discuss vital issues facing the community. During the meeting, they heard firsthand accounts from leading mechanchos

("leading mechanchos" Which ones? Names, Please...
By the way, are you telling me that 12 Rabbonim sat with a bunch of Ladies to talk? I would have loved to be a fly on the wall.
And how did this meeting come about? The ladies contacted the Rabbi guys? How did they choose which 12 Rabbis?
I don't believe this happened!) 

regarding breaches in hilchos tznius [modesty laws].

When their findings were brought before the Skulener Rebbe, shlita, and the Rachmastrivka Rebbe, shlita, the two Rebbes, who were deeply moved by what they heard, took the unprecedented step of writing a stirring, joint letter to all the local Rabbanim, asking them to take action and encouraging them to arrange a community-wide gathering.…

Two of the primary organizers described to Hamodia what is behind the gathering.

(For G-d's sake .... Which two? "primary organizers? "
Who are you talking about? Why are they afraid to give their names?)

“The purpose of this asifah is to raise awareness about the halachic aspects of this issue,” one of the organizers said.

(before it was 2 organizers, now it suddenly became 1 ?, What was the other organizer doing while this one was talking?)

“Many families who are knowledgeable, even stringent, in many other areas of halachah are simply unaware of what constitutes daas Yehudis in this issue, and about the numerous prohibitions — including some that are possibly even mid’Oraisa —

(Let me understand this. So, now, un-named organizers met un-named mechonchos with 12 local un-named rabbonim and they will make us "aware of what constitutes daas Yehudis." Unbelievable!
"mid' Oraisa?"  I challange you to tell us what halachos d'oraisa you are talking about?)

that are violated by those who sell and wear unsuitable articles of clothing. We are not referring to chumros, we are referring to fundamental, basic halachah.”

(show me this in Shulchan Aruch) 

But why gather men to talk about halachos pertaining to women?

(Finally, my question all along!) 

“Like kashrus and shemiras Shabbos, men have the same responsibility as women do on this issue. It is vital for men to have the knowledge they need to be able to support their wives

("support their wives? "  These guys are not supporting their wives, the wives are supporting them)

and guide their daughters regarding the relevant halachos,” the organizer explained.…”

(Which organizer?) 

Organizers are also planning to hold a meeting for principals of girls’ schools and camp directors in early March and are, 

(again, the'll be talking to the ladies? Who gave a bunch "Organizers" a "heter" to speak to the women?)

Hamodia reports, "in intensive discussions" with storeowners and investors about opening "new clothing stores to provide practical alternatives to what is currently available."

(not a bad idea, maybe now some will actually work for a living!)

Farfrumte Meshugoiyim didn't call firefighters because it was Shabbos

The burnt mattress that could have killed them all

Nu! The frum world is getting crazier then ever! Some Baalie Teshuvois would rather get killed and have their whole family wiped out than call Firemen on Shabbos....

When I grew up, most people in shul learned Mishnayois, and Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. Very few people were learning the daf! But they knew the basics... enough to re-build the Torah World.

Today, Thank G-D, all shuls have people learning the daf, and we have a generation of people who are well versed in Shas. The problem is, they don't have a clue of simple Halachos. They ask their perspective Rabbis the most mundane questions .... and if the Rabbi isn't right there, they become baffled and hopelessly lost!
The Frum world has become a joke to the gentile world, they think that we are a bunch of morons! 
The Kiruv organizations are to blame, they take naive people and invite them for shabbos and feed them cholent, kugel and bubbelich and tell them how beautiful Shabbos is and then brainwash them with superficial ideas  that you cannot do anything on this holy day but eat, sleep and go to shul .....
What they should be teaching them is basic halachos, but alas, the Kiruv guys know nothing themselves.... that's the problem!


Read the following and weep!
Firefighters responded to an automatic alarm at a home in Pomona on Saturday morning and learned that there had been a fire but no one called 911.

Officials said the mattress fire was not reported by phone because the home’s Orthodox Jewish occupants were observing the Sabbath. No one was injured.

Chris Kear, the public information officer for the Hillcrest Fire Department, said the fire at 16 Tara Drive started in a second-floor bedroom, where a man had used a pillow to dim a lamp for a child. The pillow and a mattress began smoldering. When the smoke increased the man took the mattress down the stairs and out of the house. The mattress caught fire along the way as it encountered new oxygen, Kear said.
“The situation could have been a lot worse,” Kear said.

Shvartzeh Anti-semitka honored by PBS

PBS, America’s Public Broadcasting Service, broadcast a Master's Series episode about Alice Walker on February 7th, entitled Beauty and Truth.

The program, reports media monitor CAMERA, is a tribute to Walker, an author who gained fame from her 1982 novel, "The Color Purple." In recent years, however, Walker has slid ever deeper into the worlds of anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories -- an trend that PBS seems willing to ignore.

Though she has written little of note recently, CAMERA states that her championing of the lesbian lifestyle and agitation against Israel have kept her fashionable among segments of the media and academia: "

A review in the Femenist Wire describes how 'In Walker’s life... beauty exists within a mosaic of truths alongside rabid institutional racism, patriarchy, misogyny, colonialism, heterosexism, and so much else.'"

Much of that "so much else" seems to revolve around her hatred for Israel. Toward the end of the PBS program, Walker discusses at some length her commitment to the Palestinian cause. She showed her support for Hamas-ruled Gaza, she says, by planning to participate in the 2011 Gaza Flotilla.

Though other controversial aspects of Walker’s life and outlook are dealt with candidly, Walker makes numerous unsubstantiated charges against Israel, which PBS allow to go unexamined and unanswered.  

Walker compares the plight of the Palestinians to the black civil rights movement in the South -- but in her opinion, Israel's treatment of the Palestinians is worse. She denounces Israel's separation barrier -- which she calls an "apartheid" wall -- and maintains that the Palestinians are "just daily humiliated... ground in the dirt." 

She has defended suicide bombings, finding it “dishonest… that people claim not to understand the desperate, last ditch resistance involved in suicide bombings, blaming the oppressed for using their bodies.”

PBS did not enlighten viewers about Walker’s history of issuing hateful statements about Israel and Zionism [and Jews]. In 2011, she accused Israel and the United States of being "great terrorist organisations" and has used blatantly anti-Semitic religious imagery to whip up hatred of the Jewish state. She has called Jesus, a Galilean Jew, “a Palestinian" and claimed he "is still being crucified."

Walker made headlines in Israel last year by refusing to authorise a Hebrew translation of ”The Color Purple.”  She also published an open letter urging singer Alicia Keys to cancel her scheduled July concert in Israel and play in Gaza instead. In a 2012 interview, Walker accused Israel of “stealing so much Palestinian land, they have essentially stolen all of Palestine.” 

Walker's first husband was a Jewish civil rights lawyer. She has recounted a meeting with an elderly Palestinian woman in the territories. The woman, upon accepting a gift from Walker, said, "May God protect you from the Jews" to which Walker responded, "It’s too late, I already married one."

Her grip on reality has been called into question -- also ignored by PBS. She has endorsed the writings of David Icke, who maintains that the human mind is controlled from the moon. The moon, he claims, is actually a “gigantic spacecraft” which sends us a “fake reality broadcast.”

Knesset Member Purish calls Prime Minister Netanyahu a "Shmata" a rag!

Nice! Very Nice!
This guy Purish sits in the Knesset and has no respect for the office of the Prime Minister! Didn't he ever learn that you can disagree with someone without calling him names?

חבר ועדת שקד, חבר-הכנסת מאיר פרוש תוקף בחריפות את ראש-הממשלה: "נתניהו סמרטוט. הוא נבחר פעמיים בזכות התמיכה של המגזר החרדי, אבל השבוע התברר שהוא לא איש הגון". הנקמה בדרך: "שוקלים לפסול את מועמד הליכוד לנשיאות" (חדשות חרדים)

Satmar Rebbe wants Rav Sternbuch to remain in his position in Eida Chareidis?

Rav Zalman Leib (left) & Rav Aaron (Right)

What's going on? Is Moshiach coming?

Rav Aron Teitelbaum wants Rav Moshe Sternbuch to remain in the Eida Chareidis?

Weren't we all flooded with "pashkivelin" against Rav Sternbuch because he ruled that the bones uncovered in Beit Shemesh construction site were  not Jewish and therefore construction can continue?

Wasn't our streets in Monsey, Boro Park & Williamsburg blanketed with leaflets cursing Rav Sternbuch with the words "Yemach Shmo", words used to curse Haman and Hitler?

What happened?

Read the following from the "new" Satmar lapdogs
The Yeshiva world blog and then read our take on it!

Reprinted without permission:

"Following a discussion with the Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel Shlita Eida Chareidis Ravaad HaGaon HaRav Moshe Sternbuch Shlita has indicated he will remain in his position and not step down. The Satmar Rebbe Shlita arrived in Eretz Yisrael on Wednesday, 19 Adar I 5774 and speaking with the Ravaad was high on his agenda.
The rebbe called for achdus as he was briefed on the Shaked Committee decision to impose criminal sanctions against chareidim who do not comply with the draft law. The rebbe announced it is time to declare war and this demands achdus.
The rebbe reportedly urged the ravaad not to step down, explaining the urgency of the hour and that he will personally work to unite the Eida once again. The ravaad acquiesced and indicated he will continue in his position".
- See more at: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/214571/satmar-rebbe-of-kiryas-yoel-works-on-settling-machlokes-in-eida.html#sthash.Won4hr2C.dpuf

Let us clarify to our readers what really happened!

There is only one person that Rav Aaron, the Satmar Rav of Monroe, hates more than Zionists!
That's his brother Rav Zalman Leib.....

I know what my readers are thinking now ....
What does his hating his brother have to do with Rav Sternbuch?

Well, his brother Rav Zalman Leib is the one who supports the Asrei Kadishi. 
The Asrei Kadishi are the ones that say that the bones found in Beit Shemesh are Jewish, and therefore all construction must be stopped. 
The Asrei Kadishi does not allow any construction in Israel unless they are paid off! 
The developer that is building in Beit Shemesh got sick and tired of constantly paying off the Asrei Kadishi thieves, so he approached Rav Sterbuch, and after a thorough investigation, Rav Sternbuch ruled that's ok to build!

So Rav Zalman Leib and his Hungarian uncivilized goons blanketed the whole New York and Israel with flyers that called Rav Sternbuch "Yemach Shmo" and  questioned the sanity of Rav Sternbuch!
Rav Sternbuch decided to call it quits!

So now Rav Aaron wants to make peace (this, at the same time that he is calling a Holy War on the State of Israel )and convinced Rav Sternbuch to stay on.....

So what gives???

The reason????? 

He hates his brother!!!!

And since his brother supports the Asrei Kadisha, he will violate his own principles and support Rav Sternbuch....
but since he is still Satmar, and the Satmar's Shitah is not to build, so he masquerades his opposition with a "peace" overture!
"He hates machlokas"

But in his hearts of hearts hates Rav Sternbuch but will now support him, because he hates his brother, even more!

Yehuda Weissmandle will defend East Ramapo Special Education Practices! Way to go!

East Ramapo President Yehuda Weissmandl

East Ramapo school officials say they will continue to defend the special education practices by taking their case to an appellate court.

The district plans to appeal a recent state Supreme Court decision upholding the state Education Department’s finding that the district broke the law by placing students with disabilities in private religious schools when less restrictive options were available.

Under federal education law, school districts must educate disabled students in the “least restrictive environment” — generally, in an environment that includes students who do not have disabilities.

But East Ramapo officials have long argued that agreeing to pay the tuition for some disabled children to attend private Jewish yeshivas outside the district — essentially placing them in a more “restrictive environment” — is a win-win solution. It’s cost-effective for the district, they say, and appeases parents who challenge the district’s placement decisions.

The parents are mostly from the district’s large Orthodox Jewish community who want their children educated in an environment that accommodates their religious customs, like offering kosher lunches and keeping boys and girls separated, officials have said.

East Ramapo Board of Education President Yehuda Weissmandl explained the district’s position in a letter to The Journal News published Thursday.

“If parents prefer a private school — which in almost every case costs about the same or less than it would cost to educate the student in a public school — there is no financial reason for the district not to settle,” he wrote.

The Education Department says the way the district operates violates the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. East Ramapo challenged the findings twice and lost, most recently when a state Supreme Court justice upheld the state’s position Dec. 30.

School officials maintain that a “clarification” of its “rights and obligations” under IDEA and a favorable ruling by the Appellate Division will save money in the long run; they argue that settling student placement disputes with parents is cheaper than holding an impartial hearing and litigating the case without being sure the district will win. If the district loses an appeal, it must pay the parents’ attorneys fees.

The appeal has not yet been filed. When it is, it will be the latest legal action undertaken by the district, which plans to spend about $2.66 million on legal fees this school year as it continues several other lengthy lawsuits.

Yes, It is My Role As Mayor To Defend Israel! De Blasio, Video

NYC mayor Bill de Blasio got another opportunity to display on a national platform his strong support for Israel. 

In an interview on MSNBC this evening, mayor de Blasio was criticized by the host, a Liberal New Yorker, Chris Hayes, for a speech he gave last month to AIPAC. 

The host questioned the mayor as to why he proclaimed that defending the state of Israel is part of his job description as mayor of New York City.

“I want to ask you how you see your job. You gave a speech to AIPAC. The speech wasn’t on the public schedule, it was off the record, but the content was reported,” said Hayes. “One of the things that you said was it was part of your job description to be a defender of Israel… [Yes]… Obviously, we are not going to resolve the very complicated issues vis-à-vis Israel and Palestine. But I got to say as a New Yorker, I thought ‘I don’t know if that’s true. I voted for this guy, and I don’t know if it’s part of the job description for him to be a defender of Israel. It seems like he’s got enough on his plate. Is he the defender of the Ukrainians in the streets, who are crying out for their rights? Is he the defender of the Taiwanese against the one China policy?’

“Is it really your job, is that your job description?” Hayes asked.

But Mayor de Blasio didn’t take the bait. He once again explained why the mayor of New York City plays a major role is speaking out as a staunch supporter of Israel.

“Look, I said something that was personal. I said something that was about my belief that we have to defend the state of Israel,” mayor de Blasio responded. “And I think that has everything to do with the alliance that we have with Israel, the history have and particularly as New Yorkers, the deep, deep connection with have personally with Israel. I think it’s also a matter of protecting democracy. I think Israel’s stance as a pluralistic society deserves respect… It has been under attack and I think it is our job to support it.”
“So that’s me speaking as the mayor of a city that is the closest to Israel than any city on earth and that has one of the largest Jewish populations of any city on earth. And I think it is a fair role for me to play,” he added.

Arabs won't be able to live on MARS, Muslim Clerics issue Fatwa

A Fatwa has been issued against living on Mars by clerics who say that trying to set up home there would be un-Islamic.

The fatwa – or ruling – was issued by the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE) in the UAE after the Mars One organisation announced that it would try and establish a permanent human settlement on Mars.

The committee argued that an attempt to dwell on the planet would be so hazardous as to be suicidal and killing oneself is not permitted by Islam.

According to Khaleejtimes.com it said: ‘Such a one-way journey poses a real risk to life, and that can never be justified in Islam. There is a possibility that an individual who travels to planet Mars may not be able to remain alive there, and is more vulnerable to death.’

 

The astronauts, the committee said, would end up dying for no ‘righteous reason’ and would face the same punishment in the afterlife as someone who’d committed suicide.

The committee, led by Professor Dr Farooq Hamada, said: ‘Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse 4/29 of the Holy Quran: Do not kill yourselves or one another. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.’

The GAIAE has issued around two million Fatwas through its Official Fatwa Centre since its inception in 2008.

multi-billion pound Mars One mission hopes to establish a human colony on Mars in 2025.

Its website says: ‘The Mars One mission plan consists of cargo missions and unmanned preparation of a habitable settlement, followed by human landings. 

‘In the coming years, a demonstration mission, communication satellites, two rovers and several cargo missions will be sent to Mars. These missions will set up the outpost where the human crew will live and work.’

Over 200,000 people, including 500 Saudis and Arabs, have applied to take part in the missions so far.

In December Mars One short-listed 1,058 people to take part in trials for the ambitious project.

Co-founder Bas Lansdorp said: ‘We’re extremely appreciative and impressed with the sheer number of people who submitted their applications. 

'However, the challenge with 200,000 applicants is separating those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors on Mars from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously. We even had a couple of applicants submit their videos in the nude!’ 

Mars lies on average 141.6million miles from the Sun and has an average temperature of -85F (-65C). Its atmosphere is desperately thin - one per cent of Earth's pressure - and is 95 per cent carbon dioxide.