Police in Turkey claim to find, seize 2,000-year-old Torah scroll https://t.co/CScg4wxXFq
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) March 31, 2021
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“I don’t speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don’t have the power to remain silent.” Rav Kook z"l
Police in Turkey claim to find, seize 2,000-year-old Torah scroll https://t.co/CScg4wxXFq
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) March 31, 2021
THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
"I am driving slow, because I have a pot of soup with knaidelach!
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
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday night slammed the overcrowded conditions for immigrantsat the US-Mexican border under President Biden as “inhumane”, “horrifying,” “unnaceptable” and “barbaric.”
She also blamed decades of US foreign policy with countries in neighboring Central America as contributing to the perpetual crisis of desperate residents from poor, violence-torn countries flooding the border.
AOC unloaded on the border crisis during a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday night.
“The fact that this keeps happening is a political failure of both parties,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
AOC gave a detailed critique on the current border crisis — after being accused of giving Biden a pass after excoriating former President Trump’s border and immigration policies.
While claiming Trump’s immigration policies are more harsh than Biden’s, she added, “I don’t want to excuse any of this.”
“We should be doing better by now,” she said.
At one point, she said families who were forcibly separated during the Trump years “are owed reparations. Period.”
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I am going to side with Hide-Smith on this one.... Schumer should know that he is a Jew and living in galut..and keep his mouth shut!
Hyde-Smith was speaking last Wednesday as the Senate debated a slate of state-level bills that would limit voting opportunities. One bill backed by Republicans in Georgia would bar Sunday voting, a day known nationwide among Black churchgoers as “Souls to the Polls,” when parishioners head straight from church to polling stations.
Schumer, the New York Democrat who is the Senate majority leader and the highest ranking elected Jewish official in U.S. history, was among a number of Democrats who wondered why Georgia Republicans wanted to end the Sunday voting tradition.
Hyde-Smith was there to answer, directing her remarks at Schumer specifically.
“He was wondering why on Sundays Georgia would not participate in an electoral process of gathering signatures, registration and things on Sunday,” she said. “Georgia’s a southern state just like Mississippi. I cannot speak for Georgia but I can speak for Mississippi on why we would never do that on a Sunday, or hold an election on a Sunday.”
She cited mentions of God on U.S. properties and on the dollar bill and in protocols, including swearings-in of witnesses.
“In God’s word, in Exodus 20:18, it says ‘Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy,’ so that is my response to Sen. Schumer,” Hyde-Smith said.
he precise quote is “Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy,” and Exodus is part of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians traditionally refer to as the Old Testament. The verse in question is referring not to Sunday but to Saturday, which is when Jews observe the Sabbath — beginning at sundown Friday and ending at nightfall the next day.
Georgia Republicans have not mentioned the religious status of Sunday in explaining their proposal. They argue that because some counties cannot afford to run Sunday voting operations, the practice is inequitable.
Georgia Democrats — including Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish, and Raphael Warnoff, a Black pastor — say the law is aimed at depressing turnout among Black voters who were key in flipping the state to Democrats in the presidential election, and in putting Ossoff and Warnock in office in January elections.
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Those in the park stated that they watched employees of Sea World kicking Orthodox Jews out of the facilities for not properly wearing masks. But all of them claimed that they witnessed them turning a blind eye to hundreds of non-Jews who were doing the same.
One person said “We were in Sea World today, and were kicked out for not wearing a mask. Mind you the whole park is not masking and one member of our group of 6 people pulled their mask down to get a drink. We were embarrassed and escorted out as hundreds of people passed us not masking. The only answer is, we were kicked for being Jewish. Sad day at Sea World.”
Another person said “I was there today. There were people of all ethnicities not wearing masks and staff constantly reminded. It was glaringly obvious that some of the staff only targeted and reminded Frum (Orthodox) Jews about it. On a separate note, there were too many kosher wrappers that I noticed littered all around.”
Yet another person said “I felt they were unfairly targeting Jews when there were many other violators. I heard them threatening someone that they would escort him out of the park, when there were many unmasked people around. Also, there were way too many people there for the capacity of the rides with the social distancing changes in the park (like every other row empty…). They couldn’t handle the crowd. It was over 90 degrees and the water fountains and misters were turned off.”
And another guy said “Hi I was in Sea World today. Plain anti seimtisem on display. There were thousands not in masks. Only Jews thrown out. A huge chutzpah. Calling lawyers won’t help. We should boycott them. A side note, it was PACKED beyond capacity. It’s a joke that they make it as if they care about social distancing. Save your money people and stay away!”
Yeshiva of Miami, which booked and sold hundreds upon hundreds of tickets for tomorrow at Sea World, sent out the following email to everyone who purchased tickets:
Dear Friends,
This is a very difficult email for me to write. Unfortunately, SeaWorld informed us that they are cancelling all group tickets, including ours, for tomorrow. The reason that they gave is that they had difficulty enforcing their mask policy amongst the various groups that were in Sea World today. Yeshiva of Miami prides ourselves on our complete transparency and communication when it comes to our customers. We are therefore sharing all the details with you, although it may be too lengthy. Please feel free to skip to the end of this email if you want to!
There were about 6 groups in Sea World today, all of which were Jewish groups. Our shared experiences were not great.
I have been in touch with quite a number of the participants today and many of them shared that they felt unfairly singled out regarding masks today.
I have had hundreds of pictures sent to me by our SeaWorld guests today showing very flagrant mask violations by many people that were clearly not in our group.
I spent about 4 hours today on the phone with SeaWorld explaining how our guests felt unfairly singled out today, and how this colored their Sea World experience.
I offered alternative ways to make this work. I explained that tomorrow the weather would be cooler and mask wearing would be less challenging.
I offered to them that I would ask each participant to sign a “Mask Contract” and I would offer a full refund to anyone who didn’t agree to sign that contract.
I spoke to our attorney who explained that as a private entity, especially during covid, SeaWorld is allowed to make this choice and we don’t have much legal recourse.
I literally tried everything. Sea World was not willing to budge.
Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that we are forced to cancel our group trip for tomorrow. We will be giving a full refund to everyone. The refunds will be processed after Pesach. Please be patient because it may take a few days to get to all the refunds.
We realize we are disappointing many people and that you now have to tell your family that your plans for tomorrow have been cancelled. We feel terrible and hope you realize that this literally hurts us more than it hurts you, on many levels. You are welcome to buy tickets directly from Sea World and enter through the main entrance. I will caution you that I have heard from many of today’s participants that it was very crowded and that many of the rides that were supposed to be open, were actually closed, leading to unreasonably long lines. Additionally, many of the shows were operating at 25% capacity and unless you were waiting in line for an hour beforehand, you couldn’t be guaranteed a seat at the show. In general, people that went today did not seem to have the best experiences, so take this into advisement when deciding if you want to purchase full price tickets for tomorrow.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or anything else. I will try to respond as quickly as possible.
Yeshiva of Miami
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THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
The Lakewood community was mourning the tragic Petira of Yaakov Ben-David Z”L, 20, who was Niftar in a tragic boating accident.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Iowa, say that the Niftar died in a boating accident in Little Wall Lake. Three other victims were saved in the incident, which involved their boat capsizing.
The cause of the incident was under investigation.
The Niftar was flown to Lakewood on Tuesday, and his Levaya was held at 12:15AM, Wednesday morning, at the Lakewood Bais Hakvaros on Ramsey Avenue.
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During his three terms in Albany, Gov. Cuomo has been an extreme micromanager who surrounded himself with a small band of aides, most a generation younger than he is. They are essentially on call 24/7, and are involved in all aspects of his job, from running the executive branch to dealing with legislators and the media.
It is an understatement to describe the top ones as fiercely loyal. Cuomo demands total fealty and their approach to the world was once described by Steven Cohen, a longtime Cuomo aide and friend, as simple: “We operate at two speeds here: Get along and kill.”
Those loyalties are now facing a crucial test. Growing out of the two major investigations into Cuomo’s conduct, dozens of people in the executive office, including the inner circle, recently received subpoenas.
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US President Joe Biden’s aides initially believed Iran, with which they have not had direct discussions, wanted to talk about first steps toward a revival of the agreement.
The agreement would have eased economic sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs to the Iranian nuclear program designed to make it harder to develop an atomic weapon.
Three Western officials said the Biden administration and Iran had mainly communicated indirectly via European parties to the deal - Britain, France and Germany - and that they believe Iran now wants to discuss a broader plan to return to the pact.
“What we had heard was that they were interested first in a series of initial steps, and so we were exchanging ideas on a series of initial steps” a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters.
“It sounds from what we are hearing publicly now, and through other means, that they may be ... not interested in (discussing) initial steps but in a road map for return to full compliance,” he said.
“If that’s what Iran wants to talk about, we are happy to talk about it,” the US official added.
Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018.
Biden has expressed a desire to return to the deal but has stressed that Iran must resume compliance with it before any negotiations on a US return to the agreement.
The US recently accepted Europe's offer to mediate conversations with Iran regarding the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran, however, rejected the proposal, claiming that the “time was not right” to hold such talks.
On Monday, it was reported that Biden is planning to put forth a new proposal to jump-start talks with Iran.
The proposal asks Iran to halt some of its nuclear activities, such as work on advanced centrifuges and the enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity, in exchange for some relief from US economic sanctions.
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בדוח זכויות האדם השנתי של מחלקת המדינה בארצות הברית חזרו לשימוש במונח ״השטחים הכבושים״, חזרה לנוהג לפני עידן טראמפ. במחלקצ המדינה הבהירו שאין במינוחים עמדה באשר לגבולות שיקבעו בהסדר מול הפסטינים. וככה ענו על זה בתדרוך: pic.twitter.com/16QLuPY6NK
— יונה לייבזון yuna leibzon (@YunaLeibzon) March 30, 2021
The US State Department’s annual report on human rights violations published on Tuesday refers to Judea, Samaria, Gaza, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as territories “occupied” by Israel but does not title the chapter “Israel and the Occupied Territories”.
The title “Israel and the Occupied Territories” was the title used by the State Department until the Trump administration changed the custom, after President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
The 2020 report, which is the first to be released during the Biden administration, uses the label “Israel, the West Bank and Gaza” - the same chapter name from the last two reports issued during the Trump administration.
The report states it “covers the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem territories that Israel occupied during the June 1967 war” - a reference to the Six Day War - but also clarifies that “language in this report is not meant to convey a position on any final status issues to be negotiated between the parties to the conflict, including the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, or the borders between Israel and any future Palestinian state.”
Lisa Peterson, acting top State Department official on human rights, said on Tuesday that the report's authors continued to believe it was better to assign geographic names.
"That's in line with our practices generally. We also believe it is clearer and more useful for readers seeking information on human rights in those specific areas," she told reporters, according to AFP.
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גן החיות התנ"כי התחפש לנשיונל ג'יאוגרפיק באמצע היום. הילדים שהגיעו היום לגן החיות נדהמו לצפות איך אריה טורף ארנבות באמצע היום..... ההורים הזדעזעו pic.twitter.com/6K5D0L3W3Q
— Yossi Eli יוסי אלי (@Yossi_eli) March 21, 2021
The Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem is reviewing its feeding protocols following a rare incident in which children observed a lion eating a rabbit, JTA reported.
“The Biblical Zoo turned into National Geographic in the middle of the day,” a Channel 13 News journalist wrote on Twitter.
“The children who came to the Biblical Zoo today were astounded to see how a lion devours rabbits in the middle of the day. Their parents were horrified.”
The lions are usually fed animals out of public view but in this case, the lion dragged the rabbit into the public area, according to a statement by the zoo.
“The Asian lions in the zoo, which are a species in danger of extinction, are part of a worldwide lion conservation program,” the zoo stated.
“The lions in the zoo are fed prey that is no longer alive, which the zoo receives from an animal food provider. Due to sensitivity, the lions receive their food behind the scenes. In this case, the lion dragged its prey into the exhibition area.”
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.@PressSec is asked if "there is any message being sent" by the rebranding of the admin to the "Biden-Harris" administration:
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 30, 2021
"It is a reflection of the important role that she will play moving forward." pic.twitter.com/0YIQiwx5pr
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THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
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One person was killed and three people were injured in a serious traffic accident on Highway 6 Thursday afternoon.
A 43-year-old man was critically injured in the accident. He was evacuated by Magen David Adom paramedics to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, where doctors were forced to declare his death. He has been identified as Haim Har Kesef, a veteran volunteer at United Hatzalah.
Har Kesef's daughter, a 17-year-old girl in serious condition, a 20-year-old man in mild to moderate condition and a three-year-old toddler in similar condition were treated by the MDA staff and also evacuated to Rambam Hospital.".
Senior MDA medic Ruslan Singerman said: "I was driving on Highway 6 when I reached the entrance checkpoint to the tunnel which was closed while at the same time I received an MDA report of the accident. I went inside the new tunnel and saw the serious accident."
He said, "The wounded were lying on the road with one of them unconscious, with no pulse and not breathing and the others were conscious. We immediately began medical examinations for all four of them and performed advanced resuscitation operations on a human wounded man."
"Together with the large MDA teams that arrived at the scene, we continued the medical treatment and evacuated the wounded to Rambam Hospital with one of them in critical condition, the girl in serious condition and the other two in moderate to mild condition," Singerman added.
United Hatzalah founder Eli Beer was also one of the first responders on the scene and said: "While I was traveling with my family to the north of Israel for a vacation, United Hatzalah's Dispatch and Command Center alerted me to a car accident that took place near our location. When I arrived at the scene I immediately began CPR on a 40-year-old man who had no pulse due to his injuries. My wife Gitty and my children who are also EMTs began treating a woman who was moderately injured and a baby who was in light condition as a result of the accident."
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ארויס פין בבל pic.twitter.com/FCFQ5XzOU4
— Hasidic2 (@hasidic_1) March 30, 2021
ווידיאוס פין די לב טהור קולט, ווען עטליכע עסקנים האבן פרובירט צי צוריק נעמן די קינדער פין משפחת טעלער וואס זיי האבן פארכאפט אין שבת pic.twitter.com/Jz62mJEQNA
— Hasidic2 (@hasidic_1) March 30, 2021
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הנעדר עונה לשם מאיר שמחה קצבורג כבן 17, ועל פי הידוע הוא יצא היום מביתו בבית שמש ומאז נותק עמו הקשר ואבדו עקבותיו.
The missing youth answers to Meir Simcha and he is 17 years old, he left his house yesterday
תיאורו: גובהו כ-1.75 מטר, גוון עורו בהיר, מבנה גופו רזה. ככל הידוע, בעת שיצא מהבית לבש חולצה לבנה ומכנס שחור ותיק גב בצבע תכלת.
He is approx 1.75 meters, he is light skinned, an is thin...when he left, he wore a white shirt with black pants and had a blue knapsack
"כל היודע דבר על מקום הימצאו מתבקש לדווח למוקד 100 של המשטרה או לתחנת בית שמש בטלפון: 02-9902222", נמסר מהמשטרה.
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THANKS SO MUCH,, IT MEANS THE WORLD TO US IN THESE DIFFICULT TIMES
Yemen’s millennia-old Jewish population has come down to only four elderly men, after the last few remaining Jewish families were expelled this week by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports.
According to the report, one expelled family includes 13 men and women who agreed to leave Yemen if the Houthis freed a Jew who had been in prison for some six years.
The Saudi newspaper reported that the Houthis have made it a goal to wipe out the Yemenite Jewish community entirely. Until recently, the Jewish families resisted pressure to leave. However, when the relatives of the Jewish prisoner, Levy Salam, visited him in prison, the Houthi intelligence services offered to free him if the family would leave the country.
Salam was arrested for publishing an old version of the Torah.
One of the Jews who recently left told Asharq Al-Awsat, “Our choice was between remaining a target for harassment and them not letting Levy out of prison, or leaving, and him being set free.”
“Therefore, we were forced to leave. History will document us as the last Yemenite Jews who clung to their home until the last moment. We refused much temptation in other times, but now we must leave,” the man said.
Recently, another group of Jewish families left Yemen and found a home in the United Arab Emirates.
The latest refugees are looking for a country to take them in, as they do not want to make aliyah.
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.
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