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According to a source, the new Five-In-One Food Court store in Woodridge and Glatt Delight next door just closed up and ran away. A neighboring store there reports that they didn't pay their rent or their distributors.
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A Hasidic couple is getting married in Ste. Agathe next week in an outdoor ceremony, and the whole town is invited.

Not only that: The local council is providing the wedding location (an arts centre by the lake that is normally used for exhibits and concerts); The bride is printing up a manual for non-Jews to understand the ritual; And two rabbis - one Canadian, one American - will officiate what is being billed as a bridge-building event between cultures.

"I think it's a great opportunity to get more openness on everybody's part," the bride, Hana Sellem, 26, told The Gazette yesterday. "From every community, everyone can learn something from it, and I'm sure they're going to enjoy it." The news comes as Ste. Agathe weathers some negative fallout from an incident two weeks ago, when a young Montreal Jew was attacked by a gang of youths while walking to synagogue down the town's main street.

The man, 23-year-old McGill University engineering student Mendy Haouzi, was cut in the face by a teenage assailant who slapped and punched him before running off with his friends.

Police are investigating.

Anti-Semitism is a hot-button issue in the province, partly fuelled by coverage of so-called "reasonable accommodation" controversies involving ultra- orthodox Jews in Montreal.

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=20fa6795-7e0f-4f27-91a6-37cd0f3e75c0
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Eight years ago when Al Gore selected then-Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman as his Vice Presidential running mate, an Orthodox Jewish Rabbinical court formally excommunicated Lieberman over his stands on partial birth abortion and homosexuality. The excommunication is said to stand to this day.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin spokesman for the Rabbinical Alliance of America and the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada, organizations representing over 1000 Orthodox Rabbis, told LifeSiteNews.com today that the excommunication is still in effect as Lieberman is in the final running as a potential VP pick for Senator McCain.

In October 2000, the New York Torah Court stated that Lieberman caused "grave scandal" for the Jewish religion "by the fact that, while claiming to be an observant Jew, [he] has been misrepresenting and falsifying to the American people the teachings of the Torah against partial birth infanticide, against special privileges and preferential treatment for flaunting homosexuals, and against religious intermarriage of Jews."

Rabbi Joseph Friedman, a spokesman and participant in the rabbinical court, said in a statement that Lieberman "violated our sacred Torah by his Senate votes upholding partial birth infanticide and legitimizing homosexuality, which abnormal and unhealthy behavior the Torah strongly condemns as sinful and immoral."

Rabbi Yehuda LevinRabbi Levin recalled his own participation in that process. “We excommunicated him to show that serious Orthodox Jews consider what Lieberman was doing a betrayal of the most basic values of our holy Torah. That excommunication, even though not widely acknowledged, is still one hundred percent spiritually valid.”

He explained to LifeSiteNews.com, “serious religious Jews who understand that the most important issues facing our country are the moral issues and know Senator Lieberman’s long and sad record of embracing partial birth abortion and the homosexual agenda realize that he’s the wrong choice for Vice President or for any high position in a McCain Administration.”

Rabbi Levin expressed concern that Christian pro-family leaders in America may be tempted to soft-pedal criticism of Lieberman due to his Jewish faith. “We call upon Christian pro-family leaders such as Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Don Wildmon, Tony Perkins et al. to raze McCain at the Republican Convention, he said.

“To revolt and say that Lieberman should he be appointed is unacceptable. It is only by respecting the pro-family values of Americans that McCain deserves to be President. If he should betray us I don’t think it bodes well for his political future or the future of the country.”

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08082813.html
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Nuchem Rosenberg says goodbye to the listeners of his wildly popular telephone hotline show claiming that his life was being threatened and that he would be killed if he did not stop broadcasting.


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An elderly civil engineer allegedly beaten by a man for taking photos of a Brooklyn construction site is still waiting for his day in court - three years later.

"I'm discouraged and I'm disgusted," said Harold Weinberg, 70, the victim of the 2005 assault. "They're thinking maybe I'll drop dead in the meantime."

The dustup between the Orthodox victim and the Hasidic suspect took place while Weinberg was taking pictures in Borough Park, where neighbors complained that construction was damaging their property.

The accused attacker, construction manager Isidor Farkas, "came after me with fists flailing, scoring direct hit after direct hit," Weinberg said, adding that Farkas also stole his $500 camera.

Police sources said Farkas was caught with the camera, but papers filed by cops show that Weinberg didn't report stolen property - a discrepancy he characterized as a mistake. The Brooklyn DA later added a robbery charge.

Cops also lost the recording of a witness' 911 call, and Farkas' lawyers kept delaying.

Then the judge tossed out the robbery charge, ruling that prosecutors waited too long to add it. The case is on hold.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08252008/news/regionalnews/justice_delayed_for_beat_victim_126002.htm
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The Crooklyn Beagle reports that Jewish singers have had it already with all the attention that Hasidic Pop star Lifa Seltzer has been getting due to all the Rabbinic bans. The Orthodox Union of Singrs, OUs, as they are now collectively called, say that it is unfair that Lifa should now be all the way at the top just because they tried to bring him down. "It's just plain not right!", said a noticeably upset Mortimer Pen Davis. "I have been stealing songs for decades from Goyishe rock bands, but have never seen such a surge in popularity due to a major league Rabbinical ban." The former 'King of Hasidic Music' continued, "Yeah, I know I was banned in my day, but it really did nothing for me compared to this."

The Beagle then interviews Sephardy singing sensation Yahab Shnooky, who is on his way to Israel to perform at a banned concert. "You see", Mr. Shnooky slyly replies, "I have the fortune of being Sephardy and therefore I am not bound to the Ashkenazy Hasidic bans. While all the other singers are tied in knots, I have a chief Rabbi that I can go to as a shield against the madness." He continues, "I did although cash-in somewhat on the whole ban story because they tried to bring me down but couldn't, so ultimately I guess I have nothing to be jealous of Lifa for." "You see", he continued, "even though I have no idea how to dance onstage, I am now a star too." Yahab did however explain to the Beagle that being Sephardic does have a downside. He said that because of his Sephardic heritage he can't eat cream cheese and lox due to the Beis Yosef's ban which they strictly adhere to.

Another Hasidic singer named Feedle, who recently released an album after years of silence, weighed in on the issue. "This is why people have no respect for the justice system", he said with noticeable agitation in his voice. "Here I am with multiple accusations of statutory rape of young girls, and never have I been banned as badly as Lifa. Not even one Rav has come out against me. Now I ask you is that fair? Do I not deserve at least a tiny little Kol Korah? How long will I have to suffer in infamy?"

The last Hasidic singer to graciously give of his precious time for the interview was all-time Hasidic mega-star Afharam Preet. "Oy what can I say?", Mr. Preet thoughtfully said while tugging on his ample beard. "You see, it was bashert from the one above that Lifa should become such a big star. No ban in the world can take away from someone something that is coming to them. Everyone thought that the bans were worthless. You see Chevra, they are worth something. They helped to bring a 'Poshite Yid' that is mesameach thousands daily to true gadlus."

The Crooklyn Beagle tried to contact other Hasidic singers such Hatisfahu, but he was busy searching for himself among various Hasidic sects while getting buzzed from banana peels and besomim. The Beagle also tried to contact BEBI, Wisfoel Strikiler and Shmolo Gacks but they were nervously clutching their CD's that they had recorded years ago and were heard chanting, "We are not over, we are not gone!"

DISCLAIMER: This entire article is purely fictional and was meant as a political satire only. All characters and facts mentioned above are entirely fictional. Any resemblance in the above to any person dead or alive is purely coincidental.
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Hey NYPD, we appreciate you keeping our neighborhood safe with your horses, but please, clean up after yourselves.


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Hispanics who worked at the Agriprocessors plant prior to the May 12 immigration raid, told stories of sexual and financial coercion. Some workers who came to and left Postville in the weeks following the raid have spoken of broken promises. The stories told by minors who claim to be former employees at the kosher meatpacker have, at least in part, fueled an ongoing investigation into 57 cases of child labor law violations.

According to Rabbi Menachem Weissmandl, however, information surrounding the recent compensation spat between management and Jewish employees at the plant falls so squarely within the sacred that it cannot be discussed.

“As the supervising rabbi for all glatt kosher meat and strictly kosher poultry at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, I am responsible for the well-being of the slaughterers (shochtim) and supervising (mashgichim) rabbis,” said Weissmandl in an e-mail to Iowa Independent on Thursday. “To protect the integrity of the kashruth, their relationship is strictly with us. Under no circumstances can we permit that this relationship be compromised and thus is off limits to outside scrutiny, as is prescribed by Jewish law.”

Delivered by Menachem Lubinsky, president of the marketing firm Lubicom and a spokesman for Agriprocessors, the statements from Weissmandl came in response to an inquiry submitted by Iowa Independent in relation to Jewish workers walking off the job Wednesday.

When the Agriprocessors plant was at full production, it was believed as many as 70 rabbis were needed to oversee and perform the sacramental slaughter of livestock according to halakha, or Jewish law. Plant officials freely admit that the plant has not been at such high production levels since a federal immigration raid in May resulted in the detention of nearly 400 of the company’s estimated 900 workers.

“It is no secret that Agriprocessors was forced to cut back production of meat and poultry after more than a third of its labor force was seized in a May 12th raid by [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” Lubinsky said. “While the company has made big strides in hiring new workers and restoring production, it is still significantly behind May 12th levels.”

It has been this inability to secure a stable workforce that led to what Lubinsky described as a compensation “lag” and the ultimate protest by the Jewish workers this week.

http://iowaindependent.com/4414/situation-at-agriprocessors-off-limits-to-outside-scrutiny-says-rabbi
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Matisyahu and local beatboxer Komakozie

There's something about catching a show at the Florida Room, the laid-back, SoBe speakeasy, that reminds you of a bar from the 40s or 50s. The decor and atmosphere lends itself to a time of yesteryear where intimate performances weren't out of the ordinary, they where the norm.

Last nights show with Hasidic reggae star Matisyahu was right on par with that vibe. From the moment he stepped to the makeshift stage inside of the packed (and I mean wall to wall) venue, you knew you were getting a special set. There was no band, no special effects or lighting, just Matisyahu and his guitarist, Aaron Dugan, sitting down, both with their eyes closed, having a good time.

The last time I interviewed Matis a few months ago, he mentioned that he had just finished recording a bunch of songs for a new album due out this fall and was hoping to tour a bit and try those songs out on new audiences. I suspect that's what this show was all about, and although he did perform some of his more popular songs, a lot of it was just impromptu half-song/half jam stuff. It was all based more on feel than anything. And he didn't seem to care if people got it or not.

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2008/08/last_night_matisyahu_at_the_fl.php
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An elderly male fell on 13th Avenue in Boro-Park. Hatzalah arrived at the scene in under twenty seconds and treated and transported the man to the hospital. The man was not seriously injured.


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Police are looking for a man who sexually assaulted a Jewish girl on 17th Avenue in Boro-Park. It is unclear at this time whether the perpetrator is the same as from the other previous assaults in Boro-Park. Police are looking for any leads on the case. If anyone has any information about this fiend, it is imperative that they come forward with the information, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant it may be, every little bit can help to capture this man.
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As if gas wasn't expensive enough already.


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New York Post writes article on story the Chaptzem Blog broke to the public over two weeks ago.



The NYPD is adding 10 Orthodox Jews, including one woman, to their ranks. That's the largest Orthodox contingent ever in the department's latest cadet class.

When Ari Husarsky told his parents he wanted to be a cop, they were all verklempt.

"My mom flipped," the 24-year-old recalled as he stood outside the Police Academy on East 20th Street near Gramercy Park.

When the shock wore off and he had promised he would still keep kosher on meal breaks and, yes, in doughnut shops, his parents gave him their blessing.

"My mother was also against it for the obvious reasons," added Brighton Beach resident Max Silva, 28, a former caterer at Meisner's in Brooklyn. He said they thought it was just too dangerous.

"It was just one of those childhood dreams I never grew out of. Everybody was against it because nobody thinks of Jewish people as police officers," he said.

"I always wanted to be a cop, but my wife, Sharona, was against it," Silva added. "But I convinced her. It took her two years. She thinks it's a dangerous job. I was sick of my other job because there was no room to grow. I wanted a future."

The Police Department has welcomed the new recruits, who are excused from working after dusk on Fridays and on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.

"This class is going to be the ice breaker," cadet Shmuel Tenenbaum said proudly. "The next class is going to have 30 or 40."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08172008/news/regionalnews/nypd_chosen_guns_124794.htm
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When police chiefs from across the country meet in Montreal next weekend, they'll focus on the hot-button issue of diversity - and get lessons from the Mont-real force.

As part of a program sketched out long before this week's crisis over the shooting of Fredy Villanueva and the ensuing riot, assistant chief Denis Desroches will tell the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police what Montreal has been doing to ensure individuals aren't being singled out on the basis of race.

He'll also outline the force's multicultural development plan, adopted in March to reflect the department's desire "to live up to the new multicultural image of our metropolis."

Montreal police were criticized last year for an internal newsletter that recommended female police officers defer to their male partners in dealings with Hasidic men. Last spring, a federal court ordered the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to compensate a Muslim man deemed to have been victim of discrimination during training. The Mounties were also ordered to adopt cultural sensitivity training to promote "a culture of respect and tolerance for diversity."

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=0f551c83-6e25-4f85-9f51-43c0cb4aac3b
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Two incumbent Brooklyn Democratic elected officials facing tough primary challenges in districts that could turn on the Jewish vote showed up at City Hall this morning to praise UJCARE, a new Satmar social services organization, for it very successful voter registration drive.

Rep. Ed Towns and Sen. Marty Connor posed for photos with the UJCARE representatives, who announced they've signed up 5,312 new voters and delivered their registration forms today to the city Board of Elections.

Also on hand were Towns' opponent, Kevin Powell, who has been working hard to woo the Hasidic vote; and Councilman Simcha Felder, an Orthodox Jew whose ultimate success in ousting Sen. Kevin Parker rests largely on the idea that Parker and his other challenger, Councilman Kendall Stewart, will split the African American vote, while Felder nets all the Jewish voters.

Board Executive Director Marcus Cederqvist confirmed a large number of registrations had been received today, but he didn't have a firm count yet.

The registration deadline for new voters to be eligible to participate in the Sept. 9 primary is this Friday (Aug. 15).

UJCARE's press release noted that a recent Times article quoted Jerry Skurnik as saying the Satmar Hasidim represent 3,000 to 4,000 votes in a Democratic primary. Hoping to boost that number - and its political clout - UJCARE started a major registration drive several weeks ago and aims to sign up as many as 15,000 new voters.

UJCARE Executive Director Howard Katz said younger voters are the main focus of, and force behind, the drive, adding: "They realize, maybe for the first time, that they hold their future in their hands. Their vote counts. Their vote makes a difference."

Despite the fact that it is new and has no track record, UJCARE received $210,000 worth of Council discretionary funds in the latest budget, while a longstanding and rival group, UJO, saw its share of the member item pie dramatically decreased.

As one reader noted: Now that we know who stands to benefit from UJCARE's registration drive, the whole member item thing makes a lot more sense.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/08/post-20.html
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Councilman Simcha Felder has people hanging signs for his State Senate campaign at a Martin Luther King Jr. concert in the Wingate neighborhood in Brooklyn.

  
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Jerusalem II Pizza, also known as Pizza World on Broadway, was closed down by the New York City Department of Health according to a source. The Kosher food establishment, which has consistently had Department of Health violations, was hit this time with 46 violation points, including the presence of live animals and vermin on their premises.
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While perusing the aisles in your grocery store, the beautiful box of Say Cheese cheesecake quickly grabs your eye. The pretty picture of a gourmet slice of cheesecake makes your mouth water and almost justify the $4.00 price tag for the item. Sadly the actual product is nothing like the picture or the box design at all. There is no slice of cheesecake in the box, as is in the picture, but rather there is a tiny little plastic plate filled halfway to the top with a very salty cheese mixture that doesn't even remotely resemble a cheesecake. If you are really interested in wasting your hard earned cash, there are much better ways to throw four bucks in the garbage than to buy this horrible concoction that is an insult to Kosher consumers.

 
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Convicted Child Molester Yechiel Brauner was the Baal Tefilah for Eichah this year in Shul.

Sent in by a Chaptzem reader

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Wishing all an easy fast - next year in Yerushalayim.
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Schedule an appointment with the Kaalove Rebbe online

Click to enlarge

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Police set up a mobile command center in a Brooklyn neighborhood Tuesday after a local teenager was sexually assaulted.

Authorities say a 14-year-old Hasidic girl was picked up in Borough Park at 10 p.m. Sunday, forced off the street and then sexually assaulted a few blocks away.

The incident was reported to police around 2 a.m. Monday, but they do not have a clear description of the suspect.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said police are hoping the victim can help them find who the suspect is.

"We're trying to get all of the facts in this case,” said Kelly. “She's been traumatized by the event and it's a little challenging to get all of the specifics. That's what we're working on now."

Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind set up a $10,000 reward for information leading to the attacker’s arrest.

“People need to be alert. Things like this unfortunately happen,” said Hikind. “That’s the reality, so people need to be aware and keep their eyes open.”

Residents were shaken in the wake of the attack.

“It’s just very, very shocking that it actually has happened here in our neighborhood, where we live and let our kids play,” said local Rachel Bineth. “We’d love to have, I guess, more patrol so these things don’t happen.”

"It definitely does worry me. It's a great concern,” said resident Naftali Orlander. “You never know the dangers that’s lurking outside when you send the kids, innocently, to play in the street where you think it's safe. Especially in this neighborhood -- it's usually safe."

“I will not let them go out after dark. Absolutely not,” said local Milky Spira. “And I’m sure most of the mothers in this neighborhood wouldn’t allow them.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.

http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=84584
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I am one of the "Ten Frum Police Officers" that are currently in the NYPD Academy class. I will not disclose the names of my fellow Yiddin, as that would be a breach of privacy, though I am open to both questions and comments concerning this topic.

Kol Tov,
Eliezer S. Zinstein

Please post your questions and comments here.
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The new Yankee stadium nearing completion



Picture of an Old Shul, Congregation Sons of Israel, on Walton Avenue, in the Shadow of Yankee Stadium. From the time when the Grand Concourse was all Jewish.


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The "Bad Hatter" may be wearing only a government-issued cap for the next nine years.

Thomas Kenney, who earned the nickname because of the various hats he wore while trying to rob 13 banks on Long Island and in New York City, pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Central Islip to committing nine bank robberies and attempting four more.

In an apparent attempt to disguise himself, Kenney, 58, of East Northport, was photographed on surveillance cameras wearing a turban, an Indiana Jones-type fedora, and a black hat worn by many Hasidic Jews.

FBI agents said the robberies, which occurred between 2006 and this year, netted Kenney a total of $53,000.

During the robberies, Kenney told tellers he had either a bomb or a nerve gas canister.

In pleading guilty, Kenney told Judge Thomas Platt that the devices were "false ... not a loaded bomb ... a pretend bomb."

Kenney faces up to 9 years in prison as part of a plea bargain.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-lihat025786545aug02,0,3916134.story
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According to an inside source, the new NYPD Police Academy class has in it ten Frum people, two of whom are Frum women, who will be graduating as Police Officers with the next class. The source further says, that Hasidic Police Officer Yoel Witriol's brother has decided to join the Police force as well and is amongst those ten Frum people in the new class. The two Frum women in the class claim to have gotten a Heter from their Rav to wear Police uniform pants, with the reason being that they differ from the male pants and are manufactured specifically for women cops and therefore do not fall into the category of 'Loi Silbash'.
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