tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65911292012-01-27T16:15:53.015-05:00The Official Chaptzem WebLog -- The One and Only Heimishe News Center.Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.comBlogger37521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-50424305146268148882012-01-27T13:48:00.001-05:002012-01-27T13:48:28.207-05:00

A 53-year-old man, Noah Foxman, was left to die on a Brooklyn street after two motorists plowed into him in a grisly hit-and-run Thursday night, police sources and witnesses said.A white van first hit the man, clipping him while he was in the crosswalk at Coney Island Ave. and Avenue K in Midwood, witnesses said. As he struggled to get up, a dark-colored sedan mowed him down and kept on going,

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-38579549915008672392012-01-27T08:48:00.000-05:002012-01-27T08:49:17.109-05:00

Friday afternoon can be a stressful time in Stamford Hill, a working class neighborhood in northern London.The ultra orthodox Jews, are in a rush to buy challah, rugalach and other Jewish baked goods so they can take it easy after sunset, when the Sabbath starts. Resting on the Sabbath is part of an effort to live as closely as possible to Jewish law.But despite the community's traditional ways,

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-65123970777300975122012-01-26T08:31:00.001-05:002012-01-26T08:31:34.466-05:00

The cost of an average wedding in Israel may reach some NIS 100,000 (about $26,750) – a sum not every family can afford, especially with the recent social protest. The ultra-Orthodox sector has found a way to cut these expenses. Large Hasidic movements – such as Ger, Vizhnitz, Satmar, Sanz and Belz – recently issued special rules aimed at cutting wedding costs. The Sanz movement, for example,

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-11172346404082725822012-01-25T08:32:00.001-05:002012-01-25T08:32:41.907-05:00

The yuppie goyim are TAKING OVER Crown Heights, turning the once idyllic neighborhood into a wicked G-dless hellhole known among interlopers as "ProCro," a veritable Sodom where they party half-naked on rooftops and corrupt the area youth! So says one local landlord, who has fired off an open letter begging fellow property owners not to rent to these licentious libertines. In a desperate missive

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-17117450504425804582012-01-24T08:33:00.000-05:002012-01-24T08:34:01.682-05:00

It was revealed, this week, that the security forces of Azerbaijan arrested three Azerbi citizens on suspicion of planning to attack Rabbi Shneor Segal of the Chabad Lubavitch hasidic movement and Rabbi Mati Lewis, principal of the Or Avner school in Baku. The national security office said the three were sent by Iran in revenge for the recent deaths of Iranian nuclear scientists.During the

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-36261354432350114342012-01-23T08:42:00.001-05:002012-01-23T08:42:29.226-05:00

Head of the Israel Defense Forces' personnel directorate Major-General Orna Barbibai said on Monday that the IDF should enlist every Israel "into meaningful service."

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-64868413286643881732012-01-22T19:47:00.001-05:002012-01-22T19:47:59.817-05:00

Amsterdam’s chief rabbi who was suspended last week because of his controversial views on homosexuality believes his life would be in danger if he came to the Netherlands, the NRC reports on Sunday.Aryeh Ralbag told the paper: ‘I have strong indications that my wife and I would not be sure of our lives if we came to the Netherlands now.’ He declined to say what the threats were but did say he

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-40409755381810635942012-01-21T20:23:00.001-05:002012-01-21T20:23:56.289-05:00

A drive through this picturesque central New Jersey “shore” town (pop. 750) leaves many with a puzzling thought: How can these people afford such grandeur? The latest fallout from Operation Bid Rig (OBR), a joint Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey sting investigation provides the answer. While honest, hard-working

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-79513395442961094882012-01-21T20:21:00.000-05:002012-01-21T20:23:01.496-05:00

A bridge built illegally at the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was demolished without incident on Thursday.Some 100 policemen came to guard the operation, fearing violent ultra-Orthodox protests, but no demonstrators showed up and the demolition was completed in an hour.The bridge was built to enable cohanim, members of the Jewish priestly caste, to access the popular site without passing a

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-18144462014998680262012-01-20T10:44:00.001-05:002012-01-20T10:44:27.234-05:00

A multimillion dollar nationwide advertising campaign featuring an inescapable radio jingle and a freckle-faced boy in a convertible has brought the Orthodox Jewish charity known as Kars4Kids more than 60,000 donated vehicles a year. Those gifts, worth $29 million, support Orthodox outreach to non-Orthodox Jews, including a fancy summer camp for Jewish children.

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-26484362906119845962012-01-19T18:56:00.000-05:002012-01-19T18:57:52.287-05:00

An official complaint was made to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) by a man, described by LBC News, as an 'ultra-Orthodox Jew'. The complaint claimed that the poster was objectionable to himself and others of the Orthodox Jewish north London Community as their beliefs do not allow them to view pictures of women in lingerie.The complaint went further saying that the advert was

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-86934941720746826642012-01-18T08:34:00.001-05:002012-01-18T08:34:42.095-05:00

At the height of his career Shyne was signed to a deal under Diddy's label Bad Boy Records, but things went sour when the "Bad Boyz" rapper had to serve an almost nine-year sentence in prison after assault and gun possession charges that stemmed from a club shooting in New York in 1999. Diddy was also charged in the incident but he was later acquitted leaving Shyne to sit still behind bars.

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-64136163729614514152012-01-17T08:50:00.001-05:002012-01-17T08:50:27.892-05:00

A wave of excitement is gripping parts of the hareidi religious world as a historic reconciliation between the hassidic dynasties of Belz and Satmar is underway.The Admor of Belz sent a delegation of ten dayanim (rabbinic judges), headed by his personal assistant, to the graves of Satmar Admorim, Baal Ha"Divrei Yoel" and Baal Ha"Berach Moshe," at the Kiryas Yoel cemetery in New York City.The

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-66830505203410462072012-01-15T12:38:00.000-05:002012-01-15T12:39:25.959-05:00

The sheriff's deputy who arrested actor Mel Gibson and was the subject of his anti-Semitic rant should be able to take his workplace discrimination case before a jury, a Los Angeles judge ruled. James Mee, who is Jewish, says he was subject to religions discrimination and a hostile work environment after arresting Gibson in 2006. He wants to take his case before a judge and jury.Mee claims that

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-36928383637839121892012-01-14T22:33:00.002-05:002012-01-15T12:35:15.242-05:00

The younger brother of a convicted sex offender was busted for destroying evidence that may have implicated his brother in another sex crime, said a police source.Myer Zimmer, 37, was arrested on Friday after he allegedly trashed clothing that police believe was evidence in an investigation into his older brother, David Zimmer.The big bro, 40, was arrested on January 2, after allegedly

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-56013052129404845292012-01-13T08:46:00.001-05:002012-01-13T08:46:30.950-05:00

U.S. claims to the Schneerson library are provocative and spoil cultural ties with Russia as the sacred Jewish books are the unalienable property of the country, Russian Culture Minister Alexander Avdeyev said on Friday. The Schneerson Library is a collection of books and religious documents assembled by the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement over two centuries prior to World War II in Belarus. It

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-38089830219776590182012-01-12T08:39:00.001-05:002012-01-12T08:39:34.009-05:00

MORDECHAI RUBINSTEIN is the rare fashion blogger who first made a name for himself offline. Raised Hasidic, Mr. Rubinstein was in rabbinical school in Israel before moving to New York in 1994, where he fell in with a downtown street scene. He worked as a clerk at the now-shuttered New Republic Clothiers in SoHo, and then as a publicist for Jack Spade, where he made a colorful mark. One Father's

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-71084719144152110402012-01-11T08:41:00.001-05:002012-01-11T08:41:21.321-05:00

At least four perps were involved in the Sunday graffiti spree that left four Midtown storefronts vandalized with swastikas, cops say.Now, police want your help finding them: Cops say that four suspects are responsible for what's now the most recent incident in the rash of anti-Semitic hate crimes that have taken place in the city since October -- such as an attack on Orthodox Jews in Midwood,

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-47460279923744676962012-01-10T13:15:00.001-05:002012-01-10T13:15:26.298-05:00

A New Jersey Chabad rabbi's kidney donation to an Israeli living on a secular Moshav in central Israel didn't make news as the headline-grabbing, purportedly bitter religious vs. secular Jewish divide always does. But on Tuesday, Jan 3, Rabbi Avi Richler, 29, co-director of Chabad of Gloucester County, NJ, underwent a successful donation of his kidney to a Jewish man suffering from end stage

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-41688418565880802062012-01-10T12:05:00.001-05:002012-01-10T12:05:58.921-05:00

The Israel Medical Association has barred its member physicians from participating in an infertility conference geared for haredi Orthodox men and women that did not invite female speakers. The annual Innovations in Gynecology and Halacha conference of the Puah Institute for Medicine and Halacha is scheduled for Wednesday. Some 1,000 men and women are expected to attend the conference, which

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-698306585440611812012-01-09T08:35:00.001-05:002012-01-09T08:35:25.916-05:00

Israeli police say three men have been arrested in a suspected pedophilia ring thought to have preyed on dozens of Jerusalem children.Police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby says the ring is suspected of molesting 70 children between the ages of 2 and 7 in their religious Jewish neighborhood.In all, six men have been arrested, including three on Sunday. Ben-Ruby says it's not clear whether more

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-12894664375741210822012-01-08T20:46:00.000-05:002012-01-08T21:08:14.904-05:00

Israel has vowed to crack down on cyber terrorists after hackers stole the credit card details of tens of thousands of Israeli consumers and posted them online.Hackers claiming to be from a known Arab cyber group infiltrated various consumer websites to get the details.A Saudi Arabian computer hacker, who goes by the name of Ox Omar and is reportedly just 19 years old, has apparently carried out

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-18027350782975393822012-01-07T22:27:00.000-05:002012-01-07T22:29:49.943-05:00

Nassau County Police are investigating swastikas on a 1998 Mercedes Benz parked at the Babylonian Jewish Center in Great Neck.Police say they believe the two swastikas were scratched into the car sometime between 4:30 p.m. Friday and 11:00 a.m. Saturday.According to detectives, a 39-year-old male victim left the car parked last night before attending services and his 16-year-old son made the

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-4701956965312269742012-01-06T08:39:00.001-05:002012-01-06T08:39:32.385-05:00

The former jailhouse rabbi who lost his job for granting favors to Jewish inmates pleaded not guilty this morning to charges he scammed more than $220,000 in federal housing benefits.Rabbi Leib Glanz -- who quit as a corrections chaplain after The Post exposed a bar mitzvah bash he arranged inside the Tombs -- is accused with his younger brother of running a 15-year fraud on the Section 8

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-70320982483963071432012-01-05T08:54:00.001-05:002012-01-05T08:54:13.050-05:00

A judge slammed the breaks on the city's controversial plan to build housing at Williamsburg's Broadway Triangle Wednesday. Opponents went to court to block the massive housing project, charging it illegally favored Hasidic families over blacks and Latinos. "The Court agrees," Judge Emily Goodman wrote in an injunction halting the project, saying the development  "will not only not foster

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-61649586306280218012012-01-04T08:41:00.001-05:002012-01-04T08:41:28.309-05:00

Abraham Foxman, the leader of the Anti-Defamation League leader, may have been targeted by a white supremacist planning to kill Jews and blacks, the FBI said, according to the Jewish news website JTA. Danny Lee Warner, 33, told his wife about the plan before being arrested on Dec. 28 outside of an Arizona McDonald's, according to the website. Warner's wife had received a letter postmarked Dec

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-41825712695041650952012-01-03T14:51:00.000-05:002012-01-03T14:52:09.395-05:00

Hasidic Handlebars? "Handlebars with loose, loopy bits of handlebar tape," says velominati.com, a blog for hardcore road bike riders. Think of the Profanisaurus dictionary of swear words from Viz, but for bikes.As well as a funny lexicon of road bike speak, the Velominati blog has a list of 89 rules, first codified in 2009. It's a set of rules that went viral back in the day and crops up on

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-30527099815247282732012-01-02T21:32:00.000-05:002012-01-02T21:33:23.176-05:00

Little Na’ama Margolese is not the first Israeli child to be harassed on her way to school by members of a fundamentalist ultra-Orthodox sect who resent her presence in or around their neighborhood. But the 8-year-old girl is the first to have her plight featured on Israeli television and turned into an international news story. And she is definitely the first to have a determined, organized

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-51899499656447641002012-01-01T10:05:00.000-05:002012-01-01T10:06:18.857-05:00

Israeli Holocaust survivors and political leaders expressed outrage Sunday over a Jerusalem demonstration in which ultra-Orthodox Jews donned Star of David patches and uniforms similar to those the Nazis forced Jews to wear during World War II.Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered Saturday night to protest what they say is a nationwide campaign directed against their lifestyle. The practices,

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-38612363666095800552011-12-31T19:35:00.000-05:002011-12-31T19:36:55.614-05:00

The bearded men and young boys in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood on Saturday were ostensibly gathered to protest about the jailing of a member of their community for leading vigilante attacks against a local religious bookshop, which was considered not religious enough by hardliners.But ultra-Orthodox news website Kikar Hashabbat said that the main purpose of the rally had

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-6805130117662391402011-12-30T08:37:00.001-05:002011-12-30T08:37:49.048-05:00

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man was arrested in Jerusalem yesterday for allegedly calling a 19-year-old female soldier a slut when she refused to move to the back of a public bus. It was the first such arrest since the issue of gender separation demands by the ultra-religious became a public issue in Israel in recent days. The soldier, Doron Matalon, notified the driver, who stopped the bus

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-67677736231456830602011-12-29T08:47:00.001-05:002011-12-29T08:47:56.575-05:00

It pains us to say so, but there's reason to worry about Matisyahu's show at the Kravis Center tonight.Usually one to stay out of the limelight, the (ex?) Hasidic Jewish hip-hop and reggae artist has made significant waves these past few weeks both in the music world and his personal life, leaving fans and the media scratching their heads and, in one unlucky photographer's case, ducking for cover

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-29455588725650549542011-12-28T08:22:00.001-05:002011-12-28T08:22:53.382-05:00

The Talmud is a formidable body of work: 63 volumes of rabbinical discourse and disputation that form Judaism's central scripture after the Torah. It has been around for 1,500 years and is studied every day by tens of thousands of Jews. But trying to navigate through its coiling labyrinth can be enormously difficult because the one thing this monumental work lacks is a widely accepted and

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-15698308311467093992011-12-27T08:32:00.001-05:002011-12-27T08:32:12.086-05:00

Israeli police and ultra-orthodox jews have clashed on the outskirts of Jerusalem after demands to crack down on religious zealots accused of harassing women. Several people were arrested and one policeman was injured by a flying rock in Beit Shemesh. The Israeli prime minister ordered the action after hearing claims that some of the orthodox men targeted women and girls they believe are

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-12992095052909576812011-12-26T12:27:00.000-05:002011-12-26T12:28:29.431-05:00

A group of American college students stands in a semicircle, clapping and hopping on one foot as they sing in Yiddish: "Az der rebe tantst, tantsn ale khsidim!"In English, the lyrics mean: "When the rebbe dances, so do all the Hasidim."This isn't music appreciation or even a class at a synagogue. It's the first semester of Yiddish at Emory University in Atlanta — one of a handful of college

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-19115959014971142662011-12-25T12:28:00.000-05:002011-12-25T12:29:56.311-05:00

An ultra-Orthodox man suspected of a cursing and spitting at a religious woman in the central Israeli town of Beit Shemesh last week, was arrested Saturday night.According to the indictment, a number of men assaulted Alisa Coleman, who was helping girls onto a school bus to the religious-Zionist "Orot Banot" elementary school for girls.According to her attackers she was immodestly dressed.Coleman

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-55624492641112118172011-12-24T22:43:00.003-05:002011-12-24T22:47:34.201-05:00

On Sunday, December 11th, Dr. Brian Grobois decided to go hiking. The 54 year old doctor, who was a psychiatrist and lived with his family in New Rochelle, loved to hike. He was in Washington State at the time because of a simcha, and he planned to wrap up his trip with a vigorous walk on the scenic and picturesque trails of Mount Rainier.But something went terribly wrong.Dr. Grobois lost his way

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-416852041533425152011-12-24T22:33:00.002-05:002011-12-24T22:42:21.974-05:00

The death of a 54-year-old Jewish man on a snowy slope on Mount Rainier this month set the stage for a Pierce County court fight pitting religious belief against scientific certainty. Brian Grobois of New Rochelle, N.Y., died on a solo shoeshoe hike, apparently from hypothermia. His body was recovered Dec. 13.Three days later, a judge upheld an appeal barring Pierce County’s medical examiner from

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-62882097589954120152011-12-23T08:37:00.001-05:002011-12-23T08:37:11.175-05:00

On a sunny afternoon early this week, an ultra-Orthodox woman boarded a bus in the enclave of the Gur Hasidic community in Ashdod and took a seat in the second row. The bus, Egged line 451, was headed for Jerusalem. It quickly became clear that this simple, everyday act - choosing a seat to her liking - was enough to transform her presence in the bus into a palpable challenge to the rest of

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-20087598747426412242011-12-23T08:32:00.001-05:002011-12-23T08:32:52.918-05:00

Jewish reggae star Matisyahu has apologised to a photographer for breaking her camera during a New York concert on Wednesday night (21Dec11), confessing he "reacted impulsively out of frustration". The King Without a Crown rapper was partway through his performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn when he became frustrated with Paper magazine snapper Rachel Smeyne for constantly

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-30880975692052733872011-12-22T08:45:00.001-05:002011-12-22T08:45:50.383-05:00

A lawyer for the Borough Park man accused of butchering little Leiby Kletzky sparked a firestorm yesterday by blaming the accused killer's crime on "inbreeding" in the close-knit Hasidic community."Look, everybody knows when blood relations have offspring, there can be genetic defects. It's something that needs to be investigated down to the ground," said Howard Greenberg, the lawyer for

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-61775096420465131532011-12-21T21:32:00.000-05:002011-12-21T21:33:23.082-05:00

At a taping for the ABC show on August 10, 2010, host Kimmel told audiences that James had met with Rabbi Yishayahu Yosef Pinto to seek "business advice" -- a meeting which had in fact occurred that month, according to the website TMZ.Kimmel then told the audience he too met with Pinto, and he showed a video of himself in a car talking with an individual dressed in Jewish religious clothing and

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-86641202173110640552011-12-21T08:40:00.001-05:002011-12-21T08:40:41.518-05:00

Today, the NY Times delved into the world of a mystical rabbi, his celebrity followers, high-power publicists, and, not least of all, the rabbi's charity's missing millions as it reported on Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto: "The rabbi's close followers are disclosing what they say is the source of many of his troubles. They said they told federal investigators that the rabbi had been the victim of a

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-60824052036419038562011-12-20T08:28:00.001-05:002011-12-20T08:28:13.095-05:00

For the past several months, the Belz Hasidic synagogue on Ahad Ha'am Street in the center of Tel Aviv has been playing a Jewish melody from loudspeakers on the roof of the building just prior to the onset of Shabbat. After neighbors in the area complained, the volume of the music was turned down, but that did not satisfy some

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-91979845187405062962011-12-19T12:54:00.001-05:002011-12-19T12:54:12.857-05:00

A Hasidic teen was fighting for his life this morning after he lost control of a machine in a Brooklyn armory last night.Yanky Stein, 17, was part of a crew cleaning up the Williamsburg site following Saturday night's celebration of the 67th anniversary of the late Satmar founder Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum's escape from Auschwitz, said community spokesman Isaac Abraham. The young man lost control

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-3700607112221120792011-12-17T18:33:00.000-05:002011-12-17T18:35:04.904-05:00

The Lubavitch Jewish Center of Alaska traditionally hosts an art show to celebrate Hanukkah. This year, however, Rabbi Joseph Greenberg wanted to go bigger.So on Tuesday, the first night of the holiday, the center will present Cirque de Hanukkah. A troupe of professional acrobats is flying into Anchorage to perform feats including using their bodies to create a living menorah—the traditional

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-28663911387317091082011-12-16T15:50:00.000-05:002011-12-23T15:51:53.173-05:00

Make sure to pick up your free copy of the Country Yossi Family Magazine and read the brand new original article 'Out and About' written by Chaptzem, the only Heimishe blogger to make the transition from cyberspace to print.

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-79183222471799907512011-12-16T08:54:00.000-05:002011-12-16T08:55:01.035-05:00

IN this toy store, Batman and Spider-Man are not heroes. For one thing, said Barbara Shine, manager of Double Play Toys in Borough Park, Brooklyn, the characters encourage interest in television, and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish families who make up her clientele do not watch television. More important, those toys might also teach lessons Hasidic parents don't want their children to learn Thomas the

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-57982900024542623282011-12-15T13:29:00.000-05:002011-12-15T13:30:00.535-05:00

A New Square judge refused to dismiss a misdemeanor charge Wednesday of violating a court order of protection against an 18-year-old man also charged with attempting to murder a religious dissident by setting him on fire May 22. Shaul Spitzer's lawyer, Kenneth Gribetz, said his client will fight the second-degree criminal contempt charge at trial on Feb. 6 in New Square Court. Spitzer

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-13183306255596362692011-12-15T08:52:00.001-05:002011-12-15T08:52:30.392-05:00

Alleged child molester Hershel Taubenfeld of New Square has turned himself in to Ramapo Police as of 10:30 a.m. this morning. Previously he had fled the area when word of his impending arrest got around.     Sources said Taubenfeld is a well-connected resident of the Hasidic village. Recently a victim of Taubenfeld came forward willing to go through with the prosecution of the case and the

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-79243235890490208592011-12-14T08:37:00.001-05:002011-12-14T08:37:26.862-05:00

Gov. Cuomo said Tuesday he signed into law two controversial bills regulating insurance companies, including one blocking them from requiring policy-holders to get medication from mail-order pharmacies.The other measure, pushed by the Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities, prevents insurers from tacking on extra co-payments or other costs to those who purchase fertility drugs from local drug

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-30937725842864784282011-12-13T21:24:00.001-05:002011-12-13T21:26:18.649-05:00

New York City-based Hasidic reggae superstar Matisyahu (ma-tis-YAH’-hoo) is on a new religious path, but it’s unclear which one.The Jewish singer shaved off his beard and posted the bare-faced photos Tuesday on Twitter. He says on his website he once felt the need for lots of religious rules so he wouldn’t fall apart. Now he says he’s reclaiming himself.But it’s unclear whether he’s leaving

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-64739473241541185982011-12-13T08:38:00.001-05:002011-12-13T08:38:42.051-05:00

Due to popular request and to not conflict with the Mattisyahu concert, the Hasidic Holiday Celebration changed to Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 6:30 pm at 4900 Sioux Drive, Boulder. While most Jews celebrate Rosh Hashonah at the beginning of the school year, Chassidim tend to add extra times for celebration and introspection.  This Wednesday night and Thursday is the 19th day of the month of Kislev

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-47429915986835016002011-12-12T10:37:00.001-05:002011-12-12T10:37:56.781-05:00

The latest installment in a series of controversial legislative efforts in Israel is a proposal to restrict use of loudspeakers in houses of worship, which really means mosques as the other main religions don't use them. Lawmaker Anastassia Michaeli insists her proposal isn't aimed at silencing the Muslim call to prayer for religious or political reasons but for environmental reasons: it's too

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-65566066406721008162011-12-11T12:00:00.002-05:002011-12-11T12:04:04.545-05:00

He looks like a movie star, but many members of Brooklyn’s Jewish community believe he is a monster.Andrew Goodman, 27, who worked for Jewish social-service agencies, is charged with sexually abusing two Orthodox boys for years in Flatbush — one from age 11 to 15, the other from age 13 to 16.Goodman filmed sex acts with the youngsters on a Web cam, according to the 144-count indictment, which

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-32741368948266866952011-12-11T11:57:00.000-05:002011-12-11T11:58:12.564-05:00

In 1985, Avrohom Mondrowitz — a Hasidic “therapist” working in Brooklyn — was indicted for abusing five young boys. Police suspected he abused well over 100 more.Mondrowitz fled to Israel, where he remains a free man to this day.Although nearly all of his alleged victims were children from ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn, not one of them joined his few non-Jewish alleged victims in testifying before the

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-65479728932142816792011-12-10T22:04:00.000-05:002011-12-11T12:05:10.172-05:00

An Orthodox Jewish rabbi initially barred from serving as an Army chaplain because he refused to shave the beard required by his faith was sworn in to the service Friday.1st Lt. Menachem Stern of Brooklyn, N.Y., officially became an Army chaplain in a ceremony at the Shul Jewish Community Center in Surfside.Stern is a member of the Chabad Lubavitch movement of Judaism, whose rabbis are prohibited

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-8583361213444886202011-12-09T08:35:00.001-05:002011-12-09T08:35:30.291-05:00

In some kosher Jerusalem restaurants, even male employees who are not observant Jews must wear a kippa. In some cases restaurant managers cite a desire to show respect for their customers, while in others the request or directive apparently comes from the on-site kashrut inspector, or mashgiah.

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-24032395625063541702011-12-09T08:33:00.001-05:002011-12-09T08:33:09.906-05:00

The subject of a women's place in public dominated Israel's headlines this week after a series of incidents highlighted what some say is the growing repression of Israeli women. The Israeli army, in which women have served since the establishment of the state, has been the focal point of the concern, as it came to light that religiously observant male recruits have walked out of ceremonies

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-53157106077528691272011-12-08T08:39:00.001-05:002011-12-08T08:39:13.802-05:00

The Brooklyn artist collective, Rubulad, is leaving its Flushing Avenue warehouse after six years of throwing late-night reveries — pushed out by their ultra-religious Hasidic neighbors.Rubulad's co-founders Chris Thomas and Sari Rubinstein considered putting in $40,000 to fix up the Flushing building, but personal complaints from their Orthodox neighbors convinced them to move.  "The people

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-15171022510788548232011-12-08T08:36:00.001-05:002011-12-08T08:36:29.136-05:00

Police are on the hunt for a suspected anti-Semitic vandal after several Jewish artifacts were ripped off doorways in a Brighton Beach apartment building over the weekend, in the latest Southern Brooklyn bias crime.Jewish residents of seven units inside 3000 Ocean Parkway woke up the morning after this weekend's Shabbat to find that a vandal had gone through the hallways, ripping down mezuzot. A

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-92225333551422186602011-12-07T17:10:00.001-05:002011-12-07T17:10:28.316-05:00

Last spring in a New Jersey courtroom, a prosecutor and defense attorney battled it out in a series of seemingly routine pre-trial hearings. At issue was a narrow point of law: whether or not a social worker who had evaluated an alleged child molester would be allowed to testify at his trial. Amid the legal wrangling, however, facts emerged that were anything but ordinary — ones perhaps

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-68449620516010675462011-12-06T08:30:00.001-05:002011-12-06T08:30:32.042-05:00

Rabbi Leib Glanz, a fired correction chaplain famous for organizing lavish jailhouse "bar mitzvahs" will pay a $2,500 fine for accepting a gift from an inmate. The gift, valued at $500, was given to Glanz by Tuvia Stern, who was a longtime fugitive before he was apprehended in 2006 for bilking Jewish investors out of some $1.7 million.Glanz had helped organize a 2008 bar mitzvah and a posh party

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-56129168079376284682011-12-05T14:20:00.001-05:002011-12-05T14:20:06.288-05:00

The Hampstead man who swindled millions from Orthodox Jews to fund his lavish lifestyle is now in jail. Perry Newman pleaded guilty to all nine charges of theft, fraud and forgery and on Nov. 30 was sentenced to five years in prison. Newman stole in excess of $6 million from his clients as he represented himself as a financial planner. His largest client was Edith Olanoff, originally from New

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-83101217878715916812011-12-05T14:17:00.001-05:002011-12-05T14:17:49.967-05:00

After a yearlong legal battle, Rabbi Menachem Stern will be enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces as a chaplain this Friday.  Stern has wanted to be an army chaplain since August 2008, but said the U.S. Army initially refused to accept him unless he shaved his beard in accordance with official military codes for dress and appearance. In keeping with Jewish teachings regarding preserving a man's

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-60979233462074417742011-12-04T11:35:00.000-05:002011-12-04T11:36:17.858-05:00

Hasidim living in an upstate Orthodox boomtown say anti-Semitic neighbors are trying to shut them out.The Village of Kiryas Joel claims the adjacent village of Woodbury’s rezoning effort is nothing more than a slap in the face to local Jews.More than 20,000 people are packed into a 1.1-square-mile radius in Kiryas Joel, an Orange County town of strictly observant large families who don’t

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-19504731069402494792011-12-03T22:14:00.003-05:002011-12-03T22:16:02.146-05:00

Jewish women in Britain and the US are being urged to send photographs of themselves holding signs saying ''women should be seen and heard'' in a campaign against efforts by the ultra-orthodox to remove female images from advertising billboards in Jerusalem.The New Israel Fund said it was planning to compile the photographs into posters to display in Jerusalem to show ''this struggle is not just

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-71381201240081686762011-12-02T08:52:00.000-05:002011-12-02T08:53:00.383-05:00

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci on Thursday condemned the desecration of the old Jewish cemetery in Pristina with Nazi graffiti as police launched an investigation into the case."This cowardly attack is an attack against the state of Kosovo, and above all an attack on the traditional values of the citizens of Kosovo," Thaci said in a press release."These acts are an unacceptable low and

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-81094126990931709032011-12-01T08:33:00.001-05:002011-12-01T08:33:23.728-05:00

Jewish leaders are blasting Brooklyn prosecutors who are working with Israeli officials to extradite a Crown Heights Hasid charged with a hate crime back to New York.Top rabbis, community heads, and Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Borough Park), posted letters supporting Yitzhak Shuchat, 28, - wanted in the April 2008 assault of Andrew Charles the son of a black NYPD cop. "Yitzhak Shuchat is being

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-61279011450198452022011-11-30T08:31:00.001-05:002011-11-30T08:31:23.828-05:00

The percentage of school-age children living in poverty has grown in Orange and Ulster counties and leaped ahead in Sullivan County since the recession took hold, according to figures released Tuesday by the Census Bureau.The numbers, broken down by counties and school districts nationwide, show a wide disparity in poverty among children ages 5-17 within the three counties, ranging from a

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-49380109202135060382011-11-29T08:43:00.001-05:002011-11-29T08:43:31.584-05:00

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Kiryas Joel dissidents accusing community leaders of discrimination and arguing that the village is an unconstitutional "theocracy" that should be dissolved.Civil-rights attorney Michael Sussman brought the case in June on behalf of residents who claim that secular and religious authority are closely entwined in Kiryas Joel and that village officials

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-47066964611002131602011-11-28T12:59:00.001-05:002011-11-28T12:59:48.123-05:00

A law­suit by a Jewish group on a land-use issue that divided the town appears to be heading toward a conclusion.According to Kenneth Slater of Halloran & Sage LLP in Hartford, the attorney representing by Chabad Lubavitch of Litch­field County Inc., which is led by Rabbi Yosef Aisenbach, parties on both sides of the case have filed motions for summary judgment.Chabad is suing the Litchfield

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-16311032383527343002011-11-26T22:03:00.001-05:002011-11-26T22:03:56.717-05:00

New York City police are investigating a swastika found at a Brooklyn building as a possible hate crime.The New York Post reports it's the second time in nine days that the anti-Semitic symbol has been found at the location in Williamsburg inside an elevator. The first symbol was found nine days ago also in the elevator.The latest reports come two weeks after cars were torched in a Hasidic

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-49402029687718913352011-11-26T21:59:00.000-05:002011-11-26T22:00:56.927-05:00

More than 4,000 rabbis, scholars and other representatives of the Hasidic Jewish community will gather on Sunday for the closing banquet of the 28th Annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emmissaries, which started Wednesday, November 23, in the Crown Heights section Brooklyn.The international conference is the largest rabbinic gathering in New York, and is a way for rabbis and other

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-52809993765383438402011-11-25T08:27:00.001-05:002011-11-25T08:27:34.689-05:00

When 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky went missing in Brooklyn last June, it took two hours for anyone in Leiby's ultra-Orthodox neighborhood to inform the police. The local volunteer Jewish security patrol heard almost immediately.The patrol, known as the Shomrim, organized a massive posse to search Boro Park for the boy. But it was the police who found him days later — hacked to pieces, in a nearby

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-29487327481438426022011-11-24T21:43:00.000-05:002011-11-24T21:44:46.923-05:00

A rabbi was in critical condition today after a car accident took the life of the 88-year-old man he was helping across the street in Hancock Park.Berish Landau of Los Angeles, a prominent member of the Hasidic community, and 59-year-old Rabbi Samuel Jacobs of Valley Village, were walking across La Brea Avenue at Oakwood Avenue in the crosswalk about 6:15 a.m. Tuesday when they were struck.A 1999

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-72231952808217802512011-11-23T09:59:00.001-05:002011-11-23T09:59:52.546-05:00

This pint of ice cream came with cash back.A Hasidic woman's Shabbat was spoiled after she bit into a frozen dime buried inside a container of Häagen-Dazs chocolate at her Williamsburg home last Friday.Sara Abraham purchased two containers of the delectable confection from a Kent Avenue Duane Reade store on Nov. 11, as she has done once a week since the pharmacy opened several months ago. But by

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-72650935486716945112011-11-22T08:38:00.001-05:002011-11-22T08:38:32.248-05:00

An attorney for an 18-year-old accused of attempted murder and arson asked the village justice Monday to dismiss a misdemeanor charge accusing the teen of walking past his alleged victim's home in violation of an order of protection.Shaul Spitzer, who is facing felony counts of attempted murder, arson and assault for his suspected role in a May 22 attack on fellow New Square resident Aron

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-92020580820648285952011-11-21T08:43:00.001-05:002011-11-21T08:43:20.085-05:00

Steve Jobs created an "i, i, i" consumer society that spreads unhappiness among those who are unable to afford the latest model of iPhone, the UK's Chief Rabbi has said. Lord Jonathan Sacks said that commercial advertising has made consumers only aware of what they don't own, rather than being thankful for what they have. Speaking last week at an interfaith reception attended by the Queen, the

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-42284521261021145072011-11-19T21:20:00.000-05:002011-11-19T21:21:22.756-05:00

Public outcry over school bus drivers having to work on Thanksgiving to provide service for private school students has led some officials to offer a compromise, said Michael Inzelbuch, attorney for the township Board of Education.School district bus drivers were informed recently that some of them would be required to work Thanksgiving to provide busing for private school students, many of whom

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-85153155707986179902011-11-18T15:25:00.001-05:002011-11-20T19:27:53.742-05:00

Make sure to pick up your free copy of the Country Yossi Family Magazine and read the brand new original article 'Days of Recovery' written by Chaptzem, the only Heimishe blogger to make the transition from cyberspace to print.

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-33602224442905047842011-11-18T08:44:00.001-05:002011-11-18T08:44:54.834-05:00

On a patch of land in south Aventura are five brown trailers put together to make one building, Lubavich Aventura South's first place of its own. This temporary synagogue was built in 30 days, just in time for the High Holidays."It's a home," said Julia Peron, 55, who has been a member of the Lubavich congregation for about two and a half years. "During the High Holidays, it was beautiful.

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-72668072172193270272011-11-17T08:39:00.001-05:002011-11-17T08:39:03.894-05:00

While most New Jerseyans will pause next week to give thanks and eat turkey, taking a day off from work and school to celebrate Thanksgiving, for many Orthodox Jews in Lakewood it will be business as usual.And in an unwelcome surprise, school bus drivers have been told they will be working, too.Thanksgiving is a regular school day for most kids in the Ocean County town where some 18,000 children

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-68793651618932892552011-11-16T08:32:00.001-05:002011-11-16T08:32:13.965-05:00

A Supreme Court judge likely will decide early next year whether the Town of Bethel violated a Satmar Hasidic bungalow colony's rights and broke its own rules when it denied sewer service to a future residential development on 17B — a case Bethel's supervisor previously said the town probably couldn't win.Kollel Averichim Torah Veyirah sued the town last month after three town board members at a

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-17594595662007883122011-11-15T08:49:00.001-05:002011-11-15T08:49:43.392-05:00

On Monday, hundreds of people came to the home of Rabbi Yoshiahu Pinto in Ashdod to offer support after a firecracker was thrown at his home Sunday, scaring the rabbi and his family. "The police are definitely taking this seriously, understanding that someone who could do something like this could take it further," said a family spokesman. The family spokesman said the firecracker was thrown just

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-26876126674788341952011-11-14T08:33:00.001-05:002011-11-14T08:33:39.046-05:00

A spree of hate crime incidents during the weekend has Brooklyn residents "shaken," one councilman said yesterday. Local politicians gathered yesterday to demand more police in Brooklyn as officers searched for the suspects behind a startling anti-Semitic incident Friday in Midwood, a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. Someone spray painted "KKK" on a red van and set three cars on fire. Nobody

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-56643543968505560382011-11-13T00:07:00.002-05:002011-11-13T12:28:42.329-05:00

Vice President Joe Biden will visit Detroit Sunday for the annual dinner for Yeshiva Beth Yehudah.Biden is the dinner's keynote speaker.The Vice President is expected to speak in front of a crowd of Jewish American voters about the United States' support for Israel.http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Vice-President-Joe-Biden-to-visit-Detroit-Sunday/-/1719418/4732652/-/2iqyxo/-/

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-49270640229507793222011-11-12T23:42:00.001-05:002011-11-12T23:42:34.336-05:00

As the cheating scandal widens in Nassau County, sources now tell Eyewitness News there are two former students at a Yeshiva who are suspected of paying someone else to take their SAT's.The principal at North Shore Hebrew Academy refused Eyewitness News' requests for an interview.But sources confirm that one student who graduated 2 years ago actually boosted his overall score by 270 points the

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-24999265824939492062011-11-11T14:47:00.000-05:002011-11-11T14:49:57.636-05:00

Police have launched an investigation into an anti-Semitic arson attack in Brooklyn.Three cars were torched early Friday morning and nearby vehicles were daubed with swastikas and “KKK” graffiti along Ocean Parkway in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Flatbush, according to the website NYbuff.org.Assemblyman Dov Hikind told VIN News that vandals painted “SS” insignias on nearby benches during

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-2287988389044607952011-11-10T08:47:00.001-05:002011-11-10T08:47:25.316-05:00

An Israeli court has ordered a Brooklyn man extradited to the U.S. in connection with an April 2008 assault on a black man.   Yitzchak Shuchat is suspected of beating Andrew Charles in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. The area is known for 1991 race riots between Orthodox Jews and blacks.   Thursday's extradition order cites a U.S. request over the 2008 attack, alleging an unidentified man

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-38858745917203375622011-11-09T08:42:00.001-05:002011-11-09T08:42:43.349-05:00

Recently, Jewish residents of Speyer, Germany – a city that has had a Jewish presence since the 12th century - announced that it would be building a brand new synagogue.   The city of Speyer, Germany was a center of Jewish life for a millennium – from the Middle Ages until 1938 - before its Jewish residents were murdered in the Holocaust.  The community was home to several notable Jewish scholars

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-42665689211800770802011-11-08T09:06:00.000-05:002011-11-08T09:07:33.747-05:00

The Brooklyn man accused of killing a young Hasidic boy and carving up his corpse will have to face trial in Brooklyn after an appeals court skewered his bid for a change of venue.Levi Aron sought to move his murder and kidnapping trail to Suffolk County or, failing that, The Bronx, citing considerable media attention to the murder of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky, who had gotten lost in Bough Park on

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-40129819485334958342011-11-07T08:43:00.001-05:002011-11-07T08:43:55.805-05:00

The Village of Kiryas Joel has sued the neighboring Town of Woodbury to dismantle its zoning, accusing it of discriminating against Hasidic Jews by not allowing dense housing in an area where the Hasidic community hopes to expand.   The lawsuit seeks to invalidate a comprehensive plan and two zoning laws that Woodbury trustees adopted in June after seven years of planning and demands by Kiryas

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-1019874071151592422011-11-06T20:54:00.000-05:002011-11-06T20:57:05.221-05:00

The Orthodox group that owns the historic Raleigh and Heiden Hotel properties is looking to build 236 seasonal residences on 161 acres, a project that could add nearly 1,000 summer residents and bring about $2.1 million in new tax revenue, according to the proposed developer.RALHAL LLC and Concord Estates Condominiums LLC, both formed by Brooklyn-based Congregation Khal Bnei Zion to buy the

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-71494091735001496252011-11-05T21:51:00.000-04:002011-11-06T20:54:33.724-05:00

Two of the three candidates for Ramapo supervisor are polarizing figures. That is the last thing Ramapo — a community divided — needs.The incumbent, Christopher St. Lawrence, a Democrat who is also running on the Conservative, Working Families and Independence Party lines, has strong support within the Orthodox and Hasidic communities. Many view town leadership as favoring the religious community

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-90847280963351453472011-11-04T08:42:00.001-04:002011-11-04T08:42:04.369-04:00

There are fears that Jewish circumcision in the UK could be regulated by NHS bodies for the first time, following a move to curb malpractice in other ethnic groups.   Last week the Greater Manchester Safeguarding Children Partnership, a joint arm of NHS and Social Services, released a leaflet to GP surgeries and hospitals offering guidance for parents on circumcision.   The leaflet was produced

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-39882548141087073242011-11-03T08:32:00.001-04:002011-11-03T08:32:14.762-04:00

A 27-year-old Brooklyn science teacher has been accused of trying to arrange a meeting for sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.   Adam Kent, who teaches sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at an all-boys yeshiva in Midwood, was arrested Tuesday when he went to the location where he thought he was meeting a girl he had been instant messaging.   In reality, he had been corresponding

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-70198543076234756402011-11-02T08:38:00.001-04:002011-11-02T08:38:00.601-04:00

Dozens of rabbis from across Europe have gathered in Warsaw for the largest meeting of Jewish religious leaders in Poland since the community was virtually wiped out during World War II.   This year's Conference of European Rabbis will focus on a range of issues affecting European and global Jewry, including attempts in Europe to ban the Jewish method of religious slaughter of animals.   But,

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-40276173710050926512011-11-01T09:57:00.000-04:002011-11-01T09:57:00.466-04:00

Sent in by a Chaptzem reader.

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6591129.post-70343648959517613302011-10-31T21:42:00.001-04:002011-10-31T21:45:22.443-04:00

One of the most high-profile convictions of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi for sexual abuse in recent times may be in danger of reversal, according to new disclosures in court records obtained by the Forward.When Baruch Lebovits was sentenced last year to up to 32 years in jail, victims’ rights advocates hailed it as a turning point in the battle against sexual abuse in the insular Orthodox community.“

Chaptzemnoreply@blogger.com0