Thursday, April 03, 2025
Henderson man accused of online threat to Jewish community
A Henderson man is accused of threatening to kill Jewish people in an online post.
Michael Tomasino, 38, posted on the website 4chan that he is an "antisemite" and that he planned to "kill" as many Jewish people — he is alleged to have used an antisemitic epithet — as he could before he would die by suicide, according to an indictment returned March 27 by a Clark County grand jury.
Tomasino faces one charge of making threats or conveying false information related to an act of terrorism, according to court records.
The multi-agency Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center helped investigate the allegations, court records showed. Though the March 11 post was anonymous on 4chan, it was later traced to Tomasino's residence, according to court documents.
Tomasino's bail was set at $50,000. As of Wednesday evening, he remained in custody at Clark County Detention Center, according to online jail records.
Tomasino faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of not more than $5,000, according to Nevada law.
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Wednesday, April 02, 2025
Randy Fine prevails in Florida special election, bringing tally of Jewish Republicans in Congress to 4
Randy Fine, a Jewish Republican backed by President Donald Trump, has prevailed in a special election in Florida's 6th Congressional District.
The Associated Press declared Fine the winner with 54% of the vote 30 minutes after the polls closed, ending attention to a race that turned out to be closer than expected amid frustration with the Trump administration and an aggressive campaign by an unorthodox Democrat who far out-raised Fine.
Fine, who has fashioned himself as a MAGA-style culture warrior, attacked his opponent, a teacher named Josh Weil, over Weil's Muslim religion and past criticism of Israel.
Fine's election brings the number of Jewish Republicans in Congress to four, a number that the Republican Jewish Coalition said was unprecedented since at least the 1980s. The group said it was "gratified to have been the first organization to host a major fundraising event for Randy Fine immediately following his campaign launch."
After Trump posted excitedly on his Truth Social account about Fine's win, which solidifies Republican control of the House of the Representatives, Fine shared the post. "Because of you, Mr. President," he tweeted. "I won't let you down." PJC
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Tuesday, April 01, 2025
Rockland car wash targeted Jewish customers with Passover markup
A Rockland County car wash company targeted Jewish customers with a Passover promotion that cost three times the standard price for the same service, according to an investigation by the state attorney general's office.
Attorney General Letitia James said her office began investigating Super 4 Seasons in Spring Valley last April after receiving complaints that the car wash company was charging Jewish customers $169 for a service that was otherwise available for $47. The service was advertised as a "Passover Special" promotion, targeting Jewish customers cleaning their cars to remove "chametz," or leavened products, in preparation for the Jewish holiday, which commemorates the Israelites' hurried exodus from Egypt, when they didn't have time for bread to rise.
The attorney general's investigation found that Super 4 Seasons had promoted similar Passover-specific services dating to at least 2018 and that in the weeks leading up to Passover, Jewish customers had been routinely denied access to standard pricing and were falsely told that only the high-priced "Passover Packages" were available, according to a news release from the office's Civil Rights Bureau.
At one point during the probe, an investigator dressed in traditional Orthodox Jewish clothing inquired about standard pricing at Super 4 Season. He was told the company was "not doing anything except shampoos and Passover cleanings right now." The employee even told the investigator, "We are doing this just for you guys."
However, when another investigator who was not wearing Orthodox Jewish clothing asked for standard services, he was offered them. When the investigator asked about the Passover promotion, an employee said that it was "for Jews," who needed to pay more "because their cars are so dirty."
The attorney general's office recovered sales records for the same period confirming that regular services had been provided throughout the holiday.
Over the last three years alone, Super 4 Seasons sold at least 251 "Passover Specials" totaling more than $35,000 in sales, according to documents filed by the attorney general's office. That targeting of the Jewish community violated sections of New York's Civil Rights Law, General Business Law and Executive Law, making Super 4 Seasons subject to fines up to $161,000.
The attorney general's office and Super 4 Seasons reached a settlement in which the company acknowledged that it had discriminated against Jewish customers and agreed to stop charging them more than other customers for the same car wash services. Super 4 Seasons is also barred from changing its pricing or limiting available services in the two months leading up to and during Passover, according to the agreement. If the car wash company fails to adhere to these terms, it will be required to pay a penalty of up to $75,000.
Last week, James issued a consumer alert urging New Yorkers to be careful of discriminatory pricing practices at car washes in the days leading up to Passover and warning businesses that this practice is illegal.
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Monday, March 31, 2025
In “Guns and Moses,” a Brave Hasidic Rabbi Saves the Day
Chabad rabbis are typically known for hosting Friday night dinner, doing Hanukkah menorah lightings, and asking Jewish men on the street, "Have you wrapped tefillin today?"
But in Salvador and Nina Litvak's new film, "Guns & Moses," the Chabad rabbi and star of the film, Rabbi Mo (played by Mark Feuerstein of "Royal Pains"), is a brave rabbi who steps up when a friend is murdered in a shooting. He fights white supremacists and nefarious criminals, seeking out the truth about what happened while singing Jewish songs with his devoted wife and children.
"It was very important to me to create a ridiculously lovable Jewish character," said Nina, who co-wrote the film with her husband Sal. "There was always this whiny, nerdy, neurotic Jewish persona like Larry David and Woody Allen in Hollywood. We thought, enough of this already. It's been done so many times."
Rabbi Mo breaks the stereotypes of Jewish men usually portrayed on screen. He confronts his haters head on, takes gun lessons, and becomes an action hero like the world has never seen.
The Litvaks, who are based in Los Angeles, are just a few hours away from Poway, California, where a white nationalist walked into the Chabad of Poway, shot and killed congregation member Lori Gilbert-Kaye and wounded Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, another man, and his 8-year-old niece in 2019.
The day after the tragic shooting, Sal went to Poway to attend Lori's funeral to show their support and solidarity.
"Just seeing a community traumatized by this kind of thing in a Chabad shul was one of the strong inspirational elements of the movie," Sal said.
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Thursday, March 27, 2025
B&H Photo, iconic Hasidic-owned electronics store in Midtown, is getting even bigger
B&H Photo, New York City's iconic, Hasidic-owned camera and video equipment store, is expanding.
Last week, The Real Deal revealed that B&H Photo was the "mystery buyer" that purchased 333 West 34th Street. According to the publication, property records show that an LLC, signed for by Zalman Gottlieb, the financial controller for the camera shop, purchased the 10-story property for $150 million.
That mammoth number is actually a relative bargain: It is $105 million less than global real estate firm Brookfield Properties spent on the 287,000-square-foot property in 2018.
Founded by a married couple, Blimie and Herman Schreiber, B&H Photo originally opened in Tribeca in 1973 and moved into its current "SuperStore" at 420 Ninth Ave., at West 34th Street, in 1997. Like its founders, many of B&H's employees are Satmar Hasidic Jews — the shop is closed on Saturdays in observance of Shabbat, and kosher candies are available for free at checkout.
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Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Young hasid returns suitcase with diamonds, $100,000 to rightful owner
A hasidic young man from New York returned a bag filled with diamonds, jewelry, and cash to a businessman he had never met before, PIX11 reported.
Last week, the young hasid was returning home from his yeshiva in Israel to spend Passover with his family, when an taxi driver transporting him from Newark accidentally gave him the wrong bag, assuming that it belonged to the yeshiva student or one of his friends.
"The yellow cab comes back, opens the window, says, 'Someone left this,' hands it over to me, and drives away," the yeshiva student, 20, recalled to PIX11. But before the student could tell the driver that the bag was not his, the taxi had sped off.
Opening the bag in the hopes of discovering who it belonged to, the student was shocked: "First, I saw a laptop. Then I started opening other areas and seeing jewelry. I was shocked. It looked like expensive stuff."
Among the bag's contents were Rolex watches, loose diamonds, jewelry, and a custom-made diamond-encrusted pendant, likely totaling more than $100,000 in value.
The young man then asked his mother for advice, and she suggested that he turn to Shmira, a Brooklyn, New York, public safety group. Shmira sent volunteers to collect the bag, and began searching for its owners. Eventually, Shmira found a phone number, which led them to the owner, who works in NYC's diamond district.
Levi Leifer, Director of the Shmira, said that the group invited the man to their Borough Park office after confirming ownership.
He described, "While he's talking, we see fear, assuming the bag is empty. But when he opened it, he couldn't believe it. You had to see his eyes. He was very, very excited—looked very happy."
The owner offered a reward for the students' honesty, but was declined. Both parties requested to remain anonymous.
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Tuesday, March 25, 2025
US joins antisemitism lawsuit against NY town for blocking housing project for ultra-Orthodox Jews
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is supporting a lawsuit against the town of Forestburgh, New York, alleging that town officials engaged in antisemitic efforts to block a housing project intended for Hasidic families.
According to the department's Statement of Interest filing, local officials and residents opposed the arrival of Orthodox Jews, with one resident stating: "Dirty money from the Jewish mafia is involved, and you wonder why Germans did what they say they did." Another email circulated among town officials warned that Hasidic Jews "take over, like locusts — killing everything they encounter, draining every last resource."
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Monday, March 24, 2025
Man who viciously attacked Orleans rabbi arrested, victim tells 'Post'
The person who attacked the rabbi of Orléans was arrested on Saturday night, victim Rabbi Arié Engelberg told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
The attacker was a minor, according to a social media statement by French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on X that Engelberg had been violently attacked Saturday when leaving a synagogue with his nine-year-old son.
Engelberg told BFM-TV that the suspect approached him and asked him if he was Jewish. Footage published on social media by French officials, including by European Parliament member Matthieu Valet, showed Engelberg being punched and kicked repeatedly. France Bleu, which obtained the original footage from a witness, reported that the rabbi had also been bitten on the shoulder.
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Thursday, March 20, 2025
The World’s Oldest Jewish Book Is on Display in New York City
A medieval manuscript, believed to be the oldest Jewish book in the world, is now on view in New York City.
The Afghan Liturgical Quire, which dates to approximately the year 700 CE, is on display at the Jewish Theological Seminary Library in Morningside Heights as part of an exhibit, "Sacred Words: Revealing the Earliest Hebrew Book" that opens Wednesday and runs until July 17.
Also known as the Afghan Siddur, the diminutive prayer book measures five inches by five inches and "is comprised of prayers, poems, and pages of the oldest discovered Passover Haggadah, which was mysteriously written upside down," according to a JTS press release.
The tome was previously on view at the the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., which said the book is relic of an 8th-century civilization along the Silk Road, the ancient trading route, and was created by Jews who lived among the Buddhists who ruled the Bamiyan Valley in modern-day Afghanistan.
The book went on a roundabout global journey to eventually reach the Green family, evangelical Christians based in Oklahoma who own the Hobby Lobby chain. The family purchased the book without knowing its actual age or origin, and added it to a collection that would evolve into The Museum of the Bible.
The book was mislabeled "Egypt, circa 900 CE," until carbon testing in 2019 confirmed that the siddur was even older, "astonishing researchers at the museum," JTA reported in November 2024.
"Far more ancient written Hebrew texts had been discovered, but only on scrolls, most famously the roughly 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls that are displayed prominently in Israel," according to JTA. "The carbon dating indicated that this was the earliest intact Hebrew codex by more than a century."
The JTS exhibition was developed in partnership with The Museum of the Bible and in cooperation with the Afghan Jewish Foundation, the American Sephardi Federation and Congregation Anshei Shalom of Jamaica Estates, Queens.
"The Afghan Liturgical Quire offers an extraordinary opportunity to discover a volume of Jewish prayers that predates any known Siddur, revealing a rich liturgical tradition that extends back well over a millennium," JTS's curator of Jewish art, Sharon Liberman Mintz, said in a statement. "I am delighted to present this remarkable treasure at JTS and invite the public to engage with this unique and historic artifact of Jewish heritage."
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Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Jewish Tesla owner demands hate crime charges after Cybertruck defaced with swastika
A Jewish Cybertruck owner says he caught an anti-Elon Musk protester defacing his vehicle with a Nazi symbol and is demanding the perpetrator be charged with a hate crime.
Avi Ben Hamo, who reportedly caught Michael Lewis, 42, drawing a swastika on his Cybertruck with the word "Elon" at the top, urged officials to press charges during "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday.
"I don't feel safe anymore in Brooklyn or in New York," Ben Hamo told Steve Doocy.
"[You're] not supposed to go ahead and do something to other people['s] car[s], and that's literally antisemitic. I think we have over here a bigger issue that in the city, the police, the DA… should charge people like this and should prosecute people like this."
"They need to pay for it. Otherwise, other people are not going to be safe, and Jewish people are not going to be safe in the city," he continued.
Lewis, who is also Jewish, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated harassment and later released, according to his attorney, Mark Luccarelli.
Ben Hamo said he approached the man when he saw him drawing an "antisemitic" symbol on his vehicle to ask him what he was doing.
"I didn't know what [was] really going on," he said. "I see this very antisemitic swastika on the car, and I didn't understand. I approached him and asked, 'What are you doing?' And he told me very, very disgusting things."
Ben Hamo said he stood in front of Lewis' car after he tried to flee the scene, but after he dialed 911 Lewis ran away.
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Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Haredi minister's son violently attacked in Jerusalem
Head of the HaMevaser newspaper, Moshe Porush, son of Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Meir Porush, was violently attacked on Sunday night in his father's apartment building in central Jerusalem, by neighbors identified as Gerrer Hasidim.
Witnesses reported that the assailants grabbed the baby stroller he was holding, tore off his jacket and pulled his beard.
During the attack, the assailants were heard shouting: "Your father harmed the Gerrer Rebbe, we will take revenge on you."
The minister's personal security guard, who regularly stands outside the building, noticed the incident a few minutes later and came to help.
He managed to return the baby to the father, but the assailants tried to attack him as well.
The police arrived at the scene, collected details of the incident, including security camera footage, and opened an investigation. At the same time, the personal security system in the Prime Minister's Office began investigating the incident.
Porush was later evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.
The violent attack occurred following an ongoing fierce political confrontation within the Agudat Yisrael party, between the "Shlomei Emunim" faction, headed by Minister Porush and the Gerrer Hasidism faction, headed by Minister Goldknopf.
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Monday, March 17, 2025
New York City man arrested, charged with drawing swastika on Jewish driver’s Cybertruck
New York City police over the weekend arrested a man accused of finger-drawing a swastika on a Jewish man's Cybertruck in protest of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is President Trump's chief bureaucracy cutter.
Authorities took Michael Lewis, 42, into custody on charges of aggravated harassment Saturday after the Cybertruck owner saw the suspect double-park his car next to the electric vehicle, jump out and draw the symbol in the dust on his truck.
Avi Ben Hamo, the victim, told the New York Post he saw the suspect defacing his vehicle from across the street and sprinted out in front of his car to prevent him from driving away.
That's when the suspect ditched his ride and ran away, Mr. Ben Hamo said.
The suspect returned to his car 90 minutes later to find the victim, four police officers and a New York Post reporter waiting for him at the scene. The Post first reported the incident by reviewing security footage of the defacement.
"People hating Elon Musk is one thing, but to do something like this is next level," Mr. Ben Hamo told the newspaper. "I'm speechless. That's just wrong."
An attorney for Mr. Lewis, the suspect, said his client is also Jewish and no damage was done to the car.
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Thursday, March 13, 2025
Trump: 'Schumer used to be Jewish, now he's Palestinian'
US President Donald Trump called the minority leader of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, "a Palestinian" during his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday at the White House.
"Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I'm concerned. He's become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He's not Jewish anymore. He's a Palestinian," Trump said.
This isn't the first instance of Trump making this comment.
Trump had insinuated that "the Palestinians, people like Chuck Schumer, would have already been resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region," as part of a post on Trust Social in February.
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Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Bus full of Hasidim overturned, dozens injured
A serious traffic accident occurred last night near Monsey in New York State, when a bus carrying dozens of yeshiva students from the Skver Hasidic community overturned.
According to local reports, the bus was on its way from Lakewood to New Square when the accident took place near an exit on Route 172, shortly before 8:00 PM local time.
The bus was headed to a wedding celebration for the great-grandson of the Skver Rebbe in the Hasidic neighborhood.
Emergency response teams, including the Rockland County Hatzalah, found that one passenger was trapped under the overturned bus, while over 40 passengers managed to exit the bus on their own.
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Monday, March 10, 2025
At a historic Williamsburg synagogue on valuable land, dueling groups fight for control
Carlota America Ruiz stood outside Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom with a locksmith and a court order.
Ruiz had prayed at the Williamsburg synagogue since the 1980s. It's where she completed her Jewish conversion, and where her husband served as the board president for years. But a few weeks earlier, she said, a group purporting to be the temple's board had locked her and other long-time worshippers out of the modest brick building and secured the doors with padlocks and chains. On this sweltering September afternoon, Ruiz was back with permission from a judge to re-enter the sanctuary.
Police, bodyguards and feuding worshippers lined the sidewalk outside the shuttered entrance. As officers studied the court papers and deliberated with each side, Ruiz and the other ousted members were anxious to see their beloved sanctuary. The last time they were inside, the walls had patches of peeling paint, but the room was airy and bright, with 20-foot ceilings and multi-colored stained glass windows. There were rows of vintage oak pews dedicated to congregants who donated to the synagogue over the years, some of whom were Holocaust survivors.
Israel Leichter, the synagogue's secretary, urged police not to open the door for Ruiz and the other locked-out worshippers. He said they weren't true members and that they could bring their grievances to court. But after two hours of deliberations, the NYPD allowed a locksmith to slice off the padlock, and Ruiz and other long-time members rushed into the sanctuary. There, they found the benches demolished into a pile of jagged planks. A woman knelt on the floor and cried.
"I have no words," Ruiz said . "It's not the benches. It's the lack of humanity."
Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom is the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Brooklyn and the only one in Williamsburg that isn't Hasidic, according to long-time members. The congregation's building stands on the dividing line between drastic gentrification to the north and an insular Hasidic Jewish community to the south. Until a few months ago, the synagogue followed Orthodox customs, like separating male and female worshippers, but not all of the practices observed at nearby Hasidic congregations. Unlike the many Hasidic synagogues in the neighborhood, the congregation has historically been known for welcoming different kinds of Jews to pray.
Hundreds of worshippers used to pack into Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom's sanctuary on major holidays, Ruiz said. But as many of those congregants died or moved away in recent years, a small group of Hasidic Jews started to pray alongside the mostly non-Hasidic, long-time members. While the two groups co-existed in relative peace at first, in the last few years they have become estranged. Now, the mostly non-Hasidic long-timers and the Hasidic newcomers are suing each other for authority over the synagogue and its building. On Friday, a judge is expected to hear arguments in the case. But the legal dispute is likely to continue for months to come.
The specifics of the strife range from petty arguments over hoarded water bottles on a hot day to profound disagreements about what it means to be a Jew. But the patterns at play in this case underscore broader questions about the fate of New York's revered houses of worship, as religious membership dwindles and property values soar. At the center of the dispute is the congregation's most valuable asset: its building. Each side is accusing the other of plotting to sell the property, raze the temple and construct condos in its wake.
Selling or renting a house of worship can offer monetary salvation for a congregation struggling to stay afloat, like Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom. But such deals can also invite predatory redevelopment and displace or dissolve sacred communities. Dozens of churches, synagogues and other religious institutions from the Upper West Side to Flatbush have sold their properties in recent years. Sometimes the congregation doesn't survive the real estate sale.
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Thursday, March 06, 2025
A Chabad House for a Growing Family
In 2019, Rabbi Yanky Bell was on one of his annual pilgrimages to the Ohel, the resting place of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson in Queens, New York, when he realized it was going to take him a while to write his petition.
Usually, Rabbi Bell's formal requests include blessings, spiritual guidance and inspiration from people back in El Cerrito, Calif., the small city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay where he and his wife, Shternie, run a Chabad House. (Rabbi Schneerson, who died in 1994, was a leader of the Chabad movement, a sect of Hasidic Judaism.)
But this time, Rabbi Bell came with a strong ask of his own: His family needed a new place to live and serve.
"We'd been looking for six or seven months," said Mrs. Bell, 31. "I'd already looked at about 20 to 30 houses."
It wasn't just that their family was expanding — their second son had just been born. Their community was growing, too. "When we had services," Mrs. Bell said, "we had people inside, outside, people everywhere."
They needed enough indoor space to accommodate an office for the rabbi and child care for at least 10 children — theirs and their supporters' kids — and to hold classes, meetings and other events. Outside, they needed space to build a sukkah, the temporary hut central to Sukkot, which celebrates harvests and gratitude.
For Rabbi Bell, 33, it was a complicated petition. "It took me about two hours to write," he said. "We really needed a blessing."
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Wednesday, March 05, 2025
New York’s Ultra-Orthodox Yeshivas Challenge New State Education Mandates
When Chaim Fishman left his Brooklyn-based secondary school at 16, he'd never heard of Mozart or Shakespeare.
"We were never taught about science or history or geography or civics," let alone English or math, which were considered "ethically wrong," said Fishman, who attended an ultra-Orthodox secondary school for boys — called a yeshiva — in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and is now a 26-year-old software engineer.
More than 50,000 male students are enrolled in New York's yeshivas, and a New York Times investigation found that many provided little instruction in core subjects, received some of the lowest standardized test scores in the state, and left their students unable to converse easily in English or find jobs after graduating. Even still, they received more than $1 billion in government funding over a recent four-year period.
A new state law set to take effect at the end of June seeks to hold these schools accountable by withholding millions in taxpayer funds if they don't provide an education ״substantially equivalent" to what's taught in the public schools. Ultra-Orthodox community leaders who have long advocated for autonomy are vowing to fight the new mandate.
And in a surprise move last week — well in advance of its June deadline for compliance — the state Education Department announced that after a six-year investigation it had pulled funding for two Brooklyn-based Hasidic yeshivas for failure to meet new secular education standards.
Along with termination of public subsidies starting June 30, their students were ordered to enroll in different schools starting this fall.
"The yeshiva system has been wildly successful and is largely responsible for the exponential growth of the Orthodox Jewish community in this country over the last 80 years," said Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, New York director of government relations for Agudath Israel of America, a national Orthodox advocacy organization.
"We have and will continue to advocate for educational autonomy for our yeshivas, whether through direct advocacy, legislatively and through the courts," Silber said.
In the past, Hasidic protesters have descended on the Capitol vowing to "sit in jail" before changing their educational system. How the upcoming debate shapes up will hinge on how New York politicians navigate their relationships with Hasidic leaders — and their thousands of voters, who often vote as a bloc.
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Tuesday, March 04, 2025
Man Kicked by Arab Owner Out of Oakland Café for Being Jewish Suing Owner
On October 26, 2024, Jonathan Hirsch and his five-year-old son entered the Jerusalem Coffee House, owned by Abdulrahim Harara, after dining at a nearby restaurant, Casper's. After the meal, Hirsch's son needed to use the restroom, but Casper's did not offer such facilities to customers and directed them to the coffee shop across the street. Hirsch was wearing a blue baseball cap with a white Jewish Star on the front, a recreation of a 1938 cap linked to the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, a Jewish charitable organization in New York that hosted Negro League baseball games. Hirsch ordered a latte, his son used the restroom, and they began playing chess while waiting for their drink.
Soon after, Harara approached Hirsch and asked if he was a "Zionist." When Hirsch refused to answer, Harara demanded he leave the establishment, threatened to call the police, and subjected him to both physical and verbal harassment. Harara raised his voice, and he, along with another employee, physically pushed Hirsch toward the exit. Harara also said, "This is a violent hat, and you need to leave."
Jonathan Hirsch is an American Jew and US citizen living in Oakland, California, with his wife and three children. The Star of David on Hirsch's hat is a symbol of Judaism and Jewish identity. It appears in Jewish synagogues, on Jewish tombstones, on the Israeli flag, and was used by the Nazis to identify Jews. The Star of David is deeply connected to the Jewish people and the Jewish religion.
An employee from the East Bay Community Space, which rents space to Harara, arrived and supported Harara's actions, saying, "The only reason they know you're a protected class is because of your hat. You chose to be in this situation." The police arrived shortly after, and Hirsch and his son stepped outside, with the child visibly frightened and in tears. Harara continued to yell, saying "[Expletive] Israel. [Expletive] Zionists," calling Hirsch a "bitch," and taunting his son with "Hey, your dad's a bitch. Your dad's a bitch."
Below is a video of the incident, where Harara verbally attacks Hirsch and demands he leave. Please do not click if you don't wish to hear the expletives. We should only point out that Hirsch had not discussed Israel, Zionism, Judaism, or any related subjects with Harara or anyone else in the coffee shop at any point. The only identifying feature on Hirsch's hat was the Jewish Star, with no other writing or symbols.
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Monday, March 03, 2025
Brooklyn Rabbi calls to pray for President Trump
Rabbi Moshe Landa of Williamsburg instructed his congregation to pray for President Donald Trump during Sabbath services, deviating from traditional political neutrality in the Hasidic community.
He highlighted Trump's support for the Jewish community, including pardons for Jewish prisoners and the repeal of policies he deemed detrimental to traditional values.
Last Sabbath, Landa referenced the recent assassination attempt on Trump: "We all saw how the president narrowly escaped death when the bullet missed its target by mere millimeters."
He added, "The president has already repealed the Sodom-like and unnatural laws, and has worked to bring additional salvations. Now, during the Sabbath before the month of Adar, we remember how in the days of Purim, the salvation came through King Ahasuerus and Esther – and so we too will pray that the Almighty uses every possible messenger to bring redemption and salvation."
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Wednesday, February 26, 2025
How a small delegation of US Jews got to Syria for the first time in decades
Even as tensions between Israel and Syria ramped up in recent days, a small group of Syrian Jews recently celebrated a milestone that once seemed unthinkable: a return visit to their home country.
Under the auspices of the new Syrian government, a small delegation toured Jewish heritage sites in and around Damascus last week, just two months after the fall of the dictatorial Bashar al-Assad regime. The group said it was the first official Jewish delegation to visit Syria, a country that once was home to as many as 100,000 Jews, in over three decades.
Visiting historic synagogues and praying with Torah scrolls that had remained intact through the country's brutal, 14-year civil war, these Jews were celebrating a homecoming. The visit could allow them and their descendants to imagine a potentially bright future in a place long thought lost to the many Jews who'd once called it home.
Days after the trip, Israel launched military strikes on Syria as the country's new leader and large numbers of protesters demanded Israeli troops withdraw from the country's southwestern region. Israel says it is occupying the area, the Syrian side of the Golan plateau, as a security measure amid instability in Syria.
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Monday, February 24, 2025
Suspect in Berlin Holocaust memorial stabbing sought to kill Jews
German authorities have arrested a 19-year-old suspect in a Friday stabbing attack at Berlin's Holocaust memorial.
The arrest of the suspect, a Syrian citizen who, according to police, said he wanted to kill Jews, came shortly after the Thursday arrest of another teenager, a Russian citizen accused of plotting an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin.
Both arrests occurred shortly before German elections on Sunday. The center-right Christian Democratic Union won the election, while Alternative for Germany, a far-right anti-immigrant party with a history of minimizing the Holocaust, came in second.
The stabbing incident at the Holocaust memorial seriously injured one victim, a 30-year-old Spanish tourist who was put into an artificial coma but whose life no longer appears to be in danger, according to news reports. Three hours after the attack, the suspect reportedly approached officers with blood on his hands and was arrested.
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Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Second suspect, 19, arrested in connection with gunshots at Jewish school in Montreal
Montreal police said Wednesday that a 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with gunfire targeting a Jewish school in the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood in November 2023.
The suspect was taken into custody Wednesday morning and was expected to appear before a judge at the Montreal courthouse later in the day. Police did not release his identity or specify what charges he faces.
His arrest comes months after a 20-year-old man was charged in May with discharging a firearm, theft and possessing stolen vehicles in relation to the attack. Investigators continued to probe the case and ultimately identified a second suspect.
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Thursday, February 13, 2025
Jewish slugger Bregman signs $120 million deal with Red Sox
Power slugging third baseman Alex Bregman agreed to a $120 million, three-year contract with the Boston Red Sox, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday night, making him among the highest-ever paid Jewish players in professional baseball history.
A two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion during nine years with Houston, Bregman entered free agency coming off one of his poorest offensive seasons. He hit .260 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs in the final season of a $100 million, five-year contract with the Astros, also winning his first Gold Glove.
The 30-year-old has spoken proudly about his Jewish upbringing and maintained connections with Houston's Jewish community. Following the October 7, 2023, attack, Bregman drew a Star of David on his hat for an American League Division Series matchup against the Minnesota Twins, and proceeded to blast a homerun in the game's fifth inning, helping lead the team to a 9-1 win.
Bregman has 19 postseason home runs, tied for sixth in major league history, and the most ever by a third baseman.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-slugger-bregman-signs-120-million-deal-with-red-sox/amp/
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Wednesday, February 12, 2025
This Organic Farm is Run By Yiddish-Speaking Hasidic Jews in Upstate New York
Tu B'Shvat is an all year long celebration when you're working farmland, as Hasidic Jew Yisroel Bass does at the Yiddish Farm in Upstate New York. The farm was founded in order to "expand the role of the Yiddish language, serve as a bridge between Yiddish speakers of various backgrounds, and to promote environmental stewardship through organic farming."
Bass was born in Queens and grew up on Long Island in a Conservative Jewish home. When he was a child and explored his family history at school, he found that he wanted to connect more to his heritage. He relates, "One of the stories my mother told me which had a huge effect on me was that her mother, her sister and her aunts arrived at Auschwitz with her grandmother. When they were separated on the line, my great-grandmother gave one of her gloves to her granddaughters and said [they should keep it to remember] 'If you survive the war, you should remain Jewish daughters.'" Bass started thinking about what that meant. As the youngest of many cousins, he saw that Jewish engagement wasn't prioritized. Years later, around the time of his bar mitzvah, he went to get supplies in Queens. He picked up a Yiddish textbook then and was fascinated by it. That led to keeping kosher and taking other steps towards becoming religious. "It started by looking back at my family's history and became an active part of my identity."
It was Yiddish which drew Bass towards Chassidus. "[Yiddish speakers] have a way of communicating and a worldview that today's secular, assimilated Jew would never be able to have." Bass realized there was a lot to uncover. By the time he was eighteen, he was starting to keep Shabbos and looking for more guidance. "There was a learning curve getting from YIVO Yiddish to what is actually spoken today." He started taking Yiddish classes with a Holocaust survivor in Los Angeles and then moved to New York, looking for a community. He is mostly self-taught in Judaism but learns with mentors and chavrusas.
Bass studied philosophy at City College of New York. The farm opportunity came around as Bass tired of living in the city. He met a group of Yiddish-speaking people and realized that he wanted to find a way that "Yiddish was a means rather than an end to itself." Bass also discovered that he loved farming. He spent two summers farming with others before trying it on his own. "It was great to be busy, employing Jewish workers and doing something that not too many other people are doing [in our community]." Founded in 2012, the farm provided a place for students to learn Yiddish in an immersion environment and spend time working the land.
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Tuesday, February 11, 2025
6-year-old girl rescued from Lev Tahor and returned to her family
A 6-year-old girl was rescued from the Lev Tahor cult in Guatemala and transferred to the custody of her grandmother, who came especially from Israel.
This is the third case in recent weeks of children being reunited with their families.
Guatemala's Attorney General's Office confirmed that the girl was handed over to her grandmother after a comprehensive background check was conducted on the family. The grandmother will remain in Guatemala until the legal proceedings have been completed.
This rescue follows recent successes in closing down the cult. Last week, a Hasidic couple fled to the US with their children, and about three weeks ago, another family escaped from the cult.
This operation follows the authorities' raid last December on the cult compound, in which 160 abused and neglected minors were rescued. The children are still residing in the local welfare facilities.
This is the third case in recent weeks of children being reunited with their families.
Guatemala's Attorney General's Office confirmed that the girl was handed over to her grandmother after a comprehensive background check was conducted on the family. The grandmother will remain in Guatemala until the legal proceedings have been completed.
This rescue follows recent successes in closing down the cult. Last week, a Hasidic couple fled to the US with their children, and about three weeks ago, another family escaped from the cult.
This operation follows the authorities' raid last December on the cult compound, in which 160 abused and neglected minors were rescued. The children are still residing in the local welfare facilities.
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Thursday, February 06, 2025
Staff Admit Rabbi Was Barred From Kenya Airways For Looking Jewish: ‘It’s Not Good’ – The Airline Now Denies It
A Jewish Rabbi was denied boarding for a Kenya Airways flight from Johannesburg to Nairobi. He's told it's because he appeared visibly Jewish. The rest of his travel party is permitted to travel: "You can travel, he can travel, he can travel."
When asked if it's because of how the rabbi looks? "That's it, it's not good."
Kenya Airways responded this morning on Twitter, saying that "the group was behaving disruptively and appeared to be intoxicated." That is certainly not clear from the video. The airline says that since some members of the group were allowed to travel, it must not have been about their being Jewish. However the staffer suggests it is the visibly Jewish attire that not all were wearing that is the issue.
Last year, Lufthansa was fined $4 million for targeting Jewish passengers. In a 2022 incident, the airline banned Jews off of a New York JFK – Frankfurt flight from continued travel for a 24 hour period, after some passengers on board didn't comply with mask rules and other crewmember instructions. Non-Jews violating mask rules weren't prevented from taking their connections. And the ban included passengers who could be identified as likely Jewish, even if they hadn't broken any rules. The German flag explained at the time 'it's Jews that caused problems, so it's Jews who couldn't travel.'
Hardly an uncommon viewpoint! A year ago British Airways removed a Jewish sitcom from its inflight entertainment because it was Jewish, saying they didn't wish to take sides between Israel and Hamas, even though the sitcom had nothing to do with conflict (it simply had Jewish characters set in Israel).
I reached out to Kenya Airways for comment on Wednesday and will update if they respond. They did not respond to my inquiry, which came within minutes of the original video being shared. However I've added their public response to the post.
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Wednesday, February 05, 2025
Hasidic Jews gather to pray in southern Poland
This annual pilgrimage marks the 211th anniversary of Biderman's death.
Hasidic Jews believe that on the anniversary of his death, Biderman descends from heaven to collect their requests and deliver them to God.
These requests are written on small pieces of paper and placed on his grave.
The commemoration includes prayers, traditional dances around a bonfire, the singing of psalms and a feast, all lasting until midnight.
Michał Konieczny, director of the Leżajsk Hasidic Foundation in Poland, said that around 3,500 people could participate in the Lelów event.
Meanwhile, Leżajsk in southeastern Poland, another significant site for Hasidic Jews, is expected to attract up to 12,000 pilgrims.
Rabbi Biderman, also known as the Lelover Rebbe, is one of the most venerated figures among Hasidic Jews.
Various accounts say he was lame but, while dancing, he regained the use of his leg. He was also said to have the capacity to heal others.
The first written records of Lelów date back to the 12th century. Prior to World War II, Jews accounted for half of its population of 4,000. Most of them were killed by the Germans during the war.
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Tuesday, February 04, 2025
Man pleads guilty to federal charges for firing gun outside Jewish temple in upstate New York
A 29-year-old man pleaded guilty to federal charges Tuesday for firing a shotgun outside an upstate New York synagogue during the early months of the Israel-Hamas war.
Mufid Fawaz Alkhader was arrested in December 2023 after firing two shots in the air and shouting "Free Palestine!" outside Temple Israel of Albany. Alkhader's shotgun jammed before he could fire a third time. The Iraqi-born U.S. citizen was arrested soon after and complained about events in the Middle East, according to federal prosecutors.
The gunfire in New York's capital city happened on the first night of Hanukkah and two months after the surprise incursion by Hamas triggered the war. No one was injured, but 61 children attending preschool sheltered in place while police searched the area. Prosecutors said Alkhader took a ride-share vehicle to the temple from his home in nearby Schenectady.
Under a deal with prosecutors, Alkhader pleaded guilty to obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs by threat of force, brandishing a firearm during the commission of that offense and conspiring to purchase a firearm unlawfully.
"The defendant's violent, antisemitic and terrifying act targeted the Temple Israel congregation, the larger Jewish community, and the right of every person to practice their religion without fear of violence," U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman said in a prepared statement.
Alkhader, wearing orange jail clothes, said little in court beyond entering his pleas and responding to a series of questions from the judge with "yes" or "no" answers.
Federal prosecutors initially charged Alkhader with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person — a charge authorities said was related to his admitted use of marijuana. He was later charged with conspiracy to make a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.
Another man was sentenced in October to 14 months in prison for making a "straw" purchase of the shotgun for Alkhader.
Alkhader, who is being held in the county jail, faces at least 7 years and up to life in prison when he is sentenced June 6.
A group of people from the temple attended the court proceeding and declined to comment as they left.
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Monday, February 03, 2025
800-year-old Jewish Synagogue in Kochi accorded a lease of life after renovation and opened for public
It was a cultural chapter in the history of Cochin and Jews that was begun when the 800-year-old Ernakulam Kadavumbagam Synagogue has been accorded a lease of life. The fully renovated place of worship, on Market Road in Ernakulam was reopened today in the presence of a large number of people from across various parts of the state and the country.
The dilapidated structure was kept in the lurch for many years with no government support for its renovation and upkeep. However, when like-minded people and NGOs joined hands it was journey for a dream come true for many for whom wished the history of Cochin to come back to life.
Orli Weitzman, Israeli Counsel General to India while speaking on the occasion in a recorded video said that it is a historic moment for everyone to cherish.
"Today when the synagogue is opened for the public in the ancient history of Cochin where there is a rich Jewish history, there is a message that we are sending to the new generation. It is time for all religions and culture to join hands. Here people from every religion can come, pray and be together. I thanks all those who supported this and helped in becoming a reality", said Orli Weitzman.
Believed to have been built by Malabar Jews in 1200 AD, the structure, brimming with history, had remained stowed away from public view for nearly 53 years.
https://www.news9live.com/state/kerala/800-year-old-jewish-synagogue-in-kochi-accorded-a-lease-of-life-after-renovation-and-opened-for-public-2812842
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Friday, January 31, 2025
Hamilton man faces hate crime charges for online threats directed at Jewish community
A Hamilton man who was previously arrested for online posts, which police described as "threatening" towards the Jewish community, is now facing additional hate crime charges.
Investigators began monitoring the online activity of 32-year-old Harley Mitchell at the end of Sept. 2024 and placed him under arrest days later on Oct. 1. He was charged with two offences, including uttering death threats and failing to comply with probation.
Since then, authorities say they have continued to investigate Mitchell's online posts and made a request to the Office of the Attorney General to review and approve additional hate crime charges.
That submission was approved on Thursday and Mitchell was charged with advocating genocide, wilful promotion of hatred and antisemitism. Authorities say his initial charges will remain.
"Hate has no place in Hamilton," police said.
A representative for Mitchell was not immediately known.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2025/01/31/hamilton-hate-crime-investigatio-jewish-community/
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Thursday, January 30, 2025
Jewish women are braiding challah and hair to mark the release of Israeli hostage Agam Berger
When four young Israeli soldiers were released in Gaza over the weekend, the first thing many people noticed about them was their defiant gestures in front of their Hamas captors.
The second was their braided hair.
Some close observers of the hostages concluded that the braids — also seen on some of the children released during a temporary ceasefire in November 2023 — were the handiwork of Agam Berger, who had become the only Israeli woman soldier left in Gaza.
Now, with Berger released Thursday after 482 days, her supporters are returning the gesture, crafting braids of their own to celebrate her freedom and inspiration.
Some Jewish day schools in the United States urged their students to wear braids on Thursday. At least one synagogue is holding a challah-braiding event. A wig store catering to Orthodox women braided all of its display models, while El Al said women who worked for the airline had all braided their hair on Thursday. And an array of "Braids for Agam" graphics have circulated on social media, in both Israel and abroad.
https://www.jta.org/2025/01/30/culture/us-jews-are-braiding-challah-and-hair-to-mark-the-release-of-israeli-hostage-agam-berger
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Wednesday, January 29, 2025
UAV strike leaves Rebbe Nachman's gravesite in darkness
A Russian drone attack left the city of Uman, Ukraine, and its environs without electricity - as hundreds of Jews made their way to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
"There is no deadline for the electricity to reutrn," Rabbi Natan Bin-Nun, chairman of United Breslov, said.
The direct strike to the city's energy infrastructure took place at around 2:00 a.m. local time, despite the fact that the Ukrainian army succeed in intercepting most of the UAVs.
"The damage is very significant," local reports said.
On Wednesday, Breslov hasidim mark Rabbi Natan of Breslov's first visit to the gravesite of his teacher Rabbi Nachman.
"Because it is so close to Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath - ed.), we expect that there will be an unusually high number of visitors this year," the gravesite's keeper, Rabbi Natan Tzemach, said.
"We are preparing to provide electricity to the areas of the gravesite, by using special generators," Bin-Nun promised. "In the meantime, the residents and visitors are forced to use emergency lights and means of warmth, just like at the start of the war."
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/403067
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Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Jewish protesters for Gaza target Kindertransport memorial on Holocaust Memorial Day
On the day commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, North London Peaceniks and Jews Against Genocide placed effigies of murdered Palestinian babies at the sculpture in Liverpool Street to draw parallels between the Nazi genocide at Auschwitz with what they claim is a genocide in Gaza.
A plaque left beside the sculpture reads: "Mourning the millions of Jewish children not on the Kindertransport slaughtered in the Holocaust, and the many thousands of Gazan children slaughtered by Israel in the genocide."
They also laid a wreath for Gaza at the Cenotaph in central London alongside one with yellow stars labelled 'Juif', 'Jude' and 'Jood'.
Michael Newman, Association of Jewish Refugees chief executive, said: "The Kindertransport monument commemorates the lives of the mostly Jewish children who were given sanctuary in this country.
"It remembers the bravery of the parents who sent their children away and the altruism of the families who took in the youngest victims of Nazi oppression. As the national organisation supporting victims of Nazism, the AJR is highly offended by misusing Holocaust memorials to make political statements. It's a dangerous distortion and creates a false equivalence."
Designed by artist Frank Meisler, 'The Kindertransport – The Arrival statue' (2006), serves as a memorial to the thousands of unaccompanied European Jewish children who fled to London on the Kindertransport in the Second World War.
https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/jewish-protesters-for-gaza-target-kindertransport-memorial-on-holocaust-memorial-day/
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Monday, January 27, 2025
‘I fear for the future of my children here’, says Jewish protester dragged out of Irish Shoah event
The Jewish woman who was dragged out of Ireland's official Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony after she silently protested against a diatribe on Gaza by President Michael Higgins has told the JC she fears for the future of her children in the country.
Lior Tibet, 37, was forcibly removed from the event along with a pregnant Jewish friend by security staff after they – along with four other Jews – stood up and turned their back on Higgins when he spoke about the "thousands searching for relatives in the rubble" of Gaza.
"After what happened yesterday I'm really worried about how this will affect my kids. The atmosphere in Ireland is not what it used to be.
"When I first came here, I loved this country. But after October 7, it feels like I am having an existential crisis. It's hard to believe it's the same country," said the mother of two.
Tibet's pregnant friend, who wished to remain anonymous, accused Higgins of politicising the event.
She said: "It was horrible. I couldn't believe it. I told them I was pregnant, and the security guard continued to push me out with their bodies. It was so disrespectful."
The friend added that she was particularly shocked by the speech given that Holocaust survivors Tomi Reichental and Suzi Diamond had specifically asked Higgins not to bring up Gaza.
Tibet, who is from Israel but has lived in Dublin for seven years, said they were demanding a public apology from both the President and Holocaust Education Ireland.
When President Higgins began discussing Gaza, the two women silently turned their backs to him in protest.
Tibet said: "The moment I stood up and turned my back, they grabbed me and started dragging me out. They didn't ask, they just pushed. I'm a Jewish woman at a ceremony for my community. I have a right to be there."
https://www.thejc.com/news/world/i-fear-for-the-future-of-my-children-here-says-jewish-protester-dragged-out-of-irish-shoah-event-qs0rdfgy
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Thursday, January 23, 2025
Man accused of trying to enter Nashville Jewish Center in disguise appears in court
The man accused of disguising himself in an attempt to enter a Jewish community center in Nashville appeared before a judge for the first time Thursday morning.
A front desk employee, security guard and detective all testified at Travis Keith Garland's preliminary hearing before Judge Melissa Blackburn, who found there was probable cause for the charges against him. Now those charges — criminal trespassing and assault — will be heard by a grand jury, the next step in the criminal court process.
Garland, 31, is also facing an additional charge in connection to the case.
Attorneys said during the hearing that a grand jury on Wednesday indicted Garland for a civil rights violation.
Blackburn declined to reduce Garland's bond from $250,000, which was set when Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk appeared in night court himself after the defendant's arrest, an unusual action, to request a high bond.
After Garland's arrest, Jesse Feld, the Gordon Jewish Community Center's executive director, said they are "not intimidated by these bad actors."
"We are committed to continually providing a safe and secure environment for our vibrant Jewish community to continue to grow," Feld said last week.
The Gordon Jewish Community Center is a centralized, interdenominational institution for the Nashville area Jewish community through its many programs — camps, religious holiday celebrations and a film festival, among others — and its facilities for fitness and educational programs. Though many within Nashville's Jewish community are spread across five major congregations and other worship spaces to observe Shabbat, it often gathers as one for events at the Gordon JCC.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2025/01/23/man-accused-of-trying-to-enter-nashville-jewish-center-disguised-in-court/77874939007/
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Friday, January 17, 2025
Swastikas carved into wall at Whitby Library ‘direct attack’ on Jewish community: Mayor
An act of antisemitic vandalism at the Whitby Central Library last week, where several swastikas were carved into the wall of one of the washrooms, has Mayor Elizabeth Roy "deeply troubled" and vowing not to let the incident "divide our community."
"We are committed to ongoing dialogue and action to combat antisemitism and ensure that every resident feels safe and supported in Whitby," Roy said. "Acts of hate like this not only target specific individuals or groups but also seek to divide our community. We will not let that happen."
Staff at the library responded to the incident by immediately covering the graffiti and calling police, who responded to the scene.
"Such hateful symbols have no place in our community, especially not in a library, which should be a safe and welcoming space for all," says Rhonda Jessup, CEO and Chief Librarian.
This incident is all the more distressing, Roy said, following the "abhorrent act of hate" that happened last summer when a large swastika was burned into the grass at Prince of Wales Park.
"This incident is a direct attack on our Jewish community and the values of inclusion, respect, and safety that define our town."
https://www.insauga.com/swastikas-carved-into-wall-at-whitby-library-direct-attack-on-jewish-community-mayor/
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Thursday, January 16, 2025
'Jews are the evil of the world:' Slovenian synagogue vandalized
A medieval-era Slovenian synagogue was defaced with antisemitic graffiti on Sunday night, according to Maribor Synagogue director Boris Hajdinjak and German ambassador to Slovenia Sylvia Groneick.
"Jews are the evil of the world," graffiti spray-painted on the Jewish holy site read, according to photographs shared on Facebook by Hajdinjak. "Death to the Jews, Glory to Slovenia."
Other graffiti called on others to "read more of the Talmud," Jewish religious texts that often feature in claims made by antisemites and conspiracy theorists.
Hajdinjak said that law enforcement had been made aware of the vandalization of the national cultural site, which the synagogue claims on its Facebook page to be "the most important monument of Jewish cultural heritage on Slovenian soil."
"Jews have always been a small minority in Slovenian history. That is why it is exceptional that a medieval synagogue has been preserved in Maribor. Namely: there are not many European cities that have a preserved medieval synagogue," Hajdinjak said on Facebook Monday. "Truly strong countries are countries that include all their inhabitants, including the smallest minority. I believe that the majority of the inhabitants of the Republic of Slovenia agree with this opinion."
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-837876
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Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Man arrested after threatening to behead, kill Jews in Bellaire
A man from Spring, Texas, was arrested on Jan. 9 after making online threats to kill Jewish people in Bellaire.
Saif Tajiran, 33, has been charged with making a terroristic threat, enhanced to a hate crime.
Houston Jewish Funerals in Bellaire received a disturbing email with the subject line, "Beezlebub," on Oct. 29.
The email read: "I would like to help bury jews so speed the process to bury more jews. Could I get a job? If you hire me I can work fast and I will save you jews money. Think of how great this could be! I will save us more time to bury more [jews!] If you want I can behead more [jews] and we can become rich together. You know us [jews] have no morals, values and that we only care about ourselves! Yeshua Yahweh it will be perfect!"
Tajiran used his own email address, even including his own phone number.
A Bellaire police officer called the number, and when a man answered, the officer told him he was calling about an email he received. Police say the man began telling the officer the same statements that were in the email.
On Jan. 9, thanks to the collaborative efforts of Bellaire CID, traffic units and remote operations, Tajiran was located and arrested without incident. His bond was set at $50,000.
"This situation is a disturbing reminder that hate exists, even in a welcoming city like Houston," Houston Jewish Funerals owner Andrew Starr told the JHV.
"However, we must stay strong and resolute in our sacred mission to help Jewish families honor their loved ones who have passed in the traditions of our faith."
https://jhvonline.com/man-arrested-after-threatening-to-behead-kill-jews-in-bellaire-p34407-89.htm
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Tuesday, January 14, 2025
'I'm a soldier in the Jewish army:' Hasidic Rebbe's son shares excitement at joining IDF
Hasidic musician and singer Mendel Roth posted a video summarizing his first hours as a new IDF recruit in the new haredi "Hashmonaim" brigade.
"I am a Jewish soldier of the Jewish army in the Holy Land," Roth, the son of the Shmore Emunim Rebbe, said in the video he filmed with excitement from his room at the brigade's base in the Jordan Valley.
"I want to say that I am very excited," he added and shared about his roommates with whom he will spend the next eight months of basic training.
He was impressed by the army and said: "This is a serious business, from the few hours I have been here, it is a historic feeling, we are making history, doing something great, we are going to fight for the people of Israel, to unite the people of Israel."
In conclusion, he said, "There are sweet guys here, souls sweet as honey, with fear of God, pure souls, how wonderful it is that I took this step. "Am Yisrael Hai."
On Sunday, a day before his enlistment in the IDF, Roth published a new song with a message to his brothers from the haredi community, stating that it is important to join forces together, defend Israel and enlist in the IDF. About a month ago, he announced in a post that received thousands of likes and hundreds of comments that he was enlisting for combat service in the IDF.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/401997
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