New York News

Medical Miracles

07/10/1998 | by Eric J. Greenberg | Staff Writer

So a rabbi pays a sick call to a man suffering from an intestinal disease. The man is cursing God for his afflictions. “Idiot,” says the rabbi. “You would do better to pray for mercy for yourself.”
Says the patient: “May God remove these sufferings from me and place them upon you.”
Ba-da bum.

ACLU Bias Suit Against YU Assailed

07/03/1998 | by Stewart Ain | Staff Writer

For supporters of two lesbians at Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York law is clear-cut: the school may not discriminate against them in housing.
But two Jewish groups are not so sure, and two others have weighed in on the side of the school.
At the heart of the issue is the college’s policy of restricting its graduate housing to students only — except in the case of married students, who are given priority for studio apartments.

Vallone: Jobs, Health, Education Overlooked

07/03/1998 | by ADAM DICKTER | Staff Writer

Peter Vallone has become one of the most visible politicians in New York in recent weeks as he locks horns with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani over the city budget and presses his campaign to unseat Gov. George Pataki.
Although he faces an uphill battle against a popular incumbent Republican at a time of economic prosperity, the Democrat from Astoria, Queens, insists important issues are being overlooked.

Super Apology!

07/03/1998 | by Eric J. Greenberg | Staff Writer

The people who present the continuing adventures of Superman have apologized publicly for censoring the word “Jews” from a Holocaust plot. But some Jewish defense groups said the apology isn’t enough.

Defense Targets Media In Hikind Finale

07/03/1998 | by Lawrence Cohler-Esses  | Staff Writer

Defense attorney Benjamin Brafman launched his summation this week in the Dov Hikind federal corruption trial. One of his first targets was The Jewish Week. “The evidence is incontrovertible this case began with a series of articles in The Jewish Week,” he told the jury. “Are they fair? Or are they simply an organization that didn’t like chasidim, or an Orthodox organization?”

Brooklyn Businessman Gets 27 Months

07/03/1998 | by Eric J. Greenberg | Staff Writer

Rabbi Mahir Reiss, a respected Brooklyn businessman and Orthodox Jewish philanthropist credited with resolving international Jewish religious disputes, was sentenced to 27 months and fined $6.3 million for his role in an international money-laundering scheme involving a Colombian drug ring. In handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein on Wednesday based his decision on whether the 48-year-old Reiss knew that the illegal money he was laundering involved drugs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Dunst contended Reiss knew.