Brief

Brooklyn Man Sentenced For Abusing Haredi Kids

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:55:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

A Brooklyn man was sentenced to 20 years to life for sexually abusing children in his Orthodox Jewish community.

Michael Sabo, a 38-year-old father of four, confessed to sexually abusing two children. He was sentenced Monday after agreeing to a plea bargain.

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said it had evidence of seven additional victims.

The case has been cited as an example of the difficulties facing prosecutors in convincing abuse victims from the close-knit haredi Orthodox Jewish community to come forward.

child abuse Michael Sabo

Orthodox-Owned Lingerie Company Sued For Sexual Discrimination

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:54:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

A New Jersey woman who was told to “tape down her breasts” has filed suit against an Orthodox-owned lingerie company claiming religious and sexual discrimination.

Laura Odes, a former data entry worker, was fired from Native Intimates after working there for a week. A supervisor for the wholesale firm told Odes that the store owners, who are Orthodox Jews, were not happy with her outfit, saying it was too “distracting” and she was “too hot.”

Laura Odes lingerie store

Women Questioned For Wearing Prayer Shawls At Western Wall

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:53:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

Three women were stopped for questioning after attempting to pray at the Western Wall in Jewish prayer shawls. The women, part of a group of about 40 from the Women of the Wall group, were praying at the wall Tuesday morning as part of their monthly rosh chodesh, or new month, prayer service, The Jerusalem Post reported. A policewoman approached one of the women during the service and asked her not to wear the prayer shawl, or tallit, the way a man would and then adjusted it for her, according to the Post.

Kotel Prayer Shawls Women in Tallit

Eight Members Of Family Killed In Galilee Crash

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:52:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

Eight members of a northern Israeli family were killed when their car’s brakes failed and the car rolled down a hill.
The family minivan burst into flames at the bottom of the hill, killing six children and their parents early Tuesday morning.
One daughter, 7, survived because she was thrown out of the car when it overturned.

Car Crash Galilee

Israeli Doctors To Perform Face Transplant

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:52:00 +0000

Brief

JMNS

Dr. Eyal Gur, director of the Plastic Surgery Department at the Tel Aviv Ichilov hospital, and Dr. Arik Zaretsky, head of the Micro-Surgery Division of the Plastic Surgery Department, are preparing to undertake Israel’s first full face transplant, an operation which has only been performed 21 times around the world and is considered the most complex procedure in medicine.

face transplant Tel Aviv Ichilov hospital

Hottest Woman Alive Is Israeli, Says Maxim

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:51:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli was voted No. 1 on the annual Maxim Hot 100 list.

It marked the first time that the international men’s magazine allowed readers to partake in the selection process for the list, which was announced Monday by the magazine. Refaeli, who turns 27 on June 4, beat “Daily Show” correspondent Olivia Munn for the top spot.

In addition to Refaeli, Jewish honorees include actresses Mila Kunis (No. 3), Lea Michele (14) and Scarlett Johanssen (17).

Bar Refaeli Maxim

Brooklyn’s Beth Elohim Wins Landmark Grant Contest

Dani Shetrit — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:50:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

Congregation Beth Elohim of Park Slope, Brooklyn tallied the second highest number of online votes in the American Express Partners in Preservation program and will receive $250,000 for preservation. The contest was run in conjunction with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

American Express Beth Elohim of Park Slope Brooklyn

Father Suing L.I. School Over Anti-Semitic Taunts

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:11:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

A suburban New York father is suing his school district over the anti-Semitic taunting of his son.

Robert Slade filed the federal suit last week alleging that officials at Northport High School on Long Island took no action to stop a group of 20 students from traumatizing his son with taunts such as “Jews are disgusting,” “Being Jewish must suck,” “Hitler was a good person” and “My love for you burns like a thousand Jews in an oven.”

anti-semism Long Island Northport High School on Long Island

Iran Hangs ‘Mossad Agent’ Accused Of Killing Scientist

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:11:00 +0000

Brief

JMNS

Iran has hanged a man it said was a Mossad agent who killed an Iranian nuclear scientist in 2010, its state media reported on Tuesday.

Majid Jamali Fashi, 24, was hanged at Tehran's Evin Prison after being sentenced to death in August last year for the murder of Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, the state news agency quoted the central prosecutor’s office as saying. It said he had confessed to the crime.

Iran Majid Jamali Fashi Massoud Ali-Mohammadi Mossad

Interim CEO To Take Over As JDC Launches Search

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:10:00 +0000

Brief

In the wake of the announcement that American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) Executive Vice President and CEO Steven Schwager will step down as CEO, the organization has named veteran Jewish community executive and leader Darrell Friedman as interim CEO, effective July 1.

Friedman spent 17 years as CEO of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore and has been a strategic consultant to major national and international Jewish organizations.

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Darrell Friedman JDC Steven Schwager

Cuba Willing To Negotiate In Alan Gross Case

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

Authorities in Cuba are ready to negotiate the status of jailed American Alan Gross, a senior Cuban official said.

"We have made clear to the U.S. government that we are ready to have a negotiation in order to try and find a solution, a humanitarian solution to Mr. Gross' case on a reciprocal basis," Josefina Vidal, the top official in the Cuban Foreign Ministry handling North America, said in an interview on CNN on May 10.

Alan Gross Cuba

Judge Rules To Include Absentee Ballots In Brooklyn Senate Race

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:03:00 +0000

Brief

Adam Dickter

Seven weeks after south Brooklyn voters took to the polls to elect a new state Senator, a State Supreme Court Judge on Tuesday ruled that 119 disputed ballots will be included in the tally.

Democrat Lewis Fidler and Republican David Storobin have been locked in an extremely tight race and Fidler’s campaign contended in a court challenge that a Strobin campaign worker improperly collected absentee ballots.

Absentee ballots Brooklyn David Storobin Lewis Fidler

JCPA Endorses Title VI As Campus Tool

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:02:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs endorsed using federal law to counter anti-Semitism on American college campuses.

During the organization’s annual plenum in Detroit, the JCPA and its 14 national member agencies and 125 community relations councils adopted a resolution that calls on campus leaders to do more to make students safe from anti-Semitism.

JCPA

Google Earth Images Show Hezbollah Building New Bases

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Brief

JMNS

Hezbollah has been building new bases and facilities in southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border, the Lebanese Daily Star reported Tuesday, basing the report on recently uploaded Google Earth satellite images.

Google Google earth Hezbollah technology

Biden: Israel Still Has Time to Strike Iran

Dani Shetrit — Tue, 08 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Brief

JTA

Israel still has time to strike Iran and the right to decide for itself whether to do so, Vice President Joe Biden said.

Appearing Tuesday in Atlanta at the annual convention of the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly, Biden said "the window has not closed in terms of the Israelis if they choose to act on their own militarily."

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has suggested that Israel has until the fall to strike; the Obama administration has been pressing Israel to give time for sanctions and diplomacy to work.

Iran Israel Joe Biden