Yeshiva World News

The following is reported by the Asbury Park Press:

A judge on Friday sentenced a 39-year-old Lakewood man to eight years in prison for a senseless, unprovoked baseball-bat attack on a rabbi, despite pleas from the defendant’s attorney that his client needs psychiatric help instead of prison.

“This was an unprovoked, senseless attack resulting in serious permanent injury to the victim,” Superior Court Judge Francis R. Hodgson said in sentencing Lee Tucker of Ventura Drive to the prison term.

Hodgson ordered that Tucker serve 85 percent of the prison term, or 6 years, nine months and 22 days, before he can be considered for release on parole, under the state’s No Early Release Act.

Hodgson also ordered Tucker to make $9,500 in restitution to the victim, Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz of Lakewood.

Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Michael Weatherstone asked for the restitution, saying that Moskowitz has to see a specialist in Philadelphia twice a year because of the seizures he suffers as a result of the attack.

Tucker pleaded guilty Dec. 7 to aggravated assault on Moskowitz, admitting that he struck the victim, a stranger, repeatedly on the head with an aluminum baseball bat on on Oct. 9, 2007, in Lakewood as was first reported HERE by YWN.

The incident received widespread attention in Lakewood’s Orthodox community.

Moskowitz, then 53 and a Rebbi at Lakewood Cheder School, was walking to Shul to daven when he was attacked just after dark at Princeton Avenue and Carey Street in Lakewood.

The victim suffered fractures to his skull, nose and eye socket as well as a brain hemorrhage, Weatherstone said. Because of the injuries, Moskowitz is at risk for early onset of Alzheimer’s disease, the prosecutor said.

Tucker’s attorney, Glenn Kassman, said his client is severely mentally ill and has been in and out of psychiatric institutions most of his life. Although Tucker’s mental illness did not rise to the level of a defense, it is the only possible explanation for the random attack, Kassman said.

“We’re here today because of what can only be described as a truly senseless act by a very, very sick man,” Kassman said. “Lee Tucker is going to state prison but Lee Tucker does not belong in state prison – he belongs in a mental institution.”

Weatherstone countered, “I think state prison is exactly where Lee Tucker belongs.

“He took out Mr. Moskowitz with an aluminum baseball bat for no reason…. hit him in the head repeatedly,” Weatherstone said, asking for the maximum sentence of 10 years.

“This defendant must realize that you do not get to walk down the street and take a baseball bat to someone’s head,” he said.

Portraying Tucker as a master manipulator, the assistant prosecutor said that Tucker talked to fellow inmates at the Ocean County Jail about using his mental illness to “beat the charge.” Tucker also went shopping after the attack with an aunt at a store where they were pictured on a surveillance videotape, in a failed attempt to provide an alibi, Weatherstone said.

“That’s someone who’s trying to manipulate the system,” Weatherstone said.

Moskowitz sat quietly in the rear of the courtroom during the sentencing and declined to comment afterward.

(Source: APP)

A 39-year-old Lakewood thug on Monday pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in a random baseball-bat attack on Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz, a third-grade Rebbe at Lakewood Cheder.

Lee Tucker Jr. of Ventura Drive admitted to Superior Court Judge Francis R. Hodgson that he attacked Rabbi Moskowitz with an aluminum baseball bat on Oct. 9, 2007, in Lakewood as was first reported HERE by YWN.

Responding to questions posed by his attorney, Glenn Kassman, Tucker acknowledged that he struck Rabbi Moskowitz, a stranger, three to six times on the head with the bat. Questioned further by Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Michael Weatherstone, Tucker conceded the action was an attempt to cause serious bodily injury to the victim.

Rabbi Moskowitz was walking to Daven Maariv when he was attacked just after dark at Princeton Avenue and Carey Street in Lakewood. Authorities said Moskowitz, then 53 and a Lakewood resident, required hospitalization at a rehabilitation center for severe injuries to his face and head.

Tucker had been charged in an indictment with attempted murder and weapons offenses, but the prosecution, in a plea bargain, agreed to dismiss the weapons charges and to downgrade the attempted murder charge to second-degree aggravated assault, which is punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

The victim, who was not in court, approved of the plea bargain, he said.

Weatherstone said he will ask for a 10-year prison term for Tucker when he is sentenced on Jan. 29, although Kassman said he will argue for a shorter term. Tucker will have to serve 85 percent of any prison term he does receive before he can be considered for release on parole, under the state’s No Early Release Act for violent criminals.

If he had been convicted of attempted murder, Tucker would have faced up to 20 years in prison.

The attack received widespread attention, including a news conference to announce a $25,000 reward for information posted by the Anti-Defamation League and the Lakewood Vaad.

An intensive investigation by Lakewood Detective Steven Wexler and prosecutor’s Detective Carlos Trujillo-Tovar led to Tucker’s arrest 15 days after the assault and eight blocks away from where it took place.

Tucker was first questioned by police about the crime two days before his arrest, when he was discharged from Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow.

Authorities said they never learned a motive for the attack, but had no information to believe it was motivated by religious bias.

Kassman and defense attorney Kevin Young earlier this year sought to have Tucker declared incompetent to stand trial based on a long history of hospitalizations for serious mental disorders that included schizophrenia. Hodgson, however, ruled that Tucker was competent to stand trial.

Kassman said that while Tucker’s mental illness did not amount to an insanity defense, he said it is a point he will ask the judge to take into consideration when the defendant is sentenced.

(Source: Asbury Park Press)

Lakewood, NJ – A 43-year-old Seaside Heights man who admitted driving much younger men to violently rob Orthodox Jews was sentenced Friday morning to 25 years in prison for his role in the crimes.

Before he was sentenced, Jose Diaz Jr. of Franklin Boulevard professed to have no advance knowledge that violence was going to be imparted during the crimes.

But First Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Ronald F. DeLigny said Diaz was almost twice as old as the two men he transported to the crimes, and he did that “knowing full well” the victims of the robberies were likely to be injured.

“I didn’t know who was getting hurt,” he told Superior Court Judge James Den Uyl. “I knew about a robbery, but hurting somebody, no, I don’t think so. I don’t hate nobody.”

Diaz pleaded guilty on Sept. 21 to conspiracy to commit robbery and bias intimidation in connection with an incident on May 25, 2008 in Lakewood in which David Davidovish, then 38 and visiting from Israel, was attacked with a baseball bat and robbed of several hundred dollars and a laptop computer as first reported HERE on YWN. Authorities said a codefendant, Devon Hardy, 20, of Lakewood smashed the windshield of Davidovish’s car with a baseball bat as the victim was parked in the lot of a convenience store on Route 9.

Diaz also pleaded guilty to robbery and bias intimidation in connection with an incident on July 8, 2008 in Lakewood in which Rabbi Yaakov Goldbaum, then 41, of Lakewood was accosted in front of his home as first reported HERE on YWN.

Diaz has admitted that he drove Hardy and Timothy Swift, 19, of Toms River to that robbery, knowing that Hardy was armed with a knife. Rabbi Goldbaum was punched and stabbed four times, and his wallet stolen.

Authorities said Orthodox Jews were targeted because they were unlikely to resist the robberies.

Den Uyl ordered that 15 years of Diaz’s 25-year sentence be subject to the state’s No Early Release Act, which requires that 85 percent of the term be served before he can be considered for release on parole.

Den Uyl on Oct. 9 sentenced Hardy to 30 years in prison for the two robberies, and Swift to 10 years in prison for the robbery he participated in. Both must serve 85 percent of their prison terms before they can be considered for release on parole.

(Source: Asbury Park Press)

The following article appears in The Brookyln Paper: 

You can believe everything you read in The Brooklyn Paper – unless it’s in the comments section of our award-winning Web site.

Imposters have been commenting under the names of prominent members of South Williamsburg’s Hasidic community for months, spreading lies and attempting to ruin reputations in a proxy battle between rival camps within the Jewish sect, according to the victims of the attacks.

“I feel upset,” said Shimon Weiser, a Community Board 1 member who has been impersonated repeatedly in fake posts touting bogus political affiliations and a love for beer. “They are using my name to defame me with lies.”

Under a strict posting policy, The Brooklyn Paper deletes all “abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening material” as soon as The Paper becomes aware of it – but that hasn’t stopped the imposters from posting dozens of comments from a variety of different Internet protocol addresses depicting Weiser as a buffoon.

“We live in a crazy world my friend, just crazy,” read a comment under Weiser’s name that the real Weiser said was fake. “I will be drinking my beer this evening and I will enjoy it, ’cause that’s how I roll. MMMM.’”

Other fake posts under Weiser’s name have attacked politicians including Borough President Markowitz, Mayor Bloomberg, and Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D–Bushwick) – dubbed “Vito Low-pest” by the faux correspondent. Many of the fraudulent comments mention weekly “beer hall” meetings.

“This is just childish,” said the real Weiser. “If they want to comment, comment themselves. Don’t use fictitious names.”

Though The Brooklyn Paper regularly deletes fake comments, some have remained on the Web site long enough to confuse readers.

“People called me and said, ‘This can’t really be you,’” said Rabbi David Niederman – head of the United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg, who has also been a victim of Interweb impersonators.

“Everybody with some brain understands and knows that it’s not David Niederman commenting – but in order to understand that, you have to know who David Niederman is,” he said. “Somebody who does not know David Niederman gets a distorted picture of what I am and what I stand for.”

Sources say the fake posts stem from the ongoing rivalry between two battling Satmar sects.

The two groups have opposed each other on just about every issue from political endorsements to the Broadway Triangle.

Considering that both Weiser and Niederman are followers of Satmar Williamsburg, tipsters say the imposters might be supporters of Satmar Kiryas Yoel who are attempting to publicly shame their civically active rivals.

“People are sometimes playing double,” a tipster told The Paper. “They use their own names, then blame other people for it just to make an issue out of it.”

In this case of insider Jewish baseball, it’s unclear which side is the Sandy Koufax on the mound.

But one thing’s for sure, sports fans – if you see a comment by “Shimon Weiser” or “Rabbi David Niederman,” a curveball is definitely coming.

(Source: The Brooklyn Paper)

The following is an Asbury Park Press report:

If projections are correct, the township will have a population of at least 90,000 people by 2010 – 30,000 more people than 10 years ago.

The population growth is fueled by relocations to the township and an explosive birth rate, said Stanley C. Slachetka, a town planner with Middletown-based T&M Associates. “By all empirical measures, you’ve had significant growth,” he said.

For every 1,000 people there were more than 44 births in 2005, which is the latest state data available. The birth rate is about four times the state average, and it is the highest birthrate in the Garden State. The births added more than 2,000 people to the town in 2005. More than 86,770 of Ocean County’s estimated 565,493 people live here.

To meet the demand of a ballooning population, township officials are considering a plan that would spell out how the town will grow over the coming decades. It focuses on making redevelopment easier for private property owners and mixed-use developments, which allow for several types of property uses – residential, retail and office space, for example – to be placed on a single piece of property.

Slachetka presented that Smart Growth plan Tuesday night before the Planning Board during the first of two “community visioning” public hearings. A second hearing is scheduled for 5 p.m. today before the Township Committee.

Support and opposition are divided along a tight demographic line. Representatives from the Orthodox Jewish community were overwhelmingly in favor of the plan, and representatives from the adult communities were typically opposed.

Lakewood’s sprawling development has been “random and disjointed,” said Rabbi Moshe Weinberg, chairman of the Lakewood Development Corp.

Weinberg said the plan would provide the “unified vision” the town has lacked. The development corporation supports the adoption of the plan, he said.

Targeted areas include a tract of land on Cedarbridge Avenue near the Lakewood Blueclaws baseball park, the downtown, land on either side of Oak Street and land west of Massachusetts Avenue. Schools and transportation hubs would link the neighborhood cores and the township’s center.

“We came here to get away from the noise, bus depots and multifamily housing,” said David Ransom, a resident in one of the township’s adult communities.

The adult community residents and other senior citizens wanted the plan to address growing traffic problems, and to slow the growth of the town. On the other side of the argument is Yanky Braunstein, the owner of ClearPoint Services LLC land surveyors, who sees the plan as a means to expand businesses.

(Source: APP)

It is the biggest earthquake drill ever. Thursday, millions of Californians will take part in what is being called the “Great California ShakeOut.”

The drill is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. Thursday. That means wherever you are at that moment–home, work, or school–you should drop, cover and hold on. The purpose of this simultaneous drill is to practice how to protect ourselves.

The Red Cross advises three basic steps: make a plan, be informed, and get an emergency kit together–something many families have not done. For starters, nonperishable foods, a flashlight, and batteries should all go in that kit.

Emergency officials say it really just takes a few minutes to lay out a plan with your family.

More than 6 million people have registered to take part in the drill, sponsored by various state agencies. About 5.5 million Californians participated in last year’s drill, organizers said.

This year’s participants also can watch an animated video that shows how much damage a magnitude 7.8 earthquake can cause.

Thursday’s event comes two days before the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake. The magnitude 6.9 quake rocked Northern California in 1989, killing dozens, collapsing a 50-foot section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, damaging thousands of homes, and interrupting baseball’s World Series.

(Source: KSBY / CNN / YWN-106 / YWN-153)

A teenager has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a violent robbery of a rabbi last year.

Superior Court Judge James Den Uyl imposed the prison term Friday on Timothy Swift and ordered that he serve 85 percent of the term before he can be considered for release on parole, under the state’s No Early Release Act for violent criminals.

Swift, 19, pleaded guilty in July to the robbery. Authorities said that on July 8, 2008, Swift accompanied Jose Diaz, 42, of Seaside Heights and Devon Hardy, 20, of Lakewood to a location in Lakewood where they robbed Rabbi Yaakov Goldbaum, then 41, in front of his home – as first reported HERE on YWN. Rabbi Goldbaum was punched and stabbed, and his wallet was stolen.

Hardy and Diaz are awaiting sentencing for robbing Rabbi Goldbaum and another Orthodox Jew, David Davidovish. Davidovish was struck with a baseball bat and robbed of his laptop computer and several hundred dollars as he sat in a car in front of a convenience store on Route 9 in Lakewood on May 25, 2008 – as first reported HERE on YWN.

Davidovich, then 38 and visiting from Israel, suffered a broken nose.

Authorities said that the trio targeted Orthodox Jews because they believed they would be unlikely to resist being robbed.

(Source: APP)

Moshav Matitayhu Avos U’Banim Baseball Game during Chol HaMoed Sukkos 5770.
(Credit: Yehuda Boltshauser / Kuvien)

Click HERE for the video & HERE for the photos.

The man at the center of a terror investigation in the city and in Denver, Colorado was arrested Saturday night on charges he lied to federal investigators.

Najibullah Zazi, 24, and his father, Mohammed Wali Zazi, 53, were arrested by federal agents late Saturday at their suburban Denver homes.

A third man, Ahmad Wais Afzali, 37, of Flushing, was also arrested.

The Justice Department says all three are charged with making false statements to federal agents in an ongoing terror investigation.

The three men are all expected to appear in federal court Monday, and each faces eight years behind bars if convicted.

The arrests came hours after Najibullah Zazi canceled a fourth meeting with the FBI to talk with his lawyer instead.

Authorities say Zazi rented a car and drove from Denver to New York, arriving in the city on September 10th.

According to federal affidavits, investigators say a September 11th search of Zazi’s rental car in New York turned up a laptop computer that contained an image of notes which included instructions about building explosives.

But the documents say when confronted with the notes, Zazi told agents he didn’t write them.

Law enforcement officials tell ABC News a computer belonging to Zazi showed he had researched baseball and football stadiums along with some sites being used for Fashion Week.

ABC also says text messages were sent indicating a plot was nearing the attack phase.

Reports say Zazi had cell phone video of Grand Central Terminal, but a federal official warns there is no specific terror threat or target.

Officials raided three homes in the Queens neighborhood where Zazi had been staying — one of them belonging to Naiz Kahn, who doesn’t believe he is linked to a terror group.

“I don’t think so but I know him if somebody comes to mosque, you know our culture, people come to mosque and you talk to them: hi, how are you? And you don’t know what he’s up to,” Kahn said.

Zazi’s defense team has repeatedly dismissed reports that indicated he is directly linked with al-Qaida.

(Source: NY1)

New York City – Upon confirming that ESPN will reschedule the September 27th game between the Yankees and Red Sox to not conflict with Yom Kippur, Representative Anthony Weiner (D – Brooklyn and Queens) issued the following statement:

“As a Mets fan, it’s hard for me to celebrate any victory for the Yankees, but ESPN and the Commissioner of Major League Baseball did the right thing. New York is home to the largest Jewish population in the country and practicing your religion shouldn’t conflict with rooting for your home team. I’m pleased with ESPN’s decision to move the game to a time when Jews can attend and watch.”

The September 27th game between the Yankees and the Red Sox was originally scheduled to take place at 1 p.m., but was moved to 8 p.m. at the request of ESPN, who planned on broadcasting the game during Sunday Night Baseball. By rescheduling the game to take place after sundown, observant Jews who purchased tickets would not have been able to attend the game or watch it on television. New York City is home to the country’s largest Jewish population and Yom Kippur is one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar.

Earlier today, Congressman Weiner wrote a letter to Baseball Commissioner Selig and ESPN President Bodenheimer requesting that the New York Jewish community not be punished for a last minute scheduling swap by returning the game to its originally scheduled time. He also asked that they show greater sensitivity when making scheduling decisions in the future.

(YWN Desk – NYC)

New York City – Representative Anthony Weiner (D – Brooklyn and Queens) today called on ESPN and the Commissioner of Major League Baseball to honor the holiest day on the Jewish calendar by returning the New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox game to the afternoon from the afternoon of September 27th, which is the beginning of the most holy Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

The September 27th game between the Yankees and the Red Sox was originally scheduled to take place at 1 p.m., but was moved to 8 p.m. at the request of ESPN, who planned on broadcasting the game during Sunday Night Baseball.

The following letter was sent to ESPN President, George Bodenheimer who under contract with MLB, has control of scheduling the times of baseball games and Commissioner Allan Selig.

September 1, 2009

Dear Commissioner Selig & Mr. Bodenheimer:

I write to express my disappointment with the rescheduling of the New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox game from the afternoon to the evening of September 27th, which is the beginning of the most holy Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. I urge you to switch the game back to its originally scheduled time of 1 p.m.

As I am sure you are aware, Yom Kippur begins at sundown on Sunday September 27 in New York and continues until one hour after sundown on Monday, September 28. Jews will refrain from work, will fast and will attend synagogue services beginning on Sunday evening. Because the game was moved, it now runs into direct conflict with the religious requirement for players, such as Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox, team personnel and fans to be home by sundown. In New York in particular, home of the largest Jewish community in America, the current scheduling of this game ensures that any observant Jew who purchased tickets will lose their money because they will be unable to attend due to religious reasons.

There’s no reason why the largest Jewish community in the country should be punished for a last-minute scheduling swap. I’m hopeful that ESPN will do the right thing and return the game to its 1 p.m. start and that ESPN will show greater sensitivity when making scheduling decisions in the future.

I look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

ANTHONY D. WEINER                                          
Member of Congress

(YWN Desk – NYC)

At 7:00PM today (Monday), the smell of kosher hot dogs, cut grass and the sounds of cheering crowds will be heard in the world famous Coney Island Keyspan Park – as the NYPD PBBS Division will “play ball” against Flatbush Hatzolah in a charity softball game. The game was organized by the NYPD PBBS, and will be open to the public.

Flatbush Hatzolah has been playing weekly summer baseball games against various NYC agencies – such as NYPD and FDNY to foster a spirit of camaraderie and friendship. These ball games have successfully enhanced the unique relationship between the various agencies and Hatzoloh, and gives all a chance to “get out of the work uniform” and further enhance the important partnerships and understanding that the community can really count on. While always competitive, the games have been enjoyed by all.

Precinct commanders rave about the dividends paid off and Brooklyn South Boro Chief Fox himself places great importance on this ongoing successful community interaction.

This game will naturally be for fun – but will also be played with another objective -a community Kiddush Hashem.

Flatbush Hatzolah has decided to change the setting of the game from a standard NYC park, to play the game at the beautiful Keyspan Park home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.

The event will be charging a small entrance fee, and thus far more than $15,000 has been raised towards the PBA widows & children’s fund, and $15,000 towards local G’machs.

Tickets will be available at the door for only $10.00 per person. The game is scheduled for 7:00PM, but the gates will open at 5:00PM. Kosher hot dogs & other food will be available as well. (Keyspan Park is located on Surf Avenue at West 16th Street in Coney Island.)

Discounts are available for groups and/or camps, by calling 718-376-1900. The time of the game is early (7:00PM) and really affordable.

Photos of this exciting game will be posted on YWN.

(Eli Gefen – YWN)

Rockland County police on Wednesday said that they are making progress in their search for the man who broke into an 84-year-old woman’s home in Ramapo.

Lt. Brad Weidel, of the Ramapo Police, said officials are searching for a white male, approximately 5-foot-10 and 30-years-old, who was wearing a white t-shirt and baseball cap at the time of the break in. The man reportedly has a tan complexion and thin build.

The victim’s average-sized ranch house seemed an unlikely target in a neighborhood filled with mansions and high-end homes. But on Tuesday morning, the intruder allegedly broke into the house, terrorizing the elderly victim and her daughter.

“We couldn’t even talk to one another,” the victim said. “We were so frightened.”

The victim requested CBS 2 HD not reveal her identity, as she was still worried about the intruder. She said he pounded on the house’s front door before jumping inside through one of its rear windows. The man then ordered the two women into one of the back bedrooms.

“(He was) very irritated, very angry” the victim said.

She added that the man methodically searched the house. He unplugged all three of the home’s telephones, and also took away the daughter’s cell phone to prevent the women from calling the police.

Weidel said the intruder ordered the two women to remain quiet. They complied, and he believes this was the right decision.

“You have to make decisions as the event unfolds if you’re ever put into a situation like that,” Weidel said. “Generally, you should always try to cooperate with your attacker.”

The man allegedly rummaged through the house for 30 minutes and then fled into the woods.

“He took money and the jewels,” the victim said.

Police officials are hopeful that forensic evidence obtained from the scene can help them to identify the invader.

(Source: WCBSTV)

Golani Brigade soldiers, who are taking part in their annual Mount Hermon to Eilat run were spotted in the capital on Monday, easily detected with their distinctive yellow running shorts, yellow tee shirts bearing the famous green Golani emblem and their dark green Golani baseball caps.

This year however, they made a detour, a stopover that brought immeasurable joy to one of the brigade’s combatants, Neria Biderman, 20, a member of the 51st Battalion who sustained very serious injuries in Operation Cast Lead.

They stopped in Netanya to visit Biderman, who is undergoing intensive rehabilitation in Bet Levenstein. Biderman was very seriously injury on January 4th, one of the first to enter Gaza. He remained in Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva, in a comatose state. After regaining consciousness, he was transferred to Levenstein on February 6th, where he is rehabilitating himself.

Biderman was truly emotional at the sight of his buddies, explaining that Baruch Hashem he ambulates unassisted today, and the injured arm has returned to almost 100% functionality.

When Biderman came downstairs for a daily rehab session he was startled to see his comrades waiting for him. They left the north two days earlier, and hope to complete the run in Eilat on Thursday. This year’s runners are from the 13th Battalion,  soldiers who recently completed basic training. The company commander and his deputy gave Biderman a certificate of appreciation from the division, with Biderman expressing his gratitude for the gesture, adding, “If only I could continue with you guys to the end of the run”.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

Iranian authorities Tuesday agreed to recount disputed presidential votes as the country faced intensifying unrest in the wake of a claimed victory by incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that opponents say was the result of a rigged ballot.

Ahmadinejad’s main opponent, conservative reformist Mir Hossein Moussavi, Tuesday rejected the vote recount, calling instead for a fresh election.

The stalemate means that rival demonstrations planned for Tuesday evening by Moussavi’s supporters and backers of Ahmadinejad will likely go on — raising the specter of more violence as the country entered a fourth day of unrest.

Iran’s Guardian Council — which is made up of top clerics and judges — said Tuesday it will recount votes that the opposition questioned in Friday’s race.

A spokesman for the council told the official Islamic Republic News Agency that council members met with the three opposition candidates — Moussavi, Mehdi Karrubi and Mohsen Rezaie — and asked them to specify the areas where they wanted a recount.

But Moussavi, whose supporters have alleged ballot fraud, wants Iran to hold fresh elections, the official close to his camp said.

The official, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, said a recount would provide another opportunity for the government to manipulate the results.

He said the council ordered the printing of 53 million ballots for the elections, but only 39 million were used. Fourteen million ballots were missing.

The Guardian Council’s surprise announcement follows Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s apparent u-turn from an earlier endorsement of an Ahmadinejad victory.

Ahmadinejad won Friday’s race, surprising many experts who had expected Moussavi to put up a much stronger fight.

Moussavi, a former prime minister looked on as a reformist, enjoys tremendous support among the youth, who make up almost 60 percent of Iran’s population of 70 million.

He tapped into their dissatisfaction with the faltering economy under Ahmadinejad and with an unemployment rate that tops 30 percent by some accounts.

But Kaveh Afrasiabi, a political scientist who supports Ahmadinejad, said the incumbent’s widespread support in rural areas and small towns was the reason for his win with more than 62 percent of the vote.

Moussavi contested the results. His supporters have taken to the streets every day, often clashing with police and Ahmadinejad’s backers.

Seven people were killed on Monday night in the capital, Tehran, after they allegedly attacked a military post near Azadi — or Freedom — Square, government-funded Press TV said.

The site was the same one where Moussavi had earlier in the day appealed to his supporters — a crowd of at least 10,000.

Moussavi’s presence was his first public appearance since the election. There, he called on authorities to stop attacks on his supporters and urged his followers to continue demonstrating peacefully.

“You are not breaking glass,” he said. “You are breaking tyranny.”

Though the rally was largely peaceful, one person was reportedly fatally shot when it ended.

The official with the Moussavi camp confirmed the death of eight supporters, saying they were killed in clashes with Ahmadinejad supporters following the rally.

Since election day, several violent incidents have been blamed on Ahmadinejad backers.

On Sunday, men on motorcycles combed streets and alleys for protesters — chasing and beating them with clubs, metal batons and baseball bats.

Later that night, a family that lives in a high-rise apartment near Moussavi’s election headquarters in Tehran reported that militiamen had attacked their building.

(Source: CNN)

The Asbury Park Press reports: A 38-year-old Lakewood man accused of attempted murder in a baseball-bat attack on Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz, a third-grade Rebbe at Lakewood Cheder has been deemed competent to stand trial. Superior Court Judge Francis R. Hodgson last week ruled that Lee Tucker of Ventura Drive is mentally fit to stand trial on the attempted murder charge and another charge of possessing a weapon.

Tucker is accused of severely beating Rabbi Moskowitz in Lakewood on Oct. 9, 2007 (as reported HERE on YWN) as he was walking to Daven Maariv.

Tucker’s attorneys, Glenn Kassman and Kevin Young, sought to have their client declared incompetent to stand trial. At a hearing on May 14, they presented testimony from a psychiatrist, Dr. Daniel Greenfield, who talked about Tucker’s history of psychiatric commitments dating to 1996 for serious mental disorders that include schizophrenia.

However, Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Michael Weatherstone called another psychiatrist, Dr. Timothy Michals, as his expert witness. Michals testified that Tucker is competent and that he faked mental illness during an exam.

Hodgson issued his ruling Thursday.

Young said at issue was whether Tucker is mentally competent to assist in his defense, and that Hodgson agreed with the state’s expert who said that he is.

Young said the defense team may now pursue an insanity defense for Tucker and are seeking to have him re-evaluated. For that defense to succeed, the defense attorneys would have to prove that Tucker was insane when the crimes were committed.

Hodgson scheduled a conference in the case for July 6. Tucker was arrested and charged on Oct. 24, 2007, a day after he was released from a stay at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow.

(Source: APP / Lipas)

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States declined for the fourth consecutive year, according to newly issued statistics from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The League’s annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, issued today, counted a total of 1,352 incidents of vandalism, harassment and physical assaults against Jewish individuals, property and community institutions in 2008, representing a 7 percent decline from the 1,460 incidents reported in 2007.

The Audit identified 37 physical assaults on Jewish individuals, 702 incidences of anti-Semitic vandalism, and 613 cases of harassment in 2008.  They included acts against high-profile Jewish community institutions and communal properties, such as the repeated vandalism of the San Francisco Holocaust Memorial, and the desecration of dozens of graves at a Jewish cemetery in Chicago with swastikas and hate group symbols.

Of the total 1,352 incidents, 42 percent occurred at homes, private buildings or businesses, and 23 percent took place in educational establishments, including public and private schools and universities, according to the Audit.

“It is encouraging that the number of anti-Semitic incidents continues to decline, but the sheer volume of incidents reported and the violent nature of many of the physical assaults is a reminder that we cannot be complacent,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  “Had law enforcement not thwarted the alleged terrorist bombing plot against synagogues in Riverdale, New York, it would have been a horrific anti-Semitic attack.”

The 2008 Audit comprises data from 44 states and the District of Columbia, including official crime statistics as well as information provided to ADL’s regional offices by victims, law enforcement officers and community leaders.  The Audit identifies criminal acts, such as vandalism, violence and threats of violence, as well as non-criminal incidents of harassment and intimidation, including hate propaganda, leafleting and verbal slurs.

“The Audit is one barometer of anti-Semitism,” said Mr. Foxman.  “The explosive expansion of the Internet and social-networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube has become a new frontier for anti-Semitism, and so anti-Jewish expression is hard to quantify in this environment.  It’s here today, gone tomorrow, and back the next day.

“In 2008, the financial crisis brought about an increase in rhetoric targeting Jews, with letters in newspapers and on Web sites blaming Jews for the misdeeds of a select few, with Bernard Madoff topping the list,” added Mr. Foxman.  “Hate groups and anti-Semites used the global economic downturn to breathe new life into old myths of greedy and money-hungry American Jews, and these took on a life of their own on the Internet and in the real world.”

Anti-Semitic incidents last peaked in 2004, when the League reported 1,821 incidents in the U.S.

For reporting purposes, the Audit divides anti-Semitic incidents into three categories: Anti-Semitic Assaults, involving violence against Jewish individuals or those thought to be Jewish; Vandalism, such as property damage, cemetery desecration or anti-Semitic graffiti; and Harassment, including threats, slurs and activity by anti-Semitic hate groups:

• Assaults: A total of 37 anti-Semitic assaults were reported in 2008.  The assaults included attacks with baseball bats and other weapons, punching and rock-throwing.  In some cases, victims were hospitalized.

• Vandalism:  There were 702 cases of anti-Semitic vandalism reported in 2008, up from 612 cases in 2007. 

• Harassment: A total of 613 incidents of anti-Semitic harassment were reported in 2008.  (In 2007, the categories of assaults and harassment were combined for reporting purposes, for a total of 745 incidents.  In 2008, the combined total of assaults and harassment was 650).

“The bad news is Jews continue to be the number one religion group targeted for hate,” said Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chair.  “The good news is there’s a greater awareness within local Jewish communities that the potential for anti-Semitic activity should always be a concern. Communities have responded with heightened security and by partnering with law enforcement in an attempt to mitigate the threat.”

Continuing a longtime trend, the states with the highest totals were those with large Jewish populations.  The top four states accounted for 59 percent of the anti-Semitic incidents recorded by ADL. 

The states with the highest totals were New Jersey (238, down from 247); California (226, up from 186); New York (207, down from 351); Florida (122, down from 127); Pennsylvania (97, down from 99); Massachusetts (52, down from 95); and Connecticut (38, down from 49).

(YWN Desk – NYC / ADL)

President Barack Obama named federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday, praising her as “an inspiring woman” with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely.

While it’s unclear exactly when Sonia Sotomayor will have her Senate confirmation hearing, Senate Republicans are already sending the message that they will not be rushed through the process, opening the the possibility that she may not confirmed before the Supreme Court opens in October. 

In his written statement today, Republican Judiciary Committee member Jon Kyl stressed the need for Republicans to have plenty of time to review Sotomayor’s record. Kyl cited examples from past Supreme Court confirmations under a Republican-controlled Senate where the then-Democratic minority was afforded “ample time” to review the nominee.

He says the entire process for each of the two most recent nominee took between two and three months to complete.

The following statement was released by the White House: 

Sonia Sotomayor has served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since October 1998. She has been hailed as “one of the ablest federal judges currently sitting” for her thoughtful opinions,i and as “a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity” for her ascent to the federal bench from an upbringing in a South Bronx housing project.

Her American story and three decade career in nearly every aspect of the law provide Judge Sotomayor with unique qualifications to be the next Supreme Court Justice. She is a distinguished graduate of two of America’s leading universities. She has been a big-city prosecutor and a corporate litigator. Before she was promoted to the Second Circuit by President Clinton, she was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H.W. Bush. She replaces Justice Souter as the only Justice with experience as a trial judge.

Judge Sotomayor served 11 years on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, one of the most demanding circuits in the country, and has handed down decisions on a range of complex legal and constitutional issues. If confirmed, Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years, and more overall judicial experience than anyone confirmed for the Court in the past 70 years. Judge Richard C. Wesley, a George W. Bush appointee to the Second Circuit, said “Sonia is an outstanding colleague with a keen legal mind. She brings a wealth of knowledge and hard work to all her endeavors on our court. It is both a pleasure and an honor to serve with her.”

In addition to her distinguished judicial service, Judge Sotomayor is a Lecturer at Columbia University Law School and was also an adjunct professor at New York University Law School until 2007.

An American Story
Judge Sonia Sotomayor has lived the American dream. Born to a Puerto Rican family, she grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx. Her parents moved to New York during World War II – her mother served in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps during the war. Her father, a factory worker with a third-grade education, died when Sotomayor was nine years old. Her mother, a nurse, then raised Sotomayor and her younger brother, Juan, now a physician in Syracuse. After her father’s death, Sotomayor turned to books for solace, and it was her new found love of Nancy Drew that inspired a love of reading and learning, a path that ultimately led her to the law.
 
Most importantly, at an early age, her mother instilled in Sotomayor and her brother a belief in the power of education. Driven by an indefatigable work ethic, and rising to the challenge of managing a diagnosis of juvenile diabetes, Sotomayor excelled in school. Sotomayor graduated as valedictorian of her class at Blessed Sacrament and at Cardinal Spellman High School in New York. She first heard about the Ivy League from her high school debate coach, Ken Moy, who attended Princeton University, and she soon followed in his footsteps after winning a scholarship.
 
At Princeton, she continued to excel, graduating summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa. She was a co-recipient of the M. Taylor Pyne Prize, the highest honor Princeton awards to an undergraduate. At Yale Law School, Judge Sotomayor served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and as managing editor of the Yale Studies in World Public Order. One of Sotomayor’s former Yale Law School classmates, Robert Klonoff (now Dean of Lewis & Clark Law School), remembers her intellectual toughness from law school: “She would stand up for herself and not be intimidated by anyone.” [Washington Post, 5/7/09]
 
A Champion of the Law
Over a distinguished career that spans three decades, Judge Sotomayor has worked at almost every level of our judicial system – yielding a depth of experience and a breadth of perspectives that will be invaluable – and is currently not represented — on our highest court. New York City District Attorney Morgenthau recently praised Sotomayor as an “able champion of the law” who would be “highly qualified for any position in which wisdom, intelligence, collegiality and good character could be assets.” [Wall Street Journal, 5/9/09]
 
A Fearless and Effective Prosecutor
Fresh out of Yale Law School, Judge Sotomayor became an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan in 1979, where she tried dozens of criminal cases over five years. Spending nearly every day in the court room, her prosecutorial work typically involved “street crimes,” such as murders and robberies, as well as child abuse, police misconduct, and fraud cases. Robert Morgenthau, the person who hired Judge Sotomayor, has described her as a “fearless and effective prosecutor.” [Wall Street Journal, 5/9/09] She was cocounsel in the “Tarzan Murderer” case, which convicted a murderer to 67 and ½ years to life in prison, and was sole counsel in a multiple-defendant case involving a Manhattan housing project shooting between rival family groups.
 
A Corporate Litigator
She entered private practice in 1984, becoming a partner in 1988 at the firm Pavia and Harcourt. She was a general civil litigator involved in all facets of commercial work including, real estate, employment, banking, contracts, and agency law. In addition, her practice had a significant concentration in intellectual property law, including trademark, copyright and unfair competition issues. Her typical clients were significant corporations doing international business. The managing partner who hired her, George Pavia, remembers being instantly impressed with the young Sonia Sotomayor when he hired her in 1984, noting that “she was just ideal for us in terms of her background and training.” [Washington Post, May 7, 2009]
 
A Sharp and Fearless Trial Judge
Her judicial service began in October 1992 with her appointment to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H.W. Bush. Still in her 30s, she was the youngest member of the court. From 1992 to 1998, she presided over roughly 450 cases. As a trial judge, she earned a reputation as a sharp and fearless jurist who does not let powerful interests bully her into departing from the rule of law. In 1995, for example, she issued an injunction against Major League Baseball owners, effectively ending a baseball strike that had become the longest work stoppage in professional sports history and had caused the cancellation of the World Series the previous fall. She was widely lauded for saving baseball. Claude Lewis of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that by saving the season, Judge Sotomayor joined “the ranks of Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson and Ted Williams.”
 
A Tough, Fair and Thoughtful Jurist
President Clinton appointed Judge Sotomayor to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1998. She is the first Latina to serve on that court, and has participated in over 3000 panel decisions, authoring roughly 400 published opinions. Sitting on the Second Circuit, Judge Sotomayor has tackled a range of questions: from difficult issues of constitutional law, to complex procedural matters, to lawsuits involving complicated business organizations. In this context, Sotomayor is widely admired as a judge with a sophisticated grasp of legal doctrine. “’She appreciates the complexity of issues,’ said Stephen L. Carter, a Yale professor who teaches some of her opinions in his classes. Confronted with a tough case, Carter said, ‘she doesn’t leap at its throat but reasons to get to the bottom of issues.’” For example, in United States v. Quattrone, Judge Sotomayor concluded that the trial judge had erred by forbidding the release of jurors’ names to the press, concluding after carefully weighing the competing concerns that the trial judge’s concerns for a speedy and orderly trial must give way to the constitutional freedoms of speech and the press.
 
Sotomayor also has keen awareness of the law’s impact on everyday life. Active in oral arguments, she works tirelessly to probe both the factual details and the legal doctrines in the cases before her and to arrive at decisions that are faithful to both. She understands that upholding the rule of law means going beyond legal theory to ensure consistent, fair, common-sense application of the law to real-world facts. For example, In United States v. Reimer, Judge Sotomayor wrote an opinion revoking the US citizenship for a man charged with working for the Nazis in World War II Poland, guarding concentration camps and helping empty the Jewish ghettos. And in Lin v. Gonzales and a series of similar cases, she ordered renewed consideration of the asylum claims of Chinese women who experienced or were threatened with forced birth control, evincing in her opinions a keen awareness of those women’s plights.
 
Judge Sotomayor’s appreciation of the real-world implications of judicial rulings is paralleled by her sensible practicality in evaluating the actions of law enforcement officers. For example, in United States v. Falso, the defendant was convicted of possessing child pornography after FBI agents searched his home with a warrant. The warrant should not have been issued, but the agents did not know that, and Judge Sotomayor wrote for the court that the officers’ good faith justified using the evidence they found. Similarly in United States v. Santa, Judge Sotomayor ruled that when police search a suspect based on a mistaken belief that there is a valid arrest warrant out on him, evidence found during the search should not be suppressed. Ten years later, in Herring v. United States, the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion. In her 1997 confirmation hearing, Sotomayor spoke of her judicial philosophy, saying” I don’t believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance. It says what it says. We should do honor to it.” Her record on the Second Circuit holds true to that statement. For example, in Hankins v. Lyght, she argued in dissent that the federal government risks “an unconstitutional trespass” if it attempts to dictate to religious organizations who they can or cannot hire or dismiss as spiritual leaders. Since joining the Second Circuit, Sotomayor has honored the Constitution, the rule of law, and justice, often forging consensus and winning conservative colleagues to her point of view.
 
A Commitment to Community
Judge Sotomayor is deeply committed to her family, to her co-workers, and to her community. Judge Sotomayor is a doting aunt to her brother Juan’s three children and an attentive godmother to five more. She still speaks to her mother, who now lives in Florida, every day. At the courthouse, Judge Sotomayor helped found the collegiality committee to foster stronger personal relationships among members of the court. Seizing an opportunity to lead others on the path to success, she recruited judges to join her in inviting young women to the courthouse on Take Your Daughter to Work Day, and mentors young students from troubled neighborhoods Her favorite project, however, is the Development School for Youth program, which sponsors workshops for inner city high school students. Every semester, approximately 70 students attend 16 weekly workshops that are designed to teach them how to function in a work setting. The workshop leaders include investment bankers, corporate executives and Judge Sotomayor, who conducts a workshop on the law for 25 to 35 students. She uses as her vehicle the trial of Goldilocks and recruits six lawyers to help her. The students play various roles, including the parts of the prosecutor, the defense attorney, Goldilocks and the jurors, and in the process they get to experience openings, closings, direct and cross-examinations. In addition to the workshop experience, each student is offered a summer job by one of the corporate sponsors. The experience is rewarding for the lawyers and exciting for the students, commented Judge Sotomayor, as “it opens up possibilities that the students never dreamed of before.” [Federal Bar Council News, Sept./Oct./Nov. 2005, p.20] This is one of many ways that Judge Sotomayor gives back to her community and inspires young people to achieve their dreams.
 
She has served as a member of the Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts and was formerly on the Boards of Directors of the New York Mortgage Agency, the New York City Campaign Finance Board, and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.

(YWN Desk – NYC)

The Asbury Park Press reports: Defense attorneys are seeking to have a 38-year-old Lakewood man declared incompetent to stand trial on charges that he attempted to murder Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz, a third-grade Rebbe at Lakewood Cheder in a baseball-bat attack in Lakewood in 2007 – reported HERE on YWN.

Attorneys Glenn Kassman and Kevin Young are seeking to have Superior Court Judge Francis R. Hodgson declare Lee Tucker of Ventura Drive incompetent to stand trial on charges of attempted murder and weapons possession.

In a hearing before Hodgson Dr. Daniel Greenfield, a psychiatrist, testified that Tucker is incompetent due to a long history of psychiatric commitments dating to 1996 for serious disorders that include schizophrenia.

Another psychiatrist, Dr. Timothy Michals, testified for the state that Tucker is competent to stand trial and faked mental illness during an exam.

The hearing is scheduled to continue on May 28.

Tucker was arrested on Oct. 24, 2007, a day after he was released from a stay at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow.

The assault, which was reported HERE on YWN just minutes after it occurred, received widespread attention, including a news conference to announce a $25,000 reward for information posted by the Anti-Defamation League and the Lakewood Vaad.

YWN regrets to inform you of the tragic passing of Eliyahu Dabbah Z”L, 9 year old son of Rav Mordechai Dabbah Shlita of Yeshivat Keter Torah – (Lakewood NJ).

9-year-old Eliyahu was playing ball on Erev Shabbos, when a baseball struck him in his neck – leaving him in traumatic arrest. Members of Deal / Long Branch Hatzolah attempted to save his life, but he was R”L pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Levaya is scheduled for Sunday morning, 11:00AM, at Park Avenue & Route 35 in Deal, NJ.

Boruch Dayan Emmes…