Yeshiva World News

A 37-year-old man is being questioned after two Orthodox Jews were stabbed in apparently random and unprovoked street attacks – just minutes apart of each other. A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman told news reporters that although the stabbings are not being treated as hate crimes, detectives are keeping an open mind about it.

The first stabbing involved a 43-year-old man with wounds to the arm and chest in The Drive, a short distance from Brent Cross Train station. Police said the man was apparently getting into his silver Volvo estate car when he was stabbed by a man who stole his car. The man was Boruch Hashem not serious injured, and his car was later retrieved.

The second stabbing victim was a 43-year-old victim – who happens to be a Hatzolah Volunteer. He has been hospitalized with chest wounds – including a punctured lung R”L.

Police said both incidents were linked, and the investigation is ongoing.

(Dov Gordon – YWN)

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called “deeply insulting” remarks by a Libyan representative to the U.N. Security Council, in which he compared Israel’s recent military actions in Gaza to the systematic killing of six million Jews in the Holocaust.

The remarks by Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya’s Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, came during an April 23 discussion in the Security Council of the situation for Palestinians living in Gaza and prompted five Western envoys to walk out of the session in protest.

“There can be no comparison between Israel’s effort to defend its citizens against terrorism and the Nazis’ systematic killing of six million Jews in the Holocaust,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.  “Any attempt to equate the two is odious, patently false and deeply insulting to the memory of the millions of Jews who perished in the Holocaust, to the survivors and their families and to the entire Jewish community.”

In a letter to U.N. Security Council President Dumisani S. Kumalo, the League called for an official statement condemning the Libyan representative for using the forum of the Security Council “as a platform for anti-Semitism.”

“The statement by the Libyan representative brings shame to the Security Council,” said the letter to Mr. Kumalo.  “The apparent silence of the Presidency and other members of the Council create a perception of agreement with the views expressed by the Libyan representative.”

ADL commended the representatives from Belgium, Britain, Costa Rica, France, and the United States who reportedly walked out of the session in protest of the deputy ambassador’s remarks.

Bikur Cholim of Boro Park and MASBIA Soup Kitchen jointly served hundreds of Hot Kosher l’Pesach meals on 10th Ave next to MMC to the families of the sick and to the needy of Boro Park. Twice a day the store front was open for guest. Yom Tov meals included Matzah, eggs, fish, soup, chicken, Kugels, top quality fruits & vegetables, nuts, cookies, water bottles, seltzer and grape juice, Seder Platters and more. All of the kashrus directories were available for those needing medication. People from all walks of life, rich and poor, singles and mothers with children. Elderly with their spouses, or others with family  in the hospital, all were able to get a warm Pesach meal at the Bikur Cholim annex. Mechitzas / partitions were available for who wanted to lead their own Seudah.    

CBS2 Reports: Outrage over the Sean Bell verdict is spreading across the country. Sunday afternoon, leaders of the major civil rights organizations came to New York to say that they are prepared to ask thousands of their members to visit the city to tie it up in acts of civil disobedience.

At a National Action Network rally in Harlem Sunday, Charles Steele Jr., President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) told the packed house, “You still have to hit the streets! Still have to raise hell and go to jail!”

According to Steele, the Sean Bell Verdict means people will have to be arrested in the thousands when the call goes out for volunteers to commit acts of civil disobedience. The call is expected within weeks.

Judging by the support coming in from major organizations around the country — the NAACP, The Urban League — it seems many people are willing to tie up the streets of New York, if necessary.

Among them is Sean Bell’s father, William Bell, who spoke exclusively with CBS 2 News Sunday. He said he is prepared to be arrested.

“He’s gotta get justice,” said Bell. “I meant that.”

On Monday, Congressman John Conyers, who heads the Congressional Oversight Committee for the Justice Department, will come to Queens from Washington D.C. and walk the area from Club Kalua to where Sean Bell was shot – in anticipation of recommending the three officers be tried in federal court.

“It’s really sad nothing [has been] done about it,” added William Bell.

Civil rights advocates want sweeping reforms in the handling of police misconduct and brutality cases in the wake of the acquittal of three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell. Two of Bell’s friends were wounded in a volley of 50 shots fired by the undercover officers and two colleagues; the officers said they thought they were in mortal danger, but no gun was found in Bell’s car.

As with previous fatal shooting incidents in which police were absolved of criminal responsibility, the case and the verdict have triggered widespread dismay and calls for protests. New York Gov. David Paterson is expected to support a proposal for a permanent state-level special prosecutor to investigate such incidents.

Meanwhile, The Reverend Al Sharpton led a rally in Harlem on Saturday amid calls for justice and protest in response to the acquittals of the three NYPD detectives who shot and killed Sean Bell. He promised several rallies in the coming days and to quote shut the city down.

People signed up to take part in upcoming acts of peaceful civil disobedience, possibly during rush hour for maximum impact.

“Shut it down, shut it down. Shut it down, shut it down,” demonstrators chanted. They held up white placards numbered one through fifty for the number of shots the officers fired.

(Source: WCBSTV)