Yeshiva World News

Agudath Israel of New Jersey salutes the passage of bill S-2199 in the New Jersey Senate today. This bill, recently passed in the Assembly, will enable the State to reschedule an election or referendum if it falls out on a major religious holiday.

The bill was authored by Assemblyman Gary Schaer of Passaic (D-36) coming on the heels of the Jewish community’s outspoken objection to the City of Edison’s school bond referendum vote planned for Rosh Hashana. Although the school board eventually rescheduled the election for December 9th, the entire Jewish community called for further action on the state level – resulting in the creation of S-2199 and its Assembly companion.  Senator Barbara Buono of Edison (D-18) and her Assembly colleagues, Peter Barnes and Patrick Diegnan, were also instrumental in the sponsorship and passing of this bill. Our gratitude also goes to Senator Sean Kean of West Long Branch (R-11) who signed onto the bill after the town of West Long Branch also scheduled and held school board elections on Rosh Hashana.

Agudath Israel thanks Assemblyman Schaer for once again protecting the religious rights of the citizens of the State of New Jersey. Agudath Israel of New Jersey, who played a key role in the postponement of the elections in Edison and passage of this bill, applauds this legislative victory and praises the State Legislature and Governor Corzine for their continuing concern for the interests of the Jewish community.

(YWN Desk – NYC)

A historic transition is planned for this coming Motzoei Shabbos, at Agudath Israel of America’s 86th national convention.  The mantle of the organization’s lay leadership will then pass from one rightly celebrated and accomplished askan to another.  It will be passing as well from dear friend to dear friend and from one confidant of Gedolei Yisroel to another.

Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, Agudath Israel’s executive vice president for the past decade – and faithful Agudah worker and executive for many decades prior – will be retiring from that post in January, and Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel will be assuming it.

Rabbi Bloom, who has served Agudath Israel in one or another capacity since 1975, worked side-by-side with the legendary president of Agudath Israel, Rabbi Moshe Sherer, z”l, for nearly a quarter-century, and served as Rabbi Sherer’s “right hand man” in running the organization.  Upon Rabbi Sherer’s petirah, Rabbi Bloom assumed the top executive position in the organization.

Rabbi Bloom was personally responsible for the development and administration of employment programs like Project COPE and COPE Institute; for relief projects like the Iranian Rescue Committee, Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel, Operation Open Curtain, and the Overseas AID Consortium; and youth projects like Project YES (Youth Enrichment Services).

Most recently, in his role as Vice Chairman of Agudath Israel World Organization, Rabbi Bloom created Betzedek – the American Israel Center of Advancement of Justice in Israel – and Temech, a program designed to increase employment in the chareidi World in Eretz Yisroel.

Rabbi Bloom has earned the confidence of Gedolim both in America and overseas, and is expected to continue to serve Agudas Yisroel and Klal Yisroel in other roles in the future.  He is a maggid shiur of Daf Yomi in his shul, Agudath Israel of Long Island, and hopes to devote more time during his retirement to limud Torah and harbotzas Torah.

Rabbi Zwiebel, too, is highly regarded by rabbonim and roshei yeshiva, and by all who have had the honor to interact with him.  He joined Agudath Israel of America in 1984 after a career in private practice with one of the nation’s most prestigious law firms, and currently serves as the organization’s executive vice president for government and public affairs.

As a lawyer, Rabbi Zwiebel’s areas of professional experience include religious freedom, church-state relations, civil rights, private education and medical ethics.  He has authored numerous amicus curiae briefs in a variety of judicial settings, including the U.S. Supreme Court, and has testified before various legislative and administrative bodies, including committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives; and published widely in the fields of religion, law and public policy.

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the prestigious National Commission on Children; and in 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appointed him to serve as a member of the U.S. delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s conference in Cordoba, Spain on anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance.

Above all, though, Rabbi Zwiebel is a champion of the concept of k’vod chachomim and respect for Daas Torah, and those ideals are what guide him in all his activities, both within and outside the Orthodox Jewish community.

As a result of the organizational “changing of the guard,” the convention’s Motzoei Shabbos Keynote Session – like all convention sessions, open to the public free of charge – promises to be a particularly moving and enthusiastic gathering.  Rabbi Bloom will address the crowd, reflecting on his tenure and sharing his thoughts and hopes for the future of Agudath Israel; and Rabbi Zwiebel will present his inaugural address, paying tribute to his predecessor and laying out his vision for the organization.

The Motzoei Shabbos Keynote Session will be infused as well with words of Torah, hisorerus and hadrocho.  The Boyaner Rebbe, the convention’s special guest from Eretz Yisroel, will address the gathering. Greetings from the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah will be extended by Rabbi Avrohom Chaim Levin, Rosh HaYeshiva, Telshe Yeshiva, Chicago.  And an address will be delivered by the Rosh Agudas Yisroel: Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe.  The session will also include a Siyum Mishnayos l’zeicher nishmas Rabbi Boruch Borchardt z”l, Agudas Yisroel’s indefatigable executive director for over fifty years, whose activities on behalf of Agudath Israel over those decades were many and are legend.

(YWN Desk – NYC)

Chicago – President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden officially announced key members of their economic team today, naming Timothy Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury and Lawrence Summers as Director of the National Economic Council. Obama and Biden also named as Christina Romer Chair of the Council of Economic advisors, and named Melody Barnes and Heather Higginbottom to serve as Director and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

“Vice President-elect Biden and I have assembled an economic team with the vision and expertise to stabilize our economy, create jobs, and get America back on track. Even as we face great economic challenges, we know that great opportunity is at hand –- if we act swiftly and boldly. That’s the mission our economic team will take on,” said President-elect Obama.

The economic team members announced today are listed below:

Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury
Timothy Geithner currently serves as president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he has played a key role in formulating the nation’s monetary policy. He joined the Department of the Treasury in 1988 and has served three presidents. From 1999 to 2001, he served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs. Following that post he served as director of the Policy Development and Review Department at the International Monetary Fund until 2003. Geithner is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the National Economic Council
Lawrence Summers is currently the Charles W. Eliot University Professor at Harvard University. Summers served as 71st Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as president of Harvard from 2001 to 2006. Before being appointed Secretary, Summers served as Deputy and Under Secretary of the Treasury and as the World Bank’s top economist. Summers has taught economics at Harvard and MIT, and is a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded to the American economist under 40 judged to have made the most significant contribution to economics. Summers played a key advisory role during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Christina D. Romer, Director of the Council of Economic Advisors
Christina Romer is the Class of 1957 Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has taught and researched since 1988. Prior to joining the faculty at Berkeley, Romer was an assistant professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Romer is co-director of the Program in Monetary Economics at the National Bureau of Economic Research and has been a visiting scholar at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Melody C. Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Melody Barnes is co-director of the Agency Review Working Group for the Obama-Biden Transition Team, and served as the Senior Domestic Policy Advisor to Obama for America. Barnes previously served as Executive Vice President for Policy at the Center for American Progress and as chief counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy on the Senate Judiciary Committee from December 1995 until March 2003.

Heather A. Higginbottom, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Heather Higginbottom served as Policy Director for Obama for America, overseeing all aspects of policy development. From 1999 to 2007, Higginbottom served as Senator John Kerry’s Legislative Director. She also served as the Deputy National Policy Director for the Kerry-Edwards Presidential Campaign for the primary and general elections. After the 2004 election, Higginbottom founded and served as Executive Director of the American Security Project, a national security think tank. She started her career as an advocate at the national non-profit organization Communities in Schools.

(Yehuda Drudgestein – YWN)

Suffern, N.Y. – “A national study released today has named the Town of Ramapo the Safest Community in the U.S.”  The Annual City Crime Rankings 2008-2009 published by the CQ Press looked at 397 municipal areas having populations of at least 75,000 residents.  Crime rate rankings were calculated using six crime categories:  murder, abductions, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft.  Ramapo earned the lowest city crime rate ranking with only 688 incidents of reported crime in 2007.  Joining Ramapo among the safest places to live are Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Chino Hills and Thousand Oaks, California and Newton, Massachusetts.
 
“Community safety, culture, recreation, education and the mutual respect that our residents have for each other are the cornerstones of the high quality of life in Ramapo” stated Supervisor Christopher P. St. Lawrence.
 
The Town of Ramapo has also received national recognition twice in the past several years, being ranked by Money Magazine as one of the Best Places to Live in America.
 
“Our ability to maintain a secure environment is testament to the benefits of good planning and the Town Board’s steadfast commitment to invest in public safety and the professionalism of our Police Department” stated St. Lawrence.

(Moshe Altusky – YWN)

The Special Children’s Center is an amazing organization located in Lakewood and Deal that provides respite and support for over 100 families with special-needs children. Their programs include: Daily After School Program, Shabbos Program, Overnight Program, Summer Camp, Case Management, Weekend Retreat, and special events. Loads of volunteers help out at the Center each week – helping to ensure that the children are cared for with love – caring as only family can.

Now they need your help!  L’Oréal Paris has chosen one of the Special Children’s Center’s Founders as a 2008 Women of Worth for her volunteer efforts providing respite and support for families with special-needs children.

Each year L’Oréal Paris selects ten Women of Worth honorees from across the country.  One honoree is selected by public vote and recognized as the National Woman Of Worth Honoree and her organization (The Center) will receive a donation of $25,000 from L’Oréal Paris.

Click HERE to vote and help the Special Children’s Center win $25,000! Or, visit the Special Children’s Center’s website by clicking HERE and follow the links through News. Voting ends on Monday – November 24, 2008.

This is an enormous Kiddush Hashem – that one young girl, one of our own, could start something like this, and stick with it to grow it to what it is today – something so wonderful and so terrific, that even people outside our community can not help but stand up and take notice.

Let’s help the Kiddush Hashem grow ever bigger – by going online, voting, and spreading the word to all of your friends – we can help make sure that the Special Children’s Center wins the grand prize – and we will all have part of the zchus!