Yeshiva World News

One of the few affordable staples in the day-to-day lives of many large families is fresh vegetables, but as a result of the recent harsh winter weather, that too has changed, with prices per kilogram continuing to rise. While the abundance of rainfall in the past weeks has been a bracha, the accompanying cold temperatures have negatively impacted crops.

Topping the list are tomatoes, which are selling in Machane Yehuda for over 10 NIS a kilo, reaching as high as 13 NIS in some stores around the capital. Other vegetables follow suit, including cucumbers (5.99 NIS), bell peppers (7.90 NIS), and onions (4.50 NIS).

Tomatoes have tripled while cucumbers have doubled in price, placing significant strain on the budget of larger families that lack discretionary funds to make up the difference in price.

Farmers explain the unseasonably cold November temperatures have resulted in a delay in crops reaching harvest stage, hence a shortage in the marketplace. Interestingly, as has been seen in past years when prices surged, Israeli consumers by-and-large are unwilling to forgo tomatoes, and while many homes will buy less, people are still buying them despite the triple plus price.

There is no indication as to when prices will drop again, but merchants are indicating the price is expected to stabilize very soon.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Eleven members of an organization calling itself Gareen Shechem, an organization calling for the return of Jews to Shechem, were arrested in Shechem as they were walking to Kever Yosef during the night, Wednesday night November 23, 2011. They were taken into custody 100 meters (yards) from the kever.

Police investigators informed Honenu attorney Adi Kedar that most of the group will be brought to the Petah Tikvah Magistrate Court for deliberation, where the police will request that they be conditionally released. A Honenu attorney will represent the arrestees in the deliberation.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

An Iranian lawmaker said Thursday that officials in Iran and Lebanon have arrested 12 CIA “spies” who intended to a “deal a strong blow” to Iran, state media reported.

Parliamentarian Parviz Sorouri said the alleged spies were trying to cripple Iran in nuclear, military and security areas, said Iran’s official IRNA news agency.

The report did not say when the suspects were arrested or add details about the arrests.

Earlier this week, a U.S. official confirmed to CNN that informants that worked with the CIA had been captured in Lebanon. The official would not say how many informants were arrested.

One of the means used by Hezbollah counterterrorism operatives to identify the informants was to trace their cell phone calls, the official said.

The official added, “look who helps them,” a reference to Iran, with which Hezbollah shares tactics and information.

The United States considers Hezbollah, which has close ties to Iran and Syria, to be a terrorist organization.

(Source: CNN)

President Obama has an unwelcome holiday gift for New Yorkers — he’ll be coming to Midtown the same day the streets will be impossibly clogged by the Rockefeller Plaza tree-lighting ceremony. He has picked Wednesday, one of the busiest gridlock-alert days of the year, to descend on the area with his motorcade for a fund-raiser and party.

While throngs squeeze into the blocks around Rockefeller Center, the president and his entourage will be just a few blocks away at the Sheraton New York Hotel.

It’ll be the double whammy of all traffic nightmares.

A city official said 48th, 49th, 50th and 51st streets between Fifth and Sixth avenues will be subject to closures for the tree lighting.

But that doesn’t include the additional closings that come with a presidential motorcade that will make its way to the hotel on Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street.

Obama will be attending a fund-raiser held by the LBGT community at 7:30 p.m., followed by a holiday reception billed as a thank-you to his early supporters.

The New York Republican State Committee criticized his decision to host an event during the tree lighting, which a city official said was scheduled as far back as August

(Source: NY Post)

Members of the Amish community in three states have been frightened by recent hair-cutting attacks in Ohio, making fearful calls to authorities and arming themselves with pepper spray and shotguns, a sheriff said.

Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said Amish in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana were concerned about the attacks that led federal authorities on Wednesday to raid the compound of a breakaway Amish group and charge seven men, including group leader Sam Mullet, with hate crimes.

“We’ve received hundreds and hundreds of calls from people living in fear,” he said. “They are buying Mace, some are sitting with shotguns, getting locks on their doors because of Sam Mullet.”

The sheriff added, “Sam Mullet is evil.”

Several members of the group outside Bergholtz in eastern Ohio carried out the attacks in September, October and November by forcibly cutting the beards and hair of Amish men and women and then taking photos of them, authorities said.

The Amish believe the Bible instructs women to let their hair grow long and men to grow beards and stop shaving once they marry. One victim told the FBI he would rather have been “beaten black and blue than to suffer the disfigurement and humiliation of having his hair removed,” according to court papers.

Mullet told The Associated Press in October that he didn’t order hair-cutting but didn’t stop his sons and others from carrying it out. He said the goal was to send a message to other Amish that they should be ashamed of themselves for the way they were treating Mullet and his community.

“They changed the rulings of our church here, and they’re trying to force their way down our throat, make us do like they want us to do, and we’re not going to do that,” Mullet said.

U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach said Wednesday that religious differences should be a matter of theological debate, not disputes “resolved by late night visits to people’s homes with weapons and violent attacks.” He said he did not know how often hate crimes involve intradenominational disputes.

Those arrested include Mullet; his sons Johnny, Lester and Daniel; Levi Miller; Eli Miller; and Emanuel Schrock. The charges carry a penalty of up 10 years in prison.

The men appeared in U.S. District Court in Youngstown on Wednesday afternoon, and Magistrate Judge George Limbert ordered them detained by the U.S. Marshals Service pending hearings next week.

Attorneys for Johnny and Lester Mullet and Levi and Eli Miller said they could not comment Wednesday on the details of the case. Messages seeking comment were left for attorneys representing Daniel Mullet and Emanuel Schrock.

Lawyer Andy Hyde, who represents Sam Mullet in the state case, said Mullet would contest the federal charges but said he didn’t know if he would represent Mullet in federal court.

The seven men were sleeping when the FBI and local police showed up at their homes before dawn Wednesday, the sheriff said. Three men initially refused to come out of their rooms, but all seven were arrested without incident, he said.

The FBI affidavit detailed four hair-cutting attacks. The attacks occurred against a couple in Trumbull County on Sept. 6; on Oct. 4 against a man and his son in Holmes County; later on Oct. 4 against a man in Carroll County; and on Nov. 9 against a man allegedly lured to the Mullet complex in Jefferson County.

An FBI affidavit said Johnny, Lester and Daniel Mullet and Levi and Eli Miller all confessed in early October to taking part in at least a couple of the attacks.

Johnny Mullet told detectives that it was his idea to cut the hair and beards and that he discussed the idea with his father, who gave him the addresses of two victims, the affidavit said.

Lester Mullet told detectives that after two attacks in late September, the men went home and told Sam Mullet what happened. He said his father laughed and called them nuts, the court document said.

Abdalla, the sheriff, said he didn’t know the specifics of the religious disagreements that prompted Mullet to form his own community in 1995.

But the heart of his recent dispute with Amish bishops stemmed from his desire to excommunicate several members, the FBI said. Other bishops concluded the excommunications weren’t consistent with Amish teachings and scripture and decided not to recognize the penalties, the FBI said.

Authorities said previously that some Amish refused to press charges, following their practice of avoiding involvement in the courts.

Dettelbach alluded to the issue, saying: “It is not the victim’s job to decide or to bring charges. I think that’s a message I would like people to understand. These charges in this case are the result of our independent determination that crimes occurred.”

Ohio has an estimated Amish population of just under 61,000 — second only to Pennsylvania — with most living in rural counties south and east of Cleveland.

They have a modest lifestyle and are deeply religious. Their traditions of traveling by horse and buggy and forgoing most modern conveniences distance them from the outside world and symbolize a yielding to a collective order.

(Source: ABC News)

Thousands of chassidim were present for the yahrzeit seuda for the Baal HaMaor Einayim ZY”A of Chernobyl, the “father” of the current Skverer dynasty.

Rabbi Yosef Yisrael Eisenberger, a member of the Skverer Badatz got up to address the tzibur. He told the tzibur that he was speaking on behalf of the Skverer Rebbe Shlita, who calls on all those with a computer in their home to remove it.

The rav stated that the kol korei from the rebbe shlita represents a new regulation in their ‘takanon’, and it refers to all computers, those with or without a connection to the internet. Regarding those who work at home, or in a side room or storage room of the home, they must simply find a new place to work as the computer must be removed from all homes in the community, without exception, stating a computer cannot remain in a place where one’s family resides.

Rabbi Eisenberger added the rebbe is aware this new regulation will not be an easy one for the tzibur to accept and comply with, but due to the ‘victims’ claimed by computers in homes, their simply is no alternative to removing the computers from homes.

After the rav spoke the rebbe shlita addressed the tzibur, explaining the importance of adhering to the new regulation. The rebbe explained he is aware of the good that comes from computers, including towards education for the little ones, but the dangers that lurk simply outweigh those considerations.

As a result, today, the hundreds of chassidim who have been working at home are now seeking office space to adhere to the rebbe’s words, the weekly BaKehilla reports. A vaad has been established to assist them in ‘purifying’ their office and finding suitable lodging for their businesses.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

As is the case in many neighborhoods, Bnei Brak hosts a branch of the Shomrim, an organization dedicated to working with local police towards providing additional eyes and ears in the streets.

To the surprise of many, pashkavilim are posted throughout the city against the local branch, using scathing language against its volunteers, stating 99% of them are losers, people off the derech, people who desecrate Shabbos, stating that while at night they seek to apprehend the bad guy, during the day, they don’t learn or daven. The condemnation adds that everything these young folks learn is immediately broadcast on the internet, and there is no discretion regarding sensitive information, broadcasting private details of the lives of residents for all to see.

Parents are warned against reaching a point of “no return” regarding these lost souls, and everything must be done to protect the community and towards distancing the lost individuals from the community.

The Shomrim reject the criticism, explaining there are over 100 volunteers and the organization in Bnei Brak enjoys the blessing of prominent rabbonim, who continue to guide and direct them.

According to Kikar Shabbat, the Shomrim add that since they began operating in the city, the number of complaints from residents to City Hall and police have dropped dramatically due to the organization’s success.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

An estimated 2,000 mispallalim visited Kever Yosef in PA (Palestinian Authority)-occupied Shechem on Wednesday night (Nov. 23rd) in a visit that was coordinated in advance with IDF commanders.

Among the visitors were Minister of the Interior Eli Yishai and Rabbi Elyakim Levanon Shlita, the rav of the Shomron Regional Council, rav of Yishuv Elon Moreh, and rosh yeshiva of the community’s hesder yeshiva.

Yishai spoke of the significance of the holy site, which he stated must be protected and safeguarded by Israel. He called upon the government to issue additional building permits for yishuvim in Yehuda and Shomron in response to the continue desecration of the tziyun by PA residents.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

It appears that former President Moshe Katsav hasn’t come to terms with the reality that next month he is scheduled to enter prison, to begin serving his 7-year sentence following his conviction for violent crimes in March 2011 by the Tel Aviv District Court. The former president’s appeal to the High Court earlier this month was rejected, and he was given one month to get his affairs in order before reporting to prison

The former president’s attorneys on Thursday morning, 27 Cheshvan, turned to the High Court of Justice seeking to make an exception, to permit him to file an appeal within 45 days of his last hearing, when his appeal was rejected, instead of the standard 15-day filing period, to permit his legal team to prepare the case. The president is seeking another hearing before the nation’s highest court, before and expanded panel of justices in the hope of overturning the previous decision.

The president is currently set to turn himself over to officials in Matityahu Prison on December 7, 2011.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday, 27 Cheshvan, sentenced Kifah Ghanimat, who was convicted of the murder of American tourist Kristine Luken HY”D, to two life terms plus 60 years. Ghanimat and other suspects were taken into custody in January 2011 as was reported by YWN-ISRAEL. A friend of the victim, Kaye Wilson, succeeded in fleeing the scene, saving her own life.

The court commented on the “cruelty and wickedness” off the act, stabbing the defenseless women, addressing Ghanimat, who was convicted of four murders as well as other crimes, which include robbery and assault.

Some present pointed out that while the verdict is a welcome one, there is an awareness that once again Israel is filling its prisons in preparation for the release of these heinous individuals in the next prisoner exchange deal.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Immigration authorities in Canada have issued a deportation order against Menachem Mendel Kivak, an avreich from Toronto who was born in Moldavia, and his brother, a talmid of Toronto’s Reishis Chochma Yeshiva.

Menachem Mendel and his brother arrived in Canada with his brother when he was 13, and they have resided in Toronto since that time. A number of months ago, Menachem Mendel realized that his passport and that of his brother had expired. The avreich turned to Moldavian Consular officials to begin the process of obtaining a new passport. He was instructed to return to Moldavia to get a passport and try to address his situation since he is listed as being AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) from the armed forces.

Kivak is quoted as telling Chadrei Chareidim “if I return to Moldavia, I will immediately be drafted into the military, both of us, me and my younger brother. In the Moldavian army, a Jew cannot make it. At one time there was a sizable Jewish community there but today, the number of Jews remaining is small, and there is barely a minyan in the local Chabad house”.

He continued explaining that his young wife and child cannot accompany him, since if he is in the army; there is nothing for them to do there. Community askanim have hired lawyers who are working to assist them.

On Wednesday, 26 Cheshvan, he was to have reported to immigration authorities to sign on paperwork regarding his deportation and his handover to Moldavian custody. When he arrived, authorities realized that the deportation order against him was expired; and it will take a month or so to obtain another. The askanim hope to use this period to build their case towards preventing the deportation of the two brothers.

The tzibur is called upon to recite tehillim and daven on behalf of the brothers, Menachem Mendel and David ben Sarah.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Maran Posek HaDor HaGaon HaRav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv Shlita was asked by rabbonim affiliated with the Chafetz Chaim road safety organization regarding a driver who speaks on a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle, Kikar Shabbat reports. The Rav was asked if such a person is classified as a ‘rodef’.

According to the report, the posek hador ruled that such a person “Is not exactly a rodef, but close to being one”.

The non-profit organization, which works to increase road safety awareness, is publicizing the rav’s words in the hope it will have an impact. The organization was launched last year following a number of tragic accidents that impacted the frum tzibur, and its personnel visit yeshivos and kollelim with their message of increased awareness and road safety for drivers and pedestrians alike.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

An American Airlines flight has made a safe emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport after the crew reported the smell of smoke aboard the aircraft.

Airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles says Flight 10 took off about 9:48 p.m. PST Wednesday headed for New York’s Kennedy Airport. She says the crew detected the smell of something burning and the Boeing 767-200 returned to the airport and landed without incident nine minutes later.

Castles says there were 164 people aboard the aircraft.

(Source: WABC)

A lawyer for French anti-racism groups says they have dropped a lawsuit against Apple Inc. over an iPhone app called “Jew or not Jew?” after it was removed worldwide.

Lawyer Stephane Lilti says the decision “is motivated by the removal of the application in all countries of the world.”

Lilti said at a hearing in a Paris court Thursday that the app’s designer, Johann Levy, decided to remove the app. Lilti says the lawsuit “had beneficial effects.”

Representatives of Apple in France would not immediately comment on the decision. Apple removed the app from its online store in France in September after critics complained.

The app let users consult a database of celebrities and public figures to see if they are Jewish or not.

(Source: Washington Times)