Ultra-Orthodox passengers forced an El Al flight from the U.S. to Israel to land in Greece Friday afternoon over concerns that they would still be in the air as the Jewish Sabbath began, the Daily Mail reported. One flight was diverted to Rome, while the other had to land in Athens. Both planes had been…
The U.S. House has banned hats of any kind for 183 years. Now Ilhan Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress this year, is set to help change that year. Omar (D-Minn.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are partnering on proposing legislation to allow lawmakers to wear religious headwear in Congress, Roll…
(JTA) — More than 2,000 handmade Stars of David were hung throughout Pittsburgh. The stars, created by more than 1,000 volunteers from around the world, were hung on Saturday by 40 volunteers. Each star – some crocheted, some made with leather – had a heart in the center. The stars were the brainchild of Hinda…
(JTA) — Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will donate $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University, which he attended, to provide more financial aid to low-and middle-income students. It is reported to be the largest private donation to higher education, and will allow the university to eliminate loans from financial aid packages for incoming…
(JTA) — A man was arrested in Brooklyn for shouting “Heil Hitler” at a Jewish man as he sat in his car. The man who was identifiably Jewish was sitting in his parked car and preparing to go to a meeting in a nearby building on Thursday morning when the young African American man shouted…
In a fiery public letter on Monday, the former chief of New York City’s Department of Investigation warned that the mayor’s decision to fire him last week could be an effort to quash an ongoing investigation into mayoral interference in the city’s yeshiva probe. Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday fired Department of Investigation chief…
Palestinian-American civil rights activist Linda Sarsour claimed in a Facebook post Thursday that the controversy surrounding Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar’s announcement that she supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is coming from “folks who masquerade as progressives but always choose their allegiance to Israel over their commitment to democracy and free speech.” Sarsour, one of…
Raw human excrement potentially can be converted into a safe, reusable fuel and nutrient-rich fertilizer, researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev found. Scientists at BGU’s Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research discovered that they can use a chemical process of hydrothermal carbonization to heat solid human waste in a “pressure cooker,” transforming it into hydrochar,…
(JTA) — A councilman in upstate New York apologized for a text that juxtaposed Orthodox Jews with “normal” ones. Peter Bradley, a member of the Clarkstown Town Council in Rockland County, apologized on Nov. 12 and again the following day at a council meeting for the statements he made on Nov. 2, less than a…
Rep. Steve King tweeted Thursday night that a New York rabbi paid him a visit to discuss the allegations of bigotry that came up against him during his most recent congressional campaign. A photo shows Rabbi Moshe Vizel of the United Talmudical Seminary shaking hands with King, who was recently reelected to represent Iowa’s 4th…
(JTA) — A chief rabbi of Jerusalem allowed a Palestinian man to be buried in a Jewish cemetery following his body’s exclusion by imams over his sale of real-estate to Jews. Aryeh Stern, the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel’s capital, this week ruled as a rabbinical judge that Alah Kirsh may be buried at a…
