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El Al Flight Attendant in Deep Coma After Contracting Measles on NY to TLV Journey

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A 43-year-old El Al Airlines flight attendant was rushed to a hospital with measles, and has reportedly lapsed into a deep coma after coming down with a fever on March 31.

By: Andrew B. Mayfair

The woman is now said to be suffering from encephalitis and breathing with the assistance of a respirator at Israel’s Meir Medical Center, according to CNN.

Israeli health officials said the woman may have been infected with measles in New York, Israel or a flight between the two locations, both of which are experiencing active measles outbreaks. No other passengers appear to have contracted measles, CNN added.

“She’s been in a deep coma for 10 days, and we’re now just hoping for the best,” Dr. Itamar Grotto, associate director general of Israel’s Ministry of Health, told CNN in an interview.

It has been reported by CBS News that the flight attendant had been vaccinated against measles as a child but only received a single dose.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all children get two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine since 1989.

The New York City Board of Health is issuing civil summonses for three parents who didn’t comply with the mandatory measles vaccination order. They are subject to fines of up to $1,000 apiece.

The continuing order for vaccinations applies to children ages 6 months and older with fines for non-compliance. City officials announced an emergency vaccination order for four ZIP codes in Brooklyn last week to stem the measles outbreak.

“A lawsuit challenging the order mandating measles vaccinations in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was dismissed by a state Supreme Court judge on Thursday. The suit was filed by five anonymous parents who claimed the order was unnecessary and infringed on religious rights, also claiming vaccines are dangerous,” reports Fox News.

According to the latest measles statistics coming out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from January 1 to April 11 there were 555 reported measles cases in 20 states. In the past week alone, the CDC has received reports of 90 new cases, mainly in New York state.

“That means there have already been more measles cases in 2019 than any year in the last five years. And given that it’s only April, we’re well on track to set a record for the highest number of cases in the US since the disease was eliminated here two decades ago,” says vox.com.

Mueller Vindicates Jared Kushner in Russia Probe; Says Trump’s Son-in-Law Turned Away Russian Attempts to Contact Him

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Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reported to have uncovered evidence that affiliates of the Russian government repeatedly sought the audience and favor of Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of his closest advisers, throughout the 2016 presidential campaign and its immediate aftermath.

By: David Dennison

However, Mueller’s records relating to those efforts, which are fully described in the 448-page report released on Thursday, shows that Kushner turned away most of those attempts at contact.

“Communication records show formal and informal associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin pursued inroads with Kushner through a network of shared contacts. While Kushner acknowledged to investigators that he was seeking better relations with Moscow after Trump’s November 2016 election, most Russian intermediaries failed in attempts to directly communicate with him, McClatchey News Service reports.

The report “contains revelations about a 2016 meeting between the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn and a Russian envoy. It also provides details about how the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and other members of the president’s inner circle reacted after learning about eldest son Donald Trump Jr.’s emails setting up the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians; and it confirms correspondence between Donald Jr. and WikiLeaks about hacked Clinton campaign emails,” according to NBC News.

“In 265 references to Kushner throughout the report – many of which are footnotes documenting text, phone and email exchanges – Kushner is on the receiving end of unsolicited emails and requests for meetings,” notes McClatchey. “The report recounts only two exchanges between Kushner and Russian nationals throughout the 2016 race: a handshake at Washington’s Mayflower Hotel with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak – whom Kushner did not recognize by name until after the election – and the Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer held on June 9 of that year.”

During the campaign, “Ivanka received an email from a Russian whose husband “has done Putin’s political campaign,” reports New York Magazine. “In November of 2015, Ivanka Trump received an email from a Russian woman named Lana E. Alexander, who offered the support of her husband, Dmitry Klokov: “If you ask anyone who knows Russian to google my husband Dmitry Klokov, you’ll see who he is close to and that he has done Putin’s political campaigns.” At the time, Klokov was working for a Russian utility company, “and had been previously employed as an aide and press secretary to Russia’s energy minister.” Ivanka told Michael Cohen about the email, and Cohen looked up Klokov. Cohen “conducted an internet search for Klokov’s name and concluded (incorrectly) that Klokov was a former Olympic weightlifter.”

Move Over Amazon; Netflix Take the Big Apple by Storm with a $100 Million Investment

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that Netflix is planning to invest as much as $100 million in order to grow its presence in New York, with a production hub in Brooklyn and a corporate office in Manhattan.

By: Howard M. Riell

“The expansion of the streaming platform and media studio is expected to create 127 jobs in fields such as marketing and production development, the governor’s office said. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company also will build out a production hub in Brooklyn that will include six new sound stages within five years,” reports Crain’s New York Business.

Netflix will lease 100,000 square feet at 888 Broadway in the Flatiron District, where the company reportedly already signed a lease last fall for 38,000 square feet, says Crains. “The streaming giant will take advantage of state incentives in the expansion. Cuomo said the company has been offered up to $4 million in performance-based Excelsior Tax Credits over 10 years. To receive the full incentive, Netflix must create 127 jobs by 2024 at its new executive production office and retain those new jobs and their existing 32 office jobs for an additional five years.”

The streaming giant says it will build a new production hub in Brooklyn and expand its Manhattan headcount with 127 new high-paying positions, says Cheddar.com. “Netflix, which already produces hit shows like “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “Orange Is the New Black” in the five boroughs, will spend $100 million on the New York expansion. The announcement came after the company reported earnings that showed its highest quarterly subscriber growth in history. That was tempered by Netflix acknowledging a weaker outlook, as the competitive streaming landscape heats up later this year with entries from Disney ($DIS) and Apple ($AAPL).”

The tax breaks Netflix is receiving from New York State come under the same program it offered Amazon to open a major East Coast office in Long Island City, Queens. “Amazon was set to get a $1.525 billion tax credit contingent on the creation of 25,000 jobs but bailed on the plan this February after political opposition to the ecommerce giant’s move into Queens, according to Variety. “For Netflix, the expanded NYC outpost is the latest in a series of recent real-estate moves beyond its headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif.”

“Bottom line,” noted Techspot.com, Netflix “has already produced several shows in NYC including Orange is the New Black, She’s Gotta Have It, Russian Doll and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, among others. Given its smaller footprint and history, the company isn’t likely to experience the same sort of pushback that Amazon did.”

Gina Haspel: CIA to Shift Focus More on Russia and Iran

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CIA Director Gina Haspel has said that the intelligence organization that he heads up has now shifted its resources and focus in order to begin preparations to deal with such arch foes such as Russia and Iran.

Edited by: JV Staff

On Thursday, Haspel spoke before an audience of students, faculty and journalists at an event at Auburn University. Haspel said that the aforementioned countries had been shunted aside in the post-September 11, 2001 focus on terrorism.

“Our Russia and Iran investment has been strengthened after years of falling behind our justifiably heavy emphasis on counterterrorism in the wake of 9/11,” she said. “Groups like ISIS (Daesh) and al-Qaeda remain squarely in our sights, but we’re honing our focus and resources on nation-state rivals.”

Her statement comes as Iran has identified 290 CIA agents across different countries, forcing the US to form a special committee to reassess its cloak-and-dagger operations, according to a report on the PressTV web site.

Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Friday, “CIA operatives in these countries were identified and arrested and the contacts of the US intelligence agency with its sources were disrupted in such a way that a committee to assess the failure was set up in America.”

Press TV reported that Alavi said his ministry has shifted from focusing on defensive counter-intelligence to conducting offensive operations. He said details of the operations would be publicized soon.

Haspel also lauded President Trump in her address for showing “a lot of wisdom” through efforts to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“I am very proud that we’ve been able to support this administration’s effort to engage the North Koreans in a dialogue — and that’s not to downplay the difficulty of that or the obstacles or challenges associated with it,” she said.

“But after years of failure I do think that President Trump has shown a lot of wisdom in reaching out his hand to the North Korean leader and to suggest to them that there might be a different future for the North Korean people,” she added.

Haspel added that the CIA was “working hard to support the president, the national security team and Secretary Pompeo as they try and establish a regular and positive dialogue with the North Koreans.”

Trump has said he is considering a potential third nuclear summit with North Korea’s leader, and added that he does not want to increase sanctions on Pyongyang, as was reported by Press TV.

In February, the second summit between Trump and Kim in Hanoi ended on a disappointing note as the two leaders differed sharply on how far Pyongyang was willing to go in limiting its nuclear program and the degree of US eagerness to ease sanctions, as was reported by Press TV. Clearly unhappy at the results of the meeting Trump abruptly walked away from the talks and held a press conference shortly afterwards.

During the press conference, Trump said that “he had to walk away” from the talks because of the North’s demands to lift all economic sanctions against Pyongyang as a prerequisite to denuclearization, as was reported by Press TV.

Subsequent to Trump’s remarks to a body of international reporters, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho offered a completely different breakdown of the summit, telling the gathering of journalists that Pyongyang had never asked for the removal of all sanctions, but was only seeking their partial removal, according to a Press TV report.

According to a state media report published last month, the people of North Korea blame the US for the collapse of the summit.

 

Notre Dame Blaze Caused by Short Circuit; Lily Safra to Give $22M to Restoration Effort

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French investigators said Thursday that they believe that an electrical short-circuit is most likely the cause of the Notre Dame Cathedral blame.

By: John Bezelec

A French law enforcement official, who spoke off the record to the Los Angeles Times and Fox News, said that investigators still aren’t able to go inside the cathedral, citing safety reasons.

On Thursday, French president Emmanuel Macron delivered remarks during an event at the Elysee Palace, the French presidential residence, thanking the firefighters who were able to save the Notre Dame Cathedral.

“We’ve seen before our eyes the right things perfectly organized in a few moments, with responsibility, courage, solidarity and a meticulous organization,” Mr. Macron said Thursday. “The worst has been avoided.”

Mr. Macron announced that the firefighters who battled the Notre Dame blaze will receive an Honor medal, citing their devotion and courage.

French prosecutors have been interviewing employees who work at the Cathedral following the recent fire, officials said. As of Thursday, roughly 40 people have been interviewed, they said.

According to the LA Times, French fire officials said that the Cathedral is “unstable and extremely dangerous.”

“We knew that the roof was burning, but we didn’t really know the intensity,” Myriam Chudzinski, a local French firefighter, told French reporters. “It was from upstairs that you understood that it was really dramatic. It was very hot and we had to retreat, retreat. It was spreading quickly.”

One Fire expert, Jose Vaz de Matos, told The Times that if officials did not quickly put out the fire, the entire Cathedral would have burned to the ground, in a “chain reaction collapse.”

French President Emanuel Macron announced his plans to rebuild the historic cathedral within five years, however, according to the Los Angeles Times, experts predict that it could easily take 15 years to rebuild the Cathedral.

“It’s a chance for France to bounce back, a chance to realize what unites us, because we have been too much divided over the past years,” French resident Benedicte Contamin told The Times on Thursday.

“We mustn’t say ‘the cathedral is closed for five years’ and that’s it,” French priest Patrick Chauvet told a local news channel, according to Fox News. “Can I not build an ephemeral cathedral on an esplanade (in front of Notre Dame)?”

“No one will forget the first few minutes,” Mr. Macron said Thursday on Twitter, talking about the Notre Dame Cathedral. ”

“And right away, they take all the risks to save what can be. In memory of this night, they will receive the gold medal for Act of courage and dedication,” he added, referring to the firefighters who saved the Cathedral.

In a related development, it has been reported that Two Jewish women have pledged between them $122 million toward the restoration of the iconic cathedral.

Lily Safra, a Brazilian Jewish philanthropist and prominent member of the Syrian Jewish community said she would give $22 million to fund the restoration efforts of the historic church, as was reported by Correio 24 Horas on Monday. And Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the French billionaire owner of L’Oreal, pledged another $100 million, according to CBS.

The two women’s donations account for about 17 percent of the $700 million collected so far for the restoration.

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers announced the donation on Twitter, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s call on philanthropists to help collect funds for the operation.

Mueller Report: Trump’s Inner Circle Clashed During Russia Investigation

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As part of his investigative report which was released on Thursday, Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III revealed that President Trump’s most-trusted confidants and senior aides had to put a halt to his most-impulsive official requests, including attempting to stop Mr. Mueller’s investigation and have the special counsel terminated.

By: Marcus Tentrite

While Mr. Mueller did not conclude whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice through his firing of former FBI director James Comey and other subsequent events, the special counsel detailed as part of his findings on obstruction, several instances where senior Trump aides had to resist Mr. Trump’s “efforts to influence the investigation.”

“The President’s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests,” Mr. Mueller said in his report. “Our investigation found multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations, including the Russian-interference and obstruction investigations.”

Mr. Mueller detailed the alleged actions requested by Mr. Trump in his report.

“These actions ranged from efforts to remove the Special Counsel and to reverse the effect of the Attorney General’s recusal; to the attempted use of official power to limit the scope of the investigation; to direct and indirect contacts with witnesses with the potential to influence their testimony,” investigators said in the special counsel’s report.

Mr. Mueller detailed one instance where the president called Don McGahn, the former White House counsel, ordering that Robert Mueller be fired as special counsel.

“On June 17, 2017, the president called [White House Counsel Don] McGahn at home and directed him to call the Acting Attorney General and say that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed,” Mr. Mueller said in his report. “McGahn did not carry out the direction, however, deciding that he would resign rather than trigger what he regarded as a potential Saturday Night Massacre.”

Mr. Mueller also alleged that Mr. Trump told his former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, to “dictate a message to deliver to” former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“The message said that Sessions should publicly announce that, notwithstanding his recusal from the Russia investigation, the investigation was ‘very unfair’ to the president, the president had done nothing wrong, and Sessions planned to meet with the Special Counsel and ‘let [him] move forward with investigating election meddling for future elections,'” Mr. Mueller’s investigators said.

Mr. Mueller added that “Lewandowski did not want to deliver the president’s message personally,” so he asked former White House aide Rick Dearborn to do so.

“Lewandowski and Dearborn did not deliver the president’s message to Sessions that he should confine the Russia investigation to future election meddling only. And McGahn refused to recede from his recollections about events surrounding the president’s direction to have the Special Counsel removed, despite the President’s multiple demands he do so,” said Special Counsel Mueller.

Report: National Enquirer Sold For $100 Million

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After being engulfed in a scandal surrounding President Trump’s payoff to adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, the National Enquirer has been sold to a man named James Cohen, whose family founded Hudson News, a retailer located inside U.S. and Canadian airports.

By: Harry Cherry

David Pecker, a longtime friend and associate of President Trump, who is the Chairman and CEO of American Media, the Enquirer’s parent company, would repeatedly purchase rights to stories which, if published, would be damaging to Mr. Trump, in order to squash them, according to four people familiar with the publication’s routine practices.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that American Media wanted to sell the Enquirer because a hedge fund manager who owns a controlling interest in the tabloid became “disgusted” with the paper’s practice of doing Mr. Trump’s public-relations bidding.

The Enquirer has been battling Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who alleged in February that the paper tried to extort him by threatening to release additional damaging photographs of Mr. Bezos with his mistress, Lauren Sanchez, in addition to photographs released as part of its original scoop on Mr. Bezos, if he did not meet certain demands.

“AMI’s claim of newsworthiness is that the photos are necessary to show Amazon shareholders that my business judgment is terrible,” Mr. Bezos wrote in a blog post after the Enquirer published photos of him with Mrs. Sanchez, his mistress. “I founded Amazon in my garage 24 years ago, and drove all the packages to the post office myself.”

“Today, Amazon employs more than 600,000 people, just finished its most profitable year ever, even while investing heavily in new initiatives, and it’s usually somewhere between the #1 and #5 most valuable company in the world,” Mr. Bezos continued.

Mr. Pecker and AMI’s counsel, Dylan Howard, entered into legal non-prosecution agreements with the federal government in exchange for meeting certain demands leveled by the federal government.

AMI said Thursday that the sale of the National Enquirer and it’s two parent companies to Mr. Cohen include “a multi-year service contract that will generate substantial fees for American Media to provide publishing, financial and distribution services for the tabloid brands.”

American Media announced on April 10th that it was “exploring strategic options” for various print publications, including the National Enquirer.

“We have been keenly focused on leveraging the popularity of our celebrity glossy, teen and active lifestyle brands while developing new and robust platforms including broadcast and audio programming, and a live events business, that now deliver significant revenue streams,” Mr. Pecker recently said in a statement. “Because of this focus, we feel the future opportunities with the tabloids can be best exploited by a different ownership.”

Day in Court for NY Jewish Anti-Vaxxers Amid US Measles Outbreak

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The petitioners are from a Brooklyn neighborhood with the highest number of New York measles cases, after residents who returned from Israel in the fall infected others. 

By: WIN Staff

Amid a measles outbreak in certain areas of the United States, findings have shown that the virus was brought to the U.S. from Israel and Ukraine and passed on to members of the communities of those infected, many of whom had not been vaccinated, reports the AFP news agency.

With the backdrop of the Israeli connection and an argument made by some that vaccinations are religiously problematic, authorities in New York City have issued an order demanding that residents of Williamsburg, a neighborhood with a large Hasidic population and where the incidence of measles in the city has been the most concentrated, get inoculated if they have not done so already.

The outbreak reportedly began after unvaccinated individuals returned from celebrating the holiday of Sukkot in Israel. However, the attempt to compel vaccination is being challenged in court, reports The Jewish Press.

A court hearing is scheduled Thursday, says the news outlet.

In a petition to block health officials from enforcing the vaccination order, five parents are arguing they have a right to send their children to school without vaccinating them because of the state’s “religious exemption.”

They also claim that the number of those infected does not constitute an epidemic. They maintain, as well,  that the vaccination can have side effects and that less drastic steps – such as quarantining those infected – could be taken instead, according to The Jewish Press.

 

On Monday, the United Talmudical Academy childcare preschool program in Williamsburg was ordered closed by the city health department due to its repeated refusal to turn over attendance and health records documenting vaccination compliance. The program serves 250 children between the ages of 3 and 5  and is the first program to be closed by the city because of the outbreak, says The New York Times.

Even if not on the scale of an epidemic, it is the country’s largest measles outbreak in decades, the newspaper adds.

As of last week, New York City health officials had reported 285 measles cases since the fall, mostly in children under the age of 18. Twenty-one people have been hospitalized, five in intensive care units, according to the latest figures.

Orthodox Jewish doctors urge vaccination

Meanwhile, to counter the argument that vaccinating runs contrary to Jewish law, an online petition has been published stating: “We, the undersigned doctors who faithfully serve the Orthodox Jewish communities of North America, strongly urge all members of our community to receive all recommended vaccinations.” The names of hundreds of signatories appear on the petition.

A total of 555 cases of measles have been recorded in the United States since January 1, most of them in New York and Clark County in Washington state, reports AFP.

Three new cases of measles were identified Wednesday in Michigan, and those people may have exposed others to the virus,  according to state health officials cited by the Detroit Free Press.

The statewide total is now up to 43 measles cases this year, says the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, adding that this is the highest number of measles cases in the state since 1991, when 65 were reported.

Read More at:  https://worldisraelnews.com/

Read the Entire Mueller Report with Redactions

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https://media.npr.org/assets/news/2019/04/muellerreport.pdf

Helping IDF Soldiers Celebrate Passover in Dignity

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Jerusalem, Israel – Passover is a joyous time for Israel’s soldiers. Many are on leave from the
army and return home to celebrate the traditional Seder meal. However, holiday joy is
tempered with worry and stress for those soldiers who come from families which struggle
financially. While on base they would be treated to a delicious Seder meal by the army, at
home the situation is more difficult, with food needing to be shared with parents,
grandparents, and siblings. Additionally, “lone soldiers” (orphans, those who immigrated to
Israel alone, and anyone else who for whatever reason receives no financial support from
their parents) also struggle financially and have trouble arranging and paying for their
holiday meals while on leave from the army.
To address this unfortunate situation, every year before Passover (and before Rosh Hashana
as well) hundreds of such soldiers are provided with large food packages by Yashar LaChayal,
a non-profit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian aid for soldiers of the Israel
Defense Forces. Besides basic food supplies to help the soldiers and their families with
preparing for the holiday meals, the Passover packages also contain special additions for the
Seder: Grape juice, decorative grape juice cups, Passover cake and cookies, Matzah, and
Haggadahs (books traditionally read during the Seder)!
On April 15 in Ma’ale Adumim, Yashar LaChayal’s volunteers put together food packages for
850 soldiers from over a dozen units throughout the Israel Defense Forces. The units
included the Golani, Nachal, and Kfir Brigades, Home Front Command, the Netzach Yehuda
Battalion (a special unit populated by soldiers from ultra-Orthodox backgrounds), Egoz
Special Forces, the Iron Dome unit, and Arayot HaYarden, one of Israel’s first coed infantry
units. Throughout the day, representatives of each unit arrived to pick up food packages for
those in their units who will benefit from them. In addition, assistance was provided to
bereaved families of soldiers who fell in Israel’s defense.
The food packaging event was supported by the municipality of Ma’ale Adumim and was
attended by Mayor Benny Kashriel. Besides individual donors from around the world, large
quantities of the food packages were sponsored by organizations and Synagogues which
support Israel’s soldiers through Yashar LaChayal. The Synagogues include the following
ones from New Jersey: Congregation Bnai Yeshurun of Teaneck, the Young Israel of East
Brunswick, and the East Brunswick Jewish Center.
For more information about Yashar LaChayal and its other projects which support Israel’s
soldiers, visit: www.yasharlachayal.org and facebook.com/yasharlachayal.

International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Provides Thousands of Lone Soldiers With Gift Coupons for Passover

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In the spirit of the Passover holiday, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (Keren L’Yedidut) is sponsoring NIS 500 gift coupons for 8500 lone soldiers and soldiers from low-income families, all of which add up to a combined value of over NIS 4 million. The initiative, which was launched in cooperation with Yachad Lema’an Hachayal, an organization under the Israeli Defense Ministry’s umbrella that funnels donations to Israeli soldiers and military units, is dedicated this year to the memory of the late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the founder and former president of The Fellowship.

The gift coupons, which are valid in the Shufersal supermarket chain, are aimed at giving the soldiers the opportunity to purchase not only food but clothing, footwear, sports apparel, electronics and other products they may want or need. The 8500 soldiers have received necessary referrals for eligibility from respective IDF units.

Among those receiving the gift coupon are 6581 lone soldiers, 54% of whom are serving as combat soldiers or as soldiers providing combat support. Fifty-five percent of the lone soldiers who are entitled to a coupon come from 76 different countries between them all. Of the countries of origin with the largest number of lone soldiers, 882 are from the United States, (about 24% of soldiers who are new immigrants or “olim”), 596 from the Ukraine (about 16% of soldiers who are olim) and 479 from Russia (approximately 13% of soldiers who are olim). These lone soldiers, who moved to Israel from all over the globe, do not merely make up a composite melting pot within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) but also help to enrich the Israeli army and contribute to its overall strength.

“The IDF is the people’s army, and as such it is not immune to dealing with the social challenges that characterize Israel,” noted President of The Fellowship, Yael Eckstein. “Every year, thousands of soldiers from low-income families and thousands of lone soldiers who have come to Israel by themselves in order to enlist in the IDF, serve in the Israeli army. Together with the army and partners such as Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) and Yachad Lema’an Hachayal, The Fellowship has developed a series of unique solutions through which soldiers receive assistance as part of an effort to enable them to serve in tranquility.”

WJC appeals for pan-European stand against neo-Nazi gatherings planned for Hitler’s birthday

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As neo-Nazis and extremists prepare to gather in Sofia and elsewhere in Europe this weekend on the date of Adolf Hitler’s 130th birthday, the World Jewish Congress is calling on governments across the continent to condemn and oppose neo-Nazi movements.  In addition to the conference of fascists who refer to themselves as European nationalists in Sofia, other planned events include meetings in various locations across France, a hiking trip and picnic in Ukraine, a rock concert in Italy and another two conventions in separate locations in Germany.
 

The WJC, under the leadership of President Ronald S. Lauder, has embarked on a widespread social media campaign to raise awareness about the proliferation of neo-Nazi gatherings across Europe, with an array of informational and visual content, calling on users everywhere to share employing the hashtags #NazisOut and #NazisRaus (a current anti-fascist slogan being used in Europe). The content will be posted on the World Jewish Congress’ Twitter page,www.twitter.com/worldjewishcong, throughout the weekend, highlighting the connection between pre-WWII era Nazi gatherings and contemporary neo-Nazi movements.

WJC CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer appealed directly to Bulgarian Interior Minister Mladen Marinov ahead the Bulgarian National Union’s three-day conference in Sofia, urging him to speak out against the extremist gathering. “Bulgaria should not be seen as a legitimate meeting place for those seeking to promote such hateful and destructive politics,” Singer wrote.

In his letter, Singer expressed his gratitude to the Bulgarian government for the productive and warm relationship developed in recent years and noted that the WJC was deeply encouraged by the government’s efforts to combat antisemitism and promote tolerance in Bulgaria as part of its “long tradition of being a bastion of ethnic and cultural diversity and tolerance.”.

That said, Singer wrote, “we are strongly opposed to the pan-European neo-Nazi conference scheduled to take place under the auspices of an extremist Bulgarian political movement. We urge you do to strongly denounce this event, as well as to do all in your power to prevent this odious meeting from occurring, in keeping with the Bulgarian values of tolerance. The spirit of this conference is part and parcel with the inciting and violent nature of the annual [neo-Nazi] Lukov march and should be met with the same condemnation and denunciation.”

Met Council Expands America’s Largest Free Pesach Distribution to 129 Sites

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“We offer the best deal in New York,” explained David G. Greenfield, CEO of Met Council. “You give us access to the needy people and we will give you all the kosher food they need for Pesach.” That’s how Met Council was able to expand America’s largest free Pesach food distribution from 120 locations last year to 129 locations across New York this year. New locations range from Yeshiva Chaim Berlin in Flatbush to Mosdos Vorka in Boro Park to National Council of Jewish Women on the Upper West Side.

 

Six months before Pesach, Met Council’s food team, led by Jessica Chait, began working day and night to ensure that all who are hungry will have food to eat before Pesach. Millions of dollars were raised, the orders — everything from 82,000 pounds of chicken to 77,000 pounds of eggs to 79,000 cans of tuna to 54,000 pounds of Matzah were placed — and the Met Council overflow warehouse began accepting food earmarked for Pesach. Three weeks before Pesach, Met Council began making deliveries across the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, and Westchester. All told, over 181,000 New Yorkers will receive food before Pesach from Met Council – America’s largest free kosher for Pesach food distribution.

 

“I am proud that once again we have expanded the Met Council Pesach food distribution,” said Mr. Greenfield. “This year we gave out more food to more people at more locations than ever before. As importantly, we gave out higher quality food. Everything from the apples to the oranges to the potatoes were bigger and better than ever before and even the items like grape juice are of the highest quality. We distribute Kedem grape juice, the very same brand most of us drink at home,” Greenfield explained about his commitment to securing the finest products for Pesach.

 

Just about every organization that gives out free kosher food in New York gets it from Met Council. Some of Met Council’s 129 partners include Hatzolah, Bais Yaakov of Borough Park, Boro Park JCC, Tomchei Shabbos of Queens, UJC of the East Side and COJO Staten Island.

Met Council’s food team is led by Jessica Chait, the newly hired Managing Director of Food Programs. Jessica and her team of ten employees work year-round with Food Bank and City Harvest to ensure that Met Council is well stocked with Kosher for Pesach items.

 

“Passover is a joyous time but, for too many, it also represents a significant hardship,” said Chait. “I’m incredibly proud of the work Met Council does to help more than 181,000 New Yorkers meet their food needs during this season and also enable them to celebrate the holiday with dignity.”

It’s not only the actual food that Met Council distributes. Met Council also has the largest Kosher for Pesach Visa credit card program in the United States. “In addition to the traditional food distributions, we also gave out more than 2,100 Visa cards to pre-screened clients that need a financial boost to buy additional food before Yom Tov,” Greenfield explained. These Visa credit cards, up to $500 per family, are branded by Met Council and are coded to only work in select supermarkets across New York.

 

“We are truly fortunate to have a community that really understands the mitzvah of Kimcha D’Pischa. Literally, every mosod, shul, and organization in New York participates in this mitzvah. It’s our zchus at the Met Council to be serving them by providing the food needed to celebrate Pesach,” Greenfield concluded.

 

 

The Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island Kick’s Off Pesach with a Pre-Holiday Food Distribution

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The Staten Island Council of Jewish Organizations (COJO-SI) held its annual Passover/Pesach food drive and distribution Wednesday, April 17, 2019, at the Young Israel of Staten Island Synagogue located in the Willowbrook section of Staten Island. Thanks to the efforts of COJO-SI approximately 800 families in Staten Island are able to enjoy Passover 2019 with the traditional foods necessary to experience festive Sedarim and holiday meals.

This year marks the 41st year of COJO-SI helping make sure that all members of the Staten Island community can celebrate Passover in a dignified manner in accordance with Jewish traditions and customs.

Mendy Mirocznik, President of COJO-SI thanked Scott Maurer, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice-President of COJO-SI and his team of volunteers for doing a great job in organizing the Passover food drive and distribution.

Mirocznik further thanked the generous COJO-SI food pantry partners who made this Passover food drive and distribution possible, such as Met Council, Food Bank for New York City, City Harvest, and Mr. Kevin Mannix CEO and Owner of Staten Island Shoprite.

The following elected officials and community leaders attended and participated with the food distribution, among them Congressman Max Rose, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, Councilman Joe Borelli, Chief Kenneth Corey, commanding officer, Patrol Borough Staten Island, Ted Kantor from the New York State Court Officers Association, Daniel Hartley representing New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Patrick Lewis representing Mayor Bill de Blasio, Donald De Rosa and Pinny Hikind representing New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and William Matarazzo representing Senator Andrew Lanza.

The best part was how community coming together and working together for the good and welfare of Staten Island.

Mirocznik concluded, “That the COJO-SI Passover Food Relief is just one component of our pantry that services all people of Staten Island. Our goal is to make sure that no person goes hungry in Staten Island.” Scott Maurer CEO of COJO-SI agreed and added, “that my dream is that no one should experience poverty and hunger and the pantry should go out of business due to a lack of clients in need. However, until we reach that day, we here at COJO-SI are in the business of combating hunger.”

US Attorney General, Deputy to Discuss Mueller Report in News Conference

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The White House/Wikimedia Commons)

Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will hold a news conference Thursday morning regarding special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, the Justice Department announced.

Edited by: JV Staff

Barr also plans to release a redacted version Thursday of the nearly 400-page report by Mueller on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election that was aimed at helping Donald Trump win the presidency.

In a radio interview Wednesday, Trump floated the idea that he, too, may hold a news conference. “Attorney General Barr is going to be giving a press conference, maybe I’ll do one after that, we’ll see,” Trump said in an interview with WMAL Radio’s Larry O’Connor.

Mueller investigated the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia and whether Trump, as president, obstructed justice by trying to thwart the probe. Sparring over the report in advance of its release is rampant.

Barr released a four-page summary of Mueller’s findings three weeks ago, saying the prosecutor had concluded that Trump and his campaign did not collude with Russia to help him win but had reached no conclusion about whether Trump obstructed justice. But with Mueller not reaching a decision on the obstruction issue, Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided no obstruction charges against Trump were warranted.

Also Wednesday, The New York Times reported that White House lawyers have had numerous conversations with Justice Department officials about the report. The Times, quoting unnamed sources, said the conversations have helped the White House prepare its rebuttal and strategize its response.

The Justice Department and the White House declined to comment on the report. (VOA News)

 

 

‘Bibi’ is Selected to TIME’s Top 100 Most Influential People Netanyahu was selected as one of TIME’s Top 100 Most Influential people.

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Normally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wouldn’t be the name one immediately associates with pop star Ariana Grande, actor Dwayne Johnson, or soccer star Alex Morgan, but all have at least one thing in common. They made the list of TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People 2019.

By: WIN Staff

Israel’s prime minister thanked TIME in a tweet on Wednesday: “Thank you to TIME International magazine for choosing me as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. I will continue to operate with all my strength for our state.”

TIME asked David French, staff writer for conservative magazine National Review, to write the remarks for the Netanyahu entry on its site. “Israel is Bibi’s nation,” Mr. French says, referring to the prime minister by his nickname.

Despite facing existential dangers, he writes, “Israel grows more prosperous. It grows more powerful. And as the election shows, sufficient numbers of Israelis believe not just that Netanyahu is partly responsible for that success but that he’s the nation’s indispensable man. And so he won again, in spite of facing serious allegations of corruption. Bibi certainly deserves his share of credit for Israel’s strength, but persuading Israelis that he alone could achieve it is his true political accomplishment.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu was recently elected to his fifth term as premier on April 9.

On Tuesday, Israel’s right-wing and religious parties endorsed Netanyahu for another term, giving him an absolute majority of 65 seats in the next Knesset. He needs only 61 seats to cobble together a governing coalition. (World Israel News)

Read more at: https://worldisraelnews.com/