Netanya - This past week a Kiruv concert given by Avrohom Fried was held in Netanya, with the idea of bringing together religious and not yet religious people under the same roof. The concert, however, was not without controversy - as a Kol Koreh was declared not to attend the concert. An intriguing article in the Kfar Chabad newspaper by Rabbi Menachem Brod shlita discussed the implications...

Lvov, Ukraine - A Holocaust monument was vandalized in western Ukraine. The Holocaust memorial in Lvov was smeared with paint, swastikas and anti-Semitic graffiti. It stands outside the Valley of Death, a site near the city's Janowska death camp, where more than 200,000 Jews were murdered between 1941 and 1943. The JTA is reporting that a group of German tourists discovered the vandalized...

Sea Cliff, NY - More than a year after losing a federal harassment lawsuit against the Village of Sea Cliff and several officials, the owner of a multimillion-dollar gourmet popcorn company was ordered to reimburse them more than $900,000 in attorney's fees. Robert Ehrlich, who operates the company that produces Pirate's Booty, had accused village officials of harassing him over his daytime...

Williamsburg, NY - Residents are protesting the ongoing demolition of an abandoned power plant by Con Edison, saying the company has failed to address concerns about potential health hazards created by the operation. Most of the objections raised about the ongoing demolition of the old Con Ed power plant on Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg have to do with destruction of a building that had...

Jerusalem - In a meeting with Jerusalem police representatives, Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss [Gave'd] head of the Edah Hachareidis will demand: free the Mishmeres arrestees. Word on the Chareidi street: "If the answer is no, we go to war." Both sides in the ongoing whirlwind following the arrest of two Mishmeres Hatznius activists have reached the breaking point tonight. After a meeting...

Brooklyn, NY - A raucous debate infused with racial tension took place last night in Brooklyn between Democratic State Senator Kevin Parker and his two primary opponents, term-limited City Council members Kendall Stewart and Simcha Felder. Each candidate is representative of one of three major demographic voting blocs in the district--Felder is an Orthodox Jew, Stewart is a Caribbean immigrant...

South Africa - A Bombshell has burst over the Toscanini diamond mine on Namibia's Skeleton Coast after two of its American investment brokers, Steven Byers and Joseph Shereshevsky of Chicago-based Wextrust LLC, were arrested last week by the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly operating a nearly N$2 billion (US$255 million) pyramid scheme. US authorities said the pair had...

Jerusalem - The seemingly miraculous revival of a newborn baby that had initially been pronounced dead and refrigerated in Israel [VIN News did not cover this story, as we deemed it skeptical, as it turned out a day later that the baby has in fact died, below article discuss the issue when it was said that the baby survived..] is raising eyebrows among scientists and doctors. Some wonder if...

Glasgow, UK - Glasgow's Orthodox-run burial society has ended a long-standing arrangement which permitted local Reform rabbis to conduct funerals at its cemetery for members of their synagogue. Barry Cooper, chair of the Hebrew Burial Society, remained tight-lipped over the reason for the change of policy. He would say only: "We are an Orthodox burial society which is bound by the halachic...

Los Angeles, CA - A hundred Israeli of Hamas and Islamic Jihad filed a claim in Los Angeles, against China's largest bank, the Bank of China, demanding $500 million in damages. The plaintiffs are claiming that the bank provided banking services to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, violating both American law and international banking regulations.   The plaintiffs allege that the...

Washington - A Justice Department plan would loosen restrictions on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to allow agents to open a national security or criminal investigation against someone without any clear basis for suspicion, Democratic lawmakers briefed on the details said Wednesday. The plan, which could be made public next month, has already generated intense interest and speculation...

Ogdensburg, NY - It is an unfortunate reality that there are very few suppliers of chalav Yisrael cheese products. As a consequence, the price of chalav Yisrael products is quite high. So when the plant owned by Moshe Banayan almost closed this week, it was a miracle that the right person was there to ensure that the plant continue to supply the Orthodox Jewish market with chalav Yisrael...

New York, NY - Mayor Bloomberg is considering extending term limits through a deal with the City Council that would allow him another four years, while also boosting lawmakers' time in office. Bloomberg has publicly said he intends to leave when his term ends on Dec. 31, 2009, but has privately expressed interest in undoing the city's cap of two four-year terms with a legislative change, not...

Teaneck, NJ - Teaneck has settled a lawsuit filed by the parents of four children who died in a house fire hours after firefighters checked on a report of smoke. Howard and Philyss Seidenfeld will receive more than $2 million from the township and its insurance company. Neither Teaneck nor its fire department admit any wrongdoing. Firefighters inspected the Seidenfeld home after Philyss...

Crown Heights, NY - The coward who put an 85-year-old Brooklyn grandmother in a chokehold until she collapsed in an elevator - then ripped off her cash and her cane - is under arrest after allegedly confessing to the callous attack. The heartless Aug. 14 mugging stunned the city - the security-cam video of the attack has been repeatedly broadcast on TV and on the Internet - and has kept three...