Chicago, IL - The Muslim-outreach coordinator to the presidential campaign of Barack Obama has resigned amid questions about his involvement in an Islamic investment fund and various Islamic Chicago lawyer Mazen Asbahi, who was appointed volunteer national coordinator for Muslim American affairs by the Obama campaign on July 26, stepped down Monday after an Internet newsletter wrote about his...

New York City - Israir Airlines and Tourism Ltd. today announced that it will suspend flights to New York on September 13 because they are not economical. The airline promised to find alternatives for all passengers who booked flights after this date. This is the second time that Israir has suspended the route. A few months ago, it transferred the route to another airline, claiming that it was...

Beijing, China - Religiously observant Jews, who may have been concerned about where the President of Israel might commemorate the Tisha B'av destruction of the First and Second Temples when he is in Beijing this week, can rest easy. President Shimon Peres, who will be in the Chinese capital as guest of the Chinese Government for the opening of the 2008 Olympics, will be joined by Chabad Rabbi...

Jerusalem - Israeli Taekwondo delegate to Beijing, native of Ramallah-adjacent settlement Bat-El Gaterer keeps Shabbat, settles for kosher instant food, staying focused on her mission to take home Olympic medal In between their Taekwondo matches, the opponents take a breather and fill up on a protein bar that will keep their energy level high for the next confrontation. Having no time to sit...

Richmond, VA - A Federal Grand Jury in Richmond has indicted an inmate at the federal prison in Petersburg on charges of coordinating an ongoing identity theft scheme from the prison. John Kenneth Leighnor, Jr., 49, is charged with three counts of mail fraud and eight counts of aggravated identity theft. According to court records, Leighnor identified many of his intended victims by...

Jerusalem - Orthodox Jews who commit traffic violations or who smoke are just as ineligible to serve as witnesses in rabbinical courts or in Jewish weddings as pork-eating, Shabbat-desecrating secular Jews, according to a leading religious Zionist rabbi. Anyone who blatantly and... Anyone who blatantly and intentionally commits traffic violations, thus endangering human lives, is also...

Jerusalem - The ultra-Orthodox community has come up with a response to the growing popularity of Israel's organ donor, or Adi cards. The community has issued a new card called a "life card" which expressed its holders' wish not to donate organs. The new card says "I do not give my permission to take from me, not in life nor in death, and organ or part of my body for any purpose." The...

Israel - A newly launched course trains rabbis to engage in family and marital counseling and give advice on marital problems in order to help the religious sector deal with these rather sensitive issues. The course focuses on psychological aspects and family relationships, said Rina Wasserman, Vice Chairperson of Emunah (Religious Women’s Organization) Israel, which has initiated the...

Brooklyn, NY - Fire Department responded all hands to a working fire on the 2nd floor of a 6 story 25x50 occupied dwelling at 106 Skillman Avenue, Hatzolah also responded. All occupants where out safe, and the fire was under control soon after. ...

Washington - According to the Jewish calendar we are now in the month of Av, a period of increasingly intense mourning that culminates with a total fast on the Ninth of Av, which this year coincides with Sunday, Aug. 10. One of the customary practices in these nine days is the avoidance of meat: it’s the way we commemorate the destruction of the Temple, where daily animal sacrifices were...