Ramapo, NY - Ramapo officials this afternoon will face requests by dozens of police officers for revised work schedules based on their religious beliefs and personal needs. More than 40 requests resulted from the decision of town officials and the police chief to give Orthodox Jewish Officer Baile Glauber off Friday nights and Saturdays for the Sabbath. She started work in June, getting...

Tver, Russia - Nineteen members of the Tver branch of the neo-Nazi group Russian National Unity (RNU) face multiple counts of murder, assault, and hate crimes. The suspects allegedly killed four people and assaulted three others, all crimes motivated by ethnic hatred. In addition, they are suspected of vandalizing Muslim and Jewish graves. Nine suspects are in custody, seven have signed...

Williamsburg, NY - Brookyln Councilman David Yassky, a reformer who is on the "undecided" list when it comes to changing term limits, is the target of an onslaught of lobbying from interests on both sides of the issue. Yesterday, Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey revealed he had twice spoken to Yassky about Mayor Bloomberg's bill and considered the councilman to be firmly in the...

New York - The Dow rallied in the final hour of trading as investors went bargain hunting after the index hit a five-and-half year low earlier in the session. The market initially opened higher on reports that consumer prices were flat in September, while weekly jobless claims fell for the latest week. But stocks quickly reversed after a 10 am report that the Philadelphia Fed's index of...

Brooklyn, NY - Who is Sruly Werdyger ? He is a journalist. (Hamodia community news editor) and a wedding singer. Having communicated with him a lot by email, I can say he's a funny, friendly, gentleman. As you all should know, he's the son of Mendy Werdyger of Aderet, and nephew of MBD. My thing with Sruly Werdyger has not been love at first sight. On the last Oorah CD, he won the singing...

Towson, MD - School officials are investigating an incident of vandalism today at Goucher College in Towson. Authorities say the community Art Sukkah on the Van Meter Highway was attacked and partially destroyed, in addition to other campus and private property. The Art Sukkah is a reflection of the diverse community at Goucher, with panels painted by various cultural and religious...

President Shimon Peres appears to have hit peak popularity, if anything can be gathered from the line of people outside the presidential residence, Thursday, waiting to visit him in his traditional sukkah. Thousands of people were undeterred by the long lines and waiting time. "I am very excited to have met Peres, it was my dream," said Malka Sasson, who waited for over an hour. "I really...

London - Police have condemned a move to set up a New York-style private security force in the borough that hosts Britain's biggest Orthodox community. The force, based on the Shomrim Patrol in New York, has already been given credit by a number of strictly Orthodox Jews for having taken part last month in the successful search in Stamford Hill for two missing boys aged six and nine. But...

New York - Credit-card delinquencies are likely to become the next flashpoint in the credit crisis, though the impact on the overall economy won't be as severe as the housing slump, analysts believe. As the economy worsens and unemployment rises, more Americans are having trouble paying off their credit card balances. That has pushed up losses for credit card issuers, forcing them to tighten...

Ramapo, NY - A question over ownership could delay the subdivision of a Decatur Avenue property that's the focus of civil and criminal court actions. Whether the property belongs to Michael Goldstein or to a company called 60 Decatur Realty Corp. has to be settled before the town can continue its review of his plans for two three-family houses on the corner lot. "The application cannot...

Jerusalem - Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Tzipi Livni is encountering a new problem in her bid for power and it is something she cannot do much about: her sex. Ms Livni is trying to build a coalition government having won leadership of her own Kadima party and with current prime minister Ehud Olmert standing down. She will almost certainly have to cut a deal with one or more of the...

Caribbean Island - Twelve Israelis are being held in the Turks and Caicos Island chain in the Caribbean by 300 Chinese workers. The Israelis, who are being held on West Caicos, were on the islands working for an Israeli building company responsible for a large tourist project. The Israelis are employees of the Ashtrom Engineering and Construction firm, which employed the 300 laborers for a...

Monroe, NY - Orange County officials closed County Route 44 from Seven Springs Road to Mountain Road in the Town of Monroe because of safety issues that they say exist because of actions taken by the Village of Kiryas Joel. County Executive Edward Diana ordered that stretch of the highway closed due to unauthorized wooden sidewalk and guardrail built by the Village of Kiryas Joel. The impacted...

London - The Jewish army chaplain who witnessed the horrors of the Belsen concentration camp immediately after the British army liberated it in April 1945 died last week aged 95. Reverend Leslie Hardman entered Belsen concentration camp after its liberation in his role as a British Army chaplain; himself Jewish, he was later to describe the terrible scenes which he witnessed in a moving...

Perm, Russia – It was exactly 30 days ago that the crash of the ‘Boeing’ airliner occurred while en route from Moscow to Perm. According to Jewish law, the deceased are commemorated on the thirtieth day (shloyshim). Aboard the plane were both Jews and non-Jewish people, mainly residents of Perm. On October 13, the Jewish community of Perm held a remembrance ceremony on the site where a...