Israel - The problem of cleanliness (or rather, lack thereof) in Jerusalem has been bothering the city's residents for years, and now it seems that visitors from abroad are concerned with the issue as well. Ilan Geva, the owner of a Chicago investment firm, visited the capital about a month ago as guest of the former CEO of the Jerusalem Economy Company, Dudik Moshkovitz. "It pained us to...

Israel - A new statement from IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi requires soldiers to tolerate immodest performances in the name of group bonding. For months, IDF rabbis have battled the Education and Youth Corps over the issue of military performances that do not conform to Halacha. The statement from Lt.-Gen. Ashkenazi appears to support the Education Corps over the...

New York, NY - As President Obama takes heat from insect-rights activists for swatting a fly during an interview, Mayor Bloomberg says he can sympathize. "I had pickets outside my house for geese last night," Bloomberg said of protesters angry that the city is gathering up to 2,000 geese near airports and gassing them. "We are sending some of these geese for a well-deserved rest up in the...

Goshen, NY - An Orange County Legislature committee voted to urge County Executive Ed Diana to sue Kiryas Joel for a second time over the village's proposed pipeline to the Catskill Aqueduct. The matter now goes to the full Legislature on July 1. The 6-3 vote came after lawmakers met behind closed doors for more than an hour with a lawyer who represented the county in a lawsuit it filed...

Jerusalem - The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court convicted Gilad Mizrachi, a member of the Israel Police's Special Patrol Unit, of an assault resulting in injury. Mizrachi attacked a young haredi man during an anti-Pride Parade demonstration in the capital two years ago. The policeman, who was also convicted of disrupting legal proceedings, assaulted the young man after he had refused to hand...

South Blooming Grove, NY - A group of Satmar Hasidic investors are trying to renovate the crumbling buildings at a former summer resort, possibly with an eye to starting a religious community there. Hasidic religious school Sheri Torah has requested the Village of South Blooming Grove to consider site-plan approval for a shul at Lake Anne's former recreation hall. The school now operates out...

Jerusalem - A parking lot will be opened in the city on Saturdays to accommodate weekend visitors to the capital, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said, without specifying which lot. The comments came as negotiations continued between city officials and the haredi leadership to reach an accord by next weekend that will be amenable to both sides, with talks focusing on the opening of a...