New York, NY - In 1897, Isaac Fromme, an office-seeker from the largely Jewish Lower East Side, punctuated his campaign palaver with Yiddishisms to refute insinuations that he was Irish. In 1922, Fiorello H. La Guardia was re-elected to Congress from East Harlem after he rebutted charges of anti-Semitism by challenging a rival to debate in Yiddish. La Guardia, a son of Jewish and Italian parents...

Long Island, NY - The partially engraved Jewish tombstones used to shore up a Long Island golf course were donated by two former members roughly 50 years ago, according to the facility's president. The Woodmere Club investigated the origin of the stones -- several of which bear full names -- after members raised concerns stemming from a report in today's Post on the macabre markers...

New York City - A war of words over mayoral control of the city schools is escalating between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and some Democratic State Senators. The fight over mayoral control has taken a bitter and personal turn in recent days, and it doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon. The mayor wants his control of the city's schools to be reauthorized by the State Senate, but it's been...

Albany, NY - For anyone who believes crime doesn't pay, tell that to the New York state legislator who introduced a "Madoff" bill today. Rich New Yorkers convicted of crimes would be forced -- if this bill becomes law -- to pay the state and federal governments for how much it costs to keep them in jail. The bill's moniker is a nod to Bernard Madoff, who began serving a 150-year prison...

New York - The Chevy Camaro LT2 Coupe is perhaps the most popular sports car of 2010. It is often purchased by balding men in their forties who are entering their mid-life crises. The most popular minivans in the United States are the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna. They are generally purchased by people with larger families. The different profiles of each one of the purchasers of these...

New York - A law that overhauls New York state accounting rules for the first time since 1947 may soon pull the rug out from under many tax advisers. Thousands of certified public accountants will need more credentials because of the New York Accountancy Reform Law, signed by Gov. David A. Paterson on Jan. 27. It goes into effect on July 26. The overhaul in New York underscores continuing...

New York - Here's good news for people looking to hit the road for a summer vacation - there's fewer drivers jamming up the city's bridges. For the 19th month in a row, traffic on the MTA's nine Bridges and Tunnels has decreased, plunging from 837,537 cars every day in October 2007 to 799,890 this past May, the agency's latest stats show. There were 200,000 fewer drivers buzzing over the...

New York - Stocks rallied to the finish line Monday after a wobbly morning as a CIT deal to avert bankruptcy and strong earnings gave investors cause for optimism. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 100 points, or 1.2 percent. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also gained 1.2 percent...

Jerusalem - The Israel Rabbinate’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger is set to convene a meeting of the Rabbinate Kashrut Committee to discuss the possibility of denying kashrus certification for produce exposed to prohibited levels of pesticides. If approved the plan would set a precedent as the first time the Chief Rabbinate has established a requirement not strictly related to kashrus as...

Chicago, IL - Rabosai, First I want to congratulate you for your fervor and unity in responding to those who are violating Shabbat by driving to Jerusalem on Shabbat and those who are intervening in family life in the Niturei Karta community by taking children to the hospital when they are emaciated and weighing 7 kg at two years old. But, secondly, I want to tell you that from a Torah...

Lakewood, NJ - A camp counselor who worked at a program run at a Lakewood private school has been arrested on charges that he sexually assaulted a young boy. the man of Lakewood, worked as a camp counselor at Yachad, a summer camp based out of Bais Hatorah School on Swathmore Drive, was arrested Sunday, authorities said. He was charged with aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and...

Postville, IA - A bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of an Iowa kosher slaughterhouse that was subjected to a large immigration raid. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul J. Kilburg on Monday approved the May sale of Agriprocessors, Inc., to SHF Industries, a company formed by Canadian plastics manufacturer Hershey Friedman and his son-in-law, Daniel Hirsch. Friedman says the plant will continue...

Los Angeles, CA - The growing rift between the White House and Israel over the continued construction of Jewish settlements has widened after the US demanded the scrapping of a plan for new Jewish housing in occupied east Jerusalem. The state department summoned the Israeli ambassador, Michael Oren, to tell him the US wants a freeze on plans by an American, Irving Moskowitz, to knock down an...

New York, NY - There's more quantity in the city's "quality of life" enforcement. The NYPD handed out about 297,000 criminal summonses to people who urinate in the streets, aggressive panhandlers, drunks, rowdy nightclub patrons and other miscreants during the first half of 2009 -- a nearly 5 percent jump over the 283,000 doled out during the same period last year. At this pace, cops will...

Jerusalem - Rabbinic leaders of the Ashkenazi Haredi community held a rare summit in Jerusalem to discuss the fate of the community's Hinuch Atzma'i school system. The conference, the first in 29 years, is an open challenge to the Gur Hasidim, the largest Hasidic sect in Israel and one of the many sects within the broader Ashkenazi Haredi community. Gur on Sunday tried to get the summit...