Articles By
Allison C. Witty
Allison C. Witty is a writer on human interest stories for VosIzNeias.
- Hallandale Beach, FL - Report: Canadian Orthodox Couple Murdered In South Florida May Have Been Targeted January 25, 2013 10:42 AM | 3 Comments Hallandale Beach, FL - Law enforcement officials from Florida and Toronto are collaborating to solve the murder of Canadian couple David Pichosky, 71, and his wife, Rochelle Wise, 66, who were found murdered in their Hallandale Beach, Florida winter home earlier this month. Florida police officers are expected to arrive in Toronto on Sunday to interview friends, family, acquaintances, and... Read more »
- Brooklyn, NY - New Chabad Yeshiva Emphasizes Secular & Religious Studies In Student Curriculum January 24, 2013 10:19 AM | 19 Comments Brooklyn, NY - The Lamplighters Yeshiva, a Jewish Montessori school based in Crown Heights, was featured today as part of a continuing series by DNAinfo.com (http://bit.ly/14dmpLn) on Jewish parochial education in Brooklyn. The school is being praised by many for its emphasis on both secular and religious studies. Founded in 2010 by Yocheved Sidof, the 44-person student body – consisting of... Read more »
- Brooklyn, NY - Report: Charedi Yeshivas Fail To Teach Secular Subjects In Compliance With Law January 22, 2013 01:13 PM | 52 Comments Brooklyn, NY - An investigative series by DNAinfo.com New York (http://bit.ly/YkVJJ7) has revealed that many Hasidic yeshivas are offering little or no instruction in secular subjects such as English, math and science, even though the schools are legally required to do so. A number of former yeshiva students confirmed the report’s findings. Shmueli Lowenstein, 25, attended Oholei Torah in... Read more »
- Williamsburg, NY - NYPD Search for Thieves Who Plotted Italian Tile Caper in Brooklyn January 21, 2013 01:56 PM | 16 Comments Williamsburg, NY - NYPD detectives from the 88th Precinct have a real whodunit on their hands. It is a mystery which began last November with a telephone order for two thousand square feet of imported Italian porcelain tile – an estimated 8,500 pounds of it – from the Tile Depot of New York in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, an Orthodox Jewish establishment. According to a report in the New York... Read more »
- New York - Senator Schumer Defends Decision To Support Hagel On JM In The AM Radio Show January 18, 2013 11:23 AM | 18 Comments New York - In a fairly lengthy radio interview this morning on JM in the AM with host Nachum Segal, United States Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) was asked to defend his swift endorsement of the nomination of former Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel for the Secretary of Defense post. Asked by Mr. Segal if he sympathizes with and understands why so many people in the pro-Israel... Read more »
- Washington - Senator Rand Paul Says He Is Not Anti-Israel; Favors Iron Dome System January 17, 2013 02:19 PM | 15 Comments Washington - Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky seems to have had a change of heart about Israel after spending a week in the Jewish State and meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and top-level Israeli leaders, according to a report in the Business Insider (http://read.bi/13IfEBP). When asked by VIN News representative Ezra Friedlander about his position on the Iron Dome during a Q & A... Read more »
- Montreal, Quebec - Trial Begins In Defamation Suit Between Hasidic Jew & His Non-Jewish Neighbor In Outremont January 15, 2013 10:01 AM | 16 Comments Montreal, Quebec - A long-standing feud between Canadian Orthodox Jew Michael Rosenberg and his non-Jewish neighbor, Pierre Lacerte, has found its way into a Montreal courtroom. According to a report by Montreal CTV (http://bit.ly/Y7j294), the Lacerte-Rosenberg battle is indicative of the ongoing tensions between the Hasidic community in Outremont and its neighbors. Lacerte, a writer, has a... Read more »
- Jackson, TN - Hotel Security Guard Under Arrest For Vandalizing Torah, Other Jewish Objects January 14, 2013 06:57 PM | 18 Comments Jackson, TN - A hotel security guard was arrested on vandalism charges after a number of sacred Jewish items belonging to The Margolin Hebrew Academy of Memphis were destroyed, according to a report in the Jackson Sun (http://bit.ly/WH2U7L). Justin Shawn Baker, 24, of Jackson, Tennessee was charged with a class B felony after it was discovered that he willfully slashed, defaced and damaged a... Read more »
- Jerusalem - Researchers Turn To Facebook In The Hopes Of Uncovering The Truth Behind The Yemenite Children Affair January 11, 2013 12:04 PM | 23 Comments Jerusalem - Academics and social activists are hoping Facebook will be the right medium to help them discover what really happened to thousands of Yemenite children during the so-called “Yemenite Children Affair”, Ha’aretz reports (http://bit.ly/VPYj6E). At a conference this week organized by the Bar-Ilan University Dahan Center, participants, many of them siblings of Yemenite children... Read more »
- New York - NYC Council Passes Law To Force Slumlords To Make Repairs January 11, 2013 11:13 AM | 21 Comments New York - A new law passed unanimously by the New York City Council on Wednesday will bring welcome relief to tenants who reside in buildings owned by slumlords. Under the new law, landlords will now be “held accountable for fixing underlying causes of recurring violations,” according to a press release issued by the City Council (http://on.nyc.gov/VQ9XfK). Conditions such as leaks... Read more »
- Jerusalem - Prominent Kabbalist Says Israel’s Snowstorm Heavenly Sign Of Forgiveness January 10, 2013 11:29 AM | 28 Comments Jerusalem - Even as Israel confronts its worst snowstorm in two decades, kabbalists have found a reason to rejoice amid the snow-induced frenzy. According to a report in Yediot Ahronoth (http://bit.ly/XnhJPe), Rabbi David Batzri, a well-known kabbalist, said the snow falling on Israel is a Heavenly sign, “a good sign sent by God” to the Jewish nation that their sins have been forgiven... Read more »
- Hollywood, FL - Orthodox Jewish Parents Fight To Keep Their Teenage Daughter On Life Support January 9, 2013 10:02 PM | 67 Comments Hollywood, FL - Fifteen months ago, Danielle Zfat, 19, (Danielle Chaya Bat Aviva) of Hollywood, Florida was a healthy college-bound teenager. Today, she is on life support, fighting to stay alive, while her parents fend off efforts by the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to pull Danielle off of her life-sustaining devices. “Our way is to believe as a Jew,” Aviva Zfat, Danielle’s... Read more »
- Brooklyn, NY - Williamsburg Real Estate Developer Turns $1 Million Investment Into $150 Million January 9, 2013 03:22 PM | 17 Comments Brooklyn, NY - Abe Goldstein, a real estate developer from Williamsburg, Brooklyn managed to turn an initial $1 million property investment into $150 million with patience and a little bit of luck. In a phone interview with the real estate magazine, The Real Deal (http://bit.ly/VgUZ4V), Goldstein said he decided to hold on to his family-owned building in Soho at the corner of Spring Street and... Read more »
- Ontario - Toronto Police: Con Man Targeting Jewish Women On Subways January 9, 2013 02:22 PM | 10 Comments Ontario - Toronto police are warning commuters to be on the lookout for a subway scam artist who has been targeting Jewish women in the subways since at least December 2011. According to a report in the National Post (http://natpo.st/VKLOcC), the con man boards the subway at different stations, including Eglinton, St. Clair, and Glencairn, and identifies the Jewish female passengers. He then... Read more »
- New York - Brooklyn Assemblyman Leads Campaign To Oppose Hagel Nomination January 8, 2013 02:32 PM | 28 Comments New York - As Republicans and Democrats continue to spar over the nomination of former Nebraska Republican Senator Chuck Hagel for the Secretary of Defense post, Democratic Assemblyman Dov Hikind of Brooklyn is calling on the United States Senators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to oppose Hagel’s nomination and prevent his appointment. “Senator Hagel said Washington is fearful... Read more »
- New York - Weberman Juror: Anti-Semitism Played No Role In Guilty Verdict January 8, 2013 10:15 AM | 71 Comments New York - One of the men who served on the jury in the Nechemya Weberman trial is pushing back against the public perception that anti-Semitism was the motivating factor in deciding to convict Weberman. In an hour-long interview with the Daily News (http://nydn.us/V917ME), the 42-year-old unidentified juror adamantly denied that notion, saying, “It wasn’t religion, it wasn’t their... Read more »
- Washington - Obama Said Close To Choosing Orthodox Jew Jack Lew For Treasury Secretary January 8, 2013 09:37 AM | 25 Comments Washington - Sources close to the president have revealed that Mr. Obama is expected to select White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew as a successor to current Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, according to Bloomberg News (http://bloom.bg/WtOdEF). Lew previously served as Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Obama, a position he also held in the Clinton... Read more »
- Brooklyn, NY - Sephardic Community Federation Working to Prevent Casino From Coming to Coney Island January 7, 2013 03:03 PM | 25 Comments Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s proposal to bring a casino to Coney Island has the Sephardic Community Federation spearheading an effort to prevent the casino from becoming a reality. The Sephardic Community Federation, which boasts a membership of 100,000 Sephardic Jews in the New York metro-area, has been running a series of ads against the casino stating that... Read more »
- Antwerp - Sons of Former Neturei Karta Member Enrolled in All-Girls Yeshiva in Belgium (video) January 7, 2013 10:59 AM | 108 Comments Antwerp - The sons of former Neturei Karta member Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Friedman were registered today at the all-girls school Benoth Jerusalem in Antwerp. As previously reported on VIN, Friedman sued the school for denying admission to his sons, ages 8 and 11, citing a recent decision from the Commission on Students’ Rights which held that a child cannot be denied admission to a school on the... Read more »
- Jerusalem - Rav Ovadia Yosef To Yeshiva Students: Leave Israel To Avoid Being Drafted January 6, 2013 01:27 PM | 67 Comments Jerusalem - During a lecture this past Friday in Jerusalem, Rav Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the Shas party, said if Israel continues to draft yeshiva students into the IDF, the students may have no choice but to leave Israel in order to continue their studies elsewhere, according to a report in Maariv (http://bit.ly/ZtiFG2). “The Torah is in danger,” said Rav Yosef. “How will... Read more »
- New York - New York City Council Speaker Wants FEMA To Pay For Sandy-Damaged Shuls January 5, 2013 11:24 PM | 8 Comments New York - New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has called upon the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United States Department of Homeland Security to approve federal aid for those houses of worship which were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. In a letter dated Jan 4, 2013 to FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate, Quinn wrote in part, “Churches, synagogues and mosques serve as a... Read more »
- New York - Yeshiva University To Be Sued By Abuse Victim; Lawyer Says Claim Not Barred By Statute of Limitations January 3, 2013 05:14 PM | 16 Comments New York - As the fallout continues from the investigative series published in the Forward newspaper (http://bit.ly/UQPF4e) alleging sexual misconduct on the part of two Yeshiva University staff members, one victim, Mordechai Twersky, has retained attorney Kevin Mulhearn to represent him in a lawsuit against YU. Mulhearn is best known for winning a sex abuse lawsuit on behalf of 12 men who... Read more »
- Jerusalem - In Lecture Series, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein Tackles The Issue Of Homosexuality In The Orthodox Community January 3, 2013 11:10 AM | 64 Comments Jerusalem - Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein, head of the Har Etzion Yeshiva in Israel and a respected leader in Modern-Orthodox circles, was recently asked to clarify what attitude should Orthodox Jews adopt, personally and communally, concerning homosexuals in the Orthodox community. The Rav’s words were recorded and transcribed by Dov Karoll, a student of the Rav, who has posted the Rav’s... Read more »
- Jerusalem - Charedi Men Targeted In Israeli Nightclub Extortion Plot January 3, 2013 08:44 AM | 43 Comments Jerusalem - Two Israeli men have been arrested in connection with an extortion scheme involving Haredi men. Cousins Yehonatan Elroi and Ehud Benisti concocted a plot to surreptitiously photograph Haredi men who frequented the Amsterdam nightclub in Tel Aviv, according to a report in Maariv (http://bit.ly/TxK0Dd). Elroi and Benisti would follow the men home to learn where they lived and... Read more »
- New York - Report: Christine Quinn To Keep On Ray Kelly As NYPD Commissioner If She Becomes Mayor January 2, 2013 01:12 PM | 2 Comments New York - Ray Kelly, 71, may not be New York City’s next mayor, but he will continue on in his capacity as police commissioner if City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is elected mayor, sources have told the New York Post (http://bit.ly/W1DKQp). A private arrangement has apparently been reached between Quinn and Kelly to allow Kelly to keep his day job, while enabling Quinn to boost her... Read more »
- West Hempstead, NY - 11-Year-Old Orthodox Jewish Ping-Pong Player Sacrifices Win For The Sake Of Shabbos January 2, 2013 10:02 AM | 40 Comments West Hempstead, NY - Estee Ackerman, an 11-year-old sixth grader from West Hempstead, Long Island, set aside her ambition and sacrificed a chance to compete at the final event in the 2012 US National Table Tennis Championship in Las Vegas for the sake of shabbos. “I advanced in my round robin and then we looked at my schedule and saw the next match would be during Friday night, which is our... Read more »
- Jerusalem - Halachic Ruling: Orthodox Couples Can Now Engage In Gender Selection Of Their Fetus January 1, 2013 01:59 PM | 72 Comments Jerusalem - A radical halachic ruling to be announced at a conference tomorrow at the Puah Institute – an organization which helps couples struggling with infertility in keeping with Jewish law – will allow parents to select the gender of their fetus under certain circumstances according to a report in Israel Hayom (http://bit.ly/VxFYrT). Rabbi Menachem Burstein, founder of the Institute... Read more »
- Washington - Senator Joe Lieberman Caps Off 24-Year Career In Congress December 31, 2012 01:13 PM | 6 Comments Washington - Today marks the end of Senator Joe Lieberman’s 24-year career in Congress. In its editorial, The New York Post (http://bit.ly/VTsypa) pays tribute to Lieberman, calling him “nothing less than a giant” and lauds him for “putting his beliefs and strongly held positions ahead of political self-interest.” The “first Jewish candidate on a major-party national ticket,”... Read more »
- Houston, TX - Appeals Court Finds State Of Texas Erred In Denying Kosher Meals To Jewish Prisoner December 31, 2012 10:52 AM | 11 Comments Houston, TX - Max Moussazadeh, 35, a prisoner who sued the state of Texas for refusing to provide him with free kosher food while incarcerated, will now receive kosher meals following a ruling by the United States 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. In his 2005 complaint, Moussazadeh wrote, “I feel that I am going against my beliefs and that I will be punished by God for not practicing my religion... Read more »
- Antwerp - Sons Of Former Neturei Karta Member Must Be Admitted To All-Girls Belgian School, Judge Rules December 28, 2012 11:17 AM | 60 Comments Antwerp - Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Friedman, notorious for his involvement with the Neturei Karta and the 2006 anti-Zionist and Holocaust-denial conference in Iran, has again found himself at the center of a controversy – this time in Belgium. At the end of 2011, Friedman relocated his wife and seven children from New York to Antwerp, but because of what Friedman calls “revenge” on the part of... Read more »
