Thieves Target Chase Bank Customers

Passaic, NJ- Many of us rely heavily on modern technology, to operate within our daily lives. A new scam targeting users of Chase Bank “Text Alerts”, has some Chase customers worried.

Chase Bank offers their customers the option of receiving banking alerts to their cellular phones via text messages. Alerts contain information such as bank withdrawals, bank deposits, and the such.

The Scam: Customers have been receiving text messages stating that due to security implications, their account has temporarily been suspended. In the text message it has the number for Chase, so you can call and reactivate your account. The number which is listed, does not belong to Chase Bank.

When you call the number, a “customer representative” asks you for several forms of identification, to prove its you are the account holder. Once this information has been given, identity theft scamers now have access to your bank account, as well as several other options.

If you think you’ve become a victim of identity theft or fraud, act immediately to minimize the damage to your personal funds and financial accounts, as well as your reputation. Here’s a list  of some actions that you should take right away:

1. Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report the situation ( http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/ )
2. By telephone toll-free at 1-877-ID THEFT (877-438-4338) or TDD at 202-326-2502, or
3. By mail to Consumer Response Center, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

You may also need to contact other agencies for other types of identity theft:

1. Your local office of the Postal Inspection Service if you suspect that an identity thief has submitted a change-of-address form with the Post Office to redirect your mail, or has used the mail to commit frauds involving your identity;( https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/ )
2. The Social Security Administration if you suspect that your Social Security number is being fraudulently used (call 800-269-0271 to report the fraud); ( http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10064.html )
3. The Internal Revenue Service if you suspect the improper use of identification information in connection with tax violations (call 1-800-829-0433 to report the violations).( http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=186436,00.html )

(News Source: PCJN Exclusive)

FBI (New York) #1 most wanted female in the world in custody

NEW YORK– Michael J. Garcia, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mark J. Mershon, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Raymond W. Kelly, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, announced today the arrest of Aafia Siddiqui on charges related to her attempted murder and assault of United States officers and employees in Afghanistan. Siddiqui arrived in New York this evening and will be presented tomorrow before a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. According to the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:

On July 17, 2008, officers of the Ghazni Province Afghanistan National Police (“ANP”) observed Siddiqui outside the Ghazni governor’s compound. ANP officers questioned Siddiqui, regarded her as suspicious, and searched her handbag. In it, they found numerous documents describing the creation of explosives, as well as excerpts from the Anarchist’s Arsenal. Siddiqui’s papers included descriptions of various landmarks in the United States, including in New York City. Siddiqui was also in possession of substances that were sealed in bottles and glass jars.

On July 18, 2008, a party of United States personnel, including two FBI special agents, a United States Army Warrant Officer, a United States Army Captain, and United States military interpreters, arrived at the Afghan facility where Siddiqui was being held. The personnel entered a second floor meeting room — unaware that Siddiqui was being held there, unsecured, behind a curtain.

The Warrant Officer took a seat and placed his United States Army M-4 rifle on the floor next to the curtain. Shortly after the meeting began, the Captain heard a woman yell from the curtain and, when he turned, saw Siddiqui holding the Warrant Officer’s rifle and pointing it directly at the Captain. Siddiqui said, “May the blood of [unintelligible] be directly on your [unintelligible, possibly head or hands].” The interpreter seated closest to Siddiqui lunged at her and pushed the rifle away as Siddiqui pulled the trigger. Siddiqui fired at least two shots but no one was hit. The Warrant Officer returned fire with a 9 mm service pistol and fired approximately two rounds at Siddiqui’s torso, hitting her at least once.

Despite being shot, Siddiqui struggled with the officers when they tried to subdue her; she struck and kicked them while shouting in English that she wanted to kill Americans. After being subdued, Siddiqui temporarily lost consciousness. The agents and officers then rendered medical aid to Siddiqui.

U.S. scientist in anthrax case reportedly kills himself

null

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A senior U.S. government scientist who helped investigate a series of deadly anthrax attacks in 2001 has died from an apparent suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to charge him with carrying out the attacks, the Los Angeles Times reported on Friday. The newspaper identified the man as Bruce Ivins, 62, and said he had worked for the last 18 years at government biodefence research laboratories in Maryland. It quoted people familiar with Ivins, his suspicious death and the FBI investigation.

 It said Ivins had been informed of his impending prosecution shortly before his death on Tuesday after swallowing a massive dose of pain killers.

The anthrax was sent through the mail to media organizations and politicians shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The attacks killed five people, crippled national mail service, shut down a Senate office building and spread fear of further terrorism.Viewed as a skilled microbiologist, Ivins helped the FBI analyze materials recovered from one of the anthrax-tainted envelopes sent to a U.S. senator’s office in Washington, the newspaper said.

NEW JERSEY # 1 FOR DUMBEST DRIVERS IN THE UNITED STATES

How smart are drivers in AMERICA? Not very, according to the 4th annual GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test. 33 million licensed Americans would not pass a written drivers exam if taken today and may be unfit for the roads!

But where are the smartest and dumbest drivers?
For the first time ever New Jersey drivers rank as the dumbest. And to throw salt on the wound, they have the lowest average score ever. No score has been below 70% before.

Where are the smartest drivers?          The home of Dorothy and the Jayhawks (Kansas) rises from fifth smartest to smartest in 2008. They just beat out Idaho and Nebraska which rank second and third.

 

Bush tells Israeli media peace does not depend on Olmert

US President George W. Bush said in interviews published Tuesday ahead of a visit to Israel that the country’s peace process with the Palestinians does not depend on embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

 

Police suspect Olmert illicitly took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from an American fund-raiser. The Israeli leader has said he would resign if indicted. (AP)

Clinton holds big leads in West Virginia and Kentucky

Even as her campaign appears to be in its final stages, Hillary Clinton is headed for two sweeping victories in West Virginia and Kentucky, the next two states to weigh in on the prolonged Democratic presidential race.

According to new polls released Monday, Clinton holds a 34 point lead in West Virginia and a 27 point lead in Kentucky.

In West Virginia, which votes Tuesday, a Suffolk University Poll has Clinton drawing 60 percent of likely Democratic voters compared to Obama’s 24 percent. That poll also shows Clinton holds a 70 percent approval rating among West Virginia’s Democratic primary voters. Only half the state’s primary the state’s likely primary voters think Barack Obama can beat John McCain in a general election matchup.

In Kentucky, a Research 2000 poll shows Clinton winning 58 percent of the vote to Obama’s 31 percent. But despite Clinton’s strength in the state, the poll suggests John McCain would easily defeat both Democrats in November — the Arizona senator holds a 25 point advantage over Obama and a 12 point lead over Clinton. Kentucky is considered a solidly Republican state, though former President Bill Clinton carried it twice. The state’s primary is May 20.

It remains unclear how Clinton’s likely large wins in both states will affect the presidential race, given Obama’s significant lead in total delegates. Only 28 pledged delegates are at stake in West Virginia Tuesday, while 51 are up for grabs in Kentucky. Cnn

Rabbi, priests, sheriffs support Passaic imam in court

A Jewish rabbi, Roman Catholic and Episcopalian priests, a federal prosecutor and two sherriffs took the witness stand today to heap praise upon a popular Muslim cleric as his attorneys began presenting their case for why he should not be deported.

Mohammad Qatanani, imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson faces deportation for allegedly failing to disclose on his 1996 green card application that he had been arrested and pleaded guilty to aiding the terrorist group Hamas in an Israeli military court three years earlier.

His attorneys argue that Qatanani was detained administratively, convicted in absentia and subject to interrogation tactics Israel’s top court later outlawed as torture.

Among the witnesses subpeonad by Qatatani’s lawyers was Assistant United States Attorney Charles McKenna, who described numerous trips to the Paterson mosque as part of an effort to create better understanding between law enforcement and the Muslim community.

As an example, he said investigators often interpreted the tendency of Muslim women to not look them in the eye as a sign of deceit. Through the dialogue at the mosque, they realized it is routine in Arab culture for women not to look men outside their family in the eye.

“It’s important for us to have leaders in the Islamic community who will be accepting of us and give us inroads in the community,” he said.

The sheriffs of two north Jersey counties echoed McKenna’s statements that the mosque’s open door policies had helped investigators become more familiar with cultural aspects of the Muslim community.

But they also described a more personal connection they had made through their cooperation with Qatanani.

“When I’m in his presence, and he does have a presence, this small, unassuming person, he doesn’t say “boo” but he gives me a better feeling of peace,” said Bergen County Sheriff Leo McGuire. “I feel better as a person to be with him.”

Jerry Speziale, the sheriff of Passaic County echoed McGuire’s testimony saying Qatatani “radiates peace.”

Christopher Brundage, one of two Department of Homeland Security attorneys serving as prosecutors in the case, pressed Speziale and McGuire, asking if they would have different opinions if they had known about Qatatani’s alleged ties to Hamas.

Speziale said he would need to see proof of the conviction himself. McGuire said, “It would surprise me,” but added, “it cannot change my mind about what I have observed.” NJ.com

Hillary Clinton Wins Again

 Sen. Hillary Clinton will win Florida’s Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, although party sanctions have stripped the state of its convention delegates and no Democrats campaigned there

Published polls showed the New York senator and former first lady was heavily favored in the state.

Her leading rivals, South Carolina primary winner Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John Edwards, did not campaign in Florida. They opted to concentrate on next week’s “Super Tuesday” contests in states such as New York, California, Missouri and Georgia.

The sanctions make Tuesday night’s results largely meaningless to the Democratic presidential race. Obama described the primary as a “beauty contest” Tuesday, and his campaign issued a statement declaring the race a tie in the delegate count: “Zero for Obama, zero for Clinton.”

But Clinton has pledged to fight to have the state’s delegates seated at the August convention in Denver, and has increasingly stressed the state’s importance since losing Saturday’s hotly contested primary in South Carolina to Obama.

Looks like the former Mayor Of New York is looking for a job

Fresh off his victory in the Florida Republican primary, Sen. John McCain was poised to take another big prize on Wednesday.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani plans to drop out of the presidential race and endorse McCain at an event in California, two GOP sources with direct knowledge of the plans said.

Giuliani was a distant third with the results from Tuesday’s voting almost final.

While Giuliani didn’t say he was withdrawing from the race, he did speak of his campaign in the past tense at one point.

“I’m proud I ran a positive campaign,” he told supporters. “I ran a campaign that was uplifting.”

An endorsement would give McCain added momentum heading into a debate Wednesday night — and the Super Tuesday contests next week.

The remaining GOP White House hopefuls face off Wednesday at a CNN-Los Angeles Times-Politico debate being held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

With 99 percent of Republican precincts reporting, McCain held a 36 percent-31 percent lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Giuliani had 15 percent of the vote, followed closely by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee who held 14 percent.

A top campaign official from McCain’s camp has been in “ongoing discussions” with Giuliani’s campaign about endorsing McCain’s candidacy, a GOP official familiar with talks told CNN Tuesday.

A source close to Giuliani confirmed that discussions were taking place and said there is talk among the staff that an endorsement could come Wednesday in California. The source said McCain and Giuliani need to talk, but “we are working to make it happen.”

“We have a ways to go, but we’re getting close, and for that, you all have my profound thanks,” McCain said as he claimed victory.

Jewish groups condemn attacks on Obama

 

Leaders of the Jewish organizations in the United States issued a joint letter Tuesday night condemning the email being distributed both in Hebrew and in English attacking Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. In the email, Obama is depicted as a Muslim pretending to be a Christian and seeking to take over the White House and handing it over to the control of al-Qaeda. In an open letter to the Jewish community, the leaders said that they would not endorse or oppose any candidate for president, but felt compelled to speak out against “certain rhetoric and tactics in the current campaign that we find particularly abhorrent”. “Of particular concern, over the past several weeks, many in our community have received hateful emails that use falsehood and innuendo to mischaracterize Senator Barack Obama’s religious beliefs and who he is as a person.”

‘Make A decision based on factual records’

The letter was signed by Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League; William Daroff, vice president of the United Jewish Communities; David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee; Nathan J. Diament, director of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America; Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center; Richard S. Gordon, president of the American Jewish Congress; Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Phyllis Snyder, president of the National Council of Jewish Women; and Hadar Susskind, Washington director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

There is great importance to the fact that Jewish leaders from all sides of the political map joined forces in this letter. “These tactics attempt to drive a wedge between our community and a presidential candidate based on despicable and false attacks and innuendo based on religion,” the letter said. “We reject these efforts to manipulate members of our community into supporting or opposing candidates.”

The Jewish leaders warned that “attempts of this sort to mislead and inflame voters should not be part of our political discourse and should be rebuffed by all who believe in our democracy. “Jewish voters, like all voters, should support whichever candidate they believe would make the best president. We urge everyone to make that decision based on the factual records of these candidates, and nothing less.”  Ynet

In a Strange Land

THINGS US ARMY CAPTAIN ANDREW Shulman finds the trickiest about being a Jewish chaplain deployed to Baghdad: passing the physical fitness test, finding new congregants – “Sometimes it’s Cohen who’s not Jewish and Flannigan who is,” he says – and strictly observing the Sabbath. In Iraq, says the 41-year-old Orthodox Jew from Malden, “every day’s a Monday.”

Conspicuously missing from Shulman’s list of hardships are the mortar and rocket attacks that occasionally jolt Camp Victory, the sprawling American military complex around Baghdad International Airport where he lives, sharing a trailer with a helicopter pilot. Or the merciless violence that rages just outside the fortified walls of the military base, where he has been stationed since May, counseling soldiers of all faiths, holding Jewish holiday services, and distributing Seder kits, prayer booklets, and spiritual guidance to Jewish service members all over Iraq.

This is perhaps because for Shulman, who is married and a father of two, his journey from a sheltered childhood in Beverly Hills to being one of only three Jewish military chaplains in a country that until recently listed the destruction of Israel among its official goals is as shocking, in retrospect, as coming under a rocket attack from Iraqi insurgents.

When Shulman was little, the whole world seemed Jewish. “Stuff that wasn’t Jewish was weird,” Shulman recalls, reclining on his living room couch in Malden under a picture of Jerusalem’s Old City during a two-week leave from the war in the fall. Shulman’s parents, transplants from New York who pepper their conversations with Yiddish words, sent little Andrew first to various Jewish private schools and then to Beverly Hills High School, where students could take Hebrew as a foreign language. Shulman took Spanish. He was “looking for something more exotic,” he explains.

This adventurous streak resurfaced in 1994, when Shulman quit his job at a nonprofit that promoted environmental programs in San Diego and went on a trip that began in India and ended in a yeshiva tucked into the limestone maze of Jerusalem’s Old City. Shulman stayed and studied Judaism there for the next few years. He met his wife, Lori, at the yeshiva, and their first daughter, Zohar, who is now 7, was born in Jerusalem.

In 2001, Shulman and his family moved to Boston, where he worked organizing speed-dating events for Jewish singles, and then to Malden, where he worked at Congregation Beth Israel. By 2006, he again “was looking for something different.” Browsing the Internet one night, he came across a US Army chaplaincy website. A year ago, Shulman reported to the Army’s chaplain school at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. “In the school, you do push-ups,” he says, shuddering at the memory. In May, he was on a plane to Iraq. He is stationed at Forward Operating Base Striker, a section of Camp Victory. “It can be intimidating,” Shulman says, to be the only guy on a military base housing more than 50,000 uniformed troops who goes to the dining facility in a yarmulke.Continued…

Most of the troops he counsels are Christians from the Fourth Battalion, Third Aviation Regiment of the Combat Aviation Brigade of the Third Infantry Division. Many are grappling with family lives disrupted or damaged by lengthy deployments. The two dozen or so Jewish members of his congregation – which includes troops and a US Embassy official – come for holiday blessings and simple religious advice. This is “mostly Judaism 101,” says Shulman. “It’s not like you’re doing the bar mitzvah or slaughtering chicken.” According to Rear Admiral Harold L. Robinson, a rabbi whose Jewish Chaplains Council in New York endorsed Shulman for chaplaincy, Shulman’s commanders’ comments about his work have been “amazingly complimentary.”

Lori, Shulman’s willowy wife, works part time as a preschool teacher and baby sitter in Malden. She gets worried wrinkles in the corners of her smile when she talks about her husband’s decision. “The whole Army idea was new to us,” she recalls. “I had to think about it and digest it for a while.” Even the chaplain sounds surprised when he discusses his career choice. “It’s kind of unbelievable,” he says. “My grandfather fled Russia to escape mandatory conscription to the Russian army. And a hundred years later [I’m] flying on a Black Hawk to deliver kosher MREs” – that’s meals ready to eat – to soldiers.

Shulman seems to revel in the paradoxes that accompany his deployment, like the time the Catholic chaplain ordered kosher Manischewitz wine for Communion – apparently, it keeps well. Or the wireless Internet access on the base, which allows Shulman to watch via Web camera his wife and daughters eat lunch in the kitchen of their Malden apartment. “Sometimes I’m sitting in the dining facility with a Baskin Robbins Cookies ‘n Cream cup with chocolate sauce poured all over it watching Boston Legal on the plasma on the wall,” he says, “while guys are lined up for all-you-can-eat lobster, and I think, ‘War is hell?'” (At Shulman’s request, Lori called the ice cream company and found out that its Oreo Cookies ‘n Cream flavor is kosher.)

But Shulman’s face momentarily darkens when he recalls his trip to Forward Operating Base Kalsu, about 25 miles south of Baghdad, where he has flown several times to meet with Jewish soldiers stationed there. “They had three people who died in their CHUs,” the chaplain says, using the military abbreviation for trailers where the troops live. “Mortar attacks. That was more of a real thing.”

Shulman flew to Kalsu on a Black Hawk, and that part of the trip he recalls fondly: Helicopter rides top Shulman’s list of the best things about being in Iraq. This list is short. The only other item on it is leading Jewish holiday services for American troops in a country that in the Old Testament is known as Babel: “Just such a wild setting to be leading Rosh Hashana.”

Before Anna Badkhen joined the Globe as a Metro reporter, she reported extensively from Iraq. E-mail her at badkhen@globe.com.

Pictures Of The Honorable President Bush On His Mideast Tour

 

 

Mr Bush was joined on the red carpet by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) and Israeli President Shimon Peres (L) as he was greeted by religious leaders.

As Marine One, the helicopter carrying Mr Bush prepared to land in Jerusalem, security was at its tightest since Pope John Paul II’s visit to Israel in 2000.

Palestinian and Israeli leaders pledged to tackle core issues dividing them before Mr Bush arrived – and was treated to a song by these children at the Israeli president’s residence.

A young girl handed Mr Bush a rose as he arrived to meet with Mr Peres (L), who called on Mr Bush to “stop the madness” of Iran and the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas.

President Bush on mideast trip

 

President Bush, center, chats with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed al-Nahayan, right, ahead of a traditional dinner in the desert at the Royal Stables of the Al-Asayel Racing and Equestrian Club in Suwaihan.

(AFP/Getty Images)

Bush sees Mideast peace treaty in a year

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) — US President George W. Bush on Thursday predicted the signing of a Middle East peace treaty within a year and called for an end to Israel’s four-decade occupation of Palestinian land.

Giving an assessment of his talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders over the previous two days, he said it was time for both to make “difficult choices” for peace to become a reality and allow the creation of a Palestinian state.

“There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967,” he said on his return to Jerusalem from his first trip to the West Bank, where he held talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

He said a peace deal should establish a state for the Palestinians “just like Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people.”

And as he prepared to leave Friday for a tour of Washington’s Gulf allies, he called on “Arab countries to reach out to Israel, a step that is long overdue.”

Bush is in the Middle East hoping to clinch a major foreign policy victory before leaving office in January 2009 after the repeated failure of previous US administrations to broker peace.

He is seeking to advance peace talks that have been dogged since their revival in November last year by discord over Jewish settlement expansion and continuing Israeli Palestinian violence.

“I believe it’s going to happen, that there’s going to be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office,” he said in Ramallah.

“The establishment of a state of Palestine is long overdue. The Palestinian people deserve it, and it will enhance the stability of the region, and it will contribute to the security of the people of Israel.

And he said a Palestinian state had to be contiguous. “Swiss cheese isn’t going to work when it comes to the territory of a state.”

But he warned: “Security is fundamental. No agreement and no Palestinian state will be born of terror. I reaffirm America’s steadfast commitment to Israel’s security.”

He took aim at the Islamist movement Hamas, whose bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip seven months ago split the Palestinians into two separately-ruled entities and has complicated peacemaking.

Since peace talks resumed in November, about 100 people, mostly gunmen, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza aimed at halting militant rocket fire.

Bush’s comments were the first hint of the tough talking he says needs to be done if his aim of having a peace deal signed by the end of his term, in January 2009, is realised.

“Achieving an agreement will require painful political concessions by both sides,” he cautioned.

He has previously called on Israel to end its occupation in June 2002, but his words Thursday carried particular resonance, given the time and place.

A senior Israeli official welcomed Bush’s comments.

“Bush’s statement reflects a solution which Israel would be happy to live with,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Bush, on his first visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories since assuming office in 2001, will return at least once more before his term ends in January 2009, national security adviser Stephen Hadley said.

Ahead of Bush’s latest statement, a US official said the president has named General William Fraser, a former B-52 bomber pilot, to supervise Israeli and Palestinian compliance with a 2003 roadmap blueprint for Middle East peace.

Although both Abbas and Olmert agreed on the eve of the Bush visit to start tackling the thorniest issues of the decades-old conflict — borders, Jerusalem and refugees — talks have stumbled.

The US president said he understood the frustrations of Palestinians who have to live with Israeli checkpoints and barricades and said Israel should “help not hinder” development of the Palestinian security forces.

He caught a glimpse of the problems facing Palestinians at Ramallah checkpoints after travelling by road from Jerusalem when fog grounded his Marine One helicopter, although Bush’s convoy swept through the barrier.

In his statement he said that as part of efforts to establish the Palestinian state, new mechanisms to resolve the issue of the Palestinian refugees should be created.

“I believe we need to look to the establishment of a Palestinian state and new international mechanisms including compensation to resolve the refugee issue.”

Only the second US head of state to visit the Palestinian territories, Bush faces a difficult task to win over the hearts and minds of Palestinians, who are deeply sceptical about his ability to be an even-handed peace broker as Israel’s closest ally.

“I don’t believe he will do anything for the Palestinians,” said Mohammad Khaldi, a 64-year-old Ramallah resident.

Ramallah was under virtual curfew for the visit by the leader of the world’s biggest superpower, with about 4,000 law enforcement officers ensuring the president’s security as Abbas gave him a red carpet welcome.

Security forces used tear gas and batons to break up a protest, charging about 200 demonstrators who were chanting “Bush, war criminal!”, “Bush out!”

The Bush-Abbas talks were held in the Muqata government compound which was once virtually destroyed during an Israeli siege of then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, long boycotted by Bush as an obstacle to peace.

In a break with protocol, pointedly Bush did not stop at Arafat’s tomb.

Jewish Votes Will Matter

Iowa and New Hampshire have spoken and shaken up the presidential races in both political parties. The contest between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will likely be decided in the 20 states in which primaries will be held on February 5. The Republican nomination contest may be more muddled with Huckabee, Giuliani, McCain and Romney all still in the mix – but it too will likely be resolved on February 5. What does this mean? Jewish votes will matter. Among the (too) many states holding primaries on Feb. 5: New York, New Jersey, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Arizona and Tennessee all with substantial Jewish populations; most of whom are registered Democrats, but there are plenty of Republicans and Independents, and are known to turn out disproportionately to our percentage of the overall population.

While Senator Clinton has had more than a six year senate term to cultivate her relationships with American Jews and become the community “favorite,” Senator Obama has done his share of outreach to the community since he has burst on the scene as well. Thanks to his mayoralty in NYC, Rudy Giuliani certainly  in the community, but McCain can come on strong with a long record of support for Israel and Joe Lieberman in his corner (and potentially on his ticket?)

Bottom line: We expect a lot of phone calling, direct mailing, ads in your local Jewish papers, meetings with rabbis and showing up for bagels & lox in the coming weeks – and yes, this is good for the Jews. ou.org

Bush trip today aims to push Mideast peace

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush headed to the Middle East on Tuesday, aiming to nurture Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts in the face of deep skepticism while trying to rally Arab opposition to Iran.

Once wary of hands-on Middle East diplomacy, Bush will make his first presidential visit to Israel and the West Bank in a bid to shore up fragile negotiations aimed at forging a peace treaty by the end of the year.

The chances of a deal before Bush leaves office in January 2009 appear slim, and no breakthroughs are expected during three days of talks following up on an international conference he hosted in Annapolis, Maryland, in November.

But in Israel and Arab countries that Bush will visit during his weeklong tour, Iran and its growing regional influence will also loom large.

Bush hopes to enlist Arab support to help contain Iran, a goal underscored by a confrontation between American and Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

On the first leg of his trip, Bush will nudge Israelis and Palestinians to move forward in talks already bogged down in recriminations since their leaders pledged at Annapolis to try to reach a two-state deal in 2008.

“What has to happen in order for there to be a peaceful settlement of a long-standing dispute is … outlines of a state clearly defined,” Bush said at the White House. “So that at some point in time, the Palestinians who agree that Israel ought to exist and agree that the state ought to live side-by-side with Israel in peace have something to be for.”

But doubts remain about the seriousness of Bush’s commitment, his ability to act as an even-handed broker and his chance of succeeding where so many predecessors have failed.

BORUCH DAYAN EMMES:MARAN HAGON RAV SHMUEL BERENBAUM ZATZAL

I regret to inform you of the (Petira) passing of the (Gadol Hador) Grand Rabbi, Maran Hagon Rav Shmuel Berenbaum ZATZAL – Rosh Yeshivas Mirrer Yeshiva Of  Brooklyn.

UPDATE: The levaya will take place 8:45AM Monday morning at Mir Yeshiva (1795 Ocean Parkway). The aron will leave to the airport at 11:30 promptly.

אוי לספינה שאבדה קברניטה

 נפלה עטרת ראשינו פאר הדור ותפארתו

הי גאון הי חסיד

 עמוד התורה והחסד

זקן ראש הישיבות משרידי הדור הישן

מורינו ורבינו מרן

הגאון האדיר רשכבה”ג

הרב רבי רפאל שמואל ברנבוים זצוק’’ל

ראש הישיבה דישיבת מיר

 הלוי’ה יתקיים בבית מדרשו

1791 OCEAN PARKWAY

ביום ב’ בשעה 8:45 בבקר

 ישיבת מיר

The levaya will be leaving the Yeshiva at 11 A.M.

to JFK, EL AL Cargo, Bldg. 23

 וכל בית ישראל יבכו את השרפה אשר שרף ד’    yeshivaworld.com

Passaic:Orthodox Web site gives Craigslist a Jewish flavor

Luach.com is practically a doppelganger of Craigslist — except in addition to selling your old furniture, you’ll find opportunities to “Do a Mitzvah.”

With a title taken from the Hebrew for “calendar,” it’s a bulletin-board Web site serving the Orthodox Jewish community. Need a roommate in Clifton? Check Luach. Lost your car keys last Tuesday? The “Lost and Found” section of the site might help you out.

When Shmuel Laskin started Luach in the summer of 1997, his vision for the site was far narrower. The 50-year-old computer programmer from Monsey, N.Y., intended only to make a job board, and maybe advertise real estate. He lived in Passaic at the time, and launched the site mainly to serve the Passaic-Clifton area.

As an Orthodox Jew, Laskin saw the primary audience for the site as fellow Orthodox families — he had seen similar sites for other cultural groups, but none for his sect. He emphasized, though, that all were welcome to use it.

“I try to be as inclusive as I can; however, there are some things that the Orthodox community does not want on a site,” Laskin explained. Vulgar pictures and obscene language, often just a click away on Craigslist, are nowhere to be found on Luach.

Luach gained popularity almost entirely through word of mouth — and as he and others moved away from Passaic, Laskin started adding other regions to the site.

“We’re always getting requests from people in other communities,” he said. “You know, ‘We’ve moved to Podunk, and we don’t have it here.’ ”

The bulletin board now serves 43 communities in three countries: the U.S., Canada and Israel. But Passaic “is still the place we have the most traction,” Laskin said.

As with Craigslist, posting on the site is free. Laskin also sells advertisements to keep the site running, charging between $15 and $45 for a monthlong ad.

Elisheva Snow’s posts on Luach.com are brief and to the point: “20-year-old female looking for a ride from Passaic to Baltimore. Call or e-mail.”

“I do usually check out who they are,” she said. “Usually I end up getting a ride.”

It’s enough to make a parent swoon with fear, but Snow isn’t worried. The clientele of Luach, she says, keeps things safe.

Many of the posts on Luach are secular (“Does anyone have info on mold removal from basement with flood history?”), but Luach also provides listings for minayim, shiurim and gemachs (prayer meetings for men, Torah readings and good deeds). And the site offers a sense of security for those looking to stay within the Jewish community.

The popularity of Craigslist is rooted partially in its egalitarian nature — anyone with an Internet hookup can seek out a job, solicit a housing swap or post a missed connection. As long as it’s not bogus, illegal or obscene, the Craigslist administrators generally let it fly.

Rules on Luach are more stringent: Guidelines state that the site will not allow “any values that run contrary to the values of our readership.” Craigslist offers users a page to set up “casual encounters” and has a personals section for people seeking same-sex partners. While Laskin doesn’t preach, he also declines to post what his religion deems morally suspect.

The popularity of an Orthodox-only site isn’t surprising, says Rabbi Michel Gurkov of the Chabbad congregation in Passaic.

“You’re always more comfortable when you are using a type of Web page with people with similar backgrounds,” he said. “You know — or you hope you know — who you’re talking to.”

Gurkov’s congregation has been publicizing events on Luach for seven years, with positive responses. “People become wealthy on niches,” he said. “You’re catering to a specific community. There’s a need out there.” NorthJersey.com

Abbas rules out talks with Hamas

PARIS (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has ruled out dialogue with rival Islamic militant Hamas, and said Monday that without international support Gaza is “heading into disaster.”

Abbas, speaking at an international donors conference in Paris, said Gaza is already “close to catastrophe,” and would head into disaster without continued international aid.

Gaza has been virtually cut off from the world since Hamas seized control of the territory by force in June. Israel and Egypt sharply restricted border access in response, and the blockade has further deepened poverty there. NJ.com

Disappointing fed rate cut spurs Wall Street slide

The Federal Reserve cut its federal funds rate by one-quarter of a percentage point today, trying to keep the country out of recession. Wall Street had hoped for a more aggressive cut, and traders reacted to the news by sending the Dow Jones industrial average down almost 200 points within minutes of the announcement.

Presidential Message: Hanukkah 2007

 Send greetings to all those celebrating Hanukkah, the festival of lights.Hanukkah commemorates a victory for freedom and the courage and faith that made it possible. More than 2,000 years ago, the land of ancient Israel was conquered, its sacred Temple was desecrated, and the Jewish people were forbidden to practice their faith. A patriot named Judah Maccabee and his followers rose up against their oppressors to take back Jerusalem. When the Maccabees returned to reclaim and purify their Holy Temple, the oil used for dedication should have lasted only one day but burned for eight. Every year since then, Jews have celebrated this victory of light over darkness and given thanks for the presence of a just and loving God.

As Jewish Americans prepare to light the Hanukkah candles, we are reminded of the many blessings in our lives. The candles’ glow has the power to lift our souls, put hope in our hearts, and make our Nation a more compassionate and peaceful place. We pray that those who still live in the darkness of tyranny will someday see the light of freedom, and we ask for God’s continued guidance and boundless love and His protection of all those in need during this holiday season.

Laura and I wish all people of the Jewish faith a Happy Hanukkah.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Bush Calls Abbas, Olmert to White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just 24 hours after securing an agreement between Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resume long-stalled peace talks, President Bush invited the pair to the White House to ceremonially inaugurate the first formal, direct negotiations in seven years.

Capping an intense flurry of diplomacy that salvaged a joint Israeli-Palestinian agreement at nearby Annapolis, Md., to launch a fresh round of talks, Bush planned to meet separately with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and finally to get them together for an afternoon session and declaring the talks formally under way.

After meeting their own low expectations for the Annapolis conference amid intense skepticism, Bush administration officials crowed with delight.

“President Bush has invited them both to the White House tomorrow to inaugurate those negotiations, and the two sides have agreed that they will return to the region and meet on December 12th to continue the process,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters late Tuesday.

Bush, along with Rice, had earlier salvaged a “joint understanding” between the Israelis and Palestinians, who had remained far apart on the details of the statement until the last minute.

But with prodding from the American side, Olmert and Abbas – troubled leaders with fragile mandates for peace – told international backers and skeptical Arab neighbors they are ready for hard bargaining toward an independent Palestinian state in the 14 months Bush has left in office.

“This is the beginning of the process, not the end of it,” Bush said after reading from the just-completed text the statement that took weeks to negotiate and yet sets only the vaguest terms for the talks to come.

“I pledge to devote my effort during my time as president to do all I can to help you achieve this ambitious goal,” Bush told Abbas and Olmert as the three stood together in the U.S. Naval Academy’s majestic Memorial Hall. “I give you my personal commitment to support your work with the resources and resolve of the American government.”

The two Mideast leaders were circumspect but optimistic.

“I had many good reasons not to come here,” Olmert told diplomats, including those from Arab states that do not recognize Israel like Saudi Arabia and Syria. “Memory of failures in the near and distant past weighs heavy upon us.”

Abbas, meanwhile, recited a familiar list of Palestinian demands, including calls for Israel to end the expansion of Jewish settlements on land that could be part of an eventual state called Palestine and to release some of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

“Neither we nor you must beg for peace from the other,” Abbas said. “It is a joint interest for us and you. Peace and freedom is a right for us, just as peace and security is a right for you and us.”

Bush has held Mideast peacemaking at arms’ length for most of his nearly seven years in office, arguing that conditions in Israel and the Palestinian territories were not right for a more energetic role. Arab allies, among others, have warned that the Palestinian plight underlies other conflicts and feeds grievances across the Middle East, and have urged the White House to do more.

Bush seemed to answer the criticism Tuesday, giving detailed reasons why the time is now. He said Israeli and Palestinian leaders are ready to make peace, that there is a wider and unifying fight against extremism fed by the Palestinian conflict and that he world understands the urgency of acting now.

Later, in an interview with The Associated Press, Bush spoke of the importance of giving beleaguered Palestinians something positive to look forward to – and he sketched a grim alternative.

Without a hopeful vision, he said, “it is conceivable that we could lose an entire generation – or a lot of a generation – to radicals and extremists. There has to be something more positive. And that is on the horizon today.”

Negotiating teams will hold their first session in the region in just two weeks, on Dec. 12, and Olmert and Abbas plan to continue one-on-one discussions they began earlier this year. In addition, many of the same nations and organizations attending Tuesday’s conference will gather again on Dec. 17 in Paris to raise money for the perpetually cash-strapped Palestinians.

To attract Arab backing, the Bush administration included a session in the conference devoted to “comprehensive” peace questions – a coded reference to other Arab disputes with Israel. Syria came to the conference intending to raise its claim to the strategic Golan Heights, seized by Israel in 1967, and Lebanon wanted to talk about its border dispute with Israel. Rice told reporters that Syria and Lebanon spoke up, but she gave no details.

But in a sign of the difficult road ahead, Abbas’ speech was immediately rejected by Hamas, the militant Palestinian faction that stormed to power in the Gaza Strip in June, a month before Bush announced plans for the peace conference.

Hamas now governs the tiny territory and roughly a third of the people on whose behalf Abbas would negotiate a state. Hamas has refused to drop its pledge for Israel’s destruction, and the United States and Israel consider the group a terrorist organization.

Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters chanted “Death to America” in a Gaza City rally. The marchers, including women in black robes and full face veils, raised their index fingers heavenward in a sign of Islamic devotion, as they denounced the Annapolis conference as a sellout of Palestinian dreams. NorthJersey.com

Thousands of Jewish settlers protest against US talks

Several thousand Jewish settlers protested in Jerusalem on the eve of Tuesday’s meeting in the United States that aims to kick-start dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

During the protest organised by the Council of Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria on Monday, demonstrators brandished placards saying “Don’t feed Israel to the sharks” and “Hands off Israel — we are in God’s hands.”

“Never again a divided Jerusalem” read another.

The protesters, estimated by organisers to number 10,000, said no territorial concessions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem should be made to the Palestinians.

Tuesday’s meeting at Annapolis in Maryland “poses a real threat to Israel, because to sign any agreement with (Palestinian president) Mahmud Abbas will inevitably lead to Hamas taking power in Judea-Samaria” in the West Bank, Pinhas Wallerstein of the organisers told AFP.

The Islamist Hamas movement ousted the secular Fatah party of Abbas from the Gaza Strip in June after a week of deadly factional fighting.

From a podium set up several dozen metres (yards) from the home of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in Washington for the US-sponsored meeting, another organiser of the protest urged the premier not to make concessions.

“Olmert, you have no mandate to give up Israeli territory,” Shaul Goldstein said to applause from protesters who called on the prime minister to quit.

Right-wing MP Tzvi Handel told the protesters Olmert was “undoubtedly the most dangerous prime minister in the history of Israel.”

The peace conference in Annapolis will bring together more than 50 organisations and countries, including some 16 Arab nations.

MPs from government coalition party Yisrael Beitenu, which has 11 MPs in the 120-member Knesset, also attended the protest as did Zeev Elkin, who is a member of Olmert’s Kadima party.

Before Tuesday night’s protest thousands of settlers gathered at the Wailing Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest site, to pray for failure at the Annapolis talks.

The settlers oppose any withdrawal by Israel from land occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War.

They aim to prevent any repetition of what they called the “catastrophe” of a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, which the settlers’ movement fiercely opposed. IC

Officials from 40 Nations at Mideast summit

WASHINGTON (CNN) — With a Mideast summit starting Tuesday in Maryland, Israeli and Palestinian officials worked late into the night trying to hammer out a joint agreement on how negotiations would move forward, diplomats from several delegations said.

But the two sides have not agreed on several issues and there was no guarantee that any work plan would be agreed upon, the diplomats said.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was cautious but hopeful the parties could finish an agreement, diplomats said.

But Hamas leader Ismail Haniya denounced the Annapolis summit in a televised address Tuesday.

“The Palestinian people will not be bound by anything the Palestinian Authority agrees to in Annapolis,” he said.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Monday expressed hope and optimism that a renewed peace effort will emerge from the conference.

Hours apart, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas spoke to reporters alongside President Bush, following separate talks at the White House.

Abbas said he hoped the conference would trigger expanded negotiations with Israel that would lead to a permanent peace deal, calling the event a “historic initiative.”

Olmert explained to reporters that this visit was different “because we’re going to have lots of participants involved.”

“I hope we’re going to launch a serious process of negotiations between us and the Palestinians,” said Olmert. “This will be a bilateral process but the international support is very important.”

Representatives of more than 40 countries, including a wide array of Arab nations such as Syria and Saudi Arabia, will attend the conference at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Monday night, Bush, Olmert and Abbas attended a dinner held by Rice.

In a toast at the dinner, Bush said Israeli and Palestinian leaders would need to make “difficult compromises” in order to achieve a breakthrough during the summit but gave his personal commitment to a renewed peace process between the two sides.

“The extremists and terrorists want our efforts to fail,” Bush said. “We offer a more hopeful vision of a Middle East growing in freedom and dignity and prosperity.”

The Bush administration is hoping the conference will trigger final status talks on major issues such as Jerusalem and Israeli borders.

U.S. officials are looking for a commitment by the Palestinians and Israelis to carry out previous agreements linked to the “road map” plan for Mideast peace.

Hundreds Of Protesters Are Heading To The Agudah Convention.

Stamford Connecticut- Tonight at the 85th Agudah Convention at the Westin Hotel several Hundred protester’s expected anti Agudah. On scene is Swat team’s Bomb Squad’s State Police Local and State Authorities preparing for possibly thousand’s of Satmar Chassidim. The Satmar sect plans to protest the Anti Agudah movement they are sending approximately 15 buses. Police are on scene cornering off sections of the road towards the Hotel. The hotel is going on complete lock down soon. We at PassaicCliftonJewishNews are first to report this story. We will update as it comes available. Update As of 10:00 only 15-20 Neturei Karta people have shown up but Police made them stay down the road from the Hotel. Also they now have a Helicopter above and Bomb Sniffing Dogs as well as many authorities Local and State.

Best Buy In Little Falls Had Customer’s Wraped Around The Building Twice.

Best Buy In Little Falls Had Customer’s Wraped Around The Building Twice to try to grab the early morning specials. Our own PCJN reporter was on scene at 5:30 in the morning just 3o minutes before Best Buy opens its doors with the super specials. While our reporter was on scene a Passaic County Officer approched him and said the wait to get in once the store opens is going to be from then at least 2 hours. He said we might as well come back at 9 oclock. Our reporter approched the front of the line and people were telling us that they have been waiting since yesterday afternoon. Its amazing what people will do for good deals.

New Yorkers’ great holiday escapes off to a good start

Every plane in this illustration – all 6,998 of them – shows a flight over the U.S. at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday. And that was just a warm-up for today.

New Yorkers hit the highways and skyways in record numbers Wednesday heading to points near and far, lured by a baked bird that can’t fly – and so far, so good.

At least through the late afternoon, no major problems were reported in the metro area – even at one of the busiest bottlenecks: LaGuardia airport.

Although many arrivals were behind schedule by an hour or more, departures were moving relatively smoothly – with delays of no more than 15 minutes at most gates.

“It’s so much better than I thought it would be,” said Victoria Wallm, 24, of Dallas.

Her boyfriend, Kenneth Harris, 24, lugged their Boston terrier, Charley, who somehow talked his way into being included on the family trip to Texas.

“You need to be positive before Thanksgiving,” Harris said. “LaGuardia is pretty good this year.”

Officials said a 25% increase in staffing helped speed passengers through security check points. President Bush’s decision to open up some military air space to commercial flights also eased delays somewhat.

“Things are rolling along pretty well,” said Warren Kroeppel, the airport’s general manager. “It’s like a normal day at the airport.”

Even so, many travelers weren’t taking chances: Andrew Thompson lives upstate and arrived a whopping seven hours early.

Despite rising gas prices and fears of air delays, a record 38.7 million U.S. residents were expected to travel 50 miles or more as part of the largest predicted Thanksgiving pilgrimage ever.

Many New Yorkers may have already left town but others were hoping to beat the evening rush on what is often called the busiest travel day of the year.

At Pennsylvania Station, knots of people gathered with heavy suitcases in the Amtrak waiting area.

Ryan Bevilacqua and Jeremy Lyon, 23-year-old childhood buddies, were headed back home to Harrisburg, Pa. They said riding the train beats driving any time.

“The drive from here to Harrisburg? It’s awful,” said Bevilacqua. DailyNews.com

Families of kidnapped Israeli soldiers united in their cause

Shlomo Goldwasser’s voice trembles with a father’s anguish as he talks of his missing son.

“There is no school in the world to teach you what to do when your son is kidnapped,” he says.

 “We’re not the army. We have no weapons. There are no tools in my hand. The only thing we have is our story and I’m using it and going everywhere that I can to raise my voice so people can hear.”

Fifteen months ago, on July 12, 2006, Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser, a just-married 31-year-old environmental engineer, had only a few hours left in his month-long tour of duty as an Israeli army reservist when his Humvee was attacked with anti-tank rockets by a squad of Hezbollah guerrillas who had slipped into Israel from Lebanon.

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the initial attack and Sergeant Goldwasser and another army reservist, Sergeant Eldad Regev, 26, were captured.

Both the Israeli soldiers are believed to have been seriously injured before their Hezbollah attackers kidnapped them and retreated into Lebanon.

When an Israeli tank tried to pursue the Hezbollah guerrillas across the border, it was blown up by a roadside bomb, killing another four Israelis.

Gloating over their assault, Hezbollah spokesmen admitted to holding the two Israeli reservists and said they were taken in order to secure the release of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel.

But rather than trigger negotiations, the abductions prompted an immediate retaliation from Israel and ignited a 34-day war with Hezbollah that left hundreds dead and injured, thousands homeless and the Middle East boiling with tension.

When the fighting finally ended, with United Nation’s Security Council Resolution 1701 ordering a UN-supervised ceasefire, the world body demanded the “unconditional release of prisoners.”
Udi Goldwasser’s family is still waiting to hear what happened to him.

“We know nothing,” says Mr. Goldwasser, a 60-year-old shipping contractor. “There is no information at all about their condition or anything. No one has visited them, not the Red Cross or any other humanitarian organization. Till now there is no information whatsoever. They don’t let them contact anyone. They isolate them and until now we know nothing about our sons.”

But rather than worry and wait, the Goldwasser and Regev families have joined forces with the relatives of yet another Israeli soldier, 20-year-old Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was seized by Hamas and spirited into Gaza just 18 days before the Hezbollah raids that captured Sgt. Goldwasser and Sgt. Regev, to tour the world campaigning for their sons’ release.

“We’ve become one big family,” says Omri Avni, Sgt. Goldwasser’s father-in-law. “It’s quite amazing. It took us a few hours to get organized, But within 48 hours from the abduction of Ehud and Eldad, the three families were together and we’ve been together ever since. We found it very, very effective. You can do more. You can share your work every day. You share your hope. It doesn’t fall on just one man.”

The relatives have launched rallies, distributed petitions, met with world leaders, staged protests and conducted video news conferences all around the globe trying to remind people of their sons’ plight.

They recently staged an International Day of Solidarity with video-linked rallies in 70 cities around the world to mark the 500th day of Cpl. Shalit’s captivity.

Jewish synagogues worldwide have been asked to recite a special prayer for the soldiers’ release and pictures of the three abducted men now hang in Rabin Park in Paris.

Last week, a dozen Arab Israelis joined Cpl. Shalit’s father, Noam Shalit, in a rally for the release of the kidnapped men in the Arab village of Kfar Kassem, at which they pleaded for the kidnappers “to act like human beings” and release the young men.

Mr. Goldwasser, Mr. Avni and Zvi Regev, Sgt. Regev’s father, are in Canada this week to promote their sons’ cause and meet with Members of Parliament in Ottawa. They will speak tonight at the Shaarei Shomayin Congregation at 470 Glencairn Ave. in Toronto

“We can’t lose hope,” Mr. Goldwasser says. “We are travelling all over the world trying to get the fulfilment of UN Resolution 1701. That is a demand to free our sons, unconditionally. We know that they are alive and we want them home.” National Post

United States agrees to hold talks with Iran again

The United States has accepted an Iraqi proposal to hold new talks with Iran about the security situation in Iraq, the State Department said Tuesday.

The as-yet unscheduled meeting would be the third round of talks between Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, and his Iranian counterpart. Two previous sessions ended inconclusively with Iran rejecting U.S. allegations that it is supporting Shia insurgent groups in Iraq by providing bombmaking material responsible for the deaths of American troops.

Amid a decline in attacks involving such devices, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington had responded favorably to a suggestion from the Iraqi government that it was now “the appropriate time” for another meeting at the ambassadorial level in Baghdad.

“We said ‘yes,’ that we would agree to that,” he told reporters, adding that the United States had informed Iran of its acceptance through diplomatic channels that normally involve Swiss intermediaries. AP

Study claims Jewish poverty rate in the U.S. is higher than in Israel

 

Every day at 6 P.M. 72 Jews come to the Ezra Center in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. They come to eat dinner. Although the meal is provided by a respectable caterer and served in a place called Uptown Cafe, this is unmistakably a soup kitchen.Many of the diners are elderly immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Others are homeless people living in the Jewish community center’s basement, released prisoners, illegal aliens, including Israelis, and the poor. “We found abysmal poverty,” says Anita Weinstein, founder and director of the Ezra Center, which provides social services to some 4,000 needy Chicago Jews living in the area. The Ezra Multi-Service Center (MSC) is a collaborative project of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF) and is administered by the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago (JCC). It was founded 23 years ago for distressed middle-class Jews who lost their jobs in the recession.

“We asked ourselves, if this could happen to middle-class Jews, what was happening to other people?” says Weinstein.In addition to some 7,000 middle-class Jews who needed help, some 3,000 Jews were receiving welfare. “We discovered an entire community of poor Jews of all ages who have been living here for a very long time,” she says.Today many of the needy are elderly, including Holocaust survivors, large ultra-Orthodox families and minimum-wage earners. “It’s harder to be poor today,” says Weinstein.One of the main problems is shelter. Some Jews live in cars. The disability stipend is $623 a month. Rent, even for a modest room, is at least half of that. The federation provides homes for some 800 homeless people, about half of them Jews, in five buildings it rents in Uptown. About a third of them have jobs.Steven Nasatir, JUF / Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago president, says one of every five Jews among Chicago’s 270,000 Jews is poor or almost poor according to the federal government’s definition. He says there are no figures for the general poverty rate among Jews in the United States, but according to the federations’ umbrella organization, the UJC, 15 to 20 percent of American Jews are poor.

In fact, the Jewish poverty rate in the United States is higher than that in Israel. In Israel 24 percent of the population is considered poor, but about half is not Jewish.

New York also has a high rate of Jewish poverty. “Usually the words ‘Jewish poverty” are seen as a contradiction in terms, says William Rapfogel, CEO of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty. “It’s not. More than a quarter of the members of the world’s richest Jewish community live close to the poverty line.”

A survey conducted for the federation five years ago showed that 350,000 Jews in New York City and state live close to the poverty line. The highest poverty rate is in Brooklyn. Ultra-Orthodox families make up 27 percent of those living below the poverty line, 23 percent are Russian speakers under the age of 65, 21 percent are Russian speakers over 65, 13 percent are non-Russian speakers over 65 and 16 percent are unemployed or handicapped.

The poverty line for a family of three is set at an annual income of $15,000 but in New York and other large cities it is adjusted to the higher cost of living and set at $22,530.

For every 100 housing units the community builds for the poor, mainly with state funding, there is a waiting list of 6,000, Rapfogel says. The apartments are raffled among the eligible recipients. Ha’aretz