Hareidi Paper Yated Neeman Compares Lapid’s Speech to Hitler’s

The hareidi-religious newspaper Yated Neeman published a provocative column by writer Chaim Walder on Sunday. Walder spoke about the issue of what he termed anti-hareidi incitement, and compared statements from Finance Minister Yair Lapid to a speech given by Nazi leader Adolph Hitler.

Walder began by noting evidence of anti-hareidi sentiment in Israeli society, including recent polls showing that hareidi-religious Jews are portrayed more poorly in television than any other group.

He noted the many public figures who have called on the hareidi-religious community to examine itself. “If we look at the psychological roots of this phenomenon, we’ll see that behind the ‘concern’ and desire for self-examination lies repressed guilt over the hate they feel for us,” he wrote.

Walder then quoted “somebody famous” saying that Jews must begin “productive work,” or else the result would be “a catastrophe… not Jewish victory, but the destruction of the Jews.”

He revealed that the quote was from Hitler. “Let it be clear: I am of course not comparing anything to the Holocaust, in any way. Obviously those who hate religion do not want to physically destroy hareidi Jews,” he said.

“But they have wicked plans regarding quality of life, the ability to live a normal life. To strip us of basic rights like payments, tax discounts, welfare, food for our children… there are even those who speak of taking the freedom to vote, or of leaving Israel, which is true dictatorship,” he continued.

He then quoted Lapid from a column Lapid wrote two years ago, “Forget ideology, forget that I don’t understand how it doesn’t bother you that you live at my expense. I can’t pay for it anymore. It’s over, there’s nothing left. I don’t just have nothing to give your children, I have nothing for my own. Do you understand how that makes me feel?”

Lapid ended that column with a warning, “We have to find a way, friend, or this will end badly. What does it say in [the book of] Taanit? ‘Friendship, or death.’”

“You tell me how different that final sentence is,” Walder wrote.

A statement from Lapid’s staff accused Walder of making cheap political use of national wounds. “The comparison between Lapid, the son of a Holocaust survivor, and the greatest oppressor of the Jews in history, is nothing less than outrageous incitement,” the statement said.

“We’re sorry that instead of dealing with the issues, some choose to take refuge in dangerous incitement,” it added.

Breslov Hasidim Sealed glasses against 'forbidden sights'

We're all familiar with the eye masks passengers wear on planes to help them sleep, but avoiding "forbidden sights" – such as films screened during flights – entails a new invention.

An ultra-Orthodox organization affiliated with the Breslov Hasidic movement is offering Jews flying to the grave of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman sealed stickers that can be attached to the lenses of their glasses in order to guarantee "full eye protection."

A leaflet distributed in recent days among the Hasidim, on behalf of the Purity of the Camp organization, informs them of a step up in the struggle for "filmless flights."

Previously, the organization produced personal screens allowing each passenger to separate himself from his surroundings on the plane. Now it is recommending using a stricter method which involves sealing one's eyes.

The four-page leaflet, published on the Behadrei Haredim website, includes pictures of several Breslov rabbis wearing scarves restricting their eyesight or glasses with the "modesty stickers."

The leaflet explains that the rabbis pictured in the ads agreed to engage in "modeling" in order to "help one more person protect his eyes."

"This is how they traveled to Uman last year with a smile," says the caption to a picture showing the rabbis with shawls covering their faces. "This year we recommend travelling with the scarves too, but if you find it difficult – you can use the glasses instead."

According to the leaflet, the variety of solutions offered "to protect the eyes" were concocted after haredim who flew to New York were forced to tie their children's eyes with a handkerchief for more than 10 hours so that they would not be "contaminated by the ugliness of the films."

The leaflets also present illustrations of the accessories, as well as impressions and recommendations from Breslov Hasidim who have already used them.

Yeshiva teacher Yosef Kolko on trial for sexually abusing children

A yeshiva teacher will face a jury trial this week after sexually abusing a child during summer camp, according to court proceedings in New Jersey.

A boy accused the yeshiva teacher and his camp counselor of sexually abuse him, and when a religious council of Orthodox Jews took no action against the man, the boy and his family went to the Office of the Ocean County Prosecutor to seek justice.

The boy and his family were ostracized by their community. Some in the community, even embarked on a terror campaign to have the boy and his father drop the charges against the rabbi.

A flyer was distributed in Lakewood, New Jersey saying that the boy's father made a "mockery" of the Torah after committing the "terrible deed" of going to the secular authorities.

Now, six years after the alleged abuse occurred, the man accused of molesting the child, will face a jury trial in a case that is likely to be watched closely by the Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood.

Jury selection began Wednesday in the trial of Yosef Kolko, who worked as a camp counselor at Yachad, a summer camp at the Yeshiva Bais Hatorah School on Swarthmore Avenue in Lakewood when he met the victim. Kolko also taught at Orchos Chaim Yeshiva in Lakewood.

Kolko, 39, of Geffen Drive in Lakewood is accused of sexually abusing the boy between September 2007 and February 2009, when the victim was 11 and 12-years-old. Kolko is charged with aggravated sexual assault, attempted aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault and neglect.

The trial will be held before State Superior Court Judge Francis R. Hodgson.

Kolko admitted sexually abusing the child to an Orthodox Jewish therapist in Brooklyn, New York. Kolko also began therapy but then suddenly quit the sessions.

“The rabbi betrayed the trust of the children and of the entire Jewish community. He had no business being a rabbi in a classroom or being around small children. He is a sick man and needs to be kept away from children,” Elky Braun, 40, of Lakewood New Jersey told YourJewishNews.com after learning about the charges against rabbi Kolko.

Kolko has been free on bail of $125,000. If convicted, he could face up to 60 years in prison.

Williamsburg - Yeshiva 'move' no-parking sign, squeezing out city bus stop

Let my people go . . . on the bus.

A furious bus driver says two Hasidic scofflaws have moved a city no-parking sign, cementing it into the sidewalk in front of a Williamsburg yeshiva — and squeezing out an MTA bus stop.

“There was no way I could park at the bus stop,” fumed Jamar Perry, who spied the sign heist on Franklin Avenue while driving the B48.

“Two Jewish guys were moving the pole. I saw them resetting it. They had fresh cement and made it look professionally done.”

The relocated sign stands about 30 feet from the bus stop on Franklin just north of Flushing Avenue. It prevents cars from parking in front of Yeshiva Bnos Ahavas Israel so the religious school’s yellow buses can illegally park at the curb.

But what burns Perry, 39 and a four-year MTA employee, is the obstacle course it has created for his riders. Because of the parked yellow buses, city buses can’t pull into the stop and instead must idle in the middle of the street.

“When you’re in the middle of the street, bicyclists and motorcycles fly through there,” he said. “You’re also unable to pick up a wheelchair at that stop because you can’t pull in. We’d have to nose in, and that’s against the law.”

Passengers are also fed up with the chosen parking.

“There’s a school bus that parks here every day,” said Mohsen, 26, an engineer who commutes to Bed-Stuy and would only give his first name. “To catch the bus, you have to go to the middle of the street and shake your hands. All the people are having the same problem.”

Perry suspects the sign stealers he saw in October had the chutzpah to grab the sign from around the corner on Flushing Avenue after a car knocked it down.

“I informed the union about it. I made a few complaints,” he said. “Nobody’s done anything.”

Tommy McNally, a safety officer from the Transit Workers Union, says sign-swapping “is a common problem in the Hasidic community.”

“These guys are just constantly moving these signs,” he said.

McNally conveyed Perry’s complaint to several city Department of Transportation officials but hasn’t received a return call.

A DOT spokesman declined to say whether the no-parking sign should be posted on Franklin Avenue but said an agency inspector will look at it.

“We haven’t received any customer complaints, but we do realize there’s a problem on that block,” MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said. “We have a supervisor assigned to the area to check into doing whatever’s possible to improve the situation.”

Bus drivers for the yeshiva on Franklin Avenue contend they’re not the ones to blame.

“We keep getting tickets,” said driver Yoel Felberbaum. “It doesn’t make sense. They should move the [city] bus stop.”

Yeshiva drivers say they have no choice but to park in the makeshift no-parking zone in front of the school, because if they don’t, students would have to walk in traffic.

Hasidim have flouted city rules before in their Brooklyn enclaves.

They drew criticism in October 2011 when a female rider on the B110 bus was ordered to the back by male riders enforcing Orthodox separation customs.

Scantily clad hipster cyclists prompted them to successfully lobby the city to close Bedford Avenue bike lanes, which in turn prompted bike advocates to repaint them. They were stopped by the Shomrim, a Hasidic neighborhood watch group.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has criticized the Shomrim for failing to notify the NYPD quickly to reports of an emergency — such as when 8-year-old Borough Park boy Leiby Kletzky was kidnapped in July 2011.

NY POST

Israel deploys Iron Dome missile defenses in the north

Apparently bracing for possible retaliation, Israel deployed two Iron Dome missile defense batteries in the north of the country on Sunday morning, hours after it reportedly struck a shipment of Iranian missiles bound for Hezbollah near Damascus.

One Iron Dome battery was deployed in Safed and the other in Haifa. The system has proved highly effective in stopping short-range rocket fire, intercepting 84 percent of the incoming rockets from Gaza that threatened population centers and strategic targets during Operation Pillar of Defense last November.

A Syrian state TV report claimed Israeli rockets hit a military research site on the outskirts of the capital at about 2 a.m. Sunday, and smoke could be seen rising from the area, in the second such strike in 48 hours. An unnamed Israeli official told AFP the target was a shipment of Iranian made Fatah-110 missiles that were on their way from Syria to Hezbollah terrorists.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to convene his security cabinet on Sunday afternoon to discuss the escalating hostilities with Syria. He slightly delayed his scheduled Sunday evening departure for China in order to participate in the meeting.

Army Radio reported Israeli concerns that Hezbollah might seek further Iranian missile shipments, and said the security establishment was therefore remaining on alert.

There were no official Syrian reports of casualties in either of the two strikes Friday and Sunday. An unconfirmed report on the Russia Today website cited a local Syrian journalist reporting “rumors on Syrian social media” that 300 or more soldiers stationed at military bases on Mount Qassiyoun near Damascus were killed. “Many Syrians are calling for retaliation as the possibility of a full-scale war with Israel is speculated upon,” this unconfirmed report further claimed.

Activists opposed to the Assad regime reported that a blast hit an ammunition depot in the Qassiyoun mountains late Saturday. It was not clear if that reported incident was related to any Israeli activity. According to a Syrian official who spoke to Al Arabiya, the Syrian regime uses its bases on the mountain to fire missiles at rebel targets in Damascus.

MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud), a former chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Sunday it was unlikely Syria would hit back at Israel over an airstrike inside its territory but did not rule this out. “A Syrian retaliation is always an option,” he conceded, “but apparently it was deemed to be a long shot.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned Sunday’s Israeli airstrike, but gave no hint of a possible stronger response from Tehran or its allies.

Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted Sunday by the semiofficial Fars news agency denouncing the attack on the Iranian missiles, which were believed en route to Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. His were the first Iranian comments since Israel launched a first round of airstrikes on Friday.

Mehmanparast urged countries in the region to remain united against Israel.

“As a Muslim nation, we back Syria, and if there is need for training we will provide them with the training, but won’t have any active involvement in the operations,” Iranian general Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said in remarks reported by the official IRNA news agency.

“The Syrian army has accumulated experience during years of conflict with the Zionist regime (Israel) and is able to defend itself and doesn’t need foreign assistance,” he added.

The attacks signal a sharp escalation of Israel’s involvement in Syria’s more than two-year-old civil war between rebels and the forces of President Bashar Assad, a key Iranian ally.

Uzi Rubin, a missile expert and former Defense Ministry official, told the Associated Press that if the target of the reported strikes was a consignment of Fatah-110 missiles, then such weaponry did constitute a “game-changer”: Fired from Syria or south Lebanon, these missiles, he said, could reach almost anywhere in Israel with high accuracy.

 

 

Israeli who slipped over Lebanon border returns home

The Israeli citizen who crossed the border into Lebanon illegally earlier this week returned to Israel on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Simon Saadati, 34, was handed over to Israel Police after crossing back over the border accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the IDF said.

Lebanon's army arrested Saadati last Wednesday after he crossed the northern border near Rosh Hanikra. The IDF said forces at a lookout station near the border only noticed the man after he made it over the fence and entered Lebanon.

The IDF said following Saadati's arrest that he would likely be interrogated and then released and returned to Israel once Lebanese intelligence established he was not an Israeli soldier or agent.

There have been several incidents in the past in which Israeli citizens crossed the border at Rosh Hanikra, through the beach and near Har Dov. Some of these were Israeli Arabs returned to Israel after a few weeks after the Lebanese determined they posed no security risk.

Syria: Attack on military facility was a 'declaration of war' by Israel

Damascus, Syria (CNN) -- A Syrian official called an attack Sunday on the nation's military research facility a "declaration of war" by Israel.

In an interview with CNN, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad said the attack represented an alliance between Islamic terrorists and Israel.

He added that Syria would retaliate against Israel in its own time and way.

Early Sunday morning, a series of massive explosions illuminated the predawn sky in Damascus, prompting more claims that Israel has launched attacks into the war-torn country.

Syria accused Israel of firing rockets into the Damascus suburb of Jamraya, striking the research center, Syrian state-run TV reported. The report claimed that the rocket attack on the research center aided rebels, who have been battling government forces in the region.

The Israeli military would not confirm or deny the Syrian TV claim that Israel had launched rockets.

"We do not comment on these reports at all," an Israeli military spokesperson said.

The report comes shortly after U.S. officials first told CNN that the United States believes Israel conducted an airstrike against Syria. Two U.S. officials told CNN on Friday that Israel apparently launched an airstrike into Syria on Thursday or Friday. Based on initial information, the United States does not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian airspace to conduct the strike.

The Israeli military did not comment on the U.S. claim of an airstrike. But Israel has long said it would target any transfer of weapons to Hezbollah or other terrorist groups, as well as at any effort to smuggle Syrian weapons into Lebanon that could threaten Israel.

"We are watching everything when it comes to the movement of these types of weapons. We have the means to do that," a senior Israeli defense official told CNN's Sara Sidner. The official is not authorized to speak to the media.

Shaul Mofaz, a lawmaker with Israel's Knesset, told Israeli Army Radio that Israel isn't meddling with Syria's civil war. But Israel must protect itself from Lebanese militants, he said.

"For Israel, it is very important that the front group for Iran, which is in Lebanon, needs to be stopped," Mofaz said.

"Everything that goes into the hands of Hezbollah is not directly related to the rebels. Israel never interfered in the past or today in their actions. Nevertheless, I need to say that Hezbollah is deeply involved up to its neck in what is happening in Syria. Hezbollah helps the Iranians navigate against the rebels."

Neither Hezbollah nor the Lebanese government commented immediately after Sunday's claims.

Syria: Israel has targeted the defense facility before

Sunday's report is the second claim by Syria this year of a strike against the government defense research facility,

In January, reports surfaced that Israeli warplanes targeted the Jamraya research facility. The Syrian government has said that airstrike killed two workers and injured five others.

A U.S. official told CNN at the time the Syrian claims were false. The official said Israeli fighter jets targeted a Syrian government convoy carrying surface-to-air missiles bound for Hezbollah. But Syria denied there were such shipments.

Lebanon reports Israeli warplanes overhead

Claims of Israeli foreign presence was not limited to Syria; the Lebanese army said Israel flew warplanes over Lebanon on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Lebanese President Gen. Michel Sleiman condemned the violations as "an attempt to shaken Lebanese stability," the state-run National News Agency reported Saturday.

The Israeli military had no comment on the Lebanese claim. But an Israeli defense source said, "We will do whatever is necessary to stop the transfer of weapons from Syria to terrorist organizations. We have done it in the past, and we will do it if necessary the future."

Sectarian violence continues

The latest report of rocket attacks comes as sectarian violence erupted in northwestern Syria. Three consecutive days of killing by mostly Alawite forces have left hundreds of predominantly Sunni residents dead, opposition groups said Saturday.

State media have said their forces were seeking only to clear the area of "terrorists," the term they have routinely used when referring to rebel forces.

But the U.S. State Department said it was "appalled by horrific reports that more than 100 people were killed May 2" in Beyda, a suburb of Baniyas.

Several opposition groups said largely Alawite regime forces used tanks, battleships and missile launchers to target largely Sunni neighborhoods in and around the coastal city of Baniyas.

Government forces killed at least 200 people on Friday and Saturday in Baniyas and its suburbs, the opposition Local Coordination Committees said Saturday.

But reliable information has been difficult to obtain because government forces controlled access to the village, the LCC said.

A graphic video posted by activists who said it was shot in the Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood showed people, including an infant, lying lifeless on the ground. Many bore what appeared to be bullet wounds, and some appeared burned. CNN has not been able to confirm the video's authenticity, as access to Syrian war zones has been severely limited by the government.

State-run Syrian TV reported that government troops and the National Defense militia -- an armed Alawite group loyal to the government, "have cleaned the area from armed terrorists" after "they burned civilians' homes and terrorized the population." The report was supported by interviews with members of the Syrian army.

U.S. President Barack Obama told reporters on Friday that he did not foresee a scenario of "American boots on the ground in Syria" that would be good for that country or the region. Obama said other leaders in the region want to see al-Assad out of power.

Eugene Palmer, NY murder suspect thought dead after wilderness escape may be alive

Police fear a retired park ranger accused of gunning down his daughter-in-law before fleeing into the wilderness of upstate New York seven-months ago is alive and still on the run.

Authorities previously believed that 73-year-old Eugene Palmer of Stoney Point was dead after escaping into Herriman State Park only moments after allegedly admitting to committing the cold-blooded crime.

After a manhunt failed to retrieve a body from the woods, Sgt. George Lutz of the Haverstraw Police Department told Fox News: 'We consider him to be armed and dangerous.'

Police accuse Palmer of fatally shooting Tammy Palmer, 39, three times as she was walking home from dropping her two children off at a school bus on September 24th.

After allegedly confessing to the crime to his sister, Elaine Babcock, she says he took off into the 45,000-acre park, an area authorities say he's well familiar with and backs onto their property.

'We thoroughly searched these woods over the course of two weeks, I don't believe he's here,' Sgt Lutz said. 'He knows that park like the back of his hand.'

Authorities at the time thought there was no chance he could have survived the woods considering the impending winter's freezing temperatures.

Palmer's son also says he's convinced his father's dead with the 73-year-old being a severe diabetic.

Authorities' search has expanded internationally as well.

Palmer was charged with the murder of Tammy Palmer two months after she was killed.

His truck was found in nearby Harriman State Park on the same day Tammy was killed and officers began their search for him..

Tammy Palmer's family claimed that Eugene Palmer had began a campaign of harassment against her after the 39-year-old took out an order of protection against her estranged husband, John.

The order prevented him from entering the home where she was raising their two children, aged 12 and 16. She lived in a separate house but on the same property as her father-in-law.

Babcock, Palmer's sister claimed he rushed to her house straight after the killing and admitted what he'd done.

'He just came in and said, "Here’s money to pay my taxes with, I’ve had enough.

"I shot and killed Tammy. Give me an hour to get away and then do whatever you have to do — call the police... whatever you have to do," and then he just took off,' Babcock told CBS.

Babcock said she immediately called police.

Search teams began hunting woods for the man, a retired park ranger, using tracking dogs and helicopters. They soon discovered his vehicle, a 1995 green Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Tammy Palmer's parents are struggling to come to terms with the loss of their daughter. They say her relationship with her father-in-law had grown increasingly ugly, culminating in a fight.

'She told me "Mommy, don’t worry I’ll be alright." I don’t think she ever thought that this man would kill her,' Tammy's mother Violet Pannirello told CBS.

'She’s gone. She’s resting. She’s not scared anymore. It’s so sad,' Pannirello said.

Detectives have previously revealed the details of Palmer's criminal past and warned that he is believed to be dangerous - owning to a large gun collection.

It has been reported by police that the grandfather had previously threatened to kill a Department of Environmental Conservation officer.

He was arrested and charged with second-degree aggravated harassment after he made repeated 'life threatening' calls to Department of Environmental Conservation employee Kenneth Didion’s home over a period of months starting in December 1984, The Journal News reported.

Palmer, working as a truck driver at the time, pleaded guilty in April 1986 and the next month was sentenced to one year probation and fined $750. He also was ordered to avoid any contact with Didion for a year.

NYPD: Suspect Wanted for Sexually Assaulting 3 Children in Queens

Police are searching for man wanted in connection with three sexual assaults on children in South Ozone Park, Queens this week, and residents in the community are on edge.

The hunt for the sexual predator began Wednesday after law enforcement sources say he forced a 7-year-old girl who had been playing outside into an alley and made her perform a sexual act.

The girl told police that while she was waiting for her friend to come back from retrieving a ball, the man came up to her and asked her if she wanted to play a game. He then forced her into the alley and told her to close her eyes and stick out her tongue before abusing her, law enforcement sources said.

Earlier Wednesday, a different 7-year-old girl was sitting on her stoop in the same neighborhood when police believe the man approached her and grabbed her buttocks. The girl's 12-year-old sister yelled at the man, prompting him to run away.

On Thursday, police say a man driving a tan van who fit the description of the suspect in Wednesday attacks, exposed himself to a 13-year-old girl and then trailed her for several blocks.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the NYPD is stepping up patrols in the area. Authorities have also released surveillance video they believe shows the suspect and a sketch. A $12,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the suspect's arrest.

Parents and neighbors in the community are vowing vigilance.

Shafeek Sohrab said he was "on the lookout for everything" and planned to buy a lock for his backyard gate to keep his 2-year-old nephew safe.

"We all cooperate," said Rudy Garib. "We look after one another."

Another neighbor, Mala Narine, said she was concerned about the child victims -- and empathized with their parents.

"I feel sorry for the parents who have to go through this, and the little child who has to live with this for the rest of her life," Narine said.

 

 

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I promised to return Deri to party leadership, rabbi Ovadia Yosef says

The spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas political party said Saturday night he had promised former party leader Aryeh Deri he would return him to the leadership of the party once Deri left jail.

The revelation from Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef comes three days after Deri was given the go-ahead to reassume the party’s leadership, after several months of sitting as one of three heads as part of a power sharing pact.

“It was a deposit that he held, and now he can redeem it,” Yosef said during his weekly Saturday night sermon.

Deri headed the party until he was convicted in 1999 of accepting $155,000 in bribes while running the Interior Ministry and as interior minister, and served 22 months in prison. He returned to the party last year and challenged then-party head Eli Yishai for the faction’s top spot in the run-up to January’s elections before coming to a power-sharing agreement that created a leadership troika of Deri, Yishai and Ariel Atias.

At the time, Yosef called called the party’s three-pronged leadership a “triple bond that won’t be severed soon.”

On Saturday night he said there had been no plot against Yishai, who he called “just and upright.”

“I thank him for all that he did,” Yosef said.

On Thursday, the party’s spokesperson indicated that Yishai – who was previously the chairman of Shas for 12 years running and who occupied the first position on the party’s Knesset list – would be responsible for overseeing the party’s educational network, while Atias would become chairman of the party’s Knesset faction.

Jerusalem residents fight for right to Shabbat movies

Dozens of Jerusalem residents joined a protest at Safra Square on Saturday, calling on the municipality to open a new compound containing restaurants and a movie theater on Saturdays and holidays.

According to the agreement between the Finance Ministry, the property developer and the municipality, the Cinema City compound which is located at Jerusalem's International Convention Center parking lot and is scheduled to open in the coming months – will work only on weekdays.

Residents and activists from various groups, including Awakening, Meretz and Be Free Israel, protested the decision, asking that the wishes of secular residents be taken into account. "For years we have lived in a city that refuses to recognize and accommodate our needs," said Eyal Ackerman, one of the rally's organizers. "This is a struggle for the right to live in this city and its future."

The organizers were disappointed that more people didn’t show up for the rally, but expressed hope and optimism. "It takes time for things to happen," said Tamar, a resident. "Logic says that we should win."

Another protestor who showed up at the square predicted, "The struggle will intensify when the complex will open. We will try to put pressure on the owner and tell him that if we do not come on Saturdays, we will not come in the middle of the week either."

On the other hand, David Hadari, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Finance Committee responsible for the decision of the Sabbath closing, said he believed that decision would remain unchanged.

"It's what suits the residents of this city while keeping the status-quo. It cannot be that in the center of the city, there will be cinemas violating the Sabbath," Hadari said. "That they can do in the distant neighborhoods. It cannot be carried out within 500 meters of Orthodox neighborhoods."

The decision not to allow the site to work Saturdays and holidays was made by the Jerusalem Municipality, the Ministry of Finance and Shapir, the company financing development. When the original parking lot originally slated for the location proved unprofitable, they were allowed to construct a cultural center which would be closed on the Sabbath.

This is according to a 2009 letter from the Finance Ministry. Deputy Finance Minister Mickey Levy clarified that his office would have no issue with the compound being open on Saturdays, "as long as there is compliance to the terms of the municipality."

On the other hand, the municipality said that "the entrepreneurs behind Cinema City signed an agreement with the Finance Ministry, and it was approved by the City Council. The municipality has no knowledge of any requests to change the terms of the agreement, and if the developers want to reopen the terms of the agreement, they should contact the Finance Ministry."

Shapir stated that the situation "is subject to an agreement which is signed and we have no statement, other than this."

John Goodman, Polo millionaire sentenced to 16 years for killing promising student in drunken hit-and-run

A Florida judge has granted polo tycoon John Goodman a new trial based on juror misconduct, saying that one juror's behavior turned the trial into a "constitutionally impermissible proceeding."

Goodman's Bentley slammed into 23-year-old Scott Wilson's Hyundai and sent it into a nearby canal in Wellington, Fla., in February 2010. Wilson, an engineering graduate, was strapped into the driver's seat and drowned.

Goodman, 49, was convicted of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and a fine of $10,000 in May 2012. He has been serving his sentence in house arrest, pending the decision of his appeal.

Goodman's attorneys were triumphant at the news of a new trial.

"A juror who deceives to get on a jury in a high profile case for his own profit is a trial lawyer's worst nightmare," Goodman's attorney Roy Black wrote in a statement. "Fortunately, this time the deception was exposed and a courageous judge set aside the verdict."

Prosecutors did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The defense accused juror Dennis DeMartin, 69, of lying to get on the jury by not telling the court about his ex-wife's DUI during jury selection.

DeMartin was also the subject of an April 2012 motion for a new trial based on a book he wrote and published. In the book, DeMartin wrote about a trial-related drinking experiment he said he conducted while in the midst of jury deliberations.

 

The court decided that the book and drinking experiment were inappropriate, but did not deprive Goodman of a fair trial. The lying, however, changed the court's stance.

"A defendant is entitled to a fair trial, not a perfect one," Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Colbath wrote in his ruling. "The cumulative effects of DeMartin's antics, however, have transformed an imperfect but fair trial into a constitutionally impermissible proceeding."

In his book, DeMartin wrote about his wife drinking, getting into an accident and being arrested for DUI. He said he had a stroke soon after and divorced his wife after she met someone else at a DUI program. He did not disclose this information when questioned during jury selection, the judge said.

"The Defendant contends, and this Court finds, that DeMartin concealed highly relevant information, namely, that his ex-wife had been convicted of a DUI," Colbath wrote.

The court then had to determine if knowledge of the undisclosed information made a difference in the case.

"The Court finds the answer to this question is yes," the judge wrote. "This is a case involving a DUI Manslaughter and potential jurors experience with DUI charges would be paramount in the mind of any lawyer picking a jury."

"To allow this conviction to stand, in light of the strength of Dennis DeMartin's participation, would erode the integrity of the judicial system," he wrote. "Every person charged with a crime deserves a fair trial without the likes of Dennis DeMartin."

Goodman, the multi-millionaire founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, claimed in court that his $200,000 car malfunctioned and lurched forward, slamming into Wilson's vehicle. He has also denied being drunk at the time of the crash, although other testimony has contradicted him and his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit three hours after the crash, according to prosecutors.

Goodman fled the scene of the accident, authorities said.

Goodman also made headlines when he adopted his girlfriend, Heather Hutchins, 42, in an attempt to preserve part of his fortune for her while negotiating a civil suit settlement. In March, a Miami appeals court reversed the ruling that allowed the adoption.    

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Ex-Bush official: Israel may be behind use of chemical arms in Syria

Retired U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who once served as Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff, believes that the chemical weapons used in Syria may have been an Israeli “false flag” operation aimed at implicating Bashar Assad’s regime.

Wilkerson made his astounding assertion in an interview on Current TV, the network once owned by former Vice President Al Gore and recently purchased by Al-Jazeera.

Wilkerson said that the evidence that it was Assad’s regime that had used the chemical weapons was “flaky” and that it could very well have been the rebels or Israel who were the perpetrators. Asked why Israel would do such a thing, Wilkerson said: “I think we’ve got a basically geostrategically, geopolitical inept regime in Tel Aviv right now.”

“I think we saw really startling evidence of that,” Wilkerson continued, “in the fact that President Obama had to tell Bibi Netanyahu ‘Pick up the phone, you idiot, call Ankara and get yourself out of this strategic isolation you’re in right now.”

A “false flag” operation is a covert attack on foreign or domestic soil carried out by governments or organizations under a false identity, aimed at placing blame on the enemy. It originates with a ruse once used in naval warfare in which ships would hoist the enemy’s flags in order to infiltrate his ranks.

Wilkerson, 63, a former Army helicopter pilot who flew combat missions in Vietnam, served as Colin Powell’s chief of staff in 2002-2005. He was responsible for reviewing the intelligence information used by Powell in his by now infamous February 2003 United Nations Security Council appearance on Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.

After his retirement, Wilkerson described this presentation as “a hoax” and became an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration’s handling of the Iraq war. He now serves as a professor at Virginia’s William and Mary College and is a guest commentator on several U.S. television networks.

Speaking on the Current’s Young Turks program, Wilkerson said that because of the instability in the Middle East, Israel’s current geo-strategic situation is “as dangerous as it’s been since 1948.” He added that President Obama “has got to be very circumspect about what he does in exacerbating that situation.”

“Netanyahu is clueless as to this,” Wilkerson said. “I hope President Obama gave him a lecture in geostrategic realities.”

Syrian State TV: Israel strikes for second time in as many days

Large explosions rocked Damascus early Sunday morning in a new air strike, Syrian State TV reported. According to the Assad regime's news service, the strike was caused by Israeli rocket fire, whcih targeted a military research center on Mount Qassioun.

On Saturday morning, anonymous Israeli officials told the Associated Press that the Israeli Air Force carried out a strike against Syria easrly Friday that targeted a shipment of advanced missiles bound for the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group. They did not say where it took place.

Also on Saturday, Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad denied the reports. Gilad, who heads the diplomatic security bureau of the Defense Ministry, said that the words of sources who speak under conditions of anonymity cannot be regarded as an official Israeli confirmation, according to an Army Radio report.

Earlier on Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama said that Israel has the right to guard against the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah a day after and alleged Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-bound missile shipment in Syria.

Israel has long made clear it is prepared to resort to force to prevent advanced Syrian weapons from reaching Hezbollah or jihadi rebels. Israeli warplanes went after the shipment inside Syria, where a two-year civil war is raging.

Obama, in an interview with the Spanish-language network Telemundo as part of a three-day Latin America tour that ended in Costa Rica, would not comment on whether the strikes had in fact taken place.

"I'll let the Israeli government confirm or deny whatever strikes that they've taken," he said.

But Obama, who visited Israel in March, made clear such strikes would be justified.

"What I have said in the past and I continue to believe is that the Israelis justifiably have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah. We coordinate closely with the Israelis recognizing they are very close to Syria, they are very close to Lebanon," he said.

Obama's government is seeking to determine whether Syria used chemical weapons against its own people to quash a rebellion.

He said on Friday he does not envision sending U.S. troops to Syria regardless of whether chemical weapons use is determined but he has a number of other options under review.

American officials say the alleged Israeli strike on Syria targeted Iranian missiles that Israel thought were headed for Hezbollah, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

A batch of surface-to-surface Fateh-110 missiles were being stored at a Damascus airport when they were struck in the attack, a U.S. official told the newspaper.

The Fateh-110 is a medium-range missile capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 300 kilometers.

According to a Syrian opposition website, a senior source in the Syrian Ministry of Transport claims that the target of the alleged Israeli attack was an airport, where aircraft fuel tanks, Syrian army ammunition storerooms, the army's runway and a civilian cargo plane that had arrived from Iran to Damascus were destroyed.

Syria denied that any aerial strike took place of its territory. Syrian Minister of Information Omran al-Zoubi gave the first official response to reports of the alleged strike on Saturday. "There were many reports on this issue over the past two days," he said. "A comprehensive investigation has begun and in the meantime there are no results, once there are results we will report these in full transparency, but whoever thinks they will turn us into a shadow of our former selves and damage Syria 'knock out style' we will tell them that they are imagining things that won't happen."

Report: Israeli airstrike directed at missiles from Iran

Hours after the first reports of an Israeli strike in Syria, details about the mysterious attack continue to emerge.

The New York Times reported Saturday that the airstrike was directed at a shipment of advanced surface-to-surface missiles from Iran that Israel believed was intended for Hezbollah, according to American officials.

The missiles, known as Fateh-110s, had been sent to Syria by Iran and were being stored at an airport in Damascus when they were struck in the attack, one American official said.

According to the paper, Syrians with knowledge of security and military matters confirmed the strike, saying that Iran had sent arms and rockets to Damascus International Airport intending to resend them to Hezbollah.

Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have used Fateh-110 missiles against the Syrian opposition, and some American officials are unsure whether the new shipment was intended for use by Hezbollah or by the Assad government, which is believed to be running low on missiles.

One American official, said the warehouse that was struck in the Israeli attack was believed to be under the control of operatives from Hezbollah and Iran’s paramilitary Quds force.

Also Saturday, a source at a rebel intelligence unit in Damascus said that F-16 jets carried out three strikes on the road connecting Damascus and Beirut.

One of the strikes, he said, hit a site near the Syrian army's fourth armored division in the city of al-Saboura. According to foreign sources, the jets carried out the attacks from Lebanese airspace.

The rebel source said that the attack targeted a Hezbollah-bound anti-aircraft missile convoy but according to recent estimates they were surface-to-surface missiles.

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli official told the Associated Press that the shipment was not of chemical arms, but of "game changing" weapons bound for Hezbollah.

Another Israeli source who spoke with the New York Times said that while chemical weapons draw much attention, Israel is far more concerned about advanced conventional weapons.

Additionally, Qasim Saad al-Din, a commander in the Free Syrian Army, said he does not believe the target was anti-aircraft missiles and noted that the group has yet to confirm the exact location of the strike.

"We estimate they were long range missiles of some sort with the ability to carry chemical substances," he said.

Another question that arose Saturday was whether Israeli jets had invaded Syrian airspace.

Based on initial indications, US officials told CNN they do not believe Israeli warplanes entered Syrian airspace to conduct the strikes. It was estimated the strike was carried out from Lebanon.

According to Reuters, Israel's air force possesses so-called "standoff" bombs that coast dozens of kilometers (miles) across ground to their targets once fired. That could, in theory, allow Israel to attack Syria from its own turf or from adjacent Lebanon.

Ynet's defense analyst Ron Ben-Yishai estimates the assault was not conducted from Lebanese airspace but from greater distance, possibly from over the sea. Israel's Rafael-manufactured "Popeye" system is capable of carrying out such strikes.

Last January, it was reported that the IAF attacked a weapons convoy en route to the Syria-Lebanon border. Damascus later admitted that a military research center in the Jamraya region had been bombed.

Some believe that Syria lied about the target to disguise the fact that it supplied Hezbollah with Russian weapons and SA-17 advanced anti-aircraft missiles.

Meanwhile, the IDF 's Northern Command raised its alert level in response to battles in the Syrian Golan area. Syrian opposition sources in Quneitra reported loud blasts caused by shelling in the demilitarized buffer zone. According to the sources, mortar shells hit several houses in the area.