Renovated synagogue becomes House of Cultures in Poland, sparking local controversy

The House of Cultures in Dabrowa Tarnowska, Poland

A Jewish synagogue has transformed into a culture center in the Polish town of Dabrowa Tarnowska, but not without sparking controversy.

“The Jews have a synagogue, but we got no money,” read huge billboards currently posted along a number of main roads leading to the Krakow district town.

The posters were sponsored by a city council member from the Law and Justice party in response to the House of Cultures’ grand opening, which took place on Sunday in a magnificently restored synagogue.

The representative of the right-wing party also claims that not all those who worked on the renovation got paid what they had been promised.

The restored synagogue dates back to the 19th century when the town’s residents were almost all Jews. But during the Holocaust, most of Dabrowa’s Jews were deported to the death camp at Belzec.

Some 200 Jewish residents of Dabrowa survived the Holocaust, a few with the help of neighbors who were later recognized as Righteous Among the Nations.

According to the book by Polish historian Jan Grabowski, “Hunting Down the Jews, 1942-1945,” a similar number of Jews were murdered by locals or turned over to the Germans by locals or by the Polish Police.

At the end of World War II, all those who survived left Poland, some for Israel and some for the United States.

Since a town that had no Jews had no need for a synagogue, the district community decided, under Communist rule, to give up the building, which had been damaged by the Germans, and give it to the state on the condition that they open a cultural center there.

The communists did not keep their word, and it was only recently, thanks to a $3 million grant from the European Union and with the help of contributions from the Polish Culture Ministry, the municipality and the Krakow Jewish community, that the renovations were completed in August after two years.

At the festive opening on Sunday, the chief rabbi of Krakow and the local Catholic bishop offered a joint prayer.

The mayor, responding to all those who cast doubt on the wisdom of the renovation, said, “It’s our obligation to nurture our history and our joint heritage. I would like to recall the worlds of Pope John Paul II, who declared we are all Abraham’s children.”

According to the local daily Gazeta Wyborcza, the center, called the House of Cultures, is attracting visitors from Israel, the United States and Australia.

Modi’in Illit: Haredi Falls to His Death

The body of a 27-year-old avreich was found on the balcony of a neighbor on Yehuda HaNasi Street in Brechfeld. The called arrived at the local EMS at about 05:30 on Sunday morning when the body of the avreich was discovered on the balcony.

It appears the avreich fell at some time during the night from his 5th floor apartment onto the 2nd floor balcony.

Resuscitation efforts were implemented but a physician pronounced him dead after it became apparent they were too late.

The avreich is survived by his wife and 4-year-old daughter.

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טרגדיה לילית: אברך בן 27, נמצא לפנות בוקר (ראשון) שרוע ללא רוח חיים במרפסת שכנו, בבניין מגורים ברחוב יהודה הנשיא בשכונת ברכפלד שבמודיעין עילית.

מעט לאחר השעה 05:30 לפנות בוקר, הזעיק תושב השכונה את כוחות ההצלה לביתו לאחר שמצא במרפסת ביתו את שכנו לבניין.

מפרטים ראשונים עולה כי מסיבה שאינה ברורה, האברך נפל מגובה שלוש קומות, מהקומה החמישית בה התגורר היישר למרפסת בבית השכן בקומה השנייה, שם נמצא כשהוא מחוסר הכרה.

כוחות ההצלה מיהרו להגיש סיוע לנופל ופתחו בפעולות החייאה במאמצים להצלת חייו, אך לאחר זמן קצר נאלצו לקבוע את מותו.

האברך, בן ה-27, הותיר אחריו את משפחתו, רעייתו ובתו הקטנה בת ה-4.

Vishnitz Rebbe: Don’t Call me ‘Rebbe’

Vishnitz Rebbe R' Yisrael Hager

A leading rabbi of the Vishnitz dynasty shocked chassidim at the third Sabbath meal and said, “Don’t call me ‘Rebbe” because he does not deserve the title.

He told followers to address him only with the title “Rabbi.”

“Rebbe,” a word derived from the Hebrew word for “Rabbi, is used in Chassidic movements to designate a leader of the community and a spiritual guide, while a “Rabbi” is one who rules on matters of Jewish law.

Asking chassidim to address him only as “rabbi,” he confessed, "I did not behave as I should have in my youth.

This is the truth,” he was quoted as saying by the Cheder Haredim website.

He spoke at the traditional late afternoon meal at the Vishnitz Torah study center in Bnei Brak on the day of the anniversary of the death of one of the founders of the Vishnitz Chassidic movement.

The rabbi, whose name was not disclosed, said he previously asked his family not to call him “Rebbe” and that now he has decided to extend his request to the general community, but chassidim said he did not obligate them to act accordingly.

“The Vishnitz custom in the Days of Awe [Rosh HaShanah to Yom Kippur] is to look to the Rebbe, a title that at this time I do not deserve," the rabbi said. "I ask you not to do so and also not to do anything against Jewish law.

 

I ask everybody in this hall that when they stand for the Amidah prayer to be sure they do so towards the east,” in the direction of the site of the destroyed Holy Temples. The “Amidah” prayer is the central part of prayers in the morning, afternoon and evening.

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"קשה לי שמכנים אותי רבי", כך התוודה (שבת), האדמו"ר מוויז'ניץ בפני חסידיו.

האדמו"ר דיבר בסעודה שלישית בהיכל בית המדרש הגדול בקרית ויז'ניץ בבני-ברק ואמר:

"רבי יעקב קאפיל חסיד מייסד שושלת קאסוב-ויז'ניץ שהיום יום היארצייט, אמר שהאדמו"ר השאיר אריות. אני לא התנהגתי בצעירותי כמו שצריך לכן איני ראוי להיות רבי. זו המציאות.

"קשה לי שקוראים לי רבי הייתי מעדיף שיקראו לי רב, גם מבני משפחתי ביקשתי שלא יקראו לי רבי. אך את החסידים אני איני יכול לחייב,

"אבל עכשיו שרבינו זצ"ל איננו (אביו ה'ישועות משה' זצ"ל) יהיו אנשים שירצו לנסוע לרבי אמיתי - לדודי האדמו"ר ממונסי. אני מבקש שלא יעכבו בידם הרי הם רוצים רבי אמיתי".

"עוד הוסיף הרבי: היות שהמנהג בויז'ניץ בימים הנוראים להיות עם הפנים לרבי, כעת שאיני ראוי להיות רבי, אני מבקש שלא יעשו כן ולא שום דבר הנוגד את ההלכה. אני מבקש מאלו שעומדים ב'היכל' (בית המדרש הגדול שהורחב לאחרונה וחובר עם 'היכל הטישים' י.ג.) שיעמדו בשמונה עשרה לכיוון מזרח.

יצויין כי האדמו"ר כבר דרש כי לא יתווסף לתוארו 'כבוד קדושת' בעקבות כך הורד מהבלאנקים הרישמיים ומהפרוכות ראשי התיבות 'כ"ק'.

Navy SEAL’s firsthand account of Osama Bin Laden's death

A former Navy SEAL’s first hand account of the raid that took down Osama Bin Laden is about to hit bookstores and likely best sellerdom. It should not be published, says the Department of Defense.

The Pentagon has told Matt Bissonnette that he is violating a pledge to maintain secrecy unless granted permission to go public with events that transpired during his service. If true, Bisso nnette broke a code of honor.

Bissonnette’s attorney responded Friday that the non disclosure agreement he signed merely “invites” but did not require him to submit the book for review before publication.

However this unseemly dispute gets resolved, Americans will find a lot to like in “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden.”

Bissonnette wrote under the pseudonym Mark Owen, with an assist from Kevin Maurer. His identity was outed by the media in a wholly acceptable act of journalistic enterprise. A copy of the volume was provided by publisher Dutton.

The story traces Bissonnette’s life from learning to shoot .22s with his father in the Alaskan wilderness to Virginia Beach, where he returns after “one of the most important missions in U.S. military history,” and then into retirement from SEAL Team Six after service in Iraq, Afghanistan and helping to rescue an American hostage from Somali pirates on the Indian Ocean.

As for the Bin Laden raid, Bissonnette describes impressive action from planning to execution. The SOB didn’t have a chance.

Early reports focused on “contradictions” with the account of Bin Laden’s last moments issued by the government. Those had said that while Bin Laden was “not armed,” he did “resist,” according to White House statements after the operation.

In Bissonnette’s account, a man’s head emerged from a doorway as the SEALs were approaching up a stairway. The point man fired and hit the man, who fell back into the room, where Bissonnette and a fellow team member finished him. The man proved to be Bin Laden.

“He hadn’t even prepared a defense,” writes Bissonnette. “He had no intention of fighting.”

The differing circumstances are of no moment, except as a corrective to history if Bissonnette’s version is indeed accurate. What the lead man had in front of him was an enemy combatant who had to be killed for the safety of the team.

Noting that the book might be found to disclose classified information, the Pentagon has also raised the possibility of criminal prosecution. That would be a tragedy — one that is likely unwarranted. If the book contains secrets that demanded to be kept, they weren’t readily apparent.

As for the notion of a SEAL going commercial — “selling out,” as it were — it’s a little late to worry about that, since the White House cooperated with filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow on a movie about the raid, due out this fall.

NY State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. rails against NYPD treatment of his cop daughter

State Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. fired off a missive railing against NYPD brass, charging they were overly aggressive with the arrest of his daughter because of her family’s politics.

In the column, “What You Should Know” — which Diaz posts every few days on his official Senate website — he said cops went too far when they busted his daughter, NYPD Sgt. Damaris Diaz, for keying her boyfriend’s car.

“The incident is something very shameful,” Diaz (D-Bronx) said in the column posted Friday.

However, Diaz said authorities threw “the kitchen sink” at his daughter, a 19-year veteran of the force with an unblemished career, by charging her with a felony and suspending her without pay.

The longtime senator blamed the “overkill” on the fact that she is not only the sister of Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., but the daughter of a “bigmouth, controversial character who is opposed to same-sex marriage and abortion, and who is always criticizing the governor, the mayor and the establishment.”

He also went so far as to compare his daughter’s treatment — which included being placed in a holding cell for 24 hours — with that of the cops who killed an unarmed man in 1999.

Diaz’s statement said the four cops involved in the shooting “were not suspended without pay after shooting (more than 40) bullets into Amadou Diallo.”

The NYPD did not immediately comment on Diaz’s rant.

Damaris Diaz, 43, was charged with criminal mischief and aggravated harassment on Aug. 25 for scratching her cop boyfriend’s car and sending him several hostile text and voice messages while she was off duty.

nypd-sergeant-whos-daughter-of-state Ruben Diaz Arrested

De La Hoya accuser ordered to pay his legal bill

Angelica Cecora

NEW YORK — A woman who claimed to have been intimidated by boxer Oscar De La Hoya during a wild night at a New York City hotel has now been ordered to pay his legal bill, after a judge said her lawsuit was "frivolous" and malicious.

A Manhattan court ruled Friday that model Angelica Cecora owes $12,000 in legal fees to the former welterweight champion.

The judge had previously ruled that Cecora's lawsuit was meritless, and said it appeared to have been filed only to harass the boxer.

Cecora's lawsuit had accused De La Hoya of a variety of perverted behaviors during a night of consensual sex, but stopped short of accusing him of forcing her to do anything against her will.

Her lawyers say she will appeal.

ICE chief of staff, Suzanne Barr resigns after allegations of lewd conduct

A top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement has resigned following allegations by several subordinates of lewd behavior.

ICE Chief of Staff Suzanne Barr submitted her resignation in a letter, obtained by FoxNews.com, to ICE Director John Morton. She rejected the allegations against her as "unfounded" but said she didn't want to distract from the agency's mission.

"In recent weeks, I have been the focus of unfounded allegations designed to destroy my reputation, but of greater concern however, is the threat these allegations represent to the reputation of this agency and the men and women who proudly serve their country by advancing ICE's mission," Barr wrote.

"As such, I feel it is incumbent upon me to take every step necessary to prevent further harm to the agency and to prevent this from further distracting from our critical work. Therefore, it is with great regret that I submit my resignation as Chief of Staff for Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

The resignation comes nearly three weeks after Barr went on leave over the allegations.

The questions about Barr's conduct were first raised in a lawsuit filed by an ICE official against Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano -- the lawsuit, which alleged discrimination and retaliation, listed among the complaints that Barr cultivated a "frat-house"-style work environment.

That accusation was supplemented by two affidavits recounting incidents allegedly involving Barr in 2009.

In the affidavits, one of the ICE employees claimed that in October 2009, while in a discussion about Halloween plans, the individual witnessed Barr turn to a senior ICE employee and say: "You a sexy" (expletive deleted).

"She then looked at his crotch and asked, 'How long is it anyway?'" according to the affidavit.

"Several employees laughed nervously," the affidavit said. The names of the workers making the claims were redacted.

The other account recalled a trip to Colombia in late 2009, attended by Morton, Barr and Ray Parmer, who is ICE special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.

The account said Parmer and Barr were "drinking heavily" at the house of the deputy chief of mission for the U.S. Embassy there. It said Parmer took the BlackBerry of another employee, Peter Vincent, and sent "lewd messages" to Barr.

The affidavit went on to say: "During this party, Suzanne Barr approached me and offered to" perform oral sex.

In her letter to Morton, Barr defended herself and said the accusations are not true.

"With time I am confident that the truth will prevail. The allegations against me are unfounded and without any merit, and I am confident that my reputation will be restored," she wrote.

"I am equally confident that the agency will continue to flourish and grow.

The men and women who risk their lives will continue to enjoy great success and I hope that my resignation will allow them to again focus on that which is most important."

Before joining ICE in January 2009, Barr worked under Napolitano while she was governor of Arizona, serving as director of legislative affairs.

Republican lawmakers have taken a keen interest in the case, questioning what it says about the culture at ICE and DHS.

"The resignation of Suzanne Barr raises the most serious questions about management practices and personnel policies at the Department of Homeland Security," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., said in a statement.

He said his committee would "intensify" its review of the case and "DHS personnel practices across the board."

Official: Obama Will Make Bibi Pay After Elections

Israeli security officials on Saturday tried to downplay the Pentagon's decision to significantly scale back its participation in a joint military exercise with Israel next month, but some government officials said the decision came as a response to the growing tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the Obama administration.

"This is the Obama administration's response to the dinner party Netanyahu held in (Mitt) Romney's honor," a senior member of the political-security cabinet told Ynet, while another official said the Pentagon's decision "isn’t boosting deterrence and is not making the Iranians sweat.

 

"Regardless of the exercise, the relations between Israel and the US have soured," another minister said, while another added cynically that "our relationship has never been better.

"The US elections are in two months, and there is no doubt that President Barack Obama, if he is reelected, will make Netanyahu pay for his behavior," said the security cabinet member. "It will not pass quietly."

 

Other officials in Jerusalem said Washington is trying to send a message that Israel will not drag it into war, certainly not before the elections. The Americans were enraged by Israel's repeated threats to launch a solo military attack on Iran's nuclear sites, and top US General Martin Dempsey's recent statement that he does not "want to be complicit" if Israel chooses to attack was carefully worded.

Officials said that while Jerusalem has received the message, the Americans' conduct is leading Iran to believe that it is safe at least until the US elections.

"This is why the Iranians are issuing threatening statements against the US," one official argued. "Washington's hesitant policy is making the Iranians feel freer to move ahead with the nuclear program. This is not how you create deterrence to avoid a military operation."

The joint military drill is scheduled to begin in September and conclude in mid-November. "Israel has no idea why the Americans decided to reduce the number of troops it will send to the drill," a security official said. "The ties between the US and Israeli armies are strong, and we would have known if the reduction had something to do with any tensions between Jerusalem and Washington."

Another security official also rejected the notion that the Pentagon's decision to scale back its participation in the military exercise was meant as a message to Israel: "There are various reasons for decision, but they have nothing to do with the mounting tensions between Jerusalem and Washington. The drill will still be the largest these armies have ever conducted."

According to Time Magazine, the US slashed the number of American troops who were slated to take part in the drill by more than 60%. Instead of the approximately 5,000 troops originally assigned to "Austere Challenge 12," as the exercise is dubbed, the Pentagon will send only 1,500 servicemen and perhaps as few as 1,200.

The number and the potency of missile interception systems that were to be used in the maneuvers were also reduced. Patriot anti-missile systems will arrive in Israel as planned, the crews that can operate them will not. Instead of two Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense warships, only one will be deployed – and even that is uncertain, Time said, citing officials in both the US and Israeli militaries.

President Obama: US downsizes military drill with Israel

A massive US-Israeli military exercise that was scheduled for this fall amid mounting concerns over an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities might not be as grand as it was initially expected to be, with Washington deciding to significantly scale back on its participation in the drill, Time Magazine reported on Friday, citing Israeli and American sources.

In January, the two countries decided to postpone the drill, but while it is expected to go forward this October – weeks prior to the presidential elections – it won't be nearly the same event.

According to the report, the US slashed the number of American troops who were slotted to travel to Israel by more than two-thirds; instead of the approximately 5,000 troops originally announced for Austere Challenge 12, as the exercise is dubbed, the Pentagon will send only 1,500 service members, and perhaps as few as 1,200.

The number and the potency of missile interception systems that were to be used in the maneuvers were also reduced. Patriot anti-missile systems will arrive in Israel as planned, the crews that can operate them won't. Instead of two Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense warships, only one is to be deployed – and even that is not certain, Time said, citing officials in both the US and Israeli militaries.

The report postulated that a smaller US deployment may make it more difficult for Israel launch a pre-emptive strike on the Islamic Republic.

"Basically what the Americans are saying is, ‘We don’t trust you,’” a senior Israeli military official told the magazine.

Curbing strike aspirations

A Pentagon spokesperson refused to comment on the reduced contingent, noting that the specifics are classified. But Commander Wendy L. Snyder of the US military said in an e-mail that Israel has been informed of the changes.

The official explanation was budget restrictions; however, the decision coincided with growing tensions between the Obama Administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government on Israel’s persistent threats attack Iran.

Israeli analyst Efraim Inbar told Time that the rationale for the retreat was quite clear.

“I think they don’t want to insinuate that they are preparing something together with the Israelis against Iran – that’s the message,” says Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. “Trust? We don’t trust them. They don’t trust us. All these liberal notions! Even a liberal president like Obama knows better.”

Assistant secretary of state Andrew J. Shapiro last November branded Austere Challenge as “by far the largest and most significant exercise in US-Israeli history.”

According to the report, the goal was to “improve interoperability” between American and Israeli anti-missile systems – which are already significantly linked. The US has intalled a radar in the Negev, pointed toward Iran and linked to Israel’s Arrow anti-missile system.

While the radar is so sensitive it can detect a softball thrown into the air from thousands of miles away, only American officials are allowed to see what’s on the screens, a safeguard likely meant to prevent Israel from striking Iran on its own – after all, the US' equipment can detect an Iranian missile six to seven minutes earlier than Israel’s best radar.

US Joint Chiefs chairman General Martin Dempsey told reporters in London this week that a military strike could damage but not destroy Iran’s nuclear capability, and added, “I don’t want to be complicit if they choose to do it.”

On Friday, the White House on reiterated President Barack Obama's commitment to Israel's security, claiming that the US' ties with Israel have never been closer.

"I can simply say that, under President Obama, cooperation with Israel between our military and intelligence communities has never been closer," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.

"Assistance provided to Israel by the United States has never been greater than it has been under President Obama."

NY State trooper injured in helicopter incident

A State Police helicopter made a hard landing in Steuben County, N.Y.

A New York state trooper was injured when the police helicopter he was piloting made a hard landing due to mechanical problems.

The incident happened at approximately 11 a.m. on Friday near Bath in Steuben County off Interstate 86.

Police say the pilot was returning from a search for a missing person in an Aviation Bell 407 helicopter when he experienced an in-flight mechanical emergency and lost power.

The trooper made a controlled descent, which resulted in a hard landing.

The trooper suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.