Yom Ha’Atzmaut
Israel’s Independence Day is celebrated on the fifth day of the month of Iyar, which is the Hebrew date of the formal establishment of the State of Israel, when members of the “provisional government” read and signed a Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv. This year, Yom Ha’atzmaut begins on MAY 5 and ends on the 6th. In Israel it’s a formal holiday.
Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat
Special plans are afoot for Israel’s 66th birthday celebration. On May 5, the theme of the ceremony kicking off Israeli Memorial Day and Independence Day events on Mount Herzl is “The Era of Women: Achievements and Challenges.” Independence Day torches, featured annually at the official state ceremony, will be lit exclusively by 14 notable women this year.
For those who have lost a parent, life’s joyous milestones can seem like a double-edged sword. There are times to celebrate, yet those times are often coupled with a sense of loss.
Anti-Semitism rises in Eastern Europe, daily. Neo-Nazis lead supporters of Ultra Nationalist Parties in Hungary, Ukraine and Russia, promoting racist, prejudice and anti-Semitic views. The immediate need to stop fascism from growing is evident. However, hate breeds hate so rather than reciprocating the violent tactics Neo-Nazis practice, a more peaceful and effective method to counter their campaigns is to generate one of remembrance.
Orthorexia: Health Food Junkies
Mary Anne Cohen
Many people eat rigidly and with restriction, constantly obsessed about getting thinner. Their eating is all about control. Others overeat or binge regardless of whether they are hungry or full. Their eating is all about losing control. Still others yo-yo back and forth between these two extremes.
The final New York budget bill passed on April 1, 2014 has many significant trusts and estates related provisions. For wealthy clients, there is potentially an estate tax increase in spite of an increase in the New York estate tax exemption.
Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, who has always fought for legislation benefitting yeshivot and non-public schools, was instrumental in assisting the Sephardic Community Federation (SCF) and its coalition partner, OU-Teach NYS, by making them aware of an enormous opportunity which could allow the Jewish community to take advantage of new legislation in this year’s state budget.
OHEL’s Legislative Breakfast
Over 100 community leaders applauded city and state legislative leaders and elected officials who were honored for their dedication at OHEL’s Children’s Home and Family Services Inaugural Legislative Breakfast. David Mandel, CEO of OHEL, presented Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito with OHEL’s Appreciation Award, saying, “We expect leaders to lead, but what is so special about Speaker Mark-Viverito, is that she leads with compassion.” “OHEL truly serves the entire community,” said Speaker Mark-Viverito. “We, in the City Council, look forward to partnering with OHEL as it serves thousands of people every day.”
Imagine Academy recently held a fun and exciting carnival. The students worked hard to prepare the games and decorations. They set up the booths, which included spin art, ring toss, potato sack races and a fishing pond.
Barkai Yeshivah recently hosted their 1st Annual Art Fair. It was with great pride that they exhibited the exceptional artwork created by their students.
Now You Can Read Excerpts From This Riveting Book
By Sam Domb In IMAGE Magazine. If you missed any of the previous chapters, you can read them at samdomb.com or imageusa.com.
He Hath Not Let Me Die
Stealing Across the Border
“For your own sake, therefore, be most careful.”
Deuteronomy 4:15
A small motion in the region of my arm awakened me. I opened my eyes and saw my friend, his face again radiating like that of an angel.
Having woken up before me, he sat by my side, holding my hand. He seemed to have an alarm clock hidden inside him. Perhaps he really was an angel.
“You should get up; it’s beginning to get dark and we have to set out,” he whispered in my ear.
How long does your makeup stay on? Wouldn’t it be nice if it stayed on and you didn’t have to think about it? I get countless calls, all year round, from women asking how to make their makeup stay on from the time they put it on in the morning to the time they get home at night, so keeping it on for all of Shabbat and holidays seems impossible.
Unlike any of the programs identified today as “school choice,” such as opportunity scholarships, charter schools and tax credits, universal school choice transfers control of education back to parents, where it belongs, by allowing public education funds to follow the child to the school chosen by his/her parents. These funds—substantially less than current costs but sufficient to pay for a quality education at non-public schools—are made available to every parent in the form of a voucher that can be cashed only by a qualified school. With parental control comes responsibility— a prerequisite to success in any endeavor.
Terrorism sponsors who fly in for the UN General Assembly. In the decades since the UN’s establishment, we’ve put up with—among others—Muammar Gadhafi, the deceased Libyan dictator, Robert Mugabe, the mass-murderer who still presides over Zimbabwe, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president and notorious Holocaust denier. We do so because, as a civilized participant in the international community, we are compelled to take a deep breath and respect the very same principles of diplomacy that the Iranian regime violated so obscenely when it stormed our embassy in Tehran.
As the State Department’s lawyers deliberate over Aboutalebi’s visa application, hopefully they will bear two key points prominently in mind. Firstly, that former President Jimmy Carter, in his State of the Union address in 1980, categorized the hostage crisis as an act of international terrorism. Secondly, that Aboutalebi, by his own admission, was present at the embassy with other leaders of the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line, the terrorist group behind the hostage taking.
