Author: David M. Rock

YNet News – by Andrew Friedman

A US court has thrown out a billion-dollar lawsuit aimed at slashing funding to Israeli charities and institutions in the West Bank, ruling these organizations comply with Treasury Department regulations for non-profit status and noting the attempt to block funding was a political question that is outside the jurisdiction of the courts.

The suit, Al-Tamimi v. Adelson, charged 49 defendants—including philanthropist Sheldon Adelson, Texas Pastor John Hagee, media mogul Haim Saban, non-profits such as the Hebron Fund and corporate entities such as Bank Leumi, Motorola and other companies that provide services to the IDF—with violating both international law and US policy by supporting Israeli ventures in the West Bank.   Continue reading “US court throws out Palestinian suit against businessmen supporting IDF, settlements”

Jerusalem Post

Pepe the Frog hopped out from the virtual world into a real-life legal dispute.

Matt Furie, the cartoonist who created Pepe the Frog, took legal action against Eric Hauser, the author of an “alt-right” children’s book that uses the Pepe character.

Pepe the Frog first appeared in the early 2000s and had no political or ideological connotations. Beginning in late 2015, however, people and groups associated with the alt-right adopted the cartoon amphibian as their own and used his image to espouse racist, Islamophobic and antisemitic ideas.   Continue reading “‘Alt-Right’ Children’s Book Profits To Go To Muslim Advocacy Group”

Jerusalem Post

A movie about Megan Phelps-Roper, who left the viciously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church after a Twitter correspondence with a prominent Jewish blogger, is in the works.

The screenplay for the film, with the working title “This Above All,” will be written by Nick Hornby. Reese Witherspoon, Bruna Papandrea and Bill Pohlad reportedly have been tapped to produce the film, according to the Hollywood Reporter.  Continue reading “Turning Away From Hate Thanks To A Jewish Tweeter”

Jerusalem Post

The Civil Administration registered to the Jewish National Fund 87.6 hectares (216 acres) in the Kfar Etzion area, thereby ending a 70-year acquisition process.

The land had previously been considered survey property whose land ownership status was unknown. It is located both within and immediately outside the lines of the Kfar Etzion settlement in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank.   Continue reading “IDF Registers 216 Acres Of Jewish Land In The West Bank”

Jerusalem Post

Israel has less oversight of its nuclear program than other Western democracies, a study by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, which was obtained exclusively by The Jerusalem Post, concludes.

A summary of decades of work on the issue by Avner Cohen, a Professor of nonproliferation studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and a Senior Fellow at CNS, and CNS Davis fellow Brandon Mok, but updated with recent developments, the study is being publicized just days before the issue of oversight goes before the High Court of Justice on Wednesday.   Continue reading “Israel Nuclear Program Has Less Oversight Than Other Democracies”

Calling on Trenchers to find video evidence of a North Korean missile flying over Japan uploaded on or after 8/28/2017.

Sac Bee – by Teresa Welsh

Lawmakers from across the country are trying to build support in Congress to pressure President Donald Trump to allow nearly 300,000 immigrants from Honduras and El Salvador to stay in the country, adding to a growing pile of requests facing a White House that is trying to reduce, not expand, legal immigration.

Both Republicans and Democrats in the House are collecting signatures on a letter to acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke that calls on the administration to extend protections for people these lawmakers say are now part of the community.   Continue reading “Lawmakers pressure Trump to let Central Americans stay in the US”

Daily News

ADELANTO >> Outside a desert jail Wednesday evening, there were tears. Embraces.

Six months after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez while he took his daughters to school one February morning, he was a free man.

On Wednesday, an immigration judge ordered him to be released on $6,000 bond, bail was posted and he was released from the Adelanto Detention Center.   Continue reading “Undocumented dad detained by ICE since February released, reunites with family”

AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Attorney General Jeff Sessions told local police departments they could once again have access to free grenade launchers and large-caliber weapons cast off from the U.S. military, law enforcement groups checked another item off their wish lists.

Seven months into President Donald Trump’s administration, police groups are reveling in what they see as newfound support from the federal government. The administration, which touts a “law and order” agenda, has revived a controversial program that lets local police seize cash and property with federal help and pulled back on federal scrutiny of local law enforcement.   Continue reading “In Trump, local law enforcement sees a steadfast ally”

New York Times – by Matthew Haag

The mayor of Houston imposed a curfew in his city on Tuesday, ordering nearly everyone off the streets from midnight to 5 a.m. in an effort to stop “small-scale looting” and other crimes following prodigious flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey. Houston has a population of 2.3 million people spread across nearly 670 square miles, making the curfew among the largest and most expansive in United States history.

In times of natural disasters or violent unrest, American cities have imposed curfews to try to bring order during chaos. The following curfews were some of the largest or most significant in the country’s history.

Continue reading “Houston Curfew Follows Many in Big Cities Facing Disaster or Unrest”

NPR – by James Doubek

Tens of thousands of German residents in Frankfurt are being told to evacuate by Sunday morning for authorities to defuse a World War II-era bomb.

A Frankfurt police spokesperson said as many as 70,000 people could be affected, according to The Local Germany, which would make it Germany’s largest evacuation since World War II.   Continue reading “Frankfurt Orders 70,000 To Evacuate To Defuse WWII Bomb”

app.com – by Russ Zimmer, June, 2015

Brad Kieserman, the point person for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s investigation into allegations that superstorm Sandy homeowners were cheated by their flood insurers, is stepping down.

Kieserman, who had been elevated to head of FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program earlier this year, is departing for an executive position with the Red Cross. A FEMA spokeswoman confirmed the impending exit to the Asbury Park Press. It was first reported by Newsday. Kieserman’s last day will be June 13.   Continue reading “FEMA losing head of Sandy insurance fraud probe”

NPR – by Richard Gonzales

As Americans are opening their wallets and donating to relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, one of the most prominent charities is the American Red Cross.

But donors might be surprised to learn the Red Cross won’t, or can’t say, what percentage of their dollars will go directly to helping the victims of the storm.

Dating back to 2014, NPR and Pro Publica have reported that the Red Cross misstated how donor dollars are spent.   Continue reading “Red Cross Exec Doesn’t Know What Portion Of Donations Go To Harvey Relief”