The decision by Israel’s cabinet on Sunday to approve the release of 104 Palestinian prisoners who were convicted of committing terrorist acts prior to the Oslo Accords in 1993 was strongly criticized this week by a noted Five Towns educator. “On the surface, the idea of releasing yet more Palestinian terrorists with blood on their hands appears to be a foolish error,” Rabbi Yotav Eliach, principal of Rambam Mesivta High School in Lawrence and teacher at Rambam and Midreshet Shalhevet in Valley Stream told The Jewish Star. “Israel has been down this road before, and we all know that it ends badly.” more

In a move to confront the agunah (“chained woman”) crisis in a creative way that also reaffirms the marital commitment of Jewish couples, an Orthodox congregation in Merrick held a post-nuptial/pre-nuptial document signing celebration on Tu B’Av, a day on the Jewish calendar with special significance for marriage and Jewish unity. more

With Tisha B’Av now safely behind us, can Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur be not too far ahead? The High Holiday season will occur on the cusp of Labor Day weekend, one of the earliest such seasonal placements in memory. Due to this scheduling oddity, I have deemed this a major factor in the early consideration of the literary aspects that play an important part in the observance of these holidays. more

JERUSALEM, Israel — They came from across the United States and Canada — 231 of them, aged two months to 78 years and ranging across the Jewish spectrum from secular to charedi —united in one thought: We are going home. This week’s Nefesh B’Nefesh flight, the group’s 49th such transport, carried NBN’s 35,000th oleh (immigrant) to Israel. The passengers, who came from thouoghout the United States and Canada — including West Hempstead, Great Neck, Queens and Brooklyn — personify the ideal of kibbutz galuyot (the ingathering of the exiles), moving to Israel to pursue their dreams of living in the Promised Land. more

EU bans trade with ‘parts’ of Israel The European Union on Friday will issue a directive to all of its member nations that bans cooperation with Israel in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, all territories acquired by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. more

Tired of battling for the legitimacy of the chassidic movement against the mitnagdim, Rebbe Menachem Mendel Vitebsk decided to make aliya in mid-life, to live his remaining years in Eretz Yisrael. more

It is a testament to the variability of Jewish life in America that the summertime fast of Tisha B’Av is for observant Jews a time of momentous communal mourning, and for many others a normal and unremarkable day. more

A video on terrorist attacks by the OneFamily fund and a Powerpoint presentation bookended a Tisha B’Av lecture by Naftali Moses, memorializing his son, one of eight young people murdered in a 2008 pre-Purim terrorist attack at Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem. more

JCC appoints Joel Block as exec director From JCC of Greater Five Towns The JCC of the Greater Five Towns has announced the appointment of Joel Block as executive director. Block will provide strategic direction for the JCC and rely on his expertise in program development and community relations to expand JCC’s curriculum, strengthen its community ties and encourage overall growth. more

The threat of missionaries to the Jewish community hits home next on Tuesday, when a worldwide consciousness-raising campaign begins in Woodmere. Tuesday’s event will raise interest and funds for a film showcasing the work of Rabbi Daniel Asor, a baal teshuva (returnee to Judaic observance) and well-known affiliate of Yad Lachim, an organization that undermines the efforts of missionaries to convert Jews to Christianity. more