Over 100 prominent Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) lay leaders and supporters from the United States and Panama were accompanied by over 50 IDF officers as they toured the Old City of Krakow, Poland on April 9th as part of the ten-day FIDF “From Holocaust to Independence” journey to Poland and Israel. more

On the connecting path between Har Herzl, Jerusalem’s military cemetery, and Yad Vashem, is a monument for the “Last Remnants”; 275 survivors of the death and concentration camps of the Holocaust, who managed to reach the shores of Israel, donned the uniform of the I.D.F., and fell in the War of Independence, leaving no family behind. Their families were wiped out earlier .... Menachem Ungar, hy”d, was one of these .... more

The primary topic of our double parsha focuses on the affliction of tzaraat, its diagnosis and prognosis. The attention is primarily on the kohen, who is given detailed instructions for how to detect what is or is not tzaraat. He is also given tremendous autonomy in deciding whether the mark he is examining is tzaraat. Interestingly, there is no mashgiach monitoring to see that what the kohen declares is “correct.” He makes the call. more

With the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel this coming week, we are once again faced with the annual rants concerning whether to say Hallel with a blessing, or not to say Hallel at all. more

The Jewish Star invites you to write about your community, your school, your shul, any topic that ties to the Jewish community. Get a byline, see your name in print and enhance your resume. more

It’s incredible how one Jewish woman speaking to one Long Island synagogue’s men’s club can generate the wrath of so many progressive-first “Jewish” organizations. As soon as the word spread that Pamela Geller, blogger and fighter of radical Islam, would be appearing at Great Neck Synagogue April 14, the PC Police began an e-mail and phone campaign seeking to get the talk canceled. more

A new, need-based scholarship has been created, allocated specifically to Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC) graduates who are applying to Yeshiva University, in the amount of $80,500. The scholarship fortifies the special relationship between HANC and Yeshiva, of vital importance to the gift donors, Beryl and Doreen Eckstein. more

Widespread protests from Cardozo Law School alumni and supporters of Israel are flooding the phones and emails of the school in response to a student journal’s intent to present an award to former president Jimmy Carter on April 10th. The Thirteenth Annual International Advocate for Peace Award 2013 is scheduled to be presented to Carter this Wednesday at a ceremony to be held between 3 PM and 8 PM at the Cardozo School of Law, Jacob Burns Moot Court Room. more

Two Hatzalah ambulances are now being housed on West Broadway and Forest Avenue at what was previously a gas and repair station, thus eliminating any previous zoning or community objections. more

After only eight years in Israel as an American oleh, Rabbi Dov Lipman has leaped to the top there to sit in the Knesset as a member of the Israeli government in the new Yesh Atid party. MK Lipman returned to the United States this week for a visit, speaking Wednesday evening, April 10th at Yeshiva University’s Furst Hall and in the Five Towns on Shabbat, April 13th. more