The Nation’s Largest JEWISH CLASSIFIEDS (page 45)
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ewish Voice J Deuteronomy 32:1
M AY T H E E A RT H H E A R T H E WO R D S O F M Y M O U TH
December 4th, 2009 | 17 Kislev 5770
Netanyahu Blocks Construction in Jerusalem
Vol. 10, Iss. 44
www.JewishVoiceNY.com
Historic CUNY Ground Breaking at Ground Zero
BY JEWISH VOICE STAFF A stream of recent reports indicates that Prime Minster Binyamin Netanyahu is suspending construction and growth in the capital city of Jerusalem, in contradiction of his statements. he latest report came from reporter Ariel Kahane in Makor Rishon. Kahane wrote Monday that Netanyahu turned down plans to build 130 units in Har Homa and 30 more in Pisgat Ze’ev. Both are large neighborhoods built on land liberated by Israel in 1967. Kahane notes that Minister of Housing and Construction Ariel Attias (Shas) presented the plans to Netanyahu some ten days ago. The plans also included 20 units in Ramot, and in the end, the plans for Ramot were the only plans for which Netanyahu allowed Atias to issue a tender. Ramot predates both Pisgat Ze’ev and Har Homa. By withholding the tender for Pisgat Ze’ev, home to some 40,000 Jews, Netanyahu essentially overturned a mini-security cabinet decision to continue to build there.
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Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Manhattan Borough President Scott T. Stringer, City University Chancellor Dr. Matthew Goldstein, Dormitory Authority of the State of New York Executive Director Paul T. Williams Jr., and Judy Rapfogel, Chief of Staff to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, broke ground earlier this week, on a new $259 million Fiterman Hall in Lower Manhattan for the Borough of Manhattan Community College. BY JEWISH VOICE STAFF The 15-story Fiterman Hall building adjacent to the World Trade Center site was severely damaged in the September 11th attacks. The new state-of-the-art facility will be an environmentally friendly building with 96 classrooms, office space, and community gathering areas, a small conference center, art gallery and a cafe. The building is expected to be completed in 2012. iterman Hall’s reconstruction will be the latest milestone in Lower Manhattan’s remarkable comeback, and its transformation into a vibrant, 24/7, family-friendly community,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “This new world-class academic building is an investment not only in Borough of Manhattan Community College, but in the students and faculty that will occupy the building
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and the people that live and work in Lower Manhattan.” “The start of construction on the new Fiterman Hall is a significant milestone for both the BMCC family and lower Manhattan,” said Governor Paterson. “The state-of-the-art facility will provide the space needed to support a center of learning and will symbolize the resurgence of an area devastated by terror. I applaud the many individuals and organizations that committed to this project and extend my heartfelt congratulations to the BMCC students, faculty and community.” “This is a long-awaited day in the reconstruction of my Lower Manhattan community,” said Speaker Silver. “And it is an especially gratifying day for me, as the careful deconstruction and reconstruction of Fiterman Hall has been at the forefront of my efforts to bring my hometown community back from the devastation of September 11. I look forward with great anticipation to the day when we celebrate the grand re-opening of Fiterman Hall.”
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Swiss Voters Ban Moslem Minarets
Swiss referendum poster calling to ban minarets. BY SHMUEL BEN ELIEZER Swiss voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on minarets on Sunday, barring construction of the iconic mosque towers in a vote that put Switzerland at the forefront of a European backlash against a growing Muslim population.
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uslim groups in Switzerland and abroad condemned the vote as biased and anti-Islamic. Business groups said the decision will hurt Switzerland's international standing and damage relations with Muslim nations as well as wealthy investors who bank, travel and shop there. "The Swiss have failed to give a clear signal for diversity, freedom of religion and human rights," said Omar Al-Rawi, integration representative of the Islamic Denomination in Austria, which said its reaction was "grief and deep disappointment."
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