The Nation’s Largest JEWISH CLASSIFIEDS (PAGE 45)
the
ewish Voice J Deuteronomy 32:1
See Special Chanukah Features in This Issue
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 11th, 2009 | 24 Kislev 5770
ISRAEL’S JUSTICE MINISTER: RETURN TO TORAH DESPITE SECULAR PRESSURE
Vol. 10, Iss. 45
www.JewishVoiceNY.com
TO CELEBRATE CHANUKAH, NEW YORK CITY LIGHTS THE WORLD’S LARGEST MENORAH
HEVESI HIJINKS HITS HOME
BY GIL HOFFMAN
Justice Minister Yaacov Neeman came under f ire, after apparently expressing hope that the Torah will soon motivate the state’s current legal system.
The 32-foot high, gold colored, 4,800-pound steel structure will be lit nightly with genuine oil lamps.
ormer justice minister and current opposition leader and Kadima chair Tzipi Livni told Army Radio that such sentiments should "be troubling to every citizen in Israel," and expressed confidence that Israel's characteristics enable a healthy blend between temporal law and halacha. Another former justice minister, Yossi Beilin, urged Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to f ire Neeman following his 'Torah' statement. According to Beilin, "A justice minister who advocates an Israeli theocracy needs to leave his post immediately." Kadima MK Orit Zuaretz said that Neeman's comments "undermine the foundations of the value system and the laws of a democratic country." She said that if he meant what he said, Neeman should reconsider his position since his remarks are damaging to "entire communities and to the
The World's Largest Chanukah Menorah will be lit on Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, near Central Park, between the Plaza and the Pierre Hotels.
F
BY JEWISH VOICE
he first candle will be lit on Friday, December 11, at 3:40 PM. Menorah lighting will follow on all evenings of Chanukah at 5:30 PM (Friday at about 3:45 PM; Saturday night at 8:30 PM). The World's Largest Chanukah Menorah, sponsored by the Lubavitch Youth Organization, was specially designed by world-renowned artist Yaacov Agam. Mr. Agam's design was inspired by a hand drawing by the Rambam (Maimonides) of the original Menorah in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
T
Continued on page 4
The Menorah stands as a symbol of freedom and democracy for all of mankind, said Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman, Director, Lubavitch Youth Organization. It celebrates good over evil, democracy over terrorism, light over darkness, freedom over oppression. The 32-foot high, gold colored, 4,800-pound steel structure will be lit nightly with genuine oil lamps. Specially designed glass chimneys will protect the Chanukah lights from the Central Park winds. Due to the height of the Menorah, it will be lit nightly with the help of a Con Edison "cherry-picker" crane that will lift the lighters to the Menorah’s Height. "May the Chanukah lights usher in the eternal lights of the great redemption and a new world of peace and tranquility, happiness and harmony between man and man and between nation and nation," said Rabbi Butman.
BY MAXINE DOVERE
Disgraced former New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi has been implicated in a "pay-to-play" scandal following revelations that he accepted multiple luxury vacations to Israel and Italy from California venture capitalist Elliot Broidy who recently pleaded guilty to giving $1 million in “gifts” to several elected officials. he New York Post reported that a source indicated that Democrat Hevesi, who resigned in disgrace in 2006 after pleading guilty to using a state employee as a chauffeur and servant for his ill wife, accepted trips valued at $75,000 beginning in 2003. Elliot Broidy, chairman of Markstone Capital Group, an investment firm that managed $250 million in state pension-fund assets, provided the trips. The findings disclosed for the first time that Hevesi, whose former aides
T
Continued on page 7
Your wife needs help after her stroke and she can’t even ask for it.
Now what? With skilled therapists to rebuild her speech, movement and memory, the V i s i t i n g N u r s e S e r v i c e o f N e w Y o r k is the right care now. Visit V N S Y . O R G / A N S W E R S or call 1 - 8 8 8 - V S N - 1 - C A L L .
THE RIGHT CARE NOW™