Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit at the Kotel

The powerful Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit at the Kotel took an impromptu turn when a frum Jew called to him.
By COLlive reporter

Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit to the Kotel in Jerusalem Tuesday night with an entourage of Israeli and Russian security personnel.


Originally scheduled for the afternoon, the visit was postponed to 2:00 AM due to security considerations.


He was accompanied by Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar and his colleague Rabbi Alexander Barada of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia. They were greeted by Kotel Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz.


At the Western Wall, the President offered a prayer and recited Tehillim from a Russian-Hebrew prayer book.


Despite the late hour, bystanders were still around and one of them called out in Russian, "Welcome President Putin." He got a smile in response.


Later, after visiting the Kotel tunnels, Putin broke away from his security circle and approached the man who had called out to him. 


Leaning over the police barricade, the former KGB officer began to chat with the frum Jewish man who apparently is an immigrant from the former Soviet Union.


The man related the importance of the Kotel to the Jewish nation, and mentioned the Beis Hamikdash and Shlomo Hamelech who first built it.


"That's exactly the reason I came here - to pray for the Temple to be built again," Putin responded, according to a report on the Bechadrei Chareidim website.


"I wish you that your prayers will be received," the president added and warmly shook the man's hand.


A person who witnessed the 3 minute conversation, commented "I guess (Putin) is not as closed and tough as we thought." 

source: 

Arab Rioters Stone Temple Mount Tourists after Muslim Incitement

 Arabs hurl stones in Temple Mount

Police arrest 18 suspects in connection to riots in Jerusalem's Temple Mount Compound

Arab Rioters Stone Temple Mount Tourists after Muslim Incitement

Dozens of Arab stone tourists and police on the Temple Mount, a day after a former Muslim Mufti warned of a possible “break-in” by Jews.

Arabs stone police, tourists on Temple Mount

Israel news photo: Flash 9 0 (archive)

Dozens of Arab stoned tourists and police on the Temple Mount Sunday morning, a day after a former Muslim Mufti warned of a possible “break-in” by Jews.

Police arrested three of the stone-throwers, and no one was injured. The holy site remains open to visitors.

Police closed the Temple Mount to non-Muslims one day last week after an apparent political prank that featured posters of Jewish Leadership faction leader Moshe Feiglin calling for the destruction of Arab mosques on the Temple Mount and building the Third Temple.

Sunday’s violence may have been prompted by a sermon on Saturday by former Jerusalem mufti Ekrema Sabri, who warned that alleged Israeli extremists “might implement their threats to break into the Al-Aqsa mosque tomorrow (Sunday) morning.”

He urged all Arabs and Muslims to save the Al-Aqsa mosque and support the people of Jerusalem in dealing with what he called the “Israeli conspiracy against the city and its holy places.”

Ekrema Sabri was appointed by former PA Chairman Yasser Arafat as the Mufti of Jerusalem and also served as the supreme religious authority in the PA.

During the Al-Aqsa or Second Intifada, also known as the Oslo War that began in 2000, Sabri expressed support for terrorist suicide attacks, and police questioned him a year layer after he met in Lebanon with Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Anti-Jewish incitement by the Palestinian Authority has increased markedly in the past year as the PA continues to try to claim sovereignty over the site, the holiest place in Judaism.

Many Muslim clerics have preached that Jews have no connection to the site and that the First and Second Temples never existed.

The Palestinian Authority has removed tons of dirt from the Temple Mount compound in an effort to prevent discoveries that would reveal artifacts from the era of the Jewish Temples. source:

“There was some provocation going on,” Feiglin told The Jewish Press.  “Someone published a flyer in my name calling for the destruction of the mosques (on the Temple Mount) and before I managed to do anything about it, the entire world media was there basically, including al-Jazeera and many European and Israeli media, and the police got scared so they closed the mountain.”

“I think the situation where Israel is walking on egg shells in everything that has any connection to the Temple Mount just shows that the Temple Mount is not really in our hands, and because of that, we are losing the rest of the country,” Feiglin said.  “The Temple Mount is the core, the key, it is the heart of the body of the land of Israel.  That’s why it’s so important to keep our connection to the place and full Israeli sovereignty over the place.”

Feiglin, who earned 25 percent of votes in the Likud party primaries on January 31 against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, goes up onto the Temple Mount every month on the 19^th of the Jewish month.  He urged police to investigate the making of the posters.

Watch: Arabs hurl stones in Temple Mount

Police arrest 18 suspects in connection to riots in Jerusalem's Temple Mount Compound

Arabs stone police, tourists on Temple Mount
*Police arrested a total of 18 people suspected of hurling stones at security forces and tourists at the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem on Sunday. Watch a video documenting the violence: source:

Sikh sues Leno over Golden Temple Romney Joke

Local Sikh sues Jay Leno over Romney joke

A Sikh businessman in Bakersfield has filed a libel lawsuit against comedian Jay Leno after branding a joke from his "The Tonight Show" monologue offensive to the Sikh community.

Randeep Dhillon said it's not the first time Leno has cracked a joke at the Sikh community's expense.

"We cannot accept this," he said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "Nobody should be able to do this, no matter if it's media or politicians or anyone. Our religion should be respected as much as all religions."

A furor began when Leno made fun of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's wealth on Jan. 19. The segment showed a picture of a large, shiny gold building and joked that it was the former Massachusetts governor's "summer home."

The picture actually was of the Golden Temple of Amritsar in India, which according to the lawsuit, is sacred to the Sikh religion. India subsequently used diplomatic channels to officially complain to the United States government, according to numerous media reports. The U.S. State Department responded by saying the joke was clearly satire and protected by the First Amendment, the reports say.

Some Sikh leaders are now calling for a boycott of "The Tonight Show." In Bakersfield, which has a large Sikh community, a downtown AM/PM mini market co-owned by Dhillon erected twin banners on Wednesday that read: "Shame on You Jay Leno & NBC."

Dhillon's lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, contends that "the publication and broadcast was libelous on its face and clearly exposes plaintiff, other Sikhs and their religion to hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy because it falsely portrays the holiest place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort owned by a non-Sikh."

The lawsuit goes on to say that as a result, Dhillon suffered "loss to his reputation, shame, mortification and hurt feelings all to his general damage."

The complaint seeks unspecified general, special and punitive damages and legal fees.

Members of the Bakersfield Sikh Temple said Wednesday that the joke was inappropriate.

"It was a very hurtful thing to say," said Parminder Sanghera, who administers the temple's website. "That is our spiritual home. Like Muslims go to Mecca, that's our Mecca. You shouldn't be making fun of a holy site."

Sanghera added that he would be satisfied with an apology from Leno.

As of Wednesday, Leno had not publicly responded to the lawsuit, which was all over the blogsphere and entertainment news websites.

No one returned a telephone call to the office of Leno's agent.

NBC, which also is named in the lawsuit, declined to comment. source:

The U.S. Justice Department is suing the state of California and Gov. Jerry Brown because prison authorities required a Sikh prison inmate to cut his beard.


The U.S. Justice Department is suing the state of California and Gov. Jerry Brown because prison authorities required a Sikh prison inmate to cut his beard.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of Sukhjinder Basra, an inmate at prison in San Luis Obispo in central California.

It said that the requirement violated the man's right "to practice his religion" under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLIUPA).



In the Sikh religion, which originated in northwestern India, unshorn hair is an article of faith.

The Justice Department said the suit followed a probe "that revealed that California's inmate grooming policy substantially burdens the rights of an inmate to practice his Sikh faith. "

"The rights guaranteed by the Constitution extend to all people in the United States," said Andre Birotte Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. "By protecting those rights -- even for those incarcerated -- we strengthen those rights for all."

The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was also named in the suit.

RLUIPA, which became law in 2000, protects the religious freedom of people "confined to institutions such as prisons, mental health facilities and state-run nursing homes," the Justice Department said.

Survey Finds Anti-Semitic Attitudes Rising

Hate Crimes At Queens Libraries and Jewish Temple

Hate Crimes At Queens Libraries and Jewish Temple: MyFoxNY.com

Survey Finds Anti-Semitic Attitudes Rising

MYFOXNY.COM STAFF REPORT

MYFOXNY.COM - Swastikas were found painted on the facades of the Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst branches of the Queens Library and on the door of Congregation Tifereth Israel on Thursday.

The Anti-Defamation League today condemned the anti-Semitic graffiti. The ADL says there were 133 anti-Jewish incidents reported across New York City in 2010.

A nationwide ADL survey released just yesterday found that anti-Semitic attitudes have risen in America.

The ADL survey found that 15 percent of Americans - nearly 35 million adults - hold deeply anti-Semitic views. That's up three percent from 2009.

"The fact that anti-Semitic attitudes have increased significantly over the past two years is troubling and raises questions about the impact of broader trends in America - financial insecurity, social uncertainty, the decline in civility and the growth of polarization - on attitudes toward Jews," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

19-percent answered "probably true" to the statement "Jews have too much control/influence on Wall Street," an increase from 14-percent in 2009.

Several cases of anti-Semitism have been documented at various Occupy Wall Street across the country.

The survey also found that anti-Semitic views among the African-American population have remained steady, but are consistently higher than the general population.

In 2011, 29-percent of African-Americans expressed strongly anti-Semitic views, according to the survey. SOURCE: