Woodmere Long Island & PM Olmert Collide: Will He Resign?

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert is in deep water to say with the least. With next week's peace meeting with President George Bush an inquiry into bribery is the last thing he needs. At the focal point of this scandal is a Long Island businessman:Morris Talansky who runs an investment firm out of his home in Woodmere Long Island and is set to testify to Israel's state prosecutor's office. The bribe in question took place in 1999 during the period when Olmert was Mayor of Jerusalem. The Israeli courts have issued a gag order of the investigation from the press which would imply this is a very serious situation indeed. The gag order is set to be partially lifted tomorrow since foreign press has many details already. Will it bring down the PM? Stay tuned....

NYT: Introduces West Hempstead, Long Island

The NYT has a nice article on one of the fastest growing Jewish communities in Long Island: West Hempstead. Don't confuse it with New Hempstead, NY as it it often is, as it too is growing at a rapid clip. The article discusses the new library which recently opened up and the revitalization that is going on in this part of Long Island. The part of the article which I think hit the nail right on the head was:“It is a humble community,” said Mr. Slomnicki, 27, a teacher. “There is a wholesomeness, a community feeling" and affordability was “a priority,” but he also emphasized what had truly won everyone over: a lack of “pretension, which is good, especially considering it is Long Island.” I've been all over New York and I was always impressed by West Hempstead in that snobbery does not seem to exist there at all. Although the article does not really discuss the Kosher eateries of the town, (which are not many) West Hempstead is home to a favorite Chinese restaurant of many: Wing Wan. It remains to be seen how if any new kosher establishments will pop up in the future as it's proximity to the 5 towns makes it difficult. West Hempstead has also recently seen growth in learning programs with a Yeshivah Gedolah for college students as well as professionals who would like to set aside time to learn.

Conservative and Reform Jews: Merging Temples in LI

There is an interesting article in Newsday about the decline of conservative and reform Jewry in Long Island. The great decrease in numbers has forced their congregations to merge temples and this is causing some strife among some of it's congregants. One of the causes for the decline is a huge thorn in the side of both conservative and reform: Intermarriage. Intrafaith demographics are also playing a role in the mergers. From 1991 to 2002, the percentage of Nassau County Jewish respondents who identified themselves as Reform declined from 42 percent to 39 percent while the number of Conservative respondents fell from 40 percent to 35 percent, according to the Jewish Community Study of New York. Meanwhile, the number of respondents identifying themselves as Orthodox in Nassau jumped from 5 percent to 11 percent, along with those who said they were "just Jewish," from 14%to 16 %".

Even the Gentiles Hate Jews for Jesus!

J for Jesus is suing the town of Massapequa. This is after they were allegedly tossed out of John J. Burns Town Park by police. They are of course suing fro free speech rights. The police claim that they are harassing these park goers by shoving literature in their faces. Why am I not surprised?

Long Island Crime Spree....

There is a group of organized crime that are terrorizing the Long Island community. They seem to be quite brazen in their theft attempts and if you live on the Island you should be vigilante. Their concept is to take advantage of your kindness i.e. they come with a kid who must use your bathroom, you let him in and they ransack your place from the back or front door. Beware!

Local Stop and Shop Closed: Now Opening....

Visiting a friend of mine on the island, he explains to me that they closed the local Stop and Shop . This supermarket had it's own kosher section and was in very close proximity to many in the community. The reason for the close: A new super Stop and Shop was to be opened not far from the old one. This new super duper market was a Super Stop and Shop but it was not nearly as convenient to get to. For starters it's located on a very busy street which at times is clogged with traffic. I checked out this new super store and it was nothing compared to the old one. It had a starbucks right as you entered (you will need that caffeine to make it to the other side of this place) and a full service florist (FTD), not to mention a pharmacy all under one roof. This new store did not have the same kosher section as the old one. Whereas the old one had "kosher corner", a place where both diary and meats could be found in one section, this one had things scattered about. There was a kosher section which mainly consisted of frozen foods, a line which they had expanded to also include frozen entrees (which I sampled and will discuss in the future). The problem of course is the store is a bit too bog making it difficult to navigate. Perhaps a GPS system would help? Simply enter in the foods you need and the GPS will help you get to it quickly. I also notice they had a nice number of self check out lines. This is great of you only have a couple of item or you feel like you need to steal (no I did not but it seems like you could pretty easily). the old one is missed by many as it was easy to get to and parking was not an issue. No one is sure what is happening to the old building. One rumor is a flea market will open. Another is that Brach's is going to open an Associated Supermarket there.
Stay tuned.....