Publisher’s note: The new Jewish Star Page 16 Fighting fi res in Israel and America Page 12 Rabbi Eytan Feiner to stay at White Shul Page 6 Seidemann: Where I’ve been, where I’m going Page 14 THE JEWISH STAR VOL 9, NO 4 ■ JANUARY 29, 2010 / 14 SHVAT, 5770 WWW.THEJEWISHSTAR.COM Ambulance opposition Neighbors against Hatzalah garage By Michael Orbach Hatzalah of the Rockaways and Nassau County may soon be engaged in a costly legal battle in Woodmere. Neighbors are fi ghting the volunteer ambulance squad’s proposed development of a two-story garage intended to house four ambulances at 752 West Broad- way. Critics contend that the garage construc- tion and operations will disrupt traffi c on the narrow street, which they say is too danger- Tefi llin, they’re the bomb ous for ambulances to come and go. “We’ve called it the ‘dead man’s curve,’” said Robert L. Douglas, an attorney who lives near the proposed site. He, along with sev- Wrapping up a midair scare eral neighbors, chipped in to hire a lawyer to oppose the project. Douglas praised the work of Hatzalah, but called it “arrogance” Photo illustration by Christina Daly for The Jewish Star to place an ambulance garage in the midst of a residential area. By Michael Orbach His plans were interrupted after a “That’s the most disappointing thing,” Nearly unanimously, fl ight attendant aboard U.S. Airways he explained. “To have a good organization There’s always a bright side, even to Express fl ight 3709 out of LaGuardia be- behave in this way. It sends the wrong mes- Jews choose to not the much over-discussed in-fl ight com- came alarmed when Leibowitz wrapped sage.” motion over a pair of tefi llin and a teen- himself in small black boxes and leath- In order to demolish the current structure be offended after age boy last week. er straps in order to say his morning and build the garage, Hatzalah will require a “This was a great opportunity for peo- prayers. variance as well as a permit from the Town a boy strapping on ple to learn what tefi llin are,” said Rabbi She alerted the captain who then of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals that Motti Seligson of Chabad.org. asked air traffi c controllers to sum- would allow it to convert the site from a resi- tefi llin on a fl ight “Instead of kvetching, Jews all over ... mon the FBI to meet the plane in Philly, dential development to a commercial one. just explained what tefi llin were and used where it made an unscheduled landing. A preliminary hearing on the variance from New York it as an opportunity.” The tefi llin site on Leibowitz and his 16-year-old sister were took place last Thursday. Four people repre- Chabad.org has received a “huge amount handcuffed at gunpoint and taken off the senting Hatzalah found themselves opposed sparks a security of traffi c,” Seligson said, ever since 17- plane. The two teens were released after by twenty other members of the community. year-old Calev Leibowitz of White Plains, being briefl y questioned by the FBI. They James G. Preston, the lawyer representing scare. NY was late getting to Grandma’s house continued on to Louisville, where their those opposed to the garage, offered the ar- in Louisville, KY last Thursday. Continued on page 3 Continued on page 3 Shabbat Candlelighting: 4:51 p.m. Shabbat ends 5:54 p.m. 72 minute zman 6:23 p.m. Torah Reading Parshat Beshalach This Shabbos is Tu’Bshvat THE JEWISH STAR PRST STD 2 Endo Blvd, Garden City, NY 11530 US POSTAGE PAID GARDEN CITY, NY CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED 11530 PERMIT NO 301 329467 2 Inside STAR The Jewish Star Classified Ads 22 JEWISH Editorial 16 I’m Thinking 13 THE Welcome to the new Crossword 26 Is the Wine Worth the Money? 22 Kosher Bookworm 20 Letters to the Editor 16 On the Calendar 8, 10-11 Opinion 12 Parsha 15 Publisher’s Note 17 29, 2010 14 SHVAT 5770 14 SHVAT 2010 29, Slice of Life 24 ary The Other Side of the Bench 14 nu That’s Life 26 a J How to reach us: Our offices, at 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday, with early closing as necessary Now also available in on Erev Shabbat. Call us at one of the telephone numbers listed below. 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FBI Yaakov Levy, an Israeli citizen who trav- STAR Special Agent J.J. Klaver described the boy eled across the United States with his family as “very cooperative and very respectful.” in 2004, had a similar experience outside a J The FBI and the Philadelphia police Dunkin’ Donuts in Connecticut, a state with a nu searched the aircraft. an Orthodox Jewish senator, Joe Lieberman. ary The Jewish world has taken the atten- He put on his tallit — prayer shawl — and tion in stride. Israeli airline El Al released an tefi llin to say his morning prayers and min- 5770 14 SHVAT 2010 29, advertisement this week featuring a pair of utes after he was fi nished, Levy said two po- tefi llin and the tagline, “Our cabin crew will lice offi cers confronted him. know how to ‘defuse’ them.” “They asked me, ‘Are you Muslim?’” Levy Tefi llin, a six-day-a-week morning ritual recalled. for Jewish males age 13 and over, contain After he explained that he was Jewish, the biblical passages handwritten on parchment. offi cers seemed puzzled. They are not worn on the Sabbath and ma- “Are you sure you’re not a Muslim?” they jor Jewish holidays. In light of the recent asked again. When they were fi nally con- incident involving the underwear bomber, vinced that he was, in fact, not a Muslim, however, airline passengers who observe the they apologized, but had one last question commandment to don Tefi llin may now deem about his tallit. it safer to do so in shul or in private, before What was that cape you were wearing? fl ying, but not on an aircraft. “They thought we were like Superman,” “Well, it’s pretty obvious that someone Levy’s wife Hannah related.