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JERUSALEM (AP) — A Jewish-American bingo mogul with a penchant for buying up land in politically explosive areas of Jerusalem is the key figure in the latest dispute between Israel and the United States.
Israeli officials confirmed that the State Department called in the Israeli ambassador to demand that Israel halt plans to build 20 apartments for Jews in east Jerusalem, the section Palestinians claim for their capital.
The land, it turns out, belongs to Irving Moskowitz, an observant Jew with deep pockets and a hand that has generously doled out funds to settlers determined to cement Israel’s hold on disputed areas of the holy city.
A view of the Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem. The U.S. has demanded that Israel suspend a planned housing project on the grounds of the hotel in east Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
Moskowitz has been a key, if shadowy, figure in the drive by some to cement Israeli rule in all of Jerusalem. “For more than 20 years now, he has been bankrolling and supporting settler activity,” primarily in east Jerusalem, said Danny Seidemann, a lawyer for Ir Amim, an Israeli group that supports coexistence in Jerusalem.
“This is Netanyahu and Moskowitz coming back for a repeat performance,” Seidemann added.
Also, he was involved in the restoration of an ancient tunnel in Jerusalem’s Old City in 1996, during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first tenure. That touched off Palestinian riots in which 80 people were killed.
Attempts to contact Moskowitz or representatives through his foundation were unsuccessful. His lawyer in Jerusalem declined to comment.
Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. Unlike the West Bank and Gaza, Israel annexed east Jerusalem. Though no other country recognizes the annexation, Israel claims that construction there is not the same as building settlements. About 180,000 Israelis live in the east Jerusalem neighborhoods built over the past 40 years.
NEWARK, NJ (The Star Ledger) — A New Jersey assemblyman and the mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus were among public officials arrested this morning by FBI agents in an international money laundering and corruption probe that includes rabbis in the Syrian Jewish communities of Deal and Brooklyn.
Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt (R-Ocean), Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell and Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega are among those already brought to the FBI building in Newark. Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini has also been arrested. A total of 30 people have been taken into custody, officials said.
The arrests are the result of a two-year FBI and IRS probe that began with an investigation of money transfers by members of the Syrian enclaves in Deal and Brooklyn. Those arrested this morning include key religious leaders in the tight-knit, wealthy communities.
Agents also raided religious institutions to make arrests and collect information.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the IRS took out at least three boxes from the Deal Yeshiva, as students were arriving at school. The Deal Yeshiva, on the corner of Brighton and Norwood avenues, is a prestigious religious school in town. Authorities also searched the Ohel Yaacob synagogue on Ocean Avenue in Deal and removed several boxes.
Who-Is I.M. mentioned in indictment of money laundering?
Photo Gallery: New Jersey politicians arrested on corruption charges
Political Corruption
● Moshe Altman, 39, of Monsey, NY, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right & money laundering
● Charlie Ammon, 33, of Lakewood, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Leona Beldini, 74, of Jersey City, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Peter Cammarano III, 32, of Hoboken, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Joseph Cardwell, 68, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with agreeing to offer bribe to public official
● Joseph Castagna, 53, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Guy Catrillo, 54, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with attempted extortion under color of official right
● Edward Cheatam, 61, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right & attempted extortion
● Dennis Elwell, 64, of Secaucus, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Itzak Friedlander, 41, of Union City, NJ, charged with money laundering conspiracy
● Richard Greene, 45, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● John Guarini, 59, of Bayonne, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Shimon Haber, 34, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering conspiracy
● Denis Jaslow, 46, of Wall, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Maher A. Khalil, 39, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right & attempted extortion
● James P. “Jimmy” King, 67, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Louis Manzo, 54, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Michael Manzo, 53, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Ronald Manzo, 65, of Bayonne, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Michael Schaffer, 58, of Hoboken, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Lori Serrano, 37, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Jack Shaw, 61, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● L. Harvey Smith, 60, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Anthony R. Suarez, 42, of Ridgefield, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Vincent Tabbachino, 68, of Fairview, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right & money laundering
● Daniel M. Van Pelt, 44, of Waretown, NJ, charged with attempted extortion under color of official right
● Mariano Vega, 59, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Lavern Webb-Washington, 60, of Jersey City, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
● Jeffrey Williamson, 57, of Lakewood, NJ, charged with attempted extortion under color of official right
For the charge of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right and/or attempted extortion under color of official right, the maximum statutory penalties are 20 years in federal prison and a maximum statutory fine of $250,000.
For the charge of agreeing to offer a bribe payment to a public official, the maximum statutory penalties are 10 years in Federal prison and a maximum statutory fine of $250,000.
Money Laundering/Illegal Money Remitting
● Eliahu Ben Haim, 58, of Long Branch, NJ, charged with money laundering.
● Schmulik Cohen, 35, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering and illegal money transmitting.
● Levi Deutsch, 37, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering.
● Yeshayahu Ehrental, 65, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering and illegal money transmitting.
● Mordchai Fish, 56, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering.
● Yolie Gertner, 30, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering.
● David S. Goldhirsh, 30, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering.
● Saul Kassin, 87, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering.
● Edmund Nahum, 56, of Deal, NJ, charged with money laundering.
● Abe Pollack, 40, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering.
● Lavel Schwartz, 57, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering.
● Binyomin Spira, 28, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering.
● Naftoly Weber, 40, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering.
● Arye Weiss, 34, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with money laundering and illegal money transmitting.
Human Organ Trafficking
● Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum, 58, of Brooklyn, NY, charged with conspiracy to transport human organs
For the charge of conspiring to commit money laundering, the maximum statutory penalties are 20 years in Federal prison and a maximum statutory fine of $250,000.
For the charge of conspiring to conduct an illegal money transmitting business, the maximum statutory penalties are 5 years in Federal prison and a maximum statutory fine of $250,000.
For the charge of conspiring to transport human organs, the maximum statutory penalties are 5 years in Federal prison and a maximum statutory fine of $250,000.
In the years after Solomon Dwek was arrested in an alleged $50 million bank fraud scam, those watching his case said the disgraced real estate investor seemed unusually relaxed for a man facing up to 30 years in prison.
When he appeared in court in connection with the case, the soft-spoken son of a rabbi was chatty. He freely revealed details of his alleged crime to opposing attorneys as if he had no plans of mounting — or needing — a defense.
Over the last two years, as the judge repeatedly granted federal prosecutors’ requests to delay his trial, Dwek seemed unfazed. Many following the case said it was obvious the 36-year-old Monmouth County businessman had made a deal to become a federal snitch in exchange for a lighter sentence.
“His wearing a wire was the worst kept secret in New Jersey,” said Dennis Kearney, an attorney representing PNC Bank in Dwek’s bank fraud case. “Everyone’s No. 1 conclusion has been for years the guy’s been cooperating.”
Whether it was obvious or not, Dwek was able to spend the last two years getting close to some of the area’s most prominent religious leaders and political figures while secretly wearing a wire for the FBI.
New Jersey DA: Religious leaders allegedly acted like ‘crime bosses’
It surprised me why the Obama administration made a lot of hullabaloo about one appartment building in East-Jerusalem and caught Bibi Natanyahu in an irate response. It all would make sense if the listed person with initials I.M. in the corruption indictment turned out to be Irving Moskowitz. Further there seems to be a link with the Israeli Shas party of Netanyahu’s coalition. That would fit in the very controversial Knesset legislation of the Mofaz Law. Israeli bill may help Netanyahu meet U.S. demands
My recent diaries –
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(Haaretz) – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ordered diplomats to use an old photograph of a former Palestinian religious leader meeting Adolf Hitler to counter world criticism of a Jewish building plan for East Jerusalem.
Israeli officials said that Lieberman told Israeli ambassadors to circulate the 1941 shot in Berlin of the Nazi leader seated next to Haj Amin al-Husseini, the late mufti or top Muslim religious leader in Jerusalem.
German Führer Adolf Hitler and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin Al-Husseini meet in Berlin, 1941One official said Lieberman, an ultranationalist, hoped the photo would “embarrass” Western countries into ceasing to demand that Israel halt the project on land owned by the mufti’s family in a predominantly Arab neighbourhood in East Jerusalem.
Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it as part of its internationally unrecognised claim to Jerusalem as its capital.
Lieberman to miss Mitchell, Gates visits
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."There are only 43 now; Jack Shaw of Jersey City, who it is said planned to cooperate with the investigation, was found dead Tuesday night.
Evidently the organ traffickers (NJ and NY) all belong to the Syrian Jewish community. where does that leave the identity of I.M? I wasn’t initially persuaded that Obama would have been apprised of the impending arrests, though on second thought, he probably was b/c he recently made an appearance on behalf of Gov Jon Corzine and would certainly need to know Corzine, who resides in Hudson County, is completely clean.
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A nice summary of permanent political crisis in the Natanyahu led cabinet …
… like the Bibi of old, while his remarks to the cabinet that “There is no ban on Arabs buying apartments in the west of the city, and there is no ban on Jews building or buying in the city’s east” might make a convincing a soundbite for his constituency, they are not 100 percent accurate.
The FACT is that while American Jews like Irving Moskowitz can buy land in East Jerusalem Arab neighborhoods, a Palestinian resident of, say, Sheikh Jarrah cannot purchase an apartment in many parts of west Jerusalem, because the Israel Lands Administration, which owns the land, will only enter into a contract with Israeli citizens of persons entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return.
Waiting for Obama
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
SPRING GLEN – Members of a girls’ camp occupying the former Homowack Lodge appear to have defied an order to evacuate the decrepit resort. The order, which was issued by the office of NY State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, gave the residents until noon on Monday, July 27, to evacuate the premises. But, as of late that afternoon, there was no indication that the residents were in the process of complying with the order.
The NY State Department of Health (DOH) and the town of Mamakating had previously issued a request that the property be evacuated, citing numerous health and safety concerns.
Spring Glen, NY – Town Asking Skver Girls Camp To Evacuate Homowack Lodge; FD: No Firefighters Will Respond Into The Building
(The Forward) – A standoff is simmering at a summer camp run by a Hasidic sect that is defying a mandatory “Order to Evacuate” issued by New York State for numerous safety violations.
Homowack Lodge, located in Sullivan County, N.Y., about 70 miles northwest of New York City, was once a premier Borscht Belt resort. Like so many other Catskills-area resorts past their glory days, it fell into disrepair, only to gain new life in 2007 as a girls’ summer camp operated by Congregation Bais Trana, a Skver Hasidic group based in Rockland County, N.Y.
A brochure published this summer by a committee in charge of fund-raising for Kiryas Skver goes into some detail about what it terms a “twin sister” to New Square.
“We are talking about creating a city from scratch,” writes author Rabbi Shulem Ber Fischel, leader of the fund-raising effort, “building an infrastructure costing tens of millions of dollars, setting up a talmud torah, a girls school, a yeshiva, kollelim, a beis medrash, a mikva and other mosdos, as well as a shopping center, health center, etc.”
… an online blog, savespringglen.blogspot.com, indicates concerns directly relating to the religious beliefs of New Square residents.
“The issues that are a concern to the residents of Mamakating might very well be contrary to the practices of the Skver Hasidim,” writes the anonymous blogger. “The Skver know and care little of the outside world that surrounds them. They maintain their own self-interest, often to the detriment of the community at large. What might be for the benefit of the majority of the people of Mamakating will probably not serve the needs of the Skver, and they will vote accordingly.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."New Square are hasidic(New Square wiki) originally from the Ukraine,
The Syrian Jews are originally from Syria and are sephardic, very different traditions.
(syrian anniversary) – btw the community is tight knit but not insular, contrast with the hasidim in New Square and the Satmars, for example.
As I understand it, they were buying and selling organs of the poor in Israel – and laundering the money in NJ. Not to say Moskovitz might be connected from the business side, but a syrian jewish link would be more likely. haven’t read the IM part of the indictment though. The $ were over here, however, that’s why they were laundering $ in NJ.