The warning siren suddenly blared, and Rabbi Charles Klein, spiritual leader of the Merrick Jewish Centre, knew precisely what to do. Run. The siren, he said, “gave us 20 seconds to find a shelter.” Five seconds earlier, a Hamas rocket had pierced Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system, which is capable of shooting down 90 percent of the rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. Ten percent of Hamas rockets, however, make it through, as one did in late August, while Klein was touring Ashkelon, a city of 117,000 eight miles north of Gaza. Klein found shelter and survived the attack unscathed, but that moment of terror, he said, will remain with him for life. more

News coverage of the month-long battle between Israel and Hamas has triggered strong reaction among readers of some daily newspapers, particularly The New York Times. more

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright gave a concise summary of recent international events: “To put it mildly, the world is a mess." more

On July 22, the Federal Aviation Administration banned U.S. flights to and from Israel due to security concerns after a rocket fell near Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. more

On Nov. 19, County Executive Ed Mangano announced that he was establishing the Nassau Hurricane Recovery Fund Committee. more

Hurricane Irene was the first hurricane to touch ground in the U.S. since 2008. For the first time in its history, the New York City transportation system was shut down. Mayor Bloomberg and our local … more