All charges have been dropped against a homeless man caught on tape being beaten by New York police Chabad youth center in Brooklyn. Ehud Halevy, 21, was arrested Oct. 8 after the police beating on charges of assault, resisting arrest and trespassing. The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office announced Monday afternoon that it would drop the charges against Halevy. A video of the arrest was posted on the Internet on Oct. 14. It shows Halevy, who a volunteer security guard at the ALIYA Institute thought was drunk, …More

An Orthodox vigilante group helped apprehend a bank robber masquerading in an early Halloween costume. The Shomrim, a Jewish watchdog group in Borough Park, ended the two-day crime spree of Kevin Crawford, 20. Crawford was terrorizing banks in the Brooklyn area while wearing a red skull mask. “Trick or treat, give up the cash or I will kill you, bitch motherf--ker,” he told a teller on the second day of his spree. On Tuesday, October 16, Crawford robbed the Dime Savings Bank in Williamsburg, walking …More

NYPD beat a Jewish youth for several minutes last week, a scene caught on a tape that is circulating the Web. The video shows Ehud Halevi asleep on a couch at the Aliya Institute youth center in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Officers awaken Halevi and engage in conversation, before one officer attempts to handcuff the young man. When Halevi resists, two officers begin beating him about the head and chest, laying closed fist blows at times while a female uses a baton at his legs. Pepper spray was also reportedly used …More

New York City police are concerned about a potential terrorist attack on Manhattan, according to high-ranking officials within the department. “Obviously if there’s any action involving Israel and Iran we have to be very cognizant of the potential of retaliation here in New York City,” said New York City police chief Ray Kelly, at the anti-terror conference NYPD SHIELD. Kelly said a possible Iran reprisal was of particular concern for New York police, given the city’s high Jewish …More

The Jewish state is getting a taste of New York’s finest, as the NYPD sets up a police presence in the Sharon district of Israel. New York detective Charlie Ben-Naim has set up office in Kfar Saba, as part of a counterterrorism effort for the US. The outpost was reportedly created to maintain a working relationship with Israeli security. NYPD has already stationed officers in cities like London and Toronto as a way to monitor terrorism operatives abroad. Ben-Naim, who is an ex-Israeli citizen, is currently …More

A Hasidic man is taking legal action after the New York Police Department fired him, allegedly because he would not trim his beard. Fishel Litzman of Monsey, NY, was in the final stages of his training when he was let go. The 38-year-old recently drew test scores of 99, 100 and 96, leading to his confusion over why he was fired. Citations criticizing Litzman for not maintaining his personal appearance led him to conclude this was the reason for his dismissal. Litzman has brought on attorney Nathan Lewin, who has …More

Cedar Park and Beth El Cemetery’s president Herbert B. Klapper is paid more than nearly any other Jewish communal official in the country. [The Jewish Daily Forward] Maj. Gen. Yair Naveh warns that Syria has the largest arsenal of chemical weapons in the world. [The Washington Post] Mia Schaikewitz is profiled on the Sundance Channel’s new documentary series “Push Girls.” [The Times of Israel] Alon Shaya spices up the James Beard Foundation’s nominees. [Israel 21c] Jonathan …More

The New York City Police Department plans to beef up security this Passover, as the country’s largest Jewish community readies for the coming holiday. NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly held a press conference with Jewish heads in Manhattan, telling the public, “We’ll ensure that coverage is more than adequate.” The announcement came just weeks after New York officers dispatched added crime units throughout the metropolitan area directly following last month’s shooting at a French …More

New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne says that the NYPD has increased security at “Israeli government facilities” and various synagogues in the New York area after the terror attacks in New Delhi. "The NYPD adjusts its counterterrorism posture to include information about events overseas," Browne said. "That's why the public may have noticed increased NYPD presence today and in recent weeks at Israeli government facilities and synagogues, although there has been no specific …More