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NEWSBRIEFS Accused Monsey Stabber Again Found Unfit to Stand Trial
THE MAN ACCUSED of stabbing five people and killing one at
a 2019 Chanukah party at a rabbi’s house in Monsey, New York,
was again deemed unfit to stand trial, JTA reported.

Grafton Thomas, 38, has been declared unfit to stand trial
several times. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Keenan came to the
same conclusion this week, the New York Daily News reported.

“There currently is not a substantial probability that in the
foreseeable future the defendant will attain the capacity to permit
the proceedings to go forward,” she wrote in a court filing.

During the 2019 incident, Thomas allegedly stabbed five
people with a machete, including Josef Neumann, who died from
his wounds following months in a coma.

Biden Administration Says UNRWA Committed to
‘Zero Tolerance’ for Anti-Semitism
The Biden administration said it has the commitment of the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East to “zero tolerance” for anti-Semitism, racism or
discrimination, JTA reported.

“UNRWA has made clear their rock-solid commitments to
the United States on the issues of transparency, accountability
and neutrality in all its operations,” a senior U.S. official said.

“And what neutrality means in the context of the United Nations
is zero tolerance for racism, discrimination and anti-Semitism.”
The official said resuming aid was consistent with a Biden
administration policy of favoring a two-state solution.

UNRWA has been controversial in recent years, plagued by
reports of mismanagement and of anti-Semitic content in the
textbooks used by the agency in the school it administers.

President Donald Trump ended assistance to UNRWA in
2018, with administration officials saying the agency’s precept —
treating millions of Palestinians as refugees — perpetuated the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions on Religious Gatherings
The Supreme Court extended a string of decisions overturning
pandemic restrictions on religious gatherings, ruling April 9 that
California’s restrictions on at-home gatherings unfairly limited
religious freedom, JTA reported.

The 5-4 ruling lifted rules limiting at-home gatherings in much of
the state to three households. Those rules, imposed during a recent
surge of COVID-19 cases in California, were set to expire April 15.

The decision follows a trend in which the 5-4 conservative
majority has overturned COVID restrictions on religious gatherings.

In November, the court blocked New York’s restrictions
on houses of worship after Orthodox Jewish advocacy group
Agudath Israel and the Brooklyn Catholic Diocese, sued the state.

Early Evidence of Kosher Diet Found in UK
Archaeologists in the United Kingdom discovered findings from
a medieval Jewish community of Oxford that they said were the
earliest evidence of a religious diet, JTA reported.

The findings, locked inside pottery fragments excavated in Oxford,
date to the 12th and 13th centuries following William the Conqueror’s
invitation to Jews in Northern France to settle in England.

“A remarkable animal bone assemblage was unearthed in this
latrine, dominated by domestic fowl (mainly goose), and with
a complete absence of pig bones, hinting at a kosher diet,” the
researchers wrote. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
Frontotemporal Degeneration
(FTD), The Most
Common Dementia
Under Age 60
The essentials of symptoms,
care, and support
Featuring Guest Speakers:
Sharon Denny, MA
Senior Director of Programs
Esther Kane, BSN, RN-CDP
ppp Support
& Education Director
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
3:00 pm - 4:15 pm
During this webinar, Sharon Denny and Esther Kane will discuss:
• What is FTD?
• How does FTD differ from Alzheimer’s disease?
• Understanding the symptoms of FTD
• Approaches to care and the role of residential care
• Barriers to diagnosis and why
• Options for treatment- targeted care is needed
• FTD’s impact on the family
• Resources for families and professionals
Register in advance for this Zoom webinar by visiting the
LINK below:
https://tinyurl.com/7dxfbd8t Questions can be directed to
VirtualSeminars@arden-courts.org arden-courts.org
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APRIL 15, 2021
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