Time To Develop Route 4

This afternoon, there was a serious accident on Route 4 Westbound in Teaneck. A car was disabled in the right lane. A police car stopped behind the disabled vehicle and had its flashers on. A dump truck could not stop in time and rear ended the police car. A BMW was also involved.

Thank G-D, nobody was seriously injured.

The key point is that THERE IS NO SHOULDER on that section of Route 4.

Which brings me to my question: Should Teaneck develop the sides of Route 4? Wouldn't some strip malls and gas stations on the side of the road (for instance on the big empty patch near Belle Avenue, where the road shrinks to two lanes) be a good thing for everybody? More businesses to pay taxes to the town and a place to pull over if you're stuck, so you can get out of traffic.

I say do it.

Of course there may be reasons from a space and engineering standpoint why it can't happen.

What do you think?

Teaneck International Film Festival

Just read some good news. The Teaneck International Film Festival, which will take place November 14 through 16, has received a grant from Target which will allow them to offer FREE admission to children under 12 throughout the weekend.

I haven't been around for the last two festivals, but I did notice that last year's selections included "A Cantor's Tale" and "Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story," both movies with Jewish themes.

I think it would be great if the organizers (I see Tom Abbott's name on the list) would offer up a few movies from Israel, with subtitles, for the Jewish community to enjoy.

Dan is Barack's Man. Oy Vey.

I try to keep this blog free of presidential election fodder, but this one is the exception.
To those in the orthodox community who even had a little itty bitty thought of voting for Barack Obama (and I'm betting there are very few of you), this may be the clincher for John McCain.
Barack Obama's "Senior Middle East Advisor" is none other than our former ambassador to Egypt and Israel, Daniel Kurtzer.
This is the same Daniel Kurtzer who graduated Yeshiva University and then in his PhD dissertation at Columbia proceeded to rip Israel.
As a State Department official, Kurtzer helped formulate the decision by the US to recognize the PLO and Yasser Arafat (may he rot in hell). Kurtzer is of the belief that both sides are equally to blame for the Middle East conflict.
Kurtzer was the author of George Schultz' 1988 speech which recognized "the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including political rights."
Kurtzer coined the term "land for peace" in a speech he wrote for James Baker. Yitzhak Shamir referred to Kurtzer as "Baker's little Jew."
In a recent book, Kurtzer blames Israel for the failure of the Camp David II summit with Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Arafat: "During the Camp David II summit in July, there was much more back and forth between the United States and Israel than was the case in Geneva, but in the end Clinton acceded to Barak's request to blame Arafat publicly for the summit's failure."
Just this summer, Kurtzer traveled to Syria and gave "advice" to Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moallem.
"Jews like Kurtzer chose to ignore the Zionist revolution and the opportunity it offers to serve your people first," said Efraim Zuroff. "And one of the tenets of Orthodoxy is that the interest of your people always takes priority."
His anti-Israel policies caused the late Rabbi Pinchas Teitz to ban Kurtzer from the shuls in his hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey. When Kurtzer lived in Silver Spring, Maryland, his shul, The Kemp Mill Synagogue, suddenly had to stop raising money for charities which helped people who lived in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. [One of his fellow congregants at KMS was 'Rabbi' Dov Zakheim, the former US official who helped kill Israel's Lavi jet fighter program].
(Not to mention Kurtzer's dismal failure as commissioner of the doomed Israel Baseball League last summer).
This man is now Barack Obama's "senior Middle East advisor." And there are orthodox jews who might still vote Democrat. Oy.

"Jewish Voice & Opinion" Weighs In On Side Of Shul

The September issue of the Jewish Voice and Opinion came in the mail today. My Shabbat would not be complete without it.
The shul controversy story is addressed with a headline that reads:
Trying to Shut Down the Etz Chaim Minyan, Teaneck May Be Using Unconstitutional Regulations to Ban Religious Assembly
Here's the whole story.