Jewish & World News

September 17 is the anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests, but it is also Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, a day when observant Jews are supposed to go to temple and refrain from a whole host of activities. Because these religious obligations might prevent Jews from participating in the protests planned for the Occupy-iversary, a group called Occupy Judaism is planning an Occupy Rosh Hashana service in Zuccotti Park on September 16. According to the Facebook invite for the event, Occupy Rosh Hashana will include, “a potluck dinner,” a “nondenominational holiday service” with “Occupy Torah” and, of course, the requisite apples and honey.

Some protesters believed to be affiliated with Occupy Wall Street chained open emergency gates in several subway stations Wednesday. They also hung posters mimicking official MTA signs telling commuters to walk through the open gates and not to pay the fare. Some fake posters also called for a transit strike in May.

New York City police are seeking at least two "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrators suspected of dumping buckets full of urine and feces outside a JP Morgan Chase building and inside an ATM vestibule. Jordan Brooks Amos, 25, of Philadelphia, was charged with criminal mischief on March 16 after he was caught on a surveillance camera dumping what police believe was the protesters' own waste, a source said.

Occupy Wall Street protesters are gathering in Union Square today as they continue to mark six months since the movement first set up in Lower Manhattan. One person climbed onto the George Washington statue this morning and refused to come down for about 40 minutes. Part of the crowd urged him to stay up, while others told him to come down saying he wasn't accomplishing anything.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is back in the Tri-state area Wednesday looking to raise some big bucks for his campaign. The former Massachusetts governor appeared at a fundraising luncheon at the Waldorf=Astoria in Manhattan Wednesday afternoon and will later attend a $2,500-a-ticket fundraiser at the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa in the evening.

Occupy Wall Street in New York City could run out of cash in a matter of weeks. A finance report shows the group that galvanized the nationwide movement against economic inequality six months ago had about $45,000 left in its main account. That’s for the week of March 2. Weekly donations plummeted to about $1,600.

A protester has been arrested after a noisy Occupy Wall Street march in Manhattan grew to about 200 people.      There was a heavy police presence around the 42nd Street area as the demonstration began Wednesday morning outside the Pfizer offices.      The event featured loud drumming and a chant: "The people united will never be defeated.''

Sacramento - Two CHP officers were hurt by protesters at competing rallies at the State Capitol Monday that started with aNeo-Nazievent. Extra CHP and Sacramento Police officers were called in to separate the two groups, who are getting louder and more violent toward each other. A group of self-proclaimed white supremacists organized a nationwide protest Monday for part of an effort they call the “South Africa Project.” According to the project’s website, http://southafricaproject.info, they want to stop the alleged “genocide of whites” in South Africa.

Donald Trump is reinventing the Milk Street Cafe, the short-lived kosher food hall that closed amid the turmoil of Occupy Wall Street , and turning it into Trump Street Bar & Grill. The eatery closed in December, claiming that barricades in the area had led to its demise. Trump, who owns the building at 40 Wall St. where the café was located, is planning to ditch the kosher theme and add a bar, but keep most other elements—including its chef and the majority of its staff—in place.

Drones have been utilized by police in the past to monitor large crowds of protestors but this might be the first time a drone has been used by protestors to monitor the police. Tim Pool has modified a Parrot AR Drone to provide a live feed of Occupy Wall Street from above, offering an angle unique from all the other Occupy live feeds already providing footage of the protests across the globe.