World News in Brief

JTA

The Iron Dome missile defence system intercepted a rocket heading toward Ashdod and another heading toward Ashkelon on Tuesday evening, according to the Israeli military. As many as five rockets were fired, the military said.

Security removed Netanyahu from the stage, but he returned 20 minutes later to finish his speech.

The rockets were fired two hours after Netanyahu announced that if he was re-elected, he would annex the Jordan Valley and West Bank Jewish settlements.

Israel attacked following airstrikes in Syria

Several rockets were fired at Israel from Syria on Monday, launched by Shiite militias operating under the command of the Iranian Quds Force, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

The rockets failed to land in Israeli territory, according to the IDF.

The attack followed hours after a series of airstrikes on a base in Syria – suspected of being an Iranian military compound – were blamed on Israel. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 18 Iranians and their allies were killed in the strikes near the border with Iraq, and several ammunition depots were blown up.

The IDF neither confirmed nor denied the strikes.

Couple who met online wins Israel trip

Alanna liked Nir’s online dating profile because he said he could cook, and her cooking prowess extended to warming up frozen soup.

The couple met through the Jewish dating site JWed. On Monday, they were awarded a free trip to Israel by the organisation to celebrate its 3 300th match.

Alanna, 38, from Los Angeles, was divorced 11 years ago and several years later, had a broken engagement. It turned her off dating, she said. Her family and friends encouraged her to keep trying. She said she was attracted to Nir’s profile, which opened with, “Ladies, I’m an ex-chef, and yes, I can cook for you.”

Nir, 45, from New Jersey, logged on to JWed to delete his profile, but was intrigued by Alanna’s reply, “Does warming up Tabachnik’s soup count as cooking?”

The rest is history.

Mayim Bialik to make screenwriting debut

Popular Jewish actress Mayim Bialik will write and direct a feature film based on her own experience.

The comedy-drama titled As Sick As They Made Us, which will deal with mental illness, will be Bialik’s screenwriting and directing debut.

The film tells the story of a divorced mother who struggles to help her estranged brother visit their father on his deathbed. His death throws the family into disarray as she finds new love while dealing with her difficult mother and brother.

“Growing up surrounded by mental illness is not something that’s easy to write about, nor is it easy to live through,” Bialik told Deadline Hollywood. “The challenges ripple out into the lives of children immersed in these families even as they try to make their own lives. After my father’s passing four and a half years ago, I decided to explore the complexity of mental illness and familial responsibility – especially as it falls on women – and to highlight the redemptive nature of a family’s love.”

Bialik is best known as Dr Amy Farrah Fowler from the hit show The Big Bang Theory.

ALS patient travels across US for son’s Barmitzvah

A Southern California father of seven suffering from ALS made a trip across the United States to be at his son’s Barmitzvah with family and friends in his hometown of Brooklyn.

Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz, 47, of West Hollywood, was diagnosed in 2013 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He can no longer move, and cannot breathe without the assistance of a ventilator. Hurwitz communicates using a computer. He writes a weekly commentary on the Torah, and a blog offering marriage advice.

The family visited the late Lubavitcher rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s grave on Sunday, the New York Post reported. Hurwitz cried at the grave as he prayed for his wife, his children, and for a cure.