A New York City Council member has proposed opening a dual-language Yiddish-English program in a city public school.
Councilman Mark Levine, who represents parts of upper Manhattan and is the chair of the City Council’s Jewish Caucus, is working to open the program in a kindergarten classroom in the fall of 2020, The Forward reported.
The secular Yiddish-language program would be the only program of its kind in the United States. As a public school program it would be devoid of religious content.
“I’ve been inspired by young activists who are looking to keep this language alive, and keep its literature and theater and culture alive by passing it on to the next generation,” Levine told the Forward.

[COMMUNICATED]
There’s just something exciting about the pre-Yom Tov rush. The hectic driving, the shopping plazas filled with cars, the packed shopping carts, the endless lines…. Sometime amid the scramble, the thought comes, We’re so lucky!  We’re all so busy, so excited, so rushed…. with the same goal: to bring the beautiful simcha of Yom Tov to our families. With just one week to go, you can literally feel the anticipation in the air.
At Kupas Yom Tov, the anticipation is at its peak.  With just one week to Yom Tov, the pressure to reach our million-dollar budget is mounting. This is the final week to raise the necessary funds to ensure hundreds of choshuve Yungerleit a befitting Yom Tov.

President Donald Trump just got a primary opponent for his 2020 re-election.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld announced Monday he is officially running for the Republican nomination for president. Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997 and the vice presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party in 2016.
In his announcement video, Weld’s campaign plays up his record as a Republican governor in a deep blue state, before saying “America deserves better.”
Read more at USA Today.
{Matzav.com}

Police in Buenos Aires have arrested the suspected leader of a gang responsible for a violent attack on the Chief Rabbi of Argentina in late February.
Local authorities arrested the gang leader and two other members of the gang, all suspected of involvement in the violent home invasion and assault on Rabbi Gabriel Davidovich in February, that caused the Rabbi to hospitalized with nine broken ribs and a punctured lung.
The three latest arrests bring the total number of suspects taken into custody in the case to five.
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
{Matzav.com}

A French billionaire has pledged to donate 100 million euros to help rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral after the historic building was engulfed in a fire Monday.
François-Henri Pinault, who owns the French luxury group Kering, made the pledge to AFP. Kering owns luxury fashion brands including Gucci and Saint Laurent.
“My father [François Pinault] and I have decided to release as of now from the funds of Artemis a sum of 100 million euros to participate in the effort that will be necessary for the complete reconstruction of Notre Dame,” Pinault said in a statement, according to BuzzFeed News.
Monday’s massive blaze destroyed much of the cathedral, including its spire and stained-glass windows.

The city shuttered a Williamsburg child care center located within the measles outbreak zone Monday for failing to turn over medical and attendance records.
According to the city’s Health Department, the United Talmudical Academy on Ross Street refused to disclose records that could show whether it was excluding children and staff with measles from its child care program.
As part of the health emergency declared last week, Mayor de Blasio declared that any school that allows unvaccinated students and staff to attend could be fined and closed down. The city has issued violations to 23 yeshivas and day care programs for not complying with the order.

The spire and roof of Notre Dame Cathedral were reduced to ash Monday, as a catastrophic fire spread through a building that has embodied the heart of Paris for more than 800 years.
The fire, which was apparently accidental, left a smoldering stone shell where there had once been a peerless work of architecture, engineering and craftsmanship.
Cathedral spokesman Andre Finot told reporters that the building had sustained “colossal damage” and that the medieval wooden interior – a marvel that has inspired awe and wonder for the millions who have visited over the centuries – had been gutted.
“Nothing will remain from the frame,” he said.