Several prominent Republicans who have loudly opposed President Donald Trump launched a major fundraising campaign on Tuesday to help beat him in 2020, vowing that cold, hard cash will be more effective in blunting him than the public warnings from the failed “Never Trump” movement three years ago.
In a New York Times op-ed, the group – which includes lawyer George Conway and former GOP strategist Steve Schmidt – announced the formation of the Lincoln Project, a super PAC aimed at persuading enough disaffected conservatives and independents in swing states to tip the vote against Trump and defeat pro-Trump congressional candidates even at risk of losing Republican control of the Senate.

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Yosef Eshed, a 102-year-old Israeli who fought alongside the revered British soldier Orde Wingate to put down the 1936 Arab Revolt, can now register for kindergarten. Eshed, of the village of Motza, near Jerusalem, apparently was one of 20 Israelis over a century old to receive a kindergarten enrollment letter recently, the […]

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.37 trillion appropriations bill on Tuesday that includes the annual $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel. It also addresses other Jewish and Israel-related priorities.
No U.S. aid will go to the Palestinian Authority. Since the United States cut aid to the P.A. in March 2018 and under the Taylor Force Act, the P.A.’s program of rewarding terrorists and their families is not being supported.
Up to $30 million is allocated to boost reconciliation programs for Israelis and Palestinians.
There is also no U.S. funding for the U.N. Human Rights Council, which the United States withdrew from in June 2018.

LUSHNJE, ALBANIA (JTA) — An Albanian Muslim man whose house was destroyed in an earthquake will have it rebuilt by a Holocaust commemoration group in honor of his father’s rescue of Jews. The home of Muhamet Bicaku, 83, was devastated during the Nov. 26 calamity that claimed the lives of at least 55 people in […]

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday defended Germany’s voting record on Israel at the United Nations, arguing that supporting the country doesn’t mean backing all of its actions. The Jerusalem Post reported last week that the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center criticized Germany’s ambassador to the U.N., Christoph Heusgen, for casting “anti-Israel votes” […]

The 13th Global Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi will be held two weeks from today, on January 1, 2020 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey and Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
With MetLife being an outdoor venue, weather has been a major topic of discussion.
Matzav.com has been monitoring the weather forecast for the momentous day of the Siyum.
As of this morning, the weather forecast for East Rutherford, NJ for January 1 is partly cloudy, with no rain, and a temperature of 38°F, with a real feel of 26°F.
In case you are wondering, the record high for the date of January 1 in East Rutherford, NJ is a balmy 63°F. The record low is -6°F.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is turning a blind eye to the fact that senior Hamas officials based in Istanbul are actively plotting terrorist attacks against Israel, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
Citing transcripts of Israeli interrogations, the report claims that senior Hamas operatives are using Turkey’s largest city to plan and direct attacks in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem.
Israel has repeatedly warned Turkey that officials with Hamas, an Islamist terrorist group from the school of the Muslim Brotherhood that is also sponsored by Iran, is using its soil to plot attacks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — American history is happening in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats are driving President Donald Trump to the brink of impeachment Wednesday as the House takes up charges Trump abused his power and obstructed Congress in pressuring Ukraine to investigate political rivals and refusing to cooperate with the ensuing congressional probe. The […]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday promised to personally ensure the release of an Israeli-American woman being held in Russia on drug charges.
Naama Issachar was arrested in April while traveling via Moscow from India after Russian airport security discovered 9.6 grams of cannabis in her belongings. Two months ago, she was sentenced by a Russian court to 7.5 years in prison.
Speaking at a Likud Party gathering in Haifa, where he was greeted by hundreds of enthused supporters, Netanyahu promised to use his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin to see that the 26-year-old returns to Israel.