Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he planned to visit Israel in January next year to inaugurate a memorial to World War Two victims in Jerusalem.
Putin also told a meeting with a Jewish charity fund on Tuesday that Russia was paying a “high attention” to developing mutually-beneficial relations with Israel.
Reuters and Algemeiner Staff
{Matzav.com}

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Tuesday’s Knesset election marked the ‘end of the era of Netanyahu’, Joint List party chairman MK Ayman Odeh declared shortly after the polls closed.
With exit polls predicting the predominantly Arab party gaining one to three seats from the 10 seats its constituent factions won in the April election, Odeh celebrated both the higher turnout in the Arab sector, and the failure of the right-wing Otzma Yehudit party to clear the threshold, according to all three major exit polls Tuesday night.
“Once again, we are the third largest party in the Knesset, with 13 mandates,” said Odeh. “This dramatic change [comes from] a rise in voter turnout in the Arab sector. We are happy that Otzma Yehudit failed to cross the threshold.”

Jerusalem- Despite the ugly and vicious anti-Chareidi campaign which characterized the current Israeli elections, it appears based on exit polls that the Chareidi parties have succeeded in increasing their strength from the previous election, with Shas garnering 9 seats and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) receiving 8 seats. However the other right-wing parties fared worse. Yemina, […]

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Rav Elimelech Bluth zt”l, mara da’sra of Khal Ahavas Achim of Kensington, Brooklyn.
Rav Bluth was a noted posek and rov, known as one of the prominent talmidim of the posek hador, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l. Rav Bluth also served as the rov and posek of Chai Lifeline and Camp Simcha.
Rav Elimelech was known for his impressive Torah knowledge even as a young ben Torah learning at Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim under the rosh yeshiva, Rav Moshe.

The Yamina party announced on Tuesday evening that it is splitting into two factions in the Knesset: the Jewish Home-National Union headed by Rabbi Rafi Peretz, and the New Rght headed by Naftali Bennett
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
{Matzav.com}

https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/VIDEO-2019-09-17-14-53-50.mp4

Likud Minister Miri Regev says the right-wing party will not dethrone Netanyahu as leader, regardless of the election outcome.
Speaking to journalists, Likud MK Yoav Kisch says he believes that “Benjamin Netanyahu will either be prime minister or we will go to third elections, I can’t see another option.”
Kisch says, however, that “we must wait for the final results which I hope will be better for Likud.”
Read more at Times of Israel.
{Matzav.com}

The first exit polls were published shortly after polls closed at 10 PM Tuesday night.
According to an exit poll published by Channel 12 News, the Blue and White party emerged as the largest party with 34 Knesset seats. The Likud party finished a close second with 33 seats.
The Joint Arab List finished third with 11 seats. Yamina and Yisrael Beyteinu both received eight seats, as did haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism.
Labor and the Democratic Union received five seats each.
The Otzma Yehudit party failed to clear the electoral threshold.
 
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
{Matzav.com}

The Women’s March has cut ties with three of its founders who have been accused of anti-Semitism.
Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory and Bob Blandstepped down from the board on July 15, reported The Washington Post on Monday.
The movement told the outlet that the three would “transition off of the Women’s March Board and onto other projects focused on advocacy within their respective organizations.”
Sarsour became an official surrogate last week for the Democratic presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).