The nation is preparing for Knesset elections and the parties are beginning their campaigns. For Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party, this means continuing and stepping up the anti-chareidi propaganda, the incitement against the entire frum tzibur in Eretz Yisrael. While the incitement and collective hate campaign is despicable, what is worrisome is the fact the polls show Lieberman receiving 8-10 seats, which is representative of about 400,000 seats or more – signaling just how many Israelis are willing to back a party whose campaign rests in no small part and despising and delegitimizing an entire tzibur. In his most recent diatribe, Liberman is alleging that a deal is being closed between the chareidim and the Blue & White party headed by MK Benny Gantz.

You know the expression, time heals all wounds? Or, forgive and forget? Well, sometimes that just doesn’t happen, try as you may. When I was a young teenager, I was enrolled in a new Yeshiva high school that had just formed a couple of years prior to my enrolling. My young, recently married teacher was also our Rosh Yeshiva. The yeshiva was very resolute in establishing a reputation in being second to none, and would thus place burdens upon the students to perform at very high levels. Yeshiva’s schedule was approximately from 7 am until 9 pm. I couldn’t learn at that level of intensity, so-needless to say-my minutes weren’t fully maximized. The vibes that I received from the faculty were that I was a liability to the institution. A pariah, if you will.

Tariq Kurd, the 18-year old Arab driver, who caused the accident that devastated the Rimmel family, was re-arrested on Sunday morning when the police investigation showed that he had been speeding at 105 mph when he hit the Rimmel car. Israeli media reports said that the prosecution will indict Kurd later this week for reckless homicide, a charge that carries up to a 12-year prison sentence. Meanwhile, as YWN reported on Sunday, the father of the family, Ephraim Rimmel, regained consciousness on Sunday. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Highly credible sources tell YWN that investigators are now looking at a shooting incident of a Jewish-owned vehicle two weeks ago in connection with the terror attack in Jersey City. The incident in question occurred on Route 1 and 9 exactly one week before the attack, when a Hasidic man – who happens to be a Misaskim Volunteer – noticed a U-haul van driving close to him in the area of Newark Airport. Suddenly, the Jewish driver heard a smash and saw his passenger side window shattered. He figured something was thrown at his vehicle or a stone had jumped up from the highway. The U-haul exited the highway at the next exit, and the driver never reported the incident.

A new bail law goes into effect on January 1 in New York. It will eliminate pretrial detention and cash bail as an option in an estimated 90 percent of arrests. For the remaining cases, judges will maintain the option of setting cash bail. While the reforms were only supposed to include non-violent crimes, law enforcement officials said that wasn’t the case in the final version of the legislation. In typical Albany fashion, the bills were voted on in the middle of the night along with the rest of the state budget. Under New York’s new bail laws, effective January 1st, judges will not be able to set bail on any of the following crimes.

Lines at the New York Department of Motor Vehicles were long in many locations Monday. It was the first day of New York’s new Greenlight law, which allows undocumented immigrants to apply for limited drivers licenses. The limited license requires drivers’ education and insurance. The law allows more than 700,000 undocumented New York immigrants to be eligible to obtain a driver’s license, DMV line in Flushing New York. pic.twitter.com/Iz6Hp7cunQ — Mike (@FuctupMike) December 16, 2019 AMAZING! Current line at the Queens DMV on the first day #GreenLightNY takes effect! @MaketheRoadNY pic.twitter.com/r1f91DghEk — Yatziri

Hundreds of people flocked to the levaya on Sunday night of R’ Yitzchok Meir Weiss, z’l, a Bnei Brak resident who suffered a heart attack and passed away while sitting shiva for his baby son who was niftar from crib death on Thursday. R’ Weiss and his wife were married for three years before they finally were zocheh to their firstborn son, Yisrael, z’l. On Thursday, 5-month-old Yisrael was niftar and in a shockingly heartrending double tragedy, R’ Weiss collapsed at the shiva and was niftar three days after his son. Shimon Weiss, the brother-in-law of Yitzchak Meir, z’l, was interviewed on Reshet B on Monday morning. “The tza’ar consumed him but we didn’t see it. He didn’t show any signs that would have pointed to the tragedy that was about to occur.

A growing list of Republican officials have stepped up in recent days to condemn hateful and antisemtic statements made by GOP members against the Orthodox Jewish community in Jackson Township, New Jersey. But so far no action has been taken to remove party members from their posts. A statement released by RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt, and New Jersey Senator Robert Singer, condemned “hateful rhetoric in the strongest possible terms.” The party leaders added, “There is no place for anti-Semitism in our party.” The joint statement came in response to several social media posts by Jackson GOP chairwoman Clara Glory and Jackson GOP Club President Todd Porter.

The House will vote on the impeachment of President Donald Trump this week after spending the past three months investigating the president’s dealings in Ukraine and deciding whether his behavior was grave enough to qualify as high crimes and misdemeanors. The House Judiciary Committee on Friday approved two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The vote came after a bitter two-day debate in which Democrats said it was their duty to impeach and furious Republicans defended the president and battled over process. The articles charge that Trump abused his power and betrayed the nation as he urged Ukraine to investigate his political rivals and withheld military aid to that allied country, as well as a White House meeting for its president.

Two 17-year old yeshivah bochurim in Be’er Sheva were viciously attacked and savagely beaten without any provocation whatsoever by four Bedouin youths in a pizza shop last week, a Mako report said on Sunday. Last week, the two boys innocently entered a pizza shop next to their yeshivah to eat supper, not knowing that their evening would turn into a nightmare that would rock the southern city. “Suddenly, four Bedouins came in,” one of the teenagers said. “Without any reason whatsoever, they began lynching us.” “One of them punched me in the chest and shoulder. I tried to run away but I saw that they grabbed my friend and were beating him on the head and face. He was bleeding profusely and it was very frightening. I was afraid that in another minute they’ll kill him.