ICE’s Twitter account is once again operational. According to a Twitter spokesperson, it appears that a backend issue was responsible for the account going down. ORIGINAL STORY BELOW: The Twitter account for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was suddenly removed from Twitter, Thursday afternoon, and replaced by a message saying the account no longer exists. Previously, the account featured a bio that read, “We focus on preventing terrorism, immigration enforcement and combating transnational crime.” Its targeting of immigrants for deportation has made it despised by many, and the campaign slogan “Abolish ICE” is frequently seen at anti-government protests. Twitter has yet to respond to any media inquiry.

(By: Sandy Eller) The financial impact of the pandemic has left its devastating mark on small businesses everywhere, with countless people seeing their life’s work decimated by lingering lockdowns. That impact has been profoundly greater in New York’s red zones, where small businesses deemed non-essential by Governor Andrew Cuomo were gasping for breath after being closed for months last spring, only to find themselves at the center of a second shutdown this fall that lasted an additional four and a half weeks. Enter the Rise Up Red Zone initiative launched by activist Chaskel Bennett in tandem with the Flatbush Jewish Community Coalition and the WhoWeAre Network as a grassroots movement to support local businesses in areas that had been designated as red zones.

Unlike the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, who were delighted with Biden’s victory over Trump, the moderate Gulf states fear what Israel is fearing these days – that US President-elect Joe Biden will renter the Iran nuclear deal. Saudi King Salman, like Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, significantly delayed transmitting his congratulations to the new president-elect – an indication of the kingdom’s disappointment and fears of the future, namely the increased influence of Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood and their affiliates in the region.

Attached is a congratulatory letter from Agudath Israel of America to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
The post READ THE LETTER: Agudath Israel Congratulates President-Elect Biden appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

Attorney General William Barr has authorized federal prosecutors across the U.S. to pursue “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities before the 2020 presidential election is certified. Barr’s action comes days after Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump and raises the prospect that Trump will use the Justice Department to try to challenge the outcome. It gives prosecutors the ability to go around longstanding Justice Department policy that normally would prohibit such overt actions before the election is formally certified. Trump has not conceded the election and is instead claiming that there has been a widespread, multi-state conspiracy by Democrats to skew the vote tally in Biden’s favor.

As thousands accompanied HaGaon HaRav Dovid Feinstein, z’tl, to his final resting place at Har Hamenuchos in Israel, violent clashes broke out as Israel Police tried to disperse the massive crowd. The levaya began peacefully at the Shamgar funeral home in Romema but as time went on, the crowd grew larger and larger, with many chutznikim who live in Jerusalem participating in the levaya. The participants were wearing masks but the crowd was too large for social distancing regulations to be properly adhered to. A large number of police officers were sent to Romema and violent tumults broke out as they tried to disperse to the crowd. There were also scuffles at the entrance to Har Hamenuchos, where HaRav Feinstein, z’tl, was buried, and two people were arrested.

Israel’s Health Ministry published the number of newly confirmed Coronavirus cases in Israel. On Friday, 669 people were confirmed to have contracted the disease. The total number of fatalities due to the disease since the beginning of the virus in Israel stands at 2,649. Currently, there are 8,817 active cases in Israel among which are 323 in serious condition, and 153 are connected to respirators. Former Chief Rabbi of England, Rabbi Professor Lord Jonathan Sacks, passed away at the age of 72 after a lengthy fight with Cancer. Rabbi Sacks was known as one of the most important Jewish thinkers of our time and was renowned for his brilliance the world over.

El Al Airlines has requested that Israel’s Finance Ministry transfer its promised aid as outlined in the government bailout plan, and also requested an increased state loan guarantee of $400 million, Globes reported. New El Al owner Eli Rozenberg acquired 42.89% of El Al with a $150 million offering at the company’s public offering in September, and according to the bailout plan, El Al is to obtain a $250 million bank loan, with a state guarantee for 75% of the loan. The reason for El Al’s request for increased aid is that it hasn’t thus far managed to obtain a bank loan. However, the Finance Ministry turned down its request, instead demanding that El Al streamline its operations and workforce.

Democratic lawmakers are urging Twitter to suspend President Trump’s account, suggesting none of his tweets should be posted until all ballots have been counted in the 2020 presidential election. The president, whose Twitter comments Wednesday complained about Democratic challenger Joe Biden’s lead among mail-in ballots and claimed victory for himself in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina before counting was finished, has been spreading “pure disinformation,” Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly said on the social media platform. “Suspend his account, @Twitter,” Connolly wrote. “Valid votes are being counted. This is America, not Russia.” Rhode Island’s Rep.

An elderly doctor in Rishon L’Tzion called ZAKA Tel Aviv last week with a highly unusual request – the burial of a human skull that she’s had in her possession for fifty years. The skull was part of a body (apparently a Jew) donated to science and the doctor has studied anatomy on that very skull and then saved it as a memento in a place of honor in her living room, unaware that it is forbidden by halacha. One of the doctor’s relatives who recently became closer to Yiddishkeit told the doctor that keeping the skull is completely forbidden and the skull must be brought to burial. The doctor, extremely perturbed that she had unwittingly done something wrong for so many years, called ZAKA Tel Aviv. A ZAKA volunteer retrieved the skull from the doctor’s home and buried it.