Nearly 75 Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbonim in Lakewood issued a Kol Koreh, Tuesday morning, banning the sale and use of marijuana. The Kol Koreh comes just as the State of New Jersey legalized the use of the drug. The Kol Koreh has a strong warning for any Yeshiva engaging in its use, as well as Baalei Batim who sell marijuana (even legally). The following is the English Kol Koreh, transcribed by YWN.

Hours after The Washington Post made a correction to its story that it had “misquoted” former President Donald Trump, the former President issued a blistering statement. The bad reporting from WaPo claimed Trump told Georgia’s top elections investigator “to find the fraud,” in December. The Post says this quote was false and they lay blame on an unidentified source. “Correction: Two months after publication of this story, the Georgia secretary of state released an audio recording of President Donald Trump’s December phone call with the state’s top elections investigator. The recording revealed that The Post misquoted Trump’s comments on the call, based on information provided by a source,” the correction published Thursday began.

Syrian interrogators requested that the Kiryat Sefer woman who crossed the border into Syria last month lead them to an IDF outpost in order to capture Israeli soldiers but she refused, Israeli media reported on Sunday. The woman was imprisoned in a Damascus jail and held for 16 days. The Nazareth Magistrate’s Court filed an indictment against the 25-year-old woman a week ago but a gag order was placed on the details. The court lifted the order on some of the details on Motzei Shabbos, allowed part of the indictment to be published. The woman decided to cross into Syria in January and did research online on which village was closest to the border. The indictment stated that “the defendant decided to cross the border and move to Syria for a period of time.

As Israel’s virus infection rate and number of serious cases continue to decrease, the Health Ministry is considering ending the requirement to wear masks outdoors from next month, according to a Channel 12 News report on Sunday night. Late Sunday night, the government made a decision to allow flights from all worldwide destinations in order to facilitate the return of Israelis who want to vote in the March 23 elections. Until now, only flights from New York, Paris and Frankfurt were allowed.

Israel’s death toll since the beginning of the pandemic surpassed 6,000 on Sunday, when 23 more fatalities were recorded, raising the total death toll to 6,008. A total of 818,548 Israeli have contracted the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. Currently, there are 27,974 active cases. The number of seriously ill patients stands at 640, of whom 221 are ventilated. Over 4.1 Israelis are fully vaccinated and over 5.1 million Israelis have received their first dose of the vaccine. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

An Israeli anti-vaxxer group called Anshei Emet filed a suit against Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) earlier this month, claiming that Israel’s vaccination policies are akin to “crimes against humanity” according to the Nuremberg Code, The Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday. “It is our intention to present to you and detail how in the State of Israel this year, the Government of Israel with its ministers and its Knesset members, heads of cities, and additional senior factors, violate the Nuremberg Code in an unlawful manner, blatant and extreme,” the group stated.

The NYPD is investigating a hate crime that took place in Williamsburg on Friday night. Police say a Hasidic man was walking on the corner of Wallabout Street and Marcy Avenue at around 6:15PM, when a man ran up from behind him, grabbed his Shtreimel off his head, and ran off. The Shtreimel was valued at $8,000. Williamsburg Shomrim assisted the NYPD is obtaining the attached security camera footage of the hate crime. The unidentified male is 5’07” to 5’10”, 125lbs, and was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A Crown Heights resident is in critical condition, after he was struck by a vehicle in Deal, NJ, Sunday evening. Sources tell YWN that the victim, approximately 65-years-old, was in Deal to deliver Matzos to some people, when he was struck by the vehicle. He was rushed by Hatzolah to the Jersey Shore Trauma Center, where he was listed in critical condition. Please say Tehillim for (Belah) חיים בן בלה. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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Following a week of dramatic, fast-moving developments, a man who kept his wife an Agunah for 17 years has finally given his wife a Get. Dibo (Jeff) Hafif gave the Get on Sunday morning, thanks to a few Sephardic Rabbonim in Flatbush, and the recent movement on social media to pressure recalcitrant husbands into giving their wife divorces. As YWN reported last week, there were nightly protests outside the mans home in Flatbush last week. The protests grew in size, and the hashtag #FreeEvet went viral on social media. Jewish influencers on social media, many accounts who have thousands of followers have been promoting hashtags in support of these Agunos. Meanwhile, the man had already married a second woman, and was arrested on Thursday for assaulting his wife and children.

A massive wildfire in Lakewood, NJ, has engulfed at least two commercial buildings, Sunday afternoon. The fires broke out around 1:00PM in the area of Cedarbridge Avenue and Airport Road (Industrial Park). Numerous fire departments have been requested to assist – some from as far as an hour away. Smoke can be seen over the Garden State Parkway, and the entire highway – in both directions – has been closed in the area of Exit 89. The smell of smoke and fire has spread across the greater Lakewood area. The National Weather Service began warning on Saturday night that the dry and windy conditions were “favorable for rapid spread of any wildfires”. Large Brush Fire in the area of Airport Road and Cedarbridge Avenue. GSP exit 89 is shut down.