A New York City Council member has proposed opening a dual-language Yiddish-English program in a city public school.
Councilman Mark Levine, who represents parts of upper Manhattan and is the chair of the City Council’s Jewish Caucus, is working to open the program in a kindergarten classroom in the fall of 2020, The Forward reported.
The secular Yiddish-language program would be the only program of its kind in the United States. As a public school program it would be devoid of religious content.
“I’ve been inspired by young activists who are looking to keep this language alive, and keep its literature and theater and culture alive by passing it on to the next generation,” Levine told the Forward.

President Donald Trump just got a primary opponent for his 2020 re-election.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld announced Monday he is officially running for the Republican nomination for president. Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997 and the vice presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party in 2016.
In his announcement video, Weld’s campaign plays up his record as a Republican governor in a deep blue state, before saying “America deserves better.”
Read more at USA Today.
{Matzav.com}

A French billionaire has pledged to donate 100 million euros to help rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral after the historic building was engulfed in a fire Monday.
François-Henri Pinault, who owns the French luxury group Kering, made the pledge to AFP. Kering owns luxury fashion brands including Gucci and Saint Laurent.
“My father [François Pinault] and I have decided to release as of now from the funds of Artemis a sum of 100 million euros to participate in the effort that will be necessary for the complete reconstruction of Notre Dame,” Pinault said in a statement, according to BuzzFeed News.
Monday’s massive blaze destroyed much of the cathedral, including its spire and stained-glass windows.

The city shuttered a Williamsburg child care center located within the measles outbreak zone Monday for failing to turn over medical and attendance records.
According to the city’s Health Department, the United Talmudical Academy on Ross Street refused to disclose records that could show whether it was excluding children and staff with measles from its child care program.
As part of the health emergency declared last week, Mayor de Blasio declared that any school that allows unvaccinated students and staff to attend could be fined and closed down. The city has issued violations to 23 yeshivas and day care programs for not complying with the order.

The spire and roof of Notre Dame Cathedral were reduced to ash Monday, as a catastrophic fire spread through a building that has embodied the heart of Paris for more than 800 years.
The fire, which was apparently accidental, left a smoldering stone shell where there had once been a peerless work of architecture, engineering and craftsmanship.
Cathedral spokesman Andre Finot told reporters that the building had sustained “colossal damage” and that the medieval wooden interior – a marvel that has inspired awe and wonder for the millions who have visited over the centuries – had been gutted.
“Nothing will remain from the frame,” he said.

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U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who has compared retaliatory Israeli actions at the Gaza border against demonstrators urged on by Hamas to a “massacre,” said on Sunday that decreasing the annual $3.8 billion in U.S. taxpayer assistance to Israel should certainly be “on the table.”
When asked on Yahoo News’ Skullduggery podcast, “Would you be in favor of reducing military or economic aid to Israel,” the congresswoman answered, “I mean, I think it’s on the table. I think it’s certainly on the table, and I think it’s something that can be discussed.”

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin is expected to select Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to form the next governing coalition.
On Monday, he met with the leaders of the parties elected to the Knesset in last week’s election. They include the prime minister’s Likud Party, set to have 35 seats, and United Torah Judaism.
Once Netanyahu is selected, he will have 28 days to form a unity government. The president may grant a 14-day extension, if necessary.
Netanyahu’s re-election to his fifth term makes him Israel’s longest-serving prime minister since founding father and first leader of the Jewish nation, David Ben-Gurion.
(JNS)
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Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin met with representatives of the Yisrael Beytenu faction, which recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be appointed to form the government.
MK-elect Yulia Malinovsky told Rivlin: “We are in a complex situation, it is our duty to maintain a delicate balance between religion and state. We as a faction take upon ourselves to be a defender of the secular public, alongside respect for the religious public. In forming the coalition, too, it is important that the balance be maintained.”
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has received the backing of an absolute majority of the incoming Knesset Tuesday, effectively ensuring he is tasked with the formation of the 35th Israeli government.
Netanyahu, who received the backing of his own Likud party, the Shas, and United Torah Judaism factions yesterday, earlier on Tuesday got the support of Yisrael Beytenu’s five MK-Knesset delegation.
Later on Tuesday, the Union of Right-Wing Parties, a joint ticket of the Jewish Home, National Union, and Otzma Yehudit factions, endorsed Netanyahu, pushing him over the top to 61 MKs, paving the road for President Rivlin to task Netanayhu with forming the 35th Government of Israel.