German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday afternoon called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his election victory.
Merkel invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to a meeting in Berlin after the new government is formed. Netanyahu thanked the Chancellor for the warm greetings and welcomed the relations between the two countries.
In addition to the congratulations, Netanyahu also heard Merkel’s position on the need to renew contacts with the Palestinian Arabs. The Chancellor stressed that she and the entire European Union are committed to resolving the conflict between the two sides through the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Read more at Arutz Sheva.
{Matzav.com}

The gambler who placed an $85,000 wager on Tiger Woods winning the Masters — ultimately winning $1.2 million — says he was tens of thousands of dollars in debt as recently as four months ago.
James Adducci, 39, made the bet with William Hill at 14-1 odds last Tuesday, the company said. When Woods won the golf tournament on Sunday, the betting business said it turned into a $1,275,000 payout — the largest golf-related payout in the company’s history.
Adducci told Golf Digest after the big win that he flew from Wisconsin to Las Vegas last week to place the bet, which he claimed was the first he’d ever made on sports in his life.
Read more at Fox News.
{Matzav.com}

Dozens of diplomats from all over the world joined Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon to celebrate Pesach with a mock Seder at the organization’s headquarters in New York Monday.
Danon, who started this tradition in 2016, after he was appointed as ambassador, explained to his counterparts about the Jewish traditions behind the holiday.
“As in our years of exile, there are still those who rise against us, but today we are a strong nation that can defend itself. The struggle for freedom is the breath of life, and it ensures the existence of the Jewish people,” said the ambassador.
Read more at JPOST.
{Matzav.com}

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.”