US President hosts victims of California synagogue shooting at White House, calls to fight anti-Semitism 'with all our strength'

Israeli researchers reported Wednesday that violent attacks against Jews spiked significantly last year, with the largest reported number of Jews killed in anti-Semitic acts in decades, leading to an “increasing sense of emergency” among Jewish communities worldwide.

Maryland – Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has resigned amid an intensifying scandal and multiple investigations into the lucrative sales of her self-published children’s books. Steven Silverman is Pugh’s attorney. He announced Pugh’s resignation at a news conference Thursday afternoon. He said it will take effect immediately. Reading from a written statement from Pugh, Silverman quoted [...]

Washington – Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado became the 21st Democrat to announce a presidential bid, citing among other inspirations his Holocaust survivor mother and grandparents. Bennet, whose father is not Jewish, does not identify as Jewish. However, he has cited his mother’s survival of the Holocaust on multiple occasions as an impetus for his [...]

A man was arrested in Washington state on Wednesday after reportedly making death threats against conservative talk show host Ben Shapiro.
Shapiro told Fox News he couldn’t comment on pending legal proceedings but confirmed the situation, as reported by TMZ, on Twitter, thanking law enforcement “for their quick and hard work here.”
The suspect reportedly threatened both Shapiro and his family. Sources told the outlet the threats were “extremely serious.”
Read more at Fox News.
{Matzav.com}

New York is now providing free phone calls from jails, making it the first major U.S. city to eliminate fees for inmate calls, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday.
The Democratic mayor said the city has fully implemented the law passed by the City Council last August.

President Trump on Thursday took aim at the investigations into his administration during a National Day of Prayer event, telling attendees that he has survived the “witch hunts” in part by thinking about God.
“People say, ‘How do you get through that whole stuff. How do you go through those witch hunts and everything else?’ ” Trump told the crowd gathered in the White House Rose Garden.
“And you know what we do, Mike? We just do it,” he continued, gesturing toward Vice President Pence. “And we think about God. That’s true.”
“As God promises in the Bible, those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on the wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; and they will walk and not be faint,” Trump said.

Two Jewish sons, both hidden in WWII Belgium, embrace in Jerusalem as B’nai B’rith honors founders of Belgian-Jewish underground rescue group

An unoccupied in Jackson, New Jersey, has been vandalized with antisemitic slogans.
Residents in the neighborhood woke up to find the home spray painted with a swastika and the word Hitler, along with other antisemitic phrases and symbols.
Police are investigating.
{Matzav.com}