[COMMUNICATED]
Project Inspire Shabbat Retreat for the Body and Soul leaves attendees on ‘Cloud Nine’
By Chaya Silber
There was an RV parked in the driveway of the enchanting Woodcliff Lake Hilton, which hosted more than 900 attendees at the recent Shabbat Retreat, on November 15-17. It was only on Shabbat itself that I learned what the RV was all about, and the all-encompassing concern for a fellow Jew that it represents. The excitement for this weekend was so high, and the demand so great, that every single room in the entire hotel was booked weeks before the event!

The Hungarian government signed a special agreement with the Orthodox Jewish Communities Association (EMIH) to officially grant the country’s Orthodox community with “special status” for the first time since World War II.
The title, which is already enjoyed by several churches and the Mazsihisz—the country’s largest federation of Jewish communities—allows for a representative from each organization who oversees and receives government funding for the educational and religious institutions of his or her respective movement.

[COMMUNICATED]

Experts weighed in on U.S. State Department’s announcement on Monday that the United States is softening its stance on Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria.
This is a reversal of the 1978 State Department legal opinion, known as the Hansell Memorandum, that such neighborhoods are “inconsistent with international law.
“Calling the establishment of civilian settlements inconsistent with international law has not advanced the cause of peace,” said Pompeo. “The hard truth is that there will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace.”

This week House Democrats’ open impeachment inquiry hearings will intensify. The third day of the public impeachment proceedings will take place in two parts with two panels. The first panel will include Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European Affairs at the National Security Council and Jennifer Williams, special adviser for Europe and Russia in the Office of the Vice President. They will testify before the House Intelligence Committee at 9 a.m. ET.
The second panel of the hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET. Kurt Volker, former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine and Timothy Morrison, special assistant to the president and senior director for Europe and Russia at the National Security Council will testify before the committee. #FoxNews

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has opened an investigation into anti-Semitism allegations at New York University.
Department attorneys, who filed a seven-page complaint in April with OCR on the matter, will probe whether “as a result of incidents that occurred at the university, a hostile environment existed for Jewish students on the university campus and, if so, whether the University responded appropriately.”
“It’s very positive and very encouraging because the issues that are raised are very serious; they’re pervasive and widespread,” attorney Neal Sher, who filed the complaint on behalf of former NYU student Adela Cojab, told Fox News.
Sher told the outlet that Students for Justice in Palestine is at the “centerpiece” of it.

As Israel approaches what would be its third election in less than a year, many Israelis and international observers are questioning the sustainability of the country’s complicated parliamentary system. Yet at the heart of Israel’s current political impasse lies not only its system of government, but also its justice system.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether or not to issue formal indictments in three separate cases against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In Case 1000, Netanyahu is accused of receiving gifts worth over $200,000 from friends over an extended period, while Case 2000 and Case 4000 both involve alleged attempts by Netanyahu to secure positive media coverage in exchange for political favors.

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Rebbetzin Gittel Kaplan a”h of Yerushalayim. She passed away a day before her 50th birthday.
Rebbetzin Kaplan was the wife of Rav Nissan Kaplan, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Daas Aharon, rov of Givat Hamivtar, and former longtime R”M at Yeshivas Mir Yerushalayim.
She was a daughter of Rav Avrohom Gurwicz, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Bais Yosef of Gateshead.
The rebbetzin had battled illness and, at the advice of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, a name, Yente, was added to generate zechusim for her speedy recovery. She passed away Tuesday morning.
The levayah will be held this morning in Yerushalayim.
Yehi zichrah boruch.

Federal prosecutors in New York are preparing to file criminal charges as early as this week against two Bureau of Prisons workers who were supposed to check regularly on millionaire offender Jeffrey Epstein the night he hanged himself in his cell, according to people familiar with the matter.
The two corrections workers, whose names have not been released, fell under suspicion immediately after Epstein was found early on the morning of Aug. 10 in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, a federal jail used primarily for people awaiting trial.
The New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging, though lawyers for the disgraced financier have questioned that conclusion.

Stories transmit our values and priorities from generation to generation – sh’al avicha v’yageidcha. There is no better place to hear these stories – or to tell them – than this year’s Agudah Convention.
Our Gedolim and Rabbanim will be joined by the attendees of the Convention this Shabbos, Parashas Toldos, November 28th through December 1st, at the beautiful Crowne Plaza in Stamford, Connecticut, to discuss the stories that we take part in every day: the story of Klal Yisroel, and the story of each individual.
“The Convention is open to the public,” says Rabbi Shai Markowitz, Director of the Lefkowitz Leadership Initiative, and convention coordinator. “Even people who can’t stay overnight can join us – with no charge – for any session by driving out to Stamford.”