Yaakov is a 26-year-old בחור suffering from a debilitating illness called Muscular Dystrophy.  Muscular Dystrophy is a devastating disease that causes the deterioration of the muscular tissue resulting in limited mobility and function.  Yaakov is wheelchair bound with paralysis affecting his entire body leaving him with just limited use of his fingers and neck.  Yaakov is attended to by round the clock nurses as well as his devoted parents whose lives revolve around his care and his needs.  Sadly, within the last few years Yaakov lost a brother to the same illness, and a sister to a similar disease.  Yaakov’s life is one filled with so much struggle and pain, but that has not diminished is aspirations for true growth in torah and yiras shamayim.  On a portable respirator and trache, Yaa

German comedian Atze Schröder, 54, tearfully apologized to Auschwitz survivor Eva Szepesi for his father’s war crimes on a talk show last week and was slammed on social media by far-right extremists, JTA reported. Schröder told Szepesi that his father, who was drafted by the Nazis in 1941 and served for four years, “did horrible things as a soldier…He told me about them later.” The comedian’s apology was a spontaneous one in response to Szepesi, 87, sharing her experiences in Auschwitz on the talk show for a broadcast marking 75 years since Auschwitz’s liberation. Visibly moved by Szepesi’s harrowing memories, Schröder told Szepesi that his father “would probably apologize if he was sitting here.” He then arose and extended his hand to Szepesi, saying: “I am sorry.

New recordings obtained by police investigators revealing how Eliezer Berland, the leader of Shuvu Banim who was arrested on Sunday along with his associates, tried to intimidate people with physical violence, were aired on Channel 12 News on Wednesday evening. Berland is heard talking with the Shuvu Banim chief of operations Aharon Schwartz (Oren Amit) on one of the recordings, instructing him to use violence against two people. The conversation was recorded when Berland was in police custody in Tzalmon prison following his extradition to Israel after fleeing the country due to criminal charges against him for assaulting women.

Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News on Thursday that President Donald Trump “has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case” but should stop tweeting about the Justice Department because his tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job.” Barr’s comments are a rare break with a president who the attorney general has aligned himself with and fiercely defended. But it also puts Barr in line with many of Trump’s supporters on Capitol Hill who say they support the president but wish he’d cut back on his tweets. Barr said he was prepared to accept the consequences of speaking out against the president. “I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me,” the attorney general said. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

(By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com) [Written in honor of the shalom zachar of our ninth grandchild – born to Moshe and Aliza Hoffman.] The Klausenberger Rebbe zt”l was once shot in the arm r”l by a Nazi while he was in Auschwitz. He was afraid to go to the Nazi infirmary, even there were doctors there. He knew that if he entered that building, it was true sakanas nefashos, and he might never come out alive. Instead, the Rebbe plucked a leaf from a tree to staunch the bleeding. The Rebbe then cut off a branch and tied it around his wound to hold it in place. It healed in 3 days. He then promised himself that if he would survive the horrible evil that was Auschwitz, he would build a hospital in Eretz Yisrael where every human being would be cared for with dignity.

Degal HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni told a Kikar HaShabbos reporter on Thursday that “Chinuch Atzmai received a heter from Gedolei Yisrael to establish schools with secular studies within the Chareidi sector if there’s a demand for it.” The Kikar HaShabbos reporter was questioning Gafni about a meeting of “working Chareidim” with Degel HaTorah at which criticism was directed at the party for not meeting the needs of Chareidi parents who are interested in sending their children to schools which combine Torah and secular studies. The reporter heard that Gafni wasn’t responsive to the criticism. “Are you going to give up on hundreds or thousands of people who would vote for Degel HaTorah?” the reporter asked.

In the past year, our ads were accompanied by ethereal works of art by world-renowned photographer and post-production artist Erik Almas. The enthusiastic feedback we received proved to us the success of the campaign, while the actual project coalesced with magnificent accuracy.  We now reveal to you the start of a breathtaking new ad series, expressing the promise and experience of life in Jerusalem Estates. Ads will run under the title “It’s Different Here”, a precept which will accompany the marketing process throughout the coming year.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz held discussions on Thursday morning with Israeli and Japanese officials regarding the coronavirus situation in general as well as the situation of the 15 Israeli passengers quarantined on the Japanese cruise ship Diamond Princess on which passengers were diagnosed with the coronavirus. Israel issued an official request to Japan on Wednesday to allow the Israeli passengers off the ship and consider “other quarantine possibilities” but Japan refused the request. Katz told Army Radio on Thursday that Japan’s refusal is understandable since Israel shares Japan’s desire not to spread the virus.

President Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out against former White House chief of staff John Kelly for being disloyal after the ex-adviser came to the defense of a former national security aide who offered key testimony in the impeachment inquiry. The president’s comments targeting Kelly came after Kelly defended Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was among administration officials who raised concerns about Trump’s July phone call with Ukraine’s president. That call spurred the president’s impeachment trial, which ended in acquittal last week. “Like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut,. which he actually has a military and legal obligation to do,” Trump tweeted about Kelly.

President Donald Trump blasted former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg over his height again on Thursday, prompting the billionaire Democratic presidential candidate to slam Trump as “a carnival barking clown.” Promoting a photoshopped image of Bloomberg posted by White House social media director Dan Scavino, Trump called Bloomberg “a LOSER who has money but can’t debate and has zero presence, you will see.” “He reminds me of a tiny version of Jeb ‘Low Energy’ Bush, but Jeb has more political skill and has treated the Black community much better than Mini!” Trump said, resurfacing his attack on Bush from the last campaign and pointing to years-old eye-opening comments Bloomberg made in defense of “stop-and-frisk” — a policy Trump has backed as president — that gained attention thi