A well-known Sephardic rov from Netivot is working to launch a new chareidi political movement that would rival Shas on a national scale, following his success in challenging the party’s influence on the local level, according to a report aired Sunday on Israeli television.
Channel 13 reported that Rav Chaim Yosef Abergel is forming a party called “Mayim Chaim,” which will advocate for including general education in chareidi schools and support military enlistment for members of the chareidi community.
Rav Chaim Yosef Abergel is a son of Rav Yoram Abergel, a beloved figure in the Sephardic community who distanced himself from Shas in 2015.

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The U.S. government advised American travelers age 60 and older not get a chikungunya vaccine as it investigates possible side effects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration posted notices late last week on the vaccine, Valneva’s Ixchiq. Chikungunya, spread by the bites of infected mosquitoes, is a debilitating tropical illness marked by fever and joint pain. About 100 to 200 cases are reported annually among U.S. travelers. Last year, the government began recommending the vaccine, which is made with weakened chikungunya virus, to U.S. adults who travel to countries where chikungunya is a problem.

Israeli National Defense Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday urged the Israeli government to “unleash the gates of hell” in the ongoing war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
“We really need to implement what Trump told us to do,” Ben-Gvir told JNS during the faction meeting of his Otzma Yehudit Party, responding to reports that U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to meet with Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas during his current Mideast trip.
“He told us to unleash the gates of hell. Let’s unleash the gates of hell on them. That’s our mission,” the minister said.

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Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein joined yeshiva leaders and administrators in a meeting to thank State Senate candidate Sam Sutton for his critical contributions to a bill supporting yeshiva education. The gathering focused on the legislation’s importance, which aims to bolster and protect a proud and esteemed education system within the yeshiva community—a priority for many stakeholders. Eichenstein, participating via Zoom from Albany, emphasized Sam Sutton’s collaborative efforts that helped drive the bill’s success. Sutton’s role was a focal point of the discussion.

Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Israel’s opposition Yisrael Beiteinu Party, on Monday denounced the Trump administration’s plan to let aid supplies into the Gaza Strip as a “very, very negative development.”
“In my opinion, humanitarian aid—of any kind—should not have been allowed to enter since the start of the war, as long as our hostages are rotting in Hamas’s tunnels,” Liberman stated in response to a question from JNS at his party’s faction meeting at the Knesset in Yerushalayim.
“We just need to say it out loud to everyone and stand by it,” Lieberman said. “You want humanitarian aid? First, return the hostages, then we’ll talk. And therefore, for me, this is a very, very negative development.”

A 19-year-old from Yerushalayim has been taken into custody and formally charged with intentionally damaging vital emergency and security infrastructure in the vicinity of the kever of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron.
The arrest took place just days ahead of the Lag Ba’omer gathering, an annual pilgrimage expected to bring in hundreds of thousands of attendees.
The indictment accuses the young man of purposefully sabotaging essential systems designed to ensure the safety of visitors making the trip to Meron.
In recent weeks, Northern District police received several reports of deliberate destruction to safety-related installations around the Meron area.

Family getting up: Friday (5/16/25)Morning R’ Avrohom WechterHusband R’ Pinchus WechterSon R’ Moty WechterSon R’ Mendy WechterSon