[Video and photos below.] The Kol Yisroel organization made its first official visit to Albany on January 20, marking the launch of an effort to introduce the organization and begin building working relationships with elected officials across New York State.
The visit opened with a meet-and-greet with Rockland County Assemblymember Karl Brabenec. Over the course of the day, Kol Yisroel representatives met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and senior staff, including Assemblymembers Bill Magnarelli, Patrick Carroll, Al Taylor, Emily Gallagher, Stacey Pheffer Amato, and Aron Wieder.
Additional meetings were held with the chiefs of staff for Assemblymembers Steve Stern and John Zaccaro Jr., as well as staff from the office of Assemblymember Micah Lasher. Kol Yisroel also met with staff from the offices of State Senators James Skoufis and Shelley Mayer, including Senator Mayer’s chief of staff. Senator Mayer currently serves as chair of the Senate Education Committee.
The day concluded with a meeting with Rockland County State Senator Bill Weber.
Two central issues were discussed throughout the visit. The first involved the possible introduction of legislation to establish a new school district in East Ramapo, based on Wards 1–4 and Wards 5–9. The second focused on advocating for an expansion of legislation creating buffer zones around houses of worship. Kol Yisroel voiced disappointment with the currently proposed 25-foot buffer, stating that it falls short of providing meaningful protection, and urged lawmakers to consider a 100-foot standard.
Kol Yisroel described the meetings as productive and encouraging and said it plans to return to Albany in the coming weeks to continue discussions. The organization added that it will keep the community informed as the effort moves forward.
VIDEO AND PHOTOS:
{Matzav.com}
Israel is home to more than half a million children from birth to age three, yet oversight of early childhood care remains uneven, with large numbers of infants and toddlers placed in settings that operate outside the state’s licensing framework, according to a report published Wednesday by Yediot Acharonot.
The report states that of roughly 540,000 young children nationwide, only about half are enrolled in supervised childcare facilities. An additional 114,000 infants and toddlers are cared for in centers that do not hold official licenses.
Although a Supervision Law enacted in 2021 was intended to extend regulatory oversight to private childcare centers, implementation has faced mounting difficulties since the legislation was approved, affecting enforcement and compliance across several areas.
Those challenges are expected to intensify next year. In 2026, the budget designated for monitoring daycare centers is projected to drop sharply to 46 million shekels, down from approximately 190 million shekels in 2023.
Officials warn that the reduced funding could significantly weaken efforts to shut down illegal daycare operations. Estimates from the Israeli Tax Authority suggest that between 1,000 and 1,500 daycare centers are currently operating without proper authorization.
Data gathered since last August by the Education Ministry and the Welfare Ministry show that 470 unlicensed daycare centers have already been identified. Authorities note that these facilities are spread across different sectors and that there has also been a rise in the detection of daycare centers that are failing to report income to the tax authorities.
{Matzav.com}
New Jersey will once again require cursive writing instruction in its public schools, with a new law directing districts to teach the skill to students in grades three through five starting next fall.
Governor Phil Murphy signed the legislation on Monday, making cursive a formal part of the curriculum once again. Supporters of the measure argue that handwriting instruction equips students with practical life skills, including the ability to sign documents and manage everyday tasks such as opening bank accounts and writing checks.
“For those of us who grew up handwriting our school papers, it’s hard to imagine that some children can no longer read or write using cursive,” said bill supporter and state Assemblywoman Shanique Speight.
“Requiring that cursive be taught in our public schools will benefit our students and prepare them for the future, so I am pleased to see this bill signed into law.”
Murphy also framed the move in a broader historical context, pointing to the nation’s approaching 250th anniversary and emphasizing the importance of giving students direct access to foundational texts through penmanship. He said cursive instruction allows students to “read our nation’s founding documents.
“We owe it to our students to give them a well-rounded education that ensures they have the tools to fully understand our rich history and become competent leaders,” Murphy said in a statement.
According to the governor’s office, the requirement will take effect with the next full academic year.
State Department of Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said the change reinforces the state’s educational goals by integrating traditional skills with modern learning standards.
“By embedding cursive instruction into the curriculum for grades three through five, this legislation strengthens our commitment to a well-rounded education that prepares students for real-world tasks, helps them connect with historical texts, and complements other learning,” Dehmer said.
Cursive instruction largely disappeared from classrooms around 2010, when the Common Core standards were introduced and districts shifted focus away from handwriting. In recent years, however, several states have reconsidered that approach.
New Jersey now joins states such as California and New Hampshire that have reinstated cursive as a required part of elementary education.
In New York, cursive remains optional at the district level, though efforts have been made to change that. A bill introduced by state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island, would mandate cursive instruction statewide, but it has failed to advance despite being introduced repeatedly over the past decade.
“The notion that a pupil could graduate from twelve years of education without knowing how to sign his or her name in cursive is unacceptable,” according to her proposal.
“This bill would require that this fundamental building block of our children’s education be removed from schools simply because they are not required as part of any of the numerous standardized tests students are subjected to.”
Back in New Jersey, the cursive mandate drew broad support from lawmakers across the state.
“Cursive writing is not about nostalgia – it’s about development,” said state Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie.
“From a learning-science perspective, handwriting engages neural pathways connected to literacy, attention and memory,” she said.
Murphy left office on Tuesday, with Democrat Mikie Sherrill being sworn in as New Jersey’s new governor later that day.
{Matzav.com}
A House committee advanced bipartisan contempt resolutions Wednesday targeting Bill and Hillary Clinton, escalating a dispute over their refusal to appear for sworn testimony connected to the panel’s investigation.
Members of the House Oversight Committee approved a measure recommending contempt charges against Bill Clinton by a 34–8 vote, citing his failure to comply with a subpoena seeking testimony about his ties to the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. A separate resolution addressing Hillary Clinton’s refusal to testify passed by a 28–15 margin.
The subpoenas at issue were authorized last July, when Oversight Committee members and staff from both parties agreed to compel testimony from the Clintons. Despite that action, neither appeared for depositions.
Committee leaders said the stalemate followed months of negotiations between the Clintons’ legal team and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), which did not result in voluntary compliance.
Several Democrats crossed party lines to support the contempt measures, joining Republicans in backing both resolutions against the former first couple.
{Matzav.com}President Trump said he has reached what he described as a preliminary framework for a future agreement involving Greenland, announcing at the same time that he will no longer move forward with planned tariffs on European countries that were set to take effect next month.
“We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” Trump wrote on Truth Social following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
“This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations. Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st,” he added.
The announcement marks a significant shift in what had become one of the most heated disputes between the Trump administration and European governments. While the president characterized the development as a breakthrough, no specific details of the framework were immediately released.
Trump has repeatedly stated his interest in U.S. control of Greenland, a vast island in the North Atlantic, while Denmark has consistently insisted it intends to retain sovereignty over the territory.
As European leaders resisted Trump’s push on Greenland, the president responded earlier this week by threatening sweeping trade penalties. He warned of a 10% tariff “on any and all goods” imported into the United States from the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland, with the rate scheduled to rise to 25% beginning June 1.
That plan has now been withdrawn. Trump said Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will take the lead in negotiations related to Greenland.
Greenland also dominated Trump’s address Wednesday to the World Economic Forum, where he made clear that military action is not part of his approach.
“I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
“All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland,” he added.
The president openly criticized Denmark’s refusal to agree to U.S. control of the island, dismissively referring to Greenland as a “piece of ice.”
“We want a piece of ice for world protection — and they won’t give it,” he said.
“So they have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative. Or you can say no, and we will remember.”
Trump pointed to historical precedent, noting that the United States administered Greenland during World War II after Denmark fell to Nazi Germany, before returning it at the war’s end.
“After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it. But how ungrateful are they now?”
“We’ve never asked for anything else and we could have kept that piece of land and we didn’t sell,” he continued. “They have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative — or you can say no and we will remember.”
The president again stressed his argument that American control of Greenland is necessary to counter potential threats from China and Russia, citing the island’s strategic position in the Arctic.
“If there is a war, much of the action will take place on that piece of ice, think of it. Those missiles will be flying right over the center of that piece of ice,” he said.
In his statement announcing the framework, Trump said the discussions would also include The Golden Dome, the missile defense system he has proposed to protect the United States from incoming attacks.
{Matzav.com}
Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein spoke out forcefully against efforts to assign blame to Israel’s attorney general for the recent tragedy at a Yerushalayim daycare facility, stressing that such an approach is fundamentally mistaken and contrary to Jewish belief.
In recorded remarks broadcast Tuesday evening on the Siach Yitzchok hotline, Rav Zilberstein addressed public claims that the disaster was the result of policies pursued by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, which critics say have restricted the chareidi community and led some parents to place children in unlicensed childcare settings.
According to the recording, Rav Zilberstein’s student, Rav Yaakov Ben Serouk, told listeners that when the rav learned of the tragic incident and heard the accusations circulating in the media, he reacted sharply and rejected them outright. Rav Zilberstein made clear that it is forbidden to speak in such terms or to attribute a tragedy of this nature to the actions of specific officials.
“Do not say such things,” Rav Zilberstein said. “A person must know that everything is from Shomayim. Our obligation is to strengthen ourselves and improve our ways, not to search for others to blame.”
Rav Zilberstein further explained that tragedies are meant to serve as a spiritual awakening. He said that such events are intended to prompt self-examination and repentance, with each individual reflecting on personal conduct and considering what message is being conveyed from Above.
{Matzav.com}
A severe Arctic air mass is poised to sweep across the eastern United States in the days ahead, bringing life-threatening cold that will drive temperatures well below zero in some areas and into the single digits in others, prompting warnings for residents to remain indoors to avoid hypothermia.
Meteorologists say the cold wave will intensify as the week progresses, with major impacts expected across the Midwest and Northeast. Chicago, large parts of Michigan, and upstate New York are among the locations forecast to experience the harshest conditions.
“It is dangerously cold,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told The NY Post. “This Arctic air — an Arctic blast — is coming. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
According to Kines, the Northeast will bear the brunt of the frigid conditions over the weekend, as temperatures plunge to roughly 30 degrees below what is typical for late January.
As the Arctic air pours south from Canada, residents in the most affected regions — including parts of Minnesota and Illinois — could face serious health risks if they remain outdoors for extended periods without adequate protection, Kines warned.
“If you have to go outside, respect the cold,” he said, urging people to dress in layers and limit time outdoors to essential trips only.
“When it’s that cold, it actually hurts sometimes when you first breathe in,” he said. “It’s nothing to sneeze at.”
The extreme cold could also strain power systems, as households increase heating use and potentially overload local electrical grids, Kines added.
In New York City, temperatures are expected to tumble into the low teens over the weekend, coinciding with a snowstorm forecast to arrive on Sunday, according to Kines.
The storm is expected to bring several inches of snow — “at least enough to shovel and plow” — to the city, he said.
Before the cold fully sets in, conditions in the city are expected to remain milder on Thursday, with a high near 45 degrees and a low around 29, forecasters said.
By Friday, skies will be partly sunny, with temperatures reaching a high of 36 and dipping to 12 overnight. Shabbos is expected to be even colder, with a high of just 19 degrees and a low of 12.
On Sunday, as snow falls across the city, temperatures are forecast to reach a high of 20 degrees and a low of 15, forecasters said.
Relief from the deep freeze is not expected until sometime after next week, Kines said.
“So if you don’t like the cold, you better jump on a plane soon,” he said.
{Matzav.com}
