Thursday accuweather.com46°Low of 37°Some sunshine giving way to cloudsWind: SSW 6-12 MPHHFRIDAYHHSHABBOSTODAY IN NEW YORKWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, testifying on Wednesday in the first open hearing of the impeach-ment inquiry against Presi-dent Donald Trump, linked the president more directly to a pressure campaign on Ukraine to conduct investi-gations that would benefit him politically.William Taylor was one of two career diplomats who testified before the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee as a crucial new phase began in the impeachment inquiry that threatens Mr. Trump’s presidency even as heDOV BENOVADIAYERUSHALAYIM – According to the Homefront Command, bomb shelters in homes that are built to standard have saved dozens of lives, as people who were in the shelters when rockets hit were, b’chasdei Shamay-im, saved, while the homes themselves suffered sig-nificant damage. Otherwise, the residents would likely have been injured or fatally wounded, chas v’shalom. Yet over 2.5 million peo-ple living in the center of the country do not have easy access to bomb shelters, a report by Yediot AcharonotImpeachment Hearings Focus On Ukraine Pressure CampaignReport: 2 Million People Have No Access to Bomb SheltersAP Photo/Khalil Hamra/Tsafrir AbayovRockets are launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel Wednesday. Inset: Israeli sappers remove a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on farmland near the Gaza border.NEW YORKBREAKINGISRAELClashes Rock Bolivia as New Interim Leader ChallengedPage 3Amid Tensions With Turkey, Trump Lauds Relation With ErdoganPage 3Orthodox Fundraiser Nets Millions for Trump SuperPACPage 4Minimum Age to Buy Tobacco Products in New York Rises to 21Page 4New York AG Opens Complaint Portal For National Grid CustomersPage 5ADL Expands Anti-Hate Education Programs in BrooklynPage 5Iron Dome Shoots Down Rockets Over Ashkelon, AshdodPage 7Story on page 6Continued on page 7Continued on page 2Over 400 Gaza Rockets in 2 Days; Ceasefire on the Brink39°52°DAILY VOL. XVI - NO. 3728 // November 14, 2019פ”שת ,ןושח ז”ט // אריו תשרפ ,ה”בHAMODIA DAILY 50¢ 216 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019 THURSDAYBreaking16 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019 THURSDAYHamodia Daily [USPS 021660] is published Daily – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, except for the weeks of Passover and Sukkos holidays, for the subscription price of $200.00 per year by Hamodia Corp, 207 Foster Ave Brooklyn NY 11230. Periodical postage paid at Brooklyn NY mailing offices and additional offices. Postmaster: Please send address change to Hamodia, 207 Foster Ave Brooklyn NY 11230seeks re-election in 2020.Both Taylor and George Kent testi-fied about their concerns about pres-sure by Mr. Trump and allies to get Ukraine to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden in a dramatic hearing that pitted Democratic and Republican lawmakers against each other.While the hearing turned conten-tious at times — including sniping between lawmakers — the low-key testimony given by the two witnesses may have fallen short of giving the Democrats the ammunition they need to advance their argument that Mr. Trump has committed mis-deeds worthy of ousting him from office.An important disclosure came from Taylor, acting ambassador to Ukraine, who pointed to the Repub-lican president’s keen interest in getting Ukraine to investigate Biden, a former vice president, and reiter-ated his understanding that $391 mil-lion in U.S. security aid was withheld from Kiev unless it cooperated.Taylor said a member of his staff overheard a July 26 phone call between Mr. Trump and Gordon Sondland, a former political donor appointed as a senior diplomat, in which the Republican president asked about those investigations and Sondland told him that the Ukraini-ans were ready to proceed.Following the call — which occurred a day after Mr. Trump had asked Ukraine’s president during a phone call to conduct the investiga-tions — the staff member asked Sond-land, the U.S. ambassador to the Euro-pean Union, what Trump thought about Ukraine, Taylor said.“Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for,” Tay-lor testified, referring to Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.Asked by Adam Schiff, the com-mittee’s Democratic chairman, if that meant Mr. Trump cared more about the investigations than about Ukraine, Taylor said: “Yes, sir.”At a White House news confer-ence with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan after the hearing ended, Mr. Trump said he knew “nothing” about the call with Sondland that Taylor said his aide overheard.“It’s the first time I heard it,” he said.David Holmes, a Taylor aide sub-poenaed to testify behind closed doors on Friday in the impeach-ment inquiry, is the staffer who over-heard the call that Sondland made to Trump from Ukraine, said a person familiar with the issue.Republican lawmakers called Taylor’s account hearsay and noted Ukraine’s president has not said he felt pressured by Trump.Historic SessionWith a potential audience of tens of millions looking on, Schiff opened the historic session — the first impeachment drama in two decades — in an ornate hearing room packed with journalists, lawmakers and members of the public. The hearing lasted 5-1/2 hours.Schiff’s accusations that Trump abused his power was met by a staunch denial by the pan-el’s senior Republican, Devin Nunes, that Trump and his aides improperly pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden, a leading contender for the Democratic nomination for the 2020 election.Taylor and Kent, the deputy assis-tant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, expressed con-cern that U.S. security aid — as well as a meeting with Trump — was with-held from Ukraine as leverage over Kiev.“The questions presented by this impeachment inquiry are whether President Trump sought to exploit that ally’s vulnerability and invite Ukraine’s interference in our elec-tions,” Schiff said.“Our answer to these questions will affect not only the future of this presidency, but the future of the pres-idency itself,” Schiff said.Schiff added: “If this is not impeachable conduct, what is?”This week’s sessions, where Americans are hearing directly for the first time from people involved in events that sparked the congres-sional inquiry, may pave the way for the Democratic-led House to approve articles of impeachment — formal charges — against Mr. Trump.That would lead to a trial in the Senate on whether to convict him of those charges and remove him from office. Republicans control the Sen-ate and have shown little support for Mr. Trump’s removal.The inquiry is being conducted as the 2020 presidential campaign begins to gather steam. Opinion polls show Democrats strongly back impeachment and Republicans strongly oppose, leaving both parties appealing to a small sliver of the pub-lic — independents and others who have not made up their minds.Nunes accused the Democrats of conducting a “carefully orchestrated smear campaign” using “a horrifi-cally one-sided process” and accused “Democrats, the corrupt media and partisan bureaucrats” of trying to overturn the results of the 2016 elec-tion won by Mr. Trump.He insisted that Mr. Trump did nothing wrong or impeachable when he asked Ukraine’s new president to investigate Biden.“It’s nothing more than an impeachment process in search of a crime,” Nunes said.Continued from page 1Impeachment Hearings Focus on Ukraine Pressure CampaignAP Photo/Andrew HarnikCareer Foreign Service officer George Kent (L) and top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine William Taylor are sworn in to testify during the first public impeachment hearing of the House Intelligence Committee, Wednesday. Washington Post/Matt McClainHouse Intelligence Committee members and attorneys during the impeachment inquiry hearing Wednesday.3THURSDAY 16 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019BreakingTHURSDAY 16 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Presi-dent Donald Trump on Wednesday lauded his relationship with Turk-ish President Tayyip Erdogan as the leaders met to overcome mounting differences between the two NATO allies, ranging from Syria policy to Turkey’s purchase of a Russian mis-sile defense system.Mr. Trump’s warm welcome of the Turkish president comes amid anger in the U.S. Congress about Ankara’s offensive into Syria to drive out a Kurdish militia, Washington’s main partner in the fight against Islamic State.“We’ve been friends for a long time, almost from Day 1. We under-stand each others’ country. We understand where we are coming from,” Mr. Trump told Erdogan as they sat next to each other in the Oval Office. “They’re highly respect-ed in their country and in the region,” Mr. Trump said of Erdogan and his wife Emine.In front of the White House, pro-testers denounced Erdogan’s visit and urged the president to protect Kurds threatened by Turkey’s incur-sion in Syria. One sign read, “Ameri-ca Stand With Your Kurdish Allies.”Trump also said they would dis-cuss Ankara’s purchase of a Russian S-400 missile defense system. He added that the two sides would also talk about a potential $100-billion trade deal.“We’re also talking about the trade deal … Frankly, we’re going to be expanding our trade relationship very significantly,” Trump said.Despite his warm welcome, the two NATO allies have been at log-gerheads for months now and their ties hit a new crisis point last month when Erdogan began a cross-border incursion against America’s Kurdish allies in Syria and upended the U.S. presence there. The United States has also been angry over Turkey’s purchase of Russian missile defense systems.Turkey shrugged off threats of U.S. sanctions and began receiving its first S-400 deliveries in July. In response, Washington removed Tur-key from the F-35 fighter jet program in which Ankara was a manufactur-er and buyer. But so far, the United States has not imposed any sanc-tions.Five Republican senators, includ-ing vocal Turkey critic Lindsey Gra-ham, came to the White House and spoke with Erdogan and Mr. Trump about the F-35 program.“That’s what we’re here for, we’re talking about with our great sena-tors. There are a lot of alternatives. We’ll work something out. I project that we will work something out,” said Mr. Trump.Turkey’s S-400 purchase infuri-ated Congress. The House of Rep-resentatives last month passed a sanctions package to punish Turkey over its Syria operation, which key members of the Senate, such as Mr. Trump’s ally Graham, have vowed to advance if Ankara endangers Kurds.Republican Senator Ted Cruz pressed Erdogan on Turkey’s treat-ment of Syria’s Kurds.“The Kurds have risked a lot to stand with America and fight our shared enemy and there is very real concern that we do not want to see Turkey engaged in offensive actions against the Kurds,” Cruz said.The House also voted last month in favor of a non-binding resolution recognizing the killings of 1.5 million Armenians a century ago as a geno-cide, a symbolic but historic vote denounced by Turkey.Amid Tensions With Turkey, Trump Lauds Relation With ErdoganReuters/Tom BrennerPresident Donald Trump (R) and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office, Wednesday.LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) – Renewed clashes rocked Bolivia’s capital on Wednesday as the country’s self-declared interim president, a sec-ond-tier lawmaker thrust into the post because of a power vacuum, faced challenges to her leadership claim from supporters of ousted Evo Morales.A day after Jeanine Añez claimed the presidency, violent clashes broke out between rock-throwing Morales’ supporters and police in riot gear, who fired volleys of tear gas to dis-perse the large crowd of protesters as fighter jets flew low overhead in a show of force.Opposition was also building in Congress, where lawmakers loyal to Morales were mounting a challenge to Añez’s legitimacy by trying to hold new sessions that would undermine her claim to the presidency. The sessions — dismissed as invalid by Añez’s faction — added to the political uncertainty following the ouster of Morales, the nation’s first indigenous leader, after nearly 14 years in power.In the streets, angry demonstra-tors tore off corrugated sheets of metal and wooden planks from con-struction sites to use as weapons. Many had flooded the streets of the capital and its sister city of El Alto, a Morales stronghold, waving the mul-ticolored indigenous flag and chant-Clashes Rock Bolivia as New Interim Leader ChallengedAP Photo/Natacha PisarenkoA backer of former President Evo Morales returns a tear gas canister to police during clashes in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, Nov. 13.WASHINGTON (AP) – Professing disinterest and disdain, President Donald Trump said he was “too busy” doing the people’s business Wednesday to watch the impeach-ment hearings against him. But even as Mr. Trump tried to suggest that he was above the fray, the presi-dent repeatedly laid out his many grievances against the process play-ing out on the opposite end of Penn-sylvania Avenue.“I hear it’s a joke. I haven’t watched for one minute,” the presi-dent said during a White House news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the day’s testimony had ended. “This is a sham, and it shouldn’t be allowed.”Mr. Trump had tweeted and retweeted complaints about the inquiry more than 30 times by late afternoon and took a swipe at Dem-ocratic Rep. Adam Schiff, a princi-pal political foe on Capitol Hill.“It’s a witch hunt, it’s a hoax, I’m too busy to watch it,” Mr, Trump told reporters. “There’s nothing there. I see they’re using lawyers that are tele-vision lawyers ... You know, I’m not surprised to see it because Schiff can’t do his own questions.”‘Too Busy’: Trump Professes Disinterest on Impeachmenting, “Now, civil war!”“We don’t want any dictators. This lady has stepped on us — that’s why we’re so mad,” said Paulina Luchampe. “We’re going to fight with our brothers and sisters until Evo Morales is back. We ask for his return. He needs to put the house in order.”According to the Constitution, an interim president has 90 days to orga-nize an election, and the disputed accession of Añez, who until Tuesday was second-vice president of the Sen-ate, was an example of the long list of obstacles she faces. Morales’ backers, who hold a two-thirds majority in Congress, boycotted the session she called Tuesday night to formalize her claim to the presidency, preventing a quorum.Bolivia’s top constitutional court issued a statement late Tuesday lay-ing out the legal justification for Añez taking the presidency — without mentioning her by name.416 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019 THURSDAYNew YorkOrthodox Fundraiser Nets Millions for Trump SuperPACREUVAIN BORCHARDTNEW YORK – An Orthodox Jewish fundraiser in Manhattan Tuesday for President Donald Trump’s America First Action SuperPAC raised more than $3.5 million.Four hundred people participated in the event, arranged by Monsey philanthropist Lazer (Louis) Scheiner at the InterContinental New York Barclay, at 48th Street and Lexington Avenue. The event lit-erature said it was hosted by a group called the Patri-otic Alliance of Jewish Americans, which described itself as “unrelated to partisan politics and beyond the political divide of Republicans and Democrats or Independents,” with a mission statement of “show-ing gratitude for policies and actions which ben-efit the Jewish People.” The literature said the event sought to “show appreciation” to Mr. Trump, as “never before have Jews, here and in Israel, had such a loyal friend and supporter in the White House.”Welcoming remarks were delivered by Kivi Ber-nard; Beri Weber sang the national anthem and Ani Ma’amin; and Harav Yisroel Reisman, Rosh Yeshivah of Torah Vodaath and Rav, Agudas Yisroel of Madi-son, delivered the birchas hanasi.Noted lecturer Rabbi Y. Y. Jacobson welcomed the president. Speaking just a few days after the 81st anniversary of Kristallnacht, Rabbi Jacobson described the horrors of the Holocaust, along with the myriad other persecutions Jews have endured throughout millennia, contrasted with the great kindness of America and the friendship Mr. Trump has shown to the Jewish people. Rabbi Jacobson made the brachah “shenasan m’kvodo l’basar vadam” and translated it into English; the president then exclaimed, “I like him!”The room erupted into chants of “USA! USA!” and, “Four more years!” as the president began his remarks. Joking that in Israel he has “an approval rating of about 98%,” President Trump said that “if anything happened here, I’m taking a trip over to Israel — I’ll be prime minister.”Remarking about the Israeli election stalemate, Mr. Trump said, “What kind of a system is it over there, with Bibi, and they’re all fighting and fight-ing? We have different kinds of fights; at least we know who the boss is. They’ve been trying to do things, and they keep having elections and nobody’s elected.”Regarding the moving of the U.S. embassy to Yerushalayim, Trump said “every president prom-ised it,” but he understands why they didn’t deliver — “because when I got to office, the pressure that was put on me to not do it was incredible. I got a call from every leader from every part of the world practically, but especially that part of the world” not to do it.Discussing embassy properties, the president joked that the U.S. owns even more real estate than Ruby Schron — who was at the event — as the crowd erupted in laughter.The president proudly noted his Jewish grand-children, and called in his Orthodox son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, for a brief wave.Mr. Trump also discussed his recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, and his canceling of the Iran deal. He boasted about the strong economy, and addressed impeachment and what he deemed “witch hunts”: When the Russia collusion story turned out to be a “hoax,” he said, the Democrats got a new one — impeachment; when this is over, they’ll move on to another. He also commented on his pardoning of Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, calling Rubashkin’s treatment by the Justice Department “unfair,” and saying that many people approached him about it from the Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Mr. Trump said that he pardoned Rubashkin because it was the right thing to do.Remarking on the barrage of rockets hitting Isra-el, Mr. Trump gave assurance that that country has no better friend than the United States.Yitzy Stark, a Jewish businessman who attended the fundraiser, told Hamodia it was “an amazing kid-dush Hashem.”“The appreciation that we showed the president was indescribable,” said Stark. “He was so thankful to the Jewish community for their support and for being there for him.”Arctic Blast Spreads Shivers Across RegionPORTLAND, Maine (AP) – An arctic blast that sent shivers across the Midwest spread to the eastern U.S. on Wednes-day, with bitter weather estab-lishing new records from Mis-sissippi to Maine.Cold temperatures that stretched to the Gulf Coast followed a snowstorm that the National Weather Service said contributed to nearly 30% of the country being cov-ered in snow.Snowfall and slippery roads were blamed for more than a half-dozen deaths across the country since Monday.In the Northeast, tempera-tures dipped to single digits early Wednesday in some communities. Record low temperatures for the date were recorded Tuesday in New York City; Buffalo, New York; Burling-ton, Vermont; and parts of Ohio. More daily records were broken Wednesday morning in Burlington, along with sev-eral locations in Pennsylva-nia.To the south, daily records fell Wednesday across a large swath of the region accus-tomed to milder weather.Minimum Age to Buy Tobacco Products in New York Rises to 21NEW YORK (Newsday) – The mini-mum age to buy tobacco products and e-cigarettes in New York State will be 21 starting today, making the state the 18th to pass such a law in response to an alarming rise in vaping and tobac-co use among young people.The development comes four months after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the bill, which was supported overwhelmingly by both chambers of the legislature. It was hailed as a vic-tory by health experts. Both Nassau and Suffolk already ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21.“Congratulations to the state of New York on achieving an impor-tant milestone for public health this week, as it raises the age of sale of any and all tobacco products to 21,” said Harold Wimmer, president and chief executive of the American Lung Association, in a statement. “New York continues to set an example for other states across the nation in its bold actions to protect youth from a lifetime of tobacco-related death and disease.”The push to raise the age statewide came after a December 2018 report by the U.S. surgeon general showing a 78% spike in e-cigarette use among high schoolers, from 11.7% in 2017 to 20.8% in 2018.“By raising the smoking age from 18 to 21, we can stop cigarettes and e-cigarettes from getting into the hands of young people in the first place and prevent an entire genera-tion of New Yorkers from forming costly and potentially deadly addic-tions,” Cuomo said in July while sign-ing the bill into law.Drew Angerer/Getty Images/TNSPacks of menthol cigarettes sits on a table in New York City.5THURSDAY 16 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019New YorkNEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jer-sey would become the second state with a publicly run bank — after North Dakota and its century-old institution — under the aims of an executive order Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed on Wednes-day.Murphy, a wealthy former exec-utive at Goldman Sachs who’s in his first term as governor, cam-paigned on creating a state-run bank that uses some state depos-its for projects considered worth-while, like low-income housing and student loans.The effort has stalled since Murphy took office nearly two years ago, with some in the state scratching their heads about the need for such a bank, but he said Wednesday “the time is right right now” to consider the project.On Wednesday alongside orga-nized labor representatives and members of a liberal-leaning think tank called New Jersey Citizen Action, Murphy signed an execu-tive order creating a 14 member board charged with setting the bank up.Murphy declined to answer questions about the project, but sketched some details.The idea is that state deposits currently sitting in large interna-tional banking institutions would instead go into the public bank, which could then provide what Murphy described as “below mar-ket rate capital” to “creditworthy and socially beneficial projects,” like infrastructure and small busi-ness lending, along with afford-able housing and higher educa-tion loans. Murphy said any state deposits already in community banks could stay there.“The concept is a bank owned by us to keep those dollars in New Jersey to benefit our economy,” Murphy said. “Let’s cut the leakage out, which is enormous.”The New Jersey Bankers Asso-ciation has opposed the public bank.In particular, the group is wor-ried the bank would be subject to cronyism and undue political influence.New York Residents Can Apply For Winter Heating AssistanceBINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) – Utilities are reminding customers in New York that enrollment for heating assistance is open for this winter.The Home Energy Assistance Pro-gram helps low-income people pay the cost of heating their homes. The utilities NYSEG and RG&E reminded customers Tuesday that enrollment for New York’s HEAP program is now open.Eligibility and benefits are based on income, household size and other factors.Information about how to apply for HEAP in New York state is avail-able online at otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/Lawmakers Open NJ Transit Probe With Hearing at TerminalHOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) – New Jersey law-makers probing the state’s transit agency are holding their first hearing at the site of one of its darkest hours.The committee is to convene Wednesday evening at Hoboken Ter-minal.A New Jersey Transit train crashed there in 2016, killing one person and injuring more than 100 others. It was blamed on an engineer’s undiagnosed sleep apnea.Rail commuters have been plagued by train delays, breakdowns and can-cellations in recent years, though NJ Transit says cancellations are down in the first nine months of 2019 com-pared to 2018.NY Proposal Aims to Consolidate ‘Outdated’ Court StructureALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – Lawmakers are considering a proposal that would consolidate New York trial courts by amending the state Constitution.Chief Administrative Judge Law-rence Marks says New York has the most “complicated, inefficient, out-dated” trial court structure in the na-tion.Marks made the comments Wednesday before lawmakers at a hearing in New York City.Multi-Vehicle Crash Sends SUV Into Home’s PorchHAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) – It was a scary morning for a homeowner in New Jersey when police say a car hit six parked vehicles and sent an SUV into a home’s porch.The crash happened around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday in Hamilton Town-ship.Police say there were four people inside the car and one person sus-tained a leg injury.Regional BriefsNJ Considers Setting Up Nation’s Second Public BankNew York AG Opens Complaint Portal For National Grid CustomersREUVAIN BORCHARDTNEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James has opened an online portal for New York City and Long Island residents to sub-mit complaints about the Nation-al Grid gas moratorium.The portal can be accessed at https://ag.ny.gov/national-grid-moratoriumJames’ office is currently investigating the moratorium.“National Grid denied neces-sary service to thousands of New Yorkers in an attempt to strong arm our state into approving a pipeline that would hurt the environment and our water sup-ply,” James said Wednesday. “The moratorium continues to have a profound effect on individuals, small businesses, and New York’s economy, and will only get more problematic as the weather gets colder. New Yorkers harmed by National Grid’s actions deserve an explanation and I urge anyone impacted to file a complaint with my office.”James’ office is currently investigating the moratorium.National Grid implemented a moratorium on new customers in May, claiming it did not have enough gas to supply new custom-ers without a new pipeline, from Pennsylvania through New Jersey and into New York City, for which the company has been seeking, but thus far been denied, regula-tory approval. Politicians accuse National Grid of holding custom-ers hostage.The moratorium also applied to those who previously had gas but whose connections had been interrupted for two year — for example, while the home was being renovated. But the util-ity last month agreed to con-nect those customers after being ordered to do so by the state Pub-lic Service Commission.On Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent a letter giving National Grid 14 days notice of the state’s intent to revoke the company’s certificate to operate its downstate gas franchise, and asked the company to “advise me of any considerations I have over-looked, or present meaningful and immediate remedial actions you would propose,” within that 14-day deadline.National Grid issued the fol-lowing statement in response: “We are confident we can address the Governor’s concerns within his requested timeline and will continue to work with all parties on this critical natural gas supply issue on behalf of all our custom-ers in downstate New York.”Tdorante10616 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019 THURSDAYIsraelHAMODIA STAFFYERUSHALAYIM – As darkness fell on Wednesday, the number of rockets launched at Israel by Gaza terrorists reached over 400 in two days of fighting, which was followed by another barrage later in the night. B’chasdei Shamayim, no deaths have been reported on the Israeli side, though dozens have been light-ly injured and required treatment for shock.According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, 26 Pales-tinians have been killed in Israeli strikes. At least half of that number were members of terrorist groups, the IDF said.Residents in the Gaza periph-ery were advised by the authorities to stay in bomb shelters, as more attacks came Wednesday evening.Prime Minister Binyamin Netan-yahu held consultations in the late afternoon at IDF Southern Com-mand headquarters, with Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kocha-vi, ISA Director Nadav Argaman, NSC Director Meir Ben-Shabbat and senior defense establishment officials.In a statement issued by his office, Netanyahu said that they had “agreed on the future steps,” without giving any details.“There is a great achievement here for the State of Israel, which has further strengthened its deter-rence. The arch-terrorists know that we can put them in the cross hairs and we will put in the cross hairs anyone who tries to attack us.“Moreover, we are not bent on escalation but we will carry out all the necessary actions that we have agreed on in order to continue defending the State of Israel and its citizens,” the prime minister said.From Gaza came a joint state-ment of the Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s military wing and three other armed groups taking credit for firing dozens of rockets at Sderot and Ashkelon.Meanwhile, negotiations for a ceasefire being held in Cairo were said to be on the brink of success Wednesday night, even while rocket launchings against southern Israel continued.The fighting could be over “tonight,” an Israel official was quot-ed by Ynet as saying.But, he said, “everything is hap-pening at once … this could end tonight, or tomorrow but can also slide into further escalations.”Islamic Jihad leader Ziad a-Nahala, in Cairo for the negotia-tions, said they have offered Israel a ceasefire, on conditions:“We demand the end of assassi-nations in Gaza and the West Bank, the cessation of shootings at the pro-testers in the return marches and the return to pre-escalation norms,” a-Nahala said.Egyptian intelligence officials have been mediating between Israel and Islamic Jihad, and have been joined in Cairo by U.N. Special Coor-dinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov.U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker, who is in Yerushalayim on a visit, said that “the Islamic Jihad has nothing to lose, so it’s hard to nego-tiate or have a mediation. They just lost their senior official, very hard to stomach,” The Jerusalem Post quot-ed him as saying.On a more upbeat note, Schenker observed that Hamas’ absence from the fighting “suggests that Hamas does not want to fight with Israel right now, nor does Israel want to fight with Hamas right now. That is positive.”Over 400 Gaza Rockets Fired in 2 Days; Ceasefire Negotiations on the BrinkAmos Ben-Gershom/GPOPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (second right) meeting with security officials. AP Photo/Ariel SchalitPeople take cover during an air-raid warning siren in Sderot, southern Israel, Wednesday. DOV BENOVADIAYERUSHALAYIM - Israel has warned Hamas not to get involved in the warfare between Israel and Islam-ic Jihad. In a message to the terror group, the IDF said if Hamas begins to fire rockets at Israel, “the IDF will attack and smash multi-story buildings in Gaza.”The warning came in response to a statement by Hamas earlier Wednesday, in which the terror group said that if Israel continued to attack Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, the group would “be forced to respond and defend the Palestinian people. The resistance acts as a single unit, whether in the field or in politics. The different factions in Gaza will con-tinue to respond to violence and avenge the martyrs, and will teach the enemy a lesson it will not forget. The factions in Gaza will not accept a return to tar-geted killings” of terrorists.Hamas has remained outside the fight. Military analysts told Israeli media that the terror group was not upset with the elimination of Islamic Jihad military commander Abu al-Ata, whom, the ana-lysts said, was considered difficult to work with and refused to accept Hamas’ dominance in Gaza.With that, there is growing pressure from the “Arab street” for Hamas to get involved as Israel con-tinues its attacks. In a statement earlier Wednesday, the IDF said that it had “widened the attacks it is con-ducting on additional targets,” and newly-installed Defense Minister Naftali Bennett hinted that tar-geted killings of terrorists would expand, saying that “we are sending a clear message to our enemies on all fronts with these actions. You were and remain tar-gets.”In a statement earlier Wednesday, the terror group said that “our account with the Zionist enemy is still open. The rocket fire will continue, and will reach Yerushalayim, Hadera and Tel Aviv. The revenge for killing Abu al-Ata will still take place.”Israel to Hamas: Don’t Get Involved in Conflict7THURSDAY 16 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019IsraelHAMODIA STAFFYERUSHALAYIM – Fighting raged again over southern Israel and Gaza on Wednesday night.Iron Dome batteries in Ashkelon reportedly intercepted several rock-ets from the terrorist enclaves at about 9:20 p.m., after the city had been quiet most of the day.Two more Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, bringing the death toll to 26 over two days, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.Warning sirens wailed in Ashdod as well, where projectiles had landed earlier in the day.Subsequently, an Iron Dome interceptor brought down a rock, fragments of which landed in a street in the city, police say. Police sappers were called to the scene to remove the debris.B’chasdei Shamayim, no injuries were reported.The IDF, meanwhile, said that air-strikes on Wednesday night targeted Islamic Jihad training bases, a facto-ry used to manufacture launch tubes, and other rocket parts.“The IDF sees with the utmost severity the rocket attacks on Israel. It is on high alert and will continue to act as needed against efforts to harm Israeli citizens,” the military said in a statement.The IDF said it has killed approxi-mately 20 terrorist operatives as they were preparing to launch rock-ets and missiles at Israel over the past two days, most of them mem-bers of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.Iron Dome Shoots Down Rockets Over Ashkelon, AshdodYonatan Sindel/Flash90Smoke trails are seen as rockets launched from the Gaza Strip are intercepted Wednesday by the Iron Dome.YONI WEISSYERUSHALAYIM – A 65-year-old woman was lightly wounded by glass shards after her house in Ashkelon was struck by a rocket from Gaza Wednesday afternoon.She was rushed to the town’s Barzilai Medical Center for fur-ther treatment in a stable condi-tion.Woman Wounded After Direct Hit on Ashkelon Houseshows — increasing the possibil-ity that many people could be hurt or killed, chas v’shalom, in a round of warfare in which terrorists fired rockets at Tel Aviv and the surround-ing area.Residents who do not have bomb shelters in their apartments are directed to take shelter in neigh-borhood bomb shelters, which are supposed to have facilities for hun-dreds of people. But these shelters are often a significant distance from where people live..In the Tel Aviv area, Homefront Command regulations say that resi-dents have a total of three minutes to Report: 2 Million People Have No Access to Bomb SheltersContinued from page 1DOV BENOVADIAYERUSHALAYIM – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu paid a surprise visit to the Knesset Wednesday to dis-cuss the situation in southern Israel — and promptly got into a shouting match with MKs of the United Arab List, who accused him of carrying out “murders” for “political purposes.” In his remarks, Netanyahu praised the skill of the IDF in the precision strike against Gaza terrorist Abu al-Ata, say-ing that armies “will learn from our actions.”On Tuesday, nearly all UAL MKs accused Netanyahu of carrying out the elimination of top Islamic Jihad mili-tary commander Abu al-Ata for “polit-ical purposes,” specifically for pre-venting his rival, Benny Gantz, from bringing Arab MKs into his govern-ment or convincing them to support it from outside the coalition. UAL head Ayman Odeh said that “Netanyahu lost two elections in a row, and he intends to leave behind him scorched earth in a desperate attempt to remain on the job.” Earlier, Labor MK Omer Bar-Lev accused Netanyahu of orchestrating the hit on Abu Al-Ata for this week in order to make it impossible for Gantz to include the United Arab List in his coalition negotiations. “This action could have been taken last week or last month,” he told Reshet Bet. “The only reason Netanyahu waited until now was to make it harder for Gantz to form a government.”Arab MKs continued that tact Wednesday. As Netanyahu delivered an official statement, Arab MKs shout-ed out anti-Netanyahu slogans, as well as “murderer” and “warmonger.” The prime minister said that contrary to the accusations that he lost no oppor-tunity to attack Gazans, the situation was quite the opposite. “There were many repeated requests for action by security officials that I turned down because there was a chance that non-combatants could be hurt,” he said. “We are trying to minimize the dam-age to civilians. This is totally differ-ent than what the terrorists — whom some MKs try to defend — are doing. Their purpose is to harm civilians, and their targets are residential neighbor-hoods.”Turning to Arab MK Ahmed Tibi, Netanyahu said that “yesterday you said I had to be removed for war crimes,” a ridiculous charge given the terrorist activities of Abu al-Ata. Tibi screamed back, calling Netanyahu a “liar, an inciter, because of you my family gets death threats.” After being told three times to calm down and refusing, Tibi was escorted by guards out of the plenum.After order was restored, Netanya-hu said that “the time has come to tell the truth about our activities. We do everything possible to avoid harming the civilian population and innocent bystanders. We do things that no army in the world does; we try to conduct surgical strikes against the specific targets. We do this on an unprecedent-ed level, and we proved this” with the elimination of Abu al-Ata, who alone with his wife was killed in the strike by the IDF early Tuesday as they were asleep, with only the bedroom dam-aged in the attack — and the rest of the house relatively unscathed, Netan-yahu said.“What we did in Gaza Tuesday will be taught in armies around the world, and already people are learning from it,” the prime minister added. “With-out these kinds of surgical strikes, you will never be able to fight terrorists, because they will always take shelter with innocent people. Unfortunately, what happens in the Knesset is that some MKs — but not the majority — do something unbelievable: They attack those who respect the rule of law in warfare, IDF soldiers, and the govern-ment that sends them to fight, calling them war criminals,” while defending the actual war criminals.Netanyahu: Armies Around the World Will Learn From Our Precision StrikeAP Photo/Khalil HamraPalestinians check the damage of the house in which Islamic Jihad commander Bahaa Abu al-Ata was killed by an Israeli airstike, Tuesday in Gaza City.Police SpokesmanPolice sappers at the scene of the bomb after a direct hit in Ashkelon on Wednesday. take shelter when a Red Alert warn-ing siren goes off, indicating that a rocket is on its way.In addition, many of the bomb shelters, which were built in the 1950s and 1960s, have been appro-priated for purposes other than secu-rity. Community groups run classes and activities in them, and some have even been turned into shuls in neigh-borhoods where there is a shortage of shul seats. As a result, many resi-dents effectively have no shelter they can use in time of attacks.816 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019 THURSDAYBusinessClosing NumbersNEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street capped a wobbly day for stocks with another record-setting finish Wednesday.The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index each eked out a modest gain that was enough to nudge them to record highs. The Nasdaq closed just below its all-time high set a day earlier.The latest milestones came after the market bounced back from a late-afternoon slide that coincided with a published report that highlighted snags in the U.S.-China trade negotiations.Stocks spent much of the morning with slight gains after Federal Reserve Chair-man Jerome Powell told a congressional panel that the central bank is likely to hold off on cutting interest rates again, citing optimism about the U.S. economy.Investors’ optimism that Washington and Beijing are nearing a stopgap trade deal and Fed interest rate cuts have helped lift the market in recent weeks. Surprisingly good corporate earnings and data showing the economy is still growing solidly have put investors in a buying mood.The S&P 500 rose 2.20 points, or 0.1%, to 3,094.04, a record. The benchmark index edged past its last record close, set Friday. It has hit new highs 20 times this year, eclipsing the 19 it hit in 2018.The Dow gained 92.10 points, or 0.3%, to 27,783.59. It also closed at a record high on Monday.The Nasdaq dropped 3.99 points, or 0.1%, to 8,482.10.Small-company stocks lagged the broader market, sending the Russell 2000 index down 5.94 points, or 0.4%, to 1,589.18.More stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Stock indexes in Europe finished broadly lower.Treasury yields continued to fall as demand for bonds increased, driving their pric-es higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.89% from 1.91% late Fri-day. It was below 1.50% in early September and has been rallying with confidence in the economy’s strength.Stocks got off to a sluggish start Wednesday as investors awaited the remarks from Powell, who kicked off two days of testimony before con-gressional panels.They perked up after the Fed chairman said the central bank is unlikely to cut rates unless the economy slows enough to lead Fed policy-makers to make a “material reassessment” of the outlook.The Fed cut short-term rates last month for the third time this year, to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%, in a bid to shield the economy from slower global growth and the U.S.-China trade war.ADT was among the stocks that helped drive the market higher Wednesday. The home and business security compa-ny climbed 8.2% after its lat-est quarterly results topped Wall Street’s expectations. The company also announced a special dividend.Shares in Energizer Hold-ings jumped 15.2% after the battery and personal care products maker’s latest quar-terly results handily beat Wall Street’s forecasts.Benchmark crude oil rose 32 cents to settle at $57.12 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained 31 cents to close at $62.37 a barrel.Wholesale gasoline rose 3 cents to $1.64 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 1 cent to $1.91 per gallon. Natural gas fell 2 cents to $2.60 per 1,000 cubic feet.Gold rose $9.60 to $1,461.70 per ounce, silver rose 22 cents to $16.90 per ounce and cop-per was unchanged at $2.64 per pound.The dollar fell to 108.79 Japanese yen from 108.94 yen on Tuesday. The euro weak-ened to $1.1002 from $1.1011.USD currency exchangeWobbly Day on Wall Street Ends Mixed; New Highs For S&P, DowLost or FoundThe JewishInternational Lost and FoundNetworkPost and Search Free!YidFind.org | 718.Yid.FindDOW+92.1027,783.59NASDAQ-3.998,482.10S&P 500+2.203,094.0410-Yr T-Notes-.041.87%30-Yr T-Bonds-.032.35%Crude Oil+.32$57.12Gold+9.60$1,461.70Silver+0.07$16.97Market watchNov. 13, 2019Dow Jonesindustrials92.1027,783.59Nasdaqcomposite-3.998,482.10Standard & Poor’s 500 2.203,094.04Russell 2000-5.941,589.18NYSE diaryAdvanced:1,240Declined:1,458Unchanged:83Volume:3.4 bNasdaq diaryAdvanced:1,248Declined:1,682Unchanged:176Volume:2.1 b9THURS DAY 16 Cheshvan 5780 // November 14, 2019BusinessU.S. Budget Deficit Surges to $134.5 Billion in OctoberWASHINGTON (AP) - The federal govern-ment, which ended the 2019 budget year with its largest deficit in seven years, began the new budget year with a deficit in October that was 33.8% bigger than a year ago as spending hit a record.The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the deficit last month totaled $134.5 billion, up from a shortfall in October 2018 of $100.5 billion.The government ran up a deficit of $984.4 billion for the 2019 budget year that ended Sept. 30, 26% larger than in 2018.The Congressional Budget O ce is forecasting that the deficit for 2020 will hit $1 trillion and will remain over $1 tril-lion for the next decade. The country has not experienced $1 trillion annual deficits since 2009 through 2012 follow-ing the 2008 financial crisis.Fed’s Powell Sees Steady Growth, Signals Pause in Rate CutsWASHINGTON (AP) – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expects the U.S. economy to keep growing at a solid pace, though it faces risks from slower growth overseas and trade tensions. But for now, in testimony before a con-gressional panel Wednesday, Powell ex-pressed optimism about the prospects for the U.S. economy and said he ex-pects it will grow at a solid pace, though it still faces risks from slower growth overseas and trade tensions.Hyatt Will Remove Small Bottles From Hotel Bathrooms by 2021CHICAGO (AP) – Hyatt Hotels Corp. is the latest hotel company to say it’s remov-ing small bottles from its bathrooms in an e ort to reduce waste. Hyatt is shift-ing to large, multi-use bottles for sham-poo, conditioner, bath gel and lotion at its 875 hotels worldwide. Marriott Inter-national and Holiday Inn owner IHG an-nounced similar moves in August.Sour Grapes: Trade War Puts Cork in U.S. Wine Sales To ChinaLIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) — Caught in the crossfire of President Donald Trump’s trade war with China, U.S. vineyards are struggling to sell Shiraz in Shanghai and Chardonnay in Shenzhen. They risk los-ing their foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing wine markets. Since June, China has been imposing 93% tari s and taxes on American wine, up from 48% before the hostilities began. Unless the two countries reach a cease-fire, the levies on U.S. wine in China will ratchet up to 106% on Dec. 15.Nike Cuts Ties With Amazon, but Shoes Won’t Vanish From SiteNEW YORK (AP) — Nike is ending a sales partnership with Amazon. The com-pany says it wants to create a more direct customer experience, but the an-nouncement Wednesday is a setback for Amazon. Amazon is under pressure from big-name brands to cut back on fake goods from third-party sellers. Nike announced the pilot program with Ama-zon in 2017, hoping that it would have more control over the brand if it were more closely involved.Flying This Thanksgiving? Expect Record Crowds at AirportsWASHINGTON (AP) - Be prepare for re-cord numbers of people to join you if you’re flying this Thanksgiving. The Transportation Security Administration is predicting record crowds at airports. The agency expects to screen more than 26.8 million passengers between Nov. 22 and Dec. 2. The busiest day is forecast to be Dec. 1, the Sunday after the holiday, when TSA expects to screen more than 2.8 million people. That’s about 700,000 more than the agency handles on a normal day.California Sued Again for Requiring Women on Company BoardsSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California’s first-in-the-nation law requiring publicly held companies to put women on their boards of directors faces a second legal challenge. Publicly traded companies must have at least one woman on their boards by year’s end. The Pacific Legal Foundation provided The Associated Press with the lawsuit it filed in federal court Wednesday. The libertarian group says the law violates the U.S. Constitu-tion’s equal protection clause. It wants to block the law in California and other states.BIZ BriefsThe quality you desire, the care you deserve.718.373.1700 • www.HaymSalomonHome.comNext >