We often dedicate articles to former world leaders who supported the establishment of the State of Israel. The street signs bearing their names serve as an eternal legacy to their bond of friendship with the Jewish nation. Accordingly, many former British leaders, such as Lloyd George, Josiah Wedgewood, and Colonel John Henry Patterson, have streets in Jerusalem’s elegant German Colony named after them.

NEW YORK NEWS

 Former President Donald Trump is preparing to surrender to prosecutors in Manhattan on Tuesday, making him the first former president to face criminal charges. Dozens of reporters and camera crews were stationed outside the criminal courthouse on Centre Street in Lower Manhattan on Friday, while 20 court officers stood at the courthouse entrances. Mr. Trump is expected to enter the courthouse with his Secret Service protection to answer charges before a state judge.

NEW YORK NEWS

 A New York judge has ruled that the state cannot force parents to remove their children from religious schools, stating that such an order would be unconstitutional. The case involved parents who had chosen to send their children to a yeshiva that did not meet the state’s educational standards. The state had threatened to remove the children from the school if the parents did not enroll them in a public school or a different yeshiva that met state standards. However, the judge ruled that such a requirement would infringe on the parents’ constitutional right to freely exercise their religion. The ruling could have implications for similar cases in New York and other states, where there have been disputes between religious schools and state authorities over educational standards and requirements.

Traveling to Eretz Yisrael always carries with it unique feelings. As put eloquently by the taxi driver that drove me from my hotel to the airport for my return flight to the U.S.A.; “You’re not going home. You’re going to America. Eretz Yisrael is home!”