The Lakewood Scoop1 hour agoChasdei Hashem. As flames tore through a home on Park Avenue early this morning, police officers and neighbors rushed to get residents out of nearby homes. Within minutes, people were out and everyone was accounted for.
According to officials and neighbors who spoke to TLS, an estimated 60-70 people were evacuated from roughly 8-10 neighboring homes, possibly more. Those numbers are preliminary, not an official count.
Residents speaking with TLS described the escape as pure Nissim.
Neighbors can be seen running in the streets to wake up others, and some ran into homes to help people get out.
Residents who spoke to TLS recounted how close the escape was in several homes.
In one home bordering the fire, an elderly man who had been awake heard banging on his door and initially thought it was teenagers. Had he been asleep, he might not have woken so easily. The man, who was with his wife, had difficulty walking over the tracks and would not leave until a firefighter got his Tefillin out of the house. He is okay.
In another house, the downstairs resident woke to smoke detectors and saw orange outside the window. He ran to the dining room to grab his wife’s laptop, which she uses as a teacher. Then, he said, the electric fuse box exploded. He rushed to get his family and saw flames in his bedroom.
The upstairs resident woke to a bright orange wall of crackling fire. He grabbed his whole family and got everyone out.
Another man was returning from learning when he saw the fire. He began banging on doors to wake residents and get them out.
Police officers, firefighters and neighbors moved quickly to get people to safety.
A total of six families were displaced due to damage from either smoke, fire, or water as a result of the blaze.
TLS has learned that lithium-ion devices found at the scene are being investigated as a possible cause. The cause has not been confirmed.
See below exclusive surveillance video of the fire obtained by TLS.
Simcha SpotEngagement of Ezra Becker (Teaneck, NJ) and Mia Gerszberg (Highland Park, NJ)
Belaaz News🇮🇱 🔴 LIVE FROM THE LNESSET: PM Netanyahu to party heads after Knesset swearing-in: "Topple the ayatollahs' regime"
- "The only way to remove this existential threat permanently is by toppling the ayatollahs' regime."
Belaaz2 hours agoYisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman declared Tuesday that Gadi Eisenkot’s political camp could assemble a 61-seat parliamentary majority, firmly backing Eisenkot’s bid to become prime minister. Speaking at the Knesset, Liberman rejected cooperation with Arab parties and warned that a government lacking a clear majority would ultimately return Benjamin Netanyahu to office.
“I am working to put an end to the rule of Netanyahu — once and for all. Not a temporary end,” he says. “Any minority government will ultimately, quickly, return him to power [after a new election], with 70 seats, for another four years. So anyone who is talking about a minority government, that means crowning Netanyahu for another full term.”
Liberman argued that a minority administration would be unable to govern effectively and would soon collapse. He emphasized that he would “not lend a hand” to a government dependent on Arab-party backing.
His proposed coalition would combine Eisenkot’s 48-seat bloc with the 13 seats held by the two Charedi parties: United Torah Judaism, with seven, and Shas, with six. Although UTJ declined to recommend a prime minister, Shas endorsed Netanyahu. Liberman said he would not support even temporary reliance on Arab parties if UTJ joined the coalition.
Liberman acknowledged that his original election objective was to form a government without the Frum parties, “but we only got 48 seats.”
“So we had to reassess, and find compromises and flexibility,” he says.
“We talked about… conscription for everyone. Today it’s clear that we’ll have to go with a different model… a conscription law that survives the High Court test. That is currently the best model that can be implemented without all the mess, without blowing everything up, and without going to a new election.” He said negotiations would need to produce an arrangement acceptable both to the High Court and UTJ spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando.
Liberman also criticized what he described as “the sheer volume of lies and fabrications” circulating about his political position. “We were very, very clear throughout the campaign, during the election and after the election. We recommended Gadi Eisenkot immediately, without any conditions, as the candidate for prime minister, and forming a government rests on him. He leads, he’s responsible, and I stand at his side.”
He outlined several legislative priorities, including “first of all, replacing the Knesset speaker; appointing the state comptroller; a law limiting the prime minister’s tenure to two terms; and immediately after that… [dealing with] the judicial overhaul [laws].”
Liberman added that the new government’s first decision should establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
He expressed confidence that a government backed by 61 lawmakers could be established relatively soon, saying it would be tasked with “confident a government with a clear majority of 61 can be formed within a very reasonable time and really rebuild all the ruins, overcome the rift, the cracks in Israeli society, and also restore the State of Israel’s international standing.”
In response to questions, Liberman said he would summon Shin Bet chief David Zini, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Mossad director Roman Gofman in his expected role as chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
He intends to question Zini about investigations into alleged election fraud and foreign interference, pointing to significant differences between the Shin Bet chief’s claims and statements by law enforcement officials.
Liberman said he would also seek explanations from the other security chiefs about allegations involving Iranian chemical weapons and “efforts to carry out actions” against Iran. The latter reference concerned reports that Netanyahu had sought to launch an operation against Iran shortly before the elections.
“There is no effective [parliamentary] oversight of the security establishment,” he fumes.
