An explosive drone fired by Hezbollah during the so-called ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon scored a direct hit next to a school in the yishuv of Shomera on Thursday morning, the first time an explosive drone reached the Western Galil.

Drone infiltration alerts sounded in 15 yishuvim along the northern border at about 8:20 a.m. Shortly afterward, a powerful explosion was heard as a fiber-optic-controlled explosive drone struck Shomera. An armored vehicle caught fire, with heavy smoke seen rising from the scene. Fire and rescue teams were dispatched and managed to contain and extinguish the blaze.

According to Channel 12, the impact occurred near a school during class hours. Following the impact, the police closed roads in the Western Galil over concerns of secondary explosions.

i24News reported that this marks the first time this type of explosive drone has hit the Western Galil, and only the second time it has been observed during the war with Lebanon.

Shimon Guetta, head of the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council in northern Israel, told Ynet that it was “a difficult morning.”

“I was in another community and rushed toward the school to check on the children,” he said. “I saw them shaking.”

Guetta added that four days earlier, a strike landed about 300 meters from a school in the council. “It cannot continue like this. There aren’t even 50% of students in school,” he said. “This is not a ceasefire — it’s fire without a pause.”

Chaim Steinberg, a resident of Shomera, told Kan News: “Unfortunately, we’ve gotten used to ‘non-stop fire.’ This isn’t living, it’s insane. The morning started normally. I was sitting with a cup of coffee on the porch, and then an alarm sounded. We immediately heard a loud boom.”

Earlier on Thursday, the IDF intercepted an explosive drone fired by Hezbollah at IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon. Footage from the scene showed the interceptor in the sky alongside a bus transporting students to school.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

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Following behind-the-scenes discussions, a breakthrough has been reached regarding the Lag B’Omer celebration in Meron: Home Front Command chief Maj. Gen. Shai Klapper agreed to take full responsibility for safely implementing a revised controlled entry plan, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir retracted his objection to the event.

The decision follows sharply stated warnings from Ben Gvir after holding a security assessment at Meron on Wednesday evening about the plan formulated by the Jerusalem Ministry and approved by the Home Front Command, citing serious concerns over potential risks to human life.

After those remarks, Ben-Gvir and Police Chief Danny Levy held a late-night call with Klapper, who promised to implement all the police’s recommendations regarding limits on crowd size and maintaining public order, and also took full responsibility for executing the plan.

According to the updated plan, the celebration will take place under strict limitations, with gatherings capped at 1,500 participants at any given time, alongside continuous situational assessments throughout the event.

In a meeting at Meron on Wednesday evening, Ben-Gvir strongly objected to the plan, saying the Home Front Command had “turned its back” on a viable plan. He warned that the situation constitutes a “red flag” requiring an immediate halt.

“I am raising a red flag,” he said, stressing that he would not support an event where participant safety is not guaranteed. “The blood of my Chareidi, religious, traditional, and secular brothers who come to Meron is not hefker. We are racing with open eyes toward the next disaster.”

He added that responsibility lies with the Home Front Command to present a clear and workable plan: “I demand that they approve a real framework that ensures the safety of participants. Without such approval, we will not be able to secure the mispallelim.”

Police officials presented a troubling assessment, warning that if Meron is opened to tens of thousands of people, it would be impossible to provide adequate security—especially in the event of a missile attack, chalilah. Participants in the discussion noted that “it would not be possible to enforce evacuation in real time during an emergency,” and estimated that peak attendance could reach tens of thousands.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

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The price of Brent crude oil surged to around $123 a barrel early Thursday as stalled U.S.-Iran talks raised doubts over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to the Iran war.

Brent crude to be delivered in June jumped 4.1% to $122.88 after briefly soaring past $125 per barrel, and Brent to be delivered in July rose 2.5% to $113.17.

Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 2% to $109.05 per barrel.

Before the war began in late February, Brent crude was trading around $70 per barrel.

There’s no clear path to an end to the war. The U.S. has continued its blockade of Iranian ports while the Strait of Hormuz, is closed, pushing oil prices higher. Reports Thursday suggesting an possible escalation by U.S. President Donald Trump doused hopes for a quick end to the conflict.

“The breakdown of talks between the U.S. and Iran, along with President Trump reportedly rejecting Iran’s proposal for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, has the market losing hope for any quick resumption in oil flows,” ING Bank strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a research note.

Oil prices vary depending on the type of crude oil, where it is being traded and under what terms, for futures contracts. By some measures, Brent has hit its highest level since its peak of $147.50 per barrel in 2008 during the global financial crisis.

With the war rattling world markets, the U.S. dollar surged to 160.61 Japanese yen, its highest level in nearly two years. It closed at 160.44 yen on Wednesday.

The dollar has gained against other major currencies partly due to its status as a safe haven for investors in times of risk, and partly because U.S. interest rates have remained relatively high as the Federal Reserve strives to balance a need to boost the economy with curbing the higher prices that partly are a result of the war.

The Fed’s decision to keep interest rates steady at its policymaking meeting Wednesday further supported the dollar.

Japanese officials would be likely to intervene in the market if the yen drops much more, analysts said.

The euro fell to $1.1671 from $1.1675.

U.S. futures and share prices in Asia retreated following a muted performance on Wall Street on Wednesday.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 shed 1% to 59,284.92 and the Kospi in South Korea fell 1.4% to 6,598.87.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.1% to 25,816.80, and the Shanghai Composite index traded 0.2% higher at 4,113.88. China’s factory activity for April slowed slightly but remained in expansion territory for the second month, despite the global energy shock prompted by the Iran war, an official survey showed.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2% to 8,665.80.

Taiwan’s Taiex was 1% lower and while India’s Sensex also lost 1%.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks were mixed. The benchmark S&P 500 edged down less than 0.1% to 24,673.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% to 48,861.81, while the Nasdaq composite edged less than 0.1% higher to 24,673.24.

Shares of Starbucks jumped 8.4% following better-than-expected results, and Visa surged 8.3% likewise.

(AP)

The two Jews who were seriously injured in a stabbing attack in the heart of the Golders Green neighborhood of London on Wednesday were later identified as Moshe Shine, 76, and Shilome Rand, 34, a dual US-UK citizen.

Both were rushed to the hospital in serious condition, but b’chasdei Hashem, after receiving medical treatment, their condition was upgraded to stable.

Rand’s sister told the Daily Mail that her brother’s life was saved by a miracle, with the knife coming within centimeters of vital organs. “My brother left the morning prayer and was stabbed, but was saved by a miracle,” she said.

She added that although she reached out to the UK government, she hasn’t heard back. Meanwhile, the Trump administration reached out and contacted her brother.

She emphasized that the attack is the direct result of rising antisemitism. “He’s a hardworking man who contributes to society and was walking peacefully down the street when the terrorist simply pounced on him. “It’s appalling, but also not surprising. We get targeted by antisemitism all the time.”

Rand himself said his survival is a neis and blamed the British government for the attack. Speaking from his hospital bed, he blamed the government for failing to take adequate measures to protect the Jewish community in the wake of the recent surge in antisemitic attacks.

Furious locals chanted “Keir Starmer, Jew harmer” at the scene and “shame on Sadiq Khan.” The terrorist, a British national born in Somalia, was known to the Government’s Prevent deradicalisation programme, the Daily Mail reported.

Shine, 76, was stabbed while waiting at a bus stop after Shacharis.

A friend told the Daily Mail about the moments leading up to the attack. “He was waiting for the bus home after the morning prayer,” he said. “It was a horror. We were all shocked. We don’t feel safe in this country right now, pure antisemitism. Everyone is the same, and we are attacked only because we are Jewish. Just like that.”

Moshe Shine

Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terror legislation, said that antisemitic attacks are now the “biggest national security emergency since Covid.”

In the wake of the attack, the UK Campaign Against Antisemitism announced that a demonstration will be held outside the office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Downing Street on Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, British Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis informed the media on Thursday morning that the government will fast-track 25 million pounds ($33.65 million) in additional funding to protect the Jewish community.

The terrorist is in police custody as the investigation continues. His name has not been released, but he has been identified as a 45-year-old British national who was born in Somalia. He was taken to the hospital following the attack, but has since been discharged.

After stabbing Jews, the terrorist also attempted to stab police officers. He will be charged with attempted murder.

“The attack in Golders Green was formally declared a terrorist incident,” a police statement said. “Officers are carrying out a search at an address in south east London.”

It should be noted that a pro-Iranian terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack on social networks, although the British authorities have not yet confirmed this connection. The organization, known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), has previously claimed responsibility for multiple attacks across Europe.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying: ‘Weakness gaslights one antisemitic attack after another in London. Words are not enough to confront this scourge. We demand and expect action by the British government to protect the Jews of England and bring antisemites to justice.”

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis stated: “Following the antisemitic stabbing of two Jewish people on the streets of Golders Green this morning, words of condemnation are no longer sufficient.”

“This must be a moment that demands meaningful action from every institution, every community, every leader, and every decent person in our country.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

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While negotiations between Tehran and Washington remain stalled, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to receive a military briefing on Thursday on possible new plans for a military operation against Iran from CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper, Axios reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The sources said Trump is seriously considering resuming large-scale military operations to break the deadlock in talks with Tehran or to deliver a final blow before ending the war.

CENTCOM has also prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran, likely targeting infrastructure, in the hopes of pushing Tehran back to the negotiating table with more flexibility on the nuclear issue.

The options being considered include a plan to take control of parts of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen it to commercial shipping, which would involve deploying ground forces. Another option that may be discussed is a special forces operation to secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The sources noted that Trump now sees the blockade as his primary source of leverage, but does not rule out military action if Iran does not capitulate.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

NEW YORK CITY (VINnews)-Award-winning journalist Kevin Deutsch says antisemitism from both the far left and far right has created a more perilous environment for American Jews in 2026 than in 1930s Germany, as political movements on both sides target Israel and the Jewish community.

In a recent interview with Alan Skorski, Deutsch, author of the watchdog Jewish news Substack “After October 7,” described a coordinated campaign that has isolated Jews and Israel across the political spectrum.

Skorski pointed to examples in deep blue and solid red states. In New York City, voters elected Mamdani as mayor, while in Florida, antisemite James Fishback is running as a Republican candidate for governor and Dan Bilzerian is challenging Jewish Republican Rep. Randy Fine for his congressional seat.

Deutsch said the far left’s assault on Israel began as part of a “social justice” agenda, reviving blood libels by accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. On the far right, figures like Fishback have exploited leftist antisemitism to promote their own hatred, he said. Fishback, who promotes an “America Only” platform, has received substantial donations from Democratic Muslims who back his antisemitic views, according to Deutsch.

“The Democrats are done with Israel,” Deutsch said, citing a vote by 40 Democratic senators in support of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bill to halt all U.S. military aid to Israel.

He urged the Republican Party to erect a firewall against candidates like Fishback, warning that failure to do so would leave Israel without American support and Jews increasingly isolated.

Skorski drew parallels to 1930s Germany, noting that while Adolf Hitler created the Nazi movement, today various movements have aligned to turn government policy against Israel. Deutsch pointed to a professional propaganda campaign funded by Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood, amplified by left-wing NGOs that have overwhelmed Israel’s ability to counter the information war.

“The DSA, like the Nazis, are employing a purity test,” Deutsch said, referring to the Democratic Socialists of America. “Opposing Israel, regardless of any other issue, is mandatory.” He said the DSA is running candidates at every level — from school boards to local civil rights commissions — in a bottom-up strategy that turns Jews into proxies for Israel.

Deutsch also criticized an “AIPAC-tracker” run by a Marxist and a Groyper that singles out pro-Israel funding in an effort to strip Jews of their civil rights to support the Jewish state.

The journalist highlighted the phenomenon of “tokenization,” in which Jewish figures such as those associated with J Street, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro have publicly criticized Israel, creating what he called a “social permission structure” for broader attacks on the Jewish state and, by extension, Jews.

Deutsch’s warnings come amid heightened concerns in Jewish communities following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent surge in antisemitic incidents across the United States.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett launched a broad series of interviews across Israel’s leading media outlets on Wednesday, presenting a tough platform against the current government, declaring his intention to lead the center-right bloc in upcoming elections, and outlining plans for major changes in the security and law enforcement systems.

Bennett, who has returned to politics with renewed energy, used the interviews to position himself as an experienced governing alternative. He addressed a wide range of issues, including internal security, senior appointments, counterterrorism, and possible legal arrangements for Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. Showing strong confidence, Bennett compared himself to past leaders such as Ben-Gurion and Rabin, who served additional terms, and promised “a pace of action not seen here in 50 years” if elected.

In an interview with Yonit Levi on Channel 12 News, Bennett said he would reassess the roles of senior officials in the security establishment and police if he identified political bias. “Wherever I see cases of political misuse of a position instead of professional, state-focused work, I will certainly cut it off,” Bennett said, adding a firm warning about policing: “There are also elements in the police that are becoming political. Anyone who behaves politically – I will throw them out.”

At the same time, Bennett declined to give a clear answer about leadership of the bloc, refusing to say whether he would step aside for Gadi Eisenkot if Eisenkot were to surpass him in polling.

On security issues, Bennett took a hard line. In an interview with Channel 13 News, he addressed the issue of Jewish extremism in Judea and Samaria, comparing it to other threats facing the country. “There are rioters there – and I will dismantle them just as I will dismantle terrorism in the Negev,” he said, adding in reference to recent incidents: “Just as I will not allow terrorists in Bnei Brak to break into the home of an officer.”

His remarks come amid rising tensions and appear aimed at appealing to voters seeking firm enforcement against all forms of lawlessness. In another interview, with Tali Moreno on Kan News, Bennett described the current government as a “left-wing government,” while pledging that any government he forms would be a “true right-wing government.”

Speaking to Avi Salomon on the Walla website, Bennett described the reaction he has received since returning to politics. “There is no place I go where people don’t tell me, ‘You gave us hope,’” he said. He also described a process of growth since his previous term in 2021, saying he now comes with greater maturity and understanding of governing.

Bennett also sharply criticized senior ministers in the current government. “The current coalition is terrible in every parameter. A national security minister who is a clown and a finance minister who is bad and is transferring billions to draft-dodgers,” he said. He added that the coalition’s only advantage is its total alignment behind one leader, while in his own bloc, “overthinking and maneuvering are very harmful.”

Perhaps the most notable remarks came when Bennett addressed Netanyahu’s future directly. In his interview with Walla, he proposed a framework to resolve the ongoing political and legal situation: “In October we are going to establish a broad Zionist government, and I will invite Likud to join. Netanyahu needs to go home.”

Bennett added that he supports an arrangement of clemency and retirement for Netanyahu, citing respect for his past and his age. “He is not a young man, approaching 80, not in the best of health. I don’t want to see him going to prison in an orange uniform. There is a large public that admires him, and we don’t need that. He should step aside, I will take the country and open a new golden era.”

{Matzav.com}

(JNS) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation into law on Monday requiring state agencies to use “Judea and Samaria” instead of “West Bank” in official materials.
The Recognizing Judea and Samaria Act, passed earlier this month by the Tennessee General Assembly, bars state entities from using “West Bank” in guidance, rules, press releases, briefings and other government documents, with limited waivers allowed at an agency head’s discretion.

The law states that “Judea” and “Samaria” are “historically, biblically and legally accurate terms” for the region.

Yigal Dilmoni, CEO and co-founder of American Friends of Judea and Samaria, which led educational and public awareness initiatives in the United States about the region in Israel, told JNS that Tennessee’s passage of the bill will help shape public understanding and further unite the two nations over shared “Judeo-Christian values.”

“It slowly will change the narrative for Israel,” Dilmoni said. “It’s very important, not only for Israel, but also for the United States, that people will be more familiar with the real history, and will fight against all the lies spoken about Israel.”

“They are starting to speak the truth, and to teach the children the truth,” he said.

Dilmoni, who is on military reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces, told JNS that updating government documents and materials to reflect the region’s name further unites Israel and the United States, which “share the same interest, not only in this war, but also in sharing the truth.”

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(JNS) – A 32-year-old Jewish man, who was attacked on Monday evening near left Adas Torah, an Orthodox synagogue in Los Angeles, told JNS that his life flashed before his eyes.
“I don’t know if he said the words, ‘I want to kill you,’ but his facial expression and his attitude definitely gave that message,” said the victim, who spoke to JNS on the condition that he not be named. “I thought it was the end of my life.”

The victim, who said he is a Judaic studies teacher and “just a regular person,” told JNS that “I never would have thought such an incident would happen to me.”

After studying at Merkaz Hatorah Community Kollel, around the corner from the synagogue, on Monday evening, he walked home through an alleyway, as he has done for the past five years, and noticed a blue minivan following slowly beside him. He said he was wearing a kippah at the time.

He made a “Hey, how are you” facial expression toward the driver, whom he described as a black man. The driver made the same expression in response, the victim told JNS.

“All of a sudden, he just opens the door,” he said. “I don’t know what he was saying. He pounced me, immediately put his hands over my neck, shaking me back and forth, trying to choke me.”

The man used “a window breaker or window chiseler, I don’t know what you call it” as “a weapon as he was choking me against my neck,” the victim told JNS.

“He pinned me to the corner, and I don’t even know how, I just see I’m rolling on the floor, and as I’m vulnerable on the floor,” the victim said. “He gives me a stare and he says, ‘free Palestine’ and he goes back to his car.”

“I just ran back to safety, try to find a friend in the kollel, go into his car and call the cops from there,” he told JNS. He added that since the attack, it has been “definitely harder to walk alone.”

“You take your regular daily walk for granted, which you think should be fine and safe,” he said. “Now it’s a little bit hard to walk to shul.”

He added that the incident shows that “this can happen to anybody.”

“People shouldn’t think that, ‘Oh this is not going to happen to me,’” the victim told JNS. “It can happen to anyone walking the streets, anyone with their groceries, anyone. Anyone going anywhere.”

The incident has made the victim more motivated to be “100 times more effective” in teaching the next Jewish generation on “what it means to be Jewish” and “how we should always be proud to be Jewish,” he told JNS.

Ron Galperin, interim Los Angeles regional director at the American Jewish Committee, told JNS that “we are outraged by the reports of an assault Monday night near Adas Torah Synagogue in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood.”

“While facts are still emerging, the details known so far are deeply concerning,” he said. “From what we’ve learned so far, this attack was not an isolated act of violence. It reflects a troubling pattern: the normalization of antisemitic behavior in our communities. No one should be targeted or attacked because they are Jewish. Period.”

The attack occurred in the district of Katy Yaroslavsky, a member of the Los Angeles City Council and a Democrat, who is Jewish.

“Last night, an individual assaulted a man leaving Adas Torah Synagogue in Pico-Robertson. According to preliminary information, the suspect approached the victim, attacked him and fled the scene while shouting antisemitic remarks,” she told JNS. “The victim received medical attention and is recovering. LAPD has informed our office that this is being investigated as a hate crime.”

“Hate incidents and hate crimes in Los Angeles have increased significantly over the past several years. When hate speech targeting Jewish communities increases and becomes normalized, violence against our community follows,” Yaroslavsky told JNS. “This pattern has existed for thousands of years, and we need to call it out directly for what it is. Antisemitism has no place in Los Angeles, and I call on my colleagues and fellow community leaders to condemn this violence, protect the freedom to worship and stand with Jewish Angelenos.”

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Minister Ze’ev Elkin said the chances of passing the draft law in the current Knesset are “very low,” placing primary responsibility on lawmakers from Agudas Yisrael, during a wide-ranging interview addressing security developments in the north, the cancellation of the Meron Lag BaOmer gathering, and tensions within the chareidi sector.

Speaking in a studio interview with journalist Yishai Cohen, Elkin, a member of the security cabinet and the minister overseeing rehabilitation of Israel’s north, outlined the current situation along the Lebanon border and defended recent decisions made by the government.

At the start of the interview, Elkin addressed the ongoing security situation in the north, rejecting claims that a ceasefire is in effect. “First of all, it is clear that this is not a ceasefire because there is fire; it is ridiculous to deny the truth,” he said. “But why is Hezbollah firing? Because the IDF is operating. Despite the ceasefire, the IDF maintains a security zone and is dismantling terror infrastructure there. This is important activity, and Hezbollah is under pressure.”

Elkin acknowledged the difficulty facing residents in the region but said there are no easy alternatives. “I am there, I see the reality, it is not simple. The alternative is to withdraw forces and the firing will stop—but that means Hezbollah will return to southern Lebanon.”

He also addressed the controversy surrounding restrictions on access to Meron for Lag BaOmer, pushing back against criticism from Agudas Yisrael representatives. “I do not understand the anger. There is currently a war in the north. If Teddy Stadium were located next to the facilities we have in Meron, there would be no Teddy. The question is location and level of threat.”

“You can be angry at a government that wants to protect the citizens of Israel who want to go up to Meron, most of them supporters of MK Porush and others. Their lives are precious to us, and we do not want to endanger them. Hezbollah is not stupid; it knows there is a gathering and aims at the military facilities on the mountain. With all the pain, saving lives takes precedence over the Meron celebration.”

On the draft law, Elkin struck a pessimistic tone and directly blamed Agudas Yisrael lawmakers. “It is hard for me to see the law passing, certainly close to the end of the Knesset term. The main responsibility lies with the members of Knesset from AgudatsYisrael. For the thousandth time, they are making the mistake. Every time there was an opportunity for a reasonable compromise, they stood at the extreme and pushed to say no, and after two years they said, ‘what a mistake that we did not take it.’”

Elkin also warned the chareidi public against expectations of a better political outcome after elections. “Anyone who convinces himself that after the elections there will be a better coalition—what is the common ground between Bennett and Lapid besides hatred of Netanyahu? That is the whole issue for the chareidi public.”

Addressing recent incidents involving extremist protesters breaking into the home of a senior military police officer, Elkin strongly condemned the actions. “I strongly condemn this. Taking the law into your own hands and breaking into a private home? Where are we heading? Are there not enough crazy people in Kaplan? Will they start breaking into the homes of rabbis? Of right-wing politicians?”

When asked why chareidi lawmakers have remained largely silent, Elkin suggested they are also under pressure. “They also suffer from the force of the extremists; it may be that they are afraid to anger them. They too are under terror. The extremists are a minority, but they riot even against the leaders of the chareidi public themselves.”

In closing, Elkin addressed the emerging alliance between Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. “It is a waste of Bennett’s time to say he is right-wing after joining with Lapid. This is an ‘alliance of the fearful.’ Bennett is deathly afraid that Eisenkot will gain strength. He understands he will either have 20 seats or zero; he does not have his own voter base. Therefore, he is willing to pay any price and gave Lapid nearly 50% of the list.”

As Lag BaOmer approaches, officials in Yerushalayim are finalizing plans for the central hadlakah of Rav Meilech Biderman, which has been relocated from Meron due to security restrictions. In an interview on Kol Chai’s News Anash program, Deputy Mayor Tzachi Brim outlined the logistics, including location, transportation, and safety measures.

Brim, who recently returned from visits to Meron, described the significant shift of the event from the mountain to Yerushalayim. The change comes after limitations imposed this year by security authorities in light of threats from Lebanon.

“Rav Biderman cannot light in Compound 89 as he does every year, and thousands want to feel part of the hilula. So we found an alternative location in Yerushalayim, in the main public thoroughfare,” he said.

He detailed where the event will take place, noting that the hadlakah will stretch from Golda Meir Boulevard through Shefa Chaim, including Rechov HaTorah and Yaakovzon Street. A designated area is also being prepared specifically for women.

Because of the tight timeline for organizing the event, Brim said a decision was made to forgo building traditional parentches (bleachers). “There is no time for negotiations. We want a safe event, without being drawn into uncertain situations,” he explained.

He added that the plan to hold the hadlakah in Yerushalayim had been under discussion for weeks, and that the opportunity has now materialized. “Several cities wanted to host the event, but he chose to do it here. It is a great privilege for Yerushalayim,” Brim said.

Regarding transportation, Brim said talks are ongoing with the Transportation Ministry to increase bus service from Bnei Brak, Beitar Illit, Beit Shemesh, Elad, and other major chareidi population centers.

Addressing the Boyaner hadlakah in Meron, Brim clarified that it is still expected to take place. “The Rebbe will light. We are waiting for the final outline and will act accordingly,” he said, though he cautioned that without organized transportation, attendance in Meron will likely be very limited.

Brim concluded by stating that Yerushalayim is prepared to accommodate the large crowds expected for the event.

{Matzav.com}

The appointment of Rav Zevadia Cohen as chief rabbi of Tel Aviv–Yaffo is being seen as a shift in tone in one of Israel’s most complex cities. In his first interview following his selection, Rav Cohen laid out a philosophy centered on connection rather than confrontation, sharing powerful stories from his work in the rabbinical courts and expressing confidence that even in Tel Aviv, hearts can be opened and people can be drawn closer to Judaism.

Speaking on Kol Chai’s main news program, Rav Cohen described his long-standing involvement in the city and emphasized that he is not an outsider. “I was elected in 2007 as head of the rabbinical court in Tel Aviv and came to the city. I deal with the most sensitive cases in the rabbinical courts,” he said.

He explained that his approach was shaped by years of handling complex issues such as lineage questions, divorce cases, and marriage permissions. Rather than taking a confrontational stance, he said his goal is to help. “I always say — I am not against you, I am with you, I am here to help you solve the problem,” he said, adding that “the moment the other side feels you are with them — hearts open.”

Rav Cohen rejected the notion that Tel Aviv residents are opposed to religion. On the contrary, he said most people retain an emotional connection to tradition. “I don’t think most people don’t want to see a rabbi… every Jew has something emotional toward tradition,” he said. He added that even those who seem distant often reconnect during difficult moments. “In times of mourning, in times of distress — that is when the heart opens, and you just need to light the candle.”

To illustrate his approach, Rav Cohen shared a story from the rabbinical court involving a man who had refused for years to grant a divorce, until he was eventually arrested in Israel. “He said to me — everywhere they called me wicked, they didn’t listen to me, I felt like I was nothing,” Rav Cohen recalled. When he gave the man a chance to speak, the situation changed. “He said to me — kevod harav, you listened to me, whatever you say I will do. We arranged the divorce on the spot.”

Rav Cohen said the moment left a deep impression on him. “He held my hand and cried, told me ‘you revived me today, I felt like a human being,’” he said. For him, the lesson is clear: “You have to give every person their place, even if you don’t agree with them — to listen to them, and then hearts open.”

At the same time, he stressed that a welcoming approach does not mean compromising on halachic standards. “Our role is to preserve the religion of Moshe and Yisroel,” he said, noting that when something cannot be permitted, that must be stated clearly. He recounted a case involving a young couple who wished to marry despite a halachic prohibition — the man being a Kohen and the woman a “chalalah.” Ultimately, they accepted the psak. “They told me: if according to the law of Moshe and Yisroel it is forbidden, we will not do it — and they cried in tears.”

Concluding the interview, Rav Cohen expressed optimism about the future of the city. “There is a lot to do in Tel Aviv, but you have to know the way — not with a threatening approach, but with pleasantness,” he said. He believes that this path will allow for bringing people closer and sanctifying Hashem’s name, even in what is often viewed as Israel’s most secular city.

{Matzav.com}

An extraordinary story of hashgacha pratis unfolded last Friday in Kiryas Yoel, Monroe, when a young man who was called in off the street to complete a minyan at a last-minute bris milah was revealed to be the prospective chosson in a shidduch that had been on the verge of falling apart.

The shidduch had already reached its final stages, with both sides planning to meet on Motzaei Shabbos to finalize the remaining details. However, on Friday afternoon, the kallah’s mother heard a troubling report claiming that the bochur was “short.” This raised doubts in her mind, and the question of whether to proceed with the shidduch suddenly became very real.

Seeking clarity, the kallah’s father went to consult with the Satmar Rebbe. Those at the Rebbe’s home understood the urgency of the situation and arranged for the concerned father to meet with the Rebbe half an hour before candle-lighting time.

At the same time, at the Eishes Chayil recovery center, veteran mohel Reb Aharon Weiss noticed that one of the infants there had reached his eighth day and was due for a bris milah. The originally scheduled mohel had postponed the procedure, claiming the baby was suffering from jaundice. Reb Aharon, however, determined that the child was fit for a bris without concern.

Reb Aharon contacted the baby’s father, and with Shabbos fast approaching and the original mohel unavailable, he suggested an unconventional solution: “Go to the Rebbe’s home. The Rebbe is an expert mohel, and it will also be easier to quickly arrange a minyan there.”

Just minutes before the onset of Shabbos, the Rebbe’s home became the setting for a remarkable scene. Preparations for the bris moved quickly: the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin served as kvatter, while the Rebbe himself acted as both sandek and mohel. Yet one essential element was missing — a minyan. At that moment, only eight men were present.

At that very moment, the kallah’s father arrived for his scheduled meeting, bringing the count to nine. One of the household bochurim rushed outside to find a tenth person to complete the minyan.

The person who happened to be passing by at that exact moment was none other than the very bochur in question. Unaware that his future father-in-law was inside, he agreed to come in and complete the minyan for the mitzvah.

The kallah’s father immediately recognized the bochur and quietly signaled to his wife, who was nearby, to take a look. The mother, who had only hours earlier been concerned about his height, observed him and responded with surprise: “This is what they call short? Not at all. The rumor was far from the truth.”

With that, all doubts disappeared. In the uplifting atmosphere of the bris milah at the Rebbe’s home, the matter came full circle in a striking way. The shidduch was soon finalized, as hashgacha pratis connected a bris milah with the building of a new Jewish home.

The story highlights the remarkable ways in which Hakadosh Baruch Hu orchestrates events. A postponed bris, a mohel’s creative solution, a father seeking guidance at the last moment, and a bochur passing by at precisely the right time all came together to form a powerful account of hashgacha pratis.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday attacked a report in The Atlantic for attributing statements to unnamed sources close to him, then immediately acknowledged the substance of the story by confirming he is indeed deeply concerned about depleting U.S. missile stockpiles during the Iran war.

The apparent contradiction emerged during an interview on Fox News’s The Will Cain Show, where Vance was confronted with the magazine’s account of his private doubts about Pentagon assessments of the conflict.

The Atlantic reported that Vance has repeatedly questioned the Defense Department’s depiction of the war in closed-door meetings, specifically challenging whether the Pentagon understated what amounts to a drastic depletion of U.S. missile reserves. The magazine attributed the account to sources described as “Vance advisors,” without identifying them by name.

Vance’s initial response was dismissive. He said he had read the article precisely because it ascribed views directly to him, and he insisted he was “100% certain” that he had never made the statements attributed to him or his circle. He specifically targeted the sourcing methodology, arguing that “Vance advisor” was too vague a descriptor to carry credibility.

“You know, a Vance advisor could be a staff member I see every single day, it could also be a random person off the street that I talked to once at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” Vance said. He expressed confidence that no one genuinely close to him had spoken to The Atlantic, claiming that if they had, “it would have been a totally different story.”

But when Fox host Will Cain directly asked whether Vance was concerned about U.S. missile stockpile depletion, the vice president reversed course without acknowledging the reversal. “Of course I’m concerned about our readiness, because that’s my job to be concerned,” Vance stated plainly.

He then elaborated on that concern, indicating it was not a peripheral worry but a central focus of his responsibilities. “But of course it’s my job to ask these questions, it’s of course my job to make sure we’re on top of every issue,” Vance said. He added that President Trump shared this preoccupation: “And of course it’s the president’s job, too. I think that both of us are very focused on that.”

Vance praised the military leadership overseeing the Iran conflict, specifically naming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Caine as performing “an amazing job.” Yet his acknowledgment that he and the president are “very focused” on readiness concerns—the exact substance of The Atlantic’s reporting—suggested that the underlying worry documented in the magazine’s account was accurate, regardless of how the sourcing was characterized.

The vice president concluded his remarks by urging skepticism toward media reporting generally. “Don’t believe everything you read, especially in papers like The Atlantic,” he said, a closing message that contradicted his admission moments earlier that the core claim of the article—his concern about missile depletion—reflected his actual position and preoccupations.

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(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The IDF began seizing control of a humanitarian aid flotilla Wednesday in international waters west of Crete, roughly 620 miles from Gaza’s coast. The Global Sumud Flotilla, comprising more than 100 vessels carrying approximately 1,000 activists from multiple countries, was intercepted far earlier than its expected arrival date next week. The interception occurred at a considerable distance from Israeli territory—a decision Israeli officials attributed to the flotilla’s unprecedented scale and the strategic imperative to enforce the naval blockade before the vessels could approach Gaza.

Flotilla organizers reported that Israeli motorboats approached their vessels armed with semiautomatic weapons. According to activists’ social media accounts, Israeli forces ordered participants to move to the front of ships and lie face-down on the deck.

The Israeli Navy issued a formal maritime warning, broadcast to the flotilla and recorded by participants.

“This is the Israeli Navy. Attempts to breach the lawful maritime security blockade of the Gaza Strip constitute a violation of international law,” the recorded message stated. The Navy offered an alternative: activists could divert to the Port of Ashdod, where Israeli forces would inspect the aid and transfer legitimate humanitarian goods to Gaza through official channels.

The message concluded with a warning. “Any further attempt to sail toward Gaza places your safety at risk and leaves the IDF no choice but to take all necessary measures at its disposal to enforce a lawful maritime security blockade,” the recording stated. “We will stop your vessel and act to seize it through legal proceedings in court.”

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The flotilla’s stated mission diverged sharply from Israel’s account. Organizers declared their operation part of “a broad global movement at sea and on land” aimed at dismantling what they characterized as “apartheid, occupation, ethnic cleansing and genocide.” Their statement emphasized that the campaign extended beyond challenging the naval blockade to confronting what they called “the war system behind it.”

“We will not normalize genocide. We will not accept impunity. We will disrupt it — everywhere,” the organizers wrote, framing their action as civil society stepping in “where governments have failed.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected this framing entirely. The ministry alleged that Hamas orchestrated the flotilla as part of a coordinated strategy to sabotage President Trump’s peace plan and distract from Hamas’s refusal to disarm. The ministry characterized the operation as performative activism devoid of genuine humanitarian intent.

“Like previous provocations, this is nothing but a PR stunt: a provocation without humanitarian aid,” the ministry statement said. “As international media have exposed, these are professional provocateurs on pleasure cruises, addicted to self-promotion.”

The ministry’s most pointed criticism targeted the flotilla’s cargo. Israeli officials claimed that inspections revealed the vessels carried contraceptives and narcotics rather than legitimate medical supplies or humanitarian goods. The Foreign Ministry mocked the organizers’ characterization of their cargo as “medical aid,” presenting photographic evidence of the materials Israeli forces allegedly discovered.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday leveled a new threat against NATO ally Germany, suggesting he could soon reduce the U.S. military presence there as he continues to feud with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the U.S-Israel war against Iran.

Trump made the threat after Merz earlier this week said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized Washington’s lack of strategy in the war. Trump has also repeatedly railed against NATO for the alliance’s refusal to assist the U.S. in its two-month-old war.

“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump said in a social media post.

Merz had said earlier Wednesday that his personal relationship with Trump remained “as good as ever,” but he had “had doubts from the very beginning about what was started there with the war in Iran.”

During his first term in the White House, Trump also moved to cut U.S. troops in Germany because he said the country spent too little on defense.

In June 2020, Trump announced he was going to pull out about 9,500 of the roughly 34,500 U.S. troops who were then stationed in Germany, but the process never actually started. Democratic President Joe Biden formally stopped the planned withdrawal soon after taking office in 2021.

The U.S. has several major military facilities in the country, including the headquarters for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States.

Merz met with Trump at the White House in March, just days after the U.S. and Israel began their bombardment of Iran. At the time, Merz told Trump that Germany was eager to work with the U.S. on a strategy for when the current Iranian government no longer exists. Merz also expressed concern that an extended conflict could do great damage to the global economy.

His concern, like many other European leaders, has only grown as the U.S. and Iran have yet to come to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway through which about 20% of the world global oil supply had flowed prior to the start of the war. It has been effectively closed since the conflict began on Feb. 28.

“We are suffering considerably in Germany and in Europe from the consequences of, for example, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Merz said Wednesday, hours before Trump posted his threat on social media. “And in that regard, I urge that this conflict be resolved.”

Merz added that his government was “on good speaking terms” with the Trump administration.

Trump, for his part, has hardly been containing his frustration with Merz.

On Tuesday, he wrote: “The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Trump added that it was no surprise “that Germany is doing so poorly, both economically and in other respects!”

[Videos below.] New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani drew criticism Wednesday after offering what observers described as a notably restrained welcome to King Charles III and Queen Camilla during their visit to the city, a departure from the warm receptions traditionally extended by past mayors.

Although Mamdani appeared cordial while greeting Charles at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the interaction followed remarks he made earlier in the day suggesting he would urge the monarch to return a controversial diamond tied to Britain’s colonial past.

The 77-year-old king, making his first visit to New York in nearly two decades, smiled as he shook Mamdani’s hand and said, “Thank you,” after participating in a wreath-laying ceremony honoring victims of the September 11 attacks.

The brief exchange between the mayor and the king appeared friendly on the surface, as they spoke for a short time while Michael Bloomberg, who chairs the memorial, stood nearby. Members of the press were kept at a distance, according to video footage.

Details of their conversation were not disclosed. A spokesperson for City Hall said only that the two leaders “exchanged pleasantries.” Mamdani departed the event roughly an hour after arriving.

Earlier, during a separate press appearance, the 34-year-old democratic socialist was asked what message he might deliver if given the opportunity to speak with the king.

“If I was to speak to the king… I would probably encourage him to return the Kohinoor diamond,” Mamdani quipped — referring to one of the worlds’ largest cut diamonds, which was taken from India and is now part of the British Crown Jewels.

The Kohinoor diamond, weighing 105 carats and housed in the Tower of London, has a long and turbulent history, having passed between rulers over centuries. It is widely viewed by critics as a relic of imperial conquest, with some even describing it as “cursed.”

Mamdani’s tone toward the royal visit drew backlash from some political observers, who argued that the mayor’s approach was inappropriate for such a diplomatic occasion.

“The sitting mayor of New York City shouldn’t give us a history lesson while politicizing the visit of the sitting King of England. He should’ve enthusiastically welcomed him, not reluctantly,” said Ken Frydman, a Democratic operative and former spokesman for former mayor Rudy Giuliani.

“We know the history,” he added. “No one has forgotten colonialism.”

Another longtime political figure said Mamdani missed an opportunity to showcase hospitality, especially if he hopes to follow in the footsteps of admired predecessors.

“Mamdani should have invited the royals to Gracie Mansion. The royals are very popular in this country,” said George Arzt, who served as press secretary to former Mayor Ed Koch.

“LaGuardia met the royals and wined and dined them. If he wants to emulate LaGuardia, he should do what LaGuardia did with the royals.”

Historical precedent underscores the contrast. Fiorello LaGuardia personally welcomed King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939, escorting them through the city and encouraging public participation in their visit.

In 1957, Robert Wagner organized a ticker-tape parade for Queen Elizabeth II, while Abe Beame’s family welcomed her with flowers during a later visit.

When Queen Elizabeth II returned in 2010, Bloomberg delivered a glowing speech highlighting the historic ties between New York and the British monarchy.

‘[We’re] ’grateful for your friendship, leadership and support,” Bloomberg gushed to her at the British Garden at Hanover Square, the last stop on her one-day tour that also included a speech at the United Nations and a similar ceremony at Ground Zero.

Bloomberg and Giuliani were later honored by the late queen with knighthoods.

Mamdani’s handling of the current visit stood in contrast even before the event began. He initially declined to confirm whether he would attend the memorial ceremony, only announcing days later that he would be present, while making minimal mention of the royal guests.

“I will be attending the wreath-laying … to pay tribute to the more than 3,000 who were killed in the horrific terror attacks of Sept. 11,” Mamdani said Monday. “And that will be the extent of my meeting with the king and with others who are present.”

The mayor’s ideological views, including his criticism of British imperial history — which he has described as a “story of oppression, subjugation and discrimination” — have further shaped perceptions of his stance toward the monarchy.

Meanwhile, political alliances surrounding Mamdani have also drawn attention. Jeremy Corbyn and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, both left-leaning members of the British Parliament, met with local allies in New York during the visit. Corbyn, who previously faced allegations of antisemitism, had volunteered for Mamdani’s campaign.

At Wednesday’s press conference, Mamdani reiterated his focus on the solemn purpose of the day when asked again about his message to the king.

“If you have a moment to chat with King Charles today down at the World Trade Center Memorial, how do you deepen your role as mayor? Do you see it as being sort of a polite, diplomatic moment? You just say hello and welcome, or is there anything else you can say to him? Do you have a specific message you might want to deliver?” the reporter asked.

The mayor replied, “I’ll be attending a wreath laying alongside a number of other elected officials, including Governor [Kathy] Hochul and Governor [Mikie] Sherrill. And the focus of that wreath laying is to honor the more than 3,000 New Yorkers who were killed in the horrific terror attacks of September 11, and that’s what I’m really looking to do at that event.”

Pressed further, he returned to his earlier remark.

“You haven’t thought about anything you might say?”

“If I was to speak to the king, separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Kohinoor Diamond,” Mamdani responded.

Later, King Charles and Queen Camilla were escorted into the memorial by Bloomberg, where they placed white flowers near the reflecting pools and observed a moment of silence.

The couple, dressed in coordinated navy attire, also spent time with families of victims from the September 11 attacks. Uniformed firefighters and police officers stood nearby during the visit.

They greeted Hochul and Sherrill before meeting Mamdani, appearing to spend a somewhat longer moment in conversation with the mayor than with other officials.

Beth Hillman, president and CEO of the memorial, described the visit as deeply meaningful.

“9/11 was an attack on people around the world. It hit hardest here in New York City, but 67 citizens of the United Kingdom were killed on that day. People from 90 countries were killed along with all the Americans,” she told The NY Post.

“It’s an important way to demonstrate resilience, to demonstrate unity and to remind people of the ways we can come together and that seems something that the Crown has worked to do.”

Charles’ trip marked his first return to New York since visiting with Queen Elizabeth II in 2007, when they toured Harlem’s Promise Academy and interacted with students.

The previous visit by a reigning British monarch came in 2010, when Queen Elizabeth II traveled to Ground Zero during a severe heat wave to lay a wreath.

That visit closely mirrored the current one, as she was joined by Bloomberg and then-Gov. David Paterson, and met with families of first responders who lost their lives in the attacks.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey, challenging a recently enacted law that prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing masks during routine operations, arguing that the state does not have the power to regulate federal agents.

The measure, signed into law in March by Gov. Mikie Sherrill, was widely seen as targeting federal immigration officers, particularly those with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who have come under scrutiny for frequently concealing their identities while carrying out enforcement actions.

Opponents of the practice argue that agents use face coverings to avoid being held accountable for forceful enforcement tactics, and warn that masking also makes it easier for civilians to impersonate officers. Federal officials counter that masks are necessary to protect agents, citing what they describe as a growing number of threats against personnel.

“Officers face a choice of whether to unmask and identify themselves when it may be dangerous to themselves, others, and the operation, or face the threat of enforcement,” states the lawsuit. “Either option presents serious risks and harms and purposefully works to chill the enforcement of federal law.”

Under the statute, law enforcement officers at the local, state, and federal levels are generally barred from wearing face coverings during routine duties, though the law provides exemptions for undercover assignments and situations involving credible threats.

In response, state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport defended the law, calling it both lawful and necessary, and vowed to fight the federal challenge.

“The New Jersey Law Enforcement Officer Protection Act protects both law enforcement and the public by limiting the use of masking while including careful exceptions to protect law enforcement safety and operational needs,” Davenport said. “To this day, the Federal Government still cannot explain when its officials need to mask or forgo identification in violation of this law, or why they actually need to do so, particularly given the serious safety concerns inherent in anonymized policing.”

Federal attorneys contend that New Jersey’s statute closely mirrors a similar law in California that was struck down, arguing that it improperly interferes with federal authority. State lawmakers, however, maintain that their version is broader and more carefully structured, applying uniformly to all law enforcement agencies, and therefore stands on firmer legal ground.

They also referenced a prior ruling by a federal appeals court that found New Jersey could not block private prison companies from partnering with the federal government to operate immigration detention facilities.

“New Jersey has steadfastly refused to learn this lesson,” the lawsuit states. “S3114 is even more obviously unconstitutional, as it directly, purposefully, and dangerously regulates all federal law enforcement officers in the performance of their official federal duties. Such blatant disregard for the Constitution is not merely a political statement, but is instead deliberate action that jeopardizes the public safety of all Americans.”

The case, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, names the state, Sherrill, and Davenport as defendants. The complaint asks the court to strike down the law and prevent the state from enforcing it.

The filing also makes clear that federal authorities do not intend to follow the law, even if it remains in place.

“To be clear, the Federal Government will not comply with this blatantly unconstitutional law,” the complaint states. “But the threat of enforcement by Defendants chills individual officers from protecting themselves and performing their duties. The consequences for public safety are severe.”

The lawsuit marks the latest in a growing series of legal clashes between New Jersey and the Trump administration. The state has taken part in dozens of cases challenging federal policies, while the administration has pursued its own legal actions against the state, including disputes over immigration enforcement and access to voter data.

“New Jersey responded thoughtfully and carefully to these profound public safety concerns, and we look forward to responding in court,” Davenport said. “The Federal Government’s contrary approach will only undermine public trust and accountability, and make it easier for criminals to impersonate our officers.”

{Matzav.com}

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the United States on Wednesday of employing a calculated strategy designed to fracture the Islamic republic from within, combining economic pressure with efforts to amplify internal political divisions.

Ghalibaf, who has ascended to prominence since the outbreak of Middle East conflict and served as lead negotiator in the sole round of direct US-Iranian talks, characterized the American approach as deliberate psychological warfare. “The enemy has entered a new phase and wants to activate economic pressure and internal division through naval blockade and media hype to weaken or even make us collapse from within,” he stated, according to state television.

The parliament speaker identified the naval blockade as the centerpiece of American pressure. He argued that President Donald Trump’s public messaging deliberately constructed a false binary within Iranian society—separating the country’s leadership into “hardliners and moderates”—before weaponizing economic isolation to exploit those manufactured fault lines.

“Trump divides the country into two groups: hardliners and moderates, and then immediately talks about a naval blockade to force Iran into submission through economic pressure and internal discord,” Ghalibaf said.

Ghalibaf’s warnings reflect deep uncertainty rippling through Tehran’s power structures. The killing of numerous senior Iranian officials by US-Israeli strikes—including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—has triggered widespread international speculation about the balance of power within Iran’s government. Trump himself fueled such assessments earlier this month, declaring that Iran’s government was “seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so.”

Ghalibaf’s remedy for the perceived American strategy was unambiguous: national unity. He called on Iranians to reject divisive narratives and present a united front against external pressure. “Maintaining unity is the only solution,” he declared, implicitly suggesting that any fracturing of Iranian consensus would play directly into Washington’s hands.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Hundreds of protesters affiliated with the Peleg Yerushalmi faction shut down the main entrance to Jerusalem Wednesday evening, triggering major clashes with police and severe traffic disruptions across the area.

The demonstration was held in protest of the arrest of yeshiva bochur Nehorai Bachar, who was detained for draft evasion and sentenced to 20 days in military prison.

What began as a protest quickly escalated into violent confrontations. According to reports, several protesters attacked uniformed soldiers passing through the area, prompting one soldier to draw his personal weapon after feeling threatened.

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Demonstrators also surrounded a police vehicle and reportedly attempted to overturn it while chanting protest slogans. Police declared the gathering illegal and deployed water cannons and large reinforcements, including Border Police forces, to clear the roads.

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At one point, a vehicle caught in the massive traffic jam drove toward the crowd, though no injuries were reported.

Police said protesters repeatedly blocked the city’s main traffic artery, severely disrupting public order and freedom of movement. Authorities stated officers used crowd-control measures only after protesters ignored repeated orders to disperse.

The unrest follows several days of escalating tensions surrounding the arrests of chareidi draft dodgers and the recent storming of the Military Police chief’s home by extremist protesters, after which multiple arrests were made.

Organizers vowed demonstrations will continue as long as arrests and sanctions against yeshiva students persist.

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A bipartisan House resolution introduced on Wednesday condemns antisemitic rhetoric by online personalities, including far-left streamer Hasan Piker and conservative commentator Candace Owens, and calls for stronger action from public officials and social media platforms to counter hate speech.

The measure, introduced by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), denounces “antisemitic hate-filled rhetoric and content disseminated by prominent online personalities” and urges elected officials to “unequivocally condemn antisemitism,” including when amplified by high-profile media figures.

Piker is cited in the resolution for past antisemitic comments, including referring to Orthodox Jews as “inbred.” The Anti-Defamation League has said he “has a history of rhetoric that sanitizes violence and denigrates Jewish people” and has “expressed support for designated terrorist organizations and antisemitic ideas on many occasions.”

Owens, also named in the measure, is described as promoting conspiracy theories about Jews and Israel. The ADL has said she “actively amplifies antisemitic figures on her shows,” giving a platform to individuals who have praised Hitler, trivialized the Holocaust or promoted “Jewish mafia” narratives. Owens was named “Antisemite of the Year” in 2024 by the group StopAntisemitism.

“Hatred is hatred, period. It doesn’t matter whether it comes from the far right or the far left,” Gottheimer stated. “We cannot be selective in calling out antisemitism. When influential voices spread conspiracy theories, promote terrorism or dehumanize Jewish people, it fuels real-world violence and intimidation. We must stand up and speak out.”

Owens has an estimated 35 million followers across platforms, while Piker has about 11.5 million, according to the ADL.

“With an audience of millions, they have a responsibility to confront hatred and bigotry in every form, not to amplify it to the masses,” Lawler said. “So if they won’t call it out, I will.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday the Palestinian Authority remains ineligible for American foreign assistance, citing continued payments to Palestinian terrorists and their families despite official claims of reform.

The State Department reported that the Palestinian Authority distributed $156 million to Palestinian terrorists and their relatives in 2025, according to Israeli statistical data cited in the official filing to Congress. Of that sum, $126 million went directly to imprisoned and released Palestinian terrorists, while $30 million supported families of individuals who died committing acts of terrorism.

“The P.A. continues to provide a system of compensation in support of terrorism through new mechanisms and under a different name,” the State Department stated.

The Palestinian Authority had announced in February 2025 that it would terminate payments through its Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, claiming a pivot toward a new system ostensibly based on socioeconomic need rather than violent activity. Payments would flow instead through the Palestinian National Foundation for Economic Empowerment, a purportedly independent social welfare entity operating under the PA’s social development ministry.

The State Department determined the restructuring to be deceptive. Evidence demonstrated that the authority simply relocated the terror-payment apparatus without genuinely discontinuing it. “Open-source reports showed the P.A. continued compensating terrorists and their families despite claims to the contrary,” the State Department concluded.

PA Finance Minister Estephan Salameh inadvertently exposed the continuity of the program in February 2026, merely one year after PA President Mahmoud Abbas claimed to have revoked the underlying decrees. Salameh reaffirmed the authority’s commitment to the compensation scheme and admitted that the practice had never ceased.

“With effort and great, almost impossible difficulty, we continue to provide this 60% rate of [P.A. public employee] salaries. We have not abandoned any Palestinian resident, whether they are prisoners or families of martyrs and wounded. This is a clear fundamental issue,” Salameh stated, according to State Department documentation.

The finance minister’s candid acknowledgment came barely three months after his predecessor, Omar Bitar, was dismissed in November 2025 following the PA’s public admission that it had continued compensating terrorists and their families under the previous system. Bitar’s removal appeared designed to manage political optics rather than signal genuine policy reversal.

The State Department documented an additional layer of coordination: Palestinian leadership actively communicates with released terrorists through official announcements and social media to guide them through the process of receiving continued compensation. “The department assesses that Palestinian leadership continues to use official announcements, including through social media, to notify released Palestinian terrorists of the steps they should take to receive continued compensation,” the report stated.

The determination also cited violations of the Taylor Force Act, which requires recipient authorities to publicly condemn acts of violence against American and Israeli citizens. “P.A. officials continue to fail to publicly condemn acts of violence against U.S. and Israeli citizens in violation of the Taylor Force Act,” the State Department concluded.

The Taylor Force Act, enacted following the 2016 killing of a U.S. Army veteran by a Palestinian terrorist while visiting Israel, mandates annual State Department certification that the Palestinian Authority, Palestine Liberation Organization, and affiliated entities meet legal requirements for American assistance. Wednesday’s report represents a formal determination that no such certification is possible.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The city of Netanya is mourning the petirah of Rav Mordechai Yosef Silberberg zt”l, a longtime mechanech and respected figure in the Kiryat Sanz community, who passed away at the age of 84. He was widely known for shaping generations of students and for his deep connection to Torah learning and teaching.

Rav Silberberg was regarded as a unique personality who blended the worlds of Torah scholarship and chassidus rooted in earlier generations. He was born in the Old City of Yerushalayim on June 18, 1942, to his father, Rav Chaim Menachem, a close talmid of the author of Chovos HaTalmidim of Piaseczna, and his mother, Leah Rivka Speizman. From his home, he absorbed a strong foundation in spiritual growth and avodas Hashem.

At just 11 years old, he was sent by his father to study at the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in Lod, where he advanced significantly in both Torah and chassidus under the guidance of the renowned mashgiach Rav Chaim Shlomo Kesselman, who instilled in him a lifelong sense of dedication and self-sacrifice.

As a young man, Rav Silberberg traveled extensively, reaching out to children and bringing them closer to Torah observance. Together with the rav of Bnei Brak, Rav Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau, he helped establish the first Talmud Torah in Rishon LeZion. He later taught Torah at the Tifrach Yeshiva.

In 1970, he married Esther Hershkovitz, a distinguished mechaneches in her own right. At their wedding, the Sanzer Rebbe, Rav Yekusiel Yehuda Halberstam, the Shefa Chaim, was the mesader kiddushin. The couple later settled in Kiryat Sanz in Netanya, where Rav Silberberg remained closely connected to his rabbeim throughout his life.

He was known for his unwavering commitment to tefillah, especially his daily participation in Shacharis at neitz, which he approached with deep reverence.

A modest individual, he avoided personal recognition, dedicating himself entirely to Torah learning and service of Hashem. He was admired for his refined character, often mediating between people with calmness and warmth, and treating everyone with respect and kindness.

Even after retiring, Rav Silberberg remained active, continuing to learn Torah and deliver shiurim to the public until his final days. For decades, he stood alongside his wife in her leadership roles as head of chinuch institutions in Kiryat Sanz and within the Yachad network. He contributed to shaping the institutions’ educational philosophy and assisted in preparing talks for talmidim. He devoted significant time to studying the teachings of Polish chassidic dynasties, particularly those of Kozhnitz, Grodzisk, and Piaseczna.

He is survived by a large and accomplished family, including children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who continue in his path of Torah and mitzvos.

The levayah was held at the main beis medrash in Kiryat Sanz, Netanya, proceeding to the clocal emetery for burial.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

A senior Pentagon official told Congress Tuesday that the U.S. military campaign against Iran has already cost approximately $25 billion, marking the first official estimate released since the conflict began.

Jules Hurst, currently serving as the Pentagon’s acting comptroller, testified before the House Armed Services Committee that the overwhelming majority of the cost has gone toward munitions and military operations.

The United States joined Israel in launching strikes against Iran on February 28, targeting the regime’s military infrastructure, missile capabilities, and strategic assets.

While a fragile ceasefire is currently holding, major questions remain over whether the conflict’s key objectives have been fully achieved — including permanently preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and dismantling its missile program.

President Trump has repeatedly insisted that the Iranian regime will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, while continuing to pressure Tehran economically and militarily through sanctions and the ongoing naval blockade.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A community meeting at the Park Slope Food Coop in Brooklyn erupted into controversy Tuesday night after a member declared “Jewish supremacism is a problem in this country” and compared Jews to Nazis, according to a recording obtained by the New York Post.

The remarks were made over Zoom by a coop member identified by the screen name Michael Huarachi, and drew applause from at least 50 people attending the meeting in person, multiple witnesses told the Post. “We can’t keep making the same mistakes between what we did with the Nazis and what we did with other hateful, racist groups,” Huarachi said on the recording.

Huarachi made the comments with his camera off, which is typically against coop regulations.

The monthly meeting had been called to discuss whether the socialist-leaning grocery store should lower the voting threshold required for a boycott of Israeli goods from 75% to 51% — a change that would make it easier for supporters of the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement to push through a ban on Israeli products. The debate centers on roughly 10 Israeli-sourced products carried by the store.

The antisemitic remarks sparked immediate condemnation from Jewish coop members in attendance. Longtime member Ramon Maislen told the Post he took to the floor to confront the hostile crowd directly. “I stood up onstage at the meeting, facing a hostile crowd, and said, ‘Applauding a speech that labels Jews as supremacists is not principled. It is wrong,'” Maislen told the Post. “You could hear a pin drop when I called everybody out. It was silent.”
“It was shocking,” Maislen added. “That’s not who we are.”

Another attendee, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Post they were troubled by the moderators’ muted response. “They just said, ‘Thank you for your comment. Please don’t clap.’ They didn’t step in and say, ‘Hey, this is out of balance,'” the attendee said.

Barbara Mazor, a coop member since 1989 who is currently running for the board in order to better fight antisemitism at the store, told the Post the boycott campaign has consumed monthly meetings and turned the institution into a political battlefield. “It’s just, let’s get our Jew hate on,” she said. “And we saw it unabashed last night.”

The incident is not the first of its kind at the coop. In 2024, Maislen filed a formal complaint with New York State’s Division of Human Rights citing harassment of Jewish members who opposed boycott efforts. According to the complaint, a Jewish member standing outside the store was confronted by a shopper who called her a “Nazi” and shouted “Sieg Heil” at her as he walked away. In a separate incident detailed in the complaint, a worker allegedly told a shopper she could not stand next to her because she smelled “of Palestinian blood.” The state investigation was later dropped without explanation, Maislen told the Post.

According to one member who asked not to be identified, tensions at the coop over the Israel debate have been building since 2012, fraying a community whose stated purpose is to work together in a “positive and productive” way.
The Park Slope Food Coop, founded in 1973, has roughly 16,000 members who work shifts in exchange for discounted groceries and a say in store policy.

Mazor told the Post that most shoppers are simply unaware of the internal politics roiling the institution. “There are roads to coexistence, and this BDS effort is very misguided and prolongs the conflict,” she said.

For Maislen, the episode reflects a broader breakdown. “I’m very pro-peace, but I don’t think that these people are pro-peace at all. I think they have an agenda and it’s pretty extreme,” he told the Post. “It was really disturbing seeing all the toxicity that I feel online, feeling it in person.”

Florida lawmakers have passed a revised congressional map that is expected to give Republicans a significant advantage, potentially adding four seats to their total in the U.S. House ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

The plan now heads to the desk of Ron DeSantis for approval, positioning it as a political win for President Donald Trump, who resides in Florida, as Republicans seek to maintain control of Congress.

The legislative action came shortly after the Supreme Court of the United States issued a 6-3 ruling that reduced the strength of the Voting Rights Act. DeSantis pointed to that decision as grounds for revisiting and altering the state’s congressional districts mid-decade.

DeSantis welcomed the ruling, stating it “invalidates” the provisions of the Florida Constitution “requiring the use of race in redistricting.”

The measure passed strictly along party lines, with Republicans supporting the new map and Democrats opposing it.

At present, Florida’s congressional delegation includes 20 Republican-held seats and seven held by Democrats, along with one vacant seat that leans Democratic. Under the newly approved plan, Republicans could gain a total of 24 favorable districts.

The redrawn map would remove four seats currently held by Democrats, including one each in the Tampa and Orlando regions and two in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Legal challenges are expected, and the case could serve as an early test of how courts apply the Supreme Court’s recent decision.

Florida’s move is part of a broader national struggle over redistricting, as both parties work to shape congressional boundaries to their advantage.

Republicans in states like Florida and Texas are attempting to offset Democratic-led efforts in states such as Virginia and California, where new maps are likely to benefit Democrats.

Democrats would need to gain just three additional seats in November to take control of the House, increasing the stakes for both sides as they pursue favorable district lines.

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Wednesday also gave Republicans momentum by striking down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana and limiting the reach of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door for map changes in several Southern states.

However, Florida may be one of the few Southern states able to implement new district maps in time for this election cycle. In states like South Carolina and Mississippi, filing deadlines have already passed, and preparations for primary elections are already underway.

{Matzav.com}

Today’s vicious attack on Yidden in Golders Green, London, which left two victims suffering stab wounds, is another painful reminder of the reality we face in an increasingly dangerous world. We continue to daven for their complete recovery and for the safety of all innocent people targeted simply for who they are – Jews.

Moments like this force us to face difficult truths. Evil exists, and it often strikes without warning. While law enforcement is essential and deserves appreciation, danger can unfold in seconds, long before anyone else is able to step in.

That is why so many law abiding citizens in the United States are rethinking what it means to be prepared. In New Jersey, especially in the post-Bruen era, qualified citizens now have greater ability to obtain permits to carry. For many, this is not about politics or making a statement. It is about responsibility, readiness, and the ability to protect loved ones if the unthinkable happens.

Choosing to own or carry a firearm is a serious decision. It requires training, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to safety. It is not for everyone, and it should never be treated casually. But for those who are willing to approach it responsibly, it can be an important part of personal and family security.

At the end of the day, our trust is always in Hashem. But emunah does not mean inaction. Our mesorah teaches us the importance of hishtadlus, taking practical steps to preserve life and guard against danger. Security awareness, vigilance, and lawful self protection are all part of that effort.

We are living in uncertain and often unsettling times. Being prepared is not about fear. It is about wisdom. And for those who are considering every legal option to protect themselves and their families, applying for a CCW may be one of the most practical and responsible steps they can take.

TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to us via  Whatsapp  or via email  [email protected]

A Minneapolis daycare tied to a sweeping federal fraud investigation was found sitting empty on Wednesday, one day after FBI agents raided the site along with roughly 20 other locations as part of a massive probe into alleged abuse of social services programs in Minnesota, the NY Post reports.

The facility, known as the “Quality Learing Center,” appeared deserted, with its original misspelled signage removed and replaced by a notice alerting passersby that the premises are under video surveillance.

The structure itself has also undergone visible changes. Once painted a light green shade, the exterior has since been redone in a muted blue tone. Newly posted “no trespassing” signs now flank the entrance, signaling that the property is no longer in operation.

Items scattered around the site added to the sense of abandonment. Striped hula hoops were seen discarded in a dumpster, while a lone stroller sat unused in the parking lot.

A security guard stationed nearby said he had never observed children entering or exiting the building and noted that, according to information he received, the center had shut down earlier this year.

“It’s been deserted for three years from what I found out from management. It’s interesting,” he told The NY Post.

“I wasn’t even sure what was there.”

Questions about the legitimacy of the center first surfaced in December after a video posted by YouTuber Nick Shirley suggested the location was inactive at the time.

A nearby resident echoed those concerns, saying they had not seen any children at the site until reporters began asking questions, at which point activity at the facility suddenly increased.

“That parking lot is empty all the time, and I was under the impression that place is permanently closed,” they said.

Looking through the glass entrance revealed little indication of regular operations, with only a grimy tile floor visible and boxes piled randomly in a hallway and near what appeared to be a front desk.

Federal authorities executed the raid on Tuesday as part of a broader investigation into suspected fraud involving social services funds, with the Trump administration estimating potential losses in Minnesota alone could reach $19 billion.

Prosecutors have already brought charges in related schemes. Since September, seven individuals have been indicted for allegedly enlisting members of the Somali community to sign up children for nonexistent autism services, generating approximately $14 million in fraudulent payments.

In a separate but related case, at least 65 defendants have been charged in the so-called Feeding Our Future scandal, which allegedly siphoned off roughly $250 million in taxpayer funds. Numerous defendants have entered guilty pleas in that case, which federal prosecutors began pursuing during the Biden administration.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump is again pressing for Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant a pardon to Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu, arguing that such a decision would significantly boost Herzog’s stature.

Speaking in an interview with Axios, Trump said that if Herzog were to pardon Netanyahu, it would elevate him in the eyes of the public. “I like the guy, Herzog,” Trump said. “He will be a national hero if he gives Bibi a pardon. I will very much appreciate it.”

Trump also revealed that he had a conversation with Netanyahu on Tuesday night, during which the prime minister mentioned his ongoing corruption trial and that he was scheduled to return to court the next day. Trump voiced frustration over the situation, saying: “In the middle of a war? Give me a break.”

According to Trump, the legal case against Netanyahu is harming Israel’s reputation. He brushed aside the accusations, describing them as involving “wine and cigars,” and added: “Bibi is a wartime prime minister. He can’t have this hanging over his head.”

The president has repeatedly called for Netanyahu to receive a pardon in recent months, characterizing the trial as a “witch hunt” and drawing comparisons to his own legal battles.

Earlier in the week, Herzog convened Netanyahu’s legal representatives along with the attorney general and state prosecutor to explore possible ways to resolve the case. Herzog has made clear that he does not intend to consider issuing a pardon until those discussions are completed.

Trump, however, expressed doubt that a compromise solution would work, saying Netanyahu “can’t take” such a deal and instead needs a full pardon.

Netanyahu continues to deny all allegations and has given no indication that he is prepared to admit any wrongdoing, which is a legal prerequisite for receiving a presidential pardon in Israel. Any plea deal could also impose limits on his ability to remain in public office.

In earlier comments reported by Axios, Trump had taken a harsher tone toward Herzog over the matter, although in his most recent remarks his approach appeared more restrained.

{Matzav.com}

The incident happened on River Avenue.

LONG ISLAND (VINnews) — A high-performance sports car once confiscated from a repeat drunken driving offender is now being used by Suffolk County police as part of a public awareness campaign aimed at deterring impaired driving.

County officials unveiled the repurposed Chevrolet Corvette Stingray as a symbol of the financial and personal consequences tied to driving while intoxicated. Rather than auctioning off the vehicle after it was seized under the county’s forfeiture law, police converted it into a display vehicle for community events and public safety outreach.

Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the goal is to send a visible message that impaired driving can lead not only to arrests, but also the loss of valuable property.

The Corvette, outfitted with police markings and emergency lights, is not expected to be used for patrol duty. Instead, officials say it will appear at parades, educational events and anti-DWI campaigns as a conversation starter and deterrent.

The initiative comes as Suffolk County continues emphasizing drunken driving enforcement. Officials say stepped-up enforcement efforts in recent years have coincided with declines in fatal crashes, though they stress prevention remains a central priority.

Catalina said the decision to keep the car as a public safety tool rather than sell it was intended as a long-term investment in awareness.

The vehicle was seized after the driver’s repeat DWI arrest under a county law that allows forfeiture in certain cases. Suffolk first adopted vehicle seizure measures decades ago and later revised the law following court challenges.

Officials say the Corvette campaign is meant to reinforce a broader message: impaired driving can carry consequences that extend well beyond fines or license suspensions.

Concern is growing at Yeshivas Banecha Shavim in Gilo after one of its talmidim was arrested earlier this week by the Military Police and sentenced to 20 days in a military prison. Speaking with Nati Kalish on Kol Chai’s News Anash program, Rosh Yeshiva Rav Yehuda Menachem recounted the details of the arrest, the family’s distress, and his concerns about the pressure the bochur may face in custody.

According to Rav Menachem, the day began routinely, but when the bochur failed to show up for learning, it became clear that he had been taken during the night.

“At 3:30 in the morning they came to the house, loud banging on the door. They are simple people, they were frightened, they opened — and they simply took him,” he said. He added that the bochur was cut off from any communication for an entire day: “He was only given the right to call today. The parents didn’t know where he was”.

Rav Menachem described the bochur as a gentle, quiet, and well-liked young man. “An intelligent student, loves Torah, doesn’t harm anyone,” he said. He explained that the family is unfamiliar with legal and military systems, and that the yeshiva has taken on the responsibility of helping them navigate the situation. “We are their only help. Even the connection to the lawyer is being handled by us.”

In response to the situation, the yeshiva has begun organized tefillos for his release. “We distributed tefillah sheets, asking for a close salvation,” Rav Menachem said. At the same time, he expressed serious concern about the emotional strain on the bochur. “We are afraid he will break. He is delicate, sensitive, not equipped to deal with this pressure machine”.

Concluding the interview, Rav Menachem stressed that the yeshiva will continue supporting both the bochur and his family until he is released. “It pains us very much. We hope to hear good news.”

{Matzav.com}

Ceasefire? What ceasefire? That was pretty much the message IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir delivered to soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon Wednesday. He declared that there is “no ceasefire,” because the two sides have continued to fire at each other — definitionally the opposite of “ceasefire” — throughout the supposed truce.

The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, began on April 17. On April 24, President Donald Trump extended it for three more weeks. But Israel has pushed for the freedom to take more action against Hezbollah rocket fire and a two-week time limit for a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel, fearing that refraining from major action will weaken its power of deterrence.

Zamir’s announcement, in which he thumbed his nose at the idea that a ceasefire is actually in place, came while the United States was mediating talks between Israel and Lebanon.

The army’s chief of staff said that Israel “will not tolerate” attacks from Hezbollah, and he vowed that the IDF will remain stationed in the southern Lebanon buffer zone until the threat to Israelis in the northern communities has been removed.

IDF soldiers conduct a mission in southern Lebanon. (Credit: IDF)

“In Lebanon, the mission assigned to us by the political echelon is to position ourselves along the line to prevent direct fire on the communities,” Zamir said. “We have achieved this; this is the line we are on. We may be required to remain on it. We will not tolerate attacks and fire on our communities, and we will not leave until long-term security for the northern communities is ensured.”

“On the combat front, there is no ceasefire; you continue to fight, to remove direct and indirect threats from the northern communities, to thwart terror infrastructure, to locate and kill terrorists,” he declared.

“Any threat, anywhere, to our communities or our forces, including beyond the Yellow Line and north of the Litani [River], will be removed,” he added. “Your mission and duty are to act with freedom of action and remove any threat.”

During his visit, the IDF continued striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

According to an unnamed Israeli source, Trump is less than enthused about the Israeli request to engage in a more forceful campaign against Hezbollah. The source said that the president told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call Wednesday that Israel should “restrain itself” and not “take actions that could jeopardize the ceasefire.”

MYKONOS, Greece (VINnews) — For two days last week, the sun-soaked island of Mykonos, better known for beaches and nightlife than Jewish communal life, became an unlikely nerve center of global Jewish continuity.

Dozens of Chabad emissaries — men and women serving as the primary Jewish presence across 43 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa — gathered for a regional summit focused on strategy, collaboration and the realities of sustaining Jewish life in places where, in many cases, they are the only Jewish address.

Hosted by Greece’s regional Chabad leaders, Rabbi Mendel and Nechama Hendel, together with Mykonos emissaries Rabbi Ouziel Moshe and Shterna Sarah Friedland, the two-day summit blended strategic planning with workshops, educational sessions and informal late-night discussions that participants described as both professionally valuable and personally uplifting.

At a time when much attention has focused on declining religious affiliation and rising antisemitism across Europe, the tone emerging from the gathering was markedly different — one of expansion and resilience.

“The emissaries are the Jewish people’s global support system,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, who oversees the international network. “In many of these countries, when someone arrives, whether for business, travel or relocation, the local Chabad is often the only familiar address. Our responsibility is to make sure no one feels alone.”

Participants represented communities where Jewish populations are often small, dispersed and geographically isolated. Yet many described a common trend: people once disconnected from Jewish life are increasingly seeking meaningful connection when even modest opportunities are created.

For Rabbi Mendy Sternbach, who serves in Lagos, that dynamic is deeply personal.

“Living in a small community means relationships are everything,” he said. “You can’t afford to let anyone fall through the cracks.”

Sternbach said even attending the summit required sacrifice.

“It’s a long and expensive journey, but my community encourages it, because they know they benefit from what I bring back,” he said.

Sessions throughout the gathering addressed practical challenges ranging from time management and community leadership to navigating global tensions in vulnerable Jewish communities. Workshops featured senior educators and rabbis, while shorter presentations showcased grassroots innovations — from transforming tourist encounters into lasting communal relationships to building Jewish infrastructure where little existed before.

“There’s a misconception that Jewish life outside major centers is fading,” Kotlarsky said. “What we’re seeing is the opposite. When you create access, when you show up consistently, people respond. Communities are being built one relationship at a time.”

Technology also figured prominently in discussions, with emissaries exploring digital learning platforms and artificial intelligence tools to reach Jews in remote regions. Youth programming — including children’s initiatives, teen networks and young professional communities — was described as a growing focus, particularly in places where younger Jews often feel isolated.

The summit concluded with a formal banquet and closing session, sending participants back to their communities with renewed energy and strengthened ties.

“This gathering was something deeply strengthening, both for the Jews who live here and for local business owners and visitors,” Rabbi Friedland said. “Mykonos is not a place where Torah and Jewish life have traditionally been strongly felt. Yet this went far beyond a minyan or a single gathering. The atmosphere filled the entire environment, bringing a true sense of Jewish life and spiritual warmth.”

If a single message emerged from Mykonos, participants said, it was one of quiet determination: that even in places where organized Jewish life once seemed unlikely, it is not only enduring — but growing.

(AP) – A new analysis of chemicals in U.S. infant formula found reassuringly low levels of heavy metals, pesticides and other potential contaminants, federal health officials said Wednesday.

The review was conducted as part of the Food and Drug Administration’s Operation Stork Speed project — billed as the “largest and most rigorous” to date. It found that the infant formula supply is “safe,” agency officials and outside experts said.

“There’s no reason not to use any available formula” in the U.S., said Dr. Steven Abrams, a pediatrics professor at the University of Texas at Austin who reviewed the findings.

FDA officials tested more than 300 samples of commercial infant formula between 2023 and 2025 for heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. They also tested for pesticides, chemicals found in plastics known as phthalates, and PFAS, also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, sometimes called “forever chemicals.”

Levels of all the contaminants were undetectable or very low, the agency reported. The heavy metals detected were well below U.S. Environmental Protection Agency limits for drinking water, the agency reported. No pesticides were detected in 99% of samples. The FDA found no detections for 25 of the 30 PFAS compounds tested.

Outside experts generally agreed with the government’s assessment, noting that small amounts of substances such as heavy metals are naturally occurring in the environment. But others, such as phthalates and PFAS, are not.

“These chemicals are completely synthetic,” said Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a pediatrics professor at UW Medicine and the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. “The detection of some of these compounds at all is concerning.”

It points to the need for further monitoring of formula — and of the larger U.S. food supply, she added.

The Trump administration launched Operation Stork Speed in March 2025, promising to review safety and quality standards for infant formula in the U.S. for the first time in decades.

It built on previous FDA efforts to review substances like heavy metals in infant foods, which can cause problems with brain development, learning and behavior in children, Abrams said.

To date, the FDA does not have enforceable limits for heavy metals in infant formulas, unlike the European Union, Canada and Australia.

Some consumer advocacy groups have called on the FDA for years to establish firm limits for contaminants. Last year, Consumer Reports published an analysis of 41 U.S. infant formulas with results suggesting that many had worrisome levels of heavy metals and other contaminants.

However, that analysis used its own level of concern, setting it far below European Union standards. That report garnered wide public attention and prompted some parents to stop using commercial formula, even when it was necessary, Abrams noted.

Abrams called for the FDA to continue monitoring infant formula for contaminants and to share the results.

Abbott, one of the nation’s largest formula makers, urged the FDA to set scientific standards for contaminants in infant formula.

“We believe that producing infant formula at scale in the U.S. is a matter of national security,” Abbott spokesman John Koval said in an email. “These results affirm the safety of our current domestic supply.”

In her endless pursuit to persecute lomdei Torah, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara made another dramatic move this week, ordering officials to halt the “Target Price” (discounted housing) lottery, citing a “legal impediment” stemming from a High Court ruling on the draft issue, The Marker reported.

The lottery, which includes approximately 8,000 housing units, was halted at the last moment—on the very morning it was set to open. The delay came amid ministers’ push to significantly increase the share of IDF reservists eligible for top priority.

Indeed, at a meeting of the Israel Land Council earlier this week, a dramatic decision was made to raise the allocation for reservists to 50%.

At the heart of the current dispute is the Council’s decision to exclude the Chareidi sector from this requirement. It was determined that in predominantly Chareidi cities and neighborhoods, the 50% quota for reservists would not apply, in order to allow young Chareidi couples—most of whom do not serve in the reserves—to compete for housing.

Baharav-Miara threw a fit at this decision, claiming that it is “problematic and lacks legal justification.” She claimed that it is not permissible to exempt an entire population from benefits designated for those who serve, especially in light of the High Court ruling prohibiting benefits and funding for individuals defined as “draft evaders.” As a result, all lotteries have been frozen pending clarification of the legal status of the decision, leaving thousands of families in limbo.

This is yet another of Baharav-Miara’s schemes to twist the law to persecute lomdei Torah and their families. After implementing cuts to yeshiva funding, revoking daycare, after-school program, municipal tax, and public transportation subsidies, she is attempting to push avreichim and young couples out of the subsidized housing market as well. And in her latest move, she has “determined” that tax benefits for donors who contribute to yeshivos and Torah mosdos at which draft-eligible students are enrolled should be revoked.

Chareidi political sources stated: “The legal advisory system has become a weapon against the Torah world. It is unfathomable that young couples without a roof over their heads are punished simply for preserving Jewish tradition. This is deliberate harassment aimed at applying cruel economic pressure on an entire population through its most basic need—housing.”

At this stage, it remains unclear when the lottery will resume, as the High Court’s demand for full equality in the allocation of state housing resources looms in the background.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Denver retiree Don Cohen spends about two-and-a-half hours each day consuming the news, between reading on his iPad and watching broadcast programs. But while the 72-year-old says he wishes he could avoid stories about President Donald Trump, he’s accepted that’s impossible.

“It would be to avoid media,” said Cohen, an independent voter who has opposed Trump since he announced his 2016 presidential campaign.

Although Cohen has given up, others have not. A new Media Insight Project survey finds that about 6 in 10 U.S adults say they actively try to avoid news stories about Trump “often” or “sometimes.”

Most aren’t finding hope in the news — particularly the people who are more apt to dislike Trump. Republicans are more likely to say the news they consume gives them a hopeful view of the world, while few Democrats say this is how they feel.

The findings from the new survey reflect divisions in an American electorate at a time when increased polarization and social media are changing the way people consume news.

David Sterrett, a principal research scientist at the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which was a partner on the project, said Democrats may be exercising wishful thinking when they say they try to avoid news about Trump.

“They would like to avoid Trump news, but they’re probably not because most national politics news is somewhat connected to the president,” he said.

Most Democrats follow political news, but it doesn’t make them hopeful

Democrats tend to have more faith in media, particularly national news outlets, compared to Republicans, and they’re also more likely to regularly follow national political news, the survey found.

But Republicans are more likely to say the news they consume gives them a hopeful view of the world, while Democrats are more likely to say the news is too stressful to read or watch.

About two-thirds of Democrats and independents say that they “often” or “sometimes” actively try to avoid news stories about Trump. Among them is Fernando Ocegueda, a Democrat in Los Angeles who said he recently cut back on consuming political news for precisely that reason.

“I don’t agree with his decisions,” the 50-year-old phlebotomist said of the president. “I don’t think he’s fit, so I don’t even want to bother in paying attention to what he has to say.”

Cohen, the retiree, said he thinks the president has created a sense of instability that puts many Americans in fight-or-flight mode. He thinks that’s part of what keeps people coming back for more.

“People don’t want to know, but they sort of want to know, because of the imminent sense of threat that is attached to him,” he said. “You know it’s a train wreck, and you just can’t take your eyes off of it.”

Even Republicans say they at times try to avoid Trump news

It’s not just Democrats. About half of Republicans in the survey said they “often” or “sometimes” actively try to avoid news stories about Trump. Nicole Pratt, who identifies as a moderate Republican, is one of them.

The 62-year-old in Torrance, California said she supports some things the Trump administration is doing and wants to know the news, but she doesn’t need to read any more stories about what she views as the president’s narcissism.

“His fights with other people, his arguments — I don’t bother with that anymore,” she said. “It’s like, I have other things to do.”

Sterrett said some Republicans might say they avoid news about Trump not because they’re tired of Trump updates but because they distrust traditional news sources.

“A lot of his followers do get news directly from him via social media, and his posts and announcements,” he said.

Both parties get news on social — even as they say it’s a misinformation haven

About 4 in 10 Republicans and Democrats say they get news from social media at least “daily,” but they also recognize the pitfalls of what’s shared there.

Most Democrats and Republicans point to social media users as having “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the spread of misinformation about events and important issues.

They’re more divided on where to place the blame otherwise.

About three-quarters of Democrats say politicians have a high amount of responsibility for misinformation spreading, compared to 65% of Republicans. Another 64% of Democrats say that about social media companies such as Facebook or Meta, X, and YouTube, compared to 53% of Republicans.

Most Democrats, 58%, also see at least “quite a bit” of responsibility for misinformation coming from artificial intelligence companies that create and develop AI chatbots. A smaller share of Republicans, 47%, see AI companies as responsible.

Most Republicans, meanwhile, point to national news media as having “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the spread of misinformation about events and important issues. About half of Democrats say the same.

Partisans are hooked on news. Independents, not as much

While Americans aligned with one of the two major parties often differ on their specific views of trust in media, it’s independents who are less engaged.

About 8 in 10 Democrats and Republicans regularly follow various news and information topics, compared to roughly 7 in 10 independents.

Other than Trump-related news, partisans are similarly likely to report avoiding news about celebrities, news in general, or news on their various devices — such as on social media or on their phone. Most on both sides of the aisle try to avoid the news when talking with friends or family at least sometimes.

Sterrett said even as the political parties differ in their news preferences, the survey shows some areas of overlap. For example, Americans in both parties are similarly likely to say they follow sports news, weather news or crime news.

“Especially when it comes to local issues and the stuff that affects people’s daily lives, it does seem like Republicans and Democrats are following similar sources and following similar topics,” Sterrett said.

(AP)

A senior community figure in Golders Green is publicly rebuking UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer following the latest terror incident in the heavily Jewish northwest London neighborhood, saying government reassurances are no longer resonating with residents.

In an interview with GB News, local leader Levi Schapiro expressed deep frustration, arguing that repeated statements from the government have failed to deliver tangible security improvements on the ground.

“This keeps happening under the current government and current prime minister,” Schapiro said, adding that official responses have become predictable and ineffective.

According to Schapiro, Starmer’s public messaging, often centered on solidarity and promises of action, has been recycled after prior incidents, leaving many in the community feeling increasingly vulnerable rather than reassured.

“He’s already said everything that can be said,” Schapiro noted. “But it’s not translating into reality.”

The remarks reflect a growing sense of unease in Golders Green, a hub of London’s Jewish population, which has faced a string of antisemitic incidents in recent months. Community members, Schapiro said, are not looking for more statements but for visible, measurable security changes.

“I’m hearing it directly from people,” he added. “They’re not comforted. They’re worried.”

The criticism highlights mounting pressure on the British government to move beyond rhetoric as Jewish communities across the UK demand stronger protections amid rising threats.

Hackensack Meridian Health has opened the nation’s first comprehensive health and wellness center located at a major transit hub, bringing medical services directly to commuters and nearby residents at Metropark Station in Woodbridge.

The $200 million Metropark Health & Wellness Center offers services including urgent care, primary care, imaging, pharmacy, rehabilitation, and specialty care — all steps away from NJ Transit and Amtrak platforms.

Officials say the project is part of Hackensack Meridian’s broader $3 billion statewide investment in expanding access to healthcare through new outpatient centers, urgent care sites, and hospital expansions.

The facility is expected to serve thousands of monthly commuters while also anchoring the larger redevelopment of the Metropark area into a mixed-use destination for healthcare, housing, retail, and office space.

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was granted a unique heter halachah by his rav, Rabbi Dov Lior, permitting him to enter the entirety of Har Habayis, including areas that are ordinarily off-limits to the broader public due to their heightened kedushah.

The matter came to light following a visit by Ben-Gvir to the home of Rav Lior, who serves as the manhig ruchani of the Otzma Yehudit party.

It should be pointed out that all the leading poskim of this and previous generations have forbidden entry to the Har Habayis.

During their meeting, Rav Lior presented a detailed map outlining the halachically permitted route for those ascending Har Habayis, highlighting the importance of remaining strictly within those designated areas to avoid entering places that are assur due to their sanctity. In general, Rav Lior allows visits to Har Habayis only under specific conditions—limited to the permitted pathways and following proper tevilah in a mikvah.

However, the rav explained—according to a report in Matzav Haruach—that Minister Ben-Gvir’s situation is distinct from that of the general public. Due to his position within the Israeli government, a separate psak applies to him, rooted in the concept of “sovereign control” of the State of Israel and the Jewish people over the Har Habayis. Based on this reasoning, he is allowed to enter even those areas where there exists a halachic prohibition for others.

Rav Lior elaborated on the reasoning behind this ruling, stating: “This is done through the importance of the concept of sovereignty of the State of Israel and the Jewish people on the Har Habayis, expressed by a minister of the State of Israel ascending and demonstrating presence in these places. Of course, it is desirable to do so with as much solemnity as possible, befitting these holy sites.”

{Matzav.com}

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) confirmed Wednesday evening that naval commandos have seized 7 of the 58 vessels participating in the international “Freedom Flotilla” from Barcelona heading to Gaza.

The operation took place hundreds of kilometers from Israeli shores, the furthest distance for such an interception to date.

While only 7 have been seized so far, the flotilla leaders say there is communication and navigation jamming on all boats. The IDF has effectively halted the lead ships’ advance toward the naval blockade.

TEL AVIV – In a blow to Israel’s aviation industry, Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, has announced it is officially closing its offices in Israel and has no plans to resume flights to Ben Gurion Airport for now.

The airline, consistently ranked among the world’s best, has not operated in Israel since the start of the conflict in October 2023.

Photo: Cathay Pacific

As other carriers are still trying to restart their schedules, Cathay Pacific is taking the final step of packing up its physical headquarters. This confirms they are not just waiting for the situation to improve; they are completely leaving the Israeli market for the foreseeable future.

In the coming days, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy, will return to the United States, along with 4,500 personnel, for repairs after being deployed to the Middle East for 10 months, according to The Washington Post.

The aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush will remain in the Arabian Sea, continuing to enforce the blockade, but the firepower of the Navy will be diminished somewhat.

President Donald Trump stressed to reporters at the White House that he would not make a deal with Iran that does not include the regime giving up nuclear weapons.

The USS Gerald R. Ford. (From a post on X)

“We are having talks now. The negotiations are by phone, instead of flying 18 hours each time,” Trump said. “Iran has come a long way, but the question is whether it will go far enough.”

The statement comes shortly after Trump took calls from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Vladimir Putin. The Israelis assess that Trump will keep the blockade in place until Iran caves, which they believe will happen.

Indeed, Trump expressed his appreciation for the blockade.

“The blockade is genius,” he said. “It is 100% foolproof, and it shows how good our navy is. Militarily, we wiped out Iran. They have no military left, their Navy is at the bottom of the sea, and their air force will never fly again.”

Putin presented several options to Trump to resolve the crisis, but the Russians warned that escalating the conflict in the Middle East would harm countries in the region without providing any benefit.

Testimony delivered to Congress in 2024 has drawn renewed attention to the U.S. government’s involvement in research conducted in Wuhan, adding to the ongoing debate over how the COVID-19 pandemic began.

During a House committee hearing, NIH principal deputy director Lawrence Tabak acknowledged federal funding tied to gain-of-function work in China. “Dr. Tabak, did NIH fund gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through EcoHealth?” asked Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.). “It depends on your definition of gain-of-function research,” Tabak answered. “If you’re speaking about the generic term, yes, we did.”

Questions surrounding the origins of COVID-19 remain unresolved, in part because Chinese authorities have not permitted an independent international probe. Within the U.S. government, some officials continue to view a laboratory leak in China as a plausible explanation for the outbreak.

{Matzav.com}

NEW YORK (VINnews/Rabbi Yair Hoffman) A beautiful video tribute has recently been produced honoring Rabbi Menachem Genack as he steps down after 45 years at the helm of OU Kosher. The video features moving testimonials from family, colleagues, talmidim, and gedolei Torah who have worked alongside him over the decades. This author, can personally attest to Rabbi Genack’s extraordinary chessed, knowledge, and sense of achrayus for Klal Yisroel. The reflections that follow are drawn from that tribute, which can be viewed below:

For nearly half a century, one man has quietly transformed the way observant Jews around the world eat. Rabbi Menachem Genack, the longtime CEO of OU Kosher, is stepping down after 45 years at the helm of what has become the largest kashrus agency in the history of Klal Yisrael. The numbers alone tell a staggering story: 108 countries, approximately one and a half million products, roughly 15,000 companies under supervision. But the numbers, impressive as they are, capture only a fraction of what Rabbi Genack has built.

A World Before the OU

To understand the magnitude of Rabbi Genack’s accomplishment, one must first recall the kashrus landscape before his arrival. As one colleague reflects in the video, “When we grew up, everybody, orthodox as frum as you were, we ate everything. We didn’t eat non-kosher meat, but people ate candies and cakes, assuming that they were all kosher.” Consumers walked into stores, picked up products, squinted at ingredient lists, and tried to determine for themselves whether what they were holding could be eaten. “It was a horrible way to try to do things.”

When Rabbi Genack first joined the OU, he was the only full-time rabbinic person on staff. The office, located on 36th Street in Midtown Manhattan, oversaw approximately 300 companies. There were no computers. It was, in the words of one observer, “a mom-and-pop operation.” Rabbi Genack himself was reluctant to take the position; he was teaching, giving shiurim, and committed to a life of harbatzas Torah. He agreed to come for six months. Forty-five years later, he is finally stepping down.

The Vision of a Builder

What Rabbi Genack saw, others did not yet see. He understood that the world was ready for kosher certification on a global scale, and he believed the OU was uniquely positioned to lead that revolution. Within roughly a decade, he had built the infrastructure to support exactly that vision: a computer system cataloging hundreds of thousands of ingredients, a professional staff that grew to include some 55 rabbanim in the office and over 500 representatives in the field, a coordinated structure that married industry-based Rabbinic Coordinators with geography-based mashgichim.

He brought in the gedolei haposkim. Rav Hershel Schachter, shlita. Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt”l. Halachic consultations expanded to include Rav Asher Weiss and Rav Mordechai Gross in Eretz Yisrael. Every Friday, in the early years, Rabbi Genack would convene his small circle of Rabbanim to review the week’s shailos. Today, that culture of consultation, of working with the broadest possible coalition of talmidei chachamim, remains one of the defining features of OU Kosher.

This was no accident. Rabbi Genack often quotes a teaching from his rebbi, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt”l, that the OU should not become a monopoly. “Kinas sofrim tarbeh chochmah” — competition among the wise increases wisdom. The idea that other kashrus agencies should thrive alongside the OU is not a concession; it is a value.

Talmid of the Rav

Rabbi Genack’s relationship with Rav Soloveitchik was almost unparalleled. As a 17-year-old in the Rav’s shiur, when the Rav posed a question and offered his seat to anyone who could answer it, it was Rabbi Genack who answered. The seat was not given, but in many ways, as one colleague observes in the tribute, Rabbi Genack has become memaleh makom of the Rav.

That bond animated one of his most enduring projects: OU Press. Rabbi Genack had a dream of establishing a publishing division whose primary purpose would be to bring the shiurim of Rav Soloveitchik in halacha and hashkafah to the broader Jewish world. OU Press has become exactly that — a tremendous contribution to Klal Yisrael, ensuring that the Torah of the Rav continues to shape generations who never had the privilege of sitting in his shiur.  He also helped publish perhaps the greatest Shalom Bayis sefer ever written in any language – V’amudeha Shiva by Rac Avrohom Genekovsky zt”l – the Rosh Yeshiva of Chebin.

The Quiet Chesed

Yet to focus only on the public Rabbi Genack — the institution-builder, the talmid of the Rav, the executive presiding over a global enterprise — is to miss what those closest to him describe as perhaps his most enduring legacy.

Rabbi Genack is a baal chesed. Much of his chesed has been done in public, but a great deal of it has been done in ways that even those nearest to him only learned about by accident. People who needed jobs found them through him. Families struggling with personal difficulties found a quiet advocate. Nitzrachim — those struggling members of Klal Yisrael whose names will never appear in any annual report — have benefited from his willingness to involve himself in problems that had nothing to do with kashrus and everything to do with a Yid in pain.

Or LaAmim

Rabbi Genack constantly reminds his staff that OU Kosher is more than a kashrus agency. It is meant to be an or la’amim — a light unto the nations. The OU’s mashgichim and rabbanim, in his view, are not merely certifiers. They are emissaries charged with being mekadesh Shem Shamayim each and every day, in factories and processing plants and corporate boardrooms across the globe.

That sense of mission — that kashrus is not an industry but a shlichus — has shaped the institutional culture he leaves behind.

The Transition

Rabbi Genack now passes the leadership of OU Kosher to Rabbi Moshe Elefant, his partner of 35 years. Rabbi Elefant has spoken with characteristic humility about the weight of what he is inheriting: 39 years of studying under a great rebbi, the responsibility of building on a foundation laid by a singular visionary. “If I will be able to maintain what he did and be able to build on what he built,” he has said, “then I will be a success.”

The Ribono Shel Olam, as one speaker in the video beautifully puts it, has the right person for the right task at the right time. Rabbi Genack was the person Hashem deemed appropriate to see the OU — and the world of kashrus — through its industrial revolution.

Rabbi Genack built a system, but more than that, he built a culture — of avodas hakodesh, of consultation with gedolei Torah, of seeing every product, every plant, every shailoh as an opportunity to be mekadesh Shem Shamayim.

For all of this, and for so much that will never be publicly known, Klal Yisrael owes Rabbi Menachem Genack a tremendous debt of hakaras hatov.

The newly released video tribute, viewable here, captures the voices of those who have known and worked with him most closely. It is well worth watching.

The author can be reached at [email protected]

(JNS) – The community in Skokie, a heavily Jewish village in the Chicago area, is “on edge” after three recent incidents, including ones that targeted children, according to Susan Haggard, president of the Chicago Jewish Alliance.

“They’re angry. They’re scared, as you can imagine,” she told JNS. “They want action to be taken.”

On April 19, the village stated that it was “aware of two separate incidents that occurred over the weekend at local parks involving groups of pre-teen and early teen youth.”

“In both incidents, youth reported that individuals used antisemitic language or made comments questioning their national origin or religious identity, escalating into physical altercations,” the village said.

It added that it “takes these incidents very seriously” and that “behavior that targets individuals based on religion, ethnicity, national origin or identity is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our community.”

“In response, the village is working with representatives of the Jewish community,” it added.

Denise Franklin, deputy chief of the administrative division of the Skokie Police Department, told JNS that the department received a report about “an incident involving antisemitic behavior among youth” at Terminal Park on April 25.

“The incident did not involve physical contact and has been reviewed and documented as a non-criminal incident with a noted religious bias, consistent with the village’s procedures for identifying and tracking hate and bias-related incidents,” Franklin told JNS. “The Skokie Park District has been made aware of this incident.”

The department stated on April 19 that two days prior, on Friday evening, officers responded to a “reported altercation involving a small group of female youth” at Lorel Park.

“During the course of the altercation, members of one group reported that members of the other group questioned their religious identity and national origin and made other comments about their appearance and identity,” the department said. “Individuals reported that the group also threw woodchips and pulled their hair, and that one individual was struck with an open hand on her leg.”

The next day, on April 18, police learned of an incident at Central Park “involving pre-teen and early teen youth playing basketball,” the department said. “Three youth from the Jewish community reported that opposing youth used antisemitic language during the course of a game. The dispute escalated, and one youth reported being punched and his necklace damaged.”

Haggard, of the Chicago Jewish Alliance, told JNS that three recent antisemitic incidents come within six months of another antisemitic incident, which took place on Oct. 7, 2025.

The alliance is calling for expanded park surveillance.

“Currently there are no cameras. We want cameras installed,” Haggard told JNS. “The incidents, whether it’s a coincidence or not, have all been on Shabbat, where typically Jewish children aren’t carrying phones.”

The alliance is also calling for police and other security to be at the parks during Shabbat and for the village to provide “real-time communication and provide clear, timely alerts and updates through a centralized public platform.”

It seeks a “publicly accessible dashboard tracking incidents, data, trends and outcomes” and “regular public community meetings, with accessible forums on antisemitism, with dedicated time for community questions and answers” in addition to regular board meetings, Haggard told JNS.

“We want Skokie to act firmly and rapidly to try and prevent more incidents like this from happening,” she said.

Rebecca Weininger, Midwest senior regional director at the Anti-Defamation League, told JNS that the community is “concerned, as most American Jewish communities are right now.”

“We are concerned about Jewish children everywhere and any time any child gets targeted for their identity,” she said. “We are confident that the village is taking this seriously. The fear is warranted, and we are inspired by how the community is channeling that fear into coming together and working alongside elected officials to remain a welcoming community while confronting hate.”

The Skokie community “has the benefit of knowing that its elected officials at all levels are partners with the Jewish community and they are seen,” Weininger told JNS. “These incidents did not happen because Skokie is lax in its enforcement of anti-hate measures or has chosen not to recognize antisemitism as a societal problem. Just the opposite.”

The Jewish community in Skokie has “clear lines of communication” with the mayor, park district, village trustees and police, according to Weininger.

“All of the mainstream Jewish organizations are working together to ensure that every Skokie official has sufficient training on antisemitism and hate and the resources to report and respond to it,” she said.

A spokesman for the Jewish United Fund of Chicago told JNS that “these incidents are highly disturbing and Skokie’s Jewish families are understandably concerned.”

“JUF has been in regular contact with the mayor, park superintendent, chief of police and school officials,” the spokesman said. “To date, all of those officials are taking the incidents seriously, and they are deeply engaged with us to find solutions.”

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(AP) – Backers of raw milk are pushing to make the potentially dangerous product more widely available and easier to obtain, even as a new disease outbreak — one of at least five in the past year — sickens U.S. children.

More than three dozen bills supporting raw milk have been introduced in statehouses across the nation, The Associated Press found. A growing number of states are making it legal to sell. Dairy farmers say they can barely keep it in stock, even though prices can exceed $10 or $20 a gallon.

Top government officials and internet influencers are helping drive this momentum. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. downed shots of raw milk at the White House last May and previously promised to halt “aggressive suppression” of the product. On social media, posts about raw milk have surged in recent months, often touting unproven claims about its health benefits.

All of this alarms public health officials, who have long warned that unpasteurized milk can harbor risky germs. The current outbreak — tied to raw milk cheddar cheese from California-based Raw Farm — has sickened nine people with E. coli, half of them children younger than 5. One victim developed a serious complication that can impair kidney function for life.

Petra Anne Levin, a biology professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said she doesn’t understand the products’ appeal.

“If you wouldn’t lick a cow’s underneath, why would you drink raw milk?” she said. “There’s a reason pasteurization is around.”

Pasteurization kills germs by heating the milk, commonly to at least 161 degrees Fahrenheit (71.7 degrees Celsius) for at least 15 seconds. Experts say it has no significant impact on milk’s nutritional quality and has saved millions of people from foodborne illness.

But some consumers would rather drink their milk raw despite the risk. Recognizing this trend, advocates and critics alike are increasingly calling for federal regulation of the product.

“People want access,” said Mary McGonigle-Martin, co-chair of Stop Foodborne Illness, a consumer advocacy group. “Public health has lost the battle on raw milk.”

Raw milk legislation pops up across the nation
Bills favoring raw milk have been introduced in the current legislative session in 18 states, including those controlled by Democrats and Republicans.

AP searched legislation in all 50 states using the bill-tracking software Plural and analyzed bills for whether they expand or streamline access to unpasteurized milk or products made from it. More than 40 bills introduced as of late April would make it easier to buy, sell or consume raw milk.

Some would allow raw milk to be sold for human consumption for the first time. A bill in New Jersey’s Senate, for example, would create a raw milk permitting program.

“You can buy cigarettes. You can buy alcohol. You can buy quote-unquote legalized marijuana,” said state Sen. Michael Testa, a Republican sponsor. “Why shouldn’t someone be able to consume raw milk?”

If the bill becomes law, New Jersey would join more than three dozen states in allowing raw milk sales. Wider access will probably mean more outbreaks, said Donald Schaffner, a Rutgers University food science professor.

Other bills seek to manage, guide or expand already legal sales. A bill advancing in the Iowa House would make it easier for farmers to sell unpasteurized products by offering them at farm stores alongside foods like meat.

Its sponsor, Republican state Rep. Chad Ingels, said he was initially opposed to legalizing raw milk because of safety concerns.

“But it’s law now, and I’m very pro-local foods,” said Ingels, who expects the current bill to pass. “I just thought it made sense to allow those farm businesses to sell all their products in one location.”

Two bills in Missouri would allow unpasteurized dairy products to be sold in grocery stores, farmers’ markets or similar places as long as they include a label warning of the potential for harmful bacteria and herds are tested.

“We just want to make it more accessible, so that way, people have the freedom of choice,” said Republican state Rep. Bryant Wolfin, who sponsored one of the bills.

The legislation specifically invokes the Raw Milk Institute, defining “retail raw milk or cream” as being produced on dairy farms that in one bill meet standards set by the California-based organization, and in the other “have obtained listed status” from the institute.

The organization, headed by Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee, says its mission is to improve the safety and quality of raw milk, which is how Wolfin sees it. But Schaffner said the organization focuses on raw milk advocacy rather than managing risk. He pointed out that McAfee’s farm has been linked to numerous outbreaks.

It’s unclear how many raw milk bills will pass in statehouses this year. But there is also legislation being considered on a national level.

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. House would prevent federal departments, agencies or courts from restricting the movement of raw milk between two states where its sale is legal. Called the Interstate Milk Freedom Act, it was introduced in March by Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie and Maine Democrat Chellie Pingree.

Whether it passes or not, there are steps the federal government could take to make raw milk more available, legal experts say. The FDA could revoke the ban on interstate sales. The agency could also create national raw milk standards and urge or incentivize states to enforce them.

FDA officials did not respond to questions about whether such actions are likely.

Raw milk risks are well-documented
Despite raw milk’s popularity, scientists and public health experts warn against drinking it. Websites run by the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention point to the well-documented risks of serious illness from a host of germs, including campylobacter, listeria, salmonella and E. coli.

A CDC review counted more than 200 outbreaks tied to raw milk that sickened more than 2,600 people and sent 225 to hospitals between 1998 and 2018.

Another analysis found that raw dairy products cause 840 times more illness and 45 times more hospitalizations than their pasteurized counterparts.

Children are especially vulnerable to such illness, because their immune systems are immature and because they drink milk frequently, noted Alex O’Brien, food safety and quality coordinator for the Center for Dairy Research in Madison, Wisconsin.

Before milk standards were adopted more than a century ago, about 25% of foodborne illnesses in the U.S. were related to dairy consumption, O’Brien said. Now, dairy products account for about 1% of such illnesses. In European and American societies of the early and mid-19th century, research shows infant mortality rates were 30-60 times greater than today. In one example, thousands of infants died every year from a condition known as “summer diarrhea,” which was primarily caused by bacterial contamination in milk that worsened in the heat.

O’Brien, who grew up on a farm, said he knows people who drink raw milk and has consumed it himself in the past. Drinking it once might not hurt you, he said, but the risk increases with every exposure.

Understanding and accepting the risks of raw milk has become more difficult in this political climate, said Martin, the consumer advocate.

“They can’t grasp it, or they think it’s so rare it won’t happen to them,” she said.

Martin’s son, Chris, nearly died in 2006 after drinking raw milk contaminated with E. coli sold by Organic Pastures, Raw Farm’s previous name. For two decades, Martin has worked to raise awareness of the dangers and hold suppliers accountable.

Mari Tardiff, of Ashland, Oregon, was hospitalized for five months after drinking raw milk contaminated with campylobacter in 2008. She said she tried it because she was interested in “a natural probiotic.”

Doctors diagnosed her with Guillain-Barré syndrome, caused by her campylobacter infection. She spent time on a ventilator and was temporarily paralyzed and unable to talk. When she got home, she used a wheelchair and slept in a hospital bed, relying on her husband to turn her every two hours so she wouldn’t get pressure sores.

“Your whole life is completely blown apart,” she said.

Still, she said she wouldn’t tell other adults whether to drink raw milk — although she worries about giving it to kids.

“If you make a mistake, it’s one thing to come to terms with when you’re the one dealing with the consequences,” said Tardiff, now 70. “But holy moly … if I did something like that and one of my kids or my grandchildren was going through what I went through, I would never forgive myself.”

Raw milk supporters see an ‘exciting’ future, but concerns remain
Proponents of raw milk are gratified that it’s becoming more available. Even in states where it can’t be sold in stores for human consumption, people can get raw milk marketed for pets or join a “herd share” in which consumers buy a partial ownership in a dairy herd.

“I’ve been involved in raw milk for roughly 14 years,” said Ben Beichler, of Creambrook Farm in Middlebrook, Virginia, which relies on herd shares. “To see how public perception and political perception has altered over the years with raw milk is quite exciting.”

Beichler said safety is key.

“My family and my wife, who’s currently pregnant, drink about a gallon of our own raw milk every single day,” he said. “So if there’s anybody who has a vested interest in making sure our milk is safe, it is us.”

Beichler said his 150-cow farm works with a veterinarian on regular herd checks and has a safety process that includes sending milk samples to labs every week to test for common germs.

In Foristell, Missouri, Tony Huffstutter said his family tests their milk daily for bacteria in an on-site lab at their Twisted Ash Farm & Dairy, where they keep 15 cows and sell raw milk for $29 a gallon.

“You can’t just go out there, throw a bucket under the cow and start milking it,” he said. “There are so many steps in doing it right.”

He said raw milk shouldn’t be treated differently from other natural products such as spinach, which has been associated with past foodborne outbreaks.

“They don’t pasteurize the salad,” he said. “They don’t force you to only buy cooked salad.”

With raw milk gaining a foothold, Martin said she believes that the best action might be for the FDA to regulate it as strictly as pasteurized dairy products.

McAfee agrees. “High standards and testing should be part of that,” he said.

Schaffner, the food safety expert, also favors regulation. Although he has serious reservations about giving raw milk to kids, he calls himself “a raw milk libertarian” when it comes to adults.

“It’s kind of like legalization of weed, right?” he said. “If people want it, we should find a way to regulate it and do it safely.”

Then again, he said, there’s already a dependable way of making raw milk safe.

“It’s called pasteurization,” he said. “And it works really well.”

Former FBI Director James Comey surrendered to federal law enforcement Wednesday morning at the Eastern District of Virginia courthouse in Alexandria, where he was briefly taken into custody before appearing before Judge William E. Fitzpatrick for a hearing lasting less than ten minutes.

Comey faces two federal charges: making a threat against the president and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. The indictment centers on a social media post from May of last year in which Comey shared a photograph of shells arranged on a beach to spell the numbers “86 47,” captioning the image “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Republicans and Trump administration officials interpreted the post as an encoded death threat against President Donald Trump, the nation’s 47th commander-in-chief. The number 86, used colloquially as slang, can denote removal or elimination. Conservative critics argued that Comey’s beach photograph constituted a veiled call for the president’s assassination.

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Comey has maintained his innocence. In a video message posted to Substack Tuesday—hours before his surrender—the former law enforcement official declared himself “still innocent” of the charges.

Judge Fitzpatrick permitted Comey to depart the courthouse without conditions or restrictions on his release. The former FBI director entered and exited through a side entrance reserved for defendants, wearing a dark suit and remaining silent throughout the proceeding. No plea was entered Wednesday. No date has yet been set for his arraignment or first appearance before the North Carolina court.

The indictment marks the second time Trump’s Justice Department has pursued criminal charges against Comey. In September of the previous year, prosecutors charged him with lying to Congress regarding leaks to the press. That case was dismissed in late 2025 when a federal judge found that the interim US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia had been improperly appointed, having circumvented required Senate confirmation.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A new national survey finds Democrats holding a clear advantage over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, with a 10-point lead as the party benefits from stronger backing among key voter groups.

According to polling released Wednesday by Emerson College Polling, 50% of respondents said they would support a Democratic candidate for Congress, compared to 40% who favored a Republican. Another 10% of those surveyed said they have not yet decided.

Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said the Democratic edge is being fueled by growing support among several demographic groups.

“Democrats’ strength is driven by an increase in support among Hispanic voters, women, and independents,” Emerson College Polling executive director Spencer Kimball said. “Hispanics break for Democrats [over Republicans] by a 35-point margin, 61% to 26%, women by 21 points, 55% to 34%, and independents by 19 points, 50% to 31%.”

The survey also examined public views on President Donald Trump, showing his approval rating at 40% among likely voters, while 56% disapprove. Compared to March, that reflects a two-point drop in approval and a five-point increase in disapproval. The poll was conducted prior to the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Kimball also highlighted a shift among Hispanic voters in their views of Trump.

“Trump is underwater among Hispanic voters, 70% to 29%, compared to this time last year when they were split: 44% disapproved, and 41% approved,” Kimball said.

Respondents in the survey also expressed negative views of Trump’s performance on several major issues, including the economy, foreign policy, and immigration, where disapproval outweighed approval in each category.

The Emerson College Polling survey was conducted from April 24 through April 26. It carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, and the results were adjusted to reflect demographic factors such as gender, education, race, age, party registration, and geographic region based on U.S. Census data and voter file information.

10 bochurim remain in custody following a Tuesday evening breach of an IDF commander’s residence by Chareidi demonstrators, after the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court rejected efforts to secure their release on Wednesday.

The incident unfolded when activists affiliated with Peleg forcibly entered the home of Brig. Gen. Yuval Yamin, head of the IDF’s Military Police. The general’s family was inside the house at the time, though Yamin himself was absent. Police said the rioters breached the yard, caused property damage, and disrupted the neighborhood.

25 suspects were arrested on the scene. By Wednesday afternoon, most had been released, but 10 remain in detention after Judge Yaniv Ben Harush ruled that the evidence justified their continued confinement. The suspects face charges of assaulting a police officer, malicious damage to property, criminal trespass, and unlawful assembly.

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In his written ruling, Judge Ben Harush drew a sharp distinction between protected protest and lawlessness. “While every person in a democratic country is granted the right to express his protest on a given issue in public dispute,” he wrote, “the respondents’ behavior exceeded the limits of legitimate protest.” He characterized the breach as “an organized initiative to reach the home of a military police officer and intimidate him,” noting that the intrusion “sowed fear and terror among his family members.”

The judge extended detention by a single day, declining the prosecution’s request for a five-day extension.

Defense attorney Menachem Stauber, representing the detainees, mounted a forceful counterargument in court. He alleged that the Ashkelon police station commander had subjected the arrested men to verbal abuse, calling them “terrorists, worse than terrorists,” and comparing them to Hamas’s Nukhba terrorist unit. Stauber argued that property damage at Yamin’s home resulted from police tactics—officers pushing demonstrators—rather than deliberate destruction by protesters.

Stauber characterized the detention order as fundamentally illegitimate. “When a remand request is born out of an atmosphere of hatred and dehumanization, it constitutes a vengeful arrest rather than a legal one,” he stated. “It is unacceptable for a police officer to pre-designate targets and exploit the nation’s most painful tragedies to justify depriving protesters of their liberty.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Donald Trump said he turned down an offer from Russian President Vladimir Putin to assist on Iran, instead urging the Russian leader to concentrate on efforts to end the war in Ukraine during a lengthy phone call between the two leaders.

According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, the conversation between Trump and Putin took place Wednesday and covered both the conflict in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East.

Ushakov told reporters the discussion lasted more than 90 minutes and described it as “frank and businesslike.”

Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office as he hosted astronauts from the Artemis II mission, said the call went well and noted his long familiarity with Putin.

“We had a good talk, I’ve known him a long time,” Trump said. The US president, speaking to reporters as he met with astronauts from the Artemis II mission in the Oval Office, said he suggested “a little bit of a ceasefire” in the war in Ukraine in his phone call with the Russian leader.

“And I think he might do that,” Trump said, then asked reporters whether Putin had announced a ceasefire.

Trump also revealed that Putin raised the possibility of helping address Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, which remains a major sticking point in efforts to resolve tensions over Iran’s nuclear activities.

Trump said Putin offered to help on the issue of Iran’s enriched uranium, a key obstacle to a deal to end the Iran war, but “I said I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war with Ukraine.”

From the Russian side, Ushakov said the leaders placed significant focus on developments involving Iran and the broader Persian Gulf region.

Russia’s Ushakov, on the other hand, said the presidents “paid particular attention to the situation regarding Iran and in the Persian Gulf.”

{Matzav.com}

The man charged with trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and kill President Donald Trump took a picture of himself in his hotel room just minutes earlier, outfitted with an ammunition bag, a shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife, authorities said Wednesday in a new court filing.

Cole Allen wore black pants, a black shirt and a red tie as he snapped the image in his room at the Washington Hilton, where Trump and hundreds of journalists were meeting for a gala Saturday night, authorities say.

The 31-year-old from Torrance, California, was captured when he tried to race past security barricades near the hotel’s ballroom, prompting an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service agents tasked with safeguarding the event, investigators say.

New details emerged in a court filing made by prosecutors who want Allen to remain in custody. A hearing is set for Thursday.

The government said Allen repeatedly made online checks to keep track of Trump’s status that night, including live coverage of the president exiting his vehicle at the Hilton hotel. Investigators said preset emails with an “Apology and Explanation” attachment were sent at approximately 8:30 p.m.

“He intended to kill and fired his shotgun while trying to breach security and attack his target. Put simply, the defendant poses an uncommonly serious danger to the community if released pending trial. The defendant’s lack of criminal history and other personal circumstances do not alter this conclusion,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Jones wrote.

Trump, a Republican, was uninjured. A Secret Service officer wearing a bullet-resistant vest was shot in the vest and survived.

Allen appeared in court on Monday and was charged with the attempted assassination of the president as authorities suggested an attack that disrupted one of Washington’s glitziest events had been planned for at least several weeks. He did not speak at length during the quick court appearance, as is customary. One of his lawyers, Tezira Abe, noted he had no criminal record and said he “is presumed innocent at this time.”

Trump was rushed off the stage by his security team Saturday night and appeared at the White House two hours later, still in his tuxedo.

“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” he said. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”

An FBI affidavit filed Monday revealed other details about the planning behind the assault, with authorities alleging that Allen on April 6 reserved a room for himself at the Washington hotel where the event would be held weeks later under its typical tight security. He traveled by train cross-country from California, checking himself into the Washington Hilton a day before the dinner with a room reserved for the weekend.

(AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jerome Powell said he plans to remain on the board of the Federal Reserve after his term as chair ends next month “for an undetermined period of time,” citing the “unprecedented” legal attacks against the central bank by the Trump administration.

“I worry these attacks are battering this institution and putting at risk the things that really matter to the public,” Powell said at a press conference after the Fed announced its decision to keep its benchmark interest rate steady.

Powell’s decision to stay denies President Donald Trump a chance to fill a seat on the central bank’s seven-member governing board with his own appointee. The Senate Banking Committee earlier approved Powell’s successor as chair, Trump appointee Kevin Warsh, on a party-line vote. Powell would continue as a Fed governor, possibly until January 2028.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said on X Friday that her office was ending its probe into the Fed’s extensive building renovations because the Fed’s inspector general would scrutinize them instead. But she added that her office could reopen the investigation if “the facts warrant doing so.”

Apparently that didn’t bring Powell the closure he felt is needed.

“I’m waiting for the investigation to be well and truly over with finality and transparency,” he said. “I’m waiting for that and i will leave when i think it appropriate to do so.”

The Fed Wednesday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the third straight meeting but signaled it could still cut rates in the coming months, moves that attracted the most dissents since October 1992. Three officials dissented in favor of removing the reference to a future cut, while a fourth, Stephen Miran, dissented in favor of an immediate rate cut.

The dissents underscore the level of division on the Fed’s 12-member rate-setting committee ahead of the end of Powell’s term as chair on May 15.

“Developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook,” the Fed said in a statement after its two-day meeting. “Inflation is elevated, in part reflecting the recent increase in global energy prices.”

Warsh has promised “regime change” at the central bank and may make sweeping changes to its economic models, communications strategies, and balance sheet. He has argued in favor of rate cuts, as Trump has demanded, but he will likely find it harder to implement the rate cut s with inflation topping 3%, above the Fed’s target of 2%.

The three officials who dissented against hinting that the Fed may reduce borrowing costs were Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed; and Lorie Logan, president of the Dallas Fed. Miran was appointed to the Fed’s Washington board by Trump last September. The regional Fed bank presidents have historically been more likely to dissent, while the Washington-based governors more often support the chair.

The dissents could renew tension between the Trump administration and the bank presidents, who White House officials have previously criticized.

Powell’s decision to stay on could worsen tensions with the Trump administration and would create what some analysts refer to as a “two Popes” scenario, with a chair and former chair both on the Fed’s board. In that case, divisions among policymakers could increase, if some decided to follow Powell’s lead rather than Warsh’s.

Powell dismissed the notion that his staying on could cause dissension, saying, “My intention is not to interfere.”

The unusual situation comes while the economy remains unusually murky, putting the Fed in a difficult spot. Inflation has jumped to 3.3%, a two-year high, as the war has sharply raised gas prices. That makes it harder for the central bank to reduce rates. The Fed typically leaves rates unchanged, or even raises them, if inflation is worsening.

At the same time, hiring has ground almost to a halt, leaving those without jobs frustrated by the difficulty of finding new ones. Typically, the Fed cuts rates when the job market is weak, to spur more spending and job gains.

But layoffs also remain low, as employers appear to be following a “ low-hire, low-fire ” strategy. Many Fed officials have suggested that as long as the unemployment rate is low, the central bank doesn’t need to cut rates to spur more spending and hiring. Unemployment declined to 4.3% in March, from 4.4%.

In a move that will significantly lower the United States’ immediate naval firepower in a highly volatile region, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and her Carrier Strike Group are set to depart the Red Sea in the coming days.

The departure marks the conclusion of a massive operational stint. The strike group has been deployed for over 300 days, far surpassing the record for the longest U.S. aircraft carrier deployment since the Vietnam War. According to multiple U.S. officials who spoke to the Washington Post, the carrier will soon begin its journey back to its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.

The withdrawal of the USS Gerald R. Ford – which has been serving as one of three American aircraft carriers operating in the region – represents a notable decrease in U.S. military might in the Middle East. This reduction in forces comes at a highly sensitive time, occurring amidst a fragile ceasefire with Iran and while the United States continues to maintain a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

The Post report indicates that the primary reason for the carrier’s return is the requirement for desperately needed repairs following its grueling 10 months at sea. One official noted that the aircraft carrier is expected to arrive in Virginia around mid-May.

While the Ford’s departure lowers the overall carrier presence in the theater, U.S. naval operations and deterrence efforts are being shifted to other assets. Just last week, the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) arrived in the Middle East, taking up a strategic position near Iran to monitor the delicate security situation.

New York (VINnews/Rabbi Yair Hoffman) Once, the state of Israel was called a democracy.  Sadly, it seems that this is no longer true.  It is a deep state posing as a democracy.

The recent move by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara proves this supposition. With one stroke of an unelected pen, she revoked the Section 46 income-tax credit for donors to yeshivos whose draft-age students do not report for IDF service.

Whatever one thinks about Chareidi Yeshiva students not pulling their own defensive weight, the fact is that democracy has been circumvented. 

The Knesset did not vote on this and nobody was elected to do it. A single officer, accountable to no voter, decided — and it became the law of the land.

That is not democracy. It is a mockery of what a democracy is about. And that is what is called a deep state.

What a Deep State Actually Is

A deep state happens when an unelected layer of officials — judges, attorneys general, legal advisors, regulators — oversteps its role and discovers that it can govern without ever standing for election.

A deep state does not need to abolish elections. It only needs to make them meaningless. Citizens vote. Parties campaign. Coalitions form. And then, when the elected government tries to do what it was elected to do, the unelected layer steps in.

The elected will is quietly strangled, and the citizen is told that what just happened to him was not politics. It was law.

Israel today is the textbook case. The High Court instructs the executive on how to use its discretion. The attorney general rewrites the tax code by memo. The legal advisors in every ministry tell elected ministers what they may and may not do. Every lever the public was supposed to control through its vote has been pulled, gently and without fanfare, into hands the public never chose and cannot remove.

The Chareidi community is the test case because it is the community most identified with values disdained by these officials. What is done to yeshiva students this year will be done to someone else next year. The machinery does not stop.

There Was Never a Universal Draft

Many Israelis do not know  that Israeli law has never required every citizen to serve. Not in 1949 – nor now.

The Security Service Law works on a single mechanism. A conscription officer issues draft orders. He has wide statutory discretion over who gets one. A citizen becomes legally obligated to serve only after the order arrives. No order, no obligation.

That is why Arab citizens have not been drafted. That is why Druze women have not been drafted. That is why entire categories of Israelis have lived their whole lives without ever being called up. The discretion is the law. It is the mechanism the Knesset chose, deliberately, so that a country full of different communities could share a single defense burden without grinding any of them into dust.

Chareidim were deferred under that exact discretion for three-quarters of a century. The arrangement was not hidden, not improvised, not extralegal. But beginning in the late 1990s, the justices announced something new and entirely of their own invention. The Chareidi deferral, they declared, was too important to rest on administrative discretion. It needed its own dedicated statute. Just for them.

The legal discretion that quietly handled every other deferred group in Israel was suddenly insufficient — for one group only. No new statute was demanded for the non-conscription of Arab citizens – nor anyone else. The doctrine pointed in one direction. It has stayed pointed there ever since.

The Knesset complied. It passed the law. The Court struck it down. The Knesset passed another. The Court struck that one down too. The reason given, every time, was equality. Each time the elected legislature voted to continue an accommodation that had existed since the founding of the state, the Court announced that doing so violated the rights of the majority.

A majority chose, through its representatives, to extend a long-standing protection to a minority. And that choice — the very thing parliamentary democracy was invented to make possible — was redefined by an unelected court as an attack on the majority itself. There is no clearer signature of a deep state at full operational capacity than this.

The fear of the deep state is likely the reason that President Herzog would rather risk alienating president Trump by refusing his request to pardon the Prime Minister.

Four Weapons, One Target

The picture is now clearer than even the Court’s critics dared predict. Four weapons. Same target. A coherent campaign.

One. The Court directed the IDF conscription officer to begin issuing draft orders to Chareidim. A court told an executive officer how to use his own discretion. It did not strike down a law. It did not interpret a statute. It walked into the executive branch and gave operational instructions. With one ruling, hundreds of thousands of citizens who had been lawfully deferred for seventy-five years became, overnight, presumptively in violation of the law.

Two. The Court turned the police into the enforcement arm of its own preferences. Citizens who last year were sitting in the beis medrash with their elected government’s blessing are this year being shoved toward criminal liability. Nothing in the underlying law changed. The only thing that changed was the Court’s instructions about whom to break.

Three. The Court reached into the budget — daycare subsidies, housing benefits, institutional support. Whatever one thinks of those programs, the question is who decides where state money goes. The Knesset writes the budget – the Court does not. The minute justices begin specifying which population loses which line item, they are no longer judging. They are governing – and that is a deep state by definition.

Four, fired this week. The attorney general revoked the Section 46 income-tax credit for donors to yeshivos she deems insufficiently compliant. Notice what just happened. The tax code of the State of Israel — the single most jealously guarded instrument of legislative authority anywhere in the free world — was rewritten by one unelected official, on one day, without one vote.

Conscription orders manufactured by judges. Police enforcement directed by judges. Budget decisions dictated by judges. The tax code rewritten by an attorney general. This is not a court system. This is not a legal advisory office. This is a parallel government — one that needs no elections, accepts no accountability, and recognizes no boundary on its own authority.

A Hard Word for the Religious Right

This is where the article will sting some readers, because it must. There are thoughtful people on the right, and especially in the religious world, who have spent years denouncing judicial overreach in the abstract — but who, when the overreach is aimed at pressuring Chareidim into the army, find themselves quietly content with it. They tell themselves they are not endorsing the means. They are only welcoming the result. They are kidding themselves.

That contentment is the same trap the right has accused the left of falling into for years. The left, we like to say, cheers whatever the Court does because the Court usually delivers what the left wants. Fine. But what does it mean when the right cheers the Court and the attorney general for delivering what the right wants? It means the principled critique of judicial activism was never really principled. It was a complaint about whose turn it was to be hurt.

A real commitment to constitutional limits is tested precisely when those limits get in the way of an outcome you happen to like. Anyone willing to look the other way when the deep state aims its weapons at someone else has surrendered the standing to object when those weapons swing around. And they always swing around. The machinery does not care which Jews it grinds.

What Comes Next

The Section 46 ruling will slide off the front page. The conscription rulings will too. The next outrage will replace them, and the one after that will replace that. But the precedents will not slide. The precedents will accumulate. The deep state, having tasted what it can do without a vote and without consequence, will only grow.

What stands at the end of this road is no longer a court or an attorney general’s office. It is a third house of government — one nobody elected, one nobody can vote out, one no citizen can appeal beyond. A government inside the government, weaponizing every instrument of state — the conscription order, the police, the budget, the tax code — against whichever citizens its unelected officials have decided to discipline this week.

The right does not need a sharper legal strategy. It needs to wake up. It needs to call this what it is.

The day a society loses the ability to tell the difference between an outcome it likes and a process it can defend is the day it has already lost its democracy. In Israel, that day is closer than anyone wants to admit.

The question is no longer whether the deep state exists in Israel. The rulings of the past month answered that. The only question left is whether the citizens of this country still have the will to take it back.

The White House is alerting lawmakers that funding for Department of Homeland Security personnel is on the verge of being depleted, raising the prospect of airport slowdowns and broader security risks as the House delays action on legislation aimed at ending what has become the longest funding gap in the agency’s history.

In a memorandum sent to Congress late Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget said that stopgap funds President Donald Trump has been using to pay workers at the Transportation Security Administration and other divisions through executive measures are expected to run out by May. The memo urged House members to promptly pass the Senate-approved budget resolution, which cleared that chamber after an overnight session last week and is intended to set the stage for restoring full funding.

“DHS will soon run out of critical operating funds, placing essential personnel and operations at risk,” the memo said.

The administration’s warning adds pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose slim Republican majority has struggled to advance key legislation amid internal disagreements, including over Homeland Security funding, leaving the chamber largely stalled.

The House is expected to hold a vote as early as Wednesday on the Senate’s budget resolution, a procedural step that would begin a multi-phase effort to ultimately fund the department. Administration officials cautioned Republican lawmakers against making revisions that could delay the process further.

“Restoring funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has never been more urgent, as demonstrated by recent events,” the memo said, referencing an incident over the weekend in which an armed individual attempted to breach the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner attended by Trump, the vice president, and senior Cabinet officials.

The Department of Homeland Security has been operating without its standard funding for more than two months after Democrats declined to approve financing for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol unless changes were made to those agencies, following fatalities linked to protests against Trump’s deportation policies.

Although immigration enforcement personnel have continued receiving pay through roughly $170 billion allocated in last year’s tax legislation backed by Trump, other employees—including those at TSA—have depended on temporary funding provided through executive action to maintain their salaries.

With payroll costs exceeding $1.6 billion every two weeks, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin recently indicated that those emergency funds are nearing exhaustion.

Republicans in both the House and Senate have moved ahead without Democratic support, attempting to secure funding specifically for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Their plan calls for approximately $70 billion to cover those operations through the remainder of Trump’s term in office, aiming to prevent future funding disruptions.

The approach relies on a complex legislative path similar to the one used to pass Trump’s tax cuts last year and is expected to unfold over several weeks.

After initiating the process last week, the Senate is now waiting for the House to act. Once the budget resolution is adopted, both chambers will begin drafting the detailed funding legislation, a step that could take additional weeks.

Meanwhile, Johnson is expected to pivot quickly to separate legislation that would finance other components of Homeland Security, including the TSA, Coast Guard, and related agencies.

That measure, which has bipartisan backing, cleared the Senate about a month ago after Republicans agreed to exclude immigration-related funding opposed by Democrats. However, it has remained stalled in the House due to disagreements among Republicans over the Senate’s framework.

{Matzav.com}

BIKFAYA, Lebanon (AP) — The former Lebanese president who once signed a short-lived deal with Israel ending decades of a state of war now says the time is right to try again.

Amin Gemayel spoke with The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday after the first direct talks between Lebanon and Israel since the 1980s, as they explore what could lead to a security agreement or even the eventual normalization of relations. He is part of one of Lebanon’s strongest political dynasties that founded the Christian Phalange party, which held powerful positions for decades.

The 84-year-old Gemayel, who rarely speaks to international media, acknowledged that much has changed as Lebanese leaders again pursue talks with Israel and as a fragile ceasefire holds. The discussions in Washington have led to angry protests as the Israeli military invasion of southern Lebanon continues, and as parts of Beirut recover from a devastating Israeli bombardment early this month.

For one, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah had only been established during Gemayel’s presidency and was far from the powerful armed and political presence it has since become. Hezbollah opposes direct talks with Israel and believes Lebanon instead should support Iran in its talks with the United States, saying Tehran has more leverage.

But Hezbollah has taken major blows, Gemayel noted, and he supports its disarmament. The group’s military capabilities were significantly weakened by Israel’s strikes in Lebanon over the past two years. And the ouster of longtime backer Bashar Assad in Syria by Islamist-led armed opposition groups closed off much of the porous border used for transporting weapons.

Regional circumstances also have changed, Gemayel said.

“During my time, discussing a peace agreement with Israel was an unforgivable fatal crime,” he said.

Now he believes there is more openness in the region, and pointed to Syria’s direct talks with Israel as well as the Abraham Accords, where a handful of Arab countries, notably the United Arab Emirates, established diplomatic ties with Israel.

The deal with Israel in the 1980s crumbled quickly
Gemayel was Lebanon’s youngest-ever president in 1982 when he was sworn in, at 40 years old. The country was in the middle of a devastating 15-year civil war, occupied by both Syrian and Israeli troops.

He decided to enter U.S.-brokered direct talks with Israel, via a foreign ministry official, and reached an agreement in May 1983 that included ending the state of war that had existed between the countries since Israel’s inception in 1948. Israeli troops would withdraw from southern Lebanon and Lebanese troops would deploy there.

Despite U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s backing at the time and the Lebanese parliament voting overwhelmingly in favor for the agreement, it never went into effect. Gemayel blamed Syria and its allies in Lebanon, which were critical of any talks with Israel from the start, as well as Israel itself.

“Israel, though we had finished the negotiations and reached the stage of signing, tried to impose an article outside of the framework of the agreement, which was the simultaneous withdrawal alongside the Syrian army in Lebanon. So the Israeli military wouldn’t withdraw unless the Syrians would,” Gemayel said.

“It gave the Syrian military a veto to the agreement … and a public atmosphere of doubt that (then-Syrian President Hafez) Assad and his crew created.”

But now, Gemayel said, Lebanon’s leaders should pursue a long-term peace deal. Even an armistice, like the one signed in 1949 to bring calm to tense frontier for 18 years, could be a good step forward, as long as it keeps the country in one piece.

Lebanon’s president seeks a step short of full normalization
President Joseph Aoun has said he is seeking a deal similar to the 1949 agreement, not a full normalization of relations with Israel.

The move by Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to enter into direct talks with Israel was met with both wide support and criticism in the deeply divided country. The officials have said the negotiations are the only way to secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops and bring about long-term calm.

“There is an opportunity for the Lebanese government to go into negotiations to reach a solution that achieves peace, security, and stability in Lebanon,” Gemayel said.

“That would also satisfy the feelings of Lebanese who yearn for the bare minimum of calm, peace, stability, and an end to the war.”

During this latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which began two days after the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, over 2,500 people in Lebanon have been killed and over one million people displaced.

Israeli troops remain in large swaths of southern Lebanon and continue to clash with Hezbollah fighters despite a truce being nominally in place. Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

Lebanese have largely been critical of Hezbollah’s decision to launch rockets into Israel on March 2, but they have also been horrified by Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion.

Gemayel said the situation remains complicated, especially in a “boiling region” suffering from serious security and economic repercussions from the Iran war.

“We have to see how far we can go,” he said. “We trust General Aoun to enter negotiations as far as they go while maintaining the interests of the country and the unity of Lebanon. And he knows exactly how far he can go in negotiations.”

[Video below.] Japan Airlines is set to begin testing robotic systems at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport starting in May, as part of a two-year pilot program designed to reduce the burden on ground staff.

At the outset, the Chinese-built machines will be used to handle the loading and unloading of cargo containers, according to a demonstration held Monday by JAL and its project partner, GMO AI & Robotics.

The move comes as Japan’s aviation sector faces a growing labor shortage, driven by a surge in incoming tourists alongside a shrinking workforce. JAL, which employs roughly 4,000 ground handling workers, is among the companies feeling the strain.

Looking ahead, the airline is considering expanding the use of robots to include tasks such as cabin cleaning and operating various types of ground support equipment.

Automation is already present at some airports across Japan, where robots are being used for duties like security patrols and assisting in retail areas.

Travel demand has been strong, with more than seven million international visitors arriving in Japan during the first two months of the year, according to data from JTB Group, the country’s largest travel agency.

“While airports appear highly automated and standardised, their back-end operations still rely heavily on human labour and face serious labour shortages,” GMO AI & Robotics’ president Tomohiro Uchida told reporters.

Company officials say introducing robots for physically intensive work is expected to ease the strain on employees. As Kyodo news agency reported, Yoshiteru Suzuk, president of JAL’s Ground Service division, said such technology will “provide significant benefits to employees”.

Even so, he emphasized that certain responsibilities—particularly those related to safety oversight—will continue to require human workers.

WATCH:

(AP) – Uber is expanding into a different side of the travel business: hotels.

The ride-hailing and delivery company said Wednesday that users of its app can now book hotel rooms. Uber is using hotel listings provided by Expedia Group, a booking service that works with 700,000 hotels and other properties globally. More than 1 million vacation rentals from Vrbo – which is owned by Seattle-based Expedia – will be added to the app later this year, the company said.

Sachin Kansal, Uber’s chief product officer, said hotel booking is a big step toward San Francisco-based Uber’s goal of becoming an “everything app” that serves many customer needs. Uber, which was founded in 2009, launched Uber Eats for restaurant deliveries in 2015 and expanded with grocery deliveries in 2020.

“Consumers are spending too much time coordinating their life, using multiple apps. AI is in the air and they’re all trying to figure out, how does AI help me or does it not help me?” Kansal told The Associated Press. “Our goal with these announcements is to bring everything into one app, to help them save time, and to also help them save money.”

Any Uber app user will be able to make hotel reservations. But Uber One members, who pay $9.99 per month for zero delivery fees and other perks, will get a 20% discount off a rolling list of 10,000 hotels plus 10% back in Uber credits they can use to book rides, Kansal said.

Kansal said Uber evaluated multiple partners before partnering with Expedia. Uber then spent months integrating Expedia’s technology into its own app. Kansal wouldn’t share the financial terms behind the partnership.

“They’re very excited because Uber brings a certain user base that is very travel-friendly,” Kansal said. “So I would say it’s going to mutually beneficial for both the parties.”

Travel is a big part of Uber users’ lives, he said. More than 100 million people use Uber to get to or from an airport each year. And last year, more than 1.5 billion Uber trips took place outside of a rider’s home city.

The hotel-booking feature was one of several travel-related announcements at Uber’s annual new product event Wednesday. Uber said an upgraded travel mode will help users find restaurants and other points of interest in the cities they visit.

Uber said users will soon get restaurant recommendations and be able to book tables in its app through OpenTable. Rival delivery service DoorDash recently began offering restaurant reservations in its app after buying hospitality platform SevenRooms.

Uber said it’s also launching a service that will let users order a drink or snack that would be waiting for them when they get picked up by a driver using a premium Uber Black vehicle. The service is set to launch in the coming weeks in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and other cities.

More than half of Americans say their financial situation is worsening, reaching the highest level in 25 years, according to new data from Gallup.

The survey found that 55% of respondents reported deteriorating finances, up from 53% last year and 47% in 2024. The figure exceeds pessimism levels even during the pandemic recession and the 2008 financial crisis.

“This is the fifth consecutive year that more Americans say their finances are worsening rather than improving,” Gallup reported.

When asked to identify their primary financial concern, 31% of respondents cited the cost of living. Energy costs were mentioned by 13% of Americans, a 10-percentage-point increase from the previous year and the highest share since 2008.

The financial distress comes as gas prices have surged following the outbreak of war with Iran on February 28. The average price of a gallon of gasoline reached $4.11, according to AAA, compared with under $3 before the conflict began.

While inflation remains elevated compared to levels during Trump’s first term, it has declined from its 2022 peak. However, the recent spike in energy costs has intensified pressure on household budgets.

“This represents a major challenge for President Trump and Republicans as attention turns toward midterm elections,” the survey analysis notes.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Multiple high-ranking NYPD officials visited Boro Park yesterday, with a strong visible presence throughout the area, including a stop at Hatzolah headquarters.

During the visit, officials held a meeting with community leaders and Hatzolah members to discuss various security-related topics and coordination efforts on how to effectively respond to different situations.

The meeting focused on strengthening communication, preparedness, and collaboration between law enforcement and local emergency organizations to enhance safety across the neighborhood.

Good morning TLS,

As a Prospect Street resident, I’d like to bring something we are all grappling with to the attention of your readers: the middle turning lane- otherwise nicknamed “the HOV lane”. Yes, when the morning routine comes, we are all in a rush.

However, there is no reason we have to literally fear making that left turn out of our blocks because of cars that speed straight through the middle lane.

Just this morning, a white vehicle sped through and missed hitting straight into another car that was making the turn by a second. This happens multiple times every morning.

It also should be noted that too many times these cars are not in the middle lane to turn, but they are there to cut around all the traffic as was the case this morning as well.

We all have places we need to get to, yet driving safely and responsibly is not something we can compromise on.

TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to us via  Whatsapp  or via email  [email protected]

HANOVER, Mass. (AP) — Less than two years after her 6-year-old son was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Nicole Hockley was in an Ohio church basement teaching the first class of a program she hoped would help prevent future school shootings.

The program, born in the grief of one of the nation’s worst mass shootings, teaches students how to identify warning signs among their peers and urges them to report any red flags to an anonymous tip system or a trusted adult to head off any violence.

Since that first class in a Columbus church, the program, “Say Something,” has been presented to thousands of students nationwide. Nearly 395,000 tips have been sent in, ranging from threats of school shootings and suicides to drug use and bullying. One tip last year led to the arrest of an Indiana student who threatened a shooting at her school.

“It’s been very successful,” said Hockley, whose son Dylan was among the 20 first graders and six educators who died at Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012. “Having had direct experience of both of my children being in a school shooting and my youngest one dying, I feel very compelled to honor that legacy by doing all that I can to prevent future acts of violence and school shootings.”

Trainers with Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit founded in early 2013 by Hockley and other relatives of the Newtown victims, have traveled to all 50 states to show students how to spot signs of potential violence or self-harm — which can include threats on social media, an obsession with weapons or behavioral changes — as well as the importance of speaking up before something bad happens.

Shootings are on students’ minds
For students who have grown up in an age where mass killings are often in the news and whose schools regularly run lockdown drills, having a way to take action can be comforting.

“School shootings are definitely very scary, and they do run through your head as a high school student,” said Addison Hunt, a 17-year-old junior at Hanover High School in Hanover, Massachusetts. “But I think being able to have these outlets where you can report things definitely makes me feel a lot safer.”

On a recent afternoon, a “Say Something” instructor took Hunt and her classmates through the program in the auditorium of the school, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of Boston.

Keely Rogers, a 28-year-old former high school music educator, explained to the group that research has found that nearly all school attackers showed warning signs beforehand, most commonly on social media.

“You are going to become the eyes and ears of your school through social media, right?” she said. “Your teachers and staff don’t follow the same people as you. They can’t keep an eye out. They can’t keep everyone safe.”

In a slideshow she pointed to an Instagram post, pulled from a real tip to the group’s reporting system, that said, “Don’t come 2 school tomorrow if you wanna live.” Rogers said someone reported the post within three minutes and action was taken.

Ava Khouri, Hanover’s senior class president, said one of the program’s key points, for her, was not to worry about what others will think about you if you speak up.

“I think that definitely students are wary to bring these issues up to adults and administration in the school, because they’re worried they’re either going to be made fun of for tattling or getting someone else in trouble,” she said. “So I think that this program definitely gave light to the fact that you’re not a tattletale if you’re helping someone and you’re helping others.”

Both Hunt and Khouri said they had reported troubling behavior to parents and educators before learning about the program.

A tip leads to an arrest
Trained crisis counselors staff the “Say Something” anonymous reporting system 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, referring serious situations to police and school officials. The most common tips are concerns about bullying, drug use, harassment and self-harm, according to Sandy Hook Promise.

Every once in a while, the system receives an alarming tip that is immediately passed on to law enforcement.

Last year in Indiana, among many examples, someone used the system to report that a student was planning a shooting at Mooresville High School, near Indianapolis, on Feb. 14. That’s the anniversary of the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The student, 18-year-old Trinity Shockley, was arrested Feb. 12.

The tipster, a friend of Shockley, said Shockley was obsessed with the Parkland shooter and had access to an AR-15 rifle, according to a police report. Authorities said Shockley’s social media postings included one that said “Parkland part two. Of course. I’ve been planning this for a YEAR.”

Shockley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced in November to 12 years in prison, though her lawyer insisted that Shockley would not have carried out the plan, local news outlets reported.

Sandy Hook Promise believes that its program and reporting system prevented a shooting in Mooresville, as well as in other communities, and has also stopped suicides.

“So it’s bittersweet,” said Hockley, the co-founder, “because I wish this had existed before Sandy Hook.”

Tensions erupted in Golders Green as residents confronted Mark Rowley, the head of London’s Metropolitan Police, during a heated exchange on the streets of the heavily Jewish neighborhood.

Eyewitnesses say the confrontation quickly escalated, with locals shouting “Shame on you!” at Rowley as frustration boiled over following a string of antisemitic incidents in the area.

The anger comes amid a disturbing wave of attacks targeting the Jewish community, including assaults on visibly Jewish residents, vandalism and threats against synagogues, and the burning of five Hatzolah ambulances—incidents that have deeply shaken local residents.

Golders Green, home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the UK, has seen growing concern over safety, with many in the community saying the response from authorities has not matched the severity of the threat.

Residents are now demanding stronger enforcement, increased patrols, and immediate action to prevent further attacks, as tensions between the community and law enforcement continue to rise.

Police are investigating after a man allegedly exposed himself to multiple shoppers at a plaza in Howell this morning, TLS has learned.

According to witnesses at the scene, the individual – described as wearing a facial mask – allegedly exposed himself to several female shoppers in the area.

When one shopper attempted to take a photo of him to report the incident, the suspect allegedly quickly pulled up his hood to further conceal his face before leaving the area.

“I called the cops and shared all the details, very awkward moments,” a victim told TLS. “However I just wanted to make sure other females don’t go through this.”

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact the Howell Police Department.

(AP) – A man acting erratically on a train headed for Chicago was spotted by a rail worker who called police. Officers found guns and a pamphlet about crowd control in his carry-on bag — and a plan for a mass casualty event.

Almost two years later, federal authorities say a different man charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday was arrested with a shotgun and a semiautomatic pistol he brought with him to Washington, D.C., on an Amtrak train from California.

It’s just the latest security incident involving long-distance public ground transportation — and it won’t be the last unless Amtrak and other companies find a way to address passenger screening and security at their stations, union officials who represent on-train employees say.

An Amtrak spokesperson declined to discuss security or to say whether Cole Tomas Allen followed the company’s protocol for transporting firearms. Amtrak is working with federal investigators to provide his travel information, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. A lawyer representing Allen notes he has no criminal record and is presumed innocent.

Policy for transporting firearms
Amtrak requires firearms on its trains to be declared, unloaded, secured in a hard case and to meet certain size and weight requirements. Those weapons are only allowed in checked baggage, similar to policies for firearms being transported via passenger airplane.

But unlike airports where passengers undergo Transportation Safety Administration screening of their carry-on bags and their person, train passengers are not screened by security officials, whether they board at the unstaffed station in unincorporated Lamy, New Mexico, or at the bustling Union Station in Washington.

Sean Jeans-Gail, vice president of government affairs and policy at the Rail Passengers Association, said Amtrak and many other ground transportation companies barred weapons on trains and buses after 9/11, but none put security measures in place to detect or screen every passenger for firearms. In 2010, Congress passed a law requiring Amtrak and others to allow firearms to be transported as long as they are checked.

In most cases, that means weapons are secured and placed on baggage cars accessible only by employees. But not every train has dedicated baggage cars. Several former Amtrak employees said when they don’t have baggage cars, the bags are zip-tied and labeled to show a firearm is present so workers can see if they are tampered with.

“It is a little hard to take a train hostage, to say it is different than the post 9/11 concerns raised regarding an airplane,” Jeans-Gail said. “Amtrak has been safe from gun violence largely. The main incidents have been police shootings or interdictions.”

Incidents of concern
Railway worker unions started requesting Amtrak and other companies look at security during the COVID-19 pandemic, when enforcing a mask mandate on trains was difficult at best. They asked again after an influx of participants in the Jan. 6 riots came to Washington by train and rowdy behavior on the way home raised concerns.

Jared Cassity, the national safety and legislative director for the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers — Transportation Division union, or SMART-TD, said Amtrak conductors and other on-train workers often don’t speak publicly about incidents for fear of retribution from the company.

“Operator assaults are the most common conversations we have with our membership, but guns on trains is second or third in terms of concerns for workers,” Cassity said.

SMART-TD has had some luck pushing state legislation and has two bills pending before Congress. That legislation would clear up jurisdictional challenges making it easier to arrest and charge someone when a rail worker is assaulted during a trip and would make interfering with a rail worker during their duties a crime comparable to interfering with an airline employee on a flight.

Cassity said the conductor who identified the alleged potential mass shooter in 2024 had just taken union-sponsored security training. He received some recognition but the arrest didn’t get much news coverage.

A 2022 fatal shooting on an Amtrak train near Lee’s Summit, Missouri, did get media attention after the train didn’t stop for staff to seek medical attention for the victim until it reached a station — delaying medical care. A federal jury said in 2024 that Amtrak should pay 90% of a $158 million award to the man’s family, who had alleged negligence including failure to implement reasonable security measures.

Michael Callanan, a former Amtrak employee and now a rail safety consultant, said he’s heard of other security incidents involving smuggling drugs and other illegal items because of the lack of security screenings.

“They never want to spend money on infrastructure or security,” Callanan said. “Maybe this shooter will be a significant enough of an event to push Amtrak to fund things.”

Callanan said Amtrak police officers are not comparable to TSA agents. He said they are mainly charged with patrolling stations, doing track checks and sometimes riding lines and walking trains, but one officer can have a huge amount of territory.

“There’s one officer who I think patrols from Orlando to Miami,” he said. “Something has to be done to increase security.”

Geography presents a problem
Jeans-Gail said the Rail Passengers Association supports increasing Amtrak police patrols on trains, but isn’t in favor of adding TSA-style security before boarding at the roughly 500 stations across the country.

“The thought of expanding that, even outside of the logistical issues, if you look at the experience of riding the Amtrak network it’s very impractical because it ranges from New York’s Penn Station where it’s very active, many points of access to the station, unlike an airport where all traffic is filtered to specific points,” he said. “Then you have Whitefish, Montana, on the other side of the spectrum — a rustic structure with not a lot of traffic.”

Cassity said that difference in security needs doesn’t escape him. The union isn’t expecting a one-size fits every station solution like airports, but he wants the conversation to start.

“We have to change the narrative about safety and realize something has to be done to prevent guns from getting onto the trains freely,” he said. “We sympathize with the challenge this is for Amtrak. … When you start talking about how you secure the most rural places, and those being the majority of stations, it becomes a daunting, daunting task. …But we need to have the conversation.”