Hezbollah launched a large-scale drone attack on Tuesday toward a target in northern Israel, i24NEWS reported.

According to the report, a security official familiar with the details described the incident as “the most intense drone attack ever carried out against Israel.”

During the late afternoon hours, two separate waves of drone swarms were launched toward the northern border.

In the first wave, two drones were launched at IDF forces in southern Lebanon, wounding two soldiers—one moderately and one lightly, and another two drones were launched toward a target along the northern border, sparking a fire. The Israeli Air Force attempted to intercept several of the drones.

Less than an hour later, a second and more powerful wave followed. Several drones—at least six—were launched toward the same target inside Israel and circled above it for several minutes while searching for the ideal strike point.

A soldier told i24NEWS: “I saw two hit the target, and within five seconds, we identified another one hovering between the buildings looking for people. You can see everything with your own eyes—the fiber-optic spool, the drone itself, and a huge explosive charge.”

According to the report, this was the first time a coordinated attack targeting a single site inside Israel had been identified, and the largest such attack to date.

A security source familiar with the incident said the primary concern is the simultaneous operation of multiple drones: “Even if you manage to neutralize two or three, there are still others trying to pursue the target,” he said.

The IDF is working on deploying multiple anti-drone measures to soldiers in southern Lebanon, although the military acknowledged it currently has no entirely effective technological answer to Hezbollah’s fiber-optic attack drones.

The most recent measure adopted by the IDF is an anti-drone innovation developed by Ukrainian troops—rotating barbed-wire barriers.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

WATCH:

Albrecht Weinberg, z’l, who survived several Nazi concentration and death camps and lost most of his family in the Holocaust before returning to Germany in his 80s, has died at the age of 101, authorities in his home region said Tuesday.

Weinberg died in Leer, in northwestern Germany, weeks after he marked his birthday and the premiere of a film about his life, “Es ist immer in meinem Kopf” (“It is always in my head”), attended by hundreds of guests, the city said in a statement.

“Since returning from New York to his East Frisian home 14 years ago, Albrecht recounted tirelessly and with incredible energy his terrible experiences during the Nazi era and warned again and again against forgetting,” Mayor Claus-Peter Horst said.

Weinberg, who was born in Rhauderfehn, near Leer, on March 7, 1925, survived incarceration at the Auschwitz, Mittelbau-Dora and Bergen-Belsen camps as well as three death marches at the end of World War II. He spent years teaching high school students and others about the atrocities he had to live through.

Speaking last year, Weinberg said the memories of his wartime experiences still haunted him. “I sleep with it, I wake up with it, I sweat, I have nightmares; that is my present,” he said.

He said he worried what would happen when he was no longer around to bear witness.

“When my generation is not in this world anymore, when we disappear from the world, then the next generation can only read it out of the book,” he said.

Weinberg was awarded Germany’s Order of Merit in 2017 but handed it back last year in protest at a parliamentary vote in which a motion put forward by Friedrich Merz, now the country’s chancellor, calling for many more migrants to be turned back at Germany’s borders passed with the help of a far-right party.

Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, said in a post on X that he had got to know Weinberg well and paid tribute to him as “a bridge — between past and present, between pain and hope, between the dead he could never forget and the young people whom he encouraged to seek the truth.”

(AP)

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The packaging on some snacks in Japan is turning a somber black-and-white, as the war in Iran disrupts the supply of an ingredient used in colored ink.

Tokyo-based Calbee Inc., which makes potato chips and cereal, said what’s inside remains the same. Calbee’s popular snacks are available in Japan’s omnipresent convenience stores and shipped to the U.S., China and Australia.

“This measure is intended to help maintain a stable supply of products,” it said in a statement this week.

The change on 14 products in its lineup will start May 25, limiting ink colors to just two, the company said, noting it was necessary to respond flexibly to changing geopolitical conditions.

How long the change might last remains unclear, according to Calbee, founded in 1949, and employing more than 5,000 group workers.

The move is the latest caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of the war in Iran. The war has sent prices of oil and other products higher, as well as caused supply crunches.

Japan relies almost entirely on oil imports. A key oil-related product called naphtha is used in various items like plastics and ink. Japan has so far ridden out the worries relatively calmly, as the government has worked to allay such fears by noting the nation’s oil reserves.

But there’s no mistake in the stark change on the chips packaging.

Calbee’s lightly salted chips, known as “usu shio,” originally came in a bright-orange bag with an image of yellow chips and a potato-man mascot wearing a hat.

The new packaging just has monochrome lettering.

The company, which also makes shrimp chips, or “kappa ebisen,” had just announced an ambitious growth strategy in March.

“Calbee will continue to respond flexibly and promptly to changes in its operating environment, including geopolitical risks, and remains committed to maintaining a stable supply of safe, high‑quality products,” it said. “We ask for your understanding.”

(AP)

Senior officials in Israel’s defense establishment are pushing for a significant reduction of the humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, Channel 12 News reports.

A classified internal document from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevy, was recently presented to the political leadership, warning that the volume of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip is double what is actually required, and is effectively fueling  Hamas’s continued governance and military buildup.

The document, revealed by Yisrael Hayom, states that while Gaza requires approximately 250 trucks per day to meet basic humanitarian needs, Israel is permitting 600 trucks to enter—mainly due to commitments made in ceasefire agreements.

The professional study conducted by COGAT in cooperation with intelligence agencies and international bodies found that Hamas is systematically exploiting the “significant surpluses” created inside Gaza.

The document states that “every truck beyond the actual humanitarian need strengthens Hamas,” since the organization seizes goods, taxes local merchants, and stockpiles food in its warehouses.

These activities allow Hamas to preserve its civilian control over the population by creating economic dependency and exclusive control over distribution networks and market mechanisms.

The document warns that, beyond strengthening Hamas’s rule, the massive volume of trucks makes it difficult for security forces to conduct thorough inspections, dramatically increasing the risk of smuggling.

The findings show that more than 75% of the smuggling attempts uncovered involved tobacco and cigarette products — goods with enormous economic value that Hamas allegedly uses to finance its operations. Authorities also reportedly intercepted attempts to smuggle sensitive dual-use materials.

While anti-Israel entities continue accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, Israel is sending shipments of Coca-Cola, candies, and Nutella into the Strip to fulfill the ceasefire agreements that Hamas continues to openly violate.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Israeli defense officials are warning that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are making advanced efforts to rebuild terror infrastructure in Yehuda and Shomron, while drawing operational inspiration from Hezbollah and exploring new methods of warfare.

According to a report published Monday in Israel Hayom, Israeli security officials believe the organizations are closely studying Hezbollah’s activity in northern Israel—particularly its use of explosive drones—and are attempting to adapt similar tactics for use in the Shomron.

Despite extensive IDF operations over the past two years that significantly damaged terror networks in Jenin and Tulkarm and disrupted command structures, defense officials say the organizations have not disappeared but are instead regrouping and changing tactics.

Israeli assessments show that the main centers of renewed terror activity are located in the so-called “Pentagon” region of northern Shomron, the area between Jenin, Tulkarem, Shechem, Qabatiya, and Tubas which forms a pentagon-shaped zone and has a long history of serving as a hub for terror groups, along with the Jordan Valley and the Tammoun area.

Security officials also warn of growing efforts to carry out attacks against IDF forces operating in “refugee camps” throughout the area.

At this stage, no explosive drones have been identified in Yehuda and Shomron, but security forces say they have already detected simpler UAVs in the area and believe it may only be a matter of time before the threat escalates further.

The threat of explosive devices is also reemerging as a major concern. Despite the relative slowdown in the wave of bombing attacks against IDF forces operating in the Shomron, large quantities of weapons were found in 2025 and the first months of 2026.

Israeli forces also destroyed 20 weapon-production sites during the past year.

Security officials noted that weapons-production sites continue to be discovered even in areas where the IDF has operated continuously for over a year and a half.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Actor and comedian Michael Rapaport said Tuesday he is running for New York City mayor in 2029, citing Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s failure to protect Jewish residents as a key reason for his candidacy.

Rapaport made the announcement during an appearance on NewsNation host Chris Cuomo’s show.

“I, Michael Rapaport, will be running for mayor of New York City in 2029,” he said. “I never thought that I would even consider running for mayor of New York City and I will do it with the best intentions.”

Rapaport, a vocal supporter of Israel and critic of antisemitism, accused Mamdani of failing Jewish New Yorkers and called for his resignation. He described the mayor as “the greatest bullcrapper in the history of politicians.”

“The only way to beat this guy is to make it and take it with New York City street fight mentality,” Rapaport said. “There’s no way to out nice him. There’s no way to out slick him.”

He added that he would only step aside if a more qualified candidate emerges who can defeat Mamdani, whom he has previously called “Zohran the moron” and accused of harboring anti-Israel views that threaten the city’s large Jewish community.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist and the city’s first Muslim mayor, was sworn in earlier this year. Rapaport’s announcement comes amid ongoing tensions over public safety, antisemitic incidents and city governance following Mamdani’s election victory.

The 2029 mayoral race remains years away, with no formal filing deadlines or declared candidates yet. Rapaport, known for roles in films such as “True Romance” and “A Bronx Tale,” has no prior elected office experience. He has positioned his potential campaign as a grassroots effort rooted in New York street smarts to restore safety and affordability.

[Video below.] FBI Director Kash Patel and Sen. Chris Van Hollen engaged in a fiery confrontation during a Senate hearing after the Maryland Democrat questioned Patel about allegations of excessive drinking, prompting the FBI chief to challenge the senator to take an alcohol screening test alongside him.

Patel said he would agree to undergo the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, known as the AUDIT test, but only if Van Hollen participated as well.

“Side by side,” Patel said during the contentious exchange.

Van Hollen raised the issue by referencing a report published by The Atlantic, which Patel has strongly denied, that alleged the FBI director had drinking-related problems that interfered with his duties.

“When your private actions make it impossible for you to perform your public duties, we have a big problem. You cannot perform those public duties if you’re incapacitated,” Van Hollen told Patel during the hearing.

The senator then escalated his criticism by citing allegations that Patel had allegedly become so intoxicated that aides were forced to enter his residence.

“And Director Patel, these reports about your conduct, including reports of your being so drunk and hungover that your staff had to force entry into your home are extremely alarming. If true, they demonstrate a gross dereliction of your duty and a betrayal of public trust,” Van Hollen continued.

Later in the hearing, Van Hollen asked Patel and other top law enforcement officials how they would handle an employee suspected of drinking excessively while serving in a sensitive role.

“I really don’t care about your personal life, so long as you are able to perform your public and official responsibilities, which are awesome responsibilities. Multiple reports, including reporting by The Atlantic, have alleged episodes of excessive drinking, unexplained absences and behavior that concern current and former FBI and DOJ officials,” Van Hollen said.

Patel, who has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over the report, flatly rejected the allegations before turning his criticism toward the senator, accusing Van Hollen of drinking margaritas during a trip to El Salvador to meet Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a deported man who was imprisoned there at the time.

“The only person who was slinging margaritas in El Salvador on the taxpayer dollar with a convicted gang banging rapist was you,” Patel fired back.

Van Hollen immediately rejected the accusation and said Patel’s remarks showed he was misinformed.

“The fact that you mentioned that indicates you don’t know what you are talking about,” the senator responded.

Van Hollen later accused Patel of spreading false claims during sworn testimony.

“In the process, you made these provably false statements that I know are sort of like urban legend in right wing media about margaritas in El Salvador, which is provably false,” Van Hollen said.

“And so coming from the mouth of an FBI director to make provably false statements in a hearing like this is extremely troubling, and it leads me to ask whether or not the other things you’ve been saying are false statements,” he added.

During the closing moments of their exchange, Van Hollen repeatedly pressed Patel on whether he understood that lying to Congress is a criminal offense. Patel responded each time by insisting he had not committed perjury during the hearing.

Van Hollen has previously argued that the margarita controversy was staged by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

Speaking at a press conference after returning from El Salvador in April of last year, Van Hollen said a Salvadoran official “deposited two other glasses on the table.”

The senator said one of the drinks appeared deliberately altered to make it seem as though Abrego Garcia had consumed some of it.

“Let me just be very clear: Neither of us touched the drinks that were in front of us,” he said at the time.

“Nobody drank any margaritas or sugar water or whatever it is. But this is the lesson in the lengths that President Bukele will do to deceive people about what’s going on,” Van Hollen added, noting that the salt lining the rim of the glass had not been disturbed.

Claims by the Trump administration linking Abrego Garcia to gang activity have largely stemmed from information provided by a confidential source. Although Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States to face human trafficking charges, he has not faced sexual assault charges and has not been convicted of any crime, contrary to Patel’s characterization.

Patel also suggested during the hearing that Van Hollen had accumulated a $7,000 bar bill during his travels. He later posted a Federal Election Commission filing from the senator’s campaign showing a catering expense at Lobby Bar totaling that amount.

The alcohol screening test at the center of the dispute had previously been proposed by House Judiciary Democrats, who called on Patel to complete the 10-question assessment.

Van Hollen accepted Patel’s challenge after the FBI director said he would only participate if the senator agreed as well.

“Let’s go,” Patel said. “Side by side.”

Other Democrats on the committee also challenged Patel during the hearing.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington questioned the FBI director about reports that more than 2,000 FBI personnel had been reassigned to immigration-related work, citing figures attributed to the CATO Institute. She also pressed Patel over reports that the bureau had investigated journalists who reported on him, allegations Patel denied.

Among the reports referenced was an MSNOW story claiming the FBI had looked into Atlantic reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, who first wrote about Patel. The Atlantic later published another article reporting that Patel had distributed custom bourbon bottles.

“We need serious leadership at the FBI that the American people can trust. And I am deeply concerned about the reports that your leadership has not been serious. We need somebody at this agency who’s focused on solving criminal cases, not passing out branded bourbon, or jetting around the globe. Your job is to be reachable,” Murray said.

“And I know Sen. Van Hollen asked you about this, but I have got to say, if you want to pass out liquor, or pop bottles in a locker room: stick to podcasting. Leave law and order to people who really do care about justice.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

The office of the former chief rabbi, Rav Yitzchok Yosef, released an unusual public statement following a wave of rumors and false reports circulating online regarding the Rav’s health condition.

In the statement, the Rav’s office clarified that Rav Yosef’s condition is “completely stable” and stressed that there is no cause for concern.

According to the announcement, the Rishon Letzion underwent a brief and simple procedural medical treatment that had been scheduled well in advance and did not involve any significant risk. The statement added that the Rav is expected to return home following the procedure.

Officials in Rav Yosef’s office also criticized the spread of unverified reports on social media, saying that “it is regrettable that irresponsible publications were circulated.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump today sharply criticized media coverage of the conflict with Iran, accusing news organizations of undermining the United States by suggesting that Tehran’s military was performing effectively against American forces.

In a post published on Truth Social, Trump blasted what he described as “Fake News” reporting on the war and claimed such coverage was helping Iran.

“When the Fake News says that the Iranian enemy is doing well, Militarily, against us, it’s virtual TREASON in that it is such a false, and even preposterous, statement,” Trump wrote. “They are aiding and abetting the enemy!”

Trump argued that reports portraying Iran as resilient were giving Tehran “false hope” and accused critics of rooting against America.

“These are American cowards that are rooting against our Country,” he wrote.

The president also claimed that Iran’s military infrastructure had been effectively wiped out during the conflict.

“Iran had 159 ships in their Navy — Every single ship is now resting at the bottom of the sea,” Trump stated. “They have no Navy, their Air Force is gone, all Technology is gone, their ‘leaders’ are no longer with us, and the Country is an Economic Disaster.”

Trump concluded the post with another broadside against his detractors, writing: “Only Losers, Ingrates, and Fools are able to make a case against America!”

President Donald Trump has proposed pausing the federal gas tax as a form of relief for American consumers as energy prices soar as a result of the war in Iran.

The move – which requires congressional approval to pass – would mark the latest in a string of government interventions to address fallout from the war, which is weighing on Trump’s popularity.

Since the war began in late February, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, an international benchmark, has skyrocketed from about $70 to more than $107. U.S. gas prices – now an average of $4.50 a gallon – have reached levels not seen since 2022 and contributed to Trump’s falling approval ratings ahead of the November midterms.

So is a pause on the federal gas tax likely to happen, and would it make a difference to the price you pay at the pump? Here’s what to know.

1. Why have prices surged?
Energy prices have spiked since the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, leading Iran to block oil tankers from leaving the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.

The critical waterway had previously carried about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies, with the reduced flows causing prices to spike. The U.S. has enforced its own blockade of Iranian ports in retaliation, and the issue remains a key sticking point in negotiations to end the war. This week, Trump said the ceasefire between the two nations is on “life support.”

The U.S., as a major oil producer, is less energy-dependent than many countries, but oil is priced globally. “A disruption anywhere turns into a price increase everywhere,” Samantha Gross, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, told The Washington Post.

2. How is gas taxed, and what is Trump proposing?
Prices at the pump incorporate a mixture of federal and state taxes, meaning they can vary sharply between states. The federal tax is 18.3 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.3 cents per gallon on diesel fuel, as well as a “leaking underground storage tank” fee of 0.1 cents per gallon on both fuels, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

State taxes vary, with a national average of 32.6 cents on gasoline and 34.8 cents on diesel, according to the EIA. Factors such as the type of taxes added, where the gas comes from and the ingredients in it can also affect prices, which change daily. The Gulf Coast and southeastern states had the lowest prices in 2024, The Post has reported, partially because of their proximity to refineries.

On Monday, Trump proposed suspending the federal tax for an unspecified period, saying prices would “drop like a rock” once the war ended. Also that day, the Energy Department said it would release 53 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Trump administration had agreed to release a total of 172 million barrels as part of a contribution to the International Energy Agency’s effort to stabilize oil prices, the Energy Department said.

The administration has also lifted restrictions on ships moving fuel between U.S. ports, eased pollution rules regarding ethanol and temporarily waived sanctions on Russian oil. Some states, including Georgia, Utah, Kentucky and Indiana, have moved to suspend or reduce gas taxes in response to rising costs, as have countries such as Canada, Australia and India, according to the IEA.

3. How would it work?
Trump cannot suspend the federal tax on his own; he needs Congress to approve it. The only time that’s happened was in 1934, when Congress cut half a cent off the gas tax when Prohibition ended, The Post reported.

The money from the tax goes into the Highway Trust Fund, which pays for road and public transport improvements. A five-month suspension of federal taxes would reduce revenue by $17 billion, the Bipartisan Policy Center has said, about 46 percent of the annual total.

In 2022, then-President Joe Biden asked Congress to suspend the gas tax for three months as gas shot to $5 a gallon in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The idea was met with skepticism by economists and lawmakers in both parties, with many unconvinced it would help bring prices down for consumers. No action was taken.

4. What has the reaction been?
Though the idea has previously been dismissed by some a gimmick that would create a hole in the transportation budget, this time both Republicans and some Democrats have expressed support.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) said he would introduce legislation to suspend the gas tax in a post on social media Monday. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) said she would also introduce a bill in the House to suspend the federal gas tax in light of Trump’s comments. “American families need this relief on gas prices,” she said in a post on X.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he has not “been a fan” of suspending the federal tax in the past but would hear out colleagues in favor of it. “Obviously, any time you suspend the gas tax, that leaves a big hole in the highway trust fund, which also has implications down the road,” he said in comments reported by the Associated Press.

Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Mark Kelly had previously pushed the idea in March, introducing the Gas Prices Relief Act to temporarily suspend federal taxes through Oct. 1. “Families need help now,” Kelly said Monday in a post on X, adding, “Let’s get it done.”

Rep. Chris Pappas (D-New Hampshire) also called for it to happen quickly. “This should have happened months ago,” he wrote on X. “Let’s pass it this week.”

5. What happens next?
Whether Congress approves the decision remains to be seen, along with how any potential relief would be passed on to consumers.

When the idea was raised by Democratic presidential contenders in 2008 and by Biden in 2022, it was dismissed as a gift to oil companies. Federal taxes on gasoline are levied at the terminal or refinery, or when it’s imported to the United States, rather than at a gas station, according to the Congressional Research Service. This would make it difficult for the government to ensure the savings would be passed onto consumers, it said.

Any potential savings could also be offset by further increases in global oil prices. In the months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, U.S. gas prices surpassed $5 a gallon.

A reduction in revenue to the Highway Trust Fund could bring its own predicaments. The federal gas tax is a “critical source of revenue for financing federal transportation,” the Bipartisan Policy Center has noted, meaning any interruption to this could leave a hole in the transportation budget that would need to be filled. It already faces declining revenue from inflation and improved fuel efficiency, and Congress has been outspending the fund’s growth.

The Congressional Budget Office predicts the fund will run out of money by 2028.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Victoria Craw

(AP) – Federal prosecutors charged a Missouri man on Tuesday with allegedly sharing instructional bomb-making videos on social media, which were eventually used by the man who killed 14 people and injured dozens in New Orleans on New Year’s Day in 2025.

Investigators believe Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who drove a pickup truck down Bourbon Street, downloaded the tutorials and put improvised explosive devices consistent with the videos near the attack, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Matthew Price.

Jabbar exited his vehicle wearing a ballistic vest and fired at officers who returned fire and killed him. The explosives didn’t detonate and were safely removed by law enforcement after the attack.

Prosecutors also said the instructional videos were used before an explosion earlier this month at a private residence in Odessa, Missouri.

An attorney wasn’t listed for the man charged with making the videos.

The man is charged with one count of distributing information relating to manufacturing explosives. He is also accused of making and possessing explosive devices without a license. He is facing up two 10-year sentences and one 20-year sentence in prison if convicted.

By BoroPark24 Staff

Multiple Shomrim volunteers were honored and presented with honorary certificates by the NYPD’s 79th Precinct and elected officials from the State Senate and Assembly, for their dedication and hard work that led to the apprehension of a gang ring that stole mail from multiple postal boxes across the neighborhood.

State Senators Andrew Gounardes and Stephen Chan, along with Assembly Member Lester Chang presented a certificate to the volunteers for their dedication to the community.

The NYPD 72nd Precinct Deputy Inspector and Community Council President honored the volunteers for their “devotion, dedication and hard work.”

As previously reported on BoroPark24, in the past few weeks Shomrim volunteers followed multiple suspects while committing the act, quickly alerted the NYPD and the perpetrators were arrested.

A scheduled Howell, NJ Township council meeting Tuesday night was abruptly canceled after such a large crowd packed the municipal building that officials declared the gathering an overcrowding and fire hazard.

The meeting, held at the Howell Township municipal building on the second floor, was expected to include votes on three proposed ordinances that had sparked significant concern among local residents.

The proposed measures would have limited the allowable size of paved driveways on residential properties, restricted the size and scope of detached structures permitted on private property, and prohibited homeowners from converting garages into living space.

Residents across the township expressed concern that the ordinances would negatively affect homeowners – particularly frum residents – and significantly limit how they are able to use and improve their properties.

In recent days, discussions took place between Howell rabbanim and local askanim, after which community members were urged to make a strong effort to attend the council meeting and demonstrate opposition to the proposals.

Several individuals had also been selected in advance to address the council and formally present residents’ concerns regarding the ordinances.

However, before the meeting could proceed, the large turnout overwhelmed the available space inside the building. According to a Matzav.com reporter at the scene, township officials announced that the crowd size created overcrowding conditions and posed a fire safety concern, forcing the meeting to be canceled before any discussion or vote could take place.

As a result, no action was taken tonight on any of the three ordinances.

Residents opposed to the proposals viewed the postponement as an opportunity to continue organizing and lobbying township officials against the measures before the ordinances are brought back for consideration at a future meeting.

{Matzav.com}

A practical and highly relevant financial and halachic question surrounding the cancellation of the hilula of Rashbi in Meron on Lag Ba’Omer this year was discussed on the “HaShtaygenists” program on Israel’s Radio Kol Chai, as disputes continue between passengers, organizers, and transportation companies over refunds for canceled trips.

The issue was raised during the program hosted by Rabbi Roi Moskowitz together with media personality Chevron Gernovitz.

Gernovitz outlined the situation facing many groups that had arranged transportation to Meron weeks in advance before the hilula was ultimately canceled.

“Large groups wanted to travel to Meron. They reserved transportation ahead of time. In the end, the hilula was canceled. A dispute developed between the organizers, the passengers, and the transportation companies,” Gernovitz explained.

Rav Moskowitz responded that the first step in resolving the matter is properly defining the role and status of each party involved.

“We want to understand the definitions — the transportation company, the organizers, and the passengers. Once we define them properly, we can understand why the ruling is what it is,” he said.

According to Rav Moskowitz, when a bus company sells tickets directly to passengers, the arrangement is considered a straightforward commercial transaction.

“If I did not receive what I paid for, then the money must be returned,” he explained.

The Rav stressed that because this year there ultimately was no trip at all, transportation companies are obligated to refund customers.

“This year there was no departure whatsoever. The bus company must return the money,” he said.

However, Rav Moskowitz explained that the situation becomes more complicated when dealing with private or communal organizers who reserved large numbers of buses in advance.

“The organizer is essentially a buyer — he purchases the service and then resells it. Some people reserved dozens of buses,” he noted.

As for disputes between organizers and the transportation companies themselves, Rav Moskowitz clarified that those questions depend entirely on the contractual agreements between the sides.

“If there was a condition that advance payments are forfeited, then they are forfeited,” he explained.

Still, he emphasized that those arrangements do not necessarily determine the obligations between organizers and passengers.

The central distinction, according to Rav Moskowitz, depends on the nature of the trip arrangement itself.

In cases where tickets were sold commercially to the general public, organizers would generally be required to issue refunds.

But when the transportation was organized communally — such as through a chassidus, shul, or local community framework — the Rav indicated that organizers may not be obligated to reimburse participants if they themselves suffered losses.

“In such a case, it would be difficult to extract money from the organizers,” Rav Moskowitz ruled. “They created the opportunity for people to travel… and if they themselves incurred losses, they may not have to return the money to the passengers.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump’s plan to put weapons in space — pitched as a “Golden Dome for America” missile defense program — is estimated to cost $1.2 trillion over a 20 year period, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, a far heftier sum than the initial $175 billion price tag he gave last year.

The nonpartisan CBO report, published Tuesday, is described as an analysis that reflects “one illustrative approach rather than an estimate of a specific Administration proposal.”

The futuristic system was ordered by Trump in an executive order during his first week in office. He said then that he expected the system to be “fully operational before the end of my term,” which wraps up in January 2029.

“Over the past 40 years, rather than lessening, the threat from next-generation strategic weapons has become more intense and complex with the development by peer and near-peer adversaries of next-generation delivery systems,” Trump said in his executive order, justifying the need for the missile defense system.

The CBO’s estimates are in part based on a lack of details from the Defense Department about what and how many systems will be deployed, “making it impossible to estimate the long term cost” of the Golden Dome system, the report says.

The concept for the missile system is at least partly inspired by Israel’s multitiered defenses, often collectively referred to as the “Iron Dome,” which played a key role in defending it from rocket and missile fire from Iran and allied militant groups as it prosecutes the war on Iran alongside the U.S.

The U.S. Golden Dome is envisioned to include ground and space-based capabilities able to detect, intercept and stop missiles at all major stages of a potential attack.

Congress has already approved roughly $24 billion for the missile defense initiative through Republicans’ massive tax and spending measure signed into law last summer.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-OR, who requested the estimate from the CBO, said in response to the report that the missile defense project is “nothing more than a massive giveaway to defense contractors paid for entirely by working Americans.”

Last May, the president said the Golden Dome would cost $175 billion. The CBO last year estimated that just the space-based components of the Golden Dome could cost as much as $542 billion over the next 20 years.

(AP)

(AP) – When Jake Rosmarin boarded the MV Hondius, he gleefully posted on social media that the ship would be his home for 35 days as he traveled across the South Atlantic.

Now, he is one of 18 Americans under observation at specialized health care facilities designed to treat people with dangerous infectious diseases after three people died and others were sickened by a hantavirus outbreak aboard the ship.

Rosmarin, 30, said he expects to spend 42 days at the National Quarantine Unit at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Fourteen other American passengers from the ship are also there. Another who tested positive for the virus is in the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. Two were being monitored in the serious communicable disease unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.

Public health officials have said the risk of the virus spreading from passengers into the general public is very low and that healthy people are being quarantined as a precaution.

Rosmarin, a content creator and photographer from Boston, told The Associated Press he intends to make the best of his isolation.

His room is more like a small hotel suite. He has a closet, smart TV, bathroom, small refrigerator, bed, chair and stationary bike. He has windows, but he keeps the blinds closed from peering media.

“It’s a very nice room,” Rosmarin said. “I already ordered a mattress pad, new pillows. I think, for now, my plan is to take it one day at a time and that’s the best I can do.”

On Tuesday, he received a special treat which he posted to social media.

Nurses at the facility brought him to an iced Horchata with oak milk and vanilla cold foam. “This is everything I needed, right now. Wow!” Rosmarin said into the camera.

Life in quarantine
Hantavirus usually spreads from rodent droppings and is not easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.

“I never got sick,” Rosmarin said Tuesday.

Eleven people who were aboard the MV Hondius fell ill, with at least nine confirmed cases. Three people on the cruise died, including a Dutch couple that health officials believe were the first exposed to the virus while visiting South America.

The last remaining passengers on the ship disembarked Monday and boarded flights to more than 20 countries to enter quarantine.

The quarantine and biocontainment units in Omaha are specialized facilities created to monitor people exposed to serious illnesses. The biocontainment unit is used for treating people who are ill with highly infectious diseases.

Outside of doctors, who wear full personal protection equipment that include gowns and masks when they come into his room, Rosmarin can’t receive visitors. Most nurses don’t come into his room even when it is time for meals.

“I open the door with a mask on and they kind of put the food toward me and I grab it on the tray,” he said.

Once people began to get sick on the ship, passengers were also advised to stay in their cabins as much as possible.

“I left the cabin about 15 minutes each day to refill my water, get fresh air and grab food for breakfast and lunch,” he said, adding that passengers practiced social distancing and masked up.

Penguins, seals and albatross
Rosmarin began traveling the world in 2022 after quitting his job as a media buyer. He has an influencer partnership with the ship’s operator. The company covered the cost of his trip, which included stops at remote islands in the South Atlantic, including South Georgia Island.

“We saw a King penguin colony — the largest in the world, 300,000 to 500,000,” Rosmarin said. “We got to see Gentoo penguins, fur seals, elephant seals, Chinstrap penguins, albatross.”

Rosmarin described the MV Hondius as an expedition vessel and not a cruise ship. Since passengers and crew would be disembarking on islands, some with fragile ecosystems, biosecurity measures were in place, he said.

“An expedition vessel is much cleaner than any cruise ship you’re ever going to go on,” Rosmarin added. “For South Georgia, there were the strictest biosecurity measures. We have to sit down in the lounge pulling fuzz out of our jackets. A little pebble in your shoe, it needs to come out.”

Those precautions, though, were meant to protect the environment from passengers, rather than the other way around.

His planned trip of five weeks stretched to six because he couldn’t get off the ship once the outbreak was discovered.

“We didn’t really know it was the hantavirus until the night we were supposed to disembark,” Rosmarin said.

Waiting for Rosmarin back home in Boston is his fiance. The couple plans to marry next year. “I think he tried to be calm for me, but I think he was also very scared,” Rosmarin said Tuesday.

VIENNA (AP) — Ten countries including favorite Finland and contentious competitor Israel won places Tuesday in the Eurovision Song Contest final, while five nations were sent home after the first day of competition in the pop music extravaganza.

Host city Vienna has been bedecked in hearts and the contest’s “United by Music” motto for a week in which singers and bands from 35 countries will compete onstage for the continent’s musical crown. But divisions are clouding the contest’s 70th anniversary edition, with five countries — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland — boycotting to protest Israel’s inclusion.

Despite the absentee nations, thousands of ebullient fans from across Europe and beyond packed the Wiener Stadthalle arena for the first semifinal. Some had flags painted on their faces or clothes in national colors, others wore sequins and spangles for a contest that celebrates the kitschy, infectious power of pop.

Security is tight across the city, with police from across Austria deployed in the capital, and support from forces in neighboring Germany. Awareness of risk is high after a 21-year-old Austrian man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group pleaded guilty to plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024.

Israel through to the Eurovision final
Acts from 15 countries performed their 3-minute songs onstage – often with eye-catching choreography and pyrotechnics – in a bid for votes from juries in participating nations and viewers around the world.

Israeli singer Noam Bettan was met with shouts of protests amid the cheers in the auditorium when he performed the rock ballad “Michelle,” but was one of 10 acts voted into Saturday’s final.

Finland, the favorite on betting markets, made the cut with “Liekinheitin,” or “Flamethrower,” a mashup of pop singer Pete Parkkonen’s anguished vocals and violinist Linda Lampenius’ fiery fiddling.

Joining them in the final are Greece’s Akylas with party-rap track “Ferto,” or “Bring It”; Serbian goth metal band Lavina with “Kraj Mene”; Moldovan folk-rapper Satoshi with “Viva, Moldova!”; and “Andromeda” by Croatian female ensemble Lelek.

Soulful Polish singer Alicja, Lithuanian performer Lion Ceccah, Swedish singer Felicia and Belgium’s Essyla also made the final. Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Portugal and San Marino were eliminated — despite a guest appearance by 1980s icon Boy George on singer Senhit’s San Marino song, “Superstar.”

Ten more finalists will be chosen in a second semifinal Thursday. The U.K., France, Germany and Italy automatically qualify for the final because they are among the contest’s biggest funders. Austria, last year’s winner, gets a place in the final as host country.

Protesters urge artists to withdraw
Long a forum for good-natured — and sometimes more pointed — national rivalries, Eurovision has found it hard to separate pop and politics in recent years. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The 2024 contest in Malmo, Sweden, and last year’s event in Basel, Switzerland, saw pro-Palestinian protests that called for Israel to be expelled over the conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza and allegations it ran a rule-breaking marketing campaign to get votes for its contestant.

The European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, has toughened voting rules in response to the vote-rigging allegations, halving the number of votes per person to 10 and tightening safeguards against “suspicious or coordinated voting activity.”

But the EBU declined to kick Israel out, spurring five countries to announce in December that they would not participate this year.

Several pro-Palestinian demonstrations are planned during Eurovision week, including a musical event dubbed No Stage for Genocide. Its backers urged Eurovision performers to pull out of the competition.

“I think it is a moral obligation for each and every artist to take action and step away from the competition,” said Congolese-Austrian activist Patrick Bongola.

Israel strongly denies committing genocide in Gaza. Demonstrations in support of the country’s participation are also planned this week in Vienna.

The five-country boycott is a revenue and viewership blow to an event that organizers say was watched by 166 million people around the world last year. Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania have returned after skipping the event for artistic or financial reasons in recent years, but the number of participants, at 35, is still the lowest since 2003.

Jonathan Hendrickx, a media researcher at the University of Copenhagen, said any more boycotts will stress the structure of the contest and raise doubts about its future.

“They really are at their limits now, in terms of what they can handle with the current format,” Hendrickx said.

Dean Vuletic, the author of “Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest,” is confident Eurovision can weather the latest storms.

“If you look at the history of Eurovision, it’s gone through so many crises, so many political challenges, so many geopolitical changes in Europe, and it’s always managed to survive,” he said.

New York City is pouring unprecedented amounts of money into its public school system, even as student enrollment continues to drop and academic performance remains average compared to other major urban districts, according to budget analysts and education experts, the NY Post reports.

The city’s education budget has reached roughly $43 billion, with per-student spending climbing to about $44,000. Observers warn that costs could climb even higher as Mayor Zohran Mamdani prepares his first budget proposal, raising concerns about long-term sustainability.

Experts say the level of spending is difficult to justify given that student outcomes in math and English remain in the middle range among large city districts.

“Despite the City spending $44,000 per student, too many of its schools are delivering middling results, and some parents are increasingly choosing charters over traditional public schools,” said Andrew Rein, executive director of the Citizens Budget Commission.

“The City should focus its effort and dollars on student learning and shrink spending that’s not delivering results. This includes adjusting school funding when enrollment shrinks and combining schools that have shrunk so much that they are no longer cost-effective to run.”

Efforts to streamline the system could face added challenges due to a new state mandate requiring smaller class sizes, even as enrollment declines, critics noted.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative Democrats are weighing whether to give the city additional time to comply with the requirement, which has been strongly supported by teachers’ unions, as part of ongoing budget negotiations.

“The law is unworkable law. It’s impossible to implement,” said Daniela Souza, an education researcher with the Manhattan Institute.

Over the past decade, the city’s public school system has lost 157,900 students, yet it now operates 39 more schools than it did previously.

Data also show that 249 out of roughly 1,600 schools—about 15%—are operating at less than half capacity.

Enrollment trends reveal that nearly half of all public schools now serve fewer than 400 students, including 134 schools with fewer than 150 students.

Projections indicate the downward trend will continue, according to a report by the City School Construction Authority.

Enrollment in traditional public schools is expected to drop by another 153,000 students by the 2034–35 school year, reaching about 721,251 students.

“The New York City’s Department of Education budget keeps going up while the number of students they’re educating continues to decline,” Souza said.

“School closings and mergers are inevitable.”

Federal data show that New York City spends about 50% more per student than other large urban districts, including Los Angeles and Chicago.

However, results have not kept pace with the investment, based on findings from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Only about one-third of fourth-grade students reached proficiency in math, while 28% were proficient in reading.

Among eighth graders, 23% were proficient in math and 29% in reading.

While declining enrollment is a nationwide issue tied to lower birth rates and immigration patterns, analysts say New York City is also seeing families leave the system in search of alternatives.

Charter schools now educate approximately 150,500 students across 285 campuses—nearly one out of every six public school students in the city.

In many cases, charter school students outperform those in nearby traditional public schools on state math and English exams.

Spending patterns also differ from other cities. In 2023, New York City allocated 61% of its education budget to teacher compensation, compared to 52% in Los Angeles and 43% in Miami, according to analysis cited by The Atlantic.

A breakdown of city education spending shows $35.3 billion allocated to K-12 schools, including $13 billion for salaries, $8.1 billion for pensions, benefits, and debt obligations, $3.5 billion for charter school payments, $3.1 billion for early childhood programs, and $1.5 billion for special education-related legal cases and private tuition.

Transportation costs have risen to $1.9 billion, up from $1.4 billion in 2019, while spending on facilities and maintenance has increased to $1.3 billion from $1 billion.

The city also spends roughly $700 million on contracts, including consulting services.

Special education costs have grown sharply, according to City Comptroller Mark Levine.

Expenses tied to “due process” cases—where families seek private school placements for special education needs—have climbed from $500 million in 2019 to $1.5 billion today.

These cases often involve legal fees and reimbursements to families.

Officials from the Department of Education said the Mamdani administration is aware of the financial pressures but has not yet outlined major structural changes.

“There is no better investment than one in our children,” said DOE spokesperson Nicole Brownstein.

“New York City Public Schools always works to ensure that every student has access to a world-class education while spending every dollar thoughtfully and finding savings where possible, and as Mayor Mamdani works to make our city more affordable for families, we are working in tandem to meet the class size law, cut excess spending, and build a school system that sets every child up for lifelong success.”

“Enrollment trends reflect broader demographic trends, including changes in birth rates and population patterns,” Brownstein went on.

“As our city contends with these national trends, we will continue to look for solutions that deliver a robust and diverse education to all students while making sure every school has room to comply with the class size law — community and family driven school utilization changes are an important part of that work.”

{Matzav.com}

The financial toll of the conflict in Iran continues to climb, with the Pentagon revealing on Tuesday that the estimated cost of the war has reached $29 billion, up from the $25 billion estimate provided at the end of April.

Jules Hurst, the acting under secretary of Defense and the Pentagon’s de facto chief financial officer, disclosed the new valuation during a hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Hurst explained to lawmakers that the $4 billion increase resulted from a more exhaustive analysis of the conflict’s fiscal requirements. According to Hurst, the Joint Staff and comptroller teams have been continuously refining their estimates, concluding that the higher price tag is necessary to account for the rising costs of repairing and replacing military equipment, alongside the general operational expenses required to maintain personnel in the theater of war.

The two-hour hearing was marked by bipartisan frustration, as legislators from both sides of the aisle pressed for greater transparency regarding the specific financial drain of the Iranian campaign. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth faced sharp questioning over the administration’s perceived lack of candor. While Hegseth committed to sharing information when deemed relevant and required, his responses did little to quell concerns about the long-term impact on the nation’s defense resources.

A primary point of contention during the testimony involved the state of America’s munition stockpiles. Lawmakers expressed fear that the intensity of the war in Iran is rapidly depleting critical supplies, potentially leaving the United States vulnerable. Secretary Hegseth aggressively pushed back against claims that the arsenal is in a state of depletion, specifically countering assertions made by House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar. Hegseth insisted that the military currently possesses all the firepower necessary to execute its missions, though he noted that the Trump administration intends to “supercharge” production moving forward to ensure future readiness.

Beyond the immediate costs of the war, the hearing focused on President Trump’s massive $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal year 2027. Pentagon officials characterized this request as a necessary, one-time “plus-up” to address years of deferred maintenance and to accelerate technological advancement. Hurst noted that approximately $200 billion of the proposed budget is designated for one-time expenses, including the repair of failing barracks and facilities, as well as significant investments in artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Defense officials argued that after this initial surge in spending, the budget would likely stabilize at a lower top line of roughly $1.23 trillion for fiscal year 2028, which they believe can be sustained through standard discretionary funding.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Via TLS Communities:

A Russian cargo ship that sank off the Spanish coast last year suffered multiple explosions while allegedly carrying two nuclear reactors believed to be bound for North Korea, according to a new CNN report, with investigators raising the possibility of Western involvement in the incident.

The Ursa Major, also known as the Sparta 3, sank about 60 miles off the coast of Spain on Dec. 23, 2024. Spanish investigators concluded the vessel appeared to have been struck by a rare type of torpedo that breached its hull, identifying the Barracuda supercavitating torpedo as the only weapon capable of inflicting such damage. The weapon is believed to be in the arsenals of the United States, Russia, Iran and a small number of NATO countries.

The ship’s Russian captain, Igor Anisimov, told Spanish investigators that the Ursa Major was hauling “components for two nuclear reactors similar to those used in submarines,” though he was unsure whether the reactors were loaded with atomic fuel, CNN reported. Anisimov said he believed the cargo was bound for the North Korean port of Rason.

The Ursa Major, which holds a license to carry atomic materials, departed Russia on Dec. 11, 2024. Its public manifest listed only empty shipping containers, two large cranes and two large “manhole covers,” with no mention of nuclear materials.

The voyage came two months after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un committed thousands of soldiers to help Russia retake its Kursk region following a Ukrainian counter-incursion. Analysts have long believed Russia is providing technical expertise to Pyongyang in exchange for the troops, with Kim seeking to develop a North Korean nuclear submarine.

European navies tracked the ship’s movements, with Portuguese aircraft monitoring the vessel and its military escorts before dropping the tail on Dec. 22. The ship then slowed off the Spanish coastline and, when contacted by Spanish rescuers, reported no problems.

Roughly 24 hours later, the Ursa Major issued an emergency call after three explosions near its engine room killed two crew members. A Russian military escort vessel, the Ivan Gren, arrived shortly afterward and ordered nearby ships to stay at least two nautical miles away, demanding that Spain return the rescued crew.

Spanish rescue crews were unable to enter the ship’s sealed engine room. The vessel initially appeared stable but sank after the Ivan Gren fired a series of flares overhead, followed by four additional explosions resembling underwater mines, according to CNN.

The ship’s owner, Oboronlogistics, said four days later that the vessel had been struck in a “targeted terrorist attack,” leaving a roughly 20-inch hole in the hull. A week after the incident, a Russian research vessel, the Yantar, arrived over the wreckage, after which four more explosions were detected on the seabed.

Spanish officials have told lawmakers that investigating the wreckage, which sits at 8,202 feet, would require significant technical resources and is too risky to attempt.

The U.S. military has deployed its WC-135R atmospheric collection aircraft, used to detect nuclear material, over the site twice, on Aug. 28, 2025, and again on Feb. 6 of this year, according to flight data. The Pentagon has not publicly explained the flights or said whether the aircraft detected any radiation.

With multiple governments silent on the incident, what the Ursa Major was carrying and what caused it to sink remain unclear.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Google revealed Monday that cybercriminals recently deployed a zero-day vulnerability that researchers believe may have been generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence, marking a significant escalation in the use of advanced technology for cyberattacks.

The disclosure comes as leading AI developers, including Anthropic and OpenAI, are actively testing increasingly sophisticated systems capable of identifying and exploiting software weaknesses at a level that rivals—or exceeds—human experts.

Details of the incident were outlined in a report published by Google’s Threat Intelligence Group. Zero-day vulnerabilities are among the most dangerous types of cyber threats because they are unknown to security teams and lack existing fixes at the time they are exploited.

According to the report, this marks the first documented instance in which Google has identified signs that artificial intelligence may have been used to create such a vulnerability.

Investigators said it is unlikely that Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model—known for uncovering thousands of security flaws across major operating systems and web browsers—was responsible for developing the exploit.

The issue has drawn attention within the Trump administration, which is currently holding discussions with industry leaders about possible oversight and safety measures for next-generation AI systems, including Anthropic’s Mythos and OpenAI’s newly introduced GPT-5.5-Cyber model.

Google notified the affected company about the vulnerability before making its findings public, allowing the firm to issue a patch to address the flaw.

John Hultquist, chief analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, said the discovery underscores how rapidly AI is being integrated into cyber operations.

“For every zero-day we can trace back to AI, there are probably many more out there,” Hultquist said. “Threat actors are using AI to boost the speed, scale, and sophistication of their attacks.”

Security experts have increasingly observed hackers turning to AI tools to strengthen their capabilities. In November, Anthropic reported that China-linked cyber groups had used AI to fully automate attacks for the first time.

The Google report also describes how Russian-affiliated hacking groups have leveraged AI systems to deploy malware against Ukrainian networks, while a North Korean group known as APT45 has used AI to enhance and expand its cyber operations.

The rapid advancement of high-powered AI models has raised growing concerns that such tools could soon enable cyberattacks on an unprecedented scale. For now, access to these cutting-edge systems remains restricted to a limited group of researchers, companies, and government entities.

“The staged release was actually to create what we call defenders’ advantage, and we believe that window is somewhere in the months timeframe — not years,” said Rob Bair, head of cyber policy at Anthropic, speaking last week at the AI+Expo in Washington.

I am writing this anonymously because I suspect many people feel exactly as I do, but are too embarrassed or frightened to say it publicly.

I am a baal teshuvah, and today I serve as a Rov and shaliach. From the outside, many people would probably assume we are managing fine. The reality is very different.

I love Torah. I love Yiddishkeit. I love my family more than life itself. I do not regret my children for one second.

But I genuinely no longer understand how the current frum financial model is supposed to work.

My wife and I have ten children. We built our family because we believed in the values we were taught: that Jewish children are a blessing, that building a Torah home matters, that sacrifice for ruchniyus is noble and worthwhile. We listened to the encouragement to build large Jewish families and embraced it wholeheartedly.

Now I lie awake at night trying to work out how we survive the next few years.

Our household income is around $150,000. I know to many people that sounds like a huge income. I know there are families surviving on far less. But in the current frum world, especially outside America and in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, it disappears instantly.

Tuition alone is crushing.

Mesivta can cost $500-$1,000 per month per child. Yeshivah can cost $1,500 a month or more. Next year I may have four or five children simultaneously in yeshivah or high school.

Do the math.

Four children at “only” $1,000 a month is already nearly $50,000 a year after flights and basic expenses. Five children at yeshivah-level costs can easily approach or exceed $75,000-$100,000 annually once tuition, airfare, spending money, clothing, and travel are included.

That is before rent or mortgage payments, utilities, food, clothing for the rest of the family, Yom Tov, insurance, medical expenses, car costs, or any normal cost of living.

Then comes camp. Six children want to go this summer. Another thousands upon thousands of dollars.

Then kosher food. Yom Tov. Clothing. Simchas. Shidduchim approaching. The expectation to fly to New York for l’chaims and weddings. Gifts. Apartments. Every year the costs rise further.

Meanwhile tuition keeps increasing too.

People will say, “Apply for scholarships.” But we are in the strange category where on paper we earn “too much” for help while in reality we are drowning. Once tuition, housing, food, and basic frum life are paid, there is nothing left.

Our credit cards are maxed out. We already owe months of tuition. My parents help where they can, for which I am deeply grateful, but they cannot carry us forever. I cannot realistically take on more work than I already do. My wife cannot either at present.

This is not a temporary crisis anymore. It is structural overload.

And here is what nobody says publicly:

I suspect huge numbers of frum families are surviving only through some combination of debt, overdrafts, parental subsidies, hidden gemachs, credit cards, second mortgages, inheritance, or sheer financial panic.

Yet publicly we continue acting as though this is normal middle-class life.

I am not accusing yeshivos of greed. Most mechanchim are underpaid. Most mosdos are struggling too. I understand the schools are under enormous pressure. Buildings cost money. Teachers need salaries. Chinuch matters.

But if families cannot survive the system, then the system itself is broken even if nobody involved is malicious.

What especially frightens me is the message our children absorb.

What are young frum couples supposed to think when they watch their parents drowning financially for decades?

What happens to baalei teshuvah without wealthy parents or generational support?

What happens when grandparents cannot subsidize anymore?

What happens when children associate frum life with relentless financial anxiety?

What happens when only the wealthy can comfortably sustain the expected lifestyle?

Have we normalized emergency-level financial stress as though it is somehow spiritually virtuous?

Have we confused Torah obligations with communal lifestyle inflation?

And perhaps the hardest question of all:

Can middle-income frum families realistically survive long-term under the current model?

I am not writing this because I have solutions. I honestly do not.

But I think the silence is becoming dangerous.

We need honest conversations about tuition reform, communal priorities, simcha expectations, scholarships, local alternatives to expensive overseas norms, and the reality facing large frum families in 2026.

Because right now, for many families, this is simply unsustainable.

And quietly, behind closed doors, more people know it than are willing to admit.

Signed,

C.R.

The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review.

The Swedish government has decided to stop using the term “Islamophobia,” arguing that the phrase has increasingly been applied in ways that stifle legitimate criticism of Islamist ideology rather than addressing real discrimination against Muslims.

Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said officials will instead use language such as “anti-Muslim racism” or “anti-Muslim hatred,” emphasizing the need to protect open discussion and freedom of expression.

The policy shift comes after years of contentious debate across Europe on issues including immigration, integration, and the role of Islamist groups. Critics of the term “Islamophobia” contend that it often blurs the line between opposing extremist ideologies and expressing prejudice toward Muslims as individuals.

A 2025 report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, titled “The Muslim Brotherhood’s Strategic Entryism Into the United States: A Systemic Analysis,” argued that the phrase has been “weaponized” by certain Islamist organizations to deflect scrutiny of their political agendas.

“On the one hand, there are people who suffer genuine anti-Muslim hatred, bigotry, and discrimination based on their faith or perceived identity,” the report stated. “This must always be challenged and addressed, as it undermines pluralism and social cohesion.”

“At the same time,” the report continued, “Islamist organizations have deliberately weaponized the term Islamophobia to shut down scrutiny of their ideology and political activities.”

Debate over the issue intensified following a May 2025 report by France’s Interior Ministry, titled “Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islamism in France,” which pointed to what it described as an active presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sweden.

According to the French findings, the Swedish branch of the movement, though relatively small, plays a significant role in influencing the Brotherhood’s wider European network. The report linked this influence to financial support from Qatar, Sweden’s multicultural framework, and connections with domestic political actors, particularly the Social Democratic Party.

In response to the report, Swedish authorities launched an investigation in October 2025 into the potential influence of Islamist movements within the country.

Education and Integration Minister Simona Mohamsson warned in an interview with Expressen that “political Islam has gained a foothold” in Sweden.

“We see that political Islam has gained a foothold and is being allowed to take over neighborhoods, schools, welfare, and even risks taking over political parties,” Mohamsson said. “Islamism does not want constitutions but Sharia law. It does not want integration but segregation.”

Sweden has also indicated it will urge international bodies, including the European Union and the United Nations, to reconsider their use of the term “Islamophobia.”

The concept has become increasingly embedded in global institutions in recent years. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation operates an “Islamophobia Observatory,” while the UN General Assembly has established an annual “International Day to Combat Islamophobia,” observed on March 15.

Supporters of Sweden’s new approach argue that distinguishing between hostility toward Muslims and criticism of Islamist ideology is essential to maintaining open dialogue on immigration and integration challenges facing Europe.

The issue carries particular weight in Sweden, which has taken in one of the highest numbers of Muslim migrants per capita in Europe over the past two decades. In recent years, the country has faced rising concerns over gang violence, bombings, social segregation, and the development of parallel communities in major urban areas.

For years, parties such as the Sweden Democrats were often labeled as racist or Islamophobic for raising concerns about immigration and integration policies.

Observers say Sweden’s decision represents a notable shift in the European conversation and could shape broader discussions across the continent on immigration, Islamist movements, and free speech.

{Matzav.com}

Saudi Arabia launched numerous unpublicized strikes on Iran in late March in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the recent Middle East war, according to Western and Iranian officials.

The Saudi attacks, not previously reported, mark the first known instance of the kingdom directly taking military action on Iranian soil. The development shows Saudi Arabia becoming bolder in defending itself against its main regional rival.

Two Western officials briefed on the matter said the Saudi Air Force carried out the retaliatory strikes, which were assessed to have occurred in late March. One official described them as “tit-for-tat strikes” in response to Saudi Arabia being hit. The specific targets could not be confirmed.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry did not directly address whether the strikes took place. Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Traditionally, Saudi Arabia has relied on the U.S. military for protection, given their deep military relationship. However, the 10-week war left the kingdom vulnerable to attacks that pierced the U.S. military umbrella.

The Saudi strikes underscore the widening scope of the conflict, which began when the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Since then, Iran has hit all six Gulf Cooperation Council states with missiles and drones, attacking civilian sites, airports, oil infrastructure, and closing the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global trade.

It was also reported that the United Arab Emirates carried out military strikes on Iran, revealing a conflict whose true shape has remained largely hidden as Gulf monarchies began hitting back after Iranian attacks. However, Saudi Arabia and the UAE took different approaches, with the UAE taking a more hawkish stance while Saudi Arabia sought to prevent escalation and stayed in contact with Iran.

Iranian and Western officials said Saudi Arabia made Iran aware of the strikes, followed by intensive diplomacy and threats of further retaliation, leading to an understanding to de-escalate. This occurred the week before the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire on April 7.

Iran and Saudi Arabia, the leading Shiite and Sunni Muslim powers in the region, resumed ties in 2023 after a China-brokered détente. The informal de-escalation and broader ceasefire have seen a reduction in attacks on Saudi Arabia.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

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Israel’s Foreign Ministry charged that the New York Times attempted to weaken the impact of a newly released 300-page report detailing widespread immoral violence carried out by Hamas during and after the October 7 attacks, accusing the paper of publishing misleading claims just before the report’s release.

In a statement, the ministry said the timing of the article was intentional and aimed at casting doubt on the findings of the Civil Commission report. “The New York Times, in service of a Hamas-driven narrative, deliberately timed its piece to undermine today’s horrific Civil Commission report documenting Hamas’ preplanned, systematic [immoral] atrocities on Oct. 7 and against hostages thereafter – attempting to create false equivalence and belittle documented crimes,” the ministry stated.

The ministry further criticized the article’s sourcing, arguing that it relied on unverified allegations and questionable organizations. It stated that the New York Times piece was “built on unverified claims and Hamas-linked sources like EMHRM. No evidence. No verified complaints. A politically driven smear campaign by a biased paper designed to support efforts to blacklist Israel. The ministry demanded that “this disgusting shameful piece must be removed immediately.”

In an additional statement, officials sharpened their criticism of the report, saying” “This isn’t journalism. It’s Hamas propaganda, a distortion of the truth and the facts all serving an anti-Israel agenda.”

The report at the center of the dispute, released Tuesday by the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, is titled ‘Silenced No More: The Untold Atrocities of October 7th and Against Hostages in Captivity.’

According to the commission, the findings are based on extensive documentation, including testimony from more than 430 survivors, eyewitnesses, and medical personnel, as well as over 1,800 hours of video and photographic material, some of it recorded by Hamas operatives themselves during the attacks.

The controversy intensified a day earlier when New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof published an opinion article alleging widespread immoral abuse of Arab detainees in Israeli prisons. The column drew criticism from Israeli officials and others who argued that it relied heavily on anonymous accounts and questionable sources, including an organization accused of promoting unfounded claims about Israeli conduct.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Iran, saying that if the country does not accept U.S. terms for a deal to end the ongoing war and address its nuclear program, the United States will “finish the job.”

“They’ll either do the right thing, or we’ll finish the job,” Trump declared before departing for a high-stakes trip to China. He rejected the notion that rising prices in the U.S. motivated him to seek an end to the war, emphasizing his focus on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations,” Trump said. “I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

The president reiterated the importance of denying Iran nuclear capabilities, stating, “The most important thing by far is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Every American understands it. If the stock market goes up or down a little bit, the American people understand it.”

Trump expressed confidence in the U.S. position, asserting that the country will “win it one way or the other. We’ll win it peacefully or otherwise.” He added, “No matter how you cut it, we win.”

The president claimed that Iran had previously agreed to never possess nuclear weapons, but their recent actions contradicted that agreement. “We don’t play games,” he stated.

Trump insisted that the U.S. has Iran “very much under control” and presented a stark choice: “We are either gonna make a deal or they will be decimated.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Classified U.S. intelligence assessments show that Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities, contradicting public claims by President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the Iranian military has been “decimated,” according to a new report from The New York Times.

The assessments indicate Iran has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites it maintains along the Strait of Hormuz, putting American warships and oil tankers transiting the waterway at renewed risk. Only three sites remain entirely inaccessible.

Iran still fields roughly 70 percent of its mobile launchers nationwide and has retained about 70 percent of its prewar missile stockpile, including both ballistic and cruise missiles, according to the assessments. Military intelligence agencies, drawing on satellite imagery and other surveillance, also concluded that Iran has regained access to about 90 percent of its underground missile storage and launch facilities, which are now assessed as “partially or fully operational.”

The findings are dated less than a month after Hegseth declared at an April 8 Pentagon news conference that Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign launched Feb. 28, had “decimated Iran’s military and rendered it combat-ineffective for years to come.” Trump told CBS News on March 9 that Iran’s “missiles are down to a scatter” and that the country had “nothing left in a military sense.”

Asked about the assessments, White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales repeated that Iran’s military had been “crushed” and said anyone claiming otherwise was “either delusional or a mouthpiece” for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Trump posted on social media Tuesday that it was “virtual treason” to suggest Iran’s military was doing well.

Acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez accused news outlets of “acting as public relations agents for the Iranian regime.”

The assessments highlight the dilemma facing Trump if the month-old cease-fire collapses. The U.S. military has already depleted stocks of Tomahawk cruise missiles, Patriot interceptors, and Precision Strike and ATACMS missiles. The U.S. expended roughly 1,100 long-range stealth cruise missiles during the war, close to the entire remaining American stockpile, along with more than 1,000 Tomahawks and over 1,300 Patriot interceptors.

When striking Iran’s hardened facilities, Pentagon planners opted to seal off entrances rather than destroy entire sites, in part to preserve bunker-busting munitions for potential operations against North Korea and China, officials said.
Lockheed Martin currently produces about 650 Patriot interceptors annually and has announced plans to scale to 2,000. Officials said replenishing depleted stockpiles will take years.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a House appropriations subcommittee Tuesday that the military has “sufficient munitions for what we’re tasked to do right now.” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the U.S. military “possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.”

U.S. Central Command said Sunday that more than 20 American warships were enforcing the blockade against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly a fifth of the world’s daily oil consumption.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

In a heartwarming and extraordinary event, the Jewish community of Kyiv gathered at the Beit Menachem JCC to celebrate a mass wedding, taking advantage of the relative calm brought about by the recent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. The celebration, which would have been nearly impossible during the routine reality of war, drew widespread attention across the city and received coverage from local Ukrainian media.

Among the couples standing beneath the chuppah was a remarkable pair aged 92, creating one of the most memorable moments of the evening. The event brought together young couples alongside those aged 65 and even 92, all united in their desire to marry according to halachah.

Community members revealed that several of the couples had been living together for many years but only now, after enduring a prolonged period of war, sirens, instability, and uncertainty, decided to get married l’halacha. The relative quiet following the ceasefire made it possible to organize a large communal celebration, with family members, guests, and multiple generations gathered together.

Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv, described the event as one of the most moving moments the community has experienced in recent years. “To witness a couple aged 92 entering the chuppah is not something ordinary,” he remarked.

“We have been living for a long time under the shadow of war, with uncertainty and daily challenges becoming part of normal life. And specifically within that reality, people are choosing to pause and declare: we are continuing the chain of generations, preserving our tradition, and building a Jewish home.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) – President Trump on Tuesday praised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a “nice guy” who visited the Oval Office twice but sharply criticized the mayor’s tax policies, warning they are driving residents out of the city with little chance of return.

“He’s a nice person. I really like him, he’s a nice guy — but you can’t tax people out of New York,” Trump said. “When you tax people out of New York you never get them back … it’s a very dangerous thing that’s happening right now.”

The president’s comments come amid ongoing debate over a proposed pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes in New York City valued at $5 million or more, backed by Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul. The measure targets ultra-wealthy non-residents and is projected to generate at least $500 million annually to help close budget gaps.

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who took office in January as the city’s first Muslim and Asian American mayor, has pushed for higher contributions from high earners to fund services for working New Yorkers. Trump has previously described the approach as destructive to the city’s economy.

Despite the policy clash, Trump noted the cordial nature of his meetings with the mayor. The two discussed housing affordability during sessions at the White House earlier this year.912b7f

New York has faced an exodus of high-income residents and businesses in recent years, with many relocating to lower-tax states such as Florida. Critics of Mamdani’s agenda argue that further tax hikes could accelerate that trend.

Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

VINnews will continue to monitor developments in New York City’s fiscal policies and their national implications.

A New Jersey Senate committee has advanced legislation that would permanently change how the state funds special education services by basing aid on the actual number of students receiving services in each district rather than a statewide estimate.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic Senators Troy Singleton and Vin Gopal, was approved unanimously by the Senate Education Committee and would revise portions of the state’s school funding formula established under the 2008 School Funding Reform Act.

Under current law, special education aid is distributed using a census-based formula that assumes a fixed percentage of students in every district require special education services. Supporters of the bill argue the formula does not accurately reflect the needs of individual districts, where the percentage of students receiving services can vary widely.

“Every school district should receive funding that reflects the needs of the students they actually serve,” Singleton said in a statement. He said the legislation would provide more accurate and equitable support for special education services while improving stability and predictability in school funding.

Gopal said the measure would ensure state funding better reflects the realities districts face in classrooms.

“School districts with higher numbers of students requiring special education services should have confidence that aid calculations are tied to actual enrollment and student need, not a one-size-fits-all estimate,” Gopal said.

According to supporters of the legislation, the percentage of students requiring special education services has increased in recent years. Data from the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities shows statewide special education costs have risen 44% since 2009, while the average per-student cost increased from $19,519 in fiscal year 2009 to $38,984 in fiscal year 2026.

The legislation also seeks to address disparities among districts. Sponsors said some districts identify fewer than 5% of students as requiring special education services, while others identify nearly 40%.

State officials already moved away from the census-based formula in the fiscal year 2026 budget by using actual district enrollment data to calculate special education aid. The same approach was included in Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget.

If enacted, the bill would make that funding approach permanent in state law.

President Donald Trump shared a Truth Social post that called for the arrest of Barack Obama, accusing the former president of treason. The post was part of a flurry of late-night activity on Trump’s social media page in which the president shared several posts that railed against his political opponents.

The lengthy post, originally published by another Truth Social user, touched on a claim Trump has promoted for years: that the Obama administration spied on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

“Arrest them all. Prosecute them all. Incarcerate them all at once for treachery, treason, and seditious conspiracy to overthrow the United States government. But first, Barack Obama,” the end of the post read.

Representatives for the White House and for Obama declined to comment on the post Tuesday morning.

The post was one of more than four dozen items Trump shared or reposted on Truth Social between 10 p.m. Monday and about 8 a.m. Tuesday, hours before he is slated to leave for China for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The frenzy of activity included more than a dozen posts that relitigated the 2020 presidential election, which Trump has continued to falsely claim was stolen. About a dozen posts attacked Obama by name, including one that called Trump’s predecessor in his first term the “most DEMONIC FORCE in American politics in decades.”

In another post published at 6:46 a.m., Trump attacked the New York Times for a story that detailed how it would cost $13.1 million to repair and paint the floor of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, despite Trump’s previous claims that it would cost only $1.8 million.

“This is not just a paint job, like lowlife ‘reporter,’ David Fahrenthold, of the NYT so inaccurately and maliciously stated, it is a deeply complicated work of smart and beautiful construction,” Trump wrote, naming one of the reporters who worked on the story. Trump did not dispute the reporting that reflecting pool repairs would cost $13.1 million.

The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Trump’s attention then appeared to shift in the morning at least in part to Iran. He posted a chart that implied the U.S. war in Iran was over and had only lasted six weeks. He also shared several seemingly AI-generated images of the U.S. military shooting down Iranian planes and boats.

“Lasers: Bing, Bing, GONE!!!” one post read.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Amy B. Wang

Waymo is recalling thousands of robotaxis to fix a software issue that could cause the autonomous vehicles to drive on flooded roads.

The recall affects 3,791 vehicles equipped with the company’s fifth- and sixth-generation automated-driving system, according to documents posted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website. The Alphabet Inc.-owned robotaxi business is working on a final remedy to address the problem, the agency said.

Waymo said in a statement that it has placed constraints on the system to limit access to higher-speed roadways where flash flooding might occur.

“We are working to implement additional software safeguards and have put mitigations in place, including refining our extreme weather operations during periods of intense rain,” the company said.

The decision stems from an April 20 incident in San Antonio, where an unoccupied Waymo robotaxi encountered “an untraversable flooded section of a roadway,” according to the documents. Rather than avoid the potentially dangerous street, the vehicle proceeded into floodwater at a reduced speed.

Waymo temporarily suspended robotaxi operations in the city after the incident. The company said it has resumed autonomous operations there but has not yet restarted rides for customers.

Although no one was injured and the recall is relatively small, the incident highlights the challenges for driverless vehicles to adapt to unpredictable weather and other unexpected roadway conditions without a human driver’s judgment. Waymo has been rolling out its robotaxi service in cities across the US in a growing competition with the likes of Tesla Inc.

NHTSA has two separate investigations into Waymo’s self-driving vehicles. One is probing an incident in which a robotaxi struck a child near a school in Santa Monica, California, in January, while the other was opened after the company’s cars repeatedly failed to fully slow or stop for school buses last year.

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Former FBI Director James Comey said he has no intention of backing down from his criticism of President Donald Trump, arguing that speaking out is necessary for those concerned about the country, even as he faces criminal charges.

During an appearance on MS NOW’s “Deadline,” Comey accused Trump of being driven by a desire for retaliation against his critics and said that dynamic will not deter him from continuing to speak publicly.

“Donald Trump has a bottomless desire to gain revenge against those who criticized him. And I’m not going to stop criticizing him because I think that’s a that’s required if you care about America. And so it will just keep going. If he gets rid of Blanche, he’ll try to find someone else. Look at the bottom of every barrel there are still apples. And so he will find someone to do what he wants to do.”

Host Nicolle Wallace pressed Comey on the charges outlined in the indictment.

“What is it that you are accused of doing?”

Comey responded by describing the nature of the allegations.

“In the current indictment? Communicating, making and communicating a threat to assassinate the president of the United States.”

Wallace then asked him to explain his position in response to the accusations.

“And what did you actually do? What is your defense?”

Comey declined to address the substance of his defense publicly, citing legal restrictions and his respect for the judicial process.

“I’m not going to talk about that because I as I’ve said many times, I believe in the independent federal judiciary and the court rules require that if you’re participating in a criminal case, you don’t talk about it outside of court. And so we’ll have a lot to say in the courtroom. But I want to respect the rules and the court.”

WATCH:

A Tunisian national has been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to carry out a terror attack against either the Louvre Museum or the Jewish community in Paris’s 16th arrondissement, Le Monde reported Monday, citing France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT).

The suspect, identified as Dhafer M., is undocumented and was arrested on Thursday, May 7, in Paris for driving with a fake license. He was initially held in police custody for possession of a forged administrative document and subsequently transferred to an administrative detention center because he did not hold a valid residency permit.

While in detention, authorities examined his cell phone and discovered numerous jihadist propaganda videos along with hundreds of photos of firearms and knives, according to the report. Investigators also found that Dhafer M. had exchanged messages via secure messaging applications with several foreign contacts, possibly linked to jihadist groups, discussing plans for terrorist actions.

In one of those conversations, he claimed to know access points leading into the Louvre and discussed manufacturing explosives that could be planted at the museum, Le Monde reported.

The case was then transferred for a preliminary investigation into “participation in a terrorist conspiracy in preparation for crimes against persons.” Dhafer M. appeared before an anti-terrorism judge on Monday, May 11, with a view to being formally charged.

According to the report, Dhafer M. was “inspired by jihadist ideology” and had previously considered joining the ranks of the Islamic State in Syria or Mozambique. While he told prosecutors of his intention to target either the Louvre Museum or the Jewish community in Paris’s 16th arrondissement, no precise target had been selected.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

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The British government has announced new security funding for Jewish communities across the UK in an effort to combat rising antisemitism and strengthen community resilience in areas facing the greatest risk. But many British Jews say they fear for the future and compare the current atmosphere to the years preceding the Holocaust.

Tony Gordon, the 80-year-old president of the Jewish community in Bristol, told the LBC British radio station that the local shul has been forced to keep its gates locked at all times because of threats to mispallelim.

“As a child, I grew up in Leeds, which was the third-largest Jewish community in the country,” Gordon said. “In my childhood and early teenage years, there were some antisemitic incidents. That was during the rise of the National Front. But I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“It is much, much worse than it has ever been,” Gordon added. “Well, I can only count the last 80 years, but certainly in the last 80 years.”

“There is absolutely no doubt that the situation now is comparable to what happened in Germany, for example, in the early 1930s. And we know where that led in the long term in Germany. The question I wake up with every day is: are we currently at the peak of this madness? And will it subside and return to something people can live with? Or is this a trend? And if it is, what is the end result?”

Gordon said that he has seen “members of the community considering moving abroad out of fear.”

He also described how the situation has affected his shul. “We have to make sure the synagogue gates are locked at all times. If someone comes to attend prayers, we see them on camera and open the door for them. Fortunately, we have good support from the local police, and there are now two police officers present whenever we have a ceremony or an educational visit at the synagogue.”

“But who wants to live like this? The fact that no one has actually confronted me in the street does not mean I am not living with a certain level of fear, which quite frankly, I’m entitled not to live with.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he does not consider the economic impacts the war in Iran is having on Americans, remarks that quickly drew criticism from Democrats and appeared to undermine his campaign pledge of addressing voters’ cost of living concerns.

“Not even a little bit‚” Trump said when asked to what extent “Americans’ financial situations” are motivating him to reach a deal to end the war. Trump spoke to reporters on the White House South Lawn before departing for his trip to China.

“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran – they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody,” Trump said. “I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”

The president doubled down on the sentiment when asked to clarify whether the economic impact on Americans was a factor in his decision-making. The U.S. inflation rate has risen to its highest rate in nearly three years since the start of the Iran war in late February, with increased prices largely driven by higher energy costs. Gas prices rose 5.4 percent last month and were up about 30 percent over the past year. Still, the U.S. stock market has continued to hit a series of records.

“Every American understands,” Trump said of economic issues related to the war, referencing an unnamed poll he said showed an overwhelming majority of people “understand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

“Now if the stock market goes up or down a little bit, the American people understand,” Trump continued. “When this war is over, oil is going to drop, the stock market is going to go through the roof, and truly, I think we’re in the golden age right now. You’re going to see a golden age like we’ve ever seen before.”

Trump’s approval on economic issues, which were critical to his political comeback in 2024, has fallen since he launched the Iran war.

A recent Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that his approval rating on the economy has declined by seven points, to 34 percent, as gas prices have risen. Trump’s approval on inflation has fallen five points in that time to 27 percent, and his lowest rating comes on perceptions of his handling of the general cost of living, with 23 percent of Americans approving vs. 76 percent disapproving.

The poll also found that Americans disapprove of his handling of the situation with Iran by 66 percent to 33 percent.

Democratic officials and campaign strategists were quick to jump on Trump’s comments, with some openly musing about using them in campaign ads against Republicans during the midterms.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) shared the clip, writing on social media that “Gas is over $4.60/gallon in Pennsylvania today” and Trump “literally doesn’t give a damn.”

At another point while talking to reporters, Trump defended his economic policies, saying “If you go back to just before the war,” inflation had fallen under his watch.

Trump, who has expressed an interest in pausing the federal gas tax – which would require congressional approval – said Tuesday that he would support governors doing so in their states. “I think that’s a great idea,” Trump said.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Natalie Allison

Hezbollah’s leader issued a series of warnings that his group will intensify its confrontation with Israel, declaring that the conflict will continue and could escalate further as long as what he described as Israeli aggression persists.

Naim Qassem said his organization has no intention of stepping back from the fighting and warned of severe consequences for Israel. “We will not leave the battlefield, and we will turn it into hell for Israel. We will respond to the aggression and violations, and we will not return [the reality] before March 2nd,” Qassem declared, referring to the date when Hezbollah joined Iran’s war against Israel.

He further claimed that Hezbollah is confronting what he characterized as a coordinated effort by Israel and the United States aimed at weakening Lebanon and bringing it under broader Israeli control. He insisted that his group would continue resisting under all circumstances. Qassem warned that Hezbollah is facing what he described as “an Israeli-American aggression that seeks to subjugate our country, Lebanon, so that it becomes part of Greater Israel.” He added, “We will not submit, and we will not surrender, and we will continue to defend Lebanon and its people no matter how long it takes and no matter how great the sacrifices.”

Addressing the possibility of diplomatic developments, Qassem suggested that a deal between Iran and the United States that includes halting what he described as attacks on Lebanon could shift the situation. He said such an agreement “could be the strongest card to stop the aggression.”

He also made clear that any negotiations tied to Lebanon’s future should be handled by the Lebanese government, while signaling Hezbollah’s willingness to coordinate with state authorities. According to the Hezbollah leader, responsibility for negotiations aimed at achieving Lebanon’s sovereign goals “remains the responsibility of the authority in Lebanon.” He added that Hezbollah is prepared to cooperate with the Lebanese authorities to achieve what he described as five goals: “Lebanon’s sovereignty by stopping the Israeli aggression by sea, land and air, liberating its land through the withdrawal of the Israeli enemy from our occupied territories and the deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River, freeing the prisoners, returning people to all their villages and towns, and reconstruction.”

Qassem argued that indirect negotiations would be more effective than direct talks, asserting that Lebanon holds leverage in such discussions. He called for the option of indirect negotiations, saying that “the cards of strength are in the hands of the Lebanese negotiator,” and urged withdrawal from direct negotiations, which he claimed, “constitute pure profits for Israel and free concessions from the Lebanese authority.”

He emphasized that decisions regarding Hezbollah’s military capabilities and Lebanon’s internal governance should not be subject to outside influence. He also stressed that “no one outside Lebanon has any relation to the weapons, the resistance, and the organization of Lebanon’s internal state affairs,” adding that this “is an internal Lebanese matter and not part of negotiations with the enemy.”

Looking ahead, Qassem said that once the objectives he outlined are achieved, Lebanon would be positioned to organize its domestic affairs through a broader security framework. He stated that after achieving the five points outlined in his remarks, “Lebanon will arrange its internal situation through a national security strategy, benefiting from its elements of strength, including the resistance,” while citing remarks from Joseph Aoun regarding discussions on a comprehensive defense policy as part of a national security strategy.

{Matzav.com}

The Justice Department has paid millions of dollars to settle claims from FBI agents suspended over misconduct allegations, a prominent House Democrat said in a letter Tuesday, raising concern over what he described as the Trump administration’s pattern of rewarding allies with large cash payouts.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) highlighted several of those deals in a missive to acting attorney general Todd Blanche demanding further details on the payments, including settlements with an agent who was disciplined after refusing to investigate a white nationalist group and another who was accused of being present in a restricted area during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Tristan Leavitt, an attorney for those agents, disputed Raskin’s characterization of those cases and dismissed the congressman’s concern as “more a toddler’s temper tantrum than serious congressional oversight.”

Several of the payments cited in Raskin’s letter involve agents who have publicly claimed their suspensions were the result of political bias in the Justice Department during the Biden administration. In several cases, their claims had not yet been raised in court or made their way through the FBI’s internal process for appealing disciplinary actions before the Justice Department offered to settle, Raskin said.

“These checks are just political handouts and payoffs,” wrote Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. He added later, “The DOJ and FBI have already paid out several million dollars of taxpayer money to disgraced agents and employees who violated their professional and legal duties to the government.”

Raskin’s letter detailed settlements with five agents, whom he wrote had received settlements totaling more than $230,000. Some of them also received backpay which, in some cases, was hundreds of thousands of dollars. The letter said there were additional settlements that Raskin did not specifically reference in his message to Blanche.

Each of the five settlements Raskin cited Tuesday had been previously announced in August by Leavitt and his organization Empower Oversight, which represented many of the suspended agents in their negotiations with the Justice Department and FBI.

Leavitt, a former staffer to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, maintained in a statement that the payments were appropriate for agents he described as whistleblowers. He accused Raskin of spreading “shameless lies about our clients.”

“It is common practice for federal agencies to settle legal or administrative complaints against them, which … virtually all of the whistleblowers had against the FBI at the time of the settlements,” he said in a statement. “Empower Oversight has been transparent at every step about its case for making these whistleblowers whole, with hundreds of pages on our website documenting the flaws in FBI actions against these employees.”

The debate over the payments made to agents who’ve aided Republican-backed efforts to accuse the bureau of playing politics comes as the FBI’s top leadership has fired dozens of other agents for their past involvement in investigations targeting President Donald Trump. Several of those agents have since sued, alleging that their dismissals did not go through the traditional disciplinary process afforded to FBI employees.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has offered cash settlements to a number of high-profile Trump allies who sued the government after they were charged with various crimes during the Biden administration.

Last month, department lawyers authorized a $1.25 million settlement to Trump’s 2016 campaign adviser Carter Page to settle claims that he was illegally surveilled by federal authorities as part of an investigation into Russian interference in that race. Page was never charged with a crime but multiple federal courts had dismissed lawsuits he’d filed over the investigation, saying the statute of limitations on his claims had lapsed.

The department has also paid more than $1 million to Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who has claimed he was the victim of a politicized prosecution for lying to federal agents as part of the same investigation.

“All of these handouts constitute an astounding and lawless abuse of government office and taxpayer dollars,” Raskin wrote.

Spokespeople for the Justice Department and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Among the settlements with disciplined agents that Raskin highlighted Tuesday was a $63,500 payment he said was made to an agent who had his security clearance revoked after FBI personnel determined he’d lied to investigators about his presence during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Though Raskin did not name the agent in his letter, he said that in addition to the lump-sum payout, the agent also received hundreds of thousands in backpay.

Empower Oversight disputed Raskin’s characterization of the case. In its August news release on the settlement, the organization said the agent had self-reported his presence during the riot to his supervisors after he unwittingly strayed into restricted grounds after rioters had removed barriers in their rush toward the Capitol. The agent did not enter the Capitol building or ascend the building’s steps, the organization said.

Others cited included settlements with FBI agents Steven Friend and Garret O’Boyle, both of whom testified at Republican-led congressional hearings during the Biden administration accusing the FBI of political bias.

Friend, previously assigned to the FBI’s field office in Daytona Beach, Florida, was suspended for allegedly refusing to participate in the arrest of a Jan. 6 suspect, illegally recording conversations with his management team, downloading sensitive FBI documents onto a thumb drive and participating in unsanctioned media interviews with Russian state media, Raskin said. Friend resigned from the FBI following his suspension in 2023. Raskin said Tuesday that under a recently struck deal, the Justice Department agreed to pay Friend $61,430 plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in backpay.

Boyle, an FBI special agent in Wichita, was accused of disclosing sensitive information regarding an ongoing criminal investigation involving the right-wing organization Project Veritas, which is known for using undercover tactics to expose what it says is liberal bias in the mainstream news media, when he was suspended in 2022. Though the FBI and courts previously rejected his claims that he was wrongfully suspended, the Justice Department reinstated O’Boyle and agreed to pay him more than $600,000, Raskin said.

Empower Oversight maintains that Boyle’s disclosures were made as part of lawfully protected whistleblowing to congressional committees. The organization also disputed Raskin’s description of an agent disciplined for his alleged refusal to participate in an investigation of the white nationalist group Patriot Front in 2022. Empower Oversight said the agent had raised concerns that the bureau’s investigation was politically motivated.

Neither Friend nor Boyle immediately responded to requests for comment Tuesday.

Raskin said in his letter that members of Grassley’s staff had also participated in the settlement negotiations. A spokesperson for Grassley said the senator has been open about his office’s role in the negotiations for months. Raskin’s “seven-page screed is a disgusting and defamatory attempt to smear legitimate whistleblowers while protecting their Biden administration retaliators,” Grassley’s office said in a statement. “Senator Grassley stands by his efforts to defend and protect all whistleblowers, no matter which administration they blow the whistle on, just as he has done for decades.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Jeremy Roebuck, Perry Stein

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) has accused his fellow Democrats of a “glaring double standard” when it comes to addressing antisemitism from the far left. In an op-ed for the New York Times, Gottheimer argued that while Democrats have long decried Jew-hatred on the far right, “today, too many Democrats are noticeably and shamefully silent when antisemitism comes from the far left.”

The congressman specifically called out the “embrace of” Hasan Piker, a prominent left-wing commentator who has referred to Orthodox Jews as ‘inbred’ and claimed that “America deserved 9/11.” Piker also expressed support for Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, saying they are “a thousand times better” than Israel, which he labeled a “fascist settler colonial apartheid state.”

Gottheimer criticized “several prominent Democrats” for appearing on Piker’s show and campaigning with him, arguing that this “grants his views legitimacy.” He contrasted this with the party’s swift condemnation of antisemitism from right-wing figures, writing, “None of this should be waved away as mere edgy commentary. Mr. Piker traffics in antisemitic and anti-American extremism that has been met by silence from many on the Democratic left.”

The congressman acknowledged that standing up to those “who have long claimed to be in your corner” is challenging, but emphasized that “principled” leadership requires a consistent stance against hate. “It takes far more courage to stand up to those who have long claimed to be in your corner than to oppose your political opponents,” he wrote.

Gottheimer called for a unified response to antisemitism and other forms of hate, regardless of their source. “There should be one response to those who express hatred toward any American: condemnation. Hate is hate,” he wrote. “It doesn’t get a pass because it comes from your side of the aisle.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

(VINnews) – A prominent pro-Israel activist is urging Jewish leaders to boycott a Jewish heritage event hosted by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Gracie Mansion next week, citing what he described as hostility toward the Jewish community by the mayor and his wife.

According to a report by the New York Post
, Americans Against Antisemitism founder Dov Hikind called on Jewish leaders to avoid attending the May 18 event, which was described in invitations from the mayor’s office as a “Shavuot Celebration in Honor of Jewish Heritage Month.”

Hikind criticized Mamdani and his wife, artist Rama Duwaji, over past statements and social media posts related to Israel and the war in Gaza.

Mamdani has previously supported the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel and accused Israel of committing genocide during the war against Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack.

The report said Mamdani was absent from the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York’s annual gala, which was attended by Gov. Kathy Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

During the gala, Tisch spoke about rising antisemitism and said the NYPD maintains zero tolerance for hate crimes targeting Jews or any other group.

Mamdani’s office did not immediately comment, according to the report.

A 45-year-old man has appeared in court after being charged in connection with a suspected arson attack at a former synagogue site in east London, as authorities continue investigating a string of incidents targeting Jewish-linked locations.

Moses Edwards, of Wanstead, was brought before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday, where he faced a charge of arson with intent to endanger life tied to a fire at the former East London Central Synagogue in Whitechapel on May 5.

Emergency services responded shortly after 5:15 a.m. local time when flames were reported at the front entrance of the building. Officials said the damage was limited to a gate and lock, and no injuries were reported.

Edwards was ordered held in custody and is scheduled to return to court next month. He did not enter a plea during his initial appearance.

Authorities say early findings suggest the fire was set deliberately, citing CCTV footage as part of the evidence. Given the building’s past use as a synagogue and its ties to the Jewish community, the case has been taken over by Counter Terrorism Policing London.

Investigators also noted that the property is currently being sold to the Ashaadibi Education and Cultural Centre, a Somali Muslim community organization. The group has publicly denounced the incident.

In a related development, a 52-year-old woman was arrested Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson. She has since been released on bail and is expected to return for further questioning in August.

The case comes against the backdrop of a series of recent attacks and attempted attacks aimed at Jewish, Israeli, and Iranian-associated locations across the United Kingdom.

Commander Helen Flanagan, who leads Counter Terrorism Policing London, described the arrests as a “significant step” in the investigation.

“Our aim continues to arrest and charge all those responsible for the arson attacks and other incidents targeted at Jewish, Israeli and Iranian sites in recent weeks,” she stated. “We will not tolerate these hateful attacks on communities.”

{Matzav.com}

BOSTON (AP) — A man previously convicted of firing a gun at police shot randomly at motorists on a busy road outside Boston, seriously wounding two drivers with an assault-style weapon and sending others scrambling before a state trooper returned fire with a Marine veteran who pulled over, authorities said Tuesday.

Bullets tore through at least a dozen cars, including a state police cruiser, in the Monday afternoon attack as panicked drivers abandoned their vehicles or hid beneath them for cover, prosecutors and state police said.

The gunman fired more than 60 rounds as he walked beside the road, and the two wounded motorists were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.

The shooting happened on a heavily traveled road along the Charles River in Cambridge, home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sidewalks and riverside paths in the area are often crowded with pedestrians, joggers and cyclists.

This image taken from video provided by Youssef Adel, shows law enforcement officers tending to the wounded gunman whom moments earlier fired weapons at a busy road in Cambridge, Mass. on Monday, May 11, 2026. (Youssef Adel via AP)

“While people were jumping from their cars, scattering in various directions … both that trooper and that civilian, rather than going in one direction, went toward the suspect with their weapons to try to end that situation,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said at a news conference Monday night.

The suspect, Tyler Brown, 46, of Boston, faces two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and six other charges, including possessing a gun without a license. Court documents show Brown had been released from a psychiatric hospital Friday.

About an hour before the shootings, he connected with his parole officer via video conference on Monday. Armed with a gun, he said on video that he had relapsed and wanted to end his life. The parole officer called police, who began searching for Brown and found him in Cambridge using phone records.

Witnesses describe chaotic scene
Armando Zona, whose apartment overlooks the scene, initially thought he was hearing construction equipment when banging noises started. But when he went onto his balcony to check, he saw the gunman firing at cars as he strode down the street.

“He took a glance towards here, I’m quite sure about that, and I ran,” he said. As Zona yelled to his wife to hide in the bathroom, he heard another bang.

“I turned around, I see the window splattered,” he said. “I could not comprehend, how can this be? This is a bullet that just came into my house.”

Rachael Saveriano said she was trapped in her car when she saw Brown walking toward her, waving his gun. A man later described as Marine veteran helped her escape, she told The Boston Globe.

“It doesn’t feel like you should get out of the car when there is a shooter coming toward you, but there was a man next to me,” she said. “He opened my car door, pulled me out, and told me to run. He made a barricade with the door and I just started running.”

Saveriano said she saw the man shooting at Brown before she ran into a nearby hotel.

“He is an incredible hero,” she said. “He was so calm, and he didn’t hesitate.”

The Marine veteran told investigators he had been driving southbound when he saw cars turning around and heard shots. A former firearms instructor, he retrieved his pistol from a safe in his backseat, and after the gunman got closer, fired eight rounds, according to a criminal complaint.

Court documents include criminal history, mental health issues
The complaint also describes what led up to the shootings. According to investigators, Brown had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression and had been released from a psychiatric hospital Friday.

According to the complaint, Brown is on parole and probation for offenses including armed assault to murder and other gun-related convictions. His parole was set to end this week, though his probation continued.

A member of the State Police bends to pick up a gun on Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Mass., Monday, May 11, 2026. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP)

In 2020, Brown was arrested after firing several rounds at Boston police officers, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said then that he should serve at least 10 years in prison, due to the “level of brazen violence” and because he was on probation for a 2014 conviction on assault and witness intimidation charges. A judge instead ordered Brown to serve five to six years in state prison and three years of probation with credit for the nearly 18 months he’d spent in custody.

At the time, the judge’s decision sparked outrage and criticism among local officials concerned that violent offenders weren’t being held accountable. Those same concerns returned after Monday’s shooting.

“Talk about a ball drop,” said the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association in a statement on social media. “The fact that the judicial system thought it was prudent to show leniency to a wannabe cop killer 5-years ago is not only the definition of insanity but an undeniable insult to those who put their lives on the line everyday.”

No connection found between shooter, victims
Ryan, the district attorney, said investigators found no connection between Brown and those targeted Monday. She renewed her call for harsher penalties on people who fire weapons disregarding the risk of serious injury.

“What happened today cannot stand,” she said.

Brown was not medically ready to go to court for an arraignment, the Cambridge District Court said Tuesday. The Committee for Public Counsel Services confirmed it has been appointed to defend him but declined to comment. A message was also left at a phone number listed for Brown and a potential family member.

JERUSALEM (VINnews) – The Jerusalem Post reported that an influential haredi spiritual leader has given his backing to efforts aimed at dissolving Israel’s Knesset amid growing tensions over the country’s controversial military draft bill.

Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Degel Hatorah faction, instructed lawmakers to work toward dissolving parliament “as soon as possible,” according to the report published Tuesday.

Lando reportedly told party members that trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had broken down, signaling a dramatic escalation in the coalition crisis surrounding legislation dealing with military conscription exemptions for yeshiva students.

The dispute has become one of the most divisive issues facing Netanyahu’s coalition, as critics argue the proposed legislation would fail to significantly increase ultra-Orthodox enlistment despite mounting manpower shortages within the Israeli military during the ongoing war.

According to the report, opposition parties quickly moved to capitalize on the coalition turmoil. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called for preparations to dissolve the Knesset, while opposition lawmakers submitted legislation that could trigger early elections.

The report also said tensions intensified after Netanyahu informed haredi party representatives there was no coalition majority to pass the draft bill in its current form, fueling anger among ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, including Degel Hatorah chairman Moshe Gafni.

Despite the growing political crisis, some coalition allies, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, urged coalition partners not to bring down the government during wartime.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Workers at Denver airport initially missed a security breach by man who scaled an 8-foot perimeter fence and crossed a runway where he was hit and killed in a fiery collision by a plane with 231 people on board, authorities said Tuesday.

The runway fatality underscores the longstanding challenge of keeping intruders out of major airports. Denver International Airport sprawls across 53 square miles (138 square kilometers) — twice the size of Manhattan — on open prairie northeast of the city center.

The 41-year-old trespasser triggered an alarm as he crossed into the airport in a remote area about 2 miles from the terminal late Friday night. But security personnel mistakenly attributed that alarm to a herd of deer that was nearby.

Authorities said the man died by suicide. However, no note from the victim was immediately recovered. The manner of death was determined based on the investigation at the scene, a records review and a postmortem examination, said Sterling McLaren, chief medical examiner for the city and county of Denver.

The collision involving the Frontier Airlines plane as it was taking off for Los Angeles sparked an engine fire that forced passengers to evacuate via slides. Twelve people sustained minor injuries and five were taken to hospitals. Four have since been released, said airport Chief Executive Officer Phillip Washington.

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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

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A black-and-white video released by the airport shows, from a distance, a figure walking toward the runway with arms swaying. The person crosses onto the runway at a slight angle and seconds later the plane is seen speeding past. It strikes the person with its right engine, which bursts into flame.

Federal officials notified the airport
A few minutes before the man scaled the fence, a ground-based radar system activated in the area, triggering an alarm. An airport worker checked a surveillance camera and saw a herd of deer in the same area but did not initially see the trespasser, Washington said.

“The camera view was alternating between the wildlife and the individual. There are some ditches in the area, so the person was out of view for a bit as well,” Washington said.

He said federal officials notified the airport about the trespasser. Because of the remote location and short time period between the man scaling the fence and crossing the runway, Washington said airport personnel were not able to intervene.

The man crossed about 650 feet (200 meters) from the fence to the runway before being struck and killed by the Frontier Airlines plane traveling at 150 mph (240 kilometers per hour) on takeoff.

The plane’s engine caused the man’s death, McLaren said. She described it as “a purposeful act with a foreseeable fatal outcome.”

Denver police Chief Ron Thomas said investigators were contacting the man’s family and those who knew him to seek more information about his motivations.

Trespassers breaching airport perimeters is a regular problem, with perhaps dozens annually nationwide, said security expert Jeff Price, who was assistant director of security at the Denver airport in the 1990s. The airport is surrounded by about 36 miles of perimeter fence, which airport officials say is continuously inspected.

The vast majority of airport trespassers are intoxicated or simply “messing around just to see if they could do it,” said Price, adding that they typically don’t pose a real threat. Denver also gets the rare individual who will jump the fence seeking to prove a long-running conspiracy theory about a UFO base being based at the airport, he said.

The Transportation Security Administration oversees airport security programs, including perimeter security requirements.

“It’s really not that difficult to jump an airport perimeter fence,” Price said. “They meet the standards for TSA, but the standards are not that robust.”

The fences are typically 6 to 8 feet tall with barbed wire at the top, he said. They must be approved by federal inspectors, but there are no set rules on their construction. Major airports such as Denver typically also have intrusion detection systems that include cameras and motion sensors, he said. Some systems detect the seismic impact of people dropping to the ground, Price said.

Evacuation under scrutiny
The person was killed on the airport’s easternmost north-south runway and at least 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) from any airport buildings. Empty fields and croplands surround Denver International Airport in most directions. Distant trees and structures in the video showed that the person was headed toward the airport when they crossed the runway.

The Transportation Security Administration has regulatory oversight of airport security programs, including perimeter security requirements.

Separately, the National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday said it is gathering information about the evacuation.

An agency spokesperson said an investigation would be launched if it’s determined the injuries meet the agency’s definition for “serious.” That can include a person requiring hospitalization for more than 48 hours, suffering a broken bone or second- or third-degree burns affecting more than 5% of their body.

In a pathbreaking decision shaping the future of one of Brooklyn’s most historic hospitals, Justice Denise A. Hartman of the New York State Supreme Court, Albany County, today annulled the New York State Department of Health’s approval of the proposed $2.245 billion takeover of Maimonides Medical Center by New York City Health + Hospitals (“H+H”).

Granting the Article 78 petition brought by Refuah Helpline, the Borough Park Kehilos of Bobov, Belz, Satmar, and Bobov 45, and individual community members, the Court held the Commissioner’s November 10, 2025 determination “arbitrary and capricious and affected by error of law,” and ruled that the transaction cannot proceed without the full public-health review the Legislature required—including review and approval by the Public Health and Health Planning Council (“PHHPC”) under Public Health Law § 2801-a.

The Court framed the stakes in a companion ruling issued the same day: this case, Justice Hartman wrote, “concerns a municipalities’ takeover and operation of a private hospital—an issue of significant public importance involving the provision of healthcare services, the substantial expenditure of public resources, and the continued availability of medical care to the community.” That public importance is what today’s decision—together with the Attorney General’s March 20 ruling requiring full court review of the transfer of Maimonides’s nonprofit assets, and the pending Trustees’ fiduciary-duty action in Kings County—now ensures will be evaluated in public, on a full record, by the institutions New York law has charged with that responsibility.

Restoring the Public Scrutiny Maimonides’s Leadership Has Sought to Avoid

Today’s ruling comes amid swelling community opposition to the proposed transfer of Maimonides into the City’s municipal hospital system. South Brooklyn families, patient advocates, religious institutions, and physicians have been vocal in their concern that the takeover will harm—not improve—the health of the communities Maimonides serves.

Today’s ruling comes amid swelling community opposition to the proposed transfer of Maimonides into the City’s municipal hospital system. South Brooklyn families, patient advocates, religious institutions, and physicians have been vocal in their concern that the takeover will harm—not improve—the health of the communities Maimonides serves.

Community members have pointed to years of executive mismanagement as the real source of Maimonides’s financial troubles, and have warned that absorbing the hospital into a municipal system already facing chronic budget pressures, citywide competing demands, and a long record of regulatory and quality-of-care problems will not fix it. Out of those concerns, the public has increasingly asked whether the proposed transaction serves the public interest at all—both as a matter of community health and as a matter of the responsible use of nonprofit charitable assets.

Notwithstanding that opposition, the leadership of Maimonides has pressed forward, repeatedly seeking to consummate the transaction without the public scrutiny New York law imposes on transactions of this magnitude. New York law provides two distinct safeguards for a transaction of this kind: court review of the transfer of nonprofit charitable assets under Section 511 of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law, and review by the Public Health and Health Planning Council (“PHHPC”) under Public Health Law § 2801-a of the public-health impact of the proposed operator change. Maimonides’s leadership sought to bypass both.

In March, the New York Attorney General’s Charities Bureau rejected Maimonides’s effort to obtain administrative approval of the transfer of its nonprofit assets to the City of New York, and directed that any such transfer be submitted to the New York State Supreme Court, Kings County, for full review under N-PCL § 511. Today’s ruling now subjects the transaction to the parallel public-health scrutiny under § 2801-a that Maimonides and H+H had likewise sought to avoid, holding that the Department of Health’s Safety Net Transformation Program (“SNTP”) approval—on which they had relied—does not, and as a matter of law cannot, substitute for PHHPC review.

In a parallel action in the New York State Supreme Court, Kings County, seven Trustees of Maimonides have sued the institution’s Board of Trustees and senior leadership, alleging that the directors breached their fiduciary duties by pursuing the transaction without an appropriate search for alternative partners, without adequate governance process, and without due regard for the hospital’s charitable mission and the communities it serves (Twerski v. Gibbs, Index No. 540340/2025). Together, the Attorney General’s March 20 decision, today’s ruling, and the Twerski action reflect a broad judgment—from regulators, from the courts, and from within Maimonides’s own governance—that the proposed handover of one of Brooklyn’s largest private nonprofit hospitals to municipal control cannot proceed without the public scrutiny New York law was designed to provide.

In a Companion Decision, Court Also Rejects Maimonides’s Attempt to Seal the Asset Transfer Agreement

In a separate Decision and Order issued today (NYSCEF Doc. No. 65), Justice Hartman likewise rejected Maimonides’s effort to keep the operative transaction documents themselves out of public view. The Court denied Maimonides’s motion to permanently seal the Affiliation and Asset Transfer Agreement (“ATA”) and to redact references to it in the court record, holding that Maimonides “has failed to establish good cause” under 22 NYCRR 216.1 for such relief.

The Court found persuasive Petitioners’ argument that “MMC is improperly using confidentiality as both a ‘sword and shield’ by selectively disclosing favorable portions of the ATA while seeking to seal the document in full,” and concluded that “granting the requested relief would effectively shield from public view materials that inform governmental decision-making in an area of substantial public concern, thereby undermining transparency and public accountability.”

Statements from Counsel and Petitioners

“For generations, Maimonides has been the lifeline of Borough Park and South Brooklyn,” said Hanna Landau, Director and Founder of Refuah Helpline. “Our pediatric trauma center, our maternity hospital, our cancer center, our emergency room—these are not corporate assets to be quietly handed off in Albany. They are matters of life and health for the families we serve every day. Today, the Court restored the public-health review process that the people who depend on Maimonides have always been entitled to. We are grateful that the proposed transformation of our hospital will now be evaluated, in public, by the Public Health and Health Planning Council, including its rigorous review of who is fit to operate it.”

“This is a complete victory for transparency, for public health, and for the rule of law,” said Martin Bienstock of Bienstock PLLC, a counsel to Petitioners. “The Department of Health tried to package a $2.245 billion transfer of one of Brooklyn’s largest private hospitals into the City’s municipal hospital system inside a grant program, and use that grant program to bypass the public-health review the Legislature mandated for exactly this kind of transaction. The Court saw through that effort. Combined with the Attorney General’s decision in March, today’s ruling means a transaction that Maimonides’s leadership tried to push through in Albany will now be evaluated where it should be—in public, before the institutions New York law was designed to provide.”

“We are grateful that the Court rejected each and every argument raised by the Department of Health, Maimonides Medical Center, and New York City Health + Hospitals in a careful, rigorous application of the Public Health Law,” said Akiva Shapiro of Holtzman Vogel, co-counsel to Petitioners. “The Court underscored what was always at the heart of this case—that a transaction of this magnitude, which would fundamentally transform a cherished and storied nonprofit community hospital and hand it to the City of New York to be folded into the municipal hospital system, cannot be rubberstamped and must instead undergo rigorous public review by independent public health experts. And now it will.”

Background

Maimonides Medical Center is a 711-bed nonprofit teaching hospital located in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Approximately 85% of its patients are covered by Medicare or Medicaid. It is one of Brooklyn’s largest hospitals and operates the borough’s only comprehensive children’s hospital, its only Pediatric Trauma Center, a Regional Perinatal Center, a Joint Commission–designated Comprehensive Stroke Center, and Brooklyn’s only Left Ventricular Assist Device and ECMO programs, among many other specialty services.

By Award Letter dated November 10, 2025, the New York State Department of Health approved approximately $2.245 billion in funding over five years under the Safety Net Transformation Program (PHL § 2825-i) to support a transaction in which H+H—the nation’s largest municipal hospital system— would take over Maimonides. In December 2025, the parties entered into an Affiliation and Asset Transfer Agreement transferring substantially all of Maimonides’s assets, liabilities, operations, governance, and licensure to H+H, and creating new H+H-controlled entities to operate the hospital under the name “H+H Maimonides.”

Petitioners commenced this Article 78 proceeding on March 9, 2026. On March 11, 2026, the Court entered an Order to Show Cause and temporary restraining order. Today, having received full briefing on the merits, the Court issued its Decision, Order, and Judgment in Refuah Helpline, et al. v. McDonald, et al., Index No. 902792-26 (Sup. Ct. Albany Cnty., May 12, 2026) (Mot. Seq. #1), annulling the Commissioner’s determination and remitting the matter to DOH for further proceedings consistent with the Court’s ruling. The Court held the Commissioner’s determination “arbitrary and capricious and affected by error of law.”

Separately, on March 20, 2026, the New York Attorney General’s Charities Bureau rejected Maimonides’s request for administrative approval of the transfer of nonprofit assets to the City of New York, and directed that the transaction be submitted for full court approval under Section 511 of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law. In addition, seven Trustees of Maimonides have sued the institution’s leadership in Kings County Supreme Court (Twerski v. Gibbs, Index No. 540340/2025), alleging breach of fiduciary duty in the pursuit of the transaction.

Key Holdings

• The SNTP grant does not exempt the transaction from PHHPC review. Public Health Law § 2825-i authorizes the Commissioner to waive regulatory requirements but does not authorize him to waive the underlying statutory requirements of Public Health Law §§ 2801-a and 2802. The Court squarely held: “Public Health Law § 2825-i authorizes waivers only of regulations, not the statute.”

• The Commissioner’s SNTP review is not a substitute for PHHPC review. The Court found that the SNTP award letter does not even purport to address the “character and competence” review that § 2801a(3)(b) requires—precisely the inquiry petitioners argued is most critical given H+H’s record of regulatory violations and recurrent “immediate jeopardy” citations.

• H+H’s status as a New York City public benefit corporation does not exempt the transaction. The Court rejected the Commissioner’s argument that Public Health Law § 2801-a(5)’s carve-out for hospitals established “by the city of New York” exempts the transaction. The carve-out, on its face, does not cover changes in hospital operator under § 2801-a(4)—which was added in 1970, after H+H was created—and, in any event, “does not on its face exclude from Public Health Council approval changes in the operational governance of a hospital.”

• Both § 2801-a (Establishment) and § 2802 (Construction) apply. The Court held that the transaction—which creates new H+H-controlled entities to operate the hospital, restructures Maimonides’s governance, and transfers operational control and licensure to H+H—triggers both establishment review under § 2801-a and construction/“substantial acquisition” review under § 2802.

• Petitioners have standing. The Court found that the individual petitioners—Brooklyn community members who, with their families, regularly receive care at Maimonides—and the organizational petitioner Refuah Helpline (a 501(c)(3) that services thousands of MMC patients) easily satisfied the injury-in-fact and zone-of-interests requirements, and that Public Health Law § 2801-c provides additional, relaxed standing for the relief petitioners seek.

[Video below.] President Donald Trump on Tuesday stood by the scale and expense of the planned White House ballroom, insisting the project is progressing efficiently while sharply rebuking a reporter who questioned its scope.

Speaking to reporters before departing for China, Trump said the ballroom is both larger than initially planned and financially on track. “We have a ballroom that’s under budget. I’ve doubled the size of it because we obviously need that,” Trump told reporters before departing to China. “And we’re right now on budget, under budget and ahead of schedule.”

When asked again about the decision to expand the project, Trump responded with a personal jab at the questioner. “I doubled the size of it, you dumb person. You are not a smart person.”

Plans for the ballroom have shifted since Trump first unveiled the proposal last summer, with both its size and estimated cost changing over time. The structure is set to replace the East Wing, which has already been demolished as part of the project.

Despite criticism over the growing price tag, Trump has dismissed concerns by emphasizing that the ballroom will not rely on taxpayer funds, saying wealthy donors will cover the full cost. He initially projected the project at $200 million, though estimates have since climbed to roughly $400 million.

The issue has also surfaced in Congress, where Senate Republicans included $1 billion for ballroom-related security measures in a budget reconciliation package. However, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul said Monday that the provision may ultimately be removed before the bill reaches a vote on the Senate floor.

White House officials met with Senate Republicans during a Tuesday lunch to walk through the proposed funding in detail, outlining how the $1 billion would be allocated.

According to materials presented at the meeting, the funding would cover a range of security upgrades, including “hardening” the White House complex, a visitors screening facility, training, enhancements for protectee security, evolving threats and technology and events of national significance.

Trump and several Republican allies have increasingly pointed to security concerns to justify the project, particularly in the aftermath of the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner late last month.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

A New Jersey bill that would sharply increase penalties for retailers that sell tobacco and vaping products to people under 21 was approved by the Assembly Health Committee in a 9-1 vote.

The legislation would raise fines for unlawful sales from the current minimums of $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense, and $1,000 for subsequent offenses to $750, $1,500, and $3,000 respectively.

The bill would also broaden the law’s language to prohibit retailers from selling any “tobacco product” to individuals under 21, replacing narrower references to cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and electronic smoking devices.

Under the proposal, “tobacco product” would include any item containing, made from, or derived from tobacco or nicotine intended for human consumption, as well as vapor products and accessories. The definition specifically includes items such as rolling papers, blunt or hemp wraps, hookahs and pipes. FDA-approved smoking cessation products would remain exempt.

In addition, the bill would direct the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury to create a compliance reporting process for retailers and establish a mechanism for anonymous reporting of violations.

Retailers that repeatedly violate the law could also face suspension or revocation of their tobacco retail licenses following municipal hearings and recommendations to the Division of Taxation.

Iran sent a wave of messages to Israeli cellphones overnight Monday, inviting recipients to cooperate on intelligence gathering and mark sensitive sites on an online map. Israel’s National Cyber Directorate said the messages, some of which appeared to come from groups like IntelOP and Apocalypse, were an attempt by Iran to “create panic” and influence Israelis.

The messages, written in Hebrew, included statements like “The Islamic Republic of Iran invites you to cooperate on intelligence” and “Build your future now.” Some implied impending Iranian missile strikes, saying Israelis will soon “see the sun in night skies.”

Police said they received many calls from concerned citizens and warned the public not to click any links, respond, or forward the messages. They characterized it as an effort by Iranian intelligence to recruit Israeli citizens at home and abroad to “advance intelligence gathering operations and terror.”

Some messages offered to “buy your video clips of Iran’s war against Israel.” According to internet security firm Check Point, clicking included links led to a map where users could mark sites in Israel. While Iran has made similar attempts to recruit Israelis online in the past, Check Point noted this campaign was unusually “clear and public.”

The Cyber Directorate emphasized that receiving a message does not mean a phone or account has been hacked. They advised blocking the sending contacts.

In recent years, scores of Israelis have been arrested for carrying out tasks for Iran-linked agents met online, usually starting with mundane requests like filming public locations before escalating. Authorities warned the dramatic messages aimed to make recipients “act out of fear” and were just Iran’s latest “familiar attempt to influence.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

By Y.M. Lowy

Police are searching for a suspect following a gunpoint robbery at a store on Ditmas Avenue early Sunday morning.

The incident happened at around 1:18 a.m. on May 10 inside a store located at 422 Ditmas Avenue. The suspect entered the location and displayed a firearm to two female employees, ages 56 and 49. The suspect took $2 from the cash register along with a cellphone before fleeing the scene.

Then the man escaped on a scooter, heading northbound on East 5th Street toward an unknown location.

The suspect is described as a light complexioned male who was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black sneakers, a black hat, and black gloves.

The NYPD is asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

U.S. President Donald Trump is en route Tuesday to China, where he will make the first state visit by a U.S. President since his last visit nine years ago.

The trip was originally scheduled for late March but was delayed due to the escalating war with Iran.

photos: Issac Y.

Social media personality Tyler Oliveira was denied entry into Israel this week and placed on a return flight to the United States after authorities determined that his content crossed into antisemitic incitement.

Oliveira publicized the incident shortly after landing back in America, posting a photo of himself at Ben Gurion Airport holding official paperwork issued by Israeli authorities. Alongside the image, he wrote: “I got banned from Israel and deported back to America for ‘anti-Semitic’ content.”

Israeli officials made clear that the decision was not spontaneous but the result of mounting concern over Oliveira’s recent videos, which have drawn sharp criticism for targeting Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States. His productions, which focused heavily on places such as Lakewood, New Jersey, and Kiryas Yoel, New York, portrayed chareidi residents as abusing government systems and attempting to take over municipalities—claims widely condemned as recycled antisemitic tropes.

Israeli Minister Amichai Chikli made it clear that Oliveira would not be allowed into the country. Responding to a prior online question Oliveira had posed about whether Israel would admit him, Chikli answered bluntly: “No.”

Chikli later elaborated that Israel has no interest in providing a platform for influencers who build audiences by attacking Jews. He stated that individuals who come with the intention of spreading hatred or provoking hostility toward Jewish communities will be turned away at the border. In another sharply worded remark, he said he was “proud” of the decision to block Oliveira, describing him as someone who uses harassment of Jews as a means of gaining online attention.

According to Israeli authorities, Oliveira’s content went beyond criticism and entered the realm of incitement, contributing to the spread of hostility toward Jews online.

Oliveira, who has built a large following through confrontational and sensationalized video content, has increasingly shifted toward controversial topics in recent months. His reporting style—often built around dramatic claims and selectively edited encounters—has drawn millions of views but also significant backlash, particularly from Jewish organizations and community leaders who say his videos distort reality and fuel dangerous narratives.

{Matzav.com}

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum announced Tuesday that it will fundamentally alter its annual tribute to the fallen, introducing a seventh bell toll and moment of silence to honor the thousands of survivors and first responders who have died from 9/11-related illnesses in the decades following the terror attacks.

The addition marks the first major change to the ceremony’s structure since its inception. For nearly a quarter-century, the televised ceremony has featured six distinct moments of silence, timed precisely to when the two hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center towers, the attack on the Pentagon, the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and the subsequent collapse of each tower. The new seventh toll will not be tied to a specific timestamp but will instead occur as a permanent fixture at the conclusion of the reading of the names.

The move comes six years after the museum dedicated the 9/11 Memorial Glade, a physical space on the plaza designed to honor those suffering from 9/11-related health issues. Advocates say the seventh bell toll provides an emotional and symbolic “centerpiece” to that recognition, ensuring the “ripple effect” of the attacks is never forgotten.

The 9/11 attacks left a profound and lasting mark on Hatzolah, which was among the first emergency responders to arrive at Ground Zero. In the years since the attacks, multiple Hatzolah members have been niftar after succumbing to aggressive cancers and respiratory diseases contracted during their tireless service on the “Pile.” These volunteers, many of whom rushed across bridges from Brooklyn and Queens without the benefit of respiratory protection to evacuate the injured, represent a vital segment of the first responder community whose  sacrifices are now being formally recognized by the city’s principal institution of remembrance.

The health toll of the attacks continues to widen as the 25th anniversary approaches this fall. According to a new report, more than 143,300 people are currently enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program, including over 88,000 responders. While 2,977 people were killed on the day of the attacks, the number of those who have died since from breathing in pulverized concrete, asbestos, and other carcinogens continues to climb. This includes 360 members of the FDNY who have passed away from related illnesses—more than the 343 firefighters lost during the initial collapse.

Chevra Hatzalah played a pivotal role in the World Trade Center rescue operations. The very first ambulance to arrive at the World Trade Center following the first plane crash on September 11, 2001 was a Hatzalah ambulance. By the time the second airplane crashed into the second tower, there were two dozen Hatzalah ambulances at the scene, including Hatzalah’s Communications and Command Center trailer, and more than 100 Hatzalah EMTs, paramedics, and doctors on scene. Before the buildings came down, ambulances had arrived from Hatzalah of Rockland County, 40 miles to the North, with additional medics and EMTs. During the first hour, over 125 patients were transported to area hospitals by Hatzalah ambulances.

At the south end of the Twin Towers, Hatzalah was the predominant ambulance service covering the disaster scene. Hatzalah ambulances transported numerous victims, including firefighters and police officers.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Iran announced on Monday that it had hanged Erfan Shakourzadeh, a 29-year-old man convicted of spying for Israel and the United States. The execution comes amidst a wave of similar punishments meted out by the Iranian regime since the start of its war with the two countries in late February.

According to Iran’s judiciary website Mizan Online, Shakourzadeh was hanged for “collaborating with the US intelligence service and the Mossad spy service.” The website did not specify the date of his arrest or execution, but noted that he had been employed at an Iranian scientific organization involved in the country’s satellite program.

Iran has long faced accusations from Western nations that its satellite program is a front for advancing ballistic missile capabilities. Mizan claimed that Shakourzadeh had “knowingly and willingly” passed classified information to the CIA and Mossad.

However, the Iran Human Rights Society, a Norway-based watchdog group, alleges that Shakourzadeh, an aerospace engineering graduate, was arrested in 2025 and coerced into confessing.

The uptick in executions, particularly in cases related to alleged espionage or security offenses, coincides with the ongoing conflict between Iran, Israel, and the US that began in February. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8th. Just last week, Iran executed three men convicted of involvement in the anti-government protests that swept the nation in December and January.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A major disruption has struck Israel’s rabbinical court system after Microsoft deleted all official email accounts due to an unpaid debt of approximately 700,000 shekels, leaving thousands of divorce proceedings in disarray and critical data temporarily inaccessible.

According to sources, the move triggered widespread system failure across the rabbinical court system, as essential documents, correspondence, and case-related information were erased without immediate recovery options. The breakdown has directly affected thousands of couples in the midst of divorce proceedings.

The report states that the outstanding debt had accumulated over several months, ultimately prompting Microsoft to suspend cloud services and remove all associated email accounts. As a result, active cases were left without access to necessary files, court summons were not sent, and hearings were repeatedly postponed. Staff members described the situation as “a complete shutdown,” with all processes forced into manual handling.

Officials at the rabbinical courts in Tel Aviv, where caseloads are particularly heavy, characterized the situation as “an unprecedented crisis.” Couples who had been waiting months for scheduled hearings were notified of delays, while attorneys reported that crucial correspondence related to divorce agreements had been permanently deleted.

The incident has drawn sharp public criticism over the management of the system, especially given its central role in handling sensitive matters affecting thousands of families. Technology experts noted that while deleting email accounts over unpaid debts is an extreme measure, it remains a possibility when financial obligations to service providers are not resolved.

Authorities at the Ministry of Religious Services and within the rabbinical court system are now working to restore operations and recover lost data. At the same time, alternative technological solutions are being explored to prevent a similar failure from occurring in the future.

{Matzav.com}

I agree with the previous writer about the dangerous, antisemitic rhetoric coming from certain elected officials and the protesters themselves. If, chas v’shalom, blood is ever spilled, those voices will bear responsibility.

But let’s be honest about something else: who will really be held accountable?

The sleazebags running these so-called “real estate events.”

They couldn’t care less about our safety, and they couldn’t care less about Israel. It’s about the benjamins — nothing else. A handful of people looking to make money host an event in the heart of a residential neighborhood, in a shul no less, and the result is chaos: massive NYPD deployment costing millions, streets flooded with agitators, and families trapped in fear inside their own homes.

Meanwhile, Flatbush Shomrim and the NYPD deserve tremendous credit for their outstanding work protecting the community under extremely difficult circumstances.

But who gains from all of this? A few money-hungry organizers — and no one else.

Shame on them. And shame on the shul that refused to cancel the event, even after people of influence reached out. Who needs this? While organizers sit comfortably, thousands of local residents are left dealing with panic, frightened children, and streets overrun by hostile crowds.

Why not rent a space in Manhattan? Why bring this directly into quiet residential blocks and force families to bear the consequences?

And to those showing up looking for confrontation or spectacle — if you truly want to make a statement, there are plenty of places where these debates are already playing out. Don’t turn our neighborhoods into battlegrounds.

We have had enough.

And to all the pathetic, bored 70 year old retired Jewish women waving their smart phones and being all “pro-Israel”, if you really care, then take a subway to Manhattan and attend the daily protests and show your face there. The same goes for Jewish teens looking for action. Be a tough guy. Go face off with these terrorists in Manhattan. Get off our streets.

Yes, we absolutely have the right to host events on any issue we choose. The same First Amendment protections that allow protests also protect our ability to gather and speak.

But having the right to do something does not make it wise.

There needs to be judgment, responsibility, and awareness. Hosting events that are almost guaranteed to inflame tensions and draw hostile crowds into our neighborhoods is not responsible leadership. It is reckless.

No one is suggesting we surrender our rights or allow bad actors to dictate how we live. But knowingly placing our communities in the crosshairs is not strength — it’s negligence.

These events may make a statement, but they are failing where it matters most: protecting the safety, security, and peace of mind of the families who live here.

At some point, leadership must step up and recognize that the well-being of the broader community must come before the desire to make a public statement — no matter how justified that statement may be.

Yaakov G. – Flatbush

The views expressed in this letter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of YWN. Have an opinion you would like to share? Send it to us for review. 

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

For the first time, the Belgian Consulate-General in Jerusalem has refused to issue a new passport to a Belgian-Israeli citizen living in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev, claiming the area is “not recognized under international law,” Ynet reported.

The woman who was denied the renewal of her passport is Annabel Herziger-Tanzer, the daughter of Auschwitz survivor Sam Herziger, a Belgian citizen and well-known artist whose works are displayed in museums around the world, including in Antwerp.

When Annabel’s passport expired about a month ago, she did what she’s always done in the past, contacting the Belgian Consulate in Jerusalem and requesting an appointment to renew her passport. To her utter shock, she received an email stating that the consulate is refusing to do so.

“Madame Herziger, after reviewing our population records, we found that you settled in a colony that is not recognized under international law, to which Belgium is bound,” the email stated. “Therefore, you could not be registered at this address in the consular population records of the Consulate General of Belgium in Jerusalem.”

Speaking to Ynet, Annabel said: “I felt as if they had spat in my face, as if I were a second-class person. I am a member of the Israel-Belgium Friendship Association, but I am no longer proud to be Belgian. It brings up trauma for me as the second generation of Holocaust survivors. I always felt like a resident of Israel and Belgium, with my first love for my first homeland. Had my last name been Awad and had I lived in Pisgat Ze’ev, I would not have been treated this way.”

Her husband, social activist Alex Tanzer, who is also the child of Holocaust survivors, sent an urgent letter to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar: “Where is the State of Israel? The Foreign Ministry must immediately summon the Belgian ambassador for a reprimand. This is the only country in the world that practices selection between Jews and non-Jews.”

The policy shift stems from a decision by authorities in Brussels not to provide consular services to Israelis living in settlements in the wake of a Belgian government commitment in late 2025 to recognize a Palestinian state.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Jewish organizations across California’s Bay Area are condemning a judge’s decision to remove Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen from a criminal case involving anti-Israel protesters accused of vandalizing Stanford University’s president’s office.

The ruling bars Rosen from retrying five protesters on felony charges after the judge determined he may have crossed legal boundaries by publicly characterizing the protest as antisemitic during campaign-related messaging.

“Rosen is allowed to take a strong stance against crime in the community, against antisemitism. But caution and care need to be taken when utilizing active litigation in campaign communication,” Judge Kelley Paul said from the bench.

Judge Paul said Rosen improperly described the case as antisemitic even though prosecutors never charged the defendants with a hate crime.

“This case is not a hate crime,” Paul said. “The characterization of the prosecution as a fight against antisemitism runs afoul of case law.”

In a statement to J. The Jewish News of Northern California, Rosen’s office said it “disagrees with the judge’s ruling” but added that it “respect[s] it.”

The Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area and Jewish Silicon Valley issued a joint statement saying they were “deeply troubled” by the ruling and insisted the prosecution should continue.

“This decision uniquely targets minority prosecutors, suggesting they are incapable of pursuing justice in cases perceived to be impacting their own communities,” the statement says, adding that it “risks reinforcing longstanding antisemitic prejudices and invites future defendants to weaponize a prosecutor’s identity against them.”

The defendants are facing felony vandalism and conspiracy charges tied to a June 2024 demonstration in which 13 protesters allegedly broke into Stanford’s executive offices and caused roughly $300,000 in damage. A jury deadlocked earlier this year, reportedly splitting 9-3 on the vandalism charge and 8-4 on the conspiracy count, prompting Rosen to announce plans for a retrial.

The motion seeking Rosen’s removal was filed by deputy public defender Avi Singh, who argued the district attorney compromised his neutrality by featuring the case on a campaign fundraising page titled “DA Rosen Fighting Anti-Semitism,” which also included a donation button.

Singh argued the fundraising material falsely portrayed the defendants as antisemitic despite the absence of hate crime charges.

Rosen, who has publicly spoken about combating antisemitism and supporting Israel, has denied any conflict of interest.

Judge Paul also cited remarks Rosen made during a March 2025 speech at San Jose Hillel, delivered about a month before charges were filed against the protesters. A recording of the speech was later linked on the “Fighting Anti-Semitism” section of his campaign website.

During the speech, Rosen connected antisemitism with “anti-Americanism,” language that Deputy District Attorney Robert Baker later echoed during closing arguments at trial. Judge Paul ruled the overlap in rhetoric justified disqualifying the entire district attorney’s office from handling the case.

Jewish advocacy groups argued the ruling effectively penalizes Rosen for being Jewish.

“Generations of American Jews in positions of public trust have all too often been treated as suspect or inherently conflicted,” JCRC Bay Area and Jewish Silicon Valley said. “This decision risks reinforcing longstanding antisemitic prejudices and invites future defendants to weaponize a prosecutor’s identity against them, casting any public opposition to hate as grounds for disqualification.”

Rosen’s opponent in next month’s district attorney primary, former prosecutor Daniel Chung, seized on the ruling in a campaign video criticizing Rosen’s handling of the Stanford case.

“This is a humiliating loss for DA Rosen and his entire office,” Chung said in an Instagram video. “For years, millions of dollars have been spent trying to prosecute Stanford student protesters with felony charges.”

Chung further argued that Rosen’s conduct “jeopardized the due process of the defendants” and “exemplifies the undermining of integrity, competence and compassion under DA Rosen for the last 16 years.”

The case will now be transferred to the California attorney general’s office, which must decide whether to retry the defendants — German Gonzalez, Maya Burke, Taylor McCann, Hunter Taylor-Black and Amy Zhai — or dismiss the charges entirely.

A federal appeals court has put on hold a lower court decision that had ruled President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs unlawful, allowing the duties to stay in place while the case continues to be litigated.

The move follows a request by the Trump administration to pause last week’s ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade, which had found that the government did not have the legal authority to impose a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

With the appeals court granting a temporary stay, the tariffs will continue to be collected as judges consider whether to extend the pause for the duration of the appeals process. The administration is seeking a swift decision as it works to preserve the policy.

The lower court ruling had been seen as a significant challenge to Trump’s broader tariff strategy. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court struck down several tariffs enacted under emergency economic powers, prompting the administration to rely on Section 122 to implement temporary tariffs across a wide range of imports.

Judges on the trade court concluded that the administration’s interpretation of Section 122 went beyond what Congress intended, stating that the provision was meant to address severe balance-of-payments crises rather than general trade deficits.

The case was brought by a group of importers, along with the State of Washington, who argued that the tariffs were unlawful. The court’s decision applied specifically to those plaintiffs, rather than issuing a nationwide block.

The Trump administration has defended the tariffs as a necessary tool to counter trade imbalances and support domestic industries, while critics argue the policy represents an overreach of executive authority into an area typically governed by Congress.

The outcome of the case is being closely watched by businesses and importers, given the significant financial impact of the tariffs. Previous court rulings against similar measures have already led to large refund obligations tied to collected duties.

Legal analysts expect the dispute to continue through the federal court system, with the possibility that it could ultimately return to the Supreme Court as challenges to the administration’s trade policies persist.

{Matzav.com}

The United States Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it had charged the operators of a ship that crashed into a Maryland bridge two years ago and killed six people.

The ship, clocking in at more than 100,000 tons and stretching 900 feet long, lost power twice, causing it to crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. Six construction workers who were working on the bridge fell to their deaths as the bridge collapsed and crumpled into the water.

“The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement announcing the charges. “This indictment is a critical step toward holding accountable those whose reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations caused this disaster. Six construction workers lost their lives, critical infrastructure was destroyed, pollutants were released into the Patapsco River and Chesapeake Bay, and the economic damage now exceeds five billion dollars.”

“This Department is committed to securing justice for the victims and ensuring those responsible are held to account,” he added.

Those charged include the international companies Synergy Marine Pte. Ltd. and Synergy Maritime Pte. Ltd., as well as the ship’s technical superintendent, Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair. They are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States; misconduct or neglect of ship officers resulting in death; willfully failing to immediately inform the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition; obstruction of an agency proceeding; and making false statements.

In addition to those charges, the DOJ added misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act and Refuse Act to the companies involved.

Synergy Marine Group, which includes both companies, slammed the decision to charge them by accusing the DOJ of “criminalizing a tragic accident” and calling the accusations “baseless.”

“Synergy will vigorously defend itself against these inaccurate allegations,” the company said. “Synergy and its employees have fully cooperated and have been transparent at all times during the NTSB’s investigation, and any allegations to the contrary are woefully inaccurate.”

“We are confident that the DOJ cannot and will not meet its burden of proof and that we will prevail at trial,” it said.

According to authorities, a Toms River resident’s debit card was unlawfully used on April 18, 2026, at an ATM in the Upper Montclair area and later that same day at Menlo Park Mall.

Police described one of the suspects as a white male between 18 and 21 years old, approximately 5’7” to 5’9” tall, with a thin build and dark hair styled in a bowl cut.

Investigators from the Toms River Township Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office are continuing to investigate the incident and are urging residents to be cautious of phone calls claiming to be from banking institutions, even when the caller ID appears legitimate.

Authorities advise anyone who receives a suspicious call to hang up and contact their bank directly using the number listed on the back of their credit or debit card, or by visiting a local branch.

Anyone with information regarding the identity of the suspects is asked to contact Det. Jesse Robertazzi at 732-349-0150 ext. 1304. All calls will remain confidential.

Russian President Vladimir Putin faced widespread online attention following a rare public appearance in Moscow, where observers focused on his noticeably altered and swollen facial features during a scaled-down Victory Day celebration.

The 73-year-old leader appeared briefly at a subdued parade marking the 81st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The event, held in Red Square, was notably shorter and more restrained than in previous years.

Putin’s appearance quickly drew reactions on social media, with critics and commentators speculating about his health and the impact of international sanctions. Some users suggested that the abbreviated nature of the event and his limited time in public added to the intrigue.

“Putin, what’s with the face?” a pro-Ukraine account quipped on X, noting, “The parade ended at lightning speed — just 45 minutes The Kremlin boss [was] immediately rushed off Red Square surrounded by heavy security.”

Images circulating online showed Putin with what some described as a strained expression, prompting further commentary from observers.

“Putin’s last parade,” one user wrote.

Another commenter added, “Putin genuinely looks sick, this isn’t the face of a well man even for his age.”

Additional posts speculated about his extended time away from public view, with one user writing, “Putin must be residing in the bunker for an extended period, possibly even longer than this year. He seems to be in dire need of some Botox touch-ups.”

Observers also noted the reduced scale of the parade, which lacked the usual display of heavy military equipment such as armored vehicles and ballistic missiles, as well as the heightened security surrounding the event.

Moscow was placed under tight security measures, including temporary shutdowns of internet services, amid ongoing Ukrainian drone and missile attacks targeting Russian territory.

“Putin used to always walk to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Today, for the first time in history, he rode an armored bus,” the Ukrainian X user wrote.

Even commentators supportive of the Kremlin acknowledged that the event did not match the scale of previous years.

“It was a modest parade,” pro-Kremlin analyst Sergei Markov wrote on Telegram, adding, “There are still enormous challenges ahead.”

During his appearance, Putin referenced the Soviet Union’s sacrifices in World War II as he sought to rally support for Russia’s ongoing military campaign, without directly naming the conflict in Ukraine.

“The great feat of the generation of victors inspires the warriors carrying out the tasks of the special military operation,” Putin said.

“They stand against an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire NATO bloc. And despite this, our heroes move forward. Victory has always been and will always be ours,” he said.

Ahead of the parade, President Donald Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a temporary three-day ceasefire along with a prisoner exchange involving roughly 1,000 individuals.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked on Friday that he would “permit” Russia to proceed with the parade by refraining from launching an attack.

The temporary ceasefire was scheduled to conclude on Monday.

{Matzav.com}

WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) – Dr. Marty Makary, commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration since March 2025, is expected to resign Tuesday, according to multiple sources.

The departure comes after President Donald Trump approved a plan earlier this month to remove him amid ongoing internal conflicts at the agency, the sources said.

Makary, a Johns Hopkins University surgeon and vocal advocate for medical transparency, aligned himself with the “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. His confirmation by the Senate passed narrowly. During his roughly 14-month tenure, he faced criticism over the agency’s handling of vaping regulations, access to mifepristone, compounded versions of weight-loss drugs and broader management issues. His time in office included several unexpected drug rejections, significant staff turnover and policy clashes that rattled biotech markets.

The White House has not yet announced a successor. Makary’s exit could create short-term uncertainty in drug approvals, food safety oversight and medical device regulation.

Makary’s office and the FDA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is set to unveil a massive $124.7 billion executive budget for New York City on Tuesday without the property tax increase he had previously warned might be necessary if his push to “tax the rich” failed.

Sources familiar with the negotiations told the NY Post Mamdani backed away from earlier threats to raise property taxes by nearly 10% and dip into the city’s reserve funds to address what had been described as a $5.4 billion budget shortfall.

Instead, Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday that New York City would receive an additional $4 billion in state assistance to help close the budget gap.

According to Hochul’s office, the funding package will be spread over two years and includes $2.2 billion from pension restructuring, $500 million in anticipated revenue from a pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes, $508 million from postponing a public school class-size reduction mandate, $202 million from measures aimed at reducing recurring spending obligations, $150 million in additional state aid, and $361 million from other unspecified actions.

Much of the funding had already been disclosed previously, but Hochul — who faces re-election later this year — used the announcement to emphasize her working relationship with Mamdani despite political differences.

“This is what a results-driven, responsible partnership looks like and I’m proud to work with Mayor Mamdani to deliver for working New Yorkers,” she said in a statement.

Hochul has sought to balance her relationship with Mamdani since his rapid rise in city politics, attempting to appeal to progressive voters while maintaining support among moderates.

Her Republican challenger for governor, Bruce Blakeman, sharply criticized the funding package.

“Kathy Hochul just committed the largest daylight robbery in New York history, looting $4 billion from your family’s grocery and rent budget to bankroll Zohran Mamdani’s socialist experiment,” Blakeman said in a statement.

As of Tuesday morning, many specifics surrounding the city’s spending plan remained unclear ahead of Mamdani’s scheduled budget presentation.

Sources said the mayor’s proposed $124.7 billion budget will not include revenue from either his proposed millionaire’s tax or the previously threatened property tax hike.

“This whole thing proves there was never a budget crisis; it was all for the mayor saying he wants to tax the rich, it was performative,” an insider told The Post.

“It’s all these different things that were just fake. This is the theater of the absurd, manufacture a budget crisis. He basically put the whole city in panic for months.”

The proposed property tax increase and the idea of using the city’s rainy day reserves had both drawn heavy criticism from residents and financial rating agencies.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Finance Committee Chair Linda Lee praised Mamdani for ultimately avoiding both proposals.

“While we await a final state budget, we are pleased with Governor Hochul and the state legislature’s commitment to providing the City with billions in additional funds and savings,” they said in a joint statement.

City Comptroller Mark Levine warned that despite the state aid, New York City could still face major financial problems in the years ahead.

“There still is a reliance on a number of one-shot measures, and those are tools that are then going to be off the table next year,” he said. “And we are looking at about a $7 billion shortfall for the following fiscal year.”

YS GOLD 

This week’s captured moment takes us to the center of Boro Park and to Flusberg’s Seforim Store. 

Now, this establishment was founded by Reb Bainish Flusberg, a pillar of Congregation Beth El who’s name and reputation was “gold.” The establishment was later taken over by the Szimanowitz family until it closed in the early 1990’s. 

Do any of our readers recall the location of this establishment? 

___ 

Answer to last week’s captured moment: 

As many of our readers have correctly identified, the Beis Hamedrash Hagodol existed where the “Infants Home of Boro Park” was once located, and where Mishkan continues to serve the developmentally-delayed in our community. The location is on 56th Street, between New Utrecht Avenue and 14th Avenue.

By Shevy

The BP24 Recipe Club Whatsapp Group is buzzing with creativity, as club members share everything from the best light side dish to Shabbos dips. The chat is filled with the sights and smells of home cooking—steaming soups, crispy sourdough, and lots and lots of schnitzel cutlets recipes for the kiddos.

Members joined in the Whisk It To Win It contest this month, where the challenge was to send in QUICK HEALTHY BREAKFASTS. As mentioned in the group, anyone submitting a clear recipe along with a clear photo earns a spot to be featured on the BoroPark24 website.

And the winner this month is…

Malka W! 

For entering the delicious St__rawberry PB Protein Smoothie recipe!

She takes home a full set of MON APPETIT SPICE SEASONINGS!

Make sure to follow us on Instagram for delicious recipe inspiration:

https://www.instagram.com/bp24recipeclub?igsh=MWIyeDAwZHhzcnpkYw==

A swastika was discovered painted on a bathroom wall inside Tzalmon Prison in northern Israel, the Israel Prison Service announced Tuesday.

Video footage obtained by The Jerusalem Post shows the prisoner entering the bathroom, which is accessible from the prison yard, then exiting. He appears to stand close to the wall for several seconds before leaving. He is immediately met by a phalanx of prison officials, who take him away for questioning.

The only detail released publicly is that the prisoner holds foreign citizenship and has been disciplined for the incident.

Separately, Thiago Avila, a Brazilian flotilla activist who had been detained by Israel, returned to Sao Paulo Monday upon his release from detention by Israeli authorities. Avila alleged that he had been tortured and abused by Israeli authorities and that he witnessed far worse abuse of Arab prisoners.

Avila was detained for 10 days with Spanish-Palestinian activist Abu Keshek when Israel intercepted the Gaza Sumud Flotilla, which attempted to sail to Gaza to break the blockade. Israel intercepted the flotilla far from Gaza’s shore and released all the detainees in Crete except for Avila and Keshek, who they said had ties to a terror group.

Israel has denied the allegations of abuse.

You may have noticed some new streetlamps along New Hampshire Avenue in recent days. And if they look “different,” it is because they are.

Lakewood Township crews are in the process of installing approximately fifty solar-powered LED streetlamps to illuminate a stretch of sidewalk on New Hampshire Avenue – between Ridge Avenue and Route 88; enhancing pedestrian safety and comfort.

This project was put in motion by Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein and Township Engineering Manager Tony Poklasny, as conventional streetlights could not be installed in this area – which lacks the necessary electrical infrastructure to power them.

The new streetlamps offer the ideal solution: At 1,500 lumens, they are bright. Powered by solar, they do not require any electrical connections – all the while sparing taxpayers long term electrical costs; and being environmentally friendly.

The Township Committee and Engineers worked closely with a team of Township officials to bring the project to fruition, including: Brendan Weiner of the Engineering Department, who developed the lighting plan and field layout; and the Lakewood Department of Public Works (DPW), which is doing the installation under the direction of Ray Helmstetter Sr.; Ken Donaldson; and Mike Bovasso.

“Thanks to our great Engineering and Public Works officials, Lakewood has enhanced the safety and quality-of-life in yet another key area in town,” says Committeeman Lichtenstein. “Despite the challenges of being unable to do this project the ‘regular’ way, our team did not give up; and instead worked together successfully to innovate on behalf of our residents.”

A court decision green-lighting a pro-Palestinian protest camp at a site linked to the Holocaust has sparked a fierce backlash in Hamburg, Germany.

The protest, spearheaded by the group Bridges of Resistance, is being held at Moorweide, a location from which the Nazis deported around 6,000 Jews, Sinti, and Roma during World War II. The group claims the nine-day event aims to spotlight Hamburg’s alleged “complicity” in what it calls Israel’s “genocide,” pointing to the city’s arms exports to the Jewish state.

Hamburg authorities initially sought to relocate the protest, arguing that Moorweide’s somber history made it an unsuitable venue and warning of potential antisemitic incidents and clashes with counter-protesters. However, the Hamburg Administrative Court blocked the move, ruling that the constitutional right to free assembly protects the organizers’ choice of location and message, even if politically controversial.

The decision, upheld by a higher court, has infuriated local Jewish leaders, who view the protest’s placement as a “political and moral declaration of bankruptcy.” Hamburg’s Antisemitism Commissioner Stefan Hensel slammed the organizers’ choice of venue, while State Rabbi Shlomo Bistritzky expressed the community’s disappointment with the decision.

“Those who call for the killing of colonialists, glorify Hamas terror, and promote resistance by any means do not defend human rights,” the Israeli Embassy in Berlin declared, accusing the protest of promoting “extremist hate.”

Undeterred, Bridges of Resistance proceeded with the event, which featured posters, workshops, and exhibitions focusing on Germany’s supposed role in perpetuating the Israeli occupation and the displacement of Palestinians during the “Nakba” – Israel’s 1948 founding.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)