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Thirty years after Bibi Netanyahu’s dramatic election as prime minister, a remarkable account is shedding new light on the crucial role played by the Pnei Menachem of Ger zt”l and Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach zt”l in rallying the chareidi community behind Netanyahu at a time when his chances of defeating Shimon Peres appeared remote.

At the center of the story was a lengthy and highly confidential meeting between Netanyahu and the Pnei Menachem in January 1996. The Gerer Rebbe urged Netanyahu to first unite the fractured right-wing camp, while assuring him that the Rebbe would deal with the question of chareidi support through the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah.

The backdrop was one of the most turbulent periods in Israeli politics. Yitzchak Rabin had brought Labor back to power in 1992 after 15 years of right-wing rule, and his government subsequently pursued the Oslo Accords amid a devastating wave of Palestinian terrorism. Netanyahu, who assumed leadership of Likud after Yitzchak Shamir’s departure, emerged as one of the leading opponents of the Oslo process.

Following Rabin’s assassination, Shimon Peres became prime minister and initially appeared to hold a commanding advantage over Netanyahu. Elections scheduled for later in 1996 were moved up to May 29, and under Israel’s new direct-election system, voters would cast one ballot for a party and a separate ballot for prime minister.

That created an unprecedented shailah for the chareidi community: Should Torah-observant Jews be instructed to cast a direct ballot for a secular candidate for prime minister?

Netanyahu had been seeking a meeting with the Pnei Menachem, then the nasi of Agudas Yisroel’s Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah. With the assistance of Chaim Miller, a close confidant of the Rebbe and deputy mayor of Yerushalayim, the meeting was finally arranged.

On 17 Teves 5756, January 9, 1996, Netanyahu traveled discreetly to the Rebbe’s home in an ordinary vehicle. The Gerer leadership had insisted that the meeting be conducted in complete secrecy.

The private conversation lasted approximately an hour and a half, an unusually lengthy meeting for a political visitor to the Rebbe.

The Pnei Menachem was deeply familiar with the Oslo agreements and the political and security situation facing Eretz Yisroel. He listened to Netanyahu, discussed the situation with him and concluded that the dangers facing the country required preparations for the coming election.

The right-wing camp at the time was badly divided. Likud itself contained competing power centers, while Rafael Eitan headed Tzomet and David Levy led Gesher.

The Pnei Menachem gave Netanyahu a clear directive: First put your own house in order. Unite the right-wing parties and their leaders, and the Rebbe would bring the issue before the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and deal with the chareidi community.

Netanyahu subsequently devoted considerable effort to unifying the right, ultimately producing the joint Likud-Gesher-Tzomet list under his leadership.

After Netanyahu left, the Pnei Menachem reportedly told his son Rav Daniel Alter that there was no other viable candidate representing the right and that efforts therefore had to be made to ensure Netanyahu’s election.

The issue subsequently came before the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah in a tense and consequential meeting. The central shailah was whether the Moetzes could explicitly instruct the chareidi public to cast its prime-ministerial ballot for a candidate who was not a shomer Torah u’mitzvos.

Some members favored issuing instructions only regarding the Agudas Yisroel ballot while remaining silent about the separate vote for prime minister.

The Pnei Menachem, together with the Sadigura Rebbe, the Modzitzer Rebbe and Rav Fishel Rabinowitz, favored an explicit directive to vote for Netanyahu.

The Pnei Menachem reasoned that many chareidim would vote for Netanyahu regardless. If the Moetzes remained silent, it could effectively amount to a directive that much of the public would find impossible to follow. Better, he argued, to reach appropriate understandings with Netanyahu beforehand and then issue a clear directive.

There was also precedent. During the 1993 Yerushalayim mayoral race between Ehud Olmert and Teddy Kollek, the Pnei Menachem had sent representatives to Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l to discuss whether the chareidi community could support Olmert, a secular candidate. Ultimately, the chareidi community backed Olmert, who defeated Kollek.

Rav Shach zt”l, who by then was rarely seen publicly, was also presented with the question of whether the Torah community should support Peres or Netanyahu. According to the account, Rav Shach gave then-Degel HaTorah chairman Rav Avrohom Ravitz a decisive ruling in favor of Netanyahu.

Although Netanyahu was not a shomer Torah u’mitzvos, Rav Shach strongly opposed the political and ideological direction represented by Peres and signed a public letter calling for support of the right-wing candidate. The directive was publicized through Yated Ne’eman and the chareidi election apparatus and helped mobilize tens of thousands of voters.

The Pnei Menachem himself did not live to see the election. He was niftar suddenly on 16 Adar 5756, several months before Israelis went to the polls.

Before his petirah, however, he reportedly met Netanyahu again and reiterated his message: Netanyahu should unite his own camp, while the Rebbe would ensure that his own community supported him.

The Pnei Menachem then reportedly gave Netanyahu an extraordinary assurance: “Don’t worry, you will be elected.” At the time, with Peres still appearing to hold a substantial advantage, the prediction seemed difficult to understand.

Following the Pnei Menachem’s petirah, the current Gerer Rebbe assumed the leadership of Ger. He investigated what his predecessor’s position had been and continued along the same path. Together with the direction of the other members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, the result was overwhelming chareidi support for Netanyahu.

A remarkable story from election night illustrates the confidence that remained in the Pnei Menachem’s home.

When the polls closed at 10 p.m., the initial picture suggested that Peres had won. One of the Pnei Menachem’s household members telephoned the Rebbetzin in distress and told her that things looked bleak.

The Rebbetzin was unmoved. She instructed him to call her again the following morning, explaining that after the Rebbe’s meeting with Netanyahu, she had heard her husband say explicitly that the left-wing government would fall and that Peres would not remain prime minister.

By morning, the country awoke to a political earthquake. Netanyahu had defeated Peres by less than one percentage point and would become prime minister.

Another remarkable episode took place during the shivah for the Pnei Menachem. Netanyahu came to be menachem avel the Rebbe’s sons and told them that their father had urged him to continue pursuing the premiership with all his strength and had assured him that he would one day become prime minister.

Rav Shaul Alter responded that his father’s assurance had come together with another instruction: Netanyahu had to make certain that the entire right-wing camp was united.

Netanyahu reportedly responded that if he became prime minister, the Pnei Menachem would have been proven a prophet.

One final episode provides a particularly revealing glimpse into what stood behind the Pnei Menachem’s involvement.

Dr. Eli Schussheim zt”l, widely known as the “doctor of the Gedolei Yisroel,” later related that shortly after Netanyahu’s meeting with the Pnei Menachem, he received a telephone call from Netanyahu requesting an urgent meeting.

According to Dr. Schussheim, Netanyahu told him that the Pnei Menachem had said that if he wanted the support of the Rebbe, Agudas Yisroel and the broader chareidi community, he should assist Dr. Schussheim in his work concerning abortion.

Dr. Schussheim later expressed his amazement at what the encounter revealed. With a national election looming and enormous political questions on the table, the matter occupying the Pnei Menachem was the protection of Jewish life and the strengthening of Torah and Yiddishkeit.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli authorities are seeking to question the Flydubai copilot accused of attacking the captain of Flight FZ1073 after both pilots were transferred from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates, as investigators work to determine the motive for the extraordinary midair attack and whether anyone else was involved.

Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry issued its most detailed account of the incident Thursday, confirming that its preliminary investigation found that the copilot attacked the captain before the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Tabuk.

The Saudi statement notably did not mention that the aircraft had been headed to Israel or that most of its passengers were Israeli. It also did not identify the nationalities of either pilot and stopped short of describing the incident as terrorism.

According to the Saudi Interior Ministry, FZ1073 received authorization for an emergency landing and touched down at Tabuk International Airport at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday. There were 174 passengers and eight crew members aboard, all of whom received assistance following the landing.

At approximately 5:40 p.m., the passengers departed Saudi Arabia aboard a replacement Flydubai aircraft. The other crew members were flown back to Dubai on a separate company aircraft, while the captain and copilot remained in Saudi Arabia to receive medical treatment.

Saudi officials said the preliminary investigation was carried out together with a security team from the UAE. According to the initial findings, “the captain was attacked by his deputy, causing both of them to be injured.”

Both pilots have now left Saudi Arabia. After their medical conditions improved and doctors approved their transfer, the captain and copilot were flown Thursday morning to Abu Dhabi accompanied by UAE security personnel.

The UAE has since opened its own investigation into the incident, with a specialized team of prosecutors assigned to determine precisely what occurred aboard the aircraft. Emirati authorities are examining the motive for the attack, including whether it was connected to terrorism and whether it involved advance planning or direction from others.

Saudi Arabia’s account described the episode as an assault between two members of the flight crew but offered no explanation for what prompted it. The statement also did not address reports that the copilot is an Omani citizen or Israeli allegations that he attempted to seize control of the aircraft and deliberately crash it.

A source familiar with the investigation said Israeli authorities are seeking to question the alleged attacker in the coming days as they attempt to establish his motive, background and whether he had accomplices.

Israeli security officials are also examining how an Omani national was reportedly assigned to operate a flight bound for Israel. Under aviation-security arrangements between Israel and the UAE, crew members from countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel are reportedly not supposed to serve aboard flights to Israel.

The investigation has also expanded to determine whether an outside actor played any role in the attack, with particular attention being given to possible Iranian involvement. Israeli officials have said they have not yet established such a connection and are examining whether the copilot acted alone.

President Donald Trump was asked Thursday whether he had received information connecting the Omani copilot to Iran.

“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on that right now,” Trump replied.

Asked whether the United States would retaliate against Iran if investigators ultimately determined that Tehran was responsible, Trump responded: “Yes, they will be hit very hard – don’t worry.”

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has said investigators are working to establish exactly what motivated the alleged attacker and whether anyone assisted or directed him.

“We will get to the bottom of this. We will investigate whether the pilot had accomplices and whether Iran was behind him. I think we will know very soon,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu also said Thursday that information obtained thus far indicates that the copilot had undergone Islamist radicalization. Israeli intelligence officials are reportedly examining whether he was acting independently or had been recruited or directed by another party.

Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai Wednesday morning bound for Tel Aviv with 174 passengers and eight crew members aboard. Four Americans were reportedly among the passengers.

During the flight, the aircraft transmitted emergency signals, including a code indicating unlawful interference aboard the plane. Israeli fighter jets were scrambled and senior security officials convened urgent consultations as authorities attempted to understand what was unfolding in the air.

According to passenger accounts and Israeli officials, the copilot attacked Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian citizen, inside the cockpit. The badly wounded captain nevertheless managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and other crew members to enter.

Passengers then fought with and subdued the alleged attacker as the aircraft rapidly lost altitude. Flight-tracking data showed the Boeing 737 MAX plunging thousands of feet within seconds before eventually stabilizing.

Several Israelis helped restrain the copilot, while medically trained passengers treated the wounded captain. Qualified pilots who happened to be traveling aboard the aircraft subsequently entered the cockpit and helped bring the plane safely to Tabuk.

Machchhar, an experienced commercial pilot with thousands of flight hours, was initially hospitalized in Saudi Arabia before being transferred to Abu Dhabi for continued treatment and recovery.

India’s ambassador to the UAE visited Machchhar in the hospital and reported that he was recovering well and in good spirits.

The alleged attacker was also transferred to the UAE, where investigators are now seeking to determine whether the incident was an individual act, an ideologically motivated terror attack or part of a broader plot.

Saudi authorities concluded their statement by emphasizing that the kingdom handled the emergency in accordance with its international and humanitarian obligations and that its aviation and security agencies are prepared to respond quickly to unusual incidents.

{Matzav.com}

An urgent legal application has been filed in Yerushalayim District Court against BSH Home Appliances, the Israeli importer and distributor of Bosch, Siemens and Neff ovens, over allegations that ovens marketed with a “Shabbos Mode” can cause users to unknowingly violate Shabbos.

According to the application, opening the oven door while the feature is activated causes the heating elements to shut off, while closing the door causes them to resume operation. The applicants contend that Shabbos-observant consumers relied on the feature believing that ordinary use of the oven would not directly affect its electrical operation.

The legal action was brought by Beni Landau and Varda Teller as part of a request to have the case certified as a class action.

The two are now seeking temporary relief from the court even before the class-action request is decided. They want BSH to be required to clearly inform both existing customers and prospective purchasers about precisely how the ovens’ “Shabbos Mode” operates.

According to the filing, the very use of the term “Shabbos Mode,” together with the program’s features, creates the impression for a Shabbos-observant customer that the setting was designed to permit use of the oven on Shabbos without routine actions by the user switching electrical components on or off.

The applicants specifically point to opening the oven door, an ordinary and necessary action when removing food.

Teller said in a declaration submitted with the case that she purchased a Siemens oven in December 2023 and that the availability of “Shabbos Mode” was an important consideration in her decision. She said the feature ultimately helped determine which appliance she selected from among the products she was considering.

According to Teller, she understood the setting to mean that the oven could be used on Shabbos without opening or closing the door triggering changes to the heating system.

She subsequently discovered, however, that opening and closing the door did affect the heating elements. Teller said that after learning how the system operated and making a halachic inquiry, she stopped using the oven on Shabbos.

The court filing also includes details of a conversation with a service manager representing the importer.

During that conversation, the manager reportedly explained that European regulations require the heating elements to shut off when an oven door is opened and to resume operation once the door is closed.

At the same time, the company representative stressed that BSH does not advertise the ovens’ “Shabbos Mode” as carrying halachic certification.

Landau and Teller are asking the court to intervene immediately rather than wait for a final determination on whether the case should proceed as a class action.

Among the measures they are requesting is an order preventing the relevant ovens from being sold without customers receiving clear information about how the feature works.

They are also asking the court to require BSH, within 96 hours, to publish a notice on its websites and customer-service pages, place notices in two daily newspapers, and directly contact customers whose information is already in the company’s possession.

At this stage, the applicants are not asking the court to order BSH to replace or repair the ovens, halt their sale altogether or pay compensation.

Instead, the immediate relief being sought focuses specifically on warning consumers while the court considers whether to certify the broader class-action case.

Bosch had not responded to a request for comment by the time the original report was published.

Dr. Itamar Miron, an attorney with the Miron Ben Zion Prives law firm representing the applicants, sharply criticized BSH’s alleged handling of the matter.

“This is one of the most serious consumer scandals to have occurred in the State of Israel. More than five years ago, BSH saw fit to warn Shabbos-observant customers abroad and open a service channel for them regarding Shabbos Mode in Bosch and Siemens ovens. Nevertheless, no similar public warning was issued in Israel, and innocent customers continue to violate Shabbos while mistakenly relying on the setting known as Shabbos Mode. Instead of selectively offering a complaining customer a budget for two replacement ovens in order to bury the affair, the importer must promptly inform, address and compensate thousands of other customers whom it chose to mislead regarding something that is more precious to them than anything else.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel has asked Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to allow Israeli observers to follow their parallel investigations into the attempted downing of Flydubai Flight FZ1073, as authorities work to determine what drove the Omani co-pilot to allegedly stab the captain and try to crash the Israel-bound aircraft.

The request was submitted to investigative officials in both countries, according to a report Thursday evening by Kan News. Saudi Arabia is leading an investigation because the attempted attack unfolded in its airspace and the aircraft ultimately made its emergency landing there, while the UAE is conducting its own inquiry because the Flydubai flight originated in Dubai and was operating under an Emirati carrier.

Despite Israel’s request, an Israeli official familiar with the matter said Israeli investigators will not, at least for now, participate directly in either investigation. Israel is nevertheless expected to receive the findings as the probes progress.

The Omani co-pilot accused of carrying out the attack remains in Saudi custody. After receiving medical treatment, he was questioned by Saudi authorities, although Riyadh has thus far declined to publicly discuss details of the interrogation, which remains in its early stages.

Investigators are focusing heavily on the co-pilot’s background and possible motive. Initial information reportedly indicates that he had undergone a process of religious radicalization and had become particularly strict in his observance of Islamic practices.

A fellow Flydubai pilot who knew the suspect reportedly described him as relatively new to the airline and said his conspicuous religious behavior had stood out among colleagues. Investigators are now attempting to determine whether that radicalization developed independently or whether the co-pilot had contact with extremist organizations or outside actors.

Israeli security officials said that, as of Thursday evening, investigators had not uncovered evidence establishing a connection between the suspect and Iran. They stressed, however, that Iranian involvement has not been conclusively ruled out and remains one of the possibilities being examined.

That assessment came as President Donald Trump offered a considerably stronger public indication of a possible Iranian connection.

Asked Thursday whether the Omani co-pilot was linked to Iran, Trump said, “I would say the answer based on what I’m hearing is yes, but we’re working on it now.”

Trump later warned that Iran would face a severe response if investigators ultimately determine that Tehran was responsible.

The conflicting signals underscore how preliminary the investigation remains. While Trump said information reaching him points toward Iran, Israeli security officials said the evidence gathered thus far has not produced a confirmed Iranian link.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has likewise said that authorities are investigating whether the alleged attacker had accomplices and whether Iran played a role in the incident.

Meanwhile, Indian captain Smit Machchhar, who was seriously wounded while fighting the alleged attacker inside the cockpit, was transferred overnight from Saudi Arabia to a hospital in the United Arab Emirates.

India’s ambassador to the UAE said Thursday afternoon that Machchhar was conscious and in good condition following the ordeal.

Machchhar’s actions are believed to have been critical in preventing catastrophe. Despite being stabbed, the captain fought with the co-pilot and managed to open the cockpit door, enabling Israeli passengers to rush inside and help overpower the attacker as the aircraft plunged thousands of feet.

The passengers restrained the alleged attacker while other pilots aboard the flight helped regain control of the aircraft. The plane was subsequently diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely with all 174 people aboard.

Israel is now hoping for extensive cooperation from both Saudi and Emirati authorities as investigators attempt to answer the central questions surrounding the attack: whether the co-pilot acted alone, what caused his apparent radicalization, whether anyone assisted him in planning the attack, and whether the incident was connected to Iran or another outside organization.

For now, Saudi investigators hold perhaps the most important source of information — the alleged attacker himself — while Israel is seeking to ensure that it remains fully informed as the investigation unfolds.

Thousands of yungeleit and talmidim at the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim received an additional Yom Tov boost on Leil Hoshana Rabbah, after noted philanthropist Reb Shlomo Yehuda Rechnitz informed the rosh yeshiva, Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, that he would provide another 700 shekels to every avreich in the yeshiva.

The new gift comes on top of an earlier 700-shekel Yom Tov distribution already given to the Mir’s avreichim before Yom Tov, meaning that each avreich will receive a total of 1,400 shekels through the two special distributions.

The latest gift came about after Rav Finkel, rosh yeshiva of the Mir, called Rechnitz to wish him mazel tov upon the birth of a grandson.

During their conversation, Rechnitz asked Rav Finkel about the financial situation of the yeshiva’s avreichim. After hearing about their needs, Rechnitz informed the rosh yeshiva that he wanted to provide an additional 700 shekels by check to every avreich in the Mir.

The announcement adds to a series of substantial Yom Tov distributions made to the thousands learning in the Mir ahead of Sukkos.

In addition to the first 700-shekel Yom Tov gift to the avreichim, the yeshiva’s talmidim received food vouchers valued at 1,000 shekels. Thousands of talmidim were also given high-quality bedding sets in a distribution conducted together with the Kavod Chachamim fund.

The earlier 700-shekel distribution was itself given in honor of Rechnitz’s family simcha following the birth of his grandson. His latest decision on Leil Hoshana Rabbah effectively doubled that cash gift for every avreich in the yeshiva.

Rav Finkel expressed his heartfelt appreciation to Rechnitz for the unexpected additional assistance and gave him a warm bracha in gratitude for his continued support of the bnei Torah of the Mir.

Word of the new distribution quickly spread through the yeshiva, and a notice announcing the additional 700-shekel gift was posted in the Mir’s main bais medrash on Leil Hoshana Rabbah.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump warned Thursday that Iran will be hit “very hard” if investigators determine that Tehran was behind the attempted downing of a Flydubai flight carrying more than 170 people to Israel, saying information reaching him suggests that an Iranian connection is possible.

Trump issued the warning at the White House as Israeli, Emirati and Saudi authorities continued investigating the extraordinary attack aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, in which an Omani copilot allegedly stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the Boeing 737 MAX before passengers and other crew members managed to intervene.

Asked by reporters whether Iran was involved in the attack on the Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight, Trump replied: “I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes but we’re working on it right now,”

When Trump was then asked whether the United States would retaliate against Iran if investigators established that Tehran was responsible, he responded: “Oh, they’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry.”

Trump’s comments went further than the conclusions publicly announced thus far by investigators. Israeli officials said Thursday that no evidence establishing Iranian involvement had yet been found, and the possibility that the copilot acted alone remains under investigation.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu said Thursday that investigators have learned that the Omani copilot had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination.” An Israeli official said the suspect’s social-media activity included references to killing Jews, while Netanyahu said the attacker appeared to have been suicidal.

New testimony from passengers who helped overpower the copilot has added to suspicions about his intentions. Yaniv Hayun, one of those who subdued him, said the attacker repeatedly called out “Kill me” after being restrained, which Hayun interpreted as an indication that the man believed his mission had failed.

The UAE has opened a criminal investigation into the incident, including whether the attack had a terrorist motive and whether the copilot acted independently or with assistance. The suspect and the wounded captain, Indian national Smit Machchhar, have both since been transferred from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi.

Israel’s Mossad and Shin Bet are also involved in examining the attack, including the suspect’s background, possible connections and how an Omani national came to be assigned as a copilot on a flight bound for Israel. Israeli authorities are seeking to participate in questioning the suspect.

The Iran question has become particularly explosive because of the continuing war between Washington and Tehran and Trump’s increasingly forceful warnings that the United States could launch another major round of strikes against the Islamic Republic.

In a Time magazine interview published Thursday, Trump said it was “possible” that the United States would resume intensified bombing of Iran following the November midterm elections.

The president was asked whether he would follow through on his recent threat to “annihilate” Iran, language he had also used during his address to the United Nations General Assembly last week.

“Yeah, I would do that. It’s possible,” Trump told Time. “Because by annihilating Iran, we’ve created peace in the world. With Iran, I don’t think you could ever have peace.”

Trump has maintained that the U.S. military campaign against Iran is aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon. The conflict has continued for more than seven months, with Iran retaining significant influence over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and periodically exchanging attacks with the United States and its regional allies.

Tensions are now rising further as the Pentagon prepares a substantial new military buildup in the Middle East. The United States is sending the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group to the region along with additional Marine Corps forces, a deployment expected to add approximately 9,000 to 10,000 American personnel.

Once the new forces arrive, the American military presence in the region could exceed 60,000 personnel. The Theodore Roosevelt is expected to join the USS George H.W. Bush and potentially the USS George Washington, creating a concentration of as many as three American aircraft-carrier strike groups in the region by late November.

The buildup comes as Trump weighs his next steps against Iran following months of fighting and unsuccessful attempts to secure a lasting diplomatic settlement. Iran, meanwhile, is reportedly preparing for a significantly broader response if the United States launches another major attack.

Against that already volatile backdrop, the investigation into Flight FZ1073 has taken on potentially enormous geopolitical significance. Israeli authorities currently believe the Omani copilot may have acted alone, but they have not ruled out the possibility that another party was involved.

The attack unfolded Wednesday after Flight FZ1073 departed Dubai for Tel Aviv with 174 passengers and eight crew members aboard. According to Israeli officials, the copilot attacked Machchhar inside the cockpit and then attempted to send the aircraft into a catastrophic dive.

Flight-tracking data showed the plane plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds. Despite suffering serious stab wounds, Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit, allowing passengers and crew members to rush inside and overpower the copilot. Two other qualified pilots who were aboard the aircraft subsequently helped bring the jet safely down in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

The passengers were later flown to Israel aboard a replacement aircraft, while Machchhar received emergency medical treatment before being transferred to Abu Dhabi. The copilot was also transferred to the UAE, where investigators are now attempting to establish precisely what motivated the attack and whether anyone else was involved.

The incident has also prompted Israel to tighten its scrutiny of foreign pilots operating flights into the country, while Flydubai temporarily suspended its Israel service as the investigation continues.

For Trump, however, the most consequential unanswered question is whether the trail ultimately leads beyond the individual attacker to Tehran. His warning Thursday made clear what he says the consequences would be if investigators establish such a connection: “Oh, they’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry.”

{Matzav.com}

[Full video below.] Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has sharply criticized media coverage of the near-catastrophe aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, accusing news organizations of dramatically understating an incident in which Israeli officials say a co-pilot stabbed the captain and apparently attempted to crash an aircraft carrying 174 passengers, most of them Israelis.

Reviewing the extraordinary episode on his program, Shapiro argued that descriptions of what happened as a cockpit “scuffle” or altercation bore little resemblance to passenger accounts and the version of events subsequently presented by Israeli officials.

“A couple of hours into the flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv, the Omani pilot, who was the co-pilot, repeatedly stabbed the Indian pilot and then attempted to take control of the plane and crash it directly into the ground.”

Flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was carrying 174 passengers when the crisis erupted Wednesday. The flight ultimately made an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft descending dramatically from approximately 33,000 feet to around 17,000 feet in roughly a minute during the crisis. Passengers described a terrifying plunge accompanied by intense G-forces as panic spread through the cabin.

Passenger accounts indicate that Captain Smit Machchhar was attacked and stabbed by the co-pilot inside the cockpit. Despite his wounds, Machchhar managed to unlock the reinforced cockpit door, making it possible for others aboard the aircraft to intervene.

Shapiro highlighted the frantic intervention that followed.

“The crew member and passengers, mostly passengers, break down the cockpit door, get inside, and subdue the attacker.”

Passengers who later described the incident said several people rushed toward the cockpit after realizing something had gone terribly wrong. They eventually managed to overpower the alleged attacker and remove him from the controls.

“All credit goes to the passengers. The passengers stormed the cockpit. They get the pilot out, and then they get the co-pilot out as well.”

Passenger Zvika Meness later said that he and two other passengers jumped into the struggle and helped neutralize the attacker. According to his account, they restrained him using zip ties and headphones available aboard the aircraft.

Yaniv Hayun, another Israeli passenger who played a central role in the rescue, said the wounded captain was near the cockpit entrance and that the attacker appeared to be attempting to disable the aircraft. Hayun helped overpower the co-pilot and then attempted to stabilize the plane.

A doctor traveling aboard the flight, Dr. Shota Musayev, turned his attention to the badly injured captain and helped treat his wounds until the aircraft could land and additional medical care became available.

Two additional Flydubai pilots who were traveling aboard the aircraft were also able to assist after the attacker was subdued, helping regain control of the plane and bring it safely to the ground in Saudi Arabia.

Machchhar underwent surgery following the stabbing and was reported Thursday to be in stable condition. Israeli and Indian officials have praised the captain for continuing to fight despite his injuries and for opening the cockpit door, an action that allowed passengers and crew members to reach the cockpit.

Shapiro argued that the composition of the passenger cabin may have played a crucial role in the extraordinary response.

“If you are on a plane and it is filled with 174 Israelis, the likelihood that there are some people on that plane who are militarily trained and experienced is basically 100%. The likelihood that there is a doctor on that plane is also basically 100%. The likelihood that there are people willing and ready to help is extremely high.”

The passengers included numerous Israelis with military experience, as well as medical professionals and individuals who immediately joined the effort to subdue the attacker, assist the wounded and regain control of the aircraft.

Shapiro said the consequences of a successful attack would have extended far beyond the deaths of those aboard.

“This wasn’t just a human tragedy that was prevented,” Shapiro said. “What was prevented here was an international crisis, because this could have been a crisis that involved Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, India and potentially every country in the region.”

The international dimensions of the incident are unusually complicated. The aircraft was operated by a UAE-based airline, the accused co-pilot has been identified as an Omani national, the wounded captain is Indian, most of the passengers were Israeli, and the aircraft ultimately landed in Saudi Arabia, a country that does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

The incident also triggered an immediate security response in Israel. Israeli fighter jets were scrambled as authorities monitored the aircraft, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held emergency consultations as the crisis unfolded.

The aircraft reportedly transmitted both the general aviation emergency code 7700 and code 7500, which indicates unlawful interference with an aircraft.

Early reports of the incident were considerably more cautious, with several accounts describing what occurred as a fight, altercation or “scuffle” between the two pilots. As additional passenger testimony, video footage and statements from Israeli officials emerged, a far more serious picture developed.

It was that discrepancy that drew Shapiro’s strongest criticism.

“The way the media coverage of this is happening is insane,” he said. “Completely insane, to call this a ‘scuffle in the cockpit.’ If you can read a news headline and understand the exact opposite of what happened, that’s a failure of the media.”

Some major news organizations subsequently reported Israeli officials’ assertion that the co-pilot stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft, while continuing to note that the investigation remained underway and that the attacker’s motive had not been conclusively established.

Flydubai has similarly cautioned against drawing conclusions before investigators determine precisely what occurred, saying that the circumstances and motive behind the incident remain under formal investigation.

Shapiro also acknowledged that the evidence currently available does not establish why the co-pilot allegedly carried out the attack or whether anyone else was involved.

“We still don’t know the political motivation,” Shapiro said, adding that authorities would need to determine whether there had been any outside coordination.

Netanyahu has likewise said that investigators have not yet determined whether the incident was connected to Iran, a terrorist organization or another motive. The prime minister said the available evidence appeared to indicate an attempt to destroy the aircraft rather than a conventional hijacking, but stressed that the investigation must establish what drove the attacker.

The co-pilot was taken into custody by Saudi authorities after the emergency landing, and officials from several countries are expected to participate in the investigation.

The episode has also raised new questions about aviation security, particularly the danger posed when a potential attacker is already authorized to be inside a reinforced cockpit. Security measures introduced after the September 11 attacks were designed largely to prevent unauthorized individuals from entering cockpits, making an attack originating inside one a substantially different security challenge.

Flydubai temporarily suspended service to and from Israel following the incident as the investigation proceeded.

After the aircraft landed safely in Tabuk, the passengers were eventually transferred to another Flydubai aircraft and flown to Israel, where several of those involved in overpowering the attacker were greeted as heroes.

For Shapiro, however, the story was not only about the passengers who helped save the aircraft. It was also about how an extraordinary event involving an alleged stabbing, a massive midair plunge and passengers storming a cockpit could initially reach readers under descriptions that, in his view, made the episode sound like little more than an argument between pilots.

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{Matzav.com}

Some of the world’s most prominent news organizations are facing a wave of criticism over their initial coverage of the attempted takeover of Flydubai Flight FZ1073, with critics accusing them of dramatically understating an incident in which a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain and tried to bring down an aircraft carrying 174 people, most of them Israelis.

As the horrifying details emerged Wednesday, early headlines and reports from the BBC, The New York Times, CNN, The Guardian, Sky News, USA Today and the Financial Times continued using descriptions including “fight between pilots,” “brawl,” “clash” and “altercation” — language that triggered furious reactions online as evidence increasingly pointed to an attempted hijacking and deliberate effort to crash the plane.

The Flydubai flight was traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the Omani co-pilot allegedly attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit. Despite suffering serious stab wounds, Machchhar fought back and managed to release the cockpit door, enabling passengers and crew members to enter and overpower the attacker.

Flight-tracking data captured the terrifying descent as the Boeing 737 MAX 8 lost well over 14,000 feet in a matter of seconds. The aircraft also transmitted emergency codes, including the 7500 transponder code used internationally to signal unlawful interference or a possible hijacking.

Passengers and crew members eventually subdued the co-pilot, while off-duty pilots traveling aboard the flight took control of the aircraft and stabilized it. The plane was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.

Israeli fighter jets had meanwhile been scrambled as officials monitored what they feared was a hijacking in progress.

Despite those circumstances, some of the earliest international reporting portrayed what happened primarily as a dispute between the two men in the cockpit.

The BBC initially described the incident as a “physical altercation between the pilots,” while one of its early headlines characterized the episode simply as a fight between the pilots. The broadcaster subsequently updated its reporting as information about the stabbing, dramatic descent and passengers’ intervention became available.

The BBC also committed a bizarre on-air blunder while covering the unfolding drama, with a presenter mistakenly referring to Ben Gurion Airport as “Ben Gvir Airport.”

The presenter said the flight had been scheduled to land at “Ben Gvir Airport,” apparently confusing Ben Gurion Airport — named for Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion — with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The New York Times similarly drew criticism for initially describing the flight as having been diverted “after a confrontation between the pilot and co-pilot.” Another version of its breaking coverage referred to an “altercation between the pilot and co-pilot,” while its live coverage carried a headline describing the pilots as having “clashed” in the cockpit.

Critics noted that some of that wording remained even as the Times itself was reporting that one pilot had stabbed the other, that the aircraft had lost altitude, that passengers had forced their way into the cockpit and that the attacker was accused of trying to interfere with the plane’s systems.

The Guardian likewise described the episode in early coverage as an “apparent brawl” between the pilots, even as subsequent details indicated that the confrontation was not a mutual fight but an alleged attack by one pilot upon the other.

The newspaper defended its handling of the rapidly developing story, saying that it reported information as facts became verifiable and would not present speculation as established fact. Its coverage was updated repeatedly as additional information emerged.

CNN also came under fire for using the term “violent altercation” while reporting on the incident, while Sky News told viewers that the pilots had gotten into a fight during the flight. USA Today referred to an “apparent pilot fight,” and the Financial Times used the phrase “cockpit brawl.”

Critics argued that the issue was not whether news organizations should have immediately labeled the incident terrorism before investigators established a motive. Rather, they contended that words such as “fight,” “clash” and “brawl” suggested a mutual confrontation and failed to accurately describe an alleged stabbing followed by an apparent attempt to seize control of an airliner.

Flydubai itself initially used restrained language, saying that an “altercation occurred in the flight deck” and emphasizing that investigators had not yet established why the incident occurred.

“At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation,” the airline said.

It urged the public to “refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts.”

There was another remarkable television error during coverage of the incident. Fox News briefly aired footage connected to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks while discussing the Flydubai drama, showing images from the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Fox News subsequently acknowledged the mistake.

“We apologize for any confusion,” host Brian Kilmeade said.

By then, firsthand accounts from passengers were painting a picture vastly different from the comparatively mild language of a “brawl” or “altercation.”

Passengers described a sudden, violent plunge that sent people and objects flying through the cabin, terrified families believing they were moments from death and a desperate rush toward the cockpit after the wounded captain managed to unlock its reinforced door.

One passenger recounted hearing his daughters scream, “We don’t want to die,” as the aircraft plunged.

Israeli passengers Yaniv Hayoun, Zvika Manes and Asaf Rajuan were among those who rushed to the cockpit and helped overpower the attacker. Hayoun also helped pull back on the aircraft’s controls as the plane descended, while Manes later described using headphone cords to help restrain the alleged attacker.

Dr. Shota Musayev then provided emergency medical treatment to the seriously wounded captain while reserve pilots aboard the aircraft assumed control and ultimately brought the plane safely into Tabuk.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu subsequently said the co-pilot had “apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board.”

The precise motive remains the subject of an international investigation. Authorities are examining whether the co-pilot acted alone and whether terrorism or foreign involvement played a role. President Donald Trump said Thursday that, based on information he was receiving, there appeared to be a connection to Iran, although he stressed that the matter was still being investigated.

Whatever investigators ultimately determine about the motive, critics of the early media coverage say the basic events aboard FZ1073 no longer resemble the “brawl” that initially appeared in headlines around the world: the captain was stabbed, the aircraft transmitted a hijack-related emergency code, the plane plunged thousands of feet, and passengers and crew members had to overpower the alleged attacker before other pilots could regain control.

A beautiful and uplifting Simchas Bais Hashoeivah was held during Chol Hamoed Sukkos in the sukkah of Rav Yehoshua Krupenia, rosh kollel at Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ, drawing a distinguished gathering of leading rabbanim, poskim, dayanim and talmidei chachomim.

The gathering brought together many of Rav Krupenia’s longtime talmidim, including numerous figures who today serve in prominent positions of rabbonus, psak and dayanus throughout Lakewood and beyond.

For decades, Rav Krupenia has taught Choshen Mishpat at an advanced level, guiding generations of talmidei chachomim through some of the most complex areas of halacha. Many of those who gathered in his sukkah consider themselves his talmidim, having learned under his guidance before going on to serve communities and batei din of their own.

The highlight of the Simchas Bais Hashoeivah was the opportunity to hear divrei Torah from Rav Krupenia and to spend Yom Tov together in the company of a remarkable cross-section of his distinguished talmidim.

Among those in attendance were Rav Chaim Meir Roth, rov of Sterling Forest and dayan on Bais Din Maysharim; Rav Shlomo Zafrani, rov of Kehal Bnei Torah and posek at Bais Medrash Govoha; Rav Ari Marberger, rov of Faraday and dayan on Bais Din Maysharim; Rav Moshe Mandelbaum, rov of Waterview; Rav Moshe Peretz Schwartz, rov of Kol Aryeh; Rav Mendel Weinberger, sgan av bais din of Bais Din Maysharim; Rav Yonason Rubin and Rav Yehoshua Greenspan, dayanim at Bais HaVaad; Rav Daniel Harris, dayan on Bais Din Maysharim; Rav Dovid Leiser, dayan at Bais HaVaad; Rav Meir Bloch, dayan on Bais Din Maysharim; Rav Yosef Fund, dayan at Bais HaVaad and posek of KCL; Rav Hillel Freid, dayan on Bais Din Maysharim; Rav Avrohom Naftali; Rav Dovid Mordechai Rothenberg; and Rav Eluzar Falk.

The caliber of the gathering reflected Rav Krupenia’s decades-long impact upon the world of halacha and, in particular, the study and practical application of Choshen Mishpat. His talmidim have gone on to assume positions of responsibility in batei din, kehillos and institutions throughout the Torah community, while continuing to look to their rebbe for guidance.

Rav Krupenia is one of Lakewood’s senior gedolei Torah and a revered figure in the world of halacha and Choshen Mishpat. He is a son of Rav Levi Krupenia zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Kamenitz, and a son-in-law of Rav Shneur Kotler zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash Govoha. His decades of harbotzas haTorah have produced generations of accomplished talmidim, including many of today’s prominent rabbanim, poskim and dayanim. The Simchas Bais Hashoeivah offered a striking reflection of that legacy, as rebbi and talmidim gathered together in the sukkah for an evening of Torah and simchas Yom Tov.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will recommend five Israeli passengers who helped prevent the Flydubai flight disaster for the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, honoring the group whose split-second actions helped overpower the attacker, regain control of the plunging aircraft and save the lives of everyone aboard.

Herzog initially announced that he would recommend Yaniv Hayoun, Dr. Shota Musayev, Zvika Manes and Asaf Rajuan for the prestigious honor. Later Thursday, after further details emerged about the critical role played by Manes’ wife, Tali, Herzog announced that he would recommend her for the award as well.

The dramatic incident unfolded aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv after the Omani co-pilot allegedly stabbed Indian captain Smit Machchhar and attempted to take control of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, sending the aircraft into a terrifying dive with more than 170 people aboard.

Despite being seriously wounded and bleeding heavily, Machchhar fought his attacker and managed to release the cockpit door before collapsing, allowing passengers and other crew members to gain access.

Tali Manes was the first passenger to realize that something was seriously wrong inside the cockpit and sounded the alarm. Hayoun, Zvika Manes and Rajuan then rushed forward and entered the cockpit, where they fought with the attacker and ultimately managed to overpower him.

Hayoun, a 50-year-old plumber traveling with his family, later described grabbing the attacker and placing him in a chokehold before dragging him away from the controls. With the aircraft still descending, Hayoun returned to the cockpit controls and pulled back on them in an effort to bring the plane’s nose up until another qualified pilot aboard the flight could take over.

In one of the more remarkable details to emerge from the incident, Hayoun later said that his familiarity with the television program “Air Crash Investigation” helped him understand what needed to be done when he found himself inside the cockpit.

Manes, meanwhile, helped restrain the alleged attacker using airline earphones until he could no longer pose a threat.

Once the attacker had been subdued, Dr. Musayev turned his attention to Machchhar, who had suffered serious stab wounds. He administered emergency treatment and worked to stabilize the captain as the aircraft diverted for an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

The plane ultimately landed safely with the assistance of other pilots aboard, ending a harrowing episode that officials have said could easily have resulted in a catastrophic loss of life.

Herzog personally spoke with the four men following their return and praised the courage and presence of mind they displayed during the emergency.

“At a time when the lives of so many people were in danger, you acted without hesitation, with courage, resourcefulness, and extraordinary mutual responsibility,” Herzog said.

“You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster. Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society. I am proud of you, and I thank you on behalf of the State of Israel.”

“I intend to bring your story of heroism before the advisory committee for the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism and to recommend that it grant you the award,” he added.

Herzog also singled out Captain Machchhar, whose actions despite his severe injuries proved crucial in allowing the passengers to reach the cockpit. Herzog said the captain’s determination and actions “made it possible to subdue the attacker and saved many lives.”

Machchhar, an experienced Indian pilot who has worked for Flydubai since 2022 and has more than a decade of flying experience, underwent surgery following the attack and has been reported in stable condition. His actions have drawn widespread praise in both Israel and India.

Dr. Musayev, however, told Herzog that the dramatic rescue could not be credited to any single passenger.

“It was a very difficult incident, and we truly were saved. It wasn’t only my heroism. Everyone who was there and came near the cockpit was part of it. We were all heroes,” he said.

“All the passengers were heroes. We supported one another on the plane and also when we arrived in Saudi Arabia, and we took care of each other as we should. It shows our strength as a people.”

During Herzog’s conversation with Zvika Manes, the president specifically asked him to convey his appreciation to Tali for being the first person to sound the alarm as the crisis unfolded. Manes responded emotionally and thanked Herzog.

After additional accounts of Tali’s actions became known, Herzog went a step further and announced that she too would be recommended for the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism. Herzog said her ability to recognize the danger, alert the other passengers and continue assisting even after the attacker was restrained had played a significant role in saving those aboard.

Hayoun, meanwhile, told Herzog about the emotional reception he received after returning home.

“Everyone was so moved and welcomed me with great emotion. I’m glad we’re here, glad it’s all behind us, and very grateful for the call and the warm embrace. It’s truly moving.”

Rajuan described the ordeal as “extraordinary.”

“We felt helpless, suspended in midair, and I didn’t know who to turn to. But it was all instinct: to survive, to save the family, the people, and the children,” he said.

Rajuan has similarly resisted being portrayed as a lone hero, saying after arriving at Ben Gurion Airport that his reaction was instinctive and driven by the knowledge that his family and everyone else aboard the aircraft were in mortal danger.

The Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism was created by Herzog following the October 7, 2023 massacre, when numerous civilians placed themselves in mortal danger to rescue others during the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel.

Candidates for the honor are reviewed by an advisory committee appointed by the president before the award is formally granted. The recognition is Israel’s highest civilian honor for acts of heroism and is reserved for people who display extraordinary courage while endangering their own lives to save others.

Herzog’s recommendations will now be brought before that committee, with Hayoun, Musayev, Zvika Manes, Rajuan and Tali Manes set to be considered for recognition for their roles in preventing what could have become one of the deadliest aviation disasters involving Israelis in years.

Photos: Lipa Moser

Ezer Mizion’s Simchas Beis Hashoeivah brought together the organization’s beneficiaries, their families, volunteers and members of the wider community in an uplifting celebration held in Yerushalayim on Wednesday, the fourth day of Chol Hamoed Sukkos.

Hundreds of participants gathered for several hours of singing, dancing and chizuk together with children and adults with special needs, individuals facing emotional and mental-health challenges, their families and the devoted volunteers who accompany them throughout the year.

The event, held at the Shirah Chadashah hall in Givat Shaul, marked the first time in many years that Ezer Mizion’s renowned Simchas Beis Hashoeivah was held in Yerushalayim. Over the years, the annual celebration has become one of the highlights of Chol Hamoed for Ezer Mizion service beneficiaries, volunteers and their families, and was hosted annually in Bnei Brak.

Already from the early afternoon hours, the hall began filling with participants who came to take part in the simchah. At the center of the event were the program participants themselves, with volunteers and family members joining them in the lively circles of dancing. They were joined by members of the broader Yerushalayim community who came especially to bring simchah, offer chizuk and become part of the unique atmosphere.

One of the most moving features of Ezer Mizion’s Simchas Beis Hashoeivah over the years has been the powerful bond created between the public and the participants. Children and adults in wheelchairs and with walkers dance together with volunteers and family members, as the singing and dancing transform the entire hall into large circles of achdus and simchah.

For many families who deal throughout the year with the challenges of raising a child with special needs, or a member struggling with mental illness, the event is far more than a Chol Hamoed celebration. It offers an opportunity to meet their friends from the program as well as other families, connect with Ezer Mizion’s supportive community, receive chizuk and encouragement, and return home with renewed strength for the road ahead.

This year, Ezer Mizion sought to widen the circle and invite the broader Yerushalayim community to join the celebration as well. Families, bnei yeshivah and local residents joined the dancing and helped bring simchah to the participants, becoming an integral part of the evening’s central mission: to place these special children and adults, and their families, at the very heart of the simchah.

Ezer Mizion’s Simchas Beis Hashoeivah has been held for more than two decades and has merited the participation of Gedolei Yisrael throughout the years, who have come especially to honor the participants and rejoice together with them. At previous events, particularly moving scenes were witnessed as Gedolei Torah themselves joined the dancing circles together with the service beneficiaries and their devoted families.

Ezer Mizion concluded its first Yerushalayim event with great satisfaction, noting that the evening once again demonstrated that the organization’s Simchas Beis Hashoeivah is far more than a Yom Tov gathering. It is an evening of chessed, chizuk, achdus and genuine partnership — giving the participants and their families renewed strength that remains with them long after the music has ended.

A special Leil Hoshana Rabbah Torah learning event hosted by Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in the Knesset sukkah became the center of a political spat Thursday after opposition leader Yair Lapid refused an invitation that he said arrived only hours before the gathering — and responded with a pointed pasuk from Tehillim accusing the organizers of dishonesty.

The event, held under the theme of “Gevurah,” brought Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana together with senior Israeli security officials, wounded IDF veterans, reservists’ wives and students for an evening of Torah learning on Leil Hoshana Rabbah, traditionally marked by extensive Torah learning and the recitation of Tehillim.

Among those scheduled to participate were Mossad Director Roman Gofman, Shin Bet Director David Zini, Military Intelligence chief Shmuel Ben-Ezra, Police Commissioner Danny Levy and Atomic Energy Commission chairman Moshe Edri.

Students from the Tavor pre-military academy were also invited, along with wives of IDF reservists and soldiers wounded during the war. The learning was dedicated l’ilui nishmas those who fell in Israel’s wars and terror attacks, as a zechus for the refuah of the wounded, and for achdus among Klal Yisroel.

Netanyahu used the gathering to speak about gevurah and siyata diShmaya, reading from Sefer Shmuel and discussing episodes in Tanach in which the courage of an individual helped change the course of a battle. Netanyahu described Israel’s recent experiences as a “chain of miracles and siyata diShmaya.”

But Lapid’s absence quickly became a story of its own.

Lapid said that Speaker Ohana contacted him by WhatsApp at 1:42 Thursday afternoon with an invitation to attend that evening’s learning, leaving him insufficient time to rearrange his schedule.

“The Knesset Speaker sent me a WhatsApp message at 1:42 p.m. with an invitation to a Torah study event in the Sukkah this evening,” Lapid wrote on X.

Lapid then suggested that either the organizers had somehow failed to realize until Thursday that Leil Hoshana Rabbah was approaching, or that the late invitation had deliberately been designed so that he would be unable to attend.

“Two possibilities: 1. they didn’t know ahead of time that tonight is Hoshana Rabbah, and they were shocked to discover it suddenly on the calendar. 2. They intentionally sent it so late so I wouldn’t be able to come, and they can say that I refused to go to a Torah study event.”

Lapid then turned to Tehillim for his parting shot, invoking the longstanding minhag of reciting Tehillim on Leil Hoshana Rabbah.

Lapid concluded his post with a verse from Psalms: “In any case, since I can’t come on such short notice, I will remind them that on Hoshana Rabbah night there is a custom to read Tehillim , and I recommend they delve into the verse: ‘O L-rd, save my soul from false lips, from a deceitful tongue. (Tehillim 120:2).”

Ohana rejected Lapid’s suggestion that the timing was a political maneuver, saying that the event itself had only been finalized Thursday and that the invitations were sent immediately afterward. According to Ohana, other participants also had to alter their schedules on short notice in order to attend.

The gathering proceeded Thursday evening in the Knesset sukkah, as Hoshana Rabbah began in Eretz Yisroel.

The IDF on Thursday released a sweeping dossier identifying 170 Gazans killed during the war who were portrayed internationally as journalists or media workers but who, according to Israeli military intelligence, also served in the military wings of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations.

The newly released figures provide a detailed breakdown of the military’s findings: 118 of the 170 were members of Hamas’s military wing, 49 were affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, two belonged to the Popular Resistance Committees and one was a member of the Mujahideen Brigades.

The IDF further said that 17 of the individuals on the list crossed into Israeli territory during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 massacre.

Following what the military described as an extensive investigation, the IDF published the identities of all 170 individuals together with information about their terrorist affiliations and operational positions. The evidence includes photographs, internal documents produced by the terrorist organizations and materials recovered by Israeli forces during operations inside Gaza.

The list includes individuals who, in their media capacities, worked for or contributed material to prominent international news organizations, including Reuters, CNN, the BBC, AFP, the Associated Press, Le Monde and ABC Australia. The IDF’s allegations concern the individuals’ simultaneous affiliations with terrorist organizations and do not establish that the news organizations themselves knew of those alleged affiliations.

According to the military, the 170 individuals held a wide variety of positions inside the terrorist groups, including commanders, snipers, trainers and propaganda operatives.

Among those identified by the IDF is Asem Adli Ahmed al-Barsh, who was described as a journalist for Palestinian Al-Rai Radio but whom Israel identifies as a Hamas operative. Reporters Without Borders included Barsh in a December 2023 complaint to the International Criminal Court concerning journalists killed in Gaza.

Another individual on the Israeli list, Mohammed Mahmoud Abdel Aziz Abu Sharia, was identified by the IDF as a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper while also reportedly working for the Palestinian Shams News Agency. His name was later included by Reporters Without Borders in a memorial honoring journalists killed between June 2024 and June 2025.

The IDF also identified Mohammed Manhal Ahmed Abu Armana as a Hamas operative who commanded the propaganda department of the terror group’s Rafah Brigade. Abu Armana’s death had previously been publicly condemned by UNESCO, which described him in connection with his work as a journalist.

Several of the names released Thursday have also appeared in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ database tracking journalists and media workers killed during the Gaza war. The CPJ has previously removed some individuals from its casualty database after information emerged establishing that they were members of terrorist organizations.

The IDF said the newly published material challenges repeated allegations from international organizations and news outlets that Israeli forces have intentionally targeted journalists during the war. The military maintains that such accusations have often been made without verified evidence establishing that the individuals were targeted because of their journalistic work.

According to the IDF, in a number of cases Hamas or other terrorist organizations themselves publicly acknowledged the deceased individuals as members of their ranks, despite the same people subsequently being presented internationally solely as journalists or civilian media personnel.

The IDF stated that the newly released information demonstrates a discrepancy between international portrayals of those killed and their actual activities within terrorist organizations.

The military further maintained that the findings provide evidence supporting its position that it does not deliberately or systematically target journalists, but instead conducts operations against terrorist organizations and their operatives in accordance with international law.

To accompany the disclosure, the IDF created a special online database called “The Press Files,” containing names and photographs of the individuals, their alleged terrorist organizations and military positions, identification information and supporting intelligence that the military says can be publicly disclosed.

The massive release came only hours after the IDF initially publicized ten cases of Gazans who had been described as journalists following their deaths but whom Israeli intelligence identified as Hamas or Islamic Jihad operatives. The military said some of those ten had participated directly in the October 7 invasion of Israel and indicated at the time that a much larger disclosure was coming.

Among the cases highlighted in the initial release was Hassan Aslih, a prominent Gaza photographer whose work had been used by major international news organizations, including CNN and the Associated Press. The IDF has accused Aslih of having ties to Hamas and participating in the October 7 invasion.

The military’s broader disclosure followed the killing Wednesday of Muhammad Abd al-Aziz Muhammad Nagar in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip. The IDF identified Nagar as a member of Hamas’s military wing who crossed into Israel during the October 7 massacre.

Following Nagar’s death, Palestinian reports described him as a journalist and presenter associated with Radio Quran. The IDF said those descriptions omitted what it says was his membership in Hamas’s military wing.

According to the Israeli military, Nagar had remained operationally active and was recently involved in planning attacks against Israeli troops and civilians. He was also allegedly participating in efforts to rebuild Hamas’s military capabilities, activity the IDF said constituted a systematic violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The IDF said it took steps before striking Nagar to reduce the danger to civilians, including employing precision weaponry and conducting aerial surveillance.

Southern Command forces remain deployed in the area under the terms of the ceasefire, the military said, and will continue acting against threats it considers immediate.

British counterterrorism police have arrested a dual British-Iranian citizen as investigators probe an alleged terrorist plot targeting RAF Fairford, the strategically important British airbase used by the U.S. military for operations against Iran. The arrest comes after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there are “strong indications” that Iran played a role in the incident.

The 27-year-old suspect was taken into custody Thursday afternoon in Westminster, London, on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism. His arrest is the sixth made in connection with the investigation, which began after five men were detained near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire early Sunday morning.

Police also questioned a 26-year-old British citizen under caution as part of the expanding investigation, although he was not arrested. Counterterrorism officers searched two properties in Westminster as investigators continued attempting to establish whether the alleged plot had connections to a foreign government.

The original five suspects, British men in their 20s from London, were arrested after police received a report shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday concerning three suspicious vans near the military installation. A local resident had spotted unusual activity involving the vehicles and men near the base and contacted authorities.

Armed police descended on the area and detained the five men, initially under Britain’s Explosives Act and subsequently on suspicion of preparing an act of terrorism. A massive security operation followed, with approximately 85 households evacuated, a 400-meter cordon established and military bomb-disposal specialists brought in to examine the vans.

Although initial reports raised fears that the vehicles contained explosive devices, subsequent examinations found no explosives. Petrol was discovered inside the vans, however, and authorities are continuing to investigate what the men intended to do with the vehicles and their contents. The five original suspects were released on police bail Monday while remaining under investigation.

The possible Iranian connection has become an increasingly significant focus of the investigation following the arrest of the dual British-Iranian citizen.

Senior national coordinator for counter terrorism policing for the Metropolitan Police Vicki Evan stated: “We’re looking at all possible angles – including possible foreign state involvement.”

British authorities have stressed that the investigation remains open and that investigators have not publicly established precisely what role, if any, the Iranian government or its agents may have played.

Burnham, however, went considerably further Wednesday, publicly revealing that British authorities have information pointing toward possible Iranian involvement.

“There are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford, but of course it remains an ongoing, complex, and serious police investigation,” Burnham told BBC News. “And of course, we are working closely with our colleagues in the United States of America. So it’s ongoing.”

The prime minister said he convened the government’s Cobra emergency committee while he was in Liverpool and stressed that British authorities were treating the case at the highest levels.

“We are on top of it in every possible way imaginable,” he said.

“We will say more in due course, but we can confirm our belief that we believe Iran to have played a part,” he added. Asked why he believed Iran was involved, Burnham said, “Well I can’t go into all of those details, but obviously I wouldn’t say it lightly.”

The case has also drawn direct attention from Washington because of RAF Fairford’s role as a major operating location for the United States Air Force. American bombers based at Fairford have been used in operations connected to the conflict with Iran, making the installation an especially sensitive potential target.

President Donald Trump said following the original arrests that British and American authorities had been working together and that the suspects had been seeking to cause “big damage.” The president also indicated that U.S. authorities had been involved in investigating the group.

The Iran angle is particularly significant because Tehran had previously warned that military installations being used for attacks against Iranian territory could be regarded as targets. In July, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps specifically drew attention to RAF Fairford’s use by American bombers and warned Britain over bases used in operations against Iran.

Iran has strongly denied involvement in the Fairford incident. Tehran summoned British Ambassador Hugo Shorter after Burnham’s remarks, with Iranian officials denouncing the British accusations and criticizing Britain for allowing its territory and military facilities to be used for American and Israeli operations against Iran.

The arrest of the dual British-Iranian suspect nevertheless adds a significant new dimension to an investigation that initially centered on the five men apprehended in the Gloucestershire countryside.

Those five suspects, all London residents in their 20s, were detained after a woman driving home spotted the suspicious vehicles and men near Whelford, close to RAF Fairford. The report triggered the rapid deployment of armed police and bomb-disposal teams and led to the evacuation of dozens of nearby homes.

Counterterrorism investigators are now working with American authorities to determine exactly what was being planned, whether the suspects were acting on behalf of anyone else, and whether the alleged operation was connected to Iran. For now, British officials have publicly pointed to evidence suggesting an Iranian role, while police continue to describe foreign-state involvement as one of several lines of investigation.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that information reaching the United States indicates that the Omani co-pilot accused of trying to bring down Flydubai Flight FZ1073 may have ties to Iran, warning that Tehran would face a severe response if investigators establish that it was involved in the attempted attack.

Trump’s comments represent the strongest public indication yet from Washington that investigators are examining a possible Iranian connection to the extraordinary midair attack aboard the Dubai-to-Israel flight, although authorities have not announced a definitive finding tying Tehran to the incident.

Asked directly whether the Omani co-pilot who allegedly attacked the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft was connected to Iran, Trump said, “I would say the answer based on what I’m hearing is yes, but we’re working on it now.”

When Trump was then asked whether the United States would retaliate if evidence ultimately showed that Iran was responsible, the president issued an unequivocal warning: “They’ll be hit very hard. Don’t worry about it, you just ask them.

Trump went on to portray Iran as badly weakened economically and militarily following months of confrontation with the United States and its allies.

Trump added: “Iran now has 301% inflation, their money is valueless, their economy is gone, they have no military, they have no anti-aircraft, they have very little going, and we control the Strait (of Hormuz). We took out more oil in the past two days than any time in the history of this strait.”

The president’s remarks came as an international investigation intensified into what unfolded aboard FZ1073, a Flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 carrying 174 people from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

The co-pilot, an Omani national whose name has not been publicly released, allegedly attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar inside the cockpit, stabbing him before attempting to send the aircraft into a catastrophic dive. Flight-tracking data showed the plane plunging more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds during the crisis.

Despite suffering serious injuries, Machchhar managed to unlock the cockpit door, allowing passengers and other crew members to intervene. The alleged attacker was overpowered and restrained, while reserve crew members aboard the aircraft helped regain control of the plane.

The aircraft subsequently diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. The co-pilot was taken into custody, while Machchhar was hospitalized and reported to be in stable condition. Israeli and Indian officials have hailed the captain’s actions as instrumental in preventing what could have been a mass-casualty disaster.

The United Arab Emirates has opened a formal investigation into the incident, including whether the attack was connected to terrorist activity or involved advance planning. Saudi authorities are also participating in the investigation, while Israeli intelligence agencies are examining the attacker’s background and possible connections.

Israeli officials have said preliminary information indicates that the co-pilot had undergone Islamist radicalization and intended to bring down the aircraft. Reports have also raised questions over how an Omani national was cleared to serve as a pilot on a flight bound for Israel, given that Oman does not maintain diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

A fellow Flydubai pilot reportedly described the co-pilot as a relatively new employee who had displayed unusually intense religious behavior, including praying frequently and refusing to shake hands with women. Those accounts are among the pieces of information investigators are examining as they attempt to reconstruct the attacker’s background and determine whether he acted independently or had outside assistance.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, speaking earlier in an interview with Fox News, said investigators were specifically examining whether others were involved and whether the attack could ultimately lead back to Iran.

“We will get to the bottom of this. We will investigate whether the pilot had accomplices and whether Iran was behind him. I think we will know very soon,” Netanyahu said.

At the same time, no conclusive evidence publicly establishing Iranian direction of the attack has yet been released. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said earlier Thursday that it remained too early to determine whether Tehran was connected to the incident, while UAE authorities have said their investigation is continuing.

The emerging Iran question dramatically raises the stakes surrounding an incident that already came within seconds of becoming one of the deadliest aviation attacks involving Israelis in decades. What began as an investigation into the actions of a single co-pilot is now expanding into a broader inquiry into possible radicalization, security failures, accomplices and foreign involvement — with Trump making clear that confirmation of an Iranian role could bring serious consequences.

Agudath Israel of America welcomes the release today of the regulations for the Education Freedom Tax Credit (also known as the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit) by the Department of the Treasury. Today’s announcement is great news for American families and provides the necessary clarity to allow states and scholarship organizations to implement the tax credit in time for its launch in January 2027.

The EFTC allows individual taxpayers to contribute to a nonprofit scholarship granting organization (SGO) and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1700 per taxpayer. The SGO then pools the funds and distributes scholarships to eligible students for a wide range of K-12 educational expenses including tuition to attend a Jewish or other nonpublic school. Eligible uses also include special education services, academic tutoring, and other expenses for public, private, charter, and homeschool students. Treasury estimates that 96% of children in participating states would be eligible to receive scholarship funds.

The 2027 rule satisfactorily answers many of the questions raised in comment letters and meetings by Agudath Israel and its coalition partners, but perhaps none more important than the definition of “each taxpayer.” The new regulation clarifies that a married couple filing jointly may each donate $1700 and receive a combined $3400 tax credit. This decision alone significantly increases the number of additional students receiving scholarships!

“Agudath Israel thanks the many senior officials and staff across the Trump Administration who listened to the concerns of stakeholders and worked collaboratively with each other to produce regulations that will help millions of students across the country,” said Rabbi A. D. Motzen, Agudath Israel of America’s national director of government affairs. “We now urge the remaining 20 governors to opt in as soon as possible and for all sates to move forward in approving scholarship granting organizations that will provide educational opportunities for eligible students.”

President Donald Trump said he does not believe Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu received advance warnings from Egypt or the United Arab Emirates about the October 7 Hamas massacre, weighing in on reports that have become an issue in Israel ahead of the country’s elections.

In an extensive interview with TIME conducted at the White House on Sept. 28 and published Thursday, Trump was asked about reports alleging that Arab leaders had warned Netanyahu about a possible Hamas attack before October 7, 2023.

“I heard that today for the first time,” Trump said when asked about the claims.

The reports have received renewed attention following allegations that senior Egyptian and Emirati officials conveyed concerns to Netanyahu or other Israeli officials in the months and days preceding the massacre.

When the interviewer specifically told Trump that Egypt and the UAE had reportedly warned Netanyahu, the president rejected the idea that Netanyahu knew an attack was coming and failed to act.

“I don’t think so. I think, you know, I think if he would have known, he would have done something about it. Certainly, he would have had people at least alert. You know, he’s not going to forget about it. That was a terrible day. Oh, you have people on the radical left that denied it ever happened, which is pretty bad.”

Trump’s comments come amid a continuing controversy in Israel over what Netanyahu and senior security officials knew before the Hamas invasion, which left approximately 1,200 people dead and saw roughly 250 people abducted into Gaza.

Recent reports have alleged that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel issued several warnings about deteriorating conditions in Gaza before the attack. One report said Kamel personally traveled to Israel in late September 2023, less than two weeks before the massacre, to communicate Egyptian concerns.

Another report alleged that Kamel telephoned Netanyahu just days before October 7 after earlier Egyptian warnings had failed to prompt a significant Israeli response.

Those reports have generally characterized the alleged Egyptian warnings as concerns that Hamas or Gaza was moving toward a major escalation, rather than intelligence specifying the date, precise scope or operational details of the October 7 assault.

Separate reports have alleged that UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan contacted Netanyahu in September 2023 and warned that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation.

Netanyahu has forcefully denied receiving such an advance warning from the UAE, with his office declaring, “No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7.”

Netanyahu has also threatened legal action over the allegations and has accused those promoting the claims of attempting to influence Israel’s election.

The issue has taken on particular significance because of longstanding questions surrounding the catastrophic intelligence and security failures that allowed thousands of Hamas-led terrorists to breach Israel’s border on October 7 and overrun communities and military positions across southern Israel.

While multiple Israeli military and intelligence investigations have documented serious failures before the attack, the specific claims that Netanyahu personally received warnings from Egypt and the UAE remain disputed.

Trump was also questioned extensively by TIME about Netanyahu’s political future as Israelis prepare to vote.

Asked whether he believes Israelis should give Netanyahu another term as prime minister, Trump declined to directly endorse him.

“Well, I can only say that I’m not involved in politics anymore,” Trump responded.

Trump then turned to his own record on Israel, discussing the support his administrations have provided to the Jewish state and his popularity among Israelis.

When the interviewer again pressed him on whether Netanyahu should receive another term, Trump again avoided directly answering the electoral question and instead emphasized his commitment to protecting Israel and preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“No, my primary thing-I do want to help them defend Israel. My thing that I mention all the time is Iran cannot have a nuclear power because they are crazy and you can’t let crazy people have nuclear weapons,” he said.

The interview took place amid continuing regional tensions involving Iran, which Trump has repeatedly identified as one of the most serious threats facing Israel and the broader Middle East.

Trump was also asked about Gadi Eisenkot, the former IDF chief of staff and current chairman of the Yashar party, who is challenging Netanyahu in Israel’s election.

The interviewer asked whether the United States might be able to work more effectively with Eisenkot if he were to defeat Netanyahu.

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t hear bad things about him,” Trump replied.

After the interviewer characterized Eisenkot as the leading opposition candidate, Trump pointed to Netanyahu’s history of surviving political challenges.

“Well, people have written off Bibi many, many times, just like they’ve written off me many, many times. I wouldn’t underestimate Bibi.”

Trump’s remarks stopped short of an endorsement of either candidate. While expressing confidence that Netanyahu would have acted had he possessed advance knowledge of the October 7 attack, Trump repeatedly declined to say whether Israelis should return Netanyahu to office for another term.

The controversy over the alleged pre-October 7 warnings has become an increasingly prominent issue in the Israeli election campaign. Netanyahu’s opponents have cited the reports while renewing demands for an independent state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the massacre, while Netanyahu and his allies have challenged the allegations and accused political opponents of attempting to assign responsibility to the prime minister.

Netanyahu has maintained that he was not given actionable intelligence indicating that Hamas was preparing the massive invasion that unfolded on October 7.

Trump, for his part, said he does not believe Netanyahu knowingly disregarded an advance warning of the impending massacre.

On Netanyahu’s political future, Trump declined to tell Israelis how they should vote, while observing that Netanyahu has survived repeated political challenges in the past.

[Full video below.] Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu said Israel will take part in the investigation of the Flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain and trying to bring down an Israel-bound passenger jet, while cautioning that it remains too early to determine whether Iran played any role in the attack.

In an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil following Wednesday’s extraordinary incident, Netanyahu offered new details about what Israeli officials believe happened aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073 and praised the passengers and crew members whose actions helped save the 174 people aboard.

“I don’t think it was a hijacking,” Netanyahu said.

Rather, Netanyahu said the evidence available thus far suggests that the attacker was attempting to destroy the aircraft rather than seize control of it and take it somewhere else.

“I think it looks like a suicide attempt simply because of what this hero Yaniv described when he went in,” Netanyahu said, referring to Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayun, who entered the cockpit and helped overpower the attacking co-pilot.

Netanyahu said Hayun’s account of what he encountered inside the cockpit was particularly significant.

“This guy was trying to jam the equipment between the two flight seats, the pilot seats,” Netanyahu said. “He wasn’t sitting in the pilot seat trying to stabilize the plane, he was trying to jam the equipment.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu announced Thursday that four Israelis who helped avert catastrophe aboard the Flydubai flight from Dubai will light a torch honoring civilian heroism at Israel’s upcoming Independence Day ceremony.

Netanyahu met at the Prime Minister’s Office with Yaniv Hayun, Or Fradilov, Dr. Shota Musayev and Musayev’s wife, Sigalit, hearing firsthand accounts of the terrifying moments aboard the aircraft and the actions taken by passengers after the captain was attacked.
The four described the struggle to gain control of the situation after the co-pilot allegedly attacked and repeatedly stabbed the plane’s captain as the aircraft carrying scores of passengers rapidly lost altitude.

“The entire world sees Israeli heroism,” Netanyahu told them.

He then informed the four that their actions would receive one of Israel’s most prominent public honors.

“You will light a torch of civilian heroism on Independence Day,” Netanyahu said.

During the meeting, the passengers recounted how the attacker was eventually restrained after they gained access to the cockpit.

“We tied up the stabbing pilot with the headphone cord. He said, ‘Kill me’ — that means he failed in his mission and preferred to die,” they recalled.

Hayun has emerged as one of the central figures in accounts of the extraordinary incident. After passengers gained access to the cockpit, he helped overpower the attacker and pull him away from the controls.

Hayun then returned to the cockpit and attempted to stabilize the aircraft by pulling back on the controls as the plane was rapidly losing altitude.

When Netanyahu asked Hayun how he knew what to do, Hayun gave an unexpected answer: “I watch ‘Air Crash Investigation,’ Mr. Prime Minister.”

Dr. Musayev, a dentist, meanwhile turned his attention to the badly wounded captain, working to stop the bleeding from the stabbing injuries he had sustained during the cockpit struggle.

The captain himself has been widely credited with playing a crucial role in saving the aircraft. Despite suffering serious injuries during his struggle with the co-pilot, he managed to activate the mechanism opening the cockpit door, allowing passengers and other crew members to enter and intervene.

Two additional Flydubai pilots who happened to be traveling aboard the flight subsequently entered the cockpit, took control of the aircraft and brought it to a safe emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia.

The captain was subsequently hospitalized and underwent treatment for his wounds.
Netanyahu praised the four Israelis for the courage, resourcefulness and faith they displayed during the crisis, saying their actions prevented what could have been an enormous disaster and saved many lives.

The prime minister also used the meeting to issue a broader warning to Israelis following the incident.

“I tell the citizens of Israel to learn from you, to keep their eyes open and remain alert. We are in a very sensitive period. Our enemies intend to harm us,” Netanyahu said.

The flight had departed Dubai for Israel when the violent confrontation erupted inside the cockpit. During the crisis, the aircraft descended rapidly by thousands of feet and transmitted emergency signals before control was restored.

The plane ultimately landed safely in Saudi Arabia, and the passengers were later brought back to Israel.

Netanyahu had already praised Hayun upon his return to Israel, calling him a “lion” after hearing how he had rushed into the cockpit and helped overpower the attacker.

President Isaac Herzog has also moved to formally recognize Israelis involved in saving the flight, announcing that he intends to recommend four of those who participated in the rescue effort for the President’s Medal for Civilian Heroism.

The investigation into precisely what occurred aboard the flight remains underway, and Flydubai has cautioned against reaching conclusions about the attacker’s motive before the investigation is completed.

For Netanyahu, however, the bravery displayed by the passengers was already beyond question. Their actions, he told them Thursday, will now be recognized before the country when they light a torch honoring civilian heroism on Independence Day.

{Matzav.com}