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George W. Bush warned that a quarter-century after the September 11 terror attacks, Americans risk forgetting one of the central lessons he drew from that day: threats developing overseas can ultimately endanger the United States at home.

Speaking publicly about 9/11 ahead of the 25th anniversary, the 43rd president argued against an isolationist approach to foreign affairs and said America cannot assume that events beyond its borders have no consequences for its own national security. Bush made the remarks during a special program at his presidential library in Dallas alongside Condoleezza Rice, who was his national security adviser on September 11, 2001, and later served as secretary of state.

“Our nation occasionally goes through isolationist periods, where the attitude is, ‘Well, we’ve got too many problems at home. Therefore, who cares about what happens overseas?'” Bush said. “Which really means to me they just don’t pay attention to the lessons of 9/11, because what happens overseas matters to our national security at home.”

Bush said the United States should also support people seeking freedom from oppressive governments, although he stressed that such support does not necessarily require American military intervention.

“We don’t have to send troops,” Bush said. “We ought to at least stand with them and stand beside them because this is what we went through 250 years ago. And again, it’s a belief that everybody wants to be free and we saw that in Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan became the first major battlefield of the American response to September 11. Bush launched the war there following the attacks, targeting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban government that had harbored it. The United States subsequently supported the establishment of a new Afghan government, but the conflict continued for two decades. American forces withdrew in 2021, and the Taliban rapidly returned to power.

Bush rejected the contention that Afghans who experienced the intervening years of greater freedom did not understand what they had gained — and subsequently lost.

“Of course they know the difference,” Bush said. “Young girls going to school for the first time in their lives know the difference. Women becoming doctors and professors know the difference between a free society and a tyrannical society. And sadly, these women who begin to realize their full potential no longer have a chance to realize their full potential.”

Much of Wednesday’s conversation focused not on subsequent wars or foreign policy, but on the extraordinary hours of September 11 itself and the decisions Bush and his senior advisers were forced to make as the attacks unfolded.

Bush recalled being at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, when his chief of staff, Andy Card, approached him and quietly informed him that a second aircraft had struck the World Trade Center and that America was under attack.

In that instant, Bush said, his presidency fundamentally changed.

“I became a wartime president,” Bush said. “This was a war, and that the job of the president and the country and his team is to rally the nation and to do what’s necessary to protect our people.”

Bush had been less than eight months into his presidency when Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners on the morning of September 11, 2001. Two were flown into the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan, another struck the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers.

Bush and Rice recalled the enormous uncertainty inside the government that morning, when authorities had no way of knowing how many aircraft had been hijacked or where another attack might occur.

Suddenly, Rice recalled, virtually every commercial airplane in the sky had to be viewed as a potential weapon.

With authorities ordering aircraft across the country to land, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta was attempting to keep track of the unprecedented operation using a legal pad.

Amid the confusion, senior officials briefly feared that the U.S. military itself might have shot down Flight 93. It was subsequently determined that the aircraft crashed after passengers attempted to overpower the terrorists.

“There was this horrible moment where the vice president kept trying to get confirmation as to what had happened, and for about 10 minutes, we thought we’d shot down a civilian aircraft,” Rice said. “And that always to me represented just how hard the decisions that you had to take under a lot of pressure.”

The uncertainty did not end when the attacks were over. Rice has recalled that the threat information confronting the administration exploded almost immediately, as officials scrambled to determine whether additional terrorist operations were underway.

Bush said that while he understood immediately that the country had suffered an enormous trauma, he did not fully grasp the magnitude of the devastation in New York until he saw Ground Zero himself.

He “had a sense there was a lot of trauma,” Bush recalled, but didn’t realize “how bad it was ’till I went there.”

Three days after the attacks, on September 14, Bush traveled to the wreckage of the World Trade Center, where firefighters, police officers and rescue workers were still searching through the ruins.

It was there that Bush delivered one of the defining moments of his presidency, standing atop the rubble beside retired FDNY firefighter Bob Beckwith and addressing rescue workers through a bullhorn.

Looking back 25 years later, Bush said his concern was not only preventing another attack but ensuring that fear and anger did not fundamentally change the character of the country.

“I didn’t want us to lose our soul,” Bush said. “I wanted, as we defended our freedoms, I wanted people to remember how precious they are.”

That concern, Bush said, was also behind his decision to visit the Islamic Center of Washington just days after the attacks.

He recalled making the visit “because I was deeply concerned about stories of women of color being harassed at shopping centers, particularly in Michigan.”

Bush said he viewed the fight against terrorism as an ideological struggle and believed abandoning religious freedom in response to the attacks would itself constitute a defeat.

“It became clear to me that this is an ideological struggle, which is what I viewed it as, and we forego one of the most important parts of our ideology, which is the freedom to worship the way you want to worship,” he said. “All of a sudden, the enemy has won a victory, and so that was part of my thinking.”

Bush and Rice also described the dramatic change in mindset inside the administration from September 11 to what they called a “Sept. 12” mentality.

The priority was no longer simply responding to what had happened, they said, but identifying threats and stopping another catastrophic attack before it could occur. Bush said “we needed to go on the offense.”

Rice said it can be difficult, 25 years later, for Americans who did not experience that period to appreciate the enormous pressure surrounding virtually every national-security decision.

“People now don’t understand the heaviness of the days after 9/11 in trying to protect the country,” Rice said.

That passage of time itself has become part of Bush’s concern. A substantial portion of the American population was either not yet born or too young to remember September 11, and Bush said Wednesday that preserving the memory of the sacrifice, courage and national response that followed the attacks is increasingly important.

Twenty-five years later, Bush said, the events of September 11 still carry lessons about national security, freedom and America’s relationship with the rest of the world — lessons he fears the country is increasingly inclined to overlook.

WATCH LIVE: Thousands are gathering to remember the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. Watch the reading of the victims’ names as the nation marks 25 years since the attacks.

President Donald Trump turned the closing night of the Republican midterm convention in Dallas into an unusual mass voting pledge Thursday, instructing thousands of supporters to raise their right hands and swear that they would cast ballots in the Nov. 3 elections.

The moment came as Trump made voter turnout a central focus of his closing appearance at the American Airlines Center, repeatedly urging his supporters to treat the midterms as though his own name were on the ballot. Republicans are seeking to retain control of Congress, and Trump has made mobilizing voters who typically turn out for him in presidential elections a major theme of the convention.

Trump told the audience that the stakes of the election extended to his administration’s agenda, warning that Democratic control of Congress could threaten policies enacted since he returned to the White House.

“So on election day, November 3, you’ve got to do me a favor. You’ve got to get out and vote and you’ve got to pretend I’m on the ballot because in a way I am on the ballot, because if they get in, they are going to take away all of the things that we’ve got, and we can’t let that happen.”

Trump has repeatedly employed the “pretend I’m on the ballot” message during the 2026 campaign, reflecting Republican concerns about reproducing the coalition and turnout that helped elect him in 2024 when he himself is not running.

The President then turned to election laws, repeating his longstanding calls for voter identification and proof-of-citizenship requirements while accusing Democrats of opposing such measures because they “want to cheat.”

“In many cases, look, they don’t want to give you voter I.D. Why? Because they want to cheat,” he said.

“They don’t want to give you proof of citizenship. Why? They say well it’s very complicated process. They have more lines. We want voter I.D. We want proof of citizenship. We want honesty in our elections. We want honesty in our country.”

Democrats dispute Trump’s characterization of their position and his allegations of widespread election cheating. Disagreements over proof-of-citizenship and identification requirements have become a significant partisan issue, with supporters arguing that such rules strengthen election integrity and opponents warning that some proposals could unnecessarily prevent eligible citizens from voting.

Trump then shifted into a more theatrical mode, asking the entire audience to raise their right hands and repeat a pledge after him.

“Please raise your right hand,” the President instructed.

What followed mixed a serious turnout appeal with jokes and improvisation as Trump had the crowd repeat his words.

“TRUMP: So please raise your right hand. I pledge —

“CROWD: I pledge.

“TRUMP: To the greatest president in the history of the United States —

“CROWD: To the great president in the history of the United States.

“TRUMP: That loves us so much he can’t even breathe.

“CROWD: That loves us so much he can’t even breathe.”

Trump continued by having attendees pledge to bring relatives and friends with them to vote, while joking about cheating and voting without being registered.

“TRUMP: That I will go out with my family, my friends, I’ll do it any way, I don’t care if I’m registered or not, I’m going to try to cheat like hell like they do. There has never been bigger cheaters, they don’t care, I am going to go out and I’m going to get my friends and family and we are going to vote on November 3, or we are going to vote before that. Right?”

The remark about voting while unregistered was made in the context of Trump’s joking pledge; under election law, a person must satisfy the applicable registration requirements in order to cast a valid ballot.

Before finishing the pledge, Trump turned his attention to some of his longtime supporters near the front of the arena.

“Okay. Ready? Ready? Here’s — okay. Are you ready?

“Look, Front Row Joes, are you ready? The — look at them. The great ladies of north Carolina. It’s about number 300, I don’t know how the hell they do it. They are beautiful.

“Okay. Are you ready? Ready? To finish the pledge. So we swear”

The audience responded: “We swear.”

Trump then delivered the central portion of the pledge.

“That on November 3, we’re going to go out and vote and, you know what?

“If you want, you can vote Democrat, but I don’t think there is one person in this room that’s gonna vote democrat. I don’t think so. So I don’t want to waste the words vote Republican, just go out. If you vote you’re voting Republican. OK. So help me God.”

The crowd repeated: “So help me God.”

Trump appeared pleased with the volume of the response.

“Whoah. Now I know. I’d say just about everybody was screaming —”

He then added another joke aimed at making sure his supporters actually followed through in November.

“You know what happens if you don’t vote right? You go to hell, you know that. You go to hell. And I don’t want that to happen to you so please go and vote!”

The audience subsequently broke into chants of “Vote! Vote!”

The mass pledge capped two days in which Trump repeatedly sought to place himself personally at the center of the Republican turnout effort. On opening night, he similarly told supporters to act as though he were running again, saying, “I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot.”

Republicans have organized their midterm strategy around retaining their congressional majorities, while Democrats are seeking to gain control of Congress and have campaigned against the Trump administration’s record and policies.

Trump’s closing remarks followed Vice President JD Vance’s keynote address and concluded the Republican Party’s unusual two-day midterm convention, an event designed to energize the party ahead of Election Day.

The President had promised that his second-night appearance would be considerably shorter than his lengthy opening-night address. His remarks nevertheless featured an extended series of appeals for turnout, including the crowd-wide pledge.

And as the convention reached its conclusion, Trump left his supporters with the message he had emphasized throughout the gathering: whatever else Republican voters do between now and November, he wants them at the polls.

President Donald Trump lashed out at members of the media Thursday night for highlighting empty seats at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, insisting that the two-day gathering drew an overflow crowd and accusing journalists of deliberately searching the arena for vacant spots to photograph and report on.

The dispute over attendance became an unexpected theme of Trump’s closing appearance at the American Airlines Center, after several news organizations reported that substantial portions of the arena — particularly its upper levels — remained unoccupied during portions of the convention. The Wall Street Journal reported that the upper deck was nearly empty on Wednesday and that there were no large lines outside the arena. Other reporters at the event also documented blocks of vacant seats.

Trump disputed those accounts from the stage Thursday.

“No empty seats!” Trump announced to the crowd in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday. “The fake news, they searched the arena. There are thousands of people outside. They searched the arena for a seat. That’s why last night I said, ‘Please, don’t get up to go to the bathroom! Just sit.’”

The President then sharply criticized the journalists who had focused on the attendance issue, while making an exception for some members of the press.

“They’re fake people,” Trump said of reporters covering the matter. “They’re fake, horrible, horrible human beings. Not all. Not all. You have some fine journalists. Not too many — to be honest with you.”

The disagreement began during Wednesday’s opening night, when Trump repeatedly characterized the American Airlines Center as packed and said additional supporters were waiting outside. Journalists present at the venue reported a different picture, with visibly empty sections remaining during the program.

“We were packed last night,” the president reiterated. “We had thousands of people outside.”

No official attendance figure for the convention has been released by the Republican National Committee, making it difficult to independently establish precisely how many people attended either night. Photographs and reports from inside the arena, however, showed that portions of the seating remained vacant at various points.

The RNC had opened ticket applications to the public ahead of the event. According to reports from the convention, ticket requests were still being accepted and approved after the gathering had already begun Wednesday. Organizers were also observed encouraging people inside the building to move into available seats closer to the convention floor.

On Thursday, Trump sought to make his case visually, directing the crowd’s attention toward the arena’s seating areas and pointing to boxes that he said were full.

But while surveying the building himself, the President spotted an area that was not filled.

“I’ve got to do a little bit better in the back right there. I don’t like that little bit of skin that’s showing. I’m not happy with it. That’s not good. I shouldn’t have looked up there! No, but look at this arena. This is a big arena.”

The attendance controversy followed similar remarks Trump made before even arriving at the convention. Asked Wednesday about Republican candidates in competitive races who were not attending the gathering, Trump insisted that demand for the event was extremely strong and predicted that it would be sold out.

The American Airlines Center, home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and NHL’s Dallas Stars, can accommodate roughly 20,000 spectators depending on its configuration. The Republican gathering was an unusual two-night midterm convention rather than the traditional presidential nominating convention held by the party every four years.

The event was designed to generate enthusiasm among Republican voters ahead of the Nov. 3 elections, with Trump urging his supporters during Wednesday’s lengthy keynote address to approach the midterms as though his own name were on the ballot.

The President returned Thursday for shorter closing remarks following Vice President JD Vance’s keynote address. The convention also featured Republican candidates, administration officials and other prominent conservative figures, while marking the first anniversary of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Questions about the convention’s reach extended beyond the number of people physically inside the arena.

Television viewership for Wednesday night was relatively modest compared with some of Fox News’ regular programming. Fox News, the only one of the three major cable-news networks to carry Trump’s full address during the period in question, averaged approximately 2.5 million viewers between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern, according to Nielsen figures cited in reports.

For comparison, Fox News said its late-night program “Gutfeld!” averaged approximately 2.5 million viewers during August.

Trump, however, remained focused Thursday on the in-person audience and his contention that the convention had attracted far more people than media coverage suggested.

The back-and-forth provided an unusual subplot to a convention intended primarily to focus attention on the approaching congressional elections, with Trump using part of his final appearance to wage a familiar battle with the press — this time over exactly how many people had come to see him.

{Matzav.com}

New York City motorists will increasingly encounter 15 mph speed limits around schools across the five boroughs, as the Department of Transportation moves ahead with a sweeping expansion that will eventually cover virtually every eligible school location in the city.

NYC DOT announced this week that it has already installed new 15 mph School Slow Zones at more than 200 school locations in 2026, with roughly 800 locations expected to receive the lower limits by the end of the year. The rollout represents the largest expansion to date under Sammy’s Law, which gave New York City greater authority to reduce speed limits on its streets.

The changes will ultimately extend considerably further. City officials say they intend to establish 15 mph limits at every eligible public, private, parochial and charter K-12 school location across the five boroughs by the end of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first term.

There are approximately 2,300 eligible school locations housing some 3,200 individual schools, since multiple schools sometimes share the same campus.

For drivers, the result will be a significant proliferation of streets where the familiar citywide 25 mph limit no longer applies. The standard speed limit on most New York City streets remains 25 mph unless signs indicate otherwise.

The city’s plans for 2026 call for converting roughly 700 existing 20 mph School Slow Zones to 15 mph and establishing approximately 100 additional 15 mph zones at schools where the current limit is 25 mph.

Combined with locations that had already received lower limits before this year, city officials said in March that the expansion would bring the overall number of school locations with 15 mph limits to approximately 1,300 by the end of 2026.

The administration says the lower limits are intended to reduce the severity of crashes involving children and other pedestrians. According to DOT, a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling 25 mph is more than three times as likely to suffer a serious injury as someone struck at 15 mph.

“Families spoke up after unimaginable loss to fight for Sammy’s Law and deliver our city the power to make our streets safer for New Yorkers,” Mamdani said when the larger rollout was announced earlier this year. “Today’s expansion of Slow Zones for schools across all five boroughs is just the beginning. Lower speeds save lives, and we will use every tool at our disposal to protect our neighbors as they move about our city.”

DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said the agency is prioritizing areas based on safety data.

“Our school children and their families should feel safe and comfortable as they travel to and from class. Speeding is the leading cause of traffic deaths, and even a small speed reduction can mean the difference between life and death in a crash,” Flynn said. “These speed limit reductions will follow our data-driven Vision Zero approach to deliver the greatest safety impact.”

The lower speed limits will not simply appear overnight. Before implementing a new School Slow Zone, DOT must provide the relevant local community board with a 60-day notice-and-comment period. The agency is determining eligibility and prioritizing individual locations using crash and safety data, along with other planned street projects.

Sammy’s Law, enacted in 2024, gave New York City new authority to reduce speed limits below the longstanding 25 mph citywide standard. The legislation allows the city to establish lower limits on qualifying streets and designated slow zones, although certain roadways are excluded under the state law.

The law was named for 12-year-old Sammy Cohen Eckstein, who was struck and killed by a driver in Brooklyn in 2013. His family subsequently became prominent advocates for giving New York City greater authority to lower vehicle speeds.

The 15 mph signs are only one part of a broader effort to redesign streets surrounding schools.

DOT says it is implementing safety upgrades adjacent to more than 300 schools during 2026. Depending on the location, projects can include redesigned intersections, expanded pedestrian space, safer crossings, speed humps and other physical changes intended to force or encourage motorists to slow down.

The city is also expanding its Open Streets for Schools program. Seventy-seven school Open Streets are launching for the 2026-27 school year, allowing participating schools to temporarily restrict vehicle access during periods such as morning arrival, dismissal, recess and outdoor instruction.

One of the more unusual additions will appear in Tribeca, where DOT plans to install what it describes as New York City’s first gated Open Street outside a school.

A gate will be installed on Clarkson Street between Hudson and Varick streets as part of a larger redesign near City-As-School High School and M.S. 721. The concept was inspired by school streets in Paris that use gates to keep vehicles out during designated periods. The project will also add seating, increase pedestrian space, improve sight lines and crossings, and introduce design elements intended to slow traffic.

Other school-area projects are planned across the five boroughs, including work on Coney Island Avenue near P.S. 889 and M.S. 890 in Brooklyn; portions of Beach Channel Drive and Rockaway Beach Boulevard in Queens; and several Bronx corridors serving more than 10 schools.

The scale of the School Slow Zone program is expected to continue growing after this year.

Under the administration’s current plan, all approximately 2,300 eligible school locations are slated to have 15 mph limits by the end of 2029. Certain schools may not qualify because they are situated on private roads or along roadways exempted by Sammy’s Law, including some multi-lane streets outside Manhattan.

For New York motorists, the practical message is straightforward: drivers accustomed to the city’s 25 mph limit — or even the 20 mph limits previously posted around many schools — will need to pay increasingly close attention to School Slow Zone signs.

With hundreds more 15 mph zones scheduled to appear before the end of 2026 and thousands ultimately planned, 15 mph is set to become a far more common sight on streets surrounding New York City schools.

A 14-year-old Jewish boy traveling to Shacharis at his Orthodox Jewish school in London was slapped in the face by a man who allegedly told him, “I hate you and I hate people like you,” in the latest of several antisemitic incidents involving students near the school.

The attack occurred Thursday morning as the boy and two friends were riding a bus to Hasmonean High School in Hendon. The three boys were visibly Jewish, wearing yarmulkes and their school uniforms.

According to an account provided by the boy’s mother, a man believed to be in his 40s approached the three students, directed abusive language toward them and suddenly slapped one of the boys across the face.

When the stunned 14-year-old asked why he had struck him, the man responded, “I hate you and I hate people like you.”

The boy immediately went downstairs on the double-decker bus and informed the driver of what had happened. The driver stopped the bus and contacted police.

Several passengers who had witnessed the incident came forward on their own, telling the driver that they had seen the assault and providing their telephone numbers so they could give statements to investigators.

The boy also called his mother and received assistance from a member of the school administration who happened to be nearby.

London police are investigating the assault as a hate crime, but the suspect had not been arrested as of the latest report.

The incident has caused particular concern because it follows another attack involving students leaving the same Jewish school just last week. Police are investigating both incidents and have said that antisemitic behavior will not be tolerated and that authorities remain committed to confronting hate crimes.

The boy’s mother filed a police complaint and told B’Chadrei Chareidim that officers had handled the matter sensitively. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by her son’s school.

“We were in shock, because nothing like this has ever happened to us,” the mother said. “I am someone who never hides my Judaism. I always say that everything will be okay, and this is the first time something like this has happened to us. They still haven’t arrested the person, so I don’t yet know exactly who he is, and therefore I don’t want to put any labels on him.”

Shomrim appealed to members of the public who may have witnessed the assault to provide information that could help investigators identify the attacker.

“Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact the police. The suspect is described as a man believed to be in his 40s. Police are currently reviewing surveillance footage and interviewing the victims and witnesses in order to identify the suspect,” Shomrim said.

The attack comes amid heightened concern within Britain’s Jewish community over antisemitism and communal security, concerns that have intensified following the British government’s decision to impose new measures targeting Israeli communities in Yehudah and Shomron.

Earlier this week, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband rejected a warning from Britain’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, that the government’s decision could further increase the dangers facing British Jews.

Miliband, describing himself as a “proud British Jew,” said he disagreed with Rabbi Mirvis, who had characterized the government’s move as a “particularly dark day.”

Rabbi Mirvis strongly condemned the British decision, warning that measures directed against Israel can have consequences for Jewish communities far beyond the political arena.

“Gesture politics of this kind feeds an increasingly hostile discourse about Israel, and the cumulative impact of such punitive policies is to further embolden those, at home and abroad, who weaponise hatred against Jews,” Rabbi Mirvis said.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews also expressed alarm over the timing of the announcement immediately before Rosh Hashanah, saying it had landed at a particularly sensitive moment for British Jewry.

The organization said the decision comes as “concerns for the security of the community are at the highest levels and are being felt with particular intensity among British Jews.”

{Matzav.com}

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[Video below.] Hillary Clinton declared Thursday that while she remains strongly supportive of both the United States and Israel, she “hates” the governments and policies of President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, while calling for Washington to take a tougher approach toward Israel if Israeli voters return Netanyahu to power.

The former secretary of state made the remarks during an appearance on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” where the discussion turned to Israel, the Middle East and the prospects for a different relationship between Washington and a future Israeli government.

“I have said repeatedly I love Israel and I hate Netanyahu’s government and his policies. I love America, and I hate Trump’s government and policies. I think it’s bad, in the first case for Israel, what’s happening, and I think it’s really bad for the United States, what’s happening,” Clinton told MS NOW’s “Morning Joe.”

Clinton then addressed a controversial report published this week by Haaretz alleging that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed had personally warned Netanyahu shortly before the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre that Hamas was preparing a major attack. Netanyahu has emphatically denied the allegation, while the UAE has declined to confirm or deny that such a conversation took place.

“I think we’ve got to be very clear, the messages we send, hopefully the Israeli people, especially after this bombshell that came out in the Israeli press, where Netanyahu had been literally called by Sheikh Mohammed, MBZ, from UAE, and warned that Hamas was planning something,” Clinton said.

“And either he didn’t believe it or he, it’s horrible to say, he wanted to see what they could plan so that then he could come down hard, and it would enhance his position.”

Clinton acknowledged that she did not know what Netanyahu was thinking at the time, but argued that the allegation, if accurate, represented a major leadership failure.

“I don’t know what his thinking was, but the bottom line, talk about a failure of imagination. This was a failure of leadership,” she continued. “This was a failure of protecting the people of Israel. He’s been told what was going to happen. So, if the Israelis want to vote for that again, then I think the United States has to take a very tough position.”

The White House pushed back against Clinton’s criticism by emphasizing the close working relationship between President Trump and Netanyahu and pointing to the military cooperation between the United States and Israel.

“President Trump has a strong relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Israel has always been a great ally to the United States. The Israel Defense Forces were incredible partners throughout Operation Epic Fury, which decimated the Iranian regime’s military capabilities in 38 short days,” a White House official told Fox News Digital.

The controversy cited by Clinton stems from reporting that bin Zayed warned Netanyahu approximately 10 days before the October 7 attack that Hamas was preparing a significant operation. The report has become a major political issue in Israel, but Netanyahu’s office has categorically rejected its central allegation.

“The press reports are false. No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7th. If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries,” the prime minister’s office posted to X.

The UAE Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, has said it does not comment on reports or speculation concerning conversations between government leaders, while noting that relevant intelligence is shared through established channels.

Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a separate request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Clinton went on to say she believes Washington could establish a productive relationship with a different Israeli government and prime minister. She specifically called for stronger action against violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

“I would hope that a new prime minister would crack down on settler violence in the West Bank,” she said. “There should be no impunity for that kind of violence. It is not just about the death and destruction of the Palestinians, their property and all the rest of it. Anytime you let people have that level of violence in a society that you don’t stop, that creeps into the whole society.”

Clinton argued that such violence poses dangers not only to Palestinians but to Israeli society itself, and suggested that the United States reconsider its approach depending on the outcome of Israel’s elections.

“So, it’s unfair, bad and wrong for the Palestinians,” Clinton added. “And it’s also very dangerous to Israel. So, yeah, I think let’s see what they vote for and see whether we can’t, you know, figure out how to have a new approach with a new government.”

The interview also turned to divisions within the Democratic Party and the growing influence of socialist ideas among some Democrats. Clinton argued that politicians advocating those positions should be required to explain and defend them rather than rely on political catchphrases.

“Let people defend the positions they’ve taken. And I think that would be good for the Democratic Party. It would be good for the country.

“Let them get out of the sloganeering and into the legislating and results-oriented impact.”

[Video below.] Vice President JD Vance cast the November midterm elections as a fight over the future being handed to America’s children, telling Republicans gathered in Dallas Thursday night that affordable homes, safe neighborhoods, strong families and economic opportunity constitute a national “birthright” that voters must protect.

Delivering a prime-time address at the Republican midterm convention, Vance built much of his message around the future he envisions for his infant son, Alec, who was born in July. The Vice President repeatedly broadened that personal theme to include children across the country, arguing that Americans should inherit the benefits and opportunities that previous generations enjoyed.

“I believe that our founders built this nation on a promise that echoes our creator, that every American child is born an heir, is born with a birthright,” Vance said in the keynote address at the Republican midterm convention.

“Born with the right to inherit the blessings of the greatest country on earth. Not because of who their parents are. Not because of what they look like or where they come from, but because they are Americans.

“And that birthright, ladies and gentlemen, is what this November is all about,” he said.

Vance’s “birthright” theme served as the framework for a wide-ranging speech touching on the cost of living, housing, education, health, crime, family life and cultural issues. He portrayed the election as a choice between the Trump administration’s agenda and policies advocated by Democrats.

Much of the address was personal, with Vance repeatedly returning to his newborn son as he described what he believes American parents should be able to expect for their children.

“I want my son to grow up healthy and strong,” Vance said. “I want him to have access to clean water and real food. I want him to live in a country where you don’t need a Ph.D. in chemistry to understand the ingredient list in the grocery store.”

Turning to health care, Vance said he wants his son’s doctors to “answer to parents and to the Hippocratic Oath, not to a bunch of far-left bureaucrats.”

He offered a similar vision for education, saying he wants his son to attend a school that teaches him “to read, to write,” arithmetic and “to love his country and his fellow citizens.”

The Vice President told the convention audience that he views his responsibility in government through the same lens, saying his job is to fight for Americans in the hall and watching from home “as if they were my own family, as if they were my own kid.”

Housing affordability featured prominently in the address, with Vance arguing that younger Americans should have a realistic opportunity to purchase homes and establish families.

“I want them to be able to afford a home where they can raise their children in peace and prosperity and comfort,” Vance said.

He then took aim at institutional investors competing for residential properties, portraying Wall Street’s involvement in the housing market as an obstacle for ordinary families trying to purchase homes.

“I want them to know the pride of saving up for something, of buying something big and real that they’re proud of, without being outbid by Wall Street tycoons. I want them to keep what they’ve earned when they work hard. And that is the birthright that I’m talking about.”

Vance charged that the political left “is working right now to make sure that your children never see that birthright.”

He also used the speech to revisit one of the most contentious cultural issues dividing Republicans and Democrats, arguing against transgender women and girls competing in female athletics.

Vance said he wants “our daughters to compete on a fair field where no politician tells the little girl she’s got to surrender her trophy, her scholarship or her locker room to a man.”

The Vice President then shifted to public safety, saying children should be “safe on their streets, safe in their schools, living peacefully in neighborhoods where the law protects the innocent and throws the violent criminals in prison.”

Family life emerged as another major theme. Vance cited comments he attributed to a Democratic candidate in Michigan concerning the nuclear family, saying such sentiments reflected “from a very deep emptiness in the soul.”

“To the radicals who wish to abolish my family and the thousands and millions of other families all across our country, we have a simple message for them: Stay the hell away from our kids,” he said.

Vance also discussed his role overseeing the administration’s efforts to combat fraud in federal programs. President Donald Trump appointed Vance to lead that initiative in April, and Vance told the convention that investigators had uncovered $250 billion in fraud since then.

He accused Democrats of failing to adequately confront such abuses, saying the Democratic Party in 2026 is “not about you” but “about foreign fraudsters” and “about who they hate.”

The address also carried a somber element, falling exactly one year after the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

The convention paused for a memorial tribute to Kirk, who was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. Vance, who was personally close to Kirk, recalled looking into the audience during his speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention and seeing Kirk sitting in the front row offering encouragement.

Vance addressed Kirk’s two young children directly during his remarks.

“History will record that your father was a great man. … He was a good man.”

Republicans throughout the arena also participated in a tribute to Kirk, including a memorial video, as chants of his name broke out among delegates and attendees.

Vance’s speech came as Republicans seek to retain control of both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 3 elections. The Dallas gathering was organized specifically to energize Republican voters and promote the party’s candidates and agenda ahead of the midterms.

The Vice President ended where he began, returning to his contention that the election will determine whether the next generation receives what he described as America’s national inheritance.

“The country does not belong to the radicals. It does not belong to the bureaucrats. It does not belong to the highest bidder,” Vance said in closing. “We received this national birthright, and we are going to fight for it by electing Republicans this November.”

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{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has no regrets about launching the war against Iran and would make the same decision again, arguing that military action was necessary to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Speaking with Laura Ingraham on Fox News, Trump defended his handling of the conflict even as the war has stretched into its seventh month, driven up energy prices and become an increasingly prominent issue ahead of the November midterm elections.

“I don’t believe in the word regret. You can always question yourself a little bit. A few people have asked me that. If I had it to do again, I’d do exactly as I did. I took out their nuclear capability.”

.@POTUS: "I don't believe in the word 'regret.'" pic.twitter.com/l1ayOV09oO

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 10, 2026

Trump said he believed the consequences of allowing Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon would have been far more dangerous than those resulting from the war, contending that Tehran would have been willing to use such a weapon against Israel, other countries in the Middle East and potentially the United States.

“Supposing we were cruising and all of a sudden Iran has a nuclear weapon. They would use it. They’re crazy. I deal with them. They’re crazy. And they would use it,” he said. “They would have wiped out Israel. They would have wiped out the Middle East. And they would have started hitting a couple of our cities.”

Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes and that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon. The United States and Israel have disputed Tehran’s assurances and have cited Iran’s nuclear activities as a central justification for military action.

Trump also pointed to Wall Street as evidence that the American economy has remained resilient despite the conflict, even as oil prices have climbed amid continued fighting and disruptions surrounding critical Middle Eastern shipping routes.

“The stock market right now is at the all-time high….during this whole little conflict, we call it a conflict, the stock market’s at an all-time high. The highest it’s ever been. Much higher than when I started. You know, when I started it was at 49,000. Now it’s at 53. It’s going to be 54 pretty soon. It’s going up. Continues to go up. Oil went up.”

Energy prices have nevertheless emerged as one of the most visible economic consequences of the conflict. Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel this week amid escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities and renewed concerns about shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

During the interview, Trump also accused Iran of attempting to influence the upcoming American midterm elections because Tehran believes a change in political control in Washington could produce a more favorable U.S. policy.

“They’re trying to do anything possible to get me out, because they think the Democrats will let them essentially have a nuclear weapon. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump has increasingly connected the course of the Iran war with the November elections. He said earlier this week that he expects the conflict to end after the midterms, while maintaining that Iran is trying to hold out in hopes of a change in the political environment in Washington.

The President’s declaration that he would make the same decision again came as tensions have intensified over Iran’s heavily fortified Pickaxe Mountain complex near Natanz.

Trump warned Tehran about the site during his appearance Wednesday at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, saying American officials had detected activity there.

“We notice there’s a little activity at Pickaxe. I would advise Iran not to get cute, because we will have to hit them very hard,” Trump said.

Pickaxe Mountain is located near Iran’s badly damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility and contains two deeply buried tunnel complexes. Unlike several other Iranian nuclear facilities, the underground complex has not been struck during the current war.

Trump has been publicly threatening possible military action against Pickaxe Mountain since at least July, repeatedly warning that the United States will not permit Iran to use the site to preserve or rebuild its nuclear capabilities.

Those concerns received additional attention Thursday when International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that the U.N. nuclear watchdog has observed signs of new activity around the complex.

“There are some indications that there is movement around this construction site,” Grossi said. “We don’t have any concrete information as to activities that may be taking place there.”

The IAEA has not inspected the underground facility directly and is instead relying on remote imagery to assess developments there.

A separate satellite-imagery analysis released this week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found a significant increase in construction at Pickaxe Mountain during 2026. Researchers reported reinforcement of tunnel entrances, road paving and other work around the sprawling underground facility.

Trump issued a similar warning about the facility last week.

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” he told reporters at the Oval Office, adding, “We may hit Pickaxe very soon…if there was anything going on with Pickaxe.”

The President’s comments Thursday made clear that, despite the length and cost of the conflict and questions about its effect on the approaching midterm elections, he continues to stand behind his original decision to launch military action against Iran.

“If I had it to do again, I’d do exactly as I did,” Trump said.

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President Donald Trump defended his proposal to send $5,000 payments to every adult American citizen, arguing that the plan would be made possible by the nation’s economic performance and tariff revenues — but only if Republicans maintain control of both chambers of Congress in November’s midterm elections.

In an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump explained why he has tied the proposed “Trump dividend” to Republican victories in both the House and Senate, contending that Democrats would be unable to produce the economic growth needed to support the payments.

“Because – they can’t – I’ll tell you what, because the Democrats can’t do it,” Trump told host Laura Ingraham. “Because with them, it’s negative growth. with us, it’s so positive.”

“We’re taking in $21 trillion. No country has ever taken in anywhere near that,” the president added. “That’s four-five times more than the next. That’s all because of that beautiful word you and love more than most others – tariffs.”

Trump first unveiled the proposal Wednesday night during the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas, where he told supporters that Americans would receive the $5,000 payment if the GOP emerges from the November elections with control of both the House and Senate.

“I can make this promise to you, and here is my promise,” he said. “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our economic — tremendous economic success like in history, we’ve never had anything like what’s happening.”

Trump compared the proposed payments to a company distributing profits to its shareholders.

“But because of our tremendous strength and success economically — I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000. Very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders,” Trump added.

The President said recipients would be required to spend the money inside the United States and has pointed to revenue generated by his tariff policies as a source of funding. The proposal, however, would require congressional approval, and independent estimates put its potential price tag at roughly $1.2 trillion. Reuters reported that the Congressional Budget Office says tariff collections during the current fiscal year totaled about $167 billion, substantially less than the estimated cost of the proposed payments.

Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the House, making the fight for control of Congress a central focus of the party’s Dallas gathering.

Trump again highlighted the amount of investment and revenue he says his economic policies have generated while speaking with Ingraham.

“So, we’re taking in $21 trillion. Nobody – no country has ever taken in anywhere near that. It’s four or five times higher than the next one,” Trump said.

“All because of that beautiful word that you and I love more than most others: Tariffs,” he added.

The proposed dividend has already generated debate in Washington over its cost and economic impact. Some Republican lawmakers have expressed reservations about adding more than $1 trillion in federal spending, while others have embraced the idea and are considering legislation that could put the proposal into effect. Democrats have criticized the election-linked pledge.

During his address in Dallas, Trump also acknowledged the longstanding difficulty presidents face in midterm elections, when the party controlling the White House has historically tended to lose congressional seats. After telling the audience that he’s “doing a great job,” Trump questioned why strong presidential performance does not necessarily translate into midterm victories.

“But I say, why is it that, no matter how well you’re doing, we see not a president — Democrat or Republican — almost never wins the midterms?” Trump said.

He then urged Republican voters to approach November’s congressional races as though his own name were appearing on their ballots.

“We’ve got to change that because we have something going that’s so good we can’t let that string be broken. So, I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot. I’m on the ballot, just one more time.”

Any $5,000 payment program would ultimately need congressional authorization. Questions also remain about how the government would finance a program costing more than $1 trillion at a time when the federal deficit is projected to exceed $2 trillion. Supporters have pointed to tariff revenue and economic growth, while critics — including some Republicans — have raised concerns about the potential effect on the national debt and inflation.

The White House also promoted the proposal Thursday, portraying it as a way for Americans to share directly in the administration’s economic policies.

“Last night, President Donald J. Trump unveiled the Trump Dividend — a historic $5,000 cash payment to every adult American citizen, made possible by the strength of the American economy under his leadership. The announcement is the latest proof that President Trump does what the so-called ‘experts’ say cannot be done: he delivers for the American people.”

“The Trump Dividend depends on President Trump and Republicans. Democrat control means America loses — and working people pay the price,” they added.

A person who recently returned to Israel from the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been hospitalized in isolation after developing a fever, prompting health authorities to investigate a possible case of Ebola, the Health Ministry announced Thursday.

Officials stressed that the case remains only a suspected infection and that Ebola has not been confirmed. The patient will undergo a series of laboratory tests, with results expected in the coming days.

The individual is being treated under strict isolation protocols established for highly infectious diseases and is being transferred to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Yerushalayim, one of the hospitals designated to handle suspected cases of this type.

The Health Ministry said an epidemiological investigation has already been completed to identify individuals who may have had relevant contact with the patient. Anyone who is not contacted directly by the ministry does not need to take any action at this stage.

Officials also emphasized that Ebola is not transmitted through the air. The virus spreads through direct contact with a symptomatic infected person or through contact with blood, bodily fluids or secretions.

The Health Ministry stressed that there has been no confirmed case of Ebola in Israel to date.

The latest scare comes after another suspected case involving a traveler returning from Congo in mid-August. That individual was also placed in isolation and tested for Ebola, but laboratory results ultimately came back negative.

The latest suspected case comes amid a major Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has prompted Israeli health authorities to step up preparations.

According to figures published at the end of August, the outbreak had surpassed 6,000 confirmed infections, with 6,041 cases and 2,911 deaths reported. The outbreak, described as the largest in Congo’s history, has been attributed to the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no approved specific vaccine or treatment.

In response, Israel’s Health Ministry has been monitoring the outbreak and preparing the healthcare system for the possibility of imported cases. Authorities have distributed professional guidelines to medical personnel and relevant hospitals, obtained protective gear and specialized equipment, established procedures for identifying travelers returning from affected regions, and developed a laboratory system capable of detecting Ebola infections.

The ministry is advising Israelis to avoid nonessential travel to areas experiencing active Ebola transmission, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Those who must travel to affected areas are urged to obtain individualized guidance from a travelers’ clinic before departure.

Travelers returning from Congo who develop a fever or other unusual symptoms within 21 days of their stay are being instructed to remain at home, avoid contact with other people and telephone the Health Ministry’s Kol Habriut hotline at *5400. Callers should immediately inform health officials that they recently returned from an area affected by Ebola.

{Matzav.com}

A baby girl was delivered safely early Thursday morning near the gravesite of Rav Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine, as tens of thousands of visitors continued arriving in the city ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

United Hatzalah received an emergency call reporting that a woman had gone into active labor near the gravesite. United Hatzalah medics Dana Weber and Shulamit Tzarfati rushed to the scene and found that the delivery was already progressing rapidly.

The medics assisted the mother through the delivery, and a healthy baby girl was born a short time later.

“I was called to a childbirth near the gravesite of Rav Nachman of Breslov, and I saw that the labor was progressing quickly,” Weber said. “I began providing her with the necessary assistance to ensure her safety and that of the baby on the way. Within a short time, and thank G-d, a healthy baby girl was born.”

The mother and newborn were subsequently transported by a United Hatzalah ambulance to a local hospital for further examination and observation. Both were reported to be in good and stable condition.

The birth came amid the annual Rosh Hashanah gathering of Breslover chassidim in Uman. Tens of thousands of chassidim and other visitors travel to the Ukrainian city each year to spend Rosh Hashanah near the gravesite of Rav Nachman of Breslov.

Thursday morning’s delivery was the second birth reported in Uman in recent days. Several days earlier, a baby boy was born in the city.

Israeli police personnel are also operating in Uman as part of a special deployment established to assist the large number of Israelis visiting the city. Teams have been responding to a range of incidents involving the visiting public, including medical emergencies.

A 7-year-old Israeli boy who became separated from his family amid the massive Rosh Hashanah gathering in Uman was safely reunited with his parents Thursday following a search by Israel Police officers stationed in the Ukrainian city.

The incident unfolded while Israeli police personnel were conducting operations in Uman. An Israeli man approached a team of officers with the young boy and told them that he had found the child after he apparently lost contact with his parents.

Police said the boy was extremely confused and frightened when officers began speaking with him in an effort to determine his identity and locate his family.

Officers questioned the child extensively and spoke with people in the area while carrying out additional efforts to track down his parents. Their search ultimately succeeded, and the boy was safely returned to his family.

The relieved family expressed their gratitude to the Israel Police personnel in Uman for their assistance.

The incident occurred as tens of thousands of Breslover chassidim and other visitors were arriving in Uman for the annual Rosh Hashanah kibbutz at the tziyun of Rav Nachman of Breslov.

Israel Police personnel have been deployed in Uman as part of special preparations for the large influx of Israeli visitors. Officers are assisting with a variety of incidents during the gathering, including missing-person cases and other emergencies, while also helping maintain public safety and order.

Police operations in Uman are continuing throughout the Rosh Hashanah period.

Rav Yitzchak Yosef sharply criticized Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot on Thursday, warning against the possibility of an Eisenkot-led government and accusing the former IDF chief of staff of having promoted policies that weakened religious standards in the Israeli military.

Speaking at a gathering in Ashdod, the Rishon LeTzion recalled his opposition to the integration of male and female soldiers in IDF tank crews during Eisenkot’s tenure as chief of staff. Contemporary reports confirm that Rav Yosef made the remarks at an Ashdod gathering Thursday.

“We saved the Talmudei Torah. If the left, Eisenkot and his friends ever come to power, oy vey. He was chief of staff; he instituted a rule in the army that a male soldier and a female soldier would be together in a tank. Oy vey,” Rav Yosef said.

Rav Yosef said that while he was serving as Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, he personally approached Eisenkot about the matter and sought to explain the severity with which he viewed the policy.

“I was chief rabbi at the time. I explained to him the severity of the matter. Is this how you deal with the issue? He didn’t even answer me. Friends, a little respect. You’re the chief of staff, a chief rabbi reaches out to you, and you don’t even answer.”

Rav Yosef went further, accusing Eisenkot of contributing to the secularization of the IDF and questioning whether he could be trusted to lead the country. Reports of the speech quoted him asking, “Can he be trusted?” while warning against an Eisenkot-led government.

The remarks represented a striking change in tone from comments attributed to Rav Yosef regarding Eisenkot just two months ago.

During his weekly shiur at the time, Rav Yosef said that he did not believe Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu would do teshuvah, but added, “Eisenkot might do teshuvah.”

A day later, Army Radio correspondent Mordechai Halperin reported comments allegedly made by Rav Yosef in a private conversation in which he purportedly raised the possibility of supporting Eisenkot for prime minister.

According to that report, Rav Yosef said, “Gadi Eisenkot is a good person, a warm Jew, he loves those who study Torah,” and added, “It is possible that we will go with him in the upcoming elections, it is possible to support him to be the next prime minister.”

Rav Yosef’s office subsequently categorically denied that those remarks had been made.

“The content of the report is completely denied; it is regrettable that someone chose to distort and publish things that were not said,” his office said at the time.

Thursday’s remarks, delivered at an Ashdod gathering ahead of the Yomim Noraim, put Rav Yosef’s criticism of Eisenkot squarely on the record, focusing in particular on his experience dealing with the former chief of staff over religious concerns within the IDF. The gathering featuring Rav Yosef had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Ashdod.

As New York prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks on Friday, an unusual calendar convergence is creating logistical challenges for Yidden in Lower Manhattan: the massive security operation surrounding the commemorations will take place just hours before the onset of Rosh Hashanah.

The NYPD plans to close much of the west side of Lower Manhattan to vehicular traffic beginning at 6 a.m. Friday, with streets expected to reopen at approximately 3 p.m. The closures will encompass the area surrounding the World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial, where thousands are expected to participate in commemorations marking a quarter-century since the attacks.

For shuls in the area, that means much of the final Erev Yom Tov preparation will have to take place amid road closures, checkpoints and an enormous police presence — with only several hours separating the reopening of the streets from the onset of Rosh Hashanah.

Rabbi Jonathan Glass realized the potential difficulty when he learned that the traffic restrictions would encompass the area surrounding the Tribeca Synagogue, where he serves as rav.

The shul is preparing to host a large Rosh Hashanah seudah on Friday night, along with meals throughout the two-day Yom Tov on Shabbos and Sunday. The road closures immediately raised a practical concern: whether food and other deliveries would be able to reach the shul through the police perimeter.

“I’m going to have to let people know about this as soon as possible,” he told JNS. “It could be a problem.”

Rabbi Glass said he hopes the security checkpoints will be easier to navigate than they were in the months immediately following the September 11 attacks 25 years ago.

At that time, police checkpoints were ubiquitous around the former World Trade Center site. According to Rabbi Glass, some officers stationed at the checkpoints were unfamiliar with the Tribeca Synagogue and mistakenly informed people attempting to reach it that the shul was closed, even when it was operating.

September 11, 2001, was the only time the Tribeca Synagogue closed its doors since 1938.

Although no member of the kehillah was killed in the attacks, many congregants lived close to the World Trade Center and were forced to evacuate their homes. Some were unable to return for three to six months, Rabbi Glass said.

The neighborhood itself was transformed in the aftermath of the attacks. Clouds of toxic white ash and debris blanketed the World Trade Center area and spread through Lower Manhattan and into portions of Brooklyn, remaining an environmental and health concern long after the Twin Towers collapsed.

Friday’s ceremonies will commemorate 25 years since 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger planes on September 11, 2001, murdering 2,977 people. Two aircraft were flown into the World Trade Center towers, causing both buildings to collapse. Another struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, while the fourth crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to retake control of the plane.

The main ceremony Friday morning at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum will initially be limited to relatives of those who were killed, with admission by invitation. As has been done annually, the names of every victim will be read aloud. The memorial is scheduled to open to the general public later in the day.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Wednesday that the security operation surrounding this year’s commemoration will be particularly extensive. The 25th anniversary, combined with Rosh Hashanah and the broader international security environment, has prompted the NYPD to increase its deployment.

“There will be layers of security that are highly visible and others that the public will not see,” Tisch said at the press conference. “New Yorkers can expect to see uniformed officers throughout the area, along with members of our counterterrorism bureau, heavy weapons teams and other specialized resources deployed as part of the operation.”

Officials said the affected streets are expected to reopen at 3 p.m.

For Yidden rushing to complete their final Yom Tov preparations, however, that does not leave much breathing room. Rosh Hashanah begins in New York shortly before 7 p.m. Friday, meaning the neighborhood will have only a few hours between the lifting of the security restrictions and the beginning of Yom Tov.

At Chabad of FiDi in Manhattan’s Financial District, Rabbi Nissi Eber is taking the situation in stride — although there is at least one important Yom Tov concern.

“It may be a little harder to get our brisket order from the butcher with the street closures,” Rabbi Eber told JNS.

Fortunately, most of the approximately 100 people Rabbi Eber expects for davening and the Rosh Hashanah seudah live within walking distance of the Chabad center, limiting the impact of the traffic restrictions on the mispallelim themselves.

Rabbi Eber and his wife, Chaya, arrived in the Financial District nine years ago to establish a permanent Jewish presence in the neighborhood. Two years ago, they began holding regular tefillos at their center.

Last Rosh Hashanah, the young kehillah celebrated another milestone when it welcomed its first Sefer Torah.

The hachnosas Sefer Torah captured an unusual scene: Rabbi Eber and members of his kehillah carrying the Sefer Torah through Fulton Street, with One World Trade Center — the Freedom Tower — rising behind them.

The 1,776-foot skyscraper, whose height including its spire intentionally commemorates the year of American independence, was constructed on part of the World Trade Center complex.

“We walked through the streets proud of our heritage, with the Freedom Tower in the background,” Eber told JNS.

This year, the same streets will once again become the setting for a powerful convergence of remembrance and Jewish life.

On Sunday, the second day of Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Eber and his kehillah plan to blow the shofar and walk to the South Street Seaport for tashlich.

“We’ll have apples and honey, so that even the synagogue-averse can enjoy a taste of the holiday,” he said.

For Rabbi Eber, having the 25th anniversary of September 11 fall immediately before Rosh Hashanah brings an added emotional dimension to this year’s Yom Tov.

The anniversary naturally carries painful memories for New Yorkers, while Rosh Hashanah brings its own profound period of tefillah, reflection and teshuvah.

The convergence, Rabbi Eber said, produces “mixed feelings.”

“Rosh Hashanah is a holiday of introspection and reflection,” he told JNS. “Which is also how we New Yorkers view 9/11.”