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It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rebbetzin Sarah Rochel Yisroelson a”h, a daughter of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l and the widow of Rav Yosef Yisroel Yisroelson zt”l. She passed away overnight at Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak. She was 93.

Just last Wednesday, Rebbetzin Yisroelson participated in the engagement celebration of her youngest grandchild. The following day, she collapsed, and her condition subsequently deteriorated, requiring hospitalization. Her many descendants gathered near her room to recite Tehillim, and during the night she passed away.

Rebbetzin Yisroelson was born in Yerushalayim on 3 Teves 5693 to her father, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l, the renowned posek hador, and her mother, Rebbetzin Sheina Chaya a”h, a daughter of Rav Aryeh Levin zt”l.

She was raised in a home permeated with Torah and witnessed firsthand the extraordinary mesirus nefesh of her parents for Torah despite difficult circumstances.

Upon reaching marriageable age, she married Rav Yosef Yisroel Yisroelson zt”l, who served as rosh kollel of Kollel Bar Shaul in Rechovot and authored the sefer Kitzurei Halachos. He was known as an exceptional talmid chochom who lived quietly and avoided public recognition.

Together, Rebbetzin Yisroelson and her husband established a home founded upon Torah and yiras Shomayim. She devoted herself to supporting her husband and enabling him to dedicate himself to his learning.

For decades, the Yisroelsons lived at 5 Chazon Ish Street in Bnei Brak, where their neighbors included Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l and Rav Yitzchok Grodzensky zt”l.

Rebbetzin Yisroelson was deeply devoted to her father and would travel from Bnei Brak to his home twice each week to take care of his household needs. She would arrive at approximately 11:30 a.m. and remain until 7 p.m. When her work was finished, she would approach her father before returning to Bnei Brak and wish him “a gute nacht.” Rav Elyashiv would respond warmly, thanking her for everything she had done and blessing her that she merit success, bracha and nachas from all her descendants.

During the final years of Rav Elyashiv’s life, his extraordinary hasmadah intensified even further, to the point that he was reluctant to interrupt his learning for virtually anything. During that period, even when his daughter came to say goodbye before leaving, Rav Elyashiv would simply nod his head toward her rather than interrupt his learning.

Someone once asked Rebbetzin Yisroelson whether she was hurt that her father merely nodded to her while giving warm brachos to the many others who came to see him.

She replied: “My father warmly blesses everyone who comes to his home because he knows that they need it. But he knows me and knows that I am happy with every second that he learns, and therefore I prefer to forgo his farewell blessing as long as I do not interrupt his learning or take away from his precious moments.”

During her lifetime, Rebbetzin Yisroelson sat shivah for four of her sisters: Rebbetzin Batsheva Esther Kanievsky a”h, Rebbetzin Leah Auerbach a”h, Rebbetzin Dina Ettel Berlin a”h and Rebbetzin Shoshana Zilberstein a”h. She also mourned the passing of her brothers, Rav Shlomo Elyashiv zt”l and Rav Avrohom Elyashiv zt”l.

She is survived by her sons, Rav Dov Yisroelson, a distinguished talmid chochom; Rav Avrohom Tzvi Yisroelson, rov of Chanichei Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer; Rav Shlomo Yisroelson, an educational supervisor at Talmud Torah Avi Ezri-Halichos Shmuel; and Rav Lipa Yisroelson, publisher of the seforim of Rav Elyashiv, among others. She is also survived by her son-in-law, Rav Dovid Sofer, rov of the Alfei Menashe kehillah in Bnei Brak.

She is also survived by her brothers, Rav Moshe Elyashiv and Rav Binyomin Dovid Elyashiv, and her sister, Rebbetzin Rimer.

Yehi zichrah baruch.

{Matzav.com}

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that an attack on a Jewish woman wearing an Israeli flag may constitute racial discrimination, allowing most of her lawsuit to proceed toward trial.

Kimmara Sumrall accused Janine Ali, 74, of approaching her from behind during a demonstration at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., in November 2024 and pulling the Israeli flag tied around her neck, briefly choking her.

Mark Goldfeder, director of National Jewish Advocacy Center, which is representing Sumrall, told JNS that “today, the court denied the motion to dismiss, which means the case is going forward.”

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden rejected Ali’s argument that the flag did not represent Jewish identity. “Sumrall supports Israel as an expression of her Jewish identity,” he wrote in the ruling.

“The Star of David, emblazoned upon the Israeli flag, symbolizes the Jewish race,” he wrote. “Battery, particularly involving a racial symbol, is strong evidence of racial discrimination.”

McFadden added that “it is quite a stretch to say that yanking on a flag tied around someone’s neck is an objection to state policies; battery is not a legitimate form of protest.”

Goldfeder called the ruling a “massive win.”

“The ‘it’s just anti-Zionism not antisemitism’ excuse has now been raised, briefed and rejected,” Goldfeder said. “On the record. Every defendant who reaches for that excuse will now find this opinion waiting.”

According to the filing, Sumrall had previously witnessed Ali, at other demonstrations, calling Jews “baby killer” and accusing Jews of “committing genocide” and being “disgusting ex-IDF soldiers.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

Pro-Israel candidates from both parties scored major victories across Florida on Tuesday, with Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds, Republican Rep. Randy Fine and Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz all defeating opponents who had made hostility toward Israel a prominent part of their campaigns.

Donalds easily captured the Republican nomination for governor, positioning himself to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis while dealing a decisive defeat to James Fishback, whose campaign drew attention for its outreach to the “groyper” movement associated with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

With 87% of ballots counted, Donalds had received 762,364 votes, or 48.3%, while Lt. Gov. Jay Collins was a distant second with 393,248 votes, or 24.9%. Fishback finished third with 163,261 votes, or 10.4%.

The Associated Press called the Republican gubernatorial contest for Donalds roughly an hour after polls closed.

Fishback has denied harboring hostility toward Jews, but his campaign was heavily focused on opposition to Israel and was also marked by repeated racial jabs at Donalds, who is black.

Among other proposals, Fishback promised to remove Florida state investments from Israel and signed a “contract with Florida” pledging not to accept money from the pro-Israel group AIPAC. He also referred to food served at the University of Central Florida as “goyslop” and repeatedly called Donalds “By’rone,” apparently seeking to make his first name sound more stereotypically black.

Donalds, by contrast, has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and has previously characterized the Jewish state as the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East.

The Republican congressman will now advance to the November general election, where he will face David Jolly, a onetime Republican congressman who secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Republicans also rejected an explicitly antisemitic challenge to Jewish Rep. Randy Fine, who comfortably retained the GOP nomination for his House seat against social media personality Dan Bilzerian.

With 87% of ballots counted, Fine had 42,898 votes, or 56.8%, compared with Bilzerian’s 13,816 votes, or 18.3%.

Bilzerian, who has approximately 29 million Instagram followers and has previously denied the Holocaust, made antisemitic rhetoric a central feature of his campaign.

Days before the primary, Bilzerian posted an AI-generated video asking “should we revisit that Austrian painter’s opinions” alongside an image of Adolf Hitler. The video also depicted Fine wearing a yarmulke while horns appeared to grow from his head.

The video prompted widespread condemnation from Republicans, Democrats and Jewish organizations.

The Republican Jewish Coalition celebrated the results, praising Fine for defeating a “neo-Nazi” and Donalds for overcoming “one of the most openly bigoted campaigns in recent memory.”

“James Fishback spent this race trafficking in vile racism and antisemitic filth,” stated Matt Brooks, CEO of the coalition. “He peddled antisemitic conspiracy tropes to his supporters while courting the endorsement and praise of white nationalist Nick Fuentes.”

“Dan Bilzerian did not merely flirt with antisemitism. He made Jew-hatred the entire premise of his campaign,” Brooks said. “Tonight, the Republican voters of Florida’s 6th District stood up to this fanatic and buried Bilzerian’s hateful campaign in the dustbin of history where it belongs.”

On the Democratic side, two prominent Jewish and pro-Israel members of Congress also survived challenges from candidates who have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz each won their respective Democratic House primaries despite major changes to Florida’s congressional map resulting from Republican-led mid-decade redistricting.

The new boundaries prompted Moskowitz to seek reelection in the 25th Congressional District, which had previously been represented by Wasserman Schultz. She instead moved to the predominantly black 20th Congressional District, a seat left vacant when Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned in April after being federally indicted on fraud charges.

Despite leaving Congress, Cherfilus-McCormick remained a candidate in the Democratic primary. Wasserman Schultz also faced former Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness; Elijah Manley, a self-described democratic socialist and convert to Judaism; and Luther Campbell, the rapper best known for leading the 1980s hip-hop group 2 Live Crew.

All four of Wasserman Schultz’s primary opponents are black.

With 99% of ballots counted, Wasserman Schultz led the field with 29,759 votes, or 45.6%. Holness finished second with 14,985 votes, or 22.9%, followed by Manley with 9,059 votes, or 13.9%. Cherfilus-McCormick received 5,997 votes, or 9.2%, while Campbell finished with 5,520 votes, or 8.4%.

Moskowitz, meanwhile, faced Oliver Larkin in the Democratic primary for the 25th District. Larkin was the only Florida candidate to receive the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America.

With 91% of ballots counted, Moskowitz held a commanding advantage with 27,584 votes, or 63.5%, compared with Larkin’s 15,867 votes, or 36.5%.

Republicans also held a competitive primary for the 25th District. With 91% of those ballots tabulated, Scott Singer led with 11,603 votes, or 31.3%, while George R. Moraitis was second with 10,162 votes, or 27.4%.

The November outlook differs significantly for Florida’s two Jewish Democratic incumbents. The Cook Political Report currently considers Moskowitz’s newly configured 25th District a toss-up, potentially setting up a closely fought general-election contest, while Wasserman Schultz’s 20th District is rated solidly Democratic.

{Matzav.com}

Conor Kennedy, the son of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list over his decision to fight alongside Ukrainian forces following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to reports.

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court authorized Kennedy’s “arrest in absentia,” accusing the 32-year-old of serving as a mercenary with Ukraine’s armed forces, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

If apprehended and convicted in Russia, Kennedy could face a prison sentence of between seven and 10 years, the Russian outlet reported.

Kennedy disclosed in October 2022 that he had secretly traveled to Ukraine and enlisted with the country’s International Legion, joining fighters on the front lines against Russian forces. He said at the time that he had kept the decision almost entirely secret, revealing his whereabouts to only one person back home.

“Like many people, I was deeply moved by what I saw happening in Ukraine over the past year. I wanted to help. When I heard about Ukraine’s International Legion, I knew I was going, and I went to the embassy to enlist the next day,” he wrote in an Instagram post.

Kennedy explained that he deliberately concealed his identity and plans from almost everyone around him.

“I told one person here where I was, and I told one person there my real name. I didn’t want my family or friends to worry, and I didn’t want to be treated differently there.”

The third child of RFK Jr. acknowledged that he arrived in Ukraine without a military background and “wasn’t a great shot,” but said he could handle physically demanding tasks and “learned fast.”

“I was also willing to die there,” the Kennedy scion wrote. “So they soon agreed to send me to the northeastern front.”

Kennedy even kept the enlistment secret from his father and his stepmother, actress Cheryl Hines. Rather than tell them that he was heading to Ukraine, he informed his family that he had decided not to take a planned position at a Los Angeles law firm that summer.

The grandson of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy reportedly asked his parents not to press him about where he was going, telling them only that he intended to pursue something he strongly believed in.

“We asked him when he was starting [the job at the law firm],” RFK Jr. previously told People.

“He had a good job and we were looking forward to having him stay with us. And he told us that he had given notice to the law firm and he was doing something else instead.”

His family eventually began suspecting that something unusual was happening when charges from Poland and Ukraine started appearing on his credit card statements, according to the report.

“When he got back, I kind of expressed some — I don’t know — whether it’s anger or whatever,” RFK Jr. said.

“He said to me, when he heard maybe a little bit of anger and concern, ‘Dad, this is what you taught me to do: to stand up for what I believe in.’ And I was like ‘okay.’ ”

“I’m very proud of this. Of my son,” the Trump administration Cabinet secretary added.

RFK Jr. said he and his son did not share the same perspective on the conflict, but he respected Conor’s willingness to personally act on the position he had advocated.

“And I knew his views about the war were not aligned with mine. Although he’s not naive at all about it. … He’d been arguing vociferously for the U.S. intervention and he didn’t want to be one of these people supporting a war and sitting on the sideline.”

After spending approximately two and a half months serving on the front lines in Ukraine, Kennedy returned to the United States and resumed his legal studies at Georgetown University.

Kennedy, who previously had a brief relationship with Taylor Swift and married Brazilian singer-songwriter Giulia Be earlier this year, is currently listed as an associate attorney at the Los Angeles office of Wisner Baum.

Kennedy is not the only foreign national whom Moscow has sought over alleged involvement in Ukraine’s military. Other foreign volunteers placed on Russia’s wanted list reportedly include 37-year-old American citizen Ingram Asbill Tracy James and British citizen Shorney Joseph Richard Ryan.

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Tuesday stood by his decision to label extremist West Bank settlers who terrorize Palestinians as “terrorists,” warning that their actions are damaging Israel and the Jewish people. At the same time, he rejected reports that Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu and U.S. envoy Jared Kushner clashed over the next stage of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.

Huckabee first applied the term last week in a post on X while discussing extremists who have surrounded several homes in the West Bank village of Qusra. The group has repeatedly returned to the area despite efforts by the Israeli military to disperse them, apparently seeking to force the residents — one of whom is an American citizen — from their homes.

“I’ve been rebuked by people who said, ‘Well, that’s not terrorism,’” Huckabee said in an interview with Channel 12 news.

“But from the US definition of terror, when acts are conducted that cause people to change their behavior, and put them in fear for their lives, when things are done to people for the express purpose, whether they’re done to a nation, whether they’re done to a specific individual or to a family, but it causes them to be afraid to live their lives — that’s terror.”

The ambassador emphasized that those responsible represent “a very small minority” of Israelis. He also said that many do not actually reside in the West Bank, quipping, “they’re not settlers, they’re unsettlers.”

“They’re there to stir up trouble and the damage that they are doing to Israel, the damage they are doing to the Jewish people – I have no idea why they think that they’re accomplishing anything other than hurting the very people they claim to be fighting for,” he said.

Addressing the situation in Qusra specifically, Huckabee said he believed Israeli authorities were already “acting” against those involved, independent of any intervention from the U.S. Embassy. Ordinarily, he explained, “we don’t have a direct involvement if it doesn’t involve an American citizen.”

“But once it involves an American citizen, then our involvement is pretty much automatic and it’s going to be significant because that’s our job,” he said.

Asked whether he was troubled that Netanyahu had not publicly denounced what was happening in Qusra, amid reports that Washington had urged the prime minister to issue a condemnation, Huckabee responded, “What we’re looking for is responsible action.”

The confrontation in Qusra comes against the backdrop of a months-long increase in violence by extremist settlers, including almost daily incidents targeting Palestinians or their property. Arrests and prosecutions in connection with those attacks have remained relatively uncommon.

In a separate Channel 13 interview, Huckabee said the Office of the U.S. Security Coordinator in Yerushalayim has been involved in efforts to reduce tensions in the West Bank. Created in 2005, the USSC works to improve and strengthen Palestinian Authority security forces while encouraging their security coordination with Israel. Although personnel from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Bulgaria participate in the international mission, it operates under American leadership.

“We would like to see all those taking part in terror activities face grave consequences,” said Huckabee.

Huckabee also pushed back strongly against accounts suggesting Netanyahu and Kushner had a contentious exchange Monday over the future implementation of Trump’s Gaza initiative. He said Washington understands that Israel cannot be expected to withdraw further from Gaza while Hamas continues to possess weapons.

“Where do the people get this? I was in the room. I was a part of every conversation. That simply did not happen like that,” Huckabee said of the reported tensions during the Monday meeting.

“There was an agreement, and it was a good agreement, that we all want to see this [plan] move forward, but we also recognize that what the president has made clear is that Hamas must disarm, demilitarize, and they have no future in the governing of Gaza.”

Despite reports of frustration within the Trump administration over Israeli military operations in Gaza, Huckabee maintained that Israel “never backed away” from its support for President Trump’s broader 20-point framework for Gaza’s postwar future. He said Washington and Yerushalayim also remain aligned on Israel’s “right to defend itself.”

“Israel has always maintained, and the US has respected, that Israel has a right to defend itself. And if they have an imminent threat, they’re not expected to stand back and take it in the teeth. Nobody expects that of them,” he said.

Turning to the question of Israeli troop withdrawals, Huckabee said it has “been clearly understood that Israel is not expected to move their boundaries as long as Hamas has still got arms and RPGs and grenades. That’s the whole point of the disarmament.”

His comments came as Israel continued to raise objections to the Board of Peace’s Hamas disarmament proposal. That framework calls for the IDF to gradually withdraw from portions of Gaza while Hamas simultaneously turns over its weapons. Netanyahu has rejected that sequence, maintaining that Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas has been fully disarmed.

Although Huckabee portrayed the differences as limited, sources familiar with Monday’s talks have said that the question was not ultimately settled during Netanyahu’s meeting with Kushner in Yerushalayim.

One source with direct knowledge of the negotiations said that after the Netanyahu-Kushner talks, the Board of Peace began considering an alternative formula under which Hamas would completely disarm and Israel would fully withdraw from Gaza. No final agreement on such an arrangement has been reached.

Huckabee also defended Kushner against criticism in Israel over the American envoy’s recent decision to meet senior Hamas officials in Cairo.

During his Channel 13 interview, Huckabee said Kushner “didn’t meet with them because he thought that he was dealing with honest brokers, but he needed to convey the message very clearly from the United States: You’ve got to disarm, demilitarize, and you have no future.”

In another interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, Huckabee was questioned about the growing anti-Israel sentiment seen among segments of both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States and whether Israeli policies had contributed to the trend.

“They cannot change the voices of people who are antisemitic and hate Israel,” the ambassador said.

“And a lot of this comes from the billions of dollars that’s being spent by the Muslim Brotherhood sponsored entities that fund all of these Middle East studies programs on American campuses,” he continued, while also accusing Russia and China of helping spread misinformation online.

Huckabee said one way to counter negative perceptions is to encourage more people to visit Israel themselves. He also argued that Israel needs to pursue a more forceful and effective public diplomacy campaign.

At the same time, he warned that Israelis themselves should avoid behavior that strengthens the arguments of Israel’s opponents.

“But he added: “Israelis have to be careful not to give ammunition to these critics.” The ambassador again pointed to violent extremists in the West Bank, saying their actions amounted to “pouring gasoline on a fire.”

“Why would you help your enemies hate you more?” Huckabee said.

{Matzav.com}