The European Union on Thursday heaped more economic sanctions on Russia, adding to U.S. President Donald Trump’s new punitive measures the previous day against the Russian oil industry. Russian officials and state media dismissed the Western measures, saying they are largely ineffective. The sanctions are intended as part of a broadened effort to choke off the revenue and supplies that fuel Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and compel Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war. The measures are a triumph for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has long campaigned for the international community to punish Russia more comprehensively for attacking his country. “We waited for this. God bless, it will work. And this is very important,” Zelenskyy said in Brussels, where EU countries attending a summit announced the latest round of Russia sanctions. Despite U.S.-led peace efforts in recent months, the war shows no sign of ending after nearly four years, and European leaders are increasingly concerned about the threat from Russia. Ukrainian forces have largely held Russia’s bigger army at bay in a slow and ruinous war of attrition along a roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line that snakes along eastern and southern Ukraine. Almost daily Russian long-range strikes have taken aim at Ukraine’s power grid before the bitter winter, while Ukrainian forces have targeted Russian oil refineries and manufacturing plants. Targeted sanctions Energy revenue is the linchpin of Russia’s economy, allowing Putin to pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation and avoiding a currency collapse. The EU measures especially target Russian oil and gas. They ban imports of Russian liquefied natural gas into the bloc, and add port bans on more than 100 new ships in the Russian shadow fleet of hundreds of aging tankers that are dodging sanctions. The latest sanctions bring the total number of such ships to be banned to 557. The measures also target transactions with a cryptocurrency increasingly used by Russia to circumvent sanctions; prohibit operations in the bloc using Russian payment cards and systems; restrict the provision of artificial intelligence services and high-performance computing services to Russian entities; and widen an export ban to include electronic components, chemicals and metals used in military manufacturing. A new system for limiting the movement of Russian diplomats within the 27-nation EU will also be introduced. International crude prices jumped more than $2 per barrel Thursday on news of the additional sanctions. Trump-Putin dynamics The U.S. sanctions against Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil came after Trump said that his plan for a swift meeting with Putin was on hold because he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.” It was the latest twist in Trump’s hot-and-cold efforts to end the war as Putin refuses to budge from his demands. However, the sanctions don’t take effect for almost a month, until Nov. 21, potentially giving Putin a chance for a change of heart. Chris Weafer, CEO of the Macro-Advisory Ltd. consultancy, said “that’s a window where they hope Russia will more seriously engage, and if it does, then those sanctions could be suspended.” While the U.S. sanctions won’t have an immediate impact, they will over time erode revenue for Moscow. “You can be sure that every oil buyer in Asia today is trying to find anything that floats that they can buy Russian oil before that sanction kicks in,” Weafer told The Associated Press from London. “And therefore, Russia will sell a […]
Israeli paratroopers uncovered disturbing materials this week while conducting a raid in Chevron, discovering a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf alongside other propaganda promoting hatred of Jews. The books were found inside the offices of an organization tied to Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces announced Thursday.
According to the IDF, the so-called Islamic Charity Association in Chevron “presents itself as aiding the needy,” but in reality operated as a front “to promote incitement to terror and to recruit and channel funds to finance the organization’s terrorist activities.”
Soldiers seized 165,700 shekels—over $50,000—in what the military identified as terrorist funds during the same operation. The army said that troops also moved to “seal off the main entrance of the compound where the incitement materials and funds were located.”
The organization is believed to run multiple branches across Judea and Samaria, serving as part of Hamas’s extensive civilian infrastructure used for recruitment, indoctrination, and funding.
The discovery echoed a similar incident last year in Gaza. In November 2023, Israeli forces battling Hamas in the northern Strip also found a copy of Mein Kampf in a child’s bedroom that had been turned into a terrorist base. President Isaac Herzog personally displayed the book during an interview with the BBC on November 12, 2023.
“This is Adolf Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, translated into Arabic. This is the book that led to the Holocaust and the book that led to World War II,” Herzog said, according to a statement released by the President’s Residence.
“The terrorist wrote notes, marked the sections, and studied over and over the ideology of Adolf Hitler to hate the Jews, to kill the Jews, to burn and slaughter Jews wherever they are,” Herzog added. “This is the real war we are facing.”
{Matzav.com}
A Chareidi avreich arrested for “draft dodging” spoke to Kol Chai on Thursday about his stint in military prison. He said that the conditions in the prison pose a danger to ruchniyus. “There were eight prisoners in one room, including Chareidim, secular, and Druze,” he said. “The conditions were very difficult, especially for someone who comes from the Olam HaTorah.” “You’re in a room with the television on all day, and you can’t always turn it off. Even if you don’t watch it, you’re affected by it. It’s not an environment appropriate for Chareidim.” He added that most of the officers serving in the prison are female. “You have to approach them for the most basic things, and it’s very uncomfortable.” “My stay in prison wasn’t easy, emotionally or spiritually, but despite the hardships, I felt a sense of mission.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance were given a rare, high-tech window into the Gaza Strip during a visit Wednesday to IDF headquarters at the Kirya in Tel Aviv, where they used a virtual reality system to “observe” the territory and receive a classified intelligence briefing, according to Israeli officials. The briefing focused on three key issues at the center of President Donald Trump’s Gaza cease-fire framework: recovering the bodies of slain hostages, disarming Hamas, and demilitarizing Gaza. Vance was joined by top U.S. officials, including Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper. The session underscored the pivot Trump’s new administration is attempting to achieve in its second term — balancing visible U.S. solidarity with Israel while overseeing the delicate implementation of the Gaza peace plan. On the Israeli side, the high-level meeting brought together some of the country’s most senior defense and intelligence officials: Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter, Defense Ministry Director General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram, and Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder. According to Israeli defense officials, Vance was briefed on the early operational phases of the International Security Force being assembled to stabilize postwar Gaza and oversee the phased disarmament of Hamas terrorists — a key condition of Trump’s peace framework. The vice president’s visit to the Kirya followed two days of meetings across Israel, including discussions with Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of Israel’s war cabinet. It marked one of the most detailed U.S.-Israeli defense exchanges since the cease-fire took hold earlier this month, signaling Washington’s effort to keep Israel closely aligned with its plan even as internal political tensions rise over settlement policy and annexation efforts in the West Bank. Vance’s use of virtual reality technology — a first for a sitting U.S. vice president in an Israeli military facility — was described by one Israeli official as “a new kind of battlefield diplomacy.” The system, developed by the IDF’s Technological Division, allows users to experience live-mapped terrain and operational environments in real time. “The goal was to give the vice president a clear sense of the geography, the security challenges, and the ongoing operations in Gaza without having to set foot there,” said an Israeli official familiar with the visit. The session at the Kirya capped a trip that has seen Vance emphasize the U.S. commitment to ensuring that “the peace is not just holding, but lasting.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The IDF says it foiled a weapons-smuggling attempt from Syria into Lebanon near Mount Hermon last night. Surveillance by the 595th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit spotted suspicious activity, prompting troops from the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade and Unit 504 field interrogators to detain several suspects near the peak. The suspects, caught trying to move multiple firearms into Lebanon, were taken for questioning. This is the second such smuggling attempt prevented by the IDF in the area in the past week.
Experts say the $100 million jewels stolen from the Louvre may already be lost forever. Investigators fear the thieves will melt down or break apart the historic royal gems — including crowns, necklaces, and brooches — to sell the pieces discreetly on the open market. “It could be sold down the street from the Louvre,” said art crime expert Erin Thompson, noting that cutting or recasting the gems would erase their traceability and historic value.
A powerful voice rose late Wednesday as thousands of yeshiva students and supporters gathered at the gates of Prison 10 to protest the arrest of a yeshiva bochur. In a special broadcast addressed to the demonstrators, Rav Moshe Shternbuch denounced the actions of the authorities and broke down in tears as he rallied the crowd.
The protest at the prison followed the detention of Ariel Shamai, a student of Yeshiva Ateret Shlomo, arrested for refusing draft enlistment. Thousands of yeshiva bachurim assembled at the gates of Prison 10 for an initial demonstration.
Speaking from his home in the Har Nof neighborhood of Yerushalayim, Rav Shternbuch condemned the authorities’ conduct as unprecedented cruelty: “We have never heard of such cruelty before. Students are learning Torah and in the middle of their learning they are hauled off to prison. They are distressed and thereby they distress us as well.”
Turning from denunciation to deep emotion, Rav Shternbuch said that the situation calls for unceasing mourning and firm resistance: “This is a situation we never dreamed we would reach — wickedness and cruelty. And those who have sinned — their sin is that they learn Torah; has anything like this ever been heard? It would be fitting for each and every one to cry day and night, and the Shechinah is certainly in great sorrow, but with Hashem’s help we will not give up; without Torah we are truly like beasts, we have no reason to live and why should we live like this.”
He went on to denounce the policy’s perpetrators and express confidence in the enduring strength of Jewish faith: “They are accursed wicked ones, cursed one and cursed again, but with God’s help they will not succeed, for we have a hidden strength; the heart of a Jew will never give up on Judaism, and the holy Torah is our life and the length of our days, and in it we will labor day and night and may Your love not depart from it forever.”
At one point the rov wept bitterly and appealed for a place to give expression to his grief: “Oh, oh, find me a place where I can cry and shed tears. We will not give up, and this voice will be raised everywhere in the country and abroad.”
Rav Shternbuch concluded with an urgent call to Jews abroad to join the struggle: “We call upon our brethren abroad: do not remain silent — know that this trouble will come to you as well; do not think you will be exempt. Go out with self-sacrifice and you will succeed, and I promise you that you will succeed, and we will see it with our own eyes very soon.”
{Matzav.com}
The soldiers and airmen stood at the back of the black minivan, arming themselves — with black garbage bags and red-handled trash pickers — and headed for the park around the recreation center. For the Washington, D.C., contingent of the National Guard deployed to the nation’s capital, it marked their 119th beautification project since the unit was called up in August as part of President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement intervention. Their work has included cleaning graffiti in parks, picking up trash and refurbishing a recreation center. There are plans to help a school reading program in an often overlooked area of the city. The hundreds of National Guard troops still deployed to the city — at times armed — have unnerved some residents, who see in them the manifestation of presidential overreach on law enforcement. And while there is deep mistrust over the motives of the overall deployment, others view the Guard in Washington, especially its local contingent’s focus on community improvement efforts, with a measure of approval. “I’m glad for the help,” said Sabir Abdul, 68, a resident who regularly cleans the trash and debris in the park around the Fort Stevens Recreation Center in Northwest D.C. “They have lives, but now they are here, helping us.” The mixed feelings over the Guard deployment have forced local officials to strike a balance between opposing what they see as a flagrant violation of the city’s already limited autonomy and the acknowledgment that the district could use the help that at least the D.C. National Guard contingent has been providing. A lawsuit filed by D.C.’s attorney general challenging the deployment — part of a wave of legal action in multiple cities facing their own federal law enforcement interventions — will be heard on Friday. The Guard deployment in DC is among several around the country Hundreds of National Guard troops have been in Washington, D.C., since Trump issued an emergency order in August, which launched what he said was a crime-fighting mission that also included the federal takeover of the local police department. The order expired last month, but the roughly 2,000 National Guard troops from D.C. and eight states remain in the city, with most contingents saying they plan to withdraw by the end of November. The troops have become a fixture of the city, patrolling metro stations and neighborhoods and supporting other federal law enforcement agencies in operations that have led to hundreds of arrests and sparked fear in many communities, especially among immigrants. Trump, a Republican, has praised the campaign as having reduced crime rates, which were already falling. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat whose city budget and laws are determined by Congress, has walked a fine line between appeasing Trump and pushing back on the deployment. She has acknowledged that the campaign has helped push down crime, while arguing that the out-of-state National Guard deployment has not been “an efficient use of those resources.” In a recent brief filed in the D.C. legal case, Attorney General Brian Schwalb argued that the Guard units are operating “as a federal military police force.” The document also indicated that there were plans for the D.C. Guard to potentially remain in the city at least through next summer. For some, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Grappling with mixed feelings about the Guard In Ward 8, which is […]
NYC Mayor Eric Adams will reportedly endorse Andrew Cuomo for mayor today. This comes after they sat together at a NY Knicks basketball game last night – and marks a stunning turnaround for Adams, who previously called Cuomo a “snake.”
A tense night unfolded across the olam haTorah as military police arrested two yeshiva bochurim and attempted to detain a third, sparking outrage and protests in multiple cities.
Two brothers, bnei Torah from the city of Ramla, were taken from their home overnight by the military police for the crime of learning Torah instead of serving in the army.
The brothers, Nehorai and Eliyahu Yaakovov, aged 18½ and 24, are talmidim of Yeshivas Kol Eliyahu and Shuva Yisrael, led by Rav Y. Pinto. Both were transferred to a military prison.
At the same time, in Be’er Sheva, military police attempted to arrest a talmid from Yeshivas Or HaChaim on Akzin Street. The family refused to open the door, and neighbors along with local bnei Torah quickly gathered at the scene, confronting the soldiers. Following heated clashes, the military forces retreated and the arrest was called off.
MK Meir Porush condemned the arrests in strong terms: “Also tonight, the attorney general sent the military police to arrest young men whose only crime is that Torasan umnasam. For months, this draconian campaign against the olam haTorah has failed to achieve its goals, yet she refuses to admit failure and continues to push the Jewish nation toward civil war. The letter signed yesterday, at my initiative, by members of Knesset from across the political spectrum, opposing the arrests of yeshiva students — including a chosson and a yasom — shows that the majority of the nation rejects this aggressive approach toward the Torah world. It’s time to stop before it’s too late.”
The joint letter referenced by Porush was sent Tuesday night, following two previous arrests that had already shaken the Torah community. The letter, signed by MKs from several parties, protested the ongoing detention of chosson Yisroel Meir Taharani, who was arrested during his sheva brachos, and yasom Ariel Rosenzweig, taken into custody during shivah for his father.
In their statement, the signatories wrote: “We, the undersigned members of Knesset and government ministers, protest the arrests of chosson Yisroel Meir Taharani and yasom Ariel Rosenzweig as part of the attorney general’s campaign of arrests following the unresolved status of yeshiva students. The yasom Ariel Rosenzweig was arrested during the shivah for his father, while the chosson Yisroel Meir Taharani was arrested over a month ago during his sheva brachos and remains imprisoned to this day.”
With outrage spreading and activists warning of a widening crackdown, askanim and roshei yeshiva are preparing for what they say could be a wave of widespread protests in defense of Torah learning across the country.
{Matzav.com}
The Prime Minister’s Office published a sharply worded statement in English on Thursday regarding the vote in the Knesset to apply sovereignty over Yehudah and Shomron. President Trump and Vice President Vance both harshly condemned the vote. “The Knesset vote on annexation was a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel,” the statement said. “The two bills were sponsored by opposition members of the Knesset.” “The Likud party and the religious parties (the principal coalition members) did not vote for these bills, except for one disgruntled Likud member who was recently fired from the chairmanship of a Knesset committee. Without Likud support, these bills are unlikely to go anywhere.” The disgruntled Likud member was Yuli Edelstein, who was removed from his position as the head of the prestigious Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after he refused to cooperate with the Chareidi MKs on a Chareidi draft bill. Following Edelstein’s vote for the annexation bill [which was boycotted by the Likud party], the party decided to strip him of his membership from the Foreign Affairs committee. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
New York Attorney General Letitia James is launching an online platform where people can upload photos and videos of ICE agents and immigration raids.
In a new interview with TIME Magazine, President Donald Trump made clear that Israel should not proceed with extending sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, cautioning that doing so would severely damage its relationship with Washington. The conversation, published Thursday, took place before the Knesset held a preliminary vote on the measure.
“It won’t happen,” Trump told TIME. “It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries. And you can’t do that now. We’ve had great Arab support. It will not happen. Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”
The president stressed that maintaining strong ties with Arab nations remains central to the stability achieved since the Gaza ceasefire. He credited those alliances with reshaping regional politics and emphasized that pushing sovereignty now would undermine that progress.
During the wide-ranging discussion, Trump reflected on his diplomatic efforts following the truce in Gaza, his view of Iran’s diminished influence, and his plans to personally visit the Gaza Strip. When asked directly whether such a visit would occur, he replied, “I will,” confirming his intention to go. He added that he had been invited to head the newly created “Board of Peace,” which he said will play a major role in determining the region’s next steps. “The Middle East has never been brought together. It’s really been brought together now,” he said.
Trump also spoke warmly about his recent meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. According to the president, their conversation was friendly and marked by mutual respect. He said Abbas praised his accomplishments in the region. “He said, ‘You’ve done something that no other president would have done,’” Trump recalled. “He congratulated me. He said, ‘What you did is not even possible to do.’”
Looking ahead, Trump said that Saudi Arabia is nearing full normalization with Israel under the Abraham Accords. Describing the momentum as historic, he added confidently, “We have peace in the Middle East.”
{Matzav.com}
Klal Yisroel was struck this week with an unimaginable tragedy on Sunday when four precious Yeshiva bochurim were tragically killed in a horrific car accident in New Jersey. Three of the bochurim were from Lakewood, and one from South Fallsburg. The pain and grief that swept through the Torah world was indescribable as they mourned the loss of Yaakov Kilberg z”l, 19, Aharon Nosson Lebovits z”l, 18, and Shlomo Abba Cohen z”l, 18 — all from Lakewood — and Chaim Simcha Grossman z”l, 18, of Fallsburg, New York. In times like these, when words fail and hearts ache, Klal Yisroel does what it has always done — we come together. We daven. We say Tehillim. We learn Mishnayos. We share in the pain of acheinu bnei Yisroel. And even in the darkest moments, sparks of light — of chesed, of achdus, of greatness — emerge. YWN has learned of two remarkable incidents that took place in the wake of this tragedy — acts of quiet, selfless kindness that have moved us, and we feel should be shared with our hundreds of thousands of readers. Shortly after the devastating news broke, an anonymous individual contacted the Lakewood Chevra Kadisha and wired funds to cover all the levaya and kevura expenses for the four bochurim. Without seeking recognition, this tzadik performed an extraordinary chesed shel emes, stepping forward on his own to ensure that these precious neshamos were cared for with dignity, and to leave one less thing for these heartbroken families to think about. Soon after the levaya, another anonymous benefactor reached out to Adirei HaTorah in BMG, asking to sponsor four yungerleit for an entire year l’zecher nishmas the four bochurim. Then, on Thursday, a sign appeared in BMG announcing yet another anonymous donation — the full sponsorship of the entire BMG kollel for that day, also in their memory. These powerful gestures remind us that even amid deep sorrow, chesed can lift and inspire. May these acts of kindness serve as a zechus for the neshamos of the four bochurim, and may their memory be a source of blessing for all of Klal Yisroel. May we never again know such pain, and may Hashem comfort the families and the entire nation that mourns with them. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Vice President JD Vance sharply rebuked Israel’s Knesset following its vote to extend sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, saying the move made little sense and served no real purpose.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force Two as he prepared to depart Israel, Vance described the decision as “weird” and admitted he found it confusing.
The Vice President said he had been told the measure was intended merely as a “symbolic” act and a “political stunt.” He didn’t hold back in his response: “If it was a political stunt, then it was a stupid political stunt, and I personally take some insult to it.”
Clarifying the administration’s stance, Vance emphasized that Washington’s approach remained firm: “The West Bank is not going to be annexed by Israel. The policy of the Trump administration is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel. That will continue to be our policy.”
{Matzav.com}
Four family members of a Republican running for governor in Illinois were killed in a Montana helicopter crash on Wednesday, his campaign said. Killed in crash were the son and daughter-in-law of former state Sen. Darren Bailey, a Republican who lost the 2022 gubernatorial election in Illinois and is seeking his party’s nomination again in next year’s race. Two of Bailey’s grandchildren also were killed, Bailey’s campaign said in a statement Thursday. “Darren and Cindy are heartbroken by this unimaginable loss. They are finding comfort in their faith, their family, and the prayers of so many who love and care for them,” the statement said. (AP)
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU STATEMENT: The Knesset vote on annexation was a deliberate political provocation by the opposition to sow discord during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Israel. The two bills were sponsored by opposition members of the Knesset. The Likud party and the religious parties (the principal coalition members) did not vote for these bills, except for one disgruntled Likud member who was recently fired from the chairmanship of a Knesset committee. Without Likud support these bills are unlikely to go anywhere.
Senator Marco Rubio warned Wednesday evening that the Knesset’s move to extend Israeli sovereignty in Yehudah and Shomron could jeopardize President Trump’s roadmap to end the fighting in Gaza.
The preliminary Knesset tally was razor-thin: the sovereignty measure cleared its first reading by a single vote. Twenty-five MKs supported the bill and 24 opposed it, while several Likud members stayed away or abstained — the lone Likud lawmaker to break with the party line and back the bill was MK Yuli Edelstein.
Alongside that measure, MK Avigdor Liberman’s proposal to annex Ma’ale Adumim won comfortable approval, passing 32–9.
From United Torah Judaism, MKs Yitzchak Goldknopf, Yisrael Eichler and Yaakov Tesler recorded yes votes. Members of Blue and White and Shas were similarly absent from the plenum when the sovereignty motion was taken.
Mr. Trump has previously voiced his objection to Israeli annexation moves, telling a reporter last month that he will “not allow” Israel to carry out such a move.
Rubio — who is scheduled to land in Israel on Thursday — said nations beyond the Middle East are ready to contribute troops to an international force for Gaza, a key element of President Trump’s peace proposal.
The State Department’s announcement of Rubio’s trip made clear his mission: the release said the secretary will be in Israel through Saturday and will then travel on to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, adding that Rubio will be traveling to Israel “to support the successful implementation of President Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Conflict in Gaza, which has garnered unprecedented international support.”
“During his visit, the secretary will reaffirm America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and engage with partners to build on the historic momentum towards durable peace and integration in the Middle East,” the statement added.
Rubio’s arrival follows a flurry of U.S. diplomacy this week — Vice President J.D. Vance visited Israel earlier, arriving after envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Vance, pressing Hamas to honor the ceasefire, warned sharply: “If Hamas doesn’t cooperate, then as the President of the United States has said, Hamas is going to be obliterated,” though he declined to give a timetable for compliance.
{Matzav.com}
Elon Musk said that in about two years, phones will connect directly to Starlink satellites, allowing users to watch videos anywhere without relying on regional carriers or worrying about dead zones.
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