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Nine people were injured, including two young children and their mother, after a shooter opened fire at a splash pad in a Detroit suburb where families gathered to escape the summer heat Saturday. Police tracked the shooter to a home, where the man apparently shot himself to death, authorities said. An 8-year-old boy was shot in the head and in critical condition Saturday night, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said during a news conference. The boy’s mother also was in critical condition after being wounded in the abdomen and leg, and his 4-year-old brother was in stable condition with a leg wound. The other six victims, all 30 or older, were in stable condition, Bouchard said. They included a husband-and-wife couple and a 78-year-old man. The shooting happened just after 5 p.m. at a city park featuring a recreation area with a nonslip surface where people can turn on sprays and fountains of water to play in. Bouchard said the attack appeared to be random, with the shooter driving up to the park, walking to the splash pad and firing as many as 28 times, stopping multiple times to reload. At least one witness reported that the shooter appeared to use two handguns during the attack, but that has not yet been confirmed, the sheriff said. In the chaos, “people were falling, getting hit, trying to run,” Bouchard said. “Terrible things that unfortunately all of us in our law enforcement business have seen way too much.” The gunman was “apparently in no rush. Just calmly walked back to his car,” the sheriff said. Police heard the 911 call reporting the shooting as it came in, Bouchard said, because the agency uses a service that simultaneously sends emergency calls to first responders. An officer was at the scene within two minutes, he said. Bouchard said the first deputies who arrived immediately began providing first aid, including tourniquets. Authorities found a handgun, three empty magazines and at least 28 spent shell casings at the splash pad. Investigators used the handgun’s registration information to obtain the suspect’s likely address, the sheriff said. When police arrived at the residence they found a car matching the suspect’s vehicle. Deputies surrounded the home and tried to make contact with the suspect inside, to no avail, Bouchard said. They sent a drone inside the home and then entered to find the suspect was dead. Bouchard said the man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Deputies discovered a handgun next to the body that may have been the second weapon the witness saw, the sheriff said. Deputies also found a semiautomatic rifle lying on the kitchen table, Bouchard said. The quick containment of the suspect may have prevented a “second chapter” to the shooting, the sheriff said. The suspect did not live in Rochester Hills and investigators do not yet know why he went to the splash pad, according to Bouchard. Officials did not release the man’s name. Bouchard described him as a 42-year-old man and said officials believe he lived with his mother. The man’s mother was notified, Bouchard said. The man had no prior police contacts and no criminal history, Bouchard said. “It’s our understanding that he was undergoing some mental health challenges but no one that we know of was notified,” the sheriff said. He […]

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Israeli opposition groups kicked off a “Week of Disruption” on Sunday aimed at bringing down Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s coalition and forcing a election within four months.

Eran Schwartz, the CEO of Blue and White Future, which once offered financial and organizational support to groups opposing the premier’s now-shelved judicial reform drive, said protests would continue until a government with “a desire to do good to the people” is elected.

“Our goal is clear: to return the mandate to the people and go to elections before the anniversary of the October 7 failures,” said Schwartz, who also leads Free in Our Land—Headquarters of the Struggle.

Schwartz spoke at a press conference in Tel Aviv that included the leaders of several anti-government protest groups, including Brothers in Arms, Elections Now, Building an Alternative, the Pink Front, the Change Generation and the Fighters from the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

He called on local authorities and business leaders to join the rallies, citing the need for the “establishment of a broad, agreed-upon and acceptable government.”

The protests kicked off with the blocking of highways throughout the country. This included protesters stopping traffic on Route 1 (the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway). Bonfires were lit on the Coastal Highway (Route 2) north of Tel Aviv.

Local protests are set to be held nationwide during the day on Monday, followed by a large rally at the Knesset in Yerushalayim at night. Activists also intend to march to Netanyahu’s official residence on Balfour Street.

Another rally will take place at the Knesset on Tuesday, followed by an event in Israel’s south on Wednesday night. On Thursday, more protests will be held near Netanyahu’s Yerushalayim and Caesarea residences.

While some families of hostages held by Hamas since the Oct. 7 attacks have joined the protests, the Tikva Forum for Families of Hostages has repeatedly condemned calls to join the anti-government movement, arguing that politicizing the hostage issue could backfire. JNS

Authorities evacuated at least 1,200 people Saturday as a wildfire in Los Angeles County spread over thousands of acres near a major highway and threatened nearby structures, officials said. The blaze, named the Post Fire, burned more than 3,600 acres (5.6 square miles or 14.5 square kilometers) near the Interstate 5 freeway in Gorman, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. California State Park Services evacuated 1,200 people from the Hungry Valley recreation area in Gorman and both Hungry Valley and the Pyramid Lake reservoir were closed as a result of the fire threat, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in an 8 p.m. update. The flames broke out at around 1:45 p.m., authorities said. The fire was moving southeast toward Pyramid Lake and crews were constructing perimeter fire lines while aircraft worked against limited visibility to stop the fire’s progress, the fire department said. (AP)

Israel should agree to withdraw from the Gaza Strip as part of a long-term ceasefire deal with the Hamas terrorist group, opposition leader Benny Gantz stated over the weekend, days after withdrawing his National Unity Party from the wartime government.

“I want the hostages to return home,” the former War Cabinet minister told Israel’s Channel 12 News. “If there is a change in the fighting and our hostages are returned, and we do what needs to be done in the Gaza Strip in a year, or in two years, that’s not an issue.”

“I want the hostages home, I want to have strong security, and then we can continue what needs to be continued,” added Gantz.

The National Unity Party leader did a round of interviews with Hebrew media days after announcing his departure from the wartime unity government led by Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

Announcing his decision to exit the government set up in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, Gantz accused the premier of preventing the Israel Defense Forces from “reaching a true victory.”

Gantz also demanded that Netanyahu do “everything he can” to advance U.S. President Joe Biden’s outline for a truce agreement.

Hamas has consistently pressed Israel to end the war as part of the hostage deal, a demand that Jerusalem has described as “delusional.”

In a separate sit-down interview with the Kan News public broadcaster on Thursday night, the politician touched on the fate of the Bibas family—Kfir, 1, Ariel, 4, and their parents Shiri, 32, and Yarden, 34.

Asked if Jerusalem knows what happened to the youngest hostage taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, Gantz replied, “I think so,” adding that the Israeli public would be informed of their fate “when things come to fruition.”

“We have to make every effort so that they will all return,” said Gantz, adding that the Bibas children are a “painful symbol of the campaign.”

In a statement published following the Kan News interview, relatives of the Bibas family slammed the former IDF chief of staff for speculating on national television without informing the family beforehand.

“We are in continuous and daily contact with the intelligence agencies and genuinely believe that we will hear good news,” the statement said.

“We ask elected officials who express themselves on the issue not to create irresponsible speculations,” said the family, emphasizing that “there is no conclusive information” about what happened to the four.

In late November, the IDF announced it was investigating claims by Hamas that three members of the Bibas family, including the then 10-month-old Kfir, died in Gaza captivity. The military said it was “assessing the accuracy of the information” shared by the terrorist organization. JNS

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi held a situational assessment and tour in central Gaza with the head of the Southern Command, Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman, and other senior IDF officials. During the tour, Halevi said: “We want to expand our base as much as possible. There’s an opportunity for change in Chareidi society – not broad enough – but there’s a desire for a change.” “We want to move forward not because it’s nice but first and foremost because it’s necessary…every Chareidi battalion we establish will decrease the need for thousands of reserve soldiers. It’s now a clear need and therefore we want to encourage it strongly. And we want to do it in the right way, do it well.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Right-wing ministers in the Israeli government lashed out on Sunday after the Israel Defense Forces announced it would observe daily 11-hour “humanitarian pauses” in its operation against Hamas terrorists along a route in southern Gaza to increase aid shipments into the area.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized the move, claiming it runs contrary to decisions made by the Security Cabinet.

“The one who decided on a ‘tactical truce’ to introduce humanitarian aid, especially at a time when the best of our soldiers are falling in battle, is evil and a fool who should not continue in his position,” he tweeted.

The announcement came a day after eight Israeli troops were slain in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah city, marking the deadliest day for the IDF in Gaza in six months.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich charged that humanitarian aid, the majority of which is seized by Hamas terrorists, “keeps it in power and may put the achievements of the war down the drain.

“The way the humanitarian effort in the Gaza Strip has been managed, with most aid reaching Hamas and helping it maintain civilian control over the Strip in direct contradiction to the war’s objectives, has been wrong for months,” Smotrich tweeted on Sunday afternoon.

“This morning’s disconnected announcement in the foreign media about a ‘humanitarian pause’ along the aid supply route from Kerem Shalom to the European Hospital in [Khan Yunis in] the center of the Strip did not reflect any change on the ground,” he stressed. “This route has existed since the start of the Rafah operation and is intended to allow the entry of aid by international organizations, in line with the flawed existing approach.

“The IDF chief of staff and defense minister have adamantly refused for six months the only path to victory: Conquering the Strip and temporarily imposing military rule until Hamas is destroyed. Sadly, Prime Minister Netanyahu either doesn’t want to or cannot force this upon them,” claimed the Religious Zionist Party leader.

According to the IDF, the decision to pause fighting between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. along the Salah al-Din Road leading from the Kerem Shalom Crossing north towards Khan Yunis was made following “additional related discussions with the U.N. and international organizations.”

In an English-language statement, the IDF noted that this is another step in the aid efforts carried out by it and the Defense Ministry’s COGAT unit since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip. “The IDF will continue to support humanitarian efforts on the ground,” the army said.

Just over an hour after the initial announcement on Sunday of the “tactical pauses,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari clarified in Hebrew that “there is no cessation of fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, and the fighting in Rafah continues. In addition, there has been no change regarding the introduction of goods into the Gaza Strip.”

He emphasized: “The axis carrying the goods will be open during the day, in coordination with international organizations, for the transportation of humanitarian aid only.”

In November, Jerusalem agreed to observe hour-long humanitarian pauses in its operation in northern Gaza following pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden. At the time, the IDF downplayed the truce, emphasizing that “these tactical pauses are limited in time and area.” JNS

The IDF on Sunday evening announced the death of Staff Sgt. Tzur Avraham, H’yd, 22, from Modi’in. Avraham, who served in the Nachal Brigade, was killed in Rafah on Sunday when the building he was searching partially collapsed after an explosive device was detonated in a hidden tunnel shaft. An officer was seriously wounded in the explosion and two soldiers were moderately wounded. Earlier on Sunday, the IDF announced the deaths of ten soldiers, eight in an APC explosion on Shabbos and two in a tank incident on Motzei Shabbos. In addition, another soldier who was seriously wounded in a booby-trapped building in Rafah last week died of his wounds on Shabbos. Their deaths increase the death toll of the ground war in Gaza to 312. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Years ago, tefillin were not colored black, as is mandated by halacha, a scientific study has found.

The discovery challenges long-held assumptions about the practice of tefillin observance.

The research, which was published in the prestigious journal PLOS ONE, is the work of a team from Israel and Great Britain. A battery of scientific tests showed that two-millennia-old tefillin uncovered in the Holy Land were likely the color of their natural leather when they were in use.

“This is a very important discovery,” said Professor Yonatan Adler of Ariel University, who led the study. “This is the first time that [ancient] tefillin have been scientifically examined to determine their color.”

He noted that in some of the tefillin, the leather has a natural brown color. In others, however, the very dark color of the leather, which was previously thought to be the result of dyeing, was in fact natural.

“Our tests have shown that where the leather appears dark, it is the result of a natural process and not intentional dyeing,” he said.

Back in 1949, archaeologists discovered several leather tefillin cases in a cave near Qumran, where the first Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Subsequently, additional tefillin cases were unearthed in other caves near Qumran, in Wadi Murabba‘at and in Nahal Se’elim—all in the Judean Desert.

These findings are dated to the same time as the Dead Sea Scrolls, from around the end of the Second Bais Hamikdosh period—or about 2,000 years ago.

The arid desert climate allowed these artifacts to survive for millennia until their discovery, and the tefillin cases have been preserved in the storeroom of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Dead Sea Scrolls Unit in Yerushalayim, where the climatic conditions of the caves are replicated.

According to Dr. Ilit Cohen-Ofri, head of the conservation laboratory at the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit: “In ancient times, there were two main methods for dyeing leather black. The first method used carbon-based materials—soot or charcoal—to give the leather a black color. The second method was based on a chemical reaction between tannin, a complex organic compound found in many plants, and iron oxides. In our tests, we ruled out the possibility that the tefillin cases were dyed black using either of these methods.”

The researchers used a variety of techniques, including multispectral imaging, to examine the leather of the tefillin cases for traces of black dye or paint. The results of the analyses showed no evidence of black colorants on any of the tefillin cases.

“In the dark fragments we examined, the color appears to be the result of natural leather aging rather than intentional dyeing,” said Dr. Yonah Maor of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s analytical laboratory. “Minor water leakage into the caves over the 2,000 years the artifacts have been there could have accelerated the leather aging process. In the past, we have found that some of the Dead Sea Scrolls have also undergone a similar process, which unfortunately has caused the parchment to darken.”

The researchers believe that the practice of coloring tefillin cases black is likely due to a later tradition. They suggest that the law requiring tefillin to be made black may not have been in place in the Second Bais Hamikdosh period, when the tefillin examined in the study were in use.

“It is likely that in the beginning, there was no halachic significance to the color of tefillin,” explained Adler. “Only at a later period did the rabbis rule that tefillin should be colored black.”

As the centuries passed, poskim continued to debate whether the requirement to color tefillin cases black was an absolute obligation or merely preferable for aesthetic reasons.

“It is commonly thought that Jewish law is static and does not develop. Our ongoing research on ancient tefillin shows that the exact opposite is true; Jewish law has always been dynamic. In my view, it is this vibrancy that makes halachah so beautiful.” JNS

As Adirei Hatorah puts the final touches on its massive maamad hatorah taking place on Sunday night, a team of 15 Lakewood Alerts reporters and editors has assembled to bring you live coverage of the evening’s events. Providing photos and videos, real-time updates, and key moments from every inch of the Wells Fargo Center, Lakewood Alerts is the ONLY media outlet offering comprehensive, blanket coverage of the most momentous gathering of the year. Don’t miss a moment of the historic maamad! Follow Lakewood Alerts’ coverage by clicking here!

The Biden administration is set to introduce a policy granting work permits and deportation protections to undocumented immigrants who marry American citizens, provided they have resided in the US for at least ten years.

This initiative, known as Parole in Place, would also pave the way for hundreds of thousands of migrants to obtain permanent legal status and ultimately US citizenship, as reported by CBS News.

The program aims to overhaul existing laws that currently prevent individuals who entered the US illegally from acquiring green cards without having to leave the country.

Additionally, President Biden is promoting another proposal that would enable migrants to apply for waivers, simplifying the process for obtaining temporary visas such as H-1B visas for high-skilled workers, sources disclosed to CBS News.

These measures might be revealed as soon as Tuesday during an event hosted by White House officials to mark the 12th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protects 530,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children from deportation. However, significant opposition from Republican lawmakers is anticipated.

{Dov T. Heller – Matzav.com}

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to the guidelines set for the first presidential debate of 2024, including the use of podiums and muted microphones when it is not their turn to speak.

Scheduled for June 27 in Atlanta, the debate will be moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Both candidates accepted CNN’s invitation and have agreed to the debate’s format and rules, according to the network’s report on Saturday.

The second presidential debate will be hosted by ABC on September 10.

The first debate will span 90 minutes and include two commercial breaks, during which the candidates cannot interact with their campaign teams.

A coin toss will decide the candidates’ podium positions. No props or pre-written notes will be allowed; each candidate will receive a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water.

There will be no studio audience, but Tapper and Bash will “use all tools at their disposal to enforce timing and ensure a civilized discussion,” the network stated.

Additional rules include that candidates must meet all constitutional requirements for running and have formally declared their candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. Both Biden and Trump meet these criteria, as do third-party candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Cornel West, and Jill Stein.

Candidates must also be on enough state ballots to secure 270 electoral votes and achieve at least 15% in four separate national polls meeting CNN’s standards. This requirement means candidates other than Biden and Trump are unlikely to qualify for the debate.

The qualifying polls include those conducted by CNN, ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, Marquette University Law School, Monmouth University, NBC News, The New York Times/Siena College, NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist College, Quinnipiac University, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the closest third-party candidate to meeting the threshold, with at least 15% in three qualifying polls and appearing on ballots in six states.

{Matzav.com}

Iran and Sweden carried out a prisoner swap Saturday that saw Tehran release a European Union diplomat and another man in exchange for an Iranian convicted in Stockholm of committing war crimes over his part in 1988 mass executions in the Islamic Republic. The arrest of Hamid Nouri by Sweden in 2019 as he traveled there as a tourist likely sparked the detentions of the two Swedes, part of a long-running strategy by Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution to use those with ties abroad as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West. While Iranian state television claimed without evidence that Nouri had been “illegally detained,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said diplomat Johan Floderus and a second Swedish citizen, Saeed Azizi, had been facing a “hell on earth.” “Iran has made these Swedes pawns in a cynical negotiation game with the aim of getting the Iranian citizen Hamid Nouri released from Sweden,” Kristersson said Saturday. “It has been clear all along that this operation would require difficult decisions; now the government has made those decisions.” State TV aired images of Nouri limping off an airplane at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport and being embraced by his family. “I am Hamid Nouri. I am in Iran,” he said. “G-d makes me free.” He made a point of repeatedly referencing the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, mocking them with his release. The Iranian dissident group criticized the swap in a statement and said “it will embolden the religious fascism to step up terrorism, hostage-taking and blackmail.” Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, mediated the release, its state-run news agency reported. Oman long has served as an interlocutor between Iran and the West. The swap comes as the Muslim world celebrates Eid al-Adha, which marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage and typically sees prisoners freed. In 2022, the Stockholm District Court sentenced Nouri to life in prison. It identified him as an assistant to the deputy prosecutor at the Gohardasht prison outside the Iranian city of Karaj. The 1988 mass executions came at the end of Iran’s long war with Iraq. After Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini accepted a United Nations-brokered cease-fire, members of the Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, heavily armed by Saddam Hussein, stormed across the Iranian border in a surprise attack. Iran ultimately blunted their assault, but the attack set the stage for the sham retrials of political prisoners, militants and others that would become known as “death commissions.” International rights groups estimate that as many as 5,000 people were executed. Iran has never fully acknowledged the executions, apparently carried out on Khomeini’s orders, though some argue that other top officials were effectively in charge in the months before his 1989 death. Late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, killed in a helicopter crash in May, also was involved in the mass executions. Floderus’ family said he was arrested in April 2022 at the Tehran airport while returning from a vacation with friends. Floderus had been held for months before his family and others went public with his detention. Azizi’s case was not as prominent, but in February, the group Human Rights Activists in Iran reported that the dual Iranian-Swedish national had been sentenced to five years in prison by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on charges of “assembly and collusion against national […]

If hospitals substitute lower-wage staff for registered nurses, patients may suffer, a new analysis suggests.

Published in the journal Medical Care, the study coincides with a nationwide RN shortage and reports of widespread burnout among RNs. To fill the gap, many hospitals have turned to “team nursing,” a model that uses fewer RNs as supervisors of a team of lower-wage health-care workers such as licensed practical nurses and nurse assistants.

To find out how this model affects patient care, researchers analyzed data from a national sample of 2,676 hospitals and nearly 6.6 million patients treated in 2019. The patients studied were between 65 and 99 years old and were Medicare beneficiaries; all had hospital stays of between a day and a month.

The researchers then looked at the proportion of RNs on the hospital staffs, tying that data to patient outcomes and satisfaction ratings.

RNs made up an average of 76.5 percent of hospital staff in 2019, the researchers found. If that number were to fall by just 10 percent, the researchers projected, a patient would have 7 percent higher odds of dying in the hospital and 4 percent higher odds of dying within 30 days of discharge. The length of hospital stay and the likelihood of readmission would increase, too.

If all of the hospitals were to reduce their proportion of nurses by 10 percent, the researchers project, it would result in 10,947 additional deaths and 5,207 avoidable readmissions per year, costing Medicare $68.5 million and hospitals $2.9 billion in cost savings because of longer stays.

Instead of changing their staffing mix, the researchers recommend, hospitals should explore ways to improve working environments for RNs, including reducing understaffed shifts, funding more positions and addressing nurse burnout.

“Nurses in hospitals provide care for the sickest patients,” Karen Lasater, associate professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and the study’s lead author, said in a news release. “It’s high-stakes care. The findings show that replacing RNs with non-RN staff is dangerous to patients.”

The researchers also suggest establishing minimum requirements for RN staffing to protect patient safety.

(c) Washington Post

Likras is making waves across Israel as a beacon of hope for shmiras Shabbos. Founded 23 years ago under the guidance of Gedolei Yisroel, Likras has been distributing Shabbos candles to thousands of unaffiliated Jewish families on a weekly basis in cities all around Israel. With a steadfast commitment to preserving the sanctity of Shabbos, Likras aims to kindle the flame of yiddishkeit through the beautiful mitzvah of Neiros Shabbos. Understanding the profound impact of this mitzvah, Likras believes that neiros can plant the seeds of observance, nurturing the potential for these families to embrace and practice Judaism in their lives.  Now more than ever!  Since October 7th, r”l, the demand for Shabbos candles has skyrocketed, leaving countless families in darkness. Now, Likras distributes upwards of 50,000 packages containing candles and the z’man for hadlakas neiros every Erev Shabbos and Yom Tov, but it’s not enough to meet the demand!  This Shabbos!  To that end, Likras extends an invitation to the Jewish community to join in its noble mission. By sponsoring just $72, you can ensure Shabbos candles in a Jewish home every week for an entire year, starting this coming Shabbos!   As Likras expands its outreach efforts, it looks to individuals within the community to join together in ensuring that every Jewish home in Israel has access to the mitzvah of Neiros Shabbos.   “We call upon our fellow brothers and sisters in the Jewish community to join us at a time when people around Israel are looking for a deeper religious connection” says Rabbi Yossef Lok, CEO. “We’ve seen a profound impact in homes where candles are lit. Many women have shared that their husbands become so emotionally inspired that they put on a kippah and make kiddush.”  Bring neiros to a Jewish home for a year before this Shabbos at Likras.us!  Likras is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. For more information about Likras and how you can help support its mission, visit  Likras.us or call (718) 600-7799. 

Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) introduced the Combating Foreign Terrorist Drones Act this week to the Senate.

The bill seeks to disrupt the sale of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, to terror groups like Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and the Houthis in Yemen.

“Foreign terrorist groups are increasingly acquiring and using drones to target American servicemembers and our allies,” Rosen stated. “I’m helping introduce this bipartisan bill to prevent terrorist organizations from acquiring drones, protect our servicemembers from attacks, and enhance our national security.”

Romney cautioned that “with the rise of unmanned aerial systems used in warfare and the relative ease of access to commercial drones, it has become more critical to keep foreign terrorist groups from getting their hands on drones.”

Pointing to an increase in Iranian-sponsored drone attacks against American forces since the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, he said that “preventing foreign terrorists from acquiring drones will save American lives, degrade terrorist capabilities by reducing their stockpiles, and protect our national security interests.”

{Matzav.com}

The following are details regarding today’s Adirei Hatorah event at Wells Fargo Arena. The address for the event is 3601 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19148.

The event is being held as part of the annual campaign to raise funds to cover the kollel budget of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ.

This is the third consecutive year that the event is being held, a continuation of an initiative started several years ago by Mr. Leizer Scheiner and his partners.

The following are event details.

1) Approximately 25,000 people are expected in attendance at the event. Tickets have been sold out. There are no further tickets for sale from the Adirei Hatorah office. Some tickets may be available through second party sellers.

2) All tickets are currently being sent out, organizers tell Matzav.com. If you have not yet received your tickets via email, reach out to the Adirei call center at 848.261.8231.

There will be a ticket-help-desk at the arena.

3) Parking at the event has been leased out to a third party vendor. Use the following link to pre-pay for parking: http://ahmparking.com/

4) Refer to the detailed map below to see where food will be distributed. There will not be a full-service smorgasbord as in past years. Deli sandwiches will be offered, one per person, as a choice of either in a wrap or on a roll. Water and danishes will be provided at these locations as well. There will be washing stations near the restrooms in the food courts.

5) Doors will open at 4 p.m. Mincha will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by Tehillim at 5:30 p.m. The program will start at 6 p.m.

The program is scheduled to end with Maariv at 9:15 p.m.

6) Speakers will include Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, rosh yeshivah of Yeshivas Slabodka in Bnei Brak, and Rav Ephraim Wachsman, rosh yeshivah of Yeshiva Meor Yitzchok in Monsey. The musical portion of the event will again be orchestrated by Meir Adler of Eretz Yisroel.

For live coverage of the event, be sure that you are signed up for Matzav WhatsApp and Matzav Status.

Join the Matzav Status by CLICKING HERE.

Join the Matzav WhatsApp Groups by CLICKING HERE.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s High Court of Justice has issued an interim order instructing State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman to suspend aspects of his investigation into the October 7 attack that involve the IDF and Shin Bet. The investigation, which began in December, aimed to probe the multi-level failings that led to the devastating attack and the government’s response. However, some watchdog groups and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi opposed the investigation, citing concerns that it would compromise the IDF’s operational capabilities and ignore political responsibility for the attack. The State Attorney’s Office also sided with the petitioners. Initially, High Court Justice Gila Canfy-Steinitz ruled in May that she would not halt the investigation. However, after receiving classified responses from the security agencies, she has now ordered Englman to suspend the investigation until a High Court hearing in July. In her ruling, Canfy-Steinitz wrote, “In view of the complex security reality, the planned scope of the investigation… and the preparation required to respond to it at the current time… I order the suspension of the investigation procedures in everything that relates to the IDF and Shin Bet.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Yihye Ben-Yosef Z”L, one of the last remaining Jews in Yemen, was Niftar last week and was laid to rest on Thursday. Ben-Yosef chose to stay in the Arhab district of Yemen even as the rest of his community departed. His Kevurah was conducted by local non-Jews. In 2021, the Houthis expelled 13 Jews from Yemen. There are reportedly six Jews left in Yemen. Three men, and two women. One additional man is in prison. More than 51,000 Yemenite Jews have immigrated to Israel since the country’s establishment in 1948. The majority of the community—nearly 50,000 individuals in total—was brought to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet in 1949 and 1950. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)