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After nearly 20 years of legal battles, families of victims of Iranian-backed terrorism are set to receive compensation from a Manhattan office tower that had long generated income tied to the Iranian regime, despite outstanding court judgments, JTA reports.

On Monday, as fighting between Israel and Iran continues, a $318 million agreement was finalized, directing proceeds from the building’s sale to hundreds of victims. Those eligible for compensation include Jewish and Israeli families who lost relatives in attacks linked to Iran, both in Israel and abroad.

The dispute revolved around hidden Iranian ownership interests in 650 Fifth Avenue, a high-rise office building in Manhattan. Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran assumed control of the Alavi Foundation, originally established under the shah, and entered into a partnership with Bank Melli Iran, a state-owned financial institution under U.S. sanctions.

Through a network of front companies, the bank allegedly funneled tens of millions of dollars in rental revenue back to Tehran while concealing its stake in the property, in violation of American sanctions laws.

Among those who will benefit from the settlement are families and estates connected to the 2001 bombing of the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem, which left 15 people dead and more than 100 wounded. That attack, carried out by Hamas with Iranian backing, was among the most devastating suicide bombings during the Second Intifada.

The compensation also extends to victims of other suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians in the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as to the family of Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was murdered in 1990.

For years, victims of terrorism obtained default judgments against Iran in U.S. courts, but those rulings went unpaid. As a result, plaintiffs were forced to pursue Iranian-linked assets within the United States. The broader litigation involved claims totaling more than $5 billion, including those brought by families of victims killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

US Attorney Jay Clayton said the outcome reflects years of persistent effort to locate and secure those assets.

“For nearly two decades, we pursued hidden Iranian government assets tied to a Manhattan skyscraper to ensure those funds would ultimately compensate victims of Iran-sponsored terrorism rather than terrorists and their enablers,” Clayton said in a statement.

As part of the agreement, the Alavi Foundation will be dismantled, and its holdings — including the Fifth Avenue property — will be transferred to a newly created nonprofit organization known as the Amir Kabir Foundation. The new group will operate under oversight from U.S. authorities, with governing rules requiring it to remain independent of any government influence.

Hundreds of weddings were thrown into last-minute disarray after two major event halls in Bnei Brak were ordered closed, requiring couples to urgently find alternative venues.

Tel Aviv District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Chaim Sargrof, signed closure orders for the Dekel and Heichlei Malchus event halls after police alleged that the venues had employed and housed a total of nine illegal residents in violation of the law.

The action comes as part of a focused police campaign targeting offenses related to employing, transporting, and sheltering individuals residing in Israel illegally. Officers from the Bnei Brak–Ramat Gan station in the Dan region of the Tel Aviv District have been carrying out intensified inspections at businesses and construction sites where such individuals are suspected to be present, with the stated goal of safeguarding public safety.

Approximately three days prior, police conducted a business licensing operation during which inspections were carried out at several event halls in Bnei Brak. At the Dekel Hall on Ezra Street, officers located two illegal residents from the Palestinian territories who did not have valid permits to remain in Israel. At Heichlei Malchus on Shlomo Hamelech Street, police found seven individuals in similar circumstances.

According to police, in both locations the individuals were not only employed unlawfully but were also being housed on-site. The suspects were taken into custody, and the employers were questioned under caution by investigators at the Bnei Brak–Ramat Gan police station.

Following the investigation, licensing enforcement officers in the Dan region, together with local police, moved to shut down the halls. The Tel Aviv District commander issued administrative closure orders for a period of 30 days, effective from February 23, 2025, through March 24, 2025. The investigation into the employers is ongoing.

{Matzav.com}

The Vizhnitzer Rebbe of Bnei Brak, Rav Yisroel Hager, is expected to return to Eretz Yisroel this week after undergoing a significant medical procedure in Germany and spending several days recuperating in Switzerland.

The Rebbe, who is currently resting in Davos, is scheduled to arrive in Israel ahead of Thursday. On Thursday night, he is expected to lead a tish at the main Vizhnitzer beis medrash in Bnei Brak in honor of the yahrtzeit of his grandfather, the Imrei Chaim of Vizhnitz.

Last week, the Rebbe successfully underwent a critical medical procedure at a hospital in Munich that lasted approximately three hours. Doctors expressed strong satisfaction with the initial results, and members of the Vizhnitzer community received the news with relief while continuing to daven for his full recovery.

Initially, plans called for the Rebbe to return to Israel before last Shabbos. However, following consultations with doctors, it was decided that he would remain in Munich for Shabbos, staying in a rented apartment, and delay his return.

Those plans later changed again, and the Rebbe traveled to Davos for Shabbos. Throughout this period, he has been accompanied by his grandson, Rabbi Lipa Hager, son of the Av Beis Din of Kiryat Vizhnitz, who has been overseeing his medical care. His son, Rav Yaakov Mordechai Hager, also succeeded in traveling from Israel to spend Shabbos with him in Switzerland.

{Matzav.com}

Sen. Ted Cruz said the United States should press forward with its military campaign against Iran until the current leadership is removed, arguing that recent operations have already dealt a major blow to the regime.

Cruz made the remarks during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” where he was asked about the direction of negotiations in the coming days.

“Senator, these negotiations, what do you expect this week?” host Jesse Watters asked.

Responding, Cruz pointed to what he described as significant military achievements over the past three weeks. “Well, listen, the first three weeks of this military conflict have been incredibly successful. In three weeks, we have taken out all of Iran’s air defenses. We’ve taken out virtually every one of their short range and medium range ballistic missiles. We’ve taken out their missile production capacity. We’ve taken out their drone capacity. We’ve taken out their drone manufacturing. You look at what we’ve done to the Navy. We’ve had over 8,000 strikes in Iran and on the Navy, we have sunk more than 120 ships. This is the largest naval defeat, the most ships sunk since World War II. That’s in three weeks. And in addition to that, we have decapitated the regime, taking out not just the Ayatollah, but the senior military leaders, the mullahs, who have been tyrants in that country for 47 years. The outcome, I believe, should be simple and straightforward.”

He went on to describe what he believes should follow from the military campaign, emphasizing the need for a different type of leadership in Iran. “We want to see a government in Iran that is not run by crazed Islamists who lead mobs chanting, ‘Death to America,’” he continued. “We want a government that is not the largest funder of terrorism in the world, that is not giving 90 percent of the funding to Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis and we want a government that is not murdering Americans. The Iranian regime has killed nearly 1,000 Americans. The Ayatollah twice hired hit men trying to kill President Trump, and so President Trump has reacted with strength that is making America much safer. As you noted, the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has been trying to put economic pressure on the world, and the President responded with an ultimatum, you open the Strait of Hormuz or you will face crushing economic blows to Iran. I think that got their attention, and the President said, we made some progress. I’m hopeful that’s right.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that he regrets describing Israel as an “apartheid” state, while at the same time making clear his strong opposition to the leadership of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

The initial comments came earlier this month during an appearance on a political podcast, where Newsom indicated agreement with claims labeling Israel an “apartheid state” and raised questions about continued U.S. military assistance.

In that discussion, Newsom also suggested that Israel’s role in influencing U.S. strikes against Iran was obvious, and he directed pointed criticism at Netanyahu.

“The issue of Bibi is interesting because he’s got his own domestic issues. He’s trying to stay out of jail, he’s got an election coming up, he’s potentially on the ropes, he’s got folks, the hard line, that want to annex the West Bank,” said Newsom, adding that “others are talking about it appropriately as sort of an apartheid state.”

When asked during the podcast whether Washington should reconsider its military support for Israel, Newsom responded, “It breaks my heart, because the current leadership in Israel is walking us down that path where I don’t think you have a choice.”

In remarks published Tuesday in an interview with Politico, Newsom struck a more measured tone and clarified his views.

Responding to a question about whether he identifies as a Zionist, Newsom said, “I revere the state of Israel. I’m proud to support the state of Israel. I deeply, deeply oppose Bibi Netanyahu’s leadership, his opposition to the two-state solution and deeply oppose how he is indulging the far-right as it relates to what’s going on in the West Bank.”

Pressed on whether he regretted using the term “apartheid,” Newsom acknowledged that he did, explaining the context in which he used it. “I do in this context. I said it, and I referenced why I used it – a Tom Friedman article – in that same sentence where Tom used it in the context of the direction that Bibi is going.”

Newsom was referring to a column by New York Times writer Thomas Friedman, who argued that if the conflict with Iran helps Netanyahu secure victory in upcoming elections, it could accelerate policies he believes would fundamentally alter Israel’s character.

In that piece, Friedman wrote that such an outcome would “be a major propellant to his efforts to annex the West Bank, cripple the Israeli Supreme Court and make Israel an apartheid state.”

Expanding on that point, Newsom told Politico that he shares those concerns about Israel’s trajectory under its current leadership.

“That is a legitimate concern I have, that I share with Tom – that that direction, if that vision and that direction of the far right that Bibi is indulging, that if they see the full annexation of the West Bank, then that’s not something – that’s a word you may hear others use.”

{Matzav.com}