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Dan Sohail, 36, is suspected of driving a car five times into the doors to a synagogue at Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., on Wednesday evening, Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives at the New York City Police Department, said at a press conference.

The suspect, of Carteret, N.J., “had recently connected with the Lubavitch community,” and removed blockades from the same site the prior day, Kenney said.

“This incident is being investigated as a hate crime, and the NYPD’s hate crime task force took the lead on this case,” Kenny said. “We are collaborating with our state and federal partners.”

He added that Sohail has been charged with “attempted assault one and two as a hate crime, reckless endangerment two as a hate crime, criminal mischief two and three as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime.”

The suspect claimed he lost control of the car because he was wearing clunky boots, the chief of detectives said. “It’s a hate crime based on his attack on the synagogue,” Kenny said, noting that the suspect knew it was a synagogue.

Ofir Akunis, Israeli consul general in New York, stated that “this is the new reality in New York for Jews.”

 

“We are seeing one antisemitic attack followed by the next on houses of worship, targeting Jews simply because they are Jewish,” he stated. “The attacks are only intensifying in New York, and the response requires more than a statement. We warned that changing the definition of antisemitism and lifting the ban on boycott initiatives against Israel could lead to an increase in attacks, and regrettably, that is what is happening.”

Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, axed all of his predecessors’ recent executive orders, including those designed to protect Jews in the city, within hours of taking over control of City Hall. Mamdani, who has said he would have the Israeli prime minister arrested in New York, has also said that he is interested in divesting the city with the largest Jewish population outside of the Jewish state from Israel Bonds.

“This attack is part of a growing wave of antisemitic incidents driven by an organized, long-running campaign to dehumanize Jews and delegitimize the existence of the Jewish state,” Akunis stated. “Toxic and violent rhetoric is a central component of this propaganda. Antisemitism must be confronted decisively.”

‘A living, breathing thing’

Video footage that has emerged appears to show the suspect removing barricades and telling bystanders to move before he began ramming his vehicle into the entrance doors to Chabad’s global headquarters in Brooklyn.

The suspect was at the location weeks prior, reportedly claiming that he was Jewish, and young students were said to have offered him religious services.

The NYPD said that no one was injured in the attack and that the driver was arrested without incident. The department told JNS that it responded at about 8:45 p.m. to 770 Eastern Parkway, where officers saw a gray Honda sedan, which “collided into entrance doors at the bottom of a sloped driveway in front of 770 Eastern Parkway.”

Wednesday, the 10th of Shevat, is one of the most important days of the calendar for Chabad, with tens of thousands from around the world converging on the site to mark the 75th anniversary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe assuming the leadership role in 1951.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mamdani were among those who issued comments on Wednesday night. The governor said that “for the second day in a row, Jewish New Yorkers were the targets of antisemitic violence” and that “an attack against the Jewish community is an attack against all New Yorkers.”

The mayor, who has released several statements decrying antisemitism that has not related to anti-Zionism, said that the ramming at Chabad “is deeply alarming, especially given the deep meaning and history of the institution to so many in New York and around the world.”

“Any threat to a Jewish institution or place of worship must be taken seriously,” added the mayor, who is reportedly considering two people, who are said to be anti-Chassidic, to run the city office to combat Jew-hatred. “Antisemitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable.”

Dan Mannarino, of PIX11 News, asked Mamdani about the incident on Thursday.

“I was there on the scene last night at 770 Chabad world headquarters, and it was a horrifying incident where a man repeatedly and intentionally crashed his car into the building,” the mayor said. “I am so thankful that no one was hurt, and we know that this is a building that has immense meaning to so many Jewish New Yorkers and those across the world.”

The mayor said that the attack “took place on the yahrzeit of Rabbi Schneerson and the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and this is just a day after the day when we remember the victims of the Holocaust.”

“We know that antisemitism is not simply something of the past to be learned about. It is a living, breathing thing that we have to combat every day,” he told PIX11.

‘A deeply disturbing act of violence’

Asked, in light of the New York City Council’s scheduled announcement of a task force to fight Jew-hatred, when he would name a leader to the mayoral office to combat antisemitism, Mamdani said that “we are actually in our final interviews for that position.”

“That is going to be a key position that delivers on our commitment to root out antisemitism across the five boroughs and make this a city where Jewish New Yorkers are not just safe but frankly celebrated and cherished,” the mayor said.

“Sometime next week?” Mannarino asked.

“We’re working on the timeline, but it is in the final stages,” Mamdani said.

The Orthodox Union stated that it stands “with the Chabad community and is thankful to the Almighty that there were no injuries in the disturbing car-ramming incident outside 770 Eastern Parkway, a place that holds deep meaning for many Jews around the world.”

“This incident is the latest reminder of the sacred responsibility of those in positions of authority to prioritize the safety and security of the Jewish community, especially during this time of unprecedented threats,” the OU said.

Yaacov Behrman, a Chabad spokesman, stated that the driver had trespassed previously at a Chabad house in New Jersey. CBS News reported that Sohail told people at the Chabad that he was homeless and wanted to convert to Judaism. Counselors called to the scene reportedly recommended that he seek mental health counseling.

Additional media reports suggested that Sohail was denied access to a yeshiva in the Garden State.

Motti Seligson, a spokesman for the Chabad movement, stated that the site where the ramming took place is “perhaps the most replicated building in the world because of the light, joy, Torah and a confident Judaism that emanates from it to all corners of the world.”

Both New York senators weighed in.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that “770 is not simply a religious institution. It’s an important spiritual home for the Chabad Jewish community, and this antisemitic attack against it is deeply disturbing.”

“This blatant act of antisemitism is not only an attack on this one building but an attack on Jewish people across New York and the world,” stated Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). “Chabad headquarters is a faith home for so many, and this is a deeply disturbing act of violence.”

Harmeet Dhillon, U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights, said that she initiated a civil-rights investigation of the incident. JNS

{Matzav.com}

President Trump is expected to announce Friday that he intends to appoint Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, replacing Jerome Powell, according to a report by the New York Post.

Sources told the Post that Trump met with Warsh on Thursday and later followed up with a phone call to ask whether he would accept the position. Warsh agreed, those sources said.

Rick Reider, a senior executive at BlackRock who had emerged in recent days as a serious contender for the role, was informed Thursday that he would not be selected, according to people familiar with the matter.

The remaining leading contenders — National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett and Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller — have recently seen their chances diminish.

White House officials cautioned that the decision is not final and noted that Trump could still reverse course.

Speaking with reporters after his meeting with Warsh on Thursday, Trump said he planned to disclose his choice for Fed chair on Friday morning, reversing an earlier plan to wait until next week.

“It’s going to be somebody…that’s known to everybody in the financial world,” Trump said late Thursday. “A lot of people think that this is somebody that could’ve been there a few years ago.”

Trump had previously weighed selecting Warsh for the role eight years ago, before ultimately choosing Jerome Powell.

At 55, Warsh is widely viewed as an interest-rate hawk, a stance that may reassure markets concerned about the Federal Reserve’s independence. At the same time, Warsh has sharply criticized Powell — echoing Trump’s views — for expanding the money supply during the Biden years, which both men blame for fueling inflation.

The timing of the move surprised many observers and underscored Trump’s reputation for unpredictability. Just weeks ago, Kevin Hassett was widely considered the front-runner to succeed Powell, whose term expires in May.

That changed after the Post reported that prominent CEOs had expressed concern that Hassett was overly aligned with MAGA-style economic policies, raising fears of market volatility. Following that reporting, Trump began evaluating alternative candidates.

Although Trump appointed Powell early in his first term, he has intensified his criticism of the Fed over the past year, repeatedly arguing that it should slash interest rates even as inflation remains well above the central bank’s 2% target.

On Wednesday, Powell sidestepped questions about his future at the Fed and about a criminal probe initiated by the Trump administration. He did, however, offer pointed advice to whoever succeeds him.

“Stay out of elected politics, don’t get pulled into elected politics. Don’t do it,” Powell said at his regular press conference after the Fed’s latest monetary policy decision.

{Matzav.com}

An emotional announcement was made this week in Belz, as the chassidus received final authorization to expand its massive bais medrash building at the Belzer center in Yerushalayim, a complex that has long struggled to accommodate the tens of thousands of chassidim who come to spend time in the presence of the belzer Rebbe.

Belz was the first chassidus to establish a massive world center of this scale in Yerushalayim, a model that was later followed by many other chassidic courts. Over the years, the central Beis Medrash has increasingly proven too small for the crowds that gather there from Eretz Yisroel and around the world.

The approval was granted on the Belzer Yom Hatzalah, the day observed in Belz to mark the miraculous rescue after the Holocaust of the brothers, the Belzer Rebbe, Rav Aharon of Belz, and his brother, the Bilgorayer Rav, who arrived in Eretz Yisroel destitute and with nothing but their lives. The day was established by Rav Aharon of Belz himself as a yom tov of thanksgiving and gratitude to Hashem.

After years of effort and persistence by askanim, led by Michel Halberstam, a member of the Yerushalayim city council, and communal activist Zevi Farkash, final approval was granted to allow continued development of the Belzer world center. Construction of the complex began more than four decades ago, built with extraordinary mesirus nefesh by the Belzer Rebbe and his chassidim.

Under the approved plan, the main Beis Medrash will be expanded on its eastern, western, and southern sides. In addition, the “Groyse Shtub,” the main tish hall, will be rebuilt into a vast multi-level space featuring surrounding galleries, significantly increasing capacity for major gatherings, tishen, and Yomim Tovim.

Within the chassidus, special recognition was given to the Beis Medrash’s architect and devoted askan Aharon Ostreicher, who invested years of planning and tireless work with multiple authorities to bring the project forward. Appreciation was also expressed for Elimelech Landman, who provided sustained assistance and support to the askanim throughout the process.

The administration of the Beis Medrash also thanked Yerushalayim Mayor Moshe Lion and his deputy, Eliezer Rauchberger, chairman of Degel HaTorah and head of the city’s Planning and Building Committee, for standing firmly alongside the community and offering meaningful assistance until the long-awaited final approval was granted.

{Matzav.com}

The Slonimer Rebbe is scheduled to depart early Sunday morning for the United States, where he will undertake a chizuk visit with his chassidim, focusing this time on the Slonimer community in Monsey.

The Rebbe, who traditionally visits his American followers once a year, alternates destinations between Boro Park, Monsey, and Lakewood. On this trip, he will remain exclusively in Monsey, where hundreds of chassidim are expected to gather.

The centerpiece of the visit will be a large Shabbos gathering for Parshas Yisro in Monsey, with chassidim traveling in from Boro Park and Lakewood as well. Throughout the visit, the Rebbe will receive individuals for personal counsel and brachah.

It was learned that the Rebbe suffered a fall last week while walking to the mikvah, sustaining injuries to his face along with a strong blow to his leg and arm. Despite the incident, b’siyata d’Shmaya, the 81-year-old Rebbe has continued his regular daily schedule without interruption.

The fall occurred during the early morning hours as the Rebbe was walking alone from his residence on Rechov Rashbam in Bnei Brak to the mikvah, a route he had customarily taken without accompaniment. Since the incident, the Rebbe has been accompanied each morning.

Ahead of his departure to the United States, the Rebbe visited the Kosel this week.

{Matzav.com}

Sen. Chuck Schumer: “I don’t agree very much with Mr. Homan, and he’s certainly not my choice for someone to lower the temperature in Minneapolis, but he’s right in saying the epicenter for change has to be Congress, not the executive branch. And change is desperately needed.”

New York City’s Jewish Council Speaker Julie Menin is set to announce a new City Council task force to combat antisemitism, creating a separate effort from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pending Office to Combat Antisemitism. The council task force will consist of seven council members and staff, with Jewish Caucus members Inna Vernikov (R-48) and Eric […]

Britain and China signaled improved relations as Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Xi Jinping agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, and technology for shared economic gains.

US private equity firm Carlyle Group has agreed to buy most of Lukoil’s foreign assets, initially valued at $22 billion by analysts, which Russia’s second-largest oil company must sell because of US sanctions.

Amazon is in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI, according to the report. The discussions are ongoing, and no final agreement has been reached. The potential investment would deepen ties between Amazon and OpenAI as competition intensifies in artificial intelligence.

California Governor Gavin Newsom: This wrecking ball presidency is jaw-dropping in real time.

A radical political campaign in Italy’s Tuscany region against Israel’s honorary consul Marco Carrai has sparked outrage. The controversy erupted after posters appeared across the town of Sesto Fiorentino and on social media on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The posters featured Carrai, Israel’s honorary consul in Tuscany, alongside inflammatory captions such as “Wanted,” “War Criminal,” […]

Staff members at the pediatric ward of the Poriya Medical Center were deeply moved this week after receiving a handwritten letter of brocha from the tzaddik of Tiveriah, Rav Dov Kook.

The letter, sent via the rov’s aide, was addressed to hospital management and the doctors and nurses of the children’s department. In his message, Rav Kook offered words of encouragement and chizuk to the medical staff caring for young patients.

The letter read: “Shevat 5786. To the honorable doctors and nurses of the children’s department at Poriya Hospital, may you receive Heavenly assistance to be good emissaries for the healing of the children of Yisroel. And whoever sustains one soul of Yisroel, it is as if he sustained an entire world.”

Hospital officials expressed great appreciation for the letter and the spirit behind it. It was also learned that over the past winter, families who required treatment at the hospital shared their experiences with Rav Kook, speaking about the care and attention they received. In recent months, representatives close to the rov and the hospital’s leadership have been working cooperatively to bridge gaps and provide a more effective and compassionate response to patients, as well as to additional communities in the city of Tiveriah.

{Matzav.com}

Israel Police issued a harsh statement on Thursday against former Tel Aviv District commander, retired Superintendent Ami Eshed, who was reassigned from his position by National Security Minister Ben Gvir in July 2023 for refusing to heed orders to disperse the Kaplan protests in Tel Aviv. After being reassigned, Eshed resigned from his position, and […]

Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for captives and missing persons, has revealed new and deeply troubling details about Hamas’s strategy regarding the Israeli hostages, saying that arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar ym”sh intended to keep them as a long-term bargaining asset for up to a decade.

Speaking in an interview with Amit Segal in Yisroel Hayom, Hirsch said Sinwar viewed the hostages as an investment designed to generate leverage over “10 years of negotiations.” Hirsch described how Israeli authorities internally categorized the captives based on intelligence assessments and rescue prospects. “We classified the hostages as Ron Arads, those with concern they may never be found; Wachsman cases — hostages in a known location but with low chances of rescue; Regev and Goldwasser — fallen soldiers; or Shalits, those who are returned in a deal,” Hirsch said.

Hirsch recounted the scale of the crisis in the immediate aftermath of October 7. “On the evening of October 8 I realized we were missing 3,200 people. In the second week, 1,060. Later, 400,” he said. During the second week, Israeli officials even considered granting American citizenship to all hostages, after Hamas hinted it might prioritize releasing captives with foreign nationality.

According to Hirsch, there was often an unbearable gap between the quality of intelligence and the slim chances of a successful rescue. “There were cases where one of our units was at the door, but we knew we wouldn’t achieve the vital seconds needed for extraction, so we gave up,” he said.

Hirsch also described how Qatar became the central mediator. He said he called a senior Qatari official, who offered his country’s mediation services. When asked how he could prove he could deliver results, Hirsch recalled replying, “Take out hostages.” The Qatari official then went south to Gaza to supervise a pilot release. The following day, Yehudit and Natalie Raanan were freed, followed later by the release of Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper via Egypt. From that point on, Qatar formally assumed the role of mediator.

Addressing the issue of disarmament in Gaza, Amit Segal wrote that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff noticed skeptical looks during meetings in the Prime Minister’s Office — looks that conveyed doubt over the idea that Hamas would ever disarm voluntarily without direct Israeli military action. “I was born at night,” Kushner told them, “but I wasn’t born last night.” American officials stressed that they had no illusions about Hamas or Gaza’s population, noting that not a single person had called the IDF hotline established for turning in hostages. They added that even in Nazi Germany there were Righteous Among the Nations — and that was without the promise of a $5 million reward.

Still, a senior American official said the most likely outcome remains the destruction of Hamas by Israeli forces. “Still, most chances are that the destruction of Hamas will ultimately be carried out by IDF soldiers,” the official said. “But what do you care if we start the demilitarization peacefully? It’s clear Hamas is stalling, and it’s clear it will want to keep weapons, but what happens if, for example, only 10,000 Kalashnikovs are handed over and only 50 tunnels are destroyed without fighting — how does that hurt? You and we are not in a rush anywhere. It will only save work for the IDF.”

{Matzav.com}

A heated confrontation erupted overnight Wednesday in the Knesset after Labor MK Naama Lazimi demanded that coalition members condemn right-wing activist Mordechai David, who blocked the car of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred as Barak left the “First Liberal Congress” organized by the left-wing provocative […]

An atzeres chizuk for yungeleit was held this week at Bais Medrash Govoha’s Bais Medrash Ateres Esther in Lakewood, NJ, focused on encouraging yungeleit to consider moving out of town to help build and enhance kollelim, mekomos haTorah and communities there.

The gathering featured divrei chizuk from Rav Yisroel Neuman, rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash Govoha, and Rav Elya Chaim Swerdloff, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Gedolah of Paterson.

WATCH:

President Trump said Thursday that it appears Hamas is preparing to disarm, despite Hamas officials continuing to publicly reject the idea. Speaking during a Cabinet meeting, Trump said, “It looks like Hamas is going to disarm,” without providing details or citing any agreements. Hamas officials as recently as several hours earlier had insisted they would […]

A man claiming to be an FBI agent showed up to a federal jail in New York City on Wednesday night and told officers he had a court order to release Luigi Mangione, authorities said. Mark Anderson, a 36-year-old Minnesota native who has a history of drug and other arrests and disclosed last year in court […]

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration is preparing to launch a statewide online system that would allow residents to submit reports, videos, and other documentation of encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, an initiative modeled on similar efforts used by activists to monitor federal immigration activity.

Sherrill, a Democrat who was sworn into office earlier this month, revealed the plan Wednesday during an interview on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

“We are also going to be standing up a portal so people can upload all their cellphone videos and alert people,” Sherrill said. “If you see an ICE agent in the street, get your phone out. We want to know.”

ICE did not immediately provide a response when asked to comment on the governor’s remarks.

In addition to the reporting system, Sherrill said her administration intends to bar ICE from conducting operations on state-owned property. Several local governments, including Jersey City, have already enacted similar prohibitions at the municipal level.

“They have not been forthcoming,” Sherrill said of ICE operations. “They will pick people up. They will not tell us who they are.”

The governor, who has frequently clashed with Republican President Donald Trump, argued that ICE routinely withholds information about arrests and conducts itself in a manner comparable to a clandestine law enforcement agency.

“They’ll pick up American citizens. They picked up a 5-year-old child. We want documentation, and we’re going to make sure we get it,” Sherrill said.

Following her television appearance, the governor’s office said more information about the reporting portal would be released soon. The administration said the rollout is being coordinated with Jennifer Davenport, who was recently appointed acting attorney general of New Jersey.

“Keeping New Jerseyans safe is Gov. Sherrill’s top priority, and in the coming days she and Acting Attorney General Davenport will announce additional actions to protect New Jerseyans from federal overreach,” the governor’s office said in a statement.

New Jersey’s plan comes after comparable action in New York, where Attorney General Letitia James announced a program in October to gather photos and videos of ICE activity following a widely publicized enforcement operation on Canal Street in New York City, a neighborhood with a large immigrant population.

State officials said any submissions to New Jersey’s system would be reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General to determine whether there were potential violations of state law.

Officials elsewhere have also signaled a willingness to challenge ICE through the courts. In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has said he is prepared to pursue state-level charges against ICE agents in certain situations.

At the federal level, members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation said this week that they are organizing legal observer training sessions to teach the public how to document immigration enforcement actions.

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey said continued scrutiny of ICE is necessary.

“Their crimes must be recorded for the day when those who have violated our rights face justice,” Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist., said. “It’s up to us to serve as witnesses now.”

{Matzav.com}