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It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rebbetzin Shulamis Schiff a”h, who was niftar at the age of 98.

Rebbetzin Schiff was the devoted wife of Rav Sheya Schiff zt”l, longtime rosh yeshiva of Mesivta Bais Shraga in Monsey, New York.

She was born into one of the most illustrious families of American Torah Jewry as the daughter of Rav Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz zt”l, the legendary menahel of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas and the foremost architect of postwar Torah life in the United States. Rav Shraga Feivel dedicated every ounce of his strength to rebuilding Yiddishkeit and establishing institutions that would shape generations to come. Through his visionary leadership, mesirus nefesh, and boundless ahavas haTorah, he helped lay the foundation for the flourishing Olam HaTorah in America.

Her husband, Rav Sheya, was himself an outsanding talmid chochom and marbitz Torah. He was a son of the noted baal habayis, R’ Tzvi Shalom (Harry) Schiff zt”l, who merited to establish a remarkable family whose members became among the leading gedolei Torah and marbitzei Torah of their generation. Rav Sheya was a talmid muvhak of Rav Shlomo Heiman zt”l and Rav Reuven Grozovsky zt”l, absorbing the greatness of the Torah Vodaas tradition before founding and leading Mesivta Bais Shraga for decades. Rav Sheya’s brother is Rav Yankel Schiff, son-in-law of the Brisker Rov, Rav Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik zt”l. His sisters married Rav Shmuel Faivelson zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash L’Torah in Monsey, and Rav Meir Hershkowitz zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Bais Binyomin in Stamford, Connecticut.

Those who knew Rebbetzin Schiff remember a woman of exceptional refinement, dignity, and strength. With warmth, grace, and genuine concern for others, she stood steadfastly at her husband’s side throughout decades of harbotzas haTorah, opening her home to talmidim and supporting the yeshiva with total devotion. Her humility, kindness, and deep commitment to avodas Hashem left a lasting impression on all who merited to know her.

She is survived by her sons, Rav Emanuel Schiff and Rav Shraga Schiff; her daughters, Mrs. Yehudis Berlin, wife of Rav Meir Berlin zt”l, and Mrs. Toby Berlin, wife of Rav Avrohom Yehoshua Berlin; as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren who continue her family’s legacy of Torah, yiras Shomayim, and avodas Hashem.

The levayah will take place today at 11:00 a.m. at Mesivta Bais Shraga, located at 28 Saddle River Road in Monsey, New York.

Yehi zichrah boruch.

Two Orthodox shuls in Queens, Young Israel of Holliswood and Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, were vandalized overnight Thursday into Friday after an individual allegedly hurled bags containing motor oil and feces at the buildings in what authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime.

New York State Assemblymember Nily Rozic, who represents part of eastern Queens and is American-Israeli, condemned the attacks, describing them as “another outrageous example of the sustained hate faced by our community.”

The NYPD confirmed that a suspect “threw a bag of motor oil” at the exterior of a building housing an Orthodox shul in Queens.

According to police, officers were notified of the incident Thursday afternoon. The NYPD said its Hate Crimes Task Force has launched an investigation into the vandalism.

An NYPD spokesperson said no additional information is currently available as the investigation continues.

Police officials noted that reports from individual precincts sometimes take time to be transmitted to NYPD headquarters, which can delay the release of additional details.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli authorities are increasingly alarmed by what they describe as a growing Iranian effort to recruit members of the chareidi community for espionage and sabotage missions, prompting an unusual response: enlisting prominent rabbanim and influential chareidi public figures to warn their communities about the threat, according to a report published by The New York Times.

The report says Israel’s police, prosecutors, and security agencies—including the Shin Bet—have launched a targeted public awareness campaign aimed at preventing additional recruitment attempts. Rather than relying solely on law enforcement, officials have turned to respected rabbanim and community leaders to deliver direct warnings to their followers about the dangers of contact with Iranian operatives.

According to the report, Israeli authorities have filed more than 60 indictments against Israeli citizens accused of spying for Iran or assisting the Islamic Republic. Those charged come from across Israeli society, including active-duty soldiers, civilians, Jews and Arabs, secular and religious Israelis, chareidim, and even recent immigrants. The assignments allegedly ranged from photographing military installations and spray-painting graffiti to carrying out far more serious operations, including planning assassinations of senior officials.

One particularly striking statistic highlighted in the report is that nine of those espionage cases involved members of the chareidi community. According to investigators, Iranian intelligence casts a wide net through social media, searching for individuals in financial distress regardless of their religious background. Operatives allegedly pose as businesspeople, journalists, or other seemingly innocent contacts before attempting to recruit targets.

The newspaper reports that to combat the trend, Israel’s police, prosecution, and security agencies “decided to take the unusual step of recruiting rabbis and influential Haredi public figures to directly warn their followers and audiences.”

Rav Yigal Cohen, a member of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate Council and head of the Yabia Omer institutions, was described by the newspaper as having “enormous influence on social media.” In a video message cited by the report, Rav Cohen pleaded emotionally with his followers, saying, “I beg you, there is no greater chilul Hashem than to see a Torah-observant Jew betray his people.” He warned that any involvement with Iranian agents would destroy their lives.

The report also quotes Kol Barama radio commentator Yisrael Cohen, whom the newspaper described as a leading chareidi analyst and influencer. He told the Times that the chareidi public “was initially in complete shock when it learned that members of its own community had cooperated with Iran, but very quickly understood the necessity of the warnings and is working to stop the spread of the phenomenon.” According to the report, Cohen also helped connect security officials with rabbanim and other influential figures within the chareidi community.

The awareness campaign has even extended to specific languages spoken within the community. The report notes that Yiddish-language warning videos have been produced by chareidi journalists and influencers, including Mendel Ungar, in an effort to reach more conservative and insulated audiences.

Police and Shin Bet investigators quoted in the report said that ideology is rarely the driving force behind these cases. Instead, Iranian operatives typically exploit financial hardship, debt, or a desire for quick money, offering payment for assignments that initially appear harmless but gradually evolve into increasingly sensitive security-related missions.

According to The New York Times, Israeli officials now view the campaign as a coordinated effort to halt what they describe as an epidemic of Iranian recruitment attempts by leveraging the moral authority and influence of trusted rabbanim within the chareidi community.

{Matzav.com}

Belgian soldiers stationed in Antwerp’s Jewish neighborhood intervened on Friday night to prevent what appeared to be an attack on Chassidim leaving Kabbalas Shabbos, arresting a 28-year-old man who allegedly threatened pedestrians with an emergency hammer and behaved violently in the area.

According to sources, the incident occurred at approximately 8:20 p.m. on Lamorinièrestraat, one of the city’s main thoroughfares. The suspect allegedly confronted several Chassidim as they exited shul, threatening one man with an emergency hammer. He also knocked another person’s hat to the ground, shoved a passerby, and threw traffic signs onto the street.

Belgian soldiers deployed in the neighborhood quickly intervened and detained the suspect before anyone was injured.

Local police spokesman Wouter Bruyns confirmed that the man was arrested at the scene and will be questioned by investigators. “The suspect is known to police, among other things for public nuisance offenses and drug-related crimes,” the spokesman said.

Boruch Hashem, no injuries were reported.

The incident is the latest in a series of troubling episodes targeting Jewish communities across Europe in recent months, as many communities continue to contend with increasing harassment and antisemitic intimidation.

Antwerp is home to one of Europe’s largest and most vibrant chareidi communities, with thousands of Chassidim and bnei Torah.

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz forcefully rejected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s suggestion that Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu could be arrested during an expected visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, calling the proposal nothing more than “pure political theater.”

Responding to Mamdani’s comments in a post on social media, Waltz wrote, “Mayor Mamdani: here’s why your threat to arrest PM Netanyahu in NYC during UNGA is not going to happen.”

Waltz then laid out what he said were four legal reasons the mayor’s plan could not be carried out, writing: “1. The US is not a party to the Rome Statute that underlies the ICC, 2. The UN Headquarters Agreement grants diplomatic protections to visiting heads of government, 3. head-of-state immunity applies, & 4. federal authority trumps any local mayor’s wishes.”

He ended his response by declaring, “This is pure political theater.”

Earlier Saturday, Mamdani referred to Netanyahu as a “war criminal” and said his administration was exploring whether the Israeli leader could be arrested if he travels to New York.

Speaking with The New York Times, Mamdani said, “I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”

The mayor added that he is engaged in “active conversation” with New York City’s legal officials regarding the extent of his authority over the matter. “Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end,” he said.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, sharply condemned Mamdani’s remarks, accusing the mayor of neglecting his responsibilities at home.

“Mamdani is failing to govern New York. Instead of focusing on his responsibilities as mayor and confronting the rising wave of antisemitism in his city, he has chosen to incite hostility and generate headlines by attacking the State of Israel,” Danon said.

He added, “It will not change a thing. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will come to New York, address the United Nations General Assembly with pride, and stand before the world to state Israel’s truth and its unwavering right to defend its citizens.”

Danon concluded with a jab at the mayor, saying, “And if anyone should be arrested, it is NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.”

Israeli Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis also dismissed Mamdani’s comments, arguing that the mayor has no legal authority to detain a foreign head of government.

“The mayor of New York City has no authority to order the arrest of the Prime Minister of Israel. Instead of dealing with matters over which he has no authority, he should start running New York City and only New York City,” Akunis said.

{Matzav.com}