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In a first for the Karlin-Stolin chassidus — and what is being described as an unprecedented development in the chassidishe world — the traditional sale of aliyos for Rosh Hashanah will move online this year, with members of the chassidus bidding through a specially created digital platform.

The change was announced ahead of the upcoming Rosh Hashanah and will apply to aliyos for both days of Yom Tov at Karlin-Stolin’s massive bais medrash in Givat Ze’ev.

Until now, as is customary in shuls and chassidishe courts around the world, the aliyos were auctioned in the traditional fashion, with a gabbai announcing each aliyah and members of the tzibbur submitting their bids in the bais medrash.

But the enormous growth of the Stoliner community has made that increasingly difficult.

Thousands of chassidim crowd into the main bais medrash in Givat Ze’ev for the Rosh Hashanah tefillos, creating practical difficulties in conducting an auction and ensuring that the gabbai’s announcements can be heard throughout the enormous crowd before Krias HaTorah.

As a result, Stoliner askanim decided that this year’s auction will instead take place in advance through a dedicated digital system.

The decision was outlined in an official notice distributed to members of the chassidus under the heading “Sale of Aliyos for the Upcoming Days of Rosh Hashanah.”

“For the sake of benefit and convenience, and due to the large number of attendees, kein yirbu, and the difficulty created in selling the aliyos and making the announcements heard by the entire congregation, it has therefore been decided to establish a special platform for the sale of aliyos for the days of Rosh Hashanah,” the announcement stated.

Under the new arrangement, chassidim interested in purchasing an aliyah during the two days of Rosh Hashanah will be able to participate in an auction conducted through a digital platform developed specifically for that purpose.

Full details regarding the bidding process and how members of the chassidus can participate are expected to be released in the coming days.

The move is believed to mark the first time that a major chassidus has shifted the sale of Rosh Hashanah aliyos from the traditional in-person auction to a digital bidding system conducted in advance.

The development has generated considerable discussion both within Karlin-Stolin and across the broader chassidish world. The sale of aliyos by a gabbai in the bais medrash is a familiar tradition stretching back generations, making the decision to replace the live auction with a technological alternative particularly noteworthy.

At the same time, the unusual change reflects a challenge created by Karlin-Stolin’s considerable growth: a practice that worked easily when a congregation numbered in the hundreds becomes far more complicated when thousands of mispallelim are gathered under one roof.

This Rosh Hashanah, the aliyos themselves will remain unchanged. The bidding for them, however, will be taking place in a decidedly different way.

A military judge has barred prosecutors from using a 2007 confession by accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, ruling that the statements were not voluntary and delivering another major complication to a prosecution that has already dragged on for more than two decades.

Lt. Col. Michael Schrama concluded that statements Mohammed gave investigators in 2007 could not be admitted against him, according to a report by the New York Post. The ruling was not initially released publicly, but sources familiar with the decision said the judge had excluded Mohammed’s confessions from the case.

Mohammed, who has been held at Guantánamo Bay for more than two decades, is accused of serving as the principal architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.

The decision creates yet another potential obstacle as the military commission attempts to finally bring Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators to trial after years of legal disputes, procedural battles and repeated delays.

The development came during the same week that Schrama established June 2028 as the trial date for Mohammed and three co-defendants: Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin ‘Atash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi and Ali Abdul Aziz Ali. The announcement came shortly before the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Prosecutors had sought to begin proceedings much sooner, asking for a January 2027 trial. Schrama rejected that timetable, finding that it would not provide sufficient time for the “resolution of pretrial evidentiary and compliance motions.”

Military prosecutors were contacted by Fox News Digital regarding Friday’s decision. The organization 9/11 Families United declined to offer Fox News Digital a comment on the ruling.

The exclusion of Mohammed’s confession is the latest development in a case that has repeatedly stalled amid complicated legal fights, including disputes involving evidence and unsuccessful attempts to resolve the prosecution through plea agreements.

A major effort to settle the case appeared to be taking shape in 2024, when Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi agreed to acknowledge their involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. Under that arrangement, the three would receive life sentences and be spared the death penalty.

All three defendants remain in U.S. military custody at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The proposed agreements prompted intense criticism from numerous relatives of those murdered on Sept. 11, many of whom objected to an arrangement that would remove the possibility of capital punishment.

The Biden administration subsequently withdrew the deal, a decision that triggered additional litigation and further complicated efforts to bring the extraordinary long-running case to a conclusion.

Beyond taking the death penalty off the table, the proposed agreement would have required the defendants to respond to questions from victims’ families seeking answers about the planning and execution of the attacks.

With Mohammed’s 2007 statements now excluded and the trial scheduled for June 2028, the prosecution of the men accused of orchestrating the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil is poised to continue well beyond the attack’s 25th anniversary.

Members of the Jewish community are being urged to be vigilant following the launch of a new missionary campaign specifically designed to target Jews, using a highly recognizable internet domain and billboards placed throughout the New York metropolitan area.

The campaign is being promoted through “Jews.com,” a website operated as part of an effort by Kirt Schneider and his Christian missionary organization, Discovering the Jewish J—-, to persuade Jews to accept Christian beliefs.

According to promotional material released by the organization, billboards advertising the campaign have been placed throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan and northern New Jersey, including a prominent location outside Barclays Center in Brooklyn and additional locations on Manhattan’s East Side. Organizers say they intend to expand the effort to other major metropolitan areas across the United States.

The campaign is particularly concerning because of the way it has been packaged. Rather than presenting itself simply as conventional Christian evangelism, the initiative employs Jewish terminology and imagery and directs unsuspecting visitors to the domain Jews.com — a name that, on its face, gives no indication that the website is devoted to missionary activity.

Schneider, who refers to himself as a “rabbi” and uses Hebrew and Jewish terminology in promoting Christian theology, made clear that Jews themselves are the specific focus of the new effort.

“Acquiring Jews.com, to me is equivalent personally to when the Lord parted the Red Sea for Israel. The chance of me ever acquiring the domain name Jews.com was impossible, yet the Lord himself literally gave it to me. Why? Because he knew that we’d be faithful by his grace to proclaiming Y—- as the Messiah to the Jewish people.”

Schneider said that after years of directing much of his preaching toward Christian and non-Jewish audiences, he is now “laser-focused on reaching Jewish people.”

The website has accordingly been constructed specifically with Jewish visitors in mind. According to the organization, it offers videos, personal accounts, religious teachings and written materials seeking to convince Jews of Christian claims by presenting them through what it describes as a Jewish framework and by attempting to reinterpret passages from Tanach as references to Christian theology.

Schneider described the project as arising from what he considers a religious calling to intensify missionary activity among Jews.

“I knew right then and there, in an instant, that God was calling me and Discovering the Jewish J—- to challenge Jewish people in a whole new way, at a whole new level, with the good news of Messiah,” Schneider said.

The campaign is also attempting to recruit Christians themselves to participate in the effort. Its organizers openly describe Jews.com as a tool that Christians can send to Jewish friends, relatives, coworkers and neighbors, allowing the website to do the missionary work even when the person sharing it has little knowledge of the theological arguments involved.

“This is the most powerful tool on earth we have right now to share the love of Messiah with Jewish people,” Schneider said.

Promotional material for the campaign explicitly encourages Christians to circulate the site among Jews and “let Jews.com do the rest.”

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a $16.7 million contract for thousands of electric shock gloves to be used by agents in the field, moving forward with the purchase despite objections from civil liberties advocates who raised concerns when the plans emerged earlier this month.

According to a notice posted in a federal contracting database, ICE entered into a no-bid agreement with Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies to acquire the equipment. ICE has played a central role in President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration enforcement campaign.

Under the contract, the agency will purchase 6,000 pairs of the devices over the next six months, along with related equipment and services. The gloves are capable of administering painful electrical shocks intended to interfere with an individual’s ability to respond.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, disclosed earlier this month that the agency intended to purchase devices known as CTG-5 Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, or GLOVE units.

The American Civil Liberties Union sharply criticized the planned acquisition, warning that providing immigration officers with “a concealed means of delivering terrible pain is a recipe for more harm to the public and less accountability.”

DHS, however, characterized the equipment as a tool intended to assist agents in controlling confrontations without escalating to more serious uses of force.

The department described the gloves as “a Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device which will be issued to Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations officers and agents.”

The purchase comes amid heightened scrutiny of ICE and its enforcement operations. Fatal shootings by ICE agents involving two U.S. citizens in Minnesota earlier this year, along with concerns raised by advocacy organizations over conditions inside ICE detention facilities, have fueled protests against the agency.

More than 50 people have died while being held in ICE custody nationwide since Trump returned to the White House early last year.

Trump has defended his administration’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts as necessary to strengthen security inside the United States.

Civil rights and immigration advocacy organizations have strongly opposed the administration’s approach, arguing that the crackdown is discriminatory and infringes upon free-speech and due-process protections. Critics have also contended that the enforcement environment has created particular concerns for ethnic minorities, including fears of racial profiling.

{Matzav.com}

Four young men have pleaded guilty to an arson attack that destroyed four Hatzolah ambulances in London’s heavily Jewish Golders Green neighborhood, causing approximately £1 million in damage in an incident that prosecutors say they will argue was connected to terrorism.

Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi, 18, and Saif Ali, 18, entered guilty pleas at the Old Bailey to destroying or damaging property while being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.

The attack occurred during the early morning hours of March 23, when four fully equipped ambulances belonging to Hatzolah were deliberately set ablaze in Golders Green.

Prosecutors have said they believe the Hatzolah vehicles were specifically targeted because of their connection to the Jewish community.

According to evidence presented in court, three members of the group carried out the actual firebombing of the ambulances while the fourth remained nearby in a vehicle.

Gas canisters inside the ambulances exploded after the fires were started, adding to the destruction at the scene.

Each of the ambulances was valued at approximately £250,000. Four electrical charging stations and their cables were also damaged in the blaze, with each charging installation valued at roughly £5,000.

Prosecutor Leo Seelig told the court that when the defendants are sentenced, the Crown Prosecution Service intends to argue that the arson should be treated as an offense connected to terrorism.

Mrs. Justice Cheema Grubb declined to make a determination at this point about whether the attack was terrorism-related. Defense attorneys have maintained that there is no evidence establishing such a connection.

Sentencing for the four defendants will take place after the case against a fifth man, Subhan Ahmed, is resolved. Ahmed has pleaded not guilty to assisting an offender.

Iqbal and Khan, both from Leyton; Atshatshi, of Dagenham; and Ali, of Walthamstow, were ordered to remain in custody.

Hatzolah has provided emergency medical services in Golders Green and the surrounding north London community since 1979. Operated by volunteers, the Jewish-led nonprofit provides emergency medical assistance and hospital transportation free of charge to people regardless of their religion.

The Community Security Trust, which works to protect British Jews against antisemitism and terrorism, welcomed the guilty pleas and said the actions of the defendants “caused immense shock and distress across the Jewish community”.

“This was an appalling antisemitic act against a volunteer ambulance service providing emergency medical assistance to people of all backgrounds across north London, simply because those ambulances belonged to a Jewish charity,” a spokesperson added.

The four defendants are expected to be sentenced in the spring of next year. Prosecutors intend to present evidence at sentencing supporting their contention that the attack had a terrorism connection, while attorneys representing the defendants told the court that none of the four is involved in terrorism.

The case has also drawn the attention of British intelligence officials amid a wider investigation into possible Iranian involvement in attacks targeting Jewish communities during 2026.

British intelligence officials initially kept open the possibility that the Iranian government or groups operating on its behalf could have played a role in the Hatzolah attack and other incidents targeting Jewish interests. They subsequently concluded that classified intelligence indicated possible involvement by Iran or Iranian proxies.

Those suspicions have been reinforced by an FBI investigation involving Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an Iranian-Iraqi man facing trial in Manhattan over allegations that he orchestrated attacks against Jewish communities in Europe.

U.S. court filings allege that al-Saadi, described as a commander in an Iraqi militia, was connected to attacks in London, including the destruction of the Hatzolah ambulances.

Al-Saadi was arrested in Turkey in May and subsequently extradited to the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that he participated in planning more than a dozen terrorist attacks across North America and Europe.

Federal court documents in the United States detail numerous incidents across Europe that the FBI alleges were connected to al-Saadi. In several cases, attacks targeting Jewish institutions were claimed online by a little-known organization called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand.

According to U.S. prosecutors, a social media account associated with the group claimed responsibility for the London ambulance arson. Prosecutors further allege that al-Saadi personally posted propaganda footage of the attack on social media.

“On or about March 23, 2026, at approximately 1:45 a.m., three masked individuals carried out an arson attack on four Hatzalah Ambulances in London, United Kingdom,” reads the indictment before the US court.

“That same day, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya posted on Telegram a propaganda video in which it claimed responsibility for the attack. On or about March 25, 2026, AL-SAADI posted on social media propaganda videos of the attack.”

The Justice Department has additionally accused al-Saadi of posting another propaganda video connected to an attempted arson attack against Finchley Road Synagogue in north London in April.

Attorneys representing al-Saadi in the United States have previously maintained that he is a political prisoner.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration told the Supreme Court two weeks ago that construction of a new White House East Wing was “65% finished,” part of its argument that the work was too far along for the court to halt.

But by the White House’s own standard for measuring the project’s progress, established in a confidential agreement with contractor Clark Construction that was reviewed by The Washington Post, work on the controversial project was far less complete.

The agreement, finalized before Clark began demolition last October, stipulates that payments to the contractor be proportional to the amount of work completed, and that work cannot begin until the government approves spending for it. Based on that, if 65 percent of the work has been done, then the government should already have paid 65 percent of the total cost of the project.

Publicly available appropriations data shows that as of the end of July, the White House budget office had approved $144 million in spending from an account used to pay for the East Wing and other White House projects. Even if that entire amount were spent on the East Wing, it would come to only about 24 percent of the $600 million estimated construction cost that Clark provided the White House in March. The Post has previously reported that cost estimate.

In the same mid-August court filing in which the administration claimed 65 percent of the project was done, it said that it had already spent “around $200 million.”

If the government had spent $200 million on the East Wing project, the work would be just 33 percent complete, based on the $600 million budget estimate.

“You really want to understand why there’s such a big gap there,” said Carl Elefante, a retired D.C.-area architect and former president of the American Institute of Architects. In response to The Post’s findings, he called the government’s claim about the completion percentage “doubtful.”

The 65 percent claim was made in a sworn declaration by Joshua Fisher, the director for White House Management and Administration, who is overseeing the construction project. In the declaration, Fisher did not explain how the percentage was calculated but said, “Work has progressed too far to go back to the drawing board.”

His assertion came as the administration asked the Supreme Court to allow work on the ballroom to continue after lower courts ruled that the project was probably illegal without congressional approval and that construction must stop. The administration argued in part that stopping work while courts considered the merits of the case brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation would cause “chaos in service of nothing” because the project had already progressed “beyond the point of judicial intervention.”

The White House did not answer The Post’s questions about the 65 percent figure and instead provided a statement from spokesman Davis Ingle. “President Trump continues to implement long-overdue and necessary renovations to beautify the People’s House as we approach our great Nation’s 250th anniversary of independence,” the statement said. “Thanks to the Builder-in-Chief, the White House will be properly glorified and remain in excellent condition for generations to come.”

The Justice Department, which represents the administration in court, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fisher did not respond to a request for comment. Clark referred questions to the White House.

Clark’s contract says the company will be paid monthly based on the percentage of total work that has been done. This is common in the industry, according to eight construction experts consulted by The Post who said that dollars spent is the standard method for measuring completion of large-scale construction projects.

Even if progress was measured according to Trump’s repeated claim that the ballroom will cost $400 million, paid for by private donors, it would be considered only halfway complete.

In public statements, the president has sometimes drawn a distinction between funding for the ballroom and security improvements tied to it, which the administration has acknowledged will be paid for by the Secret Service and the military. Clark’s March budget estimate indicated that half the total $600 million cost was to be paid for with tax dollars.

In its request to the Supreme Court to allow construction to proceed, the administration appeared to draw a similar distinction between the overall project, which includes a secure underground bunker, and the ballroom, writing: “The Project is on time and under budget, and the ballroom is funded with approximately $400 million in private donations … zero taxpayer dollars are needed or required.”

Measured by the expected duration of the work, the project is about 30 percent complete, according to the administration’s timeline.

Fisher said in his declaration that construction began in late October 2025 and is expected to be complete in August 2028. That puts the work 10 months into a 34-month construction schedule.

The president is still tinkering with the overall plans for the East Wing, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe internal discussions.

Some of those changes involve the ballroom’s exterior. Renderings that the administration shared with the Supreme Court this month included the addition of a new feature that Trump picked out – golden seals on the exterior of the ballroom – and the restoration of another feature, a staircase, that had been included in prior plans before being abandoned.

One of the people with knowledge of the project said construction was not nearly 65 percent complete. “I’m not sure they’re 65 percent complete with designing the ballroom,” the person said, mocking the administration’s claims. “The ballroom continues to undergo significant changes to the base design, even while construction is ongoing.”

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Sarah Blaskey, Jonathan O’Connell, Dan Diamond, Jarrett Ley 

A seven-year-old boy died Friday after drowning in a lake at Park Darom in Tel Aviv, despite extensive rescue efforts and prolonged attempts to resuscitate him.

The child had entered the lake together with a friend but failed to emerge from the water. When the other boy came out of the lake alone, it became apparent that the seven-year-old was missing, prompting an urgent search.

Emergency and rescue personnel were dispatched to the scene, including Lahava, the Israel Fire and Rescue Service’s national special-rescue unit, as crews searched the lake for the missing child.

The boy was eventually located in the water and pulled out unconscious. Emergency personnel immediately began performing CPR before rushing him in critical condition to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. Doctors later pronounced him dead.

Magen David Adom personnel described the large-scale emergency response that followed the initial report.

“We received a report of a child who was missing in a lake. We arrived at the scene with large forces, including ambulances, motorcycles and rapid-response vehicles,” MDA personnel said.

They said that while the search was underway, the child was brought to rescuers without a pulse and not breathing.

“During the searches, the child was brought to us unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing. We immediately began performing resuscitation efforts, providing ventilation and administering medication. We placed him in an MDA intensive care ambulance and evacuated him to the trauma room in critical condition.”

ZAKA volunteers Avshalom Darchi of the organization’s motorcycle unit and Barak Sharabi, who responded to the scene, said they initially received a report that several children had entered the water and that one of them was missing.

“We received a report of several children who entered the water and one of them was missing. A civilian who was at the scene located the child unconscious and pulled him from the water to the rescue personnel, who performed resuscitation efforts on him and ultimately were forced to pronounce him dead.

“Together with additional ZAKA volunteers, we are ensuring the dignity of the deceased and assisting the police forces operating at the scene.”

Police remained at the scene following the tragedy as authorities continued their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the drowning.

{Matzav.com}

A devastating tragedy unfolded in Jackson, NJ today, as an 8-month-old baby passed away after he, his mother and another child were struck by a vehicle outside the NPGS supermarket.

The infant, Yitzchok ben Pinchos, was critically injured in the collision and was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was subsequently pronounced deceased.

The incident occurred when a woman who was pulling out in a vehicle struck the mother and her two children, prompting a massive emergency response.

Central Jersey Hatzolah personnel and other emergency responders rushed to the scene and immediately began treating the three victims. Due to the number of patients and the severity of their injuries, a Mass Casualty Incident.

One of the victims had reportedly gone into traumatic arrest following the collision, while another was reported to have sustained serious injuries.

All three victims were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for emergency treatment. Tragically, despite extensive efforts to save him, 8-month-old Yitzchok could not be revived.

The mother and the other child remain hospitalized following the horrific accident.

The circumstances surrounding the collision are under investigation.

All are asked to continue saying Tehillim and davening for the refuah sheleimah of Golda Chana bas Leah Shaindel and Rochel bas Golda Chanah.

Information regarding the levayah for the infant will be provided when it becomes available.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

The Yerushalayim community is mourning the petirah of Reb Pesach Krishevsky zt”l, one of the city’s beloved and colorful longtime personalities, who was known for decades as the legendary drummer at Yerushalmi weddings and who miraculously survived the horrific 2015 terror attack on Rechov Malchei Yisroel. He was 90 years old.

Known affectionately throughout Yerushalayim as the “Yerushalmi Poiker,” Reb Pesach spent decades bringing joy to generations of chassanim and kallos. With his familiar drum, or poik, in hand, he became an inseparable part of countless Yerushalmi chasunos, tishen and other simchos, particularly in the circles surrounding the old-time Yerushalmi community.

Those who knew him remembered far more than his music. Reb Pesach was a figure of warmth, simplicity and genuine ahavas Yisroel, whose cheerful presence and infectious enthusiasm made him recognizable to generations of Yerushalmim.

Reb Pesach was born on 23 Nissan 5696/1936 to his father, Reb Yitzchok Zev Krishevsky z”l, and his mother, Mrs. Rochel Krishevsky a”h.

Upon reaching marriageable age, he married his wife, Mrs. Chaya Bracha Krishevsky a”h, a daughter of Reb Chaim Rubinfein z”l. She was niftar in 2021.

Reb Pesach became known far beyond the circles of Yerushalayim following the devastating terror attack that took place during the wave of Palestinian terrorism in 2015.

On the morning of 3 Tishrei 5776, Reb Pesach was standing at a bus stop on Malchei Yisroel in the Geulah neighborhood of Yerushalayim together with his cousin, Rav Yeshaya Akiva Krishevsky Hy”d. A terrorist drove his vehicle into the two men at high speed and then emerged from the car armed with a large knife and continued his murderous assault.

Rav Yeshaya Akiva was murdered al kiddush Hashem at the scene. Reb Pesach sustained devastating injuries and was rushed in critical condition to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center.

What followed was regarded by his family and friends as nothing short of a remarkable neis.

Despite the severity of his injuries and the grim medical outlook, Reb Pesach survived. With multitudes of people davening for his recovery, his condition improved, and he ultimately regained his strength and was able to return to his feet.

Even while hospitalized, Reb Pesach remained intensely focused on avodas Hashem. During his recovery, he publicly spoke out against chillul Shabbos, displaying the same uncompromising commitment to kavod Shomayim that had characterized his life. He declared that the zechus of Shemiras Shabbos serves as a protection and shelter for Klal Yisroel.

After leaving the hospital, Reb Pesach returned to the exact location on Malchei Yisroel Street where the terror attack had occurred.

Accompanied by relatives and friends, he stood at the site where he had nearly lost his life and, overcome with emotion, recited the bracha of “She’asah li neis bamakom hazeh,” thanking Hashem for the miracle that had taken place there.

His recovery eventually brought him back to something that had defined much of his life: bringing simcha to others.

Reb Pesach once again picked up his drum and returned to simchos, continuing to bring joy to chassanim and kallos. He also merited to dance at the celebrations of his own children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Just several years ago, moving footage showed the elderly Reb Pesach dancing for an extended period at the Chumash seudah of a great-grandson at Talmud Torah Torah V’Yirah in Beit Shemesh. For those who remembered the images of him fighting for his life after the terror attack, the sight of him dancing years later was particularly poignant.

Friends and acquaintances described Reb Pesach as a deeply yarei Shomayim Yid who lived with temimus and greeted others with warmth. Expressions of gratitude to the Ribono Shel Olam were constantly on his lips.

His personality was marked by pashtus, anavah and an ayin tovah. These qualities, together with the happiness he brought to others, made him a beloved figure throughout the Yerushalmi community.

Reb Pesach shared a particularly close relationship with Rav Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss zt”l, the Minchas Yitzchok and Gaavad of the Eidah Hachareidis, whom he served as a gabbai.

He was also deeply attached to the Gaavad, Rav Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss zt”l, and would visit his home in Yerushalayim’s Gush 80 neighborhood each week.

Reb Pesach endured profound personal tragedy during his lifetime, losing both a son and a daughter. His daughter, Mrs. Chava Sarel Yehudis Stern a”h, was the wife of Rav Chaim Stern, one of the prominent rabbanim of Kehillas Hamasmidim. His son, Reb Chaim Shalom Krishevsky zt”l, was a distinguished member of the Rachmastrivka kehillah.

Through those painful losses, Reb Pesach accepted the gezeirah with emunah and quiet strength.

He leaves behind a large and distinguished family of sons and daughters, along with hundreds of grandchildren and great-grandchildren who continue in the path of Torah and chassidus that he cherished throughout his life.

The levayah was held Friday morning from his home at 61 Rechov Rabbi Elazar in Beit Shemesh. A second levayah was held at Shamgar in Yerushalayim, proceeding through Kikar Shabbos to Har Hazeisim, where Reb Pesach was brought to kevurah.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

House Democrats are preparing legislation aimed at overturning President Trump’s executive order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” as tensions between Washington and Ottawa continue to intensify amid an escalating trade dispute, Axios reports.

The Democratic push comes as lawmakers seek to limit the repercussions from the worsening economic confrontation between the Trump administration and the Canadian government.

Trade negotiations between the United States and Canada collapsed last week, triggering 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian imports. Ottawa has pledged to retaliate with tariffs of its own.

Rep. Tim Kennedy of New York, a Democratic co-chairman of the bipartisan Northern Border Caucus, told Axios in a text message that he is “working on a bill” in response to Trump’s order.

Kennedy is among several Democratic lawmakers who have sharply criticized the president’s decision to rename the lake. In a statement, he called the move further evidence that Trump is a “petty, vindictive, failed president.”

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers fired back at Kennedy’s criticism, asking in a statement to Axios: “Does the Congressman not love America?”

Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, who leads House Democrats’ messaging operation, is separately preparing legislation that would reverse Trump’s executive order.

Dingell, who has been an outspoken opponent of the president’s trade policies toward Canada, blasted the Lake America designation during a radio interview Thursday.

“I think it’s absolutely insane, and I deeply resent it,” he said.

Trump’s executive order directs the Interior Department to change the federal government’s Geographic Names Information System within 30 days to formally reflect the new Lake America designation.

“In recognition of this flourishing economic resource and its critical importance to our Nation’s economy and its people, I am directing that the Lake officially be renamed as Lake America,” the order said.

The action follows Trump’s earlier directive instructing the federal government to use the name “Gulf of America” for the Gulf of Mexico. Questions remain, however, about the extent of presidential authority to rename a body of water such as Lake Ontario, which is shared by the United States and Canada.

Canadian officials have already made clear that their government will not recognize Trump’s new name for the lake.

Democrats face a significant obstacle in their effort to undo the executive action. With Republicans controlling both the House and Senate, legislation reversing the Lake America designation is unlikely to receive a vote unless GOP lawmakers agree to bring it forward.