Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) launched a blistering attack on conservative broadcaster Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, accusing him of fueling antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment among young conservatives. Speaking at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, Cruz warned that Carlson’s rhetoric was “deeply disturbing” and compared him directly to progressive firebrand Rep. Ilhan Omar, a frequent critic of Israel. “Tucker Carlson is turning into Ilhan Omar. This is bizarre. This is ridiculous,” Cruz declared, drawing sharp applause from the audience. The senator’s comments came as part of a broader warning that antisemitism is taking root on the American right. “In the last six months, what we’ve seen on the right has been deeply disturbing,” he said, urging Republicans not to stay silent. “We need to speak out and oppose it.” Cruz singled out Carlson’s program, which has featured Holocaust revisionists and guests questioning whether Hamas is a terrorist group. “There are very few ironclad rules of politics, but here’s one. Hitler was always, always bad,” Cruz said to cheers. Carlson, once the most watched host on Fox News, has also amplified the “great replacement theory,” a racist and antisemitic conspiracy cited by white supremacists in Charlottesville in 2017 and by the gunman who killed 11 Jews at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018. “What worries me most,” Cruz said, “is the 19- and 20-year-old college kids, who are listening to this and cheering on this anti-Israel sentiment, this antisemitic sentiment.” Cruz’s warning comes as Carlson remains a powerful figure on the right. He received thunderous applause at the 2024 Republican National Convention and campaigned alongside GOP vice-presidential nominee JD Vance. The senator also used his Heritage appearance to promote new legislation designating the Muslim Brotherhood and its branches as terrorist organizations — a move that would sanction Hamas and other Islamist groups. The bill has nine Senate co-sponsors and a bipartisan companion in the House. But his sharpest barbs were aimed not at Democrats but at Carlson, whose growing influence among young conservatives Cruz described as corrosive and dangerous. “Antisemitism must never be tolerated — not on the left, and not on the right,” Cruz said. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Israeli President Yitzchak Herzog was the target of a security scare in London on Thursday after a suspicious package was delivered during his official visit, his office said. British and Israeli security personnel moved quickly to secure the object. Officials did not provide details on the contents of the package, but the incident underscored mounting concerns that Iranian-linked groups could attempt to target Israeli officials abroad following the June war with Tehran. Israeli intelligence has repeatedly warned that Iran, working with Hamas, may seek to strike Israeli assets overseas. In response, the Shin Bet has deployed what it described as “unique technological capabilities” to bolster security around Israeli diplomatic missions, delegations and institutions. Some of the measures, officials said, are being used abroad for the first time. Herzog’s trip to Britain has already been marked by political tension. On Wednesday, he met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in a meeting both sides described as difficult. Herzog criticized the U.K. government’s stance on Israel, while Starmer condemned Israel’s ongoing campaign against Hamas and its strike on terrorists in Qatar earlier this week. “It was a meeting between allies, but it was a tough meeting,” Herzog said later at Chatham House. “Things were said that were tough and strong, and clearly we can argue, because when allies meet, they can argue.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Shuls should bar individual mispalelim from bringing guns to minyanim unless they are part of an organized, trained security team, according to new guidance released this week by the Secure Community Network (SCN), the security arm of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The report comes as Jewish communities face heightened threats and as debates over firearms in shuls intensify. Michael Masters, SCN’s national director and CEO, told JNS that “allowing individuals in an unstructured, unplanned way to carry guns in a house of worship is simply not a viable or responsible option given the threat environment or the potential impacts of doing that.” Instead, SCN is urging congregations to formalize volunteer security teams — with clear chains of command, defined roles, and training in threat recognition, crisis response and de-escalation — coordinated with law enforcement and backed by written policies. “Far too few” shuls have what Masters called “a thoroughly vetted, well-thought-out gun policy.” The report stakes out a position in a debate that has quietly divided Jewish institutions: whether armed mispalelim deter attacks or risk turning moments of crisis into chaos. Millions of Americans — including many Jewish families — have purchased firearms in recent years. But SCN warns that unstructured gun carrying could expose synagogues to legal liability and undermine carefully crafted security protocols. The recommendations: Limit armed presence to vetted volunteer teams. Clarify when and how force can be used. Train members on situational awareness and de-escalation. Establish policies for other weapons, including tasers and sprays. Jewish institutions have poured money into security since the deadly Pittsburgh synagogue shooting in 2018, with dramatic increases in patrols, coordination with police, and infrastructure upgrades. Yomim Noraim tefillos are now among the most heavily secured times of the year, Masters noted — though he acknowledged that smaller shuls often struggle with fewer resources. “We are investing more as a community, nationally and locally, in security than we ever have before,” he said. “But the responsibility to do this right has never been higher.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A Nukhba terrorist who was captured about two weeks ago provided the security establishment with an internal glimpse of life in Gaza. In a recording published on Channel 14, the Nukbah terrorist admits that the majority of “innocent Gazan civilians” belong to terrorist organizations. “About 70% of the residents of Gaza belong to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations, the most well-known organizations we have that control the area,” he said. “Everyone belongs to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.” It should be noted that the other 30% may belong to other terrorist organizations located in Gaza, including those affiliated with ISIS, the cruel Mujahideen Brigades terror group that abducted the Bibas family, H’yd, and other groups affiliated with the PFLP, DFLP, and Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. He added that he thinks that at least 70% of the residents of the Strip would immigrate to other countries if they were allowed: “If most people in Gaza had the chance to leave for Egypt, they wouldn’t care where they went—the real goal is simply to escape Hamas’s oppression here.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Two Palestinians who tried to infiltrate Israel in the Jerusalem area through the same breach in the security fence that the Ramot terrorists used only days ago were shot and moderately wounded by police officers. However, Ynet carried out an investigation of the security fence near Jerusalem on Wednesday, only two days after the attack, and reported that the breaches were still wide open and security forces were nowhere to be seen in the area. Only one police car passed by on the road in the course of an hour. According to the report, most Palestinians who cross the fence in the Jerusalem area are seeking work, but the Ramot terrorists were not the first to take advantage of the breaches to carry out terror attacks in the city. Meanwhile, Israel’s security bodies are pointing fingers at each other regarding the monitoring of the security fence. Following the attack, the IDF stated that Jerusalem Police are responsible for guarding the fence. But the police issued a statement on Wednesday emphasizing that guarding the fence is a national mission of all security bodies on both sides of the fence and activity by relevant entities is required to prevent the exit of illegal aliens from the Palestinian Authority. The police added that they have warned about the condition of the fence for over a year, but nothing has been done. Over 11,000 illegal Palestinians have been arrested since the beginning of the year, the statement said. “Every illegal alien who enters is a potential for an attack,” a resident of the Jerusalem area said. “It is unfortunate that they only act to close the breaches after six Jews are slaughtered in an attack. Our lives are not expendable. The time has come for security officials to end the infiltration of illegal Palestinians.” According to Ynet, the fact that the terrorists infiltrated through breaches in the seam line so smoothly keeps IDF officials awake at night, and the security establishment fears a wave of copycat attacks by lone terrorists, chalilah. After the October 7 massacre, Israel banned the entry of Palestinian workers into Israel…with exceptions. There are about 8,000 Palestinians whose work is deemed essential who are legally allowed to enter Israel. There are also about 15,000 Palestinians who work on yishuvim in Yehudah and Shomron (where each yishuv sets its own policy on the entry of Palestinian workers). Additionally, security officials estimate that at any given time there are about 50,000 illegal Palestinian workers in Israel. A former security official told Ynet that on one hand, if Israel were to approve the entry of Palestinian workers, it would help the system to monitor them. “It is clear that if Israel wanted to hermetically close all the breaches, it would happen, but it doesn’t, and for years upon years, illegal aliens have entered,” he said. He hinted that security officials may turn a blind eye to the issue since the Palestinian workers are good for Israel’s economy as well as the stability of the PA, but “they wake up only when there is an attack.” “It is clear that now, after the attack, they are not thinking at all about letting workers in, but if they want to close the fence, then they should close it hermetically, all the way,” he asserted. (YWN […]
Stephen A. Smith speaks on the left celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder: “I don’t care what his political beliefs were. I don’t care what he felt. I care about the fact that a man was gunned down in front of 2 of his children — he’s dead at the age of 31!”
A 16-year-old boy who had been radicalized by an “extremist network” fired a revolver multiple times during an attack at a suburban Denver high school that wounded two students, authorities said Thursday. Some students ran and others locked down during Wednesday’s shooting at Evergreen High School in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. One of the victims was shot inside the school and another outside. The suspect, fellow student Desmond Holly, shot himself at the school and later died, officials with the Jefferson County sheriff’s office said. The school resource officer was on medical leave and two part-time officers who now share the job were not present at the time of the shooting, officials said. The officer working at the school that day had been sent earlier to a nearby accident. Details on how Holly allegedly had been radicalized were not immediately released. They will be disclosed at a later date, sheriff’s office spokesperson Jacki Kelley said during a Thursday news conference. It also remained unclear if Holly had any dispute with the victims or if they were shot randomly. “Based on what I’m telling you about firing and reloading and firing and reloading, it seems like it could be a bit of both,” Kelley told reporters. She described a chaotic scene as students sheltered in place or fled. “He would fire and reload, fire and reload, fire reload,” she said. “This went on and on, and as he did that he tried to find new targets.” But Kelley said he was blocked by secured doors and couldn’t get into areas of the school where kids were sheltering. She added that Holly brought “quite a bit of ammunition” to the school. “The reason we have so many crime scene areas inside is because we have windows shot out. We have lockers that were shot up. We’re finding spent rounds, unspent rounds. So it’s a huge area,” she said. Investigators were searching the suspect’s room, his backpack and his locker as they try to unravel the shooting. They were also in contact with the suspect’s parents. Kelley said authorities would be looking at whether the parents should face any criminal charges for allowing him access to the gun. Holly had ridden a bus to school Wednesday morning, she said. The two victims remained in critical condition Thursday, Kelley said. At the school, cars of students and staffers remained in the parking lot Thursday. Deputies stopped drivers from entering. A command post was set up outside and authorities could be seen coming and going from the school’s front entrance. The Colorado and U.S. flags were still being flown at the top of flag poles. Sila Reilly stopped by to lay flowers to honor those injured in the shooting. Not able to get very close, she secured several bouquets of white flowers on the top of fence post near the school’s baseball field. “I’m tired of this being an everyday crisis,” said Reilly said, noting her son will soon be going to a high school much like Evergreen in another school district nearby. Authorities have not provided further details about just where the shootings occurred on the 900-student campus or what the relationship was between the suspect and the two victims. None of the law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting fired […]
A suspect on trial for trying to assassinate President Donald Trump while he played golf in South Florida last year forfeited his right to continue making an opening statement on Thursday when he veered off topic and talked about Adolf Hitler and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Ryan Routh, who is representing himself, was warned by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to stay on topic. The judge twice asked jurors to leave the courtroom so she could deal with the unconventional turn Routh’s opening statement took. Both Routh and prosecutors had been given 40 minutes each to make opening statements, but Routh’s initial argument, read from a written statement, lasted about 10 minutes before the judge said he had forfeited the right to continue because he was addressing unrelated matters. “I gave you one more chance and you continued to read what has no relevance for this case,” Cannon said. During the prosecution’s opening statement, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley told jurors that Routh wanted to make sure that Trump wasn’t re-elected to the White House. “This plot was carefully crafted and deadly serious,” Shipley said. Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations. Until this week, Routh has appeared at hearings shackled at the wrists and ankles and dressed in a tan jail jumpsuit. But with jurors present, Routh has been unrestrained and dressed in a sport coat and tie. Cannon has said that Routh will be allowed to address jurors and witnesses from a podium, but he will not have free rein of the courtroom. A panel of 12 jurors and four alternates was sworn in Wednesday, at the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida. There are four white men, one Black man, six white women, and one Black woman on the jury, and the alternates are two white men and two white women. The panel was selected from a pool of 180 potential jurors. The trial begins nearly a year after prosecutors say a Secret Service agent thwarted his attempt to shoot the Republican presidential nominee. It’s expected to run two or three weeks. The trial’s start comes as police search for the gunman who killed conservative influencer Charlie Kirk at a campus in Utah on Wednesday in what political leaders are calling an assassination. Prosecutors have said Routh, 59, methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach country club. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot. Just nine weeks earlier, Trump had survived another attempt on his life while campaigning in Pennsylvania. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear, before being shot by a Secret Service counter sniper. Cannon is a Trump-appointed judge who drew scrutiny for her handling of a criminal case accusing Trump of illegally storing classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach. The case became mired in delays as motions piled up over months, and was ultimately dismissed by Cannon last year after […]
In preparation for the upcoming Jewish High Holidays, community leaders, representatives of Hatzolah, Chaverim, and several local shuls met with law enforcement officials to discuss safety and security measures. Among the community leaders and elected officials in attendance were NJ State Assemblyman Gary Schaer, Passaic City Councilman Daniel Mayer, Passaic County Sheriff Thomas Adamo, Undersheriff George Rosenthal, Passaic County Sheriff Chaplain Rabbi Abe Friedman, Passaic Police Department Deputy Chief Jonathan Schaer, and Clifton Police Department Captain Chris Stabile.
In preparation for the upcoming Jewish High Holidays, community leaders, representatives of Hatzolah, Chaverim, and several local shuls met with law enforcement officials to discuss safety and security measures. The meeting brought together the Passaic County Prosecutor, Sheriff, and area police chiefs, who pledged heightened security at critical sites throughout the holiday season. Officials emphasized their commitment to ensuring that residents can observe the Yomim Tovim with peace of mind. Among the community leaders and elected officials in attendance were NJ State Assemblyman Gary Schaer, Passaic City Councilman Daniel Mayer, Passaic County Sheriff Thomas Adamo, Undersheriff George Rosenthal, Passaic County Sheriff Chaplain Rabbi Abe Friedman, Passaic Police Department Deputy Chief Jonathan Schaer, and Clifton Police Department Captain Chris Stabile. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Hillel Neuer, the executive director of UN Watch, delivered a powerful speech at the UN following condemnations of Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha by the worst violators of human rights around the world. “Here at the United Nations in Geneva, after Iran, Libya, Algeria, Venezuela and others condemned Israel for bombing Hamas in Qatar, I just took the floor to deliver the following speech,” Neuer wrote. “Pakistan interrupted me in the middle.” “Mr. President, we have heard a lot about international law—from the world’s worst violators of international law,” Neuer began. “It’s time to challenge the perpetrators. And so, we ask Qatar: If you don’t want targeted bombings against terrorists in your capital, why do you harbor terrorists in your capital? Terrorists who are still holding hostages, torturing them, and rejecting peace deals?” “Why did you host Ismail Haniyeh, Khaled Mashal, and Khalil al-Hayya in luxury hotels, from where they planned their terror? “Why did you back Hamas’s Gaza coup in 2007? Why have you funneled billions since then, fueling their terror machine and empowering their five wars against Israel? “Why did you blame Israel for October 7, absolving Hamas of massacring 1200 Israelis, Americans and others? “Why is your state-owned Al Jazeera serving as the terror group’s non-stop propaganda arm? Why do you act as a mediator by day and a terror sponsor by night? “Mr. President, the record shows: Qatar is a state sponsor of terror. The Gulf states said so in 2017, when they suspended ties with Qatar. “Yesterday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Israel. But when the U.S. killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, the UN chief at the time celebrated that ‘justice has been done to such a mastermind of international terrorism.’ France called it a ‘victory for all democracies.’ “We ask both: how is this different? “When Israel captured the Nazi Adolf Eichmann, rescued the hostages at Entebbe, and destroyed Saddam’s nuclear reactor, the U.N. condemned Israel. “Each time, history vindicated Israel. And history shall remember the courage of those who acted and the disgrace of those who condemned.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
For more than three years, Ukraine has waged an almost nightly battle against Russian attack drones. NATO on Wednesday got a taste of that fight. Polish authorities said they detected 19 violations of their airspace, prompting a million-dollar response as fighter jets were scrambled and Patriot air defense systems placed on alert. Up to four drones were shot down with the help of NATO allies. The incursion, which lasted for several hours, showed NATO’s vulnerability to drone warfare. Russian authorities said they didn’t target Poland, and Belarus, a close ally, said some of the drones “lost their course” because they were jammed. Nonetheless, several European leaders and experts said Poland was deliberately targeted. If one or two drones crossed into Polish airspace, it could have been a “technical malfunction,” but it “defies imagination that it could have been accidental” when there were 19, said Poland’s Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski. While proving intent is difficult, “to have several to lose their way is starting to look rather deliberate,” agreed Thomas Withington, an expert in electronic warfare at the Royal United Services Institute in London. A goal, he suggested, could have been to test NATO’s reaction and ability to respond to drones. Confusion and suspicion Since January, Russia has fired at least 35,698 attack drones at Ukraine according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Ukrainian air force. Polish airspace has been violated multiple times since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Fragments from Ukrainian missiles killed two people in Poland in 2023, while drones have strayed into Poland, Romana and Moldova as well as the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. But until Wednesday, no NATO country had sustained multiple incursions into its airspace. It was the first time NATO airpower was engaged against enemy targets inside a NATO country. Drone fragments were found about 554 kilometers (344 miles) into Polish territory — deeper than any previous incursion. Much remains unclear, and for now, NATO is cautious. “We do not yet know if this was an intentional act or an unintentional act,” U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe, said Thursday. He went on: “I would not be able to tell you with any confidence today that it was 20 (drones) or that it was 10. We just have to get into the technical details to figure that out, to debrief the crews that were up, see what they saw, et cetera.” It’s difficult “without hard evidence,” to say if Moscow really intended to fly the drones into Poland, said Ash Alexander-Cooper, a former specialist military commander and vice president at Dedrone, which produces technology to detect and neutralize drone threats. But, based on what is known about Russian drones and how they respond to electronic warfare, the experts who spoke to AP said it was highly possible the incursions were deliberate. Electronic warfare There are two key ways to neutralize most drones: either shoot them down, or hit them with electronic signals interference. Jamming and spoofing are the main ways to do that. Jamming severs the connection the drone has with a satellite navigation system, whereas spoofing tricks the drone into thinking it is somewhere else. If the drone were jammed — either by Ukraine or Poland — it would […]
The Netzach Yehuda battalion for Chareidi recruits was established in the IDF over 20 years ago in a cooperative effort between Rabbanim and IDF officials. The collaboration created a unique framework that preserved the Chareidi way of life for soldiers who wanted to serve in the army without disconnecting from their community. Over the years, the battalion grew to hundreds of soldiers in each cycle, while maintaining full Rabbinical guidance, strict gender separation, and Torah content. So what led to the situation today? An investigation by the Hakol HaYehudi website revealed that over the years, the IDF slowly but surely took over the reins of the unit’s policies from the Rabbanim, to the point that by 2022, new documents re-outlining Netzach Yehudah policy show that the Rabbanim were excluded from the decision-making process and stripped of their authority. Firm religious boundaries were transformed into “recommendations” or deemed optional. Gender segregation, formerly a strict requirement, was replaced by a general “recommended guideline” that allowed for exceptions. IDF ceremonies were no longer separated by gender. The goal of the unit, originally defined as “integration without change,” was altered to “the bridging of social gaps.” The result was an erosion of Chareidi trust and a sharp decline in the number of recruits. The transformation of Netzach Yehuda was far from the first time that senior IDF officials violated the trust of Rabbanim. Much has been discussed and written about the various tracks formulated for Chareidim—and the speed with which religious regulations were disregarded. The Kol Yehudi report confirms the facts: the IDF repeatedly violated agreements with Rabbanim, a phenomenon aptly illustrated by the details that emerge from the founding documents of Netzach Yehuda. Netzach Yehuda grew steadily from the time it was established in 1999 with only 32 soldiers. But the number of soldiers increased year after year until it became an operational battalion. The battalion initially operated in the Jordan Valley and later in the Jenin sector, the Negev, the Golan Heights, Gaza, and Lebanon, garnering awards for excellence along the way. In August 2014, the IDF’s Manpower Directorate established a new “Chareidi” track in Givati, the Tomer platoon, but without Rabbanim instituting its policies. Afterward, despite the opposition of the Rabbanim involved with Netzach Yehudah, the IDF continued to establish new tracks for Chareidi recruits: the Chetz track in the Paratroopers and the Negev platoon in the Air Force—also without the input of Rabbanim. The goal of the IDF and the Manpower Directorate was to build on Netzach Yehuda’s success but replicate it without the involvement of civilian Rabbanim. Moreover, the establishment of the new “Chareidi” units without Rabbinical supervision allowed the army to haggle with Netzach Yehuda on all sorts of religious issues, i.e., if other “Chareidi” soldiers are serving in unsupervised units, why are you insisting on all sorts of unnecessary religious stringencies? The number of recruits to the original Netzach Yehuda battalion gradually decreased until it reached a low of 70 recruits in November 2024. Chareidim interested in serving in the IDF understood that Netzach Yehuda and the new “Chareidi” tracks had long ceased to be supervised tracks, and as the years passed, the number of Chareidi soldiers decreased. One example from the Kol Yehudi investigation of the original Rabbinic policy for Netzach Yehuda and its altered version […]
