The IDF and Shin Bet announced that Hassan Mahmoud Hassan Hussein, a Hamas Nukhba Force commander who led the killing and kidnapping of Israelis from a roadside bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7, was killed in a recent airstrike in the Gaza Strip; he served as a company commander in Hamas’s Bureij Battalion.
During a visit to the military’s main visual intelligence unit, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the Intelligence Directorate is undergoing major changes following lessons learned from the October 7 onslaught. “The Intelligence Directorate is undergoing a significant transformation, mainly based on the lessons of October 7,” Zamir says at the directorate’s Unit 9900.
The UN reinstated an arms embargo and other sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program following a process triggered by European powers that Tehran warned would prompt a harsh response
On Thursday night, the expanded and newly renovated main Dushinsky Beis Medrash was filled to capacity and beyond, as thousands of bnei torah gathered under the leadership of Admorim, Rabbanim, and members of the Badatz of the Eidah HaChareidis to hear the Shabbos Shuvah drasha from Harav Moshe Shternbuch shlit”a. The annual drasha has long been a source of hadracha and chizuk to the masses of Yerushalayim. This year, despite the Beis Medrash doubling in size through extensive renovations, the venue was still unable to contain the immense crowd that streamed in from all over the city. For nearly an hour, Rav Shternbuch spoke divrei halacha and aggadah before the overflowing crowd. At the front sat the members of the Badatz, the Admor of Dushinsky seated with his characteristic simplicity among the mispalelim, and numerous Rabbanim and dayanim representing kehillos across the Eidah HaChareidis. Opening his words, the Gaavad spoke with heartfelt emotion about the plight of the bochurim who have been imprisoned in recent months due to the gezeiras hagiyus. “Many bochurim are sitting now in detention, for the sole reason that they gave their lives not to go into their army. We must strengthen them—ashreichem that you were caught for the sake of Torah. Stand strong with mesirus nefesh against them.” From there, he turned to the government, decrying its actions in extraordinarily sharp terms. He compared today’s decrees to the darkest periods in Jewish history. “The heads of the government act worse than the nations, like the Inquisition in its time, which persecuted Jews only because they kept Torah and mitzvos. And woe to us that this is what has befallen us in our days, when they seek to disturb our avodas Hashem. The entire world must be shaken over this.” The entire Beis Medrash was visibly moved when the Gaavad suddenly burst into bitter weeping. In a voice choked with tears, he exclaimed: “These days we say Avinu Malkeinu, kallei dever v’cherev v’shmad mei’al bnei brisecha. We must have kavana in these tefillos that Hashem should annul this gezeiras shmad! Their entire goal with drafting bnei Torah is to uproot shmiras haTorah, chas v’shalom.” Concluding his drasha, Harav Shternbuch issued a clear psak regarding yeshiva bochurim and the draft. “I have said many times, and I repeat: according to halacha it is absolutely forbidden to go into their army. This is not a chumra or a middas chassidus, but pure halacha. Bochurim who receive draft notices must discard them immediately. Do not argue with them, simply say clearly: we are following our Rabbanim, who have forbidden joining the army.” As the drasha ended, the throngs of participants accompanied the posek hador out of the Beis Medrash and onto Rechov Shmuel Hanavi, singing a thunderous rendition of “Ki Orech Yamim” that echoed through the night. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
I would like to open with a profound statement from a revered Torah giant, Reb Leib Malin, zt”l, whose words on the Yeshiva system are both powerful and timeless. He famously wrote in his Hakdama to HaTevunah Journal: “הַיֵּשִׁיבָה הַקְּדוֹשָּׁה, בָּהֶן הָיָה כָּל הַרְכּוֹש שֶׁל הַכְּלָל יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּגָּלוּת. בָּהֶן הִשְׁתַּמְּרָה הַתּוֹרָה וְיִרְאָה בְּכָל טָהֳרָתָה, כַּאֲשֶׁר מִלְפָנִים. בָּהֶן הִשְׁתַּמְּרָה הַעֲמָלָה שֶׁל תּוֹרָה וְהַעִיּוּן בִּפְנִימִיוּת תּוֹרָה. בָּהֶן הָיְתָה נִכֶּרֶת מַלְכוּתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹש-בָּרוּך-הוּא. בָּהֶן הָיְתָה הַתּוֹרָה שׁוֹלֵטֶת וְגְבִירָה וְאֵין עוֹד מִלְבַדָּה. כַּשֶּׁהָיוּ נִכְנָסִים לִכְתוֹלֵי הַיְּשִׁיבָה, הָיוּ מַרְגִּישִׁים אֵיךְ שֶׁכָּל הַחָלָל מִמּוּלָא מִתּוֹרָה, בָּהֶן כָּל הוֹן וְיָקָר נִמְצָא.” In these words, Reb Leib Malin, zt”l, has expressed, in the clearest and most powerful manner, the centrality of the Yeshiva to the survival and flourishing of the Jewish people. The Yeshiva is not simply an academic institution; it is the heart and soul of the Jewish world, the place where Torah and Yiras Shamayim are transmitted from generation to generation. It is the place where Hashem’s kingship is palpable, where the labor of Torah study is central, and where the light of our faith shines brightest. Now, with all due respect to the writer on YWN, to suggest that Yeshiva is no longer worth it, or to imply that we should reconsider sending our children to Yeshiva because of certain challenges, is not only mistaken—it is profoundly dangerous. The idea that we should question the very institutions that have preserved Torah for centuries, through every trial and tribulation, is something that no true Torah Jew should entertain. The letter states: “Can we really teach ואהבת לרעך כמוך while turning a blind eye to self-inflicted and socially harmful addictions that begin in the very halls of Torah?” and later questions: “Are yeshivos really a place that our sons can learn Torah? Or are they just there for an academic Judaism, devoid of any real Torah growth?” I could not disagree more with such sentiments. Yes, smoking is indeed a serious issue that must be addressed in the Yeshiva system. But the problem with smoking is a symptom, not the disease. The issue is not with the Yeshiva system itself—it is with individuals within it who may stray from the path of perfect righteousness. The solution is not to throw out the entire institution, but to fix what needs repair and continue to uphold the Yeshiva as the central foundation of Torah life. The Yeshiva has always been a place of Torah growth—of deep, sincere connection with Hashem. Every single Great leader of our people, were products of the Yeshiva system, albeit different intricacies in every generation, which molded them into leaders who upheld the Torah’s highest ideals and were committed to a life of purity, holiness, and service to Hashem. Did any of them ever question the institution of the Yeshiva, despite its flaws? No. They worked to elevate it, to correct its issues, and to keep its sanctity intact. To suggest that the Yeshiva is no longer the proper place for our children is to suggest that we abandon the very means through which our children inherit their Jewish identity. There is no greater tragedy than to question the value of the Yeshiva. Where else would we send our children to grow in Torah and in their relationship with Hashem? To Columbia University? To a […]
HaGaon HaRav Moshe Brandsdorfer, the renowned Yerushalmi Posek, the Av Beis Din of Heichel Horaah, published a sharply worded letter on Sunday, after four toddlers, all residents of the Mea Shearim/Beis Yisrael area, passed away from measles within a week. The letter stated: “With a shattered heart over what happened yesterday on Shabbos Kodesh, that a precious baby was niftar from measles, the fourth baby who was niftar, r’l, from measles in the past five days in our neighborhoods of Mea Shearim and Beis Yisrael.” “In the last two weeks, many parents have approached me, confused and very scared because people are dissuading them from vaccinating their children for measles. And this is against the instructions of the Badatz due to ‘ונשמרתם מאוד לנפשותכם.'” “Therefore, all those who try to convince parents not to vaccinate their children against measles – this matter borders on murder and the spilling of blood and violates ‘לא תעמוד עך דם רעך.'” “And it is possible that a time like this, when the virus is rampant in our area, that it’s permissible to vaccinate against measles even on Shabbos and Yom Tov, if the doctor says that delaying it could be life threatening.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
President Donald Trump on Sunday blamed Tylenol for what he described as an “autism epidemic” in the United States, urging pregnant women to avoid the common pain reliever despite a lack of scientific evidence supporting such claims. Standing alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump said women should “fight” against using acetaminophen, the generic name for Tylenol. “Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it,” Trump said repeatedly, claiming communities without access to the drug have “no autism” and citing the current U.S. diagnosis rate of about 1 in 31 children. The administration also announced plans for the Food and Drug Administration to add warning labels to acetaminophen products and to promote leucovorin, a folate derivative used in cancer treatment, as a potential intervention for autism. The move reflects Kennedy’s long-standing skepticism of vaccines and environmental exposures in neurodevelopmental disorders, though Trump’s remarks leaned heavily on acetaminophen as a cause. However, concerns that Tylenol, one of the most widely used medications for pain and fever during pregnancy, may increase the risk of autism in children are not supported by strong scientific evidence, according to recent studies and expert reviews. Over the past decade, several observational studies reported slight associations between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism spectrum disorder in children. Those studies suggested a marginal increase in risk, but the differences were extremely small — typically less than one-tenth of one percent. Researchers now say those findings are likely explained by other factors, including family genetics, parental health conditions, or the underlying reasons the drug was taken in the first place, such as infection or fever. When scientists applied more rigorous methods, such as sibling-comparison studies that control for shared family background, the link between acetaminophen and autism disappeared. A large population-based study published in 2024 found no evidence of increased risk once family factors were accounted for. Public health authorities have taken note. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have both said that current data do not justify changes to clinical guidance. Both organizations emphasize that the existing evidence is observational, limited by potential bias, and does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between Tylenol and autism. Experts stress that while ongoing research is important, the weight of current evidence indicates that acetaminophen use during pregnancy is not a causal factor in autism. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Kol Nidrei is one of the most moving and iconic prayers of the Jewish calendar. Sung at the opening of Yom Kippur, it carries centuries of emotion, history, and longing. Its haunting melody has touched countless souls, setting the tone for the holiest day of the year. This arrangement was originally crafted by the renowned Raymond Goldstein in the 1980s, and now newly arranged for me by the gifted Shimmy Miller, whose artistry brought new depth to its timeless beauty. My personal connection to Kol Nidrei began in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1990, when at the young age of 13-year-old I first heard Chazan Naftali Hershtik, his son Netanel, together with Raymond Goldstein, and choir conducted by Eli Jaffe perform during their European concert tour. That night sparked my love for cantorial music. Just a few years later, during my yeshiva years in Israel (1994–1997), both Cantor Hershtik and Maestro Jaffe became my teachers, profoundly shaping my path, shaping my path for the love of chazanut and Jewish music is something I am honored to do weekly to this day. It is in honor of my teacher and mentor, Chazan Naftali Hershtik, that I bring this piece to life once more. After many years standing before the amud (cantor’s podium), I cannot think of a more meaningful way to prepare for Yom Kippur than to share Kol Nidrei. It is more than a melody—it is a tefillah that unites the Jewish people in awe, honesty, and connection. My hope is that this rendition brings you into Yom Kippur with reflection, sincerity, and inspiration. The song is available on 24/6, Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube
At Bobbie’s Place, what seems like gashmiyus is really ruchniyos. Clothing become mitzvos. Shopping becomes tzedakah and chesed. Bobbie’s Place is the unique store without a cash register where thousands of families get their clothing before Yom Tov. More than 12,000 children and teens will be in Shul over Yom Tov wearing clothing they received from Bobbie’s Place. Please donate today at: https://api.jewishadgroup.com/eBfHYo
‘NO ONE LIKE HIM’: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises President Trump as an “incredible friend” and ally of Israel, pushing back against critics. “I don’t decide a thing for President Trump.” “He is the most independent leader and amazing leader that I’ve seen in all my years.”
MyPillow founder Mike Lindell defamed the election technology company Smartmatic with false statements that its voting machines helped rig the 2020 presidential election, a federal judge in Minnesota ruled Friday. But U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan deferred until future proceedings the question of whether Lindell — one of the country’s most prominent propagators of false claims that the 2020 election was a fraud — acted with the “actual malice” that Smartmatic still needs to prove to collect any damages. The judge said there are “genuine fact disputes” as to whether Lindell’s statements were made “with knowledge that they were false or made with reckless disregard to their falsity.” He noted that the defense says Lindell has an “unwavering belief” that his statements were truthful. The statements cited by the judge arose from Lindell’s criticism of the results of the 2020 election in California’s Los Angeles County, which Democratic candidate Joe Biden carried with 71% of the vote over President Donald Trump and helped Biden secure the state’s 55 electoral votes. The county used Smartmatic’s computerized touchscreen ballot-marking devices and was the company’s only customer for the 2020 election. Lindell alleged the machines were rigged to change Trump votes to Biden votes. The judge ruled there were 51 specific times when Lindell falsely claimed — in documentaries he produced and through various media and personal appearances — that Smartmatic interfered with the results. “The Court concludes that, based on the record presented, no reasonable trier of fact could find that any of the statements at issue are true,” Bryan wrote. Smartmatic attorney Erik Connolly said they will be seeking “nine-figure damages” from Lindell and MyPillow for “spreading lies” about the company. “Smartmatic did not and could not have rigged the 2020 election,” Connolly said in a statement. “It was impossible, and everything that Mr. Lindell said about Smartmatic was false.” Smartmatic has been on a winning streak, having reached settlements last year with two conservative news outlets, including Newsmax and One America News Network. The Florida-based company also still has an active case against Fox News. Lindell also has made similar claims against Dominion Voting Systems. He lost a case involving the Denver-based company in June when a jury ruled that he defamed a former Dominion employee by accusing him of treason. The jury awarded $2.3 million in damages. Lindell told The Associated Press shortly after the Smartmatic ruling was filed Friday that he hadn’t seen it, but that it was “the most bizarre thing I’ve ever heard.” Lindell went on to call Smartmatic “one of the most corrupt companies in the world,” and he vowed to keep fighting until its voting machines are “melted down and turned into prison bars.” He said he’ll take his crusade to eliminate voting machines in favor of paper ballots all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if he has to. Lindell, known as the “MyPillow” guy for his bedding company, also said he recently reestablished residence in Minnesota as a step toward a likely run for governor against incumbent Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. While MyPillow is based in the Minneapolis suburbs, Lindell had been living until recently in Texas. Lindell and MyPillow have faced a number of legal and financial setbacks in recent years, but he won a victory in July when a […]
A gunman was “down” after shooting multiple people at a Michigan church that was also engulfed in flames on Sunday, authorities said. The active shooter situation unfolded just before 11 a.m. local time at a church in Grand Blanc Township, the Grand Blanc Township Police Department said in a post on social media. Police sources said that six to eight people were struck. Their conditions are currently unknown. Video from the scene showed smoke billowing as emergency vehicles lined the street. Sources said the suspected shooter may have started the church on fire. Grand Blanc confirmed that as of 11:35 a.m., the church was on fire, and people should avoid the area. Police said the shooter is down, and there is no threat to the public at this time. “The shooter is down, we do have multiple victims, the entire church is on fire,” Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said. United States Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X that agents from the FBI and ATF are headed to the scene. “Such violence at a place of worship is heartbreaking and chilling. Please join me in praying for the victims of this terrible tragedy,” she wrote.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disclosed in an interview with Fox News that Israel is currently collaborating with the Trump administration to advance the American 21-point plan for ending the war in Gaza. Speaking from New York a day before his scheduled meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Netanyahu said, “We’re working on it. It’s not been finalized yet, but we’re working with President Trump’s team, actually, as we speak.” He emphasized the importance of the plan, stating, “I hope we can make it a go, because we want to free our hostages, we want to get rid of Hamas rule, and have them disarmed, Gaza demilitarized, and a new future set up for Gazans and Israelis alike, and for the whole region.” Addressing the terms related to Hamas, Netanyahu explained that Israel would allow Hamas members safe passage if they end the war and release all hostages. “Ahead of his planned meeting with US President Donald Trump tomorrow, Netanyahu stresses that ‘the details of this have to be worked out,’ while telling the network that ‘if Hamas leaders finish the war, release all the hostages, we let them out.’” He added, “That is something that I’ve said in the past, but it has to be worked out. All of that, I think, is part of the plan. I’m not going to preempt it, because we’re having these discussions exactly right now.” Regarding the Palestinian Authority’s role post-war, Netanyahu reaffirmed his long-standing opposition to PA governance in Gaza. “I haven’t changed my positions, and I think that the credibility or the likelihood of the things — a reformed Palestinian Authority that changes completely its stripes… Some people will believe it happens. I don’t think it’s going to happen,” he said. The Prime Minister also addressed concerns about Israel’s recent military actions in Doha and Gaza, and their impact on the Abraham Accords. He stated, “I think there are many possibilities for peace, which I’m discussing with President Trump and his team, and we plan to seize them. I think you’ll see that not only are the Abraham Accords not endangered, they’ll be expanded to other countries.” Despite some Gulf leaders, including the UAE, expressing concern over Israel’s strike in Qatar, Netanyahu defended the action, saying, “I think that the United States and any self-respecting country doesn’t give a pass to terrorists. Of course, we weren’t attacking Qatar any more than [the US was] attacking Pakistan when [it] took out [former Al-Qaeda leader Osama] Bin Laden.” He also addressed a clause within the 21-point plan that would bar Israel from future strikes in Qatar. “These things, again, will be worked out because our goal was that. Our goal was Hamas, not anything beyond it. I think we can work out an understanding on this,” Netanyahu concluded.
Since the start of the year, Israeli police have seized hundreds of illegal weapons in operations targeting violent crime, including shootings in Israeli-Arab communities. The latest haul, found in the northern town of I‘ilot, included four handguns, an M16 rifle, a grenade, M16 parts, magazines, and large amounts of ammunition, leading to the arrest of a local man in his 40s.
Sara Jane Moore, who was imprisoned for more than 30 years after she made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, has died. She was 95. Moore died Wednesday at a nursing home in Franklin, Tennessee, according to Demetria Kalodimos, a longtime acquaintance who said she was informed by the executor of Moore’s estate. Kalodimos is an executive producer at the Nashville Banner newspaper, which was first to report the death. Moore seemed an unlikely candidate to gain national notoriety as a violent political radical who nearly killed a president. When she shot at Ford in San Francisco, she was a middle-aged woman who had begun dabbling in leftist groups and sometimes served as an FBI informant. Sentenced to life, Moore was serving her time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, when she was unexpectedly paroled Dec. 31, 2007. Federal officials gave no details on why she was set free. She lived largely anonymously in an undisclosed location after that, but in broadcast interviews she expressed regret for what she had done. She said she had been caught up in the radical political movements that were common in California in the mid-1970s. “I had put blinders on, I really had, and I was listening to only … what I thought I believed,”” she told San Francisco television station KGO in April 2009. “We thought that doing that would actually trigger a new revolution.” Two would-be assassins Moore was often confused with Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a disciple of cult murderer Charles Manson who aimed a semiautomatic pistol at Ford in Sacramento, California, on Sept. 5, 1975. A Secret Service agent grabbed the gun before any shots could be fired, and the president was unharmed. Just 17 days later, on Sept. 22, Moore shot at Ford as he waved to a crowd outside the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square. Oliver Sipple, a 33-year-old former Marine, knocked the .38-caliber pistol out of her hand as she fired, causing the shot to go astray and hit a building. “I’m sorry I missed,” Moore said during an interview with the San Jose Mercury News seven years later. “Yes, I’m sorry I missed. I don’t like to be a failure.” But in later interviews, before and after her release, she repeatedly said that she regretted her actions, saying she was convinced that the government had declared war on the left. Asked by KGO in 2009 what she would say to Ford if that had been possible, she replied that she would tell him, “I’m very sorry that it happened. … I’m very happy that I did not succeed.” Ford died in 2006, about a year before her release. Her family did not publicly comment on her death. Geri Spieler, who wrote a biography of Moore titled “Housewife Assassin,” said she had abandoned her children and was estranged from all her living relatives. Multiples marriages, name changes, unclear motives Moore was born Sara Jane Kahn on Feb. 15, 1930, in Charleston, West Virginia. Her confusing background, which included multiple failed marriages, name changes and involvement with both leftist political groups and the FBI, baffled the public and even her own defense attorney during her trial. “I never got a satisfactory answer from her as to why she did it,” retired […]
Israeli troops in Gaza City killed a Hamas terrorist attempting to plant a bomb near an armored personnel carrier earlier today, the IDF says, and later targeted an additional cell of Hamas terrorists in the area with a drone strike.
