Multiple Orthodox Jewish passengers on Lufthansa flight LH1397 from Prague to Frankfurt tell YWN they were singled out and forced to check their carry-on luggage, while other passengers with larger bags were allowed to board without issue. The incident occurred Monday afternoon at Václav Havel Airport, shortly before the scheduled 2:30 PM departure. According to firsthand accounts, the passengers — identifiable by their religious attire — were approached at the gate and asked if they were comfortable sitting in the emergency exit row. Upon agreeing, they were immediately told their hand luggage would need to be checked, allegedly for failing to fit easily into the sizing rack. One passenger, who arrived at the airport around 12:30 PM, explained to staff that he had a tight connection in Frankfurt and could not afford delays caused by checking a bag. His request was denied. When he questioned why only visibly Orthodox passengers were being subjected to this policy, he was told the inquiry was inappropriate and was threatened with removal from the boarding area. “No other passengers — many with visibly larger suitcases — were stopped, measured, or asked to check their bags,” the passenger said. The situation escalated when the passenger attempted to photograph another traveler’s larger suitcase that had been allowed onboard. A Lufthansa staff member blocked the camera and threatened to call the police. While Lufthansa has not yet issued a comment on the incident, the airline has previously faced allegations of discriminatory conduct toward Orthodox Jewish travelers. In 2022, Lufthansa apologized after a group of Jewish passengers was barred from boarding a flight in Frankfurt, and later shelled out millions in fines over the incident. The passengers involved in Monday’s incident described the experience as humiliating and discriminatory. “No one should be treated differently because of how they look or what they wear,” one of the passengers told YWN. “We were not asking for special treatment — only fair treatment.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A major rift has erupted within Israeli PM Netanyahu’s governing coalition as both United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas have announced they will boycott all coalition votes beginning Wednesday, in protest of the government’s continued failure to pass legislation formally exempting yeshiva bochurim from military conscription. The decision was made during UTJ’s weekly faction meeting on Monday, with Hebrew media reporting that Shas has joined the move. Both parties notified coalition whip MK Ofir Katz (Likud) that they would be abstaining from all coalition-sponsored votes during Wednesday’s Knesset plenum session. The step comes amid mounting frustration in the chareidi parties over what they view as a betrayal of core coalition agreements and a delay that threatens the Torah world. UTJ MK Rabbi Yaakov Asher told Kikar HaShabbat that if the law isn’t passed by the end of the Knesset’s summer session — July 27 — the party will find it nearly impossible to remain in the government. “If this law does not pass in this session, we will have a very big problem sitting in such a government,” said Rabbi Asher. “We cannot be part of a government that turns bnei Torah into criminals. We simply don’t know how to sit in a government that refuses to pass this law. This is the most important thing for Klal Yisrael.” The legislation in question would formalize the long-standing exemption for full-time talmidei yeshiva from mandatory IDF service — a cornerstone issue for charedim. While the government had previously committed to passing the law before the state budget was approved, those promises have repeatedly been postponed. In response to the boycott, Likud MK Dan Illouz wrote on social media: “If the chareidi factions boycott the government’s votes and harm the coalition’s ability to function, then Likud should also reconsider supporting their legislation. The Likud is not a floor rag.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The shoe company Skechers is being acquired for more than $9 billion to be taken private by the investment firm by 3G Capital. The deal comes amid growing uncertainty over how U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods will affect companies who make their products overseas, particularly in China. Athletic shoe makers have invested heavily in production in Asia. The offer of $63 per share represents a premium of 30% to Skechers’ 15-day volume-weighted average stock price. The deal was unanimously approved by Skechers’ board. Skechers shares jumped nearly 25% Monday, to $61.56. In a press release announcing the deal, the companies did not mention the potential impacts of Trump’s tariffs on its business going forward. However, Skechers says that about two-thirds of its revenue comes from sales outside of the U.S. China accounts for 15% of the company’s revenue, according to the data firm FactSet. The deal comes at a precarious time with Trump’s ongoing, on-again-off-again tariff announcements. Like many other companies increasingly have done since Trump’s widespread tariff announcements, Skechers did not issue guidance when it released its first quarter earnings in April. Chief Financial Officer John Vandemore told investors that the “current environment is simply too dynamic from which to plan results with a reasonable assurance of success.” Executives also said they would be looking to minimize products going to the U.S. from “high-cost locations,” including the impact of tariffs. The company did not immediately provide a breakdown of foreign production, but many of their shoes come with a “Made in China” stamp. Trump raised the tariff on Chinese imports to 125% in early April, hours after China boosted the duty on American goods to 84% in an escalating battle that threatens to disrupt trade between the world’s two largest economies. Skechers executives said last month that the company had several “levers” it could pull to deal with tariffs, including cost sharing with vendors, sourcing optimization, and price adjustments. “We’re looking at how we optimize the global cost of tariffs in all markets when we look to move production around,” Vandemore said last month. “Obviously, with an effective tariff rate at about 159%, products from China to the U.S. are prohibitively expensive.” Skechers has about 5,300 retail stores worldwide, about 1,800 company-owned. About 97% of the clothes and shoes purchased in the U.S. are imported, predominantly from Asia, according to the American Apparel & Footwear Association. Using factories overseas has kept labor costs down for U.S. companies, but neither they nor their overseas suppliers are likely to absorb price increases due to new tariffs. When the deal closes, the company will be led by Skechers Chairman and CEO Robert Greenberg and his management team. Its headquarters will remain in Manhattan Beach, California, where it was founded more than three decades ago. Skechers reported a record $9 billion in revenue in 2024 with net earnings of $640 million. The deal with 3G Capital is expected to close in the third quarter this year. (AP)
I24NEWS military analyst Tzvi Yechezkeli referred to the Israeli preparations for an attack in Yemen as an “American trap.” “The trap we are in is mainly an American trap,” Yechezkeli said. “The Americans have taken it upon themselves to attack the Houthis with very, very serious and intensive attacks. But in practice, we’re getting what we already know from before—that it’s impossible to subdue the Houthis from the air.” “And no matter how much the Americans try, including bringing in Yemeni forces opposed to the Houthis on the ground, it’s not working.” “If we didn’t have the interception means, we might have already rolled up our sleeves and dealt with the problem, but the trap is that we gave it to the Americans, and this must be seen in the Iranian context. It’s not just an incident between us and the Houthis; Iran is involved. And the Americans are dragging their feet on negotiations with Iran.” Yechezkeli continued: “I’ll just mention a few things about Trump’s first 100 days. He promised that if there’s no deal after two months of negotiations with Iran, he’ll attack. We’re reaching that deadline very soon. He promised hell in Gaza – it’s not happening. The issue of the deal and everything he pressured Hamas for – it’s also not happening.” “Trump’s tweets and reality are separate. The reality says that he, Trump, is following in Obama’s footsteps. He’s moving toward an agreement with Iran and therefore, they’re getting this energy and this approval that it’s possible to attack Israel.” Yechezkeli concluded: “The Houthi spokesperson said that they attacked Israel because Israel is recruiting reservists. And I wonder – if the Houthis are in such a state, they probably weren’t harmed. And therefore it goes back to this, to the issue that it’s an American trap.” “If the Americans give up the negotiations, give the green light – it’s time to attack Iran, the Houthis will disappear. And if not, we’re in a trap. We’re waiting for the Americans, and Trump is excellent—in tweets. But in the field, we’re still waiting. It’s not happening, and every day that passes is a blow to prestige, deterrence, and certainly to the blow that will come, and I really hope it will come.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
A correctional officer pleaded guilty to manslaughter Monday in connection with the killing of inmate Robert Brooks, whose brutal beating while handcuffed at an upstate New York prison was recorded by officers’ body cameras. Christopher Walrath, 36, was one of six guards charged with second-degree murder in the Dec. 9 beating at the Marcy Correctional Facility. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter during a hearing at state court in Utica. The plea deal calls for him to get a 15-year prison sentence. Under questioning by Judge Robert Bauer and a prosecutor, Walrath admitted that he beat Brooks, put him in a chokehold and struck his body and groin. He also admitted that he lied to investigators about what happened. Walrath appeared somber with his hands clasped in front of him as he answered the questions with either “yes” or “correct.” Remaining free on posted bail, Walrath and his attorney did not comment while leaving the courthouse. He is the first of the six guards charged with murder to take a plea deal. His sentencing is set for Aug. 4. A special prosecutor, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, said, “I felt based on the evidence I had of Mr. Walrath’s involvement and the extent of the blows that he inflicted on Mr. Brooks — which, in my judgment, were non-lethal — that by his plea admitting that he acted in concert with the other defendants, I think it may expedite the other individuals to enter pleas, or may not.” Brooks’ son Robert Brooks Jr., who was at the hearing, said in a statement afterward that, “This is one important but modest step on the long road to justice for my father.” “Now, Mr. Walrath’s life is in the hands of prison officials. This must be a terrifying prospect for him and his family, knowing what staff is capable of, and how little the system values the lives of incarcerated people,” the victim’s son said. “I pray that Mr. Walrath has the opportunity in prison to rehabilitate himself, and come out a better man.” In addition to the six guards who were charged with murder, three workers at the prison about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northwest of New York City were charged with manslaughter and another was charged with evidence tampering. Four prison workers, including Walrath, have reached plea agreements, according to prosecutors. Brooks began serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault in 2017. He was transferred to Marcy from a nearby lockup shortly before he was beaten to death. The bodycam videos show officers beat Brooks, who was on a medical examination table with his hands cuffed behind his back. Officers are seen striking him in the chest with a shoe, lifting him by the neck, and dropping him. Brooks died the next day. The beating drew widespread condemnation and calls for reforms. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said she was “outraged and horrified” by the videos, appointed a new superintendent for the prison. She also ordered state officials to initiate proceedings to fire 13 correctional officers and a nurse implicated in the attack. Fitzpatrick also is prosecuting guards in the fatal beating of Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at another Marcy lockup, the Mid-State Correctional Facility. Ten guards were indicted in that case last month, including two who are charged […]
The Trump administration says it is going to pay immigrants in the United States illegally who’ve returned to their home country voluntarily $1,000 as it pushes forward with its mass deportation agenda. The Department of Homeland Security said in a news release Monday that it’s also paying for travel assistance and that those people who use an app called CBP Home to tell the government that they plan to return home will be “deprioritized” for detention and removal by immigration enforcement. “If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest. DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App,” Secretary Kristi Noem said. President Donald Trump has made immigration enforcement and the mass deportation of immigrants in the U.S. illegally a centerpiece of his campaign, but that is a costly, resource-intensive endeavor. While the Republican administration is pushing Congress for a massive increase in resources for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement department responsible for removing people from the country, it’s also pushing people in the country illegally to “self-deport.” (AP)
Photographer Doug Mills wins the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography with this photo of President Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday repeatedly invoked the Constitution and said it is what “binds us all together” after receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Pence received the award for his refusal to go along with President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election. The award recognizes Pence “for putting his life and career on the line to ensure the constitutional transfer of presidential power on Jan. 6, 2021,” the JFK Library Foundation said. “To forge a future together, we have to find common ground,” Pence said. “I hope in some small way my presence here tonight is a reminder that whatever differences we may have as Americans, the Constitution is the common ground on which we stand. It’s what binds us across time and generations. …. It’s what makes us one people.” His comments came hours after an interview with Trump aired in which he was asked whether U.S. citizens and noncitizens both deserve due process as laid out in the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. Trump was noncommittal. “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” Trump said when pressed in an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker. It was taped Friday at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and aired Sunday. Pence never mentioned Trump during his 10-minute speech but made several references to the Trump administration. Referencing what he called “these divided times, in these anxious days,” he acknowledged that he probably had differences with the Democrats in the room but also with his own Republican Party “on spending, tariffs and my belief that America is the leader of the free world and must stand with Ukraine until the Russian invasion is repelled and a just and lasting peace is secured.” Trump pressured Pence to reject election results from swing states where the Republican president falsely claimed the vote was marred by fraud. Pence refused, saying he lacked such authority. When a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, some chanted that they wanted to “hang Mike Pence.” Pence was whisked away by Secret Service agents, narrowly avoiding a confrontation with the rioters. “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify,” Trump wrote at the time on X, formerly Twitter, as rioters moved through the Capitol and Pence was in hiding with his family, aides and security detail inside the building. Pence rejected the Secret Service’s advice that he leave the Capitol, staying to continue the ceremonial election certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential victory once rioters were cleared. In describing his role, Pence told the audience that “by God’s grace I did my duty that day to support the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution of the United States of America.” “Jan. 6 was a tragic day but it became a triumph of freedom. History will record that our institutions held,” he said in his speech. “Leaders in both chambers, in both political parties reconvened the very same day and finished democracy’s work under the Constitution.” JFK’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, who along with his grandson Jack […]
Several dozen roshei yeshiva representing the Litvish, Chassidish, and Sefardic Torah worlds in Eretz Yisroel gathered on Monday at the home of the venerable sar haTorah, Maran Rav Dov Landau shlit”a, to confront the escalating gezeiros against yeshivos. With government threats looming — including the potential arrest of yeshiva bochurim for refusing army enlistment — the rabbanim convened to deliberate next steps. After lengthy discussion, a consensus was reached: the situation demands immediate international action. Plans are now underway for a second Keren Olam HaTorah mission to the United States, following the historic success of last year’s campaign. Despite his advanced age of 95 and recent surgery following a broken bone, Rav Dov shlit”a expressed an unwavering desire to participate once again, saying he wants to do everything he can for Keren Olam HaTorah. Rav Dov requested tefillos from the tzibbur that he should have the strength to travel once more to America on behalf of the yeshivos. The meeting was marked by remarkable achdus, with roshei yeshiva from all backgrounds joining together with one voice and one mission: to secure the future of Torah in Eretz Yisroel. Askanim involved say the trip is tentatively planned for shortly after Shavuos. Last year’s inaugural campaign brought in over $100 million for yeshivos and drew tens of thousands of participants to events across the U.S., Canada, and South America. Updates on the campaign and Rav Dov’s health will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
New York Attorney General Letitia James is backing federal intervention in a case she says exposes “profoundly disturbing” discrimination against Orthodox Jews in the Town of Forestburgh, NY — a small Hudson Valley municipality now at the center of an explosive civil rights battle. In a letter sent Monday to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Attorney General James threw her support behind federal involvement in Lost Lake Holdings, LLC v. Town of Forestburgh, a lawsuit alleging that town officials deliberately weaponized zoning laws and administrative red tape to block a major housing development intended for Chasidic Jewish families. “The assertion that the Town of Forestburgh denied land use applications based on the religious identity of the developers and the potential use of the property by Orthodox Jewish residents is profoundly disturbing,” James wrote, urging prosecutors to enforce the Fair Housing Act and other federal anti-discrimination statutes. The letter follows a March filing by the U.S. Department of Justice, which issued a scathing Statement of Interest in support of the developers, arguing that the town’s actions amount to systemic religious discrimination. DOJ attorneys allege that Forestburgh officials—motivated by anti-Semitic bias—reopened a 14-year-old environmental review, imposed inflated tax assessments, and repeatedly denied building permits in a coordinated effort to sabotage a 2,627-home project by Lost Lake Holdings. Internal emails cited by the DOJ reveal the chilling extent of the town’s animus. In one, a planning board chair urged colleagues, “Don’t be scared about the Hasidic threat—we’re energized and have the cash to fight and make their lives miserable.” Another widely circulated email called Orthodox Jews a “sect notorious for misogyny and child abuse,” warning of their community’s alleged “destruction” of Forestburgh. Attorney General James has previously demanded that Forestburgh revise Local Law 3, which imposes what her office described as discriminatory zoning restrictions specifically targeting houses of worship and Orthodox Jewish residents. Agudath Israel of America has also been active in challenging the town’s conduct. Representatives including Rabbis Avi Schnall, Yeruchim Silber, and Shragi Greenbaum, along with klal askan Chaskel Bennett and the Sullivan County JCC, have all spoken out before the town board — only to be ignored. The lawsuit alleges millions in lost revenue and reputational damage for Lost Lake Holdings, while raising urgent concerns about the weaponization of local government against minority faith groups. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A teenager who admitted being “addicted to speed” behind the wheel had totaled two other cars in the year before he slammed into a minivan at 112 mph (180 kph) in a Seattle suburb, killing the driver and three of the five children she was transporting for a homeschool co-op. After sentencing Chase Daniel Jones last month to more than 17 years in prison, the judge tacked on a novel condition should he drive again: His vehicle must be equipped with a device that prevents accelerating far beyond the speed limit. Virginia this year became the first state to give its judges such a tool to deal with the most dangerous drivers on the road. Washington, D.C., already is using it and similar measures await governors’ signatures in Washington state and Georgia. New York and California also could soon tap the GPS-based technology to help combat a recent national spike in traffic deaths. “It’s a horror no one should have to experience,” said Amy Cohen, who founded the victims’ advocacy group Families for Safe Streets after her 12-year-old son, Sammy Cohen Eckstein, was killed by a speeding driver in front of their New York home more than a decade ago. Turning tragedy into activism Andrea Hudson, 38, the minivan driver who was killed when Jones ran a red light, was building a backyard greenhouse with her husband to help educate several kids who shuttle between homes during the school day, her father, Ted Smith, said. Also killed in the March 2024 crash near Hudson’s home in Renton, Washington, were Boyd “Buster” Brown and Eloise Wilcoxson, both 12, and Matilda Wilcoxson, 13. Hudson’s two children were sitting on the passenger side and survived, but they spent weeks in a hospital. “You always hear of these horrific accidents, and it’s always far away, you don’t know anybody. But all of a sudden, that’s my daughter,” Smith said. “This guy did not swerve or brake. And it was just a missile.” Smith knew Washington state Rep. Mari Leavitt, who reached out to offer condolences and tell him she was sponsoring legislation to mandate intelligent speed assistance devices as a condition for habitual speeders to get back their suspended licenses. Leavitt predicts it will have an even more powerful impact than revoking driving privileges, citing studies showing around three-quarters of people who lose their licenses get behind a wheel anyway. Between 2019 and 2024, the state saw a 200% increase in drivers cited for going at least 50 mph (80 kph) over the speed limit, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. “I guess I don’t understand why someone is compelled to want to drive that fast,” Leavitt said. “But if they choose to drive that fast with the speed limiter, they can’t. It’s going to stop them in their tracks.” The measure, which Washington legislators passed last month and Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson is expected to soon sign, is called the BEAM Act, using the first letters of the names of the four victims: Buster, Eloise, Andrea and Matilda. Because Jones, 19, didn’t receive a speeding ticket in his two previous crashes, he likely wouldn’t have been required to use the speed-limiter ahead of the fatal one. And because it could be 2029 before the law takes effect, the judge’s requirement at sentencing only applies to his time on probation after being released from […]
TOM HOMAN: on the Trump admin urging illegals to self-deport: “It’s now being pushed out in multimedia settings — that you can leave on your own… Or we’ll come find you and we can remove you based on our schedule and our standards.”
The Israeli Air Force has released images of fighter jets fueling up for the airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen, with 20 fighter jets dropping 50 munitions on Hodeidah port and a concrete factory near Bajil, supported by refuelers and spy planes.
Central Berlin was in ruins after the Red Army completed the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in an intense fight for the capital in May 1945. After decades of division and its revival as the capital of a reunited, democratic Germany, the city is now transformed, blending painstakingly restored buildings with modern architecture. But the scars of the past remain visible in many places: facades riddled with holes from bullets and shrapnel, or gaps in rows of houses sometimes plugged by new buildings. An Associated Press story from May 9, 1945, painted a stark picture. It read: “This town is a city of the dead. As a metropolis it has simply ceased to exist. Every house within miles of the center seems to have had its own bomb.” Berlin, the epicenter of Adolf Hitler’s power, was the ultimate prize as the Allies closed in from east and west on the disintegrating German defenses in the final stage of World War II. “We all had a little case next to the bed, even the children,” recalled Eva-Maria Kolb, now 89, of the constant aerial bombing in the last six months of the war. “When there was an air raid warning you had to pull something on quickly and then go down to the basement.” The final Battle of Berlin in late April and early May 1945 reduced much of what was left of the city to rubble. The Soviet military attacked from several directions with an enormous concentration of troops, who faced a struggle to cross rivers and canals and an intensifying street fight as they moved deeper and deeper into the city. On April 25, Berlin was encircled. Hitler killed himself in his bunker on April 30; and on May 2, the commander of German military forces in Berlin, Gen. Helmuth Weidling, capitulated to Soviet forces. “Berlin was a heap of rubble — because of these last 10 days, almost everything in the center was ruined,” said Jörg Morré, the director of the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, located in the building where Germany’s final surrender was signed. But “the infrastructure could be repaired relatively quickly — the sewerage system wasn’t so badly damaged. They managed to get the water supply and pipes going again. A lot of old Berliners are still familiar with hand pumps … electricity came, so that the trams starting running again, and the commuter trains.” Kolb said: “It was, of course, a great relief in ‘45 that the war was over and Hitler was no longer alive … everyone who wasn’t a Nazi was very, very grateful that the war was over.” She recalled that parts of the city were rubble, but she went to a school in the Tempelhof district, south of the center, “that was only half-ruined. It no longer had a roof and the second or third floor was missing — but we had lessons. Only when it rained were lessons canceled.” ‘This marked the end’ Post-war Berlin was divided into sectors controlled by the wartime allies. That hardened into a Cold War division that saw two separate German states founded in 1949 and ultimately led to the building in 1961 of the Berlin Wall, which fell 28 years later as communist rule collapsed in East Germany. Germany was reunited in 1990 and the national government moved to Berlin in 1999. Parliament […]
