In an interview with YWN following the shocking arrest of a Ateres Shlomo talmid on Wednesday morning, Harav Shalom Ber Sorotzkin shlit”a decried the ongoing persecution of bnei Torah in Eretz Yisroel, comparing the situation to the dark days of Soviet oppression. “I came to America to do a job that isn’t easy — to take care of bochurim,” Rav Sorotzkin said. “We have 13,500 talmidim across our mosdos, and every one of them is precious. When I heard this morning that they arrested a choshuve bochur in the yeshiva — an emesdike masmid, whose only ‘crime’ was sitting and learning Torah — I was shaken. We heard such stories from our fathers and grandfathers in Russia, when people were arrested for learning. Now it’s happening again, in Eretz Yisroel.” The bochur, named Ariel Shammai, was sentenced to 20 days in military prison. “He was handed a 20-day prison sentence for one thing,” Rav Sorotzkin said sharply. “For being an oved Hashem and learning Torah.” Following the arrest, a massive atzeres tefillah was held outside the prison Wednesday afternoon. Over 1,200 bnei Torah gathered to show support and solidarity with the imprisoned talmid. The gathering doubled as a psichas zman for the yeshiva, led by Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch shlit”a. “It was a big maamad of kiddush sheim shamayim in a mechubadike way,” said Rav Sorotzkin. “We began Chezkas Habatim there. It gave the bochur chizuk — he saw that Klal Yisroel is with him.” Rav Sorotzkin said that he will be cutting short his trip to America – he had come to fundraise for his massive network of yeshivos – and returning immediately to Eretz Yisroel to take responsibility for the bochur and advocate on his behalf. “I have no breirah,” he said. “I am going straight back to Eretz Yisroel. We have an achrayus for this bochur.” Rav Sorotzkin urged Jews worldwide to be marbitz in tefillah. “We must daven to Hashem: Kra ro’ah gzar dineinu. Klal Yisroel areivim zeh lazeh — we all have an achrayus for one another. The tzarah in Eretz Yisroel is a tzarah for every ben Torah around the world.” He added that fear is spreading among bnei yeshiva. “Many don’t understand that every bochur nowadays is afraid that he could be arrested at any moment. This cannot continue.” The arrest of Ariel Shammai followed a series of shocking overnight raids by military police targeting yeshiva bochurim who have refused army enlistment on religious grounds. In one case, police stormed a home in Ramat Gan at 1:30 a.m. and dragged away a bochur who was in the midst of sitting shiva for his father. The young man’s mother — a disabled almanah — and six orphaned siblings cried out helplessly as he was taken away. After widespread outrage, he was released hours later through the intervention of attorney Shlomo Haddad. Two other bnei yeshiva were arrested the same night — both now facing prison time. Military police also raided homes in Adam, overturning furniture in a failed attempt to arrest two more talmidim, and attempted an arrest in Neve Yaakov, which was thwarted after hundreds of protesters gathered and forced the police to retreat. In response to the arrests, Degel HaTorah convened an emergency meeting of its Knesset members, while Peleg Yerushalmi leaders […]
Several conservative news outlets said Wednesday they had agreed to a new press policy rejected by virtually all legacy media organizations and will take their place in the Pentagon to cover Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the U.S. military. The new Pentagon press corps will include the Gateway Pundit, the National Pulse, Human Events, podcaster Tim Pool, the Just the News website founded by journalist John Solomon, Frontlines by Turning Point USA and LindellTV, run by “MyPillow” CEO Mike Lindell. The Pentagon’s announcement came less than a week after dozens of reporters from outlets like The New York Times, The Associated Press, CNN and the Washington Post turned in their access badges rather than agree to a policy the journalists say will restrict them to covering news approved by Hegseth. Hegseth’s spokesman, Sean Parnell, announced the “next generation” of the Pentagon press corps with more than 60 journalists who had agreed to the new policy. He said 26 journalists who had previously been part of the press corps were among the signees. The department wouldn’t say who any of them were, but several outlets reposted his message on X saying they had signed on. There isn’t even unanimity among organizations that appeal to conservative consumers. Fox News Channel, by far the most popular news source for fans of President Donald Trump, was among the walkouts, as was Newsmax. Accusations of ‘self-righteous media’ In a post on X, Parnell denounced the “self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon.” “Americans have largely abandoned digesting their news through the lens of activists who masquerade as journalists in the mainstream media,” Parnell wrote. “We look forward to beginning a fresh relationship with members of the new Pentagon press corps.” The journalists who left the Pentagon haven’t stopped working covering the U.S. military. Many have been reporting aggressively, for example, on stories about strikes against boats in central America alleged to be part of the drug trade. By not being in the Pentagon, “reporters will have to work harder, there’s no question about it,” said Barbara Starr, a longtime Pentagon reporter retired from CNN. “But the real price is paid by the American people and the American military families,” Starr said. “Military families who have their sons and daughters serving, they want to know everything and they want to know it fast.” Starr wondered about Hegseth: “What is he so afraid of?” New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote a biting piece about the defense secretary over the weekend titled “Fraidy-Cat at the Pentagon.” But Hegseth’s boss, President Trump, has expressed support for the new media policy and Hegseth’s aggressive moves mirror some of those made by the administration. The president has sued outlets like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal for their coverage of him. New outlets must add staff Some of the outlets that accepted Hegseth’s rules will have to staff up for their new roles: Just the News, for example, posted an ad online seeking a Pentagon reporter. The Gateway Pundit’s White House correspondent, Jordan Conradson, posted on Wednesday that he was excited to join the Pentagon press corps “and help restore honest journalism after agreeing to follow basic rules … something the legacy media refuses to do!” Lindell, whose My Pillow ads once blanketed Fox News before he joined the political media, posted a statement that LindellTV was “proud to be part […]
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) delivered a grim warning Tuesday night about what he called a “growing cancer” of antisemitism emerging on the American right — a rare public rebuke from one of the GOP’s most prominent conservatives. Speaking at Hagee Ministries’ 45th annual Night to Honor Israel in San Antonio, Cruz said that while antisemitism had long taken root on the political left, he now sees an alarming rise among conservatives. “In the last six months, I have seen antisemitism rising on the right in a way I have never seen in my entire life,” Cruz said to a packed audience. “This poison of antisemitism on the right — it is spreading with young people. It is gaining traction.” The Texas senator, a longtime ally of Israel, said that when he met recently with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he warned that online hate was no longer just “AstroTurf” from foreign governments but “organic — real people, real voices.” Cruz cited examples of right-wing figures who have downplayed Adolf Hitler’s crimes, calling them “the embodiment of evil,” and denounced the spread of “replacement theology” among some young Christians — the belief that the Christian church has replaced the Jewish people. “They are being taught lies — theological lies,” Cruz said. “The promises God made to Israel are still good. They are still valid.” Cruz’s comments come amid intensifying debates within the Republican Party over support for Israel and rising antisemitic rhetoric online. In recent months, he has clashed with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, both of whom have been criticized for remarks sympathetic to anti-Israel sentiment. “The church is asleep right now,” Cruz told the audience, urging faith leaders to confront the issue directly. “If we don’t root this out, it will rot the moral core of the right — and of America itself.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Led by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, Democrats seized the Senate floor on Wednesday to protest President Donald Trump’s presidency amid the government shutdown and push for Republicans to negotiate with them on expiring health subsidies. Merkley spoke for more than 22 hours — from 6:21 p.m. Tuesday to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday — pausing for lengthy questions from other Democratic senators. His speech was one of the longest in Senate history, just short of a similar speech in April by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. Booker, who was also protesting Trump, broke the record for longest continuous Senate speech by going for more than 25 hours, surpassing a 1957 speech by Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Thurmond was filibustering the advance of the Civil Rights Act. The senator’s talk-a-thon came as Democrats have forced the government shutdown over their demands to extend government health care subsidies, and as Republicans have refused to negotiate over the expiring tax credits until Democrats vote to reopen the government. Democrats have voted 12 times to keep it closed — most recently Wednesday evening — and the two sides have made little progress toward a resolution. Merkley said on the Senate floor that Republicans were the ones shutting down the government “to continue the strategy of slashing Americans’ health care” after passing cuts to Medicaid and other programs over the summer. He used several hours of his speech to describe what he said were Trump’s authoritarian moves, including attacks on the press and policies that Democrats say are enriching billionaires at the expense of regular people. He said that Trump’s plan is to replace a government “by and for the people with a government by and for the powerful.” As he wrapped up his speech, Merkley said that authoritarianism “is not around the corner,” but “here right now.” Merkley gave another lengthy floor speech in 2017, speaking for more than 15 hours to protest Trump’s then-nomination of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Like Booker, Merkley’s speech was not a filibuster, which is meant to halt or delay the advance of a specific piece of legislation. By holding the floor open overnight, Merkley forced Senate floor staff, security and other support workers who are currently unpaid to work overtime hours. The government has been shut down since Oct. 1. “The Democrats are going to make Capitol Police and Capitol support staff — who they refuse to pay — work all night so they can give speeches patting themselves on the back for shutting down the government and hurting the American people,” Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Senate Republican, posted on X Tuesday night. “How ridiculous is that?” Immediately after Merkley’s speech, Barrasso mocked the Democratic senator and called his speech “rubbish.” Merkley appeared tired for much of the day, saying in the early afternoon that he was “starting to feel a little dazed” and later that “my stamina is getting a little shaky.” But he kept going until early evening. He said afterward that he was able to keep going, without a bathroom break or any food, because of “dehydration” and not eating beforehand. At around 2:45 a.m., only a few hours in, Merkley paused to untie his shoelace. He said standing in one place had “made my shoes a little tight.” […]
Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel (Chofetz Chaim) on East 35 Street in Flatbush released the attached statement tonight. Sources tell Flatbush Scoop that a rumor has recently spread that the Yeshiva was being sold or closing. Those rumors are not true.
Freed twin hostages Gali and Ziv Berman put on tefillin on Wednesday during a visit by Ba’al Chessed Shai Graucher and U.S. donors, including Rabbi Moshe Scheiner of the Palm Beach Synagogue. It was the first time that Ziv had put on tefillin since his bar mitzvah. Gali said that he had put on tefillin at Chabad houses while traveling abroad. Those present at the meeting joyfully danced together to the tune of Am Yisrael Chai. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Less than two weeks before New York City voters head to the polls, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is warning that antisemitic incidents across the five boroughs have reached “deeply concerning” levels, heightening pressure on mayoral candidates to address a growing crisis of hate crimes and public safety. In a report released Wednesday, the ADL said hundreds of incidents of harassment, vandalism, and physical violence against Jews have already been documented in 2025 — continuing the record highs seen last year, when New York led the nation with 976 antisemitic cases, more than any other state. “The scope of antisemitic activity in New York this year is deeply concerning,” said Scott Richman, the ADL’s New York and New Jersey regional director. “Antisemitism is no longer hiding — it’s out in the open, and it’s making Jews in New York feel unsafe in one of the world’s most significant centers of Jewish life.” Preliminary 2025 data shows antisemitic activity spreading across all five boroughs, with Orthodox Jews disproportionately targeted. Though they represent about 20 percent of New York’s Jewish population, they accounted for more than half of all physical assaults last year. In one February weekend alone, three separate attacks occurred within 48 hours; in June, a Shabbat observer was beaten unconscious while his assailant shouted about Gaza. Attacks on Jewish institutions remain high as well. In 2024, 157 incidents targeted synagogues and community centers, and this year’s numbers are on track to match or exceed that figure. Among the most chilling cases: a man who claimed to be “the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler” and another who allegedly plotted a “massacre” at a Brooklyn religious site (it wasn’t specified where). The ADL’s Center on Extremism attributed much of the rise to escalating anti-Israel extremism. In 2022, just 5 percent of antisemitic incidents were related to Israel; by 2024, that figure had surged to 58 percent, a trend continuing this year. Demonstrations across the city have featured chants such as “Burn Tel Aviv to the ground” and banners calling to “globalize the intifada.” On college campuses — particularly at Columbia University, which recorded 53 incidents last year, the highest in the nation — Jewish students have reported vandalism of prayer spaces and fliers urging classmates to “crush Zionism.” With a crucial mayoral debate scheduled Wednesday night, the ADL is urging moderators to press candidates on concrete steps to confront the surge. “Right now, the Jewish community needs every elected official to stand up and speak out,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “We need leaders who will treat this as the crisis it is, not a political afterthought.” Greenblatt warned that rhetoric isn’t enough: “What we are seeing in New York is simply shocking. The time for statements has passed — the Jewish community deserves action.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
More than 650 Reform and Conservative “rabbis” from across the United States have signed an open letter warning against the rise of anti-Zionism in American politics — and singling out New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as a troubling example. In the statement, titled “A Rabbinic Call to Action: Defending the Jewish Future,” they write, “We cannot remain silent in the face of rising anti-Zionism and its political normalization throughout our nation.” The letter condemns Mamdani’s defense of the slogan “Globalize the Intifada” — which he has since said he would “discourage” — along with his refusal to affirm Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and repeated accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. “We will not accept a culture that treats Jewish self-determination as a negotiable ideal,” the letter says, calling on Americans “to stand up for candidates who reject antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.” The statement, organized by the Jewish Majority advocacy group, carries the signatures of several of New York’s most Jewish “leaders”, including Rabbi Joshua Davidson of Temple Emanu-El, Rabbi David Gelfand of Temple Israel of the City of New York, Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz of Kehilath Jeshurun, and Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, president of the New York Board of Rabbis. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Russia has test-fired a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile as part of a nuclear exercise. The missile is capable of striking targets more than 11,000 kilometers away.
Zohran Mamdani criticized Andrew Cuomo during the New York mayoral debate, calling him “Donald Trump’s puppet” and claiming Trump endorsed Cuomo for his own benefit, not for New Yorkers.
President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Wednesday new “massive sanctions” against Russia’s oil industry that are aimed at moving Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and bringing an end to Moscow’s brutal war on Ukraine. The sanctions against oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil followed months of calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as bipartisan pressure on Trump to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry, the economic engine that has allowed Russia to continue to execute the grinding conflict even as it finds itself largely internationally isolated. “Hopefully he’ll become reasonable,” Trump said of Putin not long after the Treasury Department announced the sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil companies and their subsidiaries. “And hopefully Zelenskyy will be reasonable, too. You know, it takes two to tango, as they say.” The U.S. administration announced the sanctions as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was in Washington for talks with Trump. The military alliance has been coordinating deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, many of them purchased from the United States by Canada and European countries. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new sanctions were a direct response to Moscow’s refusal to end its “senseless war” and an attempt to choke off “the Kremlin’s war machine.” Bessent added that the Treasury Department was prepared to take further action if necessary to support Trump’s effort to end the war. “We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.” The announcement came after Russian drones and missiles blasted sites across Ukraine, killing at least six people, including a woman and her two young daughters. The attack came in waves from Tuesday night into Wednesday and targeted at least eight Ukrainian cities, as well as a village in the region of the capital, Kyiv, where a strike set fire to a house in which the mother and her 6-month-old and 12-year-old daughters were staying, regional head Mykola Kalashnyk said. At least 29 people, including five children, were wounded in Kyiv, which appeared to be the main target, authorities said. Russian drones also hit a kindergarten in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, later Wednesday when children were in the building, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. One person was killed and six were hurt, but no children were physically harmed, he said. Rutte, in his Oval Office appearance, went out of his way to underscore that the weaponry the U.S. is selling Europe to provide to Ukraine has been essential to helping stop many attacks like the one that ravaged the kindergarten. “We need to make sure that the air defense systems are in place, and we need the U.S. systems to do that, and the Europeans are paying for that,” Rutte said. “It is exactly the type of actions we needed, and the President is doing that and trying everything to get this work done.” Zelenskyy said many of the children were in shock. He said the attack targeted 10 separate regions: Kyiv, Odesa, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy and Sumy. Peace efforts stall Trump’s efforts to end the war that started with Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor more than three years ago have failed to gain traction. Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration with Putin’s refusal to budge from his conditions for a settlement after Ukraine offered a ceasefire and direct peace talks. Trump said Tuesday that his plan for a swift meeting […]
A new report suggests that the United States is exploring a plan to rebuild only the sections of Gaza still under Israeli control, while leaving the rest of the territory divided, and working on ways to disarm Hamas. According to the Wall Street Journal, “The US and Israel are considering a plan that would divide Gaza into separate zones controlled by Israel and Hamas, with reconstruction only taking place on the Israeli side as a stopgap until the militant group can be disarmed and removed from power.” An anonymous U.S. government source indicated, “It is a preliminary idea and updates would be given in the coming days.” The report also states that Jared Kushner, a key adviser to former President Trump and son-in-law, is the main supporter of this initiative. Arab mediators involved in efforts to establish a Gaza ceasefire have expressed concern over the proposal, warning that “it could lead to a zone of permanent Israeli control inside the enclave.” Additionally, many Arab and Muslim nations “are unlikely to commit troops” should such a plan be implemented, the report noted.
A former New York state trooper who shot himself, then falsely claimed he was wounded by an unknown gunman on a Long Island highway, sparking a regionwide search, was sentenced to six months in jail on Wednesday. Thomas Mascia was also given five years of probation and ordered to undergo mental health treatment and pay nearly $290,000 in restitution in Nassau County court in Mineola. Mascia pleaded guilty in May to falsely reporting an incident, tampering with physical evidence and official misconduct. He resigned in January after being suspended without pay while state police launched a criminal investigation into the shooting. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly called the former officer’s actions “disgraceful.” “His lies wasted hundreds of hours of law enforcement manpower, deeply cost taxpayers in Nassau County, and betrayed the public’s trust of those in uniform,” she said in a statement after the sentencing. Mascia claimed he was shot in the leg on Oct. 30, 2024, by a driver while parked on the shoulder of the Southern State Parkway, about a mile from his home. He described the fictitious driver as a “dark-skinned” man who fled in a car bearing temporary New Jersey plates heading toward New York City. Instead, prosecutors say, Mascia staged the scene of the alleged shooting by scattering shell casings, then shot himself at a park, stashed the .22-caliber rifle, drove back to the highway and called for backup. Jeffrey Lichtman, who represents Mascia and his parents, said in an email that the former trooper is “mortified by his actions and happy to finally get on with his life.” He’s previously said Mascia, who became a trooper in 2019, was suffering from an undiagnosed mental health problem at the time of the shooting and has been undergoing treatment. Mascia’s parents had also pleaded guilty to possessing an illegal firearm, which was found during a search of the family’s home. Thomas A. Mascia, the defendant’s father, was sentenced to five years of probation Wednesday. Dorothy Mascia was given a one-year conditional discharge. (AP)
Alive! Out Now! Watch as Shloime Daskal’s unmatched energy and talent meets Yehuda Langer’s skill and expertise to make this dance truly come ALIVE. Hits and classics fuse with the energy that only a camp can provide to bring you a medley unlike any other. Joined by the incredible Yedidim Choir, this dynamic dance set is truly unforgettable. Recorded live at Camp Degel Hatorah in Durham, CT.
The IDF carried out a demolition of the residence belonging to a Palestinian suspect believed to be involved in a fatal terror shooting incident in the in the Shomron last May. The attack, which resulted in the death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child, prompted the military action. The incident took place on May 14 near the Palestinian village of Bruqin and the settlement of Bruchin. During the attack, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire from the roadside at Israeli drivers, killing 30-year-old Tzeela Gez A”H and injuring her husband. Gez was en route to the hospital to give birth at the time. Her baby, Ravid Chaim, was delivered via emergency C-section at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva but passed away 15 days later. The shooter, Naael Samarah, identified as a Hamas terrorist, was shot and killed by IDF forces four days after the attack. Subsequently, three additional Hamas terrorists were detained over their suspected involvement. One of those detained was Jamil Samarah. According to military sources, IDF troops operated earlier today in the West Bank town of Bruqin to demolish Jamil Samarah’s residence. Notably, Naael Samarah’s home was demolished in September. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
For the first time, Evyatar David has spoken publicly about the horrific Hamas video showing him, gaunt and frail, being forced to dig his own grave. “I didn’t dig it fully,” he said. “But I did dig it, so it did take a lot of energy out of me, and it was very hard.” “But I always believed that I was going to get out eventually. Maybe I looked very bad in the video—very skinny and weak—but I always had a lot of inner hope. I always thought about my family and my friends and my home—I knew I would go back. I had to believe.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
POTUS: “This is going to be probably the finest ballroom ever built — and we’re doing it NO COST to the country… in order to do it properly, we had to take down the existing structure.”
