Yeshiva World News

The Shin Bet is investigating a new affair related to the activity of a senior employee in the Prime Minister’s Office who allegedly endangered the security of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu by leaking information about his whereabouts to leftist protesters, Haaretz reported on Sunday. According to the report, another person who is not an employee of the Prime Minister’s Office is also under investigation. The suspect is one of the leaders of the left-wing protests against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. A gag order has been imposed on the affair but it is known that the Shin Bet has taken unusual measures against those involved. Kan News reported that Netanyahu’s associates were shocked by the identity of the suspect in the Prime Minister’s Office involved in the affair. According to sources in the office, the senior official is considered close to the Netanyahu couple and was even in direct contact with Sara Netanyahu. According to one of the sources in the office, the suspect is “the last person you could think of doing something like this.” Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal commented on his Telegram channel that in the past, Shin Bet people used to say that they “work in the Prime Minister’s Office,” adding that  this is “a big story.” He raised the possibility that there is a connection between the investigation and previous reports that the Prime Minister’s convoy was diverted from its regular route due to fear of blockades by leftist protesters. “Do you understand what is happening here?” Segal wrote. “The suspicion of cooperation between a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office and protest activists, and it is so dramatic that the Shin Bet is throwing a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office and a protest activist into detention.” “Let me clarify: This Shin Bet investigation, which allegedly deals with criminal ties between protest activists and senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office, is not directed against Netanyahu’s associates but rather is intended to examine possible harm to the system surrounding him.” MK Tally Gotliv (Likud) revealed details about the affair, saying that a senior employee in the Prime Minister’s Office knowingly passed information about Netanyahu’s location to protest activists. She added that the suspect has already been detained for an extended period of time. “This is a coup on steroids!” she stated. “Right-wing people, wake up! When a senior employee at the Prime Minister’s Office knowingly passes information about the Prime Minister’s location to protest and civil disobedience people, it is the embodiment of a dangerous coup. By the way, if you wanted a reason why I had to reveal that the husband of Shikma Bressler, the leader of the leftist revolt against Netanyahu who encouraged IDF refusal, is a member of the Shin Bet, I think everything is clear now. And it is even clearer why they are persecuting me so much.” “A senior employee from the Prime Minister’s Office who admitted that he passed information about the Prime Minister’s location to protest activists has been detained in Shin Bet facilities for a long time. Why the gag order? Who are you protecting?” she questioned. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)  

Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry Betzalel Smotrich said on Monday that Israel is preparing for a large-scale attack on the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip. Speaking at the Knesset, Smotrich that “during these days, against the backdrop of Hamas’s consistent refusal to return our hostages, we are preparing, b’ezrat Hashem, to return to war in Gaza through a large, lethal, and multi-divisional attack that will lead to the destruction of Hamas and the conquest of the Gaza Strip.” Smotrich added: “We will not repeat the mistakes of the past in managing the war and will not transfer logistical supplies to Hamas. This time, b’ezrat Hashem – until victory and the implementation of President Trump’s plan to encourage immigration and the transfer of millions of Gazans far from our border to other countries. We are advancing in preparations for the implementation of the plan, budgeting for it, and will carry it out in a comprehensive manner.” “This is the only solution for Gaza. We will no longer allow a people full of hatred and lust for murder to sit here on our border and plan the next massacre.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Shopping for a new home? Ready to renovate your kitchen or install a new deck? You’ll be paying more to do so. The Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico and China — some already in place, others set to take effect in a few weeks — are already driving up the cost of building materials used in new residential construction and home remodeling projects. The tariffs are projected to raise the costs that go into building a single-family home in the U.S. by $7,500 to $10,000, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Such costs are typically passed along to the homebuyer in the form of higher prices, which could hurt demand at a time when the U.S. housing market remains in a slump and many builders are having to offer buyers costly incentives to drum up sales. We Buy Houses in San Francisco, which purchases foreclosed homes and then typically renovates and sells them, is increasing prices on its refurbished properties between 7% and 12%. That’s even after saving $52,000 in costs by stockpiling 62% more Canadian lumber than usual. “The uncertainty of how long these tariffs will continue has been the most challenging aspect of our planning,” said CEO Mamta Saini. Bad timing for builders The timing of the tariffs couldn’t be worse for homebuilders and the home remodeling industry, as this is typically the busiest time of year for home sales. The prospect of a trade war has roiled the stock market and stoked worries about the economy, which could lead many would-be homebuyers to remain on the sidelines. “Rising costs due to tariffs on imports will leave builders with few options,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “They can choose to pass higher costs along to consumers, which will mean higher home prices, or try to use less of these materials, which will mean smaller homes.” Prices for building materials, including lumber, have been rising, even though the White House has delayed its tariffs rollout on some products. Lumber futures jumped to $658.71 per thousand board feet on March 4, reaching their highest level in more than two years. The increase is already inflating costs for construction projects. Dana Schnipper, a partner at building materials supplier JC Ryan in Farmingdale, New York, sourced wooden doors and frames for an apartment complex in Nassau County from a company in Canada that cost less than the American equivalent. Half the job has already been supplied. But once the tariff goes into effect it will be applied to the remaining $75,000, adding $19,000 to the at-cost total. Once JC Ryan applies its mark up, that means the customer will owe $30,000 more than originally planned, Schnipper said. He also expects the tariffs will give American manufacturers cover to raise prices on steel components. “These prices will never come down,” Schnipper said. “Whatever is going to happen, these things will be sticky and hopefully we’re good enough as a small business, that we can absorb some of that. We can’t certainly absorb all of it, so I don’t know. It’s going to be an interesting couple of months.” Sidestepping the tariffs by using an alternative to imported building materials isn’t always an option. Bar Zakheim, owner of Better Place Design & Build, a contracting business in San […]

Border Czar Tom Homan just humiliated a reporter complaining about Trump using the Alien Enemies Act: REPORTER: “That law is 200 years old!” TOM HOMAN: “Well, the Constitution is a lot older than that and we still follow it”

The U.S. State Department has announced a $10 million reward for details regarding Iran’s financial smuggling operations supporting Hezbollah via Beirut International Airport.

CHASDEI HASHEM! Hagaon HaRav Shmuel Kamenetzky shlit”a, the zkan roshei yeshiva of America, has been released from the hospital. *Please continue to daven for Shmuel ben Itta Ettel b’soch sh’ar cholei yisroel.*

Tehillim led by the oldest son of the Vishnitzer Rebbe being recited at the Kevarim of the 3 previous Admorim of Vishnitz. The name for Tehillim is Yisroel ben Leah Esther.

Documents obtained by Lakewood Alerts reveal that Andrew Cheney, Jackson’s Chief of Code Enforcement, lodged a complaint with the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance against Jackson Council President Jennifer Kuhn, accusing her of real estate “steering.” However, Cheney’s allegations—and their eerie similarity to anti-Orthodox rhetoric promoted by the group Jackson Strong—suggest a far more troubling picture: A township official may have weaponized his position to advance an anti-Orthodox agenda. Read the full story on Lakewood Alerts. 

Hagaon HaRav Shinon Galey recited Tehillim for the Vishnitzer Rebbe at the Kever of HaGaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky ZT’L. The oldest son of the Rebbe, as well as a large group of people participated.

A top Jackson Township official appears to be entangled in a shocking display of bias against Orthodox Jews, raising serious legal concerns about potential violations of a federal consent order. Documents obtained by Lakewood Alerts, a YWN subsidiary, reveal that Andrew Cheney, Jackson’s Chief of Code Enforcement, lodged a complaint with the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance against Jackson Council President Jennifer Kuhn, accusing her of real estate “steering.” However, Cheney’s allegations—and their eerie similarity to anti-Orthodox rhetoric promoted by the group Jackson Strong—suggest a far more troubling picture: A township official may have weaponized his position to advance an anti-Orthodox agenda. Cheney’s February 26, 2025, letter details an incident involving real estate outreach regarding a landlocked property on White Road in Jackson. The property had no direct access, and adjacent property owners were contacted to gauge their interest in selling. This is a standard practice in real estate, particularly when dealing with landlocked parcels. Two property owners responded to the outreach: one at 18 Kevin Court and another at 130 White Road. As a result, 130 White Road was listed for sale along with 134 White Road for a combined $7,400,000. Despite the routine nature of the transaction, Cheney’s complaint focuses on the fact that two of the property owners on Kevin Court were, as he describes, the last remaining “non-community” residents. The letter suggests that these homeowners were being pressured to sell to members of the Orthodox Jewish community and claims that such actions could violate the Fair Housing Act. However, Cheney provides no concrete evidence to support this claim, relying instead on the account of a single resident who allegedly felt “targeted.” The full complaint can be read by clicking here.  The complaint raises serious questions about how a government official determines the religious composition of a neighborhood – is Cheney going around counting how many Jews live on a block? – and whether it is appropriate for township authorities to intervene in private real estate matters based on such assumptions. The timing and content of Cheney’s letter are particularly concerning given Jackson’s long history of legal trouble over discrimination against Orthodox Jews. Under a consent order with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Jackson Township agreed to end discriminatory practices after years of litigation. Cheney’s letter, which appears to be driven by concerns over Orthodox Jewish property purchases, could put the township in direct violation of that agreement. Making matters even more troubling is the revelation that Cheney’s letter closely mirrors a post from Jackson Strong, an activist group that was specifically named in the DOJ’s lawsuit against Jackson. The Jackson Strong post accused Kuhn of steering, using nearly identical language and details as Cheney’s complaint. Both documents cite the same real estate transaction, express concern about Orthodox Jews moving into the area, and even include the same photo as Cheney’s complaint. This raises serious concerns about whether Cheney’s complaint was independently filed or if it was influenced by a group known for opposing Orthodox Jewish growth in Jackson. If a Jackson official is using township resources to target Orthodox Jewish homebuyers or sellers, it could have significant legal ramifications. The DOJ’s consent order strictly prohibits township officials from engaging in discrimination, and any indication that a public official is acting with bias could […]

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the US is resuming construction of the border wall with Mexico, with 7 miles of border wall expected to be built in this location.

Eggs are way down from their peak. Gas prices are coming down. Oil is down to $65/barrel — it was $82/barrel when I took office — and when energy comes down, prices for everything else come down. “We’re setting a good table.”

News network Al-Arabiya says its news crew at the Syria-Lebanon border were targeted by a Hezbollah anti-tank missile.