Yeshiva World News

Local reports say the Lebanese army conducted a drone strike in Baalbek targeting a longtime wanted drug dealer with ties to Hezbollah.

A meeting has begun in the Kremlin between Russian President Putin and U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff.

The IDF has issued an evacuation warning for Palestinians living in a small area of western Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.

Fighters from the IDF’s all-chareidi Chashmonaim Brigade are mesayeim Maseches Ta’anis during their tekes kumta (beret ceremony).

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, days before the White House’s deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or potentially face severe economic penalties that could also hit countries buying its oil. The meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted about three hours. Neither side gave an immediate readout of the talks. Earlier, Witkoff took an early morning stroll through Zaryadye Park, a stone’s throw from the Kremlin, with Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president’s envoy for investment and economic cooperation, footage aired by TASS showed. Dmitriev said later on social platform X that “dialogue will prevail.” Dmitriev played a key role in three rounds of direct talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in recent months, as well as discussions between Russian and U.S. officials. The negotiations made no progress on ending the three-year war following Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. Trump’s deadline for Putin ends on Friday. Washington has threatened “severe tariffs” and other economic penalties if the killing doesn’t stop. Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Putin over Russia’s escalating strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine, intended to erode morale and public appetite for the war. The intensified attacks have occurred even as Trump has urged the Russian leader in recent months to relent. Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, Russian forces hit a recreational center in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing two people and injuring 12, including two children, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said Wednesday. Russian forces launched at least four strikes on the area and initially attacked with powerful glide bombs. “There is zero military sense in this strike. Only cruelty to intimidate,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. Russia also struck the Ukrainian power grid and facilities for heating and cooking gas, Zelenskyy said, as Ukraine makes preparations for winter. Western analysts and Ukrainian officials say Putin is stalling for time and avoiding serious negotiations while Russian forces push to capture more Ukraine land. A Russian offensive that started in the spring and is expected to continue through the fall is advancing faster than last year’s push but is making only slow and costly gains and has been unable to take any major cities. The situation on the front line is critical for Ukrainian forces but defenses are not about to collapse, analysts say. On Tuesday, Trump said “we’ll see what happens” regarding his threat to slap tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, which could increase import taxes dramatically on China and India. “We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow,” Trump said. “We’re going to see what happens. We’ll make that determination at that time.” The president said that he has not publicly committed to a specific tariff rate. Stepping up diplomatic and economic pressure on the Kremlin risks stoking international tensions amid worsening Russia-U.S. relations. The Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis warned in an assessment this week that there are “clear signs that the Kremlin is preparing for a broader confrontation with NATO,” including a military build-up along Russia’s western flank with alliance countries in recent years. Putin has strengthened Russia’s military ties with China, North Korea and Iran. NATO, meanwhile, said Tuesday it has started coordinating regular deliveries […]

The IDF has eliminated Hassam Qassem Gharab, a Hezbollah operative responsible for directing terror cells in Syria to launch rockets at the Golan Heights.

American envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow as President Trump delivered an ultimatum to President Putin—reach a deal with Ukraine or face harsh new sanctions.

New images showing Gaza before October 7th to now reveal the staggering scale of destruction across the region.

Three cars were set on fire and antisemitic graffiti, including “Death to the IDF,” was spray-painted in a Clayton, Missouri neighborhood late Tuesday night. Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell, who leads the Trump administration’s antisemitism task force, condemned it as a “horrific antisemitic attack”.

PM Bibi Netanyahu met this morning, with Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

The UN Security Council held a special session on Tuesday to discuss the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza at the demand of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. Ilay David, the brother of hostage Evyatar David, who was featured in a psychological terrorism video Hamas recently published, spoke via teleconference at the beginning of the session. “Just this past weekend, we received a new video from hell,” he said. “We were reminded how cruel and inhumane Hamas and its sick partners are. My brother is a living skeleton with barely the strength to move or speak. His voice is barely recognizable.” “In that video, my little brother is forced to speak to the world and then actively begins to dig his own grave inside the filthy, dark tunnel in Gaza.”   “My mother and I couldn’t summon the strength to watch it. We knew if we did, we wouldn’t be able to function. My father and sister chose to watch it, trying to feel him somehow—and now they’re haunted by the images. My father cannot sleep and my mother hasn’t stopped crying. What would you do if it were your son, your brother, or your father?” “In the latest video, another chilling detail emerged: you can see the fat hand of a terrorist entering the frame—the hand of his captor. It’s visibly thicker than my brother’s leg. Hamas showed what we’ve known for months: the terrorists have plenty of food. The only ones starving are my brother and the other hostages.” “From testimonies, we know the terrorists are in the next room. They are choosing to starve them as part of a sick campaign, using hunger as a weapon of war. This is a humanitarian crisis—yet no one here, or in other UN bodies, is talking about it. Aid flows into Gaza, but the hostages are denied even the most basic food. They haven’t received a single crumb.” “The very soul of humanity is being scarred by Hamas’s barbaric actions. We, Evyatar’s family, refuse to give up hope. We are weeping and suffering, but we are also fighting.” “Everyone bears responsibility—the world’s leaders, every member of this council, and the international community. Your silence in the face of this monstrous cruelty is complicity. I beg you: don’t let them die,” Ilay concluded. Despite the searing images and Ilay’s heartbreaking words, the members of the council, albeit expressing token acknowledgement of the brutal treatment of the hostages, continued to blame Israel with false claims of “starvation” and “genocide” and repeat demands for the establishment of a Palestinian state. Only the US expressed words of support for Israel and put the blame for the situation where it belongs – on Hamas. “The United States calls upon all countries to join together and say with one clear voice that Hamas must immediately surrender, release all the hostages, both those living and those who have already been murdered at the hands of Hamas, and allow this war to end,” said US representative to the UN Dorothy Shea. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

France’s biggest wildfire this summer was spreading quickly Wednesday in a Mediterranean region near the Spanish border after leaving one person dead, authorities said. About 2,000 firefighters and several water bomber aircraft battled the blaze that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region, a rural, wooded area that is home to wineries. The wildfire remained ‘’very active” on Wednesday and weather conditions were unfavorable, the local administration said in a statement. One person died in their home, nine others were injured, including seven firefighters, and at least one person was missing, the statement said. The interior ministry said the fire had spread over 13,000 hectares (32,000 acres), an area larger than the French capital. Jacques Piraux, mayor of the village of Jonquières, said all residents have been evacuated. “It’s a scene of sadness and desolation,” he told broadcaster BFM TV after he visited Wednesday morning to assess the damage. “It looks like a lunar landscape, everything is burned. More than half or three-quarters of the village has burned down. It’s hellish.” Residents and tourists in nearby areas were requested to remain in their homes unless told to evacuate by firefighters. Two campsites were evacuated as a precaution. French Prime Minister François Bayrou was expected to visit Wednesday afternoon, his office said. Last month, a wildfire that reached the southern port of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, left around 300 people injured. Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed of the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. (AP)

The UN Security Council held a special session on Tuesday to discuss the Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza at the demand of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar During his speech, Sa’ar emphasized how the Israeli hostages are being sadistically starved and tortured while the terrorists are feasting on meat. Meanwhile, Israel is facilitating truckloads of aid to Gaza, a step that no other country has carried out during wartime in history—to an enemy that has committed crimes like the Nazis and ISIS: massacres, rape, the murder of children in front of their parents and parents in front of their children, and the abduction of hundreds. “The world has been turned upside down while Hamas runs its propaganda machine,” Sa’ar asserted. “A huge part of the international media is both ignoring the truth and buying its lies.” Holding up a copy of the New York Times, Sa’ar continued: “I read the New York Times the day after Hamas released the video of Evyatar David. I looked but couldn’t find Evyatar on the front page. And I couldn’t find his picture anywhere in the paper. I call on the international media to put Evyatar and Rom [Braslavki] front and center. Is it not newsworthy?” “We’re witnessing an upside-down world. We’re witnessing the twisted anti-Israel agenda of the global media. They shift the responsibility from the kidnappers and rapists to the attacked country. They shift the blame from terrorists to the victims. Instead of standing by Israel, they are blaming the victims—the victims of attacks from seven different fronts.” “Do you know what the UN Secretary-General Guterres tweeted after the horrific images of Evyatar and Rom were released? Not a word! Deafening silence!” “Yet we all see his endless and obsessive tweets against Israel, time and again.” “Ladies and gentlemen, what we are witnessing today is the rise of psychotic antisemitism around the world, fueled by modern blood libels like the darkest days of history. Jews are hunted around the world simply because they are Jews.” “But it’s not the only war on earth. But it’s the only case that people are being hunted everywhere because of their nationality. Do you know of another nation fighting for its life and suffering around the world from hostility and violence? We are living in an upside-down world, a world in which Israel sits on the bench of the accused while it fights for its survival. There is a name for this—it’s called antisemitism.” Sa’ar also excoriated the countries, such as the UK, Canada, and France, who recently announced their intentions to recognize a Palestinian state, accusing them of killing all chances of reaching a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

An outbreak of the chikungunya virus in China has prompted authorities to take preventive measures from mosquito nets and clouds of disinfectant, threatening fines for people who fail to disperse standing water and even deploying drones to hunt down insect breeding grounds. More than 7,000 cases of the disease have been reported as of Wednesday, focused largely on the manufacturing hub of Foshan near Hong Kong. Numbers of new cases appear to be dropping slowly, according to authorities. Chikungunya is spread by mosquitoes and causes fever and joint pain, similar to dengue fever, with the young, older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions most at risk. Chinese state television has shown workers spraying clouds of disinfectant around city streets, residential areas, construction sites and other areas where people may come into contact with virus-bearing mosquitos that are born in standing water. Workers sprayed some places before entering office buildings, a throwback to China’s controversial hardline tactics used to battle the COVID-19 virus. People who do not empty bottles, flower pots or other outdoor receptacles can be subject to fines of up to 10,000 yuan ($1,400) and have their electricity cut off. The U.S. has issued a travel advisory telling citizens not to visit China’s Guangdong province, the location of Donguan and several other business hubs, along with countries such as Bolivia and island nations in the Indian Ocean. Brazil is among the othe rcountries hit hard by the virus. Heavy rains and high temperatures have worsened the crisis in China, which is generally common in tropical areas but came on unusually strong this year. China has become adept at coercive measures that many nations consider over-the-top since the deadly 2003 SARS outbreak. This time, patients are being forced to stay in hospital in Foshan for a minimum of one week and authorities briefly enforced a two-week home quarantine, which was dropped since the disease cannot be transmitted between people. Reports also have emerged of attempts to stop the virus spread with fish that eat mosquito larvae and even larger mosquitos to eat the insects carrying the virus. Meetings have been held and protocols adopted at the national level in a sign of China’s determination to eliminate the outbreak and avoid public and international criticism. (AP)

Iran executed two men in separate cases Wednesday, accusing one of spying for Israel and another of being a member of the Islamic State group, state media reported. A report by the judiciary news website Mizanonline identified the alleged spy as Rouzbeh Vadi, who was accused of relaying classified information to Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad. Authorities said Vadi provided information about an Iranian nuclear scientist who was killed during Israel’s June airstrikes on Iran, according to the report, which did not identify the scientist or the time and place of Vadi’s arrest. Vadi met the Mossad officers five times in Vienna, Austria, the report said. Israel’s ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, said in June that Israel’s 12-day war on Iran included targeted strikes that killed at least 14 physicists and engineers involved with Iran’s nuclear program. Iran has hanged seven people for espionage during the conflict with Israel, sparking fears from activists that the government could conduct a wave of executions. Iran separately hanged a member of the Islamic State group on Wednesday after he was convicted of plotting sabotage, Mizanonline reported. Officials accused Mehdi Asgharzadeh of being a member of the Islamic State group who participated in military training in Syria and Iraq before illegally entering Iran with a four-member team who were killed in a fight with Iranian security, the news site reported. Authorities said Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the sentences of lower courts and followed full legal procedures before executing both men, Mizanonline reported. (AP & YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

A talmid of the Maorot HaTorah yeshiva in Kiryat Yearim and his brother, a graduate of the yeshiva, were arrested overnight Tuesday at their home in Tel Aviv by military police officers for “draft dodging.” The arrest took place as part of a night raid on dozens of homes across the country. The IDF said that the operation did not specifically target bnei yeshivos but was directed at deserters from all sectors. The arrest of the bochurim took place while their parents were on vacation, unaware of what was happening at their home and the arrest of their sons. The yeshiva administration was also not updated on the arrest. Many hours after their arrest, the bochurim were permitted to make a phone call. They called the yeshiva staff, who responded quickly and transferred the case to Adv. Menachem Stauber, who will represent them. The older brother was previously arrested on Purim and sentenced to 14 days in military prison. Overnight Monday, in the first action of its kind, military police attempted to arrest a newly married avreich in Haifa for draft-dodging. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

A vehicle bearing a swastika and New York State EMT plates continues to spark outrage, with officials from both New Jersey and New York now calling for investigations and expressing solidarity with the Jewish community. On Tuesday, Closter, New Jersey, Mayor John C. Glidden Jr. and the Borough Council issued a public letter condemning “overt antisemitic expressions” from a “local resident” and reaffirmed Closter’s commitment to diversity, tolerance, and support for all faiths. The statement, prompted by public backlash over the Nazi imagery displayed on a car with New York EMT plate number 544, declared that “Closter officials unequivocally condemn antisemitic statements—written, spoken, or implied.” The letter noted that while the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, hate speech—especially involving antisemitic imagery—violates the spirit of Closter’s values. “Make no mistake,” the borough wrote, “Closter officials stand in solidarity with Jewish neighbors and we strive to maintain our town’s reputation of valuing human dignity, equality and justice.” On Tuesday night, New York State Assemblyman Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn), who had already contacted New York’s DMV demanding a review of the EMT license plate registration, responded to the Closter letter with a message of gratitude. “I was heartwarmed to read your letter,” Yeger wrote in a follow-up letter to Mayor Glidden, thanking the borough for its “strong show of solidarity with the Jewish community and all decent people.” Assemblyman Yeger had previously raised alarms over how the individual—identified by YWN sources as John Kanjiram—retained New York EMT plates despite no apparent current certification and a public display of hate symbols. In a letter to DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder, Yeger questioned how such plates were still valid and warned of the false appearance of official authority. In the follow-up, Yeger said the Commissioner’s office had assured him the matter would be investigated and urged Closter officials to share any information they may have about the registrant’s residency status or potential violations of state law. “If you believe that a New Jersey law has been violated,” he added, “I would also urge you to refer the matter to your local prosecutor’s office.” Although acknowledging that there may be “little we can do” regarding an individual’s right to display hate symbols under free speech protections, Yeger stressed that officials can—and must—enforce existing laws regarding vehicle registration and public safety. “You have my very warmest regards,” Yeger wrote in closing, “particularly Jewish New Yorkers need as many friends as we can find right now.” Kanjiram, a former EMT whose certification expired in 2015, has not responded publicly to the controversy. The New York DMV has not yet issued a public statement. Law enforcement officials in both states have been made aware of the situation. Closter officials confirmed they have consulted local rabbis and national Jewish organizations including the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Violent crime in the United States fell 4.5% last year, according to a new FBI report, which also shows an 8% drop in property crime from the year before. The FBI statistics released Tuesday show murder and nonnegligent manslaughter in the U.S. in 2024 fell nearly 15% from a year earlier, continuing a decline that’s been seen since a coronavirus pandemic-era crime spike. Reported hate crimes decreased 1.5%, according to the report. Despite that slight decrease, last year’s hate crime totals were the second highest reported by the FBI in the more than 30 years it has been collecting data, according to Brian Levin, founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism and professor emeritus at California State University, San Bernardino. Crime surged during the coronavirus pandemic, with homicides increasing nearly 30% in 2020 over the previous year, the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records. Violent crime across the U.S. dipped to near pre-pandemic levels around 2022. The FBI collects data through its Uniform Crime Reporting Program, and not all law enforcement agencies in the U.S. participate. The 2024 report is based on data from more than 16,000 agencies, or more than 86% of those agencies in the FBI’s program. The agencies included in the report protect more than 325 million people across the U.S. (AP)

Ohio GOP gubernatorial frontrunner Vivek Ramaswamy issued a sharp warning Monday morning, declaring that the surge of far-left candidates like New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani poses a national threat and represents a defining moment for the country. “This is a fork in the road for the future of America,” Ramaswamy said in an appearance on Fox & Friends. “It’s not just about one candidate in New York. You look at the rise of [Omar] Fateh in Minneapolis. There’s a deep fissure in the Democratic Party.” Ramaswamy, 39, who mounted a high-profile but ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is now widely seen as the favorite to win next year’s Ohio gubernatorial primary. He is positioning himself as a national spokesman for the fight against what he calls the “radical left’s agenda,” warning that Mamdani’s election would be a catastrophic endorsement of socialism in America’s largest city. “If Mamdani wins, it will be a wake-up call — a painful one,” Ramaswamy said. “The well-intentioned, so-called solutions to the housing crisis will only deepen the affordability crisis and hurt the very people they claim to protect.” The biotech entrepreneur is urging Republicans to seize what he calls a “historic opportunity” to redefine America’s direction. “This is our moment to make the case — unapologetically — that capitalism and free enterprise are not only just, but the greatest system ever created to lift people out of poverty,” he said. Ramaswamy has taken his message directly to New Yorkers. Last month, his Super PAC purchased billboard space in Times Square reading: “Worried About Zohran? Ohio Is Waiting For You!” The message was that New Yorkers fed up with progressive politics should consider fleeing to Ohio. Beyond political ideology, Ramaswamy is also focusing on law and order, condemning what he calls a growing epidemic of urban violence. Later Monday, he was slated to visit his hometown of Cincinnati to address public safety concerns following a brutal attack that shocked the city. Viral footage of the incident shows a woman, identified only as Holly, being sucker-punched and left bleeding on the sidewalk after attempting to defuse an altercation. Ramaswamy said he spoke to her directly and intends to use her story to highlight what he sees as political cowardice on the issue of crime. “This is about more than one attack,” he said. “It’s about a pattern — people afraid to walk in their own neighborhoods. We need leadership that refuses to sweep urban crime under the rug. I’m not going to stay silent.” “Too many leaders are afraid to speak the truth because it’s politically incorrect,” he added. “But we need to talk about it — openly, honestly — and demand change.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a statement Tuesday that 22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines using mRNA technology will be halted. Kennedy’s decision to terminate the projects is the latest in a string of decisions that have put the longtime vaccine critic’s doubts about shots into full effect at the nation’s health department. Kennedy has pulled back recommendations around the COVID-19 shots, fired the panel that makes vaccine recommendations, and refused to offer a vigorous endorsement of vaccinations as a measles outbreak worsened. The health secretary criticized mRNA vaccines in a video on his social media accounts, explaining the decision to cancel projects being led by the nation’s leading pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Moderna, that offer protection against viruses like the flu, COVID-19 and H5N1. “To replace the troubled mRNA programs, we’re prioritizing the development of safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate,” Kennedy said in the video. Infectious disease experts say the mRNA technology used in vaccines is safe, and they credit its development during the first Trump administration with slowing the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Future pandemics, they warned, will be harder to stop without the help of mRNA. “I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business,” said Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations. He noted mRNA technology offers potential advantages of rapid production, crucial in the event of a new pandemic that requires a new vaccine. The shelving of the mRNA projects is short-sighted as concerns about a bird flu pandemic continue to loom, said Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “It’s certainly saved millions of lives,” Offit said of the existing mRNA vaccines. Scientists are using mRNA for more than infectious disease vaccines, with researchers around the world exploring its use for cancer immunotherapies. At the White House earlier this year, billionaire tech entrepreneur Larry Ellison praised mRNA for its potential to treat cancer. Traditionally, vaccines have required growing pieces of viruses, often in chicken eggs or giant vats of cells, then purifying that material. The mRNA approach starts with a snippet of genetic code that carries instructions for making proteins. Scientists pick the protein to target, inject that blueprint and the body makes just enough to trigger immune protection — producing its own vaccine dose. In a statement Tuesday, HHS said “other uses of mRNA technology within the department are not impacted by this announcement.” The mRNA technology is used in approved COVID-19 and RSV shots, but has not yet been approved for a flu shot. Moderna, which was studying a combination COVID-19 and flu mRNA shot, had said it believed mRNA could speed up production of flu shots compared with traditional vaccines. The abandoned mRNA projects signal a “shift in vaccine development priorities,” the health department said in its statement, adding that it will start “investing in better solutions.” No details were provided on what those other technologies might be. “Let me be absolutely clear, HHS supports safe, effective vaccines […]