US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee slammed the Hamas terror organization for its exploitation of “humanitarian aid” brought into Gaza during an interview with Piers Morgan on Monday. “Why does Hamas hate GHF?” Huckabee asked. “One of the things they demanded in one of the negotiations just two and a half weeks ago was that GHF had to be shut down. Why would Hamas want to shut it down?” “I’ll tell you why. Because GHF’s method of getting food has really hurt their capacity to control the food market, and it’s costing them money. Otherwise, they would say, ‘Sure, go ahead and bring food; all we care about is people getting to eat.’ They don’t care about people getting to eat. They care that they eat.” “And if you look at the people from Hamas, when they get photographed – they’re well fed. None of them are hungry—I guarantee you. Look at their faces, look at their bodies. And instead of food, they could use some Ozempic.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Israel’s defense establishment revealed on Tuesday that the Hamas terrorist organization is running a deliberate disinformation campaign to depict a false picture of widespread hunger in Gaza, aiming to damage Israel’s international standing and gain political leverage. The investigation revealed a significant gap between the number of malnutrition-related deaths reported by Hamas’s Ministry of Health and the number of confirmed cases with verifiable information. The assessment showed that since the beginning of July, while the hostage deal/ceasefire negotiations were taking place, Hamas reported a soaring number of alleged deaths from malnutrition in Gaza. Until June 2025, Hamas reported 66 such deaths since the war began. In July alone, however, over 133 cases were announced—most without identifying details, in contrast to earlier reporting practices. For example, Hamas claimed 18 malnutrition-related deaths on July 19 and another 15 on July 22. Yet independent analysis of communications and social media found only a handful of cases that could be confirmed. Many named individuals were found to have had serious preexisting health conditions unrelated to malnutrition, and some had even received medical treatment in Israeli hospitals before the war. For example, in recent weeks, photos of a four-year-old child, Abdullah Hani Muhammad Abu Zarqa, were circulated, with claims that his condition is due to starvation in Gaza. The investigation by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) revealed that he suffers from a genetic disease causing vitamin and mineral deficiencies, osteoporosis, and bone thinning—a hereditary illness that also affected other family members. It was also found that four months before the outbreak of the war, the child traveled with his mother, with Israel’s approval, to receive medical treatment at the Al-Makassed Hospital in east Jerusalem. Another example was 27-year-old Karem Khaled Mustafa al-Jamal, whose death Hamas attributed to malnutrition but who had long suffered from muscular dystrophy and partial paralysis, impairing his ability to swallow “The investigation carried out by security officials in cooperation with professional medical personnel found no signs of a broad malnutrition crisis in Gaza,” the statement said. “Hamas is cynically exploiting tragic imagery as part of a false and timed disinformation campaign intended to create international pressure and negative public opinion against Israel.” “We will continue working to improve the humanitarian response in Gaza, in cooperation with the international community, while rejecting allegations of famine in the Gaza Strip.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
For about a century, Belgium’s Jewish community has maintained a minhag of asking the country’s leaders to send Shana Tov greetings, which are then shared with local Jews through community publications. However, antisemitism couched in “concern over Gazans” has reached such epidemic proportions that it seems that today, even offering the Jewish community a simple Shana Tova has taken on political overtones, Yisrael Hayom reported. Minister-President of Flanders Matthias Diependale recently responded to a letter from the Jewish community by stating, “Thank you very much for your kind request and for bringing your special edition for the Jewish New Year to our attention. We wish you much success with the publication and appreciate your efforts in producing this initiative. After an internal discussion, we regret to inform you that, given the current situation and sensitivities regarding tensions in the Middle East, we are unable to fulfill your request. Anything related, even in the slightest, to this conflict is closely monitored and examined under a magnifying glass. For this reason, we do not think it is appropriate to elaborate on the matter. We hope for your understanding regarding the decision and thank you again for your involvement.” Members of the Jewish kehilla were shocked by the response, and as word of it became known, it gradually caused a storm of outrage that reached Diependale, who understood that the claim of avoiding wishing a Shana Tova greeting to Jews because of the situation in the Middle East was problematic, to say the least. However, instead of admitting the mistake and sending a Shana Tova greeting, Diependale sent a letter, this time signed by him personally and not by his office and cabinet of advisors, claiming that he wasn’t sending a Shana Tova greeting because of his “long-standing” position to avoid becoming involved in religious activities. “I have learned that there has been a stir due to my refusal to comply with the request below,” he wrote. “In light of this, I would like to correct something. My refusal is not due to the situation in the Middle East, as was misrepresented in the following announcement from my cabinet. I would like to share my personal motivation: My refusal stems solely from the principle that for over 15 years in my role as a representative of the people, I have not supported religious activities. I have also never accepted invitations to the Muslim ‘Eid’ holiday. I have also never participated in the ‘Te Deum’ for Catholics, and so on. In doing so, I do not judge any religion or the people who observe it in any way. However, I am convinced that no religion—including my own—plays any role in the fulfillment of my mandate. I hope I can count on your mutual respect on this matter.” It should be noted that Diependale’s explanation did not clarify why he didn’t avoid issuing a Shana Tova greeting for the past 14 years. His response incensed the Jewish community, as well as other politicians. “To me, this proves it’s madness and that the cabinet of the minister-president of the Flanders region is influenced by extreme leftists who are either Jew-haters or cowards, or a combination of both,” said MP Sam Van Rooy of the right-wing Vlaams Belang party, who said that the ruling New Flemish Alliance […]
Over the past six months, French authorities have stopped renewing work visas for El Al flight security guards employed in Paris, sources told Ynet on Monday. According to the sources, the move was made by Parisian authorities due to anti-Israel sentiments amid rising tensions between France and Israel. The work visa extensions previously received by the Israeli security staff authorized them to stay and work legally in France, classifying them as ITAN employees (Israeli citizens supporting diplomatic missions) via the Israeli embassy. Since the visa renewals were halted, some of the security guards are living in the country illegally, while others obtained diplomatic visas through the Israeli embassy, which grants them temporary status to continue their stay. “In the past six months, none of the employees whose work visas expired have received renewals,” an El Al flight security guard stationed in Paris told Ynet. “This has never happened before, and no one has been granted new approvals. It seems they are trying to end the employment of El Al security personnel in France.” In response to a Ynet inquiry, the Foreign Ministry said that “the matter is being handled by the embassy in coordination with the French Foreign Ministry.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
Amid rising electric bills, states are under pressure to insulate regular household and business ratepayers from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers. It’s not clear that any state has a solution and the actual effect of data centers on electricity bills is difficult to pin down. Some critics question whether states have the spine to take a hard line against tech behemoths like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta. But more than a dozen states have begun taking steps as data centers drive a rapid build-out of power plants and transmission lines. That has meant pressuring the nation’s biggest power grid operator to clamp down on price increases, studying the effect of data centers on electricity bills or pushing data center owners to pay a larger share of local transmission costs. Rising power bills are “something legislators have been hearing a lot about. It’s something we’ve been hearing a lot about. More people are speaking out at the public utility commission in the past year than I’ve ever seen before,” said Charlotte Shuff of the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board, a consumer advocacy group. “There’s a massive outcry.” Some data centers could require more electricity than cities the size of Pittsburgh, Cleveland or New Orleans, and make huge factories look tiny by comparison. That’s pushing policymakers to rethink a system that, historically, has spread transmission costs among classes of consumers that are proportional to electricity use. “A lot of this infrastructure, billions of dollars of it, is being built just for a few customers and a few facilities and these happen to be the wealthiest companies in the world,” said Ari Peskoe, who directs the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard University. “I think some of the fundamental assumptions behind all this just kind of breaks down.” A fix, Peskoe said, is a “can of worms” that pits ratepayer classes against one another. Some officials downplay the role of data centers in pushing up electric bills. Tricia Pridemore, who sits on Georgia’s Public Service Commission and is president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, pointed to an already tightened electricity supply and increasing costs for power lines, utility poles, transformers and generators as utilities replace aging equipment or harden it against extreme weather. The data centers needed to accommodate the artificial intelligence boom are still in the regulatory planning stages, Pridemore said, and the Data Center Coalition, which represents Big Tech firms and data center developers, has said its members are committed to paying their fair share. But growing evidence suggests that the electricity bills of some Americans are rising to subsidize the massive energy needs of Big Tech as the U.S. competes in a race against China for artificial intelligence superiority. Data and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie published a report in recent weeks that suggested 20 proposed or effective specialized rates for data centers in 16 states it studied aren’t nearly enough to cover the cost of a new natural gas power plant. In other words, unless utilities negotiate higher specialized rates, other ratepayer classes — residential, commercial and industrial — are likely paying for data center power needs. Meanwhile, Monitoring Analytics, the independent market watchdog for the mid-Atlantic grid, produced research in June showing that 70% — or $9.3 billion — of last year’s increased electricity […]
A former Mossad official under investigation in the so-called “Qatargate” affair took part in meetings of Israel’s hostage negotiation team during the first two weeks of the current war — at times representing the Mossad itself — according to a report Monday by Kan. The official, identified only as “Shin,” acknowledged to Kan that he had business ties with Qatar and claimed he informed both the Mossad and Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, the IDF’s lead envoy to the talks. However, Kan reported that neither the spy agency nor other members of the negotiating team were aware of those connections at the time. Channel 12 reported in May that “Shin” had previously worked with Qatari intelligence while serving in the Mossad and currently conducts business in Qatar. He also reportedly co-owns a company with retired IDF general Yoav Mordechai, who developed ties with Qatari officials during his tenure as head of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In a sharp statement following the Kan report, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum accused Qatar of penetrating “the holy of holies of the struggle to return hostages — from the Prime Minister’s Office to the senior officials of the Mossad and the negotiating team.” The group called on the prime minister to “prove with actions” that he is committed to bringing home all the captives held in Gaza. The Qatargate scandal centers on allegations that two close aides to Prime Minister Netanyahu — Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein — engaged in illicit activity while working for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm. Prosecutors suspect the pair of offenses including contact with a foreign agent and corrupt dealings with lobbyists and businessmen, all while serving in the Prime Minister’s Office. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has hit a new low in public perception, and is the most disliked prominent newsmaker in America, according to a new Gallup poll released last week. The survey found Musk with a net favorability rating of -28, marking a steep 24-point drop from earlier in the year. In the latest numbers, just 33% of Americans said they view the Tesla and SpaceX CEO favorably, while 61% view him unfavorably — nearly a two-to-one negative split. Musk’s decline puts him five points below Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the same poll. Gallup did not pinpoint a single reason for the shift, but noted that Musk has alienated a broad range of Americans. His outspoken political stances, including aligning with President Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election, drew sharp criticism from Democrats. A public feud with Trump just months later also damaged his standing among Republicans. The plunge comes as Musk continues to face controversies surrounding his stewardship of X (formerly Twitter), legal disputes, and political battles that have put him at the center of public debate — and, increasingly, public disapproval. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu personally phoned the veteran chassidishe lawmaker MK Meir Porush to inquire about his health, as Porush continues a partial hunger strike protesting the government’s actions against bnei Torah in the matter of giyus. Late last week, Porush moved his office activities to a protest tent outside the Justice Ministry, declaring that he would forgo food for nine hours each day as part of his demonstration. The move comes in response to the government’s recent stepped-up enforcement of draft orders against bochurim, which has already led to the arrest of several yeshivah bochurim. UTJ last month left Netanyahu’s coalition in protest over the lack of progress on legislation to formally exempt lomdei Torah from army or national service. According to Kan, during Sunday’s cabinet meeting Netanyahu asked ministers why Porush had begun his hunger strike. Communications Minister Shlomo Karchi replied that it was because Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara “is persecuting Torah learners” and “abusing the olam haTorah.” Karchi — a vocal advocate for removing the attorney general from office — visited Porush yesterday, telling him that Baharav-Miara’s actions are intended “to cause disagreement between us,” and not out of any genuine interest in enlistment. “She is trying to harm Torah learning,” Karchi reportedly said, adding, “and I am certain that we will overcome these attempts.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A Jerusalem Magistrate Court judge has ordered that a man accused of vandalizing the Kosel and the Great Synagogue with politically charged graffiti be committed to a psychiatric ward. The graffiti, which read “Yesh Shoah B’Gaza” – “There is a Holocaust in Gaza,” sparked widespread outrage. Police had sought to extend the suspect’s detention by an additional five days, but the judge declined, describing the matter as a “sad case.” Ynet reported that police also requested the suspect be barred from visiting the Kosel but the judge refused, saying, “I do not ban Jews from the Kosel.” The suspect is reportedly a 27-year-old chareidi. His parents are said to have contacted Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef to share concerns over their son’s alleged mental illness. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
AOL’s dial-up internet is finally taking its last bow. Yes, while perhaps a dinosaur by today’s digital standards, dial-up is still around. But AOL says it’s officially pulling the plug for its service on Sept. 30. “AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet,” AOL wrote in a brief update on its support site — noting that dial-up and associated software “optimized for older operating systems” will soon be unavailable on AOL plans. AOL, formerly America Online, introduced many households to the world wide web for the first time when its dial-up service launched decades ago, rising to prominence particularly in the 90s and early 2000s. The creaky door to the internet was characterized by a once-ubiquitous series of beeps and buzzes heard over the phone used to connect your computer online — along with frustrations of being kicked off the web if anyone else at home needed the landline for another call, and an endless bombardment of CDs mailed out by AOL to advertise free trials. Eventually, broadband and wireless offerings emerged and rose to dominance, doing away with dial-up’s quirks for most people accessing the internet today. Still, a handful of consumers have continued to rely on internet services connected over telephone lines. In the U.S., according to Census Bureau data, an estimated 163,401 households were using dial-up alone to get online in 2023, representing just over 0.13% of all homes with internet subscriptions nationwide. AOL was the largest dial-up internet provider for some time, but not the only one to emerge over the years. Some smaller internet providers continue to offer dial-up today. Regardless, the decline of dial-up has been a long time coming. And AOL shutting down its service arrives as other relics of the internet’s earlier days continue to disappear. Microsoft retired video calling service Skype just earlier this year, for example — as well as Internet Explorer back in 2022. And in 2017, AOL discontinued its Instant Messenger — a chat platform that was once lauded as the biggest trend in online communication since email when it was founded in 1997, but later struggled to ward off rivals. AOL itself is far from the dominant internet player it was decades ago — when, beyond dial-up and IMs, the company also became known for its “You’ve got mail” catchphrase that greeted users who checked their inboxes, as famously displayed in the 1998 film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan by the same name. Before it was America Online, AOL was founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1985. It soon rebranded and hit the public market in 1991. Near the height of the dot-com boom, AOL’s market value reached nearly $164 billion in 2000. But tumultuous years followed, and that valuation plummeted as the once-tech pioneer bounced between multiple owners. After a disastrous merger with Time Warner Inc., Verizon acquired AOL — which later sold AOL, along with Yahoo, to a private equity firm. At the time Verzion announced that sale to in 2021, an anonymous source familiar with the transaction told CNBC that the number of AOL dial-up users was “in the low thousands,” down from 2.1 million when Verzion first moved to acquire AOL in 2015 — and far below peak demand seen back in the 90s and […]
As the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee gets ready for its first discussion on the ongoing gezeiras hagiyus since the removal of former chairman MK Yuli Edelstein, Chareidi representatives have placed a clear list of demands before the new chairman, MK Boaz Bismuth. According to reports, the requests include the full cancellation of the tens of thousands of draft orders sent in the past year to bnei Torah, and a halt to sanctions against mosdos haTorah that don’t meet the government’s army enlistment quotas. The delegation is also demanding the removal of a highly objectionable clause from Edelstein’s earlier proposal that would have forced yeshivah bochurim to sign in and out of the bais medrash with a fingerprint machine. The committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss advancing the government’s enlistment proposal toward its second and third readings in the Knesset — steps that would be needed before the law could take effect. Both Shas and UTJ have been working intensely to ensure that most bnei Torah can continue learning full-time without being forced into the army or other frameworks. Last month, UTJ left the government in protest after receiving Edelstein’s draft bill, which they said violated the agreement reached in June. Shas soon followed, also “quitting” but continuing to function as part of the coalition. Edelstein’s plan had contained far-reaching punishments for those not enlisting, including taking away driver’s licenses, forbidding travel outside Eretz Yisrael, blocking eligibility for public jobs, ending housing assistance, and removing discounts on buses, National Insurance, and electric bills. In a move clearly aimed at easing tensions, the coalition replaced Edelstein with MK Bismuth, who is viewed as more likely to work with the frum factions toward a mutually acceptable solution. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
What is ADHD and does my child have it? Good question! Let’s get some clarity. ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects a person’s ability to regulate attention, impulses, and activity level in a way that is appropriate for their age. It’s one of the most common mental health conditions in children, but it also affects teens and adults. ADHD symptoms fall into two main categories: inattentiveness and hyperactivity. Symptoms of inattentiveness include difficulty sustaining attention, disorganization, forgetfulness, and distractability. Symptoms of hyperactivity include fidgeting, excessive talking, interrupting, and acting without thinking. Children can have symptoms from either or both categories to qualify for an ADHD diagnosis. To be diagnosed, symptoms must start before the age of 12, be present for at least 6 months, be present in two or more settings, (e.g., home, school, with friends), and clearly impact functioning. About 9.8% of children (ages 3–17) in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD. Most children are diagnosed between ages 6–11, though it can be identified earlier. Boys are diagnosed significantly more than girls with a disparity of 13 to 6 percent. Some theorize that this disparity is not due to a genuine disparate prevalence but rather due to differences in presentation of symptoms. Boys may display more “externalizing” behaviors such as hyperactivity, impulsivity and disruptive behavior. In contrast, girls may present with symptoms like daydreaming, disorganization and quiet difficulty with focusing, which may cause them to fly under the radar. Teachers and parents are more likely to notice and report disruptive behaviors, so boys are diagnosed more often. Girls may be under-diagnosed, diagnosed later, or misdiagnosed with anxiety or depression. ADHD is thought to be a result of multiple contributing factors. Genetics play a large role with heritability estimates ranging from 70 to 80%. Environmental factors can also play a role in interacting with genetic vulnerabilities and influence brain development, especially during prenatal and early life stages. These can include maternal alcohol or drug use, premature birth or birth complications and early childhood adversity. Since all children can be impulsive, hyperactive and inattentive at times, it’s really common for parents to wonder if their child is displaying normal childhood behavior or is perhaps struggling with ADHD. Key questions for parents to ask themselves are these: ● Is my child like this daily or only occasionally? ● Is he/she like this just at home or school or across multiple environments? ● Most importantly- is this negatively impacting my child’s functioning in life? If a child is suffering due to impulsivity, hyperactivity or inattentiveness then this is a sign that it is not just normative childhood behavior but something more significant. Speaking to teachers can also be very helpful as they have a sense of how your child is doing compared to their same age peers. If you do suspect that your child has ADHD, you can start out by discussing it with their pediatrician or a mental health professional. They can help guide you to next steps if it is deemed necessary. As mentioned earlier, there is some indication that ADHD may be under-diagnosed in girls or those with less disruptive symptoms; similarly ADHD may be overdiagnosed in certain populations. A 2010 study (Elder, Journal of Health Economics) found that kindergartners who were the youngest in class […]
* President Donald Trump said he will nominate the economist E. J. Antoni as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. * Antoni would replace Erika McEntarfer, who Trump fired as BLS commissioner on Aug. 1 after accusing her of manipulating jobs report data. * Antoni is the chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, and his candidacy for the BLS spot had been promoted by former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon.
A top official at the Federal Reserve said Saturday that this month’s stunning, weaker-than-expected report on the U.S. job market is strengthening her belief that interest rates should be lower. Michelle Bowman was one of two Fed officials who voted a week and a half ago in favor of cutting interest rates. Such a move could help boost the economy by making it cheaper for people to borrow money to buy a house or a car, but it could also threaten to push inflation higher. Bowman and a fellow dissenter lost out after nine other Fed officials voted to keep interest rates steady, as the Fed has been doing all year. The Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, has been adamant that he wants to wait for more data about how President Donald Trump’s tariffs are affecting inflation before the Fed makes its next move. At a speech during a bankers’ conference in Colorado on Saturday, Bowman said that “the latest labor market data reinforce my view” that the Fed should cut interest rates three times this year. The Fed has only three meetings left on the schedule in 2025. The jobs report that arrived last week, only a couple of days after the Fed voted on interest rates, showed that employers hired far fewer workers last month than economists expected. It also said that hiring in prior months was much lower than initially thought. On inflation, meanwhile, Bowman said she is getting more confident that Trump’s tariffs “will not present a persistent shock to inflation” and sees it moving closer to the Fed’s 2% target. Inflation has come down substantially since hitting a peak above 9% after the pandemic, but it has been stubbornly remaining above 2%. The Fed’s job is to keep the job market strong, while keeping a lid on inflation. Its challenge is that it has one main tool to affect both those areas, and helping one by moving interest rates up or down often means hurting the other. A fear is that Trump’s tariffs could box in the Federal Reserve by sticking the economy in a worst-case scenario called “stagflation,” where the economy stagnates but inflation is high. The Fed has no good tool to fix that, and it would likely have to prioritize either the job market or inflation before helping the other. On Wall Street, expectations are that the Fed will have to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September after the U.S. jobs report came in so much below economists’ expectations. Trump has been calling angrily for lower interest rates, often personally insulting Powell while doing so. He has the opportunity to add another person to the Fed’s board of governors after an appointee of former President Joe Biden stepped down recently. (AP)
Thousands of bnei torah attended the levaya this evening of Harav Baruch Shmuel Deutsch zt”l, Rosh Yeshivas Be’er Shmuel and a leader of Peleg Yerushalmi, who was niftar earlier today.
NY Governor Hochul visited Camp Hasc today. Towards the end of her visit, her staff asked that she take a photo with all the Hatzalah Members who were at the camp.
Secret British intelligence files have revealed that MI5 once considered Hans Wilsdorf — the German-born founder of Rolex — a potential Nazi sympathizer and even a possible spy during the Second World War. The newly declassified records, held at the UK National Archives and first reported by The Telegraph, describe Wilsdorf as “most objectionable” and “well known” for his political leanings toward Adolf Hitler’s regime. Born in Bavaria in 1881, Wilsdorf moved to London in 1903, married a British woman, and eventually founded Rolex, later relocating the company’s headquarters to Geneva in 1919. By the early 1940s, British officials were alarmed by claims from the British consul in Geneva that Wilsdorf had “strong Nazi sympathies,” with reports linking his brother to Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda ministry. Swiss federal police were already monitoring him for allegedly spreading Nazi messaging abroad. An MI5 report from 1943 said the agency was tracking Rolex’s British operations in Bexleyheath and suspected Wilsdorf of “espionage on behalf of the enemy.” Officials also questioned the motives behind one of his most famous wartime acts — sending free Rolex watches to British prisoners of war. While the gesture became a celebrated part of Rolex lore, some British authorities at the time speculated it was an image-building exercise designed to curry favor, rather than pure charity. Jose Pereztroika, the horology historian who discovered the MI5 file, believes the evidence supports the view that Wilsdorf sympathized with the Nazis. He also pointed to Rolex’s sales of dive watches to the Italian navy’s “frogmen” — an elite Axis-aligned unit — as another potential source of wartime suspicion. Rolex has confirmed it is aware of the archive file and has commissioned Swiss historian Dr. Marc Perrenoud to conduct an independent review, promising to publish his findings. For decades, many Jews have avoided purchasing goods from companies with historical ties to Nazi Germany — whether Volkswagen, BMW, Siemens, or certain European luxury brands. The revelations about Wilsdorf’s suspected Nazi sympathies now raise questions for the Jewish market, where Rolex enjoys strong brand recognition and prestige. In recent years, many tzedakos have turned to high-value luxury watch raffles — often featuring Rolex models — as a way to draw donors. The strategy has proven lucrative, but the MI5 files may force an uncomfortable conversation: should tzedakah be raised through the sale or promotion of a timepiece with alleged Nazi associations? For donors who already avoid cars, appliances, or clothing brands tied to the Third Reich, the choice of prize may now merit closer scrutiny. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
The UJA-Federation of New York announced it will send $1 million to IsraAID — Israel’s largest nongovernmental aid organization — to provide food, medicine, and water filtration systems to civilians in Gaza. The pledge, revealed by UJA CEO Eric Goldstein, marks one of the largest wartime aid commitments to Gaza ever made by a mainstream Jewish organization. IsraAID, which has historically operated abroad in disaster zones, has expanded its work since October 7 to include operations in both Israel and Gaza, working alongside the IDF’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories and international agencies. Goldstein condemned Hamas for holding hostages, blocking aid, and triggering the conflict, but said the Jewish community has a “moral imperative” to help those suffering in Gaza. “Not everyone agrees on what should be done, or how,” he wrote, adding, “We must hold tight to what has always anchored the Jewish people: the belief that all human life is sacred.” Critics, however, argue the decision is deeply misguided — particularly while Israeli soldiers are still in combat and hostages remain captive. They contend that such aid risks benefiting Hamas-controlled systems and undermines Israel’s military and diplomatic position. The United Nations claims 98 children have died from acute malnutrition since last October — 37 in the past month alone — and warns of “starvation, pure and simple.” Israel disputes the starvation narrative, saying it has significantly expanded the volume of aid allowed in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the American Jewish Committee made waves by pledging $25,000 to repair Gaza’s Holy Family Church, damaged by what Israel described as “stray ammunition” during a nearby operation. That gift, intended to bolster Jewish-Catholic relations, was an unprecedented gesture — but far smaller in scale than UJA’s $1 million commitment. The timing of the UJA announcement is particularly contentious. Israel’s security cabinet is weighing a plan to fully take over Gaza and install Arab forces to govern, while mediators from the U.S., Qatar, and Egypt push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. Protests have erupted across Israel, both for and against renewed negotiations. Internationally, the political climate is shifting. On Monday, Australia announced it would support recognition of Palestinian statehood at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly, a move Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “shameful” and critics described as rewarding Hamas. New Zealand signaled it may follow suit. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
– 3 dead after shooting in Target parking lot – Suspect stole 2 cars during getaway – Suspect later arrested alive – Cops say the white male “has a mental health history” – Motive unknown
