New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has halted the planned demolition of the historic Kingsbrook Shul, formerly Congregation Chaim Albert, in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Built in 1950 on the grounds of the former Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, the shul was to be razed as part of a redevelopment of the larger site into affordable housing. The project, which is partly financed via the state’s housing and community renewal program, would include hundreds of residential units.
The governor’s decision came amid a lawsuit in the state’s supreme court in Kings County, in which Congregation Chaim Albert sued One Brooklyn Health System, the entity that owns the property.
In the June 13 complaint, the congregation alleged that the shul as always intended to remain a permanent house of worship and should not be treated as a disposable real estate asset.
According to the complaint, shul services were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic but were never allowed to resume, even after public-health restrictions ended. The congregation alleged that the prolonged closure was used to justify removing the Kingsbrook Shul as part of the redevelopment.
Hochul said she “led the effort to save the historic Kingsbrook Shul from its demolition” in a statement in which she encouraged “leadership from the hospital and synagogue to find a path forward where both sites can prosper and serve the community.”
Aron Wieder, a state assemblyman, said that “protecting institutions with deep community and cultural significance is important.”
Letitia James, the state attorney general, also said that “this synagogue has been meaningful to the community for decades, and I am grateful a treasured piece of Jewish history in New York will be preserved.” JNS
{Matzav.com}
Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s office circulated an itinerary to the traveling press indicating that his official schedule during this week’s visit to Florida will be relatively light.
The prime minister departed Eretz Yisroel this morning at 7:30 a.m. and is expected to arrive in Florida at 2 p.m. local time.
His most active day on the calendar is Monday. Netanyahu is set to hold an early-afternoon meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, followed later that day by a 3:30 p.m. meeting with US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
No official engagements are currently listed for Tuesday.
On Wednesday morning, Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Evangelical leaders at his hotel at 10:30 a.m. He will then travel to the Shul of Bal Harbour, where he is expected to attend an event together with lawmakers, Jewish and community leaders, and local students.
Netanyahu is scheduled to depart Florida on Thursday afternoon and is expected to arrive back in Eretz Yisroel early Friday afternoon.
{Matzav.com}An emergency session of the UN Security Council is set for Monday, where members are expected to voice strong opposition to Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland as an independent state.
The move drew swift international criticism, with Somalia’s government in Mogadishu accusing Israel of a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty. Egypt, Turkey, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation also issued condemnations.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, responded by stressing Israel’s approach, saying that “Israel will act responsibly and we will continue to cooperate with partners who contribute to regional stability.”
The European Union joined the growing chorus of criticism. In a statement, Brussels said, “The European Union reaffirms the importance of respecting the unity, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia pursuant of its constitution, the Charters of the African Union and the United Nations.” The statement added, “This is key for the peace and stability of the entire Horn of Africa region,” and noted that “The EU encourages meaningful dialogue between Somaliland and the Federal Government of Somalia to resolve long-standing differences.”
Israel announced the recognition on Friday, just days before Somalia is scheduled to assume the rotating presidency of the Security Council. In unveiling the decision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the step was “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” adding that Israel and Somaliland would work together in “economic fields, on agriculture, [and] in the fields of social development.”
A joint declaration released yesterday by 21 countries — most of them from the Middle East or Africa — together with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, rejected Israel’s action “given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole.” The countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran, also emphasized “the full rejection of any potential link between such measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land.”
The same statement warned that “the recognition of parts of states constitutes a serious precedent and threatens international peace and security, and violates the cardinal principles of international law and the United Nations Charter.”
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, operates as a self-proclaimed republic with its own currency, passports, and military, and occupies a strategic location on the Gulf of Aden, across from Yemen and near Djibouti. Despite this, it has remained largely diplomatically isolated. Israel is now the only UN member state to formally recognize Somaliland’s independence.
In past discussions, Somaliland has occasionally been mentioned as a possible destination for Gazans leaving the war-torn Strip, a notion that has heightened sensitivities around Israel’s recognition.
Notably absent from the joint statement were the three countries that normalized relations with Israel in 2020 — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. Syria issued a separate declaration rejecting Israel’s move.
The US State Department also weighed in, saying it continues to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, “which includes the territory of Somaliland.”
{Matzav.com}
WATCH:
The wife of a chareidi teacher who was wounded in a terror attack on Friday described harrowing moments following the assault, saying the terrorist attempted to crush her husband’s skull after running him down.
Among those injured in the attacks in the Afula and Beit She’an areas was Yaakov Gerber, 37, a melamed from Hadera who was struck by a vehicle in Afula. The attacker was later neutralized by a passerby. Gerber was evacuated to Rambam Medical Center, where he was treated in the trauma unit while conscious.
Gerber recounted the incident, saying he had been returning from the school in Hadera where he teaches and was walking on the sidewalk near the dormitories junction in Afula. “I saw a pickup truck coming toward me and mounting the sidewalk. At first I thought it might be an accident and that the driver had veered off the road, but he kept advancing. I tried to run toward a nearby field, but he hit me. I remember being on the ground and feeling blows to my head. Then people came to help and called an ambulance,” he said.
His wife, Naomi Gerber, who manages Meuhedet clinics in Afula, told Ynet on Friday that her husband suffered a head injury. “It horrifies me to think that this terrible terrorist hit Yaakov and then got out of the vehicle and tried to smash his skull with blows or with some other object—we don’t know exactly what,” she said. “We are praying that he recovers and that the injuries are reversible.”
Gerber was treated over Shabbos in a surgical ward. His condition improved, and he was released from the hospital on Saturday evening and returned home. He is a member of the chareidi community in Afula Illit, led by the city’s mara d’asra, Rabbi Betzalel HaKohen Kook.
In the broader terror attack carried out by a Palestinian illegal entrant from northern Samaria in the Jezreel Valley region, two people were murdered. Aviv Maor, 18, from Ein Harod Ihud, was stabbed to death near the kibbutz, and Shimshon Mordechai, 68, from Beit She’an, was killed after being run over in the city. Two additional people were injured: a 16-year-old boy who was struck at the first scene in Beit She’an and suffered light injuries, and Gerber, who was hit at the final scene in Afula, where the attacker was neutralized by a civilian.
{Matzav.com}
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Yissachar Dov Rosenthal zt”l, the longtime rov of the Mishkenos Sha’ananim and Nachlaot neighborhoods of Yerushalayim. He was 96.
In recent weeks, Rav Rosenthal’s health had declined. During Chanukah he was hospitalized in serious condition. He was niftar on Shabbos morning at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.
Rav Rosenthal was born on the 21st of Iyar, 5689 (1929), to his father Rav Avraham Dovid Rosenthal, a renowned dayan who served as Raavad of the beis din founded by Rav Shmuel Salant and author of Be’er HaMelech, and to his mother, Rebbetzin Ruchama Keilah Yehudis, daughter of Rav Alter Yosef Zundel Shub.
He married Rebbetzin Sima, daughter of Rav Shlomo Tzadok Zeibald. Throughout her life, she devoted herself selflessly so that her husband could dedicate himself fully to Torah, rabbanus, and bringing Jews closer to their Father in Heaven.
Over the years, Rav Rosenthal was appointed rov of the Mishkenos Sha’ananim and Nachlaot neighborhoods in Yerushalayim, a position he held with distinction for decades. He also served as nasi of Yeshivas Ziv Yisrael.
He is survived by a distinguished family—sons and daughters, and many grandchildren and descendants—continuing his legacy of Torah and yiras Shamayim.
The levayah took place on Motzaei Shabbos, Parshas Vayigash, departing from Shamgar Funeral Home and proceeding to Har Hazeisim for kevurah.
Yehi zichro baruch.
{Matzav.com}
The meeting of the Chassidishe Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of the Agudas Yisroel faction of UTJ, which was scheduled to convene to determine the party’s official stance on the proposed draft law, was canceled due to the medical condition of the Gerer Rebbe.
During Shabbos, the Rebbe did not participate in tefillos, and following this development, a decision was made to postpone the gathering.
Estimates indicate that the meeting will likely be rescheduled for later in the week.
The canceled session was regarded as politically significant, as it was set to take place in the midst of intensive deliberations in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee over the draft law, which is being advanced by committee chairman Boaz Bismuth.
The meeting was expected to be attended by members of the Chassidishe Moetzes, including the Rebbes of Ger, Belz, Vizhnitz, Sanz, Boyan, Slonim, Biala, Seret-Vizhnitz, and Modzitz, along with the faction’s Knesset members, Yitzchok Goldknopf, Meir Porush, Yisrael Eichler, and Yaakov Tessler.
At this stage, it remains unclear whether all members of the Moetzes will be able to participate in the rescheduled session.
The Moetzes is expected to oppose the legislation. However, with only four Knesset seats, its opposition alone is insufficient to bring down the coalition. In contrast, Shas and Degel HaTorah, which together hold 14 mandates, are at present supporting the advancement of the law, giving it a projected majority of 64 Knesset members.
That picture could change if additional lawmakers from Likud or other coalition factions join the opposition. Among those who have already expressed reservations about the law in its current form are Yuli Edelstein, Dan Illouz, and Sharren Haskel. Should such opposition grow, the coalition’s majority could erode, making passage of the law significantly more complicate and potentially politically perilous for the government.
{Matzav.com}
It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of mekubal Rav Chanania Aryeh Baron zt”l, one of the rabbonim of Yeshiva Beit El in the Old City of Yerushalayim. He was niftar on Shabbos at the age of 91.
Rav Baron was born on the 12th of Iyar, 5694, to his father, Rav Avraham Chaim, among the distinguished אנשי ירושלים והכותל המערבי for many decades. He was a devoted talmid of Rav Baruch Shalom HaLevi Ashlag and would frequently go to be mispallel and to hear shiurim in Zohar at the Ashlag beis medrash.
For many years, Rav Baron lived on Rechov Yismach Moshe in Bnei Brak. In recent years, he moved to Modi’in Illit, where he resided near his children. Despite the distance, he traveled daily to Yerushalauyim, where he was shoked al talmudo at Yeshiva Beit El in the Old City. He was a great baki in Toras HaKabbalah and was known as a tzaddik nistar.
In Iyar 5784, his wife, Rebbetzin Bracha Brenda Baron a”h, passed away.
The levayah took place tonight, Motzaei Shabbos Parshas Vayigash. It departed from his home on Rechov Chafetz Chaim in Modi’in Illit, continued from the beis medrash Toras Chacham on Rechov Ohaley Yosef 18 in Yerushalayim, and concluded with kevurah on Har HaMenuchos.
The family is sitting shivah at Rechov Chafetz Chaim 10 in Modi’in Illit.
Yehi zichro boruch.
{Matzav.com}
Israeli security forces have imposed a “complete siege and cordon” on the Palestinian city of Qabatiya in northern Samaria, from where a terrorist set out on his killing spree in northern Israel the previous day, Defense Minister Yisroel Katz stated this evening.
The Israel Defense Forces are “operating with full force against the terror hotspots in the village of Qabatiya from which the terrorist murder set forth,” he tweeted.
“We will continue to lead an uncompromising offensive policy against Palestinian terrorism in the terror camps in northern Samaria and throughout Judea and Samaria. Whoever provides backing and shelter to terrorism will pay the full price,” Katz added.
Two people were killed and two wounded in an attack that lasted 50 minutes in the Beit She’an Valley before the terrorist was shot and detained in the entrance to the city of Afula, according to Hebrew-language outlet Ynet.
The sole assailant, identified as Ahmad Abu al-Rub, a 34-year-old Palestinian man from Qabatiya, near Jenin, had been working illegally in Israel, the Kan public broadcaster reported.
He was subsequently hospitalized in moderate condition. On Saturday, he was released from the hospital and transferred to a security facility for questioning by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).
On Saturday, the Israel Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit and the Shin Bet arrested two brothers of Abu al-Rub, the police said in a statement. They were transferred for questioning by the Northern Police District’s Central Unit together with the Shin Bet.
“Following yesterday’s deadly attack in the city of Beit She’an, on Route 71, and in Afula, rapid investigative actions raised the suspicion that the terrorist had been inside the territory of the State of Israel together with his two brothers, aged 30 and 33, who had been staying in the Galilee area in recent days,” the statement read.
“Overnight, after indications emerged regarding the whereabouts of the two brothers—who had been acting to conceal their location—Yamam fighters, together with Shin Bet forces, and with the assistance of numerous forces from the Northern District, Border Police fighters and National Guard Border Police units, raided an agricultural structure near the town of Arraba and carried out their arrest,” the statement continued.
Arraba is an Arab city in Israel’s Lower Galilee.
The police said the arrests were followed by the apprehension of Abu al-Rub’s employer the previous day.
“The employer’s vehicle was used by the terrorist during the deadly killing spree. This evening, the police are expected to request an extension of the suspects’ detention at the magistrate’s court in Nazareth,” the Israel Police added.
Meanwhile, IDF soldiers continued to operate in the Qabatiya area throughout Saturday.
Military forces mapped the terrorist’s home and have begun sealing it before its demolition, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
The seizure and sealing order was signed by the head of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth.
The troops, together with commando forces, arrested several suspects involved in terrorist activities and questioned dozens of additional suspects at the scene, the IDF added.
The terrorist attack on Friday began some time before 12:30 p.m.
The Magen David Adom emergency medical services organization received a call about an injured woman on Route 71, near Kibbutz Ein Harod in the Gilboa region.
The woman, 19, had been run over and then stabbed. She was later pronounced dead at HaEmek Medical Center in Afula and identified as Aviv Maor from Ein Harod.
Shortly beforehand, a man aged 69, identified as Shimshon Mordechai, was fatally struck by a vehicle in Beit She’an. A 16-year-old boy was attacked in a separate ramming incident in the city and was reported to have light injuries. A 37-year-old man was later wounded when the terrorist got out of his car and attacked him with a rock outside Afula.
{Matzav.com}
Americans may be in for larger-than-usual tax refunds next filing season, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who says the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act could produce a noticeable windfall when returns are filed.
Speaking on the All-In Podcast, Bessent explained that the tax changes signed by President Donald Trump in July were applied retroactively to the start of the year. Because most workers did not revise their payroll withholding after the law took effect, he said many households may receive the benefit in the form of refunds rather than higher paychecks throughout the year.
“I can see that we’re gonna have a gigantic refund year in the first quarter because working Americans did not change their withholdings,” Bessent told the “All-In Podcast” hosts. “I think households could see, depending on the number of workers, $1,000- $2,000 refunds.”
An independent analysis points in the same direction. In a December 17 report, the Tax Foundation said that refunds are likely to be larger than usual in the upcoming filing season as a result of the OBBBA’s tax reductions for 2025.
According to the group, the legislation lowered individual tax liabilities by an estimated $144 billion for the year. Outside projections suggest that as much as $100 billion of that reduction could show up in the form of higher refunds. While the impact will vary by taxpayer, the foundation said the average refund could rise by as much as $1,000.
“But because the IRS did not adjust withholding tables after the law passed, workers generally continued to withhold more taxes from their paychecks than the new law required. As a result, instead of gradually receiving the benefit of the tax cuts through higher take-home pay during the year, most taxpayers will receive it all at once when they file their returns,” the Tax Foundation wrote.
The organization also outlined several provisions in the OBBBA that could drive refunds higher, citing expanded or new tax breaks such as a larger child tax credit, a higher standard deduction, an increased cap on the SALT deduction, and added deductions tied to senior income, auto loan interest, tips, and overtime pay.
{Matzav.com}
