Boruch Hashem, we have the zchus to have the R

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman Boruch Hashem, in our Yeshivos and Bais Yaakov

Agudath Israel of America organized a solidarity event at Char Bar to show support for D.C.’s longtime kosher restaurant after it was vandalized on the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Community leaders who gathered in support of the restaurant were joined by Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY), who had publicly condemned the hateful act. Agudath Israel commended Torres for his prompt response and ongoing commitment to standing against antisemitism. “Since being elected in 2020, Congressman Torres has been one of the loudest voices in Washington D.C. speaking out against antisemitism,” said Rabbi Yossie Charner, director of congressional affairs at Agudath Israel of America.

The manager of a small hotel in northern Italy refused a reservation made by an Israeli couple, accusing Israeli people of being “responsible for genocide.” Jewish groups decried the incident as an example of antisemitism. The couple had booked two nights for the beginning of November at the Hotel Garni Ongaro in Selva di Cadore, a mountain village surrounded by the Dolomites, using the Booking.com online reservation platform. A day before their departure, they received a message from the hotel’s staff: “Good morning.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group has released a fourth video of hostage Sasha Trufanov, marking another instance of what Israeli officials condemn as psychological warfare. The nearly two-minute clip, whose recording date remains unclear, features Trufanov appealing for his release, in a statement almost certainly scripted by his captors in Gaza. In the video, Trufanov says that he is 28 years old, though he recently turned 29, marking his second birthday in captivity. Addressing Shas Party leader Aryeh Deri, Trufanov urges him to persuade the Israeli government to negotiate for the release of hostages, invoking the Jewish obligation to free captives.

Senator John Fetterman sharply criticized former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her role in pressuring President Joe Biden to abandon his re-election bid, calling her actions “hypocritical” and suggesting it’s time for her to step aside. In an interview with Politico released Thursday, Fetterman didn’t hold back, slamming Pelosi for orchestrating Biden’s withdrawal and then blaming him for the election outcome. After acknowledging Biden’s struggles during the debate against Donald Trump, Fetterman turned his criticism to Pelosi. “People like [Nancy] Pelosi, she really tried to — what’s the word I’m looking for? — she embraced this ‘she’s the godmother, she’s the enforcer’ persona. And now she’s blaming Biden,” he said bluntly. “Well, you can’t have it both ways.

Elon Musk, a key adviser in President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, reportedly held a private meeting with Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani in New York this week, the New York Times reported, in what two Iranian officials described as a preliminary attempt to ease longstanding hostilities between Iran and the United States. The meeting, lasting more than an hour, was held at an undisclosed location and characterized by Iranian officials as “positive” and “good news” for U.S.-Iran relations. Neither Musk nor Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, would confirm the meeting.

Israel’s airstrikes inside Iran in late October dealt a significant blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions by targeting a covert research site within the Parchin military complex, officials revealed to Axios. The facility, known as Taleghan 2, located about 20 miles southeast of Tehran, had been central to Iran’s resumed nuclear weapons research, despite longstanding denials from Tehran. Taleghan 2 was previously associated with Iran’s Amad nuclear weapons program, which was officially halted in 2003. However, recent intelligence suggested the facility had been reactivated for advanced nuclear research. The destroyed site reportedly housed sophisticated equipment used to develop plastic explosives critical to detonating a nuclear device.

In a dramatic escalation of tensions within Israel’s government, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir lambasted Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara over a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire him, dismissing it as an “attempted coup” and calling for her immediate removal. The letter, sent by Baharav-Miara to Netanyahu, urges a reassessment of Ben Gvir’s suitability for office due to his alleged interference in police operations and attempts to exert political influence over police decisions. Ben Gvir vehemently defended his conduct, claiming Baharav-Miara’s move was a politically motivated attack.

Tragedy struck the Monsey community and Skvere Kehila on Thursday night with the sudden and tragic petirah of R’ Chaim Hersh Cziment z”l, a well-known and beloved Skverer chossid who was niftar after being struck and critically injured by a vehicle at the intersection of W. Maple Avenue and Kingspoint Lane. YWN reported earlier that Rockland Hatzoloh paramedics rushed to the scene for reports of a pedestrian struck, finding two patients – one with critical injuries, and a second with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. R’ Chaim Hersh, who was critically injured, was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was sadly niftar a short time later.