Israeli authorities have launched a criminal investigation after two flares were fired at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea on Saturday. The flares landed in the yard, causing no damage or injuries. Police confirmed that Netanyahu and his family were not at home during the incident. The act has drawn widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum. Opposition leader Yair Lapid and National Unity chairman Benny Gantz called for swift action, urging law enforcement to hold the perpetrators accountable. President Isaac Herzog labeled the attack “a highly dangerous incident, which I strongly condemn,” adding that he had spoken with the Shin Bet chief to stress the urgency of the investigation.

Iran sent “written assurances” to the Biden administration last month that it wouldn’t try to kill then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. According to Biden administration officials, the “secret exchange” between Iran and US was meant to cool tensions between Tehran and Washington. Of course, the more likely explanation is the “Trump Effect” – Iran, which has repeatedly attempted to assassinate Trump and some of his officials from his first administration, began fearing the consequences it would face if Trump won the presidential election. Iran’s message was delivered on October 14 but was not previously reported, the report said.

A Chareidi man accidentally entered the Palestinian village of Abu Dis on erev Shabbos. The local Arabs attacked him and burned his car. Officers from the IDF’s Civil Administration contacted Palestinian officials, who extracted him from the village and brought him to Israel. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

President-elect Donald Trump plans to implement “maximum pressure” sanctions on the Islamic Republic to financially bankrupt it and paralyze its funding of its terror proxies, the Financial Times reported. According to the report, Trump’s transition team is already preparing a plan to target Iran, and the sanctions may be issued on his first day in office. Trump particularly wants to target Iran’s oil exports, aiming to decrease their current oil exports of 1.5 million barrels a day to 400,000 a day. “He’s determined to reinstitute a maximum pressure strategy to bankrupt Iran as soon as possible,” a national security expert familiar with the Trump transition team said.

The IDF on Motzei Shabbos announced that an IDF soldier fell in battle in southern Lebanon on Friday. He was named as Sgt. Ori Nisanovich, H’yd, 21, from Jerusalem. He fought in the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion. Nisanovich attended the Avinoam-Evyatar Yeshiva. His death increases the death toll of IDF soldiers since the start of the war to 795. (YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman It has all the hallmarks of an epidemic, spreading

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.