“Last night in Washington something horrific happened. A brutal terrorist shot in cold blood a young beautiful couple – Yaron Lischinsky and Sara Milgrim. Yaron had just bought an engagement ring for Sarah. He was planning to give it to her in Jerusalem next week. They were planning to start a new and happy life together. Well, that tragically did not happen. Yaron and Sarah weren’t the victims of a random crime. The terrorist who cruelly gunned them down did so for one reason and one reason alone – he wanted to kill Jews. And as he was taken away, he chanted, ‘Free Palestine!’ This is exactly the same chant we heard on October 7th. On that day, thousands of terrorists stormed into Israel from Gaza. They beheaded men. They raped women. They burned babies alive.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday evening appointed a new Shin Bet chief, ignoring Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara’s directive on Wednesday banning him from being involved in the appointment. Netanyahu announced his intention to appoint Maj.-Gen. David Zini to the position, replacing Bar, who is scheduled to resign on June 15. “Zini has served in many operational and command positions in the IDF, including as a fighter in the Sayeret Matkal commando unit, commander of Battalion 51 in the Golani Brigade, commander of the Egoz unit, commander of the Alexandroni Brigade, founder of the Commando Brigade, and commander of the Training and Doctrine Command and commander of the General Staff Corps,” the Prime Minister’s office said.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) viciously attacked President Trump on Wednesday, calling him a “monster” after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a probe into the city’s hiring practices for potential racial bias. The investigation follows Johnson’s recent comments at a church in Woodlawn, Ill., where he boasted about hiring more Black people in his administration. “As far as, you know, the president’s animus towards women, people of color, working people, we have always known who he has been,” Johnson said during a Wednesday press conference. “This is not a surprise. He’s a monster.” “We have the most diverse administration in the history of Chicago, and he is threatened by that,” he added. Johnson’s approval rating, however, tells a different story.

Klal Yisroel is urged to be mispallel for the refuah sheleimah of the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, Harav Shmuel Kamenetsky shlit”a, who has been unwell in recent days. According to an official notice released by the yeshiva, the Rosh Yeshiva was taken to the hospital last night due to weakness. Boruch Hashem, his condition is currently stable, and the yeshiva expressed hope that he will be able to return home within the next few days. In the meantime, the tzibbur is asked to continue davening for Shmuel ben Itta Ettil.

Israel is completely changing its strategy in the Swords of Iron war and aims for a full conquest of the Strip, while separating the civilian population from Hamas terrorists, Channel 12 reported on Thursday. Since the beginning of the war, Israel has been dealing with what seems to be an insurmountable problem: the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas uses as human shields. Since the beginning of the war, IDF soldiers have been clearing areas in Gaza of terrorists and then leaving the area and allowing civilians to return to their homes. But of course, Hamas would return to the area along with the civilians. IDF soldiers have been forced to return to the same areas time and time again, clearing houses and streets of Hamas terrorists, at great risk to their lives.

Gedolei Eretz Yisroel have been preparing to embark on a fundraising mission to the United States following Shavuos on behalf of Keren Olam Hatorah, and are now set to arrive on Sunday, June 15. The trip comes amid drastic reductions in Israeli government financial aid for yeshivos and kollelim, a move that has left countless institutions scrambling to cover basic operational costs. The first stop on this year’s mission will be in Los Angeles — notably making this the first time the city is included in the tour, which last year began in New York and New Jersey. From Los Angeles, the delegation will travel to Lakewood, with their arrival slated for Tuesday, June 17.

Agudath Israel of America applauds the inclusion of game-changing federal school choice legislation in the budget reconciliation bill passed this morning. This legislation will help millions of children across the country including those wishing to attend yeshivas and other nonpublic schools. Following a model already operating successfully in more than twenty states, the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) will provide $5 billion in K-12 scholarships per year. It does this by allowing a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit for donors who contribute to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGO).

House Republicans early Thursday took a major step forward on President Donald Trump’s agenda, approving a legislative package that combines tax breaks, spending cuts, border security funding and other priorities. House committees labored for months on the bill, which underwent late changes to win over holdouts in the Republican conference. It exceeds 1,000 pages and is titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a nod to Trump himself. Republicans made one last round of revisions before the bill reached the House floor, boosting the state and local tax deduction to win over centrists and speeding up the work requirements in Medicaid to win over those who didn’t believe the bill did enough to curb spending.

The terrorist who murdered Yaron Lischinsky Hy”d, and Sarah Milgrim, H’yd, was identified as Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old resident of Chicago. Witnesses said that Rodriguez told the police as before being arrested, “I did it, I did it for Gaza. Free Palestine!” Rodriguez was a member of the far left-Marxist pro-Palestine group, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), which accuses Israel of “genocide” on its social media pages. In 2020, he made a political donation to Joe Biden. In 2017, he participated in a protest over the death of a black teenager who was shot by a Chicago police officer. “The wealth that Amazon has brought to Seattle has not been shared with its Black residents,” Rodriguez was quoted at the time in PSL’s Liberation newspaper.

Missile alert sirens blared at midday on Thursday in Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, the Yam Hamelech area, Yehuda and Shomron, and central Israel. Shortly later, the IDF spokesperson reported that one missile launched from Yemen was successfully intercepted. Hours earlier on Thursday morning, at about 3:00 a.m., sirens were heard across central Israel, the Sharon and the Shfela lowlands, forcing over a million  Israelis to leave their beds and rush to protected spaces. The IDF spokesperson said that a missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen was intercepted by the Air Force’s Arrow system. MDA reported that one man was lightly injured as he ran for shelter. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)