A massive wildfire in Lakewood, NJ, has engulfed at least two commercial buildings, Sunday afternoon. The fires broke out around 1:00PM in the area of Cedarbridge Avenue and Airport Road (Industrial Park). Numerous fire departments have been requested to assist – some from as far as an hour away. Smoke can be seen over the Garden State Parkway, and the entire highway – in both directions – has been closed in the area of Exit 89. The smell of smoke and fire has spread across the greater Lakewood area. The National Weather Service began warning on Saturday night that the dry and windy conditions were “favorable for rapid spread of any wildfires”. Large Brush Fire in the area of Airport Road and Cedarbridge Avenue. GSP exit 89 is shut down.

Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Leiberman said in an interview with Channel 12 News on Thursday night that after the election he’ll “take Netanyahu and the Chareidim in a wheelbarrow to the nearest garbage dump.” His words aroused a media storm, with dozens of politicians condemning his comments. But on Sunday morning, when asked about the criticism against him in an interview with Army Radio, Leiberman said he has no regrets and piled on some more inciteful comments. “They act like pigs,” he said. “They’ve turned into a cult.” “[Lieberman’s] despair in his battle against Netanyahu brings him to these statements,” UTJ chairman Moshe Gafni responded. “We, the Chareidim, have already long been relating to him as someone who lost his mind, who apparently is very familiar with the dump.

The IDF announced on Thursday that it has vaccinated the majority of its soldiers. “After ten weeks, I can say that the IDF is the first military in the world to reach herd immunity,” said Maj. Gen. Itzik Turgeman, the head of the military’s Technology and Logistics Directorate, which oversees its Medical Corps. Turgeman said that 81% of its soldiers have been vaccinated or have recovered from the coronavirus, and the number is expected to increase to 85% in the next week. Furthermore, there are currently only 140 confirmed virus cases among IDF soldiers versus 2,033 confirmed cases last month. IDF Chief Medical Officer Brig. Gen. Dr. Alon Glasberg said that “green” status has been granted to units in which 90% of the soldiers have been vaccinated or recovered.

Jewish groups in Switzerland joined Muslim groups in protesting a ban on face-coverings as an infringement on religious freedom after a referendum was passed to ban them on Sunday, JTA reported. In a statement, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, the president of the Conference of European Rabbis and a Zurich native, said that the Swiss “has a long history of trying to curb migrations through banning religious practice.” As an example he mentioned the Swiss ban on shechita in 1892, which is still binding today, saying that it was passed to stop the Jewish migration from Russia due to pogroms.

John Joseph Brown, 88, died peacefully overnight at his home in Queensbury on February 6, 2021. John was an army veteran and a real estate agent. For decades, (1977 -2019) he was selected to serve as the non-Jewish buyer of “chametz”, during Pesach by rabbis from New York and around the world. John actively performed this duty until 2019. John was an expert in the laws revolving around the purchasing of chametz, and took the responsibility very seriously, and was overjoyed to do it. John was a friend of Rabbi Mordechai Willig from Riverdale, and a legend in the Willig family, in the Riverdale Jewish community. John even sold the Young Israel shul its property in 1975.

The following is a Statement from the ZAKA Search and Rescue Organization. ZAKA requested that YWN publish it: The management of the ZAKA Search and Rescue organization, its members and volunteers received with shock and astonishment the testimonies allegedly related to its chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav that were published Thursday by Haaretz. The organization’s management has confidence in the official investigative authorities who will examine in the most professional way those matters that require investigation. The organization, which has been volunteering for 32 years to identify victims of terror, road accidents and disasters in Israel and around the world, has become a symbol of unity and bringing people together.

A terrifying situation was quickly brought to an end thanks to fast-acting Boro Park Shomrim volunteers. The dramatic incident unfolded just minutes to Shabbos, when a known-car thief jumped into a parked vehicle on 45th Street near 15th Avenue that had its motor running, and sped off. In the backseat, was a 14-year-old boy. The owner of the vehicle called Police and the Shomrim hotline in a panic, reporting what had just taken place, and gave a description of the vehicle and the direction it was heading. Meanwhile, the maniac driver pulled a knife out and threatened the young teen, who managed to jump out of the vehicle a few blocks later. Around 10 minutes later, a Shomrim member noticed the vehicle on 18th Avenue and Dahill Road, and called Police to give them the vehicle location.

Along with daylight saving time, this weekend could bring some Americans fatter bank balances. Officials at the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service said Friday that processing of the new round of stimulus payments has already begun, with the aim of having the first payments start showing up in bank accounts this weekend. President Joe Biden signed the new $1.9 trillion rescue package on Thursday, the day after it won final passage in the House. The measure provides for payments to qualifying individuals of up to $1,400, with payments to a qualifying family of four of $5,600. “The payments will be delivered automatically to taxpayers even as the IRS continues delivering regular tax refunds,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement.

The NBA has fined Meyers Leonard $50,000, the maximum allowed by league policy, and suspended him from using all Miami Heat facilities and activities for one week in response to his use of an anti-Semitic term. Commissioner Adam Silver, in announcing those sanctions Thursday, also said that he believes Leonard “is genuinely remorseful” for using the slur. “Meyers Leonard’s comment was inexcusable and hurtful and such an offensive term has no place in the NBA or in our society,” Silver said. Leonard will also be required by the league to participate in a cultural diversity program. He has already met with representatives from the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish organization that works to stop extremism and delivers anti-bias education.

In an interview with Channel 12 News, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla was asked why he chose Israel as a case study for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccines and he responded that he was “impressed with the obsession of your prime minister.” “Of course, I was talking with several heads of state,” Bourla said. “I spoke to your prime minister. He convinced me that Israel is the place with the right conditions. But also, I was frankly impressed with the obsession of your prime minister. He called me 30 times.” “He would call me at 3 o’clock in the morning and he would ask me: ‘What about the variants? What data do we have?’ I would say ‘Mr.