A LOT Airlines flight from Warsaw to NY was forced to make an emergency landing on Sunday night. One of the approximately 50 Jewish passengers on the flights told YWN that a severely intoxicated passenger caused a major disturbance on the flight, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in Iceland. For reasons unknown, the flight is unable to take off at this time, and the passengers are being put up in a local hotel for the night. Meanwhile, a group of passengers made a Kumzits while waiting in the airport. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep Jerry Nadler says is he “sorry” that he will have to take off from the ongoing impeachment proceedings in the Senate due to the sad news that his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Nadler, the Jewish Congressman from New York who is one of the leading forces to try and remove President Trump, says that his wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December, following his committee’s markup of the two articles of impeachment against Trump. “She has undergone surgery and is taking further steps to address the spread of the cancer. On Monday, I will be in New York with her to meet with doctors, determine a path forward, and begin her treatment,” he said. Her name for Tehillim is Yosefa bas Batya.

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri signed an order on Sunday allowing Israelis to travel to Saudi Arabia for specific purposes such as business meetings or investment purposes. The law also allows Muslim Israelis to travel to Mecca for religious pilgrimages, something that many Muslim Israelis have already been doing for many years using Jordanian or other foreign passports. Israelis were forbidden by law until now from traveling to Saudi Arabia without the permission of the interior minister. However, although the new law is a sign of a warmer relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia still restricts Israel citizens from visiting the country. Israeli citizens with foreign passports could enter Saudi Arabia as long as they have no Israeli stamps on that passport.

Basketball great Kobe Bryant was reportedly killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas Sunday. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said the helicopter went down on a hillside at Las Virgenes Road and Willow Glen Street. TMZ reported: Kobe was traveling with at least 3 other people in his private helicopter when it went down. A fire broke out. Emergency personnel responded, but nobody on board survived. 5 people are confirmed dead. We’re told Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. (Source: Breaking911.com)

Naama Issachar filed an official request for a presidential pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. Naama Issachar’s mother, Yaffa, flew to Moscow on Motzei Shabbos hoping that she’ll return to Israel shortly with her daughter. “I hope to return with Naama and I hope that this is my last trip there,” Issachar said. “Naama is confused because they were supposed to transfer her to a different prison but they didn’t. Maybe it’s a good sign. We’ll see what the lawyer says after he meets her.” The Kremlin stated on Friday that Issacher’s release has been delayed due to the fact that she didn’t yet submit a formal request to be pardoned.

An estimated 400 Bochrim from Yeshivos affiliated with the Peleg Yerushalmi were protesting in Yerushalayim on Sunday afternoon. They are protesting the arrest and incarceration of a Yeshiva Bochur named Gamliel Mahadani, who was arrested for failing to register for the IDF draft. The boys father, HaRav Nadav Mahadani, the Rov of the Ethiopian community in Ohr Yehuda, told Kol Berama in an interview that his son has never left Yeshiva, and surprisingly, there was never any letters or summonses (Tzav Giyus) sent to his son telling to come to the draft office. “They came in the middle of the night to our home and arrested him”. As of 6:00PM in Israel, the protests had moved locations to the Chords Bridge, and traffic was gridlock all around the area due to the protests.

A new viral illness being watched with a wary eye around the globe accelerated its spread in China on Sunday with 56 deaths so far, while the U.S. Consulate in the city at the epicenter announced it will evacuate its personnel and some private citizens aboard a charter flight.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he hopes to “make history” during his upcoming trip to the White House for the expected unveiling of President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace plan. Addressing his Cabinet shortly before departing for Washington, Netanyahu described the current environment, characterized by close ties with Trump, as a once in a lifetime opportunity for Israel that “we must not miss.” Trump’s plan is expected to be extremely favorable to Israel. “We are in the midst of very dramatic political events, but the peak is still ahead,” he said. “For three years I have discussed with President Trump and his team our security and national needs — dozens of discussions and hundreds of hours.

Arabs rioted next to the Neve Ya’akov neighborhood of Jerusalem on Friday night following the disappearance of an Arab boy from the nearby neighborhood of Beit Chaninah. Eight-year-old Qais Abu Ramila was sent by his mother to the grocery store about 4 p.m. on Friday and never returned. Later that night, police began searching near a deep pool of rainwater which had formed in the neighborhood after search dogs picked up the boy’s scent nearby. The police also asked the neighborhood residents to assist in the search which extended throughout the night. As police officers explored all possibilities for the boy’s disappearance, some of the boy’s relatives claimed that security camera footage showed the boy being forcibly taken away by an unknown man.

Israeli aircraft struck several terror locations in Gaza on Motzei Shabbos in response to incendiary balloons launched from the Palestinian enclave. The Israeli military said the sites belonged to Hamas, and included weapons manufacturing and intelligence-gathering facilities. There were no reports of injuries from the airstrikes in southern Gaza Strip. Blaming Hamas, the military said it considers “any kind of terror activity with great severity and will continue operating as necessary against attempts to harm its civilians.” Palestinian terror groups resumed launching flammable balloons on Israel recently and Hamas said it’s encouraging the shootings, charging Israel of not honoring an unofficial truce meant to improve their economy.