In a rare step, the IDF on Monday morning restricted civilian maritime traffic along the Carmel coast, south of Haifa for “security reasons.” The Carmel Coast Regional Council stated: “There is a ban on operating small vessels along the coastline in the northern part of the council.

Sirens blared in the Beit Shemesh area on Monday morning at about 6 a.m. as a missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen headed to the area. Residents of the area reported hearing explosions and the police and Magen David Adom teams searched the area. B’Chasdei Hashem, there were no injuries or damage. Initial media reports said that shrapnel from an interceptor missile caused a fire to break out in Beit Shemesh. However, the municipality later clarified that the fire was unrelated to the incident. The IDF spokesperson later stated that the sirens were sounded in the Beit Shemesh area due to a ballistic missile launched “from the east” and that the missile was intercepted by the Arrow missile defense system before it crossed into Israel.

New York Representative Elise Stefanik has accepted President-elect Trump’s offer to serve as US  Ambassador to the United Nations during his term. “I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump told the NY Post. “I am truly honored to earn President Trump’s nomination to serve in his Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations,” said Stefanik. “During my conversation with President Trump, I shared how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.” CNN reported over the weekend that Trump extended the offer to Stefanik.

This past week, two frum podcasts featured young Orthodox men openly discussing the fraud they committed and the severe consequences they now face. Their stories may have shocked some, but for others, they were reminders of a bigger issue: a community-wide failure to teach our young people the fundamental values of honesty, integrity, and financial responsibility. If you think these two men are isolated cases, then you’re missing the larger, uncomfortable truth. Stories like theirs are cropping up too often, and we must ask ourselves why and how we, as a community, are allowing this to happen. First, let’s address the basics: have we forgotten to instill in our children a bedrock commitment to honesty?

Razor blades were found under pro-Palestine stickers in Amsterdam, the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported. The report noted that the police confirmed the report and added that it is unclear how many such traps intended to harm anyone attempting to remove the stickers have been placed throughout the Dutch capital. The stickers, stating: “Stop Genocide, Free Palestine,”  were placed near the Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam. Israel’s Kan News reported on Sunday that a reporter and videographer reporting about the attacks in the Netherlands were harassed by anti-Israel protesters. As they were reporting live from Amsterdam’s Dam Square, the protesters surrounded them and yelled anti-Israel statements. The two gathered their equipment and left the area and the protesters followed them.

President-elect Donald Trump is planning to reimpose strict sanctions on Iran, targeting its oil sales and economic activities to weaken Tehran’s support for regional militias and curb its nuclear program. According to sources close to Trump’s team who spoke with the Wall Street Journal, the new administration will adopt a “maximum pressure 2.0” approach, aiming to cut off Iran’s primary sources of income. In his first term, Trump withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a multinational agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear activities, and introduced sanctions that reduced Iran’s oil exports to a fraction of prior levels.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has announced significant changes to its consular services. Earlier this week, Paysach Freedman, CEO of Chaim V’Chessed, met with senior Embassy officials, where he learned about upcoming changes aimed at enhancing services for U.S. citizens. Starting November 11, 2024, a new contractor will oversee the Embassy’s consular operations, offering expanded service options and an improved appointment system for those seeking passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) or notarial services. New Customer Service Locations To streamline consular processes, in the near future, the Embassy will open new customer service centers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. These centers will provide free document pickup and drop-off services.

Shlomo Filber, one of the CEOs of the Direct Polls polling company, was astonished by the Democrat party’s dismissal of glaring warning signs regarding the Harris campaign. Filber wrote: “Why did all the US campaign professionals prefer to ignore simple and easy-to-analyze data that served as a huge warning sign and could possibly have changed the outcome for millions of people and trillions of dollars?” “Let’s try to develop a serious and professional discourse about the campaign in the U.S. • The Democratic election campaign incurred direct and conservative spending well above a billion dollars. • In secondary circles – party workers, organizations, institutions, States, financial bodies – we’re talking about many trillions of dollars.