King Willem-Alexander officially unveiled a new memorial in the heart of Amsterdam’s historic Jewish Quarter on Sunday honoring more than 102,000 Dutch victims of the Holocaust, and the Dutch prime minister vowed that it would remind citizens today to be vigilant against antisemitism. Designed by Polish-Jewish architect Daniel Libeskind, the memorial is made up of walls shaped to form four Hebrew letters spelling out a word that translates as “In Memory Of.” The walls are built using bricks, each of which is inscribed with the name, date of birth and age when they died of one of the more than 102,000 Jews, Roma and Sinti who were murdered in Nazi concentration camps during World War II or who died on their way to the camps.

Afghanistan’s last Jew, Zebulon Simentov, who was evacuated from Afghanistan earlier this month, signed a get for his wife in New York on Erev Yom Kippur. Moti Kahana, an Israeli-American businessman who runs a private security group that organized Simentov’s evacuation, convinced Simentov to grant his wife a get prior to evacuating him and Simentov fulfilled his commitment. He signed the get over Zoom in the presence of two rabbis and Kahana. “I did something good for the new year,” Kahana wrote on Twitter afterward. “I helped a woman receive a get. I’m not sure it’s kosher. There will definitely be arguments – we’re Jews!

A 22-year-old former nursing student pleaded guilty to the murder of one person and the attempted murders of 53 others in connection with a 2019 deadly shooting at a Southern California synagogue on the last day of Passover, effectively ending the possibility of facing the death penalty. John T. Earnest entered a similar guilty plea on July 20 on state charges in San Diego Superior Court and agreed then to serve the rest of his life in state prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 30. In the federal case, sentencing has been set for Dec. 28. Defense attorneys and prosecutors are also recommending a term of life in prison, plus 30 years, according to the plea.

Provocative pro-Palestinian protests outside a Jewish synagogue in Michigan are protected by the Constitution’s First Amendment, a federal court appeals said Wednesday. The court declined to stop the demonstrations or set restrictions in Ann Arbor. The protests have occurred on a weekly basis since 2003, with people holding signs that say “Jewish Power Corrupts,” “Stop Funding Israel” and “End the Palestinian Holocaust.” Members of Beth Israel Congregation, including some Holocaust survivors, said the protests have interfered with their Saturday worship and caused emotional distress. “But the congregants have not alleged that the protesters ever blocked them from using their synagogue or that the protests were even audible from inside the building,” Judge Jeffrey Sutton said.

Thousands of Jews joined the Yom Kippur tefillos at the main shul in Moscow, the Marina Roscha shul. After Ne’ilah, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, HaRav Berel Lazar, spoke works of hisorerus and and jumped and danced with the mispallelim at the end of the emotional tefillah followed by singing “Napoleon’s” March” as is the Chabad Minhag. The Marina Roscha shul, which has 2,000 seats, is part of the vast Moscow Jewish Public Center, with 7,2000 square meters of spacious rooms, including a library, a concert hall, an art gallery, and many classrooms, where a variety of classes and club meetings are held. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A 16-year-old boy and three other people were detained Thursday in connection with a suspected plan for an Islamic extremist attack on a synagogue in the German city of Hagen, authorities said. The detentions took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, and two years after a deadly attack in another German city on the Yom Kippur holiday. Police cordoned off the synagogue on Wednesday and a worship service planned for the evening was called off. נער בן 16 ממוצא סורי נעצר בחשד לתכנון פיגוע טרור בבית כנסת בהאגן שבגרמניה. מוקדם יותר היום דווח כי נעצרו קבוצה של 4 קיצונים איסלאמיסטים שתכננו ככל הנראה לבצע פיגוע בבית הכנסת בעיר האגן שבגרמניה במהלך יום הכיפורים. pic.twitter.com/YmGc9Kbar2 — ידידיה אפשטיין ‏

Ida Nudel, one of the most prominent activists to campaign for the right of Jews to leave the Soviet Union in the 1970s and ’80s, died in Israel on Tuesday, Israeli media reported. She was 90. Nudel was born in the Soviet Union in 1931 and came to prominence in the 1970s as a leading activist for the rights of jailed Soviet Jews, and as a refusenik — one of thousands banned from leaving the country at the time. Nudel sought permission to leave for 16 years, but Soviet authorities denied her an exit visa on the grounds that she may have heard state secrets while working as an accountant at a state institution. Her sister and family were allowed to emigrate to Israel in 1971, leaving her behind.

Not long before his passing, HaGaon HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman zt”l, who was an enthusiastic supporter of Dirshu’s programs, voiced his feelings about the importance of the Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program when he said, “The Gemara teaches us, ‘We learned in the beis medrash of Eliyahu that one who learns halacha every day is assured a place in Olam Habah, as it says, ‘Halichos olam Lo [the ways of the world are His]’ – do not read the word halichos, but rather halachos.’” Rav Shteinman asked, “Why didn’t the passuk just say the word ‘halachos’?

Drama unfolded on Tuesday night as a large police force gathered on Zonnenfeld Street in the Beis Yisroel neighborhood of Jerusalem in order to tear down the large porch Sukkah of Hagaon HaRav Moshe Brandsdorfer, which had been built with an engineering permit. The Sukkah, which had kicked up a noisy backlash on social media platforms both in Israel and abroad due to its abnormal construction, was built in a way that left more than half of it hanging off of a balcony and over the sidewalk and street. According to reports in the Israeli media and claims made by the owner, the Sukkah has been built in this style for many years and each year is inspected by an engineer to certify its safety.

The situation for Jews in Australia this Rosh Hashanah is unfortunately no different than last year, when minyanim were forbidden. The cities of Melbourne and Sydney are again in lockdown and gatherings are strictly forbidden so minyanim are completely out of the question. But what about tekias shofar? Askanim worked tirelessly to convince Australian authorities to allow an exemption for tekias shofar and at the last minute, the sought-after exemptions were received, Australian Jewish News (AJN) reported. In Sydney, shofar blowing will be allowed at designated outdoor locations.