A court in Warsaw ruled Tuesday that two prominent Holocaust researchers must apologize to a woman who claimed her deceased uncle had been slandered in a historical work, citing alleged inaccuracies that suggested the Polish man helped kill Jews during World War II. Lawyers for 81-year-old Filomena Leszczynska argued that the scholars had unfairly harmed her good name and that of her family, violating the honor of the uncle. The family says he saved Jews during the German occupation of Poland during World War II. The District Court in Warsaw did not, however, rule that they should be forced to pay her 100,000 zlotys ($27,000), as her lawyers had demanded. The case has been closely watched because it was expected to set a precedent in the field of Holocaust research.

YWN regrets to inform you of the petirah of HaRav Sheftel Neuberger, zt’l, Sheftel Meir ben Naftoli Halevi, President of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel. Rav Sheftel, z’tl, has been sick for the past year. Rav Neuberger was the son of Rav Naftali Neuberger, z’tl, president of Ner Yisroel for many years. Following Rav Naftali’s death in 2005, Rav Sheftel succeeded his father as president. Rav Sheftel’s devotion to the yeshiva and the Baltimore community as a whole was legendary. He was one of the most well-known and beloved figures in Baltimore’s frum community. He was also famed for his beautiful and inspiring tefillos as a ba’al tefillah. Many people flocked to Ner Yisrael for the Yamim Noraim just to hear Rav Sheftel serve as the Ba’al Tefilloh.

Pakistan is scrambling to manage the fallout from a decision by the country’s Supreme Court to free the Pakistani-British man accused in the 2002 beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl. The Sindh provincial government on Friday filed a review petition, asking the same court to revisit its decision. But even the lawyer for the Pearl family has said a review petition has a slim chance of succeeding because it is heard by the same judges who voted to free Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh. The case appears to have fallen apart because of the contradictory evidence produced during Sheikh’s original trial in 2002 and the decision by the prosecution at the time to try him and three other accused co-conspirators together.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered on Thursday the release of a Pakistani-British man convicted and later acquitted in the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. The court also dismissed an appeal of Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh’s acquittal filed by Pearl’s family and the Pakistani government. A minister in the Sindh province where Sheikh is being held said the government had exhausted all options to keep him locked up — an indication Sheikh could be free within days. The “Supreme Court is the court of last resort,” Murtaza Wahab, Sindh’s law minister, told The Associated Press.

The son of a couple killed in a Pittsburgh synagogue attack that killed 11 worshippers is suing the National Rifle Association, arguing the group’s inflammatory rhetoric led to the violence. Marc Simon, the son of Sylvan and Bernice Simon, filed the wrongful death lawsuit Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court against the NRA, the gunmaker Colt’s Manufacturing Co., and accused shooter, Robert Bowers, news outlets reported. Colt manufactured the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle allegedly used by Bowers. A fourth defendant is the unknown business that sold Bowers the gun. Bowers is charged with killing 11 congregants at the Tree of Life synagogue in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.

The Austrian government on Thursday presented a national strategy on fighting rising anti-Semitism that includes improving the protection of synagogues, improved education about Judaism and stricter prosecution of hate crimes against Jews. The Alpine country’s Europe Minister, Karoline Edtstadler, stressed Austria’s responsibility to fight anti-Semitism regardless of whether it comes from the far right, leftists, immigrants or anybody else, Austrian news agency APA reported. The new measures intend to battle anti-Semitism in all its forms and wherever it expresses itself — from online chat groups to hate speech in corner bars or expressions of hatred against Jews at public protests such as the current rallies against coronavirus regulations, Edtstadler said.

Israel’s Health Ministry issued its daily report regarding Coronavirus statistics in the country. According to the report on Motzei Shabbos, 272 people died of the virus this past week in Israel, 44 of them over the course of the weekend. On Friday, 8,013 people tested positive for the virus. There are currently 1,082 people in serious condition due to the virus in Israeli hospitals, among them are 247 who are on respirators. In addition, the Ministry announced that an additional four cases of the South African strain of the virus have been discovered in Israel, bringing the total number of discovered cases to 12. The virus was found among people who returned from the UAE.

French prosecutors are investigating complaints by Jewish groups in the eastern city of Strasbourg that one or more delivery drivers refused to take orders of kosher food. The Israelite Consistory of the Bas-Rhin region said that two kosher restaurants reported that drivers working for delivery service Deliveroo refused to deliver their food because they didn’t want to deliver to Jews. When the Deliveroo employee arrived at the first restaurant last Thursday, he asked the staff what sort of restaurant it was. When they responded that they sold Israeli food, he said: “I don’t serve Jews” and canceled the order. Later that day, a similar incident occurred in a second kosher restaurant. It is unclear if both incidents involved the same Deliveroo worker.

Israel’s Health Ministry published the statistics of new Covid-19 cases from the weekend. More than 5,433 people tested positive for the virus and an additional 20 people died in hospital as a result of the virus. On Friday, 85,000 tests were conducted and run through laboratories and on Shabbos 40,000 tests were conducted. There are currently 35,000 active cases of the virus in Israel and 561 people are hospitalized in serious condition and 136 on respirators. The total mortality count since the beginning of the disease in Israel is 3,203. A mission from Morocco will be landing in Israel at the beginning of next week in order to further the diplomatic connections between the two countries.

Due to the many medical emergencies and tragedies resulting from laxity around candles and kitchen safety on Chanukah, United Hatzalah of Israel issued a number of safety tips for families to implement in order to avoid situations in which family members, especially young children suffer injuries or worse on the holiday. The recommendations of the organization are as follows: Fire safety: Use a special location and apparatus to light the candles. Many times fires occur due to the use of makeshift menorahs. Please use a proper stable menorah and stable table or shelf and avoid proximity to any flammable items, including remaining oil or other candles, as well as drapes, curtains, books, or clothing.