New Jersey will lift its indoor mask mandate for people vaccinated against COVID-19 beginning on Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday. The announcement comes about a week after Murphy, a Democrat, rejected similar mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying he wanted “more time on the clock” for people to get vaccinated. Also on Friday, the state is lifting the requirement for maintaining 6 feet at all indoor and outdoor businesses such as restaurants, retail stores, gyms and casinos. New Jersey had been an outlier, with neighboring Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania aligning with the CDC soon after its advice came out. The state’s vaccination rates have been climbing, with Murphy pledging to fully inoculate 70% of the population by June 30.

Thanks to incredible NYPD Detective work, one out of three suspects in hate crimes that occurred in Boro Park and Flatbush this past Shabbos have been taken into custody. Highly credible sources told YWN that one of the suspects turned himself into the NYPD’s 66th Precinct, where Detectives from the Hate Crimes Task Force were waiting for him. An additional two  suspects are expected to be arrested. As YWN reported, two hate crimes took place on Shabbos afternoon. The first was on Ocean Parkway and 18th Avenue, when two Yeshiva boys were attacked by a group of three teens who were driving a Toyota Camry.

Thanks to a fast response by the NYPD and Flatbush Shomrim, a violent anti-Semite was arrested outside a Flatbush Shul on Monday night. The incident unfolded at around 9:30PM, when an approximately 20-year-old black man allegedly walked up to a Shul on East 27th Street and Avenue S, and began shouting anti-Semitic slurs, and attempted to gain access to the premises. The suspect was immediately confronted by a Federal Agent (U.S. Customs / Border Patrol) who was Davening in the Shul, and was told to go away. The suspect responded by punching the security guard in the face. The suspect also assaulted another bystander, all while screaming anti-Semitic slurs. Police and Shomrim were called who both responded in seconds – thanks to a massive deployment in the area.

Police arrested a 25-year-old man Monday accused of knocking a Jewish man to the ground and assaulting him with a group of others. Faisal Elezzi and several others allegedly surrounded Joseph Borgen on Broadway on Thursday, then punched, kicked and pepper sprayed him, police said. Borgen was also hit with crutches. Elezzi was charged with assault as a hate crime, menacing as a hate crime and aggravated harassment as a hate crime. Police previously arrested Waseem Awawdeh on charges of assault as a hate crime, gang assault, menacing and criminal possession of a weapon. The NYPD was still looking for several others in connection with the incident on Monday night.

Rabbi Mendy Steiner saya he was the victim of a hate crime in NYC. He was on his way to work around 10:30 a.m. Friday at his office on 39th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan when he says a man on a bicycle verbally assaulted him. “He pulled out an Israeli flag and he said to me ‘you see, they’re killing my innocent children, you’re killing my innocent children, and I’m going to kill you,’ those are the words he said to me,” Rabbi Mendy Steiner said. Steiner ran into the nearby Chase Bank for help only for the man on the bike to follow him inside. The rabbi said some of the bank employees rushed to his aid and called 911. Rabbi Steiner returned to the Garment District on Monday to bring a platter of food to the Chase Bank where he sought refuge Friday.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio promised a return to normal for the nation’s largest public school system on Monday as he announced that classrooms will open for in-person instruction in September with no remote option. “It’s time for everyone to come back,” said de Blasio, a Democrat. “It’s time for us all to be together. It’s time to do things the way they were meant to be done. All the kids in the classroom together getting a great education from educators who care, staff members who care.” De Blasio said the roughly 1 million students who attend traditional public schools will be in their classrooms with some version of the coronavirus protocols that have been in place in the current academic year, including mask wearing and COVID-19 testing.

The New York State Police will ramp up patrols outside synagogues and in Jewish neighborhoods amid a spate of anti-Semitic attacks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. Jewish schools and religious facilities in New York City, on Long Island and in Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties will see increased patrols, Cuomo said in a press release. The increase in security “follows an increase in tensions caused by the recent Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the release said. “Anti-Semitic violence and intimidation is antithetical to the promise and purpose of New York state, and we will not tolerate it in any form,” Cuomo said in a statement.

Thanks to a fast response by Flatbush Shomrim, a hate crime suspect was taken into custody moments ago. Sources tell YWN that the NYPD and Flatbush Shomrim were on alert looking for a woman who was caught on security cameras writing “Free Palestine” on numerous construction sites in Flatbush. A large contingency of Police and Shomrim were canvassing the area of East 24th Street and Avenue L looking for the suspect, after multiple eye-witnesses called Shomrim on Monday reporting they had seen the women. Shomrim eventually found her on Bedford Avenue between K and L, and thanks to a 30 second response by dozens of NYPD officers who have been flooding the area, she was taken into custody without incident.

After recent security incidents in NYC in the aftermath of the Gaza war, the Flatbush Shomrim & FJCC coordinated with the NYPD to deploy officers at strategic locations in the Flatbush community, including at Yeshiva dismissals. The FJCC thanks the NYPD Brooklyn South Borough commanders and Lt. Yitzy Jablon Commander of PBBS Community affairs, the 61, 63, 66 and 70 Police Precinct commanders; our partners at Flatbush Shomrim; and in particular NYPD liaison Yehuda Eckstein for spearheading the effort. We appreciate the guidance and feedback from many Rabbonim and shul leaders as we work in unison to insure our community is safe. We will continue this important work to keep our community’s safe. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

After recent security incidents in NYC in the aftermath of the Gaza war, the Flatbush Shomrim & the FJCC coordinated with the NYPD to deploy officers at strategic locations in the Flatbush community, including at Yeshiva dismissals. Police were visible all over the community, as resources were brought in from other parts of the city. YWN was inundated with reports of police cars at Yeshivas around the area during dismissal, as officers stood by to ensure the safety of the tens of thousands of Yeshiva children.