Rabbi Younes Hamami Lalehzar, one of the leaders of the Jewish kehilla in Iran, attacked Israel live on Iranian television on Friday and disavowed the State of Israel. He spoke on the Machfel program, one of the most popular television programs in Iran. Beginning his speech in broken Hebrew,  he said: “We are Jews who believe in our holy Torah. We we absolutely do not approve of the Israeli government, what it’s doing in the Holy Land.

Iran has flatly rejected President Donald Trump’s call for renewed nuclear negotiations, spurning a chance to avert escalating tensions and testing the limits of America’s patience. The rejection, announced by Tehran on Sunday, comes in response to a stern letter from Trump demanding that Iran return to the negotiating table to address its illicit nuclear ambitions—or face the full weight of U.S. economic and military might. President Trump had warned Iran earlier this week that failure to engage in talks would trigger secondary tariffs and potentially unprecedented military action. “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing. And it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before,” Trump declared, as reported by NBC’s Kristen Welker.

Klal Yisroel has suffered a tremendous loss with the petirah of HaRav Moshe Gedalia Schwab zt”l, the Rosh Yeshiva of Degel HaTorah/Mesivta Maamar Mordechai in Monsey. The Rosh Yeshiva was niftar over Shabbos at NYU Hospital in Manhattan after battling illness for the past several years. HaRav Schwab zt”l was a son of “The Tzaddik of Monsey,” HaRav Mordechai Menachem Schwab zt”l, who had been the mashgiach at Mesivta Bais Shraga. Carrying forward the legacy of his father, the Rosh Yeshiva was known for his hasmadah, his fiery dedication to Torah, and his deep love for his talmidim. Under his leadership, his yeshiva flourished, producing bnei Torah who carried his teachings with them wherever they went.

Three Uzbek nationals have been sentenced to death in the United Arab Emirates for the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan hy”d, a 28-year-old Chabad shliach in November 2024. The convicted individuals, identified as Olimpi Toirovich, 28, Makhmudjon Abdurakhim, 28, and Azizbek Kamlovich, 33, were arrested shortly after the murder in a coordinated operation involving Turkish intelligence and UAE authorities. The trio was apprehended in Istanbul, Turkey, and extradited to the UAE to face trial. Emirati officials confirmed the arrests in November 2024, releasing photographs of the suspects in custody and announcing the initiation of legal proceedings.

A stunning new report has revealed that the classified U.S. airstrike plans leaked in a high-level group chat—including details accidentally exposed to a journalist—were based on Israeli intelligence gathered from a human source in Yemen, according to the Wall Street Journal. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited two senior U.S. officials, Israeli intelligence played a direct role in identifying the senior Houthi figure targeted in the March 15 U.S. airstrike. The new revelations add a volatile international dimension to what is already being called one of the most reckless national security breaches in recent memory.

The Justice Department has dismantled a sophisticated financial network funneling money to Hamas, seizing approximately $201,400 in cryptocurrency in the process. This seizure is part of a larger effort to choke off the financial lifelines sustaining the terrorist organization, which has laundered over $1.5 million in virtual currency since October 2024. The crackdown targeted Hamas’ cryptocurrency fundraising apparatus, which relied on an encrypted messaging platform to solicit global donations. According to court documents, supporters were directed to contribute funds to at least 17 cryptocurrency addresses.

A Palestinian Authority Arab living in Israel illegally who is suspected of involvement in the bus bombing attempts in Bat Yam last month was arrested several days later at a branch of the Golda ice cream chain in Bat Yam, Israel Police revealed on Thursday. The suspect was working at the store illegally, without a work permit, and was unsupervised, Ynet reported. His employer paid him in cash. According to court documents, officers went to the store four days after the attack and found the terrorist alone at the scene. Police said that it wasn’t the first time the franchise owner had employed illegal Palestinians and had previously been questioned over similar violations.

A shocking new report from the Pew Research Center has laid bare the heartbreaking reality of Jewish disaffiliation in America, where nearly one in four Jews raised as Jewish having abandoned their religious identity. The findings point to a troubling erosion of Yiddishkeit in the United States, raising urgent concerns about the future of Jewish continuity outside of ultra-Orthodox communities. The study, which surveyed nearly 37,000 Americans and over 41,000 individuals across 35 other countries, found that just 76% of American Jews continue to identify as Jewish, while a staggering 24% have drifted away. Of those, 17% now classify themselves as religiously unaffiliated.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unveiled one of its underground “missile cities” to state media on Wednesday, further inflaming tensions with the West over its nuclear ambitions and expanding missile capabilities. The unveiling, broadcast across Iranian media, featured an unmistakable symbol of Tehran’s hostility toward Israel—an Israeli flag placed on the ground for officials and personnel to trample, a deliberate act of provocation against the Jewish state. Leading the grand display were Iran’s top military brass, including Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri and IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

In yet another politically tainted move, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Isman on Wednesday approved a police probe into three right-wing government members, Likud MK Nissim Vaturi, Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit), and Otzma Yehudit MK Tzvi Sukkot, regarding their break-in into the Sde Teiman base eight months ago. On July 29, 2024, masked military police raided the Sdei Teiman base and arrested nine reservists for the alleged abuse of a Nukhba terrorist. The main charge of sodomy was later proven to be completely unfounded but not before the public arrest caused untold damage to Israel.