Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, shortly after he landed in Washington D.C. on Sunday. According to a photo, President Donald Trump joined the meeting, two days before Netanyahu’s official meeting with the President at the White House, which is scheduled for this evening (Tuesday) at 6 p.m. However, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday confirming Netanyahu’s meeting with Musk did not mention Trump. David Sacks, the chairman of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, was also present at the meeting.

Just last night, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Wolosow Z”L a shliach who directed adult education at Chabad of Manalapan, stood on stage at a major concert, singing alongside Avraham Fried in a powerful moment of inspiration. He sang the words from Tehillim (42:3): Tzama Nafshi “When will I come and appear before Hashem?” – a chilling verse in hindsight. The crowd applauded, and Fried was visibly moved by his voice. Today, heartbreakingly, he is no longer with us. Rabbi Wolosow Z”L, a dedicated Chabad Shliach in New Jersey, passed away suddenly on Monday, 5 Shvat 5785, at the age of 43. He was known for his warmth, kindness, and commitment to teaching and inspiring others.

The Trump administration and billionaire ally Elon Musk moved to shutter an agency that they claimed provides “crucial aid” to fund “education and fight starvation overseas”, sparking a showdown with Democrats who blasted the effort as illegal and vowed a court fight. In one of the most dramatic efforts to push back on President Trump’s bid to slash and reshape the federal government, some Democrats sought Monday to enter the agency’s headquarters. They were blocked by officers from even broaching the lobby, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he was the acting administrator of the agency despite it being an independent body for six decades.

This winter is on the way to being one of Israel’s driest in a century, with the rainfall only 55% of the average precipitation for this time of year, Israel’s Water Authority stated this week. The Kinneret’s water level has risen only two centimeters this winter and flow levels in the Jordan River are the lowest recorded since 1960, a spokesperson for the authority said. Weather forecasters are predicting heavy rain this Wednesday and Thursday but according to the Water Authority’s statement, the 50 millimeters of expected rain is not enough to change the picture. Yechezkel Lifshitz, the head of the authority, said: “We are experiencing one of the driest precipitation seasons recorded in Israel in the past 100 years.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has expressed confidence that the U.S. deficit can be reduced by $1 trillion in the coming year, arguing that such a move would have significant economic benefits for Americans. “I think we can take a trillion dollars out of the deficit next year,” Musk said, highlighting the urgency of addressing the country’s current $2 trillion shortfall. He noted that the deficit far exceeds economic growth and suggested that cutting it in half—down to $1 trillion—could have a stabilizing effect on inflation. “If we can get the deficit in half, from $2 trillion to $1 trillion, and we can get economic growth to match that $1 trillion growth in the money supply, that means there will be no inflation,” he explained.

United Airlines will restart flights between New York and Tel Aviv on March 18, a source told *Globes*. While the airline had considered resuming service earlier, it opted to delay until mid-March. Tickets are not yet available for purchase. United will be the first U.S. carrier to resume Israel flights, with Delta set to follow on April 1 with seven weekly flights. Before the war, United operated 28 weekly flights from Tel Aviv, including 14 to New York and others to Chicago, Washington, and San Francisco. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Chazzan Bentzion Miller Z”L, one of the greatest and most prestigious Chazzanim in the world in the past 45 years. He was 77. Reb Bentzion, a longtime resident of Boro Park, was born in a displaced persons (DP) camp in Ferenwald, Germany. Like his father Reb Aharon Daniel Z”L, he eventually became a Shochet, Mohel and a Chazzan, and was from a family of Bobover Chassidim. He held held positions in Montreal at Sheves Achim Synagogue on Côte-des-Neiges, then in Toronto at Shaarei Tefillah Synagogue on Bathurst Street, in Canada.

Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, the head of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate, provided data on Chareidi recruitment efforts during a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, revealing that 461 out of 3,000 bnei yeshivos who received recruitment orders actually showed up at the enlistment offices, “with the number rising all the time.” The data refers to recruitment orders issued in July 2024. Tayeb added that the IDF sent arrest warrants to 1,212 bnei yeshivos and will soon issue another 1,242. The data shows that only one in six recipients of draft orders in the Chareidi sector has complied with the process. As a result, the IDF aims to issue 30,000 recruitment orders in order to meet the target of 4,800 recruits per year.

A 35-year-old avreich was critically injured on Monday morning when his car collided with a bus in Beitar Illit. Fire and Rescue Services called to the scene extricated the avreich, who was trapped in the car, and transferred him to emergency medical services, who began resuscitation efforts and evacuated him to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in critical condition while continuing efforts to revive him. The force of the collision shattered the bus’s windows. Seven bus passengers were evacuated from the scene to Hadassah and Shaare Tzedek Hospitals in light condition.

A new survey conducted for the Sovereignty Movement reveals strong Israeli public opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, particularly in the wake of the October 7th massacre. The poll also highlights significant support for Israeli sovereignty initiatives and the voluntary emigration of Gaza residents, a plan recently proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. According to the survey, 71% of Israelis oppose the creation of a Palestinian state following the events of October 7. Breaking down the numbers: 59% were always opposed and maintain their stance. 12% previously supported a Palestinian state but have since changed their position. 25% still support Palestinian statehood. Only 4% were previously opposed but now support it.