Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) is still waiting for a response from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding his inquiry into the ongoing suspension of flights to Israel by U.S. airlines. Molinaro, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, requested clarification from FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker on whether the agency had advised or encouraged airlines to halt flights to Israel. The congressman set a deadline of Sept. 6 but has yet to receive a reply. “With no answers and Jewish travelers left in limbo, there’s a growing perception that the FAA and Department of Transportation are involved in anti-Israel politics. They fear this is a boycott,” Molinaro said in a statement to Jewish Insider.

A tech billionaire performed the first private spacewalk hundreds of miles above Earth on Thursday, a high-risk endeavor reserved for professional astronauts — until now. Tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman teamed up with SpaceX to test the company’s brand new spacesuits on his chartered flight. The daring spacewalk also saw SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis going out once Isaacman was safely back inside. This spacewalk was simple and quick — less than two hours — compared with the drawn-out affairs conducted by NASA. Astronauts at the International Space Station often need to move across the sprawling complex for repairs, always traveling in pairs and lugging gear. Station spacewalks can last seven to eight hours.

In an operation over the past week, IDF Forces from the 162nd Division have eliminated more than 200 Hamas terrorists in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah. The 401st Brigade, known for its precision and intelligence-based tactics, carried out these missions, uncovering extensive weaponry hidden in civilian structures, revealing the brutal tactics of Hamas. During one particularly intense confrontation, Hamas terrorists attacked IDF troops from inside a civilian building. The IDF soldiers swiftly responded, conducting a targeted raid on the structure, neutralizing the attacker. Upon further investigation, the troops discovered a large stockpile of weapons in the building’s basement, exposing the terrorists’ use of civilian areas to launch their brutal attacks.

The incitement in Israel against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has reached new heights in recent days, with left-wing provocateurs repeatedly calling him a “murderer” in the wake of the executions of the six hostages in Gaza last week. Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf complained about the incitement in the Cabinet meeting this week, saying that people who call Netanyahu a murderer should be imprisoned. He also slammed opposition leader Yair Lapid who claimed that Netanyahu was responsible for the murders. National Unity chairman Benny Gantz spoke at the Israel Bar Association in Tel Aviv on Tuesday and referred to the incitement against Netanyahu. “I would like to state the obvious here – Netanyahu is not a murderer and I condemn the incitement against him,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged a “strong reaction” to the deaths of six hostages whose bodies were found in Gaza over the weekend, stating that Israel plans “to hurt Hamas in a way Israel hasn’t done before,” according to an Israeli official. “The intention of the PM now is to hurt Hamas in a way Israel hasn’t done before,” the official told CNN.

Hamas has issued a stark warning, stating that Israeli hostages held in Gaza will return “inside coffins” if Israel attempts to free them through military action rather than negotiating a deal. In a statement released by the militant group, which controls Gaza, Hamas claimed its fighters guarding the hostages in the Palestinian enclave have received “new instructions” on how to handle the situation if Israeli forces approach. The group also released an illustrated poster apparently depicting hostages being threatened with a gun.

Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, in its neverending efforts to singlehandedly rule the country, ordered Justice Minister Yariv Levin to convene the Judicial Selection Committee “in the coming days” in order to elect a new Supreme Court president and two new justices or they will issue a ruling on the matter on September 1. Following former Supreme Court President Esther Hayut’s resignation in October 2023, a long-standing dispute developed between Justice Minister Yariv Levin and the Supreme Court regarding the appointment of a new president. Traditionally, the next most senior justice becomes president. However, there is no law mandating this. The next most senior justice, Yitzchak Amit, is a liberal, and Levin wanted to prevent his appointment as president.

Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi, 52, the first Israeli hostage to be rescued alive from a tunnel, looked gaunt after being released from 326 days in captivity on Tuesday. He was rescued from a tunnel in southern Gaza, where he was held alone. However, doctors at Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva say that although he lost a lot of weight, he is in good condition. Al-Qadi, who has two wives and 11 children, held emotional reunions with his family members, including his one-year-old son, who was an infant when he was abducted. Qadi’s relatives, who didn’t even know until today if he was still alive, said that he “ate mainly bread in captivity and not every day. But he is on his feet and he’s coherent. He was constantly thinking about the family and never stopped believing that he would get out of there.

The same Iranian hacking group believed to have targeted both the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns tried to go after the WhatsApp accounts of staffers in the administrations of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Meta Platforms said Friday. Meta said it discovered the network of hackers, who posed as tech support agents for companies including AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo and Google, after individuals who received the suspicious WhatsApp messages reported them. Meta’s investigators linked the activity to the same network blamed for the hacking incident reported by Trump’s campaign. The FBI this week said a hack by Iran of the Trump campaign and an attempted breach of the Biden-Harris campaign was part of a broader Iranian effort to interfere with the U.S.

Agudath Israel hosted an event on the sidelines of the DNC in Chicago bringing together elected officials and stakeholders from federal, state, and local government including, Senator Debby Stabenow (D- Michigan), NJ Governor Phil Murphy, NJ Congressman Josh Gottheimer, NY Congressman Pat Ryan, Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiss, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, and numerous state and local officials from across the country to highlight the alarming rise of antisemitism and the growing electoral strength of Orthodox Jewish community. Agudah Chairman Shloime Werdiger opened the jammed packed event with a straightforward explanation: “The Jewish people are living though very trying times.