YWN regrets to inform you of the petirah of Rav Meir Herskowitz zt”l, the longtime rosh yeshiva of Stamford Yeshiva and one of the most brilliant gedolim of our times. He was 89. Rav Meir zt”l was not well for the past number of years and was most recently being treated at Specialty Hospital of Central Jersey (Dr. Lebowitz), located above Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood. A levaya is scheduled to take place in Beth Medrash Govoha at 11:30 am followed by a second levaya at Bais Binyamin (Stamford Yeshiva) in Monsey (51 Carlton Road) at 4 pm, and another at JFK at 7:30 pm, with kevurah to take place on Har Hamenuchos on Tuesday. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Republican Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin has accused Secretary of State Antony Blinken of lying to Congress about his contact with Hunter Biden and more. During an appearance on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Johnson alleged that Blinken had lied during a voluntary 2020 interview to secure his current position in the government. Johnson told host Maria Bartiromo that Blinken lied “boldface” to Congress, including about not emailing Hunter Biden, and suggested that Blinken may have told other lies. Johnson further claimed that Blinken’s wife had contact with Hunter Biden while she was an employee at the State Department, using her private email address as a conduit between her husband and Hunter Biden. “What is interesting, Maria [Bartiromo], and here’s a little news for you.

A video of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressing support for the protests against the Netanyahu government was shown at the protest in Tel Aviv on Motzei Shabbos. Apart from his violation of diplomatic norms by intervening in another country’s internal affairs, Sánchez was acting extremely hypocritically as he had tried to pass similar judicial reform changes in December! Channel 12 News reported that Sanchez’s video came at the request of the Meretz party, who asked the prime minister to speak at the demonstration.

A splendorous asifa took place in Lakewood on Motzei Shabbos to honor the rabbanim of the Lakewood region, impress upon them the critical work of Adirei HaTorah, and to apprise them of the details of the upcoming maamad hatorah that will be taking place on June 4th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The asifa was the second of three critical gatherings being held by Adirei Hatorah ahead of the massive June 4th event, which, like last year’s asifa, is expected to attract more than 20,000 people. A previous event was held for the Roshei Chaburah of BMG, and a future event will be held for representatives of the dozens of shuls in Lakewood, Jackson, Toms River, Manchester, and beyond.

The Supreme Court last week ended Israel’s long-standing policy of only permitting non-Jewish children up for adoption in Israel to undergo Orthodox giyur which is recognized by Israel’s Chief Rabbanut. The ruling came after a 20-year legal battle, with the original petition filed in 2003 by the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism. Proceedings on the case were renewed following the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2021 that people converted by the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel will be recognized as Jewish and can become Israeli citizens through the Law of Return. The State had argued that non-Orthodox giyur would be detrimental to the children as it would make it difficult for them to get married since non-Orthodox giyur is not recognized by the Rabbanut.

A fire broke out at the Spinka Rebbe’s home in Boro Park just before 2 am on Sunday, prompting a large emergency response, including from Boro Park Shomrim whose volunteers heroically saved sifrei torah from the blaze. The fire, which is still under investigation, began at the rebbe’s home on 56th Street between 14th and 15 Avenues, in which the old Spinka Shul is located – and which is still used for minyanim during the weekdays. The bais medrash suffered severe damage and will require major work before reopening. The new Spinka Shul is located next door to the rebbe’s home, but the flames thankfully did not reach it. Following the successful dousing of the fire by the NYFD, the rebbe was treated for minor smoke inhalation, who b”h did not require hospitalization.

In what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind ban, more than a dozen rabbanim and dayanim from the Skver chasidus have signed a strongly worded letter assering the use of AI chatbots. The letter, first released on Thursday, mentions OpenAI, the company behind artificial intelligence marvel ChatGPT, but makes it clear that it is not speaking of only that developer’s products. “The severity of the danger is not yet clear and obvious to everyone,” the letter states, but noting that it poses, in the eyes of the rabbanim, a critical danger to yidden. AI chatbots provide completely unfiltered access to apikorsus, lewd and perverse content, and all the issurim of “lo sasuru acharei levavchem, the kol koreh says.

Like every Motzei Shabbos in recent months, another left-wing protest against the Netanyahu government took place on Motzei Shabbos in Tel Aviv. At the protest, the organizers announced another protest on Thursday – this time, against Chareidim and their plans for a new Chareidi draft law. The protest will be called “National Equality Day – because there is no democracy without equality.” The organizers stated: “The days when one side serves the state and also finances the yeshivos while trying to establish a halachic dictatorship here – are over.” “On National Equality Day we will embark on dozens of protest actions throughout the country, with protests from the Goma intersection [in northern Israel] to Eilat.

Speaking at a campaign stop in Manchester, New Hampshire, Donald Trump said he would be “retiring” his “Crooked Hillary” nickname for Hillary Clinton and instead give the “Crooked” moniker to Joe Biden. “I will be retiring the name ‘Crooked’ from Hillary Clinton,” Trump told the crowd of nearly 2,000 cheering and jeering supporters.

In an address at the Jerusalem Post conference, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis noted that modern Israel is only 75 years old but the Jewish nation is thousands of years old. “The Arabs tried to slay the Jewish State in its infancy,” DeSantis said, praising Israel for maintaining its democracy despite the extreme volatility of the Middle East and threats of annihilation from Iran and its neighbors. “Soon there will come a day when there are no longer any Holocaust survivors alive,” said DeSantis.