Highly credible sources tell YWN that there is a meeting taking place right now (2:30PM Friday afternoon) at NYC Hall to address the recent attacks against Jews in New York City. Attending the meeting are Mayor DeBlasio, top NYPD officials, as well as leaders of major Jewish Organizations and congregations. Agudath Israel of America has tweeted that they will be holding a press conference outside City Hall at around 3:30PM. Attending the event are Rabbi David Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, Mr. Sol Werdiger, Chairman of Agudath Israel’s Board of Trustees, Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, director of New York government affairs of Agudath Israel of America, Mr. Chaskel Bennett, member of Agudath Israel’s Board of Trustees and others.

More than two dozen people were arrested as pro-Israel and Palestinian demonstrators clashed in New York City’s Times Square and police were investigating the gang assault of a Jewish man as a hate crime, police said Friday. The melee on Thursday evening resulted in 26 arrests on charges including obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, unlawful assembly, disorderly conduct and criminal possession of a weapon, according to city police. Also, the department’s Hate Crime Task Force said it was investigating the assault of a Jewish man in Times Square on Thursday evening. A video posted to social media purporting to show the attack shows a group of people striking and kicking what appears to be a person down on the street.

A coronavirus outbreak was identified on Thursday in a nursing home in Ra’anana, with 18 residents testing positive for the virus. One resident has died and three others were hospitalized in serious condition. All of the residents have been vaccinated. The Health Ministry is now investigating whether the residents were infected with the original coronavirus or a mutated coronavirus variant. An outbreak was also identified in the town of Efrat in Gush Etzion. According to local reports, a family who chose not to get vaccinated contracted the virus and the family’s children subsequently spread the virus to other children at school. The Education Ministry reported that there are currently seven teachers and 169 students who are positive for the coronavirus.

Demonstrations that brought out both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian supporters to midtown Manhattan on Thursday led to some tense confrontations, with police saying multiple arrests had been made. There was no information on the number of arrests or the circumstances, but video clips posted to social media showed some punches being thrown before police stepped in and created space and barriers between the two sides. Other videos showed what appears to be Hamas terrorists – dressed in Palestinian Kafiya’s and driving in the back of a pickup truck – in the nearby Diamond District, where Jewish store owners have had a longstanding presence. In one video, people could be seen scrambling to get some distance after an explosive device was lobbed at Jews.

A frum woman in London was driving to a friend’s home this week from her home in Hendon when two cars with Palestinian flags rammed into the back of her car, Jewish News reported. The woman’s four-year-old son, who was wearing a bright blue yarmulke, was strapped in the back seat at the time. “As I came to the top of the road I noticed two cars with huge Palestinian flags on their bonnet,” the woman, who chose not to be named, told Jewish News. “I turned right and both cars started to chase me down the road and rammed into the back of my car. “As I approached the light I put my foot on the accelerator and sped through a red light, trying to make my way through the traffic. I turned into my friend’s road, but the cars continued to chase me.

According to a report in Al-Jazeera, Israel has informed the Egyptian mediator that they are willing to unilaterally cease-fire against Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. The Al Arabiya news site said that Egypt is expected to send inspectors to make sure that the truce is observed. Hamas officials also indicated to Arab media that a ceasefire with Israel is expected to take effect on Friday. As of Thursday evening, the terror groups continue to fire large barrages of rockets at Israel. Previously, the former head of IDF military intelligence Amos Yadlin estimated that no official cease-fire would be reached as neither side would agree to the demands of the other. Yadlin told Channel 12 news that instead, both sides will likely halt fire in a non-formal truce.

An anti-tank missile launched by Hamas on Thursday morning hit an empty bus near the Gaza border area, lightly injuring a soldier nearby who was hit by shrapnel. He was evacuated to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for treatment. Later on Thursday, Meir Vaknin, the driver of the bus told Reshet Bet about the great miracle that had occurred – 30 soldiers had gotten off the bus literally seconds before the missile hit. “I let off the soldiers, turned around, and then it hit,” Vaknin said. “The entire vehicle shook, it was a miracle.” “About 30 soldiers got off a few seconds earlier.

Longtime Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera continued to blast Israel and demand a ceasefire in two segments. One of them resulted in a screaming match Wednesday night with conservative pundit Dan Bongino on Sean Hannity’s program. Hours earlier, Rivera went on Martha MacCallum’s show to tell the world that he U.S. is complicit in an “ongoing crime against humanity”. Martha MacCallum kicked off her Fox News segment Wednesday by saying to Rivera, “It sounds like you are sympathetic to [Congresswoman Rashida] Talib’s argument here.” “I am indeed, Martha,” Rivera responded. He directly said it’s “outrageous” that the United States “gave Israel these hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons without insisting on a ceasefire now.” Rivera went on to again criticize U.S.

In a long-held minhag, the Shabbos after Shavuos is an off-Shabbos in Israeli yeshivos, with thousands of yeshivah bochurim heading home for the first time since Pesach. However, this year, due to the serious security situation in Eretz Yisrael, the Gedolei Yisrael have instructed the Vaad HaYeshivos that all bochurim should remain in their yeshivos this coming Shabbos.

Eli Beer, the director of United Hatzalah, was interviewed by Kikar H’Shabbat on the tragedy that occurred in the Karlin-Stolin shul on Erev Shavuos. Beer spoke about the difficult moment when he updated the Stoliner Rebbe about the situation. “It was one of my most difficult moments. I don’t know the Rebbe personally but I know the great value and caution he places on human life. I entered the room and informed him about the situation. The Rebbe simply burst into tears.” “I stood there and the Rebbe was crying. I told him that there are two fatalities and over 130 injured – at that point we didn’t know that it was actually over 200. He simply cried and I didn’t know what to do.” “I also broke down.