The Satmar community was in mourning on Friday, when word spread of the Petira of their beloved Rosh Hakuhal in Williamsburg. Reb Meyer Rispler Z”L (70), served as the Rosh Hakuhal (President) of the Satmar Kehillah in Williamsburg (Chassidim of Rav Aharon Teitelbaum Shlita). He contracted COVID-19 in late September, and was hospitalized. He was then placed on a ventilator, and R”L never recovered. The Niftar was a tremendous Baal Chesed and Baal Tzedakah, and was the CEO of a large accounting firm, Mayer Rispler & Co. His Chesed was far reaching, helping Tzedakos and Mosdos around the world that didn’t necessarily have any affiliation with Satmar.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of the Glogover Rebbe, HaRav Aryeh Leibish Rubin ZATZAL. He was 67. The Rebbe contracted COVID-19 in March, and was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator at the time. He unfortunately never recovered, was placed on dialysis, and was in and out of the hospital. He was Niftar at his home on Friday morning. The Rebbe served as a Menahel at the Spinka Cheder in Boro Park for more than 40 years. The Levaya was held on Friday morning at his Bais Medrash on 1814 55th Street. Boruch Dayan HaEmmes… (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Hisachudus HaRabbanim (CRC), originally founded by the Satmar Rov (Divrei Yoel) ZATZAL, published a pubic announcement on Thursday condemning the recent protests in Boro Park in the strongest terms and calling to adhere to all health regulations, including the wearing of masks. “The difficult situation we’re facing recently is well-known, with the coronavirus spreading and many succumbing to it,” the Rabbanim stated. “We hope to Hashem Yisbarach, the Healer of the sick, that we won’t suffer further tzaar but it is from Hashem that recently the virus has begun to spread anew. The government published strict warnings regarding several frum neighborhoods and ordered the closing of shuls and Torah institutions and the restriction or closure of businesses.

I was originally hesitant to write this letter however I decided that I can’t watch what’s currently taking place in religious neighborhoods and remain silent. If for no other reason at all, I’ll be able to say ”Yadai loi shufach es hadam hazeh”. The Coronavirus is child’s play when compared to the potential devastation that is silently growing and metastasizing by the day. This new catastrophe cannot be cured by Remdesivir or any other legend drug. Furthermore the antidote would not be social distancing as from what I understand from 70+ years ago, there was no social distancing or masks in the gas chambers! It is irrelevant that President Trump moved the American embassy to Jerusalem and helped Jews in other ways, we Yidden are putting ourselves in a bigger Makom Sakana every day.

The Admor of Karlin-Stolin, HaRav Baruch Meir Yaakov Shochet, blasted those who do not adhere to the Coronavirus guidelines for their actions in a recorded conversation that was sent to members of the Chassidus. The Rebbe, who himself was recently released from the hospital after having contracted the disease, has been one of the only Admorim to have instructed his community to strictly observe coronavirus health instructions since the beginning of the crisis. The Rebbe added that parts of the Chareidi community were ignoring the “simple” and “foundational” Jewish principle of saving lives, and said he was astonished at such “contempt” for the lives of others, especially from the Chassidic community.

As he promised to do, NY Governor Cuomo signed a new “Executive Order” to withhold funds from private schools (Yeshivas) that are open in COVID-19 “Red Zones”. On a media conference call on Wednesday morning, Cuomo went hard on the Yeshivas and warned private school operators to not suddenly announce they’re operating as “day care centers” instead. Those have separate regulations and licensing and the state will enforce that as well. “If schools are operating it’s easy enough to find out,” Cuomo said, citing two recent news reports about yeshivas operating despite restrictions imposed last week.

A chaotic situation unfolded on Wednesday afternoon, as the media showed up to a prominent Yeshiva which they thought was open. Multiple news outlets were outside the building with cameras hoping to catch children exiting at dismissal. YWN has no knowledge if this Yeshiva was even open today. Meanwhile, a massive group of angry local residents – including dozens of children – began screaming at the reporters to leave the community and stop targeting them. Nearly all of them were wearing masks. A video by BoroPark24 captured the scene, as children yelled “NAZI” and “ANTI-SEMITE” and other obscenities at the reporters. Instead of capturing footage of children in a yeshiva against the Governor’s executive order, the media was given plenty of footage of the crowd yelling at them.

On Wednesday night, police officers and border police officers carried out a sting operation in a home in the town of Givat Ze’ev after they were told by neighbors that dozens of people were congregating inside and were breaking the Health Ministry Regulations. In videos that have surfaced from the incident, a grown man is seen lying on the ground bloodied and being held down by the police. Another man was also seen to be bleeding due to a severe cut caused by broken glass. Family members were screaming and shouting at the officers, “Look what you have done to him.” As more images surfaced it became clear that the incident was a private wedding that was taking place in someone’s backyard.

New York state will withhold funding from local governments that fail to enforce closures and social distancing in “red zone” hotspots, as well as from schools in those hotspots that refuse to shutter, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday. “Ramapo, Spring Valley, Orange, Rockland, we need real enforcement,” Cuomo said. “I can’t do what I did on bars and restaurants and take it over.” Cuomo specifically cited yeshivas still open and religious gatherings still taking place in violation of the rules imposed last week in six small geographic areas where there have been spikes in coronavirus cases. “If schools are operating it’s easy enough to find out,” Cuomo said, citing two recent news reports about yeshivas operating despite restrictions imposed last week.

IDF soldiers crossed the border into the demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria and destroyed two Syrian military posts as a warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad for infiltrating his forces on the Golan Heights, Channel 12 News reported. The covert cross-border operation, which was carried out last week but was only made known to the public on Tuesday evening, follows repeated violations by Syria of the 1974 disengagement agreement that designated a demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria to be solely occupied by the Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), a special UN force.