The Danish parliament is scheduled to vote on a bill banning bris milah in its next session, a bill filed last month by Simon Emil Ammitzboll-Bille, a former interior minister and leader of the left-wing Forward party, JTA reported. Henri Goldstein, the president of the Jewish Community in Denmark, says that the bill is representative of the “the worst threat to Danish Jews since World War II.” The Chabad shaliach in Copenhagen, Rabbi Yitzi Loewenthal, told JTA that “there’s a risk it will be passed, so this is quite serious.” Bris milah is currently legal throughout the EU. A bill to ban non-medical circumcision in Iceland in 2018 was dropped following international condemnation.

Coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu publicly apologized on Monday for speaking against Hagaon HaRav Chaim Kanivesky regarding his words about coronavirus testing in yeshivos. HaRav Chaim had said that yeshivah bochurim in yeshivas gedolos learning in capsules (who aren’t in contact with high-risk populations or anyone else for that matter) shouldn’t be tested for the coronavirus so as not to cause bittul Torah. Gamzu had stated on a visit to Beitar Illit last that HaRav Chaim’s announcement “is endangering the Chareidi public,” raising the ire of the Chareidi population and calls for Gamzu to resign from his position.

The NYC Health Commissioner has written a letter to Orthodox Jewish media outlets on Sunday night, regarding an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the Jewish communities. As YWN has previously been reporting, there is an uptick in cases in various Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods. While the overwhelming majority of the cases are seeing mild to no symptoms at all, there have been some cases of hospiizations and even some patients in the ICU and on respirators. The following is the full letter by NYC Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi: Dear Colleagues, I am writing to share concerning COVID-19 news that I hope you will convey to your readers in your ongoing coverage. In recent days, we have observed heightened rates of COVID-19 in many neighborhoods with large Orthodox Jewish populations.

Former US envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt announced on Friday that he has joined Eli Rozenberg’s company as an advisor in its quest to acquire El Al. “Delighted to join Aviation Eagles Wings as an advisor to acquire El Al and ensure a secure future,” Greenblatt wrote on Twitter. “We’re in a historical period for Israel and its national airline, with new opportunities for airlines to the UAE and points east. Israel needs and deserves a strong national airline.” Delighted to join Aviation Eagles Wings as an advisor to acquire El Al & ensure a secure future.We're in an historical period for Israel & its national airline, with new opportunities for airlines to the UAE & points east. Israel needs & deserves a strong national airline.

The expected lockdown that was supposed to begin on Monday and effect some 40 cities, with a handful of the larger Chareidi cities included, seems to have changed to nightly curfews and school closures in the same cities that were supposed to be locked down. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has seemingly canceled plans to impose full lockdown and agreed to lesser restrictions in the hopes of curtailing the spread of the coronavirus. The change came following a meeting that Netanyahu had with Chareidi ministers Aryeh Deri (Shas) and Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) and Commissioner of the Coronavirus project Professor Ronni Gamzu.

A significant breakthrough has been made in a potential relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Yisrael Hayom reported on Sunday. An actual normalization deal is not anticipated in the near future due to King Salman’s continued opposition to the move but in the course of the visit of the US delegation headed by White House adviser Jared Kushner last week, an accord between the United State, Israel, and Saudi Arabia was suggested, similar to the Serbia-Kosovo-US-Israel agreement announcement on Friday. US President Donald Trump is expected to invite Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington ahead of the US elections in November, according to a Globes report, quoting a senior Saudi source.

A 40-year-old Chareidi woman from Netivot was killed in a devastating car accident shortly after midnight on Motzei Shabbos. The woman’s husband and teenaged daughter were moderately injured in the accident and the driver of the other vehicle, a Chareidi man in his 60s, was seriously injured. The head-on collision near Netivot occurred between a commercial vehicle and a private car on Highway 293 near Netivot. When emergency responders arrived, they were forced to declare the mother’s death at the scene of the accident. The nifteres was later identifed as Tamar Sheetrit, a’h, 40, a mother of three. She was known in her community as a ba’ales chessed who held weddings in her home for needy couples.

Israel’s Health Ministry recorded 1,493 new coronavirus cases on Sunday morning, a high number in light of the low number of tests performed over the weekend. There are currently 26,062 active cases, with 445 seriously ill patients, of whom 119 are ventilated. The death toll has risen to 1,010. Although Israel continued to suffer through an unprecedented heatwave on Sunday, it was a stormy day from a political perspective, as mayors of four Chareidi cities slammed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for an anticipated lockdown of their cities by the coronavirus cabinet on Sunday night. The mayors of Bnei Brak, Beitar Illit, Elad and Emmanuel sent a letter to Netanyahu threatening to halt all cooperation with the government if lockdowns are imposed on their cities.

An Arab terrorist attempted to stab IDF soldiers at the Ariel Junction in the Shomron on Sunday. The terrorist approached the soldiers, pulled out a knife and attempted to stab the soldiers but was unsuccessful and fled the scene. He was pursued and neutralized by Israeli security forces. Fortunately, there were no injuries to Israeli security forces. The terrorist, who was shot in the leg, was arrested. He received medical treatment and was transferred to security forces for interrogation. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israelis baked in the hottest heat ever recorded on Friday, the hottest in at least 100 years, with the temperature in Jerusalem an unprecedented 109°F (42.8°C) and 120°F (48.9°C) in Eilat. Friday’s record in Jerusalem surpassed Thursday’s record of 107º F ( 42º C), the hottest since June 1942. The temperatures dropped slightly over Shabbos but remained above seasonal averages and the same is expected for Sunday and Monday. Unfortunately, the heat is expected to spike again on Thursday. Tragically, a 19-year-old IDF soldier, Ariel Tzafrir, died after collapsing at a party at the Pura Nature Reserve in Israel’s south on Friday. His death was attributed to a combination of alcohol and drugs and the intense heat.