There is a tremendous crisis brewing, and for some reason, it is not being spoken about. That is, what are thousands of Yeshiva Bochurim and Seminary girls going to be doing in a few weeks from now? We all saw the breaking reports from Israel, that Yeshivas and seminaries will be opening on Rosh Chodesh Elul. While many of the emails from various seminaries were written with glee of the amazing news that the girls can come this year, some Yeshivas – such as the Mir Yerushalayim – wrote their letters with cautionary wording. As it stands right now, going to Eretz Yisroel to learn this Elul won’t be anything close to a picnic in the park.

The Venetian Cafe on Route 42 in South Fallsburg was destroyed by a fire overnight. The fire started at around 3:00AM, and numerous fire departments from around Sullivan County were called to assist in extinguishing the blaze. At 4:30AM, firefighters were still trying to bring the fire under control. The restaurant is a dairy establishment, and is frequented by many people. Fire investigators were requested to the scene to determine what caused the blaze. Catskills Hatzolah was on the scene assisting, but thankfully, there were no injuries reported. The well-known Bordeaux Steakhouse in Flatbush is the same owner as the Venetian Cafe. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Federal militarized officers will remain in Portland until attacks on the U.S. courthouse cease, a top official said Monday after a night of violence. And more officers may soon be on the way. “It is not a solution to tell federal officers to leave when there continues to be attacks on federal property and personnel. We are not leaving the building unprotected to be destroyed by people intent on doing so,” U.S. Attorney Billy Williams told a telephonic news conference. Local and state officials said the federal officers are unwelcome. The mayor of Portland and five other cities appealed Monday to Congress to make it illegal for the federal government to deploy militarized federal agents to cities that don’t want them.

Amid a devastating second wave of the coronavirus in Iran with daily fatalities surging to record numbers, a bris milah was held on Sunday, with Chief Rabbi of Tehran Rav Yehudah Grami serving as the mohel, B’Chadrei Chareidim reported. The capital city of Tehran has been especially hard-hit by the crisis and the government reimposed restrictions in the city on July 18. The bris was held outdoors and in adherence to social distancing regulations. As the second wave has grown in intensity, Rav Grami recently instructed the Jews of Iran to re-close all shuls as he instructed during the first wave of the coronavirus, when a number of Jews passed away as a result of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has instructed Transportation Minister Miri Regev (Likud) to formulate a plan to resume flights from Israel to Greece, Cyprus and other countries with low coronavirus infection rates. Transportation Ministry officials are working on a plan in cooperation with the Health Ministry, the National Security Council (NSC), the Civil Aviation Authority and the National Aviation Network. The plan calls for passengers arriving from “green countries” – those with low coronavirus infection rates to quarantine for five days upon arrival in Israel. Those from “red countries” with high virus infection rates will be required to be tested for the coronavirus and receive a negative result before boarding a flight to Israel.

The IDF thwarted an attempted Hezbollah infiltration into Israel from Lebanon on Monday afternoon, when several terrorists entered a few meters inside Israeli territory across the Blue Line [the international border]. IDF soldiers identified the terrorists and opened fire with machine guns, artillery guns and tanks. The Hezbollah terrorists fled back into Lebanon and according to the IDF spokesperson: “we don’t know their condition.” However, a Channel 12 News report said they had been killed. There were no IDF casualties, the IDF spokesperson confirmed. The IDF closed off roads in the Har Dov area in the wake of the incident and instructed Israeli residents of the north to remain at home. Following the end of the incident, they were given the all-clear to resume normal activity.

A protest in Oakland, California, in support of racial justice and police reform turned violent when a small group of demonstrators wearing helmets and goggles and carrying large signs that doubled as shields set fire to a courthouse, vandalized a police station and shot fireworks at officers, authorities said. About 700 demonstrators participated in what started as a peaceful march Saturday night but then some broke from the larger group and smashed windows, spray-painted graffiti and pointed lasers at officers, said Officer Johnna Watson, an Oakland Police Department spokesperson. Several fires were set in the downtown area, including one at the Alameda County Superior Courthouse that was quickly contained.

President Trump announced Sunday he wouldn’t be throwing out the opening pitch for the New York Yankees next month as he had planned, citing meetings and other work related to the U.S.’s COVID-19 outbreak. In a tweet, Trump said that he would plan to throw out the first pitch at a game later in the MLB’s season, which began last week. “Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th. We will make it later in the season!” he tweeted.

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said Sunday that the next round of coronavirus relief will include $1,200 stimulus payments to Americans and said the Trump administration will lengthen the federal eviction moratorium. “There’s a $1,200 check coming, that’s going to be part of the new package,” Kudlow said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.” The next coronavirus bill from Senate Republicans is set to provide a temporary and reduced extension of unemployment benefits, another round of stimulus checks, liability protection for businesses and funding to help schools restart. The legislation will also include $16 billion in new funds for testing and tax incentives to encourage companies to rehire employees. “The check is there, the reemployment bonus is there.

The IDF is preparing for an imminent attack on Israel’s northern border in the coming days, Yisrael Hayom reported on Sunday. The report follows heightened tensions on the northern border following an airstrike on Damascus last week attributed to Israel which killed Hezbollah member Ali Kamel Mohsen Jawad. On Friday evening, the IDF carried out airstrikes on military targets on Syria in response to fire from Syria toward the Golan Heights on Friday afternoon. Hezbollah wants to attack Israel by sea and is developing methods to do in the future, outgoing commander of the Israel Navy’s Haifa base, Brig. Gen. Gil Aginsky, who retired last week after 32 years of military service, said. In an interview with Yisrael Hayom, Aginsky said that Israel is prepared for the challenge.