Over 50,000 people flocked to the Kosel on Monday morning, the second day of Chol Hamoed in Eretz Yisrael, for Birchas Kohanim. Due to the great demand, another Birchas Kohanim ceremony will be held on Wednesday morning. Like every year, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation erected Sukkos at the Kosel plaza for the benefit of the public and one of them has a set of arba minim in it for public use. Hundreds of police officers, Border Guard officers, and volunteers have been deployed throughout Jerusalem, with an emphasis on the Old City area, to ensure visitors’ safety throughout Sukkos.   (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

An Eritrean national was stabbed to death and at least eight others were injured in violent clashes in the city of Netanya on Motzei Shabbos. The murder occurred only days after an Eritrean was murdered in Tel Aviv in a similar brawl and less than a month after 170 were injured in hours-long violent clashes among Eritreans in Tel Aviv after a protest spun out of control. Following the incident, National Security Minister Ben-Gvir stated that “suspects in murder cases will be subject to administrative arrest. As far as I’m concerned, they need to be deported, but if the Supreme Court doesn’t allow it, let the rioters sit in jail.” Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said: “We won’t leave a stone unturned and we won’t close our eyes until we bring those responsible to justice.

President Joe Biden’s campaign has unveiled its initial advertisement taking direct aim at former President Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2024 presidential showdown. Dubbed “Delivers,” this 30-second advertisement, slated for national cable broadcasting and local TV channels in Michigan, critiques Trump on several fronts. These include his tax strategies, the shutting down of manufacturing plants, and purportedly unfulfilled job restoration pledges. Highlighting the inconsistency between Trump’s promises and actions, the advertisement comments, “He says he stands with autoworkers but as president, Donald Trump passed tax breaks for his rich friends while automakers closed their plants, and Michigan faced a decline in manufacturing jobs.

The Supreme Court on Thursday held a second hearing on petitions against the Incapacitation Law, passed as an amendment to a Basic Law in March. Israel’s Basic Laws have never been struck down by the court and the majority of legal scholars believe the Supreme Court does not have the authority to do so. The Supreme Court held a first hearing on the law in August and then issued a temporary injunction against the implementation of the law. Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Thursday slammed the fact that such a hearing is even taking. “The hearing that is taking place today in court is in actuality a hearing on the revocation of the election results.

Chassidish music superstar Motty Steinmetz released a new song on Motzei Yom Kippur based on the words in Yayikrah: “למען ידעו דורותיכם כי בסוכות הושבתי את בני ישראל”. The song was composed by Reb Yitzchak Unger and arranged and produced by Eli Klein and Yitzy Berry. “In honor of Sukkos, Motty and his friends from the Neshama choir, under the direction of Itzik Filmer, worked to bring the Yom Tov atmosphere from Yerushalayim straight to your Sukkah,” the video description states. “The clip is full of simcha and provides a glimpse of the wonderous sukkah of the artist Reb Motti Greenwald.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Groups of teenagers swarmed into stores in several areas of Philadelphia, stuffing plastic bags with merchandise and fleeing, and police arrested 15 to 20 people, authorities said. The flash mob-style ransacking Tuesday night at stores, including Foot Locker, Lululemon and Apple in Center City, followed an earlier peaceful protest over a judge’s decision to dismiss murder and other charges against a Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a driver, Eddie Irizarry, through a rolled-up window. However, the ransacking was not connected to the protest, Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford said at a news conference. “What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists take advantage of a situation and make an attempt to destroy our city,” he said.

A serious bus accident occurred on Route 38 near Beit Shemesh late Wednesday afternoon when a bus overturned. Paramedics are administering medical aid at the scene to about 15 victims, which include a number of children. At least two victims were seriously injured. Police forces have closed off the scene of the accident and traffic inspectors have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident. This is a developing story. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A raging fire seemingly caused by fireworks set off to celebrate a Christian wedding consumed a hall packed with guests in northern Iraq, killing around 100 people and injuring 150 others as authorities warned Wednesday the death toll could still rise. Authorities said that flammable building materials also contributed to the latest disaster to hit Iraq’s dwindling Christian minority. In the fire’s chaotic aftermath, officials offered conflicting death tolls and security officials said they had detained staff at the wedding hall as part of their investigation. The fire happened in the Hamdaniya area of Iraq’s Nineveh province, authorities said. That’s a predominantly Christian area just outside of the city of Mosul, some 335 kilometers (205 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau davened Kol Nidrei in Slobodka Yeshivah, with HaRav Landau standing to the right of the chazzan and HaGaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch to the left. HaRav Landau received the third aliyah and HaRav Hirsch received maftir. Over Yom Yippur, HaRav Landau said a number of times to his talmidim who appeared depressed as they requested a bracha: “You have to be b’simcha. And we trust that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will forgive us in din.” Below is a video of the dancing in Slabodka on Motzei Yom Kippur: (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former White House press secretary under the Trump administration and the current Republican governor of Arkansas, made an appearance on Fox News on Monday. During the interview, she was questioned about her decision not to endorse her former boss, Donald Trump, for the 2024 presidential race. Guest anchor Jacqui Heinrich referred to an Axios article that highlighted Sanders’s neutrality in the presidential primary despite Trump’s strong lead in early polls. Heinrich asked, “So when are you going to endorse somebody for 2024?” Sanders responded by emphasizing her focus on her role as the governor of Arkansas, a position she has held for approximately nine months. She explained, “My focus has been on being governor of Arkansas.