Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said his company is nearly finished with putting together an application to the FDA to authorize a fourth doze of its COVID-19 shot, which he says is needed to keep hospitalizations down. “Clearly there is a need in an environment of omicron to boost the immune response,” Bourla told CNBC. The Pfizer CEO said that protection from the first booster shot appears to wane against omicron after about three or four months, so a fourth dose is likely necessary. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Former prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu released a video on social media on Sunday addressed to “every American family.” “The desperate rush to sign this flawed nuclear agreement with Iran is not only absurd, it’s downright dangerous,” Netanyahu said. “Yesterday, Iran fired missiles in the vicinity of the American consulate in Iran. And the US continues to charge ahead along with the other powers to sign a nuclear agreement that will give the ayatollahs a nuclear arsenal.

Former President Trump took aim on Saturday at the media’s obsession over his tenure that the president’s personality would get the US into war. “Under my leadership, America was feared by our enemies and we were respected by all the fake news. They are fake,” Trump said at a rally in South Carolina. “The fake news said my — you know when I first started in politics have to say that they had a very high approval rating. Now they have an approval rating that’s lower than Congress. Isn’t that nice? So we got the point across.” “The fake news said my personality would get us into a war. I’m telling you, that guy’s going to get us into a war, but actually my personality is what kept us out of war,” he said.

As many as 12 missiles struck near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Sunday, in what a U.S. defense official and an Iraqi official said was a strike launched from neighboring Iran. No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries. The Iraqi official in Baghdad initially said several missiles had hit the U.S. consulate in Irbil and that it was the target of the attack. Later, Lawk Ghafari, the head of Kurdistan’s foreign media office, said none of the missiles had struck the U.S. facility but that areas around the compound had been hit.

Sifrei Torah in Uman and Kyiv were evacuated to secure locations out of fear of possible looting or theft as the war continues to rage across Ukraine. In Uman last week, United Hatzalah representatives gathered the Sifrei Torah and transferred them to safes and secure rooms where they will remain until the danger passes. In Kyiv, Rav Moshe Azman removed the Sifrei Torah from the historical Brotzky shul about a week ago to protect them from Russian bombings, fire, and possible looting or theft. Rav Azman has been providing shelter for thousands of Jews and some non-Jews in the town of Anatevka, west of Kyiv. He has also arranged secure convoys and rescue flights, evacuating thousands of Jews from Ukraine to its borders and then to Israel and other countries.

UKRAINE – A tank emblazoned with a giant Z backs up clumsily in the besieged city of Mariupol, crashing into destroyed buses before letting loose a shell. Ukrainian fighters later destroyed it, notching up one small victory. An Associated Press journalist witnessed tanks firing on a 9-story apartment block and was among a group of medical workers who came under sniper fire Friday in the city completely surrounded by Russian soldiers. The video he shot shows shells exploding as they hit the apartment block, already severely damaged, setting balconies on fire. It wasn’t possible to tell whether the Russian positions had first received fire from the targeted locations. At another point, a medical worker was hit in the hip by sniper fire.

At the invitation of HaRav Pinchas Saltzman, Chief Rabbi of Israel HaRav Lau on Wednesday flew to Moldova, where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have been arriving in recent weeks. HaRav Lau visited the shul in Kishinev, which has been transformed into a place to sleep for Jewish refugees. Prior to Shabbos, HaRav Saltzman told the mispallelim not to come to shul on Shabbos as he needed the space for the refugees. “I hope that the shul will revert to a place of tefillah but people are made to feel at home here – it’s simply moving,” Rav Lau said. Apart from providing chizzuk to the refugees, HaRav Saltzman also requested that HaRav Lau come to Kishinev to assist him with complex halachic shailos that arose due to the war.

Late-night comedian Stephen Colbert joked about Ukrainian civilians taking control of Russian military vehicles, saying it’s a “great opportunity” to open a new organization – Tanks4Tots, a riff on Oorah’s legendary Kars4Kids. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)    
The post WATCH IT: Stephen Colbert Introduces Tanks4Tots, the Ukrainian Kars4Kids appeared first on The Yeshiva World.

President Issac Herzog, who flew to Turkey on Wednesday to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met with members of the Jewish community in Istanbul on Thursday morning. His arrival at the historic Neva Shalom shul was welcomed with great joy and pomp, with shofar-blowing and singing. The shul even had special kippos made in honor of his visit, bearing the Israeli and Turkish flags. During Herzog’s speech, he mentioned Turkey’s rich history of Rabbanim and also called for tefillos for “our Jewish brothers and sisters in Ukraine.” הקהילה היהודית של איסטנבול הכינה כיפות ממותגות לקראת ביקור הנשיא הרצוג @Isaac_Herzog pic.twitter.com/uUKKMqTkeg — Itamar Eichner (@itamareichner) March 10, 2022 (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

The annual Flatbush Hatzolah dinner and member appreciation event was held Wednesday night, serving as a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made by Hatzolah members each day. The event was attended by over 400 people including the dedicated wives of the members. A Siyum on Seder Moed was made on behalf of more than 150 Hatzolah members. The highlight of the event was the honoring of Yehuda Lindenblatt, an 85-year-old Holocaust surviving Hatzolah member who still responds to emergencies in Flatbush every single day – literally. He is known in Hatzolah as “F-71”. The honor came a surprise to Yehuda and to the more than 250 Flatbush Hatzolah members in the room.