After a tragic blaze claimed 19 lives in the Bronx on Sunday, Masbia and Shomrim Volunteers from around NYC teamed up to assist the victims and their families, providing food, toiletries, and other needs to those affected. The group made a tremendous Kiddush Hashem as they were one of the first and largest presences of organizations, where they helped ease the plight of the families afflicted by the horrific tragedy. Dozens of boxes of supplies were picked up by Sendy Rappaport of Masbia from Bingo Supermarket in Boro Park, with the massive shipments transported up to the Bronx by a convoy of marked Shomrim vehicles. Hundreds of now homeless people lined up to receive items that they need for the night such as fresh towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo and other toiletries.

At least 54 people were injured in a 5-alarm Bronx apartment building fire that broke out on Sunday morning, the FDNY said. Officials say the five-alarm fire started in a duplex apartment on the third floor of a 19-story high-rise building at 333 East 181st Street in the Tremont section of the Bronx just before 11 a.m. Sunday. According to authorities, there are at least 54 people injured, of which at least 31 are considered life-threatening injuries. The FDNY says 19 people were treated on the scene while the rest were taken to nearby hospitals. Many of the injured were found on the upper floors possibly due to smoke inhalation. (YWN World Headquarters  NYC)

A woman was arrested earlier this week for throwing stones into the playground of a Chareidi school in Stamford Hill, London. The incident occurred on December 26, known as Boxing Day in the UK. In CCTV footage of the incident, the woman is seen hurling stones several times into the playground of Talmud Torah Machzikei Hadass School, a school for boys aged 3 to 16. The Shomrim neighborhood watch assisted the Hackney police in the arrest. Rabbi Herschul Gluck, president of Shomrim in Stamford Hill, told The Jewish Chronicle that the woman is mentally ill but also antisemitic. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

President Joe Biden on Thursday forcefully condemned Donald Trump’s election “big lie” that sparked the deadly breach of the Capitol by his supporters and continues to motivate deep national division. He marked the anniversary of the insurrection by declaring he will stand and fight for “the soul of America.” Biden’s criticism was blistering of the “defeated president” who he blamed for the attack that has fundamentally changed Congress and raised global concerns about the future of American democracy. “For the first time in our history, a president not just lost an election, he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob breached the Capitol,” Biden said.

Israel is finally fully reopening its skies to all vaccinated tourists and is set to cancel the remaining list of “red” countries at midnight on Thursday, Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Nachman Ash announced on Thursday afternoon. All travel restrictions will be removed from the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Nigeria, which are currently designated as red by the Israeli government. Additionally, vaccinated/recovered travelers will only have to quarantine for 24 hours or upon receiving a negative COVID test result – whichever comes first.

Seven Arabs from the Palestinian Authority were killed and several were injured in a devastating car accident between a minibus and a truck on Route 90 in the Jordan Valley on Thursday afternoon. The accident happened near the Petza’el Junction. One of the injured is in critical condition and two are seriously injured. Israel Fire and Rescue Services are on the scene to extricate passengers who are still trapped inside the vehicles. The rescue is expected to take a prolonged period of time as complex rescue operations are needed. IDF choppers arrived at the scene to assist in the evacuation of the wounded. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Serious clashes broke out between police forces and attendees of the hilula of the Baba Sali, who were being blocked from the Netanya site due to Israel’s Covid-19 regulations. An agreement between police and organizers of the event – under which only a handful of visitors would enter the tziyon at one time – quickly fell apart as thousands streamed to the tziyon of the revered mekubal. As the crowd increased, some began surging towards the tziyon, and clashes with police broke out. At least three attendees were arrested by police for disorderly conduct and assaulting police officers. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A massive protest took place in Yerushalayim Wednesday night after police reportedly threatened to cut off all contact with the chareidi community over hafganos against cell phone stores in the Geulah neighborhood. The hafganah Wednesday night took place in front of the “Cellular Giant” store and attracted thousands of demonstrators from Meah She’arim and surrounding neighborhoods. Police dispersed the demonstrators with water cannons, and a number of chareidim were injured by police forces during the protest. Earlier in the day, a smaller protest took place in front of the store, during which 8 of 20 chareidi protesters were arrested by police. After several hours of protesting, the police reportedly agreed to keep communication with the chareidi community open.

Following an unprecedented outburst by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday morning, when he confronted opposition members in a face-to-face confrontation after they jeered him for excluding Jewish settlements from the controversial Electricity Law, UTJ MK Yitzchak Pindrus questioned the state of Bennett’s mental health. “In the past, when there was concern about a prime minister’s inability to function for health reasons, he was required to detail his condition to allay fears,” Pindrus said. “Naftali Bennett’s conduct this morning raises serious concerns about his mental health.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki pushed back against a reporter who questioned whether President Joe Biden and his administration had lost control of the Covid-19 crisis as Omicron cases surge dramatically across the US. “Cases are rising across the country. Tests are hard to come by in many places, or there is long lines for them. Schools are closing again or having to go virtual and that’s not because of the weather, in some parts of the country, but because of the pandemic. There is a sense among many that the country has lost control over the virus,” CBS reporter Ed O’Keefe said. “Would the White House agree with that?” “We would not,” Psaki shot back. “We’re in a very different place than we were a year ago, Ed,” Psaki said. “200 million people are vaccinated.