I was stunned yesterday upon seeing a video of Dr. Zev Zelenko commenting on the Covid-19 vaccines. First, I must say that I think Dr. Zelenko did some very good things in the early days and months of the pandemic. Specifically, at a time when vaccines to protect against Covid-19 didn’t exist, he introduced a vitamin regimen that now has a mountain of evidence – albeit anecdotal – showing that it can indeed help a patient infected with the virus recover. But over time, Dr. Z. kept going more fringe, coming out against the vaccines, which I found peculiar, but hey, we can disagree without making a kerfuffle. But this latest video that I saw of the doctor talking about the Covid-19 vaccines really has me wondering what’s going on.

After a heated shouting match in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday morning, the Islamist Ra’am party’s controversial Electricity Law was passed, allowing tens of thousands of illegally constructed Arab homes in the Negev and Galil to be hooked up to electricity, water and other infrastructure lines. Opposition MKs jeered Prime Minister Naftali Bennet and Yamina MK Nir Orbach, yelling “Shame on you” after they voted against a clause to include new Jewish settlements (“young settlements”) in the law. Orbach had threatened not to vote for the law if the clause for young settlements wasn’t included but ultimately did not carry out his threat due to coalition discipline.

Missionaries are upping the ante in their attempts to lure frum Jews to Christianity, mailing Bibles translated into Yiddish to frum households in the Monsey and Spring Valley area. In addition to being straight-out kefirah, the books come in a package that lists a shul as the sender – an outright deceptive practice to fool people into thinking that the books are from another frum Jew. Those who received any such books should either discard of them or mail them to Beyneynu, who can use them in their counter-missionary efforts. For more information WhatsApp Beyneynu at 917-387-4330 or email info@beyneynu.com. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Vice Chair of the Jan. 6 Committee, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), told ABC News that the she has “firsthand testimony” of what former President Donald Trump was doing as the U.S. Capitol was stormed by his supporters. “The committee has firsthand testimony now that he was sitting in the dining room next to the Oval Office watching the attack on television as the assault on the Capitol occurred. We know, as you know well, that the briefing room at the White House is just a mere few steps from the Oval Office,” Cheney revealed to George Stephanopoulos on ABC News’ “This Week.” “We know, as he was sitting there in the dining room next to the Oval Office, members of his staff were pleading with him to go on television, to tell people to stop,” Cheney said.

As they do every month, a group of Women of the Wall members arrived at the Kosel on Monday morning for Shacharis of Rosh Chodesh Shevat and disturbed the tefillos of thousands of mispallelim.

The IDF carried out retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza late Motzei Shabbos, after two rockets fired from Gaza landed in the sea off the Tel Aviv coast on Shabbos morning. It was not immediately clear whether the rockets were meant to hit Israel, but Gaza-based terrorist groups often test-fire missiles toward the sea. Apart from a single incident in September, there has been no cross-border rocket fire since a cease-fire ended an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in May. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem / AP)

Hamas terrorists took part in a recent drill simulating and preparing for the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers, as well as attacks on Israeli military targets. Hamas commander Muhammad Abu Nasira said the drill was in preparation for “a war of liberation,” according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Hamas currently holds 4 Israelis captive – the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, both killed in the 2014 Gaza war; Avraham Mengistu, a mentally unstable man who ventured into Gaza on his own accord; and Hisham al-Sayed, a 29-year-old Palestinian with Israeli citizenship. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The Knesset on Wednesday evening approved in a preliminary reading the “Barkat Law,” which places limits on the amount of money political candidates can use for their own campaigns. The bill is widely seen as a “personal bill” targeting Likud MK Nir Barkat, the only billionaire in the Knesset and a potential top candidate to succeed Binyamin Netanyahu as the head of Likud. It limits candidates and their relatives from contributing more than NIS 100,000 per year for their election campaigns. Barkat is the Knesset’s wealthiest member and the only billionaire.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams was asked at a press conference on Wednesday whether he would bend to demands made by certain individuals that yeshivos must increase the teaching of secular studies subjects to their students, in accordance with New York state law. “I visited several yeshivas during the [mayoral] campaign, and what I do know is that those who are there – who are teaching the students – the literature that I looked at is supportive of a well-rounded, quality education,” Adams said. “The small number of yeshivas that we were having problems in should not be the message for the large number of yeshivas that are doing the right thing,” he continued. “I am going to give support through my Chancellor and my office to give support to all our educational facilities.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams said Thursday that he will keep New York City’s vaccine mandate for businesses and that the city will set a spring deadline on whether to have a new vaccine mandate for public school students. Adams made the announcements at a press conference in which he laid out details of his sweeping plan to fight COVID-19 when he assumes office on Jan. 1. Adams said the private-sector vaccine mandate that was put in place by Mayor Bill de Blasio this month will stay in effect in 2022, with a focus on “compliance, not punishment.” The mayor-elect said he’d work closely with stakeholders to ensure compliance. “I don’t believe we need to be heavy handed with our businesses; COVID has been heavy handed enough with our businesses,” he said.