Yehuda Guetta, h’yd, 19, a student of the Yeshivas Hesder Itamar critically injured in a terrorist shooting attack in the Shomron on Sunday, succumbed to his wounds on Wednesday evening at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah. Guetta, z’l, who was shot in his head by the terrorist, is survived by his parents and six siblings, residents of the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem. He was murdered while on the way to learn Torah in yeshivah. Another victim of the terrorist attack, Benaya Peretz, 19, of Beit She’an, is still in very serious condition and underwent complex surgery on Wednesday night. His father, Zohar Peretz, has asked the public to daven for him and say Tehillim, especially Perek Chaf, and Shir Hashirim.

On Wednesday morning, Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein and Councilman Kalman Yeger endorsed Andrew Yang in the upcoming race for NYC Mayor on the Democratic ticket. The local Jewish political leaders cited Yang’s fresh perspective and unique skill set that will be necessary to solve the city’s many problems. At the press conference announcing their support for Yang, New York Times reporter Liam Stack asked Yang for his thoughts about the “investigation” against yeshivas who are seemingly not compliant with the city’s “substantial equivalency” standards of education. Assemblyman Eichenstein jumped in and took to the podium with a powerful and passionate response to Stack’s question.

Rav Avigdor Chiyut, who was injured in the Meron disaster and lost his son and talmid on that terrible night, didn’t let his grief get in the way of comforting others, even during his own shiva. Kobi, a 20-year-old yeshivah bochur from Beit Shemesh, was at Meron that night and tried to save Rav Avigdor’s son Yedidya, z’l, and his friend Moshe Levi, z’l. He cleared a path for them, sure he was helping them, but unwittingly he was moving them closer to the more crowded area, where people were dying. Suffering from terrible pangs of guilt, he paid a shiva call to the Chiyut family on Monday and couldn’t stop crying as he met with Rav Avigdor.

Chai Lifeline joins all of Klal Yisroel in mourning those lost in the Lag B’Omer tragedy in Meron. We express our sincerest condolences to their families and our thoughts and tefilos are with all the injured and impacted. In response to this far-reaching traumatic event, Chai Lifeline presents “The Meron Tragedy: Helping Our Children Cope” for parents with children in Israel or at home. The series of videos offers divrei chizuk from Rabbi Lipa Geldwerth, Rav of Khal Kol Torah, and Rabbi Shay Schachter, Associate Rabbi at Young Israel of Woodmere and Camp Simcha; as well as mental health guidance from Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox, Director of Project Chai. Rabbi Lipa Geldwerth, Rav of Khal Kol Torah: Rabbi Shay Schachter, Associate Rabbi at Young Israel of Woodmere and Camp Simcha Rabbi Dr.

Only three days after Donny Morris, z’l, lost his life in the Meron disaster on Lag B’Omer, his friends gathered near the “walkway of death” and sang songs in his memory. Donny’s friends and Rabbanim from Yeshivas Shalavim gathered together for chizzuk, singing songs such as Ani Maamin. “It’s difficult to talk now but Am Yisrael should know that we lost a malach, a bochur that was a malach,” Donny’s Rav, Rav Ari Waxman, told Kan News on Monday. “He was a bochur that always had a smile on his face. Maybe you saw the photo taken 15 minutes before he was taken from us – you see the light on his face.” “No one could remember a time when he wasn’t smiling, he always had something nice to say and was loved by his friends.

As YWN reported, eleven-year-old Ze’ev Mordechai Kubetschick of Bnei Brak, who was seriously injured in the Meron disaster and was sedated and ventilated, has Baruch Hashem made a swift recovery and has already been released from the hospital. A B’Chadrei Charedim report revealed the unbelievable story of how one Hatzalah volunteer’s refusal to give up on the boy’s life saved him from certain death. A special conference was held on Monday night for Hatzalah volunteers and Ze’ev’s father came to the conference immediately after bringing his son home from the hospital. The father came to thank Hatzalah and particularly the volunteer Yirmi Klapholtz, who saved his son, who had already been placed among the dead bodies.

Sergeant Rami Alwan, a Druze Israel Police officer who rescued Rav Avigdor Chiyut and his 10-year-old son Shmuel during the Meron disaster came to the Chiyut home in Bnei Brak on Monday to comfort the family on the loss of 13-year-old Yedidya, z’l, who didn’t survive the disaster. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when the moving encounter took place. “I owe you my life, I have no words to thank you,” Rav Avigdor said. Rav Avigdor, a Talmud Torah Rebbe, who not only lost his son that night but his talmid Moshe Levi, z’l, as well, said that he owes his life to Rami. “I was on the floor with all the weight of the people on top of me. My [10-year-old] son Shmuel was to my right, my older son Yedidya, z’l, and my student Moishe, z’l, were about a meter away from us.

A group of about 20 Mir bochurim planned a trip to Meron, and with Lag B’Omer falling out on Friday, they rented an apartment in the area to stay over Lag B’Omer and Shabbos. They set out in high spirits on Thursday, traveling together to northern Israel from Yerushalayim. They arrived at the apartment, unpacked their bags and rested a bit, knowing they would be up all night at Har Meron. As seen below, they also enjoyed a pre-Lag B’Omer kumsitz before setting out to Kever Rashbi. When Lag B’Omer began, the bochurim joined the hadklaka and the davening, and the singing and dancing at Meron. And then the horrible disaster occurred. And when it was over, two of their friends were missing… At first, they assumed they would find them, of course.

A shooting attack has taken place at Tapuah Junction east of the city of Ariel. One person is in critical condition and another is in serious condition, while a third was lightly hurt. Reports indicate the attack was a drive-by shooting directed at a number of young people standing at a bus stop. The military says it is aware of reports of a drive-by shooting and forces are heading to the scene. Troops are hunting for the shooters. United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Menachem Bakush who was one of the first responders at the scene relayed, “When I arrived I saw three young people each with varying injuries. One was in critical condition, one in serious condition and one in moderate condition.

The Levaya for Habachur Nachman Daniel ben Aryeh Tzvi (Donny Morris) z”l will begin at Yeshivat Sha’alvim Sunday Night at 1:30PM EDT/8:30PM Israel time. Kevurah will follow on Har Hazeisim, Chelkas HaNeviim. גוש א שורה 10 מקום 414 Shiva is at Sha’alvim from 10-1 and 2:30-6. The family will continue Shiva at their home beginning on Tuesday. A full schedule will be forthcoming. The Niftar had been studying at Yeshivas Shalavim since September. He is a graduate of the Marsha Stern Talmudic Academy in Washington Heights.