Mayor Bill de Blasio has rolled up his sleeve to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The mayor received the single-dose shot live during his daily press briefing Thursday morning, with his wife by his side. The shot was administered by Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi. “I could barely feel it,” de Blasio said as he joined the more than 3 million New York City residents who have been vaccinated. “That was easy.” The mayor was given his vaccination card and a pin marking the occasion. “It’s a great feeling when you know you’ve been vaccinated and you can protect your loved ones, and your family and your whole community,” de Blasio said. The mayor announced his intention to get the shot earlier this month to help raise public trust in the newly-approved shot.

Hundreds of extremist Chareidim engaged in protests on Rechov Bar Ilan in Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon following the arrest of a Chareidi girl in Ben-Gurion Airport on Wednesday for army desertion. It should be noted that the girl was released by the Army Court on Thursday following a hearing on her case but apparently Peleg decided to protest anyway. The protest began in Mea Shearim and the participants then walked to the Bar Ilan intersection, where they clashed with the police and blocked intersections by burning garbage bins. Police dispersed the crowd through riot control methods and some protesters were arrested.

Sixteen Chassidim, including a group of five from New York en route to Vienna, were detained in the airport in Frankfurt on their way to Vienna last week for no apparent reason and were held for over 10 hours. The incident was publicized by the Jewish rights group Americans Against Antisemitism (AAA), founded by former state Assemblyman Dov Hikind. “As soon as I gave my papers over to the officer, he looks at me, he says to me, ‘Are you all five together?’” one of the detained men said. “And I said, ‘Yes.’ And he said, ‘You need to step aside.’” “Two more people who are on our flight arrive there,” he said. “They went over with their papers and immediately were told to stand next to us as well. So, we immediately saw that this is a Jewish thing.

On Wednesday evening, a serious accident took place on Golda Meir Boulevard, where a minibus carrying a number of Charedim was involved in an accident with a private car. First responders from United Hatzalah and Magen David Adom responded to the accident and provided medical care for eight people who were injured in the incident. A spokesperson from United Hatzalah said that a number of the injured people were children and infants. Miraculously, all eight people who were injured are in light condition. The police spokesperson’s department issued a statement about the accident: “Following the accident that took place on Highway 9 and Golda Meir Boulevard, Highway 9 has been closed and all traffic is being directed to enter and exit Jerusalem via Highway 1.”

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made a historic visit to the tzion of Reb Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron on Wednesday afternoon together with Internal Security Minister Amir Ohana. The prime minister has been traveling throughout Israel as part of his election campaign, participating in at least four Likud campaign events a day. He took advantage of his engagements in the north of the country on Wednesday for a special visit to the tzion of the Rashbi, accompanied by heavy security. The last time that Netanyahu visited Meron was on Lag B’Omer of 1996 when he was campaigning for leadership of the country for the first time. Netanyhau whispered a silent tefillah together with Ohana and afterward lit several candles.

The Israeli Defense Ministry on Tuesday announced it has completed an upgrade of the country’s Iron Dome rocket-defense system to cope with an additional array of aerial threats. The Iron Dome was developed to intercept short-range unguided rockets and has shot down some 2,500 incoming projectiles fired from the Gaza Strip since it was deployed a decade ago. In a statement, the ministry’s head of missile defense, Moshe Patel, said the Iron Dome has completed a series of tests that included successful interceptions of rocket and missile salvos as well as simultaneous interceptions of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles.

Two people were killed when a large fireworks stash exploded Tuesday in inland Southern California, setting off a series of blasts that rocked the residential neighborhood and sent up a huge plume of smoke, authorities said. Authorities — including the FBI — are investigating the explosion of commercial-grade fireworks in Ontario, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. About 50 firefighters still worked to douse the flames three hours after the explosion. Fireworks are illegal in Ontario, as they are in many Southern California cities. Ontario Police Chief Mike Lorenz said officers have been called to the area before for reports of fireworks being set off.

New York State Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal on Tuesday endorsed Andrew Yang for Mayor of New York City Representing New York State Assembly District 27 — which includes Kew Gardens Hills, and parts of Kew Gardens and Forest Hills — Assemblymember Rosenthal has fought hard to bring real tangible results for his constituents. Said Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal, “As New York City is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis, hate crimes against the Jewish community are rising at historic levels. Getting our City back on track requires a new approach to leadership and creative thinking. Andrew Yang not only has the vision for a path forward, but has shown his deep commitment to the individual needs facing all of New York’s diverse communities.

President Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin “will pay a price” for his efforts to undermine the 2020 US election following a landmark American intelligence assessment which found that the Russian government meddled in the 2020 election with the aim of “denigrating” Biden’s candidacy. “He will pay a price,” Biden said of Putin in an interview that aired Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America”. “We had a long talk, he and I, and relatively well. And the conversation started – ‘I know you and you know me. If I establish this occurred, be prepared.'” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The pressure against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over harassment allegations reached the White House on Tuesday, with President Joe Biden saying Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general’s investigation confirms the claims against him. Biden made the remarks in an interview with ABC News that is scheduled to air Wednesday. When asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos whether Cuomo should resign if the investigation confirms the women’s claims, Biden said “yes” and added, “I think he’d probably end up being prosecuted, too.” “It takes a lot of courage to come forward so the presumption is it should be taken seriously,” Biden said.