Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with US Senator John Fetterman in Jerusalem on Wednesday Fetterman arrived on his first visit to Israel on Tuesday and met with President Isaac Herzog. Following the visit, Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister thanked Fetterman for his visit “and his consistent support of Israel. The Prime Minister told the Senator that his standing up to pro-Palestinian demonstrators while waving an Israeli flag, was courageous and heart-warming.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

A brazen daytime robbery at a Flatbush store was foiled thanks to the lightning-fast response of Flatbush Shomrim and the NYPD. According to YWN sources, an individual armed with a knife entered “Judaica Place” on Avenue M between Ocean Avenue and East 19th Street, and threatened the store staff. The suspect then emptied the cash register, but a quick-thinking woman in the store immediately called the Flatbush Shomrim for help – dooming the suspect. Shomrim responded in mere seconds, simultaneously alerting the NYPD to the situation. The suspect was quickly apprehended on Avenue M and East 18th Street, with the stolen cash and the knife used in the robbery still in his possession. The suspect was quickly taken into custody by responding NYPD officers. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Everett Fortune, the 35-year security chief at Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Far Rockaway, has passed away following a lengthy battle with serious illness. Fortune was deeply beloved by the yeshiva and its students, and although he was not involved in the school’s education per se, his passing still leaves a void that will be sorely missed. Over the course of his career at Darchei, Everett became a friend, confidant, and ally to everyone at the school he came in contact with, forging bonds with literally thousands of students, teachers and staff members, who say that he made a lifelong positive impact on them. Sources tell YWN that the Darchei yeshiva had planned to bring out the entire Yeshiva (thousands of people) to pay their respects as the coffin would drive past.

Rabbi Moshe Rotberg, the rav of K’hal Zichron Yechezkel in Toms River, a noted psychotherapist and the halachic coordinator for Hatzolah of Central Jersey, sent out the following message to his kehilla and beyond in response to the awful tragedy that struck in Lakewood on Tuesday afternoon. Listen below.

In response to the violent anti-Semitic protest outside a Los Angeles shul which was targeted for hosting an event promoting the sale of real estate in Israel, CNN senior political commentator Van Jones compared the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf and the Confederate flag, sparking a meltdown in pro-Hamas circles. Jones said, “If you show up there wearing a keffiyeh, you show up there with your face covered, you show up there chanting ‘River to the Sea,’ that would be just like a white person running up with the Confederate flag in Harlem. You’re not trying to start a conversation, you’re trying to start a fight. Stop doing that.

Former President Donald Trump has suggested that migrants should be pitted against each other in a fighting league. During a speech to conservative Christians in Washington, DC, Trump claimed to have suggested the idea to UFC President Dana White, saying, “I said, Dana, I have an idea. Why don’t you set up a migrant League of fighters and have your regular league of fighters, and then you have the champion of your league. These are the greatest fighters in the world. Fight the champion of the migrants. I think the migrant guy might win. That’s how tough they are.” MSNBC’s Ana Cabrera hosted a panel discussion on the issue, featuring former Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo and Trump campaign correspondent Vaughn Hillyard.

The US State Department has strongly condemned a “shocking” video showing a wounded Palestinian man tied to the hood of an Israeli military vehicle in the West Bank over the weekend. The video, which has gone viral on social media, shows a Palestinian man, reportedly wounded during clashes with Israeli forces, being tied to the hood of a military vehicle and paraded through the streets. The incident has drawn international condemnation, with many calling it a clear violation of human rights and international law. “This practice is absolutely unacceptable. Humans should never be used as human shields. The IDF should swiftly investigate what happened and hold people accountable,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi announced yesterday that the military is nearing victory over Hamas’s Rafah Brigade in the southern Gaza Strip. During a visit to the city, Halevi praised the troops’ “very significant achievements” in the fighting, citing the high number of terrorists killed and infrastructure destroyed, including tunnels. Halevi highlighted the importance of the IDF’s control over the Philadelphi Route on the Gaza-Egypt border, stating that it has closed Hamas’s “oxygen pipeline for future smuggling.” He declared that the military is “clearly approaching the point where we can say we dismantled the Rafah Brigade.

Thousands attended the Levaya of Hagaon HaRav Moshe Wolfson Zt”l, the Mashgiach of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Flatbush, and Rov of the Emunas Yisroel Shul on 16th Avenue in Boro Park. The Levaya was held at Rav Wolfson’s Bais HaMedrash located in the Ezras Torah section of Yerushalayim. The Kevura was in Teveriya. צילום שלומי טריכטר – Photo via Shloime Trichter (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A violent clash between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and supporters of Israel outside the Adas Torah shul in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles is now being widely condemned by political leaders and local officials following outrage over their silence. President Biden, Gov. Gavin Newsom, and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass denounced the incident, which resulted in one arrest and left no injuries reported. The individual arrested is facing a misdemeanor charge for carrying a prohibited item at a protest – a spiked flag. Shockingly, there have been no arrests for assault or anything like that.