Visitors to Auschwitz-Birkenau in recent months have been horrified by the sight of thousands of human bone fragments in pools of water around the crematoria, B’Chadrei Chareidim reported. Apparently, bone fragments survived the crematoria and thousands of bone fragments among the ashes have been scattered around the camp, especially in the pools of water surrounding the crematoria. In coordination with Polish authorities, a Zaka delegation and representatives of the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe (CPJCE) traveled to the site and saw the many bone fragments throughout the camp, but especially around the crematoriums where some of the ashes were thrown.

A LOT Airlines flight from Warsaw to NY was forced to make an emergency landing on Sunday night. One of the approximately 50 Jewish passengers on the flights told YWN that a severely intoxicated passenger caused a major disturbance on the flight, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing in Iceland. For reasons unknown, the flight is unable to take off at this time, and the passengers are being put up in a local hotel for the night. Meanwhile, a group of passengers made a Kumzits while waiting in the airport. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Donald Trump’s lawyers plunged into his impeachment trial defense Saturday by accusing Democrats of striving to overturn the 2016 election, arguing that investigations of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine have not been a fact-finding mission but a politically motivated effort to drive him from the White House. “They’re here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone told senators. “And we can’t allow that to happen.” The Trump legal team’s arguments in the rare Saturday session were aimed at rebutting allegations that the president abused his power when he asked Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and then obstructed Congress as it tried to investigate.

An estimated 400 Bochrim from Yeshivos affiliated with the Peleg Yerushalmi were protesting in Yerushalayim on Sunday afternoon. They are protesting the arrest and incarceration of a Yeshiva Bochur named Gamliel Mahadani, who was arrested for failing to register for the IDF draft. The boys father, HaRav Nadav Mahadani, the Rov of the Ethiopian community in Ohr Yehuda, told Kol Berama in an interview that his son has never left Yeshiva, and surprisingly, there was never any letters or summonses (Tzav Giyus) sent to his son telling to come to the draft office. “They came in the middle of the night to our home and arrested him”. As of 6:00PM in Israel, the protests had moved locations to the Chords Bridge, and traffic was gridlock all around the area due to the protests.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he hopes to “make history” during his upcoming trip to the White House for the expected unveiling of President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace plan. Addressing his Cabinet shortly before departing for Washington, Netanyahu described the current environment, characterized by close ties with Trump, as a once in a lifetime opportunity for Israel that “we must not miss.” Trump’s plan is expected to be extremely favorable to Israel. “We are in the midst of very dramatic political events, but the peak is still ahead,” he said. “For three years I have discussed with President Trump and his team our security and national needs — dozens of discussions and hundreds of hours.

Firefighters toiled all night and were still putting out pockets of fire Friday morning at a building in the heart of Manhattan’s Chinatown. Nine people were hurt, eight of them firefighters, but none of the injuries was considered life-threatening. Responders were called around 8:45 p.m. Thursday to Mulberry Street for a fire that started on the fourth floor of the city-owned building and extended to the fifth floor and through the roof. Videos and photos posted to social media showed flames bursting out of windows and flowing heavily from the roof of the building, which Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter was “a pillar to the Chinatown community.” Jian Chun told the New York Post that a victim was trapped on the top floor when firefighters arrived.

Mohammed al-Issa, former Saudi Arabian justice minister and Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, and a delegation of Muslim religious leaders from over 24 countries visited Auschwitz-Birkenau on Thursday to mark the 75th year since the liberation of the Nazi death camp. The Muslim delegation was accompanied by a delegation of American Jewish Committee (AJC) officials. It is “the most senior delegation of Muslim religious leaders to visit Auschwitz ever,” said AJC CEO David Harris.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier began his speech at the World Holocaust Forum on Thursday by reciting the bracha of Shehechyanu in Hebrew with shem and malchus. In his emotional speech, Steinmeier expressed concern over continued anti-Semitism, noting a pattern of attacks on Jews in Germany, highlighting a shooting in October on a synagogue in the German city of Halle. “I wish I could say that we Germans have learnt from history once and for all. But I cannot say that when hatred is spreading,” he said. “I cannot say that when Jewish children are spat on in the schoolyard. I cannot say that when crude anti-Semitism is cloaked in supposed criticism of Israeli policy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Israel on Thursday morning and was greeted by Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Putin at the Prime Minister’s Residence on Balfour Street when the Russian President arrived in Jerusalem. Later, Naama Issachar’s mother, Yaffa Issachar, joined the meeting together with the Patriarch Theophilus III of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem, who arranged the meeting between Putin and Issachar. “Everything will be okay,” Putin said to Issachar. After the meeting, Putin stated: “I met with Naama’s mother and it’s clear that she’s from a good family. We will take all factors into account when we make the decision.

Tariq Kurd, 18, was indicted by the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday morning for negligent manslaughter for causing the deaths of Tzipi Rimmel, a’h, and her infant by recklessly driving and crashing into the car of the Rimmel family on Highway 443 near Givat Ze’ev in late November. He was also indicted for causing severe injury, excessive speeding, driving without insurance and damaging people and property. The indictment stated that apart from the fact that he was speeding, Kurd also had very little experience driving a manual shift car and had only driven it a few times before the accident. “Since he purchased the car a few days before the crash, the defendant decided to ‘test-drive’ the car to see how it responded to high speeds,” the indictment stated.