A special Rosh Chodesh prayer service organized by the Women of the Wall drew less than 20 people at the Kosel Monday morning, despite hopes by the Reform movement in Israel that hundreds would take part in the service.
Opponents of the group say the poor turnout at Monday’s event was likely the result of disappointment over last month’s event, when the group hoped to bring out 1,000 supporters, but instead drew only dozens.
Turnout at the Women of the Wall event was so low that mechitzas put up every month to separate the Orthodox tefillos in the Women’s section at the Kosel from the non-traditional services were not needed, freeing up more space at the Women’s section.

The Trump administration is reportedly expected to announce additional sanctions on Iran within the coming week.
The sanctions, which are slated to be announced Wednesday, will significantly impact a new sector of the Iranian economy, Axios reported Sunday, citing two senior administration officials.
The administration is attempting to limit the country’s possibility for growth by restricting economic diversification, officials told Axios.
Read more at The Hill.
{Matzav.com}

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President Trump sounded off on the most recent violence between Israeli and the Palestinians, putting the onus on Palestinians to “END the violence and work towards peace” in a Sunday night tweet.
“Once again, Israel faces a barrage of deadly rocket attacks by terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We support Israel 100% in its defense of its citizens,” Trump tweeted Sunday. “To the Gazan people — these terrorist acts against Israel will bring you nothing but more misery. END the violence and work towards peace – it can happen!”
Read more at The Hill.
{Matzav.com}

On April 22, 2019, the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Philadelphia (MAS Philly) uploaded a video of an “Ummah Day” celebration to its Facebook page in which young children wearing Palestinian scarves sang: “Glorious steeds call us and lead us [to] the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The blood of martyrs protects us … Take us, oh ships … until we reach our shores and crush the treacherous ones … Flow, oh rivers of martyrs!”

A ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza terror groups went into effect at 4:30 a.m. Monday, ending two days of intense fighting that saw more than 600 rockets fired at Israel and four Israeli civilians killed, according to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups.
The Israeli government refused to confirm the reported truce, apparently so as to avoid publicly acknowledging its negotiations with terrorist groups. However, the military announced that, as of 7 a.m., it was lifting all security restrictions that had been in place in the south during the fighting, and that schools would be allowed to open, indicating that a ceasefire had indeed been reached.

Forty-one people were killed Sunday after a Russian passenger jet making an emergency landing in Moscow touched down and burst into flames.
The Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet, carrying 78 people, careened across the runway at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport with thick, black smoke pouring out from behind, footage from the scene showed. The aircraft, operated by Aeroflot, skidded to a stop perpendicular to the runway. Passengers scrambled out of the burning hulk on emergency slides, some travelers carrying children.
The Russian Investigative Committee said 41 people died, including one crew member. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the plane to make an emergency landing and catch fire. Officials launched a criminal investigation.

In the aftermath of Saturday’s shooting at the Chabad of Poway in Southern California, the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, pledged $15 million for the State Nonprofit Security Grant Program in the state budget.
The program provides unprecedented funding for security grants for nonpublic schools, places of worship and other nonprofit institutions. The program will provide up to $200,000 per recipient and will for the first time allow for security personnel funding for nonprofits at risk of bias crimes or attacks due to their ideology, beliefs or mission.
Last year, just $500,000 was allocated for the program.

http://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/VID-20190505-WA0114.mp4

Germany may soon fine parents over $2,700 if they don’t vaccinate their children, Germany’s Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn told a regional newspaper over the weekend.
In an interview with German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, Spahn said the country may fine parents 2,500 euros ($2,790) if they cannot prove their children have been vaccinated for measles, ABC News reported on Sunday. He also said the country is considering banning unvaccinated children from daycare facilities.
Sphan’s proposal has not yet been discussed by the country’s cabinet, but it comes as measles outbreaks emerge in areas around the world where the disease had previously been eradicated.