The family of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi announced on Friday they have forgiven his Saudi killers, giving legal reprieve to five government agents who had been sentenced to death for an operation that cast a cloud of suspicion over the kingdom’s crown prince. “We, the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi, announce that we forgive those who killed our father as we seek reward from God Almighty,” wrote one of his sons, Salah Khashoggi, on Twitter. Salah Khashoggi, who lives in Saudi Arabia and has received financial compensation from the royal court for his father’s killing, explained that forgiveness was extended to the killers during the last nights of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in line with Islamic tradition to offer pardons in cases allowed by Islamic law.

Iran’s supreme leader on Friday called Israel a “cancerous tumor” that “will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed” in an annual speech in support of the Palestinians, renewing threats against Iran’s Mideast enemy. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s speech marked a subdued Quds Day for Iran, which typically sees government-encouraged mass demonstrations in Tehran and elsewhere in the Islamic Republic, as well as Iranian-allied nations. “Al-Quds” is the Arabic name for Jerusalem. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Iran largely asked demonstrators to stay home. Khamenei spoke to the nation in a 30-minute speech aired on state television, a rare address by the supreme leader as other officials in the past gave the keynote speech.

U.S. regulators are moving ahead with a crackdown on scores of antibody tests for the coronavirus that have not yet been shown to work. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday published a list of more than two dozen test makers that have failed to file applications to remain on the market or already pulled their products. The agency said in a statement that it expects the tests “will not be marketed or distributed.” It was unclear if any of the companies would face additional penalties. Most companies faced a deadline earlier this week to file paperwork demonstrating their tests’ performance. Regulators required it after previously allowing tests to launch with minimal oversight, which critics said had created a “Wild West” of unregulated testing.

About 5,000 Israelis gathered together at a beachfront concert in Tel Aviv, with social distancing regulations completely falling by the wayside and nary a face mask to be seen. The concert was apparently approved by the police and was supposed to be held in accordance with health ministry regulations, according to a Channel 12 News report. However, although there were reports that attendees initially tried to keep a distance from each other, it didn’t last for long. And few were wearing masks but that may have been due to the fact that the requirement for masks was temporarily lifted due to the heatwave this week, which finally began to break as of Friday morning.

When Ohel Sarala was first established by Rabbi Chaim Aryeh Zev Ginzberg, rov of the Chofetz Chaim Torah Center of Cedarhurst, few people could have anticipated that it would take off as powerfully as it did.   Almost no one could have predicted that it would facilitate an astonishing 1,000 shidduchim in just a few years. Now, in 2020, Ohel Sarala is celebrating the phenomenal achievement of its 1,000thshidduch, brought about through the koach of tzedakah and tefillah.  Ohel Sarala has seen 1,000 engagements of young men and women, who were empowered not to focus only on their own hardships, but to channel their energy, hope and aspirations toward others who suffer. The combined efforts and tefillos of these two seemingly disparate groups have yielded miraculous results.

Dear Achim, My son Baruch Eliezer was born with severe hydrocephalus, severe cerebral palsy, and a crushed optic nerve causing visual impairment.He is wheelchair bound and requires complete nursing care. CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOWBy his second birthday he had 27 surgeries and 10 more over the following 10 years including a tracheotomy.At 14 years old he lives at home with 24 hours a day of nursing, has a ventilator at night, and is fed by g-tube. CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOWIt is very expensive and exhausting to care for him. Most recently in the matziv of Coronavirus, my wife lost her job which cut our already minimal income that wasn’t making ends meet while she was employed. Although our income has decreased, our expenses continue to build.

Over 3,400 Muslim teenagers and children stood in line this week in Nigeria to receive food boxes from Chabad shlichim for the holiday of Ramadan, COL reported. “It’s a sign of co-existence and mutual respect,” one of the shlichim explained to COL. According to the Collive website, this is not the first time that Chabad has helped impoverished residents of Nigeria. Rabbi Israel and Haya Uzan, co-directors of Chabad of Nigeria have established many humanitarian projects in Nigeria since establishing their Chabad House in 2013, including an eyeglass-distribution program, programs for children with special needs, technology classes for locals and assisting local orphanages.

When supermarkets around the world quickly ran out of toilet paper and other staples as the coronavirus pandemic began, many countries had to assess an important topic – were they capable of supplying their citizens with their basic needs if all international trade would grind to a halt? Judging by the way citizens of many countries began to overbuy and hoard various staples, it was clear that the average citizen didn’t believe so. Is it realistic that any country could provide its citizens with all its needs without relying on imports?

With forecasters predicting another intense Atlantic hurricane season with as many as 13 to 19 named storms, disaster preparedness experts say it’s critically important for people in evacuation zones to plan to stay with friends or family, rather than end up in shelters during the coronavirus pandemic. “Shelters are meant to keep you safe, not make you comfortable,” said Carlos Castillo, acting deputy administrator for resilience at FEMA. “Social distancing and other CDC guidance to keep you safe from COVID-19 may impact the disaster preparedness plan you had in place, including what is in your go-kit, evacuation routes, shelters, and more,” Castillo said.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Reb Leibel Lederman Z”L ר’ אריה בן ר’ חיים זצ”ל. He was 70 and was Niftar from COVID-19. Born in Germany, after the war his parents emigrated to the U.S. where they settled in Williamsburg, joined the Klausenberg kehilla and formed a close kinship with the previous Klausenberger rebbe, Rav Yekusiel Yehuda Halberstam, zt”l. As a young boy in Yeshivas Chassan Sofer, Reb Leibel’s yiras shamayim, brilliant mind, and kind heart were soon recognized and valued. He forged close ties with the current Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe in New York, and was a notable benefactor of many of their mosdos & endeavors. Reb Leibel was a walking kiddush hashem.