A unique interfaith event was held on Tuesday at a Muslim center on Coney Island Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn, marking 80 years since the Holocaust. The gathering brought together Holocaust survivors, community leaders, and interfaith representatives to reflect on the lessons of history and reinforce a shared commitment to combating hatred and intolerance. The event featured discussions on the impact of the Holocaust, the dangers of rising antisemitism, and the importance of fostering unity among diverse communities. Attendees emphasized the need for continued education and awareness to prevent history from repeating itself.

YWN regrets to inform you of the petira of Rav Yehuda Oelbaum zt”l, a lifelong mechanech who dedicated his life to molding bnei torah and transmitting the Mesorah to future generations. Rabbi Oelbaum, who served as the menahel of Machon Bais Yaakov in Boro Park and spent 30 years as the head of learning in Camp Munk, has left behind a profound legacy. Rabbi Oelbaum was a beloved father to a family of talmidei chachomim and mechanchim, including his sons Dovid, Avrohom, Eliyahu, Yitzchok, and Shlomo Oelbaum. He was also the father of Miriam Kamenetzky a”h, Tzivi Goldstein, Esty Rosenberg, Chani Rajchenbach, and Sori Saks, each of whom continues his legacy of dedication to Torah and chesed. The levaya will take place at Shomrei Hadas at 11:00 AM, with kevura to follow in Eretz Yisroel.

YWN regrets to inform you of the petira of HaRav Moshe Tzvi Zoberman zt”l, a renowned and longtime maggid shiur in Boro Park. He was a son of the Yardinover Rav, HaRav Elkana Zoberman zt”l, and a son-in-law of the Gamzu Rav, HaRav Avraham Baruch Rosenberger zt”l. A massive talmid chochom who delivered shiurim to thousands at Bobov and Shomrei Hadas for years, he was ultimately forced to stop after becoming severely ill. Despite being bedridden, he continued to inspire thousands through recorded shiurim. He was niftar Wednesday morning at 72, leaving behind a legacy of Torah and a distinguished family. The levaya took place at 10:00 AM at the Bobov Beis HaMedrash on 48th Street and 15th Avenue. The Kevura was held in the Bobover Beis Hachaim in Monmouth Junction, NJ.

Senior officials in the Justice Department under President Donald Trump have engaged in discussions with federal prosecutors in Manhattan regarding the potential dismissal of the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, multiple sources told the New York Times. The officials have also been in communication with Adams’s defense team since Trump took office, sources said. Leading Adams’s legal team is Alex Spiro, a prominent attorney who also represents billionaire Elon Musk, a close adviser to the president. Adams, a Democrat, was indicted in September on charges of bribery, fraud, and soliciting illegal foreign campaign contributions following an investigation that began in 2021.

Chai Lifeline directors from across the United States and around the world convened in Eatontown, NJ, on January 27-28, 2025, for the organization’s Annual Regional Directors Conference. The two-day gathering brought together leaders from New York, New Jersey/Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, and West Coast, as well as Toronto, Montreal, Israel, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, representing more than 6,000 families supported globally by Chai Lifeline. The conference featured sessions on organizational vision and values, programs and services, marketing and development, volunteer training, community engagement, and case management.

A full-scale replica of the secret annex where Anne Frank penned her famous diary opened in New York City on Monday as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The exhibit at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan represents the first time the annex has been completely recreated outside of Amsterdam, where the space is a central part of the Anne Frank House museum. But while the original annex has been intentionally left empty, the New York reconstruction shows the five rooms as they would have looked while the Frank family and others lived in hiding. The spaces are filled with furniture and possessions, including a reconstruction of the writing desk where Frank wrote her diary.

Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a self-declared Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member and outspoken critic of Israel who gained notoriety for his arrest at a pro-Palestinian protest outside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s Brooklyn home, has become the most heavily funded candidate in the crowded New York City mayoral race, the NY Post has found. Mamdani’s fundraising haul – 641,816 in just three months – is notable not only for its size but also for its origins. Over 1,400 donations, totaling $97,254, came from self-identified unemployed or jobless individuals. Meanwhile, employees from Columbia, NYU, and CUNY—universities that have been focal points of pro-Palestine demonstrations since Hamas’s October 2023 terror attack—contributed nearly $30,000.

A man who survived being shoved onto subway tracks ahead of an oncoming train said that in spite of the physical and psychological trauma, he eventually plans to make his way back to the train. “This city is my home,” Joseph Lynskey told The New York Times in an interview published Friday, “and I won’t be intimidated.” Lynskey, 45, was standing on the platform in the West 18th Street station in Manhattan after lunch on New Year’s Eve when a hard shove from behind sent him flying as a 1 train approached. “My life did not flash before my eyes,” he said. “My thought was ‘I’ve been pushed, and I’m going to get hit by the train.’ ” Lynskey landed on his left side between the tracks. He had four broken ribs, a fractured skull, a ruptured spleen and a concussion. But that wasn’t all.

The Israeli restaurant Miriam, located in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, was vandalized early Sunday morning, with red paint splattered across its door and offensive graffiti scrawled on the exterior. New York City Council member Shahana Hanif, who represents the Park Slope area, shared a photo of the vandalized restaurant on social media, showing the words “Israel steals culture” and “genocide cuisine” written in red paint on the door. Hanif confirmed that her office is in contact with the police to investigate the incident. Of note, while Hanif said that she is working to address the antisemitic act, she has been one of the most outspoken, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel politicians in New York since the war in Gaza began.

Israeli President Yitzchak Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel on Sunday morning, marking the first time a sitting Israeli President and First Lady have visited it. The visit was the President’s first stop on his U.S. trip and was hosted by Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky on behalf of Chabad Headquarters. During their time at the Ohel, the President and his wife took a moment to reflect on the enduring impact of the Rebbe’s vision and the global work of Chabad in strengthening Jewish life and identity. President Herzog and the First Lady davened at the Ohel for the safe return of hostages held by Hamas, the well-being of Israel’s soldiers, and in memory of those who tragically lost their lives. “We are very moved to be here at the resting place of the Rebbe.