HY’D: Master Sergeant (Res.) Asaf Cafri, aged 26, from Beit Hashmonai, a tank driver in the 79th Battalion, ‘Machatz’ Brigade (14th), fell during combat in the northern Gaza Strip.

A large group of demonstrators hostile to Israel assembled outside Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood on Thursday evening.
The protesters, many of whom wore keffiyehs and covered their faces, were rallying against the arrival of Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.
Ben Gvir’s visit to the U.S. includes stops in Florida, New York, and Washington, DC, where he has been engaging with both Jewish communities and political leaders.

President Donald Trump voiced his belief on Thursday that he deserves global acclaim for playing a central role in the establishment of the Abraham Accords—historic agreements that opened diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab nations.
“Maybe for the Abraham Accords,” Trump remarked when questioned about a potential Nobel Peace Prize nomination. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself in this one.”
His remarks came during a meeting at the White House with a visiting Norwegian delegation, which included Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

What began as a high-profile visit by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has descended into chaos, as hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters converged outside the iconic Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway this evening, triggering confrontations, shouting matches, and reports of physical altercations with Lubavitcher bochurim. The unrest follows a whirlwind 24 hours for Ben-Gvir, a polarizing figure in Israeli politics known for his hardline views, whose presence has ignited fierce backlash across multiple New York City stops. On Wednesday night, Ben-Gvir was met with loud protests and jeering at Yale University, where demonstrators interrupted his address with chants and disruptions.

Ben Gvir is at Chabad World Headquarters, 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights.

BREAKING: Hours before Luigi Mangione’s arraignment in federal court, prosecutors submitted formal notice that they intend to seek the death penalty if he’s convicted.

MEANWHILE :Ben Gvir long left 770 and is currently meeting with Crown Heights Rabbonim and community leaders at the home of Chanina Sperlin.

The Department of Transportation announced on Thursday that it had reassigned the group of prosecutors who recently questioned the legality of the agency’s decision to put an end to New York’s congestion pricing plan. The move came after a misstep in which these concerns were unintentionally exposed in a court filing.
A spokesperson for the DOT confirmed that the original legal team from the Southern District of New York had been replaced by attorneys from the Justice Department’s Civil Division. The spokesperson harshly criticized the earlier legal team for what she described as a serious breach in handling sensitive information related to the tolling initiative.

An upcoming exposé on the Israeli investigative program Hamakor, scheduled to air this Sunday on Channel 13, will reveal that members of President Joe Biden’s administration had considered ways to potentially oust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the early days of the Gaza war. The broadcast includes testimonies from nine top officials within the administration, all sharing a glimpse into internal discussions that reportedly took place inside the White House.

The United States is preparing to unveil a massive arms deal for Saudi Arabia valued at over $100 billion, according to six individuals with firsthand knowledge of the negotiations, Reuters reports. The proposed agreement is expected to be officially announced during President Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May.
This planned deal follows the Biden administration’s failed attempt to secure a similar agreement with Riyadh, which was intended to be part of a larger initiative that included Saudi recognition of Israel. That effort ultimately stalled and did not reach finalization.

In a poignant message shared on social media Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee expressed the emotional toll of a recent meeting with families of American citizens still held captive in Gaza by Hamas. Drawing a sharp contrast between Israel’s defense measures and Hamas’s tactics, Huckabee condemned the terror group for its disregard for human life.
“I had the opportunity to sit down with a number of hostage families, all of whom are related to Americans still held in Gaza,” Huckabee wrote. “We want them home now. And the only reason they are not already home is because of Hamas.”

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer publicly rebuked President Donald Trump, accusing him of exploiting antisemitism for political purposes in a scathing social media post. “Stop disgracefully weaponizing antisemitism to attack universities,” Schumer wrote, voicing his strong disapproval of the administration’s recent actions.
Schumer made it clear that his position was shared by other Jewish Democratic senators. Standing alongside colleagues Richard Blumenthal, Jacky Rosen, Adam Schiff, and Brian Schatz, he co-signed a letter to President Trump urging a halt to what they described as an inappropriate use of antisemitism as political cover. The letter was sent just before Schumer’s public remarks were posted.

A video portraying the abduction of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu circulated on Iranian social media and was broadcast on Iranian state TV. The video, with Arabic and (poorly translated) Hebrew subtitles, begins with media reports that Netanyahu’s car was involved in an accident in Tel Aviv and he hasn’t been seen since. The scene then changes to a home in Iran, where the father of the family receives an urgent  call summoning him to serve as a Hebrew translator. When he arrives at the office, he sees the “non-official” guest – Netanyahu sitting in a chair. The scene moves to images of destruction in Gaza, as if the war in Gaza in response to the Iranian-funded Octboer 7 massacre is justification for the “abduction.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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