by Rabbi Yair Hoffman In February 2013, the papers and library of Chaim Grade, a once ben bayis by the Chazon Ish zt”l, comprising twenty thousand volumes, were jointly acquired by the National Library of Israel and YIVO Institu

President Donald Trump remained defiant on Monday as global markets continued plunging and fears of a recession grew after his tariff announcement last week. He said other countries had been “taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA!” in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform. “Our past ‘leaders’ are to blame for allowing this, and so much else, to happen to our Country,” Trump wrote. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump has insisted his tariffs are necessary to rebalance global trade and rebuild domestic manufacturing. He has singled out China as “the biggest abuser of them all” and criticized Beijing for increasing its own tariffs in retaliation. The Republican president also called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.

An unprecedented security failure has been exposed at the Tel Nof and Chatzerim air force bases, Kol Yehudi reported on Monday. Detailed maps of the bases, which included the locations of officers’ family residences, building entry codes, and sensitive operational areas, were transferred by an IDF project officer to an Arab worker via WhatsApp. According to the report, the worker, who did not hold any security clearance, entered the base together with another worker, who also lacked clearance, with the approval of the base commander. The two wandered freely around the base, including areas that are supposed to be off-limits to outsiders.

During a visit to Texas, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promoted the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine as the most reliable method to stop measles from spreading. He traveled there to offer comfort to the grieving family of an 8-year-old girl who died from the illness.
“I came to¬ Gaines County, Texas, today to comfort the Hildebrand family after the loss of their 8-year-old daughter Daisy,” Kennedy shared on X. “My intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief.”
Kennedy also noted that he had been in contact with Texas officials and assured them of federal support while encouraging the use of the MMR vaccine.

The head of the Shin Bet’s Jewish Department announced on Sunday that he would be stepping aside temporarily while an internal probe is carried out into comments that were reportedly made by him and came to light over the weekend.
In a message sent to staff within his division, he expressed remorse, stating: “I am sorry from the depths of my heart for the style of the things that were said, which do not characterize how I deal with the many other bodies with whom we collaborate.”

A tentative deal has been reached with the Florida Republican leading a bipartisan push to allow proxy voting in the U.S. House for new parents, potentially ending a standoff that halted legislative work for days and threatened to delay a vote this week to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who has been leading the bipartisan push on proxy voting, reached the deal, Luna said in a social media post on Sunday. Rather than allow proxy voting, Luna said the agreement would formalize a “pairing” system long used in Congress where one member who is physically present in the House cancels out the vote of someone who is absent.

An Israeli national named Gil Itamar was taken hostage over the weekend in Nigeria and later freed in a successful operation conducted by the Nigerian military, with support and coordination from Israel’s Foreign Ministry. Fortunately, the individual was recovered unharmed.
While Nigerian police reported that the abduction occurred while the Israeli was being accompanied by military personnel, that version of events was quickly disputed by the country’s army.
“Contrary to the police’s claim, the Israeli was alone in his vehicle, without any military escort or driver at the time of his abduction,” the Nigerian army told local news outlets.

Family and friends of former U.S. Rep. Mia Love are set to gather Monday in Salt Lake City to honor her life and legacy after she died of brain cancer in March at age 49. Love, a daughter of Haitian immigrants, was the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress. The former lawmaker from Utah had undergone treatment for an aggressive brain tumor called glioblastoma and received immunotherapy as part of a clinical trial. She died at her home in Saratoga Springs, Utah, weeks after her daughter announced she was no longer responding to treatment. State lawmakers and members of the public visited the Utah Capitol on Sunday evening to pay their respects at Love’s flag-covered coffin behind ropes in the building’s rotunda.