I love Eretz Yisroel with every fiber of my being. I daven for its safety, rejoice in its nissim, and cry over its tzaros. I am mechanech my children from the youngest age to say, “V’sechezena eineinu b’shuvcha l’Tzion b’rachamim.” In our shuls, our yeshivos, our homes — there is nothing more precious than the kedusha of Eretz HaKodesh and the situation of our brothers and sisters living there. And that’s exactly why I have no patience — not an ounce — for the chaos that Itamar Ben Gvir brought to our streets this week. He came to America under the banner of an “official visit.” To meet with who? Nobody. There were no real meetings scheduled. Not in Crown Heights. Not at Essen. Not at Shaarei Zion. Not at the Young Israel of Woodmere. Not anywhere.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke to the foreign press on Monday, addressing the hearing that began earlier in the day at the International Court of Justice regarding Israel’s obligations to facilitate aid to the Gaza Strip via international organizations, including the UN and UNWRA. Israel is facing claims that it violated international law by refusing to allow aid into the Gaza Strip until Hamas returns all the hostages. After Israel passed a series of laws last year banning the UNWRA from the country, the UN General Assembly requested that the ICJ issue an “advisory opinion” on Israel’s obligations regarding aid. Legal representatives of over 40 countries and international organizations are scheduled to argue against Israel before a full panel of 15 judges at a week of hearings.

North Korea on Monday confirmed for the first time that it has sent troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. U.S., South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials have said that North Korea last fall dispatched about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia. But North Korea hadn’t confirmed or denied its reported troop deployments to Russia until Monday. In a statement provided to North Korea’s state media, the North’s Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party said leader Kim Jong Un had decided to send combat troops to Russia under a mutual defense treaty.

Israeli warplanes last year intercepted Iranian aircraft headed toward Syria, preventing them from delivering troops meant to assist the country’s embattled president at the time, Bashar Assad, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday. The remarks in a speech gave a new glimpse into Israel’s thinking in the final days in power for Assad, a longtime enemy who was overthrown by insurgents last December. Speaking to a conference hosted by the Jewish News Syndicate, Netanyahu said that Iran wanted to save Assad after watching the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in neighboring Lebanon suffer heavy losses in fighting with Israel. “They had to rescue Assad,” Netanyahu said, explaining that Iran wanted to send “one or two airborne divisions” to help the Syrian leader.

Israeli fighter jets on Sunday attacked and destroyed a Hezbollah warehouse for precision missiles in Beirut. Before the attack, the IDF spokesperson in Arabic warned residents of several buildings and streets in the Dahiyeh quarter to immediately evacuate the area. IDF fighter jets also carried out two warning strikes before dropping the munitions on the target. The attack was the third time the IDF carried out airstrikes in Beirut since the ceasefire with Lebanon began in November 2024.

Qatari officials supported Hamas in rejecting the most recent Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire/hostage release, Israeli media outlets reported on Sunday. According to the report, Qatar pressured Hamas not to accept the proposal, claiming that the terror group would receive a better offer in the future. Israeli senior officials said that Qatar’s “assistance” in mediation efforts has been hindering progress in the talks, adding that it would be preferable to work solely with Egypt.

In a damning expose, two Gaza-based contributors to BBC Arabic have been revealed as open supporters of terrorism and violent antisemitism — even as they continued to appear on one of the world’s most prominent news platforms. The Telegraph reported that Samer Elzaenen, a 33-year-old journalist who has appeared repeatedly on BBC Arabic since the Israel-Hamas war began, has for years flooded social media with grotesque calls for Jewish blood. In one post, he vowed, “We’ll burn Jews like Hitler did.” In another, he instructed followers, “When things go awry for us, shoot the Jews, it fixes everything.” His posts are not isolated incidents.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer revealed Sunday that Democrats are “fighting back” against President Donald Trump’s decision to pull federal funding from Harvard University — by sending what he proudly described as a “very strong letter.” Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Schumer told anchor Dana Bash that he and several other Jewish senators had penned a letter to the White House demanding an explanation for the move, which came after Harvard refused to dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs or prohibit masked protests that Trump described as antisemitic. While Schumer admitted that Harvard has fallen short in addressing campus antisemitism, he accused Trump of overreaching.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas claimed last week that the First and Second Batei Mikdash were not in Yerushalayim — but in Yemen. Speaking at the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council meeting in Ramallah on Wednesday, Abbas accused Israel of plotting to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and replace it with a Jewish temple, before launching into his latest historical revisionism. “In the Noble Quran – and I believe that also in other divine books – it says that the Temples were in Yemen,” Abbas declared confidently. “People who like reading about religion can check it out.” Scholars and historians might beg to differ — or laugh outright.

On Sunday, Hatzolah of Mill Basin-Canarsie held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Tiferet Ovadia to dedicate the new “Beitel Family Ambulance,” generously donated by Mr. Ben Beitel and his family. The event drew a large crowd of community members, local leaders, elected officials, and emergency personnel, all gathered to honor the Beitel family’s commitment to lifesaving services in the Mill Basin and Canarsie communities. The new ambulance was dedicated in memory of Avraham and Chaya Sarah Altah Rosenthal, with the generous donation made by the Beitel family. The ceremony celebrated the addition of a state-of-the-art ambulance to Hatzolah’s fleet, enhancing the organization’s ability to provide rapid, expert medical response in the region.