Two armed men believed to be Venezuelan migrants carjacked an off-duty NYPD officer in Harlem on Friday night, law enforcement sources reported. The suspects, identified as Jomar Crespo, 21, and Jose Rivera, 20, allegedly approached the officer while he was sitting in his personal vehicle around 11:30 p.m. at West 146 Street and Bradhurst Avenue. The men, who had tattoos associated with a Venezuelan gang, drew their weapons and demanded the officer’s keys. One of the suspects knocked the officer’s gun out of his hand, and they sped off in the officer’s 2020 BMW. The vehicle was later found empty less than a mile away; the officer’s iPad, which was inside the car, was used to track it down.

A 20-year-old Westchester County man, Zuhdi Ahmed, was arrested on Thursday for his alleged involvement in a hate crime against a Jewish Columbia University student, Jonathan Lederer, during a campus protest in April. According to authorities, Ahmed was part of a group that confronted Lederer, 22, on April 20, ripping away his Israeli flag and throwing a rock at his face. The incident occurred at Amsterdam Avenue and West 116th Street, and Ahmed allegedly screamed at Lederer and flipped him the bird before a third person set the flag on fire. Lederer, who was wearing a yarmulke, suffered minor injuries but refused medical attention.

The New York State Education Department has announced plans to sunset the Regents exams, a requirement for high school graduation since 1878. Under the new plan, students will no longer need to pass the three-hour exams to graduate, but can opt to take them to demonstrate proficiency in meeting state learning standards. Currently, students must earn 22 credits and pass at least four Regents exams for a Regents diploma, or seven state exams for the advanced diploma designation, which is seen as a boost to college applications. However, efforts led by NYSED Commissioner Betty Rosa have argued that graduation rates remain tied to race, poverty, and special needs, and that a single test is not sufficient to measure student success.

A 29-year-old Queens man, Judd Sanson, was arrested early Wednesday morning after a traffic stop revealed a cache of weapons and extremist materials in his vehicle, sparking fears of a potential terrorist plot. According to police, Sanson’s vehicle, a Ford Explorer with an obscured license plate, was pulled over around 1 a.m. near 23rd Avenue and 86th Street. Upon searching the car, officers found a loaded 9mm gun, nine loaded magazines, an NYPD vest, handcuffs, two axes, a stun gun, multiple knives, a weighted whip, and an expandable baton.

Governor Kathy Hochul is considering reinstating a partial mask ban in New York City’s subways, specifically targeting protesters who wear masks to conceal their identities. This move comes in response to recent antisemitic incidents, including a disturbing episode where masked protesters harassed Jewish riders on a crowded train. Hochul announced that she is working with lawmakers to explore options for a partial mask ban, with a focus on subways, but also considering other public spaces. She emphasized that any policy would include exemptions for health concerns, cultural events, religious reasons, and Halloween.

YWN regrets to inform you of the Petira of Reb Bentzion Kornreich Z”L, one of the well-known Gabboyim at “Landaus Shul” on Avenue L in Flatbush. The Niftar suffered a cardiac arrest a few weeks ago and was rushed by Hatzolah to the hospital, where he remained on life support until his Petira on Tuesday, Erev Shavuos. Due to the late hour, there will be no Levaya, and the Kevura will take place before Yom Tov at the Har Shalom Beis Hachaim in Airmont (Monsey). An article about the Niftar will I”H be published after Shavuos. Boruch Dayan HaEmmes…

New York City subway cars were filled with dangerous, hateful, and threatening antisemites on Monday before and following a protest outside the a memorial for the victims of the Nova music festival who were murdered in cold blood on October 7. Footage from the subways show shocking scenes, including one in which one antisemite announces, “Raise your hands if you’re a Zionist. This is your chance to get out.” Imagine changing the word “Zionist” to “Black” and see what reaction politicians would have. In another clip, filmed near the site of the Oct. 7 memorial, a protestor made clear what the “river to the sea” chanters mean. “I wish Hitler was still here. He would have wiped all of you out,” the man said.

Anti-Israel protesters chanted “Long live the Intifada” and waved a Hezbollah flag outside a memorial exhibit honoring the 364 victims of the October 7 Nova Music Festival attack on Monday night in downtown Manhattan. The protesters, organized by the pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, clashed with police and yelled “Kill another Zionist now”, “long live the Intifada”, “Israel go to hell” during the “citywide day of rage for Gaza” demonstration. Six people were issued summonses for disorderly conduct and jumping turnstiles. “When the Zionists decided to rave,” a woman leading the chanting yelled and the crowd repeated after her, word for word, “next to a concentration camp, that’s exactly what this music festival was.

A heartwarming scene unfolded at Five Towns Premier Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Monday as a large crowd gathered to welcome Yonatan, an IDF soldier who had been grievously wounded in the Gaza Strip. Yonatan suffered severe injuries and underwent initial surgery in Israel, but due to the overwhelming number of casualties from the war, his necessary follow-up surgeries were put on hold. In a remarkable display of compassion, a doctor at Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus, NJ, learned of Yonatan’s situation and generously offered to take him on as a patient. Now, as Yonatan requirs rehabilitation, Five Towns Premier Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was contacted and kindly agreed to admit him.

The great Abie Rotenberg immortalized the importance of the annual Lag Ba’Omer Yeshiva and Beis Yaakov trips of our youth with his song The Ninth Man. After all, it was the bases loaded homerun hit by their Rebbe that changed the lives of those “Bums from the East Side” forever. For most, that trip was last week, but for a select group of special children, they finally had their opportunity to experience their trip earlier today. You see, the children that we speak of are not regular Yeshiva kids, rather these are the children of the Ditmas Children’s Center. Most of them have never seen the outside of their adopted home, other than for medical appointments and Chas V’Shalom hospital visits.