Candace Owens, a media personality with a long history of antisemitic rhetoric, weaponized an article from Ami Magazine to promote anti-Israel conspiracy theories. In a recent livestream, Owens expressed astonishment at an Ami Magazine article she claimed to have read, using it to push the narrative that Israel has long controlled American policy through blackmail and manipulation. She alleged, without evidence, that Israel and its intelligence agency, the Mossad, have systematically blackmailed powerful American families—including the Bushes, Rockefellers, and the Dulles family—to exert influence over U.S. politics, business, and media. Her “evidence” came from an article and book written by John Loftus, an Ami Magazine contributor who, sources tell YWN, makes things up on the fly.

U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff acknowledged Sunday that Hamas may have “duped” him during critical ceasefire negotiations earlier this month. Witkoff, who spearheaded efforts to extend the fragile truce in Gaza, had believed that his bridge proposal—a deal that could have halted hostilities through mid-April—had been accepted by the terror group. But Hamas pulled back, shattering hopes for a prolonged ceasefire. “I thought we had an acceptable deal. I even thought we had an approval from Hamas. Maybe that’s just me getting duped,” Witkoff admitted during an interview on Fox News Sunday.

President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the immediate revocation of security clearances for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Antony Blinken, Hillary Clinton, Liz Cheney, Jake Sullivan, and every member of the Biden family. The move marks a seismic shift in national security access for former high-ranking officials and sends a clear message that the era of political insiders retaining classified privileges is over. “I hereby direct every executive department and agency head to take all additional action as necessary and consistent with existing law to revoke any active security clearances held by the aforementioned individuals and to immediately rescind their access to classified information,” Trump declared.

The Vaad HaYeshivos—the backbone of coordination between bnei Torah and the Defense Ministry regarding deferments—has found itself frozen out of the 2025 state budget, leaving the Torah world reeling. During a fiery session in the Knesset Finance Committee, Amos Sayada, head of the Education Ministry’s Torah Institutions Division, confirmed what many had feared: the Vaad HaYeshivos has seen its government funding dry up, a direct consequence of the High Court’s 2024 ruling demanding the draft of lomdei Torah. For decades, the Vaad HaYeshivos has operated as the lifeline for talmidim navigating the bureaucracy of army deferments, with strong government support.

A large section of the facade of Yeshiva University’s Belz Building partially collapsed Sunday morning, sending debris crashing onto a sidewalk shed and causing significant damage. The incident occurred around 9:20 a.m. at the five-story building on 185th Street near Amsterdam Avenue, prompting an emergency response from the FDNY and Department of Buildings (DOB) inspectors. A 6-foot-by-70-foot section of the building’s facade broke away, causing a 70-foot portion of the sidewalk shed below to collapse onto Amsterdam Avenue, according to the DOB. Despite the dramatic collapse, no injuries were reported. Videos from the scene show a massive pile of rubble in front of the building, surrounded by police tape.

The US has been exerting massive pressure on Egypt in recent weeks to absorb hundreds of thousands of Gazans. The London-based New Arab media outlet reported that the US plan, which was conveyed to Egypt through UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, is that Egypt will absorb between half a million and 700,000 Gazans. According to the report, Bin-Zayed arrived in Egypt on Sunday evening for a visit and conveyed the US message to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, saying that if Egypt complies with the plan, the US will provide massive financial assistance of billions of dollars to aid the Egyptian economy, which is currently in crisis.

Hamas agreed to an Egyptian proposal that includes the release of five live hostages in exchange for the resumption of humanitarian aid into Gaza, a weeks-long ceasefire, and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the Associated Press reported on Monday morning. Reuters reported on the Egyptian proposal on Friday but did not disclose details. The AP report revealed details from sources in Egypt that the agreement includes the release of five live hostages, including US-Israeli citizen Eden Alexander. A senior Hamas official told the AP that the organization “responded positively” to a proposal – which differs from its latest outline it agreed to: the release of Edan Alexander along with 4 deceased hostages with US citizenship.

As YWN reported, a historic meeting took place on Sunday between the Gerrer Rebbe and Hagaon HaRav Dov Landau, and Hagaon HaRav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, the two Roshei Yeshiva of Slabodka, at the home of Rav Landau in Bnei Brak. The Rebbe traveled from Yerushalayim to discuss whether to issue an ultimatum demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu pass a draft exemption law by Shavuos, or risk losing the support of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party in the coalition. Read the full story here. Photographer Shuki Lerer was inside the room, and has provided YWN with the photos of this historic meeting.

Another espionage case has rocked Israel as authorities announce the arrest of a 65-year-old man accused of spying for Iran. Edward Yusupov, a resident of Netivot, was taken into custody last month in a covert operation by Israeli police and the Shin Bet security service. Prosecutors from the Southern District Attorney’s Office have revealed that Yusupov is set to be indicted on charges of contact with agents from an enemy country. Investigators say Yusupov meticulously gathered intelligence on highly sensitive Israeli sites, including IDF bases, the Haifa Port, and even Israel’s nuclear research center in the Negev.

The Rav of the city of Orléans, about 74 miles southwest of Paris, was violently attacked in front of his son while returning from shul on Shabbos, French media reported. The reports said that Rabbi Aryeh Engelberg was on his way back from the shul at 1:30 p.m., accompanied by his 9-year-old son, when the assailant attacked him, kicking and punching him and biting him on his shoulder. A passerby intervened, and the attacker left the scene.