An appointee to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Fiscal Sustainability Working Group, Ishan Daya, resigned just hours after his selection was announced, following criticism over a 2023 video showing him tearing down posters of Israeli hostages. Daya, a community organizer focused on public safety and mental health, was one of 20 appointees to the mayor’s advisory committee tasked with addressing Chicago’s fiscal challenges. However, his appointment sparked immediate outrage from Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Chicago Jewish Community Relations Council, as well as Alderman Debra Silverstein, the city’s only Jewish alderwoman.

A new Senate report released by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) alleges that U.S. health officials were aware of the risks of myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation, linked to COVID-19 vaccines but delayed informing the public, potentially jeopardizing the health of young Americans. According to the report, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was notified by the Israeli Ministry of Health in February 2021 of multiple reports of myocarditis, particularly in young people, following administration of the Pfizer vaccine. By April 2021, CDC officials were discussing “safety signals” for myocarditis linked to mRNA vaccines, based on data from the U.S. Defense Department and Israel. Despite this, the report claims, no immediate steps were taken to warn the public.

  Delta Air Lines is set to restart daily flights between Ben Gurion Airport and JFK Airport starting today, May 20, 2025. On May 4, Delta halted all flights to Tel Aviv after a ballistic missile from Yemen struck Ben Gurion Airport. The decision follows “an exhaustive security assessment,” with Delta stating it will “continue closely monitoring the situation in the region in close coordination with government officials and other stakeholders.” The airline’s return comes as other carriers, like United Airlines, also plan to resume US-Tel Aviv routes in June, signaling cautious optimism despite persistent regional instability.

Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency has successfully brought home a vast trove of secret Syrian archives detailing the life, mission, and final days of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen — six decades after his execution in Damascus. Timed to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Cohen’s public hanging in Damascus’s Marjeh Square on May 18, 1965, the announcement of the covert mission, executed in cooperation with a strategic foreign intelligence partner, marks a historic breakthrough in Israel’s ongoing effort to uncover the truth behind its most iconic agent.

An explosion killed a person and heavily damaged a fertility clinic Saturday in the upscale California city of Palm Springs in what the FBI characterized as an “intentional act of terrorism.” Akil Davis, the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said in the evening that the clinic was deliberately targeted, while declining to elaborate on how authorities have reached a conclusion on a motive. Authorities were still working to confirm the identity of the person who died at the scene. Davis would not directly say whether that person was the suspect but said authorities were not searching for a suspect. Davis also said four people were hurt but provided no additional details on the severity of the injuries.

A political firestorm erupted Thursday when former FBI Director James Comey posted a cryptic Instagram photo of seashells arranged to form the numbers “8647,” which many in conservative circles interpret as a coded call to assassinate President Donald Trump. The post, deleted after sparking outrage, has prompted investigations by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Secret Service, with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard leading calls for Comey’s arrest. The controversy stems from the phrase “86 47,” where “86” is slang for “to get rid of” or, more recently, “to kill,” and “47” refers to Trump’s status as the 47th President of the United States.

Catskills Hatzalah held a Hanochas Even Hapinah on Sunday at the site of its upcoming garage facility, located at the intersection of Anawana Lake Road and Fraser Road in Kiamesha. The new facility will feature three garage bays to accommodate several ambulances, a fully equipped paramedic stock room, and two lodging areas for on-call paramedics—significantly enhancing Hatzalah’s emergency response capabilities across the Catskills region. In attendance were a small group of Catskills Hatzalah coordinators, the Viznitzer Rebbe of Kiamesha, and members of the donor’s family. The event marked a meaningful step forward in Hatzalah’s continued mission to provide lifesaving care to the community. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Tensions within the Israeli government coalition continue to mount, as United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas maintain a coordinated boycott of all Knesset votes, demanding progress on legislation to secure continued draft exemptions for yeshiva bochurim. The protest began last week after a senior IDF official, Brigadier General Shai Taib, warned of a growing shortage of manpower in the army, asserting that the IDF is short 12,000 soldiers—including 7,000 for combat roles. While the army’s concerns were presented in technical terms, many saw the comments as a signal toward renewed pressure on the chareidi community to increase enlistment. In response, UTJ suspended its participation in all votes, effectively paralyzing parts of the coalition’s legislative agenda.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who sports a long track record of incendiary anti-Israel rhetoric, is now throwing her weight—and donor list—behind Zohran Mamdani’s quixotic campaign for New York City mayor. In a fundraising text blast reported by the New York Post, Tlaib rallied support for the New Yorkers for Lower Costs super PAC, a group aligned with Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist currently serving in the New York State Assembly. Both Tlaib and Mamdani are vocal advocates of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement—a campaign widely condemned as antisemitic by mainstream Jewish organizations. Mamdani, who has roots in Indian and Ugandan heritage, has made headlines in recent months for his inflammatory attacks on Israel.

The ballistic missile launched on Sunday morning by the Houthis from Yemen towards Israel evaded two layers of advanced aerial defense systems and fell in a field near Terminal 3 near Ben Gurion Airport. The first interception was carried out using an interceptor from the Israeli Arrow 3 long-range air defense, but it failed to hit the target. Another interceptor was launched from the American THAAD system. According to senior officials in Israel, the missile that hit Ben Gurion was not a new or particularly advanced missile, but a known model that has been intercepted in the past. The IDF is conducting an investigation to examine the incident, including an assessment of whether the interception failure was due to a technical malfunction or human error.