The live Yom Ha’atzmaut ceremony at Har Herzl and small ceremonies across the country, scheduled for Wednesday evening, were canceled due to the fires still raging across Israel. Instead, a recorded dress rehearsal was broadcast on Israeli TV channels. One of the torch-lighters was freed hostage Emily Damari, who was abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Speaking briefly from stage before lighting the touch, Emily said that she is lighting the torch in honor of the 59 hostages still in captivity; the 64 residents of Kfar Aza who were murdered during the massacre; including two of her close friends, the Israeli security forces who risk their lives; those who fell in battle; the orphan and widows, and bereaved families who lost their loved ones.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) dismissed concerns about his plummeting 17% approval rating during a tense press conference Tuesday, as CNN’s chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju pressed him on whether he’s become a liability for the Democratic Party. Raju confronted Schumer with a fresh CNN poll revealing a mere 17% favorable rating for Schumer against a staggering 44% unfavorable view among U.S. adults. “Are you concerned that you may be a liability for your party?” Raju asked, citing Schumer’s lower approval compared to other congressional leaders. Schumer brushed off the numbers, saying, “Polls come and go. Our party is united.

A suspect was arrested late Tuesday evening by the NYPD with assistance from Boro Park Shomrim after violently robbing a delivery driver and fleeing on the victim’s moped. The incident occurred at 12th Avenue and 43rd Street, where the suspect threw the delivery driver off his moped and rode off with it. A Boro Park Shomrim volunteer who happened to be on the block witnessed the incident and immediately radioed for backup. Shomrim then alerted the NYPD and initiated a coordinated search. Shomrim volunteers tracked the suspect to 41st Street between 9th and 10th Avenues, where he was arrested by the NYPD. The stolen moped was recovered at the scene. A knife and BB gun were also found in the suspect’s possession, though neither weapon was displayed during the robbery.

Fox News host Mark Levin and Harvard Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz delivered tore into Harvard University on Sunday night, accusing the Ivy League institution of harboring “anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Zionism” while applauding President Donald Trump for taking action to hold universities accountable. Appearing on Fox News’ Life, Liberty & Levin, Dershowitz condemned Harvard’s lawsuit against the Trump administration over a recent federal funding freeze. Harvard claims the freeze threatens critical research and represents an unconstitutional attempt to “micromanage” higher education. Dershowitz called the university’s defense a farce.

On Sunday night, Congressman Mike Lawler faced a loud and hostile crowd during a town hall at Clarkstown South High School, an event open to residents of New York’s 17th Congressional District. A Monsey Scoop reporter was present and witnessed the repeated booing, shouting, and disruptions that dominated much of the evening. The town hall, held April 27th, was part of Lawler’s ongoing efforts to engage directly with constituents. Throughout the event, Lawler remained composed as he took questions on a range of topics, including immigration, foreign aid, and antisemitism, even as many attendees grew increasingly combative.

The firsts day of the chavrusah tumult is underway at BMG, as the summer Zman kicks off. The tumult generally last for two days, with talmidim of the yeshiva seeking out chavrusos and which chaburah they will be in.

Israeli forces have deployed the newly developed “Bar” rocket, designed by Elbit Systems, for the first time against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, the IDF announced Monday. According to the IDF, the “Bar” rocket is equipped with an advanced navigation mechanism specifically adapted for challenging combat environments, allowing forces to strike targets with remarkable speed and precision. The 282nd Artillery Brigade, operating under the IDF’s 36th Division, was the first to use the rocket during ongoing operations in Gaza. Artillery troops from the brigade, who have been active in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, have fired more than 5,000 shells at terror infrastructure along the “Morag” Corridor — a strategic strip separating Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Riots broke out today outside the IDF recruitment center in Tel Hashomer, as Charedim staged loud and aggressive protests against the enlistment of yeshivaleit into the army. The protesters attempted to disrupt the recruitment of soldiers for the Chashmonaim Brigade — a unit specifically designed to accommodate charedi recruits who wish to uphold a Torah lifestyle while serving. Demonstrators blocked roads, shouted inflammatory slogans, and handed out anti-enlistment pamphlets.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that before the “exploding pagers operation” was carried out last year, he was skeptical that the tiny amount of explosives in the rigged pagers would be enough to injure Hezbollah terrorists. Speaking at the JNS conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said: “In the third week of September, we learned that Hezbollah had sent three pagers to Iran for scanning. They had this minuscule amount of TNT. When the Mossad guy showed them to me three weeks earlier: ‘I said: ‘Is that really going to do the job?'” “I took it and threw it on the wood panel in my office and it dented it.

A massive fire erupted at Savon Shoes, located at the corner of 13th Avenue and 39th Street in Boro Park, early Monday morning, at 2:00 a.m. FDNY firefighters responded swiftly, but the blaze escalated quickly, with heavy smoke billowing from the store. The fire was upgraded to a third alarm as crews worked tirelessly to extinguish the flames. One firefighter sustained injuries during the operation, and Boro Park Hatzolah was on scene to provide medical support. The cause of the fire was unknown. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)