Donald Trump said Xi Jinping was “extremely hard to make a deal with” as the leaders of the world’s two largest economies battle over trade.

Mazal Tov! Kibbutz Be’eri holds its first bris milah since the October 7 massacre. The couple, who survived the attack, named their newborn son in memory of murdered family members and the soldier who rescued them. The parents named their boy Bar Shavit. The name “Bar” honors the mom’s parents, Yuval and Maayan Bar HY’D, who were killed in the attack. “Shavit” is in tribute to Shavit Lev, a reservist from the Israeli navy’s elite Shayetet 13 unit, who found the family hiding in the bushes and led them to safety.

Hachnosas Sefer Torah held on Motzei Shavuos (for Americans) at Reb Tzvi Kaplans Yeshiva in the Ezras Torah neighborhood of Yerushalyim.

In a bizarre event, Anthony Thomas Reyes, 23, was arrested for trespassing at Mar-a-Lago after scaling the fence, claiming he wanted to marry Donald Trump’s granddaughter. He is now being held in Palm Beach County on $50,000 bail.

Master Sergeant (Res.) Alon Farkas, 27, from Kabri, was killed in action during a battle in northern Gaza, the IDF confirmed Wednesday. Farkas served in the 6646th Reconnaissance Battalion of the 646th Brigade.
The confrontation that claimed Farkas’s life also left another reservist from the same battalion critically wounded. The injured soldier was quickly transported to a hospital for urgent care, and his family has been informed of his condition.
In a separate encounter in Gaza, a Hamas drone dropped an explosive device on a group of soldiers operating in Jabaliya, northern Gaza. As a result, two members of the elite Yahalom Unit sustained moderate injuries, and a Shin Bet officer suffered light wounds.

The home of Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch has issued a stark warning: If there is no significant breakthrough on the long-stalled draft law, the Degel HaTorah faction within United Torah Judaism will exit the governing coalition.
This announcement follows what is perceived as a continued standstill in legislation that would accommodate chareidi yeshiva students within Israel’s mandatory military conscription framework. The statement from Rav Hirsch’s home emphasized that without a dramatic change, the time has come to take decisive action.

In a landmark ruling, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation have announced that all stones from the Kosel HaMa’aravi currently scattered across various locations in Israel will be returned to their original location for genizah (burial), in accordance with the position of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

A 22-year-old Vizhnitz chassid studying to become a sofer, is now at the center of one of the most unusual espionage cases in Israel’s history — a tale that began with financial stress, a smartphone, and a mysterious message from a woman named “Anna.” Facing mounting debts of nearly 70,000 shekels, which he attributed to “poor financial choices,” Stern purchased a smartphone in June 2024 — a rare and frowned-upon move in his kehilla. Hoping to make fast money trading cryptocurrency, he downloaded investment apps and joined several Telegram groups. It wasn’t long before he was scammed out of 5,000 shekels.