101-year-old Hasidic family matriarch who fled Russia after WWII fatally struck by unlicensed driver in NYC

 

A 101-year-old Hasidic family matriarch who fled Russia after World War II – and was “extremely independent till her last day” – was fatally struck by an unlicensed driver in Brooklyn, according to cops and her family. 

Taibel Brod was walking home from a birthday party for a rebbe around 8:25 p.m. on April 8 when a 65-year-old man behind the wheel of a 2023 GMC Yukon SUV plowed into her as she crossed at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and Montgomery Street in Crown Heights, authorities and relatives said.

Brod was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center, where she was initially listed in stable condition – but succumbed to her injuries less than two weeks later, on Sunday, police said. 

Brod left behind five children – three sons, two daughters — and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to her loved ones. 

Born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, Brod was among many Hasidim who fled Russia on escape trains to Poland, according to an online obituary. 

She met her husband, Reb Chatzkel Brod, at the Poking displaced persons camp in Germany, the obit said. 

They married there and had two daughters before moving to the US in 1951, according to Brod’s relatives. 

The growing Chabad family lived in Brownsville before moving to Crown Heights in the mid-1950s.

Brod lived alone after her husband died 20 years ago.

On Thursday afternoon, her Crown Heights home – a short walk from the deadly crash – was filled with grieving family members sitting shiva, a seven-day Jewish mourning ritual.

Her son, Yosef Brod, 73, who works as a building engineer in Los Angeles, said his mother spent decades feeding patients at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center. 

“For over 50 years she would feed patients,” said Yosef, as he sat next to three lit candles. “Over 50 years day in and day out.”

Yosef said his mother, who was “very active in the community,” had “goodness and kindness going for her.”

Another son echoed his sentiments.

Minnesota shoplifting bust narrowly thwarts potential mass-shooting planned by suspect: ‘israelliImperialism’

 A Minnesota shoplifting spree turned out to be something far more nefarious — with police alleging the deranged suspect was plotting to carry out a religiously-charged “mass-casualty” shooting within hours.

Mohamed Adan Mohamed, 24, was arrested on April 17 after he took off from a Mankato sporting goods store with more than $2,000 worth of ammunition magazines, body armor and bear spray, according to Blue Earth County charging documents.

Store employees had noticed Mohamed prowling about the shop in an oversized jacket, medical mask and hat, and grabbing expensive items off the shelves without checking the prices.

When they confronted him, he explained he was buying supplies for his AR-style rifle, according to the docs.

Police were called to the scene over reports of a suspicious person, but before they could arrive, Mohamed ran off with the goods as store security tried to stop him. He then leapt into a minivan without plates and sped away — jumping a curb and nearly hitting somebody in the process, the papers alleged.

However, he left behind a shopping list at the scene, labelled “Survival Gear List with Alternative” — which included a sleeping bag, gun magazines, pepper spray, knives, lighters and bow and arrows.

One of the responding officers reviewing the bizarre list remembered a recent investigation into a local man who’d been posting videos of himself pointing guns at the camera.

And the hashtags on those videos — allegedly posted by Mohamed — read “deathtoamerikkan&israelliImperialism,” according to police.

Investigators found that a Sienna matching the one seen at the scene was registered to Mohamed’s address in nearby St. Peter, and determined “there were strong indicators that Mohamed was preparing to conduct some sort of attack in the next twenty-four hours,” which they also called a possible “mass casualty event.”

Investigators searched Mohamed’s home and found an assault rifle and two 3D-printed guns. He was then arrested at his home.

Neighbors said they are saddened by Mohamed’s arrest but not entirely surprised. A former classmate recalled that he had been struggling with mental health since high school.

“We grew in St. Peter together, and it’s heartbreaking,” a neighbor named Dunia told CBS Minnesota. “We just start seeing Mohamed just start talking to himself, not socializing with us, with the kids.”

“He has a very beautiful heart,” she added. “He’s a really good guy. It’s just, he’s not mentally, physically there right now at the moment.”

Mohamed was charged with felony theft, and threats of violence. Both charges could carry sentences of up to five years in prison.

Unilever lays down the law after Ben & Jerry’s woke founders try to buy back brand

Unilever on Thursday said the conglomerate has no intention of selling Ben & Jerry’s — despite a bid by the founders of the popular ice cream brand to buy back the company.

Starting July 1, Unilever’s ice cream brands will be spun off and renamed the Magnum Ice Cream Company, a nod to the division’s other popular company. The spin-off will be listed in the Netherlands as a separate company.

“The separation and listing of ice cream is the option that we consider maximizes shareholder value, that has not changed,” Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez said on a media call, according to Bloomberg.

Ben & Jerry’s did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

Ben & Jerry’s has been battling its London-based owner for years over its freedom to support liberal causes publicly, like protesting President Trump and the war in Gaza, and calling for police departments to be defunded.

In 2022, the ice cream brand sued Unilever for selling its Ben & Jerry’s business in Israel to a partner who continued to sell the sweet treats with slightly different branding.

The companies reached a settlement that same year, which required Unilever to respect Ben & Jerry’s independent board.

Earlier this week, news broke that Unilever allegedly threatened to pull funding for the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, a nonprofit supporting organizations that advocate for prison reforms and undocumented youth.

Unilever demanded the foundation submit to an expedited audit to continue receiving funding – about $5 million each year, sources told Reuters.

“We have not made any threat,” Fernandez said, adding that audits are a valid form of governance and the company wants to know where its money is going.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that these funds are used properly,” he said. “It has to be allocated to areas or institutions that are absolutely in line with the ones that are part of the acquisition agreement.”

In March, Ben & Jerry’s claimed Unilever fired its chief executive David Stever, who started as a tour guide at the brand’s Waterbury, Vt., factory, over anti-Trump activism. 

The brand argued the firing violated its 2000 merger agreement with Unilever.

Unilever responded that it has the authority to appoint a new chief executive, and that it would only make such a decision after speaking with the board.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, childhood friends from Long Island, NY, founded the company in 1978. They sold the company to Unilever for $326 million in 2000.

 

Sa'ar wants Banks to revoke 200 shekel bills in order to undermine Hamas' economy.

 

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar has submitted a request to Prof. Amir Yaron, Governor of the Bank of Israel, to carry out an extraordinary economic move and revoke the legal tender status of certain 200 Shekel bills.

The goal is to undermine Hamas’ economic power base in the Gaza Strip. Sa'ar explained that Hamas relies heavily on cash circulating within Gaza, estimated at billions of shekels.

According to Sa'ar, Hamas uses these bills to pay its operatives and collect “taxes” from merchants. According to a team of experts, who worked on a voluntary basis, about 80% of the amount in Gaza is held in 200 shekel bills.

“Denying the financing capacity of terrorist organizations in general and Hamas, in particular, is a vital pillar of the war effort,” Sa'ar wrote.

Sa'ar added that canceling a certain series of 200 shekel bills, which were transferred to Gaza in recent years, could deal a "strategic economic blow" to Hamas, disrupting its governance abilities and recruitment mechanisms.

This is for the Idiot That commented on DIN That The Female IDF Are "Not Heros"

 

In memory of the IDF female soldiers who fell in battle in this war while bravely defending the homeland until their last breath.

May their memory be forever a blessing. pic.twitter.com/K0ocHHXcOQ

— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) April 23, 2025

Yom Hashoah!!

 Tonight and tomorrow on Yom HaShoah, we at DIN remember the 6 million Jews who were brutally murdered during the Holocaust.

*Especially now, as antisemitism is once again rearing its ugly head, I believe that regardless of whether one agrees with designating a specific day for Holocaust remembrance, as opposed to honoring the Kedoshim every single day, we can all take a moment to pause, to reflect, and to remember the holy Neshamos who were murdered solely for being Jewish.

 Say a kapitel tehillim that you otherwise wouldn’t say. Maybe refrain from that conversation during Chazaras HaShatz. 

Do something L’iluy Nishmasam.*

Rabbi Dov Landau admitted to hospital following fall.

 

Rabbi Dov Landau, leader of the Lithuanian-haredi community and the dean of the Slabodka Yeshiva, was evacuated Thursday morning to Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center after falling during the night.

Rabbi Landau, 95, fell while he was at his home and suffered great pain. Following his fall, Rabbi Landau did not attend the morning prayers at the yeshiva.

The hospital conducted a series of imaging and other tests on Rabbi Landau, and admitted him for further observation.

The family has asked the public to pray for the complete recovery of Rabbi Ephraim Dov, the son of Devora, among the other ill of Israel.

'Ani Maamin': The song of hope and faith born on the train to Treblinka

 

In 1942, Rabbi Azriel David Fastag, a cantor composer from the Modzitz hasidic sect, was squashed onto a train together with thousands of his Jewish brethren, on their way to the Treblinka death camp.

In the suffocating crush, he began humming a quiet tune to the words of the twelfth Principle of Faith, "I believe with full faith in the coming of Moshiach (the messiah)." The tune spread throughout the train car, becoming a tune of hope in the darkness.

Rabbi Azriel David, who sensed his end was near, asked that the tune be passed to his leader, the Modzitz Rebbe, who then lived in the US. He promised half of his portion in the World to Come to whoever succeeded in bringing the tune to the Rebbe.

Two Jews jumped from the train. One of them was killed, but the second succeeded in teaching the tune to the Modzitz Rebbe, Rabbi Shaul Yedidya Elazar Taub, who disseminated it throughout the Jewish world.

"With this tune, Jewish marched to the gas chambers, and with this tune, Jews will march to greet Moshiach," he said.

The tune became a symbol of hope and faith, and is performed to this day at Holocaust memorial events and ceremonies.

Man Killed in Rare Shark Attack Off Hadera Coast Identified as Barak Tzach

Police have confirmed the death of Barak Tzach, a 45-year-old father of four from Petah Tikva, in a rare shark attack off the coast of Hadera. His remains were recovered and positively identified by forensic experts after he went missing Monday while snorkeling.

Tzach had entered the water with a GoPro camera to document sharks — not feed them — contrary to early speculation. His wife, Sarit Tzach, said he was simply observing from a distance and used his camera stick to gently push the sharks away when they came too close.

Eyewitnesses described a terrifying scene. One woman told Channel 12 that Tzach shouted, “I’ve been bitten,” before being dragged away by several sharks. Bystanders captured the incident on video as it unfolded in the Mediterranean waters.

The attack occurred in an area known to attract sharks due to warm water discharged from a nearby power plant. Although the zone is officially off-limits to swimmers, many had entered the sea during the Passover holiday week, some reportedly interacting with the sharks.

Marine authorities say this is only the third recorded shark attack in Israel’s history — and the first fatal one in decades. Beaches in the area have been closed until further notice.

 

Ben-Gvir Treated Royally at Mar-a-Lago

 Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir met with senior members of the Republican Party at U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday night.

“I had the honor and privilege of meeting with senior members of the Republican Party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate,” Ben-Gvir tweeted on Wednesday morning.

“They expressed support for my clear stance on how action should be taken in Gaza—that food and aid depots should be bombed to create military and political pressure to bring our hostages home,” he stated.

His office added that during the Mar-a-Lago dinner, Ben Gvir met with GOP House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and was invited to speak to members of Congress and senators from the Republican Party.

Addressing attendees in Hebrew through an interpreter, Ben-Gvir said, “I love you very much, I love the American people. We have a joint war against the jihadists—for many years, I’ve been fighting against them.”‘ ...

He added: “Thank God, we’ve made a few changes in Israel in how we treat jailed terrorists. It used to be like a hotel over there. We took away all their privileges, canteen, showers, television, radio.”

The statement from Ben-Gvir’s office said that the Tuesday evening dinner also included dozens of “senior businessmen” from Miami.

Ahead of the dinner, Ben-Gvir visited a Miami-area police station.

As part of the minister’s first-ever official visit abroad, which started on Monday, Ben-Gvir also met with Jewish community leaders, public figures and American government officials, his office stated.

Following his arrival at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Monday, Ben-Gvir was hounded by left-wing Israeli activists, who accused the right-wing minister of being a “racist” and a “terrorist.”

After his arrival, Ben-Gvir met with members of the Boca Raton Jewish community, as well as the Aleph Institute, a group that supports Jewish inmates and is affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

On Monday, Ben-Gvir toured the Everglades Correctional Institute, meeting with Jewish inmates and observing rehabilitation programs.

The police minister also visited an Israeli supermarket in Hollywood, Florida, and stopped at a Jewish-owned gun store in the Miami area.

Ben-Gvir will leave for New York on Wednesday, including a stop at Yale University in Connecticut. There, he will meet with students and faculty at an off-campus event hosted by Shabtai, a global Jewish leadership society independent from the university.

The U.S. visit, which a spokesman for Ben-Gvir described to JNS earlier this month as “political-diplomatic,” marks the minister’s first official overseas visit since he joined the government in December 2022.