Jewish World Mourns Rabbi Dov Fischer

 The Jewish world suffered a grievous loss with the passing on Monday after a long bout with illness of Rabbi Prof. Dov Fischer, beloved husband and father, Rav of the Young Israel of Orange County (Irvine, CA), attorney and law professor, author, and frequent much-read columnist for Israel National News as well as contributing editor at the American Spectator.

Rav Dov was an individual of great passion, courageous, intrepid, outspoken, keenly intelligent, and with a sublime gift of expression, sometimes profound and serious, sometimes subtly sarcastic and sometimes simply funny. 

He was a graduate of Columbia University, a musmach of Yeshiva University’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, and earned his law degree at UCLA. For a time, he practiced high stakes litigation with two prominent law firms. He taught Torah in several venues - as a Rav in Jersey City and a Rebbe at Rogosin Yeshiva High School in his youth, and then in California, with a plethora of his shiurim on YouTube.

As a Rav, he was noted for his pastoral sensitivity, his kindness, his enthusiastic commitment to kiruv, and his desire to bring love and observance of Torah to every Jew. A multi-dimensional personality whose days were filled with service to the Jewish people, he at one time also served as National Director of the JDL, as the head of Likud USA, as Vice-President of the Zionist Organization of America, and on the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of America.

Shoah survivor Ruth Posner dies with husband at Swiss suicide clinic >> They were not sick!

by Jamie Shapiro JC

Actor and Holocaust survivor Ruth Posner and her husband have died by suicide in a Swiss clinic because they "did not want to live without each other" 75 years of marriage.

Neither Posner, 96, nor her husband, Michael, 97, had medical certification stating they had less than six months to live, it is understood, and they were unable to undergo euthanasia at the well-known Dignitas clinic in Zurich. Instead, they went to another facility, Pegasos, near Basel.

The couple, from Belsize Park in London, who were said by a friend to be "frail" but mentally well, wrote an email to their loved ones and scheduled it to be sent after their deaths.

It read: “Dear family and friends,

“So sorry not to have mentioned it but when you receive this email we will have ‘shuffled off this mortal coil’.

“The decision was mutual and without any outside pressure. We had lived a long life and together for almost 75 years. There came a point when failing senses, of sight and hearing and lack of energy was not living but existing that no care would improve.

“We had an interesting and varied life and except for the sorrow of losing Jeremy, our son. We enjoyed our time together, we tried not to regret the past, live in the present and not to expect too much from the future.

“Much love, Ruth and Mike.”

Israeli Brides Face Abuse in UK Orthodox Marriages

 

An investigation by the British-based Jewish Chronicle reveals that dozens of charedi Israeli women are being brought to Britain and married off to abusive men. The women come from poorer families affected by illness, disabilities or family stigmas which prevent them from finding a shidduch in Israel. They are then brought to Britain and married off to men from wealthy families who are known to have a background of abuse, violence or even mental illness.

According to reporter Jane Prinsley, matchmakers often present the marriages as generous opportunities for the Israeli brides, a chance for them to wed into comfort and stability abroad. Many believe that their husbands will come back to Israel with them and do not realize that they intend to stay in Britain permanently. Not knowing any English and cut off from their family’s support, they are then subjected to physical and emotional abuse.

In the past six months, six such cases have come to light, but insiders believe the true number could be far higher. One expert helping domestic abuse survivors in the community said she has supported 12 women in similar circumstances in the last year.

In written testimony shared with the JC with the women’s permission, three Israeli survivors of abuse at the hands of their strictly Orthodox British husbands share their stories.  The women described being deprived of their passports, not having a phone to contact others and basically being trapped in violently abusive relationships with no way of escaping their suffering.

When one of the survivors finally mustered the courage to show other women her bruises, they rejected her pleas for help and told her to put her arms away, claiming it was not “tznius” to show her body. This caused the survivor to lose her faith in the community’s way of life.

From Satmar to England ...the Journey of a Chassidishe Couple

 Before & fter 

Mark Levin Accuses VP Vance Of Leaking Anti-Israel Messages From The White House

 Fox News host Mark Levin lashed out Monday at what he said was a coordinated campaign inside the White House to undermine Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and pointed the finger squarely at Vice President JD Vance’s office.

The outburst followed a string of anonymously sourced comments from Trump administration officials trashing Netanyahu ahead of his high-stakes meeting with President Donald Trump, where the president presented his plan to end the Gaza war.

One Trump adviser told Axios that special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner are “at their wits’ end with Israel,” warning that Netanyahu would be to blame for “enabling Hamas and doing nothing for the Palestinians who have so many humanitarian needs” if he rejected the deal. Another administration official was blunter: “Everyone — and I mean everyone — is exasperated with Bibi.”

A third official knocked Netanyahu for sparring with conservative media personality Tucker Carlson, saying, “Stop talking about Tucker. Stop getting influencers here to be your propaganda. It’s not helping you. It’s not helping Israel. And it sure isn’t helping us get a peace deal.”

Levin, long one of Netanyahu’s most vocal defenders in conservative media, erupted online. “Who are these ‘White House insiders’ trashing Israel and Netanyahu all day today?” he wrote on X. Levin then accused Vance’s team of orchestrating the leaks: “Tucker central is the VP’s office. They despise Netanyahu. I truly hope it’s not them. But it’s clearly someone.”

The host called the anonymous sniping “a scandal,” arguing that the administration’s aides are “undermining the president” and “pushing a propaganda campaign” that singles out Israel while ignoring “a single terrorist group or terrorist country.”

The clash comes against the backdrop of Levin’s yearlong feud with Carlson over Israel and broader foreign policy. The two ex-Fox colleagues have repeatedly clashed, with Levin accusing Carlson of fueling anti-Israel sentiment on the right.

Tensions escalated after Carlson made remarks at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service earlier this month that were widely criticized as anti-Semitic. Levin urged conservatives to “speak out” before “irreversible damage is done to our country, our movement, and our party.”

“This is a real cancer that is metastasizing and leads to horrendous consequences,” Levin warned.

Charedie Children Keep Dying !Child Passes Away From Measles Complications, 7 More In Intensive Care

A one-and-a-half-year-old toddler who had contracted measles collapsed on Saturday evening after experiencing multi-system failure in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood. Paramedics who were called to the scene found him unconscious and began resuscitation efforts. He was evacuated to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital, where intensive resuscitation efforts continued, but the medical teams were ultimately forced to pronounce him dead.

This is the sixth death from measles since the outbreak began, and the fourth death in the past week alone. Just two days ago, the fifth fatal case was reported: a one-year-old infant who was rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in critical condition after suffering from the disease for three weeks. He was transferred while undergoing prolonged resuscitation, but doctors were unable to save him.

Earlier this week, a one-year-old baby girl who had been hospitalized about two months ago at Hadassah Ein Kerem also passed away from measles. She had been in serious condition, suffering from severe respiratory distress and was connected to an ECMO machine. Medical staff fought for weeks to save her, but ultimately, secondary organ failure led to her death. Over the weekend, another unvaccinated toddler also passed away.

Currently, 21 measles patients are hospitalized in Israel, most of them children under the age of six who were not vaccinated. Seven of them are in intensive care, and one is connected to an ECMO machine. The majority of the patients belong to the charedi community.

The Ministry of Health warns that measles is a highly dangerous viral disease that can lead to severe complications, including pneumonia, meningitis, and even death, particularly among infants, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems.

Measles is transmitted through the air via coughing or sneezing, and infects over 90% of unvaccinated individuals who are exposed to an infected person.

The first symptoms typically appear about two weeks after infection and include high fever, dry cough, runny nose, red eyes, and a characteristic rash that begins on the face and spreads throughout the body.

In Israel, two routine doses of the measles vaccine are administered: The first dose at 12 months of age, the second dose in first grade (around age 6). In areas experiencing outbreaks, the Ministry of Health recommends advancing the second dose to 18 months of age. In addition, infants aged 6 to 12 months may receive the vaccine in cases of exposure to the disease or before traveling to outbreak regions.

Last week, the ministry instructed clinics to allow immediate vaccination of infants aged 6 to 11 months at Maternal and Child Health Clinics (Tipat Chalav) even without an appointment in areas with active outbreaks.

Currently, active measles outbreaks are recorded in the following towns and cities: Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Harish, Modi’in Illit and Nof HaGalil.Vaccination centers have been set up in these cities, where vaccines are available without requiring an appointment. Parents can check their children’s vaccination status via the digital vaccination record on the government’s personal website.

French, British Jerusalem Consulates Say They’re In Palestine: ‘Cut Off Water And Electricity’ Says Retired Judge

According to the European Union website, the French consulate in Jerusalem, located on Emile Botta Street in the western part of the city which was in Israel even pre-1967, is now located in “Palestine.” Israel believes that France requested this address change on the website following France’s recent recognition of a Palestinian state, and it will likely demand that the European Union change the address back.

Britain has also changed the address of one of its embassies to “Palestine,” but only for the one located in East Jerusalem.

Retired judge Haran Feinstein, who is also an adjunct lecturer at the Department of Criminology at Bar Ilan University, says that the Jerusalem municipality should respond to these decisions by cutting off the water and electricity to the consulates.

“If I were the Mayor of Jerusalem, I would shut off their water and announce that we have no such address in our records. I would also have the Electric Company cut their power and state that we have no such address in our registry,” Haran told journalist Eli Tzipori.

“There is no such thing as ‘Jerusalem, Palestine’ — no water and no electricity.”

MK Dan Ilouz(Likud) went a step further, arriving at the French consulate in Jerusalem on Thursday and setting up a mobile office in protest of France’s recognition of a Palestinian state.

Among other things, Illouz made statements in three languages — Hebrew, English, and French — and demanded the immediate closure of the consulate.

“France, the UK — you miscalculated: recognition of a Palestinian state crosses a red line,” said MK Illouz.He added: “The response must be twofold and unequivocal:

• Full application of sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, to make it clear to the world that this land is ours, and to show that terrorism results in a price, not a diplomatic achievement.
• Immediate closure of consulates that serve the enemy from within Jerusalem, which have turned into embassies of an imaginary state and spread anti-Israeli content.

  By Yehuda Dov

Netanyahu’s ‘disgraceful’ apology to Qatar triggers political firestorm

 

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apology to Qatar for Israel’s strike in Doha has ignited intense backlash across Israel.

Critics across the political spectrum condemned the move as a sign of weakness.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the apology a betrayal: “Those who send monsters to burn babies… should know there is no place in the world where they are safe.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slammed it as a “disgrace” that undermines Israeli dignity.

Coalition partners and MKs privately and publicly questioned Netanyahu’s resolve. Among some Knesset members, whispers turned to open criticism that he placed diplomatic expediency above deterrence.

Opposition figures used the moment to cast Netanyahu as politically dependent and timid.

On social media, Israelis attacked him for “kowtowing to foreign pressure” and selling out national pride.

Some commentators drew a sharp line between the apology and the ongoing “Qatargate” scandal, suggesting the two were intertwined in public perception.

The Qatargate affair — the scandal over Netanyahu’s aides allegedly receiving payments from Qatar — has already shaken public trust.

For many, the apology only deepened fears that the prime minister is compromising security and sovereignty interests for foreign diplomacy.

Netanyahu now finds himself squeezed: trying to maintain good ties with Washington and Doha while battling mounting scorn at home.

He will soon have to explain if his apology was strategic or a capitulation. It remains to seen if the Israeli public will accept either explanation.

“Blue-and-White Wall” to Meet Greta’s Gaza Flotilla at Sea

 

Israeli civilians are organizing a counter-flotilla to visibly confront the Global “Sumud” convoy as it nears Israel’s waters. 

The push—amplified by freed hostage Emily Damari and influencer Natalie Dadon—calls boat owners to form a non-violent “blue-and-white wall” for the hostages and against what organizers describe as a propaganda cruise for Hamas.

 “Bring diesel. Bring pride. The sea is waiting,” Damari urged in posts rallying skippers.  

The opposing flotilla counts roughly 47–50 civilian boats and includes Greta Thunberg. After pausing in Greek waters for repairs, it has resumed sailing toward Gaza with stated plans to challenge Israel’s lawful naval blockade; Italy and Spain have positioned naval ships nearby for rescue cover.  

Jerusalem’s stance is unchanged: vessels will not be allowed to breach the blockade or enter the combat zone off Gaza. Israeli security officials say Shayetet 13 and the Navy are prepared to board and tow craft if needed, while Israel continues to urge any aid be routed via Cyprus and church channels rather than a political stunt that benefits Hamas terrorists.  

Comey will have lots of company! Expect more indictments as soon as this week

 

In the wake of James Comey’s indictment, Democrats like Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Eric Swalwell are issuing dark warnings with a straight face that “what goes around comes around” and that anyone who cooperates with Donald Trump’s “vengeance prosecutions” will face retribution when Dems are back in charge.

But their threats fall on deaf ears because they started it. Democrats long ago weaponized the justice system against their political opponents.

Let us count the ways.

On President Joe Biden’s watch, Trump faced four separate indictments with 88 criminal charges; more than 1,500 Trump supporters were arrested and over-prosecuted in the J6 investigation; Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were jailed for contempt of Nancy Pelosi’s J6 star chamber; Trump adviser Roger Stone was arrested at dawn in a heavy-handed SWAT raid; Comey entrapped Trump national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn; the DOJ, FBI and IRS covered up Biden corruption and jailed whistleblowers Gal Luft and Alexander Smirnov. To name a few.

Conservatives of every stripe were under legal assault. The FBI spied on school board meetings and Catholics at Latin Mass.

FBI agents were subjected to politically motivated loyalty tests to weed out those suspected of supporting Trump. Biden pressured AG Merrick Garland to investigate Trump and lay off his son — only he did it through anonymous leaks to the New York Times rather than out in the open on Truth Social.

‘Unforgivable’

“James Comey deserves our utter contempt for the damage he did to our system of justice along with the rule of law in America,” says Flynn.

Like Comey, Flynn was charged with making false statements to government officials during an official proceeding, Flynn to the FBI, Comey to Congress.