Gavin Newsom signs Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha into law as new California state holidays

 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that formally recognizes two Muslim holidays as state holidays on Sunday, making it the second state to formally recognize both holidays statewide.

California Assembly Bill 2017 officially added Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the list of state holidays, which would permit public schools and colleges to close and allow state employees to be eligible to observe the holidays. 

However, schools and businesses will not be required to close on these days, and courts will be required to stay open.

This makes California the second state in the country, after Washington state, to pass statewide legislation recognizing the Muslim holidays.

Before signing AB 2017, Newsom had multiple bills on his desk that provided protections and exceptions for other religious observances, including Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. 

For example, AB 395, which reached the governor days before AB 2017, would codify these Jewish holidays, among others, into state law and require state agencies and facilities like schools to “make every reasonable effort” to avoid scheduling significant functions for those days.

Another bill, AB 1763, would also guarantee students in K-12 be allowed excused absences for religious holidays.

Though these bills were introduced and presented to the governor before AB 2017, Newsom did not sign the additional bills into law until Wednesday, prior to the midnight deadline.

Republican opponents criticized Newsom for appearing to prioritize bills recognizing Muslim holidays over bills allowing for equal treatment for Jewish holidays.

“The fact that Newsom chose to sign the Eid law before the law that protected other religious observance speaks volumes about the direction he is moving as he eyes a 2028 run for the presidency,” Elizabeth Barcohana, chair of Jewish engagement for the California Republican Party, told Cleveland Jewish News (JNS) Thursday.

She also warned that these laws would give Muslim holidays additional privileges not afforded to other religions, which could include closing schools.

“People may think this is alarmist, but this is an example of American laws adopting a Sharia law framework,” Barcohana told JNS.

“Special protections no other religious observance receives, the option to shut down public institutions to observe the holiday that, until now, only Christian holidays received and curriculum in public schools that is religious in nature notably about a religion that emphasizes conversion.”

However, David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California, supported Newsom’s actions, saying he was not concerned about the order in which the bills were signed because all three became law.

“With more than 1,000 bills in front of him this past month, we aren’t concerned with the sequencing of Assembly Bill 395 and Assembly Bill 1763, as long as they got signed, and they did. We’re thrilled to see these two critical religious freedom protections become law and to recognize three Jewish holidays in California statute for the first time,” Bocarsly told Fox News Digital.

His organization also celebrated Newsom signing into law SB 1387, which recognizes Jewish identity as an ethnicity.

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response. 

Saudi Arabia and Jordan denied flydubai flight clearance to land despite a terrifying mayday call

 

Saudi Arabia and Jordan initially rejected landing clearance for the flydubai flight facing a terrorist hijacking attempt despite a terrifying mayday call from the cabin, according to multiple reports.

After the heroic passengers stormed the cockpit to rescue the pilot from his treacherous first officer, a trembling voice was heard asking Saudi Arabia’s air traffic control office for permission to land, one source who heard the call told the Associated Press.

The unidentified person on the plane reported the attempted hijacking via a “Mayday” call, informing authorities that ambulances would be needed on the ground.

Flight Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian national, was seriously wounded in the attack, having been stabbed in the head, arm and torso. His blood littered the floor of the cockpit.

Those inside the air traffic control office could hear passengers screaming in the background as those on the plane rushed to get it back in the proper altitude after it plunged some 18,000 feet.

Despite the plea to land, the off-duty pilots who took control of the plane were instead denied permission and redirected to Jordan airspace, the source said.

The plane was then allegedly told to wait for landing clearance from Jordan’s military before being turned away several minutes later.

The pilots were forced to divert back to Saudi Arabia and asked to land again, with authorities finally giving permission to head toward Tabuk Airport.

The air traffic controllers gave no reason for why the first request was denied, the source added.

Flydubai Flight 1073 was en route to Israel on Wednesday when its co-pilot, who has yet to be publicly named, attacked Machchhar in an attempt to bring down the plane, Israeli officials said.

The plane landed safely in Tabuk, and Machchhar was rushed to the hospital for treatment, with Indian officials confirming that the veteran pilot is in stable condition.

The passengers were provided a rescue flight and landed in Tel Aviv hours after the incident.

Satmar Shventz drool and Fawn over the Satmar Mamzarani and present him with a Mezuza in the Succah

 

On Chol HaMoed Sukkos, Mayor Zohran Mamdani was presented with a mezuzah at a gathering in Williamsburg.

According to a report by Indig, the mayor joined community leaders, elected officials, and senior law enforcement figures in the sukkah of Rabbi Shalom Landau, and the mezuzah was given “as a blessing for divine protection for all New Yorkers.”

This raises a real halachic question that the poskim have discussed for over six hundred years: may a mezuzah be given to a non-Jew? 

Answer is NOOOOOOOO!!!!!

ICE Detains Yehonatan Ovadia Chassidic Israeli Who Took Part in Neturei Karta Anti-Israel Protests

 

A Hasidic Israeli man who participated in anti-Israel protests alongside members of Neturei Karta is facing deportation from the United States after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Yehonatan Ovadia, 35, an Orthodox Jew from the anti-Zionist Satmar Hasidic sect, is originally from Israel. He moved to the United States in 2022 on a temporary religious-worker visa and participated in protests in New York and New Jersey against Israel, JTA reported.

Ovadia was detained by ICE in August and remains in custody in New York. His immigration status was revoked in connection with his participation in a November 2023 protest outside the Ramapo, New York, town hall, where an Israeli flag was removed.

Muslim employee at the US Department of Energy has been arrested for trying to provide material support to the Houthis and Iran!

 This is your daily reminder of why vetting matters and why Muslims should be BANNED from holding elected office and working inside the US Federal government. 

There is zero media coverage about this story. 

Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, a Muslim employee at the US Department of Energy was arrested this morning and charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the Houthis, a designated foreign Islamic terrorist organization. 

This is why on day one of the second Trump administration I said it’s imperative that the Muslim ban be reimplemented. 

“According to court records, Ellaboudy, who was a Department of Energy employee, came to the attention of the FBI after they received information that he had purchased precursor chemicals, components, and other materials commonly used in the construction of homemade explosive devices. In addition to the precursor chemicals, the investigation revealed Ellaboudy had also purchased parts used for the construction of drones and remotely operated aerial systems.”

BREAKING:

🚨 Muslim employee at the US Department of Energy has been arrested for trying to provide material support to the Houthis and Iran! @ENERGY 🚨

This is your daily reminder of why vetting matters and why Muslims should be BANNED from holding elected office and working… pic.twitter.com/c65ULhtTpn

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) October 2, 2026

Tali Manes the hidden hero of Flight 1073

 

Everyone is talking about the men who rushed the cockpit on flydubai 1073. They earned it. But the attack was caught first by Tali Manes, who took her six-year-old to the bathroom at the front of the plane, heard fighting from the cockpit, and didn't tell herself it was nothing. 

She got a flight attendant's attention, saw the blood when the door opened, and screamed. Her husband Tzvika, Yaniv Hayun and Asaf Rajuan went in only after that. 

Herzog thanked her by name and recommended her for the presidential medal alongside the other four.

She should be as well known as they are.

Here are the Gaza journalists: Hamas terrorists

 

The IDF said Thursday that 170 individuals killed in Gaza and presented as civilian journalists were affiliated with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist organizations.

According to the military, their identities and organizational ties were verified through documents published by the terror groups themselves, as well as materials recovered by Israeli troops during operations in Gaza.

The IDF also launched a website compiling its findings, seeking to counter accusations that Israeli forces deliberately target civilian journalists.

Earlier Thursday, the military highlighted ten individuals it identified as Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives who also worked in media. According to the IDF, their roles included serving as snipers, commanders, trainers and propaganda operatives.

Some worked for outlets including Reuters, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency and Palestine Now News Agency. The military said some of the individuals it identified also infiltrated Israel and participated in the October 7 massacre.

The findings include several people whose deaths were cited in international complaints, condemnations and memorials concerning journalists killed in Gaza.

Among them was Asem Adli Ahmed al-Barsh, who was described as a journalist for Palestinian Al-Rai Radio and named in a December 2023 complaint submitted by Reporters Without Borders to the International Criminal Court. The IDF identified him as a Hamas terrorist.

The complaint accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilian journalists without identifying Barsh as a Hamas operative.

Another individual, Mohammed Mahmoud Abdel Aziz Abu Sharia, was included in a Reporters Without Borders memorial honoring journalists killed between June 2024 and June 2025. The IDF identified him as a Palestinian Islamic Jihad sniper who also reportedly worked for Shams News Agency.

The military also identified Mohammed Manhal Ahmed Abu Armana as the commander of the Hamas Rafah Brigade’s propaganda department. His death was condemned in 2024 by then-UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

A number of those identified by the IDF also appeared in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ database of journalists and media workers killed in Gaza since 2023.

Mamzarani/Satmar's Rebbetzin Attended Wellness Retreat calling for destruction of Israel

 

The group behind the posh, Islamic-centered women’s retreat where New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji served as an “artist-in-residence” called for the destruction of Israel and for “Palestine” to be cleansed of its “oppressors” in a series of hateful social media posts. 

“The apartheid colonial state of Israel has committed a genocide against the Palestinian people,” read an October 2025 Instagram post from the Women Sanctuary, the organization hosting the “Journey through Islamic Calligraphy” retreat being attended by Duwaji in Porto, Portugal.

“Abolish the colonial apartheid state of Israel. Free Palestine,” the post, first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, continued. 

In a lengthy May 2024 post, the Women Sanctuary hoped for freedom to “illuminate the blessed lands of Palestine, from the river to the sea.” 

The slogan “from the river to the sea” is considered antisemitic by many. Critics say the motto, which refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, is a call for the eradication of Israel and its people.

In September 2024, the group shared a prayer to “Allah” pleading for the “liberation of Palestine.”

“Cleanse Palestine from tyranny and from its oppressors,” the post stated. 

Another eyebrow-raising Instagram from March 2025 read: “May the winds of freedom sweep across Palestine, ushering in the complete and rightful restoration of the land’s true stewards.” 

Duwaji, 29, ran the Women Sanctuary retreat’s “marvelous illustration workshop” during a summer session earlier this year.

Guests paid $4,300 for a shared room to $5,260 for a private room with a private bathroom in the manor house nestled in the tranquil countryside of Arcos de Valdevez.

In July, Gotham’s controversial first lady made headlines for skipping America’s 250th birthday celebration to attend a different Women Sanctuary retreat on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca.

The news of Duwaji’s partnership with the alleged hateful group comes as her husband announced a plan to combat antisemitism — which completely ignored Zionism — in the Big Apple on Tuesday.

New record for Jewish visits to Har Habyos during Sukkot

 

Thousands of Jews visited the Temple Mount during the Sukkot holiday, with the number of visitors reaching a new record of 8,690 people. Throughout the intermediate days of the holiday, prayers and Hallel were held at the site with singing and dancing, with the participation of rabbis and Knesset members.

Rabbi Elisha Wolfson, Rosh Yeshiva of the Temple Mount Yeshiva, said: 

“The Holy One, Blessed be He, is revealing His love for us and performing tremendous miracles for us. It is moving to see the people of Israel returning their love to the Holy One, Blessed be He, and restoring the Divine Presence to Zion. Well done to the many visitors who demonstrate such self-sacrifice. In your merit, the Temple will be rebuilt."

Among those who ascended the Mount this week was Otzma Yehudit chairman and Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

“October 7 was an enormous pain, a great pain. But today, three years later, it is Sukkot, a festival of joy, and there are many things that have happened since then that we can rejoice over."

He continued,

 “Hamas wanted to defeat us. They called it ‘Al-Aqsa Flood.’ And today, we are the masters of the Temple Mount! We are the masters of the prisons. We have turned the lives of their terrorists into hell. We distributed weapons and established civilian security squads. Three years later, the people of Israel are heading toward total victory."

“On this holiday, I pray here on the Temple Mount, in the most important place, for total victory, complete redemption, death to all the terrorists, and sovereignty here, in the most important place to the Jewish people. They wanted to win. We defeated them - first and foremost, here on the Temple Mount," 

Ben Gvir concluded.

Rav Dov Landau Calls Satmar Initiative to get people not to vote "wicked or stupid"

 

Lithuanian-haredi leader Rabbi Dov Lando sharply attacked those encouraging haredim to boycott the upcoming Knesset elections as an act of protest or for anti-Zionist ideological reasons.

Responding to the initiatives and voices on the fringes of the haredi community, he urged the community to go to the polls on election day, in order to protect the community's interests.

On Tuesday, during a closed meeting with members of the Degel HaTorah faction in Bnei Brak, Rabbi Lando addressed the growing phenomenon and expressed an unequivocal position in favor of active participation in the elections, for the purpose of safeguarding the interests of the haredi public.

"Woe to anyone who incites people not to go to the elections, woe to him - and I do not want to continue," Rabbi Lando told those present emphatically, adding that anyone promoting such a position is acting out of "either wickedness or stupidity."

Rabbi Lando’s remarks reflect the position of the mainstream Lithuanian Haredi leadership, which views participation in elections as a critical and central tool for protecting funding for the community’s educational institutions and public services.