Teen Who Sparked Nationwide Alarm by Climbing Jerusalem Crane Tries It Again

 

A dramatic and dangerous scene unfolded once again at one of Jerusalem’s most prominent construction sites, as the same teenage boy who sparked nationwide alarm just weeks ago by climbing a towering crane attempted to do it again.

The 15-year-old from Beit Shemesh, who last month climbed a crane at the Marom Tower near the main entrance to Jerusalem and had to be rescued by fire and rescue forces, returned to the site on Monday morning and attempted another ascent. This time, however, the outcome was different: he was intercepted by a civilian passerby and police before he could scale the structure.

The Marom Tower rises approximately 39 stories high, and the previous incident drew widespread public attention, with Israelis across the country watching anxiously as emergency services worked to bring the teenager down safely. Despite that close call, authorities say the boy tried once again to breach the site and climb the crane.

According to police, the teenager was detained and taken in for questioning at the Lev HaBira police station in Jerusalem.

The intervention that likely prevented a second near-tragedy came from Melchiel Elbaz, a drone photography enthusiast who was passing through the area near Jerusalem’s central bus station. Elbaz noticed the boy attempting to cross a security fence leading to the tower and immediately sensed the danger.

“I saw a young guy trying to get past the fence toward Marom Tower,” Elbaz told B’Chadrei Chareidim. “I approached him and asked where he was going. He told me he was the one who climbed the crane a month ago — and that he was going up again.”

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Elbaz decided to act alone while simultaneously calling the police. “I understood I couldn’t wait,” he said. “When I saw that he was determined to cross the fence, I jumped up, grabbed him, and held him for several minutes until more help arrived. Then the police came and took over.”

Elbaz stressed that the incident should serve as a wake-up call. “This is not a joke,” he said. “These are human lives. Pay attention to your friends. One wrong move, and it could end in tragedy.”

Zera Shimshon Parshat Miketz

 

Brown University shooter also killed MIT professor

 

NEW: U.S. attorney for Massachusetts details how investigators linked the Brown University shooting to the shooting of the MIT professor:

“Investigators identified the vehicle that he had rented in Boston, and then drove to Rhode Island. And the vehicle was seen outside of… pic.twitter.com/1BbKdkTp0R

— Fox  

News (@FoxNews) December 19, 2025

 The Brown University gunman is also responsible for the murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro on Monday, officials said on Thursday night, confirming earlier speculations.

The shooter was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound earlier on Thursday, law enforcement officials confirmed.

Authorities have identified the suspect as Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, 48. He was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a New Hampshire storage facility.

Earlier on Thursday, CBS News reported that law enforcement authorities are examining whether there is a connection between the deadly mass shooting at Brown University and the targeted killing of Professor Loureiro.

Leah Foley, a US attorney for Massachusetts, detailed how investigators linked the Brown University shooting to the shooting of the professor.

“Investigators identified the vehicle that he had rented in Boston, and then drove to Rhode Island. And the vehicle was seen outside of Brown, and there was security footage that showed a person who resembled him,” said Foley.

She added, “There was financial investigations that were going on in the background that linked him not only to that car, but also to the hotels that he had rented."

“There is video footage of him entering an apartment building in the location of the professor's apartment. And then later that evening, he is seen about an hour later entering the storage unit wearing the same clothes that he had been seen wearing right after the murder.”

Chareidim Decide They Don't need to Light Chanuka Candles anymore Found a Bigger Mitzvah To Throw Stones at a Bus Carrying IDF Soldiers

 

The IDF condemned an incident in Jerusalem on Thursday in which civilians attacked and threw stones at a bus transporting IDF trainees and commanders from the Kfir Brigade.

The IDF said the bus was forced to stop after a group of civilians gathered around it and began throwing stones. Commanders disembarked in order to secure the vehicle and protect the soldiers until police arrived at the scene. Law enforcement officers dispersed the crowd, after which the bus was able to continue on its route. No injuries were reported among the soldiers.

“The IDF strongly condemns any violence against its soldiers,” the military said.

Video footage shows a crowd of Chareidi men surrounding the bus and engaging in heated verbal confrontations with the soldiers inside and outside the vehicle. The IDF did not identify the individuals involved.

The incident came amid broader unrest in Jerusalem earlier in the day. A riot broke out in the city involving Chareidi demonstrators, during which at least 10 police officers were injured. Protesters threw stones at police and overturned a police vehicle during the riot, which was sparked by the arrest of 3 yeshiva bochurim.

Police have not released further details regarding arrests or potential charges related to either incident.

A Conversation a Father Had with His Son going Viral

 

Q. Tattie, how did we defeat the Yevanim?

A. With Hashem’s help!

Q. So why did we need the Maccabim?

A. They were just soldiers, Hashem helped them and Baruch Hashem we won.

Q. The Maccabim were soldiers?!

A. Yes, they were soldiers in the army of Hashem.

Q. So they were Chabdniks?

A. No, no! Chas v'shalom! They were yeshivish.

Q. Did Yehuda Hamacabi fight? With a weapon?

A. Yes.

Q. So Yehuda Hamacabi was a goy or not religious?

A. Chas v'shalom, why would you think he was a goy or not religious?

Q. Because only goyim or non-religious Jews go to the army.

A. No, no, in the past religious people also went to the army.

Q. So why did the Maccabim go to the army and we don't?

A. Because today our Torah protects us.

Q. And then their Torah didn't protect them?

A. I think it’s time for you to go learn with Moishie.

Q. Did the Maccabim learn Torah?

A. Of course! They learned Torah all the time!

Q. They didn't work for a living?

A. Chas v'shalom!

Q. So how did they have money?

A. Well they worked a very little teeny bit.

Q. Off the books in secret like Uncle Yanky?

A. No!

Q. So what did Mattisyahu do?

A. He was a farmer.

Q. So how did he work in the fields with his white shirt?

A. How do you know he wore a white shirt?

Q. Moishie told me that a real Jew only wears white shirts.

A. You spend too much time with Moishie, but he is right.

Q. What did the Maccabim want?

A. They wanted an independent Jewish state that they would run.

Q. Is this what we want?

A. That is something that Zionists want.

Q. Tattie, I want to be a soldier, a farmer and a Zionist!

A. Gevalt!!! What happened to you?!

Hundreds of mourners attend the funeral in Sydney for 10-year-old Matilda murdered for being a Jew

 Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral in Sydney for 10-year-old Matilda, who was killed in an antisemitic mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.

 Her parents, immigrants from Ukraine, had brought her to what they believed was a safe family event, a rabbi said, calling the tragedy a collective failure.

Brown University shooter found DEAD

  The suspected Brown University shooter found DEAD to a self-inflicted gun-shot wound in Salem, New Hampshire at a storage facility.

The individual is identified as Claudio Neves Valenti, a 48-year-old man. He was a Brown University student, a Portuguese national, and his last known address was in Miami, Florida. He took his own life

Israel building its First Tunnel Under Tel Aviv!

 

After Decades of Talk, Israel Breaks Ground on Its First True Underground Metro as Netanyahu Hails a National Turning Point

Israel formally kicked off work on the Gush Dan metro with a cornerstone ceremony at the Segula depot site in Petah Tikva, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transport Minister Miri Regev marking what the government calls the largest infrastructure project in the country’s history.

Netanyahu framed it as a shift from decades of talk to execution, pitching the underground network as a national “leap forward” that will reshape commuting, growth, and day-to-day life across the Tel Aviv metro area. Plans call for three lines spanning roughly 150 km with 109 stations across 24 local authorities.

He also fused the transit milestone into a broader message of Israeli strength, saying Israel has brought back 254 hostages and will not stop until the last fallen hostage, Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, is returned as well.

And he tied momentum at home to leverage abroad: Israel has approved a record Leviathan gas export agreement with Chevron and partners to supply Egypt, worth about NIS 112 billion, while Egypt stressed it is a “purely commercial” deal.

Nvidia’s newly announced mega-campus push in Kiryat Tivon added fuel to the pitch that global tech still chooses Israel.

A Call to Come Home

 

Yehudis Schamroth

A dear friend of mine was in Israel last week for a family wedding. We visited the Kotel (Western Wall) and the Kotel Tunnels and had lunch at Café Rimon in Mamilla. We packed as much conversation and updates on our families as we could into those precious hours. As we said our goodbyes, I was holding back what I had wanted to say to her the whole time: “Please come home! (make aliya) At least, make sure your passports and documents are up to date and open up a file with Nefesh B’Nefesh before you are forced to! ,” I wanted to plead. But, because I am often accused of being an “aliya bully,” I held back that request and hugged her goodbye.

The Shock of Sydney

I decided to leave a voice message for my friend and shared with her all I had wanted to say. I begged her to consider making aliya for so many reasons.  The continued rise in worldwide antisemitism,  prophecies and teachings that explain to us that all Jews should all be living here by now, and the teachings about the impending Geula (Final Redemption) by esteemed Rabbeim like  Rabbi Pinchas Winston (Ohr Yechezkel, Emunas HaGeulah, Sanhedrin 111a, Tuv HaAretz and The Merit of Living in Eretz Yisroel Before Moshicach Arrives). For over 20 years he has been saying  that the window to make Aliya (immigration to Israel) is closing. Literally 10 minutes after I left the message, I heard about the horrific attack on Sydney’s Jewish community,

The Tragic Loss of Alex Kleytman Among the 16 Jews murdered: Never Again?

Part of the breaking news about this massacre: Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman was fatally shot while shielding his wife, Larisa, during the Hanukkah terror attack in Bondi Beach. Both Alex and Larisa survived the Holocaust as children, Alex enduring “dreadful conditions” in Siberia. The elderly couple had been married for 57 years, had two children, and 11 grandchildren. Australia is home to one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors outside Israel.  My friend’s parents were Holocaust survivors. I tell my husband all the time that I cannot believe how the children of survivors don’t read the warning signs of Antisemitism and get out before it is too late. Are they going to repeat “hanging in” until the bitter end, as most of the Jews did in Nazi Germany?

 Voices on the Attack

• An Israeli official: “We warned the Australian authorities multiple times about an attempt to murder Jews on their soil. They did nothing.”
• Hillel Fuld: “The only thing that’s shocking about this is that anyone is shocked.”
• Paula Stern: “The painful truth we have to accept is that these terrorists were looking for a soft spot to attack Jews because they, correctly, see Jews as part of the people of Israel. And although this may sound shocking, there is another issue that needs to be made clear. The truth is obvious to Israel…and that is all that matters. This attack was directed at Israel, but there is a message for the Jews of Australia too. It’s time to pack a suitcase. Time to get ready.”
• Rabbi Josh Wander:  We Forgot We Were Refugees “The saddest exile is not the one you live in — but the one you forget you’re in.”We became ‘proud Americans,’ ‘proud Germans,’ ‘proud Russians,’ even ‘proud Persians’ (and Australians). We forgot the one thing that mattered: We were never supposed to stay. There is nothing wrong with gratitude toward countries that sheltered us — America foremost among them. Jews flourished here economically, intellectually, and religiously. But gratitude is not identity. Jewish identity is destiny. There is a difference. Time to Come Home.” Rabbi Tzvi Fishman: Why would a religious Jew want to live in a gentile land inundated with spiritual impurity when he or she could live in the Holy Land????

 Prioritizing Jewish Safety and Preparing to Make Aliya

Among the many memorable quotes of Rabbi Meir Kahana HY”D (May G-d avenge his blood), he said, “I prefer a powerful and proud Jewish State that is hated by the entire world than an Auschwitz that is loved by one and all.”

Yehudis Schamroth: “I, like Kahana, am sick and tired of seeing Jews targeted, attacked, and murdered in cold blood! I am sick and tired of Jews being murdered with the complicit acceptance of the world. And the world continues to get used to Jewish massacres and then whitewashes them as unfortunate incidents. Many people, including Paula Stern, noted that ‘The Guardian’s headlines rob us of our identity every bit as much as those terrorists tried (and succeeded) in robbing us of life,’ as they never once mentioned ‘Jews’ or ‘Israel’ in the headlines report of the Sydney massacre!

Perhaps if the people had been allowed to be armed, like we are here in Israel, there may have been only a few casualties. But why not come to live here, for all the right reasons, not the least of which is that you will be protected as a Jewish Israeli who is entitled to protection—you won’t have to hope it will happen.”

The Final Question leads to the Final Solution

On Chanukah in Skokie, IL, 1977, Rabbi Kahana said, “It doesn’t matter what the gentiles say, it matters what Jews DO!” “Time to go home!”

So, I say to my dear friend and to Jews all over the world when we say, “Please come home!” What will you do?

About the Author

Yehudis made aliya in 2001 with her husband and 3 children. After working and commuting from Israel to the U.S for 18 years, she retired from anesthesia and studied to become a practitioner of Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. Yehudis currently works in a busy acupuncture practice in Ramat Bet Shemesh and Jerusalem. She gives shiurim to seniors in the RBS community on various Torah topics based on the teachings of Rabbi Pinchas Winston on the Geula Shalayma and the End of Days.

Rubio announces sanctions on two ICC judges

 US Senator Marco Rubio announced sanctions today (Thursday) against two International Criminal Court (ICC) judges over their participation in the ICC's targeting of Israel.

The sanctions were announced against Georgian judge Gocha Lordkipanidze and Mongolian judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin.

"These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel's consent, including voting with the majority in favor of the ICC's ruling against Israel's appeal on December 15," Rubio said.

He added: "The ICC has continued to engage in politicized actions targeting Israel, which sets a dangerous precedent for all nations. We will not tolerate ICC abuses of power that violate the sovereignty of the United States and Israel and wrongly subject U.S. and Israeli persons to the ICC's jurisdiction."

"Our message to the Court has been clear: the United States and Israel are not party to the Rome Statute and therefore reject the ICC's jurisdiction. We will continue to respond with significant and tangible consequences to the ICC's lawfare and overreach," Rubio stated.

Last week, an American official told Reuters that the US has asked the ICC to drop its probes of Israeli leaders over the Gaza war and to formally close its long-running Afghanistan file concerning American personnel. Failure to do so, the source said, could lead to further punitive measures targeting additional ICC figures and potentially the court as an institution.

On Monday, the ICC rejected one in a series of legal challenges brought by Israel against the court's probe into its conduct of the Gaza war.

The judges refused to overturn an earlier decision allowing the prosecution’s investigation into alleged crimes under its jurisdiction to include events following Hamas’s deadly assault on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The ruling means the investigation will continue, and the arrest warrants issued last year for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant remain in effect.

The ICC has faced accusations that its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, pursued the arrest warrants against Israeli officials to pressure a woman who accused him of sexual harassment to keep silent. Khan, in an unusual move, announced the warrants soon after he cancelled a fact-finding mission to Israel.

Israel and the US are not party to the Rome Statute or the ICC, which leaves them outside the ICC's jurisdiction.