Wednesday 8 Iyar – Yeshivas Face Existential Threat from New Schools Bill – IDF says Sanaa airport completely disabled; power stations, cement factory also targeted – Houthis declare attacks on Israel to continue after ceasefire reached with US

The Second Reading of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill in the House of Lords on Thursday 1st May marked the beginning of detailed scrutiny after its rapid passage through the Commons. The Yeshiva Liaison Committee (YLC), under the Union of Hebrew Orthodox Congregations and with full rabbinic guidance, is working intensely to ensure Yeshivas are not misrepresented or wrongly regulated.

Close to 80 Peers addressed the Lords, raising concerns about parental rights, data protection, and State overreach. The Lord Bishop of Manchester—an advocate for religious freedom—spoke powerfully for Yeshivas using YLC materials. He warned that if Clause 36 proceeds unamended, “Yeshivas will be forced to close. They cannot, and indeed will not, register as educational institutions—that is not what they are.”

YLC has engaged extensively with Peers and Ministers, highlighting that Yeshivas are essential to Charedi life and operate lawfully within a broader framework of home education. A legal opinion by leading religious rights expert Mark Hill KC found Clause 36 breaches the European Convention on Human Rights and would unlawfully discriminate against the Charedi community.

Lord Scriven was the only Peer to directly attack Yeshivas, citing anti-faith groups. In response, Rabbi Binyomin Stern, President of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, stated: “Yeshivas are not illegal schools. This campaign is not about child welfare—it’s about hostility to faith. We will not allow this smear to go unchallenged.”

The first Committee Stage day is scheduled for 20th May. The Bill then proceeds through Report Stage, Third Reading, and potential Commons revisions. YLC are working hard to advocate for Yeshivas during all these stages, yet we know that alongside these tireless efforts, we need siyata dishmaya.

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Columbia University says that it will be laying off nearly 180 staffers in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel $400 million in funding over the Manhattan college’s handling of student protests against Israel over the war with Hamas in Gaza.

Those receiving non-renewal or termination notices represent about 20% of the employees funded in some manner by the terminated federal grants, the university says in a statement Tuesday.

“We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources,” the university says. “Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people. We understand this news will be hard.”

Officials are working with the Trump administration in the hopes of getting the funding restored, they say, but the university will still pull back spending because of uncertainty and strain on its budget.

Officials say the university will be scaling back research, with some departments winding down activities and others maintaining some level of research while pursuing alternate funding.

The head of Yemen’s Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, says the Iran-aligned group will continue its attacks to support Gaza, Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reports.

He advises Israelis to “remain in shelters because their government will not be able to protect them,” indicating the ceasefire with the US does not include a halt to the group’s attacks on Israel.

The head of Yemen’s Houthi supreme revolutionary committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, meanwhile, says the US halt of “aggression” against Yemen will be evaluated, according to a post on X, which also suggests the rebels will continue attacking Israel.

The IDF in a statement confirms launching a wave of airstrikes in Yemen, saying it destroyed the Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport, in response to the Iran-backed group’s repeated missile and drone attacks on Israel, including a hit on Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday that wounded several people.

The airport in the Houthi capital is now “completely disabled” following the strikes carried out by Israeli Air Force fighter jets, the military says.

The IDF says that the airport was used by the Houthis “for transferring weapons and operatives, and is regularly operated by the Houthi regime for terror purposes.”

Ahead of the strike on the airport, the IDF issued a warning to civilians.

Additionally, the IDF says it targeted several power stations near Sanaa that were used by the Houthis, along with a cement factory north of the capital, used by the group to construct infrastructure and tunnels.

The strike on the concrete factory “constitutes a blow to the regime’s economy and its military buildup,” the military says.

For the UK Jewish Orthodox Community
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Erev Shabbos

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