4 Cheshvan – Trump Suffers Midterm Setback – Munkatch Builds for the Future – Bomb Threats Disrupt UK Flights & more…

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Jewish School Buses Defaced

WILLIAMSBURG: Graffiti on one of the Jewish school buses targeted on 2 November. Williamsburg365

Four Jewish school buses were defaced with swastikas and antisemitic messages in Williamsburg early on Monday, 2 November. The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force and officers from the 90th Precinct are investigating the vandalism.

The buses, belonging to Satmar, Sanz Klausenburg and Tiferes Yisrael, were targeted near Bedford Avenue and Williamsburg Street West at about 5am. Alongside Nazi symbols, the graffiti included anti-Jewish and anti-Israel messages.

Williamsburg Shomrim is working with police to obtain surveillance recordings from the surrounding area and identify the person responsible. Shomrim coordinator Yanky Itzkowitz said police were treating the incident very seriously and committing the resources needed for the investigation.

No arrest had been reported in the account published on Monday. The vandalism took place a day before the American midterm elections. Investigators are seeking information about the attack and footage that could help establish the vandal’s movements around the parked buses. The case is being examined as antisemitic vandalism.

No Charges Over Harassment Videos

Harry Marsh, who uses the name Penofein online. Screenshot/Jewish News

A man investigated over videos targeting visibly Jewish people in Stamford Hill will not face charges, after the Crown Prosecution Service concluded that the evidence did not meet the threshold for a prosecution.

The Metropolitan Police said a 19-year-old man was arrested in Havering on 17 April on suspicion of racially or religiously aggravated harassment. A file was submitted to prosecutors in August. The CPS decided on 24 October that charges could not be brought, and police have closed the investigation.

The videos, made by Harry Marsh, who uses the name Penofein online, included footage of coins being thrown onto the pavement in what was described as a trap for Jewish passers-by. Other clips showed Jewish residents being approached or followed.

The CPS said evidential difficulties included witnesses who could not be identified. Campaign Against Antisemitism condemned the decision, saying the videos subjected Jewish people to harassment for an online audience. The organisation said its lawyers were examining possible further action.

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Bomb Threats Disrupt UK Flights

MURCIA: Police and a sniffer dog check a Ryanair aircraft after a bomb threat. Forta/Reuters TV via Reuters

Flights from Heathrow and Manchester were among passenger services affected by a series of bomb threats across Europe on Tuesday, 3 November. Aircraft were searched and airports activated emergency procedures, but no explosive devices were found.

A LOT flight from Heathrow, scheduled to land at Warsaw Chopin Airport, diverted to nearby Warsaw-Modlin. The airport temporarily closed before reopening after security checks. An SAS service from Copenhagen landed at Chopin, where it was also searched.

In Spain, passengers left a Ryanair aircraft from Manchester at Murcia Airport while security teams examined the plane. The Spanish authorities subsequently confirmed that no explosives had been discovered and normal airport operations resumed.

Further alerts affected flights to Rome and Sofia. Bulgarian authorities later clarified that the Tuesday services involved had come from Milan/Bergamo and Dublin, correcting an earlier report about a flight from Israel. On Monday, a separate Wizz Air flight from Luton to Sofia diverted to Budapest following a threat. Responsibility for the alerts had not been established.

Trump Suffers Midterm Setback

President Donald Trump. File photograph. White House/Public domain

President Donald Trump’s Republicans faced the loss of their congressional majorities early on Wednesday, as election-night projections gave Democrats control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Votes were still being counted in individual contests, and the projected results had not been certified.

Democratic Senate gains included Texas, where James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton, and North Carolina, where former governor Roy Cooper won a Republican-held seat. Sherrod Brown also won in Ohio, while Troy Jackson was projected to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine.

The results will shape the final two years of Trump’s presidency. Democratic majorities would give the party control of congressional committees and greater power to investigate the administration, while complicating the passage of Republican legislation.

Trump said he would accept the results and work with Democrats. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said his party would seek to deliver for Americans with or without the president. The new Congress takes office in January, with final seat totals dependent on outstanding races.

Hackers Target Fridges and Freezers

Empty supermarket freezer cabinets. Illustrative photograph. Equipment listing photograph

Cyberattacks on commercial refrigeration systems have forced European supermarkets to discard spoiled food, with British suppliers also reporting interference with their equipment. Investigators have not established who carried out the attacks or their motive.

Stores in several countries reported that temperatures had been altered remotely, turning fridges and freezers too warm to preserve their contents. At one Swedish supermarket, equipment was set to 50C. The incidents follow similar attacks on refrigeration systems in France and neighbouring countries last month.

In Britain, the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers said some members had been affected. It said those members had lost no meat because the affected units were empty at the time. The National Cyber Security Centre described the overall UK impact as minimal and said it was working with the organisations concerned.

Cybersecurity officials said older internet-connected equipment and known vulnerabilities were involved. They urged businesses to secure exposed systems. Food retailers across Europe have been checking refrigeration controls and assessing whether further protective measures are needed.

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Affordable Homes for Bnei Torah

Harav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, shlita. Screenshot

Leading Roshei Yeshivah are backing a plan to establish organised communities of bnei Torah outside the main Chareidi population centres, offering young families more affordable homes together with the institutions needed for Torah life.

The Housing Committee for Communities is advancing the initiative under the guidance of Harav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, and Harav Dovid Cohen, shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Chevron. Committee representatives have met more than a dozen Roshei Yeshivah to present housing data and practical options.

The programme follows a gathering over Sukkos at Harav Hirsch’s home, where he called for a comprehensive response to the housing difficulties facing avreichim. The committee says some families already living in outlying towns lack an organised kehillah around them.

The discussions have stressed that affordable flats must be accompanied by kollelim, shuls, schools and other communal facilities. Employment options are also being examined. The Roshei Yeshivah expressed willingness to guide the new kehillos, visit them and maintain close ties with their families as the initiative develops.

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Torah Status Shapes Coalition Talks

MK Yaakov Asher, chairman of United Torah Judaism. YWN

Shas has announced that it will recommend Binyamin Netanyahu to form the next government, while United Torah Judaism says its decision will await the return of Gedolei Yisroel from their fundraising mission abroad.

Shas said on Tuesday that its Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah had reached the decision following Netanyahu’s commitment to regulate the status of those learning Torah. Legislation concerning yeshivah bochurim and avreichim remains central to the discussions over the next coalition.

UTJ chairman MK Yaakov Asher told Netanyahu in a telephone conversation that his faction had not yet decided whom to recommend to President Yitzchak Herzog. Asher said the party would determine its recommendation and political course after the Gedolim returned.

Netanyahu told Asher that he remained committed to completing legislation on the draft and the status of bnei yeshivah. Shas’s announcement and UTJ’s continued deliberations came as parties considered their positions before presidential consultations on forming a government. Neither announcement constitutes the formation of a coalition, and negotiations over the next government remain unresolved.

Probe Sought Into Protest Injuries

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Police Commissioner Daniel Levy. File photographs. Sharon Leibel and Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

A civil rights organisation has demanded an investigation into police use of stun grenades at Chareidi demonstrations in Yerushalayim and Beit Shemesh, following injuries during Sunday’s protests.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel sent an urgent letter to the police commissioner, the police legal adviser and the Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department. It called for officers to stop using the devices in ways that it says breach police regulations.

The association cited injuries to at least three people, including a 15-year-old boy described as moderately to seriously hurt and a pregnant woman who sustained light to moderate injuries. It alleged that officers threw stun grenades into densely packed groups of demonstrators.

According to the organisation, police rules prohibit throwing the devices within five metres of demonstrators and require particular precautions around children and pregnant women. The association said earlier complaints had been met with police assurances that the devices were used lawfully. Its latest request seeks an inquiry into the incidents and clearer safety instructions for officers.

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Airport Train Service to Expand

An Israel Railways electric train. File photograph. Israel Railways, via Walla

Overnight trains between Yerushalayim’s Yitzchak Navon station and Ben Gurion Airport are due to expand from Motzoei Shabbos, 14 November, as Israel Railways introduces a new national timetable.

The extended night service is intended to help passengers with late departures or early morning flights, as well as airport employees. The Transport Ministry says improving the rail link should also ease pressure on intercity roads and provide better access between the capital and the airport.

The timetable changes also include extending the Yerushalayim–Tel Aviv–Herzliya line north to Beit Yehoshua, Netanya and Hadera West. Passengers at those stations will be able to reach Yerushalayim and the airport without changing trains.

Israel Railways says the wider changes will add about 140,000 seats a day, with electric trains replacing diesel trains on some services. Some routes and stopping patterns will change, including journeys between Hadera West and Haifa. Passengers should check the updated timetable for their particular journey and the operating times of overnight services.

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