Thursday 25 Cheshvan | Thousands Greet Gedolim in Paris • Democrats Win Congress • Deri Agrees to Stay & More

Thousands of Yidden gathered in Paris on Tuesday evening to welcome Gedolei Yisroel taking part in Keren Olam HaTorah’s European mission to strengthen support for yeshivos and kollelim in Eretz Yisrael. The gathering followed the delegation’s visit to London, where communal receptions and meetings with supporters had taken place over two days.

Harav Dov Landau, shlita, led the Paris gathering. Harav Dan Segal, shlita, joined the mission after arriving in the French capital on Tuesday afternoon. Other participants included Harav Yitzchak Ezrachi, Harav Yaakov Hillel, Harav Shimon Galai, Harav Dovid Cohen, Harav Chaim Mordechai Ausband and the Rachmastrivka Rebbe, shlita.

The assembled crowd rose to greet the Gedolim with singing and dancing. After the event, Harav Landau returned to Eretz Yisrael. The mission was scheduled to continue in France before moving to Switzerland, with Harav Chaim Peretz Berman, shlita, due to join the delegation. Harav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, shlita, had returned home following the London events.

A kosher bakery in Montreal suffered serious fire damage early on Wednesday, with police investigating suspected arson after an earlier attempt to set fire to the same building. The city’s arson investigators and hate-crime officers are both involved in the inquiry.

Emergency services received a call at about 12.30am reporting a blaze at the bakery on Saint-Louis Street in the Saint-Laurent borough. The fire was already burning fiercely when officers reached the premises. Around 60 firefighters worked for approximately two hours before bringing the flames under control.

Police said evidence found at the scene pointed to the fire having been started deliberately. The building had also been targeted at around 11.30pm on Monday, although that incident caused no damage. No arrests had been reported in the initial account of Wednesday’s blaze. The involvement of hate-crime investigators forms part of the inquiry; the authorities had not announced a confirmed motive for the suspected attack.

Lithuania’s Jewish community says its institutions have not received special state protection despite three threats last month to bomb a shul and kill Jews. Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky said the threats, which came to light on 10 October, had prompted meetings with security officials but had not resulted in guards being provided.

Kukliansky said the community continued to rely on unarmed volunteers to protect its institutions. She also warned that there were no clear procedures for responding to threats. Three antisemitic incidents were under investigation, according to the account published on Wednesday.

A new kosher restaurant due to open this month was also without protection, she said. Kukliansky expressed the hope that Hashem would protect the community. Around 5,000 Jews live in Lithuania, according to the community’s figures. Its four functioning shuls are in Vilna, Kovno and Klaipeda, with two in Vilna. The appeal for security covers Jewish communal institutions rather than the threatened shul alone.

Hatzola, CST and Shomrim NW London have been celebrated at Hendon Town Hall after receiving the Honorary Freedom of the London Borough of Barnet. Around 100 guests attended Monday’s ceremony recognising five organisations for their service to local residents.

The recipients were Hatzola Northwest, Hatzola Edgware, Hatzola HBS, the Community Security Trust and Shomrim NW London. The honours had formally been conferred at an extraordinary council meeting on 7 July. Hatzola was recognised for its free emergency medical response, CST for safeguarding the Jewish community, and Shomrim for its volunteers’ dedication and bravery.

Dr Paul Robinson, medical director of Hatzola HBS, said volunteers’ immediate concern was helping patients, while welcoming recognition of their work. Shomrim chief executive Gary Ost paid tribute to the families who support volunteers responding at short notice. Barnet’s mayor, Cllr Zahra Beg, praised the organisations’ professionalism and compassion, saying they had made a substantial difference to residents’ safety and wellbeing.

Jewish pupils from a London school were among 181 people evacuated from a flight after a bomb threat forced it to land at Warsaw-Modlin Airport on Tuesday. The teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were travelling to Poland on a school delegation aboard LOT flight LO286 from Heathrow.

The aircraft had been due to arrive at Warsaw Chopin Airport. Modlin Airport said the warning was received at 9.54am local time, seven minutes before the Boeing 737 MAX landed. Passengers left the aircraft without their belongings while security teams searched the plane and luggage. The airport temporarily closed before reopening.

The mother of one pupil said passengers were expected to continue to Warsaw by bus. A separate threat affected an SAS service from Copenhagen to Warsaw, while a flight from Manchester was searched in Murcia. Spanish authorities said no explosives were found on that aircraft. Authorities had not confirmed that the warnings were linked, and the initial report gave no outcome from the LOT search.

Democrats won control of both houses of Congress in Tuesday’s US midterm elections, ending Republican control of the legislature and leaving President Donald Trump facing divided government for the remainder of his term. The new Congress will take office in January.

By Wednesday morning, Democrats had secured a Senate majority and gained at least 25 seats in the House of Representatives, according to election tallies reported by Reuters. Several contests remained unresolved. Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries promised action on living costs and greater scrutiny of the administration, while calling for an end to the war with Iran.

Trump congratulated Democrats on their campaign but indicated that he would use his veto against legislation he opposed. Senate Republican leader John Thune said his party would work with the President to resist Democratic policies. Until the new Congress is seated, Republicans retain control and face a deadline to approve funding to keep the federal government operating beyond December.

Degel HaTorah will not recommend Binyamin Netanyahu to form Israel’s next government, following the instructions of Harav Dov Landau and Harav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, shlita. The decision was announced on Wednesday as President Yitzchak Herzog held consultations with the parties following the Knesset elections.

The party’s announcement said its representatives would not recommend any candidate to receive the task of forming a government. The position marks a departure from its longstanding support for Netanyahu during previous rounds of presidential consultations. The recommendation process determines whom the President asks to attempt to assemble a governing coalition.

The decision came as discussions continued over the composition of the next government. Reports described informal contacts involving MK Yaakov Asher and Degel representatives examining the possibility of a government headed by Gadi Eisenkot. Those discussions had not produced an announced coalition agreement. The party’s public instruction concerned its recommendation to the President and did not announce participation in an alternative government.

Aryeh Deri announced on Wednesday evening that he would remain at the head of Shas after the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah rejected his request to step down. In a formal statement, the party chairman said he accepted the Rabbanim’s instruction without hesitation.

Deri said that obedience to the Gedolei Yisroel had guided him throughout his public life and was a principle he had taught others. He thanked the members of the Moetzes for the confidence and support they continued to give him. His announcement followed reports earlier in the day that he wanted to leave the leadership.

The Shas chairman said he intended to convene an expanded faction meeting on Thursday, bringing together the party’s Knesset members and senior representatives in local government. The meeting would examine lessons that needed to be learned and the work ahead. His evening statement confirmed that he was accepting the Moetzes’ decision and would continue leading the movement.

Around 2,000 housing units in Tzfas are expected to be marketed by the end of the year, Construction and Housing Ministry director-general Yehuda Morgenstern told a gathering of developers on Sunday night. The homes are planned for the city’s Southern Gate quarter.

The announcement was made at Tzfas’s first conference for property developers, organised by the municipality and its development administration. Officials presented an umbrella agreement covering 7,294 housing units across eight development areas, together with commercial premises, employment space, public buildings and investment in infrastructure and older neighbourhoods.

Southern Gate is planned to contain approximately 4,000 homes, alongside employment and commercial space, public institutions and open areas. The plans include a new southern entrance from Route 89. Developers were shown a published tender covering around 830 homes. Mayor Yossi Kakon said the city was moving from planning towards marketing and construction, with the aim of attracting families, businesses and investment to the Galil.