Thursday 16 Av – Man who rammed car into NYC’s Chabad headquarters sentenced to time served – Meeting Netanyahu, Democratic senator calls Mamdani ‘worthless’ & more…

The man who repeatedly rammed a car into the Chabad Chasidic movement’s world headquarters earlier this year is sentenced to time served.

Dan Sohail, 36, pleaded guilty to damaging religious property in May.

Sohail slammed his car into the revered religious site in January, causing widespread alarm.

He was initially charged with a hate crime, but later told investigators that he was seeking to connect with his “Jewish heritage.”

An investigation found that Sohail had made outreach to Jewish groups ahead of the incident and had mental health problems.

The judge in the case says Sohail needs mental health treatment and did not exhibit any hatred toward Jews.

Sohail is sentenced to time served. He has been incarcerated for six months and will be released next week.

The judge in the case, Eric Vitaliano, orders Sohail to pay $19,000 in restitution.

Vitaliano criticizes the Department of Justice for seeking a harsher sentence.

A suspect accused of stealing expensive electronics and other merchandise from several Boro Park shops was arrested on Wednesday following a dangerous pursuit that stretched from Boro Park to Crown Heights.

The suspects were first cornered near 13th Avenue and 53rd Street as police and local community patrol members attempted to stop them. Despite being boxed in by several vehicles, the driver allegedly rammed multiple cars and forced a path to escape.

The vehicle then sped down 13th Avenue, creating a serious danger for pedestrians and other motorists. Community patrol members quickly obtained the licence plate number and continued tracking the vehicle while coordinating with police.

Officers followed from the ground as the New York Police Department’s Aviation Unit monitored the vehicle from above and directed responding units.

The pursuit ended in Crown Heights, where local patrol members located the vehicle. Police arrived shortly afterwards and took the suspects into custody. The investigation into the alleged thefts remains ongoing.

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A drone hit a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday, citing an initial assessment of the incident.

The strike raised fears that the war with Iran, which has seen strikes across the region, could expand further. A statement from Egypt’s petroleum ministry confirmed a fire at the port but made no mention of a drone attack.

Port services firm Inchcape said in a separate message that two gas tankers had caught fire at Damietta.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident.

Two security sources said the likely cause of the blast was assessed as a drone strike, in what could signal a further spread of the conflict.

The drone hit floating storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that then spread to another vessel, Gaslog Salem, three other sources familiar with the incident said.

Egypt’s petroleum ministry said in a statement a fire broke out on a gasification vessel and a storage vessel at Damietta port and was dealt with immediately under approved emergency response plans by firefighting and security teams.

A US owned LNG floating storage facility registered under the Marshall Islands flag was reportedly hit by at least one drone in Damietta, Egypt.

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Meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Democratic Senator John Fetterman calls New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani “worthless.”

“It’s been disappointing as a Democratic politician in how our party continues to behave,” says Fetterman, one of Israel’s most prominent supporters in the Democratic Party.

“And we had the culmination of that where that worthless mayor in New York saying these kinds of ridiculous claims.”

Mamdani called Netanyahu a war criminal and said he should be arrested over the war in Gaza if he visits the city for the United Nations General Assembly.

“As far as I know, I was the only Democrat that was proud to push that trash back,” says the Pennsylvania lawmaker.

Dressed in his trademark shorts and hoodie, Fetterman says he doesn’t understand where the Democrats “have arrived politically.”

“I’m proud to stand with Israel through everything,” he says, adding that he is “proud to remain the conscience of the Democratic Party.”

A Hezbollah drone strike hit an Israeli armored bulldozer stationed in the IDF’s south Lebanon buffer zone overnight, in violation of the ongoing truce, the military said Wednesday.

The unmanned engineering vehicle was hit in the Ali Taher Ridge area by an explosive drone belonging to the terror group, the army said. The explosion did not result in any injuries.

It marked the first Hezbollah attack since the framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon took effect in late June, and as Israeli and Lebanese negotiators were slated to meet for follow-up talks next week in Rome. The countries have been discussing an Israeli withdrawal from the buffer zone, the disarmament of Hezbollah and an eventual peace agreement.

“This is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon by the Hezbollah terror organization,” the IDF said.

The Iran-backed terror group has a massive underground complex under the ridge, near Nabatieh, and the IDF estimates that dozens of operatives are holed up in the area. However, because of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF has been prevented from capturing the underground passages beneath the ridge.

Israel was deliberating a response to the violation of the ceasefire, security officials said Wednesday. The army added that its forces “continue to operate in the ridge area and will not allow terrorists in the area to advance or carry out terror attacks against IDF troops.”

The incident came as IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited troops in southern Lebanon, where he said that “if required, we will push deeper and reach additional areas.”

“The campaign across all fronts is not yet over, and you must be prepared for it to continue. We are prepared for any change in the situation and ready for a wide range of scenarios,” he said to officers, according to remarks published by the army.

An Israeli civilian who previously served in the military in a classified unit has been arrested and charged with spying on behalf of Iran, Israeli authorities announced Wednesday.

He is the latest in a string of Israelis arrested for espionage on behalf of the Islamic Republic.

In a joint statement, the Israel Police, Defense Ministry, and Shin Bet said the suspect was charged at the Tel Aviv District Court on July 16 with “contact with a foreign agent and attempted delivery of information for the benefit of the enemy.”

The investigation found that the man, who served in a classified unit during both his mandatory service and reserve duty, was in contact with “an individual who identified himself as an Iranian intelligence agent.”

The statement said the suspect, who has not been named, at one stage was also asked to assist with recruiting a soldier “to establish contact with those [Iranian] agents.”

The reservist was asked to carry out small tasks including graffiti and arson to prove he was serious, but he insisted on carrying out more meaningful activities.

“I am not here for these small tasks,” he responded to his handlers, with whom he communicated over the Telegram app, according to the report. “I know a lot; I am here for the big jobs,” he said.

There was a discussion on a significant payment in exchange for information, which was never carried out.

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

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