Columbus probably Spanish and Jewish, study says

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg2049ezpko

Famed explorer Christopher Columbus was likely Spanish and Jewish, according to a new genetic study conducted by Spanish scientists that aimed to shed light on a centuries-old mystery.

Scientists believe the explorer, whose expedition across the Atlantic in 1492 changed the course of world history, was probably born in western Europe, possibly in the city of Valencia.

They think he concealed his Jewish identity, or converted to Catholicism, to escape religious persecution.

Trump calls Aurora a ‘war zone.’ Even its Republican mayor disagrees

 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/11/trump-aurora-colorado-immigration-gangs-00183533

Aurora city spokesperson Ryan Luby told POLITICO in a statement that local police identified 10 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, and nine had been arrested. The city’s Republican mayor, former five-term congressman Mike Coffman, has repeatedly tried to tamp down fears that his city has been taken over by migrant gangs.

“Former President Trump’s visit to Aurora is an opportunity to show him and the nation that Aurora is a considerably safe city – not a city overrun by Venezuelan gangs,” Coffman said in a statement.

Iranian plot exposed: Terror cell led by Ramat Gan couple foiled

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/397611

In the framework of the aforementioned relationship, Victorson, who was aware that the individual on the other side was an Iranian agent, followed the agent's instructions and carried out various tasks, including spraying graffiti, hanging flyers, hiding money, and even torching cars near Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. Later, Vladislav was asked to sabotage communication networks and ATMs and to set fire to forests.

Arizal and Halacha

 Igros Moshe (OC 4:3) –While normally in a matter disputed by poskim we rely on the view of Kabbala but this means the views of the Zohar as it is the view of Tannaim but not the Arizal who in spite of his greatness  is viewed as only one of the poskim 

The Controversy over Rabbi Feinstein

 https://en.yhb.org.il/revivim1003/

In the previous column I brought the story of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin shlita about Rabbi Soloveitchik ztz”l, who responded to Rebbetzin Feinstein’s request to ask her husband Rabbi Moshe Feinstein to withdraw his heter (halachic permission) for artificial insemination, so that the zealots would stop harassing them. Rabbi Soloveitchik agreed, even though he told Rabbi Riskin that Rabbi Feinstein would not back down, because he was “courageous like a lion.” Following this I was asked, how is it possible that Rabbi Soloveitchik agreed to ask Rabbi Feinstein to retract a ruling that he believed was the truth according to the Torah?!

Head Covering for Women - needed for Beracha?

 https://ph.yhb.org.il/en/03-10-06/

Reciting berakhot is not considered to be standing before the King, so a woman in private, when the laws of tzni’ut do not require her to cover her hair, there is no need for her to cover her head while reciting a berakha. However, Yabi’a Omer 6:15 and Halikhot Bat Yisrael 5:3 state that married women must cover their heads when mentioning God’s name, even when in complete privacy. Still, in practice, many married women normally recite the bedtime Shema and Ha-mapil without a head covering. It seems that the reason for this is what I wrote above, that the obligation to wear a yarmulke when reciting berakhot is based on the pious custom to cover one’s head throughout the entire day. Since the yarmulke inspires fear of God all day, it follows that one must also wear it while invoking God’s name. However, women, who do not customarily wear a yarmulke to inspire fear of God, need not wear one when mentioning God’s name either. There is proof for this in m. Ĥalla 23: “A woman may sit and separate the ĥalla while nude.” Nude here obviously means bareheaded, for it would not make sense that she is required to cover her head but allowed to recite the berakha while nude. R. Shlomo Zalman Auerbach rules this way too, saying that women’s custom to cover their heads in the mikveh while making the berakha on immersion does not obligate them in this practice for all other berakhot (Halikhot Bat Yisrael 5 n. 6). Therefore, a woman who wakes up in the middle of the night to relieve herself is not obligated to cover her head while reciting Asher Yatzar. Likewise, a woman who walks around her house bareheaded (when there are no strangers around) and wants to drink something is allowed to recite She-hakol and Borei Nefashot without a head-covering. 

Biden sends antimissile system and 100 troops to Israel, deepening U.S. role

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/13/biden-thaad-missile-defense-israel/

The United States is sending one of its most advanced missile defense systems and about 100 U.S. troops to Israel, deepening U.S. involvement in the escalating war in the Middle East amid U.S. expectations of an imminent Israeli assault on Iran.

Netanyahu: UN must withdraw south Lebanon peacekeepers from combat zones

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-un-must-withdraw-south-lebanon-peacekeepers-from-combat-zones/

PM accuses Hezbollah of using UNIFIL as ‘human shields,’ urges Guterres to get take the forces ‘out of harm’s way,’ far from terror group’s strongholds

Genetic Study Reveals Christopher Columbus Was Possibly Jewish

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/genetic-study-reveals-christopher-columbus-was-possibly-jewish?ref=home

One day before Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a decades-long genetic study revealed that explorer Christopher Columbus may have Jewish and Spanish heritage. The report, which says the explorer was born in Valencia, contradicts long-held beliefs that Columbus was Italian and from Genoa. According to the BBC, scientists in Spain are responsible for cracking the genetic bombshell and have been working on it since 2003. They theorize that Columbus hid his Jewish “background to avoid religious persecution.” In 1492, 300,000 Jewish people living in Spain were forced to convert to Catholicism, or else they would be booted from the country. The outlet reports that prior to this DNA discovery, Columbus’s origins have been debated for years, with different theories linking his birth to countries like Poland, Greece, and Scandinavia, to name a few. Researchers used DNA from Columbus’ tomb in Seville, as well as the graves of his son and brother, to conduct their research.

Unprecedented Lebanese drone attack wounds 67 near Binyamina, four in critical condition

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-824417

Two drones were launched toward Israel, but one of the UAVs penetrated deep into Israel, crashing in the Binyamina area. No alarms were activated.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein on What Makes America Great

 https://thelehrhaus.com/timely-thoughts/rabbi-moshe-feinstein-on-what-makes-america-great/

Therefore, the United States, which established in its Constitution 150 years ago that it will not uphold any faith or any ideology, rather, that each person shall do as he desires, and the regime will see that people do not molest one another, is carrying out God’s will. It is for that reason that they have succeeded and become great in our times.

Captured documents reveal Hamas’s broader ambition to wreak havoc on Israel

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/12/exclusive-hamas-documents-sinwar-planning-iran/

Dozens of pages found by Israeli troops in Gaza detail a potential Hamas plan far bigger than the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, and show how militant leaders wanted Iranian funds and training.

They Came to Florida for a Slice of Paradise. Now They Are Packing Their Bags

 https://www.wsj.com/us-news/they-came-to-florida-for-a-slice-of-paradise-now-they-are-packing-their-bags-41d7275a?mod=hp_lead_pos2

Some Floridians are reaching a breaking point. For decades, the state has beckoned as something of a magical destination—a sunny escape for retirees and others seeking affordable waterfront living. But the parade of climate disasters, along with soaring home costs, skyrocketing home-insurance premiums and some of the highest inflation rates in the nation, is undermining that appeal. On Friday night, close to two million people were still without power and the state was just beginning to dig out of a wide swath of damage.

We watched 20 Trump rallies. His racist, anti-immigrant messaging is getting darker.

 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/12/trump-racist-rhetoric-immigrants-00183537

His rhetoric has veered more than ever into conspiracy theories and rumors, like when he amplified false claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating pets. And Trump has demonized minority groups and used increasingly dark, graphic imagery to talk about migrants in every one of his speeches since the Sept. 10 presidential debate, according to a POLITICO review of more than 20 campaign events. It’s a stark escalation over the last month of what some experts in political rhetoric, fascism, and immigration say is a strong echo of authoritarians and Nazi ideology.