Jewish News Today: Some 30 Jews Missing in Nepal Floods, Brussels Airlines Crew Threaten Strike Over Israel Flights
About 30 Jews, including two Israelis, are among the thousands missing after catastrophic floods in Nepal, the local Chabad rabbi said, as Rosh Hashanah preparations there came to a standstill. In Belgium, a trade union threatened a strike over mandatory staffing of Brussels Airlines flights to Tel Aviv, and in New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani made his first visit to Borough Park ahead of the High Holidays.
Nepal: About 30 Jews Among the Missing After Floods
Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz, head of Chabad of Nepal in Kathmandu, estimated that about 30 Jews, including two Israelis, are among the missing after the flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border, The Times of Israel reported. The Chabad centre is working with authorities to coordinate searches and has sent aid to flood victims. "The thought that we will not be able to give them a Jewish burial gives us no rest," Lifshitz wrote. Israel's Foreign Ministry has confirmed at least two Israelis missing.
Belgian Union Threatens Strike Over Flights to Israel
ACV Puls, Belgium's largest trade union, threatened a strike against Brussels Airlines for requiring staff to work on flights to Tel Aviv, saying employees with "safety or conscientious objections" should be able to refuse, JTA reported. The union said the company was breaking earlier agreements to rely on volunteers. The airline resumed Tel Aviv flights on August 3 after a five-month pause.
Mamdani Visits Borough Park Ahead of Rosh Hashanah
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited Eichler's, a large Judaica store in the heavily Orthodox Borough Park neighbourhood of Brooklyn, where he was presented with honey and heard a shofar blown, The Times of Israel reported. It appeared to be his first visit to the neighbourhood. According to JTA, he was also heckled by a pro-Israel influencer during the visit.
Netanyahu to Address UN General Assembly
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, confirmed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "will come to New York and address the General Assembly, as he does every year," JTA reported, citing the New York Post.
