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Historic flooding complicates the journey home for Passover vacationers in South Florida
(JTA) — Zachary Ottenstein didn’t expect to bond with his dad over chess and classic rock during his trip home from Florida at the end of Passover.
But when Ottenstein switched his phone on after the holiday ended last night, it blew up: Fort Lauderdale was flooded and flights out of the airport — including their flight to New York — were canceled. The city was underwater after the rainiest day in its history.
He consulted with his dad, Matthew: They had enjoyed their Passover week at a hotel, but they wanted to get home in time for Shabbat the following evening.
“We really didn’t fancy staying another two days and finding a place to stay and food,” he said.
Their story was not unique: Families from across the United States who opt for Passover getaway packages in the Sunshine State found themselves stranded in Fort Lauderdale after the rains Thursday. Travelers to the airport reported seeing the headlights of cars sitting deep in water, accumulating since about a month’s worth of rain fell in an hour on Wednesday.
Traditionally observant Jews, who don’t drive or fly in planes on Shabbat, faced the prospect of either making it home before Friday at sundown, or spending at least two more days — until Saturday at nightfall — in the Fort Lauderdale area, without the institutional infrastructure that had enabled their Passover vacations.
At first, the Ottensteins looked for other flights, expanding the radius outward from Fort Lauderdale with each search. Finally, they found a barely workable option.
“There were no flights really other than one flight out of Tampa that was going to Chicago and from there, there was a flight to New York,” Ottenstein said.
They booked the flight, rented a car, left Fort Lauderdale at 10:30 p.m. and rolled into Tampa at 3 a.m. — right in time for the 5 a.m. flight to Chicago.
Others opted to stay down south for Shabbat. Mendel Fayershteyn, a Chabad rabbi in the city, put out the word in the community that he was ready to assist any families stranded at the airport.
As it turns out, there were a handful — about six or seven, he said in an interview — and he delivered kosher meals to them and found homes for them to stay in through Sunday, when the airport is expected to be back to capacity. One of the homes was his own — he decamped to his in-laws’ and handed the keys of his house to one of the airport families.
The relief he administered to the stranded Jews, Fayershteyn said, was mostly psychological.
“It was more like, people were panicking, it wasn’t like an emergency,” he said in an interview. “I would say it was more therapeutic just for the people to hear it’s going to be OK.”
Fayershteyn learned to coordinate relief during years of hurricane seasons: He put that experience to use, gathered generators and kosher food, and helped people find shelter. He also helped reunite people with cars that had floated away in the flooding.
“The main thing we were doing today is just helping people getting their cars back,” he said.
As soon as Passover ended on Thursday night, Fayershteyn got the word out on Facebook that he was offering help to Shabbat-observant Jews.
“Stay safe, and if you are in need of assistance please don’t hesitate to reach out,” the message said. “Hot Shabbat meals going out tomorrow for those that need, please DM us.”
Ottenstein also took to Facebook, posting a selfie of himself and his dad in the car after midnight. “What do you do when Fort Lauderdale airport gets closed and you want to get home for shabbos?” he wrote. “Obviously you drive through the night to Tampa to make an early morning flight home.”
Ottenstein, 24, a schoolteacher on Staten Island, and his dad, 60, a law librarian in suburban New Rochelle, filled the time up.
“The world chess championships are going on and my dad’s been very into it. He can talk for hours about that type of thing,” he said. “And we bond a lot over music. My dad’s a big 60s, 70s classic rock kind of guy.”
Zachary did the driving. “My dad doesn’t like driving at night,” he said. “No bathroom breaks, no stopping for food. The adrenaline kicked in. It was the kind of plan that was so crazy, it worked.”
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Israel’s First Ambassador to Somaliland Acclaims Deepening Partnership, Broader Strategic Outreach in Africa
Israeli diplomat Michael Lotem in Kenya, July 2025. Photo: Screenshot
The relationship between Israel and Somaliland has rapidly evolved into a strategic partnership spanning security, energy, infrastructure, and economic cooperation, according to the Jewish state’s first ambassador to the self-declared republic, who noted the strengthening of ties was part of a broader outreach effort by Jerusalem across Africa.
“They are looking to deepen cooperation in nearly every field — from energy and infrastructure to technology, education, and communications — and their desire to work with Israel is stronger than ever,” Michael Lotem said of Somaliland in an interview with Israeli news outlet N12 published on Friday.
“Security discussions are naturally part of the relationship, but our political dialogue extends far beyond that into many different areas,” he added.
In December, Israel became the first country to officially recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state.
Somaliland, which has claimed independence for decades in East Africa but remains largely unrecognized, is situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, and Somalia to the south and east. It has sought to break off from Somalia since 1991 and utilized its own passports, currency, military, and law enforcement.
Unlike most states in its region, Somaliland has relative security, regular elections, and a degree of political stability.
Last month, Israel appointed Lotem as its first ambassador to Somaliland, after the two governments formally established full diplomatic relations.
Lotem, who was serving as a non-resident economic ambassador to Africa at the time of his appointment, will now shift to work as a non-resident ambassador to Somaliland. He previously served as Israel’s ambassador to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, and Seychelles, a position he concluded in August.
In his interview, Lotem described the growing bilateral relationship as part of Israel’s broader diplomatic and strategic push across Africa, saying the partnership also sends a wider message of legitimacy and engagement to Muslim-majority countries throughout the region.
“Over the past several years, Israel has invested significant diplomatic effort in strengthening its presence across Africa, an initiative that Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has strongly prioritized, and the results are already becoming visible very quickly,” the diplomat said.
He also pointed to what he described as major untapped potential for economic cooperation, particularly regarding Somaliland’s vast natural resources and minerals sector — including oil, gas, coal, iron, and gold.
“They are extremely interested in partnering with Israel across the entire minerals industry supply chain,” Lotem said, adding that there are also strong prospects for cooperation in energy, medicine, agriculture, education, water management, and communications.
“We hope more countries will come to recognize the strategic value and importance of this relationship,” he continued.
Although no other UN-recognized country has formally recognized Somaliland (Taiwan did so in 2020), several — including the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, and Kenya — have maintained liaison offices, allowing them to engage diplomatically and conduct trade and consular activities without full formal recognition.
According to experts, the growing Israel-Somaliland partnership could be a “game changer” for the Jewish state, boosting the country’s ability to counter the Iran-backed, Yemen-based Houthi terrorist group while offering strategic and geographic advantages amid shifting regional power dynamics.
“Somaliland’s significance lies in its geostrategic location and in its willingness — as a stable, moderate, and reliable state in a volatile region — to work closely with Western countries,” argued a report by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), a prominent Israeli think tank.
“Somaliland’s territory could serve as a forward base for multiple missions: intelligence monitoring of the Houthis and their armament efforts; logistical support for Yemen’s legitimate government in its war against them; and a platform for direct operations against the Houthis,” it continued.
Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi has previously said that the republic would join the Abraham Accords, calling it a step toward regional and global peace and affirming his government’s commitment to building partnerships, boosting mutual prosperity, and promoting stability across the Middle East and Africa.
The strategic partnership comes at a time when Israeli and US officials have warned of rising Islamist terrorist threats across Sub-Saharan Africa, placing the region at the forefront of global concern over jihadist activity.
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‘We Are One Community’: New York University Condemns Swastika Flag Raised Near Campus
Swastika flag raised over New York University this week. Photo: Screenshot
New York University (NYU) on Thursday condemned the raising of a flag containing the swastika near its campus in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, an incident which comes amid a spate of antisemitic hate crimes across the municipality.
“Campus safety responded immediately to remove it, and we are working closely with the NYPD to identify whoever is responsible,” NYU said in a statement after news of the act went viral on social media. “We are one community. We protect each other. And we will not let hate and division find a foothold on our campus.”
Designed to counterfeit NYU’s official purple and white standard, the offensive display featured two swastikas flanking the Star of David in a blue and white color palette representing the state of Israel. Historically, similar illustrations and symbols signal belief in antisemitic conspiracies of Jewish power and control, and in recent years anti-Zionists at NYU have castigated the university’s academic partnerships with Israel, as well as its efforts to combat antisemitism.
Anti-Zionists active in the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organization have alluded to antisemitic conspiracies to criticize Israel’s alliances before. Just last month, SJP’s Duke University chapter posted on social media a political cartoon in which “Zionism” is personified as pig hoisting a Star of David while its arm interlocks with another pig, labeled “US Imperialism,” hoisting the Torch of Liberty.
Historically, depicting Jews as pigs has been done to reduce them to the status of animals and mock the fact that dietary restrictions forbid Jews to eat pork.
The perpetrators of the NYU incident remain at large. The incident comes amid a surge in antisemitic hate crimes across New York City.
Jews have been targeted in the majority of all hate crimes committed in New York City this year, continuing a troubling trend of rising antisemitism following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel.
Over the past couple weeks, there have been multiple incidents of rampant swastika graffiti across the borough of Queens, highlighting the extent of the antisemitism crisis in the city home to the world’s largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
Meanwhile, mobs of anti-Zionist activists have descended on multiple synagogues over the same period to protest Israeli real estate events.
In addressing the swastika flag incident on Thursday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has been accused of doing too little to combat the rise in antisemitism, appeared to acknowledge the Jewish community’s concerns about the intentions of his administration.
“This hateful antisemitic act was meant to spread fear among and intimidate Jewish New Yorkers. It has no place in our city,” he said. “Our administration is committed to fighting antisemitism in all its forms and protecting the safety of Jewish New Yorkers. The NYPD Hate Crime Task Force is investigating this despicable act, and I am confident those responsible will be held accountable.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Dan Bilzerian Accused of Inquiring About Assassinating Ben Shapiro, Israeli Officials
Dan Bilzerian arrives at the Fashion Nova x Cardi B Collection Launch Party held at the Hollywood Palladium on May 8, 2019, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. Photo: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
Two of the loudest online antisemitic voices have accused US congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian of telling them he wanted to assassinate Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro and target Israeli officials.
“The first time I met Dan Bilzerian at his house, he had us put our phones in another room, then asked me how difficult it would be to assassinate Israeli government ministers,” Nick Fuentes posted on social media earlier this month. “Then he invited me to Dubai and Qatar, which I declined. On his way there he was ambushed by the FBI.”
Bilzerian, a social media personality, launched a bid last month to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Randy Fine in Florida’s 6th Congressional District.
Days later, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism named Bilzerian in a published report as the most influential antisemitic figure in the world.
“To be honest with you, the only real battle in the world today I see worth fighting is f**king exterminating Israel,” Bilzerian said in a recent interview with fellow antisemitic influencer Sneako. “I mean, I would sign up tomorrow and go f**king put boots on the ground and go f**king kill Israelis.”
Lucas Gage, another prominent antisemitic voice on X, replied to Fuentes’ original posting, claiming a comparable experience when visiting Bilzerian.
“HOLY F**K. Nick, I swear to God, he did the same thing to me,” Gage wrote. “He walked me and Jake up to that room with a batting cage. We put our phones on the couch and went up to that secluded room with the big TVs. He asked me about where Ben Shapiro lived and how he could be taken out.”
Fuentes speculated that the visits could have served as some sort of set-up, responding, “This is getting really weird man. I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience? Seems like his move was to invite all of the prominent JQ influencers to his place in 24/25, maybe the whole thing was like an Epstein-style honeypot. I just thought he was really dumb.”
Bilzerian, who has openly fantasized about murdering Jews, has faced legal controversies in the past.
In 2014, Miami-based model Vanessa Castano filed a $1 million lawsuit against Bilzerian which stated he “violently and intentionally kicked plaintiff in the face while wearing what resembled military boots.” The case was dismissed or otherwise disposed of; Bilzerian faced no criminal charges and insisted on his innocence.
Bilzerian recently referred to Fine, his opponent in the Republican primary, as a “fat Jew.”