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Jewish man killed by police after attempting attack on Memphis Jewish day school
This is a developing story.
(JTA) — Police in Memphis shot and killed a man on Monday whom they said attempted to attack a Jewish day school there.
The incident occurred around noon at Margolin Hebrew Academy Feinstone Yeshiva of the South, an Orthodox school on the city’s east side. A man fired shots outside the school but failed to gain entry and left the scene. He was killed after police apprehended him nearby, Memphis police officials said.
The suspect was a member of the Jewish community and the incident appeared personal in nature, according to a spokesperson for the Secure Community Network, an organization that coordinates security for Jewish institutions nationwide.
According to Michael Masters, CEO of the Secure Community Network, the suspect was a male in his 40s who tried to enter the school but was prevented from doing so due to a security system.
The Orthodox school, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through high school, sent an alert to its community.
“Please, be advised that we are currently in a developing active shooter situation. We can confirm that no one has been hurt in any way, and everyone is now safe, thank G-d,” the alert said. “Please look out for further communication with additional information to come. In the meantime, our campus is completely closed. We thank you for your understanding. May we all continue to merit Hashem’s protection.”
The school declined to provide additional comment to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
The day school is still on summer break. But there were school personnel including construction workers during the shooting, and the building immediately went into lockdown, according to Masters. All schools in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district were also put on a precautionary lockdown, which was lifted at 2 pm.
“He had made statements that he was targeting the facility for a specific reason,” said Masters, who added that the suspect was a “known offender.”
An executive at Jewish Community Partners, the local Jewish federation, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the federation has worked for years with Masters’ organization. The federation has worked to help local Jewish institutions set security policies and access government grants meant to make facilities more secure.
“This is a testament to the Federation, the community in Memphis, taking a comprehensive approach to security that ensures the protection of the whole community,” Masters said. “It’s another reminder that we’re not going to choose the time and place of the next incident but we can choose our preparation, and today that preparation paid off.”
Police officials, too, said during a press conference that the school’s security system had averted tragedy.
“Thankfully, that school had a great safety procedure and process in place and avoided anyone being harmed or injured at that scene,” said Dan Crow, an assistant police chief.
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The post Jewish man killed by police after attempting attack on Memphis Jewish day school appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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UN Security Council Meets on Iran as Russia, China Push for a Ceasefire
Members of the Security Council cast a vote during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the 3rd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York, US, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/David Dee Delgado
The U.N. Security Council met on Sunday to discuss US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. The three countries circulated the draft text, said diplomats, and asked members to share their comments by Monday evening. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.
The US is likely to oppose the draft resolution, seen by Reuters, which also condemns attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities. The text does not name the United States or Israel.
“The bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Sunday. “We now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation.”
“We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear program,” Guterres said.
The world awaited Iran’s response on Sunday after President Donald Trump said the US had “obliterated” Tehran’s key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that while craters were visible at Iran’s enrichment site buried into a mountain at Fordow, “no one – including the IAEA – is in a position to assess the underground damage.”
Grossi said entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit at Iran’s sprawling Isfahan nuclear complex, while the fuel enrichment plant at Natanz has been struck again.
“Iran has informed the IAEA there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites,” said Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran requested the U.N. Security Council meeting, calling on the 15-member body “to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression, to condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Israel‘s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement on Sunday that the U.S. and Israel “do not deserve any condemnation, but rather an expression of appreciation and gratitude for making the world a safer place.”
Danon told reporters before the council meeting that it was still early when it came to assessing the impact of the U.S. strikes. When asked if Israel was pursuing regime change in Iran, Danon said: “That’s for the Iranian people to decide, not for us.”
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Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Israel has rejected a European Union report saying it may be breaching human rights obligations in Gaza and the West Bank as a “moral and methodological failure,” according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The note, sent to EU officials ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, said the report by the bloc’s diplomatic service failed to consider Israel’s challenges and was based on inaccurate information.
“The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document … and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure,” the note said, adding that it should be dismissed entirely.
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Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’
FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an “irreparable abyss,” and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.
US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.
“Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.
“No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,” he added.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,” Pope Leo said.
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