(  )  A Pakistani man has pleaded guilty to a terrorism charge admitting that he planned to use automatic weapons to kill Jewish people at a Brooklyn center.  Muhammad Khan told lawmen he answered a call from ISIS to kill Jewish people by plotting to attack the center in October 2024.  He entered the plea in Manhattan federal court this week over 18 months after he was brought to the United States from Canada, where he was arrested in September of 2024.  Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg says Khan planned a mass shooting to coincide with the anniversary of the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

(  )  The Center for Small Town Jewish Life at Colby College is working to keep synagogues alive in rural areas.  The center began a decade ago with a goal of supporting Jewish congregations that are far from big cities and has grown to run programs for more than 60 communities in over 20 states.  The organization says that one-in-eight Jewish Americans live outside a major urban area, and the center exists to help them thrive. The center’s work is happening as the number of synagogues in America is trending down and fewer rabbis are available to minister to Jews in small towns.

(  )  Worshippers are being allowed to pray again at Jerusalem’s holy sites after Israel lifted security restrictions it imposed on large public gatherings during the war with Iran.  Access had been prohibited altogether, or restricted to a few dozen faithful at a time, at Christian, Jewish and Muslim sites during the now-paused conflict, when missile attacks from Iran often sent Jerusalem residents into shelters.  The restrictions forced celebrations of Lent, Passover and Ramadan to be unusually low key at many of the holiest sites for adherents of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.  Security in Jerusalem still remains tight, however.