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Thirty-four chareidi bnei yeshiva and other detainees are spending Shabbos Bereishis behind bars in an Israeli military prison after being arrested for refusing to enlist in the IDF in accordance with the directives of their rabbonim.

Among those currently imprisoned are three bochurim taken into custody during the past week as part of a renewed wave of arrests targeting chareidim who have not reported for military service.

The continued detention of the 34 men comes amid growing tensions over the government’s enforcement of military enlistment requirements against bnei yeshiva, whose rabbonim have instructed them not to enlist.

For the imprisoned bochurim, Shabbos Bereishis will be spent in military confinement rather than in their yeshivos or with their families.

Organizers of the campaign opposing the arrests have called on the public to increase their tefillos on behalf of the detainees and to seek their immediate release.

They also urged the chareidi community to remain steadfast in following the instructions of its gedolei Yisroel and to resist efforts by military authorities to induce bnei yeshiva to enlist.

The organizers are continuing their campaign against the enlistment measures under the slogan, “No! Not Even One!”

{Matzav.com}

Thai authorities have carried out an extensive series of raids targeting Chabad-affiliated offices and Jewish communal institutions in Bangkok, as part of a major investigation into suspected violations of the country’s foreign business ownership laws. Investigators are examining a network of companies and properties allegedly connected to Israeli nationals, while local Chabad representatives insist that their activities are lawful and that they have nothing to conceal.

The operation involved more than ten Thai law enforcement and regulatory agencies and focused on three locations: the Chabad Foundation in Bangkok, the Jewish Association of Thailand, and the offices of a company identified as Gan Chabad.

The investigation is being led by Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation, which is examining whether foreign nationals used Thai citizens as nominee shareholders or directors to circumvent restrictions on foreign ownership of businesses and real estate.

Among the findings drawing particular attention was the discovery that 61 companies had been registered at a single address. Authorities are investigating whether the registrations reflect legitimate business arrangements or an attempt to establish a network of companies that would conceal their actual ownership.

The raids have raised concerns within Thailand’s Jewish community, particularly because several of the locations searched are associated with religious and communal activities serving Jewish residents and thousands of Israeli visitors.

Rav Nechemia Wilhelm, the Chabad shliach in Bangkok, rejected suggestions that the institutions were involved in concealed commercial operations and said the community had cooperated fully with investigators.

“We have absolutely nothing to hide,” Rav Wilhelm said, expressing confidence that the investigation would ultimately establish that the institutions were operating in accordance with Thai law.

The operation, conducted Thursday, October 8, was coordinated by Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation, or DSI, under the Ministry of Justice. Participating agencies included the national police, immigration authorities, the Revenue Department, the Department of Lands, the Department of Business Development, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office.

Investigators searched the Chabad Foundation’s premises in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district, the Jewish Association of Thailand’s property in Khlong Toei, and Gan Chabad’s offices in the Bang Rak district.

One of the locations inspected was the construction site of Beit Elisheva, Bangkok’s longstanding Jewish shul, which is being rebuilt as a modern facility in cooperation with Chabad activities.

During the searches, authorities discovered five foreign workers allegedly employed without valid work permits. Three were nationals of Myanmar found at the Chabad Foundation, while two workers from Laos were identified at the Jewish Association of Thailand.

Thai officials said proceedings had been initiated against two employers over the alleged employment violations. The workers could also face immigration-related penalties.

At Gan Chabad’s offices in Bang Rak, investigators collected extensive corporate and financial records, including documents concerning the registration of companies and nonprofit organizations, charitable donations, land transactions, construction projects, tax filings, restaurant licenses, and hotel operations.

According to the DSI, documents connected to more than 61 companies were found at the same registered business address. Preliminary examinations also revealed that certain individuals appeared repeatedly as directors or shareholders in several of the companies.

Some of those individuals were foreign-born residents who had subsequently obtained Thai citizenship.

The discovery prompted investigators to examine whether the companies were genuinely independent businesses or whether their corporate structures were being used to conceal foreign ownership.

Thai law places significant restrictions on foreign ownership of certain businesses and land. Authorities are investigating whether local citizens were listed as shareholders or directors while foreign nationals exercised actual control over the companies.

Another finding involved a small room at the Chabad Foundation measuring approximately 2.5 by 3 meters. Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwanchawee said the room was listed as the official address of the foundation and five additional companies.

Investigators reportedly found no financial statements or operational records in the room, raising questions about how the registered entities conducted their business.

Officials were subsequently informed that the relevant documents were maintained at another office in Bangkok.

The investigation has also expanded to the financial activities of the Chabad Foundation, which authorities say receives donations totaling approximately 100 million Thai baht annually.

Investigators are examining the sources of those donations, the movement of funds, and their ultimate destinations. The Anti-Money Laundering Office is participating in the financial review, although officials have not established that the donations were unlawful.

Authorities are also reviewing the financing of an eight-story Chabad construction project in Bangkok and examining property transactions associated with businesses under investigation.

The Bangkok operation follows earlier investigations into businesses associated with Israeli nationals in other parts of Thailand.

On October 7, one day before the raids, the DSI announced charges involving Cosy Beach View, a company operating in Chonburi province.

The case involves allegations that an Israeli national operated a business through arrangements that violated Thailand’s Foreign Business Act, with assistance from a Thai shareholder.

Investigators have also examined businesses and property holdings in Phuket and other locations where Israeli entrepreneurs and Chabad institutions maintain a presence.

Previous inquiries included scrutiny of Chabad activities in Patong, Phuket, as well as questions surrounding a Jewish cemetery and associated land ownership.

Thai authorities have emphasized that the investigations remain ongoing and that the discovery of shared addresses or corporate relationships does not, by itself, establish criminal wrongdoing.

No Israeli national was reported arrested during Thursday’s Bangkok raids.

In response to the highly publicized operation, Rav Nechemia Wilhelm sought to reassure members of the Jewish community and Israeli travelers that Chabad’s activities were continuing normally.

Speaking to Israeli media, he explained that representatives of the institutions had welcomed the investigators, recognizing the Thai government’s authority to inspect organizations operating within its borders.

Rav Wilhelm said the staff had cooperated with every request and allowed officials to examine the documents they sought.

He maintained that the searches were part of a broad regulatory investigation rather than evidence that Chabad had engaged in criminal activity.

Addressing the discovery of records relating to 61 companies, Rav Wilhelm offered an explanation that differed sharply from the suspicions raised by investigators.

He said the office where the documents were discovered belonged to an independent accountant who provides professional services to numerous businesses.

According to Rav Wilhelm, it is entirely ordinary for an accountant to maintain records for many different companies at a single office, and the presence of those documents does not mean that Chabad owns or controls the businesses involved.

He rejected suggestions that the religious institutions were secretly operating an extensive commercial network, emphasizing that Chabad’s primary mission in Bangkok is to provide religious services, hospitality, and assistance to Jewish residents and visitors.

The Chabad centers serve thousands of Israeli tourists and other Jewish travelers who pass through Thailand, providing Shabbos meals, religious facilities, and assistance to people far from home.

Rav Wilhelm said the investigation had not disrupted those services and that the community was continuing its regular activities.

He specifically confirmed that the large communal Shabbos meals would take place as scheduled, with hundreds of guests expected to attend.

The doors of the Chabad House, he said, would remain open to visitors, with no legal restrictions preventing the institution from continuing its religious and communal work.

The body of 46-year-old Ami Yogev, an Israeli resident of Modiin who disappeared while hiking on Mount Olympus in Greece, was discovered Friday, bringing a tragic end to an intensive search that lasted approximately two and a half weeks.

Yogev had been missing since September 20, when he lost contact with his family while making his way toward the summit of the mountain. Initial indications suggest that he fell from a considerable height during his climb.

His body was located by a rescue team from Chaverim Mechaltzim, an Israeli volunteer search-and-rescue organization whose members had been working in the mountainous terrain to locate him.

Following the discovery, the organization said its volunteers were continuing their operations under challenging conditions and preparing to work into the evening.

“We are extremely busy with operations in the field. Our volunteer team is working under difficult conditions and preparing for darkness,” the organization said.

Yogev’s last known communication with his family took place on September 20, the day he set out to climb Mount Olympus. He spoke with his mother, Shosh Debbie, and sent her photographs documenting his progress along the hiking route.

Among the pictures he shared was an image showing him making his way toward the summit. Shortly afterward, he stopped responding to telephone calls and messages.

His mother, who had spoken publicly about her son’s disappearance while the search was underway, described the final messages she exchanged with him.

“At 4 p.m., I sent him a message. He saw the message but never replied, and since then there has been only one check mark. The phone is unavailable,” she said approximately two weeks ago.

According to his mother, Yogev had made a spontaneous decision to travel from Israel to Athens, booking the trip without extensive advance planning.

After arriving in Greece, he maintained daily contact with her, updating her about his travels and informing her of his intention to climb Mount Olympus.

Throughout the trip, he sent photographs showing the places he visited and the route he was taking. He also remained in contact with a friend, sharing additional pictures from his hike up the mountain.

The communications abruptly ended as he approached the summit on September 20, prompting concern among his relatives and eventually setting off the search that concluded Friday with the discovery of his body.

{Matzav.com}

Approximately 2,000 children from 18 Breslov Talmudei Torah across Eretz Yisroel are expected to gather outside Military Prison 10 on Monday, Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, for a massive tefillah gathering protesting the imprisonment of dozens of Breslov bochurim and avreichim who were arrested while attempting to travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah.

The gathering, described by organizers as unprecedented in Breslov history, will bring together children from the older grades of the Talmudei Torah, along with leading rabbonim and elders of Breslov, headed by Rav Yaakov Meir Shechter.

The event comes in response to the extensive military enforcement operations carried out at Ben Gurion Airport and other Israeli border crossings during Elul and the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah, when large numbers of Breslov chassidim were detained over their failure to report for military service.

According to figures released following the enforcement campaign, approximately 212 individuals classified by the military as draft evaders were arrested at Israeli border crossings during Elul. Of those, 163 were chareidim, the overwhelming majority of whom were Breslov chassidim attempting to reach the kever of Rav Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine.

The arrests resulted in approximately 70 Breslov bochurim and avreichim spending Rosh Hashanah in military prison instead of participating in the annual gathering in Uman.

The enforcement campaign drew particular criticism within Breslov because of the central importance attached to spending Rosh Hashanah at Rav Nachman’s kever, a longstanding practice observed by tens of thousands of his followers.

According to the report, IDF officials subsequently acknowledged that enforcement efforts had been directed particularly toward individuals traveling to Uman, making the annual pilgrimage a major focus of the military’s operations.

Breslov activists accused the authorities of deliberately exploiting the Rosh Hashanah travel period to apprehend bnei yeshiva who had declined to enlist in accordance with the instructions of their rabbonim.

“The state has turned the journey to Rabbeinu into an arrest trap. Instead of allowing every Jew who wishes to do so to reach the holy gathering, the security authorities chose to employ an unprecedented heavy hand against yeshiva students, those who study and immerse themselves in Torah, as though they were serious criminals,” community activists said.

The arrests during Elul and Tishrei, together with renewed enforcement operations following the Yomim Tovim, have prompted Breslov institutions throughout Eretz Yisroel to organize a united response.

Organizers say that, for the first time, the various Breslov communities and educational institutions, representing different groups and branches within the chassidus, have agreed to participate in a single coordinated gathering.

The initiative will bring together approximately 2,000 talmidim from 18 Talmudei Torah in different parts of the country, with the children traveling to Military Prison 10 on Monday to participate in a large-scale maamad tefillah on behalf of the imprisoned bnei Torah.

Rav Yaakov Meir Shechter is expected to lead the gathering alongside other senior Breslov rabbonim. The assembled children and adults will recite Tehillim and offer tefillos for the release of the detainees and the cancellation of the military enlistment measures affecting bnei yeshiva.

The organizers said the decision to bring together children from so many institutions reflects the seriousness with which Breslov communities view the arrests and the desire to demonstrate unity across the chassidus.

The gathering is also intended to draw attention to the continued imprisonment of bochurim and avreichim who, according to community representatives, were detained for adhering to the instructions of their gedolei Yisroel concerning military service.

Community activists emphasized that the arrests have continued beyond the Rosh Hashanah travel period, adding urgency to the planned gathering.

“We will not stand idly by in the face of the direct harm being inflicted on Torah learners and our educational institutions,” the organizers declared.

“This historic unity of all Breslov institutions constitutes a spiritual protective wall, and hundreds of thousands of chassidim in Israel and around the world are looking with hope toward the massive gathering, which will break through the gates of Heaven and bring about the speedy salvation of all the precious detainees.”

{Matzav.com}

Yair Golan, chairman of Israel’s left-wing Democrats party, sparked outrage Friday after describing the chareidi community as a “parasitic population” during a conference in Rishon LeZion. At the same event, the former IDF deputy chief of staff argued that Israel had made a serious strategic mistake by eliminating Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and claimed that the latest military campaign against Iran had actually worsened Israel’s long-term security position.

Speaking at the conference, Golan directed harsh criticism at the chareidi population, characterizing the community as a burden on Israeli society and calling for changes in its economic participation.

“We need to turn the chareidi population from a parasitic population into a fruitful and productive population,” Golan declared.

His remarks came amid the ongoing national debate over chareidi military service and participation in the workforce, issues that have generated considerable political tension in Israel.

Golan subsequently turned his attention to the military confrontation with Iran, arguing that the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s longtime supreme leader, had been a strategic error despite the Iranian leader’s longstanding hostility toward Israel.

“I think unequivocally that the elimination of Khamenei the father was a mistake,” Golan said. “Not because he didn’t deserve to die, but because it does not serve the interests of the State of Israel.”

The opposition leader explained that Khamenei’s advanced age and lengthy tenure had provided Israel with certain strategic advantages, suggesting that the removal of an established leader could create greater uncertainty and instability.

“Whenever there is an elderly, veteran leader, there is always a certain advantage to that, especially when he is already… was 86 years old,” Golan explained.

Golan also raised questions about the independence and effectiveness of Khamenei’s successor, his son Mojtaba Khamenei, suggesting that the new Iranian leader may be under the control of the regime’s most radical security officials.

“I think Khamenei the son, if he is even functioning, is controlled by the Iranian security-strategic leadership, which is ultra-extremist,” Golan said.

According to Golan, Israel’s elimination of senior figures in Iran’s political and military establishment may have produced the opposite of the intended result, removing experienced officials and leaving even more radical individuals in positions of power.

“In effect, after we eliminated the top-ranking figures in many key positions, we were left with people who are more extreme, more violent,” he said.

The Democrats chairman then compared the results of Operation Rising Lion, Israel’s earlier military campaign against Iran, with Operation Roaring Lion, the subsequent offensive that included the elimination of Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials.

Golan argued that Israel had reached its strongest strategic position against Iran at the conclusion of Operation Rising Lion and that the later campaign had undermined those achievements.

“From that perspective, I can say that Israel was at its peak, at the very height of its achievements against the Iranians, at the end of Operation Rising Lion,” he said.

He maintained that Operation Roaring Lion had failed to produce the strategic gains its planners anticipated and had instead left Israel facing a more radical Iranian leadership.

“Operation Roaring Lion actually worsened our position from a long-term strategic perspective. It did not improve our position,” Golan declared.

Golan placed responsibility for what he described as the campaign’s failure directly on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, accusing him of establishing an unrealistic objective that could not be achieved through military action.

“And that is because Netanyahu himself established an unrealistic war objective, which indeed failed and was not achieved, and that was the overthrow of the Iranian regime,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration announced sweeping new sanctions against the International Criminal Court on Friday, escalating its confrontation with the international tribunal over its pursuit of war crimes cases involving American military personnel and Israeli officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Washington would continue dismantling the court’s ability to operate unless it abandoned what the administration considers illegitimate attempts to exercise jurisdiction over Americans.

The measures target the ICC as an institution, rather than solely individual prosecutors or judges, marking a significant escalation in the administration’s campaign against the Hague-based court. The sanctions are designed to restrict its access to American financial institutions, freeze assets under U.S. jurisdiction, and force American businesses and individuals to terminate their dealings with the tribunal.

Rubio announced the action in a video statement posted on social media, accusing the ICC of operating outside its legitimate authority and pursuing politically motivated cases against countries that have not accepted its jurisdiction.

“We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate against us,” Rubio said in a video address posted to social media. “The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC.”

Under the newly announced restrictions, any assets belonging to the ICC that fall within American jurisdiction will be blocked. U.S. citizens and companies currently conducting business with the court will have six months to end those relationships.

The restrictions could have significant consequences for the court’s operations, particularly where its activities depend on financial transactions, commercial services, or technology provided by American companies.

The announcement came shortly after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to South African prosecutor Navi Pillay, who had previously been involved in investigations concerning potential international criminal charges against American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Administration officials indicated, however, that the decision to impose the sanctions had been under consideration well before the Nobel announcement and was not prompted by the award.

Rubio said the administration’s objections were rooted in a longstanding concern shared by Republicans and Democrats about the ICC’s authority to investigate and prosecute nationals of countries that have not joined the court.

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, and Washington has historically rejected the court’s authority over American personnel without U.S. consent.

Rubio argued that while lawmakers from both parties have questioned the tribunal’s reach, President Trump has demonstrated a willingness to take decisive action against it.

“Both parties agree on this, but only President Trump has the resolve to take the action needed to end this threat once and for all,” Rubio said. “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”

The confrontation has been fueled in part by the ICC’s pursuit of allegations involving American military and intelligence personnel in Afghanistan, as well as its decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel has rejected the allegations against its leaders and challenged the court’s authority to pursue the cases. The Trump administration has similarly condemned the warrants as an improper assertion of jurisdiction over officials of a close American ally.

Friday’s sanctions build on earlier measures imposed against individual ICC judges and prosecutors. The administration has also targeted other individuals and organizations associated with proceedings that Washington considers illegitimate.

The new restrictions go substantially further by targeting the court itself, potentially limiting its ability to obtain American banking services, technology and other resources necessary for its operations.

The ICC was established in 2002 to prosecute genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression in circumstances where national judicial systems are unwilling or unable to pursue genuine prosecutions.

Its supporters argue that the tribunal provides an essential mechanism for holding perpetrators of serious international crimes accountable. The United States and Israel, however, have objected to aspects of its jurisdiction, particularly when the court seeks to investigate citizens of countries that have not accepted its authority.

The latest American action drew immediate criticism from the ICC, which condemned the sanctions as an assault on international justice and the rule of law.

ICC President Tomoko Akane said the court would continue carrying out its responsibilities independently despite the financial and political pressure, while appealing to member states to defend the institution.

Several American allies, including Germany, France and Britain, also expressed opposition to the sanctions and reaffirmed their support for the court.

The Netherlands, which hosts the ICC in The Hague, has been examining possible European legal measures to shield businesses and institutions from the consequences of American restrictions.

The sanctions were announced on the same day that South African jurist Navi Pillay, a former ICC judge and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was named the recipient of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

Pillay also previously chaired a United Nations commission of inquiry that accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a conclusion rejected by the Israeli government.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized Pillay for her contributions to international law and efforts to strengthen accountability for serious crimes. The administration’s decision to sanction the ICC had been in preparation before the Nobel announcement.

Rubio also directed a warning toward America’s allies, many of which are members of the ICC while simultaneously relying on American military assistance and security commitments.

“We expect our allies, many of whom are part of the ICC and that rely on American service members for their defense, to rein in this rogue court,” he said. “If they do not, the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the ICC, piece by piece, until Americans are threatened no longer.”

{Matzav.com}

Malcolm Hoenlein, the longtime Jewish communal leader and executive vice chairman emeritus of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of defending Hamas terrorists and downplaying the horrors of the October 7 massacre after the mayor used his statement marking the attack’s third anniversary to accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Speaking Wednesday on Newsmax’s American Agenda program, Hoenlein sharply criticized Mamdani for invoking accusations against Israel in a message commemorating the approximately 1,200 people murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.

During the interview with hosts Katrina Szish and Bob Brooks, Hoenlein was asked whether he believed Mamdani was defending Hamas through his public statements.

“He certainly [does], and he has done so in the past,” Hoenlein responded.

Hoenlein argued that the mayor’s comments reflected a fundamental misunderstanding of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas and rejected the accusation that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.

“It shows his ignorance, above all, to talk about genocide when it’s clearly not a genocide,” Hoenlein said, disputing the mayor’s characterization of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

The controversy centered on Mamdani’s official statement marking three years since Hamas launched its murderous invasion of southern Israel, killing civilians, destroying communities, and abducting approximately 250 people into Gaza.

Although Mamdani acknowledged the suffering caused by the October 7 attacks, he also accused Israel of carrying out what he described as a “devastating ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

The mayor went further, condemning Israeli policies and American military assistance to the Jewish state.

“We must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment,” Mamdani said.

Hoenlein condemned the inclusion of those accusations in an October 7 anniversary statement, arguing that the occasion should have been devoted to remembering the victims and confronting the brutality of the Hamas massacre.

Hoenlein had returned from Israel earlier Wednesday and said the anniversary brought back memories of what he witnessed in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas invasion three years earlier.

He recalled traveling to the devastated communities near the Gaza border and visiting areas surrounding the Nova music festival, where hundreds of young people were murdered as terrorists rampaged through southern Israel.

“I saw everything, the bloody cars, the smudges that were once babies, the blood-soaked homes, piles of 40 bodies in a truck,” Hoenlein said.

He described the scenes as so horrific that he had rarely spoken publicly about them in detail, even after three years.

“It’s something I haven’t talked much about because it’s so difficult and it’s almost unimaginable to believe in the 21st century such barbarism could take place.”

Hoenlein also recalled that the terrorists had intended to push farther into Israel, reaching major population centers and carrying out additional massacres before Israeli security forces and other defenders stopped their advance.

He emphasized that the atrocities were directed against civilians and said the anniversary should serve as an occasion to remember the victims and the families whose lives were shattered.

Among those murdered on October 7 were 46 American citizens, Hoenlein noted, underscoring that the attack was also a tragedy for American families.

His criticism came amid a broader backlash against Mamdani’s anniversary statement, including objections from Jewish organizations, Israeli officials and members of the mayor’s own Democratic Party.

The Anti-Defamation League criticized the mayor’s decision to include sweeping accusations against Israel in a statement commemorating the Hamas massacre. Other Jewish leaders questioned why a message intended to remember the victims had devoted substantial attention to condemning Israel’s subsequent military campaign.

Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, was also among those who criticized the mayor’s approach, while Israeli diplomatic officials accused Mamdani of misusing the anniversary to advance his political positions.

Mamdani’s statement had explicitly condemned the October 7 attacks as war crimes and acknowledged the Israelis murdered and kidnapped by Hamas. His critics, however, argued that his subsequent accusations against Israel undermined the commemorative message.

The mayor has consistently maintained that criticism of the Israeli government is distinct from antisemitism and has defended his opposition to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

On Thursday, following the criticism, Mamdani stood by his remarks and rejected suggestions that he should have confined his anniversary statement to the Hamas attack.

“I am the mayor of New York City, and this is what I signed up for,” Mamdani said.

His position has drawn criticism from pro-Israel groups and some Democratic officials, while also provoking objections from pro-Palestinian activists who believe his statements and actions have not gone far enough.

During an October 7 vigil in Union Square attended by Mamdani, pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted the gathering and accused the mayor of betraying their cause.

The dispute has unfolded against a backdrop of growing concern over antisemitism in New York City, where Jewish residents have reported harassment, intimidation and threats since the October 7 attacks.

Hoenlein pointed to those concerns in criticizing the mayor, arguing that his rhetoric risked deepening divisions at a time when Jewish New Yorkers were already feeling increasingly vulnerable.

He accused Mamdani of using the anniversary to advance a political narrative rather than delivering the unequivocal condemnation of Hamas that he believed the occasion demanded.

“I think it’s outrageous that on this day in particular, he couldn’t have said something very clear and show that perhaps he’s learned something in these months,” Hoenlein said.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli media personality Yinon Magal has apologized to relatives of murdered hostage Shiri Bibas following an uproar over his harsh attacks on former hostages and bereaved families, but the attempt to make amends has triggered a fresh controversy after Ofri Bibas publicly rejected the apology and accused him of participating in a deliberate campaign against the families.

Magal released footage on Friday showing his meeting with two members of Shiri Bibas’s extended family, Jimmy Miller and his father, Mauricio. The two men, who are Shiri’s cousin and uncle, had requested the meeting, according to Magal, following the widespread condemnation of remarks he made earlier in the week on his radio program.

During the conversation, Magal expressed regret for any pain his statements had caused and asked the relatives to communicate his apology to other members of the Bibas family. At the same time, he maintained that his comments had been distorted and taken out of context as part of what he described as an effort to incite against him.

“Please tell Yarden and Ofri, and all the families, that I had no intention of hurting anyone,” he said.

Jimmy and Mauricio Miller indicated during the meeting that they accepted his apology. However, the public release of the encounter quickly drew an angry response from Ofri Bibas, the sister of Yarden Bibas, who made clear that the two relatives had no authority to speak on her behalf.

Ofri said she had not known about the meeting beforehand and strongly objected to the suggestion that the matter had been resolved through the conversation.

“I am furious. Yinon Magal met with two relatives of Shiri’s on her mother’s side. Out of respect for them, I will only say this: The apology was not theirs to accept,” she said.

She also dismissed Magal’s contention that his original statements had been misrepresented, arguing that they reflected a longstanding effort to discredit families who had criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the government’s handling of the hostage crisis.

“His remarks were not made in good faith. Nothing was taken out of context. This is part of a deliberate campaign of incitement, division, and venom that has been directed at the families for a long time, and whose sole purpose is to keep in office the person who, to this day, refuses to take responsibility for the greatest failure we have ever experienced.”

The controversy originated during Tuesday’s edition of Magal’s program with journalist Ben Caspit on 103FM, broadcast just one day before the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.

Magal, who also hosts the popular Patriots program on Israel’s Channel 14, devoted part of the broadcast to criticizing individuals who had contributed to a 2024 publication titled Mr. Abandonment: The Legacy of the Man Who Abandoned the Hostages.

The book, produced at the initiative of the Families Forum for Saving the Hostages, brought together essays and other contributions sharply criticizing Netanyahu’s conduct during the hostage crisis and accusing his government of abandoning Israelis held captive in Gaza.

During the broadcast, Magal read aloud a lengthy list of contributors, including former hostages, relatives of people murdered on October 7, and family members of hostages. He denounced those involved as “the most despicable people living in the State of Israel.”

He further declared that the contributors would be “remembered in infamy forever.”

Magal argued that those who had participated in the campaign accusing Netanyahu of abandoning the hostages had engaged in an unjustified attack against the prime minister.

“Everyone who participated in the campaign accusing him of abandoning the hostages will be remembered in infamy forever, on the wall of shame.”

He went on to describe the contributors as “abhorrent people” and suggested that they could make amends only by voting for Netanyahu’s Likud party in the next election.

During an exchange with Caspit, Magal also argued that the Bibas family should apologize to Netanyahu if it had falsely accused him of abandoning the hostages. After Caspit challenged him about the inclusion of bereaved families, Magal said he would exclude families directly affected by October 7 from his condemnation.

His remarks nevertheless drew fierce criticism, particularly because they came on the eve of the anniversary of the Hamas massacre and involved people whose relatives had been murdered or taken hostage.

Shiri Bibas and her young sons, Ariel and Kfir, were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 attack and were subsequently murdered in Hamas captivity. Their husband and father, Yarden Bibas, was also kidnapped and later released alive.

The family’s ordeal became one of the most widely recognized tragedies of the hostage crisis, and Magal’s comments provoked especially strong reactions from relatives and members of the public.

On Wednesday, Magal addressed the controversy during another broadcast with Caspit, acknowledging that his remarks had hurt people and saying that he should have made his intended exclusion of hostage families clearer from the outset.

He also maintained that his critics had misrepresented his statements and continued to defend his objections to the accusations leveled against Netanyahu in the book.

The dispute prompted regulatory action Thursday, when Israel’s Second Authority for Television and Radio announced that it had opened violation proceedings against 103FM over the broadcast.

The regulator concluded that the statements had exceeded the boundaries of permissible public criticism and constituted an abusive personal attack against people whose names had been read on the air.

The proceedings could result in sanctions against the station, depending on the authority’s findings and the outcome of the regulatory process.

On Friday, Magal attempted to address the fallout more personally by meeting with Jimmy and Mauricio Miller. In the footage he released, he acknowledged that the episode had caused pain to the families and described the conversation as difficult but constructive.

His decision to publicize the encounter, however, renewed the dispute over whether the apology adequately addressed the original remarks.

Ofri Bibas insisted that neither she nor Yarden had authorized anyone to accept an apology on their behalf and rejected the claim that the controversy resulted from statements being taken out of context.

The disagreement has left Magal facing continued criticism despite his public expressions of regret, while the regulatory proceedings against 103FM remain an additional consequence of the remarks that set off the controversy.

{Matzav.com}

The Flydubai co-pilot who attempted to hijack a passenger aircraft en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv last week intended to crash the jet into Ben Gurion Airport in a September 11-style terrorist attack designed to kill large numbers of people, United Arab Emirates authorities revealed Friday.

According to UAE prosecutors, the suspect, identified as 29-year-old Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, had spent years preparing for the operation, deliberately pursuing a career in commercial aviation as part of a long-term plan to carry out a suicide attack inspired by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

The findings were disclosed by UAE Attorney General Dr. Hamad Al Shamsi following an investigation into the September 30 attempted hijacking of Flydubai flight FZ1073, which was traveling to Israel with passengers aboard.

Investigators concluded that al-Hammami had intended to turn the aircraft into a weapon by directing it into Ben Gurion Airport, where the resulting impact could have caused mass casualties among passengers, airport personnel, and others on the ground.

The announcement provided the clearest account yet of the alleged objective behind the attempted hijacking, which had already raised serious questions about airline security procedures and the screening of pilots operating flights to Israel.

According to the UAE investigation, al-Hammami acknowledged that the September 11 attacks had served as his inspiration and that his decision to become a commercial pilot was connected to his ambition to carry out a comparable act of terrorism.

Prosecutors said the suspect’s exposure to extremist ideology began in 2017, when he was studying in Melbourne, Australia.

During that period, investigators believe he began reading extremist publications and consuming online material glorifying terrorist organizations, suicide operations, and attacks against civilians.

The investigation also examined his activities at a mosque associated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where authorities allege he came into contact with individuals connected to a religious center operated by a Lebanese man known as “Abu Hamza.”

According to the findings, the individual was believed to have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, although the announcement did not establish that the organization had directed or financed the planned aviation attack.

UAE officials said al-Hammami subsequently increased his consumption of extremist propaganda, using the material to reinforce his ideological commitment and mentally prepare himself for the operation he hoped to carry out.

His preparations allegedly extended beyond ideological indoctrination. Investigators said he undertook physical conditioning, including private boxing lessons, which they believe were connected to his efforts to prepare for the attack.

UAE investigators also established that al-Hammami had flown to Tel Aviv on two previous occasions before the September 30 incident, apparently using those trips to study the flight route and familiarize himself with Ben Gurion Airport.

Authorities believe the reconnaissance flights were intended to help him understand the airport’s layout and prepare for the final stage of his planned suicide mission.

The attack unfolded while flight FZ1073 was traveling through Saudi Arabian airspace toward Israel. According to UAE authorities, al-Hammami attacked the aircraft’s captain, Smit Machchhar, with an emergency crash axe kept inside the cockpit.

The captain suffered injuries during the assault as the co-pilot attempted to seize the aircraft’s flight controls.

During the struggle, the aircraft plunged approximately 16,000 feet in just 30 seconds, creating a terrifying emergency for the passengers and crew.

Despite his injuries, the captain fought to prevent the co-pilot from taking control. Other crew members and passengers subsequently intervened, helping restrain the attacker and avert the planned disaster.

Two additional pilots who were aboard the aircraft but were not assigned to operate that particular flight also played a role in the emergency response.

The aircraft was ultimately diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely. Passengers were later transported to Israel on another flight.

The UAE investigation has also examined how al-Hammami managed to obtain employment with Flydubai despite his alleged extremist views and years of preparation for a terrorist attack.

According to prosecutors, the suspect began his commercial aviation career with Oman Air, where he worked from 2020 until 2024. He subsequently spent a brief period with Royal Air Maroc in 2025 before joining Flydubai in January 2026.

Investigators found that al-Hammami had met the airline’s formal employment requirements, including holding a valid commercial pilot’s license, providing a certificate of good conduct, and completing the required professional and security screening procedures.

Nevertheless, those checks did not uncover the extremist ideology or terrorist intentions that investigators now say he had developed years earlier.

The findings have intensified scrutiny of aviation security procedures, particularly the sharing of information between airlines and national authorities about pilots who may present security concerns.

Earlier reports indicated that al-Hammami had been flagged by Oman Air over extremist material and had been suspended from flight duties in 2024. The reports raised questions about whether that information was available to Flydubai before he was hired.

Investigators have also examined the suspect’s aviation training in Britain. According to a report published by The Telegraph, al-Hammami attended L3 Airline Academy between 2018 and 2019.

At the time, the academy was among Britain’s major commercial pilot training institutions, operating facilities in Southampton and Bournemouth as well as flight simulator facilities near Gatwick Airport.

The training company has since become part of Acron Aviation.

The Telegraph reported that L3 had professional links with Oman Air, which had identified the academy as one of several internationally recognized institutions whose graduates could qualify for consideration under its pilot recruitment program.

The suspect’s activities in Australia have also attracted investigative attention, particularly his alleged exposure to extremist religious material while studying in Melbourne.

Separately, reporting on al-Hammami’s online history has uncovered thousands of social media posts containing extremist rhetoric and hostility toward women. Investigators are examining his digital activities as part of their efforts to establish the extent of his radicalization and determine whether others knew about his intentions.

Israeli media previously reported that al-Hammami had linked his attempted attack to the war in Gaza.

“I did it as revenge for Gaza. I wanted to die as a shahid,” al-Hammami reportedly told investigators.

The UAE’s latest findings, however, indicate that his interest in carrying out an aviation suicide attack began years before the Gaza war, with investigators tracing his ideological development to 2017.

Authorities have also been examining whether the suspect received assistance or direction from other individuals or organizations. The investigation has not publicly established that any terrorist group ordered the operation.

The case has prompted scrutiny of Israel’s procedures for screening foreign airline crews, particularly after questions emerged about whether information concerning the suspect’s background had been available to Israeli authorities before the flight.

Israeli officials have initiated reviews of the security arrangements governing foreign airlines operating flights to Ben Gurion Airport, while authorities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have continued investigating the attempted hijacking.

The UAE attorney general’s announcement marks a significant development in the investigation, formally identifying the planned target as Ben Gurion Airport’s passenger terminal and describing the operation as a deliberate attempt to inflict mass casualties.

What began as a violent struggle inside the cockpit of a passenger jet has now been described by Emirati prosecutors as the culmination of a terrorist plot years in the making, one that authorities say was intended to recreate the devastation of September 11 on Israeli soil.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar sharply criticized Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday following reports that the PA is preparing to postpone its parliamentary elections by nearly a year, accusing the Palestinian leadership of repeatedly misleading the international community while failing to deliver promised political reforms.

The elections, which had been scheduled for November 28, 2026, could now be pushed back until September 2027, according to a Reuters report. Palestinian officials have cited worsening political, security, and economic conditions in Gaza and Yehudah and Shomron as reasons for the anticipated delay.

Sa’ar responded by pointing to the Palestinian Authority’s longstanding failure to conduct national elections, noting that Abbas has remained in office for more than two decades without facing another presidential vote.

The PA last held a presidential election in 2005, when Abbas was elected to succeed Yasser Arafat. Its most recent parliamentary elections took place in 2006, when Hamas defeated Abbas’s Fatah movement, setting the stage for a bitter internal Palestinian struggle.

“Mahmoud Abbas is fooling the international community by canceling once again promised elections,” Sa’ar stated.

The foreign minister argued that the latest postponement fits a broader pattern in which the Palestinian leadership announces commitments to democratic governance and institutional reform but repeatedly fails to implement them.

Sa’ar also accused Abbas of failing to honor commitments to eliminate payments to imprisoned terrorists and their families, a longstanding Israeli grievance commonly referred to as the Palestinian Authority’s pay-for-slay system.

“His reform pledges to end ‘pay-for-slay’ terrorist salaries and hate education remain empty too,” Sa’ar said.

“They keep deceiving,” he added.

The Palestinian Authority has announced changes to its prisoner-payment arrangements, but Israeli officials have repeatedly questioned whether the reforms have actually ended preferential financial support connected to terrorism. The issue has also drawn scrutiny in Europe, where lawmakers have raised concerns that payments could continue through alternative welfare mechanisms.

Sa’ar further criticized the PA’s educational system, alleging that promises to eliminate incitement and anti-Israel material from school curricula have not been fulfilled.

He concluded his remarks by accusing the international community of allowing the Palestinian Authority to repeatedly disregard its commitments without meaningful repercussions.

“Consequences? Not for the corrupt PA!”

The controversy follows a formal communication from Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, dated October 8, informing Paris that the conditions necessary for the planned November elections had not materialized.

According to the letter, Palestinian officials concluded that the deteriorating situation in Gaza and Yehudah and Shomron would prevent the elections from being conducted under acceptable conditions.

The Palestinian leadership cited difficulties involving voter participation, election security and the practical arrangements required to organize voting across territories divided between competing political authorities.

Officials recommended that Abbas issue a decree moving the election to the first half of September 2027 while continuing discussions among Palestinian factions over the conditions necessary to conduct the vote.

The proposed postponement comes just weeks after Abbas publicly reaffirmed his commitment to holding parliamentary elections during his September 24 address to the United Nations General Assembly.

France has taken a particular interest in the election timetable since recognizing a Palestinian state in September 2025. French officials have emphasized the importance of renewed elections as part of efforts to strengthen the legitimacy of Palestinian governing institutions.

Abbas had previously made commitments to French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman concerning parliamentary and presidential elections and broader institutional reforms.

The Palestinian Authority has not held a presidential election since Abbas first won office in January 2005. Although his original presidential term was four years, he has continued serving without another nationwide vote.

The last Palestinian parliamentary election was conducted in January 2006, when Hamas won a majority of seats, defeating Abbas’s Fatah movement. The result contributed to an increasingly bitter struggle between the two factions, culminating in Hamas’s violent takeover of Gaza in 2007.

Since then, Palestinian governance has remained divided, with the Palestinian Authority administering parts of Yehudah and Shomron while Hamas maintained control of Gaza.

Previous attempts to organize new elections have repeatedly collapsed amid disputes over political authority, security arrangements and the participation of Palestinian voters in eastern Yerushalayim.

The latest delay has also exposed divisions among Palestinian factions. Some Fatah officials have advocated further negotiations with Hamas and other groups before elections are held, while other Palestinian political figures have criticized postponement as another setback for democratic accountability.

Practical difficulties in Gaza have also emerged as a major obstacle, with Palestinian officials raising concerns about transporting voting materials and establishing polling stations amid the destruction and instability left by the war.

The letter to France additionally cited expectations that President Trump’s peace initiative and related international arrangements would improve conditions sufficiently to permit elections. Palestinian officials argued that those expectations had not been realized.

The postponement could leave Palestinians without a new parliamentary election for more than 21 years, extending a political stalemate that has become a central issue in international discussions about the Palestinian Authority’s legitimacy and its potential role in future governance arrangements.

{Matzav.com}

South African jurist Navi Pillay, who chaired a United Nations commission that accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and has repeatedly criticized the Jewish state’s military operations, was named the winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, defeating a field of 287 nominees that included President Donald Trump.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the decision in Oslo, recognizing the 85-year-old former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for her decades of work advancing international law and pursuing accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Pillay, who previously served as a judge at the International Criminal Court and president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, will receive 12 million Swedish kronor, approximately $1.2 million, along with the Nobel medal and diploma at the annual award ceremony in Oslo on December 10.

The selection is particularly significant given Pillay’s prominent role in international investigations of Israel. She chaired the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which issued reports accusing Israeli authorities of serious violations of international law during the war against Hamas.

In September 2025, the commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, an accusation strongly rejected by Israel, which maintained that its military campaign was directed against Hamas following the terrorist organization’s October 7, 2023, massacre.

The commission’s findings were disputed by Israeli officials, who accused the investigative body of bias and argued that it had failed to adequately account for Hamas’s actions, including the use of civilian areas for military operations.

The Nobel Committee did not specifically cite Pillay’s investigations of Israel as the reason for her selection. Instead, it emphasized her broader career in international justice, including her work against apartheid in South Africa and her contributions to international criminal law.

In announcing the award, committee chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes described Pillay as “one of the most courageous and important legal experts of our time.”

The committee said Pillay had played a major role in establishing international legal mechanisms intended to ensure that perpetrators of atrocities could be prosecuted even when their own governments were unwilling to hold them accountable.

Pillay learned of her selection while attending an international legal conference in Nuremberg, Germany, the city where leading Nazi officials were prosecuted following World War II. The announcement came approximately 80 years after the conclusion of the historic Nuremberg trials.

Speaking to attendees after receiving the news, Pillay referred specifically to her commission’s findings concerning Israel.

“The last thing I did is the delivery of the report on Gaza, naming what’s happening there as genocide,” she said.

She also made a joking reference to President Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

“If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump,” Pillay told the gathering, drawing laughter.

The remark appeared to reference Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize and subsequently presented her Nobel medal to Trump in January 2026.

Pillay later dedicated her award to victims of international crimes and those working to ensure that perpetrators face justice.

The Israeli government responded angrily to the announcement, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office accusing the Nobel Committee of honoring an individual responsible for spreading false accusations against Israel.

“The Nobel Prize committee has lost its moral compass,” Netanyahu’s office declared.

“It has awarded its highest honour to a bigot who built her career around inventing and propagating blood libels against the one and only Jewish state.”

The response reflected longstanding Israeli objections to Pillay’s work on the United Nations commission, which investigated alleged violations by Israel and Palestinian terrorist organizations.

Pillay headed the commission established by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2021, following fighting between Israel and Hamas. Unlike previous investigative panels, the commission was given an ongoing mandate to examine alleged violations and their underlying causes.

Israeli officials have repeatedly criticized the commission’s composition and mandate, accusing it of disproportionately targeting Israel and failing to approach the conflict impartially.

The panel’s September 2025 report concluded that Israeli actions in Gaza met the legal definition of genocide. Israel rejected the finding, insisting that its operations were aimed at defeating Hamas and securing the release of hostages abducted during the October 7 massacre.

The Nobel announcement also coincided with a major confrontation between the Trump administration and the International Criminal Court, where Pillay served as a judge between 2003 and 2008.

Just hours after the Nobel Committee announced its decision, Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled sweeping new American sanctions against the ICC itself, extending earlier restrictions imposed on individual judges and prosecutors.

The administration has accused the Hague-based court of exceeding its authority by pursuing investigations and prosecutions involving American personnel and Israeli officials, despite neither country being a member of the tribunal.

The ICC previously issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over allegations concerning Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Israel has rejected the charges and disputed the court’s jurisdiction.

The latest American sanctions are intended to restrict the court’s financial operations and access to services provided by American businesses.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, meanwhile, framed its selection of Pillay as a defense of international legal institutions facing mounting political pressure.

“The system of international law is under tremendous pressure, and its institutions are under attack,” the committee said in its official announcement.

“We see a shift towards power politics at the expense of legal frameworks and global respect for law and justice. Whenever might overtakes right, it undermines stability, trust and peaceful co-existence.”

Committee chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes emphasized the responsibility of governments to respect international legal institutions, warning that the erosion of those institutions could undermine international stability.

Pillay’s career began in South Africa during the apartheid era. Born in Durban in 1941 to a family of Indian Tamil descent, she entered the legal profession at a time when racial discrimination severely restricted opportunities for nonwhite South Africans.

In 1967, she became the first woman to establish a law practice in Natal, representing individuals who faced discrimination under the apartheid system.

Her legal work included defending anti-apartheid activists, among them Nelson Mandela, and advocating for prisoners’ rights.

After the end of apartheid, she became the first nonwhite woman appointed to South Africa’s High Court in 1995.

She subsequently moved into international criminal justice, serving on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where she eventually became president.

During her tenure, the tribunal issued landmark rulings recognizing sexual violence as a crime that could constitute genocide and crimes against humanity.

Pillay later joined the International Criminal Court, serving from 2003 until 2008, before becoming the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a position she held until 2014.

She currently serves as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice in proceedings involving allegations of genocide against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority.

The 2026 Nobel Peace Prize makes Pillay the fifth South African recipient of the honor, following Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee considered 287 nominations for this year’s award, including individuals and organizations. Under Nobel rules, the identities of nominees and nominators are kept confidential for 50 years, although those who submit nominations may disclose them independently.

President Trump was among the publicly reported nominees. He had repeatedly argued that his diplomatic efforts to end international conflicts merited recognition by the Nobel Committee.

Unlike in previous years, however, Trump did not mount an extensive public campaign for the award in the period immediately preceding Friday’s announcement.

Speaking Wednesday about the possibility of winning, Trump acknowledged his uncertainty about the committee’s decision.

“I don’t know what the decision is going to be. They have a reputation for perhaps not giving it to people like me,” he said.

The Peace Prize announcement concluded the main series of Nobel selections for 2026, following awards in medicine, physics, chemistry and literature.

The medicine prize went to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their work developing optogenetics, a technique that allows scientists to control nerve-cell activity using light.

The physics prize was awarded to Francis Halzen for advances in detecting neutrinos in Antarctica, while the chemistry prize went to Henri Boris Kagan and Kensō Soai.

Canadian poet Anne Carson received the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. The final award, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, is scheduled to be announced Monday.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin delivered a blistering rebuke of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday, accusing him of encouraging hostility toward federal immigration officers and engaging in political grandstanding following an ICE shooting in the Bronx that left a suspected gang member wounded while his five-year-old son was inside the vehicle.

Speaking at ICE headquarters in Washington, Mullin rejected Mamdani’s demand that federal immigration enforcement operations be halted in New York City, insisting that the Trump administration would continue pursuing criminal suspects regardless of opposition from the mayor.

The confrontation followed Thursday afternoon’s shooting of 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in the Marble Hill section of northern Manhattan, an incident that sparked protests, condemnation from Mamdani and renewed tensions between City Hall and federal immigration authorities.

Mullin said he had spent approximately two hours speaking with Mamdani about the incident, but accused the mayor of approaching the conversation as a political confrontation rather than a discussion of public safety.

“I’m speaking facts. The mayor speaks with a political tone,” Mullin told reporters during a fiery press availability. “His words are dangerous, and incite hostility. It doesn’t help.”

According to Mullin, President Donald Trump also spoke with Mamdani and proposed transferring Belgal into the custody of the New York Police Department. The DHS secretary claimed the mayor instead insisted that the wounded man be released.

Mullin criticized Mamdani for what he described as a refusal to support law enforcement personnel, including the city’s own police officers.

“We arrest thousands, weekly, that are criminals and he turns a blind eye to it and won’t even stand up for his own NYPD officers, that by the way, protect him every single day,” Mullin said.

The secretary also took issue with Mamdani’s characterization of Belgal as a New Yorker, pointing to federal allegations concerning his immigration status and criminal background.

“You’re going to call that a New Yorker?! I think that’s a far cry. He said that ICE is rotten to the core. Really? When men and women at ICE each day are enforcing the laws that he refuses to enforce.”

Mamdani had sharply condemned ICE following the shooting Thursday evening, describing the federal agency as “rotten to its core” and calling for its abolition.

Mullin responded by questioning how New York would deal with serious criminal offenders if the federal immigration agency were eliminated.

“He said he wants to abolish ICE,” Mullin said. “Well, Mayor, if you abolish ICE, who’s going to take your criminals off the streets of your own town? Who’s going to take the murderers and the thieves and the gangbangers?”

The secretary made clear that the federal government had no intention of suspending immigration enforcement in response to the mayor’s demands.

“No, we’re not putting a pause on enforcement. I’m sorry, we’re not. In fact, I’m not sorry,” he added.

“Our job is to enforce the nation’s laws and go after the worst of the worst, and our men and women do a dang good job at it every single day, and we will not stop doing our job.”

Mullin described the mayor’s response to the shooting as “political theater and he knows it,” accusing him of using the incident to attack federal immigration policy while disregarding the circumstances that led agents to attempt Belgal’s arrest.

Mamdani, however, maintained that ICE’s operations were making New York less secure and defended his demand for federal agents to withdraw from the city.

“We know, and I have said this directly, whether to the president or to the public, ICE undermines public safety. It makes us less safe,” the mayor said on Thursday night.

The shooting occurred shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday near West 225th Street and Marble Hill Avenue, where ICE officers were conducting what federal authorities described as a targeted operation to apprehend Belgal, a Dominican national with a criminal history.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Belgal refused instructions to leave his vehicle and attempted to escape by accelerating toward officers and federal vehicles. Officials alleged that he struck two ICE vehicles and drove toward personnel, prompting an officer to fire.

Marcos Charles, a senior ICE enforcement official, defended the agents’ actions during Friday’s news conference, asserting that Belgal had used his vehicle as a weapon and placed officers in danger.

The federal account has not been independently established, and the circumstances immediately preceding the gunfire remain under investigation.

Belgal’s five-year-old son was seated in the back of the vehicle during the confrontation. Mullin said the agents involved were unaware that a child was inside when the shooting occurred.

The boy escaped physical injury and was subsequently placed in the care of relatives.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at least one federal officer discharged seven rounds, striking Belgal in the neck beneath his left ear. The wounded man received medical attention and was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital.

Tisch emphasized that the city’s police department had not participated in the operation before the shooting.

“NYPD had no involvement in the federal operation prior to the shooting.”

Police investigators reviewed surveillance footage showing plainclothes federal officers approaching Belgal’s vehicle. The available footage did not establish every detail of the encounter, including the precise circumstances in which the shots were fired.

Belgal was treated for what federal officials described as a superficial neck injury. Following his hospital treatment, immigration authorities transported him from New York to a detention facility in another state.

Mullin confirmed Friday that Belgal was no longer being held in New York, but declined to identify the detention facility, citing security concerns.

Federal authorities said Belgal had previously been convicted of grand larceny and had a history of arrests involving robbery and drug offenses. They also alleged that he was associated with a gang involved in violent criminal activity.

Those allegations formed part of the administration’s explanation for why Belgal had been targeted for arrest, although his criminal history does not, by itself, establish whether the use of gunfire during Thursday’s confrontation was justified.

Mullin also said the agents were equipped with body cameras and indicated that footage of the encounter would be released. The footage had not been made public at the time of his remarks.

The shooting triggered demonstrations near the scene and outside the hospital, where protesters demanded Belgal’s release and called for an end to federal immigration operations in the city.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for a thorough and transparent investigation, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demanded independent scrutiny of the shooting.

Mullin used Friday’s appearance to broaden his criticism beyond Mamdani, arguing that New York’s sanctuary policies obstruct federal immigration enforcement and allow criminal suspects to remain in communities.

He claimed that ICE had submitted more than 14,000 immigration detainer requests involving individuals held in New York state custody and accused local authorities of failing to cooperate adequately.

“Sanctuary politicians create a safe haven for this to take place, and then it bleeds over. When we see that start happening, then we’ll go in and do an enforcement to get the worst of the worst off the streets,” he said.

The secretary argued that criminal activity originating in sanctuary jurisdictions could affect neighboring communities and states.

“The criminal activity doesn’t stay in the sanctuary cities or the sanctuary states,” he said. “It bleeds over to other neighborhoods. It bleeds over to other states. It bleeds over to other areas that they don’t want this criminal activity.”

New York’s sanctuary restrictions generally limit certain forms of cooperation between city agencies and federal immigration authorities. Supporters argue that the policies encourage immigrants to report crimes and cooperate with local police without fear of deportation, while federal officials maintain that the restrictions complicate efforts to remove individuals accused or convicted of crimes.

The dispute erupted as President Trump prepared to visit Syracuse on Friday afternoon for a previously scheduled campaign appearance supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman.

Mamdani has previously pointed to his working relationship with Trump as an opportunity to advance New York City’s interests, despite their significant political differences.

{Matzav.com}

Avraham Moishe Kleinerman, the yeshiva bochur who vanished near Meron more than four and a half years ago, turned 21 on Friday, marking another painful milestone for a family that has spent 1,656 days desperately searching for answers about his disappearance.

Moishe, who went missing in the Meron area in 2022, has not been seen since, despite extensive searches and repeated efforts to uncover information about his whereabouts. His disappearance remains unresolved, leaving his parents and relatives without any definitive explanation of what happened to him.

As his birthday arrived, family members renewed their appeal to the public, asking anyone with information, however seemingly insignificant, to come forward and help bring an end to the painful uncertainty that has overshadowed their lives for nearly five years.

Moishe’s uncle, Chaim Henfling, spoke about the anguish his family has endured, describing the unimaginable pain of having a child disappear without knowing whether he is safe or what may have happened to him.

“Every father who has a child knows the terrible feeling of a child going missing, even for just a few minutes,” Henfling said. “There is a family here that has been struggling for four and a half years. There are no words to describe the grief experienced by his parents and family members since the disappearance of the person dearest to them.”

For the Kleinerman family, birthdays and other family milestones have become painful reminders of Moishe’s absence. The passage of time has brought no closure, and the family continues to hold on to the hope that information will emerge that could finally explain his disappearance.

Moishe was just 16 when he disappeared in March 2022 after traveling from his home in Modiin Illit to Meron, where he had gone to visit the kever of Rav Shimon bar Yochai. He was last seen in the area on March 25, and his disappearance subsequently prompted one of Israel’s most extensive searches for a missing bochur.

Over the years, police officers, search-and-rescue personnel, volunteers, and specialized canine teams have combed the mountainous terrain surrounding Meron, examining wooded areas, caves, ravines, and other difficult-to-reach locations.

Investigators have also examined surveillance footage, pursued information from witnesses, and explored leads beyond Israel. Despite the enormous effort, no conclusive evidence establishing Moishe’s fate has emerged.

Earlier this year, in February, the family met with Judea and Samaria District Police Commander Moshe Pinchi, who informed them of developments in the investigation and assured them that efforts to locate Moishe were continuing.

The investigation has been handled by the district’s central investigative unit, with police maintaining that the case remains a priority.

Moishe’s mother, Giti Kleinerman, has spoken publicly on numerous occasions about the pain of living without answers. During an earlier interview, she expressed her conviction that her son was still alive and that the mystery surrounding his disappearance would eventually be solved.

Now, as the family marks another birthday without him, his uncle is asking Klal Yisroel to become involved once again, whether by passing along information or increasing their tefillos and Torah learning in his zechus.

“We must find a lead,” Henfling said. “We believe and are confident that every good deed a person performs will help, and, with God’s help, bring us closer to finding Moishi soon.”

Henfling urged members of the public to undertake even a single positive action, emphasizing that every tefillah, every moment of Torah learning, and every meaningful kabbalah could be a source of zechus for Moishe.

The Israel Dog Unit, known in Hebrew as Yachal, which has participated extensively in the search efforts, has also renewed its appeal for assistance.

The volunteer organization is asking people to circulate Moishe’s photograph widely and to report any information that might help establish where he went after he was last seen in Meron.

Anyone with potentially relevant information is urged to contact the Israel Dog Unit at 054-487-6709.

For the Kleinerman family, the appeal remains the same as it was when Moishe first disappeared more than four years ago: that someone, somewhere, may possess the detail that will finally help bring him home.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu marked his 77th birthday according to the Hebrew calendar on Thursday, reaching another milestone in a political career that has made him Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and one of the most consequential figures in the country’s history.

Although Netanyahu’s birthday on the secular calendar falls on October 21, he marked the occasion on the 27th of Tishrei, amid an especially challenging period for his government and the country.

The prime minister enters his 78th year facing an array of pressing national issues, including Israel’s continuing security confrontations, the threat posed by Iran, tensions involving the judicial system and the unresolved military draft controversy that has strained relations within the governing coalition.

Netanyahu has served as prime minister longer than any other individual since the establishment of the State of Israel, having held the position during several separate periods spanning decades.

His political longevity has made him a central figure in Israeli public life, with both supporters and opponents acknowledging the extraordinary influence he has exercised over the country’s political direction during the past generation.

The current birthday comes as Israel continues to grapple with the consequences of the October 7 Hamas massacre and the subsequent military campaigns involving Hamas and Hezbollah, alongside the continuing strategic challenge presented by Iran.

Domestic political disputes have added to the pressure on the government, particularly disagreements over the judiciary and the future of military enlistment exemptions for bnei yeshiva.

The draft issue remains especially sensitive for the chareidi community, with the arrests of yeshiva bochurim and the absence of an agreed legislative arrangement contributing to growing tensions between the government and its religious coalition partners.

Within the Likud party, Netanyahu continues to be portrayed as an experienced leader capable of navigating the country through an exceptionally difficult security and diplomatic environment.

Opposition figures, meanwhile, have maintained their criticism of his handling of major national issues, including the government’s response to the security crisis and the political disputes that have accompanied it.

Political figures and supporters were expected to extend birthday greetings to Netanyahu throughout Thursday, even as the country’s political establishment remained focused on the challenges confronting his administration.

Netanyahu’s political career began long before his first term as prime minister. After serving in the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit and later representing Israel as ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988, he entered the Knesset and rose through the Likud leadership.

He first became prime minister in 1996, serving until 1999, before returning to the position in 2009. He remained in office until 2021 and regained the premiership in December 2022, establishing a record of service unmatched by any previous Israeli prime minister.

His extended tenure has been marked by major diplomatic and security developments, including the Abraham Accords, repeated confrontations with Hamas, efforts to counter Iran’s regional influence and longstanding disputes over Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians.

The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and the wars that followed have presented some of the most difficult challenges of his career, bringing renewed scrutiny of the government’s security policies and its responsibility for the failures preceding the massacre.

With another election approaching, Netanyahu’s political future remains a major subject of debate. His supporters continue to regard him as the central figure capable of leading Israel’s right-wing camp, while his opponents are seeking to bring an end to his long period of political dominance.

{Matzav.com}

A new Israeli election poll focusing exclusively on young first-time voters has produced a striking political picture, with Shas failing to cross the electoral threshold, United Torah Judaism winning eight seats, and a newly established chareidi party securing five seats despite having failed to qualify for Knesset representation in surveys of the general electorate.

The survey, conducted for Ynet and Yedioth Achronoth among 543 Israelis ages 18 to 22, suggests that the country’s youngest voters have markedly different political preferences from the broader voting population, with support scattered among numerous parties and no single faction receiving even 10 percent of the vote.

Perhaps the most surprising result concerns the chareidi parties. United Torah Judaism would receive eight Knesset seats if the election were decided solely by these young voters, while the new Hatzibur Hachareidi party would capture five seats. Shas, meanwhile, would fall below the minimum vote share required to enter the Knesset.

The findings are especially notable because Hatzibur Hachareidi has not crossed the electoral threshold in previous polls surveying the general Israeli public. Among the younger respondents, however, the party attracted slightly more than 3 percent of the vote, enough to give it five seats under the survey’s projected distribution.

The result could indicate that the new party has begun attracting younger voters dissatisfied with the established chareidi political leadership, although the survey does not establish the reasons behind their support.

The poll was conducted October 5 by the Dialogue research institute of the Amanat Pro Group and found relatively strong intentions to participate in the upcoming election.

Among respondents, 67 percent said they were certain they would vote, while another 19 percent indicated that they probably would. At the same time, 14 percent had not yet decided which party they would support.

The projected Knesset lineup also differs substantially from conventional national surveys, with three parties effectively tied at the top.

Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad party emerged with a narrow lead, receiving approximately 9 percent of the vote and a projected 16 Knesset seats.

Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit and the Yashar! party each received a similar share of support, translating into 15 seats apiece.

The Religious Zionism–Zehut alliance and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party followed, each attracting approximately 8 percent of respondents and securing 14 projected seats.

Yisrael Beiteinu, the Democrats, United Torah Judaism and the Joint List each drew support from approximately 5 percent of the respondents. That translated into nine seats for each of those parties except United Torah Judaism, which was projected to receive eight.

A combined list representing reservists and the Economic Party received approximately 4 percent of the vote, giving it six seats.

Hatzibur Hachareidi rounded out the parties projected to enter the Knesset, receiving five seats on the strength of its support among first-time voters.

Several established and emerging political parties failed to meet the electoral threshold in the survey.

In addition to Shas, the United Arab List, commonly known as Ra’am, did not qualify for representation. Neither did Amcha Yisrael, the new party headed by Ofer Winter, or Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party.

A joint electoral list formed by Sharren Haskel and the Green Leaf party attracted approximately 1 percent of respondents, also falling well short of the threshold.

The poll further revealed significant differences between Jewish and Arab young adults in their likelihood of participating in the election.

Among Jewish respondents, 71 percent said they were certain they would vote, compared with 53 percent of Arab respondents.

Meanwhile, 19 percent of young Arab respondents were uncertain whether they would participate at all, compared with just 3 percent of Jewish respondents.

Political preferences also varied considerably according to religious identification.

Among secular young Israelis, Bennett’s Beyachad party received 20 percent support, followed by Yashar! at 18 percent and the Democrats at 17 percent.

Among religious respondents, the Religious Zionism–Zehut alliance dominated with 36 percent support, while Otzma Yehudit followed with 22 percent.

The survey also examined the extent to which young voters are influenced by the political preferences of their parents.

Overall, 46 percent said their intended vote would resemble that of at least one parent, while 28 percent indicated that they planned to vote differently from both parents.

That connection was particularly pronounced among young Likud supporters, 71 percent of whom said their choice aligned with at least one parent’s political preference.

By comparison, only 33 percent of Beyachad supporters and 39 percent of Otzma Yehudit supporters reported a similar connection to their parents’ voting preferences.

The findings suggest that family political loyalties remain especially influential among younger Likud voters, while supporters of some other parties appear more inclined to make different electoral choices.

The issues shaping these voting decisions provide another indication of the differences among Israel’s younger voters.

National security policy was the most frequently cited consideration, selected by 27 percent of respondents, followed closely by the cost of living at 25 percent.

Among religious young adults, security policy was particularly important, with 50 percent identifying it as a leading factor in their electoral decision. Among secular respondents, the corresponding figure was just 19 percent.

Secular voters were considerably more likely to identify military enlistment of chareidim and equality in the burden of national service as major concerns, with 26 percent selecting the issue, compared with only 6 percent of religious respondents.

The failures surrounding the October 7 massacre and the question of investigating those failures were also more prominent among secular respondents, with 22 percent citing the subject, compared with 5 percent of religious young adults.

The survey further examined whether young Israelis believe the government’s policies reflect their own views.

On national security, 48 percent of all respondents said the government’s actions represented their positions to a large or very large extent.

That figure rose to 54 percent among Jewish respondents but fell to 25 percent among Arab respondents.

On the issue of chareidi military enlistment and equality in national service, nearly half of those surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s approach.

A total of 48 percent said the government’s policies on the issue reflected their views only to a limited extent or not at all, while 27 percent said they felt strongly represented and another 15 percent reported a moderate degree of agreement.

The survey was conducted online on October 5 and 6 among 543 Jewish and Arab respondents between the ages of 18 and 22, with results weighted by the polling institute.

{Matyzav.com}

Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch has launched a forceful campaign against the growing practice of chareidi educational institutions joining Israel’s state-run mamlachti-chareidi school system without the explicit approval of leading gedolei Yisroel. The rosh yeshiva is warning that such moves pose a serious danger to the future of traditional Torah education and has personally intervened to support the establishment of a new girls’ school in Yerushalayim following the transfer of an established institution to the state system.

According to sources, Rav Hirsch is particularly concerned about school administrators who independently decide to place their institutions under the state chareidi educational framework, commonly known as Mamach, without first obtaining authorization from their rabbinic authorities.

The rosh yeshiva, who carries a central responsibility for the welfare of the Torah community, views these developments as a significant threat to the independence and character of chareidi chinuch, especially when schools enter the government system without a recognized rabbinical committee overseeing their operations.

Rav Hirsch has warned that transferring schools to the state framework without proper rabbinic guidance could undermine the educational traditions maintained by the chareidi community for generations. He has expressed particular concern about the absence of a structured body of rabbonim empowered to supervise the institutions and ensure that their religious standards and educational direction remain unchanged.

The issue recently came to a head in Yerushalayim, where an established girls’ school entered the state chareidi system, prompting more than 150 parents to organize an alternative institution that would remain committed to the traditional independent model of Torah education.

The parents established a new girls’ school called Bnos Chayil, seeking to provide their daughters with an education conducted entirely according to the longstanding standards and guidance of gedolei Yisroel.

In a significant demonstration of support for the initiative, Rav Hirsch personally traveled on the night of Hoshana Rabbah to the Yerushalayim home of Rav Yehuda Deutsch, a prominent mashpia, to encourage the group of respected avreichim responsible for establishing the new school.

The visit was intended to strengthen the organizers in their efforts to preserve the traditional educational framework and to help ensure that the new institution would have the support necessary to succeed.

During the meeting, Rav Hirsch urged Rav Deutsch to encourage the avreichim who attend his shiurim and seek his guidance to become involved in developing and strengthening Bnos Chayil.

He also encouraged efforts to broaden the school’s enrollment by reaching additional parents interested in transferring their daughters to an institution that would maintain the established traditions of independent chareidi chinuch.

The gathering at Rav Deutsch’s home lasted approximately half an hour and included a discussion of divrei Torah relating to the Yom Tov, together with words of encouragement concerning the importance of preserving traditional Torah education.

Several talmidim and family members were present as Rav Hirsch spoke about the educational challenges facing the community and the importance of maintaining institutions under the guidance of gedolei Yisroel.

Following the discussion, Rav Hirsch and Rav Deutsch met privately for approximately fifteen minutes to discuss the matter further.

Rav Hirsch’s involvement extended beyond offering encouragement to the school’s founders. Recognizing the financial challenges involved in opening and sustaining a new educational institution, he personally visited prominent supporters of Torah institutions from overseas who were spending Yom Tov in Eretz Yisroel.

During those visits, the rosh yeshiva appealed to the philanthropists to help finance the establishment and continued operation of Bnos Chayil, seeking to provide the new school with the resources necessary to develop into a stable institution.

A group of Israeli students participating in an educational trip to Poland has been ordered to return to Israel after footage emerged showing them firing an air gun inside their hotel, prompting intervention by Israeli security authorities and the temporary suspension of their delegation’s activities.

The unusual incident occurred Thursday night at the hotel where the students were staying, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 13 News.

A video documenting the students’ actions was subsequently brought to the attention of security officials, raising concerns about the serious breach of conduct during an overseas school trip.

Following a review of the footage, the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, decided that the students involved would be sent back to Israel. Activities involving their delegation were also temporarily halted pending an examination of the circumstances and a determination of what measures should be taken to prevent similar incidents.

The decision reflected the seriousness with which Israeli authorities viewed the students’ behavior, particularly during an organized overseas visit conducted under established security and disciplinary arrangements.

The head of the delegation was also given an explicit warning that any further disciplinary incident during the trip could result in the entire group being ordered to return to Israel.

Israel’s Education Ministry confirmed that the incident was being treated as a serious disciplinary matter and that the students involved would face further educational and disciplinary proceedings upon their return.

“Following an isolated and serious incident during a student trip to Poland, it was decided to return the students involved to Israel for further educational and disciplinary action, and to suspend the delegation’s activities while the incident is investigated. The other delegations are continuing their trips as planned,” the ministry said in a statement translated from Hebrew.

Additional reporting identified the weapon as an airsoft pistol, which fires small projectiles and can resemble an actual firearm. Security officials were concerned that the students’ actions could have been mistaken for a genuine shooting incident, potentially triggering an armed security response.

The incident is particularly significant because Israeli school delegations visiting Poland operate under strict security procedures. The trips generally include visits to Holocaust memorial sites and former Nazi concentration and extermination camps, with accompanying educators, guides and security personnel.

Israeli Education Ministry security guidelines specifically warn students against purchasing imitation firearms or deactivated weapons in Poland because of the possibility that local police officers or security guards could mistake them for genuine weapons.

The guidelines also place responsibility for the delegation’s conduct and security arrangements on its leader, who must coordinate with security personnel throughout the visit.

The ministry stressed that the disciplinary action was limited to the delegation involved in the incident and that other Israeli student groups currently visiting Poland would continue their scheduled activities without interruption.

The number of students involved, the precise location of the hotel and whether Polish police took any action were not disclosed in the initial reports.

{Matzav.com}

Sen. Rand Paul is raising concerns that Russia may be conducting biological weapons research involving the plague following the mysterious death of a young laboratory employee in Siberia, warning that the circumstances surrounding the incident and Moscow’s limited disclosures warrant closer examination by American intelligence and health officials.

The Kentucky Republican, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Russia’s history of developing biological weapons has heightened suspicions surrounding the death of a 28-year-old woman employed at an anti-plague research facility in the Irkutsk region.

The employee, identified as Daria Shipilova, reportedly died Friday after developing a severe respiratory illness following an accident at the laboratory. Russian authorities have not publicly established a definitive cause of death, and the World Health Organization has requested additional information about the incident and reports of a possible second case.

During an interview with Fox News host Will Cain, Paul pointed to information provided decades ago by Soviet defectors about the country’s biological warfare activities.

“We do know from defectors in the 1970s and ‘80s that they were weaponizing the plague,” the senator told Fox News’s Will Cain. “So, this is concerning.”

Paul did not present evidence that the woman’s death resulted from weapons-related research or that Russia is currently operating a biological weapons program involving the plague. However, he argued that the unusual circumstances justify a more thorough investigation.

He suggested that American intelligence agencies examine satellite photographs and Russian military movements near the facility to determine whether the response to the incident was consistent with an isolated laboratory accident or indicated a more serious development.

“It looks like some people are insinuating there is more activity than you would normally get from one case of the plague,” the Kentucky Republican continued, “which makes us concerned, could it be weaponized?”

According to reports from Russia, Shipilova was working at an anti-plague research institution when she accidentally broke a test tube containing live bacteria on September 25.

She subsequently became seriously ill and was hospitalized with pneumonia before dying several days later.

Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev described the cause of death as “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” indicating that health authorities had not determined the precise organism responsible for the illness.

The incident prompted Russian officials to investigate possible exposure at the facility and place nearly 200 people under isolation or medical observation as a precaution.

The circumstances have attracted international attention because of the laboratory’s work with dangerous pathogens and the possibility that the employee’s illness involved pneumonic plague, a severe form of the disease that affects the lungs.

Unlike bubonic plague, which typically develops following the bite of an infected flea, pneumonic plague can spread directly between people through infectious respiratory droplets during close contact.

The disease can progress rapidly and become fatal without prompt antibiotic treatment, making early diagnosis and identification of potentially exposed individuals particularly important.

Paul described the lack of detailed information from Russian authorities as “alarming,” questioning why officials had not been able to promptly establish whether the laboratory employee had contracted plague.

His remarks came as international health authorities sought clarification from Moscow concerning the circumstances of the woman’s death, the nature of the suspected laboratory exposure and whether additional individuals had developed symptoms.

The World Health Organization has requested further details from Russian officials as it evaluates the potential public health implications of the incident.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also acknowledged the reports, saying it is “closely monitoring reports of a suspected case of pneumonic plague,” while emphasizing that there is currently no indication of a broader threat to the United States.

“Pneumonic plague can spread person-to-person through respiratory droplets during close contact, which is why rapid identification and treatment of infected individuals, and monitoring of potentially exposed individuals, are important public health measures,” the agency said in a statement.

Russian authorities, meanwhile, have denied that a plague outbreak occurred and disputed reports linking Shipilova’s illness to a laboratory accident. Officials said the cause of her pneumonia remained undetermined and maintained that testing had not identified dangerous pathogens associated with her research.

In an update Thursday, Russian health authorities announced that monitoring of the deceased employee’s contacts had been completed. They reported that nearly 5,000 laboratory samples had been examined without detecting dangerous pathogens and said the people who had been under observation remained healthy.

The findings offered some reassurance that the incident had not resulted in a wider outbreak, although questions persisted about the cause of Shipilova’s death and the circumstances of her illness.

The World Health Organization has assessed the risk of a wider plague outbreak as low, with the risk to Europe considered very low. Nevertheless, international health officials have continued seeking additional details from Russia to independently evaluate the incident.

President Donald Trump has also said his administration is closely examining the reports and expressed willingness to assist Russia if necessary, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called for greater transparency from Moscow.

The Irkutsk research institute, established during the Soviet era, specializes in the study of plague and other dangerous infectious diseases, including cholera and anthrax. Its work has attracted heightened scrutiny because of the Soviet Union’s documented history of developing biological weapons.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump on Thursday called on Minnesota residents to “fight back” against what he described as growing violence and disorder involving Somali immigrants, accusing Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of failing to protect the state and offering to deploy federal assistance if Minnesota officials request it.

The president delivered his remarks in a strongly worded Truth Social post, renewing his criticism of Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community amid continuing controversy over major fraud investigations involving government-funded programs in the state.

“The once Great State of Minnesota is being taken over by Somali Immigrants. There is Violence, Murder, and Mayhem all over the State,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The people of Minnesota must fight back.”

Trump went on to accuse Minnesota’s Democratic leadership of abandoning residents and singled out Walz for particularly harsh criticism, portraying the governor as unwilling to confront the problems the president described.

In the same message, Trump said Minnesotans had been “abandoned” by their state government and called Walz “an incompetent thief who doesn’t want to get involved.”

“[Walz] just wants to get out of town with as much as he can steal, and then, lead a quiet life,” Trump continued. “The Somalians should not be allowed to get away with what they are doing. They view you as weak and stupid people. Fight back Minnesota, fight back! If you need, the Federal Government will come to your rescue.”

The president concluded by urging Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to formally seek federal intervention, suggesting that his administration was prepared to assume a greater role in addressing the situation.

“Governor Tim Walz, and Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, must immediately ask for Federal help — and leave the rest to us,” he concluded.

Trump’s latest remarks follow a series of investigations into extensive fraud involving public assistance programs in Minnesota, including a pandemic-era scheme in which hundreds of millions of dollars intended to provide meals to children were allegedly diverted through fraudulent claims.

The Feeding Our Future scandal, one of the largest pandemic-related fraud cases prosecuted in the United States, involved a federally funded nutrition program administered through Minnesota. Numerous defendants were charged in connection with the scheme, which became a major political controversy over the state’s oversight of taxpayer-funded assistance.

Investigators have also examined other suspected fraud involving public programs, with reports suggesting that losses across multiple schemes could reach as much as $1 billion. Many defendants in the cases have been of Somali descent, although the allegations concern specific individuals and organizations rather than Minnesota’s Somali population as a whole.

The fraud cases have become a recurring subject of Trump’s criticism of Minnesota’s leadership and the state’s Somali community, which is the largest in the United States.

The president previously attacked the community in 2025, including remarks directed at Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born congresswoman representing a Minneapolis-area district.

During those earlier comments, Trump referred to Omar as “garbage” and said Somalia “stinks,” prompting criticism from Democratic officials and immigrant advocacy organizations.

The administration has also pursued immigration policy changes affecting Somali nationals. In January, it terminated Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for eligible Somali immigrants, ending a designation that had allowed qualifying individuals to remain and work in the United States because of dangerous conditions in their country of origin.

Kristi Noem, who was serving as secretary of homeland security at the time, defended the decision by saying that continuing the protections was “contrary to our national interests.”

The administration’s approach has drawn opposition from Walz, who has accused Trump of unfairly portraying an entire immigrant community through the actions of individuals accused of wrongdoing.

In 2025, Walz publicly challenged the president’s rhetoric and argued that Somali immigrants have made significant contributions to Minnesota’s economy and civic life.

“As far as demonizing our Somali community, maybe, he could help us on some things,” Walz said at the time. “Demonizing an entire community, folks who are in the professions, educators, artists, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, they bring the diversity and the energy to a place like Minnesota.”

Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali population, with residents of Somali ancestry accounting for approximately 1.07 percent of the state’s population, according to World Population Review.

Most are concentrated in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area, where a substantial Somali-American community developed following the arrival of refugees fleeing Somalia’s civil war during the 1990s.

The controversy has also coincided with renewed law enforcement concerns in the Minneapolis suburbs. Officials have been discussing a regional response to gang-related shootings involving Somali suspects, while federal prosecutors recently announced the arrest of an 18-year-old Minnesota man of Somali descent accused of planning an ISIS-inspired attack at the Mall of America.

The suspect, Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, was arrested after allegedly attempting to purchase a firearm and ammunition from undercover federal agents. Authorities said the investigation prevented a potential mass-casualty attack at the shopping center.

Walz, meanwhile, responded to Trump’s Thursday message through a political fundraising appeal, describing the president’s comments as an “unhinged social media tirade” and accusing him of attempting to divert attention from other national issues.

{Matzav.com}

New York Attorney General Letitia James faced a barrage of criticism from Republican challenger Saritha Komatireddy during a contentious televised debate Thursday night, as the two candidates clashed over rising antisemitism, the state’s controversial bail laws, Medicaid fraud, subway crime and James’ legal pursuit of President Donald Trump.

Komatireddy repeatedly challenged the Democratic incumbent’s record, accusing her of failing to protect New Yorkers while devoting considerable attention to politically charged investigations. James countered by portraying her opponent as closely aligned with President Trump and arguing that the Republican’s proposals would undermine efforts to address crime and mental illness through treatment and social services.

The confrontation, hosted by NY1/Spectrum News, highlighted sharp disagreements over the responsibilities of New York’s top law enforcement official, with Komatireddy advocating more aggressive enforcement and James defending her administration’s priorities.

Komatireddy accused James of being a “political hack” over her prosecution of Trump, while James repeatedly characterized the Republican candidate as a “Trump puppet.”

One of the most heated exchanges centered on New York’s bail reform laws, which restrict judges from imposing cash bail for many offenses.

“The laws are broken and Letitia James broke them. She was the largest champion for having this catch-and-release system,” Komatireddy charged, blaming the incumbent for supporting legislation that she argued has made it easier for dangerous defendants to return to the streets.

To illustrate her concerns, the Republican pointed to a recent incident in which an NYPD officer was stabbed ten times in the chest, allegedly by two undocumented immigrants with previous criminal records involving weapons and burglary offenses.

Komatireddy proposed allowing judges to consider a defendant’s potential danger to the public when determining whether that individual should remain in custody pending trial.

She argued that the change could strengthen public safety without requiring lawmakers to dismantle the entire bail reform framework.

“It doesn’t make sense. This is a way forward without repealing the entire bail law. It’s just about having a common sense solution. It has bipartisan support,” she said.

James responded by shifting attention to Komatireddy’s relationship with Trump and accusing the president of cutting funding for mental health services in New York.

“My opponent unfortunately is supported by the president of these United States, which has cut funding to New York State mental health crisis [services]. Has my opponent said anything? No,” James said.

“All she wants to do is prosecute individuals and institutionalize [them]. No compassion. No understanding of the issues,” James said, before Komatireddy interjected with a pointed observation about the incumbent’s position.

“Just to be clear, she won’t change the bail laws,” Komatireddy interjected.

The Republican also questioned James’ handling of a high-profile alleged assault case involving Cornell University, arguing that the attorney general had compromised her ability to oversee the prosecution impartially by publicly expressing support for the alleged victim before Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed her as special prosecutor.

“She’s certainly never prosecuted a(n) … assault case and she’s already screwed this one up,” Komatireddy said.

James rejected that characterization and maintained that expressing concern for an alleged victim did not undermine her professional obligations.

“Those comments demonstrate empathy and what we need now more than ever in our body politics is empathy,” James said.

“Politics stops at the door in my office,” she added.

The candidates also sparred over James’ investigations involving President Trump and his businesses, an issue that has remained a major point of contention throughout her tenure.

The exchange came amid fresh allegations from former Assistant Attorney General Daniel Wiesenfeld, who claims he was dismissed after raising concerns about an investigation involving Trump. Wiesenfeld has alleged that he was pressured to continue pursuing a case despite investigators having found insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.

James defended her office’s handling of the matter and criticized an email Wiesenfeld had distributed to colleagues.

“It undermined the work that we were doing,” James said.

Another major confrontation involved the attorney general’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which Komatireddy accused of delivering sharply diminished enforcement results under James’ leadership.

The Republican claimed the unit was recovering approximately $19 million annually in penalties and securing only eight convictions, compared with previous figures of approximately $250 million and 100 prosecutions.

James disputed the implication that her office had neglected Medicaid fraud, explaining that her administration has concentrated on larger institutional targets, including nursing home operators, rather than focusing primarily on individual healthcare providers.

The debate came just days after James’ office announced the arrest and indictment of a Queens pharmacy owner accused of stealing more than $31 million through an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme.

Komatireddy also challenged James’ public safety record, taking aim at the attorney general’s claim that her office had helped remove 10,000 illegal firearms from New York streets during her eight years in office.

“10,000 guns is pathetic. New Jersey seized 16,000 guns in one year,” Komatireddy claimed.

The discussion then turned to crime in New York City’s subway system and the treatment of homeless individuals suffering from serious mental illness.

James criticized her opponent’s proposal to expand the use of involuntary treatment, arguing that it would reverse progress in mental health policy.

“My opponent believes that we can go down to the subways of MTA and remove individuals who are struggling with mental illness. She wants to turn back the clock of progress and institutionalize people who are suffering from mental illness,” James charged, saying that Komatireddy doesn’t understand Kendra’s law, which allows judges to order someone into outpatient mental health treatment.

James said the state should instead invest in treatment facilities and community-based services.

“What we need is to provide resources to outpatient services and psychiatric beds,” James said, noting that she’s used some of the $3 billion her office helped secure as part of a settlement against opioid distributors on expanding psychiatric beds.

Komatireddy outlined a different approach, promising to create an “Office of Civil Commitment” that would focus on individuals whose severe mental illness makes them dangerous to themselves or the public.

She said the office would be established “to make sure that people who are a danger to themselves and others, like those pushing New Yorkers onto the train tracks, are brought inside.”

The Republican maintained that existing laws already provide authorities with significant powers to intervene, but argued that those powers are not being used effectively.

“We don’t have a lack of authority. We don’t have a lack of resources. We lack an attorney general who is willing to enforce the law. I will.”

The candidates’ disagreement over antisemitism was another particularly contentious portion of the debate, with Komatireddy accusing James of failing to use the attorney general’s legal authority aggressively enough to protect Jewish New Yorkers.

Komatireddy argued that James should be pursuing stronger enforcement of civil rights protections, including Title VI, against colleges and universities accused of allowing antisemitic harassment and discrimination.

“This is the problem. She just stands there. She doesn’t do anything,” she said, also arguing that she should use Title VI of civil rights law to go after colleges for allowing antisemitism on campuses.

Komatireddy specifically raised incidents in which Jewish students were allegedly trapped or barricaded inside university libraries during antisemitic disturbances, accusing the attorney general of failing to respond with sufficient force.

“She has used it for other students but not for Jewish students who have been barricaded in libraries because of their race got no help from Tish James,” she said.

James responded by pointing to her longstanding relationships with Orthodox Jewish communities, dating back to her years representing parts of Brooklyn, including Crown Heights and Williamsburg, on the New York City Council.

The attorney general emphasized her familiarity with those communities and defended her record of engagement with Jewish residents.

However, when asked whether she supported the adoption of a formal definition of antisemitism by Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration or other government entities, James stopped short of offering a definitive endorsement.

“We are looking at the definition of antisemitism,” James said.

The question has become a subject of growing controversy as Jewish organizations and other advocates argue over the standards government agencies should use to identify antisemitic conduct and determine when it constitutes unlawful discrimination.

Throughout the debate, James repeatedly sought to associate Komatireddy with President Trump, who has endorsed the Republican challenger.

Komatireddy pushed back against the suggestion that she would automatically support the president, emphasizing her previous service in federal government positions under administrations of both parties.

The former federal prosecutor noted that she had worked under President Barack Obama and served in the Biden administration, arguing that her professional record demonstrated an ability to carry out government responsibilities independently of partisan considerations.

James challenged her opponent’s willingness to confront Trump, suggesting that the president’s endorsement raised questions about her political independence.

Komatireddy maintained that she would fulfill the responsibilities of attorney general regardless of which party controlled the White House.

She specifically pledged to defend New York’s abortion laws, pursue legal action when federal authorities improperly withheld grant funding and oppose any attempt by Washington to take control of state election administration.

The Republican also said she would defend state laws even when she personally disagreed with them, including recently enacted legislation restricting cooperation with ICE.

The hourlong debate was the candidates’ first and only scheduled meeting onstage before the November 3 general election. Early voting in New York is scheduled to begin October 24.

Komatireddy, a longtime federal prosecutor making her first bid for elected office, has centered her campaign on public safety, fraud enforcement and criticism of James’ involvement in national political disputes.

James, who has served as attorney general since 2019, has emphasized her office’s civil litigation work, consumer protections, healthcare settlements and efforts to defend New York’s laws against federal challenges.

The debate concluded with an unusual exchange when moderators asked James to identify her favorite previous New York attorney general.

The incumbent initially answered “all” before quickly offering a specific name.

“Actually, I support and work closely with Bob Abrams,” she quickly interjected before moderators wrapped the program.