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A group of New York rabbis met privately with Mayor Zohran Mamdani at City Hall today, urging him to temper his rhetoric about Israel, speak more carefully about the conflict, consistently condemn Hamas, and devote greater attention to combating antisemitism and protecting the city’s shuls and Jewish institutions.

The hour-long meeting, organized Monday by the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, brought together 10 Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative rabbis for what participants described as an open and respectful conversation about the concerns of New York’s Jewish community.

According to The New York Times, the participants did not present a unified position on Israel. While some encouraged the mayor to moderate his criticism of the Jewish state, others said they would rather see him stop commenting on Israel altogether and instead focus on issues that fall within his responsibilities as mayor.

Several rabbis told Mamdani they do not object to criticism of Israel or Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, but urged him to express those views with greater nuance. They also encouraged him to condemn Hamas more consistently and to make clear that American Jews should not be blamed for decisions made by Israel’s government.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said he told Mamdani that the mayor has the ability to significantly improve the current atmosphere.

“I’m happy to work in partnership with your administration, but Mr. Mayor, you are 90 percent of what could be different here,” Jacobs recalled telling him.

“If instead of vilifying Israel, you spoke constructively, in measured tones, that would move the needle more than anything else, and I’m hopeful you’ll use that power.”

Despite representing different religious movements and political viewpoints, those present agreed that Mamdani’s relationship with the city’s Jewish community requires meaningful improvement, one participant told The New York Times on condition of anonymity because the discussion was held behind closed doors.

Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor and a longtime critic of Israel, has faced continued tension with many segments of the city’s Jewish population since taking office.

“There was no tiptoeing around the elephant in the room,” said Rabbi Jonathan Leener, who leads Prospect Heights Shul, a liberal Modern Orthodox congregation in Brooklyn.

“The mayor’s comments have ramifications and he needs to be aware of how in the current climate, that just adds to the temperature and creates an environment that I think a lot of Jews feel vulnerable in,” Leener said.

Two additional rabbis who attended the meeting said concerns about rising antisemitism and the safety of Jewish New Yorkers were echoed by many participants.

The discussion followed Mamdani’s widely publicized speech last month in which he described Netanyahu as a “war criminal.” He later acknowledged that New York law would prevent him from fulfilling a campaign promise to arrest the Israeli prime minister.

Even among Jewish New Yorkers who oppose Netanyahu’s government, some expressed concern that increasingly harsh rhetoric directed at Israel could contribute to greater hostility toward Jews living in the city.

Rabbi Rachel Timoner of Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn said Mamdani should do more to distinguish criticism of Israel from attitudes toward American Jews.

“If he is going to criticize Israel or speak for Palestinian freedom, which I do regularly, then it really matters that there is complexity in his message,” she said.

“We can’t vote there, we don’t have any ability to change what’s happening, yet people are profiling us and spewing hate at us because they’re angry at the Israeli government.”

Timoner said she also encouraged the mayor to speak about antisemitism with the same force and clarity that he has previously used when discussing Islamophobia following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Several attendees said Mamdani listened attentively throughout the meeting and thanked the participants for speaking candidly.

Phylisa Wisdom, executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, described the meeting as “open, positive and constructive.”

“Mayor Mamdani has and will continue to engage with Jewish life in New York City in order to meet the needs of our communities and reaffirm his commitment to the thriving of Jewish communities across the five boroughs,” she said in a statement.

Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, built much of his political career through pro-Palestinian activism. While attending Bowdoin College, he founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine and led an unsuccessful effort to persuade the school to join an academic boycott of Israel.

Although the mayor has moderated some of his positions on other political issues since taking office, he has largely maintained his longstanding views regarding Israel.

Leener, who identifies as a Zionist and has family living in Israel, said he never expected the meeting to change Mamdani’s opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Instead, he said his priority was urging the mayor to focus on protecting Jewish New Yorkers by increasing police security around synagogues and other Jewish institutions.

“That should be his focus and not making comments unnecessarily about the conflict,” Leener said. “Or having a bit more nuance around it. That it’s not just good versus evil.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on Democrats on Monday, declaring that “jihadists” are being elected across the country as Republicans continue to portray the Democratic Party as moving sharply to the left ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump argued that Americans are seeing the rise of extremist ideologies in politics, though he did not identify any specific candidates. “Well, the one thing is, we have jihadists being elected all over the place,” Trump told reporters, according to CNN.

Expanding on his criticism, Trump added, “We have this whether it’s communism, jihadism.”

Throughout the election cycle, Trump has repeatedly accused Democrats and Democratic Socialists of embracing communist ideas. More recently, he has also begun using the term “jihadists” when attacking members of the Democratic Party.

The president said the phrase was suggested to him by a friend.

“A friend of mine called up,” Trump said, recounting that the person told him, “You know, really, you should use the word jihadist because that’s what’s happening.”

Asked to elaborate, Trump pointed to candidates from countries including Somalia as examples of those he was referencing.

Trump has long been a vocal critic of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who was born in Somalia. In the past, he has called on Omar and another Muslim member of Congress to go “back from where they came.”

The president has also focused his criticism on Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim.

During a campaign rally in Las Vegas last week, Trump described El-Sayed as a “hater of Jews and hater of Israel.”

El-Sayed has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli government and its policies.

Over the weekend, Trump posted an image on social media comparing a photograph of himself and First Lady Melania Trump with one of El-Sayed and his wife, Sarah Jukaku, who wears a hijab. The accompanying caption read, “Two very different Americas.”

Appearing Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, El-Sayed responded by agreeing that the two images reflected different visions of the country, while offering his own interpretation.

“Yeah, he’s right. One in which your overlords are two people who don’t like each other but join in the interest of making billions of dollars off of you. Or, two people who genuinely love each other, enjoyed some pancakes together, want to come together to build the kind of America where they can raise a family and know that that family is going to have the good thing,” El-Sayed said. “So, yes, you got two different visions of America.”

Since El-Sayed secured the Democratic Senate nomination last week, national Republicans have stepped up their attacks against him, with some choosing to refer to him by his full name, Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed.

Trump has repeatedly argued that the Democratic Party has been overtaken by “godless Communists” and has warned that communist ideology poses a growing danger to the United States. Democratic Socialists, while advocating policies well to the left of mainstream Democrats, maintain that their political beliefs are distinct from communism.

{Matzav.com}

Fresh off his Democratic primary victory in Michigan’s Senate race, Abdul El-Sayed reaffirmed his belief that Hamas committed war crimes while also accusing Israel of carrying out war crimes and genocide in Gaza. The remarks, made during a recent interview, come as President Donald Trump intensifies his attacks on the progressive nominee ahead of the general election.

Speaking on The Jim Acosta Show, El-Sayed was asked to clarify his position on the Israel-Hamas war. He began by reiterating that he has consistently denounced Hamas, saying, “I condemned Hamas on day one, right? I think they’re wrong. I think they committed war crimes. That’s not hard to say.”

Abdul El-Sayed on Hamas:

I condemned Hamas on day one, right? I think they’re wrong.

I think they committed war crimes. That’s not hard to say.

I just don’t know why it’s also not hard to say that, in response, the Israeli government also committed war crimes, including… pic.twitter.com/LPMtQpS64f

— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 10, 2026

He then shifted his focus to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, arguing that the same standard should apply to Israel’s conduct. “I just don’t know why it’s also not hard to say that in response, the Israeli government also committed war crimes, including genocide.”

El-Sayed framed the debate as one centered on how American taxpayer dollars should be spent, arguing that Washington should prioritize domestic needs instead of funding overseas conflicts.

“The question for us is ultimately about where we use our tax dollars. That is the political question,” he argued, continuing, “I think people like to get involved in this big, long question of what’s good for Israel or how we ought to be engaged in a conflict. My point is that our job is not to give money to make the conflict worse. Our job is to use our money here. And I believe that it is up to a free Palestinian people and free Jewish Israeli people to decide what the ultimate peace ought to look like.”

Continuing that argument, El-Sayed said he believes federal spending should be directed toward improving life in the United States rather than supporting military operations abroad.

“I just know that right now, our tax dollars are making it far worse. And I don’t want our money that could be used to make education and opportunity better for our people to be used to make life worse for other people.”

El-Sayed captured the Democratic nomination for the Michigan Senate seat last week after narrowly defeating moderate Rep. Haley Stevens, a closely watched contest viewed by many as a test of the Democratic Party’s ideological direction.

Throughout the primary campaign, El-Sayed faced criticism over his positions on Israel. That scrutiny intensified after a terrorist attempted to bomb and open fire on a Jewish preschool located at a Michigan synagogue earlier this year, when El-Sayed responded by saying that “hurt people hurt people.”

His campaign prominently featured opposition to continued US military aid to Israel and harsh criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza. He has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide, called for ending unconditional American assistance, and previously said in an interview that the Israeli government is “as evil as Hamas.”

Following El-Sayed’s primary victory, President Donald Trump launched a series of blistering attacks against the Democratic nominee during an appearance in Nevada.

“When I watch Abdul, he’s full of [garbage],” Trump stated during a Wednesday event in Nevada, describing El-Sayed as a “man of hate” and alleging that he harbors hostility toward Jewish people.

“He’s a communist. And the polls were wrong again last night when they thought it would be a landslide victory for a hater of Jews and a hater of Israel,” Trump declared.

Trump continued his criticism by expanding on those accusations, saying, “This guy hates Jews. Somebody said, ‘Oh, that’s a little strong’. No, he hates Jews and he hates Israel…He’s a man of hate. And now he’s going around saying, ‘No, I love everybody.’ He doesn’t love everybody. Put him in office. You’re going to find out what he loves.”

The president also claimed that El-Sayed’s views toward Israel and the Jewish community were deeply rooted.

Trump further asserted that the primary victor “doesn’t love Israel. He doesn’t love Jewish people. He hates them. He hates them with a passion that burns in his heart.”

Looking ahead to November, Trump predicted that Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers would prevail in the general election, expressing confidence that Rogers would emerge victorious.

“Actually, we do better against the communists, according to every poll. The poll says we do better against the communists. So he won. And so I think I’m happy. I put out a statement: Congratulations to the Republican Party.”

{Matzav.com}

Rav Dov Landau declared that the Torah world is facing an unprecedented campaign against Torah learning, calling on bnei yeshiva to respond not with despair but with even greater hasmadah and dedication to Torah. Speaking at a gathering celebrating the expansion of the chareidi community in Rechasim, Rav Landau said every ben Torah is feeling the weight of new gezeiros directed at the Torah world.

The rosh yeshiva delivered the remarks while addressing a special event marking the continued growth of chareidi education and the expanding Rechasim community in northern Eretz Yisroel. Hundreds of residents, rabbonim, and bnei Torah participated in the gathering, which was held in a large tent erected especially for the occasion.

“We are now standing at the threshold of the Days of Mercy and Forgiveness,” Rav Landau said as he reflected on the difficult challenges confronting the chareidi community.

“All of us, all those devoted to Torah, feel the persecution of Torah and the schemes of the wicked among Israel to undermine the honor of the Torah and those who study it,” he said. “We are all experiencing the hardships that continue to multiply as new decrees are imposed. We see the humiliation of Torah and the persecution of its students, and we are powerless.”

Rav Landau also spoke about the remarkable growth taking place in Rechasim, where hundreds of new homes and institutions are being developed to accommodate expanding yeshiva families.

At the same time, he emphasized that despite the physical growth of the community, the spiritual and communal challenges now confronting the chareidi world are more serious than ever.

Rav Landau said the proper response to the current crisis and what he described as the persecution of the Torah world cannot rest solely on ordinary public efforts. Instead, he stressed that the primary answer is a renewed commitment to Torah learning and tefillah.

“Your role, your privilege, and your obligation is to increase more and more in Torah study, in its depth and in the effort you invest in it,” he told the bnei yeshiva and lomdim gathered at the event.

“Be strengthened and courageous in immersing yourselves completely in Torah study. Raise the banner of Torah, elevate the honor of Torah against those plotting to cast it into the dust, and grow ever stronger in the struggle for Torah, because the Torah is truth and the Torah is eternal,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

A credible Iranian assassination plot targeting President Donald Trump triggered an extraordinary covert security operation last month, with the president secretly transferred onto a different US military aircraft while reporters and even some White House aides believed he was traveling aboard Air Force One, according to a report published Monday by The Washington Post.

The previously undisclosed mission was carried out under tight secrecy, with embedded journalists and several White House staff members unaware that Trump was no longer on the aircraft they believed was carrying him. The Washington Post said its account was based on operational documents, a US official familiar with the mission, and another source with knowledge of presidential travel procedures.

Publicly, the White House maintained that Trump departed Turkey on July 8 aboard the traditional Air Force One aircraft. Earlier, Trump had posted on social media that he intended to fly on the “former Air Force One” instead of the Boeing 747-8 donated to the United States by Qatar, an aircraft that had drawn public attention over its security capabilities and which Trump said would receive additional defensive upgrades.

Television cameras captured Trump boarding the familiar blue-and-white Air Force One in Ankara. But shortly afterward, officials quietly moved him to a smaller Air Force C-32A aircraft using an airport catering truck normally used to load food onto planes, according to a US official and records reviewed by The Washington Post. The larger aircraft then continued its mission as a decoy, carrying members of the press and White House staff who believed the president was still on board.

Trump was in Ankara for a NATO summit with world leaders. The secret transfer took place one night after he ordered a new round of US airstrikes against Iranian targets following the collapse of negotiations between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending months of hostilities.

The operation successfully concealed Trump’s actual location for several hours, not only from the public but also from numerous senior US government officials. Even weeks later, it remains uncertain how many people within the administration were informed about the security measures.

After being presented with details of the operation by The Washington Post, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended the Qatari aircraft in a statement.

“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” Cheung stated, adding, “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”

A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment directly, referring all questions to the White House, while the Secret Service did not respond to requests for comment.

Throughout the operation, official White House communications continued to state publicly that Trump had departed Turkey aboard the traditional Air Force One Boeing 747, the aircraft he had used before the Qatari plane entered service.

The Washington Post’s account follows reporting last month by The New York Times, which revealed that US officials abruptly changed Trump’s aircraft after receiving intelligence about a credible assassination threat from Iranian proxy groups targeting both the president and his plane.

As the emergency aircraft transfer unfolded, reports emerged that Israeli intelligence had warned American agencies of Iranian plots to assassinate Trump. Some US officials reportedly viewed the intelligence cautiously, fearing it could be intended to encourage a more forceful American military response against Iran.

According to sources cited by The New York Times, however, the specific threat that prompted the aircraft switch in Turkey was separate from the intelligence Israel had shared with the United States.

While Trump remained in Ankara—roughly 1,000 miles from Tehran—the United States launched renewed strikes against Iranian targets. Speaking to reporters about the decision to change aircraft, Trump acknowledged that Iran has repeatedly sought to target him.

“They want to take out the US leader – me,” he stated, continuing, “I’m on every list. I saw this morning, I’m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long.”

{Matzav.com}

MK Chili Tropper, chairman of the newly formed Bayit Tzioni party, says his party will refuse to join any future coalition that does not enact mandatory national service for every Israeli citizen. In a wide-ranging interview with Kikar HaShabbat‘s Yishai Cohen, Tropper declared that the era of discussing enlistment quotas for the chareidi community is over, rejected proposals to strip voting rights from those who do not serve, advocated economic sanctions instead, and said he would neither help Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu form a government nor support any coalition dependent on chareidi or Arab parties.

Below is the full interview.

Yishai Cohen: Let’s start with the most basic question: Who is your target audience in this election?

MK Chili Tropper: “There is a very large ציבור, according to every poll, somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 Israelis, who look at the current political map and don’t feel comfortable with any of the existing parties. Many of them voted for the current coalition and became disappointed, but they also find it difficult to move to what they identify as the parties of the other bloc. We are their political home.”

Yishai Cohen: What’s the difference between your party and Benny Gantz’s party?

MK Chili Tropper: “First of all, I deeply appreciate, like, and respect Benny, so I’m not going to speak about him. I can speak about us. We’ve defined our mission: first, to establish a government that depends only on Zionist votes. Second, to make that government as broad as possible. I heard Benny say it’s either a unity government or elections, but… you know, I respect Benny מאוד. There really aren’t huge differences between us. In the end we’re operating in the same general political space, although there are certain differences.”

Yishai Cohen: When you say you want the broadest possible government, who from Netanyahu’s current bloc would you bring in?

MK Chili Tropper: “Among the existing parties, I see Religious Zionism. I don’t know what Ofer Winter will do. I don’t know whether Erdan will join forces with anyone. If I had 70 seats of my own, everything would obviously be much easier. Whatever party you mention, I could explain where I disagree with them, but ultimately there is a Zionist foundation—a partnership of people who serve, who love this country—the state, not only the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. That’s why I want to create as many partnerships as possible.”

Yishai Cohen: Some people say you’re really a satellite party for Gadi Eisenkot. Others claim you’re actually a satellite of Netanyahu.

MK Chili Tropper: “I’ll answer very directly: I am not a satellite party of Netanyahu, and I am not a satellite party of Eisenkot. I’ve heard both accusations. Sometimes what you see is exactly what it is: we’re a party made up of good Israelis who want a Zionist government. Many of our supporters come from what today would be described as the center-right of the political map.”

Yishai Cohen: But you say you’ll provide the 61st seat for Gadi Eisenkot, while at the same time saying you won’t provide the 61st seat for Netanyahu.

MK Chili Tropper: “I will provide the votes needed for a Zionist government. We know Netanyahu’s bloc—it depends on parties that are not Zionist.”

Yishai Cohen: What does the term “Zionist” mean to you?

MK Chili Tropper: “Zionism means establishing a national home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel according to international law. I used to teach history, so that’s the basic definition. It means loving the state. It means serving the state, okay? The state—not only the people and the land, but the state itself, our homeland. Military service is perhaps the clearest expression of that, but it’s also about how I relate to the state in general. Even saying a prayer for the state.”

Yishai Cohen: Let’s move to the draft law. Would you support legislation stating that someone who is genuinely learning Torah may continue learning, while someone who is not learning must enlist—with much stricter oversight of the yeshivos?

MK Chili Tropper: “I’ll tell you honestly. I come into this discussion carrying a great deal of pain. Maybe at another time I would have answered differently. But I’m coming after two years and ten months of the ultimate real-life test. There has never been a greater test than this—the longest war we’ve ever experienced, even longer than the War of Independence. The price has been unimaginable. And the chareidi leadership chose to stand on the sidelines. Because of that, I don’t think even the conversation about quotas—which years ago was still something people debated, arguing about what the quota should be—is relevant anymore.”

Yishai Cohen: So what kind of draft law would be your condition—and Yoaz Hendel’s condition—for joining the next government?

MK Chili Tropper: “Every Israeli—Jew or Arab, religious, secular, or chareidi—should serve the country through military service, national service, or civilian service.”

Yishai Cohen: Like Bennett and Lieberman? No exemptions at all?

MK Chili Tropper: “At this point, that’s my starting position.”

Yishai Cohen: So the day after the election you’ll say: “A universal draft law—for everyone, whether they’re learning or not. Without that, we’re not joining any coalition,” even if Gadi Eisenkot is leading it?

MK Chili Tropper: “Correct.”

At that point in the interview, Tropper emphasized that his views are not motivated by hostility toward the chareidi community.

MK Chili Tropper: “I have absolutely no hatred. I truly oppose all incitement, and I also see enormous value in the chareidi ציבור.”

Yishai Cohen: So what do you say to your political partner, Yoaz Hendel, who argues that anyone who doesn’t serve in the IDF shouldn’t have the right to vote?

MK Chili Tropper: “I oppose that proposal. In fact, I voted against it in the Knesset. He ultimately agreed that there are enough other sanctions available. I support sanctions because I believe all chareidim should serve. Sadly, I think the most effective tool is removing economic benefits, and he agreed with me on that point. As for the right to vote and be elected—we put that issue aside.”

Yishai Cohen: Returning to politics—you are saying that your party will not sit in the same government with the chareidi parties?

MK Chili Tropper: “When the government is first formed—definitely not. Again, it’s not because they’re chareidim. I believe in establishing a Zionist government that does not depend on non-Zionist votes. That’s the political principle. If Goldknopf or Deri were to come tomorrow and say, ‘It took us time, but we’ve realized the magnitude of this moment, and from now on we are calling on everyone who is not learning to enlist,’ then great—we can talk. The principle is about positions, not about individuals.”

Yishai Cohen: Let’s talk about the Arab parties, Ra’am and the others. Are you saying today that you will not agree to join any government—even a transitional one—and will not support one if it depends, either through votes or abstentions, on an Arab party?

MK Chili Tropper: “I’m not going to get into every possible political scenario. I’ve already stated the principle, and it applies equally to the chareidi parties and the Arab parties: the next government should be established through the votes of Zionist parties.”

Yishai Cohen: Are you staying in this race until the end? Yesterday, a Kan 11 poll had your party below the electoral threshold.

MK Chili Tropper: “In most polls we’re above the threshold. I have tremendous faith in our path. I see that after just one month—we only launched a month ago—we’ve already become a much stronger and more prominent force within what people call the third bloc. In most surveys we’re already above the threshold. Now I have another two months to work hard so that we’ll achieve a much better result on election day. Am I a responsible person who will try to act responsibly? Absolutely.”

A hidden cache of radioactive material tied to Syria’s long-defunct nuclear program is set to be removed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under a quiet agreement brokered by the Trump administration between Syria and Israel, defusing what officials feared could have become a dangerous regional crisis, according to a report by Axios.

The agreement follows months of behind-the-scenes coordination involving American, Israeli, and Syrian officials. Citing US and Israeli sources, Axios reported Monday that the IAEA will retrieve radioactive materials from a secret Syrian facility whose existence had become a growing security concern. The negotiations were led with the involvement of the Trump administration and senior officials in both Damascus and Yerushalayim.

Officials said the diplomatic effort eliminated a potentially explosive dispute that could have triggered military action involving Israel, Syria, and possibly Turkey over control of the sensitive site.

Under Bashar al-Assad, Syria secretly pursued a nuclear program centered on the Al-Kibar reactor. That reactor was destroyed in a 2007 Israeli airstrike, bringing the country’s nuclear ambitions to an abrupt end. Even so, several research facilities and storage locations connected to the project remained intact after the strike.

After Assad’s government collapsed, Syria’s new leadership reached an agreement with the IAEA permitting inspectors to visit Al-Kibar as well as additional sites associated with the country’s former nuclear activities.

Israeli intelligence has spent the past two years monitoring a location known as “Site 99.” According to two Israeli officials cited by Axios, the Assad regime stored radioactive material there that originated from the Al-Kibar program. A US official confirmed that the stockpile included yellowcake—a processed uranium ore concentrate that can eventually be enriched for use in the nuclear fuel cycle—along with other leftover nuclear-related materials.

Although the material could not be used directly to manufacture a nuclear weapon, specialists warned it could be incorporated into a so-called “dirty bomb,” in which conventional explosives disperse radioactive material over a wide area. Following Assad’s downfall, the IDF struck the entrances to “Site 99” to prevent anyone from reaching the facility.

According to a US official, American and Israeli security officials have spent more than a year developing a plan for handling the site. Senior members of the White House National Security Council worked in close coordination with officials in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office throughout the process.

One Israeli official said Israel made it clear to Washington that it would not allow radioactive materials to remain inside Syria. Israeli officials even indicated they were prepared to carry out additional strikes if the stockpile was not removed or if Syrian personnel attempted to gain access to the site. At the same time, a US official stressed that despite Israel’s concerns, an immediate military operation was not viewed as imminent.

In the end, Washington and Yerushalayim concluded that working directly with Syria’s new government offered the safest and most effective solution. When US officials informed Damascus about the hidden nuclear materials, Syrian authorities reportedly said they had no prior knowledge that the stockpile existed.

“Very few people in the US, Israel and Syria were aware of this,” a US official told Axios, adding that Washington has cultivated an effective relationship with post-Assad authorities. “When we work with the Syrians on things – they are good partners.”

Several weeks ago, Israeli surveillance detected activity near “Site 99,” raising fears that Syria was violating its commitments by attempting to recover the radioactive material. Israeli officials also considered the possibility that Turkey was assisting Damascus in efforts to secure the site.

“The Israelis are always kicking the tires on different things to make sure it looks right and it’s good they do that,” a US official remarked.

Rather than support military action, the Trump administration urged Israel to hold off while it arranged for the IAEA to intervene directly. Those diplomatic efforts resulted three weeks ago in a formal agreement between the agency and the Syrian government to remove the radioactive materials safely from the site.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump issued a pointed warning to Iran on Monday, making clear that the United States still has powerful military options at its disposal if negotiations break down. While refusing to spell out his next move, Trump suggested Tehran would soon discover the consequences, dismissed the regime’s demands for reparations, and declared that the US Navy currently controls access through the Strait of Hormuz.

During a question-and-answer session with reporters, Trump was asked about his earlier statement that the current negotiations represented Iran’s final opportunity before “decapitation.” When pressed on what would follow if diplomacy failed, he replied, “You’ll find out.” Asked whether a large-scale military escalation remained a possibility, Trump responded, “Well, we certainly have that ability if we want to do that. You’ll find out.”

Trump on Iran:

If there are damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages. pic.twitter.com/ZatM7zlLkS

— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 10, 2026

The president also pushed back against Iran’s calls for compensation, expanding on comments he had made earlier on Truth Social. Trump argued that if anyone deserves reparations, it is the United States and the victims of decades of Iranian-backed violence. “They ask for reparations, you might say, or they ask for money for the damage that we’ve done. And I said, that’s a good idea. Well, we’re going to ask for money for the damage they’ve done over a 50-year period, whether you go USS Cole or whether you go [to] all of the people that were so badly hurt, so badly wounded or killed – many thousands of people. And maybe damages for the 52,000 protesters over the last four months that were killed in Iran. It was at least 52,000 a month and a half ago. So now what is it? If there are damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages.”

When asked about the Strait of Hormuz, Trump insisted that the vital shipping lane is already open because it is effectively under American control. “It’s open now. The only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy. We have a blockade that’s been infallible. It’s a steel wall. And we let people in that we want to let in, and those people come in, and they’ve been coming in and going out. So it’s actually open now. We do not let them go into Iran. They’re not admitted into the Strait to go to Iran.”

Trump continued by describing Iran as financially devastated despite its ability to stir unrest. “[Iran] can make trouble, but they are broke. They have no money. Iran is totally broke. They are not paying their soldiers. Their inflation is 309%. So we’ll see what happens.”

Concluding his remarks, Trump said the Iranian regime is finally facing the consequences of decades of aggression across the Middle East. “For 50 years, they’ve been the bully of the Middle East. They’ve killed hundreds of thousands of people. Now they are paying a price,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

One of the most revealing parts of architect Liran Shukrun’s thinking is the way he speaks about the home itself. A frum family does not always live inside the standard Israeli apartment formula. In many Torah homes, the center of gravity is different. It may be the dining room table. It may be the seforim. It may be the constant flow of children, guests, learning, meals, and Shabbos. A home like that needs scale, flexibility, and a different kind of attention.

That understanding shaped the apartments at Givat Hashalvah. The homes are large, open, and planned to adapt over time. Structural elements are kept away from the center of the living space wherever possible, allowing rooms and layouts to remain flexible as family needs change. Liran speaks about this almost as a moral responsibility: if a family is going to live here for many years, the home must be able to grow with them.

The same thinking appears in the windows and balconies. Bedrooms were planned with unusually tall openings so a person standing inside the room meets the landscape at eye level. Living rooms and bedrooms open toward the view, not through small, incidental windows, but through panoramic glass that makes the hills and courtyards part of the home experience. The balconies are large enough to live on, not just step onto, creating real space for hosting, sitting, breathing, and bringing family life outdoors.

That is what makes the planning feel so specific. Givat Hashalvah is not only responding to a market need for larger homes. It is responding to a way of life. The project understands that a home for a frum family carries learning, hosting, children, guests, privacy, flexibility, and daily rhythm all at once. The architecture was asked to respect that. And in the best parts of the plan, it does.

Explore Givat Hashalvah → https://go.lyo.group/3LxM3tz

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has endorsed controversial legislation that would require Amazon and other major delivery companies to hire last-mile delivery workers directly, a proposal supporters say would strengthen worker protections but critics warn could eliminate thousands of jobs, increase delivery costs, and push Amazon to move operations outside the city.

On Monday, Mamdani announced his support for the Delivery Protection Act, a measure backed by the Teamsters union that would prohibit companies from subcontracting key warehouse and last-mile delivery operations. Instead, workers would have to be employed directly by the operators of the delivery facilities.

“Corporations like Amazon build billion-dollar business models by insulating themselves from accountability through a system of exploitative subcontracting,” the mayor said in a statement.

Mamdani described the proposal as “common-sense regulation that protects delivery workers, safeguards the communities where these facilities operate and ensures that the corporations benefiting from workers’ labor are responsible for the consequences of their business practices.”

Opponents argue the legislation would come with significant costs. A study conducted by consulting firm AKRF estimated that the measure would add an average of $664 annually to household delivery expenses for New York City residents.

“This law is just going to raise prices for consumers,” Business Council of New York State spokesperson Steve Smith told The Post on Monday.

Amazon, which partners with more than 40 locally owned Delivery Service Partners employing over 5,000 workers across New York City, has warned that the legislation could force the company to shift its delivery network beyond the five boroughs.

AKRF has previously concluded that relocating those operations would likely result in deliveries that are slower and more expensive for city residents.

“We’re committed to creating good jobs, supporting our thousands of employees and local small business partners in New York City and providing fast, reliable delivery for New Yorkers,” Amazon spokeswoman Kelly A. Nantel told The Post.

“But as written, this legislation would directly undermine that commitment — threatening the small businesses that deliver to customers, putting the jobs of more than 5,000 of their employees at risk and forcing us to consider relocating delivery operations outside of the city.”

Opposition to the proposal continued Monday as delivery workers and small-business owners planned a rally in East Harlem urging city officials to reject the legislation.

The New York Delivers coalition said it organized the event at Thomas Jefferson Park to argue that Intro 518 threatens both delivery jobs and small businesses while driving up costs for consumers.

According to the coalition, as many as 10,000 delivery jobs across the city could ultimately be affected if the legislation becomes law, including roughly 3,500 last-mile delivery positions in Harlem and four neighboring City Council districts.

The coalition also noted that 82% of last-mile delivery workers do not hold college degrees and that 84% of the workforce consists of non-white employees. Organizers planned to feature drivers and business owners who contend the legislation would jeopardize their livelihoods.

The demonstration coincided with renewed lobbying by supporters of the Delivery Protection Act, underscoring the increasingly heated debate over whether New York should dismantle the subcontracting model widely used in the city’s delivery industry.

Among the measure’s critics is Rudy Cazares, a New York City resident who operates both an Amazon Delivery Service Partner business and a FedEx contracting company. He said the legislation would effectively destroy his business.

“I would be shutting my business down. I have no business,” Cazares told The Post.

Cazares said his company currently employs approximately 130 workers, with additional hiring during busy periods such as the holiday season. Drivers begin at $23.75 per hour, while experienced employees can earn approximately $27 per hour.

“All my employees are W2, either full time or part time with benefits, paying payroll taxes,” Cazares said.

He disputed claims that Delivery Service Partners merely serve as intermediaries shielding Amazon from responsibility, explaining that his company independently hires its workforce and manages its own fleet.

“They control the sorting of the packages. They stage them for us. We pick them up and we go deliver them,” Cazares said of Amazon.

While acknowledging that Amazon encourages its delivery partners to improve efficiency through technology and other measures, Cazares argued that policymakers should address any concerns without eliminating locally owned delivery companies.

“There’s been no dialogue that includes the small businesses that are the ones making this happen,” Cazares said.

“This direct hire mandate will eliminate every small business out there that delivers packages for any business,” he added.

Some city officials have also expressed reservations about the proposal.

“We want to make sure we don’t have unintended consequences,” Carlos Ortiz, deputy commissioner of external affairs for the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, said during an April City Council hearing.

A spokesperson for City Council Speaker Julie Menin previously said the Manhattan Democrat intends to allow the legislation to continue through the normal legislative process while gathering additional feedback from affected stakeholders.

The Teamsters union strongly rejected Amazon’s arguments.

“Amazon will say or do whatever it takes to deny workers stronger rights and wages and abdicate its responsibilities for its own employees, which is why journalists are obliged to expose these greedy corporate tactics and not serve as stenographers for the company’s anti-worker propaganda,” Matt McQuaid, a spokesperson for the Teamsters union, told The Post.

FedEx also acknowledged the ongoing debate while referring questions about the legislation to the New York Delivers coalition.

“With the rise of e-commerce, last-mile delivery facilities for shipping and logistics businesses have become an increasingly essential part of the infrastructure that keeps New York City running,” a FedEx spokesperson told The Post.

“FedEx is aware of the proposed bill and is working with the New York Delivers coalition. Any questions on the legislation can be directed to them.”

{Matzav.com}

Dear Matzav Inbox, 

When rabbanim decided that unrestricted internet posed a serious spiritual danger to our children, they did not shrug their shoulders.

They demanded action.

They held massive asifos. They created standards. They pushed schools to implement rules. Parents were required to sign forms. TAG was created. Filters became expected. Rabbanim spoke about it constantly. Schools educated students and parents. Entire systems were built around confronting the danger head-on.

Nobody said, “What can we do? Technology is here.”

Nobody said, “The kids are going to use it anyway.”

Nobody said, “Parents can’t control everything.”

The message was simple: Our children are in danger, so we are going to do something about it.

Fine.

Now explain the response to electric scooters and e-bikes.

Children are flying through our streets on powerful electric vehicles, weaving through traffic, shooting through intersections, riding against traffic, appearing suddenly between parked cars, and operating machines capable of serious speed without the maturity or judgment to appreciate what can happen in a split second.

Every driver sees it.

Every parent knows about it.

We constantly hear about accidents and near misses.

And now the response is suddenly:

“What do you want us to do?”

“Everyone has one.”

“The parents can’t control them.”

“The schools can’t get involved.”

Really?

When the concern was that a child might be exposed to something spiritually harmful, an entire community mobilized.

But when the concern is that a child might actually get killed, suddenly nobody knows what to do?

I’m sorry. I don’t buy it.

If rabbanim could demand internet policies from every school and every family, they can demand basic standards for children operating electric vehicles.

If schools could tell parents what technology was acceptable in their homes, they can certainly address students recklessly riding high-speed scooters through the streets on their way to and from school.

If an entire infrastructure could be created to protect children from spiritual danger, surely some infrastructure can be created to protect them from getting run over by a car.

This is not about banning every scooter or e-bike. There are responsible ways to use them.

It is about recognizing that what is happening right now is dangerous and that the collective shrug is unacceptable.

Where are the rabbinic statements?

Where are the school policies?

Where are the parent meetings?

Where are the age restrictions, safety standards and consequences?

Where is the urgency?

Because there is something deeply backwards about demonstrating that we will move heaven and earth when we fear for a child’s neshama, but suddenly becoming powerless when we fear for the child’s actual life.

We already proved that when communal leadership believes something is dangerous enough, it knows exactly how to get everyone’s attention.

So let’s stop pretending nobody knows what to do.

God forbid, we should not need a funeral before this issue finally becomes important enough for everyone to act!

Avi Goldstein

To submit a letter to appear on Matzav.com, email MatzavInbox@gmail.com

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial rollout of the new pied-à-terre tax has been temporarily halted after a Staten Island judge issued a restraining order, delivering an early legal victory to homeowners challenging the city’s implementation of the luxury second-home surcharge.

Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi on Monday granted a temporary restraining order that pauses enforcement of the tax rollout until at least an Aug. 31 court hearing, where the lawsuit brought by several homeowners will be considered.

Under the ruling, the city is prohibited from taking further action on the 17,000 notices issued by the Department of Finance, which warned property owners they could face tax bills totaling tens of thousands of dollars unless they successfully applied for exemptions.

City Hall quickly vowed to challenge the decision and seek to revive the implementation of the tax.

“We disagree with today’s ruling, but we are confident in both the pied-à-terre surcharge and the City’s ability to implement it fairly and effectively,” said Matt Rauschenbach, a spokesman for the mayor.

“This surcharge asks those who own second homes valued at $5 million or more to contribute their fair share to the city they benefit from,” Rauschenbach said, claiming “The Law Department will appeal the ruling immediately which will stay the order, and the City will continue with the pied-a-terre’s implementation.”

The tax, approved earlier this year by the New York Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, applies to one- to three-family homes worth at least $5 million, along with condominiums and co-ops valued at $1 million or more, provided they are not occupied as primary residences.

The court order added another chapter to what has already been a turbulent rollout and came only hours after Hochul publicly urged the city to improve its handling of the new tax.

“We’re not responsible for the rollout,” Hochul said during an unrelated event in the Bronx. “This is something that we talked to the city about in advance. It’s up to their city tax department.

“We’ll encourage City Hall to try and streamline this.”

Hochul’s remarks represented a notable shift after she had previously championed the tax as a way to ensure that wealthy owners of luxury second homes—including what she described as “Russian oligarchs” and “Saudi princes”—would contribute more in taxes.

The controversy intensified after the city initially published a database listing more than 900,000 homeowners who might be affected by the new tax, following Mamdani’s public message telling affluent property owners to “check your mailbox when you’re back in the five boroughs, because you’ve got mail.”

The publication of the database created widespread confusion because many of the listed properties appeared to fall outside the law’s intended scope, which targets vacant, non-primary residences.

City officials later mailed 17,000 notices informing homeowners that they would be subject to the tax unless they filed exemption requests.

The rollout prompted three homeowners to file suit, arguing that they either received notices for homes that have long served as their primary residences or were improperly included on the publicly released database.

The lawsuit, filed Friday, contends that the city’s rollout “caused mass confusion,” arguing that officials failed to use the extensive state records specifically made available under the law to determine which properties were actually eligible before placing the burden on homeowners to prove they were exempt.

According to the complaint, many longtime New Yorkers were left scrambling to establish that their homes qualified for exemptions before the city’s original one-month deadline expired.

Two of the plaintiffs—Rachel O’Brien and Carmine Morano, the wife and father of City Councilman Frank Morano—are Staten Island residents whose homes appeared on the published database.

The third plaintiff, Chelsea resident Simon Hedley, who has described himself as a supporter of Mamdani, received one of the 17,000 mailed notices, according to court filings.

Before the judge ruled, the city argued that the Department of Finance had already received “3,801 submissions challenging the Department’s initial determination as to primary residence.”

Court filings also revealed that Hedley’s own appeal had already been approved after he uploaded his tax return on Saturday, one day after filing the lawsuit.

City attorneys argued that issuing a restraining order would interfere with thousands of pending appeals and delay relief for homeowners already seeking exemptions.

“Enjoining the Department from taking any action on these appeals would deprive many property owners of receiving prompt responses to their appeals,” the city’s filing stated.

“Issuing a temporary restraining order that pauses the September 18 deadline may lull taxpayers into delaying their filings, and that in turn may mean that those delayed administrative appeals cannot be processed in time to be reflected in the November 15 bills.”

The city also maintained that the plaintiffs “have not raised any legally actionable claim or identified any irreparable injury” sufficient to justify removing the database from public view.

Justice Ozzi nevertheless granted the homeowners’ request for temporary relief.

His order requires the city to remove the online database identifying approximately 900,000 property owners and bars officials from taking further action based on either the published list or the mailed notices until at least the Aug. 31 hearing.

Hedley welcomed the ruling, while also acknowledging that city officials responded quickly once he submitted documentation supporting his appeal.

“I understand it’s still the end of the month, so there’s not a whole lot of uh time,” he said about the Aug. 31 hearing. “Hopefully, they can take the opportunity to roll things out a bit more smoothly.”

The lawsuit was filed by attorney Randy Mastro, who served as first deputy mayor during the administration of Eric Adams.

Before the ruling was issued, Mamdani joked about Mastro’s frequent legal challenges against his administration.

“There are a few things more certain in New York City than death, taxes and Randy Mastro filing a lawsuit against this administration,” Mamdani joked.

Following the court’s decision, Mastro praised the outcome as an important victory for city homeowners.

“We are very gratified by the judge’s decision, which has vindicated the rights of hundreds of thousands of New York City homeowners who were subjected to a process they never should have been a part of in the first place,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Hunter Biden sharply criticized President Donald Trump during a lengthy conversation with Tucker Carlson, calling him an “existential threat” to the United States in the latest appearance on a media tour that has increasingly included interviews with prominent conservative personalities.

The interview, released Monday on Carlson’s podcast, marked another notable stop for Biden, who has recently sought out conversations with conservative hosts despite years of political conflict. Biden and Carlson have known each other for roughly three decades, even though Carlson was one of his most vocal critics during the 2020 presidential campaign and throughout Joe Biden’s presidency.

Biden said his outreach to conservative media has been intentional. Earlier this year, he appeared on Candace Owens’ podcast and spoke favorably about that experience during his discussion with Carlson.

“I love Candace,” he said.

Both Carlson and Owens have recently become outspoken critics of several Trump administration policies, including the war with Iran.

During the interview, Biden argued that Trump represents a unique danger to the nation, describing him as far more than merely a product of broader political problems.

“The one existential threat that I think we all face as a country,” Biden said, adding that Trump is more than “the symptom of a disease” but is “central to why this disease has gone from a local epidemic to a pandemic in the United States of America.”

Carlson also reflected on his own relationship with Trump, discussing his unsuccessful efforts to persuade the president against entering the conflict with Iran.

“I overstated my own influence, like, dramatically, in a very embarrassing way — and my importance,” Carlson said, adding that he was “humiliated, correctly.”

Despite that disappointment, Carlson said he ultimately viewed the experience as valuable.

He said he was “grateful” for that experience, however.

In recent months, Carlson has increasingly hinted at the possibility of launching a new political movement or even a third party. He recently convened a meeting of disaffected MAGA figures—including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie—and has outlined what he described as a 10-point platform during a recent episode of his show.

WATCH:

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing a major revision of the nation’s recommended childhood vaccination schedule, calling for the number of diseases covered by universal immunization recommendations to be reduced from 18 to 11 while expanding parental choice in consultation with physicians.

The executive order reinforces the broad vaccine policy changes announced earlier this year by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., although those earlier revisions remain tied up in federal court.

Under the new directive, only vaccines covering 11 diseases would remain universally recommended for children. Vaccinations removed from the universal schedule would instead be recommended for high-risk individuals or administered through what officials describe as shared clinical decision-making between parents and their children’s doctors.

Administration officials emphasized that the order does not eliminate access to any vaccines. Kennedy said Monday that the goal is to provide families with greater flexibility in making medical decisions. While the federal childhood immunization schedule serves as guidance rather than a legal mandate, many schools and childcare providers rely on it when setting their own vaccination requirements.

During the announcement, Trump connected the revised recommendations to concerns over increasing autism diagnoses in the United States, despite decades of scientific research finding no causal relationship between vaccines and autism.

“While we do not know exactly what the cause is with respect to autism, it is essential to our research efforts that we have the very best vaccine recommendations in the entire world, so we’re reducing them,” Trump said.

The executive order recommends that vaccines for COVID-19, rotavirus, influenza, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and bacterial meningitis be administered through shared clinical decision-making rather than as routine universal immunizations.

At the same time, the administration continues to recommend universal childhood vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, HPV, and chickenpox.

The order also specifies that certain vaccines—including those for RSV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue, and two forms of bacterial meningitis—should continue to be recommended for children considered at elevated risk.

Heidi Overton, deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy, said the executive order is intended to move forward with Kennedy’s vaccine reforms while the earlier policy changes remain blocked by the courts.

According to the order, childhood vaccines should be administered during separate medical appointments rather than combined into fewer visits. Health experts have noted that such a change could significantly increase the number of doctor appointments required during childhood and may also increase out-of-pocket costs for some families.

The directive also calls for the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to be replaced with three separate injections. Because no individual FDA-approved vaccines currently exist for those diseases, the order instructs Kennedy to explore ways to make separate vaccines available.

Throughout his second term, Trump has repeatedly argued that children receive too many vaccines and has questioned the safety of the combined MMR vaccine compared with separate injections. During Monday’s announcement, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also asserted, without presenting evidence, that giving children “shot after shot after shot” contributes to vaccine injuries.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has said its recommended immunization schedule—consistent with CDC guidance issued before Kennedy became health secretary—is designed around the ages at which vaccines provide the strongest immune response and the periods when children are most vulnerable to serious disease.

The combined MMR vaccine has been in use since 1971 and is currently administered in two doses, typically between 12 and 15 months of age and again between 4 and 6 years old. Administering separate vaccines instead would increase the total number of injections from two to six.

The policy shift comes as the United States has already recorded more measles cases this year than in any full year over the past 35 years.

Trump’s executive order also authorizes the attorney general to pursue legal action against states that do not provide religious and medical exemptions to vaccination requirements.

The directive builds upon an earlier executive order seeking to align America’s childhood vaccination recommendations more closely with those of other developed nations.

Some current and former Trump administration officials have pointed to Denmark as a model, noting that its universal childhood vaccination schedule does not routinely include immunizations for influenza, COVID-19, RSV, chickenpox, and several other diseases. Many public health experts, however, argue that comparisons are limited because the United States faces different infectious disease patterns due to its larger and more diverse population, and because Denmark operates under a universal healthcare system while the United States does not.

{Matzav.com}

As families across Israel enjoy the annual Bein Hazmanim vacation period, Rabbi Shlomo Spiegel—who lost his two sons, Yissachar Dov and Avraham Yeshayah Spiegel, in a drowning accident off the coast of Netanya last year—is issuing an emotional appeal for vigilance, faith, and responsibility.

Speaking publicly nearly a year after the tragedy, Rabbi Spiegel stressed that belief in Divine providence never absolves a person from taking every possible precaution to protect life.

“In Novardok they used to say that two things are considered heresy,” Rabbi Spiegel explained. “One is, ‘What can I do?’ and the other is, ‘What could I have done?’ Before something happens, there is always something a person can do. But after it happens, a person must not say, ‘What could I have done?’ Everything comes from Heaven.”

Rabbi Spiegel said that safety had always been a central value in his home, long before the tragedy occurred.

“As parents, we almost never allowed our children to go to the beach without supervision,” he recalled.

He shared that on the night before the fatal accident, one of his sons had gone to the beach with friends but refused to enter the water because his parents were not present.

“As their friends later told us, they went into the water, but he did not. He said, ‘I’m not going in without parental supervision.’”

Rabbi Spiegel emphasized that the Torah’s command of venishmartem me’od lenafshoseichem obligates every person to do everything possible to avoid danger, even though the ultimate outcome remains in Hashem’s hands.

He also described what happened on the day of the drowning, explaining that the family initially hesitated to enter the beach because they had heard it was closed.

“We didn’t want to go down because they said the beach was closed,” he said. “But we saw that the beach was full of people and that people were coming and going. So we asked what had happened. They told us, ‘No, only a few steps are broken, but there’s no problem at the beach.’”

Only much later, he said, did the family discover that there had been no lifeguard stationed at that section of the beach.

“The lifeguards told us that if there had been a lifeguard at that beach, he might have noticed what was happening one minute earlier. And that minute is critical.”

He therefore urged the public to take safety seriously.

“Every person truly needs to be as watchful and as careful as possible.”

Alongside the obligation to exercise caution, Rabbi Spiegel spoke about the family’s continuing effort to accept the tragedy with faith.

He said that accepting Hashem’s judgment does not begin only after a devastating loss but is something that must be cultivated throughout daily life.

“A person has to justify Hashem’s judgment in everything that happens to him,” he said. “Whenever someone upsets him, whenever someone hurts him, he has to justify Hashem’s judgment. Then, when something truly difficult happens, he can genuinely accept Hashem’s judgment.”

Rabbi Spiegel added that every Jew is taught that everything comes from Heaven, but during times of personal trial that belief must become a lived reality.

“A person has to live everything that he learned throughout his life.”

As the remainder of Bein Hazmanim continues, Rabbi Spiegel encouraged families to combine physical safety with spiritual growth.

“My request is that whoever can, before going on a trip, should learn two Mishnayos in memory of our precious children,” he said. “The learning will be a merit for them, and it will also remind the person to be careful.”

He asked that people remember his sons, Yissachar Dov and Avraham Yeshayah ben Shlomo, and dedicate Torah study and spiritual strengthening in their memory, as well as in memory of all those who have lost their lives in other recent tragedies.

Rabbi Spiegel concluded with a heartfelt message for vacationers, urging them not to leave their Jewish identity behind when they travel.

“Be a Jew even when you go out,” he said, recalling that his sons always wore their tzitzis proudly even while on outings.

“Vacation is a time to relax, but it is not a time to let go,” he said. “It is a time to rest, but not a time to abandon who we are.”

He expressed confidence that those who travel with that sense of responsibility will be more careful both spiritually and physically.

“If a person goes with that attitude,” he said, “I believe he will be careful, both in ruchniyus and in gashmiyus.”

{Matzav.com}

Recently disclosed text messages show that Dr. Anthony Fauci privately discussed the possibility that COVID-19 vaccination could “theoretically” be associated with miscarriages during early pregnancy, even as he publicly maintained that there were “no red flags” for pregnant women receiving the vaccine.

In a Jan. 25, 2021, text conversation with then-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Fauci said additional discussions had raised an issue he believed deserved attention.

“I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of,” wrote Fauci.

“Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester,” added the then-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director.

The exchange took place as Fauci, Walensky, and Murthy were evaluating whether the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine regimen might present different risks depending on the stage of pregnancy.

Walensky responded by agreeing that the concern Fauci raised warranted consideration.

She replied that the first trimester issues he mentioned were “definitely a good point, [especially] after dose two.”

Just over a week later, on Feb. 3, Fauci addressed the issue publicly during a question-and-answer livestream hosted by the Journal of the American Medical Association, saying the Food and Drug Administration had not identified evidence suggesting a danger for pregnant women.

During the event, Fauci said the FDA “found thus far, and we have to be careful, but thus far no red flags about that, about pregnant women.”

Several months afterward, while serving as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Fauci again publicly encouraged vaccination during pregnancy, citing federal monitoring data.

He stated that “tens and tens and tens of thousands of women who have been followed by the CDC, who have been vaccinated when they were pregnant, there’s no indication whatsoever that there’s any increase of any adverse issues in a pregnant woman who was vaccinated compared to a pregnant woman who wasn’t vaccinated … it’s pretty clear that pregnant women should get vaccinated.”

Additional communications among Fauci, Murthy, and Walensky also show the officials weighing the potential risks of vaccination against the dangers posed by SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.

In one exchange, Murthy expressed concern after the World Health Organization issued guidance regarding the Moderna vaccine and pregnancy.

Murthy wrote that he was “surprised to see WHO [World Health Organization] put out a strong like saying they do not recommend moderna [sic] in pregnant women.”

He added, “That’s a strong statement to make and potentially quite damaging to public confidence among pregnant women,” in a Jan. 26, 2021, text sent to Fauci and Walensky.

The messages were released by Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin after the Senate Homeland Security Committee obtained more than 34,000 text messages and 522 voicemail recordings from Fauci’s government-issued cellphone last week.

According to the two Republican senators, only three contacts were listed on the phone, although they cautioned that it is “too early to determine whether any data has been deleted.”

{Matzav.com}

At least 111 people were dead and scores of buildings collapsed after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia on Monday, authorities said.

The temblor, which struck near San José del Palmar on Colombia’s Pacific coast shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time, was the strongest to hit the country in a decade, according to the Colombian Geological Service. It was felt in Bogotá, some 150 miles away, and in neighboring Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela, where twin earthquakes in June killed thousands.

Rescue workers were searching for survivors in the rubble of fallen buildings in several cities. At midday, 111 people were reported dead, 61 buildings collapsed, and 52 schools, 18 health centers, 17 community centers and six airports affected, President Abelardo de la Espriella told reporters.

The dead included at least 40 people in the Risaralda department and 27 in Valle del Cauca, their governors told local news outlets.

The Risaralda deaths included three at Matecaña International Airport in Pereira, where a section of the passenger terminal roof collapsed. Videos showed plumes of gray dust rising above the city of about 470,000 people, the commercial center of Colombia’s coffee region.

Chocó Gov. Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi reported nine deaths in Quibdó, the capital. The department, home to a large Afro-Colombian community, is one of the country’s poorest. Videos on social media showed buildings in several areas partially or fully collapsed.

Jorge Eduardo Rojas, mayor of Manizales in Caldas department, reported three deaths, 12 buildings damaged or collapsed and many gas leaks. Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said at least 30 buildings in Colombia’s third-largest city had collapsed, with people trapped inside. Antioquia’s governor said one person had been killed in that department.

The quake reached a depth of nearly 70 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. There was no tsunami threat, Colombia’s General Maritime Directorate said.

The disaster is an early challenge for de la Espriella, who was inaugurated Friday. De la Espriella said Monday that he would establish a unified command post to respond and would travel to the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration “stands ready to support the people of Colombia” and the de la Espriella administration. The right-wing president is expected to be a key partner to President Donald Trump, who endorsed him before the second round of Colombia’s election, held in June.

Trump sent a delegation on Friday, led by then-acting attorney general Todd Blanche, to attend de la Espriella’s inauguration in Cali. The city was the largest to report significant earthquake damage on Monday.

Colombia’s Pacific coast lies along the Ring of Fire, a belt of frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Videos from Manizales, a university city built along steep, landslide-prone Andean ridges, showed serious damage to the city’s Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica, the tallest cathedral in Colombia.

The country’s civil aviation authority suspended operations at airports in Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, Armenia, Cartago and Buenaventura.

In Bogotá, thousands of people evacuated buildings. Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said buildings suffered superficial cracks but no structural damage. The city was ready to help the hardest-hit communities, he said; 100 rescuers prepared to deploy to areas prioritized by the national government.

The earthquake struck a region with a searing memory of seismic catastrophe. In 1999, a 6.1-magnitude quake devastated Armenia, a city of about 300,000 in the heart of the UNESCO-listed Coffee Cultural Landscape, killing an estimated 1,100 to 1,200 people. About 60 percent of Armenia’s poorly engineered structures collapsed.

The event reshaped Colombian disaster policy, spurring a national reconstruction fund and stricter enforcement of the country’s seismic building code.

The twin earthquakes, of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitudes, that struck Venezuela 39 seconds apart on June 24 killed more than 6,000 people.

(c) 2026, The Washington Post · Samantha Schmidt, Helena Carpio, Joshua Yang 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 million superyacht has come under criticism after reports claimed it did not respond to requests to assist a disabled boat off the coast of Alaska, leaving another vessel to carry out the rescue.

According to the Alaska Beacon, the 387-foot yacht Launchpad did not respond after a 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel Monday night while traveling between Petersburg and Juneau. Instead, the nearby cruise ship Wilderness Legacy altered course and came to the stranded boat’s aid.

During the rescue operation, the captain of the Wilderness Legacy reportedly informed passengers that Zuckerberg’s yacht had been closer to the disabled vessel but had “refused” to assist, according to one passenger aboard the cruise.

The announcement reportedly drew a strong reaction from those on board.

“There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this,” according to a Bluesky post by vacationer Michael Love.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it received the skiff’s call for assistance at approximately 9:30 p.m. Monday.

After evaluating the situation, the Coast Guard concluded that the vessel was not in immediate distress but issued a marine assistance broadcast roughly 30 minutes later requesting help from nearby boats.

Marine tracking data cited by the Alaska Beacon indicated that the Wilderness Legacy, operated by UnCruise Adventures, was actually farther from the stranded skiff than Launchpad when the assistance request was issued.

The same tracking information reportedly showed the cruise ship passing Zuckerberg’s yacht on its way to assist the disabled vessel while the superyacht remained in place.

The Wilderness Legacy ultimately towed the skiff to the safety of protected waters in Farragut Bay.

A spokesperson for Zuckerberg disputed any suggestion that he or his family were involved, emphasizing that neither was aboard the yacht at the time and explaining that the crew did not immediately receive the Coast Guard’s communication.

“Mark and his family were not on board at the time of the incident,” the statement provided to the Beacon said.

“As the Coast Guard noted, the boat was not in distress, and by the time the crew reviewed the Coast Guard contact on a different radio channel from the one they were operating on, the assist was already underway. We’re grateful all parties are safe.”

{Matzav.com}

Hillary Clinton is cautioning Democrats that Republicans’ efforts to brand progressive candidates as “communist” or “socialist” could become a potent campaign weapon in the 2026 midterm elections, urging her party to unify behind its nominees and broaden its appeal to independent voters.

Speaking Friday on the “Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway” podcast, Clinton reflected on Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, where Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens. She said Democrats now face the challenge of bringing the party together ahead of the general election.

“The real fight will be, How do we make sure that people who voted for Haley feel comfortable voting for Abdul El-Sayed? And, How do we get independents to feel comfortable?” Clinton said.

She argued that Republicans are likely to center their campaign strategy on portraying Democratic candidates as extremists.

“It’s not just about Michigan, but the Republican messaging is ‘communist, socialist.’ It’s going to be a very effective attack.

“And so people on the left have to be prepared to answer that and be effective in answering that.”

When podcast host Kara Swisher questioned whether branding candidates as “communist” would still be an effective tactic in 2026, Clinton pointed to President Donald Trump’s campaign strategy as evidence that Republicans believe the message resonates with voters.

“All I know is that’s the attack that Trump is leading with and I assume they’ve tested it and I assume that they have reason to believe that it’s effective or they wouldn’t be beating the drum on it,” Clinton said, noting that Vice President JD Vance and other Republicans also have adopted the message.

Clinton described the Republican approach as an effort to revive “scare tactics,” while acknowledging that Democrats must also overcome internal divisions between the party’s moderate and progressive factions.

El-Sayed, who earned the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during the primary campaign, is now set to face Republican Mike Rogers in November in a race widely viewed as critical to determining which party controls the Senate.

Clinton said Democrats encompass a broader range of political viewpoints than Republicans but stressed that electoral success ultimately depends on winning statewide general elections.

She also criticized some progressive activists for failing to fully support Democratic nominees after contested primaries.

“There was a lot of reluctance to support Kamala Harris. There was a lot of reluctance to support me when I got the nomination,” Clinton said. “So, it can’t be a one-way street.”

With Michigan expected to be one of the nation’s marquee Senate contests, Clinton said El-Sayed will need to unite Democratic voters—including those who backed Haley Stevens—and attract independents if he hopes to defeat Rogers.

“We’re not going to beat Republicans by being divided,” Clinton said.

{Matzav.com}

A newly released Channel 14 News poll indicates renewed momentum for Israel’s right-wing camp, projecting a 62-seat Knesset majority while showing Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu’s Likud party gaining additional support since the survey’s previous edition.

The poll, published Monday evening, projects the right-wing bloc winning 62 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Netanyahu’s Likud emerges as the largest party with 33 seats, reflecting a gain of two mandates compared to the previous Channel 14 survey.

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party is projected to finish in second place with 23 seats. Shas and the Democrats are each forecast to secure 10 seats, while Yisrael Beytenu is expected to win eight.

The Beyachad party and United Torah Judaism are each projected to receive seven seats. Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism are each forecast to capture six mandates, while Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am are each expected to win five seats.

According to the survey, the overall balance of power would give the right-wing bloc 62 seats, compared to 48 seats for the center-left bloc and 10 seats for the Arab parties.

Several parties would fail to cross the electoral threshold under the poll’s findings, including Balad with 2.3%, Zehut with 1.3%, the Reservists’ Zionist Home party with 1.2%, Gilad Erdan’s party with 0.9%, Ofer Winter’s party with 0.6%, and Blue and White with 0.4%.

The survey also asked respondents who they believe is best suited to serve as prime minister. Netanyahu led the field with 54% support, followed by Gadi Eisenkot at 34%. Naftali Bennett received 6%, Avigdor Liberman drew 5%, and Benny Gantz finished with 1%.

{Matzav.com}