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Israeli and Ukrainian officials are coordinating preparations for the expected arrival of tens of thousands of mispallelim in Uman for Rosh Hashanah, with Deputy Prime Minister and Religious Services Minister Yariv Levin holding a working discussion with Ukrainian Religious Affairs Minister Viktor Yelensky focused on security and arrangements for the massive annual pilgrimage.

The conversation between Levin and Yelensky was held as officials prepare for the large influx of visitors traveling to the tziyun of Rav Nachman of Breslov in Uman, even as Ukraine continues to contend with a complicated wartime security situation.

Also participating in the discussion were Religious Services Ministry Director-General Yehuda Avidan and Nachman Steinberg, a representative of the World Zionist Organization in Ukraine. The call was part of broader professional preparations underway ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

Levin began by thanking the Ukrainian government and Yelensky for their cooperation in accommodating the tens of thousands of visitors expected to arrive at the holy site. He acknowledged the considerable logistical and security challenges involved in receiving such a large number of people in a country at war and urged Ukrainian authorities to take every possible measure to facilitate their arrival and protect them during their stay.

Yelensky responded by stressing that Ukrainian authorities are committed to safeguarding the visitors despite the significant security challenges confronting the country.

During the conversation, the Ukrainian minister also discussed the war with Iran and expressed solidarity with the Israeli government.

“The Iranian danger is a global threat that unites all Western countries on one front,” Yelensky said.

The two ministers also discussed strengthening cooperation between Israel and Ukraine regarding Jewish heritage sites and holy places throughout the country.

Among the locations discussed were the tziyun of Rav Nachman of Breslov in Uman, the tziyun of the Baal Shem Tov in Medzhybizh, the tziyun of the Baal HaTanya, Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, in Haditch, and the tziyun of Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev.

Yelensky also emphasized the Ukrainian government’s appreciation for Yerushalayim, and the two ministers concluded their discussion by exchanging wishes ahead of the new year.

At the conclusion of the call, Levin thanked Yelensky, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people for their continued cooperation, and wished them a good and blessed new year.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply challenged government legal officials during a security cabinet meeting over months of delays in granting legal status to agricultural farms in Judea and Samaria, as several senior ministers accused the Attorney General’s Office of obstructing a measure they described as essential to the security of Israeli communities.

The security cabinet had convened to discuss formally regulating the legal status of the farms, but the discussion quickly developed into a heated confrontation over why the process has yet to move forward, according to a report by i24.

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs criticized the five-month delay, arguing that the farms serve an important security function for communities throughout the region.

“The farms are a security belt for the settlements, and we made a decision that we want to regulate them — and for five months already there has been no response from the attorney general,” Fuchs said.

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz joined the criticism, noting that the senior IDF commander responsible for the area supports the proposed move.

“The general supports the move. I don’t understand why the attorney general isn’t finalizing it,” Katz said.

Fuchs pressed for the cabinet to take immediate action rather than allowing the matter to remain stalled.

“We want to instruct the general today to sign it,” he said.

A deputy attorney general responded that “staff work is required” before the matter can proceed.

That explanation drew a frustrated response from Netanyahu, who demanded to know why the legal review was taking so long.

“I’m in favor of staff work — but how long does it take?!” Netanyahu said.

Fuchs then escalated his criticism of the legal officials, arguing that the continued delay was directly affecting the safety of residents in Judea and Samaria.

“This is a security need, and you are harming the security of the residents,” he said.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also entered the confrontation, accusing government legal advisers of similarly delaying initiatives involving young communities in Judea and Samaria. He argued that the legal obstacles were preventing the government from placing structures as part of a program intended for so-called hilltop youth.

“The legal counsel is also dragging its feet on the young settlements, and we cannot place structures in the young settlements for a program for the hilltop youth, and then you complain that the young people go to Qusra,” Smotrich said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir concluded with a sarcastic jab at Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon, referring to previous legal restrictions involving his participation in public events.

“Gil Limon has other work — to forbid me from going to conferences,” Ben Gvir said.

{Matzav.com}

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing a wave of criticism from conservative commentators after defending his position on Sharia law and comparing the Islamic legal tradition to Catholic canon law during a contentious Fox News interview Monday night.

The controversy erupted after Fox News host Jesse Watters confronted El-Sayed over previous remarks in which the candidate opposed efforts to prohibit Sharia law and connected such bans to White supremacy.

“Getting rid of Sharia law is White supremacy?” Watters said to El-Sayed, bringing up past comments from the Michigan candidate opposing a ban on Sharia law and comparing those efforts to White supremacy. “Can you explain that one?”

El-Sayed responded by drawing a parallel between Sharia, the body of Islamic religious law derived from religious sources, and the rules and governance of the Catholic Church.

“Nobody is trying to push Sharia law on anyone else, just like I hope nobody is trying to push canon law on anybody else, because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of your religion,” El-Sayed said.

That comparison quickly generated criticism on social media, where conservative commentators argued that Sharia and Catholic canon law differ significantly in their scope and historical application.

“He lies and says no one is trying to push Sharia (they are), and draws a false equivalency to Christian Canon law,” Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” posted on X. “Canon law determines how Christian leaders, churches, and Christians should live, but Canon law is limited to affairs of the Church (spiritual penalties). Canon law grants great autonomy to the state.”

Kolvet continued, “Sharia law is MUCH more comprehensive, governing all aspects of life, and historically, and according to many contemporary Islamic clerics, dictates the affairs of the state.”

Political commentator Carl Jackson also criticized El-Sayed’s position, arguing that Sharia is fundamentally incompatible with Western society.

“Sharia law is incompatible with Western Civilization,” political commentator Carl Jackson posted on X. “I’m tired of El-Sayed playing the victim card in attempt to avoid legitimate scrutiny of Islam.”

Fox News contributor Kaylee McGhee White predicted that the exchange could prove politically damaging for El-Sayed in his Senate campaign.

“Yeah, it’s over for him,” Fox News contributor Kaylee McGhee White posted on X. “Rogers by 6.”

Conservative commentator and radio host Dana Loesch rejected El-Sayed’s characterization of Sharia as simply a matter of individual religious observance.

“@AbdulElSayed doesn’t get to bloviate about sharia being a mere ‘practice’ of faith when it’s Islamic jurisprudence used to supplant western jurisprudence,” conservative commentator and radio host Dana Loesch posted on X.

Michael Knowles responded sarcastically to El-Sayed’s comparison between Sharia and Catholic canon law.

“‘Jesse, the Catholic Church requires ministers to use plant oils in sacraments with the blessings of a bishop, so why shouldn’t courts allow Muslim men to have four wives?'” conservative commentator Michael Knowles posted on X.

Pamela Geller similarly argued that Catholic and Jewish religious law apply voluntarily within their respective religious communities, while asserting that Sharia has historically claimed broader authority.

“Canon law applies to Catholics,” conservative commentator Pamela Geller posted on X. “There is no compulsion is Canon law. Jewish law applies only to Jews. There is no compulsion in Jewish law. It is voluntary. The sharia is a comprehensive legal system governing every aspect of human life, and asserts authority over non-Muslims.”

Republican communications strategist Matt Whitlock said he was surprised that El-Sayed chose to defend his position rather than distance himself from his previous comments.

“This was a very strange prepared defense from Abdul,” GOP communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X. “I expected him to say it was out of context, not reflective of current views, etc. Instead he accepted the premise and defended promoting Sharia Law – opening that lane up to more attacks.”

Fox News Digital contacted El-Sayed’s campaign seeking a response to the criticism.

El-Sayed has discussed his personal adherence to Sharia-compliant practices in the past. In a 2009 interview with The New York Times, he described following such practices as a religious obligation that would ultimately matter when he stood before God.

“Ultimately, the question is, when I die and I stand before God and go through everything I did in my life, I don’t want to say I did it the easy way instead of the Shariah-compliant way,” El-Sayed told the Times.

“Not because of fear but because of obligation,” he said.

Traditional interpretations of Sharia have included severe penalties for apostasy, significant restrictions on women and provisions permitting child marriage.

El-Sayed has also previously criticized legislative attempts to ban Sharia law, arguing that such measures should be understood in the broader context of White supremacy in American history.

“The state of Oklahoma voted in a referendum to amend the constitution to ban Sharia law. What does that mean? I don’t know. And yet the voters banned it anyway,” he said in 2022. “The same exact forces that drove Native peoples from their land two centuries ago, destroyed Black Wall Street a century ago, bombed a building decades ago and tried to ban Sharia law not a decade ago, those forces are alive and well today.

“The reason I wanted to go all the way back to the 1830s is because you can’t understand a Sharia ban without understanding the Trail of Tears. You can’t understand the efforts to uproot Muslim Americans without understanding the Tulsa massacre. You cannot understand the challenges we face today without understanding White supremacy.”

{Matzav.com}

Sen. Ted Cruz is pushing back against the notion that Vice President JD Vance is already the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee for 2028, arguing that the GOP will face a major internal debate over its identity and direction once President Donald Trump leaves office.

Asked by MS NOW’s Ali Vitali whether Republicans had effectively settled on Vance as the party’s next presidential standard-bearer, the Texas Republican immediately rejected the premise.

“Oh, no,” Cruz said. “There’s going to be a full discussion about who we are and what we believe.”

Cruz has firsthand experience competing for the Republican presidential nomination, having emerged as Trump’s principal challenger during the 2016 primary campaign. He pointed out that he was Trump’s strongest opponent that year and defeated him in nominating contests across 12 states.

Despite their fierce rivalry during that campaign, Cruz offered strong praise for Trump, calling him an “extraordinary president” and arguing that his leadership has transformed the Republican Party in fundamental ways.

According to Cruz, there “is no Never Trump lane” remaining within today’s GOP. He attributed much of Trump’s enduring popularity among Republican voters to the president’s willingness to confront opponents and engage aggressively in political battles.

“Love him or hate him, you’ve got to acknowledge this guy has a backbone — he is fearless,” Cruz said. “And there are a lot of Republicans that were so tired of lily-livered Republicans who were afraid of their own shadow.”

“Trump doesn’t hide in the corner,” Cruz added, saying the president “is ferocious.”

At the same time, Cruz said he would prefer to see Trump demonstrate greater “message discipline and focus.” Cruz said the two are in frequent contact, speaking at least weekly and sometimes every day, and that he routinely gives the president his thoughts and recommendations.

“He doesn’t always listen to me, but he frequently listens to me, and I’m grateful because he’s got courage,” Cruz said.

Looking beyond Trump’s presidency, however, Cruz said Republicans will confront a much broader question: whether the movement Trump created can survive his departure from the White House and, if so, what that movement will look like under a new generation of leadership.

“Going forward, we’re in the midst of a debate about who our party is and what we believe, and I think economically we’ve got to debate, ‘Are we a small-government, free-market conservative party, or are we a big-government, nanny-state party?'” Cruz said.

Cruz, who has long identified himself with free-market economics and smaller government, said the coming Republican debate will extend beyond domestic policy to fundamental questions about America’s place in the world.

“I’ll certainly be part of the discussion because I care deeply about — economically, I think we should be a conservative party,” he said. “And on foreign policy, we’ve got to debate, ‘Are we an isolationist party that withdraws from the world or do we believe in American leadership?'”

Cruz characterized Trump’s rise and his transformation of the Republican Party around the “America First” and MAGA movements as a “Black Swan event,” saying Trump’s political phenomenon is not something another Republican candidate can simply reproduce.

“He is a unique historical figure,” Cruz said. “There’s never been anyone like him. I don’t think there will be anyone like him going forward.”

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration is warning that Washington’s Kennedy Center could ultimately face demolition and be replaced by an outdoor amphitheater if efforts to renovate and preserve the deteriorating performing arts complex are prevented from moving forward, according to a new federal court filing.

The possibility was outlined by administration attorneys in legal papers filed in an ongoing lawsuit and first reported Tuesday by NBC News. The filing does not indicate that the administration currently has a concrete plan to demolish the Kennedy Center, but presents such an outcome as a potential consequence if restoration efforts fail.

The legal filing is part of a lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, who holds a seat on the Kennedy Center’s board because of her congressional position. Beatty filed suit last year seeking to have President Donald Trump’s name removed from the building.

Attorneys representing the administration contend that Trump’s efforts to raise money and restore the landmark are essential to preventing the aging structure from falling into further disrepair.

“Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,” the filing said.

If demolition eventually became necessary, administration officials said the valuable Potomac River site could be redeveloped. One possibility would be construction of a major open-air amphitheater overlooking the river, a concept they noted has circulated for years.

The filing conceded that replacing the Kennedy Center with such a venue would “fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy” but argued that an amphitheater would be considerably easier and cheaper to construct, operate and maintain.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has remained virtually invisible since taking power nearly six months ago, fueling mounting speculation over whether he is gravely ill, incapacitated or even dead — and prompting broader questions about who is currently exercising ultimate authority in Iran.

The uncertainty grew considerably after Khamenei failed to appear last week at a wake in Tehran that, according to the official schedule, he was supposed to host. The Atlantic reported Tuesday on the widening mystery surrounding the Iranian leader.

His failure to attend the gathering has added to questions about both his location and physical condition as Iran navigates an especially precarious political and security environment.

According to The Atlantic, Iran has not released any photograph, video or audio recording that can definitively be established as having been made since Mojtaba Khamenei became supreme leader. Some of the country’s most senior officials have reportedly admitted that they have not personally seen him during that period, among them Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who also serves on Iran’s National Security Council.

The extraordinary absence has helped fuel speculation in Iran and abroad that Khamenei may have been badly wounded during the February U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with a number of other senior Iranian officials.

There has been no independent verification of those claims.

Tehran, meanwhile, has consistently maintained that Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and in good health. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian previously sought to put the rumors to rest by saying that he had participated in an extended and productive meeting with the supreme leader, whom he described as “completely healthy.”

Media outlets linked to the Iranian government have similarly sought to dispel the growing rumors by publishing footage said to show Khamenei. On Tuesday, Fars News aired archival video reportedly filmed before his elevation to supreme leader, the second time this month that such older footage has been released.

Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News agency had previously published an undated recording in which Mojtaba Khamenei appeared healthy.

The releases, however, have done little to answer the fundamental mystery: why Iran’s supreme leader has not appeared publicly and why authorities have failed to produce a clearly current recording showing him speaking directly to the Iranian public.

The questions surrounding Khamenei come as Iran remains under enormous political and military strain after months of confrontation with the United States and Israel. Mojtaba Khamenei was elevated to Iran’s highest political and religious position after his father was killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28.

The uncertainty over Khamenei’s status is reportedly affecting the Iranian government’s ability to function as well. According to The Atlantic, the apparent leadership vacuum has complicated Tehran’s efforts to settle consequential disagreements, including disputes over talks with Washington and growing friction among rival factions within the Iranian regime.

With uncertainty surrounding the supreme leader’s role, Iran’s National Security Council has reportedly taken on greater importance as a venue for collective decisions. That development has fueled additional questions over how much power Khamenei is actually wielding, assuming he remains actively involved in governing.

The stakes are particularly high because Iran’s supreme leader occupies the ultimate position of power within the Islamic Republic. If Khamenei is incapacitated for an extended period — or has died — Iran could face another battle over succession while already confronting military setbacks, economic difficulties and significant divisions within its political establishment.

Reports questioning Khamenei’s health have surfaced before. Earlier this month, IranWire, citing sources with connections to the Pezeshkian administration, reported that high-ranking officials were increasingly worried about his condition and that talk of his possible imminent death was circulating at the uppermost levels of the Iranian government.

Khamenei’s allies have dismissed the reports, while Iranian authorities have continued efforts to portray the supreme leader as healthy and fully capable of carrying out his duties.

{Matzav.com}

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir vowed Tuesday that Israel will press ahead with its campaign to dismantle Hamas and demilitarize Gaza, declaring that every terrorist involved in the October 7 massacre will ultimately be tracked down and eliminated.

Zamir made the remarks during a visit to IDF forces operating in Gaza, where he was joined by Southern Command Chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, Gaza Division Commander Brig. Gen. Liron Bitito, as well as brigade and battalion commanders serving in the area.

As part of the tour, the chief of staff met with commanders on the ground and received detailed briefings regarding the current operational picture and the activities being carried out by Israeli forces throughout the region.

Zamir thanked the soldiers and commanders for their continued operations in Gaza and their efforts to protect Israeli civilians. Looking back at the nearly three years of fighting since the October 7 attack, he said: “In about a month and a half, we will mark three years since October 7. Three years in which the IDF has faced a complex, continuous, multi-front campaign-in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and additional arenas.”

Discussing the scope of the war and the IDF’s accomplishments across the different theaters, Zamir added: “This is a very significant challenge for the IDF, and we have achieved extraordinary results on every front and in every sector. Our forces have prevailed in every battle, significantly weakened all our enemies, and struck their capabilities and infrastructure. We continue to prepare and remain vigilant on all fronts, understanding that the campaign is not over.”

Turning specifically to the war in Gaza, Zamir emphasized that the military remains committed to eliminating Hamas’s capabilities and preventing the terrorist organization from reconstituting itself.

“In Gaza, we are not giving up on the overriding objective-demilitarizing Gaza and dismantling Hamas, using all necessary means. We continue to systematically target Hamas and its leaders wherever they are, as part of an ongoing campaign to prevent it from rebuilding its strength.”

Zamir also made clear that Israel’s effort to locate and eliminate those responsible for the October 7 atrocities remains an active and long-term mission.

“The pursuit of the October 7 terrorists continues. Anyone who took part in the massacre will be hunted down until they are all eliminated. This is a long-term mission to which the command and the entire IDF are committed.”

According to Zamir, the failures surrounding October 7 have also led to a fundamental shift in the IDF’s approach to threats against Israel, with the military determined not to return to the policies that existed before the attack.

“Our message is clear: We investigated and are learning the lessons. The IDF will not return to the concepts we experienced on October 6. There will be no containment of threats.”

Zamir said the new approach means acting against emerging dangers before terrorist organizations are able to strengthen themselves or establish new infrastructure.

“We will not allow the enemy to rebuild itself, we will not allow terrorist infrastructure to become established, and we will act whenever possible to eliminate threats as they emerge,” he said.

Addressing the concerns of Israelis living near areas threatened by terrorist activity, Zamir said the military is attentive to residents and remains positioned between the communities and potential threats.

“We are listening to the voices of the residents, understand their concerns, and will know how to reach anyone behind a threat against them,” Zamir said. “Our forces are deployed on the front lines ahead of the communities and continue to thwart terrorist infrastructure and terrorists.”

Zamir also pointed to the rapid redeployment of IDF units between Israel’s different fronts. He recalled meeting commanders from the Givati Brigade and the 401st Brigade along the northern border only about three months earlier, before those forces returned to operations in Gaza.

“Now you are here, continuing to deepen the achievements in Gaza. Southern Command and the division continue to precisely thwart threats whenever the opportunity arises.”

Concluding his remarks, Zamir praised both active-duty and reserve troops for the results achieved on the battlefield, while acknowledging the extraordinary demands that the prolonged war has placed on reservists and their families.

“There are tremendous achievements here, based on the determined and uncompromising activity of the forces on the ground. This is also not the first time I have met the reservist battalion of the 11th Brigade. The battalion is mobilized for 90 days in this round. I am aware of the extraordinary burden on reservists and their families. We are committed to continuing to act on your behalf.”

{Matzav.com}

Hadar Cohen, the premature infant delivered by emergency Caesarean section after her mother was killed in a devastating car accident six weeks ago, died Tuesday at Assuta Ashdod Public Hospital, bringing a heartbreaking end to a 42-day battle for her life.

Hadar’s mother, Tzofia Cohen, was killed in the serious collision while approximately 30 weeks pregnant. Following the crash, doctors at Assuta Ashdod performed an emergency Caesarean section in an effort to save her unborn child.

The baby was delivered at just 30 weeks and immediately admitted to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. For the next six weeks, doctors and other medical personnel provided intensive treatment as they worked to keep the critically premature infant alive.

Hospital officials said Hadar underwent complicated and intensive treatment throughout the 42 days following her birth. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, her condition ultimately could not be overcome, and she was pronounced dead Tuesday.

“It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of the premature baby Hadar Cohen,” Assuta Ashdod Public Hospital said. “Since her birth, the neonatal intensive care teams fought for her life and provided her with dedicated and complex medical treatment. Sadly, she passed away today.”

The hospital expressed its condolences to Hadar’s grieving relatives, who have now suffered the loss of both mother and child within a span of six weeks.

“Assuta Ashdod Hospital shares in the family’s profound grief at this difficult time.”

Following the original crash, Magen David Adom motorcycle unit emergency medical technician Yisrael Meir Gayan described arriving at a scene where two vehicles had collided head-on and both had suffered significant front-end damage.

“This was a head-on collision between two vehicles. The vehicles had sustained damage to their front ends. A woman approximately 30 years old had an altered level of consciousness and was suffering from multiple injuries to her body. Four other people from the vehicles were walking around at the scene and had sustained minor injuries. We provided everyone with medical treatment and evacuated them by ambulance to the hospital for further examinations and treatment.”

{Matzav.com}

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow on Tuesday, according to multiple reports, solving at least part of the mystery surrounding a U.S. military transport plane that flew from the Washington area to the Russian capital.

Ratcliffe reportedly traveled aboard a C-17 transport aircraft that originated at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, a facility routinely used for travel by senior U.S. government officials.

The aircraft made a stop in Latvia before continuing on to Moscow, initially triggering speculation about who was aboard after both the Pentagon and White House declined to identify the passengers.

CBS News and Axios subsequently reported that Ratcliffe was the senior official who had traveled to Russia.

The CIA did not immediately provide additional information about the reported visit when contacted for comment.

Ratcliffe is regarded as one of President Donald Trump’s closest and most trusted advisers and has played a significant role in the administration’s handling of the war with Iran. It was not immediately clear, however, what issues the CIA chief planned to discuss with Russian officials or whom he was scheduled to meet during the Moscow visit.

Efforts to find a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war, which have remained stalled for an extended period, have largely been overseen by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law. The two traveled to Moscow in January for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ratcliffe’s reported visit also comes ahead of another planned trip to Russia by a senior U.S. law enforcement official. FBI Director Kash Patel is reportedly preparing to travel to Russia in October.

{Matzav.com}

What does “Shabbos Mode” actually do—and what doesn’t it do? Rabbi Shmuel Katz, Rabbinic Coordinator at the cRC, joins Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger for an important discussion about the halachic realities, potential pitfalls, and different types of Shabbos modes found in today’s ovens.

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Transcription

Hello and welcome back to Let’s Talk Kashrus, presented by the cRC, the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Today I am privileged to be joined by Rabbi Shmuel Katz, rabbinical coordinator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Rabbi Katz, welcome to the Let’s Talk Kashrus studio. 

Thank you for having me here. 

It’s a pleasure to have you here all the way from Chicago to discuss a very pertinent topic, something that comes up a lot, and that’s the topic of Shabbos mode on ovens. So just so that we proceed through this conversation responsibly, could you define for our viewers and our listeners, what does Shabbosmode do on an oven and then we’ll get into the practical and halachic ramifications? So what is Shabbos mode? Okay, so that’s a very loaded question, what is Shabbos mode? And that’s where the misunderstanding start immediately. Appliances have been hitting consumer houses for about a hundred years. The shailos from the poskim are about a hundred years old already. 

These been building on each other, but appliances are not static. They’ve changed. They’re not the same thermostat that Rav Shlomo Zalman wrote his teshuvos on. It’s a very different product today. 

And even from Shabbos modes in their twenty-five plus year history have been solving different problems. So in the original days, they were more convenience-based. They’ve morphed at some point into severe halachic shailos and then the psakim involved have also kept up. And now there’s multiple Shabbos modes available on the market for the consumers to be able to get to. 

So on a practical level, and correct me if anything I say is not accurate, but the way I understand it is that the chief Shabbosmode addresses certain electrical issues on an oven. If it’s an electrical oven where, you know, you have lights that will go on or numbers that will change and things of that sort. Once it’s in Shabbos mode, that gets solved and now the oven can be opened and closed without triggering any of anything electrical. It didn’t sound so sophisticated, but does that make sense? So yes, but the answer’s going to really depend on the model and the oven. 

It’s going to be crucial to look at the instructions from the certifier on how to use it properly. For example, some models, they may have a freezer may have an ice maker that’s not connected to the main computer. Some ovens have a light that’s not connected to the main computer. So they’ll have a Shabbos mode and it’ll solve a lot of problems, but it can’t solve the light in the oven or the ice maker in the freezer because it’s not connected to the main computer. 

If it’s not connected to the computer, they have to be disabled separately. And these instructions you’ll be able to find from the certifier in their instructions on how to use that model properly. So obviously it’s very important to know what the rules are from the certifier and how to use the Shabbos mode properly and what it does or doesn’t solve is very important. When you say certifier, you mean that an actual kashrusorganization is certifying the Shabbos mode on an oven? Is that usually the way it works? That should be the way it works. 

Okay. But it’s a very important first step is to find out if there is a certifier. At this point, almost all models on the market are going to have some form of a Shabbos mode. Some of them don’t have a certifier. 

So there’s no one who’s looked at this from a halachicstandpoint and said this is kosher to use at all. So the company did that on their own volition? They decided to have a Shabbos mode to attract Orthodox consumers? So for one reason or another, sometimes it’s there because it was designed at one point with a kashrus agency and then they no longer work with that or they stuck it on a model that they couldn’t fully solve and an agency can’t certify. So the first step is to make sure there is a certification agency. If there’s no certification, no certifier on the Shabbos mode, there’s no way to know that it’s working properly unless you do extensive testing yourself, which is above the average consumer’s skills. 

I would also add that generally, if you’re buying your appliances from a frum purveyor of appliances, usually that frum proprietor will be able to tell you which appliances have, you know, I’ll use Town Appliance as an example, one of the largest provider of appliances to the frum community. I know that they’re very well versed in the Shabbos mode options in various appliances. So, you know, that’s a place to start, but like you said, you have to verify with each individual whatever agency it is that’s certifying it. Now, from what I understand, which is absolutely mind-boggling, is that tremendous michsholim have come out of the Shabbos mode, strangely, because Shabbos mode is there to solve Shabbosproblems. 

But unfortunately, either due to ignorance or just, you know, assumptions or lack of awareness, people have made assumptions about Shabbos mode. For example, there’s an issur of bishul on Shabbos. You’re not allowed to cook on Shabbos. No matter how your oven is designed, you can’t cook on Shabbos. 

But are people not realizing that Shabbos mode may solve an appliance issue, but you still can’t take food and cook it in an oven even if it has a Shabbos mode? If you could elaborate on that. Yeah, so that’s very important. When the first Shabbosmodes came out, they called it Shabbos mode, and then it was discovered that people were using it to cook on Shabbos. Putting it into Shabbos mode meant that the oven is now solved. 

So it’s crucial to remember the regular halachos of an oven apply, the regular issur of bishul is going to apply. The shehiya is still going to apply, which means you can’t leave raw food in an oven from before Shabbos without a blech, and ovens don’t have a blech. Chazara, you can’t put stuff back into an oven on Shabbos even if it’s fully cooked, again, because it needs a blech. So most ovens do not have a system to have a blech. 

Even in a lot of, even in Shabbos mode, they may not have a system that allows for that. And those halachos continue to apply as well. Shabbos mode has also introduced new angles to various challenges, which means depending on how the Shabbos mode was built, certain activities may or may not have been allowed in doing it. The Star-K in a lot of their models, they say very clearly that after you open the oven door, you can’t close it with any food still inside on Shabbos. 

And this is related to the original psak of Rav Shlomo Zalmanand the original machlokes with thermostats, but it’s since then morphed into the way they’ve designed their Shabbosmode. So you’re saying, you’re saying to clarify, this Star-K caveat, even if the food is fully cooked, there are certain ovens that once you open it up, you can’t close it on Shabbos. That’s what you’re saying. That is correct. 

And the Star-K makes this clear in their, in their manual, that that is not allowed to close it. So these, the consumer needs to be aware of what the Shabbos mode is, how the Shabbosmode’s working, and what it does or doesn’t allow even with things as simple as what you may have been used to doing for many years is to have your soup in there and your chicken for Friday night and have your cholent for Shabbos day in there, and you take your soup and chicken out and close it and leave your cholent in there for Shabbos day. That may not be allowed even in certain Shabbos modes. Depending on, depending on the model. 

This would depend on the model and how the Shabbos mode itself was built, so it’s going to depend. Got it. So basically we can’t give a blanket statement about any appliances here because you’re saying it varies from appliance to appliance and from certifier to certifier. So unfortunately we like to give practical advice, but as much as we like to do that, we can’t do that, you’re saying, because it varies. 

It does vary model to model, it does vary also from certifier to certifier. The new GE models, just to give very practical advice, GE has two things. Number one is that some of their ovens actually have two Shabbos modes together. So you can get a GE, a GE oven, and it’ll have two Shabbos modes available for it. 

And one is going to be completely uncertified and the other one is certified by the OU. Doing the same exact thing or doing… They are working differently. They’re two separate settings, two separate modes on the oven. 

The way to access them would be different. But you can buy a GE model and assume that it has and end up in the wrong Shabbos mode that’s completely uncertified. So with GE ovens, the ones that are completely uncertified, we don’t, no one knows what they do. No one from our community has been checking on that. 

But on the certified version with the OU, it’s certified by the OU and it has, they’ve solved a lot of problems and you can read their instructions for it. So they have, they do solve a lot more issues in certain ways, but it does have a different type of Shabbos mode than a lot of other brands that have a regular Shabbos mode. The Star-K also has an additional Shabbosmode called what they call the New Shabbos mode, which also solves some of the old problems and also another very different way. So if I had to break it down, there’s let’s say four Shabbos modes available on the market right now in, and this is for the American USA consumer. 

Obviously in Eretz Yisroel it’s a whole different parsha, which is not, we’re not going to discuss here. But there’s four Shabbos modes. One is the company’s own engineer stuck the name on and no one knows what it does. Number two is the Star-K, who’s been the real pioneer in Shabbos modes in building that relationship with appliance manufacturers, their regular Shabbos mode. 

The Star-K more recently has come up with something they call the New Shabbos mode, which also solves problems that a lot of people wanted to be solved as the shailas got more severe. And then GE has a relationship with the OU where they have their own what they call Enhanced Shabbos mode. So yeah, it does sound a little similar, the names. A regular Shabbos mode versus a New Shabbos mode or an Enhanced Shabbos mode or or just a Shabbos mode that’s not certified at all. 

Now we’ve been talking largely about ovens and when people hear Shabbos mode they think of ovens, but there are Shabbosmodes for other appliances. There are Shabbos modes for other appliances as well. Like refrigerators? Refrigerators and ice makers, freezers, or right, refrigerators, freezers, some other small appliances. The biggest michshol happens in ovens, which is why the focus today is specifically on ovens because the biggest michshol is on ovens. 

Got it. Any other thoughts on this topic before we wrap up that you would share with our viewers? So there’s three things that need to happen when you’re getting an oven: is to verify that there is a certifier. There is the second thing is to verify what the certifier says is allowed. And there’s a third thing we didn’t have a chance to discuss yet which is: it’s crucial to figure out if your rov will tell you to follow the psakim of the certifier. 

And that is a crucial step in this. The Shabbos modes are built based on the certifiers’ psakim that they have, and they may not be universal. Sometimes I give the example of CholovStam. It’s certified, but it still remains Cholov Stam. 

So if you don’t eat Cholov Stam and it’s not Cholov Yisroel, it won’t be for you. It won’t be for you. Right. So it’s crucial to understand that there are psakim involved in this. 

The way they’re solved is not always universally accepted, and therefore it’s worth speaking with your own rov based on the Shabbos mode you have and how it works to figure out what may or may not be acceptable for you in your house. I want to point out something also which we didn’t mention before is the Shabbos, but there’s also Yom Tov. You know that people and again you’ll tell me if this is correct, but on Yom Tov you may be allowed to cook, right, bishul‘s mutar on Yom Tov, but you’ll still need your Shabbos mode on your oven to solve other issues like the electrical issues and lights and so on and so forth. So you mention bishul sheyei chazarah and things like that. 

Those may not be issues on Yom Tov, but a Shabbos mode is still going to be vitally important and you have to speak to your possek or whoever it is, the certifier, to find out what the parameters are for Yom Tov use. Correct. So to discuss a specific sheilah that’s on ovens, which would be very nogeiahfor Yom Tov and are really very nogeiah for Shabbos, is in more recently, it’s not recent as in the last five years, this has already been going on for well over ten years or longer, they’ve put a door switch on. So we’re used to door switches from our fridges and from our ovens. 

We open the oven door, the fridge door, the lights go on, and then we close it, the lights go off. So thirty years ago, forty years ago, we just unscrewed the light bulb, and that was the only thing the door switch did. Since then, these door switches have started controlling a lot of various parts of the fridge and oven. And to focus on ovens specifically, a lot of door switches today when you open the oven door, it turns off the heating in there. 

So until now, the sheilah has always been when you open the oven door, the cold air comes in and turns the fire on. What’s happening now in a lot of ovens or almost maybe even most ovens, you open the oven door, the oven says, “Hey, the door’sopen, there’s no purpose in heating this, let’s turn it off until they close the door.” So there is a bit of a safety element there, it’s also much more efficient that way. So when you open the oven door, you’re turning the oven off, and almost even more severely, when you close the oven door, you’re not just closing the oven door, you’re actually turning the oven back on. And this is not happening by magic, it’s happening by a physical door switch. 

So with the oven door closing, you’re pushing a button which tells the oven, “Please turn yourself back on.” And obviously, pushing a button directly on Shabbos to turn your oven on is going to be assur according to everyone. But that is one of the most severe sheilahs on ovens, and that will be a problem on Yom Tov as well. Happens to be in the oven that I have in my house, which we purchased from Town Appliance, we got a magnet from them. They supplied it for us to put on the I guess it’s the door switch that de-compresses the button so that it stays pushed down and it won’t trigger anything. 

But that’s just one example of addressing that problem. Right, and the various Shabbos modes solve that problem differently of a door switch. The various Shabbos modes solve it differently, and some rabbonim recommend even in Shabbosmode to make sure you have that magnet. Right, exactly. 

In my case, we still need to put the oven into Shabbos mode. So you really need to do multiple things. You do both. You’re putting the oven into Shabbos mode because of a whole series of issues that it solves, and then you’re putting the magnet on essentially because your own rov is saying this one particular issue we don’t like the way the Shabbos mode solves it and therefore you should use a magnet to disable that manually and independently. 

So sometimes when you have an oven, so the Shabbos mode will tell you you need to put it into Shabbos mode plus do this, and sometimes your rov will give you an additional step of putting a magnet over the door switch, which is very common that a lot of rabbonim give that psak to do that. Additionally, some people will do it for practical reasons because if you want to leave food in your oven on Shabbosand the Star-K Shabbos mode solves it in a way that doesn’t allow for that, the magnet may help for that. Leave food in the oven in the oven on Shabbos. Again, all with the guidance of your rav on what’s appropriate for leaving food in the oven on Shabbos and opening and closing the oven door on Shabbos. 

Got it, Rabbi Katz. Thanks for joining us. Thank you for informing us about the Shabbos mode issues. Again, to our viewers and listeners, without a doubt, they should consult their rav and posek and speak to the respective certifiers of various appliances to get the full picture of what’s necessary. 

But thank you for being here and giving us this information. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you for having me. Behatzlacha in shmiras Shabbos and behatzlacha for KlalYisrael. 

Continued hatzlacha. Thank you.

Residents of Modiin Illit are expressing outrage after prolonged and repeated power outages left families in several buildings without electricity for hours, with some residents saying they were without power from shortly before Shabbos until after Shabbos ended.

Shmuel and Rachel, two residents of the city, described the difficult conditions during an interview on Kol Chai’s Osim Seder program, hosted by Hillel Kessler. They said the latest outage was not an isolated incident but part of what residents say has become a recurring problem in the city.

Shmuel said electricity went out at approximately 4 p.m. Friday, in the middle of preparations for Shabbos. Residents initially expected service to be restored within the timeframe they had been given, but the hours continued to pass with no electricity.

Shmuel ate the Friday night seudah elsewhere, but when he returned home, he discovered that his street was still completely dark.

“I’m simply helpless. At the end of the day, I have no lights, no air conditioning, I have nothing,” he said.

The food that had been placed on the hot plate for Shabbos was also left cold because of the outage.

Conditions grew increasingly difficult overnight as families struggled through the August heat without air conditioning. Shmuel said residents tried taking showers to cool themselves down, while some families attempted to run electrical cables from generators belonging to neighbors.

The most painful moment, he said, came when he could hear “the crying of the babies from the upper floors.”

Children were forced to cope with the darkness, he added, while members of his own household were barely able to sleep through the sweltering night.

Rachel, who lives in another section of Modiin Illit, said residents have experienced numerous outages in recent weeks and that the latest incident was far from unusual.

She cited another outage on Thursday during a critical period of Shabbos preparations, as well as a nearly three-hour blackout on Tisha B’Av.

“It’s a real catastrophe; it has already become unbearable,” Rachel said.

She also claimed that following one of the outages, the building’s solar water-heating system was damaged, forcing residents to rely on electric water heaters instead.

The Israel Electric Corporation said in response that crews worked to identify the source of the malfunction and restore electricity to the affected area.

According to the company, an initial investigation found that electricity consumption in the area was experiencing “higher demand than planned.”

The utility said some of the discrepancy stems from electrical connections and additional consumption that were not reported in advance and therefore were not incorporated into planning for the local electrical grid.

The Israel Electric Corporation added that it is working together with the Modiin Illit municipality on a professional assessment of the situation and on long-term solutions aimed at strengthening the reliability of the city’s electricity supply and preventing similar outages from recurring.

{Matzav.com}

Residents of Bnei Brak’s Vizhnitz neighborhood are raising alarms over what they describe as a persistent and dangerous parking problem, saying vehicles routinely block sidewalks and pedestrian crossings and force children, elderly residents and mothers with strollers into the street.

The complaints were aired on the Osim Seder program on Kol Chai, hosted by Hillel Kessler, where a local resident identified as Avigdor said repeated appeals to the Bnei Brak municipality have failed to produce a lasting solution.

According to Avigdor, the problem is particularly severe during busy periods and when large events are held by Vizhnitz, when visitors arriving in the neighborhood sometimes park their vehicles on sidewalks, near crosswalks and in other areas intended for pedestrians.

Avigdor said the illegal parking can leave pedestrians with no choice but to walk in the roadway, creating what residents fear could become a life-threatening situation.

He said the danger is especially serious near crosswalks, where illegally parked vehicles can obstruct motorists’ ability to see pedestrians.

“It also blocks the field of vision,” Avigdor said, explaining that drivers pulling out from vehicles parked on sidewalks may have difficulty spotting small children because of their height.

Residents have asked municipal officials to install bollards or other physical barriers along the sidewalks to prevent vehicles from mounting them, he said.

Avigdor said residents have repeatedly submitted photographs and other documentation of the parking problems to the municipality and have also contacted the municipal official responsible for the neighborhood. Despite those efforts, he said, no permanent solution has been implemented.

He also recounted an incident in which a municipal parking inspector arrived during an event and began issuing tickets to vehicles that had been parked illegally. According to Avigdor, one driver confronted the inspector and protested the enforcement, claiming that it was “our area” and that tickets should not be issued there.

Kessler criticized what he described as inconsistent parking enforcement by the Bnei Brak municipality. He noted that the city is known for aggressive parking enforcement in other parts of Bnei Brak, raising questions about why residents’ complaints in the Vizhnitz neighborhood have allegedly not received a sufficient response.

At the same time, the program stressed that the complaints were not directed at Vizhnitzer chassidim as a whole, but rather at particular drivers who come to the neighborhood and park in ways residents say are illegal and dangerous.

Avigdor also claimed that he had heard of municipal instructions to increase the number of parking tickets issued throughout Bnei Brak because of the city’s financial situation. He did not provide evidence to substantiate that assertion.

Kessler said the program contacted the Bnei Brak municipality and forwarded documentation of the alleged parking violations to city officials. As of the time the program aired, the municipality had not responded.

The program said it would continue following the issue, including residents’ allegations that parking laws are not being enforced uniformly throughout the city.

{Matzav.com}

A group of 120 relatives of Israeli hostages and IDF soldiers is calling on the Israeli-American Council to cancel scheduled appearances by Ron Dermer at three upcoming events in California, accusing the former senior Israeli official of contributing to decisions that prolonged the suffering of hostages held in Gaza.

The group includes approximately 60 relatives of hostages and 60 relatives of IDF soldiers, including bereaved families as well as relatives of soldiers currently serving in the Gaza Strip, according to a report by Ynet.

Among those who signed the letter are Jon Polin, father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin Hy”d; Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen Hy”d; and Ofri Bibas-Levy, sister-in-law of Shiri Bibas Hy”d and aunt of Ariel and Kfir Bibas Hy”d.

The families are protesting the Israeli-American Council’s decision to feature Dermer as the main speaker at three of its events scheduled to take place in California in September.

In their letter, the families allege that Dermer was one of the most influential voices within Israel’s political leadership in opposing several proposed agreements to secure the release of hostages. They also accuse him of resisting efforts to formulate a plan for governing Gaza after the war.

According to the signatories, those decisions prolonged the suffering of both the hostages and their families and resulted in missed opportunities to bring home captives who were subsequently killed or murdered while in captivity.

The families further contend that delays in reaching an agreement may also have cost the lives of IDF soldiers, some of whom, they argue, might have survived had an agreement been reached earlier.

The letter also sharply criticizes Dermer’s interactions with hostage families, describing his conduct toward them as “dismissive, condescending and disrespectful.”

“For families who paid a direct price for these decisions,” the letter states, providing Dermer with a prominent platform at major Israeli-American Council events “intensifies the trauma, and in many cases the grief that we continue to experience.”

The families are now urging the Israeli-American Council to reconsider its decision and remove Dermer as the featured speaker at all three California events.

{Matzav.com}

With Israel’s election 64 days away, a new Channel 14 poll shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the right-wing bloc holding a commanding advantage, with Netanyahu’s allies projected to win an outright 63-seat Knesset majority without relying on any Arab parties.

The survey, conducted Monday, August 24, gives the right-wing bloc 63 seats, compared to 47 for the left-wing bloc. The Arab parties would receive a combined 10 seats.

Netanyahu’s Likud remains by far the largest party in the poll, winning 32 seats. Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party finishes a distant second with 24 seats.

Shas emerges as the third-largest party with 10 seats, followed by the Democrats with nine.

Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism each receive eight seats, while Yisrael Beiteinu and the Beyachad party each win seven.

Religious Zionism crosses the electoral threshold and receives five seats, an important result for the right-wing bloc given concerns in other recent polls that the party could fall below the threshold. Ra’am and the joint Hadash-Ta’al-Balad slate each receive five seats as well.

Several parties fail to cross the electoral threshold in the Channel 14 survey.

Ofer Winter’s party receives 2.1% of the vote, while Zehut receives 1.7%. Bayit Tzioni/Reservists receives 1.4%, Blue and White gets 1%, and the Unity Party receives just 0.2%.

The results therefore present a notably different scenario from some other recent polls, with Religious Zionism safely entering the Knesset while Winter’s party remains outside.

Netanyahu also holds a substantial advantage when respondents were asked who is best suited to serve as prime minister.

Fifty-two percent chose Netanyahu as their preferred candidate for prime minister, compared to 36% who selected Eisenkot. Naftali Bennett received 7%, while Avigdor Lieberman received 5%.

Netanyahu’s advantage grows even larger when respondents are given a direct choice between him and Eisenkot. In that matchup, Netanyahu receives 56% support, compared to 44% for Eisenkot.

The poll was conducted by NEXT DATA on August 24 among 486 Israeli adults representing the general population.

{Matzav.com}

Behind-the-scenes negotiations between the homes of leading rabbanim had reportedly advanced toward a major overhaul of both Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisrael’s electoral slates, but the plan ultimately collapsed — clearing the way for Yitzchok Goldknopf and other veteran United Torah Judaism lawmakers to remain in place for the upcoming election.

Details of the secret discussions were revealed Monday evening on Kol Chai’s main news program during a conversation between host Meny Schwartz and political commentators Avi Blum and Avi Ravina.

According to Blum, serious discussions had taken place between the rabbinic leadership of the two factions that make up United Torah Judaism, with the idea that both Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisrael would simultaneously refresh their respective lists of candidates.

“There were contacts between the homes of the rabbanim, and it was agreed — there was really almost an agreement, I won’t say 100%, but there was an understanding that Degel HaTorah would replace its slate and then Agudas Yisrael would replace its slate as well,” Blum said.

The arrangement, he explained, was designed in part to ensure that removing any particular representative would not be viewed as a personal ouster — an issue that was particularly sensitive regarding Goldknopf.

As the election approached, however, Agudas Yisrael officials came to understand that Degel HaTorah was not planning to move forward with a comparable overhaul. According to Blum, that effectively guaranteed Goldknopf’s continued place on the Agudas Yisrael slate.

“The moment they understood that Degel HaTorah was not going to change the face of its slate, it was clear that no one would move Goldknopf either, who was loyal to the Gerer Rebbe,” Blum said.

Blum stressed that contrary to the impression that may have emerged, the sequence did not begin with an independent decision by Agudas Yisrael to retain Goldknopf. Rather, Degel HaTorah’s decision to leave its own lineup largely intact effectively brought the proposed broader reshuffling to an end.

Once it became clear that the entire slate would not be replaced, Blum said, the possibility of singling out Goldknopf for removal was essentially taken off the table. There had been an understanding from the outset that Goldknopf would not be personally targeted, particularly given his loyalty to the Gerer Rebbe.

“The moment the slate isn’t replaced, he stays. What was is what will be,” Blum said.

Blum also cautioned against placing responsibility for all of United Torah Judaism’s successes and failures during the outgoing Knesset term on a single representative.

Ravina offered a more critical assessment of Goldknopf’s expected continuation in office, arguing that it is difficult to ignore the aggressive political line the United Torah Judaism chairman pursued during the current term and the impact it had on the broader Chareidi community.

“From his perspective and in terms of his main activities, unequivocally for the benefit of the community, but in terms of the result, we didn’t always have the upper hand, certainly when it comes to the image of the Chareidi community,” Ravina said.

Ravina added that he, too, was surprised by the unequivocal indication that Goldknopf is now expected to receive another term as the Gerer representative.

Schwartz disagreed with that assessment, arguing that on the military draft issue in particular, Goldknopf succeeded in expressing sentiments held by significant portions of the Chareidi community. Those voters, he said, wanted their elected representatives to exert far greater pressure on Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu and even leave the government if no solution to the draft crisis could be reached.

Blum noted that Goldknopf and his senior adviser, Moti Babchik, had already concluded approximately two years ago that Netanyahu would not ultimately deliver the promised solution, while Degel HaTorah took a different approach.

“Now, two years later, we know… who was right and who was misled,” Blum said.

Ravina, however, argued that the more pressing issue extends beyond determining which faction correctly assessed the political battles of the outgoing term. The larger question, he said, is United Torah Judaism’s ability to retain and expand its electoral support.

According to Ravina, the challenge is not simply how the current representatives are viewed by the party’s most loyal voters, but whether United Torah Judaism can bring back voters on the edges of the Chareidi electorate who may now be considering other political options.

“At the end of the day, neither these nor those will bring the seventh seat,” Ravina said, referring to the debate between supporters of Degel HaTorah’s approach and those who backed Goldknopf’s political strategy.

Ravina warned specifically about Chareidi voters in what he described as electoral “border areas” — both Chassidish and Litvish voters who supported United Torah Judaism in previous elections because of their allegiance to the gedolei Yisrael, but who could now be targeted by competing parties.

He pointed to mixed neighborhoods in Yerushalayim and communities containing voters who are not necessarily part of United Torah Judaism’s hard-core electoral base. The concern, Ravina said, is that some of those voters may no longer automatically cast their ballots for the party.

That concern, Blum explained, was precisely one of the reasons the proposed overhaul had been considered in the first place.

“As part of the discussions that took place between the homes of the rabbanim, there was an understanding that the current slate… would cause voters to flee,” Blum said.

At the same time, Blum noted that as the Chareidi political establishment enters an especially complicated election period, there is also considerable value in retaining highly experienced representatives such as Moshe Gafni and other longtime lawmakers.

Ultimately, the proposed sweeping overhaul failed to materialize. As matters currently stand, United Torah Judaism appears poised to enter the upcoming election with a lineup that closely resembles the one that represented the party during the current Knesset term.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States is seriously considering renaming Lake Ontario “Lake America,” escalating his war of words with Canada as a bitter trade dispute intensifies and Ontario’s premier threatens to cut off electricity and critical minerals to the United States.

“The United States is giving serious consideration to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in that we don’t expect to [be] doing much business with Ontario any longer,” Trump declared on Truth Social Tuesday.

The proposed name change would echo an action Trump took on the first day of his return to the White House last year, when he signed an executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Trump repeatedly highlighted that move during the first year of his current term.

Trump’s latest suggestion, involving the Great Lake that borders New York and the Canadian province of Ontario, comes as relations between Washington and Ottawa deteriorate sharply over trade. Negotiations between the United States and Canada collapsed last week without an agreement.

Following the breakdown, Trump slapped a 50% tariff on approximately $20 billion worth of Canadian products, targeting goods that include automobiles, steel, beer, cheese, electronics and other imports.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged that his government will retaliate, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has taken an aggressive posture throughout the trade confrontation, has warned that his province could use its economic leverage against the United States.

Ford told the Associated Press that “everything is on the table” if the dispute continues to escalate, raising the possibility that Ontario could withhold electricity and critical minerals from its southern neighbor.

“We power 1.5 million homes and businesses,” the premier said. “Everything’s on the table. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Another dispute emerged from the failed negotiations after Carney claimed that one of the issues contributing to the last-minute collapse was a purported American demand involving Quebec and the use of English rather than French. Trump emphatically denied making any such demand on Monday.

“I would never interfere with Canadians speaking French!” Trump insisted on Truth Social. “In fact, I have never even thought of doing such a stupid thing. This lie was made up by a weak and ineffective Prime Minister in an attempt to gain political support, which he has totally lost, from the people of Quebec.

“I love French Canadians!” he wrote.

Carney had initially promised to answer Trump’s tariffs “dollar for dollar,” though he has since suggested that Ottawa may pursue a more selective retaliatory strategy rather than imposing an exact mirror of the American measures. Canada’s retaliatory tariffs are currently scheduled to take effect Sept. 8.

Trump, meanwhile, has made clear that Washington will answer any Canadian retaliation with further action of its own, raising the possibility of another round of escalation between the two longtime trading partners.

The increasingly heated economic confrontation is unfolding less than three months before the U.S. midterm elections, potentially injecting the trade dispute into closely watched Senate contests, particularly in Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Alaska.

Canada remains one of the United States’ most important economic partners, ranking as America’s second-largest trading partner behind Mexico.

President Donald Trump was warned just days before the war with Iran began that the conflict could produce an even more hardline regime in Tehran, close the Strait of Hormuz and trigger attacks on American forces and allies across the Middle East, according to a new Wall Street Journal report.

Tulsi Gabbard, who was serving as U.S. director of national intelligence at the time, reportedly delivered the warning to Trump shortly before the fighting began on February 28.

According to the report, Gabbard cautioned that killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei could backfire by paving the way for a more radical government — one that could be even more determined to develop nuclear weapons.

Gabbard also reportedly predicted that Iran would respond to a war by shutting the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz and launching attacks against U.S. military personnel and American allies throughout the region.

The Journal reported that Gabbard was not alone in raising concerns. A number of senior administration officials, including the vice president, reportedly warned Trump about the potentially serious consequences of entering a war with Iran. Trump ultimately moved forward after senior Pentagon officials persuaded him that overwhelming U.S. military power would carry the day, according to the report.

As the conflict continued, Trump reportedly wrestled with whether to intensify the American campaign. In April, according to the Journal, he asked a friend whether he should escalate the fighting and “bomb the [essence]” out of Iran. The friend advised Trump not to do so and instead encouraged him to bring the war to an end.

The report describes Trump as repeatedly frustrated by the Iranian regime’s ability to withstand the military campaign. At various points during the war, the president sought a diplomatic path that could provide a way out of the conflict, but those efforts have thus far yielded little progress.

Gabbard ultimately resigned as director of national intelligence in May, roughly three months after the war began, publicly attributing her departure to her husband’s poor health.

However, a source familiar with the circumstances later told Reuters that Gabbard had been pushed out by the White House because she continued to oppose the war with Iran.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration unveiled a new proposal Monday that would impose a $103,265 fee on H-1B visa petitions for foreign workers subject to the program’s annual statutory cap, months after a federal judge struck down the administration’s previous $100,000 fee.

Under the proposed rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security, the money would be used to cover federal expenses associated with operating the legal immigration system. Those costs include work performed by DHS as well as the Justice, State and Labor departments.

“The proposed H-1B fee is intended to recover the costs incurred across the federal government to adjudicate, vet, and support lawful immigration programs that otherwise must be funded by taxpayers,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesperson Zach Kahler said in a release.

The administration’s latest approach comes after a federal judge in June invalidated its earlier attempt to charge a $100,000 fee for H-1B applications.

U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin concluded that the earlier policy amounted to an unlawful tax on visa applications, ruling that Congress alone possesses the legislative authority to establish immigration policy and impose taxes.

The administration’s previous proposal would have affected universities, hospitals and research institutions as well. Those employers, however, would be exempt from the newly proposed DHS fee.

David Bier of the Cato Institute questioned both the legality and practical impact of the administration’s latest proposal, arguing that describing the charge as a cost-recovery measure does not resolve the problems that doomed the earlier policy.

“The administration claims the new fee will be a ‘cost recovery mechanism,’ even though the first fee led to a nearly 90 percent reduction in filings and a $28 million loss in revenue. The government itself told the court that the $100,000 fee was ‘arguably prohibitive’ and ‘does not raise revenue,’” David Bier of the Cato Institute said in a statement sent to The Hill.

Bier further argued that immigration fees are legally limited to recovering costs associated with processing immigration and naturalization matters. He also noted that employers would be required to pay the massive fee when filing a petition without knowing whether the application would ultimately be approved.

“Even if it did raise revenue, that would not make it legal because immigration fees can only be imposed to recover the costs of adjudication and naturalization services. And because this is a filing fee, employers would have to pay it with no guarantee that USCIS [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] will approve the petition. Almost no one will risk more than $100,000 with no guarantee of approval,” Bier added.

Federal law generally allows 85,000 new H-1B visas each year. That figure consists of the standard 65,000-visa cap along with another 20,000 visas reserved for applicants who earned a master’s degree or higher from an American college or university. Of the regular 65,000 visas, 6,800 are specifically allocated to citizens of Chile and Singapore.

The H-1B program has become a particularly contentious issue within the technology sector, where companies frequently rely on the visas to employ foreign workers in specialized occupations requiring advanced skills.

Computer-related jobs account for nearly two-thirds of H-1B approvals, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, with software engineering, data science and information technology support among the fields heavily represented in the program.

Companies, technology workers and other interested parties will have 30 days to submit comments on the proposed rule once it is formally published in the Federal Register, which officials said is expected to occur Tuesday.

{Matzav.com}

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sought Monday to push back against criticism over his private meeting with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, declaring that Democrats will continue pursuing Trump administration officials and that “no one from the Trump Cartel is getting a pass.”

Jeffries, a New York Democrat, posted a video on X addressing the controversy after reports emerged that he had recently met privately with Kushner.

The New York Times reported Sunday that Jeffries and Kushner held the meeting ahead of the November midterm elections, with their conversation focusing on areas where they might find common ground, including housing, immigration and the rising cost of living.

Jeffries said Kushner initiated the outreach and that he agreed to sit down with him in order to discuss affordability. At the same time, Jeffries stressed that the meeting should not be interpreted as a retreat from House Democrats’ opposition to the administration on tariffs, the Affordable Care Act, nutritional assistance and other issues.

“I shouldn’t have to say it, but I am. No one is going to get a pass,” he said. “We’re gonna follow the facts, apply the law, and be guided by the Constitution beginning on day one. And hold the crooks accountable.”

The meeting has generated sharply differing reactions, including criticism from some Democrats and progressive figures. Tommy Vietor, a co-host of “Pod Save America” who previously served in the Obama administration, attacked Kushner on X on Sunday.

“Jared Kushner has no actual government job he just uses his family connections to get money from gulf autocrats and fund corrupt deals,” he said.

Although Kushner does not hold a formal administration position, he has acted as a foreign-policy envoy for Trump and has been involved in diplomatic efforts concerning Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, played down the significance of the Jeffries-Kushner discussion when asked about it by Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy during “The Sunday Briefing.”

“I don’t know what that’s about. I know Jared has interest in lots of other things going on,” he said. “He’s not really directly involved in the admin, at least in the day-to-day in the White House.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, meanwhile, stood behind Jeffries when questioned about the meeting during a Monday press conference. Asked whether he would still support Jeffries for House majority leader if Democrats capture control of the chamber in November, Mamdani said his position had not changed.

“I continue to support Congressman Jeffries and his bid to become the leader,” Mamdani said.

Jeffries also used his video to argue that House Democrats have already succeeded in their efforts to confront what they view as corruption within the Trump administration.

“[Former Attorney General] Pam Bondi is gone. [Former Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is gone, and we’re just getting started,” he said.

Jeffries closed by returning to the affordability issues that he said prompted his willingness to meet with Kushner in the first place, arguing that Americans are struggling under the weight of rising costs and expect Congress to respond.

“People are drowning in this failed economy and are demanding action. We have a responsibility to deal with the fact that life is too expensive,” he said. “And that’s what we intend to do.”

{Matzav.com}

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has responded to congressional Republicans demanding answers about approximately 6,600 people identified as noncitizens who were nevertheless registered to vote through the state’s motor vehicle system, but her three-page response left several of their central questions unanswered, including which elections were affected, how the registrations were approved and whether anyone will be held accountable.

A group of 19 House Republicans, led by Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, sent Sherrill a letter on July 24 containing 12 questions about the registration issue. The administration had disclosed that roughly 6,600 people who indicated between June 2023 and June 2024 that they were not U.S. citizens nonetheless ended up registered to vote. A preliminary review found that fewer than 400 of those individuals had cast ballots.

“This right here is exactly why we should require ID to vote in our elections,” Van Drew told Breitbart News at the time, adding that lawmakers needed answers about “how this happened, why it was not caught sooner, and whether more ineligible registrations remain.”

Among other things, the Republican lawmakers asked the governor to disclose which elections included ballots cast by the affected individuals and whether any contests were decided by margins smaller than the number of improperly cast ballots in those jurisdictions. They also sought information about the voter-eligibility verification process that failed, whether every affected registration had been removed, what safeguards would be implemented before the 2026 general election and whether government officials or contractors would face consequences.

“We look forward to Governor Sherrill’s prompt response,” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) said. The lawmakers set an Aug. 21 deadline for complete written answers.

Sherrill submitted her response on that deadline, writing that her administration was “fully committed to ensuring that elections in New Jersey remain free and fair” and considers election integrity “as a matter of the utmost seriousness.” The governor noted that she had publicly revealed the issue on July 21, three days before the congressional letter was sent, and characterized what happened as “a registration error” dating to “years before I took office.”

According to Sherrill, her administration had “moved aggressively to remediate the issue and remove affected individuals from the voter rolls.” She said she also ordered “an immediate investigation that is ongoing,” which is being conducted by what she called “a bipartisan firm led by the former state Attorney General for a Republican Governor.” She added, “This work remains my focus.”

Sherrill then used part of her response to criticize the Republican lawmakers themselves, writing that “Washington Republicans, on the other hand, seem much more concerned with using the issue for political gain than they are with protecting our elections.” She accused several of the lawmakers who signed the letter of supporting President Donald Trump “in his efforts to undermine our election system and defund election security.” She further wrote that seven of the lawmakers “attempted to overturn the 2020 elections and voted to challenge the electoral votes of states,” while another had employed “an operative convicted of voter fraud, bribery, and blackmail.”

The governor also challenged Republicans’ argument that the SAVE America Act would have prevented the registrations in question, writing, “I encourage you to become more familiar with the legislation you have cosponsored.” Sherrill pointed out that the affected individuals had indicated that they were not citizens, while adding that subsequent investigation showed that “some may, in fact, have had valid registrations.”

Sherrill also took aim at the SAVE database, arguing that it has “well-documented accuracy issues” that have contributed to “the disenfranchisement of eligible citizen voters.” She pointed to Texas, where, she wrote, U.S. citizens had been flagged as potentially ineligible voters and some “were likely unfairly removed from voter rolls.”

The governor further objected to proposals that would increase federal involvement in voter registration. She wrote that measures such as “a centralized registry of voters” present “important concerns regarding personal privacy and abuses of power under President Trump.” Sherrill accused Trump of having “shown time and time again that he will do anything to ensure that only those who support him are able to vote,” and argued that keeping election administration largely in the hands of the states addresses the type of danger “our Founding Fathers sought to guard against.”

Turning more generally to the questions raised by the Republican lawmakers, Sherrill wrote, “We will continue to approach this issue with transparency, integrity, and accountability,” describing that commitment as “a matter of record.” She also said that “the answers to many of the questions posed in your letter are already matters of public record or have been addressed through information released by my administration,” and directed the lawmakers to three public statements previously released by her office.

The governor’s letter, however, did not specifically identify the primary, general, municipal, school board, special or federal elections in which affected individuals cast ballots. Nor did it explain how people who had identified themselves as noncitizens were ultimately validated as eligible voters, specify which officials knew about the registration problem and when they learned of it, or identify officials or contractors who would be held responsible.

Sherrill’s response also did not provide what Republicans had requested as “the precise number of affected registrations,” nor did it supply detailed information about the state’s validation procedures or state whether officials or contractors “will be held accountable.”

Sherrill concluded her letter by writing, “The People of New Jersey have my commitment that we will protect the private information of New Jersey voters, protect the integrity of our voter rolls, and ensure our elections remain free, fair, and secure.”

Van Drew expressed dissatisfaction with the response, saying the lawmakers had raised specific questions about how thousands of people identified as noncitizens ended up on New Jersey’s voter rolls.

“We raised legitimate questions after New Jersey admitted that thousands of noncitizens were registered to vote. Rather than simply answering those questions, Governor Sherrill chose to respond with political talking points and personal attacks. Her response was very disappointing and beneath the seriousness of this issue. This was about understanding exactly how this failure occurred, making sure it never happens again, and protecting the integrity of our elections. And this issue is not going away. We will not stop pursuing the facts, demanding answers, and pressing for accountability until we get the full truth.”

Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey similarly demanded greater transparency from the state and called for officials to explain both the cause of the registration problem and how they intend to prevent a recurrence.

“The American people — especially New Jerseyans — are owed answers as to how such a catastrophic breach of election security could have occurred. Governor Sherrill and the State of New Jersey must take accountability and demonstrate complete transparency while providing a concrete path forward to ensure that such gross failures cannot threaten the integrity of our elections ever again. Whatever the cause — be it incompetence or something far more sinister — showing the American people how to fix this problem is critical to ensuring faith in future elections. Secure elections are the bedrock of democracy; we must take all steps necessary to ensure that votes are cast only by those who have a right to vote.”

Pfluger also criticized the governor’s reply, saying Sherrill’s “three page response to our letter is long on political attacks and short on answers,” adding, “Americans deserve better. Elections are the last line of defense for a government accountable to its people. Republicans have been raising legitimate concerns about vulnerabilities in our election systems for years, and we will not stop pursuing the truth until every question is answered. It’s more clear than ever that we need to pass the SAVE America Act to make sure our elections are secure, transparent, and worthy of the public’s trust.”

Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York said the unresolved questions surrounding the registrations require a fuller explanation from the governor.

“As I wrote last month, New Jersey has a serious election integrity problem that demands answers. Non-citizens were registered to vote and some cast ballots. Governor Sherrill needs to explain how this happened, why it went undetected, and what safeguards will be put in place to protect our elections.”

{Matzav.com}