Feed aggregator

Sunday morning, during Rosh Chodesh tefillos, ushers at the Kosel plaza intercepted an effort by the Women of the Wall group to bring a Sefer Torah into the women’s section, an act prohibited under the site’s standing regulations.

According to officials on site, the Sefer Torah had been concealed inside the bag of an IDF reserve soldier accompanying the group. Security personnel asked to examine the bag, discovered the Sefer Torah, and promptly removed it from the plaza.

In response, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation sharply criticized the incident, saying: “We regret that the Women of the Wall group once again chose to exploit IDF soldiers in an attempt to violate the procedures in place at the Western Wall. As in the past, the group does not hesitate to employ provocative tactics that harm the sanctity of the site and the honor of the Torah scroll.

“The Western Wall Heritage Foundation embraces and honors IDF soldiers, both regular and reserve. The Western Wall will continue to serve as a place of prayer, strength, and comfort for them. During the recent Hanukkah holiday alone, thousands of IDF soldiers visited the Western Wall plaza to pray and give thanks at the holiest site of the Jewish people. The Foundation will continue to act to preserve the sanctity of the Western Wall, maintain proper order, and respect all visitors.”

The Women of the Wall, for its part, issued a statement pushing back against the enforcement action, declaring: “On Hanukkah, the holiday commemorating the Maccabees’ struggle for religious freedom, women are still denied religious freedom and the ability to practice their faith at the Western Wall. This situation is an absurdity under the authority of the Western Wall rabbi.”

{Matzav.com}

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was booed and heckled during an official Bondi beach memorial, with the crowd shouting, “You’re not welcome here… Shame.”

Mekubal Rav Itche Meyer Morgenstern receiving an aliyah on Sunday at the kever of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman.

TEHILLIM: HaMekubal Rav Dovid Batzri, Rosh Yeshivas HaShalom, remains hospitalized in serious condition in Hadassah Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. He is sedated and on a respirator. Please daven for a refuah sheleimah for Reb Dovid Shalom ben Victoria b’toch sha’ar cholei Yisrael.

The Women of the Wall group “recruited” an IDF reserve soldier to attempt to smuggle a Sefer Torah into the women’s section of the Kosel, in violation of the regulations at the site, on Sunday morning, Rosh Chodesh Teves. They put a small Sefer Torah into the bag of the soldier. However, ushers who requested […]

Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara has escalated her frenzied battle against Chareidim and the Olam HaTorah, now even spreading her poison to Bnei Torah from abroad. She is considering halting all funding for yeshivos, even those attended by non-Israelis, to avoid the possibility that any state funds may indirectly benefit Chareidi “draft dodgers,” Kan News reported. […]

No winning ticket was sold in Saturday nights Powerball drawing, pushing the jackpot to an estimated $1.60 billion. The next Powerball drawing is scheduled for Monday night.

The brother-in-law of a man murdered in the Sydney terror attack traveled to a local hospital to personally thank the Muslim hero who stopped one of the attackers and helped save lives.

Rabbi Mendel Kastel, whose brother-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger Hy”d, was murdered in the attack, visited Ahmed al-Ahmed, a Syrian-born Muslim who confronted and neutralized one of the terrorists during the assault. Also present was Sam Issa, Ahmed’s attorney.

Speaking to Ahmed as he lay in his hospital bed, his arm in a cast, Rabbi Kastel expressed deep gratitude. “Thank you, not only for saving lives, but for your courage,” he said. “The fact that you come not from a Jewish background but from a Muslim background makes this especially meaningful. Truly, thank you.”

Ahmed responded simply: “Exactly. We are all brothers. We are all human beings.”

Rabbi Kastel replied, “We have no words.”

Ahmed added that the visit itself meant a great deal to him. “The fact that you came here to visit is meaningful to me,” he said. “No matter what happens, we are all human beings. It doesn’t matter which religion. We must stand together and save lives.”

During the visit, Rabbi Kastel introduced his brother Zalman and presented Ahmed with a deeply personal gift. He explained that within the Jewish community, the Lubavitcher Rebbe would distribute a dollar to individuals every Sunday, encouraging them to give another dollar to charity. “I want to give you a dollar that the Rebbe gave me in 1988,” Rabbi Kastel said.

Ahmed responded with humility. “We are all human beings, and it is important to save lives,” he said. “I was simply walking with my cousin to buy something and get a haircut, but God sent me to save lives.”

Sam Issa, Ahmed’s attorney, provided an update on his condition. “He is stable but in pain,” Issa said. “He was shot four times in his left arm and lost sensation. He is expected to undergo several surgeries, one of them today. Despite the pain, his spirits are good.”

Issa added that Ahmed told him he would act the same way again. “He said that despite the pain, despite everything he went through and the surgeries ahead, he would do it again, because he knows he saved many lives.”

{Matzav.com}

Calls for the resignation of Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez intensified after he circulated a series of antisemitic conspiracy theories online, including a claim that a deadly attack in Australia was staged. The allegations were first reported by Richmondside.

Among the content Martinez shared on his LinkedIn account was a repost from a Palestinian Arab academic suggesting—without evidence—that the massacre of 15 people at a Hanukkah-related gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach was a “false flag” operation and may have been carried out by an IDF soldier.

One of the posts amplified by Martinez asserted that “paid actors have a history of carrying out the false flag, anti-Jewish attacks in Australia then blaming others.” Another claimed that “the root cause of antisemitism is the behavior of Israel & Israelis.”

The Bay Area chapter of the Jewish Community Relations Council sharply rebuked the mayor, sending a letter to media outlets accusing him of spreading hateful falsehoods. The group said Martinez “posted repeatedly on LinkedIn spreading false conspiracies blaming Jews for the Bondi Beach terror attack.”

“Such rhetoric is dangerously antisemitic, deeply offensive, and wholly unacceptable – particularly coming from a sitting mayor,” the JCRC wrote. “Words from public officials carry weight and when those words echo antisemitic tropes they place people at risk.”

In the wake of the backlash, Martinez removed the posts and issued a public apology on LinkedIn. “I want to apologize for sharing my previous posts without thinking. Of course we know that antisemitism was here before the creation of the state of Israel. As I’ve said many times before, we should not conflate Zionism with Judaism. They are two separate beliefs.”

Critics, however, said the apology fell far short. Former Los Angeles City Council candidate Sam Yebri told the New York Post that “Martinez has consistently and repeatedly trafficked in the worst antisemitism imaginable, and now has put the lives of his Jewish constituents in jeopardy.”

A Richmond rabbi also spoke to the Post, warning that “what we’re seeing is not legitimate criticism of Israeli policy. It’s hatred of Jews. And that’s where this road leads.”

The controversy is not Martinez’s first. He has previously drawn criticism over antisemitic behavior, including an August appearance in which he delivered a speech while wearing a hat emblazoned with the acronym “DDTTIDF,” standing for “Death, Death to the IDF,” further fueling concerns about a pattern of conduct.

{Matzav.com}

A Syrian-Australian man who risked his life to stop an ISIS-inspired terror massacre at Sydney’s Bondi Beach is now being viciously attacked in Arab media and online forums—denounced as a “traitor” for saving Jewish lives. Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, a local shop owner and father of two, was shot five times after charging toward a […]

Salim Hamdani, a Jewish merchant from Damascus who was recently detained by Syrian authorities, is expected to be released within several days, according to representatives of Syria’s Jewish community.

Alaa al-Din Kharoub, the official authorized to handle matters related to the Jewish community in Syria, said over the weekend in an interview with the Syrian channel Al-Yawm that Hamdani is likely to be freed on bail within three to four days at most, pending legal proceedings, and will be able to return to his shop. The report was cited by Kan 11 correspondent Roi Kais.

Kharoub said that the detention stemmed from accusations made by another individual arrested by the authorities, who attributed suspicions to Hamdani because he is a longtime merchant and a member of the Jewish community—claims that were later found to be inaccurate. Nevertheless, he stressed, “the court will have the final say.”

According to Kharoub, Hamdani’s case is currently being handled by an investigative judge in Damascus. Following efforts by the Jewish community, Hamdani’s family appointed a private attorney to represent him, working under the supervision of the community’s legal counsel. Kharoub expressed hope that Hamdani’s health condition would be taken into account during his detention.

Kharoub also thanked Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab for what he described as a professional investigation, and said he is confident that the judge handling the case will be allowed to act independently and that the judicial process will remain free of political interference. He added that the Syrian Jewish community is working to ensure there is no outside involvement in the matter, emphasizing that it is an internal Syrian legal issue.

As previously reported, Hamdani—one of the few remaining members of Syria’s small Jewish community—was arrested last week by Syrian security forces. He owns a shop in the Old City of Damascus, and according to Syrian sources familiar with the case, the grounds for his arrest involve allegations of illegal trade in antiquities.

Security forces reportedly raided Hamdani’s store, confiscated several archaeological items that were on display, and then took him into custody. He was transferred to a police station in the capital, where he has been under interrogation since.

The incident is considered unusual, coming at a time when Syria’s new leadership has recently made visible efforts to project a more tolerant attitude toward the country’s Jewish community. In recent months, the government has even invited delegations of Syrian Jews—primarily from the United States—to visit their former homeland.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration is quietly shopping an ambitious, multibillion-dollar vision to remake Gaza into a high-tech Mediterranean hub. The plan has drawn interest from regional power brokers even as it collides with the hard political reality of Hamas’ continued grip on the enclave. Dubbed internally as a long-range redevelopment roadmap, the plan would pour as […]

The Women of the Wall group “recruited” an IDF reserve soldier to attempt to smuggle a Sefer Torah into the women’s section of the Kosel, in violation of the regulations at the site, on Sunday morning, Rosh Chodesh Teves. They put a small Sefer Torah into the bag of the soldier. However, ushers who requested […]

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Batzri provided an update on the condition of his father, HaMekubal Rav Dovid Batzri, Rosh Yeshivas HaShalom, who is hospitalized in serious condition in Hadassah Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. Rav Yitzchak said, ‘We’re now at the entrance to the ICU. I beseech the public in every possible way to daven for my […]

Supreme Court Justice Alex Stein slammed Israel’s Probation Service after it submitted an early positive report in the case of Mark Feigel, the main suspect in the serious arson incident near Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s residence in September. Stein said that the Probation Service acted on its own initiative to submit a supplementary report, even […]

YWN regrets to inform you of the petirah of Mrs. Malkie Mitnick, a”h, of Flatbush. She was the daughter of Rav Elya Kanarek shlit”a – the Rosh Hayeshiva of Peekskill – and Rebbetzin Rifka Leah Kanarek, and a granddaughter of the Roshei Yeshiva, Rav Shaul Brus zt”l and Rav Yisroel Eliezer Kanarek zt”l. Mrs. Mitnick a”h […]

[Video below.] The first large-scale Turning Point USA conference held after the killing of founder Charlie Kirk exposed deep fractures within the conservative movement, with Israel emerging as the central fault line and accusations of antisemitism dominating the stage in Phoenix.

Even before Kirk’s death, tensions had been simmering. He had at times voiced doubts about U.S. support for certain Israeli policies, a position that now looms larger as rival factions argue over his legacy and direction.

Those divisions exploded over two days as prominent figures associated with the Make America Great Again movement publicly turned on one another, accusing rivals of dishonoring Kirk’s memory or, alternatively, of legitimizing extremists.

Ben Shapiro ignited the clash early, condemning Tucker Carlson for hosting self-described white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Shapiro said Carlson’s decision to give Fuentes airtime amounted to “an act of moral imbecility.”

Returning to the subject again days later, Shapiro escalated his rhetoric, arguing that Carlson never should have amplified Fuentes, whom he described as “a Hitler apologist, Nazi-loving, anti-American piece of refuse.”

According to Shapiro, Kirk himself had been fiercely opposed to Fuentes. “He knew that Nick Fuentes is an evil troll and that building him up is an act of moral imbecility, and that is precisely what Tucker Carlson did.”

Shapiro broadened his criticism to other conservative figures, including Megyn Kelly, accusing them of failing to confront voices like Candace Owens, whom he said regularly promotes conspiracy theories, many of them antisemitic.

Owens has claimed, without evidence, that Israeli intelligence had a hand in Kirk’s killing and that those close to him betrayed him, allegations flatly contradicted by authorities, who say the suspect acted alone.

Owens, who commands an audience of 5.7 million subscribers on YouTube, is also embroiled in a legal dispute with French President Emmanuel Macron over her assertion that his wife, Brigitte, is actually a man.

Addressing the broader movement, Shapiro warned, “The conservative movement is also in danger from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty.” He added, “Those of us with a microphone have a moral obligation to call that out by name.”

Owens fired back the following day on X, writing that “Every time Ben speaks I feel more certain Israel is involved in [Kirk’s killing].”

She doubled down with another post, claiming, “Ben only cares about Israel’s interests. So Israel is involved.”

Carlson responded from the conference stage hours later, ridiculing Shapiro’s comments as an attack on free speech and arguing that such calls would have offended Kirk’s values.

“Deplatforming and denouncing people at a Charlie Kirk event. I’m like, what? It’s hilarious,” Carlson told attendees.

He rejected accusations of antisemitism, saying it was immoral to judge people based on how they were born, but then minimized the scope of anti-Jewish hatred by comparing it to discrimination against white men.

“That is racism that is precisely as bad as antisemitism, but it is much more widespread and has been so far much more damaging,” Carlson said.

Carlson also brushed off suggestions of a looming internal rupture, calling talk of a civil war within Trump-aligned politics “totally fake” and suggesting it was being promoted to block Vice President JD Vance from becoming the party’s future leader.

The dispute continued after the conference. Steve Bannon, speaking a day later, accused Shapiro of attempting to dominate Turning Point USA while advancing Israel’s priorities over those of the United States, according to NBC News.

“Ben Shapiro is like a cancer, and that cancer spreads,” Bannon declared to loud applause.

Calling the conflict “a proxy on ’28,” Bannon, who served as a senior adviser to President Trump during the 2016 campaign, said Kirk had rejected “this concept of greater Israel and Israel first,” NBC News reported.

Kelly also acknowledged the internal strife, telling conservative activist Jack Posobiec during a conference discussion that “there was a rift even before we lost Charlie… and it revolves around Israel,” according to NBC News.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

A Chanukah message from New York City’s mayor-elect set off a wave of reactions online this weekend after he released a carefully produced Chanukah video featuring actor Mandy Patinkin and his family.

The more than three-minute clip, posted today, shows Zohran Mamdani spending time at Patinkin’s New York home during the first night of Chanukah last week. The video depicts the mayor-elect cooking latkes, joining in Hebrew prayers, and taking part in the candle lighting alongside Patinkin, his wife Kathryn Grody, and other family members.

Mamdani, a pro-Palestine socialist whose outspoken anti-Zionist positions have made his relationship with much of the city’s Jewish community contentious, appears relaxed and cheerful throughout the footage as the group marks the Festival of Lights together.

At the start of the video, Patinkin theatrically reacts to Mamdani’s arrival, calling out, “It’s the mayor! What are you doing here?” while looking directly at the camera in what many viewers saw as a deliberately staged moment.

Later in the segment, Mamdani offers a brief toast, saying, “Here’s to more light,” as the candles burn. Patinkin responds with his own remark before the group sits down to eat, telling Mamdani, “You’re mayoral tenure or whatever it’s called has now been blessed.”

Mamdani also shared the video on X, writing, “It was such a joy to celebrate Hanukkah with Mandy, Kathryn and their son, Gideon.” In the same post, he added a broader holiday message to city residents: “As Jewish New Yorkers across our city prepare to light candles and mark the seventh night today, I wish you and your families a Hanukkah full of light and love.”

Reaction online was sharply divided. While some commenters praised the message and welcomed the gesture, others dismissed it as insincere and overly performative.

“This has ‘I’m not [anti-Semitic] some of my best friends are Jews’ vibes,” one follower wrote.

Another commenter was more blunt, saying, “Man, he will do anything to make New Yorkers think he supports the Jewish community.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Openly dodging subway fares has become a sport, carried out in plain sight and with little concern for consequences. Riders slip past turnstiles, duck beneath bars, or vault over obstacles designed to stop them, all while the transit authority continues to invest heavily in devices that do little to deter the behavior, the NY Post.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week approved another contract with Boyce Technologies to expand the use of plastic-and-metal “sleeves” and tall vertical “fins” at station entrances. By January, those fixtures are expected to be installed in 456 of the city’s 472 subway stations, even though many riders say they are easily defeated.

The equipment is already in place at 327 stations, and finishing the rollout will require another $7.3 million. The result, critics argue, is not meaningful enforcement but the appearance of action.

Observers say the structures fail to stop anyone determined not to pay. Video and firsthand accounts show riders twisting under bars or stepping over them with ease, a practice that has only become more common since the devices began appearing earlier this year.

An MTA employee acknowledged as much, saying, “Oh they’re going over, and we’ve got the spikes here. Nothing will stop them.”

Musician Kevin Lightfoot summed up the situation after swiping his own fare, telling The NY Post, “Homies are coming through the whole night.”

Despite that reality, the agency recently abandoned a proposed $1 million study that would have examined the psychology behind fare evasion, leaving unanswered questions about why people feel emboldened to skip payment.

Some critics argue that the simplest solution is enforcement: arrests, fines, and visible consequences that make evasion more trouble than it’s worth. Without that, they say, rule-breaking becomes normalized.

Opponents of tougher enforcement often claim it would disproportionately affect people who cannot afford the fare. Others counter that this explanation does not square with what is visible every day underground, where well-dressed commuters carrying expensive phones and accessories bypass the turnstiles rather than pay $2.90 — a fare set to rise to $3 on January 4.

One recent example involved a sharply dressed couple at Herald Square who effortlessly climbed over a turnstile together, turning fare evasion into what looked like a choreographed routine. With no one stopping them, they walked off having saved the price of admission to the subway.

The absence of enforcement, critics say, does more than drain revenue. It creates resentment among those who pay, and it contributes to an atmosphere in which other underground crimes can flourish. When rules appear optional, compliance erodes.

That sense of impunity is reflected online as well. In a widely shared video on X, a woman openly demonstrates her method for skipping the fare.

“Some people, when taking the train, pay their $2.90 or they hop the turnstile. Me, on the other hand, a 6-foot-2 stallion, simply just steps over the turnstile … ,” she says before doing exactly that.

She goes on to dismiss the presence of MTA station staff, claiming they have no authority and should not be feared. “I look them directly in the eye and I will hop right over, no issues,” she adds.

The video includes one notable caveat. “Obviously, if there are cops that’s another story,” she concedes.

That acknowledgment, critics argue, highlights the core issue: fare beaters themselves recognize that police enforcement would change behavior. Instead, the city continues to pour public money into hardware that does little to stop them, allowing the practice to continue largely unchecked.

{Matzav.com}