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A delegation of senior members of the Nevah Tzion Beis Din traveled to Spain in recent days to personally supervise a special round of sheep slaughter, ensuring the highest standards of kashrus for the bnei Torah community. The mission was carried out under the direction of Rav Masoud Ben Shimon, Gaavad of Nevah Tzion and Chief Rabbi of Bnei Brak.

The trip was part of an ongoing effort by Ashpar, a leading kosher meat company, to provide top-quality meat for consumers seeking the most meticulous levels of supervision. Spanish sheep are widely regarded as among the finest in the world, known for their exceptional taste, texture, and overall quality.

The visiting delegation included Rav Yaakov Ben Shimon, son of the Gaavad and son of the late Rav Shlomo Ben Shimon; Rav Chanoch Cohen, Rosh Yeshivas Be’er HaTalmud; Rav Yitzchak Zayat, a veteran member of the Badatz and son-in-law of Rav Shalom Cohen; and Ashpar CEO Rav Yitzchak Ovadia. Rav Cohen and Rav Ben Shimon are among the newest additions to the Beis Din.

Upon arriving at the Spanish facility, the Badatz members conducted thorough, hands-on oversight of the entire operation. They followed each stage of the slaughtering process, ensuring that all procedures adhered precisely to the strict halachic requirements and meticulously applied standards instituted by Rav Shalom Cohen.

The Gaavad personally assembled and approved the team of shochetim, bodkim, and supervisors after an extensive vetting process. Each team member was evaluated individually to confirm both professional skill and uncompromising yiras Shamayim — qualities the Gaavad emphasized as essential.

After observing the process, Rav Yaakov Ben Shimon and Rav Chanoch Cohen expressed deep admiration for the precision and devotion exhibited by the slaughtering teams. They noted that every element was carried out with the utmost hidur, in full accordance with the rigorous standards long associated with the Nevah Tzion certification.

Rav Chanoch Cohen added, “For years we have known that Badatz Nevah Tzion represents the highest level of mehadrin kashrus for bnei Torah. Since joining the Beis Din, I have been overwhelmed by what I have seen firsthand — the level of supervision, the meticulous observance of every stringency, and the care taken to uphold every halachic detail in the most exalted manner.”

The Spanish slaughter initiative is one component of Ashpar’s broader mission to supply premium-quality, mehadrin kosher meat. The company, together with the Nevah Tzion Badatz, aims to deliver the finest products to the community while maintaining the uncompromising halachic standards for which the certification is renowned.

חברי בד”ץ נווה ציון בביקור במשחטהצילום: באדיבות המצלם חברי בד”ץ נווה ציון בביקור במשחטהצילום: באדיבות המצלם

חברי בד”ץ נווה ציון בביקור במשחטהצילום: באדיבות המצלם

חברי בד”ץ נווה ציון בביקור במשחטהצילום: באדיבות המצלם

חברי בד”ץ נווה ציון בביקור במשחטהצילום: באדיבות המצלם

{Matzav.com}

Saudi Arabia has delivered a fresh infusion of financial aid to the Palestinian Authority, transferring $90 million as an installment of its 2025 support package. The latest grant reflects Riyadh’s continued effort to bolster the PA amid ongoing economic pressure.

The funds were handed over in Amman, where Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Jordan, Mansour bin Khalid bin Farhan, met with Estephan Salameh, the PA official responsible for planning and international cooperation. During the meeting, the ambassador emphasized that the new allocation is meant “to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian Arab population, alleviate their suffering, and support vital sectors,” with particular focus on health and education.

Deputy PA chairman Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed the financial boost, noting that the assistance helps the leadership in Ramallah navigate severe budgetary strain. He said the contribution ensures that key PA institutions can continue functioning and providing services to the public.

This latest transfer follows high-level engagement between the two sides. In November, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held discussions with PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, reiterating his intention to maintain strong backing for the Authority. During that meeting, the Crown Prince vowed to oppose what he described as “Israeli aggression,” to promote the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to support efforts toward releasing PA tax revenues currently withheld by Israel.

Alongside its direct support, Riyadh has also been working with global partners in recent weeks, encouraging other countries to step forward with financial contributions. Its goal, officials say, is to help stabilize the PA’s fragile economy and avert a deeper crisis that could undermine governance in Ramallah.

{Matzav.com}

El Al and the National Cyber Authority are sounding the alarm over a fresh wave of phishing attempts circulating under the airline’s name. The fraudulent campaign spreads through WhatsApp groups, social media platforms, and SMS messages, offering what appears to be a lavish “prize-winning quiz” with vouchers worth hundreds or even thousands of shekels, a promise officials stress is nothing more than “an impersonation attempt.”

One of the messages, labeled “El Al – Government Subsidies Gift,” offered a cash reward for filling out a brief survey and then pushed users to forward the link through WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. With El Al logos and formatting that mimic the company’s style, the scheme was crafted to appear authentic while quietly harvesting personal details that could later be resold or used in additional cyberattacks.

El Al has made it clear that the circulating message is not from the airline, stressing that it is a phishing scam crafted to deceive recipients and that the company has absolutely no connection to the supposed offer or any of its contents.

The airline’s warning highlights a broader trend within the cyber world. Attackers frequently target airline passengers because they are accustomed to receiving time-sensitive travel notices, booking updates, ticket confirmations, and reward alerts — making them more likely to click quickly. Yet the techniques on display here mirror the same strategies deployed daily against companies across all industries: mimicking trusted brands, creating false urgency, driving users to malicious forms, and prompting victims to spread the threat further. {Matzav.com}

Serious claims are emerging from soldiers serving in the IDF’s newly formed “Adi” company in Tzeilim, raising doubts about whether the unit is truly functioning as a chareidi framework as originally presented.

The situation came to light Monday night on the main broadcast of Kol Barama Radio, where reporter Mendy Rizel shared testimony from soldiers inside the unit. The company, created less than a year ago to provide security for the Tzeilim base, is officially designated for chareidi recruits, but the soldiers describe something very different.

Several servicemen say that most of the current members of the unit are no longer religious. They describe an environment that looks nothing like the halachically sensitive structure that the IDF had pledged to maintain for chareidi soldiers.

One soldier explained: “Most of the soldiers are formerly chareidi and are not religious at all today. The result: public Shabbos desecration, fitness training with a female instructor, and a Torah class once a month instead of every day, as the regulations require.”

Another soldier shared his pain openly: “For the first time, I started violating Shabbos during my service, because of the environment.”

A different soldier said that when he entered the program and stated that he was not religious, he was simply told, “You’ll strengthen yourself.”

According to IDF regulations, a chareidi-designated company is supposed to maintain a strict religious setting, including daily Torah learning, a fully halachically appropriate environment, and zero compromise on religious standards. The accounts coming out of the unit indicate major departures from that commitment.

In response to the reports, the IDF Spokesperson addressed the issue involving a female fitness instructor: “The incident will be investigated by the relevant command authorities and handled accordingly. In the case in question, the fitness instructor opened the gym for the soldiers but did not run the training. The IDF places great importance on maintaining suitable service conditions for chareidi soldiers and works to preserve them through inspections and ongoing command dialogue.”

The IDF further stated: “Chareidi soldiers in chareidi tracks undergo a screening and affiliation interview with the relevant authorities. The soldiers in the Adi company serve in a designated framework for soldiers from the chareidi sector with all the necessary conditions to maintain their way of life, including set times for prayers, Torah classes, and conversations with rabbanim.”

{Matzav.com}

Travelers in the United States who show up to fly without a REAL ID will soon face a new financial penalty. The Transportation Security Administration announced that starting in February, passengers lacking the federally compliant identification will be required to pay a $45 fee.

Although the REAL ID requirement has technically been in place since May, the TSA has until now allowed passengers to proceed after undergoing extra screening and receiving a reminder to update their documentation. According to the Department of Homeland Security, “94% of passengers are already compliant,” and the fee is being introduced as a stronger push for the remaining travelers to obtain the proper ID.

REAL ID licenses—recognizable in most states by a white star inside a yellow circle—meet enhanced security standards that were mandated after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Getting one generally requires bringing additional paperwork to the DMV compared to what is needed for a standard driver’s license. While the program was originally scheduled to launch back in 2008, its rollout has been postponed several times over the years.

Beginning Feb. 1, domestic flyers aged 18 and older who arrive without a REAL ID and who do not have any other approved identification, such as a passport, will be required to pay the non-refundable fee to attempt verification through TSA’s alternative identity-checking process, known as “Confirm.ID.”

TSA officials warned that “paying the fee does not guarantee verification,” and anyone whose identity cannot be confirmed may be denied entry to the secure area of the airport. For those who are approved, the identity confirmation remains valid for a 10-day travel window.

The TSA said passengers will be able to pay the fee in advance online before traveling, or at the airport—though officials cautioned that the on-site process could take as long as half an hour. Initially, the agency suggested an $18 fee, but explained it was raised to $45 after determining that the cost of running the alternative system was higher than first estimated.

Aside from REAL ID cards, other valid forms of identification include permanent resident cards, military IDs, and photo identification issued by federally recognized tribal nations. In addition, TSA accepts certain digital IDs stored in Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, and Samsung Wallet at more than 250 airports across the country.

{Matzav.com}

Former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández, sentenced last year to 45 years in prison for his role in helping drug traffickers move hundreds of tons of cocaine to the United States, was released from prison following a pardon from President Donald Trump, his wife announced Tuesday. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons inmate website showed that […]

Colombian officials have transferred a group of Lev Tahor families to the United States, saying the decision came after they determined that “the rights of some of the children in the group are at risk.” The radical group had consisted of 17 children and nine adults.

The families were taken into custody on November 22 when authorities conducted a raid at a hotel in Yarumal, a city in the country’s northwest. Officials emphasized that all of the minors were with at least one parent, but noted that five of the children — who hold American and Guatemalan citizenship — have active Interpol yellow notices. These notices are issued internationally for individuals reported missing or possibly caught in situations of parental or criminal abduction.

Over the past week, the group was housed in a government facility in Medellin. During that time, Colombia’s National Institute for Family Welfare stepped in to offer the children additional support and oversight.

Colombia’s immigration agency said that the entire group has now been flown to New York. Upon their arrival, U.S. authorities took custody. The adults will be reviewed by federal officials to determine whether there are any open cases or investigations, and the children will be placed under the supervision of Child Protective Services.

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Monday that would render participants in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel inadmissible to the United States.

The “No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act of 2025,” which Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) introduced, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to bar from the United States “any alien who carried out, participated in, planned, financed, afforded material support to or otherwise facilitated any of the attacks against Israel initiated by Hamas beginning on Oct. 7,” including members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The act’s 18 other co-sponsors, all Republicans, include Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) and Ann Wagner (R-Mo.).

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said during floor debate on the bill that Democrats supported the legislation but were opposed to amending the Immigration and Nationality Act directly to cite specific terror acts. Raskin argued that all members of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, like Hamas, are already barred from entering the United States.

“To put into perspective just how anomalous this approach is, consider our response to the 9/11 attacks and the aftermath of that catastrophe,” Raskin said. “We revised our immigration laws to overhaul significant parts of our immigration system, and we created the Department of Homeland Security.”

“Even then, we did not amend the Immigration and Naturalization Act to specifically reference the events of Sept. 11, or to bar the individuals involved in the planning or commission of those outrageous terror attacks from entering or remaining in the United States,” he said.

McClintock said that Hamas deserves to join the Nazi Party and the Palestine Liberation Organization as organizations whose members are explicitly barred from immigrating to the United States under law.

“Does anyone seriously argue that we should repeal the sanctions against persons who aided and abetted the Nazis’ Holocaust?” McClintock said. “If not, then why would they oppose extending the same sanctions to the Nazis’ would-be modern-day successors, who just two years ago slaughtered more than 1,200 innocent civilians, including children and infants and the elderly, because they were Jewish?”

McClintock cited the example of Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, a Gaza-born resident of Lafayette, La., who entered the United States in 2024 and whom the U.S. Justice Department charged about a month and a half ago for taking part in the Oct. 7 attacks.

“New laws would be helpful to prevent a future Joe Biden from making a mockery of our sovereignty and reopening our borders to the most violent criminal gangs and cartels and criminals and terrorists on the planet,” McClintock said.

Raskin asked if the new law would apply to Changpeng Zhao, former CEO of the crypto company Binance, who pleaded guilty to laundering money for terrorist organizations, including Hamas, and whom U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned in October.

McClintock said he was unfamiliar with the case.

The bill passed the House by voice vote with no objections and will now proceed to the Senate, which previously failed to take up a previous version of the legislation. JNS

{Matzav.com}

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, taking to the Kremlin an embryonic peace plan that Washington hopes can end to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine. Coinciding with Witkoff’s trip, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went to Ireland, continuing his visits to European countries […]

Israel is preparing to receive “findings” from Gaza, an Israeli security source said on Tuesday at about 1 p.m. It is unclear if the remains belong to a hostage. According to the sources, the body will soon be transferred to Israel. About an hour later, Hamas announced that it is transferring the body of a […]

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Haiti’s transitional presidential council has backed an electoral law in the latest step toward holding a general election for the first time in nearly a decade. The approval late Monday means that the government can finally publish an official and long-awaited electoral calendar, after fears that the council would try to push back the tentative […]

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Visiting Bolivia became a little easier for certain travelers on Monday, when the South American nation’s first conservative government in nearly 20 years eliminated visa requirements for citizens from the United States and Israel, among several other countries, as part of a broader geopolitical and economic overhaul. Americans and Israelis, as well as citizens of […]

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US special envoy Tom Barrack sent a message to the Iraqi government stating that Israel plans to carry out an imminent operation in Lebanon aimed at disarming Hezbollah, the Saudi outlet Al-Hadath reported on Monday. According to the report, Barrack warned Baghdad to avoid any escalation in the region and to refrain from involvement. He […]

The terrorist who committed a car ramming attack near Chevron on Monday night, lightly injuring a female soldier, was eliminated overnight Monday, hours after the attack. A manhunt was launched immediately after the attack, and with the assistance of the Shin Bet, the terrorist was found in Chevron, hiding inside the vehicle he used to carry […]

Chaos erupted near Ateret this morning when a terrorist lunged at two people at a spring outside the town, leaving both with minor injuries. Magen David Adom teams reached the location quickly and provided treatment to the wounded.

A short time earlier, the IDF had been alerted to a suspicious individual seen near Ateret. Soldiers sent to investigate confronted the suspect, and at that point, according to the military, “he began to stab the soldiers, who responded with fire and eliminated him.” The army noted that “further details are under review,” and reinforcements were rushed to secure the area.

The stabbing followed overnight unrest. Hours before the incident at the spring, a terrorist plowed his vehicle into a soldier at the Judea Junction near Chevron, leaving her lightly wounded. Troops from the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion tracked the perpetrator down later in the morning. When they approached his car, the terrorist tried to escape in a way that put the soldiers in danger, and they “responded with live fire and eliminated him.”

In parallel to these attacks, Yisroel Hayom highlighted that nearly 40 terrorists freed in recent hostage deals have since been arrested or killed in Judea, Samaria, or Yerushalayim. The report noted that these cases emerged “in the two years since the first hostage deal, and less than two months after the third,” out of approximately 700 detainees released to those areas.

The outlet added that the true number of those who reentered the terror ranks is likely higher, as “some have not yet been apprehended.” The figures cited exclude the hundreds released to Gaza or expelled abroad, many of whom are also believed to have resumed violent activity. The Shin Bet warns that additional individuals may have already returned to terrorism or could do so in the near future.

{Matzav.com}

A terrorist stabbed two IDF soldiers on Tuesday morning near the yishuv of Ateret in Binyamin, lightly wounding them. According to initial details, an Israeli civilian noted that a Palestinian was acting suspiciously and alerted IDF forces. When the soldiers arrived and began questioning him, the terrorist took out a knife and began stabbing them. […]

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