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Opposition leader Yair Lapid launched a fierce attack today against participants of the Atzeres HaMillion tefillah gathering in Yerushalayim, held to protest the drafting and imprisonment of lomdei Torah.

Lapid referred to the tens of thousands of bnei yeshiva who took part in the massive demonstration, saying: “I want to say to all the young people traveling to the ‘We will die and not enlist’ protest in Yerushalayim and marching in the streets; If you’re able to travel to a demonstration, you’re able to travel to the induction base. If you’re able to march in the streets, you’re able to march alongside your friends in the IDF.”

Lapid’s comments immediately sparked outrage across the political spectrum and on social media. In the chareidi sector, his remarks were met with anger, with many saying they reflect total ignorance of the Torah community and its values. “This is a disgraceful attempt to incite against an entire public that dedicates its life to Torah study,” said one community representative.

Political figures on the right accused Lapid of deepening the divide within the nation. “Instead of trying to understand the chareidi community, Lapid chooses to humiliate it,” one of them said.

{Matzav.com}

Tension has erupted between the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and Yeshiva Ateret Shlomo after the forum accused the institution of misusing its well-known campaign imagery.

The organization has demanded that Ateret Shlomo issue a public apology and pay 400,000 shekels in damages for what it called an “unauthorized and offensive” use of its materials in connection with the ongoing protest against the imprisonment of bnei Torah who refused to enlist in the army.

In a sharply worded statement, the forum explained that it had sent a formal legal warning to the yeshiva on Wednesday night, stating that it was taking action “following cynical, forbidden and derogatory use of symbols, designs, messages and materials belonging to the families’ struggle for the return of their loved ones.” The letter alleged that the yeshiva’s campaign “used the forum’s campaign to outrageously compare the standing of draft dodgers to that of the civilians and soldiers who were abducted because of the massive disaster that befell the people of Israel on October 7, 2023.”

“It’s hard to accept such insolence from an institution that pretends to teach the values of the Torah,” the forum declared in its message, condemning what it viewed as a distortion of a sacred national cause.

The Hostages Forum emphasized that as part of its mission, it holds exclusive rights to the phrases, images, recordings, and designs associated with its movement — including the recognizable yellow ribbon and the “Bring Them Home” posters bearing the names and faces of the abducted.

According to the complaint, Ateret Shlomo produced a parody version of these posters to advocate for the release of one of its talmidim, Ariel Shamai, who had been arrested for refusing army service. The altered poster featured the same yellow ribbon and the familiar slogan “Until the last hostage,” but replaced the words “Bring Them Home” with “Bring Him Back to Yeshiva,” alongside the yeshiva’s logo.

The forum argued that such imitation not only breached copyright protections but also crossed ethical boundaries by “utilizing plagiarism and false advertising to falsely connect the yeshiva’s message to the forum.” The letter described this as especially inappropriate given that “a yeshiva like Ateret Shlomo receives government funding.”

The document demanded immediate cessation of all use of the forum’s materials, a public apology, and financial compensation of 400,000 shekels. The forum added that if the yeshiva failed to comply within three days, it would “take further legal action against the institution as well as its leaders,” holding them personally responsible.

{Matzav.com}

GOP NJ gov candidate Jack Ciattarelli makes pledge at town hall: “Executive order No. 1 on Day 1, no town in this state will be a sanctuary city and we’ll not be a sanctuary state.”

GOP NJ gov candidate Jack Ciattarelli comes out swinging at ‘Hannity’ town hall: “Right here and now, the biggest difference between me and Mikie Sherrill, I know where the hell Point Pleasant is.”

CNN: Would you like to see [AOC] primary Chuck Schumer? ILHAN OMAR: “I would like Alex to do whatever Alex wants and I’ll be there to support her.”

New York declares a state of emergency to fund food banks as federal food aid is set to lapse. Oregon and Virginia have also issued emergency declarations to free up funds for food assistance as the federal government shutdown imperils Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Pentagon orders states’ national guards to form ‘quick reaction forces’ for ‘crowd control’ The U.S. military has issued an order to the National Guard in all 50 states and four territories to form rapid-response units that can be sent out on demand to contain civil unrest, armed with batons, body shields, Tasers, and pepper spray. An internal […]

VIDEO REPORT: Following a high-stakes meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping in South Korea, Trump announced he will cut U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. During his trip in Asia, Trump posted online that he has directed the Pentagon to resume testing of nuclear weapons, possibly ending a decades-long U.S. pause.

Democrat Rep. Janelle Bynum: “Any bill that Republicans have put forth, there’s always been a poison pill.” C-SPAN: “What were the poison pills of the clean CR?” Democrat Rep. Janelle Bynum: “You are trying to shift the responsibility to Democrats.”

Unsurprisingly, raging antisemite Ilhan Omar calls on more Democrats to endorse Communist Zohran Mamdani, insinuates Democrats who don’t are “anti-Muslim”: OMAR: “We as Democrats have always believed…we support our party’s nominee.”

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether senior leaders of the Black Lives Matter organization defrauded donors who contributed tens of millions of dollars during the 2020 protests. Investigators have issued subpoenas and executed at least one search warrant in recent weeks.

BEFORE AND AFTER: New satellite images reveal stunning scale of destruction from Hurricane Melissa up and down Jamaica’s southwest coast.

US Trade Rep. on POTUS’ Asia trip: “The President essentially went to the Eastern Pacific… and he made the U.S. presence known — and it wasn’t just about waving the flag, it was also about rallying our friends and partners around a new global trade order.”

Billionaires are spending big to stop Zohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral bid • Super PACs that support Andrew Cuomo and oppose Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor have raised over $40 million. • Bill Ackman, Ronald Lauder, William Lauder, Barry Diller and Dan Loeb have all made large donations, as well as several non-New Yorkers […]

Testing the nuclear arsenal is important to ensuring national security, US Vice President Vance said after President Trump ordered the military to resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years

During his evening broadcast on Thursday, popular Israeli radio personality Yankele Friedman addressed the massive atzeres tefillah in Yerushalayim, attended by Gedolei Yisroel from across the spectrum in solidarity with lomdei Torah. While praising the unprecedented unity and kiddush Hashem the event created, Friedman sharply criticized the dangerous behavior of dozens of young men who scaled cranes, rooftops, and construction scaffolds during the gathering.

“I want to say a word about the disturbing scenes I witnessed at this rally,” Friedman began. “These are our own people — young bochurim and avreichim. I don’t know what they were thinking. They put their lives in real danger, climbing cranes that are dozens of meters high, walking on rooftops and scaffolding. It’s a miracle, baruch Hashem, that this didn’t end in a mass tragedy.”

Friedman continued with emotion: “What’s happening to us? What is this urge to climb up and risk your life? Do you know how much a crane operator is paid to work up there? It’s a very high salary because it’s dangerous work. Do you realize how much preparation he undergoes before climbing that crane?”

He urged the public not to ignore the problem or dismiss it as minor. “Please, don’t tell me, ‘Don’t air our dirty laundry.’ This is our laundry — and it’s dirty. But we have to talk about it. Every person must warn himself, parents must warn their children and educators. What’s going on here? We came to a rally for chizuk and hisorerus, and it turned into, chas v’shalom, a situation of sakanas nefashos. It’s truly shocking.”

{Matzav.com}

Two years ago, as thousands gathered to daven on Rochel Imenu’s yahrtzeit, one mother stood sobbing at the kever. It was Yelena Trufanov, whose son Sasha had been taken hostage on October 7th. Through her tears, she whispered the same tefillah again and again: “Please… just show me he’s alive.” A mother’s tears. A mother’s […]

As the massive atzeres tefillah today in Yerushalayim concluded, MK Meir Porush — one of the key organizers of the gathering — issued a sharp warning to the government, declaring that if the campaign against bnei Torah continues, the chareidi community will be forced to escalate its response.

In an interview with Avi Mimran on Mahadura Hamercazit, Porush opened with words of gratitude: “First and foremost, we must thank the public who responded to the call of the gedolei Yisroel and came to stand in support of lomdei Torah. It was a tremendous event, a true kiddush Hashem.”

Porush stressed that the enormous turnout was a clear message to those seeking to undermine the Torah world. “Those who are trying to harm us saw today a massive public standing against them — a public that will not allow anyone to harm lomdei Torah,” he said. “To harm lomdei Torah is to take on the tens of thousands who filled the streets of Yerushalayim this evening.”

Addressing the transportation issues that arose before the rally, Porush revealed that the challenges stemmed from last-minute changes by Israel Railways. “The announcement by the train company came as a complete surprise, contrary to everything that had been agreed upon,” he explained. “We held countless meetings with the authorities to arrange travel logistics for the atzeres. In the end, we managed to partially reverse the decision, and trains operated until 2:00 p.m.”

Porush concluded the interview with a warning to government officials: “Today’s rally came after red lines were crossed and lomdei Torah were kept under arrest for too long. If the persecution of lomdei Torah continues, we will have no choice but to take further action.”

{Matzav.com}

A remarkable display of kavod haTorah unfolded in Los Angeles as a delegation of Gedolei Yisroel arrived on behalf of Keren Olam HaTorah. The delegation, which arrived early Tuesday, October 21, was led by Harav Dov Landau, shlit”a, accompanied by Harav Yaakov Hillel, shlit”a, Harav Chaim Peretz Berman, shlit”a, Harav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, shlit”a, Harav […]