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Reb Menachem Klugman, one of the longest-serving and most prominent writers and commentators at the Hamodia newspaper and a distinguished Gerer chossid, passed away Monday at the age of 90.

Reb Menachem fainted Monday morning at his home on Rechov HaRav Shach in Bnei Brak, prompting emergency responders to rush to the residence. Several hours later, he passed away.

The levayah was held this evening, departing from his home at 58 Rechov Rav Shach in Bnei Brak and proceeding via the Gerer shtiebel on Strasser Street to the Kiryat Shaul Cemetery, where he was to be laid to rest.

Reb Menachem was born on 22 Kislev 5696 to his father, Reb Yitzchok Avigdor Klugman, and his mother, Elke. His parents raised him with a strong commitment to Torah and refined middos.

Upon reaching marriageable age, he married the daughter of Reb Yehuda Aryeh Leib Halevi “Leibel” Ehrenstein.

Reb Menachem became one of the defining figures of an earlier era of Chareidi journalism. For decades, he served as a leading writer at Hamodia, where much of his writing appeared under the pen name M. Navon.

His sharp writing and strong hashkafic perspective helped shape Chareidi public opinion on some of the most contentious issues involving religion and state. Remarkably, his final column appeared in Hamodia just this past Friday, Erev Shabbos, on the newspaper’s opinion pages under the headline, “The Left Is Convinced of Its Victory.”

Friends and acquaintances recalled his extraordinary dedication to his writing and to conveying a Torah outlook. In recent years, his physical condition weakened considerably and he completely lost his eyesight. Yet he refused to put down his proverbial pen. He continued formulating his articles with the same depth and regularly dictated them to his son, Reb Ben Tzion Klugman.

Reb Menachem was also an accomplished talmid chochom with outstanding middos who possessed an extensive command of Shas. Alongside his decades of journalism and commentary, he devoted himself diligently to Torah learning. He was a respected figure in Bnei Brak and one of the leading members of the Gerer Strasser shtiebel in the city. Known for his pleasant demeanor and warm countenance, he treated everyone graciously. Whenever he spoke publicly, his words were listened to with seriousness and close attention, reflecting the great respect accorded to his perceptive and Torah-based outlook.

A prominent Gerer chossid, Reb Menachem enjoyed a deep and close relationship with the Gerer Rebbes over the generations and with the current Gerer Rebbe. His work at Hamodia and throughout his years of communal involvement was characterized by complete loyalty and deference to the directives of the Gedolei Yisroel and the leaders of the community.

He became particularly renowned for his legendary Hamodia opinion column, “Ipcha Mistabra.” Through the column, Reb Menachem articulated the Chareidi position on contemporary issues with clarity, wit and conviction, consistently defending what he regarded as the authentic Torah perspective.

His contributions extended well beyond journalism. For many years, Reb Menachem served as deputy chairman of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Religious Council as a representative of Agudas Yisroel. In that capacity, he worked extensively to strengthen religious observance in the city, particularly in matters involving Shabbos, mikvaos and kashrus.

Reb Menachem was also the patriarch of a family of respected Chareidi writers and journalists. His son, Reb Ben Tzion Klugman, is a noted Chareidi author and researcher who wrote the Torah-historical series Ohr Zarua LaTzaddik, chronicling the history of the Gerer Rebbes.

Reb Menachem leaves behind an extensive legacy and generations of descendants, including sons, a daughter, grandchildren and further descendants who are devoted to Torah and mitzvos and continue in the path of Torah and Chassidus.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah this evening of the Sanzer Rebbe of Boro Park, Rav Boruch Halberstam zt”l, who was renowned for decades of extraordinary chesed and hachnosas orchim. He was 70 years old.

A descendant of the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, the Rebbe was particularly known for opening his heart and home to Yidden from throughout the community. His dedication to hachnosas orchim became one of the defining features of his life.

The Rebbe was the oldest son of the previous Sanzer Rebbe of Boro Park zt”l, continuing the distinguished lineage of the Sanz dynasty. He was the son-in-law of Rav Yechiel Michel Rottenberg zt”l of Kosson-Kozova.

For many years, Rav Boruch worked at his father’s side while devoting himself extensively to communal needs. He earned a reputation as one of Boro Park’s great addresses for hachnosas orchim, arranging places for thousands of visitors to stay over the years. Whether guests were accommodated in private homes or other designated facilities, the Rebbe worked to ensure that their needs were properly addressed.

Following his father’s petirah, Rav Boruch, as the eldest son, succeeded him and assumed responsibility for carrying forward the Sanzer legacy in Boro Park. He led the Sanzer Bais Medrash on 48th Street near 16th Avenue, becoming a source of guidance, encouragement and assistance for mispallelim and members of the broader community.

Several years ago, the Rebbe became seriously ill, beginning a lengthy and painful period marked by considerable suffering and repeated hospitalizations.

In recent days, the Rebbe’s condition took a significant turn for the worse. Earlier today, the name Simcha was added as a zechus for a refuah sheleimah. Sadly, tonight, the Rebbe was niftar.

The Rebbe leaves behind a distinguished family of children following in his ways.

The levayah is taking place now at the Sanzer Bais Medrash at 16th Avenue and 48th Street in Boro Park.

Yehi zichro baruch.

A delegation of leading Gedolei Yisroel arrived in Mexico City on Sunday afternoon following a nearly 20-hour journey, launching a major fundraising mission on behalf of Keren Olam HaTorah that has already included an emergency gathering, meetings with prominent Torah supporters, a wedding appearance and a dramatic $1 million commitment inspired by a historic letter from Rav Yerucham Levovitz of Mir.

The special mission began on Motzoei Shabbos, when Rav Yaakov Hillel, Rav Avraham Salim, Rav Shimon Galai, Rav Yehoshua Eichenstein and Rav Yosef Chevroni departed for Mexico. They were joined from the United States by Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva Rav Malkiel Kotler and by Tiferes Avigdor Rosh Yeshiva Rav Yisroel Brog.

The delegation landed in Mexico City on Sunday afternoon after close to 20 hours of travel. Distinguished members and representatives of the local Jewish community were waiting at the airport to greet the Gedolei Yisroel, where a special reception was held. The commander of the Mexico City police also participated in the welcoming ceremony.

After leaving the airport, the Gedolei Yisroel traveled in a motorcade to a series of gatherings scheduled throughout Mexico City. Police vehicles accompanied the convoy as part of the security arrangements and special honors accorded to the delegation.

Later in the day, an emergency meeting and inaugural gathering was held at the home of philanthropist Rabbi Daniel Salvador, president of the Monte Sinai community, which represents Jews of Syrian and Damascus origin in Mexico. Local rabbanim and numerous supporters of Torah from the region attended the gathering at his home in the Bosques neighborhood.

The meeting served as a launching point for the emergency fundraising campaign in the region, with the Gedolei Yisroel speaking about the urgency of the current situation and the responsibility to come to the aid of the Torah world. One particularly emotional moment came when Rav Shimon Galai danced with the philanthropists to the words, “Tov li Toras picha mei’alfei zahav vachesef” — “The Torah of Your mouth is better for me than thousands in gold and silver.”

The Gedolei Yisroel subsequently visited the home of philanthropist Rabbi Isser Rabinowitz, where another special gathering was held. They urged members of the community to continue the historic partnership between Jewish philanthropists and the Torah world, emphasizing the particular importance of that support during the current period.

Rav Yisroel Avigdor, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Tiferes Avigdor, told those assembled that supporting Keren Olam HaTorah represents an investment unlike any other. He compared it to investing in the finest possible real estate, “even in the Empire State Building.”

Rav Yosef Chevroni likewise spoke about the unique opportunity of the moment, declaring, “The moment Moshiach arrives, there will no longer be an opportunity to give money. Grab this opportunity now.”

During the evening, the delegation attended the major wedding celebration joining two families that support Keren Olam HaTorah. The chosson, a son of philanthropist Rabbi Yosef Sanado, married the daughter of philanthropist Rabbi Yitzchok Ashkenazi. The wedding was held at the Beit Yosef synagogue in the Tecamachalco neighborhood, where members of the community welcomed the Gedolei Yisroel with great honor.

A special dinner was held afterward at the home of philanthropist Rabbi Adolf Matzliach, who welcomed the Gedolei Yisroel and the other guests attending the gathering.

Rav Eichenstein spoke about the importance of unity and identifying oneself as part of the broader Jewish community, saying, “An important thing that we must work on during the days of Elul is to be part of the community, to be one body with all of Klal Yisroel.”

One of the most moving moments of the dinner came when Miami philanthropist Rabbi Tzvi Bogomilsky related a remarkable story involving a letter written by Rav Yerucham Levovitz of Mir. Rabbi Bogomilsky said he discovered the letter before hosting a dinner at his home, and the message he found in it ultimately inspired him to contribute $1 million to Keren Olam HaTorah.

Addressing those assembled, Rabbi Bogomilsky spoke about the language shared by Jews everywhere—the love of Torah and the Jewish heart.

“I don’t speak English or Spanish, but there is one thing we all speak: the language of the heart. Travel anywhere in the world, everyone learns the same Torah, and therefore we will all contribute to Keren Olam HaTorah.”

The Mexico mission is continuing with additional gatherings and meetings as the Gedolei Yisroel seek to strengthen financial support for the Torah world and deepen the partnership between Mexican Jewish philanthropists and the yeshivos and kollelim whose continued existence Keren Olam HaTorah was established to support.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration is preparing to revoke business and tourist visas held by as many as 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are seeking asylum in the United States, a sweeping initiative that would amount to the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history.

The State Department, working together with the Department of Homeland Security, is expected to announce that B1 and B2 visas issued since 2016 will be revoked for affected individuals, according to two U.S. officials and State Department documents obtained by The Associated Press.

“We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told The Hill.

Pigott would not confirm how many people will ultimately lose their visas, emphasizing that the total could change as officials continue reviewing cases.

The “number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis.”

Officials told the AP that losing a B1 or B2 visa would not automatically lead to an individual’s immediate deportation. Those with pending asylum applications would instead have their status changed to reflect that they are no longer in the country as business or tourist visitors.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau defended the initiative Monday, arguing that the asylum process has been exploited by people who entered the United States after representing themselves as temporary visitors.

“People in the U.S. and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote on social media Monday. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration laws; rather, it’s supposed to provide a narrow safe harbor for persons persecuted because of their ‘race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.’”

Landau said the large number of questionable applications has overwhelmed the asylum system, creating years-long delays while applicants remain in the country.

He added that the asylum system “has long been swamped by frivolous asylum claims, meaning that it takes years to adjudicate whether applicants are actually entitled to asylum—during which time they can typically work, have children, and otherwise put down roots in our country.”

Applicants currently seeking B1 or B2 visas are required to affirm that they do not intend to seek asylum once they arrive in the United States and must demonstrate that they plan to return to their home countries.

President Trump has moved aggressively to tighten visa and asylum policies since returning to the White House last year. The State Department has since revoked approximately 175,000 visas belonging to people convicted of or accused of various crimes, as well as individuals who have publicly opposed U.S. policies in the Middle East.

The administration took another step last month by restricting asylum seekers’ access to interviews in which their claims would ordinarily be evaluated. Under the new approach, immigration officers can instead direct migrants into immigration court and deportation proceedings.

That change allows migrants to be moved rapidly into the immigration court system without first receiving an opportunity to present their asylum claims to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

{Matzav.com}

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Monday that the Trump administration is keeping military action against Iran firmly on the table, making clear that Washington’s newly launched campaign of intense economic pressure does not preclude additional strikes against Tehran.

“By no means are we foreclosing using kinetic strikes anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz or around Iran,” Hegseth told reporters.

Hegseth also argued that Iran is incapable of withstanding the mounting economic pressure being imposed by the United States.

His remarks came just hours after US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced “Operation Economic Outcast,” an expansive new American effort designed to economically isolate Iran and choke off revenue streams that support the Iranian regime.

Bessent compared the new campaign to the Allied offensive launched in the aftermath of D-Day during World War II, portraying the economic measures as a broad assault on Iran’s international financial connections.

“Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe.”

“Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” he added.

The Treasury Secretary also put governments, businesses and other entities around the world on notice that continued economic dealings with Iran could carry consequences. He specifically cited Iranian petroleum purchases and transportation, exchange houses, free-trade zones, aviation, shipping, banking and fuel transfers as areas under scrutiny.

“The President is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime,” Bessent said, adding that US officials were already seeing results,” said Bessent.

“Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership. Those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime,” he stated.

The announcement by Bessent came several days after President Trump unveiled the broader economic offensive against Iran. Writing on Truth Social last Wednesday, Trump characterized the initiative as “an economic D-Day” and warned governments continuing to provide Tehran with economic assistance that they could face repercussions.

“These maniacs are on the ropes, and these HISTORIC MEASURES will cripple them and their ability to project terror worldwide. IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” he wrote.

{Matzav.com}

Yanis Yushvaev, a notorious Israeli underworld figure described by authorities as one of the country’s most dangerous organized-crime bosses, was shot and killed at close range Sunday at a gas station in Caesarea, a decade after surviving an earlier attempt on his life.

Yushvaev, identified as the leader of the Caucasian Mafia, was walking out of the gas station with two other men when an assassin followed closely behind them and opened fire, according to disturbing surveillance footage of the attack.

Video of the killing shows the gunman, dressed in a gray hoodie and baseball cap, trailing Yushvaev and his companions as they left the station. As the group reached the steps outside, the attacker pulled out a handgun and shot Yushvaev at point-blank range.

Authorities are still searching for the killer, who may have used a silicone mask as part of a disguise to conceal his identity and make it more difficult for investigators to track him down.

Yushvaev, whom police have described as the head of a “criminal gang involved in blood feuds,” fell to the ground after being struck. The two men accompanying him appeared terrified as the shooting unfolded, apparently not realizing until it was too late that the attacker had been directly behind them.

Emergency medical personnel who arrived at the scene found Yushvaev critically wounded and were unable to save him.

Yushvaev had “no pulse and was not breathing, and was suffering from significant injuries,” medics said before pronouncing him dead.

Despite his reputation with law enforcement, Yushvaev maintained that he was a legitimate businessman rather than an organized-crime leader. He described himself as a “very-well established” businessman and said he owned a restaurant.

Police, however, had arrested Yushvaev repeatedly over the years on suspicion of involvement in serious violent crimes, including shootings, grenade attacks and the torching of vehicles. Despite those investigations, authorities repeatedly failed to secure convictions against him.

His killing came only six months after police arrested him at Ben Gurion Airport as he returned to Israel from Moscow.

According to reports, investigators had received intelligence suggesting Yushvaev was preparing to target criminal rivals. Despite those suspicions, authorities ultimately did not charge him in that case.

Yushvaev had also been detained in recent years in connection with investigations into shootings and arson attacks, but those cases similarly ended without charges being filed against him.

In 2021, however, prosecutors indicted Yushvaev after he allegedly threatened to shoot a businessman unless the man handed over $1.1 million.

Yushvaev was arrested again in June 2025 over allegations that he was involved in shootings targeting homes and businesses in Or Akiva. He was subsequently released without being charged.

Within Israel’s criminal underworld, Yushvaev was reportedly known for demanding “complete loyalty” from those working beneath him and for taking extensive precautions to prevent authorities from gathering evidence against him. He “almost never [talked] on the phone” because of concerns that investigators could be listening to his conversations.

Those methods reportedly made building successful criminal cases against him exceptionally difficult despite years of police scrutiny.

“It’s hard to convict him, and that’s frustrating,” an Israeli police source told Channel 12 last October.

{Matzav.com}

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday unveiled a $4 billion proposal to rebuild the deteriorating Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, offering the latest attempt to solve a decades-old infrastructure crisis that has frustrated successive New York City administrations.

Under the plan, the badly deteriorated stacked section of the highway known as the triple-cantilever would be reconstructed rather than torn down entirely, an option that some residents and activists have advocated over the years. Construction is not expected to begin before 2030, and the entire project could take approximately a decade to complete.

To prevent tens of thousands of vehicles from being diverted onto neighborhood streets during the massive construction project, the city plans to erect a temporary highway alongside Brooklyn Bridge Park. Mamdani outlined the proposal Monday in a social-media video explaining how traffic would continue moving while the existing structure is rebuilt.

“This will extend the life of the BQE for another 40 years,” he said. “This plan allows us to safely fix the current problem, without slowing our city down and wasting decades more waiting while the BQE continues to get worse.”

The proposal follows years of unsuccessful efforts by previous City Hall administrations to determine what to do with the aging expressway.

Mayors Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams both considered various solutions for the deteriorating cantilever, which sits within a roughly 1.5-mile section of the BQE between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street in Brooklyn that is controlled exclusively by New York City.

Those efforts repeatedly stalled. One of the most controversial came in 2018, when the de Blasio administration proposed temporarily routing highway traffic over the Brooklyn Heights Promenade while the BQE was repaired.

The prospect of losing access to the popular promenade for approximately six years triggered fierce opposition from Brooklyn Heights residents. The backlash helped derail the proposal, and de Blasio eventually retreated from it, announcing a different approach three years later centered on preserving the existing highway structure.

The Adams administration later sought federal assistance for a more comprehensive long-term reconstruction of the BQE but failed to secure the involvement it wanted.

At the same time, officials under Adams performed significant planning work that ultimately helped pave the way for the proposal Mamdani announced Monday, according to Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens), who accused the current administration of claiming credit for work begun before Mamdani took office.

“This is becoming standard operating procedure for this administration … The mayor and his team are taking all the credit for a project that started well before he was in office,” she said.

“It is insulting to everyone who worked on this before, but his propaganda machine is doing a great job of convincing the masses that Zohran Mamdani single-handedly is going to get the BQE repaired and save New York City.”

Whatever administration gets the credit, a major difference between Mamdani’s proposal and previous plans involves where motorists would be routed while the reconstruction is underway.

Instead of sending traffic across the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the city would construct a temporary two-level highway over Furman Street, stretching from Atlantic Avenue to Columbia Heights and allowing vehicles to continue traveling beneath the promenade.

City officials said the temporary bypass would rise to approximately the same height as the existing Queens-bound portion of the expressway.

Plans also call for another temporary elevated highway beginning at Columbia Heights and extending above the Brooklyn Bridge approach toward the Manhattan Bridge, providing an additional route for traffic while crews work on the permanent highway.

The BQE, conceived under influential and controversial New York City planner Robert Moses, opened in 1957 and has since become one of the city’s most heavily traveled transportation arteries.

Speaking at an unrelated press conference in Queens on Monday, Mamdani said delaying a permanent solution carries an enormous financial cost. He estimated that maintaining the deteriorating BQE costs New York City approximately $160 million each year that the highway remains unrepaired.

“The plan does require a bypass, a four-lane bypass, at the level just below the promenade,” he said.

Mamdani argued that placing the temporary roadway below the promenade would avoid much of the disruption that doomed previous proposals while still allowing the massive reconstruction project to proceed.

“Previous proposals had put that bypass on the promenade, which would have been quite disruptive. We feel this proposal does lessen the community impacts of prior proposals.”

{Matzav.com}

The NYPD is still trying to identify and locate three people caught on video climbing out of a manhole just steps from Penn Station last week, an unsettling incident that has prompted a police investigation and raised security concerns because of the location’s proximity to one of New York City’s busiest transportation hubs, the NY Post reports.

No arrests had been made as of Monday in connection with the bizarre Aug. 18 episode, in which the three individuals emerged from beneath the street near Penn Station and Madison Square Garden before quickly leaving the area.

The sight has alarmed some New Yorkers and visitors, particularly because of the sensitive infrastructure beneath Midtown Manhattan.

“I just immediately thought, reconnaissance, 9/11,” said an Arizona tourist named Mark to The Post in packed Herald Square in Manhattan.

“If you’re an Iranian soldier, you need to cripple New York City? Under Penn Station? Under Madison Square Garden? Aren’t all the train lines crisscrossing here?”

Video of the incident shows three people wearing headlamps and overalls pulling themselves from a sanitation and drainage manhole at approximately 4:20 a.m. on Aug. 18. The manhole is about 150 feet from Penn Station and only a block from Madison Square Garden. After reaching street level, the three quickly walked away.

An employee working with Vornado Realty Trust, the developer behind the nearby Penn 2 project, said police had been canvassing the heavily traveled neighborhood in an effort to obtain surveillance video that might provide additional information about the mysterious group.

“The more they told me about it, the more I wanted to get transferred to another area,” the man said.

The strange episode bears similarities to two incidents involving so-called “mole people” in Brooklyn earlier this year. Those cases resulted in several arrests, with authorities saying they believed the individuals involved had entered underground infrastructure while searching for valuables.

Investigators have gathered surveillance recordings that may have captured the three people involved in the Penn Station incident, according to law-enforcement sources. Police hope to use facial-recognition technology to identify them, track them down and determine why they were underground.

Authorities apparently did not learn about the Aug. 18 incident until Sunday, after footage showing the group emerging from the manhole began circulating widely on social media.

“The NYPD is aware of the incident and is actively investigating,” the Police Department said in a statement to The Post on Monday.

“There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.The incident occurred on August 18, 2026 at 0419 hours at the southeast corner of West 31st Street and 7th Avenue.”

Despite the alarming location, investigators said there is currently no evidence that the three were engaged in anything more serious than illegally entering restricted underground infrastructure.

A law-enforcement source said, “There is nothing to indicate there is any criminal activity here besides trespassing.

“The manhole covers lead to the sewer system. But who knows what someone is doing down there if they are looking to cause [trouble].”

Another law-enforcement source said people entering the city’s underground infrastructure is not as unusual as it might appear, with some trespassers apparently believing they can find valuable objects below ground.

Another source called the situation “not uncommon.

“Mostly people who do this think there’s treasure. Precious metals. Lost property.

“Yes, [the sewer-hunting is] not ideal from a security standpoint. But it’s [the city Department of Environmental Protection’s] infrastructure to secure,” the source added.

The city Department of Environmental Protection oversees thousands of miles of sewer and drainage infrastructure beneath New York City. Asked Monday about the latest episode, a DEP representative referred to the agency’s statement from Sunday, which said an inspection had uncovered no damage to the underground system.

“Members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole or outfall,” it said.

Law-enforcement officials said investigators are considering whether the Penn Station incident could have an explanation similar to the earlier Brooklyn cases.

In May, groups of people were recorded entering or emerging from manholes in separate incidents in Williamsburg and Gravesend, prompting investigations by the NYPD.

At least four people were ultimately charged with trespassing in connection with those episodes. Law-enforcement sources said the individuals were apparently exploring underground areas in hopes of finding valuables.

Other officials have floated another possible explanation for the Penn Station episode: the three could have staged their underground adventure to produce social-media content. The fact that the activity was being recorded during the early-morning hours has contributed to speculation that the stunt may have been intended for TikTok or another platform.

“It could be anything,” said Ari, a fashion worker in the Manhattan neighborhood. “Kind of sketchy the way they’re running away after they come out of the hole.”

{Matzav.com}

A coalition representing immigrant-owned grocery stores and bodegas sued New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday in an effort to stop his planned network of taxpayer-funded supermarkets, arguing that the city-run stores would unfairly compete with private businesses and could inflict the same kind of damage officials have long warned Walmart would cause if it entered the city.

The Multicultural Business Coalition, an alliance of 50 chambers of commerce representing businesses from a wide range of ethnic communities, filed two lawsuits in New York state court. One is a seven-page class-action complaint brought on behalf of “hundreds” of store owners who are “members of groups historically discriminated against.”

According to the class-action filing, allowing the municipal supermarkets to begin operating would violate the civil rights of those business owners.

A second lawsuit, a 13-page action filed in New York state Supreme Court, argues that Mamdani’s government-run supermarkets would create many of the same competitive concerns that have surrounded Walmart’s repeated attempts to establish a presence in New York City.

The Arkansas-based retail giant has tried unsuccessfully for years to gain a foothold in the city, facing intense resistance from elected officials and organized labor. Opponents have repeatedly argued that Walmart’s deep discounts and enormous purchasing power would devastate neighborhood stores and other small businesses.

Mamdani’s municipal supermarkets “have pledged to sell food items 30% below the market-rate, a rate that rivals or exceeds Walmart discounts,” according to the second filing.

The lawsuit compared the city’s proposal to “allowing Walmart to operate deep discount business, while bringing ‘affordability’” and argued that such a policy “would eliminate an untold amount of opportunity for minority businesses and small business at large.”

The coalition also alleges that Mamdani and his administration unveiled the supermarket initiative without conducting a “proper review” of its potential consequences. The suit contends that the city should have undertaken a land-use and economic analysis examining how taxpayer-supported grocery stores would affect existing neighborhood businesses before selecting locations.

“There is no extant evidence that the respondents have undertaken any studies and or serious analysis before its current arbitrary site selection,” according to the second filing.

“It is beyond debate that the municipal grocery stores openly compete with the grocery stores at large,” MBC alleges.

The coalition further maintains that City Hall “failed to study the discriminatory effects” the government supermarkets could have on family-operated bodegas and grocery stores owned by Hispanic, Arab and Asian entrepreneurs. The lawsuit is asking a judge to require the city to conduct an economic-impact analysis before moving forward.

Mamdani, questioned about the litigation during an unrelated press conference in Queens on Monday, defended the supermarket initiative and predicted it would survive the court challenge.

“I’m confident both in the legality of this, that it will stand up in court and the importance of delivering it”

The Multicultural Business Coalition was organized earlier this year specifically to fight Mamdani’s supermarket proposal. The initiative is expected to cost taxpayers $70 million to establish five city-owned stores, which are slated to offer basic groceries such as produce, meat, milk, cheese and bread at prices roughly 30% below prevailing levels. City Hall estimates that customers could save about $90 per month, or approximately $1,000 annually.

The first announced location is at La Marqueta, the food marketplace in East Harlem.

“My grandfather opened up one of the first bodegas in the late 1960s when East Harlem was burning and the A&Ps and Waldbaums were leaving,” said MBC Chairman Frank Garcia.

“He established the first Latino Grocery Association to protect the rights of immigrant store owners. I am proud to be following up in his tradition because what Mayor Mamdani is doing is disgracing his memory.”

MBC President Ken Roldan accused Mamdani of pursuing a policy that directly threatens the very minority and working-class entrepreneurs the mayor has portrayed himself as seeking to help.

“Make no mistake about this plan,” MBC’s president Ken Roldan said in a statement. “It is a direct assault on minority business by a mayor who claims to be a champion of disenfranchised poor and working-class New Yorkers.”

Neither lawsuit currently names the individual businesses that claim they will be harmed by the first two city-run supermarkets. One is planned for La Marqueta in East Harlem, while another is slated for Hunts Point in the Bronx at the site of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center. Locations for the proposed Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island supermarkets have not yet been made public.

Roldan told The Post that the coalition expects to announce the first named plaintiffs at a press conference later this week. The court filings will then be amended to formally add those businesses to the litigation.

Some small-store owners have also expressed fears that publicly challenging City Hall could expose them to retaliation, according to Roldan. He said owners are concerned that the administration could scrutinize their permits and licenses and use regulatory violations to impose fines or otherwise pressure them.

“We will spotlight it if they are picked on,” Roldan said.

Jairo Guzman, president of the NY State Mexican Chamber of Commerce, said immigrant communities have spent generations building the neighborhood food businesses that have become a defining part of New York City.

“The Puerto Ricans were the bodega pioneers and they were followed by the Dominicans, the Arabs, the Koreans, the Chinese and finally my Mexican business members,” said Jairo Guzman, president of the NY State Mexican Chamber of Commerce in a statement.

“Food retailing–from bodegas to supermarkets- is New York City’s great mosaic. Mayor Mamdani needs to withdraw his disastrous plan and work with us to find different ways to bolster and sustain what so many (New York City) immigrants have created.”

{Matzav.com}

The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the Trump administration to proceed, at least temporarily, with major portions of President Donald Trump’s effort to tighten rules surrounding mail-in voting, handing the White House an important legal victory just months before the November midterm elections.

In an unsigned order, the justices suspended a lower-court ruling that had barred the administration from moving ahead with provisions of Trump’s March executive order dealing with the U.S. Postal Service and state voter-eligibility records. The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices dissented.

The ruling, however, does not mean that the Postal Service can immediately begin enforcing its newly developed procedures for handling mail ballots.

A separate nationwide injunction issued on Aug. 11 by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston continues to prohibit USPS from putting those procedures into effect for the Nov. 3 elections. The Trump administration would need to successfully challenge that injunction before the Postal Service could implement the changes.

That distinction played a significant role in the Supreme Court’s reasoning.

The majority concluded that Trump’s executive order does not, on its own, compel states to alter their election procedures. Rather, the order instructs federal agencies to formulate policies that could eventually establish new conditions or requirements affecting states.

Because those federal policies had not yet taken effect when a coalition of 23 states and Washington, D.C., filed suit challenging the executive order, the justices determined that the lawsuit had been brought prematurely.

At the same time, the Supreme Court made clear that Monday’s ruling should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the legality of Trump’s executive order or of measures subsequently developed by federal agencies to carry it out.

“The Court’s disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful,” the majority wrote. “On that score, time will tell.”

The Postal Service finalized regulations last week aimed at implementing part of Trump’s directive. Among other changes, the rules establish new requirements governing ballot envelopes and barcodes, as well as information that states would be required to furnish to USPS.

Those regulations cannot yet take effect because they remain covered by Talwani’s separate nationwide injunction.

The broader legal battle will now continue before the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The dispute is unfolding against an increasingly tight election calendar, with some states preparing to begin sending ballots to military personnel and Americans living overseas in early September.

{Matzav.com}

Despite increasingly serious talk of Degel HaTorah breaking away from Agudas Yisroel ahead of the upcoming Knesset elections, the two factions are still expected to ultimately run together under the United Torah Judaism banner — but Degel is preparing to demand a dramatically different arrangement that could significantly strengthen its position on the joint slate.

While the Chassidishe side has largely projected an atmosphere of business as usual, intensive discussions have been taking place within Degel HaTorah over the possibility of ending the longstanding electoral partnership. Senior Degel officials are simultaneously developing a strategy that could give the Litvishe faction considerably greater leverage even if, as many expect, the two sides ultimately remain together.

In recent weeks, Degel representatives have reportedly held numerous meetings regarding a possible independent run. Unlike previous election cycles, when talk of splitting from Agudas Yisroel surfaced before eventually disappearing, senior Degel officials are said to be seriously exploring the possibility this time, in consultation with the homes of the Gedolei Yisroel.

Over the past week, Degel representatives have also reportedly met with research institutes and expert sociologists as they attempt to assess the faction’s true electoral strength and the feasibility of running separately.

A senior Degel HaTorah official explained that the party’s frustration with Agudas Yisroel has been building for years.

“True, every election cycle we want to free ourselves from the heavy burden of Agudas Yisroel, but each time we give in at the last moment, because we are responsible and do not want to create a situation in which Agudas Yisroel would not cross the electoral threshold on its own, which is indeed what would happen if it ran alone, and at this point it is also not showing signs of or negotiating other alliances,” the official said.

But he said events during the most recent Knesset term have significantly worsened relations between the two factions.

“But,” the official continued, “in the last term, all the lines were crossed from our perspective. Parts of Agudas Yisroel, who are in the Knesset thanks to Degel HaTorah voters, behaved like they were the bosses and caused tremendous damage and destruction from our perspective, and therefore the current situation cannot continue.”

Despite those grievances, the official acknowledged that Degel and Agudas Yisroel will probably end up running together again.

“This time as well,” he said, “we will apparently ultimately run together. It’s just that the current talk about running separately is genuine and is intended to position us higher in the negotiations.”

He then outlined the strategy Degel is considering.

“We are telling Agudas Yisroel: This time we are running separately, and we are placing the four members of Knesset who currently represent us in the first four slots. If any party within Agudas Yisroel wants to run together with us, it is more than welcome, but every party will be placed from the fifth slot onward, so that it can prove what it is really worth.”

Such an arrangement would constitute a major departure from the traditional power-sharing formula between Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisroel. Rather than automatically alternating or dividing the most desirable positions between the Litvishe and Chassidishe factions, Degel would effectively claim the first four slots and force individual Chassidishe factions to demonstrate their electoral strength.

According to the Degel official, the proposal is intended to settle a longstanding dispute over the relative voting strength of the Litvishe and Chassidishe communities.

“For the first time, we will be able to examine the strength of the Chassidic communities,” he said. “After all, we know, and it is proven every election cycle, that many Chassidim do not vote at all. Some because they have no interest, some even vote for other parties, and so on. Only among the Litvishe community is there nearly complete discipline and obedience to the Gedolei Yisroel. Therefore, this time our approach is to put the burden of proof on them. If they do not want to do it, it will be impossible to say that we did not want to run together or that, Heaven forbid, we caused the Chareidi community to lose votes.”

The proposed maneuver suggests that Degel HaTorah is determined not to enter another joint campaign under the same terms as in previous elections. Even if an eventual compromise is reached, Degel is expected to insist that its four incumbent Knesset members receive the top four positions on the slate.

That demand could have significant consequences for the internal balance of power within United Torah Judaism and for the placement of Agudas Yisroel’s representatives.

Not everyone within Degel HaTorah, however, is enthusiastic about the strategy.

One Degel Knesset member dismissed the entire discussion as counterproductive.

“It’s all hot air. In the end they will run together. We are simply embarrassing ourselves all over again every election cycle. I think it would be better if they stopped dealing entirely with the issue of Litvishe strength and started dealing with the elections themselves,” he said.

The Knesset member went even further, arguing that there is no realistic prospect of Degel actually contesting the election independently.

“It’s all fantasies. There is no real feasibility for a separate run, so I truly don’t understand what all the talk and leaks are for. It’s simply embarrassing and makes us look pathetic. If you want to separate — you separate. As long as they keep talking, it means nothing will happen, because there is nothing.”

That position is reportedly a minority view within Degel, where senior officials continue to take the possibility of a split seriously.

At the same time, however, there are now signs that formal negotiations toward another joint run are beginning.

Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni has reportedly instructed party officials to open negotiations with Agudas Yisroel. Until now, despite all the public discussion surrounding the future of United Torah Judaism, the two sides had reportedly not held a formal meeting on the matter.

Moshe Shiffman, Degel HaTorah’s financial official, has been tasked with conducting the negotiations and is expected to meet soon with representatives of the Chassidishe factions.

The situation inside Agudas Yisroel is hardly tranquil either.

Tensions have been simmering between Shlomei Emunim and Belz on one side and Ger on the other, including disputes over financial matters dating back several years as well as disagreements over economic issues ahead of the coming election.

Despite the bitter internal rivalry, the Chassidishe factions have already held discussions about running together in the upcoming election.

Within Ger, meanwhile, the Gerer Rebbe is expected to keep Knesset member Yitzchok Goldknopf in his position, along with Goldknopf’s longtime close aide, Motti Babchik.

For now, therefore, the most likely outcome remains another joint Degel HaTorah-Agudas Yisroel ticket.

But if Degel’s emerging strategy is any indication, another joint run does not necessarily mean a return to business as usual. The Litvishe faction appears determined to use the threat of going it alone to rewrite the internal balance of power — and force its Chassidishe partners to prove at the ballot box just how many votes they actually bring to the table.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s High Court of Justice on Monday issued an interim order blocking the transfer of NIS 286 million in coalition funds earmarked for Chareidi educational institutions, while demanding that the Knesset Finance Committee chairman and the Finance Ministry explain why the transfers should not be canceled altogether.

The court issued an order to show cause regarding the funding and simultaneously barred the government from transferring the money until a final decision is reached in the petition.

The NIS 286 million designated for Chareidi education consists of two separate transfers approved by the Knesset Finance Committee on August 4, 2026.

The larger allocation totals NIS 270 million and relates to budget requests 151 through 153. A second allocation of NIS 16 million to the Education Ministry relates to budget requests 101 through 106.

Together, the two allocations amount to NIS 286 million intended for Chareidi education.

In their decision, the justices ordered the respondents “to appear and provide reasons why the transfer of the coalition funds” approved by the Finance Committee should not be canceled.

The order places the burden on the Finance Committee chairman and the Finance Ministry to defend the allocations before the court and demonstrate why they should be permitted to proceed.

In addition to issuing the order to show cause, the High Court imposed an interim injunction that immediately freezes the funds while the petition remains under consideration.

“In light of the above, with regard to these funds, an interim order is hereby issued preventing their transfer until a decision is rendered in the petition,” the court wrote.

The ruling extends beyond the funding for Chareidi education. The justices also froze NIS 123 million allocated to the Settlement Ministry.

That amount consists of one transfer totaling NIS 117 million and another of NIS 6 million.

Altogether, the court’s decision affects four separate transfers of coalition funds totaling NIS 409 million.

The court also ruled that a temporary order previously issued on August 5, 2026, would be canceled. However, the newly issued interim injunction effectively continues to prevent the government from transferring the funds covered by the ruling.

The respondents have until September 10, 2026, to submit their response to the court’s order to show cause.

The decision was issued by a three-justice panel consisting of Justices David Mintz, Khaled Kabub and Ruth Ronnen.

The ruling marks another significant court intervention involving government funding affecting the Chareidi community, with hundreds of millions of shekels designated for Chareidi educational institutions now remaining frozen as the legal battle proceeds.

An Israeli district court has found Sheba Medical Center responsible for the death of a five-day-old premature baby who contracted a deadly antibiotic-resistant infection while hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit, ruling that failures in infection prevention and the medical response contributed to the infant’s death.

Judge Orly Mor-El determined that the evidence indicated the newborn most likely contracted the lethal bacteria inside Sheba’s NICU. The state, which operates the hospital, was ordered to pay nearly 2.2 million shekels in damages, legal fees and additional costs.

The baby was born prematurely at 35 weeks, weighing approximately 1.8 kilograms, or about four pounds. Although he was described as alert and in stable condition following his birth, doctors immediately admitted him to the NICU for observation.

Because the infant’s mother was a carrier of Group B Streptococcus, or GBS, doctors also began administering preventive antibiotics, a standard precaution under such circumstances.

For the first three days, there were no indications that anything was seriously wrong. The infant appeared to be developing as expected, and medical testing did not produce any results that raised alarms.

On the fourth day of his life, doctors stopped administering the antibiotics in accordance with standard medical protocol.

Later that same day, however, the baby’s condition suddenly and dramatically worsened.

The infant began suffering interruptions in his breathing, his heart rate dropped sharply, and his temperature climbed above 38 degrees Celsius, or 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

NICU personnel launched intensive efforts to resuscitate the baby and transferred him for critical care as they attempted to stabilize his condition. Despite those efforts, they were unable to save him.

The baby died the following day, at just five days old.

An examination conducted after his death determined that he had contracted an aggressive strain of Enterobacter bacteria known as ESBL, which is resistant to antibiotics.

In her ruling, Judge Mor-El found that the evidence made it substantially more likely that the newborn acquired the infection from within the NICU rather than from an outside source.

Hospital records played a significant role in that conclusion. At least 18 other premature babies being treated in the unit were found to be carriers of the same bacterial strain.

“The defendant’s silence works against it,” the judge wrote.

Mor-El found that the state had failed to establish that sufficient precautions were taken to prevent the bacteria from spreading among infants in the unit. She concluded that Sheba Medical Center had not demonstrated that all required infection-control procedures had been properly implemented.

The court also identified serious problems with the medical team’s response once the newborn’s condition began deteriorating.

According to the ruling, doctors mistakenly believed that the infant remained protected against infection because he had been receiving antibiotics until that morning.

As a result, the medical investigation into his rapidly worsening condition was delayed, as was the decision to broaden his antibiotic treatment.

The court concluded that the delay was a critical factor in the tragic outcome.

Judge Mor-El acknowledged that members of the hospital staff were attempting to care for the infant under difficult circumstances in an overcrowded NICU and that their actions were undertaken with good intentions.

Nevertheless, the court concluded that those circumstances did not absolve the state of responsibility and found it fully liable for the infant’s death.

The court awarded the baby’s estate 1,788,524 shekels in damages.

An additional 418,514 shekels was awarded for attorneys’ fees, along with further court costs, bringing the total amount the state was ordered to pay to nearly 2.2 million shekels.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl, rov of the Old City of Yerushalayim, has issued a sharply worded letter opposing a planned joint prayer gathering involving Jews and Christians at the Kosel, calling the event a desecration of Hashem’s name and urging that it be canceled. The letter was also signed by the Rishon LeTzion, Rav Shlomo Moshe Amar.

The controversial gathering is scheduled to take place at the Kosel on 26 Tishrei 5787, shortly after Sukkos. Rav Nebenzahl warned that holding such an event at one of Judaism’s holiest sites would constitute a desecration of both Hashem’s name and the sanctity of the location.

In his letter, Rav Nebenzahl describes the proposed gathering as a desecration of Hashem’s name and of the site of the Bais Hamikdash, expressing unequivocal opposition to allowing it to proceed. He states that the entire length of the Kosel and its surrounding areas, as well as the Southern Wall and Davidson Center, are sacred Jewish prayer sites.

Rav Nebenzahl further writes that there is a “severe prohibition against cooperating in any manner whatsoever or participating with them in this event.”

He called upon every G-d-fearing Jew to distance himself from the gathering and to work with determination toward preventing it from taking place.

Rav Nebenzahl also addressed reports claiming that he had given his approval to the planned event, emphatically denying that he had ever done so.

“I hereby deny any publication claiming that, Heaven forbid, I gave my approval to this grave event at the Kosel, the likes of which has not occurred since the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash,” he wrote.

The letter portrays the planned gathering as unprecedented since the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash and warns of the serious spiritual and public consequences that could result from conducting such an event at the sacred site.

Adding considerable weight to the protest, Rav Shlomo Moshe Amar, the former Rishon LeTzion, added his signature to Rav Nebenzahl’s letter, joining the call against the planned joint prayer gathering.

Rav Amar’s participation reflects the seriousness with which leading rabbonim are viewing the proposal and broadens the rabbinic opposition to holding the event at the Kosel.

Concluding his letter, Rav Nebenzahl calls upon the public to actively seek the cancellation of the gathering.

“In these difficult days, when the honor of Hashem and those who study Torah is being desecrated, it is fitting for every G-d-fearing Jew to distance himself from the desecration of holiness and to act with mesirus nefesh to cancel the gathering, for the honor of Heaven and His Torah,” he wrote.

Rav Nebenzahl closes with an especially forceful declaration regarding participation alongside adherents of Christianity.

“Under no circumstances is it possible to participate together with believers in that man,” he wrote, using the traditional rabbinic reference to the central figure of Christianity.

The controversy comes amid years of disputes over the religious character of the Kosel and the activities permitted in and around its prayer areas. Previous battles have centered largely on efforts by the Reform and Conservative movements to conduct non-Orthodox prayer services at the site. The latest dispute, however, concerns an event involving joint prayer with Christians.

Rav Nebenzahl’s position is notable in light of his previous forceful condemnation of Jews who spit at or otherwise mistreat Christian clergy in the Old City. In those cases, he stressed that such behavior can constitute a serious desecration of Hashem’s name.

His opposition to mistreatment of Christians, however, is entirely separate from the current issue. Here, Rav Nebenzahl maintains that conducting a joint religious service with Christians at the Kosel itself crosses a fundamental religious boundary and constitutes a desecration of the sanctity of the site.

The United States has formally removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, marking a dramatic shift in Washington’s relationship with Damascus and opening the door to billions of dollars in potential foreign investment as Syria seeks to rebuild following the collapse of the Assad regime.

The U.S. State Department announced the decision following a congressional review period and after President Donald Trump’s administration had already taken steps to ease sanctions imposed on Syria.

The move is expected to significantly reduce Syria’s isolation from the international financial system while eliminating restrictions that had affected foreign assistance and defense-related exports.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said as the process moved forward that lifting the restrictions would make international trade and investment possible and provide Syria with an opportunity to rebuild after years of devastating conflict.

The decision comes amid commitments from Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa that his government will no longer support terrorism, a key issue in Washington’s deliberations over changing Syria’s status.

Trump and al-Sharaa also met last month during the NATO summit in Ankara, as the two governments continued a remarkable diplomatic rapprochement that would have been nearly unimaginable under Syria’s previous government.

The lifting of the restrictions is expected to unleash significant investment interest from the Gulf, with Saudi companies and businesses from other Gulf states reportedly preparing to invest billions of dollars in Syria’s reconstruction.

Since the Assad regime was toppled in late 2024, the new government in Damascus has received growing international backing as it attempts to stabilize the country and restore Syria’s economic and diplomatic relationships.

Al-Sharaa has meanwhile embarked on an extensive diplomatic campaign aimed at establishing the legitimacy of his government, meeting with leaders across Europe and the Middle East as Damascus seeks to emerge from years of international isolation.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Reuven Elbaz, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim and a member of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of Shas, delivered stirring words of chizuk during Selichos at his yeshiva overnight, urging his talmidim and mispallelim to recognize how quickly Elul is passing and to take full advantage of the remaining days for teshuvah and personal growth.

“Time jumps, time skips; it does not move normally,” Rav Elbaz said. “Already a third of the month that we began, Elul, is gone. We now have two-thirds left — we have to utilize them very, very well.”

Rav Elbaz cited the Rambam’s teachings in Hilchos Teshuvah, emphasizing that genuine teshuvah begins with a sincere internal decision to abandon a sin and not return to it.

“A person wants to do teshuvah — all he has to do is make a decision in his heart, confess with his lips, and accept in his heart that he will not do it anymore,” Rav Elbaz said. “Hashem sees the heart. When a person accepts something in his heart, immediately Hakadosh Boruch Hu helps him.”

Rav Elbaz then spoke at length about the remarkable transformation of Rav Uri Zohar zt”l, who embraced a life of teshuvah in adulthood and ultimately became, as Rav Elbaz described him, an extraordinary talmid chochom.

Rav Elbaz related that Rav Zohar would describe how, once he made an absolute commitment to following the path of Torah, he began experiencing unmistakable siyata diShmaya that enabled him to overcome the many difficulties accompanying such a dramatic change in his life.

During the early stages of his journey, Rav Zohar also faced significant differences within his own home. Rather than attempting to force his new way of life upon his family, however, he allowed the transformation to unfold gradually.

Over time, Rav Elbaz related, Rav Zohar’s children began joining him at his Shabbos table, and eventually his wife also grew stronger in her commitment to Torah.

Rav Elbaz also referred to the eventual teshuvah of members of the family of famed Israeli singer Arik Einstein, who had been one of Rav Zohar’s closest friends, and described Rav Zohar’s extraordinary attachment to Shabbos.

“This is my soul, this is me,” Rav Elbaz quoted Rav Zohar as saying. “No one will replace me; no person in the world will ever replace me.”

Concluding his remarks, Rav Elbaz stressed that extraordinary spiritual achievement is not reserved for a select few, but is within the reach of anyone prepared to pursue it with determination and consistency.

“Every single person can become a righteous, holy person. Every person can reach the highest levels. What does it take? Desire, determination, dedication to the goal. Don’t move. Set yourself a goal in life — and you will go far.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel Police is preparing to send its largest-ever delegation to assist the tens of thousands of Breslover Chassidim expected to travel to Uman for Rosh Hashanah, with more than 40 Israeli police officers slated to be deployed along key travel routes and in Uman itself.

According to a report by Shilo Fried, the planned deployment will surpass the number of Israeli officers sent in previous years to accompany the massive annual pilgrimage to the kever of Rav Nachman of Breslov.

The Israeli officers are expected to be stationed in Ukraine and Romania, including at border crossings used by the travelers, as well as in Uman. Their responsibilities will include providing translation assistance, helping travelers navigate interactions with local authorities and working to prevent incidents during the complicated journey.

The delegation could grow further if additional countries through which the Breslover travelers are expected to pass request the presence of Israeli police officers at airports or border crossings.

Preparations are underway in Uman for approximately 45,000 mispallelim to arrive for Rosh Hashanah, with an estimated 35,000 expected to travel from Israel.

Because of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the inability of the large numbers of travelers to fly directly into the country, hundreds of flights are expected to land in neighboring countries. Travelers will arrive through Romania, Moldova, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria before continuing overland toward Ukraine and ultimately Uman.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry is also preparing an extensive operation to assist the travelers. Dozens of Israeli diplomats are expected to be positioned at airports and border crossings along the various routes as part of the government’s logistical support operation.

The overall cost to the Israeli government of providing the additional police, diplomatic and logistical assistance is expected to reach hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Ukrainian officials and Breslover organizations are meanwhile making their own preparations for the arrival of the massive crowds.

According to an earlier report by Emess, the Ichud Breslov B’Uman organization reached an agreement with the Uman municipality concerning the tourist tax imposed on visitors. Under the arrangement, travelers who pay the tax in advance will be charged $27 instead of the $45 fee charged upon entering the city.

Rav Nosson Ben Nun, chairman of Ichud Breslov, also recently met with the governor of the Cherkasy region, the regional police commander and other senior officials to coordinate arrangements ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

Officials emphasized during the discussions that visitors will be required to comply with instructions issued by Ukrainian authorities throughout their stay, particularly given the continuing wartime conditions in the country.

Travelers will also be expected to strictly observe local curfew hours and other security regulations imposed by Ukrainian authorities.

The unusually large Israeli police deployment reflects the logistical challenge surrounding this year’s Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage, as tens of thousands of Breslover Chassidim make their way through multiple countries and border crossings before reaching Uman for the annual gathering at the kever of Rav Nachman.

{Matzav.com}

Nick Bougas, the American cartoonist whose virulently antisemitic and racist artwork gained widespread notoriety and whose “Happy Merchant” drawing eventually became one of the internet’s most recognizable antisemitic memes, has died at the age of 71.

A native of Savannah, Georgia, Bougas produced much of his controversial artwork under the pseudonym A. Wyatt Mann. His illustrations began appearing prominently in white supremacist publications during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

By far his most infamous creation was the image known as the “Happy Merchant,” which portrayed a Jewish man using grotesquely exaggerated facial characteristics, a beard and hands rubbing together in a pose intended to suggest avarice. Long after its original appearance, the cartoon took on a new life online, becoming widely circulated as an antisemitic meme.

People associated with Bougas have confirmed that he was responsible for the cartoons, although Bougas himself never publicly admitted that he had drawn them. The Anti-Defamation League and other organizations that monitor antisemitism have identified the Happy Merchant as a recurring hate symbol that proliferated on internet imageboards and, eventually, across social media.

{Matzav.com}

The wreckage of the Altalena, the arms-carrying Irgun vessel whose destruction during Israel’s War of Independence became one of the most bitter episodes in the fledgling state’s history, has been located deep beneath the Mediterranean Sea off Israel’s coast, government ministers announced Monday.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, both members of Otzma Yehudit, said the vessel remains intact and was discovered at approximately 12:30 a.m. at a depth of 503 meters, or about 1,650 feet, roughly 20 kilometers — 12 miles — offshore “during a complex maritime search operation.”

The ministers attributed the discovery to “long months of meticulous planning and preparation” and the deployment of “special sensors and advanced survey systems.” They said additional information about the operation would be presented at a press conference.

Despite Ben Gvir’s involvement in announcing the discovery, an IDF spokesperson said the military did not participate in the effort to find the Altalena.

Hebrew-language media reported that the search was spearheaded by the Marine Mapping Division of the Survey of Israel, the government body responsible for the country’s mapping and surveying operations.

Hagai Ronen, director-general of the agency, hailed the discovery as a significant intersection of modern technology and Israeli history.

“The locating of the Altalena is an exciting historical moment, in which knowledge, technology and advanced mapping capabilities allow us to touch on a significant chapter in the history of the State of Israel.”

According to Ynet, search teams located the vessel using sonar equipment. Because the wreck lies more than 500 meters beneath the surface and far offshore, however, bringing the entire ship to the surface is believed to be extremely difficult and potentially impossible.

The Heritage Ministry is reportedly examining other ways of commemorating the wreck if it cannot be recovered. Among the possibilities under consideration is placing a floating marker above the location, while efforts are also underway to document the Altalena in its current underwater resting place.

This is not the first time authorities have claimed to have pinpointed the ship. In December 2012, officials announced that the Altalena had been located several miles off Rishon Lezion at a depth of approximately 300 meters. The government said at the time that it hoped to raise the wreck and place it on land in either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem as a memorial.

The Altalena arrived in Israel in June 1948 carrying weapons and ammunition for Menachem Begin’s Irgun forces as the newly established Jewish state was fighting its War of Independence.

Israel and the IDF had been established only weeks earlier, and tensions between Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Begin were already intense. Ben-Gurion demanded that the weapons aboard the Altalena be handed over to the newly created IDF, setting the stage for an armed confrontation.

After reaching the Israeli coast and eventually running aground, the vessel became the center of a tense standoff. Irgun members aboard the ship faced IDF and Palmach troops positioned onshore, and the confrontation ultimately erupted into gunfire. Forces on land, under the command of a young Yitzhak Rabin — who would later become IDF chief of staff and prime minister — were ordered to destroy the vessel, which was struck by artillery and burst into flames.

Sixteen members of the Irgun and three IDF soldiers were killed during the confrontation, while the weapons and other supplies aboard the Altalena were lost.

The episode has long been remembered as one of the moments when the newly established State of Israel came perilously close to an internal civil war. Begin instructed his men not to retaliate against the government forces and later reflected on the decision, saying, “My greatest accomplishment was not retaliating and causing civil war.”

The burned-out remains of the Altalena were subsequently pulled farther offshore and sunk. In the decades since, the confrontation and Ben-Gurion’s decision to fire on the ship have remained deeply controversial, particularly on the Israeli right, where the Altalena became an enduring political and historical symbol.

Kan reported in August 2025 that Eliyahu had allocated NIS 1 million — approximately $335,000 — toward efforts to locate the historic wreck. The funding supported the Israeli marine research vessel Bat-Galim, which carried technology capable of searching for and identifying the ship’s remains.

Following the discovery, Eliyahu described the find as “a defining moment for our national memory.”

Ben Gvir also portrayed the discovery as an important moment in confronting a painful episode from Israel’s earliest days, though his precise role in the search operation was not immediately clear.

“Tonight, we are closing a historic circle on one of the most painful and formative events in the history of Israeli society,” said Ben Gvir, whose role in the operation is unclear. Ben Gvir heads the Otzma Yehudit party, which Eliyahu belongs to.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu disclosed Monday that Iran had attempted to assassinate one of his children, revealing information that Israeli authorities had previously barred from publication.

Speaking in an interview with Channel 14 News, Netanyahu described the alleged Iranian plot while explaining the extraordinary security measures surrounding members of his family.

“There is something here that is unbelievable. Iran targeted one of my children. Iran tried to murder one of my children,” he said.

Pressed on whether his assertion was based on intelligence that had been presented to him, Netanyahu declined to provide further details and instead reiterated the claim.

“Iran tried to assassinate one of my children,” he said.

Netanyahu said the security protection afforded to his children should therefore not be viewed as an unnecessary privilege, arguing that the threat against them is concrete.

“It is something without which this attempt will simply succeed,” he said.

The disclosure comes weeks after the Ministerial Committee for Shin Bet Affairs approved long-term security arrangements for the Netanyahu family. Under the July 16 decision, Netanyahu will receive security protection for the remainder of his life, while his wife, Sara, will remain protected for her husband’s lifetime. Netanyahu’s sons are slated to retain security for five years even if he does not serve another term as prime minister.

Ahead of that decision, the Shin Bet and Mossad reportedly concluded that Netanyahu and members of his family would remain under a high threat level throughout their lives. Israeli security officials have cited concerns that the country’s enemies could seek revenge against Netanyahu and his relatives over the assassinations of senior Iranian officials during the war.

Evidence of Iranian efforts to target senior Israeli officials emerged two years ago with the arrest of Motti Maman, a 73-year-old Ashkelon resident accused of being recruited by Iranian intelligence operatives to participate in assassination plots. Israeli authorities said the potential targets included Netanyahu, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

According to Israeli security officials, Maman was secretly transported into Iran on two occasions and received money in connection with missions he was asked to carry out. Authorities said his involvement stemmed from an effort to obtain “easy money” after falling into debt.

Netanyahu’s revelation came amid separate reports that Iranian state television broadcast a video threatening Barron Trump, the 20-year-old son of President Donald Trump.

The Iranian video, titled “Where and How Barron Trump Should Be Killed,” alleges that Barron’s movements have been “fully monitored” and claims that information has been gathered about the university he attends, vehicles traveling with him and the locations of Secret Service personnel assigned to his protection. The broadcast additionally claimed that a $10 million bounty had been placed on Barron, though that assertion had not been independently confirmed at the time of publication.

The latest threat follows another video released in July by the Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That publication claimed Iranian operatives had uncovered access routes and vulnerabilities involving Melania Trump’s security arrangements in New York. The New York Post also reported in late May on an alleged plot targeting Ivanka Trump.

Iranian state media have additionally directed threats at President Trump himself. In July, a billboard erected in Tehran’s Islamic Revolution Square depicted Trump apparently lying dead in a coffin and carried the English-language threat, “We will kill Trump.”

{Matzav.com}