Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Rav Kalman Meir Bar, took part Monday in the 15th Conference of Religious Leaders in Israel, held in Nazareth, where senior figures from multiple faiths gathered to discuss shared challenges, promote unity, and coordinate efforts to combat extremism and violence.
The conference, organized by the Interior Ministry and its Department for Religious Communities, was held at the Golden Crown Hotel in Nazareth and focused this year on the theme “From Polarization to Unity,” with an emphasis on strengthening social cohesion, advancing peace, and confronting evil.
During the proceedings, Rav Bar played a central role in interfaith discussions with religious leaders, focusing on the responsibility of spiritual leadership to reduce polarization in Israeli society and to foster coexistence and peace. He also participated in a dedicated working group that examined the impact of polarization on public life and explored practical ways to address it.
Addressing the gathering, Rav Bar said: “This gathering of religious leaders is important both practically and symbolically. We must use the power we have as religious leaders to promote peace and goodness in the world — not only in matters that directly affect us.”
He continued by pointing to global conflicts and humanitarian crises. “If a war in Ukraine has claimed the lives of nearly a million people, we have an obligation to speak out clearly. And if there are other places of suffering, hunger, and evil, it is our duty to raise a clear and unambiguous voice. Not only to issue statements, but also to advance initiatives, partnerships, and concrete actions to increase goodness and eradicate evil in the world.”
Rav Bar stressed that the very act of convening carried an important message. “Judaism is not an enemy of Christianity or Islam. On the contrary. Judaism is a religion of peace, especially when it comes to other faiths that believe in one God. We are all children of one Father. And precisely when there are those who try to ignite a religious war by distorting religion and using it to justify terror and the harming of innocents, we declare loudly: there is no religious war between Judaism and Islam. On the contrary. There is brotherhood and peace — and above all, a shared mission to eradicate evil, fight it, and promote goodness and peace for all who live in this land.”
Interior Ministry Director-General Israel Uzan also addressed the conference, emphasizing the influence of religious leadership. “The heads of religions and communities in Israel have a central role and significant ability to promote values of unity, tolerance, peace, and shared living. Meetings between religious leaders, based on open and respectful dialogue, are an important pillar in strengthening social cohesion and building a more united and healthy society. We will continue to reinforce this area in the Interior Ministry by advancing meetings, dialogue, and cooperation, viewing religious leaders as key partners in shared responsibility and in preserving the fabric of life in Israel.”
The conference concluded with a formal signing ceremony of a joint declaration by the religious leaders, read aloud in Hebrew, Arabic, and English, expressing a shared commitment to social unity, interfaith dialogue, and the advancement of peace.
Among the participants were Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, Latin Patriarch Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the head of the Greek Catholic Church, Druze spiritual leader and chairman of the Supreme Druze Council Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, Muslim Sharia Court of Appeals judge Dr. Iyad Zahalka, Interior Ministry Director-General Israel Uzan, Emir Mohammed Sharif, and representatives of Israel’s various religious communities.
{Matzav.com}
Nine people were arrested and a demonstrator was taken to the hospital after clashes erupted during a hafganah Monday evening at the Geha Junction, as police moved to clear blocked roadways and restore traffic flow in the area.
According to Israel Police, officers operated near Geha Junction, close to Bnei Brak and Givat Shmuel, after demonstrators protesting the arrest of yeshiva students blocked Highway 4. Police said protesters sat on the road, physically blocked vehicles and confronted officers, actions that endangered both themselves and other motorists.
Police commanders declared the gathering an illegal demonstration prior to any enforcement measures. Despite repeated warnings, authorities said the protesters refused to comply with instructions and continued blocking traffic.
As the situation escalated, police used crowd-dispersal measures and force to extract vehicles trapped at the scene. During the disturbances, officers reported that stones and pyrotechnic devices were thrown at police forces. Two officers were injured, and windows of a police patrol vehicle were shattered. All roadways in the area were later reopened to traffic.
Police said nine individuals suspected of disorderly conduct were taken into custody.
In a statement, police said: “The Israel Police views the right to protest as a cornerstone of a democratic state and allows demonstrations as long as they take place within the framework of the law; however, the police will not permit disturbances of any kind, harm to freedom of movement, or any behavior that could endanger public safety.”
Separately, volunteers from Hatzalah treated a man injured during the protest. Together with paramedics from Magen David Adom, responders provided medical care to a 23-year-old man suffering a head injury. He was evacuated in moderate condition to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva.
Hatzalah medics Eli Biton and Moshe Ashkenazi said: “When we arrived at the scene with a MDA ambulance that we staff, we found a 23-year-old man who was semi-conscious and suffering from a head injury after being harmed by violence during a protest taking place at the location. Together with Hatzalah and MDA medics, we provided him with initial medical treatment, including stabilization and bandaging, and evacuated him in moderate condition for further care in the trauma room at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva.”
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The Israel Defense Forces have confirmed that there are currently no tunnels extending from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, according to the deputy commander of the Alexandroni Brigade, as IDF troops continue to hold and operate in key areas of Gaza.
While the Alexandroni Brigade maintains control over strategic sectors inside the Strip, the brigade’s deputy commander, Lt. Col. M., said Israel’s territory is secure from underground infiltration originating in Gaza. “The IDF knows for sure today that there are no tunnels crossing from Gaza into Israeli territory,” he said.
Lt. Col. M. attributed this assessment to improved technological capabilities that give forces a detailed understanding of underground activity. “The threat of tunnels crossing into Israeli territory is almost non-existent. Inside the ‘perimeter’ and in the areas controlled by the IDF, there are still infrastructures, and the forces continue to operate daily to locate and destroy them,” he explained.
According to the deputy commander, combat operations above ground are continuing at a high tempo along the so-called “yellow line.” He noted that enemy operatives attempt to exploit IDF rules of engagement. “The enemy knows we don’t shoot at women and children, and he tries to operate within this space,” Lt. Col. M. said. “What has changed is the precision in the use of force and the adjustments we’ve made in the rules of engagement. We are prepared for attempts to approach, drones, and hostile presence that emerges from the rubble.”
Lt. Col. M. also described a recent incident underscoring the constant vigilance required of troops in the field. During a nighttime offensive operation roughly two weeks ago, IDF forces encountered a terrorist cell. A company commander was wounded during the clash and evacuated for medical treatment, while the troops continued the engagement and killed two terrorists shortly afterward.
“This is an operational routine where we are always alert. The threat can emerge at any moment, and there’s no room for surprises,” he said. “Our positions are meant to protect the forces, while the offensive activity continues to push forward, up to the yellow line, to ensure no threat approaches our communities.”
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Despite repeated assurances that the Palestinian Authority has no role in Gaza, new information indicates that its symbols are already being used in practice at the Rafah border crossing.
According to a report by Ynet, ISA chief David Zini told cabinet ministers that passports belonging to Gazans passing through the Rafah crossing are being stamped with the designation “State of Palestine.” Zini raised the issue while responding to a question from Minister Orit Strock during a cabinet meeting.
During the same exchange, Minister Zeev Elkin pressed officials on whether the guards and administrative staff working at the crossing are receiving their salaries from the Palestinian Authority.
In response to the disclosure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed that the matter be examined immediately and ordered that the passport stamp be altered. He directed that the approving authority for Gazans entering or exiting be listed instead as the Board of Peace.
The development follows a separate dispute last week, after the board’s committee overseeing Gaza released a logo that incorporated the emblem of the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu’s office later clarified that the logo officially shown to Israel was different and reiterated that Israel would not allow the use of Palestinian Authority symbols.
“The Palestinian Authority will not be a partner in the management of Gaza,” the Prime Minister’s Office stated.
{Matzav.com}
South Korea is investigating how cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb initiated an exchange of $40 billion in Bitcoin that it apparently didn’t have.
Regulators have formed a task force to investigate industrywide practices after the Seoul-based exchange on Feb. 6 started crediting accounts with the small fortune rather than the 2,000 won ($1.37) per person authorized for a promotional campaign. The incident stemmed from an employee inputting the payout as Bitcoin rather than won, according to a statement from the Financial Services Commission on Sunday.
The Financial Supervisory Service said on Monday that it was looking into the incident and had initiated on-site inspections, with a formal investigation to be initiated if legal violations are found.
“It was nothing more than erroneously entered virtual data, yet it ended up being traded,” FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin said at a press conference on Monday. “That is the essence of the issue: The transaction was actually executed.”
In the 20 minutes it took to recognize the mistake, 620,000 “ghost Bitcoin” ($40 billion) – rather than 620,000 won ($423) – appeared across the balances of hundreds of customer accounts, according to Bithumb.
Some customers immediately tried to sell their serendipitous crypto, resulting in the sale of 1,788 Bitcoin. None of the tokens appeared to leave Bithumb, according to the exchange, but payouts were made. It had recovered 93% of the value of those sales by Saturday in either won or other tokens, Bithumb said in a statement.
The company reconciled the remaining outstanding Bitcoin using its own assets, it said in a statement on Sunday.
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Beyond Bitcoin Balance
A transfer orders of magnitude larger than what should have been possible happened because of a quirk in how centralized exchanges operate.
In the third quarter of 2025, Bithumb held just 175 Bitcoin on its balance sheet, while custodian holdings for clients totaled 42,619 Bitcoin, according to a regulatory filing.
Those balances, though, are tracked on an internal ledger instead of directly on the blockchain. Trades are initiated by updating the internal records first, while on-chain settlement comes later.
This makes trading fast, but it opens the door to big mistakes if internal bookkeeping doesn’t match an exchange’s actual holdings.
“The so-called ghost Bitcoin incident clearly revealed that, beyond a mere input error, there are structural weaknesses in internal controls and ledger management systems of cryptocurrency exchanges,” Kim Jiho, a spokesperson for the ruling Democratic Party, said in a briefing on Saturday. “This is an issue that cannot be taken lightly.”
Bithumb said on Saturday that it is taking multiple corrective measures to tighten oversight of transfers, including a multi-level approval process for distributing awards.
“We will supplement previously missing processes to ensure that approvals are carried out in two or more stages, thereby preventing incidents,” the company said.
Compounding matters on Friday, the rush to sell temporarily tanked the price of Bitcoin on Bithumb, leading to panic selling, according to the company. A price chart on the exchange’s website showed a crash of more than 15% in the price to 81 million won ($55,365) between 7:20 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in Seoul.
Chief Executive Officer Lee Jae-won pledged that the company would reimburse those who saw losses with an additional 10% as compensation.
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Regulatory Rush
The response to the mistake has been swift.
Regulators convened two emergency meetings over the weekend. DAXA, an alliance of South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, announced that it would conduct a review of internal controls across all exchanges.
Authorities are also pursuing new legislative measures to require exchanges to establish internal controls comparable to those required of traditional financial institutions.
“The incident has exposed fundamental weaknesses in the virtual asset information system. Specifically, regulatory blind spots that existed in virtual asset legislation,” the FSS’s Lee said. “This has identified a task that must be strongly reinforced in the second legislature phase of virtual assets.”
Bithumb is South Korea’s second-largest exchange by trading volume, according to CoinGecko. The incident occurred during a particularly volatile week in cryptocurrency that saw Bitcoin fall to nearly $60,000, less than half of its October peak above $126,000, before rebounding to roughly $70,000 by Monday.
(c) 2026, Bloomberg
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The Trump administration plans to appeal a temporary court order that blocks the federal government from withholding funds for a $16 billion rail tunnel under the Hudson River.
The Gateway Development Commission is building the new tunnel but had to stop construction late Friday because it’s exhausted all of its funding sources.
The Trump administration has been in a standstill with Gateway since October, when it halted funding for the tunnel over a new rule that prohibits contracting requirements based on race or sex. New York and New Jersey sued the administration on Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan after Gateway filed its own suit late Monday in an effort to unlock more than $205 million of federal funds in the Court of Federal Claims.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas on Friday sided with the states and ordered the federal government to release the funds. That money may not be coming soon as the US Department of Transportation late Sunday filed a notice of appeal, according to a court filing.
The Gateway tunnel under the Hudson River is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the US. It connects New Jersey with Manhattan and will help relieve congestion in the existing tube, which is more than 100 years old.
“We are encouraged by Friday’s court decision and will continue to pursue all avenues to regain federal funding,” a spokesperson for Gateway said in a statement late Sunday.
A status conference in Gateway’s lawsuit is set for Tuesday in the US Court of Federal Claims.
(c) 2026, Bloomberg
Keir Starmer pledged to press on with his agenda as the departure of a second senior aide in 24 hours left the UK prime minister’s grip on power appearing increasingly tenuous.
The resignation of Starmer’s communications director, Tim Allan, on Monday, after just five months on the job will feed the sense of crisis engulfing 10 Downing St. The prime minister was already reeling from the departure on Sunday of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, a key architect of the Labour Party’s landslide election win 18 months ago.
In his remarks to staffers in No. 10, Starmer praised McSweeney’s contribution to Labour’s political revival in recent years and signaled that he intended to fight on as prime minister.
“We must prove that politics can be a force for good. I believe it can. I believe it is,” Starmer said, according to a statement. “We go forward from here. We go with confidence as we continue changing the country.”
Starmer is also due to address members of parliamentary Labour Party later on Monday. His spokesman, Tom Wells, told reporters the prime minister wasn’t planning to resign.
The renewed speculation over Starmer’s position knocked long-maturity gilts and the pound early on Monday. Yields on 10-year government bonds rose as much as five basis points to 4.57%, before paring the move to 4.55%. The pound weakened as much as 0.5% to 87.3 pence per euro.
Investors have tended to react negatively to the prospect of Starmer or Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves leaving their posts, out of concern they could be replaced by colleagues more willing boost spending.
Starmer, who has been struggling with historically low approval ratings and faced rebellions by backbench Members of Parliament, has come under fire over his decision in late 2024 to appoint Labour grandee Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US. That decision is being reexamined after the extent of Mandelson’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was revealed in files released by the US Justice Department late last month.
While McSweeney took the blame for Mandelson’s appointment in his resignation statement, the decision ultimately rested with Starmer. The criticism has fueled questions about Starmer’s ability to hang on as prime minister, with his leadership already weakened by series of policy reversals and the rise of Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK in the polls.
No. 10 officials were bracing for cabinet ministers to privately tell the premier to stand aside or threaten their resignations if he doesn’t, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously in order to be candid about the turmoil at the top of the Labour Party. One aide to a cabinet minister said it was 50-50 whether Starmer would last the week.
Allan’s exit will leave another void inside Starmer’s depleted brain trust. McSweeney and Allan had been locked in a power struggle and aides risked descending into open infighting, according to people familiar with the matter.
“I have decided to stand down to allow a new No. 10 team to be built,” Allan said in a statement on Monday morning. “I wish the PM and his team every success.”
(c) 2026, Bloomberg
