Feed aggregator

Toronto police have opened a hate-crime investigation into an alleged antisemitic incident in the heavily Jewish North York neighborhood around Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West, an area that has repeatedly been the scene of anti-Israel demonstrations and other troubling incidents targeting Jews.

The Toronto Police Service’s hate crimes unit is examining the episode after Jewish organizations denounced the conduct as “blatant antisemitism.”

Police on Monday shared a social media post from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), which reported what it described as “antisemitic hate speech” in the vicinity of Bathurst and Sheppard. Authorities did not specify when the alleged incident took place.

CIJA said it is working together with B’nai Brith Canada and the Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center in seeking accountability over the incident.

“Week after week, for nearly three years, the Jewish community has been harassed and targeted at Bathurst and Sheppard, the heart of a Toronto Jewish neighbourhood,” CIJA said.

“And now, an individual … accusing Jews of using ‘black magic,’ raping, murdering, and eating children,” it said. CIJA released video that appeared to show a man directing those accusations against “Zionists.”

“This cannot be allowed to continue without consequences,” CIJA said.

Toronto police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that could assist the investigation to come forward.

The Bathurst and Sheppard area, home to a sizable Jewish community, has become a recurring location for anti-Israel demonstrations since Hamas carried out its October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel. Some of those demonstrations have included violent anti-Israel rhetoric and chants.

In November 2024, demonstrators were captured on video reenacting the final moments of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, one of the architects of the October 7 attack.

Police launched a separate investigation this past March following reports that antisemitic imagery had been displayed during a protest near Bathurst and Sheppard. Days afterward, authorities announced that demonstrators would no longer be allowed to protest on residential streets in the neighborhood because of “increased volatility and heightened fear” among local residents.

The new investigation comes against the backdrop of a significant rise in reported antisemitic incidents throughout the Toronto region since the October 7 massacre.

In March, shots were fired at Temple Emanu-El in North York while congregants were inside celebrating Purim. No one was injured, but the shul sustained damage.

Just days later, two additional Jewish houses of worship — Beth Avraham Yoseph in Vaughan and Shaarei Shomayim in Toronto — were targeted in separate gun-related incidents that occurred only hours apart. Three suspects have since been charged in connection with the shootings.

In April, a man allegedly tried to force his way into a shul in Thornhill, north of Toronto, and assaulted an individual before fleeing the scene.

One day later, someone hurled a rock through the window of a Toronto Judaica store, marking the third reported attack against the business.

Last month, two branches of a Jewish-owned bakery in Toronto were targeted in attacks that occurred approximately an hour apart.

The latest episode also comes shortly after police arrested a 35-year-old Toronto man accused of breaking into a North York shul and stealing religious items.

Police said the suspect entered the shul, located near Bathurst Street and Lawrence Avenue, during the early morning hours of August 18 and allegedly removed several religious articles. The following day, officers carried out a search warrant at a nearby residence and recovered the stolen property.

The man was charged with break and enter as well as failure to comply with a release order. He was scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom on August 20.

{matzav.com}

An Israeli court has ordered the Palestinian Authority to pay NIS 3.34 million to a Palestinian man who was imprisoned for nearly five years and subjected to severe abuse after being accused of attempting to sell family-owned land to a Jew, according to a Channel 14 report.

The ruling was handed down by Yerushalayim District Court Judge Chaya Zandberg following a lawsuit filed by a resident of the village of Samu through attorney Barak Kedem. According to the report, the plaintiff had sought to sell property belonging to his family to a resident of the Jewish community of Shima.

In February 2014, the man was arrested by the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security Service. Approximately three months later, he was indicted for attempting to “transfer part of the Palestinian territories for the benefit of the enemy.” A Chevron court convicted him in 2016 and sentenced him to five years in prison with hard labor, along with a fine. His appeal to an appeals court in Ramallah was rejected, and he remained incarcerated until February 2019.

The Yerushalayim District Court, however, determined that his arrest and imprisonment had been unlawful. The judge ruled that an Israeli court cannot recognize the sale of land to Israelis as “treason” merely because the prospective purchasers are Israeli.

The proceedings also brought to light the plaintiff’s allegations of severe physical abuse while being held in Palestinian Authority facilities. He testified that during interrogations, his hands and feet were shackled to an iron chair for hours at a time, that he was placed in solitary confinement, and that he was beaten with sticks and other objects while his head was covered.

The plaintiff further alleged that during the winter he was left outdoors and doused with cold water, while being deprived of food, sleep and basic necessities. According to his account, the abuse continued after he was transferred to the Dahariya prison, where he was placed in a cell known as the “Sharon Cell,” which was reportedly used to hold prisoners suspected of collaborating with Israel or selling land to Jews.

Additional testimony presented during the case supported his allegations. One prisoner who had been incarcerated with the plaintiff testified that he witnessed him being beaten with hands and clubs and then placed in solitary confinement. Another witness said he saw guards step on the plaintiff’s head and strike him in the stomach and back with clubs while his hands were restrained behind him.

The court was also presented with a medical document from December 2014 documenting scratches on the plaintiff’s back, an injury to one of his fingers and complaints of pain. Based on the evidence, the court ultimately found that the Palestinian Authority had subjected him to “actual violence” and committed the civil tort of assault against him.

At the conclusion of the proceedings, the Palestinian Authority was ordered to pay the plaintiff NIS 3.34 million, including attorneys’ fees. According to Channel 14, the compensation will be transferred through a tax-collection mechanism similar to the system used to provide compensation to victims of terrorist attacks.

{Matzav.com}

South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham has secured the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, winning Tuesday’s special election runoff after receiving a high-profile endorsement from President Donald Trump, according to a race call by the Associated Press.

Graham, a political newcomer who was appointed to the Senate seat previously held by her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, defeated Rep. Ralph Norman for the GOP nomination. She will now face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, in November’s general election in the heavily Republican state.

The runoff became necessary after none of the candidates captured enough support to win the Republican special election primary outright earlier this month.

Graham entered the race with Trump firmly behind her. Following Lindsey Graham’s death from a heart condition on July 11, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to fill the remainder of her brother’s term. Trump supported her appointment as the interim senator and subsequently endorsed her campaign for a full term.

Trump’s decision to throw his political weight behind Graham made the contest one of the more closely watched tests of his influence during this year’s midterm primary season, as he backed an inexperienced candidate against more established Republican figures.

Appearing at a Myrtle Beach rally on Aug. 21, Trump made clear that his support for Graham was also tied to his relationship with her brother.

“I’m doing this to honor Lindsey. That’s why I’m here,” Trump said. “So, Darline, we got to win that race.”

Graham, meanwhile, embraced both Trump’s endorsement and her own status as a newcomer to electoral politics.

“The critics say I shouldn’t run for the Senate. They say I’m not a politician. You know what I say? Guilty as charged,” she said during the rally. “By the way, President Trump has never served in elected office before and I think he’s done a damn good job.”

Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., also provided substantial financial assistance, spending more than $827,000 in support of Graham. The group had largely stayed on the sidelines financially during several other competitive Republican primaries this election cycle.

Trump’s endorsements have produced mixed results in some of this year’s most closely watched contests, including defeats in races in Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Minnesota. Overall, however, Trump-backed candidates have recorded more primary victories than losses as the president continues to wield considerable influence among Republican voters.

Ray Saldi, 60, said he voted for Graham, although endorsements from political figures were not what ultimately persuaded him. Instead, he said, Graham’s family name and lack of a lengthy political record appealed to him.

“I really liked her brother, Lindsey Graham. I just wanted to make sure that she’s truly genuine to the people of South Carolina,” he said.

Saldi said he believed Graham would be more inclined to prioritize South Carolina’s interests in Washington.

Although Graham began the campaign without previous political experience, she stepped into an established political operation built during her brother’s decades in public office. Lindsey Graham had held elected office since 1995, beginning with his service in the U.S. House before moving to the Senate.

Speaking to supporters Monday in Aiken, South Carolina, Graham said she hoped to carry forward her brother’s work on behalf of the state.

“I want to continue to fight to finish what he was doing. He helped this state. He brought resources to this state. And you know what? If we don’t bring them here, they’re going to go somewhere else, right?”

Her limited experience nevertheless became an issue during the abbreviated runoff campaign. At the only candidate debate before Tuesday’s election, hosted by Newsmax, Graham faced criticism over her response to a question about the strategic importance of Taiwan and the South China Sea.

“I’m just going to be honest here,” she said. “I’m not that informed on national security.”

The remark drew boos from members of the audience and stood in sharp contrast to the political reputation of Lindsey Graham, who devoted much of his Senate career to foreign policy and national security matters and was known for advocating an assertive U.S. posture overseas.

Norman entered the race with significantly more political experience. A five-term congressman and member of the House Freedom Caucus, he had also sought the Republican nomination for South Carolina governor earlier this year, finishing third. During his brief Senate campaign, Norman repeatedly pointed to his record in elected office as an argument for sending him to the Senate.

Casting his ballot Tuesday, Norman acknowledged his uphill battle and portrayed himself as the underdog.

“I love being an underdog,” he said. “I think our people are going to get out and vote. I think they’re excited. The electricity that we’ve had has been great.”

Norman also had some appeal among Republicans who were less closely aligned with Trump. Although he has generally supported Trump’s political agenda, Norman backed his longtime friend, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, when she challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

Haley reciprocated during the Senate contest, with political action committees aligned with her pouring more than $700,000 in outside spending into efforts supporting Norman.

In the end, however, Graham’s lack of a traditional political résumé became an asset rather than a liability. At a time when voters in both parties have repeatedly shown an appetite for candidates who present themselves as outsiders, Graham leaned heavily into the argument that she was not a career politician — and Republican voters ultimately handed her the nomination.

A former cleaning employee at the Prime Minister’s Residence has filed a NIS 450,000 lawsuit against the Prime Minister’s Office, alleging that he endured prolonged mistreatment and insults from Sara Netanyahu during nearly three years working at the residence. Netanyahu’s representatives categorically rejected the allegations, calling the report “fake news” and part of an ongoing political “witch hunt,” according to a Channel 13 report Tuesday evening.

Rami Ben Hamo, who worked at the Prime Minister’s Residence for approximately two years and eight months, filed the lawsuit seeking NIS 450,000 in damages from the Prime Minister’s Office. The allegations have not been proven and, at this stage, represent Ben Hamo’s claims as presented in his lawsuit.

Ben Hamo alleges that during his employment he was subjected to shouting and insults and ordered to perform tasks that he described as unreasonable, extreme and exhausting. According to the lawsuit, he repeatedly complained to his supervisors and asked to stop working at the residence, but was allegedly told that nobody else was willing to work there and that he therefore had to remain.

Among the more serious allegations in the lawsuit, Ben Hamo claims that he was instructed to clean Sara Netanyahu’s shoes using wipes. He further alleges that the prime minister’s wife called him an “undeveloped Moroccan” and told him: “You should be paying me a salary because I’m teaching you how to work.”

The former employee further alleges that working conditions at the residence were exceptionally difficult because of both the hours he was required to work and the nature of the assignments he was given, which he says went considerably beyond his official job description. Ben Hamo claims that relevant officials were aware of his complaints but failed to intervene or change the situation.

According to the lawsuit, Ben Hamo’s condition eventually deteriorated to the point that he suffered a heart-related medical episode and was transported by ambulance to a hospital. He claims that in December 2025, after his “physical and mental strength had been exhausted,” an agreement was reached to transfer him to a position at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Netanyahu’s representatives, meanwhile, forcefully rejected both the lawsuit’s allegations and the media coverage surrounding them.

“Fake news and a continuation of the witch hunt against the prime minister, his wife and his family, which always intensifies during election campaigns,” Netanyahu’s representatives said. They further characterized the report as a “continuation of a shameless election campaign aimed at securing an election victory for the left-wing bloc and the Arab parties, led by Eisenkot, Yair Golan and Mansour Abbas.”

Netanyahu’s representatives concluded by accusing opponents and the media of repeatedly reviving allegations that they say have no basis.

“Every week they recycle false gossip,” the statement said.

{Matzav.com}

An ancient burial cave containing graves believed to date to the Second Bais Hamikdash period was discovered beneath a building in the Silwan neighborhood of Yerushalayim during a police operation, potentially setting the stage for a new battle over the treatment of the historic burial site.

The discovery was made Monday as Yerushalayim Border Police officers were conducting an operation in Silwan connected to a violent, years-long dispute between local families that claimed additional lives over the weekend.

Police operations in the neighborhood continued as authorities sought to reach the homes of individuals involved in the conflict. Border Police officers conducted searches and accompanied representatives of government authorities through a compound where people connected to the recent violence reside.

During those searches, officers discovered a burial cave beneath one of the buildings, along with additional archaeological findings.

Following the discovery, professional personnel from the Israel Antiquities Authority were summoned to examine the site.

An initial inspection by Antiquities Authority officials indicated that the graves found inside the cave date to the Second Bais Hamikdash period.

Police and Border Police forces are now securing the site together with representatives of the Israel Antiquities Authority as officials determine how to proceed with the newly uncovered archaeological remains.

The discovery could potentially trigger opposition from groups concerned with the preservation of ancient Jewish graves. Attention is now expected to turn to Atra Kadisha and whether the organization will intervene following the discovery of the burial cave and launch a campaign to prevent any disturbance of the graves.

{Matzav.com}

The final results of the Likud primaries could undergo another shakeup after the party’s Supreme Court unanimously ordered disputed double-envelope ballots from Yerushalayim and Ashdod to be opened and counted, potentially altering candidates’ positions on the Knesset slate.

The ruling came after the court accepted an appeal filed by Shlomo Elboim and lifted the freeze that had prevented the ballots from being counted. The envelopes were cast by registered party members whose names did not appear in the official voter registry.

The decision could reopen several battles for placement on the Likud list, particularly in positions where only a handful of votes separate competing candidates. The vote count had previously been frozen amid the dispute over whether the contested ballots could be included.

At the center of Elboim’s appeal was his contention that the membership forms belonging to the affected voters had been properly submitted to the Likud apparatus. However, because of an internal administrative failure, their names were omitted from the voter registry. They were nevertheless permitted to cast ballots using double envelopes, although those votes were subsequently excluded from the running totals.

The Likud Supreme Court sided with Elboim, effectively determining that the party administration could not benefit from a mistake made by its own internal apparatus. Under the ruling, the envelopes will now be opened, the ballots counted and the additional votes incorporated into the overall tally before the final primary results are announced.

The political consequences could be significant, since relatively few votes may be enough to reshuffle several candidates on the slate. The margins are especially narrow toward the lower portion of the list, where even a small number of additional ballots could change the rankings.

One of the contests that could be affected is the exceptionally tight race between MK David Bitan and MK Boaz Bismuth. Just 16 votes currently separate the two, meaning the disputed ballots could potentially reverse their order on the final list.

The court’s ruling resolves, at least for now, the question of whether the double-envelope ballots should be included. Likud officials will now have to open and count them before determining exactly how the additional votes affect the final rankings.

As a result, despite primary day having already concluded, the battle over Likud’s Knesset slate remains far from settled. Until the outstanding ballots are counted and the final results formally released, candidates cannot be certain of their ultimate positions.

The dispute over the ballots was first reported by Behadrei Charedim.

Meanwhile, Likud announced Tuesday evening that a separate recount will also be conducted involving polling stations in Be’er Yaakov.

“Following the decision of the movement’s Election Committee, headed by retired Judge Menachem Ne’eman, it was decided to conduct another recount of the polling stations in Be’er Yaakov. The results will be incorporated into the final results following the appeals this coming Thursday. Likud is committed to maintaining the integrity of the election process and to following the instructions of the Likud court and Election Committee.”

The latest developments have already produced potentially dramatic changes in the rankings. Gila Gamliel has reportedly fallen to 35th place, while Eti Atia has risen to 25th. The ballots will now be counted again to verify whether those results are accurate.

{Matzav.com}

Palestinian Authority schools openly celebrated and glorified the October 7 massacre, incorporating praise for the Hamas attack into school ceremonies, student performances, marches and even mathematics exercises, according to a new report by the Palestinian Media Watch research institute.

The special report, compiled by Palestinian Media Watch researchers Itamar Marcus and Aaron Shapiro, presents numerous examples and quotations that the organization says document how PA-operated schools responded to the Hamas-led massacre in Israel.

According to the report, students participated in assemblies, ceremonies and other events featuring recitations that praised the October 7 atrocities and those who carried them out. One passage quoted in the report declared: “October, month of blood, you have arrived – welcome… Open your door, we are death… We see only blood as an ally, and we will cool the fire in our hearts with body parts and the screams of soldiers. Open your door, we are death.”

Other material presented at school gatherings portrayed the attack as a moment of celebration, pride and renewed Palestinian hope. Among the statements documented were: “We woke up [on October 7] to the sounds of laughter. Some among us thought they were dreaming, but it was a beautiful dream they did not want to wake up from.” “We never imagined this pride in the sons of our people… The sense of honor we felt cannot be described.” “We yearn to die as martyrs, while our enemy fears confrontation. He is surrounded by walls. They [the Israelis] pretend to be brave, but when they see the faces of the lions, they are all rats.” “October 7 will be a date that historians will note in the years to come, and it is a historic day that brought us satisfaction and restored our hope for liberation and independence.”

Marcus and Shapiro also cited additional recitations praising Gaza and those responsible for the attack: “A morning of victory, O Gaza, a morning of honor and glory, a morning of heroic martyrs, a morning of child martyrs. Good morning, O people of the resistance.” “[The men of] Gaza are the ones who brought us honor and raised our heads… They beat the drums of war and taught the enemy a lesson it will find difficult to forget.”

The report says these and numerous similar statements were published on the official Facebook pages of PA schools. Among those identified were Palestine Girls Elementary School, Siris Girls Elementary School, Sinjil Boys High School, Asqalan Coeducational Elementary School and Yasser Arafat School, along with numerous other educational institutions.

One particularly striking example documented by Palestinian Media Watch occurred just 10 days after the massacre, when Azzun Boys Elementary School reportedly organized a victory march featuring children in first, second and third grades. The young students sang material celebrating the Hamas attack and invoking the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” Hamas’s name for its October 7 assault.

“O men, cry ‘Allahu Akbar’: Allahu Akbar! … The ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ has come upon you; there is no consolation for the thieving occupier. Martyrs in shrouds show you how heroes fight… You called us and we answered, O heroes of Jerusalem. From the skies, hawks swoop down, crying: Allahu Akbar. They turn the waves of the sea into bridges; roaring lions surround you. Men whom fear does not bring to the ground dig the tunnels of glory. Coming from the land of Gaza – in an instant they appear all around you… The land has owners – who will not abandon it under any circumstances. Gaza – its men are victorious – to the cries of the residents of Jerusalem, the ’48 Arabs, and the people of the West Bank.”

The report alleges that the glorification of October 7 was not confined to ceremonies and extracurricular activities, but was incorporated into ordinary classroom instruction as well. Researchers highlighted mathematics exercises given to young students that used Israeli deaths and Hamas terrorists as the subjects of multiplication problems.

In one example, third-grade students were given the question: “Multiplication exercises: Al-Aqsa Flood: ‘At least 150 Israelis were killed in one day. How many were killed in nine days?’” Another exercise stated: “‘Hamas sent 150 jihad fighters to each of nine settlements in Israel. How many jihad fighters entered all the settlements combined?’”

The report also documented comments that teachers allegedly wrote in students’ notebooks after they correctly completed the assignments. Among them were: “Excellent! May Allah protect you!” “Excellent! Champion! May our blessings come true! Mercy and forgiveness for our martyrs!” and others.

In concluding the report, Marcus and Shapiro argued that changing individual Palestinian Authority textbooks would be grossly insufficient to address what they described as a much deeper problem throughout the PA educational establishment.

“Some countries have paid lip service to demands for reform by calling on the PA to change its textbooks. However, as is clearly demonstrated by this report, and by countless other PMW reports on what takes place in PA schools, changing a number of texts in textbooks would not even begin to constitute the profound reform required in the PA Ministry of Education. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA Ministry of Education as a whole – its administrators and teachers, together with the educational apparatus of the PA’s ruling Fatah party – are all guilty of poisoning the minds of Palestinian children by educating them to hate, deny Israel’s right to exist, and glorify acts of murder. All of these bodies and individuals must be removed from positions of influence and education and replaced by new administrators and educators who will be placed under close supervision, similar to the way Germany’s education system and educators were placed under Allied supervision after World War II.”

{Matzav.com}

Religious Zionist Party MK Tzvi Sukkot personally demolished monuments honoring terrorists in two Palestinian villages near Yitzhar on Tuesday, wielding a sledgehammer after saying the defense establishment had failed to act on his previous demands to remove the memorials.

Sukkot, who chairs the Knesset Education Committee and the Judea and Samaria Affairs Subcommittee, traveled Tuesday morning to the villages of Madama and Burin, where he began smashing structures erected in memory of terrorists.

The lawmaker said he decided to act himself because his requests to defense officials to dismantle monuments honoring individuals responsible for murdering Jews had gone unanswered.

His actions followed an investigation published by Hakol Hayehudi, a news outlet associated with the hilltop youth, which reported that memorials honoring terrorists had been erected in the villages. According to the report, events had also been conducted around the monuments at which sweets were distributed to children.

One of the terrorists commemorated was Yaman Tayeb Ali Faraj, who, according to findings by the Supreme Court, played a role in dispatching the terrorist responsible for the 2003 attack at the Geha Interchange in central Israel. Adva Fisher, Staff Sergeant Noam Leibowitz, Corporal Angelina Shcherov and Corporal Rotem Weinberger were murdered in the attack, and another 20 people were wounded.

In Burin, Sukkot also destroyed a memorial dedicated to Hamdan Hussein Mahmoud a-Najar. In December 1988, a-Najar attacked Yaakov Faraj near Har Bracha, murdered him and stole his firearm before shooting at IDF troops who arrived at the scene. Pvt. Arthur Harzig was killed and two other soldiers were wounded before troops killed the terrorist.

Sukkot’s decision to personally demolish the monuments triggered widespread condemnation from political leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who characterized such conduct as taking the law into one’s own hands.

“The IDF is the sovereign authority in Judea and Samaria and is responsible for implementing the decisions of the political echelon. Taking the law into one’s own hands, particularly by public officials, is unacceptable and prevents the IDF from focusing on its missions against terrorism and incitement,” Netanyahu stated.

Naftali Bennett, chairman of the “Together” Party, also attacked Sukkot’s actions, accusing the government of damaging Israel’s security and international standing for political publicity.

“The chaos government is harming Israel’s security and its standing in the world in order to scrape together views on TikTok. Terrorism is fought through action, not pathetic provocations. It was not enough for Smotrich and Sukkot to serve as the architects of the Draft Evasion Law and abandon IDF soldiers to carry the burden alone. Now they are also undermining their missions and endangering their lives for election campaign videos.

“Netanyahu knows they are dragging Israel to an unprecedented low, but he cannot do anything because he has no government without Ben-Gvir and the anti-Zionist haredi parties. It will take years to repair the damage they have caused, but everything they have destroyed, we will fix,” Bennett asserted.

Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the “Yashar!” Party, similarly denounced Sukkot, accusing him of misleading the military and damaging Israel’s security.

“Tzvi Sukkot’s conduct is a disgrace for someone who purports to represent the public and be a leader. He lied to and misled the IDF and its commanders, harmed security and tarnished the entire State of Israel.”

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar joined the criticism, stressing that authority in Judea and Samaria rests with the state and its security agencies rather than individual lawmakers.

“MK Tzvi Sukkot, like any other member of Knesset, is not the sovereign authority in Judea and Samaria. Decisions must be made and implemented by the state and its authorities, the IDF and the security forces, and by them alone. This is also the message that elected officials should convey to the public. Unfortunately, MK Sukkot knowingly did the opposite.”

The episode also prompted criticism from within Sukkot’s own Religious Zionist Party. In an internal party WhatsApp group, MK Ohad Tal questioned whether there was any political strategy behind the highly publicized demolition.

“I want to understand – was this move coordinated with the campaign? Is there some deep strategy behind it that I am completely missing, or have we simply decided to commit political suicide once and for all? I’m genuinely asking.”

Religious Zionist Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich subsequently reprimanded Sukkot, telling him that such actions must be undertaken with proper authorization and within the limits of official authority, “as is done on matters concerning Judea and Samaria communities,” and instructed him not to repeat such conduct.

Sukkot had previously appealed to defense authorities to remove the monuments, arguing that people who carried out attacks against Israelis should not be publicly commemorated in areas under Israeli security control. He contended that removing the structures was only part of the issue, saying Israel must also prevent terrorists from being portrayed as heroes and role models for younger Palestinians.

“A few days ago, I demanded that the army remove the monuments commemorating terrorists in the murderous villages of Madama and Burin, but unfortunately, they remained. I therefore came myself and acted to remove them. My message today is simple and clear: We will not tolerate a situation in which those who harmed Jews and IDF soldiers are commemorated as heroes and presented to the next generation as figures worthy of admiration. Alongside the fight against terrorism itself, we must prevent attempts to legitimize it in the public consciousness and to raise the children in these villages, who will make up the next generation of Arabs in Judea and Samaria, on a legacy that portrays the murder of Jews as an act of heroism,” Sukkot said.

Sukkot further argued that the history of deadly attacks originating from the villages made the continued existence of the memorials intolerable.

“Many Jews paid with their lives as a result of terrorists who came from these villages. We will not allow the murderers of Jews to be turned into heroes, nor will we allow the commemoration of terrorism to become part of our public space.”

IDF officials later said that the military had already been preparing to demolish the monument in Madama that Sukkot smashed and that an authorized operation to remove it was planned for the coming weeks.

“Dozens of similar monuments have already been demolished in Judea and Samaria, and an operation to demolish this monument legally and in an orderly manner by the security forces was scheduled to take place in the coming weeks. Preliminary inspections were also conducted by the Samaria Brigade ahead of the demolition of monuments,” the officials said.

{Matzav.com}

A battle has erupted at the famed Beis Yisroel shtieblach in Yerushalayim, where the management and neighborhood residents’ committee have launched a consumer boycott against vendors operating stands near the entrance, warning that the area is increasingly being transformed from the entrance to a makom tefillah into a bustling marketplace.

According to the gabbaim and local residents, the stands have created a host of problems for those using the area, including serious congestion, disturbances to passersby, and what they describe as significant safety and environmental hazards in the heart of the neighborhood.

Various vendors have increasingly set up stands in the plaza outside the shtieblach, including booths selling electronic products. Residents say crowds have begun gathering around the stands in a manner they consider inconsistent with the character of the area surrounding the shtieblach, including music being played and women and girls dressed in a manner they consider inappropriate for the surroundings lingering at the site.

The stands have also created considerable crowding around the entrance to the shtieblach, making access difficult for mispallelim. The problem has been particularly challenging for people with disabilities and limited mobility, who have struggled to find appropriate space nearby for mobility scooters and other equipment.

After repeated requests by the neighborhood committee and the shtieblach management failed to bring about a change, officials decided to escalate their campaign. A strongly worded notice was subsequently posted at the shtieblach calling upon mispallelim to completely boycott the vendors until they leave the area.

The notice reads: “Call and request: Recently, a stand selling electronic products has been set up here at the entrance to the shtieblach, and following it, various stands have begun opening here. There is a great danger that, without realizing it, within a short time the area alongside the shtieblach will turn into a marketplace, with all that entails. Around the stands, cheap entertainment occasionally takes place, often accompanied by musical instruments, and from time to time women and girls dressed and behaving in a manner that does not befit the character of the area linger there. This constitutes a chillul Hashem, particularly when it takes place adjacent to botei knesses.

“As a result, significant congestion is also being created at the site, causing considerable hardship for those coming to daven, particularly people with disabilities and limited mobility who cannot find parking near the bais haknesses for their mobility scooters and carts.

“After several appeals from the neighborhood residents’ committee and the shul management produced no results, we hereby call upon the mispallelim to respond accordingly and protest against them, to boycott them and not conduct any business with them until they leave and remove themselves from the area. With a tefillah that we merit soon to witness the complete geulah and the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdash.”

The notice was signed jointly by the management of the Beis Yisroel shtieblach and the neighborhood residents’ committee.

Israeli and Ukrainian officials are coordinating preparations for the expected arrival of tens of thousands of mispallelim in Uman for Rosh Hashanah, with Deputy Prime Minister and Religious Services Minister Yariv Levin holding a working discussion with Ukrainian Religious Affairs Minister Viktor Yelensky focused on security and arrangements for the massive annual pilgrimage.

The conversation between Levin and Yelensky was held as officials prepare for the large influx of visitors traveling to the tziyun of Rav Nachman of Breslov in Uman, even as Ukraine continues to contend with a complicated wartime security situation.

Also participating in the discussion were Religious Services Ministry Director-General Yehuda Avidan and Nachman Steinberg, a representative of the World Zionist Organization in Ukraine. The call was part of broader professional preparations underway ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

Levin began by thanking the Ukrainian government and Yelensky for their cooperation in accommodating the tens of thousands of visitors expected to arrive at the holy site. He acknowledged the considerable logistical and security challenges involved in receiving such a large number of people in a country at war and urged Ukrainian authorities to take every possible measure to facilitate their arrival and protect them during their stay.

Yelensky responded by stressing that Ukrainian authorities are committed to safeguarding the visitors despite the significant security challenges confronting the country.

During the conversation, the Ukrainian minister also discussed the war with Iran and expressed solidarity with the Israeli government.

“The Iranian danger is a global threat that unites all Western countries on one front,” Yelensky said.

The two ministers also discussed strengthening cooperation between Israel and Ukraine regarding Jewish heritage sites and holy places throughout the country.

Among the locations discussed were the tziyun of Rav Nachman of Breslov in Uman, the tziyun of the Baal Shem Tov in Medzhybizh, the tziyun of the Baal HaTanya, Rav Shneur Zalman of Liadi, in Haditch, and the tziyun of Rav Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev.

Yelensky also emphasized the Ukrainian government’s appreciation for Yerushalayim, and the two ministers concluded their discussion by exchanging wishes ahead of the new year.

At the conclusion of the call, Levin thanked Yelensky, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people for their continued cooperation, and wished them a good and blessed new year.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply challenged government legal officials during a security cabinet meeting over months of delays in granting legal status to agricultural farms in Judea and Samaria, as several senior ministers accused the Attorney General’s Office of obstructing a measure they described as essential to the security of Israeli communities.

The security cabinet had convened to discuss formally regulating the legal status of the farms, but the discussion quickly developed into a heated confrontation over why the process has yet to move forward, according to a report by i24.

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs criticized the five-month delay, arguing that the farms serve an important security function for communities throughout the region.

“The farms are a security belt for the settlements, and we made a decision that we want to regulate them — and for five months already there has been no response from the attorney general,” Fuchs said.

Defense Minister Yisrael Katz joined the criticism, noting that the senior IDF commander responsible for the area supports the proposed move.

“The general supports the move. I don’t understand why the attorney general isn’t finalizing it,” Katz said.

Fuchs pressed for the cabinet to take immediate action rather than allowing the matter to remain stalled.

“We want to instruct the general today to sign it,” he said.

A deputy attorney general responded that “staff work is required” before the matter can proceed.

That explanation drew a frustrated response from Netanyahu, who demanded to know why the legal review was taking so long.

“I’m in favor of staff work — but how long does it take?!” Netanyahu said.

Fuchs then escalated his criticism of the legal officials, arguing that the continued delay was directly affecting the safety of residents in Judea and Samaria.

“This is a security need, and you are harming the security of the residents,” he said.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also entered the confrontation, accusing government legal advisers of similarly delaying initiatives involving young communities in Judea and Samaria. He argued that the legal obstacles were preventing the government from placing structures as part of a program intended for so-called hilltop youth.

“The legal counsel is also dragging its feet on the young settlements, and we cannot place structures in the young settlements for a program for the hilltop youth, and then you complain that the young people go to Qusra,” Smotrich said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir concluded with a sarcastic jab at Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon, referring to previous legal restrictions involving his participation in public events.

“Gil Limon has other work — to forbid me from going to conferences,” Ben Gvir said.

{Matzav.com}

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is facing a wave of criticism from conservative commentators after defending his position on Sharia law and comparing the Islamic legal tradition to Catholic canon law during a contentious Fox News interview Monday night.

The controversy erupted after Fox News host Jesse Watters confronted El-Sayed over previous remarks in which the candidate opposed efforts to prohibit Sharia law and connected such bans to White supremacy.

“Getting rid of Sharia law is White supremacy?” Watters said to El-Sayed, bringing up past comments from the Michigan candidate opposing a ban on Sharia law and comparing those efforts to White supremacy. “Can you explain that one?”

El-Sayed responded by drawing a parallel between Sharia, the body of Islamic religious law derived from religious sources, and the rules and governance of the Catholic Church.

“Nobody is trying to push Sharia law on anyone else, just like I hope nobody is trying to push canon law on anybody else, because we live in an America where you should have the freedom of your religion,” El-Sayed said.

That comparison quickly generated criticism on social media, where conservative commentators argued that Sharia and Catholic canon law differ significantly in their scope and historical application.

“He lies and says no one is trying to push Sharia (they are), and draws a false equivalency to Christian Canon law,” Andrew Kolvet, executive producer of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” posted on X. “Canon law determines how Christian leaders, churches, and Christians should live, but Canon law is limited to affairs of the Church (spiritual penalties). Canon law grants great autonomy to the state.”

Kolvet continued, “Sharia law is MUCH more comprehensive, governing all aspects of life, and historically, and according to many contemporary Islamic clerics, dictates the affairs of the state.”

Political commentator Carl Jackson also criticized El-Sayed’s position, arguing that Sharia is fundamentally incompatible with Western society.

“Sharia law is incompatible with Western Civilization,” political commentator Carl Jackson posted on X. “I’m tired of El-Sayed playing the victim card in attempt to avoid legitimate scrutiny of Islam.”

Fox News contributor Kaylee McGhee White predicted that the exchange could prove politically damaging for El-Sayed in his Senate campaign.

“Yeah, it’s over for him,” Fox News contributor Kaylee McGhee White posted on X. “Rogers by 6.”

Conservative commentator and radio host Dana Loesch rejected El-Sayed’s characterization of Sharia as simply a matter of individual religious observance.

“@AbdulElSayed doesn’t get to bloviate about sharia being a mere ‘practice’ of faith when it’s Islamic jurisprudence used to supplant western jurisprudence,” conservative commentator and radio host Dana Loesch posted on X.

Michael Knowles responded sarcastically to El-Sayed’s comparison between Sharia and Catholic canon law.

“‘Jesse, the Catholic Church requires ministers to use plant oils in sacraments with the blessings of a bishop, so why shouldn’t courts allow Muslim men to have four wives?'” conservative commentator Michael Knowles posted on X.

Pamela Geller similarly argued that Catholic and Jewish religious law apply voluntarily within their respective religious communities, while asserting that Sharia has historically claimed broader authority.

“Canon law applies to Catholics,” conservative commentator Pamela Geller posted on X. “There is no compulsion is Canon law. Jewish law applies only to Jews. There is no compulsion in Jewish law. It is voluntary. The sharia is a comprehensive legal system governing every aspect of human life, and asserts authority over non-Muslims.”

Republican communications strategist Matt Whitlock said he was surprised that El-Sayed chose to defend his position rather than distance himself from his previous comments.

“This was a very strange prepared defense from Abdul,” GOP communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X. “I expected him to say it was out of context, not reflective of current views, etc. Instead he accepted the premise and defended promoting Sharia Law – opening that lane up to more attacks.”

Fox News Digital contacted El-Sayed’s campaign seeking a response to the criticism.

El-Sayed has discussed his personal adherence to Sharia-compliant practices in the past. In a 2009 interview with The New York Times, he described following such practices as a religious obligation that would ultimately matter when he stood before God.

“Ultimately, the question is, when I die and I stand before God and go through everything I did in my life, I don’t want to say I did it the easy way instead of the Shariah-compliant way,” El-Sayed told the Times.

“Not because of fear but because of obligation,” he said.

Traditional interpretations of Sharia have included severe penalties for apostasy, significant restrictions on women and provisions permitting child marriage.

El-Sayed has also previously criticized legislative attempts to ban Sharia law, arguing that such measures should be understood in the broader context of White supremacy in American history.

“The state of Oklahoma voted in a referendum to amend the constitution to ban Sharia law. What does that mean? I don’t know. And yet the voters banned it anyway,” he said in 2022. “The same exact forces that drove Native peoples from their land two centuries ago, destroyed Black Wall Street a century ago, bombed a building decades ago and tried to ban Sharia law not a decade ago, those forces are alive and well today.

“The reason I wanted to go all the way back to the 1830s is because you can’t understand a Sharia ban without understanding the Trail of Tears. You can’t understand the efforts to uproot Muslim Americans without understanding the Tulsa massacre. You cannot understand the challenges we face today without understanding White supremacy.”

{Matzav.com}

Sen. Ted Cruz is pushing back against the notion that Vice President JD Vance is already the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee for 2028, arguing that the GOP will face a major internal debate over its identity and direction once President Donald Trump leaves office.

Asked by MS NOW’s Ali Vitali whether Republicans had effectively settled on Vance as the party’s next presidential standard-bearer, the Texas Republican immediately rejected the premise.

“Oh, no,” Cruz said. “There’s going to be a full discussion about who we are and what we believe.”

Cruz has firsthand experience competing for the Republican presidential nomination, having emerged as Trump’s principal challenger during the 2016 primary campaign. He pointed out that he was Trump’s strongest opponent that year and defeated him in nominating contests across 12 states.

Despite their fierce rivalry during that campaign, Cruz offered strong praise for Trump, calling him an “extraordinary president” and arguing that his leadership has transformed the Republican Party in fundamental ways.

According to Cruz, there “is no Never Trump lane” remaining within today’s GOP. He attributed much of Trump’s enduring popularity among Republican voters to the president’s willingness to confront opponents and engage aggressively in political battles.

“Love him or hate him, you’ve got to acknowledge this guy has a backbone — he is fearless,” Cruz said. “And there are a lot of Republicans that were so tired of lily-livered Republicans who were afraid of their own shadow.”

“Trump doesn’t hide in the corner,” Cruz added, saying the president “is ferocious.”

At the same time, Cruz said he would prefer to see Trump demonstrate greater “message discipline and focus.” Cruz said the two are in frequent contact, speaking at least weekly and sometimes every day, and that he routinely gives the president his thoughts and recommendations.

“He doesn’t always listen to me, but he frequently listens to me, and I’m grateful because he’s got courage,” Cruz said.

Looking beyond Trump’s presidency, however, Cruz said Republicans will confront a much broader question: whether the movement Trump created can survive his departure from the White House and, if so, what that movement will look like under a new generation of leadership.

“Going forward, we’re in the midst of a debate about who our party is and what we believe, and I think economically we’ve got to debate, ‘Are we a small-government, free-market conservative party, or are we a big-government, nanny-state party?'” Cruz said.

Cruz, who has long identified himself with free-market economics and smaller government, said the coming Republican debate will extend beyond domestic policy to fundamental questions about America’s place in the world.

“I’ll certainly be part of the discussion because I care deeply about — economically, I think we should be a conservative party,” he said. “And on foreign policy, we’ve got to debate, ‘Are we an isolationist party that withdraws from the world or do we believe in American leadership?'”

Cruz characterized Trump’s rise and his transformation of the Republican Party around the “America First” and MAGA movements as a “Black Swan event,” saying Trump’s political phenomenon is not something another Republican candidate can simply reproduce.

“He is a unique historical figure,” Cruz said. “There’s never been anyone like him. I don’t think there will be anyone like him going forward.”

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration is warning that Washington’s Kennedy Center could ultimately face demolition and be replaced by an outdoor amphitheater if efforts to renovate and preserve the deteriorating performing arts complex are prevented from moving forward, according to a new federal court filing.

The possibility was outlined by administration attorneys in legal papers filed in an ongoing lawsuit and first reported Tuesday by NBC News. The filing does not indicate that the administration currently has a concrete plan to demolish the Kennedy Center, but presents such an outcome as a potential consequence if restoration efforts fail.

The legal filing is part of a lawsuit brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, who holds a seat on the Kennedy Center’s board because of her congressional position. Beatty filed suit last year seeking to have President Donald Trump’s name removed from the building.

Attorneys representing the administration contend that Trump’s efforts to raise money and restore the landmark are essential to preventing the aging structure from falling into further disrepair.

“Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,” the filing said.

If demolition eventually became necessary, administration officials said the valuable Potomac River site could be redeveloped. One possibility would be construction of a major open-air amphitheater overlooking the river, a concept they noted has circulated for years.

The filing conceded that replacing the Kennedy Center with such a venue would “fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy” but argued that an amphitheater would be considerably easier and cheaper to construct, operate and maintain.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has remained virtually invisible since taking power nearly six months ago, fueling mounting speculation over whether he is gravely ill, incapacitated or even dead — and prompting broader questions about who is currently exercising ultimate authority in Iran.

The uncertainty grew considerably after Khamenei failed to appear last week at a wake in Tehran that, according to the official schedule, he was supposed to host. The Atlantic reported Tuesday on the widening mystery surrounding the Iranian leader.

His failure to attend the gathering has added to questions about both his location and physical condition as Iran navigates an especially precarious political and security environment.

According to The Atlantic, Iran has not released any photograph, video or audio recording that can definitively be established as having been made since Mojtaba Khamenei became supreme leader. Some of the country’s most senior officials have reportedly admitted that they have not personally seen him during that period, among them Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who also serves on Iran’s National Security Council.

The extraordinary absence has helped fuel speculation in Iran and abroad that Khamenei may have been badly wounded during the February U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with a number of other senior Iranian officials.

There has been no independent verification of those claims.

Tehran, meanwhile, has consistently maintained that Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and in good health. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian previously sought to put the rumors to rest by saying that he had participated in an extended and productive meeting with the supreme leader, whom he described as “completely healthy.”

Media outlets linked to the Iranian government have similarly sought to dispel the growing rumors by publishing footage said to show Khamenei. On Tuesday, Fars News aired archival video reportedly filmed before his elevation to supreme leader, the second time this month that such older footage has been released.

Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News agency had previously published an undated recording in which Mojtaba Khamenei appeared healthy.

The releases, however, have done little to answer the fundamental mystery: why Iran’s supreme leader has not appeared publicly and why authorities have failed to produce a clearly current recording showing him speaking directly to the Iranian public.

The questions surrounding Khamenei come as Iran remains under enormous political and military strain after months of confrontation with the United States and Israel. Mojtaba Khamenei was elevated to Iran’s highest political and religious position after his father was killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28.

The uncertainty over Khamenei’s status is reportedly affecting the Iranian government’s ability to function as well. According to The Atlantic, the apparent leadership vacuum has complicated Tehran’s efforts to settle consequential disagreements, including disputes over talks with Washington and growing friction among rival factions within the Iranian regime.

With uncertainty surrounding the supreme leader’s role, Iran’s National Security Council has reportedly taken on greater importance as a venue for collective decisions. That development has fueled additional questions over how much power Khamenei is actually wielding, assuming he remains actively involved in governing.

The stakes are particularly high because Iran’s supreme leader occupies the ultimate position of power within the Islamic Republic. If Khamenei is incapacitated for an extended period — or has died — Iran could face another battle over succession while already confronting military setbacks, economic difficulties and significant divisions within its political establishment.

Reports questioning Khamenei’s health have surfaced before. Earlier this month, IranWire, citing sources with connections to the Pezeshkian administration, reported that high-ranking officials were increasingly worried about his condition and that talk of his possible imminent death was circulating at the uppermost levels of the Iranian government.

Khamenei’s allies have dismissed the reports, while Iranian authorities have continued efforts to portray the supreme leader as healthy and fully capable of carrying out his duties.

{Matzav.com}

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir vowed Tuesday that Israel will press ahead with its campaign to dismantle Hamas and demilitarize Gaza, declaring that every terrorist involved in the October 7 massacre will ultimately be tracked down and eliminated.

Zamir made the remarks during a visit to IDF forces operating in Gaza, where he was joined by Southern Command Chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, Gaza Division Commander Brig. Gen. Liron Bitito, as well as brigade and battalion commanders serving in the area.

As part of the tour, the chief of staff met with commanders on the ground and received detailed briefings regarding the current operational picture and the activities being carried out by Israeli forces throughout the region.

Zamir thanked the soldiers and commanders for their continued operations in Gaza and their efforts to protect Israeli civilians. Looking back at the nearly three years of fighting since the October 7 attack, he said: “In about a month and a half, we will mark three years since October 7. Three years in which the IDF has faced a complex, continuous, multi-front campaign-in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and additional arenas.”

Discussing the scope of the war and the IDF’s accomplishments across the different theaters, Zamir added: “This is a very significant challenge for the IDF, and we have achieved extraordinary results on every front and in every sector. Our forces have prevailed in every battle, significantly weakened all our enemies, and struck their capabilities and infrastructure. We continue to prepare and remain vigilant on all fronts, understanding that the campaign is not over.”

Turning specifically to the war in Gaza, Zamir emphasized that the military remains committed to eliminating Hamas’s capabilities and preventing the terrorist organization from reconstituting itself.

“In Gaza, we are not giving up on the overriding objective-demilitarizing Gaza and dismantling Hamas, using all necessary means. We continue to systematically target Hamas and its leaders wherever they are, as part of an ongoing campaign to prevent it from rebuilding its strength.”

Zamir also made clear that Israel’s effort to locate and eliminate those responsible for the October 7 atrocities remains an active and long-term mission.

“The pursuit of the October 7 terrorists continues. Anyone who took part in the massacre will be hunted down until they are all eliminated. This is a long-term mission to which the command and the entire IDF are committed.”

According to Zamir, the failures surrounding October 7 have also led to a fundamental shift in the IDF’s approach to threats against Israel, with the military determined not to return to the policies that existed before the attack.

“Our message is clear: We investigated and are learning the lessons. The IDF will not return to the concepts we experienced on October 6. There will be no containment of threats.”

Zamir said the new approach means acting against emerging dangers before terrorist organizations are able to strengthen themselves or establish new infrastructure.

“We will not allow the enemy to rebuild itself, we will not allow terrorist infrastructure to become established, and we will act whenever possible to eliminate threats as they emerge,” he said.

Addressing the concerns of Israelis living near areas threatened by terrorist activity, Zamir said the military is attentive to residents and remains positioned between the communities and potential threats.

“We are listening to the voices of the residents, understand their concerns, and will know how to reach anyone behind a threat against them,” Zamir said. “Our forces are deployed on the front lines ahead of the communities and continue to thwart terrorist infrastructure and terrorists.”

Zamir also pointed to the rapid redeployment of IDF units between Israel’s different fronts. He recalled meeting commanders from the Givati Brigade and the 401st Brigade along the northern border only about three months earlier, before those forces returned to operations in Gaza.

“Now you are here, continuing to deepen the achievements in Gaza. Southern Command and the division continue to precisely thwart threats whenever the opportunity arises.”

Concluding his remarks, Zamir praised both active-duty and reserve troops for the results achieved on the battlefield, while acknowledging the extraordinary demands that the prolonged war has placed on reservists and their families.

“There are tremendous achievements here, based on the determined and uncompromising activity of the forces on the ground. This is also not the first time I have met the reservist battalion of the 11th Brigade. The battalion is mobilized for 90 days in this round. I am aware of the extraordinary burden on reservists and their families. We are committed to continuing to act on your behalf.”

{Matzav.com}

Hadar Cohen, the premature infant delivered by emergency Caesarean section after her mother was killed in a devastating car accident six weeks ago, died Tuesday at Assuta Ashdod Public Hospital, bringing a heartbreaking end to a 42-day battle for her life.

Hadar’s mother, Tzofia Cohen, was killed in the serious collision while approximately 30 weeks pregnant. Following the crash, doctors at Assuta Ashdod performed an emergency Caesarean section in an effort to save her unborn child.

The baby was delivered at just 30 weeks and immediately admitted to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. For the next six weeks, doctors and other medical personnel provided intensive treatment as they worked to keep the critically premature infant alive.

Hospital officials said Hadar underwent complicated and intensive treatment throughout the 42 days following her birth. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, her condition ultimately could not be overcome, and she was pronounced dead Tuesday.

“It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of the premature baby Hadar Cohen,” Assuta Ashdod Public Hospital said. “Since her birth, the neonatal intensive care teams fought for her life and provided her with dedicated and complex medical treatment. Sadly, she passed away today.”

The hospital expressed its condolences to Hadar’s grieving relatives, who have now suffered the loss of both mother and child within a span of six weeks.

“Assuta Ashdod Hospital shares in the family’s profound grief at this difficult time.”

Following the original crash, Magen David Adom motorcycle unit emergency medical technician Yisrael Meir Gayan described arriving at a scene where two vehicles had collided head-on and both had suffered significant front-end damage.

“This was a head-on collision between two vehicles. The vehicles had sustained damage to their front ends. A woman approximately 30 years old had an altered level of consciousness and was suffering from multiple injuries to her body. Four other people from the vehicles were walking around at the scene and had sustained minor injuries. We provided everyone with medical treatment and evacuated them by ambulance to the hospital for further examinations and treatment.”

{Matzav.com}

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow on Tuesday, according to multiple reports, solving at least part of the mystery surrounding a U.S. military transport plane that flew from the Washington area to the Russian capital.

Ratcliffe reportedly traveled aboard a C-17 transport aircraft that originated at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, a facility routinely used for travel by senior U.S. government officials.

The aircraft made a stop in Latvia before continuing on to Moscow, initially triggering speculation about who was aboard after both the Pentagon and White House declined to identify the passengers.

CBS News and Axios subsequently reported that Ratcliffe was the senior official who had traveled to Russia.

The CIA did not immediately provide additional information about the reported visit when contacted for comment.

Ratcliffe is regarded as one of President Donald Trump’s closest and most trusted advisers and has played a significant role in the administration’s handling of the war with Iran. It was not immediately clear, however, what issues the CIA chief planned to discuss with Russian officials or whom he was scheduled to meet during the Moscow visit.

Efforts to find a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war, which have remained stalled for an extended period, have largely been overseen by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law. The two traveled to Moscow in January for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ratcliffe’s reported visit also comes ahead of another planned trip to Russia by a senior U.S. law enforcement official. FBI Director Kash Patel is reportedly preparing to travel to Russia in October.

{Matzav.com}

What does “Shabbos Mode” actually do—and what doesn’t it do? Rabbi Shmuel Katz, Rabbinic Coordinator at the cRC, joins Rabbi Yitzchok Hisiger for an important discussion about the halachic realities, potential pitfalls, and different types of Shabbos modes found in today’s ovens.

WATCH:

View it in its entirety at: https://www.kashrusawareness.com/post/shabbos-mode-are-you-sure 

Listen wherever you get your podcasts!

https://open.spotify.com/show/6Rj5rIndHc886Fblqh8U49 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-talk-kashrus/id1631553497 

https://24six.app/app/podcast/collection/985

https://mytat.me/o112

https://www.kosher.com/shows/lets-talk-kashrus-73

CLICK HERE to watch more episodes of Let’s Talk Kashrus

______

We invite your questions, comments, or feedback. If there’s a specific kashrus topic you’d like to bring to public attention, feel free to contact us by email: info@kashrusawareness.com

Message or call: 678-8-Kosher

You can also visit our website  www.kashrusawareness.com for a growing list of resources, timely conversations, and to watch episodes of the Let’s Talk Kashrus audio-visual series.

Join a Let’s Talk Kashrus WhatsApp Group for educational content and kashrus updates

Click here to Join a LTK WhatsApp Group

Transcription

Hello and welcome back to Let’s Talk Kashrus, presented by the cRC, the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Today I am privileged to be joined by Rabbi Shmuel Katz, rabbinical coordinator at the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Rabbi Katz, welcome to the Let’s Talk Kashrus studio. 

Thank you for having me here. 

It’s a pleasure to have you here all the way from Chicago to discuss a very pertinent topic, something that comes up a lot, and that’s the topic of Shabbos mode on ovens. So just so that we proceed through this conversation responsibly, could you define for our viewers and our listeners, what does Shabbosmode do on an oven and then we’ll get into the practical and halachic ramifications? So what is Shabbos mode? Okay, so that’s a very loaded question, what is Shabbos mode? And that’s where the misunderstanding start immediately. Appliances have been hitting consumer houses for about a hundred years. The shailos from the poskim are about a hundred years old already. 

These been building on each other, but appliances are not static. They’ve changed. They’re not the same thermostat that Rav Shlomo Zalman wrote his teshuvos on. It’s a very different product today. 

And even from Shabbos modes in their twenty-five plus year history have been solving different problems. So in the original days, they were more convenience-based. They’ve morphed at some point into severe halachic shailos and then the psakim involved have also kept up. And now there’s multiple Shabbos modes available on the market for the consumers to be able to get to. 

So on a practical level, and correct me if anything I say is not accurate, but the way I understand it is that the chief Shabbosmode addresses certain electrical issues on an oven. If it’s an electrical oven where, you know, you have lights that will go on or numbers that will change and things of that sort. Once it’s in Shabbos mode, that gets solved and now the oven can be opened and closed without triggering any of anything electrical. It didn’t sound so sophisticated, but does that make sense? So yes, but the answer’s going to really depend on the model and the oven. 

It’s going to be crucial to look at the instructions from the certifier on how to use it properly. For example, some models, they may have a freezer may have an ice maker that’s not connected to the main computer. Some ovens have a light that’s not connected to the main computer. So they’ll have a Shabbos mode and it’ll solve a lot of problems, but it can’t solve the light in the oven or the ice maker in the freezer because it’s not connected to the main computer. 

If it’s not connected to the computer, they have to be disabled separately. And these instructions you’ll be able to find from the certifier in their instructions on how to use that model properly. So obviously it’s very important to know what the rules are from the certifier and how to use the Shabbos mode properly and what it does or doesn’t solve is very important. When you say certifier, you mean that an actual kashrusorganization is certifying the Shabbos mode on an oven? Is that usually the way it works? That should be the way it works. 

Okay. But it’s a very important first step is to find out if there is a certifier. At this point, almost all models on the market are going to have some form of a Shabbos mode. Some of them don’t have a certifier. 

So there’s no one who’s looked at this from a halachicstandpoint and said this is kosher to use at all. So the company did that on their own volition? They decided to have a Shabbos mode to attract Orthodox consumers? So for one reason or another, sometimes it’s there because it was designed at one point with a kashrus agency and then they no longer work with that or they stuck it on a model that they couldn’t fully solve and an agency can’t certify. So the first step is to make sure there is a certification agency. If there’s no certification, no certifier on the Shabbos mode, there’s no way to know that it’s working properly unless you do extensive testing yourself, which is above the average consumer’s skills. 

I would also add that generally, if you’re buying your appliances from a frum purveyor of appliances, usually that frum proprietor will be able to tell you which appliances have, you know, I’ll use Town Appliance as an example, one of the largest provider of appliances to the frum community. I know that they’re very well versed in the Shabbos mode options in various appliances. So, you know, that’s a place to start, but like you said, you have to verify with each individual whatever agency it is that’s certifying it. Now, from what I understand, which is absolutely mind-boggling, is that tremendous michsholim have come out of the Shabbos mode, strangely, because Shabbos mode is there to solve Shabbosproblems. 

But unfortunately, either due to ignorance or just, you know, assumptions or lack of awareness, people have made assumptions about Shabbos mode. For example, there’s an issur of bishul on Shabbos. You’re not allowed to cook on Shabbos. No matter how your oven is designed, you can’t cook on Shabbos. 

But are people not realizing that Shabbos mode may solve an appliance issue, but you still can’t take food and cook it in an oven even if it has a Shabbos mode? If you could elaborate on that. Yeah, so that’s very important. When the first Shabbosmodes came out, they called it Shabbos mode, and then it was discovered that people were using it to cook on Shabbos. Putting it into Shabbos mode meant that the oven is now solved. 

So it’s crucial to remember the regular halachos of an oven apply, the regular issur of bishul is going to apply. The shehiya is still going to apply, which means you can’t leave raw food in an oven from before Shabbos without a blech, and ovens don’t have a blech. Chazara, you can’t put stuff back into an oven on Shabbos even if it’s fully cooked, again, because it needs a blech. So most ovens do not have a system to have a blech. 

Even in a lot of, even in Shabbos mode, they may not have a system that allows for that. And those halachos continue to apply as well. Shabbos mode has also introduced new angles to various challenges, which means depending on how the Shabbos mode was built, certain activities may or may not have been allowed in doing it. The Star-K in a lot of their models, they say very clearly that after you open the oven door, you can’t close it with any food still inside on Shabbos. 

And this is related to the original psak of Rav Shlomo Zalmanand the original machlokes with thermostats, but it’s since then morphed into the way they’ve designed their Shabbosmode. So you’re saying, you’re saying to clarify, this Star-K caveat, even if the food is fully cooked, there are certain ovens that once you open it up, you can’t close it on Shabbos. That’s what you’re saying. That is correct. 

And the Star-K makes this clear in their, in their manual, that that is not allowed to close it. So these, the consumer needs to be aware of what the Shabbos mode is, how the Shabbosmode’s working, and what it does or doesn’t allow even with things as simple as what you may have been used to doing for many years is to have your soup in there and your chicken for Friday night and have your cholent for Shabbos day in there, and you take your soup and chicken out and close it and leave your cholent in there for Shabbos day. That may not be allowed even in certain Shabbos modes. Depending on, depending on the model. 

This would depend on the model and how the Shabbos mode itself was built, so it’s going to depend. Got it. So basically we can’t give a blanket statement about any appliances here because you’re saying it varies from appliance to appliance and from certifier to certifier. So unfortunately we like to give practical advice, but as much as we like to do that, we can’t do that, you’re saying, because it varies. 

It does vary model to model, it does vary also from certifier to certifier. The new GE models, just to give very practical advice, GE has two things. Number one is that some of their ovens actually have two Shabbos modes together. So you can get a GE, a GE oven, and it’ll have two Shabbos modes available for it. 

And one is going to be completely uncertified and the other one is certified by the OU. Doing the same exact thing or doing… They are working differently. They’re two separate settings, two separate modes on the oven. 

The way to access them would be different. But you can buy a GE model and assume that it has and end up in the wrong Shabbos mode that’s completely uncertified. So with GE ovens, the ones that are completely uncertified, we don’t, no one knows what they do. No one from our community has been checking on that. 

But on the certified version with the OU, it’s certified by the OU and it has, they’ve solved a lot of problems and you can read their instructions for it. So they have, they do solve a lot more issues in certain ways, but it does have a different type of Shabbos mode than a lot of other brands that have a regular Shabbos mode. The Star-K also has an additional Shabbosmode called what they call the New Shabbos mode, which also solves some of the old problems and also another very different way. So if I had to break it down, there’s let’s say four Shabbos modes available on the market right now in, and this is for the American USA consumer. 

Obviously in Eretz Yisroel it’s a whole different parsha, which is not, we’re not going to discuss here. But there’s four Shabbos modes. One is the company’s own engineer stuck the name on and no one knows what it does. Number two is the Star-K, who’s been the real pioneer in Shabbos modes in building that relationship with appliance manufacturers, their regular Shabbos mode. 

The Star-K more recently has come up with something they call the New Shabbos mode, which also solves problems that a lot of people wanted to be solved as the shailas got more severe. And then GE has a relationship with the OU where they have their own what they call Enhanced Shabbos mode. So yeah, it does sound a little similar, the names. A regular Shabbos mode versus a New Shabbos mode or an Enhanced Shabbos mode or or just a Shabbos mode that’s not certified at all. 

Now we’ve been talking largely about ovens and when people hear Shabbos mode they think of ovens, but there are Shabbosmodes for other appliances. There are Shabbos modes for other appliances as well. Like refrigerators? Refrigerators and ice makers, freezers, or right, refrigerators, freezers, some other small appliances. The biggest michshol happens in ovens, which is why the focus today is specifically on ovens because the biggest michshol is on ovens. 

Got it. Any other thoughts on this topic before we wrap up that you would share with our viewers? So there’s three things that need to happen when you’re getting an oven: is to verify that there is a certifier. There is the second thing is to verify what the certifier says is allowed. And there’s a third thing we didn’t have a chance to discuss yet which is: it’s crucial to figure out if your rov will tell you to follow the psakim of the certifier. 

And that is a crucial step in this. The Shabbos modes are built based on the certifiers’ psakim that they have, and they may not be universal. Sometimes I give the example of CholovStam. It’s certified, but it still remains Cholov Stam. 

So if you don’t eat Cholov Stam and it’s not Cholov Yisroel, it won’t be for you. It won’t be for you. Right. So it’s crucial to understand that there are psakim involved in this. 

The way they’re solved is not always universally accepted, and therefore it’s worth speaking with your own rov based on the Shabbos mode you have and how it works to figure out what may or may not be acceptable for you in your house. I want to point out something also which we didn’t mention before is the Shabbos, but there’s also Yom Tov. You know that people and again you’ll tell me if this is correct, but on Yom Tov you may be allowed to cook, right, bishul‘s mutar on Yom Tov, but you’ll still need your Shabbos mode on your oven to solve other issues like the electrical issues and lights and so on and so forth. So you mention bishul sheyei chazarah and things like that. 

Those may not be issues on Yom Tov, but a Shabbos mode is still going to be vitally important and you have to speak to your possek or whoever it is, the certifier, to find out what the parameters are for Yom Tov use. Correct. So to discuss a specific sheilah that’s on ovens, which would be very nogeiahfor Yom Tov and are really very nogeiah for Shabbos, is in more recently, it’s not recent as in the last five years, this has already been going on for well over ten years or longer, they’ve put a door switch on. So we’re used to door switches from our fridges and from our ovens. 

We open the oven door, the fridge door, the lights go on, and then we close it, the lights go off. So thirty years ago, forty years ago, we just unscrewed the light bulb, and that was the only thing the door switch did. Since then, these door switches have started controlling a lot of various parts of the fridge and oven. And to focus on ovens specifically, a lot of door switches today when you open the oven door, it turns off the heating in there. 

So until now, the sheilah has always been when you open the oven door, the cold air comes in and turns the fire on. What’s happening now in a lot of ovens or almost maybe even most ovens, you open the oven door, the oven says, “Hey, the door’sopen, there’s no purpose in heating this, let’s turn it off until they close the door.” So there is a bit of a safety element there, it’s also much more efficient that way. So when you open the oven door, you’re turning the oven off, and almost even more severely, when you close the oven door, you’re not just closing the oven door, you’re actually turning the oven back on. And this is not happening by magic, it’s happening by a physical door switch. 

So with the oven door closing, you’re pushing a button which tells the oven, “Please turn yourself back on.” And obviously, pushing a button directly on Shabbos to turn your oven on is going to be assur according to everyone. But that is one of the most severe sheilahs on ovens, and that will be a problem on Yom Tov as well. Happens to be in the oven that I have in my house, which we purchased from Town Appliance, we got a magnet from them. They supplied it for us to put on the I guess it’s the door switch that de-compresses the button so that it stays pushed down and it won’t trigger anything. 

But that’s just one example of addressing that problem. Right, and the various Shabbos modes solve that problem differently of a door switch. The various Shabbos modes solve it differently, and some rabbonim recommend even in Shabbosmode to make sure you have that magnet. Right, exactly. 

In my case, we still need to put the oven into Shabbos mode. So you really need to do multiple things. You do both. You’re putting the oven into Shabbos mode because of a whole series of issues that it solves, and then you’re putting the magnet on essentially because your own rov is saying this one particular issue we don’t like the way the Shabbos mode solves it and therefore you should use a magnet to disable that manually and independently. 

So sometimes when you have an oven, so the Shabbos mode will tell you you need to put it into Shabbos mode plus do this, and sometimes your rov will give you an additional step of putting a magnet over the door switch, which is very common that a lot of rabbonim give that psak to do that. Additionally, some people will do it for practical reasons because if you want to leave food in your oven on Shabbosand the Star-K Shabbos mode solves it in a way that doesn’t allow for that, the magnet may help for that. Leave food in the oven in the oven on Shabbos. Again, all with the guidance of your rav on what’s appropriate for leaving food in the oven on Shabbos and opening and closing the oven door on Shabbos. 

Got it, Rabbi Katz. Thanks for joining us. Thank you for informing us about the Shabbos mode issues. Again, to our viewers and listeners, without a doubt, they should consult their rav and posek and speak to the respective certifiers of various appliances to get the full picture of what’s necessary. 

But thank you for being here and giving us this information. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you for having me. Behatzlacha in shmiras Shabbos and behatzlacha for KlalYisrael. 

Continued hatzlacha. Thank you.

Residents of Modiin Illit are expressing outrage after prolonged and repeated power outages left families in several buildings without electricity for hours, with some residents saying they were without power from shortly before Shabbos until after Shabbos ended.

Shmuel and Rachel, two residents of the city, described the difficult conditions during an interview on Kol Chai’s Osim Seder program, hosted by Hillel Kessler. They said the latest outage was not an isolated incident but part of what residents say has become a recurring problem in the city.

Shmuel said electricity went out at approximately 4 p.m. Friday, in the middle of preparations for Shabbos. Residents initially expected service to be restored within the timeframe they had been given, but the hours continued to pass with no electricity.

Shmuel ate the Friday night seudah elsewhere, but when he returned home, he discovered that his street was still completely dark.

“I’m simply helpless. At the end of the day, I have no lights, no air conditioning, I have nothing,” he said.

The food that had been placed on the hot plate for Shabbos was also left cold because of the outage.

Conditions grew increasingly difficult overnight as families struggled through the August heat without air conditioning. Shmuel said residents tried taking showers to cool themselves down, while some families attempted to run electrical cables from generators belonging to neighbors.

The most painful moment, he said, came when he could hear “the crying of the babies from the upper floors.”

Children were forced to cope with the darkness, he added, while members of his own household were barely able to sleep through the sweltering night.

Rachel, who lives in another section of Modiin Illit, said residents have experienced numerous outages in recent weeks and that the latest incident was far from unusual.

She cited another outage on Thursday during a critical period of Shabbos preparations, as well as a nearly three-hour blackout on Tisha B’Av.

“It’s a real catastrophe; it has already become unbearable,” Rachel said.

She also claimed that following one of the outages, the building’s solar water-heating system was damaged, forcing residents to rely on electric water heaters instead.

The Israel Electric Corporation said in response that crews worked to identify the source of the malfunction and restore electricity to the affected area.

According to the company, an initial investigation found that electricity consumption in the area was experiencing “higher demand than planned.”

The utility said some of the discrepancy stems from electrical connections and additional consumption that were not reported in advance and therefore were not incorporated into planning for the local electrical grid.

The Israel Electric Corporation added that it is working together with the Modiin Illit municipality on a professional assessment of the situation and on long-term solutions aimed at strengthening the reliability of the city’s electricity supply and preventing similar outages from recurring.

{Matzav.com}