The Knesset on Monday night passed in first reading a bill that would make permanent a temporary order banning Qatari network Al Jazeera‘s operations in Israel.
The temporary order, “Preventing a Foreign Broadcasting Organization from Harming State Security (Temporary Provision‒Swords of Iron),” was extended for six months in May and is set to expire on Nov. 30.
According to the explanatory section of the current bill, which was proposed by Knesset member Ariel Kallner of the Likud Party:
“Due to the need to preserve the powers and tools required to deal with foreign channels whose broadcast content seriously harms national security, even unconnected from the ‘Swords of Iron War,’ it is proposed to determine that the temporary order will become a standing order and its validity will not depend on significant military operations or the declaration of a special situation on the home front.”
Other provisions of the bill include expanding the powers of the communications minister to deal with hostile news outlets, and eliminating the need for court approval to take actions against them.
“We are fighting not only against those who shoot at us. Limiting the fight to that misses the entire concept of the Islamist imperialist threat,” Likud lawmaker Ariel Kallner told JNS on Tuesday. “We are fighting against that ideology and against those who, through propaganda, recruit terrorists. Al Jazeera is one of their weapons. They brainwash people, incite hatred—and the result is Oct. 7,” he added, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Kallner noted that Israel is in a constant state of war against this threat and warned that the entire Western world faces growing danger.
Al Jazeera, he said, operates with two main “arms.” One, he explained, functions as an intelligence arm—taking photos, revealing the locations of Israeli soldiers, publishing that information worldwide and leaking it to terrorist groups. The other is its propaganda arm, through which the network presents itself as a journalistic outlet.
“Some of our former hostages, like Noa Argamani, were held by Al Jazeera employees, and some of them even took part in the Oct. 7 massacre,” said Kallner. “I can’t say that without Al Jazeera Oct. 7 wouldn’t have happened, but it is certainly one of the tools of this Islamist threat.”
“We must protect ourselves and not allow them to broadcast freely and spread propaganda,” he continued.
In 2024, lawmakers voted 71-10 to pass the original legislation giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the authority to shut down Al Jazeera. Under that law, the communications minister may act against a foreign channel that harms the state’s security, with the consent of the prime minister and the approval of the Cabinet.
The measure enabled authorities to order television providers to stop broadcasting the Qatari news outlet, close its offices in Israel, seize its equipment, shut down its website and revoke press credentials for staff.
In September, Jerusalem announced its intention to revoke all press passes of Al Jazeera reporters working in territory under its control.
Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and has provided the terrorist group with hundreds of millions of dollars, played a role in mediating the release of some hostages from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. JNS
{Matzav.com}
Is the coalition on the brink of collapse over the draft law? Commentators Yaakov Rivlin and attorney Avi Bloom offered sharply differing analyses during a discussion on the Main Edition program with Avi Mimran, assessing the prime minister’s fragile standing with his chareidi partners and the growing internal tension surrounding the controversial legislation.
Bloom began by asserting that “Netanyahu keeps delaying discussions in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about the draft issue — not because he’s evading it, but because he has no answers from the chareidim.” Despite numerous meetings with gedolim, Bloom said, “there’s still no agreed formula. Meir Porush himself told me, ‘I’m not submitting any draft to the Rebbes because I have no idea whether it’s something we can move forward with.’”
Bloom added that Netanyahu “knows full well this law won’t pass without clear chareidi consent, and it’s possible he’s already thinking ahead — perhaps toward elections.”
Rivlin, however, argued that “the real battle isn’t in the Knesset — it’s among us. There’s no internal consensus, neither in the Litvishe Moetzes nor among the chassidim. Everyone knows there’s a deep divide between supporters and opponents of the law.” The heart of the issue, he said, is simple: “Can we live with a law that calls for drafting 4,800 bochurim a year? Everything else is just noise.”
Turning his attention to public expectations, Rivlin criticized the notion that Netanyahu should “defend the chareidim,” calling it “a badge of shame. We have representatives in the Knesset — let one of them get up and speak. We don’t need a feudal lord to protect us.”
Bloom disagreed. “The chareidi public is Netanyahu’s most loyal partner. When vile statements are made in the plenum, it’s only natural to expect him to stand up and say — the chareidi community is not an enemy, it’s a faithful ally.”
Rivlin countered, “He didn’t defend Ben-Gvir either when he was under fire. Everyone defends himself — enough with this mindset that someone needs to protect us.”
The discussion then shifted to the ideological divide within the chareidi camp. “There are groups that don’t want any law at all,” Rivlin said. “Their approach is chaos — as long as there’s no law, they’re happy.” Bloom warned that “anyone who imagines that the Torah world can simply cut itself off from the state is mistaken. Without a law, thousands of families will starve. Even now, roshei kollel can’t raise funds — the donors are closing the spigots.”
Drawing a historical parallel, Rivlin compared the current dispute to the famous debate between the Chazon Ish and the Satmar Rav: “The Chazon Ish understood that the Torah world couldn’t survive without the state — and today we see the results: hundreds of thousands learning Torah, a massive teshuvah movement — all thanks to that historic decision.”
Bloom concluded on a spiritual note: “At the end of the day, the yeshivos are the mezuzah of the state. As long as the state helps support Torah learning, it carries deep spiritual meaning. Anyone who wants to sever that connection is essentially removing the mezuzah from the house.”
{Matzav.com}
After nearly four years of deliberation, retired judge David Hashin is expected to release his long-awaited arbitration ruling in the decades-long dispute that has divided Ponevezh Yeshiva. Both sides have been informed that the decision will be issued pending final payment arrangements.
The ruling will determine the future of the famed yeshiva and could finally bring closure to the bitter conflict between the two factions, know generally as the Sonim and the Mechablim.
Payments Before the Verdict
According to information obtained by sources, both parties must pay Judge Hashin a total of 700,000 shekels — 350,000 from each side — in addition to 300,000 shekels still owed by the Mechablim. Only after these payments are completed will the arbitration ruling be released.
No one — apart from Hashin himself — yet knows the content of the verdict. However, several possible outcomes have been discussed in the media and by those close to the case.
Possible Outcomes
Option 1: Dividing the Hill
One scenario would divide the Ponevezh campus into northern and southern sections — though this is considered among the less likely possibilities. Under such an arrangement, the Sonim faction would retain the southern section, including dormitories and administrative areas, while the Mechablim would control the northern side, which includes the smaller beis medrash with the gold Aron Kodesh.
Option 2: Complete Removal of One Faction
A more dramatic option would grant the Sonim faction full control over the hill, forcing the Mechablim to relocate elsewhere in Bnei Brak. Such a decision would likely come with substantial financial compensation, and possibly the transfer of the “Ponevezh” name and brand to the Mechablim — a reversal of the current situation, in which the Sonim faction legally controls the yeshiva’s title and organization.
Option 3: The Reverse — Total Transfer to the Mechablim
The least probable, though theoretically possible, ruling would be the opposite: awarding complete control of the campus to the Mechablim, requiring the Sonim faction to evacuate, with compensation provided by the Mechablim for their relocation.
Option 4: “Gud Oy Agud ” Formula
Another potential solution would allow both sides to submit sealed offers stating how much they are willing to pay to retain the campus. The side willing and able to meet the higher bid would retain the property. In such a scenario, observers believe the Sonim faction is more likely to prevail financially.
Regardless of which outcome emerges, the ruling is expected to be historic — either cementing the long-standing division or bringing about a dramatic realignment. For now, the Torah world awaits the decision, contingent on the full payment to the arbitrator.
{Matzav.com}
A senior Chareidi official involved in the ongoing negotiations over Israel’s proposed draft law has expressed deep skepticism that a final version will ever be approved. “There won’t be a draft law because there is no agreement on it,” he said Monday night in the Knesset. “It’s quite possible that it simply won’t pass.”
The official, who has been closely tracking developments around the legislation meant to define the status of yeshiva students, added, “It’s convenient for the Chareidim as well to delay the legislation, which probably wouldn’t have a majority in the Knesset and likely wouldn’t withstand a Supreme Court challenge.”
He predicted that after the failure to pass the bill, the Chareidi parties and Prime Minister Netanyahu would reach a mutual understanding on holding elections “after Pesach.”
This comes as the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by MK Boaz Bismuth, has not convened this week to discuss the latest draft of the proposed law. While in the past Chareidi MKs would have protested such delays, this time they have not pressed for renewed discussions. Sources indicate that despite appearances last week that rabbinic leaders had approved moving forward, prominent gedolim remain opposed to key clauses in the current draft, stalling the process further.
Behind the scenes, Shas leader Aryeh Deri and United Torah Judaism chairman Moshe Gafni have been consulting on possible revisions to the bill to address the demands of the committee’s legal adviser, Attorney Miri Frenkel-Shor. She has called for significant amendments, including raising first-year enlistment targets to around 5,700—a figure about a thousand higher than what the Chareidi side agreed to—and retaining a controversial clause requiring yeshiva students and kollel members to record attendance through fingerprint verification.
The disagreements over quotas and sanctions remain unresolved, and with the legislative window narrowing, Chareidi leaders now acknowledge that the chances of the draft law moving forward before elections are slim.
{Matzav.com}
