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A fierce political and legal storm erupted again this week after Leon Panetta weighed in on allegations of a second U.S. strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean. Speaking on CNN, Panetta did not mince words, insisting, “I don’t think there’s any question that that’s a war crime, if it happened in that way.” He emphasized that the matter now rests with congressional oversight, noting that “the Armed Services Committee in both the Senate and the House have indicated that they’re going to do a full investigation of this issue.”

Panetta continued by highlighting that Washington is bracing for differing interpretations of what occurred, especially after recent public comments by the president. “And I think that’s what’s needed, because, there’s obviously going to be a lot of different viewpoints, you heard what the president said. But, I think, ultimately it’s up to those committees to find out exactly what happened. And if it was a war crime, to make sure we hold people accountable,” he said.

The renewed pressure on the administration follows reports from CNN and The Washington Post that surfaced late last week, asserting that two survivors of an initial strike in September were killed in a subsequent U.S. attack. Lawmakers from both parties have since demanded clarity about what unfolded and who authorized the operation.

Against that backdrop, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly rejected the allegations, firing back at the reporting and accusing the media of distorting the facts. He blasted the coverage as “fake news,” setting off a wave of commentary across political circles.

Hegseth doubled down in a follow-up message posted on X, writing, “As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland.” He insisted the mission parameters have been clear from the outset, stating, “As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes.’ The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”

The controversy now moves to Capitol Hill, where committees will determine whether the operation was within legal boundaries—or whether, as Panetta suggested, the incident demands accountability at the highest levels.

{Matzav.com}

BREAKING: The Trump administration has officially halted all immigration and naturalization for people from 19 designated third-world countries — including migrants who already passed their citizenship tests and those who have entered the U.S. since January 20, 2021.

Talks between Russia and the U.S. on ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were constructive, but much work remains, Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on Wednesday. Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin in talks that began late Tuesday as part […]

AP projects James Solomon (D) has won the race for Jersey City, NJ mayor. He defeats ex-NJ governor Jim McGreevey (D)

The White House has opened sign-ups for “Trump accounts,” a new federal savings program under the Big Beautiful Bill that gives eligible children born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028 a $1,000 government-funded deposit into a tax-deferred investment account. • Families and employers can add up to $5,000 a year (with up to […]

Guinness World Records has notified an Israeli nonprofit that it is refusing to review any new submissions from both Israel and the Palestinian territories, according to a Channel 12 report.

The revelation came after Matnat Chaim, an organization renowned for facilitating altruistic kidney donations, reached out to Guinness about a massive event it is preparing in Jerusalem. The group is working on assembling 2,000 kidney donors in a single location — a spectacle it hoped would earn recognition in the next edition of the record book.

What the organization expected to be a routine inquiry instead turned into a disappointment. As Channel 12 reported, officials at Guinness explained that they are currently declining entries from Israel as well as from Gaza and the West Bank, meaning the charity’s planned photo of the historic gathering would not even be considered.

Rachel Heber, who heads Matnat Chaim, expressed deep frustration over the decision. She told Channel 12, “Israel is leading the whole world in this wonderful revolution of mutual responsibility in altruistic kidney donations. The fact that Guinness refuses to include the Israeli achievement that astonished the entire medical world is unacceptable.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump used a routine Cabinet meeting Tuesday to launch an extraordinary barrage against Rep. Ilhan Omar, turning a discussion of Minnesota’s $1 billion Feeding Our Future fraud scandal into a broadside against one of his most frequent progressive antagonists and the Somali-American community she represents. Trump repeatedly branded Omar a “terrible person,” claiming […]

Tennessee Special Election – Early Results (TN-07) With 27% reporting, Trump-endorsed Republican Matt Van Epps leads with 57.2% (24,094 votes). Democrat Aftyn Behn has 41.3% (17,379 votes).

DRAMATIC RESCUE: First responders in West Virginia rescued a truck driver after his 18-wheeler skidded on a snow-slicked highway and went over the side of a bridge, leaving the cab suspended nearly 100 feet above the ground.

LAKEWOOD: A major Atzeres Tefillah will be held tonight on behalf of Mordechai ben Sarah Rina, who is set to be sentenced tomorrow and faces years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the DOJ Harmeet Dhillon today at the Israel Hayom Conference in Manhattan.

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed new details about a strike on an alleged drug boat in September that has sparked intense criticism and calls for investigations.

There were pictures all week — learning in the Churva, a siyum overlooking Har HaBayis, singing by the Kineret, groups moving together through Shilo, Har Gerizim, and Meron. But the photos only hinted at the real story. Behind every image was something deeper: nearly two hundred participants — representing tens of thousands who learn with […]

Syrian media reports that Syrian security forces thwarted an attempt to smuggle 1,250 landmines to Hezbollah. According to the reports, four local individuals involved in the smuggling attempt across the Syria–Lebanon border were arrested, and one additional suspect was neutralized during clashes with Syrian security forces.

A prominent Israeli charity says it has been abruptly shut out of Guinness World Records after the organization informed it that it is no longer accepting submissions from Israel or the Palestinian territories. According to Channel 12, the nonprofit Matnat Chaim, which has helped transform Israel into a global leader in altruistic kidney donations, contacted […]

Hillary Clinton used her appearance at the Yisroel Hayom Conference in New York to deliver a stark warning about Israel’s deteriorating image among young Americans. In her conversation with journalist Yoav Limor, she lamented, “Israel has the worst PR of any group I have ever known. The story that needed to be told is not being told effectively, and I think it is only getting worse now.”

Clinton explained that while teaching at Columbia University after October 7, she saw firsthand how students were absorbing wildly skewed narratives about the attacks. She said, “We saw an almost organized effort to turn what happened into something unrecognizable. We began to understand that our students smart, educated, young where are they getting their information? From social media, especially TikTok.” She cautioned that such unfiltered consumption of manipulated content is a threat to democratic discourse, “whether in Israel or in the United States.”

She argued that the problem transcends party alignment and stems instead from a generational shift in how people — particularly the young — consume information. Clinton pointed to extremist voices on the right as proof that this isn’t a partisan phenomenon, saying, “When you hear Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes speak, they are part of the right. This isn’t Democrats versus Republicans; it is a generational issue.” And she underscored the scale of the challenge: “More than 50% of young people in America get their news from social media. They see short videos, some of them completely fabricated, and that is where they get their information.”

To demonstrate how this online ecosystem shapes political outcomes, she referenced the rise of New York legislator Zohran Mamdani. “He was a social media candidate that is exactly my point. Young people were the engine, from every background and every ethnic origin, who connected to him. The social media campaign was extremely effective,” she said.

Still, Clinton indicated that Israel is not without opportunities. She pointed to the durability of the Abraham Accords as proof that regional cooperation remains viable. “When the Abraham Accords were signed, I publicly supported them immediately. Even after October 7, you did not see the signatories abandoning them and that is proof that there are more optimistic scenarios for Israel in the region,” she said, adding that “it is critical to keep Iran on the back foot and stop chasing a nuclear deal.”

Clinton concluded with a direct appeal to Israeli leadership to revamp its global messaging strategy. “You must engage in the narrative. You must do a better job telling Israel’s story not only looking inward, but outward, and especially toward the younger generation,” she insisted. She also urged more dialogue-focused gatherings, reflecting, “I hope there will be more events like this one bringing people together and engaging in dialogue. It is important not to dismiss anyone before we have a chance for a conversation.”

{Matzav.com}

A 54-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of throwing Molotov cocktails at the Los Angeles Federal Building, authorities said Tuesday. Nobody was hurt. Security guards heard a man yelling derogatory comments about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside the downtown building on Monday, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. […]

In an unusual move, the mayor of Bat Yam issued a stark warning to residents about Iranian recruitment attempts. Bat Yam Mayor Tzvika Brot released a rare video message at the request of the Shin Bet alerting residents that Iranian intelligence has been contacting Israelis directly through messages sent to their personal phones. According to […]

The Trump administration will not allow Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, to neglect Jews in the city, according to Leo Terrell, chair of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism.

“If this mayor turns his back on the Jewish American community, President Trump will take decisive action and the weight of the Department of Justice will be in New York City,” Terrell told JNS. “I can guarantee you of that.”

U.S. President Trump held a civil press conference with Mamdani, who has said he would have Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu arrested if the premier comes to the city, after the two met in the Oval Office. The president called the meeting “very productive” and joked about the mayor-elect considering him a fascist.

Terrell told JNS that there is an “ongoing investigation” about a chaotic, antisemitic protest outside a Nefesh B’Nefesh event at Park East Synagogue in Manhattan last month.

“We don’t trust the city of New York to do the right thing,” he said.

Terrell told JNS that he doesn’t think Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, will pursue charges against protesters who blocked the synagogue’s front entrance, barring congregants from safely accessing the building.

The Trump administration “will not allow Jewish Americans to be denied their right to practice their religion,” Terrell said.

The Justice Department official said that time will tell whether Mamdani, whose press secretary responded to the protest by stating that synagogues shouldn’t host events that violate international law, will change his behavior once he becomes mayor.

“I don’t think there is any prior indication that Mamdani is going to protect Jewish Americans,” he told JNS.

Terrell told JNS that Northwestern University’s $75 million settlement with the Trump administration over a probe that included alleged Jew-hatred was the result of a “full frontal attack” to eradicate antisemitism on campus.

“We’re expanding our efforts to K-12,” he said.

Some schools have been turning to courts to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze grant money and to push punishing settlements. Terrell said Trump has a high rate of success in the U.S. Supreme Court, even as some lower-level court decisions have gone against the administration.

“I can guarantee you that President Trump is going to pursue every avenue legally, and if it takes going to the Supreme Court, he will do it,” Terrell said. “That’s why these universities, before they get to the Supreme Court, many of them will try to resolve these cases.”

If anything, the Trump administration isn’t sufficiently aggressive, according to Terrell.

“These universities have been used to indoctrinate hate, and now they’re targeting K-12, and what I feel is that if there’s going to be a settlement, let’s make sure there’s safeguards in place where kids, students, faculty members and anyone of the Jewish religion are not to be intimidated or harassed,” he said.

The Trump administration began pursuing cases against Ivy League schools and large university systems, such as the University of California, to “provide a deterrent effect,” but it is well aware of problems at smaller and lesser-known schools.

“This phone never stops ringing, because there are problems all over,” Terrell said.

He added that his task force is working on a “50-state rapid response, to make sure we go where the problem is and not ignore any state, any city,”

“I will submit to you that a lot of local mayors, prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, they don’t even know how to address antisemitic behavior,” he said. “They don’t record it properly in their criminal reports.”

The task force, which Terrell said aims to set up “policies and doctrine” for the Justice Department but isn’t involved in litigation, is trying to codify policies on Jew-hatred so they will have a longer shelf-life than the executive orders the president signs. The panel is also meeting with members of Congress to discuss its projects.

“We want to make sure legislation is in place, to make sure not just Jewish Americans, but all Americans are protected in their protected class status and religious freedom,” he said. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Two former premiers — Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and former prime minister Naftali Bennett — issued searing video statements on Tuesday accusing the government of advancing a “deceptive” and “dangerous” draft law that would all but guarantee ongoing exemption of Chareidi men from military service. Netanyahu had been scheduled to deliver a primetime address defending […]