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President Trump said Monday that he held a productive phone conversation with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, paving the way for a meeting Tuesday between the mayor and the administration’s “border czar” following deadly shootings involving federal agents and days of violent unrest in Minnesota.

“I just had a very good telephone conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, of Minneapolis,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Lots of progress is being made!

“Tom Homan will be meeting with him tomorrow in order to continue the discussion.”

Frey, a Democrat, confirmed the call and said he welcomed the dialogue with the president.

“I expressed how much Minneapolis has benefited from our immigrant communities and was clear that my main ask is that Operation Metro Surge needs to end,” the mayor wrote on X.

According to Frey, the president acknowledged that the situation on the ground was untenable.

“The president agreed the present situation can’t continue,” Frey said.

“Some federal agents will begin leaving the area tomorrow, and I will continue pushing for the rest involved in this operation to go,” he continued.

In the aftermath of the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal agents, US Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino and a number of agents have been directed to leave Minneapolis, sources told The Post.

The directive does not apply to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and does not cover all Border Patrol personnel operating in the area.

At the same time, Homan has been sent to Minnesota to assume control of immigration enforcement efforts there, replacing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Tensions escalated earlier this month when anti-ICE protester Renee Good, 37, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent after she drove her SUV toward him on Jan. 7.

In a separate incident, ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed during a confrontation with Border Patrol agents. Pretti was carrying a handgun but was reportedly disarmed by agents before he was fatally shot.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli slammed Belgium on Sunday after Brussels moved to block the transit of military equipment bound for Israel. In a post on X, Chikli accused Belgium of aligning itself with Israel’s adversaries, using unusually blunt language to condemn the decision. “The Islamic Republic of Belgium strikes again,” Chikli wrote about […]

Massive crowds gathered on Wednesday night to celebrate the Chasunah of the daughter of the Ashlag Rebbe, author of the sefer Bnei Heichala on the Zohar. Admorim, rabbonim, mekubalim, and hundreds of chassidim filled the Heichlei Malchus halls in Bnei Brak to take part in the simcha, which drew participants from across the chassidic and […]

US Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino has been instructed to leave Minneapolis along with several agents, marking a sharp reversal in federal operations in the city following the deaths of two US citizens during confrontations involving federal law enforcement this month, according to reports.

The directive does not apply to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nor does it cover every Border Patrol agent stationed in the area.

Still, Fox reported that Bovino is expected to depart the state “imminently,” alongside the agents being pulled back.

Bovino has faced mounting criticism for his aggressive style of immigration enforcement, as well as for statements he made Saturday asserting that Pretti was wielding a firearm before Border Patrol agents shot him.

Unrest has gripped Minneapolis since Jan. 7, when anti-ICE protester and mother of three Renee Good, 37, was fatally shot by an ICE agent after she drove her SUV toward him.

The situation escalated further on Saturday with the killing of a second American, Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse. Authorities believe an accidental discharge from his own gun — after it had been taken from him — may have prompted agents to open fire.

According to officials, Pretti had a pistol tucked into his waistband when he stepped between a protester and ICE agents. Border Patrol agents tackled him, disarmed him, and he was shot and killed during the ensuing struggle.

Following Pretti’s death, tensions surged to a breaking point, with some Republicans openly calling for the Department of Homeland Security to remove its personnel from the city — a notable divergence from President Trump’s immigration agenda.

Over the weekend, Bovino repeatedly labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” claimed he intended to “massacre” immigration officers, and accused Democrats, including Gov. Tim Walz, of “inciting” the disorder.

President Trump, however, struck a more conciliatory tone on Monday, indicating progress in discussions with Minnesota’s governor.

“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.

{Matzav.com}

The British government said Sunday that it will unveil plans this week to create a new national police force, dubbed the “British FBI,” to take charge on complex investigations such as counterterrorism, fraud, online child abuse and criminal gangs. The National Police Service will bring under the same umbrella the work of existing agencies dealing […]

Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino has been removed from his role and is expected to retire soon, The Atlantic reports. Bovino will return to his previous post in El Centro, near the U.S.–Mexico border, where he is expected to retire in the near future, according to a Department of Homeland Security official.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a sharp warning after the government postponed a vote on the state budget, signaling that the delay could trigger the collapse of the Knesset.

The budget had been set for a vote on Monday, but the schedule was pushed to Wednesday after the chareidi parties refused to back it, citing the government’s failure to advance a Draft Law.

The chareidi factions, United Torah Judaism and Shas, said they would not support the budget until they are able to meet with the Knesset’s legal adviser about the status of the Draft Law.

Their insistence stems from a desire to first clarify legal issues surrounding the promotion of the conscription legislation with the Knesset’s legal advisers.

In response, Smotrich delivered a blunt message to Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, declaring, “If the budget does not pass today, it does not pass at all. Let’s dissolve the Knesset.”

Until Monday morning, coalition leaders believed that Shas and Degel Hatorah would back the budget in its first reading, based on an understanding that the second and third readings would move forward only after the Draft Law was passed.

That expectation unraveled when the chareidi parties informed Netanyahu they would not support the vote as planned and asked for a postponement. Netanyahu agreed to delay the vote in order to address unresolved legal concerns.

Amid the growing crisis, Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting that included Smotrich, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, and Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni of United Torah Judaism.

{Matzav.com}

The Tri-State area has been below freezing since Friday night and may remain below freezing through next Monday, if not longer. That is over 9 days of below freezing temperatures! For context, the longest stretch of freezing temperatures at Central Park was 16 days in 1961.

Guinness World Records has reversed a controversial decision and is once again accepting submissions from Israel, Israeli President Yitzchak Herzog announced. The move follows months of criticism after the organization refused to recognize Israeli entries, citing regional tensions. Herzog made the announcement at a Jerusalem event hosted by Matnat Chaim, an Israeli nonprofit that facilitates […]

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed an arrest detainer Monday asking New Jersey authorities to hold a man accused of throwing a baseball-sized rock into a school bus on the New Jersey Turnpike, an attack that fractured the skull of  an 8-year-old Jewish girl. The suspect, Hernando Garcia-Morales, is being held on multiple state […]

By Rabbi Shraga Freedman

I wanted to share with Matzav readers a powerful story that took place in the aftermath of the terrible tragedy that occurred in Yerushalayim last week, when two young children died in a charedi daycare. It appears that there was overheating, and as a result, two infants, one three months old and one six months old, were niftar, R”l.

I believe the story below captures something profound about how the Jewish people can navigate deep and painful machlokes within our nation.

The tensions in Israel between the charedi community and the rest of the population are currently at an all time high. Many people have accused the charedi public of an overall culture of lawlessness.

One such person is Chaggai Luber. Chaggai, a religious Zionist, lost his twenty four year old son, Yonatan, in Gaza last year. He has since been an outspoken critic of certain aspects of the charedi world.

This past week, Chaggai joined the many Israelis who felt anger, and even a sense of smugness in reaction to the daycare tragedy.

He wrote in a post:

“And I too participated yesterday, at least as a listener, in the collective frenzy.
And I too clicked my tongue at “the irresponsible parents….”
And I too read about “a culture of contempt, lawbreaking, and irresponsibility among the charedim.”
And I too hurried to reach a verdict and take a stance.
And I too wallowed in that same murky swamp.”

But then he wrote that his wife reminded him of something. Chani Katz, the mother of one of the children who died in that daycare, had once visited the Luber family during their shiva.

Not only that, but when she came, she brought with her a heart shaped necklace bearing Yonatan’s image. It was part of a large jewelry project she launched after October 7, to commemorate those who were killed in the war.

In a social media post, Chaggai wrote that in that moment everything changed. The charedim were no longer a faceless group to criticize. They were people. Brothers and sisters. Broken parents.

He wrote:

והיא עמדה לפני, אמא במלא כאבה,
במלא צערה.
במלא אובדנה

“And I saw her standing before me. A mother filled with hurt. Filled with pain. Filled with loss.”

ומה קרה לי, אב שכול שהצטרפתי לחגיגה
ונסחפתי, אפילו במחשבה, לאותו מחול האשמות נורא.
כשהמתים עוד מוטלים לפנינו, עוד לפני הקבורה.

“What happened to me, a bereaved father, that I joined in the celebration against the charedim? That I got carried away, even if only in thought, into that terrible dance of blame, while the dead were still before us, even before burial?”

והתחרטתי וכמעט שקרעתי קריעה

“And I regretted it. And I almost tore my clothes in mourning.”

This story, I believe, carries within it an answer to the existential struggle of painful machlokes in Klal Yisrael. We can disagree strongly, even passionately, and still truly feel another person’s pain. We can see the most human side (tzelem elokim) of those with whom we differ.

Chani Katz, who carried her own ideological worldview, nevertheless entered the home of grieving parents and joined them in their mourning. Her ability to feel the pain of others created a remarkable transformation in someone who had been emotionally closed off to her world.

This is the challenge of our generation. How to defend Torah values with vigor and conviction, while remaining faithful to Torah’s call for love, dignity, and respect. We can unequivocally reject ideas without rejecting people.

And perhaps the most compelling defense of our values is not the force of condemnation, but the integrity of our conduct. Living as a reflection of Hashem, as mekadshei Hashem, to the point that the Name of Heaven becomes beloved through us.

(This story was adapted with permission from the following article: https://nertamid.net/sermons/praying-for-the-ayatollah-parshas-bo/)

Rabbi Shraga Freedman

Living Kiddush Hashem Foundation

Email LivingKiddushHashem@gmail.com for a free file of stories and sefer Mekadshei Shemecha. Visit LivingKiddushHashem.org for more resources.

German authorities have arrested a fourth suspect in a Hamas-linked terror cell accused of plotting attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The suspect, identified only as Mohammad S., 36, was taken into custody Friday at Berlin Brandenburg Airport after returning from Lebanon, according to federal prosecutors. Investigators allege that […]

No more fawning praise. No more polite workarounds and old-style diplomacy. And no one is calling Donald Trump “daddy” now. European leaders who scrambled for a year to figure out how to deal with an emboldened American president in his second term edged closer to saying “no,” or something diplomatically like it, to his disregard for international law and his demands […]

Ye has again publicly apologized for years of antisemitic remarks, purchasing a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal in which he linked his behavior to past, untreated health issues.

“I lost touch with reality,” the rapper and fashion designer formerly known as Kanye West wrote in the ad. Elsewhere in the statement, he added, “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”

Since late 2022, Ye has repeatedly drawn outrage from Jewish communities worldwide and from much of his own audience. That period began when he threatened to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” The following year, he aired a Super Bowl commercial promoting T-shirts featuring swastikas and later released a song titled “Heil Hitler,” which was recently played by a group of far-right antisemitic influencers, including Nick Fuentes, at a Miami nightclub in a widely shared video.

The Wall Street Journal advertisement is the latest in a string of apologies from Ye. Previous attempts included a May 2025 statement declaring that he was “done with antisemitism,” as well as a personal apology delivered to Rav Pinto in November.

In the ad, Ye said he suffered a head injury in a car accident 25 years ago that went undiagnosed until 2023, an injury he said “caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-1 diagnosis.” Ye has spoken publicly for years about living with bipolar disorder.

Describing his mindset at the time, Ye wrote, “In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold t-shirts bearing it.” He referred to periods of “disconnected moments” and “reckless behavior” related to his condition, while emphasizing, “It does not excuse what I did, though.”

He also extended an apology “to the black community – which held me down through all of the highs and lows and the darkest of times.” After he openly embraced Nazi imagery and rhetoric, following earlier promotion of the phrase “White lives matter,” many former allies and collaborators in the Black community distanced themselves from him. Despite that, his music continues to circulate widely on social media, frequently used as background for Instagram posts and other user-created content.

Ye said he is now pursuing an “effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise and clean living,” and closed the ad by writing, “I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness. I write today simply to ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home.”

His typically active social media accounts, which have previously featured antisemitic language and imagery, were silent Monday morning following the publication of the ad.

Ye has continued to perform live and maintains a busy concert schedule. He is slated to headline two major shows in Mexico City later this week.

Despite the renewed apologies, Ye’s past antisemitic statements continue to fuel extremist figures online. In recent days, Candace Owens, a far-right commentator and antisemitic conspiracy theorist whose collaborations with Ye helped spark his public antisemitic turn, resurfaced some of his original antisemitic posts for her audience. “This tweet is a whole vibe,” she wrote in reference to his “death con 3″ tweet. Owens has also been promoting claims that Israel was involved in Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

{Matzav.com}

International political leaders, diplomats and public figures convened in Jerusalem on Monday for the second International Conference on Combating Antisemitism — a two-day summit framed by Israeli officials as a global response to a sharp rise in antisemitism and Holocaust denial since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The conference, titled Generation of […]

Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and some of his agents are leaving Minneapolis as soon as tomorrow.

Israeli intelligence helped the United States confirm that Iran’s regime carried out mass executions of protesters, contradicting assurances that President Donald Trump said he had received from Tehran, according to Yisrael Hayom. According to officials familiar with the intelligence, Israel was a key partner in gathering and corroborating evidence showing that Iranian authorities executed large […]

President Trump said Monday that Hamas played a role in helping locate the remains of the last Israeli hostage, saying the group must now fulfill its pledge to lay down its weapons as the process moves into its next phase.

Speaking in a joint interview with Axios and Israel’s Channel 12, Trump said the recovery of Ran Gvili’s body завершed the return of all Israeli hostages — both alive and deceased — under the first stage of his peace framework. He noted that many Israeli officials had initially doubted that every hostage could be accounted for, assuming some remains would never be found.

Trump said the operation to locate and identify the body was harrowing and complex. He told Axios and Channel 12 that teams faced a grim reality on the ground, explaining that the work was “very tough” because they “had to go through hundreds of bodies.” He added, “It was a hard scene.”

Despite years of enmity, Trump said Hamas cooperated during the search. “They worked very hard to get the body back. They were working with Israel on it,” he said, adding that details shared by Hamas helped make the recovery possible.

With the first phase now completed, Trump said there are no longer barriers standing in the way of the next steps. He recalled that the effort to bring back every hostage had been widely doubted, but said those doubts have now been put to rest. “Nobody believed we would bring back all the hostages. It was a great moment,” he said, stressing that only the families and the people of Israel can fully grasp what it means to bring home every last trace of those taken.

Trump said the focus must now turn to enforcing the next part of the agreement, which calls for Hamas to disarm. “Now we have to disarm Hamas as they promised,” he said.

He said he received updates Monday morning from advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and later spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, whom he said “was thrilled.” Trump also pointed back to comments he made last week suggesting that the sides were close to finding the final hostage.

Recalling a recent meeting with the family, Trump asked that his reaction be conveyed to Gvili’s parents. “Please tell the parents I am very happy,” he told Axios and Channel 12.

Trump later spoke with Channel 13 reporter Neria Kraus after Gvili’s remains were returned to Israel. “We are very happy about Gvili’s return,” Trump said, describing it as “a great honor to be part of this process and to be involved in it.”

He said he had spent time with Gvili’s parents and with other families who lost loved ones, calling the recovery something few believed could be achieved. “I got to know Ran Gvili’s parents and his family, and other families as well,” he said. “It’s an amazing achievement. Nobody thought it was possible.”

Asked about the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the region, Trump told Channel 13 that “the process in the Middle East is significant and very important.”

{Matzav.com}

American workers adopted artificial intelligence into their work lives at a remarkable pace over the past few years, according to a new poll. Some 12% of employed adults say they use AI daily in their job, according to a Gallup Workforce survey conducted this fall of more than 22,000 U.S. workers. The survey found roughly one-quarter say they use AI […]

The chief executive of one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies has issued a stark warning about the dangers posed by the very technology his firm is developing. Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, published a 38-page essay cautioning that the next major threat from artificial intelligence may come from AI companies themselves as the technology rapidly accelerates.

“It is somewhat awkward to say this as the CEO of an AI company, but I think the next tier of risk is actually AI companies themselves,” wrote Dario Amodei, who leads Anthropic, on Monday.

Amodei warned that if current trends continue, artificial intelligence could soon outperform humans at “essentially everything,” a shift he said could have sweeping and destabilizing consequences. Among the risks he outlined were widespread job displacement, heightened terror threats, increased power for authoritarian governments, and a political environment in which leaders are reluctant to impose limits because of the immense influence and financial stakes tied to AI.

He explained that the purpose of the essay was to shake policymakers, industry leaders, and the public into confronting those dangers before they become unmanageable. “The years in front of us will be impossibly hard, asking more of us than we think we can give,” he wrote.

The essay builds on earlier efforts by Amodei and others to push for stronger guardrails on artificial intelligence. It follows a “Statement on Superintelligence” released in October that called for limits on AI development and has since been signed by more than 100,000 people, including prominent figures from the worlds of technology, entertainment, royalty, politics, and business.

{Matzav.com}