In a radio interview aired Monday morning, Jonathan Pollard spoke candidly about what he described as devastating treatment by Israeli authorities while he was incarcerated in the United States, saying he felt abandoned at the very moment he expected support.
According to Pollard, the most shocking episode involved a direct conversation with an Israeli representative who, he claims, urged him to end his life in order to resolve the affair. Pollard said the comment was made to him personally and left him shaken and confused.
Recalling the exchange, Pollard said: “As disappointed as the Israeli government was with the situation, there was no need to send someone to me to tell me to kill myself. It would have been better if the Israeli government had come to defend me, instead of denying the obvious. What was done to me was simply terrible.”
Pollard went on to explain how the message was framed, recounting the words he says were spoken to him: “They came and said to me: You’re a patriot, right? So why are you making all of us suffer so much? Why don’t you just do the right thing? We’ll bring you home, give you a respectable burial, and we’ll be able to close this file. And I didn’t understand what he meant.”
He said the incident might have taken a tragic turn were it not for the intervention of an American official who, Pollard claims, urged him to hold on. Describing that moment, Pollard said: “Then it was the American who looked at me and said: You must not do this. You have to live, and you will return home one day. The American said it to me-you will return home one day.”
The remarks were made during an interview on Galai Tzahal, where Pollard expressed lasting pain and resentment over what he characterized as years of neglect and damaging conduct by the Israeli government during his imprisonment.
{Matzav.com}
Israel’s Finance Ministry is moving ahead with a change that will sharply raise the ceiling for VAT-free personal imports, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slated to approve the measure on Tuesday.
Once signed, the directive will be formally recorded in the government’s official registry and will come into force overnight, between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Under the new rules, the exemption threshold will increase from $75 to $150, a move that is expected to open the door for Israelis to order a far wider array of goods from overseas sellers, especially via major international e-commerce platforms such as Amazon.
The higher limit is also projected to lower the effective cost of online shopping from abroad, since buyers will be able to consolidate more items into a single shipment without triggering value-added tax.
Officials anticipate that the change will intensify competition within the domestic market, broaden consumer options, and exert downward pressure on prices of comparable products already available in Israel.
{Matzav.com}
Mediators working on the Gaza ceasefire have forwarded to Israel a draft proposal outlining the creation of a technocratic authority that would be responsible for governing the Gaza Strip, according to sources cited by Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath.
The sources indicated that the United States is holding intensive discussions with the mediators ahead of what is expected to be a near-term announcement on establishing an international force tied to the ceasefire framework. They added that an upcoming meeting in Florida between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to play a key role in shaping decisions related to the second phase of the Gaza agreement.
Separately, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday that Turkey expects the second stage of the ceasefire to begin in early 2026. His comments came after talks held earlier in the week in Miami with officials from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.
At a press conference in Damascus, Fidan explained that the discussions centered on barriers that have so far prevented the agreement from moving forward to its next phase.
Meanwhile, the United States Department of State rejected claims that Washington had agreed to provide $60 billion for Gaza’s reconstruction. In a statement, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs said reports published by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times were incorrect, emphasizing that a plan attributed to President Trump does not include any such funding commitment.
{Matzav.com}
Israeli police confirmed that an investigation remains underway after a disturbing incident at a Tel Aviv shopping mall in which Chanukah neiros were deliberately put out, prompting allegations of an offense against religious sensitivities.
After being questioned by authorities, the two suspects were released subject to restrictive conditions. Law enforcement officials said they are continuing to probe the circumstances surrounding the act and are working to determine what motivated it.
הרב טל גומברג, שליח חב"ד באיכילוב, הדליק את הנרות ביד אוהבת –
החצופה כיבתה!
מזעזע!!
קניון וייצמן סיטי צמוד לאיכילוב היום pic.twitter.com/nMU9RvTDHz
— שרי רוט (Sari Rot) (@sari_rot) December 18, 2025
The case centers on a video that circulated on Instagram, showing a teenage girl walking through the mall alongside a relative. The footage captures her deliberately approaching a lit menorah and blowing out its candles, while the young man accompanying her appears to clap in approval.
Following the circulation of the video, police launched a formal inquiry and summoned both individuals for questioning. The girl involved in the act is 17 years old, while the accompanying family member is 19.
{Matzav.com}In an INSS interview, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said Washington’s objectives in Gaza remain aligned with Israel’s, emphasizing that Hamas cannot retain power or weapons if reconstruction is to move forward. Referencing President Donald Trump’s peace framework, he argued that rebuilding is incompatible with Hamas’ continued control. “If you don’t get rid of Hamas, then how are you going to rebuild?” he asked, adding that delays only give the terror group time to regroup.
He said President Trump has been clear that Hamas “will have no future in Gaza” and must disarm and release all hostages, warning that hesitation strengthens the organization rather than weakening it.
Speaking separately about Israel’s northern arena, Huckabee said he believes an arrangement with Syria is achievable, though he avoided offering specifics. He said Damascus understands that long-term stability depends on peaceful relations with Israel and borders that prevent future attacks.
On Lebanon, the ambassador acknowledged that the Lebanese Armed Forces currently lack the strength to confront Hezbollah on their own. He said Israel cannot step back while Hezbollah continues to receive Iranian backing, but expressed hope that responsibility can gradually shift as Lebanese state institutions become stronger.
Turning to military cooperation, Huckabee reiterated that the United States remains committed by law to preserving Israel’s qualitative military edge. He said Washington hopes to make early progress on renewing the next 10-year Memorandum of Understanding and highlighted the mutual benefits of defense cooperation, noting Israel’s operational use of advanced American systems.
In a broader discussion with the Institute for National Security Studies, Huckabee said Iran continues to pose a central national security challenge, stressing that President Trump has left no ambiguity about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Asked about potential Israeli military action if Iran crosses nuclear or ballistic missile thresholds, he said such decisions rest with the White House, but pointed to the president’s repeated public stance. “He consistently has said Iran is never going to enrich uranium and they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Huckabee said, noting that the position has not shifted since the recent conflict.
Huckabee warned that Iran’s efforts to rebuild its nuclear infrastructure threaten far more than Israel or the United States. He suggested Tehran may only recently have begun to take US warnings seriously. “Iran, I don’t know that they ever took him seriously until the night that the B-2 bombers went to Fordow,” he said. “I hope they got the message, but apparently they didn’t get the full message because … they appear to be trying to reconstitute and find a new way to dig the hole deeper, secure it more.”
He said the danger extends well beyond the Middle East. “This presents a real threat to all of Europe,” Huckabee said, arguing that failing to recognize that reality reflects a profound misunderstanding. He added that Iran has openly threatened Israel and the United States for decades, describing Israel as “the appetizer,” while its ultimate target remains America.
The ambassador also addressed the surge in antisemitism worldwide, pointing to attacks on Jewish communities and growing concerns inside the United States. He cited President Trump’s decision to appoint a special envoy to combat antisemitism as a signal of priorities. “It shows to some degree how much President Trump is trying to make this a priority,” Huckabee said.
Referring to anti-Israel chants heard on college campuses, Huckabee warned that many demonstrators do not grasp the meaning of the slogans they repeat. He said calls of “from the river to the sea” amount to advocating Israel’s destruction, including Judea and Samaria and the rest of the country.
Addressing the erosion of bipartisan support for Israel, Huckabee voiced concern about generational shifts, particularly among younger Americans. He attributed much of the change to social media, which he described as a major source of misinformation. “We have not downloaded the proper data, the correct, the true data into the minds of younger people,” he said.
{Matzav.com}[COMMUNICATED]
Over the past eight days, tens of thousands of players have spun our dreidel an incredible number of times.
We’ve received heartwarming messages from families, classrooms, and groups of friends who have played together, enjoying the thrill while supporting an amazing cause.
Today is Zos Chanukah. Our dreidel is out of spins—but the Jackpot is growing faster than ever.
As of this moment, the prize stands at $117,206!
TONIGHT, at 11:00 PM EST, one lucky winner will take it all home.
Remember: Every time you enter, the Jackpot grows even higher. Good luck!
CLICK HERE TO ENTER MEGA JACKPOT Remember! Every time you enter, the Jackpot grows.More importantly, every entry directly supports our Oncofertility program, fueling our mission to preserve every young cancer patient’s dreams of building a family.
Tizku L’mitzvos… And best of luck to you!
CLICK HERE TO ENTER MEGA JACKPOT! CLICK HERE TO ENTER MEGA JACKPOT!Vice President JD Vance used a recent conversation with UnHerd to lay out firm boundaries on race and religion in American politics, insisting that equal treatment under the law must remain nonnegotiable while warning that unchecked immigration can strain a shared national culture.
He dismissed arguments on the right calling for different legal standards based on ancestry, stressing that citizenship must confer the same rights and protections to everyone. At the same time, he said cultural continuity matters and acknowledged that overwhelming levels of immigration can test social cohesion.
Turning to racism more broadly, Vance said attention should be directed at what government actually enacts rather than focusing exclusively on incendiary online voices. He argued that while extremists may generate noise, policies backed by institutions and bureaucracy have real-world consequences, particularly when they explicitly discriminate.
Vance also said the prominence of figures like Nick Fuentes is often overstated by political actors who prefer to police speech on the right instead of engaging substantive debates within the Republican Party, including disputes over U.S. policy in the Middle East and America’s relationship with Israel. In his view, provocative rhetoric becomes a convenient diversion from harder conversations.
In that context, the vice president offered a clear denunciation of bigotry, saying, “Antisemitism and all forms of ethnic hatred have no place in the conservative movement.” He added that attacking people because of their race or religion is “disgusting.”
The interview also included an unambiguous personal line in the sand. Responding to attacks on his family, Vance directed a blunt message at critics across the political spectrum, stating, “Anyone who attacks my wife, whether their name is Jen Psaki or Nick Fuentes, can eat [garbage].” He added, “That’s my official policy as vice president of the United States.”
Fuentes, a white supremacist and Holocaust denier, has repeatedly targeted second lady Usha Vance with slurs and has labeled the vice president a “race traitor” because of his marriage.
Vance also addressed controversies surrounding conservative media figures, offering a forceful defense of Tucker Carlson. Speaking Friday, he said Carlson remains “a friend” and criticized what he called efforts to enforce ideological purity by declaring certain views out of bounds simply because they challenge long-standing bipartisan assumptions on foreign policy.
While conceding that disagreements exist, Vance said he will not “throw friends under the bus” to appease establishment figures. He framed the broader moment as one in which America’s political leadership ignored economic and cultural pressures for years and now expresses surprise when divisions deepen.
Throughout the discussion, the vice president rejected racial politics outright, arguing that if racism is wrong, public scrutiny should focus on laws and institutional practices rather than on who happens to be shouting the loudest online.
{Matzav.com}
