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The massive asifa against what organizers call the persecution of Torah learners, initially scheduled for Sunday, appeared likely to be postponed to early next week—either Monday or Tuesday—due to logistical challenges and requests from various factions seeking additional time for preparation.

The decision followed yesterday’s announcement by the Slabodka roshei yeshiva, Rav Dov Landau and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, who had called for a large public gathering in defense of lomdei Torah. However, as planning intensified, it became clear that a short delay would allow for broader participation and coordination among the different Torah communities.

Sources confirmed that in the past day, a phone conversation took place between Rav Moshe Maya and Rav Avrohom Salim, during which they agreed to instruct their respective talmidim to attend the upcoming protest. The event is being billed as a united expression of opposition to government efforts seen as targeting yeshiva students through the ongoing draft legislation crisis.

Discussions are also underway regarding the location of the rally. While some are advocating for it to take place in Bnei Brak, others favor Yerushalayim. A final decision is expected soon.

{Matzav.com}

New York Attorney General Letitia James is set to make her first court appearance in a mortgage fraud case on Friday, the third adversary of President Donald Trump to face a judge on federal charges in recent weeks. James was indicted earlier this month on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a 2020 home purchase in Norfolk, Virginia. The charges came shortly after the official who had been overseeing the investigation was pushed out by the Trump administration and the president publicly called on the Justice Department to take action against James and other of his political foes. James, a Democrat who has sued Trump and his administration dozens of times, has denied wrongdoing and decried the indictment as “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.” The indictment stems from James’ purchase of a modest house in Norfolk, where she has family. During the sale, she signed a standard document called a “second home rider” in which she agreed to keep the property primarily for her “personal use and enjoyment for at least one year,” unless the lender agreed otherwise. Rather than using the home as a second residence, the indictment alleges, James rented it out to a family of three. According to the indictment, the misrepresentation allowed James to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties. James drew Trump’s ire when she won a staggering judgment against the president and his companies in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements. An appeals court overturned the fine, which had ballooned to more than $500 million with interest, but upheld a lower court’s finding that Trump had committed fraud. James’ indictment followed the resignation of Erik Siebert as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after he resisted Trump administration pressure to bring charges. Siebert was replaced with Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide and former Trump lawyer who had never previously served as a federal prosecutor and presented James’ case to the grand jury herself. On Thursday, lawyers for James asked for an order prohibiting prosecutors from disclosing to the news media information about the investigation, or materials from the case, outside of court. The motion followed the revelation from earlier this week that Halligan contacted via an encrypted text messaging platform a reporter from Lawfare, a media organization that covers legal and national security issues, to discuss the James prosecution and complain about coverage of it. The reporter published the exchange that she and Halligan had. “The exchange was a stunning disclosure of internal government information,” lawyers for James wrote. They added: “It has been reported that Ms. Halligan has no prosecutorial experience whatsoever. But all federal prosecutors are required to know and follow the rules governing their conduct from their first day on the job, and so any lack of experience cannot excuse their violation.” The motion also asks that the government be required to preserve all communications with representatives of the media as well as to prevent the deletion of any records or communications related to the investigation and the prosecution of the case. Separately on Thursday, defense lawyers said they intended to challenge Halligan’s appointment, a […]

President Donald Trump announced that he plans to personally visit Gaza, describing himself as the key architect behind the fragile truce that brought an end to the recent Israel-Hamas conflict. In an interview released Thursday, he said the peace deal would not have been possible without his direct involvement.

“The most important thing,” Trump told Time magazine, “is they have to respect the president of the United States. The Middle East has to understand that.

“And they do. If you go to Qatar, if you go to Saudi Arabia, if you go to UAE, who are the three big ones, in that sense, they all respect the president, and if they’re not going to respect the president — it’s almost the president more so than the country. You understand that? If they don’t respect the president, and if the president doesn’t know what he’s doing, it could break apart. If they do respect the president, it’s going to be long-term beautiful peace.”

The president credited his own credibility and assertiveness with bringing the parties to the table. He said that respect for American leadership, not pressure or threats, was what ultimately stabilized the Middle East after months of bloodshed.

In the same conversation, Trump revealed that Saudi Arabia is poised to join the Abraham Accords before the end of the year, a move that would expand normalization between Israel and Arab nations. “They had a problem,” he said of Riyadh. “They had a Gaza problem and they had an Iran problem. Now they don’t have those two problems.”

The truce, reached on October 10, saw Hamas release its final 20 surviving Israeli hostages and begin returning the remains of more than two dozen others. The cease-fire remains fragile but has largely held since then.

Although Trump did not specify when his Gaza visit would take place, he made clear that his patience would run thin if Hamas violated the deal. He cautioned that “nobody would mind if we went in and took [Hamas] to task” should they renege on their commitments.

Convincing Israel to agree to the deal, Trump said, required firm persuasion. “Bibi, you can’t fight the world,” he recalled telling Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. “You can fight individual battles, but the world’s against you. And Israel is a very small place compared to the world.”

Trump also condemned Israel’s September 9 airstrike in Qatar that targeted Hamas political officials. “That was terrible,” he said, labeling it “a tactical mistake” by Israel. But in typical Trump fashion, he added that the blunder inadvertently accelerated diplomatic progress: “It was so out of joint that it sort of got everybody to do what they have to do. If you took that away, we might not be talking about this subject right now.”

While Trump reaffirmed his strong support for Israel’s security, he issued a clear warning against any attempt to annex the West Bank. “It won’t happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries,” he stated. “Israel would lose all of its support from the United States if that happened.”

In an unexpected comment, Trump said he has developed a personal rapport with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, describing him warmly despite Abbas’ fierce rivalry with Netanyahu. Abbas, 89, has led the Palestinian Authority since 2005 and participated in this month’s peace summit in Egypt that finalized the Gaza agreement.

Trump reflected on his long-standing relationship with Netanyahu, recalling how the Israeli leader had once urged that Trump be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. “I stopped him, because he would have just kept going,” Trump said. “It could have gone on for years. It would have gone on for years. And I stopped him, and everybody came together when I stopped, it was amazing.”

{Matzav.com}

Shock spread among Vizhnitzer Chassidim across the globe following the discovery of severe vandalism at the historic cemetery in Vizhnitsa, Ukraine, the resting place of generations of the Vizhnitzer Rebbes.

According to reports, antisemitic vandals broke through the cemetery fence under cover of night, trampling and smashing several gravestones in an act of deliberate desecration. The extent of the damage is said to be considerable. The attack took place just one day after the hilula of the Tzemach Tzaddik of Vizhnitz, which had drawn hundreds of Chassidim from around the world to daven at the kever.

Despite the extensive damage to tombstones and the surrounding cemetery grounds, community representatives described a “clear miracle of hashgacha pratis,” noting that the ohel containing the graves of the Vizhnitz Rebbes and the adjacent hachnosas orchim building were left untouched. It is believed the vandals may have been deterred by the presence of security cameras surrounding the area.

Early Thursday morning, representatives of Hagan Hanaah and Hachnosas Orchim arrived at the site and were stunned by the scale of destruction. They immediately filed a complaint with local authorities, who have opened a criminal investigation to identify those responsible.

Rav Moshe Hersh Stern, chairman of the Hachnosas Orchim organization, expressed determination in the face of the desecration: “Though this is a grave and painful incident, we will not be disheartened. The desecration of a cemetery is a heinous act, but we will do everything possible to restore this sacred site and preserve the dignity of the departed.”

He added that repair efforts are expected to begin in the coming days, including rebuilding the fence and restoring the damaged graves, and voiced confidence that “local police will bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Meanwhile, community leaders are already discussing ways to significantly strengthen security measures to ensure such appalling acts of hatred are never repeated.

{Matzav.com}

Russian military planes briefly violated Lithuania’s airspace Thursday evening, the Lithuanian president said, condemning what he called a blatant breach of the territorial integrity of his European Union and NATO-member country. Lithuania’s foreign ministry planned to summon Russian Embassy representatives in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius to protest the violation, President Gitanas Nausėda said in a post on the social media platform X. “This is a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity of Lithuania,” Nausėda wrote on X. “Once again, it confirms the importance of strengthening European air defence readiness.” Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, rejected the Lithuanian claim that Russian fighter jets had intruded into its airspace. It said in a statement that Su-30 fighter jets on Thursday conducted training flights over the Kaliningrad region in strict compliance with the rules. “The aircraft did not deviate from their flight route or violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring means,” the ministry said. Baltic nations already have been on heightened alert over neighboring Russia’s aggression on Ukraine. And in recent weeks, a series of mysterious drone incidents and airspace violations by Russian war planes have fueled concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin might be testing NATO’s defensive reflexes. Some leaders have accused Putin of waging a hybrid war in Europe. Moscow denies probing NATO’s defenses. The Lithuanian armed forces said in a statement that about 6 p.m. local time on Thursday, two Russian military aircraft flew into Lithuanian airspace for about 700 meters (765 yards), The SU-30 aircraft and IL-78 refueling aircraft flew away after roughly 18 seconds. The Lithuanian armed forces believe the military planes might have been conducting refueling exercises in the neighboring Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Two Spanish fighter jets, which had been doing NATO air policing missions, were scrambled and flew out to the area. Earlier on Thursday, Nausėda attended a summit at the European Council building in Brussels where EU leaders endorsed a plan to ensure that Europe can defend itself against an outside attack by the end of the decade. The plan is dubbed Readiness 2030. (AP)

A tense Senate confirmation hearing erupted Thursday as Sen. Ted Cruz confronted Hamtramck, Michigan Mayor Amer Ghalib, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, over a series of inflammatory past statements about Jews, Saddam Hussein, and the Muslim Brotherhood. Cruz said he would not support Ghalib’s nomination, telling the Democratic mayor that his record “stands in direct contradiction” to the Trump administration’s Middle East policy. “It appears you have a deep-felt and passionate view about the Middle East,” Cruz said. “But it is a view that is in direct conflict with the policy positions of President Trump and this administration.” Throughout the nearly hour-long exchange, Cruz grilled Ghalib on multiple social media posts and public statements that have resurfaced in recent weeks — including one in which he referred to Saddam Hussein as a “martyr,” another praising the Muslim Brotherhood as “inspirational,” and a third in which he appeared to endorse an antisemitic comment describing Jews as “monkeys for their own benefit.” When pressed by Cruz to clarify his view of Saddam Hussein, Ghalib initially said his 2020 comments were made “in a moment of anger” following an Iranian missile strike on U.S. bases in Iraq. “It was the day of January 7, 2020, when our military bases were attacked by Iran,” Ghalib said. “And in a moment of anger because we didn’t respond.” But Cruz continued: “Do you continue to believe Saddam Hussein was a martyr?” “Senator, I don’t think that. No doubt Saddam was a dictator,” Ghalib replied. “If this offended anybody who suffered from Saddam or lost a loved one, I apologize.” Pressed again for a direct answer, Ghalib added, “It wouldn’t matter — he’s in God’s hand. He will get the treatment he deserves.” Cruz then turned to Ghalib’s post lauding the Muslim Brotherhood — a group the Texas senator has sought to designate as a terrorist organization. “How would you be able to serve as an ambassador if President Trump designates the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization?” Cruz asked. “I would trust the president,” Ghalib replied. “If it’s designated, I will be committed to implement President Trump’s policies.” Ghalib defended his past social media activity, attributing some of the controversy to what he described as “bad habits” and “mistranslations” from Arabic. “Before I became mayor, I used to have a bad habit of acknowledging every post, every comment under my post,” he said. “Doesn’t mean I agree with it.” He claimed one of the antisemitic posts Cruz cited had been misinterpreted. “There was a response under that [post] that was not translated, which said, ‘You can say this in your country, but not in this country,’ meaning I didn’t agree with that post,” Ghalib said. “I know it was a bad habit, but let me be clear: I don’t agree with that statement, and I treat everybody with respect in my official capacity.” Ghalib, who became Hamtramck’s first Muslim mayor in 2021, has faced scrutiny for years over comments sympathetic to extremist ideologies. His nomination by President Trump earlier this fall drew bipartisan skepticism, but Thursday’s hearing marked the most direct confrontation to date. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara sent a letter on Thursday to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordering him to increase enforcement efforts against bnei yeshivos. She claimed in her letter that the current situation “constitutes a severe violation of equality, which cannot be legally justified.” She did not address the issue of the violation of religious rights being carried out against bnei yeshivos. MK Meir Porush responded, “The Attorney General’s latest letter to the Prime Minister once again reflects her obsession with targeting the Torah world. Never before has any issue received such attention from an attorney general.” “Baharav-Miara is essentially the Attorney General for persecuting the Torah world. The prime minister knows that the more he acts in accordance with her wishes, the more she will demand additional sanctions that will harm Am Yisrael.” A day earlier, following the arrests of several bnei yeshivos, Porush stated, “Once again, the Attorney General sent the Military Police to arrest young men whose only ‘crime’ is limmud Torah.” “Although months of this draconian rampage against the Torah world have failed to achieve the goals she set, she refuses to acknowledge her failure and is trying to drag the Jewish people into a civil war.” Baharav-Miara is also continuing her campaign to invent new sanctions against Chareidim. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

Cornell University is facing a storm of outrage after its student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun, published a professor’s op-ed accompanied by a shocking illustration — a bloodied Star of David defaced with Nazi “SS” lightning bolts drawn onto the back of a Palestinian person. The image, which appeared alongside an article by Professor Karim-Aly Kassam, ignited immediate backlash from students, faculty, and Jewish advocacy groups who called it a grotesque act of antisemitism and Holocaust inversion. The newspaper quickly took down the graphic and later republished the piece without it, but the controversy has exposed growing concerns about the campus’s cultural climate. “To me, it reflects the normalization of Holocaust inversion, both on the internet and now on Cornell’s campus,” said William Jacobson, a Cornell Law School professor and founder of Legal Insurrection, a conservative website. “This graphic is specifically inside a bloody Jewish star — no reflection of Israel at all. It clearly pursues the idea that Jews are the new Nazis. It’s obviously highly offensive.” The “SS” insignia depicted in the image was the symbol of Adolf Hitler’s secret police, the Schutzstaffel — the organization responsible for mass atrocities during the Holocaust. Kassam’s op-ed, titled “Thousand & One Eyes for An Eye,” accused Israel of seeking revenge in Gaza and equated its rhetoric toward Palestinians to that of Nazi Germany toward European Jews. “It is not unlike what the Nazis said about another peoples living in Europe to justify their genocide,” he wrote. The article was published just days after the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel. Backlash poured in on social media, which decried the illustration as antisemitic propaganda. Under mounting pressure, Kassam issued a statement to The New York Post, saying, “I am deeply saddened to learn that this portion of the artwork has been interpreted by some as antisemitic. That was not my intention, and I have learned from this experience.” An editor at The Cornell Daily Sun later defended Kassam in a column, arguing that the professor “did not imply that the state of Israel is equal to Nazi Germany,” but apologized for allowing the graphic to appear in the first place. Jacobson, who has long criticized the campus for what he describes as growing hostility toward Jewish students, said the episode points to a broader issue. “If a professor feels comfortable sharing a graphic like this, and the Daily Sun initially felt comfortable running it, that reflects a very toxic campus culture,” he said. “The lesson here is not to censor people but to understand what’s happened on campus. It shines a light on a profound problem.” The controversy comes as Cornell continues to grapple with allegations of discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students. Jacobson’s organization, the Equal Protection Project, is reportedly preparing a civil rights complaint on behalf of Oren Renard, an Israeli student who said he was pushed out of a class because of his national origin. Cornell’s Office of Civil Rights recently issued a finding of discrimination in that case — further evidence of a university struggling to confront deep-seated bias. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

The U.S. military flew a pair of supersonic, heavy bombers up to the coast of Venezuela on Thursday, a little over a week after another group of American bombers made a similar journey as part of a training exercise to simulate an attack. The U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off of Venezuela, raising speculation that President Donald Trump could try to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S. Adding to the speculation, the U.S. military since early September has been carrying out lethal strikes on vessels in the waters off Venezuela that Trump says are trafficking drugs. According to flight tracking data, a pair of B-1 Lancer bombers took off from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday and flew through the Caribbean and up to the coast of Venezuela. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed that a training flight of B-1s took place in the Caribbean. The B-1 bomber can carry more bombs than any other plane in the U.S. inventory. A similar flight of slower B-52 Stratofortress bombers was conducted in the region last week. The bombers were joined by Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter jets — a squadron is currently based in Puerto Rico — for what the Pentagon called a “bomber attack demo” in photos online. When Trump was asked about Thursday’s B-1 flight and if it was meant to ramp up military pressure on Venezuela, he said, “it’s false, but we’re not happy with Venezuela for a lot of reasons. Drugs being one of them.” The U.S. force in the Caribbean includes eight warships, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, MQ-9 Reaper drones and an F-35 fighter squadron. A submarine has also been confirmed to be operating in the waters off South America. Trump on Wednesday said he has the “legal authority” to carry out the strikes on the alleged drug-carrying boats and suggested similar strikes could be done on land. “We will hit them very hard when they come in by land,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’re totally prepared to do that. And we’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the military had conducted its ninth strike, killing three people in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It followed a strike Tuesday night, also in the eastern Pacific, that killed two people and brought the overall death toll from the strikes to at least 37. The latest pair of strikes expanded the Trump administration’s campaign against drug trafficking in South America from the waters of the Caribbean to the eastern Pacific. Hegseth has drawn a direct comparison between the war on terrorism that the U.S. declared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Trump administration’s crackdown. “Our message to these foreign terrorist organizations is we will treat you like we have treated al-Qaeda,” Hegseth told reporters on Thursday at the White House. “We will find you, we will map your networks, we will hunt you down, and we will kill you,” he added. (AP)

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Zilberstein published words of chizzuk after several bnei yeshivos were arrested by military police and thrown into prison. HaRav Zilberstein wrote, “We are living in very complex times, as what is stated in Masechtas Kesuvos (112b) has been fulfilled in us. Amar Rebbi Zeira said in the name of Rebbi Yirmiyah bar Abba, ‘In the generation when the son of Dovid comes, there will be accusations against talmidei chachamim.’ When this was told before Shmuel, he said, ‘One affliction after another.’ Rav Yosef taught, ‘Confiscations upon confiscations.'” “And behold, here in Eretz Yisrael—to our great sorrow—it is the only place in the world where lomdei Torah are persecuted, and they seek to imprison them for the ‘crime’ of learning Torah and for wanting to guard their Yahadus and not be corrupted in questionable places, from which no one emerges with the same Yiras Shamayim with which he entered.” “This situation shouldn’t frighten the avreichim and bochurim at all because until now, we learned Torah because we could—but now, we must prove that we don’t learn Torah because it is easy, but because it is the will of the Borei and we are prepared to be mekadeish Shem Shamayim…and to continue learning Torah above all. “I have received as a kabbalah that truth ultimately prevails. We have been in galus for 1,956 years, and many have risen against the Torah and those who uphold it—and none have succeeded. Am Yisrael chai v’kayam and clings to the Torah, and so it shall remain until the coming of Moshiach, speedily in our days. “Now that we must learn Torah with mesirus nefesh, we must cling to it all the more. Let us accept upon ourselves the yoke of Torah in the fullest sense, and it will be fulfilled in us as it says in Pirkei Avos: ‘Whoever accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah, the yoke of government and worldly concerns will be removed from him.’ I am confident that whoever takes upon himself the yoke of Torah will not be harmed by the financial decrees! “In earlier generations, in the galus, great Talmidei Chachamim emerged from the yeshivos—because they learned with mesirus nefesh. They had almost no physical comforts. They learned with little food, eating meals at the homes of kind ba’alei batim, often without even a bed to sleep in. They learned with tremendous mesiras nefesh and ahavas Torah. “Today, baruch Hashem, the generation is fortunate—there are vast numbers of lomdei Torah in yeshivos who uphold the world. But what has been lacking is mesirus nefesh for Torah. To truly flourish, there must also be mesirus nefesh and a demonstration of love for Hakadosh Baruch Hu. “In our time, bnei yeshivos—the elite of Am Yisrael—are being persecuted, the ones who sustain the world, in whose zechus we continue to exist here in Eretz Yisrael, surrounded by cruel, bloodthirsty enemies. Everyone understands that we live here only via nissim. There is no natural explanation for our survival other than that Hakadosh Baruch Hu protects us through the zechus of lomdei Torah. “There are now terrible accusations against those who learn Torah, but the lomdim continue with mesirus nefesh, and they are mekadeish shem Shamayim. And in the zechus of this limud with such devotion, Am Yisrael is granted greater […]

WATCH:

Alaska Airlines said its operations have resumed Friday after it had to ground its planes for hours because of an information technology outage. The airline said in a statement that 229 flights were canceled because of the outage and that more flight disruptions were expected as it worked to “reposition aircraft and crews.” Alaska Airlines said it is working on getting travelers affected by the disruption to their destinations. It asked that passengers check their flight status before heading to the airport. The grounding Thursday affected Alaska Air and Horizon Air flights. Hawaiian Airlines, which was bought by Alaska Air Group last year, said its flights were operating as scheduled. In July, Alaska grounded all of its flights for about three hours after the failure of a critical piece of hardware at a data center. There has been a history of computer problems disrupting flights in the industry, though most of the time the disruptions are only temporary. (AP)

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Trump pardons convicted Binance founder Changpeng Zhao • President Donald Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. • Zhao, who is widely known as CZ, had pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the huge cryptocurrency exchange. • Zhao’s plea was part of a $4.3 billion settlement Binance reached with the DOJ in 2023. • Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, blasted the pardon, calling it an example of “corruption.”

Iraqi mechanic Hussein Dawood transforms vehicle scrap into artistic creations, using discarded parts to promote environmental awareness.

North Korea says it has tested a new hypersonic system designed to strengthen its nuclear deterrent. The tests came just days before U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping are set to meet in South Korea. Seoul’s military said multiple missiles were fired from near Pyongyang, flying about 350 km before landing on land. The tests mark North Korea’s first since South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae Myung, took office, pledging peace — an offer Kim Jong Un has so far rejected.

Dramatic audio recordings broadcast on Channel 12 have exposed sharp criticism by senior members of Shas’s Moetzet Chachmei Hatorah aimed at party leader Aryeh Deri and at the idea of re-entering the government during what they described as a fraught period for the world of Torah study.

The tapes capture the Rishon Letzion Rav Yitzchok Yosef condemning moves to return Shas ministers to the coalition and voicing fury at Deri’s intentions. “If my father were alive this wouldn’t be happening; he would bang on the table and tell Deri there will be no government in Israel, there will be elections,” Rav Yosef is heard saying in the recording. “If my father were alive he would shout at him.”

Rav Yosef’s remarks went beyond that rebuke. According to the released audio, he argued that the faction should refuse any compromise and instead prepare for elections, asserting that the chareidi parties — Agudas Yisrael, Degel HaTorah and Shas — together form a bloc of 16–17 Knesset seats that no government could be formed without. He also leveled personal criticism at Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, saying, among other things, that Netanyahu “tries to convince people there is no God” and calling him an “atheist to a degree,” while still acknowledging his political acumen.

Other senior rabbonim recorded on the tapes echoed similar alarm. Rav Shmuel Betzalel, who oversees recruitment matters on the Moetzet, was heard calling the proposed conscription legislation “not a good law” and admitting he prays it will not pass. Rav Moshe Maya — the eldest member of the Moetzet — told interlocutors bluntly that he would resign from the Moetzet immediately if the party rejoined the coalition.

The published recordings were presented by Channel 12 as explaining why the Moetzet felt compelled to demand that Shas withdraw from all coalition roles — even at the cost of dissolving the government and prompting new elections — rather than accept legislation perceived as punitive toward yeshiva students and the world of Torah learning. The Moetzet’s stance, as reflected in the tapes, emphasized protecting Torah learners from what they called “humiliating” sanctions and legal measures.

The leak adds fresh fuel to an already tense debate within the right-religious camp over strategy and principles: whether to remain inside the coalition to influence policy from within, or to stand aside in protest and press the issue in the public sphere. Shas has a long history of close ties between its political leadership and its rabbinic council; the recordings lay bare how sharply those relationships can fracture when high-stakes political moves collide with the council’s red lines.

{Matzav.com}

A new controversy has erupted between a Knesset member from Otzma Yehudit and the rov of the Kosel following a personal exchange over the sensitive issue of ascending Har Habayis.

MK Yitzchok Kroizer, from Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party, has announced plans to advance legislation redefining the official title and responsibilities of Rav Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rov of the Kosel and the Mekomos Kedoshim, after receiving a sharply worded letter from the rov urging him not to ascend Har Habayis or engage in any form of hishtachavayah there.

According to sources, Rav Rabinowitz wrote to Kroizer requesting that he refrain from going up to Har Habayis, a request rooted in the long-standing psak of the Gedolei Yisroel forbidding entry to the Makom HaMikdash in our times.

In response, Kroizer—who has often described Har Habayis as “the very heart of Jewish sovereignty”—announced that he would work to “update the formal definition of the position of the rov in accordance with the spirit of the time and the current reality.”

Kroizer revealed that he intends to submit a bill changing the official title from “Rav of the Kosel HaMa’aravi and the Mekomos HaKedoshim” to “Rav of Har Habayis, the Beis HaMikdash, and the Mekomos HaKedoshim.” He explained that such a change would “reflect the return and renewed vitality of the Jewish nation in the heart of Yerushalayim.”

“The Har Habayis,” Kroizer stated, “is the core of the sovereignty and national identity of Am Yisroel in Yerushalayim and throughout Eretz Yisroel.” He pointed to what he called “a blessed and meaningful shift” in recent years, as increasing numbers of Jews ascend Har Habayis “b’kedushah u’vetaharah,” engage in tefillah, and learn Torah there—developments he said strengthen the bond between Klal Yisroel and its holiest site.

He described this process as “a return to the Makom HaMikdash,” expressing that it represents both the renewal of Jewish sovereignty and “a kiddush Sheim Yisroel and kiddush Sheim Shamayim.” Kroizer reaffirmed Otzma Yehudit’s commitment to strengthening Jewish control over Har Habayis and to securing freedom of prayer for Jews at the site.

In closing, Kroizer wrote: “The path to the hashra’as haShechinah and the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash in the near future runs through the national and practical responsibility of Am Yisroel for the Makom HaMikdash.”

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. national debt just hit $38 trillion — the highest in history — as the federal government remains shut down. It’s the fastest climb of a trillion dollars in debt outside the pandemic, rising from $37 trillion in just two months, according to new Treasury data. Economists warn that ballooning debt means higher borrowing costs, lower wages, and rising prices that erode Americans’ purchasing power over time.