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Fire and Rescue officials who arrived this week to close a well-known yeshiva in Elad ultimately agreed to delay the shutdown after being deeply impressed by the atmosphere of Torah learning and holding an extended discussion with the rosh yeshiva.

Personnel from Israel Fire and Rescue Authority conducted a safety inspection at Yeshivas Knesses Yechezkel, led by Rav Baruch Mordechai Ettinger. Following the inspection, officials initially determined that the yeshiva did not meet legally required safety standards and ordered its immediate closure.

However, after a lengthy conversation with Rav Ettinger and a visit inside the beis medrash—where they encountered the powerful sound and intensity of ongoing Torah study—the inspectors agreed to postpone the decree for several months. This reprieve is intended to allow the yeshiva time to bring its facilities into compliance with safety regulations.

At the same time, Fire and Rescue officials instructed that most of the dormitories, which are housed in caravans lacking proper fire-safety standards, must be closed within a few months unless significant upgrades are completed.

In response, the yeshiva’s administration has been working around the clock to find immediate solutions and prevent any interruption to the learning. According to information obtained by Matzav.com, the yeshiva is considering launching a matching fundraising campaign to raise the approximately 2.5 million shekels required to carry out the necessary safety renovations and repairs.

{Matzav.com}

Porsche Recalls Over 170,000 Vehicles Over Faulty Rearview Cameras Porsche has issued a recall for more than 170,000 vehicles due to a defect in the rearview camera that could raise the risk of a crash. The recall affects 2019–2025 Cayenne and Cayenne E-Hybrid models, as well as 2020 to 2025, 911 and Taycan vehicles. Owners […]

TRUMP: Tariffs are an overwhelming benefit to our nation, as they have been incredible for our national security and prosperity (like nobody has ever seen before!). Losing our ability to tariff other countries who treat us unfairly would be a terrible blow to the United States of America. Thank you for your attention to this […]

Russian ballistic missiles struck a residential area in Kharkiv, destroying a five-story apartment building and damaging nearby shopping centers and a hospital. Reports of at least 16 people injured in the attack, including one person in critical condition.

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin reflects on the biggest moments of 2025 — and shares his wish for 2026.

Russian authorities reportedly paid $500,000 to have Russian rebel Denis Kapustin assassinated, but the operation turned out to be a deception. The Kremlin initially celebrated reports that Kapustin, who defected to fight alongside Ukraine, had been killed in a drone strike on December 27. It later emerged that Ukrainian intelligence had staged his death, and […]

New details reveal that just one month before the October 7 massacre, Israel actively pressed Qatar to expand the flow of cash into the Gaza Strip, funds that went directly to the Hamas government. At the time, Israel’s security establishment assessed that Hamas was not interested in a full-scale escalation and was instead using limited confrontations along the border fence as leverage to extract additional economic concessions.

According to a report by Ynet, a key meeting took place in September 2023 at a hotel in Yerushalayim. During that meeting, official Israeli representatives asked a senior Qatari official to increase the transfer of funds to Hamas in Gaza, citing threats by the terror organization to escalate violence in the enclave.

The central figure at the meeting was Mohammed al-Emadi, the Qatari official who for years oversaw the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars into Gaza. These transfers were carried out with the knowledge and approval of successive Israeli governments.

The report states that Israel’s entire security system believed Hamas was not seeking a broader conflict. Instead, officials assessed that Hamas was deliberately managing friction near the border in order to secure economic relief and additional concessions.

Israeli officials also received assurances from Qatar that Hamas was interested in preserving stability. At the same time, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar reportedly demanded an increased allocation of fuel for Gaza’s power station during the August–September period, citing the extreme summer heat.

During September, Mossad chief David Barnea traveled to Doha for meetings with senior Qatari officials to coordinate the continuation of the cash transfers. According to the report, Qatari officials directly asked whether they should keep transferring money to Hamas. Barnea responded affirmatively, acting under the explicit instructions of Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

The report further notes that Barnea had opposed the transfer of Qatari funds to Hamas even before assuming his role as Mossad chief. Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, as well as his predecessor Nadav Argaman, were also firmly against allowing Qatari money to reach Hamas. Despite this opposition, Netanyahu repeatedly set the priority of maintaining calm in Gaza at almost any cost and instructed officials to coordinate that policy with Qatar.

It now emerges that Israel was not merely interested in continuing the existing funding mechanism. According to the report, Israeli officials sought to expand the financial transfers and grant additional economic concessions, largely in line with Sinwar’s demands, in what is described as a desperate attempt to purchase quiet.

In hindsight, the cost of that policy is now tragically clear.

{Matzav.com}

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake just hit Mexico triggering alarms during Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s conference, prompting reporters to rush out of the room.

TRUMP: The White House doctors have just reported that I am in “PERFECT HEALTH,” and that I just “ACED” (Meaning, was correct on 100% of the questions asked!), for the third straight time, my cognitive examination, something which no other president or previous vice president, was willing to take.

Tesla’s annual vehicle deliveries declined in 2025 for the second consecutive year, as the end of U.S. federal subsidies for electric vehicles weighed on demand. Overall sales fell 9% for the year, while fourth-quarter deliveries were down 16% from a year earlier. The drop followed a brief surge in third-quarter sales as buyers moved to […]

Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row. Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier. Chinese rival BYD, […]

Yemen’s Saudi-backed government has launched Operation “Taking Over the Camps,” aimed at retaking territory in the Hadhramaut Governorate that is currently controlled by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in eastern Yemen.

Earlier today, rescue forces in Israel rescued a family of three, including a young child, who were trapped in floodwaters near Nahal Shiloh.

The IDF says it struck a Hezbollah training compound used by the Radwan Force in southern Lebanon, along with additional sites used for storing weapons earlier today.

Trump: If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue…

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Aryeh Zilberstein zt”l, the rov of the Gerer kehillah in Bnei Brak, who was niftar early Friday morning at Hadassah Ein Kerem. He was 67 years old.

Rav Zilberstein’s levayah  began at the Gerer Beis Medrash on Yirmiyahu Street in Yerushalayim. From there, the levayah continued to Bnei Brak, with kevurah at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery.

Rav Aryeh was born on 15 Kislev 5719 (1958) as the eldest son of his father, Rav Shlomo Zilberstein zt”l, who served as rov of the Gerer kehillah in Bnei Brak. He was a grandson of Rav Zev Zilberstein, one of the prominent figures of the Gur court, known for his influence and presence in the famed shtiebel on Kishon Street.

His mother, Mrs. Chava a”h, was a daughter of Rav Meir Shcharnesky, founder of the first seminary of the New Yishuv in Eretz Yisroel.

In his youth, Rav Zilberstein studied at Ger’s Yeshivas Imrei Emes and Sfas Emes. In 1982, he married his wife, Mrs. Rochel, daughter of Rav Shmuel Malavsky of Bnei Brak.

He received semichah from Rav Shmuel Halevi Wosner and served for several years as a dayan and moreh hora’ah at the Zichron Meir beis hora’ah.

In 1994, he was appointed by the Pnei Menachem of Ger to serve as rov of the Gerer kehillah in Kiryat Gat. Following the passing of his father in 2009, Rav Zilberstein was appointed by the current Rebbe of Ger to succeed him as rov of the Gerer kehillah in Bnei Brak. In addition to his rabbinic duties, he later established a kollel for rabbanim and dayanim, which he headed.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

A possible agreement to halt Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is close to being finalized, but key issues remain unresolved, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his New Year’s address to the nation.

Speaking in a 20-minute speech devoted largely to the war, Zelenskyy said a draft deal is largely complete but stressed that the remaining gaps are decisive. “Ten percent remains … Those 10 percent contain, in fact, everything,” he said. “Those are the 10 percent that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, how people will live.”

Zelenskyy explained that while Ukraine’s arguments have been presented on the global stage, they have yet to win full acceptance. “Have our arguments been heard? We very much hope so. Have they agreed with us? Not fully. Not yet. That is precisely why, for now, we speak of 90 percent, not the full 100 percent, readiness of a peace agreement,” he said.

The president underscored that Kyiv will not agree to a settlement it views as fragile or dangerous. “What does Ukraine want? Peace? Yes. At any cost? No. We want the end of the war — not the end of Ukraine,” he said, adding that a weak deal would “only fuel war.”

During his address, Zelenskyy thanked nearly every European country for backing Ukraine but conspicuously excluded Hungary. Alluding to Budapest’s position on Moscow’s invasion, he said: “A Budapest-style piece of paper will not satisfy Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy also commented on President Donald Trump, noting: “The U.S. president always mentions our people and talks about how bravely Ukrainians are fighting.”

Despite acknowledging the strain on the population, Zelenskyy said the country remains determined. Ukrainians, he said, are “tired,” but “not ready to surrender.” He pointed out that Russia’s full-scale invasion has now lasted longer than the Nazi occupation of Ukraine during World War II.

He rejected claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that a Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas would end the war. “That is how deception sounds when translated from Russian … Does anyone still believe them? Unfortunately. Because too often, the truth is still avoided and called diplomacy, though in reality it is simply lies in suits,” Zelenskyy said.

Reiterating his broader warning to the international community, the Ukrainian leader said: “Either the world stops Russia’s war, or Russia drags the world into its war.”

Even as Zelenskyy spoke of diplomacy, fighting continued. He said Russia launched another overnight assault late Wednesday, firing more than 200 attack drones. Although most were intercepted, strikes were reported in the Volyn, Rivne, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv regions.

“If the strikes do not stop even during the New Year holidays, then air defense deliveries cannot be delayed. Our allies have the necessary scarce equipment. We expect that everything agreed with the United States at the end of December for our protection will be delivered on time,” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Officials have said Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with international leaders in France on January 6, as diplomatic efforts continue into the new year.

{Matzav.com}

Swiss investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling flares atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire at a ski resort when they came too close to a crowded bar’s ceiling. Forty people were killed and another 119 injured in the blaze as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana while […]

When Zohran Mamdani officially took the oath of office as New York City mayor on Thursday, control of City Hall’s official social media presence shifted along with the job. The @NYCMayor account on X and other platforms now bears Mamdani’s name, even on posts published long before he entered office.

That transition produced an unexpected visual contrast online: Mamdani’s name now appears alongside posts authored by his predecessor, Eric Adams, including several strongly supportive of Israel. Among them is a post describing Adams’ September meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, complete with a photograph of the two leaders together.

Social media users quickly noticed the odd juxtaposition, given Mamdani’s well-documented record of harsh criticism of Israel. Commentators highlighted the irony of seeing the new mayor’s name attached to content that runs counter to his past rhetoric.

Mamdani has repeatedly declined to disavow the slogan “globalize the intifada” and drew sharp criticism for attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, just one day after the Hamas massacre in southern Israel. He has also accused Israel of committing war crimes during its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

Adding to the contrast, Mamdani has publicly pledged that he would arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli leader were to visit New York City, citing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. That stance has made the inherited post documenting Adams’ meeting with Netanyahu particularly striking to observers.

At the same time, users on X have pointed out that members of Mamdani’s team have begun removing older posts from the account, including messages in which Adams promised to stand firmly with the Jewish community. As a result, the Netanyahu meeting post — and other similar content — may soon disappear from the mayoral feed.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump pushed back against renewed scrutiny of his health in a wide-ranging interview, insisting he feels fine and explaining why he continues to ignore his doctors’ advice to cut back on aspirin.

Questions about the president’s condition have followed him throughout his second term, particularly after he became the oldest individual to take the oath of office last year. Trump opened the discussion with visible irritation at the recurring focus on his well-being. “Let’s talk about health again for the 25th time,” he said early in the interview. “My health is perfect.”

Trump attributed recent speculation in part to photographs showing bruising on his hand, which the White House has said are a side effect of aspirin use. According to the president, he has been taking a full-strength aspirin daily for more than 20 years as a preventive measure for his heart, a routine he is reluctant to change.

“They say aspirin is good for thinning out the blood, and I don’t want thick blood pouring through my heart,” Trump said in the interview with The Wall Street Journal, published Thursday. “I want nice, thin blood pouring through my heart. Does that make sense?”

His physician, Sean Barbabella, has recommended that Trump reduce his daily dosage from 325 milligrams to what is considered a low-dose aspirin, typically around 80 milligrams. Trump acknowledged that advice but said he has chosen to stay the course. “They’d rather have me take the smaller one,” he said. “I take the larger one, but I’ve done it for years, and what it does do is it causes bruising.”

The president also clarified details of medical testing performed during his October visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, saying he underwent a CT scan rather than an MRI, as had previously been reported. He suggested the testing itself fueled unnecessary speculation. “I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’ Well, nothing’s wrong,” he said.

While the White House has repeatedly described Trump as being in excellent health, the president readily acknowledged that his lifestyle does not include traditional fitness routines. He said he dislikes structured exercise and prefers golf. “I just don’t like it. It’s boring,” he told the Journal. “To walk on a treadmill or run on a treadmill for hours and hours like some people do, that’s not for me.”

Trump also rejected claims that he has been nodding off during recent public events at the White House, despite images that appeared to show him with his eyes closed. He said those moments have been misinterpreted. “I’ll just close. It’s very relaxing to me. Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking, blinking, and they’ll catch me with the blink,” he said.

{Matzav.com}