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Two IDF reservists were killed in the northern Gaza Strip after an explosive military drone malfunctioned, crashed inside an Israeli army post and detonated when the soldiers approached it, the IDF announced Friday morning.

The fallen soldiers were identified as Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, of Har Halutz, and Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23, of Yerushalayim.

Both soldiers served in the 7007th Battalion of the Jerusalem Brigade. Their families were notified of their deaths before their names were released publicly.

According to an initial IDF investigation, Kali and Moalem were operating explosive first-person-view drones from a military position in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday afternoon. The drones, known in the IDF as “Atalef,” or “bat,” are designed to carry explosive payloads.

The soldiers first launched one of the drones, which successfully completed its intended mission. They then attempted to operate a second UAV, but the drone crashed inside the military post during takeoff for reasons that have yet to be determined.

Several minutes after the crash, Kali and Moalem approached the downed drone to examine it. According to the preliminary investigation, the soldiers picked up the UAV, at which point it suddenly exploded, critically wounding both of them.

Emergency personnel provided immediate treatment at the scene before the two reservists were evacuated from Gaza to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon. Despite efforts to save their lives, both were pronounced dead at the hospital.

The IDF has launched an investigation to determine exactly what caused the drone to crash and subsequently detonate. Investigators are examining a range of possibilities, including a technical malfunction or some form of communications interference.

Pending the results of the investigation, the IDF has temporarily grounded small drones capable of carrying explosive payloads, including both attack drones designed to strike targets directly and UAVs that release explosives over a target.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir subsequently ordered the establishment of a special panel of experts to investigate the fatal accident. The team, headed by a Ground Forces brigadier general, will examine the circumstances surrounding the explosion and seek to determine what measures are necessary to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again.

The deaths of Kali and Moalem add two more names to the IDF’s list of soldiers who have fallen since the October 7, 2023, massacre and the ensuing war. The IDF’s official figures, updated Friday, list 968 soldiers killed since the beginning of the war.

{Matzav.com}

White House border czar Tom Homan delivered a forceful defense of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday, declaring that ICE will continue its stepped-up immigration enforcement operations despite mounting criticism over several recent incidents involving federal agents.

“You can hate us all you want. We’re not going anywhere,” Homan said during remarks at the Justice Department’s Victims of Violent Crime summit in Washington. Homan also pledged that the administration would intensify immigration enforcement, particularly in sanctuary jurisdictions.

His comments come as ICE has dramatically expanded detention and deportation operations under President Donald Trump, while several recent encounters involving immigration officers have prompted investigations and demands for greater accountability.

One of the most closely watched cases unfolded Sunday in Austin, Texas, where an ICE officer shot 28-year-old Venezuelan national Wilber Rafael Garces Perez while he was working as a DoorDash delivery driver.

Garces Perez was hospitalized following the shooting and was subsequently transferred to ICE custody. His attorney disputes the federal government’s characterization of his immigration history, saying he entered the United States through the CBP One program in 2024 and sought asylum. Federal authorities say he is subject to a final order of removal.

The Department of Homeland Security has said the shooting occurred after Garces Perez made a “dangerous attempt to evade arrest.” Garces Perez has provided a different account, saying unmarked vehicles struck his car before he realized ICE officers were attempting to stop him. The precise circumstances leading to the shooting remain under investigation.

The case drew additional attention after reports emerged that the ICE officer who fired the shot was not wearing his agency-issued body camera. Another ICE officer at the scene reportedly had a body camera activated, but that footage did not capture the shooting itself.

Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, has been among the most outspoken critics of ICE following the incident, calling for the agency to leave Austin and demanding “full transparency” surrounding the shooting. Casar subsequently visited Garces Perez at an ICE detention facility and said a medical specialist had determined that surgery was needed to remove a bullet still lodged near his spine.

The Austin controversy comes as another ICE-related incident is under investigation in Michigan.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer directed the Michigan State Police to conduct an independent review of the circumstances surrounding a fatal crash in Grand Rapids over the weekend involving Mario David Coronado Juarez, a Guatemalan immigrant who fled from ICE agents before his vehicle struck a tree and caught fire.

Grand Rapids authorities have said local police officers were not involved in the pursuit and arrived only after the crash was reported. Questions remain about the circumstances of the ICE operation and the events immediately preceding the fatal collision, prompting calls from elected officials and activists for additional information from federal authorities.

Homan did not directly address either the Austin shooting or the Grand Rapids crash in his Thursday remarks. Instead, he broadly defended ICE and attributed much of the hostility directed toward the agency to media coverage.

“We’re going to keep pushing. We’re not going to apologize.”

Homan made clear that the controversies would not cause the Trump administration to scale back its immigration enforcement agenda. Instead, he said ICE would increase its presence in jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

“ICE will continue doing the job every day across this country, especially in sanctuary cities, where we’ll surge resources and flood the zone. We’re going to enforce the law without apology,” the border czar said. “You got my word on that.”

[Video below.] Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon confronted an Iranian representative on the floor of the UN General Assembly on Thursday night, offering him the Starlink terminal that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu had displayed during his speech just a short time earlier and suggesting that he take the device back to Tehran.

Video of the encounter shows Danon approaching the Iranian diplomat while holding the Starlink terminal. The Iranian representative refused to accept it, turned away from Danon and declined to engage with him. The encounter was independently reported by The Times of Israel, which said Danon attempted to hand the terminal directly to the Iranian diplomat.

“I thought it would be appropriate to give you the Starlink,” Danon told him. “It could be very useful for you to allow the Iranian people to gain their freedom, after what you have done to them.”

When the Iranian representative showed no interest in taking the device, Danon continued pressing him.

“So, do you want to take this and bring it back to Tehran? It could be very useful for you in Iran. We love the Iranian people and pray for regime change there. That day will come.”

The exchange came shortly after Netanyahu made the Starlink terminal one of the visual centerpieces of his address to the UN General Assembly. Holding up the satellite internet device from the podium, Netanyahu argued that Iran’s rulers fear technology that can give ordinary Iranians uncensored access to information.

“The Iranian regime is especially afraid when its people have something like this,” Netanyahu said while displaying the terminal. “It is a means of communication that allows people access to the truth, to exercise choice, to exercise freedom of thought and freedom of expression.”

Starlink, operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, provides internet service through a network of low-Earth-orbit satellites and can potentially allow users to bypass conventional terrestrial internet infrastructure. The issue has particular significance in Iran, where authorities imposed a months-long internet blackout beginning in January amid widespread protests. The blackout officially ended in late May.

Netanyahu announced from the UN podium that he would leave the terminal with the president of the General Assembly so that it could be passed along to the Iranian delegation.

He added a pointed jab at members of the Iranian regime: “That way, when they inevitably defect, they too will be able to freely tell their story on social media.”

Danon apparently decided not to wait for the diplomatic delivery process. Carrying the same device, he approached the Iranian representative himself and attempted to hand it over — an offer that was emphatically rejected.

The encounter came amid a highly confrontational week between Israel and Iran at the UN, with the renewed tensions between the two countries dominating much of the diplomatic activity surrounding the General Assembly. Israeli officials have also warned that the confrontation with Tehran could escalate again, with Israel preparing for several possible military scenarios.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had used his own General Assembly address a day earlier to attack Israel and the United States, while saying Tehran remained willing to negotiate with Washington provided that it was not subjected to what he characterized as pressure and “bullying.” The American delegation walked out as Pezeshkian began his address.

The Iranian delegation staged its own symbolic demonstration during Netanyahu’s appearance. A photograph of slain Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani was placed on the Iranian delegation’s desk inside the General Assembly hall.

Israel, meanwhile, had begun its public-relations offensive even before Netanyahu stepped to the podium. The National Public Diplomacy Directorate launched an extensive campaign throughout Manhattan featuring more than 500 signs and mobile displays aimed at Iran, the UN and demonstrators gathering around the General Assembly. Some of the messages were placed specifically near the hotel housing the Iranian delegation.

But one of the evening’s most direct confrontations unfolded inside the UN itself: Danon standing before an Iranian diplomat with Netanyahu’s Starlink terminal in his hands, urging him to take the technology home to Tehran — while the Iranian representative turned away.

Sen. Bernie Sanders used a major foreign-policy address at New York City’s historic Riverside Church this week to accuse Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and demand an end to all U.S. military assistance to the Netanyahu government, remarks that drew applause from the audience.

The Vermont independent, who is Jewish and has emerged as one of the most outspoken congressional critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, delivered the speech Monday evening as world leaders gathered in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The event was hosted by South Africa’s delegation to the United Nations in collaboration with Progressive International and the Hague Group.

Speaking from the same Riverside Church pulpit where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous 1967 “Beyond Vietnam” address, Sanders invoked King’s criticism of militarism while laying out his own sweeping critique of U.S. foreign policy, global military spending and economic inequality.

Sanders then turned directly to Israel and Gaza.

“That is why we must continue to speak out against the extremist government in Israel and the genocide they have committed in Gaza, and why we in the United States must end all military aid to the Netanyahu government.”

His comments were met with applause from the audience.

The description of Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” remains fiercely disputed. Sanders has repeatedly adopted that characterization, while Israel rejects the allegation, maintaining that its military operations have targeted Hamas and other terrorist organizations and that Hamas’ embedding of military infrastructure among civilians has contributed to the enormous civilian toll. The legal question has also been the subject of proceedings before the International Court of Justice following a case brought by South Africa; those proceedings have not produced a final merits judgment establishing that Israel committed genocide.

Sanders has increasingly focused his criticism not only on Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and his government but also on continued American military support for Israel. Earlier this year, Sanders wrote that the United States should halt military assistance to what he called the “extremist Netanyahu government,” while emphasizing that he regards Hamas as a terrorist organization and that Israel had a right to respond to the October 7, 2023, massacre.

The setting for Monday’s speech was particularly significant. Riverside Church has long been associated with political activism and was the site of King’s landmark anti-Vietnam War speech in April 1967. Nelson Mandela also appeared at the church after his release from prison.

Sanders explicitly connected his remarks to that history, arguing that King’s warnings about excessive military spending remained relevant nearly six decades later.

“What Dr. King said was true nearly 60 years ago, and it is even truer today, as our country, the United States of America, is now spending over a trillion dollars a year on the military, while some 800,000 Americans are homeless, 85 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, and millions of people cannot afford the basic necessities of life,” Sanders said.

Sanders’ remarks on Israel formed only one portion of a much broader foreign-policy address. He also denounced President Trump’s war with Iran, criticized Russia’s war in Ukraine and condemned the United Arab Emirates over its support for the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.

The senator additionally devoted a substantial portion of his address to what he described as the growing concentration of wealth and political power in the hands of billionaires. He argued that rising inequality is undermining democratic institutions both in the United States and abroad.

Sanders also sounded an alarm over artificial intelligence, describing AI and robotics as transformational technologies that could eliminate millions of jobs, enable mass surveillance and make sophisticated political deepfakes increasingly difficult to distinguish from reality.

He urged President Trump to use his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to pursue an international agreement aimed at preventing an uncontrolled race to develop artificial intelligence systems that could become too powerful for humans to control, comparing such an agreement to Cold War-era nuclear arms-control treaties.

The Israel-Gaza portion of Sanders’ address, however, was especially notable given both the venue and the sponsorship of the event. South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola also spoke at the gathering and repeated his government’s accusations against Israel, invoking South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

Sanders has made ending U.S. military assistance to Israel a recurring theme of his foreign-policy agenda. In an April opinion piece, he described himself as a “proud Jewish-American” whose father fled antisemitism in Poland and whose relatives were murdered by the Nazis, while arguing that his opposition to Israel’s military campaign should not be characterized as antisemitic.

{Matzav.com}

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Thursday that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive, healthy and actively directing the Iranian regime, despite Khamenei having remained out of public view since assuming power following the death of his father earlier this year.

Speaking during an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier, Pezeshkian said he personally met with Khamenei roughly four to six weeks ago and spent several hours with him. Independent reporting confirms that Pezeshkian made the assertions during the Thursday interview, though Khamenei’s condition has not been independently verified.

Pezeshkian said he last saw Khamenei “about a month, a month and a half ago,” adding that their meeting lasted “about seven hours.”

Asked whether the supreme leader remains physically capable of governing Iran, Pezeshkian responded that he was “very much so, completely” able to do so.

Pezeshkian maintained that Khamenei continues to play an active role in the country’s leadership, with the Iranian government implementing policy while receiving strategic guidance from the supreme leader. The Jerusalem Post reported Pezeshkian as saying that while implementation rests with the government, consultations and directions continue to come from Khamenei.

Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after the elder Khamenei was killed in a Feb. 28 strike. Since taking over as supreme leader in March, however, Mojtaba Khamenei has not made a public appearance, fueling persistent questions about his health and whether he is actually exercising control over the Iranian government. He was also absent from his father’s funeral in July.

Baier pressed Pezeshkian on the unusual absence, asking why Iran has not released a photograph or video showing Khamenei since he became supreme leader.

Pezeshkian attributed Khamenei’s disappearance from public view to a “lack of security,” blaming the situation on outside forces and unnamed aggressors.

Questions surrounding Khamenei’s fate grew more intense in August following reports that rumors were circulating within Tehran that he might have died from injuries sustained during the Feb. 28 strikes. Reports at the time indicated that Khamenei had been seriously wounded in the same attack that killed his father.

President Trump addressed those reports during an August interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck, saying he believed Khamenei had survived but suffered major injuries.

“He was very seriously wounded, but I don’t think he’s dead.”

Trump went further in that interview, saying the left side of Khamenei’s body, including his arm and leg, had been badly injured. He noted that Iranian officials continued to speak as though they were consulting Khamenei and seeking his approval on important decisions.

During Thursday’s Fox News interview, Baier also questioned Pezeshkian about who is actually exercising ultimate authority inside Iran while Khamenei remains unseen.

Pezeshkian did not directly answer that question, instead turning the discussion toward Tehran’s position on the U.S.-Iran peace agreement that collapsed in July and Iran’s disputed nuclear program.

His insistence that Khamenei remains fully engaged in governing Iran nevertheless represented one of the clearest public assertions by a senior Iranian official about the supreme leader’s condition since speculation about his fate intensified.

For now, however, Khamenei’s continuing absence from public view means Pezeshkian’s assertion that he is “completely” healthy remains a claim by the Iranian government rather than something independently demonstrated to the public.

Elon Musk is predicting that the future of computing lies overwhelmingly beyond Earth, declaring that virtually all computing capacity will eventually migrate into space as Google moves ahead with an ambitious project to test artificial-intelligence hardware in orbit.

“The amount of compute in space will obviously round up to 100% of all compute,” Musk wrote Thursday on X, responding to a post about Google’s Project Suncatcher, a research initiative aimed at determining whether large-scale AI computing infrastructure could eventually operate aboard networks of satellites.

The prediction is extraordinary in scope. Today, the enormous computing resources needed to train and operate advanced AI systems are concentrated primarily in terrestrial data centers, facilities that require vast quantities of electricity and significant cooling infrastructure. Musk is suggesting that, over the long term, those economics could shift so dramatically that Earth-based computing would represent only a tiny fraction of the world’s total computing power.

Google is now taking an early step toward determining whether such a future is technically feasible.

Through Project Suncatcher, Google is investigating whether satellites carrying its specialized Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, could function as interconnected AI data centers in space. Google describes the effort as a “research moonshot” and stresses that it remains at an experimental stage.

The concept centers on compact groups of satellites operating in low-Earth orbit. Each satellite would carry Google’s AI processors, while high-speed optical links using lasers would allow the spacecraft to communicate with one another. Rather than having one enormous computer in orbit, multiple satellites could potentially combine their computing resources to tackle larger AI workloads.

One of the biggest attractions is energy.

Data centers on Earth are facing rapidly increasing electricity requirements as AI models grow larger and more computationally demanding. In orbit, Google says solar panels can potentially generate as much as eight times the power they would produce on Earth, depending on the orbit, while receiving sunlight almost continuously. That could reduce both the need for batteries and reliance on terrestrial power grids.

The amount of available energy is enormous. Google researchers noted when unveiling Project Suncatcher that the sun emits more than 100 trillion times humanity’s total electricity production. The company is investigating whether some of that effectively continuous solar power could eventually support massive computing networks in orbit.

But getting an AI data center into space involves far more than attaching computer chips to satellites.

Google researchers say the spacecraft would have to fly in extremely precise formations so that enormous quantities of data could move rapidly between them. The company plans to use free-space optical communications — essentially laser connections — rather than conventional radio links.

The precision required is formidable. Google says the satellites would need to maintain extremely high-bandwidth laser connections while both spacecraft are moving at orbital speeds. The company compared the challenge to attempting to hit a coin-sized target from miles away while both the transmitter and target are moving.

There is also the question of whether sophisticated AI processors can survive the harsh conditions of space.

Google has already subjected its Trillium-generation TPUs to radiation testing designed to simulate conditions in low-Earth orbit. According to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the chips survived those tests without damage. The company cautions, however, that radiation is only one challenge; thermal management, long-term reliability and the physical stresses associated with launch and orbital operation must also be addressed.

Google is now preparing to move those experiments from the laboratory into space.

The company said Thursday that Project Suncatcher is preparing an initial orbital test aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission. The prototype spacecraft was developed in partnership with satellite company Planet and is intended to collect real-world data on how Google’s TPUs withstand radiation, temperature extremes and other conditions in orbit.

That initial experiment will be followed by a more ambitious milestone. Google and Planet plan to put two prototype satellites into orbit in 2027, allowing researchers to test whether two AI-equipped spacecraft can fly together and exchange enormous amounts of data through high-bandwidth optical links. Planet originally announced that the two-satellite mission was targeting launch by early 2027.

The involvement of SpaceX creates an unusual intersection between Musk’s prediction and Google’s experiment: the company whose orbital-AI project prompted Musk’s sweeping forecast is using Musk’s rocket company to help test the concept.

Musk’s statement came in response to an X post claiming that Google was “launching TPUs in space NEXT WEEK on SpaceX falcon 9 to test AI data centers orbit.” Google’s latest announcement does confirm that its first Suncatcher test will fly aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission, although the company’s own description presents the flight as an initial hardware experiment rather than the deployment of an operational orbital AI data center.

Even if those tests succeed, enormous technical and economic obstacles would remain before anything resembling a large-scale space data center could become practical.

Hardware failures that are routine inconveniences in terrestrial data centers become much harder to address when equipment is hundreds of miles above Earth. Heat must be dissipated in a vacuum, satellites must survive radiation for extended periods, and thousands of processors would need exceptionally fast communications links. Launch costs would also have to become sufficiently low to make replacing and expanding orbital computing hardware economically practical.

Google itself is careful not to portray Project Suncatcher as a near-term replacement for conventional data centers. The company describes the effort as a long-range experiment intended to answer fundamental engineering questions and says the first mission is primarily about discovering what works, what fails and what needs to be redesigned.

Still, Musk’s prediction takes the idea to its ultimate conclusion. Rather than envisioning space-based computing as a supplement to Earth’s data centers, he is forecasting a future in which the overwhelming majority of computing happens in orbit.

“The amount of compute in space will obviously round up to 100% of all compute,” Musk wrote.

For now, Google is considerably closer to the beginning of that experiment than to Musk’s envisioned endpoint. But with actual AI processors preparing to head into orbit and two interconnected prototype satellites planned for 2027, the idea of an AI data center in space is moving from theoretical research toward real-world testing.

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Thursday that Tehran has no intention of developing a nuclear weapon and said Iran is prepared to dilute enriched uranium and permit international verification of its nuclear activities, while accusing the United States and Israel of responsibility for the nearly seven-month Middle East war.

Pezeshkian made the assertions during an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on “Special Report,” where he discussed Iran’s nuclear program, the collapse of negotiations with President Donald Trump’s administration, U.S. sanctions, the Strait of Hormuz and the ongoing military confrontation.

Pressed directly on whether Iran wants to obtain a nuclear bomb, Pezeshkian issued an unequivocal denial.

“Not at all. Not at all. Our martyred, esteemed supreme leader had announced several times that, from a religious decree, it is unholy. It is illegal,” he told Bret Baier, referencing religious edicts issued against weapons of mass destruction.

Pezeshkian’s denial comes against the backdrop of years of international concern over Tehran’s nuclear activities, including its enrichment of uranium to levels far beyond those ordinarily required for civilian nuclear-energy purposes. The Iranian nuclear program was among the central issues cited by President Trump in launching Operation Epic Fury in February.

During Thursday’s interview, however, Pezeshkian indicated that Iran would be prepared to reduce the enrichment level of its uranium and open its nuclear activities to outside verification as part of a potential agreement.

“So, that weapon’s mass destruction. We said we’re willing to dilute them. It’s not a big deal. We are willing to submit ourselves to verification,” he said.

Pezeshkian also pointed to the memorandum of understanding reached between Iran and the Trump administration in June, which was designed to halt hostilities and provide a pathway toward a broader agreement between Washington and Tehran. The White House said at the time that the agreement was intended to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and lead toward a final settlement of the nuclear dispute.

“We have no problems. We did reach an agreement with your president,” Pezeshkian said of Trump, who signed the agreement.

“That agreement was signed, and, based on that, we are willing and still wish to move forward.

“And the framework was agreed upon. We had not closed the Strait of Hormuz; it was open without any legal justification or framework,” he said.

Pezeshkian then accused the United States of derailing the diplomatic process through military action against Iran.

“They attacked us. They assassinated and martyred our esteemed supreme leader, our scientists, our military commanders and government.”

Despite his accusations against Washington, the Iranian president maintained that Tehran remains willing to negotiate and suggested that international inspectors could be granted broad access to Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“The problem is that America, instead of conducting dialog, they descend into the arena by bombing us first, by blocking every pathway. We are ready,” he said.

“This is not the way to conduct yourself on the world stage. They can have free access to see whatever we have, but not to put us under such pressure, under blockades, deny us access.”

Pezeshkian also rejected the contention that Iran is seeking a confrontation with the United States, instead portraying Tehran as defending itself against American military action.

“We do not seek to kill Americans, as shown by actions, demonstrable actions. America has sought to kill Iranians,” Pezeshkian said. “What we know is that if we’re attacked, we must defend ourselves.”

The Iranian president was also questioned about the continuing U.S. military campaign and the Trump administration’s use of secondary sanctions against Tehran. Pezeshkian acknowledged that Iran is facing serious economic difficulties but said his government would continue resisting American pressure.

“This is something that has been the doing of the United States,” he said. “We will keep resisting. We will find ways, and the life of our country will continue. We will remain.

“Yes, we do have economic issues, certainly. But in order to remain, we will go through any hardship and endure.

“If America thinks that they can keep sanctioning us, we have nothing to do, nor do we consider any type of American elections. If the current American government, within international legal frameworks, wishes to reach an agreement, fine. If not, before the elections or after the elections, what difference does it make for us?”

The dispute over the Strait of Hormuz remains another major obstacle to an agreement. Iran has recently indicated that it could reopen the strategically vital waterway if the United States eases military pressure and lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. The strait has become a central point of contention in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.

Pezeshkian repeatedly maintained during the interview that Iran did not seek the war, while accusing Israel of helping trigger the fighting and arguing that Washington now has the power to determine whether the conflict continues.

“We will stand resolutely to defend ourselves. We never sought war. We do not seek war,” he said.

“I deeply believe that humans should not cause the death of another human. But with the instigations conducted by Israel, they have imposed this war on us.

“But we do not wish to continue. It’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not.”

His comments echoed the position he presented during this week’s UN General Assembly, where Pezeshkian said Iran remains open to negotiations with Washington while rejecting talks conducted under military threats and economic pressure.

Pezeshkian was additionally questioned about reports that Iranian forces obtained Chinese satellite imagery that was used in carrying out a deadly attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan. Three American service members were killed in the strike.

The Iranian president said he had no specific knowledge of the alleged intelligence assistance.

“I’m specifically unaware of these purported images that you talk about,” Pezeshkian said.

“Now, what do militaries do with one another between two countries? It is their own business within their own guidelines.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Some of the biggest names in technology and finance gathered at the White House on Thursday night as President Donald Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state dinner, with Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos among the high-profile business leaders invited to the event.

The black-tie dinner in the White House East Room concluded a day of diplomatic meetings and elaborate ceremonies surrounding Xi’s state visit to Washington. The visit marked Xi’s first trip to the White House in more than a decade and included discussions between the two leaders as the United States and China continue to grapple with major disputes involving trade, artificial intelligence, advanced computer chips and Taiwan.

According to the White House guest list, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos were among the prominent corporate figures invited to the dinner. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was also among the technology executives attending.

Trump had previewed the intense interest surrounding the dinner earlier in the week while attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“Everyone wants to be there,” Trump said during the United Nations General Assembly. “It’s the hottest ticket in town.”

Asked who had secured invitations to the event, Trump indicated that the guest list drew from a broad cross-section of America’s most powerful industries.

“Sort of everybody,” he said, adding that it included “the entire tech world, the entire banking world and a lot more.”

The final roster reflected that description, bringing together dozens of executives from Silicon Valley, Wall Street and other major sectors of the economy. They were joined by members of the Trump administration, lawmakers, Supreme Court justices, media personalities and members of the Trump family. Reuters reported that the White House press office released the official list of invited guests Thursday night.

The particularly large contingent of technology executives came as artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductor technology have become increasingly important sources of competition between Washington and Beijing.

Nvidia and other American semiconductor companies have found themselves directly affected by that rivalry, as Washington has sought to limit China’s access to some of the most advanced American technology while U.S. companies continue to view China as a major commercial market.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, to the White House ahead of the dinner. Melania wore a tuxedo-inspired ensemble featuring an oversized bow for the formal occasion. The White House had earlier welcomed the Chinese president with an elaborate state arrival ceremony involving hundreds of members of the U.S. military.

The corporate guest list extended well beyond Zuckerberg, Musk, Altman and Bezos. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai was invited, as were Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison and Tim Cook, who recently stepped down as Apple CEO.

French billionaire Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of luxury conglomerate LVMH, was also among the guests. His company controls major brands including Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. Arnault attended with his son Alexandre Arnault.

The judicial branch was represented as well, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh appearing on the White House guest list.

The dinner itself was held in the East Room, where guests dined using the Reagan State Service. The White House said the décor incorporated red flowers and linens in recognition of the color’s longstanding cultural significance in China, while the menu combined American ingredients with Chinese influences.

The meal began with yellow squash velouté accompanied by wild mushroom fricassee, crispy pancetta and scallion oil, followed by sesame-crusted sea bass with baby bok choy, roasted garden eggplant and sauce verte. Dessert featured vanilla crémeux, sour cherry confit, walnut frangipane and ice cream made with White House honey.

The evening also featured performances by tenor Christopher Macchio and military musicians from the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army.

The glittering guest list underscored the enormous economic stakes surrounding Xi’s Washington visit, with leaders of companies at the center of the global AI and technology race sitting down for dinner as Trump and Xi sought to navigate the increasingly consequential competition between the world’s two largest economies.

[Video below.] A remarkable display of humility unfolded today in Yerushalayim when the Dushinsky Rebbe chose to walk down eight flights of stairs rather than inconvenience a group of workers riding in an elevator.

The Rebbe had been visiting a chassid who resides in a luxury penthouse on the eighth floor of a building. When the visit concluded, the Rebbe and those accompanying him waited for the elevator.

When the doors opened, they found the elevator filled with Arab workers. Recognizing the Rebbe, the workers immediately began stepping out to make room for him.

The Rebbe refused to allow them to leave on his account. He warmly instructed the workers to remain inside and even directed one worker who had already exited the elevator to get back in.

One of the workers, astonished that the Rebbe would give up the elevator and walk down eight floors rather than inconvenience them, pleaded with him, “B’Chayat Rabbeinu!—Please, Rebbe!”

The Rebbe remained firm. The workers continued their ride, while he made his way down all eight flights of stairs on foot.

The moving incident, documented by photographer Shlomi Cohen, is an extraordinary example of the Rebbe’s humility and consideration for others.

Another episode illustrating the Rebbe’s sensitivity occurred during a separate visit that day. As he made his way to a shivah home located on the third floor of a building without an elevator, he noticed a man struggling to carry cases of soda and water.

The Rebbe asked where the delivery was headed. Upon learning that the drinks were intended for the very shivah home he was visiting, he took a six-pack of water from the man and began carrying it himself. He then instructed those accompanying him to help bring up the remaining packages.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Shalom Ber Sorotzkin, rosh yeshivah of Yeshivas Ateres Shlomo, left open the possibility of returning to Uman next Rosh Hashanah after telling a major donor that another visit would depend on his continued financial support for the yeshivah.

Rav Sorotzkin’s historic Rosh Hashanah visit to Uman generated considerable discussion throughout the Torah world. His trip to Ukraine was described as an unprecedented step prompted by an extraordinary donation to the yeshivah from a prominent benefactor. Additional donors subsequently joined the initiative, resulting in an enormous contribution that reportedly led Rav Sorotzkin to make the trip.

During the Yom Tov, one of the major donors approached Rav Sorotzkin and asked whether he would return to Uman the following year.

Rav Sorotzkin answered without hesitation: “Look in the mirror and answer the question yourself. That depends entirely on you.”

His response indicated that he was not ruling out another visit if it would generate further support for the bochurim and avreichim of Ateres Shlomo.

Those close to Rav Sorotzkin emphasized that he is prepared to do whatever is necessary for the institution’s bochurim and avreichim—including spending another Rosh Hashanah in Uman if such a trip would help strengthen and sustain the Torah world.

Israel’s Real Estate Enforcement Authority is launching a nationwide crackdown ahead of Sukkos on illegally constructed balconies, platforms and structural additions that could endanger the public. Violators may face administrative fines reaching hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Officials stressed that the enforcement campaign is not directed at ordinary temporary sukkahs erected for the holiday. It will instead target more substantial structures that require building permits and engineering approval.

As part of its preparations, the authority sent warning letters to suppliers, metalworking businesses and contractors, reminding them that all work must comply with the law and that structures may not be erected without the necessary permits and approvals.

Authority inspectors are also expected to conduct proactive operations throughout the country in an effort to identify unauthorized construction during its earliest stages. Enforcement proceedings will be opened against those involved when balconies or other structures are found to have been built without permits.

As a preventive measure, the Bnei Brak municipality and the Real Estate Enforcement Authority issued a special public notice on behalf of the city’s rabbanim. The announcement warned residents against constructing unauthorized balconies and building additions and highlighted the safety hazards they can create.

The authority said that construction performed without a permit—or in violation of a permit’s conditions—is illegal and can result in enforcement orders and administrative fines amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels. Depending on the circumstances, both the property owner and the contractor who carried out the work may be held responsible.

“A balcony built without a permit and without the approval of a structural engineer is not a temporary solution for the chag, but could pose a danger to life,” the Real Estate Enforcement Authority said. “We are working with property owners, contractors and local authorities to stop this phenomenon before construction takes place. Anyone who chooses to build in violation of the law should know that the authority will be in the field and will use every enforcement tool at its disposal.”

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu lavished praise on Argentine President Javier Milei during a meeting in New York on Thursday, calling him “one of the great leaders of our time” and thanking him for his outspoken and consistent support of Israel.

The two leaders met at United Nations headquarters on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly, capping Milei’s visit to New York and continuing an increasingly close relationship between Israel and Argentina under the Milei government. Argentina’s presidency confirmed the meeting and said it followed Milei’s address to the General Assembly.

Netanyahu thanked Milei for what his office described as his steadfast support for Israel and congratulated him on receiving an award from Yeshiva Darchei Torah in New York recognizing his leadership in support of the Jewish people and his fight against antisemitism. Argentina’s presidential office described the honor as the “Ohev Yisrael” award.

The meeting also focused on expanding cooperation between Israel and Argentina and building stronger ties between Israel and other Latin American countries. A central topic was the “Isaac Accords,” an initiative launched by Milei and Netanyahu earlier this year to deepen security, diplomatic and economic cooperation between Israel, Argentina and other like-minded countries in the Western Hemisphere.

The Isaac Accords were formally launched in Yerushalayim in April as a framework for cooperation against terrorism, antisemitism and drug trafficking, while also expanding collaboration in technology, innovation and trade. The agreement specifically cited efforts to counter Iranian terrorist networks and activity in the Western Hemisphere. The initiative was modeled in part on President Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords.

Netanyahu used particularly effusive language in praising Milei and his economic program in Argentina.

“President Milei is one of the great leaders of our time. What you have done for the economy of Argentina is masterful, very hard to do, with a lot of political resistance. But you’ve broken out of the cage, and you are giving freedom to people. It may take time for them to understand it, but I want to tell you: Anybody who understands anything in economics knows that there has never been such a transformation. And as someone who’s made a transformation myself, know that’s a compliment made from the heart and from the mind,” Netanyahu told Milei.

Netanyahu then turned to Milei’s support for Israel, praising the Argentine leader for speaking publicly in Israel’s defense.

“And second, you stand up for the truth. You don’t care. You just speak up for the truth. That’s why you support Israel because we share this common heritage of justice and speaking the truth, and no one speaks it better than you,” he added.

Milei responded with equally warm praise for the Israeli prime minister.

“Thank you very much my friend. For me an honor to receive your words, being you one of the greatest leaders of all history of the world.”

The meeting came one day after Milei delivered a sharply critical address to the UN General Assembly in which he accused the international organization of failing in some of its most basic responsibilities and singled out its treatment of Israel. Milei called the UN “useless” and accused its bureaucracy of sustaining what he termed “fatally arrogant parasites.”

“Those who were supposed to guarantee collective security and human rights failed in their task. They allowed chaos, violence and international terrorism to flourish,” Milei said.

“The alleged defenders of human rights have sheltered bloodthirsty dictatorships and regimes that stone women in the streets; they have systematically voted against Israel while remaining silent in the face of Islamic terrorism and the genocide of Christians in Africa.”

Milei also accused the UN of applying its stated principles selectively, arguing that authoritarian governments have been allowed to participate in UN human-rights institutions despite their own records.

“We have simultaneously shown a total inability to respond to the scourge of terrorism,” he said.

“In this same house, that purports to defend human rights, we have also included bloody dictatorships in the Human Rights Council, including Cuba and Venezuela without reproach,” Milei said.

Milei has made support for Israel a prominent feature of Argentina’s foreign policy since taking office. Earlier this year, while promoting the Isaac Accords, he said Latin American countries had a responsibility to align themselves in defense of “life, liberty and democracy,” and described the initiative as a coalition against antisemitism, terrorism and drug trafficking.

Thursday’s Netanyahu-Milei meeting was part of a broader series of meetings Netanyahu held with Latin American leaders while in New York. The prime minister also met leaders from Paraguay, Panama and Bolivia as Israel sought to expand its diplomatic relationships in the region.

For Netanyahu and Milei, however, the meeting was marked by an unusually personal exchange of praise, with the Israeli leader portraying Milei as both a major economic reformer and one of Israel’s most forceful international allies.

{Matzav.com}

After years of pandemic disruptions, war, canceled flights, and security concerns, wealthy American chareidi families are returning to Yerushalayim in large numbers for Sukkos, filling available flights and fueling extraordinary demand for luxury apartments, hotels, transportation, catering, and private entertainment.

A senior figure in the tourism industry who works annually with American chassidishe and Litvishe visitors said the current influx represents a significant recovery for Israel’s tourism sector, although the number of visitors remains below its full potential because of reduced airline service and exceptionally high fares.

“Every plane leaving New York for Israel is packed to the last seat,” the industry official said.

The shortage of flights continues to limit the market. Major airlines including American Airlines, Delta, and Turkish Airlines are still absent from the route, while several European carriers only recently began restoring service. Turkish Airlines had previously provided one of the most popular connecting options for travelers flying between the United States and Israel.

Airfare has also risen dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic, with tickets reportedly costing between $3,000 and $10,000. As a result, this year’s visitors largely consist of wealthy families capable of absorbing the unusually high travel costs.

Industry figures believe broader mass tourism will return only when fares fall to approximately $1,000, making the trip affordable for hundreds of additional families.

Despite the conspicuous wealth and extravagant accommodations surrounding many of the visitors, the tourism executive rejected the assumption that the phenomenon is simply an exercise in ostentation.

“It is not merely showmanship, as people tend to think,” he said.

The official described hundreds and thousands of American chareidim who have worked hard throughout their lives, earned their money honestly, and remained punctilious in their religious observance. The visitors include both self-made businesspeople and families possessing generations of inherited wealth.

“There are very good people here, and I would even describe some of them as modest,” he said.

According to the official, many of the millionaires and billionaires arriving for the holiday maintain deeply traditional lives, attending three daily prayer services with a minyan and participating in regular Torah shiurim despite their financial success.

The influx includes some of the wealthiest members of the overseas chareidi community, ranging from Satmar circles to prominent families bearing names such as Wolfson and Ziskind, along with well-known businessmen including Yoeli Landau and Moishy Rubin.

Both chassidishe and Litvishe families are arriving in substantial numbers, although their preferred destinations reflect the cultures and institutions of their respective communities.

In Yerushalayim, many chassidishe visitors gravitate toward the Schneller area and neighborhoods near their respective chassidishe courts. Litvishe families are more likely to stay in luxury hotels and residences near the Waldorf Astoria, the David Citadel, and Mamilla, providing easy access to the city’s leading Torah centers and the Kosel.

One of the primary destinations for the wealthiest visitors is Jerusalem Estates, an exclusive residential development that has been described as the “Waldorf” of Israel’s luxury-apartment market.

Nearly 400 high-end residences in the development have attracted dozens of overseas families. Renting one of the apartments for the Yom Tov period alone reportedly costs between 30,000 and 100,000 shekels.

Many families arrive with newly equipped Mercedes vehicles and receive an extensive package of private services. Personal chefs prepare meals throughout the day, while security personnel, production teams, and support staff handle the practical details so that parents can concentrate on the holiday and their families.

The demand extends to the Waldorf Astoria, the David Citadel Hotel, and other luxury properties across central Yerushalayim. Some residences are decorated with elaborate floral arrangements imported directly from the Netherlands.

During Chol Hamoed, families arrange private excursions tailored to their preferences, including jeep and all-terrain vehicle trips and even helicopter flights.

On the second day of Yom Tov, American families also bring in leading Jewish singers from Israel and abroad, along with musical ensembles hired specifically to provide entertainment and create a festive atmosphere.

The return of affluent visitors is injecting substantial foreign spending into Israel’s economy, benefiting airlines, hotels, property owners, caterers, drivers, entertainers, security companies, and tourism operators.

“We are certainly experiencing an encouraging period as this traffic returns, and it is also bringing a great deal of foreign money into the State of Israel,” the tourism official said. “But in my opinion, the peak is still ahead of us. Once regular flight service resumes, we will see thousands of families coming here.”

The entire membership of the Chabad Rabbinical Court in Eretz Yisrael issued an extraordinary public letter Thursday opposing the inclusion of a Chabad chassid on Otzma Yehudit’s slate for the upcoming Knesset election.

The rabbinical court, regarded as Chabad’s highest religious authority in Eretz Yisrael, declared that the decision was made without its approval and conflicts with Chabad’s longstanding approach toward political parties.

“We hereby clarify that the inclusion of a Chabad chassid on the Otzma Yehudit slate for the Knesset was not undertaken with our consent and is contrary to the path of Chabad chassidus regarding these matters,” the rabbonim wrote.

They warned that placing an identifiable Chabad representative on a party’s electoral slate inevitably creates the impression that the movement is aligned with that political organization.

“The entry of a Chabad chassid onto a political slate is intended to connect Chabad with the party,” the letter stated. “A declaration, from one party or another, that the candidate is not acting on behalf of Chabad is insufficient. This causes a desecration of Chabad’s name and misleads and deceives the public.”

The rabbonim emphasized that Chabad does not officially identify with any political movement and rejects efforts to associate the chassidus with partisan endorsements.

“Chabad chassidus does not identify with any political movement and disassociates itself from all party support,” they wrote, adding that this position does not diminish the responsibility and obligation to vote.

Concluding their letter, the rabbonim said that the Rebbe’s approach was centered upon bringing Torah and chassidus to every segment of the Jewish people, without binding Chabad to a particular political camp.

“The path of the Rebbe, who established the direction of Chabad chassidus, is to spread Judaism and chassidus to every part of the nation, with love for and unity among the Jewish people,” they wrote.

The members of the rabbinical court signed the letter “with sorrow and pain.”

{Matzav.com}

Two senior roshei yeshiva of Ponevezh Yeshiva issued unusually forceful letters Thursday condemning a series of violent disruptions and attacks targeting Rav Eliyahu Meir Feivelson, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Pischei Olam.

Rav Chaim Peretz Berman and Rav Dovid Miller expressed their support for Rav Feivelson following repeated incidents in which extremists interfered with his shiurim and activities, including a disturbance during Tisha B’Av prayers.

Rav Berman described Rav Feivelson as “a distinguished person, wise and understanding, righteous and G-d-fearing, one who brings merit to the public and has turned many away from sin.”

Quoting Chazal, Rav Berman wrote, “Those who are insulted but do not insult others, who hear themselves disgraced but do not respond—regarding them, the posuk says, ‘Those who love Him shall be like the sun emerging in its strength.’”

He expressed deep anguish over the Tisha B’Av incident, writing that “young boys came out and mocked you with violence, brazenness, and degradation of the Torah.”

Rav Berman explained the description “young boys” through the words of Chazal in Maseches Sotah, referring to people “shorn of the mitzvos” and “small in emunah.”

He added that the assailants “continued their actions with appalling cruelty of a kind that should not be found among the Jewish people.”

Rav Berman offered Rav Feivelson a brachah that “only goodness and kindness should pursue you all your days, and may the schemes of all those plotting evil against you quickly be frustrated and their plans ruined.”

He also prayed that “the accusations against talmidei chachomim should cease, and the actions of violent men should come to an end.”

Rav Dovid Miller added a handwritten message to Rav Berman’s letter, condemning the growing belief that ideological and religious disputes may be settled through intimidation or physical force.

“The words above require neither reinforcement nor elaboration,” Rav Miller wrote. “How great is the anguish that the notion has taken root among part of the public that debates—whether concerning halachah, aggadah, or communal leadership—should be settled with a wicked fist and the hands of Eisav whenever they lack arguments capable of persuading others, thereby silencing the voice of Yaakov.”

The letters from the Ponevezh roshei yeshiva join a series of public expressions of support Rav Feivelson has received from leading gedolei Yisrael.

Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch previously issued a strongly worded letter supporting Rav Feivelson, describing the violence against him as “false kana’us” that “causes a chillul Hashem.” He urged Rav Feivelson to continue his educational work despite the intimidation.

Rav Feivelson has faced repeated attempts in recent months to disrupt his shiurim and communal activities. On Tisha B’Av, extremists entered a bais medrash during the recitation of kinnos and interfered with his shiur, an incident that caused widespread outrage in the Torah community.

Rav Feivelson is among the prominent talmidim of Rav Moshe Shapira and is also one of the leaders of Chelki B’Kehillati.

{Matzav.com}

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s visit to a popular cholent restaurant in Bnei Brak descended into confrontation Thursday night as protesters shouted at him, a right-wing activist clashed with his security detail, and an object was thrown in his direction.

The incident occurred while Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu was addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Bennett, who now heads the Beyachad movement, arrived at the Bnei Brak restaurant and sat down to speak with dozens of yeshiva students.

Videos from the scene showed Bennett surrounded by young men, with many more crowding around the gathering and recording the encounter on their phones. Singing and assorted chants could be heard as police officers and security personnel remained close to Bennett.

Right-wing activist Mordechai David arrived at the restaurant and attempted to approach the former prime minister but was blocked by Bennett’s security guards.

During the heated exchange, Bennett told him, “I suggest that you enlist quickly, because from the moment I become prime minister, you will not receive a single shekel from the state.”

The remark reflected Bennett’s increasingly forceful position on chareidi military enlistment. Last month, he declared his support for “zero exemptions” and said that anyone who does not serve in the Israeli military should not receive government funding.

Hezki Dortman, an activist affiliated with the Yerushalmi faction, was also present. Footage from the scene showed Dortman repeatedly shouting, “Bennett is an anti-Semite,” toward the former prime minister.

At a later point, an object was thrown in Bennett’s direction. It did not strike him, and he was not injured.

Officers from the Bnei Brak-Ramat Gan police station who were already at the scene immediately apprehended a suspect and took him for questioning.

“During a public figure’s visit to a restaurant in Bnei Brak, a passerby threw an object that did not strike the public figure,” police said. “Officers from the Bnei Brak-Ramat Gan police station who were present immediately arrested the suspect, and he is now being brought to the police station for questioning.”

{Matzav.com}

Yonatan Karlinsky, the 49-year-old Breslover chassid from Beitar Illit who was detained after returning from Uman and forcibly conscripted into the Ukrainian military, is expected to be assigned as a medic at a rear military base near Kharkiv. Jewish organizations say there is currently no prospect of securing his release.

Karlinsky has been held at a military detention facility near Odesa since Ukrainian authorities arrested him approximately ten days ago at the border with Romania.

A native of Ukraine who also holds Israeli citizenship, Karlinsky traveled to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. During a document inspection at the border, authorities determined that he remained subject to Ukraine’s military conscription laws. Ukrainian military police detained him, and his family initially lost all contact with him.

His worried relatives appealed to numerous officials and organizations in an effort to secure his release. They were subsequently informed that because Karlinsky was born in Ukraine and is legally obligated to serve, obtaining an exemption would be extremely difficult.

Reports claiming that Karlinsky has six children and therefore qualifies for an exemption available under Ukrainian law to fathers of three or more children were found to be inaccurate. Karlinsky has one daughter.

Approximately a week ago, military authorities informed the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine that Karlinsky was being held at a detention center for alleged deserters in Odesa. Working with Rav Shneur Vigler, Chabad representatives in Odesa and the city’s chief rabbi, Rav Avraham Wolff, the federation arranged for Karlinsky to receive kosher food and began examining his legal rights.

The organization has since informed attorney Shlomo Haddad, who is representing Karlinsky’s family, that his basic needs are being met. It also said he will soon be assigned as a medic to a military unit stationed near Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine.

Karlinsky is not currently expected to be sent to a front-line combat position. Instead, he will reportedly serve at a rear base located several dozen kilometers from the active fighting.

Officials with the Federation of Jewish Communities said efforts to free him had been unsuccessful.

“We tried to secure his release, but it was not possible,” federation officials said. “The fact that he has medical knowledge, together with the Ukrainian military’s growing shortage of personnel in that field, means that the army needs him now and cannot release him. In addition, he previously served in the Ukrainian military before becoming religious and moving to Israel, so from their perspective, he belongs to them.”

The federation said it has provided Karlinsky with kosher food for weekdays, the previous Shabbos, the seudah hamafsekes before Yom Kippur and the meal following the fast. He also received a machzor and a set of arbaah minim for Sukkos.

The supplies were delivered by federation representative Yaakov Siniakov, who works with Jewish soldiers serving near the front.

During the past month alone, Siniakov and a team of volunteers distributed more than 1,000 holiday packages at military bases and camps across Ukraine for Jewish soldiers serving in the country’s armed forces.

Tens of thousands of Jewish families throughout Ukraine also received similar packages through a joint effort involving the federation and Chabad shluchim. Each box contained a Hebrew-Ukrainian calendar, a booklet explaining the Tishrei holidays, a jar of honey, grape juice, a special-edition liqueur, a yarmulke, a refrigerator magnet listing Shabbos and Yom Tov candle-lighting times, a desk calendar and Shabbos and Yom Tov candles.

For the first time, this year’s packages also included toy shofars for children to help involve them in the holiday preparations. Organizers added personal sports water bottles at the last minute because renewed Russian attacks have increasingly targeted Ukraine’s water infrastructure.

Jewish aid workers said the expanded range of Russian FPV drones created a severe challenge in delivering the packages this year.

“The significant challenge this year was the increased range of the Russian FPV drones,” organizers said. “The Russian military has increased production to tens of thousands of drones each month, and their destructive activity is clearly evident. The Russian drones do not attack only along the front but also civilian targets deep inside Ukraine.”

The drones can now strike targets as far as 70 kilometers from the front, according to the organization. Russian forces have also targeted trucks traveling within that area based on claims that they may be transporting military supplies.

Deliveries to Jewish communities in the Kherson, Chernihiv, Dnipro, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia regions consequently became exceptionally dangerous. Drivers transporting packages to Nikopol and Marhanets in southern Dnipro Oblast and to Pavlohrad in the eastern part of the region were forced to turn around after seeing Russian drones strike vehicles traveling ahead of them.

Aid organizers ultimately arranged for Jewish residents of those cities to travel to Dnipro, where the federation maintains its offices and warehouses, and personally collect the packages for their families and local communities.

“In the end, we sent the packages to these cities through Jews who live there,” said Alina Teplitskaya, who helped oversee the distribution for the Jewish umbrella organization. “They came to the large city of Dnipro, where our offices and aid warehouses are located, and took the packages themselves—for their own families and for the Jews of their cities.”

Teplitskaya said the alternative distribution system required the use of smaller vehicles, making the operation considerably more complicated. Ukraine is experiencing a severe shortage of both drivers and vehicles, she explained, because many drivers previously employed by the organization were drafted into the military during the past year.

Many of those who remain are reluctant to enter dangerous areas even when offered substantial compensation. Organizers began searching for drivers immediately after Tisha B’Av, and negotiations continued for two weeks before enough drivers were secured.

As a result, the distribution operation took longer than in previous years—even longer than during the first year of the war, when aid organizations were still learning how to operate under wartime conditions.

Rav Meir Stambler, chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, said the country’s desperate need for personnel makes a military exemption for Karlinsky highly unlikely.

“Ukraine is fighting a very difficult war against an aggressive enemy that for nearly five years has been striking people, buildings, schools, hospitals and more,” Rav Stambler said. “People are killed every day, and there is therefore a severe shortage of manpower. Every Ukrainian citizen is needed here, and it is consequently impossible to obtain exemptions.”

“Compared to Israel, it would be as if Hamas and Hezbollah invaded the country and Israel remained unable to drive them out even after five years,” he continued. “This is truly a war for survival. At the same time, Ukraine is doing everything it can, and we are very grateful for its consideration of the religious needs of every faith and every soldier.”

Rav Stambler said Karlinsky informed the authorities that he did not wish to carry a weapon because of his religious convictions. The military accommodated that request by assigning him to serve as a medic.

“Perhaps in the future, we will be able to arrange for him to serve in the Ukrainian military rabbinate,” Rav Stambler added.

{Matzav.com}

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani unleashed a blistering attack on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday, denouncing his hostility toward Israel, questioning his loyalty to the United States, and accusing his administration of worsening conditions across the city.

The former New York City mayor spoke on Newsmax shortly before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly, where Netanyahu was expected to discuss Mamdani and his anti-Israel record.

“You don’t have to be Jewish to be disgusted with him,” Giuliani said during an appearance on Newsmax’s “Bianca Across the Nation.”

Giuliani said his objections to Mamdani extended beyond the mayor’s rhetoric about Israel.

“I’m disgusted with him because I’m a supporter of Israel,” he added. “I’m also a supporter of my country, and he gives me a tremendous sense that he hates my country. I don’t particularly like people that hate my country.”

Mamdani has previously described Netanyahu as a “war criminal.” He also once said that he would have the Israeli leader arrested if Netanyahu visited New York City, although he later retreated from that position.

Giuliani predicted that Netanyahu would use his UN address to answer Mamdani directly, pointing to the mayor’s statements and his ties to far-left political commentator Hasan Piker.

“I think he’s going to use illustrations of [Mamdani’s] virulent, hateful statements and his association with Hasan Piker,” Giuliani said, arguing that Netanyahu would likely present specific examples instead of limiting himself to broad criticism.

Giuliani portrayed Mamdani’s attacks on Israel as one element of a wider ideological campaign aimed at undermining Western society.

“The calumny against Israel has been orchestrated, and I think very, very, very much a part of the Communist plan, as well as the Islamic extremist plan to take over Western civilization,” he said.

Asked how Mamdani could win office in a city with one of the world’s largest Jewish populations, Giuliani compared the situation to the resistance he encountered when prosecuting organized crime figures decades ago.

“I view this a little bit like when I dealt with the Mafia 30, 40 years ago,” he said. “There were some Italian Americans who used to defend them, and some were members, and some were just overly, almost in a sick way, defensive. But most Italian Americans didn’t. And most Jewish people, I think, are disgusted with Mamdani.”

Giuliani, who led New York City from 1994 through 2001 and was mayor during the September 11 terrorist attacks, also criticized Mamdani’s performance at City Hall. He called the mayor “pathetic” and branded his administration’s policies “vicious, mean, and horrible.”

“I also, as a former mayor, think he’s a pathetic mayor,” Giuliani said. “What he’s doing with homelessness is vicious, mean, and horrible to the homeless people. He just took the police out of helping the homeless people.”

Giuliani maintained that homelessness was only one manifestation of a broader collapse in municipal leadership under Mamdani.

“We could go on all day about all of the problems that are occurring in New York City as a result of our poor leadership,” he said.

Rudy Giuliani denied that his administration concealed information about the dangerous contaminants that filled Lower Manhattan following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, maintaining that City Hall disclosed what it knew and relied on federal environmental guidance.

The former New York City mayor addressed the accusations as the city Department of Investigation begins examining what municipal officials knew about Ground Zero’s contaminated air, when they learned it and how they responded.

“My administration posted everything,” Giuliani insisted, saying his City Hall followed guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as large sections of downtown Manhattan reopened following the destruction of the World Trade Center.

“EPA initially said everything was safe,” he said.

“I was at the end of my administration when 9/11 happened. I was told approximately 10 months after I left office that more information was known.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration recently agreed to release approximately 170,000 records involving concerns about air quality near Ground Zero. Mamdani has alleged that “people got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air.”

Giuliani, who has frequently criticized his socialist successor, raised doubts about whether an investigation conducted under Mamdani’s administration could remain impartial. He nevertheless said he would reserve judgment if the inquiry genuinely focuses on establishing the facts.

“DOI can question me — fine,” said Giuliani, who became widely known as “America’s Mayor” for his leadership following the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

“I’ll give it a chance.”

Giuliani’s tenure concluded at the end of December 2001. Michael Bloomberg succeeded him and presided over the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan below Canal Street, including the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site.

A prominent advocate for people suffering from 9/11-related illnesses contended that city officials were more focused at the time on protecting New York from potential lawsuits than on establishing whether the air was actually safe for residents, students and emergency workers.

“There was not a concern for the safety of the people in the neighborhood, the schools and the first responders,” said Benjamin Chevat, executive director of 9/11 Health Watch, which sued the city to obtain the previously undisclosed health records.

Chevat said, “I’m not going to fault people for making mistakes” during the deadliest terrorist attack in American history.

However, he added, “It’s a little early for Mayor Giuliani to say he knew nothing.”

The Department of Investigation has retained outside attorneys to assist in determining what successive mayoral administrations knew about the toxic dust at Ground Zero and whether they took any action in response.

Because the agency does not have enough personnel to conduct the labor-intensive review of the enormous collection of documents on its own, it is arranging a contract with the national law firm Epstein Becker & Green.

“Services will include conducting an investigation to ascertain the knowledge possessed by mayoral administrations on environmental toxins produced by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and to submit a report to the Council thereon,” the DOI stated in a procurement notice.

The inquiry was mandated by a City Council resolution approved in July 2025. The DOI was also allocated $3.8 million over two years to conduct the fact-finding investigation.

Environmental advocates have argued for years that New York City officials gave the public misleading assurances about the health hazards posed by contaminated air after the attacks.

Mamdani agreed to release the long-withheld collection of records as part of a settlement with 9/11 Health Watch.

“For 25 years, four different mayoral administrations kept from the public, the US Congress, and the City Council documents showing what the city actually knew about the danger of the toxic chemicals in Lower Manhattan and Western Brooklyn after the World Trade Center collapse — even as city officials continued messaging to the public that the air was ‘safe and acceptable,’” Chevat said.

An extraordinary and emotional maamad took place in Lemberg in recent days, as a minyan of Yidden gathered at the kever of Rav Tzvi Hirsch Ashkenazi zt”l, the Chacham Tzvi, to formally ask his forgiveness on behalf of the rabbinic leadership and Jewish community of Amsterdam more than three centuries after he left the city under painful circumstances.

The unusual initiative began approximately six months ago during a visit to Amsterdam by the Rebbe of Mevakshei Emunah. During his stay, the Rebbe heard about a number of difficulties that had befallen prominent families in the community, as well as the severe level of assimilation that has become one of the most significant challenges facing Dutch Jewry.

The discussions led to the idea of seeking mechilah from the Chacham Tzvi, one of the great poskim of his generation, who served as Rav of Amsterdam. His tenure in the city ended amid a bitter machlokes, and he ultimately left Amsterdam abruptly and with considerable pain and anguish.

The proposal was brought before Rav Eliezer Wolff, Rav and Av Bais Din of Amsterdam and a member of the European Bais Din, who endorsed the initiative and composed a detailed text of mechilah to be recited in the name of Amsterdam’s rabbinic leadership and community.

Carrying out the plan, however, required traveling from Amsterdam to Lemberg, where the Chacham Tzvi is buried. The initiative therefore remained pending until an appropriate opportunity arose.

That opportunity came in recent days, when Rav Moshe Balt, a prominent avreich in Amsterdam’s Tzvi Ashkenazi kollel, headed by Rav Yehuda Fischer, traveled to Lemberg. Together with a minyan of Yidden, he went to the Chacham Tzvi’s kever to carry out the request for forgiveness.

At the kever, the group recited the special text composed by Rav Wolff, asking forgiveness for the anguish caused to the Chacham Tzvi and for the circumstances surrounding his departure from Amsterdam. The text stressed that those participating were not seeking to pass judgment on previous generations, but rather to repair, to whatever extent possible, the affront to the honor of one of the great Torah leaders who had served the Amsterdam community.

Among the passages recited at the kever was the following:

“Our teacher, the Chacham Tzvi, forgive us. Forgive the community of Amsterdam. Forgive the rabbinate of Amsterdam. Forgive anyone who harmed your honor, directly or indirectly, through speech or action, and caused you pain and anguish. If you were treated improperly, if the honor of your Torah was harmed, and if you left our city with a hurting heart and a feeling of insult, we come today, after many generations, to repair whatever is within our ability.”

Toward the conclusion of the request, the group declared:

“Let this request for forgiveness serve as testimony that Amsterdam has not forgotten our teacher, and that his name and his Torah remain engraved in the history of the city’s rabbinate and in its heritage.”

The maamad concluded with tefillos that the great zechus of the Chacham Tzvi stand on behalf of Amsterdam’s Jewish community, its rabbonim and dayanim, and all of its members. The participants also prayed that the Chacham Tzvi serve as a meilitz yosher for them and for all of Klal Yisroel, that kavod Shomayim and kavod haTorah be increased, that the community be spared from machlokes and the scourge of assimilation, and that its members merit yeshuos.

{Matzav.com}