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Israel’s High Court of Justice on Thursday unanimously struck down the government’s decision to close Galei Tzahal, or IDF Radio, finding that the move was improperly driven by officials’ objections to the station’s broadcasts rather than legitimate considerations regarding its continued operation.

In its ruling, the court concluded that “the decision was based on an extraneous and improper consideration.”

The justices said the government’s decision had to be nullified “because the decision was made on the basis of an extraneous and improper consideration: the dissatisfaction of the decision-makers with the fact that the broadcasts, in their view, ran counter to their positions. The Court was persuaded, as a matter of fact, that this was indeed the case, and further noted that after a conditional order was issued, the government did not act to prove otherwise. The Court held that the government had the authority to make a decision on the matter and rejected the argument that closing Galei Tzahal required primary legislation.”

At the same time, the court stressed that its ruling should not be interpreted as a determination that Galei Tzahal must remain open permanently. Rather, the justices said any future effort to close the military broadcaster would have to follow a lawful process and be based on legitimate considerations.

“All of the justices, each for his or her own reasons, made clear that they do not rule out the possibility of closing Galei Tzahal on its merits, had the decision on the matter been made lawfully and on the basis of relevant considerations, nor do they take a position regarding the content of the broadcasts.”

Justice Yechiel Kasher sharply criticized the reasoning behind the government’s action, arguing that public officials cannot use their governmental authority to silence broadcasters simply because they object to what is being aired.

“It cannot be accepted that a person vested with governmental authority may decide that because he does not like the statements made by a broadcaster, the broadcaster’s ‘microphone should be shut off.’

“A government that acts in this manner is acting in a clearly undemocratic fashion, since the cornerstone upon which every democratic government rests is the recognition that the government may not use its power to silence those whose views it finds objectionable.”

Justice Alex Stein, however, rejected a separate argument advanced by the petitioners that shutting down Galei Tzahal would inherently violate freedom of expression.

Stein reasoned that freedom of expression does not require the government to maintain and operate its own radio station as a vehicle for different opinions. He suggested that government-operated news and current-affairs programming could, under some circumstances, itself interfere with or distort public discourse.

Stein also addressed the unusual spectacle of uniformed Galei Tzahal soldiers interviewing political figures, describing the arrangement as a “distortion of the system of government.”

In his view, the IDF, “the army of everyone,” should have no part in the country’s political debate, “not even the role of interviewer and broadcaster.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded angrily to the decision, accusing the Supreme Court of overriding the authority of Israel’s elected government.

“The Supreme Court is carrying out a coup against democracy and stripping a democratically elected government of its lawful powers. If the judges at Givat Ram in Jerusalem want to make decisions in place of the government, they are welcome to establish a political party and run for election to the Knesset. The judges are acting with endless arrogance and, without authority, are overturning the decisions of the elected government.

“Otzma Yehudit’s condition for joining the next government is the passage of a full judicial reform: the establishment of a constitutional court and the immediate dismissal of the criminal Attorney General,” Ben-Gvir said.

{Matzav.com}

A sudden labor strike brought operations at Ben-Gurion Airport to a standstill Thursday afternoon, grounding flights, shutting down check-in counters and throwing the travel plans of tens of thousands of passengers into turmoil during one of the busiest periods of the summer.

The work stoppage ended at approximately 3 p.m., about an hour after employees closed all check-in counters and declared a “crisis” over severe operational problems, difficulties loading and unloading aircraft and a shortage of available parking stands.

The disruption was expected to have lingering consequences even after employees returned to work. According to N12 News, most flights scheduled to leave Ben-Gurion on Thursday were expected to depart without passengers’ luggage.

Flights had been grounded beginning at 2 p.m., with the Israel Airports Authority saying that union-ordered work disruptions had interfered with airport operations and services for travelers.

The timing of the shutdown was particularly disruptive, with approximately 100,000 passengers expected to travel through Ben-Gurion on Thursday. Compounding the airport’s logistical difficulties, more than 20 American refueling aircraft were occupying parking stands near Terminals 1 and 3.

The presence of the additional aircraft has increased the amount of time required to transport baggage between the terminals and planes. It has also complicated the movement of passengers who must be shuttled to and from aircraft parked away from jet bridges.

The Public Transport Authority said management had instructed workers to “immediately cease any action that harms regular work and to restore operations to full routine.

The Authority views with utmost severity any deliberate action liable to harm the traveling public and the proper functioning of Ben-Gurion Airport, especially during summer peak loads and high operational volumes.”

The labor action reportedly had been planned for a day earlier. According to N12, workers initially intended to stage the strike Wednesday in an effort to interfere with Transportation Minister Miri Regev’s scheduled flight to Morocco.

By later Thursday, the financial consequences of the disruption were already being calculated. The Finance Ministry estimated that the strike caused between NIS 25 million and NIS 30 million in damage, Ynet News reported.

That estimate included the economic value of passengers’ lost time, additional expenses incurred by airlines, revenue lost by the Israel Airports Authority, disruptions to cargo and supply chains and broader costs to the tourism industry.

Pinchas Idan, who led the labor action, blamed airport management for imposing intolerable conditions on employees.

“They give us such hard labor; management has no shame – they are torturing the employees of Ben-Gurion.”

Reports indicated that airport personnel may have employed what is commonly called an “Italian” strike — also known as a “work-to-rule” or “slowdown” action — in which employees remain technically on the job and adhere strictly to regulations while deliberately slowing operations to the point that normal activity becomes extremely difficult or impossible.

Such tactics are frequently associated with employees whose ability to conduct a conventional strike is legally restricted, including air traffic controllers, customs personnel, baggage handlers and workers in other essential transportation positions.

Senior Transportation Ministry officials warned that there would be serious consequences if an investigation determines that employees deliberately conducted an Italian-style strike at the height of the summer travel season, saying that “heads will roll and workers will go home.”

“We are investigating the incident; we are in a peak period with refuelers present, but if the investigation reveals an Italian strike, we will act with a very heavy hand against whoever is behind this,” they said.

{Matzav.com}

Lakewood, NJ families are facing a staggering increase in school transportation costs just days before the start of the new school year, with the Lakewood Student Transportation Authority announcing that the cost of non-mandated busing will jump from $385 to a staggering $945 per child for the 2026-27 school year, Matzav.com has learned.

The dramatic $560-per-child increase was announced today in an urgent notice sent to families of Lakewood students who do not qualify for state-mandated transportation. The change represents an increase of approximately 145% over the $385 families had previously been asked to pay.

The LSTA says the sudden increase stems from significant cuts in state municipal aid to Lakewood Township, which led the Township to eliminate the subsidy that for the past decade helped cover transportation for thousands of children living within the state-mandated distance from their schools.

Under New Jersey rules, transportation funding continues to be provided for Lakewood students who qualify for mandated busing. An elementary school student is considered non-mandated if he or she lives two miles or less from school, while a high school student is considered non-mandated if the student lives 2.5 miles or less from school.

The new policy applies specifically to Lakewood residents and does not affect students living in Howell, Jackson or Toms River.

For approximately 10 years, Lakewood Township and the LSTA have been able to offer transportation to thousands of these non-mandated students at a heavily subsidized rate. Township funding, combined with the scale of Lakewood’s transportation network, kept the amount charged directly to families far below the actual cost of providing a bus seat.

That arrangement has now effectively collapsed.

According to the LSTA notice, New Jersey’s municipal aid allocation for Lakewood was significantly reduced for the upcoming 2026-27 school year. As a result, Lakewood Township eliminated the subsidy it had provided for the non-mandated transportation program.

Without that assistance, the LSTA says the full cost of providing a seat can reach as high as $1,177 per student.

The LSTA claims that it has nevertheless managed to bring the price families will actually pay down to $945 per child, a $232 reduction from the potential full cost. The agency emphasized that the reduction is not being funded by a continued Township subsidy, but instead results from efficiencies created by the enormous size and density of Lakewood’s transportation system and the purchasing power generated by its large number of routes.

For families with multiple children relying on non-mandated transportation, however, the financial impact could be enormous. A family with three affected children, for example, would now face a $2,835 annual transportation bill.

Adding to the frustration is the extraordinarily short notice being given to parents.

Families wishing to keep their children on buses must log into the LSTA family portal and opt in by Monday, August 24, at 11 p.m. Because bus routes are awarded based on both morning and afternoon seats, families cannot select transportation in only one direction. Opting in means accepting round-trip transportation.

Parents who already paid the original $385 charge will have that money credited toward the new $945 fee. They will therefore owe another $560 per student, which the LSTA says can be paid in three additional installments.

Families unwilling or unable to absorb the sharply higher cost can opt out of transportation and receive a refund of the $385 they previously paid.

But parents who do nothing by the Monday night deadline will automatically lose their children’s bus transportation.

“If no action is taken by 11:00 pm Monday, your child will be opted out, and the routes will be adjusted and consolidated accordingly,” the LSTA notice states.

The agency says the compressed deadline is necessary because it must rapidly redesign routes, comply with state requirements governing the awarding of transportation routes and give bus companies sufficient time to prepare for service beginning September 1.

Recognizing that some families may have difficulty navigating the last-minute process, the LSTA is making assistance available at opt-in kiosks at its office. The office will remain open Thursday, August 20, until 6 p.m.; Friday, August 21, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.; and Monday, August 24, from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.

The LSTA acknowledged that the timing leaves families with little opportunity to prepare for a major new expense, saying it was itself only recently notified that the Township subsidy would end because of the Township’s budgeting schedule.

“Due to the Township’s budgeting schedule, the LSTA was only recently informed of the subsidy cessation. As this notice is coming very close to the start of the school year and will create an unexpected financial hardship for many families, we regret the timing and understand the difficulty this will present,” the authority said.

The agency also pointed to the decade during which the subsidized program allowed thousands of Lakewood children to receive transportation at a substantially reduced cost.

“We are grateful that together with the Township, the LSTA was able to provide this deeply subsidized benefit to thousands of Lakewood families for an entire decade. We appreciate your understanding as we work to keep transportation as accessible as possible under the current funding structure.”

The $945 figure applies to the 2026-27 school year only. The LSTA warned that there is no guarantee the amount will remain the same in subsequent years, with future rates to be determined by whatever funding and resources are available at the time.

For Lakewood parents, however, the immediate issue is far more pressing: after expecting to pay $385 for a child’s transportation, families now have only days to decide whether to come up with an additional $560 per child — or give up their children’s bus seats altogether.

{Matzav.com}

The biological mother of Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed spent five years working for an international relief organization that was later designated by the U.S. government over allegations that it helped finance Hamas, supported Taliban-linked activities and had connections to Osama bin Laden’s network, according to records highlighted this week, the Jerusalem Post report.

The connection involving El-Sayed’s mother, Fatten Fathy Elkomy, was first reported Tuesday by the Midwesterner and was independently verified by The Jerusalem Post.

El-Sayed was raised primarily by his Egyptian father, Mohamed El-Sayed, and his father’s second wife, Jacqueline. His biological mother has rarely figured prominently in his political biography. She remarried and moved back to the Middle East while El-Sayed was still young.

The Midwesterner, however, raised questions about whether Elkomy’s absence from her son’s public political story may have been deliberate.

Records show that Elkomy was employed from 1999 until 2004 by the Islamic American/African Relief Agency, known as IARA. Based in Khartoum, Sudan, the organization operated approximately 40 offices around the globe and presented its mission as humanitarian work assisting orphans, providing health care and helping disadvantaged populations in conflict zones.

But the U.S. Treasury Department painted a dramatically different picture of some of IARA’s activities when it announced sanctions against the organization on October 13, 2004. According to Treasury, IARA participated in a joint program with an institute involved in assisting Taliban fighters and transferred money into the Palestinian territories that was intended for terrorist activity. Treasury also said IARA functioned as a financial conduit for Hamas in a Western European country.

The federal government formally designated IARA that same day, along with five individuals associated with the organization.

Additional information subsequently released by the Treasury Department alleged that IARA had connections to Maktab Al-Khidamat, or MK, an organization co-founded and financed by Osama bin Laden that served as a predecessor to al Qaeda.

Treasury also said IARA’s international branches had directly provided financial assistance to bin Laden and that one of bin Laden’s previous lieutenants had served as the head of IARA’s operations in Afghanistan.

The organization’s legal problems escalated in March 2007, when the Justice Department brought a 33-count indictment against IARA-US involving the illegal movement of money to Iraq.

Federal prosecutors assembled an extensive documentary record in USA v. IARA, including 945 exhibits consisting of telephone records, faxes, bank statements, wire transfers, tax documents, emails and other material. In an exhibit list filed in May 2010 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Elkomy’s name appeared 14 times. Those references involved eight wire transfers, five recorded telephone conversations and an IARA request to transfer $24,607.34 to the organization’s office in Iraq.

Elkomy’s brother, Mohamed Elkomy — El-Sayed’s uncle — also appeared dozens of times in the evidence cited in the case.

Neither Fatten Elkomy nor Mohamed Elkomy was charged or named as a co-conspirator. Individuals associated with IARA were not prosecuted on terrorism charges. The organization itself, however, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate financial sanctions by sending money to Iraq. IARA ultimately dissolved in 2016.

Elkomy publicly rejected allegations connecting the relief organization to terrorism when she was interviewed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2004. She said she had “been working there serving orphans and children with at least one deceased parent, and it breaks my heart they’re not going to get any help.”

According to Elkomy’s LinkedIn profile, she has worked as a psychiatric nurse practitioner with Missouri Behavioral Health Services since July 2013.

El-Sayed, whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, was born in Michigan in 1984 to Egyptian immigrant parents. He attended the University of Michigan before studying at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and later attending Columbia University, where he earned his medical degree. He also holds a doctorate in public health.

A victory would make El-Sayed the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate.

{Matzav.com}

WASHINGTON — A sprawling series of fraud schemes involving relatives working together to siphon millions of dollars from federal programs has prompted Sen. Joni Ernst to push legislation aimed at preventing the families of convicted fraudsters from continuing to collect government money.

The Iowa Republican’s effort was fueled in part by the extraordinary case of a California family that stole $18 million in COVID-19 relief funds and used the proceeds to bankroll an extravagant lifestyle that included luxury real estate, diamonds and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

At the center of that operation were Richard Ayvazyan and his wife, Marietta Terabelian. After the pair were convicted on fraud charges, they removed their electronic monitoring bracelets, left their three children behind with a farewell note and fled the United States. Their run from authorities eventually ended when they were apprehended in Montenegro.

Federal authorities identified Ayvazyan as the leader of the massive COVID relief operation, while Terabelian was among the relatives who participated in the scheme.

The stunning case later caught the attention of Ernst, who has headed the Senate DOGE Caucus and is now seeking to shut off federal assistance to what she calls “fraud families.”

Her proposed No Cash for Cohabitating Kins of Crooks Act would prevent people residing with convicted criminals or fraudsters who have been barred from receiving certain federal funds from obtaining those benefits themselves. The restrictions would apply to federal grants, loans, subawards and reimbursements.

The proposal contains exceptions intended to protect spouses who maintain separate residences from the convicted individual, as well as victims of domestic abuse.

“Committing fraud is literally all relative for these families of felons,” Ernst told The Post. “My latest investigation found schemes sprouting from family trees across the country, with kin teaming up to rip off taxpayers to the tune of $50 million.”

Ernst, who is retiring from the Senate, spotlighted 15 families accused or convicted of participating in such schemes as part of her August Squeal Award, a monthly initiative she uses to call attention to government fraud, waste and abuse. She labeled the collection of alleged family scammers a “shady bunch.”

Heading Ernst’s compilation was the California COVID relief case involving Ayvazyan and his relatives.

Following their capture in Montenegro, Ayvazyan and Terabelian were returned to face their sentences. Ayvazyan is serving 17 years in prison, while Terabelian received a six-year term.

The husband-and-wife team did not act alone. Authorities said they worked with Tamara Dadyan, Ayvazyan’s sister-in-law and a onetime Los Angeles-area real estate broker, along with her husband, Artur Ayvazyan.

Prosecutors said members of the group used identities stolen from foreign exchange students, elderly individuals and people who had died to fraudulently obtain $18 million in pandemic relief money. The operation unraveled, and convictions followed in 2021.

During sentencing, the judge overseeing the case excoriated Ayvazyan as a “cold-hearted fraudster” who “views fraud as an achievement.”

Ernst’s examples extend well beyond California. She also pointed to convictions involving members of a Minnesota family tied to the notorious $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud scandal. Gandi Yusuf Mohamed and five relatives were accused of stealing more than $10 million through the Federal Child Nutrition Program.

The federal money was supposed to provide food for 5 million children in need. The case also generated a political controversy after one member of the Mohamed family was revealed to have met with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, an encounter that subsequently drew attention from Republican members of Congress.

Another family featured in Ernst’s investigation was the Edwards family, which was living in Florida when members allegedly created a fraudulent family ministry and sought approximately $6 million through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID pandemic.

The application was allegedly approved by an elderly accountant who was said to be suffering from dementia. Instead of $6 million, the operation received roughly $8.4 million after the Edwards family claimed its organization employed more than 500 people. Most family members were never charged, including patriarch Evan Edwards, a pastor who was ultimately found incompetent to stand trial.

His son, Josh Edwards, did face punishment and was sentenced earlier this year to four years and three months in federal prison.

Ernst also drew attention to four sisters she branded “grifting grandmothers,” who obtained approximately $11.5 million from the Department of Agriculture by submitting roughly 200 fraudulent applications for agricultural assistance.

Authorities said the sisters spent their ill-gotten money on expensive vehicles, homes worth six figures and other purchases. Federal investigators later concluded that the women “in most cases, had not even attempted to farm.” Prosecutors subsequently brought approximately 115 fraud charges against them.

The senator’s investigation further included a Washington state case in which members of one family allegedly posed as caregivers and collected $1.1 million from a Department of Veterans Affairs program. At the heart of the fraud was Kelly Lee-Carroll, who represented herself as partially paralyzed and unable to walk while arranging for her sister and son to act as her caregivers.

The scheme eventually resulted in prison time. Lee-Carroll was sentenced to 17 months behind bars, while her son received a 14-month sentence.

Altogether, Ernst’s office says the 15 “fraudster families” highlighted in its investigation were responsible for approximately $50 million in stolen funds. The No Cash for Cohabitating Kins of Crooks Act is the latest measure the senator has introduced as part of her broader campaign against fraud, waste and abuse involving taxpayer money.

“Their next scam-ily reunion will be in the slammer,” Ernst further chided.

The U.S. Army is ending the specialized mission of an experimental drone warfare battalion in Europe, dismantling an initiative created to bring lessons from Ukraine’s drone-dominated battlefield directly into American combat operations as the service undergoes a broader strategic shift under acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve.

The approximately 600-member force was assembled in January using soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade. According to The Wall Street Journal, its mission was to experiment with drones and ground-based robotic systems, develop new combat tactics and prepare Army units for warfare in which unmanned technology increasingly plays a central role.

The battalion will participate in the Saber Junction military exercise in Germany during August and September and then present its conclusions to senior Army officials. Afterward, an Army official said, the unit will relinquish its dedicated drone experimentation role.

“Following the exercise, the battalion will refocus on its core warfighting tasks as an airborne infantry battalion,” the official told the Journal.

The decision comes amid a change in direction under LaNeve, who assumed the Army’s top uniformed position after War Secretary Pete Hegseth removed Gen. Randy George in April. LaNeve has pushed what has been described as a “back-to-basics” philosophy for the service.

George had been one of the strongest advocates for the experimental drone formation. It was part of his “transformation in contact” strategy, an effort to get developing technologies into the hands of troops quickly so soldiers could test new equipment and formulate battlefield tactics under realistic conditions.

Some military analysts have raised alarms over the decision, warning that the Army could surrender valuable progress at a moment when drones, robotics and other unmanned technologies are rapidly transforming modern combat, particularly in Ukraine.

“Ukraine has essentially revolutionized the close fight,” Michael O’Hanlon, a defense expert at the Brookings Institution, told the Journal. “Gen. George was starting to get that, and any setback in what he was doing would be deeply regretful and dangerous.”

Army officials have not publicly identified a successor to the battalion’s experimental mission or explained precisely how the service plans to speed up its work on drone-based warfare after the unit returns to conventional infantry duties.

An Army spokesman maintained that the shift does not represent a retreat from unmanned warfare, saying the service “is committed to accelerating U.S. military drone dominance to meet the demands of large-scale combat operations.”

“We rigorously test a wide variety of unmanned and counter-unmanned technologies in the field. Ultimately, these aerial systems are enablers that support our soldiers,” the spokesman said.

In a memo issued Wednesday, LaNeve laid out his larger vision for the Army, arguing that American forces must be equipped and trained for a battlefield that is changing at extraordinary speed.

“U.S. Army forces must be prepared to overcome the most complex challenges our adversaries can impose and master an operational environment that looks fundamentally different from the battlefields of yesterday,” LaNeve wrote.

A separate document accompanying the memo, called the “Army Azimuth,” indicates that the Army still intends to create and develop formations built around sophisticated cyber operations, electronic warfare and artificial intelligence capabilities, according to the Journal.

The experimental formation was officially designated the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and emerged from the Army’s examination of Russia’s war against Ukraine. George, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Gen. Chris Donahue traveled to Kyiv in November, where they met directly with Ukrainian commanders experienced in drone warfare.

Members of the battalion subsequently spent time in Kyiv working alongside Ukrainian personnel. The American unit also trained with Ukrainian drone specialists at NATO training facilities.

When Army officials initially conceived the formation, they described it as a “tactical unmanned systems battalion” intended to devise new methods for deploying drones and robotic technology alongside larger military formations. At the time the battalion was established, officials did not announce any expiration date for its specialized drone mission.

Ending that mission is only one of several major organizational changes LaNeve has implemented since assuming command. The Army is also transferring a Multi-Domain Task Force from Europe to South Korea, while the Fort Hood, Texas-based III Armored Corps — which previously had responsibilities that included helping reinforce Europe — has been reassigned to the newly established Western Hemisphere Command.

The restructuring is taking place as the United States reduces its military footprint in Europe under President Donald Trump.

At the same time, Hegseth has vowed to erase China’s lead in drone development. His plan includes a $1.1 billion investment involving the Army, Marine Corps and Special Operations Command.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who served during both Trump administrations and recommended LaNeve to Hegseth, backed the acting Army chief’s emphasis on traditional military readiness and standards.

“LaNeve is hard over pushing standards. That is his strength. He is uncompromising for the good of the force,” Kellogg said.

{Matzav.com}

The U.S. Navy has been quietly escorting commercial tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, helping maintain a critical flow of oil from the Persian Gulf despite Iranian attacks that have dramatically reduced traffic through one of the world’s most important energy corridors.

The covertly coordinated effort has centered on a southern passage near Oman, allowing tankers to travel farther from Iran’s coastline while receiving protection from American military forces. According to a New York Times report, commercial traffic through the strait dwindled to a fraction of normal levels during much of the war after Iran began targeting civilian shipping.

Since May, however, U.S. forces have assisted more than 1,000 vessels in making their way through the strategic waterway, according to U.S. Central Command.

Prior to the outbreak of the conflict, approximately 15 million barrels of crude oil traveled through the Strait of Hormuz every day.

That volume plunged once fighting intensified and commercial vessels came under attack.

With more ships now traveling under U.S. protection, analysts cited by The Times estimate that oil traffic through the strait has recovered to approximately 5 million barrels per day.

American protection efforts have concentrated primarily on the southern section of the waterway, keeping participating ships nearer to Oman and putting additional distance between them and Iranian territory.

Tanker companies provide the U.S. military with information about planned transits and alert American forces when attacks or possible threats emerge. U.S. warships, helicopters and aircraft are positioned to respond when Iranian missiles or drones threaten vessels using the corridor.

Despite those defenses, ships traveling the protected route have continued to come under fire.

At least 15 vessels using the southern corridors have been struck since early June, according to a New York Times review of International Maritime Organization records.

Those incidents have left 16 sailors wounded and two dead, according to the newspaper.

Another ship was attacked near Oman this week, killing one crew member, according to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, the maritime security organization overseen by Britain’s Royal Navy.

On July 19, two tankers operated by Greek shipping company Dynacom were struck, according to the International Maritime Organization. One of the damaged vessels was ultimately abandoned.

The United Arab Emirates’ government-owned oil company ADNOC has suffered particularly heavy losses, reporting attacks against 18 of its vessels. The incidents killed one crew member and wounded another 20.

Even with those casualties and continued attacks, the American escort operation has helped avert what could have become a substantially larger interruption in worldwide oil supplies.

Shipping analyst Michelle Wiese Bockmann characterized the southern shipping corridor as an unexpected success, noting that vessels have continued using the passage despite the persistent threat of attack.

Maintaining that protection, however, requires a substantial American military commitment.

U.S. forces must sustain defensive operations around the clock while remaining within striking distance of Iran’s missile arsenal.

The Navy currently has approximately 20 warships positioned in the Gulf of Oman.

The mission has also placed considerable logistical pressure on American forces. After Iranian strikes damaged the Navy’s Bahrain base, resupply vessels were forced to make trips to Diego Garcia, the British territory in the Indian Ocean. The change adds more than five days of sailing time in each direction.

Even with the American escorts, commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains far below the levels recorded before the war.

Numerous major shipping companies are still refusing to send their vessels through the waterway and are expected to remain on the sidelines unless a durable cease-fire is established.

For now, however, the Navy’s largely behind-the-scenes protection effort is enabling millions of barrels of oil to leave the Persian Gulf each day, reducing the risk that the conflict will trigger another severe surge in global oil prices.

{Matzav.com}

The Elul zman opened with tremendous energy at Yeshivas Ateres Shlomo’s expansive campus in Rishon Letzion, with approximately 1,350 talmidim filling the yeshiva as it begins its 13th year.

The yeshiva is led by its roshei yeshiva, Rav Chaim Feinstein, Rav Chaim Mordechai Ausband and Rav Shalom Ber Sorotzkin, with the new zman marking another significant stage in the continued growth of the yeshiva.

This year’s incoming first-year class includes 250 talmidim. In response to the large enrollment, the yeshiva appointed an additional rosh mesivta, Rav Yaakov Zaltz, himself an alumnus of Ateres Shlomo. The first-year talmidim have been divided into four separate shiurim.

Ahead of the Elul zman, the yeshiva also completed construction of a new, spacious dormitory building to accommodate its rapidly expanding student body. The facility includes more than 200 beds and was built in response to the increasingly crowded conditions resulting from the substantial growth in the number of talmidim.

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{Matzav.com}

With just three weeks remaining before the annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to Uman, Breslover rabbonim and askanim are reportedly working on a plan aimed at enabling thousands of young men classified as military draft defaulters to leave Israel despite exit orders imposed as a result of the ongoing giyus crisis.

According to a report by Mordechai Halperin on Army Radio, Breslover rabbonim and activists recently held what participants described as an “emergency discussion” focused on finding a way for those barred from leaving the country to nevertheless travel to Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah.

Under one proposal reportedly developed during the discussions, draft defaulters would appear at IDF recruitment offices for their initial processing and formally begin the procedures associated with enlistment. The objective would be to regularize their status sufficiently to secure the cancellation of the orders preventing them from leaving Israel, clearing the way for them to travel to Uman.

However, according to the report, the proposed appearances at recruitment offices would not reflect an intention to ultimately enlist. The plan discussed would reportedly involve the young men initially presenting themselves and appearing prepared to proceed with the process, but after their travel restrictions are lifted and they leave for Uman, they would not continue with the enlistment procedures or join the IDF.

The proposal would therefore seek to use the initial appearance at the recruitment office as a means of addressing the exit orders without changing the young men’s underlying position regarding military service.

The discussions come amid growing concern within the Breslover community that the giyus crisis could significantly reduce the number of people able to travel this year to the tziyun of Rav Nachman of Breslov for Rosh Hashanah.

Rabbonim affiliated with the Ezra V’Yeutz organization met Tuesday with Rav Shimon Shisha, widely known as the “father of the prisoners” because of his work assisting detainees, to discuss the obstacles facing prospective travelers and possible ways of addressing them.

During the gathering, Rav Shmuel Moshe Kramer, the senior Breslover rov and influential mashpia, said efforts would continue to ensure that chassidim could reach Uman despite the significant difficulties confronting them this year.

“Every year they try to prevent the chassidim from traveling to Uman, and every year they succeed, in one way or another, in reaching Uman. This year, too, there is a major obstacle, but this year, too, we will succeed,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

Despite renewed talk of Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisroel potentially running separately in the upcoming Knesset election, a new move by Degel HaTorah suggests that the two factions may ultimately remain together under the United Torah Judaism banner.

According to a report by Emess, Degel HaTorah officials recently contacted Israeli polling organizations and asked them to change the name and photograph used for the chairman of United Torah Judaism, replacing MK Yitzchok Goldknopf with MK Moshe Gafni.

The request reflects the rotation agreement reached between Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisroel several election cycles ago. Under that arrangement, leadership of the joint slate alternates between the factions, with the candidates also changing positions according to the longstanding alternating “zipper” system.

Based on the agreement, Gafni is scheduled to occupy the No. 1 position in the upcoming election, with Goldknopf moving into the second slot. Degel HaTorah’s decision to ask pollsters to begin presenting Gafni as the head of UTJ could indicate that, at least operationally, the party is preparing for another joint run despite public discussion of a possible split.

If the existing agreement remains intact, the anticipated UTJ slate would place Moshe Gafni first, followed by Yitzchok Goldknopf in second place, Uri Maklev in third, Meir Porush in fourth, Yaakov Asher in fifth, Yaakov Tessler in sixth, Yitzchok Pindrus in seventh, and Yisroel Eichler in eighth. The lineup reflects the previous agreements between Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisroel and the rotation mechanism governing their joint list.

Meanwhile, Gafni himself appears to be shifting into campaign mode. During a tour of northern Israel on Wednesday, he said, “Everywhere we go, we see the same moving picture: Despite all the incitement and persecution against the Chareidi public and the Torah world, the Torah and educational institutions are flourishing, and the communities are growing and developing beyond recognition.”

His remarks came amid a growing series of public appearances and tours that are increasingly taking on the character of an election campaign.

Still, with only about two weeks remaining before the deadline for submitting candidate lists, formal negotiations between Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisroel have yet to begin. Both factions are reportedly waiting for the other side to make the first move, with neither eager to be seen as conceding first on the issues dividing them.

The contrast between continued briefings about a possible split and Degel HaTorah’s practical preparations for polling under a unified UTJ slate leaves the final outcome unresolved. At the same time, the request to replace Goldknopf with Gafni in election surveys provides a significant indication that a joint run remains a leading possibility.

Elsewhere in the Chareidi political arena, Shas is already further along in its election preparations. The party is scheduled to formally launch its campaign Thursday at an event in Holon under the slogan “בדרך אמונה בחרתי” (“I Have Chosen the Path of Faith”).

United Torah Judaism, by contrast, has yet to unveil an election slogan, launch its formal media campaign, or begin displaying campaign billboards, as uncertainty continues over whether Degel HaTorah and Agudas Yisroel will head into the election together.

{Matzav.com}

An emotional meeting took place Wednesday between Israel’s Chief Rabbi, Rav Kalman Bar, and former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the Yashar party, during the dedication of a Torah study and memorial room honoring fallen IDF soldiers and others killed in Israel’s wars.

Footage from the ceremony showed Eisenkot wearing a yarmulke as he was warmly greeted by Rav Bar. The two shook hands and spoke cordially at an event that brought together the pain of bereavement with Torah learning and remembrance.

During their conversation, Rav Bar spoke to Eisenkot about the strength he has demonstrated in the face of profound personal loss and expressed his admiration for him.

“You are a source of inspiration,” Rav Bar told Eisenkot.

The ceremony carried particular personal significance for Eisenkot, who lost his son during the Swords of Iron War. Master Sgt. (res.) Gal Eisenkot z”l, 25, who served in the IDF’s Maglan commando unit, was killed in battle in the Gaza Strip.

The Eisenkot family suffered another devastating loss during the war when Eisenkot’s nephew, Maor Eisenkot z”l, was also killed.

The newly inaugurated memorial room is dedicated to Torah learning in memory of IDF soldiers and others who fell in Israel’s wars. The initiative seeks to connect national remembrance with Torah and learning, and Rav Bar offered his blessing and support for the project during the ceremony.

{Matzav.com}

A striking new monument on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is honoring generations of American military personnel by displaying the names of more than 41 million veterans, active-duty service members and others who have served the country.

The National Military Monument, which is a temporary installation, is scheduled to remain on display through Nov. 12, giving visitors several months to view the tribute and search for the names of relatives and other service members.

Designed as a sweeping recognition of military service across American history, the monument includes more than 41 million names representing different generations and every branch of the U.S. armed forces.

The names continuously scroll across lines incorporated into large American flag displays, two of which have been erected on the National Mall. With tens of millions of individuals included, cycling through the complete list takes several days.

The United States Automobile Association (USAA), which sponsored the monument, said public interest has far exceeded expectations, with large numbers of visitors coming to locate their own names or those of relatives and loved ones who served.

“This was the first time for USAA to do something like this. We wanted to do something big for America 250, and just the feedback has been tremendous and overwhelming. You know, the lines of people hours long just to come pull up a loved one’s name or their own name on the monument and people told us they wanted it here longer,” said Christian Bove, USAA communications director. “So we listened and with the support of the National Park Service, we’re able to have this out here through November 12.”

A key element of the installation is its interactive design. Staff members are available to assist visitors in searching the enormous database and bringing a particular service member’s name onto the display.

Visitors can then pose for photographs alongside the displayed name, turning the massive national tribute into a personal memorial for families seeking to recognize an individual veteran or service member.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani opened a legal battle with the City Council on Wednesday, filing a lawsuit challenging legislation that would provide $10,000 bonuses to public-school paraprofessionals and arguing that lawmakers improperly interfered with the collective bargaining process.

The RESPECT Check Act, approved unanimously by the City Council in mid-July, awards every New York City school paraprofessional a $10,000 “workforce stabilization” payment. The measure attracted 47 co-sponsors, giving it more than enough support to override a mayoral veto.

Mamdani’s administration, however, contends that the legislation intrudes on authority that belongs to unions and the collective bargaining process. The mayor’s office argues that the measure runs afoul of New York’s Taylor Law, which governs labor relations involving public employees and requires compensation disputes to be handled through collective bargaining.

“We will not allow the political process to replace the collective bargaining table,” a Mamdani spokesperson, Matt Rauschenbach, said in a statement. “Instead of protecting that process, the City Council has passed legislation that undermines collective bargaining and sets a dangerous precedent: allowing politicians to bypass workers and their unions and dictate the terms of employment themselves.”

“A one-time payment does not solve the underlying, long-term pay inequities facing paraprofessionals,” Rauscenbach added.

The court fight puts Mamdani at odds not only with City Council Speaker Julie Menin, but also with powerful organized-labor groups that supported the legislation, including the New York City Central Labor Council and the United Federation of Teachers.

“The City Council would not have introduced — let alone passed — this bill if it were illegal, and we would not have supported a bill that threatened our collective bargaining rights,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told The Hill Wednesday.

Menin and Council Member Carmen De La Rosa defended the measure in a joint statement Wednesday, arguing that the payments are both justified and financially prudent.

“This law is not only the right thing to do, it is also the fiscally responsible thing to do.”

The council members said the RESPECT Check program could help New York City combat its shortage of paraprofessionals, which they contend contributes to the roughly $1.5 billion the city spends resolving Carter Cases involving special-education services.

“The Council will vigorously defend the law,” the council members concluded.

Rauschenbach later said the Mamdani administration was already engaged in discussions with the UFT aimed at developing a permanent solution to shortages among school paraprofessionals. The UFT estimated in July that approximately 1,600 paraprofessional positions remained vacant across New York City.

The lawsuit also comes after Mamdani backed an earlier version of the proposal in 2025. That measure would have provided the supplemental payment as an annual recurring bonus, while the legislation ultimately enacted guarantees the $10,000 payments for only one year.

The City Council can renew the program after its initial year unless a collective bargaining agreement incorporates the expense by providing paraprofessionals with a pay increase of at least $10,000. Under that scenario, the city would repeal the bonus law.

{Matzav.com}

Iran is demanding financial compensation from Ukraine over a July strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea, rejecting Kyiv’s assertion that the ship was hit accidentally and warning that Tehran will pursue reparations if Ukraine refuses to pay.

The dispute centers on a vessel struck last month that Iran insists was carrying civilian cargo. Ukrainian officials, however, have alleged that the ship was transporting Iranian weapons or military components to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, while President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Tehran of providing Moscow with drone weaponry.

The incident occurred in the Caspian Sea on July 25, when Ukraine initially reported that drones had attacked two Russian vessels carrying “military cargo from Iran.”

Iran subsequently said that one of the vessels was Iranian and maintained that it was a civilian ship transporting iron from Russia to an Iranian port. According to Tehran, one crew member was killed and two others were wounded in the attack.

Iran reacted furiously, branding the strike a “hostile and criminal” act of “terrorism” and summoning Ukraine’s charge d’affaires in Tehran to deliver an official protest. Iranian officials also accused Kyiv of attempting to link the Russia-Ukraine war with the U.S.-Iran confrontation and draw European countries into that conflict.

Zelensky initially defended Ukraine’s actions while expanding his allegations about cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. He charged that Iran was supplying Russia with drone weapons while Russia, in return, was giving Tehran “active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and U.S. military facilities located there.”

“There is a clear correlation between Russia’s satellite imagery ⁠of these sites and Iranian strikes — both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted,” he said.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, also disputed Iran’s description of the vessel as an ordinary commercial ship, claiming it had been transporting drone and missile components from Iran to Russia rather than civilian goods.

Several days after the strike, the New York Times reported on July 28 that Tehran had considered retaliating by firing a ballistic missile at a Ukrainian seaport. The contemplated strike was reportedly designed to “make a symbolic point but cause relatively little damage.”

Diplomatic intervention reportedly persuaded Iran not to proceed with the proposed missile attack, with Tehran being warned that a Ukrainian response could prove considerably more serious than Iranian officials anticipated. Some analysts in Ukraine also cautioned that Kyiv could ill afford to become involved in another confrontation while continuing to battle Russia’s invasion.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later spoke by telephone with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who told his Iranian counterpart that the attack on the cargo vessel had been “unintentional.” Sybiha had earlier rejected Araghchi’s allegations against Ukraine on social media, describing them as “Iranian lies.”

The dispute resurfaced on Aug. 10 when Tehran publicly rejected Kyiv’s explanation that the vessel had been struck by mistake and formally demanded compensation for the damage.

“We still believe that we have not been convinced by the Ukrainian side’s claim that this action was unintentional,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei.

“They must certainly compensate us. Naturally, if they do not compensate us, we will seek compensation ourselves,” he said.

Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said Wednesday that Kyiv has still not provided compensation for what Tehran continues to describe as an “act of terrorism,” although he indicated that “negotiations” over the matter remain underway.

Jalali also argued that responsibility should extend beyond Ukraine to the Western countries supporting Kyiv.

“Ukraine’s European and American supporters must also accept their responsibility for Kyiv’s actions and hold them accountable,” he added.

{Matzav.com}

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband sharply escalated London’s criticism of Israel on Wednesday, demanding that the Israeli government immediately cancel a major housing tender in the E1 area and warning that Britain is preparing a broader package of measures targeting Israeli policies in Yehuda and Shomron.

Miliband’s condemnation came one day after Israel published a tender covering seven residential complexes with a combined 1,234 housing units in E1, located between Yerushalayim and Ma’ale Adumim. The project is part of a larger plan for roughly 3,400 homes in the area that received approval last August.

The British foreign secretary denounced the latest step and called on the Israeli government to rescind the tender and stop moving forward with the broader construction plans.

“This Israeli Government’s publication of a tender for the E1 settlement project is an unacceptable and destructive act. E1 would cut across the heart of Palestine and risks separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem, which would endanger the viability of a two-state solution,” Miliband said in a statement condemning the move.

Miliband maintained that Britain’s objections to construction in E1 have been repeatedly communicated to Israel, while reiterating London’s position that the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel remains necessary for achieving lasting peace.

“The UK has been clear privately and publicly in our opposition to E1 and our support for a two-state solution as the only way to ensure long-term security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. All settlements damage that prospect and are a flagrant breach of international law,” he claimed.

According to Miliband, he personally confronted Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar over the decision. Britain also summoned Israel’s Chargé d’Affaires to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to formally protest the tender.

“Today, I made clear to the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that the Israeli Government must halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion. In addition, the Israeli Chargé d’Affaires has been summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, where we set out the UK’s profound objection to this move by the Netanyahu government and demanded an immediate reversal,” said Miliband.

Miliband went further, signaling that the dispute would not end with diplomatic protests and saying the British government intends to unveil additional steps against Israeli policies in the coming weeks.

“Britain will not stand back and accept the destruction of the two-state solution. In the coming weeks we will set out a comprehensive set of measures to respond to Israeli government policies, protect the viability of the Palestinian state, target sanctions at those who participate in illegal settlement expansion and support a just and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” the UK Foreign Secretary declared.

The E1 project has long been a source of international pressure on Israel. After the broader construction plan was approved last year, approximately 20 countries joined together in a letter opposing development in the area.

David Lammy, who was serving as Britain’s foreign secretary at the time, similarly attacked the project, describing the construction as “a flagrant breach of international law.”

Miliband assumed the post of British foreign secretary last month as part of a sweeping Cabinet reshuffle carried out by newly installed Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

His latest criticism of Israeli building in Yehuda and Shomron is consistent with positions he has taken on Israel for more than a decade. As Labour Party leader in 2014, Miliband shifted the party away from its previous approach and adopted a more confrontational posture toward the Israeli government.

During Israel’s 2014 war against Hamas in Gaza, Miliband called the Israeli military campaign “wrong and unjustifiable” and took then-Prime Minister David Cameron to task over Britain’s response to Palestinian civilian casualties.

Later in 2014, Miliband instructed Labour members of Parliament to back a nonbinding motion supporting unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. That decision generated friction between Labour and some Jewish donors and communal organizations.

Miliband also toured a Bedouin site during a visit to the region and criticized the expansion of Israeli communities, calling it “wrong and illegal.”

Despite his repeated criticism of Israeli government policies, Miliband has also taken positions supportive of Israel on several major issues. In the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas massacres, he resisted demands for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, instead supporting temporary humanitarian pauses.

Miliband has additionally identified Hamas as a terrorist organization, characterized rocket fire targeting Israeli communities as “totally unjustified and appalling,” and rejected the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, arguing that BDS undermines prospects for peace.

Burnham, who replaced Keir Starmer as Britain’s prime minister, has likewise signaled that his government intends to pursue a tougher policy toward Israel. He apologized for Labour’s initial reaction to Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza and promised greater British pressure on the Israeli government.

Burnham has said his government would weigh further sanctions against Israeli individuals and organizations while also considering restrictions on trade involving products originating in areas he has characterized as “illegal settlements.”

The British prime minister has stopped short of labeling Israel’s military campaign in Gaza a genocide, saying that question should be determined by international courts rather than politicians. He has simultaneously pledged to continue combating antisemitism and has reiterated his condemnation of the October 7 Hamas attacks.

{Matzav.com}

Nike’s prolonged stock-market collapse has erased approximately $200 billion from the sportswear giant’s value since its 2021 peak, prompting Sen. Ted Cruz to revive his criticism of the company and declare that its politically charged decisions drove away customers like him.

Shares of Nike have sunk to levels not seen in nearly 12 years, extending a years-long decline as the company grapples with weakening sales through its direct-to-consumer business.

Cruz, a Texas Republican, pointed to the staggering drop as vindication of his longstanding criticism of Nike, particularly over controversies involving ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and the company’s 2019 decision to cancel the release of a sneaker featuring the Betsy Ross flag.

“Sad & predictable,” Cruz wrote on X, saying Nike’s decision to scrap the shoe was how the company “lost me.”

Cruz said he had been an overwhelmingly loyal Nike customer for most of his life before becoming disillusioned with the brand.

“For my whole life, I wore nearly 100% Nike for athletic wear,” Cruz said. “Kaepernick pissed me off, but when they canceled the Betsy Ross shoe it showed that their marketing plan was ‘America-hate’.

“I went out & bought brand new shoes, shorts, and t-shirts.”

Cruz suggested that many other consumers reached a similar conclusion and abandoned the company as well.

“Turns out I wasn’t the only one,” Cruz continued. “#GoWokeGoBroke.”

Nike shares finished trading Monday, Aug. 17, at $39.09, representing a decline of approximately 78% from their November 2021 monthly closing peak of $169.15.

Market strategist Charlie Bilello has characterized the extraordinary fall as the deepest drawdown Nike has experienced since becoming a publicly traded company.

The company’s troubles have been compounded by weakness in the direct-to-consumer strategy that Nike had spent years positioning as a major source of future growth.

According to Nike’s latest earnings release, Nike Direct revenue declined 7% during the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, while its digital business recorded a steeper 12% drop.

Cruz was one of several prominent conservatives who advocated boycotting Nike in 2019 after the company withdrew its planned Betsy Ross-themed sneaker.

Kaepernick, who had already become a deeply polarizing figure after kneeling during the national anthem to protest what he viewed as police brutality, reportedly objected to the sneaker and encouraged Nike not to move forward with its release.

Critics have argued that Nike’s decision to abandon the shoe following Kaepernick’s objections marked part of a broader shift toward progressive political and social causes that alienated some conservative customers. Those critics now point to the company’s current difficulties as evidence that the strategy carried a significant cost, although Nike’s stock decline has also coincided with substantial business challenges, including its weakening direct-to-consumer operation.

{Matzav.com}

Israel is bracing for increasingly severe heat through the end of the week, with temperatures climbing and heavy to extreme heat stress expected across much of the country. The Israel Meteorological Service has issued a red warning for several areas, while only limited relief is forecast for Shabbos.

On Thursday, skies are expected to become mostly clear after the morning cloud cover dissipates. Temperatures will rise slightly and will be somewhat above seasonal averages, particularly in mountainous and inland regions, while heat stress will intensify across much of the country.

Beginning in the afternoon, northerly winds are forecast to strengthen along the coastal plain. Thursday night is expected to be partly cloudy.

The Israel Meteorological Service issued a red heat warning Thursday morning for the Beit She’an Valley, Kinneret Valley, Jordan Valley, northern and southern portions of the Judean Desert and Dead Sea region, and the northern Arava.

Conditions are expected to become even hotter on Friday. After morning clouds clear, temperatures will rise slightly again throughout much of the country, with unusually hot and dry weather in the mountains and inland areas and hot, humid conditions along the coastal plain.

Heat stress will intensify further on Friday, reaching heavy to extreme levels across most parts of Israel.

Some relief is expected on Shabbos, although conditions will remain very hot. Following the disappearance of morning cloud cover, skies will become mostly clear, with temperatures dipping slightly, primarily in the mountains and inland regions.

Despite the modest drop in temperatures, heavy to extreme heat stress is still expected throughout most of the country on Shabbos.

Forecast highs and lows for Thursday are as follows: Yerushalayim, 64–90°F (18–32°C); Tel Aviv, 75–88°F (24–31°C); Be’er Sheva, 72–93°F (22–34°C); Haifa, 73–88°F (23–31°C); Tiveriah, 72–100°F (22–38°C); Tzefas, 63–93°F (17–34°C); and Eilat, 82–104°F (28–40°C).

{Matzav.com}

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschtuz

My grandchildren were by us for Shabbos, and they were chewing gum, as children are wont to do. As I watched them, I was thinking about something my rebbi, Rav Mendel Kaplan, would tell us. He would say, “Life is like chewing gum. Ah bissel tzuker un kei kei kei — It has a little sugar, but most of the time you are simply chewing.” His pithy comment is quite deep and has much meaning.

There is actually a lot packed into that little expression. Underneath the humor is a very profound observation about what life is all about.

Rav Mendel’s point, as I understand it, is that we tend to imagine that life is supposed to be a succession of sweet moments. We wait for the good news, the simcha, the accomplishment, the nachas, the vacation, the special Shabbos, the wedding, the birth, the siyum. Those are the moments when we taste the “sugar.” But they are not the bulk of life because, face it, most of life is the chewing.

And that doesn’t mean that most of life is bad. Chewing gum isn’t bitter or unpleasant. It’s simply…ordinary. You chew. You continue. You go through the day. You take care of what needs to be taken care of. You deal with the unexpected. You go to work, learn, daven, raise children, worry about things, solve problems, pay bills, make phone calls, wait for appointments, clean up messes, and do it all over again the next day.

There is a little sugar mixed in, and those moments are precious. But the sugar isn’t the entirety of the gum. The chewing is the experience of living.

And perhaps that is one of the great misunderstandings of life. We think that we will really begin living when everything falls into place. When the children grow up, when the parnossah is settled, when the health is perfect, when the problem is resolved, when the simcha arrives, then life will be good.

But Rav Mendel’s “ah bissel tzuker un kei kei kei” teaches something else: Don’t wait for the sugar to begin appreciating the chewing.

A person is not measured only by the dramatic moments of his life. Much of avodas Hashem takes place in the seemingly uneventful actions of ordinary days. The greatness is often not in the extraordinary moment, but in getting up every day and doing what needs to be done again and again.

The kei kei kei is almost the sound of life itself.

We chew, we chew, and we keep going.

And perhaps there is an even deeper message. When you chew gum, you don’t ask, “When is the next taste of sugar coming?” You know that the sweetness will eventually fade, but you continue chewing. Why? Because chewing itself has become part of the experience.

So, too, we have to learn to appreciate not only the moments when Hashem gives us an obvious taste of sweetness, but also the long stretches in between. The sweetness may be less apparent, but that doesn’t mean that those moments are empty. They, too, are part of the life Hashem has given us.

Sometimes, in fact, the chewing is where the sweetness is hidden.

A person looks back after many years and realizes that the days he thought were merely “ordinary” were actually his life. The rushed mornings, the chitchat with people in shul after davening, the walks home from shul, the Shabbos meals, the conversations with his children, the learning sessions, the small acts of kindness, the challenges he overcame, even the difficulties that forced him to grow — those weren’t interruptions to his life. They were his life.

Rav Kaplan managed to say all of this with a smile and a couple of words of Yiddish: Ah bissel tzuker un kei kei kei.

A little sugar.

And then you chew.

Rav Mendel was very smart. He was blessed with a life comprised of chochmas haTorah, and he sought ways to impart that chochmah to us, his young American talmidim. He was teaching us not to resent the chewing while waiting for the sugar, but rather to recognize that the sugar gives us moments of sweetness, while the chewing gives us the opportunity to live.

Life is not a bowl of cherries or a piece of candy that is sweet from beginning to end. It is chewing gum: Ah bissel tzuker un kei kei kei. There is a little sweetness, and then a great deal of chewing.

The sugar moments remind us why we are here.

We work hard at something and then are able to look back and see what we have accomplished, be it raising children and enjoying the milestones of their lives or struggling to work through a Tosafos and then experiencing the joy and sweetness of finally understanding it. Someone goes through a nisayon and later realizes that it made him stronger, deeper, and closer to Hakadosh Boruch Hu.

The chewing itself can eventually become sweet.

There is another important dimension. If we expect life to be sweet all the time, we would become disappointed very quickly. But if we understand that life is mostly chewing, with occasional bursts of sweetness, we develop a different relationship with life.

We stop asking, “Why isn’t life sweeter?” and begin asking, “Where is the sugar?”

And I think that is perhaps the most beautiful way to understand Rav Kaplan’s bissel tzuker.

The sugar is there. It may not be everywhere. It may not last forever. Sometimes we don’t even recognize it while we’re experiencing it. But it is there, and perhaps the real avodah is to learn to notice it.

Two people can live through the same day. Both have responsibilities, frustrations, bills, disappointments, and endless things to take care of. One comes home saying, “What a difficult day.” The other remembers one small moment — a child’s smile, a good sevara, a meaningful vort, a beautiful sunset, a kind word — and says, “Boruch Hashem, there was some sugar today.”

As I get older, I think more often about Rav Mendel and his teachings and the insights he gave us when we were young and growing up. And I think about different dimensions of what he meant. Maybe that is what he meant. While it is true that life is mostly about chewing, it is also true that Hakadosh Boruch Hu makes sure that there is a little sweetness. The wise person looks for those moments and learns to savor them.

Elul is one of those doses of sugar that Hashem puts into life.

Life is filled with routine. We wake up, go to work, learn, daven, raise children, and deal with responsibilities, disappointments, and challenges. Through the “chewing” of life, we are moving forward, sometimes without even noticing how quickly the days are passing.

And then comes Elul.

Suddenly, Hashem gives us a month that is different from all the others. It is as if He puts a little sweetness into the gum and says to us, “Stop for a moment. Think about where you are going. You still have time. You can fix things. You can come closer. Ani leDodi veDodi li.”

That itself is an extraordinary kindness.

The yemei hadin are approaching. A person might look at himself and think, “How can I repair everything I have done wrong?” And then Elul arrives and tells him: Come with me. You can do it.

After Tisha B’Av and the Nine Days ended, we felt as if the rest of the month of Av was one of sweetness. It represented the sugar of life we so desperately crave. It provided us with the opportunity to get off the Ferris wheel of chewing, of working, of doing the things we have to do in life. The second half of Av gave us a break, a time to go away, to travel, to unwind — a time of leisure, swimming pools, barbecues, and enjoyment.

The past three weeks represented the physical sweetness that Hashem gives life, and now we have entered the month of Elul, which presents us with some of the spiritual sweetness of life.

The sweetness of Elul is not the sweetness of comfort or pleasure. It is the sweetness of opportunity.

Elul signals that Rosh Hashanah is coming. We are being given the weeks preceding it to prepare. To think. To regret. To apologize. To improve. To strengthen a relationship. To become more careful with our words. To daven with more concentration. To learn better and more. To examine our lives and say, “I am going to fix what I did wrong over the past year.” To say, “Next year, I am going to do better.”

That is the spiritual tzuker of life.

Teshuvah is not merely a painful accounting of our failures. It is the realization that we are not trapped by what we said or did yesterday. We can change it. We can change ourselves. The person I was yesterday does not have to be the person I am tomorrow. I can be better.

Elul is not meant to frighten us. It is meant to awaken us, as the posuk says, “Uru yesheinim mishinaschem.” Awaken from your slumber, from your actions throughout the year. The door of teshuvah is open. The door to greatness is open. Step right in.

We can literally go back and erase yesterday. What happened, happened. The words were spoken, the opportunities were missed, the mistakes were made. Yet, Hakadosh Boruch Hu created a mechanism through which a person can take those very failures and transform their meaning. We can take those chato’im, those mistakes, and, through the gift of teshuvah, turn the failures into zechuyos, merits.

Someone who recognizes what he did wrong, sincerely regrets it, accepts upon himself not to repeat it, and changes his behavior, is no longer the same person who committed that act. His past is no longer part of his history, and it does not define his destiny.

That is an extraordinary kindness. That is the spiritual sweetness of teshuvah.

Failure can become the beginning of growth. A sin can become the source of humility. A painful experience can teach a person compassion. A relationship that was damaged can become the impetus to learn how to speak differently. A missed opportunity can awaken a person to recognize the next opportunity when it arrives.

Elul is the month when Hashem reaches out to us, when Heaven touches earth and the distance between us and our Creator becomes smaller. Hashem comes closer and offers us the precious gift of teshuvah, the opportunity to find our way back home.

We may have wandered. We may have taken wrong turns, missed exits, traveled down roads we never should have entered, and sometimes gotten so lost that we no longer know how to get back. But teshuvah is Heaven’s GPS. It helps us recalculate and points us home. It reminds us that no matter how far we have traveled, the road back is still open. We are never too far gone to return. And what could be sweeter than that?

Elul isn’t merely a countdown to Rosh Hashanah. It is Hashem giving us advance notice that the yemei hadin are coming and giving us the opportunity to prepare for them.

He is telling us, “Don’t wait until you stand before Me to wish you had become different. Change now.”

Before the King judges us, He comes closer to us and gives us a month to go looking for Him.

We have spent another year chewing. There were sweet moments, bitter moments, ordinary moments, and painful moments. There were things we did well and things we wish we could do over.

Elul provides us with the opportunity to examine the past year, fix what needs fixing, and set ourselves on a good path for the coming year. Elul enables us to build a better future.

There is a little sugar. Life is still mostly chewing. But when Elul arrives, Hashem puts a little extra sweetness into the gum. He gives us a month in which the ordinary person can become extraordinary by confronting his past, learning from it, and returning to the One who has been waiting for him all along.

We can look at it a little deeper.

The Vilna Gaon writes that when Hashem created the world, He combined the middos of din and rachamim. The world could not exist through din alone, because no human being could survive if we were judged solely according to what we deserved. However, a world governed exclusively by rachamim would lack the structure and accountability necessary for creation to fulfill its purpose. Hashem therefore conducts the world through a combination of din and rachamim.

But during Elul, Hashem relates to us strictly with the middah of rachamim. The King is coming, the yemei hadin are approaching, and yet, paradoxically, the days immediately preceding judgment are days of extraordinary mercy. Prior to standing in judgment before Him, Hashem comes toward us with rachamim and invites us to approach.

What an incredible gift that is. Imagine a person who is about to stand trial. His actions are going to be examined, and he will have to answer for the choices he has made. And then, before the trial begins, the judge goes out to meet him and says to him, “Come. Let us fix this before we start hearing the case.”

That is Elul. It is a month of Divine mercy, of Divine sweetness.

Elul reminds us that our mistakes do not have to be the end of the story. Hashem gives us the extraordinary ability of teshuvah. He doesn’t wait for us to come crawling back after judgment has already been rendered. He comes closer. He makes the first move. He opens the door and beckons us inside.

And suddenly, Rav Mendel Kaplan’s words take on an even deeper meaning.

Life can indeed be a lot of chewing. We struggle, we stumble, we make mistakes, and we can wonder how we will find our way back. How will we get tzuker back into our lives? But then comes Elul and Hashem gives us a month of rachamim, a month when the distance between Heaven and earth is diminished, a month when the King is in the field and the road home is easier to find.

That is the sweetness of Elul. It is the sweetness of rachamim. It is the sweetness of knowing that the door is open. The sweetness of knowing that Hashem will help us get on the right path before He judges us.

May we all be zoche to come home and have a sweet year of goodness and kindness. A kesivah vachasimah tovah to all.

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