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Tucker Carlson drew widespread criticism online after describing Israel as “one of the single ugliest countries in the world” while discussing the current Middle East conflict.

The remarks gained rapid attention after conservative activist Laura Loomer posted a video clip of Carlson’s comments. The clip spread quickly across social media and accumulated more than one million views within roughly 16 hours.

In the video, Carlson spoke about Israeli military operations in Beirut while expressing regret over what he characterized as the destruction of “beautiful places” in different parts of the world.

Carlson highlighted the appearance of Lebanon’s capital city before turning to Israel for comparison.

“When you say that the Israelis are destroying Beirut, which is, having been to a lot of places in the world, one of the prettiest places on the globe,” Carlson said. “Beirut is just a marvel. It’s beautiful.”

He then pivoted to a harsh critique of Israel. “It’s being destroyed by Israel, which is one of the single ugliest countries in the world,” Carlson said.

“Nothing of beauty has been built there since 1948. Sorry. I’ve been everywhere in that country.”

Carlson continued by arguing that other locations in the region had historically been visually striking before suffering destruction during conflicts.

“Europe, right? Beirut. Parts of Syria, the holy sites, parts of Iran are apparently beautiful, totally blown up. It does seem like a war on beauty as well,” he added. “Beautiful things wind up being destroyed.”

Loomer sharply criticized Carlson’s comments when she shared the clip online, accusing him of hostility toward Jews.

“Today, Tucker Qatarlson said, ‘Israel is one of the ugliest countries in the world, which has built nothing of beauty since 1948,’” Loomer wrote.

She also rejected Carlson’s comparison between Israel and neighboring countries.

“He said all of Israel’s Islamic neighbors are beautiful and Israel is waging a war on beauty,” she wrote. “He said Israel wants to bomb Iran because Iran is pretty and Israel isn’t.”

“Tucker is consumed by his hatred of Jews,” Loomer added, pointing out that she had traveled to Israel numerous times and considers it “a beautiful country.”

The video quickly triggered a flood of responses from social media users reacting to Carlson’s remarks.

{Matzav.com}

NATO air and missile defense systems intercepted and neutralized a ballistic missile launched from Iran that entered Turkish airspace. According to Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense, debris from the missile fell onto vacant land in Gaziantep. No casualties or injuries were reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Cyprus on Monday, days after dispatching a warship to the east Mediterranean island nation, where a Shahed drone struck a British air base on its southern coast last week during the Iran war. Macron ordered the French frigate Languedoc to waters off Cyprus, a fellow European Union member, to […]

Machon Bnos Yehuda Seminary has warned parents not to route their daughters through Egypt after receiving reports of disturbing incidents involving women traveling through the country while trying to leave Eretz Yisroel.

In a letter sent to parents, Moishe Bak of Machon Bnos Yehuda said the seminary had received verified information describing frightening situations encountered by women attempting to travel through Egypt.

The message began by reassuring parents that the students currently at the seminary are safe.

“A Gut Voch. I am happy to be able to share with you that the Eim Bayit reported that Shabbos at Machon Bnos Yehuda (for those who chose to stay) was a beautiful and uplifting experience. Baruch Hashem, the girls are doing well and are safe.”

Bak explained that the school felt obligated to inform parents about troubling developments affecting women who had tried to leave the region through neighboring countries.

“It has been brought to our attention that a number of girls and women who attempted to travel through Egypt experienced very frightening situations, and in some cases may have been harmed or assaulted.”

According to the seminary, verified reports received recently described incidents in which women traveling in groups were separated from men who were accompanying them, including husbands.

“Just this evening we received verified information describing extremely distressing incidents. In certain situations, groups of women were separated from the men traveling with them — including married women being separated from their husbands — and were subjected to very troubling experiences.”

Bak noted that many of the people involved in the incidents have chosen not to speak publicly but asked that others be warned.

“Many of the individuals involved have chosen not to speak publicly about what happened, but they have specifically asked that others be warned.”

The seminary urged parents to avoid sending daughters through Egypt or nearby countries under any circumstances.

“For this reason, we are begging parents: please do not even consider sending your daughters through Egypt or any of the neighboring countries.”

At the same time, the school indicated that alternative travel options may soon become available as the situation evolves.

“Baruch Hashem, other options are beginning to present themselves. We are starting to hear that the skies are slowly reopening, airport operations are expected to resume tomorrow, and flights are gradually beginning to take passengers out of Eretz Yisrael. Igud HaYeshivos is also working on arranging flights, and we expect to have more information from them very soon.”

Bak also cautioned parents against making travel decisions based on information circulating in messaging groups or social media.

“At a time like this, decisions based on WhatsApp groups, group chats, or by people who do not truly understand the matzav on the ground should be avoided.”

He said the seminary administration is closely monitoring developments and will continue to update families.

“We are monitoring the situation very carefully and will continue to share reliable updates as they become available. I have a scheduled conference call with the hanhala at 2:00 AM to discuss plans for the coming days, and I will, b’ezras Hashem, send another update tomorrow morning.”

The letter concluded with further reassurance that the students currently in Yerushalayim are safe and coping well under the circumstances.

“Baruch Hashem, your daughters are safe and doing well. In general, they are calm, happy, and adjusting to life in Yerushalayim under the current circumstances. With a steady stream of calm, supportive, and positive messages coming from home, we believe they will continue to handle this situation with the strength and resilience they have already shown.”

{Matzav.com}

YWNregrets to inform you of the petirah of habochur Rafael Chaim Shar Yashuv Scheinerman z”l, who was niftar at the age of 16 after a lengthy illness. He was the beloved son of R’ Yitzy and Kiki Scheinerman, and an einikel of HaRav Moshe Scheinerman, the well-known rov and mechaber seforim in Flatbush. The levaya […]

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the passing of Mrs. Geraldine Schottenstein a”h, the respected matriarch of a family long known for its steadfast support of Torah and Jewish education. She passed away this past week.

Geraldine was the wife of Jerome Schottenstein z”l. Together with her husband, Mrs. Schottenstein was part of a family whose generosity and loyalty helped strengthen Torah institutions and Jewish educational initiatives in Columbus, Ohio, and in communities far beyond. Through their quiet but significant support, countless Jews were given the opportunity to receive a strong foundation in Torah and Yiddishkeit.

Geraldine was born in New Orleans on Feb. 1, 1933, to her parents, Eva and Joseph. She and Jerome were married in 1953, when she joined him in Columbus, Ohio.

The Schottenstein family has for decades been recognized for its dedication to the growth of Jewish education and communal life. Geraldine shared in that commitment, standing alongside her husband in supporting schools, yeshivos, and organizations devoted to the transmission of Torah values to future generations.

Her life reflected the ideals of devotion to family, community responsibility, and a deep appreciation for the importance of Jewish continuity through education.

She is survived by her brother, Marc Hurwitz; her four children; her 10 grandchildren; and her 22 great-grandchildren: Her children are : Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein; Ann and Ari Deshe; Susan and Jon Diamond; and Lori Schottenstein.

After Jerome’s untimely passing at the relatively young age of 66 in 1992, Geraldine married Marty Hoffman, who passed away in 2013.

The levayah was held on Shushan Purim at Lakeside Cemetery in Miami.

Yehi zichroh boruch.

{Matzav.com}

Two people were killed, and one was seriously injured at several locations in central Israel following missile launches from Iran late Monday morning. One of the munitions from a cluster bomb hit a construction site in Yehud, killing two construction workers.

Hungary’s Russia-friendly leader is urging the European Union to lift all sanctions on Russian fossil fuels to remedy spikes in energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, considered the Kremlin’s closest partner in the EU, said in a video posted to social media on Monday that he’d sent […]

Two ships owned by an Iranian company that the United States has accused of supplying materials to Tehran’s ballistic missile program departed from a Chinese chemical storage port this week, loaded with cargo and heading toward Iran, The Washington Post reported on Sunday. The ships, the Shabdis and the Barzin, belong to the Islamic Republic […]

A shul in Liège in eastern Belgium was damaged in an explosion in the predawn hours of Monday morning, the police said. No one was injured in the incident. The powerful blast shattered the windows at the front of the shul, along with those of the buildings across the street. An investigation into the incident […]

A man in his 40s was killed, and two were injured, one critically and one seriously, at several locations in central Israel following missile launches from Iran late Monday morning. One of the munitions from a cluster bomb hit a construction site in Yehud, killing a construction worker in his 40s. Another construction worker who […]

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Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly across Israel early Monday after several rounds of missile launches from Iran were detected, sending residents in many regions rushing to shelters.

The first alerts were activated shortly after 1:15 a.m., when warning sirens were heard in northern and central Israel following the detection of launches from Iran. Roughly twenty minutes later, additional missiles were identified, prompting sirens across central Israel, the Shfela region, the Lachish area, and parts of Samaria.

Another set of sirens sounded around 1:45 a.m. in northern Israel. Later, at approximately 4:00 a.m., residents in the north were again alerted after Israeli defense systems identified yet another round of missiles launched from Iran.

תיעוד: שברי יירוט במודיעין עילית@hadasgrinberg pic.twitter.com/upNjzfjHx5

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 9, 2026

Authorities reported that fragments from interceptor missiles fell in several locations, including Lod, Rishon Letzion, and Modi’in Ilit. Israel Fire and Rescue Services said teams were dispatched to multiple sites in central Israel after debris from the interceptions caused substantial damage.

At one of the impact locations in Rishon Letzion, a woman in her 50s was injured. According to Magen David Adom, stones thrown into the air by the blast struck her head, causing a head injury.

A Magen David Adom EMT who arrived at the scene said, “We arrived quickly at the scene and saw a crater in the road, with broken rocks scattered on the ground all around. At the scene there was a woman who was injured in the head by rocks that flew towards her. We provided her with life-saving medical treatment and evacuated her in an MDA Mobile Intensive Care Unit to the hospital while in stable condition.”

The woman was transported to Shamir Hospital, where officials reported that her injuries were light and that she remained in stable condition.

At roughly the same time, warning sirens also sounded in Kiryat Shmona and nearby communities after rockets were launched from Lebanon. No casualties were reported from that incident.

The Israel Defense Forces said that in response it carried out strikes targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut while also launching a new round of attacks on Iranian regime terror infrastructure in central Iran.

The overnight attacks followed a separate incident on Sunday in which a man in his 40s was seriously wounded by shrapnel in Tel Aviv during another missile barrage fired from Iran toward central Israel.

Emergency responders from Magen David Adom treated the man at the scene before transporting him to Ichilov Hospital’s emergency department.

In addition, MDA crews provided treatment to six other individuals injured at several locations throughout central Israel. Among them were two people in Petach Tikva: a 25-year-old man who sustained moderate injuries and a 56-year-old man who was lightly hurt.

{Matzav.com}

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham offered rare public criticism of Israel after reports that Israeli strikes targeted parts of Iran’s oil infrastructure over the weekend. In a series of posts, Graham praised Israel’s military capabilities but urged caution in selecting targets as the war with Iran continues. “Our allies in Israel have shown amazing capability when […]

As Iran prepares selected Mojtaba Khamenei as the successor to slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, both the United States and Israel issued unusually direct warnings regarding the country’s future leadership. U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran’s next leader will not last long without approval from Washington. “He’s going to have to get approval from […]

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the decision on when to end the war with Iran will ultimately be made in coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a brief telephone interview with The Times of Israel, Trump said the two leaders have been in regular contact since the war began with a coordinated […]

Confusion and frustration have been reported at the Kosel in recent days, as mispallelim arriving to daven say they are being prevented from entering despite official statements indicating that limited access to the plaza has been permitted.

According to Israel Police announcements, up to 50 people at a time were supposed to be allowed into the Kosel plaza in accordance with current Home Front Command safety guidelines. However, those who came to the site report that in practice entry is often blocked entirely or handled in an inconsistent manner.

Mispallelim who arrived at the Kosel say that no clear system has been established for regulating entry and exit. Some report that the situation is being managed arbitrarily by security personnel on the ground, with small groups occasionally allowed inside while at other times the entrance is closed completely without any clear explanation.

At the center of the disagreement is the question of adequate protection in the event of missile alerts. A standard protected space exists only in nearby buildings under the management of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. However, individuals familiar with the area say that the Wilson’s Arch complex could offer meaningful protection, similar to the portable shelters used elsewhere in the country.

Many mispallelim say the failure to make use of that area for tefillah has caused significant pain and frustration, particularly during a time when many feel a strong need to pour out their hearts in tefillah at the Kosel.

“It is not appropriate that the police cannot find a way to allow tefillah at the holiest place while still safeguarding human life,” rabbonim said, adding that the ability to daven there is a vital ruchniyus need during the ongoing war.

Amid Operation Roaring Lion and the ongoing security situation, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation carried out its traditional pre-Pesach removal of the notes placed between the stones of the Kosel.

The procedure took place Sunday morning, as it does each year before Pesach, and involved removing tens of thousands of kvittelach that had been placed between the stones over the past six months before transferring them for proper genizah.

The removal was carried out in the presence of Rav Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rov of the Kosel and the holy sites, together with Mordechai (Suli) Eliav, director general of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. During the gathering they recited a special tefillah for the success of the campaign against the enemies of Klal Yisroel, particularly Iran, and for the safety of the soldiers of the IDF and security forces fighting on multiple fronts — in the air, at sea, and on land — as well as for the safety of U.S. soldiers assisting Israel.

In a statement, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said that even during this difficult period, tefillos continue to arrive at the Kosel from throughout Eretz Yisroel and around the world.

“In these days, when the people of Israel face great challenges and seek rachamei Shamayim, we see how thousands of tefillos continue to reach the stones of the Kosel from across the country and the world,” the statement said.

Alongside tefillos for the safety of the country, its soldiers, and the Jewish people, the foundation said it has also received notes from individuals in countries considered hostile to Israel, expressing hopes for peace among nations.

The removal was carried out in accordance with halachah, with workers using gloves and disposable wooden tools to preserve the sanctity of the site and the privacy of the notes. The collected notes were placed in special sacks and will be buried through proper genizah.

The foundation also noted that hundreds of notes are sent daily through its website, in addition to the hundreds of thousands placed personally by mispallelim and visitors at the Kosel throughout the year. Among the notes received this year were messages sent online by individuals from countries including Iran, Yemen, Iraq, Qatar, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, and Kazakhstan, many expressing heartfelt hopes for peace and reconciliation between nations.

{Matzav.com}

Technical problems with Israel’s Home Front Command emergency alerts have been reported on older-generation kosher mobile phones, with some users saying the warnings cause their devices to freeze or even erase stored data.

The issue was discussed on the radio program Osim Seder on Kol Chai, where host Yisroel Meir spoke with Pinchas Ben Ziv, an editor at the Emes news site. Ben Ziv described a troubling situation in which safety alerts meant to save lives are instead creating serious technical problems for users of older kosher phones.

“The alert that pops up on the screen takes over their phone and they can’t do anything,” Ben Ziv said. In some cases, he explained, the alert has reportedly caused entire contact lists to be deleted and has also drained phone batteries quickly on Shabbos, since users cannot acknowledge the message or silence it.

According to Ben Ziv, the main difficulty stems from the fact that the modern alert systems were not designed for older basic phones. He said the alerts override the device’s operating system and function externally, which can cause the phone to lock up.

Ben Ziv suggested that a possible solution could come through the Rabbinical Communications Committee, noting that if certain restrictions were removed, a dedicated application could potentially be installed to manage the alerts more effectively.

Lt. Col. (res.) Danny Cohen, who serves as the Home Front Command’s spokesperson to the chareidi community, offered a different explanation, saying the system follows updated guidelines issued by Israel’s Ministry of Communications that are designed primarily for devices using fourth-generation networks.

Cohen explained that unlike second- and third-generation phones, which may freeze when the alerts appear, newer devices support modern broadcast messaging technology that functions more reliably.

“I’m not aware of problems with fourth-generation devices,” Cohen said. However, he added that some phones may require a simple software update through a computer connection in order for the text alerts to display properly.

He noted that the alert system can provide early warnings minutes before a siren sounds and can also notify residents when it is safe to leave protected areas, features that are particularly valuable on Shabbos.

Yisroel Meir concluded the discussion by calling for a better balance between maintaining the spiritual standards associated with kosher phones and ensuring that users receive reliable safety alerts.

“There’s no reason a kosher phone shouldn’t provide you with safe and quiet protection,” he said, adding that he plans to continue following the issue together with the rabbinical communications committee.

For now, officials say the recommendation is clear: to ensure proper receipt of alerts without disrupting the device, users should switch to phones that support fourth-generation networks and make sure their devices receive the necessary software updates.

{Matzav.com}