Feed aggregator

Democrats hold a seven-point advantage over Republicans in a new nationwide congressional poll released just three weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, adding to concerns for the GOP as voters express dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy and the cost of living.

The NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ survey, conducted by TrueDot.ai from October 5 through October 9, found that 49 percent of likely voters would support Democratic congressional candidates, compared with 42 percent who would vote Republican. Another 8 percent remained undecided.

The poll surveyed 974 likely voters and carried a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The Democratic advantage also appeared in a separate question asking respondents which political party had done more to deserve their support, regardless of which party they actually intended to vote for.

On that measure, 46 percent selected the Democratic Party, while 40 percent chose the Republican Party. Nearly 7 percent named independents, and 8 percent said none of the options deserved their vote.

Geoffrey Skelley, chief elections analyst at Decision Desk HQ, said the closing weeks of the campaign would be particularly important in determining whether the Democratic polling advantage grows.

“The big question is if the lead grows more,” said Skelley. “You’re basically out of time for much to change. At this point, it is probably more just about engaging the voters in your party as best you can, and making some final cases to voters who might normally or might have in the past voted for your party, if you’re Republicans in particular, and then trying to make the case for why they should show up again.”

The survey also found President Trump facing substantial disapproval among respondents. His job approval rating stood at 38 percent, while 60 percent said they disapproved of his performance.

Economic concerns dominated voters’ priorities, with inflation identified as the country’s most pressing problem by 28 percent of respondents. Jobs and the broader economy followed at 20 percent, while immigration and border security were cited by 12 percent.

Those findings underscore the importance of economic conditions in the final stretch of the campaign, particularly as Republicans seek to defend their congressional seats amid continued voter frustration over household expenses.

Additional findings from the NewsNation survey suggest that independent voters could play a significant role in determining the composition of the next Congress. Among independents, Democrats received 44 percent support, compared with 34 percent for Republicans, giving the party a 10-point advantage within that group.

The poll also examined how firmly voters had settled on their choices. Among Democrats, 65 percent said their decision was final, compared with 60 percent of Republicans and just 35 percent of independents.

When asked what developments might cause them to reconsider their vote, 20 percent pointed to a scandal involving their preferred candidate, 18 percent cited candidates addressing their most important issue, and 15 percent mentioned rising prices.

Other recent national surveys have similarly found widespread dissatisfaction with economic conditions. An Associated Press-NORC poll released earlier this month found that just 17 percent of American adults approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, while 26 percent approved of his overall management of the economy.

That survey, conducted September 24 through September 28 among 2,140 adults, also found that approximately 65 percent attributed persistently high prices primarily to Trump’s policies rather than circumstances beyond his control.

The AP-NORC findings additionally showed that 64 percent of respondents believed Trump had gone too far in imposing tariffs on foreign countries, an increase from 58 percent who expressed that view in January.

A separate Reuters/Ipsos survey released October 9 found that 78 percent of respondents believed Trump’s policies were contributing to rising living expenses. That poll questioned 4,506 adults and found dissatisfaction extending beyond Democratic voters, including among some Republicans.

The latest numbers come as both parties intensify their efforts to turn out supporters before Election Day. Republican strategists have identified inflation and voter enthusiasm as important factors in their congressional campaigns, while Democrats are seeking to capitalize on public concerns about household finances.

The generic congressional ballot measures which party voters would prefer to support in a hypothetical House election nationwide. Although it provides a broad indication of voter sentiment, it does not directly determine individual congressional contests, which depend on district-level conditions, candidates and turnout.

{Matzav.com}

Iran has resumed ballistic missile testing at several locations across the country, prompting heightened monitoring by Israeli and American intelligence agencies. Despite the renewed activity, Israeli defense officials reportedly believe there has been no significant change in the security situation that would justify launching another military operation against Tehran in the coming weeks.

According to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 News, Iranian forces have conducted multiple missile launches in recent days as part of efforts to rebuild the country’s ballistic missile capabilities following damage sustained during the war.

Israeli intelligence assessments indicate that the reconstruction effort remains limited and is progressing slowly. Officials also believe the tests may be intended to demonstrate that Iran retains offensive capabilities and to send a deterrent message to Israel and the United States.

A separate concern among Israeli security officials is the possibility that Iran could misinterpret Israeli or American statements and military preparations as indications that another attack is imminent.

With Iran facing international pressure and severe economic difficulties, Israeli officials fear that Tehran’s leadership could conclude that a new military confrontation is unavoidable and decide to launch a preemptive surprise attack.

Israel and the United States are maintaining close security coordination, including consultations with Gulf countries, as they prepare for a range of possible developments. Israeli forces remain at a high level of readiness, although current intelligence assessments reportedly do not indicate a need for renewed military action against Iran in the immediate future.

The missile activity comes amid reports of discussions between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump concerning the possibility of additional strikes against Iran.

According to a separate report, Netanyahu raised the prospect of resuming attacks during a conversation with Trump last week, potentially before the upcoming American midterm elections. Senior American officials reportedly came away with the impression that Netanyahu was interested in advancing such an operation, partly because of troubling developments involving Iran’s nuclear program.

Netanyahu’s office rejected suggestions that the prime minister was pressing for an attack before the elections.

“The prime minister maintains ongoing dialogue with President Trump and senior officials in the American administration and does not comment on the contents of their conversations,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Trump, meanwhile, stated last week that the United States would not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections. The president said discussions with Tehran were continuing but indicated that the existing blockade would remain in place.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, an adviser to the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, claimed that Iranian forces have complete control over the Strait of Hormuz. He threatened to block the remaining maritime routes through which oil shipments are still able to pass, according to his account.

The threat comes amid growing concerns about shipping security in the Persian Gulf. Recent reports have described attacks on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian efforts to reinforce nuclear and military facilities in anticipation of possible renewed hostilities.

Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has also reportedly warned American counterparts that a new round of fighting could result in heavy Iranian missile attacks on Israel and potentially force the postponement of Israel’s October 27 election.

{Matzav.com}

Davidi Ben Zion, a candidate for Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party, announced Tuesday evening that he was withdrawing from the political race following an intense pressure campaign aimed at preventing the party from splitting the right-wing vote in Israel’s upcoming elections. Newly disclosed WhatsApp messages reveal that the campaign extended into Ben Zion’s own community and took a significant emotional toll on his family.

The circumstances surrounding his departure emerged after journalist Shirit Avitan Cohen published messages that Ben Zion had shared with friends earlier in the day, describing the public pressure he was facing and its impact on his wife.

According to the messages, opponents of his continued candidacy had placed signs throughout the community where he lives, displaying his photograph alongside demands that he withdraw from the race.

Ben Zion sent his friends a photograph of one of the signs, explaining that similar posters had appeared across the community. He also described the distress the situation had caused his wife, writing, “She is devastated by this.”

The signs were part of a broader campaign urging Ben Zion to abandon his candidacy amid concerns that Amcha Yisrael could draw votes away from other right-wing parties and thereby weaken the bloc’s electoral position.

The pressure was therefore felt well beyond the usual political arguments surrounding a new party’s participation in an election. According to Avitan Cohen’s reporting, the campaign became increasingly personal, with Ben Zion and his family finding themselves at the center of efforts to persuade him to step aside.

Later Tuesday, after deciding to withdraw, Ben Zion sent another message to his friends explaining that his family came first. He parted from them warmly and wished them success as they continued their activities.

Avitan Cohen characterized the withdrawal as the culmination of a difficult campaign of public pressure directed at Ben Zion and those closest to him. In her account, the strain on his family ultimately played a decisive role in his decision.

The controversy reflects a wider debate within Israel’s political right over the participation of smaller parties in national elections. Critics of such parties argue that votes cast for factions that fail to cross the electoral threshold can reduce the number of Knesset seats won by the broader ideological bloc.

Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party has become part of that debate as the election approaches, with opponents of a divided right-wing ballot urging candidates to reconsider their participation.

For Ben Zion, however, the decision was shaped by more than electoral calculations. The messages disclosed Tuesday show how a political dispute over the distribution of right-wing votes developed into a personal ordeal, with public demands for his withdrawal appearing in his own neighborhood and affecting his family’s daily life.

{Matzav.com}

Rosh Yeshivas Rashbi Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman delivered an emotional message to United Torah Judaism lawmakers on Tuesday, declaring that protecting yeshiva bochurim must remain their overriding priority in the upcoming Israeli elections. During the meeting, MK Yaakov Asher pledged that the party would refuse to join any government that fails to reach an acceptable arrangement safeguarding the status of yeshiva students.

The meeting took place at Rav Bergman’s home, where members of the United Torah Judaism faction gathered to seek his guidance and receive his bracha ahead of an election campaign in which the future of yeshiva students and their military service exemptions has become a central issue.

Speaking with deep emotion, Rav Bergman told the lawmakers that the continued existence and protection of the yeshiva world must guide their political decisions.

“We must understand that everything that concerns us revolves around the yeshiva bochurim,” the rosh yeshiva said.

MK Yaakov Asher described the approaching elections as an unusually consequential political battle over the future of Torah learning in Israel.

“The entire campaign now, both from our side and from the secular side, is a battle over the yeshiva bochurim, more than in any previous election,” Asher told Rav Bergman.

The rosh yeshiva responded emphatically, stressing that the issue was fundamental to the chareidi community’s very existence.

“This is what we must stand firm on. If we have no yeshiva bochurim, we have nothing!”

Asher then outlined the commitment that United Torah Judaism has made regarding participation in a future governing coalition, making clear that the party’s position would not depend on which political bloc emerges from the elections.

“We have publicly declared that we will not enter any government without an agreed-upon arrangement for the yeshiva bochurim,” Asher said. “We do not know what will happen in the elections, whether the right wins or the left wins. It makes no difference. We will not enter any government that does not regulate and guarantee this matter. We have stated this absolutely clearly. This is the main thing. They are trying to destroy this precisely because it is the foundation upon which everything rests.”

Rav Bergman reiterated that the preservation of the yeshiva world must remain the foundation of the party’s political approach, regardless of the challenges and negotiations that may follow the election.

“Our entire essence is that we stand firm on this, and without it, we have nothing. This must be remembered. And indeed, once we know this ‘secret,’ we can approach the matter,” the rosh yeshiva said.

MK Yitzchok Pindrus also addressed Rav Bergman, emphasizing that the elected representatives view themselves as carrying out the directives of the Torah leadership.

“All of us act by the authority of the one who sends us. An emissary acts by the authority of his sender, and we are the emissaries of the rosh yeshiva,” Pindrus said.

The meeting concluded with the lawmakers receiving Rav Bergman’s bracha for success in the upcoming elections and for their efforts to increase and sanctify the honor of Hashem.

{Matzav.com}

Hillary Clinton is returning to the national political conversation with a new podcast launching just weeks before the November midterm elections, joining journalist Kara Swisher for a limited series as Democrats attempt to regain control of Congress and challenge President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee will co-host “High Stakes,” a new program scheduled to premiere Wednesday, October 14, with the November 3 elections approaching. The series will be produced in partnership with Vox Media and released as a weekly Wednesday addition to Swisher’s existing New York Magazine podcast, “On With Kara Swisher.”

According to Variety, Clinton’s arrangement with Vox Media includes a share of the advertising revenue generated by the new program. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

The launch places Clinton back in the public spotlight at a politically significant moment, with Republicans defending their majorities in both the House and Senate and Democrats seeking congressional victories that could complicate Trump’s legislative priorities during the remainder of his second term.

In announcing the project, Clinton portrayed the approaching election as a consequential moment for both the United States and the international community.

“I don’t think the stakes for our country and the world have ever been higher than they are in November,” Clinton said in a statement distributed by Vox Media.

“People are hungry for real conversation about what’s happening in our democracy and what it will mean for their families, and I can’t think of a better partner for that than Kara,” she added. “There will be some discussion, some debate, and hopefully, a lot of laughter.”

Swisher, a veteran journalist known for her coverage of Silicon Valley, technology executives and political affairs, said the new series would give listeners an opportunity to hear Clinton’s views on current events and national issues.

She also used the announcement to make a joking comparison between her new collaboration with Clinton and her established podcast “Pivot,” which she ordinarily hosts alongside Scott Galloway.

“Think of this series [with Hillary Clinton] as ‘Pivot,’ but with an actual expert as my co-host,” Swisher quipped.

Describing what Clinton would bring to the program, Swisher said she is “a global icon, she doesn’t hold back, and she’s going to bring the audience an invaluable perspective.”

The two have previously worked together in the podcast format. Clinton appeared as a substitute co-host on “Pivot” when Galloway was absent, an experience that preceded the decision to develop a separate series.

Vox Media has promoted the new program as an opportunity to introduce audiences to a more informal and humorous side of the former Democratic presidential candidate.

In its announcement, the company described Swisher’s role as “drawing out the wickedly funny and sharp woman Americans may not have gotten to see before.”

Vox Media co-founder and chief executive Jim Bankoff welcomed Clinton to the company’s podcast lineup, presenting the arrangement as an important addition to its growing roster of political and cultural commentators.

“I’m immensely proud to bring Secretary Clinton — a hero to millions who has had a profound impact making the world a better place — to Vox Media as she embarks on this next chapter of her media career,” Bankoff said.

The program will address issues including inflation, health care, technology and the political battles surrounding control of Congress. Vox Media says the hosts intend to examine competing viewpoints, with the discussion continuing beyond Election Day to assess the results and their implications.

According to additional reporting, the weekly episodes are expected to continue through mid-November. Clinton, Swisher and Vox Media will share advertising proceeds, with the company handling production, distribution and advertising sales.

The idea for the collaboration reportedly emerged earlier this year during a gathering at the Washington home of David Bradley, the former owner of The Atlantic. Swisher began questioning Clinton about domestic politics and the war in Ukraine and was impressed by her responses.

Their subsequent appearance together on “Pivot” in August served as a trial run for the new arrangement.

Clinton has previously hosted her own interview podcast, “You and Me Both With Hillary Clinton,” which ran from 2020 until 2023. Since her unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2016, she has also written books, taught at Columbia University and worked as a producer on the Broadway musical “Suffs.”

In a separate interview discussing the new venture, Clinton sharply criticized the Trump administration and explained why she believes the congressional elections are particularly consequential.

“I don’t think the stakes for the country and the world could be any higher,” Clinton said. “If we don’t reverse this chaos and corruption and cruelty that is being visited upon us by this administration, we won’t recognize our country.”

The agreement with Clinton follows a major restructuring involving Vox Media’s properties. James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems recently acquired Vox Media’s podcast network, Vox.com and New York Magazine in a transaction reportedly valued at more than $300 million.

Vox Media has indicated that the Clinton-Swisher partnership may extend beyond the limited election series, although it has not announced specific additional projects.

Clinton has suggested that she would consider continuing the program after the midterms if it attracts a sufficiently large audience. She has also expressed a willingness to participate in advertising herself, although she indicated that she would be selective about the products she promotes.

The new series marks another public-facing role for Clinton, who served as first lady, U.S. senator from New York and secretary of state before becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 2016. She lost that election to Trump in the Electoral College despite receiving more votes nationwide.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz warned Tuesday evening that Iran and terrorist organizations operating under its influence are attempting to orchestrate attacks against Israel in an effort to interfere with the country’s upcoming elections.

With Israelis scheduled to head to the polls on October 27, Katz said the defense establishment had identified efforts by Tehran and its allies to use terrorism to affect the political process. He warned that Israel would respond forcefully to any such attack, regardless of whether it occurred before or after Election Day.

The defense minister delivered his warning during a ceremony marking the inauguration of the Irgun Museum and the Altalena cannon.

“We are detecting attempts by our enemies, led by Iran and its proxies, to carry out terrorist attacks that would influence the results of the elections in Israel,” Katz said.

Katz urged Israelis to maintain a united position against external threats despite the political divisions accompanying the election campaign. He stressed that disagreements among political parties must not weaken the country’s determination to defend itself.

“In the face of these attempts, we must present a united front and send a clear message that political disagreements will not undermine our collective resolve against our enemies,” he said.

The defense minister also sought to make clear that the military and security establishment would continue operating according to Israel’s defense requirements, without allowing the election campaign or other political considerations to influence operational decisions.

“Together with the IDF and the security forces, we will act to defend the country at all times and wherever necessary. Decisions will be made according to security needs, without regard to any other considerations.”

Katz did not publicly identify which Iranian-backed organizations were involved in the alleged plans, nor did he provide details about potential targets, locations or the timing of any contemplated attacks. His warning nevertheless comes against the backdrop of Israel’s continuing confrontation with Iran and the network of armed organizations Tehran has supported throughout the Middle East.

Iran’s regional allies include Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and armed militias in Iraq. Israeli defense officials have long accused Tehran of supplying these organizations with financing, weapons and training, enabling them to threaten Israel from multiple fronts.

The ceremony at which Katz delivered his remarks also carried historical significance. The Altalena, an Irgun weapons ship that arrived off Israel’s coast in June 1948, became the center of a deadly confrontation between the newly established IDF and members of the Irgun, led by Menachem Begin.

The dispute over control of the ship’s weapons escalated into armed clashes that killed 16 Irgun members and three IDF soldiers. The vessel was struck by artillery fire off the Tel Aviv coast and burned before eventually being sunk at sea.

The ship’s remains were located in August 2026, nearly eight decades after the confrontation, bringing renewed attention to an episode that remains closely associated with the dangers of internal division.

The discovery has also become a subject of political debate ahead of the October 27 election, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir both invoking Begin’s legacy in public appearances connected to the Altalena.

Against that historical backdrop, Katz used Tuesday’s ceremony to stress that Israel’s political disputes must not interfere with its security response to external threats.

He concluded by issuing an explicit warning that any attack against Israeli civilians or military personnel would bring severe consequences, irrespective of the election timetable.

“Let our enemies know: Anyone who attacks us, before or after the elections, and anyone who harms IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians will be dealt a crushing blow and will pay the heaviest price.”

{Matzav.com}

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman confronted New York Governor Kathy Hochul during Tuesday’s debate, accusing her of helping legitimize New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani despite what he described as the mayor’s role in encouraging antisemitism and hostility toward the Jewish community.

Blakeman, who is challenging Hochul in the November gubernatorial election, argued that the governor bears responsibility for the worsening climate facing Jewish New Yorkers, particularly because of her political alliance with Mamdani.

“Antisemitism is on the rise, and it’s occurred under your watch. And Zohran Mamdani is fueling it,” Blakeman declared.

.@NassauExec Bruce Blakeman: "Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite. The first thing he did as Mayor — with all the issues that face New York City — the first thing he did was sign an executive order to water down the definition of antisemitism." pic.twitter.com/XiVVDDbmlw

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 14, 2026

The Republican candidate pointed specifically to Mamdani’s decision to revoke an executive order concerning the definition of antisemitism shortly after becoming mayor, portraying the move as evidence of the administration’s misplaced priorities.

“The first thing he did as mayor with all the issues that face New York City, the first thing he did was sign an executive order to watered-down the definition of antisemitism,” Blakeman said, before adding, “Shame on you, mayor.”

Blakeman then turned his criticism directly toward Hochul, questioning why she continued to appear alongside Mamdani on the campaign trail despite their differences on issues involving Israel and the Jewish community.

“You are campaigning around the state with a guy who doesn’t believe in American values. He talks about collectivism. That means you take personal property rights away. You take other people’s property rights. This is a guy that’s anti-Christian,” Blakeman told the governor.

He went further, explicitly accusing the New York City mayor of antisemitism.

“Look, if you want to campaign with him, that’s fine. But I will tell you right now, I think Zohran Mamdani is an antisemite,” Blakeman said.

Mamdani’s record on Israel has been a source of controversy since before his election as mayor. His statements following the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, including remarks made the following day, drew criticism from Jewish organizations and other political figures.

He also faced objections over his unwillingness to explicitly condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada”, which critics have argued promotes violence against Jews. Mamdani has maintained that his political positions should not be interpreted as hostility toward Jewish people.

The controversy continued after Mamdani took office. On his first day as mayor, he canceled several executive orders issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams, including measures addressing Israel and antisemitism.

Among the revoked directives was an order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism for city government purposes. That definition includes certain examples of anti-Israel rhetoric that may constitute antisemitism, depending on the circumstances.

Blakeman’s remarks during the debate were directed at that decision, which critics have described as weakening the city’s response to anti-Jewish discrimination.

Mamdani also attracted criticism when he became the first New York City mayor to boycott the annual Israel Day Parade, departing from a longstanding tradition of mayoral participation in the event.

Hochul, meanwhile, has repeatedly emphasized her support for Israel, creating political tensions over her decision to endorse Mamdani during his mayoral campaign despite his controversial positions.

The governor has previously acknowledged concerns about Mamdani’s relationship with Jewish New Yorkers and said she urged him to make efforts to rebuild trust with the community.

In an August interview with The New York Times, Hochul suggested that Mamdani would be better served by concentrating on the practical responsibilities of running New York City rather than becoming embroiled in international political disputes.

Asked about the possibility that Mamdani’s comments concerning Israel could leave Jewish residents feeling alienated, Hochul urged him to prioritize the day-to-day concerns of New Yorkers.

“I encourage him to – ‘Let’s focus on blocking and tackling of city government,’” Hochul said, borrowing a phrase from football to describe the essential work of municipal leadership.

She identified affordable housing and child care as two major issues on which she and Mamdani could cooperate, notwithstanding their disagreements on Israel.

“That’s where I believe the main focus should be,” the governor said.

Hochul also insisted that she remained firmly committed to fighting anti-Jewish hatred, declaring that she would “throw my body against any antisemitism.”

The confrontation over Mamdani was part of a broader, contentious debate between Hochul and Blakeman, held Tuesday evening at Spectrum News NY1’s Manhattan studios. The hourlong encounter was the only scheduled debate between the two gubernatorial candidates ahead of the November 3 election.

Blakeman, who serves as Nassau County executive, also criticized Hochul over immigration enforcement, public safety and the cost of living, while the governor repeatedly challenged his ties to President Donald Trump.

The Republican candidate has made Mamdani’s policies and rhetoric a recurring theme of his campaign, arguing that Hochul’s political cooperation with the mayor raises questions about her willingness to confront antisemitism.

Just days before the debate, Blakeman met privately with chassidic leaders in Williamsburg, where he warned about the possibility of violent anti-Jewish disturbances and questioned whether city officials would adequately protect Jewish neighborhoods.

During Tuesday’s debate, moderators pressed him about those remarks. Blakeman identified the people he feared as protesters involved in earlier demonstrations at Columbia University and disruptions of bridges and roadways.

Mamdani, for his part, has rejected accusations that his criticism of Israel amounts to antisemitism. He has maintained that opposition to Israeli government policies must be distinguished from hostility toward Jews and has pledged to protect Jewish residents throughout the five boroughs.

His administration recently introduced an initiative aimed at combating antisemitism, including additional security funding for Jewish institutions, Holocaust education and violence-prevention programs. However, several major Jewish organizations criticized the proposal, arguing that it failed to address the relationship between anti-Israel rhetoric and hostility directed at Jewish New Yorkers.

The controversy intensified following Mamdani’s statement marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre. Although he condemned Hamas’s atrocities, he also accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, drawing objections from Jewish leaders and elected officials.

The debate unfolded as Hochul and Blakeman entered the final weeks of their campaigns, with polls showing differing assessments of the race. A recent Pollfinity survey placed Hochul ahead by three percentage points, while other polls, including surveys by Siena and Emerson College, indicated a considerably wider advantage for the incumbent.

Blakeman has continued to challenge Hochul’s record on antisemitism and public safety as he seeks to unseat the Democratic governor, while Hochul has defended her record and emphasized her opposition to anti-Jewish hatred.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu acknowledged Tuesday night that Egypt’s intelligence chief traveled to Israel less than two weeks before the October 7 Hamas massacre, but categorically denied meeting with him or receiving a warning from him about an impending attack.

The admission comes amid renewed scrutiny of reports that Egyptian officials attempted to alert Israel to an approaching security threat in the weeks and months preceding the massacre. Netanyahu maintained that he had no involvement in the September 26, 2023, visit by Abbas Kamel, who was then serving as Egypt’s intelligence director, and said he wants to establish exactly which Israeli officials met with the Egyptian visitor.

During an appearance on Channel 14’s “The Patriots” Tuesday evening, Netanyahu confirmed that an Egyptian aircraft had arrived in Israel shortly before the Hamas assault. However, he disputed suggestions that the visit included a meeting with him.

“Since when does an intelligence chief come and speak with a head of state? That has never happened, not even once. There’s no such thing,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister called for the circumstances surrounding Kamel’s visit to be examined, saying security camera recordings should make it possible to determine whom the Egyptian intelligence chief encountered while in Israel.

“I want to know who he met with. There are cameras, there is footage, and I want to know the truth, because the truth is that I did not meet with him. Whoever met with him is trying to pin it on me,” he said.

Netanyahu’s comments follow a report published last month by The Atlantic alleging that Kamel arrived in Israel on September 26, 2023, carrying intelligence about a possible Hamas attack. According to that account, the Egyptian official conveyed his concerns to senior Israeli figures during the visit.

The Prime Minister’s Office rejected those allegations when they first emerged, dismissing the account as “a false and recycled claim intended to mislead the public.”

Subsequent reporting by The Wall Street Journal raised additional questions about what Israeli leaders knew before October 7. The newspaper reported that Kamel had spoken with Netanyahu by telephone in early October 2023 and warned him about the danger of an approaching attack.

That telephone conversation was described in the report as the third warning Egyptian officials had delivered concerning Hamas’s intentions.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that Egypt had communicated an earlier, more general warning in June 2023, several months before the massacre. According to the account, the initial message did not identify a specific attack plan or provide a timetable.

Another warning reportedly came from the United Arab Emirates. In September 2023, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed was said to have informed Israel about indications that Hamas might be preparing an operation.

The reports suggest that Egyptian and Emirati concerns were prompted by changes in the behavior of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, as well as an increase in meetings involving terrorist organizations operating in Gaza. Intelligence officials reportedly interpreted those developments as signs that Hamas might be preparing a significant escalation.

However, the warnings were described as lacking precise operational information. They did not identify October 7 as the planned date of an attack, nor did they reveal the scope or methods of the assault that ultimately took place.

Additional reporting by The Atlantic indicates that Kamel’s September visit was unusually brief, lasting approximately one hour. The Egyptian intelligence chief reportedly met Israeli security officials at Ben Gurion Airport and urged measures, including economic concessions, that he believed might prevent a confrontation with Hamas.

The visit took place while senior Israeli officials were attending a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. Netanyahu said during Tuesday’s interview that he was participating in a memorial ceremony at the time and therefore had not met with Kamel.

The Atlantic’s investigation, based on interviews with officials from several countries and an examination of flight information, also described written warnings reportedly delivered to Israeli officials in the period immediately preceding the Hamas attack.

The Wall Street Journal’s subsequent account went further, alleging that Kamel personally contacted Netanyahu by telephone in the final days before October 7. Netanyahu has denied receiving such a warning, leaving a significant dispute between the prime minister’s account and the claims attributed to Egyptian and other officials.

The controversy has renewed demands for a comprehensive examination of the intelligence and decision-making failures that preceded the massacre. Opposition figures, including former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, have called for an independent state commission of inquiry to determine what warnings reached Israel’s political and security leadership and how they were handled.

Following Netanyahu’s Tuesday interview, Eisenkot sharply criticized the prime minister’s explanation, accusing him of dishonesty and describing him as being in “complete panic.”

Netanyahu, meanwhile, has continued to reject allegations that he was personally warned of the impending massacre, maintaining that responsibility for the intelligence failures must be examined within the security establishment.

His acknowledgment that Kamel was in Israel on September 26 establishes one element of the previously disputed reports. The identity of the Israeli officials who received the Egyptian intelligence chief, what information he conveyed to them, and whether those warnings ultimately reached Netanyahu remain unresolved.

{Matzav.com}

United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese is calling on the International Criminal Court to investigate Israeli journalists, media personalities and government officials for alleged incitement to genocide in Gaza, expanding her accusations against Israel to include individuals working in the country’s news media.

The recommendation appears in a 29-page report dated July 21 and made public last week. Albanese contends that Israeli news organizations have helped create an atmosphere in which violence against Palestinian Arabs has become increasingly accepted, and she wants international prosecutors to examine whether public statements by journalists and political figures constitute criminal incitement.

“The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court should investigate direct and public incitement to commit genocide by government officials and media figures as part of the ongoing Palestine investigation,” Albanese wrote.

The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, operates independently of the United Nations. The court has previously issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in connection with the war in Gaza. Israel has rejected the allegations underlying those proceedings and disputes the court’s jurisdiction.

Albanese serves as the UN special rapporteur assigned to examine human rights conditions in Palestinian territories designated by the organization as occupied. Her latest report accuses the Israeli government of shaping domestic media coverage through official messaging and public communications.

According to Albanese, “the Israeli government’s communication strategy has significantly manipulated media discourse, building on a long-standing pattern of dehumanization of Palestinians across Israeli media.”

She went further in her criticism of Israeli news organizations, alleging that their role has extended beyond reporting government statements or reflecting prevailing public attitudes.

The Israeli press, she asserted, “does not merely relay or amplify these narratives. In many instances, it explicitly incites to violence, including genocide, contributing to the normalization of mass atrocities.”

The latest recommendation follows similar allegations Albanese raised in October 2024, when she called for legal examination of Israeli media coverage during the Gaza war.

“The role of the Israeli media in inciting this genocide, by helping to foster an unchecked genocidal climate, ought to be examined judicially, as has occurred in other contexts,” she wrote in that earlier report.

Albanese has also claimed that Israeli military operations have resulted in the deaths of 300 journalists in Gaza since Hamas launched its October 7, 2023, terrorist assault on Israel.

Those figures have been the subject of scrutiny. Organizations documenting journalist deaths have revised certain classifications after Hamas identified some individuals previously described as journalists among its own dead. Disputes remain over how to distinguish journalists, media workers and individuals affiliated with terrorist organizations.

The new report adds to a lengthy record of confrontations between Albanese and Israeli officials, American policymakers and Jewish organizations, many of whom have accused her of displaying persistent hostility toward Israel and making antisemitic statements.

In 2025, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Albanese in response to her activities and statements concerning Israel, including her efforts involving international legal proceedings.

Her public remarks have also generated criticism from European governments. In February, several European Union foreign ministers condemned comments she delivered during an Al Jazeera conference about countries continuing to provide Israel with military, diplomatic and financial assistance.

“The fact that instead of stopping Israel, most of the world has armed, given Israel political excuses, political sheltering, economic and financial support … We who do not control large amounts of financial capitals, algorithms and weapons, we now see that we as a humanity have a common enemy,” Albanese said.

The reference to a common enemy drew criticism from those who interpreted it as a description of Israel. Albanese subsequently rejected that interpretation.

In a later interview, she insisted she “never, ever, ever said ‘Israel is the common enemy of humanity,'” calling the allegations against her “completely false accusations.”

Concerns about Albanese’s statements began before the current war in Gaza. In 2022, previously published social media comments resurfaced in which she had suggested that the “Jewish lobby” exercised control over the United States.

Albanese disputed accusations that those remarks reflected antisemitism, arguing that her comments had been “mischaracterized”.

Following Hamas’s October 7 massacre, Albanese drew additional criticism when she maintained that the attacks needed to be understood in their broader “context” and described them as a reaction to Israeli “aggression.”

In March, she again accused Israel of systematic mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners, claiming that the international community had effectively granted the Jewish state “a license to torture Palestinians” and alleging that “torture has effectively become state policy” in Israel.

More recently, Albanese was forced to apologize after making historically inaccurate assertions about Nazi concentration camps and the origins of the term antisemitism.

During an interview, she claimed that Jewish prisoners being led toward Nazi gas chambers were sometimes described as Muslims.

“In fact, when they were being taken to the gas chambers, there are some accounts of life in the concentration camps saying that Jews were called ‘the Muslims,’” she said.

Albanese made the assertion while advancing an incorrect explanation of the historical meaning of antisemitism.

“When the word ‘antisemitism’ was coined, it referred to anyone who was not European and who came from the Middle East,” she claimed, arguing that the term eventually became associated primarily with Jews because of their presence in Europe.

Her remarks drew criticism from Yad Vashem and other Holocaust researchers, who pointed out that the concentration camp expression Muselmann referred to prisoners reduced by starvation, exhaustion and abuse to a state of extreme physical deterioration. It was not a designation for Jews being transported to gas chambers.

Historians also rejected her explanation of antisemitism, noting that the term was introduced in the nineteenth century specifically to describe hostility toward Jews.

Following the criticism, Albanese acknowledged that she had misunderstood the historical terminology and publicly apologized.

“I sincerely apologize,” she wrote on X.

“I misread the term ‘Muselmann’ (Muslim) used in Nazi camps for prisoners at the brink of death, wrongly inferring that the term antisemitism originally meant hatred of all Semitic peoples. In fact it was coined specifically to denote hatred of Jews.”

The latest report has also drawn a detailed response from UN Watch, the Geneva-based organization that monitors the United Nations. In an analysis published October 12, the group challenged Albanese’s accusations against Israeli journalists, arguing that her report failed to establish the legal elements required to prove direct and public incitement to genocide.

UN Watch also disputed her treatment of Gaza journalist casualty figures, pointing to individuals whom Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad had identified as members of their organizations. The watchdog said that the Committee to Protect Journalists had removed 27 individuals from its relevant casualty lists since June 2025 after determining that they were members of those terrorist groups.

The organization further criticized Albanese for invoking precedents involving media incitement during the Rwandan genocide, arguing that the circumstances of those cases differed substantially from the Israeli broadcasts cited in her report.

UN Watch’s analysis also addressed Albanese’s suggestions that technology companies could face legal consequences for carrying Israeli government advertising challenging accusations against Israel. The group argued that publishing disputed government messaging, without evidence of the required criminal intent and assistance, does not itself establish complicity in international crimes.

{Matzav.com}

LISTEN:

​​For more info, email bitachon4life@gmail.com.

LISTEN:

A small chareidi protest party seeking to draw votes away from United Torah Judaism has reportedly secured approximately 2.5 million shekels in campaign funding and assembled a network of roughly 500 activists ahead of Israel’s October 27 elections, raising concerns within UTJ over the potential loss of votes from dissatisfied chareidi voters.

The party, known as Tzeva Shachor, or Black Color, is concentrating its efforts on Election Day itself, when it plans to mobilize supporters and encourage voters opposed to UTJ’s handling of the military draft controversy to cast protest ballots.

According to sources, the party’s organizational preparations are already well underway, with most of its approximately 500 registered activists based in Modiin Illit.

The activists have reportedly completed their operational plans for Election Day, with an emphasis on identifying potential supporters and ensuring that they actually arrive at polling stations.

The party’s principal target audience consists of yeshiva bochurim and other chareidi men classified by Israeli authorities as military draft evaders, whose status has become a central issue in the ongoing confrontation over compulsory military service.

Organizers intend to encourage as many of these individuals as possible to vote for Tzeva Shachor, while also attempting to persuade their family members to support the party.

The effort is designed to channel dissatisfaction with United Torah Judaism into a direct electoral challenge, potentially depriving the established chareidi party of votes it would otherwise expect to receive.

The financial resources reportedly available to Tzeva Shachor are particularly notable given the party’s relatively limited public profile.

Emess reported that approximately 2.5 million shekels, equivalent to roughly $800,000, has been secured for the campaign, with the overwhelming majority of that money earmarked for Election Day operations rather than conventional campaigning in the weeks beforehand.

The party’s chairman, Chaim Yankel Miller, was also questioned about speculation that the Satmar chassidus was providing financial backing for the initiative.

Miller denied having received any money from Satmar thus far, although he made clear that he would welcome such assistance.

“I would be very happy to receive money from them. So far, they have not given me any. What I have raised until now has come from other donations to the party,” Miller said.

The party’s campaign comes amid growing tensions within segments of the chareidi community over the military draft issue and the response of established chareidi political representatives.

Although Tzeva Shachor faces a substantial challenge in securing enough votes to cross the Knesset’s electoral threshold, its organizers are focusing on the possibility of drawing protest votes away from United Torah Judaism.

With approximately two weeks remaining until the election, the party is directing its financial and organizational resources toward a concentrated Election Day effort, relying on its activist network to translate opposition to UTJ into votes at the ballot box.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump delivered another forceful warning to Iran on Tuesday night, suggesting that the United States was preparing additional action against the Islamic Republic and declaring that Washington had reached the limits of its patience with Tehran.

Speaking at a midterm election campaign rally in Alaska, Trump indicated that Iran could soon face further American measures, although he did not specify whether those steps would involve military strikes or other forms of pressure.

“Oh, wait till you see what we do to Iran. We’re going to do a number. Wait till you see,” Trump told the crowd.

Trump: Oh, wait until you see what we do to Iran. We're going to do a number. We sort of had it. You know we've had it. pic.twitter.com/iCeLL3AyjU

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 14, 2026

The president repeated his warning moments later, emphasizing that his administration remained determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“They’re just waiting. They’re waiting. Wait till you see what we do to Iran, because we’ve sort of had it. You know, we’ve had it,” Trump continued.

He then returned to the issue of Iran’s nuclear program, declaring, “But, you know, it doesn’t matter. The big thing is they were not going to have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t. That’s buried under thousands of tons of rock.”

President Trump slams Iran: "Iran is a failed country… We'll make a decision on Iran very soon." pic.twitter.com/bO2DoxqBJ0

— CSPAN (@cspan) October 13, 2026

The remarks came amid mounting speculation about whether Washington might launch another round of strikes against Iranian targets before the November 3 congressional elections, despite earlier indications from Trump that additional military action would be postponed until after Americans went to the polls.

Earlier Tuesday, the president told reporters outside the White House that a decision on Iran’s future was approaching, describing the country’s economic condition in bleak terms and suggesting that its leadership was struggling to maintain basic government operations.

Trump characterized Iran as a “failed country” and cited severe inflation, financial difficulties and alleged problems paying military personnel.

“They have no economy. They have 300% inflation. They have no money. They’re not paying their troops. They’re not paying anybody. We’ll make a decision on Iran very soon,” he said.

The president’s comments appeared to signal that the administration was actively weighing its options as the confrontation with Tehran continued, with the possibility of further military operations remaining under consideration.

Trump had also addressed the possibility of further action on Monday, telling reporters that the approaching congressional elections would not dictate his decisions regarding Iran.

He predicted that the confrontation would soon reach a conclusion and argued that an end to the conflict would bring substantial relief to global energy markets.

“As soon as the war ends with Iran, which will be very soon, oil will drop like a rock. And it’s going to end very soon,” Trump said.

The president’s latest warnings contrast with his announcement last Thursday that the United States would hold off on additional military attacks until after the November 3 midterm elections.

In that statement, Trump pointed to ongoing diplomatic engagement between Washington and Tehran as a reason for delaying further strikes.

“We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said at the time that Iran was under considerable economic and military pressure and that the American blockade would remain in effect. He also reiterated that his administration would not permit Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons.

The diplomatic contacts have included indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar, with the two countries exchanging proposals intended to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for international oil shipments.

The negotiations have encountered significant obstacles. Iran has resisted American demands concerning its uranium enrichment program and nuclear stockpiles, while Tehran has sought relief from the economic restrictions imposed by Washington.

The confrontation began in February with American and Israeli military strikes against Iran. Since then, the conflict has disrupted regional shipping, driven up energy costs and placed considerable pressure on both countries’ economies.

Iran has continued threatening commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf, while American sanctions and a naval blockade have restricted Tehran’s ability to export oil and generate revenue.

Recent reports indicate that the Pentagon has instructed U.S. Central Command to prepare for the possibility of renewed large-scale military operations. Potential targets reportedly include Iranian energy infrastructure, military facilities and nuclear installations, although Trump has not publicly authorized another major offensive.

American and Israeli officials have also discussed the possibility of additional military action, with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Trump holding conversations about the conflict in recent days.

The military deliberations are taking place against the backdrop of upcoming elections in both countries, with Israel scheduled to vote on October 27 and Americans heading to the polls one week later.

Despite the speculation surrounding the timing of any renewed offensive, Trump has insisted that his decisions about Iran will be based on national security considerations rather than the American election calendar.

The president has repeatedly expressed confidence that the conflict can be brought to an end, either through a negotiated agreement or additional military pressure.

During a White House event last Friday, Trump said he believed the confrontation was approaching its conclusion and that Washington remained prepared to pursue either option.

“We can do it either way, but it’s very simple – one way or another it’s gonna be over soon,” he declared.

{Matzav.com}

Police officers and bomb disposal specialists were dispatched to the Meah Shearim neighborhood of Yerushalayim on Tuesday evening following a report of a suspicious vehicle that raised security concerns in the area.

The incident prompted a police response in the heart of the chareidi neighborhood, with officers securing the immediate vicinity and ordering bystanders to remain at a safe distance while specialists examined the vehicle.

Members of the Yerushalayim District bomb squad arrived at the scene to investigate whether the vehicle posed a danger to the public.

Footage recorded during the incident showed a heavily damaged vehicle surrounded by police personnel, with residents gathering nearby as officers conducted their examination.

The circumstances surrounding the damage to the vehicle were not immediately clear, and authorities did not provide an explanation for its condition.

Police subsequently announced that the bomb squad had completed its inspection and ruled out any security threat.

The incident ended without any suspicious or dangerous findings being reported.

{Matzav.com}

With just two weeks remaining before Israel’s October 27 elections, two new polls released Tuesday evening indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s political bloc remains short of the 61 seats needed to secure a Knesset majority, while Gadi Eisenkot’s party has emerged as a major contender with 21 seats in both surveys.

The polls, conducted for i24NEWS and Channel 16, present sharply different projections for Netanyahu’s Likud party, with one giving it 27 seats and the other just 18. Both surveys, however, place Eisenkot’s Yashar! party at 21 seats and Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad party at 13.

The surveys also highlight the uncertainty surrounding several smaller parties, particularly Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party, whose prospects of entering the Knesset could have significant consequences for the distribution of seats among the political blocs.

According to the i24NEWS survey, conducted by Direct Polls, Likud would win 27 seats, maintaining its position as the largest individual party in the Knesset. Eisenkot’s Yashar! would receive 21 seats, followed by Bennett’s Beyachad with 13.

Otzma Yehudit, headed by Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the Democrats would each secure nine seats. United Torah Judaism would receive eight, while Shas and Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu would each win seven. The Religious Zionism–Zehut alliance would receive six seats.

Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party, however, would fail to enter the Knesset, receiving just 3.1% of the vote, below Israel’s 3.25% electoral threshold.

The second survey, conducted by Maagar Mochot for Channel 16 among more than 2,000 respondents, presents a considerably weaker showing for Likud.

In that poll, Netanyahu’s party would receive only 18 seats, placing it behind Eisenkot’s Yashar!, which again receives 21 seats. Bennett’s party remains at 13, while the Democrats and Otzma Yehudit each receive nine.

United Torah Judaism and the Joint Arab List would each receive eight seats, Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu seven apiece, and Religious Zionism–Zehut six.

One of the most consequential differences between the two surveys concerns Winter’s political future.

While the i24NEWS poll places his party below the electoral threshold, Channel 16 projects that Amcha Yisrael would win four seats, allowing Winter to enter the Knesset.

Another significant discrepancy involves the party associated with Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha. The i24NEWS survey gives the party just 2.2% of the vote, leaving it outside the Knesset, while the Channel 16 poll projects five seats.

Those differences have a substantial impact on the projected balance between Netanyahu’s bloc and the parties seeking to replace his government.

According to i24NEWS, the current coalition parties would receive a combined 57 seats, four short of the 61 required for a majority. The opposing bloc would receive 50 seats, while the Arab parties would hold 13.

The Channel 16 survey presents an even more difficult picture for Netanyahu. Under its projections, the coalition bloc, including Winter’s Amcha Yisrael, would receive 52 seats, while the opposition would hold 50.

The Arab parties would account for another 13 seats, with the Hendel-Zelekha party securing the remaining five.

Both surveys therefore place Netanyahu’s bloc below the threshold needed to form a government on its own, although they differ considerably on the relative strength of Likud and the smaller parties.

The results also underscore the importance of Israel’s electoral threshold, as parties receiving less than 3.25% of the vote are excluded from the Knesset, potentially changing the distribution of seats among the larger parties.

With the election scheduled for October 27, the contrasting results leave considerable uncertainty over the eventual composition of the next Knesset, particularly regarding parties polling close to the threshold.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir renewed his call for increased chareidi enlistment on Tuesday, declaring that military service constitutes one of the highest mitzvos and emphasizing that expanding the army’s ranks is an operational necessity as Israel continues to confront security threats on multiple fronts.

Speaking at a memorial ceremony honoring fallen soldiers of the IDF’s Commando Brigade, Zamir said the responsibility to defend Israel must be shared more broadly across Israeli society. His remarks reflected the military leadership’s continued efforts to increase recruitment from the chareidi community amid growing demands on active-duty soldiers and reservists.

“In times of war, the importance of the mission of meaningful military service in the IDF becomes even clearer. This is the highest of mitzvos – the mitzvah of defending the land, its citizens, and our historical heritage,” Zamir declared before bereaved families and military personnel.

“It is a privilege, a duty, and a burden that we carry with pride. We must strengthen the value of service in the IDF, expand the ranks, and support the soldiers as the heroes of the nation and models of Zionist excellence.”

Although Zamir did not explicitly mention chareidi enlistment in those remarks, his comments were consistent with his repeated public statements calling for greater participation by the chareidi community in military service.

Since assuming command of the IDF, Zamir has consistently argued that recruiting additional soldiers, including chareidim, is essential to meeting the military’s manpower requirements.

During previous meetings with chareidi soldiers serving in the Negev Company and the newly established Chashmonaim Brigade, Zamir described expanding recruitment to include the chareidi population as “an essential operational necessity.”

He has also characterized broader enlistment as “a moral obligation” toward soldiers and reservists who have shouldered the demands of military service over an extended period.

Tuesday’s remarks came during a ceremony dedicated to the memory of soldiers who fell while serving in one of the IDF’s most demanding combat formations, whose personnel routinely undertake complex and dangerous missions.

By invoking the language of religious obligation, Zamir framed military service as more than a matter of national security or civic responsibility, presenting participation in the country’s defense as a mitzvah and a mission of profound importance.

His comments come as Israel continues to grapple with military manpower shortages, the prolonged demands placed on reservists, and the debate over legislation governing chareidi military service.

The IDF has maintained that extending mandatory service for existing soldiers cannot, by itself, resolve the military’s personnel needs. Senior commanders have repeatedly emphasized that additional recruitment is necessary to sustain operational readiness and reduce the pressure on those already serving.

The military has also moved forward with measures intended to facilitate chareidi enlistment, including the establishment of specialized service frameworks and the signing of a General Staff directive governing the integration of chareidi personnel into the IDF.

The issue remains deeply contentious within Israeli society, particularly among chareidi leaders who maintain that full-time Torah learning is itself essential to the protection of Klal Yisroel and have opposed compulsory enlistment of yeshiva bochurim.

Zamir’s latest comments underscored the military leadership’s position that the demands of national defense require an expanded pool of recruits, including members of communities that have historically had limited participation in military service.

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro confirmed Tuesday that federal prosecutors are investigating the financial disclosures of Rep. Ilhan Omar, adding to the legal scrutiny surrounding the Minnesota Democrat just one day after federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., residence as part of a separate immigration-related criminal investigation.

Pirro, who oversees the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, disclosed the investigation during an appearance on Fox News’ “America Reports,” emphasizing that her office would conduct an independent examination regardless of the findings of congressional investigators.

The announcement comes after the Office of Congressional Conduct, an independent congressional watchdog, recommended in September that the House Ethics Committee dismiss allegations that Omar had violated federal law or House rules by submitting inaccurate or incomplete financial disclosures.

Pirro made clear that the congressional recommendation would not determine how federal prosecutors proceeded.

“That doesn’t matter what the House does. It doesn’t matter, you know, what this agency or that does. We’re looking at the facts. Based upon the facts, we’ll follow them wherever they take us,” Pirro said.

The Office of Congressional Conduct launched its review of Omar’s financial filings earlier this year. Although the findings were classified as confidential, The Wall Street Journal obtained and reviewed the watchdog’s recommendation to dismiss the allegations.

The congressional review focused on possible violations of House ethics rules and financial disclosure requirements. Pirro’s announcement establishes that federal prosecutors are separately examining the matter.

The controversy centers on a dramatic discrepancy between the value of Omar’s household assets as initially reported in her annual financial disclosure and the significantly lower figures that appeared in an amended filing.

In her original disclosure, submitted May 14, 2025, covering the previous calendar year, Omar reported household assets valued at between $6 million and $30 million.

A substantial portion of that reported wealth was attributed to business interests held by her husband, Tim Mynett.

The filing listed Mynett’s ownership interest in ESTCRU LLC, a California winery, as worth between $1 million and $5 million. His stake in Rose Lake Capital LLC, a venture capital management company, was reported as having a value between $5 million and $25 million.

Those figures attracted considerable attention because they appeared to indicate that Omar’s household possessed millions of dollars in assets.

Omar subsequently amended the disclosure, reducing the reported asset range to between $18,004 and $95,000, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Her representatives attributed the original valuations to accounting errors, maintaining that the larger figures did not accurately reflect the household’s financial position.

The substantial difference between the two filings has fueled questions about the accuracy of the congresswoman’s financial reporting, although the discrepancies alone do not establish that she deliberately provided false information.

Members of the House of Representatives are required to submit annual financial disclosures detailing their income, assets, liabilities, gifts, travel reimbursements and certain outside financial arrangements.

The reporting requirements also cover specified financial interests belonging to lawmakers’ spouses, providing the public with information about potential conflicts of interest and the financial circumstances of elected officials.

The financial inquiry is separate from the federal immigration investigation that led Homeland Security Investigations agents to Omar’s Washington residence on Monday.

The Justice Department confirmed that federal agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Authorities have not publicly disclosed the precise nature of the evidence being sought.

Omar responded angrily to the search, accusing the Trump administration of targeting her for political reasons.

In a statement posted on X, she characterized the operation as “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.”

The congresswoman has been involved in a prolonged political confrontation with President Donald Trump, who has frequently criticized her positions on immigration and repeatedly singled her out in public remarks.

Trump has also made pointed comments about Omar’s Somali background and religious attire.

During remarks last year, he described her as “always wrapped in her swaddling hijab” and “the worst ‘Congressman/woman'” in the country. He has also publicly referred to her as “crooked.”

Omar represents Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Minneapolis and several surrounding suburbs.

Born in Somalia, she fled the country’s civil war with her family and spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before immigrating to the United States. She was elected to Congress in November 2018 and began serving in January 2019.

When contacted about the financial investigation, Omar’s office referred Axios to The Wall Street Journal’s reporting on the congressional watchdog’s recommendation to dismiss the allegations.

Pirro’s office did not respond to Axios’ request for additional comment regarding the investigation.

The precise scope of the federal financial inquiry remains unknown, including whether prosecutors are examining the discrepancies in Omar’s disclosures alone or reviewing additional financial transactions.

Pirro did not announce any criminal charges or findings of wrongdoing Tuesday, and federal authorities have not indicated whether the investigation will result in prosecution.

Thirteen years after the petirah of Rav Ovadia Yosef zt”l, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri has revealed extraordinary details about the final months of the revered Sephardic posek’s life, recounting how Rav Ovadia, suffering from excruciating pain and barely able to function, personally pleaded with members of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate electoral body to support his son, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, in the 2013 election for Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel.

In an emotional interview with journalist Yishai Cohen of Kikar Hashabbat ahead of Rav Ovadia’s yahrtzeit, Deri described the intense political maneuvering, the tears and tefillos that filled the Yosef home as the votes were counted, and the extraordinary decision to defy medical warnings so that Rav Ovadia could attend his son’s installation as Rishon Letzion.

The events unfolded during Tammuz 5773, less than three months before Rav Ovadia’s petirah, at a particularly difficult time for the Shas movement. The party had been pushed into the opposition, and control of the Religious Affairs Ministry rested with Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home party and Eli Ben-Dahan.

The election for Israel’s Chief Rabbinate was fiercely contested, with several prominent candidates competing for the prestigious position. For Rav Ovadia, securing the election of his son was a matter of profound personal and religious importance.

Complicating matters was his rapidly deteriorating health. Rav Ovadia was experiencing agonizing back pain that left him suffering terribly, with doctors unable to determine its precise cause. A medical specialist was even brought from France in an effort to provide relief.

Despite his condition, Rav Ovadia insisted on doing everything possible to secure his son’s election.

Deri recalled that the campaign reached a point where members of the electoral body had to be brought directly to Rav Ovadia’s home at 45 Hakablan Street in Yerushalayim so that he could personally appeal for their support.

“We had to bring all the members of the electoral body to Maran’s bedside,” Deri recounted. “Maran was sitting in a chair, wearing his robe, suffering indescribable pain, and crying before each and every one of them! He explained to them how important this was and gave them a bracha. Every single one! And we were still convinced we were going to lose. Behind the curtain, anything could happen.”

The tension intensified as election day progressed, particularly in the final hours before voting closed.

One of the most dramatic moments involved Ashdod Mayor Dr. Yechiel Lasri, who arrived in Israel that afternoon and traveled directly from Ben Gurion Airport to Rav Ovadia’s home.

According to Deri, Lasri was the final member of the electoral body to cast his ballot.

“Lasri was the last voter,” Deri said. “When he entered the room and saw Maran in such terrible pain, he was a doctor by profession, and he was absolutely shaken to his core. He asked us in shock: ‘What are you doing to him?!’ We told him: ‘This is the Rav’s very life!’ At ten minutes to six in the evening, ten minutes before the polls closed, he went out to vote. The very last voter.”

Once voting ended, Rav Ovadia was returned to his bed, and an atmosphere of dread descended over the house.

Deri said those present feared that their efforts had failed and that Rav Yitzchak would lose the election.

“We put Maran back in bed, took off his robe, and the house fell completely silent,” Deri recalled. “Everyone was afraid to be there, because there was a terrible feeling in the air that we had lost. I sat alone with Maran in the room. And Maran was lying in bed, speaking to the Ribbono Shel Olam and crying bitter tears: ‘Ribbono Shel Olam, don’t let me be ashamed! Don’t let me be ashamed!'”

The emotional scene continued until Tzvi Chakak entered the room carrying the election results.

Even then, Rav Ovadia was so overcome with anxiety and tears that he initially could not believe what he was being told.

“Tzvi Chakak came into the room with the results, but Maran, because of all his anxiety and tears, didn’t believe him,” Deri said. “I came in, grabbed the Rav, kissed him on his head, and told him: ‘Rav Yitzchak was elected!’ At that moment, Maran began crying, but this time it was an overwhelming cry of gratitude and joy to the Creator of the World: ‘That You did this kindness for me!'”

The atmosphere in the home immediately changed from fear and uncertainty to extraordinary joy.

Deri recalled that Rav Ovadia was dressed again, and those gathered accompanied him downstairs, where they began reciting Nishmas Kol Chai in gratitude for the election victory.

But the drama surrounding Rav Yitzchak Yosef’s appointment was far from over.

Traditionally, the installation of the Sephardic Chief Rabbi takes place at the historic Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai shul in the Old City of Yerushalayim. Rav Ovadia desperately wanted to attend the ceremony and personally place the ceremonial headpiece upon his son.

His doctors, however, were adamantly opposed.

Given Rav Ovadia’s extremely fragile condition, the medical team warned that traveling to the Old City could pose a serious danger to his health.

Deri recalled speaking privately with Rav Ovadia to determine what he truly wanted.

“The doctors absolutely forbade him from traveling,” Deri said. “I sat with the Rav privately, looked him in the eyes, and asked: ‘Rav, what do you really want?’ Maran looked at me and said explicitly: ‘I want to be at Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai, at my son’s installation!'”

Deri decided that he would find a way to make it happen, despite the objections of the medical team.

“I turned the world upside down. I obtained a special vehicle and took full responsibility upon myself, despite the doctors shouting and warning of a real danger. We arrived there, and Maran, with trembling, pain-ridden hands, placed the ceremonial headpiece on his son’s head. It was a sight that shook everyone present and remains engraved in all our memories.”

The installation ceremony became one of the final major public appearances of Rav Ovadia’s life, an unforgettable occasion for those who witnessed the elderly posek overcome his tremendous physical suffering to participate in his son’s elevation to the position of Rishon Letzion.

For Deri, however, the most unforgettable moment came after the ceremony, once Rav Ovadia had been brought back to the waiting vehicle.

As he sat behind Rav Ovadia’s wheelchair, supporting him and ensuring that he remained comfortable, Deri heard the elderly posek ask a simple question.

“When we returned to the vehicle, I sat behind Maran’s wheelchair to support him and hold him,” Deri recalled. “Suddenly Maran asked weakly: ‘Where is Aryeh?’ I told him: ‘Rav, I’m right here behind you.’ Maran slowly turned his head and his face lit up with a happy smile. I would give everything today, absolutely everything, just to see that smile again! And then he told me: ‘It was worth it. I’m the happiest man alive!'”

{Matzav.com}

Rep. Ilhan Omar’s congressional staff arranged to have her birth year changed in official biographical records in 2019, months after she was elected to Congress, according to correspondence obtained by the New York Post. The change, from 1981 to 1982, has renewed allegations from political opponents who question whether the Minnesota Democrat qualified for U.S. citizenship through her father’s naturalization.

The disclosure comes amid reports of a federal immigration-fraud investigation involving Omar, whose Washington, D.C., residence was searched Monday by Homeland Security Investigations agents. Omar has repeatedly rejected allegations that she obtained citizenship improperly and has accused President Donald Trump of pursuing a politically motivated campaign against her.

The controversy centers on whether Omar was younger than 18 when her father became a naturalized American citizen in 2000. Under the citizenship laws applicable at the time, a child’s age could be a critical factor in determining eligibility to acquire citizenship through a parent, although other legal requirements also applied.

For years, Omar’s date of birth appeared as October 4, 1981, in the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library and other publicly accessible biographical sources, including Wikipedia and the BBC. That date remained in circulation throughout her service in the Minnesota House of Representatives and during the opening months of her congressional career.

The information was revised in May 2019, following the circulation of a video produced by a political opponent questioning whether Omar had accurately represented her age.

Emails reviewed by the newspaper show that members of Omar’s congressional staff contacted the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library and requested that her listed birth year be changed to 1982.

“On May 17, 2019, Library staff were informed by Rep. Omar’s congressional staff that her birth year was incorrect and requested that we change it to 1982,” the library’s director wrote in an email shortly after the correction.

The correspondence also indicates that Omar’s office was seeking similar changes to other prominent biographical references.

“Rep. Omar’s congressional staff are working with Wikipedia and with the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress and other sources to correct her birth year on those sites. As of today, the birth year has not been corrected on the two sites I mentioned,” the director wrote on May 24, 2019.

In another email, the library director explained that the original listing had not been based on independently obtained documentation. Instead, the institution had relied on information already circulating in other public sources.

The 1981 birth year, the director said, was “widely available—in Wikipedia and the Biographical Directory–and so we added that birthdate without documentation.”

That acknowledgment is significant because it establishes that the library’s original entry was not independently verified. The fact that the date was subsequently changed does not, by itself, establish that either year was correct or that Omar intentionally provided false information.

Omar and representatives of her office have consistently denied accusations of immigration fraud.

Responding Monday to the reported federal investigation, the congresswoman again rejected the allegations and accused Trump of attempting to intimidate her.

“For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” Omar wrote on X.

Omar has long maintained that she became an American citizen through her father, Nur Omar Mohamed, who, according to her account, obtained U.S. citizenship in 2000 after the family arrived from Somalia in 1995.

In a September 2018 interview with The Intercept, Omar described how she acquired citizenship while still a teenager.

“I became a citizen actually before I turned 18,” she said. “My father became a citizen and so I got my citizenship through that process.”

AJ Kern, a former congressional candidate who unsuccessfully challenged Omar in the 2022 Democratic primary for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District, has been among the most persistent critics questioning that account.

Speaking Tuesday, Kern said that “she claims her citizenship narrative is that she derived citizenship through her father when she was a 17-year-old minor.”

Kern contends that the original birthdate listing raises questions about whether Omar was already 18 or older when her father reportedly naturalized, potentially affecting her eligibility for citizenship through him.

“For derivative citizenship, two things have to be true — one, her father had to naturalize; and two, she still had to be a minor — and what I have found is that it’s highly likely that neither of those things are true,” Kern claimed.

The former candidate previously submitted a complaint to the Federal Election Commission seeking scrutiny of Omar’s citizenship qualifications. That effort did not result in a finding that Omar had obtained citizenship improperly.

Kern said the complaint failed to advance because a judge determined that reviewing congressional qualifications was “the job of Congress to vet their members.”

Additional questions have centered on records concerning Omar’s father. Documents obtained by Kern in 2023 reportedly indicated that a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services records search had not located naturalization documentation under his name or certain variations of it.

However, an unsuccessful records search does not establish that someone was never naturalized, and the documents have not been shown to prove that Omar’s account of her citizenship was false.

The official Biographical Directory of the United States Congress currently identifies Omar’s birthdate as October 4, 1982, and states that she became an American citizen in 2000 at age 17.

The Department of Justice has confirmed that federal agents executed a court-authorized search warrant at Omar’s Washington residence on Monday as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Authorities have not publicly disclosed the specific evidence supporting the warrant.

People familiar with the investigation have indicated that federal officials are examining Omar’s immigration paperwork and possible false statements in documents submitted to the government.

Kern suggested that investigators may have been seeking “her citizenship papers, her father’s naturalization record.”

The investigation has also drawn attention to whether any allegedly inaccurate information might have appeared in more recent federal documents, such as passport applications or renewals.

Legal experts note that statutes of limitations can complicate efforts to prosecute alleged misconduct dating back decades. A false statement on a later application could potentially constitute a separate offense, depending on the circumstances, but the existence of conflicting biographical information alone would not establish criminal wrongdoing.

President Trump previously amplified Kern’s allegations in a December 2025 Truth Social post, while administration officials have repeatedly raised questions about Omar’s immigration history.

The search of Omar’s home has generated considerable political controversy, particularly because it occurred only weeks before the November midterm elections.

Senior congressional Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, condemned the operation, accusing the administration of using federal investigative powers against a political opponent.

The Justice Department has maintained that the search was authorized by a federal judge, while Omar has insisted that the investigation is an effort to intimidate her because of her outspoken opposition to Trump.

Separately, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office is examining issues involving Omar’s financial disclosures and earlier ethics allegations, according to reporting Tuesday. That inquiry is distinct from the immigration-related investigation that prompted the search of her residence.

As of Tuesday, no criminal charges had been announced against Omar in connection with the reported immigration investigation, and authorities had not publicly established that her birthdate, citizenship status or immigration documents were fraudulent.

Gov. Kathy Hochul faced off against Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman in a debate for Governor of New York.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}