Israel made clear that it anticipated no change to its ability to secure top-tier American weaponry, even as Washington moved ahead with plans to provide F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
Officials in Jerusalem emphasized that Israel remained the sole nation in the region flying the F-35, a status backed by longstanding US commitments ensuring what Washington terms a “qualitative military edge” for Israel.
Addressing reporters, Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian underscored the durability of that principle. “The United States and Israel have a long-standing understanding, which is that Israel maintains the qualitative edge when it comes to its defense,” she said.
She added that this understanding was fully expected to endure across time: “That has been true yesterday, that has been true today, and the prime minister believes that will be true tomorrow and in the future.”
Her comments marked Israel’s first formal response to news that President Donald Trump had approved the proposed Saudi acquisition earlier in the week.
{Matzav.com}
[COMMUNICATED]
Adel is only four, but has already been through so much pain, that her eyes express sadness that no child ought to feel.
When her friends started kindergarten she started Chemo sessions – Adel was diagnosed with cancer – Angio Sarcoma, a violent growth that is most lethal to children.
Her parents, shocked and afraid, started the battle for Adel’s life.
Hadassa and Shlomo Tehuda, Adel’s parents, are determined to win the grim odds and cure their little girl. They searched over the entire world for a treatment effective enough to heal Adel.
They found it. There is a hospital in the USA that has developed an innovative protocol that can beat the aggressive Sarcoma, but it costs way more than they can afford. They will need to live in the USA for a while, fly with a very sick child, and pay for this cutting-edge treatment as it is not yet covered by any insurance.
Adel’s parents will not give up. They only ask for our help in financing this attempt, so Adel can live and recover.
They need you.
They need us all.
By Rabbi Zvi Gluck
When I saw that a group of respected rabbonim had sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul asking for clemency for a convicted child abuser who has never shown one ounce of remorse, something inside me broke. It was not only disappointment or frustration. It was heartbreak, anger, disbelief, and a deep sadness that words barely touch.
For years, survivors have fought simply to be heard. Families have carried wounds that do not fade. I have sat with children who grew into adults still trembling as they describe what was done to them. So reading a letter filled with compassion for the man who caused such devastation, and absolutely none for the girl he abused, felt like a betrayal of every survivor who has ever found the courage to come forward.
Not one mention of her pain. Not one word about her suffering. Yet there is a plea for mercy for the man who stole her childhood.
The truth is simple. He rejected plea deals. He chose to go to trial. And in New York State, especially in cases involving minors, that choice forces a child to relive trauma in public for days. When a defendant rejects reasonable pleas and is convicted, the maximum sentence is not surprising. It is the consequence of choosing pride over accountability.
But the letter does not speak of her dignity. It speaks only of his. His age, his health, his comfort. What about her life? What about her future?
The irony is painful. Many who signed this letter come from communities torn apart by infighting for years. Yet for this, for a convicted abuser with no remorse, they unite fully. If only they showed this unity when it came to protecting children.
For eleven years, I have watched survivors walk into our office terrified, unsure if anyone will believe them. I have seen parents trying to hold their shattered families together. I have seen bravery that humbles me every day. And I have dedicated my life to making sure no one faces that darkness alone.
This letter does the opposite of healing. It tells victims that their pain matters less than the position of the person who hurt them. It is almost unbearable.
I realize that by speaking out, Amudim may lose donors, sponsors, and supporters. But I did not get into this work to stay quiet in moments like this. I did not build Amudim to protect the institution at the expense of truth. And I will never choose comfort, money, or convenience over the dignity of survivors.
Silence is not neutral. Silence is harmful. Silence tells survivors that their suffering is inconvenient and their voices unwelcome. I refuse to be silent.
And now I want to speak to the bystanders. The average person who reads these stories and shakes their head and then moves on. Your voice matters. Your choices matter. Every parent, every neighbor, every friend, every member of Klal Yisroel decides whether to believe victims or protect abusers. You do not need a title to do the right thing. You need courage, you need compassion, and you need to remember that one word of support can save a life, and one moment of silence can destroy one. Choose the victim. Stand with the vulnerable.
To every survivor watching this. You are not forgotten. You are not invisible. You are not alone. This moment hurts, but it does not erase the progress we have made, and it does not stop the movement that grows stronger every day.
With help from above, we will continue to stand with you. We will continue to build safer communities. We will continue to challenge systems that protect abusers. And we will keep fighting until no child ever has to fear being silenced again.
We will not stop. We will not turn away. And we will never abandon those who have already suffered far too much.
{Matzav.com}
United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzchak Goldknopf broke a long public silence on Wednesday night in an interview with Yankele Friedman on Kol Chai, warning that without a draft law passed before the next elections, no chareidi-backed coalition will be formed.
Goldknopf said the failure to pass the draft law before the government was established created the current crisis. “If we do not succeed in passing a draft law before the elections – no government will be formed with chareidi support until such a law passes. In the meantime – we will not give the government any backing, including on the state budget, if the law doesn’t pass.”
Goldknopf also pushed back on reports that UTJ had already received a draft proposal for the new law. “We didn’t receive any draft. Should I go search online for what others published? That is not the way and that is not the city. There isn’t a day that I or my chief of staff, Bechik, don’t ask the coalition chairman, who is a loyal man, if he already has a draft of the law, and he still doesn’t.”
When asked about Religious Zionism’s objections to the law, he dismissed them sharply. “You mean the party that doesn’t pass the electoral threshold in the polls? Come on. Otzma Yehudit, which does support the law, passes easily and big.”
Reflecting on his short tenure as housing minister, Goldknopf defended his achievements. He said that during his time in office, he advanced two hundred thousand new apartments, including 80,000 designated for the chareidi community. He noted that a roof agreement recently signed in Lod was the product of repeated work visits during his term and said that if UTJ reenters the government, the party expects to return to the Housing Ministry. In the next government, he said, UTJ will only take a position that serves as a key to advancing the draft law.
Goldknopf also confirmed reports that he has not spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for an extended period. “I haven’t spoken with him for a long time, there is no conflict, but I am waiting for the moment he calls me to the party leaders’ meeting. We used to discuss things there, and suddenly everything stopped. Is he with us? That depends on him, how much he wants it.”
Addressing the new practice of docking ministers who arrive late to cabinet meetings, he noted, “In the past, we were many ministers and it wasn’t noticeable if someone was late. Today we’ve left the government and there aren’t many ministers anymore, so every delay stands out.”
{Matzav.com}
More than a month has passed since Bill and Hillary Clinton were supposed to sit for depositions before the House Oversight Committee, yet no new date has been set. Both were initially scheduled for October—Hillary on the 9th and Bill on the 14th—after Committee Chair Rep. James Comer announced a series of subpoenas in August connected to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Although the Committee indicated it was working around the Clintons’ calendars, the process has stalled with no updated timetable.
Comer is now publicly addressing the delay, and his latest comments suggest that patience is wearing thin. Speaking on the “Just The News, No Noise” television program, he emphasized that the two high-profile figures should not expect to avoid scrutiny. “We expect to hear from Bill and Hillary Clinton,” he said, noting that “Donald Trump answered questions for years about Jeffrey Epstein. Every day he gets asked questions about Epstein, and he answers them in front of the American people.” Comer added that lawmakers have issued subpoenas “to Republicans and Democrats,” asserting that the Clintons remain “the one group in this investigation that’s never had to answer questions in front of a credible reporter, and they’ve never certainly answered questions from attorneys or members of Congress.”
Comer ended with a pointed warning: “So we expect the Clintons to come in, or I expect the Clintons to be met with the same fate that Bannon and [Peter] Navarro were met with when the Democrats were in control.” Both Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were criminally charged after failing to comply with congressional subpoenas—an outcome Comer now appears to be holding up as a possible precedent.
The substance awaiting the Clintons is extensive. Lawmakers have been seeking answers about Bill Clinton’s past connections to Epstein, including his flights on Epstein’s plane, allegations regarding visits to Epstein’s island, and Epstein’s multiple White House entries—17 in all.
Beyond the Clintons themselves, Comer has expanded the investigative net. He announced that J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank will be subpoenaed for Epstein-related financial records, and that U.S. Virgin Islands Attorney General Gordon Rhea will be asked to hand over any relevant documents. The financial data, in particular, could shed light on networks and transactions that have remained out of public view. Additionally, Epstein’s dealings in the Virgin Islands have long drawn scrutiny, raising questions about how local authorities interacted with him and why his operations continued with so little interference.
{Matzav.com}
Jonathan Pollard has confirmed to The New York Times that he held a private meeting in July with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, an encounter that immediately set off waves of surprise across the American national-security establishment.
Pollard characterized the interaction as “a friendly meeting,” explaining that he expressed appreciation to Huckabee for advocating his release many years ago. He added that the two discussed “a lot of things,” though he declined to provide any specifics beyond that.
According to American officials quoted in the report, news of the meeting blindsided many within the US government. Even the CIA’s station chief in Israel was reportedly unaware of it beforehand, prompting concern among intelligence personnel who described the encounter as highly unusual.
The CIA refused to offer any comment regarding the meeting, and White House officials told the outlet that they had not been informed in advance. Senior figures in Washington were described as alarmed when they learned that the sit-down had already taken place.
The US embassy in Israel did not issue an immediate response to queries about the report and has not publicly addressed the matter.
Pollard, now 70, made his home in Israel in 2020 after the end of his parole, marking his first return since being arrested 35 years earlier for passing classified American information to israel during the Cold War. Upon his arrival, he was welcomed by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, closing a long and painful chapter that had cast a shadow over ties between Washington and Israel for decades.
{Matzav.com}
