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At a discussion held this week in the Knesset, Yitzchok Goldknopf, head of United Torah Judaism, addressed questions from twelfth-grade students of Ulpanat Ra’aya in Beit El about the ongoing debate over chareidi enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces.

Goldknopf concluded the meeting by rejecting claims attributed to him in the past regarding Religious Zionism, which were published by Makor Rishon. He said the report was fabricated and caused unnecessary pain. “This was lies and falsehoods, and was not said by me. It’s a shame that bereaved families shed tears over this. Since then, I do not give interviews there, because they falsify things.”

During the exchange, students challenged Goldknopf on why the chareidi community cannot follow the model common in their own families, combining Torah learning with military service. He pushed back, arguing that the issue is broader than the chareidi public alone. “Does no chareidi enlist? Do you know how many secular Israelis do not enlist? The head of the Personnel Directorate said that there are more draft-dodgers in the Tel Aviv area than there are in the entire chareidi community. I have a nephew in Gaza who has still not returned from there.”

Expanding on that point, Goldknopf said the focus on yeshiva students ignores the larger picture of non-enlistment nationwide. “Over 50% of the general public does not enlist. Where are they? [Former Supreme Court President] Aharon Barak once said, ‘Those whose Torah study is their occupation – are forbidden to cease studying.’ Those who do not learn Torah – we do not represent them. Whoever does not study Torah – whatever the law says.”

Goldknopf also emphasized what he described as the central role of Torah study in Jewish continuity, framing it as a national asset rather than a sectorial interest. “We, the nation of Israel, what has held preserved us for thousands of years is Torah study. There is a minority who want to study Torah, and I am speaking about them. When someone turns to [Likud MK Boaz] Bismuth and tells him to enact sanctions against Torah learners, is that Torah? Why punish him?”

Addressing enforcement directly, Goldknopf said that those who neither learn nor serve should be dealt with under the law, but insisted that responsibility lies with the state, not with yeshiva students or their representatives. “Whoever does not learn Torah and does not enlist, activate the enforcement system against him. What do you want from me? Why am I to blame for the fact that the army is not organized? On October 7, as well, it was not organized. If someone does not pay taxes, am I to blame? If you have an issue, enforce it.”

{Matzav.com}

Israel and the United States have agreed to give Hamas a two-month window to fully disarm, a move that sharply escalates pressure on the terror group and sets the stage for renewed Israeli military action if the deadline is not met. According to Yisrael Hayom, the agreement was reached during an overnight meeting at Mar-a-Lago […]

The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission wants to turn America’s 250th birthday celebration into the country’s single biggest year for volunteering. But America Gives, the program unveiled Wednesday just before the U.S. begins commemorating the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence, will have to revitalize a culture of service that has recently waned. Declining volunteering rates […]

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In rare remarks directed at fellow Supreme Court justices Yitzchak Amit and other left-wing justices, justice Alex Stein slammed the Court’s increasing political intervention, saying that a judge who invents laws is no more than a “politician in a robe.” Speaking on Tuesday evening at a conference of the Israel Law and Liberty Forum at […]

During a visit on Wednesday to the Judea and Samaria Division, Israeli Defense Minister Yisroel Katz told senior officers to ensure operational readiness for extreme scenarios, directing them to “prepare to respond to a possible October 7th-style attack on communities in Judea and Samaria and along the seamline.”

Katz also reaffirmed that the Israel Defense Forces will maintain a sustained presence throughout Judea and Samaria, stressing that the military will function as a physical barrier separating civilians from terrorist networks. He said the same approach used in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza applies there as well, with forces remaining on the ground to block the regeneration of terror infrastructure and prevent attacks.

Pointing to recent security gains, the defense minister said counterterror operations conducted over the past year in the camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur a-Shams led to a dramatic reduction in violence, citing a drop of more than 80% in terrorist activity across Judea and Samaria.

He urged commanders to draw practical conclusions from those results, recommending that the operational model be evaluated for expansion to additional camps and implemented forcefully and consistently over time.

Katz further instructed the military to continue moving ahead with plans to relocate IDF bases to northern Samaria, describing the effort as “it is a historical rectification of both defensive and settlement importance, and that the return to northern Samaria strengthens security and stability in the area.”

{Matzav.com}

Watch the dramatic moment four men hold on for their lives on a stranded boat as it hangs high above the edge of a dam. The video shows the men gripping their ski-boat as water surges near Standerton, in the South African province of Mpumalanga, on December 29th.

On his final day in office, New York City Mayor Eric Adams made public the inaugural annual report of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, formally closing out a year of policy development and enforcement initiatives aimed at addressing antisemitism across the city.

Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis, praised the mayor’s approach and leadership. “A famous quotation in the movie The King’s Speech is when King George VI says, ‘I have a voice.’ Thankfully, Mayor Eric Adams has been a courageous voice in combatting the scourge of antisemitism in our city,” he said. “While some were silent, he was not afraid to shout and stand in solidarity with the Jewish community. He would remind us that antisemitism is anti-Christianity, anti-Islam, and anti-all faiths. We will always be grateful.”

The report was issued jointly with the office’s executive director, Moshe Davis, and provides a detailed overview of the structures, policies, and legislative planning put in place since the office was launched in May 2025. It represents the first time a major U.S. city has established a municipal agency devoted solely to combating antisemitism.

Davis said the document is intended to serve both as a record of accomplishments and a practical guide for other cities. “We cannot control world events or eradicate centuries-old hatred, but we can do what government does best: create policy, enforce the law, educate, and speak with moral clarity,” he said. “This report is both a record of what we accomplished and a blueprint for what municipal government ought to do.”

According to the report, the decision to establish the office followed a surge in antisemitic incidents after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. During early 2025, antisemitic incidents made up the majority of reported hate crimes in New York City, which the administration said underscored the need for a coordinated, citywide response.

The document lays out the administration’s central initiatives, including adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, the formation of an interagency task force involving more than 35 city agencies, and the issuance of four executive orders. Those orders addressed antisemitism in city procurement, public communications, coordination with law enforcement, and enhanced protections for houses of worship.

“After the attacks of October 7, 2023, I wasn’t afraid to say what so many New Yorkers were feeling: We were not alright. That was the truth and a call to action,” Adams said in a statement released with the report. “Confronting antisemitism has been a priority for our administration. New York City is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel – a point of pride and responsibility.”

Adams said the administration emphasized pairing strong rhetoric with concrete enforcement. “In a few short months, we delivered four executive orders, built an interagency task force dedicated to coordinating responses, and adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism,” he said, adding that “there is still more work to be done.”

First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro said the report captures a whole-of-government response to a growing problem. “We find ourselves at a crossroad in this city with antisemitism raging,” Mastro said. “Such hate cannot go unchecked here, home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the world.”

Beyond policy summaries, the report includes historical analysis of antisemitism in New York City, legal reviews of executive actions and proposed legislation, and a forward-looking plan that outlines legislative goals, citywide training programs, and expanded enforcement tools. Appendices provide the full text of executive orders, mayoral remarks, and draft legislative proposals.

The publication builds on steps taken throughout 2025, including the formal launch of the antisemitism office, creation of the interagency task force, recognition of the IHRA definition, and executive orders barring discriminatory procurement practices targeting Israel and directing the New York City Police Department to review protest-related policies near houses of worship.

Community leaders also welcomed the report’s release. Hindy Poupko, senior vice president of the UJA Federation of New York, said, “We are grateful to Mayor Adams, First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, and Executive Director Moshe Davis for their unwavering advocacy and support for Jewish New Yorkers at a moment when the community urgently needed government to act.” She added, “The recent antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach underscores the ongoing need for efforts like those undertaken by MOCA, including strengthened enforcement tools and training, streamlined security infrastructure for synagogues and Jewish institutions, and citywide educational initiatives – all helping to ensure that Jewish New Yorkers feel safe and supported.”

The report’s release comes as the city prepares for a transition in leadership. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is scheduled to be sworn into office on New Year’s Day.

{Matzav.com}

Tonight, in honor of our America’s 250th birthday, Freedom 250, the organization President Trump announced to lead the 250th celebration, will transform the Washington Monument into the world’s tallest birthday candle. From New Year’s Eve through Jan. 5, a six-night projection-mapping spectacle will illuminate the iconic Monument, creating a canvas that tells America’s story of […]

TRUMP: Much of the Minnesota fraud, up to 90%, is caused by the people that came into our country, illegally, from Somalia. “Congresswoman” Omar, an ungrateful loser, who only complains and never contributes, is one of the many scammers. Did she really marry her brother? Low lives like this can only be a liability to […]

Taiwan’s military has placed obstacles, described as “explosive barrels,” at a key river mouth north of Taipei as part of emergency combat readiness drills in response to Chinese military exercises.

More than a decade ago, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished without a trace, sparking one of aviation’s most baffling mysteries. Despite years of multinational searches, investigators still do not know exactly what happened to the plane or its 239 passengers and crew. On Wednesday, the Malaysian government said a vessel began a new search operation for the […]

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called on Senate Republicans to get tough and nuke the 60-vote filibuster.

TRUMP: There is more FRAUD in California then there is in Minnesota, if that is even possible. When you add in Election Fraud, then they are tied for first two crooked governors, two crooked states.

Military convoys of Yemen’s UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) have started withdrawing from parts of Hadramout, seemingly in compliance with a deadline set by the Presidential Leadership Council for the UAE to pull its forces from the country.

Sydney marked New Year’s Eve with a moment of solemnity, pausing its famed fireworks to pay tribute to the Jewish community and the victims of the Bondi massacre.

India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully carried out a salvo launch of two indigenously developed Pralay quasi-ballistic missiles in rapid succession from a single mobile launcher at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, off the Odisha coast.

Hundreds of thousands gathered to attend the funeral of Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh’s first female Prime Minister.