Dear Matzav Inbox,
Every few years, the same script gets dusted off, the same alarms are sounded, and the same hysteria is repackaged. This time, the hashkafah villain of the hour is AI.
Suddenly, we are told it is uniquely dangerous, spiritually radioactive, a threat to the very fabric of Yiddishkeit. People are “yelling.” Flyers are warning. Speeches are thundering. And once again, common sense is nowhere to be found.
Give me a break.
AI is not some supernatural force of tumah. It is a tool. A powerful one, yes—but a tool nonetheless. And if we’re being honest, it is no more inherently treif than a smartphone, the internet, email, or a laptop. All of those can be used for garbage—or for tremendous good. The difference has never been the technology. The difference is the user.
Let’s not pretend we haven’t been here before.
When phones became smart, we were told they would destroy kedusha. When internet access became widespread, it was described as an open sewer. When texting appeared, people warned it would end normal human communication. And yet—somehow—Klal Yisroel survived. Not only survived, but adapted. Guardrails were built. Filters were installed. גבולות were drawn. Life went on.
Were the dangers real? Of course. Are they real with AI? Absolutely. No one is denying that. But danger does not equal prohibition, and fear does not equal wisdom.
If “it can be misused” is the standard, then we need to ban phones, cars, credit cards, microphones, printing presses, and pens. Kefirah can be written by a machine, but it can also be written by a human being. The כלי is not the problem. The lack of yiras Shamayim is.
There is a difference between responsible guidance and panic. Between caution and absolutism. Between leadership and yelling.
We do not need screaming proclamations that everything new is treif by default. We need measured voices, thoughtful boundaries, and adults who trust other adults to act responsibly within halacha.
A little perspective would go a long way. A chill pill wouldn’t hurt either.
Sincerely,
A tired observer of tech panic cycles
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The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee continued deliberations Tuesday on the proposed draft law, focusing on enforcement clauses that would allow the imposition of financial sanctions on yeshivos and their officials.
The discussion centered on Sections 26K1 through 26K16 of the bill, which outline mechanisms for financial penalties as part of the law’s implementation. Under the proposal, the director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense would be authorized to levy monetary fines if it is determined that at least five percent of a given yeshiva’s students do not meet the “declared condition” — namely, that they are engaged in regular Torah study for a minimum of 45 hours per week, or 40 hours per week in the case of a kollel.
The declaration would be submitted by a senior official of the yeshiva who also serves as an authorized signatory for the nonprofit organization or public-benefit corporation that operates the institution. If a violation is found, the defense ministry’s director-general could impose a fine of up to 20,000 shekels, after granting the official an opportunity to present arguments.
In addition, the bill provides for a fine of 1,500 shekels for each student regarding whom a declaration was submitted that does not comply with the law’s requirements. The proposal further states that an official who is sanctioned more than once, or who is fined in connection with five or more students, would lose the right to submit additional affidavits seeking deferments from military service.
The legislation would also require the director-general of the Defense Ministry to submit a report every six months to the committee detailing the number of sanctions imposed, their total monetary value, and the grounds on which they were issued.
During the session, members of bereaved families addressed the committee with emotional testimony. Mia Moreno, the widow of Lt. Col. Emanuel Moreno, said: “Both of my sons serve in the army. No leniencies apply to me — if they don’t enlist, they go to prison, and they are IDF orphans. How can it be that the State of Israel discriminates between citizens? One of my sons studied for two years in yeshiva, a talmid chacham, and chose to enlist in a regular army unit. There is great value to Torah, but Torah without a connection to the state — I question what its value is.”
Michal Castel-Keidar, the widow of Lt. Col. Dolev Keidar, also spoke at the hearing. “We are not a religious family, but Dolev commanded a company of yeshiva students and did everything he could to ensure they received what they needed,” she said. “How is it not self-evident that everyone who lives in this country must also help defend it?”
{Matzav.com}
New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani revealed Tuesday that he is selecting Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer whose past work has drawn controversy, to serve as the city’s chief counsel, the highest legal position in City Hall.
Mamdani, who is set to be sworn in on January 1, said Kassem will take on the role of chief counsel. He also announced additional senior legal and policy appointments, naming Steven Banks, who has described himself as a “social justice attorney,” as corporation counsel, and Helen Arteaga as deputy mayor for health and human services.
Kassem previously served in the Biden White House as a senior policy adviser on immigration within the Domestic Policy Council.
His legal career includes acting as lead defense counsel for Ahmed al-Darbi, an al Qaeda operative who in 2014 pleaded guilty before a U.S. military commission to conspiracy related to a terrorist attack on the French oil tanker MV Limburg off the coast of Yemen. The attack killed one civilian and wounded others. Al-Darbi was convicted in 2017 and, in 2018, was transferred by the Trump administration into Saudi Arabian custody.
“While it may not make him whole, my hope is that repatriation at least marks the end of injustice for Ahmed,” Kassem said at the time of the transfer, adding he had “16 long and painful years in captivity.”
More recently, in 2025, Kassem represented Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and anti-Israel activist who was arrested by ICE over his alleged involvement in leading antisemitic protests on campus. Khalil has since been released, though the case remains unresolved.
In announcing the appointment, Mamdani praised Kassem’s background and values.
“I will turn to Ramzi for his remarkable experience and his commitment to defending those too often abandoned by our legal system,” Mamdani said.
The mayor-elect added that “City Hall will be stronger with him in it, and our work of building a more prosperous city for all will have a powerful advocate.”
“My sincere hope is that New Yorkers who have long felt on the margins of this city, the homeless veteran straining to survive, the patient searching for the care that they need, an immigrant trying to get by will feel that they now have leaders in their corner who understand their struggles and care to fight for them,” Mamdani went on, adding, “That is the city I want to build. The prosperity I intend to deliver and the leadership that has too long been lacking.”
Kassem responded by expressing gratitude for the appointment and a sense of obligation to the city.
He said the role represents a “call of duty to serve the city that I’ve called home, the city that embraced me.”
“I grew up in war-torn countries in the Middle East, authoritarian regimes, and New York City was really my first stable and permanent home,” said Kassem. “This is an opportunity for me to repay that debt. I’ve been trying to repay that debt ever since I came to this country, ever since I immigrated.”
Kassem is also the founder of the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility law clinic, known as CLEAR, which states on its website that its mission is “to support Muslim and all other client, communities, and movements in the New York City area and beyond that are targeted by local, state, or federal government agencies under the guise of national security and counterterrorism.”
{Matzav.com}
As investigations widen into multiple alleged fraud schemes involving Minnesota’s social services programs, Gov. Tim Walz is facing mounting criticism from high-profile figures and federal officials.
President Donald Trump has publicly described Minnesota as a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” as his administration and members of Congress move forward with probes into the state’s handling of federally funded aid programs.
Elon Musk weighed in sharply on Tuesday, offering a blunt assessment of the Minnesota governor.
“Traitor Tim Walz,” Musk said in a Tuesday post on X.
Musk’s comment was prompted by a separate social media post that mocked a hypothetical call to personal finance radio host Dave Ramsey, describing Walz’s record as governor.
That post cited claims that Walz raised taxes, depleted billions of dollars from a state budget surplus, and is now under scrutiny over multiple alleged fraud schemes involving Medicaid and other programs intended to feed children.
One of the largest investigations centers on the “Feeding Our Future” scandal, a $250 million scheme that allegedly exploited a federally funded children’s nutrition program overseen by Minnesota during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scheme took advantage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to waive certain Federal Child Nutrition Program requirements, according to investigators.
So far, at least 77 individuals have been charged in connection with that case.
Another major investigation involves Minnesota’s Housing Stability Services Program, which provided Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services aimed at individuals with disabilities, mental health conditions, and substance-use disorders.
The Justice Department has charged fewer than a dozen people to date in that case, but authorities have indicated that additional charges are expected.
Many of those charged across the various cases are members of Minnesota’s Somali community, a fact that drew national attention after Trump announced in November that he was ending Temporary Protected Status for Somali migrants in the state, which had shielded them from deportation.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said it is taking an active role in addressing the alleged misconduct.
“Our investigative agents are conducting a massive operation to identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people. We will root out this rampant fraud plaguing Minnesota,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote on X.
Despite the growing investigations, state officials have pushed back strongly against claims that fraud has been ignored or enabled at the highest levels.
That defense intensified after a viral video posted Friday by YouTuber Nick Shirley drew widespread attention to alleged misconduct at Minnesota childcare and learning centers.
A spokesperson for Walz responded by saying the governor has spent years working to combat fraud and has taken steps to improve oversight of state-administered programs.
Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown echoed that position during a Monday press conference, stating that earlier inspections of the facilities did not uncover fraud and that regulators are now increasing unannounced visits.
“We are aware of a video that’s being circulated that has gained local and national attention about childcare centers in Minnesota,” Brown said. “While we have questions about some of the methods that were used in the video, we do take the concerns that the video raises about fraud very seriously.”
{Matzav.com}
