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Polish police have recovered a collection of rare Hebrew and Yiddish seforim dating back to the early 20th century after the volumes surfaced unexpectedly in an online auction, authorities announced this week.

The seforim, which belonged to the Jewish Historical Institute Library and the Jewish community of Warsaw, were identified when an employee of the institute noticed them listed for sale on Polish auction websites. The discovery was reported to police, triggering a coordinated investigation.

According to police, the seforim came to light in early October when a 39-year-old Warsaw resident was clearing out the belongings of his late father. Among the items he found were several old seforim with original bindings, written in foreign languages. Unaware of their historical significance, the man decided to sell them through online marketplaces.

“The response was quick. The seforim were purchased by a private collector,” said junior sergeant Paweł Czemura of the Warsaw Police Headquarters in a statement.

Once alerted, officers from the Warsaw Police worked together with police from Białystok to trace the seforim and identify the collector, who specializes in acquiring antique volumes. The collector cooperated with authorities, and the entire collection was recovered.

“All of the volumes were returned to the institutions that are their rightful owners,” Czemura said. He added that the seforim were likely lost during the early 1980s or 1990s and that their authenticity was confirmed by a specialist in the field. The seforim are estimated to be worth thousands of shekels.

Meir Bulka, a Poland researcher and chairman of J-nerations, an organization dedicated to preserving Jewish heritage in Europe, commented on the case, calling it part of a broader and troubling pattern.

“Unfortunately, this is a well-known phenomenon,” Bulka said. “Many Poles return Jewish property without understanding its meaning. Sadly, this property will not return to its original owners, but will once again circulate among Jewish communities, which have only recently come to realize that their connection to Jewish heritage is often merely incidental.”

Police emphasized that no criminal charges have been filed, noting that the seforim were sold without malicious intent. The investigation focused on recovering the cultural property and restoring it to its historical custodians.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump defended his energy and health in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and disclosed that he had a CT scan, not an MRI scan, during an October examination about which he and the White House delayed offering details. Trump, in the interview, said he regretted undergoing the advanced imaging on his […]

California’s mounting fiscal troubles and governance failures are eroding public trust, Rep. Kevin Kiley said during a recent television appearance, arguing that taxpayers are paying more while receiving less in return.

Appearing on Carl Higbie FRONTLINE on Newsmax, Kiley said the state has become a magnet for fraud and mismanagement, with losses stretching into the tens of billions of dollars and little accountability to show for it.

As one example, Kiley pointed to a June report on California’s community college system that found more than one-third of applications were fraudulent. He said the scheme drained over $10 million in federal financial aid, along with millions more from state coffers.

According to Kiley, those losses do not simply disappear. “The taxpayers are losing, and the money doesn’t vanish, it ends up in the hands of fraudsters,” Kiley said, tying the problem to organized criminal activity.

He cited pandemic-era unemployment fraud as a stark illustration, estimating losses of at least $32 billion, much of it connected to criminal networks that exploited weak oversight.

Kiley also criticized California’s tax burden, arguing that residents continue to shoulder higher taxes even as basic public services and infrastructure fail to materialize.

He highlighted the state’s long-planned high-speed rail project as a symbol of dysfunction, noting that nearly two decades after it was launched and after tens of billions of dollars have been spent, no passenger rail line has been completed.

The congressman said projected costs for the rail system have exploded far beyond early estimates, now exceeding $100 billion, and referenced media reports questioning whether the project will even be finished within this century.

Turning to San Francisco, Kiley faulted city leaders for entertaining a reparations program despite facing deep budget deficits, arguing that the city cannot afford such a proposal while struggling to meet existing financial obligations.

Taken together, Kiley said, these examples reflect a broader breakdown in how California is governed, warning that taxpayer frustration is intensifying as fraud, cost overruns, and stalled projects continue without meaningful consequences.

{Matzav.com}

The newly unveiled statue of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Ardabil, northwest Iran, was toppled just days after it was installed.

The streets of Nahavand in western Iran have turned into a battlefield, as pro-regime Iranians fighting alongside security forces clash with anti-government protesters.

Zohran Mamdani announced the appointment of a new Department of Transportation commissioner during his speech last night after being sworn in as mayor.

Dear Matzav Inbox,

Every year, our community celebrates thousands of chasunos. Baruch Hashem, it’s a simcha — or at least it’s supposed to be. But right after the music stops and the sheva brachos end, reality hits hard: Where are these young couples eventually supposed to live?

This is not a “housing demand” problem. Demand is obvious. Demand is predictable. Demand is built into the very fabric of a growing frum community. We know exactly how many couples are getting married every year. This didn’t sneak up on us.

The problem is supply. The problem is affordability. And the problem is that we are thinking far too small and moving far too slowly.

One lakefront project here, one glossy brochure there — and everyone pats themselves on the back as if the crisis has been “addressed.” It hasn’t. Not even close.

If a single development adds a few hundred units, but the community is growing by thousands of families every year, what exactly do we think is happening? Basic math isn’t anti-frum. It’s reality. If we need housing for 2,000–3,000 new families annually and we build housing for 300, we aren’t solving a problem. We’re falling further behind.

And affordability? Let’s be honest. “Affordable” has become a word we throw around without meaning it. When starter homes are pushing $600,000, $700,000, or more — before renovations, before furniture, before property taxes — that is not affordable for a family, even with help. Especially not in a community where tuition, groceries, health insurance, and basic living costs are already crushing.

There is no affordable place to buy. Not even for a young working couple. Not for people doing everything “right” and still watching the numbers laugh at them.

People say, “They’ll manage.” No, they’re breaking. Parents are draining retirement. Couples are living in impossible situations. Families are packing into apartments and pretending it’s temporary, while knowing deep down it isn’t.

And here’s the part we don’t like to say out loud: If we don’t create real, large-scale, affordable housing — not one project, not two, but ten or more — we will have a real problem.

This isn’t about luxury. It’s not about waterfront views or fancy amenities. It’s about roofs. It’s about dignity.

We need bold thinking. We need speed. We need leadership willing to say, “This is an emergency,” and act like it.

If we keep congratulating ourselves for baby steps while the problem grows by the year, we will look back and wonder how we let it get this bad.

The housing crisis isn’t theoretical. It’s here. And if we don’t start thinking bigger and faster — much bigger, much faster — it’s only going to get worse. Far worse.

N. G.

New York

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{Matzav.com}

Several people were killed in clashes between protesters and Iranian security forces near the governor’s building in Lordegan, according to the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency.

WATCH: Protesters set an Iranian security forces vehicle on fire in Marvdasht, southern Iran.

Iranian security forces opened fire with live ammunition on protesters in the southern city of Marvdasht.

President Donald Trump signed a New Year’s Eve proclamation delaying increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year, citing ongoing trade talks. Trump’s order signed Wednesday keeps in place a 25% tariff he imposed in September on those goods, but delays for another year a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture and […]

For many Holocaust survivors, the past is never far away, but neither is extraordinary resilience. Every survivor carries a story of survival and, just as powerfully, a story of rebuilding a life against impossible odds. At the Jewish Community Council of Greater Coney Island, JCCGCI, it is a profound privilege, and responsibility to walk alongside […]

Public anxiety over reports of a so-called “super flu” is misplaced, according to Florida internist Dr. Frank Contacessa, who said the label has no grounding in medicine and should not alarm the public.

Speaking Wednesday to Newsmax, Contacessa urged calm and stressed that, despite a rise in cases, this year’s influenza is not proving more dangerous than what doctors see most winters. “The symptoms are not more severe, it’s not more life-threatening,” Contacessa said. “People should not be nervous. It’s a typical flu season so far.”

Contacessa rejected the terminology fueling concern. “This really is a sensationalized term,” he said during an appearance on The Record With Greta Van Susteren. “This is not a medical term.” He continued, “The super flu does not exist in medicine. This is being used to describe the rapidity of onset of symptoms with this particular strain and the speed that it’s spread across the country.”

According to the physician, the current strain’s defining feature is how quickly symptoms can escalate, not their severity. “People typically go from, ‘I feel fine’ to ‘I think I’m coming down with something’ to ‘I can’t move out of bed within a matter of a few hours,’” Contacessa said. Common signs include a high temperature, sore throat, fever, aches, and chills.

While recommending basic precautions, Contacessa emphasized simple prevention over panic. “Keep your hands clean and keep yourself healthy,” he said.

He also raised doubts about the effectiveness of this year’s flu vaccine, describing forecasting challenges that affect its performance. “It’s a very difficult thing to predict, and they’re not very good at it,” Contacessa said. “On a good year, it’s maybe 30 or 40% effective and in a bad year, it’s single digit effective. It looks like this is going to be a bad year, because this particular strain is different from what they put into the formulation.”

Given that outlook, Contacessa said he is not broadly encouraging vaccination among his patients and does not get the shot himself. “Maybe you could make a case for an older person or somebody who has [been] immunocompromised, but for a younger, healthier person, I really don’t push it,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old independent journalist, has exposed massive fraud in Minnesota daycare funding and sparked a federal response that froze $185 million overnight. The PBD Podcast speaks to Shirley in the following videos:

WATCH:






{Matzav.com}

From Sydney to Paris to New York City, crowds rang in the new year with exuberant celebrations filled with thunderous fireworks or light shows, while others took a more subdued approach. As the clock struck midnight in Japan, temple bells rang and some climbed mountains to see the year’s first sunrise, while a light show with somersaulting […]

Embracing Matthew After His Bris   It almost feels unfaithful and disloyal to choose a favorite Parsha, when every Parsha in the Torah is sacred and beloved. Why then is the Rav of BJX so enamored with Parsha Vayigash?  Parshas Vayigash embodies everything we seek to accomplish at BJX. It is the Parsha of reconciliation, reunification and […]

Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accused Israel of fueling regional instability after Israel announced last week that it recognizes Somaliland as an independent state, a move Somalia rejects as illegitimate.

Speaking Wednesday in an interview with Al Jazeera, Mohamud said the decision came as Somalia was working to reunify the country through peaceful means, and he claimed Israel was transferring the effects of the Gaza war into the Horn of Africa. According to Mohamud, Israeli recognition of Somaliland was aimed at undermining Somalia and destabilizing the broader region.

The Somali leader asserted that intelligence in his possession points to a wider understanding between Israel and Somaliland. He claimed those intelligence assessments indicate Somaliland agreed to accept displaced Gazans in return for formal recognition by Israel.

Mohamud further alleged that the same intelligence suggests Somaliland has consented to the establishment of an Israeli military base on its soil and to joining the Abraham Accords, the normalization framework between Israel and several Arab states. He added that there had already been “some Israeli presence” in Somaliland in the past.

Israel’s announcement last Friday marked the first time any country has officially recognized Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 but is still viewed by Somalia as an integral part of its sovereign territory.

Earlier reports had linked Israel’s outreach to Somaliland to discussions about relocating Gazans, citing Israeli interest in the territory as part of President Donald Trump’s proposal for the United States to take control of Gaza and oversee its rehabilitation.

{Matzav.com}

Several members of the Jewish kehilla were injured in a fire at the Crans-Montana ski resort in Switzerland, which occurred near the local shul, Mako reported. Reports say that at least 40 people were killed and over 100 were injured in the fire, many of them tourists who had come for celebrations at the Swiss Alpine resort. […]

[Videos below.] Addressing a large crowd at a JNS gathering in Surfside, Florida, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel has emerged from the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas assault in a position of unprecedented strength. More than two years after the attack, he told the audience at the Shul of Bal Harbour, “Israel has come out of this war stronger than ever before.”

Netanyahu pointed to Israel’s economic performance as a key measure of that strength, highlighting major developments in energy and technology. “Stronger than ever before economically. What does strong mean? Well, we just signed a $37 billion gas deal,” he said. “That’s strong. We just had Nvidia – they decided to have a massive investment in Israel, and we welcome it.”

Turning to diplomacy, Netanyahu said Israel’s expanding network of regional ties is a direct outcome of national power and resolve. “We have opened up opportunities for peace that have never existed before. In the first term of President Trump’s office, we did the Abraham Accords that brought four historic peace accords with four Arab states,” he said. “We’re committed to do more.”

Summing up that approach, he told the audience, “It’s peace through strength. It’s prosperity through strength.”

Netanyahu also spent considerable time addressing rising antisemitism, directing a forceful message to American Jews. “I say to you, members of the Jewish community of the United States, the last thing you should do before antisemitic attacks, as they attack you – the last thing you should do is lower your head and seek cover,” he said. “That’s not what you should do. You should stand up and be counted. You should fight back.”

He urged active resistance to those who seek to marginalize the Jewish community. “You should delegitimize your delegitimizers,” he said. “Nobody will fight for you more than you fight for yourself.”

Linking Jewish confidence abroad to Israel’s standing, Netanyahu added, “When Israel is strong, others want to partner with us. You stand up and be counted, and you will see the difference.” He followed with a simple exhortation: “Don’t be afraid.”

Pressing the point further, he said, “Don’t cower. Don’t lower your head. Speak up. Stand up. Fight back. That’s the important thing: fight, fight, fight. And then shall win, win, win with God’s help.”

The prime minister also addressed ongoing efforts to recover the remains of Ran Gvili, described as the last remaining hostage in Gaza. “We shall return him and we’re working on it right now,” Netanyahu said. “He shall be back. The first one in, last one out, but he’ll be back.”

Netanyahu closed with praise for Washington, underscoring what he described as exceptional backing from the United States. He referred to the “friendship of the United States and the support of a president like no other: President Donald J. Trump.”

Reflecting on American leadership during the war, he said, “I appreciated the fact that at the beginning stages of the war President Biden came to us well. But President Trump has been unflinching, consistent. He never wavers,” adding, “His gut, his heart – we don’t say ‘gut,’ we say his kishkes – his instinctive support for the State of Israel, his understanding of what is right and what is just.”

Netanyahu concluded by emphasizing the impact of close coordination between Jerusalem and Washington. “That’s been there from day one, and we have shown what happens when the president of the United States and the prime minister of Israel have no daylight between them: Wonderful things. Wondrous things can happen,” he said.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

A volunteer member of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed in a western province during widening demonstrations sparked by the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy, authorities said Thursday, marking the first fatality among security forces during the protests. The death Wednesday night of the 21-year-old volunteer in the Guard’s Basij force may mark the start of […]