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In a candid conversation with Anand Giridharadas, Columbia University professor and Ugandan-born scholar Mahmood Mamdani reflected on his son Zohran Mamdani’s unexpected ascent to the mayoralty of New York City. He said the public’s unease isn’t truly about his son himself, but about what Zohran represents — the sweeping social and generational shifts taking place around the world.

“I have mixed responses to it. On the one hand I am like anyone would be, a proud father. I don’t want to claim that I saw this coming. I didn’t see it coming. I was really surprised. He said he was contemplating running for the position of mayor of New York City, but then he is not somebody who is given to convention, and he is not somebody who is afraid of the odds, no matter what they are against him,” Mamdani said, describing his reaction to the campaign that ultimately captured the city’s attention.

Reflecting on the weight of the office, he admitted to feeling both admiration and apprehension for his son’s new role. “So that’s one feeling. The other feeling I have is this job is going to bring a mountain of responsibilities on his back. Like just about everybody has noted and commented, he’s a young man, 34 years old. He has a lot of chutzpah, he’s open to experimenting. He understands fully well that he doesn’t have the kind of experience that can be equal to a job like this, therefore he will have to develop a team, which will pool together and make up as a team what they may not have as individuals.”

Mamdani ended on a personal and emotional note, likening the experience to watching a high-stakes race from the sidelines. “But it’s still intimidating for somebody like me, close enough and yet not in it. So having to watch it from a distance, it’s like a fast car race and you are on the side, and your son is in the driving wheel and you just keep praying and hoping that all will be okay,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

California Gov. Gavin Newsom leads Vice President J.D. Vance by three percentage points in an early potential head-to-head matchup for president in 2028, according to a new poll from Overton Insights. The poll asked 1,200 registered voters who think of themselves as Democrats, Republicans and Independents their thoughts on a series of questions, with 22% […]

Agudas Yisrael MK Meir Porush warned against the continued persecution of lomdei Torah in the Knesset plenum on Tuesday. “A Jew is obligated to protest when he sees that the Torah Hakedosha is being harmed,” he began. “This week I visited several bochurim and avreichim in military prison who are being held there for the […]

After tense days of political wrangling, the coalition standoff finally ended with an agreement reached during a late-night meeting involving Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich’s representatives, Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni, Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz, and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs. The parties struck a deal that will allow the long-debated bill granting tax breaks to IDF reservists to move forward.

Under the compromise, the legislation will advance to its second and third readings in the Knesset next week. A new provision will be added, ensuring that reservists earning lower incomes will receive an additional monthly payment of roughly 3,000 shekels, beginning in 2026.

The agreement also paves the way for the Religious Zionism Party to return to coalition voting, signaling a thaw in the recent freeze that had paralyzed key government initiatives.

According to the details of the bill, eligible reservists will receive income tax credits of up to 1,000 shekels per month. The measure is intended as both tangible support and a gesture of national appreciation toward working reservists—men and women who shoulder the dual responsibility of serving the country and supporting their families.

{Matzav.com}

The Navy’s largest and newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, has arrived in the Caribbean region, according to spotters in the region. U.S. Naval Institute News cited boat spotters in Puerto Rico who eyed the destroyer, USS Bainbridge, on Tuesday. The Bainbridge, part of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike group, was traveling with […]

At a deeply moving L’chaim celebration marking the publication of his 60th sefer, Mishmeres HaBayis on the halachos of challah, the renowned posek, Rav Moshe Mordechai Karp, was overcome with emotion and broke into tears as he began singing “Mah ashiv laHashem,” a moment that swept up all those present in heartfelt song and gratitude.

The event brought together rabbonim and dayanim of the Beis Horaah B’Yisrael, who gathered in honor of Rav Karp’s latest work. The sefer, a detailed and comprehensive halachic volume of more than 350 pages, offers clear guidance, lucid explanations, and illuminating psakim on topics relevant to the Jewish home. It also includes insightful notes on the Teshuvos Zeraim of the Rashba.

In his remarks, Rav Karp spoke emotionally of his formative years in the presence of the Steipler Gaon, author of Kehillos Yaakov zt”l. He shared that many of the halachos recorded in the new sefer were refined through discussions with the Steipler, who extended to him exceptional warmth and affection. Despite Rav Karp’s youth at the time, the Kehillos Yaakov greatly praised his diligence and talent, foreseeing in him a future vessel of blessing destined to illuminate batei Yisroel through Torah.

Rav Karp recounted how the Kehillos Yaakov would caution him that “sometimes stringencies can turn into leniencies,” reminding him that excessive chumros in one area could inadvertently lead to laxity in another. Those words, he said, continue to guide him in his approach to psak halacha until this day.

During the L’chaim, Rav Karp recited the berachah of Shehecheyanu, a practice he observes each time he completes and publishes a new sefer. In keeping with his view outlined in his work Yom Beyom (Hilchos Berachos, Volume 4), he donned a new garment beforehand, explaining that one who rejoices in wearing something new should bless Shehecheyanu upon it.

{Matzav.com}

Members of the House of Representatives headed back to Washington after a 53-day break, braving congestion at the nation’s tangled airports for a vote that could end the longest US government shutdown in history.

As part of his visit to the United States, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Toras Zev, Rav Boruch Soloveitchik, delivered a penetrating shiur klali at Yeshivas Heichal HaTorah in Monsey, headed by Rav Mordechai Dick. The shiur focused on the sugya of shaveh kesef k’kesef.

The bochurim eagerly absorbed every word of Rav Soloveitchik’s deep pilpul, visibly inspired by the clarity and depth of his approach. After the shiur, many of them crowded around the rosh yeshiva, engaging him in lively discussion for nearly an hour, passionately delving further into the inyan.

Rav Soloveitchik’s trip to the U.S. was arranged both in support of his yeshiva and in honor of the wedding of a daughter of his close friend, R’ Yitzchok Rakowsky of Lakewood, one of the leaders of Keren Olam HaTorah.

During his stay in Monsey, the rosh yeshiva was hosted by philanthropist R’ Ari Busbi.

Over Shabbos, he attended the aufruf of the son of Rav Mordechai Dick who last night married a daughter of Rav Aryeh Malkiel Schustal, granddaughter of Rav Dovid Schustal, rosh yeshiva of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood.

{Matzav.com}

Cornell University will pay $60 million to settle the Trump administration’s claims that the Ivy League school discriminated against students with its diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The settlement will require Cornell, located in upstate New York, to pay the federal government $30 million and invest another $30 million by 2028 on research programs on […]

Heartbreaking tragedy in Beit Shemesh: Rabbi Yaakov Steinberg zt”l, beloved Maggid Shiur, passed away suddenly at just 44 years old. Now, his *eight young children are left without a father — and their mother is struggling to provide even the most basic needs. *There’s no food in the house, no stability, no hope for tomorrow. […]

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Rabbi Yosef Hamra and representatives of the Jewish Heritage Foundation in Washington, receiving their blessing and appreciation for his support of the return of Jews to Syria.

During his recent visit to Argentina, Rishon LeTzion and Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Dovid Yosef, displayed extraordinary personal involvement in helping release a woman who had been an agunah for nearly twelve years.

While visiting the local kehillah, the Chief Rabbi was urgently informed by rabbonim of a painful situation involving a husband who had persistently refused to grant his wife a get. Despite a full itinerary filled with official meetings, Rav Yosef immediately canceled a scheduled state appointment and traveled directly to the man’s location.

Rav Yosef sat with the husband for hours, speaking to his heart and pleading with him to do what is right according to halacha. The conversation extended well into the night, forcing his assistants to clear the remainder of his day’s schedule so that the Rav could remain focused solely on resolving this case.

By the next day, the breakthrough came. The husband agreed to give the get, and a qualified sofer gittin was immediately summoned to write and deliver the document properly, bringing long-awaited relief and freedom to the suffering woman.

Following the completion of the get, Rav Yosef again met privately with the husband, offering words of chizuk and encouragement, urging him to rebuild his life through teshuvah and proper conduct.

This incident, the Rishon LeTzion noted, is just one example of the hands-on approach he has made a hallmark of his leadership — personally intervening to resolve get refusals, even if it means visiting prisons or appearing unannounced in courtrooms.

“I go to prisons to meet with those who refuse, especially when it’s nearby,” Rav Yosef shared, describing his proactive efforts during his Argentina trip.

{Matzav.com}

A bright meteor was spotted streaking across the Southwest Florida sky in broad daylight around 12:39 PM this afternoon.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem issued a stark warning, stating that the ongoing near-daily Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon “cannot continue.” In a televised address, Qassem emphasized that “everything has a limit,” signaling growing frustration over the persistent violence. Qassem also challenged the existing ceasefire agreement, claiming it only applies to southern Lebanon. He suggested that […]

New York’s political upheaval is already reshaping another state’s skyline. The election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s next mayor has set off a stunning $100 million property rush in Florida, as nervous New Yorkers scramble to buy homes before the new mayor’s economic policies take effect.

Isaac Toledano, CEO of the Miami-based BH Group, said the flood of new contracts began months before Mamdani’s victory was even sealed. In just the past few months, his firm has seen an unprecedented surge of buyers from New York, totaling more than $100 million in signed deals—nearly twice the amount recorded in 2024. “I think the election accelerated how people make decisions. People are nervous about what’s coming, how it’s going to affect their lifestyle, the quality of life, taxes, and even public safety,” Toledano explained.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old Muslim born in Uganda, defeated establishment candidate Andrew Cuomo in a stunning political upset that analysts have described as a defining moment for the Democratic Party’s future direction. “The uncertainty about what’s next and the fact that Mamdani made it clear what he believes is right for New York has a lot of people feeling uneasy,” Toledano told Fox News Digital.

The mayor-elect’s campaign platform—marked by sweeping socialist proposals—has rattled many of the city’s wealthiest residents. Among his promises were a rent freeze affecting more than two million tenants, universal child care for all children from infancy through age five, free city bus transportation, and even publicly operated grocery stores.

Florida officials, sensing opportunity, have begun preparing for an influx of wealthy New Yorkers relocating to the Sunshine State. Governor Ron DeSantis humorously weighed in on social media with an online poll asking how Floridians should handle the new arrivals. “Floridians — response to the Mamdani election in NYC should be to: Build a FL border wall, Tariff all transplants, or ‘Recruit new transplants,’” DeSantis quipped in a post on X.

President Donald Trump foresaw this exodus weeks earlier while speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami. “Now the Democrats are so extreme that Miami will soon be the refuge for those fleeing communism in New York City. They flee,” Trump declared. He added a warning he’s voiced many times before: “As I’ve warned for many years, our opponents are hell-bent on turning America into a communist Cuba or a socialist Venezuela, and you see what happened to those places.”

{Matzav.com}

A group advocating for fairness in courts is setting its sights on New York with an advertising campaign it hopes will get the attention of lawmakers. Rising living costs and insurance rates are the byproducts of lawsuit abuse, Protecting American Consumers Together says. Its commercial notes New York has the highest auto insurance costs in […]

What happens when a preschool blends warmth, care, and Torah values with an atmosphere of joy and discovery? You get Tiferes Yisroel Preschool — a place where every child’s potential shines “עוד יותר טוב.” At Tiferes Yisroel, learning begins with love. From the very first day, children are surrounded by dedicated moros who nurture their […]

Major airlines warn that flight cancellations will persist even after the government shutdown ends, citing the need to readjust schedules and staffing. The warning comes just two weeks before the busy Thanksgiving travel period, as air traffic controllers miss their second full paycheck since the shutdown began on October 1. Aviation groups expect record travel […]

NY AG TISH JAMES: “If you are denied at a store that accepts EBT, you should tell them, ‘I have a balance on my EBT card, and I am able to use it.’ If they still refuse your card, file a complaint.”

Passenger train derails in Buenos Aires’ Liniers district, with reports of multiple casualties.