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The family of 24-year-old Katriel Nachman Keinan of Beit Shemesh fears he may have been abducted after disappearing approximately a week ago while traveling between Tiveriah and Tzfas, as police, volunteers and divers continue an extensive search for him.

Keinan’s father, Yossi Keinan, filed a missing-person report with the Beit Shemesh police after his son abruptly vanished and stopped communicating with his family. According to a report by mako, the family has grown increasingly concerned that foul play may have been involved.

“I’m afraid my son was kidnapped. It’s a dangerous area. He didn’t just disappear and stop making contact for no reason. Maybe someone kidnapped him,” his father said. “He is such a good boy that wherever he goes, there is light and positive energy. He was on his way to meet with his rabbi to consult with him.”

Yossi said the last time he personally saw his son was at the entrance to a shul.

“He told me he was going to stop by a friend and didn’t come back. I haven’t seen him since,” he said.

According to his father, Nachman had said that after meeting his friend, he planned to travel from Beit Shemesh to Tzfas for an urgent consultation with his Rav.

The Rav later told the family that Nachman did in fact arrive in Tzfas and spoke with him by telephone at approximately 10 p.m. The Rav explained that he was at a hospital because of a family matter and could not meet him that evening, but offered to see him at 10 a.m. the following morning and even arrange a place for him to sleep. Nachman responded that he would manage on his own and would meet the Rav the next day.

“He never heard from him again. I still managed to speak to him the next morning, but he said his phone battery was about to die, and then he disappeared. That was it,” his father said.

Since Nachman vanished, search teams have concentrated their efforts in locations where investigators believe he may have traveled. Police have also reviewed security-camera footage in an effort to reconstruct his movements.

One surveillance camera from a business in Tiveriah captured Nachman walking in the direction of Gai Beach on the Kinneret, providing investigators with one of the last known images of him before he disappeared.

According to the family, the commander of the Beit Shemesh police station and local officers have been closely involved in the search, together with police forces from the Northern District. Divers have also been searching the Kinneret, but no trace of Nachman has been discovered.

“The station commander in Beit Shemesh is constantly in touch with us. He is helping us and conducting searches in the field with his officers. Divers are also searching the Kinneret. Nobody has found anything. It’s very strange,” Yossi said.

Nachman, a Chabad chossid, spent several years living in the Philippines before returning to Israel. His family continues to hold out hope that he is alive and will soon be found.

“We are davening and believe that Nachman is alive. We hope the police and the many volunteers will find him. He is the light of our lives.”

Nachman was last seen on Monday, August 10, at approximately 6 p.m. in the area of Gai Beach in Tiveriah while reportedly on his way to Tzfas. He has not been seen since.

Nachman is approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, with black hair, a beard and brown eyes. When last seen, he was wearing a white shirt, black suit and hat and was carrying a black backpack and a dark-brown tefillin bag.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s attorney general is calling on the IDF and police to resume proactive operations and arrests targeting draft evaders, while also demanding an expansion of economic and personal sanctions, after an annual review found that approximately 80% of those currently classified as draft evaders are members of the chareidi community.

The review covers the military recruitment year that ended in June 2026 and was conducted under the leadership of the attorney general. Representatives from the IDF, Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry, Justice Ministry, Israel Police, Population and Immigration Authority, National Digital Agency and other government bodies participated in the assessment.

Alongside the figures on draft evasion, officials reported an increase in the number of chareidim entering military service. According to the review, the combination of issuing draft orders to all eligible chareidi men, intensifying economic and personal enforcement measures, and adapting military service tracks for chareidi recruits has proven effective in increasing enlistment.

The figures presented during the review indicate that approximately 50,000 chareidim are currently classified as draft evaders, while another roughly 31,000 have been issued what is known as a “Tzav 12.” Since the beginning of the year, 34 indictments have been filed against chareidim for draft evasion.

The data further shows that 679 military deserters have faced disciplinary proceedings since August 2025, while 860 arrests were carried out over the past year.

In addition, 244 individuals were detained by police, while another 1,528 were stopped at Ben Gurion Airport and other border crossings. During the past three months alone, authorities prevented 1,061 deserters from leaving Israel through border crossings.

Justice Ministry officials concluded that additional enforcement measures should be introduced as quickly as possible in order to further reduce draft evasion and address what the government describes as the military’s urgent need for additional manpower.

At the same time, the attorney general determined that the IDF and Israel Police should resume proactive enforcement operations and arrests against draft evaders from all sectors of the population, citing the principle of equal enforcement.

In a response submitted by the attorney general to the High Court, officials acknowledged that carrying out proactive arrests of chareidi draft evaders presents significant practical difficulties because such operations have repeatedly triggered large-scale protests and disturbances.

The filing said military and police officials had pointed to “the significant difficulty that currently exists in carrying out proactive operations and arresting draft evaders from the chareidi community, in light of the large-scale public disturbances accompanying them.”

Authorities also noted that responding to the protests surrounding such arrests requires the deployment of substantial police and security resources.

Despite those difficulties, professional officials maintained that proactive operations and arrests remain important enforcement tools and can serve as a deterrent against draft evasion.

{Matzav.com}

The Justice Department is preparing to dispatch approximately 1,000 election monitors across the country for November’s midterm elections, a major expansion of federal oversight as the Trump administration places increased emphasis on election integrity and public confidence in the voting process.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon disclosed the planned deployment during a Monday appearance on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” saying the effort could significantly increase the number of federal personnel assigned to observe elections around the country.

“We will do it to the tune of approximately 1,000 election monitors in the November election,” Dhillon said, noting that the Civil Rights Division has for decades dispatched personnel to election “hot spots” to address potential problems and strengthen confidence in election procedures.

Federal election monitoring is not new to the current administration. The Justice Department has regularly sent observers and monitors to polling locations under both Republican and Democratic administrations as part of its responsibility to enforce federal voting laws and safeguard the rights of eligible voters.

During the 2024 presidential election, DOJ personnel were dispatched to 86 jurisdictions, while monitors were sent to 64 jurisdictions during the 2022 midterm elections, according to The Washington Post.

Dhillon said officials have not yet determined the final list of locations where the approximately 1,000 monitors will be assigned in November.

Among the jurisdictions that could receive federal monitors are areas where concerns have arisen over access for voters with disabilities or those requiring language assistance, as well as locations where authorities believe voter fraud may be an issue.

The Justice Department has already deployed monitors during primary elections held earlier this year. In Michigan, federal personnel were sent to Detroit, Hamtramck, Lansing and East Lansing.

DOJ officials said the Michigan deployment was designed to promote “transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”

Federal monitors were also dispatched to polling locations in three Arizona counties during elections held in July.

The planned expansion has prompted concerns from Democrats over the scale and role of the federal presence at polling locations.

A group of Democratic senators recently called on the Justice Department to make certain that federal monitors operate on a nonpartisan basis and refrain from interfering with election administration conducted by state and local authorities.

Dhillon rejected the suggestion that the monitoring initiative represents an unprecedented undertaking by the Trump administration, stressing that observing elections and enforcing federal voting protections have long been responsibilities of the Justice Department.

She said the department is also dealing with disagreements involving the accuracy of voter-registration lists, alleging that some election administrators have failed to remove people who are no longer eligible to remain registered, including noncitizens.

According to Dhillon, voter rolls in states cooperating with the Justice Department include hundreds of thousands of deceased individuals and tens of thousands of noncitizens. She cautioned, however, that additional investigation is necessary before authorities can conclude that any particular individual actually cast an illegal ballot.

“The goal is not so much going after one voter here or there,” Dhillon said. “It is increasing all American citizens’ confidence in our elections.”

{Matzav.com}

President Trump’s job approval has fallen to 33%, the lowest point of his current presidency, as Americans increasingly express concern over the duration of the U.S. war with Iran and the economic fallout from the conflict, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The four-day survey found that just one-third of respondents approved of Trump’s performance in office, while 64% disapproved. The 33% figure represents a decline from the 35% recorded in a Reuters/Ipsos survey completed earlier this month and is the lowest of Trump’s current term. It also matches the lowest approval rating recorded during his previous term, reached in December 2017.

Trump returned to the White House in 2025 with an approval rating just below 50%, but his standing has deteriorated this year following his decision to launch strikes against Iran alongside Israel. The resulting war severely disrupted roughly one-fifth of global oil commerce, sending gasoline prices higher and increasing financial pressure on American households. The economic consequences are also creating political difficulties for Republicans seeking to preserve their congressional majorities in November’s midterm elections.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly pledged to control inflation and keep the United States out of prolonged wars. He initially predicted that the confrontation with Iran would be over within several weeks, but Tehran has continued resisting while keeping much of the oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz restricted, even as the intensity of the fighting has diminished.

The poll found widespread expectations that the conflict will continue. Approximately 80% of Americans, including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans, believe U.S. involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of ‌time.” Only 16% expect the war to conclude within the next several weeks.

At a political rally Friday in Garden City, New York, Trump defended the higher fuel costs associated with the conflict, saying paying “a ‌tiny little bit more for your gasoline” was justified if it prevented “a very evil country” from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Throughout the war, Trump has repeatedly shifted between warning of further military escalation and suggesting that a peace agreement could soon be reached.

The survey found limited public support for the conflict itself. Only about 20% of Americans said they believe the war has been worth its costs, while approximately half of Republican respondents said the same.

The combination of the Iran conflict and rising gasoline prices has heightened Republican concerns ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, particularly as the party seeks to protect its narrow majority in the House. Democrats, meanwhile, increasingly view control of the Senate as potentially within reach.

Recent Reuters/Ipsos polling has also shown a shift in public perceptions of which party would better manage the economy. For the first time in roughly a decade, Democrats have moved ahead of Republicans on the issue. In the latest survey, 38% said Democrats would do a better job handling the economy, compared with 35% who favored Republicans.

Democrats also held an advantage when respondents were asked which party they believed could better address the cost of living.

Immigration has remained a stronger issue for Republicans throughout Trump’s presidency, amid a steep reduction in illegal border crossings and the administration’s nationwide immigration enforcement campaign. However, the Republican advantage has narrowed as concerns have grown over deadly encounters and an increase in the number of people being detained, including children.

Among registered voters, 40% said Republicans have the better approach to immigration, while 38% chose Democrats. The two-point Republican advantage is the smallest recorded during Trump’s current term, representing a dramatic contraction from the 26-point lead Republicans held on immigration in January 2025.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey was conducted online among 1,166 adults across the United States. The poll carries a margin of error of approximately three percentage points in either direction.

{Matzav.com}