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President Donald Trump announced Monday that his administration is coordinating closely with Israel to establish improved relations with Syria.

Following his White House meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Trump told reporters, “People say he’s had a rough past. We’ve all had a rough past.”

The president emphasized that his rapport with Sharaa is strong and said he believes the Syrian leader is capable of carrying out his responsibilities effectively.

In Damascus, the Syrian Foreign Ministry issued a statement after the meeting confirming that Washington had expressed its commitment to advancing a security arrangement between Israel and Syria.

Sharaa, addressing journalists in the Syrian capital, noted that discussions with Israel regarding a potential security framework could produce “results in the coming days.”

He further explained that if the talks prove fruitful, it might pave the way for “additional agreements,” though he was careful to stress that neither normalization nor a full peace accord with Israel is currently being considered.

A report released in August indicated that the Trump administration had been working behind the scenes to craft a preliminary security understanding between Jerusalem and Damascus before the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session.

Nonetheless, U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack later downplayed the notion that an accord was near, stating that “there is still more work to do.”

{Matzav.com}

NYC Mayor Eric Adams will visit Israel this Friday, November 14, for a several-day trip meeting with government officials, business leaders, and members of the tech community. Adams is also expected to visit religious sites and discuss ways to strengthen efforts against antisemitism in New York and worldwide. He’ll remain in Israel through Tuesday, November […]

Prime Minister Netanyahu met Monday morning at his office with White House adviser Jared Kushner as Israel and the United States deepen coordination on the Gaza cease-fire and the effort to recover the remaining slain hostages held by Hamas.

An Israeli government spokesperson said the discussion centered on disarming Hamas, demilitarising Gaza, and precluding any future role for Hamas in the territory — key elements of President Trump’s second-phase Gaza peace plan.

Joining Kushner at the Yerushalayimmeeting were Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Aryeh Lightstone, senior adviser to US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Their gathering came just ahead of an expected visit by Witkoff to Israel as part of ongoing implementation of the Trump plan.

The encounter between senior Israeli and US figures comes amid continuing negotiations between the Trump administration and Israel over how to address the 100 to 200 Hamas terrorists currently holed up in tunnels beneath Rafah in territory under IDF control.

Witkoff said last week that Washington was pushing Israel to allow safe passage to those terrorists in exchange for their surrender of weapons.

When asked about external pressure on Israel to enable the terrorists’ evacuation, the Israeli government spokesperson said on Monday that no updates could be offered, and added that decisions on Israel’s Gaza policy are taken “in full collaboration with President Trump and his team.”

Kushner’s arrival in Israel Sunday night coincided with the return of the body of IDF officer Hadar Goldin, held by Hamas since 2014 and released under the first phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, which requires the terror group to return all living hostages in Gaza in exchange for a partial IDF withdrawal and the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners — along with 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage’s body returned.

Multiple reports have tied Goldin’s remains to the negotiations regarding the evacuation of the trapped Hamas operatives, although no official comment has been provided on that connection.

A Channel 12 report citing a senior Turkish official Sunday evening claimed Ankara helped facilitate Goldin’s return while also working on the safe extraction of the Hamas operatives. In contrast, a separate, unsourced Channel 12 item alleged that Turkey instructed Hamas to hold out for the terrorists’ tunnel evacuation in return for Goldin’s body, a request Israel declined.

On Sunday, a Palestinian source told the Kan public broadcaster that Turkey, backed by the US, is leading efforts to pressure Hamas to hand over the bodies of the remaining four dead hostages in Gaza. According to the source, Hamas is struggling to return some of those bodies, which mediators believe to be beyond its control. The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to The Times of Israel’s request for comment on the reports.

Speaking in front of the Knesset Monday, Netanyahu said Israel is resolved to enforce the cease-fire agreements in Gaza and Lebanon “with an iron fist.” He added that Israel “is determined to bring back the four slain hostages left in Gaza,” crediting “diplomatic pressure to isolate Hamas that was applied by the US” alongside Israeli military efforts with bringing everyone else home.

The prime minister emphasised that the war “has not ended,” and pledged that Hamas “will be disarmed. Gaza will be demilitarised. It will either happen the easy way, or it will happen the hard way. But it will happen.”

Last week, Witkoff confirmed reporting by The Times of Israel that the US was seeking to use the tunnel case as a pilot for Hamas disarmament under the second phase of Trump’s 20-point plan in Gaza. The envoy described the initiative — aimed at fighters located within IDF-controlled territory in southern Gaza in accordance with the cease-fire deal — as a “model” for the wider decommissioning and amnesty scheme under the plan. Netanyahu’s office has publicly rejected the idea of safe passage for the Hamas operatives, though a Middle East diplomat told The Times of Israel last week that Israel has not privately ruled it out.

Hebrew media report that the main option currently under discussion in the US is to send the fighters into exile in a third country — though a host nation has not yet agreed.

On Sunday, the military wing of Hamas vowed in a statement that its trapped fighters in Rafah will not surrender to Israel, asserting that “in the lexicon of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, there is no place for the principle of surrender or handing themselves over to the enemy. The mediators must find a solution that will ensure the continuation of the cease-fire.” Hamas also said that recovering the bodies of the remaining hostages will require additional teams and technical equipment. The slain hostages are Israeli captives Ran Gvili, Meny Godard, and Dror Or, as well as Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai citizen.

Unresolved questions also linger about the creation of an International Stabilisation Force in Gaza, planned in the second phase of the Trump plan. The US is seeking to give that phase legal weight through a UN Security Council vote. On Monday morning, a senior Emirati official said the United Arab Emirates is not planning to join the force “because it lacks a clear framework.”

“The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force, and under such circumstances will probably not participate in such a force,” said presidential adviser Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi.

Trump has said that many countries have volunteered to supply troops to the force to act against Hamas if needed, though his claim conflicts with what Arab diplomats have privately told The Times of Israel — that they do not want their forces in Gaza if it means confronting Hamas, which has publicly refused to disarm. As part of the plan, the US has held talks with Azerbaijan, Indonesia, the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey about potential contributions of roughly 20,000 troops to the IDF. On Sunday, an Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry source said Baku also did not plan to send peacekeepers to Gaza, unless the fighting completely stops.

{Matzav.com}

POTUS: “When somebody like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s now catering to the other side, I guess she’s got some kind of an act going.”

REPORTER: “Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she would rather you focus on domestic policy meetings instead of foreign policy meetings…also she says grocery prices are up, not down, as you said…” POTUS: “I don’t know what happened to Marjorie. She’s a nice woman…She’s lost her way I think.”

TRUMP: “We’re going to issue a dividend to our middle income people, and lower income people, of about $2,000 — and we’re going to use the remaining tariffs to lower our debt… trillions of dollars have been taken in or gotten in terms of investment, from the tariffs.”

An Israeli senior official told Kan News on Monday that Israel must aim to depose the Iranian regime by the end of President Donald Trump’s current term in 2029.

The comments arrive amid media reports indicating that Iran is urgently working to rebuild its nuclear capacity, which it lost during Israel’s 12-day Operation Rising Lion and the U.S. conducted Operation Midnight Hammer.

Earlier in the day, The New York Times reported that Iran is constructing a new subterranean site, described as “Pickaxe Mountain,” without monitoring from the international community.

Analysts warn that the ambiguity over the status of Iran’s nuclear program could prompt Israel to launch another strike, since Israel views Iranian nuclear advancement as an existential danger. Meanwhile, Tehran is reportedly preparing a sweeping retaliation plan that would launch two thousand missiles daily at Israel — far exceeding the 500 launched in twelve days previously.

{Matzav.com}

Twenty people were hospitalized, three with major injuries, after a bus carrying teens returning from a church camp overturned on a winding mountain road in Southern California, authorities said Monday. The bus with 36 people aboard crashed Sunday night at a curve on State Route 330 near Running Springs, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast […]

This past Erev Shabbos was the 24th yahrzeit of HaGaon HaRav Elazer Menachem Man Shach, z’tl. On the day of the yahrzeit, HaGaon HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman, HaRav Shach’s son-in-law, visited his kever and spoke words of chizzuk at his yeshivah, Yeshivas Rashbi in Bnei Brak. At the kever, HaRav Bergman addressed the situation in […]

As discussions over the proposed draft law continue to dominate the public discourse, gedolei Yisroel, admorim, and roshei yeshiva from across the spectrum of the Torah world joined together with public figures to celebrate the wedding last night of the youngest son of Rav Chaim Aharon Kaufman, chairman of the Vaad HaYeshivos.

The wedding, which brought together leaders representing every segment of the Torah community, was held at Achuzas Wagshal Hall in Bnei Brak.

Photographer Shuki Lehrer captured the scenes of as some of the figures in the Torah world came together to honor the longtime leader of the Vaad HaYeshivos.

PHOTOS:

{Matzav.com}

The Knesset voted 39-16 in favor of the first reading of a government-backed bill that would impose the death penalty on terrorists convicted of murdering Israelis. Two similar proposals — one by Likud MK Nissim Vaturi and another by Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer — also passed their first readings, 36-15 and 37-14, respectively. The […]

BREAKING: The Knesset has passed a mandatory death penalty law for terrorists. Until now, the only execution conducted in Israel was that of Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann in 1962.

In an unusually sharp and emotional public statement, the Breslover tzaddik Rav Yaakov Meir Schechter released a powerful letter denouncing the proposed draft law that would impose quotas and enlistment targets for yeshiva students, along with sanctions for noncompliance.

Rav Schechter, who rarely comments publicly on political or social issues, expressed deep anguish over what he described as a shocking erosion of shame and spiritual sensitivity within the public discourse. “In recent times,” he wrote, “we have witnessed an almost unimaginable shift, how shame has vanished from public discussion, as people now openly speak of the chareidi community being prepared to give up a part of themselves and their very flesh, and to agree to cast thousands of Jews into their impure army.”

The lengthy and moving letter — described by those close to him as one of the most forceful public expressions of protest in years — traces the history of attempts to uproot Torah from Jewish life, warning that the current efforts to legislate enlistment targets are no less dangerous than those of earlier generations.

 “A Letter of Strength Against the Deeds of Amalek”

Rav Schechter begins by recalling his lifelong witness to repeated attempts by secular authorities to weaken Torah observance and faith:

“I was young, and now I am old,” he wrote, “and I have seen countless attempts by the regime of the erev rav throughout its existence to uproot everything. Tragically, in earlier years many of our brothers and sisters from among the Sephardic communities were forcibly torn away from their faith, until hardly any remnant remained of the faithful of Israel.”

He continued, “Yet even in the midst of that suffering, the words ‘For Hashem will not abandon His people’ were fulfilled. Hashem gave us true leaders who never rested, who stood watch with full strength, unwilling to compromise even a hair’s breadth of our holy Torah. Many times it seemed our feet had nearly slipped, and yet we saw the fulfillment of, ‘The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.’ Despite every decree, the benches of our batei medrash have multiplied beyond anything since the days of the Second Beis Hamikdash.”

 “Unbelievable Change — Shame Has Disappeared”

Turning to the present, Rav Schechter lamented what he described as a spiritual and moral breakdown:

“In recent years, and especially now, we have seen a change that is almost beyond belief. The shame has vanished, as people speak openly of the chareidi community being willing to give up part of themselves — to agree to send thousands of Jews into their impure army. Aside from the grave prohibitions involved, this army is a melting pot designed to uproot faith from the holy souls of Israel. Without any doubt, that is the true intention of this dreadful decree — to diminish the people of Hashem until their end, Heaven forbid.”

He warned that such plans echo the actions of Amalek, who attacked the weak and stragglers of Israel. “These acts,” he wrote, “are the very deeds of Amalek, whom the Torah commands us to erase, because he struck at the most vulnerable. How can any Jew, great or small, dare to surrender even one Jewish soul? On the contrary — every Jew must stand firm, waging battle to the end, never surrendering even a fingernail of Klal Yisroel, who are the limbs of the Shechinah, a portion of Hashem above.”

A Call to Stand Firm

Rav Schechter pleaded with his readers not to be deceived or demoralized. “Am Yisroel, do not fear and do not lose heart. Stand with courage and strength, and do not be misled by false visions and empty promises that go against our holy Torah,” he wrote. “Surely Hashem, Who has saved us until now from their decrees and plots, will again protect us so that the rod of the wicked will not rest upon the lot of the righteous.”

He expressed confidence that the steadfastness of the Torah world will protect the yeshivos and the sanctity of Torah learning: “Without doubt, the merit of our firm stance will serve as protection for the souls of Israel and for the holy yeshivos, allowing them to continue in purity, so that Torah will never depart from our mouths or from the mouths of our descendants forever.”

The letter concludes with a prayerful hope for redemption: “May we soon merit the removal of impurity from the world, the destruction of idolatry, and the perfection of the world under the Kingdom of the Almighty, with the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu and the rebuilding of our Beis Hamikdash.”

{Matzav.com}

Tensions ran high in the Knesset on Monday evening amid the ongoing coalition crisis over the draft law, as a rare confrontation unfolded between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and MK Moshe Gafni, head of the Knesset Finance Committee and a senior United Torah Judaism leader.

According to sources, Netanyahu had repeatedly sought to meet with Gafni throughout the afternoon, hoping for a brief conversation to ease mounting tensions surrounding the proposed legislation. But Gafni refused each request, firmly rebuffing the prime minister’s efforts.

Eyewitnesses said that Netanyahu’s aide, Nevo Katz, approached Gafni several times during the 40-signature debate in the Knesset plenum, urging him: “Come, the Prime Minister wants to speak with you—it’s short, it’s important.” Gafni, alternating between anger and indifference, reportedly replied, “I don’t want to.”

After several unsuccessful attempts, Netanyahu himself encountered Gafni outside the plenum and, joined by Katz, personally requested a private conversation. Gafni politely but firmly declined, saying, “I can’t.”

The unusual standoff drew the attention of MK Yaakov Asher, who expressed frustration toward the prime minister’s aide, saying, “Why like this, in front of everyone? Do you think this will work for you?” Katz did not respond, instead asking, “So what’s the bottom line—are you bringing it tomorrow?” to which Asher dryly replied, “I don’t know.” Katz then pressed further, “The draft law text—are you bringing it?”

Eventually, after much back-and-forth and visible tension, Gafni relented and agreed to meet Netanyahu in the prime minister’s Knesset office for a half-hour conversation.

{Matzav.com}

As Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel for high-level policy discussions, hundreds of Israeli families who lost loved ones in the Swords of Iron War issued an urgent message to President Trump through his representatives.

In a strongly worded letter, members of HaGevura Forum—the Heroism Forum representing hundreds of bereaved families—implored the Trump delegation not to support any plan that would result in the release of terrorists held by Israel. Their plea came amid speculation that the American envoys were in Israel to advocate for a deal involving the release of terrorists detained in Rafah tunnels.

The families warned that freeing these individuals would endanger Israeli citizens and Western security at large. “We are bereaved families from HaGevura Forum (The Heroism Forum), which unites hundreds of families of heroes who fought to restore security to the citizens of Israel and fell during the war. Thanks to the heroism of our loved ones, the IDF has apprehended approximately 150 terrorists who massacred, raped, and slaughtered children, women, and citizens of the State of Israel. Even after the horrific massacre, these same terrorists continued to harm hostages and the IDF soldiers who were operating to bring them back home,” they wrote.

The letter went on to emphasize that the detainees in question were responsible for some of the most horrific acts in recent memory. “These are the terrorists responsible for the severe atrocities the State of Israel endured during the terrible massacre led by Hamas two years ago. Thanks to the determination of our soldiers, these same terrorists and murderers are now imprisoned in the tunnels in Rafah. The sentence for these terrorists is one: death. If the Western nations and Israel surrender, these terrorists will immediately return to terrorism, which will harm the interests of the State of Israel and of all Western nations,” the families declared.

Addressing Hamas’s repeated violations of ceasefire terms, the letter accused the terror group of acting in bad faith. “The Hamas organization has not adhered for a single minute to the agreements signed with it. Hamas has not yet returned all the abducted bodies, it has continued to kill our soldiers, and it has tried time and again to carry out dozens of additional terrorist acts against our soldiers. They refuse to disarm, all while continuing to solidify the organization’s rule in Gaza.”

The families concluded their emotional appeal with a direct plea to Trump’s envoys: “We, who lost our heroic loved ones in battle, call upon you: Do not be the lifeline for these terrorists. Do not allow this evil to continue to live and add more evil to the world. We implore you to support Israel in fighting terror and destroying Hamas. We call upon you to support the State of Israel in eradicating Hamas, cutting off terrorism, and removing this evil from the world.”

{Matzav.com}

The BBC was facing a leadership crisis and mounting political pressure on Monday after its top executive and its head of news both quit over the editing of a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump. The resignation of BBC Director-General Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness over accusations of bias was welcomed by Trump, who said the way […]

Flight disruptions from shutdown pile up as Trump threatens air traffic controllers • More air travel disruptions piled up Monday as the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown continued. • Air traffic controllers missed their second full paycheck of the shutdown. • The Senate made progress overnight on a deal that could end the shutdown, but it […]

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa meeting with Donald Trump earlier in the Oval Office.

Thirteen Italian pasta labels might be forced to exit American supermarket aisles or raise their prices as early as January when 107% tariffs are scheduled to take effect.

The duty — the largest the White House has enacted on a specific commodity since President Trump began his import crackdown — results from the U.S.’s baseline 15% tariff on European Union goods plus an additional 92% levy tied to claims that Italian pasta producers have undercut U.S. rivals.

According to the United States Department of Commerce, the penne-makers have breached “antidumping” legislation, offering their exports to the U.S. market at very low prices in order to undercut domestic firms.

Last year the department opened an inquiry after two U.S. pasta manufacturers petitioned for a review of Italian exporters.

As part of that investigation, the U.S. government requested data from two companies, Pasta Garofalo and La Molisana, which denied the charges.

Officials accused the companies of being “uncooperative” — allegedly submitting materials with untranslated Italian terms and undefined abbreviations — and applied the steep tariff across all 13 firms, presuming the behavior of those two mirrored the group as a whole.

The Italian producers responded that they answered in the same manner as in previous reviews, and that the only shift came from a much tougher Commerce Department.

In a filing submitted to the department earlier this month, La Molisana said the agency erred in its calculations by using net prices as if they were gross.

In addition to Pasta Garofalo and La Molisana, the affected pasta brands consist of Agritalia, Aldino, Antiche Tradizioni di Gragnano, Barilla, Gruppo Milo, Pastificio Artigiano Cav. Giuseppe Cocco, Pastificio Chiavenna, Pastificio Liguori, Pastificio Sgambaro, Pastificio Tamma and Rummo.

Barilla manufactures pasta for the U.S. market domestically, and Italian media observed it is less prone to be affected by the tariffs. The Post has reached out for comment from it and Rummo, another popular brand.

The affected firms are petitioning the Commerce Department to reassess its evaluation and lower the antidumping duty before it launches in January.

Italian pasta companies have faced numerous antidumping investigations dating back to the mid-1990s, when the Commerce Department found importers had been swamping the U.S. with low-priced products.

U.S. businesses routinely file complaints accusing their Italian rivals of unfair pricing, requesting U.S. officials to look into claims of dumping.

While the Commerce Department has taken action before, penalties against Italian pasta brands have typically been far smaller than this new 107% levy.

Some officials in Rome argue the move is politically driven, with Italy’s Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida recently branding the policy “hyper-protectionist,” in remarks carried by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

“We see neither the necessity nor any justification” for the tariffs, he was quoted as saying.

Corriere ran a headline that read: “Trump declares war on Italian pasta.”

A White House official told The Post the Italian firms had been given multiple chances to supply the requested information before being hit with the high tariff rate.

The official denied that the antidumping review was politically motivated, adding that the companies should focus on complying with the investigation “instead of complaining to Fake News reporters.”

The Commerce Department did not immediately answer The Post’s inquiries for comment.

Over the summer, President Trump struck what he called “the biggest deal ever” with the European Union.

The 27-nation bloc agreed to purchase $750 billion of U.S. energy goods and invest another $600 billion in the U.S. Trump kept the baseline tariff on EU products at 15%, with additional levies on European steel and aluminum.

Last month, Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s senior trade official, declared that the 107% tariffs on pasta are “clearly something that is not acceptable.” He said he discussed the matter with Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Commerce Secretary.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has initiated a special task force to combat the antidumping levy.

{Matzav.com}

Rockaway-Lawrence Hatzolah ambulance involved in an MVA on Cedarhurst and West Broadway. No injuries reported.