Feed aggregator

President Donald Trump recently considered the possibility of launching a renewed large-scale military campaign against Iran but has, for now, decided to continue pursuing diplomacy, according to U.S. officials familiar with internal discussions who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, Trump held multiple meetings with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine to examine potential military options. While those conversations included plans for possible new operations, the president ultimately opted to continue giving negotiations a chance.

Officials familiar with the deliberations said the discussions included whether the United States should abandon the current diplomatic process in favor of a broad military offensive. Some within the administration characterized such an approach as “finishing the job.”

Despite keeping military action on the table, Trump reportedly told senior advisers that launching a major bombing campaign now could derail ongoing diplomatic efforts and undermine the broader goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The president has also signaled that he is prepared to allow negotiations to continue beyond the August 18 deadline that had been set for reaching a nuclear agreement, believing that additional time could improve the chances of a diplomatic breakthrough.

In the meantime, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is comfortable authorizing limited, targeted strikes against Iranian assets if Tehran breaches the existing agreements. That approach was put to the test over the weekend, when a series of confrontations threatened the fragile ceasefire reached just two weeks earlier.

Although military contingency planning is a routine part of Pentagon operations under any administration, the newspaper reported that these recent discussions underscore Trump’s effort to balance diplomacy with the credible threat of force. Administration officials acknowledged that a return to full-scale conflict would effectively amount to an admission that the administration’s widely promoted peace initiative had failed.

One administration official told The Wall Street Journal that Trump’s preference remains focused on diplomacy, adding that Iranian leaders would be well served by reaching an agreement with the United States. Neither Hegseth nor Caine commented on the private meetings.

The report comes on the heels of weekend clashes in which U.S. forces twice struck Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran allegedly violated the ceasefire.

On Saturday night, Trump cautioned that the United States could be compelled to “militarily complete the job” if Iran continued violating the ceasefire.

By Monday, however, the president announced that American and Iranian officials would meet in Qatar, despite earlier statements from Iran denying that such talks would take place.

Later reports indicated that U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was traveling to Doha to participate in the meetings with Iranian representatives.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu said Tuesday night that he intends to form a broad national coalition after the upcoming election, making clear that the chareidi parties would be welcome partners and declaring that he has “zero boycotts” against any legitimate political allies.

Speaking in an interview on Channel 14’s The Patriots with Yinon Magal, Netanyahu discussed his vision for Israel’s next government, his ongoing criminal trial, the toll public life has taken on his family, and the country’s political future.

Asked whether his next coalition would include the chareidi parties and Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, Netanyahu responded unequivocally.

“Of course. I want a broad national government. It’s not a spin. I want to bring about a broad national government, and in these elections it will either be a broad national government led by me, or a narrow left-wing government led by Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan.”

He added, “I accept everyone who is relevant. Zero boycotts.”

Netanyahu also addressed the corruption trial against him, arguing that the prosecution’s case has steadily unraveled.

“This case collapsed years ago when the judges said there was no bribery,” he said. “This will also collapse—you’ll see. There’s nothing there. The judges tried to push for a plea bargain, but I didn’t give in. I’m on a mission.”

He noted that he has already testified 98 times and maintained that the proceedings have failed to substantiate the allegations against him.

Explaining why he previously sought to end the trial, Netanyahu argued that the legal proceedings have deepened divisions within Israeli society.

“The trial tore the nation apart,” he said, claiming it fueled political boycotts, intensified the country’s political instability, and contributed to Israel’s repeated election cycles.

The prime minister also spoke about the personal burden his family has borne throughout his years in office.

He described an incident involving his wife, Sarah Netanyahu, who works as a psychologist in Jerusalem’s religious school system. According to Netanyahu, she spent hours supporting the family of a critically ill woman at Ichilov Hospital, helping them through their final moments with their mother and later assisting the children after the woman’s passing.

At the very same time, he said, demonstrators were gathered outside their home, carrying balloons and issuing threats.

“There were balloons and threats to murder her, and sometimes me as well,” he said.

When Magal asked whether the intense public hostility directed toward him affects him personally, Netanyahu acknowledged that attacks on his family have been especially painful.

“It affects me very much when Sarah, my sons, and everyone around me are hurt. It leaves emotional scars,” he said.

Nevertheless, he said his sense of purpose enables him to continue.

“I’m flesh and blood, but I’m on a mission, and that is stronger than everything. It does affect me, but the mission is stronger than anything else.”

Concluding the interview, Netanyahu said Israel faces critical national challenges that require unity and focus, while reiterating his belief that the legal proceedings against him should come to an end.

“We are facing much greater missions. We need to unite the people. The divisions are deep, and I know what missions and opportunities lie before us. I want to move the country forward. The trial needs to end,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

The family of Rav Aryeh Yazdi says he has no intention of apologizing for or retracting the controversial remarks he made about IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir during Monday night’s protest rally in Bnei Brak, despite widespread condemnation from political and rabbinic leaders.

In comments to Israeli media, the rav’s wife and family defended his statements while acknowledging the public backlash. According to his wife, “The rav does not intend to apologize.”

The controversy erupted after Rav Yazdi referred to Zamir during the rally as, “Cursed, may his name and memory be erased.” The remarks drew sharp criticism from across the political spectrum, including from Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu, the Shas party, and senior Shas leader Rav Moshe Maya.

Rav Yazdi’s eldest son, Rav Yehuda Yazdi, said his father’s words stemmed from deep personal anguish rather than hostility.

“My father lives entirely within the four cubits of halachah. He has no interest in the media. When he heard about a chareidi soldier who was placed in solitary confinement because of a ‘Moshiach’ patch, his heart simply broke.”

He insisted that the comments were motivated by concern over the treatment of bnei Torah and chareidi soldiers rather than politics or personal animosity.

“He cannot stand by when he hears what is happening to lomdei Torah and chareidi soldiers. My father has brought dozens of people closer to their Father in Heaven. He does not act out of hatred.”

Rav Yazdi himself said that his remarks had been a “slip of the tongue.” However, responding to the condemnations issued by the prime minister and Shas, he added, “They have done nothing for the bnei Torah.”

Seeking to ease tensions with Shas, Rav Yehuda Yazdi emphasized the family’s respect for the party’s leadership.

“We respect the representatives of Shas. If they have objections, they are welcome to speak with my father. The appearance that has been created is terrible.”

He also expressed confidence that his father’s longstanding friendship with the former Rishon LeTzion, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, would endure despite the controversy. Meanwhile, Rav Moshe Maya issued a public statement stressing, “This is not the way of the Torah to speak in such a manner.”

Sources close to Rav Yazdi said that he does not grant media interviews and said his speech at the rally had been delivered only after consultation with, and with the approval of, rabbanim.

“The remarks delivered at the rally were made after consultation and with the agreement of rabbanim. As a talmid of Maran Rav Shalom Cohen zt”l and Rav Shimon Baadani zt”l, he was asked to convey the message.”

Addressing reports about government funding received by his institutions, Rav Yehuda Yazdi rejected claims that his father personally benefits from significant public support.

“Contrary to the misleading reports, my father receives only about 600 shekels from the state for the kollel. The budgets that were publicized belong to the entire nonprofit organization, which operates many institutions, and not to my father’s institution.”

He concluded with a message of unity, saying, “The Jewish people need to love one another.”

His mother, however, made the family’s position unmistakably clear, declaring, “The rav will never retract the things he said.”

As previously reported, Shas issued an official statement condemning the remarks, saying the extreme comments “do not reflect the views of our rabbanim of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah” and are “contrary to the path of the Shas movement, which was bequeathed to us by Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef zy”a.”

{Matzav.com}

The massive protest gathering held Monday night in Bnei Brak continues to generate public debate, as one of its principal organizers, Rav Shabtai Levi, explained the thinking behind the event, rejected attempts to turn it into a political demonstration, addressed the controversy over inflammatory remarks made during the rally, and spoke about what he described as the dangers facing bnei Torah who enter the military system.

In an interview with Yaakov Grodka on Kol Barama’s HaMahadura HaMerkazit, Rav Shabtai Levi, the rav of the Ramat Aharon neighborhood and head of the Halichos Moshe institutions, said the demonstration was organized to express solidarity with bnei Torah who have been arrested over military draft issues.

“We organized this entire protest because the public, and the entire Am Yisroel throughout the country, feels the pain of the bnei Torah,” Rav Levi said. “It is unbelievable that in the Holy Land young men are being arrested, and people cannot walk down the street without fearing that a police vehicle will stop them and hand them over. And for what offense? For learning Torah.”

Rav Levi argued that the military neither needs nor is suited for the chareidi community.

“The framework of the army is not suitable for us, and even the army personnel themselves say this—they do not want us and they have no need for us. After all, of everyone in the army, only about 20 percent are outstanding combat soldiers, while the rest wander around idle in the Kirya. So why do they insist? They intentionally want to assimilate us with them so that the bochur chareidi will ultimately become secular. It will never happen. The Torah of Israel sustains the world. Everyone must know that the true master of this country is not its political leaders but those who learn Torah, because without Torah the world cannot exist.”

Addressing reports that some participants tried to display signs criticizing Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, Rav Levi said he personally ordered the signs removed in order to preserve the gathering’s nonpolitical character.

“We announced from the outset that this rally was completely apolitical,” he said. “It began with mourning over the arrests and the humiliation of Torah. Imagine someone sitting on the floor on Tishah B’Av crying, and another person suddenly starts shouting against the prime minister—is that relevant? Two bochurim met me at one o’clock in the morning and asked why I ordered the signs against Deri removed. I told them, ‘Those signs have nothing to do with this event.’ This place is kodesh kodashim, and you do not bring the mundane into the holy.”

He also defended chareidi elected officials, saying they are working on behalf of the community even if they do not always succeed.

“I do not believe there is a single shaliach tzibbur representing the chareidi public who is not working and fighting for the community. Even if they do not succeed one hundred percent, success comes from Heaven. The fact is that all the members of Knesset and former ministers came personally to support the rally, because in our chareidi world we need only one thing—unity. The secular media behaves like a metzora—it sees a huge white wall and searches only for the tiny black spot. Someone held up a sticker, and we removed it immediately before it developed into something bigger.”

Rav Levi also addressed the controversy surrounding remarks delivered by another speaker during the rally, who used an inflammatory expression directed at the IDF chief of staff. The comments were later condemned by senior Shas leader Rav Moshe Maya.

“That is not a sentence I would have said, and had I known beforehand I would have told him not to say it, because that is not our way,” Rav Levi said. “But out of this enormous rally, to seize on one or two words spoken in the heat of the moment? After all, Maran Rav Ovadia Yosef and Rav Shteinman also spoke very sharply in their time against Lapid because of the decrees. The speaker did not, chas v’shalom, intend to harm the chief of staff personally or call for harm against him. He was protesting the concept of the General Staff—the idea that the military establishment becomes the ultimate authority instead of following Torah and religion. A word like that slipped out, but there is no need to make it into a major story. It is completely insignificant compared to the unity and the Kiddush Hashem that took place there.”

Later in the interview, Rav Levi described what he said are troubling conditions faced by chareidi recruits and detainees in the military system, explaining why, in his view, the traditional approach under which those not learning Torah entered military service is no longer viable.

“Fifty years ago there were not many yeshivos. Someone who was not suited for learning would enlist, and the greatest concern was that he might come out smoking cigarettes,” he said. “Today the situation is completely different. Today, if a bochur goes into the army, he comes out desecrating Shabbos. Why? Because everywhere, including the chareidi units, they forcibly bring in women soldiers. A bochur told me that while serving in a chareidi unit, he refused to look at a female soldier because of tznius, and they punished him with a full day in military detention without food because he ‘refused an order.’ Where has anyone ever heard of such a thing?”

Rav Levi also leveled serious allegations regarding the treatment of chareidi detainees in military prisons.

“A prominent rav told me that, systematically, inside the prison, female guards walk around without proper uniforms and half-dressed in violation of the regulations—and all for one purpose: to secularize the bochurim and make them abandon their beliefs. They place them in situations where they have no choice. That is why I say this: Someone who truly is not learning would be prepared to enlist, but on one condition—that there be a framework established according to the guidance of rabbanim, with the rabbanim responsible for preserving taharas hakodesh, and the army signing on to that arrangement. No rav would oppose such a framework. But the army simply is not willing, because their goal is not recruitment—their goal is to secularize us.”