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A new Israeli election poll released Sunday evening shows the right-wing bloc holding a narrow advantage over parties opposed to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, even as Yashar emerges as the country’s largest individual party.

The survey, conducted by the Kantar Institute and broadcast by Kan News, projects 53 Knesset seats for the right-wing bloc, compared with 50 for the anti-Netanyahu camp. The three-seat advantage leaves the right-wing parties ahead of their political rivals, although neither bloc reaches the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.

According to the findings, Yashar would lead the field with 22 seats if elections were held today, while Netanyahu’s Likud would finish second with 20 seats. Beyachad would secure 12 mandates, placing it third.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party would capture nine seats, making it the fourth-largest faction in the Knesset under the poll’s projections.

Four parties would each receive eight seats: the Democrats, United Torah Judaism, the Joint List, and Yisrael Beytenu. Shas would follow with seven seats.

Further down the standings, Religious Zionism-Identity and Ra’am would each receive five mandates. The Reservists-Economic party and Amcha Yisrael would each secure four seats, the minimum required to enter the Knesset under Israel’s electoral threshold.

The latest findings reflect a modest shift toward Netanyahu’s camp compared with the previous Kan survey. The right-wing bloc has gained two seats, rising from 51 to 53, while the principal opposition bloc has slipped from 52 to 50. The Arab parties retain a combined 13 seats.

One significant development is the projected entry of Amcha Yisrael, led by former IDF commander Ofer Winter, into the Knesset. The party had fallen below the electoral threshold in the previous Kan poll but now receives four seats, potentially giving Netanyahu another coalition partner.

The poll also indicates continued strength for Ben Gvir, whose Otzma Yehudit party rises from eight seats in the previous survey to nine. Meanwhile, Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party remains in first place, although its projected representation falls from 23 seats to 22.

Shas MK Yinon Azoulay has called for Jewish schools throughout Israel to employ only Jewish teachers, arguing that Arab educators should teach in Arab schools and that Jewish children should receive their education from teachers who share their religious and cultural heritage.

Speaking Sunday in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet, Azoulay advocated separating the country’s Jewish and Arab educational systems when it comes to hiring teachers. He expressed concern that non-Jewish educators working in Jewish classrooms could expose children to religious beliefs and ideological perspectives inconsistent with Jewish values.

When questioned about his objections to Arab teachers instructing Jewish students, the Shas lawmaker pointed to what he described as the danger of educators using their positions to advance personal ideological agendas.

He drew a comparison to university professors whom he accused of promoting their own political and ideological views in the classroom. Azoulay argued that similar concerns could arise in elementary and secondary schools, suggesting that Christian educators might present Christianity according to their beliefs, while Muslim Arab teachers might introduce students to Islamic teachings.

Azoulay maintained that Israel has no shortage of capable Jewish educators and that the country’s schools should prioritize teachers whose backgrounds correspond to the communities they serve.

“I maintain that Jewish schools have plenty of very good Jewish educators. Arab schools should have Arab teachers, and Jewish schools should have Jewish teachers,” he said. “There is enough heritage to teach, and those who come from that background can teach it. There are enough teachers. What is the problem? We don’t pay these good teachers enough, so they leave for other places.”

His remarks also touched on the difficulties facing Israel’s teaching profession, including salaries that he said are insufficient to retain qualified educators. Rather than relying on non-Jewish teachers to fill positions in Jewish schools, he argued, the government should address the conditions driving Jewish teachers to seek employment elsewhere.

The interviewer also challenged Azoulay with a comparison involving Jewish teachers in Europe, asking how he would react if a European parliamentarian demanded that Jewish educators be excluded from schools.

Azoulay rejected the analogy, insisting that Israel’s identity as a Jewish state makes the situation fundamentally different.

“That doesn’t happen, and it isn’t the case. When it happens there, ask me. We are here in our Jewish state. We have a problem with non-Jewish teachers coming to teach our children. It shouldn’t happen.”

The controversy comes amid a broader debate in Israel over the growing number of Arab educators employed in Hebrew-language schools. Figures presented to a Knesset Education Committee hearing in February 2026 indicated that nearly 4,000 Arab women were employed as teachers in the Hebrew education system during the preceding year.

According to data presented at that hearing, the number and proportion of Arab teachers in Hebrew education had doubled over the previous five years, making the issue an increasingly significant subject of discussion among lawmakers and education officials.

Israel’s Jewish and Arab school systems already operate largely as separate educational frameworks, although Arab teachers are employed in Jewish schools, including in subjects such as mathematics, English, science, and Arabic.

Azoulay denied that his position was motivated by racism. He maintained that his concern was preserving the religious and cultural identity of Jewish students by ensuring that those responsible for educating them had themselves been raised with the traditions they were expected to transmit.

Israel has blocked a German journalist from becoming a permanent correspondent in the country after determining that her published calls for economic and military sanctions against Israel fall under legislation permitting authorities to deny entry to individuals who advocate boycotts of the Jewish state.

The decision affects Serena Bilanceri, a 43-year-old German journalist of Italian background who had sought authorization to work in Israel as the permanent correspondent for the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, commonly known as taz.

The Population and Immigration Authority approved a recommendation from Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism to refuse her entry, effectively preventing her from assuming the position.

Bilanceri had approached the Government Press Office to secure the recommendation required for an Israeli work visa. However, her application came under scrutiny after officials reviewed articles she had written advocating punitive international measures against Israel.

Avi Cohen Scali, director general of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, recommended rejecting her entry request under Amendment 40 to Israel’s Entry into Israel Law, which addresses entry by foreign nationals involved in promoting boycotts against Israel.

Immigration authorities subsequently adopted the ministry’s recommendation, leaving Bilanceri unable to obtain the authorization necessary to serve as the newspaper’s Israel-based correspondent.

Bilanceri has reported on the Israeli-Arab conflict from several countries in the region, including Jordan, Syria, and Israel. According to the ministry, two opinion pieces she published during 2025 provided the basis for the decision.

The first, published by taz on November 17, 2025, carried the title “Sanctions Against Israel.” In that article, Bilanceri endorsed Amnesty International’s description of Israel as an “apartheid state” and urged Western governments to impose economic and military penalties.

“Settler violence is not an isolated incident, but part of a radical strategy of expulsion. The pressure must come from the international community. The United States, as well as Germany and Europe, must impose economic and military sanctions,” she wrote.

Israeli officials cited the article as an explicit appeal for international action against the country, rather than simply an expression of criticism regarding government policy.

A second article, dated September 1, 2025, criticized the German government’s resistance to a European Commission initiative proposing sanctions against Israel over the Gaza war.

In that piece, Bilanceri urged European governments to act collectively and indicated that initial sanctions should be followed by additional measures if they failed to achieve the desired results.

“The European Union must now act together,” she wrote.

She continued by calling for a stronger European response and the implementation of measures already under consideration.

“Europe must now take a firm stand. And if this step proves ineffective, further sanctions must be imposed. Proposals for such measures already exist, including at the European level. All that is needed is the willingness to implement them.”

The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs concluded that these published statements constituted advocacy for sanctions of the kind covered by Israel’s entry restrictions. Officials therefore determined that her application should be denied under the relevant provisions of the law.

Israel’s restrictions on foreign boycott advocates date back to March 2017, when the Knesset approved legislation authorizing the denial of visas and residency permits to noncitizens who publicly call for boycotts against Israel or act on behalf of organizations promoting such campaigns.

The legislation was subsequently expanded in February 2025 through Amendment 40, which added further grounds for refusing entry, including public denial of the Holocaust or the October 7 massacre and support for international prosecution of Israeli security personnel over actions performed in the course of their duties.

The law also permits the interior minister to authorize exceptions under special circumstances, although no such exception was reported in Bilanceri’s case.

The restrictions have generated debate over the distinction between legitimate criticism of Israeli government policy and organized efforts to impose economic or diplomatic penalties on the country. Supporters argue that Israel has the right to deny entry to foreign nationals who actively campaign for measures against it, while civil liberties organizations have criticized the legislation as a restriction on freedom of expression.

In announcing the decision involving Bilanceri, Cohen Scali delivered a forceful warning to foreign journalists and activists who advocate punitive measures against Israel.

“Anti-Israel elements and those who defame Israel should not set foot in the country.”

He further argued that journalists should not use their professional credentials to advance campaigns intended to damage Israel.

“We will not tolerate calls to boycott Israel under the guise of professional journalism. Professional journalism should not take sides in the conflict it covers, and certainly should not exploit the country’s platforms to advance agendas that harm it.”

The ruling leaves Bilanceri without the Israeli work visa she sought for her permanent posting with taz. There was no indication in the initial announcement that the newspaper had selected a replacement correspondent or that Bilanceri had filed an appeal against the decision.

The left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz has launched a blistering attack on Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over the treatment of Palestinian security prisoners, accusing Israel of operating what it described as torture facilities and invoking the imprisonment of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann to condemn the government’s policies.

In an editorial published Sunday, Haaretz accused Ben Gvir and the Israel Prison Service of imposing increasingly harsh conditions on Palestinian detainees since the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023. The newspaper alleged that prisoners have been subjected to inadequate food, physical mistreatment, and degrading treatment by prison personnel.

The editorial’s criticism centered on the case of Hiba Alawi, a 38-year-old Palestinian mother of five from Yehuda and Shomron, whose experience in Israeli custody was presented as an example of the conditions the newspaper was denouncing.

Describing the circumstances of her incarceration, Haaretz wrote:

“She was convicted of two attempts to enter Israel illegally after trying to provide for her children. She was held in Damon Prison for five and a half months.”

The newspaper claimed that Alawi received extremely limited food portions throughout her imprisonment, alleging that the meals provided by prison authorities were insufficient and, on some occasions, unfit to eat.

“Throughout her imprisonment, Alawi suffered from hunger. On most days of her incarceration, the daily food provided to her by the Israel Prison Service consisted of six slices of bread for the entire day, sometimes wet bread and sometimes stale; breakfast consisted of one tablespoon of white cheese and a quarter tablespoon of jam; lunch consisted of two tablespoons of lentils, two tablespoons of chickpeas, and two tablespoons of partially cooked rice; and for dinner she was given one tablespoon of tahini, one tablespoon of hummus, and a hard-boiled egg, which she usually threw away because of its foul smell.”

Haaretz also leveled allegations of physical abuse against prison guards, claiming that Alawi had experienced repeated violence, painful restraints, and humiliating searches during her five-and-a-half-month detention.

The editorial presented a lengthy account of the alleged mistreatment:

“In addition to being starved, Alawi suffered severe, arbitrary violence and humiliation at the hands of Israel Prison Service guards. Guards painfully shackled her, beat her, pulled her hair, and dragged her. One guard stepped on her fingers, causing a fingernail to be torn off. Guards threw tear gas and stun grenades near her, shocked her with a Taser, sprayed her with pepper spray, broke her teeth, and female guards subjected her and other prisoners to humiliating strip searches. Like other prisoners, she also suffered from scabies.”

These allegations were presented by Haaretz as evidence of a broader deterioration in the treatment of Palestinian prisoners. The account provided in the editorial did not establish that the individual allegations had been independently verified, and no response from the Israel Prison Service was included in the report.

In one of its harshest passages, the newspaper accused Ben Gvir of overseeing a prison system that had abandoned acceptable standards of treatment. It also drew a comparison to Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi official responsible for organizing the deportation of millions of Jews to extermination camps, who was captured by Israel, tried in Yerushalayim, and executed in 1962.

“Since October 7, Israel’s security prisons have become torture facilities. When Israel abducted the Nazi monster Adolf Eichmann, no one even considered starving or beating him in prison. But under Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, led in this matter by the Kahanist minister Itamar Ben Gvir, there is no red line that has not been crossed.”

The attack comes amid a continuing political and legal battle over Ben Gvir’s overhaul of conditions for security prisoners, a policy he has repeatedly defended as necessary to eliminate privileges previously enjoyed by convicted terrorists and strengthen deterrence against future attacks.

Since taking office, Ben Gvir has promoted sweeping changes in Israeli prisons, including restrictions on canteen purchases, reductions in shower and exercise time, changes to prison menus, and the elimination of certain privileges previously available to security inmates.

Israeli security officials have previously reported that the tougher conditions have contributed to deterring potential terrorists, alongside intensified counterterrorism operations in Yehuda and Shomron. According to those assessments, the prospect of imprisonment under the new policies has become an additional consideration for individuals contemplating attacks.

Ben Gvir has repeatedly maintained that terrorists should receive only the minimum conditions required by law, arguing that Israeli prisons must cease offering privileges that could make incarceration less of a deterrent.

The issue has also generated controversy over access by the International Committee of the Red Cross to security prisoners. In June, Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the resumption of such visits, but subsequent restrictions imposed by the Israel Prison Service prompted further objections from civil rights advocates.

Under procedures introduced by prison authorities, visits were subject to advance authorization, intelligence screening, and limitations on the categories of prisoners who could receive them. Critics argued that the restrictions undermined the court’s ruling, while prison officials maintained that security considerations required strict oversight.

The latest Haaretz editorial followed a major security operation conducted at five Israeli prisons on October 7, the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre. The operation began at 6:29 a.m., the precise time the terrorist invasion began in 2023.

Prison officers, including personnel from specialized units, searched security wings and cells for prohibited items and potential threats. The Israel Prison Service said the operation was part of its continuing effort to maintain order and prevent security incidents inside correctional facilities.

Against that backdrop, Haaretz concluded its editorial by accusing Ben Gvir of turning the treatment of Palestinian prisoners into a central political issue and faulting senior prison officials for implementing his policies.

“Indeed, the cruelty of the Israel Prison Service is at the center of Ben Gvir’s election campaign, with the disgraceful cooperation of the Prison Service’s leadership.”

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] Rav Dovid Ben Pinchas, a longtime Torah educator who suffered the devastating loss of his daughter in a traffic accident and later lost his son in battle against Hamas in Gaza, has spoken movingly about the enduring pain of losing two children, the extraordinary courage displayed by his son, and the emunah that has sustained his family through unimaginable tragedy.

In an emotional interview with Arutz Sheva, Rav Ben Pinchas, who heads the bais medrash at the Bat Yam Yeshiva, described how his family’s suffering has become a permanent part of their lives, even as they continue to find strength in their connection to Hashem and Klal Yisroel.

His daughter, Efrat, was killed in a road accident just five months after her wedding. Years later, his son Avraham, an IDF tank officer who had devoted himself to both Torah learning and defending the Jewish people, was killed during combat operations in Rafah.

Reflecting on the support that has helped his family endure these tragedies, Rav Ben Pinchas emphasized the importance of recognizing that even the most overwhelming suffering need not be faced alone.

“If you are alone, you will not hold up,” he says. “Only when you feel that all of Israel is with you, and of course that the Almighty is with you, can you begin to open your eyes.”

He explained that the posuk describing the Jewish people as children of Hashem assumes an especially profound meaning when a person experiences terrible loss.

“The most natural feeling when disaster strikes is that you are no longer a child, that the Almighty has forgotten you. Yet it is precisely at such a moment that the Torah commands a person to feel that he is a child of God.”

The rav stressed that maintaining emunah does not mean that grief disappears or that the passage of time necessarily makes the pain easier to bear.

“You think that after a year or two you will finally be able to lift your head, but that is not how it works. Suddenly, something takes you back to the events and the moments.”

The memories, he explained, remain present even as life continues, and moments of sadness can return without warning.

“We will always carry it with us, always remember, and it will always be difficult. But that has absolutely nothing to do with the question of faith.”

Avraham Ben Pinchas served as an officer in the IDF’s 46th Armored Battalion after spending years immersed in Torah learning at Yeshivat Ro’eh Yisrael. According to his father, Avraham regarded his responsibilities as a soldier and his dedication to Torah as expressions of the same lifelong commitment to serving Hashem.

“Serving God in the army and serving God in the yeshiva were two aspects of the same thing,” he says.

That outlook was so central to Avraham’s identity that his family chose to commemorate it on his matzeivah, describing his service to Hashem “through Torah and through war.”

Those who served under Avraham encountered a commander who combined determination on the battlefield with unusual sensitivity toward the soldiers entrusted to his care.

One particularly difficult episode came when his close friend, Itai Fogel, was killed in combat. Despite the personal devastation, Avraham understood that his soldiers were looking to him for direction and reassurance.

“His best friend had been killed, and he had to hold everything together,” the rabbi recalls.

Avraham himself narrowly escaped death months before he was ultimately killed.

During a combat operation, an anti-tank missile struck his tank, leaving him seriously wounded. A piece of shrapnel entered his head but stopped short of penetrating his brain.

He underwent surgery and recovered sufficiently to insist on returning to active combat duty.

Only after his death did his family discover that he had continued experiencing headaches following the injury, suffering he had chosen not to disclose to them.

His bravery was also evident during a Hamas ambush in which another soldier was wounded.

Without hesitating, Avraham climbed out of his tank carrying two tourniquets and made his way toward the injured soldier, exposing himself to danger in order to administer lifesaving assistance.

His intervention helped save the soldier’s life.

Afterward, Avraham used the incident as an opportunity to strengthen his soldiers’ confidence, explaining that their actions during the emergency had been appropriate despite the extraordinary pressure they had faced.

His father recalled another practice that reflected Avraham’s approach to leadership.

Avraham had made a personal commitment to tell at least one soldier each week that the soldier had been correct about something. He wanted the men under his command to feel comfortable expressing their opinions, questioning decisions, and pointing out mistakes.

Rav Ben Pinchas said the idea made such an impression on him that he subsequently incorporated the same principle into his own work in chinuch.

The family’s ordeal deepened on Shabbos, December 7, 2024, when Avraham was killed during fighting in Rafah. He was 24 years old and served as a platoon commander in the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion. His tank was struck by Hamas anti-tank fire during an operation in southern Gaza.

Avraham had spoken with his family on Friday, informing them that he was about to participate in an offensive operation and expected to contact them again after Shabbos.

It would be their final conversation.

When military representatives arrived at the Ben Pinchas home in Haresha on Shabbos afternoon, Rav Ben Pinchas and his wife understood that something terrible had happened.

They asked the representatives to return after Shabbos and continued observing the holy day together with their children, who had not yet been informed of their brother’s death.

Following the tragedy, the family began working to preserve Avraham’s legacy through the publication of booklets containing his Torah teachings, personal recollections, and accounts of his character. A Sefer Torah was also dedicated in his memory.

“Our main effort to preserve his memory is through education – preserving the spirit, the character traits and the personality we need to build,” his father says.

The family’s earlier loss had profoundly influenced Avraham’s own outlook on life.

His older sister, Efrat Brener, was killed in a traffic accident near Yitzhar in 2020, only five months after her marriage. She was 19 years old.

Avraham, approximately a year and a half younger than Efrat, had shared a particularly close relationship with her, and her sudden death left a lasting impression on him.

During his military officers’ training, he wrote about how the loss of his sister, together with his childhood experiences in Haresha, had shaped his understanding of suffering, responsibility, and personal sacrifice.

The Ben Pinchas family had been among the earliest residents of Haresha, a community in the Binyamin region that experienced years of legal disputes and public controversy surrounding its establishment and future.

Growing up in that environment, Avraham developed a strong attachment to Eretz Yisroel and a determination to contribute to the security and future of the Jewish people.

His years in yeshiva reinforced those convictions. His father believes that the combination of Torah learning, family tragedy, and the challenges surrounding his community helped produce the remarkable sense of responsibility that characterized Avraham’s military service.

Additional accounts of Avraham’s life reveal that his commitment to learning extended well beyond the bais medrash. Family members and friends recalled a young man with an unusually broad range of interests, who studied everything from technology and economics to military systems and practical engineering.

After joining the armored corps, he devoted himself to understanding the workings of his tank and its equipment, studying technical manuals that other soldiers rarely opened.

He was equally determined to understand the personalities and needs of the men under his command.

According to accounts shared by those who knew him, Avraham even sought advice from his grandmother, a therapist, to improve his interpersonal skills as an officer. He recognized that technical expertise alone would not make him the kind of commander his soldiers deserved.

His concern for others was remembered particularly vividly by an American soldier who served under him. Despite the language barrier between them, Avraham made a special effort to communicate with the soldier and help him feel comfortable and supported.

Avraham also arranged for the soldier to travel home to visit his family, demonstrating the same personal concern that characterized his leadership throughout his military service.

His family has continued hearing such stories from soldiers who served alongside him, many of whom described his willingness to assume difficult responsibilities and place the welfare of others ahead of his own comfort.

Rav Ben Pinchas, who has spent more than twenty years teaching Torah at the Bat Yam Yeshiva, said his own educational outlook has been shaped by the teachings of his rebbi, Rav Dovid Chai HaKohen.

That approach emphasizes the profound connection between Torah, Klal Yisroel, and Eretz Yisroel, a worldview that Avraham embraced throughout his life.

“There is one great Torah,” he says. “The Land of Israel, the people of Israel and the Torah of God – everything comes together as one.”

For Rav Ben Pinchas, continuing to teach and inspire others has become an important part of carrying forward the values that his son lived by.

Yet he emphasized that the ability to speak about tragedy with conviction and emunah should never be mistaken for an absence of suffering.

“When we speak with strength, it does not mean the pain has disappeared,” he says. “Strength exists in one place, while the pain and the struggle continue every day.”

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump is publicly urging Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman to leave the Democratic Party and become a Republican, making a direct appeal to the increasingly independent-minded senator as both parties prepare for a closely contested battle over control of the Senate in November’s midterm elections.

Speaking with reporters Saturday at Joint Base Andrews after returning from a campaign rally in Tennessee, Trump suggested that Fetterman would be more comfortable politically as a member of the Republican Party.

“I’d love to see him as a Republican,” Trump told reporters. “He does better as a Republican than he does as a Democrat.”

Trump’s remarks represent one of his clearest public attempts to persuade Fetterman to change his party affiliation. The possibility has attracted growing attention as the Pennsylvania Democrat has repeatedly broken with members of his own party on several high-profile issues, including immigration enforcement and support for Israel.

Fetterman entered the Senate in 2023 after winning a closely watched election in 2022, when he was widely regarded as an emerging Democratic political figure whose unconventional style and blue-collar image appealed to working-class voters.

Since arriving in Washington, however, he has increasingly distanced himself from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, taking positions that have drawn praise from Republicans and criticism from fellow Democrats.

Despite the speculation surrounding his political future, Fetterman has consistently maintained that he has no intention of joining the GOP.

In a Washington Post opinion piece published in May, he dismissed the idea of changing parties, describing himself as a “terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats.”

His relationship with Democratic colleagues became particularly strained last month after he appeared in a video prepared for a Republican midterm convention, offering praise for Pennsylvania’s other senator, Republican Dave McCormick, while criticizing what he characterized as extremist elements within his own party.

“I’m always going to stand with America,” Fetterman declared in the recording. “I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life.”

The appearance intensified questions about Fetterman’s long-term political future, particularly whether his increasingly public disagreements with Democratic activists could create difficulties if he seeks the party’s nomination for another Senate term.

Trump appeared to allude to those potential political complications during his Saturday remarks, presenting a move to the Republican Party as an alternative for the Pennsylvania senator.

Fetterman’s office did not immediately provide a response to a request for comment regarding Trump’s latest invitation.

The president’s appeal comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Senate Republicans, who are defending their majority in an election increasingly shaped by voter concerns about the economy and the consequences of the war with Iran.

Democrats must gain a net four Senate seats to regain control of the chamber, an objective that remains difficult but has become more plausible as Republicans confront an increasingly challenging political environment.

A shift in party affiliation by Fetterman could have major implications for the balance of power in Washington, particularly if the election produces a closely divided Senate.

At the same time, Democratic gains sufficient to give the party a 51-seat majority could place Fetterman in an influential position within his existing party, potentially reducing any incentive to become a Republican.

Additional reporting has highlighted the extent of Fetterman’s growing independence. Although he has historically sided with Democrats on roughly 90% of Senate votes since taking office, his alignment with the party has reportedly fallen below 81% during the current congressional session.

Trump has also praised Fetterman personally, describing him as a “great guy” with “great common sense,” while suggesting that his political outlook and popularity could make him a valuable addition to the Republican Party.

The Pennsylvania senator has maintained relationships with prominent Republican lawmakers, including McCormick, and has demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with GOP figures even when doing so draws criticism from Democratic activists.

During a public discussion at the Texas Tribune Festival in September, Fetterman also inadvertently referred to himself as a “lifelong Republican,” a slip that attracted additional attention amid the continuing speculation about his political allegiance.

Although party switches are relatively rare in the modern Senate, several previous defections have dramatically altered the chamber’s political balance.

In 2001, Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party and became an independent, a decision that transferred control of the Senate to Democrats.

Eight years later, Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter abandoned the GOP and joined the Democrats, helping the party secure a filibuster-proof majority during President Barack Obama’s administration.

Fetterman has not indicated that he is reconsidering his Democratic affiliation, and there has been no announcement of any formal discussions about changing parties.

{Matzav.com}

The fruits and vegetables Americans eat today may contain substantially fewer essential vitamins and minerals than the same foods consumed by their parents and grandparents, according to new research suggesting that decades of modern agricultural practices have quietly diminished the nutritional quality of everyday foods.

A new analysis by researchers at Deep Science Ventures, a science and technology investment organization, found that certain fruits, vegetables and grains contain between 20% and 50% less of several important nutrients than they did approximately 60 years ago.

The findings suggest that consumers may need to eat considerably larger quantities of some foods to obtain the same amounts of minerals such as potassium, magnesium and copper that previous generations received from smaller servings.

Among the foods identified in the research were carrots, apples, peas, wheat, cereals and bread, all staples of diets around the world.

Researchers say the problem stems largely from the way modern agriculture has developed, with farmers and crop scientists concentrating on producing greater quantities of food while giving comparatively little attention to the nutritional content of what they grow.

The result, according to the report, is a food supply that has become extraordinarily efficient at producing calories but has not necessarily maintained the same concentrations of essential nutrients.

“For sixty years we’ve measured food security in calories and tonnes per hectare, and on those measures we’ve done remarkably well. But we’ve been quietly hollowing out what’s inside our food,” said Will Summers, senior associate for climate at Deep Science Ventures.

The findings, reported Thursday by The Independent, raise questions about the nutritional consequences of agricultural advances that have dramatically increased food production and helped feed a growing global population.

Since the 1960s, cereal yields per hectare have increased by approximately 215%, allowing farmers to harvest more than three times as much grain from the same amount of land.

Those advances have contributed to a substantial reduction in undernutrition in developing countries, where the proportion of people experiencing insufficient food consumption has fallen from approximately 35% to 12%, according to figures cited by the researchers.

However, the report argues that agricultural success has come with an overlooked trade-off: some crops have become less concentrated sources of the minerals and vitamins needed to maintain good health.

Scientists refer to part of this phenomenon as the dilution effect.

When crops are bred to grow faster, produce larger harvests or accumulate more carbohydrates, their uptake of minerals does not always increase at the same rate. Consequently, the nutritional concentration of the harvested food may decline even as overall production rises.

The researchers also point to declining soil health as an important concern, arguing that farming practices and the condition of agricultural land can influence how effectively crops obtain nutrients.

Intensive cultivation, changes in soil management and the selection of crop varieties primarily for yield may all contribute to differences in nutritional content.

The problem is particularly troubling because many people already consume diets that provide sufficient calories but inadequate quantities of essential micronutrients.

Worldwide, more than 2 billion people are estimated to experience at least one micronutrient deficiency, according to figures cited in the report.

These deficiencies are not confined to poorer countries. Researchers warn that inadequate intake of nutrients such as zinc, selenium and folate also occurs in wealthier nations, including the United States and Britain.

One particularly striking finding concerns wheat, a fundamental ingredient in bread and numerous other foods.

According to the report, fewer than one-third of bread-wheat varieties introduced since the 1960s meet the researchers’ recommended zinc target.

Zinc plays an important role in immune function, wound healing and maintaining healthy skin and hair. Inadequate zinc intake can interfere with these processes, particularly among people whose diets are already deficient.

The researchers also examined selenium, a mineral needed for normal immune function and thyroid health.

Their analysis suggests that a woman would need to consume approximately four slices of wholemeal bread to obtain just one-third of her recommended daily selenium intake.

Selenium is found in foods including whole grains and Brazil nuts, although the amount present in plant foods can vary considerably depending on growing conditions.

Iron is another major concern. Insufficient iron intake can lead to anemia, fatigue and difficulties with concentration, while inadequate potassium consumption is associated with increased cardiovascular risks.

The report cites research suggesting that low potassium intake may be associated with a substantially greater risk of stroke, a condition that already imposes enormous medical and economic costs.

The findings have taken on added urgency because of the rapid growth in the use of weight-loss medications, including Ozempic and Mounjaro.

These drugs, which are part of a class of medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists or related therapies, can significantly reduce appetite and the amount of food people consume.

Researchers warn that if individuals eat substantially less food while the nutritional concentration of that food is also declining, they may face an increased risk of failing to obtain sufficient vitamins and minerals.

The Deep Science Ventures analysis suggests that the combination of reduced food consumption and declining crop nutrient density could leave approximately 5 million working-age adults in Britain below recommended intake levels for essential nutrients.

That figure represents a projected risk rather than a confirmed count of people who have developed deficiencies.

“As weight-loss drugs mean people eat less, the nutritional quality of every bite starts to matter much more. The good news is that we already have the tools to fix this, in breeding, soil health, markets and policy. What’s been missing is the recognition that this problem is worth measuring and solving at its source,” Summers said.

The new findings add to a growing body of research examining changes in the nutritional composition of food over time.

In a widely cited 2004 study, researchers at the University of Texas examined U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional records for 43 garden crops between 1950 and 1999.

They identified statistically significant declines in six nutrients, including protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin and vitamin C.

The reductions ranged from approximately 6% for protein to 38% for riboflavin, although other nutrients showed no statistically reliable decline.

A separate British study examining food composition records between 1940 and 2019 reported decreases of approximately 50% in iron, 49% in copper and 10% in magnesium across the fruits and vegetables studied.

Scientists have also identified rising atmospheric carbon dioxide as a potential contributor to declining nutritional quality.

Research indicates that elevated carbon dioxide concentrations can stimulate plant growth and carbohydrate production while reducing the concentration of certain minerals and proteins in edible crops.

A large scientific analysis published in 2025 examined thousands of observations involving 43 food crops and found that higher carbon dioxide levels were associated with changes in nutrient concentrations, particularly for zinc, iron and protein.

Nevertheless, researchers caution that the evidence does not mean every fruit or vegetable sold today contains half the nutrients it once did.

Some historical comparisons are complicated by changes in crop varieties, geographic growing locations, laboratory testing methods and the way nutritional data were collected decades ago.

A 2017 scientific review challenged the conclusion that agricultural soil depletion has caused a universal decline in food nutrients, arguing that some reported changes fall within natural variations and that differences in crop varieties and measurement methods can distort historical comparisons.

The research therefore points to significant declines in certain nutrients and foods rather than proving that the entire modern produce supply has lost half its nutritional value.

Scientists studying the issue are increasingly examining ways to improve nutritional quality without sacrificing the productivity needed to feed billions of people.

One approach involves breeding crop varieties specifically selected for higher concentrations of essential minerals and vitamins, rather than focusing almost exclusively on yield, appearance and resistance to pests.

Another involves improving soil health through agricultural practices that preserve organic matter, encourage beneficial soil organisms and support the availability of nutrients to growing plants.

Researchers are also investigating biofortification, a process in which crops are developed or cultivated to contain higher levels of particular nutrients.

Such efforts have already produced varieties of staple crops with increased concentrations of iron, zinc and other micronutrients, particularly for use in regions where deficiencies are widespread.

Sian Ferguson, a trust executive at the Mark Leonard Trust, said the findings demonstrate the importance of restoring and maintaining healthy agricultural soils.

“Healthy soil is the foundation of healthy food. This report shows that rebuilding soil health is one of the few measures that can improve nutrient density, yields and climate resilience all at once, and farmers can do it profitably today.”

{Matzav.com}