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It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Mrs. Miriam Stern a”h, the wife of Rav Dovid Asher HaKohen Stern. She was 62.

The levayah proceeded Monday afternoon from her home in Bnei Brak to the Ponovezh Cemetery, where she was brought to kevurah.

In light of her petirah, the daily shiur delivered by her brother, Rav Asher Arielli, at Yeshivas Mir was not given.

Mrs. Stern was born during Sukkos 5724 (1963) to Rav Chaim Yaakov Arielli, zt”l, one of the outstanding gedolei Torah of the previous generation and the author of the sefer Be’er Yaakov. She was a granddaughter of Rav Yitzchak Arielli, zt”l, author of Einayim LaMishpat, and of Rebbetzin Shulamis, daughter of Rav Asher Sternbuch, zt”l, of London.

She was raised in a home permeated with Torah, yiras Shamayim, and noble middos, and was privileged to descend from some of the most illustrious Torah families in the Lithuanian and Brisker world.

On her mother’s side, she was a niece of the senior posek, Rav Moshe Sternbuch; Rav Eliyahu Sternbuch, zt”l, Av Beis Din of Machzikei Hadas in Antwerp; and Rav Chanoch Ehrentreu, zt”l, Av Beis Din of London; and the wife of Rav Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik, zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Brisk.

Throughout her life, she stood devotedly at the side of her husband, Rav Dovid Asher HaKohen Stern, and together they established a distinguished bayis ne’eman b’Yisroel, built upon Torah and yiras Shamayim, with exceptional tznius, in their home on Rechov Rambam in Bnei Brak. She was known for her many acts of chesed, her quiet humility, and the gracious manner in which she received every person.

Her brothers are counted among the leading marbitzei Torah of the generation: Rav Asher Arielli, , who delivers the largest daily shiur in the world at Yeshivas Mir; Rav Shmuel Arielli, rosh yeshiva of Chevron HaChadashah; and Rav Shlomo Arielli, a marbitz Torah at Yeshivas Tchebin and editor of the writings of Rav Akiva Eiger.

Tehei nishmasah tzerurah bitzror hachaim.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly signaled to senior U.S. officials that it is prepared to reopen discussions about joining the Abraham Accords, but only if Israel agrees to a series of significant political and policy changes that are widely viewed as unacceptable to the current government.

According to a report in Yisroel Hayom, Riyadh has conveyed messages in recent weeks to officials in the Trump administration indicating a renewed willingness to pursue normalization with Israel. However, sources familiar with the discussions said the Saudis have attached conditions that Israel’s present coalition is unlikely to accept.

Three individuals with knowledge of the diplomatic contacts said Saudi Arabia has been actively engaging with senior figures in Washington, including officials at the White House, the State Department, and members of Congress. One source said representatives of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman outlined two primary conditions: that Binyamin Netanyahu no longer serve as prime minister following Israel’s next elections, and that policies advanced by Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich in Yehuda and Shomron over the past several years be reversed.

According to American officials cited in the report, Saudi Arabia views those two conditions as closely connected. Riyadh believes that as long as Netanyahu remains in office, he will continue backing Smotrich’s policies in Yehuda and Shomron, making it impossible to reach a normalization agreement under the current circumstances.

During the war, Saudi Arabia reportedly explored the possibility of formally recognizing Israel on several occasions in exchange for major Israeli concessions on the Palestinian issue. Among the demands discussed was a public declaration by Netanyahu expressing a willingness, in principle, to support the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu rejected those conditions, and negotiations did not advance.

The report also noted that the late Sen. Lindsey Graham had been actively involved in recent years in efforts to strengthen ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia and to help pave the way toward normalization.

Sources familiar with the diplomatic efforts said many of Saudi Arabia’s demands are intended to move the political process forward rather than necessarily secure immediate results. They also claimed that Riyadh frustrated President Donald Trump during the war with Iran by blocking, according to those sources, a U.S.-backed initiative to open the Strait of Hormuz to safe commercial shipping for vessels not connected to Iran.

The same sources further alleged that Saudi Arabia’s refusal to allow American forces to use U.S. military bases on Saudi soil for operations against Iran also angered President Trump.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia’s latest diplomatic initiative is intended in part to demonstrate to Trump that the kingdom remains a critical strategic partner for the United States while also advancing a political arrangement aimed at preventing another military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.

{Matzav.com}

Acting on instructions from the city’s leading rabbanim, the Bnei Brak Municipality is preparing to implement gender-separated sidewalks along Shlomo HaMelech and Ezra Streets, home to several popular wedding and event halls. The stated goal of the initiative is to “prevent encounters between men and women.” City officials said, “The rabbis’ letter speaks for itself.”

According to the report, the municipality is moving forward with plans to carry out a directive issued by prominent rabbanim calling for complete gender separation along the sidewalks of the two streets. The proposal includes physical changes to the public space, including signs and designated sidewalks for men and women, with the aim of ensuring that the two do not walk along the same side.

The official directive, which was released to the public, instructs that all residents—adults and children alike—be informed of the policy and educated to observe it carefully. The need for the separation, according to the directive, stems from the heavy pedestrian traffic created by guests attending events at the nearby wedding halls.

Municipal officials said the plan has been under discussion for several years. They added that the proposal is not necessarily limited to these two streets and could eventually be expanded to other crowded thoroughfares in the city, similar to arrangements found in other chareidi population centers.

The initiative appears to conflict with previous rulings by Israel’s Supreme Court, which has barred the installation of gender-separation signs in public neighborhoods. One such ruling followed a widely publicized dispute in Beit Shemesh that sparked fierce controversy. In this case, however, the initiative is being advanced by the mainstream chareidi leadership in Bnei Brak.

Responding to the report, city officials said, “The rabbis’ letter is very clear and speaks for itself. The city’s residents, who faithfully follow the guidance of the gedolei Yisroel and heed their instructions, will comply with their request.”

Yael Yechieli, director of the 5050 Initiative, sharply criticized the proposal. “Throughout all the years of our struggle against gender segregation, we warned that there would be no end to the demands for separation, and that it would eventually reach the streets. It will never stop. It started with buses, continued with events, then academia, and now sidewalks. The community’s rabbis want to exclude women from every place, and if we don’t stop them, it will only continue. The monster of segregation is never satisfied. It is important to emphasize that only men were sitting around the Bnei Brak Municipality’s decision-making table. Is it possible that if 50% of those present had been women, a different decision would have been made? The disaster of segregation must end, and the public must fight against it.”

[COMMUNICATED]

One of the most revealing parts of architect Liran Shukrun’s thinking is the way he speaks about the home itself. A frum family does not always live inside the standard Israeli apartment formula. In many Torah homes, the center of gravity is different. It may be the dining room table. It may be the seforim. It may be the constant flow of children, guests, learning, meals, and Shabbos. A home like that needs scale, flexibility, and a different kind of attention.

That understanding shaped the apartments at Givat Hashalvah. The homes are large, open, and planned to adapt over time. Structural elements are kept away from the center of the living space wherever possible, allowing rooms and layouts to remain flexible as family needs change. Liran speaks about this almost as a moral responsibility: if a family is going to live here for many years, the home must be able to grow with them.

The same thinking appears in the windows and balconies. Bedrooms were planned with unusually tall openings so a person standing inside the room meets the landscape at eye level. Living rooms and bedrooms open toward the view, not through small, incidental windows, but through panoramic glass that makes the hills and courtyards part of the home experience. The balconies are large enough to live on, not just step onto, creating real space for hosting, sitting, breathing, and bringing family life outdoors.

That is what makes the planning feel so specific. Givat Hashalvah is not only responding to a market need for larger homes. It is responding to a way of life. The project understands that a home for a frum family carries learning, hosting, children, guests, privacy, flexibility, and daily rhythm all at once. The architecture was asked to respect that. And in the best parts of the plan, it does.

Explore Givat Hashalvah → https://go.lyo.group/3LxM3tz

President Donald Trump declared Monday that the United States will continue carrying out military strikes against Iran, warning that additional attacks could come within hours and suggesting that one of Tehran’s most heavily fortified nuclear facilities may soon be in Washington’s crosshairs.

During an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, Trump issued a blunt warning to Iran, saying, “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow, and there’s not a damn thing they can do about it. They have nothing. They have nothing going on other than they have big mouths…they’re stone-cold crazy people.”

Trump on Iran: "We're going to hit them very hard tonight and we're going to hit them very hard tomorrow." pic.twitter.com/Pyh2lZ5eS1

— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) July 13, 2026

Trump went on to question the behavior of Iran’s leadership, saying, “Well, I think they’re a little cuckoo…they’re wired a little bit differently. We had a deal yesterday. It was, like, going to be 100 percent. And then, all of a sudden, they got a phone call, and they all ran out of the room.”

He accused Tehran of repeatedly abandoning agreements and warned that its leaders could never be trusted, adding, “These people are – these people are crazy. We had a deal where we won everything. And they basically break the deals. You know, they make deals, and to them, deals are made to be broken. They are extremely unreliable people. And, frankly, if they ever had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it within one day.”

Trump also identified Pickaxe Mountain—the deeply buried and heavily protected tunnel complex near the Natanz nuclear enrichment site, where Iran is believed to operate an undeclared uranium enrichment facility—as a potential military objective.

Referring to the site, he said, “Pickax is a possible target for a nice big fat shot right in the front door. And I think that maybe you’ll see that.”

Trump argued that Iran’s conventional military capabilities have been severely weakened, declaring, “The fact is they have no Air Force, they have no Navy, they have no nothing. All they do is talk and they have fake press.”

He added that the underground nuclear complex remains under close surveillance and suggested that military action there could come soon. “we’re watching [Pickaxe] closely. We see no activity there. They’re not doing well with their nuclear situation. Every time we hear about it, we blow it up, so they don’t like talking about it. But we’ll probably give Pickax a shot relatively soon.”

Asked about his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump dismissed reports of any rift and described their ties as strong, calling the relationship “very good”.

He acknowledged that they do not always see eye to eye but emphasized their partnership, saying, “I get along with Netanyahu; sometimes I disagree with him, and I tell him that.”

Rejecting suggestions that he had abandoned the Israeli leader, Trump said, “I didn’t throw Bibi under the bus. He’s doing a great job. Without the two of us, there wouldn’t be an Israel.”

Earlier Monday, Trump also announced that the United States would restore its naval blockade against Iran after it had been lifted following a recently signed memorandum of understanding between the two countries.

In a social media post, Trump wrote, “The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving.”

He added, “All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait. The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded online by acknowledging part of Trump’s statement while rejecting the broader implication, writing, “POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service.”

He concluded by asserting Iran’s longstanding role in the strategic waterway, adding, “Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”

{Matzav.com}