Sen. John Fetterman said Wednesday that the military campaign known as Operation Epic Fury has produced strong results and pushed back against media portrayals suggesting the operation has gone poorly.
Speaking during an appearance on CNN’s The Source, the Pennsylvania Democrat argued that some coverage, particularly from The New York Times, paints an inaccurate picture of the situation.
During the discussion, Fetterman said he believes certain outlets are attempting to frame the operation as unsuccessful. “I don’t know what your network has talked about, but what I’m saying [is] that, whether, like, it’s The New York Times, they’re making it more and more trying to convince America that this has been a disaster or things are out of control, and that’s just categorically not true on that.”
Fetterman pointed to what he described as measurable outcomes from the campaign, saying the operation has significantly reduced Iranian attacks and weakened the country’s ability to retaliate.
Earlier in the conversation, he praised the military results so far. “the outcome thusfar has been outstanding. If you just look at the metrics, that the missile and the drone attacks are down in the 90s percent. And Iran really has been [unable] to strike back and hit our assets or Israel much right now. So, after eliminating all of the leadership after seven or eight days and achieving air supremacy after a couple of days, I think overall, I think it’s been outstanding, where we’re at.”
At the same time, Fetterman said that it is reasonable for the media to report on controversial aspects of the conflict, including a strike that hit a school in Iran.
{Matzav.com}
As first reported here on Matzav.com, a remarkable simcha was celebrated this week in Modiin Illit, where a well-known local family welcomed their 21st child. The birth has drawn widespread attention not only because of the extraordinary number, but also because all 21 children were born in separate births, without a single set of twins.
In a special interview with Menachem Toker on the Kol Chai program Zman Avir, the father revealed a remarkable story about a bracha he received years ago from Maran Sar HaTorah Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l.
The father recalled that when the family had only four or five children, he once received a brocha from the revered gadol that would ultimately shape his life.
“This is a bracha, by the way, from Rav Chaim Kanievsky. I was very close to him,” the father said. “I cannot go into the details, but he told me explicitly: you will have twenty children. I knew that when he says something, that’s how it will be.”
The father explained that Rav Chaim continued to follow the family’s growth over the years and repeatedly reaffirmed the blessing.
“When there were eight children, I came to tell him. He had served as sandek a few times. He said to me: ‘Nu, there will be another eight,’ and he smiled. He kept repeating the bracha. He was consistent the entire time.”
The family’s strong emunah chachamim has also been tested during the current war, as missile sirens and the tense security situation have disrupted daily life. Despite the circumstances, the family once again chose to give birth at the Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak.
“I still believe his bracha remains,” the father said. “So even with all the discomfort because of the war conditions, we specifically went there. He told me several times: I told you, Mayanei HaYeshua.”
During the interview, the father also spoke emotionally about the family’s eldest son, who lives with a disability. He said that Rav Chaim gave them chizuk at a time when doctors were offering discouraging predictions.
“You really have to know that behind this stands Rav Chaim Kanievsky,” he said. “Even with the disabled son, when doctors said various things, Rav Chaim dismissed it with a wave of his hand. He told me: don’t worry, don’t worry. He is the firstborn, he is the oldest.”
Asked by Toker how parents can give individual attention to so many children, the father offered a heartfelt approach to chinuch that resonated deeply with listeners.
“If you see every child as a world unto himself, it’s possible,” he explained. “If each child is just another number, another box, then it cannot work. But if you believe every child has his own strengths, his uniqueness, his needs, and his goodness, then what does one have to do with the other? You see each one as one.”
On the practical side of managing such a large household, the father noted that several years ago the family expanded their home in order to better accommodate their son with special needs.
“We made some changes and expanded the house,” he said. “You can manage even with fewer rooms — people would be surprised.”
He added that Shabbos meals are held around a large table, with an additional smaller table added when needed, and that the home operates with a strong sense of simcha and faith.
Moved by the story, Toker announced live on air that he would present the family with a gift package that includes new suits and hats for the seven sons currently learning in yeshiva, as well as a shopping voucher for the new mother.
The father expressed heartfelt gratitude and concluded simply: “I truly appreciate the generous heart.”
Next week the family will celebrate the baby’s bris. The father revealed that the sandek will be Rav Shimon Galai. Toker predicted that the newborn will likely be named after Rav Chaim Kanievsky.
{Matzav.com}A powerful message of chizuk delivered by Rav Baruch Rosenblum during the ongoing “Shaagas HaAri” war has gone viral in recent days, offering encouragement and perspective to many facing the current security situation.
The noted maggid shiur reflects on the familiar words from Tehillim, “L’Dovid Hashem ori v’yishi,” asking why people often feel secure during ordinary times yet become gripped by fear when war breaks out.
Rav Rosenblum explains that under normal circumstances people go to sleep at night or leave for Shacharis without thinking twice about their safety. There is no sense that they must say goodbye to family members or prepare for danger.
“You don’t say to your wife, ‘If I don’t come back, raise the children on the path of Torah,’” he notes.
The reason, he explains, is simple faith in the words Hashem ma’oz chayai, mimi efchad — that Hashem is the strength of our lives and there is no one to fear.
The difference, he says, is that people perceive a gap between times of calm and times of war.
“What is chanayah?” Rav Rosenblum asks. “It’s a regular day, a pleasant atmosphere. You wake up in the morning and everything is working, baruch Hashem. You feel calm because everything is fine.”
Quoting the words of Dovid Hamelech, he explains: “Im tachaneh alai machaneh lo yira libi.” On an ordinary day, when life feels stable, a person does not feel afraid.
“But what happens when war rises against me? B’zos ani votei’ach. What is that zos? The same zos of the machaneh.”
Rav Rosenblum stresses that the Ribbono Shel Olam does not change. The same Hashem who is present with us during times of calm is also present with us in the midst of war.
To illustrate the idea, he recounts a story about the Gerrer Rebbe, the Imrei Emes. The Rebbe was once traveling in a wagon when the horses suddenly began racing toward a steep drop. While the chassidim around him panicked and cried out in fear, the Rebbe remained completely calm.
Rav Rosenblum explains the lesson: “Someone who feels secure only when the ground beneath him is straight will panic when the ground becomes crooked. But someone who walks calmly because the Ribbono Shel Olam is with him — that same Ribbono Shel Olam is with him even when the ground becomes crooked.”
He concludes with the example of Yonah Hanavi, who was able to sleep in the depths of the ship during a violent storm. When asked how he could sleep amid such danger, Yonah answered that the One who created the sea also created the land, and the One who protects a person when the ground is stable protects him when the sea is raging.
Rav Rosenblum’s message for these wartime days is clear: people must follow all safety instructions and do what is required, but they should do so without panic.
“We have to do what needs to be done, and we must follow the instructions,” he says. “But not with fear and not with dread — rather with calmness and confidence.”
{Matzav.com}
