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The traditionally expensive shtreimel market may be facing an unlikely new competitor: a Chinese manufacturer offering Chassidishe shtreimlach online for prices beginning at just $960, far below what many buyers are accustomed to paying in Israel and the United States, Matzav.com has learned.

For generations, shtreimlach have been associated with highly specialized craftsmen, custom fittings and prices reaching thousands — and sometimes tens of thousands — of shekels. But a listing on Alibaba is now offering what it describes as a genuine Chassidish eshtreimel directly from a manufacturer in China.

The product is being sold by Hengshui Fn Fur Trading Co., Ltd., a company based in China’s Hebei province. On Alibaba, the manufacturer is listed with a rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on 13 reviews.

The listing describes the product as a “Streimel Jewish Hasidic Hat” and references sable fur and sable tails, along with fox fur. Current prices range from $960 to $1,350, with a minimum order of two shtreimlach.

According to details of the offer that circulated online, customers can choose among four sizes based on head circumference: 54–56 centimeters, 56–58 centimeters, 58–60 centimeters and 60–62 centimeters.

Perhaps even more intriguing is that the Chinese company is not limiting itself to finished shtreimlach. Its Alibaba listings also offer raw materials used in their production, including Russian and Canadian sable tails, available at wholesale prices of several dozen dollars per piece.

The availability of those materials raises the possibility that the manufacturer has considerable familiarity with the shtreimel production process and may already have connections to businesses within the industry. There is currently no evidence, however, that the Chinese company manufactures shtreimlach for any established producers in Israel or the United States.

The appearance of a Chinese-made shtreimel available for direct purchase at a fraction of the prices commonly charged in much of the traditional market is nevertheless drawing considerable interest — and raising the question of whether established shtreimel machers have reason to be concerned.

The bigger question, however, is what buyers would actually receive for the bargain price. The quality of the fur, craftsmanship, durability, fit and ability to produce the distinctive styles favored by different Chassidishe courts cannot easily be determined from photographs and specifications on an online listing.

For now, the $960 Chinese shtreimel may be more curiosity than industry disruptor. But in a market where a traditional shtreimel can cost many times that amount, its arrival is certainly enough to get shtreimel machers — and their customers — talking.

{Matzav.com}

Nearly 90 years after they were issued in Lithuania, rare historical documents detailing the activities of Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman zt”l, founder of the Ponovezh Yeshiva, have been brought to Israel after being uncovered in Lithuanian government archives.

Lithuanian Ambassador to Israel Audrius Bruzga presented the documents to MK Uri Maklev during a meeting at the Lithuanian Embassy. The ambassador compiled a special binder containing official records he located in Lithuania’s state archives documenting Rav Kahaneman’s activities in the city of Ponovezh during the 1920s and 1930s.

The discovery grew out of Maklev’s ongoing relationship with the Lithuanian ambassador, with the two having worked in recent years on efforts to preserve Lithuania’s Jewish heritage and the remnants of the flourishing Torah world that existed there before the Holocaust.

Approximately eight months ago, Maklev arranged a special visit for Bruzga to the Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, which Rav Kahaneman established after the Holocaust and named for the Lithuanian city where his original yeshiva had stood.

During that visit, Bruzga met with the yeshiva’s president, Rav Eliezer Kahaneman, a grandson of Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, who shared with him the history of the yeshiva and described its reestablishment in Eretz Yisroel following the destruction of European Jewry.

The ambassador and Maklev subsequently visited the home of Ponovezh Rosh Yeshiva Rav Boruch Dov Povarsky, where their conversation focused on the legacy of Lithuanian Jewry and efforts to preserve Jewish cemeteries throughout Lithuania.

That visit apparently sparked the ambassador’s curiosity about the yeshiva’s Lithuanian roots. Bruzga told Maklev during their latest meeting that he subsequently began searching Lithuania’s official archives for records connected to Rav Kahaneman and his activities in Ponovezh.

The search produced a remarkable collection of historical material, including municipal records, land diagrams, building permits and legal documents bearing Rav Kahaneman’s name.

Among the documents is a 1936 authorization from the municipality of Ponovezh referring to a permit originally granted to Rav Kahaneman on July 13, 1922, allowing him to construct a three-story brick building on property belonging to the Jewish community on Ramygalos Street.

Perhaps the most significant discovery is a district court ruling from Ponovezh dated May 21, 1937. The case dealt with a request to formally recognize Rav Kahaneman’s rights to property located at 34 Ramygalos Street.

According to the ruling, the property covered 1,537 square meters and contained buildings that were used by the local Jewish community.

The court records also trace the history of the property. Documents submitted in the case indicated that before World War I, the land had belonged to a Jewish religious organization known as “Cheder-Kloil.” It later came under the control of the Jewish community of Ponovezh, which maintained continuous possession of the property for more than a decade beginning in 1922.

As part of the legal proceedings, an official notice was published allowing anyone with objections to the claim to come forward. According to the court ruling, no objections were submitted.

After reviewing the documentation and testimony, the court formally recognized Rav Kahaneman’s rights to the property on the basis of the lengthy period of continuous possession.

The collection also includes detailed plans of the property and its buildings, along with additional official records from the Ponovezh municipality. Together, the documents provide a rare glimpse into the scope of Rav Kahaneman’s activities in the Lithuanian city during the years preceding the Holocaust.

The discovery also comes amid an unusual historical coincidence. Questions surrounding rights and control of the Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak have recently returned to the headlines following new legal rulings. Now, an 89-year-old Lithuanian court decision has surfaced dealing with the rights of the yeshiva’s founder to property in the original city of Ponovezh. There is no legal connection between the two matters, but the historical parallel is striking.

Only a few years after the 1937 ruling, the Jewish community of Ponovezh was destroyed during the Holocaust. Rav Kahaneman survived and set about rebuilding in Eretz Yisroel the Torah world that had been devastated in Europe, naming the yeshiva he established in Bnei Brak after the Lithuanian city he had left behind.

Maklev thanked Ambassador Bruzga for taking the initiative to search for the records and for the effort involved in locating them. He said the documents constitute historically important material for both the Torah world and the preservation of Lithuanian Jewish heritage.

{Matzav.com}

The family of 24-year-old Katriel Nachman Keinan of Beit Shemesh fears he may have been abducted after disappearing approximately a week ago while traveling between Tiveriah and Tzfas, as police, volunteers and divers continue an extensive search for him.

Keinan’s father, Yossi Keinan, filed a missing-person report with the Beit Shemesh police after his son abruptly vanished and stopped communicating with his family. According to a report by mako, the family has grown increasingly concerned that foul play may have been involved.

“I’m afraid my son was kidnapped. It’s a dangerous area. He didn’t just disappear and stop making contact for no reason. Maybe someone kidnapped him,” his father said. “He is such a good boy that wherever he goes, there is light and positive energy. He was on his way to meet with his rabbi to consult with him.”

Yossi said the last time he personally saw his son was at the entrance to a shul.

“He told me he was going to stop by a friend and didn’t come back. I haven’t seen him since,” he said.

According to his father, Nachman had said that after meeting his friend, he planned to travel from Beit Shemesh to Tzfas for an urgent consultation with his Rav.

The Rav later told the family that Nachman did in fact arrive in Tzfas and spoke with him by telephone at approximately 10 p.m. The Rav explained that he was at a hospital because of a family matter and could not meet him that evening, but offered to see him at 10 a.m. the following morning and even arrange a place for him to sleep. Nachman responded that he would manage on his own and would meet the Rav the next day.

“He never heard from him again. I still managed to speak to him the next morning, but he said his phone battery was about to die, and then he disappeared. That was it,” his father said.

Since Nachman vanished, search teams have concentrated their efforts in locations where investigators believe he may have traveled. Police have also reviewed security-camera footage in an effort to reconstruct his movements.

One surveillance camera from a business in Tiveriah captured Nachman walking in the direction of Gai Beach on the Kinneret, providing investigators with one of the last known images of him before he disappeared.

According to the family, the commander of the Beit Shemesh police station and local officers have been closely involved in the search, together with police forces from the Northern District. Divers have also been searching the Kinneret, but no trace of Nachman has been discovered.

“The station commander in Beit Shemesh is constantly in touch with us. He is helping us and conducting searches in the field with his officers. Divers are also searching the Kinneret. Nobody has found anything. It’s very strange,” Yossi said.

Nachman, a Chabad chossid, spent several years living in the Philippines before returning to Israel. His family continues to hold out hope that he is alive and will soon be found.

“We are davening and believe that Nachman is alive. We hope the police and the many volunteers will find him. He is the light of our lives.”

Nachman was last seen on Monday, August 10, at approximately 6 p.m. in the area of Gai Beach in Tiveriah while reportedly on his way to Tzfas. He has not been seen since.

Nachman is approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, with black hair, a beard and brown eyes. When last seen, he was wearing a white shirt, black suit and hat and was carrying a black backpack and a dark-brown tefillin bag.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s attorney general is calling on the IDF and police to resume proactive operations and arrests targeting draft evaders, while also demanding an expansion of economic and personal sanctions, after an annual review found that approximately 80% of those currently classified as draft evaders are members of the chareidi community.

The review covers the military recruitment year that ended in June 2026 and was conducted under the leadership of the attorney general. Representatives from the IDF, Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry, Justice Ministry, Israel Police, Population and Immigration Authority, National Digital Agency and other government bodies participated in the assessment.

Alongside the figures on draft evasion, officials reported an increase in the number of chareidim entering military service. According to the review, the combination of issuing draft orders to all eligible chareidi men, intensifying economic and personal enforcement measures, and adapting military service tracks for chareidi recruits has proven effective in increasing enlistment.

The figures presented during the review indicate that approximately 50,000 chareidim are currently classified as draft evaders, while another roughly 31,000 have been issued what is known as a “Tzav 12.” Since the beginning of the year, 34 indictments have been filed against chareidim for draft evasion.

The data further shows that 679 military deserters have faced disciplinary proceedings since August 2025, while 860 arrests were carried out over the past year.

In addition, 244 individuals were detained by police, while another 1,528 were stopped at Ben Gurion Airport and other border crossings. During the past three months alone, authorities prevented 1,061 deserters from leaving Israel through border crossings.

Justice Ministry officials concluded that additional enforcement measures should be introduced as quickly as possible in order to further reduce draft evasion and address what the government describes as the military’s urgent need for additional manpower.

At the same time, the attorney general determined that the IDF and Israel Police should resume proactive enforcement operations and arrests against draft evaders from all sectors of the population, citing the principle of equal enforcement.

In a response submitted by the attorney general to the High Court, officials acknowledged that carrying out proactive arrests of chareidi draft evaders presents significant practical difficulties because such operations have repeatedly triggered large-scale protests and disturbances.

The filing said military and police officials had pointed to “the significant difficulty that currently exists in carrying out proactive operations and arresting draft evaders from the chareidi community, in light of the large-scale public disturbances accompanying them.”

Authorities also noted that responding to the protests surrounding such arrests requires the deployment of substantial police and security resources.

Despite those difficulties, professional officials maintained that proactive operations and arrests remain important enforcement tools and can serve as a deterrent against draft evasion.

{Matzav.com}