Feed aggregator

Concern is mounting in Teveria after Rav Dov Chizkiyahu HaKohen Kook was hospitalized again following a deterioration in his health, just weeks after he was able to return home ahead of Yom Kippur.

Rav Kook experienced a slight worsening of his condition, prompting doctors to transfer him to Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center for testing and close medical observation.

B’chasdei Shomayim, his condition stabilized and has since returned to its previous state. Rav Kook remains hospitalized under observation.

The latest development follows an extended and difficult medical period for Rav Kook. He was hospitalized for a lengthy period and subsequently underwent a complicated series of treatments and rehabilitation that continued for several months.

Shortly before Yom Kippur, Rav Kook was released to his home in Teveria, allowing him to spend the Yom Hakadosh together with his many talmidim and participate in the tefillos.

Because his medical condition still required close supervision, special arrangements were made for him inside the bais medrash. A designated area was prepared and enclosed with a curtain, allowing Rav Kook to remain together with the tzibbur while maintaining his privacy and preventing visitors from approaching him in a manner that could interfere with his much-needed rest.

Rav Kook’s family expressed its gratitude to the public for the concern and numerous tefillos offered on his behalf throughout his illness.

In light of his latest hospitalization, the family is asking the tzibbur to continue storming the heavens for a complete and speedy refuah sheleimah for Rav Chizkiyahu Dov HaKohen ben Shoshana, b’soch she’ar cholei Yisroel.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced a barrage of condemnation from Israeli, American and Jewish officials Wednesday after using his statement on the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre to accuse Israel of “genocide,” “apartheid” and “war crimes,” with critics charging that he had hijacked a day meant to remember Hamas’s victims in order to attack the Jewish state.

Among the harshest responses came from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who branded Mamdani’s message an “outrageous & disgusting rant” issued on a day that “ought to honor the over 1200 civilians butchered by Hamas including 46 Americans.”

Huckabee compared Mamdani’s approach to commemorating the September 11 attacks by simultaneously condemning America for its response to al-Qaeda.

“There is NO genocide in Gaza,” Huckabee stated, blaming the death toll on Hamas and its continued holding and abuse of hostages. He added that an apology for Mamdani’s “obtuse and utterly ignorant remarks” would not be enough, concluding: “God help the people of New York for electing a jihadist sympathizer!”

Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, also issued a blistering response, accusing Mamdani of displaying a shocking lack of sensitivity on the anniversary of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

“Anyone with a human heart should be ashamed today of the New York City Mayor’s response to the October 7th massacre,” Akunis stated.

“A day when human monsters invaded the State of Israel on a holiday, murdering, kidnapping, beheading hundreds, and raping hundreds of women.”

Akunis said Mamdani had chosen to continue making what he called antisemitic accusations against Israel rather than devote the anniversary to remembering those murdered and abducted by Hamas.

“Mamdani is displaying a complete lack of human sensitivity and continues to spread his antisemitic blood libels against the Jewish state,” he said.

“It is a disgrace to New York City that such a man stands at its helm, and that, on this day, he chooses to disparage the memory of the murdered victims.”

Akunis then renewed an invitation he had extended to Mamdani earlier this week to attend a screening in New York of the IDF’s approximately 47-minute compilation of raw footage from the October 7 atrocities. The film includes graphic material recorded by Hamas terrorists themselves during the massacre.

“It is not too late for him to attend the screening of the horror film we are hosting this evening, and to witness with his own eyes, for the first time, the kind of human monsters he supports,” Akunis stated.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon similarly accused the mayor of attempting to transform the anniversary from a day of remembrance into another vehicle for anti-Israel messaging.

“’Mamdani-ism’ – an attempt to hijack the anniversary of October 7 and turn it into yet another propaganda attack against Israel. It is like turning September 11 into a day of mourning for al-Qaeda terrorists. We will not let this happen. We will remember those who were murdered, and we will never forget who was behind this massacre.”

The Israeli-American Council also delivered an extensive condemnation, saying that whatever political debate Mamdani wished to have about the Gaza war, October 7 was first and foremost a day for the Jewish and Israeli communities to remember the victims of Hamas’s attack.

“For the Jewish and Israeli community, October 7 is, first and foremost, a day of mourning, remembrance, and trauma. On the third anniversary of Hamas’ mass murder, mass rape, mass torture, and mass hostage taking of over 1,200 Israelis, Mayor Mamdani chose, once again, to use the day to accuse Israel of “genocide.” That claim is demonstrably false. The IDF has taken extraordinary steps to minimize civilian casualties, far beyond what the law of armed conflict requires, while fighting an enemy that systematically hides beyond women and children and uses civilians as human shields.”

The organization said Mamdani’s remarks could not be dismissed as a single poorly chosen statement, arguing that his rhetoric about Israel has become a recurring feature of his public messaging and has consequences for Jewish New Yorkers.

“This is not a one-time lapse. Every year, on the anniversary of the day our community buries its dead, the mayor reaches for the same blood libel against the Jewish state. Rhetoric like this doesn’t stay online – it is exactly the kind of messaging that has fueled a documented rise in antisemitic incidents across New York City,” the IAC said. “The mayor’s job is to keep New Yorkers safe and ensure Jewish and Israeli residents can mourn without their grief being hijacked for a political attack. The mayor today has betrayed his duty and continued to fuel anti Jewish hatred.”

The backlash followed Mamdani’s official statement Wednesday morning marking three years since Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, murdering approximately 1,200 people and abducting 251 others into Gaza.

Mamdani began by acknowledging the massacre and the continuing pain experienced by New Yorkers with relatives and friends affected by it.

“This day is profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers. It marks three years since the horrific war crimes of October 7,” Mamdani wrote on X.

“On that day, Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others. We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss.”

But Mamdani then devoted most of his statement to Gaza, declaring that Palestinian suffering “did not begin nor end that day” and accusing Israel of conducting an “ongoing genocide.”

He claimed that more than 74,000 Palestinians, including more than 21,000 children, had been killed by Israel, and said more than 1,400 Palestinians had died since what he called the “so-called ceasefire.” Those figures are based on casualty counts from authorities in Hamas-run Gaza. Israel has repeatedly disputed Hamas’s presentation of the casualty figures and categorically rejects the charge that it is committing genocide.

Mamdani also accused Israel of bombing ambulances outside hospitals, targeting residential buildings and journalists with drone strikes, and preventing shipments of food from crossing into Gaza. He said American taxpayers were financing Israeli “war crimes.”

He concluded by calling for an end to what he characterized as Israeli “occupation and apartheid” and accusing the federal government of complicity through continued weapons shipments to Israel.

The controversy came only days after Mamdani’s administration unveiled a $7.4 million citywide initiative aimed at combating antisemitism, including increased security measures, educational programs and training for city employees. The mayor has maintained that his fierce criticism of Israel should be distinguished from hostility toward Jews.

The timing of Wednesday’s remarks nevertheless intensified criticism from Jewish and Israeli leaders, particularly as memorial ceremonies were being held in New York, Israel and around the world for those murdered and abducted three years ago.

Mamdani’s October 7 rhetoric has been controversial before. On the second anniversary of the massacre in 2025, before becoming mayor, he similarly mourned those killed by Hamas before accusing Israel of waging what he called a “genocidal war” in Gaza, drawing a condemnation from Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ignited a new firestorm Wednesday after using his official statement marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre to accuse Israel of carrying out an “ongoing genocide” in Gaza, practicing “apartheid” and committing “war crimes” with American support.

While Mamdani began his statement by acknowledging the Israelis murdered and kidnapped during the Hamas-led attack, the bulk of his message focused on condemning Israel and the United States, prompting fierce criticism from Israeli officials and Jewish leaders who accused the mayor of turning the anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust into a platform for his longstanding attacks on the Jewish state.

“This day is profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers. It marks three years since the horrific war crimes of October 7. On that day, Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others. We grieve alongside our many friends and neighbors who still carry that unthinkable loss,” Mamdani said.

He then pivoted immediately to Gaza.

“The suffering did not begin nor end that day. It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza, in which it has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians—including more than 21,000 children. Even since the so-called ceasefire, more than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed. That suffering has intensified with every Israeli bomb dropped on ambulances waiting outside hospitals, every drone strike targeting a residential building or journalist, and every shipment of food aid turned away at a border crossing. Many New Yorkers are reckoning with this unbearable grief, and we mourn alongside them—all while knowing that our tax dollars fund these war crimes.”

The casualty figures cited by Mamdani are based on figures from authorities in Hamas-run Gaza. Israel has disputed Hamas’s accounting of casualties throughout the war and strongly rejects allegations that its campaign constitutes genocide, saying its military operations target Hamas and other terrorist organizations while seeking to minimize civilian casualties. Israel also disputes accusations that it systematically blocks humanitarian aid from entering Gaza.

Mamdani went on to condemn Israel’s presence in Palestinian territories and Washington’s continued military assistance to the Jewish state.

“Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment,” said Mamdani.

“To honor the dead, we must fight for a world in which every person can live with freedom, safety, and dignity.”

The statement came exactly three years after Hamas-led terrorists stormed across Israel’s border on October 7, 2023, murdering approximately 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages into Gaza. Entire communities along the Gaza border were devastated, hundreds of young people were murdered at the Nova music festival, and families were slaughtered or abducted from their homes.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon blasted Mamdani for using the anniversary to shift attention from the victims of the Hamas massacre to accusations against Israel.

“What he is trying to do is hijack the only day we have for the victims and survivors. He’s trying to hijack the day to talk about attacking Israel,” Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon told The Post.

Danon compared Mamdani’s approach to using the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks to focus simultaneously on the terrorists responsible for them.

“It’s like on 9/11 you talked about victims and al-Qaeda terrorists. It’s basically taking the only day we have for victims and trying to attack Israel with propaganda. He’s dangerous and sophisticated. He will go to both ceremonies and try to say he feels for both losses of life.”

Menashe Shapiro, who served as an adviser to Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, issued an even more blistering condemnation, calling the mayor’s statement “incitement and electronic violence against New York’s Jews.”

“He doesn’t get to hide behind Hamas’ made-up stats to justify his open Jew-hatred.”

The controversy comes amid already strained relations between Mamdani and significant portions of New York’s Jewish community over his rhetoric concerning Israel. Mamdani has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide and has sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government.

Those tensions have persisted even as Mamdani has sought to reassure Jewish New Yorkers that his administration is committed to combating antisemitism. Just days before the October 7 anniversary, City Hall unveiled a new citywide strategy to fight antisemitism, including enhanced security around Jewish institutions, educational initiatives and efforts to address anti-Jewish hate crimes.

A new survey released Wednesday underscored the depth of the divide. The poll of 503 Jewish voters across New York City found that 65% disapproved of Mamdani’s handling of antisemitism, including 47% who strongly disapproved, while 34% approved.

The survey also found substantial opposition among Jewish respondents to Mamdani holding or attending an official city commemoration of October 7, reflecting the distrust that has developed between the mayor and portions of the community.

The issue has taken on particular urgency in New York, home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said this week that antisemitic incidents continue to constitute more than half of all reported hate crimes in the city, even though Jews represent only a fraction of New York’s population.

Mamdani has faced criticism from Jewish leaders before over the effect they say his language about Israel can have on Jewish New Yorkers. During an August meeting with a group of rabbis and Jewish leaders, participants directly confronted the mayor over those concerns.

{Matzav.com}

Israel is moving to tighten security screening for foreign airline crews following the attempted attack aboard Flydubai Flight FZ1073, with crew members from countries designated as high-risk to undergo security vetting 48 hours before departing for Israel.

The new procedures were discussed Tuesday during a classified session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s Intelligence Subcommittee, amid growing questions over how foreign flight crews are screened before being permitted to enter Israeli airspace and land in the country.

The meeting followed several days of finger-pointing among Israeli government and security agencies over responsibility for screening the crew of the Flydubai flight.

According to the plan discussed at the session, the National Security Council will work with the Mossad and Shin Bet to formulate a list of countries that will be classified as presenting a heightened security threat.

Once that list is established, the identities and personal details of flight crew members from those countries will have to be provided to Israel 48 hours before a scheduled flight, allowing Israeli security agencies to conduct background checks and grant approval before departure.

A second change will involve passengers and crew members traveling on passports issued by countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

At the request of the Transportation Ministry, the Population and Immigration Authority will be required to provide the ministry’s security division with lists identifying passengers and crew members holding passports from such countries.

The closed-door discussion also sought to establish more clearly which Israeli government agency bears responsibility for each stage of the screening process.

According to information presented during the meeting, responsibility for checking the passports of passengers and flight crew members rests with the Population and Immigration Authority, working through the National Security Council. Relevant information is then supposed to be transferred to the agencies responsible for carrying out the necessary security assessments.

The changes follow revelations of significant gaps in Israel’s existing system for vetting foreign flight crews.

According to previous reports, Israeli authorities received the crew list for Flydubai Flight FZ1073 in advance and raised no objection to any of the individuals aboard. The flight’s Omani co-pilot was subsequently accused of attempting to carry out a terrorist attack during the Israel-bound flight.

The incident raised questions over whether the existing system adequately evaluates the backgrounds and nationalities of foreign crew members before they are permitted to operate flights to Israel.

Tuesday’s classified meeting was therefore aimed at creating a clearer division of responsibility among the National Security Council, Shin Bet, Mossad, Population and Immigration Authority and Transportation Ministry, while ensuring that potentially significant information reaches the appropriate security agency before an aircraft departs for Israel.

Under the proposed framework, Israeli authorities would have a 48-hour window to examine flight personnel from countries considered particularly sensitive, rather than confronting potential security concerns only after a flight is already underway or approaching Israeli airspace.

{Matzav.com}

Six people aboard a medical transport jet traveling from Bermuda to Boston are presumed dead after the aircraft reported electrical problems, plunged thousands of feet and disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean south of Nantucket, with the U.S. Coast Guard later locating wreckage from the plane.

The Gulfstream G100, operated by Ontario-based Latitude Air Ambulance and flying as Heartbeat 104, was carrying a Bermudian patient and her son, along with two Canadian pilots and two Canadian medical crew members, when it went down early Saturday, Oct. 3.

What began as an enormous search-and-rescue operation ended after approximately 66 hours, with the Coast Guard suspending its active search after covering thousands of square miles of ocean. No survivors were located.

The six people aboard have since been identified as 66-year-old Marilyn Lavonne Bean of Bermuda, who was being transported to Boston for medical treatment; her 41-year-old son, Sergio Wayne Lottimore; Captain Philip Gregory Childerhose; First Officer Thomas Henry Farquhar; flight nurse Sarah Jane Paton; and respiratory therapist Jolene Beth Weir.

The Canadian-registered aircraft, tail number C-GRJP, departed Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport shortly after midnight and was heading to Boston Logan International Airport when the crew encountered trouble while approaching the northeastern United States.

The plane was scheduled to arrive in Boston at approximately 1:25 a.m., but air traffic controllers began having difficulty communicating with the crew as the aircraft flew north over the Atlantic.

Chilling air traffic control recordings captured a controller struggling to understand transmissions from the jet as its apparent emergency developed.

“You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said?” the air traffic controller asked around 12:46 a.m. “Are you declaring an emergency or no?

“You’re coming in a little weak so I didn’t hear what your response was,” the controller added.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has since confirmed that the crew reported electrical difficulties as the aircraft approached the Boston area. The jet subsequently entered a rapid descent before air traffic controllers lost contact with it south of Nantucket.

Flight-tracking information showed the aircraft falling from approximately 24,000 feet to around 11,000 feet in roughly three minutes beginning at about 1:04 a.m. The jet appeared to stabilize following the dramatic descent, but communications problems continued.

At Boston Logan, emergency personnel were already preparing for the aircraft’s arrival. At approximately 1:12 a.m., a Massport Fire Rescue dispatcher alerted crews that a plane experiencing an “electrical issue” was expected to land in Boston in about 15 minutes.

“The aircraft has lost radio and radar,” the dispatcher said of the plane.

Those preparations would prove futile. The jet never reached Boston, and an official search-and-rescue alert was triggered at approximately 1:20 a.m.

“The FAA is coordinating with the Rescue Coordination Center and the U.S. Coast Guard to locate the aircraft,” the agency said as the search began.

The Coast Guard deployed an extensive array of resources into the waters south of Nantucket, including an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod, a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Station Brant Point and the Coast Guard cutter William Sparling.

The William Sparling continued searching through the night as aircraft and vessels combed the ocean for any indication of the missing plane or its six occupants.

Crews eventually spotted a debris field in the Atlantic south of Nantucket. The Coast Guard subsequently confirmed that the wreckage was associated with the missing Gulfstream, extinguishing hopes that the aircraft might somehow have remained airborne or made an emergency landing elsewhere.

During the first 27 hours alone, Coast Guard crews searched approximately 1,644 square miles. The massive effort ultimately continued for about 66 hours and covered thousands of square miles before officials concluded that the chances of finding survivors no longer justified continuing the active search.

Latitude Air Ambulance subsequently said that the six people aboard Heartbeat 104 were presumed dead. The company described the loss as a devastating event and said it would cooperate with investigators while supporting the families of those aboard.

The flight was a medical mission carrying Bean from Bermuda to Boston for treatment. Her son Lottimore, a Bermuda-based reinsurance executive and former Warwick Academy student, accompanied her on the flight.

The four Canadian crew members were experienced aviation and medical professionals tasked with carrying patients requiring specialized care between countries. Latitude Air Ambulance is based in Hamilton, Ontario, and specializes in long-distance medical transportation.

Attention has now shifted from rescue operations to determining exactly what caused the aircraft to go down.

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board announced that it will lead the investigation because the Gulfstream was registered in Canada. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will participate as an accredited representative, and Canadian investigators are expected to assist with efforts to locate and recover the aircraft and other evidence.

The investigation will focus in part on the electrical difficulties reported by the crew, the deterioration in radio communications and the jet’s sudden loss of altitude. Investigators will also examine weather conditions along the aircraft’s route.

No official determination has been made about what caused the crash, and investigators have cautioned against drawing conclusions before the wreckage, flight data and other evidence can be examined.

Former Transportation Department Inspector General Mary Schiavo said the combination of the aircraft’s steep descent, poor weather and possible instrument problems would be particularly dangerous for a pilot.

“Something bad happened with this big drop, and they flew into this big storm. It’s a terrible place to have a loss of your instruments and be flying blind,” said Schiavo.

“It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning, climbing, descending, etc. Spatial orientation hits pretty quickly.”

The aircraft was manufactured in 1996 and had been registered to Latitude Air Ambulance since 2018. The Gulfstream G100 is a twin-engine business jet that can be configured for long-range medical transportation.

Because the accident occurred in international waters off the Massachusetts coast, the investigation involves authorities from multiple countries. Under international aviation agreements, however, Canada, as the aircraft’s country of registration, will take the lead, with U.S. investigators assisting.

Investigators are expected to seek the recovery of as much wreckage as possible as they attempt to reconstruct the aircraft’s final minutes and determine why a medical flight bound for Boston suddenly lost communications, descended sharply and disappeared into the Atlantic.

{Matzav.com}

An uplifting moment during the Hakafos Shniyos celebration at Yeshivas Mishkenos HaTorah in Bnei Brak became a powerful lesson about success in Torah learning, as the mashgiach, Rav Moshe Dovid Lefkowitz, shared a remarkable story involving his mother and the Chazon Ish.

The central Hakafos Shniyos celebration at the yeshiva, located on Ben Yaakov Street in Bnei Brak, continued late into the night, led by the rosh yeshiva, Rav Ephraim Cohen, together with the rabbeim and hundreds of bochurim, avreichim and alumni who filled the bais medrash.

As he does each year, Rav Moshe Dovid Lefkowitz arrived close to midnight to participate alongside the rosh yeshiva. At the height of the celebration, the mashgiach led the crowd in singing, “Blessed is our G-d Who created us for His glory,” pausing between portions of the song to reflect on and explain the meaning of the words.

When the singing reached the words, “He will open our hearts through His Torah,” Rav Lefkowitz stopped to emphasize what he described as a fundamental point about achieving success in Torah learning: it does not depend primarily upon a person’s natural intellectual abilities.

“Now we are going to begin to daven and ask,” Rav Lefkowitz said. “But we do not ask, ‘He should open our talents.’ Rather, we ask, ‘He should open our hearts.’ What does ‘He will open our hearts through His Torah’ mean? We see that Torah does not depend on talent! It depends on desire… on someone who has a deep desire…”

To illustrate the point, Rav Lefkowitz related an incident involving his mother, Rebbetzin Chava Esther Lefkowitz, the wife of his father, Rav Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz.

“I heard that my mother went to the Chazon Ish, of blessed memory, and asked him for a blessing ‘that the children should want to learn and should know how to learn.’ The Chazon Ish then sent back the message that he was amazed by these women who know how to ask… because the essence is the ‘desire.’ And what is desire? It is the heart.”

Rav Lefkowitz then resumed the singing together with the bnei hayeshiva, repeatedly singing the words, “He will open our hearts through His Torah… He will open our hearts through His Torah,” as the spirited singing and hisorerus continued late into the night.

{Matzav.com}

California is moving closer to effectively banning the fabrication of many popular engineered-quartz countertops, as state regulators confront a rapidly worsening epidemic of silicosis that has sickened nearly 600 countertop workers, led to dozens of deaths and forced scores of patients to undergo lung transplants.

The proposed regulation would prohibit workers in California from fabricating or manufacturing engineered-stone countertops and similar products containing more than 1 percent crystalline silica. That would encompass most traditional engineered quartz, which can contain more than 90 percent crystalline silica.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board voted unanimously in May to begin the process of establishing the prohibition, directing Cal/OSHA to pursue emergency rulemaking. Cal/OSHA has since moved the proposal forward, releasing a draft standard in September and soliciting public comments as regulators work toward a final rule.

The danger is not primarily to homeowners who have quartz countertops installed in their kitchens. Rather, the crisis involves workers who manufacture and fabricate the slabs, particularly those who cut, grind, drill and polish engineered stone. Those activities can release extremely fine particles of crystalline silica into the air, which workers can inhale deep into their lungs.

Repeated exposure can cause silicosis, a progressive and incurable disease in which scar tissue develops in the lungs, eventually making it increasingly difficult for patients to breathe. Severe cases can require lung transplantation and can be fatal.

The scale of California’s outbreak has risen dramatically. Researchers reported in August that California health officials had identified 592 cases of engineered-stone silicosis between January 2019 and June 2026. Of those workers, 65 had undergone lung transplants and 31 had died. Researchers cautioned that the actual number of cases is almost certainly higher because many workers have never been screened or have been misdiagnosed.

The disease has struck workers at unusually young ages. California officials have said that approximately 98 percent of workers diagnosed with industry-related silicosis in the state are Latino men and that the average age of workers who died was under 50.

Engineered stone has become enormously popular because it can offer the appearance of natural stone while being durable, consistent and available in a wide variety of designs. Unlike slabs of natural granite or marble, engineered quartz is generally produced by crushing quartz and combining it with resins and pigments.

That manufacturing process is at the heart of the health concern. Traditional engineered stone can contain extraordinarily high concentrations of crystalline silica, meaning that cutting and grinding it can generate large amounts of dangerous silica dust.

California has already tried imposing stricter workplace rules rather than eliminating the material. An emergency silica standard was adopted in late 2023, followed by permanent requirements in 2025 governing such practices as cutting, grinding, polishing, cleanup, respiratory protection and exposure monitoring.

But state officials concluded that those measures have not been enough. Cal/OSHA and Standards Board staff found that workers fabricating and installing artificial stone continued to face significant exposure risks and that the silicosis crisis was worsening despite existing protections.

California health officials have also warned that even commonly required safeguards, including wet-cutting methods designed to suppress dust, may not always reduce silica exposure sufficiently to prevent disease. The sophisticated equipment and controls needed to maintain extremely low exposure levels can also be difficult and expensive for smaller fabrication shops to implement consistently.

The proposed rule therefore represents a fundamental change in strategy: instead of attempting only to control the dust generated by high-silica engineered stone, California would largely remove the hazardous material itself from fabrication workplaces.

Importantly, the proposal is not a blanket prohibition on every product marketed as quartz or engineered stone. The key threshold is crystalline silica content. Under the draft approach, engineered-stone products containing more than 1 percent crystalline silica would be prohibited from fabrication, pushing manufacturers and contractors toward low- or no-crystalline-silica alternatives.

Manufacturers have already begun developing substitute products using materials such as amorphous silica, which carries a substantially lower silicosis risk than crystalline silica.

California would not be the first jurisdiction to take drastic action. Australia banned the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone beginning in 2024 after its own surge in silicosis among countertop workers. California officials and researchers have repeatedly pointed to the Australian response while considering how to address the growing number of cases in the state.

The California epidemic was barely recognized several years ago. The state identified its first known countertop-fabrication silicosis case in 2019. That worker was diagnosed at just 32 years old and died of respiratory failure at 38. Investigators subsequently discovered additional cases among workers at the same company, helping reveal what has since become a statewide occupational-health crisis.

By November 2025, California had confirmed 432 cases, including at least 25 deaths and 48 lung transplants. By June 2026, those figures had climbed to 592 cases, 31 deaths and 65 transplants — illustrating how rapidly additional victims are being identified.

Enforcement has also intensified. Through its silica enforcement initiative, Cal/OSHA has issued more than 900 citations carrying approximately $1.9 million in proposed penalties and conducted hundreds of workplace consultations reaching more than 27,000 employees.

The proposed ban would directly affect California’s countertop-fabrication industry and could have broader implications for manufacturers, contractors, kitchen remodelers and consumers. High-silica engineered quartz has become one of the most widely used countertop materials in American homes, and California’s enormous construction and remodeling market means a prohibition could accelerate the industry’s shift toward alternative products nationwide.

For now, however, quartz countertops have not simply been “banned” in California. The state is still in the rulemaking process. The Standards Board authorized Cal/OSHA to pursue an emergency prohibition, and regulators released a draft in September targeting fabrication and manufacture of artificial stone containing more than 1 percent crystalline silica.

If the rule takes effect substantially as proposed, California would become the first U.S. state to impose such a sweeping restriction on high-silica engineered stone, transforming a product found in countless kitchens into the target of one of the nation’s most significant occupational-health crackdowns in years.

{Matzav.com}

A senior IDF official has acknowledged that young Military Police soldiers are effectively incapable of carrying out arrests of chareidi yeshiva bochurim when confronted by hundreds of protesters, following the dramatic collapse of an attempted arrest in Modi’in that ended with the bochur being released.

“We are dealing with enormous protest operations. Young soldiers in the Military Police have absolutely no chance against an event like this,” the senior military official said. “We need much more significant police assistance, with much larger forces.”

The admission followed the chaotic events in Modi’in, where Military Police arrived to arrest Yairi Lieberman, a student at Yeshivas Ohr Hachaim who is approximately 20 days away from his wedding.

When Military Police arrived at the building, the “Black Color” alert system was activated, rapidly bringing hundreds of protesters to the scene. Demonstrators arrived from Modi’in as well as Modi’in Illit, Yerushalayim and Beit Shemesh, eventually making their way all the way to the apartment on the 11th floor.

“Suddenly, at around midnight, I heard knocking at the door, and they told me, ‘Go in, go into the room — it’s the Military Police,’” Lieberman recalled. “While they gave me time to get ready, I managed to call ‘Black Color.’”

Within a short period, hundreds of people had converged on the building. The Military Police ultimately departed without taking Lieberman into custody.

The episode has now triggered a bitter dispute between Israel Police and the IDF, with each side presenting a sharply different account of how the arrest unraveled — and, in particular, who made the decision to release Lieberman.

An internal Israel Police review placed responsibility squarely on the Military Police, saying that a small military force had operated in direct violation of established procedures.

According to the police account, the Military Police arrived to arrest the draft evader but, instead of immediately removing him from the location once the arrest had been carried out, allowed him an extended and unreasonable amount of time to prepare to leave.

That delay gave protesters time to surround the building in large numbers, eventually leaving the military force itself in serious difficulty. Israel Police said its officers were then summoned on an emergency basis to rescue the Military Police personnel and restore order.

Police also emphatically rejected any suggestion that their officers had ordered Lieberman’s release.

“The decision to release the draft evader and provide him with an order to regulate his status was made by IDF officials and not by Israel Police,” police said.

The IDF, however, presented the opposite version of events, maintaining that the decision to release Lieberman was effectively made by Israel Police.

The failed arrest comes amid mounting pressure from the attorney general for authorities to significantly increase enforcement against chareidi draft evaders.

During a discussion on the issue Tuesday, it was revealed that 64 draft evaders had managed to leave Israel without being apprehended and were arrested only when they subsequently returned to the country.

A document presented during the proceedings stated that proactive enforcement operations have effectively been absent for some time and called for action by the Military Police and military prosecutors. IDF officials said proactive enforcement will resume during October, with operations coordinated between the Military Police and local Israel Police stations.

A senior official in one of the chareidi parties said the developing situation had vindicated the position taken for years by the Peleg Yerushalmi regarding the draft issue.

“The situation we find ourselves in now, and throughout the recent period, in which there is no draft law and there are efforts by the legal authorities to push the IDF and police to resume the arrests, which will clearly lead to riots and demonstrations, proves to us first and foremost that the ‘Peleg Yerushalmi’ was right throughout the years in all of its arguments regarding the draft issue.”

The Modi’in confrontation follows several other recent cases in which attempts to arrest yeshiva bochurim were disrupted by rapidly mobilized protesters.

On the night of Hoshana Rabbah, authorities attempted to arrest a yeshiva bochur at the Paz-Hayarkon gas station on Namir Road in Tel Aviv and transfer him to the Military Police.

Within minutes, hundreds of yeshiva bochurim arrived at the scene and succeeded in removing him from the area. The protesters subsequently blocked Namir Road, with hundreds dancing and singing in the roadway.

At the same time, two other bnei yeshivos were arrested in Eilat and transferred to the Military Police.

Yakir Ralbag, formerly a student at Yeshivas Chevron-Knesses Yisrael and currently learning at Rav Sosovsky’s yeshiva in Beit Meir, was arrested in Eilat and immediately handed over to the Military Police.

His arrest followed that of a Yerushalmi kollel yungerman who had reportedly been listed as absent from military service for more than 450 days. The avreich, who married only about three months ago, was apprehended while on a family vacation in Eilat.

{Matzav.com}

[COMMUNICATED]

by Rabbi Eliezer Sandler

The concept of the Yissachar-Zevulun Torah Learning Pact goes back well over 3,500 years, to the time of Yaakov Avinu and his sons. It is named for the Torah pact between two of his sons – Yissachar the scholar and Zevulun the merchant. Not only was it an equal pact but, Chazal explained, the deed of Zevulun/the Sponsor is considered even greater than that of Yissachar, because without the support of Zevulun, Yissachar would not have had the wherewithal to study Torah undisturbed.”

It is well-known that when it comes to learning Torah, people who sponsor the learning, often do so, not just as a donation. By financially supporting specific Torah scholars, they enter into a binding, written, signed and sealed learning partnership pact whereby the Sponsor (the Zevulun) is deemed by Halacha as if he personally studied the Torah completed by the Scholar (the Yissachar). (See below.) 

Thus, those who support the Talmidei Chachomim at Shas Yiden via a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact merit a portion in every daf of the entire Talmud Bavli and associated texts that they study, and complete the entire cycle in the space of ONE year. Some of the Sponsors opt to continue sponsoring repeat cycles of Shas which accrue to them.

Sar Hatorah, Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden, emphasized: The most mehudar Yissachar-Zevulun pact to support in our times is that offered by Shas Yiden – it comprises the entire Shas, Rashi and Tosfos – all in just one year!

Rav Chaim explained why this pact with Shas Yiden is the most mehudar. Chazal say that the highest level of learning is when one understands what he is learning b’iyun u’ve’amkus. However, even higher than that is when one remembers b’al peh all what he has learned. I have farhered the Shas Yiden avreichim geonim many times and can attest ZEI KENNEN SHAS (they know Shas)!

YES! YOU CAN MAKE
your OWN SIYUM on the ENTIRE
Shas, Rashi & Tosfos
IN JUST ONE YEAR!

The Yissachar-Zevulun Pact in Halacha

The Shulchan Aruch in Yoreh De’ah Chapter 246 regarding the efficacy of the Yissachar-Zevulun Sponsorship Pact for the Zevulun (the Sponsor) states clearly:  It is deemed as if he (the one sponsoring the learning) himself learned all the Torah studied under the pact. 

All the learning under the Shas Yiden Yissachar-Zevulun Pact is yours בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in both This World and the World to Come)! Concerning this, the Netziv of Volozhin comments that in Olam Habah, the Zevulun sponsor will sit together with the Gedolei Torah of the past and merit to participate in their discussions and pilpulim on all the Torah learned.

Achieve Almost 7 million Mitzvos in One Year

The Vilna Gaon in Shnos Eliyahu Pe’ah 41 states that one should hold precious every word of Torah that he learns because each word is considered a mitzvah of its own. 

Thus, since in Talmud Bavli, Rashi and Tosfos there are 6,608,891 words, that translates into almost 7 million mitzvos accruing through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden. 

Official Shtar from Shas Yiden

Each Yissachar-Zevulun pact is confirmed by an official contract (shtar) from Shas Yiden specifying the learning of the entire Shas, and is witnessed by talmidei chachomim.

All who wish to enter into a Yissachar-Zevulun Pact for the entire Shas during ONE year should contact Shas Yiden to make arrangements: 718-702-1528.

The opportunity to complete the entire Shas has been a cherished way to honor family members and others as a prized achievement. It has also proven to be a source of comfort for mourners to obtain such a zechus for their dear ones during the year of mourning – a siyum of the entire Shas can be completed on the yahrzeit!

Yissachar-Zevulun Pact – Beyond the Grave

The legendary visionary and “Father of Yeshivos”, Reb Chaim of Volozhin, was the founder of the famous yeshiva in the town of Volozhin and the beloved talmid of the Vilna Gaon. 

Reb Chaim had an ongoing Yissachar-Zevulun pact with a local shoemaker – a man who was not learned but who dearly valued Torah learning. They had a ‘deal’ whereby the shoemaker would pay the monthly financial support needed for Reb Chaim and his family. For this financial support, the shoemaker would have an equal share in all Reb Chaim’s daily Torah study – both in the mitzvah of Torah study בעוה”ז and that the knowledge of the Torah learned would continue to be his בעוה”ב (in the World to Come).

One day the shoemaker passed away suddenly. During the shiva period, Reb Chaim was facing a perplexing halachic question and researched high and low for a solution. That night the shoemaker appeared to him in a dream and gave him the full solution that he sought. Reb Chaim was amazed and commented, “Azoi gich, Azoi Gich – So quickly, so quickly has he acquired the zchus and knowledge of the Torah that I have studied!”

In the words of Gedolei Torah:

Maran Hagaon Harav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, Nasi Shas Yiden:

“In just ONE year, through Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden, you can be zoche to the entire Shas forever – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב (in olam hazeh and olam habah).

“Moreover, whoever supports Shas Yiden is zocheh to fulfill both Yissachar-Zevulun and support of aniyei (the poor of) Eretz Yisroel in the fullest sense of the word.

“Those who support Shas Yiden will be saved from chevlei (the travails of) Moshiach – spiritually and materially, and will be zoche to have ehrlicher bonim u’vanos yir’eishomayim ”

Maran Hagaon Harav Dov Lando, shlit”a, Rosh Yeshiva, Slabodka:

“Who compares to the Shas Yiden? Incredible talmidei chachomim geonim who raised the bar in limud Hashas b’iyun u’v’amkus. Blessed are those who enter a Yissachar-Zevulun pact with them.”

Hamashpia Hagadol Reb Meilech Biederman, shlit”a:

 “Yissachar-Zevulun at Shas Yiden – best possible deal, and in just 1 year! 100% partnership! 100% Shas x 5 times! 100% Shisha Sidrei Mishna – בעוה”ז ובעוה”ב”

Sanzer Rebbe, shlit”a:

“A first in 2000 years of Jewish history! Until Shas Yiden, never a Torah institution where ALL the avreichim metzuyonim v’geonim know the entire Shas by heart”

Maran Hagaon Harav Yaakov Hillel, shlit”a:

“Therefore, the great mitzvah to support the efforts [of the Talmidei Chachomim] with generous donations in order that they should continue diligently with their studies to enhance the greatness of the Torah and its glory. 

ShasYiden.com