CNN host Michael Smerconish dampened the excitement among Democrats over Vice President Kamala Harris, describing her as a “nearly invisible” nominee. He cautioned that Harris is far from being “indestructible” and emphasized that, in due time, she will be “held accountable” for her past actions and policy stances.
Smerconish criticized Harris for avoiding tough questions from journalists regarding her plans as president since receiving the nomination last month.
“Kamala Harris is not indestructible,” the former Republican and talk radio personality remarked during his weekend show on CNN. He further noted that the vice president has been enjoying what he called a “free ride.”
“…She has served as an undistinguished, nearly invisible vice president. There appears no accomplishment she can point to for her most important responsibility, addressing the origin of the border crisis,” he said.
The CNN host also argued her running Mate Tim Walz may turn out “to have as many warts as JD Vance,” pointing to a KFile report highlighting that Walz’s past congressional campaign had made false statements about a DWI arrest.
“Thus far, Harris has had a free ride. She hasn’t given any media interviews, hasn’t faced voter questioning. When asked recently, she said she would give an interview by the end of the month. She said that on August the 8th!” he said.
Smerconish pointed to Harris’s flipped positions on “healthcare, fracking, weed, and the death penalty” as just some of the things she’ll need to answer for when she eventually faces the press. She’ll also need to answer for an economic agenda that’s received “mixed reviews,” he added.
“Sooner or later, she’s going to be held accountable and face pressure that she has thus far largely avoided,” Smerconish said.
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, short-circuiting the federal fraud case that led to his expulsion from Congress just weeks before it was set to go to trial. “I betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct,” the New York Republican said as he entered the plea in a Long Island courtroom. Santos, 36, said he accepted responsibility and intends to make amends. He faces more than six years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines and owes at least $370,000 in restitution. Senior Federal Judge Joanna Seybert scheduled Santos’ sentencing for Feb. 7. Santos was indicted on felony charges that he stole from political donors, used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses, lied to Congress about his wealth and collected unemployment benefits while actually working. Santos was expelled from the U.S. House after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” that he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit. The case has been set to go to trial in early September. If that had happened, federal prosecutors said Monday that they were prepared to call some 40 witnesses, including members of Santos’ campaign, employers and family members. Santos was once touted as a rising political star after he flipped the suburban district that covers the affluent North Shore of Long Island and a slice of the New York City borough of Queens in 2022. But his life story began unraveling before he was even sworn into office. At the time, reports emerged that he had lied about having a career at top Wall Street firms and a college degree along with other questions of his biography. New questions then emerged about his campaign funds. He was first indicted on federal charges in May 2023, but refused to resign from office. Santos has previously maintained his innocence, though he said in an interview in December that a plea deal with prosecutors was “not off the table.” Asked if he was afraid of going to prison, he told CBS 2 at the time: “I think everybody should be afraid of going to jail, it’s not a pretty place and uh, I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible.” Separately Monday, in Manhattan federal court, Judge Denise Cote tossed out a lawsuit in which Santos claimed that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, ABC and Disney committed copyright infringement and unjustly enriched themselves at his expense by using videos he made on the Cameo app for a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” segment. The judge said it was clear that Kimmel used the clips, which were also posted to YouTube, for the purposes of criticism and commentary, which is fair use. Santos had begun selling personalized videos on Cameo in December shortly after his ouster from Congress. He subsequently launched, then quickly abandoned, a longshot bid to return to Congress as an independent earlier this year. In a radio interview that aired Sunday, Santos said he has taken comfort in being a “somewhat private civilian” again. “I really don’t miss the rubber chicken dinners and the rah-rah-rah parties and fundraisers,” he said of his former life. With his criminal trial looming, he said in the WABC interview that he was “terrified.” […]
Civilians with small children in their arms and lugging heavy suitcases fled Monday from Ukraine’s eastern city of Pokrovsk, where the Russian army was bearing down fast despite a lightning Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. Local authorities said Russian forces were advancing so quickly that families were under orders to leave the city and other nearby towns and villages starting Tuesday. Around 53,000 people still live in Pokrovsk, officials said, and some of them decided to get out immediately. People of all ages boarded trains and buses with the belongings they could carry. Some wept as they waited to depart. Soldiers helped the elderly with their bags, and volunteers helped people with disabilities. Rail workers wore bulletproof vests. Natalya Ivaniuk said the noise of explosions from Russian bombardments filled the air while she and her daughters, age 7 and 9, fled their home in the nearby village of Myrnohrad, which is less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the front line. “It was terrifyingly scary,” she told The Associated Press. “We barely got out.” Pokrovsk is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would compromise Ukraine’s defensive abilities and supply routes and would bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire Donetsk region. One of Kyiv’s attempts to ease the pressure on its eastern front was the unexpected Aug. 6 incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, which among other goals aimed to unnerve the Kremlin and compel it to split its military resources. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the daring incursion is trying to create a buffer zone that might prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border, especially with long-range artillery, missiles and glide bombs. In a social media statement, Zelenskyy said Monday evening that Ukraine currently controlled 1,250 square kilometers (about 480 square miles) and 92 settlements inside the Kursk region. “The Russian border area opposite our Sumy region has been mostly cleared of Russian military presence,” he said. “Now, our warriors’ real success speaks for itself. Our defensive actions across the border, as well as Putin’s inability to defend his territory, are telling. Our proactive defense is the most effective counter to Russian terror, causing significant difficulties for the aggressor.” Russia’s relentless six-month slog across Ukraine’s Donetsk region following the capture of Avdiivka has cost it heavily in troops and armor. However, the onslaught has gradually paid dividends as Ukrainian defenders have no choice but to pull back from positions blown to pieces by Russian artillery, missiles and bombs. “There is a lot of destruction around us, so it becomes more and more scary to stay,” said Tetiana Myronenko, 57, who came from Selydove just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the front line. She sat next to her husband in the car of a train waiting to leave Pokrovsk. It was bound for Lviv, hundreds of kilometers (miles) away in western Ukraine. Russia wants control of all parts of Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk, which together make up the Donbas industrial region. Officials warned last week that Russian forces were rapidly advancing and were just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the outskirts of Pokrovsk. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, said Monday that “heavy battles” were taking place in the Pokrovsk area. The nearby town of […]
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has signed a decree banning coal exports to Israel.
The Latin American nation is the largest supplier of the fossil fuel to the Jewish state. Last year, Israel purchased $450 million worth of coal from Colombia.
Colombia’s Industry and Commerce Ministry published the order to end coal sales to Israel on Sunday; it was dated Aug. 14.
But the Colombian Miners Association warned that the country cannot stop coal exports due to the free trade agreement between Yerushalayim and Bogota, and threatened that companies producing coal may take action, BNN Bloomberg reported on Sunday.
The coal ban would not impact Israel’s energy security, as it has other sources available and the Israel Electric Cooperation can easily find alternative sources to coal.
Although most of Israel’s electricity today is produced with coal, the country plans to end its reliance on it by 2026.
Colombia’s far-left leader is a vocal opponent of Yerushalayim’s war in Gaza started by the Hamas terrorist group when it led a massacre of some 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
In May, Petro announced the severing of diplomatic ties with Yerushalayim over the war against Hamas in Gaza.
“Here in front of you, the government of change, of the president of the republic, announces that tomorrow we will break diplomatic relations with the State of Israel … for having a government, for having a president who is genocidal,” said Petro.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz tweeted: “The president of Colombia promised to give a reward to the murderers of Hamas—and the day has come. History will remember that Gustavo Petro decided to side with the most despicable monsters known to mankind, who burned babies, murdered children, raped women and kidnapped innocent civilians.”
(JNS)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel has accepted a proposal to bridge differences holding up a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, and he called on Hamas to do the same, without saying whether concerns cited by the terrorist group had been addressed. The high-stakes negotiations have gained urgency in recent days as diplomats hope an agreement will deter Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah from avenging the targeted killings of two top militants that were blamed on Israel. The escalating tensions have raised fears of an even more destructive regional war. Blinken spoke after holding a 2 1/2 hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day, and will travel to Egypt and Qatar for further negotiations. The three mediators have spent months trying to end the war in Gaza, with the talks repeatedly stalling. “In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel supports the bridging proposal,” Blinken told reporters, without saying what the proposal entails. “The next important step is for Hamas to say ‘yes.’” He added, however, that even if Hamas accepts the proposal, negotiators will spend the coming days working on “clear understandings on implementing the agreement.” He said there are still “complex issues” requiring “hard decisions by the leaders,” without offering specifics. Hamas has said it is losing faith in the U.S. as a mediator, accusing American negotiators of siding with Israel as it makes new demands that the terror group rejects. Blinken did not say whether the proposal addressed Israel’s demand for control over two strategic corridors inside Gaza — which Hamas has said is a nonstarter — or other issues that have long bedeviled the negotiations. Netanyahu said that he had a “good and important meeting” with Blinken and appreciated the “understanding that the United States has shown to our vital security interests, along with our shared efforts to release our hostages.” He added that efforts are being made to release the maximum number of hostages in the first stage of a the cease-fire deal. Blinken’s ninth mission to the Middle East since the conflict began came days after mediators, including the United States, expressed renewed optimism that a deal was near. But Hamas has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the latest proposal, and Israel has said there were points on which it was unwilling to compromise. Earlier on Monday, Blinken said it was a “decisive moment,” and “maybe the last” opportunity to free the hostages and secure a cease-fire. “It’s also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process,” he said in a veiled reference to Iran. “And so we’re working to make sure that there is no escalation, that there are no provocations, that there are no actions that in any way move us away from getting this deal over the line, or for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places and to greater intensity.” Mediators will meet again this week to try to cement a cease-fire. Blinken will travel Tuesday to Egypt and Qatar. Dozens of Israelis demonstrated outside of the Tel Aviv hotel where Blinken was staying, holding photos of the hostages and demanding an immediate cease-fire. “We know that only with vast help of the American administration a […]
IDF troops from the 7th Brigade have expanded their operations in the Gaza Strip, targeting areas around Khan Yunis and the outskirts of Deir al-Balah. As part of these operations, IDF soldiers are eliminating terrorists and dismantling combat compounds both above and below ground. In a significant find, the 603rd Battalion uncovered dozens of rockets, launchers, and several anti-tank missiles in one of these compounds. With intelligence assistance, the 603rd Battalion, in coordination with the Yahalom Unit, located and destroyed an underground tunnel approximately 1.5 kilometers in length. The tunnel, used by Hamas, contained weapons, explosives, and equipment for long-term habitation. The terrorists occupying the compound fled as IDF troops arrived. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
A new investigation from the Capital Research Center has revealed that over 150 groups involved in the Anti-Israel protests at the DNC is Chicago are extremist groups, with widespread Hamas support and many having ties to foreign hostile governments.
Billionaire Carl Icahn and his company were charged by U.S. regulators with failing to disclose personal loans worth billions of dollars that were secured using securities of Icahn Enterprises as collateral. Icahn Enterprises and Icahn have agreed to pay $1.5 million and $500,000 in civil penalties, respectively, to settle the charges, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday. The agency said that from at least Dec. 31, 2018 to the present, Icahn pledged approximately 51% to 82% of Icahn Enterprises’ outstanding securities as collateral to secure personal loans with a number of lenders. The SEC said Icahn Enterprises failed to disclose Icahn’s pledges of the company’s securities as required in its annual report until Feb. 25, 2022. Icahn also failed to file amendments to a required regulatory filing describing his personal loan agreements and amendments, which dated back to at least 2005, and failed to attach required guaranty agreements. Icahn’s failure to file the required amendments to the regulatory filing persisted until at least July 9, 2023, the agency added. Icahn became widely known as a corporate raider in the 1980s when he engineered a takeover of TWA, or Trans World Airlines. Icahn bought the airline in 1985 but by 1992 it filed for bankruptcy. TWA emerged from bankruptcy a year later but continued to operate at a loss and its assets were sold to American Airlines in 2001. In February Icahn took a nearly 10% stake in JetBlue. Icahn Enterprises and Icahn, without admitting or denying the findings, have agreed to cease and desist from future violations and to pay the civil penalties. (AP)
Vice President Kamala Harris secretly met last week with the radical, antisemitic mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, in an effort to court Muslim- and Arab-American voters, Breitbart reports.
The meeting was reported by the Associated Press, buried within an article published on Shabbos about the so-called “uncommitted” group of voters, particularly in Michigan, who are trying to push the Democratic Party into an openly anti-Israel position.
The AP reported:
Top Democrats have spent weeks meeting with “uncommitted” voters and their allies — including a previously unreported sit-down between Vice President Kamala Harris and the mayor of Dearborn, Michigan — in an effort to respond to criticism in key swing states like Michigan, which has a significant Arab American population.
…
During a campaign trip to Michigan last week, Harris met with Abdullah Hammoud, the 34-year-old mayor of Dearborn, a Detroit suburb that has the largest number of Arab Americans of any city in the United States. The meeting was disclosed by a person who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The person familiar with the meeting did not provide specific details but said the focus was on Harris’ potential policy, if elected, on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Hammoud declined to comment.
Harris has actually indicated her openness to a possible arms embargo, telling anti-Israel activists that she would consider a discussion on the subject, before her campaign later issued a statement walking back that commitment.
But the news is Kamala Harris’s secret meeting with Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.
Hammoud posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on October 7 in which he appeared to justify the mass murder of Israelis by Hamas (even while he claimed to oppose violence against innocent civilians).
He also gave a radical, antisemitic speech at an extremist anti-Israel rally last November. His remarks were reported by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) (emphasis removed):
On November 29, 2023, the New Generation for Palestine, founded by Michigan comedian Amer Zahr, held a rally marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in Dearborn, Michigan, which was streamed live on the organization’s Facebook page. Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, spoke at the event, he said that Dearborn is a “city of resistance.” He said that the question is not whether his community will vote for Biden or Trump in the 2024 presidential elections, but whether Biden listens to them, or to constituents who stuff his pockets with money.
Hammoud specifically said “This is the city of protests, the city of resilience, the city of resistance”; and added:
If American democracy depends on our current president being reelected, then why is being bedfellows with the terrorist [sic] Netanyahu, worth sacrificing American democracy? That is the question that should be asked. Not put on our shoulders which way we vote. The question is about what policy will you adopt, and which constituents will you listen to – those that stuff your pockets with money, or those that tell you about the scars that we bear on our backs?
The term “resistance” is used by Iran-backed terrorist groups like Hamas to refer to themselves (as part of an “Axis of Resistance”). The image of donors “stuff[ing]” politicians’ pockets with money evokes classic antisemitic stereotypes, and the false claim that Jews buy congressional support for Israel.
Dearborn is a known hotbed of radicalism. A Wall Street Journal op-ed called it “America’s Jihad Capital.” In October, just days after the Hamas terror attack on Israel, local Muslim community leaders staged a pro-Hamas “free Palestine” rally at which the one speaker who mentioned the word “peace” was booed off the stage.
Harris has hired an anti-Israel “liaison” to the Jewish community, and a “liaison” to the Muslim and Arab communities who has a history of radical anti-Israel activism, including denying that extremist anti-Israel protests on college campuses are antisemitic.
In addition, as former President Donald Trump pointed out on Shabbos, Harris declined to name Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who is Jewish, as her running mate partly because anti-Israel voices in her party objected to him, and reportedly did so partly because of his faith. Breitbart
{Matzav.com}
Chabad bochurim Yisroel Andrusier from Florida and Zalmy Gurary from Montreal, students of Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch in the Brunoy village in France, were helping Jews put on Tefillin in the Jewish quarter in Paris, known as the Pletzl. Collive reported on a moving encounter they had with a special Jew, Raphael Benguigui, and his wife Lorena, residents of Paris and Lisbon, Portugal. Raphael, who doesn’t have hands, agreed to put on Tefillin. Lorena told the bochurim later that Raphael used to daven with tefillin on a regular basis but stopped when he was diagnosed with leukemia and later suffered from septic shock. “My husband needed this,” she said, explaining that “after what we call ‘the life accident,’ he didn’t do it every day anymore. He had some anger to deal with. Raphael said that from today he will do it every day.” Watch the moving video below: (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Rav Gershon Ribner, rosh kollel of Kollel Nesivos Hatorah and son-in-law of Rav Shneur Kotler, has succeeded in applying classical Talmudical analysis and methodology to understanding all areas of Yiddishkeit, bringing out its profundity and sense.
LISTEN:
On Monday evening it was cleared for publication that Lieutenant Shahar Ben Nun, aged 21, fell in combat in southern Gaza.
Ben Nun, who hailed from Petach Tikva, was killed when a Israeli bomb missed it’s intended target by 300 meters due to a malfunction in an Israeli F-15’s navigation system. One bomb dropped by the Air Force plane hit it’s target, but the second hit a building near where the soldiers were located. Ben Nun, of the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, was killed in the explosion, and 6 other soldiers were wounded.
The friendly fire incident occurred at around 6:30am Monday morning, with the target of the bombing being terror targets in Hamad neighborhood of Khan Yunis.
{Matzav.com}
Fox News’ chief political analyst Brit Hume said that former President Donald Trump has a real chance of winning the 2024 election, but believes the race will be extremely close due to Trump’s unpopularity among a significant portion of the electorate. The conversation followed an interview between Fox News Sunday host Shannon Bream and Senator JD Vance, where Bream highlighted that while Republicans claim to have a strong message, network polling shows that 65 percent of voters are dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Bream posed the question of why Trump is still statistically tied with Vice President Kamala Harris, despite the public’s dissatisfaction. “Because he’s Trump,” Hume responded. “When you get down to it, the past eight to ten years have been about Donald Trump. Everything has been about Donald Trump.” Hume went on to speculate that the Democrats had pushed Joe Biden forward in part because they anticipated Trump would be the Republican nominee once again. Hume remarked, “I don’t think that the Democrats would have let Joe Biden get as far as he did… if the party hadn’t been confident that the Republicans were going to nominate Donald Trump again.” However, Hume pointed to Trump’s persistent challenge: “Donald Trump has a very hard, solid base of support, but it never gets above about 40 to 45 percent, maybe a little more at best. His weakness is the predicate for our politics going back now three elections.” Reflecting on Trump’s previous electoral performance, Hume noted that while Trump was able to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016—an opponent Hume described as “uniquely unpopular”—he failed to beat Joe Biden in 2020. He added that Trump has similarly struggled to deliver decisive victories for Republicans in midterm elections. “Donald Trump, no matter how enthusiastic his supporters are, nonetheless, is not a majority candidate. He might win, but he’s not a majority candidate,” Hume concluded. In the same segment, Bream questioned GOP strategist Karl Rove about why Trump is struggling in the polls, despite having an advantage on key issues like the economy, inflation, and immigration. Rove acknowledged that Trump has been advised by many capable people but argued that the former president often listens to his own instincts above all else. “Well, first of all, he does listen to a lot of people, but the first he listens to is the inner voice,” Rove said. He pointed to Trump’s rallies as examples of “a particularly undisciplined form of communications,” adding that despite strong polling on economic issues, Trump has struggled because he tends to focus on topics outside the three main issues of the campaign: the economy, inflation, and immigration. Rove ultimately attributed Trump’s polling struggles to his lack of discipline, calling him “fundamentally undisciplined” when it comes to staying focused on the critical issues voters care about most. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Dear MatzavInbox@Gmail.com,
I write this letter with a deep sense of anger and indignation at the treatment I received at the hands of the so-called tuition “committee” of my daughter’s school. Except, let’s call it what it really was—a one-man interrogation. This individual took it upon himself to pry into every aspect of my personal life, from the type of car I drive to where I spend my summers and Yomim Tovim, all in the name of justifying a measly $1,000 discount.
Yes, you read that right.
But while he was so eager to dissect every detail of my life, there was one crucial question he neglected to ask: How much debt am I drowning in just to keep my frum family afloat? Did he care about the burden of credit card debt that I carry, just to ensure my children receive the education they deserve? No, that wasn’t on his list.
And it’s not credit card bills spent on luxuries. It’s regular bills – groceries, insurance, gas clothes, and the like. I haven’t gotten a new suit in 4 years.
Instead, I was humiliated, made to feel like a beggar, all for the sake of a small financial reprieve.
I am disgusted by the arrogance and insensitivity displayed by this person—someone who clearly forgot the basic principles of chesed and empathy that are supposed to define our community.
One day, this person will face judgment—not from me, but from the Bais Din Shel Maalah. On that day, all the shame and embarrassment he heaped upon me will be weighed against him.
When will this stop?
Sincerely,
A Parent in Pain
To submit a letter for publication on Matzav.com, please email MatzavInbox@Gmail.com.
{Matzav.com}
A luxury superyacht carrying foreign tourists capsized and sank off Sicily in bad weather early Monday. One body was found, six people remain missing and 15 people were rescued, authorities said. The ship had overturned around 5 a.m. off the port of Porticello, where it was apparently anchored. It had a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers, including British, American and Canadian nationalities, the Italian coast guard said. Local media said a sudden fierce storm, including tornados over water known as waterspouts, had battered the area overnight but skies were clear and seas calm by Monday morning. The 56-meter (184-foot) British-flagged “Bayesian,” was known for its unusually single 75-meter (246-feet) mast, one of the world’s tallest made of aluminum. The online sites list it for charter for up to 195,000 euros (about $215,000) a week. Eight of the people initially rescued and taken to shore at Porticello, near Palermo, were hospitalized. One body was found near the wreck, but six others were unaccounted for, said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for the Italian fire rescue service. Rescue crews located the ship at a depth of 50 meters (163 feet) off Porticello and experienced deep-water police divers were trying to access the hull, Cari said. The operations, which were visible from shore, involved helicopters and rescue boats from the coast guard, fire rescue and civil protection service. The seven who had not made it so far included one crew member and six passengers, the coast guard said. The yacht, built in 2008 by the Italian firm Perini Navi, can accommodate 12 passengers in four double cabins, a triple and the master suite, plus crew accommodations, according to Charter World and Yacht Charters. The vessel, which previously was named the “Salute” when it flew under a Dutch flag, featured a sleek, minimalist interior of light wood with Japanese accents designed by the French designer Remi Tessier, according to descriptions and photos on the sites. (AP)
Our brothers and sisters are in grave danger. This is real. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MOSHAV TZOFAR Our loved ones in Israel are targets, and we need to do our part to protect them. The war is getting closer to each and every one of us, and we must act now. Their lives are in immediate danger, and they desperately need our assistance. They live each minute in fear, not knowing if every moment might be their last or if they will see their children or loved ones again when they go to work in the fields to provide food for Israel. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MOSHAV TZOFAR CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MOSHAV TZOFAR This is the harsh reality they are enduring right now. The threat of violence is ever-present, and the basic necessities of life are becoming increasingly scarce. The civilians in Moshav Tzofar are doing what they can to protect themselves, as the army has their hands full. They have created an emergency response team and have volunteers ready at a moment’s notice to defend their Moshav. What they desperately need is the equipment to do so. This is where we, Am Yisrael, must help them in their time of need. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MOSHAV TZOFAR We cannot stand by and watch our family suffer. We must act now to provide the critical support they need to survive this perilous time. Your donation can make a profound difference. It can mean the difference between hope and despair, between life and death. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MOSHAV TZOFAR Your donation will go directly towards purchasing much-needed equipment for the emergency response team. They are pleading for helmets, ceramic vests, flashlights, thermal drones, reflex sights, and critical tactical gear that will give them the ability to defend our children. Our mission is to raise $200,000 to ensure they have a fighting chance to protect themselves. Please contribute—you will be directly saving lives and offering hope to all of Am Yisrael. Funds raised will go directly to the Moshav emergency team and will be used to purchase the necessary equipment as funds are raised. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MOSHAV TZOFAR Please join us in this urgent mission. Share this plea with your friends, family, and social networks. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can save lives. From the bottom of their hearts, they thank you for your compassion and generosity. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MOSHAV TZOFAR
Rav Avraham Meshulam, the Gabbai of the Rashbi shul in southern Tel Aviv, where a great neis occurred on Sunday evening when a suicide bomber’s powerful bomb prematurely exploded ten meters away from it, spoke to the media on Monday about the magnitude of the neis. “The explosion was louder than I’ve ever heard before,” he said. “The whole shul shook like in a powerful earthquake. The electricity went out in part of the building and the glass of the windows shattered on people. Miraculously there were no people on the street at the time except for one passerby who was injured and we daven for his speedy recovery.” “They saw on the security cameras that the terrorist had already approached the entrance of the shul, checked out the area and saw that there was a shul there full of people. Afterward, you see him going back ten meters and sitting on a bench and fiddling with the buttons inside his knapsack. Hakadosh Baruch Hu caused him to make a mistake and apparently he accidentally pressed the wrong button, activating the device at that moment and not several minutes afterward. It truly was a neis. The building next to the shul, a hardware store, was destroyed – the wall completely exploded. The glass that shattered on us was really marginal, nothing. None of us were hurt, not even a little. We believe that Hakadosh Baruch Hu protects us and saved us.” Rav Meshulam told B’Chadrei Chareidim that the shul has a Yeshivas Bein Hazemanim every day, the largest one in the city, and the shul is especially crowded at night with mispallelim and lomdei Torah – exactly the time that the device exploded. “Just last week, the Sephardi Rav of Bnei Brak, HaGaon HaRav Masoud Ben-Shimon, came to the opening ceremony for Yeshivas Bein HaZemanim, and said: ‘Know one thing – this Yeshivas Bein HaZemanim protects all of Tel Aviv.’ “At that time, people didn’t attribute much importance to his words and thought it was simply a statement of chizzuk. But Baruch Hashem, everyone understands the koach of Torah – that’s what protects Am Yisrael. It could have ended in a mass-casualty incident – the explosion was extremely powerful.” “My father built this shul 75 years ago in the name of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai. The shteibelach have been here for 75 years and are full of tefillos, shiurei Torah all the time.” See the shul in the videos below. The first video shows the limmud Torah continuing even after the attack – without lights or air conditioning. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
An Israeli military officer was killed and several others were injured this morning after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip went awry The fallen officer has been identified as Lt. Shahar Ben Nun, 21, a member of the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, hailing from Petah Tikva. Alongside the tragic loss of Lt. Ben Nun, three other soldiers were seriously wounded, while three more sustained injuries but are reported to be in stable condition. According to a preliminary investigation by the IDF, the incident occurred at approximately 6:30 a.m. during a series of Israeli Air Force (IAF) strikes in the Khan Younis area. A technical malfunction caused one of the missiles, launched by an F-15 fighter jet, to veer off course. Instead of striking its intended target, the missile hit a multi-story building where the paratroopers were stationed. The building, situated roughly 300 meters from the intended target, sustained significant damage. The missile reportedly struck an upper-floor apartment, causing part of the building to collapse onto soldiers who were stationed in a neighboring apartment. The IAF emphasized that this type of malfunction is highly unusual, noting that tens of thousands of munitions have been deployed from fighter jets throughout the ongoing conflict in Gaza, with no similar incidents recorded to date. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Israeli Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich has announced his intention to continue subsidizing day care for families of chareidi men who dodge the draft, despite objections from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
The dispute centers on funding for chareidi men of military draft age, underscoring ongoing tensions over chareidi integration into the workforce and military service.
Smotrich fired off a detailed letter to Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon and Finance Ministry Legal Adviser Assi Messing. In it, he argued that canceling the daycare budget would severely hamper chareidi women’s entry into the workforce, impede the sector’s job market integration, condemn it to poverty, and overstep the government lawyers’ authority.
Smotrich expressed outrage that the decision was made between government lawyers without consulting him as finance minister.
“It’s astounding that you conduct discussions, exchange correspondence, and make far-reaching budgetary and economic decisions among yourselves without even considering it appropriate to involve the finance minister or seek his position. This is a state within a state,” he wrote.
“The premise for this decision—that daycare subsidies are given to support the father’s Torah study—is fundamentally flawed, based on a misinterpretation of the Supreme Court ruling on yeshivah funding after the conscription plan expired. This assumption is baseless.
“The subsidy has nothing to do with the father’s Torah study. It’s meant to incentivize mothers to enter the workforce by helping finance childcare,” the letter said.
“The subsidy’s declared goal is to promote chareidi women’s integration into the job market. The government decided to extend it to mothers whose husbands study in yeshivah and aren’t home. This practical decision recognizes a simple reality: In chareidi families where fathers study Torah, mothers often stay home with children, even at the cost of poverty and a low standard of living.”
The finance minister argued that daycare subsidies have led to many chareidi women entering the workforce.
“It’s been an overwhelming success. The past two decades have seen a dramatic rise in chareidi women’s employment. One would have to be blind not to see the positive impacts on the economy, chareidi society, and the nation as a whole,” he wrote, contending that cutting daycare subsidies would deal a severe blow to the economy.
Smotrich demanded that the legal advisers “immediately retract your fundamentally flawed opinion. Allow me to continue my economic policy supporting growth and chareidi women’s workforce integration. Refrain from illegally and unreasonably sabotaging it and the economy. By virtue of my authority as finance minister, I’m ordering the continuation of daycare subsidies, per Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry criteria.”
Anticipating a High Court challenge, Smotrich wrote, “If you believe my decision is illegal, you’re free to petition the Supreme Court. There, I’ll demand independent representation” rather than have the Attorney General’s Office represent his ministry.
The finance minister concluded with sharp criticism, “It’s hard to escape the feeling that regarding the chareidi public and its budgets, you’re repeatedly driven by a hostile agenda that seeks every possible way to harm and obstruct. If only you’d invest a fraction of the energy you spend trying to cut ultra-Orthodox budgets in helping me prevent state funds from leaking to criminal organizations, in fighting black market capital, and more.” JNS
{Matzav.com Israel}
Dear Klal Yisroel, Tu B’av is here. I see that there are many inspirational speeches and tzedaka campaigns going on as well as tefilla events. It is truly heartwarming to see how deeply we care about the plight of our daughters, granddaughters, sisters, neighbors and friends; may these tefillos etc. bring positive results with many shidduchim b’karov. I would just like to bring to the attention of my dear fellow yidden that Tu bav was seemingly primarily a day of hishtadlus. Therefore, along with your tefillos, don’t forget to do your basic hishtadlus by reaching out to shadchanim, family and friends. As much as these actions usually leave one feeling that they accomplished nothing, it is still worthwhile. Keep in mind that all you need is one boy and one girl. You never know when your reminder to the shadchan will come at just the right moment when they just met a boy that would be perfect for your daughter. Just because the shadchan did not respond does not mean that he did not get your message (they simply do not have the time to respond to everyone). Unless you are truly an amazing baal bitachon, do not allow lofty ideals of bitachon that great tzaddikim had or have to stop you from doing the basic hishtadlus that you are obligated to do. Let’s not think that we are smarter than our parents, grandparents and most of the gedolai yisroel who did hishtadlus for this just like they did for everything else in life, while knowing t`hat ultimately everything is in the hands of Hashem (I know that several gedolim may have said otherwise but that was still not the way that most of klal yisroel acted שאל אביך ויגדך). Additionally, as Rav Gershon Ribner recently stated, the Roshei Yeshiva who hold the key to solving this man-made shidduch catastrophe are unaware of the extent of the suffering that us common folk are going through. The reason is that firstly, their daughters are sought after by their talmidim and others. Additionally, the simple folk who are going through this crisis are too proud to pour their hearts out to the roshei yeshiva. Therefore, I implore each and every one of you to pick up the phone and for just a few minutes swallow your pride and respectfully let your rosh yeshiva know what is truly going on behind the closed door of thousands of homes. Let them know what is behind that brave mask that we put on every time we venture out into the street and every time we attend a simcha. Plead with them to stop the madness of (needlessly, for the most part) sending bochurim to Eretz Yisroel for such a long period of time and thereby damning thousands of our girls to a life of being alone רח”ל. I want to end with a frightening quote that is brought down in the Haggada of the Tchebiner Rov zt”l, that came out this past year. He writes (this is not an exact quote as I do not currently have access to the sefer) that the reason why the Holocaust happened was because there were many bnos yisroel who could not get married and klal yisroel did nothing to help them. Are we רח”ל guilty of the same? […]
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