The USDA announced a sweeping initiative this week aimed at scrutinizing every program under its umbrella, with Secretary Brooke Rollins stressing that the agency will be evaluating “ALL” of its operations to confirm that only eligible U.S. citizens are receiving federal assistance.
Rollins noted that this renewed push began long before Monday’s statement. On December 1, she reiterated that states had already been “put on notice reminding them illegal immigrants and certain non-citizens CAN NOT receive SNAP benefits,” underscoring that compliance is not optional.
According to the secretary, the USDA is now pressing states to submit detailed recipient information so the agency can identify fraud and improper use of federal funds. “Right now, we are requiring states turn over recipient data to fight waste, fraud, and abuse. Even though 22 blue states have refused to provide the data, we are using every tool to compel their compliance,” she stated, questioning what those states might be concealing and acknowledging President Trump for “his commitment to truly putting Americans first.”
Rollins’ announcement amplified a message President Trump shared just a few days earlier, immediately following Thanksgiving, in which he argued that America must stop masking the realities of immigration policy behind political correctness.
“The official United States Foreign population stands at 53 million people (Census), most of which are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels. They and their children are supported through massive payments from Patriotic American Citizens who, because of their beautiful hearts, do not want to openly complain or cause trouble in any way, shape, or form,” Trump wrote, referencing the horrific attack in Washington, D.C. last week when an Afghan national ambushed two National Guard members — leaving one dead and the second critically injured.
In that same message, the president vowed sweeping immigration policy changes, stating that he intends to halt migration from “all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
The USDA emphasized that its current posture aligns with objectives laid out months ago. Back in April, under Rollins’ direction, Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services John Walk issued instructions to state agencies “directing them to enhance identity and immigration verification practices when determining eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),” according to an earlier agency release.
Rollins reaffirmed the administration’s stance at the time, saying, “President Trump has made it clear that American taxpayers will no longer subsidize illegal aliens. We are stewards of taxpayer dollars, and it is our duty to ensure states confirm the identity and verify the immigration status of SNAP applicants. USDA’s nutrition programs are intended to support the most vulnerable Americans.”
She sharpened the point even further, declaring, “To allow those who broke our laws by entering the United States illegally to receive these benefits is outrageous.”
This summer, the USDA continued advancing this policy objective by issuing a July notice “making clear its interpretation of the term ‘Federal public benefit’ as used in Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).”
{Matzav.com}
The White House issued a sharply worded statement on Monday asserting that President Donald Trump was entirely justified when he described Minnesota as “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” and claimed that “refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great state.”
According to the statement, no example better demonstrates this than “the fraud scandal that took place under the incompetence” of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Of the 86 individuals charged to date, the White House noted that 78 are of Somali background, underscoring the scale of the corruption.
Officials detailed that more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds — money designated for feeding needy children during the pandemic — was siphoned off in what has become the largest COVID-era aid theft in the United States. The statement said that the scam involved nonprofits tied to the Somali community that allegedly fabricated entire operations, claiming to serve tens of thousands of hungry children who never existed.
Beyond the fake meal programs, the statement said these groups also asserted that they cared for nonexistent homeless people and provided therapy to imaginary Somali children with autism, all while kickbacks flowed freely and extravagant lifestyles were bankrolled. Some of the stolen funds, the White House added, were even suspected of having been routed to a terror organization.
The administration stressed that all of this unfolded while Walz was in charge — and that he took no meaningful action to stop it. Every investigation and prosecution so far, the statement emphasized, has been handled by federal authorities rather than the state.
Minnesota’s Democratic leadership, the White House said, was “reluctant” to intervene, “tolerating if not tacitly allowing, the fraud” out of fear of blowback from within the Somali community. Whistleblower complaints, according to the statement, were brushed aside to avoid accusations of bigotry or political insensitivity.
In outlining its response, the White House announced sweeping immigration measures. It said the Trump administration is terminating temporary protected status for Somali nationals, freezing migration from developing nations, reviewing green cards for all individuals from high-risk countries, and halting asylum determinations while the system is reassessed. All of these steps, the statement said, are part of a broader campaign to ensure that migrants who remain in the United States are “a net positive on our society.”
{Matzav.com}
At Monday’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt mounted a vigorous defense of the administration’s recent military operations against groups it has formally labeled as “narco-terrorist” organizations. She opened with a direct assertion that both President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth acted fully within the legal boundaries granted to them.
Leavitt began her remarks with a prepared statement, stressing that under U.S. and international law, organizations designated as narco-terrorist networks can be targeted with lethal force. She said that both Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly stated that when drug-smuggling operations threaten Americans or U.S. interests, the government not only has the authority but the obligation to respond decisively.
A significant portion of the briefing centered on the September 2 operation that destroyed a vessel operating in international waters. Leavitt explained that Hegseth had delegated tactical control to Adm. Mitch Bradley, the commander of Special Operations Command, who executed the strike in line with legal and military protocols. “Adm. Bradley worked well within his authority and the law,” she said, noting that the attack neutralized the target and “eliminated the threat to the United States of America.”
She argued that the administration’s approach is a direct answer to unprecedented levels of illicit drugs streaming toward the country. Pointing to what she described as disastrous fentanyl trafficking during the previous administration, Leavitt framed the current strategy — involving rapid and forceful military intervention — as both lawful and necessary.
Leavitt said Americans broadly back the administration’s tough stance on narcotics and national security. “It’s one of the many reasons the American public reelected this president,” she told reporters, linking public support to Trump’s uncompromising posture against cartels and smugglers.
During the question-and-answer session, Leavitt pushed back against media claims that Hegseth had issued an indiscriminate directive that “everyone be killed.” She dismissed the report but reiterated the administration’s core policy: lethal force remains authorized against individuals actively engaged in drug-trafficking activities that endanger Americans. “The president has made it quite clear that if narco-terrorists are trafficking drugs toward the United States, he has the authority to kill them,” she said.
{Matzav.com}
A harrowing new interview broadcast by Channel 12 on Monday offered the public its first full look into the ordeal endured by 22-year-old Israeli hostage Alon Ohel, who survived months of beatings, starvation, and psychological torment in Gaza. From the moment of his abduction, Ohel said he fought to stay alive by holding onto a quiet certainty that he would one day return. “I knew I would come back to my mother in the end,” he said.
Ohel explained that even as his captors stripped him of basic human freedoms, he clung to the one thing they could not touch. “In Gaza, they took away my freedom of movement, freedom and liberty, but not my ability to choose,” he said. He drew strength from the words of fellow hostage Eli Sharabi, who became a protective presence throughout their captivity: “To break is okay, but never lose hope.”
He described the chaos that erupted at the Nova festival as the attack began. What started as rockets turned into gunfire. “We thought it would end, but then we heard Kalashnikovs. You just wait for your death,” he recalled. In the middle of the horror, he witnessed Aner Shapira heroically throwing grenades out of a shelter until he was killed. Ohel said one of the blasts may have caused the wound to his eye.
After being overpowered, Ohel said he was shoved violently into a vehicle and taken across the border. “They threw me like a sack of potatoes into a truck… I said to myself: ‘Am I dreaming?'” he recounted. The hostages were dragged through a hospital and then hidden in a private home, where their injuries were sewn shut without anesthesia and strict silence was imposed. “They tore me from reality and put me in hell,” he said.
He described long stretches of hunger, isolation, and misery. “Chained like an animal, eating like a dog. You’re not a person there,” he said. Their daily rations were barely enough to survive. “We ate a pita and four spoons of peas a day. Sometimes, only dry dates. You look at yourself and see a corpse.”
Despite the conditions, Ohel formed a deep bond with Sharabi. “From the first moment, we connected,” he said. After injuring his own hand out of despair, Sharabi held him tightly. “Eli hugged me, it was a father’s hug.” The two pledged to hold on for the sake of the people waiting for them at home. Often chained to one another, “We did everything together,” he said, surviving bombings and repeated transfers between tunnels.
During one phase of hostage exchanges, Ohel was torn from Sharabi and left behind. “All my fears came true,” he said. The guards became harsher, and he described disturbing encounters, including sexual harassment. “He came to wash me in the shower… he touched me,” Ohel said. “Luckily, it didn’t go further.”
As negotiations dragged and Hamas feared bad publicity, his captors began offering slightly improved meals and even handed him an English copy of Harry Potter. “I skipped the last chapter. I told myself: ‘This is not my end.'”
Eventually he was moved above ground to southern Gaza, where he suddenly recognized another hostage from his army service. They were told to write letters to their families. “I wrote that I love them, that I’m alive and breathing, and that they’re my strength to survive.”
One day, Hamas commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad entered and signaled an abrupt change. “You’re leaving,” he told them. Ohel was then transferred to the Red Cross, whose representative apologized and admitted the organization had done nothing to help. Only when the vehicle doors opened and he saw IDF reservists did he feel the nightmare lifting. “You see who fights for you. It kills you,” he said.
Reunited with his family, Ohel tried to maintain composure until he learned that Sharabi’s entire family had been murdered on October 7. The news crushed him. “I knew them,” he said, overcome with emotion.
Looking back on his journey through darkness, Ohel described a hard-won inner rebirth. “For two years, I was a dead person. I prayed for someone to rescue me. But I discovered I’m strong. I’m not a victim. I take what I went through and grow from it. I’m going to take on this world.”
{Matzav.com}
[COMMUNICATED]
In the months after October 7th, as Israel reeled from loss, shock, and pain, thousands turned to OneFamily, Israel’s national organization assisting victims of terror and war for nearly 25 years. Faced with an avalanche of need, the organization had to greatly – and immediately – expand the number of volunteers and coordinators. In a beautiful show of resilience, healing, and bravery, many who have been on the receiving end of OneFamily’s care stepped up to help the newly bereaved.
OneFamily’s therapeutic, financial, and emotional assistance is designed to accompany people through every stage of grief and rebuilding. It is a testament to the success of this commitment, that those once shattered by loss are now reaching out to help others.
Turning Pain into Purpose
Yael Shevach’s husband, Rabbi Raziel Shevach was murdered in a 2018 terror attack near their home in Havat Gilad. A mohel, rabbi, and senior paramedic, he was also a loving husband and father to six children.
“During shiva, OneFamily came to visit,” Yael says. “They told me that when everyone else goes home, they would stay. And they did. Every step of the way.”
At first, it wasn’t easy for Yael to accept help. “I was raising six kids alone. I was in survival mode. I didn’t know what I needed, or what my kids needed, and I didn’t like having to accept help. But OneFamily kept reaching out, suggesting babysitting, inviting us to retreats. They didn’t give up, and they knew what we needed more than I did. Our first step in OneFamily was when my kids wanted to attend OneFamily camp. They came home glowing.”
Over time, Yael came to appreciate what the organization understood her needs before she did, and just how much help her family truly needed. She described how supported she felt, especially during COVID. “The whole country felt isolated. Everyone. But they made sure my children knew they weren’t alone.”
“OneFamily is completely unique in that they never made me feel like they were giving and I was receiving. They don’t just have a ‘menu of services’ that they offer people. They act like family—you help your loved ones with what they need, when they need it. That’s what OneFamily does. They accompany you, not as a case, but as a person.”
After October 7th, Yael began visiting newly bereaved widows, just as others once did for her. Soon after, OneFamily formalized a new role for her as a “milava,” a special liaison to widows.
“I see this as a personal mission, a way to help others and express my profound gratitude to OneFamily,” she explains. “This is not just an organization to me. It’s home.”
Yael brings a rare emotional fluency to her work. “OneFamily never made me feel pitied. They didn’t just provide help. They walked with me, and I want to do the same for others. We are healing together.”
From Grief to Giving
When Lazar Amitai’s wife was killed in a terrorist attack in Gush Katif 25 years ago, he suddenly became a single father to four young children. During the shiva, OneFamily representatives visited and quietly promised to return “after everyone else has gone home.” And they did.
“Someone from OneFamily called and got to know us,” Amitai says.”My kids started going to OneFamily camps, traveling with them, and attending special Shabbatons. They were hooked. It gave them so much support.”
As his children grew up and built their own lives, Amitai felt called to give back. After October 7th, OneFamily urgently needed more coordinators to serve the influx of bereaved families. Lazar trained to become a regional coordinator for Israel’s south.
“Every time I meet a grieving family, I start by just listening. Then I give hugs. Only then do I explain what OneFamily can do to help,” he explains. “And every time I feel like I’m giving them what I received.”
One recent case weighed heavily on him: four siblings, aged 12 to 20, who lost their mother on October 7th, were being raised by their father—until he died in a car accident. “So many pieces in their situation require navigating bureaucracy and giving emotional support in a sea of change and tragedy. I can often connect with families more closely and earlier because of my own story. People know I’m not just anybody. I’m one of them.”
Though offered compensation, Amitai does not accept a salary. “I do it out of gratitude,” he says. “My experience gives me a unique ability to help others, and I need to use it.”
A Mother’s Mission
For Cheryl Mandel, OneFamily became her anchor after her son, Lieutenant Daniel Mandel, was killed in Nablus in 2003. At her first OneFamily event, Cheryl met co-founder Chantal Belzberg.
“I met her at a large event where OneFamily had a booth. I told Chantal my story and she started to cry,” Cheryl recalls. “I couldn’t believe that someone who spends every day hearing such stories could still care so deeply. That moment told me this organization was something different.”
What started with yoga classes and quiet companionship became a decades-long bond. “I met other bereaved mothers who were slowly rebuilding. Over time, I found that I could do the same,” Cheryl says.
Cheryl began going abroad on behalf of OneFamily, speaking on Israel’s Memorial and Independence days, two of the hardest days of the year for any mother of a fallen soldier. That led to additional speaking opportunities abroad where as a native English speaker, she could share Daniel’s story and advocate for the organization.
“When I speak abroad, I’m not just sharing Daniel’s memory. I’m giving voice to 25,000 bereaved mothers who can’t travel or speak for themselves. I consider it a privilege.”
Cheryl has also taught art and dance at OneFamily events over the years. “OneFamily has helped members of my family each in their own way,” she notes. “I would do anything for them as a way to express my gratitude.”
Now two decades into her own journey through grief, Cheryl reflects: “Some of the people who supported me – my yoga teacher, my massage therapist – were also bereaved parents. They found a way to give back. I followed their example.”
The Power of a Lifelong Embrace
The stories of Shevach, Amitai, and Mandel reflect a truth OneFamily has seen time and again: healing deepens when compassion is shared.
“When someone who has lived through tragedy walks into a shiva house or speaks to a newly bereaved parent, something powerful happens,” says OneFamily CEO Chantal Belzberg. “It’s not just empathy – it’s credibility. They show that life can go on, that love and purpose can return.”
Over the last two decades, dozens of current staff members, volunteers, and group leaders have come from within OneFamily’s community of survivors. It is the most profound measure of success imaginable, demonstrating the successful management of grief to growth, developing new roles and acts of purpose and meaning over time.
Belzberg adds: “These are people who were once on the receiving end. They still need and receive support, but now they are the ones leading the way…like members of a family, which is really what we are.”
To contact OneFamily Fund, reach out to Naomi Nussbaum at (646) 289 8600.
A high-ranking figure in the Israeli Finance Ministry’s budget division has concluded that the newly introduced proposal dealing with chareidi conscription is unlikely to boost enlistment and may actually shrink the number of bnei yeshiva entering the army, Channel 12 reported.
This evaluation was submitted to Miri Frenkel Shor, the legal advisor of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. As Channel 12 described it, the budget team argues that the legislation scraps the only tools that have ever had real influence—namely the financial penalties affecting yeshiva support and childcare assistance—while at the same time padding the enlistment statistics by counting chareidim who take on civilian national service instead of military service.
The Finance Ministry has consistently maintained that without serious consequences for avoiding the draft, nothing changes. In a written submission to the same Knesset committee earlier this year, Yogev Gardos, who heads the ministry’s budget department, stressed that consequences would only work if they hit families where it matters financially, last “over a long period of time,” and cannot be sidestepped through outside assistance.
Gardos noted that options on the table for sanctions include withholding daycare support, cutting yeshiva funding, restricting discounts on National Insurance Institute payments, removing housing benefits, and canceling reduced municipal taxes.
He also emphasized that any penalties must be directed at the individual who avoids the draft, not tied to general enlistment quotas. If they are based on group performance, he explained, the motivation to enlist disappears entirely.
These same concerns were raised again in a 16-page analysis the ministry sent to the Defense Ministry in December, along with a follow-up internal memo circulated a few days later.
{Matzav.com}