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In a major policy shift, the Israeli government announced Sunday that bochurim enrolled in yeshivos who have not enlisted in the IDF will lose their National Insurance benefits starting January 1, 2026.
The decision, revealed in a state submission to the High Court of Justice, follows a previous Supreme Court order requiring the government to terminate these benefits and to clarify within 30 days the timeframe for implementation.
State representatives informed the court that, “after completing discussions between the relevant authorities regarding the necessary transition period, and reviewing the time required for both individual and institutional adjustment, the state will be prepared to implement the updated legal interpretation of the National Insurance Law at the beginning of 2026.”
The move comes as part of the government’s compliance with a petition filed by the Movement for Quality Government, which had demanded an immediate halt to the stipends provided to yeshiva students who have not been formally exempted from military service. The petition argued that “in the absence of a legal framework permitting the non-drafting of students in religious institutions, the state cannot continue to transfer financial support to those not officially exempt.”
The organization welcomed the government’s response, calling it “a significant and faster-than-expected achievement.” Petitioners noted that the relatively short three-month transition period — ending as the new fiscal year begins — would simplify the practical and administrative aspects of the change.
The decision is expected to have far-reaching implications across the chareidi community, affecting thousands of bochurim who currently receive National Insurance benefits as students, as the long-running standoff over ben yeshiva status continues to intensify.
{Matzav.com}Yerushalayim saw fresh unrest Sunday evening as demonstrators blocked traffic along Bar Ilan Street to protest the recent arrests of bochurim classified by the IDF as draft evaders due to unresolved ben yeshiva status.
According to police, hundreds of protesters gathered at the site, setting bonfires and garbage bins ablaze while hurling stones and other objects at officers. Two policemen sustained light injuries during the clashes.
A senior police officer at the scene issued a dispersal order after participants ignored repeated instructions to clear the roadway. Police said that when the crowd refused to comply, riot control units were forced to deploy measures to disperse the disturbance. Two suspects were arrested and transferred for questioning.
“Even at this hour, police officers together with Border Police forces in Yerushalayim are working to restore order to the area,” authorities stated.
The protest marked yet another outcry against the ongoing arrests of chareidi draft evaders amid the government’s unresolved efforts to formalize the ben yeshiva exemption framework.
Police emphasized that while lawful demonstrations are permitted, “any disorderly conduct, assault on officers, or violent rioting will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”
Footage from the scene shows fires burning along Rechov Bar Ilan as protesters chant and block buses and vehicles, forcing police to seal off surrounding intersections until calm was restored.
{Matzav.com}President Donald Trump joins ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ to discuss the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars, efforts to strengthen U.S. relations abroad and the push for lasting peace in the Middle East.
WATCH:
During an appearance Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to President Donald Trump to take a tougher stance against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Host Kristen Welker asked, “Part of President Trump’s success with Israel and Hamas was that he applied pressure to all sides. Does President Trump need to get tougher with President Putin?”
Zelensky responded, “Yes. And even more, because Putin is something similar but more strong than Hamas. It’s more bigger war. And he is the second Army in the world and that’s why more pressure.”
Welker followed up by referencing pending U.S. legislation that would penalize nations buying Russian oil and gas. “There’s a bill in Congress that would impose sanctions and tariffs on countries that purchase Russian energy. Is it time for Congress to pass that bill?” she asked.
Zelensky answered, “Yes. Yes. We ask as quick as possible. We ask from Congress sanctions, and we ask to also energy. And we ask him very much. Also support us in the question of children, which is also very sensitive and painful for our nation. Thousands of our children been abducted by Russia. And to recognize Russia’s state of terrorism. It’s the idea of U.S. Congress, not our idea. First of all, it was from Congress and these signals and we’ve been very supportive of this idea.”
{Matzav.com}President Donald Trump sharply criticized Colombia’s far-left leader Gustavo Petro on Sunday, labeling him an “illegal drug dealer” and announcing that the United States would immediately stop all payments and financial aid to the country.
Trump issued the rebuke in a post on Truth Social, accusing Petro of turning Colombia’s drug trade into its largest industry.
“President Gustavo Petro, of Colombia, is an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Colombia,” Trump wrote.
“It has become the biggest business in Colombia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America,” he added.
“AS OF TODAY, THESE PAYMENTS, OR ANY OTHER FORM OF PAYMENT, OR SUBSIDIES, WILL NO LONGER BE MADE TO COLOMBIA,” Trump declared. “The purpose of this drug production is the sale of massive amounts of product into the United States, causing death, destruction, and havoc.”
Trump then issued a stern warning to Petro, saying that if Colombia’s leadership fails to act, the U.S. will.
“Petro, a low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely,” he concluded.
The comments came just a day after Trump revealed that his administration carried out a targeted strike on “narcoterrorists,” two of whom were nationals of Colombia and Ecuador. The operation reportedly intercepted a vessel carrying a deadly shipment of drugs.
“U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics. There were four known narcoterrorists on board the vessel,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that included footage of the strike.
“Two of the terrorists were killed. At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore,” he added. “The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution.”
Trump emphasized that his administration “will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea.”
In response, Petro said that one of the men returned to Colombia would face justice there. “We are glad he is alive and he will be prosecuted according to the law,” Petro told AFP.
{Matzav.com}
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed Sunday that the Secret Service discovered a hunting stand overlooking the area where President Donald Trump exited Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida.
“USSS spotted a suspicious stand near the AF1 zone in Palm Beach,” Patel wrote in a post on X, sharing a screenshot of a Fox News report. “The FBI is investigating.”
In comments to Fox News, Patel explained that the Secret Service “discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand” with a clear view of the President’s arrival. He added that “no individuals were located at the scene.”
“Prior to the President’s return to West Palm Beach, USSS discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand within sight line of the Air Force One landing zone,” Patel said, noting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation “has since taken the investigatory lead” into the discovery.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told Fox News that agents came upon the structure while performing “advance security preparations” ahead of Trump’s arrival in Palm Beach.
“While we are not able to provide details about the specific items or their intent, this incident underscores the importance of our layered security measures,” Guglielmi said.
The finding comes amid heightened concern for Trump’s safety following two assassination attempts in recent months.
On July 13, 2024, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from a nearby rooftop with a direct view of the stage. Trump later said he had been “shot with a bullet that pierced” his upper right ear.
Then, on September 15, 2024, Ryan Wesley Routh — who was convicted last month of attempting to assassinate Trump — was caught after a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of his AK-style rifle “sticking out of the bushes” near Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach.
{Matzav.com}
