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Israel’s Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, sent a sharply worded letter on Sunday addressing the implementation of the High Court ruling on the enlistment of yeshiva students, asserting that draft evasion within the chareidi sector has sharply intensified and raising the striking claim that the police do not approve requests by the Military Police to operate in chareidi neighborhoods.

The letter was submitted in response to petitions filed with the High Court of Justice and focused on what Baharav-Miara described as failures in enforcement. She wrote that the number of chareidi draft dodgers, as termed in the letter, had surged within a short period, describing “an increase of hundreds of percent in a very brief time.”

According to the data cited, as of January 2026 there are 15,085 draft dodgers from the chareidi community, compared with just 2,257 in July 2025. The figures further indicate that out of approximately 71,000 draft dodgers nationwide, “about 80 percent belong to the chareidi public.”

Despite the sharp rise, military officials reported what they described as a “certain trend of improvement and increase,” with an estimated 1,100 chareidi recruits expected during the current draft period.

During discussions on the matter, the attorney general said the situation on the ground reflects what she termed “selective enforcement.” Military officials told the meeting that, as a rule, Israel Police do not grant approval for Military Police to carry out enforcement actions inside chareidi neighborhoods.

It was also revealed that chareidi draft dodgers who are detained in what were described as random police arrests are, in practice, released and merely issued a summons to report to a Military Police facility. Responding to police claims of severe manpower shortages, Baharav-Miara stressed that “the need for resources cannot, in and of itself, justify an actual avoidance of enforcing the law.”

In response to the situation, the Israel Defense Forces announced a significant tightening of measures against draft dodgers. The Military Prosecution has decided to lower the threshold for criminal prosecution for draft evasion from 540 days of absence to 365 days. In addition, disciplinary regulations were amended to allow judicial officers to impose up to 35 days of detention, instead of the previous 30. It was further determined that a draft dodger absent for more than six months who undergoes disciplinary proceedings and continues to remain absent “will face criminal proceedings” and will no longer be eligible for repeated lenient disciplinary handling.

On the economic front, professional officials said that “personal sanctions that directly affect the individual” and economic enforcement measures have a particularly significant impact on increasing enlistment.

At the same time, officials at the Ministry of Finance warned that expectations within the chareidi sector that legislation will be passed exempting its members from service “create a negative incentive for enlistment.” To increase pressure, the attorney general instructed officials to examine a requirement for “accounting separation” within yeshivos, aimed at preventing “indirect funding of yeshiva students who are obligated to enlist.”

The letter was written ahead of a High Court hearing scheduled for March 1, 2026, on petitions seeking findings of contempt of court. Baharav-Miara concluded that “all state authorities must intensify enforcement efforts, both criminal and civil-economic,” particularly in light of what she described as “the clear security need and the severe harm to equality.”

{Matzav.com}

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef HaKohen Kliger z”l of Antwerp’s Gerer community. He was 79.

Rabbi Kliger, known to many as Reb Yankel, was born in Germany on the 10th of Sivan 5707 to his father, Reb Dovid Kliger, one of the founders of the Gerer beis chassidim in Ramat Gan, and his mother, Mrs. Sheindel, daughter of Rabbi Yosef Abramowitz. At the age of two, he immigrated with his parents to Eretz Yisroel.

When he was 15, on the advice of the Gerrer Rebbe, the Bais Yisroel, he traveled to the United States to learn Torah. He learned at Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore under the rosh yeshivah Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, where he acquired a strong and lasting Torah foundation.

Upon reaching marriageable age, he married into the family of Reb Yudel Baum of Antwerp. Together with his wife, he established his home in the city and became one of the valued members of the community. He was a supporter of lomdei Torah and Torah institutions, and earned his livelihood in the jewelry and gold trade, treating his work as secondary and his Torah as primary.

He was especially distinguished in the mitzvah of honoring his father. As an only son, he traveled frequently to Eretz Yisroel to visit and care for him.

In recent years, he suffered from difficulty walking, yet despite the hardship he exerted himself to go to shul. Over the past year, his health fluctuated, but he consistently expressed gratitude and joy in his avodas Hashem. He passed away at his home on Motzaei Shabbos.

He is survived by his sons, Rabbi Uri Kliger of Golders Green, London, Rabbi Yisroel Kliger of Antwerp, and Raphael Kliger, as well as his daughter, Mrs. Tessler, wife of Rabbi Ari Tessler.

The levayah was held today at the Machzikei Hadass Shul in Antwerp, followed by kevurah at the Pitte cemetery in the Netherlands.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

A Norwegian member of parliament has nominated Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing the institution’s role in combating antisemitism and preserving historical memory amid a global rise in anti-Jewish violence. Joel Ystebø, a lawmaker from Norway’s Christian Democratic Party, submitted the nomination to the Norwegian Nobel Committee this week, […]

Thousands escorting the Mita of the Lelover Rebbe Zt’L tonight on Bar Ilan Street as they head to Kevura.

Syrian authorities say they uncovered a “terror cell” behind rocket and drone attacks in Damascus and near a military airport, claiming the weapons used were supplied by Hezbollah. •⁠ ⁠The Interior Ministry said members of the cell were arrested, weapons were seized, and suspects admitted links to foreign entities, adding they were planning additional drone […]

[Video below.] House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that he believes lawmakers will move quickly to end a partial federal government shutdown sparked by fallout from the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration operations in Minneapolis, predicting the impasse will be resolved by Tuesday.

The shutdown began Saturday after Congress failed to approve a budget for the 2026 fiscal year before the funding deadline. So far, the effects have been limited, with most government operations continuing uninterrupted.

Lawmakers in the House are expected to take up emergency legislation on Monday as they return from recess to a snow-covered Washington. The focus will be a Senate-approved agreement aimed at reopening the government.

“Let’s say I’m confident that we’ll do it at least by Tuesday,” Johnson said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

The funding lapse came after negotiations collapsed amid Democratic outrage over the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents. The incident derailed talks over additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Late Friday night, the Senate passed a package that advances five unresolved spending bills to fund most federal agencies through September. The measure also includes a two-week continuing resolution to keep DHS operating while lawmakers continue debating immigration enforcement policy.

House Democrats have made clear they want changes to how DHS carries out immigration raids before backing the spending package. They have objected to operations involving heavily armed, masked agents who are not clearly identified and who, in some cases, have detained individuals without warrants.

House Democratic leader Hakim Jeffries said Sunday that discussions with Republican leaders over DHS reforms will intensify as lawmakers return to Washington from their districts.

“The administration can’t just talk the talk. They need to walk the walk. That should begin today. Not in two weeks, today,” Jeffries said on ABC’s “This Week.”

President Trump publicly endorsed the Senate agreement and called on both parties to support it, signaling that he wants to avoid another shutdown early in his second term, after last summer’s record 43-day government closure.

Much of the U.S. media viewed the White House’s support for the deal as an acknowledgment that it may need to soften its deportation strategy following the deadly Minneapolis episode.

Government shutdowns halt funding for non-essential federal functions, forcing agencies to suspend services, furlough employees without pay, or require staff to work without immediate compensation.

If the shutdown drags on, departments including defense, education, transportation, housing, and financial regulation would face growing disruptions, with broader economic consequences likely to follow.

Should the House approve the Senate plan, lawmakers would then have just two weeks to hammer out a full-year funding bill for DHS.

Both parties concede that those negotiations will be contentious, with Democrats pressing for stricter limits on immigration enforcement and conservatives pushing to advance their own policy demands.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

President Trump’s long-promised military “armada” is now in position in the Middle East, but U.S. officials say the buildup is less about launching immediate strikes on Iran than about bracing for what could come afterward. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group has recently entered the region, advanced fighter aircraft are moving closer to […]

A huge swath of the U.S. from the Gulf Coast into New England was mired in extra-cold temperatures Sunday after a bomb cyclone brought heavy snow and hundreds of flight cancellations to North Carolina, flurries and falling iguanas in Florida, and more misery for thousands who are still without power from last weekend’s ice storm in the […]

WATCH THIS!: North Carolina truck owners linked four pickup trucks together to pull a stranded semi tanker out of the snow.

Senior chareidi media commentator Yisroel Cohen visited the home of the Yenuka in Rishon Letzon, where the two spoke at length about current issues and Cohen sought guidance and a brocha for his day-to-day challenges in Israel’s media.

During the visit, Cohen was shown rare and significant items that were on the table in the Yenuka’s home in honor of the day. Among them was the original handwritten Sefer HaKavanos authored by Rav Shalom Sharabi, the Rashash, whose yahrtzeit was that evening, as well as an exceptionally rare collection of photographs of Rav Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the Rebbe Rayatz, whose yahrtzeit also fell on that day.

The Yenuka praised Cohen for his work on behalf of the hostages over the past two and a half years, describing his efforts as a kiddush Hashem. Cohen then raised a range of topics and asked for advice and a brocha to help him navigate his frequent appearances in the secular media, where contentious issues dominate the public agenda.

The Yenuka emphasized the importance of tone and approach, saying, “One must always speak pleasantly. ‘Derocheha darchei noam vehcol nesivoseha shalom. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace.’ Explain things in a good and gentle manner. But if there is someone who provokes and speaks with hostility, it is possible to be firm and respond.”

He continued, “In general, one must always maintain a line in which the message is conveyed truthfully and cleanly, without creating disputes. The truth can be said in a whisper and be heard from one end of the world to the other; there is no need to fight or quarrel over it. It is simple.”

Addressing faith and geulah, the Yenuka added, “If we truly merited the Torah and understood Who Hashem is and the power of His Torah, there would be no need to fight. He would simply redeem and save us.”

Turning to the issue currently inflaming debate in Israel’s media, the draft law, the Yenuka said, “I say that they do not understand the power of the Torah, and therefore they speak this way. But we also do not merit to fully understand the power of the Torah. These do not understand, and those do not understand.”

Quoting the posuk “Great is Hashem and greatly praised, and His greatness is unfathomable,” he explained, “Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world with the Torah. If they understood what the Torah is and understood its power, they would tell us: Do not leave it. Continue engaging in it.”

He concluded with a message of introspection, saying, “And on the other hand, if we ourselves truly understood more of the power and greatness of the Torah, we would be in a situation where they would not trouble us and tell us not to engage in it. We would not need to apologize for Torah study, because they would not be able to say anything to us. The fact that they speak to us this way is because we are not sufficiently engaged in and understanding the power of the Torah—and then they are able to speak to us as they do.”

{Matzav.com}

The State Department has signed off on a sweeping package of potential arms sales to Israel worth roughly $6.6 billion, underscoring Washington’s continued military backing of its closest Middle East ally as Israel reassesses battlefield needs after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack. According to notices published by the U.S. State Department, the proposed sales are […]

The IDF says an airstrike in the southern Lebanese town of Doueir killed Ali Dawoud Amees, a division head in Hezbollah’s engineering department. The military says the Hezbollah terrorist was involved in rebuilding military infrastructure in the area and advancing terror plans against IDF troops.

Trucks full of aid supplies and blankets entered Egypt’s Rafah Gate on Sunday, heading to Kerem Shalom crossing for Israeli inspection.

President Trump releases a letter from legendary New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner calling on Trump to run for President dated 1989.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she believes President Trump supports her, and reiterates she gave the president her Nobel Peace Prize medallion as “a matter of what’s in the superior interest” of her home country.

A senior U.S. Border Patrol official at the center of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is accused of making antisemitic remarks about a Jewish federal prosecutor during a high-level planning call. Gregory Bovino, a veteran Border Patrol leader who oversaw the recent surge of federal immigration agents in Minnesota, allegedly used offensive language toward Jewish […]

Israel signaled a shift in Gaza’s isolation on Sunday as activity resumed at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, with limited travel in and out of the territory set to restart Monday after years of near-closure. The move is seen as a critical milestone as the Israel–Hamas ceasefire progresses.

Israeli officials said the crossing was opened on a trial basis. COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing aid to Gaza, said preparations were underway to expand operations and that Gaza residents would begin passing through the crossing on Monday.

The development followed a deadly weekend. Hospital officials said Israeli strikes a day earlier killed at least 30 Palestinians, including several children, marking one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire began. Israel had accused Hamas the previous day of fresh violations of the truce.

Nicolay Mladenov, the director-general of Trump’s board of peace in Gaza, wrote Sunday on X urging all sides to “exercise restraint and uphold the ceasefire.” He said his office was working with the Palestinian committee tasked with overseeing Gaza to “find ways that prevent future incidents.
We will need everyone’s full cooperation to make this possible,” he added.

Rafah, long viewed by Palestinians as Gaza’s primary gateway to the outside world, has been largely sealed since Israel took control of the area in May 2024.

At the outset, passage will be tightly restricted and goods will not be permitted to cross. Roughly 20,000 Palestinian children and adults in need of medical treatment are hoping to exit Gaza through Rafah, while thousands of Palestinians currently outside the enclave are seeking to return.

Zaher al-Wahidi, who heads the Health Ministry’s documentation department in Gaza, told The Associated Press that the ministry had not yet been informed when medical evacuations would begin.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will allow 50 patients per day to leave Gaza. A diplomat involved in the talks, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the negotiations, said each patient would be permitted to travel with two relatives. The official added that around 50 Palestinians who left Gaza during the war would be allowed to return daily.

Israel said that both it and Egypt would screen travelers entering and exiting via Rafah, with European Union border patrol agents supervising the crossing. If the system functions smoothly, officials expect the number of travelers to rise over time.

Separately on Sunday, Israel’s Diaspora Ministry announced it was “moving to terminate” the operations of Doctors Without Borders in Gaza.

The announcement followed Israel’s December decision to suspend the group’s work after it declined to comply with new registration rules requiring aid organizations to submit lists of local staff. Doctors Without Borders has argued that such requirements could endanger Palestinian employees.

“MSF will cease its operations and depart the Gaza Strip by February 28, 2026,” the ministry said, using the acronym for the organization’s French name.

The group did not immediately respond, but wrote on X on Friday that it had finalized its decision not to provide staff lists.

Doctors Without Borders is among more than two dozen humanitarian groups barred from operating in Gaza for failing or refusing to meet the new requirements. The Diaspora Ministry says the measures are intended to prevent Hamas and other terrorist organizations from infiltrating aid efforts, while humanitarian groups contend the rules are arbitrary and warn that suspensions will further harm civilians in dire need of assistance.

Independent aid organizations are central to sustaining Gaza’s health system, which has been severely damaged by two years of Israeli strikes and restrictions on supplies.

Doctors Without Borders has said Israel’s decision will have devastating consequences for its Gaza operations, where it funds and staffs six hospitals, operates two field hospitals, and runs eight primary health centers, clinics, and medical points. The organization also manages two of Gaza’s five stabilization centers treating children suffering from severe malnutrition.

At Rafah on Sunday, Palestinian security personnel crossed from the Egyptian side toward the Palestinian gate to join the European Union mission overseeing movement through the crossing, according to an Egyptian official who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to brief the media. The official added that ambulances also passed through the Egyptian gate.

The reopening of Rafah marks a significant step as the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect on October 10 enters its second phase.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration imposed sanctions Friday against Iran ‘s interior minister, accusing Eskandar Momeni of repressing nationwide protests that have challenged Tehran’s theocratic government. The penalties are the latest by the United States and the European Union targeting high-ranking officials over the crackdown. The administration says Momeni has overseen Iran’s law enforcement forces that are […]