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A senior Chareidi official involved in the ongoing negotiations over Israel’s proposed draft law has expressed deep skepticism that a final version will ever be approved. “There won’t be a draft law because there is no agreement on it,” he said Monday night in the Knesset. “It’s quite possible that it simply won’t pass.”

The official, who has been closely tracking developments around the legislation meant to define the status of yeshiva students, added, “It’s convenient for the Chareidim as well to delay the legislation, which probably wouldn’t have a majority in the Knesset and likely wouldn’t withstand a Supreme Court challenge.”

He predicted that after the failure to pass the bill, the Chareidi parties and Prime Minister Netanyahu would reach a mutual understanding on holding elections “after Pesach.”

This comes as the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by MK Boaz Bismuth, has not convened this week to discuss the latest draft of the proposed law. While in the past Chareidi MKs would have protested such delays, this time they have not pressed for renewed discussions. Sources indicate that despite appearances last week that rabbinic leaders had approved moving forward, prominent gedolim remain opposed to key clauses in the current draft, stalling the process further.

Behind the scenes, Shas leader Aryeh Deri and United Torah Judaism chairman Moshe Gafni have been consulting on possible revisions to the bill to address the demands of the committee’s legal adviser, Attorney Miri Frenkel-Shor. She has called for significant amendments, including raising first-year enlistment targets to around 5,700—a figure about a thousand higher than what the Chareidi side agreed to—and retaining a controversial clause requiring yeshiva students and kollel members to record attendance through fingerprint verification.

The disagreements over quotas and sanctions remain unresolved, and with the legislative window narrowing, Chareidi leaders now acknowledge that the chances of the draft law moving forward before elections are slim.

{Matzav.com}

The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history appears to be nearing an end, but not without leaving a mark on an already-struggling economy. About 1.25 million federal workers haven’t been paid since Oct. 1. Thousands of flights have been canceled, a trend that is expected to continue this week even as Congress moves toward reopening the […]

President Donald Trump said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer overplayed his hand during the recent government shutdown, arguing that Democrats’ strategy backfired and left their party divided.

“I think he made a mistake in going too far,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on The Ingraham Angle. “He thought he could break the Republicans, and the Republicans broke him.”

The political standoff ended when eight Democratic senators crossed the aisle to support the House-passed plan reopening the government, which their own party had blocked multiple times. The Senate ultimately voted 60-40 to approve the measure, with final passage in the House expected later in the week.

The revolt has sparked tension within Democratic ranks, as lawmakers like Rep. Ro Khanna of California called for new leadership. Trump, reflecting on Schumer’s evolution, offered a pointed critique.

“I feel badly ‘cause I know Chuck Schumer,” he said. “I’ve known him since he was a person who loved Israel, and now he’s a Palestinian. He’s become a Palestinian… I’ve never seen a politician change so much.”

The shutdown—the longest in U.S. history—was fueled by debate over extending Obamacare subsidies, disrupting thousands of federal workers and halting major services, including flights and food aid programs.

Trump claimed Democrats’ real motivation was to fund benefits for illegal immigrants. “What they really wanted was $1.5 trillion for people that came in illegally, people that come in through and out of prisons,” he argued.

“We’re trying to get them out, because we don’t want 11,000 murderers in our country. You don’t it. Nobody wants it,” he continued. “And we have drug dealers, and we have everything else, and they wanted to make sure they got good healthcare.”

Covering healthcare costs for those in the country illegally, Trump warned, would have “hurt other people’s healthcare.”

Turning to the broader issue, Trump blasted Obamacare as “horrible” and overpriced. “The premiums have gone up like rocket ships,” he said. “And I’m not even talking about just recently, I’m talking about for years they’ve been going up.”

He said Americans should have more freedom to manage their coverage. “I want, instead of going to the insurance companies, I want the money to go to an account for people where the people buy their own health insurance,” Trump explained. “They’re actually able to go out and negotiate their own insurance.”

When asked how Republicans plan to prevent another shutdown when government funding expires on January 30, 2026, Trump hinted that legislation is in the works.

“Well, we’re trying to put in a bill, as you know, or a bill that you can never do that again,” he said. “You can’t just shut down the government because you’re trying renegotiate a deal that you didn’t.”

{Matzav.com}

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has urged that his agency be entrusted with leading Gaza’s postwar recovery, even as global scrutiny mounts over its links to Hamas.

“UNRWA, with its thousands of Palestinian personnel, has the capacity, expertise and community trust required to provide healthcare, education and other public services to a devastated population,” Lazzarini wrote in an opinion piece for The Guardian.

He emphasized that “for decades, the agency’s teachers, doctors and engineers have formed a vital part of a functioning system of public services for millions of Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the region.”

Citing a recent International Court of Justice advisory opinion, Lazzarini said the court “reaffirmed the professionalism of UNRWA’s staff, underlined the agency’s indispensable humanitarian role and concluded that UNRWA remains an impartial and neutral actor.”

However, those assurances stand in stark contrast to the evidence Israel has presented linking UNRWA employees to the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre. Israeli intelligence revealed that several agency staffers participated in the slaughter, distributing ammunition, kidnapping a woman, and directly joining the attack at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were killed.

In response to the revelations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed a panel headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to review the allegations. When the group issued its findings in April, it admitted to identifying “neutrality-related issues” within UNRWA but argued that Israel had not yet provided sufficient proof that large numbers of its employees belonged to terror groups.

Testimonies have continued to emerge since then. Emily Damari, an Israeli woman freed after 470 days as a hostage in Gaza, disclosed that she was imprisoned in a facility operated by UNRWA.

Adding to the controversy, USAID reported in April 2025 that the United Nations had actively blocked an American probe into connections between UNRWA’s Gaza staff and Hamas.

Despite mounting evidence and criticism from both Israel and Washington, the International Court of Justice ruled last month that Israel must continue to permit humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza through UN agencies — including UNRWA — a decision that reignited anger among Israeli officials and their allies.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is heading to Israel this Friday for a five-day visit that will extend through next Tuesday, his office confirmed.

According to the statement, the mayor’s agenda includes meetings with Israeli government officials, business and tech leaders, and other key figures in the country’s innovation and economic sectors.

“He will also visit religious sites and discuss efforts to combat antisemitism here in New York City and across the world,” the statement said.

Adams, long known for his outspoken support of both Israel and New York’s Jewish community, has made the issue of antisemitism a centerpiece of his administration. His upcoming trip marks his second to the Jewish state in just over a year. During his previous visit in August 2023, he met with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and other senior officials.

In May, Adams introduced the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism — the first such municipal department established anywhere in the United States. A month later, he took another step by signing an executive order officially adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism for New York City agencies.

Although Adams had planned to seek reelection as an independent candidate, he later dropped out of the race and threw his support behind Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo ultimately lost to Zohran Mamdani, a left-wing politician known for his anti-Israel positions.

At the time of his endorsement, Adams sounded the alarm about the growing hostility facing minority communities in the city. He also strongly condemned Mamdani’s public defense of the inflammatory slogan “Globalize the intifada.”

“When you tell Jewish residents that you need ‘globalize intifada,’ you’re saying you don’t care,” Adams said.

{Matzav.com}

The controversial death penalty for terrorists bill, sponsored by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, passed its first reading in the Knesset on Monday night with 39 votes in favor and 16 opposed. The legislation will now return to the Knesset’s National Security Committee for further deliberation.

Notably absent from the vote were members of the Shas party, led by Aryeh Deri, who did not participate in the roll call following approval from the party’s Council of Torah Sages. United Torah Judaism chairman MK Moshe Gafni was also absent, despite clear instructions from Slabodka Rosh Yeshiva Rav Dov Landau to vote against the bill. Gafni’s office later clarified that he had been paired with a coalition MK, a procedural arrangement that maintains vote balance when members are absent.

Ben-Gvir celebrated the bill’s passage with visible enthusiasm, handing out trays of baklava to fellow lawmakers in the Knesset plenum. Ushers, however, intervened and removed the pastries, asking him to stop distributing them inside the chamber.

The proposed law stipulates that anyone who intentionally—or with reckless disregard—causes the death of an Israeli citizen out of hatred, hostility, or in an attempt to harm the State of Israel or the Jewish people, would face the death penalty. The bill also allows military courts in Judea and Samaria to impose capital punishment by a simple majority of the panel, without the option of later commuting the sentence.

The session was tense, featuring heated exchanges between lawmakers. At one point, security guards had to separate Ben-Gvir and Arab MK Ayman Odeh during a sharp verbal confrontation over the bill.

{Matzav.com}

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Watch This SHOCKING Interview!

Rabbi Mendy Kenig leads the largest healing mission of its kind—and it all started with a phone call that changed his life

An Unprecedented Moment in Jewish History

Next Friday, approximately 170 families will arrive in Orlando, Florida, marking what may be the most significant gathering of its kind. A week and a half later, they’ll travel to Deal, New Jersey, for a transformative Shabbos featuring renowned speaker Rabbi YY Jacobson, special guest Sivan Meir, a deeply moving Hachnosas Sefer Torah, and a beautiful Bar Mitzvah celebration.

It’s an undertaking of staggering scope and emotional weight—170 almanos and yesomim who have lost their husbands and fathers in defense of Israel, coming together across an ocean to find comfort, connection, and the reassurance they desperately need: that they will never be forgotten.

Leading this historic mission is a soft-spoken Biale Chossid from Modiin Illit named Rabbi Mendy Kenig, whose organization Menucha V’Yeshuah has become a lifeline for thousands of Israel’s most vulnerable families. But the story of how this mission came to be begins not with triumph, but with tragedy—and a promise made through tears at a holy site thousands of miles from home.

The Phone Call That Changed Everything

Six years ago, Rabbi Mendy Kenig was aboard a plane bound for Hungary, heading to the Kever of R’ Yeshayele Karastirer. As the aircraft began its taxi toward the runway, his phone rang with the kind of call that shatters worlds.

“Your wife has been in a serious car accident. She’s being rushed to the hospital in serious condition.”

Trapped between heaven and earth as the plane continued its inexorable movement toward takeoff, Rabbi Kenig experienced a helplessness that would become the foundation of his life’s mission. He begged the flight attendants to let him off. They couldn’t. The plane was already in motion.

“I was a young, worried husband, stuck with no way to know my wife’s condition or what I should do,” he recalls. “The helplessness I felt at that moment was overwhelming.”

At the first layover, after learning his wife’s condition was serious but stable, he called his rabbi for guidance. The answer was unexpected: continue to the Kever, pray for her Refuah—and make a promise of something to take upon yourself.

Standing before the sacred site, tears streaming down his face, Rabbi Kenig made a neder that would eventually touch thousands of lives: “When my wife recovers, I will do everything I can to help people dealing with a crisis who need assistance.”

He had no idea how he would fulfill that promise. The landscape of Jewish organizations helping the sick and their families was already overcrowded. But in that moment of desperate tefillah, details didn’t matter. He only knew he had to try.

From Death’s Door to New Life

Within a month, through what Rabbi Kenig describes as “Zechus Avos and Koach Hatefillah,” his wife stood on her feet and was discharged from the hospital—given her life as a gift. But recovery was far from over.

As a father of five, including two children with autism spectrum disorder, Rabbi Kenig intimately understood the weight of caring for a family in crisis. During those grueling weeks of his wife’s recovery, he discovered a critical gap in Israel’s healthcare system that no one was addressing.

“I discovered the reality that thousands of patients in our country face,” he explains. “After medical treatment, they need ongoing support, some peace and rest to truly recover. But funding for ‘rest and recovery days’ isn’t included in any healthcare package, and many families cannot afford it themselves—especially when they’re already dealing with enormous medical expenses and challenges.”

Thus, Menucha V’Yeshuah—”Rest and Salvation”—was born.

Building a Revolution in Healing

What started as renting a single villa in Caesarea for families undergoing medical treatment has exploded into a comprehensive support network that transformed more than 250 families in its first year alone—a number that has grown exponentially since.

The organization operates on a profound understanding: physical healing is only part of recovery. “In every instance of pain or illness, alongside practical help—treatments, medications, bureaucratic assistance, financial support—there is another, no less important layer,” Rabbi Kenig explains. “Mental strength to cope with the entire situation.”

When families experiencing tragedy or critically ill patients receive the opportunity to disconnect, strengthen themselves, and receive professional help, it dramatically impacts every aspect of their healing process. Recovery improves. They process their difficulties more effectively. They find the strength to return to life, even from extraordinarily painful situations.

Today, Menucha V’Yeshuah’s services include subsidized recovery stays in hotels and guesthouses across Israel, professionally-guided therapeutic vacations, support groups for families, and the crown jewel: the “Menucha V’Yeshuah House” in Caesarea—a seaside villa where terminally ill patients and their families experience what Rabbi Kenig describes as “true miracles and transformations—Techiyas Hameisim!”

Every request is carefully examined by a senior medical and chessed team, with exceptional cases receiving approval from a medical committee—ensuring resources reach those who need them most.

When Tragedy Strikes a Nation

The organization’s reach has expanded far beyond its original scope. It now serves new mothers needing recovery, women at risk during pregnancy, families of terminally ill patients, and—in an era of unprecedented pain for the Jewish nation—evacuees, terror victims, and bereaved families who have lost loved ones defending Israel.

Following the 2021 Meron tragedy, Menucha V’Yeshuah rapidly scaled its operations to meet the surge in need. When October 7th shattered the nation and plunged Israel into ongoing war, the organization pivoted once again, becoming a lifeline for bereaved families.

Rabbi Kenig has hosted multiple Shabbosim bringing together widows, orphans, and parents of fallen soldiers—creating sacred spaces where they can find comfort, build bonds of understanding, and receive desperately needed respite during their darkest moments. Each Shabbaton costs approximately $100,000 and requires substantial support from Jewish communities worldwide.

“Unfortunately, the demand continues to grow,” Rabbi Kenig says quietly. “National tragedies, terror attacks, war—they all share a common theme: deep pain, great difficulty, and a need for immediate help. Every time someone needs us—we’ll be there for them.”

Breaking Down Barriers With a Hug

Despite his traditional black-and-white Chassidic garb and shtreimel, Rabbi Kenig has become beloved across the religious spectrum. His secret? Radical authenticity and breathtaking simplicity

“People see me and assume I’m here to make them religious,” he says with a gentle smile. “But the message behind my relationship with families is simple: All I care about is listening and offering support. Nothing more, nothing less.”

At every event, after sharing his personal story of tragedy and transformation, Rabbi Kenig is met with lines of people waiting to embrace him. When asked about his goals for these gatherings, his answer is beautifully uncomplicated: “My only goal is to give them—the widows, children, mothers, fathers—a hug and to feel loved. That’s it.”

This approach has built bridges where walls once stood, bringing together secular and religious, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, young and old—united in shared healing and hope.

The Fear That Drives the Mission

Which brings us back to this historic journey to America and the 170 widows and orphans who will soon arrive on these shores.

Now that all hostages have returned home, Baruch Hashem, these families face a profound and ongoing challenge that Rabbi Kenig understands intimately: the fear of being forgotten.

“Their sacrifice—having lost their husbands and fathers in defense of the Jewish people—is permanent,” he explains with quiet intensity. “Their pain doesn’t end when the headlines fade or when the immediate crisis passes. We need to show them they will never be forgotten. That their loved ones’ sacrifice will never be in vain. That the Jewish community stands with them, today and always.”

This mission represents the largest expression yet of Menucha V’Yeshuah’s sacred work. The families will spend their first week in Orlando for rest and rejuvenation, then travel to Deal, New Jersey, for an uplifting Shabbos featuring spiritual programming, communal celebration, and—most importantly—the embrace of a community that refuses to let them face their pain alone.

When one of his daughters once protested his constant fundraising trips abroad, Rabbi Kenig’s response captured the urgency driving everything he does: “Please understand that right now, there are hundreds of thousands of fathers, brothers, and sons in the army giving everything they have to defend the people of Israel. What I’m doing is the same as what they’re doing, and what we should all be doing—giving the best of ourselves to help Am Yisrael.”

A Promise Fulfilled, a Vision Realized

From a terrifying phone call on an airport runway to an organization that has helped thousands of families find hope in their darkest hours, Rabbi Mendy Kenig has transformed personal tragedy into a powerful force for healing.

His work has earned Brachos from Israel’s greatest Gedolei Hador. The late Belzer Rebbe Zt”l wrote: “Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kenig is engaged in public service with faith, and has set it as his goal to help and assist healing families, and more so to give them the strength to return to their original health. The necessity of this holy endeavor is indescribable.”

Rabbi Shimon Galai declared: “Menucha V’Yeshuah is a paradise on earth with their deeds. I have seen their programs firsthand.”

But perhaps the most powerful endorsement comes from the families themselves—the Almanos who find comfort, the sick who discover strength, the bereaved who learn they are not alone.

Rabbi Kenig’s vision for Menucha V’Yeshuah remains both ambitious and achingly simple: “To continue being here for families coping with hardship, offering support and strength, health, and life.”

The Journey Begins

As 170 families prepare to board planes to America, they carry with them the weight of unimaginable loss. But they also carry hope—hope that they will be embraced, that their sacrifice will be honored, that they will not walk this painful path alone.

Leading them is a man who knows what it means to receive a devastating phone call, to feel helpless in the face of crisis, to watch a loved one fight for life. A man who turned his darkest moment into a promise, and that promise into a lifeline for thousands.

In a world that often moves on too quickly from tragedy, Rabbi Mendy Kenig and Menucha V’Yeshuah remain steadfast: being there, especially when it’s tough. Offering not just material support, but something even more precious—the reassurance that no one will be forgotten, that every pain matters, that the Jewish people take care of their own.

One phone call. One promise. One historic mission. Thousands of lives transformed.

“Every time someone needs us—we’ll be there for them.”

Over these next 2 weeks, 170 families will discover he means it.

To support the historic mission or participate in the Shabbos in Deal, NJ, contact Mendy Kenig at 347.754.7473

Click HERE to donate towards this imortant cause!

Am Yisrael Chai. We Remember. We Stand Together.

Article from Jewish Links

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In a strongly worded letter, Rav Aharon Feldman, Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Yisrael in Baltimore, expressed his admiration and full support for former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchok Yosef’s clear and uncompromising stance opposing the enlistment of bnei Torah into the Israeli army.

Dated the 11th of Marcheshvan 5786 and written in Baltimore, Rav Feldman’s letter begins with a warm greeting to “the great gaon, Rav Yitzchok Yosef shlit’a,” followed by words of profound appreciation for Rav Yosef’s courage in publicly stating that a Jew who observes Torah u’mitzvos must not place himself in the spiritually destructive environment of the army. Rav Feldman referenced “experience showing that at least half of those who enter the army cast off the yoke of Torah and mitzvos,” emphasizing the grave spiritual risks involved.

He praised Rav Yosef’s stance as “the only true position,” asserting that “only with truth will we succeed.”

Rav Feldman offered his heartfelt bracha that Rav Yosef’s hands be strengthened in “Hashem’s battle for the future of the Jewish people,” and that he be granted “strength and courage to stand firmly against those who refuse to recognize the truth and against the compromisers willing to sell out Klal Yisroel for money and power.”

Rav Feldman concluded his letter with a prayer that Rav Yosef continue to lead Sephardic Jewry “in the ways of Torah with health, strength, and illumination until the coming of the righteous redeemer, speedily in our days.” He signed the letter “with respect and sincere friendship.”

The letter is co-signed by Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel, Rav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, Rav Yerucham Olshin, Rav Dovid Tzvi Schustal, and Rav Yisroel Tzvi Neuman.

{Matzav.com}

Michelle Obama once again took aim at President Donald Trump’s controversial plan to replace the White House East Wing with a grand ballroom, arguing that the decision reflects a disregard for the traditional role and meaning of the first lady’s office.

Speaking during a live podcast recording in Brooklyn, as reported by the New York Times with quotes attributed to Vanity Fair, Obama criticized the demolition project as erasing an important piece of American civic heritage. “When we talk about the East Wing, it is the heart of the work” of a first lady, she said. “And to denigrate it, to tear it down, to pretend like it doesn’t matter — it’s a reflection of how you think of that role.”

Obama explained that during her husband’s administration, she often reminded West Wing aides that her office played a real political function. She told them her initiatives and presence helped President Barack Obama’s standing with voters, summarizing that value as “five extra approval points” thanks to what she called a “balanced image of the first family,” according to the Times.

The former first lady has voiced similar objections before. In a conversation with Stephen Colbert, she reminisced about the East Wing as the part of the White House that “you felt light,” describing it as a place filled with warmth, children, and even puppies. Expressing her disillusionment with the current political climate, she said she feels “confused” and “lost” about what matters to Americans today, adding, “I just feel like, what is important to us as a nation anymore? Because I’m lost.” She drew a parallel between the East Wing’s destruction and what she sees as the moral and cultural decay of Trump’s America.

The ballroom controversy has sparked commentary from other political figures as well. President Joe Biden, while campaigning in Omaha, quipped that he had predicted Trump would “take a wrecking ball to the country,” calling the ballroom “a perfect symbol of his presidency.” Chelsea Clinton also joined the criticism, penning an op-ed in USA Today that described the construction as “a wrecking ball to our heritage.” She wrote that the White House “belongs to the American people” and should stand as a “mirror of our democracy.” Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has turned the debate into a fundraising opportunity, selling themed merchandise through her Instagram page.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the uproar on Fox News as “fake outrage,” noting that almost every modern president has overseen their own renovations. She reminded viewers that Barack Obama had to hold a state dinner in a rented tent on the South Lawn, saying the new ballroom simply offers “the space needed for events that celebrate America.”

{Matzav.com}

During Monday’s episode of ABC’s The View, Whoopi Goldberg unleashed a furious tirade against the Trump administration, accusing it of acting “insane” and like “clowns” who have no idea “what the …. they’re doing.”

Goldberg’s outburst came during a discussion on poverty and global crises, as she condemned government policies that, in her view, fail to address basic humanitarian needs. “This is a …. we’ve had forever about people starving in America. This is the richest country in the world, and we are somebody had the nerve to write, we’re out of money. We’re not out of money. We’re not that we run out of money. There’s money there,” she said.

Her frustration intensified as she compared America’s priorities with global suffering. “I told y’all this was crazy. I told you it was insane. You know? And while I’m watching, I’m watching the fact that people are starving in Africa, starving, that Darfur people, there was a genocide occurred, people are being massacred. And these clowns have not mentioned it once and they have said, we’re not we’re not sending out any money. We’re America first, and yet we bailed out Argentina. We’re messing with Viktor Orban. What the …. is going on in this country? What the …. is going on?”

Ana Navarro, another panelist, piled on, declaring, “Donald Trump is Nero playing the fiddle while America burns.”

Goldberg, however, insisted that the country itself remains resilient. “America’s not going to burn. America is hot, but she’s not going to burn. You know why she’s not going to burn? Because everybody in this audience, everybody at this table is doing something to help somebody else. This is what we are doing as Americans. People are going out. They are bringing food from their own kitchens and bringing it to neighbors. That’s what we do, and that’s what we’re going to keep doing until these idiots figure out what the …. they’re doing.”

{Matzav.com}

After weeks of political stalemate, the Senate on Monday advanced a revised stopgap funding bill, paving the way toward ending the government shutdown and sending the measure back to the House for a final vote.

The temporary spending plan, which keeps the government funded until January 30, 2026, cleared the Senate with support from every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), along with eight Democrats and independents aligned with the party. That bipartisan coalition helped the measure surpass the 60-vote threshold required to overcome a filibuster.

The bill also secures funding through September 30, 2026, for essential programs including veterans’ health care, military construction, legislative operations, and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), relied upon by 42 million Americans.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) urged lawmakers to reconvene as soon as possible, with a vote in the House expected within roughly 36 hours of the Senate’s approval. “We’re ready to get this done,” Johnson said, emphasizing the need to restore government operations swiftly.

The Senate’s action comes after a long and bitter standoff that began when Democrats triggered the shutdown on October 1. Forty Democrats—among them Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)—initially voted to block government funding before five of them ultimately switched sides and joined Republicans to bring the shutdown to an end.

Those five—Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)—helped tip the scales in favor of reopening the government after 40 days of paralysis.

Among the few gains Democrats claimed from the deal was a commitment to hold a future vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, an offer Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) had floated weeks earlier.

President Trump voiced support for the agreement, announcing Monday that he would “abide by” a clause requiring the reinstatement of federal workers who lost their jobs during the shutdown.

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), one of the first to back the measure, acknowledged that the strategy to hold out had failed. “Standing up to Trump didn’t work,” he admitted in an interview.

By Monday evening, the Senate was already debating amendments to the legislation, including proposals for full-year appropriations and one from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) seeking to lift a federal ban on “intoxicating” hemp products.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) proposed another amendment to extend the Obamacare subsidy expansions introduced under President Joe Biden for an additional year, as those credits are slated to expire at the end of 2025.

Speaker Johnson, however, has not guaranteed that such provisions will receive consideration in the House even if they pass in the Senate.

If the House adopts the stopgap as written, both SNAP and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) would regain their contingency reserves, ensuring uninterrupted aid to beneficiaries. Federal employees—whether furloughed or still working—would also receive full back pay.

That includes thousands of overextended air traffic controllers and other critical personnel whose reduced availability had forced the Federal Aviation Administration to cut flight volumes to curb cascading delays and cancellations across the nation’s airports.

Republican senators also touted several national security wins in the funding package, including measures enabling the Food and Drug Administration to combat illegal Chinese e-cigarette sales and banning the Capitol Police from buying drones produced by Huawei or ZTE Corporation.

Additionally, the agreement earmarks $4.1 billion for rural infrastructure, housing, and business development projects, and allocates an impressive $19.7 billion to sustain 300 military construction initiatives over the next fiscal year.

{Matzav.com}

Governor Kathy Hochul made it clear over the weekend that she’s not ready to fund Zohran Mamdani’s plan to make New York City buses free—a $700 million proposal that’s been one of the socialist mayor-elect’s biggest campaign promises.

Speaking at the SOMOS political conference in Puerto Rico, Hochul explained that her administration has already poured massive funding into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and can’t afford to strip away fare revenue. “We’re spending a lot of money, so I cannot set forth a plan right now that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and the subways,” she said.

At the same time, she added a note of compromise: “But can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help? Of course we can.”

Mamdani, appearing unfazed by the governor’s stance, avoided directly acknowledging the rift. “I continue to be excited at the work of making the slowest buses in America fast and free,” he said Monday. “And I appreciate the governor’s continued partnership in delivering on that agenda of affordability.”

The dispute marks another flashpoint between Hochul, a centrist Democrat, and Mamdani, a self-described socialist, despite her having endorsed him during the campaign. Hochul had once embraced his populist message of affordability but has since distanced herself from the more radical pieces of his platform, including higher taxes on the wealthy to fund $10 billion in giveaways like free child care and zero-fare buses.

Hochul’s resistance poses a significant roadblock for Mamdani, whose agenda will depend heavily on cooperation from the governor’s office and legislative leaders in Albany. So far, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have sounded more receptive to the mayor-elect’s expansive spending ambitions.

The push-and-pull between the governor and the socialist rising star hasn’t gone unnoticed. Mamdani’s supporters have twice interrupted Hochul’s events with chants of “Tax the rich,” prompting an irritated response. “The more you push me, the more I’m not going to do what you want,” Hochul warned from the SOMOS stage.

Still, she stopped short of fully dismissing Mamdani’s agenda. While she balked at the bus plan, Hochul reiterated her commitment to exploring free child care—though she noted that it would be an enormous financial lift. “We’ll be on a path to get there, because I’m committed to this as ‘mom governor’ — I get it,” she said. “But also to do it statewide, right now, it’s about $15 billion — the entire amount of my reserves.”

Following her remarks at SOMOS, Hochul traveled to the Dominican Republic to attend a breakfast celebrating a “cross cultural” partnership—an event that also underscored her effort to connect with a key voting bloc. With hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers tracing roots to the Dominican Republic, the governor’s outreach is part of her broader political calculus as she eyes reelection in 2026.

{Matzav.com}

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa sat down for an exclusive conversation with Fox News following his unprecedented meeting with President Donald Trump, reflecting on what he called a “new chapter” in Syria’s ties with Washington and the broader Middle East.

“This is the first time a Syrian president visits the White House since the establishment of Syria in the 40s of the last century,” al-Sharaa told the network, emphasizing the symbolic nature of his trip. “After the fall of the former regime, Syria has entered into a new era. And this will build on a new strategy with the United States.”

Al-Sharaa described his talks with Trump as “open and forward-looking,” saying they focused on rebuilding relations and mutual interests after decades of hostility. He revealed that economic collaboration and regional stability were at the forefront of the discussions, setting the tone for what he called “a fresh partnership built on trust.”

When pressed about whether Damascus would formally align with the U.S.-led coalition targeting the Islamic State, the Syrian leader highlighted his country’s past sacrifices. “We participated in so many battles against ISIS for 10 years… I have lost much of my forces in the battles against ISIS. The US presence in Syria must now be coordinated with the Syrian government,” he said.

Asked about his own controversial past and previous Western accusations linking him to Al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa brushed aside the question, insisting that the focus should remain on what lies ahead. “We talked about the future, the present and the past. We talked about lifting the sanctions… There was a decision at the United Nations to lift the sanctions on myself and other people,” he explained.

The Syrian president went on to frame his government as a future partner in economic reconstruction and energy development. “We did not discuss [Al-Qaeda] actively. We talked about investment opportunities… Syria is no longer looked at as a security threat. It is now looked at as a geopolitical ally… especially extracting gas,” he remarked.

On the question of whether Syria might join the Abraham Accords, al-Sharaa expressed caution while leaving the door open to progress under Trump’s mediation. “Syria has borders with Israel, and Israel occupies the Golan Heights since 1967. We are not going to enter into a negotiation directly right now. Maybe the United States administration, with President Trump, will help us reach this kind of negotiation,” he said.

Turning to the fate of ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who was removed from power during the country’s civil conflict, al-Sharaa said accountability would be key to Syria’s recovery. “Justice must prevail… We have established a justice commission… so that everyone can be held accountable for what they did, including Bashar Al-Assad,” he declared.

Finally, addressing a matter of deep concern in the United States, al-Sharaa said he has personally taken steps to provide answers in the case of missing American journalist Austin Tice. “I have met with the mother of Tice… I’m going to do everything in my power so that she can have important and enough information about her son,” he said, underscoring what he described as a humanitarian commitment amid Syria’s shifting role on the world stage.

{Matzav.com}

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin voiced deep concern over the future of New York City under the leadership of Muslim socialist mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, warning that the city faces a rough road ahead. Speaking during an event with Breitbart News, Zeldin described the city as being on the brink of decline due to its new far-left leadership.

“Mamdani gets nominated, and now he’s elected. Now he’s next mayor of New York City. And I’m from New York, as you point out, Matt, born and raised, and I am scared for this city that is not going to go in the right direction,” he said, emphasizing his fear that the city’s worsening economy will deteriorate even further.

According to Zeldin, New York is set to face mounting financial and safety challenges. “They’re budgeting fiscal issues that are going to get worse. They have public safety issues that unfortunately are going to go in the wrong direction, and residents and businesses are going to flee. And they’re saying, ‘Why do you tax the wealthy?’ I saw this play out with de Blasio. When de Blasio got elected in 2013 he said, ‘Let’s tax, increase taxes, on the wealthy, and let’s have universal childhood pre-k,’” he recounted, recalling the economic fallout that followed.

Zeldin drew parallels between Mamdani’s policies and those of Bill de Blasio’s administration. He recalled how “It’s 2014, and Andrew Cuomo was running for his first reelection in 2014 he ends up contacting de Blasio. ‘Hey, great news. We have your money for universal childhood pre-k.’ De Blasio’s response to Cuomo was, ‘That’s not good enough. I want my tax increase.’ So what was very revealing is that this push for increasing taxes on the wealthy was because [of] the election in 2013,” he said.

He warned that such tax-heavy policies drive away the very people and companies that keep the city afloat. “And when you actually get elected and you’re in this position, and you start daring New Yorkers to flee, telling billionaires you are no longer welcome, that you think that billionaires maybe can afford a flight to Florida — they probably have taken it already. The few who are left and their businesses, they’re going to go and not look back,” Zeldin cautioned.

Zeldin lamented the impact of left-wing governance, saying that the city’s situation is worsening rapidly. The consequences, he said, are “dire,” and “New York City is going to have to try to survive the next four years of this guy.”

As for whether voters will ultimately stand by Mamdani despite the city’s trajectory, Zeldin said only time will tell. “But that’s up to New York City to figure out. And I do feel bad for the voters who tried to stop it. I feel bad for the New Yorkers who have already left, but as I pointed out during that interview that I did yesterday, I don’t feel bad for the people who voted for it, and I don’t feel bad for anyone who stayed on the sidelines,” he said.

{Matzav.com}

New York Governor Kathy Hochul put the brakes on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s headline-grabbing $700 million plan to make New York City buses free, pouring cold water on one of the Democratic socialist’s most ambitious campaign promises. Speaking at the SOMOS political retreat in Puerto Rico, Hochul made clear she isn’t ready to bankroll Mamdani’s sweeping […]

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik issued a sharp warning Monday, declaring that if she wins New York’s gubernatorial race, she will serve as “the only check on [New York City Mayor-elect] Zohran Mamdani.” Speaking to Newsmax, the Republican candidate accused Governor Kathy Hochul of surrendering to the left wing of her party, claiming the Democrat has “bent the knee” to Mamdani’s radical agenda.

During her appearance on National Report, Stefanik charged that Hochul’s leadership had emboldened “a socialist” and “an antisemite,” referring to Mamdani, and argued that the governor’s policies have made the Empire State more dangerous, less affordable, and increasingly intolerant.

“I am running to save New York,” Stefanik said passionately. “We’re the most unaffordable state in the nation, and we are one of the most unsafe — and that’s because of Kathy Hochul’s failed rule.”

She pointed to rising costs, higher taxes, and surging crime as evidence of mismanagement under Democratic control. “We are the highest tax state in the nation, the highest energy prices, utility prices, groceries, rent, insurance — and it’s because of the failed tax-and-spend policies coming out of Albany and, frankly, New York City,” she asserted.

Drawing a contrast between herself and Hochul, Stefanik highlighted her economic record and her alliance with President Donald Trump in cutting taxes. “I’m the only candidate who has a record of delivering tax cuts,” she said. “That was the largest middle-class tax cut for New Yorkers.”

But her most forceful remarks were directed at Hochul’s response to antisemitism and her association with Mamdani. The Queens assemblyman, an outspoken democratic socialist, won the New York City mayoral election last week, defeating independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani, Stefanik charged, “believes Israel does not have a right to exist” and “has campaigned with the unindicted coconspirator of the World Trade Center 1993 bombing.”

“This is someone whose ideology is antisemitic,” she continued. “And Kathy Hochul did nothing. She did nothing to protect Jewish students. I’m going to stand up for all Jewish New Yorkers.”

Stefanik pointed to her work in Congress leading high-profile hearings that exposed antisemitism on college campuses such as Harvard, MIT, and Columbia. “It set off an earthquake in higher education,” she said. “That’s leadership — and that’s what’s missing in Albany.”

Framing the race as a referendum on strength versus submission, Stefanik said New Yorkers are eager for a governor who will “put New Yorkers first.” “I would be the only check on Zohran Mamdani,” she declared, “because, ultimately, Kathy Hochul will bend the knee — just like she endorsed him.”

{Matzav.com}

A panel formed by former senior military officers has found that most of the Israel Defense Forces’ investigations into its shortcomings ahead of and on the day of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack are inadequate — with some deemed outright unacceptable, Times of Israel reports.

At the same time, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir stated on Monday that while the military bears full responsibility for the failures of October 7, a wider “external” commission of inquiry must be convened — a step the government has resisted for more than two years.

Zamir avoided calling for a full state commission of inquiry — which the government opposes — despite polls showing overwhelming public backing for one. He also declared that he would make “personal decisions” about senior officers based on the external panel’s findings, including possible dismissals.

The panel’s report — handed Monday to the IDF’s top leadership and the Yisroel Katz, the Minister of Defence — was also shown to reporters. The internal investigations had been led by former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. Within weeks of taking office in March, Zamir appointed the external team to review those probes.

That team, headed by Sami Turgeman (Major-General, retired), and including ex-Navy chief Vice Admiral Eli Sharvit and former Air Force chief Major-General Amikam Norkin, was charged with assessing the military’s top-tier investigations, overseeing implementation of findings, and recommending repeated or additional probes where needed.

The General Staff–level investigations under review covered four major areas: the IDF’s evolving strategic view of Gaza over the past decade; its intelligence assessments of Hamas from 2014 until the war; its intelligence and decision-making on the eve of October 7; and command, control and orders during battles from October 7-10.

These studies were publicly released by the military in February. Beyond the General Staff-level work, the IDF also pursued 41 separate investigations of battles and major events tied to October 7, most of which are already public. In total the panel reviewed 24 major investigations along with one major tactical probe — the attack on the Nova music festival — and evaluated them “from a systemic and integrative perspective,” something that had not been previously done.

Importantly, the panel did not examine the interface between the military and the political echelon, nor cooperation among the military, the Shin Bet and the Israel Police.

In addition, the IDF requested that any active or reserve commander who believed they held information not included in the initial investigations come forward. About 80 commanders did so; the panel also interviewed roughly 70 individuals — including former generals and chiefs of staff — who held relevant positions linked to the October 7 events.

Among the 24 top investigations, the panel rated 10 as “green” — meaning “professional, comprehensive, and enable learning and progress.” These findings are ready for implementation within the IDF.

Nine investigations — including the Nova festival probe — were designated “orange,” meaning they “provide a solid factual foundation, but do not identify the points of failure or the necessary changes.” These will require additions before they can be applied effectively.

The remaining five investigations were labelled “red,” meaning “unsatisfactory.” Those included probes into Gaza strategy, the General Staff’s operational planning, decision-making during the night of October 6-7, and the morning actions of both the Operations Division and the Navy on October 7. These will be substantially re-investigated or supplemented before their findings can be actionable.

For instance, the Gaza strategy and Operations Division investigations were judged as “red” because their commanders lacked suitable qualifications, the panel found. The probe into the Operations Division, for example, began at 6:29 a.m. on October 7 — the moment Hamas’s attack started — and omitted any prior activity in that unit. A former commander, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak Turgeman, was appointed to investigate what happened in that unit ahead of the attack.

The probe into decision-making on the night between October 6-7 was also deemed inadequate — however, in contrast, the intelligence-on-the-eve probe was rated “green”.

While the Navy’s investigation did give a detailed and accurate account of what occurred on the morning of October 7, the panel rated it “red” because it lacked implementable conclusions. Similarly, the operational-planning probe in the General Staff was judged to have no actionable conclusions.

For each investigation reviewed, the panel furnished “a detailed professional assessment of its quality and attached concrete recommendations,” the military said. The IDF also reported that the commanders conducting the investigations “acted with integrity and honesty, with the intention of conducting a truthful investigation,” and that there was no malicious intent behind the inadequate or unsatisfactory work.

Beyond assessing the investigations, the panel found that several significant topics were not probed at all — and recommended that they should be. One key omission: how the IDF handled intelligence reports since 2018 that outlined Hamas’s intention to launch a wide-scale attack, dubbed “Jericho’s Walls.” The military had, for years, dismissed the plan as unrealistic, even as Hamas continued preparations. None of the major investigations delved into this.

The team also recommended that the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) — a Defense Ministry body headed by a military general and responsible for liaison with the Palestinians — conduct a formal investigation, which it has not to date. Additional unexamined topics include the IDF’s coordination with the police and Shin Bet, the preparedness of Ground Forces, and readiness for a multi-front surprise war prior to October 7.

After hundreds of hours of work, Turgeman’s team produced a 140-page document identifying the following as the main causes of the military’s failings: a disconnect between the IDF’s strategic/operational view of Gaza/Hamas and reality; intelligence failures in threat-understanding and communication; neglect of the “Jericho Wall” plan; organisation and operational culture riddled with defective norms; a fundamental and persistent gap across command levels between reference scenarios and actual responses; and flawed decision-making and force-utilisation processes on the night of October 6-7.

The team asserted that the surprise of October 7 “did not emerge from an absence of information, but, on the contrary, on the night of October 7, a variety of intelligence had accumulated which, had it been professionally analyzed, could and should have led to a warning of a significant action.” They also noted that in 2023 senior military officials had warned political figures, including Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, that Israel’s adversaries were perceiving “internal weakness” in Israeli society amid the government’s planned judicial overhaul. Although the probes concluded this was not the reason Hamas launched its attack — which it had planned years in advance — the IDF did not elevate alert levels or deployments in response to the warnings.

“Most of the factors explaining the failure, as formulated by the team, span several years and multiple systems, which, in the team’s view, indicates a longstanding systemic and organisational failure,” stated the military.

With the publication of the report, Zamir declared his support for an external commission of inquiry into the October 7 failings: “The expert team’s report presented today is a significant step toward a comprehensive understanding, one required of us as a society and as a system,” he said. “However, to ensure that such failures never happen again, a broader understanding is needed, one that includes inter-organisational and inter-level interfaces that have not yet been examined,” he added. “For this purpose, a wide and comprehensive systemic investigation is now required.”

Despite successive polls showing a large majority of Israelis favour establishing a state commission of inquiry, Netanyahu and his coalition have declined to do so. They argue that a commission should only be set up after the war ends, and reject one appointed by the Supreme Court chief, claiming it would be biased.

Zamir is also poised to decide on “personal decisions” involving officers tied to the failures, potentially including the current chief of the Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, who on October 7 was heading the Operations Division. Binder’s appointment as intelligence chief was controversial and drew protests from some lawmakers and bereaved families.

The expert panel was not mandated to recommend personal conclusions against officers; nevertheless, Turgeman told Zamir in a recent meeting “an event of this magnitude cannot pass without personal conclusions.”

{Matzav.com}

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed his finance minister, Omar Bitar, on Monday after an internal investigation found that he had authorized payments to Palestinian prisoners using the old compensation model that tied stipends to the length of their sentences rather than to financial need, according to Palestinian officials familiar with the matter, Times of Israel reports.

Earlier that day, the PA’s official Wafa news agency announced that Estephan Salameh, who had been serving as the Planning and International Cooperation Minister, would assume the role of finance minister. The brief statement gave no reason for the abrupt change.

Sources within Ramallah said Bitar’s removal came after it was discovered that he had permitted payments through outdated channels to some inmates and their families, sidestepping the welfare reform Abbas had introduced earlier this year. That reform made clear that aid would be distributed solely based on economic hardship rather than on the duration of imprisonment.

The shift away from the old model was a key demand from the United States, Israel, and several Arab and European governments that have accused the PA of encouraging violence through what they dubbed the “pay-to-slay” program.

Abbas formally ended the controversial system with a decree in February and reaffirmed before the United Nations General Assembly in September that it was no longer active.

However, even as the new welfare structure took effect, officials discovered that a small number of families still received payments through the previous mechanism — in some cases, including prisoners jailed after the reform’s launch.

The revelations have put Ramallah under intense pressure from the families of prisoners angered by the sharp reduction of benefits they had depended on for years. A Palestinian official said the firing of Bitar was intended to send a clear message that Abbas was “serious about implementing the prisoner payment reform.”

But Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dismissed that explanation. “Dismissing the Palestinian Authority’s finance minister will not absolve the dismisser, Mahmoud Abbas, and the PA of their complicity in pay-for-slay and responsibility for the ongoing payments to terrorists and their families,” he wrote on X. “The Palestinian Authority is trying to fool the world. It won’t work. The truth is stronger.”

In September, Ramallah circulated a report to its European and Arab donors claiming the new welfare system was complete and the old program fully phased out. The document, prepared by the Palestinian National Economic Empowerment Institution, said that new eligibility criteria had been adopted, notifying over 3,000 individuals that they no longer qualified for aid, while more than 2,000 households became newly eligible.

Still, because Israel has continued to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues, Ramallah has struggled to issue the first round of welfare payments. According to the September update, stipends for June would be calculated using the new standards.

While that was true for most recipients, some families reportedly received retroactive lump-sum payments through the Finance Ministry itself rather than the newly formed institution — a violation that ultimately cost Bitar his job.

For years, Palestinian leaders defended the old stipends as a legitimate form of social welfare and as compensation for families affected by what they described as Israel’s harsh military justice system. But Western nations and Israel repeatedly condemned the policy, arguing that it rewarded acts of violence and undermined peace efforts.

Following years of external pressure, Abbas began building a replacement system based on financial need during Joe Biden’s presidency. He delayed implementing it publicly until after US President Donald Trump returned to office, hoping the change would earn goodwill with Washington.

The restructuring was also aimed at satisfying the requirements of the US Taylor Force Act of 2018, which blocks aid to the PA as long as payments to prisoners are tied to their time served.

Earlier this year, the PA invited Washington to send officials to Ramallah to verify that the new program was in place. The offer went unanswered, with the Trump administration showing little interest in Palestinian internal affairs. Still, a senior PA official said on Monday that Ramallah hopes a US audit delegation will arrive in early 2026 to inspect the system.

American officials have not commented on Abbas’s decision to dismiss Bitar.

Hady Amr, who served as the US special representative for Palestinian affairs under Biden, said the PA had “spent considerable time and energy conveying to the international community — including the prior and current US administrations, European and Arab countries — that they were ending the framework of their program and creating a genuine needs-based social safety net that would apply equally to all.”

“Notwithstanding expected internal pressures, and whatever happened [regarding Bitar’s firing], it’s clear that if the PA does not move forward [with this reform] as it has publicly committed to do, it will have lost credibility, especially with those it had made these commitments to,” Amr added.

{Matzav.com}