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By Jonathan S. Tobin

It didn’t take long for the Democratic Party’s media cheering section to demonstrate how far the Overton Window had moved among liberals with respect to antisemitism. Centrist Democrats and the liberal Jewish establishment were genuinely shocked by Zohran Mamdani’s victory in last week’s Democratic Party mayoral primary in New York City. Within days, however, it was clear that legacy outlets reflecting mainstream opinion on the political left weren’t going to tolerate much in the way of criticism of his extremist views about Israel and the Jews.

Within days, it was clear that anyone who claimed that Mamdani should be rejected out of hand as a possible mayor of New York on the grounds of stands that were, at best, antisemitism-adjacent or, at worst, open endorsements of Jewish genocide, rather than the candidate himself, were going to be the ones under fire. Within 48 hours of Mamdani’s win, The New York Times was already using the word “Islamophobic” in headlines to describe his critics.

Legitimizing antisemitism

It is fear among Democrats about being labeled as Islamophobic that explains why so few prominent members of the party and officeholders are refusing to condemn Mamdani now that the 33-year-old New York state representative has become their party’s nominee. That’s not just smoothing his path to victory for a fellow Democrat, despite the horror that many New Yorkers feel about him. It’s also achieving something the political left has been assiduously working toward, especially since the Hamas-led Palestinian Arab attacks on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023: the legitimization of antisemitism in the American public square.

While some of the online reaction to Mamdani was inappropriate, the attempt by Democrats and their liberal media cheerleaders to frame the narrative about the opposition to him as one primarily about Islamophobia is fundamentally dishonest.

Characterizing verbal and written criticisms of Mamdani as “racist” is not only a matter of inaccuracy or misinterpretation of those venting their anger and outrage about the prospect of him being mayor of the most Jewish city in the world outside of the State of Israel. Such arguments were the next logical step involved in legitimizing opinions about Israel and Jews, as well as those fighting to destroy it, along with other radical causes.

The issue is not whether the next mayor of New York is a Shia Muslim (he practices the faith of his mother rather than that of his Hindu father). In a city as diverse as New York, few care about Mamdani’s faith or his background as the son of immigrants (his mother was a Gujarati Indian Muslim born in Uganda, and his father an Indian-American of Hindu Punjabi descent).

What matters is the fact that he is a Socialist on economic issues and an adherent of the ideological war on the West being waged by the hard left. His extremist views may well be influenced by his faith and ethnicity. Yet they are just as much a manifestation of the fashionable ideas that label the West and America as irredeemably racist, and Israel and the Jews as “white” oppressors who must be suppressed. In this sense, the New York mayoral campaign has transcended politics. It is, instead, another manifestation of the conquest of American elite institutions of higher education by so-called “progressives” that led to mobs targeting Jews on college campuses since Oct. 7.

Mamdani has been an ardent advocate for the cause of “free Palestine,” which is to say the effort to “free” the territory—meaning, from the Jewish population—of the only Jewish state on the planet. That is an idea that ought to be rejected by all decent people everywhere not only because it singles out the Jews for deprivation of rights, such as that of living in peace and sovereignty in their ancient homeland, but also because it can only be achieved by the sort of genocidal wars that Hamas and its Iranian sponsor have long advocated and continue to pursue. This despicable cause has gained increasing support on the political left, largely on the strength of blood libels about Israel committing “genocide” against Palestinian Arabs in Gaza in its just war against Hamas, endorsed by Mamdani and other Democrats.

Suppressing criticism

If, as the Times and other liberal outlets insist, Mamdani’s views are to be accepted as legitimate stands about which we must agree to disagree when discussing them, then what we are witnessing is not a prejudiced reaction to the rise of a non-white Muslim politician. Rather, it is an attempt to suppress criticism of the mainstreaming of antisemitism and other extremist beliefs by the political left.

This tactic has been a staple of the anti-Israel movement for years and has achieved some notable successes, especially during the Biden presidency. The last Democratic administration balanced the lip service it paid to the rise of antisemitism on its watch with an attempt to treat concerns about prejudice against Muslims as being of equal concern.

While all prejudice is deplorable, the problem with virtually all of the discussion about Islamophobia in recent years is that most such attacks against Muslims aren’t actually racist ones.

To the contrary, the comments and stands that are labeled as Islamophobic are almost always attempts to call out the rabid Jew-hatred and virulent prejudicial positions and language that are mainstream discourse among American Muslims, especially on the part of those groups, like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which purport to represent them.

Such advocacy is based on the false assertion that Muslims are being subjected to widespread attacks and discrimination in the United States. The primary source for this claim is CAIR, a group that masquerades as a civil-rights organization but was founded as a cover for those seeking to raise funds for Hamas terrorists in the United States illegally. CAIR has a consistent record of antisemitism but also seeks to downplay or rationalize Islamist terrorism, like the Oct. 7 attacks.

Moreover, the organization’s claims about the situation of American Muslims and Arabs are simply not backed up by empirical evidence. This dates back to its false assertions that were echoed by most mainstream media about a mythical post-9/11 backlash against Muslims that was largely made out of whole cloth. Contrary to CAIR’s claims (echoed by most liberal media outlets) that it is Muslims who are under siege, FBI hate-crime statistics have shown for the last two and a half decades that American Jews have been the primary victims of acts of religious prejudice in the United States. Attacks on Jews far outnumber those on Muslims by large margins every year, and that is especially true since Oct. 7, 2023, when a surge of antisemitism began, fueled largely by the same kind of anti-Israel bigotry echoed by Mamdani.

Yet at the heart of the Islamophobia discussion is something more sinister than a group hyping something that doesn’t warrant serious concern. What is most disturbing about the attempt to sanitize Mamdani is that it dovetails with the campaign to gaslight Jews about the prejudice and violence to which they have been subjected.

While Mamdani insincerely claims to oppose antisemitism, he is part of a movement that not only endorses terrorism against Israeli Jews but is also linked to violence against Americans.

The meaning behind ‘Globalize the intifada’

In recent months, three separate incidents of anti-Jewish domestic terrorism have taken place, initiated by people claiming to act on behalf of the “free Palestine” cause that Mamdani has embraced. On Passover, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Harrisburg residence was the target of an arson attack. In May, two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington were gunned down by another “free Palestine” advocate as they left a Jewish museum. In June, a rally in Boulder, Colo., to draw awareness to the plight of the remaining 50 or so hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza was targeted by another “free Palestine” supporter, who said he wanted to kill all Zionists when he threw a Molotov cocktail at them. That assault resulted in injuries to 13 people, including eight who were hospitalized for burns; this week, 82-year-old Karen Diamond died as a result.

That is literally what “Globalize the intifada” means—the chant that Mamdani specifically refuses to condemn—and other catchphrases like “From the river to the sea”: support for terrorism against Jews. Mamdani supports the war against Israel. He opposes its existence as a Jewish state and couldn’t even condemn the Oct. 7 attacks without also treating the Israeli victims as morally equivalent to the Palestinian murderers, rapists and kidnappers and falsely accusing the Jewish state of “apartheid.” To point out the link between his steadfast refusal to disavow such stands and those who kill Jews in Israel or the United States is neither prejudicial nor unfair. On the contrary, it is those that, like the Times or Axios, which assert that it is wrong to link Mamdani’s position to that of global jihad that are wrong.

Moreover, the fact that he has stuck to these positions while being defended as a victim of prejudice by mainstream outlets like the Times is yet another sign of how such antisemitism is no longer a barrier to widespread support from Democrats.

Leading New York and national Democrats could have reacted to the results with across-the-board condemnations of not only Mamdani’s anti-Zionism and unwillingness to condemn the genocidal slogans of Islamist terror. While a few leading Democrats, such as House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), have asked him to alter the way he speaks about Israel and to condemn that phrase, they haven’t rejected out of hand the idea of someone who holds such views representing their party in the nation’s largest city.

In recent years, Democrats have been vocal about Republicans needing to disassociate themselves from extremists in their party. Apparently, they didn’t think the same suggestion applied to them. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has long claimed to be the shomer or “guardian” of Israel and the Jews in Congress, and most other members of his party, showed little sign of taking such a stand.

Jumping on the bandwagon

The most compelling evidence of how difficult that would be was not long in coming. Mainstream Democrats have shown themselves unable to draw a line in the sand against a figure who is not merely a Socialist but whose candidacy seems to have become a test case for legitimizing antisemitic views on the left. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who is no conservative, was widely denounced for criticisms of Mamdani and forced to apologize. As Politico noted, most Democrats are now more interested in jumping on his bandwagon rather than in holding him accountable for his radicalism and anti-Zionism.

Part of this is a “no enemies on the left” attitude. It is an attitude that outlets like the Times, which has helped lead the assault on the West and America with its fallacious “1619 Project,” coupled with its biased coverage of the post-Oct. 7 war against Hamas and its Iranian sponsor, would like Democrats to adopt. The fact that it is mimicked by “woke right” antisemites like former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), both of whom despise socialism but identify with Mamdani’s animus for Israel, is unsurprising.

New York isn’t the only place where those who hate Israel and seek to silence or marginalize Jews are dominating the party. In North Carolina, the state’s Democratic Party endorsed smears of Israel and called for an embargo on arms to it. People like Schumer and other Democratic officeholders who may disagree with such rhetoric but understand that their party base is not only comfortable with these blood libels but starting to demand that they go along with it.

But the way this is enforced is more than just a matter of base politics. Nor is it primarily bolstered by the ideological extremism of writers like Michelle Goldberg, Peter Beinart and M. Gessen, who are platformed by the Times and falsely claim that supporting the destruction of the one Jewish state on the planet by means of blood libels and a genocidal terrorist war isn’t antisemitism. It also involves efforts to condemn those calling attention to the alarming legitimization of Jew-hatred by labeling such arguments as Islamophobic and therefore beyond the pale.

What the last few days have shown is that playing the Islamophobia card is how the hard left hopes to facilitate its takeover of the Democratic Party. More than that, it’s a means to whitewash antisemitism and silence supporters of Israel. Publications, politicians and even Jewish groups that are just as concerned about falling out of sync with mainstream liberal opinion as they are about the surge in Jew-hatred that don’t stand up against this false narrative are as much a part of the problem as the controversial candidate himself.

Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS (Jewish News Syndicate). 

{Matzav.com}

Republican leaders in the House are sprinting toward a Wednesday vote on President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cuts package, determined to seize momentum from a hard-fought vote in the Senate while essentially daring members to defy their party’s leader and vote against it. “The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay,” the top four House GOP leaders said Tuesday after the bill passed the Senate 51-50, thanks to Vice President JD Vance’s tiebreaking vote. It’s a risky gambit, one designed to meet Trump’s demand for a July 4 finish — and there’s a steep climb ahead. Since launching early this year, Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way, often succeeding by only one vote. Their House majority stands at just 220-212, leaving little room for defections. Some Republicans are likely to balk at being asked to rubber stamp the Senate bill less than 24 hours after passage, having had little time to read or absorb the changes that were made, many at the last minute to win the vote of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. House Republicans from competitive districts have bristled at the Senate bill’s cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives have lambasted the legislation as straying from their fiscal goals. It falls to Speaker Mike Johnson and his team to convince them that the time for negotiations is over. In a warning sign of some House Republican resistance, a resolution setting up terms for debating Trump’s bill barely cleared out of the House Rules Committee on Wednesday morning, with two GOP members — Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Ralph Norman of South Carolina — siding with Democrats in voting against it. Trump pushes Republicans to do ‘the right thing’ The bill would extend and make permanent various individual and business tax breaks that Republicans passed in Trump’s first term, plus temporarily add new ones Trump promised during the campaign, including allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and providing a new $6,000 deduction for most older adults. In all, the legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years. The bill also provides about $350 billion for defense and Trump’s immigration crackdown. Republicans partially pay for it all through less spending on Medicaid and food assistance. The Congressional Budget Office projects it will add about $3.3 trillion in federal deficits over the coming decade. The House passed its version of the bill in May, despite worries about spending cuts and the overall price tag. Now, it’s being asked to give final passage to a version that, in many respects, exacerbates those concerns. The Senate bill’s projected impact on federal deficits, for example, is significantly higher. Trump praised the bill profusely in a social media post, saying, “We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ (You know who you are!), and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk.” The high price of opposing Trump’s bill Speaker Johnson, R-La., is intent on meeting the president’s July 4 timeline. He’s also betting that hesitant Republicans won’t cross Trump because of the heavy political price they would have to pay. They need only look to Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who announced his intention […]

WATCH:

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi on Wednesday sent a strongly worded letter to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman saying that the IDF’s Home Front Command is failing to provide adequate warnings of missile attacks to the Chareidi sector. Karhi wrote, “Yesterday, Israeli citizens, except for the Chareidim, received alerts about missile fire from Yemen towards Israel. They received the alerts on their smartphones, on television, on the radio, and on siren loudspeakers. “In contrast, Chareidi citizens, who own kosher phones, without television, and who listen to Chareidi radio networks, did not receive advance warnings and life-saving instructions in the north and south. “One of the reasons for this is that yesterday the emergency broadcasts that were approved for Radio Kol Chai and Kol Barama in the north were discontinued, as the Home Front Command and the Technological Division of the IDF refuse to take responsibility for the severe alert gaps in the Chareidi sectors in Israel.” “The following is the sequence of events and the actions I have taken in the matter, which, unfortunately, have been met with an impenetrable wall of inexplicable stubbornness and irresponsibility on the part of those responsible for the security of the country and its citizens.” “Currently, a wide public in these sectors is at a significant disadvantage in terms of access to alerts compared to the rest of the population, both in terms of redundancy and in terms of advance warnings that are not provided by sirens.” Karhi claims that the Home Front Command initially supported his initiative to expand the broadcasts of the Chareidi radio stations, Kol Chai and Kol Barama, to the entire country during the war. However, the Home Front Command later retracted their support, and he accuses them of “mixing extraneous considerations by various elements, not for the benefit of the security of the state and its citizens.” “In a conversation with field personnel in the Home Front Command, their message is unequivocal: ‘If there is no harm to our security frequencies and it expands the means of alert, there is no question at all!! Of course we support it! But unfortunately, it seems that when it comes to the various legal elements, they introduce political considerations, apparently because these are stations that are not to their liking, and disclaim responsibility.'” “The Home Front Command was required to set up its own transmitters throughout the country to allow at least one additional alert means beyond the sirens that provide only an immediate alert. But unfortunately, for reasons of social or political preference, certain elements there are opposing even the independent responsibility shown by the station owners, who in the last two weeks have invested a lot of money to expand the alert means to the public.” “I am not aware of any instruction from the Home Front Command to Israeli citizens to remove the alert applications on mobile phones or to cancel the alert sirens. The threat of missiles has not been removed from the skies of the State of Israel, and therefore, the conduct of the various parties in this matter is puzzling to me. From the viewpoint of safeguarding the security of the country and the security of its citizens, there is no doubt that the alert means should be expanded as much as possible and the existing alert gaps […]

The U.S. is halting some shipments of weapons to Ukraine amid concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much, officials said Tuesday, a setback for the country as it tries to fend off escalating attacks from Russia. Certain munitions were previously promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration to aid its defenses during the more than three-year-old war. The pause reflects a new set of priorities under President Donald Trump and came after Defense Department officials scrutinized current U.S. stockpiles and raised concerns. “This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. “The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran.” That was a reference to Trump recently ordering U.S. missile strikes against nuclear sites in Iran. Pentagon stocks of some weapons found to be low, official says The Pentagon review determined that stocks were too low on some weapons previously pledged, so pending shipments of some items won’t be sent, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide information that has not yet been made public. The Defense Department did not provide details on what specific weapons were being held back. “America’s military has never been more ready and more capable,” spokesman Sean Parnell said, adding that the major tax cut and spending package moving through Congress “ensures that our weapons and defense systems are modernized to protect against 21st century threats for generations to come.” The halt of some weapons from the U.S. is a blow to Ukraine as Russia has recently launched some of its biggest aerial attacks of the war, in an escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in peace efforts championed by Trump. Talks between the sides have ground to a halt. The U.S. stoppage was first reported by Politico. To date, the U.S. has provided Ukraine more than $66 billion worth of weapons and military assistance since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. Over the course of the war, the U.S. has routinely pressed for allies to provide air defense systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia. Elbridge Colby, the Defense Department undersecretary for policy, said officials continue “to provide the president with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end.” “At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces’ readiness for Administration defense priorities,” Colby said in a statement. Trump met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit last week and had left open the possibility of sending Kyiv more U.S.-made Patriot air defense missile systems, acknowledging they would help the Ukrainian cause. “They do want to have the antimissile missiles, OK, as they call them, the Patriots,” Trump said then. “And we’re going to see if we can make some available. We need them, too. We’re supplying them to Israel, and they’re very effective, 100% effective. Hard to believe how effective. They do want that more than any other thing.” Trump administration shifts outlook on Ukraine […]

The Iranian military loaded naval mines onto vessels in the Persian Gulf last month, a move that increased concerns in Washington that Tehran was preparing to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, two US officials told Reuters. The previously unreported preparations, which were picked up by US intelligence, occurred some time after Operation Rising Lion began on June 13, the officials said. The preparations of the mines, which were not deployed, indicate that Tehran was seriously considering blocking the strait, the world’s most important oil passageway. About a third of the world’s seaborne oil traffic passes through the strait from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Bahrain, as well as liquefied natural gas from Qatar. The blockade of the strait would have seriously escalated the conflict and crippled global trade. Asked for comment about Iran’s preparations, a White House official said, “Thanks to the President’s brilliant execution of Operation Midnight Hammer, successful campaign against the Houthis, and maximum pressure campaign, the Strait of Hormuz remains open, freedom of navigation has been restored, and Iran has been significantly weakened.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

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IDF forces carried out a special operation overnight Tuesday in southern Syria and arrested a terrorist cell operated by Iran. The operation was carried out following intelligence information compiled in recent weeks during the interrogations of other terrorists who had been detained. During the arrest, weapons were also found, including several guns and grenades. The IDF spokesperson said, “The division’s forces continue to operate and prevent the entrenchment of any terrorist element in Syria in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel and the residents of the Golan Heights in particular.” (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

The German newspaper Bild reported new details about the arrest of the 53-year-old Afghan man suspected of espionage for Iran, who allegedly planned attacks against Jewish targets in Germany. According to the report, the Mossad was the one who tracked down the man, a Danish citizen of Afghan origin and an operative of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force. He arrived in Berlin with his wife and daughter to seek out Jewish targets for attack on behalf of Iran. Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor said that the detainee, Ali S., was apprehended with the help of Danish police last Thursday in Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office reported that the man was recruited by an Iranian intelligence agency earlier this year to gather information on Jewish sites and specific Jewish individuals in Berlin. In June, he spied on three locations in the capital for this purpose. However, it appears that the security authorities were already following him at that time. According to German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, the suspect spied on Jews in Berlin on behalf of an Iranian secret service, and the information about him came from a “friendly foreign intelligence agency.” The German magazine Der Spiegel quoted German authorities as saying that a special unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued orders to prepare attacks against Jews in Berlin. The suspect was recruited and had photographed several Jewish-affiliated buildings in June. The suspect went so far as to attempt to hire people to carry out attacks on Jews. The crucial information regarding his activity came from the Mossad, but the Interior Minister said that several other foreign agencies cooperated on the matter. The president of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, stated, “The German government must take action against the Iranian regime—there can be no other consequence for this planned terrorist attack. It is a wake-up call to those who continue to downplay the hatred and annihilationist ideology of the mullah regime toward Israel and Jews around the world.” Iran’s plans “show the terrorist nature of this regime,” Green Party politician Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, said. For years, Iran has targeted Jews and Jewish sites in Germany. According to intelligence information about Iran’s list of potential targets, several well-known Jews in Germany receive police protection. (YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)

In a significant legal breakthrough following years of courtroom battles, families of those who perished in the Meron tragedy are set to receive major financial compensation from the Israeli government and responsible entities, including the National Center for the Development of Holy Places and various insurance companies.

The development comes as part of an agreement formulated with the involvement of attorney Eran Becker, of the Eran Becker & Co. law firm, who represents several bereaved families. The deal has been endorsed by the Lod District Court under Judge Irit Cohen, and will soon be submitted for court approval with the consent of the families and the State Attorney’s Office.

According to the agreement, families of young victims—defined as those aged 24 and under—will receive substantial compensation. In one leading case handled by Becker, a bereaved family is expected to be awarded approximately 2.9 million shekels. Similar amounts have been proposed in other cases, scaled according to the age of the deceased.

For now, the compensation will be paid out by the State of Israel, the National Center for the Development of Holy Places, and the relevant insurance firms.

Attorneys Eran Becker and Moran Cohen Yonatan, representing some of the victim families, released a joint statement: “This compensation reflects not only the immense loss these families have endured, but also the responsibility that must be borne by the state and other involved bodies for the grave failures that contributed to this tragedy.
The warning signs were evident. Years of willful blindness led to a disaster that was tragically foreseeable. The agreement now awaiting court approval is a critical step—morally, legally, and publicly—in declaring that human life is not expendable, that the suffering of the victims matters, and that accountability must be upheld for the severe negligence that led to this catastrophe. We are proud of the families who chose not to remain silent, who fought for justice, and who stood firm in insisting that justice must not only be done but also seen to be done. No amount of money can bring back their loved ones, but this is an important milestone in the journey toward recognition, justice, and healing.”

The Meron disaster occurred on the night of Lag BaOmer 5781, during the annual hilulah of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai. Amid extreme overcrowding in a narrow passage near the Toldos Aharon bonfire area, 45 people were crushed to death, and over 150 were injured. It remains one of the deadliest civilian tragedies in Israel’s history. In its aftermath, a state commission of inquiry was established, which uncovered serious lapses in planning, oversight, and responsibility by various governmental and police authorities.

{Matzav.com Israel}

A major reversal has taken place in the UK’s World Zionist Organization (WZO) election process, as the World Zionist Congress has overturned a controversial ruling that had barred the chareidi Eretz HaKodesh UK list from participating in the elections. The Central Elections Committee (CEC) in Israel found that there was not enough proof to support claims of voter fraud.

The CEC criticized the decision made last month by the UK’s Area Election Committee (AEC), saying it was “extreme and disproportionate.” It also raised concerns that political motives may have influenced the suspension of EHK.

The UK committee’s initial decision was based on an advertisement circulated by EHK, which implied that men could register their wives and adult children to vote—a direct violation of WZO election procedures. The ad had read: “Husbands can register wives & any children 18+. Please bring their ID.”

EHK appealed the decision, prompting the CEC to conduct its own review. The committee ultimately ruled that the evidence presented did not demonstrate that any actual harm had occurred as a result of the advertisement. In its decision, the CEC wrote: “No one knows whether any person actually registered someone else. Thus, the damage is theoretical. The act of violation did not involve actual voting, nor the registration of ineligible voters. The registration process may be flawed, but not the registrants themselves.”

The CEC also acknowledged that EHK took prompt action once the issue was identified: “Shortly after the violation, Eretz HaKodesh realized the mistake and published correcting ads… The committee believes Eretz HaKodesh did what it could to minimize the damage.”

The committee further noted that the AEC had overstepped its role and failed to follow proper procedure. The CEC stated that it was “doubtful whether the regional election committee has the authority to disqualify a list for violating rules (as opposed to disqualifying ineligible voters or candidates).”

The CEC pointed out that disqualification is only permitted in specific scenarios, and violations involving how candidates register do not meet those criteria.

Moreover, the CEC criticized the UK committee for failing to conduct a proper inquiry: “The UK investigation committee should have summoned the relevant Eretz HaKodesh official to clarify the violation, its extent, and consequences. Since this was not done, and in absence of other evidence, it must be assumed the damage was theoretical.”

The committee’s conclusion was definitive: “The AEC UK took an extreme and disproportionate step of disqualification. The severity is emphasized by the fact that the decision was made by a political majority of rivals. AEC should have shown restraint in such matters.”

The CEC’s judgment, delivered by attorneys Mira Amsalem Beit-On and Chagai Siton, along with Judge Oded Mudrik, declared the UK committee’s disqualification of EHK to be “null and void.”

Despite the setback, the AEC still has the option of bringing the matter before the Zionist Supreme Court for further review.

{Matzav.com}

The Mossad escalated its digital offensive against Iran on Tuesday, leveraging a report from Tasnim News Agency that the regime had decided to keep the identity of its new Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters commander under wraps. The Israeli intelligence agency took to its Persian-language X account to post: “We know exactly who he is and know him well. Unfortunately, such basic information is hidden from the Iranian people. Please send us your guesses about his name.”

This post was Mossad’s second prominent message of the day and followed closely on the heels of Tasnim’s announcement that the Iranian government would not release the commander’s name “for his protection,” referencing the recent assassinations of his two predecessors in airstrikes attributed to Israel.

Earlier in the day, the same Mossad social media account alleged that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had “surrendered” and given the green light for direct talks with both Israel and the United States. The post framed the development as “the beginning of the end of the Islamic Republic” and added, “the countdown has begun.”

These statements are part of an ongoing Farsi-language psychological campaign that Mossad launched last month. The initiative has included mocking posts about top Iranian officials lurking on the account, advice on how to use VPNs, and cautionary messages telling Iranian citizens not to engage publicly with the content to avoid scrutiny from their government.

To date, Iranian state media has not officially confirmed the appointment of a replacement for Maj.-Gen. Ali Shadmani, who was killed in a recent strike. Meanwhile, Khamenei, now 86, made his last televised appearance on June 26, during which he insisted that Iran would “never surrender”—a declaration that directly contradicts Mossad’s narrative.

{Matzav.com Israel}

Major crime across New York City continued its downward trend in the second quarter of 2025, with murders, burglaries, robberies, and felony assaults all showing declines, according to new NYPD data released Tuesday. Overall, the seven major crime categories declined by 3.46% compared to the same period last year, with murders down nearly 14%, burglaries falling 7.8%, robberies down 7.1%, and felony assaults dropping 2.3%. Transit crime also declined, dipping 6.4% year-over-year in June and 1.1% for the quarter. “So far this year, we’ve had 100 fewer shootings compared to the same period last year,” Mayor Eric Adams told reporters. “And when you compare this six-month period to the same period in 2021, right before we came into office, shootings are down astronomically — 54%.” June alone saw citywide shootings fall nearly 30%, down to 75 incidents from 107 in June of last year. Shooting incidents in the second quarter declined 22.4% year-over-year, dropping from 255 to 198. “In the first six months of the year, New York City saw the lowest number of shooting victims and shooting incidents in recorded history,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement. “Records like this don’t happen by chance — they happen because of strategy, precision, and the relentless work of your NYPD officers.” Mayor Adams noted the summer months traditionally bring challenges for crime prevention and described the department’s “summer safety plan” as a critical component of maintaining progress. “Everyone knows when you’re into summer, you’re dealing with a whole summer safety plan,” Adams said. “You’re dealing with a whole shift in policing. We’re all concerned about the month of June.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

President Donald Trump sparked controversy after threatening legal action against Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani during remarks made in Florida, drawing a sharp rebuke from New York Governor Kathy Hochul. “He’s picking a fight with 20 million New Yorkers,” Hochul warned, in response to Trump’s remarks regarding Mamdani’s stance on immigration enforcement.

While speaking to reporters, Trump was asked about Mamdani’s pledge to block ICE agents who conceal their identities while conducting deportations. Trump replied, “Well then, we’ll have to arrest him.”

Referring to Mamdani, who has been vocal about his democratic socialist platform and immigrant protections, Trump added, “We don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.”

Although Hochul has not endorsed Mamdani’s mayoral bid, she quickly stood up for the Queens legislator following Trump’s threat. “I don’t care if you’re the President of the United States, if you threaten to unlawfully go after one of our neighbors, you’re picking a fight with 20 million New Yorkers — starting with me,” she posted on X.

On Tuesday, Mamdani officially secured the Democratic nomination for mayor, prevailing over Andrew Cuomo with 56% to 44% in the final round of the city’s ranked-choice vote tally.

Following Trump’s comments, Mamdani released a statement saying, “The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested.” He added defiantly, “We will not accept this intimidation.”

{Matzav.com}

With great sadness, large crowds gathered late Monday night to accompany to his final resting place one of the most respected zekeinim of the Lelover chassidus, Rav Eliyahu Tikotsky zt”l. A revered talmid chacham, a remnant of a great generation, he passed away at the age of 85. His passing marks the end of an era and leaves a profound void in the streets of Bnei Brak and among the chassidim of Lelov.

Rav Tikotsky was born to his illustrious father, Rav Avraham Yehuda zt”l, a descendant of the Baal Shem Tov. As a child, he endured the bitter exile of World War II, surviving the harrowing chapter of the Holocaust and eventually escaping with the famed Mir Yeshiva to Shanghai.

In later years, he married the daughter of Rav Moshe Krasnianski zt”l and established his home in Switzerland. Eventually, he fulfilled his dream of making aliyah to Eretz Yisroel, where he became deeply attached to the Lelover Rebbes, to whom he remained loyally connected—heart and soul—until his final day. That devotion was warmly reciprocated, as the Rebbes valued and cherished him for his towering spiritual stature.

Rav Tikotsky was a talmid chochomof exceptional depth and breadth, immersed in Torah and avodah, his life illuminated by those twin pillars. He greeted every person with warmth and sincerity.

In his final years, he endured great suffering with remarkable faith and acceptance. On Monday night, shortly before midnight, he was niftar. Within hours, he was laid to rest in the Elad cemetery.

He leaves behind his wife, children, and grandchildren, all following in the path of Torah and mitzvos.

The family is sitting shivah at 9 Rechov Micha in Bnei Brak.

{Matzav.com Israel}

HaGaon HaRav Moshe Shternbuch spoke about Israel’s war with Iran in a recent sicha to members of the Teshuvos V’Hanhagos kollel. “The Arabs are now launching many rockets at Eretz Yisroel, causing destruction and devastation to several buildings, with some people killed and others wounded,” the Rav began. “But it’s important to understand: this is not, Chas V’shalom, a coincidence. Anyone who understands knows that this is the voice of Hashem—“קול דודי דופק פתחי לי אחותי רעייתי.” “In every generation, during times of crisis, our ancestors gathered in shuls and Batei Midrash to daven, cry out, and search their hearts to see what needed to be corrected within them. “The Torah says, ‘אם תלכו עמי קרי, והלכתי עמכם בחמת קרי.’ This means that if people say these events are just coincidences, Hashem will show us what it truly looks like when we are left to ‘coincidence’. “The Rambam says that if during times of trouble, people do not cry out but instead say, ‘this is just the way of the world,’ this is cruelty—and such a response will cause even more suffering.” “Hashem’s ways are hidden from us. We have never truly known what lies ahead—not even during the good times. Some people think they understand Hashem’s ways, and that’s why they suddenly have questions when bad things happen. But we know: if we have questions, that doesn’t mean there’s no meaning—it means we accept that nothing happens unless it’s declared from above, even the smallest movement. “We must not panic! We need faith in Hashem. As HaRav Schneider, zt’l would quote during a war: “Every bomb has an address.” A rocket doesn’t fall randomly—Hashem directs it exactly where it lands. And throughout all generations, this has been the way we survived Galus: with faith, without questions. “The Passuk says: “תאמר בלבבך רבים הגויים האלה ממני איכה אוכל להורישם, לא תירא מהם” That our duty now is not to fear them. The truth is that when people believe that the Yeshua comes from natural means this endangers us. Because the only true path to Yeshua is through trust in Hashem. “In Tehillim it says, “מאין יבוא עזרי.” The deeper meaning is only when we realize that our situation is one of absolute helplessness מאין—only then, when we no longer turn to human beings for help, will “יבוא עזרי.” “This is the time of Chevlei Mashiach—the labor pains before the arrival of Mashiach. The Mishnah in Sotah says, “ואין לנו על מי להישען אלא על אבינו שבשמים.” That is, at the end of Galus, we will come to understand that we have no one to lean on but Hashem. Only then will the Galus come, because we’ll finally recognize that we can do nothing on our own—it’s all the will of Hashem. “The Sefarim explain that the reason Hashem brings so many hardships upon us is to bring us to the realization that we desperately need His salvation. “This is clearly expressed in שירת האזינו: “כי ידין ה’ עמו ועל עבדיו יתנחם, כי יראה כי אזלת יד.” It means that Hashem will return to have mercy on us only when we recognize that, according to the laws of nature, there is no hope. As long as we continue to fool ourselves into thinking salvation can come through natural means, we cannot […]

President Donald Trump on Tuesday toured a newly constructed immigration detention facility in the heart of the Florida Everglades, promoting it as a prototype for how states can scale up enforcement and deportation efforts. Republican leaders praised the site as a bold step in supporting Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown.

Trump was joined by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and a group of federal and state officials as they walked through the compound, which was rapidly built by Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration. Completed in just over a week, the center is ready to begin holding migrants starting Wednesday. The facility currently has capacity for 3,000 detainees and can be expanded to hold up to 5,000. “We’re surrounded by miles of treacherous swampland and the only way out is, really, deportation,” Trump said. “This is an amazing thing that they’ve done here.”

Nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz” by Florida officials, the site sits on a remote stretch of land roughly 45 miles west of Miami, enveloped by mosquito-infested swamps home to alligators and invasive pythons.

Construction crews assembled the compound in just eight days using tents, trailers, and temporary buildings. Florida is initially footing the estimated $450 million annual cost, which officials say will be reimbursed by FEMA. The setup reflects Florida’s effort to become a central player in implementing Trump’s immigration policy.

Inside the complex, detainees will sleep in bunks arranged in fenced-off sections. Authorities say the center will provide continuous air conditioning, medical services, outdoor recreation, legal counsel, and religious support. While the facility is temporary, it plays a key role in Trump’s plan to increase detention capacity from 41,000 to over 100,000.

Its isolated location is also intended to discourage unlawful entry into the country. Trump joked about the site’s natural fortifications, saying, “You don’t always have land so beautiful and so secure. You have a lot of bodyguards and a lot of cops that are in the form of alligators. You don’t have to pay them so much.”

Backers of the initiative say the compound is a smart, efficient response to a national challenge, while critics view it as an unregulated prison camp hastily built under emergency powers. Still, officials insist it’s a vital piece of the enforcement strategy.

To help speed legal proceedings, DeSantis is proposing that members of the Florida National Guard be sworn in as immigration judges to hear cases onsite, aiming to relieve pressure from an already overloaded court system. “I would ask every other governor to do the exact same thing,” said Noem. “This is unique because we can hold individuals here. They can have their hearings, to get due process and then immediately be flown back home to their home countries.” She added, “I hope my phone rings off the hook from governors calling and saying, ‘How can we do what Florida just did?’”

DeSantis announced that Florida is already preparing another detention facility at Camp Blanding, a National Guard base southwest of Jacksonville. That location is expected to accommodate 2,000 more beds, with construction set to begin after July 4.

Despite the significant investment, some have pointed out that the state already has space available. A report shared with the Associated Press revealed that as of late March, Florida had over 7,500 unused beds in county jails that could have been allocated for immigration detention.

Using emergency authority from a previous executive order issued during President Joe Biden’s term, DeSantis bypassed regulatory obstacles to seize land and begin construction. Critics argue this use of power amounts to a legal overreach.

But state officials argue the urgency justifies the approach. Trump’s deportation campaign has pushed federal detention levels past 56,000 in June—the highest since 2019. “Governor DeSantis has insisted that the state of Florida, under his leadership, will facilitate the federal government in enforcing immigration law,” said a spokesperson for the governor. “Florida will continue to lead on immigration enforcement.”

Protests have erupted at the airfield, drawing a mix of immigration activists, environmental groups, and Native American communities. Demonstrators have gathered near the site, calling attention to the detention center’s environmental and cultural consequences.

Located within Big Cypress National Preserve, the airstrip is near sacred sites and villages belonging to the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes. As construction continued through Shabbos, protesters waved signs, and drivers honked in solidarity.

Concerns over ecological damage have prompted environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Everglades to file a lawsuit last week aimed at stopping the project from moving forward.

WATCH:

Three senior leaders at the English hospital where nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to kill seven others were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, police said Tuesday. The unnamed suspects being investigated for gross negligence manslaughter were arrested after a corporate manslaughter probe was expanded following Letby’s 2023 convictions for the infant deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England, said Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes of the Cheshire Constabulary. The three were released on bail. “This focuses on senior leadership and their decision-making to determine whether any criminality has taken place concerning the response to the increased levels of fatalities,” Hughes said. Letby, 35, is serving multiple life sentences after being convicted of seven counts of murder and attempting to murder seven other infants between June 2015 and June 2016 while working as a neonatal nurse at the hospital. Prosecutors said she harmed babies in ways that left little trace, including injecting air into their bloodstreams, administering air or milk into their stomachs through nasogastric tubes, poisoning them with insulin and interfering with breathing tubes. Experts dispute evidence against the nurse Letby, who testified that she never harmed a child, has continued to proclaim her innocence and support for her has grown as legal and scientific experts have questioned the circumstantial and statistical evidence used at her trial. A panel of international medical experts disputed the evidence against her and her lawyer said she was wrongly convicted. A judge who oversaw a public inquiry seeking accountability of staff and management at the hospital is expected to publish her findings this fall. Justice Kathryn Thirlwall said at the outset of the inquiry that she would not review Letby’s conviction, but take a deeper look into how failures led babies to repeatedly be harmed at the hospital. As that inquiry was underway earlier this year, an independent panel of more than a dozen medical experts issued a report that found no sign of a crime and concluded natural causes or bad medical care led to the demise of each of the newborns. “In summary, then, ladies and gentlemen, we did not find any murders,” Dr. Shoo Lee, a retired neonatologist from Canada, said at a London news conference in February. Letby’s lawyers and three former executives at the hospital unsuccessfully petitioned Thirlwall to halt the public inquiry after the medical panel released its findings. They argued that if the convictions are overturned, the inquiry might reach the wrong conclusions and waste more than 10 million pounds ($13.8 million) in taxpayer funds. Letby, who lost two bids to appeal her convictions, now has her case before the Criminal Case Review Commission, which reviews possible miscarriages of justice and could lead to one another shot at an appeal. The Crown Prosecution Service has said two juries convicted Letby and three appellate judges had rejected her arguments that the prosecution expert evidence was flawed. While the medical panel said there was no evidence Letby intentionally harmed any babies, they did find that medical workers at the hospital were not properly skilled in resuscitation and inserting breathing tubes, lacked an understanding of some basic procedures, misdiagnosed ailments and acted slowly in treating acutely ill babies. (AP)

Lebanese authorities have intercepted a staggering $8.2 million in cash at Beirut International Airport over the past week, according to a report in the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper citing a judicial source. The money was found stashed in the luggage of three passengers: two had arrived from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, via Ethiopia, while the third had flown in from Istanbul.

During interrogation, the suspects claimed they were simply transporting money on behalf of Lebanese businessmen based in Africa. They reportedly provided investigators with the names of those who had entrusted them with the funds as well as the intended recipients. Lebanon’s attorney general has ordered the money to be held at the country’s central bank pending the outcome of the investigation.

A banking source told the newspaper that Hezbollah has historically cooperated with Lebanese entrepreneurs working in Africa, facilitating cash transfers through private jets and commercial flights. In exchange, the terror group reportedly took a cut of the smuggled funds. For years, Hezbollah allegedly relied on a network of loyal collaborators at Beirut Airport to carry out such operations. However, the source noted that Hezbollah’s influence at the airport has significantly weakened in the wake of the recent war.

Reporter Roi Kais added that, according to Lebanese sources, Hezbollah typically pocketed around 20% of the money it funneled into Lebanon from abroad, especially from countries in Africa and Latin America. These smuggling proceeds served as a key source of income for the organization, supplementing the financial support it receives from Iran.

{Matzav.com Israel}