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The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced that it is delaying the cancellation of thousands of migrant truck driver licenses.

Following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, the commander of U.S. Africa Command visited Somaliland.

[Videos below.] New York City officially entered a new political chapter on Thursday as Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor following his upset victory in November, a result Sen. Bernie Sanders described as “the greatest political upset in modern history.”

The formal inauguration took place on New Year’s Day afternoon outside City Hall, drawing a large crowd to lower Manhattan. The public ceremony followed a midnight swearing-in earlier in the day, when New York Attorney General Letitia James administered the oath of office. According to Mamdani’s campaign, he used a Quran during that midnight ceremony, making him the first Muslim to serve as mayor of New York City and the first to be sworn in using a Quran.

Mamdani, 34, made clear from the outset that he intends to govern without diluting his political identity. Addressing the crowd during his inaugural remarks, he said, “I was elected as a Democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist.”

He went further, signaling an expansive view of City Hall’s role and authority. “Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously,” Mamdani said. He acknowledged the possibility of setbacks but rejected restraint as a governing principle. “To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.”

At several moments, the new mayor struck a conciliatory note, promising to serve residents across the political spectrum. “Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you,” he said.

The inauguration featured a lineup of prominent progressive allies. Sanders attended the ceremony, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered opening remarks, framing the moment as a turning point for the city. She said New Yorkers “have chosen historic, ambitious leadership in response to untenable and unprecedented times.”

“New York City has chosen the ambitious pursuit of universal child care, affordable rents and housing, and clean and dignified public transit for all,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And we have chosen that over the distractions of bigotry and the barbarism of extreme income inequality. We have chosen this path because we know that it’s the right thing to do.”

Religious leaders also addressed the crowd. Imam Khalid Latif of the Islamic Center of New York City reflected on the city’s diversity and character, saying, “We gather today with hearts shaped by this city, by its noise in its neighborhoods, by its subways and sanctuaries, by the dreams carried in many languages, in the prayers whispered on crowded blocks.”

Latif continued, “We thank you for New York City, for a place that has taught the world how difference can become strength, how survival can become solidarity, how strangers can become neighbors. And for being a place that taught us that a young immigrant, Democratic socialist Muslim can be bold enough to run and brave enough to win, not by abandoning conviction, but by standing firmly within it, not by shrinking who he is, but by trusting that authenticity can move a city towards justice.”

Mamdani was elected in November after a campaign centered on affordability in the nation’s largest city. He prevailed despite sustained criticism over his past anti-Israel statements and associations, as well as his embrace of socialist policies such as freezing rents, creating city-run grocery stores, and earlier comments supporting defunding the police and abolishing private property.

According to Mamdani’s transition team, the 1 p.m. inauguration was open to “all New Yorkers,” with plans for a “huge inaugural block party” to follow along Broadway in the Canyon of Heroes.

Chareidi troops of the Israel Defense Forces’ Chashmonaim Brigade were deployed to the security zone in southern Syria for the first time, the military said on Thursday.

Following military exercises in the area, the chareidi infantrymen carried out targeted searches, “during which they gathered intelligence with the aim of removing threats and ensuring the security of the civilians of the State of Israel, and in particular the residents of the Golan Heights.”

The chareidi brigade operated under the command of the 401st Brigade’s 52nd Armored Battalion and alongside the 474th Brigade, it said, adding that the 210th “Bashan” Division remains deployed in the region.

The Chashmonaim Brigade “will continue to operate across all arenas,” the IDF statement added, vowing to allow all “chareidi soldiers to maintain their way of life.”

After the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, the IDF seized control of parts of southern Syria, expanding a buffer zone and maintaining a presence amid ongoing clashes and strikes.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has said that while Israel remains ready to negotiate a new security deal with Damascus, it will “stand by its principles” to prevent a repeat of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

“After Oct. 7, we are determined to defend our communities along our borders, including the northern border,” the prime minister declared.

Israel’s policies are aimed at “preventing the entrenchment of terrorists and hostile activities against us, protecting Druze allies and ensuring that the State of Israel is safe from ground or other attacks,” he added.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda terrorist who also went by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, has demanded a full return to the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement that ended the 1973 Yom Kippur War and an Israeli withdrawal from the expanded buffer zone.

The U.N. Security Council on Monday renewed the mandate for a long-standing peacekeeping force along the Israel-Syria border through the end of June 2026.

The force, which operates from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, was established by the 1974 agreement. UNDOF has a mandate to maintain the ceasefire and supervise the buffer zone inside Syrian territory.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington and Israel “have an understanding regarding Syria,” while declining to elaborate, as he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in Florida on Monday.

Al-Sharaa “has been with us all the way,” said the president, adding that “I’m sure that Israel and him will get along,” and “I will try and make it so that they do get along.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

The Israel Defense Forces’ determination to return the last hostage body held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and disarm the terror group remains absolute, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said.

The IDF “will not relent” until Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili receives a proper burial, “concluding the chapter of the return of hostages from Gaza,” Zamir told commanders during a visit to the southern Strip.

In addition, the military’s “determination to disarm Hamas and the rest of the terrorist organizations is absolute,” Zamir continued.

The so-called Yellow Line instituted by the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on Oct. 10 and left IDF soldiers in control of more than half of the Strip is “a new security boundary,” according to the chief of staff.

“The Yellow Line is an enhanced defensive line that supports swift operational responses as required. We will continue operating to weaken Hamas as necessary—the troops must remain alert and prepared for developments,” he stated, per the IDF.

“In 2025, the IDF achieved unprecedented accomplishments, foremost among them a severe blow to the Hamas terror group, the dismantling of all its front-line units, the removal of the threat as we experienced on Oct. 7 and the return of all living hostages to their homes,” said Zamir, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The year ahead will be a “decisive year in shaping the security reality of the State of Israel,” the chief of staff continued, adding that Israel would not allow Hamas “to rebuild its capabilities and threaten us.”

Zamir visited Gaza alongside the head of IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, the chief of the Gaza Division, Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram and the commanders of the Golani, 188th and Southern Gaza Brigade.

Soldiers “continue to dismantle terror infrastructure in the area of the Yellow Line in the northern Gaza Strip,” the army said in a separate statement on Wednesday evening.

As part of ongoing ground operations in the Beit Hanoun area, IDF forces found a launcher loaded with five rockets and aimed at Israeli territory, according to the military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News on Tuesday that progress toward the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire hinges on Hamas disarming, calling the terrorist group’s refusal to give up its weapons the central obstacle to stabilizing the territory in 2026.

The prime minister told Fox that he believed a different future for Gaza was still possible in the year ahead “if we disarm Hamas, whether with an international force or by any other means.” He added, “If it can be done the easy way, fine. And if not, it’ll be done another way.”

The Palestinian terror organization that murdered some 1,200 people, primarily Jewish civilians, in its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border assault still has around 20,000 operatives and 60,000 rifles, Netanyahu revealed.

“That’s what disarmament means—got to take all these rifles, take them away from them, and break up those terror tunnels that they have, still hundreds of kilometers of terror tunnels,” the premier told Fox News.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Dec. 6 repeated calls for Israel’s destruction, rejecting U.S.- and U.N.-backed demands to disarm the Iranian-supported terrorist group and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.

“The resistance and its weapons are the honor and pride of the ummah [the Islamic nation],” Mashaal told an anti-Israel summit in Turkey. “A thousand statements are not worth a single projectile of iron.”

The terrorist leader also dismissed “all forms of guardianship, mandate and re-occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and all of Palestine,” rejecting another key part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan, which received unanimous support of the U.N. Security Council on Nov. 17. JNS

{Matzav.com}

We all move through life wearing an invisible pair of glasses. The trouble is, those lenses are tinted by every experience, fear, and uncomfortable moment we’ve ever lived through. Two people can walk into the same room and have entirely different interpretations: one feels welcomed, while the other is convinced everyone is silently evaluating their […]

Zohran Mamdani draws loud cheers after mentioning “Palestinian New Yorkers in Bay Ridge who will no longer have to contend with a politics that speaks of universalism and then makes them the exception.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yisroel Katz instructed the Israeli military to prepare for the possibility of a large-scale terrorist infiltration in Judea and Samaria, similar to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre.

Katz’s announcement followed the minister’s visit to the Judea and Samaria Division headquarters near the town of Beit El, just north of Yerushalayim.

Katz said he ordered top Israel Defense Forces and Israel Border Police commanders to prepare a response to an Oct. 7-style attack “by jihadist elements” on towns in Judea and Samaria and along the security barrier.

During the visit, Katz received a briefing and held a security assessment with Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, OC Central Command Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig. Gen. Kobi Heller and Judea and Samaria Border Police Cmdr. Niso Guetta.

Katz told participants that IDF operations in northern Samaria over the past year had been effective, leading to a drop of more than 80% in terrorism in the area. The counter-terror campaign included evacuating residents, targeting terrorists and maintaining an ongoing Israeli military presence.

According to the defense minister, the operations should be duplicated in additional cities and villages under control of the Palestinian Authority.

He said that as in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces would remain on the ground in P.A.-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria to “serve as a clear buffer between the population and terrorist elements.”

Katz ordered officials to move ahead as quickly as possible with plans to relocate several IDF military bases to Samaria’s north, calling it a “historic correction” with both security and settlement significance, and saying it would strengthen security and Jerusalem’s grip on the region.

More than two in three Israeli Jews fear that Palestinian terrorists based in Judea and Samaria could carry out a significant terrorist attack similar to the Oct. 7 massacre, according to a survey the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs published on Feb. 18, 2025.

In September 2024, prosecutors filed an indictment against a member of a terrorist squad based in the northern Samaria city of Jenin who made plans to carry out an Oct. 7-style attack in nearby Jewish communities.

The indictment accused Osama Bani Fadl and other terrorist operatives of making serious preparations for a mass slaughter of Jewish residents of northern Samaria, including by infiltrating villages atop vehicles.

Fifty-eight percent of Israeli Jews believe that the civilian communities in Judea and Samaria contribute to Israel’s security, according to a poll the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) published on March 11.

Nearly 70% of Israeli citizens want Israel to extend its full legal sovereignty over the region, according to a survey from January 2025. JNS

{Matzav.com}

A small group of pro-Israel protesters is gathered outside Zohran Mamdani’s public inauguration.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani: “I was elected as a Democratic Socialist, and I will govern as a Democratic Socialist! I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical”.

Police are investigating an assault that took place Thursday night on Yefet Street in the city of Yaffo, where a rabbi affiliated with the Yaffo Hesder Yeshiva was attacked while walking in the area. Authorities said the victim sustained light injuries and was taken for medical treatment.

According to a police statement, officers were dispatched after receiving a report of the incident. “The police received a report of an assault of a man on Yefet Street in Yaffo. Police forces arrived at the scene and searched for the suspected assailant. The victim was taken for medical treatment with light injuries. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation.”

After receiving medical care, the rabbi filed a complaint with the police detailing what happened during the attack.

Moshe Shendovsky, the executive director of the yeshiva, described the incident in an interview with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News. “The rabbi wanted to get into his car, and then an Arab punched him twice in the face, threw him to the ground, cursed at him, and fled. We want personal security, so that Jews can walk around Yaffo freely and without fear, that the police will be present, and that the municipality will unequivocally condemn the incident.”

In a separate statement, the yeshiva called on city and law enforcement officials to take decisive action. “We call on the Tel Aviv Police and the leaders of the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo to act with full force to ensure the safety and security of the city’s Jewish residents in Yaffo.”

The attack is being treated as a suspected antisemitic incident, and the investigation remains ongoing as police continue efforts to locate the assailant.

{Matzav.com}

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen laid out Israel’s red lines regarding postwar Gaza and regional diplomacy, addressing Turkey, Qatar, Gaza’s future, and Israel’s outreach to Somaliland.

Asked about speculation that Turkey could be included in a multinational peace force operating in Gaza, Cohen rejected the idea outright. “Turkey will not be part of the peace force. This issue is not up for negotiation. Neither Turkey nor Qatar will be included. Both are part of the Muslim Brotherhood axis. Turkey’s actions would work directly against Israeli and American interests. It would try to ensure Hamas maintains some form of power, and that is something we will not agree to.” He later reiterated the point bluntly, saying, “Turkey is not going to be part of any multinational force in Gaza.”

Cohen framed Israel’s position as one rooted in security and long-term strategy, stressing that Jerusalem would not tolerate outside involvement that undermines its core interests. His remarks came against the backdrop of heightened regional tensions and Israel’s ongoing efforts to secure its borders and weaken terrorist infrastructure.

Turning to the humanitarian and political reality inside Gaza, Cohen painted a bleak picture of the territory’s prospects. “The issue with Gaza is that it will not recover in the near future,” he said. “It’s in ruins after the devastation Hamas caused. We must give Gaza’s residents the basic right to leave the region, to go anywhere else in the world, not just to Egypt.”

Cohen was also asked about Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and reports suggesting that, in exchange, Somaliland might be prepared to absorb residents from Gaza. Addressing the broader issue of exits from the Strip, he said, “With or without ties to Somaliland, we need to work to open the Rafah crossings for exit. It is clear that Gaza will not be rebuilt in the coming years. It looks like a pile of ruins after the disaster that Hamas inflicted on it, and therefore, the residents of Gaza should be allowed the basic right to leave the Strip for anyone who wants to.” He emphasized that this did not mean relocating Gazans to Egypt, adding, “This is a basic right that should be given to them.”

While declining to give a direct answer on whether Somaliland would take in Gazans, Cohen focused instead on the diplomatic significance of the relationship. He said the move “proves that Israel is a regional power that is expanding its spheres of influence, is forming a relationship with Somaliland, which is pro-Israeli and pro-Western, and is located at a central point on the shipping lanes, and therefore this is a very strategic move by Israel, which I assume will be similar in the future.”

{Matzav.com}

Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as the Mayor of New York City by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The New Year festivities at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday featured a notable international presence, as Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, joined the celebrations at the personal invitation of US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.

The gathering was especially distinctive in diplomatic terms, as Netanyahu was the sole foreign head of government invited to attend the President’s Gala.

According to those familiar with the event, Netanyahu’s appearance also marked a unique milestone, as he remains the only international leader ever to have taken part in the President’s Gala at Mar-a-Lago.

{Matzav.com}

Mazel Tov! The joy and bliss when an engagement is announced. The excitement is palpable. What a time of complete happiness & simcha! As the myriad details need to be arranged and the hectic whirlwind sets in, for some of these smiling families the smiles begin to falter, the dance slowly slips off-beat. The reason […]

New York City Comptroller Mark D. Levine welcomes New Yorkers at the inauguration of New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani in 3 different languages.

The U.S. State Department issued an advisory urging U.S. citizens in Iran to “exercise increased caution” due to ongoing protests in the country.

“The Department of State advises U.S. citizens in Iran to exercise increased caution due to ongoing and escalating protests in Iran,” the U.S. Virtual Embassy in Iran stated. “Demonstrations have resulted in heightened security presence, road closures, disruptions to public transportation and internet blockages. Protests can turn violent, leading to arrests and injuries.”

It advised U.S. citizens in Iran to “avoid crowds and keep a low profile,” follow local media reports for the latest and to “have a plan for departing Iran that does not rely on U.S. government help.” The State Department currently lists Iran under a “do not travel” advisory “due to the risk of terrorism, unrest, kidnapping, arbitrary arrest of U.S. citizens and wrongful detention.”

The protests, which have entered their fifth day, reportedly stem from a worsening economy and have featured chants of “death to the dictator,” a reference to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.

The State Department, from its Farsi-language social-media account, stated that the protesters are “demanding respect, access to services and the right to self-determination.”

“Their resolve demonstrates the power of people who refuse to remain silent,” it stated. “The United States stands in solidarity with the people of Iran in their pursuit of their fundamental rights.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

Supreme Court justices Yitzchak Amit, Ofer Grosskopf, and Gila Kanfi-Steinitz issued a conditional order to the state on Thursday, freezing a law that allows the Education Ministry to dismiss teachers who publicly support terrorism. The order requires the state to explain why the law should not be repealed in response to petitions filed against it […]