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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}

President Donald Trump announced Monday that his administration is coordinating closely with Israel to establish improved relations with Syria.

Following his White House meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Trump told reporters, “People say he’s had a rough past. We’ve all had a rough past.”

The president emphasized that his rapport with Sharaa is strong and said he believes the Syrian leader is capable of carrying out his responsibilities effectively.

In Damascus, the Syrian Foreign Ministry issued a statement after the meeting confirming that Washington had expressed its commitment to advancing a security arrangement between Israel and Syria.

Sharaa, addressing journalists in the Syrian capital, noted that discussions with Israel regarding a potential security framework could produce “results in the coming days.”

He further explained that if the talks prove fruitful, it might pave the way for “additional agreements,” though he was careful to stress that neither normalization nor a full peace accord with Israel is currently being considered.

A report released in August indicated that the Trump administration had been working behind the scenes to craft a preliminary security understanding between Jerusalem and Damascus before the upcoming United Nations General Assembly session.

Nonetheless, U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack later downplayed the notion that an accord was near, stating that “there is still more work to do.”

{Matzav.com}

NYC Mayor Eric Adams will visit Israel this Friday, November 14, for a several-day trip meeting with government officials, business leaders, and members of the tech community. Adams is also expected to visit religious sites and discuss ways to strengthen efforts against antisemitism in New York and worldwide. He’ll remain in Israel through Tuesday, November […]

Prime Minister Netanyahu met Monday morning at his office with White House adviser Jared Kushner as Israel and the United States deepen coordination on the Gaza cease-fire and the effort to recover the remaining slain hostages held by Hamas.

An Israeli government spokesperson said the discussion centered on disarming Hamas, demilitarising Gaza, and precluding any future role for Hamas in the territory — key elements of President Trump’s second-phase Gaza peace plan.

Joining Kushner at the Yerushalayimmeeting were Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Aryeh Lightstone, senior adviser to US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Their gathering came just ahead of an expected visit by Witkoff to Israel as part of ongoing implementation of the Trump plan.

The encounter between senior Israeli and US figures comes amid continuing negotiations between the Trump administration and Israel over how to address the 100 to 200 Hamas terrorists currently holed up in tunnels beneath Rafah in territory under IDF control.

Witkoff said last week that Washington was pushing Israel to allow safe passage to those terrorists in exchange for their surrender of weapons.

When asked about external pressure on Israel to enable the terrorists’ evacuation, the Israeli government spokesperson said on Monday that no updates could be offered, and added that decisions on Israel’s Gaza policy are taken “in full collaboration with President Trump and his team.”

Kushner’s arrival in Israel Sunday night coincided with the return of the body of IDF officer Hadar Goldin, held by Hamas since 2014 and released under the first phase of Trump’s Gaza plan, which requires the terror group to return all living hostages in Gaza in exchange for a partial IDF withdrawal and the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners — along with 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage’s body returned.

Multiple reports have tied Goldin’s remains to the negotiations regarding the evacuation of the trapped Hamas operatives, although no official comment has been provided on that connection.

A Channel 12 report citing a senior Turkish official Sunday evening claimed Ankara helped facilitate Goldin’s return while also working on the safe extraction of the Hamas operatives. In contrast, a separate, unsourced Channel 12 item alleged that Turkey instructed Hamas to hold out for the terrorists’ tunnel evacuation in return for Goldin’s body, a request Israel declined.

On Sunday, a Palestinian source told the Kan public broadcaster that Turkey, backed by the US, is leading efforts to pressure Hamas to hand over the bodies of the remaining four dead hostages in Gaza. According to the source, Hamas is struggling to return some of those bodies, which mediators believe to be beyond its control. The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to The Times of Israel’s request for comment on the reports.

Speaking in front of the Knesset Monday, Netanyahu said Israel is resolved to enforce the cease-fire agreements in Gaza and Lebanon “with an iron fist.” He added that Israel “is determined to bring back the four slain hostages left in Gaza,” crediting “diplomatic pressure to isolate Hamas that was applied by the US” alongside Israeli military efforts with bringing everyone else home.

The prime minister emphasised that the war “has not ended,” and pledged that Hamas “will be disarmed. Gaza will be demilitarised. It will either happen the easy way, or it will happen the hard way. But it will happen.”

Last week, Witkoff confirmed reporting by The Times of Israel that the US was seeking to use the tunnel case as a pilot for Hamas disarmament under the second phase of Trump’s 20-point plan in Gaza. The envoy described the initiative — aimed at fighters located within IDF-controlled territory in southern Gaza in accordance with the cease-fire deal — as a “model” for the wider decommissioning and amnesty scheme under the plan. Netanyahu’s office has publicly rejected the idea of safe passage for the Hamas operatives, though a Middle East diplomat told The Times of Israel last week that Israel has not privately ruled it out.

Hebrew media report that the main option currently under discussion in the US is to send the fighters into exile in a third country — though a host nation has not yet agreed.

On Sunday, the military wing of Hamas vowed in a statement that its trapped fighters in Rafah will not surrender to Israel, asserting that “in the lexicon of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, there is no place for the principle of surrender or handing themselves over to the enemy. The mediators must find a solution that will ensure the continuation of the cease-fire.” Hamas also said that recovering the bodies of the remaining hostages will require additional teams and technical equipment. The slain hostages are Israeli captives Ran Gvili, Meny Godard, and Dror Or, as well as Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai citizen.

Unresolved questions also linger about the creation of an International Stabilisation Force in Gaza, planned in the second phase of the Trump plan. The US is seeking to give that phase legal weight through a UN Security Council vote. On Monday morning, a senior Emirati official said the United Arab Emirates is not planning to join the force “because it lacks a clear framework.”

“The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force, and under such circumstances will probably not participate in such a force,” said presidential adviser Anwar Gargash at a forum in Abu Dhabi.

Trump has said that many countries have volunteered to supply troops to the force to act against Hamas if needed, though his claim conflicts with what Arab diplomats have privately told The Times of Israel — that they do not want their forces in Gaza if it means confronting Hamas, which has publicly refused to disarm. As part of the plan, the US has held talks with Azerbaijan, Indonesia, the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey about potential contributions of roughly 20,000 troops to the IDF. On Sunday, an Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry source said Baku also did not plan to send peacekeepers to Gaza, unless the fighting completely stops.

{Matzav.com}

POTUS: “When somebody like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s now catering to the other side, I guess she’s got some kind of an act going.”

REPORTER: “Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she would rather you focus on domestic policy meetings instead of foreign policy meetings…also she says grocery prices are up, not down, as you said…” POTUS: “I don’t know what happened to Marjorie. She’s a nice woman…She’s lost her way I think.”

TRUMP: “We’re going to issue a dividend to our middle income people, and lower income people, of about $2,000 — and we’re going to use the remaining tariffs to lower our debt… trillions of dollars have been taken in or gotten in terms of investment, from the tariffs.”

An Israeli senior official told Kan News on Monday that Israel must aim to depose the Iranian regime by the end of President Donald Trump’s current term in 2029.

The comments arrive amid media reports indicating that Iran is urgently working to rebuild its nuclear capacity, which it lost during Israel’s 12-day Operation Rising Lion and the U.S. conducted Operation Midnight Hammer.

Earlier in the day, The New York Times reported that Iran is constructing a new subterranean site, described as “Pickaxe Mountain,” without monitoring from the international community.

Analysts warn that the ambiguity over the status of Iran’s nuclear program could prompt Israel to launch another strike, since Israel views Iranian nuclear advancement as an existential danger. Meanwhile, Tehran is reportedly preparing a sweeping retaliation plan that would launch two thousand missiles daily at Israel — far exceeding the 500 launched in twelve days previously.

{Matzav.com}

Twenty people were hospitalized, three with major injuries, after a bus carrying teens returning from a church camp overturned on a winding mountain road in Southern California, authorities said Monday. The bus with 36 people aboard crashed Sunday night at a curve on State Route 330 near Running Springs, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast […]

This past Erev Shabbos was the 24th yahrzeit of HaGaon HaRav Elazer Menachem Man Shach, z’tl. On the day of the yahrzeit, HaGaon HaRav Meir Tzvi Bergman, HaRav Shach’s son-in-law, visited his kever and spoke words of chizzuk at his yeshivah, Yeshivas Rashbi in Bnei Brak. At the kever, HaRav Bergman addressed the situation in […]

As discussions over the proposed draft law continue to dominate the public discourse, gedolei Yisroel, admorim, and roshei yeshiva from across the spectrum of the Torah world joined together with public figures to celebrate the wedding last night of the youngest son of Rav Chaim Aharon Kaufman, chairman of the Vaad HaYeshivos.

The wedding, which brought together leaders representing every segment of the Torah community, was held at Achuzas Wagshal Hall in Bnei Brak.

Photographer Shuki Lehrer captured the scenes of as some of the figures in the Torah world came together to honor the longtime leader of the Vaad HaYeshivos.

PHOTOS:

{Matzav.com}

The Knesset voted 39-16 in favor of the first reading of a government-backed bill that would impose the death penalty on terrorists convicted of murdering Israelis. Two similar proposals — one by Likud MK Nissim Vaturi and another by Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer — also passed their first readings, 36-15 and 37-14, respectively. The […]

BREAKING: The Knesset has passed a mandatory death penalty law for terrorists. Until now, the only execution conducted in Israel was that of Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann in 1962.

In an unusually sharp and emotional public statement, the Breslover tzaddik Rav Yaakov Meir Schechter released a powerful letter denouncing the proposed draft law that would impose quotas and enlistment targets for yeshiva students, along with sanctions for noncompliance.

Rav Schechter, who rarely comments publicly on political or social issues, expressed deep anguish over what he described as a shocking erosion of shame and spiritual sensitivity within the public discourse. “In recent times,” he wrote, “we have witnessed an almost unimaginable shift, how shame has vanished from public discussion, as people now openly speak of the chareidi community being prepared to give up a part of themselves and their very flesh, and to agree to cast thousands of Jews into their impure army.”

The lengthy and moving letter — described by those close to him as one of the most forceful public expressions of protest in years — traces the history of attempts to uproot Torah from Jewish life, warning that the current efforts to legislate enlistment targets are no less dangerous than those of earlier generations.

 “A Letter of Strength Against the Deeds of Amalek”

Rav Schechter begins by recalling his lifelong witness to repeated attempts by secular authorities to weaken Torah observance and faith:

“I was young, and now I am old,” he wrote, “and I have seen countless attempts by the regime of the erev rav throughout its existence to uproot everything. Tragically, in earlier years many of our brothers and sisters from among the Sephardic communities were forcibly torn away from their faith, until hardly any remnant remained of the faithful of Israel.”

He continued, “Yet even in the midst of that suffering, the words ‘For Hashem will not abandon His people’ were fulfilled. Hashem gave us true leaders who never rested, who stood watch with full strength, unwilling to compromise even a hair’s breadth of our holy Torah. Many times it seemed our feet had nearly slipped, and yet we saw the fulfillment of, ‘The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread.’ Despite every decree, the benches of our batei medrash have multiplied beyond anything since the days of the Second Beis Hamikdash.”

 “Unbelievable Change — Shame Has Disappeared”

Turning to the present, Rav Schechter lamented what he described as a spiritual and moral breakdown:

“In recent years, and especially now, we have seen a change that is almost beyond belief. The shame has vanished, as people speak openly of the chareidi community being willing to give up part of themselves — to agree to send thousands of Jews into their impure army. Aside from the grave prohibitions involved, this army is a melting pot designed to uproot faith from the holy souls of Israel. Without any doubt, that is the true intention of this dreadful decree — to diminish the people of Hashem until their end, Heaven forbid.”

He warned that such plans echo the actions of Amalek, who attacked the weak and stragglers of Israel. “These acts,” he wrote, “are the very deeds of Amalek, whom the Torah commands us to erase, because he struck at the most vulnerable. How can any Jew, great or small, dare to surrender even one Jewish soul? On the contrary — every Jew must stand firm, waging battle to the end, never surrendering even a fingernail of Klal Yisroel, who are the limbs of the Shechinah, a portion of Hashem above.”

A Call to Stand Firm

Rav Schechter pleaded with his readers not to be deceived or demoralized. “Am Yisroel, do not fear and do not lose heart. Stand with courage and strength, and do not be misled by false visions and empty promises that go against our holy Torah,” he wrote. “Surely Hashem, Who has saved us until now from their decrees and plots, will again protect us so that the rod of the wicked will not rest upon the lot of the righteous.”

He expressed confidence that the steadfastness of the Torah world will protect the yeshivos and the sanctity of Torah learning: “Without doubt, the merit of our firm stance will serve as protection for the souls of Israel and for the holy yeshivos, allowing them to continue in purity, so that Torah will never depart from our mouths or from the mouths of our descendants forever.”

The letter concludes with a prayerful hope for redemption: “May we soon merit the removal of impurity from the world, the destruction of idolatry, and the perfection of the world under the Kingdom of the Almighty, with the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu and the rebuilding of our Beis Hamikdash.”

{Matzav.com}

Tensions ran high in the Knesset on Monday evening amid the ongoing coalition crisis over the draft law, as a rare confrontation unfolded between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and MK Moshe Gafni, head of the Knesset Finance Committee and a senior United Torah Judaism leader.

According to sources, Netanyahu had repeatedly sought to meet with Gafni throughout the afternoon, hoping for a brief conversation to ease mounting tensions surrounding the proposed legislation. But Gafni refused each request, firmly rebuffing the prime minister’s efforts.

Eyewitnesses said that Netanyahu’s aide, Nevo Katz, approached Gafni several times during the 40-signature debate in the Knesset plenum, urging him: “Come, the Prime Minister wants to speak with you—it’s short, it’s important.” Gafni, alternating between anger and indifference, reportedly replied, “I don’t want to.”

After several unsuccessful attempts, Netanyahu himself encountered Gafni outside the plenum and, joined by Katz, personally requested a private conversation. Gafni politely but firmly declined, saying, “I can’t.”

The unusual standoff drew the attention of MK Yaakov Asher, who expressed frustration toward the prime minister’s aide, saying, “Why like this, in front of everyone? Do you think this will work for you?” Katz did not respond, instead asking, “So what’s the bottom line—are you bringing it tomorrow?” to which Asher dryly replied, “I don’t know.” Katz then pressed further, “The draft law text—are you bringing it?”

Eventually, after much back-and-forth and visible tension, Gafni relented and agreed to meet Netanyahu in the prime minister’s Knesset office for a half-hour conversation.

{Matzav.com}

As Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel for high-level policy discussions, hundreds of Israeli families who lost loved ones in the Swords of Iron War issued an urgent message to President Trump through his representatives.

In a strongly worded letter, members of HaGevura Forum—the Heroism Forum representing hundreds of bereaved families—implored the Trump delegation not to support any plan that would result in the release of terrorists held by Israel. Their plea came amid speculation that the American envoys were in Israel to advocate for a deal involving the release of terrorists detained in Rafah tunnels.

The families warned that freeing these individuals would endanger Israeli citizens and Western security at large. “We are bereaved families from HaGevura Forum (The Heroism Forum), which unites hundreds of families of heroes who fought to restore security to the citizens of Israel and fell during the war. Thanks to the heroism of our loved ones, the IDF has apprehended approximately 150 terrorists who massacred, raped, and slaughtered children, women, and citizens of the State of Israel. Even after the horrific massacre, these same terrorists continued to harm hostages and the IDF soldiers who were operating to bring them back home,” they wrote.

The letter went on to emphasize that the detainees in question were responsible for some of the most horrific acts in recent memory. “These are the terrorists responsible for the severe atrocities the State of Israel endured during the terrible massacre led by Hamas two years ago. Thanks to the determination of our soldiers, these same terrorists and murderers are now imprisoned in the tunnels in Rafah. The sentence for these terrorists is one: death. If the Western nations and Israel surrender, these terrorists will immediately return to terrorism, which will harm the interests of the State of Israel and of all Western nations,” the families declared.

Addressing Hamas’s repeated violations of ceasefire terms, the letter accused the terror group of acting in bad faith. “The Hamas organization has not adhered for a single minute to the agreements signed with it. Hamas has not yet returned all the abducted bodies, it has continued to kill our soldiers, and it has tried time and again to carry out dozens of additional terrorist acts against our soldiers. They refuse to disarm, all while continuing to solidify the organization’s rule in Gaza.”

The families concluded their emotional appeal with a direct plea to Trump’s envoys: “We, who lost our heroic loved ones in battle, call upon you: Do not be the lifeline for these terrorists. Do not allow this evil to continue to live and add more evil to the world. We implore you to support Israel in fighting terror and destroying Hamas. We call upon you to support the State of Israel in eradicating Hamas, cutting off terrorism, and removing this evil from the world.”

{Matzav.com}