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A major coalition crisis erupted Tuesday after Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu informed chareidi lawmakers that the Daycare Law will not advance during the current Knesset term, prompting immediate retaliation from United Torah Judaism and accelerating political speculation about early elections.

The announcement sparked outrage among chareidi parties, which had viewed the legislation as a key coalition commitment. In response, senior lawmakers unveiled a series of protest measures that could further destabilize the government and hasten the collapse of the coalition.

According to information obtained by Kikar HaShabbos, Netanyahu told chareidi Knesset members during conversations held Tuesday morning that the Daycare Law—which was intended to restore daycare subsidies for young kollel families affected by military draft notices—cannot be passed in the current political climate.

The prime minister reportedly explained that there is no viable majority for the legislation, with lawmakers from both Likud and other coalition factions expected to vote against it. Chareidi representatives viewed the announcement as a breach of coalition understandings and reacted furiously.

Gafni Launches Budget Rebellion

In an immediate response, Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni notified coalition leaders that the party’s two representatives on the Knesset Finance Committee would oppose every budgetary transfer brought before the committee for approval.

The move was widely interpreted as a direct challenge to the government’s ability to function effectively and manage its financial agenda.

Although committee discussions on budget transfers had already begun, the proceedings were reportedly suspended just minutes later following Degel HaTorah’s announcement.

Chareidi Parties Suspend Coalition Cooperation

At the same time, both Shas and United Torah Judaism informed coalition chairman Ofir Katz that they would no longer support coalition legislation on the Knesset floor as long as the Daycare Law remains stalled.

In a joint statement, the parties declared: “We have now informed the coalition chairman that due to the failure to place the Daycare Law on the agenda, we will not vote today in favor of coalition legislation in the Knesset plenum.”

Degel HaTorah Begins Preparing for Elections

In what may be the clearest sign yet that chareidi leaders are bracing for a political showdown, Degel HaTorah is reportedly preparing to launch election preparations as early as this week.

According to information obtained by Kikar HaShabbos, the party will convene a nationwide gathering of local faction leaders together with Degel HaTorah Knesset members on Thursday to begin organizing for a potential election campaign.

The decision reflects growing concern within the party that the current crisis could quickly lead to the dissolution of the Knesset and new elections. The unusually broad meeting is intended to ensure that party infrastructure is ready should a campaign become necessary.

The Background: The Fight Over Daycare Subsidies

The Daycare Law, sponsored by Gafni, sought to ensure that a parent’s employment status would not be considered when determining eligibility for daycare placement and government tuition assistance if that parent was studying in a yeshiva or institution of higher education.

The legislation was designed to address the fallout from government policies affecting support for chareidi families and became a central demand of the chareidi parties during coalition negotiations.

In recent weeks, chareidi lawmakers mounted an aggressive campaign to accelerate the bill’s passage, hoping to complete the legislative process before the end of the Knesset session. Netanyahu’s latest announcement appears to have effectively ended those efforts.

Political and legal observers have long argued that even if the law were enacted, Israel’s High Court of Justice would likely block implementation unless broader legislation addressing the legal status of full-time Torah students is first adopted.

The latest confrontation comes amid broader tensions between the government and the chareidi community over the arrest of yeshiva students and the ongoing dispute surrounding military service and the status of Torah learners.

{Matzav.com}

A sharp social media confrontation erupted between Israeli journalist Amit Segal and chareidi De Marker reporter Simi Spolter after Spolter criticized the way Segal presented comments made by President Donald Trump regarding Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu.

The dispute began when Spolter compared reports posted on the Telegram channels of journalists Michael Shemesh and Amit Segal. Shemesh quoted Trump as saying, “I had good relations with Bibi, but he needs to be more responsible in Lebanon,” while Segal’s channel highlighted only the portion stating, “Netanyahu needs to be more responsible in Lebanon.”

Referring to the differing presentations of the same remarks, Spolter wrote: “The same quote from the same person is being echoed on two Telegram channels. One is a journalist, the other is a mouthpiece.”

Segal responded with a personal attack, mocking Spolter and questioning his grasp of English.

“And I continue to wonder, what is wrong with core studies, especially English? Where do you find the strength to go out and make a fool of yourself entirely on your own initiative?” Segal wrote.

He then escalated the criticism further.

“The chareidi ignorance, the hubris courtesy of De Marker, and so he has no hesitation in demonstrating that he has no idea what the present perfect is while also explaining to others how to translate,” Segal wrote.

Spolter fired back, accusing Segal of blocking him before publicly responding.

“As usual, Amit Segal blocks and then runs to tweet,” he wrote.

He also rejected Segal’s criticism regarding his English abilities and insisted that his original complaint was not about translation but about editorial choices.

“So let’s keep it short: 1. I’m American, a native English speaker; try your condescension toward chareidim on someone else. 2. My criticism has nothing to do with how it was translated, but with why he chose to translate it that way.”

Spolter further argued that Segal’s Telegram channel displays a clear political bias.

“As I have shown in the past, Amit has a fairly transparent bias on his Telegram channel,” he wrote, adding that it was “interesting” that Segal had not responded to similar allegations he had raised previously.

The Trump administration has filed a sweeping lawsuit against New York state officials, accusing them of steering an $11 billion Medicaid home care contract to a favored company and enabling it to improperly collect millions of taxpayer dollars.

The lawsuit, brought Tuesday by the Department of Justice, alleges that senior state health officials manipulated the bidding process for a major overhaul of New York’s Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), which serves nearly 250,000 home care recipients.

At the center of the case is Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), the company selected to become the program’s sole payroll administrator. State officials had argued that consolidating the system under a single contractor would reduce costs and improve efficiency, but the transition instead became mired in widespread problems and confusion.

“New York’s failure to police a favored vendor that unlawfully siphoned millions of dollars of Medicaid funding is egregious and betrays the public trust,” Brett A. Shumate, assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, said in a statement.

“The Justice Department is acting to ensure that federal laws regarding truthful statements and fair dealing in federal health care programs are upheld and to prevent additional harm from being exacted against the public by PPL and New York,” Shumate added.

According to federal prosecutors, state leaders brushed aside repeated indications that the transition would be deeply problematic as PPL assumed control of CDPAP, a program that allows relatives and friends to provide care for disabled or chronically ill individuals instead of traditional home health aides.

The complaint names state Health Commissioner James McDonald and Medicaid Director Amir Bassiri as defendants. While Gov. Kathy Hochul is not personally accused of wrongdoing, the 60-page filing includes communications suggesting her office played a significant role in both the contract award process and the rollout of the program.

Federal attorneys point to internal correspondence showing state officials telling counterparts in other states that they faced “pressure from the Governor’s Office” while evaluating competing bidders.

After ultimately winning the contract, PPL sought additional time to transition patients and caregivers into the new system. The company requested that the enrollment period be expanded from three months to nine months as it worked to build staffing capacity.

According to the lawsuit, Hochul’s office rejected those requests.

One email from a senior Health Department official cited in the complaint stated: “I wanted to give you a heads up that Chamber is coming in hard on the [Statewide Fiscal Intermediary] launch, they really aren’t entertaining options to move off of a path that gets this done by 4/1. We will not be advancing statutory or regulatory changes [to extend the CDPAP transition timeframe] at this time.”

Federal investigators also contend that the governor’s office later worked to minimize concerns about the troubled rollout, even as thousands of disabled New Yorkers struggled with long wait times, administrative problems, and disruptions in caregiver payments.

Internal PPL records cited in the lawsuit show that by Jan. 13, 2025 — one week after the transition process officially began — only 43 of the 214,000 individuals in the company’s system had completed enrollment.

Nevertheless, three days later, McDonald publicly maintained that “the facts and data show that the transition is proceeding efficiently and effectively.”

The complaint further alleges that PPL violated federal healthcare fraud laws by overstating costs billed to Medicaid and improperly inflating the administrative payments it received from New York, actions prosecutors say breached the terms of its contract.

Federal officials claim PPL knowingly submitted what it internally described as a “recklessly low bid,” calculating that a below-market proposal would secure the contract even if it was initially unprofitable.

The company allegedly expected the Hochul administration to help it obtain higher reimbursement levels from health plans by classifying certain expenses under enhanced “direct care” rates rather than limiting those payments to caregiver wages and benefits.

The state’s request for proposals specifically warned bidders that this type of reimbursement “spread” would not be permitted.

When PPL later moved forward with increased direct-care rates, health insurers objected sharply.

“If PPL insists on its one-size-fits-all, non-negotiable rate, it will put at risk services to members and will undoubtedly undermine the very financial savings that the State projected,” the New York Health Plan Association wrote in a letter obtained by The Post.

Justice Department officials said the case demonstrates the federal government’s determination to combat fraud involving taxpayer-funded healthcare programs.

“New York’s backroom deal with PPL has cost taxpayers millions of dollars and cast countless Medicaid patients to the curb,” Colin McDonald, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, said in the complaint.

Hochul’s office forcefully rejected the allegations, characterizing the lawsuit as politically motivated.

“This is just another sad attempt by the Trump administration to weaponize the justice system to attack political opponents in an election year,” Hochul spokesperson Kara Cumoletti said.

“As many courts have already held, the transition to a single fiscal intermediary was lawful and appropriate. We are confident the facts are on our side,” she continued.

Hochul is currently seeking a second full term as governor and is expected to face Republican challenger and Trump ally Bruce Blakeman in November.

The state Department of Health also condemned the lawsuit, calling it a politically driven attack and defending the CDPAP restructuring effort.

“We look forward to the day where these disingenuous attacks can stop and our partners in Washington can look to New York as a model for how to improve to control costs and root out abuses while preserving and improving quality of care,” a department spokesperson said.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance, author of “Communion,” joined Megyn Kelly to talk about what’s really in the proposed new Iran deal, the economic benefits Iran could receive if it complies with the agreement, what happens if the regime refuses to cooperate, the backlash from neocons over the new Iran peace deal, what’s being misrepresented about the agreement, the truth about what happens next in Lebanon and the broader Middle East, the divide on the right over the Iran war, why some non-interventionists are frustrated with the administration, why VP Vance believes critics should remain engaged in the Trump coalition, his journey back to God and faith, why the goal for success and money left him searching for something more meaningful, how marriage and family helped strengthen his beliefs, and more.

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Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu has formally informed senior chareidi lawmakers that the Daycare Law will not be passed during the current Knesset term, setting off a fierce backlash from the chareidi parties and deepening tensions within the coalition.

The announcement came after weeks of negotiations, pressure campaigns, and repeated assurances from coalition officials that the legislation would ultimately advance. Chareidi lawmakers, many of whom had publicly insisted the bill would pass, reacted angrily to the prime minister’s decision.

According to discussions held with senior representatives of the chareidi factions, Netanyahu explained that he simply lacks the votes necessary to secure the bill’s passage. He reportedly said that several members of both the Likud and the broader coalition intend to oppose the legislation, making its approval impossible.

The proposed law was designed to restore daycare subsidies for young kollel families whose eligibility had been affected after recipients received military draft orders.

Degel HaTorah responded with a sharply worded statement, accusing the government of retreating from a clear commitment.

“There was a commitment by the prime minister and the Likud to bring the Daycare Law for approval. We insist on this firmly and will not accept any delay or retreat from it.”

Agudath Israel quickly joined the criticism and declared that the entire faction stands behind Degel HaTorah’s position.

“The entire faction stands united together with Degel HaTorah in an unequivocal demand that the prime minister fulfill his promise to pass the Daycare Law.”

The party also warned that failure to advance the legislation would carry serious political consequences.

“Failure to pass the law means an admission by the prime minister that he is ultimately interested in dissolving the Knesset and heading to elections.”

Gafni Launches Budget Revolt

In an immediate response to Netanyahu’s announcement, Degel HaTorah chairman Moshe Gafni informed coalition leaders that the party’s two representatives on the Knesset Finance Committee would oppose all budgetary transfers brought before the committee.

Although discussions on budget allocations initially began as scheduled, the committee’s work was reportedly halted minutes later after Degel HaTorah clarified its position.

New Demand: Basic Law on Torah Study

As the battle over the Daycare Law intensifies, the chareidi parties are now demanding that the government move quickly to pass the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study through its second and third readings.

However, significant doubts remain regarding whether that legislation can secure the necessary support within the coalition, raising new questions about the government’s stability and its ability to satisfy the demands of its chareidi partners.

The latest confrontation marks one of the most serious clashes between Netanyahu and the chareidi parties in recent months and could have far-reaching consequences for both the coalition’s future and the broader debate over draft-related legislation.

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee delivered a passionate defense of Israel’s central role in American history Tuesday evening, telling an audience in Judea and Samaria that the United States owes its very existence to the Jewish heritage rooted in the Land of Israel.

Speaking at the opening session of the International Conference on Israeli Heritage at Herodion National Park, Huckabee emphasized that his mission extends beyond representing the United States to Israelis. He said he also sees it as his responsibility to help Americans better understand Israel’s importance to their own nation and identity.

Addressing attendees at the conference, Huckabee stressed that the historical legacy of the Jewish people belongs not only to Israel but also to the American people.

“It is your heritage, without a doubt,” the ambassador told the Jewish attendees. “It is also the heritage of the United States. Without Israel, without the Jewish foundation, there would not be an America.”

Huckabee argued that the principles and values that shaped the United States are deeply connected to events that took place in the Land of Israel thousands of years ago.

“We owe our very existence to what happened in this land,” he added.

The ambassador’s remarks came just hours after President Donald Trump highlighted America’s role in supporting Israel while discussing U.S. policy toward Iran.

Speaking about American involvement in the region, Trump asserted that his administration’s actions had been critical to Israel’s security and survival.

“Without the US, without me – there would be no Israel,” Trump said.

The comments from both Huckabee and Trump underscored the administration’s continued emphasis on the close historical, political, and strategic ties between the United States and Israel, particularly at a time of heightened regional tensions involving Iran.

{Matzav.com}

Deep concern has spread throughout the Vizhnitzer chassidus after the Vizhnitzer Rebbe experienced a significant weakening of his condition in recent days, prompting an urgent call for tefillos from thousands of chassidim around the world.

Community leaders appealed Tuesday to the broader public to intensify their tefillos and supplications on behalf of the Rebbe, asking that he be granted a complete recovery and restored strength.

The Rebbe is currently staying at his regular retreat residence in Moshav Ora, near Yerushalayim, where he has been spending a period of rest and recuperation.

Meanwhile, hundreds of bochurim from the Vizhnitzer yeshiva gedolah in Bnei Brak were scheduled to travel Tuesday evening to the kever of the rebbe, Rav Nachman of Horodenka zy”a, in the ancient cemetery of Teveria.

The gathering coincides with the yahrtzeit of Rav Nachman of Horodenka, and participants plan to hold a special public tefillah on behalf of the Rebbe’s recovery.

All are asked to daven for Rav Yisroel ben Leah Esther.

{Matzav.com}