As Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pushes to pass the new draft law within a month to stabilize his coalition, deep divisions are emerging among the chareidi factions, with Agudas Yisroel MK Yitzchok Goldknopf expected to vote against the legislation.
Netanyahu has instructed senior coalition leaders and MK Boaz Bismuth, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, to expedite the passage of the bill regulating the status of yeshiva students. The prime minister’s goal is to pass the law through its second and third readings within four weeks, a key step to prevent the coalition from fracturing and triggering early elections.
Over the past few days, the heads of the chareidi parties — Shas, Degel HaTorah, and Agudas Yisroel — have been holding consultations with their respective rabbinic leadership. According to political sources, Shas and Degel HaTorah are expected to approve the new version of the bill, including several legal modifications required by the Knesset committee’s legal advisor, Miri Frenkel-Shor.
Shas insiders reveal that despite initial hesitation, the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah will support a bill that “protects Yavneh and its scholars — those who truly learn — even if it results in the enlistment of those who are not learning, as long as it is within frameworks suited to the chareidi sector.”
The legal aspect of the legislation, however, remains a sticking point. Lawmakers from the chareidi factions acknowledge that without Frenkel-Shor’s approval, the High Court is likely to strike down the bill or issue an injunction preventing it from taking effect. To that end, representatives of Shas and Degel HaTorah are currently negotiating with the committee’s legal team to reach a mutually acceptable draft.
Meanwhile, in Agudas Yisroel, the picture is far less unified. Senior officials from the party say that the faction is likely to split its vote when the bill reaches the Knesset floor. MK Yitzchok Goldknopf and MK Yitzchok Tesler are both expected to oppose it.
A source close to Goldknopf explained his stance: “We will not support a law that includes quotas and sanctions. This is an unprecedented bill, with recruitment targets reaching half of each draft cycle — completely against the position of our gedolei hador. We will vote against it.”
{Matzav.com}
Camp Achim has announced that its 2026 summer session will be slightly shorter than in previous years due to the early arrival of Rosh Chodesh Elul, which falls out on August 13.
Because of the way the calendar aligns, the camp season will last about two and a half days less than usual. Traditionally, the program includes four Shabbosos during the summer. However, this coming summer, the schedule will include only three Shabbosos, with camp running for three full weeks.
Despite the shortened season, the administration emphasized that the full camp program and year-round operations will continue as always. “Of course, we still have to run the full camp program and keep everything going throughout the year, no matter how long the season is,” the announcement stated. “Still, since it’s a bit shorter this summer, we felt it would be nice to do something a little different — and we hope you’ll agree.”
That “something different” comes in the form of a fee reduction. Camp Achim is lowering tuition by $150 compared to last year’s rate.
Kol hakavod.
The 2026 summer season at Achim will run from Tuesday, July 21, through Wednesday, August 12 (7 Av to 29 Av). The camp fee has been set at $3,345.
{Matzav.com}
WATCH:
A fascinating halachic dialogue has captured the attention of the Torah world over recent days, as Rav Dov Landau, Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka, and the Sanzer Rebbe, have engaged in a rare and remarkable written exchange of Torah ideas.
The debate began during Chol Hamoed Sukkos, when Rav Dov Landau hosted a major Torah gathering in his sukkah on Rechov Harav Sher in Bnei Brak. Present were leading roshei yeshiva, dayanim, and rabbanim, who joined the Rosh Yeshiva in animated discussion and deep halachic analysis for more than an hour and a half. The event, broadcast live, drew throngs of bnei Torah of all ages who surrounded his sukkah to witness the electrifying ahavas haTorah and hear the Rosh Yeshiva’s insights.
During the gathering, Rav Landau posed several sharp questions and halachic difficulties, raised in the midst of passionate rischa d’oraysa, as he interwove fascinating stories from the yeshiva world of Poland and Lithuania.
Shortly after, in response to one of the questions raised, the Sanzer Rebbe published a thoughtful letter in the weekly Torah publication Ohaley Moed. The Rebbe delved directly into one of Rav Landau’s points, articulating his own well-reasoned halachic position. The fact that a leading Chassidic Rebbe formally published a scholarly response to a Litvishe Rosh Yeshiva’s query sparked enormous interest across the Torah world, reflecting the deep mutual respect shared between these two Torah giants.
This week, Parshas Vayeira, Ohaley Moed has published Rav Dov Landau’s full written response to the Rebbe’s letter, bringing the fascinating halachic dialogue to its current peak.
In a striking conclusion, Rav Landau ended his reply with a line expressing both humility and admiration: “Kach mistabra k’mo shekasav rum maalaso shlita — It appears to be as written by his exalted honor, shlita.”
Beyond its intellectual depth, the correspondence serves as a model of Torah unity—two towering gedolim, representing distinct traditions, engaging in a search for emes with reverence and grace.
{Matzav.com}
After days of public protest and widespread outcry, yeshiva student Ariel Shamai — who was jailed for refusing to enlist in the IDF — was released on Wednesday and made his first stop at the home of Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, rosh yeshivas Slabodka, to personally thank him for his support.
As previously reported extensively here on Matzav.com, Shamai, a talmid at Yeshivas Ateres Shlomo, became a symbol of the fight against the imprisonment of yeshiva bochurim for Torah study. Just hours after leaving the military prison, he visited Rav Hirsch’s home in Bnei Brak to express gratitude for the encouragement he had received during his detention, including the shiur Rav Hirsch delivered outside the prison gates and the massive public rally that followed.
The rosh yeshiva greeted Shamai warmly, shaking his hand and listening as those accompanying him described the circumstances of his early release. “It was unusual,” they explained. “He and three others were told today that they were receiving the mutsmedet — meaning those scheduled for release on Friday were permitted to leave two days early. That almost never happens. This time, they implemented the special procedure and released him.”
“He looks a hundred percent,” Rav Hirsch said with a smile.
Reflecting on his days behind bars, Shamai admitted, “It was very difficult,” but said that Rav Hirsch’s shiur and personal visit deeply strengthened him. “It really encouraged me,” he said.
Those present told the rosh yeshiva that during his time in prison, Shamai spent many hours learning and even wrote Torah essays and answers to questions posed by his fellow inmates.
Earlier in the day, MK Moshe Gafni, head of Degel HaTorah, spoke with Shamai by phone following his release. “We will do everything possible to ensure this never happens again — that no bochur is ever arrested for learning Torah,” Gafni told him. “I strengthen you and bless you. Return to your learning.” Gafni had also visited Shamai in military prison several days earlier to express solidarity.
{Matzav.com}New York City’s new mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, wasted no time in declaring his landslide victory as an open invitation to press forward with his left-wing agenda. “It is a mandate,” he declared unapologetically, making clear that his triumph was not just political but ideological.
Fresh from his upset win over Andrew Cuomo, the 34-year-old Democratic socialist outlined his ambitions in an interview with The New York Times. “I’m also looking to be clear about the mandate that we won over the course of this election, and it is a mandate to deliver on the agenda that we ran on,” he said. Among his priorities: taxing the wealthy and expanding social programs that many critics say could strain the city’s finances.
Mamdani’s assertion came as the Democratic Socialists of America celebrated his victory as their own. The organization boasted that its “army” had delivered the decisive blow against the establishment. “Our movement is at the heart of Zohran’s campaign,” said Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the group’s New York City chapter. “This overwhelming victory is a clear mandate for a Democratic socialist agenda to make New York City one that people can afford.”
DSA leaders didn’t hold back their triumphal tone, casting the win as proof that their influence is growing despite heavy opposition. “MAGA billionaires spent millions to prop up Andrew Cuomo and try to stop this movement, but we’ve proved once again: They have money, but we have power,” Gordillo declared.
The rhetoric echoed Mamdani’s fiery election night speech, when he repeatedly told supporters that his victory represented a “mandate for change.” His tone — defiant and combative — raised eyebrows among observers who noted how sharply it contrasted with the moderate image he projected during his campaign.
Critics accused Mamdani of pivoting to a far more radical stance now that the votes were counted. Some even called his speech a “character switch.” But the new mayor-elect brushed off concerns, insisting he was staying true to his values. “My supporters and our movement are hungry for a politics of consistency — a politics that actually focuses on the needs of working people,” he said in his post-election remarks.
“I think that our tax system is an example of the many ways in which working people have been betrayed,” he added, signaling that fiscal redistribution will be a central pillar of his administration.
For now, Mamdani has not confirmed whether any DSA members will officially join his transition team. Instead, he announced a roster that includes seasoned City Hall figures from the Bloomberg, de Blasio, and Adams administrations. That mix — of veteran insiders alongside the progressive mayor-elect — raised questions about whether his government will reflect moderation or Marxism in practice.
Behind the scenes, however, DSA activists reportedly celebrated the prospect of having allies positioned inside City Hall. According to insiders cited by The New York Post, the socialist group views Mamdani’s win as its best chance yet to “infiltrate” city leadership.
Asked directly if he intended to appoint DSA allies to key positions, Mamdani sidestepped specifics. “I am looking forward to having every member of my coalition be a part of our transition,” he said. “The transition will be guided by the work that we need to do, and the coalition that brought me to this point has done an immense amount of work and has also been leading in the fight for dignity, for a working-class Democratic Party.”
Whether that coalition will steer New York toward stability or upheaval remains to be seen — but one thing is certain: Zohran Mamdani intends to govern exactly as he campaigned.
{Matzav.com}