A chareidi IDF soldier wounded in combat delivered a searing rebuke during a stormy session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, accusing state authorities of completely erasing religious and chareidi wounded soldiers from the public and legislative conversation even as efforts intensify to draft more chareidim.
Eliyahu Pinchas Tzemach, a representative of the Metzuyanim B’Yisrael organization , which advocates for religious and chareidi IDF wounded, addressed the committee during deliberations on the draft law. Speaking with visible anguish, Tzemach described what he called the total disappearance of chareidi wounded soldiers from policy discussions.
“I hear debates, I see headlines, I follow this law from every angle, but there is one thing I have not heard even once: wounded soldiers,” he told lawmakers. “Not in the law, not in the discussions, not even in a single sentence. As if they do not exist.”
Tzemach pointed to what he described as a glaring and painful contradiction: the state tracks the lives of chareidi youth in minute detail, yet refuses to acknowledge them once they are injured in military service.
“The state knows exactly where every chareidi boy studied at age 14, which institution he transferred to at 15, what he eats, what level of kashrus he keeps, but when that same boy enlists, is wounded, and broken, the state is not even willing to know how many there are,” he said.
“Even to count us, they are not willing,” Tzemach added. “Forget rehabilitation, forget treatment … even the basic recognition that we exist is already too much for the system.”
According to Tzemach, this is not a bureaucratic oversight but a deep systemic failure with devastating consequences. Wounded soldiers are left without answers, families collapse under the strain, and there is no rehabilitation framework tailored to the needs of the chareidi public.
He described realities on the ground that, he said, are never voiced in the Knesset: mixed-gender therapy groups that chareidi patients cannot join; Beit HaLochem facilities with no accommodations for Torah-observant soldiers; rehabilitation gyms, activities, and overseas delegations that are entirely mixed; and the complete absence of transitional housing or structured rehabilitation tracks for chareidi wounded and their families.
“There is no rehabilitation. There simply is none,” he said. “And then they come and demand more enlistment, more targets, more numbers — without stopping for a moment to ask: what will be with those who were already wounded? And what will be with those who enlist now and will be wounded?”
Tzemach posed a direct challenge to lawmakers: “How can you demand more enlistment from the chareidi public when those who already carried the burden and were wounded have been completely erased from the discourse?”
Speaking afterward, he said that the focus on quotas and targets is fundamentally misplaced.
“Before talking about numbers, targets, and enlistment quotas, there must be a conversation about rehabilitation,” he said. “About responsibility. And about the future of chareidi wounded soldiers who have paid — and unfortunately will yet pay — a very heavy price.”
{Matzav.com}Former President Barack Hussein Obama issued a rare and forceful public rebuke of President Donald Trump on Sunday, directly blaming the current administration for the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and warning that the situation surrounding federal immigration enforcement is spiraling dangerously.
“The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” Obama said in a statement posted on X. “It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.”
In his statement, Obama sharply criticized the conduct of federal immigration agents operating in U.S. cities, saying their tactics have sparked justified outrage nationwide. “People across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, and provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city,” he wrote.
Obama’s comments came one day after Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents during a confrontation on a Minneapolis street.
According to authorities, Pretti was carrying a loaded firearm when he stepped between federal agents and a woman they were pepper-spraying. Agents attempted to arrest him, removed the gun from his belt, and then fired roughly 10 shots, killing him at the scene.
While acknowledging that immigration enforcement is inherently challenging, Obama said the Trump administration bears responsibility for fostering an environment in which deadly force is used recklessly.
“The President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanation for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation – and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” Obama wrote.
The statement marked Obama’s first public comments on the unrest in Minneapolis, which erupted earlier this month after ICE agents fatally shot Renee Good. Authorities said Good had attempted to block immigration officers with her vehicle and nearly struck an agent, who then opened fire, killing her.
{Matzav.com}Dozens of demonstrators identified with extremist factions blocked Route 10 at the entrance to Beit Shemesh on Sunday evening, protesting the draft law and the arrest of yeshiva students accused of draft evasion.
The protest reached a dramatic peak when demonstrators placed a chilling display in the middle of the roadway, featuring mock coffins meant to symbolize their opposition to the policy.
The coffins bore the names of Yosef Eisenthal z”l and Naftali Tzvi Kramer z”l, two bochurim who were tragically killed during protest-related incidents in recent weeks.
Police forces arrived at the scene and worked to clear the road, which was blocked for a short period of time.
The closure caused heavy traffic congestion at both the entrance to and exit from the city before traffic was eventually restored.
{Matzav.com}
President Donald Trump on Sunday pressed Democratic governors and mayors across the country to work with federal immigration officials, arguing that resistance to cooperation has produced “dangerous circumstances” and resulted in the deaths of two American citizens.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump laid out four steps he said Democratic officials must take to support his administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.
First, Trump said state and local authorities should hand over all criminal illegal migrants currently in state prisons or local jails — as well as those with outstanding warrants or known criminal records — to federal officials for immediate deportation.
Second, he called on local police departments to transfer custody of all illegal migrants they arrest directly to federal immigration authorities.
Third, Trump said local law enforcement agencies should be required to assist federal officials in locating, apprehending, and detaining illegal migrants wanted for crimes.
Fourth, he urged Democratic jurisdictions to actively partner with the federal government to quickly remove criminal illegal migrants, pointing to cities such as Memphis and Washington, D.C., which he said have cooperated with federal authorities and experienced improvements in public safety.
Trump singled out Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing them of refusing to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and of encouraging resistance to federal enforcement actions.
The president argued that Republican-led states have shown that close coordination between local and federal authorities can lead to effective enforcement without public disorder. He said that Texas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Louisiana saw more than 150,000 criminal illegal migrants arrested by ICE over the past year without protests or riots, crediting cooperation between law enforcement agencies for the outcome.
Trump contrasted that with what he described as obstruction by Democrat-run “sanctuary cities and states,” accusing them of placing the interests of illegal immigrants ahead of law-abiding citizens and creating unsafe, volatile conditions for both officers and the public.
He also called on Congress to pass legislation banning sanctuary city policies nationwide, describing those policies as “the root cause” of the current problems. Trump said American cities should be “safe sanctuaries for law-abiding American citizens only.”
The remarks come as immigration enforcement continues to dominate national political debate, with Republicans and Democrats sharply divided over public safety, local cooperation with federal authorities, and the role of state and municipal governments in enforcing immigration law.
{Matzav.com}
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sharply criticized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney over a new agreement with China on electric vehicles, cautioning that Canada could face steep penalties if it enables Beijing to flood the U.S. market with low-priced goods.
President Donald Trump initially played down the agreement, telling reporters, “If you can get a deal with China, he should do that.” A day later, however, Trump escalated the response, warning that Canada could be hit with 100% tariffs.
“There’s a possibility of a hundred percent tariffs if they do a free trade deal, if they go further — if we see that the Canadians are allowing the Chinese to dump goods.,” Bessent said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week.”
Bessent noted that Canada had previously aligned with Washington on trade enforcement against Beijing. “The Canadians, a few months ago, joined the U.S. in putting high steel tariffs on China because the Chinese are dumping,” he said. “The Europeans also have done the same thing. And it looks like Prime Minister Carney may have done some kind of about-face.”
Canada imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, mirroring U.S. policy. Under the new arrangement, however, China will be permitted to sell up to 49,000 EVs in Canada at a 6.1% most-favored-nation tariff rate, as part of a broader agreement between Ottawa and Beijing aimed at expanding cooperation on green energy.
Carney’s shift toward China has been widely interpreted as a signal of resistance to Trump, who last year slapped broad tariffs on Canada over alleged drug trafficking and border security issues.
“I don’t think he’s doing the best job for the Canadian people,” Bessent said of Carney.
Trump has previously joked about annexing Canada, and his aggressive trade posture reportedly led then–Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to break down in tears in public.
Last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Carney told global leaders that the international system had fundamentally shifted amid Trump’s threats to assert control over Greenland.
“We know the old order is not coming back,” Carney said. “We shouldn’t mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy, but we believe that from the fracture, we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just.”
“This is the task of the middle powers, the countries that have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and most to gain from genuine cooperation.”
On Sunday, Trump renewed his attacks on Canada, accusing the country of “systematically destroying itself” and striking “one of the worst deals, of any kind, in history.”
“China is successfully and completely taking over the once Great Country of Canada,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “So sad to see it happen. I only hope they leave Ice Hockey alone!”
{Matzav.com}A massive winter storm sweeping across the US triggered what is shaping up to be one of the worst air travel meltdowns since the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing some major airlines to cancel more than half of their scheduled flights.
More than 16,000 US flights have been canceled through Monday, according to data from flight-tracking website FlightAware, as the storm pushed into major population centers and snarled airline networks nationwide. Airlines scrapped more than 10,300 US flights on Sunday alone, according to FlightAware.
Sunday marks the highest number of cancellations since the pandemic, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. There were 22,751 flights scheduled for March 30, 2020, with 12,143 cancellations.
Carriers with large hubs in the storm’s path were hit especially hard. American Airlines canceled more than 55% of its Sunday schedule, while JetBlue Airways scrapped more than 70% of flights. Delta Air Lines cut more than 40%, and United Airlines canceled nearly 38%, according to Cirium.
Major airports across the eastern half of the country were effectively shut down. By 10 a.m. New York time, more than 80% of departures were canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport, LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airport, while Washington Reagan National topped 90% cancellations, Cirium data show. Boston Logan, Charlotte Douglas and Chicago O’Hare were also among the hardest hit.
Weather impacts stretched well beyond the Northeast. Texas and parts of the South were among the first regions hit, with freezing rain and ice snarling operations at major hubs including Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Austin. Data from the Federal Aviation Administration show multiple airport closures across the South and Midwest as of Sunday as ice and snow made runways unsafe, contributing to cascading disruptions throughout airline networks.
The storm is expected to continue battering the East through Monday. New England could see as much as 18 inches of snow, according to the US Weather Prediction Center, with up to a foot possible in New York City. Some of that precipitation may fall as sleet, increasing the risk of heavy icing on roads and runways.
Airlines had begun rolling out contingency plans ahead of the storm. Delta is allowing passengers to rebook flights without fare differences across 41 airports in the South and Southeast, including Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Charleston and Memphis, through Jan. 28. United Airlines is waiving change fees and fare differences for travelers affected at 61 airports, including Boston, Newark and New York’s LaGuardia.
(c) Bloomberg
{Matzav.com}
