Mounting tensions surrounding the Chok HaGiyus have led police to increase security for two United Torah Judaism representatives, Rav Moshe Gafni and Rav Yaakov Asher, following threats and violent demonstrations by fringe extremists within the chareidi community.
According to reports on Channel 12, the two veteran lawmakers were placed under the second-highest level of security protection, which includes home surveillance and personal guards. Police officials said that both MKs had received multiple threats connected to the ongoing public debate over the government’s proposed draft bill.
On Motzoei Shabbos, protests erupted outside the home of Yaakov Asher in Bnei Brak, where a group of agitators gathered to voice their anger. The same night, another mob attacked the vehicle of Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur, shattering its window. The violence was swiftly and unanimously condemned across the political spectrum, with leaders from all factions decrying the actions as an assault on basic decency.
The uproar comes as the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee continues its discussions on a proposed law designed to regulate army service exemptions for bnei yeshiva. The bill seeks to codify the existing arrangement allowing full-time Torah learners to remain in the beis midrash.
{Matzav.com}
Outgoing New York Mayor Eric Adams said on Sunday during a visit to Israel that if he were a Jewish New Yorker he would be concerned about his children following this month’s election of his replacement, Zohran Mamdani.
“If I were a Jewish New Yorker I would be concerned about my children,” Adams said at a Tel Aviv event organized by the Combat Antisemitism organization. “We need to be honest about the moment and cannot sugarcoat it.”
He cautioned that it has now become “cool and hip” to be antisemitic around the globe, including in New York City—home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel—and that a whole generation has been raised on lies picked up via social media.
“You have people walking around the country with signs saying Queers for Palestine, and that is queer when the only place you can walk around in the Middle East being queer is Israel,” he said, adding, “They’ve hijacked the conversation.”
Israel lost the narrative
The outgoing mayor, who has been a stalwart supporter of Israel, noted that the human story behind the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of Israel never got across in the United States, leading Israel to lose the mainstream public.
“The story was never really told about Oct. 7,” he said. “You heard about it but you never knew what really happened.”
Israel supporters failed to come up with messaging that connected with everyday people, and the story was seized by their opponents, he said.
“The Zohrans of the world shoved the images of every baby killed in Gaza… and became a symbol of what people were angry about,” he continued.
New York Jews must “prepare themselves”
New York Jews must not be complacent amid this burst of antisemitism that is likely to increase after Mamdani’s victory, said Adams, who added that the city is going in the wrong direction.
“The New York Jewish community must prepare themselves,” he said. “This is a period where you need to be conscious about the level of global hostility towards the Jewish community. If you say everything is fine you are setting yourself up for failure.”
About one third of New York Jews voted for Mamdani according to exit polling, highlighting the divide between the predominantly liberal American Jewish community and Israel.
“Abnormal became normal”
According to Adams, Mamdani’s refusal to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada” during the election campaign and the fact that he cruised to victory nonetheless was indicative of the abnormal becoming normal in New York.
“People are comfortable with being antisemitic,” he said.
“I’m not just your mayor,” he said to rousing applause. “I’m your brother.”
Mamdani is set to take office on January 1.
{Matzav.com}
WATCH:
President Trump revealed Sunday evening that New York City’s incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has expressed interest in visiting the nation’s capital for a face-to-face meeting. “The mayor of New York, I will say, would like to meet with us,” Trump remarked before departing his Mar-a-Lago resort for Washington. “We’ll work something out,” he added. “But he would like to come to Washington.”
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, later noted that there is currently no date on the calendar for a meeting between the president and Mamdani, who is scheduled to take office on New Year’s Day.
The announcement comes after months of sharp criticism from Trump, who has repeatedly blasted the 34-year-old mayor-elect, calling him a “communist” and warning that his policies would spell disaster for New York City. Trump, now 79, also suggested earlier this year that he might consider cutting off federal funds to the city or even seeking federal control over certain municipal functions.
In a recent conversation with NBC New York, Mamdani confirmed that outreach to the White House is planned as he prepares for his transition into office. “I will be reaching out to the White House as we prepare to actually take office,” he said, emphasizing that a productive relationship with Trump “will be critical to the success of the city.”
The mayor-elect struck a cooperative tone, signaling openness to dialogue on economic issues central to Trump’s campaign. “[If] President Trump wants to speak about lowering the cost of living or delivering cheaper groceries, like he ran on [in 2024], I’m there to have that conversation,” said Mamdani. “I’m here to work for the benefit of everyone that calls the city home, and that wherever there is a possibility for working together toward that end, I’m ready, and if [the administration’s policies] are to the expense of those New Yorkers, I will fight.”
{Matzav.com}
[COMMUNICATED]
It’s midnight in the holy city of Yerushalayim, and a group of exalted and illustrious mekubalim stream in, one by one, into the Beis Medrash overlooking the Makom HaMikdash—the site of our destroyed Beis HaMikdash—where they will spend the night immersed in holiness.
Each and every one of these carefully selected Yidden has already spent years in the study of the Zohar and the writings of the Arizal and his talmidim. Their faces radiate holiness and holy purpose, and they exude humility and piety.
They are the Avreichim of Kollel Kabbalah B’Chatzos—a project of Torah-24 which is founded and led by HaGaon Rav Avrohom Eisen, shlit”a, Pozna Rov, a confidant of gedolei Yisroel.
The night begins at midnight, when the avreichim tearfully and mournfully recite Tikkun Chatzos, along with other tefillos, lamenting what has been lost, and storming the Heavens for its restoration.
Following this, they will delve into the deepest secrets of the hidden Torah—until the sun comes up over Yerushalayim. For the entire night, hour after hour, they chase sleep away, and remain immersed into the Kabbalah that has been handed down to us by the most exalted tzaddikim that Klal Yisroel possessed.
Gedolei Yisroel who have become aware of the Kollel Kabbalah B’Chatzos phenomenon have expressed awe and admiration for these illustrious men.
Hagaon HaMekubal Rav Abish Zenwirth, who has attested that he knows these men up close, has attested that “they are humble tzaddikim who prepare themselves for their holy nights by immersing in the mikveh, and study the secrets of Torah all night amid ahavas Hashem and deep fear of Heaven.”
In his letter of endorsement for Kollel Kabbalah B’Chatzos, Rav Zenwirth writes: “Fortunate are all those who take part in this great and holy endeavor. They will surely merit all the Heavenly blessings and illuminations. They will be pursued by goodness and kindness all their lives, and in their merit we will soon hear the great blast of the shofar of Mashiach. Amen.”
Partner in this incredible and holy endeavor today, and be joined with these holy mekubalim of Yerushalayim who will daven for you and your family to indeed merit the many Heavenly blessings that come to those who spend their nights immersed in Torah.
In a powerful letter released overnight, former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchok Yosef condemned the violent assault on MK Yoav Ben-Tzur, calling out those behind it as “rioters who cloak themselves in the guise of zealotry.”
“I was deeply shocked to hear of the violence carried out against you by those rioters who falsely cloak themselves in the guise of zealotry,” Rav Yosef wrote, expressing his dismay over the incident.
The Chief Rabbi warned that the group responsible is not merely disrupting peace but is actively attempting “to sow division among Sephardic Torah scholars,” adding that “they have escalated their actions and are now behaving violently toward public representatives.”
Rav Yosef urged the public to take a firm stance against such behavior. “It is the duty of every individual to condemn these rioters and act in every possible way to ensure they are held fully accountable, so that they cease their harmful conduct,” he stated.
He did not hold back criticism of those who have long fomented discord within the olam haTorah, saying the recent violence is the natural outgrowth of years of incitement. “Those who initiate incitement by spreading lies and falsehoods are the same people who have been dividing the chareidi public for decades, and who persecuted my late father, of blessed memory, during his lifetime,” he wrote. “It is clear that their intentions are not for the sake of Heaven, and one must distance oneself from them and from their harmful ways.”
Turning to the ongoing debate over the Draft Law, Rav Yosef reaffirmed that all decisions on the matter are under the exclusive authority of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah. “Everything is entrusted to the special committee appointed by the Council of Torah Sages, which is carrying out its work faithfully and overseeing all that requires supervision for the safeguarding of the Torah world,” he emphasized.
The letter concluded with a heartfelt brocha to the embattled MK. “May you merit to enjoy much satisfaction from all your descendants, and succeed in all your endeavors, to magnify and glorify Torah and to increase honor of Heaven.”
The incident that prompted the Chief Rabbi’s letter took place outside the Yazdim Shul, following his weekly shiur. As MK Ben-Tzur exited, demonstrators protesting the proposed Draft Law confronted and physically assaulted him. The attack was met with sweeping condemnation from across the political spectrum, including strong denunciations by Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and opposition leaders alike.
{Matzav.com}
