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Damage to the roof of a building in Kiryat Motzkin, Northern Israel, following the latest Hezbollah rocket barrage.

A new study reveals that over one-third of Americans still harbor doubts about the scientific basis of COVID vaccines. This skepticism has remained relatively unchanged, with 36% of respondents expressing mistrust in 2021, 33% in 2022, and 36% in 2023.

Individuals who lost a family member or close friend to COVID-19 were notably more inclined to trust the science behind the vaccine and to accept vaccination, according to the study’s findings. For instance, those who had experienced a loss in the past year were nearly four times more likely to trust vaccine experts than those who had not lost someone close to them, researchers reported.

“Our findings underscore the critical role of trust in science during public health crises,” stated lead researcher Trenton White, a postdoctoral fellow at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. “The fact that personal experiences of loss due to COVID-19 were associated with trust levels highlights the need for public health communications to be sensitive to the emotional impact of the pandemic.”

The study also found that vaccine acceptance was generally higher among men, individuals with college degrees, and those from higher-income households.

Looking ahead, the researchers suggested that public health officials should tailor their messaging to reflect the diverse demographics of the U.S. population in order to foster and maintain trust in science.

“This research provides valuable insights for policymakers and health communicators as they continue to navigate the ongoing challenge of global vaccine hesitancy,” said senior researcher Ayman El-Mohandes, dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, in a CUNY news release.

The findings of this study were published on November 2 in the journal Vaccine: X.

{Matzav.com}

The IDF announced expanded military actions targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. In a coordinated series of strikes, the IDF reported eliminating around 60 Hezbollah terrorists in multiple attacks near Baalbek and north of the Litani River. Over the past 24 hours, the Israel Air Force (IAF) carried out strikes on more than 110 terror-related targets associated with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, including weapon stockpiles, rocket launchers, and other terrorist infrastructure. In southern Lebanon, the IDF continued its localized ground raids to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure, seizing weapons and disabling a rocket launcher that posed a direct threat to Israeli troops. Meanwhile, in Gaza’s Jabaliya region, approximately 50 Hamas terrorists were reportedly killed as IDF forces dismantled additional terror installations. The IDF also expanded operations to Beit Lahia, where prior intelligence pointed to further terrorist activity. To safeguard civilians, the IDF is organizing designated routes for Palestinians to evacuate combat zones. Additionally, IDF troops in Rafah neutralized several armed terrorists and worked with IAF support to prevent further attacks on Israeli forces.

The IDF has intensified their military activities in Lebanon and Gaza, focusing on dismantling Hezbollah and Hamas infrastructure. Over the past 24 hours, the IAF carried out a series of strikes, targeting more than 110 sites linked to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. The attacks eliminated approximately 60 Hezbollah operatives near Baalbek and north of the Litani River. Among the destroyed sites were weapons storage facilities, rocket launchers, and other terror-related infrastructure. In southern Lebanon, IDF troops conducted localized ground operations, uncovering weapons caches and disabling rocket launchers identified as threats to Israeli forces. Concurrently, in the Jabaliya region of Gaza, IDF operations resulted in the deaths of around 50 Hamas militants and the dismantling of additional terror installations. The IDF also launched new actions in Beit Lahia, following intelligence that indicated terrorist activities. To protect civilians, designated evacuation routes have been organized for Palestinians in combat areas. Meanwhile, in Rafah, IDF forces eliminated multiple armed militants and coordinated with the IAF to strike advancing threats, further securing Israeli forces in the area.

Hezbollah’s assaults on northern Israel persist. On Thursday afternoon, air raid sirens sounded across Haifa Bay, Nahariya, and the Galilee region. In Kiryat Yam, a rocket hit two parked cars near a home, causing them to burst into flames. Firefighters arrived quickly to contain and extinguish the blaze. B’Chasdei Hashem, no injuries were reported. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

A military judge made a ruling on Wednesday, stating that the plea agreements which spared Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, and two other terrorists from facing the death penalty must remain in place.

This unexpected decision follows a move three months ago when Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin annulled the controversial plea deals previously arranged by the Office of Military Commissions in July, which had been granted to Mohammed and his alleged accomplices.

The ruling, delivered by Air Force Col. and Judge Matthew McCall at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba, was first reported by the Associated Press and has yet to be made available to the public.

The families of those killed in the devastating 9/11 attacks, which claimed nearly 3,000 lives, reacted with fury to the judge’s decision.

Retired police officer Jimmy Smith, whose wife Moira perished in the attack, expressed his anger to The Post, saying, “I am livid that this judge overturned the decision and is allowing these defendants to take a plea deal.”

Smith continued, “They committed the highest crime in this country and they should receive the worst punishment which in this case is the death penalty,” adding, “Also I don’t believe in coincidences, they waited to release this decision until after the election. They overturned it before to help the Democrats in the election.”

Dan D’Allara, whose twin brother, NYPD officer John D’Allara, was killed on 9/11, spoke with The Post and urged President-elect Donald Trump to exercise his executive powers to ensure that Mohammed and his co-conspirators are executed.

“The first Executive Order President Trump should sign is an Executive Order of Execution for the 5 admitted 9/11 plotters,” D’Allara said. “They are cowards and they killed a lot of innocent people that day and are continuing to kill people going forward.”

Patrick Hendry, President of the New York City Police Benevolent Association, called Wednesday’s ruling “shameful” and demanded that the situation be corrected immediately.

“This is yet another shameful twist in a case that has seen far too many,” Hendry said. “The cycle of revictimizing our hero 9/11 families needs to end. Our government needs to find a way to fix this immediately.”

“Justice cannot wait any longer,” he added.

The pre-trial agreements involving Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the al-Qaeda attacks, and two other accused conspirators—Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi—had originally offered the men immunity from the death penalty in exchange for guilty pleas, as part of the government’s lengthy process to prosecute the alleged terrorists.

These three individuals have been incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay since 2003.

The plea agreements, proposed by the Office of Military Commissions in July, sparked significant backlash from the families of the 9/11 victims and survivors, many of whom condemned the arrangements as a grave injustice and expressed a preference for a full trial for the accused men.

Following this, Austin, 70, made the decision to relieve the official who had approved the plea deals of his duties, choosing to intervene personally in the case.

“There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t think of 9/11 and the Americans that were murdered that day; also those who died trying to save lives and the troops and their families who gave so much for this country in the years following that,” Austin said, explaining his decision. “I’m deeply mindful of my duty to all those whose lives were lost or changed forever on 9/11, and I fully understand that no measure of justice can ever make up for their loss.”

Austin added, “So this wasn’t a decision that I took lightly, but I have long believed that the families of the victims, our servicemembers, and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commissions — commission trials carried out in this case.”

The lawyers representing the accused terrorists criticized the Secretary of Defense’s actions, describing them as “corrupt” and insisting that the plea deals had been negotiated in “good faith” over several years.

“We have had an unprecedented act by a government official to pull back what was a valid agreement,” Walter Ruiz, the attorney for al Hawsawi, said during a hearing at Guantanamo Bay, as reported by CNN.

“For us, it raises very serious questions about continuing to engage in a system that seems so obviously corrupt and rigged,” he added.

Kathy Vigiano, a retired police officer and widow of Detective Joseph Vigiano, who was also killed on 9/11, expressed her disbelief to The Post, saying that while she cannot accept that the accused terrorists will not be executed, she now hopes they will receive life sentences without parole.

“It’s unbelievable to me that these terrorists won’t get death,” Vigiano said. “I can only hope that they get life without the possibility of parole.”

{Matzav.com}

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian downplayed the significance of Donald Trump’s election, saying it would have no impact on the Islamic Republic, state media reports. “It makes no difference to us who won the US election,” he says, according to the official IRNA news agency, adding Iran has prioritized “developing relations with Islamic and neighboring countries.” (AP)

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol denied wrongdoing on Thursday in a burgeoning influence-peddling scandal involving him and his wife that is severely hurting his approval ratings and providing political munition to his rivals. The political firestorm coincides with South Korea facing a slew of critical foreign policy issues, such as Donald Trump’s election win to become the next president of the United States and North Korea’s reported entry into the Russia-Ukraine war. The scandal centers around allegations that Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee exerted inappropriate influence on the conservative ruling People Power Party to pick a certain candidate to run for a parliamentary by-election in 2022 at the request of Myung Tae-kyun, an election broker and founder of a polling agency who conducted free opinion surveys for Yoon before he became president. For weeks, the scandal has been making headlines in South Korea as Myung’s leaked phone conversations show he boasted of his influence over the presidential couple and other top ruling party officials. Asked about his ties with Myung during a news conference Thursday, Yoon said, “I didn’t do anything inappropriate and have nothing to hide regarding Myung Tae-kyun.” Yoon said he has never meddled in any candidate nomination process at the PPP, and had never asked Myung to carry out surveys for him, though he acknowledged that Myung gave him some sort of help during his presidential primary campaign in 2021. The main liberal opposition Democratic Party said Yoon’s response only showed his “arrogance” and “self-righteousness.” The party earlier demanded Yoon apologize, reshuffle top officials and accept an independent investigation into his wife. The Democratic Party recently shared what it said was an audio file of phone calls between Yoon and Myung on May 9, 2022 — a day before Yoon took office for a single five-year term. The opposition party alleges that the conversation proves Yoon provided Myung with political favors in return for free surveys. In the audio file, Yoon can be heard telling Myung that he asked a PPP committee to pick senior party member Kim Young-sun to run for one of the parliamentary by-elections the following month. Kim Young-sun eventually obtained the party’s nomination and won the election. In the file, Myung is heard saying, “I really won’t forget this favor for my entire life. Thank you!” South Korea’s election law bars public servants, including the president, from interfering in elections, but applies no such restrictions to a president-elect, so it’s unclear whether Yoon violated the law. Recent surveys showed Yoon’s approval rating has fallen below 20% for the first time since his inauguration. Kim Keon Hee has been grappling with other scandals, such as spy camera footage purportedly showing her accepting a luxury bag as a gift from a pastor. Yoon apologized for causing public concerns about him and his wife, but stressed that many of the allegations raised were not consistent with the facts. Some ruling party lawmakers have accused the Democratic Party of deliberately ramping up political attacks on Yoon and his wife in an effort to rescue its embattled leader, Lee Jae-myung, from legal troubles. Lee, a firebrand lawmaker who narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, is undergoing four separate trials over corruption and various other allegations. The first two district court rulings on […]

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NY Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, both of whom have long been vocal critics and adversaries of Donald Trump, expressed their commitment to defending New York against any potential “revenge or retribution” following the anticipated return of President-elect Trump to the White House.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Hochul extended congratulations to Trump while also praising his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for running a campaign that highlighted important issues affecting the nation.

She recognized that the election results may not align with the hopes of many, but reassured New Yorkers that the state has faced challenges before and emerged stronger.

“That’s why I have the confidence in my team and all those we work closely with that we will get through the uncertainty of a new administration in Washington because, as I said, we’ve done this before,” Hochul remarked. “I want to be very clear that while we honor the results of this election and will work with anyone who wants to be a partner in achieving the goals of our administration in our state, that does not mean we’ll accept an agenda from Washington that strips away the rights that New Yorkers have long enjoyed.”

The governor reminded citizens that New York is the cradle of several critical movements, including those for women’s rights, environmental justice, LGBTQ rights, and labor rights. She pledged that the state would continue to serve as a “bastion” of liberty and uphold the rule of law.

Additionally, Hochul unveiled the Empire State Freedom Initiative, a new program aimed at protecting areas she and other state officials believe could be threatened by the Trump administration. The initiative will focus on safeguarding reproductive rights, civil rights, immigration, gun safety, labor rights, and environmental justice.

“Our team will do whatever we have to do to identify any possible threats to these rights that we hold dear in the state of New York and protect New Yorkers,” Hochul stated. “This will include legislation, rulemaking, appropriations and partnerships with our congressional delegation and including the Biden administration at this time.”

The governor called on Trump to support New York’s efforts to secure funding for critical infrastructure, particularly for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and to back economic development initiatives, such as those supported by the Chips and Science Act.

“I will work with him or anybody, regardless of party, on these kinds of efforts that I know will benefit the state of New York,” Hochul affirmed. “However, if you try to harm New Yorkers or rollback their rights, I will fight you every step of the way. New Yorkers are resilient. We fought the first time around, and we’ll fight again.”

James also offered her congratulations to Trump but with a clear sense of resistance. She assured the people of New York that state officials, including her office, would collaborate with the Trump administration “if possible,” but would not compromise the state’s values or principles in the process.

“We did not expect this result, but we are prepared to respond to this result. And my office has been preparing for several months because we’ve been here before,” James remarked. “We faced this challenge before, and we used the rule of law to fight back. And we are prepared to fight back once again because, as the attorney general of this great state, it is my job to protect and defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law. And I will not shrink from that responsibility.”

Between 2019 and 2021, James pointed out that her office had taken nearly 100 legal actions against Trump’s prior administration, including challenging attempts to cap state and local taxes, eliminate funding for law enforcement, and attack other key policies.

James also highlighted her office’s efforts to protect the Affordable Care Act, block the inclusion of a citizenship question on the census, and halt the dismantling of the U.S. Postal Service.

She expressed confidence in her understanding of the Trump administration’s tactics, noting that her team is prepared with a contingency plan to counter any actions that could harm the state.

“We’re ready to respond to any attempts to cut or eliminate any funding to the great state of New York, as the governor outlined,” James stated. “So, despite what has happened on the national stage, we will continue to stand tall in the face of injustice, revenge or retribution.”

“This is not the time to be fearful, New York, but faithful and steadfast, knowing that I, as the attorney general, along with my entire team, we are guardians of the law, and we are prepared, my friends, to fight back,” she concluded.

{Matzav.com}

Likud MK Sasson Guetta harshly attacked members of the opposition and coalition who opposed the daycare law in a speech from the Knesset plenum on Wednesday. UTJ MK Yisrael Eichler’s daycare bill, which bases daycare subsidies solely on the employment status of the mother, was removed from the Knesset agenda this week after it became clear that there wasn’t a majority to pass it due to the opposition of both members of the opposition and the coalition, including members of the Likud. Guetta said: “What’s with you?! Have you lost all sense of shame?! For a like on Twitter and cheers from the leftist media, you’re willing to trample entire families?!” “Do you know what is most infuriating? You don’t even understand what you’re talking about. Do you think that amid a war, the Chareidim aren’t contributing? Look around! See what is happening on the home front – who is volunteering in rescue organizations, in chessed organizations, in chevrot kadisha, in ZAKA – who is helping the families of the victims! But no, for you, that is not good enough. You want to force, to impose, to cause conflict! “And I especially appeal to my friends in the coalition – how dare you?!  You’re trampling your values for a photo in Haaretz? You’re willing to destroy the future of our children for support from the left?? “What exactly did we ask for? To consider the beliefs of others! Is that so terrible?! You who talk so grandly about democracy and rights – where is your tolerance?! Where is your understanding?! “And yes, I say this loud and clear – anyone who opposes this law, anyone who links it to recruitment, simply does not understand or does not want to understand. The concern of the Charedim is not about the army – it is about losing their identity! But that doesn’t interest you, right? The main thing is to score more political points at the expense of the Chareidi public! “Do you want to talk about employment integration? About equality? Great! Here’s a real opportunity – a law that will allow Chareidi women to go to work! But no, you prefer to fight ideological wars on the backs of toddlers! “And I warn you,” he added, “this populist opposition will cost us dearly. You are destroying any chance of real integration of the Chareidi society with your own hands! I call from here to my friends – wake up! Stop this wild incitement! Return to sanity! Because if not – the blood of the destruction of Israeli society is on your hands! “And I will conclude with simple words – anyone who votes against this law should know that they are voting against the future of our children, against the integration of the Chareidim in the workplace, and above all – against truth and justice!” The Likud MKs who publicly announced that they would not support the daycare law were sanctioned on Wednesday for violating party discipline. Chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Yuli Edelstein was banned from submitting any bills in the Knesset for a month and from speaking on behalf of the party. MK Dan Illouz was removed from his positions on the Foreign Affairs and Defense and Economic Affairs committees and was banned from submitting […]

Donald Trump began this year fighting two federal prosecutions that threatened to send him to prison, but he will end it free and clear of his most significant criminal legal problems.

With his resounding victory at the polls and a longstanding Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president, the key question is not if, but when, prosecutors will move to dismiss or delay his federal election interference case in Washington, D.C.

Trump recently said he would fire special counsel Jack Smith “within two seconds” upon returning to the White House. Now, that won’t be necessary to bring his federal criminal troubles to an end. According to a source familiar with Justice Department deliberations, Smith is taking steps to end both federal cases against Trump before the president-elect takes office.

1. What are the outstanding cases the federal government has lodged against Trump?

A grand jury in Washington indicted Trump this year on four felony charges related to his efforts to retain power in 2020, culminating in the violent siege on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Judge Tanya Chutkan had set a trial date for March 2024, but that date came and went after the Supreme Court accepted the case and ultimately granted Trump significant immunity from prosecution for official actions he took while in the White House. The judge is now beginning to assess which parts of the prosecution’s case involve official acts and which pertain to private conduct by someone seeking office rather than holding it.

In a separate criminal case, the Justice Department has appealed Trump’s alleged hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and his refusal to return them to the FBI. Judge Aileen Cannon, whom Trump appointed to the bench, dismissed the documents case on July 15, the first day of this year’s Republican National Convention, reasoning that the way the special counsel was appointed violates the Constitution. The Justice Department is seeking review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

2. What does Trump’s election victory mean for these cases?

They are on life support and likely to conclude even before the January inauguration. On the campaign trail, now President-elect Trump vowed to fire special counsel Jack Smith on his first day in office. However, Trump would not need to dismiss Smith or instruct DOJ officials to terminate Smith in order to end the criminal prosecutions.

In 2000, a lawyer in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which advises the federal government on its powers and limits, concluded that a sitting president cannot be indicted or prosecuted because doing so “would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions.” This policy against prosecuting presidents has been upheld by both Republican and Democratic administrations.

The Florida case involving classified documents is somewhat more complicated. The DOJ could file notice with the appeals court that it is abandoning the appeal. However, this case involves two other defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira. Dismissing the appeal outright would also mean abandoning the cases prosecutors have built against these two defendants—Trump’s personal aide and the Mar-a-Lago property manager.

Moreover, the federal government may have a broader interest, as Cannon’s reasoning could disrupt the way special prosecutors have been appointed for decades. However, a DOJ veteran not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Cannon’s ruling would not be considered binding precedent, so the stakes may be lower.

Former Attorney General William Barr remarked that voters have evaluated the allegations against Trump and have delivered a decisive verdict of their own. “Further maneuvering on these cases in the weeks ahead would serve no legitimate purpose and only distract the country and the incoming administration from the task at hand,” Barr said in a written statement first reported by the Guardian.

3. What happens to the special counsel, Jack Smith?

Special counsels must submit a report on their actions to the Attorney General when their work concludes. The current attorney general, Merrick Garland, has pledged to make most of these reports public. If Smith’s report is not complete by Inauguration Day, it will fall to the new DOJ leadership to decide its outcome.

Mike Davis, an ally of Trump, told a conservative interviewer this week that the attorney general “is probably President Trump’s most important appointment.” Davis added that Smith’s entire office should be dismissed, stating, “After today, Jack Smith, you’re going to be the hunted: legally, politically, and financially. So lawyer up, buddy.”

4. Trump also faced criminal charges in two states, New York and Georgia. How will the election reshape those cases?

In New York, a jury this year convicted Trump on 34 criminal charges related to bookkeeping for an alleged hush money payment shortly before the 2016 election. Justice Juan Merchan has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 12 to determine how the Supreme Court’s immunity decision might impact this case. It’s unclear if the criminal sentencing for Trump, set for Thanksgiving week, will occur, as his lawyers may seek to halt it in light of the election results.

The case against Trump in Fulton County, Georgia, over alleged election interference has been paused for months while a higher court reviews possible conflicts of interest involving District Attorney Fani Willis. A hearing in that appeal is scheduled for Dec. 5.

This case, too, could be overtaken by events, as a strategy of delay and deflection by Trump’s lawyers appears to have succeeded beyond expectations.

{Matzav.com}

Federal Reserve officials are poised Thursday to reduce their key interest rate for a second straight time, responding to a steady slowdown of the inflation pressures that exasperated many Americans and contributed to Donald Trump’s presidential election victory. Yet the Fed’s future moves are now more uncertain in the aftermath of the election, given that Trump’s economic proposals have been widely flagged as potentially inflationary. His election has also raised the specter of meddling by the White House in the Fed’s policy decisions, with Trump having proclaimed that as president he should have a voice in the central bank’s interest rate decisions. The Fed has long guarded its status as an independent institution able to make difficult decisions about borrowing rates, free from political interference. Yet during his previous term in the White House, Trump publicly attacked Chair Jerome Powell after the Fed raised rates to fight inflation, and he may do so again. The economy is also clouding the picture by flashing conflicting signals, with growth solid but hiring weakening. Even so, consumer spending has been healthy, fueling concerns that there is no need for the Fed to reduce borrowing costs and that doing so might overstimulate the economy and even re-accelerate inflation. Financial markets are throwing yet another curve at the Fed: Investors have sharply pushed up Treasury yields since the central bank cut rates in September. The result has been higher borrowing costs throughout the economy, thereby diminishing the benefit to consumers of the Fed’s half-point cut in its benchmark rate, which it announced after its September meeting. The average U.S. 30-year mortgage rate, for example, fell over the summer as the Fed signaled that it would cut rates, only to rise again once the central bank actually cut its benchmark rate. Broader interest rates have risen because investors are anticipating higher inflation, larger federal budget deficits, and faster economic growth under a President-elect Trump. In what Wall Street has called the “Trump trade,” stock prices also soared Wednesday and the value of bitcoin and the dollar surged. Trump had talked up cryptocurrencies during his campaign, and the dollar would likely benefit from higher rates and from the across-the-board increase in tariffs that Trump has proposed. Trump’s plan to impose at least a 10% tariff on all imports, as well as significantly higher taxes on Chinese goods, and to carry out a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants would almost certainly boost inflation. This would make it less likely that the Fed would continue cutting its key rate. Annual inflation as measured by the central bank’s preferred gauge fell to 2.1% in September. Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate that Trump’s proposed 10% tariff, as well as his proposed taxes on Chinese imports and autos from Mexico, could send inflation back up to about 2.75% to 3% by mid-2026. Such an increase would likely upend the future rate cuts the Fed had signaled in September. At that meeting, when the policymakers cut their key rate by an outsize half-point to about 4.9%, the officials said they envisioned two quarter-point rate reductions later in the year — one on Thursday and one in December — and then four additional rate cuts in 2025. But investors now foresee rate cuts next year as increasingly unlikely. The perceived probability of a rate […]

The Knesset plenum approved, in the early hours of Thursday morning, the second and third readings of a law allowing the deportation of families of terrorists. The legislation was proposed by MKs Hanoch Milwidsky (Likud), Eliyahu Revivo (Likud), and Almog Cohen (Otzma Yehudit).

A total of 61 MKs voted in favor of the legislation, while 41 voted against it.

The law stipulates that the Minister of the Interior may order the deportation of a family member of a terrorist, following a hearing, if it is proven that the family member knew in advance of their relative’s intention to commit an act of terrorism and made no efforts to prevent it.

Additionally, a family member may be deported if they expressed support for or identified with the act, or if they published words of praise or encouragement for a terrorist act or a terrorist organization.

The validity of the deportation order for an Israeli citizen shall be no less than seven years and no more than 15 years. For a permanent or temporary resident, the validity shall be no less than 10 years and no more than 20 years.

The explanatory notes to the bill state: “In recent years, and particularly since the beginning of the Swords of Iron war, which erupted following the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, there has been an increase in cases where citizens and permanent residents in Israel incite terrorism. This includes publishing direct calls to commit terrorist acts or words of praise, sympathy, or encouragement for such acts, supporting them, or identifying with them.”

The notes further explain that “studies conducted over the years, both by the National Security Council and the IDF, related to dozens of terrorists with Israeli citizenship, reveal that the terrorists’ primary concern was the potential repercussions for their families after an attack. There is no doubt that many terrorists will refrain from carrying out an attack if they know that their families will face consequences as a result.”

{Matzav.com}

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A revolutionary court in northwestern Iran has handed down death sentences to four individuals charged with espionage on behalf of Israel, according to a report by the semi-official Fars news agency on Wednesday.

Fars stated that three of the defendants, whose nationalities were not disclosed, were accused of aiding Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, in transporting equipment involved in the 2020 assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Fakhrizadeh was regarded by Western intelligence agencies as the key figure behind a secret Iranian program aimed at developing nuclear weapons. However, the Iranian government has consistently denied such allegations.

In February 2021, The Jewish Chronicle reported, based on intelligence sources, that Fakhrizadeh was killed using a one-ton gun that was smuggled into Iran in pieces by Mossad agents, who included both Israeli and Iranian nationals.

Israel did not comment at the time of Fakhrizadeh’s death, and on Wednesday, an Israeli government spokesperson reiterated the country’s position in response to the Fars report, stating, “We never comment on such matters. There has been no change in our position.”

Fars also noted that the fourth individual sentenced to death was involved in a separate, undisclosed espionage case.

{Matzav.com}

A Lubavitch man in his mid-50’s was violently attacked by two teenagers in Crown Heights on Wednesday evening in what authorities are describing as an attempted robbery. The incident took place around 7:20 PM near the corner of President Street and Utica Avenue as the victim was on his way home, according to COLlive. Witnesses reported that two masked teens, estimated to be between 15 and 20 years old, approached the man and asked about his phone. One wore an orange bandana, while the other had a black one. The victim tried to avoid confrontation, but the teens escalated, grabbing a wooden cane and demanding his phone. Before he could respond, they began hitting him with the cane, striking him so violently that it broke. During the assault, the man managed to break free momentarily, but the attackers chased him, with one on a scooter. The NYPD and Hatzalah responded to the scene, with the victim being brought to the hospital for treatment of his injuries, and where he is now in “excruciating pain,” according to Yaacov Behrman, Director of the Jewish Future Alliance. The NYPD is currently investigating, though no arrests have been made as of Thursday morning. This attack follows a series of incidents in Crown Heights last week, where three other Jewish individuals were assaulted, including one in a slashing attack. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Democrats spent billions of dollars warning American voters that Donald Trump posed an imminent threat to democracy, that his economic policies would benefit only his wealthy friends, that he was literally a fascist. In the end, voters didn’t care — or if they did, it didn’t matter. And now, after Kamala Harris’ decisive loss, Democrats enter a second Trump presidency with no clear leader, no clear plan and no agreement on what caused them to be so wrong about the 2024 election. “I think there needs to be a cleaning of the house, there needs to be a new generation of leaders that emerge,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., among the few Democrats with presidential ambitions to address the party’s future on Wednesday. “There needs to be new thinking, new ideas and a new direction. And, you know, the establishment produced a disaster.” With votes still being counted, Trump was on track to become the first Republican in two decades to win the popular vote, although the scope of his Electoral College victory was likely to fall short of President Barack Obama’s 2008 performance in which he won 365 electoral votes. Trump picked up a small but significant share of younger voters, Black voters and Hispanic voters, many of whom were feeling down about the economy, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide. The Republican president-elect also made progress among voters without a college degree. Most of the elected Democrats who are most often mentioned as 2028 presidential prospects — including the governors of California, Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania — declined to weigh in when asked. Others canceled scheduled interviews. The few progressives willing to speak publicly offered different explanations. Relatively few were blaming President Joe Biden for backtracking on his promise not to run for reelection, which blocked the party from picking a replacement in a traditional primary. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent and former Democratic primary candidate, had warned Harris before Election Day that she was focusing too much on flipping Republican votes and not enough on pocketbook issues. He issued a statement excoriating party leadership. “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” he said. “First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.” Others weren’t so eager to make wholesale changes. “Our challenge is not to overreact to this election,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., who easily won reelection Tuesday night. “We had a candidate with a relatively low profile — no one knew much about Kamala Harris … who took on one of the best-known people in the history of mankind.” Just eight years ago, Democrats were stunned by Trump’s shocking victory over Hillary Clinton. But at that time, many were united in blaming the loss on dysfunction within the Democratic National Committee. Others blamed Russian influence efforts supporting Trump or FBI Director James Comey’s statement excoriating Clinton’s handling of classified information in her emails while serving as secretary of state. There are no excuses this time. The results show Democrats’ current problems […]

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

Life is full of twists and turns. We think everything is set and that our lives will proceed according to one plan, and then things switch. We lose our job, the kollel is no longer satisfying, we receive an offer from an out-of-town community, someone gets sick r”l, and so on.

There are so many variables in life for which we cannot plan. How we deal with them determines whether we will succeed. We can either throw up our hands in desperation, filled with misery and gloom, or we can accept that everything that happens to us is from Hashem and realize that it is up to us to accept the change and make the best of it.

Those who have emunah and bitachon are able to remain optimistic in times of challenge and change, for they know that Hashem is looking out for them and that nothing happens by chance.

This week’s parsha, Lech Lecha, provides chizuk and direction for everyone. The posuk states that Hashem spoke to Avrohom Avinu and told him to leave his ancestral home and head to the land He would show him. The Sefas Emes (632) cites the Zohar that Hashem’s directive of Lech Lecha is directed toward everyone, but Avrohom was the only one who heard the call and followed it.

There is a bas kol that says to go out and proclaims to every Yid not to limit themselves to the familiar and comfortable. Hashem placed every person in this world for a purpose. Everyone has a task that they can perform and a mission that they can complete. Often, that requires for a person to leave their comfort zone and the place where they were born, grew up, and set up house.

We are all here to accomplish things with our lives. Sometimes, doing that requires stepping into the strange and foreboding. The urge to stay home and enjoy a simple, comfortable life is always there, not far from the surface, but our charge as children of Avrohom, Yitzchok, and Yaakov is to brave the challenges and effect change as we work to make the world a better place. Often, doing so involves grief, aggravation, rough days, lonely nights, and lots of hard work. Those who hear the bas kol are able to persevere and go on to accomplish, while those who don’t proceed with emunah and bitachon get deterred and dejected.

Avrohom Avinu hewed the path for us. When he heard the bas kol that nobody else heard or paid attention to, he made it easier for us to hear and follow it. Ever since his time, throughout our history, those who made a mark and difference followed Avrohom’s example, often leaving behind creature comforts, friends, and family to venture forth, knowing that if they worked lesheim Shomayim, Hashem would be there with them.

Avrohom left his home behind and followed Hashem’s voice to the Promised Land. His son, Yitzchok, also left his home and followed the voice into a strange land where the locals were not friendly to him. His son, Yaakov, left his parents’ home and went to live with his uncle Lovon, suffering much degradation and privation, but emerging married with children and many possessions. His son, Yosef, was sent by Hashgocha to a foreign land, followed there by Yaakov, the shevotim, and their families.

Moshe Rabbeinu grew up in royal splendor and left it all behind, only to be forced to flee to a foreign land. He returned to his people and became their savior. And so it has been throughout the ages up until our day.

World War I was a turning point for our people. Many were driven from their homes into exile, where they had little food and no heat. They suffered from disease, pestilence, starvation, and worse. They had no money and no income. When the war ended, those who didn’t hear the bas kol did not return to their shtetlach. They went to the big cities and severed their connections to Yiddishkeit. They no longer had any frum social ties. They sent their children to secular tarbut schools and became lost to our people. Others fled to America, where they were promptly swallowed up by waves of assimilation. Millions were lost forever.

They had left their homes, but they weren’t following Hashem and the direction to which He had directed them. They became overwhelmed by the situation they found themselves in and lacked the spiritual strength necessary to persevere.

The people who remained loyal to the bas kol followed it back to where they belonged, to places where there were shuls and botei medroshim for them and schools for their children. They struggled but survived as faithful Yidden.

Following the Holocaust, survivors faced awful choices. They had lost everything and were barely alive. Which way should they go? Should they give up on life? On humanity? On hope for a future? Should they wallow in self-pity and lose themselves to depression and despair?

Or should they follow the bas kol, which called on them not to lose faith in Hashem, but to follow Him to fresh terrain and rebuild their lives and communities?

Those who followed the bas kol went on to get married, have families, establish shuls, yeshivos, and communities, and help recreate that which was lost. It is thanks to those courageous souls that most of us are here today and that Torah communities and mosdos are flourishing here and around the world.

People in our day are faced with the dilemma of whether to stay where they are and lead nice, comfortable lives or to move to a place where people like them are needed to provide leadership. Some remain where they are and are productive in their comfort zones, but others break out of their boxes and spread their wings to bring and support Yiddishkeit in places as far from their homes as Choron was from Be’er Sheva.

Sometimes the challenge is whether to secure a good job or to go into chinuch, where the pay is not as good, but where the opportunity to make an impact on future generations makes up in spiritual reward and satisfaction for what may be lacking in financial compensation. Sometimes the challenge is whether to get involved in communal needs and assist organizations that work for the public benefit, such as bikur cholim and the like. It is never easy, and it takes commitment and dedication.

Others leave major kehillos and follow the bas kol to kollelim across the country that provide oxygen and life to communities of fine people committed to Torah lives. Others seek out rabbinic positions in shuls struggling to hold out against the Open Orthodox onslaught. By doing so, they keep good people good and rooted in the wellspring of Torah. They keep the community alive and provide guidance and direction for young and old.

They follow the bas kol that Avrohom followed, choosing the more difficult path, following Hashem’s direction to seize a mission and then looking forward to a sense of accomplishment, armed with the promise of earning blessings and greatness.

Nobody said it would be easy, but blessed are those who hear the bas kol in every generation, dedicating their lives to following it and where it leads them.

Rav Yeshayah Cheshin descended from talmidim of the Vilna Gaon who followed his directive almost 300 years ago to leave Lita and move to Eretz Yisroel. The journey from Vilna to Yerushalayim was arduous, and when they arrived in the barren, forsaken land, deprivation of all types greeted them. Life was very tough.

Rav Yeshayah lived during the time when Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin was rov in Yerushalayim and Rav Yeshayah served as a rebbi in the famed Yeshiva Eitz Chaim. In his sefer Divrei Yeshayah, he wrote of the difficult trip and transition his ancestors endured as they left Lita and went to Eretz Yisroel.

“In order to know and understand the enthusiasm and mesirus nefesh of the Talmidei HaGra and how they placed themselves in danger for a year to travel in small boats on treacherous waters, and what they endured in their initial settlement at a time of plagues and diseases, as well as pogroms, it is first necessary to study their spiritual foundation.

“It was a product of the storm that their rebbi, the Gra, created to gather in the exiles and to settle Eretz Yisroel, to which they were moser nefesh. They went through fire and water to hasten the redemption in this way, as our rebbi, the Gra, discusses in his seforim.

“Who is there who can tell the sad tales of what the early settlers endured? Plagues and pogroms, lack of water, poverty, and myriad diseases. Who is there who can tell of their bravery and obstinacy to maintain the settlement that teetered daily and threatened to fall apart due to the many tragedies and hardships? It is only because of the strength of their emunah to follow their rebbi, the Gra, and his blessings to them that they were able to remain there with an unshakable tenacity that no person can describe.”

And then he writes something quite fascinating, which I had never heard of, and I wonder if you did. Listen to this: “In the earlier period following the initial settlement, when there was a time of communal need, the residents of Yerushalayim would daven and say, ‘Help us in the merit of the Talmidei HaGra who came to settle in the Holy Land.’

“On Mondays and Thursdays, they would add to Tachanun the following phrase: ‘With Your goodness, please remove Your anger from Your people, from Your city, and from Your land, in the merit of the Torah, in the merit of acts of chesed, and in the merit of the students of the Gra who initiated the first [Jewish] settlement in the Holy Land.’

“They would then go to the kevorim of the leading students of the Gra, Rav Hillel and Rav Mendel of Shklov, as well as Rav Saadia of Mohilov, and daven for salvation.”

The Vilna Gaon heard the bas kol of Lech Lecha and taught his students to hear it and follow it. Thanks to them, Eretz Yisroel is now settled from north to south and east to west with Jews, and although there are still many problems and difficulties, we can hear the footsteps of Moshiach approaching.

The greatness and zechus of people who follow the bas kol is so significant that in times of greater difficulty, people would daven to be saved in the merit of those intrepid baalei emunah and bitachon who gave up all to follow the call.

In our day and in our lives, when we face ups and downs, when things are tough and not going the way we want, we should think of those heroes who went before us, who gave up everything to answer Hashem’s steady call, which promises blessings to those who maintain their faith in Him and dedicate their lives to improving and bettering the world.

Whatever befalls us, whatever betrayals we face, and when we are forced to change our course of action and look at the world and our existence differently, we should never despair. We should know that what happens is from Hashem, Who is guiding us to a better situation, a place from where we can experience brocha and hatzlocha and help prepare the world for Moshiach, just like those courageous souls throughout the ages, from Avrohom Avinu until today.

“Lech lecha el ha’aretz asher areka. Follow Me to where I will send you,” says Hashem, “and there you will find blessing.”

We don’t merit for Hashem to speak to us verbally, but He does so through various occurrences that happen to us in life, which we must view through the lens of Torah. If we know that we are here for a purpose and that everything that happens to us is from Hashem, and if we dedicate our lives to Torah, avodah, mitzvos, and maasim tovim, then we will be able to pick up the signals and follow them to where they are leading us.

Our zaides and bubbes always had Hashem in their lives and never lost sight of their obligations in this world. There is no reason we should not be the same. Let us follow their example, handed down to them and us from Avrohom Avinu, and earn for ourselves a world of opportunity and brocha, which will lead us all to the geulah sheleimah bekarov.

A military judge has ruled that plea agreements struck by alleged Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants are valid, voiding an order by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to throw out the deals, a government official said Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the order by the judge, Air Force Col. Matthew McCall, has not yet been posted publicly or officially announced. Unless government prosecutors or others attempt to challenge the plea deals again, McCall’s ruling means that the three 9/11 defendants before long could enter guilty pleas in the U.S. military courtroom at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, taking a dramatic step toward wrapping up the long-running and legally troubled government prosecution in one of the deadliest attacks on the United States. The plea agreements would spare Mohammed and two co-defendants, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, the risk of the death penalty in exchange for the guilty pleas. Government prosecutors had negotiated the deals with defense attorneys under government auspices, and the top official for the military commission at the Guantanamo Bay naval base had approved the agreements. The plea deals in the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people spurred immediate political blowback by Republican lawmakers and others after they were made public this summer. Within days, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a brief order saying he was nullifying them. Plea bargains in possible death penalty cases tied to one of the gravest crimes ever carried out on U.S. soil were a momentous step that should only be decided by the defense secretary, Austin said at the time. The agreements, and Austin’s attempt to reverse them, have made for one of the most fraught episodes in a U.S. prosecution marked by delays and legal difficulties. That includes years of ongoing pretrial hearings to determine the admissibility of statements by the defendants given their years of torture in CIA custody. The Pentagon is reviewing the judge’s decision and had no immediate further comment, said Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary. The New York Times first reported the ruling. Military officials have yet to post the judge’s decision on the Guantanamo military commission’s online site. However, a legal blog that long has covered the prosecutions from the Guantanamo courtroom said McCall’s 29-page ruling concludes that Austin lacked the legal authority to toss out the plea deals. The ruling also calls the timing of Austin’s move “fatal,” coming after Guantanamo’s top official already had approved the deals, according to the blog, called Lawdragon. Abiding by Austin’s order would give defense secretaries “absolute veto power” over any act they disagree with, which would be contrary to the independence of the presiding official over the Guantanamo trials, the law blog quotes McCall as saying in the ruling. While families of some of the victims and others are adamant that the 9/11 prosecutions continue until trial and possible death sentences, legal experts say it’s not clear that could ever happen. If the 9/11 cases ever clear the hurdles of trial, verdicts and sentencings, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit would likely hear many of the issues in the course of any death penalty appeals. The issues include the CIA destruction of videos of interrogations, whether Austin’s plea deal reversal constituted unlawful […]