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Thousands of Gerer chassidim gathered Monday evening outside the gates of Israel’s Military Prison 10 for a mass tefillah rally and protest led by the Gerer Rebbe, following the arrest of a talmid of Yeshivas Sefas Emes. The demonstration was held in protest of what organizers described as an affront to Torah and a desecration of Heaven’s honor. United Torah Judaism chairman MK Yitzchak Goldknopf was also in attendance.

Ahead of the rally, Rabbi Itche Meir Tauman, director of the Gerer beis medrash, circulated a recorded message urging members of the kehilla to participate. He said, “With Hashem’s help, all those who fear the word of Hashem are called to a gathering of prayer and outcry on Monday night, Parshas Va’eschanan, at 9:30 p.m. outside Military Prison 10, to protest the humiliation of Torah and the desecration of Heaven’s honor.”

The protest was organized following the arrest of Yeshivas Sefas Emes student Yisrael Reuven Fine, who was jailed after appearing at the military draft office on three consecutive days in an effort to resolve his draft status.

According to sources within the Gerer kehilla, Fine’s original draft appointment was scheduled for last Monday. He reported as instructed but mistakenly arrived at the Yerushalayim draft office instead of the Haifa office where he had been directed to appear.

Officials in Jerusalem redirected him to Haifa, but by the time he arrived there, the office had already closed for the day. He was instructed to return the following morning.

Fine returned to the Haifa draft office on Tuesday as directed. According to those close to him, however, his paperwork was not processed, and he was once again sent home with instructions to return on Wednesday.

When he appeared for the third consecutive day, military officials informed him that because two days had elapsed since his original draft date, he had been classified as a draft evader and was immediately arrested.

The rally marked the second major demonstration organized by the Gerer kehilla outside Military Prison 10 in approximately one month to protest the arrests of bnei yeshivah. The previous gathering was also led by the Gerer Rebbe and drew thousands of participants, who davened Minchah, recited Tehillim, and cried out over the continued imprisonment of yeshivah bochurim.

{Matzav.com}

Lawmakers from Degel Hatorah, the Knesset faction within the United Torah Judaism party, sharply rebuked Israel Tax Authority Director Shay Aharonovich on Monday after he halted the processing of war compensation claims submitted by residents of Bnei Brak, calling the move an unjust act of collective punishment against an entire city.

The dispute erupted after Aharonovich informed Bnei Brak Mayor Chanoch Zeibert that the Tax Authority’s Compensation Fund would suspend services for local residents until the municipality publicly condemned the recent attack in the chareidi media.

In a strongly worded letter, the MKs wrote, “We were shocked to see your decision to stop handling the claims of families who lost their homes or whose property was damaged during the Swords of Iron war as a form of collective punishment just because of a single incident that occurred in their city.”

They continued, “Is there any other city in Israel where you would dare issue such a decision? All the more so when it is directed at a specific community, raising serious concerns of collective blame.”

The lawmakers further argued that complaints from Bnei Brak residents about lengthy delays in receiving compensation had been mounting even before the recent attack. They accused the Tax Authority of using the assault on its employees as a pretext to deflect attention from what they described as longstanding administrative failures.

The letter concluded with a demand that Aharonovich immediately rescind the decision, keep political considerations out of the Compensation Fund’s work, and promptly resume services for Bnei Brak residents whose homes and property were damaged during the war.

Despite the escalating public confrontation, the standoff appeared to ease Sunday night when senior officials from the Israel Tax Authority met with representatives at Bnei Brak City Hall, where both sides reached an understanding.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, delivered a scathing rebuke of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday after the mayor suggested he would seek the arrest of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his planned September visit to New York. Danon addressed the issue during a special session of the UN General Assembly commemorating Nelson Mandela International Day, accusing Mamdani of aligning himself with those who defend terrorism rather than those battling it.

During his address, Danon condemned Mamdani for what he described as a pattern of anti-Israel conduct, pointing to efforts by a New York City official to meet with Iran’s UN delegation, Mamdani’s public comments concerning the Hamas terrorist organization, and his repeated criticism of Israel. Danon stressed that the mayor’s threats against Netanyahu are entirely without legal foundation.

Ambassador Danon said: “Mr. Mamdani, you have chosen collaboration with terror. I have news for you: Your threat has no legal basis. It’s only a political theatre designed to excite your radical base and distract from your failures in running this city. The person who should be arrested is you, Mr. Mamdani, for siding with terrorists.”

The latest confrontation follows an interview published by The New York Times, in which Mamdani reiterated his belief that Netanyahu should face prosecution before the International Criminal Court.

In that interview, Mamdani said, “I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague. He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”

Mamdani also revealed that he has been consulting with New York City legal officials about whether a municipal government has the authority to detain a visiting foreign leader. He added, “Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do, but we won’t be writing our own laws to that end.”

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday forcefully criticized comments made by Maran Rav Dov Landau regarding IDF soldiers, particularly members of the Religious Zionist community who wear knitted yarmulkas.

Netanyahu praised the dedication of all Israeli soldiers and rejected the remarks as unacceptable.

“I strongly reject the shocking statements made against IDF soldiers from the Religious Zionist community. IDF soldiers – religious, secular, and charedi – leave their homes, their jobs, and their families, and risk their lives to defend the State of Israel, its citizens, and the entire Jewish people.

“They deserve profound appreciation, gratitude, and full support from every segment of the public, and certainly also from the Torah world,” Netanyahu said.

Standing firmly behind Rav Landau, the Degel HaTorah faction issued a statement Monday defending his comments. “The words of the great Torah sages are the holiest of holies for the Jewish people, and we live by their guidance.” The party also called on the public to refrain from hastily interpreting or criticizing the statements of the gedolim.

The controversy erupted after remarks by Rav Landau, released Sunday night, in which he voiced an unusually sharp criticism of government officials and Religious Zionist leaders advocating that bnei yeshivah enlist in the IDF.

“Will it not be so? The decrees come from another source. There are wicked people here – what can be done? There are wicked people, including among those who wear knitted kippot. I am referring to those Religious Zionists who insist that people must enlist. I would ask them, according to their own way of thinking – though they have no consistent position at all – if the state sends people, soldiers, for the sake of the country’s honor, and they are killed, is that also permissible? That is outright murder. Therefore, they are inciting murder – that is what they are doing.”

Rav Landau further argued that Religious Zionist leaders who encourage military service are promoting what he described as “actual murder,” asserting that soldiers are dispatched into battle “not only for the sake of saving lives, but also for the honor of the state.”

{Matzav.com}

A former U.S. Army soldier has been taken into custody after authorities say he set off fireworks and ignited a fire Monday morning outside a Lower Manhattan federal building that houses an immigration court and several government agencies. Federal investigators say the suspect arrived heavily armed and are treating the case as an act of anti-government extremism.

The suspect, identified as 43-year-old Andrew Arrabaca, previously served as a mechanic responsible for maintaining Patriot missile systems in the U.S. Army. He is currently in custody and has already been questioned by investigators, according to James Barnacle, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office.

Speaking at a news conference, Barnacle said Arrabaca “came armed with bad intentions” and was carrying multiple weapons, including a pellet gun, knives, a hammer, and a machete. Investigators also said he fired between five and seven pellets from an airsoft rifle in the direction of the building.

“He is an anti-American, anti-government extremist,” Barnacle said.

Security footage showed the suspect being tackled by a security officer moments after flames erupted outside one of the entrances to the federal complex at 26 Federal Plaza. He was immediately taken into custody at the scene.

The federal building at 26 Federal Plaza has become a frequent site of demonstrations targeting the immigration policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

According to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation, the suspect was carrying anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) materials at the time of his arrest. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation remains ongoing.

The Department of Homeland Security said the suspect was an “anti-ICE rioter” and alleged that the incident unfolded at approximately 8:20 a.m., when he launched fireworks outside the building before pouring what investigators believe was gasoline on the entrance steps and setting them ablaze.

DHS also reported that officers recovered what appeared to be two pellet guns from the suspect’s bag.

Authorities said one bystander was struck by debris from the fireworks, suffering a minor graze, while the security officer who subdued the suspect sustained minor injuries during the arrest. The New York City Fire Department reported that one person was transported to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

“What occurred outside 26 Federal Plaza this morning was deeply disturbing,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a social media post. “I’m relieved no one was seriously injured and that a suspect is in custody.”

Mamdani added that his administration is coordinating with law enforcement and will assist the federal investigation. The FBI said the case is being handled by its New York Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The federal complex houses several government offices, including the FBI’s New York field office, as well as the immigration court where federal agents have conducted numerous high-profile arrests of migrants immediately after their court appearances.

Images and video from the scene showed flames and heavy smoke rising from the sidewalk outside the building, while law enforcement officers restrained the suspect before leading him away in handcuffs.

{Matzav.com}