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Russia’s economy is “on the brink of going into a recession,” the country’s economy minister said Thursday, according to Russian media reports. Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov delivered the warning at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the annual event in Russia’s second largest city designed to highlight the country’s economic prowess and court foreign investors. Russian business news outlet RBC quoted the official as saying “the numbers indicate cooling, but all our numbers are (like) a rearview mirror. Judging by the way businesses currently feel and the indicators, we are already, it seems to me, on the brink of going into a recession.” Russia’s economy, hit with a slew of sanctions after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, has so far outperformed predictions. High defense spending has propelled growth and kept unemployment low despite fueling inflation. At the same time, wages have gone up to keep pace with inflation, leaving many workers better off. Large recruiting bonuses for military enlistees and death benefits for those killed in Ukraine also have put more income into the country’s poorer regions. But over the long term, inflation and a lack of foreign investments remain threats to the economy, leaving a question mark over how long the militarized economy can keep going. Economists have warned of mounting pressure on the economy and the likelihood it would stagnate due to lack of investment in sectors other than the military. Speaking at one of the sessions of the forum in St. Petersburg, Reshetnikov said Russia was “on the brink,” and whether the country would slide into a recession or not depends on the government’s actions. “Going forward, it all depends on our decisions,” Reshetnikov said, according to RBC. RBC reported Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Central Bank Gov. Elvira Nabiullina gave more optimistic assessments. Siluanov spoke about the economy “cooling” but noted that after any cooling “the summer always comes,” RBC reported. Nabiullina said Russia’s economy was merely “coming out of overheating,” according to RBC. (AP)

At least six people were seriously wounded by an Iranian missile barrage on Israel on Thursday morning. Be’er Sheva’s Soroka Medical Center sustained a direct hit, and impacts were also reported in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Cholon.

Four serious injuries were caused by a direct hit on a residential building in Cholon, south of Tel Aviv, according to Wolfson Medical Center. The hospital said it was also treating 19 people listed in mild condition.

Two people were seriously wounded in the direct hit in Ramat Gan.

As of Thursday afternoon, the number of injured stood at more than 200, including at least 147 in the greater Tel Aviv region and around 60 in Beersheva. The figures include those injured while running to shelters, individuals suffering from anxiety, and hurt people who arrived independently at hospitals.

In addition to Wolfson and Soroka, victims were evacuated to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital), Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Rabin Medical Center Beilinson Campus in Petach Tikva, Yitzchak Shamir Medical Center (formerly Assaf Harofeh Medical Center) in Be’er Ya’akov, Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak, Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod and Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petach Tikvah.

Shrapnel severely damaged the home of former Health Minister Dan Naveh in Savyon, southeast of Ramat Gan. The president and CEO of Israel Bonds is on a fundraising trip in the United States, but he told Channel 12 News that his children were at home and survived unharmed.

“Our home suffered severe damage today. Thank God, the three children were together in the safe room and are OK; they were truly saved by a miracle. I was on a video call with the children when the explosion was heard—there were many moments of anxiety,” he said, adding, “We are in an important existential war, and our spirit is strong.”

The barrage, composed of some 30 ballistic missiles, was the heaviest launched by the Islamic Republic in nearly 48 hours.

Emergency teams were responding at several sites, searching for wounded and treating several individuals for minor injuries, according to the Magen David Adom emergency medical service. In total, 22 individuals with mild injuries were being transported to hospitals.

Following direct missile strikes on residential buildings in central Israel, United Hatzalah volunteers provided initial treatment to three women in serious condition, two men in moderate condition, and more than 50 additional people who sustained mild injuries, including many suffering from emotional shock.

Officials from the IDF Home Front Command surveyed the damage at the impact site in Holon, with Home Front Command head Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo praising the actions of local residents.

“This incident is an exceptional example of civilian behavior—the civilians heard the alert, went down to the shelter, and that saved their lives,” Milo said.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that a suspected leak of hazardous materials on one of the floors of Soroka Medial Center was being investigated and that the area was being evacuated; however, it was later reported that a dangerous leak had been ruled out.

“There has been damage to the hospital and extensive damage in various areas. We are currently assessing the damage, including injuries,” the Soroka spokesperson said, requesting that people not come to the medical center at this time and stating that further updates would be provided as soon as possible.

According to reports, part of the Soroka complex had been evacuated a day before Thursday’s strike by a special order of the Health Ministry, including the floor hit by the missile.

“Just yesterday, they evacuated the old surgical building, which today took a direct hit. It’s a great miracle,” a doctor at Soroka told Kan News.

Israeli Health Minister Uriel Buso called the Soroka strike “an act of terror” that crosses a red line.

“It is a war crime by the Iranian regime, deliberately targeting innocent civilians and medical teams dedicated to saving lives. The Health Ministry was prepared in advance, and thanks to the immediate actions we took, a major disaster was averted,” said Buso.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the Iranian regime “Nazis who launch missiles at hospitals, at the elderly, and at children.” If the regime had nuclear weapons, it would deploy them “without even thinking for a second,” he added.

Israeli security and rescue personnel at the scene after a ballistic missile fired from Iran hit in Ramat Gan, June 19, 2025. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.
He called “Operation Rising Lion,” the IDF campaign in Iran, “the most just campaign Israel has ever embarked on in its history.

“I embrace the citizens of Israel and strengthen the hands of the prime minister and my colleagues in the Cabinet during these days. We are all united—to remove this threat once and for all, until the end and until absolute victory! The people of Israel live,” Ben-Gvir said.

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin noted in a Thursday afternoon press briefing that Soroka serves more than one million Israelis of all backgrounds.

“Iran targeting civilian centers with ballistic missiles is no surprise for us,” Defrin said, adding that the regime in Tehran has long declared its intent to destroy Israel and has now launched over 450 ballistic missiles and hundreds of UAVs at the Jewish state in less than a week.

Defrin emphasized that Israel’s ongoing military operations are focused on eliminating “an existential threat that endangers global security,” targeting Iranian nuclear weapons facilities, missile launchers and military sites.

“We cannot—and will not—allow this regime to obtain nuclear weapons or expand its missile arsenal,” he said. “And we will prevail.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

I was listening to Israeli radio to hear the latest on the war. As I tuned in, there was an interview being conducted with a man who lived in the building in Bat Yam right next to the one that was directly hit by an Iranian ballistic missile. He was describing how powerful the bomb was. He described the deafening boom, the shockwave that shattered every window in his apartment, and how he felt as though he was about to be sucked out through the gaping hole that had once been his dining room window.

The reporter asked him, “So would you say that you were saved by a neis (miracle)?”

The survivor responded, “Lo! No!”

I was wondering how thick-headed he could be to recount such an experience and not realize that it was a miracle that he was alive and whole.

But then he said, “I survived only because Hashem was watching over me!”

The reporter agreed, and I realized that the man had said it better than any sound bite. It wasn’t just a miracle. It was Hashgocha Protis. It was Hashem Himself, not randomness or fate, who had shielded him.

Once again, the peaceful air that had settled over Eretz Yisroel was shattered. On October 7, 2023, Simchas Torah, a day meant for dancing with the Torah and celebrating our eternal bond with Hashem, the Jewish people faced unspeakable horror. Over 1,200 were murdered and thousands more were wounded in the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Men, women and children, and even babies, were slaughtered, and over 240 hostages were dragged into Gaza.

This wasn’t just an attack. It was the launching of a war by Hamas, the genocidal proxy of Iran. Since then, Israel has fought relentlessly to eliminate Hamas and restore security to its citizens. Thousands of soldiers have been wounded. Hundreds have fallen. Ceasefires have come and gone. Hostages have returned—some alive, others in coffins—while others languish in Hamas tunnels and other treacherous surroundings. The trauma remains etched in the soul of the nation.

Although the pain lingers and thousands of men and women have been separated from their families for the war effort, somehow the sharp edge of the pain wore off and most people became accustomed to the situation. Life resumed a fragile routine. Rockets slowed. Schools reopened. People began to breathe again. Shelters stood mostly empty. For a while.

But that changed Thursday night, as Israel began the war it has been planning for over the past decades. After vowing that Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon as it got closer and closer to that very goal, the now or never window was rapidly closing. If that evil regime wasn’t stopped within the next few weeks, they would have the feared weapon and Israel would be their first target.

The red line had been crossed. Iran, the regime that has repeatedly pledged to wipe Israel off the map, was inching ever closer to acquiring nuclear weapons. The world debated. Israel acted.

Israel began attacking Iran. Suddenly, a nation that had gone to sleep with their regular everyday worries were awakened at 3 a.m. by wailing sirens, shaking them out of bed and complacency, and foisting upon them a new, frightening reality.

Within minutes, dozens of ballistic missiles were flying toward Israel, reminding everyone that we are not living in normal times.

No matter how many times a person has rushed to a shelter, you never get used to it. War isn’t just noise and headlines. It is fear. It is disorientation. It is waking up in the middle of the night, clutching your children as you recite pesukim of Tehillim. It is losing all sense of routine. Schools are closed, businesses shuttered, flights canceled, deliveries halted. It is an unrelenting anxiety that clings to the body and soul.

Running to a shelter several times a night is not conducive to sleep or anything other than anxiety. Having your day interrupted by sirens and dashes into a shelter before a ballistic missile hits, is not only uncomfortable and nerve-racking, but frightening and life-altering.

Having no peace, not being able to sit still for any extended period of time, being constantly mindful that a war over your very existence is being waged, can be very unsettling and makes it difficult to properly function.

What do we say? How do we react? What are we supposed to think in times like this?

In the chaos of sirens and explosions, a Jewish heart instinctively calls out: Hashem yishmor. Hashem will guard us. Every rocket intercepted is a reminder of His mercy. Every near miss is a whisper of His will. Hashem alone determines who will live, who will be protected, who will rise from the rubble and testify, “Hashem was watching over me.”

We are a nation that has endured more than any nation in history, not due to might or power, but due to our deep, unwavering connection to the Ribono Shel Olam.

Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah—they are but pawns in a larger story.

As maaminim bnei maaminim, while others fight on a physical battlefield, we fight on the spiritual one through tefillah, teshuvah and tzedakah. Every added kappitel of Tehillim, every act of chesed, every extra moment of Torah learning strengthens the physical combatants far more than we can imagine.

Let the world call it physical luck or coincidence. We call it Hashem Yisborach. Because when the windows blow out, the walls shake, and you walk away alive, you know the truth:

Hashem was watching over me.

And when the war seems unending and the darkness overwhelming, we recall the words of the novi: “Ki lo yitosh Hashem es amo—Hashem will not forsake His people.”

Even now. Especially now.

In times of war, the natural reaction for many is to become amateur geopolitical analysts. Conversations quickly turn into discussions about why the enemy acted, what the real motivation was, and how brilliantly – or foolishly – Israel responded.

Someone inevitably pipes up: “This only happened because Trump won the election.”

Heads nod.

“If Biden – or Harris – had won, Netanyahu would never have pulled this off,” another adds, as listeners admire the sharpness of his insight.

Everyone throws in their two cents, quoting from analysts, Twitter threads, and WhatsApp chats. The group collectively convinces itself that its breakdown of military strategy is more astute than that of actual generals and heads of state.

But in all this noise, one thing is forgotten – the most important piece of the story.

This war, like every war, is happening because Hashem willed it. Not because Trump won. Not because Netanyahu is still in office. Not because of this treaty or that speech. These events don’t cause Divine plans. They serve them.

It’s not that Trump won and therefore the war happened. It’s the other way around. Trump won because Hashem wanted the world to move toward this moment.

Just as Paroh rose to power to set the stage for Yetzias Mitzrayim, so too, modern leaders are placed exactly where Hashem wants them to be to fulfill His ultimate design. The Ayatollah didn’t come to power by mistake because of the actions of an errant American president. The American presidents who empowered Iran ever since, or ignored its threats, didn’t do so by accident. All of this is part of a larger, unfolding script authored by the Ribbono Shel Olam.

The reason Trump won the presidency was so that he could carry out the wishes of Hashem. Because Hashem wants to set up the world for Moshiach to reveal himself and redeem us, He brought the world to this juncture.

He caused the wicked regime to threaten Israel and work towards obtaining the means with which they could actualize their dream of wiping out Israel. He brought the right players onto the scene and allowed Netanyahu to remain in power so that the next step in preparing Eretz Yisroel and the world for Moshiach could get underway.

When we forget that, we get distracted by headlines and forget our headline: Hashem watches over me.

And it’s worse.

The Rambam begins his Hilchos Taanis like this: “Mitzvas asei min haTorah, it is a mitzvah in the Torah, to cry out to Hashem and to do teshuvah when any type of tragedy strikes.” This mitzvah is derived from a posuk we lained last week in Parshas Beha’aloscha (10:9).

We have to know that when there is tragedy, it is because of our sins, and therefore, the way to overcome the calamity is by doing teshuvah.

People who attach natural explanations to what happened and explain the war or catastrophe with political or scientific considerations are cruel. They are engaging in cruelty because by doing so, they are denying Hashem’s involvement and preventing people from recognizing the real cause of what took place and doing teshuvah.

Surely none of us want to be defined by the Rambam as a cruel person, especially knowing that when the Rambam writes something in his sefer, he is not merely offering an opinion, but is articulating halacha and describing the true nature of the world according to the Torah.

In Shaar Cheshbon Hanefesh, the Chovos Halevavos teaches that someone who puts his faith in Hashem is never left alone. Hashem opens the gates of understanding, reveals hidden truths of His wisdom, watches over him with a guiding eye, and never abandons him to the limits of his own strength.

The Gemara in Maseches Avodah Zarah (2b) states that when Moshiach comes, the nations of the world will protest the punishment they are about to receive for their treatment of the Jews. They will claim that everything they did was to benefit the Jews and their service of Hashem and the Torah.

The Gemara says that Poras, Persia, which is today’s modern state of Iran, will proclaim that everything they did was to help the Jews. “We built many bridges, conquered many towns, and waged war,” they will say, “to enable the Jews to learn Torah.”

We can understand the grounds for claiming that they built bridges and other infrastructure to enable the study of Torah, but how does waging war help the Jews learn Torah?

Perhaps this can be understood to mean that they will claim that they waged wars and threatened the Jews in order to scare them into doing teshuvah and to engage in Torah study.

When the ruler of Iran repeatedly proclaims, publicly, to the entire world, that he intends to destroy Israel, we can believe him that he intends to do so. As he was engaged in his feverish race to arm the country with the nuclear weapons and the ballistic missiles needed to carry out his bloody intentions, the world stood by and pretended to work to curtail his ambitions.

And then, in a matter of hours, Israel cleared the way to fly freely over the country, bombing hundreds of targets and eliminating military leaders, nuclear scientists and the nuclear infrastructure.

In just a few days, a nation seventy-five times smaller and vastly outnumbered dismantled decades of Iranian buildup. Despite being a strong and proud country, Iran was unable to stop the repeated Israeli attacks or respond in the way it had planned and desired.

Though Israel took out many of its rocket launchers, Iran answered with fire, shooting hundreds of their deadliest missiles. But Hashem answered louder. Almost all were stopped. The death toll was minimal. Every life is precious and every death is mourned, but comparing what happened to what could have happened cannot be explained by any or all the experts in the world. This only happens because Hashem is on the side of Eretz Yisroel. This only happens because Hashem protects the Jewish people when they are deserving. This only happens because the entire scenario was planned by Him to bring us the promised redemption.

This only happens because Hashem watches over His people.

This is not strategy. This is not luck. This is not political genius.

This is Hashgocha Protis. This is the unfolding of a Divine plan. This is the sound of the approaching geulah.

So let us not waste the moment.

Let us raise our voices in passionate tefillah that Hashem will continue to spare us from the evil intents of the anshei Poras, Yishmoel and Edom.

Let us strengthen our commitment to Torah, to chesed, to tzedakah, and to the refining of our middos.

Let us build zechuyos with every word of Torah learned, every tefillah properly recited, every act of kindness done.

And let us not stop storming the heavens until we merit to see the day we have been waiting for with the coming of Moshiach.

May it happen very soon.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, describes the ‘only question’ being discussed about America’s direct involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict on ‘Kudlow.’

WATCH:

A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas exploded Wednesday night, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky. The company said the Starship “experienced a major anomaly” at about 11 p.m. while on the test stand preparing for the tenth flight test at Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas. “A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for,” SpaceX said in a statement on the social platform X. CEO Elon Musk ’s SpaceX said there were no hazards to nearby communities. It asked people not to try to approach the site. The company said it is working with local officials to respond to the explosion. (AP)

A piece of missile shrapnel as big as a bus fell in the Shomron following Iran’s launch of a missile barrage on Thursday morning. This is not the first time that a huge shrapnel part fell in the Shomron. Over 100 shrapnel parts have fallen in the area since the beginning of the war, some of them huge. Yossi Dagan, the head of the Shomron Regional Council, slammed the Defense Ministry following the incident, saying that tens of thousands of residents of Yehudah and Shomron lack adequate protection and many homes and even buildings lack bomb shelters. “Tens of thousands of people in Yehudah and Shomron, which has become Israel’s missile target zone, lack protection,” he said. “Every night, interceptor shrapnel falls on homes, yards, and vehicles. We expect the government, in these difficult times, to approve the construction of public shelters as required and as has been done throughout the country. I call on the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister to approve an emergency plan for funding protective buildings in new settlements, and to approve a fortification plan program for the residents of the area, who are a frontline for all intents and purposes.” “Residents of the Shomron, who are on the frontline against both Palestinian Authority and Iranian terrorism, remain exposed without basic protection. Those living five kilometers from the Palestinian Authority are just as much a frontline as those living five kilometers from the northern or southern border. If the security establishment defines Yehudah and Shomron as a front, it is clear to any reasonable person that the residents are part of the front.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

It’ll Put Me in Debt — Still Send Them to Israel? | Ask the Rabbi Live with Rabbi Chaim Mintz

WATCH:

An Iranian missile fired in the heavy Iranian barrage on Thursday morning hit a residential building in Holon, injuring dozens and causing heavy damage to property. A shul in the city was damaged from the impact. Passers-by rushed to help the gabbai remove the sifrei Torah to a safe place. Holon Mayor Shai Keinan said that the residents who were forced to evacuate the building will be housed in hotels. “The residents were evacuated to a family center at the Gordon School, where social workers and psychologists were waiting for them along with food and drinks. Everything is organized like an army. We are already set with hotels in advance.”   Gil Karnei, a resident of Holon, told Yisrael Hayom: “We were in the safe room and I heard a huge explosion. The house shook. When I went out I arrived here at the scene of the impact sites. Two four-story buildings, old buildings, about 40-50 years old, took a direct hit. One building looks half destroyed; the second building is also destroyed. The whole area is a huge environmental disaster. Residents tried to escape from there. And the whole area was strewn with huge pieces of shrapnel in a radius of 200-300 meters.” Amit, who lives with his parents in the building that was hit in Holon, said, “I live on the fourth floor. We were in the shelter and suddenly we heard a strong boom and then suddenly smoke started to enter the shelter. We opened the door and saw that everything was destroyed, the elevator everything – and there were a lot of stones on the floor. We didn’t see our apartment but they told us it was completely destroyed. There was also a gas leak, and forces arrived straight away and quickly got us out of the building.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

WATCH:

Spain has rejected a NATO proposal to spend 5% of GDP on defense needs that’s due to be announced next week, calling it “unreasonable.” In a letter sent Thursday to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that Spain “cannot commit to a specific spending target in terms of GDP” at next week’s NATO summit in The Hague. Most U.S. allies at NATO are on track to endorse U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that they invest 5% of gross domestic product on their defense and military needs. In early June, Sweden and the Netherlands said that they aim to meet the new target. Spain is the lowest spender in the 32-nation military alliance, directing less than 2% of its GDP on defense expenditure. In April, Sánchez said the government will raise defense spending by 10.5 billion euros ($12 billion) to reach NATO’s previous target of 2% of GDP. (AP)

LISTEN:

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​​For more info, email bitachon4life@gmail.com.

 

 

 

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In this episode, Rabbi Reinman describes Yehu’s eradication of Baal worship and the eventual collapse and dissolution of Malchus Yisrael.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Ten Lost Tribes

WATCH:

How far did Baal worship extend in the Kingdom of Yisrael when Yehu arrived on the scene, and how deep did it go? A close reading of the pesukim provides the answer.

When Hashem sent Eliahu on his mission, we read, “And Hashem said to him, ‘Go, retrace your steps to the Damascus desert, and when you come, you shall anoint Chazael as king over Aram. And you shall anoint Yehu ben Nimshi as king over Yisrael, and you shall appoint Elisha ben Shafat of Aveil-mecholah to be your successor as a prophet. And it will be that Yehu will kill those who escape the sword of Chazael, and Elisha will kill those who escape the sword of Yehu. And I will allow to survive seven thousand in Israel, all those who did not bend their knee to the Baal, and all the mouths that did not kiss it.’”[1] Hashem promised to protect these seven thousand from the attacks by Chazael and the Arameans. It would seem from these verses that almost all the people of Israel, except for these seven thousand, had become Baal worshippers.

The long story continues. Eliahu appoints Chazael and Elisha, and then he passes away. Elisha secretly appoints Yehu as king and tells him he must destroy the House of Achav and eradicate the Baal worshippers. Yehu mobilizes his followers and prepares to fulfill his mission.

And then we read, “Yehu called together all the people, and he said to them, ‘Achav served the Baal a little bit, but Yehu will serve him a lot. And now, call to me all the prophets of the Baal, all who serve him and all his priests. Not a man shall be missing, for I am about to offer a great sacrifice to the Baal. Whoever fails to appear shall not live.’ Yehu did this as a ruse in order to destroy the Baal worshippers. And Yehu said, ‘Proclaim an assembly for the Baal,’ and they proclaimed it.

“Yehu sent summonses throughout Israel, and all the Baal worshippers came. There was not a man who failed to appear … and Yehu stationed eighty men outside, and he instructed them, ‘If any of the men I deliver into your hands escapes, you will pay for it with your lives.’ And when they finished making their burnt-offerings, Yehu instructed the soldiers and the captains, ‘Come and attack them. Not a man shall be allowed to leave.’

“They attacked them with swords. The soldiers and captains struck them down … They levelled the temple of the Baal and made it into a latrine until this day. And thus, Yehu eradicated the Baal from Israel.”[2]

So how many Baal worshippers were there in Israel? Apparently, they all fit into the temple of the Baal. Let us even say that the temple was a massive stadium. Let us even say that tens of thousands fit into it. Let us say, conservatively that the population of Malchus Yisrael was several hundred thousand people. If you subtract the seven thousand allowed to survive, there were still too many to fit into even the largest temple.

These two conflicting sets of verses provide a snapshot of the situation in the Kingdom of Israel. It would seem that there were at most several tens of thousands of actual Baal worshippers. But there were only seven thousand who did not bend a knee to the Baal, who rejected the Baal cult totally.

In other words, they made no compromises or acknowledgments of the pagan cult the House of Achav had brought into the kingdom. They did not close their stores on pagan holidays. They did not schedule their vacations during the pagan festivities. They did not wish their pagan neighbors a happy holiday. They did not attend pagan parties and celebrations. They did not allow the pagan cult to have any effect on the rhythms of their lives. God said that these seven thousand people would not suffer during the attacks by King Chazael and the Arameans.

The rest of the population, although only a minority of them were actual Baal worshippers, did bend their knees to the Baal. They did allow the Baal cult to influence their lives. But only the thousands of actual Baal worshippers were packed into the temple of the Baal and slaughtered by Yehu’s men. Once they were gone, the Baal cult was no longer a factor in the kingdom, and life returned to normal …

Read full chapter and earlier chapters at www.rabbireinman.com.

[1] I Kings 19:16-18.

[2] II Kings 10:18-28.

BREAKING VIDEO: An Iranian missile made impact at or near the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva. Damage is seen. There are other reports of missile impacts in other locations as well.

A new poll has revealed that a majority of President Donald Trump’s supporters oppose U.S. involvement in the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. Among voters who backed Trump in the 2024 presidential election, 53 percent do not want the U.S. to join Israel’s strikes on Iran, with just 19 percent in favor, according to an Economist/YouGov survey conducted over the weekend.

Another 28 percent said they were unsure.

A deep rift has emerged within MAGA ranks over whether the U.S. should be drawn into the overseas conflict, with pro-Israel war hawks such as Laura Loomer and Ted Cruz facing off against isolationist die-hards such as Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk. Carlson, usually a Trump ally, has accused the president of abandoning the “America First” movement and betraying voters who supported him in part for his promise to end U.S. involvement in wars abroad.

Trump this week appeared to edge closer to direct involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict, which began after Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites despite ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran on a nuclear deal. The Economist/YouGov poll found bipartisan support for talks with Iran, with 61 percent of Republicans and 58 percent of Democrats in favor. Read more at The Guardian.

{Matzav.com}

This op-ed by David Horovitz first appeared at the Times of Israel: 

How close was Iran to the bomb, and how far has Israel now pushed it off?

Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s nuclear weapons watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned a few weeks ago that “they’re not far off,” and also cautioned that Tehran’s obstruction of his agency’s inspectors has meant that the IAEA has not been able to keep track of recent progress by the regime on the various aspects of its program.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was still more dramatic, characterizing Israel’s resort to force on Friday as preemptive action against an imminent “existential” threat. In a video address at the start of the campaign, Netanyahu said Iran had stockpiled enough uranium to build nine bombs, had taken unprecedented steps in recent months to weaponize that enriched uranium, and could get to the bomb “in a very short time — it could be a year, or it could be a few months.” (The IDF at the launch of the attacks said Iran could enrich enough uranium to weapons-grade level for 15 bombs “within days,” and did not specify how long it would take the regime to complete its nuclear weapons project.)

By contrast, CNN on Tuesday cited a host of American sources assessing that Iran was “up to three years away” from being able to build, deliver and detonate a bomb and asserting that it was not even “actively pursuing” one — an implausible claim, not least in light of the regime’s documented production of increased quantities of near-weapons-grade uranium with no civilian application.

As far as I have been able to determine from interactions with several sources familiar with the matter, Israel’s intelligence assessments are that Iran was very close indeed to attaining nuclear weapons — as in, building and delivering a working bomb. Closer, that is, even than Netanyahu’s public estimate.

The Iranians have the enriched uranium, produced at their now largely destroyed main enrichment facility at Natanz. It has likely been stockpiled at the Isfahan site, also targeted by the IAF. In 2023, the IAEA reported evidence of uranium enriched further, to 83.7 percent purity, just short of weapons-grade, by the advanced centrifuges at the relatively invulnerable Fordo facility.

Critically, too, they have developed the highly complex nuclear detonator — the engineering device that causes the nuclear explosion of the bomb’s uranium core. And they have long had the missile capacity to deliver such a device.

Putting all the required components together, should Iran have chosen to do so, I was given to understand, was a matter of no more than two months, and possibly as little as a week.

Or, rather, it would have been — before Israel launched its attacks.

Why is that no longer the case, given that the 60%-enriched uranium would be headed to the thus-far impregnable Fordo, and given that Iran has the knowledge — which cannot be destroyed in aerial attacks — to complete its program?

Well, for one thing, Israel believes that its raids are relentlessly destroying the knowledge.

At a press conference on Monday evening, Netanyahu said Israel had killed 10 of Iran’s senior nuclear scientists and would soon reach several more. (Indeed, that number is now understood to have risen to 14.) These scientists, I was told, are the elite of the nuclear weapons program, the small group of experts with the knowledge and experience to bring Iran’s nuclear weapons drive to fruition. They can be replaced, of course, but their successors are less adept.

Additionally, having raided Iran’s nuclear weapons program archive in Tehran in 2018, in one of the most daring operations in Mossad history, and brought home vast quantities of material in a convoy of trucks, Israel in a barely reported air assault this week blew up all manner of documentation and other materials relating to the project, including the archive’s computer backups.

What Israel believes it is managing to do, in other words, is set back the program by eliminating its key personnel, and depriving their successors of the institutional memory to efficiently and rapidly revive the program.

Physically tackling the centerpiece Fordo facility would plainly be more straightforward were President Donald Trump to bring the United States into the conflict and order B-2 bombers to drop a series of the ultimate bunker-busting “Massive Ordnance Penetrators,” the GBU-57,” consecutively through a hole into the site, built into a mountain, until it was destroyed — a potential scenario sketched out by the New York Times on Tuesday.

Trump “will decide on what is good for America,” said Netanyahu on Monday. “We will accept any assistance.”

But Israel does not believe Fordo is impenetrable. “We are continuing to destroy nuclear targets systematically,” said Netanyahu. Others in the know suggest cryptically that there is more than one way to breach even the most inaccessible and fortified targets.

A central characteristic of Israel’s attacks on Iran since Friday is the intelligence material that has enabled them. Israel achieved air control through western Iran to Tehran, took out all air defenses en route, destroyed vast numbers of missile factories and launchers, is battering nuclear sites, and has eliminated those nuclear scientists and the regime’s key military chiefs, and their deputies and their successors, in pinpoint strikes.

I wrote on Friday that “The assessment in the security establishment is that this was the right and necessary moment to strike — before Iran has rebuilt defenses destroyed in Israel’s far less dramatic attack last October, and at a time when intel on the Iranian [nuclear] program is regarded as particularly strong.”

The concern in the security establishment is that its intelligence on the regime’s nuclear program would not have been “particularly strong” for very much longer — another indication that the ayatollahs’ push for the bomb was entering its final phase.

All the signs are that Israel is responding just in time, and moving to separate an ideologically and territorially rapacious regime from the weaponry with which it intended to pursue the destruction of Israel and hegemony in this region and beyond.

Regime change: ‘We’ll be very happy’

Regime change is not a formal Israeli government goal of the war itself, but there can be no doubt that it is a desired result.

From the start of the attacks, Netanyahu has declared to the Iranian people that their “liberation from tyranny is closer than ever,” and IAF strikes on symbols of the regime, notably including its state media facilities, are overtly intended to weaken its hold on the public. In an interview on Tuesday with his favorite Hebrew TV outlet, Channel 14, Netanyahu asserted that 80 percent of Iranians “hate” their rulers.

As is frequently the case, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi has been among the most revelatory government officials on this issue.

Bringing down the regime is “certainly not a defined goal of the operation,” he said in a Channel 12 interview on Tuesday night, “because we know that the only people who can bring down the Iranian regime are the Iranians.”

“But we’ll be very happy if, as the very important, consequential result” of Israel’s attacks on this “extremist leadership,” it suffers the same fate as other such regimes, Hanegbi went on, referring in particular to the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.

“Not only would we not be sorry, it would be the best thing that could happen for the world, for the region and certainly for Israel,” he said. “Do we have the means to carry this out ourselves? Absolutely not. Will what we are doing today lead to this kind of result? There are those who believe so.”

Asymmetry
A wise man pointed this out to me, and I am happy to share it: “In the coverage of the conflict between Israel and Iran, we need to really emphasize the asymmetry between the interests of the two states: Iran would like to destroy Israel and Israel… would like not to be destroyed by Iran. This is not a situation where evenhandedness is appropriate.”

How many Arrows?

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday morning that the IDF is “running low” on Arrow missile interceptors. The IDF responded to the report with a bland statement that it was “ready to handle any scenario” but does not comment on “matters related to munitions.”

It seems highly improbable that the IDF, having directly planned this operation for many months and worked on it more broadly for years, would have gone to war with insufficient supplies of its prime missile defense interceptors.

The IDF had anticipated that Iran would fire 600 ballistic missiles in its initial response to Israel’s strikes early on Friday. In fact, Iran fired none at all in those opening hours. To date, it has fired some 400, and is believed to have some 1,800 left.

‘The Destruction of Israel Plan’

The stunning early success of Israel’s assault on Iran’s nuclear and military capacities and personnel has refocused Israeli anguish on the failures of October 7, 2023. As was the case when Israel detonated thousands of explosive-laced pagers on their Hezbollah owners in September, we agonize anew at the unfathomable, willful blindness of the political, military and intelligence echelons that left Israel wide open to the monstrous mass-murdering Hamas and that still sees 53 hostages held in Gaza, 20 of them believed to be alive.

By the same token, however, it is worth pausing to internalize what might have become of Israel had Hamas fully coordinated its invasion with its then-far more potent fellow proxy Hezbollah, and with their Iranian sponsor.

A scenario in which not only was Hamas leading thousands of terrorists through the useless border fence under cover of heavy rocket fire, but Hezbollah was also attacking full force in the north, and Iran was firing hundreds of ballistic missiles all across Israel, is too terrible for words.

Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar speaks during a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, in Gaza City, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)
The likelihood of any such coordinated attack taking Israel by complete surprise would have receded the more widely it was discussed and planned, with Israeli intel presumably far more likely to have realized what was about to unfold and the political and military leadership able to prepare in time.

But it is important to highlight that the four designated goals of this attack on Iran, as approved by the security cabinet and revealed by Hanegbi on Friday, include attacking Iran’s capacity to destroy Israel via a multifront ground invasion.

Hanegbi stressed that while some may deride this ambition, the Iranian leadership continues to believe it is absolutely feasible.

Similarly, the IDF on Friday issued a statement specifying that its Intelligence Directorate “has collected and analyzed vast quantities of intelligence materials that reveal the regime has a concrete plan to destroy the State of Israel, which they call ‘The Destruction of Israel Plan.’”

And it put out video material to underline the point.

“In parallel to the efforts of the Iranian regime to obtain nuclear weapons, the regime has focused on manufacturing tens of thousands of missiles and UAVs, and is advancing plans for a combined ground offensive against Israel on multiple fronts simultaneously,” the IDF said, in a bombshell statement that was barely reported in the fast-moving early hours of the Israeli operation.

“Materials collected during the war show the coordination between the Iranian regime and the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, including after the October 7th Massacre, which demonstrates how the regime plans to re-arm the terrorist organizations,” it added.

Military sources have elaborated that Iran’s ground invasion plan involves undermining the regimes in Egypt and Jordan, to enable a coordinated attack across every frontier. In recent days, again barely noticed, the IDF has announced that it is bolstering deployments on the Jordan border and in the north.

Via its nuclear program, with its ballistic missile development, and with an intended multifront ground offensive, Iran’s ayatollahs were confident they were on the way to wiping Israel out. In initiating a preemptive campaign to stop them, the IDF Spokesman said on Friday, “the State of Israel was left with no choice.”

{Matzav.com}

The COVID-19 variant that may be driving a recent rise in cases in some parts of the world has earned a new nickname: “razor blade throat” COVID. That’s because the variant — NB.1.8.1. or “Nimbus” — may cause painful sore throats. The symptom has been identified by doctors in the United Kingdom, India and elsewhere, according to media outlets in those countries. Other COVID-19 symptoms of any variant include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or loss of taste or smell. Experts say there isn’t major cause for concern with the Nimbus variant, but here ‘s what else you need to know about it. Here’s where the variant causing ‘razor blade throat’ is spreading The rise in cases late last month is primarily in eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and western Pacific regions, the World Health Organization said May 28. The new variant had reached nearly 11% of sequenced samples reported globally in mid-May. Airport screening in the United States detected the new variant in travelers arriving from those regions to destinations in California, Washington state, Virginia and New York. You aren’t likely to get sicker from this variant than others Not so far, anyway. The WHO said some western Pacific countries have reported increases in COVID cases and hospitalizations, but there’s nothing so far to suggest that the disease associated with the new variant is more severe compared to other variants. COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the Nimbus variant Yes. The WHO has designated Nimbus as a “variant under monitoring” and considers the public health risk low at the global level. Current vaccines are expected to remain effective. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last month that COVID-19 shots are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women — a move immediately questioned by public health experts. (AP)

The White House is enveloped in a cloud of suspense and conflicting signals as President Donald Trump weighs a momentous decision: whether to deploy U.S. B-2 stealth bombers to drop bunker-busting munitions on Iran’s heavily fortified Fordo nuclear facility. The intrigue has sparked a frenzy of contradictory reports, leaving allies, adversaries, and observers on edge. According to CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, and ABC News, Trump has greenlit a military strike plan targeting the Fordo installation, buried deep within a mountain near Qom. Yet, sources say that the president has not issued a final order, keeping the world guessing about his next move. The plan, if executed, would see the U.S. unleash its Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a 30,000-pound bomb designed to obliterate deeply entrenched targets. Such a strike would mark a dramatic escalation in U.S.-Iran relations and could reshape the geopolitical landscape. Complicating the picture, The New York Times reports that Iranian officials are slated to meet with U.S. representatives “soon,” hinting at a possible diplomatic off-ramp. The prospect of talks has fueled speculation that Trump, known for his deal-making instincts, may be holding the military option as leverage to extract concessions from Tehran. Yet, with no concrete timeline for these discussions, the diplomatic path remains shrouded in uncertainty. Meanwhile, Axios paints a different portrait, suggesting Trump harbors doubts about the potential strike’s efficacy. Sources close to the president indicate he questions whether even the MOP can fully neutralize Fordo’s nuclear capabilities, given its subterranean defenses. This hesitation, Axios notes, stems from intelligence assessments that cast doubt on the operation’s ability to deliver a decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Adding another layer of intrigue, Semafor reports that a strike may be increasingly unlikely due to a limited U.S. stockpile of bunker-busting munitions. The Pentagon, according to defense officials cited by Semafor, faces logistical constraints that could hamper its ability to sustain a prolonged campaign against Fordo and other fortified Iranian sites. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that the U.S. is gearing up for a strike on Iran, with the attack expected to come with the next few days – possibly over the weekend. Curiously, Israel, which has long viewed Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat, has not formally requested U.S. assistance in bombing Fordo, according to multiple reports. While a U.S. strike would undoubtedly aid Israel’s strategic objectives, the IDF appear confident in their own audacious – and still secret – plan to neutralize the facility. Lacking the U.S.’s heavy bunker-busting bombs, Israeli military planners are reportedly banking on a high-risk operation involving elite special forces to infiltrate and destroy Fordo from within. This approach draws inspiration from a recent Israeli commando raid in Syria, where operatives successfully dismantled an Assad-era weapons facility. The IDF’s plan for Fordo would involve penetrating the heavily guarded site, sabotaging critical infrastructure, and escaping before Iranian forces could mount a counterattack. Such an operation would be a staggering display of military prowess but carries immense risks, including the potential for significant casualties and regional retaliation. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stepped forward as a potential mediator in the mounting crisis between Israel and Iran, offering Moscow’s involvement in seeking a peaceful solution. His vision: an agreement that would permit Iran to pursue a non-military nuclear program while simultaneously ensuring Israeli security.

Addressing a group of senior editors from global news organizations at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin acknowledged the complexity of the standoff. “It’s a delicate issue,” he said, but added optimistically, “in my view, a solution could be found.”

Putin revealed that Russia had presented its proposals to the relevant parties, including Iran, Israel, and the United States. “We are not imposing anything on anyone; we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,” he said.

Despite Putin’s interest in de-escalation, he drew a firm line when asked about a potential Israeli assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “I don’t even want to discuss such a possibility,” he stated.

Khamenei himself has dismissed Washington’s calls for surrender in the face of increasing Israeli military action and has issued a stark warning to the U.S. that any intervention would bring “irreparable damage to them.”

Russia has long balanced ties with both Israel and Iran, walking a diplomatic tightrope. The Kremlin maintains strong defense and energy ties with Tehran, while also nurturing a historically cordial relationship with Israel. Putin’s offer comes as an extension of this balancing act and follows a recent phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump.

According to Trump, he urged Putin to shift his attention to the ongoing war in Eastern Europe. “I said, ‘Do me a favor, mediate your own,’” Trump recalled. “I said, ‘Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later.’”

This marked a change in tone from Trump, who had previously expressed openness to Putin’s mediation proposal in the Middle East.

Russia’s presence in Iran’s nuclear landscape runs deep. At the forum, Putin mentioned that more than 200 Russian engineers are currently working on new reactors in Bushehr, a project continuing a legacy that began with Moscow’s involvement in Iran’s first nuclear power plant.

“We agreed with the Israeli leadership that their security will be ensured,” he said, noting that Iran had not requested any military help from Russia. He further pointed out that while Russia had previously offered a complete air defense system to Tehran, “the Iranian side showed little interest.”

“Our proposal was to create a system, not isolated deliveries, but a system,” Putin said. Israel later claimed to have destroyed some of the S-300 air defense systems that Russia had supplied to Iran during strikes last year.

Turning to Ukraine, Putin took the opportunity to commend Trump’s peace stance, echoing Trump’s assertion that the war might have been avoided had he been in power. “If Trump had been the president, the conflict indeed might not have erupted,” Putin said.

Although Trump recently floated the idea of a 30-day ceasefire, Putin rejected the proposal unless Ukraine halts mobilization and the West stops supplying arms. He reiterated his readiness for dialogue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though he claimed that Zelenskyy had lost legitimacy after his term ended — a claim rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.

“We are ready for substantive talks on the principles of a settlement,” Putin said, noting that previous negotiations had successfully led to prisoner exchanges and repatriation of fallen soldiers.

Putin was asked by the Associated Press about Russia condemning Israeli strikes on Iran while continuing to bombard Ukrainian cities. He defended Russia’s actions. “The strikes were carried out against military industries, not residential quarters,” he said.

However, AP journalists recently documented civilian casualties in Ukraine. Rescue workers in Kyiv have pulled more bodies from the wreckage of a nine-story building destroyed earlier in the week by a Russian missile, raising the death toll to 28.

Putin stood firm, insisting Russia would pursue its goal to “demilitarize” Ukraine. “We will not allow Ukraine to have armed forces that would threaten the Russian Federation and its people,” he declared. “And if we fail to reach a settlement, we will achieve our goals by military means.”

He issued a stern warning to Germany not to provide long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, cautioning that doing so could pull Berlin into direct conflict with Moscow. Yet, he added, such weapons wouldn’t stop Russia’s momentum. “Our troops are advancing along the entire line of contact,” he said, adding, “If they fail to agree, the situation could change for the worse.”

Putin also pushed back against Western concerns that Russia might attack NATO nations, brushing them off as baseless. He called such fears “ravings” and pointed out that NATO’s military expenditures dwarf Russia’s defense budget.

Despite the ongoing conflict, Putin used the St. Petersburg forum to tout Russia’s economic strength and attract investment. Western leaders have largely boycotted the event since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, leaving the stage to representatives from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and BRICS nations.

Putin met with Dilma Rousseff, the current head of the New Development Bank and former Brazilian president, and is expected to hold discussions with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, as well as senior officials from China, South Africa, Bahrain, and OPEC.

{Matzav.com}