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The wreckage of the Altalena, the arms-carrying Irgun vessel whose destruction during Israel’s War of Independence became one of the most bitter episodes in the fledgling state’s history, has been located deep beneath the Mediterranean Sea off Israel’s coast, government ministers announced Monday.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, both members of Otzma Yehudit, said the vessel remains intact and was discovered at approximately 12:30 a.m. at a depth of 503 meters, or about 1,650 feet, roughly 20 kilometers — 12 miles — offshore “during a complex maritime search operation.”

The ministers attributed the discovery to “long months of meticulous planning and preparation” and the deployment of “special sensors and advanced survey systems.” They said additional information about the operation would be presented at a press conference.

Despite Ben Gvir’s involvement in announcing the discovery, an IDF spokesperson said the military did not participate in the effort to find the Altalena.

Hebrew-language media reported that the search was spearheaded by the Marine Mapping Division of the Survey of Israel, the government body responsible for the country’s mapping and surveying operations.

Hagai Ronen, director-general of the agency, hailed the discovery as a significant intersection of modern technology and Israeli history.

“The locating of the Altalena is an exciting historical moment, in which knowledge, technology and advanced mapping capabilities allow us to touch on a significant chapter in the history of the State of Israel.”

According to Ynet, search teams located the vessel using sonar equipment. Because the wreck lies more than 500 meters beneath the surface and far offshore, however, bringing the entire ship to the surface is believed to be extremely difficult and potentially impossible.

The Heritage Ministry is reportedly examining other ways of commemorating the wreck if it cannot be recovered. Among the possibilities under consideration is placing a floating marker above the location, while efforts are also underway to document the Altalena in its current underwater resting place.

This is not the first time authorities have claimed to have pinpointed the ship. In December 2012, officials announced that the Altalena had been located several miles off Rishon Lezion at a depth of approximately 300 meters. The government said at the time that it hoped to raise the wreck and place it on land in either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem as a memorial.

The Altalena arrived in Israel in June 1948 carrying weapons and ammunition for Menachem Begin’s Irgun forces as the newly established Jewish state was fighting its War of Independence.

Israel and the IDF had been established only weeks earlier, and tensions between Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Begin were already intense. Ben-Gurion demanded that the weapons aboard the Altalena be handed over to the newly created IDF, setting the stage for an armed confrontation.

After reaching the Israeli coast and eventually running aground, the vessel became the center of a tense standoff. Irgun members aboard the ship faced IDF and Palmach troops positioned onshore, and the confrontation ultimately erupted into gunfire. Forces on land, under the command of a young Yitzhak Rabin — who would later become IDF chief of staff and prime minister — were ordered to destroy the vessel, which was struck by artillery and burst into flames.

Sixteen members of the Irgun and three IDF soldiers were killed during the confrontation, while the weapons and other supplies aboard the Altalena were lost.

The episode has long been remembered as one of the moments when the newly established State of Israel came perilously close to an internal civil war. Begin instructed his men not to retaliate against the government forces and later reflected on the decision, saying, “My greatest accomplishment was not retaliating and causing civil war.”

The burned-out remains of the Altalena were subsequently pulled farther offshore and sunk. In the decades since, the confrontation and Ben-Gurion’s decision to fire on the ship have remained deeply controversial, particularly on the Israeli right, where the Altalena became an enduring political and historical symbol.

Kan reported in August 2025 that Eliyahu had allocated NIS 1 million — approximately $335,000 — toward efforts to locate the historic wreck. The funding supported the Israeli marine research vessel Bat-Galim, which carried technology capable of searching for and identifying the ship’s remains.

Following the discovery, Eliyahu described the find as “a defining moment for our national memory.”

Ben Gvir also portrayed the discovery as an important moment in confronting a painful episode from Israel’s earliest days, though his precise role in the search operation was not immediately clear.

“Tonight, we are closing a historic circle on one of the most painful and formative events in the history of Israeli society,” said Ben Gvir, whose role in the operation is unclear. Ben Gvir heads the Otzma Yehudit party, which Eliyahu belongs to.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu disclosed Monday that Iran had attempted to assassinate one of his children, revealing information that Israeli authorities had previously barred from publication.

Speaking in an interview with Channel 14 News, Netanyahu described the alleged Iranian plot while explaining the extraordinary security measures surrounding members of his family.

“There is something here that is unbelievable. Iran targeted one of my children. Iran tried to murder one of my children,” he said.

Pressed on whether his assertion was based on intelligence that had been presented to him, Netanyahu declined to provide further details and instead reiterated the claim.

“Iran tried to assassinate one of my children,” he said.

Netanyahu said the security protection afforded to his children should therefore not be viewed as an unnecessary privilege, arguing that the threat against them is concrete.

“It is something without which this attempt will simply succeed,” he said.

The disclosure comes weeks after the Ministerial Committee for Shin Bet Affairs approved long-term security arrangements for the Netanyahu family. Under the July 16 decision, Netanyahu will receive security protection for the remainder of his life, while his wife, Sara, will remain protected for her husband’s lifetime. Netanyahu’s sons are slated to retain security for five years even if he does not serve another term as prime minister.

Ahead of that decision, the Shin Bet and Mossad reportedly concluded that Netanyahu and members of his family would remain under a high threat level throughout their lives. Israeli security officials have cited concerns that the country’s enemies could seek revenge against Netanyahu and his relatives over the assassinations of senior Iranian officials during the war.

Evidence of Iranian efforts to target senior Israeli officials emerged two years ago with the arrest of Motti Maman, a 73-year-old Ashkelon resident accused of being recruited by Iranian intelligence operatives to participate in assassination plots. Israeli authorities said the potential targets included Netanyahu, then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

According to Israeli security officials, Maman was secretly transported into Iran on two occasions and received money in connection with missions he was asked to carry out. Authorities said his involvement stemmed from an effort to obtain “easy money” after falling into debt.

Netanyahu’s revelation came amid separate reports that Iranian state television broadcast a video threatening Barron Trump, the 20-year-old son of President Donald Trump.

The Iranian video, titled “Where and How Barron Trump Should Be Killed,” alleges that Barron’s movements have been “fully monitored” and claims that information has been gathered about the university he attends, vehicles traveling with him and the locations of Secret Service personnel assigned to his protection. The broadcast additionally claimed that a $10 million bounty had been placed on Barron, though that assertion had not been independently confirmed at the time of publication.

The latest threat follows another video released in July by the Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. That publication claimed Iranian operatives had uncovered access routes and vulnerabilities involving Melania Trump’s security arrangements in New York. The New York Post also reported in late May on an alleged plot targeting Ivanka Trump.

Iranian state media have additionally directed threats at President Trump himself. In July, a billboard erected in Tehran’s Islamic Revolution Square depicted Trump apparently lying dead in a coffin and carried the English-language threat, “We will kill Trump.”

{Matzav.com}

Following days of intense backlash from Lakewood, NJ parents and mosdos over a stunning increase in non-mandated busing costs, the price families will be required to pay has now been reduced, with the additional charge cut from $560 to $290 per child.

The revised fee means parents will pay a total of $675 per child for non-mandated transportation for the 2026-27 school year rather than the $945 announced by the Lakewood Student Transportation Authority last week.

The turnaround comes after the original increase sparked an uproar across the Lakewood region, with families protesting the sudden financial burden and mosdos taking the extraordinary step of recommending that parents not opt into the program at the $945 rate.

Under the original plan announced last week, the annual cost of non-mandated transportation was set to soar from $385 to $945 per child, leaving families who had already paid the initial $385 with another $560 bill for each affected child.

For a family with four children requiring non-mandated busing, the original increase would have meant an additional $2,240 this year alone, bringing the family’s total transportation bill to $3,780.

The announcement immediately generated widespread anger in a community already grappling with tuition, inflation and rapidly rising household expenses.

The controversy escalated further when the Igud Hamosdos advised Lakewood schools that parents should not, at that point, opt into non-mandated transportation at the newly announced $945 rate.

The position was that the dramatically higher transportation expense should not simply be transferred to parents, and that government funding should instead be found to cover the shortfall.

That recommendation raised the possibility of a major transportation crisis just as the new school year is getting underway. If large numbers of parents refused to enroll their children, LSTA routes could potentially be consolidated or eliminated, leaving families scrambling for transportation and adding countless vehicles to Lakewood’s already heavily congested roads.

Now, following meetings involving representatives of LSTA, local and state government officials and askanim, a portion of the increase has been eliminated.

In a message sent to parents Monday, YSA announced the breakthrough.

“We are pleased to report that we met with representatives of the LSTA, our local and state government officials, and askanim. To ensure bussing for our Kehila starts on time, we were able to reduce the additional non-mandated bussing fee to $290. At this point, we recommend that parents opt in for transportation. Please note that the fee is due now.”

The message continued: “Together, Bezras Hashem we will continue working with the many stakeholders involved to explore possible solutions for bussing. We will continue to keep you updated throughout the year. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.”

The revised arrangement represents a reduction from what parents were facing just days ago. Instead of paying an additional $560 above the original $385 charge, families will now be asked to pay another $290, bringing the total annual cost to $675. In other words, the increase itself has been cut nearly in half — from $560 to $290.

For a family with four affected children, the additional expense drops from $2,240 under the $945 rate to $1,160 under the new $675 rate — a savings of $1,080 compared with what the family was facing under the original announcement.

But many parents are still not satisfied, feeling that this whole thing is still a racket, forcing them to pay more into a system that seems to forever be asking for more.

So, while the latest agreement appears to have defused the immediate threat of widespread opt-outs and a potential transportation breakdown, major questions remain unanswered.

Most notably, it remains unclear how the approximately $270-per-child gap between the $945 LSTA said was necessary and the newly established $675 parent charge will be covered.

The Township, which is itself facing significant budget pressures, is still not contributing funds to cover the shortfall, according to those involved in the discussions.

That leaves open the obvious question of where the money is coming from and whether the arrangement reducing the parent contribution is sustainable for the remainder of the year and beyond.

The underlying financial problem facing Lakewood’s non-mandated transportation system has therefore not disappeared simply because the immediate fee has been reduced.

Chinatown community leaders are pressing Mayor Zohran Mamdani to reconsider plans for a massive new jail in the heart of the Manhattan neighborhood, warning that the deep excavation required for the project could cause surrounding ground to sink and potentially threaten nearby buildings.

The proposed 16-story detention facility is one piece of New York City’s $16 billion effort to shutter the Rikers Island jail complex and replace it with four borough-based jails located closer to courthouses. Under the current timetable, the broader project could be completed by 2032.

“The jail site sits on the soft, waterlogged ground of the old Collect Pond,” according to an Aug. 21 letter sent by 18 local leaders to the mayor, Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson, “Close Rikers’ Czar Dana Kaplan and City Council Speaker Julie Menin.

The group argues that construction at the White Street property could pose unusual risks because crews would have to dig deeply beneath the groundwater level.

“The construction plan calls for the deepest excavation ever attempted on its site, digging well below the water table. The city’s report warns that pumping out that water during construction can cause the surrounding ground to sink, and once it sinks, it does not come back,” the letter said.

The controversy centers on the former Manhattan Detention Complex at 124–125 White Street, which has been demolished to make way for the new borough-based jail. The project has faced intense opposition for years from Chinatown residents, merchants and community groups who have objected to the size, location and potential neighborhood impact of the facility.

The borough-based jail initiative dates back to the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who launched the effort to close Rikers Island nearly a decade ago. The project continued to move forward during Eric Adams’ mayoralty and has now become an issue confronting the Mamdani administration.

Opponents are particularly concerned about the foundations beneath some of Chinatown’s older structures. According to the community leaders, numerous nearby buildings stand on wooden pilings installed roughly a century ago that remain structurally sound because they are submerged in groundwater.

The leaders, citing an analysis by architect William Bialosky, contend that lowering the groundwater level could expose those wooden supports to air, accelerating deterioration and potentially compromising the buildings above them.

“The buildings in the danger zone are our homes, our small businesses, the historic buildings along Baxter Street, and Chung Pak senior housing, where some of our most vulnerable neighbors live,” the Chinatown reps said.

City officials, however, have maintained that the project is being engineered with those concerns in mind. Officials said last month that extensive safeguards are being incorporated to ensure “building safely below the [water] table.”

A July 20 report prepared by the city Department of Design and Construction, contractor Tutor Perini, the Department of Correction and other participants in the project detailed the measures intended to protect neighboring properties during excavation.

According to the report, crews will construct a continuous underground retaining barrier using overlapping concrete piles. The wall is designed to support the excavation, restrict movement of the surrounding soil and control groundwater while work proceeds far below street level.

Project officials acknowledged in the report that groundwater management is an essential component of maintaining stability and “protecting surrounding structures.”

The builders nevertheless maintain that the planned pile-wall system will substantially reduce soil movement and protect nearby buildings, underground utilities and other public infrastructure from the effects of construction.

“Only water within the excavation area is managed, minimizing impacts to the surrounding groundwater level,” the report said.

Officials further argued that the sealed retaining-wall approach is specifically intended to isolate the excavation from the neighborhood around it.

“By containing groundwater and excavation effects within the site, the sealed-wall method reduces risks to surrounding properties and infrastructure.”

Similar secant-pile construction techniques have been employed on major projects elsewhere in New York City, including the Gateway Tunnel Project, 100 11th Avenue in Chelsea, the Hudson Square development known as Project Galaxy for the Walt Disney Company, and 120 Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn.

The dispute over the engineering risks comes amid broader complaints about work already taking place at the Chinatown property. During the demolition and dismantling of the old detention complex, nearby residents have complained about recurring dust, trucks operating or traveling uncovered, idling vehicles and persistent construction noise.

The Chinatown Environmental Health Working Group has also reported elevated levels of particulate matter pollution in the vicinity of the construction site.

Among those who signed the Aug. 21 appeal to Mamdani were Vic Lee, CEO and co-founder of Welcome to Chinatown Inc.; Jan Lee, co-founder of Neighbors United Below Canal; Thomas Yu, executive director of Asian Americans for Equality; and Wayne Ho, president and CEO of the Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration on Monday formally launched “Operation Economic Outcast,” an aggressive new campaign aimed at economically isolating Iran and cutting off the revenue streams sustaining the regime, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warning foreign governments that Washington intends to “tighten the noose” around Tehran.

The strategy is designed to pressure countries around the world to halt oil purchases, energy transactions and other commercial dealings with Iran, effectively forcing governments and businesses to choose between maintaining economic ties with Tehran and facing consequences from the United States.

Bessent said President Trump has personally become involved in the pressure campaign, contacting foreign leaders directly with demands that they end specified dealings with Iran. He cautioned that Washington “does not have infinite patience” for governments that fail to cooperate.

“The president is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime. We are already seeing results,” Bessent said, without naming any specific countries.

The economic offensive comes as the war with Iran reaches the six-month mark and follows repeated signals from the administration that it was preparing what officials had described as an “Economic D-Day” intended to dramatically intensify financial pressure on Tehran.

Among the specific demands already conveyed to foreign governments, Bessent said, is a directive to close Bank Melli branches operating within their borders. Bank Melli is Iran’s largest government-owned commercial bank and represents one of the financial institutions Washington is seeking to isolate.

Bessent described Operation Economic Outcast as a comprehensive effort intended to close off alternative avenues through which Tehran could evade the mounting economic restrictions. He said the initiative will “foreclose every other option available,” describing the strategy as a “zero leakage approach” designed to leave the Iranian regime with “no minimal breathing space” to recover economically.

The administration’s objective, according to Bessent, is to confront Tehran with a stark decision between continued defiance accompanied by severe economic isolation and changing course in exchange for the possibility of eventually restoring normal international economic relations.

“Iran now faces a very clear choice, with only two paths before them: complete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a path back to normalcy with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy,” he said.

Bessent indicated that Monday’s announcement represents only the beginning of the new financial offensive. He said additional sanctions will be unveiled following his press conference and revealed that a major financial institution is expected to be sanctioned before the end of the week.

The Treasury secretary characterized the administration’s broader strategy toward Iran as one of “economic asphyxiation,” signaling that Washington intends to steadily eliminate Tehran’s remaining access to international commerce and financial networks.

{Matzav.com}

A victim of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks has been formally identified through forensic investigative genetic genealogy, marking the first time New York City has successfully used the emerging technique to identify someone killed at the World Trade Center.

A quarter-century after the attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives, New York City authorities continue the painstaking effort to identify remains recovered from the World Trade Center site.

The latest identification was made by the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in conjunction with the NYPD Detective Bureau. Investigators used genetic genealogy, a method that combines DNA analysis with genealogical and family-tree research to establish a person’s identity.

The newly identified victim was an adult woman whose relatives have chosen not to publicly disclose her identity. Her identification brings the number of World Trade Center victims formally identified to 1,654.

“It’s a breakthrough,” Dr. Jason Graham, New York City’s chief medical examiner, told ABC News. “I’m delighted to be able to say that we’ve now applied new methods to the World Trade Center identification efforts, and we have a new identification for the first time in 25 years using new methods, forensic investigative genetic genealogy.”

The scientific tools that made the identification possible were not available when the attacks occurred in 2001, leaving investigators at the time without techniques that have since transformed the investigation of unidentified remains and decades-old cases.

“The technology really wasn’t there,” said NYPD Det. Gregory Paduano. “There’s a lot of good future with genealogy.”

Forensic investigative genetic genealogy has increasingly been used by law enforcement agencies to crack cold cases and identify unknown victims. New York City’s medical examiner and the NYPD have more recently begun applying the same methodology to the enormous and uniquely difficult task of identifying World Trade Center victims.

“We already can see that it’s promising,” said Dr. Jennifer Odien, a forensic anthropologist in the New York medical examiner’s office. “Not every case is going to be able to go through genetic genealogy, but we do have DNA profiles that are not matching to our reference samples, so that’s the group right now that we’re focusing on and that hopefully is going to yield more positive results.”

Odien said investigators have identified 47 DNA profiles that could potentially be candidates for identification through genetic genealogy.

Those cases, however, represent only a small portion of the enormous amount of work that remains. Nearly 1,100 people killed at the World Trade Center — roughly 40% of the victims — have still not been formally identified 25 years after the attacks.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has repeatedly pledged that its identification effort will continue, regardless of how much time passes, as advances in forensic science provide new opportunities to identify victims whose remains could not previously be matched.

“The World Trade Center was the largest mass murder in the history of the United States, and it represents also the most complex forensic identification effort in our history,” Graham said. “And being able to apply new innovations to that identification work is a remarkable way that we can keep our commitment to the families.”

{Matzav.com}