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U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in an interview that aired on Tuesday that America cannot allow its Middle East foreign policy to be “subservient” to the State of Israel.

Speaking on the “All-In Podcast,” Vance compared Washington’s relationship with Jerusalem to U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to America’s “important partnerships” with NATO countries. “That doesn’t mean that we’re going to completely make our European foreign policy subservient to NATO,” he said.

“We’re going to work with people when we work with them. We’re going to disagree when we disagree. And we’re going to pursue America’s interest,” he continued. “That’s the only way to have a rational foreign policy.”

The Jewish state “has been an important partner when it comes to military technology, when it comes to intelligence sharing,” he said, but “the United States doesn’t always agree with Israel.”

Trump, more than “any president in the last 40 years,” he continued, has shown that he is willing to break with Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu.

“Rooting this relationship like all relationships in America’s interest is the way to actually have a rational conversation here,” Vance said.

That, he continued, “allows us to rationally focus and force ourselves to have a conversation about when something that maybe sounded good or maybe has become a cliche or a slogan for the past 20 or 30 years,” adding, “Well, maybe we have to do something different now.”

Vance also said in the interview that an American pullback from the Middle East would cause a worldwide energy crisis as long as Iran keeps attacking shipping.

While Trump returned to office wanting to keep the United States “out of foreign entanglements,” he was also “committed to Iran not having a nuclear weapon,” he said.

“Wanting to keep the United States out of foreign entanglements does not mean that you can never use the military in order to accomplish the American people’s objectives,” he added.

The alternative to Trump’s approach is that “the United States effectively says to the Middle East: you’re on your own,” he said.

That would mean an energy crisis “so long as the Iranians keep on shooting at shipping, which we know that’s exactly what they would do,” the vice president said, adding that the attacks have continued “even in the midst of peace negotiations.”

“So, I think the president is taking the responsible course of action. He’s protecting America’s assets in the region while also ensuring that world energy markets continue to get a supply of oil and natural gas” despite “Iranian terrorism,” he continued.

The United States had achieved “a substantial destruction, not just of their nuclear program, but also of the Iranian conventional military,” according to Vance. JNS

A Gaza terrorist who U.S. prosecutors allege joined the Hamas assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, can be heard in intercepted telephone calls laughing and discussing weapons and ammunition as the attack was underway, according to newly filed federal court exhibits.

One of the transcripts, filed on Tuesday by prosecutors in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, records an 8:55 a.m. call involving Mahmud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, who entered the United States in September 2024 and was arrested in Louisiana in 2025 on immigration-fraud charges.

The Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel began at 6:30 a.m.

“How is the situation?” an interlocutor identified in the transcript as Abu Haytham asks al-Muhtadi.

“Ok, what type of things do you have?” al-Muhtadi replies.

Abu Haytham responds that he had rifles but “no ammunitions.”

“Ok, are you ready?” al-Muhtadi asks.

“Yes, ready!” Abu Haytham answers.

“Ok, bring the rifles, and whatever you have,” al-Muhtadi instructs.

“Ok, bring ammunitions,” Abu Haytham says, with the transcript indicating laughter.

“What?” al-Muhtadi replies.

“Man! That is not what I meant,” says Abu Haytham. “You are not normal.”

In a separate intercepted call from 9:33 a.m. filed by prosecutors, Al-Muhtadi laughed as he stated, “Ah, no, I went inside,” and told an unidentified caller to join him “at Malaka’s, inside.”

During the exchange, Al-Muhtadi repeatedly told those around him, “Be careful, don’t mention Al-Qassam! No one mentions Al-Qassam, boys,” and ordered, “Turn your phones off, boys.”

When the caller asked if he had “extra—ammunition and things,” Al-Muhtadi responded, “Yes, yes man. Yes. Yes.”

After the caller said, “So, I will come to you empty. I have nothing,” Al-Muhtadi instructed: “Just come, but if you can, secure a motorcycle to use it, in order to come inside?”

Prosecutors submitted the transcripts as an exhibit to a motion in limine seeking to compel the defense to provide transcripts of material it intends to use at trial. Prosecutors say the calls support their allegation that al-Muhtadi directly participated in the Hamas-led assault.

Court exhibits also include a Sept. 18, 2024, online exchange after al-Muhtadi arrived in the United States. An associate advised him not to contact “the resistance guys,” warning that he was “under surveillance for everything” and urging him not to publish anything.

“Um Amin, there is democracy here,” al-Muhtadi replied. “If you post Al-Sinwar’s picture, no one will tell you anything,” in an apparent reference to Yahya Sinwar, who was the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the primary mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel, before he was killed by Israeli forces in October 2024. JNS

After approximately 11 years behind bars in Iraqi Kurdistan — including years under a death sentence that could have ended with his execution by hanging — Binyamin Chasin, Binyamin ben Limor, has been released from prison and is making his way to Eretz Yisroel.

The dramatic development marks the culmination of an extraordinary international pidyon shvuyim effort involving rabbonim, askonim, attorneys and thousands of Jews who contributed funds and tefillos toward saving Chasin’s life and ultimately securing his freedom.

Chasin’s ordeal stretches back more than a decade. Born in Iraqi Kurdistan before later living in Israel and Canada, he returned to Kurdistan in 2014 to visit his elderly grandparents, at a time when ISIS was expanding rapidly across the region. Reports from those involved in his case say that Chasin joined local Kurdish efforts to defend communities against the terror organization.

The following year, Chasin became involved in an altercation with a local taxi driver. Accounts circulated by those advocating on his behalf say that the driver heard Chasin speaking Hebrew, became hostile and threatened to turn him over to ISIS. A physical confrontation followed, during which the driver was seriously injured and later died. Chasin was arrested in 2015 and remained incarcerated from that point forward.

Those who worked on Chasin’s case have also alleged that he was subjected to severe mistreatment during his imprisonment and interrogations. Attorney and askan Avraham “Allen” Lowy, who became deeply involved in the effort and traveled to Iraq, previously described finding Chasin in severely deteriorated physical condition.

The case took an even more frightening turn in August 2020, when a Kurdish court sentenced Chasin to death by hanging. From that point onward, efforts to save his life intensified, with activists attempting both to protect him inside the Iraqi Kurdish prison system and to find a legal mechanism through which the death sentence could be overturned.

At one point, those working on his behalf succeeded in having him transferred from a prison in Sulaymaniyah, an area where activists feared Iranian influence posed an additional danger, to a facility in Erbil. The transfer improved his immediate security situation but did not remove the death sentence hanging over him.

A major public campaign titled “Zachreinu L’Chaim” was eventually launched to raise the money needed for a sulcha, a traditional reconciliation agreement with the family of the deceased. Under the arrangement being pursued, the family would withdraw its demand for Chasin’s execution in exchange for financial compensation, allowing the court to reconsider the death penalty.

More than 6,000 people reportedly participated in the fundraising effort, which sought $250,000 for the settlement.

The effort involved numerous askonim and legal advocates. A delegation including Lowy, Meyer Tzvi Tauber and Gershon Tzvi West traveled to Iraq in November 2025 to finalize the arrangement and ensure that the settlement funds reached their intended destination. Attorney Alan Dershowitz was also involved in advocacy surrounding the case.

Dayan Chaim Yosef Dovid Weiss of Antwerp also traveled to Kurdistan during the critical period and met personally with Chasin. According to reports from those involved, the sulcha was carried out according to local tribal customs in the presence of local elders.

The breakthrough finally came on November 13, 2025. After the deceased driver’s family formally granted forgiveness and the reconciliation agreement was submitted to the Kurdish court, a judge annulled Chasin’s death sentence. His punishment was reduced to a significantly shorter prison term, opening the door to his eventual release.

Following the annulment of his death sentence, an emotional Chasin was visited in prison by Dayan Weiss. According to a report at the time, Chasin recited the brachah of Hatov Vehameitiv and expressed his determination to enter yeshivah and embrace a fully frum life upon his release.

But although the immediate threat of execution had been lifted, Chasin was not yet free. He remained imprisoned for another 10 months as activists continued working through the legal and bureaucratic obstacles necessary to secure his release and permission to leave Iraq.

Recently, a renewed appeal was issued for Jews around the world to say Tehillim for Binyamin ben Limor. At that point, sources involved in the effort said they were cautiously optimistic that the final stages of the process could be completed within days or weeks.

Those hopes have now been realized.

Sources confirmed today that Chasin had finally left the Iraqi prison after more than a decade in captivity and had been granted permission to leave Iraq.

His arrival in Eretz Yisroel will also mark the beginning of an entirely new stage in his life.

Askonim involved in the case have arranged for Chasin to join the Foundations Program at Aish HaTorah in Yerushalayim. The yeshivah has already sent him a formal acceptance letter informing him that he has been admitted to the program and expressing its anticipation of welcoming him to Yerushalayim.

The plan is intended to provide Chasin with both a Torah environment and a framework as he begins rebuilding his life after 11 years of incarceration. Reports say preparations are also underway to help him obtain clothing, tefillin and other basic necessities and to assist him with the extensive process of readjusting to ordinary life after so many years in prison.

A targeted fundraising effort has also reportedly been opened to help cover his travel expenses and immediate rehabilitation needs following his release.

Israeli authorities had not publicly commented on the release as of Wednesday afternoon, and much of the information about the case has come from the activists and organizations who spent years working to secure Chasin’s freedom.

For the thousands who followed the case, donated to the pidyon shvuyim campaign and repeatedly davened for Binyamin ben Limor, Wednesday’s news brought an extraordinary saga full circle: a Jewish prisoner who once faced the gallows in Iraq is now free and preparing to begin a new life in Eretz Yisroel.

{Matzav.com}

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BREAKING: An Unprecedented Grassroots Movement Across 80 Seminaries

The energy across Eretz Yisroel is electric. In what has rapidly become one of the most inspiring grassroots mobilizations in Jewish history, 30,000 seminary girls across 80 seminaries have united with one singular focus: securing the future of Limud Hatorah in Eretz Yisroel.

Across buzzing call centers in Yerushalayim, Bnei Brak, and Modi’in Illit, thousands of young women are making calls day and night, many having undertaken ambitious personal fundraising goals. The campaign has already raised more than 20 million shekels.

Gedolei Yisroel on the Front Lines

This is far more than an ordinary campaign, it is an electrifying, historic movement sweeping across Eretz Yisroel. In an unprecedented and profoundly moving show of unity, Gedolei Yisroel are not watching from afar.

Torah leadership is fully and visibly involved, traveling from campaign center to campaign center across the country to stand directly alongside the girls. Offering personal chizuk and expressing deep gratitude for their tireless devotion, the Gedolim have ignited an extraordinary spirit in every room. Electrified by this historic backing, call centers nationwide have erupted with relentless energy and renewed passion as calls reach Jews across Eretz Yisroel and beyond.

The Current Financial Landscape: Closing the Gap

Over the past few months alone, Gedolei Yisroel have traveled to Brazil, Argentina, North America, Mexico, and Panama in an historic effort to confront the challenges facing Lomdei Torah in Eretz Yisroel. Through this united effort, 130,000 avreichim and bochurim remain immersed in Torah across 1,589 yeshivos and kollelim in Eretz Hakodesh, with support reaching 350,000 families, continuing uninterrupted despite mounting government decrees, funding freezes, and war.

Here is where the campaign stands right now:

– $10,882,890 has been pledged per month

– $12M is still needed per month

Klal Yisroel is now being called upon to close this remaining monthly deficit.

A Special Request from the Gedolim

When these dedicated young women call, please answer them with a warm smile.

They are our daughters, giving their energy and heart to uplift the Torah world on behalf of us all.

Claim Your Share Before Yom Kippur

As we approach Yom Kippur, there is no greater zechus than directly sustaining the learning of Torah.

With Gedolei Yisroel in the rooms and 30,000 girls leading the charge, the opportunity to participate is here. 

https://www.charidy.com/kerenolamhatorah/achinu

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Win the cover of the Vilna Gaon’s Tanach—a remarkable piece of Torah history!

Only 500 entries are available. Each participant receives a unique random number from 1–500 and donates that amount—possibly as little as $1.

Support Shaarei Yitzchak and enter for your chance to win!

Click HERE to enter!

An elderly Yid who lives on the sixth floor of an apartment building may continue using a noisy elevator at 4 a.m. to attend Selichos, despite a downstairs neighbor’s complaint that the elevator wakes him each morning, according to a ruling issued by Rav Roi Moshkovitz.

Rav Moshkovitz, a dayan and rosh kollel of Kollel Ro’eh Yisroel, discussed the unusual shailah during an interview with Ariel Berman on Kol Chai’s afternoon program, as part of a broader discussion about dinei mamonos and bein adam lachaveiro during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah.

Rav Moshkovitz explained that dinei mamonos extend far beyond conventional financial disputes. The laws govern many disagreements between people, including conflicts that arise between neighbors over the use of shared property and disturbances caused by one resident to another.

The ideal way to resolve such disagreements, he stressed, is through conversation and compromise before bringing the dispute to a bais din.

Rav Moshkovitz cited the words of Chazal: “Eizehu mishpat sheyesh bo shalom? Hevei omer: zeh bitzu’a” — what form of judgment contains peace? Compromise.

He also referenced the Gemara’s teaching that Yerushalayim was destroyed because people insisted upon strict din Torah and did not conduct themselves lifnim mishuras hadin.

“It is always preferable to reach an agreement,” Rav Moshkovitz stressed.

Berman then presented an actual case that had been brought before the dayan.

An elderly Yid lives on a high floor of an apartment building and leaves his home every morning at approximately 4 a.m. to attend Selichos. Because of his age, he uses the building’s elevator to descend from his apartment.

There is just one problem: the elevator is old — and noisy.

A resident living on the first floor complained that each morning, when his elderly neighbor takes the elevator to Selichos, the noise awakens him. The downstairs neighbor therefore demanded that the man stop using the elevator during the early-morning hours.

Rav Moshkovitz compared the case to another shailah involving a newspaper deliveryman who routinely used an apartment building’s elevator at approximately 5 a.m. The sound of the elevator repeatedly awakened a baby living in the building.

When a disturbance is permanent and ongoing and regularly causes harm to another resident, Rav Moshkovitz explained, there can be grounds to require the person causing the disturbance to find another solution.

He pointed in this context to the halachic distinction between a recurring nuisance — comparable to smoke that regularly affects a neighboring property — and an occasional or temporary disturbance.

The Selichos case, however, was different.

Rav Moshkovitz ruled that the elderly man could not be prohibited from using the elevator. Selichos during this period represents a temporary and time-limited circumstance, and the elderly resident was physically unable to walk down six flights of stairs each morning.

At the same time, Rav Moshkovitz urged both neighbors to be considerate of one another and to seek a mutually acceptable arrangement rather than allowing the disagreement to become a serious dispute during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah.

“You cannot force the upstairs neighbor to walk down the stairs and not use the elevator, at least during this period,” Rav Moshkovitz concluded.

And the dayan offered one more solution — this one with a smile.

Perhaps, he suggested, the downstairs neighbor should simply get up for Selichos as well.

Then the two neighbors could take the elevator and go to Selichos together.

{Matzav.com}

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As Lakewood prepares for Yom Tov, dozens of local Kollel families are facing a very different kind of Tishrei — wondering how they will cover even the basic expenses for their families.

For Keren Zichron Tzipora (KZT), the calls have been coming nonstop. The organization exists with one mission: to financially support and uplift Lakewood’s devoted Yungeleit and their families, with a simple message: “We are honored to support your Torah.”

For some families, the clothing gift cards provided by KZT will mean the only new clothing their children receive all year. Baruch Hashem, 20 families were assisted this past week alone — but dozens more are still waiting.

With Erev Yom Kippur quickly approaching, KZT is turning to the Lakewood community to help close the gap.

$500 can sponsor a Kollel family’s Yom Tov, but every amount can make a meaningful difference.

As the Yom HaDin approaches, it is an opportunity to bring tremendous relief to a local family — and enter the new year with the zechus of supporting Torah right here at home.

Who will tip the scales this Tishrei? 

Please Donate Here

Other ways to partner:
Call 24/7: 732-702-8100

Zelle / Venmo / Paypal: kerenzichrontzipora@gmail.com

Mail a check to:
Keren Zichron Tzipora
1511 Newport Drive
Lakewood, NJ 08701

All donations are tax-deductible. Tax ID 87-3452793

Thank you for standing with our Yungeleit. Wishing you a Kesiva V’chasima Tova.

In a stirring drashah ahead of Yom Kippur 5787, renowned mashpia Rav Elimelech Biderman delivered a powerful message about the extraordinary opportunities of the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, stressing the unique power of tefillah, teshuvah, tzedakah and forgiveness during these precious days.

Rav Biderman opened by speaking about the exceptional power of tefillah during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, when Hashem is especially close to every Yid. During the rest of the year, he explained, a person does not know when his tefillos will be accepted. During these days, however, even the tefillah of an individual possesses a special power to tear up an unfavorable decree and bring about a yeshuah.

Rav Biderman cited the Tur and Bais Yosef regarding the custom of Sephardic communities to recite Selichos and sound an alarm even on Shabbos Shuvah. The reason, he explained, is that a person’s judgment is finalized on Yom Kippur, making preparation for the holy day a matter of the greatest urgency.

To illustrate the unique power available during these days, Rav Biderman related a mashal from Rav Shimshon Pincus zt”l. A person could never lift an enormous concrete wall with his own strength. Give him a crane, however, and suddenly the seemingly impossible becomes possible.

The Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, Rav Biderman explained, provide every Yid with just such a “crane” of Siyata d’Shmaya. With that extraordinary Heavenly assistance, a person can lift himself even from a place from which he might ordinarily believe there is no way to rise.

Rav Biderman then related a striking mashal involving a child from Bnei Brak who required an expensive eye operation from a renowned specialist in Texas. In an extraordinary turn of events, the specialist himself suddenly arrived at the family’s home in Bnei Brak. But the child’s father, who had been sleeping, mistakenly turned him away, failing to realize who was standing outside his door.

“This is ‘Dirshu Hashem b’himatzo,’” Rav Biderman said. “Hashem is knocking at the door now. We must not miss the opportunity.”

A significant portion of the drashah focused on the tremendous zechus of tzedakah and chessed during the Yemei Hadin. Rav Biderman cited the Shulchan Aruch and Rambam, who write that during the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a person should increase his giving of tzedakah and performance of good deeds beyond what he ordinarily does throughout the year.

But tzedakah, Rav Biderman stressed, is not limited to giving money.

Citing the Sefer Hachinuch, he explained that anyone who brings benefit or pleasure to another person — whether through money, food, sound advice, consolation or even a kind word — is performing an act of tzedakah. At times, he said, a smile, a word of encouragement or a few strengthening words can literally serve as a pidyon nefesh.

In that connection, Rav Biderman related a story involving Rav Itzele Charif zt”l. A young man once approached Rav Itzele because he feared being drafted into the army. His family had prepared money for a bribe in the hope of securing an exemption.

Rav Itzele instead took the money and gave it toward the wedding expenses of a penniless orphaned kallah. In the zechus of that tzedakah, Rav Biderman related, the young man ultimately received an exemption from the army on medical grounds.

Rav Biderman then turned to the obligations of bein adam lachaveiro, emphasizing that Erev Yom Kippur is not merely a day for preparing physically for the fast. It is a day for forgiveness, reconciliation and removing resentment between one Yid and another.

Citing the Sefas Emes, Rav Biderman explained that a central element of the kapparah is connected to the ninth day of Tishrei, when Klal Yisroel makes peace with one another.

A person must therefore seek reconciliation on Erev Yom Kippur even when he is absolutely convinced that he is right, Rav Biderman stressed.

He pointed to the account of a great Amora who went to appease Rav Chanina on Erev Yom Kippur for thirteen consecutive years. The lesson, he explained, is that the question is not simply who was right. The question is who is prepared to give in, lower himself and do what is necessary to restore peace.

Rav Biderman also related the story of a well-known baal chessed from Bnei Brak who had hurt the feelings of a divorced man who had been a guest in his home. Subsequently, the man felt that his children’s shidduchim were being held back.

On Erev Yom Kippur, he resolved to let go of the matter completely, call the man and seek reconciliation. Shortly afterward, the impediment appeared to disappear, and his daughter became engaged.

Another story concerned a father who traveled to the kever of Rav Shimon bar Yochai and wept over four of his children who were struggling to find their shidduchim.

As he poured out his heart, he suddenly remembered that members of his household had treated his son-in-law coldly. The family subsequently asked forgiveness from the son-in-law and their daughter, and the two sides wholeheartedly forgave one another.

Within the following year, Rav Biderman related, all four children became engaged, one after another.

Toward the conclusion of the drashah, Rav Biderman spoke about the extraordinary kedushah of Yom Kippur itself.

On this day, he said, Hashem Himself purifies Bnei Yisroel. A Yid rises above his ordinary physical existence and reaches a level comparable to the malachei hashareis. This, he explained, is why on Yom Kippur the words Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuso L’olam Va’ed are recited aloud.

Rav Biderman placed particular emphasis on the final moments of Ne’ilah, when the decrees of the Yom Hadin are sealed.

Until the very last moment, he said, a Yid can accomplish extraordinary things through tears, teshuvah and heartfelt pleading. Even severe decrees can still be overturned. A person must never give up and must never conclude that it is already too late.

Rav Biderman also discussed the mitzvah of eating on Erev Yom Kippur. Chazal teach that one who eats and drinks on the ninth of Tishrei is considered by the Torah as though he fasted on both the ninth and the tenth.

The eating of Erev Yom Kippur, he explained, expresses the joy of drawing close to Hashem and appreciating the extraordinary gift of kapparah that Hashem has given Klal Yisroel.

Rav Biderman’s message was one of both urgency and hope: These are not ordinary days. They are days to daven, to give, to forgive, to make peace and, above all, to open the door.

Hashem is close. The gates remain open. And every Yid still has the opportunity to begin anew and merit a gemar chasimah tovah.

{Matzav.com}

“Mommy, if I beat cancer once, why did it come back?” 💔

Chaim Rubin is only 7 years old.

A year ago, after more than a year of difficult treatments, his parents finally heard the words they had been praying for: Chaim had beaten cancer.

He went back to school, back to his friends, and back to simply being a child.

But at the beginning of Av, everything changed again.  

The seizures returned, and then came the devastating news:

The medulloblastoma was back.

Chaim has already started treatment to help control the disease, but to give him the chance he desperately needs, his family must now get him to the United States for advanced treatment.

The hospital requires a significant deposit upfront, and after already using their savings and everything they had available, the family simply cannot do this alone.

They need our help now.

Every donation can bring Chaim one step closer to the treatment he needs and another chance to fight.

🙏 Please open your heart for Chaim ben Yael.

Donate now

Thai authorities have launched a comprehensive review of Chabad’s activities in Phuket, with the provincial governor ordering officials to examine land ownership, construction permits and business licenses connected to Chabad of Patong. The development comes just days after a large Rosh Hashanah meal for Israeli travelers was canceled and amid a separate controversy involving a Jewish cemetery in Thailand.

Phuket Governor Chotnarin Kerdsom reportedly instructed relevant government agencies on Tuesday to complete the investigation within seven days.

The review will examine the ownership of the property used by Chabad of Patong, how the land was acquired, permits governing its use, construction approvals and licenses associated with commercial activities at the site.

Authorities will also examine corporate shareholder records connected with the Chabad operation to determine whether there is any overlap or business connection with a company involved in the establishment of a Jewish cemetery in Thailand’s Chachoengsao province.

The investigation follows heightened attention surrounding Chabad activities in Thailand in recent days.

On Friday, a large Rosh Hashanah meal organized by Chabad of Patong for approximately 2,000 Israeli travelers was canceled at the last minute. The cancellation came after a pro-Palestinian demonstration was held in the area for several hours.

Separately, Thai authorities have been examining issues surrounding a Jewish cemetery project. Thai Deputy Interior Minister Phonphirun Suwanchawee recently addressed the matter after authorities said that the company behind the project had been established by three Israeli nationals who also hold Thai citizenship and were registered as owners of the land.

Officials in Phuket are now seeking to determine whether there are corporate or business connections between that company and Chabad of Patong.

Phuket Vice Governor and provincial spokesman Ronnarong Thipsiri confirmed that the governor had directed government agencies to conduct an extensive review. According to the report, officials will inspect ownership documents, land-use permits, construction approvals and licenses governing commercial activities.

Thai officials emphasized that the investigation itself does not constitute a finding that Chabad or anyone associated with it violated the law.

Authorities also stressed that the review is not directed against any particular nationality, religion or community. Rather, they said, its purpose is to determine whether the activities being conducted and the ownership and use of the properties comply with Thai law.

Rabbi Nechemia Wilhelm, a longtime Chabad shliach in Thailand, responded by expressing confidence that the investigation would establish that Chabad’s operations are fully legal.

“We have been in Thailand for 30 years, and throughout all these years we have personally experienced the special hospitality of the Thai people, the mutual respect and the peaceful coexistence here among people of all religions and nationalities. We have always felt that we and our activities are respected, and we have great appreciation for the Thai people and the authorities of the kingdom,” Rabbi Wilhelm said.

“Our Chabad Houses are completely legal in every respect. We are very careful to abide by the laws of the country, to respect the local authorities and the citizens of Thailand, and therefore we have full confidence that the matters currently being examined will also be reviewed objectively and that everything will be found to be in order.”

The Phuket investigation comes as Chabad and Thailand’s Jewish community have also been dealing with a separate, sensitive issue involving a Jewish cemetery near Bangkok.

The cemetery had been purchased approximately five years ago by members of the Jewish community and Chabad in Bangkok. In recent months, however, difficulties arose with local authorities after officials declined to renew the cemetery’s burial license.

On Friday morning, shortly before Rosh Hashanah, Chabad representatives received a letter from the regional governor ordering them to vacate the cemetery, which contained four graves, by Tuesday.

Faced with the short deadline and the sensitive nature of relocating Jewish graves, Rabbi Wilhelm contacted ZAKA Chief Operating Officer Chaim Weingarten and requested the organization’s assistance.

Plans were made to transfer the graves to a new burial plot purchased by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, the chief rabbi of Thailand’s Jewish community.

Immediately after Shabbos, and following halachic consultations with ZAKA rabbonim, Weingarten and ZAKA volunteer Berale Yakubowitz traveled to Bangkok to assist with the operation.

A joint delegation of ZAKA representatives, Chabad rabbonim and members of the local Jewish community subsequently carried out the transfer. Participants included Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, Rabbi Nechemia Wilhelm, Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi, Yossi Goldberg and Davidi Haddad.

After hours of painstaking and highly sensitive work, the four graves were transferred intact to their new resting place. Those involved said the operation was conducted with careful attention to kavod hameis and all relevant halachic requirements.

The investigation in Phuket is now expected to proceed separately, with Thai authorities given seven days to review the documentation surrounding Chabad of Patong and determine whether its properties and operations comply with local law.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli motorists could increasingly find traffic tickets arriving in the mail without ever having been stopped by a police officer, as new enforcement methods allow officers to watch municipal surveillance cameras and issue citations based on what they see, according to Israeli traffic attorney Nir Shalom.

Shalom, a specialist in traffic law, discussed the changes during an interview with Kikar HaShabbat, warning that a broad overhaul of traffic enforcement is significantly changing how violations are detected and adjudicated in Israel.

According to Shalom, increased camera enforcement means that violations involving far more than speeding can now be detected remotely, including drivers using cellphones or failing to wear seat belts.

“The work of the police officers has become much easier,” Shalom said. “Police officers sit in the traffic division, connect live to the municipality’s security cameras, see a violation, and generate a ticket. Drivers have already come to me with tickets that state explicitly: ‘I watched the municipal camera, observed a violation committed in such-and-such vehicle — boom, ticket.’ Every innocent municipal camera intended for city security can potentially become a full-fledged police traffic camera.”

Shalom said the implications extend to a wide range of everyday driving violations. A driver may not know that an alleged infraction was observed until the citation arrives.

At the same time, he said, major changes are taking place in the process through which motorists contest certain traffic tickets.

According to Shalom, offenses that previously allowed motorists to request proceedings in traffic court are increasingly being moved into an administrative framework.

In the past, a motorist who believed that a ticket was unjustified could request a trial, appear before a judge and prosecutor, explain unusual circumstances, or challenge errors or technical deficiencies in the citation.

Under the new administrative system described by Shalom, much of that interaction has been replaced by written proceedings.

“They abandoned the criminal process and moved to an administrative process. Administrative adjudicators were appointed, administrative prosecutors were appointed, and there is no longer a judge,” Shalom said. “Today, everything is conducted in writing. You send a letter, the adjudicator sits and reads it like someone reads an email. There is no emotion, no looking someone in the eye, and no possibility of conducting a real hearing.”

Shalom also pointed to what he described as an important change in the evidentiary standard applied to such cases.

“In a criminal proceeding, it was enough for the defense attorney to raise a slight doubt — an error in the vehicle number, a mistake in the ID number, an inaccuracy in the location — and there was already room for an acquittal or an agreement. In an administrative proceeding, we move to a ‘balance of probabilities.’ The driver has to prove a greater than 50% probability that the ticket is wrong. The doors have simply been locked in the face of the ordinary citizen.”

Shalom also warned motorists about changes involving Israel’s speed-camera network.

According to him, whereas speed cameras were previously calibrated so that enforcement generally began only after a more significant departure from the posted speed limit, the threshold has been lowered considerably, potentially resulting in tickets for motorists traveling only several kilometers per hour above the legal limit.

He said this has resulted in longtime motorists with otherwise clean driving records receiving citations for relatively small speeding violations.

Another development expected to affect drivers is the introduction of average-speed enforcement cameras along stretches of roadway, similar to systems already used in parts of Europe.

Instead of measuring a vehicle’s speed at a single location, the system records the vehicle at one point and again farther down the road, then calculates its average speed over the entire distance. Such a system would eliminate the familiar practice of slowing down immediately before passing a speed camera and then accelerating afterward.

Shalom said the increased enforcement could have particularly serious consequences for professional drivers and others whose livelihoods depend on retaining their licenses.

He cited delivery drivers as an example.

“Take delivery drivers, for example. A driver unloads merchandise at one stand, gets into the vehicle and drives 100 meters to the next stand. During that short distance, he forgot to put on his seat belt. He gets a ticket once, gets another one a few months later — and suddenly he is accumulating points. In the past, you would come to court, explain that this involves his work and a continuous process of unloading and loading, and they would take it into consideration. Today, accumulating 36 points within four years results in an automatic three-month license suspension by an official, without discretion.”

Shalom concluded with a warning about what motorists say when they are personally stopped by a police officer.

He said drivers frequently believe that apologizing or explaining why they committed an alleged violation will persuade an officer to show leniency. Instead, he warned, their words can become evidence against them.

“An encounter with a police officer in the field is a criminal investigation in every respect. The biggest mistake drivers make is trying to appease the officer and saying: ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t notice, I was on my way to the doctor/I was under pressure.’ Drivers think the officer will have mercy on them, but in practice, the officer simply writes it down under ‘driver’s statement.’ Once the ticket reaches the administrative adjudicator, the adjudicator sees that you wrote ‘I’m sorry’ — and views it as a complete admission of guilt. From there, there is no way to cancel the ticket. It is better to remain composed, not rush to admit to an offense, and calmly examine the legal options.”

{Matzav.com}