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A prominent posek in Yerushalayim’s Minchas Yitzchok neighborhood has issued an unusually sharp public warning after what was presented to local families as a children’s Nisuch Hamayim gathering allegedly became a forum promoting aliyah to Har Habayis, prompting him to instruct parents to make clear to their children that ascending the site is completely contrary to the position of the gedolei haposkim.

Rav Chaim Aharon Bleier, author of Chukei Chaim and a longtime moreh hora’ah in the Minchas Yitzchok neighborhood, released the letter under the heading “Hishamru Lachem Alos Bahar — Beware of ascending the mountain.”

The letter, dated Hoshana Rabbah 5787, says that Rav Bleier was deeply disturbed after learning that hundreds of children from Minchas Yitzchok had attended a gathering in the neighborhood auditorium that was ostensibly connected to the avodah of Nisuch Hamayim in the Bais Hamikdash.

According to Rav Bleier, those responsible for the gathering presented it as an innocent educational program connected to the Bais Hamikdash and did not disclose what he says was another purpose of the event.

“Painful news has reached us that unscrupulous people held a gathering of hundreds of children from our holy neighborhood in the auditorium located on Rechov Minchas Yitzchok, and those people hid under the guise of an institution for strengthening the holy work performed in the Bais Hamikdash, and advertised that they would hold a gathering presenting the avodah of Nisuch Hamayim in the Bais Hamikdash, without writing what they had concealed in their net,” Rav Bleier wrote.

The letter does not identify the organizers by name, and Rav Bleier does not state in the letter itself which municipal body financed the gathering. Claims circulating with the letter say that the event was funded by the Yerushalayim municipality; that detail has not yet been independently confirmed.

What Rav Bleier says happened during the program, however, is the reason for his extraordinary warning to parents.

According to the posek, a speaker appeared in the middle of the gathering dressed in traditional chareidi clothing and identified himself as belonging to a chassidic family. Rav Bleier writes that the speaker began discussing aliyah to Har Habayis and presented what Rav Bleier describes as “a foreign spirit” that directly contradicts the position of the leading poskim.

“We were horrified to hear that in the middle of the gathering, one person dressed in chassidic clothing from a well-known chassidic family stood up and began speaking about the matter and instilling a foreign spirit contrary to the opinion of the great poskim,” Rav Bleier wrote.

The letter says the remarks were delivered before hundreds of children and bochurim from Yerushalayim, and that the speaker openly encouraged interest in ascending Har Habayis.

Rav Bleier writes that this was done “in front of hundreds of children and bochurim of Yerushalayim” and says the message ran contrary to “the words of the great poskim of the generation zt”l and yblch”t from all the eidot and chugim.”

The speaker was the chairman of the Har Habayis Administration, who used his appearance to discuss the subject of Jews ascending Har Habayis. The letter itself does not name the speaker or identify his organizational title, so that specific identification remains an allegation accompanying the document rather than something stated by Rav Bleier in the letter.

Rav Bleier writes that the speaker ultimately “spoke to the hearts of the participants regarding the importance of ascending Har Habayis in our time,” thereby, in Rav Bleier’s words, “spreading the impurity of Har Habayis in this time, when we do not have a Bais Hamikdash, while presenting it as though this is the opinion of the gedolei Yisroel.”

The issue of aliyah to Har Habayis has long been the subject of significant halachic discussion. The longstanding position of the Chief Rabbinate and leading poskim has been to prohibit Jews from ascending Har Habayis because of the severe issurei kareis associated with entering areas of the site while tamei.

Rav Bleier issued a direct instruction to parents: “Because of the seriousness of the matter and the things that occurred in our holy neighborhood, I hereby strongly protest against those unscrupulous people, and I hereby issue an urgent call to the dear parents whose children participated in this gathering to speak to their children and correct the distortion, and tell them the true path that the gedolei Yisroel zt”l and yblch”t transmitted to us, that the matter is prohibited with the utmost severity,” Rav Bleier wrote.

He added that parents should explain to their children that what they heard at the gathering was directly contrary to the accepted daas Torah of the community.

Rav Bleier wrote that parents must explain “that what they heard was in complete contradiction to the opinion and instruction of our holy rabbonim, so that the evil words should not influence them.”

The posek said similar incidents have taken place several times in the Minchas Yitzchok neighborhood during the past two years, each time through a different organization or framework.

“We hereby call upon anyone who has the ability to act to ensure that such things do not occur again within our camp,” Rav Bleier wrote, adding that “this has already happened several times in our neighborhood during the last two years, each time under a different guise.”

Rav Bleier warned parents “to check every gathering and place to which they send their precious children, to see who stands behind the organizers, because we are promised that they will not cease attempting to influence innocent and holy children with their false ideas.”

{Matzav.com}

Avinatan Or, who survived 738 days as a hostage of Hamas in Gaza, has revealed that even while enduring captivity himself, he opposed an agreement to secure his freedom if the price would encourage Hamas to carry out future kidnappings, saying he believed Israel had to emerge from the war victorious.

In his first extensive television interview since returning home, Or spoke with Ilana Dayan on Keshet 12’s “Uvda” about his more than two years in Hamas captivity, the calculations he made about his own possible release, his relationship with his parents, and a deeply personal prayer he made after 70 days as a hostage.

Or was abducted from the Nova music festival near Re’im during the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, together with his partner, Noa Argamani. Footage of their abduction became one of the most recognizable images of the attack, showing Argamani being taken away on a motorcycle while reaching toward Or as terrorists marched him away.

Argamani was dramatically rescued by Israeli forces from Nuseirat in June 2024, together with Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv. Or remained in Gaza for another 16 months before finally being released on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity.

During his captivity, Or said, he was able at times to see television coverage from Israel, including demonstrations demanding an agreement to bring the hostages home. Despite knowing that such an agreement could mean his own freedom, he said he was convinced that his parents were not participating in those protests.

“The debate was over matters of life and death, whether you save lives now or protect lives in the future,” he explained. “It was clear to me that if we made a deal then, I would be released, but later, someone else would be sitting in my place.”

Or said his position was not an abstract view developed after his return to Israel. It was what he believed while he himself remained in Hamas hands and had no assurance that he would survive long enough to come home.

“It was clear to me that we shouldn’t make a deal at any cost. Israel needed to emerge victorious from this war,” he said.

Or described conveying essentially the same message directly to one of the terrorists guarding him. Rather than allowing his captors to believe that the passage of time would eventually break him or force Israel to meet their demands, he told the terrorist that he was prepared for the possibility of remaining there for years.

“I told my captor: I’ll stay here for a day, two days, a year, two years, even ten years. Eventually, you’ll understand that I’m not worth holding, and that will be the victory.”

Or’s ordeal lasted more than two years. He was held largely alone, and in portions of his captivity was confined underground in darkness. In another portion of the interview, he revealed that he had attempted to devise a way to escape, drawing on lessons he remembered from his military service about the impossibility of creating a completely impenetrable defensive system.

“In the army they always told us, there’s no such thing as a 100% perfect defense, there will always be some weak point,” he explained.

While confined in an underground cell, Or felt his way around his surroundings and discovered a section constructed with sandbags. He could feel air moving through the area, leading him to conclude that there might be a route toward the outside.

“That doesn’t happen in a tunnel,” Or said.

His captivity also included severe physical deprivation. By the time he returned to Israel, Or appeared gaunt after spending more than two years cut off from his family and Argamani, who had spent much of that period publicly campaigning for his return after her own rescue.

One of the most personal moments Or described involved neither his captors nor the political argument surrounding a hostage agreement, but a conversation he said he had with God on his 70th day in Gaza.

“On the 70th day, I spoke to God and said: ‘Listen, I know I haven’t spoken to You in seven years, and it’s hypocritical of me to ask You for something now, especially when there’s a good chance I’ll forget You once I get out. So I’ll speak to You frankly: the Torah commands us to honor our parents, and I tried to do that even before October 7. Now it’s Your turn to fulfill the part that promises long life in the land.’”

Or’s comments about the hostage negotiations also shed new light on the approach taken publicly by his parents, Yaron and Ditza Or, during the long campaign to bring him home. Unlike some hostage families who became prominent participants in demonstrations demanding an immediate deal, his family generally advocated continued pressure on Hamas and resisted calls for Israel to accept an agreement at any price.

When Or finally returned to Israel in October 2025, one of his first reunions was with his parents. He said their initial words to him reflected the burden they had carried while making decisions about how best to fight for their son without knowing what he himself wanted them to do.

“When they saw me, they said, ‘We hope you’re not angry with us.’ I answered them, ‘I’m not angry with you. I’m proud of you.’ My parents fought for me like crazy.”

Or was also reunited with Argamani after more than two years apart. The couple had been violently separated during their abduction on October 7 and followed radically different paths through captivity: Argamani was held with other hostages before being rescued after approximately eight months, while Or remained in Hamas captivity until the hostage agreement of October 2025.

{Matzav.com}

A Brooklyn public-school teacher who allegedly declared “Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar” in a private group chat returned to his Park Slope school on Monday with his face covered, even as outraged parents demanded that the city remove him from the classroom and education officials launched an investigation into his conduct. Pasted markdown

Damien Neva, 48, began working this school year at PS 77 in Park Slope, where he teaches special education. Before entering education, Neva worked in the fashion industry as a photographer, videographer and social-media director, including positions with major modeling agencies.

The controversy erupted after a recently filed lawsuit involving the Park Slope Food Coop revealed messages Neva allegedly posted in a Signal chat used by members advocating a boycott of Israeli products.

According to the lawsuit, Neva posted his tribute to Yahya al-Sinwar in November 2024, several weeks after the Hamas leader was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

“Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar,” Neva wrote, according to the lawsuit.

Sinwar was the Hamas leader who played a central role in planning the October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, when Hamas-led terrorists murdered approximately 1,200 people and abducted 251 others into Gaza.

Neva was back at PS 77 on Monday as the controversy surrounding the comments intensified. Photographs showed him covering his face while leaving his Brooklyn home and again while walking to the school.

Parents interviewed outside PS 77 expressed anger that Neva remained in the classroom while the allegations were being investigated.

“It’s disgusting,” one fifth-grade father said.

“If he’s still teaching here, it’s disgusting, both on him and on the school that’s holding on to him. No one who praises terrorists deserves to be a teacher,” the furious father raged.

“If you praise a guy like [Sinwar], that means that some part of you believes that murdering innocent people is morally justifiable.”

Another relative of children attending the school, a grandmother, said she distinguishes between support for Palestinian statehood and glorification of the Hamas leader responsible for the October 7 attack.

“I believe the Palestinian people deserve statehood, but Sinwar was a terrorist,” she said.

“He killed for the sake of killing, and to speak of him like he did something good – that’s not okay, and [Neva] is not someone I want near my grandchildren.

“They should fire him. I’m surprised they haven’t fired him already.”

The controversy surrounding Neva reaches beyond the single message praising Sinwar. The lawsuit that brought the comment to public attention stems from the bitter, years-long fight over Israel inside the Park Slope Food Coop, the prominent member-owned grocery cooperative on Union Street in Brooklyn.

The coop, which has more than 16,000 members, voted in May to boycott Israeli products following years of internal battles between pro-Israel members and activists seeking to remove Israeli goods from its shelves.

Neva is described in the lawsuit as one of the organizers of the boycott effort. The complaint was filed on September 28 in Kings County Supreme Court by five Jewish members challenging both the boycott and the process by which it was adopted.

The plaintiffs allege that the campaign was accompanied by hostility and discrimination against Jewish and pro-Israel members and that coop leaders failed to adequately address the conduct. The coop itself is not accused of endorsing Neva’s statement praising Sinwar.

According to the lawsuit, shortly before writing his message about Sinwar, Neva was discussing the political strength of opponents of the Israel boycott.

“That lot does not have the votes to block our campaign,” Neva allegedly wrote, referring to pro-Israel and Jewish members of the coop.

He then posted, “Long live Yahya Al-Sinwar,” with at least one other participant reportedly reacting approvingly to the message.

The lawsuit also alleges other episodes of hostility toward Jewish members during the boycott battle. In one incident cited in the complaint, a coop member wearing a “Peace, Love, Israel” shirt was allegedly confronted and called “disgusting,” “a racist and a genocide supporter,” and told to leave the coop.

The controversy over Neva has intensified because he subsequently became responsible for teaching children in New York City’s public-school system.

Before beginning his teaching career, Neva worked for years in fashion photography and social media. His previous professional experience included work with Next Management, Ford Models and Calvin Klein. He described his move into education in a since-deleted social-media post as an “enforced career change.”

Other material attributed to Neva on social media has also drawn scrutiny. His accounts reportedly included an image depicting an Israel sticker being shredded, another showing a Star of David painted over the Statue of Liberty, and a comparison between Warsaw in 1944 and “Palestine” in 2024.

The New York City public-school system has confirmed that the allegations concerning Neva have been referred for investigation.

“Antisemitism and support for terrorist organizations have absolutely no place in our school system,” a Department of Education spokesperson said in response to the allegations.

“This allegation has been reported and referred for investigation, in accordance with Chancellor’s Regulations.”

The controversy has also drawn condemnation from elected officials.

State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, a Bronx Democrat and longtime member of the Assembly, described the allegations as “appalling.”

“Hamas is a terrorist organization that has killed countless people, including Americans,” Dinowitz said.

“I don’t think someone like that should be teaching our kids.”

Dov Hikind, the former New York state assemblyman and founder of Americans Against Antisemitism, has also called for Neva to be removed from his teaching position.

The pressure is also coming from within New York’s education community.

Karen Feldman, a New York City teacher and founder of The NYC Public School Alliance, said the episode raises broader questions about the standards the school system applies to educators entrusted with children.

“This is not about one offensive post or one teacher’s political views. It is about who NYCPS [New York City Public Schools] is allowing to stand in front of our children. This teacher publicly praised Yahya al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader and murder mastermind responsible for the October 7 massacre,” Feldman said.

“And he is not an isolated case,” she continued.

“This is not about policing political beliefs. It is about professional judgment, student safety and the basic responsibility of a school system to know who it is putting in front of children. Our classrooms should be safe places for all children.”

The revelations come amid continued controversy over antisemitism and anti-Israel activism within New York City schools since the October 7 massacre and the subsequent war in Gaza. Jewish parents and educators have repeatedly raised concerns about political activism entering classrooms and about whether existing disciplinary procedures adequately address antisemitic conduct by school employees.

Neva has not publicly responded in detail to the allegations. When a reporter attempted to approach him at his Brooklyn home on Sunday, he reportedly contacted police rather than answer questions.

{Matzav.com}