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Representatives of Iran’s Jewish community announced that Jews and members of other recognized religious minorities will participate in the funeral and memorial ceremonies for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during Operation Roaring Lion. A leading representative of the community also praised the Iranian regime’s treatment of religious minorities and revealed that he recently wrote to Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, over concerns about renewed anti-Jewish rhetoric in the country.

Homayoun Sameh, the official representative of Iran’s Jewish community, addressed the issue on Friday, confirming that the Jewish community would join other minority groups in mourning ceremonies for Khamenei.

Sameh, who is known for expressing loyalty to the Iranian regime and frequently criticizing Israel, said, “In coordination with officials from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and representatives of the country’s religious minority communities, we will make every effort to attend all events related to the funeral and memorial ceremonies for the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.”

He added that foreign diplomats, representatives of religious minorities, political and religious leaders, and delegates from abroad had also been invited to various events.

“We have received official invitations to additional ceremonies, and we hope to be there alongside the rest of the Iranian people,” he said.

Sameh also praised Khamenei’s relationship with Iran’s Jewish community and other religious minorities.

“The attitude, support, and fatherly concern that the late leader showed toward all religious minorities, especially the Jewish community, were always deeply valued and gave us hope,” he said.

Addressing concerns within the Jewish community following the 12-day war, Sameh acknowledged that “some misconceptions” had emerged among segments of the population. However, he said Khamenei consistently emphasized the importance of safeguarding the civil rights and dignity of religious minorities.

According to Sameh, just as Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini distinguished between Iran’s Jewish citizens and Zionism, Khamenei continued that same policy. He said that during the years immediately following the Islamic Revolution, many Iranians failed to distinguish between Jews and Zionists, creating significant challenges for the country’s Jewish community.

Sameh recounted that about 12 years ago, while serving as head of Iran’s Jewish Association, he wrote a letter to Khamenei after media outlets published reports that blurred the distinction between Judaism and Zionism.

He said that roughly two weeks later, Khamenei addressed organizers of the annual Jerusalem Day events and instructed them: “Shout against the Zionists, not against the Jews.”

Sameh said the Jewish community regarded those remarks as “a position of great value and significance.”

He added that in recent days, certain public statements and media broadcasts once again raised concerns within the Jewish community about anti-Jewish incitement. As a result, he said, he sent a letter to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has assumed leadership following his father’s death.

According to Sameh, anti-Jewish rhetoric declined noticeably afterward, while the distinction between Jews and Zionists became more clearly reflected in official media coverage and government slogans.

“The Jewish community in Iran has always regarded itself as part of the Iranian nation,” Sameh said. “The level of satisfaction within the Jewish community is very high, and we all share in mourning the loss of the late leader. We hope that under the leadership of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the path of respect, peace, and mutual understanding among all sectors and religions in the country will continue to grow stronger.”

{Matzav.com}

A report has ignited fierce criticism after claiming that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz granted a pardon to an illegal immigrant convicted of first-degree abuse of a 10-year-old girl, a move that reportedly eliminated the conviction that had served as the basis for the man’s planned deportation, John Nolte reports at Breitbart.

According to the report, the pardon halted deportation proceedings for four years.

The article argues that the decision represents a glaring example of political hypocrisy.

“Minnesota officials, including Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, last month pardoned an illegal immigrant who was previously convicted of assaulting a 10-year-old girl and who was slated to be deported,” reports Fox News. Tou Lue Vang, a 42-year-old Laos national, “was convicted in 2006 of first-degree criminal conduct. Between 2002 and 2006, he repeatedly ly assaulted the girl.”

According to the report, Vang pleaded guilty but did not receive a jail sentence. Although the conviction resulted in the loss of the legal immigration status he had obtained under the Clinton administration in 1994, he nonetheless remained in the United States rather than being removed.

The report further contends that Walz’s pardon erased the abuse conviction, effectively eliminating the legal basis for Vang’s deportation and making it unlikely that immigration authorities will now be able to remove him from the country.

Based on Vang’s reported current age of 42, the article notes that he would have been approximately 22 years old at the time of his 2006 conviction, alleging that the abuse occurred when he was between the ages of 18 and 22 while the victim was a young girl.

{Matzav.com}

A new Economist/YouGov survey suggests that a majority of Democratic voters are open to supporting candidates who identify as “Democratic Socialists,” underscoring the growing influence of the ideology within the party as socialist-backed candidates continue to notch victories in key elections.

Survey participants were asked a straightforward question: “Would you ever vote for a candidate who identified as a “Democratic Socialist?”

Among all respondents, the largest share—45 percent—said they would not support such a candidate. Another 29 percent said they would, while 26 percent indicated they were uncertain.

The partisan divide was especially pronounced. Eighty-five percent of Republicans said they would not vote for a “Democratic Socialist.” Democrats, however, took the opposite view, with 62 percent saying they would support such a candidate. Only 11 percent of Democrats said they would not, while 27 percent remained undecided.

Independent voters were more skeptical. Forty percent said they would not vote for a Democratic Socialist, compared with 24 percent who said they would.

Support was even stronger among ideological liberals, 73 percent of whom said they would back a Democratic Socialist. Likewise, 64 percent of people who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election said they would support such a candidate. By contrast, only five percent of President Trump’s 2024 voters gave the same response.

The poll also found that more Democrats now view socialism more favorably than capitalism. Thirty-four percent selected socialism, compared with 22 percent who chose capitalism, while 58 percent of Democrats said they hold a favorable opinion of socialism overall.

The survey was conducted from June 26 through June 29, 2026, among 1,606 respondents and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The findings come as socialist candidates continue to gain ground within the Democratic Party. The movement drew increased national attention after New York City elected Zohran Mamdani as mayor. Since then, several candidates endorsed by Mamdani have defeated establishment Democrats in primary contests across New York.

Sen. Rand Paul said the polling reflects a trend he finds troubling.

“…But still alarming that a majority of people are voting for socialists,” Paul said during a recent appearance on Breitbart News Daily. “I wrote a book a few years ago, The Case Against Socialism, and in it we talked about some of the polls where, you know, majority of young people are thinking, hey, socialism sounds good, why don’t we try it.”

Paul argued that many younger Americans fail to appreciate socialism’s historical record.

“They don’t understand … the disaster that is Venezuela, the disaster that is Cuba, the disaster that was China, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, all these places,” the senator said. “What they understand it to be is fairness, and they’re like, well, it’s just not fair that you make twice as much money as me, and we’re just going to make it fair.”

He added that many young people equate the concept of fairness with socialism without recognizing, in his view, that “equal outcome leads to a disaster” marked by food shortages, diminished prosperity, “and all the things that we have” with capitalism.

“It’s ignorance, but it is alarming, and then the other, the other possibility, though, is [the] left goes so far left that maybe they can’t win general elections, but in New York, all these people will win,” he added.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump’s latest annual financial disclosure has revealed that investment accounts in his name purchased more than 300 different stocks on April 8, 2025—just one day before he unexpectedly suspended key “Liberation Day” tariffs—bringing renewed attention to the president’s financial holdings and prompting fresh calls for greater scrutiny.

The disclosure report shows that 327 separate stock purchases were executed on April 8. Although federal rules generally require such transactions to be reported within 45 days, none of those trades had been publicly disclosed until Tuesday. Instead, they appeared within a sprawling financial filing exceeding 900 pages, making it substantially larger than the disclosure reports filed by previous presidents.

The April 8 purchases represented only a portion of the stock activity conducted through accounts owned by Trump since returning to office.

The newly revealed transactions, which surfaced more than a year after they occurred, add to a growing series of disclosures involving Trump’s personal finances. Together, they have intensified bipartisan calls for closer examination of the president’s financial interests.

When NBC News asked the White House who oversees Trump’s investments, officials pointed to a statement posted by Eric Trump on X.

“Neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization has any role in selecting, directing, approving, influencing or soliciting specific investments. They receive no advance notice of trades, cannot alter or override the managers’ strategies or models, and provide no input regarding investment decisions or portfolio operations.”

Eric Trump added, “This structure was intentionally designed to maintain a clear separation between President Trump and the independent third-party investment managers overseeing the accounts and avoid even the appearance of any conflict of interest.”

President Trump has repeatedly rejected allegations that his private business interests create conflicts with his responsibilities as president, even as he and members of his family have expanded into numerous business ventures that have generated billions of dollars in returns.

Trading by elected officials has become an increasingly debated issue in Washington, with lawmakers from both parties expressing support in recent years for legislation that would prohibit or restrict stock trading by public officeholders. The disclosure involving Trump’s investment accounts has renewed attention to that broader debate.

Don Fox, the former acting director and general counsel of the Office of Government Ethics, described the newly disclosed transactions as “completely unprecedented.”

The filing released Tuesday included numerous previously unreported trades, along with a footnote stating: “The filer paid late filing fees related to transactions not previously reported on 278-Ts.”

According to the Office of Government Ethics, Form 278-T “is used by employees within the executive branch who must file public periodic transaction reports.”

Among the newly disclosed activity were the hundreds of stock purchases made on April 8, just one day before President Trump announced a 90-day suspension of portions of his tariff program. His original tariff announcement had triggered a sharp market selloff as investors worried that an escalating global trade dispute could weigh heavily on economic growth.

Following Trump’s announcement pausing the tariffs, U.S. stocks surged. On April 9, 2025, the S&P 500 posted its eighth-largest single-day gain on record, rising 9.5%.

Responding to questions about the disclosures, the White House told NBC News on Tuesday, “Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged — or will ever engage — in conflicts of interest.”

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly added, “All actions by President Trump and his administration are taken in the best interest of the American people — and any so-called ‘reporters’ pushing otherwise are recycling the same, tired, false narrative that Democrats and the legacy media have been pushing for a decade.”

The filing shows purchases of shares in a wide range of companies, including Brinker International, the parent company of Chili’s; defense contractor Kratos Defense; consulting firm Korn Ferry; financial services company Axos; Madison Square Garden Sports, which owns the New York Knicks and New York Rangers; and the parent company of The Cheesecake Factory.

The disclosure also revealed the purchase of between $100,001 and $250,000 worth of Apple stock on April 8. Apple was considered one of the companies most exposed to Trump’s tariff policy because much of its manufacturing in 2025 was concentrated in China, Vietnam, Thailand, and India.

Apple shares climbed more than 15% the following day after Trump announced the tariff pause, marking the company’s strongest one-day gain since 1998.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization defended the filing, saying, “the breadth and depth of this filing further underscores our commitment to transparency. At nearly 1,000 pages, it represents one of the most comprehensive financial disclosure reports ever submitted and demonstrates a level of financial transparency unmatched in presidential history.”

Federal ethics rules require the president, vice president, Cabinet secretaries, and numerous other senior executive branch officials to submit annual financial disclosure reports listing their income, assets, liabilities, outside positions, spousal income, travel reimbursements, and other financial interests.

The stock purchases disclosed Tuesday had not appeared in any of Trump’s periodic transaction reports filed during 2025.

The only previously reported transactions from April 8 were eight relatively small bond purchases that appeared in a filing released by the Office of Government Ethics on Aug. 19, 2025. That earlier filing contained no stock purchases.

The latest disclosure does not explain why the trades were omitted from earlier reports, and it provides no additional details regarding the delay.

The White House did not immediately respond Thursday to additional requests for comment.

Under federal ethics regulations, officials who are required to disclose investment transactions generally must do so within 45 days. Failure to meet that deadline typically results in a $200 late filing fee, although the penalty may be waived in certain circumstances.

The filing again notes on its opening page: “The filer paid late filing fees related to transactions not previously reported on 278-Ts,” referring to the executive branch transaction reporting form.

The Office of Government Ethics states that Form 278-T “is used by employees within the executive branch who must file public periodic transaction reports.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said Thursday that one of his top priorities during the conflict with Iran was preventing an economic catastrophe, revealing that the U.S. military quietly escorted oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz to keep global energy markets stable and avoid what he warned could have become a worldwide depression.

Speaking during an extensive interview in the Oval Office with CNBC, Trump said he has long been determined to avoid presiding over an economic collapse like the one he associates with President Herbert Hoover.

“I’ve always said, I don’t want to be a president with a depression on his resume,” Trump said during a wide-ranging Oval Office interview on CNBC.

“I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover. Of almost all presidents, some have been bad, some have been good, very few have been great.

“But I never want to be Herbert Hoover because Herbert Hoover was the president that probably took us into the Great Depression, the greatest depression, led the whole world there.

“He raised interest rates and he raised taxes simultaneously. I guess he was trying to do something, but that didn’t work out too well.”

Turning to the recent war with Iran, Trump argued that allowing Tehran to shut down the Strait of Hormuz would have sent oil prices skyrocketing and devastated the global economy.

According to Trump, the United States carried out a previously undisclosed naval operation in which American warships escorted commercial oil tankers through the southern portion of the strategic waterway under the cover of darkness. He said the effort lasted for weeks and was instrumental in preventing crude oil prices from spiraling beyond roughly $115 per barrel.

“One of the reasons it only went up to like $115, if you remember, and I’ve seen guests on your show where they go oil will be $350 a barrel, and there’ll be a depression because at $350 there’s a depression. It’s automatic. It goes with it,” Trump said.

“I said, well, we’ve got to do something. We did something nobody knew,” he said.

“Every night, we were taking ships out through the south, which is the furthest point from where they have their little weapons.

“And they were going along the coast with no lights for a month and a half. A lot of ships came out.

“We had one night where we took 22 ships out. That’s a lot of oil. Those are big ships. Some of them are really big ships.

“And in a way, they had courage going out. But our Navy took them out. We escorted them out, and nobody knew. The lights were off. Everything was off. Everything was silent,” Trump explained.

Trump said that had oil reached $300 a barrel, the resulting economic fallout would have been severe enough to define his presidency.

The president remarked, “then I become Herbert Hoover. I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover.”

Trump also reflected on the Great Depression itself, arguing that the economic crisis lingered for years despite the leadership of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

“FDR didn’t get us out of it. There’s a picture right there, FDR,” Trump said, pointing to a portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

“Nice picture. It took us years to get out of it. I don’t ever want to be in a depression. I don’t want to be a president that oversees the great worldwide depression. That was Herbert Hoover. And it was a terrible thing,” Trump said.

{Matzav.com}

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Conservative broadcaster Tucker Carlson says he is committed to helping launch a new political party in the United States, declaring that the Republican and Democratic parties have become indistinguishable on the issues he believes matter most and promising to work toward breaking what he called a one-party political system.

In an interview with the Columbia Journalism Review, the former Fox News host and podcast personality said he has no desire to seek elected office himself, despite his plans to become actively involved in creating an alternative political movement.

“I don’t want to be a candidate,” Carlson stated.

Carlson explained that his decision was largely driven by his fierce opposition to the Trump administration’s military campaign against Iran. Once one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent supporters and an outspoken advocate against U.S. military intervention overseas, Carlson said the conflict ended his relationship with the president.

“I haven’t spoken to him since the regime-change war began. I’m not interested in talking to him,” he remarked.

Looking ahead to this November’s midterm elections, Carlson said he no longer supports either of the nation’s two major political parties, arguing that Washington is controlled by a political establishment that presents voters with the illusion of meaningful choice.

Throughout the interview, Carlson sharply criticized what he described as the forces shaping American foreign policy. He argued that pro-Israel donors and interests successfully influenced President Trump to confront Iran, contending that both Republicans and Democrats have aligned themselves against the interests of ordinary Americans.

“I do know what really matters is war and finance,” Carlson said, adding, “And on those questions, the parties are in lockstep solidarity with each other. That’s not a democracy. That’s a one-party state posing as a democracy, and it needs to be broken, and there’s going to be a third party, and I’m going to do everything I can to bring that about.”

Carlson also said his political focus is centered on domestic concerns rather than overseas conflicts, arguing that Washington should prioritize the economic well-being of American citizens above international affairs.

“I’m going to help build a third party. There should be a good-faith effort to figure out what benefits the country. I mean, if you make $60,000 a year, you’re degraded. Your life expectancy has gone down, and the promise of your children’s lives is likely gone. […] I officially don’t care about Hamas. The US government should have, as its first priority, the welfare of its own people.”

His latest remarks are consistent with previous criticism he has directed at Israel. During an interview in May with Israel’s Channel 13 News, Carlson accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of drawing the United States into war with Iran.

He argued that “because of this war…America’s relationship with Israel, while it may be based on good intentions, is hurting the United States very badly” and urged Washington to end all assistance to Israel, saying, “I don’t think the United States owes Israel anything. I don’t think the United States should give Israel anything. I think we should stop all aid to Israel, all special deals for Israel.”

Discussing the conflict with Iran, Carlson also criticized President Trump’s handling of the situation, claiming the president “turned out to be far weaker than I understood” and alleging that he had been pushed by Netanyahu “into a war that hurts the United States.”

Earlier this year, Carlson attracted widespread attention after claiming he had been detained upon arriving at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

However, video shared on social media appeared to contradict that account, showing Carlson signing paperwork, smiling, embracing an Israeli security officer, posing for a photograph with him, and then departing the airport without incident.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said Thursday that negotiations with Iran are making significant progress, expressing confidence that Tehran has accepted nearly all of Washington’s key demands even as tensions remain high following recent U.S. military strikes.

In an interview with CNBC, Trump contrasted his administration’s handling of Iran with America’s lengthy involvement in previous wars, arguing that his approach has produced swift results.

“We were in Afghanistan for like 10 years. We were in the Korean War forever. We were in, I don’t even mention World War I and World War II, they’re biggies, but you know what, stuff like this could have led to it. But we were in many, many years in every war,” Trump said.

Trump on Iran:

We totally defeated them militarily. They have some missiles left. We could wipe them out too.

I think they’ve agreed to just about everything we need. pic.twitter.com/fgJyfhoVBt

— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 2, 2026

The president went on to describe what he characterized as a decisive military campaign against Iran during his first months back in office.

“I’ve been [in Iran] for four months. And what have I done? I’ve defeated them militarily. They’re totally defeated militarily. They have some missiles left, we could wipe them out too. And I hit them three times last week, very hard, because they sent a drone into a ship. I hit them. Then they did something else and I hit them. I hit them three nights in a row. The week before I hit them two nights in a row, very hard,” he continued.

Trump also said diplomatic efforts are continuing and suggested an agreement may be close at hand.

“I think they’ve agreed to just about everything we need.”

Reiterating previous assertions that Iranian officials have denied, Trump said the United States intends to use a portion of Iran’s frozen assets to purchase American-grown food products for the country if negotiations are successfully concluded.

“They have 300% inflation. They’re making no money. So we’re going to take some of the money and we’re going to buy them…they need food. They need corn and wheat and soybeans, and we’re going to have exclusively our American farmers provide that, assuming we get to the position where we should get to. I think we’re going to get there. Their strength is gone. Their bravado is gone, although they keep up a pretty good front,” said Trump.

During the interview, Trump also renewed his criticism of American Jews who support the Democratic Party, pointing to his record on Israel.

“How a Jewish person can vote for a Democrat is beyond me. I’ve been the best president in the history of Israel and they acknowledge it…and by the way, IN Israel, I think I was at 99% or something…but you can’t let Iran – whether it’s Israel, the Middle East or not – you can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Trump’s comments came as Washington and Tehran continue negotiations aimed at reaching a lasting agreement following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.

Even as diplomacy has continued, the fragile ceasefire has faced repeated challenges. Over the weekend, U.S. forces launched two rounds of strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz after accusing Tehran of violating the ceasefire agreement.

On Motzoei Shabbos, Trump warned that the United States could be forced to “militarily complete the job” if Iran continued to breach the ceasefire.

Iran subsequently denied reports that its negotiators would hold direct talks with American officials in Qatar, saying that while a technical delegation would travel to Doha to discuss implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding, no bilateral meetings with U.S. representatives were scheduled.

Trump, however, maintained that discussions between American and Iranian officials would indeed take place in Qatar, telling reporters the meetings would be “perhaps important, perhaps not.”

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] A fiery live television debate erupted between Sean Hannity and former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as the two sparred over the growing influence of democratic socialists in New York politics, with the discussion quickly devolving into a heated exchange over policing, immigration, and the Middle East.

The confrontation intensified after Hannity repeatedly questioned de Blasio about the positions of newly elected far-left candidates and whether he supported their agenda. Rather than directly addressing those issues, de Blasio repeatedly shifted the discussion toward U.S. policy in the Middle East.

De Blasio argued that the surprise primary victory of democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier over five-term Congressman Adriano Espaillat was driven largely by voters’ opposition to American involvement in the Middle East. He said Avila Chevalier’s criticism of U.S. policy resonated because “against what America has been doing in the Middle East,” adding that “a clear majority of Americans do not think we should be in a war with Iran,” including many Republicans.

Continuing his point, de Blasio said, “A clear majority of Americans think that what the [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu government has done in Israel to the Palestinian people is wrong,” before Hannity attempted to cut him off.

“Wait, wait, wait. Let me finish!” de Blasio shouted.

Hannity immediately pushed back, insisting the discussion was about New York politics rather than international affairs.

“We’re not talking about Israel. No, no, no. We’re not talking about Israel,” Hannity replied, even as de Blasio asked for an opportunity to complete his remarks.

Hannity then redirected the conversation to Avila Chevalier’s policy positions, saying, “No. We’re talking about [how Avila Chevalier] wants to abolish the police, she wants no borders, she wants illegals that commit murder and rape to not go to prison — and I’m asking you, you were the mayor of New York City, I’m asking you if you would vote for this lady and you’re telling me yes? You’d vote for this lunatic?”

De Blasio answered that he would support Avila Chevalier and said he did not consider the 32-year-old candidate to be a lunatic, even while acknowledging that he disagreed with her on numerous issues.

The debate came as candidates aligned with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and running on strongly progressive, anti-Israel platforms scored victories in three congressional districts. Meanwhile, moderate Democrat Ritchie Torres comfortably held onto his Bronx seat, winning 71% of the primary vote and maintaining strong support among working-class voters.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

From Jan. 1 to June 30, Jews were the targets of 178 confirmed hate crimes in New York City—more than 55% of all hate crimes that the city recorded, and a 2.3% increase over the 174 in 2025. In the same span, there were about 8.5 times fewer anti-Muslim confirmed hate crimes (21) and about 5.4 times fewer such incidents targeting people based on sexual orientation (33).

Still, when Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York City, discussed the crime data to date during a press conference at New York City Police Department headquarters on Thursday, he led with the percentage increases of the latter two. “We are still contending with an elevated rise of hate crimes, with hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation climbing by 57%, anti-Muslim hate crimes rising by 50% and antisemitic hate crimes rising by 2%,” the mayor said.

“While Jewish New Yorkers comprise only 10% of our city’s population, antisemitic hate crimes account for 55% of all confirmed hate crimes,” he added. “There is no room for hatred of any kind in our city.”

The 57% increase was from 21 to 33, and the 50% increase was from 14 to 21 from the first half of 2025 to the first half of 2026.

From April 1 to June 30 this year, some 57% of the 172 confirmed hate crimes in the Big Apple targeted Jews (99), and about 4.6% (8) targeted Muslims. Of the 237 reported hate crimes in the city in that span, 138 (58%) targeted Jews while 12 (5%) targeted Muslims.

The city didn’t announce crime statistics for June.

On June 3, the city said that there had been 265 confirmed hate crimes in the city from Jan. 1 to May 31, with 152 targeting Jews and 17 targeting Muslims. Based on the statistics released on Thursday, that would mean that in June, there were 57 confirmed hate crimes, with 26 (45.6%) targeting Jews and 4 (7%) targeting Muslims.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (right) joins New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch for a quarterly crime statistics briefing at One Police Plaza, Manhattan, July 2, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

A comparison of NYPD statistics for April, May and June—237 reported hate crimes, with 138 targeting Jews and 12 against Muslims—with reports that the department released in early May and June, suggests that in June, there were 74 reported hate crimes, with 40 (54%) targeting Jews and 6 (8%) targeting Muslims.

On July 1, 2025, the city said that there were 59 hate crimes in June 2025, with 31 (52.5%) targeting Jews.

Mamdani said at the press conference that “over the past six months, New York City has experienced the safest start to any year on record.”

“The data reflects what New Yorkers are feeling on our subways, our streets and across the five boroughs,” he said. “Our whole-of-government approach to public safety is working.”

After recording a 182% increase in anti-Jewish hate crimes in the Big Apple in January, in Zohran Mamdani’s first month as mayor, the city began publishing only “confirmed” hate crimes and not “reported” ones in February. That suggested a decline, although it was hard to compare 2026 statistics with those from 2025.

In March, the city said that it would publish both “confirmed” and “reported” statistics separately each month. The city provides a comparison between “confirmed” 2026 statistics and the prior year, but not of “reported” hate crimes.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (right) joins New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch for a quarterly crime statistics briefing at One Police Plaza, Manhattan, July 2, 2026. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

The city said that its Hate Crime Task Force investigates alleged hate crimes and determines with the legal bureau of the NYPD “whether it constitutes a hate crime under New York State law.”

“If an incident is deemed a hate crime under the law, it will be categorized as a confirmed hate crime,” the city said. “The NYPD provides data on confirmed hate crimes along with the universe of reported hate crimes—whether or not they are ultimately confirmed as hate crimes by the HCTF. The disclosure of both sets of numbers enhances transparency and reflects best practices in connection with hate crime reporting.”

“New York City’s public safety progress is the result of precision policing and the extraordinary work of the men and women of the NYPD,” stated Jessica Tisch, NYPD commissioner. “They are going after the guns, taking down violent gangs, building the cases, making the arrests and working foot posts that help keep neighborhoods safe.”

“The result is the fewest shooting incidents, shooting victims and murders for the first half of any year in recorded history, along with major crime reductions across the city,” Tisch said. “These numbers reflect focused enforcement, targeted deployments and noble police work. New Yorkers owe their NYPD officers a debt of gratitude for their extraordinary service to our city.”

A department data tool called CompStat 2.0 suggested a drop in hate crimes last month. From June 1 to 28, there were 29 hate crimes—a 42% drop from the 50 in that span in 2025—and hate crimes from Jan. 1 to June 28 were 5.4% higher this year (310) compared to last year (294), per the department. JNS

{Matzav.com}

The FBI has significantly intensified its investigation into the handling of the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton County, deploying personnel from field offices across the country to assist with an extensive review of evidence tied to the case.

According to multiple sources familiar with the effort, the bureau has instructed FBI offices nationwide to send intelligence analysts to Atlanta as part of a large-scale operation. An internal memo obtained by CBS News shows that the FBI’s Directorate of Intelligence requested the additional manpower to support what it identified as FBI Director Kash Patel’s “priority” investigation. Although the memo does not specifically identify the case, sources confirmed it pertains to the ongoing Fulton County 2020 election investigation.

The directive requires every FBI field office to contribute analysts, with the bureau aiming to assemble a team of 260 personnel. Under the plan, larger offices are expected to provide eight analysts, while medium and smaller offices must assign between three and five. Each analyst has been tasked with reviewing 708 records, with the entire project scheduled for completion by July 17.

The analysts being assigned are part of the FBI’s tactical intelligence teams, whose responsibilities generally include investigative support such as conducting database searches, reviewing phone records, analyzing subpoena responses, performing open-source research, running license plate checks, and assisting agents with other routine investigative tasks.

MS Now was the first news outlet to report on the nationwide deployment of analysts.

President Trump has long maintained that serious irregularities occurred during the 2020 election in Fulton County, alleging that ballot totals were manipulated and claiming that votes were cast by deceased individuals, nonresidents, and other people who were not legally eligible to vote. He has not publicly presented evidence substantiating those claims.

After losing Georgia by 11,799 votes, President Trump repeatedly asserted that the election had been “rigged.” However, the state’s results were reaffirmed through both a machine recount and a statewide audit that included a hand recount of ballots in every Georgia county, with both processes confirming Joe Biden’s victory.

Earlier this year, FBI agents executed a search warrant in Fulton County, taking possession of all physical ballots from the 2020 election, along with ballot images, voter rolls, and data tapes from vote-counting machines. Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, played a decisive role in Biden’s narrow statewide victory.

The investigation originated from a referral by attorney Kurt Olsen, who previously worked on legal efforts challenging the outcome of the 2020 election. Olsen now serves with the Justice Department in Miami, where he is involved in investigating what has been described as the “grand conspiracy” examining whether officials from the Obama and Biden administrations coordinated efforts to prevent President Trump from returning to office.

In May, a judge rejected Fulton County’s request to have the seized ballots returned while the investigation remains underway.

The FBI declined to comment on the investigation.

{Matzav.com}

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar issued a blistering response on Thursday to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan after the senior Turkish official launched a harsh verbal attack against Israel during an interview with CNN Turk, accusing him of using rhetoric that amounted to incitement against the Jewish state.

During the interview, Fidan declared, “Israel is not just Turkey’s problem, nor is it solely President Erdogan’s issue. The only difference is that President Erdogan is the one openly saying that what is wrong is wrong. That is a separate matter, and it is something humanity itself should reflect on.”

He continued by asserting, “But everyone knows it and feels it. People whisper it behind closed doors, and from time to time they say it openly. This is a problem for all of humanity. That’s what we should call it.”

Escalating his criticism even further, Fidan said, “These people have become a burden that humanity can no longer bear. With these policies and this mindset, humanity cannot carry this burden. The human conscience cannot bear it. Political systems cannot sustain it, and economic systems cannot sustain it. No matter which framework you use, there is no parameter under which these people can be sustained.”

Calling for international action against Israel, the Turkish foreign minister added, “If you expect me to solve your problem on your behalf all by myself, then everyone must step up, take a diplomatic stance, and impose the necessary sanctions on those people.”

Fidan also alleged that “Israel is currently searching for a new enemy” and warned, “As long as Israel – or any other actor – acts in ways that conflict with our national and regional interests, we have no reason to fear anyone, hesitate, or back down.”

He further suggested that Turkey would not shy away from a military confrontation, stating, “We have no problem with confrontation. If it comes to that, it is not an issue for us.”

Sa’ar swiftly fired back, sharply condemning the comments. “Turkish FM Hakan Fidan’s sickening words are textbook incitement to genocide.”

He added, “Dehumanizing the Jewish people as an ‘unbearable burden’ is the classic, horrific language of history’s worst eliminationist regimes.”

Sa’ar concluded by urging the international community to respond, saying, “The civilized world and Turkey’s NATO allies must unequivocally condemn this explicit call for the erasure of Israel.”

Fidan’s latest remarks add to a growing pattern of increasingly hostile statements by senior Turkish officials. Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Israeli military operations in Syria and Lebanon had reached a stage where they posed a threat to Turkey as well.

Just days before that, Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi asserted that Turkey would eventually regain control of Jerusalem.

Relations between Israel and Turkey had been moving toward normalization before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. Since then, however, Turkish leaders—led by Erdogan—have repeatedly intensified their criticism of Israel and its military operations.

In March of last year, Erdogan denounced Israel as a “terror state” after it carried out surprise strikes against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip.

Several months later, the Turkish president claimed that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posed the greatest danger to stability in the Middle East.

More recently, in April, prosecutors in Istanbul filed a sweeping indictment against 35 senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, over the Israeli navy’s interception of the “Sumud” flotilla that attempted to reach Gaza in October of last year.

{Matzav.com}

A Monsey woman is celebrating an extraordinary stroke of Hashgocha after claiming one of the New York Lottery’s biggest scratch-off prizes, turning a ticket purchased in Spring Valley into a multimillion-dollar windfall.

Henya Fried recently came forward to claim the grand prize in the New York Lottery’s “Set for Life” scratch-off game. The jackpot gives winners the option of collecting $5,000 every week for the rest of their lives or taking a single lump-sum payment of roughly $3.46 million before taxes.

According to information released by the New York State Lottery, the annuity option provides annual payments of $260,000 before taxes for the first 20 years. If the winner is still alive after that period, the weekly payments continue for the remainder of his or her lifetime.

Official paperwork from the New York State Gaming Commission’s Prize Payments Unit, dated June 25, 2026, outlined both payout choices and included the necessary forms for Fried to select the option she prefers. The documents also detailed the applicable tax information.

Mrs. Fried is the wife of Meir Fried, who serves as Customer Service Manager at Rockland Kosher Supermarket and is widely recognized throughout the Monsey community for his dedication to helping others.

{Matzav.com}

[Photos below.] After nearly five years without a city rov, the famed Torah city of Gateshead welcomed its new mara d’asra, Rav Yisroel Mantel, who officially arrived from New York to assume the city’s rabbinic leadership. Led by the Gateshead rosh yeshiva, Rav Avrohom Gurwicz, thousands of residents lined the streets to greet him, while many of Europe’s leading roshei yeshiva participated in a historic installation ceremony marking the beginning of a new chapter for the storied kehillah.

The atmosphere throughout Gateshead was one of extraordinary excitement and celebration as residents gathered to welcome Rav Mantel, who until now served as rav of Congregation Adath Jeshurun (KAJ) in Washington Heights. With his arrival, the city once again has a spiritual leader after almost five years without a mara d’asra.

For weeks, the community had been preparing for the long-awaited occasion, anticipating the arrival of the distinguished rav whose Torah scholarship and leadership they hope will guide the city for years to come.

The rabbinic position had remained vacant since 2020, when the previous rov, Rav Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, left Gateshead to become gaavad of the Federation community in London. During the intervening years, community leaders conducted an extensive international search for a Torah giant with the halachic stature and leadership qualities necessary to shepherd one of Europe’s foremost centers of Torah learning.

The turning point came about a year ago when Rav Mantel, who had served with great distinction for many years as rov of the historic KAJ community in Washington Heights, announced that he intended to relocate to England in order to live closer to his children, who reside in Gateshead.

The day’s events began as Rav Mantel made his way down Gateshead’s main thoroughfare, Bewick Road. Crowds of residents, avreichim, and baalei batim filled the streets to welcome their new mara d’asra. Accompanying him was an impressive delegation of Torah leaders, headed by Europe’s senior rosh yeshiva and one of the gedolei hador, Rav Avrohom Gurwicz, rosh yeshiva of Gateshead Yeshiva, together with Rav Yaakov Erentreu, rosh yeshiva of Sunderland Yeshiva, and the Sunderland mashgiach.

Later in the day, the official installation ceremony took place as the entire Gateshead Torah community gathered for what many described as a historic celebration honoring the Torah and formally installing Rav Mantel as the city’s rav and spiritual shepherd.

The event was held in the city’s Bewick Hall, which had been specially decorated in honor of the occasion. Musical selections were performed by the Gateshead Chapel choir, accompanied by a children’s chorus.

The program was skillfully emceed by Rav Yehuda Leib Wittler, rosh yeshiva of Shaarei Chaim in Manchester. Opening remarks were delivered by community chairman Rabbi Meir Menashe Badner, who welcomed the attendees and expressed the community’s joy at reaching this milestone.

The Sunderland mashgiach, Rav Mordechai Yosef Karnovsky, then recited chapters of Tehillim, followed by a special Mi Shebeirach for the recovery of the Brisker rosh yeshiva, Rav Avrohom Yehoshua ben Ettil.

Messages of brocha from leading Torah authorities around the world were read during the ceremony. Among those sending letters were Rav Moshe Sternbuch; Slabodka roshei yeshiva Rav Dov Landau and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch; Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman; Rav Berel Povarsky; numerous rabbonim from across Europe; the Vizhnitzer Rebbe of London; and the beis din of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations.

The emotional high point came when Rav Yaakov Erentreu, rosh yeshiva of Sunderland Yeshiva, read the formal document of appointment, bearing the signatures of the city’s rabbonim and roshei yeshiva. He then presented it to Rav Mantel, prompting the assembled crowd to erupt in cries of “Mazel Tov” accompanied by spirited singing and dancing.

Rav Avrohom Gurwicz then addressed the gathering. He was followed by the guest speaker, Rav Aharon Schiff, gaavad of Antwerp, who spoke about the unique role of a rav in guiding Klal Yisroel with siyata diShmaya and emphasized that unity is the foundation of every thriving Torah community.

Rav Chaim Moshe Levy, rav of Zurich’s German-Jewish community, also addressed the audience and conveyed greetings from Rav Hirsch Elimelech Padwa, rav of Zurich’s chassidic community.

Before delivering his inaugural address, Rav Mantel participated in the local custom of formally acquiring a new tallis. The garment had been purchased by one of the community’s longest-standing members, Reb Yossel Schleider. Rav Mantel donned the tallis after reciting Shehecheyanu and the berachah of Lehisatef BaTzitzis.

Rav Mantel then delivered his first address as mara d’asra, captivating the audience with words of Torah and inspiration emphasizing the centrality of Torah study and praising the invaluable role of baalei batim who faithfully support Torah institutions.

Among those in attendance were many of Europe’s leading rabbonim and roshei yeshiva, including the city’s former rav, Rav Shraga Feivel Zimmerman of London’s Federation community; Rav Paltiel Schwartz of the KDAT Beis Din in London; Rav Chaim Heimlich, av beis din of Manchester’s Machzikei Hadass community; Rav Avrohom Arentreu, rosh yeshiva of Netzach Yisroel; members of the city’s rabbinical council; Rav Yitzchok Tzvi Strau, rav of the city’s chassidic beis medrash; and numerous other distinguished Torah leaders from across Europe.

{Matzav.com}

American officials reportedly became increasingly concerned this spring that Israel might target Iran’s most senior diplomatic representatives during sensitive backchannel peace negotiations, fearing such an attack could destroy ongoing efforts to end the conflict, according to a report published Thursday by The New York Times.

The report said those fears intensified in April, even though Israel had made the elimination of key Iranian leaders a cornerstone of its military campaign after fighting erupted on February 28, following an airstrike that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Among the officials believed to be at greatest risk were Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. According to the Times, the Trump administration worried that killing either man would shatter the delicate negotiations and spark another round of large-scale fighting. To prevent that scenario, U.S. officials reportedly asked regional allies to quietly warn Tehran about the perceived danger.

The episode underscored the differing priorities between Washington and Israel. While the Trump administration was focused on securing a negotiated settlement, Israeli leaders remained deeply skeptical of diplomacy and opposed making significant concessions to Iran.

The dangers facing Iran’s negotiating team were far from theoretical. Ghalibaf had already escaped death twice after being rescued from collapsed buildings—first during the 12-day war in June 2025 and again this year following a strike on a bunker.

According to The New York Times, one of the most dramatic incidents unfolded as Ghalibaf was returning from talks with Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad. After Pakistani fighter jets escorted his aircraft toward the Iranian border, intelligence reportedly indicated that two Israeli fighter jets had crossed into western Iranian airspace from the direction of Iraq in an apparent attempt to intercept the flight.

Faced with the potential threat, the aircraft diverted to Mashhad instead of continuing to Tehran. From there, the delegation completed the journey by road, enduring an eight-hour drive to the capital. Despite the close call, Iranian negotiators reportedly continued traveling abroad for additional diplomatic meetings in Qatar and Switzerland.

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Marking 1,000 days since the October 7 attack that launched the war, Israeli Defense Minister Yisroel Katz convened a high-level security assessment Thursday with Israel’s senior defense leadership to review developments across multiple fronts. The meeting included Eyal Zamir, Defense Ministry Director General Amir Baram, senior IDF commanders, and representatives of the Shin Bet and Mossad.

During the briefing, military officials reported that Israeli forces have destroyed 83 percent of the tunnel network located within Gaza’s so-called “yellow line” zone, as operations to dismantle Hamas’ underground infrastructure continue.

Opening the meeting, Katz reflected on the milestone reached since the war began.

“1,000 days after the murderous terrorist attack of October 7, the State of Israel stands stronger, more determined, and more powerful. We emerged from the greatest tragedy we have known into the ‘war of revival’ of the State of Israel. We paid heavy prices and lost our best sons and daughters, and out of the pain a more united people and a stronger, more resolute state have grown.”

Katz argued that Israel’s military campaign has fundamentally reshaped the regional balance of power.

“In the past 1,000 days, Israel has changed the face of the Middle East. Under the leadership of the political echelon headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and thanks to the heroism of IDF commanders and soldiers in both regular service and reserves, we struck at the heart of the Iranian axis of evil, thwarted Iran’s nuclear program and removed an existential threat from Israel’s citizens. We eliminated Iran’s leader Khamenei and most of the Iranian leadership, and severely damaged its strategic capabilities – and the IDF must prepare for independent Israeli ‘blue-and-white’ strikes in Iran whenever required in order to remove any threat.”

He also highlighted what he described as major achievements against Israel’s regional adversaries.

“We eliminated the entire Hamas leadership involved in the October 7 massacre, eliminated Hassan Nasrallah and the Hezbollah leadership, destroyed Assad’s army in Syria, decapitated most of the Houthi leadership in Yemen, and severely damaged all the terror arms that sought to encircle Israel in a ring of fire.”

Turning to Israel’s current military posture, Katz said Israeli forces intend to maintain their presence in key security zones while continuing operations against terrorist infrastructure.

“The IDF is currently in security zones in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria and will not withdraw from them – and must prepare for a long-term presence in the field. Our forces are operating deep inside terror camps in Judea and Samaria. In Gaza, efforts to destroy the tunnel infrastructure continue, and 83% of the tunnels in the ‘yellow line’ area have already been destroyed. In Lebanon we are continuing to destroy terror infrastructure in the first line of villages at full strength.”

Concluding his remarks, Katz said Israel would not permit hostile forces to regain a foothold along its borders and pledged that military operations would continue until the country’s security objectives are achieved.

“We will not return to a reality in which our enemies establish themselves on our borders and threaten our communities. The IDF will continue to stand as a barrier between our communities and jihadist enemies. The campaign is not yet over. 1,000 days after October 7 – and our enemies understand well that the attempt to destroy the State of Israel has failed.”

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. forcefully defended Israel during a television interview, rejecting accusations that the Jewish state is carrying out genocide in Gaza and contending that the true destruction of religious communities has occurred elsewhere throughout the Middle East.

Speaking with Jesse Watters on Fox News, Kennedy argued that demographic realities undermine claims that Israel is attempting to eradicate the Palestinian population.

“If Israel wanted to commit a genocide against Palestinians, they could do it in a minute,” Kennedy said. “It’s doing the opposite. Palestinian population is growing enormously around Israel. In Israel, there were 150,000 Palestinians in 1948. Today, there’s almost two million; 20% of the population.”

Kennedy also pointed to the disappearance of Jewish communities from neighboring countries and the shrinking Christian population in Gaza as evidence that persecution has been directed elsewhere in the region.

He noted that there are “no Jews in Jordan” and “no Jews in Gaza,” while arguing that Gaza’s Christian community has also diminished significantly over time.

“If you want to see where a real genocide is happening, it’s not in Israel,” Kennedy said. “It’s happening in all the nations around it.”

His remarks come as international debate continues over Israel’s military operations in Gaza and as discussions proceed regarding the Board of Peace’s reconstruction initiative and efforts aimed at deradicalization in the territory.

The interview represented one of Kennedy’s strongest public endorsements of Israel since joining President Donald Trump’s administration.

US Secretary of Health RFK Jr.:

If Israel wanted to commit a genocide against Palestinians, they could do it in a minute. That's doing the opposite. The Palestinian population is growing enormously around Israel.

If you want to see what a real genocide is, it's not happening in… pic.twitter.com/i4tAUgsNoU

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 30, 2026

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The Trump administration is rapidly transforming security along the U.S.-Mexico border through an ambitious “smart wall” initiative that combines towering steel barriers with advanced surveillance technology, even as illegal border crossings have fallen to their lowest levels in decades. The project, backed by tens of billions of dollars from Congress, has drawn praise from supporters who say it strengthens border security while prompting criticism from opponents concerned about cost, privacy, and its impact on border communities.

For many years, long stretches of the southern border were marked by little more than barbed-wire fencing. Today, however, the administration is replacing those areas with 30-foot steel barriers integrated with sophisticated monitoring systems, including surveillance towers, motion sensors, cameras, and other technologies designed to give Border Patrol agents continuous awareness of activity along the frontier.

Despite the sharp decline in illegal crossings, the project remains under intense debate because of the enormous federal investment required to complete it. Critics argue the effort is further militarizing the border through the widespread deployment of surveillance systems that extend well beyond the physical fence itself.

“We are seeing a massive expansion of surveillance and surveillance technology across the borderlands,” said Ricky Garza, border policy counsel at the Southern Border Communities Coalition. “The wall in all its forms is harmful to communities.”

Federal officials maintain that the technology is intended to enhance—not replace—the physical barrier by allowing agents to focus on enforcement rather than constant monitoring.

“It’s a smart wall. It’s not just a barrier,” Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said during congressional testimony. “It maximizes the use of our most valuable resource, which is our agents.”

Border security has remained one of President Donald Trump’s signature priorities since his first presidential campaign.

During President Joe Biden’s administration, illegal migration surged, with thousands of migrants arriving at the border daily. Those numbers began falling before President Trump returned to office last year and have since dropped dramatically, with administration officials attributing much of the decline to tougher immigration enforcement policies that have discouraged attempted crossings.

Congress has allocated approximately $46 billion to complete the border barrier and related enforcement measures, enabling Customs and Border Protection to award major construction contracts aimed at finishing one of the administration’s highest-profile initiatives.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin recently said an initial phase of the project should be completed by this time next year. Scott told lawmakers that construction crews are currently installing roughly six miles of new wall each week.

Although hundreds of miles of border fencing had already been completed before President Trump returned to office, CBP has added another 74 miles as of mid-June 2026 and plans to construct hundreds more. Officials have no plans to build fencing across approximately 535 miles of the nearly 2,000-mile border, relying instead on difficult terrain supplemented by surveillance towers and underground detection systems.

In addition to new construction, CBP is upgrading existing sections of wall with improved lighting, patrol roads, and additional monitoring equipment. Along portions of the Rio Grande in Texas, authorities are also deploying large cylindrical floating barriers measuring 12 to 15 feet in length to deter migrants and smugglers from crossing the river.

Technology has become an increasingly central component of the administration’s border strategy. The effort reflects the broader evolution of Customs and Border Protection since the September 11 attacks into an intelligence-driven agency operating an extensive surveillance network reaching well beyond the border itself.

Opponents argue that this growing technological footprint creates new problems.

The Southern Border Communities Coalition contends that heightened surveillance forces migrants onto more dangerous routes while also raising privacy concerns for residents living near the border.

Garza said local landowners have discovered motion sensors installed on private property without their permission, arguing that the practice infringes upon their property and privacy rights.

Nayda Alvarez, whose family owns land along the Rio Grande approximately 125 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, said surveillance equipment has repeatedly appeared on their property. She recently noticed a new surveillance tower positioned roughly a quarter mile from her home.

“Are we expecting a war or something?” she said. “It doesn’t make me feel safer.”

Dave Maass of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said the expanding surveillance network has fundamentally changed life along the border for both residents and migrants.

According to Maass, the organization has even produced a guide identifying the various surveillance towers currently operating throughout the southern border region to help local residents understand the technologies surrounding them.

Those systems include permanent towers equipped with video cameras, infrared sensors, and radar capable of monitoring activity across roughly eight miles, as well as mobile surveillance units mounted on trucks that can be relocated wherever needed. Some units combine cameras with powerful spotlights to monitor remote areas.

Many of the newest towers operate autonomously, scanning surrounding terrain and using artificial intelligence to analyze activity before alerting Border Patrol agents to potential threats. Supporters say the systems allow agents to remain in the field rather than spending hours watching camera feeds. Critics, however, caution that increasing reliance on AI raises concerns about algorithmic bias and other potential errors.

Legislation approved by Congress last summer requires Customs and Border Protection to purchase only autonomous surveillance towers, and the agency is now deploying an additional 95 units.

The surveillance network also extends underground. Fiber-optic cables buried beneath the surface detect movement and transmit data for artificial intelligence systems to evaluate.

“We follow the contour of the land. We go through trees. We go down into the river banks. We can go absolutely everywhere,” said Magnus McEwen-King, CEO of Sintela, whose company is installing the fiber-optic systems under contract with CBP. He spoke during a recent border security exposition in Phoenix showcasing the technology.

Border agents also continue using traditional ground sensors and remote trail cameras to identify smuggling corridors and illegal crossing routes.

The nonprofit watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense has questioned whether the massive expenditures on both physical barriers and surveillance technology provide sufficient value for taxpayers.

The group points to a previous effort abandoned in 2011, when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano terminated an earlier “virtual wall” initiative after it exceeded its budget, experienced technical failures, and fell significantly behind schedule.

Josh Sewell, the organization’s research and policy director, said additional scrutiny is needed before committing such vast sums to emerging technologies. He also criticized what he described as insufficient oversight of the administration’s spending, an allegation that Customs and Border Protection rejects, saying appropriate oversight mechanisms are already in place.

In Texas’ Big Bend region, the administration’s construction plans have drawn bipartisan resistance, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas encompassing state parks, national parks, and wildlife preserves.

CBP has since announced it no longer intends to build a 30-foot steel bollard wall through those protected locations. Instead, current plans call for patrol roads, vehicle barriers, and technological detection systems.

Clara Benson, a founder of the No Big Bend Wall coalition, said residents remain worried that powerful border lighting could diminish one of the area’s defining features—its famously dark night skies.

“There’s still a lot of fear and dread that the plan is still going to be quite damaging,” she said.

{Matzav.com}

Federal immigration authorities arrested more than 10,000 people over a five-day period this week as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched one of its most aggressive enforcement drives yet. Internal records reviewed by The New York Times indicate that the agency nearly doubled its daily arrest goals to about 2,000, with arrests topping 2,400 on Saturday alone.

The intensified campaign has driven the number of migrants being held in ICE custody to more than 63,000. At the same time, field offices have reportedly been directed to dedicate roughly 80% of their officers to arrest operations every day of the week.

According to a source familiar with the agency’s operations, ICE is broadening its enforcement efforts with financial support provided through the One Big Beautiful Bill as that legislation nears its one-year anniversary.

Rather than relying on the high-profile workplace raids that drew widespread attention earlier in President Donald Trump’s administration, officials have increasingly carried out arrests away from the spotlight. Immigration lawyers say many detentions are now taking place during routine check-ins, traffic stops, and other everyday encounters.

Immigration advocacy organizations contend that the expanded enforcement is capturing growing numbers of migrants who have no criminal records, despite repeated statements from the administration that deportation efforts are aimed primarily at dangerous offenders.

The American Immigration Council and other organizations monitoring ICE activity say a significant number of those recently detained have no criminal history.

In South Florida, immigration attorney Cindy Blandon said ICE agents arrested one of her clients—a Nicaraguan father of two who is not scheduled to appear in immigration court until 2027—during a routine check-in on Monday.

The lower-profile enforcement campaign comes after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin vowed to shift away from the large-scale raids that generated intense criticism last year following an operation in Minnesota during which two U.S. citizens were killed.

The Department of Homeland Security defended the expanded enforcement effort, with a spokeswoman declaring: “If you come to our country illegally, we will find you, we will arrest you and we will deport you.”

The surge in arrests has also drawn criticism from both sides of the political aisle in certain cases.

Protesters have held demonstrations across the country over detention conditions and ICE enforcement tactics, while some Republican lawmakers have voiced concern over arrests involving people with humanitarian protections.

“Our immigration enforcement should target violent criminals,” Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, wrote on Facebook following the detention of a Catholic nun in Texas.

“A Catholic nun on her way to church is not a threat to our community.”

De La Cruz later said Sister Letty “will be coming home” and that officials were working to resolve the matter.

The enforcement push comes only days after the Supreme Court rejected President Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, reaffirming that “children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause.”

{Matzav.com}