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Israel’s currency has strengthened significantly, reaching its highest level in roughly 30 years against the U.S. dollar, as growing optimism over renewed diplomatic efforts with Iran and potential discussions involving Lebanon boosts confidence in the market.

The shekel is currently trading at NIS 3.01 per dollar, approaching the key psychological threshold of NIS 3/$, and marking its strongest position since 1995.

“There are expectations for an improvement in Israel’s geopolitical situation, along with expectations of a sharp increase in defense exports,” says Leader Capital Markets chief economist Jonathan Katz. “Meanwhile, the high-tech sector continues to raise funds abroad.”

A discussion in the Knesset Finance Committee on damage caused by a cluster missile strike near the home of MK Moshe Gafni quickly turned into a mix of humor and political tension, as lawmakers traded barbs over the incident.

The matter, dubbed the “shutter incident,” was raised Tuesday during a committee session, referring to damage sustained at Gafni’s residence following an Iranian cluster missile strike on a nearby building on Rechov Rav Yitzchak Nissim in Bnei Brak.

During the discussion, Gafni praised officials from the Israel Tax Authority, noting that they promptly dispatched two representatives to assess the damage caused near his home.

The tone in the room shifted as lawmakers began joking about the situation. MK Yinon Azulai of Shas drew laughter when he quipped, “The prime minister received 1.7 million shekels for a drone hitting the window of his home in Caesarea. Huch did you get?”

MK Yitzchak Pindrus added to the humor, saying, “There will probably be a classified discussion about it.”

Not all remarks were lighthearted. MK Naor Shiri of Yesh Atid struck a sharper tone, stating, “If the prime minister had called me like he called Gafni, I would have hung up on him.”

{Matzav.com}

Israeli officials are increasingly concerned that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could open a new front by blocking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital global shipping route, in response to the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

While international attention remains fixed on developments around Hormuz, Israeli defense and diplomatic circles are closely monitoring the southern maritime corridor. According to a report aired Tuesday evening on Kan News, Jerusalem fears the Houthis may act on Iran’s behalf and disrupt traffic through Bab el-Mandeb, a chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

Such a move would effectively serve as a “price tag” imposed by Iran’s Yemeni proxy, potentially in retaliation for American actions in the Gulf.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a critical artery for global commerce, particularly for vessels traveling to and from the Suez Canal. Any disruption there could have far-reaching economic and strategic consequences.

In response to the growing concern, Israeli officials are maintaining ongoing coordination with a wide range of countries, including regional partners, the United States, and nations in Europe and Africa. The goal, officials say, is to ensure that the Houthis do not move to interfere with freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and surrounding waters.

Until now, the Houthis have largely refrained from playing a major role in the broader confrontation tied to Iran. They entered the fray only after roughly a month, launching five ballistic missiles and ten drones toward Israel.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump said the conflict between the United States and Iran is approaching its conclusion, pointing to easing hostilities under a two-week ceasefire while signaling that further action remains possible.

“I think it’s close to over, yeah. I view it as very close to being over,” Trump told FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo in an interview that will air on “Mornings with Maria” on Wednesday.

His remarks come as diplomatic efforts are expected to resume, with U.S. and Iranian representatives reportedly planning to return to negotiations on Thursday after discussions over the weekend in Pakistan failed to produce an agreement.

At the same time, the administration has continued to apply pressure. On Monday, Trump ordered a naval blockade targeting all Iranian ports, escalating tensions even after Washington halted its bombing campaign against Iran last week.

While expressing optimism about the war winding down, Trump made clear that U.S. operations are not yet complete.

“If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we’re not finished,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.”

Vice President JD Vance, along with senior White House officials, met with Iranian counterparts in Pakistan over the weekend to address Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and enrichment activity.

Although the talks ended without a breakthrough, Vance said Monday “a lot of progress” was made and emphasized that the next steps depend on Iran’s decisions.

“The ball is very much in their court,” Vance told “Special Report.” “You ask what happens next, I think the Iranians are going to determine what happens next.”

The war began on Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel carried out coordinated strikes on Iranian targets, an operation that resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dealt a severe blow to the Islamic regime.

Trump has repeatedly pointed to the damage inflicted on Iran’s leadership and military infrastructure, frequently stating that U.S. forces have “decimated” Tehran’s capabilities.

The fighting has come at a heavy cost, with thirteen American service members killed, along with thousands of casualties reported across the Middle East.

Speaking about his decision to enter the conflict, Trump defended the move as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“I had to divert because if I didn’t do that, right now, you’d have Iran with a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “And if they had a nuclear weapon, you’d be calling everybody over there ‘sir,’ and you don’t want to do that.”

After an eight-hour marathon session, the Knesset Finance Committee on Tuesday approved the transfer of approximately 100 million shekels to chareidi education networks, ending a prolonged standoff marked by a filibuster and sharp criticism from coalition lawmakers.

The funding had previously been frozen by the High Court of Justice following a petition by the Yesh Atid party, after it was discovered that the money had been transferred before receiving the required procedural approval from the committee. The measure ultimately passed unanimously after opposition members, who had conducted a lengthy filibuster throughout the day, walked out of the room just before the vote.

MK Moshe Gafni, chairman of Degel HaTorah, used the debate to sharply criticize what he described as selective enforcement against the chareidi sector. “For years I warned that these transfers need to be brought in on time,” Gafni said, before adding pointedly, “The reality is that here they are talking about only one transfer to chareidi education, while on that same day there were 30 other transfers. Among them were also the salaries of the judges who issued this ruling.”

During the discussion, Shai Calderon, the official in charge of chareidi education at the Education Ministry, presented detailed figures on student enrollment for the 2025–2026 academic year.

According to the data, the Chinuch Atzmai network currently serves 128,935 students across 271 institutions, while the Maayan HaChinuch HaTorani network affiliated with Shas enrolls 61,503 students in 267 institutions. Coalition members pointed to these numbers to underscore what they described as the urgent need to release funding for the hundreds of thousands of children studying in these frameworks.

House Democrats on Tuesday introduced legislation aimed at creating a pathway to potentially remove President Donald Trump from office under the 25th Amendment, though the measure faces steep political hurdles, Fox News reports.

The proposal, spanning 10 pages, was put forward by Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. It calls for establishing a 17-member commission tasked with evaluating whether the constitutional provision could be invoked to declare the president unfit for office.

Under the plan, the panel would include physicians and former senior executive branch officials chosen by leaders from both parties in Congress.

“[T]he Commission shall carry out a medical examination of the President to determine whether the President is mentally or physically unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office,” the bill states.

According to the legislation, Democratic and Republican leaders in both the House and Senate would each appoint four physicians and four psychiatrists. Those 16 members would then select a 17th individual to serve as the commission’s chair.

The effort comes as several Democrats in both chambers have called for Trump’s removal or impeachment following his recent social media post warning that a “whole civilization will die tonight” amid the conflict with Iran. Raskin pointed to what he described as Trump’s “increasingly volatile, incoherent, and alarming public statements” during the crisis.

“We have a solemn duty to play our defined role under the 25th Amendment by setting up this body to act alongside the Vice President and the Cabinet,” Raskin said in a statement. “Public trust in Donald Trump’s ability to meet the duties of his office has dropped to unprecedented lows as he threatens to destroy entire civilizations, unleashes chaos in the Middle East while violating Congressional war powers, aggressively insults the Pope of the Catholic Church, and sends out artistic renderings online likening himself to Jesus Christ.”

The bill has attracted the backing of 50 Democratic co-sponsors.

The White House rejected the accusations, insisting there has been no decline in Trump’s cognitive abilities while also turning criticism toward Democrats’ handling of President Joe Biden during his time in office.

“Lightweight Jamie Raskin is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. “President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration, when Democrats like Raskin intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people.”

Trump, for his part, defended his earlier remarks, saying he ultimately did not act on his threats after Iran agreed to a temporary two-week ceasefire. He added that his comments “brought [Iran] to the table, with the exception of the one thing which I believe that they’re going to give up on.”

“Remember, what do they say to us? For years, I’ve had to listen to them say, ‘Death to America,’ right?” Trump said on “Sunday Morning Futures,” referencing rhetoric from Tehran. “They say, ‘Death to America, death to Israel, America is a Satan, we will destroy America, death to America.’ Now, does anybody ever complain to you when they say that? I think that’s a big step worse—‘Death to America.’”

{Matzav.com}

Spanish low-cost carrier Volotea is drawing criticism from travelers after reports that it has begun adding fuel-related charges to tickets that have already been purchased, a move that has raised broader concerns about rising airfare across the industry, Fox News reports.

While the additional fee — estimated at roughly $8 to $11 per passenger, according to aviation outlet Simple Flying — may appear modest, passengers are worried it could signal a wider trend as fuel prices continue to climb.

The airline’s policy is based on a contractual provision, similar to clauses used by some cruise companies, allowing adjustments tied to fluctuations in oil costs. Volotea refers to this policy as its “Fair Travel Promise.”

According to multiple reports, customers are notified at the time of booking that an extra charge could be applied about a week before departure if fuel prices increase.

“In the event of extraordinary variations in fuel prices affecting international energy markets, Volotea may apply a limited and temporary adjustment to the ticket price prior to the scheduled departure of the flight,” the company’s website says.

“The exact amount of any such adjustment will be communicated to passengers prior to departure, once the applicable fuel cost variation has been determined,” the website also says.

“Such adjustments will only apply to passengers who have been informed of this possibility during the booking process, allowing them to make an informed decision before completing their purchase,” the website adds.

The airline, which is based in Barcelona, has not publicly responded to requests for comment regarding the backlash.

The policy has sparked strong reactions online, with travelers divided over the fairness of the added charge.

“Pity to see a funky airline like Volotea resort to such a gritty survival instinct. I understand the ‘why’ behind the fuel costs, but charging for already booked seats is a bold move that risks a lot of goodwill,” one reader wrote on the blog “Simple Flying.”

“A loophole in the conditions of carriage allows them to do this? Who ever reads the conditions of carriage?” a second reader added.

Others defended the airline’s approach, arguing that such measures may be necessary to keep flights running.

“Airlines could, of course, just cancel flights, as some apparently already have. Next thing, there’ll be a shortage of seats, and guess what — prices will really rise.”

“$10 seems a small price to keep flights operating as normally as possible.”

Beyond the immediate controversy, industry observers say the bigger issue is what the move could mean for the future of air travel pricing.

Travel site The Points Guy advised customers to book sooner rather than later.

“If you’re planning to fly this summer, go ahead and lock in your airfare now,” The Points Guy wrote.

“As experts noted, prices could surge any day now. That’s especially true if you’re hoping to fly in June or July, which in recent years have been the busiest and most expensive months of the summer to travel.”

American Airlines has extended its suspension of flights to and from Israel through September 8, 2026, citing continued instability in the region and ongoing security concerns.

The decision delays the airline’s long-anticipated return to Tel Aviv, with all routes to and from Ben Gurion International Airport remaining halted for the coming months.

The carrier had previously planned to resume daily nonstop service between New York’s JFK Airport and Tel Aviv on March 28, 2026. Those plans were first postponed and have now been pushed off again as conditions in the region have yet to stabilize.

American Airlines is among several international carriers that have repeatedly adjusted their Israel operations in response to shifting security realities since the outbreak of war in the region.

The extended suspension affects all American Airlines service to Israel, leaving passengers to seek alternative travel arrangements through other airlines or connecting routes.

To accommodate affected travelers, the airline has implemented a special exception policy, allowing customers with tickets to or from Tel Aviv during the impacted period to rebook their flights or receive refunds.

The continued disruption highlights the broader impact of the regional conflict on international travel, as airlines weigh safety risks against the demand for service.

For now, with uncertainty still clouding the situation, a full resumption of regular flights to Israel remains tied to improvements in the security landscape in the months ahead.

{Matzav.com}

HERMITAGE, Pa. – To investigators, the case against Kimberlee Williams appeared straightforward.

“It’s very obvious it’s you,” an officer in Montgomery County, Maryland, said to Williams, who was handcuffed to a table in the police department.

Williams had several prior convictions for writing bad checks in Oklahoma, and the person who appeared in surveillance photos, accused of making fraudulent withdrawals in Maryland, looked like a match in surveillance photos – the same build, the same age, the same shape face.

But Williams was adamant. That wasn’t her. She lived in Oklahoma and had never been to Maryland, she said, until police arrested her and flew her in to be questioned.

Williams, now 57, offered to take a polygraph test and said she had family members who could provide an alibi for her, according to video of the interview from July 2021 reviewed by The Washington Post. She acknowledged that she had a history of writing bad checks, but she insisted that was in the past.

“I’m not trying to waste your time,” Williams said. “I’m telling you -”

“You’re telling me, but you’re not telling me the truth,” the officer interrupted.

Williams was charged in three Maryland counties – Montgomery, Prince George’s and Anne Arundel – and jailed for six months before the charges were dismissed, according to court records.

She would not learn for years how she came to be accused: A bank investigator reported to Montgomery County police that facial recognition technology had identified Williams as the suspect in the Maryland fraud cases. Montgomery County police did not disclose that Williams had been identified using facial recognition when they sought charges against her, according to police records.

Several criminal justice experts said the use of facial recognition should have been disclosed in the police department’s incident report and application for charges.

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union sent letters of complaint to the Montgomery, Prince George’s and Anne Arundel police departments, seeking an apology for Williams and policy changes. The organization alleges that Montgomery police – which had been informed about the role of facial recognition – maliciously prosecuted Williams by not disclosing the use of the technology in identifying her. The letter also said that all three police agencies did not adequately look into the bank investigator’s tip before charging Williams. (The three-year statute of limitations has expired in her case, according to the ACLU.)

The Montgomery and Prince George’s police departments did not respond to The Post about her case and whether anyone else was ever charged. The Anne Arundel County police declined to answer questions about Williams’s case, but said in a statement that it “independently investigates and corroborates any outside tips and leads it receives before applying for criminal charges.”

“An independent judicial officer – a District Court Commissioner – reviews and evaluates all criminal charges for probable cause to determine whether charges should be issued,” the department said.

Williams’s case, criminal justice experts said, shows the limits of facial recognition software and how faulty tips generated by the technology can be used by both police and non-law-enforcement groups to inform arrests and charges.

“When an officer seeks charges or seeks a warrant without revealing what they’re basing their identification on – without revealing that it was facial recognition technology that produced this lead – they’re essentially hiding or burying the unreliable step in that investigation,” said Mitha Nandagopalan, an attorney for the criminal justice reform nonprofit the Innocence Project.

It is not uncommon for corporations and private investigators to share information with police about facial recognition searches, Nandagopalan added. The powerful but error-prone technology has led some police departments to forgo basic investigative steps and arrest people wrongfully identified by facial recognition without other supporting evidence, a Washington Post investigation last year found. Law enforcement agencies often deploy facial recognition software to identify suspects without reporting its use to the accused or their attorneys, The Post reported.

Similar cases to Williams’s continue to crop up. A Tennessee woman was jailed for about six months last year after police in North Dakota identified her as a suspect in a bank fraud case using facial recognition technology, the Grand Forks Herald reported. The charges were dismissed, and the Fargo police department said in a statement that it “conducted additional investigative steps independent of AI” before seeking charges, WCYB reported.

Like Williams, she told police she had never visited the state where she was accused, according to those reports.

The charges against Williams shocked her, but not because she had never been accused before. It was an echo of a past she had left behind. Williams, a single mother raising seven children, had begun writing fraudulent checks in her own name decades earlier to pay for diapers and other needs for her family that she could not afford, she said.

The amounts started small. Then she wrote larger checks for bigger purchases, such as birthday presents and Christmas gifts. It felt “like an adrenaline rush,” Williams said in an interview.

Williams pleaded guilty to misdemeanors for writing false checks in 2001 and 2004, according to criminal records. In 2010, she pleaded guilty to felony charges of writing multiple bogus checks and conspiracy and spent about two years in prison.

The run-ins with the law weighed on Williams’s family. Her relationship with her children grew strained. Her mother didn’t understand why she couldn’t stop reoffending. After Williams again faced charges for check fraud in 2017, she resolved to change.

“I was just getting older,” she said. “It was just time to quit being so disgusting, doing stuff like that.”

By 2021, Williams had found work as an administrator at a methadone clinic in Lawton, Oklahoma. Her youngest children were attending high school, and her older children lived in the area with their families. She told her grandchildren about her criminal history as a warning to stay out of trouble. Jordyn Wasko, one of Williams’s daughters, said she was beginning to reconcile with her mother.

“We were doing so much better,” said Wasko, now 23.

In June of that year, Williams was stopped at the gatehouse of Fort Sill, a U.S. Army base near Lawton. She and Wasko were visiting the base to deliver a DoorDash order. Shortly after guards checked their IDs, police cars rolled up. An officer told Williams she had felony warrants in Maryland.

Williams was taken to jail. Officers did not tell her what she had been charged with, she said.

“I thought they were joking,” Williams said. “ … I wasn’t even scared, because I was like, ‘I’ve never been to Maryland.’ So I thought if they checked into it enough they would see.”

In December 2019, a woman visited a SunTrust bank in Potomac, Maryland, and made two fraudulent cash withdrawals using forged checks that totaled about $17,000, according to police and bank records. Security cameras captured the woman, dressed in a red jacket and smiling at a teller, on the day she made the first withdrawal. She returned the next day with a different hairstyle and outfit, according to photos shared with police.

An investigator employed by SunTrust shared the surveillance photos on CrimeDex, an online community of law enforcement and corporate investigators that enables users to share bulletins on suspects and solicit tips from other agencies.

The investigator wrote to Montgomery County police in March 2020 that he had a suspect: Kimberlee Williams. A respondent to the investigator’s CrimeDex bulletin “suggested, using facial recognition software” that Williams was the suspect, he told police.

It is unclear who sent the tip identifying Williams. Truist, the bank holding company that SunTrust formed in a merger, did not respond to questions.

CrimeDex does not perform facial recognition searches itself but allows other agencies to respond to an investigator who shares suspect information, founder James Hudson said in an interview. He said another CrimeDex user could have performed a facial recognition search from the bank investigator’s bulletin and shared the results with him.

“Comparison of arrest photos against bank surveillance stills resulted in the identification of Williams,” the bank investigator wrote to Montgomery County police.

About a week later, the bank investigator reported Williams to police in the nearby counties of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel; he wrote that a woman who made fraudulent withdrawals in their jurisdictions “was recognized” as Williams from the Montgomery case. The emails to Prince George’s and Anne Arundel police did not disclose the use of facial recognition in identifying Williams.

From the tips, three police departments opened investigations of Williams. In incident reports and charging documents, no officers reported investigating Williams’s whereabouts at the time of the crimes or whether she had connections to Maryland.

Each department charged Williams in 2020 based on the identification reported by the bank investigator and a visual comparison of Williams and the woman in the bank from photos, according to charging documents and incident reports. Police in Montgomery and Anne Arundel also cited Williams’s convictions for check fraud in Oklahoma.

Detective Michael Adami, who applied for charges against Williams in Montgomery County, did not disclose the use of facial recognition in identifying her. Adami did not respond to questions about the case.

A warrant was issued for Williams’s arrest. She faced 16 charges across the three counties, including 12 felonies.

Williams was held in jail in Oklahoma for about three weeks before being transported to Maryland. As Montgomery County police interviewed Williams in 2021, her bewilderment at being accused quickly turned to fear, she said.

“I’m like, ‘How do I convince a detective that that wasn’t me?’” Williams said.

Experts and advocates for criminal justice reform who reviewed the case at the request of The Post said Williams’s case typified the missteps that police can take when working with facial recognition technology.

Michael King, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Florida Institute of Technology who has studied facial recognition, said the technology is an invaluable tool. But since it is adept at finding look-alikes to a suspect, he said police must do more than just compare candidates to photos of a suspect when building a case.

“When face recognition is used in an investigation, officers should not only look for evidence that supports probable cause; they should also actively look for evidence that the person identified is not the right suspect,” King wrote to The Post. “That obligation is essential.”

Nandagopalan, from the Innocence Project, criticized Montgomery County police for not stating that facial recognition was used in the investigation, checking Williams’s alibi or gathering evidence to establish that Williams had been in Maryland before charging her.

“Is there sort of some independent basis, not tied to the facial recognition, that we have to suspect this person or that would put them at the scene?” Nandagopalan said. “If we don’t have that, we shouldn’t be making any arrests.”

While Prince George’s and Anne Arundel police were not informed by the bank investigator of the use of facial recognition technology, the ACLU said the agencies should have asked for more details about the tip as they investigated Williams.

Gary Wells, a professor emeritus of psychology at Iowa State University who studies eyewitness identification, added that police made an “egregious” misjudgment by deeming Williams the suspect after a visual comparison of photos. Photos of the two women showed visible differences in their noses, eyes and moles on their faces, he said.

“These are very clearly different people,” Wells said.

Jailed in Montgomery County, Williams said she grew “hysterical” and at a loss for how to fight her charges. On the phone, her 11-year-old granddaughter asked why she wasn’t coming home.

“I said, ‘Sometimes people, the police, can think that you did something, and if you really didn’t do it, sometimes you have to go away to take time to prove that you didn’t,’” Williams said.

Wasko said Williams was helping look after her sister’s children in Oklahoma in December 2020 and January 2021, when the Maryland cases occurred. The Post reviewed signed declarations from three of Williams’s daughters providing an alibi. The ACLU, in its letters to the police departments, shared posts and videos from social media placing Williams in Oklahoma at the time of the crimes.

Prosecutors in all three counties ultimately dismissed the charges against Williams – sequentially, which prolonged her jail time. After Williams was released from jail in Montgomery County in October 2021, she was transferred to a facility in Prince George’s. The two other counties dismissed their charges against Williams in December.

By that point, Williams had no money or means to contact her family, she said. She had to borrow a stranger’s phone to call her son, she said, who drove her home to Oklahoma.

Williams’s case records were expunged, according to the ACLU. In 2024, Maryland passed legislation prohibiting law enforcement agencies from using facial recognition as the sole basis for an arrest and restricting the kinds of cases agencies can use facial recognition technology to investigate.

Wasko, Williams’s daughter, said her mother was depressed after leaving jail and struggled to readjust after the time behind bars.

“She lost a part of herself,” Wasko said.

Williams moved into a rehab facility in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, last year to recover from an episode of Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that has weakened her legs. She said she thinks it is possible that illnesses she caught while she was in jail worsened her condition.

But as Williams sat in a wheelchair in her care home’s break room this spring, she was sanguine as she recounted her time in jail. She said her family never doubted that she was telling the truth, and that she had kept her promise to stay out of trouble.

Williams was surprised and fascinated to learn that facial recognition was used to find her, she said. She is still struck by the images of the woman at the bank counter, whom three police departments insisted was her.

“I wish I knew who she was,” Williams said.

Mossad Director David Barnea on Tuesday rejected reports that Israel had created expectations of a rapid collapse of Iran’s regime, clarifying that no such assumption guided the war effort and that the campaign was designed with long-term objectives.

Speaking for the first time on the matter at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event at Mossad headquarters, Barnea warned against complacency in the face of growing threats, saying, “Those who think the Holocaust belongs only to the past are mistaken, and that in today’s reality genocide cannot happen, that there cannot be calls for annihilation, and that hatred threatening the existence of a people will not arise.”

He described the Iranian threat as steadily intensifying, stating, “The Iranian threat has been growing stronger before our eyes, in full view of the world, almost without interruption. Time and again we warned about the nuclear danger as an existential threat, time and again we warned about the quantities of ballistic missiles threatening Israeli citizens across the country, and about the danger posed by the Iranian regime. Ultimately, we took our fate into our own hands and went to two necessary wars.”

Referring to the recent campaign, Barnea said, “In the ‘Lion’s Roar’ war, the IDF, with the assistance of the Mossad, led an unprecedented offensive that delivered a severe blow to the Iranian regime—against those who have pledged to destroy us, against those who displayed a giant clock counting down our supposed end. Alongside us, in a strong alliance and historic cooperation with the world’s leading superpower, we fought together for the values of justice and freedom.”

He pointed to the results of the fighting, saying, “Forty days of intense combat produced highly significant achievements, chief among them damage to the enemy’s primary objective—the destruction of the State of Israel. The Mossad once again operated in the heart of Tehran, provided precise intelligence to the Air Force, and struck missiles that threaten Israeli civilians.”

At the same time, Barnea emphasized that the campaign is ongoing, saying, “However, our mission has not yet been completed. We did not think this mission would be completed immediately after the fighting subsided, but we did plan—very much so—that our campaign would continue and be expressed in the period following the strikes in Tehran.”

He concluded with a firm message: “Our commitment will be fulfilled only when this extremist regime is replaced. That regime, which seeks our destruction, must pass from the world. This is our mission. We will not continue to stand by in the face of another existential threat. From a clear mandate: never again.”

{Matzav.com}

Agudath Israel of America has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief, asking the Supreme Court of the United States to hear the case of Grand v. City of University Heights, Ohio. This case involves the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) with significant ramifications for religious Americans across the country.

The case centers on Daniel Grand, a man who sought to organize an at-home minyan (a Jewish prayer gathering requiring a quorum of ten men) on Shabbos. Because observant Jews cannot drive or use electronics on Shabbos, concerns about traffic and noise violations were entirely negated. Nonetheless, the City of University Heights issued Grand a cease-and-desist order, classifying the gathering as “a home operating as a house of worship” and requiring a special use permit. The City further deployed police surveillance of the home and encouraged neighbors to report the gathering to authorities. Facing prosecution, Mr. Grand sued the City in Federal Court.

Rather than protecting religious liberty, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the City, holding that the religious liberty claims were not yet ripe because the local zoning board had not yet determined whether the ordinance applied to Mr. Grand’s gatherings.

The amicus brief asks the Supreme Court to take up the case in light of the crucial constitutional First Amendment issues at stake, as well as potential violations of RLUIPA. The brief argues that the government’s actions represent a direct assault on religious exercise.

“The City’s order to cease and desist a small prayer gathering in a private home is not a mere land‑use dispute; it is a direct intrusion on religious exercise at the place where the First Amendment’s protection should be at its apex.”

The brief continues:

“For centuries, [various religious traditions] have centered core forms of worship in the home, and American law has consistently refused to treat such ordinary religious practice as an activity that exists only at the sufferance of local officials. By allowing a discretionary permitting regime to burden that practice—and then delaying judicial review until the religious plaintiff submits to it—the decision below entrenches the very system of permission‑based religion that the First Amendment was designed to eliminate.”

“This case strikes at the very heart of religious freedom in America,” said Daniel Kaminetsky, General Counsel of Agudath Israel. “The City of University Heights’ actions against Mr. Grand represent exactly the kind of government overreach that RLUIPA and the First Amendment were designed to prevent. We urge the Supreme Court to take up this case.”

Agudath Israel thanks Joshua C. McDaniel, Parker W. Knight III, Kathryn F. Mahoney, and Jacob M. McIntosh of the Religious Freedom Clinic at Harvard Law School, who prepared the brief.

The U.S. State Department has announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the capture of Ahmad al-Hamidawi, the head of an Iran-backed militia in Iraq, citing his group’s involvement in attacks and kidnappings.

The bounty targets al-Hamidawi, who serves as secretary-general of Kataeb Hezbollah, a militia aligned with Iran and active in Iraq.

In a post on X that included al-Hamidawi’s photo, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program stated that the organization is “responsible for attacks on US diplomatic facilities in Iraq, the kidnapping of US citizens, and the killing of innocent Iraqi civilians.”

The announcement comes after a series of incidents linked to the group. Just last month, Kataeb Hezbollah abducted American journalist Shelly Kittleson in Baghdad, holding her for several days before releasing her on the condition that she leave the country.

At the time, officials associated with the militia told The Associated Press that the release was tied to an understanding under which the Iraqi government would free several detained members of the group.

Kataeb Hezbollah has also been connected to the kidnapping of Israeli citizen Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was released last year after spending two and a half years in captivity.

The reward underscores Washington’s continued efforts to counter Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq, particularly those accused of targeting American personnel and interests in the region.

The 21-year-old yeshiva bochur who was pulled from the water after drowning at a Netanya beach on Friday afternoon has died after a prolonged struggle for his life, while search efforts continue for his brother who remains missing.

Yissachar Dov (Dovy) Spiegel was hospitalized in critical condition at Laniado Hospital following the incident at the city’s separate beach on Erev Shabbos. Shortly after midnight tonight, he passed away while family members were at his side reciting viduy.

The tragedy unfolded during a bein hazmanim getaway, when the family traveled to Netanya for Shabbos. Dovy and his brother, Avraham Yeshayahu—who is still unaccounted for—entered the sea to immerse in honor of Shabbos. Dovy was later rescued in life-threatening condition, while his brother has yet to be found.

Dovy, 21, was born on the 9th of Teves 5765 to his father, Rav Shlomo Spiegel, who heads the Spiegel chaburah in the Beis Yisrael neighborhood of Yerushalayim. He was a grandson of the veteran chareidi journalist and author Rabbi Yisrael Spiegel z”l, and the son of Mrs. Shoshana Spiegel, an educator at the Rabi Meir Seminary in Modiin Illit. On his mother’s side, he was a grandson of Rav Moshe Yosef Militzky zt”l, one of the senior dayanim of Yerushalayim, and a nephew of Rav Chaikel Militzky, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Rashi.

In his youth, Dovy studied at Talmud Torah Shira Chadasha in Ramat Shlomo, later transferring in eighth grade to Chavas Daas. He continued his limudim at Yeshivas Ohr Shmuel L’Tzeirim, and then learned at Yeshivas Tushiya in Tifrach, where he developed a close bond with the roshei yeshiva, including Rav Avraham Piltz and Rav Moshe Ben Menachem.

This past summer, he advanced from the fifth-year shiur in Tifrach to continue learning at Yeshivas Keter Torah in Kiryat Ye’arim (Telz-Stone).

Friends from the yeshiva described him as an exceptional ben Torah who was widely respected in Tifrach. They said he was deeply dedicated to his learning, constantly striving and growing, and served as a central pillar in the beis medrash. “It was always a pleasure to be around him,” one friend said.

Another friend added that his tefillos were exemplary, describing him as a well-rounded boy who excelled in all areas. He noted that Dovy was always punctual and dependable. “I was his chavrusa—he was always on time waiting for me; I was never waiting for him,” he said, adding that he was thoughtful and deeply caring toward others.

A former classmate from Yeshivas Ohr Shmuel said the staff consistently relied on him, entrusting him with responsibilities due to his maturity and reliability.

Throughout the past days, the Torah world davened for his recovery, but to the profound sorrow of all, he succumbed to his injuries.

He is survived by his parents, siblings, and many friends who are devastated by the loss.

Umacha Hashem dimah me’al kol ponim.

{Matzav.com}

A political uproar erupted in Warsaw after Polish lawmaker Konrad Berkowicz carried out a provocative act in parliament Tuesday evening, desecrating the Israeli flag during a session held on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Berkowicz, a member of the far-right Confederation party, presented a flag in which the Star of David had been replaced with a Nazi swastika, while launching a verbal attack against Israel, referring to it as “the new Third Reich.”

The incident unfolded as Israel observed its national day of remembrance for Holocaust victims, while in Poland, survivors were participating in commemorative events at Auschwitz.

Polish MP Konrad Berkowicz compares Israel’s crimes against humanity to those of the Third Reich and displays an Israeli flag with a swastika.

Israel is the new Third Reich! pic.twitter.com/Uo8GBcgQcc

— Sławomir Mentzen (@SlawomirMentzen) April 14, 2026

During his remarks, Berkowicz accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and behaving with “particular cruelty.” Figures within his political faction later amplified the speech by distributing footage and Nazi-era comparisons on social media in an effort to spread the message.

Israel’s embassy in Warsaw condemned the episode in strong terms, labeling it an “antisemitic atrocity” and urging Polish authorities to take firm action to address the situation. “This act is especially horrifying in a country that lost six million of its citizens under Nazi occupation,” the embassy said.

U.S. Ambassador to Poland Thomas Rose also rebuked the lawmaker, writing: “Shame on you! Perhaps you’ve noticed that we Jews are no longer so easy to push around. We defend ourselves with all our strength without apology.”

The Speaker of Parliament, along with members of the ruling coalition, denounced the incident and called for prosecutors to initiate legal proceedings against Berkowicz.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has requested that all official Memorial Day and Independence Day ceremonies scheduled for next week be recorded in advance due to what security officials describe as a “potential threat” to his life.

According to a report by journalist Michael Shemesh aired Tuesday on Kan News, the unusual request stems from heightened security concerns surrounding the upcoming state events.

Under the emerging plan, the ceremonies would be pre-recorded, while still preserving the option to broadcast them live if conditions allow. A final decision is expected to be made based on real-time security assessments.

Security officials are set to hold a special situation assessment later Tuesday to review preparations for the ceremonies and evaluate how to implement the prime minister’s directive.

The development follows an earlier incident the same day involving the official wreath-laying ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance Day. According to Kan News, Netanyahu initially canceled his participation due to security concerns but ultimately reversed the decision at the last moment and attended the event at Yad Vashem.

The Prime Minister’s Office later clarified that his attendance was made possible because the ceremony was brief, allowing for optimal security arrangements despite existing threats.

These concerns are backed by a classified assessment from the Shin Bet, recently submitted to the court. As reported by Channel 13 News, the document states that there is a significant security impediment to Netanyahu appearing in person to testify in his ongoing trial at this time.

The internal security agency warned that revealing the prime minister’s location at fixed and predictable venues poses a serious risk, particularly amid fears that Iranian operatives could attempt to exploit such information to carry out an attack.

The classified report, submitted at the direction of Shin Bet chief David Zini, emphasizes that during the current period of tension with Iran, the level of threat facing the prime minister requires heightened caution and adjustments to his public schedule and appearances.

{Matzav.com}

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Shabsi Beinish Herman zt”l, a respected marbitz Torah at Yeshivas HaTefutzos on Har Tzion, one of the founders of the yishuv Mitzad in the Judean Hills, and founder and nasi of the Schottenstein kollel in Shaarei Chesed. He was 82.

The levayah took place today, departing from the Sanhedria beis hachaim in Yerushalayim and proceeding to Har Hazeisim for kevurah.

Rav Herman was born on the 5th of Kislev 5704 in South America to his father, Rav Moshe Herman. From his youth, he was known for his deep hasmadah in Torah and avodas Hashem.

Upon arriving in Eretz Yisroel, he entered Yeshivas HaTefutzos, where he flourished and became close to the rosh yeshiva and founder, Rav Mordechai Goldstein zt”l. In time, the relationship became familial as they became mechutanim.

His entire life was one continuous journey of aliyah in avodas Hashem, with complete emunah in the Ribbono Shel Olam, His Torah, and His mitzvos. He fulfilled mitzvos with precision and simchah, distanced himself from worldly distractions, and toiled in Torah all his life, which was his greatest joy. He was especially dovuk in the limud of Rashi and the teachings of the Vilna Gaon.

He would rise early and remain late in the batei knesses. He devoted himself fully to establishing future generations on the foundations of Torah and yiras Shamayim. Words of anticipation and emunah in the geulah were constantly on his lips, and he conducted himself with great anavah, never taking credit for himself.

A man of vision and action, he invested tremendous effort in chinuch, guiding children along the path of mesorah. Through his work at Yeshivas HaTefutzos on Har Tzion, he brought many closer to Hashem and to Klal Yisroel. As mentioned, he was among the founders of the yishuv Mitzad in the Judean Hills and established and led the Schottenstein kollel in Shaarei Chesed in Yerushalayim.

He was zocheh to raise a beautiful family walking in the ways of Hashem with sincerity, including 12 children. Among them are his son Rav Avrohom Herman, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ahavas Torah in Bnei Brak; his son Rav Shmuel Herman, a rosh kollel; and his son-in-law Rav Yitzchok Goldstein, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas HaTefutzos.

The family is sitting shivah at 24 Rechov Yeshayahu in Yerushalayim.

Tehei nishmaso tzerurah b’tzror hachaim.

Images of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele were found Tuesday morning at the entrance to a public health office in Haifa, prompting an immediate response and police involvement.

Israel’s Health Ministry said the offensive materials were placed outside the Haifa district health bureau earlier in the day, which coincided with Holocaust Remembrance Day. According to the ministry, the items were quickly removed and the matter was handed over to law enforcement.

“This morning, items containing offensive content were placed at the entrance to the Haifa health bureau. The incident was handled immediately, removed from the location, and transferred to the Israel Police for further handling, which has been updated on the matter. The health bureau continues to operate as usual and provide services to the public.”

Officials added: “The Health Ministry views with severity any attempt to harm healthcare workers or to intimidate public servants.”

The health office had relocated to the building only a few months ago after its previous location was damaged by a missile strike during a military operation.

Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman Tov strongly condemned the act, calling it shocking and unacceptable.

“I am shocked by this severe act, which has no place in public discourse, and I strongly condemn it. The employees of the healthcare system work every day for the health of the public, in routine and in emergencies, and we will not accept attempts to intimidate public workers or harm them. We trust the Israel Police to act decisively to bring those responsible to justice.”

According to a report by Ynet, employees who arrived at the office and discovered the images said they were alarmed and deeply disturbed, telling colleagues they felt as though they had been deliberately targeted.

{Matzav.com}

Search operations for a missing 17-year-old boy off the coast of Netanya intensified Tuesday, with rescue teams expanding their efforts into deeper sections of the sea as calmer conditions enabled more advanced underwater and coastal scans.

ZAKA officials said that on the fifth day of the search along Sanz Beach, teams have divided the area into sectors and extended operations northward. “Division of zones among the forces and expansion of the searches northward. The calm sea allows deepened scans both at depth and between the rocks.”

“Search efforts for the missing teenager Avraham Yeshayahu Spiegel, 17, who has been missing since last Friday at Sanz Beach in Netanya, continued throughout the night with intensified and reinforced activity by all forces,” the organization said.

Overnight, a local command post operated under the direction of Yirmi Blumenthal, head of logistics for ZAKA Netanya. “As volunteers from the local team, together with additional volunteers, including his friends from the Tifrach Yeshiva, carried out prolonged foot searches along the coastline. The teams were divided into defined sectors and operated with flashlights and specialized equipment in order to scan every possible segment.”

“As part of a joint situational assessment with all emergency agencies, a clear sector division was carried out this morning: the marine police and the Lehava Unit are focusing on the Tzanz Beach sector and southward, while ZAKA’s special units are concentrating on the northern sector, in the Blue Bay Beach area, while expanding the search radius to additional locations.”

Deputy Fire Commissioner Doron Almeshely, commander of the elite Lehava Unit of Fire and Rescue Services, who has been overseeing the search scene at Tzanz Beach since Shabbos, visited the ZAKA command post on site and reviewed the ongoing efforts.

“ZAKA volunteers are operating here with exceptional dedication, day and night, in full cooperation with all forces. This is professional, sensitive, and complex work, and we thank them for their important assistance in the search efforts.”

Relatively calm sea conditions on the fifth day allowed for a significant escalation in operations. Diving teams reached greater depths and conducted searches among the many rocks scattered throughout the area, amid concerns the missing boy may be trapped between them. At the same time, improved sea conditions enhanced aerial scanning capabilities, with drone units deploying advanced systems to detect movement and irregularities in the water.

Forces have also been significantly reinforced, with dozens of volunteers operating simultaneously across multiple zones, combining technological tools with foot patrols and marine searches along the shoreline and offshore.

ZAKA CEO Dovi Weisnshtern, who arrived to observe the efforts firsthand, said: “We are in the midst of the fifth day of a complex and ongoing operation, with reinforced forces working in multiple sectors simultaneously. The current sea conditions allow us to deepen the searches both in depth and in more complex areas. We continue to operate with determination and caution, with the goal of locating the missing person and bringing news to the family as soon as possible.”

Chaim Ottmezgin, commander of ZAKA’s special units, added: “The work is being carried out with a clear division of sectors among all forces, which enables maximum utilization of operational capabilities. We are now focusing also on deep-water searches and rocky areas, alongside the use of drones and advanced equipment, and we will not stop until the missing person is found.”

{Matzav.com}

A sharp public clash erupted Tuesday between Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and opposition leader Yair Lapid following Italy’s decision to suspend a security-related arrangement with Israel, with both men exchanging pointed insults.

Lapid, who previously served as foreign minister, lashed out at Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Sa’ar in a post on X, writing that “the decision is another embarrassing failure of the prime minister and the non-existent foreign minister.”

He added that “the government has failed in advancing Israel’s interests even opposite people who are supposed to be our friends and natural allies.” Lapid continued: “We will return, form a government, and Israel will once again be the country everyone wanted to love.”

Sa’ar quickly fired back with a forceful response of his own. “The routine tweet of the clown is another embarrassing failure of the ‘non-existent’ opposition leader,” he wrote.

The foreign minister argued that Lapid was speaking without understanding the facts. “If someone who once held, on paper, the position of Israel’s ‘foreign minister’ had minimal knowledge, he would know that no such agreement even exists. There is only a memorandum of understanding that never had, and does not have, any real substance. Israel’s security will not be harmed,” he wrote.

Sa’ar also took aim at Lapid’s remark that “Israel will once again be the country everyone wanted to love,” calling it “a childish statement, baseless, but also dangerous.”

According to Sa’ar, “It is not the love of the world that we should be seeking. We will suffice with respect, appreciation, and safeguarding our vital interests.”

He concluded with another jab at his rival: “We will continue to act in the diplomatic arena in our commitment to the eternity of Israel, not to ‘love of the world.’ Statesmanship is a field for serious people, not for clowns.”

British finance minister Rachel Reeves voiced sharp criticism Tuesday over what she described as the United States’ unclear strategy in its war with Iran, expressing frustration over the absence of defined goals or an exit plan.

In remarks reported by the Mirror, Reeves said she was deeply dissatisfied with how Washington approached the conflict, arguing that it entered the war without a clear sense of direction or endgame.

“This is a war that we did not start. It was a war that we did not want. I feel very frustrated and angry that ⁠the U.S. went into this ⁠war without a clear ⁠exit ⁠plan, without a clear idea of what they were trying to achieve,” Reeves told the newspaper.