MK Moshe Gafni, chairman of Degel HaTorah, voiced sharp anger following the Israeli High Court of Justice’s decision to issue an interim order freezing funding for chareidi education, warning that the move could set a precedent leading to a complete halt of education budgets for the chareidi sector.
Senior figures in the chareidi parties fear that the interim injunction could pave the way for a broader and permanent suspension of funding, as additional petitions concerning chareidi education remain pending before the court.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, Gafni spoke harshly in closed conversations overnight, saying: “I don’t remember a time this bad for the chareidi public. The wickedness of the judges has crossed all limits.”
He went on to issue a veiled threat, adding: “The judges have declared war on us, and they’re not hiding it. We cannot continue like this. We will consider responding with war.”
Meanwhile, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri also expressed fury over the court’s decision and the response — or lack thereof — from coalition partners. In private conversations, Deri sharply criticized Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and the Likud for remaining silent following the ruling.
Deri held a tense conversation with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, during which he expressed deep disappointment at what he described as the coalition’s indifference to the freezing of Torah education budgets.
“It’s being treated as if this were a climate budget or beach cleanup funding,” Deri said in closed talks. “The coalition partners must understand clearly: Jewish identity is the foundation of this government. Without the education of Toras Yisroel, even the struggle for Eretz Yisroel will not succeed.”
Deri added that the silence from most government ministers comes against the backdrop of preparations for elections expected to take place later this year. “The cracks and gaps within the coalition are beginning to widen,” he warned.
The High Court issued the interim order on Wednesday evening, freezing the transfer of approximately one billion shekels to chareidi educational institutions, following a petition filed by Yesh Atid. The ruling effectively halts funding for chareidi education pending further review.
In the decision, Justice Yael Wilner wrote: “After reviewing the request for an interim injunction, the responses, and the petitioners’ reply, an interim order is hereby issued, according to which no financial transfers shall be made pursuant to the decisions of the Finance Committee under discussion in the petition, until a further decision is made.”
Yesh Atid officials said they do not intend to settle for the existing injunction and plan to demand an expanded remedy that would require chareidi teachers to return funds already received to the state treasury, noting that some of the money covered by the interim order had already been transferred before the freeze took effect.
{Matzav.com}
Questions about President Trump’s health resurfaced this week following a wide-ranging interview in which he pushed back sharply against renewed scrutiny and insisted there is nothing wrong with him.
“Let’s talk about health again for the 25th time,” Trump said at the outset of the conversation, according to the Wall Street Journal. “My health is perfect.”
Speculation about the president’s physical condition has circulated throughout the first year of his second term, fueled largely by photographs showing dark bruising on his hands. The White House has previously attributed the marks to frequent and forceful handshaking, along with Trump’s long-standing use of aspirin.
Addressing the issue directly, Trump said the bruising stems from taking more aspirin than his doctors advise, a routine he said he has followed for decades. He explained that he has done so for 25 years because “I’m a little superstitious.”
The president also expressed regret over undergoing an MRI during a medical checkup in October at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, saying the test itself sparked unnecessary speculation. “I would have been a lot better off if they didn’t, because the fact that I took it said, ‘Oh gee, is something wrong?’” Trump said. “Well, nothing’s wrong.”
In July, the White House disclosed that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a circulation condition that has caused swelling in his lower legs. Trump confirmed that he briefly tried wearing compression socks as part of the treatment but abandoned them, saying, “I didn’t like them.”
At 79, Trump is already among the oldest individuals to serve as president. If he completes his term, he would leave office as the oldest man ever to hold the position, edging past the mark set by Joe Biden, who dropped out of his reelection campaign amid mounting concerns over cognitive decline.
{Matzav.com}
Polish police have recovered a collection of rare Hebrew and Yiddish seforim dating back to the early 20th century after the volumes surfaced unexpectedly in an online auction, authorities announced this week.
The seforim, which belonged to the Jewish Historical Institute Library and the Jewish community of Warsaw, were identified when an employee of the institute noticed them listed for sale on Polish auction websites. The discovery was reported to police, triggering a coordinated investigation.
According to police, the seforim came to light in early October when a 39-year-old Warsaw resident was clearing out the belongings of his late father. Among the items he found were several old seforim with original bindings, written in foreign languages. Unaware of their historical significance, the man decided to sell them through online marketplaces.
“The response was quick. The seforim were purchased by a private collector,” said junior sergeant Paweł Czemura of the Warsaw Police Headquarters in a statement.
Once alerted, officers from the Warsaw Police worked together with police from Białystok to trace the seforim and identify the collector, who specializes in acquiring antique volumes. The collector cooperated with authorities, and the entire collection was recovered.
“All of the volumes were returned to the institutions that are their rightful owners,” Czemura said. He added that the seforim were likely lost during the early 1980s or 1990s and that their authenticity was confirmed by a specialist in the field. The seforim are estimated to be worth thousands of shekels.
Meir Bulka, a Poland researcher and chairman of J-nerations, an organization dedicated to preserving Jewish heritage in Europe, commented on the case, calling it part of a broader and troubling pattern.
“Unfortunately, this is a well-known phenomenon,” Bulka said. “Many Poles return Jewish property without understanding its meaning. Sadly, this property will not return to its original owners, but will once again circulate among Jewish communities, which have only recently come to realize that their connection to Jewish heritage is often merely incidental.”
Police emphasized that no criminal charges have been filed, noting that the seforim were sold without malicious intent. The investigation focused on recovering the cultural property and restoring it to its historical custodians.
{Matzav.com}
California’s mounting fiscal troubles and governance failures are eroding public trust, Rep. Kevin Kiley said during a recent television appearance, arguing that taxpayers are paying more while receiving less in return.
Appearing on Carl Higbie FRONTLINE on Newsmax, Kiley said the state has become a magnet for fraud and mismanagement, with losses stretching into the tens of billions of dollars and little accountability to show for it.
As one example, Kiley pointed to a June report on California’s community college system that found more than one-third of applications were fraudulent. He said the scheme drained over $10 million in federal financial aid, along with millions more from state coffers.
According to Kiley, those losses do not simply disappear. “The taxpayers are losing, and the money doesn’t vanish, it ends up in the hands of fraudsters,” Kiley said, tying the problem to organized criminal activity.
He cited pandemic-era unemployment fraud as a stark illustration, estimating losses of at least $32 billion, much of it connected to criminal networks that exploited weak oversight.
Kiley also criticized California’s tax burden, arguing that residents continue to shoulder higher taxes even as basic public services and infrastructure fail to materialize.
He highlighted the state’s long-planned high-speed rail project as a symbol of dysfunction, noting that nearly two decades after it was launched and after tens of billions of dollars have been spent, no passenger rail line has been completed.
The congressman said projected costs for the rail system have exploded far beyond early estimates, now exceeding $100 billion, and referenced media reports questioning whether the project will even be finished within this century.
Turning to San Francisco, Kiley faulted city leaders for entertaining a reparations program despite facing deep budget deficits, arguing that the city cannot afford such a proposal while struggling to meet existing financial obligations.
Taken together, Kiley said, these examples reflect a broader breakdown in how California is governed, warning that taxpayer frustration is intensifying as fraud, cost overruns, and stalled projects continue without meaningful consequences.
{Matzav.com}
