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Pro-Israel candidates from both parties scored major victories across Florida on Tuesday, with Republican gubernatorial nominee Byron Donalds, Republican Rep. Randy Fine and Democratic Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz all defeating opponents who had made hostility toward Israel a prominent part of their campaigns.

Donalds easily captured the Republican nomination for governor, positioning himself to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis while dealing a decisive defeat to James Fishback, whose campaign drew attention for its outreach to the “groyper” movement associated with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

With 87% of ballots counted, Donalds had received 762,364 votes, or 48.3%, while Lt. Gov. Jay Collins was a distant second with 393,248 votes, or 24.9%. Fishback finished third with 163,261 votes, or 10.4%.

The Associated Press called the Republican gubernatorial contest for Donalds roughly an hour after polls closed.

Fishback has denied harboring hostility toward Jews, but his campaign was heavily focused on opposition to Israel and was also marked by repeated racial jabs at Donalds, who is black.

Among other proposals, Fishback promised to remove Florida state investments from Israel and signed a “contract with Florida” pledging not to accept money from the pro-Israel group AIPAC. He also referred to food served at the University of Central Florida as “goyslop” and repeatedly called Donalds “By’rone,” apparently seeking to make his first name sound more stereotypically black.

Donalds, by contrast, has been an outspoken supporter of Israel and has previously characterized the Jewish state as the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East.

The Republican congressman will now advance to the November general election, where he will face David Jolly, a onetime Republican congressman who secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Republicans also rejected an explicitly antisemitic challenge to Jewish Rep. Randy Fine, who comfortably retained the GOP nomination for his House seat against social media personality Dan Bilzerian.

With 87% of ballots counted, Fine had 42,898 votes, or 56.8%, compared with Bilzerian’s 13,816 votes, or 18.3%.

Bilzerian, who has approximately 29 million Instagram followers and has previously denied the Holocaust, made antisemitic rhetoric a central feature of his campaign.

Days before the primary, Bilzerian posted an AI-generated video asking “should we revisit that Austrian painter’s opinions” alongside an image of Adolf Hitler. The video also depicted Fine wearing a yarmulke while horns appeared to grow from his head.

The video prompted widespread condemnation from Republicans, Democrats and Jewish organizations.

The Republican Jewish Coalition celebrated the results, praising Fine for defeating a “neo-Nazi” and Donalds for overcoming “one of the most openly bigoted campaigns in recent memory.”

“James Fishback spent this race trafficking in vile racism and antisemitic filth,” stated Matt Brooks, CEO of the coalition. “He peddled antisemitic conspiracy tropes to his supporters while courting the endorsement and praise of white nationalist Nick Fuentes.”

“Dan Bilzerian did not merely flirt with antisemitism. He made Jew-hatred the entire premise of his campaign,” Brooks said. “Tonight, the Republican voters of Florida’s 6th District stood up to this fanatic and buried Bilzerian’s hateful campaign in the dustbin of history where it belongs.”

On the Democratic side, two prominent Jewish and pro-Israel members of Congress also survived challenges from candidates who have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jared Moskowitz each won their respective Democratic House primaries despite major changes to Florida’s congressional map resulting from Republican-led mid-decade redistricting.

The new boundaries prompted Moskowitz to seek reelection in the 25th Congressional District, which had previously been represented by Wasserman Schultz. She instead moved to the predominantly black 20th Congressional District, a seat left vacant when Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned in April after being federally indicted on fraud charges.

Despite leaving Congress, Cherfilus-McCormick remained a candidate in the Democratic primary. Wasserman Schultz also faced former Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness; Elijah Manley, a self-described democratic socialist and convert to Judaism; and Luther Campbell, the rapper best known for leading the 1980s hip-hop group 2 Live Crew.

All four of Wasserman Schultz’s primary opponents are black.

With 99% of ballots counted, Wasserman Schultz led the field with 29,759 votes, or 45.6%. Holness finished second with 14,985 votes, or 22.9%, followed by Manley with 9,059 votes, or 13.9%. Cherfilus-McCormick received 5,997 votes, or 9.2%, while Campbell finished with 5,520 votes, or 8.4%.

Moskowitz, meanwhile, faced Oliver Larkin in the Democratic primary for the 25th District. Larkin was the only Florida candidate to receive the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America.

With 91% of ballots counted, Moskowitz held a commanding advantage with 27,584 votes, or 63.5%, compared with Larkin’s 15,867 votes, or 36.5%.

Republicans also held a competitive primary for the 25th District. With 91% of those ballots tabulated, Scott Singer led with 11,603 votes, or 31.3%, while George R. Moraitis was second with 10,162 votes, or 27.4%.

The November outlook differs significantly for Florida’s two Jewish Democratic incumbents. The Cook Political Report currently considers Moskowitz’s newly configured 25th District a toss-up, potentially setting up a closely fought general-election contest, while Wasserman Schultz’s 20th District is rated solidly Democratic.

{Matzav.com}

Conor Kennedy, the son of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been placed on Russia’s international wanted list over his decision to fight alongside Ukrainian forces following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to reports.

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court authorized Kennedy’s “arrest in absentia,” accusing the 32-year-old of serving as a mercenary with Ukraine’s armed forces, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

If apprehended and convicted in Russia, Kennedy could face a prison sentence of between seven and 10 years, the Russian outlet reported.

Kennedy disclosed in October 2022 that he had secretly traveled to Ukraine and enlisted with the country’s International Legion, joining fighters on the front lines against Russian forces. He said at the time that he had kept the decision almost entirely secret, revealing his whereabouts to only one person back home.

“Like many people, I was deeply moved by what I saw happening in Ukraine over the past year. I wanted to help. When I heard about Ukraine’s International Legion, I knew I was going, and I went to the embassy to enlist the next day,” he wrote in an Instagram post.

Kennedy explained that he deliberately concealed his identity and plans from almost everyone around him.

“I told one person here where I was, and I told one person there my real name. I didn’t want my family or friends to worry, and I didn’t want to be treated differently there.”

The third child of RFK Jr. acknowledged that he arrived in Ukraine without a military background and “wasn’t a great shot,” but said he could handle physically demanding tasks and “learned fast.”

“I was also willing to die there,” the Kennedy scion wrote. “So they soon agreed to send me to the northeastern front.”

Kennedy even kept the enlistment secret from his father and his stepmother, actress Cheryl Hines. Rather than tell them that he was heading to Ukraine, he informed his family that he had decided not to take a planned position at a Los Angeles law firm that summer.

The grandson of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy reportedly asked his parents not to press him about where he was going, telling them only that he intended to pursue something he strongly believed in.

“We asked him when he was starting [the job at the law firm],” RFK Jr. previously told People.

“He had a good job and we were looking forward to having him stay with us. And he told us that he had given notice to the law firm and he was doing something else instead.”

His family eventually began suspecting that something unusual was happening when charges from Poland and Ukraine started appearing on his credit card statements, according to the report.

“When he got back, I kind of expressed some — I don’t know — whether it’s anger or whatever,” RFK Jr. said.

“He said to me, when he heard maybe a little bit of anger and concern, ‘Dad, this is what you taught me to do: to stand up for what I believe in.’ And I was like ‘okay.’ ”

“I’m very proud of this. Of my son,” the Trump administration Cabinet secretary added.

RFK Jr. said he and his son did not share the same perspective on the conflict, but he respected Conor’s willingness to personally act on the position he had advocated.

“And I knew his views about the war were not aligned with mine. Although he’s not naive at all about it. … He’d been arguing vociferously for the U.S. intervention and he didn’t want to be one of these people supporting a war and sitting on the sideline.”

After spending approximately two and a half months serving on the front lines in Ukraine, Kennedy returned to the United States and resumed his legal studies at Georgetown University.

Kennedy, who previously had a brief relationship with Taylor Swift and married Brazilian singer-songwriter Giulia Be earlier this year, is currently listed as an associate attorney at the Los Angeles office of Wisner Baum.

Kennedy is not the only foreign national whom Moscow has sought over alleged involvement in Ukraine’s military. Other foreign volunteers placed on Russia’s wanted list reportedly include 37-year-old American citizen Ingram Asbill Tracy James and British citizen Shorney Joseph Richard Ryan.

{Matzav.com}

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Tuesday stood by his decision to label extremist West Bank settlers who terrorize Palestinians as “terrorists,” warning that their actions are damaging Israel and the Jewish people. At the same time, he rejected reports that Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu and U.S. envoy Jared Kushner clashed over the next stage of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.

Huckabee first applied the term last week in a post on X while discussing extremists who have surrounded several homes in the West Bank village of Qusra. The group has repeatedly returned to the area despite efforts by the Israeli military to disperse them, apparently seeking to force the residents — one of whom is an American citizen — from their homes.

“I’ve been rebuked by people who said, ‘Well, that’s not terrorism,’” Huckabee said in an interview with Channel 12 news.

“But from the US definition of terror, when acts are conducted that cause people to change their behavior, and put them in fear for their lives, when things are done to people for the express purpose, whether they’re done to a nation, whether they’re done to a specific individual or to a family, but it causes them to be afraid to live their lives — that’s terror.”

The ambassador emphasized that those responsible represent “a very small minority” of Israelis. He also said that many do not actually reside in the West Bank, quipping, “they’re not settlers, they’re unsettlers.”

“They’re there to stir up trouble and the damage that they are doing to Israel, the damage they are doing to the Jewish people – I have no idea why they think that they’re accomplishing anything other than hurting the very people they claim to be fighting for,” he said.

Addressing the situation in Qusra specifically, Huckabee said he believed Israeli authorities were already “acting” against those involved, independent of any intervention from the U.S. Embassy. Ordinarily, he explained, “we don’t have a direct involvement if it doesn’t involve an American citizen.”

“But once it involves an American citizen, then our involvement is pretty much automatic and it’s going to be significant because that’s our job,” he said.

Asked whether he was troubled that Netanyahu had not publicly denounced what was happening in Qusra, amid reports that Washington had urged the prime minister to issue a condemnation, Huckabee responded, “What we’re looking for is responsible action.”

The confrontation in Qusra comes against the backdrop of a months-long increase in violence by extremist settlers, including almost daily incidents targeting Palestinians or their property. Arrests and prosecutions in connection with those attacks have remained relatively uncommon.

In a separate Channel 13 interview, Huckabee said the Office of the U.S. Security Coordinator in Yerushalayim has been involved in efforts to reduce tensions in the West Bank. Created in 2005, the USSC works to improve and strengthen Palestinian Authority security forces while encouraging their security coordination with Israel. Although personnel from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Bulgaria participate in the international mission, it operates under American leadership.

“We would like to see all those taking part in terror activities face grave consequences,” said Huckabee.

Huckabee also pushed back strongly against accounts suggesting Netanyahu and Kushner had a contentious exchange Monday over the future implementation of Trump’s Gaza initiative. He said Washington understands that Israel cannot be expected to withdraw further from Gaza while Hamas continues to possess weapons.

“Where do the people get this? I was in the room. I was a part of every conversation. That simply did not happen like that,” Huckabee said of the reported tensions during the Monday meeting.

“There was an agreement, and it was a good agreement, that we all want to see this [plan] move forward, but we also recognize that what the president has made clear is that Hamas must disarm, demilitarize, and they have no future in the governing of Gaza.”

Despite reports of frustration within the Trump administration over Israeli military operations in Gaza, Huckabee maintained that Israel “never backed away” from its support for President Trump’s broader 20-point framework for Gaza’s postwar future. He said Washington and Yerushalayim also remain aligned on Israel’s “right to defend itself.”

“Israel has always maintained, and the US has respected, that Israel has a right to defend itself. And if they have an imminent threat, they’re not expected to stand back and take it in the teeth. Nobody expects that of them,” he said.

Turning to the question of Israeli troop withdrawals, Huckabee said it has “been clearly understood that Israel is not expected to move their boundaries as long as Hamas has still got arms and RPGs and grenades. That’s the whole point of the disarmament.”

His comments came as Israel continued to raise objections to the Board of Peace’s Hamas disarmament proposal. That framework calls for the IDF to gradually withdraw from portions of Gaza while Hamas simultaneously turns over its weapons. Netanyahu has rejected that sequence, maintaining that Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas has been fully disarmed.

Although Huckabee portrayed the differences as limited, sources familiar with Monday’s talks have said that the question was not ultimately settled during Netanyahu’s meeting with Kushner in Yerushalayim.

One source with direct knowledge of the negotiations said that after the Netanyahu-Kushner talks, the Board of Peace began considering an alternative formula under which Hamas would completely disarm and Israel would fully withdraw from Gaza. No final agreement on such an arrangement has been reached.

Huckabee also defended Kushner against criticism in Israel over the American envoy’s recent decision to meet senior Hamas officials in Cairo.

During his Channel 13 interview, Huckabee said Kushner “didn’t meet with them because he thought that he was dealing with honest brokers, but he needed to convey the message very clearly from the United States: You’ve got to disarm, demilitarize, and you have no future.”

In another interview with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, Huckabee was questioned about the growing anti-Israel sentiment seen among segments of both the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States and whether Israeli policies had contributed to the trend.

“They cannot change the voices of people who are antisemitic and hate Israel,” the ambassador said.

“And a lot of this comes from the billions of dollars that’s being spent by the Muslim Brotherhood sponsored entities that fund all of these Middle East studies programs on American campuses,” he continued, while also accusing Russia and China of helping spread misinformation online.

Huckabee said one way to counter negative perceptions is to encourage more people to visit Israel themselves. He also argued that Israel needs to pursue a more forceful and effective public diplomacy campaign.

At the same time, he warned that Israelis themselves should avoid behavior that strengthens the arguments of Israel’s opponents.

“But he added: “Israelis have to be careful not to give ammunition to these critics.” The ambassador again pointed to violent extremists in the West Bank, saying their actions amounted to “pouring gasoline on a fire.”

“Why would you help your enemies hate you more?” Huckabee said.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Avraham Yosef issued a strong warning against participating in a Mincha minyan held after the time of Tzeis Hakochavim according to the Geonim, ruling that the time is already definitively considered nighttime and that one should not remain in the area while such a minyan is taking place.

The issue arose during Rav Yosef’s “Shamor V’Zachor” program on Israeli radio, when a listener presented a situation that can occur during the winter months. The listener said he learns in a beis medrash where Mincha is sometimes held according to Rabbeinu Tam’s later calculation, after Tzeis Hakochavim according to the Geonim, and asked what he should do if he is present when the minyan begins.

Rav Yosef responded unequivocally: “Get out of there. It is forbidden to answer Amen after them.”

Rav Yosef explained that once Tzeis Hakochavim according to the Geonim has arrived, halachah considers it fully nighttime. To illustrate the significance of that determination, he cited the halachos governing a bris milah.

“A baby who is born tonight, at eight o’clock, we perform his bris on Shabbos,” Rav Yosef said.

“The halachah is definitively in accordance with the Geonim,” he added, explaining that Mincha therefore may not be davened after that point.

Addressing a situation in which someone is either in the street or inside a beis medrash and is asked to join a Mincha minyan at such a late hour, Rav Yosef again gave an emphatic response.

“They want to daven Mincha? Get out of there,” he said.

Rav Yosef stressed that once Tzeis Hakochavim according to the Geonim has passed, a person should not participate in such a Mincha minyan.

The listener subsequently asked whether Rav Yosef’s warning applied only to answering Amen to brachos recited during the minyan, or whether one should also refrain from responding to Kedushah.

“No, leave there. I said to leave; don’t get involved,” Rav Yosef replied.

Rav Yosef compared the situation to encountering a minyan at the Kosel that is davening Shacharis after the proper time, saying that in such circumstances as well, a person should avoid joining the tefillah.

{Matzav.com}

Newly revealed figures show the extraordinary scale of charitable giving by two of Satmar’s most prominent philanthropists, Reb Yoel Landau and Reb Lipa Friedman, who together donated approximately $73.42 million to the chassidus’s Torah, chinuch and chesed institutions over just three years.

The detailed figures cover the period from 5783 through 5786 and provide a rare look at the enormous sums contributed by the two philanthropists toward the construction and expansion of Satmar mosdos and communal projects around the world.

Reb Yoel Landau leads the figures with a total of $44.56 million in contributions to Satmar institutions. Among his largest individual donations was $10 million toward the new Talmud Torah building in Kiryas Joel.

Landau also contributed $5 million toward the construction of two new wedding halls in Williamsburg operating in accordance with the community’s wedding guidelines, as well as another $5 million to the Keren Marbitzei Torah.

Millions more were distributed by Landau to an extensive range of botei medrash, educational buildings, campuses and other Satmar communal projects in communities around the world, bringing his overall contributions during the period to $44.56 million.

Reb Lipa Friedman, meanwhile, contributed a total of $28.86 million, with much of his philanthropy similarly directed toward major construction projects benefiting Satmar’s educational and chesed institutions.

Friedman’s largest listed contribution was $12 million toward a new Talmud Torah building. He also donated $5 million for a new Bais Rochel building and an additional $5 million toward another Talmud Torah building.

The remainder of Friedman’s contributions went toward the construction and support of additional major buildings, halls and other Satmar institutions, bringing his total giving to $28.86 million.

Combined, Landau and Friedman donated approximately $73.42 million to Satmar institutions between 5783 and 5786.

{Matzav.com}

Russia is reportedly supplying Iran with drone and missile components, explosives and other military equipment as Tehran races to rebuild weapons stockpiles heavily damaged by American and Israeli airstrikes during the war.

More than two dozen Russian vessels, many of which are subject to U.S. and European sanctions, have crossed the Caspian Sea carrying military supplies to the Iranian port of Amirabad, according to NBC News, which cited shipping documents and a Western official familiar with the deliveries.

The shipments are another indication of the increasingly close military relationship between Moscow and Tehran. At the same time, former CIA analyst Jim Lamson said Iran’s apparent reliance on Russian supplies suggests that U.S. and Israeli attacks inflicted significant damage on the Islamic Republic’s domestic weapons-production capabilities.

“Iran’s procurement of drone components and small arms ammunition from Russia strongly suggests that Israeli and US military strikes on Iran’s facilities that produce these items have degraded Iran’s domestic capability to produce them,” he said.

The Russian vessels allegedly carrying the military cargo are operated by MG-FLOT, a maritime company that was placed under Western sanctions in 2024.

Russia has repeatedly faced accusations that it is helping Tehran sustain its war effort, including reports that Moscow has provided Iran with upgraded drones designed to strengthen its ability to attack American targets.

The Kremlin has also developed more advanced versions of Iran’s Shahed suicide drones, weapons that became a major component of Russia’s campaign against Ukraine and have been used extensively in attacks there for years.

Although American strikes have reportedly crippled significant portions of Iran’s missile-production infrastructure, Tehran continues to insist that it retains substantial weapons stockpiles and remains capable of carrying out further attacks.

The reported transfers have heightened concerns that Russia is now helping replenish Iran’s military capabilities in return for the assistance Tehran provided Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The precise quantity and types of equipment transferred by Moscow to Tehran remain uncertain. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied allegations about Russian military assistance to Iran, dismissing such reports as “fake news.”

President Trump has also played down the significance of any Russian assistance to Iran. Last month, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally assured him that Moscow was not selling weapons to Tehran.

Trump further said that whatever assistance Russia may have provided “has been very unimpactful,” responding after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of supplying Iran with satellite imagery of American military bases.

{Matzav.com}

Blue Bird Airways is expected to be summoned to a hearing at Ben Gurion Airport over unusually severe flight delays, with data showing that roughly 80% of flights operated by Blue Bird and TUS fail to depart on time and delays average approximately two hours.

According to a report by Israel’s Channel 13 on Tuesday evening, Blue Bird, currently the fourth-largest airline operating at Ben Gurion Airport, will face scrutiny over its record of delayed departures and arrivals.

Blue Bird and TUS said they had not yet received any official notice from Ben Gurion Airport regarding a hearing.

“We have not received any communication from Ben Gurion Airport. If such a communication is received, it will be reviewed, and we will act accordingly,” the airlines said.

The development comes just two days after Blue Bird passengers endured a particularly difficult delay aboard a chartered aircraft scheduled to fly from Ben Gurion Airport to Crete, Greece.

Passengers had already boarded the plane when they were forced to remain aboard for nearly two hours while the aircraft sat on the tarmac. Compounding the problem, the ventilation system was reportedly not functioning despite the intense August heat.

Several passengers began feeling ill during the lengthy wait, while parents were filmed attempting to cool themselves and their young children with ice and wet wipes.

One passenger described the conditions aboard the aircraft in stark terms.

“We have been inside a closed airplane for an hour and 40 minutes without air conditioning, with small children fainting. I have never seen anything like this in my life,” she said.

The latest controversy comes amid broader disruptions at Ben Gurion Airport during the peak summer travel season.

On Friday, the airport experienced unusually severe congestion, with approximately 90 flights backed up within a period of just three hours.

The Israel Airports Authority attributed those delays to heavy air traffic and restrictions in European airspace, particularly around Greece, as well as the presence and operations of American refueling aircraft.

Airport officials rejected reports that the disruptions were caused by a strike or staffing shortages, maintaining that the delays resulted from air-traffic conditions and other operational constraints.

{Matzav.com}

A legal challenge seeking to halt New York City’s new pied-à-terre tax is expanding, with four additional homeowners joining the case and alleging serious errors in the Mamdani administration’s rollout — including one tax notice that was allegedly sent to a neighbor living 27 floors away.

The new plaintiffs have joined a lawsuit brought by attorney Randy Mastro seeking to suspend the surcharge on high-value second homes in New York City. The case argues that problems with the city’s implementation and exemption system have improperly placed primary residences at risk of substantial new tax bills.

One of the newly added plaintiffs is real estate executive Kenneth Fishel, who says the city Department of Finance notified him that his Upper East Side Park Avenue co-op could be subject to the tax even though he has lived there and paid taxes from the residence for years.

Making matters worse, according to the lawsuit, the Department of Finance incorrectly addressed Fishel’s notice and sent it to a neighbor who lives nearly 30 floors below him.

“Fishel only learned of and obtained a copy of the notice because he ran into his neighbor living 27 floors below him on the elevator,” the suit states.

“If I hadn’t run into him in the elevator, I never would have known, and I would have been billed for the full tax,” Fishel told The Post on Tuesday.

Fishel then encountered another problem when he attempted to request an exemption. According to the lawsuit, the city’s online system indicated that an exemption application had already been submitted for the property — “likely due to the fact that the mailed notice did not even list the correct names.”

The Department of Finance sent approximately 17,000 notices to property owners warning that they could face tax bills reaching five figures unless they successfully sought exemptions. The tax was approved by state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year.

City officials said last week that approximately 4,290 homeowners who received the notices had challenged their inclusion. Of those cases, 1,906 exemption requests had been approved at that point.

The four new plaintiffs, whose primary residences are in Chelsea and on the Upper East Side, all maintain that they have applied for exemptions but have not yet received approval, according to the court filing.

Their lawsuit describes the process as a “tangled morass of an exemption regime,” arguing that homeowners who should not owe the surcharge have nevertheless been forced through a confusing administrative process to prove that their properties are their primary residences.

The tax applies to certain unoccupied properties that are not their owners’ primary residences, including one- to three-family homes worth at least $5 million and condominium and co-op units valued at $1 million or more.

The plaintiffs argue that the city’s “messy, ill-considered, and atextual ‘exemption’ scheme” has failed to promptly remove them from the pool of homeowners potentially facing the surcharge.

Unless the situation is corrected, the plaintiffs say they will “continue to suffer irreparable harm in attempting to apply for an ‘exemption’ to a tax that was not designed to burden them in any way.”

Court filings show that each of the newly added homeowners received notices estimating that they could owe between $45,000 and $58,000 under the pied-à-terre tax.

Among them are Chelsea residents Stephen and Sandra Shore, who say they have occupied their home for more than three decades and consistently paid their taxes, yet still received a notice warning that they could owe the additional levy.

According to the lawsuit, the Shores repeatedly tried to submit an exemption request through the Department of Finance’s system but were unsuccessful. Eventually, they resorted to sending a registered letter “in an attempt to simply submit their application.”

Another plaintiff, Carla Stearns, lives near Mastro in Carnegie Hill and says she and her husband have occupied their brownstone since purchasing it in 2017. The city values the property at approximately $6.8 million.

Although Stearns says she pays city taxes and owns no other property, she was nevertheless notified that she could face roughly $55,000 in additional taxes unless she successfully applied for an exemption.

Fishel sharply criticized the city’s handling of the program after appearing at a City Council oversight hearing focused on the troubled rollout.

“We pay taxes here in the city, and we have for a long time. And the administration of this process has just been horrendous,” Fishel told The Post.

“They’ve totally botched the process,” he said. “They really need to withdraw all the notices and start again.”

The newly added homeowners join the lawsuit’s original plaintiffs: Staten Island residents Rachel O’Brien and Carmine Morano, the wife and father of City Councilman Frank Morano, and Chelsea resident Simon Hedley. Of those three, Hedley was the only one who had received a tax notice.

The litigation previously succeeded in temporarily stopping implementation of the tax when a Staten Island judge issued a pause shortly after the lawsuit was filed earlier this month. Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration challenged that decision, and an appellate court subsequently overturned the temporary order, allowing the rollout to proceed while the broader legal fight continues.

Mastro has argued that adding the four homeowners strengthens the case against the city. In a letter to the Staten Island judge overseeing the dispute, he said their participation would “eliminate” the “specious mootness arguments” raised by the city after Hedley, who has described himself as a Mamdani supporter, was granted an exemption following his application.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu and U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner were at odds during their Monday meeting over Israel’s determination to keep targeting Hamas terrorists accused of participating in the October 7 massacre, with Netanyahu refusing to commit to ending the strikes despite American concerns, according to an official who attended the talks, the Times of Israel reports.

The disagreement centered on Israel’s ongoing campaign to track down those involved in the October 7, 2023, invasion and atrocities. Earlier this month, Israel publicly confirmed for the first time that it had launched a dedicated operation aimed at locating and killing every Palestinian terrorist who took part in the attack.

Those operations have at times resulted in breaches of the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas in October 2025. Until now, however, the U.S.-controlled Board of Peace has largely refrained from forcefully challenging the strikes, particularly when the IDF has maintained that the individuals being targeted presented an immediate danger to Israeli forces.

For months, the Board of Peace concentrated its efforts on persuading Hamas to agree to a framework requiring the terror group to disarm. Hamas ultimately accepted the proposal on July 30.

Under that framework, once implementation begins, both Israel and Hamas are supposed to immediately cease military activity. Netanyahu has opposed that provision, and the official who attended Monday’s meeting said the prime minister specifically raised his objections during his discussion with Kushner.

Kushner told Netanyahu that Washington would not stand in the way of IDF action against individuals who truly present an “imminent threat.” At the same time, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser cautioned Netanyahu against interpreting that exception too broadly, according to the official.

Netanyahu nevertheless maintained that Israel would continue striking terrorists who participated in the October 7 attack, frustrating members of the Board of Peace delegation. The two sides ended the discussion without resolving their differences, the official said.

A second source who was briefed on the discussions corroborated that account of the meeting.

The dispute took on added significance just hours after Kushner departed Israel, when the IDF launched one of its deadliest attacks in months. The military said the strike targeted a gathering of senior Hamas operatives. At least six people were reportedly killed, including a minor, while more than 10 others were wounded.

Netanyahu’s insistence on preserving Israel’s freedom to pursue October 7 terrorists could conflict not only with the Board of Peace’s stalled disarmament framework, but also with President Trump’s 20-point proposal for bringing the Gaza war to an end, which Netanyahu agreed to in September 2025.

Trump’s plan provides that Hamas members who “commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty.”

Another point of contention at Monday’s meeting involved Netanyahu’s refusal to permit recruits for a newly planned Palestinian police force to travel from Gaza to Egypt for training, according to the official who was present.

The Board of Peace’s disarmament framework calls for Hamas to surrender its weapons to a new police force operating under the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. The International Stabilization Force is expected to facilitate the weapons-transfer process.

Kushner said Monday that he wants Hamas to start turning over its weapons within one month. But that timetable faces a significant practical obstacle: Unless enough Palestinian police recruits are trained and ready to deploy, there will be no sufficiently prepared force to receive the weapons Hamas is supposed to surrender.

{Matzav.com}

Belzer educational institutions in Montreal have won a significant legal victory after Quebec’s Administrative Tribunal overturned a government decision that threatened to revoke their operating licenses and cut off public funding.

The ruling allows the Belzer schools and mosdos to continue operating normally while retaining the full funding necessary to run their educational programs.

Approximately two months ago, Quebec authorities moved to revoke the licenses and funding of the Belzer educational institutions in Montreal, citing alleged failures to meet government requirements governing the amount of instructional time devoted to mandatory secular subjects.

Facing the possibility that the institutions could be forced to close, administrators appealed to Quebec’s Administrative Tribunal and sought to have the government action overturned.

The tribunal has now granted the institutions’ request, canceling the government decision and clearing the way for the schools to open and operate as usual while continuing to receive their funding.

The dispute involves three Belz educational institutions in Montreal serving approximately 600 children and bochurim, including kindergartens, a Talmud Torah and a yeshiva ketana.

The Quebec government had moved to withdraw funding from the three institutions shortly before the beginning of the Elul zman.

Authorities alleged several deficiencies at the schools, including an insufficient number of qualified teachers proficient in English and French, failure to provide the required number of instructional hours for mandatory subjects, the use of educational materials that had not received government approval, and problems involving emergency exits.

Administrators of the Belz institutions strongly rejected the allegations and turned to the Administrative Tribunal seeking an injunction against the government action.

In their legal challenge, the mosdos argued that the government’s decision was based on “incorrect factual assumptions, inconsistent analysis and a disproportionate measure.”

The tribunal ultimately sided with the institutions and overturned the government decision, allowing the approximately 600 children and bochurim to continue their studies in the existing school buildings while preserving the institutions’ licenses and funding.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s Agriculture Ministry has temporarily blocked the import of frozen chicken from Brazil, removing a Brazilian poultry plant owned by Baladi from the list of facilities approved to export to Israel following a renewed examination of veterinary oversight and production procedures.

Dr. Sergio Dolev, acting director of the Agriculture Ministry’s Veterinary Services, informed Baladi that its Brazilian poultry facility was being removed from the approved list and that Brazil would, for the time being, not be authorized to export poultry meat to Israel.

The ministry said the decision followed a reassessment of the approval process, which determined that imports could not proceed until officials conduct an on-site examination of the production system and determine whether Brazilian authorities are capable of supervising it in accordance with Israel’s stringent requirements.

Agriculture Ministry officials stressed that the decision was based on professional considerations involving public health and animal welfare. Should the approval process be renewed, a team of Veterinary Services experts is prepared to conduct a comprehensive inspection before officials consider allowing Brazilian poultry imports into Israel.

The Agriculture Ministry’s move comes amid a broader dispute that has already reached Israel’s Supreme Court following a petition filed by Baladi concerning the establishment of procedures and kashrus approvals for importing poultry from abroad.

During a High Court hearing last month, the Chief Rabbinate emphasized “the need to establish a measured and orderly halachic and administrative process on which the professional officials at the Chief Rabbinate are working.”

The Chief Rabbinate instructed its professional staff to formulate recommendations and bring them before the Chief Rabbinate Council for approval within 120 days. The judges agreed to the requested timetable.

Kashrus officials welcomed the Agriculture Ministry’s decision to suspend the veterinary approval process, saying it would prevent imports from moving forward before the necessary halachic safeguards are fully established.

According to those officials, shechitah of poultry abroad and the supervision of overseas production involve significant halachic complexities. Suspending the proposed imports, they said, removes pressure to establish arrangements hastily and helps ensure that no products reach Israeli consumers until comprehensive inspections have been completed and a rigorous system of halachic supervision is in place.

Baladi, however, said it intends to pursue available legal avenues in an effort to overturn the Agriculture Ministry’s decision.

Israel’s domestic poultry industry, particularly farms operating in peripheral areas and communities near the country’s borders, is considered an important component of national food security. Israel has one of the world’s highest rates of chicken consumption, with domestic demand currently supplied entirely through locally raised poultry operating under Israeli supervision.

Slaughterhouses throughout Israel also operate under continuous oversight from leading kashrus organizations, creating a supervision chain extending from poultry farms through shechitah and processing until the product reaches consumers.

Kashrus officials stressed that beyond the legal and commercial questions surrounding imported poultry, protecting kashrus standards and consumers must remain the overriding priority.

They said the insistence on thorough examinations without shortcuts—both regarding veterinary and health standards and the detailed halachic requirements governing shechitah performed overseas—is essential to preventing serious kashrus problems for observant and mehadrin consumers in Israel.

{Matzav.com}

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Bank Leumi has filed a NIS 26.6 million lawsuit against Meta, accusing the technology giant of allowing scammers to run fraudulent advertisements impersonating the bank across Facebook and Instagram and alleging that Meta financially benefited from the deceptive campaigns.

The lawsuit, filed in Tel Aviv District Court, claims that users encountered convincing advertisements falsely presented as Bank Leumi promotions. The ads allegedly used the bank’s name, logo and other branding while promising prizes and benefits including gift cards, cars and other giveaways.

According to the bank, users who clicked on the advertisements were redirected to fraudulent websites designed to resemble Bank Leumi’s legitimate online banking site. Victims were then prompted to provide account credentials and verification codes, information that the scammers allegedly used to gain access to customers’ accounts and steal their money.

Bank Leumi argues that numerous warning signs should have made the fraudulent nature of the campaigns readily apparent to Meta. The lawsuit cites suspicious website addresses, spelling errors, poorly written text, anonymous advertising accounts and, in some instances, the use of deepfake technology.

“You don’t need special detective work to identify the suspicious signs,” the lawsuit states.

Bank Leumi goes further, alleging that Meta “knowingly cooperated in defrauding bank customers out of considerations of greed.”

The bank says the alleged scams have already caused substantial financial damage. According to the lawsuit, Bank Leumi has reimbursed affected customers millions of shekels while spending significant resources identifying fraudulent campaigns and attempting to have them blocked. The bank also claims the schemes have damaged its reputation by exploiting its name and image to deceive customers.

Bank Leumi says the problem has intensified dramatically. In July alone, according to the lawsuit, the bank identified 243 fraudulent advertising campaigns on Meta platforms — more than the total number it detected during the entire first six months of the year.

Beyond the NIS 26.6 million in damages being sought, Bank Leumi is asking the court to order Meta to introduce stronger safeguards aimed at preventing similar scams.

Among the measures requested are stricter procedures for verifying the identities of advertisers, clear labels on advertisements published through accounts whose identities have not been verified, and a mechanism allowing Bank Leumi to review campaigns using its name, logo or other identifying symbols before they are published.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has not yet filed its response to Bank Leumi’s lawsuit.

{Matzav.com}

A large police force entered Yerushalayim’s Meah Shearim neighborhood on Tuesday evening and raided the offices of an organization that arranges meetings between Jews and Arabs, triggering a disturbance as officers confiscated equipment from the premises.

The unusual operation unfolded in the heart of the staunchly chareidi neighborhood, drawing the attention of local residents as police converged on the organization’s offices. According to initial sources, the group targeted in the raid organizes encounters between Jewish and Arab participants.

Police officers entered the offices as part of the operation and began removing equipment from the site. The precise nature of the materials seized, as well as the legal grounds for the raid, were not immediately disclosed in the initial report.

As word of the police activity spread through the neighborhood, a commotion developed around the scene. Police encountered resistance while carrying out the confiscation, and officers were reportedly attacked during the disturbance.

Footage from the scene showed police forces deployed in the Meah Shearim market area as the operation was underway.

The identity of the organization was not immediately provided in the initial report, nor was it clear whether any individuals associated with the group had been detained or arrested.

Authorities also had not yet publicly detailed what investigators were seeking inside the offices, what equipment was confiscated, or whether the raid was connected specifically to the organization’s Jewish-Arab meetings.

The incident remained developing Tuesday evening, with additional information about the reason for the raid and the findings inside the offices expected to emerge as authorities provide further details.

{Matzav.com}

The traditionally expensive shtreimel market may be facing an unlikely new competitor: a Chinese manufacturer offering Chassidishe shtreimlach online for prices beginning at just $960, far below what many buyers are accustomed to paying in Israel and the United States, Matzav.com has learned.

For generations, shtreimlach have been associated with highly specialized craftsmen, custom fittings and prices reaching thousands — and sometimes tens of thousands — of shekels. But a listing on Alibaba is now offering what it describes as a genuine Chassidish eshtreimel directly from a manufacturer in China.

The product is being sold by Hengshui Fn Fur Trading Co., Ltd., a company based in China’s Hebei province. On Alibaba, the manufacturer is listed with a rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on 13 reviews.

The listing describes the product as a “Streimel Jewish Hasidic Hat” and references sable fur and sable tails, along with fox fur. Current prices range from $960 to $1,350, with a minimum order of two shtreimlach.

According to details of the offer that circulated online, customers can choose among four sizes based on head circumference: 54–56 centimeters, 56–58 centimeters, 58–60 centimeters and 60–62 centimeters.

Perhaps even more intriguing is that the Chinese company is not limiting itself to finished shtreimlach. Its Alibaba listings also offer raw materials used in their production, including Russian and Canadian sable tails, available at wholesale prices of several dozen dollars per piece.

The availability of those materials raises the possibility that the manufacturer has considerable familiarity with the shtreimel production process and may already have connections to businesses within the industry. There is currently no evidence, however, that the Chinese company manufactures shtreimlach for any established producers in Israel or the United States.

The appearance of a Chinese-made shtreimel available for direct purchase at a fraction of the prices commonly charged in much of the traditional market is nevertheless drawing considerable interest — and raising the question of whether established shtreimel machers have reason to be concerned.

The bigger question, however, is what buyers would actually receive for the bargain price. The quality of the fur, craftsmanship, durability, fit and ability to produce the distinctive styles favored by different Chassidishe courts cannot easily be determined from photographs and specifications on an online listing.

For now, the $960 Chinese shtreimel may be more curiosity than industry disruptor. But in a market where a traditional shtreimel can cost many times that amount, its arrival is certainly enough to get shtreimel machers — and their customers — talking.

{Matzav.com}

Nearly 90 years after they were issued in Lithuania, rare historical documents detailing the activities of Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman zt”l, founder of the Ponovezh Yeshiva, have been brought to Israel after being uncovered in Lithuanian government archives.

Lithuanian Ambassador to Israel Audrius Bruzga presented the documents to MK Uri Maklev during a meeting at the Lithuanian Embassy. The ambassador compiled a special binder containing official records he located in Lithuania’s state archives documenting Rav Kahaneman’s activities in the city of Ponovezh during the 1920s and 1930s.

The discovery grew out of Maklev’s ongoing relationship with the Lithuanian ambassador, with the two having worked in recent years on efforts to preserve Lithuania’s Jewish heritage and the remnants of the flourishing Torah world that existed there before the Holocaust.

Approximately eight months ago, Maklev arranged a special visit for Bruzga to the Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, which Rav Kahaneman established after the Holocaust and named for the Lithuanian city where his original yeshiva had stood.

During that visit, Bruzga met with the yeshiva’s president, Rav Eliezer Kahaneman, a grandson of Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, who shared with him the history of the yeshiva and described its reestablishment in Eretz Yisroel following the destruction of European Jewry.

The ambassador and Maklev subsequently visited the home of Ponovezh Rosh Yeshiva Rav Boruch Dov Povarsky, where their conversation focused on the legacy of Lithuanian Jewry and efforts to preserve Jewish cemeteries throughout Lithuania.

That visit apparently sparked the ambassador’s curiosity about the yeshiva’s Lithuanian roots. Bruzga told Maklev during their latest meeting that he subsequently began searching Lithuania’s official archives for records connected to Rav Kahaneman and his activities in Ponovezh.

The search produced a remarkable collection of historical material, including municipal records, land diagrams, building permits and legal documents bearing Rav Kahaneman’s name.

Among the documents is a 1936 authorization from the municipality of Ponovezh referring to a permit originally granted to Rav Kahaneman on July 13, 1922, allowing him to construct a three-story brick building on property belonging to the Jewish community on Ramygalos Street.

Perhaps the most significant discovery is a district court ruling from Ponovezh dated May 21, 1937. The case dealt with a request to formally recognize Rav Kahaneman’s rights to property located at 34 Ramygalos Street.

According to the ruling, the property covered 1,537 square meters and contained buildings that were used by the local Jewish community.

The court records also trace the history of the property. Documents submitted in the case indicated that before World War I, the land had belonged to a Jewish religious organization known as “Cheder-Kloil.” It later came under the control of the Jewish community of Ponovezh, which maintained continuous possession of the property for more than a decade beginning in 1922.

As part of the legal proceedings, an official notice was published allowing anyone with objections to the claim to come forward. According to the court ruling, no objections were submitted.

After reviewing the documentation and testimony, the court formally recognized Rav Kahaneman’s rights to the property on the basis of the lengthy period of continuous possession.

The collection also includes detailed plans of the property and its buildings, along with additional official records from the Ponovezh municipality. Together, the documents provide a rare glimpse into the scope of Rav Kahaneman’s activities in the Lithuanian city during the years preceding the Holocaust.

The discovery also comes amid an unusual historical coincidence. Questions surrounding rights and control of the Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak have recently returned to the headlines following new legal rulings. Now, an 89-year-old Lithuanian court decision has surfaced dealing with the rights of the yeshiva’s founder to property in the original city of Ponovezh. There is no legal connection between the two matters, but the historical parallel is striking.

Only a few years after the 1937 ruling, the Jewish community of Ponovezh was destroyed during the Holocaust. Rav Kahaneman survived and set about rebuilding in Eretz Yisroel the Torah world that had been devastated in Europe, naming the yeshiva he established in Bnei Brak after the Lithuanian city he had left behind.

Maklev thanked Ambassador Bruzga for taking the initiative to search for the records and for the effort involved in locating them. He said the documents constitute historically important material for both the Torah world and the preservation of Lithuanian Jewish heritage.

{Matzav.com}

The family of 24-year-old Katriel Nachman Keinan of Beit Shemesh fears he may have been abducted after disappearing approximately a week ago while traveling between Tiveriah and Tzfas, as police, volunteers and divers continue an extensive search for him.

Keinan’s father, Yossi Keinan, filed a missing-person report with the Beit Shemesh police after his son abruptly vanished and stopped communicating with his family. According to a report by mako, the family has grown increasingly concerned that foul play may have been involved.

“I’m afraid my son was kidnapped. It’s a dangerous area. He didn’t just disappear and stop making contact for no reason. Maybe someone kidnapped him,” his father said. “He is such a good boy that wherever he goes, there is light and positive energy. He was on his way to meet with his rabbi to consult with him.”

Yossi said the last time he personally saw his son was at the entrance to a shul.

“He told me he was going to stop by a friend and didn’t come back. I haven’t seen him since,” he said.

According to his father, Nachman had said that after meeting his friend, he planned to travel from Beit Shemesh to Tzfas for an urgent consultation with his Rav.

The Rav later told the family that Nachman did in fact arrive in Tzfas and spoke with him by telephone at approximately 10 p.m. The Rav explained that he was at a hospital because of a family matter and could not meet him that evening, but offered to see him at 10 a.m. the following morning and even arrange a place for him to sleep. Nachman responded that he would manage on his own and would meet the Rav the next day.

“He never heard from him again. I still managed to speak to him the next morning, but he said his phone battery was about to die, and then he disappeared. That was it,” his father said.

Since Nachman vanished, search teams have concentrated their efforts in locations where investigators believe he may have traveled. Police have also reviewed security-camera footage in an effort to reconstruct his movements.

One surveillance camera from a business in Tiveriah captured Nachman walking in the direction of Gai Beach on the Kinneret, providing investigators with one of the last known images of him before he disappeared.

According to the family, the commander of the Beit Shemesh police station and local officers have been closely involved in the search, together with police forces from the Northern District. Divers have also been searching the Kinneret, but no trace of Nachman has been discovered.

“The station commander in Beit Shemesh is constantly in touch with us. He is helping us and conducting searches in the field with his officers. Divers are also searching the Kinneret. Nobody has found anything. It’s very strange,” Yossi said.

Nachman, a Chabad chossid, spent several years living in the Philippines before returning to Israel. His family continues to hold out hope that he is alive and will soon be found.

“We are davening and believe that Nachman is alive. We hope the police and the many volunteers will find him. He is the light of our lives.”

Nachman was last seen on Monday, August 10, at approximately 6 p.m. in the area of Gai Beach in Tiveriah while reportedly on his way to Tzfas. He has not been seen since.

Nachman is approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, with black hair, a beard and brown eyes. When last seen, he was wearing a white shirt, black suit and hat and was carrying a black backpack and a dark-brown tefillin bag.

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s attorney general is calling on the IDF and police to resume proactive operations and arrests targeting draft evaders, while also demanding an expansion of economic and personal sanctions, after an annual review found that approximately 80% of those currently classified as draft evaders are members of the chareidi community.

The review covers the military recruitment year that ended in June 2026 and was conducted under the leadership of the attorney general. Representatives from the IDF, Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry, Justice Ministry, Israel Police, Population and Immigration Authority, National Digital Agency and other government bodies participated in the assessment.

Alongside the figures on draft evasion, officials reported an increase in the number of chareidim entering military service. According to the review, the combination of issuing draft orders to all eligible chareidi men, intensifying economic and personal enforcement measures, and adapting military service tracks for chareidi recruits has proven effective in increasing enlistment.

The figures presented during the review indicate that approximately 50,000 chareidim are currently classified as draft evaders, while another roughly 31,000 have been issued what is known as a “Tzav 12.” Since the beginning of the year, 34 indictments have been filed against chareidim for draft evasion.

The data further shows that 679 military deserters have faced disciplinary proceedings since August 2025, while 860 arrests were carried out over the past year.

In addition, 244 individuals were detained by police, while another 1,528 were stopped at Ben Gurion Airport and other border crossings. During the past three months alone, authorities prevented 1,061 deserters from leaving Israel through border crossings.

Justice Ministry officials concluded that additional enforcement measures should be introduced as quickly as possible in order to further reduce draft evasion and address what the government describes as the military’s urgent need for additional manpower.

At the same time, the attorney general determined that the IDF and Israel Police should resume proactive enforcement operations and arrests against draft evaders from all sectors of the population, citing the principle of equal enforcement.

In a response submitted by the attorney general to the High Court, officials acknowledged that carrying out proactive arrests of chareidi draft evaders presents significant practical difficulties because such operations have repeatedly triggered large-scale protests and disturbances.

The filing said military and police officials had pointed to “the significant difficulty that currently exists in carrying out proactive operations and arresting draft evaders from the chareidi community, in light of the large-scale public disturbances accompanying them.”

Authorities also noted that responding to the protests surrounding such arrests requires the deployment of substantial police and security resources.

Despite those difficulties, professional officials maintained that proactive operations and arrests remain important enforcement tools and can serve as a deterrent against draft evasion.

{Matzav.com}

The Justice Department is preparing to dispatch approximately 1,000 election monitors across the country for November’s midterm elections, a major expansion of federal oversight as the Trump administration places increased emphasis on election integrity and public confidence in the voting process.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon disclosed the planned deployment during a Monday appearance on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” saying the effort could significantly increase the number of federal personnel assigned to observe elections around the country.

“We will do it to the tune of approximately 1,000 election monitors in the November election,” Dhillon said, noting that the Civil Rights Division has for decades dispatched personnel to election “hot spots” to address potential problems and strengthen confidence in election procedures.

Federal election monitoring is not new to the current administration. The Justice Department has regularly sent observers and monitors to polling locations under both Republican and Democratic administrations as part of its responsibility to enforce federal voting laws and safeguard the rights of eligible voters.

During the 2024 presidential election, DOJ personnel were dispatched to 86 jurisdictions, while monitors were sent to 64 jurisdictions during the 2022 midterm elections, according to The Washington Post.

Dhillon said officials have not yet determined the final list of locations where the approximately 1,000 monitors will be assigned in November.

Among the jurisdictions that could receive federal monitors are areas where concerns have arisen over access for voters with disabilities or those requiring language assistance, as well as locations where authorities believe voter fraud may be an issue.

The Justice Department has already deployed monitors during primary elections held earlier this year. In Michigan, federal personnel were sent to Detroit, Hamtramck, Lansing and East Lansing.

DOJ officials said the Michigan deployment was designed to promote “transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.”

Federal monitors were also dispatched to polling locations in three Arizona counties during elections held in July.

The planned expansion has prompted concerns from Democrats over the scale and role of the federal presence at polling locations.

A group of Democratic senators recently called on the Justice Department to make certain that federal monitors operate on a nonpartisan basis and refrain from interfering with election administration conducted by state and local authorities.

Dhillon rejected the suggestion that the monitoring initiative represents an unprecedented undertaking by the Trump administration, stressing that observing elections and enforcing federal voting protections have long been responsibilities of the Justice Department.

She said the department is also dealing with disagreements involving the accuracy of voter-registration lists, alleging that some election administrators have failed to remove people who are no longer eligible to remain registered, including noncitizens.

According to Dhillon, voter rolls in states cooperating with the Justice Department include hundreds of thousands of deceased individuals and tens of thousands of noncitizens. She cautioned, however, that additional investigation is necessary before authorities can conclude that any particular individual actually cast an illegal ballot.

“The goal is not so much going after one voter here or there,” Dhillon said. “It is increasing all American citizens’ confidence in our elections.”

{Matzav.com}

President Trump’s job approval has fallen to 33%, the lowest point of his current presidency, as Americans increasingly express concern over the duration of the U.S. war with Iran and the economic fallout from the conflict, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The four-day survey found that just one-third of respondents approved of Trump’s performance in office, while 64% disapproved. The 33% figure represents a decline from the 35% recorded in a Reuters/Ipsos survey completed earlier this month and is the lowest of Trump’s current term. It also matches the lowest approval rating recorded during his previous term, reached in December 2017.

Trump returned to the White House in 2025 with an approval rating just below 50%, but his standing has deteriorated this year following his decision to launch strikes against Iran alongside Israel. The resulting war severely disrupted roughly one-fifth of global oil commerce, sending gasoline prices higher and increasing financial pressure on American households. The economic consequences are also creating political difficulties for Republicans seeking to preserve their congressional majorities in November’s midterm elections.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly pledged to control inflation and keep the United States out of prolonged wars. He initially predicted that the confrontation with Iran would be over within several weeks, but Tehran has continued resisting while keeping much of the oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz restricted, even as the intensity of the fighting has diminished.

The poll found widespread expectations that the conflict will continue. Approximately 80% of Americans, including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans, believe U.S. involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of ‌time.” Only 16% expect the war to conclude within the next several weeks.

At a political rally Friday in Garden City, New York, Trump defended the higher fuel costs associated with the conflict, saying paying “a ‌tiny little bit more for your gasoline” was justified if it prevented “a very evil country” from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Throughout the war, Trump has repeatedly shifted between warning of further military escalation and suggesting that a peace agreement could soon be reached.

The survey found limited public support for the conflict itself. Only about 20% of Americans said they believe the war has been worth its costs, while approximately half of Republican respondents said the same.

The combination of the Iran conflict and rising gasoline prices has heightened Republican concerns ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, particularly as the party seeks to protect its narrow majority in the House. Democrats, meanwhile, increasingly view control of the Senate as potentially within reach.

Recent Reuters/Ipsos polling has also shown a shift in public perceptions of which party would better manage the economy. For the first time in roughly a decade, Democrats have moved ahead of Republicans on the issue. In the latest survey, 38% said Democrats would do a better job handling the economy, compared with 35% who favored Republicans.

Democrats also held an advantage when respondents were asked which party they believed could better address the cost of living.

Immigration has remained a stronger issue for Republicans throughout Trump’s presidency, amid a steep reduction in illegal border crossings and the administration’s nationwide immigration enforcement campaign. However, the Republican advantage has narrowed as concerns have grown over deadly encounters and an increase in the number of people being detained, including children.

Among registered voters, 40% said Republicans have the better approach to immigration, while 38% chose Democrats. The two-point Republican advantage is the smallest recorded during Trump’s current term, representing a dramatic contraction from the 26-point lead Republicans held on immigration in January 2025.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey was conducted online among 1,166 adults across the United States. The poll carries a margin of error of approximately three percentage points in either direction.

{Matzav.com}