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Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu issued a blunt warning Thursday following hours of turmoil at Ben Gurion Airport, declaring that Israel’s main international airport will remain operational and that workers who attempt to interfere with its functioning will face consequences.

“Ben Gurion Airport will remain open and continue operating as usual. Anyone who stands in the way will be sent home,” Netanyahu said.

His remarks followed widespread disruption at the airport, where check-in counters were shut down and serious delays developed in the processing of passengers and baggage.

Airport operations were halted at 2 p.m. By 3 p.m., incoming and outgoing flights began gradually resuming under a revised flight schedule as officials worked to restore normal operations.

Netanyahu’s warning came amid growing criticism on social media directed at Pinchas Idan, chairman of the Israel Airports Authority Workers’ Committee and a member of the Likud Central Committee. Critics blamed the labor action for the upheaval that affected thousands of travelers.

The crisis began when workers unexpectedly launched a work-to-rule action, with all four ground-service companies operating at Ben Gurion Airport stopping passenger-handling services. Among the most significant effects was the shutdown of check-in counters on what was already one of the airport’s busiest travel days of the year.

Ben Gurion is currently handling nearly 100,000 passengers each day aboard approximately 600 flights. The labor disruptions created extraordinary congestion throughout the terminals, with some arriving passengers waiting hours for their luggage.

Zohar Shnur, who arrived at Ben Gurion during the disruption, described an airport overwhelmed by stranded and exhausted travelers.

“There are thousands of people here, thousands of people around all the baggage carousels. Elderly people are sitting on the floor, on plastic sheets, and waiting. They’re talking here about waits of four hours for baggage on some flights.”

Shnur said multiple arriving flights were being assigned to individual baggage carousels even though passengers were still waiting for their suitcases to appear.

“Several flights are already listed on each carousel, but the bags still aren’t coming out. I fly a lot, and I have never seen anything like this,” she said, adding that both passengers and flight crews were receiving inadequate information about the unfolding situation.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who is currently on a private vacation in Morocco, directed Israel Airports Authority management to seek intervention from the Labor Court against the workers’ committee.

Regev denounced the action as a “bullying strike” and warned that those responsible would be held accountable.

“Whoever made the decision to take the citizens of Israel hostage will pay the price.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich similarly lashed out at organized labor over the airport disruptions, arguing that unions should not have the ability to bring critical national infrastructure to a standstill.

“It cannot be that forceful communist unions strand the citizens of Israel and take them hostage,” he said. “The days when a group of functionaries could paralyze an entire country are over. It is time to dismantle these organizations of anarchy.”

The Histadrut’s Transportation Workers Union pushed back against accusations that it had ordered employees to stop working, insisting that no such directive had been given.

“No instruction whatsoever was issued to stop work,” the union stated.

The union instead blamed the airport breakdown on longstanding staffing problems and inadequate preparations for the heavy summer travel period.

“The attempt to portray the chaos at Ben Gurion Airport as the result of a ‘surprise strike’ is contrary to the truth and diverts attention from the real failure: a severe and ongoing manpower shortage and inadequate preparation for the summer rush,” it added.

The Israel Airports Authority disputed that account, saying the operational disruptions had been carried out “at the instruction of the workers’ committee.”

{Matzav.com}

One of the most celebrated Jewish college basketball players in recent memory is taking his game to Eretz Yisroel.

Zevi Samet, the record-breaking Yeshiva University basketball star whose explosive scoring performances made him the face of the Maccabees, is heading to Israel to join Hapoel Jerusalem, marking a major new chapter in the 22-year-old’s remarkable basketball career.

Samet, a Monsey native and frum athlete who finished his YU career as the program’s all-time leading scorer, has already begun taking part in preseason training with Hapoel Jerusalem as he works to make the transition from American college basketball to the professional ranks.

The move places Samet with one of Israel’s most prominent basketball organizations and gives the standout shooting guard an opportunity to prove that the spectacular numbers he produced at Yeshiva University can translate to the next level.

For Samet, Israel is hardly unfamiliar territory. Before beginning his college career, he spent his gap year learning at Yeshivat Reishit in Eretz Yisroel. Now, several years later, he is returning under dramatically different circumstances — this time as a basketball player coming off one of the most accomplished careers in YU history.

Born in 2003 to David and Jenny Samet, Zevi grew up in Monsey as one of five siblings in a frum family. He attended Torah Academy of Bergen County before spending his year in Israel. He is also a nephew of Rav Zvi Sobolofsky, a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University.

Samet enrolled at Yeshiva University in 2022 and quickly developed into one of the most dangerous offensive players in Division III basketball.

By January 2026, he had accomplished something no other YU men’s basketball player had done: Samet became the Maccabees’ all-time leading scorer, cementing his place in the university’s record books.

His senior season only added to his growing list of accomplishments. Samet repeatedly earned Skyline Conference Player of the Week honors and helped propel Yeshiva through a memorable postseason run that reached the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament.

And when his YU career finally came to an end, Samet went out firing.

Facing Emory in the Sweet 16, Samet poured in a staggering 43 points in his final appearance in a Maccabees uniform, putting an exclamation point on a college career defined by prolific scoring and clutch performances.

His achievements earned recognition far beyond Yeshiva University and the Skyline Conference. In March, the National Association of Basketball Coaches selected Samet to its Division III All-America First Team, placing him among the elite players in the country.

A month later, Samet was named a finalist for the prestigious Bevo Francis Award, which recognizes the top small-college basketball player in the United States.

Now comes the next challenge.

Samet had previously visited and worked out with Hapoel Jerusalem, and he has begun participating in the club’s preseason training sessions as he seeks to establish himself in Israeli professional basketball.

The move carries particular significance for a player whose basketball career has unfolded while remaining openly connected to his frum identity. From Monsey to TABC, from a year of learning in Eretz Yisroel to Yeshiva University, Samet has emerged as a rare figure in American Jewish athletics — a player who became a nationally recognized college basketball star while representing the Orthodox Jewish community.

His next stop brings that journey full circle.

After rewriting the Yeshiva University record books and ending his college career with 43 points on one of the biggest stages of his life, Zevi Samet is headed back to Eretz Yisroel — this time with an opportunity to begin making his mark in the professional game.

{Matzav.com}

Federal authorities have arrested a 35-year-old woman accused of supporting ISIS and plotting to bomb the New York State Capitol in Albany, with investigators alleging that she had already obtained materials, conducted surveillance of the building and prepared to carry out the attack.

Jessica Bowie allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS and began developing plans for an attack on the Capitol in July, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Investigators allege that Bowie purchased materials that could be used to construct a bomb from a hardware store on Aug. 5. Over the following two weeks, she allegedly continued working on the planned attack while communicating and meeting with individuals who were secretly serving as FBI informants.

Bowie, who reportedly converted to Islam five years ago, is also accused of repeatedly conducting surveillance of the Capitol complex in preparation for the attack.

According to the complaint, she spent weeks monitoring the building and photographing it from several locations, including an “observation hall nearby.”

The alleged plot reached its final stages Wednesday, when FBI informants met with Bowie and provided her with an inert explosive device and an inoperable handgun, authorities said. She was also allegedly given instructions explaining how the supposed bomb could be detonated.

Because the explosive device and firearm were inert, neither could be used to carry out the alleged attack.

Federal agents arrested Bowie shortly afterward, bringing the purported plot to an end before anyone was harmed.

During a subsequent interview with FBI agents, Bowie appeared to partially acknowledge the seriousness of what she had done and the potential consequences she faced, according to the complaint.

“There’s no helping me, you guys know enough, there’s no helping me, I’m…going to prison for the rest of my life,” she allegedly said.

Bowie also indicated that she had researched the possible federal penalties before her arrest.

“Material support is up to 20 years in prison, I already Googled it before, I know I’m going to jail.”

{Matzav.com}

The news organizations receiving the most prominent exposure on Apple News and Google News have collectively endorsed Democratic presidential candidates 31 times since 1988 without backing a Republican even once, according to a new study raising fresh allegations of political bias in the way major technology platforms distribute news.

The analysis was conducted by the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog that has repeatedly scrutinized Big Tech news platforms. MRC found that newspapers and magazines appearing most frequently in prominent positions on Apple News and Google News have consistently favored Democratic presidential nominees in their editorial endorsements over the past 10 presidential elections.

On Apple News, the five outlets appearing most often were the New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Los Angeles Times and USA Today. Together, those publications endorsed Democratic presidential candidates 28 times dating back to 1988.

The New York Times editorial board accounted for 10 of those endorsements, supporting the Democratic nominee in every presidential election beginning with Michael Dukakis in 1988. The Washington Post endorsed Democrats eight times, while the Guardian did so five times, the Los Angeles Times four times and USA Today once.

A similar pattern emerged on Google News. Its five most frequently featured publications were the New York Times, Guardian, Washington Post, USA Today and the Atlantic. Combined, those organizations issued 27 Democratic presidential endorsements. The Atlantic accounted for three of them beginning in 2016.

When MRC combined the endorsement histories of the leading publications across Apple News and Google News without double-counting overlapping outlets, researchers arrived at a 31-0 record favoring Democratic presidential nominees.

“Big Tech executives insist their news platforms serve as objective public squares, but our findings lay bare the massive corporate tilt driving these algorithms,” MRC President David Bozell said in a statement. “Apple and Google systematically funnel tens of millions of users into media sources that have backed Democrats for president 31 times without a single Republican endorsement in 40 years.

“Silicon Valley has engineered these news feeds to quietly tilt public debate, insulating voters from conservative reporting while treating partisan, left-wing outlets as the nation’s default news authority.”

Microsoft’s MSN showed a somewhat less lopsided record, according to the study, although Democratic endorsements still overwhelmingly dominated among its most frequently featured publications.

MSN’s five leading outlets — the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone and USA Today — collectively endorsed Democratic presidential candidates 25 times since 1988, compared with two endorsements for Republican nominees.

Both Republican endorsements came from the San Francisco Chronicle, which supported George H.W. Bush in his presidential campaigns in 1988 and 1992.

Google declined to provide a new response to the findings. The company has previously said it “refutes the methodology” used in MRC studies.

Apple and Microsoft representatives did not respond to requests for comment on the latest analysis.

MRC researchers compiled their findings by monitoring the 20 leading stories displayed on Google News at a designated time each morning between Nov. 1, 2025, and Jan. 12, 2026. Apple News was examined over a substantially longer period, with researchers recording its top 20 stories from Nov. 3, 2025, through July 31, 2026. MSN’s leading stories were tracked between Jan. 13 and July 31, 2026.

Researchers then determined which publications appeared most frequently in prominent positions on the three platforms and examined the presidential endorsement histories of outlets whose editorial boards had made such endorsements. Publications that did not endorse presidential candidates were left out of that portion of the analysis.

Using publicly available information, MRC compiled the endorsement records of the identified news organizations across all 10 presidential elections held between 1988 and 2024.

The findings come as major news aggregators face growing scrutiny in Washington over the enormous influence they wield in determining which articles millions of smartphone and computer users encounter.

That scrutiny has intensified since President Trump returned to office, with conservatives arguing that the algorithms and editorial systems used by technology companies can significantly influence which political viewpoints receive the greatest visibility.

In February, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent Apple CEO Tim Cook a warning letter following an earlier MRC report alleging that Apple News disproportionately promoted left-leaning publications.

That report prompted concerns about whether political favoritism within a major news aggregation platform could potentially raise consumer-protection issues.

Additional research released in April produced similar concerns. AllSides, a nonpartisan organization that rates news organizations according to their political leanings, examined Google News, Apple News and other major aggregators and concluded that only a small share of their featured articles came from right-leaning publications such as The Post and Fox News.

{Matzav.com}

A massive 10-day search for missing Chabad bochur Kasriel Nachman Keinan ended in tragedy Thursday when his body was discovered in the Swiss Forest near Tiveriah. Keinan, a 24-year-old resident of Beit Shemesh, had disappeared while traveling in northern Israel.

Keinan had set out with plans to travel to Tzfas but never reached his destination. He was last known to have been in the Kinneret region and was carrying a black backpack and a brown tefillin bag when he disappeared.

His disappearance triggered an intensive search operation involving members of his family, Israel Police, ZAKA volunteers and numerous search teams that traveled from across the country to assist in locating him.

Keinan’s brother Daniel said investigators had made significant progress during the final day of the search after examining security camera footage that captured Keinan entering and subsequently leaving the kever of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness in Tiveriah.

Police and relatives then worked to trace Keinan’s movements after he departed the site, even as search teams continued investigating additional possibilities regarding his whereabouts.

According to Daniel, Keinan spoke with him on Sunday evening and said that he was traveling to Tzfas. When he failed to arrive there, cellphone location information subsequently showed that he had reached Tiveriah.

On Monday, Keinan sent his mother a message informing her that his cellphone battery was nearly depleted and asking her not to worry. His family was unable to make contact with him afterward.

In the days that followed, police officers, relatives and volunteers carried out extensive searches throughout Tiveriah and Beit Shemesh. Teams examined surveillance footage while combing open spaces, abandoned structures and other locations where Keinan might have gone.

The search operation grew to include drones, specially trained search dogs, missing-person units and volunteers who arrived from communities throughout Israel to assist in the effort.

ZAKA said its emergency hotline received a report at approximately 1:40 p.m. Thursday that a body had been discovered in an open section of the Swiss Forest in Tiveriah.

Volunteers from ZAKA’s Northern District were immediately dispatched to the location.

“Following identification procedures, it was determined that this was the 24-year-old missing person who was last seen in the Tiberias area and for whom searches had been conducted for more than a week,” ZAKA said.

The identification brought the intensive nationwide search to a heartbreaking conclusion after more than a week of efforts by Keinan’s family, law enforcement authorities, emergency organizations and scores of volunteers who had joined together in hopes of bringing him home safely.

Israel’s High Court of Justice on Thursday unanimously struck down the government’s decision to close Galei Tzahal, or IDF Radio, finding that the move was improperly driven by officials’ objections to the station’s broadcasts rather than legitimate considerations regarding its continued operation.

In its ruling, the court concluded that “the decision was based on an extraneous and improper consideration.”

The justices said the government’s decision had to be nullified “because the decision was made on the basis of an extraneous and improper consideration: the dissatisfaction of the decision-makers with the fact that the broadcasts, in their view, ran counter to their positions. The Court was persuaded, as a matter of fact, that this was indeed the case, and further noted that after a conditional order was issued, the government did not act to prove otherwise. The Court held that the government had the authority to make a decision on the matter and rejected the argument that closing Galei Tzahal required primary legislation.”

At the same time, the court stressed that its ruling should not be interpreted as a determination that Galei Tzahal must remain open permanently. Rather, the justices said any future effort to close the military broadcaster would have to follow a lawful process and be based on legitimate considerations.

“All of the justices, each for his or her own reasons, made clear that they do not rule out the possibility of closing Galei Tzahal on its merits, had the decision on the matter been made lawfully and on the basis of relevant considerations, nor do they take a position regarding the content of the broadcasts.”

Justice Yechiel Kasher sharply criticized the reasoning behind the government’s action, arguing that public officials cannot use their governmental authority to silence broadcasters simply because they object to what is being aired.

“It cannot be accepted that a person vested with governmental authority may decide that because he does not like the statements made by a broadcaster, the broadcaster’s ‘microphone should be shut off.’

“A government that acts in this manner is acting in a clearly undemocratic fashion, since the cornerstone upon which every democratic government rests is the recognition that the government may not use its power to silence those whose views it finds objectionable.”

Justice Alex Stein, however, rejected a separate argument advanced by the petitioners that shutting down Galei Tzahal would inherently violate freedom of expression.

Stein reasoned that freedom of expression does not require the government to maintain and operate its own radio station as a vehicle for different opinions. He suggested that government-operated news and current-affairs programming could, under some circumstances, itself interfere with or distort public discourse.

Stein also addressed the unusual spectacle of uniformed Galei Tzahal soldiers interviewing political figures, describing the arrangement as a “distortion of the system of government.”

In his view, the IDF, “the army of everyone,” should have no part in the country’s political debate, “not even the role of interviewer and broadcaster.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded angrily to the decision, accusing the Supreme Court of overriding the authority of Israel’s elected government.

“The Supreme Court is carrying out a coup against democracy and stripping a democratically elected government of its lawful powers. If the judges at Givat Ram in Jerusalem want to make decisions in place of the government, they are welcome to establish a political party and run for election to the Knesset. The judges are acting with endless arrogance and, without authority, are overturning the decisions of the elected government.

“Otzma Yehudit’s condition for joining the next government is the passage of a full judicial reform: the establishment of a constitutional court and the immediate dismissal of the criminal Attorney General,” Ben-Gvir said.

{Matzav.com}