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Dear Matzav Inbox,

Every few years, the same script gets dusted off, the same alarms are sounded, and the same hysteria is repackaged. This time, the hashkafah villain of the hour is AI.

Suddenly, we are told it is uniquely dangerous, spiritually radioactive, a threat to the very fabric of Yiddishkeit. People are “yelling.” Flyers are warning. Speeches are thundering. And once again, common sense is nowhere to be found.

Give me a break.

AI is not some supernatural force of tumah. It is a tool. A powerful one, yes—but a tool nonetheless. And if we’re being honest, it is no more inherently treif than a smartphone, the internet, email, or a laptop. All of those can be used for garbage—or for tremendous good. The difference has never been the technology. The difference is the user.

Let’s not pretend we haven’t been here before.

When phones became smart, we were told they would destroy kedusha. When internet access became widespread, it was described as an open sewer. When texting appeared, people warned it would end normal human communication. And yet—somehow—Klal Yisroel survived. Not only survived, but adapted. Guardrails were built. Filters were installed. גבולות were drawn. Life went on.

Were the dangers real? Of course. Are they real with AI? Absolutely. No one is denying that. But danger does not equal prohibition, and fear does not equal wisdom.

If “it can be misused” is the standard, then we need to ban phones, cars, credit cards, microphones, printing presses, and pens. Kefirah can be written by a machine, but it can also be written by a human being. The כלי is not the problem. The lack of yiras Shamayim is.

There is a difference between responsible guidance and panic. Between caution and absolutism. Between leadership and yelling.

We do not need screaming proclamations that everything new is treif by default. We need measured voices, thoughtful boundaries, and adults who trust other adults to act responsibly within halacha.

A little perspective would go a long way. A chill pill wouldn’t hurt either.

Sincerely,
A tired observer of tech panic cycles

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New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has tapped longtime anti-Israel activist Ramzi Kassem as his chief counsel. The appointment, announced roughly a day before Mamdani’s inauguration, elevates Kassem—who served on the mayor-elect’s transition team—into one of the most powerful legal roles in City Hall. As chief counsel, Kassem will serve as the mayor’s top legal […]

Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence in his country’s eventual victory in the nearly four-year war against its neighbor. Four apartment buildings were damaged in […]

TRUMP: California and Colorado are two of the TOP OUTBOUND STATES IN 2025 ( United van lines!) – in other words, PEOPLE LEAVING!!! That’s what bad governors do to even places blessed with beautiful surrounds and climate. President DJT

Q: “Does President Trump want those Somalis to have their citizenship revoked if convicted of fraud?” Press Sec.: “Absolutely — and it’s something the Department of Homeland Security; the Department of State is currently looking at right now.”

WH Press Sec. on the rampant Somali fraud in Minnesota: “The Department of Justice, as we speak, is continuing to execute search warrants and subpoenas. People will be in handcuffs as a result of the fraud that Gov. Walz has allowed to occur for many, many years.”

The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit released footage of their forces conducting maritime interdiction operations training in the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation Spear.

Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that authorities carried out another large-scale operation early this morning targeting individuals suspected of links to ISIS, resulting in the detention of 125 people across 25 provinces.

TRUMP: Paul Perez and the border patrol have done a fantastic job, and so proud that more than half are of Hispanic heritage, which Los Angeles’ incompetent Mayer, Karen Bass ( who hasn’t even gotten the permits for people, rebuilding their homes after the record setting fire that took place), and other third rate politicians.

Protests in Iran entered a fourth consecutive day as demonstrations expanded to multiple cities, drawing in university students and additional labor unions. In the southern city of Fasa, early reports indicate that protesters took control of the governor’s building after security forces withdrew.

Iran’s Supreme Leader has appointed Ahmad Vahidi as deputy chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, replacing Ali Fadavi. Vahidi has been linked to the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires and is sanctioned by the United States for his role in the crackdown on protests following the 2022 death of […]

Justice Minister Yariv Levin sent a sharply worded letter on Wednesday morning to the Courts Administration, demanding the cancellation of a conference set to take place at the Supreme Court under the title “Education for Democracy.” His request followed reports that the event would feature former Supreme Court president Esther Hayut and Justice Yitzchak Amit, […]

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee continued deliberations Tuesday on the proposed draft law, focusing on enforcement clauses that would allow the imposition of financial sanctions on yeshivos and their officials.

The discussion centered on Sections 26K1 through 26K16 of the bill, which outline mechanisms for financial penalties as part of the law’s implementation. Under the proposal, the director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Defense would be authorized to levy monetary fines if it is determined that at least five percent of a given yeshiva’s students do not meet the “declared condition” — namely, that they are engaged in regular Torah study for a minimum of 45 hours per week, or 40 hours per week in the case of a kollel.

The declaration would be submitted by a senior official of the yeshiva who also serves as an authorized signatory for the nonprofit organization or public-benefit corporation that operates the institution. If a violation is found, the defense ministry’s director-general could impose a fine of up to 20,000 shekels, after granting the official an opportunity to present arguments.

In addition, the bill provides for a fine of 1,500 shekels for each student regarding whom a declaration was submitted that does not comply with the law’s requirements. The proposal further states that an official who is sanctioned more than once, or who is fined in connection with five or more students, would lose the right to submit additional affidavits seeking deferments from military service.

The legislation would also require the director-general of the Defense Ministry to submit a report every six months to the committee detailing the number of sanctions imposed, their total monetary value, and the grounds on which they were issued.

During the session, members of bereaved families addressed the committee with emotional testimony. Mia Moreno, the widow of Lt. Col. Emanuel Moreno, said: “Both of my sons serve in the army. No leniencies apply to me — if they don’t enlist, they go to prison, and they are IDF orphans. How can it be that the State of Israel discriminates between citizens? One of my sons studied for two years in yeshiva, a talmid chacham, and chose to enlist in a regular army unit. There is great value to Torah, but Torah without a connection to the state — I question what its value is.”

Michal Castel-Keidar, the widow of Lt. Col. Dolev Keidar, also spoke at the hearing. “We are not a religious family, but Dolev commanded a company of yeshiva students and did everything he could to ensure they received what they needed,” she said. “How is it not self-evident that everyone who lives in this country must also help defend it?”

{Matzav.com}

Israel’s Supreme Court has issued an interim order stopping State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman from continuing his investigation into the failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre. The court barred him from summoning officials, demanding documents, or publishing any draft or final report that had already been prepared, noting that the order is based on […]

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani revealed Tuesday that he is selecting Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer whose past work has drawn controversy, to serve as the city’s chief counsel, the highest legal position in City Hall.

Mamdani, who is set to be sworn in on January 1, said Kassem will take on the role of chief counsel. He also announced additional senior legal and policy appointments, naming Steven Banks, who has described himself as a “social justice attorney,” as corporation counsel, and Helen Arteaga as deputy mayor for health and human services.

Kassem previously served in the Biden White House as a senior policy adviser on immigration within the Domestic Policy Council.

His legal career includes acting as lead defense counsel for Ahmed al-Darbi, an al Qaeda operative who in 2014 pleaded guilty before a U.S. military commission to conspiracy related to a terrorist attack on the French oil tanker MV Limburg off the coast of Yemen. The attack killed one civilian and wounded others. Al-Darbi was convicted in 2017 and, in 2018, was transferred by the Trump administration into Saudi Arabian custody.

“While it may not make him whole, my hope is that repatriation at least marks the end of injustice for Ahmed,” Kassem said at the time of the transfer, adding he had “16 long and painful years in captivity.”

More recently, in 2025, Kassem represented Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student and anti-Israel activist who was arrested by ICE over his alleged involvement in leading antisemitic protests on campus. Khalil has since been released, though the case remains unresolved.

In announcing the appointment, Mamdani praised Kassem’s background and values.

“I will turn to Ramzi for his remarkable experience and his commitment to defending those too often abandoned by our legal system,” Mamdani said.

The mayor-elect added that “City Hall will be stronger with him in it, and our work of building a more prosperous city for all will have a powerful advocate.”

“My sincere hope is that New Yorkers who have long felt on the margins of this city, the homeless veteran straining to survive, the patient searching for the care that they need, an immigrant trying to get by will feel that they now have leaders in their corner who understand their struggles and care to fight for them,” Mamdani went on, adding, “That is the city I want to build. The prosperity I intend to deliver and the leadership that has too long been lacking.”

Kassem responded by expressing gratitude for the appointment and a sense of obligation to the city.

He said the role represents a “call of duty to serve the city that I’ve called home, the city that embraced me.”

“I grew up in war-torn countries in the Middle East, authoritarian regimes, and New York City was really my first stable and permanent home,” said Kassem. “This is an opportunity for me to repay that debt. I’ve been trying to repay that debt ever since I came to this country, ever since I immigrated.”

Kassem is also the founder of the Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility law clinic, known as CLEAR, which states on its website that its mission is “to support Muslim and all other client, communities, and movements in the New York City area and beyond that are targeted by local, state, or federal government agencies under the guise of national security and counterterrorism.”

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump is not the first president to want more room at the White House for entertaining, says the longest-serving top aide in the executive residence, offering some backup for the reason Trump has cited for his ballroom construction project. Gary Walters spent more than two decades as White House chief usher to presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, […]

  For more than fifty years, Machon Yerushalayim has been doing something extraordinary: taking the world of classic Torah manuscripts, rare seforim, and complex texts, and making them come alive for the modern learner. Walk into almost any beis medrash today and you’ll find their influence on the shelves—editions that are clearer, texts restored from […]

As investigations widen into multiple alleged fraud schemes involving Minnesota’s social services programs, Gov. Tim Walz is facing mounting criticism from high-profile figures and federal officials.

President Donald Trump has publicly described Minnesota as a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” as his administration and members of Congress move forward with probes into the state’s handling of federally funded aid programs.

Elon Musk weighed in sharply on Tuesday, offering a blunt assessment of the Minnesota governor.

“Traitor Tim Walz,” Musk said in a Tuesday post on X.

Musk’s comment was prompted by a separate social media post that mocked a hypothetical call to personal finance radio host Dave Ramsey, describing Walz’s record as governor.

That post cited claims that Walz raised taxes, depleted billions of dollars from a state budget surplus, and is now under scrutiny over multiple alleged fraud schemes involving Medicaid and other programs intended to feed children.

One of the largest investigations centers on the “Feeding Our Future” scandal, a $250 million scheme that allegedly exploited a federally funded children’s nutrition program overseen by Minnesota during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The scheme took advantage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to waive certain Federal Child Nutrition Program requirements, according to investigators.

So far, at least 77 individuals have been charged in connection with that case.

Another major investigation involves Minnesota’s Housing Stability Services Program, which provided Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services aimed at individuals with disabilities, mental health conditions, and substance-use disorders.

The Justice Department has charged fewer than a dozen people to date in that case, but authorities have indicated that additional charges are expected.

Many of those charged across the various cases are members of Minnesota’s Somali community, a fact that drew national attention after Trump announced in November that he was ending Temporary Protected Status for Somali migrants in the state, which had shielded them from deportation.

On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security said it is taking an active role in addressing the alleged misconduct.

“Our investigative agents are conducting a massive operation to identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people. We will root out this rampant fraud plaguing Minnesota,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote on X.

Despite the growing investigations, state officials have pushed back strongly against claims that fraud has been ignored or enabled at the highest levels.

That defense intensified after a viral video posted Friday by YouTuber Nick Shirley drew widespread attention to alleged misconduct at Minnesota childcare and learning centers.

A spokesperson for Walz responded by saying the governor has spent years working to combat fraud and has taken steps to improve oversight of state-administered programs.

Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown echoed that position during a Monday press conference, stating that earlier inspections of the facilities did not uncover fraud and that regulators are now increasing unannounced visits.

“We are aware of a video that’s being circulated that has gained local and national attention about childcare centers in Minnesota,” Brown said. “While we have questions about some of the methods that were used in the video, we do take the concerns that the video raises about fraud very seriously.”

{Matzav.com}

An independent journalist whose reporting ignited national attention over alleged misuse of childcare funds in Minnesota returned Tuesday to a Minneapolis facility at the heart of the controversy, this time alongside his researcher and dressed to make a statement.

Nick Shirley and his researcher, identified as David, showed up outside the Quality Learning Center wearing matching sweatshirts emblazoned with the phrase “1-800 FRAUD.” The visit followed the release of Shirley’s widely shared video that raised questions about possible fraud involving state-funded daycare centers.

Photos and video from the visit were later posted on X, showing the pair standing outside the building in sweatshirts that also read “Quality ‘Learing’ Center,” deliberately mirroring a misspelling associated with signage tied to the facility.

Shirley accompanied the post with the caption, “WE OUT HERE LEARIN AND STOPPING FRAUD.”

The return visit came after the daycare’s manager publicly accused Shirley of misrepresenting the business in his original video, saying it was filmed outside normal operating hours and wrongly implied the center was not functioning.

State officials and a daycare manager rejected the fraud allegations earlier in the week, insisting the facility was not closed and was not improperly receiving public funds.

Shirley’s original reporting showed visits to several daycare locations across the state, including the Quality Learning Center, which appeared inactive at the time despite receiving state childcare assistance.

The video quickly gained traction online, drawing praise from figures such as Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, Donald Trump Jr., and Elon Musk, while also prompting pushback from Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz.

The controversy unfolded against the backdrop of broader criticism facing Walz, as Minnesota authorities have acknowledged that alleged fraud tied largely to social services in Minneapolis — much of it connected to the Somali community — has cost taxpayers at least $1 billion.

During Tuesday’s visit, David told reporters that he had taken legal action against the governor.

“I filed a formal criminal complaint against Tim Walz for violating Minnesota Statute 3.971, Subdivision 9,” David said before confirming he had filed the complaint three to four weeks ago. “So there’s an investigation ongoing, and I think Tim’s going to have a bad day, and he deserves it, because he allowed this fraud.”

He went on to allege political motivations behind the inaction.

“Because he wanted the voting block that the Somalis represent, because they all vote in a block, and it’s 100,000 150,000,” he added. “Who knows how many, but it’s so bad now that when we go to a facility, they’re already screaming, Nick Shirley, Nick Shirley, Nick Shirley!”

{Matzav.com}

Auckland was the first major city to ring in 2026 with a fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, followed by a defiant celebration in Australia in the aftermath of its worst mass shooting. South Pacific countries were the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks stuck midnight in Auckland 18 hours […]