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At the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, the Casa Rosada, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Dovid Yosef, met on Tuesday with Argentine President Javier Milei. The encounter was part of Rav Yosef’s official visit to Jewish communities throughout Argentina and was also attended by Israel’s Ambassador to Argentina, Eyal Sela.

Rav Yosef used the opportunity to express heartfelt gratitude to President Milei for his steadfast friendship with the Jewish people and his vocal defense of Israel. “The entire Jewish people prays for your success,” he told the president. “Thank you for your steadfast support of the State of Israel and the Jewish people as a whole.”

The Chief Rabbi went on to say, “You will be remembered in the annals of history as a president who stood on the right side of history,” acknowledging Milei’s moral courage and principled stance during difficult times for Israel.

Milei’s commitment to Israel has become one of the defining aspects of his leadership. Since the start of the war in Gaza, he has repeatedly and publicly affirmed Israel’s right to protect itself from terror, often contrasting sharply with leaders who have hesitated or condemned Israel’s actions.

True to his word, Milei made Israel his first destination abroad after taking office, fulfilling a central campaign pledge that underscored his deep affinity with the Jewish state. His announcement earlier this year that Argentina would move its embassy to Yerushalayim further solidified that bond.

In recognition of his consistent advocacy and friendship, Milei received the prestigious Genesis Prize last year, honoring his “unwavering support of Israel at a time when many nations have turned their backs on the Jewish state.” The award reflected the respect and admiration he has earned within the global Jewish community — sentiments echoed powerfully by Rav Yosef during their meeting in Buenos Aires.

{Matzav.com}

Over two years after the October 7 massacre, Kalashnikov rifles and handheld radios used by Nukhba terrorists during the October 7 massacre were discovered inside a kindergarten on Kibbutz Be’eri on Wednesday morning. The report came from civilian construction teams working on the kibbutz, who discovered the weapons in a (currently unused) kindergarten building that […]

President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday that he intends to take legal action against the BBC, accusing the British broadcaster of deliberately altering and misrepresenting his speech from January 6, 2021. Speaking to Laura Ingraham on Fox News, Trump said, “Well, I think I have an obligation to do it.”

The controversy erupted after it was revealed that the BBC had edited Trump’s remarks from that day, removing portions in which he urged supporters to remain peaceful. “They defrauded the public, and they’ve admitted it…this is within one of our great allies, you know. This is supposedly our great ally, BBC. The government has a chunk of that one, I guess. But that’s a pretty sad event,” Trump said in the interview.

Describing the incident as a blatant act of distortion, Trump emphasized that his address had been calm and measured. “They actually changed my January 6th speech, which was a beautiful speech, which was a very calming speech. And they made it sound radical. And they actually changed it,” he said, adding that the BBC’s conduct “was very dishonest.”

The fallout for the broadcaster was swift. BBC Director-General Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, head of News and Current Affairs, both stepped down on Sunday after public outrage over the manipulated footage. Reports indicated that editors had not only cut a significant section of Trump’s call for peaceful protest but had also spliced together unrelated moments to make them appear sequential.

As the controversy widened, critics accused the BBC of breaching its foundational duty of impartiality. Many charged the network with deliberate political interference and “journalistic fraud” inconsistent with its publicly funded mission.

Trump took to Truth Social to further condemn the network, posting, “These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!”

By Monday, the BBC confirmed that it had received a formal letter from Trump’s legal team threatening a lawsuit. The broadcaster stated that it would “respond in due course,” as scrutiny over its editorial practices continued to mount.

{Matzav.com}

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President Isaac Herzog received an official letter from U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning, calling on him to grant a pardon to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Trump wrote that while he respects the independence of Israel’s judicial system, he believes that the cases against Netanyahu is “a political, unjustified prosecution.” It should be noted […]

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Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced on Wednesday morning that he has decided to shut down the Army Radio (Galei Tzahal) station. Katz said, “As I have clarified—what was in the past will not continue. Galei Tzahal was established by the Israeli government as a military station to serve as a voice and ear for IDF […]

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The Supreme Court hearing on the petitions regarding the investigation into former Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resumed Tuesday evening after a several-hour break to allow the parties to discuss the compromise proposals suggested by the judges. The judges had requested and expected that the parties would use the break to meet and reach a […]

A bold challenge has been issued to New York City’s incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov of Brooklyn has formally invited Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to visit the city on January 1 — the very day Mamdani is sworn into office — directly testing his campaign pledge to have the Israeli leader arrested.

Vernikov, who represents the 48th District in southern Brooklyn, home to one of the city’s largest Jewish populations, shared her invitation letter Tuesday on X. The move appeared designed to spotlight Mamdani’s controversial vow regarding Netanyahu, a statement that drew condemnation throughout the Jewish community and beyond.

The controversy stems from comments Mamdani made while campaigning, when he claimed that if Netanyahu were to step foot in New York City during his tenure, he would have him arrested. His remarks referenced a 2024 warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which accused Netanyahu of alleged “war crimes” in Gaza — a ruling the United States does not recognize.

Vernikov, who is Jewish, denounced Mamdani’s rhetoric in her letter. “In recent months, there have been irresponsible and frankly absurd statements made by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who has campaigned on the promise of ‘arresting’ you upon setting foot in our city,” she wrote to Netanyahu. She continued, “Whether individuals agree or disagree with your policies, you are the duly elected Prime Minister of the State of Israel: a democratic nation that stands as a beacon of hope, freedom, western values, resilience, and strength in a region surrounded by tyranny and terror.”

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Vernikov sharply criticized Mamdani’s agenda. “From ‘free’ buses to arresting Bibi Netanyahu, all of Mamdani’s ideas are fantasies from a utopian pipe dream that will never become reality. The spoiled kids who voted for him are going to realize very quickly that Zohran Mamdani is a scam,” she said.

Even some of Mamdani’s allies have distanced themselves from his threats against Netanyahu. Congressman Jerry Nadler, a Democrat and longtime supporter of Mamdani, dismissed the notion earlier this year. “The City of New York has no jurisdiction to do such a thing,” Nadler told the New York Times, calling the proposal “simply unrealistic.”

Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, cruised to victory last week after a campaign that energized younger progressives but alienated large portions of the Jewish community. Despite fierce backlash over his statements about Israel, he defeated his opponents with a decisive margin.

That backlash had been mounting for months. In late October, more than 650 rabbis co-signed a public letter rebuking Mamdani’s remarks and positions on Israel, many of which they described as antisemitic. After the election, leading Jewish organizations — including the UJA-Federation of New York, JCRC-NY, ADL New York/New Jersey, AJC New York, and the New York Board of Rabbis — released a joint statement declaring, “New Yorkers have spoken, electing Zohran Mamdani as the next Mayor of New York City. We recognize that voters are animated by a range of issues, but we cannot ignore that the Mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest convictions and most cherished values.”

In response to the uproar, Mamdani has since tried to temper concerns and project a tone of reassurance. “We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism,” he said in his victory speech. The next day, he reiterated that he takes the issue of antisemitism “incredibly seriously.”

{Matzav.com}

A moving maamad took place last night in the Groise Shtub of Belz, where hundreds of boys from the upper grades of Belzer chadorim throughout Eretz Yisroel gathered for the traditional Kollelos Kvittel event. The gathering, usually held in Elul, was postponed this year due to the Rebbe’s surgery and was rescheduled for after the Yamim Tovim.

The large hall in Kiryas Belz was filled with rows of young boys standing on the parentches, singing zemiros and waiting to receive a bracha from the Rebbe. The atmosphere was charged with emotion as the Rebbe entered and addressed the children directly, offering words of inspiration and encouragement.

In his remarks, the Rebbe spoke about the renewal of youth that can infuse vitality even into adults, encouraging everyone to use that energy to grow in avodas Hashem.

He began by saying, “They asked that the children learning in the Talmudei Torah be allowed to come in from time to time. Initially, this was planned for Elul, but it was postponed to Cheshvan. I thought this is actually a very good time — at the beginning of the year, when the learning is strongest. My hope is that the renewal and good kabbalos of the start of the year will continue throughout the entire year. In truth, it seems that this arrangement is also good for me. When one sees so many students, bli ayin hara, singing songs and accepting good resolutions — it gives a person renewed desire for more and more.”

Referring to the postponement, the Rebbe added, “When one sees that Hakadosh Baruch Hu arranged things in such a way that the children are coming at the start of the year, when they are learning well and preparing for the new year, I too am inspired to become better and better.”

Concluding his address, the Rebbe offered a heartfelt bracha: “May the Aibishter help that all of you — young bochurim just beginning your life’s path — should accept upon yourselves the yoke of Torah, mitzvos, and chassidus for the entire year and for your whole lives. May we, too, draw inspiration from you to learn, to daven, and to serve Hashem without hindrance. May Hashem bless you, your parents, and your melamdim to see from you good fruits, and that throughout this year and the years ahead you grow from your childhood upward, ever higher, taking upon yourselves the yoke of Torah.”

The Rebbe concluded with a stirring message: “May the Aibishter grant that parents and teachers see from you great Yiddishe nachas — that you not only be mushpa’im (those who receive influence), but also mashpi’im (those who influence others), to inspire me and all of us to awaken as one to learn Torah with yiras Shamayim and good middos, and to continue rising ever higher.”

{Matzav.com}

Crowds of gedolim, bnei Torah, rabbonim, and public figures from across all circles and communities traveled to Telshe-Stone to be menachem avel Rav Shalom Ber Sorotzkin, rosh yeshiva of Ateres Shlomo, following the passing of his mother, Rebbetzin Leah Feiga Sorotzkin a”h, wife of Rav Binyomin Sorotzkin, rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ateres Shlomo.

Throughout the shivah, a steady stream of gedolei Yisroel, roshei yeshiva, dayanim, and public figures came to offer comfort, expressing admiration for the nifteres’s life of chesed, tzni’us, and devotion to Torah and lomdei Torah.

The following photo gallery captures moments from the shivah visits in Telshe-Stone and at the Ateres Shlomo yeshiva campus in Rishon LeTzion.

{Matzav.com}

The Supreme Court has agreed to prolong its temporary halt of a lower court ruling that would have compelled the Trump administration to immediately disburse full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November. The move marks a brief victory for the administration, coming just hours after it petitioned the high court for urgent intervention.

In a late Monday filing, administration lawyers urged the justices to preserve an emergency stay previously granted by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The Court’s latest decision ensures that the stay will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, November 13. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer had asked the Court to step in, contending that the government should not be forced to release full SNAP payments before Congress resolves the ongoing shutdown.

At the heart of the dispute is whether the administration must fully restore food assistance payments that lapsed at the start of November due to the budget impasse. Several states filed suit, arguing that millions of low-income households would suffer immediate harm if the benefits were suspended. “Because of USDA’s actions, SNAP benefits will be delayed for the first time since the program’s inception,” the states said in court filings.

Federal judges initially sided with the states, ordering the administration to release the full payments. The ruling prompted Trump officials to appeal, insisting that the lower courts had overstepped their authority. They maintained that Justice Jackson’s earlier stay should remain intact while Congress works to reopen the government. In their filing, the administration argued, “the answer to this crisis is not for federal courts to reallocate resources without lawful authority.”

“The only way to end this crisis — which the Executive is adamant to end — is for Congress to reopen the government,” the filing continued, emphasizing that the impasse lies within legislative, not judicial, jurisdiction.

State officials accused Washington of politicizing a program that sustains roughly one in eight Americans. “Any further stay would prolong that irreparable harm and add to the chaos the government has unleashed, with lasting impacts on the administration of SNAP,” they told the Court Tuesday morning. “The government has offered no defensible justification for that result,” they added. “The administrative stay should be terminated, and no further stay should be granted.”

Tensions escalated after the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a directive over the weekend instructing states to “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits,” instead limiting payments to 65% of the monthly amount. States that refused to comply were warned of steep financial consequences. The order triggered a swift response from U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, who paused the USDA’s directive, citing widespread confusion among state agencies.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin condemned the administration’s stance in blunt terms. Calling the decision “the most heinous thing” he had witnessed in office, Platkin underscored the scope of the program in his state. “There are more children in New Jersey on SNAP than consists of the entire population of our state’s largest city,” he said at a Monday press conference, highlighting the potential scale of the fallout if aid is withheld.

{Matzav.com}

The Israel Air Force has built a “target bank” of potential strike sites inside Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and along the Jordanian border as part of lessons learned from October 7, 2023. The aim, military sources say, is to enable a very high tempo of strikes during a mass raid even if the command-and-control picture collapses — a scenario that could see dozens of strikes in the first hour and hundreds more thereafter.

According to a report on i24NEWS, the target bank was created so that, in the event of a large coordinated attack, fire can be delivered quickly and at scale. For the first time, the IDF is testing the ability to activate that capability during a massive exercise in Judea and Samaria. Air Force planners estimate that by the end of the year the system will be operable at the press of a button in some brigades, allowing them to disrupt an assault on communities; over time the capability will be extended to the eastern border and additional sectors.

Security forces continued counterterror operations across Judea and Samaria in an effort to prevent escalation amid the cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Dozens of suspects were detained, weapons were seized, and authorities uncovered a workshop used to manufacture weapons.

In several incidents the military said forces foiled attacks on IDF units conducting operations, neutralizing three attackers. In two other cases soldiers intercepted militants who hurled petrol bombs at a major civilian roadway.

The army also demolished the home of a gunman responsible for a shooting attack in May 2025 in which an Israeli mother and her infant son were murdered. The group’s military wing later confirmed that the individual killed in the Al-Far’a refugee camp was one of its operatives.

Tensions flared during the olive-harvest season across parts of Judea and Samaria, where violent clashes were reported between Israeli settlers and Palestinian olive pickers. Near the town of Beita, eleven Palestinians were wounded, including several journalists, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, describing the incident as a “settler attack.” Hamas claimed that journalists and emergency teams were among the injured and demanded international action against what it called “the murderous government.”

The concern that the West Bank could play a central role in a renewed multi-front campaign against Israel is not new. Military documents and materials captured by IDF forces during operations in Gaza indicate that Yahya Sinwar — Hamas’s head of its political bureau in the Gaza Strip — viewed Judea and Samaria as a key theater in any decisive campaign against Israel.

In a June 19, 2022 message to Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, Sinwar reportedly outlined three scenarios for “uniting the arenas” once a campaign was launched; all included sparking unrest in the West Bank as a central front of terror. In a handwritten operational guidance dated August 24, 2022, Sinwar expressed confidence that a ground incursion into Israel would trigger a chain reaction that would bring fighting from the West Bank as well, and he urged the documentation of atrocities to stir “a wave of frenzy, madness and momentum” among Palestinians, Arab Israelis, Jerusalemites and the wider Muslim world — both to encourage them to rise and to sow fear among the enemy.

Israeli security planners say recent drills and the development of the target bank are direct responses to those lessons, aimed at ensuring that, if a mass raid occurs again, the IDF can generate immediate, distributed fires to blunt and disrupt the attackers even under the worst command-and-control conditions.

{Matzav.com}

A 50-year mortgage sounds like an easy fix for high monthly payments: stretch the loan, shrink the bill. But when you run the numbers—and think through how housing markets, lenders, and households behave—the idea mostly trades short-term relief for much higher long-term costs, slower wealth-building, and potentially higher home prices. Here’s a clear, math-driven look. […]

Speaking defiantly from an underground bunker, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Tuesday night issued a sharp warning to Israel, asserting that his group will never lay down its arms despite mounting global pressure. “Israeli strikes cannot continue indefinitely—everything has its limits. We will not give up our weapons,” Qassem said.

His fiery address was delivered as part of Hezbollah’s annual Martyrs’ Day observance, a day the organization uses to honor its fallen fighters and rally support for its ongoing struggle against Israel. In his remarks, Qassem made clear that Hezbollah would resist all international efforts to disarm. “We will not relinquish our weapons, nor will we entrust the future of our generations to arrogant powers,” he declared. “It is our right to do whatever is necessary to defend our existence, our land, and our people.”

Qassem insisted that the existing ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, signed a year ago, applies solely to the region south of the Litani River. He accused Israel of breaching the spirit of that agreement and demanded that the Lebanese government take immediate action to address Israeli positions along the border. The government, he said, must push for Israel’s withdrawal from five outposts in southern Lebanon “by all legitimate and available means.”

He also cautioned against any attempt to modify the current ceasefire deal, claiming such efforts would only serve to legitimize Israeli aggression. “There will be no substitute for the ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel,” Qassem warned, “as that would amount to pardoning Israeli violations.”

His remarks come amid growing pressure within Lebanon to curb Hezbollah’s military power. The Lebanese cabinet recently directed the national army to draft a plan to disarm the group by the end of 2025—a move that has drawn criticism from Hezbollah leadership. Qassem made clear in his speech that such efforts would fail, denouncing the initiative and reiterating his long-standing position that the organization will never abandon its weapons under any circumstances.

{Matzav.com}

Republican candidate for New York governor Elise Stefanik is racking up endorsements as she seeks the party’s nomination to challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul, but could still face a primary challenge from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is signaling he may run. Stefanik’s campaign touted endorsements from nine GOP county executives The North Country congresswoman […]

In a wide-ranging interview with the Washington Post, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa charged that Israel has broken a decades-old disengagement deal, accusing it of launching widespread airstrikes and seizing new territory inside Syria.

“Syria got into war with Israel 50 years ago. Then, in 1974, there was a disengagement agreement,” al-Sharaa told the paper following his historic visit to the White House and meeting with President Trump. “This agreement lasted for 50 years. But when the [Assad] regime fell, Israel revoked this agreement. They expanded their presence in Syria, expelled the UN [peacekeeping] mission and occupied new territory.”

The Syrian leader claimed that Israel’s military has intensified operations in the country since his rebel group, the Nusra Front, toppled the Assad government last December. According to al-Sharaa, Israeli jets have conducted more than 1,000 strikes since December 8, hitting the Presidential Palace and the Ministry of Defense among other strategic sites. “But because we want to rebuild Syria, we didn’t respond to these aggressions,” he said.

Rejecting Israel’s explanations that the strikes were motivated by security concerns, al-Sharaa asserted that the true goal is territorial expansion. “Israel has always claimed that it has concerns about Syria because it is afraid of the threats that the Iranian militias and [Lebanon’s] Hezbollah represent. We are the ones who expelled those forces out of Syria,” he declared.

In a surprising revelation, the Syrian president confirmed that direct talks are underway between Damascus and Jerusalem, facilitated by Washington and other international intermediaries. “We have gone a good distance on the way to reach an agreement. But to reach a final agreement, Israel should withdraw to their pre-Dec. 8 borders,” al-Sharaa told the Washington Post. “Today, we found that Mr. Trump supports our perspective as well, and he will push as quickly as possible in order to reach a solution for this.”

When asked about the possibility of establishing a demilitarized zone south of Damascus, al-Sharaa rejected the idea outright. “To talk about an entire region demilitarized, it will be difficult, because if there is any kind of chaos, who will protect it? If this demilitarized zone was used by some parties as a launching pad for hitting Israel, who is going to be responsible for that?” he asked. He insisted, “At the end of the day, this is Syrian territory, and Syria should have the freedom of dealing with their own territory.”

In a separate interview with Fox News, broadcast Monday, al-Sharaa addressed the notion of Syria joining the Abraham Accords but spoke cautiously. He declined to state whether his country would recognize Israel’s right to exist, saying only, “Syria has borders with Israel, and Israel occupies the Golan Heights since 1967. We are not going to enter into a negotiation directly right now. Maybe the United States administration, with President Trump, will help us reach this kind of negotiation.”

Just two months earlier, al-Sharaa had told journalists in Damascus that negotiations over a security pact with Israel could soon bear fruit. At that time, he hinted that if the pact succeeded, it might pave the way for “additional agreements,” though he emphasized that “normalization or peace” with Israel was not currently being discussed.

{Matzav.com}

In the heart of one of the world’s largest Jewish cities, Boro Park Shomrim stands as a pillar of safety and protection with its team of over 150 dedicated volunteers. The organization, guided by Rabbinic oversight and dedicated to individuals and the community as a whole, is vital to the safety and community life of […]