Just days after publicly mocking President Donald Trump on election night, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani now says he plans to open a direct line of communication with him, calling it “a relationship that will be critical to the success of the city.”
In an interview with NBC New York, Mamdani said he intends to contact the White House before officially taking office, aiming to establish cooperation on key issues while preventing possible confrontations with the federal government. “I will be proactive,” he stated. “I will be reaching out to the White House as we prepare to actually take office because this is a relationship that will be critical to the success of the city.”
The change in tone marks a sharp contrast from Mamdani’s election-night remarks, when he taunted Trump from the podium. “Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up,” Mamdani declared at his Brooklyn victory rally on November 4, drawing cheers from his supporters.
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, ran on a platform that includes rent freezes, fare-free public buses, universal childcare, and municipally owned grocery stores—all financed through increased taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
President Trump has made his feelings about Mamdani clear, calling him a “communist” and questioning whether New York under Mamdani’s leadership deserves federal support. “It’s gonna be hard,” Trump said of sending federal dollars to the city. On Truth Social, he added that if Mamdani wins, New York will receive only “the very minimum as required” from Washington.
Speaking at a rally in Miami shortly after the election, Trump was more restrained, commenting, “We’ll help him, a little bit maybe.” Still, he accused Mamdani of trying to “turn New York into Venezuela,” warning that “federal aid should go to places that respect American values.”
In his conversation with NBC, Mamdani said he wants to make it clear to Trump that his administration’s focus will be the good of all residents. “I’ll say that I’m here to work for the benefit of everyone who calls the city home and that wherever there is a possibility for working together towards that end, I’m ready,” Mamdani explained. “And if it’s to the expense of those New Yorkers, I will fight it.”
Mamdani is scheduled to be sworn in as New York City’s next mayor on January 1, 2026.
{Matzav.com}
In an explosive declaration that reignited controversy across Britain’s political landscape, Jeremy Corbyn announced his “absolute opposition to Zionism” during a Your Party gathering in Wandsworth, south-west London, on Sunday. His remarks placed him squarely alongside MP Zarah Sultana — his political partner in founding the new far-left faction — who has long championed an aggressively anti-Israel agenda.
“The whole Zionist project was about expanding Israel forevermore, which is exactly what Netanyahu is doing with the Greater Israel project. So, yes – absolute opposition to Zionism, and absolute solidarity with the people of Palestine,” Corbyn stated.
The remarks, first reported by British Jewish News, were made in response to a question from an activist seeking clarity on the party’s stance toward Zionism. Corbyn elaborated on his beliefs, invoking revisionist history to portray Zionism as an imperialist creation. “Zionism was a creation… I was reading about the imperial history of Zionism – actually, it first reared its head in the late 19th century, with US Zionism in 1840, influenced by British policy in the Middle East.”
He went on to link his opposition to Zionism with his broader pro-Palestinian activism, revealing that he is writing “a very long article at the moment on things to do with Palestine that I’ve been involved with over the past 40 years.” He also doubled down on incendiary claims regarding Gaza, saying, “And now we have the genocide, and it is a genocide in Gaza. We in Your Party are absolutely in solidarity with the people of Palestine, and will be guided by them on the policies we develop and the direction we take going forward.”
Corbyn’s statements drew immediate applause from the audience and renewed scrutiny from the Jewish community, which has long accused him of fostering antisemitic sentiment within the Labour Party during his tenure as leader from 2015 to 2020. His leadership came to a crashing end following Labour’s worst electoral defeat since 1935 — a loss that many attributed to his radical positions and failure to confront antisemitism within the party’s ranks.
During his years as Labour leader, Corbyn became infamous for labeling Hamas and Hezbollah his “friends,” remarks that provoked outrage and which he initially defended before reluctantly retracting. British Jews and community organizations voiced alarm over his associations with far-right Holocaust deniers, antisemitic religious figures, and Islamist groups linked to terror.
Those concerns were vindicated when a damning report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission concluded that under Corbyn’s watch, the Labour leadership had routinely “underplayed, belittled or ignored” antisemitism complaints from Jewish members — and, in some cases, directly interfered to protect his allies. The findings led to Corbyn’s suspension from Labour, and by November 2022, the party permanently barred him from running under its banner. He has since continued his political career as an independent.
Zarah Sultana, who left Labour in 2024, has followed a similar ideological trajectory. As chair of the Socialist Campaign Group, she has accused the British government of complicity in “genocide” for providing arms to Israel. Sultana also introduced legislation seeking to halt all weapons sales to the Jewish state and has publicly aligned with Palestine Action, an organization engaged in violent anti-Israel demonstrations and recently blacklisted as a terrorist entity in the UK.
The partnership between Corbyn and Sultana has been marked by friction over control of Your Party and its guiding philosophy. Sultana has declared unapologetically, “I say it loudly and proudly: I’m an anti-Zionist,” and in August accused Corbyn of having “capitulated to the IHRA definition of antisemitism” while leading Labour. At that time, Corbyn declined to say whether he considered himself an anti-Zionist.
Now, with his unambiguous declaration of “absolute opposition to Zionism,” Jeremy Corbyn has made that answer unmistakably clear — aligning himself with a fringe ideology that continues to alienate Britain’s Jewish community and deepen divisions within the far left.
{Matzav.com}
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}
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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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}
