President Donald Trump said in a recent interview that certain civil rights measures designed to combat racial discrimination ended up unfairly disadvantaging white Americans, particularly in college admissions and hiring, even as he acknowledged that those policies also achieved positive outcomes.
Speaking with The New York Times, Trump argued that some initiatives born out of the civil rights era produced unintended consequences that harmed people who were otherwise qualified for opportunities. “White people were very badly treated, where they did extremely well and they were not invited to go into a university to college,” he said, pointing to affirmative action practices in higher education. “So I would say in that way, I think it was unfair in certain cases.”
Trump added that while those policies helped address historical injustices, they also created new inequities. “I think it was also, at the same time, it accomplished some very wonderful things, but it also hurt a lot of people — people that deserve to go to a college or deserve to get a job were unable to get a job. So it was, it was a reverse discrimination.”
Those comments come as the administration presses forward with a broad effort to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across government and the private sector, framing the push not as an erosion of civil rights protections but as a restoration of equal treatment based on merit.
That approach is increasingly reflected in federal policy decisions.
Last month, the Justice Department announced a final rule revising regulations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, eliminating the use of “disparate impact” liability, a legal theory that allows penalties based on unequal statistical outcomes even without evidence of intentional discrimination.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the move is intended to reaffirm the constitutional requirement that individuals be treated the same under the law, arguing that prior regulations effectively encouraged race-based decision-making by institutions receiving federal funds.
“For decades, the Justice Department has used disparate-impact liability to undermine the constitutional principle that all Americans must be treated equally under the law,” Bondi said in a statement. “No longer. This Department of Justice is eliminating its regulations that for far too long required recipients of federal funding to make decisions based on race.”
{Matzav.com}
Leading rabbinic figures addressed the issue of yeshiva students and the draft on Sunday night at the “Levaker Beheichalo” chinuch conference in Yerushalayim, delivering sharp remarks in support of Torah learners facing increasing pressure from state authorities.
Speaking at the conference, former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rav Yitzchok Yosef called for strengthening those immersed in Torah study, particularly at a time when yeshiva students are being targeted. He stressed that Torah learning provides spiritual protection to the Jewish people, especially in times of war.
Referring to recent attacks in southern Israel, Rav Yosef said that terrorists had managed to seize 12 communities, but were stopped from advancing further due to the merit of Torah study. He said that without the protection generated by yeshivos and kollel families, additional cities would have fallen, asserting that the spiritual defense of Torah learners played a decisive role.
Also speaking at the gathering was Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah member and Porat Yosef Rosh Yeshiva Rav Shmuel Betzalel, who shared a personal story about a detained yeshiva bochur from Ponovezh.
Rav Betzalel said that the young man regularly discussed Torah learning with him at the Kosel and was exceptionally knowledgeable in the entire Shas. According to Rav Betzalel, the bochur’s father later informed him that his son had been jailed after arriving three days late to his initial draft summons. “Do you understand what this means?” Rav Betzalel said. “Shas is sitting in prison.”
The conference was organized at the initiative of Yerushalayim Deputy Mayor Tzvika Cohen and was attended by senior members of the Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah, including Rav Moshe Maya and Rav Avraham Salim, along with numerous roshei yeshiva and rabbonim
Among those present were Rav Chaim Cohen of Be’er HaTalmud, Rav Shmuel Beitan of Daas Chaim, Rav Zvi Cohen of Avnei Nezer, Rav Yitzchak Lasri of Eish HaTalmud, Rav Chaim Suissa of Torah V’Daas, and Rav Yisrael Rokach of Mishkan Chaim.
Earlier in the evening, Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri also addressed the conference.
{Matzav.com}
President Trump said Sunday night that he is unaware of any investigation targeting Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, even as the Fed chief disclosed that the Justice Department has subpoenaed the central bank and warned that Powell could face indictment for allegedly misleading Congress.
“I don’t know anything about it, but he’s certainly not very good at the Fed, and he’s not very good at building buildings,” the president told NBC News during a brief interview.
Powell, 72, sent markets reeling late Sunday after issuing a statement acknowledging the subpoenas and confirming that prosecutors have raised the possibility of criminal charges tied to his congressional testimony.
The controversy centers on a massive renovation of the Federal Reserve’s Washington headquarters, a project estimated at $2.5 billion that was first reported by The Post in April. During a June appearance before the Senate Banking Committee, Powell faced pointed questioning over the overhaul, which one former Fed board member derided as “the Palace of Versailles on the National Mall.”
At that hearing, Powell rejected claims that the renovation involved extravagant amenities described in internal planning documents approved in 2021.
“There’s no VIP dining room, there’s no new marble. There are no special elevators,” the Fed chair said under oath June 25. “There are no new water features, there’s no beehives, and there’s no roof terrace gardens.”
In July, Trump and Powell toured the construction site together, appearing side by side in business attire and hard hats as they fielded questions from reporters. During the visit, the two clashed publicly over the true cost of the project, with Powell disputing Trump’s assertion that the price tag had reached $3.1 billion and saying the president was counting expenses related to a separate building.
On Dec. 29, Trump complained that the renovation would exceed $4 billion and threatened legal action against Powell, accusing him of “gross incompetence.”
Trump has repeatedly faulted Powell for moving too slowly to cut interest rates. On Sunday night, Powell suggested the investigation was politically motivated, calling it “a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the president.”
“This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions — or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation,” Powell said.
Trump dismissed that characterization in his NBC interview. “I wouldn’t even think of doing it that way. What should pressure him is the fact that rates are far too high. That’s the only pressure he’s got,” the president said.
“He’s hurt a lot of people,” Trump added. “I think the public is pressuring him.”
Powell’s term as Fed chair expires in May, and Trump is expected to name a successor in the coming weeks. Powell is slated to remain a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors through 2028 after stepping down from the top post.
{Matzav.com}
Israel and Iran narrowly avoided direct military confrontation on two occasions in recent weeks amid mutual misjudgments and Israeli concerns over a potential surprise attack, according to Tamir Hayman, a former head of Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate.
Speaking in an interview Monday with 103FM, Hayman said Iranian military preparations created what he described as a “coordination imperative” between Israel and the United States. He explained that the recent close calls stemmed from heightened risks of miscalculation, a dynamic that has pushed the IDF and U.S. forces into deeper operational coordination.
Hayman said American moves against Iran are already in progress and could expand in several directions, depending on how the situation evolves. These measures, he said, might include information and influence campaigns, cyber operations, covert actions, or, if tensions spiral, open warfare.
“There is no zero action at the moment,” Hayman said, indicating that U.S. pressure efforts are already underway.
He pointed to a surge of unexplained reports, rumors, and circulating videos inside Iran, suggesting they may reflect a coordinated cyber and influence campaign combined with internal disruption and subversion. While conceding that not every incident is necessarily connected, Hayman said the cumulative effect has been growing confusion within Iran’s domestic information environment.
Turning to Iran’s political future, Hayman said developments previously viewed as far-fetched can no longer be ruled out. He cited possibilities ranging from heightened nationalist messaging to more dramatic scenarios, such as an extended revolutionary phase led by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, potentially including a temporary ruler under a military dictatorship.
As long as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remains in charge, Hayman said, Iran is unlikely to launch a full-scale attack on Israel, given Khamenei’s historically cautious approach. That assessment could change, he warned, if a more aggressive, IRGC-backed figure were to rise to power.
Hayman also reviewed Tehran’s handling of domestic unrest, arguing that attempts at economic relief have failed and that harsh security crackdowns have not succeeded in restoring stability. Under those conditions, he suggested, talks with Washington could become the regime’s only realistic path to easing economic pressure through sanctions relief.
Negotiations, he said, were “not an absurd scenario,” especially if Iran were to offer a dramatic concession on uranium enrichment that might draw the United States into serious talks.
“If the US conducts only a symbolic strike and we are attacked, we will not contain it,” Hayman said. “If Washington mounts a heavy response and our added value is marginal, we should act wisely.”
He stressed that any Israeli military response would be shaped by the scale and character of American action.
On the military front, Hayman said Iran has rebuilt its missile production lines following the Israel–Iran war but has not yet implemented the upgrades it had originally planned. He added that Tehran is now seeking Chinese assistance to significantly expand its manufacturing capacity.
Arguing against launching a new war with Iran at present, Hayman said such conflicts exact a heavy price and force large numbers of Israelis from their homes. Strategically, he said, Israel faces a choice between pursuing regime change or, if conflict becomes unavoidable, reaching a limited arrangement to constrain Iran’s capabilities—though he emphasized that “right now, an agreement is a mistake.”
He closed by outlining scenarios he described as unlikely but plausible, including a harsh IRGC-dominated military regime or a leadership change backed by outside actors. More probable, in his view, are internal reforms designed to reassert control over Iranian society.
The Iranian leadership, he added, continues to portray domestic unrest as the result of U.S. and Israeli interference, urging citizens to rally against external enemies. “There are two million people there whose identities are unclear and who are violent,” he warned, while noting that the regime still retains significant leverage.
{Matzav.com}
Rav Dovid Leibel, president of the Achvas Torah network and a figure involved in the establishment of the chareidi Chashmonaim Brigade, issued a blistering denunciation of extremist activists who broke into a brigade event Sunday night in Bnei Brak.
Addressing the incident, Rav Leibel said, “These are not kannaim and not chareidim. These are thugs who desecrate Hashem’s Name in public; they have no share in the Torah and no share among us.”
He continued with sharp criticism of the protesters’ methods and motives. “They wrap themselves in the cloak of zealotry, but in truth their lives contain nothing but destruction and ruin. The Torah world will not be protected with fists, but through adding goodness and building. I strengthen the hands of the soldiers,” Rav Leibel said.
As previously reported, police were dispatched Sunday night to remove roughly 100 demonstrators from extremist factions who attempted to force their way into a Chashmonaim Brigade conference held in Bnei Brak for parents of soldiers.
According to authorities, the protesters sought to breach the hall and disrupt the event of the newly formed chareidi brigade. Police intervened to disperse the gathering and restore order.
During the attempted break-in, physical confrontations erupted between the demonstrators and security personnel, as well as police officers. Several soldiers sustained minor injuries. The brigade commander, Col. Avinoam Emunah, was evacuated from the scene by police.
In a statement, the IDF spokesperson said: “During an appreciation event for parents of recruits to the Chashmonaim Brigade that took place tonight in the city of Bnei Brak, several protesters broke into the conference hall with the aim of disrupting it. Some of the protesters acted violently toward soldiers and commanders of the brigade.
“Israel Police forces were quickly called to the scene to restore order. The incident has ended. The IDF strongly condemns any manifestation of violence against its commanders and soldiers. Medical checks were conducted for several brigade personnel at the site. No injuries are known.”
{Matzav.com}A significant development took place Sunday night in efforts to forge a unified chareidi front regarding the emerging draft law. A pivotal meeting was held at the residence of the Sanzer Rebbe in Kiryat Sanz, Netanya, bringing together the Modzitzer Rebbe, Rav Tzvi Rabinowitz, rosh yeshiva of Bais Medrash Elyon of Boyan, and Rav Yaakov Valtzer, secretary of the Agudah’s Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah.
The meeting focused on coordinating the final steps ahead of a mission assigned to the Sanzer and Modzitzer Rebbes: to travel to the homes of Rav Dov Landau and Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch in order to present Agudas Yisroel stance on the so-called Bismuth draft bill and, in particular, to the sanctions it would impose on bnei yeshiva.
The gathering in Netanya followed directly on the heels of the dramatic session of the MAgudah oetzes Gedolei HaTorah held last week at Bais Malka Hall in Yerushalayim. That meeting was attended by the Rebbes of Gur, Belz, Vizhnitz, Sanz, Boyan, Seret-Vizhnitz, and Modzitz. At the conclusion of that assembly, a principled decision was reached to reject any draft legislation that includes sanctions, though the publication of concrete operational steps was deferred “until the appropriate time.”
Against this backdrop, the Moetzes published a sharply worded statement expressing deep disappointment, which appeared in the party-affiliated newspapers Hamodia and Hamevaser. The statement emphasized that any attempt to turn yeshiva students into criminals necessitates a firm and resolute response.
That position was reinforced by a forceful letter from the Slonimer Rebbe, who did not attend the Moetzes gathering but sent pointed remarks that were read aloud to its members. “We will not abandon the halls of the yeshivos under any circumstances,” the Rebbe wrote, making clear his opposition to any law that imposes penalties on those engaged in Torah study.
Attention is now focused on the anticipated meetings between the Chassidic Rebbes and the leading gedolim. The emissaries are expected to urge the leadership of Degel HaTorah to join a coordinated and public stance that will send a clear message to the government that the chareidi public cannot accept legislation that strikes at what it views as the very soul of chareidi Judaism.
{Matzav.com}