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Sec. Scott Bessent: “2026 is shaping up to be a great year. Trump’s peace deals, trade deals, and tax cuts are laying the foundation.”

The family of a Colombian man believed to have been killed in a US strike in the Caribbean has filed what’s believed to be the first complaint against such attacks with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has instructed his coalition to accelerate passage of the draft law, setting off a rapid-fire legislative push with late-night hearings and tight scheduling. According to officials familiar with the process, Netanyahu has decided to move “all the way” and push the legislation forward as fast as possible, demanding minimal delays and intensified committee work.

In recent days, the Prime Minister’s Office has conveyed that Netanyahu wants the bill to advance at the quickest pace attainable, signaling that the coalition must shift into high gear as the political pressure surrounding the draft law continues to grow.

Following Netanyahu’s directive, a high-level meeting took place on Wednesday, bringing together Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Boaz Bismuth, Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik, committee legal adviser Miri Frenkel, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, and Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz. During the meeting, Bismuth asked Afik directly to define the absolute minimum time required for full passage of the draft law.

Afik responded that it is indeed possible to set a binding timetable that still allows for substantive and thorough deliberations. She also agreed to Bismuth’s request to schedule additional sessions at night, after the Knesset plenum adjourns. With a clearly defined timetable, she said, the committee can work efficiently without compromising the depth of debate.

Shortly after the meeting, MK Bismuth announced that the committee will hold three major discussions on the draft law next week: two sessions on Sunday and another on Tuesday night, immediately following the close of the plenary. Those close to him say this is only the first step in a broader, intensive effort to push the legislation toward completion.

The rapid escalation signals that the coalition is preparing for a decisive moment. Netanyahu aims to demonstrate concrete progress both to his chareidi partners—who expect clear movement on the draft arrangement for bnei yeshiva—and to the opposition, which has been watching the process closely.

Across the political system, all eyes are now on the accelerated legislative sprint. The pace of the marathon may ultimately determine not only the fate of the draft law but also the stability of the government in the critical weeks ahead.

{Matzav.com}

A wave of speculation surrounding comments attributed to Rav Ben Tzion Mutzapi prompted the prominent Sefardi posek to issue a strong clarification. The rav firmly rejected claims that he had sharply attacked Shas leadership over the ongoing controversy surrounding the draft law and the status of yeshiva students.

Reports circulating online suggested that the rav had used harsh language toward Shas figures amid the political storm. Rav Mutzapi, however, insisted that the allegations were completely fabricated. He emphasized that his remarks were directed only at the pain he feels when shluchai derabbanan fail to adequately protect bnei Torah and that he never mentioned names nor hinted at any individuals.

In the written clarification released to the public, Rav Mutzapi opened with a firm statement: “The clarification: I hereby make known publicly, before all, regarding the rumors being spread in my name by people of ill intent, as if in my protest over the draft law regarding yeshiva students I mentioned names of askanim from the chareidi sector, or described them using terms taken from the lexicon of marketplace peddlers.”

He then stated unequivocally, “Every one in its entirety is founded on a vile falsehood.” Rav Mutzapi continued: “I only expressed my pain regarding the shluchai derabbanan, without mentioning any names or allusions. Their role is to safeguard bnei haTorah so they do not suffer harm; and to our sorrow, they are being harmed—nothing more.”

The rav concluded his letter with the words, “And love truth and peace. Ben Tzion Mutzapi.”

{Matzav.com}

It seems like nothing will curtail Israel’s judiciary officials from acting as the unelected leaders of Israel, with Judge Yitzchak Amit, who himself was “appointed” as the President of the court under highly questionable circumstances, taking extraordinary measures on Thursday to invalidate the authority of elected Knesset members. One day after the Supreme Court invalidated […]

A vaccine advisory committee is set to vote on hepatitis B vaccinations for newborns.

Dear Matzav Inbox, 

I want to say something that I never say out loud because it feels pathetic, embarrassing, and small, but it’s the truth clawing at me from the inside.

I feel like a nobody.

Not in a poetic way, not in a “we’re all humble servants” way. I mean in the literal, suffocating sense of being just a regular guy—too regular—who wakes up, grinds through the day, tries to support a family, and barely manages to keep his head above water. I look around and see a world where everyone seems to have a thing. A talent. A platform. A following. A fire. And me? I’m just a guy trying to keep the bills from eating me alive while pretending that everything is fine.

I’m not a gvir. I’m not one of those people who can just write a check and command respect. I’m not a speaker who gets applause. I’m not a singer who brings crowds to tears. I’m not a rebbe (not even a rebbi!), not a mashpia, not an influencer, not a “WhatsApp king” with armies of followers hanging on every forwarded quote. I’m not a mover. I’m not a shaker. I’m not a name people whisper with admiration in the hallway. I’m not even a story.

I’m the guy standing quietly in the back at every simcha, smiling politely, praying no one asks me what I do, what I’ve accomplished, how life is going. I’m the guy who tries to convince himself that being a good, normal, working man should be enough, even though deep inside it feels like it isn’t. Because in today’s world, it feels like being “just a regular person” is the same as not existing at all.

Everyone is something. And I… I’m not.

I’m the guy who goes to work, comes home exhausted, and tries to pretend that he’s not drowning. I’m the guy who says “Baruch Hashem, all good,” while knowing full well that the numbers don’t add up and the pressure is suffocating. I’m the guy who watches other people shine while trying to convince himself that he’s lucky just to be standing in the same room.

I show up, but no one remembers that I was there. I’m in the crowd, but never on the stage. I’m always the listener, never the one being heard.

And maybe it shouldn’t bother me. Maybe it shouldn’t tear me apart the way it does. But it does. Because I’m human. Because I’m tired. Because I feel like no matter how hard I try, I’m always falling short. I work and work and work, and still feel like I’m barely holding my family together with fraying threads. There’s no glory in it. No spotlight. No appreciation. Just endless pressure and the quiet fear that maybe I’m not doing enough, not being enough, not becoming enough.

People talk about purpose. Mission. Impact. Destiny. I hear those words and I feel a stabbing ache, because what if my entire identity is just… survival?

I don’t want kavod. I don’t want awards. I just want to feel like I matter in our frum world. Like who I am is enough. Like being a simple, honest, hard-working father should count for something. But right now, it feels like I’m standing at the bottom of a mountain watching everyone else climb while I’m stuck holding a backpack full of bricks.

And the worst part? No one sees it. No one even knows. Because the world sees titles, influence, charisma, money, not the quiet guy fighting with everything he has just to stay afloat.

I feel invisible. Replaceable. Forgettable.

A nobody.

And I’m tired of feeling this way.

M. N. 

To submit a letter to appear on Matzav.com, email MatzavInbox@gmail.com

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The opinions expressed in letters on Matzav.com do not necessarily reflect the stance of the Matzav Media Network.

{matzav.com}

Authorities arrest Israeli man from Ashkelon suspected of spying for Iran • 37-year-old Amir Malka, from Ashkelon, was arrested last month after a months-long investigation by the Shin Bet and Israeli Police. • He is suspected of maintaining prolonged contact with Iranian intelligence agents. • Authorities say he carried out assignments for them over a […]

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Israir is scrambling to assess potential damage after Turkish hackers attempted to steal customer data through a third-party service provider, Channel 12 reported Wednesday, in what investigators describe as a targeted cyberattack that was stopped just moments after it began. According to the report, the breach attempt was detected only days ago and blocked in […]

A fierce political-media confrontation erupted Wednesday night after the office of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri launched a blistering attack on Channel 12 and reporter Dafna Liel, accusing them of spreading a distorted and misleading report about Deri’s fight over food-voucher eligibility.

Liel had reported that Deri was seeking to “adjust” the criteria for distributing food vouchers in a way that benefits the chareidi community, a claim Deri’s office called entirely fabricated. In an unusually sharp statement, the party insisted the report amounted to “a false story as part of an anti-chareidi propaganda campaign.” The office emphasized that the allegation was nothing less than “an absolute lie.”

According to Shas, Deri’s efforts have nothing to do with securing preferential treatment for chareidim. Instead, they say the goal is to prevent the exclusion of impoverished chareidi families under revised guidelines being advanced by the Finance Ministry. The statement noted that last year, food vouchers were distributed to roughly 400,000 families across every segment of Israeli society, secular, immigrants, Arabs, and chareidim alike.

Now, party officials claim, the Finance Ministry intends to alter the criteria in a way that “everyone will receive them except poor chareidi families.” Deri, they stated, has no intention of allowing such discrimination to stand.

His office stressed that he is prepared for a full-scale fight on the issue, declaring, “Rav Deri will not stay silent and will continue the battle until the criteria are restored to full equality.”

Channel 12 has not yet responded to the accusations.

{Matzav.com}

Tim Walz and Minnesota AG Keith Ellison are now under congressional investigation for allegedly “allowing widespread fraud to occur.”

UPDATE: The identity of the alleged Jan. 6 pipe bomber arrested in Virginia just 90 minutes ago is expected to be revealed shortly.

Sec. Duffy on President Trump terminating Joe Biden’s CAFE standards: “The American consumer is a winner… We saw the inflation over the last administration, the price increases… He’s actually working to make these products more affordable for the American consumer.”

Sen. Jim Banks: The more we learn the truth, the more we realize that President Trump and Secretary of War Hegseth are doing exactly what the American people elected them to do…

NATO Military Chief: “I’m very much in favor of freedom of speech, but I’m not necessarily convinced that what Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk is doing on X is the right approach.”

The Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes moments ago in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

Militia Leader Working With Israel Reportedly Killed in Rafah Yasser Abu Shabab, the head of the Popular Forces militia that had been cooperating with Israel in parts of southern Gaza, was reportedly shot and killed on Thursday in eastern Rafah. Israeli assessments say he was attacked by unidentified gunmen while operating in an area his […]

The IDF has officially confirmed that four Hamas terrorists, East Rafah Battalion commander Mohammad Bawab, his deputy Ismail Abu Labda, company commander Tawfiq Salem, and Abdullah Hamad, the son of senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, were killed on Sunday after troops and the Israeli Air Force targeted them as they attempted to flee a tunnel […]

Prime Minister Netanyahu has selected Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman, his military secretary, to serve as the next director of the Mossad. His appointment will be submitted to the advisory committee that reviews senior appointments, and he is expected to replace Mossad Director David Barnea, whose term ends in June 2026. Gofman previously served in the Armored […]