In a powerful handwritten note released this week, Rav Hershel Schachter, rosh yeshiva at Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yitzchok Elchonon, issued a clear call for civic responsibility ahead of today’s election, stressing that participation at the ballot box is a halachic and communal obligation.
“According to the media, the election this week is very close and every vote counts,” Rav Schachter wrote. “Everyone who is legally entitled to vote is obligated to do so. Even if need be, one must cut Seder to vote. Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh — all Jews are responsible for one another.”
The message, written in Rav Schachter’s own hand and circulated widely on Monday, highlights the significance of Jewish voter turnout in what is expected to be a tightly contested race in New York.
{Matzav.com}Nancy Pelosi unleashed a torrent of criticism toward President Donald Trump during a CNN interview released Monday, calling him “a vile creature” and “the worst thing on the face of the earth.”
“He’s just a vile creature. The worst thing on the face of the earth,” she said.
When pressed by interviewer Elex Michaelson — “You think he’s the worst thing on the face of the earth?” — Pelosi did not hesitate. “I do, yeah. I do,” she replied.
The remarks came as California voters cast ballots on Proposition 50, a special-election measure that could reshape the state’s congressional map and potentially tip the balance of power in the House. The proposal has been slammed by Republicans as a partisan “power grab,” but Pelosi insisted that the real danger to American democracy lies with Trump himself.
Michaelson noted that Pelosi has repeatedly linked the redistricting initiative to her broader campaign to counter Trump’s influence. Asked why she chose such severe language, she pointed to what she sees as his violations of core American principles.
“Because he’s the president of the United States, and he does not honor the Constitution of the United States,” Pelosi said. “In fact, he’s turned the Supreme Court into a rogue court. He’s abolished the House of Representatives. He’s chilled the press. He’s scared people who are in our country legally.”
Pelosi sidestepped questions about whether she plans to run for re-election but made clear that she has no concerns about her political standing at home. “I have no doubt that if I decided to run, I would win. That isn’t even a question. It isn’t arrogant, it’s confident,” she said.
She emphasized that her current focus is not on her own seat but on helping Democrats reclaim control of the House — something she argued is vital to protect the nation from what she described as Trump’s “poison.”
“My only reason I’m in Congress this term is to win the House for the Democrats, to protect us from the poison of the Trump administration,” she said.
{Matzav.com}President Donald Trump issued a blistering statement this morning, targeting Jewish voters who back New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, calling the socialist politician “a proven and self-professed JEW HATER.”
In a post shared on Truth Social at 9:46 a.m., Trump wrote, “Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!”
The Muslim Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, has long drawn outrage from the Jewish community for his harsh anti-Israel rhetoric, vocal support for the BDS movement, and refusal to condemn chants such as “globalize the intifada,” a call for violence against Jews.
Mamdani has fostered hostility toward Israel and endangered Jewish New Yorkers through his extreme positions.
{Matzav.com}
The military arm of Hamas announced that it intends to transfer the body of an Israeli hostage this evening at 8 p.m.
According to the statement released by the terror group, the remains were located earlier today during excavation work in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City. Hamas claimed the discovery occurred “inside the Yellow Line,” referring to a zone currently under Israeli control.
No immediate confirmation has been issued from Israeli authorities regarding the alleged recovery or the planned handover.
{Matzav.com}
The ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ host joined ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani’s possible win, his new book, ‘Woke is Dead’ and more.
WATCH:
A bitter rift within conservative circles deepened Monday as Ben Shapiro launched a blistering attack on Tucker Carlson, denouncing him as “the most virulent super-spreader of vile ideas in America.” The remarks came during an episode of The Ben Shapiro Show, where Shapiro condemned Carlson for platforming Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes without challenging his extremist views.
“The issue here isn’t that Tucker Carlson had Nick Fuentes on his show last week. He has every right to do that, of course,” Shapiro said. “The issue here is that Tucker Carlson decided to normalize and fluff Nick Fuentes and that the Heritage Foundation then decided to robustly defend that performance.”
Carlson’s interview with Fuentes — who lauded Stalin and described “organized Jewry” as America’s “big challenge” — has fractured the right, setting off a fierce debate over the limits of free speech within the conservative movement. Carlson, whose audience remains large even after his exit from Fox News, accused pro-Israel Republicans of having a “brain virus.”
Reaction across the conservative landscape has been starkly divided. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board condemned the episode as an alarming flirtation with antisemitism, while Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts defended Carlson, railing against a “venomous coalition” trying to “cancel” him. “I disagree with and even abhor things that Nick Fuentes says, but canceling him is not the answer, either,” Roberts said, later adding that he explicitly opposed antisemitism and Fuentes’ ideology.
Shapiro rejected that framing, insisting that moral clarity is not “cancellation.” “It is not cancellation to draw moral lines between viewpoints,” he said. “In fact, we used to call that one of the key aspects of conservatism.”
The fallout quickly reached Heritage itself. Ryan Neuhaus, the longtime chief of staff to Roberts, resigned from the organization on Monday after reposting comments defending the think tank’s stance. “NeuhausNeuhausNeuhaus is a good man, we appreciate his service, and we have no doubt he will serve the movement in another capacity,” a Heritage spokesperson confirmed, as first reported by The Hill.
Carlson’s sit-down with Fuentes adds to a string of controversies involving antisemitism on the political right. In recent weeks, a nominee for a top federal watchdog post withdrew after boasting of his “Nazi streak,” a leaked Young Republicans chat revealed members praising Hitler, and a Nazi symbol was discovered in a GOP congressional office.
Shapiro, who has previously hosted fundraisers for Donald Trump and other Republican candidates, accused Carlson of legitimizing extremists who are poisoning the party from within. “The main agent in that normalization is Tucker Carlson, who is an intellectual coward, a dishonest interlocutor, and a terrible friend,” he charged.
At last weekend’s Republican Jewish Coalition summit, GOP leaders tried to separate Carlson’s views from the broader party identity. “Antisemitism is a very small, limited problem in our party,” RJC CEO Matt Brooks told reporters, while attendees waved signs reading, “TUCKER IS NOT MAGA.”
A proud Orthodox Jew himself, Shapiro closed with a grim warning about the GOP’s trajectory. “The left followed its radicals to electoral hell,” he said. “Apparently, many on the right wish to do the same.”
{Matzav.com}
Eight years after the tenure of Rav Yisrael Meir Lau as Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv came to an end, the city is finally moving forward with elections to fill the long-vacant post. The election date has been officially set for Tuesday, 17 Teves 5786 (January 6, 2026).
The decision marks a major step in concluding one of the longest rabbinic vacancies in any major Israeli city. The election committee for the Tel Aviv rabbinate convened this week at the Ministry of Religious Services to advance the process for appointing a new city rabbi.
The committee is chaired by Dayan Emeritus Rav Yaakov Zamir, a former member of the Great Rabbinical Court. During the session, committee members approved the composition of the electoral body that will choose the next Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv.
With both the election date and the voting body now confirmed, officials say it will be nearly impossible to halt the process, even in the event that the Knesset dissolves and Israel heads to general elections.
Two prominent rabbonim are expected to vie for the position. Leading the race is Rav Zevadya Cohen, Av Beis Din of Tel Aviv, who enjoys the backing of the Rishonim L’Tzion, the Shas party, and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.
Also likely to contend is Rav Tzvi Yehuda Lau, son of Rav Yisrael Meir Lau and the current rav of the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood in Tel Aviv.
{Matzav.com}
Michelle Obama is opening up about the relentless public scrutiny she says she endured during her years in the White House — particularly as a black woman — and how she used her wardrobe as a form of expression under that intense spotlight.
In her new book, The Look, the 61-year-old former first lady reflects on the unique pressures of being part of the country’s first black presidential couple, saying that every decision — including what she wore — carried symbolic weight. “We were all too aware that as a first black couple, we couldn’t afford any missteps. And that as a black woman, I was under a particularly white hot glare,” she wrote.
She added that the Obamas were not given the same leniency as other first families. “We didn’t get the grace that I think some other families have gotten,” she said, noting how political opponents weaponized race against them.
“Making a mistake in a political environment where you’re the first and people are where your opponents are using your race as a fear-based strategy to make you seem like the other, then everything matters,” she told Robin Roberts in an interview with ABC’s 20/20.
Obama explained that she initially avoided talking about fashion because she wanted to be known for her work, not her wardrobe. “I wanted the public to know me by the work that I did and not what I looked like,” she said. But over time, she began to see her fashion choices as “soft power.”
“You know, style and fashion, and how we show up in the world is an important way that we send a message,” she explained. “What you’re wearing says something about what you care about. It speaks to your background, your culture. So, I really thought about what I wanted to say.”
That consciousness extended beyond politics — it was also about representing the women who came before her. She said she often thought about “the mothers and grandmothers out there who I knew would be shaking their head if I didn’t show up right.”
Obama lamented how women, especially those in public life, are frequently judged by their appearance. “We live in a culture, sadly, where, you know, if somebody wants to go after a woman, the first thing they do is go after our looks, our size, our physical being, as a way to, you know, make us feel small, to keep us in place,” she said.
She also criticized the fashion industry for its exclusivity, saying some designers felt possessive of the First Lady role. “There’s a tendency for certain designers to feel like they own the first lady,” she said. “So like anything else, that kind of attitude blocks out opportunities from other designers. So I thought about that.”
Over the past year, Obama skipped two major events — Jimmy Carter’s funeral and President Trump’s inauguration — prompting speculation after she said she didn’t attend Trump’s swearing-in because she “didn’t know what to wear.” The absences fueled rumors about her marriage, which both she and Barack Obama publicly dismissed.
Now, Obama says she’s more at peace than ever. “You know, there’s something about the 60s. It is the best time of my life now that my daughters are launched and doing well,” she said. “My husband’s settled. There’s a certain freedom that I feel I’m at that stage in life where I can say, ‘Yeah, maybe I know a few things.’”
{Matzav.com}
