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NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and Mayor- Elect Zohran Mamdani appear for the first time together since Tisch accepted to stay on the job.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is quietly working with top Wall Street leaders in an effort to convince President Trump not to deploy National Guard troops to New York City following the stunning election victory of socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. A senior aide to Hochul has […]

POTUS: “This week, our countries also signed groundbreaking agreements on civil nuclear energy, critical minerals, and Artificial Intelligence… and yesterday, the Crown Prince announced that the number that they’ll be investing in the United States is $1 trillion.”

Trump at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum: “We officially designated the Kingdom yesterday as a major non-NATO ally. That’s a BIG DEAL… we’re going to be selling Saudi Arabia some of the greatest military equipment ever built… including nearly 300 American-Made tanks.”

Against the backdrop of intense legal deliberations surrounding the proposed draft law and the looming implications for yeshiva bochurim, a powerful call has been issued by Rav Avraham Salim, Rosh Yeshivas Maor HaTorah. Citing the seriousness of the moment, Rav Salim instructed that this coming Thursday, Erev Rosh Chodesh Kislev, traditionally considered an auspicious day for teshuvah and kapparah, be observed across all yeshivos as a day of fasting, heartfelt tefillah, and communal outcry.

The appeal comes amid what Rav Salim described as an increasingly dire reality for the Torah community, with growing “persecution” directed toward bochurim who have committed their lives to limud haTorah. Those close to the Rosh Yeshiva explained that his message is part of a broader effort to strengthen the spiritual battle to defend the place of bnei Torah in Eretz Yisroel.

In addition to the fast itself, Rav Salim issued further instructions for the talmidim of Maor HaTorah to gather for a special tefillah on the day of the fast. Originally, plans were made to hold the Yom Kippur Katan tefillos at Kever Rochel on Erev Rosh Chodesh. However, Rav Salim directed that the tefillah be moved to the Kosel Plaza.

The talmidim will travel to Kever Rochel as well, where they will conduct a stirring tefillah gathering, invoking the merit of Rochel Imeinu, beseeching that her tears on behalf of her children be accepted favorably before the Kisei HaKavod.

{Matzav.com}

AGUDAH THANKS TRUMP: As the overwhelming majority of these products come from Israel and other fcountries, tariffs would have threatened access and increased costs. “Thank you to the Trump administration for once again accommodating religious practices by exempting the Arba Minim and Matzah from reciprocal tariffs and making it easier for Jewish families to celebrate […]

President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrive at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C.

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that includes, among other items, an exemption to the reciprocal tariffs on “bread…used for religious purposes” (e.g., Matzah) and on the Arba Minim – the plant species used by Jews during the holiday of Sukkos. As the overwhelming majority of these products come from Israel and […]

A man with 22 prior arrests reportedly set a woman on fire aboard a Chicago train last night, yet JB Pritzer says Chicago is safe and doesn’t need the National Guard.

President Donald Trump says he has agreed to sell the nation’s most advanced fighter jet to Saudi Arabia despite concerns that China could gain access to the plane’s vaunted American technology. The sale to the Middle Eastern nation, whose top trading partner is China, was reaffirmed Tuesday during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington. […]

    There are 24 hours left to secure the strongest offer of the entire Grand Split. After that point, the price increases and this opportunity will not return.This prize is more than just a fleeting thrill. It is the kind of windfall that reorganizes a family’s future.  It means the down payment you have been working […]

Dear Matzav Inbox,

Can someone explain why Matzav continues to headline and amplify every bombastic proclamation that comes out of Satmar regarding Israel and the draft crisis? Outside of Satmar itself, almost no one in the broader Torah community subscribes to these extreme, incendiary positions, yet they’re being given prime real estate as if they represent the mainstream daas Torah of Klal Yisroel.

We have gedolim whom we follow—Rav Dov Landau, Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, the Belzer Rebbe, the Gerer Rebbe, the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, the Sanzer Rebbe, and many others who shoulder the responsibility of guiding the Torah world with clarity, balance, and responsibility. None of them use this kind of caustic language, and none of them traffic in the kind of absolutist rhetoric that Satmar’s public statements have unfortunately become known for.

So why the megaphone? Why the repeated spotlight? Why do you keep having reports on every harsh statement that the Satmar Rebbe has been making during his visit to Eretz Yisroel?

Why are we lending legitimacy to views that most of the Torah community does not share, does not follow, and does not consider representative of authentic leadership?

Matzav should not become the platform for fringe firestorms. Our gedolim have spoken, and their approach—measured, thoughtful, rooted in responsibility—is the path that guides the overwhelming majority of the Torah world. Let’s stop elevating voices that do not speak for us and do not reflect the direction of our manhigim.

Sincerely,
A Very Confused Reader

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{Matzav.com}

The IDF reports completing a series of airstrikes on Hezbollah weapons depots in southern Lebanon, targeting sites in Deir Kifa, Shehour, Tayr Felsay, and Aynata, which belonged to the terror group’s rocket unit.

An Israeli father of four, Sagie, went missing on Wednesday around 2:30 p.m. local time after rescuing his son from strong currents at Chaloklum Beach on Thailand’s Koh Phangan island. He managed to bring his son safely to shore but was then swept away himself amid severe sea conditions. Thai authorities and Israeli volunteers are […]

Netanyahu’s Office says the Mossad, together with European intelligence agencies, has uncovered and foiled Hamas terror networks across Europe. Recent operations in Germany and Austria led to arrests and the seizure of weapons intended for attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets. A weapons hideout in Vienna was linked to Mohammad Naim, son of senior Hamas […]

WATCH:

Degel HaTorah’s leadership delivered a major development on Wednesday, informing their representatives in the Knesset that the roshei yeshiva had given the “green light” to allow the controversial draft-law process to continue moving forward. The decision, conveyed directly from Hagaon Rav Dov Landau and Hagaon Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch, reopened a legislative track that had been frozen for weeks.

Until now, progress on the proposal had stalled inside the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the body headed by MK Boaz Bismuth of Likud. Ever since the winter session began in October, the committee had been unable to push the legislation ahead, as it awaited guidance from the gedolei Yisroel.

According to Degel HaTorah’s announcement, “after the full bill is submitted, and even before the vote in the Knesset, the proposal will be placed on the table of the great Torah leaders” who will ultimately issue the final psak on how Degel’s representatives must vote on the matter. The faction emphasized that no step will be taken without their direction.

While Degel HaTorah now signals cautious readiness to hear the bill, Agudas Yisroel—the chassidishe half of UTJ—clarified that they have not yet authorized the process. Its chairman, Yitzchok Goldknopf, has still not received the formal outline, and without reviewing it, the faction is not prepared to advance anything.

Months ago, both UTJ factions—together with Shas—left the governing coalition after negotiations over the draft law collapsed. Their resignation left the Knesset evenly split, 60–60, a stalemate that has persisted since the summer.

MK Bismuth has been laboring on a revised version of the bill since assuming the committee chairmanship in July, shortly after the chareidi parties withdrew from the government. Earlier this month, his office disclosed that the Prime Minister’s Office instructed him to pause discussions because the outline had not yet received the necessary approval to be circulated.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid predictably blasted the development, claiming that approval from the Torah leadership was itself proof that the bill enables broad avoidance of the draft. “If anything definitively confirms that what has been placed before the Knesset is a full-fledged draft-dodging law, it is the rabbis’ approval,” Lapid said. “They would not have approved it if they didn’t know it was disgraceful draft-dodging.”

Benny Gantz also attacked the move, stating, “No matter what you tell yourselves, you do not have a green light to continue abandoning our soldiers and Israel’s security.” He continued, “You do not have a green light to enable mass draft-dodging for political survival.”

{Matzav.com}

A prisoner is challenging an Australian state’s ban on inmates eating Vegemite, claiming in a lawsuit that withholding the polarizing yeast-based spread breaches his human right to “enjoy his culture as an Australian.” Andre McKechnie, 54, serving a life sentence for murder, took his battle for the salty, sticky, brown byproduct of brewing beer to the […]

Everyone’s on Yeshiva World News — the place where the entire frum world scrolls, clicks, and stays plugged in. With hundreds of thousands of daily eyes on the site, 150K+ on WhatsApp, and nonstop engagement across every platform, YWN isn’t just another outlet… it’s the hub your customers check first. The only real question is: […]

NYPD officers salute Officer Sharjeel Waris as he leaves the hospital after being shot in the face during a Brooklyn ambush — he had returned fire, killing the attacker.