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As hopes fade for passage of a draft law during the current Knesset term, frustration is mounting inside United Torah Judaism, where party leaders are now demanding immediate and tangible achievements for the chareidi public in exchange for continued coalition support.

According to a report published Monday, senior UTJ figures made clear during an internal faction meeting that the party no longer intends to provide automatic backing for coalition legislation without receiving concrete benefits in return.

The growing pressure follows increasing recognition within the chareidi parties that the long-discussed draft law regulating the status of yeshiva bochurim is unlikely to pass during the current government.

During the meeting, MK Meir Porush and Deputy Communications Minister Yisroel Eichler reportedly insisted that every future vote supporting coalition initiatives in the Knesset plenum must now be tied to legislation delivering immediate gains for the chareidi sector.

The strategy is aimed at allowing UTJ to present voters with meaningful accomplishments after efforts to advance the draft law effectively stalled.

As part of the negotiations, the faction reportedly agreed that in exchange for supporting legislation transferring certain Interior Ministry powers to Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu, UTJ would demand advancement of the Daycare Law — legislation initiated by the party intended to benefit chareidi families.

The proposal was supposed to move forward this week with preliminary approval in the Knesset. However, according to the report, UTJ ultimately backed away and abstained during the vote on the transfer of powers without securing any concessions in return.

Party officials are also expected to push for additional legislation important to the chareidi public, including an override clause limiting judicial intervention and further measures designed to ease sanctions imposed on yeshiva students and regulate the legal status of lomdei Torah.

At the same time, tensions reportedly continue between Degel HaTorah and Shas over the question of possible election timing. Due to ongoing disagreements between the parties, UTJ lawmakers reportedly agreed that all faction members will present their positions next week regarding when elections should take place in an effort to establish a unified strategy.

Meanwhile, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri reportedly acknowledged during a separate Shas faction meeting that prospects for passing the draft law have effectively collapsed for the foreseeable future.

“Yesterday it became clear that the draft law will no longer pass during the current term,” Deri reportedly told party members.

Despite the pessimism, political insiders say Degel HaTorah’s position does not necessarily mean the party would actively oppose such legislation if Netanyahu somehow succeeds in assembling a majority independently. In that scenario, faction members could still vote in favor of the bill and allow the legislative process to move forward.

Federal agencies distributed approximately $186 billion in improper payments during fiscal year 2025, according to a new analysis by the Government Accountability Office, with Medicare, Medicaid, and welfare-related programs making up the overwhelming majority of the losses.

The total represented an increase of roughly $24 billion compared to the previous fiscal year, according to a report by the New York Post. The GAO found that 15 federal agencies reported improper payments across 64 separate government programs, with nearly 82% of the questionable payments classified as overpayments.

Among all federal programs, Medicare recorded the highest amount of improper payments, totaling $57 billion.

Medicaid ranked second, with an estimated $37 billion improperly distributed, while the Earned Income Tax Credit accounted for another $21 billion that went to recipients who were not eligible.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps, saw nearly $10 billion in improper payments.

Another $10 billion was linked to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, a pandemic-era initiative created to help theaters, museums, and entertainment venues survive the economic fallout of COVID-19 restrictions.

All other federal programs combined were responsible for an additional $51 billion in improper payments, according to the report.

The GAO noted that improper payments have plagued the federal government for decades, estimating that agencies have improperly distributed nearly $3 trillion since 2003.

The agency warned that the true number may actually be significantly larger, explaining that several programs viewed as highly vulnerable to payment errors were not included in the latest calculations.

The findings were released as a federal anti-fraud initiative spearheaded by Vice President JD Vance pressures states to tighten monitoring of federally funded assistance programs or face the possibility of losing federal dollars.

Kristen Kociolek, managing director of the GAO’s Financial Management and Assurance division, told The Washington Times that the sharpest jump in improper payments occurred during the COVID-19 years between 2020 and 2023, when emergency spending programs rapidly expanded.

The GAO said it has repeatedly called on Congress and federal agencies to strengthen oversight systems and accountability safeguards aimed at curbing fraud, payment errors, and abuse throughout the federal government.

{Matzav.com}

A group of coalition lawmakers from Likud, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, and the chareidi parties submitted a request Monday for an urgent Knesset discussion over a controversial decision by the Israel Land Authority to block certain Torah learners from participating in subsidized housing programs.

The lawmakers accused the government of carrying out what they described as blatant discrimination against chareidi avreichim, arguing that the new policy unfairly targets bnei Torah while other non-serving sectors continue receiving housing benefits.

The request calls for a fast-track hearing in the Knesset Interior and Environmental Protection Committee following changes to eligibility rules for the government’s discounted housing lottery program, known as “Dira B’Hanacha” and “Mechir Lamishtaken.”

Among the MKs backing the request are Meir Porush, Simcha Rothman, Tali Gottlieb, Avi Maoz, Michel Buskila, Moshe Abutbul, and Tzvika Fogel.

The political uproar erupted after legal authorities instructed the Israel Land Authority to revise eligibility criteria in a manner linking housing benefits to military service status.

In the explanatory notes attached to the request, the lawmakers wrote that “following the Supreme Court ruling and instructions from the legal advisory authorities, changes were made to the criteria for eligibility to register for the government housing program ‘Dira B’Hanacha.’ As part of these changes, avreichim whose military status is not regulated were denied the ability to register for the program and participate in the lotteries, due to the legal linkage created between housing benefits and military service.”

The lawmakers argued that the policy creates discriminatory enforcement aimed primarily at the chareidi public.

“An examination of the reality on the ground reveals a severe picture of unequal treatment, constituting blatant and deliberate discrimination against the chareidi sector alone,” the request stated.

The MKs further claimed that while Torah learners are now excluded from the program, other sectors whose members also do not serve in the military continue to retain full eligibility for subsidized housing lotteries.

“While avreichim whose Torah study is their profession are excluded from the program and denied the basic right to housing, members of other sectors in Israeli society who also do not serve have not lost eligibility and continue enjoying full access to the lotteries and the opportunity to receive discounted housing,” the lawmakers wrote.

They warned that the new rules create an illegitimate distinction between different groups of Israeli citizens based on cultural and sectoral identity.

“This policy creates improper discrimination between one citizen and another based on sectoral and cultural affiliation,” the statement said. “Preventing housing solutions for the avreichim public, which is already suffering from a severe and unprecedented housing crisis, under the false pretext of ‘rewarding those who serve’ — while other sectors are exempted from these rules — is a shocking social and economic injustice that cannot be accepted.”

The lawmakers requested that the issue be placed urgently on the Knesset agenda and demanded that representatives from the Attorney General’s office, the Israel Land Authority, the Housing Ministry, and other relevant agencies appear before the committee to explain the decision.

The Israel Land Authority, however, rejected claims that the policy specifically targets chareidim. According to the agency, the updated directive applies equally to all Israelis classified as draft evaders, regardless of whether they are chareidi or secular.

The move followed pressure from the Attorney General’s office demanding immediate operational steps to revoke housing benefits from individuals obligated to serve in the military who failed to regularize their status.

Under the new procedures, the Housing Ministry now conducts automatic computerized synchronization with IDF manpower databases. Any citizen identified by the military system as draft-eligible without regulated status immediately loses eligibility to participate in government housing tenders.

The policy is expected to affect thousands of young chareidi families hoping to participate in upcoming housing lotteries. In some cases, even individuals who already won discounted apartment lotteries but have not yet finalized their purchases could reportedly lose their eligibility retroactively.

{Matzav.com}

It is with great sadness that Matzav.com reports the petirah of Rav Shmuel Yosef Fishbain zt”l, longtime Chief Rabbi of White Lake, who led the community with unwavering dedication, warmth, and mesiras nefesh for more than 55 years.

Rav Fishbain was a venerated figure of old-world rabbonus, a bridge to the great gedolim of prewar Europe and postwar America, and a living symbol of steadfast devotion to authentic Torah life and hashkafah.

For decades, his presence defined White Lake and much of the surrounding Catskills region. To countless families, vacationers, and year-round residents, Rav Fishbain was not merely a rov, but a trusted guide, a compassionate counselor, and a guardian of Torah values whose influence stretched far beyond the walls of his shul.

Born in Chicago in 1927, Rav Fishbain entered a world very different from the flourishing Torah landscape America knows today. His father, Reb Nochum Dov Fishbain zt”l, was among the pioneering builders of Torah in the Midwest and founded what was then the only yeshivos in Chicago. The elder Reb Nochum Dov’s untimely passing left a profound void when Rav Shmuel Yosef was still a young child.

In those difficult years, it was his mother, Miriam Devorah a”h, whose faith and sacrifice shaped the future of her sons. With extraordinary mesiras nefesh, at a time when sending children away to learn Torah was almost unheard of in many American cities, she dispatched Rav Shmuel Yosef and his brother to New York to learn in Yeshiva Torah Vodaas.

In Chicago, Rav Fishbain was raised in a home saturated with Torah and hachnosas orchim. His mother’s home became legendary for its open doors and warmth toward wandering Torah giants who traveled across America to strengthen Yiddishkeit in its fragile early years. As a child, Rav Fishbain merited hosting and observing some of the greatest figures of the generation, including Rav Elchonon Wasserman zt”l Hy”d, the Rayatz of Lubavitch zt”l, the Lomza Rosh Yeshivah, and numerous other gedolim and tzaddikim.

Those encounters left an indelible impression upon him. Throughout his life, Rav Fishbain would recount memories and stories from those formative years with vivid clarity, carrying within him a living connection to a vanished era of European Torah greatness transplanted onto American soil.

As a young man, Rav Fishbain immersed himself fully in Torah learning. He learned in Torah Vodaas and later in Telz, absorbing the greatness of the American yeshivah world during its formative decades. He also became closely connected to Rav Yisroel Zev Gustman zt”l at Yeshivas Netzach Yisroel, where Rav Fishbain himself eventually served as a maggid shiur, transmitting Torah with depth, clarity, and warmth.

Over the years, Rav Fishbain forged close relationships with many of the leading Torah figures and Rebbes of the generation. He maintained strong ties with the Bobover Rebbes, the Satmar Rebbe, the Tzelemer Rov, and the Skverer Rebbe, as well as with such luminaries as Rav Avrohom Pam zt”l, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l, Rav Eliezer Silver zt”l, Rav Avigdor Miller zt”l, among many others. His life was deeply intertwined with the great personalities who shaped postwar Torah Jewry in America.

Before arriving in White Lake, Rav Fishbain served as rov in several Catskills communities, including Ellenville and Hurleyville, serving both permanent residents and the thousands of summer visitors who flocked to the region each year. In the early 1970s, he assumed the rabbonus of White Lake, a position he would hold for the remainder of his life.

For more than half a century, Rav Fishbain stood as a pillar of Torah in the Catskills. Through changing times and shifting generations, he remained steadfast and uncompromising in his devotion to Torah, halachah, and authentic hashkafah. With tremendous mesiras nefesh, he carried the burdens of the community with dignity and humility, devoting himself entirely to the needs of his flock.

He was a rov whose life revolved around Torah and avodas Hashem, yet who remained approachable and deeply caring to every individual. Whether guiding families through life’s simchos and challenges, delivering shiurim, or preserving the traditions and standards of earlier generations, Rav Fishbain embodied the nobility and responsibility of the classic American rov.

Even in his later years, he remained a revered elder statesman of Torah Jewry in the Catskills, respected across the spectrum of the Torah world for his wisdom, integrity, and unwavering principles.

Rav Fishbain is survived by his esteemed Rebbetzin, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who continue his legacy of Torah and Yiddishkeit.

The levayah is expected to take place tomorrow in Monsey. Further details will be announced.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

A 74-year-old traveler heading to Greece narrowly survived a medical emergency at Ben Gurion Airport after collapsing in the duty-free section and suffering cardiac arrest, with two El Al employees rushing to his aid and reviving him before paramedics arrived.

The two workers, both volunteer emergency responders with Magen David Adom, received an alert through MDA’s emergency responder application and reached the scene within moments. Finding the man unconscious and without a pulse, they immediately began CPR.

As the resuscitation efforts got underway, they instructed a nearby passenger to retrieve a defibrillator from the airport’s public area. Within a matter of minutes, the device was used to administer two electric shocks, successfully restoring the man’s heartbeat.

An MDA intensive care ambulance crew arrived shortly afterward, continued advanced medical treatment at the scene, and transported the man to Sheba Medical Center in stable condition.

The responders, emergency medical technicians Efraim Friedman of Petah Tikva and Yosef Zaks of Modi’in Illit, described the dramatic rescue.

“We were standing near the elevator when suddenly we received an alert through the MDA responder app about an unconscious man. We went up one floor in the elevator and ran quickly to the scene. We performed resuscitation efforts, and within a short time his heart started beating again.”

They added: “He gradually regained consciousness and did not understand what had happened around him. We explained that we were taking him to the hospital, and he said he couldn’t because he was on his way to a flight. After we explained his medical condition, we evacuated him to the hospital in stable condition. It’s an emotional event – being in the right place at the right time – and thanks to the defibrillator placed in the public area at Ben Gurion Airport, we were able to save his life.”

A tense confrontation broke out within Israel’s police leadership over whether officers should assist the military in arresting chareidi draft dodgers following a recent Supreme Court ruling, according to a report published today.

The debate reportedly unfolded during a high-level meeting of senior police commanders, where Central District Commander Amir Cohen voiced strong opposition to military requests for assistance in planned operations targeting draft evaders.

“They are not going to tell us how to prioritize missions,” Cohen reportedly said during the discussion.

The controversy comes after Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that police must cooperate with the military in apprehending chareidim classified as draft evaders. Following the ruling, the IDF informed police that it intends to begin proactive enforcement operations in early June and requested security assistance from law enforcement.

During the meeting, Cohen argued that the police should avoid becoming entangled in what he viewed as a military issue.

“The army is dragging us into an event where we are dealing with deserters,” he reportedly said.

According to the report, several senior officers strongly objected to Cohen’s remarks, including representatives from the police legal advisory division and top investigative officials.

Senior officer Boaz Blatt reportedly responded sharply, telling Cohen: “There is no place for statements of this kind.”

“You are representing police officers and commanders here,” Blatt added.

Police Commissioner Dani Levy ultimately settled the dispute by making clear that the police would follow the court’s directive and cooperate with the military.

“There is a Supreme Court decision here. There is law and order — and we will do what the court said.”

{Matzav.com}

An extraordinary photograph that surfaced this week captured a rare halachic drama unfolding thousands of feet above the Atlantic, as renowned posek Rav Ezriel Auerbach was summoned to the cockpit of a flight passing over Greenland to resolve a complex question involving Sefiras HaOmer.

The image shows the senior posek standing beside the aircraft’s captain while examining the flight’s navigation route on the cockpit display screen.

Behind the unusual scene was a complicated halachic issue that arose during Rav Auerbach’s trip to the United States. Shortly after takeoff, the Rav began investigating when passengers aboard the flight would be able to count Sefiras HaOmer.

It soon became apparent that throughout the route, the aircraft would effectively remain in continuous daylight due to the flight path and time-zone progression, seemingly “skipping” nighttime entirely.

The matter deeply concerned Rav Auerbach, who sought to analyze the issue thoroughly. In order to assist with the inquiry, the chief pilot personally invited the Rav into the cockpit and presented him with the aircraft’s precise navigation map and global flight route.

During their discussion, the pilot explained that the plane would soon cross the Greenland region. Although sunlight was still visible at the aircraft’s cruising altitude, conditions on the ground below in Greenland had already entered twilight and darkness due to the geographic positioning and angle of the sun.

After carefully reviewing the geographical and navigational details, Rav Auerbach issued a halachic ruling that has since generated considerable discussion in the Torah world.

“Since on the ground beneath the aircraft it is currently twilight and nighttime, the airplane is halachically considered to be located in a place where it is night,” Rav Auerbach ruled.

Based on that ruling, Rav Auerbach instructed the passengers waiting for guidance — and personally followed the ruling himself — that during the brief period while the aircraft passed over the darkened region, it was both permissible and necessary to count Sefiras HaOmer.

Passengers aboard the flight reportedly hurried to fulfill the mitzvah during the flight itself.

One passenger related: “All of the frum passengers on this flight were especially moved that we merited to have the posek hador himself traveling with us and determining whether and when to recite the brachah. There was tremendous amazement among all of us at the remarkable fusion of science, technology, and Torah, which guides a Jew wherever he may be. There is nothing that the gedolei Yisroel and poskim cannot determine — even in the heavens above.”

{Matzav.com}

The Karlin-Stolin community was saddened this evening by the passing of Reb Aharon Menachem Eisenstein z”l, one of the elder and respected chassidim of Karlin-Stolin in Modiin Illit. He was 75 years old.

Reb Aharon Menachem was the son-in-law of the legendary composer and singer Reb Yom Tov Simcha Ehrlich zt”l, whose deeply moving and authentic Yiddishe melodies left a lasting impact on the Torah world.

The levayah is scheduled to take place tonight at 10:30 p.m., departing from the Shamgar Funeral Home in Yerushalayim and continuing to Har Hamenuchos, where he will be laid to rest.

The niftar was born on the 25th of Tammuz 5710 to his father, Reb Zev Eisenstein z”l, and his mother, Rebbetzin Chaya a”h.

Upon reaching marriageable age, he married the daughter of Reb Yom Tov Simcha Ehrlich zt”l.

Those who knew Reb Aharon Menachem described him as an exceptional individual, refined in both character and spirit, beloved by all who encountered him. He was known for his warm smile, gracious demeanor, and ability to greet every person with genuine kindness.

He was deeply rooted in emunah and bitachon, and spent his days and nights immersed in the depths of Torah with great diligence, while also sharing Torah with others. He was closely attached, heart and soul, to the Stoliner Rebbe.

He merited to establish generations devoted to Torah, chassidus, and Yiras Shomayim.

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

Police announced Monday that two suspects have been arrested in connection with the shooting of a 27-year-old avreich in Bnei Brak nearly three weeks ago, in an attack that took place moments after he dropped off his young daughter at daycare near his home.

The arrests come as relatives of the victim continue insisting that the avreich was likely targeted by mistake and has no connection whatsoever to criminal activity.

According to investigators, officers from the Dan District’s anti-crime unit arrested two men Monday morning suspected of involvement in the attempted murder. The victim was seriously wounded in the shooting, which occurred shortly after he returned from taking his daughter to her maon.

Family members said the avreich later described the terrifying moments leading up to the attack after regaining consciousness following surgery. He told relatives that he noticed two helmeted men sitting on a motorcycle outside his apartment building but did not view them as suspicious at the time.

According to his account, the pair remained outside while he brought his toddler daughter into daycare. When he returned to the street moments later, the gunmen allegedly opened fire. Several bullets struck him in the abdomen, causing him to collapse on the spot.

Emergency responders evacuated the avreich to Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer in moderate-to-serious condition. He underwent lengthy surgery and was later reported to be out of danger.

Police said large forces were deployed immediately after the shooting was reported. Officers conducted searches throughout the area, established roadblocks, and gathered evidence from the scene as part of the investigation, which was assigned to the Dan District anti-crime unit.

Following what police described as extensive investigative activity over recent days, authorities arrested two suspects Monday morning — a 20-year-old resident of Hadera and a 26-year-old resident of Kadima-Tzoran.

Investigators suspect the two men attempted to murder the victim under aggravated circumstances and also accuse them of obstructing the investigation.

Both suspects were taken in for questioning and later jailed. Police are expected to request an extension of their detention Tuesday at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court.

Meanwhile, the avreich’s family continues to maintain that the shooting was a tragic case of mistaken identity. Relatives described him as a devoted ben Torah with no ties to the criminal world. Police have not publicly addressed that claim, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu declared Monday night that Israel will sharply intensify its military campaign against Hezbollah, warning that the terror organization will face even stronger attacks as cross-border drone assaults continue to target northern Israeli communities.

In a video message released by his office, Netanyahu praised Israeli forces for their operations in Lebanon while making clear that the fighting is far from over.

“We are at war with Hezbollah. In recent weeks alone, our heroic soldiers have eliminated more than 600 terrorists. But we are not taking our foot off the gas pedal. I said we must press the pedal even harder,” Netanyahu stressed.

The prime minister also addressed Hezbollah’s increasing use of advanced drone technology, including cyber-guided unmanned aircraft that have posed growing challenges along the northern border.

“Yes, they are launching cyber-guided drones at us. We have a special team working on this, and we will solve that too. We need to increase the strikes and the intensity. We will strike them hard.”

Earlier in the day, Northern Command chief Rafi Milo delivered a forceful warning to Hezbollah during a ceremony honoring the Golan Brigade (474), as tensions escalated following a series of drone and explosive-drone attacks on the Galilee and Golan Heights.

Without explicitly detailing future plans, Milo strongly hinted that the IDF is preparing additional operations inside Lebanon.

“Harming civilians and civilian areas is not a reality that can be accepted or treated as routine.”

Milo emphasized that Israel would not allow continued attacks on residential areas in the north and accused Hezbollah of deliberately escalating the conflict by targeting civilians.

“We will not tolerate fire on the home front. Northern Command is at war. The Hezbollah terrorist organization deliberately chose to escalate the security reality in the north while directly targeting the civilian population. In doing so, the enemy has crossed a severe and unacceptable red line,” he added.

His remarks followed several drone strikes across northern Israel earlier Monday. In one incident, an explosive drone detonated near a children’s bus stop along the main road in the community of Shomera. No injuries were reported.

Later in the day, emergency crews responded to a fire that erupted near Rosh HaNikra after another explosive drone exploded in a wooded area. Firefighters worked to prevent the flames from spreading further.

{Matzav.com}