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A former senior military aide to Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu has disclosed a detailed account of the hours preceding the October 7 Hamas massacre, revealing that intelligence about suspicious activity in Gaza reached the Prime Minister’s military secretariat at 3:55 a.m., but was not considered urgent enough to wake him. He also alleged that a senior official in Netanyahu’s office subsequently attempted to change the recorded time of a critical telephone conversation held on the morning of the attack.

Maj. Gen. (res.) Avi Gil, who served as Netanyahu’s military secretary when Hamas launched its devastating assault on southern Israel, described the sequence of events in an interview with Channel 12 News. His account included the intelligence warnings received before dawn, his efforts to alert Netanyahu once the attack began, and allegations of improper handling of official government records in the months that followed.

According to Gil, an intelligence officer assigned to the military secretariat received a report at 3:55 a.m. on October 7, 2023, concerning developments in the Gaza Strip that had attracted the attention of Israeli security officials.

The information was circulated through the appropriate intelligence channels, including the military secretariat attached to the Prime Minister’s Office. However, Gil said the report did not convey a sense that an attack was imminent.

“The message used the words ‘routine’ or ‘not unusual’ multiple times,” he recalled, explaining that the communication also indicated that additional security evaluations were expected later that day.

Based on the wording of the intelligence report, the officer who received it concluded that there was no immediate reason to awaken Gil.

“He made a professional, considered decision not to wake me because, from his perspective, there was no urgency,” Gil explained.

Gil said he remained unaware of the developments until 6:12 a.m., when he received a call from the office head of Shin Bet director Ronen Bar.

The caller instructed him to move the conversation to a secure communications line, immediately raising questions about the seriousness of the situation.

“I asked him, ‘Can’t we talk here?’ He told me, ‘No.’ I remember asking him one more question: ‘What’s this about?’ And he answered with one word: ‘South.'”

Once the secure connection was established, Gil received a briefing about unusual intelligence indicators involving Hamas, including the activation of SIM cards and reports that senior figures in the terrorist organization had entered underground facilities.

Those developments were viewed as potentially significant, but Gil said the briefing also included information suggesting that the activity might be consistent with routine Hamas operations.

He was informed that Bar had ordered the deployment of a specialized tactical team known as “Tequila” to southern Israel as a precautionary measure. Nevertheless, the information conveyed to him did not include a definitive warning that Hamas was preparing an immediate, large-scale invasion.

Seeking further clarification, Gil contacted the office of the IDF chief of staff at 6:22 a.m. to obtain an updated assessment of the security situation.

While he was speaking with the military commander’s office, alerts began appearing on his telephone indicating that rocket warning sirens were sounding across southern Israel.

Gil said he immediately connected the widespread rocket launches to the intelligence briefing he had received minutes earlier and concluded that Hamas had initiated a major surprise offensive.

He then called Netanyahu and woke him, warning that the situation appeared to be far more serious than an ordinary round of rocket fire.

“I told him, ‘Prime Minister, Hamas has launched very extensive rocket fire. I’m connecting this to the intelligence I received over the phone ten minutes ago. My assessment is that Hamas has launched a large-scale surprise attack.'”

A second conversation took place at 6:40 a.m., this time using a secure telephone line. By that point, Gil said, it had become clear to him that Israel was confronting a major military assault.

“I told the Prime Minister, ‘We are at war,'” Gil recalled.

Netanyahu subsequently traveled to the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, arriving at approximately 8:45 a.m., more than two hours after the beginning of the Hamas attack.

Gil’s account also addressed accusations that senior members of Israel’s security establishment had intentionally kept Netanyahu uninformed about developments in Gaza during the hours preceding the massacre.

He rejected the suggestion that intelligence officials or military commanders had knowingly concealed information from the Prime Minister, while acknowledging that the security establishment had gravely misjudged the intelligence available to it.

“Was there a failure? Was the interpretation of the facts wrong? Unequivocally, yes. Do I believe, based on the information and facts I know, that anyone deliberately concealed or withheld information? That is a lie.”

Beyond the failures in assessing the intelligence, Gil raised allegations concerning the handling of official records documenting Netanyahu’s communications on the morning of October 7.

He said he first became aware of potentially improper activity in the Prime Minister’s Office in late October 2023, approximately two or three weeks after the massacre and the outbreak of the war.

At that time, Gil said, several individuals alerted him to unusual efforts to gather government records and transcripts relating to the events of the attack.

“Several people approached me and told me there was an unusual effort underway to collect official records,” he said.

Concerned about the handling of sensitive documentation, Gil contacted the Attorney General’s Office to seek guidance concerning the procedures and restrictions governing access to official government records.

The matter took a more serious turn in January 2024, when Gil said a stenographer approached him with information about an alleged instruction to change the timestamp on the transcript of his October 7 conversation with Netanyahu.

According to Gil, the stenographer told him that Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, had directed her to alter the documented time of the telephone conversation from 6:40 a.m. to 6:29 a.m.

“She was instructed to retrieve the transcript of that 6:40 a.m. telephone conversation and change the time from 6:40 to 6:29,” Gil said.

When asked to identify the person who had issued the instruction, Gil answered: “The chief of staff.”

Gil explained that the stenographer had pointed out that the original conversation was recorded and that the electronic system retained the authentic timing information. Despite that, she was allegedly instructed to change the written documentation.

The former military secretary characterized the reported instruction as an effort to falsify an official account of the Prime Minister’s actions during the opening minutes of the Hamas attack.

“That is altering a transcript. That is altering the truth,” Gil said.

He stated that he reported the incident to the Attorney General in a handwritten communication and that the suspected attempt to modify the record was identified before the change could be completed.

“There was an attempt to change it, because we caught it. Factually, this is a serious incident.”

Gil stressed that any future commission investigating the failures surrounding October 7 should obtain and examine the original recordings of official conversations rather than relying exclusively on written transcripts that could have been modified.

“Don’t rely solely on the transcripts. Demand the original recordings. Listen to them.”

The allegations concerning the Prime Minister’s Office prompted angry responses from relatives of Israelis murdered during the Hamas assault, who questioned why the matter had not resulted in criminal proceedings.

Shelly Meshel-Yogev, whose daughter Libi Cohen Meguri was murdered at the Nova music festival, expressed outrage over Gil’s account and demanded an explanation from law enforcement authorities.

“How is it possible that law enforcement authorities have known for years about the alteration of official records in the Prime Minister’s Office, and no one has been arrested to this day? This is criminal!”

Shir Matias, whose parents Shahar and Shlomi were murdered at Kibbutz Holit on October 7, also criticized Netanyahu and his staff following the interview.

“The testimony tonight by former military secretary Avi Gil breaks my heart. If Netanyahu had listened to the security establishment and its recommendations to eliminate the Hamas leadership, my parents would still be alive today. Instead, Netanyahu and his team are busy rewriting history and altering official records. The fact that no one has been prosecuted to this day is criminal negligence.”

Netanyahu, meanwhile, rejected Gil’s account and accused his former military secretary of failing to act on the intelligence that had reached his office before the attack. The Prime Minister argued that Gil had been aware of the warning signs but had not awakened him in time, describing the interview as an attempt by the former aide to deflect responsibility for his own decisions.

Likud officials similarly challenged Gil’s explanation, pointing to the information received at 3:55 a.m. about Hamas communications activity and the movements of senior terrorist commanders. They argued that the intelligence should have prompted an immediate warning to the Prime Minister, rather than waiting until rocket fire began.

The conflicting accounts have added to demands for a comprehensive examination of the military and political decisions preceding October 7, including the handling of intelligence, the warnings conveyed to Netanyahu and the accuracy of official records documenting the government’s response during the opening hours of the massacre.

{Matzav.com}

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

The Torah begins by telling us the story of creation, Bereishis. The Torah introduces us to the creation of the universe, the formation of the world in which we live, and the emergence of mankind, the one creation entrusted with the ability to recognize its Creator and choose how to live.

Yet, as Rashi reminds us at the beginning of the parsha, the Torah is not a history book. It is not intended merely to tell us how the world came into existence or to provide us with an account of the earliest generations of mankind. The Torah is our guide to life, teaching us how to conduct ourselves, how to relate to Hashem and to one another, and how to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. Why, asks Rashi, does the Torah begin with the story of creation and devote the entire first parsha to creation and the lives of Adam and Chava, Kayin and Hevel, and the generations that preceded Avrohom Avinu? Why not begin with the mitzvos, with the commandments that define our obligations as Jews?

Rashi explains that the Torah begins with Bereishis to establish that the entire world belongs to Hashem. He created it, and He determines who will inhabit its lands. When the nations of the world accuse Klal Yisroel of stealing Eretz Yisroel, we can respond that the One Who created the world gave the land to us.

This is a fundamental lesson in our understanding of the world and our place in it. Hakadosh Boruch Hu created the world and placed us in it, entrusting us with the responsibility to live in accordance with His will. The land we inhabit, the resources we enjoy, the talents with which we were endowed, and the very lives we lead are gifts from Hashem. Everything we possess comes with an obligation to use it properly.

Before the Torah tells us what to do, it tells us why we are here. Before it presents the mitzvos that shape our lives, it establishes that the world was created deliberately, with purpose and with direction. The universe is not a random collection of events, and human life is not an accident without meaning. Everything begins with Hashem, and everything we do must be understood in the context of His creation and His will.

The Torah tells us that man was created b’tzelem Elokim, in the image of Hashem. This is perhaps the most profound statement about the human condition. Man is not simply another creature inhabiting the earth. The posuk tells us that Hashem created man from adomah and blew into him the spirit of life, nishmas chaim. He endowed us with a neshomah, the ability to speak, the capacity to think and understand, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, to exercise bechirah, and to make choices that have eternal significance.

The greatness of a person does not lie in his physical strength, his wealth, intelligence, or accomplishments in the eyes of the world. His greatness lies in his ability to transcend the adomah from which he was created, from which flow his physical instincts and desires, and to give sustenance to his neshomah, as our lives are meant to be dedicated to fulfilling the spiritual purposes for which we were placed in this world.

That is the challenge of tzelem Elokim. We are given extraordinary abilities, but those abilities carry extraordinary responsibility. We can build and destroy, encourage and discourage, bring happiness and cause pain. We can use our intelligence to discover new ways to improve the world or to devise ways to harm others. We can use our words to comfort a person who is suffering or to inflict wounds that may never heal.

We are not passive observers in the world. We are active participants. The first human beings were placed in Gan Eden, a world of extraordinary beauty and abundance. They were given everything they needed, with one clear restriction.

Adam and Chava’s failure to heed that command introduced a fundamental reality of human existence. Having free will means that a person can choose incorrectly, even when the right path is clear. The challenge of life is not merely to know what Hashem wants from us, but to overcome the inclinations and temptations that lead us away from it.

And when Adam sinned, Hashem asked him, “Ayeka? Where are you?”

Hashem certainly knew where Adam was. The question was not about his physical location. It was an invitation to confront what had happened, to recognize his responsibility, and to consider where his choices had brought him.

That question echoes throughout the generations. Where are we? What are we doing with the lives Hashem has given us? Are we using our abilities to fulfill our purpose, or are we allowing ourselves to be distracted by pursuits that have little lasting value? Are we moving closer to Hashem, or are we allowing the pressures and attractions of the world to draw us away?

It is a question that each of us must ask ourselves, not only during the introspective days of Elul and the Yomim Noraim, but throughout the year. A person can be busy from morning until night, accomplishing one task after another, and still lose sight of where he is going. He can accumulate wealth and achieve recognition and relevance without addressing the most important question of whether he is living the life Hashem wants him to live.

On Shemini Atzeres, in the diaspora we lained Koheles. Various reasons are given for this minhag, but perhaps one of its messages is that Koheles helps seal in the gains we made during Elul and Tishrei. After spending these weeks examining our lives, our priorities, and our relationship with Hashem, we are reminded that so much of what occupies people in this world is ultimately hevel, fleeting and without lasting significance. The challenge is not to withdraw from the world, but to learn to distinguish between what is hevel and what is important, between what demands our attention and what deserves our attention, between what fills our days and what gives those days meaning.

Along with that comes the responsibility to recognize Hashem and see His hand in all aspects of our lives.

We are required to do hishtadlus. We work and seek to earn a living, but we recognize that whatever we have is because Hashem gave it to us. The work is a means, but the income comes from Hashem.

We build armies, establish security services, create sophisticated intelligence systems, check credentials, erect fences, and take every reasonable precaution to protect ourselves. But we must never confuse the means with the source. The systems are tools. The protection comes from Hashem.

This week, Israel and Jews throughout the world marked the third anniversary of the October 7th massacre, a day on which we were reminded of that truth in a most painful way.

Israel possesses one of the world’s most powerful armies and most sophisticated security establishments. It has intelligence agencies considered among the finest anywhere, advanced surveillance systems, layers of fences and barriers, and countless people whose responsibility is to identify threats and protect the country’s citizens.

And yet, on that morning, those systems failed simultaneously. Warnings were missed. Signals were ignored. Assumptions were wrong. The people whose job it was to prevent such an attack were unable to do so. It was a fulfillment of the posuk, “Einayim lohem velo yiru oznayim lohem velo yishma’u.” The eyes of the nation’s security apparatus were simply closed.

We were reminded that, ultimately, it is not the army that protects us, not the intelligence agencies, not the fences, and not the technology.

Hashem Hu Ha’Elokim.

The One Who created the world is the One Who runs it.

And just last week, we received another extraordinary reminder of that truth, this time in the skies.

The attempted terrorist attack aboard a flight bound for Tel Aviv could easily have ended with the deaths of everyone aboard and potentially many on the ground. The co-pilot, who had previously been identified by his former employer as a security risk, attacked the captain in the cockpit and attempted to take control of the aircraft. The plane plunged thousands of feet in a matter of seconds. Passengers were thrown from their seats. The cockpit became a scene of violence and chaos.

And yet, the plane did not crash. The passengers did not die.

The subsequent investigation revealed serious questions about the security procedures governing foreign airlines and their crews. Israel had systems in place, protocols, departments, and databases, but it emerged that foreign pilots were not being independently vetted in the manner one might have assumed. The responsibility was divided among different agencies, but the crucial information was not being acted upon. Had they been doing their jobs, the Jew-hating co-pilot never would have been allowed to board the plane and be seated in the cockpit.

If the flying public’s safety depended on human beings, people would have every reason to be terrified every time they get on a plane.

Instead, we are reminded that our safety rests with Hashem.

And the miracle of the FlyDubai flight went far beyond the failures of the security system.

The heroism of people aboard the plane is credited with saving the plane from crashing to the ground and killing everyone on board, but it was a series of miraculous occurrences that allowed that heroism to occur. The passengers have rightly been hailed as heroes. They saw what was happening and acted with extraordinary courage.

A woman who happened to be standing near the cockpit heard the commotion and began screaming. Several passengers rushed toward the cockpit, overpowered the attacker, and restrained him. Others cared for the wounded captain. They guarded the cockpit and helped ensure that the plane could be landed safely.

But even their heroism was possible only because of a remarkable chain of events that unfolded at precisely the right moments.

The captain, gravely wounded, losing much blood and under continued attack, miraculously retained the strength and presence of mind to open the cockpit door. Had that door remained closed, the passengers would have had no way to reach him or the attacker.

A plumber who happened to be sitting relatively close to the cockpit heard what was happening and rushed forward. He pulled the attacker away from the captain, and as others dealt with him, the plumber, with no previous flying experience, found himself in a cockpit with a plunging aircraft. He had once seen how a plane’s control stick raises and lowers the plane, and he lifted the controls with all his might to get the plane to fly upward.

He had no training that should have qualified him to fly a Boeing 737. Yet, at that moment, when 170 lives were in jeopardy, Hashem put the idea into his head of how to save them.

There were other seemingly unlikely occurrences as well.

Additional pilots happened to be aboard the flight as passengers. A dentist who happened to be on board was able to provide critical medical assistance to the wounded captain. Passengers found charging cables and other materials that could be improvised to restrain the attacker. Men and women who had been strangers only minutes earlier suddenly worked together as a team, each one doing whatever he or she could to save the lives of everyone aboard.

The world calls such things coincidence. It calls them luck. It speaks of fortunate circumstances and improbable happenstance.

We know better.

We know that there is no happenstance. There is only the Ribono Shel Olam, Who runs the world and Who can arrange a thousand details, many of them invisible to us, so that they converge at precisely the moment they are needed.

It is interesting that both of these events occurred during the days of Sukkos and Shemini Atzeres, when we celebrate how Hashem protected us from the elements in the midbar and as we were about to begin studying Bereishis.

We left our homes, the places that provide us with walls, roofs, locks, alarm systems, and the illusion of permanence, and we entered the sukkah. We sat beneath a roof that does not really protect us from the elements, as we experienced when it rained over Yom Tov. We left behind the physical structures in which we invest so much of our energy and reminded ourselves that our true protection does not come from them.

We sat in the sukkah, in the tzila demehemnusa, the shade of the Shechinah, and proclaimed that the walls around us are not what guarantee our safety. The roof over our heads is not what determines whether we will be protected. We have to take reasonable precautions. But after all the hishtadlus has been made, we recognize that the One above is the One Who protects us.

And then we return to Bereishis.

Why does the Torah begin by telling us that Hashem created the world?

Because we need to know that the world is not governed by chance, that history is not a series of random events, and that our lives are not determined solely by the decisions of men and the systems they construct.

The same Hashem Who created the heavens and the earth can cause the most powerful security establishment to overlook a threat. He can cause a warning to be missed. He can allow a plane to descend thousands of feet and then, through a series of seemingly random events, provide the precise people and abilities needed to save it.

He can place a plumber in a particular seat and turn him into a pilot. He can place a dentist on a particular flight and turn him into an emergency doctor. He can place additional pilots on a plane and give a dying captain the strength to open a door. And He can bring all of those seemingly unrelated details together at exactly the moment when they are needed.

That is not merely the lesson of last week’s FlyDubai flight, nor is it only the lesson of October 7th, when the army couldn’t prevent the rampage and was powerless to stop it.

It is the lesson of our daily lives, when every day is filled with miracles we take for granted.

Bereishis bara Elokim — Hashem created it all. He runs it. He guides it. He determines its course.

We do our hishtadlus. We are not permitted to sit back and rely on miracles. But after we have done what we can, we recognize the truth with which the Torah begins and upon which everything else rests — namely, that Hashem runs the world.

His ways are mysterious and not always understood. We cannot always see why one person is saved and another is not, why one warning is heard and another is missed, or why one seemingly insignificant event becomes the link that saves hundreds of lives.

We don’t know why one person becomes ill and another remains healthy, why one person becomes wealthy while another struggles financially, or why one person’s life seems to contain far more suffering and challenges than another’s. We cannot understand the ways of Hashem or the reasons for the individual tests He sends to each of us. But we know that nothing happens by itself and nothing happens without purpose. Hashem sends us the challenges we need to help us grow, to strengthen our emunah, and to bring us closer to Him.

We must never give up. We must never convince ourselves that our challenges are insurmountable or that we cannot overcome them. Those who recognize the Yad Hashem, place their trust in Him, and believe that He is with them through every challenge can face life with confidence, knowing that Hashem will give them the strength to persevere and overcome.

Bereishis bara Elokim. Chazal teach that the world was created for reishis, for Klal Yisroel and for Torah. Hashem created the world for us. He created it with the expectation that we would be able to accomplish our mission in it. The world was not created to defeat us. It was created to provide us with opportunities, challenges, and circumstances through which we can fulfill the purpose for which we were placed here.

We should therefore never allow anything or anyone to break our spirit, and we should never allow anyone to convince us that we cannot succeed. No matter what happens, no matter what challenges confront us, we must remember that we are living in Hashem’s world and that the One Who created the world is with us every step of the way. With emunah, bitachon, and the determination to continue moving forward, we can overcome the obstacles placed before us and accomplish what Hashem expects of us.

This week, as we return to the rhythm of life after Yom Tov, and as we begin studying Parshas Bereishis, we need to carry these lessons with us. The warmth and inspiration of Elul, the Yomim Noraim, Sukkos, Shemini Atzeres, and Simchas Torah should not remain behind with the Yom Tov.

The days ahead may be colder and darker, and the long winter may sometimes seem bleak. But we enter it with the light of Bereishis bara Elokim. Hashem created the world, He guides its every detail, and He placed us here because He knows that we are capable of fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.

We have every reason to move forward with emunah, with bitachon, and with confidence that, with Hashem’s help, we can succeed.

May we all be zoche to a gezunteh vinter and the geulah sheleimah bekarov.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday refused to retreat from his controversial remarks marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre, repeating accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and defending a statement that drew sharp condemnation from Israeli officials and Jewish leaders.

During a press conference, Mamdani invoked the genocide allegation six times while addressing criticism of his October 7 anniversary message, which acknowledged the Hamas terrorist attack and the murder of more than 1,100 Israelis but devoted considerable attention to accusations against Israel involving genocide, apartheid and war crimes.

The mayor also defended his appearance Wednesday evening at a memorial gathering for victims of the conflict, where anti-Zionist demonstrators confronted him and called him a “traitor.”

“I was proud to attend last night’s vigil, as I did last year, to listen to testimonies of family members of those who were killed,” Mamdani said Thursday.

“As for those protesting me, I am the mayor of New York City and this is what I signed up for,” he added.

Turning to the controversy over his anniversary statement, Mamdani described the October 7 massacre as “unthinkable devastation” before again accusing the Israeli government of using the terrorist attack to justify its military operations in Gaza.

He alleged that “the Israeli government used and continues to use that day, those war crimes as a justification for an ongoing genocide.”

Mamdani maintained that the suffering of Israelis murdered by Hamas and Palestinians killed during the subsequent war should both be recognized.

“There must be room to mourn the lives of the more than 1,100 Israelis that Hamas killed three years ago. There must be room to mourn the 74,000 Palestinians the Israeli government has killed since,” he stated.

The Palestinian casualty figure cited by Mamdani was presented without distinguishing between civilians and terrorists killed during the fighting.

The mayor insisted that his public statement and participation in the vigil reflected the continuing impact of the conflict on New Yorkers.

“The statement, the attendance, it all speaks to a reckoning with horror and a horror that devastated the lives of New Yorkers three years ago and it also continues to devastate New Yorkers today,” Mamdani added.

His refusal to withdraw the accusations came after a wave of criticism over his original October 7 message, with Israeli representatives and Jewish officials accusing him of exploiting the anniversary of the Hamas atrocities to advance allegations against Israel.

Among the most forceful responses came from Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, whose son Neria is recovering in the hospital from critical injuries suffered in a terrorist vehicle-ramming attack.

“It’s actually hard to find a sentence in Mamdani’s post that isn’t a lie,” Leiter wrote in response to the mayor’s statement.

Leiter argued that Mamdani’s account distorted the circumstances of the war and failed to acknowledge the full extent of Hamas’s responsibility for the atrocities that began the conflict.

“Let’s be clear: the only attempted genocide in this conflict was perpetrated by the barbarians he supports, Hamas, who butchered, raped, and murdered in the most horrific ways imaginable,” Leiter stated.

The ambassador also rejected the mayor’s characterization of Israeli military operations and accused Hamas of deliberately placing Palestinian civilians in danger while diverting humanitarian supplies intended for Gaza residents.

“There is no genocide, ethnic cleansing, or famine in Gaza. Hamas embeds itself among, behind, and beneath the people of Gaza, knowing that the IDF will not, ever, intentionally target civilians. It robs its own people of the humanitarian aid that Israel has facilitated into Gaza since the war began.”

The dispute has renewed scrutiny of Mamdani’s longstanding positions on Israel, which became a central source of controversy during his campaign for mayor and have continued to generate criticism since he took office.

On October 8, 2023, just one day after Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, murdered civilians and abducted hostages, Mamdani issued remarks that drew criticism for focusing on Israeli policies rather than unequivocally condemning the massacre.

His refusal during the mayoral campaign to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada” also provoked concern among Jewish organizations and elected officials, who argued that the phrase invokes violence against Jews and Israelis.

Mamdani has defended his positions as expressions of support for Palestinian rights, while critics have accused him of applying a double standard to Israel and failing to adequately address the fears of Jewish New Yorkers.

Those tensions intensified after he entered City Hall.

On his first day as mayor, Mamdani rescinded several executive orders issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams, including measures relating to Israel.

He subsequently became the first New York City mayor to boycott the annual Israel Day Parade, breaking with a longstanding tradition of mayoral participation in the major public celebration of support for Israel.

The mayor also drew criticism during his campaign when he pledged that the New York Police Department would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu if he visited New York, citing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

Following a legal examination conducted by his administration, however, Mamdani acknowledged that New York City lacks independent authority to enforce the international court’s warrant.

{Matzav.com}

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Rebbetzin Shoshana Cohen a”h, the mother of four distinguished rabbonim and a woman remembered for her extraordinary dedication to Torah, chinuch, and chessed, was niftar overnight at the age of 90.

The rebbetzin was the mother of Rav Zevadia Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv; Rav Zamir Cohen, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Avnei Nezer; Rav Avichai Cohen, a ram at Yeshivas Heichal Meir; and Rav Zohar Cohen, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Ateres Reuven in Beitar Illit.

Together with her husband, the late Rav Eliezer Cohen zt”l, she established a home devoted to Torah and yiras Shomayim, raising her children with tremendous personal sacrifice while supporting her husband’s extensive activities at the Musayof Shul and his work educating Jewish children for more than half a century.

The family lived under difficult financial circumstances in a rented apartment in Yerushalayim’s Bais Yisroel neighborhood. Despite their limited means, Rebbetzin Cohen was determined that her children would grow up in surroundings permeated with Torah values.

One incident from those years illustrated the strength of her convictions.

Because of the family’s financial difficulties and the number of children in the household, the government approved their application for an apartment in a newly constructed Yerushalayim neighborhood. The opportunity would have provided the family with a larger and more comfortable home.

However, during a Shabbos walk through the neighborhood, Rebbetzin Cohen noticed a woman hanging laundry outside.

The sight convinced her that the neighborhood was not the environment in which she wished to raise her children.

“My children will not grow up in a neighborhood like this!” she declared.

She subsequently relinquished the opportunity to move into the more spacious apartment, choosing instead to remain in their modest accommodations in Bais Yisroel, where she felt confident that her children would be surrounded by an atmosphere of Torah.

Her devotion to others was equally remarkable. Despite the family’s own financial struggles, she was constantly attentive to the needs of her neighbors, particularly those who were alone or experiencing hardship.

Whenever she prepared a meal and the aroma of the cooking drifted into the neighboring courtyard, she would send one of her children with a generous portion for a lonely woman who lived there by herself.

Rebbetzin Cohen was also known for offering emotional support to women facing personal difficulties. Women burdened by sadness or hardship would visit her home, where they found a sympathetic listener who offered understanding, encouragement, and reassurance.

Those who came to her distressed would often leave smiling, uplifted by her warmth and concern.

When she or a member of her family experienced illness, she would visit the home of the renowned mekubal Rav Yitzchak Kaduri zt”l, long before he became widely known.

She would return with almonds bearing inscribed letters or with a handwritten kameia, and she frequently recounted the yeshuos she believed had resulted from those visits.

Throughout her life, Rebbetzin Cohen was especially careful in matters of shemiras halashon. She avoided lashon hara and gossip and would firmly discourage improper conversation in her presence.

Her greatest investment, however, was in her family. She devoted her time and energy to raising her children, forgoing vacations and other personal comforts so that she could provide them with the attention, love, and guidance she believed they needed.

She was zocheh to see her sons, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren following the path of Torah and mitzvos, continuing the legacy of the home she and her husband had built.

The levayah will take place this morning.

Yehi zichrah baruch.

{Matzav.com}

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani demanded an immediate end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations throughout the city Thursday after federal immigration agents opened fire on a vehicle carrying a man and a five-year-old child in northern Manhattan, leaving the man hospitalized with a gunshot wound to his neck.

The shooting occurred shortly after 4 p.m. in the Marble Hill neighborhood, where ICE agents reportedly surrounded a vehicle before discharging multiple rounds into it. The wounded man was transported to a hospital and remained conscious, with authorities reporting that he was in stable condition Thursday evening.

The Muslim socialist anti-Israel mayor condemned the incident, accusing federal immigration authorities of endangering New Yorkers and demanding that President Donald Trump withdraw ICE personnel from enforcement operations in the city.

“I have called the President; when we speak I will demand that he ends all ICE enforcement actions in our city,” Mamdani wrote on social media shortly after the shooting. “I will not stand by while ICE agents terrorize our communities.”

The mayor subsequently appeared at a news conference near the location of the shooting, where he sharply criticized the conduct of federal officers and questioned how firing into an occupied vehicle in a residential neighborhood could be justified as a public safety measure.

Mamdani delivered an extended denunciation of ICE’s methods, pointing to the presence of a young child in the vehicle and the fact that the shooting unfolded near homes and a subway station.

“There is no explanation for these tactics. There is no explanation for federal officers firing this many rounds into a car that has a five-year-old in the car. There is no explanation. We are standing here so close to the site of where this actually took place. And look at how many people live right here. This is a residential neighborhood. We are right here by a subway. And the pretext of ICE is, in their words, “to keep this country safe.” How is it keeping everyone safe to have, as you just heard from the police commissioner, individuals wearing construction vests in masks with long guns. Residents have no idea if these are law enforcement agents or if they are simply attacking someone on the street. And when it comes to ICE, it begs the question, what’s the difference? There is no explanation for this.”

The man wounded in the confrontation was identified as Oscar Belgal, 28, a Dominican national. According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, plainclothes federal officers approached his vehicle as he was parking near Marble Hill Avenue and West 225th Street. When the vehicle moved forward, an ICE officer fired seven shots, striking Belgal below the ear.

The five-year-old boy, believed to be Belgal’s son, was seated in the back of the vehicle and was not physically injured. He was subsequently placed in the care of a family member.

The Department of Homeland Security offered a sharply different account of the circumstances leading up to the shooting, describing the incident as part of a targeted operation to arrest a man with a criminal history.

Federal officials said Belgal had a previous conviction for grand larceny and had been arrested on other charges, including assault, robbery, drug possession and weapons offenses. DHS also alleged that he had associations with the Trinitarios gang.

The department criticized New York’s sanctuary policies, arguing that they had allowed the suspect to return to the streets following an earlier arrest. Federal authorities did not initially provide a detailed public explanation of the precise circumstances that prompted the officer to open fire.

The NYPD said its officers had not participated in the federal enforcement operation and responded after the shooting. The FBI was also involved in investigating the incident.

Asked what he intended to tell President Trump, Mamdani reiterated his demand that federal immigration agents cease their activities in New York City.

“I made clear to the president, to the secretary, our request that ICE agents leave the scene entirely, as well as the demand that ICE stop its enforcement actions in New York City,” Mamdani replied. “These actions are making the city less safe. They are making New Yorkers terrified. You are hearing from New Yorkers right now anguish, pain, anger at the fact that here in this city, the world’s city, that immigrants have to wake up every morning and not know if they can live the lives that they should be able to live and help to build this city.

The mayor said he had spoken with President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and had unsuccessfully sought Belgal’s release from federal custody. As of late Thursday night, Belgal reportedly remained in ICE custody while receiving medical treatment.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul also called for a thorough and transparent investigation, saying the public deserved a full accounting of how the confrontation escalated into gunfire.

The shooting prompted demonstrations near the scene and outside NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, where Belgal was being treated. Hundreds of protesters gathered, denouncing ICE’s tactics and demanding accountability for the use of deadly force.

The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement under President Trump. According to figures cited in the original report, immigration agents have been involved in at least 43 shootings during his second administration, resulting in 11 deaths, including two American citizens. Separately, advocacy groups have reported 61 deaths among people held in ICE custody during that period.

{Matzav.com}

With Israel’s elections just three weeks away, MK Yitzchok Pindrus, the second-ranking representative of Degel HaTorah, is urging the chareidi community to turn out in force at the polls, arguing that a strong showing is essential to demonstrate that the community has not been broken by the ongoing campaign against bnei yeshiva. At the same time, he acknowledged that even after the election, the confrontation with the Supreme Court, government officials, and the legal establishment is unlikely to end.

In an extensive interview with journalist Avi Blum on Kol Chai Radio, Pindrus, who holds the third position on the United Torah Judaism list, defended his party’s record amid growing frustration over the arrests of yeshiva bochurim, the military draft crisis, and the difficulties confronting chareidi educational institutions.

Pindrus sought to frame the upcoming election as a struggle over the ability of chareidi Jews to maintain their way of life in Eretz Yisroel, rather than simply a referendum on the government’s accomplishments or the failure to pass legislation protecting bnei yeshiva.

He declared that there is no such thing as persecuting those who learn Torah and having it ultimately produce a positive outcome. According to Pindrus, the present confrontation extends far beyond government funding and coalition agreements, touching on the fundamental right of a chareidi Jew to live according to his beliefs.

When Blum challenged him with the argument that the chareidi community has managed to preserve its way of life despite the current coalition rather than because of it, Pindrus did not directly address the government’s responsibility. Instead, he argued that the very intensity of the campaign against the chareidi public reflects the community’s remarkable growth and success.

He maintained that outside forces are attempting to provoke unrest, portray chareidim as illegitimate, and create the impression that the community is beginning to fracture under pressure.

A decline in support for the chareidi parties, he warned, would be seized upon by their opponents as evidence that even within the chareidi community, support for lomdei Torah is weakening.

Asked what the chareidi parties could point to as concrete achievements, Pindrus cited the continued operation of an extensive network of Torah institutions and educational systems serving hundreds of thousands of students, with budgets totaling billions of shekels.

He argued that substantial funding had been preserved despite legal efforts to restrict or eliminate it. However, he also suggested that publicly detailing those accomplishments could backfire by generating headlines that would be used against the chareidi community.

The more difficult questions concerned what would happen after the election.

Pindrus argued that a strong electoral showing would send a message to those pursuing measures against the chareidi public and could reduce their motivation to continue the confrontation.

Nevertheless, he offered no specific plan for resolving the draft crisis or ending the legal challenges confronting the Torah world.

He acknowledged that the struggle with the Supreme Court, the Finance Ministry’s Budget Department, and the government bureaucracy would continue into the next Knesset, with periods of progress and setbacks.

The question of future coalition partnerships also produced no definitive answer.

Pindrus reiterated United Torah Judaism’s position that it would not enter any government without an arrangement protecting the status of bnei yeshiva.

When asked whether the party might consider joining forces with politicians on the opposite side of the political spectrum, he said it was difficult to envision cooperating with those who had made opposition to Yiddishkeit a central part of their political agenda.

Still, he stopped short of categorically ruling out every possible arrangement, emphasizing that such decisions would ultimately be made by the Gedolei Yisroel.

Blum also raised the possibility that United Torah Judaism could remain outside a coalition while supporting legislation that, although imperfect, would provide some measure of protection for yeshiva bochurim.

Pindrus again avoided making a firm commitment. He said he had difficulty imagining such an arrangement and maintained that the question was not presently relevant, returning instead to the party’s demand for a resolution of the draft issue.

The interview also addressed government involvement in chareidi education, particularly the controversy over English instruction in chareidi schools.

Although Pindrus himself speaks English, he said he does not teach the language to his own children.

He argued that the central issue is not whether English should be included in the curriculum, but who has the authority to make educational decisions for chareidi families.

According to Pindrus, those decisions belong to parents and their rabbonim, rather than government officials seeking to impose their own educational standards.

He sharply criticized attempts by state authorities to dictate what should be taught in seminaries, Chinuch Atzmai schools, and exempt educational institutions.

Pindrus said the government was entitled to offer financial incentives to institutions willing to expand their curricula, but should not threaten the continued existence of schools that choose to follow the educational guidance of their rabbonim.

Another sensitive issue arose when Blum questioned Pindrus about political cooperation with Otzma Yehudit, the party led by Itamar Ben Gvir, who openly encourages Jews to ascend Har Habayis despite the longstanding prohibition issued by Gedolei Yisroel.

Pindrus responded that political partnerships are generally formed with those whose positions are closer to one’s own and with whom practical cooperation is possible.

At the same time, he emphasized that cooperation on political matters does not eliminate the obligation to protest actions that violate halacha.

He said that ascending Har Habayis must be opposed publicly and on halachic grounds, stressing that anyone who follows Daas Torah recognizes that entering Har Habayis is strictly forbidden.

{Matzav.com}

A former prosecutor in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office has accused her of pursuing a politically motivated investigation targeting President Donald Trump and his associates even after investigators concluded that no crime had been committed. The prosecutor, who was subsequently fired, claims he was instructed to continue searching for evidence against Trump despite determining that the investigation had no legitimate basis.

Daniel Wiesenfeld, who worked in the Attorney General’s Investor Protection Bureau, told the New York Post that his superiors refused to shut down the investigation because James personally wanted it to continue. He alleged that the directive came through his supervisor, Bureau Chief Shamiso Maswoswe, who privately acknowledged that the case should be closed but indicated that the final decision belonged to James.

“By June 2026, after several meetings, we had become exasperated,” Wiesenfeld told The NY Post in an exclusive interview. “Shamiso told us, in sum and substance, that she agreed with us and that if it were her call, she would close the case – but that it was Tish’s call.

“Tish was the boss and what Tish wanted, Tish got,” he said. “So we had to keep going.”

Wiesenfeld’s accusations have intensified a dispute that began in August, when he sent an explosive email to more than 2,000 employees in the Attorney General’s office, alleging that prosecutors were being pressured to pursue Trump and individuals connected to him for political reasons.

“If you believe Trump is using the [Department of Justice] attorneys to prosecute his enemies to further his political interests, you should find it equally troubling that Tish is doing exactly the same thing,” the email said.

Wiesenfeld urged his colleagues to resist what he described as the misuse of prosecutorial authority to advance James’ political objectives.

“I ask you that you not serve as Tish’s personal attorneys by targeting her political enemies,” he added. “Instead, I hope you choose to prosecute crimes and find the individuals accountable, rather than targeting individuals and then find the crimes.”

The internal message eventually became public after the Times Union obtained a copy, setting off controversy within the Attorney General’s office. Wiesenfeld was placed on administrative leave following the disclosure and was later dismissed from his position.

According to Wiesenfeld, the controversy originated with an assignment he received on July 25, 2025, involving allegations of insider trading connected to a company associated with the Trump family. The investigation reportedly stemmed from an anonymous tip suggesting that Donald Trump Jr. and several associates had been providing confidential information to private companies in exchange for millions of dollars.

The former prosecutor said the allegations were based on a mysterious text message from an unidentified phone number. Despite being assigned to investigate the claims, he maintained that he was never permitted to examine the underlying message or learn the circumstances surrounding its receipt.

“I asked for information about the cryptic text and any context that could be provided, but my boss, Shamiso Maswoswe, told me they could not provide me with more information.

Even without access to the original tip, Wiesenfeld said his team conducted an extensive investigation and ultimately determined that the available evidence did not support criminal charges.

Despite being kept in the dark, “we affirmatively conclude that no crime had taken place,” Wiesenfeld said.

Rather than closing the matter, however, Wiesenfeld alleged that his superiors instructed him to continue pursuing additional investigative avenues, including issuing subpoenas to financial institutions. He said he objected to the directive because he believed the investigation had reached a dead end.

When ordered to proceed, Wiesenfeld said he “pushed back.

“I said the investigation was a waste of time and that there was no way forward,” he told The Post. “Nevertheless, I was directed to send subpoenas to several banks, wasting taxpayer dollars and the banks’ resources on what I believed was a fruitless, politically motivated investigation.”

The New York Post reported that both the FBI and the Justice Department subsequently examined Wiesenfeld’s allegations. The report did not establish whether either agency had reached conclusions about the accusations or initiated formal proceedings against James or other officials.

The dispute has also expanded into a confrontation over documents Wiesenfeld retained after leaving the Attorney General’s office. Earlier this week, he accused James’ office of threatening legal action against him for refusing to destroy materials that he considers evidence of official misconduct.

Correspondence obtained through New York’s Freedom of Information Law showed that Wiesenfeld rejected the office’s contention that the records contained protected or privileged information. He insisted that preserving the documents was necessary to substantiate his allegations.

“These documents are simply evidence and your threats will not compel me to destroy such evidence,” he wrote. “If anything, carrying out your threats by bringing this to a legal forum will make this information public.”

Wiesenfeld also disputed the Attorney General’s explanation for his dismissal, arguing that criticism of his work emerged only after he challenged the investigation and publicly accused James of political interference.

“The negative feedback about my performance came only after I expressed that frustration,” he said. “Before then, I had received a very positive performance evaluation. So, the suggestion that I had simply been a problem employee all along is false.”

James’ office has firmly rejected the suggestion that Wiesenfeld was punished for exposing wrongdoing. A spokesperson maintained that his termination resulted from violations of legal and professional standards rather than retaliation for his allegations.

The spokesperson said the office is obligated to impose discipline “when one of its attorneys violates the law, the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, or agency policy.

“Mr. Wiesenfeld was terminated for cause after it was determined that he committed such violations,” the spokesperson said. “We remain committed to enforcing New York’s laws and defending the rights of all New Yorkers. Any suggestion otherwise is disingenuous.”

The allegations come against the backdrop of a longstanding and highly contentious relationship between James and President Trump. During her 2018 campaign for attorney general, James publicly pledged to “prosecute the president for crimes committed in New York” if voters elected her to the position.

After taking office, James brought a major civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization. Her office alleged that the defendants had systematically exaggerated the values of real estate holdings and other assets to obtain more favorable financing arrangements.

The case resulted in a ruling against Trump and a financial penalty initially set at approximately $350 million, before interest. An appeals court subsequently upheld the underlying liability findings while overturning the massive monetary penalty.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly characterized James’ legal efforts as politically driven, while James has maintained that her actions were based on evidence and her responsibility to enforce state law.

The Trump administration has also weighed in on Wiesenfeld’s accusations, describing the former prosecutor’s account as further evidence that James used her office to pursue political adversaries.

In a statement issued last month, the administration called Wiesenfeld’s claims “more proof of the weaponization of the justice system by Letitia James to target President Trump and her political opponents.”

Additional reporting has provided a more detailed account of the federal government’s interest in Wiesenfeld’s allegations. On September 1, he reportedly met for several hours with FBI agents and Justice Department attorneys to discuss his accusations. The extent of the federal inquiry, including whether a formal criminal investigation has been opened, remains unclear.

Separately, records obtained through a public information request have complicated the dispute over Wiesenfeld’s dismissal. The records reportedly show that supervisors had previously raised concerns about his attendance, responsiveness, and handling of assignments. They also document allegations that he transferred confidential government materials to his personal email account. Wiesenfeld maintains that the criticism was retaliatory and that the materials he retained are evidence of misconduct.

The confrontation has also unfolded during James’ reelection campaign. Her Republican challenger, Saritha Komatireddy, has made allegations of politically motivated prosecutions a campaign issue, accusing the attorney general of devoting excessive attention to Trump while neglecting other state responsibilities. James’ campaign has rejected those attacks and defended her office’s enforcement record.

{Matzav.com}

The Pentagon announced Thursday that the December 3 execution of convicted Fort Hood terrorist Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed, allowing the public to witness the firing squad execution of the former Army psychiatrist who murdered 13 people and wounded 32 others in a 2009 shooting rampage at the Texas military installation.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed that Hasan will be executed at Fort Hood, the same base where he carried out one of the deadliest attacks in American military history. The execution is scheduled for 1 p.m., matching the approximate time of the November 5, 2009, massacre.

Speaking to Real America’s Voice News aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, Hegseth said the decision to make the execution publicly accessible was intended to demonstrate the consequences of committing such an attack against American servicemembers.

“We’re gonna make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things,” Hegseth said.

“Army major betrays his country, radical Islamist kills a bunch of Americans at Fort Hood. Of course we’re doing it at Fort Hood,” he added.

The Pentagon separately confirmed Thursday that the execution would be broadcast live, although officials indicated that further information about the arrangements would be released at a later date.

Hegseth described the planned execution as a carefully scheduled military proceeding, with soldiers assigned to carry out the sentence using rifles.

“We’re going to do it on a Thursday. We’re going to do it at one o’clock, which is when he did it. And it’s going to be soldiers with rifles executing the firing squad.”

When asked whether Hasan had contacted the Trump administration or submitted any final requests, Hegseth dismissed the question.

“Don’t care. We’ll see him on December 3rd.”

The announcement follows confirmation earlier this week that President Donald Trump approved Hasan’s execution following a recommendation from Hegseth. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell disclosed the president’s authorization Monday, clearing the way for military officials to proceed with preparations.

Hasan, a former Army major and psychiatrist, was convicted in 2013 of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. He was sentenced to death by a military jury and has remained on military death row for more than a decade.

The massacre occurred on November 5, 2009, when Hasan entered the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, where military personnel were gathering for medical examinations, vaccinations and other procedures required before deployment overseas.

Armed with a handgun equipped with a laser sight, Hasan began firing at soldiers and civilian personnel inside the crowded facility.

Witnesses testified that he shouted “Allahu akbar” — Arabic for “God is great!” — before opening fire.

The attack created scenes of panic as soldiers attempted to escape the building or help wounded colleagues. Hasan continued shooting as victims fled, including firing at servicemembers running toward a nearby parking lot.

Investigators subsequently recovered 146 spent cartridge casings inside the facility, along with additional casings outside, illustrating the extensive gunfire unleashed during the rampage.

Evidence presented during Hasan’s court-martial established that the attack had been carefully planned over several weeks.

Prosecutors showed that Hasan had practiced shooting at a gun range near Austin, Texas, where he worked on improving his accuracy and developing the ability to reload his weapon quickly.

Survivors later described how the speed with which Hasan reloaded allowed him to continue firing before anyone could effectively intervene.

The shooting ended when Hasan was wounded by responding civilian police officers. He survived the confrontation but was left paralyzed from the waist down.

During subsequent investigations and legal proceedings, Hasan acknowledged responsibility for the killings and claimed that his actions were intended to prevent American troops from deploying to Afghanistan, where he believed they would participate in operations against fellow Muslims.

A military judge rejected his attempt to present that justification as a legal defense.

Hasan represented himself during portions of his 2013 court-martial and made little effort to dispute the prosecution’s evidence. He told the jury that the testimony would establish that he was responsible for the shooting and described himself as an American soldier who had “switched sides.”

The jury convicted him on all 45 charges and imposed the death penalty.

The case has remained one of the most notorious incidents of terrorism committed at an American military installation, particularly because Hasan was a commissioned Army officer who had been entrusted with providing psychiatric care to fellow servicemembers.

The execution will also mark an extraordinary moment in American military justice.

According to Hegseth, the U.S. military has not carried out an execution by firing squad since World War II.

The last execution conducted under the American military justice system occurred on April 13, 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was executed by hanging following his conviction for serious crimes.

Hasan’s execution, if carried out as scheduled, would therefore be the first American military execution in more than 65 years and the first military firing squad execution in approximately eight decades.

The Pentagon has not yet disclosed the specific arrangements for the livestream, including which platforms will carry the broadcast or what restrictions, if any, will govern public access.

Military officials are expected to provide additional information as the December 3 date approaches.

The Pentagon’s decision to livestream the execution has also raised questions about the legal and ethical implications of broadcasting a military death sentence. Critics have warned against turning executions into public spectacles, while supporters of the decision argue that public access would reinforce accountability for the 2009 massacre.

It also remains unclear whether Hasan’s attorneys will pursue additional legal challenges that could delay the execution. The December 3 date has been announced, but the sentence could still be subject to further court proceedings.

The planned execution would be the first carried out by the American military since 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged. The last military execution by firing squad occurred during World War II.

For now, the Pentagon has confirmed its intention to broadcast the proceeding but has not announced where the livestream will be available or whether any restrictions will apply to viewers.

A Palestinian-led educational initiative operating in Gaza is preparing to introduce Holocaust education through video games on Xbox and Nintendo platforms, part of a broader effort to remove anti-Israel incitement from classrooms and fundamentally change how Palestinian children are educated.

David Hasan, founder and president of Gaza Children Village, disclosed the plans Thursday during a conference organized by NGO Monitor and the Valop Group, describing an ambitious program intended to replace material promoting terrorism and hatred with lessons emphasizing cooperation, empathy and coexistence.

The initiative, which Hasan said already operates 21 educational academies serving approximately 22,000 children across Gaza, is also introducing extensive teacher screening, artificial intelligence classroom monitoring and revised textbooks that explicitly recognize Israel.

“We have games that we’re going to take for after school, and for Xbox, Nintendo, and the kids will play on it,” Hasan, who is of Palestinian descent, said during a question-and-answer portion of the discussion, which Valop Group co-hosted with NGO Monitor.

“The whole theme of it is, again, collaboration, empathy and, for the first time, we’re going to teach about Holocaust,” he said.

Hasan indicated that the initiative would involve the American embassy, although the precise nature of that involvement has not been established. No timetable has been announced for introducing the gaming component, and details of how the Holocaust lessons would be incorporated into the games remain unclear.

He warned that any attempt to transform Gaza’s educational environment must account for the determination of extremist organizations to maintain their influence over the next generation.

“You have to always be in the mentality that they are smarter than you are,” Hasan said. “Don’t get comfortable, because the minute you get comfortable, you will be defeated.”

Hasan presented the program during a discussion titled “Gaza: From Security to Strategy,” held as part of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism’s World Summit at Reichman University. Participants examined possible approaches to Gaza’s postwar reconstruction, disarmament and the removal of extremist ideology from its institutions.

Education emerged as a central issue, with speakers arguing that Gaza’s long-term future cannot be separated from the messages children receive in their classrooms.

According to Hasan, Gaza Children Village established its first academy in July 2025 and has expanded considerably since then, reaching thousands of children through its network of educational centers.

Rather than discard the existing Palestinian Authority curriculum entirely, the organization has retained its basic academic framework while reviewing lessons and replacing examples that it considers supportive of violence or hostile toward Israel.

Hasan described several changes already implemented in classroom materials. Mathematics exercises that previously asked students to calculate the number of “martyrs” killed during the First and Second Intifadas have been rewritten to use examples involving soccer players and spectators.

In another case, a problem requiring students to calculate the trajectory of a weapon directed at an Israeli soldier was replaced with an exercise involving an Olympic athlete throwing a javelin.

The organization has also introduced geographic materials identifying Israel by name, a change Hasan highlighted as a significant departure from the educational content previously available to many Palestinian students.

“For the first time, we have the map that says ‘Israel,’” Hasan said.

Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor, expressed qualified encouragement about the program, describing it as an unusual attempt to address what he considers one of the underlying causes of extremism in Gaza.

Steinberg told JNS that he is “cautiously optimistic” about its prospects and characterized Gaza Children Village as a “unique project.”

“Not just a lot of words and Band-Aids, but a serious attempt, with significant backing, to begin a process,” he told JNS. “I want to emphasize, to begin a process of changing the educational process in Gaza away from the incitement and support forinsta;;e terror, the hate, replacing the existing structure, which includes UNRWA and other frameworks.”

Steinberg argued that previous international humanitarian and educational programs operating in Gaza have failed to prevent Hamas from establishing influence within civilian institutions.

He maintained that Hamas has “manipulated” numerous nonprofit organizations, raising concerns about allowing aid groups to operate without security screening and oversight. Gaza Children Village, he said, has taken a different approach by cooperating with Israeli security requirements.

“They have not refused to work with security frameworks that are necessary to prevent a repetition of the infrastructure that the NGOs knowingly helped build, 500 kilometers of terrorist tunnels in hospitals and mosques and under residences, that allowed Oct. 7 to take place,” he said.

“That cannot. Israel is not going to allow Hamas and its network, including NGOs, U.N. agencies, to rebuild that,” he said. “It’s just not. It’s not.”

“Israel cannot allow that to happen, no matter how much the NGOs and their lobbyists continue to demand that,” he told JNS.

The discussion also addressed the future of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, which has long played a major role in providing schooling and other services to Palestinian refugees.

Hasan said he supports dismantling UNRWA but cautioned that eliminating the organization without establishing replacement institutions could create a vacuum that extremist groups would exploit.

“You can’t create a gap and wait four or five years to find a viable alternative,” Hasan said at the event. “You have to do it simultaneously.”

His remarks came against the backdrop of investigations into alleged connections between UNRWA personnel and terrorist organizations.

In June, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Inspector General referred 101 current or former employees to the State Department for consideration of suspension or debarment because of alleged involvement in the October 7 attacks or affiliations with Hamas.

Those referred reportedly included educators and school administrators identified by investigators as having held positions within Hamas, including operational commanders and intelligence personnel. One individual was identified as a sniper. The referrals involved allegations and did not, by themselves, establish guilt in every case.

Steinberg went further than Hasan in his assessment of UNRWA’s future, arguing that the agency should be excluded entirely from any replacement educational system established in Gaza.

“There are different views,” he said. “My own personal view is that UNRWA needs to be taken away entirely from the structure and the process.”

“Not only is there nothing UNRWA contributes, but their history and their track record shows that whatever may be agreed upon in theory, UNRWA will go back to its current and long-standing history of being used by Palestinian leadership to reinforce and to continue what led to the catastrophes in Gaza and elsewhere,” he said.

Steinberg acknowledged that significant practical questions remain unanswered about how Gaza Children Village or similar organizations could replace the extensive educational infrastructure currently associated with UNRWA.

Nevertheless, he said that developing functioning alternatives is essential, even if the transition proves complicated.

“It’s very important to have initiatives and not simply talk about and focus on all of the existing failures in the system,” he told JNS. “I think one has to be very cautious, because it’s unique and it’s going to be difficult to implement. But at the same time, it does provide, potentially, an alternative where no other ones exist.”

Gaza Children Village has also established screening procedures for its teachers, including coordination with Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli military body responsible for coordinating civilian affairs involving Palestinian territories.

Hasan said prospective educators undergo security vetting as well as a psychological assessment consisting of 50 questions, intended to identify potential concerns before individuals are permitted to teach.

The organization is also experimenting with artificial intelligence technology to monitor classroom instruction and identify statements that may promote antisemitism or other forms of hatred.

According to Hasan, cameras and microphones installed in classrooms record lessons, with the resulting material analyzed by automated systems designed to detect potentially inflammatory language.

Recordings are retained for 72 hours, while the monitoring system can generate an alert approximately 20 minutes after identifying language that has been flagged for review.

Hasan acknowledged that some teachers may arrive with deeply ingrained attitudes shaped by the society and educational institutions in which they grew up.

“Some are bad apples, trust me, but some are just—that’s the culture. Just that’s how they grow of it,” he told attendees.

He explained that the monitoring system is intended to serve an educational purpose as well, helping instructors recognize problematic language and adjust to teaching subjects and perspectives that may be unfamiliar to them.

Beyond curriculum changes, Gaza Children Village has developed a broader network of services designed to help children return to regular learning after years of war and displacement. Its Academies of Hope provide classroom instruction alongside meals, medical assistance, psychological support and recreational activities.

The organization says its educational philosophy emphasizes peaceful conflict resolution, mutual respect and responsible citizenship. Its schools are staffed by Palestinian educators, while its programs also provide employment and training opportunities for local residents.

The project’s expansion comes amid the enormous damage inflicted on Gaza’s educational infrastructure during the war. UNICEF estimates that approximately 98% of schools in the territory have been damaged or destroyed, leaving hundreds of thousands of children without regular classroom instruction for extended periods.

In addition to rebuilding educational facilities, Gaza Children Village is pursuing plans for expanded pediatric medical services, additional schools and community support programs.

Steinberg maintained that such humanitarian and educational work must be accompanied by fundamental changes in the messages delivered to Palestinian children, arguing that Hamas and other terrorist organizations have used schools and youth activities to cultivate support for violence.

“Every day, you can see, every day, videos of Palestinian children in Gaza who were used and exploited by Hamas and the other organizations as child soldiers, as child terrorists, for the incitement,” he said.

“The changing educational system is central to ‘deradicalizing,’ as the phrase is used, the Palestinian population and future generations,” he said.

“The only way that they’re going to be deradicalized is to change the education system completely,” he told JNS. “That’s also what the Children’s Village does.”

{Matzav.com}

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The following is from Rav Yaakov on the Parshah, a new English adaptation of the Torah of Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l, drawn from his sefer Emes L’Yaakov. This week’s selection is on Parshas Bereishis. For questions, comments or to subscribe email RavYaakovOTP@gmail.com.

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ

In the beginning, Hashem created the heavens and the earth. (Bereishis 1:1)

The trop on the very first pasuk of the Torah is unusual.

The word אֱלֹקִים is marked with an esnachta, one of the principal pauses within a pasuk. According to the rules of the trop, such a pause comes only at the conclusion of a complete phrase or thought. Here, however, the words בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים leave the sentence incomplete. Hashem created what? The thought is completed only by the words that follow, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ, “the heavens and the earth.” We would therefore have expected a weaker pause after the word אֱלֹקִים.

There are several ways to understand this difficult pause.

Perhaps the trop alludes to Rashi’s explanation that the world was created for the sake of that which is called רֵאשִׁית.[1] According to this reading, בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים, “For the sake of the רֵאשִׁית, Hashem created,” is a complete statement, and an esnachta after these three words is appropriate.

Alternatively, the trop may allude to the idea that the רֵאשִׁית, the beginning itself, was created. This follows the view of Chazal that time itself is a creation (see Moreh Nevuchim 2:30; Shu”t Rashba 1:423; Sforno here). Time is not something that existed before Creation, within which Creation then took place. Time itself is part of what Hashem brought into existence.

The trop can also be understood according to the Ramban (1:8),[2] who explains that the opening pasuk is not the first step in the account of Creation. It is an introduction to it. The Torah never describes how the spiritual worlds were made. It does not tell us how the malachim were created, and certainly not the lofty serafim and other spiritual beings. Yet we must not imagine, chas v’shalom, that any of them existed before Creation or had a part in bringing the world into being. The first pasuk therefore tells us that at the very beginning, Hashem alone brought forth, יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן, from absolute nothingness, two forms of primordial matter: the matter of the heavens, the source of everything spiritual, and the matter of the earth, the source of everything physical.[3] Only with the next pasuk, וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ, “And the earth was unformed and void,” does the detailed account of Creation begin.

It follows that everything the Torah goes on to describe, even the sky, the sun, the moon, and the stars, belongs to the physical creation and was formed from the matter of the earth. Of the spiritual heavens, the Torah tells us nothing, except that they too were created by Hashem at the very beginning.[4]

This explains the esnachta. If the first pasuk is a declaration rather than the first step of a story, its essential message is that at the very beginning, before anything else existed, it was Hashem, and Hashem alone, Who created. That message is already complete in the words בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים. What He created, the raw matter of the heavens and the earth, follows as a detail. The major pause after אֱלֹקִים is exactly where it belongs.

The Ramban’s approach carries a far-reaching implication. If the sun, the moon, and the stars belong to the physical creation, then they are physical bodies, formed from the same matter as the earth. The Rambam, however, held otherwise. He writes that the moon possesses a spiritual form, and that the stars and spheres possess a soul, knowledge, and intellect. They are alive and recognize the One Who spoke and brought the world into being, and each, according to its greatness and level, praises and glorifies its Creator, like the malachim (Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 3:9; see also Moreh Nevuchim 2:5).

These words of the Ramban came to mind when I saw with my own eyes men descending by ladder from their spacecraft onto the surface of the moon. Here were human beings standing on the moon itself. What, I wondered, would the Rambam answer now?

It seemed that Kabbalah had defeated philosophy. The Ramban was among the masters of Kabbalah, and on this matter he possessed a received tradition. The Rambam’s view followed the philosophers, who had no such tradition and concluded on their own that the heavenly spheres possess intelligence and are not made of the same elements as the earth.[5] The moon landing seemed to prove the Ramban right, and I took comfort in his words.[6]

But that comfort raised a far more serious difficulty.

We approach the words of the Rishonim with the conviction that they fall within the framework of אֵלּוּ וָאֵלּוּ דִּבְרֵי אֱלֹקִים חַיִּים. Even if the halachah does not follow the Rambam on this point, we cannot accept that the Rambam’s words were simply an error. If the Rambam could have been mistaken in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah, why should he not be mistaken in other areas of halachah, such as Hilchos Shabbos?

The answer lies in a difficulty within these very chapters of the Rambam.

The first four chapters of Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah describe Hashem’s existence, the malachim, the heavenly spheres, and the elements of the physical world. The Rambam himself identifies their subject: the first two chapters deal with Maaseh Merkavah, and the third and fourth with Maaseh Bereishis (ibid. 2:11; 4:10). At the end of the fourth chapter, he adds that these are the subjects the early Sages called Pardes (ibid. 4:13). This refers to the Gemara’s account of four great Tannaim who “entered the Pardes,” the “orchard” of the Torah’s deepest secrets. Of the four, only Rabbi Akiva emerged unharmed (Chagigah 14b).

These are precisely the areas of Torah that Chazal guarded most closely. The Gemara teaches that Maaseh Bereishis may not be taught publicly, and Maaseh Merkavah not even to a single student unless he is wise and understands on his own (Chagigah 11b). These matters were never written down; they were transmitted orally. The Rambam himself records this halachah (ibid. 4:10). How, then, could he write them in a sefer meant for all of Klal Yisrael?[7]

We must therefore conclude that in these chapters the Rambam did not record the actual secrets of Maaseh Bereishis and Maaseh Merkavah at all. What he wrote there comes from his own broad knowledge of the sciences of his day. It is not drawn from the wisdom of the Torah; it is philosophy.[8]

That is why these chapters stand apart. The Rambam wrote them only as an introduction to the Yad HaChazakah.[9] The work itself begins with the fifth chapter: כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל מְצֻוִּין עַל קִדּוּשׁ הַשֵּׁם, “All of Klal Yisrael is commanded to sanctify Hashem’s Name” (ibid. 5:1).

A mistake in these chapters therefore cannot be compared to a mistake in halachah. The two do not come from the same source.

Notes

[1] Rashi writes that this pasuk calls out to be expounded: the world was created for the sake of the Torah, which is called רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ, and for the sake of Klal Yisrael, who are called רֵאשִׁית תְּבוּאָתֹה.

[2] The heavens mentioned in the first pasuk are the upper heavens, above the spheres and the Merkavah. The Torah does not describe their creation, just as it does not mention the malachim, the chayos of the Merkavah, or any being without a body. It states only that the heavens were created, meaning they did not exist eternally.

[3] The Ramban explains that in Lashon HaKodesh, the only term for bringing something into existence from nothing is בָּרָא. From absolute nothingness, Hashem brought forth a very fine substance with no tangible existence, a potential ready to receive form, which the Greeks called hyle. The heavens and everything in them come from one such matter, and the earth and everything in it from another. These two alone were created from nothing, and everything else was made from them. In Lashon HaKodesh this primordial matter is called תֹהוּ.

[4] The Ramban demonstrates this from Tehillim 148. The heavens at the beginning of that mizmor, הַלְלוּ אֶת ה׳ מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם… הַלְלוּהוּ כָל מַלְאָכָיו, are the upper heavens, where Hashem’s Throne is. From the sun and the moon onward, including שְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמָיִם, the mizmor is speaking of the earthly creation. Accordingly, the heavens mentioned later in the account of Creation, in וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹקִים לָרָקִיעַ שָׁמָיִם (1:8), וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ (2:1), and בְּיוֹם עֲשׂוֹת ה׳ אֱלֹקִים אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם (2:4), were all formed from the matter of the earth. The exception is at Matan Torah: אַתָּה הָרְאֵתָ לָדַעַת כִּי ה׳ הוּא הָאֱלֹקִים אֵין עוֹד מִלְּבַדּוֹ… בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת אֵין עוֹד (Devarim 4:35, 39). At that time all the heavens were opened, and Klal Yisrael saw that even in the upper, spiritual heavens there is none besides Him.

[5] This is stated explicitly by the Maharal (Gevuros Hashem, second introduction). One should pay no attention to the philosophers who say that the sun and moon are living, intelligent beings. A tzaddik stands above the sun, because his neshamah is separate from physicality, while the sun is essentially physical. The Maharal repeats this view in Derech Chaim (Avos 1:16) and Nesivos Olam (Nesiv HaShalom, ch. 2).

[6] That the Ramban disagrees with the Rambam fits well with the Ramban’s explanation of הַשָּׁמַיִם מְסַפְּרִים כְּבוֹד אֵ־ל in his derashah Toras Hashem Temimah. According to the Rambam, the heavens themselves praise their Creator, like the malachim. According to the Ramban, the heavens move constantly, and anything in motion requires something that moves it. In that sense the heavens attest that there is a God Who drives them by His power. This is consistent with the Ramban’s commentary here.

[7] See Emes L’Yaakov, Vayikra 23:24, regarding Hoshana Rabbah: when Chazal wanted to keep something hidden from the public, they did not write it explicitly. Here the Rambam appears to do the opposite.

[8] R’ Tzadok HaKohen (Sefer HaZichronos, p. 12) made this point earlier. He writes that the Rambam understood Maaseh Bereishis as the natural sciences and found them useful for ahavas Hashem and yiras Hashem. Yet these matters come from the wisdom of the nations, not from the Torah, and much of what the Rambam wrote is no longer accepted even by their own scholars. The Gra, too, criticized the Rambam for having been swayed by philosophy (Biur HaGra, Yoreh Deah 179:13).

[9] The intent appears to be as follows. In these opening chapters, the Rambam explains the mitzvos of the heart, the חוֹבוֹת הַלְּבָבוֹת: knowing Hashem, His unity, and fearing and loving Him. But how can a person come to love and fear a Creator Who has no form and no body? The Neviim and Chazal transmitted Maaseh Bereishis and Maaseh Merkavah for precisely this purpose, but these may not be taught publicly. The Rambam therefore portrayed the wonders of Creation according to the philosophical and scientific understanding of his era. As R’ Avraham ben HaRambam writes (Maamar al HaAggados), his father relied on the scientists of his time regarding nature. Even contemplation from that perspective can bring a person to marvel at Creation and so to ahavas Hashem and yiras Hashem. This is what the Rambam writes (Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 2:2, repeated in 4:12): when a person contemplates Hashem’s great and wondrous works and sees in them a wisdom without measure or end, he immediately loves, praises, and glorifies Him, שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ כָּךְ אַתָּה מַכִּיר אֶת מִי שֶׁאָמַר וְהָיָה הָעוֹלָם.

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Republican New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman is calling on Jewish voters across the state to mobilize ahead of the November 3 election, warning that Gov. Kathy Hochul has failed to confront New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and arguing that his election is essential to combating rising antisemitism.

Speaking Wednesday evening at a gathering of the Bukharian Jewish Congress in Forest Hills, Queens, marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, Blakeman delivered an impassioned appeal to Jewish New Yorkers, urging them to become actively involved in the race for governor.

“There is only one person that can stop Zohran Mamdani and that is the governor of the state of New York,” Blakeman, who is Jewish, told the gathering.

Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, accused Hochul of lending political support to Mamdani despite the mayor’s repeated criticism of Israel and statements that have generated outrage among Jewish leaders and residents.

“And this governor will not only not stop him, she is encouraging him,” Blakeman said of Hochul. “She’s campaigning with him. She endorsed him.

Wearing a yarmulke during his address, the 71-year-old Republican framed the election as a battle over the future of Jewish families in New York, speaking as both a political candidate and a father and grandfather concerned about the next generation.

“I’m here today as a father, a grandfather,” added Blakeman, who is Jewish and wore a kippah during his remarks. “I am going to fight for my children and my grandchildren. I am going to fight for your children and your grandchildren. But I can’t do it alone… You need to get into this fight.”

The remarks came as Blakeman seeks to strengthen his support among Jewish communities in New York City, particularly in Queens, where concerns about antisemitism and Mamdani’s positions on Israel have become significant political issues.

Queens is home to a large Bukharian Jewish population, estimated at approximately 70,000, with substantial communities in Forest Hills, Rego Park and Kew Gardens. Many families trace their roots to Uzbekistan and other countries of Central Asia and the former Soviet Union.

During last year’s New York City mayoral election, many members of the Bukharian community supported former Gov. Andrew Cuomo rather than Mamdani, who ultimately won the race. Blakeman is now hoping to attract those same voters in his effort to unseat Hochul.

The Republican faces a difficult electoral landscape in a state where Democrats hold a considerable registration advantage. His campaign is seeking to make gains in traditionally Democratic areas by appealing to voters dissatisfied with the political establishment’s response to antisemitism and the policies of the Mamdani administration.

Blakeman devoted a portion of Wednesday’s speech to the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack, in which approximately 1,200 people were murdered in Israel. He described the brutality of the massacre before criticizing Mamdani’s public statement commemorating its third anniversary.

Mamdani had used the occasion to accuse Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, drawing criticism from those who viewed the statement as an inappropriate response to an anniversary dedicated to remembering the victims of Hamas terrorism.

“The antisemitism is out of control,” Blakeman, 71, said. “We have a mayor of New York City who who put a statement just today, on Oct. 7, where he makes a moral equivalence between the attack on Oct. 7 and the Palestinian cause, whatever that cause may be.”

Blakeman has repeatedly charged that Mamdani’s rhetoric toward Israel crosses the line into antisemitism, and he has suggested that a governor willing to exercise the powers of the office could take action against the mayor.

In a recent interview with Jewish News Syndicate, Blakeman said he would directly confront Mamdani over statements he considers hostile to Jewish New Yorkers.

“I wouldn’t let Zohran Mamdani get away with the virulent antisemitic comments he’s made,” Blakeman recently told JNS.com. “I would tell him to stop or, if he didn’t, take action against him, which the governor has the power to do.”

Mamdani has rejected allegations that his opposition to Israel reflects hostility toward Jews. The mayor maintains that his criticism is directed at Israeli government policies and the treatment of Palestinians, while insisting that he supports Jewish New Yorkers and opposes antisemitism.

Hochul, meanwhile, has sought to maintain her longstanding support for Israel while preserving her political relationship with Mamdani. The governor traveled to Israel shortly after the October 7 massacre in 2023 to express solidarity with Israelis and meet those affected by the terrorist attacks.

Although Hochul has generally avoided joining Mamdani’s attacks on Israel, she has also declined to engage in sustained public criticism of the mayor. Last month, she defended Mamdani after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused him of encouraging hostility toward Jewish New Yorkers.

On Wednesday, Hochul issued her own statement commemorating the October 7 massacre, emphasizing the suffering of the victims and the continued resilience of the Jewish people. She also ordered flags at state government buildings lowered to half-staff in remembrance of those murdered.

“The pain of that dark day has not faded. But neither has the strength, resilience and enduring hope of the Jewish people,” Hochul said in a statement on Wednesday, as she directed flags on state buildings to be flown at half-staff in solidarity with the Israeli people.

“Today, we remember the innocent lives stolen, stand with the survivors and the families forever changed, and pray for a lasting peace,” she said.

Hochul also attended the United Jewish Appeal’s October 7 memorial gathering Wednesday night, where the anniversary was marked by members of New York’s Jewish community.

Her campaign pushed back against Blakeman’s criticism, pointing to the governor’s record of providing security assistance and combating antisemitic incidents throughout the state.

A campaign representative said Hochul had introduced a statewide initiative against antisemitism and directed $130 million toward efforts to prevent hate crimes and strengthen protections for vulnerable communities.

“She was the first American official to visit disaster sites in Israel in the wake of the October 7th attack — she will never stop fighting back against antisemitism every time it rears its head and she will never stop standing up for Jewish New Yorkers,” spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said.

Hochul assumed the governorship in 2021 following Cuomo’s resignation amid allegations of sexual harassment, which he has denied. She subsequently won a full term in 2022 and is now campaigning for another four years in Albany.

Recent polling underscores the challenge confronting Blakeman, although the numbers also reveal areas of potential opportunity for the Republican challenger.

A Marist survey released Wednesday found Hochul leading statewide by 53% to 42%, an 11-point advantage. Among independent voters, however, Blakeman was ahead by 49% to 42%, while the candidates were tied at 48% apiece among suburban voters.

The same survey showed Hochul maintaining a substantial 69% to 24% advantage in New York City, highlighting why Blakeman is making an aggressive effort to reach communities that have traditionally voted Democratic.

Another survey, conducted by Emerson College and PIX11, found Hochul ahead statewide by 52% to 40%, but showed Blakeman holding an even larger, 21-point lead among independent voters. The poll surveyed 900 likely voters from October 3 through October 5.

Blakeman also faces a considerable financial disadvantage. Hochul and the New York State Democratic Party entered the closing stretch of the campaign with approximately $33 million available between their respective campaign accounts, providing substantial resources for advertising and voter outreach.

The state’s voter registration figures present another obstacle. Democrats number approximately six million registered voters, substantially outnumbering Republicans, while millions of additional New Yorkers are registered without a party affiliation.

With Election Day less than four weeks away, Blakeman’s appearance before the Bukharian Jewish Congress reflected his campaign’s determination to compete for voters in New York City who may disagree with Mamdani’s positions on Israel and question Hochul’s willingness to challenge him.

{Matzav.com}

Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that the Trump administration is investigating nine major American universities over allegations that they have been exploiting a federal visa program to hire foreign researchers and graduate students at lower salaries than their American counterparts, potentially depressing wages and undermining employment opportunities for U.S. citizens.

The investigation focuses on the J-1 exchange visitor visa program, which permits foreign nationals to enter the United States for educational, research, and other approved exchange activities. Administration officials suspect that some universities have been using the program to obtain cheaper labor for research projects, including work financed by federal grants.

Speaking at a news conference devoted to alleged fraud and abuse in employment visa programs, Vance identified Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Brown University, the University of Pittsburgh, Arizona State University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California Institute of Technology, and the University of California, Davis, as the institutions under scrutiny.

“Elite universities bring in foreigners to undercut the wages of American residents,” Vance said at a press conference regarding fraud and abuse in work visa programs. “There are nine universities in particular we believe merit an investigation.”

Vance pointed to what he described as a substantial disparity between compensation paid to American researchers and foreign nationals working under J-1 visas.

“What we see is when you employ an American worker as a graduate student as a researcher, they are making about $20,000 more than someone brought in under a J-1 visa and, importantly, these universities are employing J-1 visas for federally funded grants at a rate of 61 percent,” Vance said.

According to the vice president, the proportion of J-1 visa holders working on federally supported research at the nine institutions is considerably higher than the national average.

“The national average is 38 percent, so something weird is going on at these universities. They are using these visas way too much. They are using them to undercut the wages of American grad students and American researchers, and it simply has to stop,” he added.

The Labor Department has already begun taking investigative action. Anthony D’Esposito, the department’s inspector general, confirmed during the same news conference that “subpoenas have been served” and “investigations are underway.”

The subpoenas are intended to obtain information relevant to the universities’ use of the visa program. The administration has not publicly established that any of the nine institutions violated federal law, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Several of the universities responded by defending their employment practices and emphasizing the contributions of international researchers to American higher education.

Brown University confirmed that it had received a subpoena and stressed that its “international scholars, students and employees make essential contributions on our campus, including to teaching and research that advances American innovation, competitiveness and economic vitality.”

Stanford University likewise indicated that it intends to cooperate with federal investigators, maintaining that it “complies with all applicable visa laws” and “will cooperate with the investigation.”

Arizona State University issued a more extensive defense of its research and employment practices, arguing that its large scientific workforce plays an important role in the American economy.

“As one of the largest research universities in the United States, Arizona State University educates more stem majors than any other university and employs one of the largest technical and scientific workforces in the country,” a spokesperson for Arizona State University said. “This benefits both the Arizona and the United States economies and in doing so, ASU has hired the talent needed to perform these functions and done so in complete compliance with existing United States policy and law.”

MIT confirmed that it was examining the federal demand for records and noted that foreign researchers admitted under the J-1 program had already received authorization from federal authorities.

A university spokesperson said MIT is “in the process of reviewing this very broad subpoena” and that all J-1 visa holders at the institution have “been vetted and authorized to come here by the U.S. government.”

Yale University also emphasized its commitment to following federal immigration requirements.

“Yale is committed to full compliance with federal rules concerning visas, including the requirements for J-1 visas. The university will review the documents concerning this investigation once they are received,” a spokesperson said.

The University of Pittsburgh, Harvard, the University of California, Davis, and Caltech had not provided responses to requests for comment at the time of the initial report.

Beyond the wage allegations, federal investigators are examining whether universities have improperly used taxpayer-supported research programs or exposed sensitive American scientific work to foreign influence.

D’Esposito specifically raised concerns about China and the possibility that foreign governments could gain access to federally financed research through academic institutions.

“If an American university is breaking the law to save a dollar while exposing American research to a foreign adversary that is not academic excellence it is institutional betrayal,” D’Esposito said.

The investigation is part of a broader immigration enforcement initiative announced Thursday by the Trump administration. At the same news conference, officials revealed that Microsoft, Adobe, and several major technology outsourcing companies were being suspended from a federal labor certification program used to sponsor foreign employees for permanent residency.

The companies affected by that separate action include Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Capgemini. Administration officials accused employers of exploiting immigration programs to reduce labor costs and disadvantage American workers.

The university investigations also come as the Department of Homeland Security advances a proposal to impose a $70,000 fee on employers sponsoring international students for employment through the Optional Practical Training program, which allows eligible foreign students to gain work experience related to their studies.

The administration has not publicly released the underlying methodology supporting Vance’s wage and visa-use comparisons, and the investigations have not yet resulted in findings of wrongdoing against the nine universities.

D’Esposito said investigators intend to pursue the allegations regardless of the institutions’ prestige, declaring that “subpoenas have been served” and “investigations are underway.”

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has accused President Donald Trump of deliberately targeting his Muslim identity after the president referred to him as “Mohammed El-Sayed” and labeled him a “RADICAL Extremist, Terrorist Sympathizer” in a social media attack ahead of a closely watched Senate debate.

El-Sayed, who is seeking the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, responded Thursday by accusing Trump of intentionally misrepresenting his name and attempting to use his religion as a political weapon.

“He knows my name is Abdul. He says it everyday,” El-Sayed wrote on X Thursday morning. “But he’s not just attacking me. He’s attacking all of us.

“He thinks so low of us,” El-Sayed continued. “He thinks he can use my name and my faith to distract us from the suffering his policies are inflicting on us at the pump, at the grocery store, and at the doctor’s office. He thinks we don’t know any better. It’s time for change.”

The confrontation began Wednesday evening when Trump posted his criticism of El-Sayed on Truth Social, portraying the Democratic nominee as a dangerous extremist. The president has endorsed Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who is running against El-Sayed in Michigan’s Senate race.

El-Sayed, whose full name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, was born in Michigan to Egyptian immigrant parents. A physician and former director of Wayne County’s Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services, he has emerged as a prominent figure on the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

Earlier this year, El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, a more centrist Democrat, in Michigan’s Senate primary, setting up the general election contest against Rogers.

His campaign has emphasized a progressive economic agenda that includes establishing “Medicare for All,” raising taxes on billionaires, prohibiting political spending by political action committees, and reducing household expenses.

Trump’s latest attack came one day before El-Sayed and Rogers were scheduled to meet Thursday evening in their first debate of the general election campaign, placing the controversy over the president’s remarks at the center of the race.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also entered the dispute Thursday, condemning Trump’s comments and predicting that El-Sayed would win the Michigan contest.

“Abdul El-Sayed is on the road to being the next Senator from Michigan no matter how much bigoted bulls— a weak and desperate Donald Trump throws at him,” Schumer wrote on X.

Trump has made El-Sayed’s background and religious identity recurring themes in his attacks on the Democratic nominee. The president’s latest remarks are part of a broader Republican effort to portray El-Sayed as too radical for Michigan voters, particularly over his political associations and positions on Israel.

Republicans have also raised concerns about El-Sayed’s relationship with political commentator Hasan Piker, whose statements about Israel and other issues have generated controversy. During a September television forum in Detroit, El-Sayed faced questions about Piker’s rhetoric, his own views on Israel, and his associations with democratic socialist organizations.

The president previously targeted El-Sayed in August by publishing a photograph of himself alongside First Lady Melania Trump next to an image of El-Sayed and his wife. Trump captioned the comparison “Two VERY DIFFERENT America’s” and included the Democratic candidate’s full name.

El-Sayed responded during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper by acknowledging that the two photographs represented contrasting political visions.

“So yes, you’ve got two different visions of America,” he said. “Donald Trump’s vision is the one you’re living in right now. Can you afford gas? Can you afford your groceries? Do you believe, when you look your kids in the eye, that they’re going to have a better future than you did?”

The Michigan contest has become one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races, with both parties investing heavily in the battle for Peters’ open seat. El-Sayed narrowly won the Democratic nomination over Stevens, while Rogers, who previously lost a Senate race to Democrat Elissa Slotkin in 2024, secured the Republican nomination without opposition.

Rogers has recently sought to distinguish himself from Trump on several major policy questions, including the war with Iran and tariffs on Canada. He has called for the Iran conflict to end quickly and released an advertisement urging an end to the trade dispute with Canada, an important economic partner for Michigan.

The two candidates were scheduled to debate Thursday evening in Grand Rapids, with a second debate planned for October 21, ahead of the November 3 election.

{Matzav.com}

Rav Yitzchok Yosef, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, has issued another sharp condemnation of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, accusing him of openly disregarding the psakim of Gedolei Yisroel by ascending Har Habayis and warning the public against giving political support to someone who acts in defiance of Daas Torah.

In his remarks, Rav Yosef criticized politicians who win over younger voters with fiery rhetoric and catchy slogans while accomplishing little of substance.

“There are people who talk and attract young people with all kinds of slogans, but what do they actually do? Nothing. Just talk, talk, and the young people get excited.”

Rav Yosef then turned directly to Ben Gvir’s repeated visits to Har Habayis, which he said were carried out in deliberate disregard of the clear psak of leading poskim prohibiting Jews from entering the sacred area.

“I have warned several times that it is forbidden to ascend the Temple Mount… The very next day, deliberately, that Ben Gvir went up to the Temple Mount, against the opinion of all the leading Torah sages from every community.

“How can anyone give power to a person like that, who openly, arrogantly, and contemptuously defies and disrespects all the leading Torah sages and ascends the Temple Mount like that? God forbid that anyone should support such a person.”

The issue of ascending Har Habayis has long been a serious halachic concern. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has maintained a prohibition against entering the site because of the severe restrictions governing entry into areas of the Mokom Hamikdash while in a state of tumah. Numerous Gedolei Yisroel across the generations have strongly warned against ascending Har Habayis, even for individuals who claim to have undergone the necessary preparations.

Rav Yosef’s latest remarks come amid an escalating confrontation between Ben Gvir and the chareidi political parties, with the minister accusing their leadership of failing to protect the interests of bnei yeshiva during the ongoing military draft crisis.

In a sharply worded open letter addressed to the leadership of United Torah Judaism and other chareidi representatives, Ben Gvir accused them of attempting to shift responsibility for what he called their “colossal failure” to resolve the enlistment issue.

Ben Gvir argued that the chareidi parties had spent the past four years failing to secure meaningful protections for the Torah world, resulting in the suspension of funding for yeshivos, arrest warrants against bochurim who have not reported for military service, and continued uncertainty surrounding the status of bnei yeshiva.

He accused chareidi political representatives of making him a convenient target rather than acknowledging that “for four years they did nothing to take care of their community.”

The minister also criticized the chareidi parties’ dealings with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, claiming that their opposition to his efforts to remove her had contributed to the present situation.

“At the beginning of the term, I was the one who demanded that the Attorney General be dismissed, while you, the representatives of the Haredi parties, opposed it. You explained that you knew how to make deals with her. You thought you were smarter, and you gambled on her in order to obtain her approval for appointments – and now we have reached the current disgraceful situation.”

Addressing the draft controversy, Ben Gvir accused chareidi party leaders of pursuing what he termed the “ostrich policy of the community’s leadership.”

He maintained that the establishment of appropriate military service frameworks for young chareidi men who are not learning in yeshiva could have helped safeguard the position of those genuinely devoted to full-time Torah learning.

As an example of what he considered a workable approach, Ben Gvir pointed to specially adapted chareidi service programs in the Israel Police and Israel Prison Service, which he said have already accepted thousands of young men from the community.

He further accused chareidi politicians of refusing to support initiatives that could benefit their own constituents, citing legislation designed to permit gender-separated academic studies.

Ben Gvir also claimed that substantial private discussions had taken place between himself and chareidi representatives in an effort to coordinate political and communal matters.

According to the minister, he possesses sensitive information concerning criticism of chareidi political operatives expressed by senior rabbonim and admorim, but has refrained from making that material public.

“Every time the rabbinical courts approached me in anger over the political operatives, I could have used it, but I didn’t because I love you,” he wrote.

Concluding his letter, Ben Gvir accused chareidi party leaders of misleading their own voters by blaming him for the difficulties confronting the community.

“The truth is that you know perfectly well that everything I have written here is true. When you tell your public that I am to blame, you are primarily revealing just how much you despise them and insult their intelligence. The Haredi public deserves more respect from you, rather than being sold such low-grade lies.”

{Matzav.com}

The Pentagon has developed plans for a sweeping new military offensive against Iran that could involve three days of intensive American airstrikes against missile facilities, drone installations, Revolutionary Guard headquarters and critical energy infrastructure, even as President Donald Trump has rejected multiple proposals for renewed attacks and announced that no strikes will take place before the November 3 midterm elections.

According to a report published Thursday by The New York Times, American military commanders are preparing for the possibility of a major escalation in the conflict with Tehran, with the United States moving toward a deployment of three aircraft carriers in the Middle East. The buildup would represent one of the largest concentrations of American naval power in the region in recent years.

The military planning is continuing despite Trump’s reluctance to approve another major offensive. Administration officials told the newspaper that the president has requested additional military options targeting Iran while repeatedly declining to authorize the operations presented to him.

Senior Pentagon officials and White House national security advisers have reportedly submitted five separate proposals involving substantial attacks against Iranian military assets or the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist organization in Yemen. Trump turned down all five.

Nevertheless, the administration has continued examining possible courses of action should diplomatic negotiations fail or Iranian attacks prompt a change in American strategy.

Vice President JD Vance led a meeting of senior national security officials at Camp David last Friday, where the latest military proposals were reviewed. The discussions focused on potential targets, the scope of an American response and the consequences of another major confrontation with Iran.

One option reportedly calls for a concentrated offensive lasting approximately 72 hours, during which American forces would seek to inflict extensive damage on Iran’s military capabilities.

Among the targets under consideration are Iranian ballistic missile stockpiles, drone production and storage facilities, and military infrastructure that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has rebuilt since the war began.

The Pentagon is also examining possible attacks on Iranian energy facilities, Revolutionary Guard command centers and other military headquarters that play important roles in coordinating the country’s operations.

Axios previously reported on aspects of the administration’s renewed military planning, which comes amid increasing concern over Iran’s attacks on commercial shipping and its ability to threaten American installations throughout the Middle East.

The military preparations are unfolding alongside diplomatic contacts intended to bring the conflict to an end. American officials have expressed cautious encouragement about negotiations conducted through intermediaries, although substantial disagreements remain between Washington and Tehran.

A central obstacle is Iran’s nuclear program. The Trump administration wants Tehran’s nuclear activities addressed as a priority in any comprehensive agreement, while Iranian negotiators have insisted that nuclear issues should be handled only during the concluding phase of discussions.

Iran has also resisted American demands that it relinquish its uranium stockpile or abandon enrichment activities, leaving a major divide between the two governments despite continuing diplomatic exchanges.

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that Tehran was reviewing Washington’s response to a proposal submitted through mediators. Iranian officials indicated that they expected to provide a further response within days.

The Iranian proposal reportedly includes relief from American economic sanctions and the naval blockade, along with the release of frozen assets, in exchange for steps toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz and pursuing broader negotiations.

Trump has rejected Iran’s latest offer, but administration officials have continued working through diplomatic channels in an effort to find an agreement.

The American military, meanwhile, is confronting an Iranian adversary that intelligence officials believe has adapted its tactics during the months of fighting.

According to the Times report, Iranian improvements in missile and drone operations have forced American forces to use larger numbers of defensive interceptors than earlier in the conflict, creating additional pressure on already strained ammunition supplies.

The concern extends beyond the immediate cost of defending American bases. Military planners are weighing whether another prolonged confrontation could further reduce the stockpiles needed to protect U.S. forces and allies against future attacks.

American intelligence assessments also indicate that Iran has improved its targeting capabilities with assistance from satellite imagery provided by Chinese companies. That information has reportedly helped Iranian forces identify and target American military installations with greater precision.

At sea, Iran has continued attacking commercial vessels despite the absence of another major American offensive.

British maritime monitoring authorities have recorded at least 13 attacks against ships since the last significant exchange of American and Iranian strikes in September, while U.S. intelligence officials believe the actual number may be closer to 20.

The situation has become particularly dangerous around the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a substantial share of the world’s oil shipments ordinarily passes.

Recent attacks have disrupted commercial shipping and driven up global energy prices, with Brent crude climbing above $105 per barrel Thursday amid renewed fears about the security of oil supplies.

Shipping volumes through the strait have fluctuated sharply as commercial operators contend with the threat of Iranian missiles, drones and other attacks. The disruption has also contributed to higher fuel costs and broader economic uncertainty.

The United States has maintained a naval blockade intended to prevent Iranian oil exports while allowing shipments from other Gulf producers to continue.

American military officials say their operations have helped secure major shipping routes, clear mines from key transit lanes and protect commercial vessels moving through the region.

U.S. Central Command said Thursday that American forces had facilitated the movement of more than 1.25 billion barrels of crude oil from Gulf partners in recent months while preventing Iranian oil exports under the blockade.

The American naval buildup is expected to include the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is reportedly scheduled to reach the region later this month, adding another carrier strike group to the substantial forces already operating in and around the Middle East.

The deployments are intended to provide American commanders with additional offensive and defensive capabilities, including aircraft that could participate in strikes against Iranian targets if Trump authorizes renewed military action.

Despite the preparations, the president publicly ruled out another American attack before Election Day.

“We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In his announcement, Trump described Iran as facing severe economic and military difficulties and made clear that Washington would maintain its naval blockade while negotiations continued.

He said that approximately 22 million barrels of oil had moved through the Strait of Hormuz the previous night, with none of the shipments originating in or destined for Iran. The figure was presented by the president and was not independently verified.

Trump explicitly declared that American forces would not resume attacks against Iran before the November 3 congressional elections, while reiterating his determination to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The announcement came after months of intermittent military confrontations following the American and Israeli strikes against Iran in February, which triggered a wider conflict involving Iranian retaliation, attacks on shipping and repeated diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting.

A temporary ceasefire reached in June subsequently collapsed, and hostilities intensified again in September, when American strikes against Iranian military installations were followed by retaliatory missile attacks against U.S. bases in the region.

The continuing conflict has also become a major domestic political issue as Americans face higher gasoline prices and concerns about the economic consequences of prolonged fighting.

Recent polling has reflected public dissatisfaction with the administration’s handling of the war, adding to the political pressures surrounding the president’s decisions in the final weeks before the midterm elections.

Nevertheless, Trump’s announcement does not mean that the Pentagon is suspending preparations for possible military operations after November 3.

According to the Times, American commanders are maintaining plans that would allow them to begin a major offensive within days if the president changes his position and authorizes renewed strikes.

The newspaper emphasized that preparing military options does not establish that an attack will occur. Trump has repeatedly sought additional proposals while declining to approve them, and senior officials continue to weigh the dangers of escalation against the potential consequences of allowing Iran to rebuild its military capabilities.

One of the most serious concerns remains the strain on American defensive missile inventories. Officials fear that another large-scale confrontation could require extensive interceptor use, potentially reducing the military’s ability to protect American bases, personnel and regional allies against further Iranian retaliation.

For now, the administration is pursuing negotiations while maintaining its blockade and strengthening the American military presence in the region, leaving the Pentagon prepared for a substantial new campaign without an order from the president to launch one.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli authorities are preparing to introduce advanced surveillance technology and redesigned border-control gates at Ben Gurion Airport after discovering that 64 chareidi young men classified as military draft evaders managed to leave the country for Uman despite being subject to travel restrictions. Their departures were not recorded by the border-control system, and the irregularities were discovered only when they returned to Israel.

According to a report by Kan News, the Population and Immigration Authority is developing a major upgrade to its border-control infrastructure, incorporating artificial intelligence, surveillance cameras, and two-stage automated passage gates intended to prevent travelers from bypassing immigration checks.

The new equipment is expected to be introduced at entry checkpoints during 2026, while installation at departure checkpoints, where the recent breaches occurred, is scheduled for 2027.

The planned changes follow an investigation into how dozens of chareidi travelers managed to depart for Uman during the Yom Tov season without their exits appearing in official immigration records, despite outstanding orders prohibiting them from leaving the country.

Police investigators suspect that some of the individuals used a method known as tailgating, in which a person follows closely behind another passenger through an automated border-control gate, passing through before the barrier closes.

Security camera footage reportedly enabled authorities to identify several of those involved. All 64 cases were referred to Ben Gurion Airport police on suspicion of violating Israel’s Entry Law.

Some of the young men have already been questioned under caution, while the remainder are expected to be summoned for questioning.

Figures presented during discussions concerning the military draft controversy showed that 188 individuals had been arrested at Ben Gurion Airport in connection with their military status. Of those, 64 were identified only after returning from overseas, having previously left Israel without their departures being properly registered.

Additional figures emerged during a meeting chaired by Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon, where officials reviewed enforcement activity against individuals classified by the military as draft evaders or deserters.

According to the data presented, 212 young men were arrested at border crossings during September on account of their military status. Approximately 163 of those arrested were members of the chareidi community.

The discussions also revealed that authorities had generally refrained from carrying out proactive arrest operations during the Yom Tov period. The IDF is now preparing to resume such operations during October.

The report emerged amid another day of widespread unrest over the arrests of bnei yeshiva, as hundreds of Peleg Yerushalmi demonstrators blocked major roads in Yerushalayim and near Bnei Brak on Thursday afternoon.

Protesters shut down sections of Route 4 and the entrance to Yerushalayim for approximately two hours, leading to serious traffic disruptions and confrontations with police attempting to reopen the roads.

In another incident during the demonstrations, police were called upon to extract Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and Minister Michael Malkieli after protesters gathered around a building hosting a Shas party event.

{Matzav.com}

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders reaffirmed her state’s support for Israel as she welcomed her father, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, back to Arkansas on for a series of commemorations marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre.

The governor and her father joined Jewish leaders, elected officials and community representatives in Little Rock to remember the approximately 1,200 people murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, and to honor the victims, survivors and families whose lives were devastated by the attacks.

Sanders used the occasion to deliver a public declaration of solidarity with Israel, emphasizing that Arkansas would continue to support the Jewish state and ensure that the experiences of those affected by the massacre remain at the forefront of public remembrance.

“In Arkansas, we make no apology for standing with Israel. We lift up the voices that matter: the victims, the people of Israel, and those who stood beside them through some of their darkest days. Glad to have my dad Ambassador Mike Huckabee back home to mark this solemn day,” Sanders wrote in a public statement.

The commemorations included a ceremony at the Arkansas State Capitol, where Ambassador Huckabee, who previously served as governor of Arkansas, spoke about the continuing consequences of the October 7 attacks and the broader threat posed by terrorist organizations operating in the Middle East.

Huckabee recalled being in Israel when the attacks occurred three years earlier, describing how he sheltered in a bunker while maintaining communication with President Donald Trump. He said the devastation caused by the terrorists remains visible in parts of Israel, where buildings and communities continue to bear the scars of the massacre and subsequent war.

The ambassador also reflected on the challenges of representing the United States in Israel during a period of continuing regional conflict, saying that despite the dangers and pressures associated with the assignment, he considers it a privilege to serve.

“I sometimes ask the president, what did I do to you? You send me to one of the most intense places on earth, but I tell you, I wouldn’t be anywhere else right now, to serve my country, my flag, and to serve a president who had the courage to recognize the threat to America and the American people and to say enough,” Huckabee told those assembled.

The event brought together several prominent Arkansas officials, including Secretary of State Cole Jester and Attorney General Tim Griffin, who joined the governor and ambassador in condemning the Hamas attacks and expressing support for Israel.

Representatives of the Jewish community also addressed the gathering, including Rav Pinchus Ciment, regional director of Lubavitch of Arkansas, and Harry Ehrenberg of the Arkansas Jewish Federation. Albert Veksler, director of the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, participated as well, speaking about the events of October 7 and their continuing impact.

The commemoration was hosted by Jason Rapert, founder and president of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, which organized the ceremony in cooperation with state officials. Rapert thanked participants for speaking out against antisemitism and supporting Israel.

The gathering concluded with a prayer led by Pastor Happy Caldwell, a member of the association’s governing board, who prayed for peace in Israel and for families still suffering from the consequences of the terrorist attacks.

The State Capitol ceremony was followed by an Arkansas Remembers reception at the Governor’s Mansion, held in the Janet M. Huckabee Grand Hall, named for the ambassador’s wife and the governor’s mother.

The anniversary observances also coincided with a development in Arkansas’ role in Israel’s defense. Earlier Wednesday, Sanders joined Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Bruce Westerman at the Raytheon-Rafael Protection Systems facility in East Camden, where officials marked the first shipment of Tamir interceptor missiles manufactured in the state for Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system.

The $63 million manufacturing facility, which opened in November 2025, is expected to generate as many as 60 jobs. It will also produce SkyHunter interceptors, an American version of the Tamir missile, for the U.S. Marine Corps.

For Sanders, the project has particular personal significance because her parents reside in Israel, where Mike Huckabee serves as America’s ambassador.

“Today is even more special to me, because my own parents are some of those who the Iron Dome protects, along with 250,000 other American citizens who call Israel home,” Sanders said.

“They spent most of last summer huddled in a bunker,” she added. “They saw what Hamas and Iranian missiles would do if not taken out, and they’re alive today because of the Iron Dome.”

During his visit, Ambassador Huckabee also drew attention to the suffering of Israeli families who have lost loved ones in the war, including the family of Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter.

Leiter had been expected to participate in the Arkansas commemorations but remained in Israel at the bedside of his son, Neria, who was critically injured in a terrorist vehicle-ramming attack in September.

“The reason that Ambassador Leiter is not here is because his son was brutally attacked by Palestinian terrorists who rammed a vehicle into him,” Huckabee explained. “He’s in very critical condition, and so Ambassador Leiter obviously is at his bedside.”

The Leiter family had already suffered a devastating loss when another son, Major Moshe Yedidya Leiter, was killed while fighting Hamas in Gaza in November 2023.

Huckabee also emphasized that Americans were among the victims of the October 7 massacre and warned against viewing the terrorist attack as a tragedy affecting Israel alone.

“Too many Americans forget that there were 46 Americans murdered that day,” he said.

The ambassador further argued that the conflict with Iran and its terrorist proxies has direct implications for American national security, rejecting the suggestion that the United States’ involvement in the region is solely about protecting Israel.

“If everybody thinks this is about Israel, they’re not paying attention,” Huckabee said. “It was never just about Israel. It was always about the United States.”

“This is absolutely putting America first,” he added. “None of the actions are taken to benefit anybody other than America and the American people.”

The Arkansas events thus brought together the state’s political leadership, Jewish community representatives and American officials serving in Israel, with the governor and her father emphasizing both remembrance of the October 7 victims and the continuing American-Israeli security relationship.

President Donald Trump declared Thursday that the White House considers anyone who continues using the term “artificial intelligence” instead of his preferred designation, “super intelligence,” to be an enemy of the administration, escalating his campaign to change the name of one of the world’s fastest-growing technologies.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump issued an extraordinary warning to individuals and organizations that have not adopted the terminology he recently introduced through an executive order.

“The White House considers anyone that uses the term, ‘Artificial Intelligence,’ as opposed to the highly accepted new and more accurate term, ‘Super Intelligence,’ THE ENEMY!” Trump wrote.

The statement follows Trump’s September 29 executive order directing federal departments and agencies to replace the familiar terms “artificial intelligence” and “AI” with “super intelligence” and “SI” in government communications, websites, reports, policy documents and other materials.

Trump has repeatedly argued that the word “artificial” inaccurately characterizes the technology, suggesting that it is fake or inferior when, in his view, the systems represent an extraordinary technological achievement.

During a White House gathering with leading technology executives on September 29, the president defended his proposed terminology change.

“It’s not artificial. We all agree on that,” Trump said.

He had introduced the proposed change during his September 22 address to the United Nations General Assembly, arguing that the technology deserved a name reflecting its capabilities.

“It makes it sound fake, and it is not fake. It’s actually amazing,” Trump said.

The executive order applies to federal government communications and does not establish penalties for private citizens, businesses or organizations that continue using the established terminology. Trump’s Thursday declaration did not explain what consequences, if any, would follow from being characterized as an enemy of the White House.

The administration’s effort has also encountered resistance from the technology industry, where artificial intelligence and superintelligence have long carried different meanings.

Artificial intelligence generally refers to computer systems capable of performing tasks associated with human intelligence, including generating text, analyzing information, recognizing images and making predictions.

Superintelligence, by contrast, traditionally describes a hypothetical level of machine intelligence that surpasses human capabilities across virtually every intellectual field. Researchers generally do not consider existing AI systems to have reached that threshold.

Despite the distinction, Trump’s executive order applies the new label to technologies already covered by the federal government’s existing definition of artificial intelligence.

The order also requires the president’s science and technology adviser to develop proposed legislative language within 60 days to establish a formal federal definition of super intelligence and determine whether existing statutory terminology should be revised.

Some prominent technology figures have begun embracing Trump’s preferred language. Elon Musk has indicated that his company’s AI operation would adopt the name SpaceXSI, replacing the AI abbreviation with SI.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also used the administration’s new terminology during the September 29 White House event, referring to data centers as “superintelligence factories.”

Other major technology companies have continued using artificial intelligence in their public communications, even as they pursue the development of more advanced systems.

The White House itself has not fully abandoned the old terminology. Government websites and materials from the Office of Science and Technology Policy have continued referring to artificial intelligence despite the president’s directive.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has also rejected the terminology change, directing state agencies to retain the established term.

Trump’s push comes as his administration seeks to accelerate American technological development and maintain an advantage over China in advanced computing.

Earlier this month, the president announced the creation of a federal Super Intelligence Force, headed by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, to coordinate government policy concerning the technology.

The task force is expected to examine the opportunities and risks associated with increasingly capable AI systems, including national security concerns, while developing recommendations intended to preserve American technological leadership.

On Thursday, the task force’s four senior leaders were scheduled to meet, with a gathering of the full committee expected the following week.

{Matzav.com}