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The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two judges of the International Criminal Court, sharply escalating its confrontation with the Hague-based tribunal over its actions targeting Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. is sanctioning ICC judges Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, accusing them of directly participating […]

ISIS has praised the deadly Chanukah event massacre on Bondi Beach in Australia as a “source of pride,” as investigators probe the attackers’ apparent ideological ties to the terror group after an ISIS flag was discovered in the shooters’ vehicle. The terror group lauded the massacre Thursday on its Telegram channel, stopping short of formally […]

Belgium insisted on Thursday that its European Union partners must provide ironclad guarantees that it will be protected from Russian retaliation before it would back a massive loan for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded for a decision now to keep Ukraine afloat in the new year. At a summit in Brussels with exceptionally high stakes for […]

Egypt’s State Information Service chief, Diaa Rashwan, said the gas deal with Israel is “purely a commercial contract” serving Egypt’s national interests, with no political implications. Rashwan cautioned against “hostile media campaigns” trying to politicize the agreement, emphasizing that it does not impact Egypt’s stance on the Palestinian issue and noting that discussions on the […]

Rep. Fitzpatrick: I can tell you my colleagues from very conservative districts have quietly been coming up to me on the floor saying, Thank you for what you’re doing.

Israel and Germany have signed an expanded contract for the Arrow 3 air and missile defense system valued at about $3.1 billion, Israel’s Defense Ministry said.

U.S. Central Command announced that it successfully launched a one-way attack drone from a ship at sea for the first time on December 16, using the LUCAS drone, which can be launched with different mechanisms.

Former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Rav Yitzchak Yosef used his weekly shiur to call for a change in how Sephardic yeshivos conduct Chanukah candle lighting, questioning the practice of interrupting seder learning for the mitzvah.

Addressing the issue of candle-lighting times, Rav Yosef discussed the customs followed by various Chassidic leaders and contrasted them with strict adherence to halachah. He noted that certain Chassidic rebbes would light Chanukah candles 18 minutes after sunset, explaining that this practice was followed by the Gerrer Rebbe, the Beis Yisrael, and later by Rav Pinchas Menachem Alter, who served as Rosh Yeshivah of Gur before becoming Rebbe.

“There are rebbes who light later,” Rav Yosef said, “but we follow halachah. Someone who is at home should not delay lighting without reason. Why delay? Light exactly on time. Someone who is late can still light afterward — at six or seven. If a person is working and cannot stop, or if stopping would cause a significant loss, or if he has a chavrusa at that time, why stop learning at five o’clock, bang on the bimah, and light Chanukah candles?”

Rav Yosef went on to propose a clear change for yeshivos: continuing the regular learning schedule and lighting the Chanukah neiros only at the conclusion of seder. He said that this has already been the practice for years at Yeshiva Chazon Ovadia, where candle lighting is held at 7:00 p.m., and added that he was told the same is done at Yeshivat Porat Yosef under Rav Moshe Tzadkah.

“In our yeshivah, Chazon Ovadia, for years already we light at seven,” Rav Yosef said. “I heard that in Porat Yosef as well they do the same. Meaning, they light at the end of seder. At seven, they close the Gemaras and then light. That is the best way to do it.”

Expressing hope that his guidance would be adopted more broadly, Rav Yosef said, “If only all yeshivos would do this. The Ashkenazim won’t listen to me — at least the Sephardim should listen. Light the Chanukah candles at the end of seder. It’s a shame — this is Toras harabbim. You stop the learning, then go to the room to light, sing songs — what kind of bitul Torah is this? Do all of that at seven. You have an hour break, do it then. But a person who is at home, not a yeshivah student, should light on time — exactly at five.”

{Matzav.com}

BREAKING: Reports of a crash involving a private jet, with fatalities, at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina.

On the 4th night of Chanukah, over 50 Menorah cars took to the streets and highways of South Florida to parade the light of Chanukah departing from Chabad of Inverrary making a 38 mile loop from Inverrary FL in Broward County, to Boca Raton FL in Palm Beach County before returning to Chabad of Inverrary. […]

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans for new hate speech laws and invoked the slogan “diversity is our strength” at a press conference following the Bondi Beach massacre.

Hagaon Rav Dov Landau, Slabodka rosh yeshiva, delivered a powerful address of chizuk at the Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer Yeshiva following the arrest and imprisonment of one of its talmidim by the Israeli Military Police, sharply condemning the move and calling it a “horrific crime.”

The Rosh Yeshiva spoke Wednesday night in the beis medrash of Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer after talmid Yitzchak Rebibo was taken into custody and incarcerated in a military prison on charges of being a so-called “deserter.”

“All observant Jews are shocked to the depths of their souls by the horrific crime of throwing a yeshiva student into prison,” Rav Landau declared. “A student of your yeshiva — Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Ozer, led by my esteemed colleague the great gaon Rav Menachem Tzvi Berlin — is imprisoned solely because of his ‘crime’: that he learns in yeshiva and does not enlist in the army of their regime. This is something utterly terrifying.”

Rav Landau went on to say that the Torah world must respond with strength and clarity. “We must proclaim that ‘no weapon formed against you shall succeed,’ that their decrees will be nullified like dust of the earth, and that all will be able to continue learning Torah without interference.”

Addressing the imprisoned talmid directly, Rav Landau offered words of chizuk. “To the bochur Yitzchak Chaim ben Shlomit, we strengthen him that he stand firm against the plots of wickedness, that he pay no attention to empty temptations and false persuasion, and that he merit to emerge soon from the prison in which he is being held.”

Turning to the yeshiva and its leadership, Rav Landau urged them not to be demoralized. “Do not allow your spirits to fall. Be strong and courageous. In these days of Chanukah, grasp the attribute of the Chashmonaim, who stood with bravery against those who sought to make them forget Your Torah. Just as then, so now, may Hashem show us miracles and wonders in our time, and we will prevail.”

{Matzav.com}

U.S. inflation slowed unexpectedly last month according to data that was delayed, and likely distorted, by the government shutdown. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its consumer price index rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier. Yet, year-over-year inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and Americans are dismayed by the high […]

  On the Sunday before Chanukah, Yeshiva & Mesivta Toras Emes Kamenitz held its annual dinner, The Nachas Celebration Event, bringing together families, alumni, Rabbonim, askonim, and community leaders for an evening that combined inspiration, recognition, and heartfelt tribute. The event was marked by the beginning of the kesiva of a new Sefer Torah l’zecher […]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced today that the United States is imposing sanctions on two judges of the International Criminal Court for what he described as illegitimate investigations and actions targeting Israel, as well as for what he called the court’s blatant disregard for the sovereignty of the United States and its citizens.

Rabbi Eli Schlanger hy’d is seen wrapping tefillin at the Bondi Beach Chanukkah event shortly before the terrorist attack began. Standing beside him, in the yellow outfit, is Matilda. hy’d a 10-year-old girl who was the youngest victim killed in the attack.

As Jewish communities confront a wave of violent antisemitic attacks, a little-known telegram sent nearly seven decades ago by the Lubavitcher Rebbe has reemerged, drawing fresh attention for its urgent tone and striking relevance.

The document, written by Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson to US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, dates to April 16, 1956, just days after Arab terrorists attacked a Chabad school in Kfar Chabad during Maariv, murdering five students and their teacher. Though preserved in archives, the message had not previously circulated widely.

In the telegram, the Rebbe sharply condemned the attack, describing it as a “cold-blooded massacre of Jewish children at prayer,” and pressed Eisenhower to act. Rather than offering condolences alone, the Rebbe appealed for American influence to be used to prevent further bloodshed and to safeguard Jewish religious and educational institutions in Israel. Writing in the name of the worldwide Chabad movement, he framed the massacre as a moral test that “must arouse every decent human being,” urging immediate and effective steps.

The resurfacing of the telegram comes at a moment of acute concern for Jewish security after 15 people were killed in an Islamist terror attack targeting a Chanukah gathering at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

{Matzav.com}