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At the close of Shavuos, during the traditional Ne’ilas HaChag Tish attended by thousands of Belzer chassidim, a dramatic public announcement was delivered in the name of the Belzer Rebbe regarding what was described as the growing campaign against lomdei Torah in Eretz Yisroel.

The announcement was delivered by the Rebbe’s longtime mashbak, Reb Shimon Wolf Klein, who spoke emotionally about the mounting financial and legal pressures facing avreichim and bnei Torah throughout the country.

“We are now entering the third year of one of the most difficult battles faced by those who learn and toil in Torah here in Eretz Yisroel,” Klein declared.

“Unfortunately, the latest troubles make people forget the earlier ones. It began with the cancellation of funding that supported Torah learners, and when that was not enough for them, they began imposing additional decrees, intimidation, and various harsh measures — all with one objective: to pressure and make life difficult for Torah learners and, chalilah, uproot the existence of Torah.”

Klein praised Belzer chassidim for what he described as extraordinary dedication and sacrifice in supporting kollel families over the past two years.

“Baruch Hashem, over the past two years Belzer chassidim proved themselves and stood with exceptional mesirus nefesh at the side of the kollel avreichim, serving as an example for communities throughout Eretz Yisroel,” he said.

He noted that the Belzer Rebbe established and strengthened the “Keren Hatzolas HaTorah,” a special emergency fund created to sustain Torah learners facing growing economic hardship.

“We merited that the Rebbe established and built the Keren Hatzolas HaTorah, which undertook the enormous responsibility of raising the massive sums needed to support the kollel avreichim — amounts reaching 12 million shekels each year,” Klein announced.

“Now the fund is taking upon itself another year of sustaining Torah learners in partnership with chassidim from Eretz Yisroel and abroad.”

Toward the conclusion of the announcement, Klein issued a direct appeal to the assembled chassidim to personally sponsor avreichim in the Belzer community.

“The Rebbe calls upon every person to take upon himself support for an avreich at a cost of 900,” he said. “And whoever is able should take upon himself several avreichim, so that the strength of Torah should not weaken.”

Klein added a personal message from the Rebbe to those who assist the campaign.

“The Rebbe asked to add that whoever helps will have the Rebbe’s gratitude, and he and his family will be spared from pain and anguish,” he concluded.

{Matzav.com}

The United States carried out a series of military strikes early Tuesday in southern Iran, targeting Iranian vessels and missile infrastructure that American officials said posed an immediate danger to U.S. forces operating near the Strait of Hormuz.

According to American officials, the action was described as a defensive response intended to neutralize threats coming from Iranian military assets during the fragile ceasefire period.

“US forces conducted self-defense strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said.

“US Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire,” he added.

Fox News, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that American forces detected two Iranian boats in the Strait of Hormuz allegedly attempting to deploy naval mines. The same official said U.S. aircraft also came under threat after an Iranian missile installation targeted American warplanes operating in the area.

In response, the U.S. military reportedly destroyed both vessels belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The official also said the United States struck an Iranian surface-to-air missile position in Bandar Abbas after Iranian outlets reported blasts in the city earlier in the day.

Additional explosions were also reported near the coastal areas of Sirik and Jask, both situated close to the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.

American officials emphasized that the attacks were intended as limited defensive operations rather than a renewed escalation of the broader conflict. One official told Fox News that the mission was “defensive,” while two other sources stressed that the military action should not be interpreted as the collapse of the ceasefire arrangement with Iran.

Reports of explosions across multiple locations near the Strait of Hormuz had already surfaced Monday night, according to Fox. A senior official later told the network that the U.S. military operation was “over for now.”

{Matzav.com}

Degel HaTorah MK Yaakov Asher launched a blistering attack Monday against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Israel’s Supreme Court, accusing the legal establishment of waging what he described as a systematic ideological war against the chareidi public.

Speaking at a conference for chareidi mortgage advisers, Asher warned that growing pressure on the Torah community could eventually trigger widespread backlash across the chareidi sector.

“The chareidi public will not sit quietly,” Asher declared. “In the end, this will turn into some kind of uprising.”

At the center of his remarks was the ongoing legal and political battle surrounding the draft issue and government funding connected to the chareidi community. Asher claimed the judiciary and legal advisers are deliberately targeting chareidim not only politically, but economically and socially as well.

He described the situation as “a legal war of judicial activism by the attorney general,” arguing that the campaign is fueled by both political and ideological motives.

According to Asher, the legal system is attempting “even ultimately to starve the chareidi population, causing disproportionate harm to women, teachers, kindergarten workers, and children.”

The MK accused Israel’s legal establishment of applying double standards when it comes to human rights and civil protections.

“When they need to pass a law to deport terrorists’ families, all the legal advisers are concerned not to violate the rights of those families,” he said.

“All the sensitivity that the attorney general, her colleagues, and the Supreme Court justices have — all the sensitivity regarding human rights — take 10% of that sensitivity and apply it to this public.”

Asher went on to describe what he said are the practical consequences of government policies affecting chareidi families.

“There are children struggling in school who have tutors helping them, and now they wanted to stop funding for those tutors,” he said. “Why? Because maybe one of the tutors earns a living from it and is considered by them to be a draft dodger. So what do you want? That these children fall apart and later end up being treated by social services?”

The veteran lawmaker portrayed the situation as an organized and relentless campaign against the chareidi sector.

“Every day there’s another letter, every day another directive, every day something else,” Asher said. “This is a war against the entire chareidi public. And it’s not just political. In politics, you can maneuver and make different moves. Here, every move you make, the court comes and overturns everything.”

He also argued that government policy toward chareidim is contradictory and economically self-defeating.

“You are harming the economy while at the same time talking about legislation to encourage public transportation,” he said. “And with the other hand, you are making life harder for the very public that uses public transportation more than anyone else.”

Asher stressed that any response from the chareidi community would remain nonviolent and guided by rabbinic leadership, even as frustration intensifies.

“The chareidi public will not sit quietly. In the end, this will turn into some kind of uprising, but of course a legal one. We are not people of violence or things of that nature. Some say it’s a shame, but no — these are the instructions we receive from the Gedolei Torah, and that is how we will act.”

He concluded by saying that the mounting pressure is increasingly uniting all segments of the chareidi community, including both full-time learners and working families.

“In the end — and this is our strength — they are putting everyone into the same category,” Asher said. “Those whose Torah is their profession and those who work as well, because they are also harming their families and their sons who are learning Torah. They are dragging the entire public into this.”

Asher closed with another sharp jab at the legal establishment, accusing it of showing greater concern for Palestinians than for Israel’s chareidi citizens.

“They are causing enormous damage to the State of Israel,” he said, “but they will continue protecting the quality of life of various Palestinians in Area C.”

A storm of controversy and fascination swept through the Jewish music world this week following claims that Yaakov Shwekey incorporated artificial intelligence into parts of his newly released EP, Happiness — a development some insiders are calling a turning point for the entire industry.

The discussion exploded after reports surfaced that the music-identification system used by the Jewish music app Jusic detected audio patterns suggesting possible AI-generated elements within some of the album’s arrangements.

Israeli radio host Menachem Toker described the revelation during his “Zman Avir” program on Kol Chai as a dramatic moment for Jewish music.

“When the biggest singer in the world today uses AI, it’s an absolutely crazy explosion,” Toker said.

The new EP contains four songs, and according to those involved in the discussion, the concerns do not relate to Shwekey’s vocals themselves, but rather to portions of the instrumentation and production.

Producer and arranger Yishai Shin, who works with the Jusic platform, explained on-air that the app’s “smart algorithm” flagged unusual characteristics in the recordings.

“We can see in the song’s characteristics that it contains content that may have been created by AI,” Shin said.

At the same time, he stressed that the album was not entirely AI-generated.

“There are AI motifs in the guitars and in the arrangement,” he explained, adding that other music professionals independently reached similar conclusions after reviewing the tracks.

Participants in the discussion emphasized that the singing itself was not generated through artificial intelligence.

Toker described the development as “an earthquake in Jewish music,” particularly because of Shwekey’s stature as one of the genre’s most influential and recognizable artists.

According to Toker, the decision was not driven by budget limitations or attempts to cut costs, but rather by an intentional embrace of new creative and technological tools.

During the broadcast, it was also reported that individuals connected to Shwekey confirmed that certain portions of the project were indeed created with the assistance of AI technology.

Composer and producer Moishy Woldar defended the move and argued that adapting to emerging technologies is both natural and necessary.

“The greatest move a person can make is knowing how to connect to the right time and the right generation,” Woldar said.

He warned that musicians who refuse to adopt artificial intelligence tools in the future may ultimately fall behind the industry.

Woldar also noted that arranger Ravid Kashti was involved in the production process and argued that AI does not eliminate the need for human professionals, but rather gives them new capabilities and creative options.

Music critic Netanel Leifer also joined the debate, explaining that experienced musicians and studio professionals are often able to identify AI-generated elements, especially in guitar sounds and instrumental textures.

Still, he acknowledged that most ordinary listeners are unlikely to notice any difference at all.

“For the ears of most listeners, they simply don’t care,” Leifer said.

Despite differing opinions over the growing role of artificial intelligence in music production, all of the participants praised Happiness itself and described the EP as a high-quality and impressive musical release.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{Matzav.com}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{Matzav.com}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yehi zichro boruch.

{Matzav.com}

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{Matzav.com}